Srila Haridasa Thakura’s Disappearance Day

Giriraj Swami:

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Today is the divine disappearance day of Nāmācārya Srila Haridasa Thakura. So we shall read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Chapter Eleven: “The Passing of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.”

INTRODUCTION

The summary of this chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya as follows. In this chapter it is described how Brahmā Haridāsa Ṭhākura gave up his body with the consent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and how the Lord Himself personally performed the funeral ceremony and carried the body to the sea. He personally entombed the body, covered it with sand and erected a platform on the site. After taking a bath in the sea, He personally begged prasādam of Jagannātha from shopkeepers and distributed prasādam to the assembled devotees.

TEXT 1

namāmi haridāsaṁ taṁ
caitanyaṁ taṁ ca tat-prabhum
saṁsthitām api yan-mūrtiṁ
svāṅke kṛtvā nanarta yaḥ

TRANSLATION

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Haridasa Thakura and his master, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who danced with the body of Haridasa Thakura on His lap.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya dayāmaya
jayādvaita-priya nityānanda-priya jaya

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is very merciful and who is very dear to Advaita Ācārya and Lord Nityānanda!

TEXT 3

jaya śrīnivāseśvara haridāsa-nātha
jaya gadādhara-priya svarūpa-prāṇa-nātha

TRANSLATION

All glories to the master of Śrīnivāsa Ṭhākura! All glories to the master of Haridāsa Ṭhākura! All glories to the dear master of Gadādhara Paṇḍita! All glories to the master of the life of Svarūpa Dāmodara!

TEXT 4

jaya kāśī-priya jagadānanda-prāṇeśvara
jaya rūpa-sanātana-raghunātheśvara

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Śrī Caitanya, who is very dear to Kāśī Miśra! He is the Lord of the life of Jagadānanda and the Lord of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

TEXT 16

eka-dina govinda mahā-prasāda lañā
haridāse dite gelā ānandita hañā

TRANSLATION

One day Govinda, the personal servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, went in great jubilation to deliver the remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food to Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXTS 17–20

When Govinda came to Haridāsa, he saw that Haridāsa Ṭhākura was lying on his back and chanting his rounds very slowly.

“Please rise and take your mahā-prasādam,” Govinda said. Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, “Today I shall observe fasting.

“I have not finished chanting my regular number of rounds. How, then, can I eat? But you have brought mahā-prasādam, and how can I neglect it?”

Saying this, he offered prayers to the mahā-prasādam, took a little portion, and ate it.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Mahā-prasādam is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, instead of eating mahā-prasādam, one should honor it. It is said here, karilā vandana, “he offered prayers.” When taking mahā-prasādam, one should not consider the food ordinary preparations. Prasāda means favor. One should consider mahā-prasādam a favor of Kṛṣṇa. As stated by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, kṛṣṇa baḍa dayāmaya karibāre jihvā jaya svaprasāda-anna dilā bhāi. Kṛṣṇa is very kind. In this material world we are all very much attached to tasting various types of food. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa eats many nice varieties of food and offers the food back to the devotees, so that not only are one’s demands for various tastes satisfied, but by eating prasādam one makes advancement in spiritual life. Therefore, we should never consider ordinary food on an equal level with mahā-prasādam.

COMMENT

So the honoring of mahā-prasāda is one of the important items of devotional service. It is food that has been offered with love and devotion to the Lord and accepted by the Lord. In the Antya-līlā of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu feels great ecstasy honoring mahā-prasāda and He raises the question amongst His confidential devotees about the nature of mahā-prasāda that although it appears to be made of the same ingredients as ordinary food such as rice, dal, vegetables, spices, but it creates a completely different experience. And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained that the food that has been offered to Lord Jagannatha has been mixed with the nectar of the Lord’s lips. The same nectar that fills the flute, transcendental flute of Krishna, and the same nectar for which the gopīs are always hankering, so that same nectar from the lips of Krishna permeates mahā-prasāda. When we honor mahā-prasāda with purified senses, we can relish the nectar from Krishna’s lotus mouth.

Although mahā-prasāda is transcendental, one should honor it as a spiritual item. As far as possible one should not lust after mahā-prasāda. Although it is transcendental Srila Prabhupada has warned us to maintain a respectful attitude toward it and not accept it on the basis of taste. Sometimes even with Prabhupada’s remnants, mahā-mahā-prasāda the servant would bring the plate out and the senior devotees who were waiting for the plate would look at it and say, “I want this. I want that. I don’t want that.” It wasn’t a good mentality and Prabhupada’s servant mentioned it to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada said that, “After I finish honoring prasāda you should take the remnants and mush it all together and then distribute the mahā-prasāda so the devotees will not be selecting on the basis of their personal taste, but they will just be receiving mahā-prasāda.”

Once in Bombay there a clash between two disciples of Srila Prabhupada, one was a cook—he was actually a very good cook. He would cook for the Deities—and the other was you could say a good manager and good businessman. So they had some clash and immediately afterwards each one ran to Srila Prabhupada to give him a version of what happened and to complain about the other. In the end Srila Prabhupada commented that the problem was that they both were eating too much mahā-prasāda [laughter] and by eating too much rich food they had become passionate and were fighting.

Of course sometimes honoring prasāda is part of preaching. Now that is also a subtle point because sometimes when we go to people’s homes to accept prasāda, we are not completely sure about the consciousness that went into the cooking or the principles of cleanliness and hygiene and the spiritual rules and regulations that are required to cook for Krishna and offer the food to Krishna. We are not sure. But in India in the early days Srila Prabhupada said that if the family are Vaishnavas and they offer the food to their family Deity, we should take it as prasāda. 

In the beginning we had so many invitations when we first came to Bombay. In particular we had so many invitations that Srila Prabhupada made a rule that we would not eat at anyone’s house unless they became a life member. So during the first Bombay pandal, very big pandal at Cross Maiden, a very distinguished, aristocratic, pious, cultured Hindu gentleman came. Prabhupada would speak in the morning about seven o’clock in Hindi and then in the evening in English. So this Sri K.J. Somaya, he was a very prominent Hindu philanthropist in Bombay, so he would come to the morning lectures and he invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to his home to take prasāda. The devotees informed him of the rule, “You have to become a life member.” So he became a little annoyed. He didn’t think it was proper that we should place such a condition but Srila Prabhupada was very strict in his principles. He was responsive to an extent in certain cases but he didn’t really care about a big person in the material world. He had his rules and his principles and he stuck to them. 

Eventually Sri Somayaji relented and he became a life member. So the devotees said Srila Prabhupada would come to his home for prasāda. Srila Prabhupada remarked that, “We are making life members simply by eating.” [laughter] 

Then another friend from Bombay, Sri Hare Krishna dasa Agarwal, he invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to the Vedant Sammelan which was held I believe every year in Amritsar. The Vedant Sammelan was held at a Mayavadi ashram and there were Mayavadi slogans everywhere: ahaṁ brahmāsmi, tattvamasi. One morning after the morning program the disciples were with Srila Prabhupada in his room. So devotees were asking Srila Prabhupada questions about it and Srila Prabhupada was answering. He said that the organizers know that he doesn’t agree with them but still they invited him because they knew that if he came with his disciples, more people would come to their program. And actually it happened. The general public who came to the program weren’t really that interested as Prabhupada said hearing dry Mayavadis’ speak nonsense. They really came to see Srila Prabhupada and the devotees, and to join in the kirtan.

So it was like that, the devotees would do kirtan first and thousands of people would stream into the grounds and then when the devotees’ kirtan was over and their talk was over, they would leave, and there would hardly be anyone left to hear the Mayavadis. So then the organizers thought to juggle the program and have the devotees perform kirtan later. So then the public figured out what was happening, they started to come late, more or less after the Mayavadis had finished their dry, speculative, imaginative interpretations. But anyway it happened like that. 

So this particular morning when Srila Prabhupada was speaking to the small group of disciples in his room he said that, “These Mayavadis will go on speculating for many lifetimes and never come to any conclusion.” And just then his disciple Malati dasi brought a plate of mahā-prasāda from Prabhupada’s small Radha-Krishna Deities who were travelling with Prabhupada. So he said, “They will go on speculating for lifetimes and not come to any conclusion but we will mahā-prasāda,” and he took a little piece of fruit and popped it in his mouth, “we will go back to Godhead just by eating, just by taking mahā-prasāda.”

Mahā-prasāda is very potent.

TEXT 21

āra dina mahāprabhu tāṅra ṭhāñi āilā
sustha hao, haridāsa — bali’ tāṅre puchilā

TRANSLATION

The next day, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Haridāsa’s place and inquired from him, “Haridāsa, are you well?”

TEXTS 22–23

Haridāsa offered his obeisances to the Lord and replied, “My body is all right, but my mind and intelligence are not well.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further inquired from Haridāsa, “Can you ascertain what your disease is?”

PURPORT

Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, “My disease is that I cannot complete my rounds.”

If one cannot complete the fixed number of rounds he is assigned, he should be considered to be in a diseased condition of spiritual life. Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura is called nāmācārya. Of course, we cannot imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but everyone must chant a prescribed number of rounds. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have fixed sixteen rounds as the minimum so that the Westerners will not feel burdened. These sixteen rounds must be chanted, and chanted loudly, so that one can hear himself and others.

COMMENT

We need not discuss much about sixteen rounds. We’ve discussed the subject on other occasions. In Lord Chaitanya’s instructions to Sanatana Gosvami He quotes the basic principle of vidhi sādhana-bhakti, to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. He quotes perhaps from the Padma-Purana that all other injunctions and prohibitions are servants of these two: to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. In the purport Srila Prabhupada explains that although the members of the Krishna consciousness movement have many activities and these activities are not ordinary, they are also meant for remembering Krishna, but still, unless we chant our prescribed number of sixteen rounds daily, we will be unable to always remember Krishna and never forget. And then he quotes, “Of all the instructions of the spiritual master the instruction to chant at least sixteen rounds daily is most essential.”

Here Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport: “These sixteen rounds must be chanted, and chanted loudly, so that one can hear himself and others.” Generally japa is taken as an individual which it is but it’s also a group activity. When we chant together there is more strength in the effort, more encouragement. Everyone is gathered together for the same purpose, for the same intention, and sometimes it is good to have other people listen to our chanting to make sure that we are pronouncing each word properly. It is very important to articulate each word, each syllable properly and to try to hear each word and each syllable. So the association of devotees is very important and it is a great boon to live in a temple community or live near a temple where one can join the programs with other devotees and chant with them.

TEXT 24

prabhu kahe, — “vṛddha ha-ilā ‘saṅkhyā’ alpa kara
siddha-deha tumi, sādhane āgraha kene kara?

TRANSLATION

“Now that you have become old,” the Lord said, “you may reduce the number of rounds you chant daily. You are already liberated, and therefore you need not follow the regulative principles very strictly.

PURPORT

Unless one has come to the platform of spontaneous love of God, he must follow the regulative principles. Ṭhākura Haridāsa was the living example of how to follow the regulative principles. Similarly, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was also such a living example. In the Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka it is stated, saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. The Gosvāmīs, especially Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, strictly followed all the regulative principles. The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra loudly enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds. Not only was Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī chanting a fixed number of rounds, but he had also taken a vow to bow down many times and offer obeisances to the Lord.

COMMENT

This strict adherence to the regulative principles of Haridasa Thakura and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami are exemplary. It is said that Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s adherence to his vows were like lines on stone that they could not be erased. It could not be removed. 

We also have examples within our own movement. One that comes to mind is His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami. Bhakti Tirtha Swami in the end, his body was so rapt with pain that he couldn’t sleep. It was almost impossible for him to sleep. And if he did happen to fall asleep, just by remaining in one place because he had hardly any flesh on his body, so just by remaining in one place, just the pressure of his body on his skin and then the pain from the cancer which was already there would wake him up. He could hardly sleep at all. 

So one night at about one in the morning Bhakti Tirtha Swami was chanting and Radhanath Swami who was keeping him company said to him, “Maharaja, why are you up at one in the morning, two in the morning chanting?” Bhakti Tirtha Swami replied that, “I haven’t completed my rounds.” And Radhanath Swami said, “But Maharaja, you can hardly sleep, your body is in so much pain, Krishna will understand if you don’t finish your rounds at this stage of your life.” And Bhakti Tirtha Swami replied that, “Since the day of my initiation I have always chanted at least sixteen rounds and I don’t want to stop now.” When Radhanath Swami told the story he looked at us, looked at the devotees and said, “So what excuse can we have.”

TEXT 25

loka nistārite ei tomāra ‘avatāra’
nāmera mahimā loke karilā pracāra

TRANSLATION

“Your role in this incarnation is to deliver the people in general. You have sufficiently preached the glories of the holy name in this world.”

PURPORT

Haridāsa Ṭhākura is known as nāmācārya because it is he who preached the glories of chanting hari-nāma, the holy name of God. By using the words tomāra avatāra (“your incarnation”), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms that Haridāsa Ṭhākura is the incarnation of Lord Brahmā. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that advanced devotees help the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His mission and that such devotees or personal associates incarnate by the will of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord incarnates by His own will, and, by His will, competent devotees also incarnate to help Him in His mission. Haridāsa Ṭhākura is thus the incarnation of Lord Brahmā, and other devotees are likewise incarnations who help in the prosecution of the Lord’s mission.

COMMENT

We read in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam how Lord Brahma became illusioned. Krishna, his master, had appeared as a cowherd boy in Vraja, and was playing just like an ordinary child. So Lord Brahma had some doubt, “My Master, Lord Vishnu, has come as a cowherd boy and is playing as an ordinary child? How is this possible?” So he came, Lord Brahma descended from Brahmaloka (Satyaloka) and stole away the cowherd boys and calves, and in the end he realized his mistake. He used his mystic power to test Krishna but Krishna’s mystic power far exceeded Lord Brahma’s and He defeated Lord Brahma.

So afterwards Lord Brahma felt very contrite and repentant. Of course he offered many nice prayers to Lord Krishna but still he prayed for an experience, such an experience that he would never forget Krishna again. And so in response to Lord Brahma’s heartfelt prayer, he appeared as Haridasa Thakura in Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes and as Haridasa Thakura he had such experiences that he could never forget Krishna. 

So that is a nice prayer. That is our goal: always remember Krishna and never forget Him. So we can pray to be put in such a situation that we remember Krishna and have such experiences that we will never forget Krishna at any time.

TEXT 26

ebe alpa saṅkhyā kari’ kara saṅkīrtana”
haridāsa kahe, — “śuna mora satya nivedana

TRANSLATION

The Lord concluded, “Now, therefore, please reduce the fixed number of times you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.”

Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, “Kindly hear my real plea.

TEXTS 27–30

“I was born in an inferior family, and my body is most abominable. I always engage in low work. Therefore, I am the lowest, most condemned of men.

“I am unseeable and untouchable, but You have accepted me as Your servant. This means that You have delivered me from a hellish condition and raised me to the Vaikuṇṭha platform.

“My dear Lord, You are the fully independent Personality of Godhead. You act by Your own free will. You cause the whole world to dance and act as You like.

“My dear Lord, by Your mercy You have made me dance in many ways. For example, I was offered the śrāddha-pātra, which should have been offered to first-class brāhmaṇas. I ate from it even though I was born in a family of meat-eaters.

PURPORT

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, in his Anubhāṣya, quotes from the Viṣṇu-smṛti in reference to the śrāddha-pātra.

brāhmaṇāpasadā hy ete kathitāḥ paṅkti-dūṣakāḥ
etān vivarjayed yatnāt śrāddha-karmaṇi paṇḍitaḥ

According to this verse, if one is born in a brāhmaṇa family but does not behave according to brahminical standards, he should not be offered the śrāddha-pātra, which is prasādam offered to the forefathers. Advaita Ācārya offered the śrāddha-pātra to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, not to a brāhmaṇa who had been born in a brāhmaṇa family. Although Haridāsa Ṭhākura was born in the family of meat-eaters, because he was an advanced devotee he was shown more respect than a first-class brāhmaṇa.

COMMENT

It is a fact that a Vaishnava, a transcendental Vaishnava is higher than a brahman but because people can misunderstand the position of a Vaishnava, although there is no need to do so, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura introduced the system of awarding the sacred thread and brahminical initiation to people born in nonbrahman families so that people would understand that they are brahmans and afford them the proper respect.

Srila Prabhupada continued the same practice. Haridasa Thakura continued:

TEXT 31

“I have had one desire for a very long time. I think that quite soon, my Lord, You will bring to a close Your pastimes within this material world.

TEXT 32

“I wish that You not show me this closing chapter of Your pastimes. Before that time comes, kindly let my body fall down in Your presence.

TEXT 33

“I wish to catch Your lotuslike feet upon my heart and see Your moonlike face.

TEXT 34

“With my tongue I shall chant Your holy name, ‘Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya!’ That is my desire. Kindly let me give up my body in this way.

TEXT 35

“O most merciful Lord, if by Your mercy it is possible, kindly grant my desire.

TEXT 36

“Let this lowborn body fall down before You. You can make possible this perfection of all my desires.”

TEXT 37

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “My dear Haridāsa, Kṛṣṇa is so merciful that He must execute whatever you want.

TEXT 38

“But whatever happiness is Mine is all due to your association. It is not fitting for you to go away and leave Me behind.”

TEXT 39

Catching the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “My Lord, do not create an illusion! Although I am so fallen, You must certainly show me this mercy!

TEXT 40

“My Lord, there are many respectable personalities, millions of devotees, who are fit to sit on my head. They are all helpful in Your pastimes.

TEXT 41

“My Lord, if an insignificant insect like me dies, what is the loss? If an ant dies, where is the loss to the material world?

TEXT 42

“My Lord, You are always affectionate to Your devotees. I am just an imitation devotee, but nevertheless I wish that You fulfill my desire. That is my expectation.”

TEXT 43

Because He had to perform His noon duties, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu got up to leave, but it was settled that the following day, after He saw Lord Jagannātha, He would return to visit Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXT 44

After embracing him, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left to perform His noon duties and went to the sea to take His bath.

TEXT 45

The next morning, after visiting the Jagannātha temple, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, accompanied by all His devotees, went hastily to see Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXT 46

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the devotees came before Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who offered his respects to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all the Vaiṣṇavas.

TEXT 47

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired, “My dear Haridāsa, what is the news?”

Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, “My Lord, whatever mercy You can bestow upon me.”

TEXT 48

Upon hearing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately began great congregational chanting in the courtyard. Vakreśvara Paṇḍita was the chief dancer.

TEXT 49

Headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, all the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu surrounded Haridāsa Ṭhākura and began congregational chanting.

TEXT 50

In front of all the great devotees like Rāmānanda Rāya and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to describe the holy attributes of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXT 51

As He described the transcendental attributes of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu seemed to possess five mouths. The more He described, the more His great happiness increased.

TEXT 52

After hearing of the transcendental qualities of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, all the devotees present were struck with wonder. They all offered their respectful obeisances to the lotus feet of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXT 53

Haridāsa Ṭhākura made Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sit down in front of him, and then he fixed his eyes, like two bumblebees, on the lotus face of the Lord.

TEXT 54

He held the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu on his heart and then took the dust of the feet of all the devotees present and put it on his head.

TEXT 55

He began to chant the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya again and again. As he drank the sweetness of the face of the Lord, tears constantly glided down from his eyes.

TEXT 56

While chanting the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, he gave up his air of life and left his body.

TEXT 57

Seeing the wonderful death of Haridāsa Ṭhākura by his own will, which was just like a great mystic yogī’s, everyone remembered the passing away of Bhīṣma.

TEXT 58

There was a tumultuous noise as they all chanted the holy names “Hari” and “Kṛṣṇa.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became overwhelmed with ecstatic love.

TEXT 59

The Lord raised the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and placed it on His lap. Then He began to dance in the courtyard in great ecstatic love.

TEXT 60

Because of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s ecstatic love, all the devotees were helpless, and in ecstatic love they also began to dance and chant congregationally.

TEXT 61

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced for some time, and then Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī informed Him of other rituals for the body of Ṭhākura Haridāsa.

TEXT 62

The body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura was then raised onto a carrier that resembled an airship and taken to the sea, accompanied by congregational chanting.

TEXT 63

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced in front of the procession, and Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, along with the other devotees, chanted and danced behind Him.

TEXT 64

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bathed the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura in the sea and then declared, “From this day on, this sea has become a great pilgrimage site.”

TEXT 65

Everyone drank the water that had touched the lotus feet of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and then they smeared remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s sandalwood pulp over Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s body.

TEXT 66

After a hole was dug in the sand, the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura was placed into it. Remnants from Lord Jagannātha, such as His silken ropes, sandalwood pulp, food and cloth, were placed on the body.

TEXT 67

All around the body, the devotees performed congregational chanting, and Vakreśvara Paṇḍita danced in jubilation.

TEXT 68

With His transcendental hands, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally covered the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura with sand, chanting “Haribol! Haribol!”

TEXT 69

The devotees covered the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura with sand and then constructed a platform upon the site. The platform was protected all around by fencing.

TEXT 70

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced and chanted all around the platform, and as the holy name of Hari roared tumultuously, the whole universe became filled with the vibration.

COMMENT

There is an elaborate description of the entire funeral ceremony. After placing Haridasa Thakura’s body in samadhi, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the other devotees took bath in the ocean and enjoyed sporting in the ocean. 

Then they came out and went to the Jagannatha temple to the Siṁha-dvāra and the vibration of the holy names filled the city. Then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally begged mahā-prasāda from the shopkeepers to feed the devotees. Lord Chaitanya made the devotees sit down in rows and He personally served the prasāda to all the devotees.

Now I will read the benediction that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has offered to all of us.

TEXT 90

premāviṣṭa hañā prabhu karena vara-dāna
śuni’ bhakta-gaṇera juḍāya manas-kāma

TRANSLATION

Overwhelmed with ecstatic love, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered a benediction to all the devotees, which all the devotees heard with great satisfaction.

TEXTS 91–93

“haridāsera vijayotsava ye kaila darśana
ye ihāṅ nṛtya kaila, ye kaila kīrtana

ye tāṅre vālukā dite karila gamana
tāra madhye mahotsave ye kaila bhajana

acire ha-ibe tā-sabāra ‘kṛṣṇa-prāpti’
haridāsa-daraśane haya aiche ‘śakti’

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this benediction: “Anyone who has seen the festival of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s passing away, anyone who has chanted and danced here, anyone who has offered sand on the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and anyone who has joined this festival to partake of the prasādam will achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa very soon. There is such wonderful power in seeing Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

TEXTS 94–98

“Being merciful upon Me, Kṛṣṇa gave Me the association of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Being independent in His desires, He has now broken that association.

“When Haridāsa Ṭhākura wanted to leave this material world, it was not within My power to detain him.

“Simply by his will, Haridāsa Ṭhākura could give up his life and go away, exactly like Bhīṣma, who previously died simply by his own desire, as we have heard from śāstra.

“Haridāsa Ṭhākura was the crown jewel on the head of this world; without him, this world is now bereft of its valuable jewel.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then told everyone, “Say ‘All glories to Haridāsa Ṭhākura!’ and chant the holy name of Hari.” Saying this, He personally began to dance.

COMMENT

The Bengali is: ‘‘jaya jaya haridāsa’ bali’. Say, “Jaya jaya haridāsa.”

Everyone began to chant “Jaya jaya haridāsa! Jaya jaya haridāsa! Jaya jaya haridāsa! Jaya jaya haridāsa!”

TEXTS 99–100

Everyone began to chant, “All glories to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who revealed the importance of chanting the holy name of the Lord!”

Thereafter, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bade farewell to all the devotees, and He Himself, with mixed feelings of happiness and distress, took rest.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada said that when a Vaishnava departs we feel both happiness and distress. We feel happy because we know the devotee is gone to serve Krishna but we feel distress because we will be deprived of the devotee’s association.

TEXT 101

ei ta’ kahiluṅ haridāsera vijaya
yāhāra śravaṇe kṛṣṇe dṛḍha-bhakti haya

COMMENT 

Now here is your benediction.

TRANSLATION

Thus I have spoken about the victorious passing away of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Anyone who hears this narration will certainly fix his mind firmly in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

At Puruṣottama-kṣetra, or Jagannātha Purī, there is a temple of Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha. If one goes from there to the sea, he can discover the tomb of Haridāsa Ṭhākura still existing. Every year on the date of Ananta-caturdaśī there is a festival to commemorate the passing away of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. At the same place, Deities of Nityānanda Prabhu, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Advaita Prabhu were established about one hundred years ago. A gentleman named Bhramaravara from Kendrāpāḍā, in the province of Orissa, contributed funds to establish these Deities in the temple. The management of the temple was under the Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha gosvāmīs.

This temple was later sold to someone else, and this party is now maintaining the sevā-pūjā of the temple. Near this temple and the tomb of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura constructed a small house called the Bhakti-kuṭī. In the Bengali year 1329 (A.D. 1922), the Puruṣottama-maṭha, a branch of the Gauḍīya Maṭha, was established there.

COMMENT

There is a very confidential story, I thought of it yesterday on Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s appearance day, but I did not relate it but on this auspicious occasion I will. It has deep significance but it is not an example that is meant for us at this stage.

After Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had worked so tirelessly to preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especially in Bengal and Orissa and after been so successful in spreading the nāma-haṭṭa he found that some different deviant groups that he had worked so hard to distinguish from the true line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they again became prominent, and people started to go to them. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura became very despondent. He became very disappointed and he didn’t know what to do. 

So Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to him in a dream. This is also a little confidential because the report of it was published in Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s journal but those close to him by oral traditional have said that actually Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to him not in a dream but He appeared to him. But Bhaktivinoda Thakura, not wanting to make it sound cheap and out of humbleness he said He appeared to him in a dream and told him, “Do not feel discouraged. Go to Jagannatha Puri, Puruṣottama-kṣetra and establish a bhajana-kutira near the samadhi of Haridasa Thakura and chant the holy name day and night. The beneficial effects of your chanting the holy name there will be felt all over the world.”

So Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura obeyed the instruction and constructed Bhakti-kuṭī near the samadhi of Haridasa Thakura and chanted the holy name. According to the statement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Bhaktivinoda Thakura we have benefitted from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s chanting by the tomb of Haridasa Thakura.

PURPORT (concluded)

In the Bhakti-ratnākara it is stated:

śrīnivāsa śīghra samudrera kūle gelā
haridāsa-ṭhākurera samādhi dekhilā

bhūmite paḍiyā kailā praṇati vistara
bhāgavata-gaṇa śrī-samādhi-sannidhāne
śrīnivāse sthira kailā sasneha-vacane

punaḥ śrīnivāsa śrī-samādhi praṇamiyā
ye vilāpa kailā, tā śunile drave hiyā

“Śrīnivāsa Ṭhākura quickly ran to the seashore. When he saw the tomb of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he immediately fell down offering prayers and almost fainted. The devotees present there pacified him with very sweet and affectionate words, and Śrīnivāsa again offered his obeisances to the tomb. Hearing of the separation that Śrīnivāsa expressed in his lamentation at the tomb of Haridāsa Ṭhākura makes one’s heart melt.”

TEXTS 102–107

From the incident of Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s passing away and the great care Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took in commemorating it, one can understand just how affectionate He is toward His devotees. Although He is the topmost of all sannyāsīs, He fully satisfied the desire of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

When Haridāsa Ṭhākura was at the last stage of his life, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave him His company and allowed him to touch Him. Thereafter, He took the body of Ṭhākura Haridāsa on His lap and personally danced with it.

Out of His causeless mercy the Lord personally covered the body of Haridāsa Ṭhākura with sand and personally begged alms from the shopkeepers. Then He conducted a great festival to celebrate the passing away of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

Haridāsa Ṭhākura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

The life and characteristics of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are exactly like an ocean of nectar, one drop of which can please the mind and ear.

Anyone who desires to cross over the ocean of nescience, please hear with great faith the life and characteristics of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 108

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, eleventh chapter, describing the passing of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

COMMENT

Nāmācārya Srila Haridasa Thakura ki jaya!