Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta and the lessons we can learn?

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was given the position of a spiritual master, he was going to speak on Vedas but why Lord Balarama killed him?

To know this first let us first understand who Balarama is and then we will discuss why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

We find that Lord Balarama who is a plenary expansion of Krishna manifests his anger quite a number of times during his pastime with Krishna on earth. 

It is explained that the only physical difference between Krishna and Balarama is that Krishna is blackish in complexion and Balarama is white. Krishna is the Supreme Lord and since he wants to perform many different pastimes, so he decides to expand. And his first expansion is Balarama.

Balarama plays the most significant role in Krishna’s lila. He is always there to serve Krishna, every moment. This is why Balrama is also called servitor Godhead.

Balarama serves Krishna in five rasas

There are five primary rasas, in which devotees serve Krishna. A devotee serves Krishna in only one rasa. For example, Srimati Radharani serves Krishna in Madhurya rasa and Mother Yashoda serves Krishna in Vatsalya rasa.

Now if we see Balarama, then he serves Krishna in all the five rasas.

Balarama is always with Krishna and Krishna can never be alone without Balarama. In the spiritual world everything is spiritual. The garments, the crown, the earrings, the jewelleries which Krishna wears are expansion of Balarama. Goloka Vrindavan is an expansion of Balarama.

In Krishna lila he is the elder brother of Krishna and in Rama lila, he is the elder brother of Krishna. He expands as Ananga Manjari, younger sister of Radharani, and assists her in her Madhurya lila.  Now these are the ways in which Balarama is serving Krishna directly.

Balarama is adi guru

But one of the most important services of Balarama is to guide the misguided souls and help them to reunite with Krishna. The best guide is the guru who is not just a teacher but a friend, philosopher and guide. So, Balarama is the adi guru, the first guru, the original guru. Without the mercy of Balarama, it is not possible to get Krishna.

Now guru can help disciples in many ways. He can be friendly and teach his pupil how to practice devotional life. But sometimes a guru has to show his anger not because he is under the influence of anger but because anger is required to control an unruly conditioned soul.

So, we see in Krishna lila, Balaram has showed his angry quite often. Sometimes the anger is to enhance the rasa.  But many times, to correct those conditioned souls who are committing grave sins.

If we analyse the activities of Balarama, then we will find that he is such a compassionate personality that he is not shying away from helping even the most demoniac person.

But sometimes he goes on to punish someone who may be on an exalted position. One such pastime is Balarama killing of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

Why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta?

Balarama did not want to participate in the Mahabharat war. He tried his best to stop the gruesome war, but he did not succeed. Why? Although he is the Adi guru, the Supreme servitor God, but still, he does not force the conditioned souls to do what he wants them to do.

We are free to exercise our free will

Balarama does not interfere in anyone’s free will. A guru guides, inspires, motivates, encourages and shows the right path. But later it is up to the disciples to decide if he (or she) wants to sincerely follow the guidelines of the guru or not. 

In Bhagavad Gita we see that after imparting all the knowledge to Arjuna, Krishna says to Arjuna that he is free to do whatever he wants to do now. But as an ideal disciple, Arjuna says to Krishna, “I will do whatever you want me to do.”

however if you and I want to do things as per our own independent mindset and act against the injunctions of the sastras then guru with a heavy heart leaves us and does not interfere in our life. But for our actions, we have to face the consequences.

So, Balarama does not force anyone to stop Mahabharat war. The war was against his wishes, so he leaves and decides to visit holy places and take bath in holy rivers.

Balarama goes to Naimiṣāraṇya

On his pilgrimage he comes to Naimiṣāraṇya, a holy place. This place is quite famous because transcendentalists assemble at this place to perform sacrifices and to discuss on topics related to God and self-realization.

When Balarama arrived, he found that many great sages, ascetics, brahmanas and learned scholars had assembled for a great sacrifice. These great personalities immediately rose up as soon as they saw Lord Balarama.

Many offered obeisances to him and those who were elderly showered their blessings upon him. These transcendentalists knew that Lord Balarama is the Supreme Lord, first plenary expansion of Krishna and they knew that the two brothers, Krishna and Balarama, had appeared for a specific purpose. After honouring Balarama, they provided him a suitable place to sit.

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta disrespects Balarama

Balarama took his seat but to his surprise, he saw that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta who was sitting on vyāsāsana, did not get up to offer respects to him. In fact, he was ignoring him. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was a disciple of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, so he must be knowing who is Balarama.

What is the use of being a Vedic scholar if one does not recognize the Supreme Lord and even disrespects him even after knowing him? Demons and atheists abhor the Lord, but they do not pretend to be transcendentalist.

But if someone in the guise of being a Vedic scholar and brahmana is trying to show impudence towards the Lord then it’s a sin, an offence. 

Krishna and Balarama had appeared to establish religious principles. Balarama, the Adi guru, could not allow such hypocrisy to continue. He was extremely angry at Romaharṣaṇa Sūta.

Balarama’s anger

Lord Balarama said, “Although he is a disciple of the divine sage Vyāsa and has thoroughly learned many scriptures from him, including the lawbooks of religious duties and the epic histories and Purāṇas, all this study has not produced good qualities in him. Rather, his study of the scriptures is like an actor’s studying his part, for he is not self-controlled or humble and vainly presumes himself a scholarly authority, though he has failed to conquer his own mind.”  Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.25-26

Scriptures are not just for verbal recitation. It is the purity of the speaker which transforms the heart of the listener. Someone may be a great orator but if he does not have love and respect for the Lord then he might speak eloquently but it will not transform the heart of people.  

The purpose of knowing Vedic scriptures is to know the Supreme Lord and to know how to approach the Lord. But if one does not respect a guru then how will he get the mercy of Krishna? Because without the help of a guru one cannot attain Krishna.

In such a scenario, a guru cannot be a mute spectator.

Seething with anger, Balarama further said, “The very purpose of My descent into this world is to kill such hypocrites who pretend to be religious. Indeed, they are the most sinful rascals.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.27

Balarama had stopped punishing the demons, but he would not allow such hypocrisy to continue. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta had to be punished.

Balarama kills Romaharṣaṇa Sūta

The Lord picked up a blade of kusa grass and with its tip touched Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, he died immediately on the spot.

No ordinary person can kill someone by a blade of grass. But here we see Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta just by touching him with a blade of grass.

Balarama killing Romaharṣaṇa Sūta is actually saving him from committing more such sins. Because of the impurities in his heart, he would have committed more sins and would have suffered more.

But the assembled transcendentalists were shocked. They knew that what Balarama did was appropriate.  But the sages were sad and perturbed.

They said, “We had chosen him as the spiritual master and had made him sit on vyāsāsana. Not just that, we had blessed him with a long duration of life and freedom from any pain till the sacrifice continues.So now how our sacrifice will continue. Moreover, you have killed a brahmana which is improper, irreligious.”

Balarama said, “Although, I killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta but if you want I can bring back his life. Let me know what you want me to do? ”

Romaharṣaṇa Sūta’s son given the position of his father

The sages replied, “Dear Lord, you are the upholder of religious principles, so you know what is appropriate to do. We cannot direct you. But we request you to do something so that you killing him with kusa grass and we giving him the benediction both remain intact.”

Balarama said, “Son is the representative of the father. So, whatever benediction like long life, freedom from pain, stamina etc which was given to Romaharṣaṇa Sūta can be transferred to his son, Ugraśravā Sūta. He can sit on vyāsāsana for the spiritual discourse.” 

“The Supreme Lord said: The Vedas instruct us that one’s own self takes birth again as one’s son. Thus let Romaharṣaṇa’s son become the speaker of the Purāṇas, and let him be endowed with long life, strong senses and stamina.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.36

Everyone was happy to hear this and Ugraśravā Sūta occupied the divine position and became the speaker.  

It was not the caste why Balarama killed Romaharṣaṇa Sūta

When in the beginning Balarama was chastising, Romaharṣaṇa Sūta then he said, son of a suta caste, which means low born. Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was born in a pratiloma family because his father was a kṣatriya and mother a brāhmaṇa.

But still Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was given the position of a brāhmaṇa. But since he was not acting as a brāhmaṇa so Balarama was furious.

Brāhmaṇa is not a position which one acquires by birth but is given based on one’s character and qualification. But Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was misusing the position. 

Balarama wanted to end this hypocrisy, so he killed him. But immediately, we see that Lord Balarama awarded the same benediction to his son. So, Balarama was not in fact criticizing the birth of Romaharṣaṇa Sūta but was angry because of his irreligious act.

Since Romaharṣaṇa Sūta’s son had the qualification to be a brahmana so he was installed on that position by Lord Balarama himself.

Just like anyone is eligible to become a doctor. But only one who qualifies the entrance exam, studies for five years and gets the degree and license to practice from the government can become a doctor.

But later, if it is found that the doctor’s conduct is not good then his license to practice is revoked by the government.

Similarly, one who is following the Vedic scriptures and living it as per its directions can become a brahmana but if he is misusing his position then he can be removed from the position of a brahmana from a superior authority.  

Initially I thought that since Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was not a brāhmaṇa so Lord Balarama killed him. But when I read the pastime completely then I understood that Romaharṣaṇa Sūta was not killed because of his caste but because of his irreligious act, Balarama punished him.

Sinless Balarama atones for his sin

Balarama further asked the sages to tell him how he can atone for his sins.

The Supreme Lord Balarama had not committed any sins and so there was no need for him to atone. But to set a higher standard that the words of the sages should be honoured, he asked them how he can atone for his sins?

The sages knew the strength of Balarama, so they requested him to kill a ferocious demon named Balvala who was disturbing them in their sacrifices. The sages further said that after killing the demon, he should continue with its pilgrimage for twelve months.

“Thereafter, for twelve months, You should circumambulate the land of Bhārata in a mood of serious meditation, executing austerities and bathing at various holy pilgrimage sites. In this way You will become purified.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.40 

Balarama happily agreed. After killing the demon, he went to many holy places situated in the holy land of Bharatvarsha.

Why Jarāsandha attacked the city of Mathura?

Jarāsandha attacked Mathura because he wanted to kill Krishna, Balarama and wanted to destroy the beautiful Mathura city.

But what enmity, did Jarāsandha had with Krishna? 

Jarāsandha’s two daughters Asti and Prāpti were married to Kamsa. Jarāsandha was a powerful warrior, when he saw the valour of Kamsa, he decided to establish family relationship with Kamsa, so he got his two daughters married to him.

When Kamsa was killed, his two daughters came to him and with tears in their eyes narrated the whole story. Jarāsandha felt deep pain seeing the plight of his daughters.

Demons’ emotions – real or false?

No matter how cruel Jarāsandha was but he had emotions for his daughters. Demons may inflict cruelty upon others, but they are protective towards their family members as long as their family members are not an obstacle in their pursuit for sense gratification.

Demons want complete surrender from everyone including their family members. If someone comes in their way then they immediately try to eliminate them. Hiranyakasipu tried his best to kill his own son who was just five years old just because Prahlada did not accept that his father was greater than Lord Vishnu. Similarly, we see Ravana rebuked Vibhishana and threw him out of his kingdom because Vibhishana asked him to return back Mother Sita.  

But here Kamsa was cruel and so was Jarāsandha. So, they both got along with each other.

Now after Jarāsandha’s daughters became widow then Jarāsandha thought that my daughters have become widow because of Krishna and Balarama. So, I will attack the city of Mathura and kill the two boys and destroy the entire city. 

Not even for a moment Jarāsandha contemplated on the fact that Kamsa was extremely cruel and deserved to be punished.  Kamsa was so cruel that he was killing innocent children.  Jarāsandha might be knowing that a celestial voice had already said that Kamsa is going to be killed. He might be knowing that Kamsa was cursed to be killed by the Supreme Lord.  He may also be knowing that Krishna is not an ordinary personality but the Supreme Lord.

But still Jarāsandha instead of contemplating on surrendering to Krishna, taking shelter of Krishna, he decided that he will kill Krishna and Balarama.

Demons want to become God

That is the nature of the demons. They always have a mission to defeat God. They nurture a great craving in their heart to dethrone Krishna and usurp the position of Krishna. Somehow or other they have this thinking that if they can kill God then they can become God.  

And most of the times, these demons are not illiterate and unaware about the teachings of the scriptures.  

We read about Hiranyakasipu that how when his brother, Hiranyaksha, was killed then in order to console his mother, Diti, his sister-in-law, Ruṣābhānu, and his nephews spoke a great philosophy about the immortality of soul and how everything in this world is temporary. to buttress his point, he gave the example of restaurant or a place where people come to drink water. The demon said, “Just like in a restaurant or a place of drinking water people come, sit together, have meal or water and then leave never to meet again similarly, in this world we come together, stay for certain period of time, develop temporary relationship with family members and then we leave never to meet again.

But after speaking such a great philosophy, he took a vow that he will kill Lord Vishnu and take revenge of his brother’s death.

Similarly, like other demons, Jarāsandha wanted to avenge the death of his son in law, Kamsa so he attacked Mathura.

Jarāsandha attacked Mathura with five million soldiers

Srimad Bhagavatam describes in detail how Jarāsandha surrounded Mathura with 23 akṣauhiṇī divisions. An akṣauhiṇī consists of 21,870 soldiers on elephants, 21,870 charioteers, 65,610 cavalrymen and 109,350 infantry soldiers. In total, one akṣauhiṇī division has 2,18,700 warriors. So, 23 akṣauhiṇī divisions consisted of 50,30,100 warriors.

With the massive army by his side, Jarāsandha, a formidable warrior challenged Krishna and Balarama. He was so puffed up that he thought that it is below his dignity to fight with Krishna who was a mere a boy. So, instead of fighting directly with Krishna he challenged Balarama to fight.

“Jarāsandha looked at the two of Them and said: O Kṛṣṇa, lowest of men! I do not wish to fight alone with You, since it would be a shame to fight with a mere boy. You fool who keep Yourself hidden, O murderer of Your relatives, go away! I will not fight with You.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.17

“You, Rāma, should gather Your courage and fight with me, if You think You can do it. You may either give up Your body when it is cut to pieces by my arrows, and thus attain to heaven, or else kill me.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.18

Why Krishna decides not to kill Jarāsandha?

However, Lord Krishna had other plans. When he saw the humongous army of Jarāsandha surrounding the city of Mathura, he started contemplating as how to deal with Jarāsandha, “Should I kill him along with his soldiers or should I kill only his soldiers?”

The Lord then thought that the purpose of my appearance in this world is to annihilate the demons and protect the devotees. “If I kill all the soldiers and leave Jarāsandha alive then Jarāsandha will again assemble demoniac people and will attack again. I will again be able to kill those impious associates of Jarāsandha. So, in this way just outside the Mathura city, I will be able to lessen the burden of the earth by killing millions of demons.”

As Lord Krishna was thinking, two chariots descended from the spiritual world consisting of the charioteers and the weapons. It should be noted here that Krishna did not chant any mantras or did any yagna to invite the chariots from the higher sky.

Krishna just desired and the chariots appeared. That is the beauty of Krishna, he just desires, and everything happens automatically.  Krishna along with his brother Balarama came out of the city with a small contingent of armies.

The residents of Mathura were tensed. They had faith in Krishna’s ability but out of love were concerned for Krishna.

Krishna and Balarama defeats Jarāsandha

Jarāsandha’s army had surrounded Mathura and attacked Krishna and Balarama. But the two Lords were easily able to annihilate the soldiers of Jarāsandha with a small contingent of soldiers.

“Lord Kṛṣṇa took arrows from His quiver, fixed them on the bowstring, pulled back, and released endless torrents of sharp shafts, which struck the enemy’s chariots, elephants, horses and infantrymen. The Lord shooting His arrows resembled a blazing circle of fire.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.23

The mighty warriors of Jarāsandha fell dead on the ground. Gigantic elephants and the horses too dropped dead having their heads severed.

Jarāsandha could not believe what he saw. He had come with a mission to not just kill Krishna and Balarama but also to destroy the entire Mathura. But his 5 million soldiers got killed and he was left alone. 

“For Him who orchestrates the creation, maintenance and destruction of the three worlds and who possesses unlimited spiritual qualities, it is hardly amazing that He subdues an opposing party. Still, when the Lord does so, imitating human behavior, sages glorify His acts.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50.29

Balarama captures Jarāsandha

Jarāsandha was all alone now on the battlefield. Everyone accompanying him was killed even the horses and elephants. Balarama caught Jarāsandha just like a lion catches a deer and tied him with ropes just like an animal. But Krishna asked Balarama to release Jarāsandha and not take his life.

Balarama released the defeated king. Jarāsandha felt terribly humiliated. For a warrior insult is worse than death. Completely dejected, he thought of retiring to the forest and do penance.

Persuaded by friends, Jarāsandha attacked Mathura seventeen times

But he met other kings on the way who were his friends and had same evil mentality. They persuaded him not to relinquish the throne. His friends told him that he lost because of some past karma or may be because he took his opponents lightly. He should not lose hope and again attack the city. Jarāsandha felt encouraged.

He returned to his kingdom and again started making plans to attack Mathura. Soon, Jarāsandha attacked Mathura for 2^nd time. Again, all his soldiers were killed by Krishna and Balarama, and he was left alive. Jarāsandha again returned to his kingdom and began preparing for the warrior.

The foolish king of Magadh attacked Mathura 3^rd time and again got defeated. In this way Jarāsandha attacked Mathura 17 times with a desire to kill Krishna and Balarama but each time he was defeated and his entire was annihilated but he was left alive.

Krishna builds Dvārakā

Just when Jarāsandha was going to attack Mathura for the eighteenth time, another king called Kālayavana attacked Mathura with 30 million soldiers.

At that time, Krishna decided to shift the residents of Mathura to a safer place and so he created a magnificent city of Dvārakā. In the night when all the residents of Mathura were fast asleep, he mysteriously transferred them from Mathura to Dvārakā.

When they slept in the night, they were in Mathura and when they woke up they found themselves in a beautiful palace in Dvārakā. The city of Dvārakā was full of opulence, had all the facilities. And in that great city built by Krishna no one suffered from thirst and hunger.

After shifting all the residents to Dvārakā, Krishna made plans to get Kālayavana killed. By his divine plan, he got Kālayavana killed from his devotee, Mucukunda.

Without killing Jarāsandha, Krishna goes to Dvārakā

After the death of Kālayavana, Krishna returned to Mathura and annihilated the army of Kālayavana. As Krishna had thought of not killing Jarāsandha, so he decided to flee from there with his brother Balarama.

Although defeated 17 times, Jarāsandha mistakenly thought that the two brothers are fleeing away in fear and laughed loudly.

Lord Krishna had a different plan to kill Jarāsandha and it is not always easy to comprehend Krishna’s plan. Krishna and Balarama later returned to Dvārakā and in Dvārakā everyone was so happy to see the two brothers, Krishna and Balarama.

Since Krishna fleed from the battlefieled and went to Dvārakā, so he is also known as Ranchod. Ranchod means one who ran away from the battle.

Jarāsandha is again defeated and is finally killed

Later we see that when Krishna kidnapped Rukmini because Rukmini wanted to marry Krishna and not Śiśupāla then Rukmini’s brother along with Śālva, Jarāsandha, Dantavakra and Vidūratha attacked Krishna. In fact, the army which attacked Krishna was led by Jarāsandha, but Jarāsandha was easily defeated by Krishna’s army.

When Rukmini became fearful seeing Jarāsandha and his army, Krishna laughed and asked Rukmini not to worry, “Do not be afraid, beautiful-eyed one. This enemy force is about to be destroyed by your soldiers.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.54.5

The supreme Lord Krishna is the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the entire universe. For him to fight Jarāsandha is just like we fighting an ant.

Krishna would have easily killed Jarāsandha when the demon first attacked the city of Mathura. But Krishna kept him alive so that he could assemble demons from all directions and bring it to Mathura and then Krishna could easily kill thousands of demons and free the earth from sinful beings.  Later Bhima, guided by Krishna, killed Jarāsandha.

What Bhagavad Gita say about material desires?

Scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita say that the biggest cause of our suffering in this world is our material desires.  Material desire means desire to enjoy in this material world without Krishna. And as long as we have such independent desires we will suffer.  

Why is it so? Let us discuss.

But first, it is important to understand difference between desires and needs.  To fulfil desires, one has to work extremely hard but for needs one may not have to work too hard.

Our needs are not desires and are fulfilled by Krishna

For our needs Krishna has already provided everything. We just have to use it judiciously. If we look around, we will find that food, clothing and shelter are easily available. Water is available almost everywhere. These basic needs are provided by nature to us who works as per the wishes of Krishna.

However, these days, we have to struggle very hard to satisfy even our basic needs. Earlier food was not sold in the market. But today not just food but even water is sold in the market. To drink pure water, one has to pay money.

I heard that once few western devotees came to Vrindavan.  They wanted to buy milk. They went to the vrajvasis and asked them, “We want milk. Please tell how much it costs per litre?” Vrajvasis started looking each other’s face.

One of them said to the devotees, “We do not sell milk in Vrindavan. You can take as much as you want and for that you do not have to pay anything.” This may have happened around 50-60 years ago. Selling milk, selling water was almost unheard-of. Because whatever is needed for our living has been provided by Krishna.

Today because of wanton greed people have exploited nature and have commercialised everything, so there are scarcity of resources and people are deprived of even basic needs.

This is why it is said that there are enough in this world for a man’s need but not for man’s greed.

Now let us see how material desires causes lots of suffering and heartburn.

Material Desires are difficult to fulfil

It is easy to desire big. In fact, anyone can desire big but to fulfil those desires it takes lots of efforts. One has to slog hard like an animal.

In Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.30, it is mentioned, apavarga-gurur gatiḥ. Apavarga means liberation. Opposite of apavarga is pavarga which means material existence. In Sanskrit there are five vargas – ka-varga, ca – varga, ṭa-varga, ta-varga, pa-varga. Pa-varga has five letters – pa, pha, ba, bha, ma.

pa stands for parisrama (hard work),  pha for fena ( foam), ba for vyartha (useless), bha for bhaya(fear) and ma for mrityu (death).

Pavarga as explained by Srila Prabhupada, founder acharya of Iskcon

Srila Prabhupada has very nicely explained the word pavarga. Let us discuss.

To fulfil any desire, one has to work extremely hard which is represented by the letter, pha, which stands for parisrama (hard work).

Now if one works very hard then one starts frothing from the mouth i.e. foam comes from the mouth which is represented by the letter, pha, which stands for fena (foam). Sometimes we might have seen horses, donkeys or oxen frothing because of hard labour.

But in spite of hard work, most of the time we may not be able to achieve what we want and even if we are successful in achieving what we want, we find that it does not satiate our heart which leads to frustration. So, all the hard work for material desires is useless which is represented by the letter, ba, which stands for vyartha (useless).

Also, in this world most of the time we live in bhaya(fear) which is represented by the letter, bha. We fear losing our money, our job, our loved ones and we also fear for our life.

And at the end there is always mrityu (death) which is represented by the letter, ma. Death will come for sure whether we want it or not. And whatever we may have accumulated, we are forced to leave here only when we die. We come empty handed in this world and leave empty handed from this world.

So, scriptures like Bhagavad Gita says that we should not waste our life in pursuing material desires.

Even if desires are fulfilled, it only gives temporary happiness

One devotee from the United States was saying that his father wanted to buy a big and beautiful sea facing bungalow.  But he did not have sufficient money to buy it, so he decided to take loan from the bank. Now to pay the huge loan, he had to work extremely hard. For that he had to travel a lot.

So, most of the time he was out of the city for job, many times including Saturdays & Sundays. He had put a beautiful swing in the balcony of his big bungalow. He had a desire that in the morning and evening, he will sit on the swing and enjoy the sea view while sipping coffee and tea.

But since he was always out, he would hardly sit there. But he had a dog in his house. So, every day, the dog would sit on the swing and enjoy the sea view. And the man rarely was able to enjoy the sea view.

Although some of our material desires are fulfilled but the happiness, we get from it is very meagre.

Even if a person is able to earn lots of money, becomes very rich, very famous, so will he be happy forever?  

We call Napoleon, the great, Alexander, the great, Akbar, the great, but where are these people now? They were great conquerors and had huge empires, but the waves of time swept them away. And in next life what they became no one knows.

In this lifetime whatever material positions and possessions one has will remain here only. It is not going to go with them in the next life.

The Cobbler and his previous life

Srila Prabhupada tells the story of a cobbler.  Once there was a very rich man. He had lots of money and a huge house. In that beautiful house, he was living with his family members. One day the rich man died. As per his karma he was born in the house of a cobbler.

It so happened that the house of the cobbler was near the house in which he lived in his previous life. Not just that the cobbler could remember his past life.

So, he knew that in the previous life, he lived an aristocratic life, and he was the owner of this big house. Every day when he would pass from there, he would look at the house and would remember the days when he was living happily in that house with his wife, children and other family members.

Many times, he thought of going inside the house and tell the inmates that he is their father. But he was not able to muster courage. He would think, “Who is going to believe me?”

Cobbler’s insult

But his desire to get into the house kept growing every day. And one day, he could not resist himself. He decided to get inside the house. As soon as he reached near the gate, the security personnel stopped him. The cobbler told to the security about his past life and said that he had build this house and he is the actual owner. Security men started laughing.

Soon, the present owner of the house came out hearing the commotion and inquired the matter. The present owner was the son of the cobbler from previous birth. But when he heard that this cobbler is claiming to be his father in previous birth then he felt insulted. “How can a cobbler say that he is his father?” He picked up his shoes and beat the cobbler and threw him out of the house.

The story may be funny or may make us feel bad. But this is the reality. Even if we accumulate huge amount of wealth, power and other material stuffs but everything is going to remain here only. We won’t be allowed to carry them after we die.  

The material aggrandizement will give us only temporary happiness.

Material desires gives rise to more material desires

Many times, we think that if our material desires are fulfilled then we will become happy.  But the truth is that as soon as one of our desires are fulfilled it gives rise to another desire. If we turn the pages of history, we will see that desires never satiate a person’s heart.

Let us reflect on the life of Ravana, a lusty king.  He had enjoyed with many beautiful young girls. It is said that in Ravana’s palace there were daughters of Gandharvas, great rsis and power demons. They were very beautiful. Mandodari’s beauty was beyond compare. She looked like a celestial woman.  But still Ravana was not able to overpower his lusty desire. He wanted to marry Sita, chaste wife of Lord Rama.

We see that Pandavas were ready to hand over the entire kingdom to Duryodhana and in return they just wanted five villages. But Duryodhana wanted everything for himself and was not ready to give anything to Pandavas.

Desires like addiction

Material desires are like addiction – the more you try to enjoy it the more you get addicted to it. Just like if someone starts smoking then he smokes more and more because he gets addicted to smoking. During my school days, one of my hostel mates once revealed to me that he is addicted to smoking and he said that sometimes in a day he smokes around 44 cigarettes. We were in school at that time. Once we get addicted to wrong things, it is too difficult to give it up and it destroys our life.

Initially the desire may be small but if we keep on nurturing it then slowly it becomes too big. Just like initially someone may smoke only one cigarette but slowly because of addiction, he starts smoking dozens of cigarettes in a single day.

Material desires keeps on increasing and it keeps on troubling us and never allows us to be peaceful.

The beggar’s mysterious bowl

Once a king came out of his palace in the morning for a walk. He saw a beggar. The king was in good mood. He asked the beggar, “Tell me what you want, and I will provide you.” The beggar in a sarcastic tone said, “You are saying as if you can give me whatever I want.” King felt insulted. He said, “Do you know who I am? I am the king, and you think I cannot satisfy you. You ask and I will fulfil your wishes today.” The beggar extended his begging bowl and said, “I have one desire. Please fill my bowl.”

The king asked his minister to bring some gold coins and fill the beggar’s bowl. The minister hurried inside the palace, brought some gold coins and poured in the bowl. But to everyone’s surprise, as soon as the coins were poured inside the bowl it disappeared.

King said to the minster, “Bring more coins.” Again, the coins were poured into the bowl but all disappeared. It was a prestige issue for the king.

He ordered, “I do not mind losing all my wealth today, but the beggar’s bowl should be filled.”  As per king’s instruction, many valuable items like gems, jewellery, diamonds, pearls etc were brought and put into the bowl but everything would disappear.

People gathered to see the miracle of the beggar and the helplessness of the king. King’s family members also came out.  It started in the morning, and it was evening time and still the bowl was empty and the king’s treasury was also getting empty.

What is the begging bowl made of?

Now the king shunned his pride. He understood that the beggar is not an ordinary person. He fell at the feet of the beggar and sought forgiveness for his inability to fulfil his demand. The beggar smiled and started to leave. The king said, “Before you leave, can you please tell me what this begging bowl is made of that it is never filled.” The beggar stopped, looked at the king, smiled and said, “It is made of human mind. A human mind has the ability to absorb unlimited desires and still it remains unfulfilled. Similarly, no mater how much wealth you pour in this bowl, it will want more.”

A great lesson for all of us. Scriptures like Bhagavad Gita again and again say that material desires are insatiable and causes great suffering.

What to do with our material desires then?

So, now the question is, what to do with our material desires? Should we become desireless? But it is not possible to become desireless. Only a stone which is dead can be desireless. As sentient being we will have desires. So, the scriptures says that instead of trying to satisfy our material desires, we should cultivate spiritual desires.  Because material desires are not just difficult to satisfy but such desires never satiate our heart.

So, a devotee of Krishna never wastes his time in satisfying his material desire.  Material desires may come but a devotee tolerates those desires.

Bhagavad Gita on material desires

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that one should not get disturbed by material desires.

“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” Bhagavad Gita 2.70

Now our problem is that we are troubled by material desires. So, in that case what should we do? I heard one of the lectures of HH Candramauli Swami Maharaj in Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai. Maharaj said that even if you have material desires, you continue practicing Krishna Consciousness. Krishna will do two things with your material desires.

Two Results

1. If Krishna thinks that the material desire is going to be helpful in your practice of Krishna Consciousness, then Krishna will fulfil that desire. For example, some one has a desire to have nice job and if Krishna thinks that having good job will help the devotee in his practice of devotional life then he will fulfil it.

• But if Krishna feels that the material desire is not going to help in bhakti then Krishna will not fulfil that material desire. But Krishna will give higher taste. And once we have higher taste, we will lose taste for lower material desire. As Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 2.59 – paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

So, Krishna Consciousness is always a win-win situation.

Krishna will help us to get freedom from material desires

So, we should try our best to get rid of material desires. Even if now, we are having material desires, we should worship Krishna and beg Krishna to free us from unholy material desires which is causing great suffering. And simultaneously, we should cultivate spiritual desires i.e. the desire to serve Krishan selflessly like the devotees of Vrindavan.  

One of the best ways to give up material desires is by chanting the names of Krishna and reading scriptures like Bhagavad Gita. We see that after hearing Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna had only spiritual desires and had no material desires, he just wanted to serve Krishna by following his instructions.

Slowly as we advance in our devotional life, we will be able to give up our material desires and will only have spiritual desires.

And when we attain that stage, we will become completely peaceful, and our life will be full of bliss.

Bhagavad Gita 2.71, explains the benefit of giving up material desires.

“A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace.” Bhagavad Gita 2.71

Spiritual Desires Will Take Us to the Spiritual World

Scriptures say that we suffer because of materail desires but if we develop spiritual desires then all our miseries will end and we will returb back to the spiritual world, Sometimes people become so frustrated with desires which brings suffering that they want to become desireles. But that is not possible.

Just like sun without sunshine, sweet without sweetness and fire without light is unimaginable; similarly a soul without desire is unthinkable. As a soul we are pleasure seekers – ananda mayo bhyasat – and can never ever be desireless. We can either have material desires or spiritual desires.

We were originally the residents of the spiritual world but when we developed yearning to become God and enjoy like God then we were sent to this material world to satisfy our non-spiritual desires.

Here in this world we fervently search for ways to satisfy our countless cravings. We hopelessly hope that once all our yearnings will get materialized then we would feel deep satisfaction. Unfortunately, it never happens.

Insatiable material desires torture us

Our desires are endless, the moment one gets fulfilled, immediately the other pops up. Many a times our yearnings are not for our basic needs, but it is because of social pressure or a longing to prove our worth to others.

My car should be bigger than that of my neighbours, my smartphone should be the best, my television set should make people go crazy and so on. Advertisements of today are also tailor made to titillate our egos.

Ads like “Neighbors envy owners pride” or “Designed for envy” try to entice people to go after material things.

Many think that with age material greed subside. But in reality it doesn’t happen. With age the form of the desires changes but not the yearnings.  Many people are so much obsessed with worldly things that they are ready to go extra mile to achieve it.

In fact they become the follower of Carvaka Muni, the atheist philosopher, who famously (infamously) said.

rnam krtva ghrtam pibet yavaj jivet sukham jivet

bhasmi–bhutasya dehasya kutah punar agamano bhavet

His philosophy was, “Beg, borrow and steal but enjoy all the pleasures of this world to your heart’s content because once you die everything will be finished and you will not be held accountable for anything.”

But scriptures clearly explain that as souls we are eternal and whatever actions we perform in our life we are answerable for those. So we have to be always extra cautious whenever we pursue any cravings. 

Be not disturbed by incessant flow of desires

In fact even though some of our wishes may get fulfilled but still it never satisfies us. And the wishes which remain unfulfilled torture us every moment and make us go crazy. In order to lead a peaceful life it is imperative for us to get rid of our insatiable desires right now. Even Krishna asks us do the same in Bhagavad Gita 2.70. And he does not specify any age limit for this.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”

We will be able to overcome the cravings for worldly possessions only by the mercy of the Lord. Just like a touchstone which converts an iron into gold, the Supreme God will spiritualize all our ignoble desires. And once in our heart we havw only spiritual desire then we will attain peace and bliss. How this happens have been beautifully explained in Srimad Bhagavatam through the story of Dhruva.

Lord purifies Dhruva’s desires

When Dhruva was humiliated by his stepmother and neglected by his father then he was devastated. To his dismay he discovered that none in this world were capable enough to help him to get out of this deplorable situation. His mother too was saddened by Dhruva’s plight but she was also helpless. 

She then advised Dhruva to seek shelter of Lord Vishnu, the creator of this world. Lord Vishnu being the Supreme Lord could have only fulfilled his desires. Dhruva’s heart was burning with insult, he wanted to get his honour back, he wanted the kingdom and he wanted to become glorious.

Although he was just 5 years old but still he courageously took up the challenge to please the Lord. He left the comforts of the palace and went to the forest where he started performing severe austerities to attract the attention of the Lord. In spite of many difficulties and obstacles he remained completely focussed and continued mediating on the Lord for six months.

When Lord appeared before Dhruva

His single-minded determination attracted the mercy of the Lord and He personally appeared before him. Lord Vishnu’s effulgent transcendental form immediately attracted Dhruva’s heart. As the sun rises the darkness dissipates.

Similarly, as the Lord appeared directly before Dhruva all his ignorance immediately disappeared. The material motives which had initially inspired him to worship the Lord no longer looked attractive to him. In fact he felt ashamed of it standing in front of the Lord. The impurities of his heart had completely got cleansed. He now had only spiritual desires.

In a prayerful mood Dhruva expressed his feelings to the Lord, “Persons who worship You simply for the sense gratification of this bag of skin are certainly influenced by Your illusory energy. In spite of having You, who are like a desire tree and are the cause of liberation from birth and death, foolish persons, such as me, desire benedictions from You for sense gratification, which is available even for those who live in hellish conditions.” Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.9

How to satisfy hunger of heart

We are also having tons of material desires and we are obsessed about it. We even believe that once these get fulfilled then we will experience unlimited happiness.  But it is never going to happen.

A fish is happy only when it is in the water. If we put the fish in a golden jar thinking that the glitz of gold will satisfy it then it wouldn’t happen. In fact the fish will die there for want of water. Our hunger of heart can be satisfied only when Krishna’s love blossoms in it and not by things of this world.

By nature we are spiritual beings and our heart will get satisfied only when our desires are spiritualized.

Dhruva’s heart which was burning because of insult got soothed when he saw the Lord standing in front of him. Similarly our starving heart will experience contentment and fulfilment only when it is filled with Krishna’s mercy.

Spiritual pill to cure material desires

Although Dhruva’s initial motives were non- spiritual but he took the spiritual path to achieve it and so he subsequently achieved the Lord. Likewise we may be having many impurities in our heart but still we should take up the process of Krishna consciousness as Krishna can only transform our consciousness.

Initially the devotional path may not excite us because we have been away from Krishna’s abode for millions of years and so we have forgotten all about the spiritual bliss. But still we have to resolutely practice devotional life as per the rules and regulations given in the sacred Vedic books for our own salvation.

A patient may not like the treatment meted out to him in the hospital but still he continues with the medication because he knows that to get healthy he need to undergo through the process.

Futility of material desires

Being spiritually sick we also have to continue taking the spiritual pill as this is only going to solve all our problems of life.  In this age of Kaliyuga, the age of downfall, chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the authorized medicine which simultaneously helps us to develop love of God and also cleanses our hearts of all impurities of lust, great, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego.

This process has been recommended by none other than Lord Chaitanya – ceto darpana  marjanam. Along with chanting we also should hear about the wonderful pastimes of Lord Krishna, about His unlimited glorious and His merciful disposition.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.17 expounds the benefit of hearing, “Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

The spiritual process isn’t troublesome but is indeed very delightful. As we start developing spiritual taste our heart starts experiencing deep fulfilment.  Things of this world no longer bother us and neither attracts us. We start understanding the futility of material desires and material pleasures and we develop intense longing for Krishna. 

Desire to serve the Lord brings divine joy

When Lord fulfilled Dhruva’s material wish by granting him the benediction to rule the earthly planet for 36000 years then instead of becoming happy Dhruva became morose. He was afraid that worldly possessions would deprive him of love of God. However Lord assured him that he would never forget Him.

Dhruva had understood the worth of spiritual life and he expressed his gratitude in these solemn words, “I came into this forest just looking for pieces of broken glass, but instead I have found a great jewel in You, my dear Lord, and now I am completely satisfied and don’t want anything.”

Soul seeks pleasure

As souls we are pleasure seeking and pleasure is there where Krishna is. Searching for pleasure in this world is like running after a mirage in the desert to quench thirst. The illusion of happiness which this world creates baffles us and binds us in this world.

Our innate longing to lord over the world always gets thwarted. But once we come under the shelter of Lord then we develop a thorough understanding of our inner self and our relationship with the Supreme. 

A sincere and serious devotee of the Lord wants nothing from the Lord but just fervently try to always serve the Lord because he experiences unlimited happiness in doing so. “O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.” Sri Siksastakam, Verse 4.

Lord will send flying chariot from the spiritual world for us

Lord had also promised Dhruva that after ruling for 36,000 years he will become the ruler of the Pole Star, the planet which exists for eternity. And Lord indeed sent the chariot from the spiritual world to take Dhruva to the glowing planet.

While embarking on his spiritual journey the death personified appeared in front of him and Dhruva put his feet on death thus conquering the unconquerable death. He then sat on the magnificent chariot to go to the supreme destination.

All the renowned sages and the celestial beings had come to witness this spectacular event.  They were showering flowers on him and singing songs extolling the glories of the Supreme Lord and His dear devotee Dhruva.

Lord’s shelter purifies material desires

Dhruva’s life demonstrates that how Lord mercifully transforms the lives of those who seek His shelter. We should also try to follow the footsteps of Dhruva and try our best to please the Lord with our devotional endeavour. In all situations and circumstances we should worship Lord with great faith and determination giving up all our hankering for non-spiritual desires and our each and every desire should be spiritual.

Our efforts and right intentions will attract the mercy of the all – attractive Lord. He has assured us that He personally takes interest in delivering His unalloyed devotees from this miserable world.

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66. Devotees of the Lord live happily in this world and become eligible to achieve supreme destination after leaving this world.

Spiritual world means spiritual desires

Scriptures explain that the spiritual world is surrounded with millions of desire fulfilling purpose trees which fulfils all the wishes of the soul. Of course, in God’s kingdom a soul just wants to serve the Lord and nothing else. In the spiritual world, everyone has just spiritual desires. There is supreme satisfaction and inexplicable joy in doing so.

If we are willing to forgo our non-spiritual longings and are ready to serve the Lord lovingly then we too will become eligible to go back to the spiritual world. Krishna will in fact send a flying chariot to take us back to His kingdom. Are we ready for it?

जगन्नाथ रथ यात्रा के पीछे की कहानी

जगन्नाथ रथ यात्रा के पीछे क्या कहानी है जो हर साल लाखों भक्तों को जगन्नाथ पुरी की ओर आकर्षित करती है? क्यों साल में एक बार भगवान जगन्नाथ अपने भाई बलदेव और छोटी बहन सुभद्रा के साथ मंदिर से बाहर आते हैं और विशाल रथों पर सवार होते हैं?

परम पूज्य भक्ति चारु स्वामी महाराज ने अपने एक व्याख्यान में विश्व प्रसिद्ध जगन्नाथ रथ यात्रा उत्सव के पीछे की कहानी को खूबसूरती से समझाया है। नीचे उनके व्याख्यान का प्रतिलेखन है।

परम पूज्य भक्ति चारु स्वामी महाराज द्वारा जगन्नाथ रथ यात्रा की कहानी

सौ साल तक कृष्ण वृंदावन से दूर रहे। कृष्ण ने आश्वासन दिया था, “मैं जल्दी वापस आऊंगा। चिंता मत करो।” गोपियाँ कृष्ण को वृंदावन छोड़ने से रोकने की कोशिश कर रही थीं। वे उसे रोकने के लिए बेताब थे। कुछ गोपियाँ रथ के घोड़ों की लगाम पकड़े हुए थीं।

कुछ गोपियाँ रथ खींच रही थीं, “हम तुम्हें जाने नहीं देंगे।” कुछ गोपियाँ रथ के पहियों के सामने लेट गईं और कुछ गोपियाँ अक्रूर को पीट रही थीं, “तुम कृष्ण को ले जाना चाहते हो, हम तुम्हें ऐसा कभी नहीं करने देंगे।” गोपियों की हालत बहुत खराब थी। कृष्ण ने उन्हें आश्वासन दिया, “चिंता मत करो। मैं बस एक मिशन के साथ वहां जा रहा हूं। राजा ने मुझे आमंत्रित किया है, इसलिए मुझे जाना है। इसलिए, चिंता मत करो मैं वापस आऊंगा।“

कृष्ण ने वचन तोड़ा

कृष्ण में कई अद्भुत गुण हैं। उनका एक गुण यह है कि वे अपनी प्रतिज्ञाओं को तोड़ते हैं,  उनके शब्दों का कभी-कभी कोई मूल्य नहीं होता।

इसलिए जब कृष्ण कुछ वचन देना चाहते हैं, तो वे अपने भक्तों के माध्यम से वचनबद्ध होते हैं क्योंकि उनके वचन विफल हो सकते हैं लेकिन उनके भक्तों के वचन कभी विफल नहीं होते हैं।

इसलिए, वे कहते हैं, “कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति , भगवद गीता 9.31. अर्जुन तुम घोषणा करो, मैं यह नहीं कहूँगा। अगर मैं यह कहूँगा, तो लोग सोच सकते हैं कि यह सिर्फ एक और झांसा है। हे कुन्तीपुत्र! निडर होकर घोषणा कर दो कि मेरे भक्त का कभी विनाश नहीं होता है।“

गोपियाँ और कृष्ण कुरुक्षेत्र आते हैं

तो, सौ साल तक कृष्ण वापस नहीं गए। सूर्य ग्रहण के अवसर पर, यह प्रथा है कि पवित्र लोग कुरुक्षेत्र के सामंत पंचक में स्नान करने जाते हैं। तो, सूर्य ग्रहण के अवसर पर बहुत से लोग कुरुक्षेत्र में स्नान करने गए और गोपियाँ भी गईं।

वृंदावनवासी भी स्नान करने गए और कृष्ण भी गए। उन्होंने स्नान किया। अगले दिन वे जाने ही वाले थे कि वृंदावनवासियों को खबर मिली कि कृष्ण और बलराम वहां हैं। वे तुरंत कृष्ण और बलराम से मिलने दौड़े।

राधारानी कृष्ण को देखकर खुश नहीं होतीं

तब तक कृष्ण अपने रथ पर सवार हो चुके थे। वे जाने वाले थे। वृंदावनवासी  वहां पहुंचे। हर कोई स्वाभाविक रूप से बहुत उत्साहित थे, बहुत खुश थे। लेकिन राधारानी नहीं थीं। राधारानी की मनोदशा थी, यह नंदलाल नहीं है।

नंदलाल, मेरे कृष्ण, अपने सिर पर मोर पंख पहनते हैं, लेकिन यह व्यक्ति मुकुट पहने हुए है। मेरे कृष्ण पीले वस्त्र पहनते हैं, और यह व्यक्ति शाही वस्त्र, शाही पोशाक पहने हुए है। मेरे कृष्ण वन के फूलों से बनी फूलों की माला पहनते हैं और इस शख्सियत ने कीमती रत्नों और गहनों से बना हार पहने हुए है।

मेरे कृष्ण के पास एक बांसुरी है और यह धनुष-बाण और तलवार लिए हुए है। मैं उनसे यमुना के तट पर एकांत स्थान पर मिलती थी लेकिन यह स्थान इतने लोगों से भरा है, इतना शोर, इतने घोड़े, इतने हाथी।

व्रजवासी कृष्ण का रथ खींचने लगे

यह वह जगह नहीं है जहां मैं कृष्ण को देखना चाहती थी। वृंदावन के निवासी, राधारानी के भक्त, राधारानी की मनोदशा को समझ गए। तो उन्होंने क्या किया? उन्होंने कृष्ण के रथ को पकड़ लिया।

घोड़े पहले से ही लगे हुए थे, इसलिए घोड़ों के साथ वे कृष्ण के रथ को खींचने लगे। बलराम भी थे। बलराम भी उनके मित्र थे। इसलिए बलराम का रथ भी घसीटा जा रहा था। छोटी बहन को अकेला नहीं छोड़ा जा सकता, इसलिए उसे भी ले लो। लेकिन कहां? वृंदावन को।

तो यह है रथ यात्रा उत्सव। कुरुक्षेत्र से, कृष्ण, बलराम और सुभद्रा को वृंदावन की ओर खींचा जाता है। वृंदावन में, कृष्ण, श्रीमती राधारानी से मिलते हैं। गुंडिचा मंदिर वास्तव में वृंदावन है। यह है रथ यात्रा उत्सव की कहानी।

परम पूज्यभक्ति चारु स्वामी महाराज ने जगन्नाथ रथ यात्रा उत्सव के पीछे की कहानी और इसके महत्व को बहुत खूबसूरती से समझाया है।

कृष्ण का रथ खींचने में राधारानी की सहायता करना

तो, रथ यात्रा उत्सव के दौरान जब हम रस्सी खींचते हैं तो इसका मतलब है कि हम श्रीमती राधारानी को कृष्ण के रथ को वृंदावन तक खींचने में सहायता करते हैं। हम राधारानी को अपने प्रिय कृष्ण से मिलने की लीला में मदद करते हैं।

भगवान जगन्नाथ के रूप में भगवान कृष्ण वृंदावन जाने और राधारानी से मिलने के लिए बहुत उत्साहित रहते हैं। राधारानी भी उत्साहित रहती हैं। इसलिए, यदि हम रथ यात्रा उत्सव में भाग लेते हैं और भगवान जगन्नाथ की रस्सियों को खींचते हैं तो हम वास्तव में कृष्ण और राधारानी के मिलन में सहायता करते हैं।

जब कृष्ण और राधारानी मिलते हैं तो आनंद असीमित होता है। राधा-कृष्ण को एक साथ देखकर भक्तों को बहुत आनंद मिलता है। और इस तरह भक्त अपने जीवन को पूर्ण करते हैं।

गौड़ीय वैष्णववाद के लिए रथ यात्रा का महत्व

गौड़ीय वैष्णव मत के अनुयायियों के लिए रथ यात्रा का विशेष महत्व है। गौड़ीय वैष्णववाद की स्थापना श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु ने की थी, इसलिए इसे चैतन्य वैष्णववाद भी कहा जाता है।

श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु संन्यास लेने के बाद जगन्नाथ पुरी में रहते थे और हर दिन वे भगवान जगन्नाथ के दर्शन करने के लिए मंदिर जाते थे। महाप्रभु रथ यात्रा उत्सव में बड़े उत्साह के साथ भाग लेते थे।

रथ यात्रा उत्सव के दौरान चैतन्य महाप्रभु के सैकड़ों अनुयायी जगन्नाथ पुरी आते थे। श्री चैतन्य-चरितामृत में विस्तार से बताया गया है कि कैसे महाप्रभु अपने शिष्यों के साथ रथ यात्रा उत्सव में भाग लेते थे।

आज रथ यात्रा उत्सव पूरी दुनिया में फैल गया है

श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु अत्यंत दयालु हैं, वे चाहते थे कि सभी को भगवान जगन्नाथ की कृपा मिले।

श्रील प्रभुपाद, एक महान वैष्णव संत और विद्वान, श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु के हृदय को जानते थे, इसलिए उन्होंने पूरी दुनिया में रथ यात्रा उत्सव की शुरुआत की। श्रील प्रभुपाद भी चाहते थे कि सभी को भगवान जगन्नाथ की कृपा मिले।

तो, आज श्रील प्रभुपाद की कृपा से रथ यात्रा उत्सव न केवल जगन्नाथ पुरी में बल्कि भारत और दुनिया के विभिन्न शहरों में भी मनाया जाता है। रथ यात्रा उत्सव में लाखों लोग भाग लेते हैं और रथों की रस्सियां ​​खींचते हैं।

रथ पर भगवान जगन्नाथ के दर्शन मात्र से ही लोगों का जीवन मंगलमय हो जाता है। और अगर लोग खुशी-खुशी रथ यात्रा में भाग लेते हैं और रथ खींचते हैं तो उनका जीवन सफल हो जाता है।

Story behind Jagannath Rath Yatra Festival

What is the story behind Jagannath Rath Yatra which draws lakhs of devotees every year to Jagannath Puri? Why once in a year Lord Jagannath with his brother Baladeva and little sister Subhadra come out of the temple and ride on the massive chariots?  

HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj has beautifully explained the story behind the world-famous Rath Yatra festival in one of his lectures. Below is what he said:

HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj tells Rath Yatra Story

For hundred years, Krishna was away from Vrindavan. Krishna gave the assurance; I will come back quickly. Don’t worry. The gopis were trying to stop him from leaving Vrindavan.

They were desperate to stop. Some gopis were holding the reins of the chariot’s horses and some gopis were pulling the chariot, “we won’t let you go.”

Some gopis laid down in front of the wheels of the chariot and some gopis were beating up Akrura, “You want to take Krishna, we will never let you do that.” So, the gopis were in desperate situation.

So, Krishna assured them, “Don’t worry., I am just going there with a mission. The king has invited me, so I have do go. So, don’t worry I will come back.”  

Krishna breaks his promise

Krishna that way has many wonderful qualities. One of his qualities is he breaks his vows. His words sometimes don’t have any values. That’s why when Krishna wants to make some promise and reassure fully, he makes the commitment through his devotees because his words may fail but his devotees’ words will never fail.

Therefore, he says, “kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati, Bhagavad Gita 9.31. Arjuna you declare, I won’t say it. If I say it, then people may think it’s just another bluff. So, you say it that my devotees will never vanquish.”  

Gopis & Krishna come to Kurukshetra

So, for hundred years Krishna didn’t go back. On the occasion of Solar eclipse, Surya Grahan, it’s a custom that seekers of piety go to Samanta panchak in Kurukshetra to take bath. So, many people went to Kurukshetra on the occasion of solar eclipse to take bath and the gopis also went.

The residents of Vrindavan also went to take bath and Krishna also went. They took bath. Next day they were about to leave and then the residents of Vrindavan got the news that Krishna and Balarama were there. They immediately ran to meet Krishna and Balarama.

Radharani is unhappy to see Krishna

By the time Krishna was already on his chariot. He was also about to leave. So, they arrived there. And everyone was naturally very excited, very happy. But Radharani was not. Radharani’s mood was, this is not Nandalala.

Nandalala, my Krishna, wears a peacock feather on his head, but this person is wearing a crown. My Krishna wears a yellow garment, and this person is wearing royal robes, royal dress.

My Krishna wears flower garland made of forest flowers. And this personality is wearing necklaces made of most precious gems and jewels. My Krishna carries a flute and this one is carrying a bow and arrow and sword.

I meet him in the solitary place on the bank of Yamuna but this place is full of so many people, so much noise, so many horses, so many elephants. The elephants are trumpeting, horses are whining, people are clamoring, so much noise.

This is not where I wanted to see him and this is not the way I wanted to see my Krishna.

Vrajbasis begin to pull Krishna’s chariot

So, residence of Vrindavan, Radharani’s devotees, could understand Radharani’s mood. So, what did they do? They caught hold of Krishna’s chariot. The horses were already harnessed, so along with the horses they started to pull Krishna’s chariot.

Balarama was also there; he was also their friend. Balarama’s chariot was also being dragged and the sister cannot be left alone, so take her also. But where? To Vrindavan. So that is the Rath Yatra festival.

From Kurukshetra, Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra are being dragged towards Vrindavan where he will meet Srimati Radharani. So Gundicha temple is actually Vrindavan. So that is the Rath Yatra festival.”

HH Bhakti Charu Swamu Maharaj has very beautifully explained the story behind the Rath Yatra festival and its great significance.

Assisting Radharani in pulling the chariot of Krishna

So, during the Rath Yatra festival when we are pulling the ropes of Lord Jagannath then it means that we are assisting Srimati Radharani in pulling the chariot of Krishna to Vrindavan. We are participating in the pastime of helping Radharani meet his beloved Krishna.

Lord Krishna as Lord Jagannath is very excited to go to Vrindavan and meet Radharani. Radharani is excited too. So, if we are participating in the Rath Yatra festival and pulling the ropes of Lord Jagannath then we are actually assisting in uniting Krishna with his beloved Radharani.

When Krishna and Radharani meets then the bliss is unlimited. Seeing the divine couple together gives great bliss to the devotees. And this is the ultimate perfection of our life.

Significance of Rath Yatra for Gaudiya Vaishnavism

For the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Rath Yatra holds a special significance. Gaudiya Vaishnavism was founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so it is also called Chaitanya Vaishnavism.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after taking sannyasa resided in Jagannath Puri and every day he visited the temple to took darshan of Lord Jagannath. Mahaprabhu would participate in Rath Yatra festival with great enthusiasm.

Hundreds of prominent followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would come to Jagannath Puri during the Rath Yatra festival. Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛta elaborately explains how Mahaprabhu along with several of his disciples took part in the Rath Yatra festival. 

Rath Yatra festival has spread all over the world

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is extremely merciful, he wanted everyone to get mercy of Lord Jagannath.

Srila Prabhupada, a great Vaisnava saint and scholar, knew the heart of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so he introduced Rath Yatra festival all over the world. Srila Prabhupada also wanted that everyone should get mercy of Lord Jagannath.

So, today by the grace of Srila Prabhupada, Rath Yatra festival is not just celebrated in Jagannath Puri but also in different cities of India and of the world. Tens and thousands of people participate in Rath Yatra procession and come to pull the ropes of the chariots.  

Just by seeing Lord Jagannath on the chariot people’s life become auspicious. And if with joy they participate in the Rath Yatra procession and pull the chariots then their life become successful.  

51st Kolkata Rath Yatra by Iskcon

Iskcon celebrated 51^st Kolkata Rath Yatra on 1^st July 2022.  For last two years because of Covid, Rath Yatra was not celebrated in such a grand scale. So, this time devotees of Jagannath, were eager to participate in the Kolkata Rath Yatra festival which was started by Srila Prabhupada in 1972.  Thousands of devotees accompanied the Rath Yatra procession.

On the streets thousands of people stood to pull the chariots of the Lords. Some people especially elderly who could not come on the street watched the massive Rath Yatra procession from their house’s balconies and window.

Seeing the three massive chariots rolling through the streets of Kolkata amidst the loud chanting of Jay Jagannath and Hare Krishna Mahamantra gave great joy to everyone.

Inauguration of 51^st Kolkata Rath Yatra

Rath Yatra started from Iskcon’s Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple at 3C Albert Road, Minto Park and culminated at TAI Brigade Ground where a beautiful Gundicha temple has been built.

51^st Kolkata Rath Yatra was inaugurated by HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaj and HH Bhakti Vighna Vinasa Narasimha Swami Maharaja.

Chief Minister of West Bengal participates in Rath Yatra

Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee also participated in the 51^st Kolkata Rath Yatra. CM Mamata Banerjee along with TMC MP, Nusrat Jahan, first visited Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple and did arati of Radha Govinda. Then she also did arati of Lord Jagannath who was seated on the chariot. She also participated in pulling the Rath of Lord Jagannath.

Rath Yatra was to start at around 1 pm IST but was little delayed.  Devotees were eager to pull the chariot. They were desperately waiting for the Rath Yatra to start.  Many devotees were holding the ropes of the chariot and sitting on the street. Just like a mother holds her baby on her lap or close to her chest, devotees had put the rope on their laps, some close to their chest.

Rath Yatra management team had announced that when they will show green flag then devotees can pull the chariot and when they will show red flag then devotees should stop and not pull the chariot.

Eagerness of the devotees to pull the chariot

On few occasions, it happened that the devotees thought that the procession is about to start, so they got up holding the ropes with great enthusiasm hoping to pull the chariot of the Lord. But the rath yatra management would politely ask them to wait for some more time. 

The wait was little longer. I was also desperately waiting for the Rath Yatra to begin. One elderly devotee was sitting beside me. He spoke pure Bengali language. I am not able to understand Bengali completely, I can understand it in bits and pieces. And am not able to speak. The elderly devotee also did not speak Hindi/English. But still we conversed and tried to understand each other.

The elderly devotee was saying that he has been practicing Bhakti since last 36 years. He was around 70 years old. He said that he is a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj. From the conversation, I could sense that he had great respect for Maharaj.

For him the wait was little more difficult, especially because of his age. So, he was little upset. We had been waiting for hours. I was also losing patience thinking that why it is not starting. Some said that because the CM has not arrived, so Rath Yatra has not started. Some gave other reasons.

Lord Jagannath moves as per his own will.

All the material reasons for the delay could be true, it could be justified too. But one thought came to my mind.

In Chaitanya-Charitamrita Madhya 13.28, describing the Rath Yatra procession of Jagannath Puri, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī writes, “Sometimes the car would stand still and not move, even though it was pulled very vigorously. The chariot therefore moved by the will of the Lord, not by the strength of any ordinary person.”

Lord Jagannath moves as per his own supreme will. He is independent Lord, whenever he decides, he moves.

So, putting aside all my logic, arguments, analysis, frustration, impatience, I prayed to Lord Jagannath to give us an opportunity to participate in the festival of pulling his chariot.

While all of us were wating for the procession to start, devotees were doing kirtan, doing arati and were offering bhoga to the Lord.

Rath Yatra procession finally begins

Finally, Lord Jagannath decided to move. Rath Yatra management devotees announced that we are now going to pull the chariot of the Lord. They showed the green flag. It was celebration time. Devotees who were holding the ropes of the chariot for hours and siting on the road, immediately got up and with the loud chant of Jay Jagannath, they pulled the ropes. Hundreds of devotees who were standing on the sides of the road joined them to pull the chariot.

Rath Yatra procession started at around 3:30 pm IST. Lord Jagannath Rath started at 3:51 pm IST. 

Once the Rath Yatra started, there was no delay. The three massive chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi rolled through the streets of Kolkata. In front of each chariot devotees were doing kirtan.

The three chariots

Lord Jagannath chariot is called Nandighosa. This chariot has 16 wheels. It’s charioteer is Daruka.

Lord Baladeva’s chariot is called Taladhwaja. It has 14 wheels and Matali is the charioteer.

Subhadra’s chariot is known as Devadalana/Darpadalana/Padmadhwaja. This chariot has 12 wheels and Arjuna is the Charioteer.

People’s eagerness to pull the chariot

At different places bhoga was offered to the Lord. At some places 108 food items were offered to the Lord, at some places 51 items. Lord Jagannath prasadam were distributed along the way. Many people were eager to serve the devotees participating in the Rath Yatra procession, So, at many places they were serving water, juices and refreshment to the devotees.

I saw few devotees carrying broom with them to sweep the street from where the Lord will pass. People were falling flat on the street to pay obeisances to the Lord.

Because of Rath Yatra procession, commuters had to wait for long time at traffic signals. But no one looked upset. They too were enjoying Rath Yatra procession. Many people got down from buses and their vehicles to pull the chariot.

Many were peeping from inside the buses and vehicles to see the Lord. They were also raising their hands to welcome the Lord and offer their respects to the Lord. 

Although we say that because of Kaliyuga people are not showing much interest bhakti but still I saw that there were thousands of people at different spots eagerly waiting to pull the chariot of the Lord. Young and old, men and women, rich and poor everyone came to pull the rath. And while pulling they all were chanting Jay Jagannath or were singing Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

It is because of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy that so many people in Kolkata are getting mercy of Lord Jagannath. If you would have looked at the face of Lord Jagannath, he looked happy.

Wonderful Rath Yatra experience  

A day before Rath Yatra I was not feeling enthusiastic to participate in Rath yatra. On the Rath Yatra day too in the morning, the feeling remained the same. But I did not want to miss Rath Yatra. I thought that I will be there for couple of hours and then return back. But after being there with the Lord and his sincere devotees, I could not think of coming after attending only for couple of hours.

I had wonderful experience.  I pulled all the three chariots – of Lord Jagannath, of Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi. After pulling the three chariots, I came in front of Lord Jagannath’s chariot. I saw their one of my friends HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu who is a celibate monk in Iskcon temple and other devotees. I decided to be with them.

Devotees in front of Lord Jagannath chariot were doing kirtan and were dancing for the pleasure of the Lord. Because of their inspiration I too participated in the kirtan. It was a great experience.

Poison in beginning, nectar at end

In Bhagavad Gita 18.37, Lord Krishna says, “That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.”

I realized that because of my laziness and impurities I was not feeling motivated to participate in Rath Yatra but once I participated and took the association of the devotees, I felt really nice. One lesson I learnt is that I should not listen to my mind but should follow the guidelines of the scriptures and footsteps of sincere vaisnavas.

As many devotees were there trying to pull the chariot, it was naturally that they will step over each other. So, while pulling the chariots many devotees stamped over my feet. I have blisters on my feet. But it is ok. Its sweet pain.

Rath finally reached Gundicha temple

Rath Yatra finally reached Gundicha temple at TAI Brigade ground, at around 9 pm i.e. almost after five and half hours. Here Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi will stay in Gundicha temple for 9 days i.e. till the day of Ulta Rath Yatra which is on 9^th July.

At Gundicha temple venue, various attractive stalls have been put for people to visit and get inspired to practice Krishna Consciousness.  For kids there is special kids corner where they can come, have fun and see a glimpse of Krishna Conscious life. For nine days, various programs will be there at Gundicha temple throughout the day.

After we reached Gundicha temple we had delicious khichdi and halwa prasadam.  It was a wonderful and memorable Rath Yatra experience.

The happiness which Lord Jagannath bestows upon all who participate in his Rath Yatra celebration cannot be described in words.

Lord Krishna Quotes

“Krishna comes to this material world to enlighten unfortunate souls like you and me who are suffering here unnecessarily. He tells us to give up everything and take his shelter.”

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Importance of devotee association

In the purport of Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.37, Srila Prabhupada writes about the importance of devotee association, “Without the association of devotees, one cannot advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, we have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Factually, whoever lives in this society automatically develops Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”  

Srila Prabhupada in his Bhativedanta purports and lectures have highlighted about the need of devotee association many times.  Association plays a vital role in shaping our destiny. It is said that we are sum total of the people we associate with.

How association affects us?

Let us pause for few minutes and reflect on our life especially on the qualities which we have and we appreciate and the qualities which we have but we do not like and want to give it up. Now let us try to figure out how did we develop these qualities. Some of our qualities are from our childhood days and some we acquired in later part of our life either in school or college or from somewhere else. In almost all the cases we will find that the good or bad qualities which we have, we inculcated from others.  

For example, no one learns to smoke or drink liquor from the womb of his or her mother. Ask any smoker or drunkard and he will tell you that he imitated someone, or he was somehow convinced by others to indulge in it.  Similarly, if you appreciate some good quality in others and if you go and ask them about it, he will tell you that he got inspired by someone and so started applying it in his life.  

So, it is important that we choose our association very carefully. Not just people around us but things around us also affects our psyche. How things affect our consciousness is very well explained by Mother Sita. She tells the following story to her husband, Lord Rama, when they were wandering in the forest during the exile period.

Sage becomes a killer

There was a sage who was doing severe penance in the forest. Indra, the king of heaven, became worried that he may lose his kingdom to the sage. He wanted to somehow stop the sage from doing penance. So, one day fearful Indra went to the forest dressed as a soldier to meet the austere sage. He was carrying a sword with him. When he met the sage, he bowed down to him and requested him to guard his sword till he returns back from some urgent work.

The sage promised to keep the sword safe. The sage had given his word to properly take care of the sword. So, the sage always carried the sword with him. When he would go to pluck the flowers and fruits, he carried the sword. While doing penance also he was cautious to take care of the sword. 

Sword impact on sage’s life

Slowly the sage started developing cruel nature.  He started using his sword to cut tree branches and plants for flowers and fruits.  Not just that slowly he started even attacking and killing animals with the sword.  Gradually, he became extremely cruel.  Everyone started fearing him. Innocent animals would flee in fear seeing him.

Other sages doing penance in the forest left that place and went somewhere else. He lost all his accumulated piety and became a cruel person. Needless to say, Indra never came back to take back his sword.  The sage who had great destination became a ruthless killer just by associating with the sword. He went to hell after death.

These stories are there in our scriptures to help us understand the consequences of wrong association in our life. Whether it’s the people we associate with or the things we associate with, we have to be very careful. Just by associating with the sword the sage lost all his saintly qualities. So, we have to be careful not only with the people we associate with but with also the things we associate with. 

Associate with gadgets carefully

These days everyone carries a mobile. It has become a necessity but if we do not use it carefully, we will be in great trouble.  Just like weapon of mass destruction can create havoc on earth similarly mobile if not used righteously can create havoc in our life.  

Mobile addiction has become so common these days. Just like the sage who always carried the sword with him, we too have mobile with us 24 hours a day.  When we sleep, our mobile also lies with us on the bed. Even in bathroom we carry mobile.  

Our mobile has high speed internet connection and so with this little gadget we can see anything and can do anything. We can waste tonnes of time on mobile browsing social medias, watching videos or playing games. This will surely degrade our consciousness and take us away from Krishna.

So, it is advisable to use gadgets carefully, only when we need them. And most importantly not do anything with it which takes us away from Krishna.

Association of exalted devotees give exalted destination

If we study the life of great spiritual personalities, we find that they were very careful as how they spent their time and with whom they spent their time. Not even a single moment they wasted.

First, they would give up the association of non-devotees and the things which may hamper their devotional journey.  And then they would make sure that they only associated with sincere devotees of Krishna.

Just as the sun rays can immediately dispel all darkness, similarly, association of sincere devotees can enlighten our heart.

In Srimad Bhagavatam sage Narada underlines the importance of associating with exalted devotees while narrating his life story to his disciple, sage Vyasdeva. The revered sage says that his life got totally transformed when he got an opportunity to associate with the great devotees of Lord Krishna for four months.

By serving these great personalities, Narada who was in his previous life, son of a maidservant, developed transcendental qualities.  

Chaitanya Charitamrita 22.54 says that one achieves complete success in life if one gets an opportunity to associate with a devotee of Krishna even for a moment.

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya

“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.

Great future

From the statements of the scriptures and sages, we understand that those who want Krishna always associate with those people and with those things that can give them Krishna.   Srila Prabhupada established Iskcon, so that genuine seekers can associate with each other and encourage each other to practice devotion to Krishna.  

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.37 tells the destination of those who associate only with the devotees of Krishna.

“Persons who are peaceful, equipoised, cleansed and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all other living entities, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord; they alone can very easily achieve the perfection of going back home, back to Godhead.”

As we discussed earlier we are sum total of five people we associate with. So if we want to become a sincere devotee then we should seek association of sincere devotees. If we do so we will have a great future.

We should try our best to surround ourselves with those devotees who are sincerely practicing Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day. In their association we will develop taste for devotional life, will become a dear devotee of Krishna and will attain love of Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada meeting his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, for the first time

“Although initially reluctant but when Srila Prabhupada met his guru for the first time his life got completely transformed, he dedicated his life fully at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna and preached to millions of people the message of Krishna.”  

There are certain events which eventually turn out to be the turning point in the history of humanity. One such event occurred 100 years back in 1922, when Srila Prabhupada met his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura in Kolkata.  That meeting fanned the flame of devotion which young Abhay had in his heart for Krishna. It helped him to define the mission and purpose of his life.

He now knew what he has to do in his life and took a vow like the famous kuru warrior Bhisma, that practicing, preaching and propagating Krishna Consciousness will be the ultimate goal of his life. He spearheaded a worldwide Krishna Conscious movement and established Iskcon in 1966, in New York. Today the world bows down to this great saintly personality and out of love and reverence calls him, Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada always thanked and glorified his guru for transforming his life.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura: A spiritual revolutionary leader

Abhay was born and brought up in Kolkata. Kolkata was a cosmopolitan city and for British it was an important city. The British East India Company established its base in Kolkata first and the city was the capital of British India from 1772 – 1911. However, Indians en masse were protesting against the British empire. The political movement gave birth to many prominent nationalistic leaders who were galvanizing the masses against the foreign subjugation.

During this time, few prominent personalities were also trying their best to revive India’s pristine spiritual culture and glory which people were not paying much attention to. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was one such spiritual leader who was working tirelessly to revive Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a movement started by Lord Chaitanya around 500 years back. Later his son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, played a key role in inspiring thousands of people to practice devotion to Krishna and Chaitanya.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was a spiritual revolutionary leader and a fearless preacher. He practiced what he preached and preached what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had asked to preach without any adulteration.

He was based in Mayapur, the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya and was having a preaching centre there. But to expand the movement of Lord Chaitanya, he knew he also need to establish a base out of Mayapur.

Gaudiya Math in Kolkata

He decided to have a preaching centre n Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), capital of West Bengal, because it was said during his time and is still said “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.” So, Srila Saraswati Thakura thought that if people of Kolkata become devotees of Krishna then rest of India (including present day Pakistan and Bangladesh) too will become devotees of Krishna eventually.

So, he established a centre in Kolkata in November 1918 at 1 Ultadanga Junction Road and named it Bhaktivinod Asan.  In September 1920, on day of Sri Krishna Janmastami, he installed small deities of Sri Gandharvika Giridhari and a tall deity of Sri Chaitanya at Ultadanga centre. And on that auspicious day, he also renamed the centre to Sri Gaudiya Math.

Gradually Gaudiya Math became one of the most important preaching centres of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Srila Sarswati Thakura took several initiatives to spread the teachings of Lord Chaitanya from here.

It was at this place Abhay met Srila Saraswati Thakura and accepted him as his guru. And we can say that at this place only Srila Saraswati Thakura who was also called simha guru because of his courageous preaching sowed the seed of Iskcon in the heart of Abhay who later came to be known as Srila Prabhupada.

When Abhay (Srila Prabhupada) met his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, Thakura for the first time

Abhay was young, dynamic and educated. From his childhood days, he was a great devotee of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani. He always gave credit to his father and mother for instilling love for Krishna in his heart when he was just a little child.

His father, Gour Mohan De, and mother, Rajani De, were always engaged in practicing loving devotion to Krishna and would inspire their children to do the same. Abhay’s heart was full of devotion for Krishna, so when he saw anyone befooling people in name of Krishna, he became disturbed.

Since people were not practicing bhakti as given in Vedic scriptures in letter and spirit so many charlatans had sprung up and usurped the position of spiritual leaders. Bereft of spiritual knowledge, people had become gullible, so were easily fooled by bogus spiritual leaders. Abhay had seen that many sadhus who would frequent his home hardly had any spiritual substance.

They would don the saffron robe to look like a sadhu, but their main business was to collect donation and eat nice food at the house of their guest. Although Abhay did not disrespect anyone but being a seeker of truth, he kept distance from these people. Like most of the youngsters of 1920s, Abhay also wanted to actively participate in India’s freedom movement. He was inspired by Gandhi.

Abhay’s friend

One day, his friend Narendranath Mullik asked Abhay to meet Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who was preaching in Kolkata.  The year was 1922. Narendra had met him recently and was very much inspired. But young Abhay laughed at the proposal. He remembered meeting so called saffron robe wearing great sannyasis. He had seen their true character, so he simply refused.

But Narendra knew that this great personality is different, he is amazing. Abhay was his friend and he knew his spiritual inclination. So, he wanted Abhay to meet the saint.  He tried to convince him, “He is not like any other sannyasi you have met. He is different.” Still Abhay was reluctant.  But Narendra was persistent and finally Abhay could not say no to his friend.  But he went with a sceptical mind.

Abhay’s visits Gaudiya Math

When they reached Gaudiya Math, a devotee ushered them to the roof where Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was speaking to some of his disciples and guests.  He was tall, slender and had fair complexion. He wore sannyasi robes and had Vaisnava tilaka on his forehead and other parts of his body. On his neck were Tulasi beads and brahminical thread adorned his torso.  He looked scholarly and grave.

Both Abhay and Narendra paid obeisance to this divine personality by respectfully bowing down in front of him. This is how one pays respect to a Vaisnava sannyasi. Born in a devotee family Abhay knew the Vaisnava etiquette.

Before they could rise after paying obeisances, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who was conversing with his guests looked towards them and said, “You both are young, educated, so why don’t you preach the message of Lord Chaitanya all over the world?” Abhay could not believe what he heard.

Mostly he had heard sannyasis asking for money for their organisation or wanted to be invited at house for eating opulent food or asking people to become their disciples. But here he was asking him to become a worldwide preacher. Abhay did not accept anything at face value. He immediately countered, “But we Indians are under subjugation. Who will listen to us?  Who will appreciate our culture and philosophy? First, we should fight for our independence and get it.”

Krishna Conscious is emergency

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura said, “Krishna Conscious is emergency. It cannot wait for anything else. Rulers keep on coming and going, political situation of a country keeps on changing. But devotion to Krishna should never stop irrespective of any political or social turbulence.”

Abhay was flabbergasted by his boldness and his courage to speak the truth. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura had complete conviction that only Krishna consciousness can solve the problem of not just India but of whole world.

Abhay was drawn towards him. He sat there in rapt attention. Abhay was like a chataka bird who only drinks pure rainwater. The chaste bird is ready to die out of thirst but does not drink any water other than rainwater. Abhay too was not ready to hear any spiritual knowledge to quench his spiritual thirst. But he was desperately waiting to drink the uncontaminated transcendental knowledge coming out from the mouth of a pure devotee of Krishna.

Today, Krishna had answered his prayer. He was in front of such a great soul.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s qualities

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura spoke fluently in English and Bengali, quoted Sanskrit verses from the scriptures to give authenticity to his talk. He said that we do not belong to any particular nation or religion, but we are eternal spirit souls and our only relation is with Krishna which we have now forgotten and so suffering.

Once we understand our true spiritual identity and focus all our attention to re-establish our lost relation with Krishna then all the problems of our life will cease to exist. Our only business is to chant the names of Krishna and serve the mission of Krishna.

Abhay was delighted to hear the pure transcendental teachings. He saw that this person thinks nothing but Krishna and asks nothing but to chant the names of Krishna. He has no interest in anything material.  His door was open for anyone who was interested in practicing Krishna Consciousness.

Like other so-called sadhus he had seen earlier, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was not coaxing people especially the rich ones for donation. He treated rich and poor, Hindus and non-Hindus, Indians and non-Indians alike. He saw everyone as the children of Krishna.

Abhay’s experience

It was getting dark. Abhay was listening to this great personality for last two hours and was relishing his words. Monks at Gaudiya Math gave him and his friend prasad. They both bowed down to the sage and came out of the building. It was dark outside, but Abhay’s heart was enlightened. In his heart he felt deep satisfaction and deep joy.

Although he met him for the first time but in his heart he knew that he has eternal relationship with him. He was eager to join his mission but he was married, had family responsibilities which he could not give up abruptly. But as the great guru had said that Krishna consciousness cannot wait for anything else so, he decided that from now the purpose and mission of his life will be to practice and preach Krishna consciousness.

What about Abhay’s involvement in India’s freedom movement?  In fact, this was the best way by which he could serve his motherland and the entire humanity.

Abhay was grateful to his friend for bringing him here. When Narendra asked him, “How was his experience?”

Abhay just said “wonderful.” He could not think of any other word to express his feelings. When the heart is overwhelmed with feelings of devotion, words fail to describe those emotions. 

Abhay fulfils the first instruction of his spiritual master

Whenever he got opportunity, he met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. He had already accepted him as his guru in the first meeting itself and he formerly took initiation from him in 1932. As a grihasta he did his best to serve his guru and Gaudiya Math.

He had deep desire to fulfil the first instruction of his guru – to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world. With lots of struggle and difficulty, he finally succeeded. He established Iskcon in 1966 and travelled all over the world to preach pure devotion to Krishna.  His disciples and admirers started calling him as Srila Prabhupada.

Srila means one who has “beauty and power to understand the lila (pastimes) of Krishna.” Prabhupada has two meanings.

1. At whose feet (pada), many Prabhus (masters) bows down.
2. One who is always at the lotus feet (pada) of the Supreme Master (prabhu), Lord Krishna.

Today Iskcon has more than 600 temples all over the world in prominent cities. Iskcon organizes famous Jagannath Rath Yatra festival in many important cities of the world such as Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Rome, Zurich, Sydney, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Dhaka, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai. 

Srila Prabhupada’s contribution

Srila Prabhupada wrote several books and also translated Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita and other Vedic literatures. These books of Srila Prabhupada are now available in 89 languages. In last 55-56 years, Iskcon has distributed millions of these Vedic literatures including Bhagavad Gita all over the world. It has played an important role in the exponential growth of Hare Krishna movement across the globe.  

Lauding the contribution of Srila Prabhupada and Iskcon, Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi said, “Today there are hundreds of ISKCON temples in different countries around the world and is spreading the Indian culture. ISKCON has told the world that for India, faith means zeal, enthusiasm, to be in high spirits and faith in humanity.” https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-lauds-iskcon-for-teaching-true-meaning-of-faith-101630504980604.html

Although he attained great success but he always remembered his guru, always remained grateful to him. Srila Prabhupada gave all credit for the success of Krishna Consciousness movement to his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, his eternal spiritual father.

Many years later, reflecting on his first meeting with his guru, Srila Prabhupada said, “I accepted him as my spiritual master immediately. Not officially, but in my heart. I was thinking that I had met a very nice saintly person.”