Every year, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja organized circumambulation of Śrī Navadvīpa dhāma in which twelve to fifteen thousand pilgrims participated. From November to February, Srila Keshava Gosvami organized preaching parties and went all over Bengal and other states inviting people to the annual Śrī Navadvīpa dhāma parikramā free of charge. Sri Gaura Narayana (bhakta-bandhava), Sri Sajjana Sevaka Brahmacari, Sri Radhanatha Brahmacari and all devotees of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti helped arrange facilities for the pilgrims, and served incessantly during these times. The devotees had so much service to perform for Navadvip Parikrama. They collected hundreds of bags of rice and other ingredients to feed the pilgrims.
Weeks before the pilgrimage of Navadvipa began in March, all the temple Brahmacaris engaged in hard labor preparing Sri Devananda Gaudiya Matha for the festival. They set up large tents with bamboo poles to house the pilgrims, purchased large piles of wood and trucks of pumpkin, potatoes, lentils, spices, oil, sugar and other ingredients to cook for Sri Mahāprabhu and the pilgrims.
It is the rule for all initiated devotees to daily chant a fixed amount of Harinama and this takes a few hours per day. However, during the weeks prior, during and after Śrī Navadvīpa dhāma Parikramā, the Brahmacaris and sannyasis were so busy in their services, that Srila Keshava Gosvami told them, “Give me your bead bags and I will give the result of chanting to you all. I will chant for all of you. While practically serving Hari, Guru and Vaisnavas you can also chant. This is directly the service of Mahāprabhu.” (fix speech)
Sri Gaura Narayana performed services all day only desiring the happiness of Sri Guru and God. After the day’s service was over, Gaura Narayana chanted on his Tulasi beads at night, completing at least 32 rounds of Harinama, or 50,000 names of God. When one is empowered by the mercy of Sri Guru, one can chant God’s Holy names 24 hours a day while doing all activities. By performing harinama while engaged in service to God, Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, by their grace, the eternal spiritual abode will manifest in the disciple’s heart, along with his or her eternal relation and service to Sri Rādhā Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu. By the mercy of the Guru-varga, large festivals like Navadvip Parikrama can be accomplished without great difficulty.
Srila Keshava Gosvami arranged to feed and house the thousands of pilgrims for ten days in March. He did not enough funds to pay for everything, so he would take loans from his Godbrothers and pay them back over the year. The pilgrims arrived a week prior to the appearance of Sri Gauranga Mahāprabhu, Gaura-purnima. At five in the morning, the pilgrims walked to the holy places on the nine islands of Navadvipa dhama while performing Harinama Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of God’s Holy names. They danced and sang in bliss as they walked along the pathways under guidance of the Sannyasis and Brahmacaris leading the parikrama. The pilgrims stopped at each holy place and listened to the pastimes performed there by Mahāprabhu and His associates. They returned in the afternoon and took maha prasad. The temple did not have large enough pots to store all the offered food in, so the Brahmacaris dug large holes in the ground, lined them with thick canvas, and served maha prasad to the pilgrims from there.
By the mercy of the Guru-varga, the festival was executed with ease. Sri Guru is connected to the Divine Potency of God, kriya-shakti, by Guru’s mercy the disciple is empowered with energy to serve God and His devotees incessantly.
Association with Advanced Devotees
Due to the extensive preaching of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, many new devotees joined the mission and endeavored to follow bhakti. Even after joining the temple and striving to follow the practices of bhakti, one’s past nature, karma and bad habits is difficult to change. Only by the association of advanced devotees can mundane nature be purified and one can engage in bhakti without disturbance.
The nature of anyone who comes in contact with a pure devotee automatically becomes saintly. If a devotee appears to be following bhakti, but those nearby him do not follow bhakti and their nature remains cruel and hard, then the devotee they are associating with is not actually following God and has no devotion. Such a person is a devotee in name only. When a flower blossoms, if it has no scent or color, and none are attracted by it, then how is this a flower? If there is a honeysuckle plant, but no bees come there to drink the honey, how is this honeysuckle? If honey is placed in a field, but no ants or animals come to lick it, then this cannot be called honey.
Similarly, wherever genuine devotees are present, by the influence and power of bhakti, anyone who comes nearby or hears from them will be attracted and follow them. That place they stay will be peaceful and all hearts will automatically become sweet and fragrant with devotion for God. The nature of salt or sugar can be understood by tasting it, but the taster’s nature will not change. Bhakti and the bhakta, devotee, are not like this. Anywhere there are devotees following bhakti, the hearts of all people nearby them will automatically change, they will lose any cruelty and become soft-natured.
Once the sage Narada was walking through a jungle and came across many half killed animals writhing in pain. After proceeding further he met a hunter named Mrgrari who took great joy in maiming innocent beasts and watching them suffer. By the influence of Narada Rsi’s instructions and devotion, Mrgrari’s nature changed and he became a great devotee. He broke his bow and began to live in a small hut performing bhajana of God and accepting whatever the Lord arranged for his maintenance. Narada Rsi left that place and came back to see his disciple a year later with Angira Rsi. When Mrgrari saw his Gurudeva approaching, he went to pay prostrated obeisance to Narada Rsi, but saw that there were many ants on the pathway. Before he had enjoyed seeing the misery of others, but now he carefully brushed the ants from the path before offering obeisance to Narada Rsi. Angira Rsi said (verse)
Simply by association with advanced devotees, the perverted nature of the conditioned soul is purified and devotion arises in the heart. When one drinks or bathes in water; one is automatically cooled and refreshed. By going inside a fire, one will automatically burn. It is the nature of pure devotees that anyone who comes nearby them changes without any hard effort. If a sinful person comes nearby the devotee who is on a Madhyama or Uttama platform with faith and sincerity of heart, even if they are weak and cannot properly follow, by a little endeavor to engage in bhakti, their past karma, bad habits, and sinful nature will be mitigated without any difficulty. Due to past karma, many people who try to practice spiritual life are weak and uncontrolled; they try, but cannot follow, however, by the influence of association with great personalities their nature changes.
When one comes to saintly association, they must faithfully stay with the devotees and tolerate any chastisement. This is only for their benefit. To clean very dirty and stained cloths, one must wash them in hot water with chemicals and soap powder, beat the clothes on the ground, and rinse them many times in pure water. The chastisement or anger fire of devotees is for one’s benefit. It is not harmful. Hanuman burned down Lanka to punish Ravana for stealing Sita Devi from Lord Rama. But this fire of Hanunama was to cool and help. This fire is necessary. Without one thorn, one cannot remove another. Similarly, the fire of a sadhu cools others, while the fire of materialists burns.
Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja is a pure devotee and eternal associate of God, those who came near him with faith also became devotees of God, like iron attracted to a magnet receives magnetic power.
When Srila Keshava Gosvami was staying at Devananda Gaudiya Matha in Navadvipa with Sri Gaura Narayana and other disciples, a young man came and joined the temple. He served during the day and followed the temple schedule. All were pleased with his behavior. However, due to his past nature, he stayed up late at night after the other Brahmacaris went to sleep. Some weeks went by peacefully, but one morning, the temple devotees woke to find many of their possessions such as cloth, tilak, acaman cup, asana and other things went missing. Later in the day, the items would be found moved around and hid all over the temple. For some days, every morning the devotees woke to find their belongings missing or misplaced. One day, Gaura Narayana and other Brahmacaris decided to catch the perpetrator. At night, one of them hid in the main area of the temple and watched to see what happened. At midnight, the new person who had recently come sneaked into the temple rooms and came out with many of the residents possessions in his hands. He hid them here and there and smiled in satisfaction. Then he went to sleep. In the morning the Brahmacaris went to Srila Keshava Gosvami and said, “Gurudeva, this new boy is very stupid, at night he doesn’t sleep, but stays awake and causes all this mischief.”
Sri Keshava Gosvami called him and asked, “Why don’t you sleep at night? What are you doing?”
He said, “Oh Gurudeva, at night I stay awake to make sure no animals or thieves come.”
Sri Keshava Gosvami said, “Don’t cheat me.”
He said, “Gurudeva, you are very merciful, please change me.”
“What is your bad habit?”
“Before I was a great thief, at night I stole from many people. By your mercy I was attracted to change my sinful nature and follow a life of devotion in the temple. But I cannot change my past nature, and therefore I stay awake at night and cause this mischief, without which I cannot sleep. After causing disturbance with my thief business of moving everyone’s belongings here and there, I sleep very well. Oh Gurudeva, please purify my bad nature!”
Srila Keshava Gosvami said, “Okay, now that you confessed openly you will change.”
By the grace of Srila Keshava Gosvami his heart was purified and he became an honest and sincere devotee. When he saw any Brahmacari keeping even one coin without offering to God, he told, “Don’t do this, don’t cheat God or Gurudeva, then your bhakti will be destroyed.”
The pure devotee easily purifies millions of lives of bad activities and habitual sinful nature. The pure devotees are always engaged in God’s service and they give this inspiration to those around them. Heat and light will automatically be nearby fire; similarly, by association with devotees, one becomes a devotee. The advanced devotee tolerates all disturbances due to peoples’ past sinful nature, and keeps them nearby out of causeless mercy. Gradually, today, tomorrow, or one day soon, their nature will be purified without any hard labor.
By taking care of a pregnant cow with love, after sometime she will have a calf and milk. She will give her milk to the calf and also to you. The sadhu serves God, if you are nearby a sadhu, they have over world power love, without any fee, or hard austerity; they freely give love of God. The cow gives milk, but you must feed her, however; simply by staying near the pure devotee, the sadhu’s nature, character, behavior and love will change you. Then you will gradually progress through the stages of sadhana-bhakti and ultimately attain bhava and prema-bhakti. This is the highest attainment of human life and is the tendency of hladini-shakti. Compared to this bliss of devotion brahmananda and svargananda are insignificant. Bhakti Devi gives tendency to perform Hari-bhajana and She makes a deep relationship with the bona fide pure devotee.
During the time of sadhana, spiritual practice, many attachments will come and try to cheat one. While staying with the devotees, many people will come to cheat and make you leave and follow them. But the practitioner should consider, “Why did they not like me before? Why are they coming to take me now that the sadhu has changed my nature?”
All people like sweets, but how does one become sweet and pure? Pure devotees clean and purify one’s nature and make one attractive, then all become greedy to enjoy that person and they come to cheat and steal them away from association with the devotees. In that difficult time it is necessary to have strong faith and deep relation and love for the devotee guardian. In midway of spiritual life many dacoits will come to cheat and destroy your life.
When a swan lays an egg, many monkeys, crows, jackals and eagles will come to eat the egg if they see it. Therefore the swan sits on top of her egg and does not show to anyone. After the egg hatches and becomes a chick, still the mother takes great care to protect her young. When the chick becomes strong, learns to fly and is a swan in its own right, then the mother will give independence. Sri Guru protects and helps anyone who has desire for bhakti, and they help to make one progress on the path of devotion. But on the midway many cheaters come to steal and bribe the disciple. The prime duty of the disciple is to be faithful to Sri Guru and remain in the protection of saintly association. We have achieved a human life, do not lose this chance. By staying in saintly association and endeavoring to follow bhakti, one will attain the perfection of pure love for God.
When Mahāprabhu asked, “What is the most painful thing in the world?”
Sri Raya Ramananda replied, “Separation from devotees is the greatest sadness.”
duḥkha-madhye kona duḥkha haya gurutara?
kṛṣṇa-bhakta-viraha vinā duḥkha nāhi dekhi para
Caitanya Caritamrta Mad 8.149
God is the Beloved of the devotees, by staying with devotees; kirtana, hari-kathā, dancing, singing, delicious maha prasad, all activities will be blissful and bhajana of God will go on naturally. But distance to the devotees all will be bitter, then by sleeping one will not be happy, only more tired, and by eating one will only become hungrier, all happiness will be lost.
This is spiritual practice, “How can I get association of the pure devotees?”
This is spiritual perfection, “I will always be with the devotees.”
This is liberation, “I will have a permanent place amongst the devotees.”
[CC-by-NDNC Bhakta Bandhav]