Appearing in English for the first time

The Disappearance Day of

a ha v
a h a
by

r rmad Bhaktivednta Vmana Gosvm Mahrja

Pratparudra dsa

The
Vai avas
appearance
and
disappearance have the same purpose
he appearance and disappearance
pastimes of Vaiavas are aprkta,
transcendental, and therefore they are identical in
meaning. This fact is incomprehensible to souls
bound to the mundane. The transcendental word is
abda-brahma. He has a form; He is not impersonal.
The difference that exists between a mundane
word and the entity it describes does not exist
in the transcendental realm. The transcendental
name (apkta-nma) and the possessor of that
name (nm) are one and the same entity. In order
to realize the tattva, or reality, of r nma and
r nm, one must take shelter of both r
Gaura-dhma and r bhaktisiddhnta-v1,
the message of conclusive devotional truth
manifested by the embodiment of gaura-akti,
rla Bhaktivinoda hkura. This indeed is the
order and teaching of our r guru-varga.
In this world, parting is the
cause
of
suffering,
but
the disappearance pastime
of the Vaiava does not
cause such misery. Even in
1 This refers to teachings of rla Bhaktisiddhnta
Sarasvat hkura Prabhupda.

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othing can hinder the

observance of the appearance and

disappearance, or separation,
festival of eternally liberated
devotees Indeed, on both tithis,
discussing their sacred life stories
is a support to the sdha a

as

ha ana, or spiritual practice,

a reminder of their aspired
for goal, a stimulation of good
fortune, and in fact a limb of
spiritual practice
their pastime of disappearance, they bestow upon
all living entities the opportunity to move toward the
eternal abode, the realm of Vaikuha. It is not possible
to know jagad-guru rla Saccidnanda Bhaktivinoda
hkura through the ascending process, or in other
words, by considering him an object comprehensible
by the mundane senses. One can only know rla
Bhaktivinoda hkura when ones divine eyes are
unveiled by ri gurus grace, through the descending
process.

ithout sdhu sa ga, we cannot understand

transcendence
When deprived of sdhu-saga, mundane knowledge
becomes the most pivotal cause of the souls
entanglement. In this regard rla Bhaktivinoda
hkura has said, jaa-vidy jata, myara vaibhava,
tomra bhajane bdh moha janmiy, anitya sasare,
jvake karaye gdh All mundane knowledge is
but an extension of illusion. It is a hindrance to your
bhajana and simply spawns delusional infatuation for
this transient world, making the soul act like a donkey
(aragati, song 3). It therefore follows that without
sat-saga, that is, without accepting the shelter of the

52

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lotus feet of r guru, the jva is forever incapable of

attaining proper comprehension of Transcendental
Reality (aprkta-tattva).
Bhakta, bhakti and Bhagavn these three have a
mutually inseparable relationship. If one is to hear the
direct teachings of these fully liberated personalities,
who are Bhagavns intimate companions, or hear
narrations of their sanctimonious lives on the
occasion of their appearance day, ones life is blessed
and one can then attain supreme welfare. This is stated
in many places in the stras. A perfect example can
be found in rmad-Bhgavatam (4.9.10):
y nirvtis tanu-bht
tava pda-padma
dhynd bhavaj-janakath-ravaena v syt
O Lord, a drop of the bliss received from
meditating on Your lotus feet, from hearing
about Your pastimes which flow from the
mouths of Your devotees who are expert in
relishing vraja-rasa and from hearing
descriptions of Your devotees pastimes, is not
available in the bliss of merging into brahma.

Nothing can hinder the observance of the

appearance and disappearance, or separation, festival
of eternally liberated devotees. Indeed, on both tithis2,
discussing their sacred life stories is a support to
the sdhaka-jvas bhajana, or spiritual practice, a
reminder of their aspired for goal, a stimulation of
good fortune, and in fact a limb of spiritual practice.

r Bhagavn propagates vai ava dharma

When there is an increase of irreligion (adharma) and
a consequent decline of religion (dharma), Bhagavn,
to subdue irreligion and establish religion, sometimes
transmits His potency into the jva, sometimes sends
His special associates, sometimes comes as a partial
incarnation, and sometimes personally descends Himself.
Svayam Bhagavn, the source of all incarnations, is
r Ka Caitanya Mahprabhu. For the purpose of
preaching the external reason of His advent, nmaprema, He refuted illogical and opposing philosophies,
delineated the true purport of the scriptures, empowered
His associates like r Rpa, r Santana, and others, to
manifest the deep meanings of the scriptures and write
great works of devotional literature, uncovered lost holy
sites, personally followed what He preached and did so
in turn through His followers. Thus He disseminated
the immaculate Vedic truth of simultaneous oneness
and difference (acintya-bheda-bheda-siddhnta) as
supported by all the scriptures, and established vaiavadharma, thereby bestowing supreme auspiciousness
upon the souls of the world.
In the Gauya Vaiava world after the time of
rman Mahprabhu, three periods of darkness can be
identified. In the first dark period the disappearance
of six Gosvms r Bhagavn re-propagated
viuddha-vaiava-dharma
by
sending
rla
Narrotama dsa hkura, rla rnivsa crya, rla
ymananda Prabhu and so forth. In the second dark
period, He sent rla Vivantha Cakravart hkura,
rla Baladeva Vidybhaa and so forth. And finally,
in the third dark period, He sent rla Jaganntha dsa
2 Particular days calculated according to the Vedic lunar
calendar.

Bbj Mahrja, rla Bhaktivinoda hkura and

jagad-guru rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat Gosvm.

The glorious achievements of rla hkura

Bhaktivinoda
In every respect, the present Gauya Vaiava
community is indebted to rla Saccidnanda
Bhaktivinoda hkura. If, in this age, he had not come,
then an understanding of supremely pure vaiavadharma would not be a subject of pursuit for todays
educated society. Who would have analyzed the
purports of the Gosvms Sat-Sandarbhas, which
were written in Sanskrit, and presented them in simple,
accessible language so that we could become aware of
them? Who would have apprised us about the sublime
vaiava-dharma by refuting the bogus philosophical
conclusions (apa-siddhnta) of the smrtas, sahajiys
and so forth? And who indeed would have shown great
concern for the eternal welfare of humans like us,
who are blinded by sense enjoyment, by propagating
supremely pure nma-prema?
Having discarded the various concocted chants
and rhythmic songs antagonistic to proper siddhnta
and polluted by rasbhsa, he took heed of these
words, gaura je sikhala nama sei nama gau sing the
holy name that is taught by r Gaurahari. According
to this statement, solely by loudly chanting the trakabrahma mah-mantra (the hare ka mah-mantra
which delivers one from the nescience of the material
energy), consisting of sixteen names [words] and
thirty-two syllables, the jvas in the age of Kali can
become blessed and make their life successful. rla
Bhaktivinoda hkura personally practised this in
his life, and he also preached it through his books
such as r Harinma Cintma and through many
articles like r Nma Haa. An crya so fearless
and powerful is exceedingly rare in this world.
At the time that rla Bhaktivinoda hkura
incarnated, the ula, Bula, Kart-bhj, Ne-Ne
and numerous other apa-sampradyas, or fabricated
schools of thought, were proclaiming and respecting
vile, unscrupulous behavior as dharma. On the other

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hand, scholars entrenched in mundane karma were

proclaiming the insignificant karma-ka alone
as topmost knowledge, thus leading unassuming,
simple believers down another wrong path. Priests
who were making a business of scriptural ritual
and tradition, ignorant family gurus, and so-called
cryas, messiah teachers, were smothering the
profound message of scripture with fabricated
explanations simply to serve their own purposes.
It was with unbreakable will, sense of duty, and
truthful resolve that rla Bhaktivinoda hkura,
though employed in a heavily complicated, demanding, responsible and distinguished position in the
administrative system, wrote an endless stream
of articles and essays in the countless periodicals
of his day, presenting various arguments and
conclusions in concordance with scripture. In this
way he refuted all the aforementioned schools of
thought and established that vaiava-dharma is
not just the dharma of Ne-Ne, it is the supreme,
unflawed, exclusive eternal function of all beings,
the essence of all religions, and he preached these
principles by pursuing and practising them in his
own life.
He wrote literatures full of conclusive truth in
numerous languages, in a simple style accessible
to all. By writing these books, he drew from the
storehouse of transcendental literature the wishfulfilling touchstone of Vaikuha, the spiritual
realm. Indeed, it was he who first introduced
and inspired those who had received a Western
education about the teachings of vaiava-dharma,
thus fulfilling his role as Vaiava crya, who
is para-dukha-dukh (one who feels pain at the
suffering of others). On this day, the day of his
disappearance, my only hope [for redemption] is
to receive a particle of his mercy and a particle of
mercy of those close to him.

Translated from
r rmad Bhaktivednta Vmana Gosvm Mahrjas
Prabandhval

54

R ay s

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O
a

r a ha
nanda s

H
n da h
hada
a

ra s a dh
dr
a

A prayer for his mercy

lthough I am very unfortunate, at the

same time I am extremely fortunate,
because on the strength of the mercy of r guru
and the Vaiavas, I am participating in this
dhma-parikram. Many of us have no proper
understanding or realization of this dhma, this
parikram and the sakrtana pastimes that took
place here.
Only by the mercy of r guru is it possible for the
heart of the jva to have such realization. The great
personality who has mercifully manifested the
svarpa of this dhma before us is Saccidnanda
Bhaktivinoda hkura. We have assembled at his
bhajana-sthal. Our exclusive prayer to him is that
he bestow his mercy upon us. By his mercy we can
enter the realm of bhakti. In particular, we will
understand the pastimes of rman Mahprabhu,
who is the embodiment of magnanimity. It is only by
rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras kindness that we can
understand something of this.
Had he not come, a hellish worm like me would
remain forever deprived of his gift. This is certainly