January 26, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — Sripad Bhakti Niskama Shanta Maharaja read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: Raghunatha dasa meets Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Here is the recording of the January 26, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• Raghunatha dasa thought deeply about how to escape, and one night while he was sleeping on the Durga-mandapa, the priest Yadunandana acarya, one of the most confidential followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, entered the house of Raghunatha dasa and stood in the courtyard. Raghunatha dasa went there and fell down to offer his obeisances.
• One of Yadunandana acarya’s disciples had been worshiping the Deity but had left that service. Yadunandana acarya wanted Raghunatha dasa to convince the disciple to take up that service again for there was no other brahmana to do it, hence he requested Raghunatha dasa to speak with the brahmana to resume the service.
• After saying this, Yadunandana acarya took Raghunatha dasa with him and went out. Halfway along the path, Raghunatha dasa submitted at the lotus feet of his spiritual master, “I shall go to the home of that brahmana, induce him to return, and send him to your home. You may go home without anxiety. Following your order, I shall persuade the brahmana.” On this plea, after asking permission, Raghunatha dasa decided to go away.
• Raghunatha dasa thought, “This is the greatest opportunity to go away because this time there are no servants or watchmen with me.” Thinking in this way, he quickly proceeded towards the east. Thinking of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu, he left the general path and proceeded on the path not generally used. He walked about thirty miles in one day, and in the evening he took rest in the cowshed of a milkman, who gave him some milk.
• At the house of Raghunatha dasa, the servant and watchman, not seeing him there, immediately went to Yadunandana acarya, who informed them that “He has already asked my permission and returned home.”
• Raghunatha dasa’s father ordered ten men to catch him and bring him back while at the same time wrote a letter to Sivananda Sena, asking him to “Please return my son.” Sivananda Sena replied, “He did not come here.”
• Raghunatha dasa, not caring about eating, he traveled all day focusing his mind upon obtaining shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, reached Jagannatha Puri in twelve days. When Raghunatha dasa met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord was sitting with His companions, headed by Svarupa Damodara. Staying at a distant place in the courtyard, he fell down to offer obeisances. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately welcomed Raghunatha dasa. “Come here,” He said. Raghunatha dasa then clasped the lotus feet of the Lord, but the Lord stood up and embraced him out of His causeless mercy. Raghunatha dasa offered prayers at the lotus feet of all the devotees, headed by Svarupa Damodara Gosvami.
• Seeing Raghunatha dasa skinny and dirty the Lord spoke to Svarupa Damodara. “There are now three Raghunathas among My associates. From this day forward, this Raghunatha should be known as the Raghu of Svarupa Damodara.” Saying this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu grasped the hand of Raghunatha dasa and entrusted him to the hands of Svarupa Damodara Gosvami to take care of him. Govinda, the personal servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. offered him a plate of prasadam left by the Lord.
• Raghunatha dasa stayed under the care of Svarupa Damodara Gosvami for five days. Beginning from the sixth day he stood at the gate known as Simha-dvara to beg alms. The many servants of Lord Jagannatha, known as visayis, if they see a Vaisnava standing at the Simha-dvara begging alms, out of mercy they arrange with the shopkeepers to give him something to eat. A completely dependent Vaisnava thus chants the holy name of the Lord all day and sees Lord Jagannatha with full freedom.
• It is a custom for some Vaisnavas to beg from the charity booths and eat whatever they obtain, whereas others stand at night at the Simha-dvara gate, begging alms from the servants.
• Govinda said to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, “Raghunatha dasa no longer takes prasadam here. Now he stands at the Simha-dvara, where he begs some alms to eat.” When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He was greatly satisfied. “Raghunatha dasa has done well,” He said. “He has acted suitably for a person in the renounced order.

January 23, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Vijnana Muni Maharaja read from Srimad Bhagavatam

Topic: The Process of Creation and the Universal Form

Here is the recording of the January 23, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• The whole process of creation according to the analytical Sankhya system involves a development from one element to another. The qualities of sense perception also develop in a similar manner from sound to touch and then form, and are fully represented in the earth.
• Human society primarily requires food for subsistence, shelter for sleeping, defense for protection, and commodities for satisfaction of the senses. Objects of sense satisfaction should be supplied as much as absolutely required, but not for aggravating artificial sensory needs. Human energy is primarily meant for purifying the senses in order to engage them in satisfying the senses of the Supreme Lord.
• When one comes to see the disadvantage of aggravating the sense activities, one is called a jnani, and when one tries to control the activities of the senses by the practice of yoga, he is called a yogi, but when one is fully aware of the transcendental senses of the Lord and tries to satisfy His senses, one is called a devotee of the Lord. Sripad Puri Maharaja helps to clarify this principle with an article from Sri Gaudiya Darshan which describes how Ambarish Maharaj used his senses to glorify the Lord.
• The parts of the body, such as the senses, are contained within the mahat-tattva, but when they are assembled by the will of the Lord, the material body comes into existence, and the living entity is allowed to use it for further activities.
• The Supreme Personality of Godhead utilizes His different energies in the creation; it is not that He Himself is transformed into material creations. He expands Himself by His different energies, as well as by His plenary portions.
• The Lord as Garbhodakasayi Visnu enters into each and every universe and causes it to be animated by begetting Lord Brahma and the other living entities within the womb of the material nature. After each annihilation of the material creation, all the living entities are merged within the body of the Lord, and after each creation they are again impregnated within the material energy. The Lord, is ultimately the cause of all animation in the material world, assuming the virat-rupa (universal form).
• The brahmanas represent His mouth, the ksatriyas His arms, the vaisyas His thighs, and the sudras are born of His legs. In addition, the fourteen spheres of the planetary system are situated on the body of the Lord. In this way, each individual within human society can understand the factual relationship of every living being with the Supreme Lord.
• The virat-rupa is an imaginary form for the material world. It has nothing to do with the spiritual worlds, or the kingdom of God, which are eternal and not subject to creation and annihilation.
• One’s situation in any of the material planets is subject to the laws of material nature — birth, death, old age and disease. But one can get complete liberation from all the material pangs when one enters into the eternal (sanatana) atmosphere, the kingdom of God. However such liberation is possible only when one becomes a devotee of the Lord.

January 19, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: Lord Nityananda blesses Raghunatha dasa

Here is the recording of the January 19, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• Hearing about the festival, all kinds of learned scholars, brahmanas and priests went there. Lord Nityananda Prabhu honored them and made them sit on the raised platform with Him, where everyone was offered two earthen pots for chipped rice with condensed milk, and in the other chipped rice with yogurt.
• Some of the brahmanas, not having gotten a place on the platform, went to the bank of the Ganges with their two earthen pots, while others got down into the water and began eating their two kinds of chipped rice.
• At that time, Raghava Pandita arrived with many kinds of prasadam. Seeing the situation, he began to laugh in great surprise. Raghava Pandita spoke to Lord Nityananda who said, “I belong to a community of cowherd boys, and therefore I generally have many cowherd associates with Me. I am happy when we eat together in a picnic like this by the sandy bank of the river.”
• Lord Nityananda Prabhu, in meditation, brought Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to that place. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu arrived, Lord Nityananda Prabhu stood up. In jest, Lord Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fed each other a morsel from each pot.
• Seeing Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu eating with Him, Lord Nityananda Prabhu became very happy and exhibited varieties of ecstatic love exclaiming “All of you eat, chanting the holy name of Hari.” When all the Vaisnavas were chanting the holy names “Hari, Hari” and eating, they remembered how Krsna and Balarama ate with Their companions the cowherd boys on the bank of the Yamuna.
• Then Nityananda Prabhu rested before going to the temple of Raghava Pandita and began Harinama Sankirtana.
• Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu observed Lord Nityananda Prabhu dancing, which, like the dancing of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, cannot be compared to anything within these three worlds.
• Srimati Radharani who received from Durvasa Muni the benediction that whatever She cooked would be sweeter than nectar, personally cooked at Raghava Pandita’s house. He brought so many presentations that no one could know them perfectly. Indeed, it was a fact that the supreme mother, Radharani, personally cooked in the house of Raghava Panndit.
• Nityananda Prabhu sat down with His associates, then Raghunatha dasa went there and worshiped Lord Nityananda’s lotus feet. Through Raghava Pandita, he submitted his desire to get the shelter of Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet.
• After hearing this appeal by Raghunatha dasa, Lord Nityananda Prabhu smiled and told all the devotees, “Raghunatha dasa’s standard of material happiness is equal to that of Indra, the King of heaven.”  Then Lord Nityananda Prabhu called Raghunatha dasa near Him, placed His lotus feet upon Raghunatha dasa’s head and began to speak.
• Raghava Pandita took Raghunatha dasa to his home, induced him to see the Deity, and offered him a garland, sandalwood pulp and a large quantity of prasadam to eat on his way home.
• After taking dust from the feet of Raghava Pandita, Raghunatha dasa returned to his home, feeling greatly obligated to Lord Nityananda Prabhu because of having received His merciful benediction.

January 16, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Vijnana Muni Maharaja read from Srimad Bhagavatam

Topic: Creation of the Material World

Here is the recording of the January 16, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• Lord Brahma confirms to Sri Narada that he is not the supreme origin of the creation. This is further clarified in the Brahma-samhita where Lord Brahma states that he serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead whose transcendental effulgence is the source of the infinite indivisible brahman, distinct from the variegated material world, which it manifests just like the Sun by its light manifests the moon, stars, planets and other luminaries of the universe.
• The illusory energy of the Lord (mahamaya), representing nescience, can bewilder the entire world. However, those who surrender unto the Lord cannot be deluded by such energy and become free from the misconception of “It is I, it is mine.”
• The elementary ingredients of creation, their interaction with eternal time, and the individual living beings are the differentiated parts and parcels of the of the Supreme Lord Vasudeva (vasudeva sarvam iti). Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada further clarifies that these interactions are all impersonal manifestations of the Lord’s energies. They are not part of the Personality of Godhead who exists as the source of these energies in His transcendental form called sac-cid-ananda-vigraha.
• The Vedas are made by and meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to revive the forgotten consciousness of the conditioned souls, and any literature not meant for reviving God consciousness is rejected at once by the narayana-para devotees, for whom sankirtana-yajna is the mainstay of their devotional service.
• Achieving oneness with the impersonal brahmajyoti is not the ultimate liberation. Rather, establishing one’s eternal serving relationship with the Personality of Godhead is the ultimate destination.
• Two identities of soul, the Supersoul and the individual soul, exist within the living entity. The Supersoul is the Supreme Lord, whereas the individual soul is the eternal servitor of the Lord. The individual soul, even Lord Brahmaji, is only able to create what has already been created by the Supreme Lord. At every level of existence, the Supersoul oversees the living entity’s intelligence via His position as the witness of all activities.
• The transcendental living entities are called the marginal potency of the Lord because they are situated between the internal and external potencies. The living entities are not meant to be conditioned by the material energy, but due to their false sense of lording it over, they come under the influence of the external potency and thus become conditioned by the three modes of material nature. The material scientist cannot look beyond the material causes, thus he cannot perceive the controlling actions of adhibuta, adhyatma and adhidaiva.
• After the incarnation of the first purusa (Karanadakashayi Visnu), the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. By the omnipotence of the Supreme Lord, the whole material creation evolves by the process of transformation and reactions one after another, and by the same omnipotence, they are wound up again one after another and conserved in the body of the Supreme.
• Material activities are caused by the mahat-tattva being agitated. At first there is transformation of the modes of goodness and passion, and later — due to the mode of ignorance — matter, its knowledge, and different activities of material knowledge come into play. The gross matters are adhibhutam, their maintenance is adhidaivam, and the initiator of material activities is called adhyatmam.
• Materialistic ego, or the sense of identification with matter, is grossly self-centered, devoid of clear knowledge of the existence of God. The self-centered impersonalist, without a clear conception of the personality of Godhead, concludes in his own way that the Personality of Godhead takes a material shape from His original impersonal spiritual existence for a particular mission. This misleading conception of the Supreme Lord by the self-centered impersonalist continues, even though he is seen to be very interested in the Vedic literatures. The cause of such gross ignorance is constant engagement by the materialistic man in the matter of artificially increasing material demands. To realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to purify the materialistic senses by devotional service.
• The sound representation of the Lord is non-different from the Lord Himself because the Lord and His representation in sound are absolute. Lord Chaitanya has instructed us that in the Holy Name of the Lord, as sound representation of the Lord, all the potencies of the Lord are invested. Thus one can immediately be purified by the association of the Lord in the pure vibration of His Holy Name.

January 12, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Topic: Raghunatha dasa serves Lord Nityananda

Here is the recording of the January 12, 2013 sadhu-sanga.

• After hearing Swarupa Damodara Goswami explain the proper relationship between Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jagannatha, the Bengali poet upon being corrected, fell down before the feet of all the devotees with a straw in his mouth. By such surrender, the devotees accepted his association and introduced him to Lord Chaitanya.
• Lord Chaitanya suffered immensely due to separation from Lord Krsna, especially at night. Only his association with Sri Ramananda Raya and Swarupa Damodara kept Him alive. These relationships are compared to those which developed between Subala and Lord Krsna, and Lalita and Srimati Radharani, during their time of separation.
• Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami then recounts how Raghunatha dasa Goswami came to serve Lord Chaitanya. Initially, after receiving instruction from Lord Chaitanya at Santipura, Raghunatha followed the instructions of the Lord and returned home. Despite his inward renunciation, Raghunatha dasa continued to serve his family for one year, appearing to be a normal business man. However, when Lord Chaitanya returned from Mathura, Raghunatha dasa attempted to go to the lotus feet of the Lord.
• At that time, Hiranya dasa, Raghunatha dasa’s uncle, made an agreement with the government to collect taxes. However, since he was keeping more than his share of the collected revenue, the Muslim caudhuri maneuvered to have Hiranya dasa arrested. Because Hiranya dasa had left his home at the time, Raghunatha dasa was arrested in his stead.
• Fearful of Raghunatha dasa’s aristocratic status, the caudhuri did not beat him, but chastised him daily, trying to induce Raghunatha dasa to turn-in his uncle. But, by using a clever psychological ploy, Raghunatha dasa convinced the caudhuri to release him. Arranging a meeting between his uncle and the caudhuri, the matter was settled.
• Raghunatha dasa rose alone and left his home one night. However, his father caught him and brought him back. This became almost a daily affair. His mother wanted to tie him down with ropes, but his father realized that such a plan would be futile, saying “Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has fully bestowed His mercy on him. Who can keep home such a madman of Caitanyacandra?”
• In the village of Panihati, Raghunatha dasa obtained an interview with Nityananda Prabhu. Astonished to see the influence of Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha offered his obeisances at a great distance. Seeing this, Nityananda Prabhu called for Raghunatha to come closer. Failing to do so, Lord Nityananda then captured him, and in good humor, placed his feet upon Raghunatha’s head ordering him to make a festival and feed all His associates yogurt and chipped rice.
• Raghunatha dasa sent his own men to the village to purchase all kinds of edibles including chipped rice, yogurt, milk, sweetmeats, sugar, and bananas. Seeing that the crowd was increasing, Raghunatha arranged to get even more. Using several especially large earthen pots, a brahmana began soaking the chipped rice in hot milk for the satisfaction of Lord Nityananda. Half the soaked rice was mixed with yogurt, sugar and bananas. The other half was mixed with condensed milk and a special type of banana known as canpa-kala and then seasoned with sugar, clarified butter and camphor.
• Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami lists many of the important associates of Lord Nityananda who sat down in a circle around the Lord.