20210523 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja's Address on the 64th Appearance Day of His Holiness Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami

Jayapataka Swami (in Bengali): I had wanted to know about Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, mentioning about upadeśaka and mahā-upadeśaka. Then I understood that the devotees who preached, even though they had taken initiation from Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, by seeing them he would say that, “Oh! You are so and so’s man!” Thus he gave them recognition who were preaching or were their śīkṣa-gurus This way Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami and others are preparing so many devotees. In the future I desire that all will become gurus, dīkṣa-gurus. But in the future the way Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted they should be śīkṣa-gurus and they should guide devotees and give them śīkṣa. I saw that our previous ācāryas had done this. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, that now if he had 10,000 ācāryas, then in the future there will be one lakh, and then ten lakhs, then from that to one crore. This way there will be no dearth of ācāryas. And there will be expansion of the devotees of Kṛṣṇa who know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So this was the future vision of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Now Gauḍīya Maṭhas, established by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, there is one ācārya in one Maṭha. But Śrīla Prabhupāda’s ISCKON vision was that there will be thousands and lakhs of ācāryas. This way Lord Caitanya’s prediction that pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma, this will be achieved. I am trying to get the GBC to agree. This is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instruction, not my personal wish. He has said this in many occasions. In Māyāpur, in April 1975, he said that in a lecture. And in other places, he said, we need thousands of ācāryas. Now in ISKCON we have less than a 100 gurus. So we need them more.

Anyway, now we were reading that how Amogha had criticized Lord Caitanya. Then Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and his wife were fasting because of that. And Amogha had cholera and was on death bed. Lord Caitanya ran to him and put His hand on his chest. He said, “Your heart is a brāhmaṇa’s heart and Kṛṣṇa should reside there. Why have you allowed the caṇḍāla of jealousy to sit here also? Then this way your heart has been contaminated. Get up and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa will be merciful.” Then Amogha stood up and started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and dancing ecstatically in kīrtana. He had hairs standing on end and he was crying. Then he begged forgiveness from Lord Caitanya. Then he started beating his mouth and cursed himself and said, “This mouth criticized You, Lord Caitanya!” and because of the beating his mouth got swollen. Then Gopīnātha Ācārya stopped him from beating himself. Lord Caitanya said that, “I was merciful to you because you are Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s son-in-law. Even his servant, maid, or dog even is very dear to Me!” Lord Caitanya said. If even a devotee’s dog is dear to Lord Caitanya, then Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami is doing so much preaching and service, giving me so much assistance, I am praying to Lord Caitanya that He bestow His mercy on him. Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami is helping me in so many different ways, and I have to say a lot. But I will stop here, because many others have to speak. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇe matir astu! Kṛṣṇe ratir astu!