Avirbhava of Srivasa Thakura

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Avirbhava of Srivasa Thakura - 21 March 2017 Today is the avirbhava-tithi of Sri Srivasa Pandita. He is the leader and guardian of the bhaktas in Mahaprabhu’s lila and movement. When Srivasa Pandita sees a person, in this Kali-yuga, who tries to follow bhakti and bhajana, who wants to realize their relationship with God, who endeavors to practice the yuga-dharma, the chanting of the holy name, and who aspires to cross over maya—he takes responsibility for such a bhakta and makes all necessary arrangements for him. He did not appear in Navadvipa, but moved there before the appearance of Mahaprabhu. He thought, “I wish to meet with God’s near and dear, and then distribute love for Him with them. If this is not done, this world will surely soon be destroyed.” He said to his four brothers, “Let us go and live on the bank of the Ganga in Mayapura. We will pray to Ganga-devi and she, being the Lord’s mercy in liquid form, will surely give her blessings.” Srila Kavi-karnapura has explained that Srivasa had some kind of curse—or at least, there was a prediction—that he would die at the age of 19 years. When that time came, he wanted to hear Srimad Bhagavatam in his last moments so he went to the assembly of Devananda Pandita. As he listened there, his last moment came and he collapsed. It seemed that he fainted and then later woke up, but what really happened? At that time, Narada Rsi entered the body of Srivasa Pandita. From then on, people noticed that Srivasa Pandita was restless and full of deep spiritual emotion. He forgot all mundane things and started doing sankirtana on the bank of the Ganga with his brothers. Srivasa Pandita was very happy to meet with Advaita Acarya and they chanted the holy name together. But they became disheartened when they saw that many local people were against their sankirtana. People complained, “These people chant loudly even during Hari’s four-month rest period (from Sayana-Ekadasi to Utthana-Ekadasi). They will wake Him and He will curse us all to have no rain or food.” Some brahmanas, filled with jealousy, complained to the Muslim government, but Srivasa and the devotees, with full faith in the statements of Srimad Bhagavatam and in the glory of Navadvipa-dhama, never stopped their nama-sankirtana. näma-saìkértanaà yasya sarva-päpa praëäçanam praëämo duùkha-çamanas taà namämi harià param Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.22 I offer my respectful obeisance unto the Supreme Lord, Hari, the congregational chanting of whose holy names destroys all sinful reactions, and the offering of obeisance unto whom relieves all material suffering. tära madhye sarva-çreñöha näma-saìkértana niraparädhe näma laile päya prema-dhana Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead. Aparadha in regard to seva and nama is serious and must be avoided. However, gaura-nama and gaura-dhama liberate one from aparadha, thus giving one the chance to easily do bhakti. When Mahaprabhu appeared, the devotees were filled with joy. When He returned from Gaya, where He offered pinda for His father and accepted diksa from Isvara Puri, Mahaprabhu began to show signs of asta-sattvika-vikara. He would continually faint while chanting the names of Krsna. People thought that He had gone mad. Mahaprabhu told His students, “Forget studies! Just do nama-sankirtana. Nama-sankirtana is everything.” Many concerned people began discussing amongst themselves and advising Saci Mata possible treatments for Mahaprabhu’s so-called illness, but when she approached Srivasa Pandita, who Saci Mata greatly respected as a senior brahmana, he immediately understood what was happening and He said to Saci Mata, “Mother, do not be worried. This is no illness. This is very special. It is a state unavailable to any ordinary person. This is the manifestation of bhava-bhakti.” From that time on, Saci Mata felt indebted to Srivasa Pandita and asked Him and Gadadhara to keep an eye on Mahaprabhu. “Please take care of Him,” she said. Mahaprabhu began going to Srivas Pandita’s house everyday for sankirtana. Only special persons were allowed to attend that kirtana. One time, Srivasa Pandita’s mother-in-law tried to watch the sankirtana by hiding in a large basket, but the Lord quickly noticed that something was wrong. “There is no taste in the sankirtana today,” Mahaprabhu said. “There must be an outsider here.” Then Srivasa Pandita found where his mother-in-law was hiding and, very disturbed, removed her from that place. Only after this did sankirtana start again. One day, Srivasa Pandita’s son died as Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana was going on, but what did Srivasa Pandita think at that time? “My son’s dying is not a problem, but if Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana stops then there is no meaning to my life. I would rather die than live to see my relatives crying cause Mahaprabhu’s absorption in sankirtan to break.” In Srivasa Pandita’s home Mahaprabhu manifested sat-prahariya-bhava. He did kirtan there with His associates for one year continuously. He practiced with the devotees, tasting the rasa contained in sankirtana, before bringing sankirtana out to the people in general. In Kali-yuga, nama-sankirtana is the only method to cross over maya and achieve the service of Krsna. Without this nama-sankirtana, other sadhanas in Kali-yuga are useless. Srivasa Thakura went and joined Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri every year for Ratha-yatra. His permanent seva given by Mahaprabhu was to bring the bhaktas together and start sankirtana. One day, Srivasa Thakura called everyone and started a special kind of kirtana that happened been sung before. They sang: sri krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhara gaura bhakta vrnda This was the first time the panca-tattva mantra was sung. Srivasa Thakura did not include his name there. That sankirtana was tumultuous. When Mahaprabhu arrived there He said, “Srivasa, what is this you have started? Why don’t you chant the mahamantra?” Srivasa replied, “I worship gaura-nama, gaura-dhama, and gaura-jana. I know nothing else!” Our acaryas have described how at that time, Mahaprabhu became disturbed and locked Himself in the Gambhira, not immerging for a long time. Meanwhile, that kirtana went on for many blissful hours. Nowadays there are people who say that the mahamantra is everything and they disregard gaura-nama. But our Guru-varga has clearly established the glory and necessity of worshiping and chanting the names of the Panca-tattva. païca-tattvätmakaà kåñëaà bhakta-rüpa-svarüpakam bhaktävatäraà bhaktäkhyaà namämi bhakta-çaktikam Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.14 I offer praëäma unto Krsna in His five features, as bhakta-rüpa, the form of a devotee (Caitanya Mahäprabhu); bhakta-svarüpa, the expansion of a devotee (Nityänanda Prabhu); bhakta-ävatära, the incarnation of a devotee (Çré Advaita); bhakta, a pure devotee (Çré Çréväsa); and bhakta-çakti, the devotional energy (Çré Gadädhara). It must be understood that the Panca-tattva is non-different from Sri Krsna. Also, each of the personalities in the Panca-tattva are non-different features of Mahaprabhu and thus Krsna Himself. Krsnadasa Kaviraja further states: kåñëa, gurudvaya, bhakta, çakti, avatära, prakäça kåñëa ei chaya-rüpe karena viläsa Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.32 The Supreme Lord appears in six features. As Çré Kåñëa, the two kinds of gurus (dékñä and çikñä), the devotees, the incarnations of Godhead, the full expansions of His own Self (puruñas), and as His divine energy (çakti). In these six features the Lord enjoys His transcendental pastimes. Who gives the mahamantra? Who has relationship with it? Who is the guardian of the mahamantra? How can we purely chant the mahamantra? We must think about this seriously. Only by the mercy of Mahaprabhu and the panca-tattva can we chant the mahamantra. The mantra brought by Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu is indeed mahan, great. This mahamantra has been specially empowered to grant entrance into Vraja-dhama and the prema-seva thereof. If we disassociate Mahaprabhu from the mahamantra then we will be bereft of that supreme and priceless gift. To chant the holy name is the yuga-dharma, but without Mahaprabhu it will be nothing more than that. It will not be the means of obtaining service in Vraja. Mayavadis also do kirtana, but without Mahaprabhu. They only chant mantra, not the mahamantra. Mantras are meant to awaken one’s relationship with Krsna, but if you want your chanting to have the sakti to give you that relationship, you must have a relationship with gaura-kirtana. Srivasa Angana is where Srivasa Pandita and all the bhaktas started the sankirtana movement by the will of Mahaprabhu. When our acaryas give diksa they give brahma-gayatri, guru-mantra, guru-gayatri, gaura-mantra, gaura-gayatri, gopala-mantra, kama-gayatri, the panca-tattva mantra, and then the mahamantra. Mahamantra is not before the panca-tattva mantra. If you try to transgress Panca-tattva then your chanting of the mahamantra will be useless. So, there in Jagannatha Puri, Srivas Pandita revealed the glories Gaura and gaura-nama and had all the devotees chant the panca-tattva mantra. Everyone became mad in that sankirtana. They chanted only sri-krsna-caitanya-nama and nothing else. But after some time, on the request of Mahaprabhu, who finally immerged from the Gambhira, they began to sing the mahamantra once more for Mahaprabhu’s pleasure. They did this to please Him, but within their hearts they desired to chant gaura-nama incessantly. Sarvabhauma Pandita especially lost interest in chanting any other name. Everywhere he went, he only chanted, “Sri Krsna Caitanya! Sri Krsna Caitanya!” then after a while he would chant, “Prabhu Nityananda! Prabhu Nityananda!” and continue like this for the entire day. The bhaktas also chanted, “Jaya gaura gadadhara jaya nityananda, jaya advaita candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda.” Mahaprabhu then established that the Panca-tattva mantra was incomplete without the name of Srivasa Pandita—the leader of the bhaktas. Thus we chant: Sré-kåñëa-caitanya prabhu-nityänanda, çré-advaita gadädhara—çréväsädi—gaura-bhakta-vånda. The first three of the Panca-tattva are visaya-tattva. Gadadhara Prabhu and Srivasa Thakura are sakti tattva. Mahaprabhu made this clear. The sole and continuous business of Srivasa Thakura is to serve Mahaprabhu’s nama-sankirtana. If one takes shelter of him and chants the holy name, he will bestow upon that person sambandha with Mahaprabhu and vraja-bhakti. This is his service in Mahaprabhu’s lila. During the early years of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, Srivasa Pandita tolerated many threats and criticisms from envious people. Some people threatened to break his house and throw everything he had into the Ganga, because they feared his chanting would anger the Muslims and bring their wrath upon the whole area. But then Mahaprabhu started the full-fledged sankirtana movement and ordered all the devotees, “All of you, boldly do nama-sankirtana in your homes, in the homes of others, and in the streets. Any place where there is no nama-sankirtana is like a crematorium!” In this Kali-yuga, we enthusiastically try to do bhakti and bhajana, but then a little later we feel hopeless. Why? This is because we don’t understand the glories or try to make relationship with the Panca-tattva. One day, Mahaprabhu took Nityananda Prabhu to Srivasa Angana and said to Srivasa Thakura’s wife, Malini-devi, “I have brought your son.” “Who is my son?” “Nitai is your son.” Nityananda Prabhu was over 30 years old at that time but he became the baby of Malini-devi from then on. Malini-devi would cook and feed Him. He would not bathe unless she bathed Him. After bathing Him she dressed and decorated Him. Thus, just like a small child, Nityananda Prabhu knew nothing without Her. He would sometimes eat at other devotees’ homes but then soon return to Malini-devi to eat from her hand. Some days later, Mahaprabhu asked Srivasa Pandita, “O Srivasa, I have done you wrong. I gave you a mad person to take care of. Now, I request you, kick this person out of your house.” Srivasa replied, “Prabhu, do not try to cheat me. By Your mercy, I know nityananda-tattva. Nitai may do anything He likes—but I will never lose my faith in Him. You have not given me a madman, You have given me guru-tattva, dhama-tattva—You have given me everything.” Srivasa Thakura continuously served Nityananda Prabhu and this greatly pleased Mahaprabhu. Our worshipful Srivas Pandita, who has the adhikara to grant entrance into any dhama (Vraja-dhama, Gauda-dhama, or Ksetra-dhama), appeared on this day, not just to propagate the yuga-dharma, but to protect, teach, and help all the bhaktas who are in Mahaprabhu’s special nama-sankirtana movement. We offer our prayers to him.