By Acarya Dasa
The Great Living Chola Temples
The ‘All India Padayatra’ was in Thanjavur during this Radhastami celebration. Thanjavur, also known as Tanjore, is a city located in Tamil Nadu. This place is very fortunate for most of ‘The Great Living Chola Temples’ (temples which were built during the Chola rule in South India) are found in and around there. The Brihadisvara Temple located in the city centre of Thanjavur was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO.
Radhastami celebrations
We decided to celebrate Radhastami at a Shiva Temple in Thanjavur and were surprised that the news of our arrival reached before we did. A disciple of Jayapataka Swami from Bahrain called me when he got the news. He invited us to stay at his home and kindly made all the necessary arrangements –he even organized a big pandal near his house for all our programs. We stayed there for four days. On the auspicious day of Radhastami we held a grand sankirtana program with all the local residents and congregation devotees joining us; around 400 people attended the program. We then sang bhajanas glorifying Srimati Radharani after which we did abhishek of the deities of Caitanya Vigraha Dasa, Sri Sri Radha Krishna, and also of the smaller ‘All India Padayatra’ utsava deities, Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar. Following that we held puspa abhishek of the larger Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar deities on the padayatra cart and jhulan yatra as well. Dharmaraj Dasa, a senior disciple of Lokanath Swami gave class about the glories of Srimati Radharani. We ended the festivities with prasadam distribution to everyone in attendance. We were all very happy to have Dharmaraj Dasa’s association while in Thanjavur. It is said if the father or mother cannot be present,then they send their elder son to take care of the younger ones –this is how we thought of him. Every day during our stay there he held special two hour seminars for us on various topics such as sastra adhyan, the importance of chanting and how preachers receive special mercy. We enjoyed our time with him and he encouraged us to continue our mission.
Lokanath Swami speaks about the ‘All India Padayatra’s’ birthday
Radhastami is also very special for us because we celebrate the ‘All India Padayatra’s’ birthday on this day too. We were all so excited and we wanted to have the blessings of Lokanath Swami to continue on our mission. We were all filled with joy when Shubhang Balaram Dasa got back to us saying that Lokanath Swami wanted to address all the padayatris on Skype. Here is some of what Maharaja said to us during our conversation
The glories of Srimati Radharani
Lokanath Swami:
tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye
“Translation: ‘I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krsna.’
Radharani is called Hari’s priya and Vrsushabhanu suta. She appeared in Vrndavan and her mahatmya (glories) are sung everywhere. In order to understand the glories of Radharani, Krsna Himself appears as Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Shyamsundar became Gaursundar. Why is he called Gauranga?
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam[1]
Translation: ‘Caintanya Mahaprabhu has appeared with golden complexion and the bhava of Radharani.’
yadi gaura na hoito tabe ki hoito, kemane dharita de
radhara mahima prema-rasa-sima jagate janata ke[2]
Translation: ‘If Lord Gaura had not appeared as the yuga-avatara in this age of Kali, then how would the world have known about the glories of Radha. Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave the whole world the glories of Radharani.’
The Lord says, “My name is not complete if you just say ‘Krishna’. It’s only complete if you say ‘Hare Krsna’. I am incomplete without Radha’s name.” Radharani is the Lord’s energy. He is shaktiman and Radharani is his shakti. She gives alhad (happiness) to Krishna. What we need to be happy is very small compared to the Lord; if someone gives us a rasagulla we become happy but, to make the Lord happy takes great effort. He is Bhagvan, His alhad (happiness) is the biggest alhad and in order to fulfill that demand the Lord became Radharani and gave alhad to Himself. The mayavadis however, do not consider the Lord and His shakti. When shakti becomes murti, that is Radharani. We are also shakti/energy of the Lord. We can also give alhad to the Lord, that’s our dharma but of all the Lord’s energies Radharani gives the topmost happiness to the Lord. Krishna is great and equally great is Radharani. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My name is in the ‘Hare Krishna maha mantra’, one who chants this mantra knows the glories of Radha and Krishna and will become eternally happy.” This is why Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave harinama to everybody –to make them eternally happy. He predicted:
prithivite ache yata nagaradi gram, sarvatra prachar hoibe mora nama[3]
Translation: “In as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the earth, My Holy Name will be preached.”
And to fulfill this prediction Srila Prabhupada appeared and established ISKCON. Gaur Mohan De, Srila Prabhupada’s father always prayed to the Vaishnavas to make Prabhupada a great devotee of Radharani.
I am also a padayatri
At this point Lokanath Swami said, “I am also a padayatri.”
This day is very special because padayatra took birth on this auspicious day. There are two calculations about the birth of padayatra, but Radhastami is a common tithi[4] for both the calculations. It was 40 years ago in Delhi, in1976 when I was instructed by Srila Prabhupada to start a bullock cart sankirtana party. These words came from Srila Prabhupada’s heart and with that padayatra took birth. We started padayatra from Delhi to Vrindavan in that very month on September 10th according to the Christian calendar –and from Vrindavan we went to Mayapur. The padayatra walked for a few years but stopped for some reason. So, this padayatra as of today has completed 40 years. Another way to determine this padayatra’s age is to calculate from 1984 making it 32 years ago on the same occasion of Radhastami, when we reached Dwaraka dhama. At that point I was not alone in the journey there were many sannyasis and ISKCON leaders such as: Jayapataka Swami, Gopal Krsna Maharaj, Sridhar Maharaj and Prabhavishnu Swami Maharaj and many others. Once we reached Dwaraka we held prana pratistha or the deity installation ceremony of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar in the Dwarakadisha temple courtyard. After the installation when the flag was hoisted on top of the temple the ‘All India Padayatra’ was inaugurated or took birth.
The mother of all padayatras
During the time we were also about to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, it was decided that many devotees would go on padayatra with Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada on the ratha or cart. We decided to go to the lilasthalis of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and by dancing and doing kirtana we would reach Mayapur. So, with this sankalpam (oath) we set off from Dwaraka. Since then the All India Padayatra has circumambulated India many times. This padayatra is the mother of all other padayatras in ISKCON, because it has inspired many other padayatras around the globe. On this very day many padayatras are taking place and yearly too in many countries around the world. So, the ‘All India Padayatra’ has completed 32 years and is now entering its 33rd year of its holy walk through the holy dhamas.
You are making padayatra walk
When padayatra first started my hair was black and now it’s white but the spirit is the same. I can’t forget that bhava and those sentiments with which we walked. Today for us, padayatra is a utsava (festival or celebration) of chanting, dancing, preaching on the streets and distributing prasadam. I received instructions to start padayatra on Radhastami and coincidentally we started padayatra on Radhastami too. It’s all due to the causeless mercy of SrimatiRadharani that Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar are now traveling on the streets of India. Padayatra has been walking since that time and it is you all who are making it walk! All glories to you! May you all receive the mercy of Radharani and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Radharani will provide you with the energy to walk and preach. The glories of Radharani are the glories of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and you are spreading it all over and that’s the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You are all doing that very well and you are distributing the books of Srila Prabhupada which are also the glories of Radha and Krishna.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My name will spread in every town and village” but it is you who are taking the holy names in between the towns and villages and on the roads connecting the towns. So, you are doing more than the prediction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, you are preaching more and more. On behalf of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Radha Krishna and Srila Prabhupada I am giving you blessings. Padayatra is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission. You all are very special. What you are doing is out of this world, it’s the activity of the spiritual world here in this material world –and you are achieving perfection and offering perfection to people wherever you go and preach. You are giving the darsana of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar to the people and not only that but you also make them stand in front of the ratha and say, “See, the Lord is raising His arms, you raise your arms too and say ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” You are making people chant the holy names, calling them for mangal arti, sankirtana and sandhya arati. You are distributing books and giving carnamrita and prasadam to the people and you have been doing this for so many years.”
Then indicating me Lokanath Swami said: “Acarya Prabhu has completed 7 years on padayatra. I remember when we met in Aravade when I decided to send him very far away. He had left his home and everything behind even though things were going well and he was serving at Aravade. I gave him in his one hand the reins of the oxen and in the other a cane. I never thought about how many years he would be carrying it for. It’s been 7 years and he is still doing this service with all devotion. I am grateful to him. Dharmaraj Prabhu, the padayatra president, is Acarya Prabhu’s counselor and it is he who trained him. I am grateful to him as well and to all the padayatris for bearing so many austerities and walking with Nitai Gaurasundar. The Lord is watching all of you. Srila Prabhupada used to say, “Serve in such a way that the Lord wants to see you.” There is also a marathi bhajan that says a similar thing, vitthal to ala ala mala bhetanyala which means, ‘Lord Vitthal has come to see me.’ I am also grateful to Tribhanga Gopal Dasa from the Middle East who has always helped padayatra with laxmi seva.”
This was how we celebrated Radhastami in the association of Lokanath Swami, Dharmaraj Dasa and the congregation devotees of Thanjavur. On behalf of the ‘All India Padayatra’ I humbly beg all those reading this article to please bless us and pray for us, so that we can continue on with this padayatra eternally and without any hindrance –for this padayatra is the heart of our beloved Lokanath Swami
[1] Caitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila, 1.5
[2] From the song ‘Yadi Gaura Na Hoito’ written by Vasudev Ghosa
[3] Caitanya Bhagavat
[4] In Vedic timekeeping, a tithi (also spelled thithi) is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours.
