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EDITORIAL  About the AuthorOther Stories by this Author Bringing Gaudiya Vaisnavism To Punjab State BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI  EDITORIAL, Mar 17 (VNN) — (Part One) For the pleasure of the Vaishnavas, and in honor of Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj, I am presenting the following: (I beg the forgiveness of the Vaishnavas if anyone is feeling that there is some offense on my part.) SB 4.9.11 bhaktim muhuh pravahatam tvayi me prasango bhuyad ananta mahatam amalasayanam yenanjasolbanam uru-vyasanam bhavabdhim nesye bhavad-guna-kathamrta-pana-mattah "O unlimited Lord, kindly bless me so that I may associate with great devotees who engage in Your transcendental loving service constantly, as the waves of a river constantly flow. Such transcendental devotees are completely situated in an uncontaminated state of life. By the process of devotional service I shall surely be able to cross the nescient ocean of material existence, which is filled with the waves of blazing, firelike dangers. It will be very easy for me, for I am becoming mad to hear about Your transcendental qualities and pastimes, which are eternally existent." SB 7.5.32 naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah mahiyasam pada-rajo"bhisekam niskincananam na vrnita yavat "Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaisnava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorifed for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Krsna conscious and taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord in this way, can one be freed from all material contamination." Before I start this submission, I would like to give a little explanation of why I have chosen to write this essay about the preaching efforts of this particular Gaudiya Vaisnava Acarya, since this writing may cause some sense of confusion to some devotees. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is my Guru Maharaj. Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj is my Guru Maharaj's Godbrother. At one point during the 1970s, there were some exchanges between these two great devotees which, from the externals, appeared to be of very intense nature. I know that due to these exchanges which occurred in the past, some (if not many) of my Godsiblings as well as other devotees in ISKCON will be very upset to see that I am writing this article; thus I feel it is only proper that I should give some explanation of my personal understanding of this matter which has caused various devotees to think of Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj with negativity. When one considers the intensity of purpose with which Krsna's pure devotees serve Him, their appearing to take the position of sadhakas while in this material realm, and rendering service with wholehearted efforts to please Guru and Krsna, then it can give us a glimpse of how it can be possible for pure devotees in their exchanges with one another to appear to engage in some very intense dealings. As very young, aspiring devotees, we may not be able to understand properly the real nature of these exchanges. It is like the ant trying to understand the dealings of human beings. It is explained in the sastras that the activities of pure devotees cannot be understood by the general masses. Ultimately it is only Krsna Himself Who can truly understand the heart and activities of His pure devotees, who, acting as Krsna's instruments, perform their activities only for the service, glorification, and pleasure of Krsna, and Krsna"s devotees. In SB 1.13.17, Srila Prabhupada in his purport comments, "Ahuka, the father-in-law of Akrura, was not on good terms with Akrura. But both of them were devotees of the Lord." Thus, from the externals, these two great Vaisnavas who were part of Krsna"s direct family, appeared to be "not on good terms" with one another. So who are we to understand such things" Often enough Krsna will engage His pure devotees in pastimes which He uses as a means to glorify such personalities. We can see the mahajana Bhismadev externally engaged in fighting with his grandson Arjuna - Grandfather Bhisma even encouraging Arjuna to perform his duty of shooting arrows at him - and Arjuna in this pastime was made to kill his grandfather. (And Krsna was ready to kill His pure devotee, Bhismadev, with the wheel of Arjuna"s chariot for the glorification of these two very dear devotees.) Maharaj Prthu was ready to annihilate Mother Bhumi who took the shape of a cow to try to counteract Prthu Maharaja"s wrath with her. Vrtrasura, appearing as a demon, but with the consciousness of a devotee, fought with Indradev. Hrdoy Caitanya Goswami, put into a position where it appeared that he was misunderstanding the desires and objectives of his disciple, Syamananda prabhu, externally became very upset and angry with his disciple and severely chastised him. These externally unusual pastimes between Hrdoy Caitanya and his disciple, Syamananda prabhu, were arranged by Krsna for the glorification of these two pure devotees. Due to affection for his worshipper, Banasura, Lord Siva accepted the post of commander-in-chief for Banasura"s army, when Banasura chose to fight against Sri Krsna. Lord Siva and his sons, Karttikeya and Ganesh all fought against Krsna in this battle. And there are so many other pastimes of this nature, which to our external vision may appear to be very bewildering. Thus, in conclusion, we must be very careful when it comes to our trying to understand these exchanges from our conditioned platform, since such exchanges between pure devotees may appear to be very bewildering to the minds of the conditioned souls. In relation to these external exchanges between my Guru Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Madhava Maharaj, I will not pretend to think that I can understand and explain the intricate dealings between such exalted personalities. I am convinced though, that Krsna used these exchanges as a means to glorify both Srila Prabhupada and Srila Madhava Maharaj, (as well as Srila Sridhar Maharaj, who became involved in the exchanges, and whose intervention brought about a settlement in what seemed to be a transcendental "quarrel"). Srila Prabhupada and Srila Madhava Maharaj were both very strong lion-like preachers, who were fearless and non-compromising in their preaching. In one sense, one can call these great Vaisnavas transcendental "ksatriyas" for Krsna. Both of them were possessed of intense love, full conviction and total surrender to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, the Guru Varga, and the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna. And as transcendental "ksatriyas" presenting Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu"s message, when there appeared to be some difference of opinion, these great Vaisnavas exhibited their transcendental strength as such upholders of dharma as they felt commisioned to do so. From our neophyte and conditioned vision, these exchanges would appear to be "unpleasant," but from Krsna"s vision, (and that of other pure devotees), these exchanges will be seen on a much different level. Such is the difference in interaction and level of consciousness between such elevated personalities of the spiritual realm, and that of conditioned souls. Our trying to understand these external interactions from the material platform will only prove to be useless, and one may risk the danger of great offense. As Srila Prabhupada himself said in his purport to SB 4.28.31, "Among Vaisnavas there may be some difference of opinion due to everyone"s personal identity, but despite all personal differences, the cult of Krsna consciousness must go on. We can see that under the instruction of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaj began preaching the Krsna consciousness movement in an organized way within the past hundred years. The disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaj are all Godbrothers, and although there are some differences of opinion, and although we are not acting conjointly, every one of us is spreading this Krsna consciousness movement according to his own capacity and producing many disciples to spread it all over the world." Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj who is Srila (AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj) Prabhupada"s Godbrother, was the first person to preach Gaudiya Vaisnavism in Punjab. Preaching in so many areas of India, (Bengal, Assam, North India and other areas), Srila Madhava Maharaj opened so many maths. In the East, (India), Srila Madhava Maharaj was converting the "Sarvabauma Bhattacaryas," (mayavadis) whereas in the West, Srila (A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami) Prabhupada was mainly engaged in converting and teaching the "Jagais and Madhais" - sense gratifiers. (Of course we know how Srila Prabhupada with his lion-like preaching was also engaged in converting the "Sarvabauma Bhattacaryas" in both the East and West. Punjab State is a place where the Mayavadi philosophy was very prominent amongst the people. In Punjab State, 65% of the people are Sikhs where although Guru Nanak preached the chanting of the name of God, the general Sikh philosophy of today is one of impersonal orientation. Srila Madhava Maharaj came with a preaching party of brahmacaris to Ludiana, the first city in Punjab State where he began his preaching. After giving a lecture in one of the temples, Srila Madhava Maharaj was approached by one man who asked for initiation from him into the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. Thus Srila Madhava Maharaja"s first disciple from Punjab was made in Ludiana. >From there Srila Madhava Maharaj went to Amritsar where he gave a lecture in a temple of Dauji. After the lecture, upon seeing the Deity of Lord Balaram, Srila Madhava Maharaj became overcome with emotion and began to dance ecstatically. The people, fixed in the Mayavadi conception became overwhelmed to see a sannyasi dancing with such emotion. (I may add here that Srila Madhava Maharaj in bodily stature, was six feet, seven inches tall, and he had very beautiful bodily features. Not only spiritually strong, he was possessed of great physical bodily strength as well. Thus these features also added to the amazement of the people. Just on the side: If one sees a picture of Srila Madhava Maharaj in his middle-age years and compares it to a picture of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, they will see that both of these Goloka associates in their "sadhaka" bodies are possessed of similar features.) The next day for the lecture the mandir hall was packed. Srila Madhava Maharaja"s party of brahmacaris was very surprised to see the hall packed with so many people. They questioned amongst themselves, "How is it that so many people have come" Our Hindi (language) is so poor, and they mostly speak Punjabi (language). So how can it be that so many people have come"" After the lecture it was found out why the hall had become so packed with people. Srila Madhava Maharaj went to his room where he was approached by one woman who asked, "Swamiji, we have all come to see you dance. Why have you not danced for us"" Srila Madhava Maharaj answered, "Yesterday when I saw Dauji, I became very much affected. Normally a sannyasi does not dance, but because I became overcome with emotion, I was made to dance; thus, I was dancing. This dancing is not done for the pleasure of the people. It comes when the devotee becomes inspired by Krsna. Thus, a devotee"s dancing is done for the pleasure of Krsna." May we all become the recipients of the mercy of the great Vaishnava acaryas and their devotees. I remain your fallen servant, Mahavegavati Dasi Hare Krsna About the Author Other Stories by this AuthorContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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