Vrindavan is not a geographical place, rather it is a state of consciousness. Even today Krishna is present in Vrindavan, but He can only be perceived with eyes of love. Sukadeva Goswami, at the end of describing all the pastimes of Krishna, writes the below verse to console Pariksit that Krishna’s pastimes exist for eternity. The word “jayati”, being in the present tense signifies that.
jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo
yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam
sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ su-smita-śrī-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is He who is known as jana-nivāsa, the ultimate resort of all living entities, and who is also known as Devakīnandana or Yaśodā-nandana, the son of Devakī and Yaśodā. He is the guide of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious, as well as every man who is impious. By His presence He destroys all things inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert. His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. May He be all glorious and happy! SB 10.90.48
On 16th July, we reached Mathura at around 1 p.m. Offering obeisances to the holy land of Mathura, I remembered the following verse:
anyeṣu puṇya-kṣetreṣu
muktir eva mahā-phalam
muktaiḥ prārthyā harer bhaktir
mathurāyāṁ hi labhyate
“In other holy places, liberation is the greatest reward one can achieve. But in Mathurā one can gain what is prayed for by the liberated—devotional service to Lord Hari.”
The mood of seeing Vrindavan has been given by our acaryas and Shrila Prabhupada. Vrindavan has to be seen through ears, Vrindavan has to be seen by taking association of the holy people present therein. Simply visiting hundreds of holy places, taking bath in thousands of tirthas is of no use unless we take benefit of saintly association.
Gauranga or Krishna – Who is MORE Merciful in Vrindavan?
Shrila Prabhupada established the Krishna-Balarama Mandir in 1975. While taking darshana of Gaura Nitai in the temple, a thought came to my mind – Lord Caitanya, in His manifest pastimes, stayed for only two months in Vrindavan, but Shrila Prabhupada, by his love, made Gaurasundara stay for many hundreds and thousands of years in the ambience of Krishna-Balarama Mandir to give blessings to all people to come.
And interestingly, the first altar is of Gaura Nitai. Without getting the grace of Gaura-Nitai, how can we get the blessings of Krishna-Balarama? nitāiyera karuṇā habe, vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe: when one receives the mercy of Nityānanda, one can attain the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa very easily.
Another thought came to my mind – in Vrindavan, who is more merciful, Gaura-Nitai, or Krishna-Balarama? Although there is no difference between the two – vrajendra-nandana jei śacī-suta hoilo sei, yet when we consider what Krishna-Balarama did and what Gaura Nitai did, we can come to a conclusion that Gaura Nitai are more merciful, even in Vrindavan, or for Vrindavan!
Krishna performed various pastimes to attract the living entities to Himself, and after His manifest pastimes, He took His associates back with Him to the spiritual world. Krishna and Balarama stayed for 10 years 2 months in Vrindavan. After that, He went to Mathura and subsequently Dvaraka putting all the residents of Vrindavan in the deepest separation.
Lord Caitanya stayed only for two months in Vrindavan. But Lord Caitanya sent His most trustworthy followers – the Six Goswamis – to Vrindavan, instructed them to excavate the holy places, build temples, write books on the glories of Vrindavan and establish & exhibit the ideal Vaishnava character. Through the grace of Mahaprabhu’s followers, we are able to see whatever we can.
Vrindavan has been revealed to us not by Krishna, but by Lord Caitanya through His followers. So who is more merciful even in Vrindavan? It’s Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
Prabhupada Samadhi Mandir
Next we visited Prabhupada samadhi. Just as Shrila Prabhupada would say that I stay eternally in my rooms in Radha Damodar, Prabhupada resides eternally in his samadhi. A pure devotee can be present at multiple places, being the external manifestation of caitya guru, paramatma. And yes, he is always present in the hearts of his sincere followers.
Radha Damodar was the place where the six goswamis would come together, discuss Krishna Katha and plan for the future of our movement. Now, we have Krishna Balarama Mandir, where devotees, Shrila Prabhupada disciples, other leaders come from all over the world, get inspired and take blessings to expand devotional service to various places throughout the whole world. For Shrila Prabhupada, the temple of Jiva Goswami was the hub of the whole universe. For us, the followers of Shrila Prabhupada, it is Shrila Prabhupada’s samadhi temple that is the hub of the whole universe. If we make Shrila Prabhupada the centre and the hub of all our activities, it will be the best offering at the lotus feet of Shrila Prabhupada!
Vaishnava Samadhis
We also went to Goshala where we visited the samadhis of previous acaryas. In the mundane world, a place where dead bodies are there is considered to be frightening. But in spiritual circles, the samadhis of pure devotees are considered to be the topmost places of spiritual inspiration and revelation.
Recently, two of our sannyasis, HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja and HH Kadamba Kanana Swami Maharaja left their bodies. I wanted to always visit this place since then. And yes, there are also the samadhis of Yamuna Mataji (a devotee whom I admire and take inspiration from a lot), Brahmananda Maharaja, Gunagrahi Maharaja, Vibhu and many other devotees. Previously, anyone would ask me my favorite holy place, I would tell “the Vaishnava samadhis in Mayapur!” Here is a place where we can pray for the grace and blessings of those who have lived a life of sacrifice, and they sacrificed their lives in the service of Shrila Prabhupada.
Shrila Prabhupada gave the formula – “Work now, samadhi later.”
To such faithful devotees, Prabhupada, Krishna-Balarama, Srimati Radharani have granted an eternal residence in Vrindavan! They lived their life in Vrindavan Consciousness, and due to their selfless service, they were gifted eternal association of Krishna.
Such pure devotees first transform their hearts to Vrindavan, they invite Krishna into their hearts, and then Krishna grants them eternal residence in Vrindavan.
We may not have our samadhis in Vrindavan, we may not leave our bodies in Vrindavan, we may not perfect our sadhana that we can attain Vrindavan, but if we just follow in the footsteps of our previous acaryas and devotees, we are sure to receive the grace of such devotees thereby getting the grace of Sri Vrindavan Dham in our lives.
