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R MAYAPURM ONTHLY NEWSLETTER FRO M THE Ç RÉ M ÄYÄPUR TIMES C ANDRODAYA M ANDIR I NTERNATIONAL S O C IETY FOR K ÅÑËA C ONS C IOUSNESS MAYAPUR F OUNDER - Ä C ÄRYA H IS D IVINE G RA C E A . C . B HA K TIVEDANTA S WA M I P RA B HUPÄDA Volume #2019, Issue #009/November,December ODANA GITA Story SASTHI JAYANTI Page Nothing Else SRI KRISHNA but the RASAYATRA | Pleasure of the Lord 1 bhagavan api ta ratrih beautiful song. The whole forest of Rasa Purnima also marks the first saradotphulla-mallikah Vrajdham was intoxicated with the of Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s week- viksy- a rantum manas cakre sweetness of this most auspicious ly elephant processions in May- yoga-mayam upasritah evening and thus within the heart apur. During this festival, Their of the Supreme Personality of Lordships come out of the temple Sri Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person- Godhead Sri Shyamsundar awoke and go on a procession around ality of Godhead, full in all op- the desire to enjoy the beautiful the Mayapur campus on the back ulences, yet upon seeing those Lila of the Rasa Dance with His of an elephant. Sri Sri Gaura Nitai autumn nights scented with most beloved Gopis. from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhajan blossoming jasmine flowers, He Kutir also come along and lead the turned His mind toward loving af- In Sridham Mayapur, identical to procession. The harinama party fairs. To fulfill His purposes He em- Vrindavan dham, pilgrims turn up leads ecstatic kirtans as the Lords ployed His internal potency. - S.B in huge numbers. It’s a festival proceed around the campus. 10.29.1 they’re most familiar with as they come on this holy expedition As Their Lordships move about, On this most sacred and holy to have their most spiritual auspicious mantras are constantly evening on the full moon night of experience. being chanted by the Mayapur the month of Kartik,in the forest gurukula boys, along with the of Vrindavan the moon starts Devotees of ISKCON Mayapur sounds of their conch shells. rising on the eastern horizon. It most aware of the significance Other gurukula boys play the is a beautiful golden color and of this festival decorate beautiful vibrant drums, electrifying the all around the atmosphere is dancing deities of Srimati Radha- atmosphere, announcing the surcharged. The sky; it seems as rani and the Asta Sakhis, each with arrival of the Lord. The whole if it is painted by the beautiful their own Madhava, set up on the pathway is illuminated by lamp golden illuminating aura of the platform just below Sri Sri Radha light and all of ISKCON campus is moon. The birds are singing with Madhava’s altar. The Vaisnavas lit up with lights. sweet sounds; most pleasing to make sweet rice and many other the ears. The wind in its charming milk sweets for the pleasure of Sri On the pathway, the community way is blowing through the Sri Radha Madhava on the night of devotees design stunning rangolis. leaves and the trees are singing a Their Rasa-lila to offer to the Lord. Using coloured powders, chalks, 2 mineral paints, flowers, cow dung, ganga mud, and fire. The devotees create breathtakingly stunning offer- ings. They also get the opportunity to prepare different cuisines to offer to their Lord. The Supreme Lord Krishna is thus playing upon His flute for all of us. He is calling each and every one of us to enter His divine Lila simply, and this is how his devotees reciprocate. Due to the mercy of Sri Caitanya Ma- haprabhu and Srila Prabhupada, we have the knowledge to receive Krishna’s pastimes in the correct manner and relish it’s sweetness. By gradual development of transcendental knowledge, one can rise to the stage of the transcendental arts of music and dance displayed by the Lord in His rasa-lila. But without having the Vedic knowledge one can hardly understand the transcendental nature of the Lord’s rasa dance and music. - Srila Prabhupada on Rasa Lila, SB - 2.2.4. 3 Odana-sasthi The First Day of Winter “At the beginning of winter, there is a ceremony known as the Odana-sasthi. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to Lord Jagannatha.” - Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila16.79, purport 4 of fourty-eight minutes. After Pundarika Vidyanidhi begged for “No one can understand the glo- Once, Srila Their forgiveness, the Lords mer- ries of the Lord’s servants. Only cifully glanced at Pundarika and Krishna knows their attachment went back to Their temple. Upon for Him. Krsna sometimes bewil- Pundarika waking up, Pundarika felt that his ders His devotee, and then, feeling face was swollen, and bore the compassion for him, He destroys imprints of the Lords’ hand marks. his illusion.” Vidyanidhi He understood this to be the pure Although Pundarika Vidyanidhi mercy of the Lord, and thus upon was a great devotee, when he en- and Srila Svarupa Damodara came seeing his swollen face, laughed acted the pastime of finding fault to Jagannatha Puri and saw the with great joy. in the devotees of Lord Jagan- festival of odana-sasthi. On this natha, the affectionate Supreme day, the Lord is offered new cloth, and from that day forth, the Lord should be offered winter clothing. This cloth that was offered to the Lord was directly purchased from a weaver and was not washed before being offered. According to proper injunctions to be followed when worshipping the deities, the purchased cloth should first be washed to remove all the starch, which is considered impure, and then it can be used to cover the Lord. Seeing this, Pundarika Vidyanidhi became very angry; thus his mind became polluted. Speaking to Srila Svarupa Damodara, Srila Pundar- ika Vidyanidhi criticised the be- haviour of Lord Jagannatha’s ser- vants, asking why they would offer starched cloth to the Lord. Svarupa Damodara tried to pacify Pundar- ika Vidyanidhi with gentle words, saying that it was simply how it was done, and surely if the Lord was not pleased, He would have stopped it; the characteristics of the Supreme Lord are beyond the jurisdiction of worldly etiquette. Pundarika Vidyanidhi was still not satisfied. sabe na janena Lord performed one pastime to sarva-dasera prabhava destroy his staged illusion. That night, Lord Jagannatha and krsna se janena Lord Baladeva came to Pundarika yanra yata anuraga - Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, Vidyanidhi in his dream and be- bhramo karayena antya-khanda texts 120-121, gan to slap him, chastising him for krsna apana-dasere translation and purport criticising Their servants and the bhramac-chedo kare way they worshiped the Lord. This pache sadaya-antare chastisement went on for a length 5 The Odana-sasthi festival is referred to Govardhan as described in great detail in Srila Haridev. So he never rose above VrndavanaThe King Daswho couldThakura’s devour Sri Govardhana an Caitanya Bhagavata,Mountains Antya-khanda 10. hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa- varyo Inyad Rajapur rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa- Jagannatha Mandir in Sri Dham Mayapur,pramodaḥ Lord Jagannatha alsomānaṁ follows tanoti the samesaha-go-gaṇayos custom that bewildered Pundarikatayor yat Vidyanidhi fivePānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kanda- hundred years ago, and is beautifully mūlaiḥdressed in starched cloth on Odana-sasthi. On this day, devoteesOf all the comedevotees, from this the Sri MayapurGovardhana Candrodaya Hill is the best! Mandir O My and the friends,surrounding this hill villages to havesupplies this Kṛṣṇavery specialand Balarāma, darshan as of Lordwell Jagannatha. as Their calves, There cows is ecstatic and kirtan, wonderfulcowherd katha and deliciousfriends, prasadam. with all kindsThe Odana-of sasthinecessities-water festival is mostfor drinking, definitely a favouritevery winter soft grass,festival in Sri Jagannathacaves, fruits,Mandir. flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respect to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant - CC Anta lila - 14.86 Mount Govardhana is best amongst the vaishnavas, facilitating Krishna and the cows to perform their wonderful pastimes. He is also called Giriraj because he is the best of the mountains. The residents of Vrindavan were simple, their duty was agriculture. They had numerous of cows and bulls who would graze upon the grass provided by the fertile soils of the hill, their agricultural farms spanning over many acres would depend on Giriraj as a source of nourishment, just like a devotee depends on Krishna for mercy. In Chaitanya Charitamrita it is found that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 6 Gita Jayanti The Topmost Knowledge Divulged “Anyway, print books, distribute profusely, and that will be the best preaching work. What will your three minutes; preaching do?—but if they buy one book, it may turn their life. So make this your important task, to print our books…and distribute widely, and that will please my Guru Maharaja. Never mind it takes little time to make progress, our process is slow but sure, and we are confident that if we continue in this way we shall go one day back to home, back to Godhead.” - Srila Prabhupada in a letter to Bhagavan das, Vrindaban, 5 November 1972 5244 years ago, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna delivered the most confidential and topmost knowledge to Arjuna, a warrior prince, and to humanity at large, in order to help all devotees understand the purpose of life and the way to surrender to Him. Every year on the anniversary of that day, devotees of Lord Krishna gather and recite the Bhagavad Gita. In Sri Dham Mayapur, around 700 students from the Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy organize a huge Gita Jayanti festival.