Gouridas was born at Saligram, about 18 kms from Sridham Navadwip in
Bengal. His father was Kansari Mishra, mother Kamala Devi. Suryadas
was his elder brother. Suryadas had two daughters, Vasudha and Jahnavi.
Suryadas was a boyhood companion of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was a
sadhaka in the sakhya bhava, i.e., in the mood of friendship with God.
He told Gouridas, “Go and live at Ambika-Kalna and do your sadhana and
worship at a lovely place near the river Ganga.” What could have been
more close to the heart of Gouridas? Joyfully, he left for
Ambika-Kalna.
One day Sri Gauranga was returning from Santipur. He took a boat at
Harinadi village. Pulling the oars with His own hands, He crossed the
wide Ganga and arrived at Ambika. But He did not leave the oar behind.
Carrying it in His hands, he went to Gouridas’ house. Gouridas was
astonished. Mahaprabhu said, “This oar is for you.”
“What shall I do with it?”
“What shall you do? You shall take people across the samsar-river with the help of this oar” said the Lord.
With profound reverence Gouridas accepted the oar with folded hands.
Mahaprabhu embraced him and said, “Come with me to Navadwip. I shall
give you something there.”
Gouridas became full of bliss with the Lord’s embrace. He could not
comprehend what more than this could be there. What as the thing that
lay beyond imagination even?
Indeed, there was something truly beyond imagination. The Lord handed
over to Gouridas the Bhagawat Gita written with His own hand. From
beginning to end it was written with pearl-like letters. The nectar of
his unblinking eyes was saturated in it. It was sheer bliss just to look
at the writing, to hold it in one’s hand. It was a joy flowing from the
absorption of consciousness.
Holding the Gita close to his heart, Gouridas returned to Ambika going
over the entire transcendental experience in his mind. “How
painstakingly must He (Gauranga) have written it with His own hands, and
yet He gave it to me so unhesitatingly” he mused.
What meditation and worship would Gouridas do? He was absorbed in the
experience and shedding tears. What divine love, what leela? Gouridas
could not fathom its vastness.
When the Lord came to Santipur after His sannyas, Gouridas did not go to
see him because of his deep sorrow on Mahaprabhu’s taking sannyas. If
Prabhu renounces the world in this way, how can we live then, he
thought. With what shall we continue to live?
But the Lord cannot stay away from His true devotees. When Mahaprabhu
came to Santipur He himself went to Gouridas’ house alongwith Nityananda
Prabhu. Gouridas wept and said, “I will not let you go again. Both of
you stay here as my permanent captives. I shall serve you to my heart’s
content.”
Gauranga smiled and said, “Do one thing. You can serve our images.”
Gouridas: “Will the images be alive?”
Mahaprabhu: “Surely”
Gouridas: “Can they sit in a squatting position?”
Mahaprabhu: “Yes, of course”
Gouridas: “Will they be able to take rice with their own hands?”
Mahaprabhu: “Yes, certainly. Now you go and bring a neem tree from
Navadwip and carve out images of us two brothers from the wood. We will
surely fulfill your wish.”
Gouridas wiped his tears. He sent men to Navadwip who brought a neem
tree from there. He had two wooden deities made out of it – one of Sri
Nityananda and another of Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
On the instructions of Sri Advaita Acharya, his son Achyutananda
consecrated both the deities with the ten-syllable Gopal mantra and
installed them. These were the very first idols of Nitai-Gaurhari.
Gouridas was the first founder of installing, serving and worshipping
the dual deities.
After the deities were established, Mahaprabhu said, “Now feed the four of us.”
Gouridas: “Four of you?”
Mahaprabhu: “Yes, the four of us. We two brothers and the two deities. Make places for all four.”
Gouridas: “Will the two deities eat?”
Mahaprabhu: “Of course. Otherwise you wouldn’t believe in Them.”
With great joy Gouridas prepared many nice food items. He placed four
seats. Sri Gauranga, Nityananda and the two idols partook of the food.
There was no difference between the real persons and their deities.
Mahaprabhu then said, “Now as per your wish, two of us will stay at
Ambika and two will go to Nilachal. Thus your wish will be fulfilled.”
Gouridas was thus blessed. Now there was a need to find a sincere and
competent Brahman who would undertake the regular worship and service of
the deities. In search of such a person Gouridas approached Gadadhar
and said, “I have come to beg one thing from you.” Gadadhar looked at
his face and said, “I have nothing that I cannot give to you.” Gouridas
then said, “Please give your Hridayananda to me.”
Madhav Misra, known for his piety and virtues, lived at Bharatpur in the
district of Murshidabad. He had two sons, Gadadhar and Kashinath.
Kashinath had two sons, Nayananda and Hridayananda.
Gadadhar was one of the most intimate associates of Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu. He was known as Gadadhar Pandit. And he had raised and
nurtured Hridayananda, initiating him and educating him. In this way
Hridayananda was Gadadhar’s personal attendant as well as his student.
Gadadhar Pandit handed over this Hridayananda to Gouridas. Gouridas gave
mantra-diksha (initiation with bija mantra) and appointed him to serve
the Gaur Nitai deities.
Gouridas desired to have a great celebration on the occasion of
Mahaprabhu’s birth anniversary, Dol purnima. Telling Hridayananda to
worship and serve the deities with utmost care, he set out for
collecting bhiksha. “I shall return in time for the festival” he said.
After Gouridas left, there was no news about him at all. Hridayananda
was in a dilemma. If invitations were not sent immediately to the
mahantas and vaishnavas, how could they be present on the fixed date?
There was a great deal of related work left unfinished. Hridayananda
took it upon himself to complete all the arrangements before his Guru
returned.
Gouridas returned to Ambika-Kalna just one day before the festival.
Hridayananda told him with some satisfaction, “Seeing your delay in
returning, I have myself completed all the arrangements.”
Gouridas was not happy and did not bless him. Rather he came angry and
asked, “What is the meaning of your independent action without my
permission?” Hridayananda was dumb-struck.
Gouridas continued harshly, “Since you have gone over me and thus
disregarded me, you no longer have a place here. Go somewhere else.”
Heartbroken, Hridayananda bowed his head and obeyed his Guru’s order. He went to the bank of the Ganga and sat under a tree.
Gouridas then started the celebrations at the ashram. Having received
Hridayananda’s invitation, people started gradually assembling at the
ashram for the festival. One such person, carrying huge offerings for
the Lord, saw Hridayananda beside the Ganga and asked the palki-bearers
to stop.
Hridayananda told him, “The celebrations are taking place at the ashram, not here. Please take all these things to the ashram.”
But Gouridas refused to accept the offerings. He said, “these have come
because of Hridayananda’s invitation. I shall not take them. Tell him
to organize a separate festival with these offerings.”
The bearers once again brought the offerings back to Hridayananda. “Has
Gurudeva asked me to organize a separate celebration with these? So be
it.” Hridayananda began to organize the festival under the very tree on
the bank of the Ganga. Hearing the commotion of the festivities, most
of the invitees started assembling under the tree.
On the other side, Gouridas also conducted the festival at the ashram as
per his own arrangements. At the time of the midday bhog offering, he
told the priest Gangadas to open the temple doors and make the offering
to the deities.
The door of the temple was opened, but the temple was empty! The deities
were missing. Gouridas started running towards the bank of the Ganga
with a stick in his hand. “This is definitely the work of Hridayananda.
He has removed the deities from the temple” he exclaimed.
On reaching the river bank he saw a strange sight. Kirtan chanting was
going on and in the midst of the singing and dancing, he saw the two
deities also dancing !! Seeing Gouridas with the stick in his hand, the
deities of Nitai-Gaur tried to disappear.
But to his great astonishment, Gouridas saw Sri Chaitanya merging into
the heart of Hridayananda. With outstretched arms, Gouridas ran and
tightly embraced Hridayananda. “You are truly blessed. From today, your
name should be Hriday-Chaitanya” he cried.
Returning to his ashram Gouridas saw that the two deities were back in
their usual places. Their bright laughing eyes seemed to ask, “Now do
you understand Hridaya’s devotion to his Guru? Have you realized Who is
enshrined in whose heart?”
This Hriday-Chaitanya became the diksha-guru of Syamananda prabhu.
Syamananda’s childhood name was Dukhi. He was born in a village called
Dharenda- Bahadurpur (presently known as Kalaikunda in Midnapur) in a
family of milkmen. His father’s name was Sri Krishna Mondal and his
mother was Durika. His father left his native place and migrated to
Dandeshwar in Orissa.
Prior to Syamananda’s birth, his parents had lost several children in
childbirth and they vowed to surrender their next child to Vishnu if it
survived. Having suffered so much grief in the loss of their previous
children, they first named Syamananda Dukhi, to ward off further
distress.
Some called him Dukhia. After taking initiation from Hriday-Chaitanya, he was known as Krishnadas or Dukhi Krishnadas.
From his early childhood itself, signs of renunciation became visible in
him. Once after completing his studies, he felt the strong urge to take
a bath in the Ganga. He told his father, “I am going to the Ganga for a
dip.”
Where? With whom, the father enquired.
“A group of pilgrims is going to Ambika-Kalna. I shall go with them” came the reply.
There was no point in refusing. The boy could not be held back. The
father only hoped that Dukhia would return home after a holy dip in the
Ganga.
But Dukhia never returned. He chanced to meet Hriday-Chaitanya at
Ambika. Hriday-Chaitanya realized that the lotus of devotion was
blooming on the stem of renunciation in the heart of the boy.
He said, “Come, I will give you a mantra.” He gave him the Krishna
mantra and said, “from this day, your name is Krishnadas.” Dukhia smiled
and said, “Yes. Dukhi Krishnadas.”
Krishnadas’ heart only became more agitated after the bath in the Ganga.
“Now I shall see the Yamuna” he said. Hriday-Chaitanya said, “Yes, of
course, you shall see it. You shall go to Brij dham.”
After Krishnadas had spent some time in serving his Guru, Hriday-Chaitanya gave him permission to travel to Vrindavan.
Dukhi Krishnadas first went to Navadwip and from there proceeded to Sri
Vrindavan. There he took refuge at the feet of Srila Jeeva Goswami.
Jeeva Goswami began to teach him the scriptures and the bhakti
philosophy. With the light of knowledge, the last remaining darkness of
Krishnadas’ ignorance began to melt away.
One morning in Vrindavan, Dukhi Krishnadas was walking down a lonely
path lined with trees. His forehead was adorned with a gopichandan
tilak, he had his prayer beads in his hands and he was singing the
glories of Sri Gauranga as he walked along.
While walking thus, he suddenly stopped on the path. A beautiful golden
anklet was lying in the middle of the path. Krishnadas bent and picked
up the ornament. Perceiving its ethereal beauty and elegance, he
spontaneously pressed it to his forehead and then held it to his heart
with both his hands. He started to horripilate and tears filled his
eyes.
Shortly he saw a young maiden coming up the path from the opposite
direction, seemingly searching for something on the ground. “Devi, are
you searching for something?” Krishnadas asked politely in a soft voice.
The maiden looked up, startled. She saw a handsome and dignified young
man standing before her, and said “Yes, something is lost, that belongs
to my dearest friend and I’m searching for that.” “What?” asked
Krishnadas.
“A golden anklet that was on my dear friend’s left foot.” The maiden
added, “Last night while dancing, the anklet had loosened, which is why
while returning home, it must have fallen off on the way.”
Krishnadas held out the ornament that he held close to his heart,
“Please see if this is the same anklet that you are searching for” he
said.
The maiden held out her hand. Even before she could say a word, the
anklet dropped into her hand on its own. Was it magic? Or a mirage?
That every instant, the girl disappeared.
Krishnadas fainted and fell to the ground.
When he regained consciousness, Dukhi Krishnadas found himself lying
near Jeeva Goswami. Asked what had happened, Krishnadas told him the
whole story.
Jeeva Goswami exclaimed, “What a blessed soul you are, Krishnadas. You
held on your breast the golden anklet which adorns the lotus feet of
Srimati Radharani, the goddess of the rasa dance. You have also seen her
dear friend Lalita. Having got her anklet back, Srimati is definitely
delighted and so is her beloved Shyamsundar. From today, I give you the
name Syamananda.”
Syamananda sat up. “And look”, Jeeva Goswami continued, “as you had
pressed the anklet to your forehead, a tilak mark in the shape of the
anklet has appeared on your forehead. From today, let your tilak also be
in the shape of an anklet, and this will be henceforth known as the
Syamannandi Tilak”.
News eventually reached Hriday-Chaitanya that Krishnadas has taken a
second initiation from Jeeva Goswami and had also adopted a new tilak.
When Syamananda returned to Ambika-Kalna, Hriday-Chaitanya noticed the
new tilak and was annoyed.
“I had fixed the form of your tilak, but you’ve erased it. In its place
you have adopted a new form. I hereby renounce you. Leave this ashram
this very moment” he commanded.
Eyes filled with tears, Syamananda looked on silently. Feeling a bit
sorry for him, Hriday-Chaitanya said, “if you wash away that tilak and
put on the old one again, I can withdraw my order.”
But poor Syamananda could not wipe out the tilak mark from his forehead.
As soon as he wiped it, it emerged by itself on his forehead again.
Syamananda left the ashram and went away. He stayed on the banks of the Ganga without taking any food.
The deity in the temple could not remain silent any longer. That night
the Lord appeared in Hriday-Chaitanya’s dream and said, “What have you
done, Hriday? Have you not banished my very Joy? The sign on
Syamananda’s forehead is the sign of my anklet. It is my anklet that
Srimati Radhika wears.”
The whole incident was revealed in the dream. Hriday-Chaitanya realized
his mistake and ran all the way to the river and gathered Shyamananda in
his embrace. Placing him on his lap and shedding tears of joy, he
asked, “Who is your Guru?” Shyamananda replied “Sri Hriday-Chaitanya is
my revered Guru.”
There were no more doubts. The reapproachment between the Guru and disciple was complete.
It was in Vrindavan that Syamananda prabhu met and befriended Srila
Narottam das Thakur and Srinivas Acharya, and thus became the famous
trio of the second generation of Vaishnava acharyas after the six
Goswamis.
These three were empowered by Mahaprabhu to continue the work of
Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Virachandra and Jahnava Thakurani and plant the
victory flag of Vaishnavism in Bengal and Orissa. They unleashed a
great flood of love and devotion to God in these blessed lands.
Syamananda prabhu was deputed to Orissa for preaching. In a village
called Rohini on the banks of the river Subarnarekha, the village
chieftain Achyuta and his son Rasikananda became the disciples of
Syamananda prabhu.
Gradually, a large following collected around Shyamananda and thus grew
the Syamanandi sect. The land of Utkal (Orissa) was saturated in
prema-bhakti. People became mad after Syamananda and his teachings.
The whole of Orissa, Dharinda, Nrisinghapur, Balarampur, Gopiballabhpur,
etc., became the centres of preaching of love and devotion by
Syamananda prabhu and his chief and dearest disciple Rasikananda prabhu.
One day the news arrived that Hriday-Chaitanya had passed away. Shortly
after that, Syamananda prabhu installed Sri Rasikananda as the Mahanta
of the Sripat and handed over responsibility of the Syamanandi sect to
him.
Then he entered into the eternal leela.
Jai Sri Radhe!
http://www.srigaurangashram.in/syamananda.html
