🪔 Kartik yatra 2023, Jagannath Puri, Day 1
🌼 *THE GLORY OR JAGANNATH PURI DHAM & THE MOOD OF PURI YATRA* 🌼
*Lecture by His Holiness RADHANATH SWAMI MAHARAJ*
Lecture highlights notes by Gauranga Darshan Das (Only key takeaways & not details of the pastimes)
🪔 *INTRODUCTION*
With the chariot of his compassion, Srila Prabhupada has pulled all of us to Puri today.
🌼 Our actual happiness is when we surrender to Krishna's plan - the plan thata inclusive of all our plans - saranagati.
Puri is vipralamba kshetra.
🌼 It's offensive to judge the mind of a great devotee.
🌼 Human life is very rare. And the rarest thing in human life is to have the association of a devotee.
🌼 Wherever we are sincerely hearing and chanting, that's where Krishna would be - that "back to godhead."
🪔 *MOOD OF CHANTING HARE KRISHNA*
Krishna is going to reciprocate with our chanting the way we chant the holy names.
Param vijayate Sri Krishan Sankirtanam - Its the prime benediction of all humanity.
Lord Chaitanya composed Sikshastakam .. the 8 verses that instruct us what is tbe mood in which we should chant the holy name of Krishna.
From our beginning stages, when we chant Krishna's names it purifies our hearts and fills our hearts with ananda which we all are seeking.
Krishna has invested his potency in many of his names.
🌼 When we speak or sing the name hare or Radha we are in the presence of Srimati Radharani. When we say Rama and Krishna we are in the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The devotees or Rama are in the presence of Sita Rama... For worshipers of Lord Chaitanya the Hare Krishna mahamantra is that invokes the presence of Radha Krishna.
🌼 When we are earnestly seeking to be humble, tolerant and when we don't demand respect from others, to that degree we offer respect to others. That's the open secret to chant holy names. But the mind influenced by the ego makes it difficult.
🌼 The mind that seeks self importance is insignificant compared the heart that respects others.
🪔 *MOOD OF PARTICIPATING IN YATRA*
Srila Prabhupad says, if you approach the deity as wood and stone thats how the deity will manifest in front of you. But if you approach the deity as the Supreme Lord thats how the deity will manifest to you.
🌼 We express our gratitude by how we treat each other, and how we spend all the precious moments here, recognising the value of each moment. When we take things for granted, we are not really grateful.
🌼 It has probably taken for our souls million of births and deaths to get the opportunity to come to the 2023 Jagannath Puri yatra. When we recognise that then we are so receptive to Jagannath's mercy.
🌼 We have come here only for few days, how precious is every moment, each day. Infuse our hearts wih the consciousness of valuing those blessings. And we take those blessings wherever we go.
We come to dham not just reside but to feel the presence of the lord and transform our lives. We come here to learn about Krishna, to feel the presence of Krishna.
Let us have very eager and grateful hearts, to hear and chant the Lord's glories and serve.
Whatever the pastimes the Lord performs in Mathura and Dwaraka, he enacts those pastimes in Jagannath Puri.
🪔 *ASSOCIATES OF LORD CAITANYA AT PURI*
Most of the devotees who came to Puri visited for some time, but some devotees like Svarup Damodar Goswami & Ramanand Raya stayed for rest of their lives, to assist Lord Caitanya in his confidential pastimes. Govinda, Kasisvar pandit, Paramanand Puri, Haridas Thakur are other examples.
Devotees didn't pray for liberation or elevation to Vaikuntha, they are praying for the Lord's descent, to open the doors of Goloka for all of us. This was the passion of Haridas Thakur when he was chanting the holy names of the Lord.
If Srila Prabhupada hasn't travelled around the world to preach Krishna consciousness, we wouldn't have the opportunity to come to Puri today.
Sanatana Goswami, Rupa Goswami and Raghunath das Goswami had the association of Mahaprabhu here.
🌼 Lord Chaitanya was not only experiencing his mahabhava here. He is also teaching us how to see the things in Puri. When He saw Jagannath vallabh garden, he saw the forest of Vrindavan. When he saw cataka parvata, he was seeing Govardhan hill. Not only he was seeing, he was actually identifying with the nature of these places.
Bhaktivinod thakur, wherever there is the greatest need there wise greatest opportunity to serve. As we advance in Krishna consciousness the value in anything o
The whole process of bhakti is transform our pursuit of our happiness in satiafying our own ego to satisfying Krishna.
Radharani met Krishna at Kurukshetra after so long time, but he was surrounded by His queens, with royal opulences, as a prince. She was a simple cowherd girl who knew Krishna's greatest happiness is in being a cowherd boy with a flute.
Krishna has specialy made his home Puri, because as Lord Chaitanya he was in the mood of Srimati Radharani when she met him at Kurukshetra.
Bhaktivinod thakur spent several years at Puri, as superintendent of the Jagannath Temple, praying for a ray of Lord Vishnu to spread the message of Krishna all over teb world. That desire and prayer was fulfilled at Puri.
In the Rathayatra, when Jagannath's rath stopped at Bhaktivinod Thakur's house, a graland fell on Bimala Prasad.
And our own beloved founder acharya srila Prabhupada worshipped Puri whole life, and dreaming to come to Puri, checking railway charts. He performed Rathayatra as a child, reenacting the pastimes of Puri.
In 1935, Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, "I have a family with responsibilities, how can I serve you." And from Puri, Bhaktisiddhanta gave his final instruction to Srila Prabhupada to preach the message of Krishna Consciousness in English. This was two weeks before his departure from this material world.
Srila Prabhupada, from 1967, he had deities of Jagannath Baladev Subhadra carved by his devotees.
🪔 *MAHAPRABHU'S UNPARALLELED MERCY*
Rupa Goswami prayed to Lord Chaitanya, "namo maha vadanya..." Although you are Krishna, you are more magnanimous in giving mercy more than even Krishna.
🌼 The essence perfection of every true religion is love of God. Unmotivated uninterrupted service is the essence of love of God. Mahaprabhu is giving something more than love of God, where the conception of God being God becomes an impediment in one's intimacy in loving God.
🪔 *LESSONS FROM LORD CHAITANYA'S COMING TO PURI*
If we want to learn how to enter Vrindavan, learn from Akrura.
When we are associating with devotees we are meant to have that eagerness, despite all difficulties.
🌼 To the degree we have that intensity of eagerness, to that degree our hearts can experience the blessings of the holy dham.
At Navadvip Lord Chaitanya was doing his sankirtan with his pure devotee associates - the pancha tattva, Haridas, Vakreswar pandit and others. These kirtans were not different from the Rasalila pastimes of Krishna.
Later Lord Chaitanya's kirtans came out on streets, and he invited everyone to participate.
📚 Description of Mahaprabhu's Sannyasa Lila, Sridhar Kolaveccha's pumpkin, the final supper, Sacimata's emotions.
Sannyasa is to offer one body, mind, words for Krishna's service. And in Mahaprabhu's case his sannyasa is to distribute holy names of Krishna to all the people in this world.
🌼 Cultivating the sense of separation makes us eager for Krishna, and if it's done in proper consciousness, it completely humbles our hearts.
Lord Chaitanya's greatest desire is to please his devotees.
📚 Description of the pastime of Mahaprabhu meeting Shantipur devotees (CC Madhya Lila chapter 3)
Sacimata's interactions with Lord Caitanya, proved that Krishna and Jagannath are non different.
Sacimata instructed Lord Chaitanya to stay in Puri. In reciprocation with his mother's love, Lord Chaitanya made Puri his home.
How can there ever be any situation where there are no obstacles? Lord Chaitanya wanted to go to Puri despite all obstacles. Advaitacharaya said "all obstacles are your servants."
The greatest benediction to have our body at Puri is to absorb our minds and hearts in taking shelter of the lord by hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord.
🌼 When a remote place is overcrowded, it's a discomfort, kitchen cooking for 10000 devotees, 3 meals a day, 30000-40000 chapatis, *NIThai subji*... Very organized, 10 people can simultaneously take bath in each pot, and even drown. Loading, unloading, getting up early in the morning for cooking. All the cooks, they are the *most blissful people in the yatra.*
🌼 Why is it so blissful? Because it's so difficult. Obstacles are the servants of the Lord. Krishna is suhrdam sarva bhutanam, our best friend. And all obstacles are servants of our friend.
🌼 We have a tendency to take everything cheaply. When there are obstacles, we don't take things for granted.
When Mahaprabhu was taking sannyasa, it was like the gopis feeling separation from Krishna. The gopis prefer to be crushed than their hearts being crushed in separation from Krishna.
🪔 *OUR COMPLETE DEPENDENCE ON KRISHNA*
We are going to Puri just as beggars, completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord. Approaching the lord, we must recognise that he is serva loka maheshwaram, "he is the proprietor of everything, nothing is mine." We are servants, not the controllers.
🌼 A necessary element of surrender is to feel completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord.
🌼 There is a deep rooted anartha in our hearts that we want to be the controllers, we want to be the proprietors, we want to be the enjoyer.
🌼 The Lord is akinchana gocharam.. it's our duty to make plans and have resources, but ultimately we are completely dependent on the higher will of the supreme personality of Godhead. *Then our happiness is in the surrender of our intent to the Lord. Our happiness is no longer dependent on the circumstances or the outcomes, its just dependent on Krishna.*
🌼 *Even if you are unhappy if your dependent and Krishna, our unhappiness is happiness, because Krishna is pleased. What is the use of the happiness of body mind and in ego in the heart and the soul is bereft of Krishna. Its a matter of consciousness.*
It's the mood of approaching Puri dham.
🪔 *MAHAPRABHU'S LONGING TO GO TO PURI*
Chatra bhoga
Siva was worshiping Ganga, and Ganga was worshiping Siva. In that ecstacy with Krishna in the centre, Siva melted and mixed with Ganga. Ambu linga. Lord Chaitanya bathed in the water there. Ganga, Mahadev and Mahaprabhu.
Pastime of Ramachandra Khan moved by Lord Caitnya's kirtan and assists him to go to Puri. "Can you tell me the fastest way to reach Jagannath."
Mahaprabhu was weeping, longing and crying in separation from Lord Jagannath, to come to Puri. And we are here. Our fortune is unimaginable.
Description of Mahaprabhu's boat travel, visit to Remuna, Madhavendra Puri's episode, Sakshi Gopal.
🪔 *CONCLUSION*
🌼 In today's narration, we are sharing howors Caitanya taught us to approach bhakti, expecting and knowing that so many challenges and difficulties and dangers will come in our life and it's inevitable.
🌼 A neophyde devotee thinks that when I take to bhakti things should go the way I want them to, but a sincere devotee understand that however things go i must serve Krishna.
We come to Puri to be infused with that mood that wherever we go we carry Krishna in our hearts. To absorb ourselves, to charge ourselves with faith.
Lord Chaitanya glorified Madhavendra Puri, and the Brahmanas connected to Sakshi Gopal, how much he would glorify Srila Prabhupada.
🌼 *Our prayer: "Please give me your worda to speak to these people suffering in modes of passion and ignorance. And please give them the ability to understand your words"*
Note: This notes was typed on phone, during the class, from 6.30 pm. Please forgive for any typos, mistakes, or missed key points. 🙏
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