Prayer to the saintly devotee of the Lord

By Bhakta Matus

Oh Vaishnava Thakura, saintly devotee of the Lord
How wonderful and precious is every second of Your association.
The immense importance and value of associating with You cannot be captured in my tiny words.
Only by repeatedly getting in touch with You is it possible for me to keep up the necessary faith and enthusiasm for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.

General association with devotees is very nice and helpful but even more than that is the precious and substantial association of advanced and pure devotees like Yourself.
Actually only to that type of association Lord's causeless mercy can be fully attributed and acts like an magnet, which attracts and drags the soul out of the boundless pool of material desires.
Oh Vaishnava Thakura, please never abandon this lost and confused soul, for except You there is no one this soul can take shelter of again and again.

[From Easy As Never - Nityananda Gauranga]

Prayer to the saintly devotee of the Lord

Nitaai Gauranga Kirtana Video

Video Kirtana Sung by Nava Gauranga dasa.

Realization Means Writing

"Every one of you. What is your realization? You write your realization – what you have realized about Krishna. That is required. It is not passive. Always you should be active. Whenever you find time, write. Never mind – two lines, four lines, but you write your realizations. Sravanam, kirtanam.

Writing or offering prayers, glories – this is one of the functions of a Vaisnava. You are hearing, but you have to write also. Then, writing means smaranam – remembering what you have heard from your spiritual master."

- By Shrila Prabhupada Los Angeles 1970

Always Serve The Vaishnavas

Shrila Prabhupada's lotus feet.

naishammatis tavad urukramanghrim
sprisaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasampada-rajo-'bhishekam
nishkincananamnavrinitayavat

TRANSLATION

Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaishnavacompletely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Krishnaconscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.

- Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.32

"One cannot obtain Krsna-bhakti, or the devotional service of the Lord, by official execution of the Vedic rituals. One has to approach a pure devotee. Narottama dasa Thakura sings, chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba: "Who has been elevated without rendering service to a pure Vaishnava?" It is the statement of Prahlada Maharaja that unless one is able to accept the dust from the lotus feet of a pure Vaishnava there is no possibility of achieving the platform of devotional service. That is the secret."

- Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 8.17 Purport

"The person who has not at any time received upon his head the dust from the feet of a pure devotee of the Lord is certainly a dead body."

- Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 2.31 Purport

"The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee, and the remnants of food left by a devotee are three very powerful substances. By rendering service to these three, one attains the supreme goal of ecstatic love for Krishna. In all the revealed scriptures this is loudly declared again and again. Therefore, my dear devotees, please hear from me, for I insist again and again: please keep faith in these three and render service to them without hesitation. From these three one achieves the highest goal of life — ecstatic love of Krishna. This is the greatest mercy of Lord Krishna. The evidence is Kalidasa himself.

- Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Antya 16.60-63

Gauranga's Name Will Spread

Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Samalochana, Sajjana Tosani 4/3:

shri chaitanya-lila sakala bhasaya likhita haoya prayojaniya.

“It it very urgently required to translate and publish the books about the pastimes of Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu into all the languages of the world.

ati alpa dinera madhei mahaprabhu sarva desa vyapi haiya eka matra upasya-tattva haitechen.

“This is so urgently necessary because in a very short time, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will become the sole object of worship or the Supreme Worshippable Lord in all the villages, towns, and cities of the world. If this books about His pastimes are available in various languages, people can read and hear them regularly and thus constantlyincrease and nourish their faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu."

In the 15th Chapter of Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Shripad Ramanucharya came to know about Lord Gauranga’s incarnation from Lord Jagannatha Himself in Puri Dhama. He then decided become a staunch Gauranga-Bhakta and to reveal all the references hidden in the revealed scriptures about Lord Gauranga and thus flood the three planetary systems of the universe with Gauranga Bhakti, making everyone to Gauranga-bhaktas and tot ake up the chanting of His Holy Name.. At that time Lord Jagannatha said:

gaura-lila ati gudha rakhibe gopane; se lilara aprakate pabe sarva jane.

“Please keep this Gauranga-Lila very secret until Lord Gauranga completes His pastimes in this world. After this, the whole world will get the great treasure of Gauranga's Name and Pastimes.”

The Urdhvamnaya Tantra also predicts that Nityananda Gauranga Name and Pastimes will be broadcasted all over the world very soon:

dhanye kalau sampravishte, gaura-lila manorama; prakata bhavita hy etat, vyaktam tada bhavishyati.

“The advent of the age of Kali is most auspicious because in the near future the most wonderful and enchanting Holy Names and Pastimes of Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu will be most openly and widely established and broadcasted.”

Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself predicted that His holy names will spread all over the world in the Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya 4.126):

prithivite ache yata nagaradi-grama; sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama.

“My Name of Gauranga will be broadcasted and glorified in all various towns, villages, cities, countries and continents of the world.”

It is also predicted by Shrila Nityananda Prabhu in Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya that:

adbhuta mandira ei haibe prakasa; gaurangera nitya-seva haibe vikasa.

“Very soon, a most wonderful and superexcellent temple will manifest in Shri Mayapura, Navadvipa-dhama. From this temple, the eternal service to Lord Gauranga will spread and expand throughout the world." (Note: This temple is the Yogapitha temple which was built by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada at the birthplace of Lord Gauranga in Mayapura Dhama.)

Also the 1st Chapter of Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya states that:

ara eka gudha katha suna sarva jana; kali jive yogya vastu gaura-lila dhana.

“Please hear a most confidential secret. The most suitable thing for the conditioned souls in Kali-yuga is the supreme the treasure of Lord Gauranga's Lila (pastimes).”

kali-jivera aparadha asankhya durvara; gaura nama vina tara nahika uddhara.

“The offnses of the living entities in Kali-yuga are unlimited, insurmountable and formidable. The only hope for their deliverance is the chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga.”

ataeva gaura vina kalite upaya; na dekhi kothaya ara sastra phukaraya.

“Therefore I see no other means except Lord Gauranga for everyone’s deliverance in Kali-yuga and this is the repeated declaration of all Vedic scriptures.”

What is Shaktyavesha Incarnation

Question by Bhakta Igor:

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna All glories to Swami Gaurangapada and Srilla Prabhupada! Dear Gurudeva, what are characteristics of Lord's saktyavesa avatara? Is saktyavesa avatara of Lord jiva or Vishnu tattva? Is such avatara eternaly present in spiritual world, or it is only present in material world for sake of preaching etc. Is there any list of saktyavesa avatara's of ord in scriptures? I had read that Srila Sridhara Maharaja wrote that His Divine Grace Srilla Prabhupada was saktyavesa avatara. Could you please tell us something more about that. Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna.

Answer by Swami Gaurangapada:

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Shaktyavesha Avataras or incarnations can either be Vishnu Tattva Svaansha or the Vibhinnaansha Jiva Tattva. They are not present in the spiritual world where every entity is directly a kayavyuha expansion of the Lord. Many Shaktyavesha incarnations like Prithu, Parshurama, Kali (Jiva Tattvas) are described in the Bhagavatam and for more details of the different incarnations you can refer to Laghu Bhagavatamrita of Shrila Rupa Goswami.

Every empowered Acharya can be understood as the Jiva Tattva Shaktyavesha incarnation of the Lord. Shrila Haridasa Thakura was Naam Shaktyavesha, Shrila Rupa Goswami was Rasa Shaktyavesha, Shrila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura was Nitaai Shaktyavesha and so on. Shrila Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura was Rupanuga Shaktyavesha, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada was Siddhanta Shaktyavesha and Shrila Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was Prachara Shaktyavesha. The Lord imparts a specific Shakti or Power to the Acharya to accomplish the specific mission which the Lord desires. Avesha means manifestion of that the specific power in a Jiva or a Vishnu Tattva. Even Vishnu Tattvas are servants of Lord Gauranga Krishna thus They are also sometimes empowered to perform His mission in this material world. In the absence on a suitable jiva to become Brahma or Shiva or Indra etc., the Lord empowers a Vishnu Tattva to accept that role for the time required. This is Vishnu Tattva Shaktyavesha.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.