Disappearance Day of Srila Loknath Goswami

I pay my humble obeisance to all Vaishnavs and Vaishnavis.

Today is Lokanath Goswami’s Tirobhav Tithi (Disappearance Day).

Lord Sri Krishna, Himself, is the only avatar who can perform the Rasa dance. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Himself. Sri Krishna performed Rasa with the Gopis; no man was qualified to be a part of that. Once, Shivji desired to participate in the Rasa. When Shivji approached Paurnamasi, she transformed him into a Gopi by immersing him in a Brahma-kund, but she did not reveal his name to anyone.

So, Krishna said, “Why am I not feeling joyful today in the Rasa? There must be some reason behind this.”

Every Gopi said, “But, only we are here…”

Krishna said, “No, there’s someone else, for sure.”

Everyone started searching. After searching for a while, they saw a girl inside one kunja (grove). Everyone started asking one another, “Hey, have you seen her before…?” Then, first two gopis came, and then slowly more gopis started coming, six, seven, eight, and many gopis were sure that they had not seen this new girl before. Then they came to the conclusion that this new girl was an outsider.

 

The Gopis caught the new girl and asked, “Hey, what is your name?”

 

Shivji, disguised as a Gopi, got nervous upon being asked who she was. The Gopis started inquiring about his relatives, questions that are only applicable to girls. What would Shivji reply? Shivji, from whose Tandava dance cosmic destruction occurs, was today nervous due to the questions of the Braj Gopis. Shivji started calling Paurnamasi. Paurnamasi came and told everyone that the new girl was Shivji. So, everyone named him Gopeshwar: The one whose master is the Gopis, Gopeshwar.

 

Anyone who wants to enter Braj must perform the bhajan of five personalities.

 

First is Gurudev. Apart from Gurudev, the other five are Giriraj Govardhan, Yamuna Devi, Vrinda Devi, Paurnamasi, and Gopeshwar Mahadev. We have to worship them daily. Without the mercy of Gopeshwar Mahadev, no one can enter Braj. This was from Krishna’s Rasa Lila.

 

What is Mahaprabhu’s Rasa Leela? Sankirtan Rasa. In this, no woman was allowed to participate. So, the Sankirtan Rasa was going on but was not feeling blissful.

 

Mahaprabhu said, “For sure, there’s an outsider. I am not feeling blissful.” But the associates assured him that there was no foreigner there. Srivasa Pandit’s mother-in-law sneaked in to see what they did all night. What did she do? She picked a place to hide. How did she hide? Before everyone came, she hid in a big basket. But Mahaprabhu is Antaryami (knower of hearts). Despite everyone saying that no outsider was there, Mahaprabhu kept denying it. Then, Srivasa Pandit noticed that the big basket was moving up and down. Srivasa Pandit caught his mother-in-law, picked her up by her hair, and took her out of the room. So, Sriman Mahaprabhu also performs Rasa.

 

Due to the influence of time, Vrindavan became covered by forest. Mahaprabhu sent two cousins and instructed them to explore Braj. He didn’t assign them a specific duty, unlike how He specifically instructed Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami. He just instructed his cousins to explore Braj. When Sri Kaviraj Goswami started writing Chaitanya Charitamrita, he first visited every saint of Braj, bowed to them, and prayed for their mercy. He also went to Srila Lokanath Goswami.

 

Srila Loknath Goswami said, “I can bestow my mercy upon you. I will give you the blessing and permission to write, but only on one condition: you must not describe anything about me.”

 

Why did Srila Loknath Goswami say this? Because of reputation (pratishtha). He would gain reputation. But Srila Loknath Goswami is a divine associate (parikar) of the Lord, so how could the question of reputation arise? Srila Loknath Goswami said this to teach fallen souls like us. Just as Sri Madhavendra Puripad fled from Remuna due to fear of reputation, similarly, Srila Loknath Goswami had no concern with reputation. To caution and educate fallen souls like us in the future Kaliyuga, Mahaprabhu taught this through Madhavendra Puri Pada and Srila Loknath Das Goswami.

 

If we ask a tree, “What is your name?”

It would reply, “Recognize me by my fruit.”

 

Similarly, how do we recognize Srila Loknath Das Goswami? Through his disciple. Srila Loknath Goswami used to wander and perform bhajan in Vrindavan. There is a place in Vrindavan called Chatra Vana, which people also call “Chhata” (umbrella). There are 12 prominent forests: Madhuvan, Talvan, Kumudavan, Kamyavana, Bahulavana, Vrindavan, Khadiravan, Mahavan, Bhandirvana, Lohavana, Bhadravana, and Baelvana. These are the 12 primary forests and 12 branch forests. Chatra means umbrella. What always happens between Krishna and the Gopis? Shrimati Lalita Ji is the chief commander of Shrimati Radha Ji, and Madhu Mangal is the chief commander in Krishna’s party. One day, Krishna was acting as a hero, announcing himself as the king or landlord of the area, and showing his opulence by holding an umbrella. When the Gopis saw this, they complained to Radha Ji. Radha Ji said, “Oh, Krishna did that! Are we any less? We’ll show him now!”

 

Announcing Radhaji as the queen, she handed the umbrella to Lalita or another manjarī and said, “Go around and proclaim that Radhika is the landlord of this area. Whoever it may be, surrender, or else you will face punishment!”

 

Soon, announcements about Radha Ji spread everywhere, and Krishna and all his associates heard them. One associate said, “Let’s go, or we will be insulted.”

 

Another associate said, “No! We won’t go! Why should we go to a girl?”

 

Then Krishna came holding the umbrella. Who holds the umbrella? A servant or the master? A servant!

 

Krishna was made a servant. Then everyone began to glorify Radha Ji. Finally, both were seated, and an arati was performed. Therefore, this area is called Chatra Gao. Here, Sri Radha Ji is made the landlord. “Chatravan” — Krishna held the umbrella, hence Chatravan.

Srila Loknath Goswami also resided there. One day, he went to bathe and felt something on his foot. The next day, and the day after, he thought, “What keeps touching my foot?”

 

He picked it up and saw a small “Vinodilal” (Krishna). Vinodilal is his worshipped deity.

 

And now, where his bhajan sthali (place of worship) is Khadir Van, there is Sangam Kund. And where Vinodilal Ji was found is Kishori Kund. Vinodilal was found near Chhata in Chatravan, not at Sangam Kund.

 

Now, Narottam Thakur was born in Kheturi village, in present-day Bangladesh. When he grew up and gained some knowledge, he realized what this body is: inert, perishable, temporary, temporary, and perishable. What is our goal? To worship the Lord, to chant the Lord’s name—that is our objective. To achieve this, what must we do? We must accept a guru, for without the guru’s grace, it will not happen. I am not going into the history of Srila Narottam Thakur; some things are far in the past, so I am not going into them. He came to Vrindavan, wandered, did this, saw that. He visited these ancient Goswamis, learned about them, then approached them, offered his respects, and said, “Please grant me initiation.”

(Lokanath Goswami Ji) said, “I don’t accept disciples.”

If we were in his place, we would think, “Oh, he’ll just go to another guru! Accept him quickly!”

What happened then? He tried many times, but was refused. Now, he was thinking, what should he do? There is a saying, “Sevay Deva Bandi”: If you want to imprison the deities (guru-deva) in your heart, then serve them. Through service, everyone can be pleased. By rendering service, you will get the fruit (meva); without service, no one can achieve anything. Why does Radha Ji keep Krishna so subdued? Because of service. During Guruji (Srila Narayan Maharaj)’s time, opponents said, “You listen to and do whatever Madhava Maharaj and Brajnath say.”

 

Guruji said, “Show me that you can serve like Madhava Maharaj and Brajnath for one day, and I will also become subservient to you. Do that, and I will listen to your words, do it! Show me by doing it.”

“Sevay Deva Bandi” (Through service, one can bind the deities), “Bakale Bandi Gach” (Through bark, one can bind a tree). Bark means the tree’s outer layer. If you remove the bark, the tree will dry up and only last for a few days. “Narite Purush Bandi” (Through women, one can bind men) — marry a man to a woman, and he will remain bound. “Jale Bandi Mach” (Through a net, one can bind fish) — cast a net, and the fish will enter it.

Just as Das Goswami (Srila Raghunath Das Goswami) tried to flee to Mahaprabhu, what did they do? To bind him, they had him married. Those who are imbued with Mahaprabhu’s devotion cannot be affected by anything. This is how one should serve. Among the deities, our Gurudev is supreme!

 

(Narottam Das Thakur): “What should I do?”

He is a renunciate Goswami; I have to serve him. What service can I render? There is no service available. He simply takes madhukari (alms) for his Prasad, and that’s it. This is a human-like pastime. He goes to relieve himself. At that time, there used to be an “International Bathroom.” Two hundred fifty to three hundred years ago, the whole world had an “International Bathroom.” Do you know what that is? There were no toilets; everyone went to the forest to relieve themselves, anywhere they pleased. Srila Loknath Goswami…

 

Srila Narottam Das Thakur observed that Srila Loknath Goswami would relieve himself in the same general area. So, what did he do? When Srila Loknath Goswami left after relieving himself, Narottam Das Thakur would pick up and dispose of the waste, clean the area, sweep it, and then for washing hands, he would thoroughly pulverize the earth, removing any pebbles or stones.

 

Uttama Bhagawat has three divisions: Antar Dasha, Madhya Baharya Dasha, and Baharya Dasha. In Antar Dasha, they serve Sri Radha Krishna in their internal consciousness, and in Baharya Dasha, they perform Harinam Sankirtan. Thus, topmost (uttam) devotees do not pay attention to these external things because they are constantly in a trance. Our guru-varga are uttama adhikaris, but just as a 200-rupee note includes 10, 20, and 50 rupees, similarly, an uttama adhikari can also descend to the levels of kanishtha (beginner) and madhyama (intermediate) adhikaris. When an uttama adhikari gives diksha by descending to the position of a Madhyama Adhikari, we should address both uttama and madhyama adhikaris with the respectful “aap” (you) in Hindi.

 

Before, there used to be a bad smell from the latrine, but now there was no bad smell. So Srila Loknath Das Goswami thought, “Surely someone wants to bind me by his mood of seva.”

 

So one day, in the morning, Srila Loknath Das Goswami was hiding and sat in a corner. He saw that there were only bushes everywhere. A shadow was visible and came out. He held the hand and asked, “Who are you?”

 

Srila Narottam Das Thakur was scared.

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“I want to take diksha from you, give me your mercy,”

 

Srila Loknath Das Goswami said, “So be it! After taking a bath, come tomorrow; I will give you diksha.” After giving diksha, he asked him to perform Harinam.

Guruji (Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj) had a quote a few days back: “Don’t just do Harinam, do Harinam seva. Don’t just eat prasad, do prasad seva. Don’t just listen to harikatha, do harikatha seva. All these are seva.”

 

One day, it was afternoon, and a farmer came and asked Srila Loknath Goswami, “Baba! I am thirsty; give me some water.” He did not notice him.

 

Then he said to Srila Narottam Das Thakur, who was also doing Harinam beside him after receiving diksha, “Give me water. I am very thirsty!”

 

Srila Narottam Das Thakur stopped his Harinam and gave water to the visitor, and then the visitor went away. Srila Loknath Goswami said, “Now you go to the eastern direction and give water.” Taking the Lord’s name and serving Him are one and the same; there is no difference between Krishna and His name. In this, Lokanath Goswami explained, Gurudev was giving his opinion; he is correct in his place. He said, “Go east,” and he went east.

 

Gurudev, Srila Narayan Goswami, writes in his commentary that, “What Srila Loknath Das Goswami said is absolutely correct. He ordered Srila Narottam Das Thakur to go east, and he went to the eastern direction and gave water to everyone. What does this mean? He preached Harinam extensively, delivering everyone by giving them the water of the holy name.”

 

Similarly, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada also made the whole world dance. Srila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj and Srila Loknath Das Goswami were both ‘sevanandi’ (those who find joy in seva), and their disciples, Srila Narottam Das Thakur and Srila Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur, were ‘ghoshtanandi’ (those who find joy in congregational chanting). Srila Narottam Das Thakur also created a sensation throughout the world, and Srila Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur also created a sensation throughout the country. There is a similarity between these two. Sriman Mahaprabhu secretly kept his prema (divine love) in two places: one in Padmavati. Just as the Ganga Devi is called Padma in Bangladesh, and in Calcutta, the Ganga Devi is known as the Hooghly River. Padma means Lakshmi. Due to the Padma River, there is a lot of business, which is why it is named Padma in Bangladesh. When Mahaprabhu went to the area of Bangladesh, he left his prema in the Padma River and departed, saying, “Hey Padma! I am leaving my prema here. When my Narottam comes, give it to him.”

 

Padma River asked, “How will I know your Narottam has come?”

 

Mahaprabhu said, “Without rain or excessive water, if your river overflows upon someone’s arrival, then understand that Narottam has come.”

 

When Srila Narottam Das Thakur was coming to Vrindavan, Padma gave him the prema. And where else did Mahaprabhu keep his prema? When Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada was born. According to Vedic tradition, girls are given annaprashan (first solid food) at five or seven months, and boys at six or eight months. When Prabhupada was six months old, it already seemed he was a great personality. He appeared to have tilak marks on his body. And at birth, his mother’s umbilical cord was like a sacred thread (janeu). And there was a mark of a kanthi mala (neck beads) around his neck. His mother called Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, who saw him and said, “It seems a liberated great soul has taken birth in our house.” During the Rath Yatra, Sri Jagannath Ji’s chariot stopped in front of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s house for three days, and no one could move it for three days. Then, on the third night, Sri Bhagwati Devi had a dream in which Sri Jagannath Deva was saying, “Hey Bhagwati Ji! I have come to meet your child. Bring him to me!”

 

So Madhwati Devi told Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. At that time, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur was in charge of the Jagannath Temple. Then Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur took the child to Jagannath Deva and placed him below the chariot. Jagannath Ji’s flower garland fell on the child, and right there, the grain-giving ceremony was performed. The Lord had kept His prema for Srila Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur and gave it in this way. Someone might ask if Mahaprabhu and Jagannath are different? Jagannath Deva is black, and Mahaprabhu is golden. Jagannath Deva gives Dwarka prema, and Mahaprabhu gives Vraj prema. There are three proofs:

 

1st proof – There is a kirtan:

vāsudeva ghoṣa bole kori joḍa hāt

jei gaura sei kṛṣṇa sei jagannāth

(Jaya Jaya Jagannatha Sacira – Vasudeva Ghosh)

 

2nd proof – And there is another place where Parvati asks her shiksha guru, Shivji, “Sometimes you say the name of Rama, Jagannath, and Krishna. Who are they? I don’t understand all that; please tell me clearly.”

 

Then Shivji says, “Krishna from the times of Dwapar Yuga, He is the life and soul of Srimati Radhika. In the beginning of the universe, He is Jagannath. And now in this Kaliyuga, He appears as Gaur, the golden form.”

 

3rd proof – After taking sannyasa, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Jagannath Puri. The capital of Odisha is Bhubaneswar; earlier, it was known as Cuttack. The capital of the entire India used to be Kolkata. In 1911, the capital shifted to Delhi. The King of Odisha heard that a Sanyasi from Bengal came to Odisha. He was so beautiful that once seen, one’s eyelids would not blink. He danced so beautifully that once seen, it would be remembered for a lifetime. When the king heard this, he came to see him the next day and saw that he was not wearing any upper clothes and was dancing, with tears falling from his eyes and mucus from his nose, making him completely muddy.

 

The king thought, “What kind of sanyasi is this?”

 

Then the king felt disgust towards Mahaprabhu and left with that feeling. Jagannath Deva has two important servants: one is the King, and the other is Vidyapati. Vidyapati has the right to serve for 365 days. One day, Jagannath Deva appeared in the king’s dream. The king was very happy and ran to touch his feet, but Jagannath Deva said, “Don’t touch my feet!”

 

Then the king thought, “Oh! Jagannath Deva loves me so much, so why is he scolding me so much?”

 

Then he went to touch his feet again, and Jagannath Deva angrily said, “Don’t touch my feet! You came to see My dance and left in disgust, and today you are touching My feet?”

 

Then Jagannath Deva started laughing, “Ho Ho Ho Ho.” And the king saw sometimes Jagannath Deva, sometimes Mahaprabhu laughing, sometimes Jagannath Deva, sometimes Mahaprabhu.

 

Jagannath Ji said, “I am a simple sanyasi, and you are a king. I sleep on the ground, and you sleep on a bed. Many types of perfume are applied to your body, and my body is covered in mud. I fell into ecstasy while dancing, and my body became muddy with mucus, tears, and saliva. You felt disgust for me then, and now you want to touch my feet!”

 

Then the king understood that Mahaprabhu himself was Jagannath, his presiding deity. That is why Mahaprabhu had such great affection for King Prataparudra, and he is also an associate of Mahaprabhu. Now he is performing his pastimes.

 

Similarly, Mahaprabhu gave prema to Srila Narottam Das Thakur through the Padma River, and Jagannath Deva gave prema to Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada through His garland.

 

What did such a Narottam Thakur do? He made the entire world, especially the whole of Manipur, dance. Prabhupada also made the whole world dance. If there had been no Srila Narottam Das Thakur, we could not have recognized Srila Loknath Das Goswami. If Prabhupada had not come, the world would not have recognized Srila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj. Then, regarding the disappearance date of Loknath Goswami, it has been mentioned in two places: Firstly, when Mahaprabhu was performing Kirtan Rasa with Srivasa Pandit, one of Srivasa Pandit’s sons died while the sankirtan was going on. Srivasa Pandit was the only one among four brothers who had a son. All the mothers started crying. Srivasa Pandit said, “No one should cry. If anyone cries, it will create friction in Mahaprabhu’s kirtan, and if there is friction, I will jump into the Ganga and commit suicide.”

 

Out of fear, the mothers could not cry. A mother’s heart is very soft. Mahaprabhu then noticed something was wrong, “Has something happened? Surely something is wrong? I am not feeling joyful!”

 

Someone told him that Srivasa Pandit’s son had died. Mahaprabhu said, “No one told me!”

 

Then Srivasa Pandit explained, “Prabhu, I had only one son; I can bear this sorrow, but I cannot bear the separation from a devotee.”

 

Then Mahaprabhu went inside the room, placed his hand on the dead boy’s chest, and said, “Son! Get up! Get up! Why are you sleeping? Get up!”

The boy opened his eyes and saw Mahaprabhu.

“You are still sleeping; your parents are crying”

The boy said, “Who are my parents? I recognize only You and no one else. It is possible that in their previous birth