No 3 –– The excellent trick (program) of Mayadevi to try to prove a critical fall down case as a vanchana-moye lila

If you are always in illusion then delusion is a must, so what solution can be there for the pollution inside your heart

The protector of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s vāṇī

(By Srila Bhakti Vijñana Bharati Gosvami Maharaj)

By Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī’s preaching, his elder brother came to Śrīla Prabhupāda and joined the maṭha. Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered his brother to accept sannyāsa, but he was unwilling. Although Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī was younger, he chastised his older brother, saying, “Why are you not fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire to give you sannyāsa?” In this way, he inspired his brother to accept sannyāsa, and his brother became known as Śrī Bhakti Kevala Auḍulomi Mahārāja.

Some time later, after the disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja saw that Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja and his followers were deviating from the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda in three ways: (1) they taught that the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not to be chanted loudly, but rather silently in such a way that no one can hear the sound vibration; (2) although Śrīla Prabhupāda had personally initiated some of his disciples, including Auḍulomi Mahārāja, into the sannyāsa order, they preached against the sannyāsa-āśrama, stating that it is strictly prohibited in Kali-yuga; and (3) although Śrīla Prabhupāda personally established Śrī Navadvīpa parikramā, they rejected its performance.

Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja could not tolerate even the slightest deviation from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, and he therefore completely severed his relationships with Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja and those who followed him. He would never allow his disciples to go to Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha or to any other place where Auḍulomi Mahārāja and his followers resided. If Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja were to find out that his disciple went to Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja’s maṭha, he would order that devotee to fast for three days, taking only pañca-gavya (the five products of the cow) as his prāyaścitta (atonement). He would say, “Why have you gone there? You are now impure; you must purify yourself by performing this atonement.”

Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja filed a case against Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja and his followers and boldly announced that because they did not accept many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, they could not be considered his true disciples, and thus they should not be allowed to reside in his maṭhas.

My paramārādhyatama Guru Mahārāja, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, gave me the service of transcribing Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s dictations regarding the court case. I would then take those dictations to Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who would adjust the language and edit for clarity. When everything was complete, I would go to the court and submit the finalized documents.

The day the judge was to announce his final decision, Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja and his followers appeared in court wearing saffron-colored clothes. Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja had given eight people sannyāsa that very day and entered the court with a big procession of people loudly chanting the mahā-mantra.

In front of the judge, they said, “We are doing Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, wearing saffron dress, and carrying our sannyāsa-daṇḍas. We have started a maṭha in the name of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and have also established his murti (deity form) in the maṭha we are constructing in Godrumadvīpa.” They had not previously planned to have a maṭha in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s name, nor did they plan to keep his murti there. But because they felt threatened by the bold endeavors of Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, they named their maṭha Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gauḍīya Maṭha. They denied all the allegations put forth by Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and audaciously said, “Just see! We are chanting loudly, wearing sannyāsa dress, and we have named our maṭha after Śrīla Prabhupāda. How can he claim we are not disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda?”

Seeing their activities, the judge awarded the decision in favor of Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja and his followers. Externally, it appeared as though Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja had been defeated. I pleaded, “Many of your godbrothers were for a long time involved in building this case. I labored so much in coming to you, transcribing your dictations, going to Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja and providing information to the court. Now that you have been defeated, will you not appeal the judge’s verdict?”

Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja replied, “We will proceed further only if they again go against Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.” He then asked, “How many punches can you tolerate?”

I replied, “Not even a single punch. I would strongly object to being punched.”

Śrīla Mahārāja asked, “And how many could you tolerate if your hands and legs were tied with ropes?”

I replied, “I would be forced to tolerate however many were given.”

“In the same way, whenever someone makes mistakes and goes against the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, we will bind their hands and beat them to our fullest capacity until they accept those teachings.” He then explained, “My only desire was for them to again follow the line of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and we see that they are now doing this. They are now wearing sannyāsa dress, awarding sannyāsa to others and loudly chanting the hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This was my objective. In this way, we were victorious. Our fight was not for anything other than establishing the proper siddhānta (conclusive truths) and reconnecting them with Śrīla Prabhupāda.”

Even now, all of Śrī Auḍulomi Mahārāja’s followers and devotees of Bāgbāzār Gauḍīya Maṭha accept sannyāsa, perform Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, loudly chant mahā-mantra, and perform harināma-saṅkīrtana. This is all due to the mercy of Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. This is only a hint of his glories.