Avirbhav Tithi of Srila Gopala Bhatt Gosvami
First of all, I pay my humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of my Param Aradhya Guru Paadpadma Om Vishnupad Paramhans Swami Astottar Satah Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Srila Vaman Goswami Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Paramhans Swami Astottar Satah Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj, Srila Trivikram Goswami Maharaj, and the associates of Prabhupad Srila Saraswati Thakur and the entire Guruvarg. I convey my dandwat pranam all over the world who’s encouraging me to speak some harikatha according to the tradition pranam and welcome .
Today is apperance day fo Gopal Bhatta goswami. Sriman mahaprabhu after renounced order he had cherished desire to go to vrindavan but actually not he had desired to go to meet with Vishaka devi , means ramananda ray , what is his inner mood ,” shri radhaya pranaya mahima “in this shloka it’s mentioned there he want to fulfill his three desires so gurudev used to tell why not choose Swaroop damodar prabhu because he was Lalita, Lalita is prakhara and very talkative and Vishakha and Radhika they born in vraja same day and same nakshtra they are same type of heroine so Mahaprabhu choose Vishakha devi but he cannot say openly that I want to meet him and when he desired rest work done by Yogamaya devi , Yogamaya devi spoke through mother Sachis lips, my dear son Nimai don’t go to vrindavan it’s so so far I cannot get your good news , your father has left this world your elder brother has taken renounce order only you are my shelter if you go to vrindavan this is too painful for me better you can stay in Jagganath puri then when people will go to cart festival of Jagganath dev I can get good news about you from them or sometime you may come to take bath in Ganges ( ganga) then he told everywhere in the world what can I say my mother has ordered me I have to folLow my mother’s order there are some matribhakta in this world in dwapar yuga ,Vyas dev ji he promised to satyavati devi whenever she’ll invite you or order you to do something you’ll do and in tretayuga two matribhakta one is Lakshman other is Hanuman and in kaliyuga Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu what can I do mother order so he did not went to Vrindavan and went to Jagganath Puri and from there he went to south India . Main object to meet with ramananda ray but he’s telling to others oh my brother, my brother Viswarupa prabhu has departed from this world I want to meet him I’m going to find him. This is also an excuse so he went with Ramananda Ray and what is in Chaitanya Charitamrita like in Srimad Bhagvatam there are 10 geets out of 10, gopi geetais supermost .
Gurudev says-“ out of all geets gopi geet is supermost and same way chaitanya charitramrit has five prahalas. One adi four chapters and madhya, ramananad ray samvaad and roop shiksha,sanatan siksha,ratha yatra,these five are prominent. Out of this Ramanand ray is supermost. All kind of siddhanta from beginning is mentioned there, if mahaprabhu did not go to Godavari to meet Ramanand ray, none can know this siddhanta. Whole world is debted to them. In ancient time there is no aeroplane,no train,no bu,no car, we have to go everywhere by foot. So when mahaprabhu went to south India very close to Srirangam temple, the house of father of gopal bhatta goswami and his uncles lived there they hosted Mahaprabhu. Still the house is there, not so far from Srirangam within half kilometre maybe. So when mahaprabhu was there,Gopal bhatta goswami,small boy, Mahaprabhu ordered his parents amd uncles to not get him married and teach him very nicely and Mahaprabhu told Gopal bhatta goswami to get educated and serve his parents and later come to Vrindavan and meet me(Mahaprabhu). So after his parents departed from this world, he came to Vrindavan,living there. When he was coming, in Gandagi river he found 12 Shaligram shilas. Once during swing past time, one wealthy person donating clothes some ornamemts, so gopal bhatta goswami is thinking, “oh my deity shaligram where is the charankamal where is mukhkamal, nothing.” He became very upset. At night Radharaman appeared infront of him and said Gopal,why you worry so much,wake up wake up look where am I, whem he woke up he went to temple and from one shaligram one very beautiful, attractive deity has appeared. Still the backside of the deity is shaligram. When we see the picture of Radharaman if we zoom,You can see the teeth of Thakur ji,
Shri Radha Govind, Shri Radha Gopinath and Shri Radha Madan Mohan all in one present in Sri Radha Raman and and in the temple they cook with wood even still nowadays, and during the time of Aarti they bring the fire to light up Aarti from the kitchen itself and then they start Aarti from there. This fire is never extinguished, also whenever they offer Bhog to Thakur ji, they do not bring the Bhog to the temple, Thakur ji himself goes to the kitchen room, even nowadays this tradition is going on, it is Thakurji’s desire. Like in Jagannath Puri, Sri Jagannath Dev has so many rules and regulations, in the same way Shri Radha Raman Dev has everything.
So Shi Gopal Bhatt Goswami, he did so many marvelous things for our sampradaya. Sriman Mahaprabhu ordered Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami, that you have to discover all the hidden places of Vrajamandal, have to discover the deities, have to compose devotional scriptures, have to publish Vaishnav sadachar (etiquettes for Vaishnavas). Each and every month has different rules and regulations, how to install deities, everything is there vividly.
So how to do, what to do, Sriman Mahaprabhu sent Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami to collect evidence, because still nowadays, the pandits (scholars) in South India are very expert in pronunciation of Sanskrit, and they are very strict in following rules and regulations. So what Sanatan Goswami ordered Gopal Bhatt Goswami to collect all that, eventually which he offered to Sanatan Goswami.
Sanatan Goswami according to the subject matter made everything, and after that he wrote commentary on it and he published it with the author as Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami (indicating he did this). How much love and affection he (Srila Sanatan Goswami) has for Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami…. But nowadays no one can do like this.
{Other people will do and they will publish by their own name.}
Gopal Bhatt Goswami, what nowadays we are doing fire sacrifice, it is present in Satkriya-saar dipika, composed by him. Not only that, Sanskar dipika, like sanyas and other things, like if any Sanyasi has departed how to do (sanyas) ceremony, everything is written over there, so all are indebted to him. In his lifetime, he made (kalika) some short form about our Siddhanta from Sriman Mahaprabhu’s teaching and ideologies. Later on Srila Jiv Goswami paad, according to the subject matter, he divided it into 3 categories – Sambandh, Abhidey and Prayojan. Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami did it, where everything is combined. So from that, Srila Jiv Goswami did Sambandh tatva, Abhideya tatva and Prayojan tatva.
Sambandh – Tatva Sandarbh, in that the main thing is Dasham Pramanam, or 10 evidences and Shabd Pramanam is Mool Pramanam (original evidence), by evidence he has established that.
Sambandh Tatvagyan is explained in Tatva Sandarbh, Parmatma Sandarbh, Bhagwat Sandarbh, and Krishna Sandarbh. Bhakti sandrbh is Abhidey Tatvagyan and Preeti Sandarbh is Prayojan Tatvagyan.
In this Bhakti Sandarbh, it is mentioned there, Gopala Bhatta Goswami did it and Srila Jiva Goswami expanded it in written form there. He himself is describing, if someone only wants to know the theory, only tattva but no doesn’t want to know lila, then they have to suffer in two ways. For example, like a cubless cow, barren cow while people are nourishing cow to get milk, but a barren cow, she’ll not give birth to any baby and unless until no baby, there shall be no milk, so one misery that he has to maintain that cow, second the cow cannot give milk.
Second example, he has given is for abaddh (disobedient) son in kaliyug, especially in kaliyug the son is not obeying father but the father still has to nourish him, so he has two types of sorrows, one is that father has to nourish him(son) or have to maintain him, second there is so many types of hellish planet, one of them is called as Poot, from fire giving ritual ceremony pind who is rescue father is Putra. But the son isn’t listening now only so after death he’ll offer pind, there is no guarantee. So the father has to suffer two ways, he has to nourish him and still cannot expect the pind.
Third example is of disobedient wife, why do people marry, to get sense gratification. But if that lady has an affair with another man, still the husband has to maintain her and still he cannot get satisfaction so two of sorrows here also and in Priti Sandarbh, it is explained in a very nice way. What is the symptom of Anurag?
“Sasamvidhh dasha Yavadashray vritti”. Very nicely it is mentioned there. After that he discovered this Radha Raman Deity and bhakti granth pranayan like vaishnav sadachar all this translated, Satkriya-saar dipika and sanskar dipika and Vaishnav Sadachar (etiquette), Hari Bhakti Vilas in the guidance of Sanatan goswami. These books are all so nice.
When he was in vrindavan, he had one disciple named Hita Harivansh who came to meet him to visit him, and was chewing betel nut, betel leaves. That day was ekadashi, a fasting day.
It is mentioned in the scriptures, how fasting will be finished.
“Asakridi jala panach sakrittambula charbanat, upavaas pranashyet divashasch maithunat”
Out of these four, one is this “tambula charbanat”, means chewing betel nut or betel leaves, all kinds of intoxication is there. So he came and “Jey jana Krishna Bhaje, sei bada chatur”. Gopal Bhatt Goswami is Gun Manjari in Braj, he asked him, “my dear disciple, today is ekadashi why you chewing betel nut, betel leaves. Disciple replied, “I offered it to Thakurji, Shall I throw away the mahaprasad?”Gopal Bhatt Goswami did not become angry at all. He said, “Okay, so ekadashi is for the sadhak, not for deity, not for bhagwan. So we have to offer the deity food stuffs like rice, chapati, dahl, sabji etc.”
Disciple replied, “Yes yes, why not. I offered and also ate them.”
Gopal Bhatt Goswami, “You ate them up?” then he rejected him as a disciple.
Harao rushte Gurustrata, Guru Rushte na Kashchan. Tasmad Sarvapratnen, Gurudev Prasadayet.
Explanation – If the Bonafide Guru is angry then Bhagwan will not be able to rescue you, but if Bhagwan is angry, then Sadguru can please Bhagwan very easily and hence Bhagwan is not angry. Therefore that person is saved. I am giving an example, when Shiv Thakur was on the side of Banasur and Banasur, he attacked Krishna, tried to fight with Krishna. But for what reason? Krishna’s son is Pradyumna, whose son is Anirudhh, whose son is Vajranabh. Anirudha is the grandson of Krishna. The daughter of Banasur, Usha had a dream that she met a male and he became so restless. She ask her close friend to find who was that. Her friend started making pictures and showing to Usa. She showed multiple photos to Usa, but Usa replied, “no no no no”. Then her friend should Usha the picture of Krishna. Upon seeing Krishna’s picture, Usa became a bit happy. Then she showed Pradyumna’s photo, again Usa a bit happy. Finally the close friend showed Anirudhha’s photo and now Usa started smiling (blushing).
So now they understood, who came in Usa’s dream. Anirudhha at that time was sleeping in Dwarka. That friend of Usha had so many yogic and mystic powers that in one night, she brought Aniruddha with his bed, overnight she brought Anirudh’s bed to the palace of Usa.
One day the minister of Banasur told him that the virginity of your daughter has broken. Banasur asked, “how come?, even air can’t enter my daughter’s palace!!”
The Minister replied, ”whatever symptoms are visible for sure there is a male over there in her palace.”
All of a sudden, Banasur attacked her daughter’s palace and found Anirudh. At that time, Anirudh was playing chess with Usa. Then Banasur arrested him, initially they fought for a bit, but because Anirudh was alone so how long could he stay in the fight against the whole army and Banasur, so eventually got arrested and was put in jail behind the bars.
Now when Krishna got to know about it the actual fight started. Krishna is swayam (himself) Bhagwan, and Banasur has who? Shivji. So what happened, Krishna wanted to cut all the arms of Banasur. Banasur had 1000 arms, but he has taken the shelter of Shivji. Who is Shivji? “Vaishnavanam yatha Shambhu”, out of all the Vaishnavas, Shambhu is the top most!! and “Vaishnav ev Guru”, “Shiv Parvati Guru Roopinau”, so Shiv ji folded his hands in front of Krishna, and asked “please don’t cut Banasur’s arms anymore”. 996 arms were cut down by Krishna already and only for remained and therefore due to Shivji, Banasur survived.
Another example, when Jagai and Madhai, the true drunken persons, and Mahaprabhu ordered Nityanand Prabhu and Haridas Thakur to go for preaching. Then Madhai with a clay pot, hit on the forehead of Nityanand Prabhu and blood started coming out. When Mahaprabhu got to know this he ran to the place, and his Sudarshan chakra came and was revolving on the top of Mahaprabhu’s index finger, seeing this Jagai got into the Lotus feet of Sriman Mahaprabhu, with his arms all around Mahaprabhu’s feet.
Nityanand Prabhu told, “Jagai dhareche, Madhai kuteche”, meaning Jagai hold Madhai else he(Madhai) will beat me more. Mahaprabhu told Madhai, “I will send you to hellish planets, no one can save you. You had so much audacity to hit Nityanand Prabhu!!, Nityanand Prabhu is akhand Guru tatva”.
Even after all this Nityanand Prabhu excused him (Madhai), and then Mahaprabhu gave him Prem (Krishna Prem). So there are so many examples, in each and every era, that if the Bonafide Guru is satisfied, then all are satisfied, even if Bhagwan is angry Sadguru can please Bhagwan and pacify the anger. But if Sadguru is angry Bhagwan will never help you. Hare Krishna!!
Gaur Premanande
Hari Hari Bol!!