Srila Prabhupada lecture on the Appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, September 13, 1971
Srila Prabhupada: Aham brahmäsmi... Not he says, but his disciple says.
Guest: These things are wrong then. What is wrong with guru?
Srila Prabhupada: And why you did not follow it, that "Why? What we are...?" Just like Caitanya Mahäprabhu. As soon as he was addressed "Krsna," He was doing like this: "Oh, what you are nonsense speaking?" That should be done. He was enjoying: "Yes. I am greater than Krsna. Oh." Because he is leader of the fools, so he is a great fool. Because leader—a great man becomes leader—so he is a fool, so he is a great fool. That's all. Caitanya Mahäprabhu, by His practical... He was Krsna Himself. So as soon as He was addressed that "You are Krsna..." When He went to Vrndavana... The incident is that people saw at night some light in Yamunä dancing. So people thought that "Krsna has again come and He is curbing down the Käliya." So people gathered. Every night they used to gather on the bank of the Yamunä that "Krsna has again come." So Caitanya Mahäprabhu had one personal assistant, Balabhadra. So he asked permission from Caitanya Mahäprabhu that "Can I go and see Krsna? So many people are going." And Caitanya..., "Don't be foolish. Where is Krsna?" So next morning some people came to see Him, Caitanya Mahäprabhu asked them, "How you have seen Krsna?" Then some intelligent person, "No, no. It was all wrong impression. It was not Krsna. Some fisherman was fishing at night and there was light. The light was dancing like that, and these people took that Krsna is dancing." So actually Krsna was present during that time because Caitanya Mahäprabhu is Krsna. But He never said that "I am Krsna." He never said. When people addressed Him that "You are Krsna..." Sanätana Gosvami some..., tactfully addressed Him, "Krsna." One who directly addressed Him, "Krsna"—immediately He used to close His ears like this: "Visnu, Visnu, Visnu. Why you are speaking like that? Why you are addressing an ordinary man as Krnsa?" This is the teaching. And if you say, "Oh, Swamiji Maharaja, you are Krsna," and if I accept that "Oh, yes, I am Krsna I am greater fool. You are a fool, I am also fool. Is it not? How one can accept that he is Krsna is greater than Krsna, then he's a greater fool. Andha yathandhair upaniyamanam [SB 7.5.31] "One blind man is leading many other blind men." And that is the position. We have got manufactured so many incarnation. Still, there are so many, this mother, that father, this, that, so many. You know prac... Yes. All incarnation. All incarnation, they have congested together and spoiling the brain of the poor people. Every day incarnation. And there are many rascals. He says that "I am Krsna's incarnation, and rasa-lila." You know? Yes. This rascaldom is going on, rasa-lila. And people are so fool that they send their wife and their daughter for performing rasa-lila. Things are going on like that.
You know the Bhaktivinoda Thakura's life? A similar rasa-lila was going on. You know that story? Bhaktivinoda Thäkura was magistrate, and one person in Orissa, he declared himself that "I am Visnu," and in the village he was enticing young women and girls to dance at night. And some of them protested, and they lodged complaint to the government that "This person is doing like that." And the government commissioner, he knew that Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Kedaranatha Datta was a very elevated, religious man, and he was magistrate. So the commissioner entrusted the inquiry to Kedaranatha Datta at that time. So Kedaranatha Datta, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, took the matter and went to inquire at that, in the village of Orissa, with some constables in plain dress. So when he went there... He had some yogic power, so immediately he could say, "Oh, your name is Kedarnatha Datta. I know you are very good man, but don't be after me. You will not be happy. And I shall elevate you to become the king of this country. Don't be after me." Now, if anyone... He was Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a strong devotee. If any other person would have been addressed like that, he would be immediately puzzled: "How this man is talking about me, that I am Kedaranatha Datta, I am magistrate and...?" So he would not do anything. But Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so strong, he said, "Yes. Thank you very much, that I shall become king. So why don't you go to Jagannatha Puri and stay there? That is a nice pilgrimage, and you can stay there. Many holy men go there. Why you are in this village?" He wanted to drive him away from that village. "Oh, what is that Jagannatha? That is wood. I am Visnu." As soon as he said, Bhaktivinoda Thakura became fire. "Oh, this rascal is like that." He immediately ordered, "Arrest him. Arrest him." And he showed some fiery spark coming from his jata. So the constables were hesitating to arrest him, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, "Yes, immediately arrest him. Handcuff." So he took him away, arrested. And as soon as he returned home, all the members of his family were in fever, high degree fever, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura himself was in fever. He made some trick, yogic trick. So his wife began to cry: "Oh, you have arrested one great yogi. He is Visnu, and therefore we are now going to die. We are now..." (laughter) So Bhaktivinoda Thakura: "Yes, you die. All die. Still, what I have done is all right." Then when there is date for appearance in the court, in the court the man was brought, and yogi. You see? And Bhaktivinoda Thakura asked... Bhaktivinoda Thakura was suffering still in fever. Still, he attended the court and asked the constables that "Cut his jata."
Devotee:: What is jata?
Srila Prabhupada: Jata is hair. Hair. Jata. So no barber was available. (laughter) Because they knew that Bhaktivinoda Thakura, after arresting, he is suffering from fever. Whole family is lying down in fever. So nobody came forward to cut his jata. So Bhaktivinoda: "All right, bring one scissor. I shall cut." So he personally cut, and personally cut, and that man became very thin immediately after cutting his jata. He had some power in the jata. And he ordered six months' imprisonment. And in the prison he managed to take some poison and died. So devotees are so strong. They can know what is what. You see? He was not puzzled that "He is Visnu and this..." No. So we should learn from the Bhaktivinoda Thakura's treatment that this jugglery or this so-called power is not, no good for advancement in spiritual life. You have to follow the regulative principles as enjoined in the sästra. Yah sastra vidhim utsrjya. If you do not follow the injunction of the sastra, then there is no possibility of attaining perfection. Na siddhim avapnoti. So our business is to accept a bona fide spiritual master, being guided by him, to follow the rules and regulations. Then advancement is sure. There is no doubt about it. And if we become hodgepodge and mix with hodgepodge and do hodgepodge, there is no progress. Na siddhim. It is clearly said by Krsna, "There is question of perfection," na sukham, "neither happiness," na param gatim, "and what to speak of being promoted to the spiritual world? There is no..." Therefore vaidhi-bhakti, as it is enunciated in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Nectar of Devotion, by the Gosvamis, we shall try to follow as far as possible. Be sincere and hard-working. Then the success is sure. Not to be bewildered, misled by the so-called avatara, incarnation. You see? The so-called avataras, they are simply rascals. Especially in Bengal, every day there is an avatara. (laughter)
Devotee: The other day I received a postcard that "Some Visnu has appeared in some temple, next to..."
Srila Prabhupada: Just see. So many. Everyone.
Guest: Just ten years ago there was, and he was speaking sometimes, "I am the incarnation. I am Brahman."
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. In Kanpur also one man has been arrested.
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Srila Prabhupada Conversation, June 20, 1975
Visnujana: Srila Prabhupada, what did Bhaktivinoda Thäkura mean when he said, "I am going, my work unfinished"?
Srila Prabhupäda: Hmm?
Visnujana: When Bhaktivinoda Thäkura stated that he was leaving this planet with his work unfinished.
Srila Prabhupäda: Then let us finish. We are descendant of Bhaktivinoda Thäkura. So he kept unfinished so that we shall get the chance to finish it. That is his mercy. He could have finished immediately. He is Vaisnava, he is all-powerful. But he gave us chance that "You foolish people, you all also work." That is his mercy. So we should pray to Bhaktivinoda Thäkura that "We are your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, so we have got some right to beg some mercy from you. The grandchildren get some indulgence from the grandfather. So I pray like that." It is Bhaktivinoda Thäkura's mercy. A Vaisnava can... Krsna doesn't require anyone's help. Still, He is asking, "Surrender to Me." He doesn't require anyone's surrender. But it is for him good, one who surrenders. Not Krsna is in need of anyone's service. He is complete. But He comes as if He is in helpless condition and asking for us to surrender. So that is for his good. One who is surrendered, he'll get the result. Krsna is self-sufficient. Similarly, Bhaktivinoda Thäkura is self-sufficient. But if he said that "I (am) keeping unfinished," that means he gave us the chance, the opportunity. So we should always pray to Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura to be merciful upon us so that we can execute his unfinished task. That should be our... And never we should think that "What Bhaktivinoda Thäkura could not finish, I have finished." Don't think like that. It is not like that. Caitanya Mahäprabhu says in the Caitanya-caritämåta, eka ki ämära nähi päya. (pause) You have not given index. That I have instructed. You should now prepare index.
Devotee: That is being done for all the volumes.
Srila Prabhupäda: All the volumes must have index.
SPL dated November 20, 1968
"Regarding your questions, "I read in a book sent from India that Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura was sent directly by Lord Sri Caitanya from the spiritual sky. I am not sure if the book was bona fide. Is the above true? Someone, a God-brother brought up that he heard that Srila Bhaktivinode was at one time an impersonalist. Was he ever?'' Yes, what you have heard is all right. Just like Arjuna is constant companion of Krishna, as it is confirmed in the 4th chapter, Krishna says that both Arjuna and He appeared many times on this world, but he had forgotten his past appearance and Krishna did not. Krishna is like the sun, and maya is just like darkness. Where Krishna is present there cannot be any darkness of maya. So as Arjuna although always in the presence of Krishna as eternal companion in friendship, still he had some illusion in the battlefield of Kuruksetra, and Krishna had to dissipate that darkness by the teachings of Bhagavad-gita. The purport is, sometimes even a liberated person like Arjuna plays the part of a conditioned soul in order to play some important part. Similarly, Bhaktivinode Thakura for sometimes was associating with the impersonalists. And then he exhibited himself in his true color as pure devotee, exactly in the same way as Arjuna exhibited in the beginning as a conditioned soul, and then as a liberated soul. So there is nothing to be misunderstood in this connection. Krishna and His devotees sometimes play like that, as much as Lord Buddha although an incarnation of Krishna, preached the philosophy of voidism. These things are conducted in terms of place, audience, time, etc. In the Caitanya Caritamrta it is said that the activities of the Vaisnava cannot be understood even by the greatest scholar. So we have to understand everything through the transparent via media of the Spiritual Master. So there is no doubt about it that Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura is eternal energy of Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And whatever he did, was just to suit the time, place, circumstances, and etc. There is no contradiction in his activities. Yes, also, what you have learned about Sukadeva is correct. He stayed in the womb of his mother for 16 years because he was fixed on the Brahman conception, and then on hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam, he became realized and decided to come out and be active in the service of the Lord, to enjoy blissful varieties.
Yes, it is good that your parents come to the temple, and you engage them however you can in Krishna's service. Hope you are well.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
