Awakening of consciousness? Or an answer to the criticism? – Part 3

Awakening of consciousness? Or an answer to the criticism?

(Is Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura a nitya-siddha bhāgavata pārṣada or a sādhana-siddha?) – Part 3

Note: This is the continuation of the previous writing on this issue. In the previous issue, the most scientific vicāra of Guru-Gauḍīya was published. This is our honest & sincere request unto your Lotus feet to consider carefully the current vicāras given below—

Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura was seemingly an ordinary Deputy Magistrate, but his extraordinary (aprākṛta) activities were exposed to the world. For example, a glimpse can be seen in his management of the service of the Śrī Jagannātha Temple in Śrī Kṣetra (Purī), where while being engaged in this work, he would daily arrange Nāma-sankīrtana and Hari-kathā just near the place of Śrīman Mahāprabhu's footprints adjacent to the main temple of Śrī Jagannātha Deva. At that time, one day, a certain Bābājī Mahātmā (?) taunted him by saying that— “There is no symptom of vaiṣṇava tilaka or tulāsī-mālā etc. on his body—it's just an external show, that he likes to prove himself as a Vaiṣṇava!” From that very moment the bhajana life of that Bābājī was ruined, and later on when he could realize his own mistake, because of committing offense unto the lotus feet of that great devotee named 'Śrī Kedārnātha Datta', then he confessed his own fault while begging for forgiveness unto his lotus feet, by saying that— “Please excuse me, I could not realize that you are an eternal siddha Vaiṣṇava (an eternal associate of Bhagavān) by not seeing the symptoms of bhakti on your body, like vaiṣṇava-tilaka or tulāsī-mālā. Simply I have done a great offence to ruin my own bhajana by criticizing you. Please forgive me out of your causeless mercy, otherwise there is no other way open for my respite.” Hearing this, Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura replied with a smiling face that— “Really you are right, because as yet I could not take shelter unto the lotus feet of a guru, so you could not find any symptoms of bhakti on my body. Later on, sometimes when he (Śrīla Ṭhākura) manifested the pastime of taking shelter of a so-called guru, then that pastime was done by him only to deliver that sahajīyā-guru, just like how Śrīman Mahāprabhu manifested the līlā of accepting a sat-guru named Śrīla Īśvara Purīpāda to deliver him. Also, the sannyāsa initiation pastime done by Him was performed to deliver Keśava Bhāratī, His sannyāsa Guru. When Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura took Śrīla Vimalā Prasāda Prabhupāda (then Śrīla Prabhupāda was only seven years old), to his guru-pīṭha in Nārāil (present-day Jassore, Bangladesh), there at that place, the following astonishing or miraculous event happened which can prove easily that Śrīla Ṭhākura is an eternally siddha associate of Bhagavān. When that so-called sahajīyā guru tried to place his foot on Śrīla Ṭhākura's head, that small boy (Vimalā Prasāda) roared like a lion to stop him doing so and started saying loudly that— "Do you consider yourself so much qualified as to place your feet on the head of Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura?"

Such numerous wonderful and miraculous sensitive pastimes can prove that he is the eternal parshad of The Supreme Lord (Śrī Gaurānga Deva or Śrī Kṛṣṇa Deva).

He who later on became a very famous devotional personality as Nadiyā Prakāśa (which means that he revealed the eternal dhāma and nāma of Śrī Nadiyā-vihari-Hari — Śrī Gaurāṅga Deva. And also he has shown the path of eternal maṅgala to the entire world). He also has bestowed upon us all the divine kṛpa of Śrī Gaurāṅga Deva through the manifestation of the divine eternal Guru — Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda — in front of the whole world.

He also became famous as the Seventh Gosvāmī in our Gauḍīya bhajana field, by composing several transcendental śāstras (aprākṛta śāstra in the form of aprākṛta śabda-brahma). He is that divine personality who has expressed the mysterious divine glories of Śrī Harināma. Also he who was truly situated in the divine Vaikuṇṭha platform as to be called as Śrī Rūpānuga-varya (the topmost divine figure among all the followers of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda), then how he cannot be detected as a nitya-siddha Bhagavat-pārśada?

When he was supposed to get retired from the government service, then he was busy planning to go to Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma to do solitary Hari-bhajana absorbingly, then by chance he went to Tarakeśvara (in Hooghly district Bengal) on some official duty ground, and then there at night time in dream Sadāśiva Tarakeśvara Mahādeva Bhole-bābā appeared to advise him to "take up the divine seva of Nadiyā Prakāśa which is the hidden Vṛndāvana — ‘Gaura Dhāma’, which is just near your hand, why you are planning to go to Śrī Vṛndāvana to do solitary Hari bhajana?” Especially from then onwards he was absorbingly engaged in the service of revealing Śrī Nadiyā- vihari Gaurahari together with His eternal dhāma and nāma (Śrī Gaura-dhāma, Gaura-nāma, etc.) in front of the whole world.

Nitya-siddha mahātmā Śrīla Vaiṣṇava Sārvabhauma Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, he himself, at the age of 125, firmly indicated the truth of that land in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpura, the āvirbhāva place (birthplace) of Śrī Gaurāṅga Deva, by dancing and singing kirtan there at that spot (at present which is known as Śrī Dhāma Māyāpura Yogapīṭha). Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura himself also could identify that āvirbhāva place of Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu (which is at present as Yogapīṭha Śrī Mandira Māyāpura Navadvīpa Dhāma) while he was absorbingly engaged in Nāma-bhajana from Ranichara at night time. From there he could see abundant divine effulgent light emanating from that particular place many times, and ultimately could identify as the āvirbhāva place of Śrī Gaurāṅga Deva which is well known as Yogapītha Śrī Mandira at Māyāpura.

One day, when Śrīmatī Bhagavatī Devī (the mother of Śrīla Prabhupāda) came to Ranichara in Śrī Dhāma Navadvīpa for the darśana of the siddha mahātmā Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābā, Bābā asked her that, "How you have come to Navadvīpa? To see temple vigraha or for some special shopping?" When he heard in reply from Śrīmatī Bhagavatī Devī that— “I have come from long distance Rāmbagan, Calcutta, here in Navadvīpa to take darśana of your lotus feet.” And then Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja started saying that— “Why you have taken so much trouble to come a long distance to see me here at Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma by leaving the eternal Gaurāṅga pārṣada Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura who is already there sitting inside your room.”

In this way all those countless evidences can prove about his eternal pārṣadaship of Śrī Gaurāṅga Deva—The Supreme Lord. Nevertheless, if you all like to take up the trouble of passing hasty judgment about Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura based on some material biasness, then what we can do for you all.

(To be continued)