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A True Servant—A True Master

by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja | 2021 | 174,865 words

This page relates ‘glories of Haridvara,...� of book�"A True Servant, A True Master" which offers a collection of 128 handwritten letters by Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja—a revered figure in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. This book showcases the profound spiritual insights and practical guidance on executing devotional service and addresses both Sadhakas (male practitioners) and Sadhikas (female practitioners) with equal respect.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Letter 94 - The glories of Ჹ屹,...

The glories of Ჹ屹 � The glories of Śī-岵ٲ � The early, historic recitations of Śī-岵ٲ � The difference between a īٳ and a

श्री श्री गुरु-गौराङ्गौ जयतः

śī śī guru-gaurāṅgau jayata�

—Ś� Vinoda-Bihārī Pura-ⲹٳ Polo Hills (Shillong) Meghalaya Kolkata�700004 31/5/1988

Ա貹

� After we left from Śī Bhaktivedānta Gauḍīya Ѳṻ, I was unable to find out how many more days you were in Ჹ屹. Did you find this to your liking? I went there for two days and fell sick, so I did not have a chance to see the city properly. Personally, I felt said and its environment were favourable for bhajana. Still, it can never be said to be superior to Ѳٳܰ-ṛn屹Բ. Though 屹ī and impersonalists inhabit this place, it is the gate to 󲹲 Śī Hari.

On these Ჹ屹 banks of the Ҳṅg, Śī Sanaka and the other ܳ spoke the subject matter of Śī-岵ٲ to Ṛṣ.&Բ;

In singing the glories of Śīmad-岵ٲ, they said, 

“Ҳṅg, Ҳ, śī, ʳṣk, and ʰ岵 have not the capacity to measure up to the fruit of reciting this Śī-岵ٲ scripture as spoken by Śī Śܰ첹𱹲.�

Seers of the truth behold the primeval syllable , the ⲹٰī and ܰṣa-śܰٲ mantras, the three

Vedas, the twelve-syllable mantra, Ѳ-屹岹śī, ճܱī, 󲹲 Śī ʳܰṣoٳٲ, and Śī-岵ٲ as non-different. Reading Śī-岵ٲ, meditating on Śī Hari through deity worship, watering the ٳܱī tree, and serving the sacred ܰī cows every day in a regulated manner yield equivalent results. Śī 󲹲 invests all of His potency into Śī-岵ٲ and then disappears, entering into the ocean that is Śī-岵ٲ. Therefore, this Śī-岵ٲ is 󲹲’s direct literary, verbal form, the direct śī vigraha (beautiful figure) of Parabrahma (the Supreme Personality of Godhead).

Countless associates of Śī 󲹲 who participated in His pastimes, like Śī Uddhava, Arjuna, Dhruva, and ʰ岹, came to hear Śī-岵ٲ on the banks of the Ҳṅg in Ჹ屹. 󲹲 Śī Hari Himself personally appeared in the assembly, and ٱ𱹲ṣi Śī 岹 worshipped Him. 

Śī Hari blessed everyone as follows:

“Wheresoever in the future the sacred 첹ٳ-ⲹñ (recitation ceremony) of Śī-岵ٲ takes place, I Myself, Svayam 󲹲, will preside.� 

Thirty years after Śī ṛṣṇa went to His own realm, in the month of [August–September], on the śܰ-Բī, or the ninth day of the bright fortnight, in Śܰ첹-, Śī Śܰ첹𱹲 spoke the account of the 岵ٲ to King ʲīṣi. After two hundred years of the age of Kali, on the śܰ-Բī of the month of Āṣāḍ [June–July], on the bank of the ճṅg󲹻, Śī Ҵǰ첹ṇa recited bhāgavata-첹ٳ to Dhundhukārī. When three hundred years of the age of Kali had elapsed, in the month of پ첹, on the śܰ-Բī, Śī Sanaka and other ṛṣ spoke bhāgavata-첹ٳ to Śī 岹 Ṛṣi in Ჹ屹. Śī Suta ҴDz峾ī had related the 岵ٲ narrative to ŚܲԲ첹 and other sages in ṣārṇy after the gathering in Śܰ첹-tala, or in other words, 200 years prior to Kali.

The fact that impersonalists and 屹ī live in śī does not detract from the 峾’s glories.

All the īٳs become īٳs, that is, gain their purificatory power, by their proximity to 󲹲 and the devotees. 

माया कृपा करि� जा� उठाय जख�,
आ̃ख� देखे सुविशा� चिन्मय भव�

Māyā kṛpā kari� jāla uṭhāya jakhana,
ā̃khi dekhe suviśāla cinmaya bhavana
[1]

“W mercifully lifts the veil, the eyes behold a colossal palace of divinity.�

We do not regard śī 峾 to be an ordinary settlement and we do not regard Śī 󲹲’s 屹屹-ٳ󲹱ī (place of appearance, or birth) and ī-ٳ󲹱ī (pastime places) as mundane. If we put śī 峾 and īٳs in the same category, we commit an offence. 

Still, Śī 󲹲 does appear there [at the īٳs]; the devotees draw Him there by śī -īٲԲ.[2]

गौ� आमार, जे-सब स्था�, करलो भ्रम� रङ्ग�;
से-सब स्था�, हेरिबो आम�, प्रणयि-भक�-सङ्ग�

Gaura āmāra, je-saba sthāna, karalo bhramaṇa raṅge;
se-saba sthāna, heribo āmi, ṇa⾱-󲹰첹ٲ-saṅge
[3]

“I will behold all the places my Gaura festively roamed in the company of loving devotees.� 

And, 

भ्रमिब� द्वादश वन�, रस-केलि जे जे स्थाने, प्रेमावेशे गडागडि दिया;
शुधाइब� जन� जन�, व्रज-वासि-गण स्थाने, निवेदिबो चरणे धरिय�

bhramibo dvādaśa vane, rasa-keli je je sthāne, premāveśe gaḍāgaḍi diyā;
śudhāibo jane jane, vraja-vāsi-gaṇa sthāne, nivedibo caraṇe dhariyā
[4]

“I will roam the twelve forests, wherever ṛṣṇa’s loving pastimes were performed, and roll in the dust in ecstasies of prema. I will inquire from each and every person in the dwellings of the residents of Vraja and petition them, catching hold of their feet.�

I regard the ṇa⾱-󲹰첹ٲ (loving devotees) and śܻ Ჹ-ī (pure residents of Vraja) mentioned in these songs of the ᲹԲ to be of the same calibre. Would it be a mistake or an offence to call both of them rasika-bhaktas (devotees eligible to taste rasa)? Is there much of a difference between those who are acquainted with real tattva-Գٲ and those who are rasika-bhaktas? All these topics can be properly determined through study and ṣṭ-ṣṭī. Please accept my good wishes and loving blessings. Iti

Forever your well-wisher,
Śī Bhaktivedānta 峾Բ

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

Śī 屹ī貹- - ٲṅg (11) by Śīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhܰ

[2]:

īٳ󲹲are where 󲹲 appears briefly, having been summoned by His devotees. The is where He is born and engages in endless pastimes.

[3]:

Śṇāgپ, Śܻ- bhakata (3) by Śīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhܰ

[4]:

ʰٳ󲹲, Hari Hari! Āra Kabe Pālaṭibe ٲś (4) by Śīla Narottama Ṭhܰ

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