Śrīla Prabhupada: “Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu dayā kara more. He prays for Lord Caitanya’s mercy because He is the mercy incarnation, having appeared especially to claim the fallen souls. The more fallen one is, the greater one’s claim to the favor of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One must only be very sincere and serious. Despite being contaminated by all the bad qualities of this Kali-yuga, if one surrenders unto the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord will surely and certainly deliver him” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā 16.1 » Purport | 1974 Edition)
Śrīla Prabhupada: “Yes, we should always think ourself as the most fallen, the most ignorant, and it is simply by the Mercy of Lord Caitanya that we have even the opportunity to serve Krishna. We have no qualification of our own; it is simply by the merciful glance of this Most Munificent Appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that we have been given the chance to serve Radha and Krishna.” (Letter to: Malati — Los Angeles, 12 November, 1968)
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya- nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Madhya-līlā 19.53 | 1975 Edition)
Śrīla Prabhupāda: “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the mercy incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is addressed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as mahā-vadānyāvatāra, or the most magnanimous incarnation. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also says, karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau: it is only by His mercy that He has descended in this Age of Kali.[…]” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā 7.150 » Purport | 1973 Edition)
“May the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Lord Śrī Caitanya bestow His causeless mercy upon us. His smiling glance at once drives away all the bereavements of the world, and His very words enliven the auspicious creepers of devotion by expanding their leaves. Taking shelter of His lotus feet invokes transcendental love of God at once.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā 3.63 | 1974 Edition & Dvitīya Śrī Caitanyāṣṭaka 8, from the Stava-mālā of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Read More: Back to Godhead Magazine 1944 – Identity of Lord Chaitanya (link
Monday, 03 March 2025 [Mayapur, West Bengal, India Time]
Appearance Day of Śrī Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura
śrī-sadāśiva kavirāja–baḍa mahāśaya śrī-puruṣottama-dāsa–tāṅhāra tanaya “The twenty-third and twenty-fourth prominent devotees of Nityānanda Prabhu were Sadāśiva Kavirāja and his son Puruṣottama dāsa, who was the tenth gopāla.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.38 | 1973 Edition)
ājanma nimagna nityānandera caraṇe nirantara bālya-līlā kare kṛṣṇa-sane “Since birth, Puruṣottama dāsa was merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, and he always engaged in childish play with Lord Kṛṣṇa.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.39 | 1973 Edition)
Śrīla Prabhupāda: “[…] Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura sometimes lived at Sukhasāgara, near the Cākadaha and Śimurāli railway stations. All the Deities installed by Puruṣottama Ṭhākura were formerly situated in Beleḍāṅgā-grāma, but when the temple was destroyed the Deities were brought to Sukhasāgara. When that temple merged in the bed of the Ganges, the Deities were brought with Jāhnavā-mātā’s Deity to Sāhebaḍāṅgā Beḍigrāma. Since that place also has been destroyed, all the Deities are now situated in the village named Cānduḍe-grāma, which is situated one mile up from Pālapāḍā, as referred to above.” (Srila Prabhupada purport on Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.39 | 1973 Edition)
“Śrīla Prabhupāda: “[…] The son of Sadāśiva was Puruṣottama Ṭhākura, and his son was Kānu Ṭhākura. The descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura know him as Nāgara Puruṣottama […] Both Puruṣottama Ṭhākura and Kānu Ṭhākura had many disciples from brāhmaṇa families. Most of the disciplic descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura now reside in the village named Gaḍabetā, by the River Śilāvatī, in the Midnapore district.” (Srila Prabhupada purport on Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.40 | 1973 Edition)
Srila Prabhupada states that a pure devotee is different from a conditioned soul in four ways: he does not commit mistakes, he does not get illusioned, he does not cheat nor are his senses imperfect.
The difference between a conditioned soul and a liberated soul is that the conditioned soul has four kinds of defects. The first defect is that he must commit mistakes. For example, in our country, Mahatma Gandhi was considered to be a very great personality, but he committed many mistakes. Even at the last stage of his life, his assistant warned, “Mahatma Gandhi, don’t go to the New Delhi meeting. I have some friends, and I have heard there is danger.” But he did not hear. He persisted in going and was killed. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, President Kennedy—there are so many of them—make mistakes. To err is human. This is one defect of the conditioned soul.
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something which is not: mäyä. Mäyä means “what is not.” Everyone is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you what you are, you will say, “I am Mr. John; I am a rich man; I am this; I am that.” All these are bodily identifications. But you are not this body. This is illusion.
The third defect is the cheating propensity.
Everyone has the propensity to cheat others. Although a person is fool number one, he poses himself as very intelligent. Although it is already pointed out that he is in illusion and makes mistakes, he will theorize: “I think this is this, this is this.” But he does not even know his own position. He writes books of philosophy, although he is defective. That is his disease. That is cheating.
Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our eyes. Often, someone will challenge, “Can you show me God?” But do you have the eyes to see God? You will never see if you haven’t the eyes. If immediately the room becomes dark, you cannot even see your hands. So, what power do you have to see?
(Lecture in Conway Hall, London October 6th, 1969, Isopanisad Introduction)
We all understand and accept that sinful activities and ignorance are the causes of all our sufferings. In relation to this topic, I share these two verses from Srimad Bhagavatam, 1, 8, 24 and 25. there it is said: My dear Kṛiṣhṇa, Your Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle in which great generals fought. And now he has saved us from the weapon of Aśvatthama. I want all these calamities to occur over and over again, so that we can see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.
Srila Prabhupada always said that if sufferings remind us of God or Krishna.They are very welcome, and that the only way is to tolerate everything. Tolerance and mercy are qualities that go together, a person if he is merciful will be tolerant, and if he is not merciful, he will not be tolerant. The example is Jesus Christ, he was done many offenses by demonic and envious people, and he tolerated everything done to him. About praying to God for his offenders, he taught us by his example to love enemies.
Of course he forgave his enemies for their offenses, but God or Krishna never forgives the offenses they do to His devotees. He shows His love by punishing the offenders. The story goes that the followers of Jesus Christ protested and said that because they were offending this person who is innocent and a very good person. And they answered that if this person is innocent, that the blood of this person passes through our generations, and so it has been and will be, as long as they do not ask for forgiveness for the offenses, those people they will suffer eternally for having offended a pure devotee of God.
It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam, that the supreme worship of God or Krishna is to accept the sufferings of others in your own person.That is what a representative of God or Krishna does.At the moment of spiritual initiation, the guru takes everything the karma of his disciple, and thus the disciple can be pure. Srila Prabhupada says in his books that because of the karma that the guru seizes from his disciples, sometimes the guru has bad dreams or becomes ill.
Srila Prabhupada – The Master Disciple By Sri Hasti Gopala Dasa, Toronto, Canada.
Srila Prabhupada is the master disciple. He’s showing us by his example how to be a first class disciple. That example is continuing and the revelations will continue as we read his original books throughout the rest of our lives. The perfection of life is to follow strictly the bona fide spiritual master and make his orders, the life and soul of our disciplic position. By repeating without change his eternal message of how to love God Krishna, will be the perfection of life. He has told us this many times and he has masterfully followed it himself in the most perfect manner. Indeed he continues to do so.
So as much as we follow purely, we will become leaders but that following means to become as much as sincerely possible a master disciple.
The carpentry master has within himself the apprentice. The master may draw on the experience and knowledge of his apprenticeship but the apprentice cannot draw on the experience and knowledge of being a master carpenter. First we must become first class disciples of Srila Prabhupada…everyone. Then automatically leading others towards the same path of bhakti yoga will take its natural course.
There is no question of becoming a bona fide spiritual master without first becoming a bona fide master disciple.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
How does a genuine disciple think?
For the genuine devotee of a spiritual master, the genuine disciple, the spiritual master is his entire life, his ideal. His vow is to serve the spiritual master, and though he adores both Krishna and the spiritual master equally, he gives special preference to his spiritual master.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All my disciples will take the legacy. If you want you can also take it. Sacrifice everything. I, one, may soon pass away. But they are hundreds, and this movement will increase.
It is not that I give an order, ‘Here is the next leader.’ Anyone who follows the previous leadership is the leader….All of my disciples are leaders, as much as they follow purely.”
(Room Conversation, London, August 14, 1971. )
Prabhupada: Yesam tu anta-gatam papam. One who has finished sinful activities; he can be engaged in God consciousness. One who is engaged in sinful activities, he cannot. Devil citing scripture.
A devil cannot cite scripture. Angel can cite scripture. And according to our acharyas, Sanatana Goswami, he says that “Don’t hear scriptures from the devil.” Avaisnava-mukhodgirnam putam hari-kathamrtam sravanam naiva kartavyam” If a devil’s preaching about God, don’t hear. If you say, “God is pure, so let me hear about God. It doesn’t matter whether he is devil or angel. It doesn’t matter.” No. The argument is sarpocchistam payo yatha. Just like milk is very nourishing food, but if it is touched by the lips, by the tongue of a serpent, it becomes poison. Sarpocchistam payo yatha. You cannot bring the milk which is touched by the serpent’s tongue.
So we should receive knowledge of God, message of God, from a person who is not a devil. Then it will be effective. Otherwise, it will act as poison. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s principle is apani acari prabhu jiveri siksaya. He first of all behaves himself, and then he preaches. So if the preacher is sinful, how he can deliver other sinful men by his so-called preaching. That is not possible. He must be pure, he must be sinless. Then his preaching will be effective. But in all conditions, if we, with faith and love we chant the holy name of God, we shall become gradually purified. There is no, I mean to say, cause of anxiety. Anyone who will chant this holy name, he’ll be purified.
Ys Hasti Gopala Dasa Special thanks to Tomohara Prabhu and Damagosh Prabhu for their contributions to this little article.
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This Article is originally published on theharekrishnamovement.org
Wednesday, 12 February 2025 [Mayapur, West Bengal, India Time]
Appearance Day of Śrī Narottama dāsaṬhākura
Let’s take a moment to remember and celebrate the life of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great saint and devotee. His devotion and teachings continue to inspire us.
Here are some insightful quotes and teachings by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura as presented by Śrīla Prabhupada:
“Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung that the best qualification for taking shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya is to be the most fallen because the Lord came specifically to deliver the fallen souls.”
“Even though a person is rejected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees of the Lord do not reject him; therefore the Lord’s devotees are more merciful than the Lord Himself. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura thus sings, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: one cannot be relieved from the material clutches without engaging in the service of pure devotees. The Lord Himself may sometimes be very hard, but the devotees are always kind.”
“So actually it doesn’t matter if one is householder or brahmacari. Sincerity of purpose is the only qualification for Krishna Consciousness. Sri Narottama das Thakura says that he hankers after the company of any person, never mind whether he is in the renounced order of life or in householder life, just as long as he is merged into the ocean of Krishna Consciousness. That is the one qualification.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, February 13, 1969)
“It is the advice of Narottama das Thakura to chant the holy name of Gauranga either if one remains at home or in the forest. Similarly, do not forget the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra either you live in the temple or at home.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, December 8, 1974)
“This human form of life is gotten, we have received, after many, many births. These people, they do not know. It is very rare. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, manuṣya janama pāiya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā suniyā viṣa khāinu. Hari hari viphale janama goiṅu. He is lamenting, ‘My dear Kṛṣṇa, I am so unfortunate. I got this human form of life. It was meant for developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But I have wasted my time otherwise. So how it is so? Jāniyā suniyā viṣa khāinu. Knowingly I have taken poison. Knowingly.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, London, July 26, 1973)
“It is not my mental concoction, but I believe in the words of Narottama Dasa Thakur that the shelter of the Lotus Feet of Lord Nityananda is as cooling effectively as the combined moonshine of millions of moons. So I am sure anyone taking shelter of Krsna Consciousness Movement will be happy. Please try to push this Movement on this process.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, September 2, 1970)
“As to your question concerning whether relationships between devotees are eternal, the answer is ‘yes.’ This is confirmed by Sri Narottama dasa Thakura: ‘cakhudana dilo yei, janme janme prabhu sei’, he is my Lord birth after birth.”
Wednesday, 12 February 2025 [Mayapur, West Bengal, India Time]
Sri Krishna Madhura Utsava
Sri Krishna Madhura Utsava is another celebration of the rasa dance, in which Krishna dances with many of His cowherd girlfriends in the moonlight, on the banks of the river Yamuna in Vrindavan.
Srila Prabhupada’s instruction on how to properly understand Krishna’s rasa-lila:
“Devotee: You said… If these pastimes of rāsa-līlā are only for liberated souls, and yet in Kṛṣṇa book, in Nectar of Devotion, there are some descriptions of pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa…
Prabhupāda: That is very cautiously mentioned. Yes. It had to be given because it is part of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. We cannot avoid it. Therefore it has to be heard from right person. He will be cautious to present the things. Anuśṛṇuyāt. The injunction is one should hear from a person bona fide, anuśṛṇuyāt, not directly. Not directly.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, Surat, January 3, 1971)
“So this discussion of rāsa-līlā is the summit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not ordinary thing. They’re purely spiritual. There is nothing material. But because we are not completely free from material concept of life, we may think that Kṛṣṇa’s līlā is something like this material. So that is offense. But that is the ultimate goal, to understand Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā.
But you have to wait for relishing that Kṛṣṇa’s rasa-līlā, to become more perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Anarthāpagamam. Anartha means when one is freed from all anarthas. But it is so nice, even those who are with anartha, misgivings, if they are devotee, if they have got full surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, so they also will derive benefit.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, Los Angeles, November 15, 1968)
“Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā is not so cheap. Therefore they are called sahajiyā. They have made it cheap. If they want to read Bhāgavatam—immediately rasa-līlā. If they want to hear something about Kṛṣṇa—immediately rasa-līlā. Because it appears similar, just like young boy, young girls. But it is not that. It is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ [Bs. 5.37]. Rādhārāṇī’s expansion of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and the gopīs are expansion of Rādhārāṇī’s body. They are not ordinary things.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, Calcutta, January 30, 1973)
“Don’t think that Kṛṣṇa had rāsa dance with ordinary girls or Kṛṣṇa was ordinary man. As Kṛṣṇa was not man, He’s God, similarly, the gopīs and Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī, they’re internal potency of God, or Kṛṣṇa. This is… This should be understood. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg. 9.11]. Kṛṣṇa says, “Mūḍhas, rascals, they think that I am a human being, ordinary human being.” And therefore they imitate. Sometimes the rascals imitate rāsa dance. “Kṛṣṇa had rāsa dance; then we can have also rāsa…” But they do not understand that Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa dance is not ordinary ball dance like that. No. It is an imitation, perverted imitation. Because the tendency’s there in Kṛṣṇa, therefore we have also got the tendency. But we do not know how to enjoy that dancing spirit. That is our illusion. We think this ordinary dance and Kṛṣṇa’s dance is the same thing. No. That dancing, to take part in that dancing, it requires many, many millions of years’ tapasya. It is not ordinary thing. Itthaṁ brahma-bhūta… There is a verse that kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ. Sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ [SB 10.12.11]. To join with the rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa, or to play with Kṛṣṇa as cowherd boy, it requires kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ, many, many millions of births’ pious activities.
So Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vṛndāvana with the cowherds boy and with the gopīs, they are all spiritual. They are not material. But Kṛṣṇa manifests, exhibits the līlā, coming here personally so that you may hear about Kṛṣṇa and you may be attracted = “So how I can go and play with Kṛṣṇa? How I can go and dance with Kṛṣṇa?” Or “How I can become a…, in paternal affection with Kṛṣṇa? How I can become a tree, a grass, in Vṛndāvana, so that Kṛṣṇa may trample over me?” This is called kṛṣṇa-prema. So Kṛṣṇa practically demonstrates, for the facility of the conditioned soul.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, Vrindavana, March 15, 1974)
Monday, 10 February 2025 [Mayapur, West Bengal, India Time]
Appearance Day of Lord Nityananda (Nityananda Trayodashi)
“So far your questions are concerned. Nityananda is the principle of the Guru. So, the Gurudeva is the incarnation of Nityananda. Anyone strictly following the instruction of the Guru is following Nityananda. The price one has to pay if he wants to become Krsna conscious is that he must dedicate himself to following the order of the spiritual master, mahat seva. If the Spiritual Master is pleased with disciple then the blessings of Guru will be there. That is the best way to become Krsna conscious, and Krsna is non-different from Nityananda. You may pray to Lord Nityananda to help you become dedicated in the service of your Guru. Krsna consciousness cannot be achieved artificially. You should approach Nityananda Prabhu through your Spiritual Master.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, October 24, 1976)
“According to Narottama das Thakura, one has to worship the Lotus Feet of Nityananda, and by His Grace one is able to worship Lord Caitanya Who transfers us back to Godhead.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 20, 1969)
“Lord Nityananda is Balarama Himself, not an expansion of Him. Srila Narottama das Thakur has sung that the Lord who appeared as the Son of Nanda Maharaj has now appeared as the son of Sachidevi; and the same Balarama has appeared as Nityananda. This is the statement of Srila Narottama das Thakur.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, December 8, 1969)
“Everyone is feeling some sort of anxiety due to the political condition, so I have given them a sort of hope that if they take to Krsna Consciousness their problems will be solved. It is not my mental concoction, but I believe in the words of Narottama Dasa Thakur that the shelter of the Lotus Feet of Lord Nityananda is as cooling effectively as the combined moonshine of millions of moons. So I am sure anyone taking shelter of Krsna Consciousness Movement will be happy. Please try to push this Movement on this process.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, September 2, 1970)
“Lord Nityananda when he was dealing with Jagai and Madhai maintained the maximum amount of tolerance and patience in spite of the greatest provocation. The two brothers, Jagai and Madhai, committed violence on Lord Nityananda. Even Lord Chaitanya, the author of Siksastak, became agitated. But Lord Nityananda Prabhu in the matter remained calm and quiet and delivered the two rascals to the highest elevation. We should always try to represent Lord Nityananda Prabhu in the matter of preaching work.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 9, 1967)
“Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, who is famous for his poetic composition known as Prārthanā, has lamented in one of his prayers, “When will Lord Nityānanda be merciful upon me so that I will forget all material desires?” Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura confirms that unless one is freed from material desires to satisfy the needs of the body and senses, one cannot understand the transcendental abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana. […] In another verse Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has stated that without the causeless mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, one cannot enter into the affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa”
“Śrī Advaita Prabhu and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu are both plenary portions of Lord Caitanya. Thus They are the limbs [aṅgas] of His body. The parts of these two limbs are called the upāṅgas”
Here are some insightful quotes and teachings by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura as presented by Śrīla Prabhupada:
