SRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA SARASVATI THAKURA’S DISAPPEARANCE DAY

SB 1.3.16–17 surāsurāṇām udadhiṁ mathnatāṁ mandarācalam dadhre kamaṭha-rūpeṇa pṛṣṭha ekādaśe vibhuḥ sura — the theists; asurāṇām — of the atheists; udadhim — in the ocean; mathnatām — churning; mandarācalam — the Mandarācala Hill; dadhre — sustained; kamaṭha — tortoise; rūpeṇa — in the form of; pṛṣṭhe — shell; ekādaśe — the eleventh in the line; vibhuḥ — the great.

The eleventh incarnation of the Lord took the form of a tortoise whose shell served as a pivot for the Mandarācala Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and atheists of the universe.

Once both the atheists and the theists were engaged in producing nectar from the sea so that all of them could become deathless by drinking it. At that time the Mandarācala Hill was used as the churning rod, and the shell of Lord Tortoise, the incarnation of Godhead, became the resting place (pivot) of the hill in the seawater. dhānvantaraṁ dvādaśamaṁ trayodaśamam eva ca apāyayat surān anyān mohinyā mohayan striyā dhānvantaram — the incarnation of Godhead named ; dvādaśamam — the twelfth in the line; trayodaśamam — the thirteenth in the line; eva — certainly; ca — and; apāyayat — gave to drink; surān — the demigods; anyān — others; mohinyā — by charming beauty; mohayan — alluring; striyā — in the form of a woman.

In the twelfth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Dhanvantari, and in the thirteenth He allured the atheists by the charming beauty of a woman and gave nectar to the demigods to drink.

etan muhuḥ kīrtayato 'nuśṛṇvato na riṣyate jātu samudyamaḥ kvacit yad uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanaṁ samasta-saṁsāra-pariśramāpaham

The endeavor of one who constantly hears or describes this narration of the churning of the ocean of milk will never be fruitless. Indeed, chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only means to annihilate all sufferings in this material world. (8.12.46) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives much information which may not tally with our present experience. But as far as Indian sages are concerned, knowledge is received from the Vedic literatures, and the authorities accept without any hesitation that we should look through the pages of authentic books of knowledge (śāstra-cakṣurvat).

So we cannot deny the existence of the ocean of milk as stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam unless and until we have experimentally seen all the planets hovering in space. Since such an experiment is not possible, naturally we have to accept the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as it is because it is so accepted by spiritual leaders like Śrīdhara Svāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī and others. The Vedic process is to follow in the footsteps of great authorities, and that is the only process for knowing that which is beyond our imagination.

The primeval Lord, being all-powerful, can do whatever He likes, and therefore His assuming the incarnation of a tortoise or a fish for serving a particular purpose is not at all astonishing. Therefore we should not have any hesitation whatsoever in accepting the statements of the authentic scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

From Gandhiji's Ten Questions oṁ namo bhagavate akūpārāya sarva-sattva-guṇa- viśeṣaṇāyānu-palakṣita- sthānāya namo varṣmaṇe namo bhūmne namo namo 'vasthānāya namas te

O my Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who have assumed the form of a tortoise. You are the reservoir of all transcendental qualities, and being entirely untinged by matter, You are perfectly situated in pure goodness. You move here and there in the water, but no one can discern Your position. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Because of Your transcendental position, You are not limited by past, present and future. You are present everywhere as the shelter of all things, and therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again. (5.18.30) The tortoise incarnation, Lord Kūrma, became a pivot for the emulsification of the whole sea. kṣitir iha vipulatare tiṣṭhati tava pṛṣṭhe dharaṇi-dhāraṇa-kiṇa-cakra-gariṣṭhe keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare

O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a tortoise! All glories to You! In this incarnation as a divine tortoise the great Mandara Mountain rests upon Your gigantic back as a pivot for churning the ocean of milk. From holding up the huge mountain a large scar like depression is put in Your back, which has become most glorious.

“You appeared as a tortoise just to become the resting place. And this happened because You were feeling some itching sensation on Your back. So You accepted this big rod, Mandara Hill, to itch, as the itching instrument.” “Don't think you are all and all. The rascals, the so-called human scientists, they are thinking they are all in all. "I am the monarch of all I survey." That is not. In God's creation there is smaller than the smallest and the bigger than the biggest. Nobody can claim that "I am everything." No. That is not possible. So they were standing on the... Without standing, how they are churning? But the sea water is up to the knees. How they can stand? So the seven mile sea water is up to their knees.

Your, an ant, even seven inches is sufficient water. And for you seven feet is sufficient water. Similarly, others, even seven miles is not sufficient. This is the order of... Don't think that these are all stories. Surāsurāṇāṁ mathnatām. "How they can stand on the ocean? How they can churn? Oh, these are all stories." They are not stories. “In India we see. In this season there are insects. They are called divāli-pokā, insect divāli. Just in the evening they are born. And they flock together before a light, (sound imitation:) bawnh, bawnh, bawnh, bawnh, like that. And throughout the whole night they will do, and at the end of the night, in the morning, you will see, they are, in heap, they are lying dead.

So their life, the duration of life is that night. within that night they take their birth, they grow, they beget children, family, and defend, eat, mate. Everything is complete within the night. And at the end of the night, it is finished.” So similarly, if to these flies, if you say, "Oh, we are dying like this, but there is human being. This is only one night. And such... There is another day also of the same period. Then together, day and night, such thirty day and night makes their month. And such 12 months make their year. And such hundred years they live." So how the fly will understand? Similarly, we cannot understand. When the duration of life of Brahmā is described, we think it is story. Similarly, they will think also story. Nothing is story.

In the Vedic literatures all informations are there. Their relative life, big and small, smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest. Don't think that these description in the , they are stories. They are not stories. They are facts. But we cannot accommodate in our poor teeny brain. That's all. So what we shall understand about God? It is not possible. “Therefore it is said, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. In our present senses we always think of seeing. But we forget, what seeing power we have got? It is nothing. It is simply under certain condition we can see a little portion. We cannot see perfectly, so we should not believe in our seeing power. So therefore śāstra says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa- nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ: "You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa and God by your present imperfect senses. That is not possible."

Then how it is possible? "I have... My only asset is these blunt senses. How can I understand God?" Yes. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. If you engage in devotional service, then God will reveal to you, "Here I am. Here I am. I am like this.” Just like Arjuna saw Kṛṣṇa. He understood God. So if we take the position of Arjuna, submissive... Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam [Bg. 2.7], surrender, then God, by kindness, because you have surrendered, He will reveal to you.

Otherwise by your so-called calculation, you cannot understand what is the greatest and what is the smallest. But there are things smaller than the smallest and the greater than the greatest. He was strongly built; his arms were long, stout and strong; his neck, which was marked with three lines, resembled a conchshell; his eyes were reddish; and his complexion was blackish. He was very young, he was garlanded with flowers, and his entire body was fully decorated with various ornaments.

He was dressed in yellow garments and wore brightly polished earrings made of pearls. The tips of his hair were anointed with oil, and his chest was very broad. His body had all good features, he was stout and strong like a lion, and he was decorated with bangles. In his hand he carried a jug filled to the top with nectar.

This person was Dhanvantari, a plenary portion of a plenary portion of Lord Viṣṇu. He was very conversant with the science of medicine, and as one of the demigods he was permitted to take a share in sacrifices. A very wonderful male person appeared The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by his fame personified, and only because of him do the demigods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is he only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe. (2.7.21)

• As stated in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything emanates from the ultimate source of the Personality of Godhead; it is therefore understood in this verse that medical science or knowledge in medicine was also inaugurated by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation Dhanvantari, and thus the knowledge is recorded in the Vedas. The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and thus knowledge in medical science is also there for the perfect cure of the diseases of the living entity. The embodied living entity is diseased by the very construction of his body. The body is the symbol of diseases. The disease may differ from one variety to another, but disease must be there just as there is birth and death for everyone. So, by the grace of the Personality of Godhead, not only are diseases of the body and mind cured, but also the soul is relieved of the constant repetition of birth and death. The name of the Lord is also called bhavauṣadhi, or the source of curing the disease of material existence. • May the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His incarnation as Dhanvantari relieve me from undesirable eatables and protect me from physical illness. (6.8.18)

• To live within this material world, one must face many dangers, as described herein. For example, undesirable food poses a danger to health, and therefore one must give up such food. The Dhanvantari incarnation can protect us in this regard. Assuming the form of a young woman and thus bewildering the demons, the Supreme Personality of Godhead distributed to His devotees, the demigods, the nectar produced from the churning of the ocean of milk. Unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, who always fulfills the desires of His devotees, I offer my respectful obeisances. (8.12.47) • “To have very charming wife is not very good.”

• “Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that there are four kinds of enemies in family life.”

• “rūpavatī bhāryāḥ śatruḥ. "And very beautiful wife, she is enemy.” “So I think I have spoken about my own life. You know that I was a married man. So after being married, I did not like my wife. Somehow or other, I did not like. I must say she is very faithful, very everything... Everyone praised. But I did not like, somehow or other. So I was preparing for next marriage. Next marriage. Because in India, at that time it was allowed, a man can marry more than one wife. Now the law is there. So my father, he was a saintly person. So he called me one day and said, "My dear boy, you are trying to marry again. I request you don't do that. You do not like your wife. That is a great fortune for you."

So I gave up that idea of marrying. Yes. So now I am realizing my father's blessing, yes, that if I would have been too much attached to my wife, then I could not have come to this position. That's a fact. So by ethical point of view, from spiritual point of view, to become too much attached to wife is an impediment for spiritual advancement.” “...You see? I think I did not see my wife beautiful. Therefore I had to take sannyāsa. (laughter) “Therefore wife is called dharma-patnī. Dharma-patnī. Dharma- patnī means a religious wife, or husband and wife should execute religious life, spiritual cultivation. That is the purpose of becoming householder. Gṛhastha-āśrama. Not that I become attracted by wife and I become absorbed in simply sex relation and forget my real duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is dangerous. So generally, if one's wife becomes very beautiful, he forgets his real duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he simply becomes a pet servant of the wife.

Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī says, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. One should not be attracted for sex life. Yathārham upayuñjataḥ. But does it mean that husband will not have sex. No. Yathārham. As it is required. As it required means sex life with wife should be performed only for begetting a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. Nothing more. No more attraction. That life is better. That life means not only better. That is the ideal life. Wife and husband, combination, both should make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Lord Śiva said: O Lord Śiva's desiring to see Lord Viṣṇu reveal the most attractive and beautiful Goddess, you have form of a woman was certainly a joking now seen the affair. illusory energy of Lord Śiva knew that he could not be the Supreme agitated by any so-called beautiful woman. "The Daityas may have been Personality of bewildered," he thought, "but since even Godhead, who is the demigods could not be agitated, what to speak of me, who am the best of all the the unborn demigods?" master of However, because Lord Śiva wanted to everyone. see Lord Viṣṇu's form as a woman, Lord Although I am Viṣṇu decided to impersonate a woman and show him a form that would one of the immediately put him in an ocean of lusty principal desires. In effect, therefore, Lord Viṣṇu told Lord Śiva, "I will show you My form expansions of His as a woman, and if you become agitated by lusty desires, do not blame Me." Lordship, even I was illusioned by The attractive features of a woman are appreciated by those who are affected by His energy. What lusty desires, but those who are above then is to be said such desires, who are on the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are very difficult to of others, who are bewilder. Nonetheless, by the supreme fully dependent desire of the Personality of Godhead, everything can be done. This was to be a on māyā? test of whether Lord Śiva could remain (8.12.43) unagitated. • Lord Śiva cannot be victimized by māyā. Therefore it is to be understood that Lord Śiva was being thus harassed by Lord Viṣṇu's internal potency. Lord Viṣṇu can perform many wonderful activities through His various potencies.

• parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, svābhāvikī jñāna- bala-kriyā ca (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)

• The Supreme Lord has various potencies, by which He can act very efficiently. To do anything expertly, He doesn't even need to contemplate. Since Lord Śiva was being harassed by the woman, it is to be understood that this was being done not by a woman but by Lord Viṣṇu Himself. • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that Mohinī-mūrti dragged Lord Śiva to so many places, especially to where the great sages lived, to instruct the sages that their Lord Śiva had become mad for a beautiful woman. Thus although they were all great sages and saintly persons, they should not think themselves free, but should remain extremely cautious about beautiful women. No one should think himself liberated in the presence of a beautiful woman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O best of the demigods, although you have been amply harassed because of My potency in assuming the form of a woman, you are established in your position. Therefore, may all good fortune be upon you.

Since Lord Śiva is the best of the demigods, he is the best of all devotees (vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ). His exemplary character was therefore praised by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gave His benediction by saying, "May all good fortune be upon you." When a devotee becomes a little proud, the Supreme Lord sometimes exhibits His supreme power to dissipate the devotee's misunderstanding. After being amply harassed by Lord Viṣṇu's potency, Lord Śiva resumed his normal, unagitated condition. This is the position of a devotee. A devotee should not be agitated under any circumstances, even in the worst reverses. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (6.22), yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate: because of his full faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a devotee is never agitated, even in the greatest trials. This pridelessness is possible only for the first-class devotees, of whom Lord Śambhu is one. The best practice of yoga in this age is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is not baffling. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is so happy in his occupation that he does not aspire after any other happiness. There are many impediments, especially in this age of hypocrisy, to practicing haṭha-yoga, dhyāna-yoga and jñāna- yoga, but there is no such problem in executing karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga.

As long as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of the body, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person who is in pure bhakti-yoga, or in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, does not arouse the senses while meeting the demands of the body. Rather, he accepts the bare necessities of life, making the best use of a bad bargain, and enjoys transcendental happiness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is callous toward incidental occurrences — such as accidents, disease, scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative — but he is always alert to execute his duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or bhakti-yoga. Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. He endures all such incidental occurrences because he knows that they come and go and do not affect his duties. In this way he achieves the highest perfection in yoga practice. (SBSST said something similar in his last words) The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as all- powerful because no one can excel Him in any activity.

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya

"O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me."

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the only master of everyone, including even Lord Śiva, what to speak of others. Lord Śiva was already aware of the supreme power of Lord Viṣṇu, but when he was actually put into bewilderment, he felt proud to have such an exalted master. EKALE ĪŚVARA KṚṢṆA, ĀRA SABA BHṚTYA YĀRE YAICHE NĀCĀYA, SE TAICHE KARE NṚTYA

Lord Kṛṣṇa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur has written a song "Dusta Mana" Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura states that our mind is always wandering here and there and is not constant. We should focus our mind only on the Lotus feet of Lord and should not think about women and wealth (Material Desires).

(11) One is truly a Vaisnava who has given up the habit of falling victim to the ferocious tigress of wealth, beauty, and fame. Such a soul is factually detached from material life, and is known as a pure devotee. Someone with this consciousness of detachment has thereby become victorious over the mundane world of birth and death.

(12) One is indeed detached who moderately partakes of worldly things that are deemed necessary for living in devotional service; a devotee acting in that manner does not fall prey to the disease of material infatuation. Thus devoid of selfish attachment, and endowed with the ability to see things in relation to the Lord, all sense objects are then directly perceived as being Lord Madhava Himself.

(13) This is the standard of befitting renunciation, and one who realizes this is most fortunate indeed. Everything involved in such a devotee's life represents Lord Hari's personal spiritual opulence as manifest in the world of matter. On the other hand, one who engages in chanting the Lord's name with hopes of enhancing his own material reputation finds that all his activities and paraphernalia represent only the riches of hypocrisy. February 6, 1874 — January 1, 1937 Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved, Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved. “The sunrise and the sunset, both are beautiful. Similarly, both the appearance and the disappearance of a Vaisnava are beautiful. So there is no cause of lamentation.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Pranati

nama om padaya krishna presthaya bhutale srimate bhaktisiddhanta sarasvati iti namine

namah--obeisances; om-address; visnu-padaya--unto him who is at the feet of Lord Visnu; krsna-presthaya--who is very dear to Lord Krsna; bhu- tale--on the earth; srimate--all-beautiful; bhaktisiddhanta sarasvati--Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati; iti--thus; namine-- who is named.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is very dear to Lord Krishna,having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

sri varsabhanavi devi dayitaya krpadhaye krishna sambandha vijnana dayine prabhave namah

sri-varsabhanavi-devi-dayitaya--unto Sri Varsabhanavi-devi-dayita Dasa, the servant of the lover of Srimati Radharani; krpa-abdhaye--who is an ocean of mercy; krsna-sambandha--(of) the relationship with Krsna; vijnana--(of) the science; dayine--who is the deliverer; prabhave--unto the master; namah--obeisances.

I offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Varsabhanavi-devi-dayita Dasa [another name of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati], who is favored by Srimati Radharani and who is the ocean of transcendental mercy and the deliverer of the science of Krsna.

madhuryojjvala premadhya sri rupanuga bhaktida sri gaura karuna sakti-vigrahaya namo 'stu te

madhurya--conjugal; ujjvala--brilliant; prema--love; adhya-- enriched with; sri-rupa-anuga--following Srila Rupa Gosvami; bhakti-da--delivering devotional service; sri-gaura--(of) Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; karuna--(of) the mercy, sakti--energy; vigrahaya--unto the personified; namah-- obeisances; astu--let there be; to--unto you.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personified energy of Sri Caitanya's mercy, who deliver devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Sri Sri and Krishna, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Srila Rupa Gosvami.

names te gaura vani sri murtaye dina tarine rupanuga viruddhapasiddhanta dhvanta harine

namah--obeisances; to--unto you; gaura-vani--teachings of Lord Caitanya; sri-murtaye--unto the personified; dina--(of) the fallen; tarine--unto the deliverer; rupa-anuga--the philosophy which follows the teachings of Srila Rupa Gosvami; viruddha--against; apasiddhanta--(of) unauthorized statements; dhvanta--the darkness; harine--unto you who are removing.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personified teachings of Lord Caitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami. When Srila Prabhupada was asked to describe his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he said, "What can I say? He was a Vaikuntha man."

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in krishna-lila is Kamalaman-manjari, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati is his eternal assistant, Nayana-manjari.

When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was 7 years old, his father Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura moved to Calcutta, to the "Bhakti-Bhavan" house he was building. While digging foundation they found Deity of Lord . Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave him his first initiation and the name Siddhanta Saraswati; and initiated his son into the worship of Lord Kurma. He was doing this every single day without missing. Even when he was admitted into school. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada was known as 'simha' (lion) 'guru' due to his fearless and ferocious preaching. If an impersonalist saw him on the street, the impersonalist would cross the road in fear, or turn off onto another street. Those who didn't, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta would go up to and shake them violently, his huge body towering over them, and say, "Why do you say the Lord has no form? Nonsense offender!"

His father was deputy magistrate of Puri, had been for three years. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur had been concerned that the pure teachings of Sri would be usurped by unauthorized persons, who were members of 13 apasampradayas and so he prayed for a Ray of Vishnu. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura had started his mission for Lord Caitanya late in life. He was also very busy with his profession. But he wrote profusely, and wanted someone to preach boldly to establish these pure teachings.

The Padma Purana predicted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati: a very elevated, pure and learned personality would appear in Purushottama-ksetra to spread the glories of Lord Jagannatha all over the world. His activities would be very unique.

When he was 6 months old, the Rathayatra was held. The cart stopped in front of Srila Bhaktivinoda's house (which was on the main road between the temple and the Gundica mandira. The cart stayed there for 3 days. On the 3rd day, Bhagavati devi (mother of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati) brought out the child and the 'pujaris' picked him up and put him on the cart. He crawled to the base of Lord Jagannatha, and touched His lotus feet. Simultaneously a garland fell from the neck of the Lord and landed around the child. The pujaris exclaimed that this boy is particularly blessed by Lord Jagganatha.

The 'Annaprasha' festival (first grains ceremony), first grain taken by children which is usually given when the first sign of teeth are there something like six-months old, so for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati the first grain was Jagannatha Prasada. Vimala devi is offered the 'prasada' after Jagannatha takes; hence his name Bimala Prasada. When during the 'Anna-prasna' ceremony the child is shown the 'shastra' and coins to give some indication as to his nature by what he goes for baby Bimal chose the Srimad Bhagavatam as opposed to the gold coins.

When he was five his father had become senior deputy magistrate: only three of these in all of India under British Raja. Mango incident happened at this time. Never again took ripe mangos. But he took green mango chutney offered by his disciples; this was a favourite of his. He was a very expert student. However his preference was to study the Vaishnava books of his father. He did just that and studied books of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, but never fell behind in school – he remembered everything after hearing it once. His teachers were astonished, and his father was very pleased.

As a boy, Bimala Prasada delivered his oldest brother Acyutananda from an offense he'd made in his last life. Acyutananda had a nervous disease, and once became very sick. Bimala Prasada took 'karatals' and chanted the 'Hare Krishna mantra' constantly for 6 days without eating. Then -sampradaya 'tilaka' appeared on Acyutananda's forehead. He said, "I am a Ramanuja Vaishnava. I committed an offense to a Gaudiya Vaishnava in my last life and therefore had to take this birth. Now I am relieved." Then he left his body.

In 1892, after passing his entrance examination, Bimala was admitted into the Sanskrit College of Calcutta. There he spent considerable time in the library studying various books on philosophy. He also studied the Vedas under the guidance of Prithvidhara Sharma. As a student he contributed many thoughtful articles to various religious journals. However he did not continue with his college studies for long.

At age 13 he started higher education. Once Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura returned from Puri with Tulasi and initiated his son into chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra and he also took 'Nrsingha mantra' initiation, 'ugram bhiram maha-vishnum'etc.

During this time he invented, and developed a shorthand script called 'Vikanta', so much was his genius.

At 18, Srila (Bhakti) Siddhanta Saraswati entered Capital Sanskrit College affiliated with Calcutta University. Within a short time mastered the 6 limbs of Sanskrit studies: 'shiksha', 'jyotish', 'chanda', 'alankara', etc.

When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was 22 he left college to avoid taking householder life. He took up work under the king of Tripura. Tripura had been turned to a Vaishnava state by the king of Manipur, who was a disciple of Narottama dasa Thakur.

So Srila Bhaktisiddhant Saraswati became Raja Pandit there for 3 years. He retired with full pension, which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati accepted for a few years and then voluntarily stopped.

Around this time he took initiation from Gaura Kishora dasa Babaji. Srila Gaura Kishora dasa Babaji had been a grain merchant before taking 'babaji'. He'd gone to Vrindavana and did 'bhajana' for a long time. Then he came to Navadwipa. By this time Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had retired and had built a 'bhajana kutir' in Navadwipa (Godruma). He gave Srimad Bhagavatam class there every day. Srila Gaura Kishora dasa Babaji used to come to these classes. Srila Bhaktivinoda told Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati to accept Srila Gaura Kishora as initiating 'guru'. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati approached Gaura Kishora, asking "Please give me your mercy." Gaura Kishora answered, "Mercy is not mine to give. It is the property of Lord Chaitanya Himself. I'll ask Him, and if He agrees, I can give you."

Second time they met, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati inquired, "Did you ask Him?" "No, I forgot." Third time same thing happened. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati said, "You worship that great cheat, Krishna, Who is cheating everyone. And so you are also cheating me. But if you continue in this way, I will simply give up my life, because my life is useless without receiving you mercy." Then Gaura Kishora das Babaji gave initiation to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati as Varshabhanavi-devi dasa. Then Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati gave up all other activities to chant 194 rounds daily for 7 years. He had a 'kutir' but did not spend the time to repair the roof; he just used an umbrella if it rained. One disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura who wanted to continue the mission came looking for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati in Navadwipa at this time, knowing him to be as powerful a personality as his father. He went around asking the locals if they knew of a sadhu matching Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's desciption, but they all answered, "We don't know of a sadhu, we only know of one madman. We see him moving here and there, crying aloud and sometimes rolling on the ground." So he went searching for him in the jungle next to the Ganga, where they said he sometimes could be seen. Suddenly he heard Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati crying "Krishna Krishna Haribol! Gaura Hari Bol!" He saw him burst out from the forest and plunge, fully dressed, into the Ganga. He kept on shouting in the water, splashing about. Then he came out. The disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura then approached him, requesting him to come to Calcutta to head up the sankirtana mission there. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati answered, "Sankirtana? Can you not see the wonderful 'sankirtana' mission of Sri Caitanya right here in the holy 'dham' of Navadwipa? Is it not wonderful? Sri Pancha-tattwa are chanting and dancing in ecstacy, surrounded by all their associates. Can you not see this?" Then Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati ran off, again shouting "Haribol" in great ecstacy. As it was sunset by this time, that man took his bath in the Ganga, and mentally renounced the idea of organizing the 'sankirtana' mission.

But later on, in 1918, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati appeared at his door in Calcutta, in 'sannyasi' robes with 'danda', freshly shaven, and ordered, "Now we are founding a Society, the Sri Gaudiya Matha. Draw up the papers immediately and have it registered. Though he'd arrived at 4 p.m., the work was done before that same afternoon was ended. He started the in the midst of war and national liberation agitation. He was uncompromising in his disregard of such mundane concerns. "The most important thing is to invoke the spirit of devotion to the Supreme Lord; this concern lies far above any material consideration." Many leaders objected, but he continued.

In this period the aristocratic young Abhay Charan De (latter known as Srila A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) visited Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati on the rooftop at Ultadanga Road; At this time Abhay charan De was adherent of the national liberation movement, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati convinced him in one sitting of the vital necessity of Lord Caitanya's mission over everything else. In his life he founded 64 temples throughout India. For his further preaching and attempts to spread Krishna consciousness beyond the bounds of India, as his father had desired also, he sent three disciples to west, and he gave ten westerners initiation, mostly from young intelligent men from Germany and a couple of elderly women in St John's Wood in London, by sending sannyasis to Germany and England.

During this time Abhay Caran De met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada. He was a young man – a 'khadi' clad follower of Gandhi's national movement. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada, seeing this bright faced young man before him, convinced him of a necessity to preach krishna consciousness. "In this world there is no shortage of anything, only krishna consciousness." • His 'kirtana' procession (with him personally at the head) would stop all traffic wherever it went in Calcutta; in Puri even the brahmins accepted his 'nam-sankirtana' as fully authorized.

• He went to take a bath in a 'pukkur', and when he was seven steps above the surface of the water, the water rose seven steps and touched his lotus feet. Then all the 'brahmacaries' jumped in, to bath in the 'caranamrta'.

• He got very sick ten days before he left his body. Two days later he wrote his last instruction: "Somehow we must become qualified to attain the shelter of Rupa and Raghunatha. Always chant Hare Krishna, always preach Krishna consciousness, and stay away from Vaishnava-aparadha. In this way become qualified to get the shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Raghunatha." Two days after that he wrote his letter to Srila Prabhupada (Abhaya Charan De).

• All the big intellectuals of Calcutta had a memorial gathering upon hearning word of his death. One (an atheist), in eulogy, said: "Who will we argue with now?"

• In 1936, whilst residing in the holy dhama of Jagannatha Puri at the age of 62, he left this mortal world to again return to the loving pastimes of Sri Sri Radha krishna in Brajaloka the topmost planet in the spiritual sky.

• His pushpa samadhis are at Radha-kunda and Radha Damodara.

“If you build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.” – Srila Prabhupada

• One other part of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s mission that was taken up by Srila Prabhupada and in turn has come to us is the Mayapur project. Of course, the previous acaryas envisioned a Krsna conscious city there, with a wonderful temple, and a beginning was made after Bhaktivinoda Thakura discovered Lord Caitanya’s birthplace and built a temple there. In time, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati instructed his disciples to build houses, and there are a few that his grhastha followers built. But the dream of the spiritual city hasn’t yet been fully realized. And then there is the idea of building a wonderful temple–Srila Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, after seeing the wonderful Prabhupada definitely wanted to build a vision of a golden 'mandira', began begging door to spectacular temple there. — Giriraja door for funds to establish the Yoga Pitha. Swami Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati used to "install" the printing presses that were acquired by the Gaudiya Matha for literature publication.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta also requested young Abhay Caran De, "You are an intelligent young man. If you ever get money, print books in the English language." Our Srila Prabhupada was so impressed that he took this as his life's mission. Some eleven years later he took diksa initiation from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, who told his other disciples who printed the Sajjana Tosani newspaper on his order, "Whatever Abhay Caran writes, print it." He obviously knew his worth. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was very innovative in his preaching. He had the idea that there should be a boat and that devotees should travel from port to port and spread Krsna consciousness. He had the idea of a theistic exhibition with doll exhibits, which was probably as progressive then as IMAX or animatronics now. Also, he interacted with the Britishers. There are pictures of him wearing a long, double- breasted coat, with long stockings and shoes. He looked just like a distinguished Britisher, but with the touches of a dhoti and a turban. And he would ride in a limousine. Now, when I arrived in India in 1970, only the richest people had cars; mainly, they had small Fiats and Ambassadors, and only the very richest had larger, imported cars. That was in 1970, so what would have been the situation in 1930?

Practically no one would have had a car, not even the wealthiest. But Bhaktisiddhanta had a limousine. And he was a sadhu! You can see pictures of him in a limousine, very nicely dressed. Sometimes he would entertain important government officers and scholars. There is a picture of him and his disciples receiving some British dignitaries in Mayapur, and the disciples were wearing uniforms–dark pants, dark vests, dark jackets, dark turbans, dark shoes and socks, and white shirts with high collars, with chains draped across their vests (perhaps attached to timepieces). They looked a bit like Christian priests, with elements of Indian princes. Personally, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was extremely austere, but when it came to spreading Krsna consciousness, he was ready to use anything and everything. ... By any means, yena tena prakarena, somehow or other, we want people to fix their minds on Krsna. Tasmat kenapy upayena manah krsna nivesayet: Somehow or other, one must fix the mind on Krsna. Somehow or other. Big temples, big festivals, museums, movies–whatever. Of course, the basics will always be there: kirtana and philosophy and prasada. But that is the merciful mood of our acaryas–not to be complacent, not to sit in the temple and eat rice and dal and ring the bell. Go out. Think of ways to somehow or other engage people in Krsna consciousness.

So we have a great lineage, and we have a big challenge. But I think we have a lot of good material too. I think we can do it. Srila Prabhupada said, “By the mercy of my guru maharaja, I did a hundred times more than he did. Similarly, I want you all to do a hundred times more than me.”

We pray for the mercy of our predecessor acaryas that we can be empowered by their mercy to carry on their mission and really help people–help ourselves and help others. — Giriraja Swami Among Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s last words were: “I have most probably given many people troubles in the mind. Some of them might have thought about me that I am their enemy because I was obliged to speak the plain truth for service and devotion towards the Absolute Godhead. I have given them all those troubles only for the reason that they may turn their face towards the Personality of Godhead without any desire for gain and with unalloyed devotion. I hope some day or other they may understand me rightly.

“I advise all to preach the teachings of Rupa-Raghunatha [disciples of Lord Caitanya] with all energy and resources. Our ultimate goal shall be to become the dust of the lotus feet of Sri Sri Rupa and Raghunatha Gosvamis. You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master with a view to serve the Absolute Knowledge, the Personality of Godhead. You should live somehow or other without any quarrel in this mortal world only for the service of Godhead.

Do not, please, give up the service of Godhead, in spite of all dangers, all criticisms, and all discomforts. Do not be disappointed, for most people in the world do not serve the Personality of Godhead; do not give up your own service, which is your everything and all, neither reject the process of chanting and hearing of the transcendental holy name of Godhead. You should always chant the transcendental name of Godhead with patience and forbearance like a tree and humbleness like a straw . . . There are many amongst you who are well qualified and able workers. We have no other desire whatsoever.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya! Gaura-premanande hari-haribol!