April 20, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Bhakti Prapanna Tirtha Maharaja read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: Maha-prasadam and Haridasa Thakura

Here is the recording of the April 20, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• Srila Tirtha Maharaja begins by explaining that Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja has given us a nectarean stream of hari-katha. By drinking from this stream, devotees become very peaceful and desire to drink more and more. In this chapter, we learn the glories of the Holy Name from Haridasa Thakura, our namacharya.
• Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja begins by offering obeisances to Srila Haridasa Thakura, Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, and all the devotees of the Lord. Sripad Tirtha Maharaja explains that if we give proper respect and honor to others, we shall receive the capacity to serve. In this way, Krsnadas Kaviraja teaches us how to express devotion.
• Residing at Jagannatha Puri with His personal devotees, the Lord enjoyed the congregational chanting of the maha-mantra. In the daytime, the Lord engaged in dancing and chanting and seeing the temple of Lord Jagannatha. At night, in the company of his confidential devotees, He tasted the nectar of Lord Krsna’a pastimes. Feeling separation from Krsna, He exhibited many transcendental symptoms all over His body. Day after day, the transcendental symptoms increased just as they are discussed in the sastras. Swarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya remained with Him day and night.
• Out of respect for his fallen nature, Srila Haridasa Thakura never visited the temple. Out of His mercy, the Lord had his servant, Govinda, take maha-prasadam to Haridasa. One day, Govinda found Haridasa lying on his back and chanting very slowly. When Govinda asked him to rise and take the maha-prasadam, Haridasa replied that he would fast. Nevertheless, he did honor the prasadam by offering prayers and by eating a small portion.
• To further explain the importance of maha-prasadam, Srila Tirtha Maharaja narrated a pastime of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Then he shared his own experience with honoring maha-prasadam. Simply by honoring maha-prasadam we can overcome maya.
• The next day, the Lord visited Haridasa and asked if he was well. Haridasa offered his obeisances and then explained that his body was all right but his mind and intelligence were not. When asked what his disease was, Haridasa replied that his disease was that he could not complete his rounds.
• “Now that you have become old,” the Lord said, “you may reduce the number of rounds you chant daily. You are already liberated, and therefore you need not follow the regulative principles very strictly. Your role in this incarnation is to deliver the people in general. You have sufficiently preached the glories of the Holy Name in this world.”
• Srila Haridasa Thakura replied by requesting that the Lord hear his real plea — something we will learn about in the next lesson.
• Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada notes that the Lord’s form of address shows that Haridasa Thakura was an incarnation of Lord Brahma. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura explains that advanced devotees help the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His mission and that such devotees or personal associates incarnate by the will of the Supreme Lord.

April 10, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja read from the Srimad Bhagavatam

Topic: Progressive Knowledge of the Supreme Lord

Here is the recording of the April 10, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• The Personality of Godhead may not be present before one’s eyes, but if one is sincere in wanting such guidance the Lord will send a bona fide devotee who can guide one properly back home, back to Godhead. A sinful soul cannot approach the Lord directly, but he can very easily approach a pure devotee of the Lord.
• The conception of Brahman, realization of one’s spiritual nature, is the first step, due to the Lord’s and the soul’s distinction from the illusory conception of material existence. However, the ultimate realization of Brahman is meeting the source of the Brahman effulgence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must understand all three features of the Lord — Brahman, Paramatma (Supersoul) and Bhagavan — to attain the fullness of affection for the Lord (prema).
• The Lord is the full, naked, uncontaminated object of affection for all living entities because He is the Supersoul residing within everyone’s heart. The relationship with the Lord is never broken; thus there is no grief and no fear. In the material world the sense activities are not without grief. However, sense gratification in the spiritual world is uninterrupted and unbroken by material contamination because the senses are purified.
• The living entity is unborn and eternal. The living entity is not exhausted even though the material body is vanquished. However, devotees are naturally inclined to become associates of the Lord rather than merge in the spiritual existence. The devotees, therefore, following their constitutional instincts, achieve the desired goal of becoming servitors, friends, fathers, mothers or conjugal lovers of the Lord.
• The material body develops according to the desires of the living entity. However, after annihilation of the material body, the living entity who has developed a desire for Krishna’s service, is at once awarded the necessary spiritual body befitting his association with the Lord.
• In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that by His potencies alone He is present everywhere and anywhere. Everything that is manifested rests on His potency only, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always aloof from everything. The potency and the potent are simultaneously one and different from one another.
• The Lord, being absolute, is nondifferent from the science of God, Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Bhagavata Purana is therefore the direct incarnation of the Lord in the form of transcendental sound, and one should receive this transcendental knowledge from the bona fide representative of the Lord in the chain of disciplic succession.
• Srimad-Bhagavatam is the philosophy of devotional service and the scientific presentation of man’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. With the beginning of the age of Kali, human society gradually became influenced by four sinful principles — illegitimate connection with women, intoxication, gambling and unnecessary killing of animals — blinding mankind to the ultimate goal of life. For such a blind society in the darkness of ignorance, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the torchlight to see things in proper perspective.
• Those who are not completely free from the clutches of the Lord’s external energy should devoutly hear regularly about the activities of the Lord in relation with the external energy. They should not foolishly jump up to the activities of the internal energy such as His rasa-lila. A devotee must begin reading or hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam from the very beginning.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja clarifies that mere theoretical “knowledge about” Krishna can lead to imaginary conceptions. Realized knowledge only comes as a consequence of purification. He adds further that direct perception of the Lord comes from the Paramatama, not from the senses directly.

April 3, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja read from the Srimad Bhagavatam

Topic: Cleansing and Purifying the Heart

Here is the recording of the April 3, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• We begin with the incarnation of Trivikrama (Vamana) who extended His leg beyond the highest planetary system. Even though the scientists can estimate the number of atoms in the universe, they cannot comprehend the transcendental activities of the Lord.
• The Personality of Godhead has three potential manifestations, namely internal, external, and marginal, with unlimited expansions of these three energies. As such, the potential expansions can never be calculated by anyone because even the Personality of God Himself, as the incarnation of Sesa, cannot estimate the potencies, although He has been describing them continuously with His one thousand faces.
• However, anyone who is specifically favored by the Lord, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome illusion to understand the Lord. But, as long as one maintains a material conception of reality, he cannot understand God. Only when we come to understand that we are the soul, and not the body, can such illusion be overcome.
• Sripad Tirtha Maharaja explains that we cannot see mind, but we cannot deny there is mind. In this way, mind is higher than the senses. And then there is intelligence, the judging faculty, and everything is running by the light of the soul. Without soul, mind or intelligence would not be working. Realization of the soul is not unscientific.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja further explains that in a dead body, the eye is still there, the tongue is still there, the nose is still there. But, if you shine a light in a dead man’s eye, the pupil won’t contract. A doctor sometimes tries to see if a body is still alive by shining a light in the eye. If the pupil contracts, then he knows there is still life in the body. So, the senses don’t act by themselves. They need the consciousness to act. They are not independent. Thus, we must dive deep into reality as Guru Maharaja would say. But, analysis such as this is not enough. We must also purify our senses to act on the spiritual platform. We do that by engaging in our constitutional position as a servant of Krsna. Thereby we can obtain a taste of sat-chit-ananda — eternity, knowledge and bliss.
• Memory, mind and intelligence also exist in the spiritual world. These faculties can be either material or spiritual depending on the context. What you are remembering, what you are making decisions about, will determine if it is spiritual or material. It is material if directed by exploitation, self-interest. A spiritually characterized mind has devotion to Krsna as its objective. So, it is a matter of the heart. Even the body can be spiritualized when it is dedicated to the service of the Lord. Everything has a divine connection or a mundane connection depending on the mood of the devotee.
• Even the bacteria within the body get the influence of the devotee’s heart. And that is why association with devotees is so important — taking their food, being close to them, massaging their bodies, or simply being in their contact is purifying for anyone. Of course, even that is not enough. The most important thing is hearing so that we get the proper conception. But even that is dependent on the sincerity in our heart. The actual determining factor is our desire to take to heart the words, faith and love of our spiritual master.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja briefly discusses positive and negative cleansing or purification, as Srila Rupa Goswami has described it in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11. Negative cleansing entails removal of fruitive desire, mental speculation, and desire for liberation or yogic perfection. Positive cleansing results from performing favorable devotional service to Krsna.
• In the next verse, Lord Brahma recounts the great devotees of the Lord — past, present and future — who are aware of the different potencies of the Lord including His name, quality, pastimes, entourage, and personality. Such information cannot be obtained by the limited instruments of knowledge. The Lord is knowable only by one who is a surrendered soul. Therefore, one should gain knowledge by surrendering unto the Lord and by acknowledging the authority of the persons mentioned herein. We are all searching for the conclusion of knowledge — Vedanta. Vedanta begins with knowledge of the spirit.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja concludes by discussing the differences between the relative and the absolute planes. In the absolute plane there are distinctions but no duality. In the absolute plane there is no difference between the thought and the thing. Because we are not on that platform, we continue to see such differences.

April 6, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja and the devotees read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: The True Mercy of the Lord

Here is the recording of the April 6, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• Gopinatha Pattanayaka continues to declare that detachment from material opulence is the true mercy from the Lord. He asks Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to bestow His mercy so that he may become renounced.
• The Lord then questions who will take care of Gopinatha’s large family if he becomes renounced and declares that Gopinatha and his brothers have always been His devoted servants. The Lord then enjoins Gopinatha to stop spending the King’s revenue.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja then relates the experiences from today’s meeting at the Princeton BVI office and advises that we must trust in the will of the Lord regarding the success of our preaching efforts. He explains that if our intentions are sincere, then pure attachment to the lotus feet of the Lord will become our highest achievement.
• Maharaja explains that if one should gain some material opulence, then we should take what is needed for our maintenance, and then spend the balance for the Lord’s service.
• The next chapter opens with Advaita Acharya Gosani leading the devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri for the annual Rathayatra fesival. Despite the fact that Lord Nityananda was instructed to remain in Bengal, he came anyway due to his great love for the Lord. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami explains that Krsna is certainly pleased when we carry out His orders. However, His pleasure is increased millions of times when we break His orders due to ecstatic love.
• Raghava Pandita came with many bags full of food prepared by his sister, Damayanti. The Lord ate continually for one year from the hundreds of varieties of condiments and pickles. Damayanti made all these preparations following the order of her brother. Both had unlimited love for the Lord.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja discusses various ways to increase one’s Krsna Consciousness by participating in temple activities.
• Sripad Puri Maharaja and the devotees conclude with a discussion of various aspects of the preparation and consumption of prasadam.

April 13, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: The Lord’s Activities with the Bengali Devotees

The recording for April 13, 2013 is presently unavailable.

• The Vaisnavas from Bengal arrived when Lord Jagannatha was performing His pastimes in the water. Meeting Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at the lake, the Lord lifted and embraced every one of them. Chanting and crying, the Gaudiya Vaisnavas created a tumultuous sound vibration that filled the universe. As Govinda, the vijaya-vigraha in the temple of Jagannatha, completed His pastimes in the water, Sra Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also entered the water with His devotees and began His pastimes with them in great jubilation.
• The next day the Lord went with His personal associates to see Lord Jagannatha. Forming seven kirtana groups, the devotees began to chant and dance. After some time, the Lord began dancing in the center of the seven groups. Accompanied by his personal staff, the King also came there and watched from a distance. Lord Chaitanya remembered a line in the Orissan language and ordered Svarupa Damodara to sing it: “Let my head fall at the feet of Jagannatha in the kirtana hall known as Jagamohana.”
• The Lord fell to the ground unconscious, not even breathing. Then suddenly He stood up, making a loud sound. The hairs on His body constantly stood up like the thorns on a simula tree. Sometimes His body was swollen and sometimes lean and thin. He bled and perspired from every pore of His body. His voice faltered. Unable to say the line properly, He uttered only “jaja gaga pari mumu.” All His teeth shook, as if each was separate from the others. Indeed, they seemed about to fall to the ground. His transcendental bliss increased at every moment. Therefore even by mid-afternoon the dancing had not ended.
• Afterwards Lord Nityananda found a way to end the kirtana. When the Lord returned to external consciousness, Nityananda Prabhu informed Him of the fatigue of the chanters and dancers. Then the Lord bathed in the sea, accompanied by all the devotees. The Lord took prasadam with all of them and then asked them to return to their dwellings and take rest.
• Next we learn of the incident with His servant Govinda, where the Lord occupied the doorway of Gambhira, thus preventing Govinda from entering the room to massage His legs. Several times, Govinda asked the Lord to turn on one side so that he could enter the room. Each time, the Lord replied that He did not have the strength to move His body. Finally, Govinda spread the Lord’s wrapper over His body and in this way entered the room by crossing over the Lord, a great offense. After massaging the Lord’s body, the Lord slept nicely for about forty-five minutes.
• When the Lord awoke, He was somewhat angry with Govinda asking him “why have you been sitting here for so long today? How did you enter the room? Why didn’t you go out to take your lunch in the same way?” Govinda mentally replied, “My duty is to serve, even if I have to commit offenses or go to hell. I would not mind committing hundreds and thousands of offenses for the service of the Lord, but I greatly fear committing even a glimpse of an offense for my own self.” The Lord is very interested in manifesting the exalted qualities of His devotees. That is why He engineered this incident.
• Accompanied by His personal associates, the Lord washed and swept the Gundica temple. The Lord danced and chanted and then enjoyed a picnic in the garden as He had done before. He then danced in front of the Jagannatha car and observed the festival of Hera-pancami.
• Formerly, when all the devotees had arrived from Bengal, they all desired to offer the Lord something to eat. Each would entrust their offering to Govinda and request him, “Please arrange that the Lord will surely eat this prasadam.” Govinda would present the prasadam and say to the Lord, “This has been given by such-and-such devotee.” The Lord, however, would not actually eat it. He would simply say, “Keep it in storage.” Soon the food filled a corner of the room, enough to feed at least a hundred people.
• When the devotees questioned Govinda about the food, he had to tell them lies. Therefore one day he spoke to the Lord in disappointment, “Many respectable devotees, headed by Advaita Acarya, make a great endeavor to entrust me with varieties of food for You. You do not eat it, but they ask me again and again. How long shall I go on cheating them? How shall I be freed from this responsibility?” The Lord replied, “Why are you so foolishly unhappy? Bring here to Me whatever they have given you.”
• The Lord sat down to eat. Then Govinda offered Him the preparations one after another, and as he did so he spoke the name of the person who had given each one. All the preparations were at least a month old, but they had not become tasteless or stale. That is the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The next day the Lord opened the bags from Raghava and inspected their contents one after another. He tasted a little of everything they contained and praised it all for its flavor and aroma. All the varieties of the remaining prasadam were kept to eat throughout the year.
• Devotees like Acaryaratna, Acaryanidhi, Nandana acarya, Raghava Pandita and Srevasa were all of the brahmana caste. From time to time, they would invite the Lord for home-cooked rice and vegetables. Many other devotees who were not brahmanas by caste would purchase food offered to Lord Jagannatha and then extend invitations to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord observed the etiquette then current in society by accepting only prasadam cooked by members of the brahmana caste, but on principle He accepted invitations from His devotees, regardless of whether they were brahmanas by caste.
• When Sivananda brought his son, Chaitanya dasa, to be introduced to the Lord, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inquired about his name. “What kind of name have you given him? It is very difficult to understand.” Sivananda Sena replied, “He has kept the name that appeared to me from within.” Then he invited the Lord for lunch. Buying very costly remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s food, he offered it to Lord Chaitanya, who sat down to accept the prasadam with His associates. Eating more than necessary, the Lord’s mind was dissatisfied.
• The next day, Chaitanya dasa extended an invitation to the Lord. He could understand the Lord’s mind, however, and therefore he arranged for a different kind of food that would counteract the heavy meal the Lord had eaten the previous day. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “This boy knows My mind. Therefore I am very satisfied to accept his invitation.”
• The devotees who came from Bengal stayed with Lord Chaitanya for four consecutive months, and then the Lord bade them farewell. After the Bengali devotees departed, the devotees who were the Lord’s constant companions at Jagannatha Puri stayed with the Lord.
• Narrations of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s activities are just like nectar to hear, satisfying the ears and mind. One who tastes the nectar of these activities is certainly very fortunate.