Disappearance of Gadadhar and Bhakti Vinod

Today is Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur and Gadādhar Paṇḍit Goswāmī’s disappearance day. Both of them are dear associates of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and they both disappeared on the same day, Amāvasyā day.

Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur wrote a poem at the end of his Chaitanya-charitāmṛta Anubhāṣya, [his] commentary. There he mentioned,

śrī gaura kṛpāya dui, mahimā ki kava mui,
aprākṛta pāriṣada-kathā

Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur is a divine associate of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and, “gadādhara-din dhari’ pāiyāchchhe gaura-hari…” the date of Gadādhar Goswāmī’s disappearance day, Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur also followed that day.

If we see with our perfect vision, we can say that it is not accidental. Not only that, our Guru Mahārāj also took that same day. The day of Śrīla Gadādhar Goswāmī, of Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, [and of] Śrīla Guru Mahārāj is [the] same, the dark moon day. And their relationships are also very close.

We heard from Guru Mahārāj about Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur and Śrīla Gadādhar Paṇḍit Goswāmī, but we cannot express that in our poor language. But when, twenty-two years after the disappearance of Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, Guru Mahārāj composed a poem, Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur read it and said, “He is the only person after me, who can describe Mahāprabhu’s conception.”

Reading that poem Prabhupad Saraswatī Ṭhākur was so happy. When he was reading the middle part, [at] that time he commented, “Happy style.” That poetry is very famous in our sampradāya. From first to last there are very good expressions about Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur. And Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has shown the exclusive service [of] Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, which is [the worship of] Gaura Gadādhar.

Gadādhar Paṇḍit and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s connection was very intimate and affectionate. When Gadādhar Paṇḍit heard that Nimāi Paṇḍit became a Vaiṣṇava and they went to Nandana Āchārya Bhavan for [his] expression. Mahāprabhu told, “I shall express what happened in Gayā Dham. [All of] you come [to] Nandana Āchārya Bhavan. And there in one room of that house Gadādhar is hiding. He wants to hear what happened with Nimāi Paṇḍit.

After taking initiation from Īśvara Purī Mahāprabhu became intoxicated with Kṛṣṇa-prema and when he came back [he was] always crying, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?” And after seeing that Śrīvas Paṇḍit and others were stunned to see the Kṛṣṇa-prema revealed in the body of Nimāi Paṇḍit. And not only that, [it] was [an] extreme expression [of] mahābhāva.

Then Mahāprabhu tried to explain what happened in Gayā Dham with Īśvara Purī and [his] initiation there. Mahāprabhu could not fully express that in the house of Nandana Āchārya, but after hearing something Gadādhar was crying in the room of Nandana Āchārya. And Mahāprabhu [got a] little sense [in his] external consciousness. And Mahāprabhu asked, “Who is crying in the room?” And there one devotee, maybe Śrīvas Paṇḍit, said, “Your Gadādhar.”

Actually, Gadādhar Paṇḍit was a devotee of Kṛṣṇa from birth [and] very [exalted]. Mahāprabhu sometimes was teasing Gadādhar Paṇḍit, but he was very sober and polite. He also was reading with Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu the scriptures, śāstra, vyākaraṇa and other [things].

When Nimāi Paṇḍit became a great Paṇḍit everybody was fearful to debate with him. But Gadādhar, [even when] teased by Mahāprabhu, [was] never losing his devotional mood. And when Nimāi Paṇḍit became intoxicated with Kṛṣṇa-prema nobody could calm him down, but Gadādhar was going to Nimāi Paṇḍit and giving him good nourishment.

And Mahāprabhu expressed, “Gadādhar, from childhood you are a devotee of Kṛṣṇa and I have not got that Kṛṣṇa. You can give me that Kṛṣṇa. Where is Kṛṣṇa?” In that way Mahāprabhu expressed [himself] to Gadādhar Paṇḍit in Śachi Mata’s house and also in Nabadwīp.

In Pañcha-tattva you heard the name, “Śrī-kṛṣṇa-chaitanya prabhu nityānanda, śrī-advaita…” then Gadādhar and Śrīvās. Pañcha-tattva means one tree with four branches. Chaitanya is the trunk and [the] four branches are Nityānanda, Advaita, Gadādhar and Śrīvas. There is one tree which is [called] Prema-vṛkṣa, the tree of Kṛṣṇa-prema. You cannot cut [a] branch or anything. [The] whole tree’s expression [comes] as Kṛṣṇa-prema [and] there are five personalities, called Pañcha-tattva. We are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, but before that we are chanting Pañcha-tattva mantra and bowing down to them, then we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And what for? Because they have given us that Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra, in this mundane world.

From childhood Gadādhar was [a] very intimate associate of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and he is always worshiping Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu [in a] very affectionate way. He cannot leave Mahāprabhu’s association, like his shadow he [is] always staying with Mahāprabhu Chaitanyadev. Every day he is going to school with Mahāprabhu. Every day when Mahāprabhu is intoxicated with Kṛṣṇa-prema, he is living with [the] other devotees, but Gadādhar must [also] be there. [You can see] unlimited affection [for] Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu only in Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And Mahāprabhu [gave] much honour to Gadādhar Paṇḍit, because before Mahāprabhu’s expression of Kṛṣṇa-prema, Gadādhar was full with that Kṛṣṇa-prema.

When Mahāprabhu showed his real form, [he took] that Kṛṣṇa-prema from Gadādhar Paṇḍit and became intoxicated, showing many aṣṭa-sāttvika-mahābhāva. But Gadādhar was very silent and not talking so much, little little talking. In Chaitanya-charitāmṛta and Chaitanya-bhāgavata [we see that] many devotees are joking, talking, teasing, and doing many things [with] each other, but everybody is giving much honour to Gadādhar Paṇḍit. There [we see that] everybody is very sober and humble.

When Mahāprabhu’s expression [of] Kṛṣṇa-prema came in his body and mind, [then in] his Pastimes all the devotees [were] always staying with Mahāprabhu. And Mukunda was a very dear singer of Mahāprabhu. He was singing the songs of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other songs [as well]. One day he took Gadādhar Paṇḍit and told [him], “Oh, Gadādhar, I shall show you a great Vaiṣṇav today. He came [here] and he is living in Nabadwīp.”

Actually, [the] Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and [the] Pastimes of Mahāprabhu [have a] hidden relationship. Rādhārāṇī’s bhāva, [the] mood of Rādhārāṇī, [is] fully expressed in the body of Gadādhar. And we can see that Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi [appears] in his bhāva-cheṣṭā, [the] expression of [his] mood of Kṛṣṇa-līlā, [where] his form is Vṛṣabhānu Rāja, King Vṛṣabhānu, Rādhārāṇī’s father. He was like [a] King in Chaṭṭagrām. He had [a] house in Nabadwīp [at] that time and he came [to] Nabadwīp. And Mukunda knows [that] he is in Nabadwīp and he wants to give Gadādhar a surprise. He didn’t tell Gadādhar that Vidyānidhi is a great Vaiṣṇava. He just wanted to show [him]. He told Gadādhar, “I shall show you a Vaiṣṇava today, come with me.” And Gadādhar was very happy, because he was always very happy to see a Vaiṣṇava. And when he heard Mukunda tell him that he will show him a great Vaiṣṇava, Gadādhar became very happy. And he went to Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi’s house and there he saw that Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi.

But Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi had [a] completely different expression of his mood. Externally nobody can say that he is a great Vaiṣṇava. His house was luxurious and he was there with luxurious garments, everything [just] like [a] king. Two persons [stood] with mayūra pākhā (peacock fans to fan him) and he was sitting on his bed. He was [smoking] tobacco, very nice tobacco. There with his pipe [he smoked], “prut prut prut prut” (imitating the sound of smoking) the tobacco. [So at] that time he is taking tobacco, and that is ambarī tobacco. That tobacco was made in Ambar. And [the] whole house [was] scented with tobacco. [It is] not a bad scent, very beautiful essence [or] scent of that tobacco. It is called ambarī. [It was] very expensive [at] that time also.

And many maidservants [were] there waiting to serve. And when Gadādhar went to see, he saw that Puṇḍarīk knows Mukunda [and that] he is a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. And Puṇḍarīk said, “Oh, Mukunda, come and sit. Who is this boy? Very nice looking and pretty.” And Mukunda said, “He came to see you.” And Gadādhar [was] thinking, “What kind of a Vaiṣṇava am I seeing…?!” Gadādhar had a renounced mentality [for] his whole life. He cannot tolerate that luxury [in] any way. He wasn’t very poor, but his mentality was very renounced, [and] that’s why he is not taking any luxurious things in life.

And when he has saw this man, whose age was forty or fifty, with full luxury enjoying his family life and Mukunda told, “He is a great Vaiṣṇava, I shall show you…” But [Gadādhar thought] “What kind of a Vaiṣṇava, I cannot understand.”

Mukunda arranged that to give a surprise. Then Mukunda started to show what kind of a Vaiṣṇava [he is, thinking “now you will see.” And Puṇḍarīk asked something to Mukunda, “How are the Vaiṣṇavas here? Which way are they practicing and what you are doing?” [In this way he asked something. Then Puṇḍarīk said to Mukunda, “Tell something, [a] Bhāgavat śloka.” And Gadādhar [was] waiting. [He was] very shy and thinking, “If I go out from this environment, I shall be happy…” Then Mukunda started one Bhāgavatam śloka,

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.2.23)

This śloka. He has [a] very fine tune and can express through song the śloka of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. And when he started to sing and [then] Gadādhar saw the change of the body of Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi. [His] mood, mind, everything [was] changing. This śloka’s meaning is that, “How merciful is Kṛṣṇa, we cannot believe. [The] demon Pūtanā came to kill Kṛṣṇa. She gave her breast to the mouth of Kṛṣṇa and there was poison, like potassium cyanide. And immediately [anyone] will die [if they] taste it. But Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa, then he is not dead, but he killed her. He took her breast and [inhaled] with his breath. And with that [breath] he took her soul out of her body. And Pūtanā was dead. But Kṛṣṇa took her breast in his mouth and for [the] remembrance of [his] mother—mothers are giving [their] breast to their children—immediately Pūtanā got a position like [his] mother. And like mother Yaśodā, she has that position in that transcendental abode of Kṛṣṇa. That Kṛṣṇa if we not will worship, whom shall we worship?”

That is the meaning of that śloka. And Puṇḍarīk was very much intoxicated with that śloka. He is thinking, “Oh, I haven’t done Kṛṣṇa-bhajan and what I am doing with this wealth etc, etc… I am almost cheating [myself]!” In this way he was very much sad and intoxicated and he was pulling his curly hair and garments and everything. And [he] threw everything and rolling on the ground. “I shall not keep my life, today I must die! What cheating I am doing with [myself]! I have not done Kṛṣṇa-bhajan.”

When he saw that type of mood, Gadādhar was very fearful, “Oh, I have got much misunderstanding, seeing that great Vaiṣṇava’s external form. I have no doubt he is a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, but I misunderstood. And it is [a] great mistake for me, what shall I do now?” Then after some time Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi [came to his] senses and told to Mukunda, “Mukunda, I disturbed you both, don’t mind [me] for that. I cannot tolerate the separation from Kṛṣṇa and I have got some feelings and it must have disturbed you two.”

And that time, when he was rolling on the ground, Gadādhar told Mukunda, “I have done much wrong. I cannot recognise this Vaiṣṇava. Seeing his external form I made a big offence, then I want to take initiation from him, because gurudev is always merciful to his disciples and not taking offences. Then if I take initiation from this devotee, great devotee, then he won’t take my offence [for] what I have done just now.” And Mukunda was very happy, because Mukunda wanted to show [him] a great Vaiṣṇava. You cannot consider [that] with tilak and kānthi-mālā and śikhā he is a great Vaiṣṇava. Actually Vaiṣṇava feelings [are] inside of a devotee. They may be a gṛhastha, or may be another form externally. It is also possible.

Externally [he] expressed [himself] as a great bisayi, materialist, but internally he was full of Kṛṣṇa-prema. Mukunda wanted to show that to Gadādhar Paṇḍit. Actually Gadādhar was externally and internally, both ways, [of a] very renounced mentality. Then when Gadādhar proposed to Mukunda, “You tell that devotee, I want to take initiation from him and may he forgive all of my offences.” After hearing [the] proposal of Gadādhar Paṇḍit, Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi smiled and told, “Yes, I am very happy. This boy [is] attracting me through his mood of devotion. Then I must initiate this boy.” And Gadādhar was very happy and they went back to their house and assembled with [the] other devotees.

And there Mukunda expressed to Mahāprabhu Gadādhar’s position from today. And after hearing that Mahāprabhu was very happy. That is [because] Mahāprabhu is seeing Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi as [his] father. Many times before Mahāprabhu [was] crying, “Bāp Vidyānidhi, bāp Puṇḍarīk!” etc… And Mahāprabhu is considering Puṇḍarīk as his father when his mood as Rādhārāṇī [is] coming.

And Mahāprabhu had gone to Purī. When Gadādhar heard that Mahāprabhu must stay in Purī, then he also took sannyās there. That is called ‘kṣetra-sannyās.’ He will not leave Purī Dham. And he is staying in Ṭoṭā-Gopīnāth. Ṭoṭā means garden and there he has manifested the Rādhā-Gopīnāth. He is worshiping there and staying in [the] ṭoṭā. And every day Mahāprabhu is going to bathe in [the] ocean and before that he is meeting with Haridās Ṭhākur in Siddha-bakul. Then he is going for bathing and coming back through Ṭoṭā-Gopīnāth, to see Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And [then] coming back to Gambhīra. Every day [this is] his program.

Sometimes, when Mahāprabhu stayed in Purī Dham, some days Mahāprabhu was going to Gadādhar Paṇḍit’s ashram with the devotees. [He was] hearing the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam from Gadādhar, because Gadādhar was extremely qualified in Bhāgavat knowledge. And sometimes Gadādhar was coming to Gambhīra. There were many devotees and in that assembly of devotees he was reading Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and explaining Bhāgavatam. And Mahāprabhu [was] always crying, Gadādhar [was always] crying and the other devotees, also hearing that Bhāgavatam, were melted so much.

In this way Gadādhar Paṇḍit spent his whole life in Purī Dham. He [took] kṣetra-sannyās, that means ‘I shall not leave this place in any way until death’. But when Mahāprabhu wanted to go to Vṛndāvan from Purī, Gadādhar also wanted to go with him. Mahāprabhu said to Gadādhar, “You cannot go, because you have taken kṣetra-sannyās.” And Gadādhar said, “Oh, my Lord, where you are—there I am. I don’t care about my kṣetra-sannyās. Maybe it can break or anything, but I shall go with you.”

Then in Kaṭaka, the capital of Orissa, Mahāprabhu [arrived] there, and Gadādhar also [followed] him there. Then Mahāprabhu said, “Gadhādhar, it is my earnest request to you. You already broke your kṣetra-sannyās, because you are not in Purī Dham. [We are] in Kaṭaka. But it is my earnest request, order you can say: Go back to Purī!” Then Gadādhar when he heard that it was his order, he fainted.

Then Mahāprabhu went and Svarūp Dāmodar and [the] other devotees took Gadādhar to Purī. But that time Mahāprabhu went up to Rāmakeli in North Bengal and met with Rūpa and Sanātana there. And thousands of devotees were with Mahāprabhu and they were going to Vṛndāvan. Seeing that the King was very afraid. His prime minister was Sanātan Goswāmī and his treasurer was Rūpa Goswāmī. That muslim king asked Sanātan Goswāmī, “This man with thousands of people is going to Vṛndāvan, what is the matter?” Then Rūpa Goswāmī gave an answer in a [slightly] hidden way. But when he asked Sanātan Goswāmī, he told directly. Here we can realise the whole character of Rūpa Goswāmī and Sanātan Goswāmī. And Sanātan Goswāmī said, “You ask your heart, who is that man, then I shall give the answer.”

That muslim king was called Vatsa, and he told, “I think he is the Lord of the Hindus. Otherwise, without paying, without food, without any [kind of] payment, why [are] thousands of people are following that man? He must be an incarnation of your Lord. And you can tell him that I am very happy to see his Pastimes here.”

And Sanātan Goswāmī said to that king, “You are right. Really he is not a man and taking [a] human body our Lord has appeared. But you are so fortunate that in your kingdom, he has taken birth. If you don’t do anything wrong with him, then your glory will spread.” And the king was very happy and [he] told, “As he wishes. He can stay here.” But Sanātan was so intelligent. He took Rūpa, his brother—Sanātan’s muslim name was Sākara Mallika and Rūpa Goswāmī’s name was Dabira Khāsa—[and] Sākara Mallika and Dabira Khāsa went [together] at midnight to see Mahāprabhu in Rāmakeli.

Leaving their own dress [aside], [they took] the Vaiṣṇava dress of only dhotī and chadar. And [with] grass in both hands and [also] in their mouths [they] fell down [before] Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. And [they] told,

mat-tulyo nāsti pāpātmā
nāparādhī cha kaśchana
parihāre ’pi lajjā me
kiṁ bruve puruṣottama
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.154)

This way they expressed, “Prabhu,

nīcha-jāti, nīcha-saṅgī, kari nīcha kāja
tomāra sakāśe [agrete] prabhu kahite vāsi lāja
(Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya, 1.189)

We are [such] fallen souls! What are our activities! [And] also more than that. What can I say? Pāpo ’ham, what is my form? That is like a sinful form. What I am doing is sinful work. I am working under the muslim [rule]. Pāpahaṁ, pāpakarmāhaṁ, pāpātma. Actually, we are brāhmiṇs, but externally we cannot show that we are brāhmiṇs. That type of sinful work we are doing. Without your mercy we have no hope.”

In that way they expressed themselves and took the lotus feet of Mahāprabhu and Mahāprabhu embraced them and told, “You are my dearmost servants: janme janme tumi dui – mora ‘nija-dāsa’ [kiṅkara āmāra] (Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya, 1.214), my most dear servants, every birth you are with me.”

Then Mahāprabhu gave [them] much affection [and] they gave much nourishment to Mahāprabhu. And when Sanātan Goswāmī was coming back from that place of Mahāprabhu, he told [a] little thing to Mahāprabhu, “Mahāprabhu, give [a] little hearing. You are going to Vṛndāvan and thousands of people are going with you. It may be [possible to] manage here, but on the way, there are also many muslim kings and it may create some trouble. [This] is the first thing. And the second thing is, you are the Lord, you have power, but you are not showing that you are the Lord, you are showing that you are a devotee of the Lord. That is my worry, you may think.”

Then, when Rūpa and Sanātana [were] gone, Mahāprabhu was thinking, “Oh, what Sanātana told, that is Kṛṣṇa’s inspiration and order to me, not to go this way to Vṛndāvan.” Then Mahāprabhu decided, “I shall not go to Vṛndāvan in this way, I shall go back again to Purī.” And when he came back to Purī, then he expressed, I [have] given much pain in the heart of Gadādhar, [and] that is why I cannot go to Vṛndāvan.

That is the Gaura-prema of Gadādhar.

gaura premamaya tanu paṇḍit gadādhara
śrīnivāsa haridāsa more kṛpā kori [doyāra sāgara]
(Sāvaraṇa-Śrī-Gaura-pāda-padme Prārthanā, 5)

You know that song, gaura premamaya tanu, means full of Gaura-prema, that was the form of Gadādhar. And everybody is taking some opportunity from Gadādhar, but Gadādhar is not taking any opportunity from others. Opportunity means, everybody is taking opportunity, “Oho, I’m Govinda Mahārāj’s disciple, I have power!” – like that. Gadādhar is not taking any advantage from others, but everyone is taking advantage from him. That was his character.

And he is collecting every day some spinach from that garden, it’s not cultivated, but natural spinach. And cooking, offering to Gopīnāth and taking prasādam. That was his lifestyle.

But when Mahāprabhu, he knows Gadādhar is not eating so much and not eating any vitamin food [so] some days Mahāprabhu [is] arranging [and] telling Gadādhar, “I shall take prasādam to your house.” Then Gadādhar is cooking many things for Mahāprabhu. And Mahāprabhu is eating and Mahāprabhu [is] insisting Gadādhar, “You take.” And sometimes [the] devotees are inviting Mahāprabhu for taking prasādam at their house or some devotees are giving some money for the bhoga of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as bhikṣā. That time Mahāprabhu is also calling Gadādhar, “Take prasādam in my house.”

And when Vallabha Āchārya was neglected by [the] other devotees, because he was showing his ego to Mahāprabhu and the other devotees, he went to Gadādhar and took advantage there. He was reading Bhāgavatam in front of Gadādhar. And what will Gadādhar do? He is hearing.

That [was the] type of harmless character of Gadādhar Paṇḍit. Very quite and very humble and tolerant.

Anyhow, after the disappearance of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Gadādhar was always crying, crying, crying and living in the Ṭoṭā-Gopīnāth. Within few days by the order of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīnivas Āchārya came to Gadādhar. That means, after Mahāprabhu, Gadādhar stayed near about one year. But before the Ratha-yātrā, Gadādhar disappeared. [He] cannot tolerate Mahāprabhu’s separation.

When Śrīnivas Āchārya came, [at] that time he was a twelve years old boy. By the order of Mahāprabhu he came for reading Śrīmad Bhāgavatam from Gadādhar and [to] take shelter at the lotus feet of Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And Gadādhar Paṇḍit said, “Yes, Mahāprabhu also gave one dream to me. In [the] dream Mahāprabhu gave an order to me – I shall teach you Bhāgavatam.”

But Gadādhar had one Bhāgavatam book, but books at that time were [written] on tāl-pāta, palm leaves. At that time paper was not yet discovered. And every day Gadādhar is reading that Bhāgavatam and his tears are falling down and the Bhāgavatam was spoiled, the letters were washed away.

And when Śrīnivas Āchārya proposed to Gadādhar Paṇḍit, “You teach me.” Gadādhar said, “Yes, it is an order of Mahāprabhu to me also, but you bring one new book. My book is already spoiled.” In the meantime Ratha-yātrā was coming and Gadādhar couldn’t tolerate. And he disappeared this day, today.

Śrīnivas came with the book, but on the way he heard that Gadādhar Paṇḍit disappeared. That was the Gaura-prema of Gadādhar Paṇḍit. Actually we cannot express fully by language. Also feelings are very tiny about that great devotee of Mahāprabhu.

Gadādhar promised Śrīnivas Āchārya, “Yes, I shall teach you.” And only through his promise, Śrīnivas was a great Bhāgavatam Paṇḍit. Only Gadādhar said, ‘Yes, I shall teach you’. But not taught, nothing, just promised and through that power, Śrīnivas was in future [so qualified that] no-one could compete with him.

Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur was very attached with Gaura Gadādhar bhajan. Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur’s preaching style was so wide, but his bhajan style was very exclusive. In the form of Gaura Gadādhar he was doing his bhajan.

It is inconceivable by the mundane mind. And how much affection Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has, our Guru Mahārāj also has [for] Gaura Gadādhar. We can see the link of their disappearance days. These three disappeared on the same tīthi.

Guru Mahārāj composed one śloka about Gadādhar Paṇḍit Goswāmī. We engraved that śloka in Purī Dham, in our Nitāi-Chaitanya Temple. There Guru Mahārāj composed this praṇām-mantra, and I am offering to the lotus feet of Gadādhar Paṇḍit that mantra,

nīlāmbhodhi-taṭe sadā sva-virahā-kṣepanvitaṁ bāndhavaṁ
śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ sadā sva-nayanāśru-pāyanaiḥ pūjayan
gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara-vibhūr-bhūyāt mad-ekā-gatiḥ

This is Guru Mahārāj’s composition. Nīlāmbhodhi-taṭe, the blue sky and ocean. There on the bank of that ocean, shore of the ocean, there Gadādhar Paṇḍit is living. And [while] living there he is giving much nourishment to his Lord. That mood of separation of his Lord, Śrī Chaitanyadev, from Kṛṣṇa. And when Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is so much intoxicated with that separation of Kṛṣṇa prema he is giving the proper nourishment to his Lord. Here his Lord’s form as Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, as his dearmost friend. If [a] friend will feel too much separation from his friend, then what to do? Friend is giving some nourishment to his friend. Sometimes they are drinking wine, and cannot tolerate the separation from their beloved. And Gadādhar Paṇḍit is reading Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and Bhāgavatam was like a wine for his dear friend, Mahāprabhu. And he is giving every day this nourishment through reading Bhāgavatam like wine.

And he himself is also taking that wine and crying to see that his friend is crying. He forgot to be intoxicated with that wine, but the wine’s nature also cannot make him intoxicated. That type of [mental] strength was [maintained by] Gadādhar, for the nourishment of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.

That way he is looking after Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, he is trying remove all the pain from his heart. And that type of servitor of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is Gadādhar Paṇḍit, he is my only shelter. I’m bowing down unto his lotus feet.

This is the meaning. I cannot express it exactly in English. That Gadādhar Paṇḍit and Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur both disappeared in this day.

Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur is a pārṣad of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and he also disappeared on this day and after twenty-two years, Guru Mahārāj composed one poem about Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur. You all know, less or more, about his lifetime history and he has written many works.

When the conception of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was hidden by the cloud of many imitative sampradāyas, at that time Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur appeared and he gave much nourishment to the sampradāya of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. He made it clean and perfect through his writings, through his preaching, through his lifestyle by showing [the example], he made perfect [in an] all-round way.

And for that conception he mercifully gave us as his son, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswatī Goswāmī Ṭhākur. And you know Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s desire and devotional work in this mundane world. As a result of that you are all [here] today, the friends of this fallen soul. And you are also fallen, I am also fallen. But we have got one ship, a very nice ship. That ship has been given by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswatī Goswāmī Prabhupad. And our guardian is Guru Mahārāj. Then we can easily cross over the ocean of illusion and we will get that transcendental domain where the service is waiting for us.

That Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, he is the origin of our samparadāya. Some age is coming part by part. One has come from Brahmā to Vyāsadev and another has come from Vyāsadev up to Mādhavendra Purī. And next age has come from Mādhavendra Purī to Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. After Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ. That was another age. And after that Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ up to Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur. And from Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur to this age, you are all living in that age. This is a new flow of that divine conception of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.

We are so fortunate that we are seeing [that] up to date it is flowing very nicely and growing all over the world. This is the gift of Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur.

Gaura Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj was the Guru of Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur, but same position, and more than Bābājī Mahārāj, Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur gave to Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur. And here we can see the cause, that is Gaura Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj was siddha-mahāpuruṣa and his preaching field was very small. But Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur’s preaching field was very wide and he composed hundreds of books for the condition souls. And not only that, his arrangement was so wide for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise he couldn’t do bhabiṣyadbāṇī, he couldn’t predict [that] within fifty years you will see that all over the world [people] will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra. What are you thinking, is that true or not?

Then he was a great devotee of Mahāprabhu, no doubt we have. One Vaiṣṇava composed about Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur very short, two lines,

śrī gaurāṅga-pāriṣada ṭhākura bhaktivinoda
dīnahīna patitera bandhu
kali-tamaḥ vināśite ānilena avanīte
toma’ akalaṅka pūrṇa indu
(Āchārya vandana, 20)

Like the moon he collected from the sky of the transcendental world as a merciful moon, Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur. And gave us [that personality] for our super-benefit of life.

That type of a merciful Vaiṣṇava was Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur and Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s expression is more than that. For others it is maybe too much, but not for us. That phrase I am telling to you,

śrī gaura kṛpāya dui, mahimā ki kava mui,
aprākṛta pāriṣada-kathā
prakaṭa haiyā seve, kṛṣṇābhinna-gaurādeve,
aprakāśya kathā yathā tathā
tāhā̐ra sama anya keho, dhare e nara deho,
nāhi dilo kṛṣṇa prema dhane

This prayer. Like Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, nobody is giving in this mundane world the Kṛṣṇa-prema after Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Narottam Ṭhākur, Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī, Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ, Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī and others also, all great devotees in the line of our Guru-paramparā. But when Saraswatī Ṭhākur told that like Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur nobody gave that gift of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, everybody will think [about] what he has given to us.

tāhā̐ra sama anya keho, dhare e nara deho,
nāhi dilo kṛṣṇa prema dhane

When we are thinking [about] that, we must think seriously that he has given more than Narottam Ṭhākur, more than Jīva Goswāmī, more than Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ, more than Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī, more than Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur, more than Viśvanāth Chakravartī, what he has given to us? Then some searching tendency must come to us and when we are searching that, we are thinking that it is true. What [was] given [by] Jīva Goswāmī, [by] Rūpa Goswāmī, that is written in the book, not spread all over India. Some of the countries may be enlightened by their knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But [the] whole world wasn’t enlightened. By the service of Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur to Mahāprabhu, now the whole world is enlightened by mahāmantra, which was given by Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.

It is simply wonderful. What all the scriptures want to give, he gave in a very gist form and it is spread all over the world through Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswatī Goswāmī Prabhupad. That is the unparalleled gift of Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur. And when we think [about it], we think it is true. But the wealth of Rūpa Sanātana Narottama Goswāmī or everything [exists], but [that] wealth was in a pot under the ground. They have given that wealth, but within a pot and it was under the ground. Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has taken it out from there and spread it all over the world.

I think it many times, what Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has given! Mahāprabhu’s conception he had given. But what is new there? The style of giving, that is new.