The following is an excerpt from the book Śudha-Nāma Bhajana, “Chanting the Pure Name” by Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja

 

This tāraka–brahma–nāma* of Kali-yuga is mādhurya. It gives prema. All the rasas are included in this tāraka-brahma–nāma. Mādhurya means all the other rasas are included. This is the best of all the tāraka–brahma–nāmas. The people of Kali-yuga are very, very fortunate that they can have this prema. In the other yugas people cannot attain this prema. That is why the people of other yugas want to take birth in Kali-yuga and attain prema. If you cannot attain prema, then your life is spoiled because the opportunity has been given. Although Kali-yuga is the worst of all yugas, it has this special quality, Mahāprabhu Himself has appeared, and therefore it is a special Kali-yuga. Those who are born in this Kali-yuga are most fortunate. Mahāprabhu does not appear in all Kali-yugas. Therefore, those who are born in this Kali-yuga are most fortunate, even a dog. Every day this dog hears the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa and takes the remnants of all the Vaiṣṇavas [His Divine Grace is referring to the dog in the compound of the Bhubaneswar Temple].

The following is an excerpt from a conversation with Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in Melbourne, Australia, October 1994

 

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the deliverer of the most fallen and degraded. Mahāprabhu is wonderfully merciful upon the mlecchas and yavanas. Mahāprabhu showers His mercy upon them because He is Patita-pāvana, the deliverer of the most fallen. It is said that in the Western world Mahāprabhu’s mercy is spread more widely. So Mahāprabhu is more merciful upon the patitas, mlecchas and yavanas, most degraded fellows, fallen souls. One prophecy is there in respect of the 500th birth anniversary of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu appeared in 1486, so in 1986 we observed the 500th anniversary of His appearance. It is said that after 1986 Mahāprabhu’s mercy will spread more in the Western countries. This prophecy has been made. And it happened. Śrīla Prabhupāda came. Then it spread. He started Mahāprabhu’s Movement in the West. This is Mahāprabhu’s mano-‘bhīṣṭa, Mahāprabhu’s desire.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

(Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya 4.126)

Mahāprabhu had said that thing. “In all towns and villages, in all the corners of the world, My name will be chanted.” And that happened. Who fulfilled that desire? That is His dearmost devotee who is completely empowered by Mahāprabhu, and all previous ācāryas-śakti-āveśa. He could do it. Prior to the coming of Śrīla Prabhupāda to the West, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī had already sent some of his disciples. They went to England but could not do anything. They could not do what Prabhupāda did. So they returned. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had first conceived of writing the teachings of Mahāprabhu in the English language, to be preached in the Western world. Because the Indians are blindly imitating Western education and civilization the situation has become dangerous. Such mahājanas, sādhus can see that danger is coming. So the teachings of Mahāprabhu should be preached in Western countries in the English language. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura first started to write in English and published a book called ‘Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His Life and Precepts.’ He also predicted that a yajña-putra, a qualified son will be born, who will spread Mahāprabhu’s teachings in Western countries.

Then Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, a very powerful Vaiṣṇava, appeared as his son. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda did not go to the Western countries but trained his disciples and inspired them, “Go and preach in the Western countries!” Therefore he sent some of his disciples, but they could not do anything. They could not spread Mahāprabhu’s Movement. They went to London where they established one Maṭha, the Gauḍīya Mission, after which they returned. Then at last his most dearly beloved disciple, our revered spiritual master Śrī Śrīmad A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja went to the West. Because he had received full mercy and was completely empowered by Mahāprabhu, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, he could preach and achieve success. He spread Mahāprabhu’s Movement and thereby fulfilled the desire of Mahāprabhu.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

(Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya 4.126)

So now it is spreading. And a prophecy tells that after 1986 it will spread more in the Western world than in India. In India there are many people who think, “We know, we know.” They have some pride they know everything. “We are great, we know.” But those who are most fallen think, “We are mlecchas, yavanas.” Then it turns out to be a boon for them. They become humble. “Yes. We are mlecchas, yavanas. We don’t know anything. We are very low. Very fallen. Very, very low consciousness.” So that is a boon. Like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who was Brahma. He was born in a Mohammedan family and therefore he became so humble. Otherwise it is said, janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir. This is Kuntīdevī’s prayer. “One who is born in a very aristocratic family, naturally he is very proud and puffed up. Aiśvarya — one who has material opulence is naturally very proud. Śruta — one who has acquired material education and received so many degrees from many universities — MAS PhD doctorate — he is very proud. Śrī — one who has physical beauty is also very proud. Generally these factors develop pride in someone. Unless one becomes akiñcanā, very low and humble, materially zero, he cannot have the darśana of the Lord.” This is required.

Therefore Mahāprabhu is teaching, tṛṇād api sunīcena. “One should think oneself much humbler than a blade of grass lying in the streets.” Such mentality should be there. To take birth in a mleccha or yavana family makes one very humble. So the Western countries are places of mlecchas and yavanas. Mahāprabhu showers wonderful mercy upon them. Mahāprabhu is Patita-pāvana. So after 1986 it is spreading more and Kali becomes weaker and weaker. The Western countries are Kali’s place. Fish-eating, meat-eating, intoxication, gambling and illicit sex are the four pillars of sinful activities. Kali is very strong here. But if Mahāprabhu’s message is being spread, Kali becomes weaker. Many people will give up these sinful activities and there will be no place for Kali. So it is spreading more in Western countries. This is the prophecy. You see in Russia there was a ban on Mahāprabhu’s Movement, but now that ban is lifted and it is spreading rapidly. Thousands and thousands of Russians are coming to join. So many books are being distributed. Russia is among the ten top places, the statistics tell us. This is how it is going on because in the West Mahāprabhu is showering His mercy upon the mlecchas, yavanas, degraded souls.

Mahāprabhu is Patita-pāvana, the deliverer of the fallen souls. It is not so widely spread in India because the Indians are a little proud, “Yes, we know Mahāprabhu. We know.” They have some pride. It is like wet fuel and dry fuel. The Western countries are compared to dry fuel. Immediately it catches fire. Saṅkīrtana-yajña-the fire from the saṅkīrtana-yajña is coming and spreading like a wildfire. But India is like wet fuel. There it is not spreading so much. This is said. And as the prophecy is there, Kali becomes weaker and weaker, especially after 1986. Then for 10 years some strength will still be there. Kali will still have some strength. That means from 1986 to 1996 Kali will still have some strength. But after 1996 Kali will become very weak.** Then a prema-yuga will come.*** In 1996 we are going to celebrate Śrīla Prabhupāda’s 100th birth anniversary. From that day it will spread more and then a prema-yuga will come. There is some prophecy like that.

So now it is our duty to seriously take up Mahāprabhu’s teachings and philosophy. You take it up seriously and become very strong to preach vigorously and spread it. Then Kali will be driven away. That is your duty now. You should take it up very seriously and understand Mahāprabhu’s teachings. Then Mahāprabhu’s mercy is there. His wonderful mercy is there especially for the people in the Western countries — mlecchas and yavanas. Therefore He is known as Patita-pāvana. Thank you very much. May you all have the blessings of Gaura and Nitāi to spread this Movement.

Devotee: Who made that prediction?

Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: One Gosvāmī called Kānuprīya Gosvāmī lived shortly after the time of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He gave that prediction. Yes. At the University of Orissa is one scholar whose name is Dr Fakir Mohan Das. He is a research scholar of Mahāprabhu’s teachings. He is a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, a professor, and has received a doctorate from Utkal University. He has produced a thesis where he mentioned this prophecy by Kānuprīya Gosvāmī, that after 1996 a prema-yuga will come. Kali will become very weak. So it is spreading in the Western countries which is Kali’s place. And we see that many people in the West are taking to vegetarianism. That is one symptom. Thus Mahāprabhu’s Movement, the Hare Kṛṣṇa Movement is spreading. And Russia is the proof. This is going on. So this prophecy is there. And now it is your duty to take it up very seriously. Those who have already come to the path should seriously take up Mahāprabhu’s message and understand Mahāprabhu’s teachings. Thereby they will become very strong and preach vigorously.

The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Miami, Florida, on May 13, 2008, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2008

 

Devotee: Right now we are living in Kali-yuga, the degraded age of quarrel and hypocrisy, so why is there a rumour in the world that human civilization is escalating to new heights of consciousness? For example, there are more vegetarians than ever before and human rights have improved. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that at the end of Kali-yuga men will be very small, but we see that our kids are bigger than us. Why is this so? How do we reconcile this?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: All Kali-yugas except for this particular Kali-yuga are full of innumerable sinful activities. Although this Kali-yuga is also full of sinful activities, they are less in comparison to previous Kali-yugas.

In this Kali-yuga Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, came and preached “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.” He taught us that all beings are spirit souls and that they must have love and affection for Kṛṣṇa. We are also preaching this message in every country, and that is why this Kali-yuga is special.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: This Kali-yuga is called dhanyā-kali, meaning ‘blessed Kali-yuga.’

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: At the end of the other Kali-yugas, the Kalki incarnation descends and cuts off the heads of the demons, ushering in Satya-yuga again. In this Kali-yuga, Kalki will not appear.

The following is an excerpt from Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s morning class in Cessnock, Australia, on February 25, 2002

 

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Nityānanda Prabhu broke the blockage, and the ocean of love was then free to come to this world, everywhere, door to door. What is that prema? Śacīnandana Gaurahari is Himself unnatojjvala-prema, and He brought unnatojjvala–rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam (service to Śrīmatī Rādhīkā as Her maidservant). Nityānanda Prabhu is the embodiment of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s complete mercy. Guru is the condensed mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Nityānanda Prabhu is the complete and undivided guru-tattva. That mercy was somehow blocked, but He requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu to give His love and affection to everyone. We see this now, everywhere in this universe, and because of this, there will be no Kalki avatāra in this Kali-yuga.

….

Premānanda dāsa: Someone told me that later in Kali-yuga people will not recognize Mahāprabhu as God, as Kṛṣṇa. Is this true?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, no. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu comes (once in thousands of Kali-yugas), there is no Kalki avatāra. The effect of harināma will continue everywhere, until the end.

The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Alachua, Florida, on May 4, 2008, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2008

 

Gajahanta dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, we sing the song, “Kṛpā bindu diyā – Please give me a drop of your mercy.” Does receiving this laulyam (greed) depend on śrī guru?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The guru must be able to give it. He must be an elevated rasika and tattva-jña Vaiṣṇava. That type of guru may give that transcendental greed.

Gajahanta dāsa: Our disciplic succession of gurus from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura are all high-class rasika. So should we be praying to them for us to get laulyam?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Certainly.

Gajahanta dāsa: We feel that Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja was the first wave of bhakti in our life, and you are coming as the second wave.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He declared everywhere that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and now he has told me to preach that you should forget this. In that regard it seems like there is something different in our preaching, but it is important to know that both conceptions are in one line with one purport. The first stage calls out to the conditioned souls: “Come, you must know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Then, after this conception is fixed, then try to forget it; otherwise you will not attain vraja-bhakti.

Gajahanta dāsa: Will there be many more waves in the future?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, so many waves. No one is able to count them.

The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, on June 10, 2010, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2010

Nityānanda dāsa (from Los Angeles): I have read, that part of our siddhānta is that there must be at least one devotee in the world who is performing worship of Śrīmatī Rādhikā on the level of bhāva — otherwise the world would be destroyed. I read this in an article by Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja.**** I don’t understand why the world will be destroyed if there is no such devotee in the world.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is correct, but such devotees are rare.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He can’t understand why the world will be destroyed.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is the rule and regulation of Kṛṣṇa; no one can change it.

The following is an excerpt from the book Discerning the True Sentiments of the Soul  by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

 

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura foretold that in the near future many hundreds of thousands of Western devotees with śikhā and tulasī-mālā will meet with Indian devotees, and they will all chant together, “haribol, haribol,” “gaura premānande hari haribol,” and, “hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare / hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.” Thus, all over the world the pure mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will spread. This idea was started by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. He is the root of all our preaching, and therefore we are truly indebted to him.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Murwillumbah, Australia, on January 15, 2000

 

Satyarūpa dāsī: Why is this fear here? Why is there fear?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Because of ignorance. In Vaiṣṇavism there should be no envy. That is why, although Iskcon is very big, there is a lack of harmony among the members. They don’t give honour to their elders, and elders are not giving all their love and affection to juniors. We should try. Otherwise a dark age will come again, and everything will be ruined. I think that if I was not here, going here and there, then sahajiyā groups who think, “Oh, we are Caitanyaites,” would increase. I want a revolution like this: we should come to the real path, in the real sense. Kṛṣṇa will arrange for someone to come after me, and after that anyone else will come, and this will not be ruined. The world will be ruined, but this line is eternal. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said that this line is eternal. Someone from any group will come.

* That name which delivers one from material existence

** Because this is Mahāprabhu’s movement. It is spreading, and serious devotees are coming up, serious devotees who are strictly following the regulative principles and chanting nicely. Then Kali becomes weak, but if that is not there, then he gets strength. (Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja, Bhubaneswar, 1994)

*** After 1996 Kali will have no more strength in Mahāprabhu’s movement. Those who stay in Mahāprabhu’s movement will get prema. But don’t think that on the last day of 1995 and the first day of 1996 everyone will get prema. It will take time. Śrīman Mahāprabhu started His movement doing saṅkīrtana behind closed doors, and after 24 years He took sannyāsa. In the same way it will take time. Be patient. The same thing that happened with the Gauḍīya Maṭha will happen with Iskcon. They will split and they will pick sides. The kali-celās (disciples of Kali) will be exposed and many will leave. (Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in a room conversation with his close followers, Date & Location Unknown)

**** “Performing bhajana with the inclination to serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the best type of bhajana. It cannot be said that no one is qualified to perform this kind of bhajana. In this world there is always a rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava who is capable of doing such bhajana. Past, present, and future, there will always be someone with this qualification. To say otherwise is incorrect because the world would face destruction if it lacked the presence of such a qualified person” (“Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Remembering the transcendental nature of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja,” Rays of The Harmonist, No. 15, Kartika, 2005).

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