Tridandisvami

Sri
May
Alachua, Flordia

Srimad

Bhaktivedanta
25,

Narayana

Gosvami

Maharaja
2001

[September 27, 2015, in

India, is the divine disappearance day of Srila Haridasa Thakura, the great teacher of the
glories of the holy name. The following is Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja's lecture on his
glorification, given on May 25, 2001 in Alachua, Florida:]
Come with me to Jagannatha Puri, near to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Haridasa
Thakura. Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes are more deep than the ocean, more deep than
even thousands upon thousands of oceans. No ordinary person can understand the Lord's
pastimes, and even most devotees cannot realize them.
One day Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked, "O Haridasa Thakura, in this world there are many
uncultured and materialistic Mohammedans, Muslims, who want to control the world and
make all people Muslims by the help of a sword or any other way. They address those who
are not Muslims as 'Kafir,' meaning 'against God' (ka fir). They tell their followers,
"Somehow or other, by hook or by crook, make them Muslims."
This is still their policy. They don't honor other religions. They don't chant the name Hari,
Krsna, Govinda, or any other name of God, and they don't believe in the form of God at all.
They are like mayavadis (impersonalists).
Mahaprabhu inquired, "Is there any process by which they can be liberated?"

Haridasa Thakura replied, "Once there was a Mohammedan, a Muslim, who while passing
through a forest felt the urge to pass stool. As he sat somewhere in the forest for passing, a
very powerful boar saw him from a distance and ran to attack him from the backside. As
boars run one-pointed with their eyes closed, so that boar ran to kill the person from the
backside by tearing him to pieces with his sharp teeth. As soon as the man saw that the boar
was going to attack him, he called out, 'Ha rama! Ha rama!' Ha rama means 'condemned' or
'abominable' or 'impure.' He condemned that boar by calling out, 'Ha rama, ha rama!'
"Hearing that man call out, 'Ha rama!' Krsna in the form of His incarnation Lord Rama
considered, 'He is calling Me. I must go and help him.' Lord Rama came there at once, since
He is non-different from His holy name. He gave that man liberation, and attainment of
Vaikuntha-dhama. [*See endnote 1] This was all because the man had unknowingly chanted,
'O Lord Ramacandra' [ha means 'O', and Rama may refer to Lord Ramacandra]."
The holy name is very powerful. If a person does not know the glories of the holy name and
yet chants with respect, or even without respect, he will certainly achieve the fruits of
chanting the holy names. He will not attain prema, but he will be liberated from this world
up to this. Or, he may gain much wealth. Moreover, if someone takes proper diksa and chants
with honor, with a sense of a relation to Krsna, what will become of him? If he is under the
guidance of any exalted rasika tattva-jnana Vaisnava, he will gradually attain sraddha (firm
faith in sadhu, guru, and Krsna), nistha (steadiness in devotional service), ruci (taste for
service and bhajana), and asakti (spontaneous attachment to Krsna). After that he will become
liberated [*See endnote 2], and after that he will attain the stages of prema, sneha, mana,
pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, and mahabhava.
We should try to continuously chant Krsna's name in this process, like Haridasa Thakura. If a
person cannot do this, still, he will achieve liberation. He will not die. [*See endnote 3]
Krsna's name will save him. But try to chant the name in the approved process. First associate
with a highly qualified Vaisnava who will give you diksa, at which time you will receive
divya-jnana, or all transcendental knowledge. You will then become detached from worldly
desires, and very soon you will develop a thick relationship with Krsna that will manifest
according to your constitutional form. You will gradually develop sraddha, nistha, ruci, and
asakti, and after that rati. This rati is suddha-sattva as I explained yesterday. [*See endnote 4]
This is all being explained by Srila Haridasa Thakura [in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila,
chapter 3].
Once, by the wish of Sri Krsna, Srila Haridasa Thakura came to see Srila Raghunatha dasa
Gosvami, who was at that time at the premises of his father. Many learned persons and
brahmanas had assembled there, and they were discussing the glories of the holy name. Some
were telling that the holy name can give liberation, and others told that it can never give
liberation; both parties were quarrelling.

Upon the arrival of Haridasa Thakura, everyone honored him, and they asked him the same
question with which they were struggling: "Can one achieve liberation by the holy name, or
not?" Haridasa Thakura very humbly replied, "There is no need of the pure name for
achieving liberation, for even by the semblance of the holy name anyone can very easily be
liberated." [*See endnote 5]
[Haridasa Thakura said, "As the sun begins to rise, even before it is visible it dissipates the
darkness of night. With the first glimpse of sunlight, fear of thieves, ghosts, and demons
immediately disappears, and when the sun is actually visible, everything is manifest and
everyone begins performing his religious activities and regulative duties. Similarly, the first
hint that offenseless chanting of the Lord's holy name has awakened dissipates the reactions
of sinful life immediately. And when one chants the holy name offenselessly, one awakens to
service in ecstatic love at the lotus feet of Krsna. Liberation is the insignificant result derived
from a glimpse of the awakening of offenseless chanting of the holy name. While dying,
Ajamila chanted the holy name of the Lord, intending to call his son Narayana. Nevertheless,
he attained the spiritual world. [*See endnote 6] What then to speak of those who chant the
holy name with faith and reverence?" (Antya 3.183-187)]
Hearing the words of Haridasa Thakura, a brahmana named Gopal Cakravarti became very
angry and began to challenge him. All others warned Gopal not to challenge Haridasa
Thakura, because of the Thakura's elevated position in bhakti, but still he challenged, "Even
the name itself cannot give liberation, and you are telling us that namabhasa (the semblance
of harinama) can give liberation?! If I am speaking the truth, then your nose will fall off due
to leprosy, and if I am wrong and you are right, then my nose will fall off!"
Everyone present became angry at that person, and the father of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami
told him, "Get out from our assembly. I have no sympathy for you." He had been paying that
person many thousands of rupees monthly for being his tax-collector, but now he said, "I
have stopped all connection with you. Get out of my kingdom."
After a couple of days, that brahmana's entire body was attacked by leprosy and his nose
melted away. After many days, being extremely upset, he left for Aparadha-bhanjana-pata
(the place where offences are destroyed) in Navadvipa. There he prayed to Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, "I have done wrong. I have committed offenses to the feet of a high-class
Vaisnava. Please excuse me."
Caitanya Mahaprabhu forgave this nama-aparadhi brahmana and instructed him to
continuously chant the holy name. Gopala Cakravarti did so, and his leprosy soon
disappeared, leaving him beautiful as before. And now, he was a devotee.
So, Haridasa Thakura was a very exalted devotee.
If you chant the holy name, a special kind of power comes to you; whatever you speak will
become true. Your words will bear fruit. I have personally tested and examined this. Once I

was chanting the holy name, thinking, "If I am chanting this name purely, then this must be
done," and at once it was done. I have examined this so many times. If you are chanting the
holy name purely and you tell someone, "Oh, you should die," then that person will die.

Narada Rsi cursed the sons of Nalakuvera and

Manigriva, "At once become trees," and by the power of his chanting of the holy name, they
immediately began turning into trees. Once, Narada told someone, "Oh! You are now dead?
Oh, Come on, Come on, Come on." That person immediately came alive and began to speak.
This is the power of the holy name.
Once, the ocean swallowed up a mother bird's eggs, which she had laid by the ocean's shore.
Garuda came and told the ocean, "You should return the eggs to this bird." When he did not
hear a reply, he breathed in, and by the power of the holy name he drank all of the ocean's
water and the ocean became dry.
You can also examine whether or not this is true. Chant for some years like Srila Haridasa
Thakura, or like any pure devotee, and you will see so much power come to you. Srila
Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja was so powerful that in a couple of years he successfully
preached everywhere. Why? He was always chanting the holy name. By the power of the
holy name and his own bhakti, so many souls came under his shelter. And what I am doing? I
am only chanting. I am also successful in my preaching by the power of the name.

So, don't disbelieve in the holy name. You can

very easily receive anything by this name money, liberation, and all other things, and
Haridasa Thakura is an example of this. He never wished ill to the person who challenged
him, but that person became attacked by leprosy.
We have seen so many scriptural references about Haridasa Thakura. Last night we explained
about a prostitute who was about 16 to 20 years old. Although she tried to seduce Haridasa
Thakura, by his grace she became a very prominent devotee. We should try to chant the holy
name like him.
Once, the very beautiful Maya-devi herself came to Haridasa Thakura on a full-moon night.
He was staying in a solitary place on the side of the Ganges, where she went to him and
prayed: "I see that you are the most beautiful man in the entire world, and you can see that I
am also beautiful. Look at me for just a moment." But Haridasa Thakura was absorbed in
chanting: "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama
Rama, Hare Hare." She spent the entire night with him, speaking so many words to allure
him. In fact, she came there three nights in a row, but each night Haridasa Thakura told her,
"Please wait. I have taken a vow to chant 300,000 names a day."

Finally, at the end of the night of the third day

she said to him with folded palms, "I am personally Maya-devi, the illusory energy of the
Lord. I have cheated Sankara, Brahma the creator, Narada, Gautama, and so many others. I
can cheat all others, but I am defeated by you. I am the same Maya, and now I am begging
your mercy. Be pleased with me. I have received Rama-nama , but now I want to be initiated
into the Krsna mantra. Please initiate me."
She continued, "Mukti-hetuka taraka haya rama-nama, krsna-nama paraka haya kare premadana The holy name of Lord Rama certainly gives liberation (taraka), [*See endnote 7] but
the holy name of Krsna transports one to the other side of the ocean of nescience (paraka) and
at last gives one ecstatic love of Krsna (Vraja-prema)." Being very merciful, Haridasa
Thakura initiated her into Krsna-nama.
Although both Ramacandra and Krsna are the same by tattva (philosophical truth), there is
some speciality in Rama. What speciality? First, those who take shelter of Rama cannot
achieve the position of Sita. And second, Rama sometimes gives up Sita for no reason.
Believing the words of a very bogus washer-man, Rama gave up Sita for His entire life. [*See
endnote 8] What was the fault, or offence, of Sita-devi that Ramacandra gave Her up? She
had no fault. But Rama believed in the words of a washer-man, who had indirectly convinced
Him to leave her. So, if you are chaste in your service to Rama, He may reject you also. We
fear this may happen.
With Krsna, on the other hand, even the hunchback prostitute Kubja can come to Him and
say, "Oh, I have taken your shelter; please accept me," and He will accept her.

Do you know Narakasura? He conquered all the kings of India and then collected all the
beautiful princesses for his personal enjoyment. Krsna knew about this from Narada Rsi. He
went and killed that demon, and He told the sixteen-thousand princesses, "Now you are
independent. You can easily go to your fathers, mothers, and others. I will arrange for your
return home." But what did they say? "We don't want to return. No one will accept us now,
because we have been in the house of Narakasura. So, we have taken Your shelter. Please
give us the chance to serve Your queens. We will sweep and cook for them, and we will
massage them. Somehow, please give us shelter." Krsna then took them all on His birdcarrier, Garuda, who expanded to a very large size and carried them all to Dvaraka. Krsna
also expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, married them all, and lived with them in
separate palaces as His queens.
Rama cannot do this. Can He marry with anyone except Sita? And He can also reject Sita. In
fact, in the end, He also left His brother, Laksmana, forever. These scenes are all full of
extreme pathos.
So, we will go to Krsna.
ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
["All of them, as they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in
all respects, O son of Prtha." (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)]
Krsna has promised to reciprocate with our surrender to Him, so we can believe in Him.
Sometimes Krsna becomes cruel in His form of Ramacandra in Rama-lila, but Krsna Himself
is very humble and sweet to all. In her prayer to Haridasa Thakura, Maya-devi herself
glorified Krsna as being more merciful than Rama
In her ecstatic love in separation for Krsna, glorifying Him indirectly in the form of rebuke,
Srimati Radhika uttered these words:
mrgayur iva kapindram vivyadhe lubdha-dharma
striyam akrta-virupam stri-jitah kama-yanam
balim api balim attvavestayad dhvanksavad yas tad
alam asita-sakhyair dustyajas tat-katharthah
["Like a hunter, He cruelly shot the king of the monkeys with arrows. Because He was
conquered by a woman, He disfigured another woman who came to Him with lusty desires.
And even after consuming the gifts of Bali Maharaja, He bound him up with ropes as if he

were a crow. So let us give up all friendship with this dark-complexioned boy, even if we
can't give up talking about Him." (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.47.17)]
The gopis told Uddhava, "Go and tell Krsna, 'We have nothing more to do with Him. We
don't want to have any further relation with Him. If He can give us up, we can also give Him
up. But what can we do? Our hearts can never give Him up. This is the problem. How cruel
He is. All black people are cruel, not only this fellow. All black fellows are cruel.
"There was another black person in Treta-yuga (Lord Ramacandra). A very beautiful lady
came to Him and said, 'I love you. I want to marry you.' That black person replied, 'Oh, I will
have only one wife. I cannot marry a second. It will be better for you to go to My younger
brother, Laksmana. He has no wife.'
"Actually, although Laksmana's wife was not with Him in the forest, He was married; so
Rama had said this only as a trick. That lady then went to Laksmana, who told her, 'Do you
want to be a queen, or do you want to be a maidservant? If you marry Me, you will have to be
a servant of Rama's wife, because She is My queen. I am a servant, so you will be a servant.
If you want to be a queen, then marry Rama. Rama can have so many wives.'
"She again came to Rama, but again Rama said, 'Oh, I cannot do this; better that you go to
my younger brother.' Rejected by Rama, she again went to Laksmana, and was again sent to
Rama; and thus she became upset. She wanted to kill Sita, and Rama cut off her ears and nose
to stop her.
"Why did He do so? He was lusty. Just to please his wife, He wanted to cut off that other
lady's nose. He could have humbly told her, 'I cannot do this.' But He was joking with her and
making fun of her. That is why she became furious. He could have humbly told her, 'Oh, I
cannot do this. You should go to your husband, or anyone else.' But why did he do what He
did? Because He was cruel.
"And third is Vamanadeva. What did He do? He took all the possessions of Bali Maharaja and
bound him in a snake-rope. Bali Maharaja was weeping. Somehow Prahlada Maharaja and
Brahma arrived, and Brahma challenged, "What are You doing?" And then He left.
There are so many deep meanings in these pastimes, but we have no time now to describe all
those deep truths. Let us return to our subject.
Regarding Rama-nama: 'Rama' refers to Ramacandra, and 'Rama' also refers to Krsna
Himself. In the maha-mantra, which embodies 'Hare Krsna' and 'Hare Rama,' Hare indicates
Radhika and Rama indicates Radha-Ramana Krsna. Krsna is also called Rama, so Hare Rama
indicates Radha-Krsna.
It is stated in scriptures like Visnu Purana that three Rama names equal one name of Krsna.
Rama's name is equal to Krsna's name when Rama refers not to Ramacandra but to Radha-

Ramana Krsna and in that connection it is sometimes superior to Krsna. There are so many
things to understand here.
Haridasa Thakura has four qualities:
trnad api su-nicena
taror via sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
kirtaniyah sada harih
[One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does
not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily
always chant the hold name of the Lord. (Siksastakam, verse 3)]
How is Haridasa Thakura su-nicena? He used to think, "I am Muslim. I am not qualified to go
to Jagannatha's temple." He never used to walk on the many streets of Jagannatha Puri,
because he was trnad api su-nicena.
When he was staying with Advaita Acarya in Santipura, Advaita Acarya insisted on honoring
him. All Advaita Acarya's relatives were assembled at His home, along with many
brahmanas, as it was the day of their forefathers' sraddha ceremony. During this ceremony,
the plate of prasadam offered to the forefathers is then offered to the best of the brahmanas in
the assembly. Instead of offering the first plate to any other brahmana present, Advaita
Acarya offered it to Haridasa Thakura, considering him greater than any of the foremost
brahmanas. Haridasa began to weep, saying, "I am not qualified. I am a Muslim." But what
did Advaita Acarya reply? "If I give you this offering, this will be the best thing in the
universe. All of my forefathers will be liberated if you take this."
Seeing this, all the brahmanas present became angry at Advaita Acarya and said, "By
bringing a Muslim in here, you have contaminated this place and insulted us! We will not eat
here! We don't like your behavior. Your actions are opposed to the principles of caste
consideration." And, taking their water pots, they all stood up to leave. Advaita Acarya
replied, "I don't care if you go. You can go. I want only bhakti. You are foolish persons."
[*See endnote 9]
Soon afterward, those brahmanas returned and fell flat on the lotus feet of Advaita Acarya,
and also to the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura. Haridasa Thakura is surely 'out of caste,' as
they challenged, in the sense that he is superior to a paramahamsa. He is a combination of
Prahlada Maharaja and Brahma.
So, we should try to follow Haridasa Thakura, always chanting the holy name and being,
trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna. [To Prema-prayojana dasa] Can you prove that he is
su-nicena?

Prema-prayojana dasa: Srila Haridasa Thakura was very popular. The Muslim king was
thinking, "This Haridasa Thakura is giving a bad reputation to Islam. He is born in a Muslim
family, so why is he chanting the name of a Hindu God?" He called him to his council and
said, "You should not chant the name of Krsna anymore. You should be a very good Muslim
and chant the name of Allah. If you don't do this, there will be a severe punishment for you."
Haridasa Thakura replied: "My dear sir, you can cut my body into thousands of pieces, and I
may give up my life, but my tongue cannot give up the chanting of this name: Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." The
King then ordered that Haridasa Thakura be beaten in twenty-two marketplaces.
Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja: You should hear this. Oh, my dear friend, what are you
counting? You should hear this. You should give your ears to this hari-katha. What are you
counting? Hear this attentively, and don't allow your mind to wander.
Prema Prayojana dasa: The soldiers took Haridasa Thakura to the marketplace, where they
had very strong and powerful whips and were beating him. Usually in one marketplace one
will die, because the beating is so severe. First the skin breaks, and then it is cut, and then the
skin begins to come off. They were beating him in every market place until there was no skin,
no flesh, and even his bones were broken. Like a miracle, he was still chanting the holy
name. They couldn't believe it.
Sometimes, while they were beating him, Haridasa Thakura would look towards them and
smile very compassionately. He could see they were sweating from the hard labor of
thrashing him. He would say, "I hope your arms are not feeling pain from all of this beating."
He was very humble. After some time, they became afraid, thinking, "If he doesn't die, the
king will kill us." They revealed to him, "The king will kill us if you don't die." Haridasa
Thakura thought, "I don't want to give any trouble or inconvenience to others." At once he
went into samadhi and it seemed he passed away. They took his body and threw it into the
Ganges. The next moment he came out of the Ganges and his body was strong and healthy
again. This is the power of harinama. Haridasa Thakura is Lord Brahma and Prahlada
Maharaja. Prahlada was beaten and tortured by his father, but he never complained or was
disturbed.
Lord Brahma has said:
tat te 'nukampam su-samiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8)

["My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him,
all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful
obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become
his rightful claim.]
It is only a matter of time until a person attains the shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna. What
kind of person? That person who in the midst all kinds of difficulties, problems, and adverse
conditions says to himself, "It is not your fault; you are not beating me. My own karma is
beating me. I have done this to myself. It is my fault." One who patiently tolerates and
considers himself to be the cause of all his problems, and at the same time takes shelter with
body, mind, and words in Krsna, that person will easily come to Krsna's eternal service and
be happy forever.
Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja: Mahaprabhu performed His pastimes with devotees
like Svarupa Damodara, Ramananda Raya, Sikhi Mahiti, Madhavi-devi, Pundarika
Vidyanidhi, Vakresvara Pandita, Sri Gopinatha Acarya, Kasisvara, Vaninatha Raya, Govinda,
Gopala Guru; and all the Gaudiya bhaktas like Sivananda Sena, Raghava Pandita, and Kavi
Karnapura as a baby and small boy. And especially, He performed pastimes with Rupa
Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, and Haridasa Thakura.
Maya-devi personally told Haridasa:
caitanyavatare vahe premamrta-vanya
saba jiva preme bhase, prthivi haila dhanya
["There is now a flood of the eternal nectar of love of Godhead due to the incarnation of Lord
Caitanya. All living entities are floating in that flood. The entire world is now thankful to the
Lord." (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 3.254)]
The flood of full prema, vraja-prema, was present everywhere during Mahaprabhu's pastimes.
Everywhere there were waves of that flood.
e-vanyaya ye na bhase, sei jiva chara
koti-kalpe kabhu tara nahika nistara
["Anyone who does not float in this inundation is most condemned. Such a person cannot be
delivered for millions of kalpas." (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 3.255)]
Those waves are still going on today, and those who are fortunate can take bath in the flood.
Those who are not taking this bath are very unfortunate. Chara means 'wretched' and 'fallen.'
Koti-kalpe kabhu tara nahika nistara if you are not taking bath in that flood of love and
affection of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then millions of your births will go in vain; you'll gain
nothing. In this human form, at this present time, you are very near to that flood, as only four
or five hundred years have passed since Mahaprabhu's time. Still, so many waves are coming.

Try to take bath in this, and thus become fortunate enough to very easily attain kr?na-prema.
We are helping you.
Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja came to help you. He preached, "Give up all these
bogus things that you are thinking can give you happiness. Such things can never give you
happiness. Wealth cannot give you any happiness, and your relatives cannot give you
anything. Your home is opulent with so many facilities. You can turn on a switch and your
restroom will come, by another switch your kitchen room will come, or your dish will come,
or your office will come. But give up all these facilities. They cannot help you at all."
Please chant the holy name like Haridasa Thakura:
trnad api su-nicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
kirtaniyah sada harih
Never wish for reputation. Don't try to hear your own glories. Rather, give proper honor to all
Vaisnavas. This is the teaching of Haridasa Thakura. Let us try to obey him from today; not
today, just now. Chant always, without any interruption, "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna
Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."
One thing more: In the last days of Haridasa Thakura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to go to
him daily to give His darsana, along with all His associates, just after the morning arati of
Jagannathadeva, He also used to send so much maha-prasadam for Haridasa Thakura through
the hands of Govinda, His own servant. What was Govinda? Mahaprabhu's servant, or
disciple, or what? [*See endnote 10]

One day, when Govinda brought some

prasada, Haridasa Thakura told him, "Today I shall fast, because I have not completed my
regular number of rounds." So how can I eat? But you have brought maha-prasada, so how
can I neglect it?" Haridasa then offered pranama to the prasadam and took a small morsel.
Worried, Govinda returned to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and said, "I went with prasadam to serve
him, but he said, 'I am feeling some sickness.' I think that he is not in good health."
The next day Mahaprabhu went to see Haridasa, with all His associates Svarupa Damodara,
Ramananda Raya, and others and said, "How are you feeling?" Haridasa Thakura answered,
"Oh, I am feeling sick." Mahaprabhu asked, "What is your sickness?" Haridasa Thakura
replied, "My body is okay, but my sickness is that I have not completed my chanting of three
lakhs holy names (300,000 names or 192 rounds). I cannot chant. My fingers do not move.
Oh! This is my sickness."
Can you try to be like this? We should try to be like this. This is our only disease that we
have no taste in chanting the holy name, and that we are not chanting.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Haridasa, "Now you are perfect. There is no need to chant so
much. As much as you can chant, that will be sufficient." But Haridasa said, "I don't want to
live in this world for long. I know that very soon You will disappear from here, and I don't
want to see that very pathetic scene. I want to leave my body with my head in Your lap. In
that way, I will see Your golden face and chant Your holy name: Saci-nandana Gaura Hari!

Gaura Hari! I want to give up this body in this way." Mahaprabhu told him, "I perform My
pastimes with you. If I don't have My associates like you, then there are no pastimes. Let Me
not be alone in this world. I don't want you to go." But Haridasa Thakura again and again
requested, "I don't want to see this pathetic scene. Please be merciful to me."

On the next morning, Caitanya

Mahaprabhu assembled all the devotees with Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya, and
He returned to perform parikrama of Haridasa Thakura with kirtana and so many mrdangas
and karatalas:
(hari) haraye namah krsna yadavaya namah
yadavaya madhavaya kesavaya namah
gopala govinda rama sri madhusudana
giridhari gopinatha madana-mohana
[Nama-Sankirtana Srila Narottama dasa Thakuraa (1-2)]
Hare

Krsna

Hare

Krsna

Krsna

Krsna

Hare

Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Requesting His devotees to continue kirtana, He sat down near Haridasa Thakura. He took
the head of Haridasa upon His lap. Haridasa was only seeing towards His lotus face and
calling out, "Saci-nandana Gaurahari! Gaurahari! Gaurahari," and he left his body at once.
Mahaprabhu began to weep, and all the devotees began to weep in an intense separation
mood. Then, Caitanya Mahaprabhu took Haridasa's body in His arms and placed him from
His arms onto a chariot. What kind of chariot? As we see in Indian Vedic custom. The
devotees made a chariot like this, and with nagara-sankirtana they proceeded toward the
shore of the ocean. During the devotees' kirtana and parikrama, Caitanya Mahaprabhu bathed
Haridasa's divine body in the sea with His own hands, and declared that spot to have become
a great pilgrimage site. He and His devotees anointed Haridasa's body with Lord Jagannatha's

sandalwood. He placed Haridasa in Samadhi and personally covered his body with sand, after
which all the devotees did so. A temporary samadhi mandir was established, and later on a
permanent mandira was built.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu announced, "Those who were singing here, those who have done
parikrama of Haridasa Thakura, those who gave even one palmful of sand, and those who are
in this viraha maha-mahotsava festival will very soon achieve Krsna's favor. He also
announced that He wanted to collect prasadam from all the shopkeepers. All the shopkeepers
began to give all their stocks, but Svarupa Damodara told them, "We don't want everything
from you. Please give only a small amount." In this way, each shopkeeper gave a small
amount of his various preparations. Someone gave dahl, someone vegetables, rice, and so on,
and the combined quantity became sufficient. Caitanya Mahaprabhu sat all the devotees down
and personally began to distribute the prasadam along with a few others, but Svarupa
Damodara and everyone else requested Him, "If You are not sitting and taking, then no one
else will take."
Then, Mahaprabhu sat down and uttered the prayer to maha-prasada:
maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave
svalpa-punyavatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate
(Prasada-Seva from the Skanda Purana)
Maha-prasadam ki jaya!
Harinama
sankirtana
Srila
Haridasa
Thakura
Samagata
bhakta-vrnda
Gaura premanande! Hari hari bol!

ki
ki
ki

jaya!
jaya!
jaya!

[*Endnote 1: Liberation in this connection means that in the man's next life he entered into
the proper process to begin his bhakti, and ultimately he attained Vaikuntha-dhama. (Sripada
Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja)]
[*Endnote 2: Liberation in this connection meaning that he will attain bhava-bhakti and have
his first realization of his relationship with Krsna and services to Him. He sees within himself
his own spiritual form and the forms of Krsna and His associates. (Sripada Bhaktivedanta
Madhava Maharaja)]
[*Endnote 3: In this connection, 'He will not die' means that he will not be thrown by the
constables of Yamaraja, the god of death, into hellish planets and lower species of life as a
result of his past sins. He will get an opportunity for devotional service in his next life.
"Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in Krsna consciousness
carries a person again to Krsna consciousness, even after the loss of the body" (Bhagavadgita 2.40 purport by Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja).]

[*Endnote 4: When our object is to attain rati (transcendental mood), and for this, with these
material senses, tongue and mind, we will perform sadhana, then it will be sadhana, otherwise
not. First there should be an object that, "I want to attain rati." But, what is rati? What is that
desired mood, which should be the object of our devotional activities. Then:
suddha-sattva-visesatma
prema-suryamsu-samya-bhak
rucibhis citta-masrnyakrd asau bhava ucyate
["When devotional service is executed on the transcendental platform of pure goodness, it is
like a sun-ray of love for Krsna. At such a time, devotional service causes the heart to be
softened by various tastes, and one is then situated in bhava ." (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhyalila, 23.5)]
What is bhava? You should know. If you don't know what is bhava, or rati, then how can it be
your object of attainment? If you don't know this, how can you perform sadhana (devotional
practices performed with the purpose of attaining bhava)? You may be performing sadhanaabhasa (a shadow of sadhana) or lower than that; not actually bhakti. We are all in this
category.
We must know the meaning of sattva and suddha-sattva. Sattva means existence, and it is of
two kinds; suddha-sattva and misra-sattva. All souls who are now captured in material things
are misra-sattva, and those who give up these material conceptions and adopt the
transcendental conception of thinking themselves as infinitesimal parts of the Supreme Lord
are called suddha-sattva.
Then, suddha-sattva visesatma: Baladeva Prabhu is the origin of all suddha-sattva jivas, as
well as everything existing in this world. Baladeva Prabhu is the personification or
predominating Deity of Krsna's sandhini-sakti, His existence potency; everything coming
from sandhini-sakti is suddha-sattva.
Visesatma denotes Hladini-sakti (Radhika being the predominating Deity) and samvit-sakti
(Krsna being the predominating Deity) of the svarupa-sakti of Krsna (Radhika being the
predominating Deity of svarupa-sakti). Samvit means knowledge, and from knowledge this
mood will come: all kinds of bhavas to serve Krsna that are in Radhika may come partly.
Such moods are full of love and affection, with ananda (unlimited bliss). This is visesa the
essence of hladini-sakti and samvit-sakti, coming on the platform of sandini. Devotees
receiving such mercy will have suddha-sattva visesatma descend in their hearts.]
[*Endnote 5: The meaning of this statement is explained in Bhagavad-gita 2.40: "In this
endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one
from the most dangerous type of fear." It is further explained in the purport by Srila
Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja: "Activity in Krsna consciousness, or acting for the benefit of

Krsna without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of

work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small
beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun on the material plane has to be completed,
otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in Krsna consciousness
has a permanent effect, even though not finished. The performer of such work is therefore not
at a loss even if his work in Krsna consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Krsna
consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two
percent, whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no profit.
Ajamila performed his duty in some percentage of Krsna consciousness, but the result he
enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord"]
[*Endnote 6: When Ajamila chanted the four syllables of the name Narayana, the four
Visnudutas appeared to save him from the ropes of the Yamadutas, the constables of the god
of death. By seeing them and hearing their words, Ajamila was inspired to leave home and
perform severe austerities and engage in devotional service to the Lord. When his service
became perfect he again saw those Visnudutas, and this time they took him on a celestial
airplane to Vaikuntha - ed.]
[*Endnote 7 (Lord Rama easily offers the two types of Vaikuntha liberation as described
here in Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja's lecture of July, 2002, in France) The bhakticreeper then goes to paravyoma (the spiritual sky), which is beyond even Siva-loka.
Paravyoma, where there is no mixing in brahma, is divided into two sections. The lower of
the two is like Vaikuntha, but is not actually Vaikuntha, and the jiva can also go there. It is the
Vaikuntha planet within the material world, and it is called Rama-priya Vaikuntha. In that
realm there is seva-sukha-uttara. There, the devotee wants to serve Lord Narayana, but he
also wants the happiness accrued from the attainment of the four spiritual opulences. That
desire for happiness is not like ours, for the devotees there do not have material bodies; still,
that desire is not pure. In the higher section there is prema-seva-uttara; the devotee only
wants to serve Narayana with love.
There is great aisvarya (opulence) in the Vaikuntha planets: one can have the same bodily
features as Narayana (sarupya), he can live on the same planet with Him (salokya), he can
have equal opulence (sarsti), and he can have association with the Lord. But a Vaisnava never
wants these four types of liberation; he solely wants to serve.]
Narayana-loka, Nrsimha-loka, Rama-loka (Ayodhya), and many other such lokas are within
the Paravyoma, and the bhakti-creeper passes beyond all of them. It crosses beyond
Narayana-bhakti, Nrsimha-bhakti, and Ramacandra-bhakti. The devotee will say, "I don't
want that," and that creeper then goes to Goloka.
[*Endnote 8 Rama and Sita devi stayed together for many years, and everyone was very
happy within their kingdom. Some people, however, criticized Rama for accepting Sita back
after she had been staying in the palace of Ravana.

According to Vedic principles, it is unacceptable to accept one's wife after her being away for
one night, what to speak of one year. One evening, the wife of a washer-man came home late.
Her husband immediately told her that she could not enter the house. He threw her out
saying, "I am not like Rama, who accepted His wife after she'd been with another man."
This news spread and the story got back to Rama. He was most disturbed, and realized that
He had to do something to rectify the situation. How could He rule a kingdom where some of
the people did not have faith in Him? He called a meeting, asking all of His brothers to come,
but none of them could give Him any advice. He Himself then realized what to do. He
remembered that Sita wanted to visit all the sages in the forest and shower them with gifts.
He asked Laksmana to take Her to the asramas of all the sages, deliver His sorrowful
message to Her, and then leave Her in the forest. Laksmana was devastated that He was
called upon to do this, but He could not say anything as he was Rama's younger brother. He
therefore had to accept that responsibility. (Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja's lecture of
April 13, 2000)]
[*Endnote 9 - Haridasa Thakura was born in a Muslim family. At the sraddha ceremony for
Advaita Acarya's father, the highest seat and prasada were to be offered first to the most
elevated person. Advaita Acarya was performing the ceremony when the moon was in the
appropriate place in the month of Ashwina. All the high-class brahmanas were there
Bhattacarya, Trivedi, Caturvedi, Upadhyaya and all of them were great scholars. After
washing their feet, Advaita Acarya showed them to their respective seats. In front was an
elevated seat, and Advaita Prabhu was standing and thinking, "Who will I seat here?"
All of the scholars were thinking, "I know so many scriptures; certainly I will be offered that
seat." Silently they were all aspiring for it. Advaita Acarya then went outside the house and
saw Haridasa Thakura, wearing a langoti and sitting at the door. Haridasa was thinking, "The
brahmanas will take their meal here, so Advaita Acarya will certainly give us a little of their
prasada." He had so much humility that he was thinking that if he were to go inside, the
house would be contaminated.
At once Advaita Acarya embraced him, and Haridasa Thakura said, "Oh, you are a brahmana
and I am a Muslim! Having touched me, you must now go and bathe." But grabbing him and
taking him inside, Advaita Acarya sat him on the elevated seat, at which time there was a
great outcry in all directions. The brahmanas said, "By bringing a Muslim in here, you have
contaminated this place and insulted us! We will not eat here!" Taking their water pots, they
all stood up and left. They were abusing Advaita Acarya, saying, "You are opposed to the
principles of dharma!"
But Advaita Acarya said, "Today my birth has become successful, and today my father has
attained Vaikuntha. By giving respect to one Vaisnava, today, millions of my ancestors have
crossed over maya. If Haridasa Thakura will eat here, that is greater than feeding millions of
brahmanas."

Haridasa Thakura was crying, thinking, "Because of me, all these brahmanas have been
insulted and are not eating." But Advaita Acarya said, "Haridasa, today you will certainly take
prasada here. That will be our great good fortune." Then he said to the brahmanas, "He will
stay, and none of you will get prasada. Actually, you should all leave here quickly, because
just seeing your faces is a great sin. Haridasa has great regard for maha-prasada, and
therefore he is included within the Vaisnava class. Anyone who doesn't accept this is an
atheist, and one who judges a Vaisnava by his birth is an atheist. You can all go away from
here, and then your offences will leave with you. You are offending Haridasa, and offending
me as well."
All the scholars left the house, but outside, as they were going, they began speaking amongst
themselves. "Advaita Acarya is no ordinary personality. He is a great scholar, he knows all of
the scriptures, and he is an exalted preacher of bhakti." They continued deliberating, and after
fully reconsidering, they returned, fell at Advaita Prabhu's feet, and begged forgiveness.
(From Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja's Sri Prabhandavali, Chapter 7)]
[*Endnote 10: Both Kasisvara and Govinda were god-brothers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
and thus the Lord duly honored them as soon as they arrived. But because Isvara Puri had
ordered them to give Caitanya Mahaprabhu personal service, the Lord accepted their service.
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 10.140)]