nrnam santi sahasrasah
apasyatam atma-tattvam
grhesu grha-medhinam
Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, leave many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.
Sukadeva Gosvami
SB 2.1.3
vyavayena ca va vayah
diva carthehaya rajan
kutumba-bharanena va
The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members.
Sukadeva Gosvami
SRILA VAKRESVARA PANDITA
Sri Bakreshwar Pandit was present with Sriman Mahaprabhu during His pastimes in Navadwipa and after his accep¬tance of Sannyasa he also accompanied Him to Jagannath Puri. During the time of the Lord's residence in Puri he continued to live with Him there as well. Sri Vakresvara Pandit took birth in the village of Guptipara near Triveni. He was an especially proficient dancer and kirtaniya and could dance continously for 72 hours.
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began His pastimes of congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Sri Hari in Navadwip, Sri Vakresvara Pandit was an important singer and dancer in that assembly. It was by His mercy that Devananda Pandit was delivered from the wrath of Mahaprabhu. He was also present during the Lord's journey to Ramakeli. Devananda Pandit was, at one time, known as the foremost lecturer on the Bhagavat. One day Srivas Pandit went to hear his discourse, and being moved in ecstatic love by hearing the Bhagavatam, he began to cry.
A few of the ignorant students of Devananda Pandit, thinking that this was creating a disturbance, removed Srivas Pandit from the assembly and left him outside. Though this was done in front of Devananda he didn't restrain his students from this act of disregard to the devotee - Bhagavat. There are two types of Bhagavat - the book bhagavat and the devotee bhagavat. For this reason, Devananda Pandit became implicated in an offense to a great devotee (maha-bhagavat).
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to hear how his dear devotee, Srivas Pandit, had been disrespected, he gave many instructions concerning the Bhagavat. He told that those who read the book Bhagavat but don't offer respects to the devotee-Bhagavat, are simply offenders, though they may read the Bhagavat for eons, still they will never attain love of Godhead. The devotee bhagavata and the book bhagavata are non-different. In order to understand the book bhagavat one must first sincerely serve the devotee-bhagavata. Therefore Mahaprabhu neglected Devananda and didn't bestow His mercy on him.
One evening Vakresvara Pandit came to perform dancing and chanting of the Holy Name at the house of one devotee from Kulia, across the bank of the Ganga from Nadia. Receiving this auspicious news Devananda proceeded there, and upon seeing the appearance of the symtoms of divine love in the person of Sri Vakresvara Pandit he became charmed. Gradually a great crowd gathered at that place, and Devananda Pandit, taking a cane in his hand, kept the crowd in order so as not to obstruct the ecstatic dancing of Sri Vakresvara Pandit. In this way, Vakresvara Pandit performed chanting, and dancing for two praharas (six hours), on into the night.
When he finished dancing and sat down, Devananda came and offered dandavats at the lotus feet of Sri Vakresvara Pandit, who became pleased with this service and blessed Devananda with the words:
"Krsna-bhakti hauk" - "May you attain devotion to Sri Lord Krsna." From that day devotion was awakened in the heart of Devananda by the mercy of Vakresvara Pandit.
Thereafter when Mahaprabhu came to Nadia to have darsan of his mother and mother Ganges, he bestowed His mercy on Devananda at Kulia.
"Because you have served Vakresvara I have noticed you. Vakresvara is fully imbued with the Lord's transcendental energy, and whoever becomes devoted to him, attains to the lotus feet of Sri Krsna. His heart is the personal abode of Sri Krsna and as sri Krsna dances, so Vakresvara also dances. Wherever one can get the association of Vakresvara, that place is the sum total of all Holy places and is as good as Sri Vaikuntha."
Vakresvara Pandit's disciple was Gopal Guru Goswami and Gopal Guru Goswami's disciple was Sri Dhyancananda Goswami. In his Dhyan Candra Paddhati - Dhyan Candra Goswami has written - "that person who was previously very expert in the arts of singing and dancing, the gopi, Tungavidya, is presently renowned in the world as Vakresvara Pandit. He has appeared on the fifth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Asar and he closed his pastimes in this world on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of the month Asar.
While Vakresvara danced, Mahaprabhu Himself would sing and Vakresvara would catch hold of His lotus feet, saying; "O moon-faced one, give me 10,000 gandharvas, and let them sing while I dance. Then I will be happy." Mahaprabhu answered, "You are one of my wings. If I had another (like you) I could fly in the sky." [C. C. Adi 10.17].
Vakresvara Pandit's worshippable deity is Sri Sri Radha-kanta, whom he worshipped in Kasi Misra's house, which was also the residence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Gambhira). These deities are still being worshipped there to this day.
Srila VAKRESVARA PANDIT
At the time of Sriman Mahaprabhu's Nabadwipa-lila, as well as at the time of his taking sannyasa and his staying in Jagannatha Puri, Vakresvara Pandit was an associate of the Lord. Sri Vakresvara Pandit's birthplace is near the Triveni in a place called Guptiparaya. Sri Vakresvara Pandit was expert in song and dancing. He once danced continuously for 72 hours. In the Gaura-Ganodesh-Dipika, verse 71, it is stated that Vakresvara Pandit was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Vishnu. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu played in dramatic performances in the house of Srivasa Pandit, Vakresvara Pandit was one of the chief dancers. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu first began his Sankirtan-lila Vakresvara Pandit was a great singer and dancer. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Ramkeli, Vakresvara Pandit went with him.
By the mercy of Vakresvara Pandit Devananda Pandit was delivered. Devananda Pandit had a reputation as a great scholar of the Bhagavatam from the monist point of view. One day Srivasa Pandit went to hear his Bhagavata class, and in the ecstasy of Krsna prem began to cry tears of joy upon hearing the holy Bhagavata. At that time, some of Devananda Pandit's ignorant disciples, feeling that Srivasa Thakura was disrupting the class, threw Srivas Pandit out of the house where the Bhagavatam class was going on. Ignorant of the true position both of the Lord's devotee and the holy Bhagavata , Devananda Pandit made no protest after seeing this disrespectful treatment of a great Vaishnava with his own eyes. In this way, he was responsible for Vaishnava-aparadha, an offense at the lotus feet of a pure devotee. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu manifest his divinity in Nabadwip in the house of Srivasa Thakura, it came to his attention that such an offense had been commited a the lotus feet of that great devotee, Srivasa Thakura. At that time, he gave many instructions regarding the position of the book Bhagavata and the person Bhagavata. He said, "If one studies the book Bhagavata but doesn't respect the devotee Bhagavata, he is an offender. One may study the Bhagavata in that way for hundreds and hundreds of kalpas without making any progress towards Krsna-prema. The book Bhagavata and the person Bhagavata are nondifferent. One who is sincere to know the meaning of the book Bhagavata must serve the devotee Bhagavata. Mahaprabhu was indifferent towards Devananda Pandit and did not bestow Krsna-prema upon him. One day Vakresvara Pandit was in the section of Nabadwip known as Kuliya at the house of a devotee. That evening Vakresvara Pandit was singing the glories of the Lord and dancing in ecstasy. Devananda Pandit went there to find out what was going on, and when he saw Vakresvara Pandit enveloped in a mood of ecstasy, he became fascinated by watching him. By and by a large crowd formed, pressing forward to see Vakresvara Pandit. Sri Devananda Pandit then pushed the crowd back waving a cane in his hand, so that the divine kirtan and dancing of Sri Vakresvara Pandit Thakura was not disturbed. In this way for another six hours into the night Vakresvara Pandit continued his intense singing and dancing in divine kirtana. Later, when Vakresvara Pandit had taken a seat in order to rest, Devananda Pandit fell before his feet, offering his obeisances in full submission.
Vakreshavara Pandit was very happy with Devananda Pandit and his service, and blessed him, saying, "May you have love of God." From that day on, Devananda Pandit's Krsna Bhakti grew. One who gets the blessing of a devotee soon achieves Krsna-bhakti. After Caitanya Mahaprabhu had stayed in Jagannatha Puri for some time, he returned to Kuliya in Nabadwipa, in order to visit his mother and see the Ganges. At that time, he gave his mercy to Devananda Pandit. At that time he told Devananda Pandit: "Because you have rendered service to Vakresvara Pandit I consider you to be one of my own. Vakresvara Pandit is completely empowered by the Lord. He has attained Krsna, and is full in Krsna-bhakti. Krsna has made his home in the heart of Vakresvara Pandit, and as Krsna dances within his heart, so Vakreshavara Pandit himself dances. Whatever place Vakresvara Pandit blesses with his association becomes a holy place of pilgrimage more sacred than all the holy places."
In this way Vrindavan Das Thakur writes of the glories of Sri Vakresvara Pandit. Although Sri Vakresvara Pandit had previously lived in Nabadwip, he left Nabadwip for Jagannatha Puri after Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, in order to better serve the Lord. After this, he lived in Jagannatha Puri. The Caitanya Caritamrita says, "Among the devotees who accompanied the Lord in Jagannatha Puri, two of them-Paramananda Puri and Svarupa Damodara-were the heart and soul of the Lord. Among the other devotees were Gadadhara, Jagadananda, Sankara, Vakresvara, Damodara Pandit, Thakura Haridasa, Raghunatha Vaidya, and Ragunatha das. All these great devotees had been his associates from the very begining of the Lord's pastimes, and when the Lord took up residence in Jagannatha Puri they remained there to serve him faithfully. It is said that Vakresvara Pandit later lived in the house of Kashi Mishra. There he established the Radha-Kanta deities. Sri Vakresvara Pandit's disciple was Gopal Guru Goswami. Sri Gopal Guru Goswami's disciple Dhayanachandra Goswami has written a book called the Dhyan Chandra Paddhati. There he has written of Vakresvara Pandit:
"Previously in Vrindavan he was Tungavidya Gopi who was expert in singing and dancing. Later that same person appeared in the lila of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and became known as Vakresvara Pandit. He appeared within this world as Vakreshavara Pandit on the day of Krsnapanchami in the month of Asharh. He disappeared from this Earth and entered into the unmanifest pastimes of the Lord on the sixth day of the full moon in the month of Asarh. "
One of Vakresvara Pandit's family members was the poet Sri Govinda dev of Utkala, who is known as an Oriyan. In the year 17, Gaur Era, he compiled a scripture in the Orissan language named "Sri Gaura Krishnodaya." This book has since been published by the great acarya of the Gaudiya Sampradaya, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada, who recently entered into the eternal pastimes of the Lord. In Gaura Krishnodaya Govinda Das describes the life of Vakresvara Pandit. There are many disciples of Vakresvara Pandit and they are known as Gaudiya Vaishnavas although they are from Orissa.
Vrindavan Das Thakura has described the great celebration of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtan rasa in his Caitanya Bhagavata. There he mentions Vakresvara Pandit's participation in Mahaprabhu's sankirtan-lila as follows:
"To bless all souls with good fortune, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared on this earth in an enchanting form, which was like a doll of gold. To awaken the sleeping souls of the age of Kali, he came to distribute the nectar of the holy name of Krsna. The Lord descended to this earth in the midst of his eternal associates: Nityananda, Advaita Acarya, Gadadhara, and all His pure devotees. When Caitanya came, the khol and kartals sounded like the thunder of the clouds within the temple of the Lord. Absorbed in different moods of ecstatic love, Sri Caitanya would order everyone to chant the holy name of Krsna, saying, "bolo Haribol!" Raising his arms to the sky, the Son of Sachi would dance in ecstasy. At that time the beautiful Ramai and Sri Raghunandan also danced. Srivasa Thakura and Haridas Thakura as well as Vakresvara Pandit, Dvija Haridas, and Shankara Pandit also danced. In this way, again and again glorifying their activities within this world, floating on the ocean of ecstasy churned by them, Vrindavana Das sings this Caitanya Bhagavata.
At the time of Rathayatra in Jagannatha Puri, there were four sampradayas. In their midst Vakreshavara Pandit initiated a new sampradaya-of dancing. Sri Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami writes of the glories of Vakresvara Pandit:
"Vakresvara Pandit was the fifth branch of the Caitanya tree. He was a very dear servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Once in the house of Srivasa Thakura he danced with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally sang while Vakresvara Pandit danced, and thus Vakresvara Pandit fell at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya and said, "O you whose face is as beautiful as the full moon; please give me 10,000 Gandharvas. Let them sing as I dance, and then I will be greatly happy." The Lord replied, "I have only one wing like you, but if I had another, certainly I could fly like a bird."
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