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EDITORIAL December 7, 1999 VNN5035 Comment on this story His Divine Grace Tridandi Swami Bhakti Hridaya Vana Maharaj BY HRSIKESANANDA DAS  EDITORIAL, Dec 7 (VNN) — This little book of condensed nectar was written in Vrindavan by the mercy of Paramahansa Sri Srimand Bhakti Hridaya Vana Maharaj. He is the revealer of Vraja dhama to his thousands of followers and any others who care to know. Therefore I would like to present a brief biography of his spiritual life as a life-long brahmacari/sannyasi and intimate personal associate of Srila Bhakti-siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupanda. Sri guru-kripa hi kevalam!His Divine Grace Tridandi Swami Bhakti Hridaya Vana Maharaj 1901-1982 HIS EARLY LIFE: H.H. Srila Vana (Bon) Maharaj was born Narendra Nath Mukherji in 1901 in East Bengal, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Brahman son of Brahmarishi Rajanikanta, who was a renowned Vedic scholar and devotee. Vana Maharaj was a life-long celibate and as a brahmacari he joined and took initiation from Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupanda in the very early 1900s. Later, in 1924, at the age of 23, he was the third disciple to accept life-long Tridanda Sannyasa from Srila Saraswati Prabhupanda and quickly became one of his leanding preachers. He was the most bright and educated among his godbrothers and under his Gurudeva's order he preached the message of Lord Chaitanya delivering literally thousands of lectures all over India, including the Royal Albert Hall in Calcutta. He also established new Gaudiya Math's for his Gurudeva (such as in Mandras) and he organized theistic exhibitions in Calcutta and Dacca which drew 100,000 visitors daily. He was so successful and aggressive a preacher, introducing the message of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupanda up to the highest levels of social and intellectual society of that time (during the British Raj) that he became famous all over India. Because of his high education he was sent by his Gurudeva, Srimand Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupanda, to UK and Germany to preach. Unfortunately the 1930's were not like America during the mid-1960's prosperity and "counter-culture" revolution, and although he took Lord Chaitanya's teachings to the very top of mletccha society and gave many lectures throughout England and Europe, still it was (to quote Lord Zetland) almost "impossible" to make beef eaters of that time and place turn into Brahmin Vaishnavas. He was living in the bitter cold and damp London during the British Raj AND the Great Depression. He was even received in audience by H.M. the King of England Still, Vana Maharaj did convert two German gentlemen (Dr. E.G. Schulze and Baron Koeth) whom he brought back to India and offered at the feet of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupanda, his Gurudeva, for initiation. But there was a jealous conspiracy being hatched against Srila Vana Maharaj by some members of the Gaudiya Matha. They appeared to poison the mind of Prabhupanda by telling him that Vana Maharaj was taking money sent from them in India and living a life of luxury. In fact, the truth was just the opposite. It was a great austerity for a pure born Gaudiya Vaishnava Brahmin to brave the miserable English weather and the ignorant and puffed-up British and Europeans. Prabhupanda acted displeased with Vana Maharaj at the prompting of those devious members of the Gaudiya Matha who later left the mission. They poisoned the mind of Prabhupanda against Vana Maharaj. Upon his return to Calcutta he was received by one lakh of people. But at the Matha he was returning in disgrace and being called a failure. At that time he felt very wounded by the harsh treatment of his spiritual master and the jealous plotters, so he went away to stay at another Gaudiya Matha outside Bengal. HIS MIDDLE LIFE: In 1942, after the disappearance of his Gurudeva, Srila Sarasvati Prabhupanda, and the breakup of the Gaudiya-matha into two factions, Vana Maharaj voted for Srila B.V. Tirtha Maharaj to be the next Acharya, and (it is known) that he spent one month fasting on a raft in the middle of the Ganga to atone for any offense with his great spiritual master, Srila Sarasvati Prabhupanda. Later, when the disputes became violent, Srila Vana Maharaj, who was a very high born brahman, was shocked! So he went by foot on a solitary pilgrimage into the Himalayas for many years of severe tapasya (only chanting Hare Krishna!). His four vows were (1) not speaking to anyone, (2) eating only fruits and nuts off of trees, (3) sleeping bare bodied on the ground, and (4) not taking a single step without chanting the Maha-mantra. He journeyed 650 miles on foot and lived at the source of the Yamuna River under very sever circumstances. During these years alone Vana Maharaj describes in his Bengali book, Vaikunther-pathe, how he hand vision darshan of his Gurudeva, who revealed to him his siddha-pranali, and ordered him to go serve Sri Vrindavana-dhama. Thereafter he retired in Vrindavana where he constructed a small bhajan-kutir on land donated to him. He also excavated an under-ground cavern where he spent many years performing secluded bhajan (chanting in meditation). HIS LATER LIFE: By the age of 70 Vana Maharaj hand many thousands of initiated Bengali and other Indian born disciples. I personally went on a tour of several East and West Bengali villages where the entire populations were his disciples. And all Vana Maharajas' bona fide disciples worship, respect and serve Lord Krishna through him. He is known as a siddha-purusha by all his disciples. During his life Vana Maharaj wrote and translated some excellent books including his masterpiece translation and commentary of Sri Rupa Goswami's classic, Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu. Other books by Swami Vana which have also been published include the Gita As a Chaitanyite Reands It, Sri Chaitanya, Viraha-vedana, On the Way to Vaikuntha (Hindi & Bengali), and seven more books in German, English, Hindi and Bengali. Vana Maharaj also served Vraja-dhama by offering the Vraja-vasi's local accredited education... 1) He built the Vaishnava Theological University (later became affiliated with the University of Agra as the Institute of Oriental Philosophy), in Vrindavana, where many Vrajavasi's received BA, MA and Ph.D. degrees (without leaving the Dhama); 2) He also constructed the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Primary School next to Sanatana Goswami's bhajan-kutir in Nandagrama (first school there in 5,000 years; the local kids used to take a bus to Kosi in order to even begin studies); 3) He also maintains Sri Sanatana Goswami's bhajan kutir in Nandagrama where many of his Godbrothers would stay, and even now this sacred tirtha is still under the care of his babaji disciples. It is also the sacred spot where Akinchan Krishnandas Babaji Maharaj left his old body. If anyone takes darshan of the Nandagrama bhajan kutir altar they will see the Guru Parampara descending to Srila Vana Maharaj. 4) His personal Math in Vrindavana was called bhajan kutir where he lived a quiet life with brahmacari and sannyasi disciples. Vana Maharaj was always very strict with the four regulative principles, and he never acted or spoke sahajiya or fallen in any way; he was a fixed-up, life-long celibate sannyasi disciple of Prabhupanda who mostly performed private bhajan after returning from his tapasya. He was very concerned about the Nitya-lila pastimes of the Divine Couple and his own service therein. Many of Bhakti Siddhanta's disciples who would often come to visit Vana Maharaj in Vraja; he also went to visit his Godbrothers in Bengal every couple years. Vana Maharaj was a clearly dear friend with his many Godbrothers, and both Srila Krishnandas Babaji Maharaj and Srila B.S. Ashram Maharaj would come to live with Vana Maharaj every year for many months at a time. Near the end of his life, after the disappearance of HDG Sraman Maharaj, Srila Vana Maharaj was appointed as heand of all Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math's which included all preaching centers formally under HDG Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj (Prabhupanda's bona fide successor---the other party dropped out), including Sri Yoga-pith Mandira, and the original "Four Acaryas" temple with the samandhi's of Srila Sarasvati Thakura, and Srila Gaura Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj in Mayapura. HIS PASSING: After passing his entire life in full time devotional service and having never broken his life long vows, Srila Vana Maharaj departed this material world at 9:04 PM on July 7, 1982 at his Bhajan kutir in Vrindavan, U.P. India, located on the very lane where the Divine Couple eternally pass every night on route to Seva Kunja). Here are the facts about the disappearance of HDG Srila Vana Maharaja as reported in the book "Supreme Divinity and Sand-guru" by Dr. Tapodhir Krishna Dastidar. "Our hearts, landen with anguish and anxiety, we spent all day taking part by rotation in the kirtan which somehow continued even after the expiry of the midday of July 7. In the evening when a few of us were singing sandly kirtan before the ashram Deities, we were hastily summoned from the Natmandir by Swami Rasikananda Maharaj and requested to gather round Gurudev's bedside. "While ceaselessly chanting the "Hare Krishna" Mahamantra over and over again, we watched helplessly as Gurudev's chest slowly heaved up and down with every intake and exhalation of breath. All the while, even in his semi comatose condition, his tongue was rhythmically chanting the Holy Name of Krishna. Swami Keshavananda Maharaj was feeling Gurudev's pulse all the time. The end, as alreandy stated, came at 9.04 PM on July 7, 1982. The last giant amongst the best exponents of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, His Holiness Swami Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj left his mortal coils to join the company of the Supreme Godheand's Eternal Associates who are ever engaged in offering esoteric and supra-mundane devotional service to Sri Krishna and His Counter whole projection Sri Randha in their transcendental love-sports. We shall never see the like of him again." (SDASG, 83-84) Afterwards, when his corpse was taken out for a parikrama of Vrindavan, his eyes opened when the palanquin left the Bhajan Kutir, and they closed when it returned. Also, Lalit Krishna Brahmacari reported that there was a distinct smell of sandalwood coming from his transcendental body. All glories to the sacred memory of H.D.G. Tridandi Swami Srila Bhakti Hridaya Vana Maharaj and ALL his devoted and blessed disciples. His vapu-samandhi temple is located on Mandan-mohan Ghera in Sridham Vrindavana, and the murti is a very good likeness of Srila Vana Maharaj at about 72 years of age. Some of what is known about Srila Vana Maharaj is his siddha-pranali realization and his eternal service in Randha-Krishna's Vrindavan nitya lila. About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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