Separation and Renunciation—Srila Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji’s Disappearance Day

 Giriraj Swami: So, this song: Jaya rādhā-mādhava, guru of Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja. Historically after Lord Krishna disappeared, the holy places in Vrindavan became somewhat lost due to the influence of time. But then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavan and He rediscovered some of the holy places. And He deputed the six Gosvamis to renovate the lost places of Krishna’s pastimes. So similarly, Navadvipa, after the disappearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also became somewhat obscured in the course of time. But then by the divine will, many great souls, mahā-bhāgavatas gathered in Mayapur and established the importance of Mayapur dhāma. Jagannatha dasa Babaji was performing bhajana at Surya Kund in Vrindavan. He felt inspired within the heart to go to Mayapur. And he lived to be very old, more than one hundred and twenty years. And it is said that the special love or prema that he had within his heart, his special moods, bhavas, he was just waiting for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to come so that he could impart those to him.

And Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja also was engaged in bhajana in Vrindavan and he too felt inspired within his heart to come to Navadvipa dhāma. At that time there was some doubt as to the actual location of Lord Chaitanya’s birthplace. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura studied different maps and spoke to local people and eventually he ascertained what he thought was the actual birthplace. And Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji was very old at the time; his disciples would carry him in a basket. So, they brought him to the place and he was so old that his eyelids drooped over his eyes. So, he was not seeing but when he got to that place, the actual birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, spontaneously he felt ecstasy and he got out of his basket and began to dance in ecstasy. And Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja was also greatly renounced. He would not eat. He would hardly eat; if he was a little hungry, he would take some mud from the banks of the river and eat it to put a little something in his stomach. From the material point of view, he was not very educated; he could hardly read or write. But because of his deep Krishna consciousness, all the truths of the Vedas were revealed to him. And devotees would read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to him and he would comment, and if they had questions, they would ask him and he would answer, just because of his deep realization of Krishna consciousness.

And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had many children, ten. And one of them, I think the fourth was Bimala Prasad, who was later known as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And of course, his father Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was his first guru, but according to the etiquette, (and there are good reasons for it) the father does not give dīkṣā to the son, and so Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura directed his son Bimala Prasad to approach Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja. But Babaji Maharaja was not interested in disciples. He could see very deeply into people’s hearts; he could see what their motives were. And because he was a renowned saintly person many people would come to him for ashirwad, blessings. But they wanted material blessings. Most people, they approach the deity or the sadhu for blessings for their material welfare. So, he did not like to be disturbed by these materialistic people. So, he would try to chant in seclusion; sometimes he would chant under an upturned boat, sometimes he would chant near the public latrine which had like a very bad smell and discouraged people from bothering him. And he was absorbed in nāma-bhajana, chanting the holy names in a mood of deep separation from Radharani and Krishna.

So, I will read his praṇāma mantra. Of course, we will read it when we offer puṣpāñjali.

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

Namah means obeisances; gaura-kisoraya- Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji; sakshad- directly; vairagya- renunciation; murtaye- unto the personification of renunciation; vipralambha- of separation from Krishna; rasa- of the mellow; ambhode- ocean; padambujaya- unto the lotus feet; te- your; namah- obeisances.

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja (the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati), who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in feelings of separation and intense love for Krishna.”

So, separation and renunciation go together. Feeling separation from Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji is in the same line. And he sang that song of Narottama dasa Thakura, his feelings of separation from Lord Gauranga and the Gosvamis who were associated with Gauranga Mahaprabhu. And in that mood of separation, one naturally is imbued with renunciation.

To give one example, some years ago I went to the island of Saint Lucia for about two weeks. One nice family there extended their hospitality to me and it was a very good time spent chanting and reading about japa, about the holy name and some reading about Srila Prabhupada (from Sruti Kirti Prabhu’s book: “What is the Difficulty”). And the family was very nice; they were just in the mood of service; they did not put any demands on me to entertain them. And, so after the two weeks was over, they drove me to the airport. And it was a route that I had often rode on the way to different places, to walk, or whatever. But this time, I was in the mood of separation because I was going to be leaving the place, the family, the facility that I had for chanting and hearing. And usually driving that scenic route I would look at the ocean, the palm trees, the flowers, houses, different things, but that time in that mood of separation I had no interest in looking at the sights, and was absorbed in chanting. And that is natural. When in the mood of separation, you do not feel like enjoying the things of the world but you are just absorbed in thoughts of the personalities from whom you feel separated, and going deep in that mood you chant the holy name and enter more deeply in spiritual consciousness.

Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja, he was specifically in the mood of separation from the service of Radha and Krishna, very much like Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. And he eventually, I mean it is a story, history, when Bimala Prasad approached Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji to accept him as his disciple, he refused. From one point of view, he did not want to accept disciples, from another point of view one might say he was testing Bimala Prasad or purifying him, because Bimala Prasad was extremely brilliant. It is said that he had a photographic memory, whatever he read he remembered, everything. And in school they had to keep buying books for the library because he had read all the books. And he knew everything that was in every book. So, he is a very learned person and Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji was almost illiterate. So, it seemed like an odd match. And so, he refused not directly, but in a tactful Indian way. He said, “I will ask. I don’t accept disciples, but if Gauranga Mahaprabhu orders me then I will accept you.” So, after some time Bimala Prasad returned. And he said, “So, did you get the order from Mahaprabhu?” And again, he put him off. He said, “Oh, I forgot to ask. Sorry, I have not received any order.” And he would go back and each time he would report to his father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, what had happened. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura knew that Babaji Maharaja was not accepting him, he was not giving him his mercy in that way.

So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was thinking: “What is the use of living? I cannot get the mercy of my guru, the person who I have chosen to accept as my guru, what is the use of even living?” So, he met Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji one more time and Babaji Maharaja, as I mentioned, he could enter people’s hearts and know what was going on inside of them. And so eventually, he accepted him as his disciple. Srila Prabhupada said, his only disciple. Although, His Holiness Bhakti Vikash Swami, Prabhupada’s disciple, has done some research and it appears that he maybe had initiated one or two others earlier on. But he was not very happy with the result. And so, then he decided no more. So, in a way you might say, he did have one or two other disciples but, in a way, he would say they were not real disciples. So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, said he was his only disciple. And in his humble mood, he said that when he left his body it should be dragged through the streets of Navadvipa so that his body could be covered by the dust of the devotees and the dust of Navadvipa dhāma. So, when the time came some of the local mahats, heads of different maths (institutions), they came and they wanted, each one wanted the body because they wanted to entomb the body at their place. Then that would be a big attraction, people would come and they would get more visitors, more donations. And then he said he wanted his body dragged through the streets, so they wanted to drag his body through the streets.

So, word went to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and he came rushing to the spot and he said, “I will take the body.” They were all very attached to the idea. And he said, “I am a renunciate and I am his only disciple, so I am the fit person to take charge of the body.” And they were all protesting, making a hullabaloo. So, then he said, “All right, whoever has not had sex for the last month, raise your hand.” So, then several of them just walked away. “And who hasn’t had in the last week?” More left. “Whoever hasn’t had in the last three days.” And people got the idea that they were not going to. . . they were not qualified and they were not going to get the body. And so, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took it. Of course, he did not drag it through the streets and he entombed it. Eventually as his institution, the Gaudiya Math, Chaitanya Math developed, he created a Shyam Kund and Radha-kunda and Govardhana Hill. So, he put the tomb of Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja there by the banks of Radha-kunda which is very appropriate.

So, we are also coming in that line and are all followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Gosvamis. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said in many places that of all the processes of bhakti, the main one is the chanting of the holy names without offense. tāra madhye sarva-śreṣṭha, of all the nine processes, sarva-śreṣṭha, the best is nāma-saṅkīrtana. And, niraparādhe, one who chants the holy name without offense, very quickly, kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana – it is the treasure for Krishna. And the first offense or the offense that allows the other offenses to flourish is the offense of inattention, pramāda. So, to chant the holy name properly we must hear. Of course, we should sit properly and articulate the names properly and hear with attention – that will put us in the stage where our offenses are cleared. And by cleansing and cleansing, watering, and watering and cleansing, and cleansing, then eventually we can become free from offenses and feel more of that love. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema – kṛṣṇa-prema is already there within our hearts it does not have to be brought from some other source. And by śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte, by associating with devotees and chanting and hearing in the association of devotees, karaye udaya, that natural love is awakened. But it takes time.

I remember years ago Bhurijana Prabhu said, “Krishna consciousness takes time.” He meant it may take time in the sense that it may take time to fully develop. But what he meant is it takes time; you must invest time in it. If you spend whatever, twenty hours a day in other pursuits for the body and mind, and extensions of the body and you leave four hours, four hours is a lot—- four hours for Krishna consciousness, four hours against twenty hours. But we understand grihastha ashram, so many responsibilities and obligations. But the more time we can spend on Krishna consciousness the better it is for us and for everyone connected with us. Especially chanting and hearing with attention, and reading Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta. And that will cleanse ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, cleanse the heart and awaken that dormant love for Krishna. That awakening comes with the mood of separation.

Of course, we are also coming to the last five days of the month of Damodara or Kartika, but I am sure you have been discussing that throughout the month. But we will of course sing the Dāmodarāṣṭakam later. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So, would anyone like to add anything?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My question is about asking; what people ask for material benediction? What will be the [Unintelligible] for any benediction: spiritual or material? Krishna is within the heart [Unintelligible] We have been given a point to [Unintelligible]?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Bob Cohen asked the exact same question to Srila Prabhupada. He is now Brahma Tirtha – that If Krishna is in our heart, He knows what we are thinking then why should we pray to Him? And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Because your business is to pray.” And in another context Srila Prabhupada said, that the mother wants to feed the baby, but if the baby does not cry, then the mother will not feed it. So, the idea is we must cry, we must ask. And that is our constitutional position. Then Krishna or other superiors will reciprocate.

Sometimes, I do not know if this is a very appropriate example, but sometimes as we hear it, it is said. It could be the other way, but as we usually hear it, the wife or whatever, the girl wants to hear the boy tell her he loves her. Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja gave a seminar in which he discussed this. So yes, so the man will say, “Well, you know I love you. Why do I have to tell you? I already told you once, twenty years ago. Do I have to tell you again? But yes, so it is, yes anyway.

Yes, yes, we should do that and it is natural. I am sure you were asking for the sake of others. Is that all right, or any more? Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: Maharaja when you said that [Unintelligible] that chanting is the most, best process of all the nine processes. So, when chanting [Unintelligible]. So, is there a further elaboration given on this specific statement that chanting is the best process?

Giriraj Swami: There is an idea that japa, I mean this is in a technical sense, that japa is done within the mind. So, there are verses that describe Haridasa Thakura’s chanting of japa (verses in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta) in which the word saṅkīrtana is used in relation to japa, because he was chanting out loud. He is nāmācārya, so it is said that he would chant one lakh silently. Silently, means within the mind. And one lakh softly, and one lakh loudly. But in Srila Prabhupada’s instructions about japa, especially in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, he emphasizes chanting loudly enough that one can hear it and others can also hear it. And in another, one disciple asked that question, round about the time when I joined in Boston and Prabhupada replied, “They both are the same but saṅkīrtana is better because other people hear it.” But our duty as disciples when we take initiation is to chant minimum sixteen rounds every day. That is our main sadhana, or our main duty, the main practice. But yes, like Jiva Gosvami says that nāma-saṅkīrtana has special potency to evoke spiritual sentiments. So, the more we can do of both the better. But we must do our minimum number of rounds. More rounds – all the better, more kirtan – all the better.

So now we will do puṣpāñjali. Puṣpāñjali means that we offer flowers, pushpa; anjali – we offer flowers to Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada said that on appearance days and disappearance days this is the most important element of the ceremony. And so, we have flower petals. Properly speaking, we offer three times, and we offer three times every time, so really you need to divide your petals into nine portions. And we will just see how far they go. And then we will offer ārati to Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja.