Glorification of Sripad Aindra Prabhu by Mahanidhi Swami

Krishna-Balarama Mandir, Sri Vrindavana Dhama

July 19th 2010

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

There are two factors influencing an individual’s life, mainly the influence of destiny or Karma and his free will. There is an interplay between our choice, our free will and destiny. But this is for ordinary persons who are mostly just tossed by their destiny and have a few choices of free will. Great devotees of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, however, encounter a third factor which controls their actions. There is destiny which means our karma: prarabdha karma, aprarabdha, kutam, bijam. And there is free will. But for the suddha-bhakta, suddha-Vaishnava there is Krishna’s will, Krishna’s iccha.

So the departure of Siddha-Baba Aindra is all just Krishna’s will. It is not an action of Aindra’s free will or play of destiny. Aindra is a baba, a siddha-baba, siddha-mahatma. Siddha-mahatma Aindra Maharaja ki jaya! His departure was Krishna and Radha’s will, or let’s say Radha and Shyama’s will for Their own purpose. This very departure indicates that he is a “siddha” because it doesn’t make any logical sense because it is acintya-shakti at work. Acintya-shakti cannot be understood by our intelligence. When one looks at the lines on Aindra’s hand, as in Palmistry and see’s his birth chart, one will see that they indicate a long life of eighty years plus.

Yet Krishna took Aindra at the age of fifty-six years. Aindra Baba’s free will was to live forever to spread the Holy Name around. That’s his will to spread suddha nama and raga marga everywhere, which fits any logical and sensible understanding of his life. But Krishna’s devotees and the Lord do not work on the platform of logic or sensibility. They work on the plain of prema, prema-vicara. In love, there are no rules and in rules there is no love. Bhagavan Sri Krishna and his pure devotee act and move under the love-principle. The fact is that Shyama wanted to take Aindra away from us and He did.

Everyone is this assembly is glorifying Aindra by emphasizing his distribution of Sri Krishna’s Holy Names. But we have some different understanding of Aindra. Aindra Baba’s contribution is that he wants everyone to absorb themselves in raga-marga-bhakti, especially pancha-anga bhakti, which means Nama-sankirtana, sadhu-sanga or sadhu-seva, Vaishnava-seva, nama-ruchi. Especially Vaishnava-seva. Without heartfully serving Vaisnavas, one will never attain a taste for chanting Krishna’s Holy Names. Vaishnava-seva, sadhu-sanga, nama-sankirtana, Thakurji-sri-murti-sraddha-seva. Sraddha means bhakti. Bhakti means saranagati, prema, prema-filled seva to Thakurji. With faith and love you should serve your Giriraja, your Gaura-Nitai, your Jagannatha, your Radhe-Shyama, your Ananga Manjari, etc. Prema-filled seva. Sraddha-seva means prema-filled. Sraddha only means prema. Then Bhagavata-sravana. Hearing Bhagavatam with the ears of the heart and attachment. Then Mathura-vasa-sthali. Living in the Holy Dhama of Vraja-dhama. Nistha in Vraja, Vraja-nishta. Living doesn’t mean coming and going.

This is the example set so perfectly by Aindra Baba. He did not eat or drink anything till midnight. He rose at three a.m. and chanted and read and served and worshiped until twelve midnight, when he would drink a little water and honour some maha-prasadam. First, Aindra would finish his two lakhs of Hare Krishna maha-mantra on his beads. Aindra set the perfect example of raga-marga-siddha. Vaidhi-sadhana, raganuga-sadhana, bhava, prema. Whenever we talked, we were always talking how to promote raganuga-bhakti, how to spread raganuga-bhakti. Our discussions were different. And he was crying that the world is not thinking about or taking up the path of raganuga-bhakti.

What is the basis of raganuga-bhakti? Gaura-Nitai-puja! Prabhupada established raganuga-bhakti, our Bhagavata-path. Our bhajana, our pranali, our bhajana-pranali is Gaura-Nitai worship. It begins with Gaura-Nitai. And later you realize that Nitai is Ananga Manjari. Radharani’s younger sister. In the beginning, we should begin with vaidhi-marga, worshipping Gaura-Nitai. And as one matures to raga-marga, then Gaura-Nitai take a different position. Nita-Saci-suta. Radha-Madhava. Gopivallabha, Radha-Gopivallabha. It becomes specific, your priya-nama. At the beginning it’s Radha-Krishna, then Radhe-Shyama, then your own priya-nama, Gopivallabha. You will have your individual way that you address Radha and Krishna, and see Them and meditate on Them.

Whenever we talked, he always said to me: “Is your heart into it? Is your heart into it?” Heart! Do you know what “heart” is? He said: “Maharaja, is your heart into your chanting; is your heart into your puja; is your heart into your Bhagavata; is your heart into your sadhu-sanga or are you just making a show?”

But in reality most of us think like this, “Oh, Vaishnava! Please let me serve you, Vaishnava, how may I serve you, how can I serve you, how can I kill you?” But we should do real genuine Vaishnava-seva, heartly seva a Vaishnava, heartly puja of Thakurji, heartly chanting of nama, heartly living in Vrindavana, serving all the residents of Vrindavana, feeding the birds, feeding the animals, serving the Vaishnavas with mind and full heart. This is the example he set! We would always discuss these points.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu did raga-marga-pracara. Lord Gauranga came here to preach raga-marga. It’s not something only for people who are wearing white. It is something for people that are situated rightly, heart at the feet of Nitai-Saci-suta, heart at the feet of Gaura-Nitai, Radhe-Shyama – this is Vraja-vasa! Not designations of bodies, which colour of cloth you wear, this cloth that cloth, no cloth, nagna-baba, digambhara. What do we care about our dress, the covering of our physical body? Our hearts should be “prema-ambhara.” Our heart, prema-ambhara, means covered with prema. Do you understand? The word amabhara means nourishing, covering. Our heart should be nourished with love, and then covered with love.

In today’s talks, everyone is saying, “Oh, Aindra is an agent of the Holy Name!” But we see that Aindra is an agent of prema! He is an agent of Vraja-prema! He is an ambassador of Vraja-prema! This is what he came to give! The Holy Name, that’s all right he did that. But we already have the Holy Name. But we don’t have prema-nama, we don’t have suddha-nama! Aindra gave prema-nama and suddha-nama! Who received it? Who is chanting it? Aparadha-nama, bhukta-nama, so many laga laga mixed koro, mixed nama, asli-nama, suddha-nama kaha, suddha-nama kaha, kaha? Every single lecture and every movement Aindra made is raga-marga-bhakti. Prema-nama, suddha-nama, Vaishnava-seva.

Aindra is teaching, he is the paradigm of perfection of raga-marga-bhakti. And especially, he wouldn’t leave Vraja. So once we come to Vrindavana, we should stay here, at least when Guru has placed us here. When our prabhu-datta-desha is Vrindavana, then we should immerse ourselves in this place. What does prabhu-datta-desha mean? The Guru gives a place for your heart. “Desha” means the position of your heart. Prabhu, my Mahaprabhu, my rasa-raja-Mahaprabhu, my Guru-Prabhu, my master, my Lord. Datta-desha means the place, position or locale that he has given a position for my heart. Everyone’s heart should be immersed in Vraja-dhama. Wherever you live, it doesn’t matter – Vraja-dhama! Everyone’s heart should be immersed in harinama. Everyone’s heart should be immersed in Thakurji-seva. Everyone’s heart should be immersed in Bhagavata-sravana, Bhagavata-hari-kathamrtam, Bhagavata-katha, hrdi-katha.

Vishnavatha Cakravarti Thakur says, “bhagavata-sravana rasika-bhakta-saha-sanga.” This means that it is best to hear the Bhagavatam in the association of advanced devotees. What does that mean? First, it means that we mix our rasa into our hearing of the Bhagavatam. When we hear the Bhagavatam individually or collectively or reading individually or privately, then where is our rasika- bhakta-saha-sanga? How are we mixing our rasa? Are we a bhakta? Are we rasika? We have something. Rasa means bhakti-rasa, rasa-abhasa, something is there within us. Whatever devotion we have should be mixed in our hearing and serving of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Aindra taught this example. We read Bhagavatam together, we chanted together, we went to places in Vrindavana together and we did puja of Katyayani in marga-sirsa month. Whatever I’m saying now, I prayed to Aindra before and I said, “You speak, I am your mouth-piece. I know, I can tell so many little stories, this, that.” But as you know, Aindra was not a sentimentalist, a mundane sentimentalist. He is a premi-bhakta, a suddha-Vaishnava, preaching raga-marga-bhakti.

This is Vraja-dhama! Anyone who has accumulated the sukriti to live in Vraja-dhama, or who has seva in Vraja-dhama by guru-kripa, then he better follow raga-marga-bhakti. Now I will get a little fiery like Aindra used to do.

I can just imagine Aindra saying to someone, “Hey, you better follow raga-bhakti or what are you doing in Vrindavana? What is the purpose of your life in Vrindavana anyway? NAMA KORO STUPID! Hey, play kartals right, don’t you know? You know about tala, teen-tala, do-tala?”

Precision! Aindra was a precision-bhakta. Precision means very exact, very precise. Everything Aindra did, he did with precision. What does precision mean? He was focused like a laser beam. Aindra focused every part of his heart into the nama. Aindra did Pakka-prema-nama. Pacca Thakurji-seva. No one in the whole universe is dressing Radharani and Krishna like Aindra! Because his full heart was there. There was nothing else in his heart: No wife, husband, ex-wife or anything else was in his heart! Radharani! Radharani! First Radharani went deep into Aindra’s heart. Radhe, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe!

Then Aindra thought, “Ok Radharani, these are Your fingers. Radharani, these are Your eyes. Radharani, this is Your mind. Radharani, these are Your thoughts. Radharani, these are Your desires. Now, I am your puppet. Oh, you want to dress your Shyama like this? Ok, just move me however You want Radharani.” Radharani is dressing Shyama! This is also in nitya-lila. Radharani is dressing Shyama and Shyama is dressing Radha. Everything Aindra did, He did with such precision such as Bhagavata-sravana or hearing and studying Srimad Bhagavatam. We would discuss Bhagavatam so deeply and rasa-pancadaya and other gitas, venu-gita, brahmara-gita – so deeply going inside. And I said, “Where are you getting all this? You know Sanskrit? You know Hindi? You can read commentaries, Sanskrit-commentaries, Sanskrit-tika, Bhagavata or Hindi?”

Aindra would reply to me, “No, no, somehow it is all Saci-suta-kripa and the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.”

And Aindra’s bhajana, such Bhajana-prabhava. Bhajana is like light, like the sun. The stronger the bhajana, the more brilliant the sun. So many speakers have come from around the world, but my brother Aindra and I want to say “We are living here in Vraja-dhama or any dhama or any seva-place to attain Vraja-prema. And to attain Vraja-prema, we must follow the gopis of Vrindavana, we must follow raga-marga, we must chant suddha-nama, we must serve the Vaishnavas as our life and soul.

So please try to follow our offering to you. We sincerely hope that everyone can attain the platform of suddha-nama, prema-nama, and engage in panca-anga bhakti. We should put our full heart into serving the Vaisnavas. A Vaisnavi wife should not think, “Oh, my husband wants me to cook for the Vaishnavas. Oh no, what a burden, so much trouble to have the Vaishnavas come to my home.” No, this is not serving with full heart! This attitude is terrible. Usually someone perfects himself in merely one limb of devotion like Hari-Nama sankirtana. We say that Aindra Prabhu attained perfection in nama-bhajana, and that’s a fact. He also attained perfection in Bhagavata-sravana, and that’s a fact. And can anyone deny that he attained perfection in sringara-seva? Sringara-seva-siddhi, or dressing the Thakurjis, alankara, ornamentation and design. Aindra had sringara-seva-siddhi or arcana-siddhi, perfection in dressing the deities. Nama-siddhi, Bhagavata-sravana-siddhi, Vaishnava-sadhu-sanga-siddhi, Thakurji-seva-siddhi and Vraja-vasa-siddhi. Aindra attained perfection in all five limbs of bhakti, panca-anga siddhi! Perfection in even one of these limbs of bhakti can give prema! For example you can just sit down in Vrindavana under a kalpa-vriksa-tree (Vraja-vasa), and just eat whatever comes along your way and you’ll get prema. If you can do it. Winter, summer, spring, everything, whatever comes, some water comes, you drink, some water doesn’t come, you don’t drink, you just sit there, hugging that tree, “Radhe Radhe Radhe!” And just by this vraja-vasa you will surely attain the perfection of Krishna prema. Now just imagine if someone attains perfection in all these five limbs of bhakti then it’s like one person has got everything. Janmaisvarya Sruta Sri bhir. He has a beautiful body, a fantastic intelligence and unlimited money like some kind of devata, but he may not have Krishna prema.

As far as devotional riches, Aindra is a dhani which means a wealthy rich man. Aindra is a dhani in Bhagavatam, a dhani in nama, a dhani in sringara-seva, a dhani in Vaishnava-seva and a dhama-nistha. Imagine one person having all these five attainments, five great treasures of bhakti? When we would discuss pancanga-bhakti, I would say, “Aindra, you have attained perfection by nama. So why are you going so deeply into the Bhagavatam?” But Aindra wanted to make sure, so he would reply to me, “No, no, I want to make sure! I want to do everything right. Because who knows if I have attained perfection in any of these five limbs or not?”

Aindra Baba always spoke so lowly of himself. He would often tell me, “I haven’t attained prema and I don’t have anything. I can’t just depend on the Holy Name. I have to do all these five things that Prabhupada gave us, panca-anga bhakti. I must try to live perfectly in the holy dhama, chant the Holy Name perfectly, serve the Deities perfectly, serve the Vaishnavas perfectly and hear and serve the Srimad Bhagavatam perfectly.”

This is why nitya-lila-pravistha-om-sri-srimad Aindra Prabhu has become a siddha-baba, a siddha-saint of ISKCON.

Srila Aindra Prabhu ki jaya!