SB – Srila Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji’s Disappearance Day—Utthana-ekadasi

Giriraj Swami: On the most auspicious occasion of Uttama Ekādaśī, utta means to get up. So, just like we have the daily cycle of waking and performing activities and resting, so in the calculation of the Gods, there are also different cycles, and it is said that during the four months of cāturmāsya, demigods are taking rest. And therefore, according to one calculation, cāturmāsya ends on the Ekādaśī. We follow the system from Purnima to Purnima. So, they get up on this day, and that’s why during cāturmāsya, various ritual performances are not performed, like vivah sanskar, no marriages, because the demigods are resting and they would not attend the ceremony to give blessings.

For us, today is especially important because it’s the disappearance day of Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja, who was the spiritual master of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and thus, the grand spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada. Much could be said about his life, his activities, but because of time constraints, we won’t really be able to discuss much, and that information is available. But tonight, I wanted to focus just on his mood in devotional service, mood of separation, which is mentioned in his praṇāma mantra.

namo gaura-kisoraya sakshad-vairagya-murtaye
vipralambha-rasambhode padambujaya te namah

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja, the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation and intense love of Krishna.

Vipralambha-rasambhode, the ocean of the mood of separation. The separation is really the most important factor in Krishna consciousness. Once, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada how one can know whether he is chanting with quality, and Srila Prabhupada replied, “When you chant with quality, you’ll know it, you won’t have to ask.” He said, “Just like you don’t have to ask if you are getting strength or satisfaction from eating, you know it yourself.” And then he said, “The quality is śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me. When you feel that the whole world is vacant in the absence of Govinda, that is quality.”

So, Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja was absorbed in that mood of separation, and he would often roll on the banks of the Ganges and Navadvipa dhāma, and sing a song in the mood of separation.

The song book in which I found the song does not attribute it to him or to any particular author, although I got the sense that he might have composed it, but I can’t really say for sure, but he definitely did sing it. Can you hand me that? I only heard the song once or twice. I won’t attempt to sing it. This is a song of separation from Srimati Radharani, who is the desired object of service for many of our acharyas, and especially for Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. His attachment to the service of Srimati Radharani was extremely intense, and this song is in the mood of separation from Srimati Radharani in the mood of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Kothaya go premamayi, where is She who is full of love? Similar to Je Anilo Prem Dhana.

 (1)

kothaya go premamayi radhe radhe

radhe radhe go, jaya radhe radhe

(2)

dekha diye prana rakha, radhe radhe

tomara kańgala tomaya dake, radhe radhe

(3)

radhe vrndavana-vilasini, radhe radhe

radhe kanu-mana-mohini, radhe radhe

(4)

radhe asta-sakhira siromani, radhe radhe

radhe vrsabhanu-nandini, radhe radhe

(gosai) niyama kare sadai dake, radhe radhe

(5)

(gosai) eka-bara dake kesi-ghate,

abara dake vaḿsi-vate, radhe radhe

(gosai) eka-bara dake nidhu-vane,

abara dake kusja-vane, radhe radhe

(6)

(gosai) eka-bara dake radha-kunde,

abara dake syama-kunde, radhe radhe

(gosai) eka-bara dake kusuma-vane,

abara dake govardhane, radhe radhe

(7)

(gosai) eka-bara dake tala-vane,

abara dake tamala-vane, radhe radhe

(gosai) malina vasana diye gaya,

vrajera dhulaya gadagadi jaya, radhe radhe

(8)

(gosai) mukhe radha radha bale,

bhase nayanera jale, radhe radhe

(gosai) vrndavane kuli kuli kêde bedaya

radha bali’, radhe radhe

(9)

(gosai) chapanna danda ratri-dine

jane na radha-govinda vine, radhe radhe

(10)

tara para cari danda suti’ thake

svapne radha-govinda dekhe, radhe radhe

1) O Radha who is full of divine love, where are You? All glories to Radha, all glories to Radha.

2) O Radha, grant me Your vision and save my life. Your wretched beggar calls out to You, O Radha, O Radha!

3) O Radha, You are the enjoyer of amorous pastimes in the forest of Vrindavan wherein You enchant the mind of Krsna.

4) O Radha, You are the crest-jewel among the eight principal sakhīs. O daughter of king Vrishabhanu. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami daily calls out to you, O Radha O Radha!

5) Sometimes he calls out O Radha O Radha at Kesi-ghat and sometimes at Vamsi-vrata. He was sometimes calling in Nidhuvana and sometimes calling in Seva-kuñja, O Radha O Radha!

6) He was sometimes calling in Radha-kunda and sometimes calling at Syama-kuṇḍa, O Radha O Radha. He was sometimes calling at Kusuma-serovar and sometimes at Govardhana Hill, O Radha O Radha!

7) He was sometimes calling at Talavana and sometimes calling at Tamalvana, O Radha O Radha. Raghunatha wore just a simple dirty cloth because he was always rolling in the dust of Vraja calling out, O Radha O Radha!

8) While his mouth is calling the names of Radha, tears are pouring from his eyes, O Radha O Radha. He wanders throughout the streets of Vrindavan crying, calling out, O Radha O Radha!

9) Throughout the day and night, he knows nothing but Radha and Govinda, O Radha O Radha!

10) He lies down for only an hour and a half each night and in his sleep, he dreams of Radha and Govinda, O Radha O Radha!

So, reading the song, the translation of the song, we can see how Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja was in the same mood, following in the same line as Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. He was also rolling in the dust of Vrindavan or in the dust of Navadvipa, chanting, “Radha Radha.” He was very renounced. In fact, the feeling of separation gives rise to the spirit of renunciation. Even ordinary people experience it when some loved one dies. They feel, “What is this world? It’s also temporary. What is the use of all these material pursuits? Everything will end in death.” But unless they take to the process of Krishna consciousness, the process of purification, such sentiments are fleeting. It’s called samshana vairāgya, the renunciation that takes place at the crematorium.

I’ve seen it when Srichand Hinduja’s only son died. There was a funeral in the Vile Parle, and one of the members of the same community, I don’t think he was particularly close to the family, but he was also a very wealthy Sindhi gentleman. He came up to me afterwards, I knew him quite well, and he was really in the mood, “What is the use of all this working for money? It all ends in death, one should become serious about Krishna consciousness.”

So, that sense of renunciation arises naturally when one feels separation, but in the case of ordinary people, it doesn’t last because they get covered by maya. Maya has two potencies. One sort of pushes the person down, and the other covers the person so he doesn’t know that he is down, he thinks he is alright.

But in the case of Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja or Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Narottama dasa Thakura, all of the acharyas mentioned in his song, they were always in that mood of separation. Of course, it is said it began in our line from Madhavendra Puri, he was in the mood of separation of Radharani, feeling separation for Krishna when Krishna left Vrindavan for Mathura, and that mood came down through him to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was also in the mood of Radharani in separation from Krishna, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ
govinda-viraheṇa me, and that came down through Him to the Six Gosvamis, who were merged in the ocean of feelings of separation.

He Radhe Vrajadevi kechalalite he nanda suno kutah, just like this song, “O Radharani, O Krishna, son of Nanda Maharaja, where are You? Are You on the banks of the Yamuna? Are You at Govardhana?” So, the Six Gosvamis would roam all over Vrindavan shouting, “O Radha, O Krishna, where are You? O Lalita, O Vishaka.”

So, this is really the mood for which we aspire, and it’s the mood that our acharyas relished, and it’s the example that they left for us to follow. Of course, generally, these feelings arise at a certain stage of purification and maturity in devotional service, but still, Srila Prabhupada spoke about them, and it’s good for us to hear. And on these special occasions; appearance days, disappearance days, the month of Kartik, if you go to any of the holy places in India, Vrindavan, Mayapur, Jagannatha Puri, we can have some sense of the feeling of separation.

I received a phone call today from a godbrother who had just gotten back from Vrindavan. Of course, he does a lot of service during the year, a lot of service, works very hard, and he went to Vrindavan for six, eight, ten days, but he felt that. One day, he went out on pilgrimage to Uchagaon and Vrinda kuṇḍa and felt some sense of relationship with Lalita devi and Vrinda devi, and he was doing a lot of reading along the way, and of course, very focused japa, and he felt something.

And it permeated the rest of his stay in Vrindavan, and of course, he wants to try to keep it cultivated, and he said he was following the YES principle. The YES principle is, Y for yearning, E for eagerness, and S for searching. Following the yes principle of devotional service, but of course, the secret is that chanting, chanting, chanting, and hearing, and serving, and serving, and serving without giving up. Anyway, these were just my thoughts, a few thoughts on this auspicious occasion.

Would anyone else like to say anything?

So, we pray to the lotus feet of Sri Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja to give us just a small drop of mercy, a particle of mercy, j a drop from that ocean of vipralambha rasa, so that we also develop that eagerness for the service of Sri Radha-Krishna and Their associates, which will automatically make us detached from the pale, petty things of this world.

Of course, he also preached. All of our acharyas preached. He preached a little in his own way, but he ordered Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to preach. So, from one point of view, one could say that he preached through Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, through his instructions to him, and through the mercy he gave him. But we cannot do anything without mercy, and even Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was such a powerful acharya, naiṣṭhika brahmachari, so austere and renounced, but even he, everyone, even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His pastimes, He presented Himself as completely dependent on the mercy of the spiritual master.

So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he received the order from Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja to preach and through him, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji is preaching all over the world, through Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his disciples, Srila Prabhupada and others and their disciples. It’s also by his mercy that the desire of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that the holy name be preached in every town and village of the world is going on.

Hare Krishna. Sri Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!