20230624 Evening Pandala Address

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: Dear devotees, today I will speak about the loved Durgā Devī. She is the controller of this material world. But her association is with Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrā. Nārada Muni had served Lakṣmī Rāṇī for 12 years. And Lakṣmī Rāṇī was very happy and She asked Nārada Muni what he wanted. Whatever you want, I will give you that. Nārada Muni said that I don’t want anything much, only some remnants of prasāda from Lord Nārāyaṇa’s prasāda plate. Lord Nārāyaṇa had told Her that no one should get any remnants from My plate to anyone. Lakṣmī Devī was very worried. In Vaikuṇṭha there is no worry. So Lord Nārāyaṇa asked her, “What is the matter? Do you have some problem?” Lakṣmī Devī told Him what had happened. Then Lord Nārāyaṇa said, “Okay, do not give it to him in front of Me,” when Lord Nārāyaṇa was inside His quarters. Anyway, Lakṣmī Rāṇī brought some remnants of Lord Nārāyaṇa’s prasāda. Lakṣmī Rāṇī said, “It is very difficult to get these remnants, but since you have asked for it, I am giving it to you.” She gave him a handful of prasāda remnants. Receiving this, immediately, Nārada Muni ate the prasāda remnants. And he was in great ecstasy. Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! And all over the sky, he started roaming around. Then he reached Kailāsa. There, Lord Śiva was wondering, “Why Nārada Muni was looking so effulgent.” Mahādeva Śiva is vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: – the foremost of all the Vaiṣṇavas – he asked Nārada Muni, what was the matter with him. Nārada Muni then told him the whole thing, how Lakṣmī Rani had given him the prasāda remnants of Lord Nārāyaṇa. And that way, he had felt divine happiness and unlimited happiness. Mahādeva Śiva said, “Are you not my friend? I am sure you would have saved some prasāda for me as well.” But Nārada Muni was a bit ashamed of himself and said, “No, I did not save.” “Did you eat it immediately,” asked Lord Śiva. Nārada Muni then saw that a bit of the mahā-prasāda was stuck on his fingernail. He told Mahādeva Śiva that, “I have some prasāda stuck on my fingernail.” There is a famous saying in Bengali – kaṇikā mātra haile habe! Kaṇikā! Kaṇikā! That bit of prasāda which Nārada Muni gave Lord Śiva, he immediately ate it. Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! Mahādeva Naṭarāja, he started dancing. And Durgā Devī, she saw that the universe was trembling. It was not the time for the dissolution of the universe. So she went and saw that Mahādeva was dancing. And Mahādeva said, “Haribol! Haribol!” She said, “Svāmī, Svāmī!” Then Mahādeva stopped dancing and talked to her. He told her that, “I was in such great ecstasy, why did you stop that?” She said, “I am worried, please forgive me. You danced so much that the universe started shivering. I as a mother, was worried that it was not yet the time for the dissolution of the earth, but the whole universe was trembling, the living entities would suffer.” She asked Lord Śiva that, “Why are so ecstatic especially?” Mahādeva told her how he had got a kaṇikā mātra prasāda from Nārada Muni. Then Durgā Devī told him, “I am your ardhāṅganī. I stay under a tree with you. I am sure you would have saved some prasāda remnants for me.” Then Mahādeva said, “No, I did not.” “Why did you not keep some for me,” she asked. Hearing this, I am so sad. The way I am suffering she said, “No one should suffer like that – dogs, cats, no one should suffer. Why was no mahā-prasāda kept for me?” Mahādeva said that he thought that, “You did not have the qualification.” She said, “I am not qualified? How come? Is not my name Vaiṣṇavī? Is it not Bhagavatī? Why will I not get the mahā-prasāda? I am a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu.” So this was a dialogue between Lord Śiva and Pārvatī. Now this kind of talks go on between ordinary husband and wife, it does not happen between Lord Śiva and Pārvatī. If this happens then all the world will be in danger. Then Lord Viṣṇu came because Durgā is His younger sister. He told her that I will come in the form of Dāru-Brahman, Lord Jagannātha. And My first My prasāda will be given to you. So this way, the prasāda in Jagannātha Purī is first offered to Vimalā Devī.

There is a pastime of Durgā Devī in Navadvīpa. There are nine islands in Navadvīpa. The Navadvīpa dhāma was created by Rādhārāṇī for the pleasure of Lord Kṛṣṇa [audio break] There is a special temple of Lord Jagannātha there. One day, Mahādeva said, Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! At that time Durgā Devī was going around the universe. She saw that even in the Patālaloka there was an earthquake. She saw Mahādeva dancing like this and thought it is not yet time for the dissolution of the universe. Then she came back to Kailāsa. And then she saw that her husband was doing kīrtana and dancing. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! She said, “Mahādeva! Mahādeva! Svāmī!” Mahādeva then stopped his dance. He said that, “I was getting unlimited happiness, why are you obstructing my happiness, I am very sad.” She said that, “Sarveśvara, in all directions there are earthquakes etc. like when there is the dissolution of the earth. Now is not the time for the mahā-pralaya. Why are you so happy? What are you chanting – Gaurāṅga? What is the meaning of this?” “Gaurāṅga is the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Kali-yuga. And He distributes kṛṣṇa-prema freely to everyone.” So, Pārvatī said, “Oh, so I can also get kṛṣṇa-prema from Him?” Lord Śiva said, “Why not?” She asked, “Where will He be available?” Lord Śiva said that, “He lives all the time in Navadvīpa. And there the manifest and unmanifested pastimes occur. If you go there you will definitely get it.” So then Durgā Devī came to West Bengal to Navadvīpa dhāma and she started calling out to Gaurāṅga. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! And Gaurāṅga, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He appeared. He asked her, “What do you want? You called Me?” “Please accept my obeisances Prabhu,” she said. “I heard that you distribute kṛṣṇa-prema. It is my misfortune that I am not getting this kṛṣṇa-prema. Your devotees stay away from me. They call me Māyā, piśācī, demoness. That way I do not get the association of devotees. How will I get kṛṣṇa-prema.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu then said that, “You are My internal energy, you and Rādhārāṇī are non-different. And I bless you that you can accomplish your non-difference from Rādhārāṇī.” And this way with the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Durgā Devī understood that as internal energy, she was non-different from Rādhārāṇī. And she took the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and put it on her forehead, sīmanta. That is how the island got the name Sīmantadvīpa. Because She took the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya on her forehead. That is why out of the nine islands in Navadvīpa, the first island is Sīmantadvīpa. And these pastimes happened there.

I was a bit indisposed and was not sure if I could come here, but with Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mercy I have come. I will be giving away the certificates to some devotees who have been awarded Bhakti-śāstrī. In the Bhakti-śāstrī is the study of Bhagavad-gītā, Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction and Īśopaniṣad. And without the study of Bhakti-śāstrī, we don’t give the Gāyatrī mantra, second initiation. After studying Bhakti-śāstrī is Bhakti-vaibhava and that is study of the first six cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And the Bhakti-vedānta is the study of the second six cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhakti-Sārvabhauma degree is the study of Caitanya-caritāmṛta etc. If you want to get a degree, then you can get Bhakti-śāstrī and this designation will be given. Today, I am giving this degree to those who have successfully passed this study.