Forfeited Intelligence – Bhagavad Gita

Śrīla Gurudeva’s parents went to the Gaṅgā everyday with a saṅkīrtana (congregational singing) party. After bathing, they returned home, applied tīlaka (sacred clay) on their bodies and worshipped the Lord. On the day of Śiva-rātrī in the early spring, Paṇḍita Tiwārī and Lakṣmī-devī served Bhagavān throughout the day and stayed awake all night to worship Śiva. They prayed to Śiva that they would be blessed with a son who was a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. On Śiva-rātrī, the custom is to stay awake and perform worship four times: from six to nine in the evening, nine to twelve, twelve to three and, finally, three to six in the morning. Pleased by such worship, Śiva will fulfill all desires of the worshiper. Paṇḍita Tāiwrī and Lakṣmī-devī sat in the Śiva temple and recited the Bhagavad-gītā and Rāmāyaṇa. Next, they performed a fire ceremony and then bathed the Śiva-liṅga. They prayed to Śiva, “By your mercy, may the nativity of a great devotee of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa take place in our family.” They thought, “Many devotees of Śrī Rāma are in our family, now would be a great blessing upon us if a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa appears. Having a son who has pure love for Kṛṣṇa would enable us to always hear Kṛṣṇa’s glories in his saintly company.”
After Paṇḍita Tiwārī and Lakṣmī-devī concluded their prayers and worship in the early morning, they dozed off and had a vision. Thousands of effulgent devotees were singing the holy names of the Lord while dancing in ecstasy. They had glowing golden complexions and long arms, which they held high in the air as they danced along. As they approached the Tiwārīs’ home, Paṇḍajī and Lakṣmī-devī gazed at the divine personalities and thought, “We usually have kīrtana here in the evening. How is it that this kīrtana is happening in the morning?” As the congregation approached the house, the dancing and singing increased in fervor. One of the divine beings came forward and, with a sweet smile on his face, entered the hearts of Paṇḍita Tāiwrī and Lakṣmī-devī. They awoke suddenly, imbued with joy and attraction towards the divine being they had just envisioned. From that day onward, Paṇḍita Tāiwrī and Lakṣmī-devī always remembered the personality in their dream.
In due course, Lakṣmī-devī prepared a suitable maternity room in preparation of childbirth. On February 6, 1921, the Tiwārī’s family guru, a brāhmaṇa named Paṇḍita Miśra, who was initiated in the Rāmānuja-sampradāya, visited their home from his village of Majariya-gaon. Paṇḍita Tāiwrī welcomed his guru, offered obeisance, gave him a seat, and washed his feet. After speaking together for some time, Paṇḍajī offered his guru some prasāda (pure foodstuffs offered to God) and a place to rest for the night. In the early morning, Lakṣmī-devī went into labor. She rushed to the household maternity room and, with little pain or difficulty, gave birth to a beautiful boy. It was a few minutes past four in the morning, on maunī-amāvasyā, February 7, on the junction between the auspicious Vedic months of Puṣyā and Māgha.
The family guru had already awoken and gone to the Gaṅgā. Upon returning, he heard a boy had just been born and went immediately to bless the infant. Many sādhus were residing at the Tāiwrīs’ household, observing vows of silence on the day Lord Śiva was petitioned to arise from his meditation. But when they caught sight of the effulgent baby boy, they gathered and began to spontaneously sing in loud voices, “Śrīman Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa Hari Hari, Śrīman Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa Hari Hari!” The sweet sound of the holy names filled the atmosphere in affectionate welcome of Śrī Hari’s beloved devotee.
The family guru, Paṇḍa Miśra, examined the infant and saw he had remarkable blue eyes, a golden complexion, and a wide forehead adorned with a distinct mark of tīlaka, the sign of a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. The auspicious signs of a jug, lotus, flag, and urdhvā-rekhā
(a line signifying an exalted soul) were on the boy’s feet, and there were ten cakras (auspicious lines forming the ape of a disc) on his fingertips. Observing all these markings, Paṇḍita Miśra told Paṇḍita Tiwārī, “You are extremely fortunate! This boy is not from your small village. He is a great devotee of God. I will draw up his birth
chart immediately.”
Upon the birth of the boy, Paṇḍajī and Lakṣmī-devī realized their son must be the same personality who had previously visited their dream. They rejoiced, “Now a saint has appeared in our home!” All the guests were pleased and said they had never seen such an amazing boy.
After compiling the chart, Paṇḍita Miśra discussed with the Tiwārīs what to name their child. They decided to give him the name Śrīman Nārāyaṇa. Since their son was born on maunī-amāvasyā, the Tiwārīs felt that Śiva had blessed them with a special child. His grandmother Dulāri-devī said, “He is peaceful and does not cry. So we will give him the nickname Bholānātha.” Bholānātha is a name of Śiva meaning
“the simple-hearted Lord.”
Paṇḍita Miśra then explained to Paṇḍajī and Lakṣmī-devī, “Your son has an auspicious chart. It shows that he will be a Cakravartī Mahārāja.” “Cakra” denotes a wheel, and “varta” its hub. Therefore, Cakravartī is one whom society will revolve around and, since he has conquered all directions, he is uncommonly distinguished. Paṇḍita Miśra concluded to Paṇḍita Tiwārī and Lakṣmī-devī, “Your son will travel the world to liberate souls from the bondage of māyā by leading them on the path of bhakti.”
It is said in the Rāma-carita-mānasa by Tulasī dāsa: honahāra vīravān ke hote haiṅ cikne paṭ—as the leaves of a sapling indicate how tall and powerful a tree will become, one’s character in childhood sheds light upon his future.
Before he could even roll over, Śrīman Nārāyaṇa (henceforward referred to as Śrīla Gurudeva or Gurudeva) would lie in his mother’s arms and listen to recitations of Rāmāyaṇa. When he was six months old, he would merrily ride on the shoulders of his father or grandfather to religious discourses. If they tried to leave before the lectures had finished, he cried loudly until they decided to stay. As a child, Śrīla Gurudeva sat in rapt attention for the entire duration of hari-kathā and never showed signs of hunger or thirst. When he appeared amongst the congregation, the atmosphere became surcharged by his presence, and anyone who caught sight of him was immediately filled with jubilation.
When Śrīla Gurudeva was about seven months, his parents noticed that if they tried to bathe him with ordinary water the gentle child would whimper and refuse to touch it. However, when they bathed him in water collected from the nearby Gaṅgā, he would be satisfied and joyous. He was exceedingly stubborn and would not eat a morsel, no matter how tempting, unless was prasāda and only after the family gave him caraṇāmṛta (water that has bathed the Diety), from their morning worship of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa and Śālagrāma.
As soon as his son learned to talk, Paṇḍita Tiwārī would place him on his lap and teach him verses of the Bhagavad-gītā, just as a young boy learns the alphabet from a teacher. He lovingly advised his son, “By memorizing the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa will be seated within your heart. Kṛṣṇa’s advice is His mahā-prasāda (great mercy). One who wants to make his life successful will read the Bhagavad-gītā and preserve the verses in his mind. Wherever there is respect for Kṛṣṇa and His holy speech, there will be no place for misery, sickness, or illusion. Carefully keep these verses in your heart and thus protect our family line.” (see more)