The first day of Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama

Today is the first day of Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama. This period, starting on Advaita-saptami and passing through Nityananda Trayodasi, Varaha Dvadasi and so forth, is the time recommended in sastra to commence Gauda-mandala Parikrama. But what is the real meaning of Gaura mandala parikrama? Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings:

gaura āmāra, je-sāba sthāne, koralo bhramaṇa raṅge se-saba sthāna, heribo āmi, praṇayi-bhakata-saṅge

He says, “Not like a galloping horse; not for exercise; not for sight-seeing or enjoyment, but with a mood of service we must go to the places that Mahaprabhu Himself visited and exhibited His audarya-lila.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura has proclaimed this ban. “Do not visit Navadvipa-dhama without the guidance of a pranayi bhakta. If you do you will be cheated by maya. Mahaprabhu told Visnu-priya, “Please give Jiva your darsana and blessings.” But if we go to Navadvipa-dhama independently we will not obtain any transcendental darsana. Just looking at a face is not darsana. Trying to see Navadvipa dhama with our mundane eyes is a useless endeavor. By hearing we can somewhat understand the dhama’s glories, but that is not enough. Only when we are given spiritual vision will we be able to have real darsana of the dhama. Until then, we are blind.

cakṣu-dāna dilā jei, janme janme prabhu sei divya-jñāna hṛde prakāśito

These bodies already have eyes. Why should we be given more? The mind has many eyes. We see so many images in our mind’s eyes. Actually these eyes cheat us and collect only filthy things. But the caksu-dana given by Sri Guru are for the soul.

The Spirtual Master gives us eyes to have darsana of spiritual things. He has this power. He knows how to show us reality—distinguished from maya—and never cheats us, by telling us to look at mundane faces. He reveals to us the madhura-govinda-lila-amrta the sweet life-giving nectar of Govinda’s pastimes with His bhaktas. He is a manifestation of God and has unlimited power.

So Jiva Gosvami came to Navadvipa-dhama by Mahaprabhu’s desire. There, Nityananda took Him and along Isan Thakura, and other senior devotees on parikrama. He revealed the audharya maya lila dhama. We pray:

śrī-kṛṣṇa-līlā-kathane sudakṣam audārya-mādhurya-guṇaiś ca yuktam varaṁ vareṇyaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ tvāṁ śirasā namāmi

Why do we pray like this—sri krsna lila kathane sudaksam? Conditioned souls have so much attachment to jada lila but no interest in aprakrta rasa. We think that Krsna’s lila with the Vraja-devis is something reproachable, like the behavior of mundane men and women. Therefore Sukadeva Gosvami says:

naitat samācarej jātu manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād yathārudro ’bdhi-jaṁ viṣam

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.33.30

“Siva can drink poison, but you cannot.” With these words, he puts a ban on thinking about krsna-lila. But then, on the other hand, he also states:

vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ śraddhānvit’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.39

[A sober person who, with full faith, continuously hears or describes Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental rāsa-līlā with the damsels of Vraja will first attain parā-bhakti for the lotus feet of Bhagavān. Thereafter, he will quickly conquer his senses and become forever free from the disease of the heart – worldly lust.] So what is the conclusion? Do not read, remember, or discuss these pastimes without the guidance of someone who possesses qualification and faith—sraddhanvita. By following such a bhakta’s footsteps you can realize all truths. Similarly, going to the dhama without the guidance of a pranayi bhakta is not useless but dangerous. Devoid of proper guidance, we only find fault with the dhama. “Oh, the road is hot!” we will say. “My feet are burning. All this walking has made me so tired. I am feeling sick.” We will get no benefit from this kind of darsana. Krsna has His own madhura-lila and He has many incarnations who mainly display aisvarya lila. But Mahaprabhu’s lila is not aisvarya lila or madhura lila; it is audarya lila. Sri Gaurasundara is maha maha vadanya—the supremely magnanimous Lord. He came with the Dvadasa Gopla, Causati Mahanta, Asta Kaviraja, and Sad Gosvami and inundated the world with His special mercy. Krsna thought, “I am lila-purusottama. I am the friend the devotees in all rasas, but I cannot understand why these conditioned souls are apposed to My lila (krsna-lila). He therefore came as Mahaprabhu and, in the company of the premi bhaktas, performed daily parikrma of Navadvipa-dhama Himself.

udilo aruṇa pūraba bhāge, dvija-maṇi gorā amani jāge, bhakata-samūha loiyā sāthe, gelā nagara-vrāje

When the red-tinged sun began to rise on the eastern horizon, Śrī Gaurāṅga, the jewel amongst brāhmaṇas, at once awoke and, in the company of the bhaktas, went from village to village in Navadvīpa. Why did He go from village to village? All of Mahaprabhu’s activities are meant for glorifying the premi-bhaktas? Once, on the day of Ekadasi, when Mahaprabhu was a small child, He began to cry and would not stop. Normally He was soothed by the chanting of the holy name, but today that was not working. Everyone was worried. Seeing Nimai shed just one tear was enough to break their hearts. Nimai’s parents repeatedly pleaded with to tell them why He was upset. Finally, the Lord told them that he desired to eat the food offering prepared by Jagadisa Hiranya. These two exalted Vaisnavas, in observance of Ekadasi, had lovingly offered many varieties of tasteful edibles to Thakuraji, whose altar they decorated with flowers, and were engaged in non-stop nama-kirtana. A trace of doubt had arisen in their minds however. They wondered if their Lord was accepting their offerings or not. On hearing that Nimai was demanding the food grains they had offered that day, they were astonished and happy at heart. “How could this small boy know that it was Ekadasi?” they said. “How did He know that we were doing kirtana here and that we made so many edibles to offer to the Lord? He is clearly our Lord Himself!” Mahaprabhu only became peaceful after he was given and had eaten the offerings of those two bhaktas. He thus satisfied their hearts, removed their doubts, and established their glories—the glories of the premi, or pranyi-bhaktas—for the benefit of everyone. That is why He went village to village and door to door—to have the darsana of the premi-bhaktas and to spread their glories. Where is Abhirama Thakura? Where is Minaketana Ramadasa? Where is Govinda Ghosa. Where is Murari Gupta, Where is Sanjaya, and the others? This was His mood. He is Krsna Himself, coming in the mood of a devotee. By going door to door, eager to see and serve the premi-bhaktas, Mahaprabhu showed us that without bhakta-seva you cannot understand God or sastra. Gaura-lila is about bhakta-seva. Other lila is about service to God in His audarya-lila, Mahaprabhu only glorifies His bhaktas. Think about this. Ramananda Raya did not come to see Mahaprabhu; Mahaprabhu went and found him. Mahaprabhu went to see Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, not the other way around. This lila is opposite to the others. How powerful the premi-bhaktas are! Srila Svami Prabhupada went door to door in the Western countries—and what did he do? If he were to invite them to the dhama they would have no idea what he was talking about. But he is a premi-bhakta. All he had to do was give them love and they quickly became qualified to appreciate the dhama and devotional service. This is audharyata. Some people donate homes, food, and cloth to others but this does not pertain to the soul. Our Guru-varga also take care of our external needs but more than this, they instill within us knowledge of our soul’s identity. The jiva is actually the eternal servant of Krsna and Sri Guru re-awakens that understanding in his heart. All souls have love. Love is our only property. That love is meant for Krsna, but because we are conditioned we misuse it and distribute it here and there. The pranayi-bhaktas catcth our hand and say, “Offer your love to Krsna.” The conditioned souls may even resist such compassion but the pranayi-bhaktas continue to help. This is part of Mahaprabhu’s audarya lila. We pray to Guru-pada-padma, saying, “Audarya madhurya-gunais ca yuktam,” because he is both a vraja-rasika Vaisnava as well as a representative of maha-vadanya Sri Gaurasundara. Mahaprabhu appeared to help us meet with a bhakta like Guru-pada-padma. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura clearly says, “Go to Mahaprabhu’s places of pastime, but not independently of the pranayi-bhaktas. Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered Srila Prabhupada Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to do Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama on a grand scale. He told him to visit the nine of Navadvipa-dhama, understanding that they are not only the perfect places of each of navadha-bhakti’s limbs, but the special kunjas of the Srimati Radharani and Her asta-sakhis. He told him to first go to Godruma*** where Sri Lalita-devi will mike the heart soft. Radhunatha dasa Gosvami says, “Vraja vaneśvarīṁ tāṁ-nāthatve tad-atula-sakhītve tu lalitām—Lalita-devi is the peerless friend of my Svamini, Vrndavanesvari.” Those who were there cannot forget the scene of Pujyapada Srila Trivikrama Maharaja weeping as he attempted to speak at Svananda Sukhada Kunja*** in Godruma-dvipa. He said, “If Mahaprabhu, the life and soul of the Gaudiyas, had not come and manifested His audarya lila what would have become of us?” Srila Trivikrama Gosvami Maharaja spoke like this but soon he could not check his emotion and had to stop. We know him to be externally strong like a thunderbolt, but we also know that his heart is softer than a fresh flower.

jaya navadvīpa-nava-pradīpa   prabhāvaḥ pāṣaṇḍa-gajaika-siṁhaḥ sva-nāma-saṅkhyā-japa-sūtra-dhārī  caitanya-candro bhagavān murāriḥ

Caitanya-Bhagavat, Madhya-khanda 5.1

[All glories to Caitanya-candra, who is none other than Bhagavān Murāri. He is the ever-fresh bright lamp who illuminates Navadvīpa-dhama. He is like an unparalleled lion who subdues the elephant atheists and He holds a mala for counting His own names.] Navadvipa-dhama is navadha-bhakti-pitha-sthana. It is not the place of ordinary sravana and kirtana but ragatmika sravana and kirtan. There, at Surabhi-kunja, Nitai opened the nama-hatta, the Market of the Holy Name.

boḍo sukher khabor gāi surabhi-kuñjete nāmer hāṭ khuleche khoda nitāi

[O brothers! I am singing news of the greatest happiness! Nityānanda Prabhu has opened the Marketplace of the Holy Name at Surabhu-kunja.]

nadīyā-godrume nityānanda mahājana pātiyāche nāma-haṭṭa jīvera kāraṇa

śraddhāvān jan he, śraddhāvān jan he prabhur ājñāy, bhāi, māgi ei bhikhā bolo kṛṣṇa, bhajo kṛṣṇa, koro kṛṣṇa-sikhā

[In the land of Nadīyā, on the island of Godruma, the magnanimous Nityānanda Prabhu has opened a marketplace of the holy name for the deliverance of all fallen souls. There He calls out, “O faithful souls! O Brothers, on the order of My Prabhu, I beg you: Chant ‘Kṛṣṇa!’ Serve and worship Kṛṣṇa, and follow Krsna’s teachings.”]

ke jābi ke jābi bhāi bhava-sindhu-pāra dhanya kali-yugera caitanya-avatāra

āmāra gaurāṅgera ghāṭe adāna-kheya vaya jada, andha, ātura avadhi pāra haya

[Who will go? Who will go, O brothers? Who will cross over this ocean of material suffering? This particular Kali-yuga in which Śrī Caitanya-avatāra has appeared is blessed.  At the ‘Gaurāṅga Port’ a boat is waiting. There is no restriction—everyone is coming, including the lame, blind, and distressed. All are climbing aboard to cross over.] When we go to Navadvipa dhama with the pranayi-bhaktas they will allow us entrance into the moods of these prayers. So Godruma is Lalita’s kunja. The rest of the islands are the kunjas of the astha-sakhis. Our Guru-varga takes us to these kunja-kutiras and tells us, “Surrender yourself here. They (the Vraja-devis) will take care of you. You may not understand now, but I am telling you: just come with me to these places. Nityananda Prabhu took Jiva Gosvami on the first Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama after the disappearance of Mahaprabhu and under the guidance of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, our Guru-varga have continued this tradition. In Prabhupada’s time, the Vaisnavas used to stay a night at each island, crying, “He rādhe! vraja-devike! ca lalite! he nanda-sūno! kutaḥ?” They thus taught us the process of sadhana. Bhaktivinoda Thakura collected passages from sastra about the glories of Navadvipa-dhama and compiled many beautiful glorifications. Navadvipa-dhama is so glorious. The darkness of Kali-yuga covers all directions. Asat sanga is everywhere. But if you just come to Navadvipa and chant the holy name and offer pranama, then automatically a premi-bhakta will come to you. Sannyasi Thakura came to Navadvipa with the sincere desire to meet with a pure bhakta, and then was able to meet with Pramahamsa Babaji in Godruma and. Mahaprabhu desires to offer all souls to the pranayi-bhaktas. “They will give you adhikara,” He says, “not for jada rasa, but for aprakrta unnata-ujjvala-rasa—the life giving nectar for the soul.

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayaṁ muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.3)

Nityananda Prabhu, did not go alone with Jiva Gosvami to all the islands of Navadvipa, He collected all bhaktas and went. This is the speciality of Mahaprabhu’s lila. In Krsna’s time, all the sakhas and sakhis were present but, no one took shelter of them. No one took shelter of Ramacandras devotees during His pastimes. No one surrendered to Sita-devi, Hanuman, or the boatman. But in Mahaprabhu’s time, Mahaprabhu did not give anyone shelter, He send everyone to the bhaktas, like Gadadhara Pandita, Svarupa Damadara, and Raya Ramananda, saying, “Understand their guidance you will understand bhakti and all conclusive truths.” Navadvipa contains the sravana-kunja, kirtana kunja, and so on. The Guru-varga brings us to these holy places one-by-one and mercifully allow us to observe their moods and prayers when they go there. We can remember how sweetly they spoke at those sravan and kirtana kunjas; how much they danced in blissful kirtan; and how they gave everyone prasada. No other dhama is like Navadvipa-dhama. If you go there with the pranyi bhakta then you can have access its wonderful glories. Once, Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura called Vinoda Bihari Brahmacari close and expressed to him that something was troubling him. “My Guru Maharaja, has locked himself inside a public latrine and no one can persuade him to come out.” Vinoda understood everything. He immediately went with a handful of devotees and knocked on the door of the latrine. Srila Gaura-kisora dasa Babaji Maharaj said from inside, “I am too sick to open the door.” But Vinoda Bihari Brahmacari explained to Babaji Maharaja that he had come from Mayapura and that He was under theshelter of Varsabhanavi-devi-dayita-dasa (This was the name that Babaji Maharaja had given Prabhupada at the time of diksa.) “Oh, he has sent you?” The latrine door immediately opened and Param Gurudeva had darsana of Babaji Maharaja. At that time Srila Babaji Maharaja revealed very confidential information about Prabhupada’s svarupa to Param Gurudeva. Then Param Gurudeva said very humbly, “Babaji maharaja, I request you, please don’t stay here,” and he brought him back to the bank of the ganga and arranged a peaceful place for him to do bhajana. This is called guru seva. The gate to that latrine was not going to open easily. The door to the darsana of the dhama or the sadhus—who are themselves abodes of pure love for Bhagavan—will simply not open. Only a premi-bhakta can open the door. Srila Babaji Maharaja asked Param Gurudeva, “What is your name? “Vinoda Bihari Brahmacari” “Very well Vinoda Bihari Brahmacari, I now take responsibility for all. Just do bhajana and all obstacles will be seen to by me. How can we get blessings like this? Our Guru-varga collects thousands of people and, under the guidance of Guru-Gauranga and the Panca-tattva, go everywhere in Navadvipa-dhama to collect these blessings. Finally, they take us to Antara-dvipa, Mayapura, or Srimati’s lotus feet. Mayapura is Radharani’s own kunja and the place of atma-nivedanam. Antara-dvipa, Sīmantadvīpa, Godrumadvīpa, Madhyadvīpa, Koladvīpa, Ṛtudvīpa, Jahnudvīpa, Modradrumadvīpa, and Rudradvīpa—these are the names of the islands. But they are also the Sravan-kunja, Kirtana-kunja, and the kunjas of smarana, pada-sevana, arcana, vandana, dasya, sakhya, and atma nivedana. They have even more confidential names also. They are the kunjas of Visakha, Citra, Campakalata, Tungavidya, Indulekha, Rangadevi, and Sudevi. The Guru-varga collect the mercy of Navadvipa dhama with sankirtana rasa and distribute that.

It is, not our duty, but our cherished service to go with them on parikrama. We must not just do this once a year, but every day. We must go there and serve, not run around like racing horses. Go respectfully. Go to Godruma and offer not only pranam, but also service.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that our body is useless if we cannot offer it in seva to Mahaprabhu. Utilize any qualities you have for service, and practice serving in the mind every day. You can always offer a flower or some form of seva. What can you lose by serving in the mind? What is the cost? Why not serve like this? You can milk the cows and give milk, yogurt, or sandesa to Mahaprabhu. He is fond of these. It may not be possible to offer anything externally but you must daily offer seva and prayers in your mind. There is no need of sadhan and vairagya if you just follow amani manada-dharma and start this manasi seva. This is enough. Therefore, Srila Gurudeva took us on Parikrama of Vraja-mandala and Navadvipa-dhama. Go to the pastime places that he showed us every day and offer pranama. Do this while you chant harinama. If you do this your life will not be useless.

āyur harati vai puṁsām  udyann astaṁ ca yann asau tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta  uttama-śloka-vārtayā

Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17

[With the rising and setting of the sun, the duration of everyone’s life decreases, except those who utilize their time for discussing topics of Uttama-śloka Śrī Kṛṣṇa.] The sun and moon steal the time we have left in this life. Soon this body will die and be burnt left for animals to devour. Wu must think, “What did I collect that was useful in this life? Caksu-dana dila jei janme janme prabhu sei. The ability to have darsana of the spiritual dhama, is given by the Guru-varga

mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye

Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2

One can attain the path of liberation from material bondage only by rendering service to highly advanced spiritual personalities the bhaktas. For those who are not interested in such activities, who associate with people fond of women and sex, the path to hell is wide open. The mahātmās are equipoised. They do not see any difference between one living entity and another. They are very peaceful and are fully engaged in devotional service. They are devoid of anger, and they work for the benefit of everyone. They do not behave in any abominable way. Such people are known as mahātmās. We are so fortunate that our Guruvarga gives us the chance to do Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama. If we do not do Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama our life is useless.

durlabha manava-janma labhiya samsare krsna na bhajinu—duhkha kahibo kahare?

[The human form of life is the rarest opportunity for attaining spiritual perfection. But now I am lamenting bitterly, because I've somehow or other been born with such an opportunity, and have wasted it by never worshiping Lord Krsna. Oh, to whom shall I tell the tale of this misery?] Go again and again to Gaura-Nitai and do pranama and parikrama under the guidence of the Guru-varga. How will we become qualified to do sadhana? How will we get adhikara to do bhakti? This is the only way for us. If we desire to remain independent we will never be able to do real bhajana. This parikrama is the search for soul-nectar. Not only every year, and not only every day—every moment let us pursue that divine nectar. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has advised that Parikrama of Gauda-mandala should be started on Advaita Saptami with Advaita Prabhu’s blessings. For the forty days that are between Advaita Saptami and Sri Gaura Purnima the Vaisnavas visit places such as Ambika-kalna, Santipura, Panihatti, Varaha-nagara, Ekacakra and so on. Visiting all the places in Gauda-mandala takes 40 days, but how much time is needed if you do it mentally? By this remembrance your life will be successful. To do parikrama of Navadvipa-dhama with Sri Guru is the perfection of life. Vow to go to that dhama everyday. Go and beg that your seva will be accepted, then your life will be successful.