Yatra 2018 - Day 11 - Nabadwip Parikrama

Today our 2018 Yatra visited the Holy Dhaam of Nabadwip. After we all attended mangala aarti and SB class, we had a blissful Sankirtana and Hari Naam to the boats waiting on Jalangi river.

Videos:

1. Sankirtana and Hari Naam on trip to Nabadwip Part 1
2. Sankirtana and Hari Naam on trip to Nabadwip part 2
3. Sankirtana and Hari Naam on trip to Nabadwip Part 3
4. Krishna Katha - Sri Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj
5. Krishna Katha at Dhameshwar Mahaprabhu's courtyard
6. Evening Katha

For photos from today, please click here.

Katha from today:

Nabadwip 

In Bengali, Nabadwip means 'a collection of nine islands'. Just as its name suggests, Nabadwip is a collection of islands, namely Antardwip (Sri Mayapur), Simantadwip, Rudradwip, Madhyadwip, Godrumdwip, Ritudwip, Jahnudwip, Modadrumdwip, and Koladwip. Situated in the Nadia district of West Bengal, the place is considered to be much sanctified, since it is the birth place of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Nabadwip is visited by thousands of pilgrims belonging to Gaudiya Vaishnavism every year, on the occasion of Sri Navadvipa-mandala Parikrama.

Navadwip was earlier located on the eastern bank of Bhagirathi, along with the rest of the Nadia district. However, as Bhagirathi River changed its course, the city shifted to its western bank. Blessed with numerous old and new temples, the city welcomes people of various sects, like Shaktas, Vaishnavs and Shivaites, with open arms. The month of Agharayan i.e. November (according to Gregorian Calendar) is the best time to visit this place, as during this period, the city gets on into extremely festive and celebration mood with the arrival of the Rash Festival.

Sri Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj

Jagannath Das meets Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Jagannath Das Babaji met Bhaktivinoda Thakur for the first time in 1880 AD. Their second meeting took place in the village of Amalajoria in Burdwan district in 1891. On this occasion, they spent the entire night (it was Ekadasi) discussing Krishna-katha. Jagannath Das Baba encouraged Bhaktivinoda Thakur to preach Gaura’s name and abode.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur gave an account of this eventful night in his Sajjana-toshani magazine as follows: “After spending the whole night in the Ekadasi vigil, at eight in the morning, people from the entire village gathered together to go on the nagara-sankirtan through its streets. Placing the venerable Jagannath Das Babaji Maharajji at the head of the group, they made their way to the Prapannashrama. It is impossible to describe Babaji Maharaj’s ecstatic transformations during this kirtan. Though he is over a hundred years old, he dances like a lion, sometimes singing out the couplet,

nitai ki nama eneche re 

nama eneche namer hate, 

shraddhara mule nama diteche re

‘What a divine name Nitai has brought! He has brought the name to the marketplace of the Name and is selling it for the price of faith!’

“As he sang, he cried and fell to the ground in ecstasy. I then saw something transpire which I had never seen before. All those who were present were affected by his mood: their eyes filled with tears and their hairs stood on end, and even though they could barely sing, they remained absorbed in the kirtan and danced wildly.”

In his autobiography, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has also written: “In 1892, Jagannath Das Babaji and many other Vaishnavas participated in the sankirtan festival in Godruma and then in Sri Mayapur. In the month of Magh in 1299 (Bengali), Babaji Maharaj came from Kuliya-Nabadwip with his associates to Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s residence, Surabhikuïja, in Godrumadvipa. A great sankirtan festival was held there on Wednesday, the 27th of Magh.”

Babaji Maharaj designates Mahaprabhu’s birth site

A physically powerful Vrajavasi named Vihari Das Babaji was Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj’s personal servant. He used to place Babaji Maharaj in a large wicker basket and carry him from place to place. Even though Babaji Maharaj was very aged, his sight was still good. His eyelids drooped, however, covering his eyes, and he had to lift them in order to see. It is said that Vihari Dasji carried Babaji Maharaj in the wicker basket as far as the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Upon arrival, Babaji Maharaj got out of the basket and began to dance madly, singing the names Jaya Sachinandana Gaura-Hari. Everyone was amazed to see the old babaji dance in this way. Through his divine vision, Babaji Maharaj pointed out the site of Mahaprabhu’s birth and then later the site of the breaking of the mridanga by the Qazi. This place is now known as Khola-bhangara Òanga and is, of course, the same as Srivasa Angan..

In Sajjana-toshani, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has described this event as follows: “At eleven o’clock in the morning on Thursday, the 20th of Phalguna in 1299 Bangabda (1892 AD), devotees filled three boats on the west bank of the Ganges in Nabadwip town. The great devotee Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was carried in a palanquin. By the time the party reached Mayapur it was impossible to count the number of people who had gathered. Dvarika Babu and a party of devotees carrying colorful flags was waiting for the renounced Vaishnavas with a joyous kirtan at Mahaprabhu’s Janma-sthana. When all these devotees had gathered in the raised area where Mahaprabhu was born and started to dance, it was such a wondrous sight as had likely not been seen in Nabadwip-dham in four hundred years. Later the devotees sat down and after discussing the matter, decided that deity service should be established both at the birthplace and at Srivasa Angan. Jagannath Das Babaji Mahashaya proposed that Jagannath and Sachi Devi should be worshiped in one building and Mahaprabhu with Lakshmi Devi and Vishnupriya standing on his either side in another. On the other hand, deities of the Pancha Tattva should be consecrated in Srivasa Angan.”

In those days, there was a large kadamba tree at the Janmasthana in Mayapur. Babaji Maharaj came and danced under this tree. Sri Gaura Kishora Das Babaji used to sit under that tree chanting the Holy Name in deep trance. Jagannath Das Babaji had stayed a long time in a place named Bhajana-kutira in Koladvipa. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur had a concrete veranda built for this cottage. Babaji Maharaj’s samadhi tomb is situated there. Babaji Maharaj used to visit Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur in his house, Bhakti Bhavana, in Ram Bag in Calcutta. There he met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur upon whom he showered unlimited affection. When he learned that Saraswati Thakur had achieved incomparable expertise in astrology, he asked him to make an almanac based on the Vaishnava calendar. Later, the Chaitanya Math began publishing the Nabadwip-Païjika in accordance with Babaji Maharaj’s wishes.

Babaji Maharaj’s disappearance

When approaching the end of his sojourn in this world, Babaji Maharaj became hunched and tiny looking. Nevertheless, when he danced in kirtan, he would look six feet tall, a magnificent specimen of humanity, with long arms reaching down to his knees. He would sometimes jump five or six feet into the air when absorbed in the ecstatic mood of kirtan.

Jagannath Das’s disappearance took place on the Shukla-pratipad of the month of Phalguna, Monday, February 25, 1895. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote the following about this in Sajjana-toshani (22,2): “At ten o’clock in the morning, in the Bhajana-kutira in Koladvipa in Nabadwip town, the old general of the Vaishnavas went to his eternal abode. The Siddha Babaji went to the spiritual world, but left this world in darkness. We will no longer be able to see his ecstatic dancing in kirtan with these mundane eyes. May he bestow his blessings on us from his place in the eternal home.”

Rasavihari Goswami of Puruniya in Burdwan district was Jagannath Das’s initiated disciple. Rasavihari Goswami initiated the independent King of Tripura, Raja Ishanacandra Manikya Bahadura. Rasavihari Goswami’s deity, Rasaviharijiu, is worshiped to this day in the Raja’s palace.

Dhamesvara Temple (Mahaprabhu Bari)

The deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this temple is said to have been worshiped by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s wife, Srimati Vishnupriya, after the Lord took sannyasa. This deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has His arms extended out lovingly towards His devotees. Vishnupriya was sixteen years old when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and she disappeared from this material world at the age of ninety-six, so she worshiped this deity for eighty years. Wooden shoes are kept in this temple which are said to have been worn by Lord Caitanya. After Vishnupriya-devi’s disappearance her cousin took the deity to his house. At that time he was living on the eastern side of the Ganga. Later on when his house was washed away by the Ganga he moved to Kuliya-grama on the western side of the Ganga. This Kuliya-grama is known today as the town of Navadvipa. As Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu was the son-in-law of this family, they still to this day worship the deity as their son-in-law.