The Divine Character of Bhaktivinoda Thakura

By studying the character, life and literary works of a great Vaishnava acharya, one can derive deep understanding of how to lead one’s life in such a way that devotion to God becomes manifest in the heart. Although in the beginning of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s life he seemed to display the activities of an ordinary mortal man, one should not wrongly think him to be so, for he is the dearly beloved associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and it was by the Lord’s divine wish that he appeared on this mundane plane of existence, for the spiritual reformation of fallen humanity of the nineteenth century was in a miserable plight. There were so many off-shoots from the main stem of religion, each sect preaching its own philosophy, that people were thrown into utter confusion and did not know what the pure religion was. It then became a necessity for a leader to save the good souls who were hankering for their real welfare. To quench their thirst a bhakta-avatara was badly needed and that avatara appeared in the form of Thakura Bhaktivinoda. His religious disposition was observed from his very childhood and as he grew older he studied all the religious books of the world and appreciated the doctrines preached by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the most sublime of all and the surest path to lead the fallen souls to the feet of God. The enlightened and cultured men of the present age have now learned to honor this most sublime philosophy which the Thakura brought to light and which would have lain buried in darkness, had he not opened their eyes.
Thakura Bhaktivinoda clearly displayed all the qualities of a pure Vaishnava and this was seen in his eagerness to always be engaged in the service of the Lord without wasting a moment. It was once remarked in 1916 by the judge of the Calcutta High Court, Sarada Carana Mitra: “I knew Thakura Bhaktivinoda intimately as a friend and a relation. Even under pressure of official work as a Magistrate in charge of a heavy sub-division he could always find time for devotional contemplation and work, and whenever I met him, our talk would turn in a few moments to the subject of bhakti and dvaitadvaita-vada and the saintly work that lay before him. Service of God is the only thing he longed for and service under the government, however honorable, was to him a clog.”
If we examine Bhaktivinoda Thakura's daily schedule while he was staying in Jagannatha Puri we will be able to see how he was never idle and was always engaged in the service of the Lord. Between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM the Thakura would take rest and would rise from bed just before 10:00 PM. At that time he would light his oil lamp and begin to write books up to 4:00 AM. Then he would take a little more rest and would rise just before 4:30 AM for washing his hands and face and at that time he would sit down and chant on his beads. He never showed his japa-mala to anyone and he would chant unlimited number of rounds daily. Around 7:00 AM he would dispose of all correspondence and at 7:30 he would read various highly philosophical religious books. At 8:30 if anyone came to see him they could meet him then. If no one came he would continue to read up until 9:30 during which time he would walk on the veranda of the house and think of different religious questions and solve them in his mind. Sometimes he would solve them out loud as if he were preaching to someone. From 9:30 AM to 9:45 he would take a little rest and at 9:45 he would take his morning bath and breakfast, which consisted of half a quart of milk, a couple of chapattis and some fruit. At 9:55 he would put his office dress on and go to the court in his carriage.
As a Magistrate he would wear a coat and pants. On his neck he wore six strands of double size Tulasi beads. He was very strong in his court decisions. He would decide them immediately. None could stand before him and he did not allow any humbug in his court. He would do his business and go. He would go to the court wearing those pants, his big coat, his neck beads and tilaka on his forehead. He would shave his head monthly and he never cared what anyone thought.
At 10:00 AM court would begin and he would hear between thirty to fifty cases. He would finish by 1:00 PM.
Bhaktivinoda’s capacity for work was astounding to the lawyers and Englishmen. What other Magistrates would finish in thirty to forty-five minutes, he would finish in five minutes and he would also write the judgment in detail within one or two minutes. The Englishmen over him were stunned at how he could perform this much work in such a short amount of time. They all became envious and tried to discourage him. At 1:00 PM he would come home and clean himself and become refreshed. Before 2:00 PM he would again be in the office. At 5:00 PM he would come home and take some Sanskrit religious books and dictate them in Bengali to someone. After this he would take his evening bath and meal which consisted of a little rice, a couple of chapattis and a half-quart of milk.
Bhaktivinoda worked with a pocket watch so everything he did was done on time. In this way we can see how Bhaktivinoda was always eager for the service of the Lord and was always engaged in that service despite his family and official responsibilities.
As for his quality of being charitable, it was never heard that any brahmana ever went away from his home disheartened and he who once called on him was sure to be seen meeting him again with a smiling face. He equally befriended the other castes, and especially when he preached Harinam everyone however high or low he might have been, in society or in wealth was nearest and dearest to him. He had practically no enemy in the world as he did not cherish any kind of animosity against others. Rather those who tried to be his enemy out of jealousy or with a view of thwarting him from his spiritual path were in the long run ashamed of their conduct and in most cases begged for his pardon which was never refused. His universal brotherhood made him the friend of all and he was ever eager for procuring the greatest welfare for the people of this world. Whoever once came in contact with him, could not but go without having obtained some good to himself. Thakura Bhaktivinoda was never proud and his amiable disposition was a characteristic feature in his life. He never uttered a word to anybody which could wound their feelings. He did not chastise anyone unless and until he was perfectly confident that he had a right over him to do so for his welfare, and on the other hand he who received a warning from him always thought himself gratified. He had not the least shadow of vanity and was totally devoid of a quarreling habit. He was honored and respected throughout the length and breadth of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. His profound knowledge of philosophy endeared him to all educated men and his devout bhakti made him the friend both of the highest and lowest classes of people.
In his official capacity he was always taken into confidence by the superior officers of the government, as he was himself well conversant with the policy of government. He had witnessed the hard days of the mutiny and while in office, he assisted the government in quelling all sorts of unprincipled disturbances. The Government of Bengal also on more than once occasion wanted to vest him with honors and titles, but he humbly declined the same each time, on the ground that such honors would, instead of doing good, stand against his holy mission.
From his very infancy till his last day he was a great advocate of truth and never allowed his associates to deviate from the path of duty, which he himself observed with more than strict accuracy. He avoided companies whenever he had the least suspicion of evil motives in them. He had to encounter unpleasantness on many occasions in the execution of public duty under the government, by refusing to accept any present from any person. Similar difficulties he had to face in refusing unjust requests from persons who were very dear to him. He was above corruption. Bhaktivinoda never supported the least shadow of immorality and he never crossed the threshold of any place which he knew to be immoral. He had great dislike for theatres as these were places where public women were brought in to take part in the play. He knew that common people, who cared little for religion and who spent their days carelessly and uselessly, were apt to go astray in the broad wilderness of the world if he himself refrained from showing them the proper way by his own example. Example is better than precept and so his absolute distaste for anything immoral helped many sincere souls to open their eyes and also persons already in confusion to correct themselves. When the well-known Girisha Chandra Ghosa came to request Thakura Bhaktivinoda to preside over the gathering on the opening day of his new play, ‘Caitanya Lila’, he had to politely decline the offer. Thakura Bhaktivinoda was a complete abstainer from any kind of worldly pleasure and would not even chew a betel. He completely avoided the luxuries that are everyday enjoyed by ordinary men. He had for himself very little want and led a most simple life throughout his career. The word ‘debt’ was, as it were, unknown to him for he was very prompt in making payments. He was always true to his word and punctuality was at all times specially observed by him. He always showed a brave front and was never a coward. He never performed any dishonest work in business and whatever he did he did openly for the good of his fellowmen. In this way we may understand that he possessed a spotless character.
Thakura Bhaktivinoda had a fine mode of delivering speeches and his lectures were so greatly attractive that he could keep the audience, whatever be their number, absolutely dumb-founded. His speeches were all very fluent and argumentative from the philosophical point of view and he had a nice way of joining the link of their subject matter. He was an expert linguist and knew English, Latin, Urdu, Persian, and Oriya besides Bengali and Sanskrit. He had also a taste for history and a keen habit of research. This habit made him a voracious reader of all the Puranas and Vedic Shastras as well as the writings of numerous authors of repute in Europe, both of ancient and modern. He was a member of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. He had thoroughly gone through the scriptures of foreign countries, such as the Bible and Koran, and he could easily cite any passage occurring in those books whenever there was occasion to do so. His nature was to leave no stone unturned in mastering whatever subject he took up and he did his duty in that respect to the fullest extent. The works he has left to the world are most precious and will no doubt supply materials for the improvement of many thinkers for centuries to come.
Thakura Bhaktivinoda was a great author and poet and has left for us about one-hundred books of transcendental knowledge. From the age of twelve and thirteen when he wrote Hara-katha and Shumbha-Nishumbha-yuddha till his last days before us, his pen was never idle and many a night saw him engaged in his library after he had performed a hard laborious midday duty in the court. He wrote hundreds and hundreds of poems and gave those songs to his disciples who would put them to music and sing them. All knowledge of Vaishnava philosophy can be found in them.
The Vaishnava community has received from his beautiful lotus hands many wonderful books on Lord Caitanya’s precepts. His famous work Jaiva Dharma, a Bengali novel which teaches Vaishnava philosophy in the form of various discourses, up to the present day has remained very easily readable and relishable for all classes of devotees, learned scholars and even fools and laymen. Bhaktivinoda’s Bhagavatarka-marichi-mala, which is the butter produced from churning the vast milk ocean of Srimad-Bhagavatam, has bestowed much good upon the serious student of the Bhagavatam. His explanations and Bengali translations of Krishna-karnamrita, Brahma-samhita and others have obtained a place in the hearts of all Vaishnava readers. His Harinam-cintamani and Bhajana-rahasya are eternally worshipable for all pure devotees. His Sri Caitanya-siksamrita and Sri Krishna-samhita stand as divine classics in the history of Bengali Vaishnava literature and his books of poetry and songs, such as Sharanagati, Gitavali, Gitamala, and Kalyana-kalpataru, will always be chanted and sung by those pure souls devoted to nama-bhajana or service to the Holy Name. It is our fervent hope that some day all the works of Thakura Bhaktivinoda may be made available to English speaking people for their eternal spiritual well-being.
Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s mission in this world was fulfilled by his starting the Nama Hatta at Nadia through which he distributed religious pamphlets and preached the name of Hari at every house in Bengal. At every step of his life he displayed a transparent godliness that can be observed by studying his life and writings. In his writings he has taught the difference between a true spiritualist and a pseudo one in order to thwart the vain attempts of the many pseudo devotees at that time who dressed as Vaishnava mendicants just to fill their bellies. Consequently because of this the intelligentsia of India began to recognize the truth of his preaching and the beauty of Sri Caitanya’s doctrines. He was thus recognized as the God-sent pioneer of the movement of unalloyed devotion to Godhead. He taught the people of India the true teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu both by precept and example. He always stressed that the jiva soul cannot realize himself or God unless he wholeheartedly surrenders himself to the lotus feet of a genuine spiritual master and listens to his words. Bhaktivinoda has taught us true renunciation by engaging all things in this world in the service of the Creator. He radically opposed the caste system where one is socially judged by his birth and he taught very explicitly that one should be judged by his actions and personal qualities and not by mere birth or family lineage. He also strongly protested against both elevationsim and Salvationism as being anti-devotional, that mere belief in such concepts took the place of attaining the real devotional mood necessary for spiritual development. Thus he made a tremendous effort both in his powerful writings and personal preaching effort to reform the growing materialistic mentality of the people at that time. He taught that men should live their lives according to the principles laid down in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and practice the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord.
Thakura Bhativinoda showed through his clear and lucid writings that the solution to all contending theories, isms, sectarian dogmas and doctrines could be found in the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. With an open and liberal mind, he opened the door of comparative religion and philosophical study and thus showed the universal applicability and scientific, religious, and philosophical basis of the teachings of Sri Caitanya. In this way the Thakura lifted the spiritual cataract on the religious vision of the people of Bengal by his many writings, which were both revolutionary and endowed with the quality of sweet reasonableness. He preached that the universal religion and common function of all souls is devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna and ‘Back to Home, Back to Godhead’ ‘was the motto he taught and practiced throughout his life.
In his Sri Caitanya-shiksamrita he predicted a day when people of all nations, castes, creeds and colors would come under the banners of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and dance together hand in hand in the universal church of the chanting of the Holy Name of God. He believed strongly that the sankirtana movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would bring eternal peace and harmony to the whole world and for this reason he stressed the preaching of Sri Caitanya’s teachings, particularly through the medium of the English language in the world today.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

The Lion Guru
During the time of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s stay on this planet the pure religion of Vaishnavism taught by the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was essentially lost and had come to be considered of the degrading standard of simply a sex religion, or at best a cult of religious fanaticism and sentimentalism. The Thakura was very sad in his heart to see this and with a desire to present the actual teachings of Sri Caitanya, he wrote and published many books in Bengali, Sanskrit and English which conclusively presented to the world and to the people of India specifically the real teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His genuine followers. He also traveled to many parts of India preaching and giving lectures to many people whose hearts became changed by seeing his pure character and shining example. Thakura Bhaktivinoda practically single-handedly revived the pure movement of Nama-sankirtana (the congregational chanting of the holy names of God) and presented the glories of Lord Caitanya to all learned men of the world.
However, so that this preaching of Nama-sankirtana [congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord] could go on nicely even after the Thakura left this world, he prayed to Lord Caitanya to send him an assistant and a successor from the Lord’s personal staff of preachers. Answering the prayer of the Thakura, a son was born to him on February 6th, 1874 while he was serving as the government magistrate in the holy city of Jagannatha Puri in Orissa. Through various signs the Lord showed Thakura Bhaktivinoda and his good wife that this was the great soul that had been sent by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to carry on the preaching work that Bhaktivinoda Thakura had started. It was witnessed by all present that when the child came out of the womb, his umbilical cord was wrapped around him like the sacred thread worn by brahmanas. Everyone was very amazed by this sign. Six months later at the annual Jagannatha Puri Rathayatra festival, the Jagannatha cart, being pulled by hundreds of people, came to a stop in front of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s house. When all the people were trying to get the cart moving again, Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s wife took the opportunity to take the child, whose name then was Bimala Prasad, out to see Lord Jagannatha and because she was the wife of Thakura Bhaktivinoda, who was the manager of the Jagannatha temple then, everyone respected her and she was allowed on the cart for darshana of the Lord. She then placed the child at the lotus feet of the Jagannatha deity and immediately one of the huge flower garlands hanging around the neck of the Lord fell down and encircled the child. Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s heart was filled with joy, for he knew beyond all doubt that this child was the answer to his prayers.
As the boy grew, the Thakura instructed him in the science of Krishna Consciousness. At the age of only seven Bimala Prasad Datta, who was later to be known as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, had memorized all seven hundred verses of the Bhagavad-gita and could explain each one.
One day the boy took an unoffered mango from the room of the family Deity and ate it. Thakura Bhaktivinoda chastised him for it upon catching him and told him that it was not proper Vaishnava behavior to eat food that had not first been offered to the Lord. At that time Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, taking his father’s words very seriously, made a vow to Thakura Bhaktivinoda that he would never eat mango again. Through his whole life he kept this vow very faithfully. Whenever someone would offer him a mango he would say, “No, I cannot take, I am a great offender”.
At the age of ten, while attending the Serampore Missionary School, he was initiated by his father into the Hare Krishna mantra and a Narasimhadeva mantra. In school he invented a novel kind of phonetic alphabet which he called Bikranti or Bicanto. Later on he attended a special Sanskrit college where he became expert in Sanskrit grammar, Vedic shastra and different views of philosophy.
Due to his lifelong celibacy he had such a clear memory that even in his last days he could reproduce word for word any passage of any book he had read fifty years back.
At college he read all of the books in the library and made private studies into higher mathematics, international history and philosophy and Vedic astronomy. At that time he attended a cultural association in Calcutta called August Assembly and in which the study of various philosophical and theological topics was conducted. He was such a powerful debater that no one’s arguments could stand up against his vast erudition and scholarship. At the age of twenty-three in the year 1897 he opened a school in Calcutta which he called Sarasvata Chatuspathi. It was here that he began teaching Vedic astronomy. Many prominent and scholarly Calcutta gentlemen were among his students. At this time he also edited two monthly journals, the Jyotirvid and the Brhaspati and published several authoritative documents on Vedic astronomy such as the Surya-siddhanta which he had written himself. He was offered a chair at the University of Calcutta by Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, but he declined thinking that it might be too much an impediment on his devotional life. Since 1895 Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was attending the meetings of his father’s Vishva Vaishnava Raja Sabha in Calcutta. In 1899 he was editing and writing for a weekly cultural magazine, the Nivedana. In 1900 he wrote and published a book on the society and different religious sects in Bengal called Bange Sama-jikata. In 1901 Srila Bhativinoda Thakura requested his son to become initiated in the Gayatri mantra and accept a spiritual master. The Thakura had one very beloved disciple, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maha­raja, a very renowned Vaishnava saint of Navadvipa. It was therefore he who the Thakura requested his son to take initiation from. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura then approached the babaji for getting initiated, but Gaurakisora dasa Babaji, who hadn’t any disciples, out of his infinite humbleness refused to accept such an erudite pandita as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, when he himself could not even write his own name. So, disappointed, Sarasvati Thakura went back to his father and related to him what had happened, but Thakura Bhaktivinoda sent him out again, and again Srila Bhaktisiddhanta came back with the same news. So this time the Thakura told his son, “Unless you take initiation from Gaurakishora dasa Babaji your life is useless and no longer may you enter this house”. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati then set off with great determination, and meeting Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji on a bridge along the road told him that he would jump off the bridge and kill himself if the babaji did not accept him as a disciple. He said to him, “My father has told me that human life is worthless without a spiritual master, so if you refuse to accept me as your disciple I must kill myself”. Upon hearing that and seeing the young man’s sincerity of purpose, the babaji accepted him as his only disciple.

From that year, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta traveled with Thakura Bhaktivinoda in his pilgrimages to all the principle holy places in India. During this time he compiled a Vaishnava encyclopedia named Vaisnava-manjusha. In 1900 he was staying in Puri where he began to publicly preach the holy precepts of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In 1904 Srila Sarasvati Thakura traveled in East Bengal. In 1905 he travailed to the far southern provinces of India, lecturing, preaching, writing, debating, fully absorbed in the fire of propagating the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In the South he traveled to places such as Simachalam, Madras, Tirupati, Kanchipura and many other places of pilgrimage. His strong preaching gave him such a reputation that his very name would strike terror into the hearts of his philosophical adversaries. The perverted and immoral so-called religious activities of different nonsense cults and s
In 1911 at an All-India Conference of Panditas at Midnapore, presided over by Pandita Vishvambharanandadeva Gosvami, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, taking the place of Thakura Bhaktivinoda who was ill at the time, lectured to an astounded audience on the comparative position of a brahmana and a Vaishnava. After the discourse all the people came forward to offer him respect and touch his lotus feet. The president of the conference called him the other self of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. The lecture was subsequently published as a book in Bengali.
In 1912 Srila Bhaktisiddhanta traveled and preached in different parts of Bengal. In 1913 he established the Bhagavat Press in South Calcutta which was later moved to Mayapur and then to Krishnanagar, where he began to publish his many carefully edited books. Altogether he published, edited and wrote about sixty-one works as well as eight different journals. Once when he was asked how it was possible to publish a journal every month just about God, he replied that here in this world there are thousands of newspapers and magazines reporting the stale repetitious happenings of this limited space, so for reporting the news of the unlimited spiritual realm concerning the eternal, ever-fresh Supreme Personality of Godhead, we could publish a magazine at every second, what to speak of monthly.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada made special studies of the Vaishnava literature of south India and was the first to introduce Bengali translations of the works of the Madhvacharya Sampradaya to the public in Bengal. In his teachings he has dealt with the relative positions of different Vaishnava and non-Vaishnava schools of philosophy and he has brought out the difference between empiric and revealed methods of spiritual understanding. He always stressed the importance of publishing and distributing Vaishnava literature as a means of educating the mass of ignorant humanity and in order to facilitate the printing of books and journals he established four printing presses: the Gaudiya Printing Works in Calcutta (1923), the Nadiya Prakash Printing Works at Mayapura (1928), the Bhagavat Press in Krishnagar (1914-15), and the Paramarthi Printing Works at Cuttack (1936). He called these presses the big mridungas (clay drums used for large congregational singing groups) because the sound that they would produce would be heard all over India.
In 1914 on the disappearance of Thakura Bhaktivinoda from this mortal world, the task to carry on the movement of Sri Caitanya now lay in the hands of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada. He took over as the editor of his father’s journal, the Sajjanatoshani, a monthly Vaishnava paper in Bengali. Later on in 1927 he converted it into an English fortnightly called the Harmonist.
In 1918 at the age of fourty-four, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati accepted the title Gosvami Maharaja by taking the renounced order of life, sannyasa. On that same day he established his first Vaishnava monastery, the Caitanya Math at Sridhama Mayapura which became his preaching headquarters. Later that year one important figure in a popular religious organization met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta SarasvatI Thakura and was so impressed by his power of purity that he immediately begged to become a disciple. He would arrange for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s transportation between Mayapura and Calcutta and he rented him a small house for him in Calcutta for expanding the preaching of Sri Caitanya’s teachings. The house became known as “Bhaktivinoda Agana” and was later known as Sri Gaudiya Math when it was later moved to a large marble building in the Baghbazaar of North Calcutta in 1930. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura then in quick succession after that spread his Gaudiya Mission to every part of India attracting thousands of disciples to the banners of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. At the time of his passing from this world he had opened sixty-four Gaudiya Maths for the propagation of spiritual life and Bhagavata philosophy. In all these maths he established the worship of the archa-vigraha (Deity) form of the Lord so that his disciples wouldn’t become impersonalists. This deity worship was executed according to the principles of Sanatana Gosvami’s book of Vaisnava activities, Sri-hari-bhakti-vilasa.
One time a very important gentleman approached Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada and said that your Gaudiya Math is so nice you should open up temples in all cities of the world, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta replied, “My real business is to establish temples in everyone’s heart”.
He was such a powerful and bold preacher that he became known as the lion guru. Sometimes on walks in the early morning he would come across some big Mayavadi (impersonalist) sannyasi and he would physically grab him and shake him while verbally chastising him. Thereafter whenever any Mayavadi’s saw him coming, they would flee in fear of him. One time a big impersonalist Vedanta society in Calcutta invited him to a debate, on the condition that he could not use Srimad-Bhagavatam as scriptural evidence and so he agreed to come to the debate. Then after a short time they called him again and said he could not speak on Mahabharata, Ramayana, or any of the Puranas or Pancharattnas. He also agreed to come on those conditions. Then they called him and said that he could not use as evidence any of the Vedas, Upanisads or smriti texts, but could speak only from the Vedanta-Sutras. And so he agreed to that also. Then they called him up and said that he could not come at all.
From the years 1919-1929 he was constantly traveling all over India lecturing to crowds of thousands, debating, destroying various bogus religious sects and performing parikrama (walks to the holy places) with his disciples to different sacred sites, seeking to improve and preserve them. During these travels he installed foot­prints of Lord Caitanya in one hundred and eight places where the Lord had traveled during His sannyasa life. At those spots he also recorded the date when Sri Caitanya had been there.
In 1919 he completed his preaching tour over North and East Bengal and in 1920 he toured more extensively in East Bengal. In 1920 he also toured the provinces of Bihar, Orissa and the Sonthal Parganas establishing temples in some of these places, and in 1922 he visited Vrindavana, the place of Lord Krishna’s pastimes. On this Braja Mandal Parikrama he went with hundreds of disciples and gave lectures at all the major temples and places of the Lord’s pastimes. In the year 1925 His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, along with a large group or disciples went on an extensive tour of Bengal. On this Gauda Mandala Parikram Srila Bhaktisiddhanta visited all the holy places connected with the pastimes of Sri Caitanya. In the early part of 1926 he toured in some places in Assam. His tours during the years 1926-1928 marked a very important place in the Gaudiya movement of Sri Caitanya and in the history of India as well. He brought about changes and improvements in various ways in all the sacred places as well as brought about a new spiritual insight in the minds and lives of many followers of different religious sects, and brought them all under the banners of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhn’s sankirtana movement. Wherever Srla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would go he was received as a savior, religious reviver and prophet by all who came in contact with him. In most states he was received as an honored state guest and in many places was presented with public addresses of reception.
From 1928-1929 he again traveled to places from Assam to Punjab. During these tours he gathered a large number of authentic manuscripts of ancient Vaishnava writings which he started publishing, but left unfinished,
All these tours were highly successful, but were not without their problems. Because many of Srila Sarasvati Thakura’s disciples, although initiated as brahmanas and sannyasis, were not born in brahmana families, along the way while traveling, the so-called brahmana shopkeepers would close their shops and refuse to sell provisions to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and his disciples. Srila Sarasvati Thakura would always preach very strongly against the nonsense philosophy of these proud and arrogant caste brahmanas. He always emphasized the needlessness of material qualifications to receive spiritual life. Anyone, regardless of caste, sex, nationality, past background, etc., who was sincere to have spiritual life, he would give it to them.
These caste brahmanas were very much in an uproar about his turning those not born in brahmana families into brahmanas better than them. The Nityananda-vamsas especially plotted to assassinate him and went to the local police magistrate to bribe him so he wouldn’t apprehend them after the murder. The police magistrate told them that although he usually accepts bribes, he could not be connected with the killing of a Sadhu, a holy man. The police magistrate then immediately informed Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and in this way Srila Saraavati Thakura’s life was saved.
In 1930 and 1931 a new kind of spiritual education was exhibited for the benefit of the public and especially the illiterate masses. Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Prabhupada demonstrated the import and teachings of the Vedic literature by means of huge exhibitions in which pictorial representations by means of dioramas and dolls in life-like manner were employed. These wonderful exhibitions attracted thousands of people. One was on the property of the Calcutta Gaudiya Math in 1930 and in 1931 on the Calcutta corporation grounds. The exhibitions would draw at least one hundred thousand visitors daily during a month time period.
In 1933, eager to spread Lord Caitanya’s message beyond the borders of India, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura sent some of his sannyasa disciples to England to preach and open up Gaudiya Maths in the West, but not being able to convince the Westerners to take up spiritual life, they returned to India unsuccessful. Fortunately for the benefit of all people of the world, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s most beloved disciple, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada carried out his Guru Maharaja’s order and has spread Lord Caitanya’s Nama-sankirtana movement to every corner of the globe, and is now being assisted by thousands of disciples in this preaching work,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada has so glad to reveal the transcendental glories of Lord Krishna that whenever he found an eager listener he would go on speaking, not knowing the bounds of time and space. Disregarding the requests of his medical advisors, up to the last moment be continued to deliver the message of the Supreme Lord to all people. This was the only purpose of his divine appearance in this world. He did not appear here by being forced by the laws of nature as an ordinary living being appears. He worked until the last moment of his life without any reservation, disregarding physical pleasure, comfort or relief to himself. His whole life was absorbed in a mood of loving devotion to the Lord. He was fully devoted to the propagation of the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The noble example of his life and conduct, his powerful speeches and numerous publications are evidence to this fact.
In 1936 he was residing in Jagannatha Puri and on December 31st, 1936 at the age of sixty-two he left this mortal world and again re-entered the loving pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the sweetness of Braja Dham, the spiritual atmosphere.

Glories of Sri Panca-Tattva
Sri Panca-Tattva
“Lord Krsna enjoys by manifesting Himself as the Spiritual Masters, the devotees, the diverse energies, the incarnations and the plenary portions. They are all six in one. I therefore worship the lotus feet of these six diversities of the one truth by invoking their benedictions. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters, the devotees of the Lord, the Lord’s incarnations, His plenary portions, His energies and the primeval Lord Himself, Sri Krsna Caitanya” (C.C.Adi 1.33-35)
“Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, and Srivas are the Five Truths, or Pancatattva. Spiritually, there are no differences between these five tattvas, for on the transcendental platform everything is absolute. Yet, there are also varieties in the spiritual world, and in order to taste these spiritual varieties, one should distinguish between them” (C.C.Adi 7.5)
“Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, who has manifested Himself in five as a devotee (Lord Caitanya), expansion of a devotee (Lord Nityananda), incarnation of a devotee (Advaita Acarya), pure devotee (Srivas), and devotional energy (Gadadhara)” (C.C.Adi 7.6)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
“The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krsna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krsna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani, although He is Krsna Himself.” (C.C.Adi 1.5)
“Desiring to understand the glory of Radharani’s love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Srimati Saci devi as the moon appeared from the ocean” (C.C.Adi 1.6)
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the source of energy for all His devotees. He is maha-vadanyavatara, the most magnanimous incarnation of the Lord, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. In order to take full benefit of the Hare Krsna Mahamantra, we must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Nityananda Prabhu
“May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and Ocean of Milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.” (C.C.Adi 1.7)
“I surrender unto the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Rama, who is known as Sankarsana in the midst of the catur-vyuha [consisting of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikunthaloka, far beyond the material creation.” (C.C.Adi 1.8)
“I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Sri Nityananda Rama, whose partial representation called Karanadakasayi Visnu, lying on the Karana Ocean, is the original Purusa, the master of the illusory energy, and the shelter of all the universes.” (C.C.Adi 1.9)
“I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Sri Nityananda Rama, a partial part of whom is Garbhodakasayi Visnu. From the navel of Garbhodakasayi Visnu sprouts the lotus that is the birthplace of Brahma, the engineer of the universe. The stem of that lotus is the resting place of the multitude of planets.” (C.C.Adi 1.10)
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the feet of Sri Nityananda Rama, whose secondary part is the Visnu lying in the Ocean of Milk. That Ksirodakasayi Visnu is the Supersoul of all living entities and the maintainer of all the universes. Sesa Naga is His further subpart” (C.C.Adi 1.11)
Devotees understand that Lord Nityananda is Balarama Himself — the first expansion of Krsna.
Vrindavan das Thakur, author of Caitanya Bhagavat prays, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, whose long arms extend to Their knees. They have splendid golden complexions, and They inaugurated the congregational chanting of The Holy Names of the Lord. Their eyes resemble the petals of lotus flowers. They are the maintainers of all the worlds, the best of the brahmanas, the protectors of religious principles for this age. They bring happiness to the people of the world, and are the most merciful incarnations.”
Lord Nityananda is even more merciful than Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu because after Nitai was struck on the head with an earthen pot by the sinful Jagai and Madhai, He stopped Lord Caitanya from killing the two criminals. He begged the Lord to spare their lives because after all, their mood was to make devotees by killing the demoniac tendencies within, not by slaying wrong-doers. The Lord agreed to do this if the demoniac brothers would give up their sinful activities and change their bad habits into Krsna Conscious ones. By His request Mahaprabhu spared the brothers. By this mercy, the brothers fell at the feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and immediately surrendered their lives in devotion to Lord Caitanya.

Sri Advaita Acarya
“Advaita means non-dual because He is non-different than the Supreme Lord. Acarya means He is disseminating Krsna Consciousness. Advaita is Mahavisnu, whose main function is to create the cosmic world through the actions of Maya” (C.C.Adi 1.13)
“Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates Krsna Consciousness, He is called Acarya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord’s devotee. Therefore I take shelter of Him” (C.C.Adi 1.14)

Advaita Acarya is in the Visnu tattva with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Sri Nityananda prabhu. These are the three masters, but Nityananda and Advaita are servants of Mahaprabhu. It was Advaita Gosai who prayed to the Lord by offering water and Tulasi leaves to His Salagram Sila Krsna Deity by loudly roaring his request for the Lord to appear.

Sri Gadadhara Pandita
“Gadadhara Goswami is a representative of a perfect brahmana spiritual master He is the Pleasure Potency of Sri Krsna (Srimati Radharani) He is a learned scholar and Gadadhara Pandit is simultaneously an incarnation of Srimati Radharani and Lalita-sakhi” (C.C.Adi 10.15 purport)
Gadadhara is the incarnation of devotional energy and of the internal potency who is sakti tattva, the confidential worshipper of the Visnu tattva. In this incarnation, Radharani was able to spend time with Her Lord as an intimate associate who helped spread the pastimes and glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Srivasa Thakura
“Srivasa Thakura is the incarnation of the pure devotee of the Lord. He is jiva-tattva, the leader of all pure unalloyed devotees. All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaita Prabhu, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Srivasa!” (C.C.Adi 10.2)
“These two captains, with Their soldiers, such as Srivasa Thakura, travel everywhere, chanting the holy name of the Lord” (C.C.Adi 3.76)
“The devotees headed by Srivasa are His smaller limbs. They are like His hands, face and eyes and His disc and other weapons” (C.C.Adi 6.39)
“Srivasa, Haridasa, Ramadasa, Gadadhara, Murari, Mukunda, Candrasekhara and Vakresvara are all glorious and are all learned scholars, but the sentiment of servitude to Lord Caitanya makes them mad in ecstasy (C.C.Adi 6.51). The Lord’s marginal energy is Srivas Thakur. There are innumerable pure devotees of the Lord, headed by Srivasa Thakura, who are known as unalloyed devotees” (C.C.Adi 7.17)
Even cats and dogs in the household of Srivasa Thakura were also liberated. Cats and dogs and other animals are not expected to become devotees, but, in the association of a pure devotee, they are also delivered.
In the Gaura-ganodesa dipika (90), Srivasa Pandita is described as an incarnation of Narada Muni, and Sri Rama Pandita, his younger brother, is said to be an incarnation of Parvata Muni, a great friend of Narada’s” (C.C.Adi 10.8)

The Creation of Sri Mayapur (as narrated in the Ananta – Samhita)

Mother Parvati said to Lord Siva, "O Lord, please describe exactly how and when Srimati Radhika created Navadvipa."Lord Siva explained:Absorbed in thoughts of Krishna, Radha began to think."She gathered Her sakhis (friends) together between the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers. She created there a beautiful place, decorated with creepers and filled bumblebees. Deer and buck were happily enjoying as they wondered about, and the whole area was filled with the fragrance of jasmine, mallika and malati flowers. That transcendental abode was adorned with tulasi forests. On Radha’s order, the Ganges and Yamuna with their pleasant water and banks acted as a moat to protect the garden. Radha dressed in a colorful cloth, then began to play a beautiful melody on a flute in order to attract Krishna. Attracted by that melody, Krishna appeared in that enchanting place. Radha, the attractor of Krishna’s mind, seeing that Krishna had come, held his hand and experienced ecstatic delight. Then Krishna understanding Radha’s mood spoke in a voice choked with love."Just for Me You have created this wonderful place. I will transform this place, filling it with new sakhis and groves. The devotees will glorify this place as Nava Vrindavan. As this place is like an island, or dvip the wise will call it Navavipa.By my order, all the holy places will reside here. Because you have created this place for my pleasure, I will live here eternally. O dear Radha, like Vrindavan, this place is extremely pure. If anyone comes here just once, he will obtain the results of going to all the sacred places." Lord Siva continued,"O most fortunate Parvati, saying this, Krishna, the Lord of Radha, merged with Radha’s body and began to reside there eternally. Seeing this form all the sakhis took on a male form to serve the Lord." At that time the tumultuous vibration of "Jaya Gaurahari!" filled the four directions: From that time the devotees call this form of Krishna, Gaurahari.As Radha is Gauri(fair) and Krishna is Hari, when they combine in one form they are Gaura hari.
The Glories
Lord Siva spoke to Parvati in the Urddhvamnaya Maha-tantra: "O Devi, all the Vedas glorify Navadvip as nonmaterial, spiritual, full of variety, beyond matter, the supreme eternal Brahmapura, an enchanting abode, in the form of a lotus.
The Geography
Mayapur is in West Bengal, located on the banks of the River Ganga near Navadvip,about 130km north of Kolkata.The nine islands of Navadvipa exactly resemble a lotus flower."Antardvipa, Simantadvipa, Godrumadvipa, and Madhyadvipa are situated on the east bank of the Ganges. And Koladvipa, Rtudvipa, Jahnudvipa, Modadrumadvipa, and Rudradvipa are situated on the west bank.
Flowing in various places of Navadvipa are all auspicious rivers such as the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavri, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri, Tamraparni, Payasvini, Krtamala, Bhima, Gomati and Drsadvati. These holy rivers always surround Navadvipa."O Parvati, present within this eternal Navadvipa-dhama is Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridvara), Kasi, Kanci, Avanti (Ujjain), Dvaraka, Kuruksetra, Puskara and Naimisaranya.
The four streams of the Ganges- Bhagirathi, Alakananda, Mandakini and Bhogavati.
"Actually I do not stay in Kailasa, and you also do not reside in my house there. The devatas do not reside in the heavenly planets nor do the sages stay in their respective forests. After having sung the name of Gaura, we have developed a strong desire to obtain gauranga –prema, and thus we all reside in Navadvipa on this earth planet. "O Parvati , you will not find any place comparable to Navadvipa.
The Mercy
"Lord Siva said, shaving the head, fasting, sraddha rites, bathing, and charity which are prescribed at other holy places are not prescribed in Navadvipa.If one just performs any pious activity in Navadvipa, the effect is quickly dissipitated, because all the knots of karma are cut.
Just by seeing the Supreme Lord Gaurasundara, the knots in the heart are cut, all doubts and material reactions are destroyed.O, Parvati, for this reason the sages take shelter of Navadvip and perform pure devotional service to the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna.They see the various forms of the Lord in different islands, sing the names of the Lord, and bathe in the waters of the Ganges. With great devotion they spend nine days visiting the nine islands and pass their lives in bliss while taking maha-prasada.
Living in Navadvipa for one day is better than living in Prayag, Varanasi, or any other holy place for a kalpa. Whatever results one obtains by yoga, one achieves in Navadvipa.With every step one attains the resuts of great sacrifices, and by lying down and sleeping in Navadvipa, one gets the results of offering obeisances. Just by taking an ordinary meal in Navadvipa, one gets the results of eating the Lord’s remnants.
Just by placing your first step onto the holy land of Navadvip, the mountains of sin which has been accumulated for lifetimes can immediately be turned to ashes.
Why Visit the Nine Islands
Sri Mayapur and Sri Antardvip
· It is the birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
· The Eternal pastimes of Lord Caitanya take place within Yogapitha and around Mayapur.
· Because the Panca-tattva are seated at the Yogapitha, it is the most glorious of all places.
· At Antardvip Lord Brahma received darsana of Gauranga.
Sri Ganganagara
· Where the Ganges stopped to get her desires fulfilled by the Supreme Lord.
· The Ganga where all sins can be washed away.
Sri Simantadvip
· Where Gauranga appeared to Parvati and she took the dust of his feet and placed it on her simanta (part in the hair).
Sri Godrumadvip
· Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur lived here with his family and envisioned Sri Dham Mayapur from here.
· Lord Nityananda Prabhu inaugurated the "Harinama Sankirtana and "Nama – Hatta" here.
· Surabhi (the cow) came here with Lord Indra to worship Gauranga.It’s a place where devotee’s desires are fulfilled.
· Where Surabhi saved Mrkanda and delivered him to Gauranga.
Sri Madhyadvipa
· The place where the seven risis stayed for a long time and engaged in worshipping Gauranga. It is here that Gauranga appeared before them.
· See the 7 tilas or hillocks. These hillocks are arranged in the same pattern as the seven rsis in the sky (the constellation). By living here one will receive Gaurahari without having to undergo a strict process of rules and regulations.
· Whoever reads the puranas here during the month of Kartik becomes free from all distress, becomes absorbed in pastimes of Gauranga and easily attains Vrindavana.
· Here resides the incarnation of Naimisaranya tirtha.
Sri Brahmanapura
· Where Puskara mercifully appeared before Lord Brahma.
· Many tirthas have taken birth here.
Sri Koladvipa
· Where five holy rivers join the Ganges.
· This place is called Maha –Prayaga where the rsis performed millions of sacrifices along with Brahma.
· If one takes bath here , he will never take birth again.
Sri Rtudvipa
· Extremely attractive place where the bees are humming and the trees bend down their heads in respect.
· This is the place of Radha- kund.
· In the afternoon Gauranga would become immersed in singing Krishna’s glories and satisfy all by distributing prema.
· Whoever lives here or visits will get love of God.
Sri Modadrumadvipa
· This is Ayodhya.
· Ram came here with Sita and Laksman after being banished to the forest. They built a hut under a huge banyan tree and lived here happily for some time.
· It was here Lord Rama told Sita about his incarnation in Kaliyug as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sri Rudradvipa
· Here Gauranga appeared in a dream to Sankacharya when he was preaching effectively the mayavadi philosophy and blessed him.
· It was here that Sankacharya realized the truth of Navadvipa.
· The eleven Rudras reside here.
· The Rudra-sampradaya was named here by Lord Siva as a boon to Visnusvami.

History of the Deities in Mayapur

Every day we take darsana of our beloved Deities, Sri Sri Radha Madhava. They kindly bestow Their mercy upon us and enable us to serve Them satisfactorily.
How did these beautiful Radha-Madhava come to Sri Mayapur Dham ?
During Srila Prabhupada’s manifest pastimes, at one time in Sri Vrindavan Dham, His Divine Grace was donated three sets of Radha-Krishna Deities from one Mr. Palmir, a life patron member. One set of Deities went to Berkeley, one to Boston, and Srila Prabhupada kept the other set with himself. This set of Deities was to become our small Radha-Madhava, Chota Radha-Madhava.
When Srila Prabhupada was in Allahabad, he once chanted a song of Bhaktivinoda Thakura to Chota Radha-Madhava:
jaya radha-madhava kunja-biharigopi-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhariyasoda-nandana vraja-jana-ranjanayamuna-tira-vana-cari

After he sang the first two lines, he fell into a trance. When he came back to external consciousness after some time, he remarked that this song depicted Vrindavana. “Everything is there: Srimati Radharani, Krishna, Govardhana, Yasoda, all the cowherd boys and the gopis.”
One night, Srila Prabhupada arrived late at the temple with Chota Radha-Madhava. Some devotees who were traveling with him took some prasadam and got ready to take rest. Srila Prabhupada, however, was concerned about the Deities since They were left packed in a trunk. Tamal Krishna Maharaja said that the Deities were sleeping and so they could make some arrangement for Them the next day. Srila Prabhupada said, “No. Make an altar for them now.” Immediately, the devotees ran around trying to find first-class materials to make a proper place for Their Lordships. Finally, when they were able to establish an altar, Srila Prabhupada said “Alright, now we can take rest.”
Later on, Chota Radha-Madhava were moved to the Hindustan Building for some time. A year later, Srila Prabhupada brought the small Deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be worshipped next to Chota Radha-Madhava. This followed the system introduced by his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura who had arranged for Radha-Krishna and Gauranga worshipped together (sri-krsna-caitanya radha-krsna nahe anya). In 1972 the devotees celebrated ISKCON’s first Gaura-purnima festival with Radha-Madhava. In 1974, worship of Saligrama-sila began with offerings of 16 items along with the chanting of Purusa-sukta. (Now offerings of 64 items are conducted.)
In 1979, Radhapada das, a congregational devotee from Kolkata, had a dream where a young *sadhu *asked him, “Do you recognize me?”
“No, I don’t recognize you,” he answered.
Then the sadhu said, “Anyway, you gave me some money once. I have come to return it.” He handed Radhapada das some money, but Radhapada protested, “Dear sadhu, if I gave you money, I don’t expect it back from you. I don’t expect any money back from a sadhu.”
The young sadhu said: “You really don’t recognize me?”
“No.”
Then the young sadhu transformed into an older man.
“Oh, Prabhupada! Now I know you! You are Swami Prabhupada!”
“Yes, I have left this planet. Some of my disciples have experienced some difficulty in the beginning, but after a while everything will be alright. Anyway, you should give them some help. Try to help them.”
“But, how can I help them?”
Prabhupada replied, “You can help them construct a big temple and things like that.”
“But, what about my wife and family?”
Srila Prabhupada then said, “Don’t worry about that. I will take care of them.”
When Radhapada awoke, he immediately went to the Kolkata temple, where Bhavananda Prabhu and Jayapataka Swami were, and explained his dream about Srila Prabhupada and his desire to help the devotees.
“I would like to buy you some Deities,” he said.
They told him, “Well, Prabhupada already told us what kind of Deities he wants, along with the dimensions for such Deities. If you like, we can make the Deities now. They can manifest Themselves whenever They wish.” They concluded that they would go ahead and make the big Radha-Madhava Deities.
Omkara Prabhu, a French devotee, supervised a murti-sculptor from Jaipur, Mr. Pandai, when he was manifesting the big Radha-Madhava. When Radha-Madhava were ready, the sculptor asked, “Well, what do you think?” Omkara Prabhu said, “Your design is very good, but maybe the eyes are too big.” However, according to the regulations that Mr. Pandai had received, the Deities’ facial features were correct.
When the Deities were finally completed, some devotees went for inspection. Everything was fine but Bhavananda Prabhu said, “Anyway, give them a final polishing so They have a very fine finish.” To the surprise of the devotees, giving that final polish manifested a fine, white thread-like line all around the body of Sri Madhava (like a brahmana thread), and on His forehead a faint tilaka appeared.
The big Radha-Madhava came to Mayapur in 1980. They had manifested Themselves before the appointed time — the altar wasn’t even ready. They were installed in the same year.
Six years later, in 1986, a new temple was ready with four of the eight sakhis. Big Radha-madhava with four sakhis . They were installed a few days before Gaura-Purnima of that year.
Giriraja arrived on Gaura Purnima that year.

Lord Nrisimhadeva and Prahlada Maharaja came in July of same year.









Several years afterwards, in 1992, the other four sakhis arrived, and a three day festival was celebrated for Their installation.
tara madhye hema-pitha, asta-dale vestitaasta dale pradhana nayikatara madhye ratnasane, basi achen dui-janesyama sange sundari radhika

“In the midst of the golden lotus of one hundred petals, there is a golden platform surrounded by eight petals. Situated upon those eight petals are the eight principal sakhis, headed by Lalita and Visakha. On that golden platform, the Divine Couple sit upon a jeweled throne. In the company of Lord Syama sits the beautiful Radhika.” (Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura’s Prarthana)
The Panca-Tattva Deities
panca-tattvatmakam krsnam bhakta-rupa-svarupakambhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta-saktikam
“I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krishna, who is non-different from His features as a devotee (Caitanya Mahaprabhu), devotional manifestation (Nityananda Prabhu), devotional incarnation (Advaita Acarya), devotional energy (Gadadhara Pandita) and pure devotee (Srivasa Pandita).” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta)
In the Pancaratra scriptures there is a saying that in the ultimate analysis devotion is the only element which might cause the Lord to appear. That’s how the small Panca-tattva came, due to the great desire and devotion of His devotees. Then, as long as the devotee wishes to serve Him, the Lord reciprocates in the same way.

Regarding the big Panca-tattva Deities, a whole book has been written on how They were manifested, first in South India, and then installed in Sri Mayapur dhama.

Since the beginning, the Lord has granted the desires of His devotees, giving them the opportunity to engage in His service. For example, in order to appear in His Deity form, the story of Bharata Maharaja Prabhu is instructive. He had wanted to help make the Deities. And so a very good artist from Krishnanagar was hired. This artist had a lot of talent, but no devotion. This person started to make the Deities, but soon he stopped coming and in the end, Bharata Maharaja Prabhu had to make Them, finishing all the work himself. Finally, only because of the intense desire of the devotees, were the Deities ready on time, they were finished at the very last minute.
At Mayapur, the Deities’ installation was made with several Vedic procedures and elements. Initially, matter and space were purified and protected through appropriate ceremonies. The Deities are given a preliminary cleansing and Their “protection” is accomplished by worship of the Sudarshana chakra through a Sudarshana homa. Then the Deity’s senses are awakened using ghee and honey in a special ceremony knows as netronmilanam. The next step is when the Deities are taken to sleep in a grain bed, and, afterward, are taken to where the fire ceremony is to take place. During the ceremony, many spiritual masters touched different parts of the Lord’s body with kusa grass to bring life to the senses. A grand abhiseka of Their Lordships followed the installation, with many different auspicious elements. Then, the devotees returned them to the altar, where they were dressed and made ready o accept worship. At that moment, the Lord begins to reciprocate with His devotees and the pilgrims who come to offer their prayers.
While the abhisekha was going on, there was roaring kirtana sung by staunch devotees of Their Lordships. There had been a non-stop kirtana to invite Their Lordships to this world for the last three days. Now while the abhisekha was going on, the Lordships’ presence was felt by the devotees through their feelings of ecstacy.
Jananivasa Prabhu remarked, on retrospect, “We had fulfilled a desire of Srila Prabhupada by bringing these Deities, and the overwhelming feelings that everyone experienced was Sri Panca-tattva manifesting Their presence.”

To Begin with

To begin with our Savior Srila Prabhupada we would never have imagined visiting Sridham Mayapur without his mercy, our countless Dandvats to him for giving us something we never deserved. Thank you Srila Prabhupada.
Pujari from Sri Adwaita Acarya’s house in Santipura, West Bengal
[Excerpt from Our Srila Prabhupada – A Friend To All – Early Contemporaries Remember Him]
This story was heard in Mayapura in 1980. A man came to the ISKCON’s Caitanya Candrodoya Mandira carrying with him a copy of the Back of Godhead article about Srila Prabhupada, entitled A Lifetime in Preparation.
“Just recently an amazing realization occurred to me that I wanted to share with devotees everywhere. I have been the pujari and sevaite at the house of Adwaita Acarya for many years. I was also there back in the 1940’s and 50’s. At that time, I noticed that one grhasta Bengali devotee used to come to the temple quite regularly. He was dressed in a white khadidhoti and kurta and he always came alone. He would sit in the back of the Mandira without speaking, and would chant harinama on his mala very quietly and deeply. I noticed that he came on the weekends, usually once every month or two in regular way. After chanting there for many hours, he would always thank me when he left. His presence was profound and I became attracted to him. Since his devotions were solitary, I never spoke to disturb him. Sometimes I happened to notice that while he was chanting, his eyes would be full of tears and his voice would be choked up.”
“Then, for a very long time he did not come. However, I distinctly recall that in August of 1965, I saw a saffron-clothed sannyasi sitting in the back of the Mandira. In a moment I recognized him to be my old friend from before. Again he sat for a long time chanting Hare Krsna. I could see his beads moving, his eyes closed in concentrated devotion. He was weeping unabashedly even more than he used to while he took the Holy Name. Finally, as evening came, he paid his dandavat pranama for long time. When he arose he came up to me and again thanked me for my seva here at Adwaita Bhavan. I asked him. Who are you? I remember you from so long ago.’”
“He replied, ‘My name is Abaya Caranaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. I am an unworthy disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada, my divine master. I have been coming here for such a long time because my Gurudeva has given me an impossible mission. His desire was for me to go across the ocean to the Western countries and spread the sublime teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There are countless souls there who have never heard of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna and so they are suffering greatly. I have not known how this mission of his will be successful, so I have been coming here to this special house of Adwaita Acarya, where he, Nityananda Prabhu, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would gather together to plan the sankirtana movement. It was here that they launched the inundation of love of God that swept India and continues to this day. Thus, I have been praying very earnestly here that they will all give me their mercy that somehow they will empower me and guide me. I want to satisfy my gurudeva’s desire, but I am feeling unqualified to do this.’”
“As he was speaking to me, I saw tears falling down on his cheeks again. Then he continued, ‘Tomorrow I am leaving for Calcutta to go upon a ship across the ocean to America. I do no know what will befall me there, but I am praying most earnestly here for help.’ Then he very humbly asked me for my blessings. I was indeed moved by this Vaisnava’s sincerity and determination was I watched him depart upon his journey.”
“It was a few years later that I began noticing, for the first time, white Vaisnavas coming to Adwaita Bhavan. They were wearing dhotis and saris and chanting on tulasi-mala. I never spoke to any of them but then one of them gave me this “Back to Godhead” magazine from America. As I looked at the photographs, suddenly I recognized a painting of the Founder-Acarya who had brought Krsna consciousness to the West. It was a picture of my friend, Bhaktivedanta Swami, who had come and prayed here so many times before. Then I realized that he has actually accomplished that impossible mission of his Gurudeva. I saw that it was indeed he, starting alone and without pretense, who had accomplished this glorious miracle against all odds.”
“As soon as I saw this, I came here to his temple in Mayapura to tell you this information. I know that he has gone from this world now, but I thought perhaps you might want to know this story about you and my beloved Srila Prabhupada.”

PREPARING OUR CONSIOUSNESS BEFORE VISITING THE DHAM

Importance of Holy Places
Holy places everywhere are meant for purifying the consciousness of the visitor. A place is made particularly holy by the presence of the Lord and His pure devotees.
For Gaudiya Vaisnavas the major places of pilgrimage are Vrindavana, Mayapur, and Jagannatha Puri. Vrindavana is the site of Lord Krishna's pastimes, while Mayapur and Puri are the sites of Lord Caitanya's pastimes.
A visit to a holy place doens't only mean taking a bath in a sacred river or visiting temples. According to Srila Prabhupada, if one visits a holy place, he should search out the devotees residing there, take lessons from them and try to apply such instructions in practical life. Krishna is always present with His devotees and by their actions any place can become a place of pilgrimage. For this reason, the places where Srila Prabhupada visited are also considered places of pilgrimage.
The combination of Radha and Krishna in one form is Mahaprabhu therefore only Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is truly the Mahaprabhu. So let us pray to Him because in Kali Yuga He is distributing entrance into the Vrindavan lila. Through His mercy we could all approach the exalted feet of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna through the congregational chanting of the Holy Names. Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu Ki Jai !!!
About Mayapur
Mayapur, 130 km north of Calcutta, is one of the most holy places in India, visited by over a million pilgrims annually. It is also the world headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
It's importance to Vaisnavas is that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born here in 1486 and many of his early pastimes were performed here.
Mayapur Highlights
Gaura Mandala Area
Gaura Mandala is over 200km in circumference, with the Ganges running through the centre. It takes the form of a hundred-petaled lotus with Navadvipa as the hub. Navadvipa consists of nine (nava) islands (dvipa), each of the nine islands resembling an eight-petaled lotus flower. Antardvipa, the centre of the flower, has a circumference of 15km.
The central point, situated within Navadvipa, is the Yogapitha, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's birthplace. Navadvipa is considered to be a spiritual manifestation, for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed his transcendental activities in this holy place.
Each one of the nine islands of Nava-dvipa represents one of the nine processes of devotional service. The nine divisions are:
Antardvipa, Shri Mayapur (surrendering everything);
Simantadvipa, (hearing);
Godrumadvipa, (chanting);
Madhyadvipa, (remembering);
Koladvipa, Navadvipa city (serving the lotus feet);
Ritudvipa, (worshiping);
Jahnudvipa, (praying);
Modadruma-dvipa, (being a servant); and
Rudradvipa, (being a friend).
ISKCON Candradoya Mandir
This is ISKCON's international headquarters.
The largest temple to be built in India for 200 years is currently under construction here. When complete, the temple will be surrounded by its own city and will include a vedic planetarium.
At present, there is a temple with Radha Madhava Deities. These Deities are full size. Next to them are eight gopis, four on either side. The Deities of Narasimhadeva and the Panca-tattva, (Advaita Acarya, Nityananda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya, Gadadhara Pandit, and Srivasa Pandit) can be seen here too.
Srila Prabhupada's Puspa Samadhi (memorial) is also here. Buried here, under a murti (statue) of Srila Prabhupada, are the flowers (puspa) that he wore when he passed away in 1977. There is also an auditorium, a garden, a diorama exhibit, and a small lake in front of the samadhi.

Other places to visit in Mayapur and Navadvipa-mandala
Ganga
Just off the campus, on the opposite side of the road, flows the merciful Ganga, eager to purify everyone and bestow the most rarely attained Krishna-prema. Here Ganga is most merciful than at any other place as Gauranga Mahaprabhu has performed wonderful pastimes in her sacred waters. Ganga Puja is an important event during the Gaura-purnima festival and on all important festivals, devotees go in a procession (jala-yatra) with Harinama Sankirtana to bring Ganga water to bathe the Deities.
Nimai Janmasthana or Sri Yogapitha
In 1893, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura established Sri Yoga-pitha as the actual birth site of Lord Chaitanya’s appearance. It is one kilometer from The main gate of Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir. Inside the temple, on the right side is a small shrine where a deity of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is worshipped.
Inside Yogapitha temple there are three altars:
Sri Radha Madhava and Lord Chaitanya
Sri Gaura-Narayana with Lakshmipriya, Vishnupriya and the Adhokshaja Vishnu Deity worshipped by Jagannatha Mishra
Sri Pancha-tattva and Sri Jagannatha
The neem tree where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared is on the right side of the temple and a small mud hut with deities of Jagannatha Mishra and Mother Sachidevi holding young Nimai on her lap. Just behind the mud hut is a temple with two Shiva-lingas. A temple of Sri Gaura-Gadadhara and Sri Lakshmi Nrisimhadeva is on the back of the temple area. A Gaura-kunda, excavated by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in 1920, is also within the complex.
Darsana times: 8:30amto 11:00am and 3.30pm to 8:00pm
Srivasa Angan
The birthplace of Harinama-sankirtana
This is the courtyard of Sri Srivasa Thakura and it is just 250 meters away from the Yogapitha. The temple has three shrines:
Sri Sri Radha Krishna and Lord Chaitanya
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during His maha-prakasa-lila when He revealed Himself to His intimate devotees as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya are leading all the devotees in the Kirtana that went to Chand Kazi’s palace to protest against his ban on the Harinama-sankirtana.
Since this is the place where a mridanga was broken by Chand Kazi’s men to stop the sankirtana, it is also known as Khol-bhanga danga.
Darsana times: 8.30am to 11am and 3.30pm to 8.30pm.
Advaita Bhavan
This temple is just 30 meters away from Srivasa Angan. Advaita Acharya lived in Santipur but kept this Bhavan for His Mayapur visits. Deities of Lord Chaitanya (standing) and Advaita Acarya (sitting and offering) are worshipped here.
Gadadhara Angan
It is ten meters to the right of Advaita Bhavan. Deities of Lord Chaitanya and Sri Gadadhara Pandita are worshipped here.
Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Matha
This is half a kilometer from Srivasa Angan. This temple and the matha were established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in 1918 and it was his headquarters for his preaching throughout India. He called this place Vraja-pattana, the place Vraja is manifest. By his spiritual potency, Syama-kunda, Radha-kunda and Giri Govardhana of Vrindavana are all manifest here. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s samadhi is also located inside the matha campus and his life sized murti is now worshipped. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had also established a temple presided by Sri Sri Gandharvika-Giridhari and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Surrounding Them, on the four sides, are the murtis of Sri Ramanuja, Sri Madhva, Sri Nimbarka and Sri Visnusvami. He had also established a samadhi for his spiritual master Srila Gaurakisora das Babaji Maharaja.
Nandana Acarya’s House
This is where Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya met for the first time within Their manifest pastimes about five hundred years ago. Gauranga Mahaprabhu also hid here for one night, creating intense feelings of separation in His associates. Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda Mandir is the main temple there. There are Deities of Gaura-Nitai, Radha Vinoda-vihari and Nrisimhadeva.