Second Part: Leaving Home and Services in the Gaudiya Matha (pt.1)
Second Part
Leaving home
After Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī received harināma initiation from Śrīla Prabhupāda, he returned home and began his studies at Daulatpura College. From time to time he went to the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda at Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, and there he listened to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s powerful hari-kathā with faith and full concentration.
In those days, the college syllabus included a study of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. The teacher would try to explain the Bengali and Sanskrit verses of Caitanya-caritāmṛta in class, but he could not really fathom the complex text with its difficult philosophical points and elevated devotional sentiments. Śrī Vinodabihārī, however, understood the profound and complicated ideas of Caitanya-caritāmṛta and he readily explained them so that others could also understand. His erudition fascinated the other students as well as their teacher.
One day during the study of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, they were discussing Śrī Sanātana-śikṣā, the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, and read the verse:
kṛṣṇera svarūpa-vicāra śuna sanātana
advayajñāna-tattva vraje vrajendranandana
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 20.152)
“O Sanātana, please hear about the eternal form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is the Absolute Truth, devoid of duality, and He is present in Vṛndāvana as the son of Nanda Mahāraja.”
The teacher began to explain this śloka according to the doctrine of kevalādvaita-vāda. This impersonal philosophy, which is quite opposed to the vaiṣṇava philosophy, states that the parama-tattva, or the Supreme Truth, is brahma-tattva, or the impersonal, undifferentiated aspect of the Absolute. This brahma-tattva is jñāna-svarūpa, or the form or knowledge. It is also nirviśeṣa, without variety; nirañjana, beyond the spell of māyā, or illusion; niḥśaktik, without power; nirguṇa, without attributes or qualities; and nirākāra, without form. Apart from this there is no other reality.
According to the philosophy of kevalādvaita-vāda, it is due to indescribable māyā that this parama-tattva is seen in the form of Īśvara or Bhagavān, the Supreme Lord who is endowed with personal attributes. The jīva (living being) is also Brahman but understands itself to be a jīva because it is covered by ignorance. The jīva can only unite with Brahman (or in other words, become Brahman), when it removes itself from ignorance and illusion. Yogīs perceive this advaya-jñāna nirviśeṣa-vastu (the supreme non-dual, non-variegated substance) as Īśvara or Paramātmā, the Supersoul. Bhakti-yogīs see it as Bhagavān, who is endowed with all attributes.
When Śrī Vinodabihārī heard his teacher’s interpretation, he firmly contradicted it with a sharp rebuttal. He explained that this understanding is completely imaginary, and that it also contradicts the teachings of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Vedānta-sūtra. He then gave a beautiful explanation of the śloka in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta with evidence from the Vedas, the Upaniṣads and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrī Vinodabihārī explained that Śrī Caturmukha Brahmā, Nārada, Śāṇḍilya, Parāśara, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana Vedavyāsa and other great sages are tattva-darśī; they have seen the Absolute Truth. They have explained that there is only one tattva, or truth, and that is advaya-jñāna para-tattva, the non-dual Absolute Truth. Although it is non-dual, it is realized in three apparently different aspects. Dry jñānis (empiric philosophers) use the process of nirviśeṣa-jñāna, or impersonal knowledge, to understand the Absolute Truth as nirviśeṣa Brahman, the impersonal, featureless Absolute. Yogīs realize it as Paramātmā (the Supersoul within the heart), and śuddha-bhaktas (pure devotees) realize that same para-tattva as Vrajendra-nandana Bhagavān by their practice of bhakti-yoga. So the non-dual Absolute is realised first as Brahman, secondly as Paramātmā and thirdly as Bhagavān.
He continued that the meaning of advaya-jñāna, or non-dual reality, is that this Absolute Truth possess acintya-śakti, an inconceivable potency by which the impossible is made possible (aghaṭana-ghaṭana paṭīyasī). The parā-śakti (supreme, trans-cendental potency) of the parama-tattva is manifest in three aspects. The first of these is cit-śakti (the spiritual potency) which, by the desire of para-tattva Śrī Kṛṣṇa, manifests Vaikuṇṭha, Goloka Vṛndāvana, the other dhāmas and everything within them. The second is jīva-śakti (marginal potency) which manifests innumerable jīvas. The third aspect, māyā śakti (material, external potency), manifests millions upon millions of material universes. The jīva, being manifested by jīva śakti, has minute consciousness and can be covered by māyā. There is an eternal relationship between on the one hand śaktimān (the possessor of the potencies) and on the other hand śakti (the potency) and the transformations of the potency, namely the jīvas and the material world. This relationship is acintya-bhedābheda. That is to say, śakti, the jīvas and matter are simultaneously and inconceivably one with and different from the Supreme Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Without Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the Absolute Truth and the source of all energies, neither the jīva nor the creation can exist. Thus, Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa is called advaya-jñāna para-tattva, the Absolute Truth without duality.
This Absolute Truth is not nirākara1, niḥśaktik2, nirguṇa3, and so on. Bhaktas anoint their eyes with the salve of prema (pure love) and take darśana of advaya-jñāna para-tattva in the form of Vrajendra-nandana. The nirviśeṣa, nirguṇa, nirākara Brahman which the impersonal jñānis perceive is only the bodily luster of Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa. According to Bhagavad-gītā, the impersonal, undifferentiated aspect of the Absolute (which is the brahma-tattva of the impersonalists) is not para-tattva because it is neither supreme nor independent. It is dependent on Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntiksya ca
(Bhagavad-gītā 14.27)
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa says: “In My form as nirguṇa-saviśeṣa-tattva, I have no material characteristics, but I am full of spiritual attributes, and I am indeed the shelter of Brahman, which is the ultimate goal of the jñānis. My svarūpa in the form of nirguṇa-saviśeṣa-tattva is the support of immortality, imperishability, eternality, prema (that love of God which is the nitya-dharma, or eternal religion of the jīvas) and vraja-rasa, the form of complete happiness.”
Śrī Vinodabihārī elaborated with further scriptural references:
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagadaṇḍa koṭi
koṭīṣv aśeṣa vasudhādi vibhūti bhinnam
tad brahma niśkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam adi puruṣaṁ tamahaṁ bhajāmi
(Brahma-saṁhitā 5.40)
“I worship the original person, Govinda, whose effulgence is the source of the nirviśeṣa Brahman which is mentioned in the Upaniṣads, which is differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe and which appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless truth. Millions and millions of universes emanate from this Brahman effulgence.”
It is important to note that the word Brahman can only be modified with adjectives such as parama when Brahman refers to Svayaṁ Bhagavān Vrajendra-nandana (as in scriptural references to Paramabrahman). Therefore, Paramabrahman Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is superior to Brahman. Accordingly, the advaya-jñāna para-tattva4 is Śrī Kṛṣṇa who is sarva-śaktimān5 and akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti6 together with all His associates, jīvas and jagat.
The śakti of Bhagavān is described in the Vedas and its supplementary literature:
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna bala kriyā ca
(Śvetāṣvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)
“The parā-śakti is perceivable in different forms.”
viṣṇu śaktiḥ parā proktā kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā
avidyā karmasaṁjñānyā tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.7.61)
”Viṣṇu śakti is of three kinds—parā (transcendental), kṣetrajñā (the living entity) and avidyā (nescience). Viṣṇu’s parā śakti is called cit-śakti, kṣetrajñā is called jīva-śakti, and avidyā is māyā-śakti.”
It is also confirmed in Vedānta Sūtra, śakti-śaktimator-abhedaḥ: “There is no difference between the potency (śakti) and the possessor of the potency (śaktimān).”
In this way, Śrī Vinodabihārī established before his class at Daulatpura that Vrajendra-nandana Śyamasundara is both the limit and the direct manifest form of the advaya-jñāna para-tattva.
On another occasion, the teacher chose the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta verse Madhya-līlā 20.108 for the class discussion.
jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya dāsa
kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā śakti’ bhedābheda prakāśa
“The living entity’s constitutional position is as eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. As a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s marginal energy he is simultaneously one with Kṛṣṇa and different from Him.”
This time too, Śrī Vinodabihārī pointed out that the teacher’s commentary was contrary to the scriptures. The teacher said that the jīva is actually Brahman; Brahman only appears to be the jīva, as a rope falsely appears to be a snake or as an oyster shell appears like ivory. He did not accept that the jīvas are the śakti of Brahman or that the jīvas and the material world are transformation of śakti.
Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī used simple examples to explain that it is the nature of the jīva to be an eternal servant of Bhagavān, the Supreme Lord. According to Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), mamaivāṁśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātana: ”The jīva is a transformation of the marginal potency (taṭasthā-śakti) of sarva-śaktimān Parabrahman, the Supreme Lord Who possess all potencies.”
Although one cannot find perfect examples in this world to describe transcendental matters, analogies are often useful. Śrī Vinodabihārī used two analogies to explain the nature of the jīva: the relation of the sun’s rays to the sun and the connection of the sparks to the blazing fire. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, and the shimmering particles of light in the rays of the sun can be compared to the infinitesimal jīvas. Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa is complete cit-tattva, full in all knowledge, so the jīvas are minute cit-tattva. However, although Bhagavān is the master of māyā and other śaktis, the jīvas are under the control of māyā. This is because Bhagavān is the basis of all transcendental qualities; He is the actual doer, the enjoyer, and the ego, and He possesses these qualities in full, whereas the jīva only possesses them to a minute degree. The natural relationship of the jīva—indeed his very constitution—is to be connected with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, just as the rays of the sun are connected to the sun. However, the pure nature of the jīva is covered by a subtle and gross material body made of māyā, because he has forgotten Bhagavān. Therefore the jīva aspires to be the doer and enjoyer because, while recognising his qualities, he forgets his minuteness. It is only by the causeless mercy of a pure transcendental guru or of Bhagavān Himself that the jīva can adopt bhakti-yoga and re-establish his svarūpa, or true spiritual form.
The other example is that of a blazing fire and its sparks. Innumerable, minute conscious jīvas manifest from the taṭasthā śakti (the marginal potency) like uncountable sparks from a blazing fire. Because the jīvas are minute by nature, their consciousness can be covered by māyā-śakti. Jīva-śakti is also known as taṭasthā-śakti. Because of their marginal nature, the jīvas are qualified to go either to the spiritual world (Vaikuṇṭha), or to the material world. When they gain the strength of cit-śakti (the spiritual potency), they can serve Bhagavān in Vaikuṇṭha. Conversely, when they are opposed to Bhagavān, they wander around the illusory material world. This is the profound purport of this verse.
Hearing Śrī Vinodabihārī’s explanation which was based on bhakti everyone in his class was struck with wonder that their classmate could understand tattva so deeply.
One day Śrī Vinodabihārī became absorbed in contemplating the verses of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. He reflected that this human form of life is extremely rare. Only human beings can obtain bhagavat-tattva, knowledge of the Absolute Truth; it is not possible for other forms of life, such as birds‚ animals or trees. “I am so fortunate that I have attained this human body by the mercy of the Lord, but I do not know when death will suddenly come. Therefore I must depend on bhakti-yoga to make my life successful before death comes. That means that there is no need for an atheistic education. I have received exclusive shelter at the lotus feet of the supremely merciful and omniscient Śrī Gurudeva Prabhupāda, and my supreme duty is to perform hari-bhajana.” Thinking like this, Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī left college without taking his final exam. In 1919, he came to the lotus feet of Śrī Guru, leaving the ties of love of his affectionate mother and completely giving up everything related to land and home.
His devoted mother wept and said, “I knew that we would not be able to keep Jonā at home. My heart trembled with fear at the astounding incidents in his life. He was no ordinary child. Seeing Jonā’s astounding courage and his dedication to truth and altruism, it was easy to imagine his future. Of all my sons, I loved him most. No one is able to understand how much I loved him. When I watched his transcendental behavior and character, and saw his friends and companions, I was always afraid he would become a sannyāsī and renounce the material world. Whatever he did was good, but I cannot stay alive without seeing him.” She was beside herself with grief as she said this.
Receiving dīkṣa and guru-mantra
When Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī came to the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva in Śridhāma Māyāpura, Śrīla Prabhupāda was very pleased to see that he had given up all the illusory affection for his mother and family, and that he was firmly resolved to perform hari-bhajana. At that time Śrī Gaura-Janmotsava was approaching and the arrangements for the huge Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma parikramā were under way. Śrīla Prabhupāda appointed his dear servant to be responsible for various tasks in the preparation of the Śrīdhāma parikramā.
The word Navadvīpa means ‘nine islands.’ The flow of the Gaṅgā, also known as the Bhagavatī Bhāgīrathī, has divided Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s dhāma into an irregular pattern. The Bhāgirāthī proceeds in a zigzag course because she cannot bear to leave the dhāma, and that is why the dhāma is divided into nine parts. Antardvīpa Māyāpura is situated in the middle of these islands on the east bank of the patita-pāvanī Gaṅgā, who saves the fallen souls. Here Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in the form of Śacīnandana Gaurahari, accepting the inner moods and bodily lustre of Śrīmatī Radhika. Here Śri Gaurahari performed His transcendental childhood and kiśora pastimes until He was twenty-four. With Śrīdhāma Māyāpura in the middle, the other eight islands are as follows: on the east side of the Gaṅgā are Sīmantadvīpa, Godrumadvīpa, and Madhyadvīpa. On the western side are Koladvīpa, Ṛtudvīpa, Jahnudvīpa, Modadruma-dvīpa and Rudradvīpa. Due to the Gaṅgā’s meandering flow, part of Śrī Rudradvīpa is presently situated on her west bank and part on her east bank.
After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s disappearance, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Who is non-different from Śrī Baladeva, took Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī on parikramā of these nine islands. Some time later Īśāna Ṭhākura took Śrīnivāsa Ācārya on Śrīdhāma parikramā. Since then, Gaurasundara’s dear devotees have been performing dhāma-parikramā with great faith. In Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara, Śrī Narahari Sarkāra Ṭhākura has described the parikramā in detail. However, for various reasons, the practice of Gaura Dhāma parikramā was discontinued in the course of time. By the power of māyā, even the birthplace of Śrī Gaura, Māyāpura Dhāma, became covered under the rule of the Muslims, who changed the name of Māyāpura to Miyāṁpur and destroyed all memories of the dhāma.
It was the Seventh Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, who re-discovered Māyāpura Dhāma. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda composed Navadvīpa dhāma parikramā and Navadvīpa-bhava-taraṅga, poetic works glorifying the land of Navadvīpa. In addition, he bought property at the site of the birthplace of Śrīman Mahāprabhu and in a small, straw-thatched temple established Deities of Gaura-Viṣṇupriyā, Śacī-Jagannātha-Nimāī and Pañca-tattva. Thereafter, he entrusted the whole responsibility of this undertaking to Jagadguru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī. From that time, Śrīla Prabhupāda started dhāma-parikramā again under Śrīla Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda’s guidance. Since then, the parikramā of Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma has been performed annually with great celebrations.
That year, 1919, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda gave dikṣā initiation to Vinodabihārī at Yogapīṭha on Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā evening after the completion of the parikramā. After the dikṣā ceremony was over, Vinodabihārīvery humbly requested at his Guru’s lotus feet that he should give him the guru-mantra. Until then Śrīla Prabhupāda had not given the guru-mantra to anyone. When Śrīla Prabhupāda heard Vinodabihārī’s earnest request he became silent and began to reflect. Seeing him silent, brahmacārījī asked again with ardent desire, “Is it necessary to obtain the guru-mantra and instructions on guru-sevā from some other guru?” Hearing this, Śrīla Prabhupāda began to smile, and gave Vinodabihārī the guru-mantra very affectionately. After this, Śrīla Prabhupāda started to give the guru-mantra to others as well.
Śrīla Prabhupāda had a transcendental rule that when anyone offered him praṇāma, he offered his greetings back by folding his hands and saying, dāso ‘smi: ”I am your servant.” Seeing such humble behaviour on the part of his Gurudeva, Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī always hid while offering him his praṇāma. Śrīla Prabhupāda had another transcendental practice: he always addressed his disciples and others using the honorific ‘āp’ (you). But because he was so satisfied with Śrī Vinodabihārī’s intimate service he would use ‘tū’, ‘tuī’ (the most informal way of saying ‘you’) and other loving words to address him. Very few amongst Prabhupāda’s disciples received such good fortune.
Ideal maṭha-life
In the house of his guru, Śrī Vinodabihārī became absorbed in his sādhana-bhajana, in studying devotional literature, and in his service in the maṭha. Even though he had come from an educated and respected family, he was completely without pride. His life was an example of the same strict vairāgya (renunciation) that was practised by Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī. For the service of Hari, Guru and Vaiṣṇavas he performed even the most insignificant tasks in the maṭha with great enthusiasm. In bhakti-sādhana it is absolutely essential to perform all endeavours for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa and to give up all enjoyment for His satisfaction. His life perfectly illustrates these two considerations.
In the early days of the Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, the maṭha residents were performing sādhana-bhajana, but due to the lack of funds, they were sustaining themselves with great difficulty. At that time Śrī Vinodabihārī was the maṭha manager. One day there was only 200 grams of rice in the maṭha, so they cooked all the rice and prepared the leaves of the sahijana tree as sāg (a green vegetable) and offered it to Ṭhākurajī. There were four brahmacārīs at the time. After the offering, the four performed prasāda-sevā. Śrīla Prabhupāda happened to come by and saw that the prasāda that his disciples were honouring consisted of a large amount of sāg with only a handful of rice. There were also no leaf-plates to eat from in the maṭha. Seeing this, Prabhupāda became very unhappy and asked, “Is there no rice in the storeroom?” To avoid making Śrī Gurudeva anxious, they humbly answered, “Gurudeva, we are just learning vairāgya.” But Prabhupāda understood everything.
When Śrī Vinodabihārī accepted prasāda, he would never say anything if the vegetable or dāl had too much or too little salt, or if the taste was good or bad. He performed his prasāda-sevā with great faith and affection, knowing that mahā-prasāda is non-different from the Lord Himself. While honouring prasāda he never engaged in useless conversation, and never criticised anyone or took part in any other discussion. Seeing this exemplary vaiṣṇava behavior, all the maṭha residents revered him.
By the order of Śrī Gurudeva, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī defends the property of his previous āśrama, his family zamindarī
After Vinodabihārī left home, the state of his former household became unsteady. His mother’s health began to fail through separation from her dear son, and the condition of the property also deteriorated because Vinod was not there to manage things. There had been an uprising of the tenants and they were not paying their rent. Śrīla Prabhupāda mercifully sent Vinodabihārī to his previous home for some time to put the management of the land back in order. News of his coming spread everywhere. With great expertise he pacified the tenants and soon everyone began to pay their rent regularly as before. After everything was settled, he took his mother’s permission and again returned to his Guru’s house.
After some time a letter came from Vinoda’s home addressed to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Vinoda’s mother was dying. Grief-stricken and longing for her son, his mother desperately wanted to see him in her last days, and she beseeched Prabhupāda to send Vinoda to her quickly. Upon reading the letter, Śrīla Prabhupāda called for Vinodabihārī and ordered him to go to his mother. After listening to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instruction, Vinoda returned to his bhajana kuṭīra and did not come out for the whole day. The next day Śrīla Prabhupāda called a brahmacārī and asked, “I told Vinodabihārī to go to his home. Did he go or not? I have not seen him.”
The brahmacārī answered, “Vinodabihārī hasn’t left. He is staying in his bhajana-kuṭīra chanting harināma.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda then called for Vinodabihārī and asked, “I told you to go to your home. You haven’t left yet?”
Vinodabihārī answered, “Prabhu! I have not gone home.”
“Why not?” Prabhupāda demanded.
Humbly Vinodabihārī replied, “My mother loves me so much, and that is why I have not gone. If on her deathbed she tells me, ‘My son, this is my last instruction: return home and take care of the household,’ then how can I disobey her last request? But then my human birth will become unsuccessful. My guru-sevā, my hearing hari-kathā, and my sādhana-bhajana will all be ruined. Hari-bhajana is the ultimate duty in life. This duty is only possible in human life. You have said that human birth is very rare. Moreover, to meet a sad-guru like you in any human birth is extremely rare,
sakala janme mātā-pītā sabe pāya
kṛṣṇa guru nāhi mile, bhajaha hiyāya
(Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa)
“You have said that a person who is engaged in sevā to guru and Bhagavān Mukunda is not indebted to his parents, ancestors, demi-gods or others. He is freed from all kinds of debts.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s eyes filled with tears when he heard these words, and he did not say anything more. The brahmacārīs living in the maṭha were amazed at Śrī Vinodabihārī’s devotion for Śrī Gurudeva and for bhajana.
Hospitality
From the time that Śrī Caitanya Maṭha was established, the maṭha residents had great difficulty in maintaining themselves and performing guru-sevā, bhagavat-sevā and all the other services required. From time to time they were subsisting only on sāka-sabjī. In those days it was common to sleep on the ground, and to eat off leaves instead of metal plates. Sometimes they didn’t even have leaves, and had to perform prasāda-sevā with great faith right on the cement floor. But, despite the difficulties the maṭha residents were quite happy with this mode of life because they were devoted to bhajana and sevā.
One day at noon two guests came to have darśana of Māyāpura Dhāma. Their names were Atulacandra Bandopādhyāya and Atulakṛṣṇa Datta, and they were both highly placed officials in the Indian Railway. When the guests arrived, they were hungry and thirsty from the midday heat of Jeṣṭha (May-June), the hottest month of the year, but the maṭha residents had already finished their prasāda-sevā. As the men walked in, Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī, the manager of the maṭha, was sitting under a jackfruit tree, overseeing the management of the maṭha property. Seeing the guests’ dry lips, he understood how hot they were, so he sent them both to a nearby kuṇḍa to take bath. By the time they returned from their bath, delicious varieties of mahā-prasada were ready, and the two guests performed mahāprasada-sevā with faith and relish. The guests were lavish in their praise of the maṭha residents’ service mood.
Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī then took both of the men to have darśana of Śrīla Prabhupāda. They were deeply impressed by his powerful hari-kathā, and expressed a desire to contribute five rupees a month for maṭha-sevā. When they returned home, they both remembered their promise and started sending five rupees every month. Gradually they developed such a desire to hear hari-kathā that they began to come to the maṭha as their work permitted. After some time, Atulacandra Bandopādhyāya surrendered to Śrīla Prabhupāda, completely renouncing home, wife, sons, family and everything. However, this troubled the maṭha residents because their budget was so tight that his monthly donation of five rupees had covered most of the expenses of the maṭha. How would they manage now? Atulacandra told them not to worry.
After harināma dikṣā, Atulacandra became Atulacandra Bandopādhyāya Bhaktisāraṅga. He began to raise funds among pious, wealthy merchants in Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and other major cities. Once they heard his harikathā, these people would send truckloads of rice, dāl, and vegetables for maṭha-sevā. In addition, he established preaching centres and āśramas in those cities, and was also editor of the weekly magazine Gauḍīya. After Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance he took sannyāsa and his name became Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Until his death he had great faith in our most worshipable Gurupādapadma and considered him his intimate friend. It was Śrīla Bhaktisāraṅga Mahārāja who decorated Śrīla Prabhupāda’s intimate and most beloved Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja with the title Pāṣaṇḍa-gajaika-siṁha. This title compares Paramārādhya Gurupādapadma to a lion which tears to pieces the elephant-like false doctrines of māyāvāda, smārta, sahajiyā and other atheistic schools of thought which are opposed to bhakti. He used scriptural proof and irrefutable arguments to destroy the view of anyone who said anything against Śrīla Prabhupāda’s philosophy of bhakti.
The other gentleman, Atulakṛṣṇa Dattajī, also gave up his government service and came with his family to Caitanya Maṭha. After receiving harināma-dīkṣā initiation from Śrīla Prabhupāda, he began to perform ekāntīka bhajana (exclusive worship of the Lord). He compiled Śrī Gauḍīya Kaṇṭhahāra (‘The Necklace of the Gauḍīya bhaktas’). This excellent book contains a collection of verses from the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and other śāstras which establish the siddhānta of śuddha-bhakti.
Sevā of the bṛhad mṛdaṅga
In April 1913, Jagadguru Śrīla Prabhupāda established Bhāgavat Press in Sawnagar Lane in Kālīghāṭa, Calcutta, and began to publish Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Bhagavad-gītā with the commentary of Śrī Cakravartī Ṭhākura and other literature. After Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura entered nitya-līlā, the press was brought first to Māyāpura and then to Kṛṣṇanagar. There Śrīla Prabhupāda began to publish Sajjana-toṣaṇī, the weekly Gauḍīya and other devotional works. Śrīla Prabhupāda observed Śrī Vinodabihārī’s literary and philosophical inclination, and in 1922 appointed him manager of the press, as well as printer and publisher of the Gauḍīya. Śrī Atulacandra Bandopādhyāya Bhaktisāraṅga and Śrī Haripada Vidyāratna (M.A., B.L.) were the editors of the magazine, which consisted of siddhāntic essays.
Later that year, Śrīla Prabhupāda called for his intimate associate Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī to come to Śrīdhāma Māyāpura and there he appointed him manager of Caitanya Maṭha. Śrī Vinodabihārī took care of everything but especially concentrated on managing the property of the maṭha, which he did with great expertise. Yogapīṭha in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura and ākara maṭharāja Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, the original Gauḍīya Maṭha, began to develop in all respects due to his skillful administration.
Sevā of Śrīdhāma Māyāpura
After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu entered aprakaṭa līlā and His līlās became unmanifest, the Bhagavatī Gaṅgā changed course many times. Places that had once been in Māyāpura were relocated to the relatively high ground of the west bank. The extensive town of Nadiyā (Navadvīpa), which had previously been on the east bank, became situated on the Gaṅgā‘s west bank, and the east bank became a deserted, desolate place. During the reign of the yavanas (Muslims), all the sacred places of the Hindus were destroyed, temples were demolished and the names of the places of Mahāprabhu’s pastimes were changed. The temples at the birthplaces of Śrī Rāma in Ayodhyā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Mathurā were razed, and mosques were erected on their foundations. Their names were changed to Phaijābād and Momīnābād. Similarly, the Muslims changed the name of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s birthplace from Māyāpura to Miyāṁpur. Later, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura discovered Jagannātha Miśra Bhavan, the birth place of Śrī Gaura, and again called it Śrīdhāma Māyāpura. In this way the name Śrīdhāma Māyāpura once more became known to the world.
Besides changing the name of Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, the Muslims had also made a graveyard on the huge courtyard of Candraśekhara Bhavan, which was very close to Jagannātha Miśra Bhavan, and this was still there when Śrī Vinodabihārī became manager of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. He could not tolerate this atrocity and acted fearlessly and boldly. One night, while all were asleep, he had all the graves in the graveyard dug up and placed elsewhere. In their place he had large, beautiful trees and foliage planted and overnight he made a beautiful park with a wall all around it for protection. The next morning everyone was astounded at what had taken place. The local Muslims reported it to the police and filed a case in court. But police officials and governmental investigators could not find any trace of the graveyard; they saw only an old garden. In this way the devotees reclaimed Candraśekhara Bhavan and no one was able to stop them. For this pious act the name of Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī will be written in golden letters in the history of India.
Ideal guru-sevā
Jagadguru Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda was a brilliant Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ācārya. In a short time he spread the holy name of Bhagavān and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s śuddha-bhakti over the length and breadth of India, and throughout the whole world as well. Fearlessly he declared that a brāhmaṇa is not a brāhmaṇa if he does not worship the complete Brahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Anyone in our sampradāya who is not performing bhajana in the footsteps of the Six Gosvāmis, headed by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī—with body, mind and words—and is not following the siddhānta of bhakti is not a jāti-gosvāmī, temple pujārī, gosvāmī or bhakta. Śrīla Sarasvatī Thākura preached that the arrangement of society in varṇas is based on the different qualities of the people, rather than on their family lineage. This is the verdict of the Vedas, Upaniṣad, Bhagavad-gītā and other scriptures. The following verses offer irrefutable evidence of this conclusion:
(a) catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa karma vibhāgaśaḥ (Bhagavad-gītā 4.13)
(b) yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ puṁso varṇabhivyañjakam (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.11.35).
People became attracted by Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s fearless and truthful preaching. However, his teachings about the real nature of eligibility agitated certain corrupt and polluted brahmaṇas and caste gosvāmīs, who were devoid of knowledge and civilised behaviour. Unable to counteract his arguments, they had been repeatedly defeated in doctrinal debates in religious assemblies, and now wanted to kill Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.
In 1925, as in previous years, the sixteen kosa Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma parikramā was held on the occasion of Śrī Gaura Janmotsava. Thousands of devoted pilgrims performed parikramā in an enormous saṅkīrtanaparty. Śrīla Prabhupāda went on foot in the parikramā while the Deities of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gauraṅga and Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī were borne on the back of a large elephant. At one point, the parikramā party gathered in front of the temple of Prauḍhā Māyā in Kuliyā Dvīpa and the devotees listened to Śrīla Prabhupāda relating the glories of Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma. Just then, the so-called brāhmaṇas and caste gosvāmīs of Kuliyā Navadvīpa attacked. They hurled bricks, stones, hot water and soda bottles, and their assault caused pandemonium everywhere. The pilgrims were running here and there to protect their lives, and no one cared for anyone else. The violent mob was searching for Śrīla Prabhupāda in order to kill him, but Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī immediately took him to a nearby bhakta’s house for protection. There, Śrī Vinodabihārī quickly put on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s sannyāsa dress and took his daṇḍa, giving his own white clothes to Śrīla Prabhupāda to wear. After that, he sent Śrīla Prabhupāda to Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, and the mob did not recognize Prabhu-pāda in his disguise. Meanwhile, the police arrived. Some time later, Śrī Vinodabihārī reached Māyāpura safely, still dressed as a sannyāsī. The corrupt police suppressed news of this event, but the famous magazine Ānanda Bāzāra published an account of the atrocity. The educated and respectable people of Bengal were shocked to hear and read about this outrage.
All the Vaiṣṇavas were amazed at Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī’s remarkable guru-niṣṭhā (his fixed service to his guru), and the incident was discussed everywhere. This is how Śrī Vinodabihārī reacted fearlessly when some injustice or atrocity threatened Śrīla Prabhupāda or challenged Śrīla Prabhupāda’s views.
Śrī Vinodabihārī’s behaviour in this incident calls to mind the gurusevā of Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s dear disciple Śrī Kureśa. Long ago, the Śaivite sampradāya dominated South India. When Śrī Rāmānujācārya used scriptural evidence to refute their inaccurate siddhānta, evil-minded Śaivaites became inflamed. The Śaivite king invited Śrī Rāmānujācārya to a philosophical debate at Śrī Raṅgam, but this was really an excuse to kill him. Kureśa, who was devoted to his Guru, heard a rumour of the plot. He exchanged clothes with his Gurujī and arrived in the town escorted by the king’s soldiers, wearing Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s saffron dress and bearing his tridaṇḍa. The king and the people assumed that Kureśa was Rāmānujācārya. Kureśa stood alone against hundreds of learned Śaivites on the other side. A tumultuous debate ensued, in which the Śaivites were defeated. Nevertheless, the king used a cunning device to proclaim Kureśa’s defeat. He punished Kureśa by removing both of his eyes, and then banished him. Kureśa did not utter even a single word. Wandering about, he reached a village far from that kingdom where, by good fortune, Śrī Rāmānujācārya was also present with his disciples. An extraordinary meeting took place between guru and disciple. Kureśa, the ideal guru-sevaka (disciple), threw himself at the lotus feet of his Guru and by Śrī Guru’s mercy his eyesight was restored. As he lay in the lap of his Gurudeva crying out of love, Gurujī wiped Kureśa’s tears with his own outer cloth and with the other hand blessed him to be free from fear. This same Kureśa later became the famous Kureśācārya. He was a śruti-dhara (one who remembers whatever he hears from the scriptures), and an ācārya expert in Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s bhaktisiddhānta.
Similarly, guru-sevaka Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī, the foremost amongst the disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda, later became well-known by the name Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti-prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and he preached the words of Śrī Gaurasundara all over the world, fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s manobhīṣṭa (inner desire). (Some Vaiṣṇavas say that the incident at Kuliyā was an excuse for Śrīla Prabhupāda to give his dear disciple the tridaṇḍa sannyāsa dress, even though his sannyāsa ceremony was held later in Kaṭvā, after Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance.) For such guru-sevā, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s name will be written in gold in the annals of the Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.
In March 1928, during Śrī Gaura Janmotsava, the 34th yearly session of the Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Śrīdhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā (a devotional assembly) was held, with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda as the chairman. Selected people were praised in this meeting for their different services in the Śrī Maṭha, for their preaching of bhakti or for other tasks. At this time Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī was honoured for protecting the property of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, for the all-round development of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, for his unwearying hard work and endeavour, and for his intimate sevā in fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s innermost desire.
As manager of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārī had two horses of excellent breed, which he used to ride while he was managing the land. In this way he created a splendid impression when he traveled for the service of the maṭha. In the midst of his devotional practices, he was also linked to many social welfare organizations. He was a member of the Nadiyā District Board, the Education and Finance Committee, the Kṛṣṇanagar Local Board, and the Union Board and Bench Court, and he was also the chairman of the Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda Institute. He gave advice to the Divisional Commissioner, the District Judge and other highly posted persons on various matters. Everyone, from the highest to the lowest, had special respect for him.
A special contribution to the establishment of Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha
Śrīla Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura established Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha and the foundation of the śrī mandira in the city of Calcutta on the September 26, 1928. Śrī Jagadbandhu, a wealthy patron of Calcutta, donated the land for this and later he also met all the expenses of the sevaka-khaṇḍa (the sevakas’ quarters), śrī mandīra, and the nāṭya-mandira (assembly hall). Śrī Vinodabihārī was instrumental in bringing this to pass, and this is how it happened.
Śrī Jagadbandhu was originally a resident of the village of Vānarīpāḍā in the Variśāla district of East Bengal. Later he started a business in Calcutta and became very wealthy. In Calcutta he lived in Bāgbāzār on the bank of the Gaṅgā in a gorgeous, palatial house. It so happened that Śrī Vinodabihārī Brahmacārījī and his godbrother Mukundavinoda Bābājī Mahārāja were performing bhikṣā and preaching in that area one day for guru-sevā. When they arrived at Śrī Jagadbandhujī’s home, they saw on the door a plaque with the inscription, ‘The bhavan of Śrī Jagadbandhu dāsa of Variśāla’. Vinodabihārī suddenly remembered that the man was a subject of his family’s protectorate. He told the gatekeeper to say that Vinodabihārī from Vānarīpāḍā wanted to see Śrī Jagadbandhu dāsa. When Jagadbandhujī heard this, he immediately ran barefoot to meet Vinodabihārī. Recognizing the brahmacārījī as his landlord, he knelt down and offered praṇāmas. With great respect, he seated both of his guests on chairs and began to listen to their bhagavat-kathā. He became very pleased as he listened to their discourse about the Supreme Lord, and his delight and faith increased even more when he heard that Vinodabihārī had now left home and was engaged in various kinds of sevā to Jagadguru Śrīla Prabhupāda. Jagadbandhujī then said that he also wanted to perform sevā for the maṭha. He revealed that he had previously resolved to donate land to the Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha but now, having heard Śrī Vinodabihārī’s hari-kathā, he had decided to do more. “Is it right for one person to give a plate and someone else to serve food on it? That will not do. I shall carry the entire financial responsibility for the construction of both the maṭha and mandira.” This actually came to pass. In 1930, Śrī Śrī Gaura-Vinodānandajī were installed in Their enormous śrī mandira with harī-nāma saṅkīrtana and much pomp and grandeur. That is how the great endeavour of Parama Niṣkiñcana7 Śrī Vinodabihārī, who was completely dedicated to the lotus feet of his guru, became the foundation of the establishment of the Bāgbāzār Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha.
[cc-by-nd Gaudiya Vedanta Publications]