Five aspects of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s outreach

Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Hare Krishna I seek blessings of all the senior devotees that I can try to speak something about Srimad Bhagavatam and later about Srila Bhaktivedanta Sri Thakur So this is the the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the Kaliya Gamana Leela, and as the Vrajivasis have come to know that Krishna has been caught in the fangs of Kaliya, so all of them just rush off to try to see what has happened to Krishna. In Anand Vrindavan Champu, Kavi Karanapur describes that everybody in Vrindavan, right from a one-year-old baby to a hundred-year-old man, everybody ran in despair to see what had happened to Krishna. They just didn't think of anything else.

The mothers who would care for their babies, they forgot their babies and ran away. But unlike in the Rashtrila pastime, when the other family members were left behind, in this case, all the family members also came along. The small babies who were left aside, they also came running to see what had happened.

And as they came and beheld Krishna and the pachis of Kaliya, they were going towards that, and here it is described as seeing that they saw the footmarks of Krishna, the footprints. So, in the Vrajaraja Sutasya, it is described about Krishna's footprints. kalanupurarajita-charupadam maniranjita-ganjita-bhringamadam svaja-vajraja-sankhita-pada-yugam vajra-krishna-nidhim-vrajaraja-sutam So, it is described, kalanupurarajita-charupadam This lotus feet are very sweet.

And kalanupurarajita-they are decorated with very beautiful anklets. And then maniranjita-ganjita-bhringamadam-there are very beautiful jewels in the anklets. And as those jewels shine, honeybees are attracted to that.

Krishna's lotus feet are called lotus. So, honeybees are naturally attracted, and the effulgence of the jewels attracts them all the more. maniranjita-ganjita-bhringamadam So, they become intoxicated, both by the sight and the fragrance.

And those lotus feet are marked with svaja-vajraja-sankhita-pada-yugam svaja-vajraja-sankhita So, there are several marks, as it is described in this paracord also. There is a flag, there is thunderbolt, there is fish, there are several other markings like that. And Sanatana Goswami makes the point over here, that normally, if it is a crowded place, even if the footmarks are made, the footmarks won't last.

So, how is it that the footmarks are lasting? So, in the Gopi Gita, in 10.31, the Gopis describe the characteristic of Krishna's footprints. They describe, dharani-mandanam, dheya-mapadi, dharana-pankajam, santamam chete. So, they describe dharani-mandanam.

Mandanam is decoration, ornament, monument. So, dharani is earth. So, the footmarks of Krishna, with the svaja-vajraja and all the other paraphernalia that are there, actually they are the monument of the earth.

Dharani-mandanam. And what is their characteristic? Dheya-mapadi, that they are the object of meditation during apati, apadi, dheya, we can do dhyana on them. And what happens when we do dhyana on them? Charana-pankajam, santamam chete, santamam, supreme satisfaction.

So, all the Vrajavasis cherish the footprints of Krishna as much as they cherish Krishna. And this love of the Vrajavasis towards not only Krishna, but towards everything connected with Krishna, now that is what Daruka finds very astonishing when he comes to Vrindavan. In the Parnam Purana, Vishnu Purana describes how Krishna returns to Vrindavan after going out, and he comes in a chariot which Daruka is driving.

And when the Vrajavasis see that this is Krishna's chariot, they start taking care of this chariot so nicely, Daruka thinks, I am the charioteer, I don't take care of this chariot so nicely. And actually they have never seen this chariot, and they are not going to see this chariot also again. But why are they so attracted to it? Because it is connected with Krishna.

So love for Krishna means love for everything connected with Krishna. And that is why Sanatana Goswami explains that none of the Vrajavasis, even let a small mark wipe out the footprints of Krishna that are formed on the ground. And that is why they are still preserved.

It is a very sweet topic, but today we will focus on the glories of Shri Bhakti Siddhanta, Shri Thakur. So actually the lotus feet of Krishna are preserved not just in the footprints, in the dust of Vrindavan, actually those lotus feet are preserved in the heart of his great devotees. In the Ramayan that comes in the Bhagavatam, in the 9th canto, chapter 10 and 11, there is described that Lord Ram departed from this world, he placed his lotus feet in the heart of his devotees and then departed.

So actually Krishna places those same beautiful lotus feet that the Vrajavasis are so wonderfully cherishing in the hearts of his devotees. And these devotees preserve and pass on the sweetness, the beauty of those lotus feet down the parampara. And that is how we gain access to them.

So it is a venerable chain of exalted teachers that extends right back to the beginning of history, when Krishna manifested himself and gave the knowledge about himself to this world. So it is through this spiritual ancestry that we have got the legacy of discussing about Krishna's lotus feet. So one of the most pyrrhotal persons who cherished these lotus feet and distributed them all over India and all over the world was Shri Bhakti Siddhanta Shri Thakur.

And today we are discussing about his glories. So rather than going over a chronological review of his life and activities, I would like to focus on five distincting aspects of his outreach. So an Acharya is like a spiritual warrior.

And a warrior fights according to the situation that is confronting him. So of course we are not talking about war in terms of bloodshed and killing over here. The war is against misconceptions that block people's vision of Krishna.

And the Acharya wages war to break down those walls of misconceptions, so that people can themselves glimpse the beauty of Krishna. And when they glimpse the beauty of Krishna, they naturally become attracted. So when a war has to be fought, the purpose of fighting the war is always the same.

But the practises used for fighting the war, the strategies used, vary according to the setting of the war. And we can study the Acharya's life in a normative way. Normative means, this is the standard, this is the situation, this is how the Acharya responded.

And we can learn from that. That is one very valuable way of learning from the Acharya. Another way of learning about the Acharyas and from the Acharyas, is by looking at the social context in which they lived and shared Krishna Consciousness, and understanding and trying to analyse and understand what they did, why they did it and how it succeeded.

So when war has to be fought, different times, different strategies have to be employed. In the First World War, the primary strategy for stopping the enemy was called trench warfare. Trench warfare means, the two enemies would just dig trenches under the ground, and they would just, anybody who would come out of their trench, they would shoot them.

And nobody could move forward. Back on the border of France, there were years of stalemate during the First World War. But, although this strategy was very helpful in the First World War, by the time of the Second World War, there were aeroplanes.

So if somebody went into the trenches, the trenches would become their graves. So that strategy became completely useless. So even if the war has to be fought, we can't just rely on the strategies that were successful in the past.

Similarly, the Acharyas, when they fight the war against illusion, they use certain strategies. And this is what actually brings dynamism to Krishna Consciousness. Now, we may not have to think our strategies to fight against illusion, but all of us have to internalise Krishna Consciousness according to our situation.

And we also have to observe and learn from how our seniors, the Acharyas at present, are sharing Krishna Consciousness. What strategies are they using? So actually, all of us have to do the internalisation of Krishna Consciousness on our own. And to some extent, we do it in an improvised way according to what we feel is practical or suitable for us.

But if we understand how the Acharyas do it, then we get some beacons, some road maps for how it needs to be done. So ultimately, all of us individually will apply Krishna Consciousness. And how we will apply it will vary.

One senior devotee was telling me that in one particular community, there was a bit of a polarisation between the Grahasthas and the Brahmacharis. So when some new boys would come to the temple, the Brahmachari would tell them, become a Brahmachari. And then they would say that, actually, if you become a Brahmachari, that is very good.

Because you don't get entangled into material life. And then, the devotee would say, but you know, Bhaktivinoda Thakur is also a Grahastha. So you can be a Grahastha also.

Do you think you are as advanced as Bhaktivinoda Thakur? Do you think you can follow in his footsteps? No, no, I can't follow. And then he would go and associate with the Grahasthas. And they would say, that the Grahastha ashram is a safe ashram.

What actually is it? Bhaktivinoda Thakur or a Sanyasi? Do you think you are like Bhaktivinoda Thakur? So then the poor devotees, what do they do? Do they become Brahmacharis or do they become Grahasthas? They stay in between as Brahmachars. So ultimately, all of us have to apply. And it will depend on our inspiration or inclination.

We certainly don't claim to be as advanced as any of the Acharyas. But still we have to learn from their example. So, I will discuss, as I said, five aspects.

I will discuss about, from the broad Vedic culture, Bhaktivinoda Thakur's utilisation of the Hanyasa ashram, from specifically within the Gaudiya Vaishya culture, his subordination of the Raga Marga of Bhakti, then from within the modern, so these two are from the tradition. Generally, an Acharya has to interface between tradition and modernity. And the circumstances around it.

So from the modernity, I will discuss about his institutionalisation of Gaudiya Vaishyaism, that's from modern sociology. Then I will discuss about his adoption of technology, that is the principle of Yukta Vairagya. And lastly, I will talk about his presentation of Krishna Consciousness in contemporary language, that is English.

So, let's start with firstly, Hanyasa ashram. Now the Hanyasa ashram, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, not only reintroduced it in Gaudiya Vaishyaism, but he introduced it in a radical way, by giving himself Hanyasa. It's like, nowadays so many devotees are waiting for initiation for so many years.

Somebody says, I will give myself initiation. Why should I wait? So, it's radical at the very least. So, of course, Hanyasa initiation is slightly different from first initiation, but still, the principle of initiation is it has to be given.

So, why did Bhaktivinoda Thakur do something like giving Hanyasa to himself? So, the reasons are multi-fold, and for understanding those reasons, we have to understand why Hanyasa was not there in Gaudiya Vaishyaism prior to that. Hanyasa is definitely a part of Vedic culture, a very important part, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself took Hanyasa. And although there is a verse in Brahma Vaivartha Purana, where it says that Hanyasa is not recommended in Kali Yuga.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu quoted that verse, but then he himself took Hanyasa. And the same Brahma Vaivartha Purana, there are other verses which recommend Hanyasa also. So, it is not that there is a blanket ban on Hanyasa.

But, after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his followers, the Gaudiya Vaishnavas were primarily in two divisions. The Gaudiya Vaishnavas in Bengal and Orissa were mostly Grihasthas. They were all like Shiva, Thakur, Advaita Acharya, Pratap, Rudranatha, Ramananda Raya, they were all Grihasthas.

And his followers in Vrindavan were primarily renunciates. And the primary among those were the six Goswamis. Now, the six Goswamis, the leaders among them were Rupa, Sanatana and Goswami, and although they were born in Saraswat Brahmin families, they had been forced to adopt Islam because of the pressure of Nawab Singh Shah.

And from the traditional Brahminical perspective, they were considered contaminated. And that's why, from the traditional perspective, although Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted them, and not only accepted them, but even stated them as his primary disciples for the dissemination of Sadhanta, but still the traditional community would not have accepted them as Sanyasis. In fact, what to speak of Sanyasis, the traditional community would not have accepted them even as Gurus.

That's why, among the six Goswamis, whenever anybody asked them for initiation, most of them, they would just forward them to Gopal Bhatt Goswami. Gopal Bhatt Goswami was born in a Brahmin family from Srirangam. And actually, Jiva Goswami was the only disciple that Rupa Sanatana Goswami accepted.

And Jiva Goswami, he trained this formidable trio of Srinivasa Thakura, Narottam Das Thakura, and Samana Pandit, but he did not accept them as his disciples. So that was because they were not considered to be caste Brahmins. And in general, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed deference.

He did not directly disrupt the social system. And the Goswamis followed that. But at the same time, the Goswamis were living like Sanyasis.

More than Sanyasis, in fact. In fact, they were so utterly renowned, as we know from Srinivasa Acharya, Sathya Goswami, Ashtakam. So then, in the Vedic tradition, especially in the Panchatantra tradition, I'll talk about Pancharatha tradition, I'll describe what is Pancharatha later.

But there is the alternative of Babaji Vesh. So, the Babaji Vesh is an alternative form of renunciation from the world. And that was what the Sikh Goswamis accepted.

And because the Sikh Goswamis were primarily, were the primary disciples of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so, the other followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, living in Vrindavan, they felt that if they are not taking Sanyas, how can we take Sanyas? And that's why they also took Babaji Vesh. And subsequently, that's how the tradition started of taking Babaji Vesh and Gaudiya Vishnu Vesh. So it was not that there was some scriptural rule because of which Sanyas was removed from the Gaudiya Vishnu.

It was the circumstance due to which the Goswamis couldn't take Sanyas, and others, out of respect for the Goswamis, continued with Babaji Vesh. So, this is how it went on for several generations. And by the time the Bhaktasiddhanta Sri Thakur appeared, or Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakur also appeared, several disturbing contaminations had come into Gaudiya Vishnu.

So this will relate with the second point which I was going to make about Raga Marga. To understand Raga Marga, we have to understand something about Tantra. In the broad Vedic tradition, there are two ways to approach God.

God is considered spiritual. And to go towards spirit, one has to go away from matter. So Vedanta is one way.

And Vedanta, which is primarily deriving from the Upanishads, focusses on a radical differentiation between matter and spirit. You are not the body. You are the soul.

Matter is different, spirit is different. The whole process of Upanishads is na iti, na iti, na iti. Go beyond everything material, so that you can attain the spiritual.

Now this is a suitable path for those who are intellectual and analytical, but practically for most people to just reject matter and go towards spirit is next to impossible. That's why the Vedic scriptures give an alternative that is called a Tantra. Now Tantra has two aspects to it.

There is left-handed Tantra and right-handed Tantra. So right-handed Tantra is auspicious. It actually is deity worship.

And nowadays when people use the word Tantra, they often refer to left-handed Tantra. So what is the principle of Tantra? The basic principle is that matter can be a means to access spirit. Matter can be used as a means to access spirit.

And the primary way this is done is through deity worship. So God manifests as matter. And God doesn't become matter, but God manifests through matter so that we can access it.

And actually this is the basis of the presence of holy places, the presence of the power of the holy name and the manifestation of Krishna as deity. So this whole body of Tantra comes under a body of literature called as Pancharatra. So the Pancharatras have described Tantra quite extensively.

And the Vaishnavacharyas adopted Tantra in terms of deity worship quite extensively. That's why what Vaishnavacharyas follow is not exactly Vedanta. It is Vaishnava Vedanta.

It's personalist Vedanta. Where we accept the principle that we have to go beyond matter to spirit. But we use matter as a means to access spirit.

However, this right-handed Tantra, it over time distorted into a perversion of the left-handed Tantra. The left-handed Tantra has no direct basis in scripture. And in the right-handed Tantra, the idea is, there are only certain specific activities or specific things where God manifests.

And through which we can access God. For example, the deity, the holy name. The other things we can use in Krishna's service.

But they are not themselves spiritual. And in the Vaishnava Tantra, in Pancharatra, it's very clearly mentioned that there are certain activities which disconnect us from God. For example, breaking the four units.

And they take one away from God. So they have to be given up. When we say that matter can become a means to approach God, that doesn't mean all forms of matter and all kinds of material activities can be used to approach God.

However, in left-handed Tantra, this is the misconception that comes up. In left-handed Tantra, the idea is, everything material can be used to approach God. And, the most distorted in the left-handed Tantra, is the idea that the male-female union is a means to approach God.

And this is often used by, especially by Chaivites. Of course, these are not really proper Chaivites. They have this very peculiar idea that when a male and female unite, actually Shiva and Parvati enter into their body.

And performing Leela through them. This is just a very unfortunate rationalisation of what is actually given in the scriptures. It's a great distortion.

And, to some extent, this crept into Vedic culture through Buddhism. You know, there is Tantra Buddhism also, in which, because Buddha renounced the world so completely, so people just, following his path became very difficult. So, there were some other later Buddhist teachers, Buddha came around century B.C., but around 7th-8th century A.D., there were some Buddhist teachers who started teaching some Vajrayana Buddhism.

And in this Buddhism, apparently some teachers claimed that Buddha came and revealed to them, and Buddha was actually consulting with women. Now, Buddha never did anything like this. And they said, actually my earlier disciples were less advanced.

So, they could not do this, but all of you are more advanced. And, so then it became immensely popular, and then it crept into Vedic culture also. And, while we are discussing all this, by the time, this whole distortion had crept into Gaudiya Vaishnavism also.

So, actually, Radhakrishna's pastimes are very exalted, and they are never to be imitated. They are actually meant to detach us from worldly male-female interactions, and get us attracted to the transcendental love between them. But, because of this percolation of tantra within Gaudiya Vaishnavism, there were certain Babajis, and certain Gaudiya Vaishnavas, who would imitate the pastimes of Radha and Krishna, and they would claim that actually Radha and Krishna are entering into us.

It was not Radha and Krishna, it was the devil entering into them, maya entering into them. But, because of this, the whole tradition of Babajis was looked down upon very much. And, that's why Bhaktivinoda Thakur, when he was preaching in the 19th and 20th centuries, he realised that the stigma that had come about with the immoral depredations of the Babajis would make a respectable presentation of Krishna consciousness nearly impossible.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur had brought back respectability to Gaudiya Vaishnavism because he himself was a respectable bhadraloka, a respectable citizen in Bengal. He was a high court magistrate, and he was well integrated in the mainstream society. However, he, although he had done extensive outreach, his outreach had been primarily limited to Bengal and Orissa.

He was in the government employment, wherever he would be sent, he would do outreach over there. Bhaktivinoda Thakur wanted to take this much further. And, for that, he needed an army of dedicated people who would sort of serve the cause full time.

And, for that, there was no possibility of getting young people to become Babajis because, what to speak of hearing them, people would scorn them. So, they would just not serve as preachers. So, during that time, circumstantially, actually, this was the time when the Christian missionaries had come to India, and many of the Christian missionaries, they often had monks and nuns.

And, the idea of being devoted to God and renouncing the world for that purpose, had gained respectability because of that. And, similarly, there had been several Mayavadi Kanyasis, who had also preached extensively their Mayavad, and they had also brought respectability to the renounced order. So, Bhaktisthan Sri Thakur, actually, we can't know the mind of Acharya, but if you look at the historical circumstances, you can infer what might have been the cause.

So, that's why, sannyas, which could bring the respectability, which would enable him to share the message which he wanted to share with the world, he brought sannyas back. And, this has precedence. That, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself had taken sannyas, and his purpose for taking sannyas was also essentially to bring prestige to the message that he was going to give to the world.

So, that's why he first brought back in sannyas. Now, what was the purpose of giving sannyas to himself? Actually, at that time, where would he get sannyas from? In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, there were no sannyasis. So, the Babajis could not give him sannyas.

Anyway, many of the Babajis were not so respectable. So, he did not want to take sannyas from them. Then, there were the Sri Vaishnavas and the Madhava Vaishnavas in South India.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur had travelled all over. But, they were very rigid in their ideas, and they would give sannyas only to those who were born in Brahmin families. So, he could not have taken sannyas from them.

And, obviously, there were the Mayavadi sannyasis. He couldn't take sannyas from Mayavadi sannyasis. He wanted to take sannyas to the future Mayavadi.

So, therefore, he took this radical step of giving sannyas to himself. And, even in this, there is precedence. Ramavacharya practically did something similar.

So, it's not unprecedented. But, here, what we see is a very respectable weapon. In the sannyas ashram, which would bring respectability to his outreach, he utilised this for sharing Krishna Consciousness.

And, simultaneously, Bhaktisiddha Sri Thakur subordinated the Raga Marga. What is the Raga Marga? The Raga Marga is actually the path of attachment. It is the path of Raganuka Bhakti.

So, in Raganuka Bhakti, it is talked about in Bhasra Samudra Sindhu, and then in the Durga Sangamitika by Jiva Goswami, elaborately, he describes that a very advanced devotee, when that devotee understands his or her swaroopa in this ritual world, then that devotee can start acting, start meditating on that particular associate and the leader of that particular associate. I can't go into class on Raga Marga over here. But, the idea is that the devotee mentally enters into Vrindavan and lives in this world as if he or she is in Vrindavan.

And, it focusses that particular associate. So, say, a devotee is in Vatsaleras, and the devotee is serving the Yashodamayi. Then the devotee will constantly meditate on Yashodamayi and will contemplate, okay, how is Yashodamayi serving Krishna right now? And how can I serve Krishna right now? So, in Govinda Mila, it is described that Krishna, what pastimes Krishna performs at what time of the day.

And the devotee meditates on those pastimes according to the time of that day. And visualises how I can assist in those pastimes. So, this is an authorised method that is taught in our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.

But, the idea that one can just mentally enter into the spiritual realm was misused by many people. And it was not practical for bringing about purification in the hearts of the sadhakas. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakur himself did this but only in the later part of his life.

Throughout his life, he was an active preacher. So, Bhaktivedanta Thakur, when he made the logo of the Gaudiya Math and Gaudiya Magazine, he said that, Raga Pantha Pujya Varah. He said that is worshipable for us.

So, he had a very graphic logo in which the Raga Marga. There was Radharani, there was above that was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, on the right side was Radharani, Radhakrishna and it was written Raga over there. Raga Marga.

On the left side was Lakshmi Narayan and there was written Vidhi. So, the idea is that he said the Raga Marga is very exalted. And we have to start with Vidhi.

Vidhi related rules. Vaidhi Bhakti. And how does one go into Vidhi? So, actually it has to go anti-clockwise in that.

So, below, on the left side in the logo was the picture of the of Panchadakra Shastra and the paraphernalia for deity worship. And on the right side was Bhagavatam and along with that there was a Mridanga and a printing press. So, it was quite a comprehensive symbol that enshrined what he stood for.

So, one starts with a mood of reverence Vidhi Bhakti, Vaidhi Bhakti. That Vaidhi Bhakti is done. We worship Radha Krishna but in the mood of Lakshmi Narayan.

And when we do that, we do that with the help of these two scriptures. The Panchadatra scriptures and the Bhagavat scriptures. So, Panchadatra is deity worship Bhagavatam is hearing and chanting.

And by that we enter into the exalted levels of Raga Marga. So, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur strongly condemned those who prematurely tried to follow the Raga Marga. And this created a breach with those who thought that they were orthodox practitioners of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

And that's why Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, you may have heard sometimes about how the caste Brahmins attacked the devotees when they were in Mayapur or when they closed the doors when they were in Vrindavan. Because they felt that what Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur was doing was incomprehensible for them. But Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur had a very clear plan what he was trying to do.

He did not want devotees to prematurely jump into exalted states and just fall back to lower where they were earlier. So, he wanted to create a systematic structure for them to advance. And that's why he said, the primary sadhana is through Seva.

We do sadhana, but our primary sadhana is through Seva. We share Krishna consciousness with others. We render practical service.

And this brings us to the next part about Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur. So, in general, as you know, there is Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojan. Sambandha is philosophical knowledge about who we are, who God is and what is our relationship.

Abhidheya is how we connect with Krishna. And Prayojan is the result. That is love of God.

So, in general, the Acharyas show a lot of innovativeness in Abhidheya. Sambandha doesn't change. No Acharya will say that we are God.

All Acharyas will give us a robe where Krishna rested us. And all Acharyas will say that love of God is the highest happiness that we can get. But Abhidheya, how we connect with Krishna, that will change according to time, place, circumstances.

And the basis for this is directly there in the scripture itself. That is, that somehow or the other fix the mind on Krishna. Padma Purana says that all rules and regulations are subordinate to this one principle, that somehow or the other fix the mind on Krishna.

So, how people can fix the mind on Krishna at different times will vary. I gave a series of classes on the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. So, basically there are three phases in our history.

One is the pre-modern phase, where from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu till before Bhaktivinoda Thakur. So, in that time, the Raga Marga was quite emphasised. But from then, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Ishwara Prabhupada in India.

That is the second stage. And then Ishwara Prabhupada going towards the world and then Prabhupada also did radical things. That is the third stage.

So, this Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Bhaktivinoda Thakur, they were at the junction when Gaudiya Vaishnavism interacted with modernity. And they shaped the direction in which Gaudiya Vaishnavism would go. So, two things that they did was, we will discuss on it, was institutionalisation and use of technology.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakur for several years, almost 10 years, he did solitary bhajan, just chanting Hare Krishna intensely. And then he decided that he wanted to share what he got, a mystical vision in which his father and his spiritual master and the Goswami Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would appear to him and they said that you go out. He was in Mayapur, he got this vision.

It was not a dream, it was actually a vision where he saw all of them. And they said, we are with you. We will send everything to you.

You just go and share Krishna Consciousness. And he came to Calcutta and that's how he started preaching. So, actually his life, till 1905, till around 1900, he was primarily a student and he was almost like a seeker, although he was born in a devotee family.

1900 to 1919, he was doing serious study. He travelled all over India, he went to Jagannathpur, he studied even under Govardhan Math, Mayavadis, interacted with Madhavan Sri Vaishnavas. In 1919 he took sannyas.

And 1919 to 1937 was the period of the explosion of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Gaudiya Math really spread rapidly. And it is this period when we will look at what all he did, the institutionalisation.

So, traditionally in the Indian culture, Vedic culture, the institutionalisation was very loose. There are broadly three kinds of institutions. There are soft, hard and medium.

So, what does this mean? Hard means that every single decision that is done by everyone is decided by one central authority. So, nothing happens without the sanction of central authority. And the medium is where there is a broad agreement over doctrinal issues and practises, but many things are decided individually.

And the soft organisation means, actually there is only a doctrinal agreement, general doctrinal agreement, and there is a broad variety. So, he says, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu departed from the world. It is a miracle how Gaudiya Vaishnavism survived.

Why? Because, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, generally when a wealthy person dies, he has a big company. Then he appoints a successor, he writes a will, and he maybe arranges some forum so that his legacy can continue on. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not appoint any successor.

He did not start any organisation. He did not even write any book to give his will. So, actually how Gaudiya Vaishnavism survived is a miracle.

And the credit for that largely goes to Krishnadasa Trivya Goswami Chaitanya Chaitanya Amrit which sort of brought all the different strands of Gaudiya Vaishnavism within one rubric. But the point is, traditionally Gaudiya Vaishnavism was like a soft organisation. Now, all the devotees, whether they were in Bengal or Orissa or Vrindavan or South India, they all accepted that Krishna is God, that Madhuridas is the highest, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of God.

But beyond that, there were different sadhanas. And we see that, we also know that Ratan Das Thakur's kirtan style was slightly different from, say, the Bengali kirtan style. And the dancing style was also different.

So, this is all in the realm of Abhidheya. So, there was flexibility. So, when Bhaktisiddhanta Sri Thakur he got this legacy, but the soft organisational structure had largely crumbled.

Because Gaudiya Vaishnavism had become immensely popular. When Britishers came to Bengal, when they first came to Bengal, and they saw that actually, Govarnatai were like household deities at that time. Practically everybody had Govarnatai.

And the popularity was immense. But there had been a complete rupture between popular Gaudiya Vaishnavism and scriptural Gaudiya Vaishnavism. So, popular Gaudiya Vaishnavas they would take a bead bag in the hand, have tilak on the forehead, and go to the market and purchase fish and bring fish in the other hand.

So, bead bag in one hand, fish in the other hand. So, they were often breaking the regulative principles and they would chant, but there was no scriptural regulation there. So, there was this big rupture between popular Gaudiya Vaishnavism and scriptural Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

And Bhaktisiddhanta Sri Thakur realised that actually if he has to correct, so there was appeal for Gaudiya Vaishnavism among the masses still. The educated people, the Bhadraloka, they were critical of it because they thought that it was all immoral. But the common people still had respect.

And they loved to chant. So, he felt that if he has to reach out in an effective way to masses, then he needs an institution. So, actually the institutionalisation, Bhaktisiddhanta Sri Thakur himself later admitted that it can choke the spirit of any spiritual path.

But at the same time, it can also give an effective way for a spiritual path to go. Now, some people feel that institutionalisation is a great evil. It can be, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.

What is essentially an institute? When a river, when a river is going towards the ocean, how is a river formed? Actually, it is formed by two tributaries. Now, small, small tricklets, they keep coming in, and they become a river. Now, if there is no institution, then those who have to practise spiritual life, they will have, if a small trickle of water is there in the mountains, and if it has to reach the ocean, then that trickle has to be very forceful, so that it can persevere and reach till the ocean.

But similarly, if the ocean is like God, they don't want to merge, but the Mayavadis don't have this monopoly on this metaphor. Even Kunti Maharani uses this for her consciousness. She says, Let the consciousness move towards the ocean.

So, now, actually, if there is no pathway by which the water can go from the mountain to the ocean, then most trickles will just stop, dry and die. Like that, if there is no forum, no pathway, no institution for people to practise spiritual life, then most people's spiritual urge will just dry and die. Only people who have really extraordinary spiritual urge, they will persevere in spite of all the obstacles and they will continue on.

You know, we have some extraordinary examples. Many Prabhupada disciples, Radhanath, Mahajanath, they went all around the world searching for God. Now, for most of us, devotees came searching for us.

So, actually, for most people, the spiritual urge is not so strong that it can continue on amidst too many obstacles. So, if many such small, small trickles, they come together and form a river, then the force of the river can, combined force of the river can take all the trickles also to the ocean. And the combined force can get over whatever obstacles are there.

It can go below stones, above stones, round stones, through stones, whatever. So, like that, the river gives a force of its own which enables everyone to go towards, the water to go towards the ocean. Similarly, people who have an average spiritual urge, when they come together to try to practise spiritual life collectively, then that leads to the formation of an institution.

So, when an institution is formed, it basically, the facility for people with average spiritual urge to continue on in spiritual life. But, when there is a lot of water flowing through the river, there may be some people with unscrupulous interest. They say, there is so much water, let me put a dam over here.

And then, I will use all the water for myself. So, when that happens, then the whole purpose of the river gets defeated. The water just gets blocked.

So, like that, when there is an institution, then the facilities come up, money comes, power comes, prestige comes. And some people come to the institution, not for the sake of going to the ocean, but for getting the water for their own purpose. You know, so such people who are say power hungry, prestige hungry, they can pervert the purpose of the institution.

And that's why, those who are leading the institution, they have to be always on guard that such people get sidelined. Such people, and one thing that Prabhupada did was, he had very high standards of sadhana. So, actually, to practise the four regular principles and to practise sadhana, that requires so much hard work, that most people will think that, if I want just power and prestige, I can get that without all this hard work outside.

So, that is to some extent one insurance. But still, that is not necessarily an insurance. Actually, the practitioners have to be vigilant.

Individually and collectively. So that those people who are in an institution, not for the sake of going towards Krishna, they can become sidelined. They can become put aside.

So, you know, Prabhupada started an international society for Krishna consciousness. It is not just for Krishna activities. We all have to become Krishna conscious.

And when that purpose is kept in mind, then the purpose of the institution is served. So, of course, it is not very easy to always stay there. But Dr. Sahaja Thakur, what he achieved would have been very difficult.

You know, he has 64 temples all over the country, and three temples outside. One in Rangoon, one in Hamburg, and one in London. Hamburg and London are not exactly temples, but they are centres.

Rangoon was a proper temple. That was something which was extraordinary. So, he achieved that because of institutionalisation.

And Dr. Sahaja Thakur himself warned his disciples. He said that as soon as Krishna was born, Putana was born. Putana appeared.

And Putana's purpose was to kill Krishna. He said, similarly, as soon as Krishna manifests in an institution, there are Putana-like individuals who come to choke. Choke the manifestation of Krishna, to actually kill Krishna.

So, we have to always be on guard. Now, next aspect is his use of technology. So, Bhaktivinod Thakur, you know, he used whatever technology was required, but he was not a sannyasi.

He was not a renunciate. So, his going by train or something like that did not raise any eyebrows. But when Bhaktivinod Thakur went, not just by train, but he had his own Rolls Royce.

That time in Bengal, only the governor of Bengal and Bhaktivinod Thakur had a Rolls Royce. So, that created quite a stir. So, his idea was that, his understanding was that, in that Dushyamantuni Kishera Vaisnav, there is a very beautiful line.

He says that, that the things of this world, phalgu, what he says is phalgu vairagya, renouncing the things of this world prevents Krishna from getting his due glory. If we just reject the things of this world as material, then we cannot give Krishna the glory that is due to him. That's why a devotee should expertly use the things of this world to glorify Krishna.

So, Bhaktivinod Thakur, he did that extensively. So, he would even wear western clothes when required. He had a printing press and he sort of, you know, he even had kilak marks put on the printing press.

And he had a printing press, a symbol in his, as I mentioned in the flag, he called that Brihat Mudanga. That is a technology by which we can share Krishna consciousness with others. And his vision was that everything that can be used in Krishna's service it should not be rejected.

So, what he did was radical at his times, but it was effective. People became attracted and when they saw his purity, they saw his devotion, they realised that they were misjudging him, misunderstanding him just by seeing the technology. So, actually, Yukta Vairagya is very good.

But Yukta Vairagya also requires Vairagya. If there is, if we try to have Yukta without Vairagya, then that Yukta becomes Bhukta. We start getting into sense gratification.

So, Bhaktivinod Thakur, he would say that the temple would have vehicles, but the temple vehicles should be used for the service of Krishna, not for one's own enjoyment. It's quite particular about that. The last part I'll conclude with, his use of language.

So, Bhaktivinod Thakur envisioned sharing Krishna Consciousness with the world. But most of his books, he wrote in Bengali. Very few of his books were actually in English.

And even the famous essay that he sent to Magdala University, Lord Chaitanya and his disciples, actually that was just an introduction and the actual book was in Bengali. So, he was most comfortable in Bengali. He wrote in English.

And Bhaktivinod Thakur, he also wrote in English, some extent in Sanskrit, and he wrote in English also. And Bengali also. So, his Bhagwat Vivritti, he wrote a commentary on Bhagwat, not on all the verses, but many of the important verses.

His Bhagwat Vivritti is in Sanskrit. His Gaudiya Bhashya, that is, his commentary on Chaitanya Saraswamrit and Chaitanya Bhagwat, they are in Bengali. And he wrote some books in English also.

So, when he was actually presenting the complex concepts of Vedic culture in English was very challenging. And one of the most radical things that Bhaktivinod Thakur did was when he sent his disciples in 1933 to Europe to preach, he decided to make Lord Chaitanya the thrust of his preaching, not Lord Krishna. And that's why he actually got one of his disciples, Nishikant Sanyal, to write a book, Sri Krishna Chaitanya.

Actually, it was written, Bhaktivinod Thakur was quite liberal about the authorship of books. In the sense that sometimes he would write a book and ask his disciple to put his name, sometimes his disciple would write a book and he would put his name over there. Because it was all a team effort.

So, Nishikant Sanyal was a professor in a respectable college, Bingrami Shaw College at that time, and Bhaktivinod Thakur felt that a book by his name would have more respectability in the West because they did not have a culture of respecting Sanyasis and monks. So, Nishikant Sanyal wrote the book and Bhaktivinod Thakur personally edited it thoroughly. And he made that book as the fulcrum of his preaching.

So, why was that? Actually, when the Europeans came to India, initially, they found Indian culture fascinating. You know, just like a discovery of a new universe. But later on, So, later on, they found that especially as their colonial and religious motives started taking over.

Colonial motives means they wanted to rule India. They didn't come here to appreciate Indian culture. They wanted to rule India.

And religious motives means many Christian missionaries came, whose goal was to convert Indians to Christianity. So, they started looking at Indian culture with a very biassed and critical perspective. And they made Krishna and Kali the targets of their attack against Hinduism.

So, Kali for the apparent brutality and Krishna for the apparent immorality. So, the idea of Kali, her tongue is coming out and there is a necklace of throats around, of heads or skulls around it. This is God? How can you worship such a God? And as the traditional Hindus, they were just happy worshipping.

They didn't ask the question, they didn't know the answer. Laughter So, you know, so much criticism came up and similarly for Krishna, they had idea like, you know, he had so many queens and he had he actually passed time to the gopis. So, there was the whole idea that Krishna was the immoral God.

So, there was a Catholic missionary who wrote a book about Krishna and he said, the stories of this so-called God Krishna are nothing but a chronicle of deceit and murder and promiscuity. So, this was the idea that they had. And Bhaktikanta Thakur realised that actually, to get western people to go, break through all those misconceptions would take a long time.

So, to have a clean mental slate to start with. Most of them had never heard of Lord Caitanya. Laughter So, they all they started the clean mental slate, you know, no preconceptions.

And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's personality is quite fascinating. Dancing, singing and performing Harinam Sankirtan and even from an ascetic point of view, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes are very moving to the heart. So, he made Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the first of his preaching.

And Sri Krishna Chaitanya was the main book that was used by them for preaching. And even when they went, they went as the, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Bhaktikanta Thakur, you identify yourself as the messengers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's messengers love. And that's why, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur's outreach did not use Bhagavad Gita much.

He used Bhagavatam but Bhagavatam was later. Focus was primarily Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Now, this was quite different from the way Sri Prabhupada presented.

And another thing was that when Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur went from India to, he sent his disciples from India to England, the relationship between the British colony the Britishers and India, which was their colony, was quite formal. So, that's why, you know, the way Sri Prabhupada went and got the hippies to dance. Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur could not get the lords and ladies of America, of England to dance like that.

So, the presentation was more intellectual, more you could say, staid and more sober. And it's not correct to say that it was entirely unsuccessful. With whatever objective it went, it was successful.

But circumstances happened such a way that they started in 1933 and the devotees got some success. But 1937, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur departed and 1939, the Second World War started. So, Second World War just, you know, Europe became a valley of death, practically speaking.

So, there was no chance of any outreach at that time. And that's why it was not successful in many ways. But the seed that Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur had planted in the hearts of many of his disciples, Sri Prabhupada took that.

And then Sri Prabhupada went to America. And now how Sri Prabhupada preaches, Sri Prabhupada has an entire different set of strategies. Now, eventually, Prabhupada said that, you know, I did not change one word.

I just repeated my spiritual master. Now, he's referring to the essence. Now, there are many things.

As I said, Prabhupada focused on chanting of Hare Krishna. Prabhupada focused on Krishna. He introduced Saitama Mahaprabhu much later.

And Prabhupada, you know, insisted on wearing his traditional clothes. Although Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur himself, as well as the disciples, would wear western clothes. There are many things that Prabhupada had just said.

So, that is, what is common is that Prabhupada said, I didn't change one thing. That is, he continued fighting the war. But the weapons to use for war were entirely different.

So, I'll conclude now with this one aspect of the legacy of Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, which Sri Prabhupada implemented. Which was not implemented during Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur's time. And that aspect of institutionalisation was the formation of a GDC.

So, you know, at that time, when the Britishers came to India, one of the biggest organisational marvels for Indians at that time was the Indian railways. You know, the idea that there is only one road and there is no way to go aside if some other vehicle comes along. And you know, hundreds of trains go along that one rail or two rails only.

And they don't collide. So, that was quite fascinating. It required a the railway, management of the railway required a level of sophistication which has not been seen in recent Indian history.

And the railways was managed, the managing body of the railways was called a Governing Body Commission. At that time. And they also had their Bhunal Divisions.

So, when Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur made a nationwide organisation, he decided to adopt the institutional model of the Indian railways. And he decided to have a Governing Body Commission. So, now when he told his disciples that you should form, now he was there, actually according to many sources, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur sort of departed a little prematurely.

So, when in his last days he told his disciples to form a Governing Body Commission, a group and administer everything collectively. Now, to say that they deliberately disobeyed him would be to misunderstand a complex situation. Actually, this kind of democratic institutionalisation in the traditional Vedic system was monarchy.

There is one king and his authority is final. And even in spiritual realm, if there is one monastery, there is one Mathajipati and his authority is final. So, for an institution to run on a democracy was unheard of.

And just the disciples, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur just couldn't digest the idea. You know, generally the spiritual institution moves by the faith in the connection with God. That means, say, there is a very advanced devotee, the spiritual master, the Acharya, and the devotees have said that actually when he speaks, he speaks the words of Krishna.

He is connected with Krishna in the heart. And there is a cultured Acharya like that, when he speaks, people follow him. But then, if there is no such Acharya like that, and there is a body that manages.

Now, when there is a body, now, if a devotee who is very advanced who people believe to be connected with Krishna, when he speaks, it is easy to understand that that is the will of Krishna. But when there is an institution, there is a body of people and that body of people discuss, sometimes debate, sometimes vote, and then what comes out as a resolution of that body to think that that is the will of God, it is a little difficult to accept that. Of course, Krishna's will can manifest in any way, and if Krishna's pure devotee asks his disciples to do that, it can happen.

There is a body of advanced devotees, and all of them discuss, and when they arrive at Him, that can be the will of Krishna also. It is not that Krishna's will cannot manifest that way. But, it is a little difficult to accept that.

So, that is why, the ten days after Bhaktswana Chaturthi departed, they did form a sort of governing body, but then they felt, this is not going to work. You know, we need one authority. And then they decided to appoint one devotee as a head, and somehow that devotee was not advanced enough, he had some social difficulties, and when he had difficulties, then the whole mission got ruptured, and there were property disputes, and the mission sort of fell apart.

Not entirely, it continued in many ways, but it did not continue with anywhere near the momentum which he had. Now, instead of Prabhupada, he saw this rupture, you know, the rupture of Gaudiya Vaishnavism was traumatic. It was almost like, the Gaudiya Math, you cannot imagine how powerful it was.

It was like a Titanic. And the rupture of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism of Gaudiya Math was like the sinking of Titanic. It was quite devastating for everybody who was involved.

So, Prabhupada saw it at close quarters, and he wanted to ensure that this does not happen to his school. And that is why, Prabhupada started his school in 1966, but in 1970-71 itself, he established a GBC. And he had the GBC work together, under his observation, under his mentoring.

And, to a large extent, or whatever difficulties are there in our movement, but still, the idea of having a GBC that has made, is called more like a joint nuclear family. A joint nuclear family means that we are all joined together as one community of devotees connected with Krishna, but every temple is different. And every GBC has no authority.

So, every devotee can take his own initiative, every leader, and can develop in his own way. So, in one sense, what Srila Prabhupada has instituted is called, is somewhere like a soft organisation. And they are talking about soft, medium and hard.

So, it's somewhere between medium and soft organisation. And, you know, Srila Prabhupada departed that 108 temples. Now, there are, according to how you classify a temple, there are between 300 to 700 temples.

So, leave alone our movement stagnating, or getting weakened, it has become stronger. And that is a testimony to the success of Bhaktivedanta Thakur and the success of Srila Prabhupada. And when we are sharing Krishna Consciousness with others, when we are trying to practise Krishna Consciousness with ourselves, actually we have the blessings and the benevolent glance of all these exalted Acharyas.

It is their vision. It is by their mercy that we have got Krishna Consciousness. And it is by their vision and their their mission that we are sharing Krishna Consciousness with others.

So, let us pray to Srila Bhaktivedanta Thakur to give us his dedication and his determination that whatever the obstacles, they may be like small circles, but he has given us a river by which we can all keep moving towards Krishna. Now only that we don't become a trickle that goes away from the river, but stays on in the river and reach Krishna's lotus feet. So, I will quickly summarise.

I started by talking about, I talked about five basic things. I started with talking about Sannyas Ashram, how it was circumstantially taken out and then brought back into Gaudiya Vaishnavism, and why he took self-sannyas because there was no one to do sannyas. Then I talked about the Raga Marga, because it was led to contamination at worst and inadequate purification at best.

He subordinated Raga Marga to Vidhi Marga. And then I discussed about the adoption of institutionalisation, the trickle and the river metaphor. Then I talked about modern technology.

And I didn't get much into the use of English language. But I talked about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, about his focussing on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to avoid the semantic misconceptions that were there earlier. And lastly we discussed about the GDC.

Thank you very much.