Friday 12 December 2014

Bhajan Kutir of Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Bhaktivinoda Thakura's (1838-1914) house, which was built in the beginning of the century, is located down a side road going away from Syama-Kunda. After leaving the Govinda Temple and turning right back onto the parikrama path, you walk about 25 m (75 ft). You then go left onto the broad cobble stone road, when the parikrama path turns right. You then walk 70 m (200 ft) and this place is on the right side of the road. It has a colorful sign above the entrance which says:

'Vraja Swananda Sukhada Kunja'.Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati used this bhajana kutir from 1900 to 1936.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati would come here during the month of Kartika (Oct/Nov). The puspa-samadhis of both Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati are located here. There are personal articles of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in this house: his

  1. wooden shoes, 
  2. walking stick, 
  3. bed, 
  4. chair, and 
  5. table. 

Here at Radha-Kunda, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati instructed Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
"If you ever get money, print books."
If you follow the path that goes to Bhaktivinoda Thakur's bhajana kutir to the edge of the town, there are two bodies of water.

  1. Balarama-Kunda is on the right side and 
  2. Vrishabhanu-Kunda (Bhanu Khor) is on the left. Vrishabhanu Maharaja (Radharani's father) is said to have had his camp here during the time of Govardhana puja.


Photo
http://www.mvtindia.com/radhakunda/srilabhaktivinode.htm
Map
http://wikimapia.org/6086416/Bhajan-Kutir-of-Srila-Bhaktivinoda-Thakur-and-Srila-Bhaktisiddhanta-Saraswati-Prabhupada
Tube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Bhajan+Kutir+of+Bhaktivinoda+Thakur+and+Bhaktisiddhanta+Sarasvati

More
http://freeglobaluniversity.blogspot.com/search/label/Circle

    Wednesday 22 October 2014

    Monkey

    A high class of devotee divides the 24-hour day into eight - As Premadasa Babaji remembered that nisanta-lila, he heard an old monkey of Radhika call out, "Jatila! Jatila is coming to reward You! O greatest lampat (debauchee), she is very soon coming to reward you. Wait a little. She is coming just now." Radhika and Krsna became alert and prepared to return to their houses. All the sakhis were very, very, concerned and Sri Radhika became like a mad person. She asked her sakhis, "Who am I? Where am I going What should I do?"

    Extremely upset, the sakhis asked, "Why did this old monkey have to come and
    disturb us?" At that time Sri Vrnda told the manjaris, or Rupa Manjari may also sometimes tell them, "Make that monkey silent, please. Make him silent.

    This disturbance is ruining everything." In the meantime, Yogamaya arranged
    that Srimati Radhika could quickly, in minutes, enter Her house in Yavat.

    In his internal gopi form, Premadasa Babaji was serving both Radha and Krsna, with a leaning toward Radhika. Radhika was unhappy, thinking, "Where am I? Where am I going?" She had forgotten everything in that deep mood of anticipated separation. Premadasa Babaji was in a faint, weeping, in the line of Rupa Gosvami.

    This is our object as well, but as far as we are concerned, we waste so much of our time and energy in maintenance. Though we are devotees, our whole time is entangled and we have no time for remembering and chanting. We think, "If we give our whole time to devotional activities, our business will fail. How, then, will we be able to maintain ourselves?" We have no belief in Krsna, and we have no belief that He will continue our maintenance. He is the main root of our maintenance. We think, "I maintain myself. If I will give my whole energy to krsna-bhajana as this Babaji did, then who will maintain my wife, my children, and my paraphernalia?" This worry is endless.

    Babaji was totally engaged in bhajana. He forgot that he was Paramahamsa Babaji, and instead he was thinking, "I am the maidservant of Rupa Manjari." He was able to see those nearby, like Sannyasi Thakura, but at the same time he remained in that transcendental mood and called out, "O Ramana Manjari, you should stop that old monkey." He pointed to the sannyasi and addressed him, "O, Ramana Manjari!"

    The Thakura thought: "My Gurudeva has indicated my constitutional form. I
    firmly believe his words. I am a servant of Radhika. This is my transcendental position. This is my form. Now I shall remember these things." He still had no tilaka, no mala, and no Vaisnava dress, but internally he was totally surrendered. We are not like that. We wear very big tilaka, and big, big neck beads. Our japa mala is not less than 5 kilos, and we can even spend $1000 to steal the mala of Haridasa Thakura from Puri. Someone once thought, "If I can take that mala, my bhajana will be very high." He somehow gave $1000 to a greedy Orissan pujari in Srila Haridasa Thakura's samadhi, and the pujari later on claimed that someone had stolen them. This was a great offence.

    Someone else thought, "The very small beads that my Gurudeva has given will
    not do." He therfore told his Gurudeva, "Gurudeva, a monkey has taken my
    beads," or "I forget where I kept my beads. Oh, please, I brought very good
    mala from Vrndavana. The price was $100." They think that simply having big
    mala will suffice, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself used to count His names
    on knotted cloth. Pointing to the sannyasi, Premadasa Babaji said, "O sakhi, you should silence that monkey."

    http://www.dharmakshetra.com/articles3/He%20heard%20an%20old%20monkey%20of%20Radhika%20call%20out.htm

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