Rules for the Temple

We who have come to the Sri Chaitanya Math are all surrendered to Sri Chaitanya Deva, therefore we do not have any other goal besides devotional service to the Supreme Lord. If we lack in our service, then our mentality will become like that of a materialistic person and ultimately devour us. In order to protect the math, however, we have to abide by some rules.

1. It should be the duty of a sannyasi that they should never use shoes, rather they should go everywhere on foot.

2. They should never accept service from anyone. Neither should they never ask someone to massage their body or feet with oil.

3. Eating nice food and eating separately from other devotees is totally forbidden.

4. One should never go to a physician and should never take medicine according to their own wish.
(Note) When a sannyasi needs something then it should be the duty of residents of the math to nicely take care of him. It is the duty of a sannyasi to serve the ones who are not sannyasis. The living entity invites difficulties by criticizing others, scandalizing others and unnecessarily talking about others. One should always desire auspiciousness. A devotee can easily control his mind and destroy his desires by steadfastly serving the Holy Name.

5. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna is residing in every spirit soul, therefore one should not consider himself worshipable and that others should serve him. When a sannyasi is free from false ego then the residents of the math should enthusiastically serve him, otherwise he should go back home.

6. Excessive foppery,excessive drinking of milk, eating luxuriously like a big man, should be totally given up. We don't want gymnasts (body builders) in our math. This is the place for the devotees of the Lord.

7. Strengthening the senses by taking excessive medicine and trying to spread one's domination in order to attract other's wives should be given up totally.

8. Sri Krsna is the only Lord and Enjoy er of everybody and everything. One should remember that all the time. One should serve according to the degree of their devotion. There cannot be any auspiciousness unless we become free from the evil desire to use the devotees in our service. The fire of lust that burns for material sense gratification should be given up. But that doesn't mean one should speak uncivilized language and dress in an uncivilized way in order to mix with dignified society.

9. A bramachari should not desire to become a sannyasi simply in order to have greater sense gratification. The desire to dominate is detrimental to devotional service. To consider a sense enjoy er to be a sannyasi, and wanting to become a sannyasi with that ideal should be totally rejected. When one begins to enjoy his senses and becomes deceptive, he cannot serve the Lord nor His devotees.

10. One should be very careful that no mood of foppery enters into Sri Chaitanya Math which will to ruin the sannyasis and bramacharis. The examples we are having about should not be tolerated, the householders also, like a sannyasi, should overcome the urges of lust, anger and greed. Everyone should consider himself to be very low and serve the residents of the math and the other Vaishnavas with all humility.

11.Those who are not residents of the math, but are staying in the math for some business, or wanting some favor from the math should always be willing to serve the residents of the math and the math itself. The residents of the math should never behave indecently with a guest of the math.

12.The residents should reject the mentality that the math is their personal property and that the guests are merely objects of their mercy. A guest should be treated with the highest honor - actually everybody in this world should be respected. Otherwise we may land up in the same extreme distress the materialists are suffering. A resident of the math should remember all these things very carefully. One should always serve Sri Krsna, there shouldn't be any mistake in that and more indispensable is the service to a Vaishnava.

13. If a sannyasi must go to the shop or the dispensary for some reason other than service to the math, then he should go on foot. Let the car be sitting empty, but still they will not get into it. What everybody else gets, they should receive only that.

14. Never should they use any conveyance, but with the excuse of going to the doctor, they take the car. They buy medicine and eat luxurious food. If they again behave properly for one year, then their eligibility can be considered. The math is not the place for foppery or staying in a hospital. One should not display his foppery. They can better behave that way by staying at home. Instead of saffron cloth they may be clad in white with a tail and send them back home. The ones who desire foppery, luxurious food and medicine they can go back to their homes and take care of their families, then they won't have to identify themselves with the math.
Everybody should be reminded that cars, horses, launches and indeed men, are all meant for the use of the math, not any individuals display of foppery.

15. Luxurious eating should be totally stopped.

The sannyasis who do not indulge in foppery, should be recognized as Gaudiya Math sannyasis. The rest should be sent back to their respective homes. If our man power decreases due to that, that is still better. The ones who have taken shelter of the math, but are simply motivated by their bellies and genitals, if they are driven away, then the expenses of the math will be reduced. The pleasure-loving, sense gratifying managers should not be allowed to waste money rather everyone should earn for the math. It is important to make a list of how much one earns. It is not necessary to eat, buy medicine and display foppery more than one earns. The ones who come to render devotional service are bramacharis, grhasthas, vanaprasthas and sannyasis. To the ones who do not render any devotional service, the math will not give them shelter, because they do not deserve it.

16. One should never think: "I have rendered a lot of service to the math so I will use their car." This is the mentality of a materialist. One who is serving the math should do that without any expectation of return because everyone has come to serve the math. If anyone takes anything in return of his service to the math or serves himself, he will become a sense gratifier. When one is a guest, then he cannot demand, he should eat according to the wishes of the host. One who is busy seeking sense gratification should be asked to leave.

Your ever well wisher, Sri Siddhanta Saraswati

She shed tears for him

After taking sannyasa at Katwa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to go to Vrindavana. He wandered around in a trance continuously for three days and by the trick of Nityananda Prabhu, eventually came to the western side of Santipur. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was made to believe that the Ganges was the Yamuna. At this time Advaita Acarya appeared with a boat. The Lord asked Advaita Acarya “Why did you come here? How did you know that I was in Vrindavana?” Advaita Acarya then told Lord Caitanya the situation. He then said, “Wherever You are, that is Vrindavana.” He then took Lord Caitanya to his house in Santipur. Mother Saci Devi came and cooked for her son, Lord Caitanya. At that time there were many joking exchanges between Advaita Prabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. In the evening there was an ecstatic kirtana. Mother Saci then gave Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu permission to leave, but she requested Him to stay in Jagannatha Puri, so she could hear news about Him.
While traveling to Vrindavana for the first time, Sri Caitanya stopped in Santipur. At this time the Lord’s mother, Sacimata, met Him and was thus relieved of her great unhappiness. The Lord then went to Ramakeli and then He returned to Santipur and stayed for ten days. At this time Raghunatha Dasa came to meet Him. Raghunatha Dasa fell at the Lord’s lotus feet and the Lord touched him with His feet. Advaita Acarya gave Raghunatha Dasa the remnants left by Lord Caitanya. Raghunatha Dasa was thus engaged for five to seven days in rendering service to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Descending from Uddharan Dhatta

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj appeared

on this earth in the family lineage

descending from Uddharan Dhatta

Uddharan Dhatta, is described in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta (Adi 11.41) as follows:
"Uddharana Datta Thakura, the eleventh among the twelve cowherd boys, was an exalted devotee of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. He worshiped the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda in all respects"

PURPORT

"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, 'The Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (129) states that Uddharana Datta Thakura was formerly the cowherd boy of Vrndavana named Subahu. Uddharana Datta Thakura, previously known as Sri Uddharana Datta, was a resident of Saptagrama, which is situated on the bank of the Sarasvati River near the Trisabigha railway station in the district of Hugli. At the time of Uddharana Thakura, Saptagrama was a very big town,encompassing many other places such as Vasudeva-pura, Bansabediya, Krsnapura, Nityananda-pura, Sivapura, Sankhanagara and Saptagrama.'

It is also said in the Gaura ganoddessa-dipika (14) "The associates of Lord Nityananda were all cowherd boys during Lord Krsna's advent"

"Calcutta was developed under British rule by the influential mercantile community, and especially by the suvarna-vanik community who came down from Saptagrama to establish their businesses and homes all over Calcutta. They were known as the Saptagrami mercantile community of Calcutta, and most of them belonged to the Mullik and Sil families. More than half of Calcutta belonged to this community, as did Srila Uddharana Thakura. Our paternal family also came from this district and belonged to the same community. The Mulliks of Calcutta are divided into two families, namely the Sil family and De family. All the Mulliks of the De family originally belong to the same family and gotra. We also formerly belonged to the branch of the De family whose members, intimately connected with the Muslim rulers, received the title Mullik.

"In the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda, Chapter Five, it is said that Uddharana Datta was an extremely elevated and liberal Vaisnava. He was born with the right to worship Nityananda Prabhu. It is also stated that Nityananda Prabhu, after staying for some time in Khadadaha, came to Saptagrama and stayed in the house of Uddharana Datta. The suvarna-vanik community to which Uddharana Datta belonged was actually a Vaisnava community. Its members were bankers and gold merchants (suvarna means 'gold,' and vanik means 'merchant'). Long ago there was a misunderstanding between Ballal Sena and the suvarna-vanik community because of the great banker Gauri Sena. Ballal Sena was taking loans from Gauri Sena and spending money extravagantly, and therefore Gauri Sena stopped supplying money. Ballal Sena took revenge by instigating a social conspiracy to make the suvarna-vaniks outcastes, and since then they have been ostracized from the higher castes, namely the brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas. But by the grace of Srila Nityananda Prabhu, the suvarna-vanik community was again elevated. It is said in the Caitanya-bhagavata, yateka vanik-kula uddharana haite pavitra ha-ila dvidha nahika ihate: there is no doubt that all the community members of the suvarna-vanik society were again purified by Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

"In Saptagrama there is still a temple with a six-armed Deity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that was personally worshiped by Srila Uddharana Datta Thakura. On the right side of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a Deity of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and on the left side is Gadadhara Prabhu. There are also a Radha-Govinda murti and a salagrama-sila, and below the throne is a picture of Sri Uddharana Datta Thakura. In front of the temple there is now a big hall, and in front of the hall is a Madhavi-lata plant. The temple is in a very shady, cool and nicely situated location. When we returned from America in 1967, the executive committee members of this temple invited us to visit it, and thus we had the opportunity to visit this temple with some American students. Formerly, in our childhood, we visited this temple with our parents because all the members of the suvarna-vanik community enthusiastically take interest in this temple of Uddharana Datta Thakura.

"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura adds in his Anubhasya: 'In the Bengali year 1283 [A.D. 1876] a babaji of the name Nitai dasa arranged for a donation of twelve bighas of land (about four acres) for the temple where Uddharana Datta Thakura worshiped. The management of the temple later deteriorated, but then in 1306 (A.D. 1899), through the cooperation of the famous Balarama Mullik of Hugli, who was a subjudge, and many rich suvarna-vanik community members, the management of the temple improved greatly. Not more than fifty years ago, one of the family members of Uddharana Datta Thakura named Jagamohana Datta established a wooden murti [statue] of Uddharana Datta Thakura in the temple, but that murti is no longer there; at present, a picture of Uddharana Datta Thakura is worshiped. It is understood, however, that the wooden murti of Uddharana Thakura was taken away by Sri Madana-mohana Datta and is now being worshiped with a salagrama-sila by Srinatha Datta.

" 'Uddharana Datta Thakura was the manager of the estate of a big zamindar in Naihati, about one and a half miles north of Katwa. The relics of this royal family are still visible near the Dainhata station. Since Uddharana Datta Thakura was the manager of the estate, it was also known as Uddharana-pura. Uddharana Datta Thakura installed Nitai-Gaura Deities that were later brought to the house of the zamindar, which was known as Vanaoyaribada. Srila Uddharana Datta Thakura remained a householder throughout his life. His father's name was Srikara Datta, his mother's name was Bhadravati, and his son's name was Srinivasa Datta.' " [Adi 11.41]

There is also an interesting tree that is said to have grown from a cooking spoon that Nityananda Prabhu planted in the ground.

Sri Brahma Samhita - text 38

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayantiyam

syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

SYNONYMS

prema--of love; anjana--with the salve; churita--tinged; bhakti--of devotion; vilocanena--with the eye;santah--the pure devotees; sada--always; eva--indeed; hrdayesu--in their hearts; vilokayanti--see;yam--whom; syama--dark blue; sundaram--beautiful; acintya--inconceivable; guna--with attributes;svarupam--whose nature is endowed; govindam--Govinda; adi-purusam--the original person; tam--Himaham--I; bhajami--worship.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Syamasundara, Krsna Himself with inconceivable \ innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.

PURPORT

The Syamasundara form of Krsna is His inconceivable simultaneous personal and impersonal self-contradictory form.

True devotees see that form in their purified hearts under the influence of devotional trance. The form Syama is not the blue color visible in the mundane world but is the transcendental variegated color affording eternal bliss, and is not visible to the mortal eye.

On a consideration of the trance of Vyasadeva as in the sloka, bhakti-yogena manasi etc., it will be clear that the form of Sri Krsna is the full Personality of Godhead and can only be visible in the heart of a genuine devotee, which is the only true seat in the state of trance under the influence of devotion.

When Krsna manifested Himself in Vraja, both the devotees and non devotees saw Him with this very ( human ) eye; but only the devotees cherished Him, eternally present in Vraja, as the priceless jewel of their heart.
Nowadays also the devotees see Him in Vraja in their hearts, saturated with devotion although they do not see Him with their physical eyes.

The eye of devotion is nothing but the eye of the pure unalloyed spiritual self of the jiva. The form of Krsna is visible to that eye in proportion to its purification by the practice of devotion.

When the devotion of the neophyte reaches the stage of bhava-bhakti the pure eye of that devotee is tinged with the salve of love by the grace of Krsna, which enables him to see Krsna face to face.

The phrase "in their hearts" means Krsna is visible in proportion as their hearts are purified by the practice of devotion.

The sum and substance of this sloka is that the form of Krsna, who is Syamasundara, Natavara (Best Dancer), Muralidhara (Holder of the Flute) and Tribhanga (Triple-bending), is not a mental concoction but is transcendental, and is visible with the eye of the soul of the genuine devotee under trance.

To want to know eveything is a kind of disease

It is a defect to want to understand everything about Divinity. Knowledge may be a qualification here in this world, but in relation to the transcendental truth of the highest order, the tendency to want to know everything is a disqualification. We want to know the value of everything. We want to have the key to everything in our possession. But this is really a bar to progress. If we assert ourselves in this way, we rather lose what confidence we might have in divinity, and there will be some delay in extending the key to us. If a servant, upon getting employment in the master’s house, is very eager to be entrusted with the house keys, then the master will suspect him. So to want to know eveything is a kind of disease, it is an enemy to our progress.

This is, of course, difficult to accept. But still, it is true. Surrender is everything. What cultivation of knowledge do we find in the gopis, the most exalted devotees of Krsna? What was their acquaintance with scripture? Nothing. What we understand to be "standard purity," what we think to be knowledge - all these things are disqualifications in giving pleasure to the Absolute.

- Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Deva Goswami Maharaja -

Chariot of the Sun God

Thus the chariot of the sun-god, worshiped by the words om bhur bhuva svah,travels at a speed of 3,400,800 yojanas [27,206,400 miles] in a muhurta.

My dear King, the carriage of the sun-god’s chariot is estimated to be 3,600,000 yojanas [28,800,000 miles] long and one-fourth as wide [900,000 yojanas, or 7,200,000 miles]. The chariot’s horses, which are named after Gayatri and other Vedic meters, are harnessed by Arunadeva to a yoke that is also 900,000 yojanas wide.

The seven horses yoked to the sun-god’s chariot are named Gayatri, Brhati, Usnik, Jagati, Tristup, Anustup and Pankti. These names of various Vedic meters designate the seven horses that carry the sun-god’s chariot.
Although Arunadeva sits in front of the sun-god and is engaged in driving the chariot and controlling the horses, he looks backward toward the sun-god.

There are sixty thousand saintly persons named Valikhilyas, each the size of a thumb, who are located in front of the sun-god and who offer him eloquent prayers of glorification.

Similarly, fourteen other saints, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nagas, Yaksas, Raksasas and demigods, who are divided into groups of two, assume different names every month and continuously perform different ritualistic ceremonies to worship the Supreme Lord as the most powerful demigod Suryadeva, who holds many names.

Worshiping the most powerful demigod Surya, the Gandharvas sing in front of him, the Apsaras dance before the chariot, the Nisacaras follow the chariot, the Pannagas decorate the chariot, the Yaksas guard the chariot, and the saints called the Valikhilyas surround the sun-god and offer prayers. The seven groups of fourteen associates arrange the proper times for regular snow, heat and rain throughout the universe.

My dear King, in his orbit through Bhu-mandala, the sun-god traverses a distance of 95,100,000 yojanas [760,800,000 miles] at the speed of 2,000 yojanas and two krosas [16,004 miles] in a moment.