[June 25, 2011 (in America) is the disappearance day of Srivasa Thakura, who is the intimate associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and who is Sri Narada Muni in krsna-lila. Srila Gurudeva spoke on a drop of his glory on June 1st, 2002, and we are enclosing his words of wisdom herein. The main topic of Srila Gurudeva's class was the subject of ruci, or taste for krsna-bhajana, and he gave Srivasa Thakura as an example of a pure devotee who had no taste in material affection due to his taste for bhajana:]
Vamsi dasa Babaji was always in a mood of intimacy with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You, on the other hand, are always engaged in maintaining your life. Sometimes business is very good, and you think, "Oh, this is very good." And sometimes it is down and you think, "What to do? What to do? What to do?" You forget to chant and you forget to worship. This is not ruci (taste for bhakti). If you are in the stage of ruci, all items for your maintenance will come to you automatically. If anything is not coming for your maintenance, like money, food, or anything else, you will not worry.
When Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was residing near Govinda-kunda, he saw that many persons were engaged in eating very delicious food at a picnic. He thought, "I should also have some delicious food." And then he replied to himself, "You want delicious food? Very good. I will arrange that right away." He took some very bitter neem leaves, ate them, and told himself, "Take this and be satisfied." Sometimes he used to eat the mud of the kundas (ponds) and thus he became blind, but he didn't care. He was simply absorbed in chanting, "O Radhe! Radhe! Where are You?"
premamayi radhe, radhe, radhe
vrndavana vilasini, radhe, radhe
vrsabhanu-nandini, radhe, radhe
kanu-mana-mohini, radhe, radhe
astasakhira siromani, radhe, radhe
He prayed, "Tomara kangala tomaya dako, radhe radhe. I am a very poor beggar, begging Your darsana." He was always chanting, "O Radhe, O Radhe," and he was always in a mood of separation from Her. If you, on the other hand, are worried for your maintenance, thinking, "Today there is no food!" "Our business is down!" "My relative has died!" and you are busy in those thoughts, how will you attain krsna-prema?
You should follow Srivasa Pandita. During kirtana one day, his only son died and his wife and relatives began to weep. He told them, "If you disturb the kirtana, I will jump in the Ganges at once." Mahaprabhu had also been participating in that kirtana, and when He understood what happened, He entered the son's room and told that dead boy, "Why are you sleeping? Wake up." The boy then opened his eyes and began to speak. He said, "I am doing very well in the place where I have just taken birth. It is favorable for doing bhajana there, and here it is not." Mahaprabhu then told him, "Yes, go there."
In this world, it is essential to maintain our life. Without this, we can't do our bhajana. But don't be worried about this. Your maintenance will come automatically, according to your previous activities. If something comes, that is okay, and if something that you have collected is lost, still, don't worry.
Suppose you have deposited many thousands of dollars in a bank, but somehow your business failed and your money was lost. Don't worry about that. You cannot achieve krsna-prema, or anything else, by money. You cannot eat your bank money. You can only eat two capatis or two slices of bread – nothing more. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura quotes in his Bhajana Rahasya:
alabdhe va vinaste va
bhaksyacchadana-sadhane
aviklava-matir bhutva
harim eva dhiya smaret
(Padma Purana)
"The mind of one who has taken shelter of the holy name is undisturbed even if food and clothes are not easily obtained, or if they are obtained but then lost. Leaving behind all material attachments, he takes complete shelter of Govinda."
Chant Hare Krsna without any worry. Remember Srivasa Pandita and his four brothers, who chanted throughout the night, "Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare," and "Hari haraya nama krsna yadavaya namah."
There was nothing to eat in Srivasa Pandita's house, and Mahaprabhu told him, "You chant Hare Krsna day and night, but you should also try to maintain yourself. Make some money by working or by begging. Somehow or other you should maintain yourself and your family."
Srivasa Pandita replied, "We will not do so. We will only chant." Then he clapped three times as he said, "One, two, three." Mahaprabhu asked, "What are you doing?" Srivasa Pandita replied, "I will wait one day, and if there is no food, I will wait for another day, and then for a third day. Then, if nothing comes by the third day, I will jump in the Ganges. I will say 'Hare Krsna' and jump."
Mahaprabhu then told all the devotees, "Those who have sincerely taken shelter of the holy name and are sincerely chanting will never have to beg. Laksmi, the Goddess of Fortune herself, may beg, but My devotees will never have to do so. I will take responsibility for the maintenance on My own head, and I will arrange everything for them. I will maintain them; this is My promise." Have strong faith in this.
[Devotee:] Gurudeva, you described some of the glories of Srivasa Pandita. You said he was not even concerned when his little son died during the kirtana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the boy to come back, but he said, "No, I am in a better place now." My question is: what better place could he be in? He was already in Mahaprabhu's kirtana with Srivasa Pandita.
[Srila Gurudeva:] Krsna had called him to participate in the pastimes He was performing in prakata Vraja in one of the universes. He was playing with Krsna and His associates there, and he was very happy. He therefore told Mahaprabhu, "Let me stay here; I am very happy here." It may be that due to his sadhana-bhajana he had become a gopi and he was residing with all the gopis. He may have been with Sri Rupa Manjari, so why would he want to return? His new situation was the fruit of his serving Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Srivasa Thakura Bhagavan
Srivasa Thakura - Pastimes - Part I
From Sri Panca Tattva, the Five features of God
By Satyaraja dasa
Srivasa Thakura is the ideal householder devotee and he is known as the acarya of maryada-marga (also known as vaidhi-bhakti, or the path of scriptural injunctions). He is exemplary for all devotees who are worshippers of Laksmi-Narayana in Vaikuntha or Sri Gaura-Narayana in Navadvipa. He was the first to whom Mahaprabhu revealed Himself as God almighty, with four arms, in all His majesty and glory.
Although Srivasa Thakura is married, Gaudiya Vaisnavas tend to meditate on him as foremost of the brahmacaris, perhaps because of his identification with Narada Muni (who was always celibate). Consequently, he is often depicted with shaved head and saffron robes, although more often than not he has long hair and wears white apparel. In kirtana he looks especially beautiful, with large lotus eyes and monsoon-like perspiration from ecstatic singing and dancing. His bodily limbs are said to be decorated with tears of love, which adds to this monsoon, and the other sattvika-bhavaas can be detected when he is near.
He is the leader of His devotee companions, who, like black bees, drink the honey from the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya. Srivasa and his followers are always engaged in Krsna seva and, although they are all excellent servants, he is clearly the best at performing devotional service.
For this reason, he is considered the foremost devotee, the Everyman bhakta. This is why, in praying to him, devotees use the extension "adi," which denotes all those who follow him as well as Srivasa himself, who ranks the highest. This is seen in the popular prayer Jaya Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Jaya Advaita, Gadddhara, Srivasa, adi Gaura bhakia vrnda, which means, "All glories to Krishna Caitanya, Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Acarya, Gadadhara Pandita, and the family of devotees (of Lord Caitanya) who follow in this line beginning with Srivasa Thakura." (Vrnda is a Bengali term that refers to Gaura bhaktas as a whole).
jaya jaya srivasadi yata bhakta-gana,
sri-krsna-caitanya prubhu-yanra prana-dhana
"All glories to the world's many devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura. Sri Caitanya is their life and soul. "
There is an interesting story in Kavi Karnapura's Caitanya-candrodaya-natakam (Act One), wherein the Lord asks Srivasa Thakura if he remembers how he was saved from death, and how he was at that time infused with Narada Sakti. Srivasa answers that he does remember and proceeds to tell the following story.
"Before the Lord came into my life," Srivasa said, "from childhood to sixteen years of age, I was wild, merciless, offensive to guru and brahmanas, and just had a generally restless heart, hard as wood. I was proud, conceited, and even in my dreams I never heard or chanted the Lord's glories. Then, perhaps because of some unknown previous pious act, a kind-hearted person came to me in a dream and said: '0 brahmana in name only, 0 restless-hearted one, who can give you advice? You will not listen to anyone! Still, I tell you directly: You have only one year of life ahead of you. Then you will die untimely. Do not throw your short remaining period of life away on useless things.'"
The next day, awaking at dawn, Srivasa remembered the good advice he received in his dream, and he was unhappy that his life would be short. "I decided then and there," he said, "that I would give up all my misdeeds. I made a vow to try to understand the ultimate goal of human life, and soon thereafter, in the Narada Purana, I found this verse: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha, 'In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."'
"I considered this a direct message from Lord Krsna," Srivasa continued, "and I immediately gave up all materialism and, forgetting everything else, I took shelter of Lord Hari's name alone. This gave me great peace while I waited for that moment of death, which was supposed to come less than one year later. It was during this period that I went the home of Devananda Pandita, a renowned teacher of Srimad-Bhagavatam, hoping to hear his lucid commentary on various texts."
"While listening to the story of Prahlada Maharaja," Srivasa told the Lord, "the predicted time of death had arrived. I lost consciousness and, under the spell of that final moment, I fell from Devananda's balcony to the courtyard below. Then, within one precious moment, someone rescued me from the jaws of death. Understanding that I was still alive, I was overcome with gratefulness. Again I stood, trying to keep my balance. My dear friends brought me to my home. I realize that at that time, 0 Lord, You brought me back to my senses. You saved me and infused me, at that moment, with Narada Sakti"
The Lord confirmed that this was true, and Advaita Acarya concurred, adding that "Srivasa is glorious. He is the home (vasa) of glory (Sri), and therefore he is called Srivasa Thakura." It should be understood that the above story as told by Kavi Karnapura is simply a lila by which one can understand that Srivasa is Narada. Although it appears that Srivasa was infused with Narada Sakti at a particular moment in time, such a view is merely an expression of how an eternal truth manifests in the world of three dimensions.
As the years passed, Srivisa. and his three brothers (Sri Rama, Sripati, Srinidhi and, according to Prema-vilasa, there was a fourth, Nalina) helped Mahaprabhu enact His pastimes of sankirtana by offering their house as His humble abode. These four brothers worshipped Sri Krsna by chanting His names profusely, for they were influenced by Srivasa's change of heart, and they were known to bathe in the Ganges three times a day.
Srivasa and his brothers were raised by their father Jaladhara Pandita in the district of Sri Hatta. Later they relocated to the west of the Ganges and became famous throughout the Navadvipa area as great devotees of the Lord. While in West Bengal they regularly attended devotional gatherings at Advaita Acarya's house, where the Srimad Bhagavatam was being recited and where they performed the congregational chanting of Krsna's holy names. The brothers gradually became close friends with Jagannatha Misra, with whom they would chant and listen to the Bhagavatam, but they did not know that Mahaprabhu would soon be born to the wife of this pious brahmana.
Only Srivasa, who was the natural leader of his three brothers, understood what was to come, for by the strength of his devotion he could understand that Sri Krsna was going to soon appear in the house of Jagannatha Misra.
Srivasa Pandita's wife was known as Malinidevi. She was a very close friend of Sacidevi, Mahaprabhu's mother, and was always helpful to her, especially when she gave birth to the Lord. Srivasa and Malini gave Sacidevi and Jagannatha advice on how to raise their newly born son. In fact, they were just like a second mother and father to Lord Caitanya.
As Nimai (Mahaprabhu) grew into boyhood, He sometimes asked the aging Srivasa Pandita difficult and convoluted questions just to antagonize him, but Srivasa, not wanting to waste words, would just leave the spot without bothering to argue with Him. Such pastimes of scholarship started to agitate the devotees of Navadvipa, who felt it unfortunate that a bright boy like little Nimai would spend his time in useless argument instead of a life of devotion. Understanding the minds of the Vaisnavas, the Lord offered respects to Srivasa whenever He saw him; this gesture of humility served to pacify the devotees.
One day Nimai was walking along with five or six of His students. He was dressed in fine silken clothes of yellow color, which made Him appear like Krsna's twin. His lips were red from chewing betel nut. By seeing His lotus face, more beautiful than ten million moons, the people of Navadvipa would remark, "This person is undoubtedly more attractive than Cupid!" Srivasa Pandita happened to be coming the other way. When he saw Nimai, he laughed to himself, impressed that anyone could be so disarmingly beautiful. As usual, Nimai offered His respects to Srivasa, who said to the Lord, "May you live long and prosper!"
But this was not all that he said. Still smiling, Srivasa looked the Lord straight in His eyes and asked Him, Tell me, where are You going, 0 crest jewel of the vain and arrogant?! Without worshipping Krsna, just what do You expect to accomplish, passing the time as You do? How is it that day and night You are simply absorbed in academics and mundane pursuits? Think about it: Why do people study? Ultimately, the goal of knowledge is happiness, and happiness can only be acquired through service to Krsna. If by scholarship one doesn't gain devotion to the Lord, then how will that learning help him? It becomes simply a tedious endeavour which in the end is nothing but a waste of time. If You have actually learned something of substance, then begin Your worship of Sri Krsna now! Please don't uselessly waste Your time in these vain pursuits. You have studied so much. Now use Your knowledge to worship God."
These ideas pleased Nimai to the core of His being. Hearing Srivasa's words, the Lord smiled and replied to him, "Hear Me, Srivasa. By your mercy, I will one day come to worship Krsna. If the devotees are kind to Me, then I will definitely attain devotion to Sri Krsna's lotus feet." Saying this, He proceeded toward the bank of the Ganges in a light-hearted mood, accompanied by His students.
Soon after this incident, Nimai went to Gaya and received initiation into Vaisnava dharma. One day after His return, Srivasa came to Saci's house, and Mahaprabhu offered His most respectful greetings. By seeing a devotee of Srivasa's caliber, Mahaprabhu's devotional sentiments increased. His bodily hair stood on end, tears flowed from His eyes, and His body trembled. Such symptoms of ecstasy were now appearing in Him regularly. Together with Srivasa and his brothers, the Lord decided to transform Srivasa's home into a second Vrndavana, where the love of Radha and Krsna would resound in uproarious and uncontrollable kirtana. Every time the Lord visited Srivisa's home for chanting and dancing, His love of God increased one thousand times. For a full year, He held kirtana sessions there every day!
Replies