[This year, 2018, the divine Appearance Day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita is April 15th (in the U.S.A.)]

[May 7, 2005 is the divine disappearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita, who is one of the most intimate associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The following is a lecture given by Srila Narayana Maharaja in his glorification.]

[On October 7th, Srila Narayana Maharaja took the parikrama pilgrims to Tota Gopinatha Mandira. Tota Gopinatha is the Deity manifested by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and given charge to Sri Gadadhara Pandita. He is the Deity in whom Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu entered at the time of His disappearance from this world. Outside and to the left of the temple as one approaches it, is the enchanting garden where Mahaprabhu heard Srimad Bhagavatam from Gadadhara Pandita. Srila Narayana Maharaja spoke in the temple in Hindi, Bengali and English. The following transcription was made from notes taken of Srila Maharaja's English, as well as the English translations of his Hindi:]

If anyone thinks that when Lord Sri Krsna took Srimati Radhika's mood and appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, She became zero, he is not correct. In a drama, someone may take the part of someone else, and that second person is still present. He has not become zero. Someone may play Radha and Krsna, and Radha and Krsna may also be present, watching. Similarly, when Krsna 'took' the bhava of Radhika and became Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, She was also present, watching, as Sri Gadadhara Pandita.

Srimati Radhika came in the form of Sri Gadadhara. You should try to know Gadadhara-tattva. There is no difference between Sri Gadadhara Pandita and Srimati Radhika, but the activities are different in Krsna's pastimes and Gaura's pastimes. In Gaura-lila Sri Gadadhara Pandita is a servant and devotee.

No gopi, including Candravali, Lalita and Visakha, can experience Srimati Radhika's madanakya-mahabhava, Her devotional loving moods. Krsna has rudha and adirudha, which are also very elevated ecstatic moods, but not madana-bhava. Sri Gadadhara Pandita, on the other hand has madanakya-mahabhava. In Gaura-lila, however, it is covered, so that he can help Sri Krsna to play the part of Srimati Radhika. In the form of Sri Gadadhara Pandita, Srimati Radhika is looking and examining, and if there is something wrong in Krsna (as Mahaprabhu), She corrects it.

Sri Gauranga (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu) is not nagara, the beloved of the gopis. No one can serve Gauranga by thinking himself a gopi and thinking of Gauranga as Krsna. Everyone has to serve Him in dasya-bhava (the mood of a servant). No one should think, "I am Lalita, Visakha, or any other gopi." This is a philosophical misconception called gauranga-nagari-vada. It is possible for Krsna to be the enjoyer of conjugal mellows, but not Mahaprabhu. He is always in the role of a gopi, Srimati Radhika. Anyone can serve Mahaprabhu in dasya-rasa, but not in madhurya-rasa. In this pastime, this would be absurd. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta says that gauranga-nagari-vada is sahajia. Caitanya-bhagavat and our guru-parampara also reject this idea, and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has defeated their arguments.

[From Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: "A similar example is Lord Caitanya. Although He is Krsna Himself, He appeared as a devotee, not as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We should accept the Lord's mood in particular appearances and we should worship Him in that mood. Because Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, somebody may worship Him in the same manner as Krsna. But Krsna was in the role of enjoyer, and Lord Caitanya was in the role of being enjoyed. The party known as gauranga-nagari is therefore considered to be deviated from pure devotional service. This is on account of them giving Lord Caitanya the same facility as Krsna, which He did not like. Our service mood should be compatible to the attitude of the Lord. It is not that we should overlap the attitude of Krsna upon Lord Caitanya, or Lord Caitanya upon Krsna, or Krsna upon Ramacandra, or Ramacandra upon Krsna.]

Sri Gadadhara Pandita is Srimati Radhika, and he therefore has up to madanakya mahabhava, but he wants to serve Mahaprabhu. He wants to do what Krsna wants, and thus he covers this madhurya-bhava. Sri Gadadhara Pandita knows that Mahaprabhu wants to play the part of Srimati Radhika. Right from the beginning He is in Srimati Radha's mood, and He is chanting "Krsna prana-natha! Oh, my beloved Krsna!" He therefore came here to Tota-Gopinatha to hear Srimad Bhagavatam from Sri Gadadhara Pandita, Srimati Radhika, to learn how to play Her part. In its deepest understanding, Srimad Bhagavatam is really the glories of Srimati Radhika's moods.

vande nanda-vraja-strinam
pada-renum abhiksnasah
yasam hari-kathodgitam
punati bhuvana-trayam

["I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Maharaja’s cowherd village. When these gopis loudly chant the glories of Sri Krsna, the vibration purifies the three worlds."
(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.63)]

Sriman Mahaprabhu came here to know the glories of all the gopis and especially Srimati Radharani:

sri-gopya ucuh
aksanvatam phalam idam na param vidamah
sakhyah pasun anuvivesayator vayasyaih
vaktram vrajesa-sutayor anuvenu-justam
yair va nipitam anurakta-kataksa-moksam

["The gopis began to speak among themselves: O sakhis! We think that for those who have eyes, there is but one thing which is a suitable object of vision. Success of the eyes lies in beholding this object alone; we know of no other. And what is that most precious object of attachment for the eyes? It is the vision of the two sons of Maharaja Nanda, Sri Krsna and Baladeva, accompanied by the gopas, as They enter the forest taking the cows, or as They bring them back to Vrndavana. They hold Their flutes to Their lips and look upon us with mild smiles and amorous sidelong glances filled with love. At that time we drink the sweetness of Their faces."
(Venu-gita, text seven)]

mrgayur iva kapindram vivyadhe lubdha-dharma
striyam akrta virupam stri-jitah kama-yanam
balim api balim attvavestayad dhvanksa-vad yas
tad alam asita-sakhyair dustyajas tat-katharthah

["Like a hunter, He cruelly shot the king of the monkeys with arrows. Because He was conquered by a woman, He disfigured another woman who came to Him with amorous desires. And, even after consuming the gifts of Bali Maharaja, He bound him up with ropes as if he were a crow. So let us give up all friendship with this dark-complexioned boy, even if we can’t give up talking about Him."
(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.17)]

yad-anucarita-lila-karna-piyusa-viprut- sakrd-adana-vidhuta-dvandva-dharma vinastah sapadi grha-kutumbam dinam utsrjya dina bahava iha vihanga bhiksu-caryam caranti

[“To hear about the pastimes that Krsna regularly performs is nectar for the ears. For those who relish just a single drop of that nectar, even once, their dedication to material duality is ruined. Many such persons have suddenly given up their wretched homes and families and, themselves becoming wretched, traveled here to Vrndavana to wander about like birds, begging for their living."
(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.18)]

There were three-and-a-half confidential associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Gambhira. Why was Sri Gadadhara Pandita not one of them? He is superior to these others. This is a hidden secret. If Sri Gadadhara Pandita was there, Mahaprabhu's separation mood would not have come. In the association with Srimati Radhika He would have thought Himself to be Krsna.

One day, after hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, Mahaprabhu was siting on the sand here at Cataka Parvata, which He considered to be Govardhana. He told Gadadhara Pandita, "Gadadhara, I want to give you My most valuable property. Will you accept it?" When Gadadhara Pandita agreed, Mahaprabhu said, "This is the property of My heart." He began removing the sand and said, "My prana-dhana (life and soul) is here." In the mood of Srimati Radhika. He exposed Gopinatha's head and crown, and others then began to help reveal His form. Mahaprabhu then requested Sri Gadadhara Pandita, "You should take Him and serve Him throughout your life."

At the time of His disappearance Mahaprabhu entered the Tota-Gopinatha Deity. Mahaprabhu left the world at 48 years, when Sri Gadadhara Pandita was 47. Out of great separation, Gadhadara Pandita quickly became like an old man, and he also disappeared. We see in Krsna's pastime that the wife of Sudama Vipra appeared like an old person. She was young, but she was very lean and thin like an old person, with practically no breasts and no shape. She was almost like a skeleton. Similarly, in his mood of separation from Mahaprabhu, Sri Gadadhara Pandita may have also appeared like that.

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] Gadadhara Pandita is always serving Krsna. In Krsna-lila, whatever Krsna wishes, Srimati Radhika always serves more than Candravali, Lalita, Visakha, and others. Her entire mood is to satisfy Krsna. In Mahaprabhu-lila, because Krsna wants to taste Himself, He will take Radhika's mood, and She responds accordingly: "He wants that, so I should not disturb Him. If I help Him in this, this will be my service." Do you understand?

When Mahaprabhu was calling, "Krsna! Krsna! O Prana-natha!" Radhika was there, but as an obedient servant. She was in a daksina (submissive) mood. The relationship of a servant to his master is always in this mood. Sri Gadadhara Pandita was even more submissive than Rukmini. Rukmini sometimes had some maan (transcendental loving anger), but Sri Gadadhara Pandita was not like that. If he had been in a vamya (left-wing or unsubmissive) mood, it would have been unfavorable to the mood of Krsna as Mahaprabhu. Gadadhara Pandita was always thinking, "I am His servant."

If he would have said, "My dear Krsna, my dear beloved, Mahaprabhu's mood would have been disturbed.

[Tunga-vidya dasi:] That was in Puri. But what was the mood in Navadvipa?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] In Navadvipa also. At that time Gauranga was also calling out, "Krsna, Krsna," not, "Radha, Radha." But at that time He was untrained. He was not yet admitted in the school of Visakha, Sri Ramananda Raya. At that time also, Gadadhara Pandita always served as an obedient servant, covering all his moods as Srimati Radhika.

[Aranya Maharaja:] Innitya-Navadvipa Dhama? When Mahaprabhu is lost in His mood in nitya-Navadvipa Dhama, Gadadhara Pandita is also in the same mood?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] Same mood. Gauranga was not nagari. We never accept Him as nagari.

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