Jul 12, 2017 — CANADA (SUN) — Serial presentation of the text by HDG Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur.
FOREWORD
This brochure is not to be considered as a hagiological attempt [narration of the lives and legends of the saints] but an endeavor for inculcating the procedure of following the life of a transcendental devotee who had a thoroughly peculiar mood of service of the Absolute, unknown to the vitiated mundane atmosphere.
Readers, who are puzzled with the problem of finding out the solution of this ephemeral life, the antecedents and the consequences of which are not stored up, are respectfully solicited to go through these pages, not with a challenging mood but with an approaching aptitude, to be acquainted with the undiscovered track of devotion. A submissive and attentive audiencing will surely facilitate comprehension of the transcendental procedure, aiding one's journey to his hitherto unexplored transcendence.
The Absolute must not be obliged come under finitudinal examination by our poor senses. So the epistemology will explain for a thorough submission instead of exhibiting a flickering tendency of shallow versatility.
The humble and feeble entreaty of an insignificant informant may be found useful to its approver, which will fully repay his undertaking.
The loving thanks of the writer are due to Professor Nishi Kanta Sanyal, M.A., who has kindly helped him in going through the proofs.
BHAKTI SIDDHANTA SARASWATI
SRI GAUDIYA MATH, MADRAS
CHAPTER I
THE LORD AND HIS BELOVED
( Viewed by Empiricists )
Four centuries ago, about the year 1512 A.D., the western bank of the Godavari at Kovvur, on the most memorable day in the History of the world, witnessed a remarkable march of a band of Vedic Brahmanas chanting mantrams, attended with a performing concert of numerous Indian musical instruments playing before the procession in State of the Governor of Godavari Province of the Empire of thc Ganga dynasty of Utkal. This pompous procession was meant as the accompaniment for a ceremonial bath in the sacred Godavari whose sanctity is well established from time immemorial.
The bather was a no less conspicuous entity than the Governor of the mighty Emperor of Orissa, Sri Prataparudra Deva the greatest Ruler of the famous Ganga Dynasty whose members bore the proud designation of the Gajapatis or Lords of Elephants.
The spectacle visualized the fact that the occasion was intended for seeking an accession of Virtue and piety by a great Luminary of the Imperial Firmament who evidently wanted to popularize himself to be a religious personage guiding the reins of the administration of a great King.
Just before the party was approaching the holy bathing ghat of Gospada opposite to Kotilingam at Rajmundry, an Ascetic was observed to cross the river from the opposite bank to Pushkaram or Gospada. The very desire of having an ablution in the sacred stream fortunately brought One Who is the object of the eternal service of all unalloyed souls. The unbounded mercy that was hidden under the garb of the ascetic was showing unusual aptitude to meet a man of an apparently different caliber possessed of all royal grandeur quite in contravention to conditions of life invited by a sannyasin who deserted all earthly hopes of having any aid from busy sections of mundane meddlers.
This unusual meeting of those two extremes, as would seemingly appear before the public eye, will not reconcile the conflicting thoughts of an ordinary observer. This spot with its most precious transcendental association has at last been recovered from the dungeon of forgetfulness or oblivion by 6ne of their humble servants after the lapse of forty decades. Naturally the present day observers will look forward to ascertain the details regarding what led the public to the preservation of the memory of the said incident. Why was the mendicant busy to meet a man of ruling position and what led the ablest head of the administration to come in close touch with an unknown figure void of all worldly ambition?
The Governor had everything to do with the ascetic who also in his turn was travelling throughout the length and breadth of India in search of the Master and His comrades. Both of them found each other in the state which recalls the shrutimantram of the Mundaka as if dva sapurna sayuja, etc.
Gentle readers! Perchance you may not be able to resist the natural impulse to inquire about the couple. To respond to the call of enquiry, we are furnishing the account which has a historical bearing.
This ascetic was no other than Sri Krishna-Chaitanya, identical with Sri Krishna with His Consort Barshabanavi. The principal object, the observed of all observers, was no other than Rai Ramananda, identical with the serving maid known as Sakhi Vishakha of Braja-Leela. The damsel of Braja came to serve her Lord and Consort under the garb of exhibiting an easy lucid exposition of the transcendental manifestive phase to the reach of fortunate souls. The Supreme Lord--the Fountainhead of the Predominating Aspect of the Transcendental Region--assumed the phase of a servitor, seeking as if his Lord with all ardor, as well as ready to pick up His old friend, to facilitate an easy access to the solving of an intricate problem of eternal life of felicitous knowledge of the transcendence in phenomena.
The immanence of both made the devotees alone to conceive them by their seeming features of transcendence. Their meeting disclosed facts which were a sealed book to the frailties of human mentality. So the memory of this place would be adequately immortalized by recollecting the greatest boon offered to the search of eternity.
The nativity of our hero is alleged to be Bentpur in the District of Puri where his kinsmen are still traced as Choudhury Pattanayakas. He was descended in the Karan caste, which is a mixed caste of vaishya and sudra as Manava Dharma Shastra would tell us in describing the mixed apashadas. His father's name was Bhavananda Rai, who had four other sons. One of the sons, Gopinath, was employed in the service of the king, but was found guilty of embezzling some amount of the royal treasury which penalized his life by the decision of the prince. King Prataparudra, considering the defaulter a brother of Ramananda, granted mercy in sparing his life; whereas, the Supreme Lord exhibited His diffidence to grant him mercy by His devotee, the King. Another brother of his named Vaninath, used to serve faithfully the Supreme Lord in various ways, such as in conveying mahaprasadam, etc.
Rai Ramananda was in the cadre of the highest service of the realm and he had to act as the Governor of East and West Godavari, being a faithful and trustworthy service-holder of the Emperor of Orissa who had extended his province to the north bank of the river Krishna. Highest reference was given of Sri Ramananda by Vasudeva Sarbabhauma Bhattacharyya, the then erudite professor of monistic Vedanta or Chinmatravada. His devotional activities together with his writings earned for him the fame of the greatest poet of the time. This trait of character was unequalled as well as his maintenance of ethical views was no less.
The Supreme Lord was hurrying up to meet him in His journey to the South and was very eager to have his unique company of pure highest devotion. Rai Ramananda at the same time also cherished an unknown hope of coming in touch with the all-loving transcendental entity Sri Krishna. So They were united in the tie of love which has a serving aptitude for the one goal--the akhila-rasamrita-murty.
Rai's excellent work, Sri Jagannath-ballava-natakam, was being written with the skill of a reputed rhetorician, and later on this drama attracted the attention of the Supreme Lord in His manifesting devotional rituals. The style is so very simple that a little knowledge of grammar can help the readers of any other languages originated from Sanskrit in following the same.
Since his meeting with the Supreme Lord at Kovvur, Rai Ramananda strictly followed the counsel of his Master. He parted with his exalted position and returning to Puri awaited for the Supreme Lord in order to serve Him as a companion. During his period of retirement from the service of the emperor Rai Ramananda lived at the Jagannath Ballava Garden in the town of Puri where he was busily engaged in the practices of the transcendental services of all those girls whom he considered to be identical with the damsels of Braja.
The blind pedants could not discern his position as a true practical devotee in his swarupa or transcendental absolute position when he sincerely posed as an eternal serving maid of the paraphernalia of the Predominated Transcendental Aspect of the Absolute. The ordinary eyes cannot possibly transcend the worldly phenomena; so their vision is never proselytized by spiritual acquisition. The ordinary brain cannot possibly distinguish between the mundane and the spiritual planes. Their particular angle of vision cannot convince them of the transcendental plane where no sensuous enjoyment is feasible. The ordinary sight of an empiricist can never be expected to subscribe to para-vidya when their funds are truly lacking in transcendental treasures. He was and is often confused as a man who was indulging in his senses for his enjoyment by lustful anthropomorphists.
But the true position of the heart of our hero was not observed by such people in the true light of a devotee. A true devotee has no other ambition to enjoy the frailties of Nature. He is ever engaged in the service of the Master's comrade without any attempt to have a share in the Lord's acquisition. He has been accepted by the Supreme Lord as His best friend; and, not only as a friend, but as an eternal friend in the company of Sri Krishna and His Consort. It is stated by the biographer of the Supreme Lord that the sweet composition of the songs of Rai Ramananda acted as predominating over the transcendental mentality of the Master. His book formed one of the five that occupied the engagement of the Supreme Lord. He has left some songs in the Malthili language which much attracted the love of his Lord. And these songs are the highest specimens of delineations of transcendental love. His integrity and sincerity were fully substantiated at the occasion of the meeting of Pradyumna Mis hra who was asked by the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna-Chaitanya to learn the clue of true devotion from the denizen of the Jagannath Ballava Garden who was fully occupied with the transcendental love of Braja. The Supreme Lord compared his renunciating demeanor with that of the ideal abnegation of the Goswamis Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana who have shown to the world conduct reaching the acme of deserting platform.
His time can be safely admitted from the eighth decade of the fifteenth century to the succeeding fourth decade of the Christian era. He greatly exerted himself in securing the favor of the Supreme Lord towards the emperor of Orissa who was in territorial possession of Andhra. The King allowed him to remain in the Garden of Jagannath Ballava and granted him suitable pension during his lifetime. He was one of the two constant companions of the Lord and was the best friend of Damodar Swarup Goswami. He was treated in reverential eye by the proper followings of the Supreme Lord, viz., Sri Raghunath Das Goswami and others. He was also the bosom friend of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana.
The servant's story is not complete unless the Master's account is given at least in a brief compass in order to avoid a partial view of correlation of both. So the Master's advent before Ramananda should enlighten the account. In the first place we are to narrate the previous activities of the Supreme Lord who was loved by one and all, by whomsoever He met. But the Lord had a peculiar affinity for our hero. It has been told of the Supreme Lord that He assumed the platform of a world-teacher for the upheaval of the contaminated mentality of the apathetic bound souls who preferred to have a temporal life in the clutches of time and space to accommodate matter.
(To be continued...)
