Day Two--Srila Rupa and Srila Jiva Goswamis

Yesterday we started our parikrama, or walking tour, of Vrndavana at Radha Damodara Mandir. Not only does this temple house the wonderful Deities of Sri Sri Radha Damodara, it's also the final samadhi resting place of many exalted Vaishnavas. Both Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Jiva are buried in samadhi here on the grounds. They were both great Vaishnavas and founders of our lineage. Here's a little bit about each of them.

http://www.radhadamodarmandir.com/


-o(-)o- Srila Rupa Goswami -o(-)o-

Even though there are so many great acaryas, Srila Rupa Gosvami has been attributed with the honor of being that person who has established the mano-‘bhistam, the innermost heart’s desire, of Sri Krsna in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told him:

"The ocean of the transcendental mellows of devotional service is so large that no one can estimate its length and breadth. However, just to help you taste it, I am describing one drop. --Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 19.137

Lord Caitanya gave one drop of the ocean of rasa to Srila Rupa Gosvami, and that one drop was sufficient to inundate millions upon millions of universes. After some time Srila Rupa Gosvami went to Vrndavana and began to perform his bhajana, their hearing, chanting, and remembering Krsna.

Rupa Goswami wrote:
"The beauty and splendor of Sri Krsna's lotus feet has eclipsed many billions of cupids. The artistic dancing of His sidelong glances has charmed the gopis' hearts. His form is like a glittering new rain-cloud. He is an ocean of great transcendental pastimes. He is the supreme good fortune of all beautiful young girls in the three worlds. I pray that this Sri Krsna becomes the cause of the great happiness in Your heart." --Sri Ujjvala-Nilamani, by Srila Rupa Goswami


-o(-)o- Srila Jiva Goswami -o(-)o-

Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu (1511-1596) was the nephew of Srila Rupa Goswami, the son of his brother Sri Vallabha (Anupama). In his infancy he had the great fortune of seeing Sri Caitanya and Mahaprabhu placed His lotus feet upon the child's head exclaiming that the boy would grow up to be a great preceptor in the Gaudiya sampradaya.

In his studies the young Jiva excelled in all subjects, especially Sanskrit grammar, poetry and rhetoric. Sri Jiva went on to Varanasi to study and then set out for Vrndavana to join his uncles Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana. He followed in their footsteps and became a very prolific writer.

Here are some verses from his explanation of the MahaMantra:

1.
By His uncommon beauty, Sri Krsna Candra
takes away the mind of everyone.
However, when Sri Radha expands Her own
cleverness, She also captures Sri
Krsna's mind. Therefore She is called "Hara"

2.
By His loveliness and by the sweet sound of
His flute, Sri Krsna, who is
decorated with the most captivating qualities,
attracts Radha. Therefore He
is called "Krsna."

3.
It has been heard from the mouths of great
souls that Lord Hari led away
the fawn-eyed Radha from the Rasa dance to a
secluded bower. Therefore Radha
is called "Hara."

4.
As He sports with Radha, His blackish
effulgence causes shiny gold to
also appear blackish. Therefore He is called
"Krsna."

for the full text
http://bvml.org/SJG/mt.html
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Day One--Sri Sri Radha Damodara Mandir

Radha Damodara Mandir
#4 on our map of Vrndavana
For more information go to:
http://www.radhadamodarmandir.com/

jaya radha-damodara radha-damodara radhe
(jiv goswamir prana-dhana he)

All glories to Radha and Damodara, the treasure of Jiva Gosvami's heart!

We're starting our tour of Vrndavan here at Radha Damodara Mandir, or temple, because this is where it all started for the Western devotees of Lord Krsna. It was here that our guru, Srila Prabhupada, lived before he ventured out of India to the West. This is also purported to be the first temple in Vrndavana, the home of Lord Krishna! Following this is more information about the temple.

Have a wonderful day meditating on the glories of the Lord during this auspicious month. Jaya Radha Damodar!

--Your friends in Bhaktiville

))--O--((--O--))--O--((--O--))--O--((

Presiding Deities are Sri Radha Damodar. In 1516, a year after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrndavana-dhama, Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami arrived there upon the order of the Lord to uncover the various lila-sthanas (pastime places) of Sri Krsna. They frequently traversed the entire land of Vraja and lived austerely, immersed in loving sentiments for the Divine Couple.

During this time there was not a Temple in Vrndavana, only dense forests, so the Goswamis would live under the trees, under a thorn bush or in a vacant crocodile-hole. They remained for short periods to perform bhajana in Ter Kadamba, Varsana, Radha-kunda and the Radha Damodar temple area.

Some years later, they were joined by their young nephew Sri Jiva, who took diksa from Srila Rupa Goswami and performed service at his lotus feet.

According to Sri Radha-Krsna Goswami’s Sadhana-dipika, Sri Rupa was expert in drawing and preparing Deities. So it was that in 1542 he obtained a piece of black marble from the Vindya Mountains and in the sacred month of Damodar (Karttika), he personally carved, installed and offered a Deity of Lord Damodar to his intimate disciple Srila Jiva Goswami.

Srila Jiva Goswami officially purchased land at Seva-kunja for thirty rupees in order to worship his beloved Lord. After the disappearance of Rupa and Sanatana, Jiva Goswami became the head of the Gaudiya sampradaya and the Radha Damodar Temple became famous as a seat of learning due to its vast library of rare books and manuscripts of the Goswamis.

Some devotees are under the impression that the Deities of Radhadamodar in the Radhadamodar Temple in Vrndavan are not the original Deities of Srila Jiva Goswami. Some think that the original Deities now reside in Jaipur. However, this is not a fact.

In 1670, when the Muslim fanatic Aurangazeb invaded Sri Vrndavana, he planned to destroy many temples and deface the Deities there. For this reason the principle Deities of Vraja were moved to the safe confines of the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan under the auspices of the Rajput kings. Most of the Deities remained there, such as Govindadeva, Gopinatha and Madana-mohana.

Radha Damodar Temple The Radhadamodar Deities however returned to Vrndavana and have been worshipped there ever since. The Deities that replaced the originals in the temples of Govinda, Gopinatha and Madana-mohana are known as pratibhu-murtis which were installed and worshipped as substitute Deities by the Goswamis of those temples. All pratibhu-murtis are smaller in size than the original Deities installed by the acaryas, but it is worth noting that the Deity of Damodarji in Jaipur is smaller than the Deity in Vrndavana, thus further confirming that the original Deity of Sri Damodarji is in Vrndavana, whereas the pratibhu-murti is being worshipped in Jaipur today.

Before Sri Jiva’s disappearance in 1596, he left his Deities and library in the care of his successor Sri Krishna Dasa, the head pujari. The present sevaites are directly coming in line from his descendants.
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Bhaktiville--Parikrama Schedule and Maps

Here is our calendar along with maps of Vrndavana and the larger area, Sri Vraja Mandala.































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Bhaktiville--Kartik and Parikrama

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. Life is happening and it's not always easy to keep up with what I'd like to write.

Kartik has come and we're also celebrating it in Bhaktiville, in SecondLife. My daughter suggested that I post every day what we're doing so that others, who aren't a part of SecondLife, could also share in it. This is very exciting for me as it's redefining our ideas and concepts of our newly emerging global e-Vaishnava community. (Wow, what a sentence!)

So, we've posted a map of Vrndavana and the larger Gokul area, a calendar of our parikrama, videos playing Damodarastakam, words and translation to the song, and an informational note about Kartik. Each day a different little temple on the grounds has a box placed in it with 4 pictures of that day's destination along with a notecard regarding that place, a reference to that place on our map, and a link for further reading.

What I will post here is what we're reading in Bhaktiville. I hope you enjoy them and, if you're not in Vrndavana, that your armchair parikrama is enlightening.

Jaya Srimati Radharani, Kartik Devi Herself!
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Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev Goswami Maharaj Leaves Us

I've just learned about the passing Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev Goswami. I had the opportunity to have his association in Santa Cruz, CA, US, many times and found him to be very sweet and kind. I will truly miss him. The following is an article from Vina.

gurvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam sundaram
vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

"I worship the holy lotus feet of he who perfectly fulfills the most cherished wish of his divine master -- who is adorned resplendently with the blessings of his guru varga; who is adept in all Vedic conceptions, both conceivable and inconceivable; who is the faithful follower in the line of Sri Rupa; who is known as Srila Govinda Maharaj; whose beautiful divine figure revels in the mellows of divine love; who is the guru of the entire universe and the bestower of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord."

At about 4:30am, 27 March 2010, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj passed away from our vision by his own sweet will and surrounded by sannyasis and servitors chanting softly. His holy form was presently taken with a convoy of vehicles from our Dum Dum Park Temple, Kolkata, to Nabadwip where this afternoon he will be given samadhi close to the Samadhi Mandir of his beloved Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

2pm Nabadwip: Srila Gurudev's holy body was brought before the Deities here at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. Accompanied by continuous kirttan, devotees garlanded His Divine Grace and offered flowers and prayers. Bathing took place just now on the plinth of the 'Temple of Union in Separation' where chanting continues.

Live online BlogTV broadcasts are taking place throughout the afternoon:
TVDarshan broadcast by Anukrishna Devi dasi of Russia
and vaisnavadarshan_tv broadcast by Nimai Chandra Prabhu.

http://www.vina.cc/news/
Written by Arun Kumar das
Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Gaura Purnima in Second Life!

Don’t have plans for Gaura Purnima, don’t live near a Temple, or just curious? Come visit Bhaktiville in Second Life and celebrate the opening of the new Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. Second Life is an online, virtual reality community where many devotees have temples. (To find out more about Second Life: http://secondlife.com/whatis/) We’re at Archers 186, 229, 33, or search in Events for Krishna. Come visit Bhaktiville and join the celebration!

Our schedule for Gaura Purnima is as follows (all times are Pacific Standard Time):
• 10 am: Fireworks and official opening ceremonies, Arati and Deity Flower Shower
• 11 am: Fireworks and lecture and greetings from Bhaktiville’s residents: Bhakti Thor, Bhakti Mimulus, and Dasi Lane
• 12 am: Fireworks and Virtual Prasadam at the Greenhouse Cafe, followed by tour of the grounds.

Program will be repeated again at 3 pm
• 3 pm: Fireworks and opening ceremonies, Arati and Deity Flower Shower
• 4 pm: Fireworks and lecture and greetings from Bhaktiville’s residents: Bhakti Thor, Bhakti Mimulus, and Dasi Lane
• 5 pm: Fireworks and Virtual Prasadam at the Greenhouse Café, followed by tour of the grounds.

Bhaktiville is always open and we have created it for the pleasure of the devotees. We have many things for your spiritual enjoyment.
1. Sri Sri Radha Krsna are available for darshan any time of the day or night.
2. Offer your obeisances or a flower to the Deities.
3. Sit in the temple or Prabhupada’s garden and chant japa.
4. Find the hidden grotto for meditation.
5. Sit by the ocean and read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
6. Sit on the pier by the ocean and watch videos or pick up some free gifts from the vendor.
7. Go to the Greenhouse Café—a relaxing atmosphere where virtual prasadam is served daily. Check out the cookbook for vegetarian recipes.
8. We have many animals in Bhaktiville—sheep, birds, our cows wander and float around, and our cat Kesava is very friendly.

Look forward to seeing you there! Contact me for more information. Hare Krishna!
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What I've Been Doing

A devotee from South Africa commented on my blog and prompted me to write about what I've been doing recently, since I haven't posted anything in a while. I've written before about Second Life, the virtual reality community, and how much I really like it. I decided that I wanted to build a temple and started looking around for land. I ran into a person who had a wonderful deity of Krsna and so I wrote to him. He invited me to build on his land and so we--Bhakta Thor, Bhakti Mimulus, and myself--have been working together for the past couple of months on Bhaktiville. Bhakti Mimulus does landscaping, Bhakta Thor decorating and landscaping, and me, I just fill in. But, boy, what fun!

A little background. Second Life is one of many virtual reality communities on the Internet. You create a person to represent you, an avatar, and you interact with the environment and people around you. People come for interactive war games, to build, to meet other people--whatever their reason might be--but, they're all there doing what they like to do together. I really like computers and I really like Krsna--seems like a good match for me.

So, here's what we've been doing. Our landing spot and welcoming area is on a pier. We have streaming video from YouTube of Srila Prabhupada and other great videos. On our music channel we have Srila Prabhupada chanting japa. We also have a vendor where people can get books, gestures (offering obeisances), and other devotee items. At the end of the pier there's swimming and underwater animals.

On the land, we have the Greenhouse Cafe where vegetarian food is served. With a nice atmosphere and streaming music, it's a nice place to hang out. We're also adding a cookbook with vegetarian recipes people can take with them. Up the hill from the Cafe is the barn with a few of our cows! To the left of the Cafe is the path leading up to the temple.

Just outside the temple we have a little table with some of Srila Prabhupada's books and more cows.

Then there are the Deities, the reason for our project. Many things in Second Life are flat and are put together to represent a 3-D object. The trees may have a round trunk, but the leaves are a series of flat pictures laced together. Many temples in Second Life have "flat" pictures of Deities on their altars. The Deities here are different, They are not flat. They were sculpted by a wonderful artist and are dressable. We have found some wonderful clothes for Them along with jewelry and other accessories. We have a ghee lamp and bell and are looking into creating gestures so that we can offer flowers and artika to Them. Outside the temple we have Tulasi growing strong and wild.

I spent some time creating the temple itself. I added elements of my favorite temples. The tall spires of the Jagannatha Temple, the massiveness of the columns of the Govindadev Temple in Vrndavana, and the wonderful flags on the altar of Govindadevji in Jaipur. I'm already thinking about the next temple I want to build.

Much of my free time is spent working on Bhaktiville and we have many things we still want to add. I can only hope that it is pleasing to the devotees. We are planning an opening day on Gaura Purnima, February 28th. Please stop by if you're around, here's the SLURL. We'll have activities going all day long, more details on that later. Hoping this finds you all well and that your love for the Lord increases every minute of every day. Jaya Prabhupada!
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