20230210 Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Appearance Day Celebration Address To The Sarasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Association

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Today 150 years have been completed since the appearance of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He established the Gauḍīya Maṭha and preached all over India and Bangladesh, etc. He wanted that there should be preaching done in the Western countries as well. He sent some of his sannyāsī disciples to London.

The person who was the Viceroy of India, he asked him, “Can you make me a brāhmaṇa?”

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said, “Yes, why not?” If you can follow the regulative principles – avoid illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and non-vegetarian food – you can become a brāhmaṇa.”

He said, “That is impossible!” Our gurudeva, in 1922, he met Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. He was 26 years old and was a gṛhastha and had a son. On the first meeting itself Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura told him “You are an educated young man, you should go and preach in the West. You know English language, you should preach in English.” At that time our respected gurudeva was a follower of Gandhiji. He said, “Who will listen to us? We are not an independent country.” Then Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda gave such a teaching that he defeated Śrīla Prabhupāda. He said that Lord Caitanya’s philosophy is not dependent on the political status of any country. Our gurudeva was very happy to be defeated by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. But he thought, “I am a gṛhastha, I have a son, I have to work. How can I join him? I made a mistake, earlier itself I should have left everything and joined him.” Then he went to Allahabad and got initiation there. After that he in 1958 got sannyāsa. He then translated the first canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He said that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had said the temple in Bagh Bazar, the bricks of that temple be removed and sold and print books of Śrīla Rūpa Raghunātha. If you have money, print books he said. This way, our Gurudeva, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, he had a dream and saw Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in that dream where he was telling him “Go and preach in the West.” He had no money, nothing, he went alone on a cargo ship. But he thought that my gurudeva wanted me to go to the Western world and preach, so I need not worry about anything. And in America, he saw that people were eager to get the knowledge. He wrote to his godbrothers and requested that one of them should come over as it was a very good opportunity to preach in the West. But no one was sent. Then, he requested them to send a harmonium, but even that they did not send. He asked for a mṛdaṅga but that was not sent. He asked for karatālas, and even that no one sent. The price then was Rs. 60 or Rs. 100. And later whatever he had in America, was stolen. And someone tried to kill him as well. But he just thought his gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura desired that Lord Caitanya’s message be spread, so I will try.

He wrote in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that we should follow the order of the spiritual master. Some of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s godbrothers followed, some did not follow. If we went and told him that, he would defend them and say, “They are my godbrothers, not your godbrothers, you don’t say anything, they are your gurus. That is why I write that you should follow the order of your spiritual master.” Whatever Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wrote, may that happen.

Now, those who were by birth not brāhmaṇas, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gave them the brāhmaṇa thread. Because the Vaisnavas, they do Harināma and follow the regulative principles and follow the rules, they are naturally brāhmaṇas. If Śrīla Prabhupāda had not preached whatever his gurudeva had ordered, then the whole world would have been bereft of this knowledge. Now in the whole world there are over 800 temples. Nitāi-Gaura, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Jagannāthadeva, many. All his mercy, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda kī jaya! His vision was that “pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma” – Lord Caitanya had predicted this and this will definitely happen and will succeed.

The whole Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava family for his sake have united. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura desired that there should be a GBC formed. And our gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he immediately tried his best to follow this order. Now Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura did not say this that there will be one ācārya. He was the ācārya but after that, he did not say that so and so will be the ācārya or any such thing.

Anyway, I wanted to say that the seed was planted by our previous ācārya. And we hope that whatever he desired, we unitedly achieve that. Hare Kṛṣṇa!