SB 1.5.10
na yad vacas citra-padam harer yaso
jagat-pavitram pragrnita karhicit
tad vayasam tirtham usanti manasa
na yatra hamsa niramanty usik-ksayah
na—not; yat—that; vacah—vocabulary; citra-padam—decorative; hareh—of the Lord; yasah—glories; jagat—universe; pavitram—sanctified; pragrnita—described; karhicit—hardly; tat—that; vayasam—crows; tirtham—place of pilgrimage; usanti—think; manasah—saintly persons; na—not; yatra—where; hamsah—all-perfect beings; niramanti—take pleasure; usik-ksayah—those who reside in the transcendental abode.
Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure there.
Narada Muni
SB 1.5.11
tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
tat—that; vak—vocabulary; visargah—creation; janata—the people in general; agha—sins; viplavah—revolutionary; yasmin—in which; prati-slokam—each and every stanza; abaddhavati—irregularly composed; api—in spite of; namani—transcendental names, etc.; anantasya—of the unlimited Lord; yasah—glories; ankitani—depicted; yat—what; srnvanti—do hear; gayanti—do sing; grnanti—do accept; sadhavah—the purified men who are honest.
On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world's misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.
Narada Muni
Sri Raghunandana Thakura
Sri Mukunda Das, Madhava Das and Sri Narahari Sorkar Thakur were three
brothers who lived in the village of Sri Khanda. Raghunandan was the son of
Sri Mukunda Das. [C. C. Mad 15]
In the house of Sri Mukunda Das, who lives at Sri Khanda, Lord Sri Gopinath
is served with great devotion. One day Mukunda was called out to do some
work, and then he instructed his son Raghunandan to worship the deity and
asked him to serve the Lord Gopinath that day. He explained to him that this
deity is in our family for many generations and thus He has been worshipped
by my father and his father and his father on and on, in this way for many
years. Just as your mother feeds you and I everyday, so also He has to be
fed everyday. Having explained to Raghunandan that this is a very big
responsibility and he should be very careful to give his full attention to
this service, Mukunda went out. Raghunandan meanwhile having been instructed
by his father, collected the items for offering to Sri Gopinathji and
entered into the deity room. Raghunandan was at that time barely 5 years old
and therefore, when he saw that Gopinath hadn't eaten the offering after he
had imitated how his father offered the bhoga, he became very worried.
Ultimately he simply requested Gopinath with tears in his eyes: "Please eat!
Eat!" Gopinath became completely subjected by Raghunandan's simple request,
which was made entirely in love, and thus he stealthily ate up everything
without leaving any remnants.
After some time Raghu-nandan's father, Mukunda, returned and asked his son
if he had done as he was told? When his son replied "Yes", then Mukunda
asked him to bring some of the prasadam. Raghunandan replied, "Prasadam? I
offered everything just like you told me, and Gopinath ate everything; so
what should I bring you now?" Mukunda was completely taken aback. "This boy
is not naughty and is always accustomed to speak the truth. I doubt if he
could have eaten everything. I wonder what actually happened?"
Musing on this matter in this way for some time, on another day his
curiosity was so stirred that he again requested Raghunandan to offer the
bhoga to Gopinath on that day. On this day however, having gone out of the
house, he again came in by another way and remained hiding in one place.
Raghunandan was very happy to be able to serve Sri Gopinathji again and
brought everything into the deity room. As before, he again very insistently
persuaded Gopinath to take his meal. As Gopinath had eaten half of a laddu,
he espied Mukunda peering out from his hiding spot. He didn't try to cover
up the fact that he had eaten what he had, but neither did he eat anymore.
Seeing all this Mukunda was completely immersed in ecstatic love and picked
up his son and put him on his lap. He extolled his virtues in a voice
trembling with ecstasy, all the while torrents of tears of joy falling from
his eyes. Even today, those who are greatly fortunate can still see that
half-eaten laddu in Gopinatha's lotus hand. Thus Sri Uddhav das sings the
glories of Raghunandan, who is non different from Madan(Cupid).
Raghunandan was present at the khetori utsob. In Krsna lila he was Kandarpa
manjari & in Dwaraka lila he was Sri Krsna's son Kandarpa. Raghunandan's son
is Kanai Thakur. His descendants are still residing at Sri Khanda. Sri
Khanda can be easily reached from Katwa by bus or train. He was born in the
year 1432 Sakabda.
Sri Vamsidasa Babaji
On Janmastami he was in Baleshvar, a town in North Orissa. At midnight he
said to Gopal, "Last year I gave You some palmfruit. This year I shall give
You some mango. Gopal, don't be impatient, mango is coming to You." Within
ten minutes a brahmana teacher called Jogendra Mukherjee arrived, explaining
how he had just dreamt that a sadhu wanted a mango, so he went to the market
and bought one. That brahmana was then told, "Yes, yes, you come. He said he
wanted a mango." (From HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami's book on SBSST.)
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura also received the blessings of Srila
Vamsidas Babaji Maharaja in Navadwip. Seeing Srila Sarasvati Thakura, Srila
Varmsidasa Babaji Mahasaya would say, "Someone very close to my Gaura has
come to me."
Vamsivat Babaji was a Gaudiya sadhu who lived at Swarupa Gunj during the
time of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's mission. He was respected by Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta, and he used to see to it that Vamsivat Babaji was provided
with grains and so on by Gaudiya Matha brahmacaris, whom he'd send to
Swarupa Gunj from the Yoga Pitha Mandir.
One day, a lady selling fish approached V.B., offering him some choice type
of catch. Somehow or other, the Babaji's mind became attracted to tasting
the fish. But he immediately checked himself, and became very angry. He
first of all shouted at the woman to get away. Then he was shouting, "How
could this happen? How could this happen? I've surrendered my life to Radha
Krishna, I'm under They're protection, and still this happens! Why You are
not protecting me?"
He went storming into his bhajan kutir. People gathered while he fussed and
fumed at his Deities inside. Then he came out, bringing the Deities tied by
rope, and threw Them into the Ganga. He kept the end of the rope under his
foot. When one man inquired why he was doing this, the Baba threw a rock at
him.
When this news reached the Gaudiya Matha Mandir, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
called his brahmacaris together and forbade them from visiting this baba
again, save for one who would just deliver supplies. After a few days, he
again called them together and said, "Some of you think I've stopped you
from visiting babaji maharaja because he is in maya. That is not so. But you
are not able to understand this bhava. So stay away."
Later, when that one brahmacari visited, Vamsidas babaji maharaj threw a
stone at him and told, "If you want to please me, then never return here
again!"
Previously his reception had always been unpredictable. Sometimes the Baba
would welcome him. Sometimes he would accept the gifts without saying a
word. Sometimes he would just sit and stare. Sometimes he would take the
gifts and angrily throw them in the river.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VAMSIDAS BABAJI
Excerpts from OBL Kapoor's "The Saints of Bengal" (Srila Prabhupada's
Godbros')
Vamsidasa Babaji was a siddha-mahatma in the disciplic succession of Sri
Narottama Thakura. The name of his diksa-guru was Harilal Vrajavasi and the
name of his vesa-guru was Ramananda Vrajavasi. But it was difficult to know
that he was siddha, because he lived far away from the world in a solitary
place on the bank of Ganga near Baral Ghata in Navadvipa, as if he was
renounced by the world, as an idiotic and worthless destitute. But the fact
is that it is not the world that had renounced him, but he, who had
renounced the world as worthless. He hardly had any worldly possessions. His
only possessions were an old kaupina, karanga and kantha. Once Sripada
Haridasa Gosvami asked him why he did not wear bahirvasa. He replied, "I
live only with ka, which means kaupina, karanga and kantha. I have nothing
to do with ba", which means bahirvasa or outer garment. Bahirvasa brings
relationship with the outer world and the people, who are bahiranga, that is
those, who are attached to the outer world. My Gaura has asked me not to
wear bahirvasa and mix with people who are bahiranga."
Vamsidasa Babaji lived in a world of his own. His world centered round his
deities-Gaura-Gadadhara, Nitai, Radha-Krishna and Gopala. For the service of
these deities he had two brass pots, some earthen pots, one plate, one
glass, some small cups, panca patra, bell and conch-shell and nothing else.
Baba passed day and night in the service of the deities and in sweet talks
with Them. Early in the morning he went out from his kuti to collect
flowers. Then he went for bhiksa. He returned to the kuti about noon and
made garlands from the flowers for each of the six deities. After that he
started cutting vegetables. He washed each vegetable a number of times. Then
he cleaned rice. He examined each grain of rice. If he found any grain from
which the husk was not removed, he removed it with his own hand. He did
everything slowly, contemplating all the time the lila of Radha-Krishna or
Gaura-Nitai, and singing or talking to Them. It was only late in the evening
that he could cook and offer bhoga to the deities. He had no consciousness
of time. Morning and evening, day and night had no meaning for him. Almost
the whole night he kept awake, talking and singing.
Once Sripada Haridasa Gosvami was surprised to see him cooking for the
deities at about 9 a.m. He said to him, "Baba! It would be fine, if you
prepare bhoga for the deities like this in the morning everyday." He
replied, "I do not know morning or evening. Am I their father's servant so
to feed them at appointed hours? If They want to eat like that, let Them
make Their own arrangements for cooking. Let Gadadhara cook for Gaura. Nitai
is avadhuta. He has no caste. He can go and eat anywhere. I do not worry
about my Gopala. A milch-cow comes here everyday and gives Him milk. He can
live on that. I have to worry about Radha-Krishna. For Them I will have to
cook a little rice and vegetables. If I don't, They will go to Vmdavana and
do madhukari. "
Vamsidas Baba never locked the door of his kuti when he went out for bhiksa
or to bathe in the Gariga. If someone asked him why he did not lock the
kuti, he said, "If the owner of the house Himself does not keep a watch and
has a soft corner for the thief, what is the use of locking the house? I do
not even keep the keys of the lock with me. The lock has three keys. All the
three are with the three boys. One is with Gaura, one with Nitai and one
with Gadadhara." After entrusting the lock and the keys to the three boys,
Baba used to be free from anxiety. If while he was out a cow entered the
kuti and turned everything topsy turvy, he would be angry with the boys. If
some one stole something from the kuti he would say, "Gaura has a soft
corner for Nadiyavasis, the residents of His own Dhama. Therefore He gives
things away to them. I am after all an outsider." Once a gold necklace,
given by someone to Gaura, was stolen, when he had gone out for bhiksa. On
returning to the kuti he kept on scolding Gaura and asking Him whom He had
given away the necklace, for about two hours. Towards the evening he got a
hint. He then went to the house of the theif and asked him for the necklace.
The thief pushed him down the verandah of his house. He was hurt. But he did
not say anything. But how could Gaura tolerate this? The thief soon died as
well as all the other members of his family.
Once Baba had to punish Gaura-Nitai for Their connivance in a theft. The two
brass-pots, in which Baba' used to cook for Gaura-Nitai were stolen. How
could this happen without the connivance of Gaura-Nitai? So They were
punished. Baba scolded Them and did not give Them anything to eat that day.
The punishment had its effect The next day someone came quietly and
delivered one of those pots. Baba said, "This small pot is Nitai's. He will
be fed today. If Gaura wants to eat, He must also bring His pot." Baba
always did what he said. He cooked and offered bhoga to Nitai. Gaura drew a
long face as He kept looking at Nitai eating. In the meantime another man
came and delivered the other pot. Baba then cooked in that pot and offered
bhoga to Gaura. When Gaura also had eaten, he said with tears in his eyes,
"Do I ever want to punish You? But both of You are so naughty that You must
always tease me. You do not know that I have now become old and cannot bear
it all. What can I do?"
It is difficult to understand what bhava Vamsidasa Baba had towards Gaura.
It sometimes appeared to be sakhya (friendly), sometimes vatsalya (parental)
and sometimes madhura, like that of a Nadiya-nagari (lady of Nadiya) towards
Gaurariga as Nadiya-nagara (an attractive citizen of Nadiya). If it was
basically madhura, it is easy to understand that he sometimes exhibited
vatsalya-bhava towards Him and sometimes sakhya, because madhura-bhava
includes all other bhavas. According to Haridasa Gosvami his bhava was of
Nadiyanagari type, because he used to compose songs of this bhava and sing.
He has quoted some of these songs. Two of them are reproduced below:
kena giya chilama ganga-tire o nagari |
nyana kataksa bane gaura kaila mana churi ||
ami ekhana ki kari o nagari ki kari ||
"O Nagari! How I repent having gone to the bank of Ganga.
Gaura cast a side long glance at me and stole my heart
What shall I do now, O Nagari! What shall I do?"
bala go nagari gaura kallena ki ||
grha gela kula gela mana kela curi |
sajani! ekhana ami ki kari ||
nayana kone, kane kane gaura kallena ki |
ami je prana mari gaura kallena ki ||
"Tell me O Nagari what Gaura has done to me,
He winked and whispered and did,
I do not know what to me.
O Sakhi! Now I know not what to do,
Life is running out of me.
O! What has Gaura done to me?"
Towards the end of his life Baba once went to his birth place Majitpur in
district Maymansinha. He carried the deities with him. On the way he neither
ate, nor slept, nor passed stool or urine. On reaching Majitpur he stayed in
a dilapidated temple. After that he went to Vrndavana and Puri. In Vrndavana
he stayed on the bank of Yamuna, in Puri on the bank of Narendra Sarovara.
He never went inside a temple for darsana. During these travels the sadhus
of the Gaudiya Matha rendered great service to him.
Nothing is known about Baba's life as a householder, except that he was
married at an early age and his son Haracandra was nine or ten years old
when he renounced the world. He went to Navadvipa about the year 1906. The
author once tried to see him in 1932, but could not, because the door of his
kuti was closed, though he could hear him talking to the deities in
Maymansinha dialect. He left the world in 1944.
(Excerpts from OBL Kapoor's "The Saints of Bengal")
Disappearance Day on Caturthi
Vamsi das Babaji:
"You must weep for Krishna!"
by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj
The following is an excerpt from the chapter "What is Bhakti?" in the book
"A Taste of Transcendence" by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj. For more
information about this book, click here.
The great Vaisnava saint, Vamsi dasa Babaji Maharaja, was no ordinary sadhu.
Outwardly, he had his advent in what is now known as Bangladesh, in Majidpur
Village, Maimansingh district, near Jamalpur. But later, he came to
Navadvipa-dhama, accepted the babaji order and performed his bhajana under a
tree. The order of sannyasa is given for preaching, but a babaji will
perform bhajana in a holy, secluded place. A babaji will not go outside for
pracara (preaching). Many people would come to Babaji Maharaja and offer to
build him a cottage, but he chose to remain always beneath a banyan tree. He
would not move from there. He was surcharged with krsna-prema. He was a very
tall figure. He never shaved, but remained like a madman. Many people would
offer him various things, but he would pay them no attention. Whatever he
might receive, he would distribute to others. He was an anchorite. Nobody
could understand his behavior. He had only two big cloth bags---he had no
temple. In one cloth bag was Gaura-Nitai and, in the other, Radha-Krsna.
Sometimes, he would take the Deities out and perform puja. So, is his bhakti
less because he had just small Deities, and ours greater because we have a
big temple? Gaura-Nityananda were most satisfied by his service. Our
Parampujyapada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to bow down to him
from a distance. He prohibited his disciples from visiting Babaji Maharaja.
His disciples asked, "Shall we not have darsana of the sadhus?" But Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura replied, "You will not be able to
understand his behavior and you will commit offenses. He is not within this
world, but is moving in the transcendental realm. If I commit an offense, it
will be anti-devotional. For this reason, I am bowing down to him from a
distance. Only a suddha bhakta can understand his wonderful behavior. An
ordinary novice of bhajana will be unable to understand, so he should not go
there. Babaji Maharaja is always surcharged with krsna-prema!"
There was a person from Navadvipa-dhama who used to come to Babaji Maharaja.
One day, he thought, "I have the desire to obtain the Supreme Lord. How can
I get Bhagavan?" He was only murmuring, speaking to himself, so Babaji
Maharaja did not reply. This person came back repeatedly to see Babaji
Maharaja. Finally, one day, he approached Maharaja directly.
"What do you want?" Babaji Maharaja asked him.
"I want to see Bhagavan," the man said.
Babaji Maharaja replied with only one word: "Weep!"
We might supply so much scriptural evidence to try to explain, in so many
ways, how to obtain the Supreme Lord, but what did Vamsi dasa Babaji
Maharaja say? "Weep for Him!" If you can weep for Him, then you can get Him.
If there is want for Him, then He will come. We are uttering His Names, but
we do not want Him. So, we are uttering the Names of Krsna---"hare krsna,
hare krsna, krsna krsna, hare hare, krsna rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare
hare"---and Krsna appears before us. He says to us, "Come along!"
We say to Him, "No, I cannot go now. Right now I require a million dollars
to save my business. I have my children. I have just bought a building. I
cannot go now."
"So, why have you called Me?" Krsna asks.
"I have called you to give me a million dollars," we reply. "Remove my
difficulties. I do not have time to go now."
From where are we uttering the Name? Not from the heart! We are chanting,
"hare krsna" but, if Krsna were to come, we would be unable to go.
A certain Svamiji gave an illustration. It is an illustration involving the
ordinary day-to-day life of a householder but, nonetheless, there is
something very impressive about this illustration. In a town in Bengal,
there was a man who worked in an office. He lived with his wife and two
children. One of the children was only three or four months old and the
other was seven years old. One day, the man told his wife, "You will have to
prepare breakfast early today because I have to go into the office early.
After I eat, I shall leave right away." When the wife went to cook, she
first put the baby on the bed and then went into the kitchen. But, whenever
she would enter the kitchen, the child would cry. She thought, "With the
child in my lap, how will I be able to cook? It is very difficult." She was
thinking what she should do. Then she thought of a way she could manage. She
called the seven-year-old child.
"Darling, come here!" she called. "Do you know that red toy in the shop?"
"Yes, I know it," the child answered.
"Go and buy that toy, but be sure that it makes a nice jingling sound."
The child took some money and went off to buy the toy. He brought it home
and gave it to the mother. The mother laid the baby down on the bed and hung
the red-colored toy with the jingling sound above him, at the end of a rope.
The baby saw the toy and immediately started to play with it, hitting it
from side to side. The child was most delighted as he continued to slap the
toy and hear the jingling sound. For one hour he played like that, and the
mother went to do her cooking. After that, the child started to feel hungry.
For the entire time that the child was playing, he did not remember his
mother. But, now that he felt hungry, he thought, "Oh, where is my mother?"
But his mother did not come. Then, he started crying, signifying, "I am
hungry! Come!" He could not speak, so he beckoned his mother by crying.
"Come to me and suckle me! I am hungry!" His mother, however, was busy
cooking. "No," she thought, "let the child cry."
After some time, the child stopped crying and went back to playing with the
toy---jingle, jingle, jingle. After playing like that for a while, the pangs
of hunger returned. His hunger increased and increased and he became more
and more unhappy. He began to cry for his mother even more loudly than
before.
His mother heard the crying of the baby, but thought that she should first
finish her cooking.
Finally, the hunger became unbearable for the child. The child thought, "I
don't want toys!" All he could think about was his mother.
His crying became louder and louder until he was screaming. He started to
throw his arms about and kick his legs, in a tantrum.
Then the mother thought, "Oh, I cannot stay away any longer!" The mother ran
toward the child, embraced him and suckled him.
Like this, the Supreme Lord has given us toys---the toy of a wife or
husband, toys of children, toys of buildings, toys of radios, toys of
videos, toys of computers. Seeing this, Krsna thinks, "They are absorbed in
their toys! I have no worries. I am engaged in My pastimes in the
transcendental realm. They do not want this. They want those things instead.
Here, take this computer! Take that video! Take this! Take that!"
Upon the awakening of his real self (atma), a man feels the want of the
sweetest affection of the Supreme Lord. He cries, "Oh Supreme Lord! In this
world, nothing gives me happiness. Everything is temporary. Everyone is
selfish. You are my most beloved! Where are You? I have forgotten You! Come!
Come! I am in a furnace! Come! Come!" Weeping, he calls, but Krsna does not
come. "I am engaged in My pastimes," Krsna says. For some time, the man then
becomes absorbed in the affairs of his family and relatives, and forgets
Krsna. Time passes and he cries again, "Where is My beloved Supreme Lord?
Where is He?" Crying, crying. But, the Supreme Lord still does not come.
Ultimately, he shouts, "I do not want a house! I do not want anything!
Nobody is mine---You are mine! Oh beloved Supreme Lord! Come! Come! Come!"
He cries and weeps, tossing his arms and legs about. Then Krsna cries, "Oh!"
and comes to him. This sort of perturbation of the heart, extreme eagerness
for getting Bhagavan, must be there.
Vamsi dasa Babaji Maharaja said only one word: "Weep!" But that single word
has great significance. When we associate with the suddha bhakta who is
crying for Krsna, then the eternal nature of atma will be awakened. You have
love for God. Love is there in your soul. It exists, but it is presently
enveloped by the external potency of the Supreme Lord and you have become
averse to Sri Krsna. Passing through different species, our minds have
become enveloped by so many evil desires...
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