Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur – The Seventh Goswami
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita Gadadhara,
Sri Vasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
First, I offer my humble obeisances at the lotus feet of my supreme spiritual masters, Om Vishnu Pad Paramhamsa Swami Ashtottarshat Shri Shrimad Bhaktivedanta Srila Vaman Goswami Maharaj and Om Vishnu Pad Paramhamsa Swami Ashtottarshat Shri Shrimad Bhaktivedanta Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj, and all the Guruvarga.
I offer infinite prostrated obeisances at the lotus feet of Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur and all the Guruvarga. To the esteemed Madhu DD and all Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis present, I offer my humble obeisances, heartfelt greetings, and salutations.
We are currently performing Kirtan. Previously, there was no such system; absolutely none. People used to believe that a Vaishnava was someone who, after a death, would follow the deceased to the cremation ground, chanting Kirtan. Bhaktivinod Thakur came and changed this perception.
And no women, would come out of their homes. Bhaktivinod Thakur showed that whether it’s a man, woman, transgender, or anyone, everyone has the right to chant the names of God. And Bhaktivinod Thakur also showed that if you want to spread the name of God, you have to organize programs in every household. He named this “Nama Hatta.”
Just as in a market, “Hatt” means market, a bazaar, where everyone goes for shopping, similarly, he started this Nama Hatta. Everyone would come, some would do Kirtan, some would listen to Kirtan, some would speak Hari-katha, and others would listen. What kind of marketing would happen there? The marketing of Hari Bhakti. Bhaktivinod Thakur initiated this. When a market is to be set up, it is first cleaned. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur himself declared, “I am the sweeper of Nama Hatta.” What do he do there? He cleans. So what is the purport? Gurudev (Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj) used to say, “Our hearts are filled with so many anarthas (unwanted things). A Sadguru can remove these. That’s why Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is a Sadguru, capable of removing the anarthas from our hearts.”
tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya
satsu sajjeta buddhimān
santa evāsya chindanti
mano-vyāsaṅgam uktibhiḥ
An intelligent person should, therefore, reject all bad association and instead take up the association of saintly devotees, whose words cut off the excessive attachment of one’s mind.
(ŚB 11.26.26)
A Sadguru, through their strong words, cuts off our attachments to things that distract us from Krishna. If Nama Bhakti hadn’t been initiated by these great personalities, we wouldn’t be together today.
Now, let’s consider why Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was called the Seventh Goswami. After the six Goswamis and before Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, many great acharyas emerged. Yet, no one was called the Seventh Goswami. Why? What was the reason? I am narrating to you what I heard from my Guruvarga.
Sriman Mahaprabhu first sent Srila Lokanath Goswami, along with his maternal cousin Bhugarbha Goswami, to Braj. They came, and Sriman Mahaprabhu then realized that the work wouldn’t be completed by these two alone. So, what did He do? He sent Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami as “Commander Generals.”
A commander is typically for the army. He appointed them as commanders and entrusted them with four responsibilities:
- Lupta-tīrtha-uddhāra – To rediscover the lost holy places of Vraja-maṇḍala.
- Śrī-vigraha-prakāśa – To establish and manifest the deities (Vigrahas) of the Lord.
- Bhakti-grantha-praṇayana – To compose and publish devotional scriptures.
- Vaiṣṇava-sadācāra – To establish proper Vaiṣṇava conduct and etiquette.
Due to the passage of time, everything in Vrindavan had become overgrown with forests. No one knew where anything was. And Śrī-vigraha-prakāśa, there were no deities; everything was either in Mathura or nowhere at all. To perform bhajan, to collect Madhukari (alms), Sanatan Goswami would live in Vrindavan and daily go for Govardhan Parikrama and via Mathura then return. There were no proper roads either. And for Bhakti-grantha-praṇayana, if one wants to perform devotion, one needs devotional scriptures. Bhakti-grantha-praṇayana alone wouldn’t suffice. Vaishnava Sadachara, its etiquette, also needed to be known. Without it, it wouldn’t work. With these four responsibilities, they were sent. And what did they do?
Lupta-tīrtha-uddhāra.
Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami unearthed all the places in Vrindavan and Braj today, such as Madhuvan, Talavan, Kumudavan, Bahulavan, Tamravan, Phiravan, Vrindavan, Bhadravan, Bhandirvan, Belvan, Mahavan, Lohavan. On the Eastern side of the Yamuna River: Madhuvana, Talavana, Kumudavana, Bahulavana, Kamyavana, Khadiravana, and Vrindavana. On the Western side of the Yamuna River: Mahavana, Bhandirvana, Baelvana, Lohavana, and Bhadravana. There are 12 main forests, 12 branch forests, and 32 sub-forests. All the Goswamis revealed them based on shastra and scriptural logic. If Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami had not gone to Braj, we would have been deprived of this today. Their predecessors, like Narayan Bhatta, also did some work, but only a little. Srila Rupa Goswami completed it after Mahaprabhu’s arrival. And what else did they do?
Sri Vigraha Prakash.
Srila Sanatan Goswami first revealed Sri Madanmohan. How did he do it? When he would go from Vrindavan to Mathura for Govardhan Parikrama, he saw a Chaubey Brahmin woman cleaning her teeth with a long twig while stirring Khichdi with the other end, feeding both her children. Srila Sanatan Goswami observed this. One day, he saw both children playing. One was named Madana, the other Sadana. The mother affectionately called them “Madana, Sadana.” Madana won, and Sadana lost. Another day, Sadana won, and Madana lost. When Sadana lost, Madana climbed on his shoulders. The next day, Madana lost, and Sadana won. Madana took Sadana on his shoulders, went a little distance, then caught his leg and flipped him over. Sadana said, “You rascal! Where will you go?”
He angrily chased Madana with a stick. Madana ran and hid in a temple, and the priest didn’t let Sadana enter.
Sadana said, “You rascal! Where will you hide! What will you eat? My mother will feed you, who will you play with? Me! How will you play with this priest?”
He was scolding Him. Srila Sanatan Goswami saw, “This is Sri Madan Mohan!”
“Madana! Madana!”, the child was calling. And the Vrindavan residents called Srila Sanatan Goswami “Bade Baba,” and everyone listened to what he said. So he told Sadana’s mother, “Mother, look. The way you are making Khichdi is not right. It’s not good for the children’s health.”
Srila Sanatan Goswami wasn’t saying that Madana was Supreme Personality Of Godhead. He was just saying it wasn’t right. “Bathe, purify yourself, then cook!”
The Brahmin woman said, “Okay, Baba, I didn’t know. I will do whatever you say.”
The next day, Madana and Sadana came, both saying, “Mother, we are hungry! We are hungry!”
The mother said, “I will bathe, perform puja, and then cook food.”
Both were crying. Srila Sanatan Goswami couldn’t bear it and said, “Mother, look, do as you did before. Bathe and do your rituals later, first feed the children.”
The Brahmin woman said, “Baba, I will do whatever you say.” Srila Sanatan Goswami saw that whatever pleased Thakur Ji should be allowed. Now, how did Sri Madan Mohan come here? When Sri Advaita Acharya Ji came to Braj for his bhajan, he brought his Thakur Ji. He stayed for some days where the temple of the Ashtasakhis is currently located, from there is Advait Vat. He used to live there. One day, a celestial voice said, “Are you looking for Kanhaiya? He is not here. He has gone to make Nadiya fortunate by abandoning Vrindavan. Go to Nadiya!”
At that moment, he left. He had left his Thakur Ji at the Chaubey’s house. At that time, His name was Madan Gopal; later, it became Madan Mohan. The presiding deity of relationship, meaning what our relationship with Krishna is, Srila Sanatan Goswami illuminated this sambandh-gyana (knowledge of relationship) through the medium of the diksha guru.
And what else? Srila Rupa Goswami Pada is the Acharya of Abhidheya Tattva. He revealed Govind Dev. He was searching; when Srila Rupa Goswami got tired and distressed everywhere. He became a little weak-hearted. He couldn’t find Thakur Ji, “I am working so hard.”
Thakur Ji sees that when the hearts of devotees are saddened, Thakur Ji’s heart also becomes sad. An old man asked, “Baba, who are you looking for?” Srila Rupa Goswami said, “Govind Dev.” The old man replied, “Look, that high hill you see? Its name is Goma Tila. Every day at noon, a cow climbs up there, stands on it, and milk automatically flows from its udders. It goes down through a hole. Where the cow climbed, there is Govind Dev.”
He showed him, then Srila Rupa Goswami turned around, and there was no one! Thakur Ji Himself, disguised as a Brahmin, showed Him and left.
The next day, he saw that there was indeed a hole. Then he moved the cow and dug, and found Govinda Dev Ji. Srila Rupa Goswami manifested Govinda Dev Ji. Now the lost holy places were restored, and the deities were revealed. And what else did they do?
Bhakti Grantha Pranayana
First, Sanatan Goswami composed the Brihad-bhagavatamrita. What are scriptures?
The four Vedas, the original Ramayana (Valmiki Ramayana), and the Mahabharata are all scriptures. Those who follow them are considered to be on the right path (shastra-anugat). Those who do not follow them are on the wrong path (kuvartma). This was demonstrated. In the Brihad-bhagavatamrita, the excellence of God is shown through the excellence of His devotees, and the excellence of devotees is shown through the excellence of God. All principles are contained within it.
If someone wishes to enter the realm of devotion (bhajan), they must read Srila Sanatan Goswami’s Brihad-bhagavatamrita. Especially the seventh chapter, “Rasayana,” which beautifully presents the essence of all rasas. That is Brihad-bhagavatamrita! There are other scriptures too.
What did Rupa Goswami do? He composed Laghu-bhagavatamrita, a smaller scripture based on Brihad-bhagavatamrita. He showed the complete avatar details. In one day of Brahma, Maryada Purushottam Shri Ramachandra appears only once. In one day of Brahma, Lila Purushottam Shri Krishna Chandra appears once. Prem Purushottam Gaurachandra appears once in one day of Brahma. He showed this. Before him, no one had shown this. How many times Matsya avatar appears, and which avatars appear when, everything was shown in it.
Srila Rupa Goswami also showed another thing. For example, if someone has a son or daughter, what will they say? This is his father, that is his mother, right? Who are the mother and father of Nrisingha Dev? See, Rupa Goswami Pada is offering obeisances.
“O son of the pillar! People call You an avatar of Bhagavan, but You emerged from a pillar!” He said, “You are the son of that pillar”, only Srila Rupa Goswami can say this. And he is offering obeisances to Lord Rama. vandāmahe maheśānaṁ harakodaṇḍakhaṇḍanam | jānakīhṛdayānandacandanam raghunandanam || 45 ||
[Ramshtak Stotram – Padma Purana – 45]
I glorify the Supreme Lord who broke Hara’s (Śiva’s) bow. He is the sandal paste of joy decorating the heart of Jānakī, and the delight of the Raghu dynasty.
How beautiful and how simple and straightforward! Srila Rupa Goswami showed this. Now, Bhakti Grantha Pranayana was done.
Vaishnava Sadachara Pranayana.
Vaishnava Sadachara was shown by Srila Sanatan Goswami in Hari Bhakti Vilasa. What did he himself do? Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami, who was from South India, collected the proofs and scriptures. Srila Sanatan Goswami wrote it himself and then wrote a commentary on it, and said that all of this belongs to Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. How generous is Srila Sanatan Goswami! See his kindness towards his disciple. Srila Sanatan Goswami himself wrote the commentary but gave all the credit to the name of his disciple.
Devotee: Actually, some say that Gopal Bhatta Goswami collected everything, combined it all, and then gave Srila Sanatan Goswami’s name.
Gurudev: No. Just like a task, take our Param Gurudev or Gurudev (Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj) himself. Who built the Govardhan Matha? Whose name will come? Devotee: Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaja Gurudev: So did he carry bricks? Did he carry cement? The work was done by the masons. Similarly, everything was done under the guidance of his Guruji Srila Sanatan Goswami. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami compiled everything. Srila Sanatan Goswami then collected everything and wrote the granth (scripture). He arranged the topics according to the subject matter.
Srila Sanatan Goswami did all this, writing commentaries, and then said that Gopal Bhatta Goswami did everything. You will see in Dharma, in Hindi, Param Gurudev praises his Guruji and says, “I didn’t do it! It’s all by Gurudev’s grace.” This is how the Guruvarga do things, just like Srila Gopal Bhatt Goswami did.
So, these four tasks were accomplished by the Six Goswamis.
Then what did Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur do? Why was he called the 7th Goswami? Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was formerly a Deputy Magistrate. After retirement, he thought, “I won’t stay here anymore; I will go to Vrindavan in Braj and do bhajan.”
As he was leaving, he reached Tarkeshwar, a railway station in Bengal. That night, Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and said, “Where are you going? Your own home (Sri Gaura Mandal) needs service. Are you going to Braj for bhajan? First, do the work of your home.” At that time, no one knew about Gaura Dham. Sriman Nityanada Prabhu first arranged the Navadwip Parikrama for Jiva Goswami. After sometime, all parikramas were stopped. At that time, no one knew about Nabadwip Dhama.
Who revealed this Nabadwip Dham? Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur did.
Devotee: So Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur didn’t come to Braj?
Gurudev: He didn’t come then. He came later, had darshan, and left. Meaning, he didn’t come then. He returned to Nabadwip, did some work, then went to Braj, and then came back again to Nabadwip.
What happened then? When Bhaktivinod Thakur came to Nabadwip, he used to reside and do bhajan in what is now Gadrum. After midnight, past 12:00 AM, he saw a very bright light in the north, where Mayapur is. But his eyes were not blinded by the intense shine. Then he saw Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performing Sankirtan with His associates. It was near a palm tree.
He thought, “Am I dreaming? No! I am conscious. I am not asleep; I am sitting, and dreams don’t happen while sitting!”
Then he saw it again the next day. When he saw it for the third day, he called his servant, Kamal whose name was later changed to ‘Krishnadas’, who was also his office clerk and had accompanied him. “Kamal! Come here! Are you seeing something there?”
Kamal said, “Yes!”
“What?”
“A very beautiful, bright light! Mahaprabhu is chanting ‘Hari Bol! Hari Bol!’”
And there was a palm tree, which served as a landmark. The next day, they went and saw a whole tulasi garden. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur asked the farmers there, who were all Muslims, “Why have you cultivated tulasi here too?”
The Muslims said, “Huzoor, please don’t ask! What can we say! Whatever seeds we sow, only tulasi plants grow. Nothing else grows.”
“So, uproot them.”
They replied, “Yes, we cut them but how many times can we cut them? No other seeds grow; only tulasi plants grow, and nothing else happens. That’s why we have abandoned them.”
Then Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur thought, “This must be Mahaprabhu’s birthplace!”
At that time, the Muslims had changed the name of Mayapur to Miyapur, Mathura to Maminabad, Vrindavan to Fakirabad, Prayaga to Allahabad, Ayodhya to Faizabad – everything was “bad.” So, what did Bhaktivinod Thakur do? He looked at an Indian National map from England. He saw that these places were named Mathura, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Prayag, and Mayapur. Now, he thought to himself, Gurudev (Srila Narayan Maharaj) used to say, “Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, how humble he is! He thought, ‘I am a householder! If I speak, people may or may not believe me.’ So, what did he do? He took Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj with him.”
At that time, there were big newspapers like Amrita Bazar, in Hindi and English. He called all the editors and took Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj with him. At that time, Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was 140 or 144 years old. He wasn’t blind, but his eyes were completely covered with his eyelids. To see something, he used to lift his eyelids and then see. He took him. Srila Baba Ji Maharaj Ji didn’t move, like a small kid, he just curled up. If he had to do something, if he had to eat, Bihari Ji was there. If he had to go somewhere, Bihari Ji used to carry him in a basket. When he reached Mayapur, the Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj who couldn’t move or do anything jumped from the basket like someone jumps on a trampoline. He jumped from the basket just like that and started dancing, “My Gaura took birth at this place! My Gaura took birth at this place!”
He started dancing in ecstasy.
gaurāvirbhāva-bhūmes tvaṁ nirdeṣṭā saj-jana-priyaḥ
vaiṣṇava-sārvabhaumaḥ ṣrī-jagannāthāya te namaḥ
“I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, who is respected by the entire Vaiṣṇava community and who confirmed the discovery of the place where Lord Caitanya appeared.” This is the pranam mantra of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj written by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. What happened first? Lupt Tirth Uddhar. First, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur did this work.
After that, Sri Vigraha Prakash- To establish and manifest the deities (Vigrahas) of the Lord. Which Vigraha did he manifest?
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.
(ŚB 11.5.32)
Who do we worship in Kaliyug? Sriman Mahaprabhu. Then Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur manifested Sri Gaur Gadadhara. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has written this, “according to Bhagwatam, the people of Kaliyug worship Shriman Mahaprabhu. How do we have to practice bhajan? Through Sankirtan.” That’s why He manifested Sri Gaur Gadadhara. Som this is Sri Vigraha Prakash. Before this, there was no Sri Gaur Gadadhar Vigraha.
And it is stated in the Jaiva Dharm scripture, through Krishna Mantra, we can perform Gaur Pooja. And through Gaur Mantra, we can perform Krishna Pooja. Both are the same. It is stated. Devotees can offer Bhog through Krishna Mantra. We can also offer Bhog to Sri Krishna through Gaur Mantra, and likewise to Mahaprabhu as well through Krishna Mantra. They are both non-different. This is what Shri Vigraha Prakash is.
Now, Bhakti Granth Pranayan – To compose and publish devotional scriptures. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur manifested multiple Granthas (books). Srila Gurudev (Srila Narayan Goswami Maharaj) used to tell, “His biggest creation is Jaiva Dharma. In Jaiva Dharm, it is shown how a normal person, the most fallen soul, can gradually advance and qualify to enter the Lord’s pastimes. There are many Granths, but everything is explained all at one place in Jaiva Dharm.” Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur wrote many granths like Sri Chaitanya Shikshamrit, Mahaprabhu Ki Shikshaye, Bhakti Tattva Vivek, and so on. There are many editions as well.
After that, Vaishnav Sadachar Pranayan – (To establish proper Vaiṣṇava conduct and etiquette) in a small granth titled, “Vaishnav Siddhant Mala”. Due to these 4 remarkable duties, Vaishnavs titled Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur as “Saptam Goswami” (7th goswami). That’s why, even today, he is known as “Saptam Goswami”. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is known as the Seventh Goswami, and he was given the title “Sachchidananda Bhaktivinod Thakur.” Now, “Sachchidananda” is actually a title of the Supreme Lord and no one else. One day, when both Gurudev (Srila BV Narayan Goswami Maharaj) and Guru Maharaj (Srila BV Vamana Goswami Maharaj) were sitting together, I went and offered my obeisances.
Then I asked Guru Maharaj, “If I have the qualification, may I ask you something?”
Guru Maharaj replied, “Navin, what do you want to know? Tell me.”
I asked, “Before Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, so many Vaishnavas came, but none of them were given the title ‘Sachchidananda.’ Why was it given only to him?”
Guru Maharaj smiled and said, “Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur has written his pranam mantra. Prabhupada revealed that within Bhaktivinod Thakur there is a portion of vishasy/bhagwan.” He is the avatar of Sri Gadadhar Pandit.
So I told yesterday, why is he called by the name Bhaktivinod? Because he amuses (Vinodan) via devotion, finds ways to entertain Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sri Yugal Kishor with his devotional practice. Vinod comes from the root ‘vi purvak rup dhatu’ in Sanskrit. ‘Nod’ means to give bliss and create separation, as published in Srila Saraswati Prabhupada’s magazine named Gaudiya.
All our Guruvarga are Radhaji’s Manjaris. They want Krishna to stay with Srimati Radhika. And Krishna should not go and stay with Chandravali, Padma, etc. But Krishna is Bahuvallabha (has many favorite heroines), and likes to stay with so many, and tells them all individually that, “I love you the most, no one else.” And in front of everyone, behaves differently, otherwise he will get caught into his own trick.
So what happened, one day Manjaris and others saw that Krishna went into other Gopis’ Kunja, specifically Chandravali’s Kunja. And as soon as Radhaji got to know about it, she got upset (Maan). During the daytime, Krishna wasn’t able to get Radhaji out of her sulky mood and eventually Radhaji came back to Javat. At night Krishna came to Javat and knocked on the door.
<Knock Knock Knock>, Radhaji asked from inside, “Ko asi, Ko asi, who is it, who is it?”
Krishna replied, “Hari aham, I am Hari.”
Hari means:
Harirharati papani dustachittairapi smrtah
anicchaya pi samsprsto dahatyeva hi pavakah (1)
(Haryashtakam – Hari astakam – 1)
One who steals the sins or “Hari Harati Radhikaya Kunje,” one who kidnaps Radhika in the Kunja. When Radhaji went to open the door, Sri Kamal Manjari (Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur) and others stopped Her saying, “Oh Radhe, don’t open the door.”
Radhaji asked, “Why, what happened?”
Manjaris with Sri Kamal Manjari replied, “Hari means Lion, the King of animals, it will engulf you entirely. So do you want to die? Hence, don’t open the door.”
Krishna generally isn’t afraid of the Sakhis, but is afraid of the Manjaris the most. Because the Manjaris are always in Radhika’s service. Then after some time, Krishna knocked on the door, <Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna replied, “Sri Hari ayam, Sri Hari.” In Sri Hari, Sri means Lakshmi, and sarva Lakshmimayi Kanta Radhika Paradevta, so the Hari that stays with Srimati Radhika, that same Hari is Me.
śrita-kamalā-kuca-maṇḍala dhṛta-kuṇḍala he
kalita-lalita-vana-māla jaya jaya deva hare
Glories, glories to Lord Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who rests on the breasts of the Goddess of Fortune, who is adorned with jeweled earrings, and wears a garland of forest flowers!
So the Hari that stays with Radhika is Krishna. So Srimati Radhika went to open the door again but the Manjaris stopped Her from doing so and said, “Don’t open the door, Sri Hari means a monkey, and if the monkey scratches you, then what would your mother-in-law and sister-in-law say? From where did you get all this decoration from? (sarcastically). So, don’t open the door or you will be insulted later on.”
This kept on happening, but Krishna is unable to win. Again, Krishna started knocking on the door. <Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna replied, “Krishna ayam, Krishna.” In Krishna, the name is derived from the Sanskrit root “krish,” which means “to attract” or “to draw towards oneself” and na means to give joy or delight. So Krishna is saying here, I attract everyone and make them blissful. But the Manjaris made up the meaning of Krishna as a Black snake or Cobra. Again Manjaris telling Radhaji, “Radhe Radhe, don’t open the door, a black snake has appeared on your doorstep. If it bites you, you will die and from where are we going to find a snake healer in the night.”
So what to do now? Krishna resumed knocking the door again,
<Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna replied, “Madhav ayam, Madhav ayam, I am Madhav.”
Radhaji said, “Oh Madhav.” Ma means Lakshmi and Dhav means husband. Krishna wants to say another meaning, Ma means Lakshmi (Radha Ji), or sarva Lakshmimayi Kanta Radhika Paradevta, and Dhava means Upapati (paramour) of Srimati Radhika.
The Manjaris are saying, “Oh! Why have you come here? You are Lakshmi’s husband, Madhav, who resides in Vaikuntha. You have lost your way and come to the village! Oh, go! Go! Go to Vaikuntha! Lakshmi is waiting to massage your feet. Go! Why have you come here?”
<Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna is saying, “Govind ayam, Govinda.”
Govinda, meaning ‘Go,’ which refers to cows, calves, Gopis, Vedas, knowledge, the earth, senses, and Govardhan, these are all meanings of the word ‘Go’. Krishna wants to say that He is the master of the Gopis.
The Gopis said, “Oh! Why have you come here? Go to Nanda Khirak (Goshala)! There are so many cows there; they will lick you, give you joy, and bless you.”
Krishna couldn’t come inside again.
<Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna is now saying, “Damodar! Damodar ayam.”
Kamala Manjari (Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur) are saying, “Oh, you are Damodar? Damodar means ‘dama’ (rope) and ‘udara’ (belly). Mother Yashoda tied Him, that’s why He was named Damodar. And the Gopis of Braj, had tied Krishna along with Radha Ji. Lalita, Vishakha had tied them together twice. So, it means the same as Radha Damodar and Mother Yashoda’s Damodar. Krishna wants to say Radha Damodar, and Kamal Manjari (Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur), is telling to Radha Ji, “Oh! Oh! Don’t open! Don’t open!”
Radha Ji asked, “Why?”
Kamala Manjari is saying, “Dama means money, udara means in the belly. When there is a lot of money means Business man. Oh, why have you come here? Business won’t work here! Oh, go to Mathura, there will be business there! Why have you come here! We are simple village folk; what business will we do? What do we need money for?”
<Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna said, “Ghanshyam ayam”
What is the meaning of Ghanshyam? It means dark clouds that are about to bring rain. The Manjaris with Kamala Manjari are saying, “Look! You have no work here. Go to the fields and rain there; the farmers will bless you. If you rain here, it will become muddy, we will slip and fall, and our mother-in-law will scold us. Go to some village where there is farming.”
<Knock Knock Knock>
Radhaji asked again, “Ko asi, ko asi, who is it?”
Krishna said, “Chakri aham.” Chakri means one who holds the Sudarshan Chakra. And the other meaning of Chakri is a potter’s wheel, which is spun to make clay utensils.
Kamal Manjari said, “Go to Mathura; there are many wealthy people there. Someone has an annaprashan, someone has a wedding, someone has a birthday; all these things keep happening there. Your utensils will sell there. They won’t sell in Braj.”
Whatever Krishna says, Kamala Manjari gives different answers and keep Him separate from Radha Ji. So, Vinod comes from the root ‘vi purvak rup dhatu’ in Sanskrit. ‘Nod’ means to give bliss while creating separation.
Hare Krishna,
Vancha Kalpatarubhyash Cha Kripasindhubhya Eva Cha Patitanam Pavanebhyo Vaishnavebhyo Namo Namah.
