Category: Articles

Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami’s bhajan Kutira | Sripat Prembag, Jessore, Bangladesh

Post author By gaudiya
Post date May 26, 2018

Prembag jessore rupa sanatana

‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ recently visited the exalted spiritual site of Prembag, where Sri Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami used to once perform their bhajana. The sacred tree under which the two brothers rested and meditated continues to exist even today. This holy place is situated within the district of Jessore, in Bangladesh. Jessore is an exceedingly old place ,vibrant with rich cultural history.It once belonged to the ancient kingdom of King Janapada. In the 15th century, Jessore was part of the kingdom of King Pratapaditya.

Sri Kavi Karnapura reveals in Gaura Ganoddesha Dipika that Sri Rupa Goswami was none other than the incarnation of Sri Rupa Manjari, one of the chief assistants of Lalita Sakhi (one of the eight principal Gopis of Vrindavana). Sri Sanatana Goswami was the combined incarnation of Rati Manjari,Lavanga Manjari and Sanatana Kumara.Sri Jiva Goswami has explained the genealogical history of Sri Rupa Goswami’s family. They were the descendants of Sarvagya Jagadguru, a great scholar of the Vedas.He was an expert in Yajurveda. Sri Sarvagya was a brahmin and also one of the kings of Karnataka in the 12th-century sakabda era. In his lineage appeared a great devotee named Kumar Deva who had settled in Jessore (Bangladesh). He got married to a very chaste lady named Revati devi. In course of time Kumar deva and Revati Devi gave birth to many sons. Most illustrious among them were Amara (came to be later known as Sanatana Goswami) ,Santosh(came to be later known as Rupa Goswami) and Vallabha (came to be later known as Anupama). It is believed that Sri Sanatana was born around 1488 AD while his younger brother Rupa, appeared in this world around 1493 AD. Sri Jiva Goswami was the son of Anupama.

Lord Jagannath Ranaghat

Jagadish Pandit – Biography | Jasra (Yashora) Jagannatha temple, Chakdaha

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 27, 2018

chakdaha

Sri Jagadish Pandit was the fifteenth branch to have expanded out of Lord Nityananda’s trunk of devotional service.Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja has highly glorified him in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta. Sri Jagadish Pandit has been described as ‘Jagat-pavana’, the deliverer of the entire world. It has been exclaimed that devotional love of Krishna showered from him like torrents of heavy rain.

jagadisa paṇḍita haya jagat-pavana
Krishna premamrita varse, yena varsa ghana
(Caitanya Caritamrta, adi, 11.30)

‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ considers itself exceedingly fortunate to have been able to visit the sripat of Sri Jagadish pandit in this holy town of Chakdaha and seek blessings from his worshipable Jagannatha and Gaura-Gopal deities. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has mentioned in his anubhashya commentary that both of Jagadish pandit’s parents were great devotees of Lord Vishnu. After they had passed away, Jagadish Pandit, shifted his residence to Mayapur to live in the company of Jagannatha Misra (Mahaprabhu’s father) and the other vaishnavas. His wife Dukhini and brother Hiranya accompanied him. Gaura Gonodesha Dipika confirms that both the brothers, Jagadish and Hiranya, were formerly the wives of the sacrificial brahmanas in Vrindavana. In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Jagadish pandit worshipped Mahaprabhu in the mood of parental affection.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview Vaishnava acharyas

The Twenty-six Qualities of a Vaishnava

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 11, 2018

vaishnava 26 qualities

Now that we understand the very basics of Bhakti yoga,from our previous article (‘The A B C D of Bhakti’), it is worthwhile for us to invest our time, and realize the magnanimity of an elevated Vaishnava, a pure devotee of the Lord. Reading Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, we come to understand that out of the innumerable godly qualities, there are twenty-six ,which are very prominent within a Vaishnava. Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja, out of his causeless mercy, has listed them down (Madhya Lila 22.78-80) for our meditation and contemplation.

sei saba guna haya vaishnava lakshana
saba kaha na yaya, kari dig darashana
(cc, Madhya, 22.77)

A pure devotee is magnanimous and an inspiration to one and all. It is only by great fortune, that one gets to associate with him. In Fact even a moment’s association with a pure devotee of the Lord is all purifying and it is only by his causeless mercy that one becomes eligible to engage in the service of the Supreme Lord. In this article, ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ shall try to relish and discuss about these glorious super excellent qualities that ornament the devotees of the Lord.

Bhaktivinoda thakur Ranaghat

Ula Birnagar – Birthplace of Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 2, 2018

birnagar

Sri Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who is sometimes also referred to as the seventh Goswami, is an eternal associate of the Supreme Lord. His contribution to the Brahma-Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya is invaluable.At a time when the science of pure devotional service (Bhakti) had almost become lost due to the cultural and religious chauvinism of the ruling British, and the essence of Vaishnavism largely discredited due to the perverted actions and lifestyles of a few non bonafide Vaishnava sects, Srila Bhaktivinoda was largely responsible for rescuing and unearthing the timeless teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In Fact it was he who ,after conducting a painstaking research, had rediscovered the long lost birthsite of Sri Gaurasundara (refer – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’). Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, was not only a magistrate, but also a renowned and recognised scholar in his days, with vast knowledge in english,bengali,hindi,oriya and sanskrit.He was also a member of the royal asiatic society of London. Such was the degraded state of affairs during those days, that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura could not find a bonafide copy of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, the most important literature for understanding Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings, anywhere. It was only after several enquiries and a long wait, that he received a copy of this book. He subsequently published it along with his commentaries (Amrta-pravaha-bhasya). Likewise, he was instrumental in unearthing several ancient manuscripts like Caitanyopanishad ( portion of Atharva Veda) ,Sri Krishna Vijaya, etc. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ considers itself an insignificant servant of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, whose causeless mercy has enabled us fools to get a glimpse of his elevated stature and pen a few lines in his glorification. We have dedicated a separate article covering the details of the Thakura’s later life (Remembering Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura at Svananda Sukhada Kunja & Surabhi Kunja, Navadvipa (Godrumadvipa)). In this article however, we shall mainly focus upon the birth and the early childhood of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview

Bhakti Yoga – Science of Devotion unto God

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

bhakti yoga devotion God

Bhakti Yoga or the process of rendering devotional service unto God is really very easy. In the process of Bhakti Yoga, one does not require to practice the physical austerities of astanga yoga or renounce the society altogether as in the other yogic processes. Yet one practicing Bhakti Yoga, finally achieves that supreme destination that eludes the practitioners of all the other yogic paths. The Gopis of Vrindavana were simple cowherd girls, who could achieve the supreme treasure of the Lord’s love. Now one might question, as to what their qualification was? They were neither the experts of astanga yoga nor learned scholars of the Vedic scriptures. Instead their qualification was simply an intense desire to serve the Lord and His beloved associates. Their desire was so intense that they could completely overlook their own pleasures or even sacrifice their very existence to serve Sri Krishna. Such was the stature of their devotion, that it bewildered even the Supreme Lord, and made Him wonder ,as to how one could love Him so much. The Supreme Lord hence had to descend again as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to relish and understand the devotion of the Gopis. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ has covered the appearance pastimes of Lord Caitanya in a separate article entitled – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’. Though it is not possible for us to imitate the exalted mood of the Gopis, we should hanker for opportunities to serve the Lord and deepen our relationship with Him. This is the very perfection of our lives.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview

Bhagavad Gita – Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

Bhakti Yoga Bhagavad Gita What does the Bhagavad Gita say about Karma, Jnana, Dhyana and Bhakti Yoga? What is the Yoga ladder and which is the best Yoga system? From our previous article entitled ‘Spirituality – Why and What ???’ , we now understand the deep desires of the soul and its eternal connection with the supersoul. We understand how these fundamental hankerings of the soul are the very objectives ,that we try to achieve through the various avenues of this world; albeit unsuccessfully. Hence, ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ shall now discuss about the proper processes which have been well documented in the ancient Vedic scriptures, that guide us to achieve this much elusive fulfillment missing in our lives- by satisfying the very desires of the Soul. The process of uniting the soul and the Supersoul is also known as Yoga.

The Bhagavad Gita, is considered to be one of the most sacred and revered books, that constitute the vast Vedic literatures.It comprises of seven hundred verses spoken by Sri Krishna, the Supreme Lord Himself, who descended in this world about 5000 years ago ,to give us a taste of His eternal sweet pastimes. The Bhagavad Gita encompasses the conversation between Sri Krishna and His friend Arjuna, in the middle of a battlefield, at a time when Arjuna was thoroughly disillusioned and confused as to what was his duty.

Sri Krishna ,first of all, apprised Arjuna of the reality of our existence. All of us, including the various other life forms that exist, are spiritual beings, entrapped in a material body.The soul can neither be destroyed by any weapon, nor be damaged by water, fire or wind. The soul or the spirit ,neither takes birth ,nor does he ever suffer death.

Instead, the soul goes through a process of transmigration, from one body to the next, in a quest of attaining perfection. The soul finally attains a stage of perfection when it is able to rekindle its lost relationship with the Supreme.Thus Lord Krishna taught Arjuna ,how the so called happiness and grief, success and failure, relationships, hankerings for name, fame and prosperity ,etc associated with this world, are actually based out of the assumption, that we are our bodies. Forgetting our eternal identity, we try to build our identities based out of the temporary objects of this material world, and suffer in the process. Instead, we should align our engagements and relationships, in a way to suit our actual (eternal) objective – to perfect our existence.In other words we should stop acting on a bodily platform, and start acting on a spiritual platform. The process of Yoga helps us in achieving this objective and enables us to harmonize our actions with our actual spiritual mission.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma)

The Power of Spiritual Knowledge: Transforming Your Life for the Better

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

Meaning of spirituality?

Spirituality meaning knowledge important

So, what is the meaning of spirituality ?

The English Dictionary defines the word “spiritual” as “Relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”.

Now before ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ delves deeper into this topic, it is essential for all of us to understand as to who we actually are? The answer to this question will help us make sense of life, in the first place, and lead us to the gradual understanding of what truly is the goal of it. In other words,the more we discuss and brainstorm upon our own identity, the more clarity it shall provide to logically deduce as to what we are essentially searching for.

Spiritual Knowledge – Are we our Bodies ?

For instance, according to one popular school of thought, human beings and in fact all living beings ,are just a lump of flesh and blood.They argue, that our activities of thinking,willing and feeling arise out of complex interactions of matter. However,we are practically yet to conceive a robot in any of our science labs,that successfully demonstrates any symptoms of creativity,inspiration or love – the elementary functions of our conscious selves. So though there is no proof to this theory, it is still nonetheless a theory, and is widely accepted and endorsed by many.
It is worthwhile mentioning over here, that a cell, which is the basic constituent of a human body, has a definite life span, and once a particular cell dies, it is replaced by another. In this way, it is believed that over a span of 7 years, all the cells that constitute the physical body of a person, are completely replaced by the new ones. So in effect, a person receives a new body in every 7 years. Now if someone identifies himself with his own body, then he should be considered dead in the next seven years, as he gets physically replaced, or should we say, it is he who is completely replaced.Hence going by this school of thought, a person should be considered a completely different individual, after a span of seven years. And the new individual, seven years older, would be a different person with different sets of qualities, nature, acumen and consciousness who would have nothing to do with the person who he had just replaced. Going further on this, a person shouldn’t be sentenced for any crime, for more than seven years, as it would implicate that a different individual would have to suffer for the misdeeds he has not committed (it was committed by someone he has replaced). Another implication of this philosophy, might be the inclusion of an expiry date of seven years ,to the academic degrees. So Doctors, engineers,singers,etc need to prove their qualification periodically at a gap of seven years, as the new person might not be born as qualified as the person he had just replaced.

Kolkata Srila Prabhupada

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s birthplace, Tollygunge, Kolkata

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

tollygunge

Sri Gour Mohan De and Srimati Rajani devi became the proud parents of Sri Abhaya Caranaravrinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on the 1st of September, 1896. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada or Abhaya Carana ,as he was previously called, was born on the occasion of Nandotsava, at the home of his maternal grandparents, in the suburbs of Tollygunge. The fortunate jackfruit tree under which he was born stands tall this day. Calcutta back then was the capital of British India and the ‘second city’ of the British Empire. The British and the Indians lived in separate portions of the city although they intermingled in work and business. The Indians lived more towards the north of the city while the british lived amongst their theatres ,racetracks and cricket fields in central Calcutta. Sri Gour Mohan De used to reside along with his family in his rented house at 151 Harrison Road (refer – ‘Srila Prabhupada’s pastime places in Central Kolkata’). He was a cloth merchant with moderate income and belonged to the aristocratic suvarna banik (gold merchant) community. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ cannot help at this point but contemplate upon the exalted pastimes of another eternal associate of the Lord, Sri Uddharana Datta Thakura, who also belonged to this gold mercantile community (refer – ‘Sri Uddharana Datta Thakura Sripat, Adisaptagram (Near bandel)’). Soon after Srila Prabhupada was born ,an astrologer prepared the horoscope for the child and made an accurate prediction. He predicted that when Srila Prabhupada would reach the age of seventy, he would cross over the oceans, become a great preacher of religion and open 108 temples. In this article ,however, we shall try to primarily focus on the pastimes that Srila Prabhupada had enacted here in India ,before he travelled abroad and established this worldwide movement.

Kolkata Srila Prabhupada

A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – Pastime places in Kolkata

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of Iskcon, our dear spiritual grandfather, has been and continues to be the greatest proponent of Krishna consciousness in the entire world. A true visionary, Srila Prabhupada, has built a home in which the whole world can live in peacefully. The International society for Krishna consciousness (his brainchild) has expanded its footprints to all corners of this world today, and has been instrumental in distributing the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya in every town and village. Srila Prabhupada is none other than the commander in chief of Lord Caitanya, and he was empowered by the Lord and His Gurudeva to deliver the fallen souls all over the world. From the time he landed in America (1965) till the time he left his body (1977), Srila Prabhupada had encircled the globe a full 12 times, overseeing the construction of over a hundred Iskcon temples.In addition he has left us with hundreds of his books that continue to provide guidance and inspiration to devotees all around the world.‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ has covered the life and pastimes of Srila Prabhupada in more detail in the article entitled – ‘The birthplace of A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Tollygunge’. In this present article ,however, we intend to provide a brief sketch of his pastime places in central Kolkata ,where he had grown up and spent a significant portion of his life.

Malda Rupa Goswami Vaishnava acharyas

Rupa Goswami & Sanatana Goswami | Sripat Ramkeli, Malda

Post author By gaudiya
Post date January 13, 2018

ramkeli chaitanya mahaprabhu Ramkeli, situated in the town of Malda, has been the erstwhile headquarters of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswami before they fully surrendered themselves unto the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (refer – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’). It was here at Ramkeli, that Lord Caitanya had rested while He was en route to Vrindavana. Mahaprabhu did not travel as far as Vrindavana, though, and returned back only from Kanai Natshala (a place hardly 100 Kms from Ramkeli). The only purpose of His coming to Ramkeli, however, was to bless and unite with His eternal servants Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswami. The tamal tree under which Lord Caitanya is said to have meditated is still preserved here at Ramkeli. A small temple built under this tree enshrines Sri Gaurahari’s lotus footprints on stone. There are eight sacred ponds surrounding the temple. These ponds (Kunda), dedicated to the eight principal Gopis of Vrindavana, were dug by Sri Rupa and Sanatana themselves when they lived here. ‘the Gaudiya treasures of Bengal’ considers itself greatly fortunate to have been able to enter and serve this cintamani (wish-fulfilling) dham.

Gaura amara, je-saba sthane,
koralo bhramana range
Se saba sthana, heribo ami,
Pranayi-bhakata-sange
–
May I visit and constantly contemplate upon all those places where Lord Caitanya performed His sweet pastimes along with His intimate associates.

We seek blessings and compassion of the Vaishnavas, before attempting to write a few lines in glorification of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswami. The readers are requested to kindly excuse any of our unintentional mistakes, as we are mere fools, who, not knowing our limits, are trying to delve deep into this esoteric well, to excavate the mesmerizing jewels that adorn the devotees of Sri Gaurasundara.