Krishna-Balarama
A Comprehensive Guide to Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma
| Table of contents |
Overview
His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established this temple in 1976. This beautiful temple has Deities of Gaura Nitai (left altar), Krishna Balarama (middle altar), and Radha Syamasundara (Radha Krishna on the right altar). On the left altar, below Gaura Nitai, there are murtis of Sri Prabhupada on the left and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Gosvami on the right. There is also a murti (deity) of Srila Prabhupada in the temple room. On the altar with Radha Syamasundara there are Lalita and Vishakha, the sakhis or girlfriends of Radharani. This temple was built with money donated from devotees from all over the world.
The festival for the opening of the temple was held in April, 1975. Dozens of government officials attended from all around the country (including the governor of the state of Uttar Pradesh). There were concerts, dances, plays, guest speakers, feasts for thousands, a three-day ancient Vedic bathing ceremony to install the Deities, and a gigantic parade through the town of Vrndavana featuring elephants and gaily costumed marching bands.
Now, a year later, the Krishna-Balarama temple is just as Srila Prabhupada wanted it: a living, exciting temple. Classes are held throughout the day in both English and Hindi. Devotees chant before the Deities twenty-four hours a day. The guest house, Vrindavana's only modern accommodation, has eighty beautiful rooms, each with separate bath and balcony--comfortable living by any standards, East or West--and two first-class restaurants. Today the Krishna-Balarama Temple receives more visitors than any other temple in Vrndavana, proving what Srila Prabhupada has always advised us: with enthusiasm, patience, and complete faith in Krishna, all obstacles can be overcome and all endeavors can meet with success. [From Back to Godhead Vol. 11 No. 3/4 (1976)]
Prabhupada’s Arrival
Srila Prabhupada arrived from Delhi in his maroon “Ambassador.” He was pleased to see the three tall domes rising over the temple. They had been constructed entirely within the seven months since his last visit. The four-story guesthouse and the restaurant had also been built during that time.
Prabhupada took personal charge of ensuring that everything was ready for the grand occasion. During the final inspection of the completed complex, Srila Prabhupada sighed in relief and expressed his satisfaction. He looked up at the domes: “Oh, the domes have come out very nice. What do you think?” He asked, turning to his disciples accompanying him. “They are magnificent! Srila Prabhupada.” Hamsaduta replied excitedly. “Yes, Prabhupada,” Tamal Krishna Goswami added, “I think Surabhi has done a nice job. He has worked very hard. His work is excellent.” Srila Prabhupada laughed and said, “Yes, everyone is saying, ‘Surabhi has done a very nice job except me. I am simply criticizing, That is my duty. I am his spiritual master therefore, I must guide him.”
The opening date of the Krishna-Balaram Mandir had been postponed a few times. Guru Dasa and Surabhi Swami were directly responsible for the temple construction. Gurudasa fondly recalls an incident: “A few days before the opening I was running around making sure everything was correct and Prabhupada called me up to his Vyasasana. I went to him said, ‘Yes Srila Prabhupada?’ He just ruffled my sikha and patted my head, and that was my reward.”
Installation Ceremony
Prabhupada had arranged for the local Brahmins to perform the yajna and officiate the installation of the Deities, so the Vrajavasis would consider our temple authorized. The pranpratistha ceremony took three days, starting on the 18th April in the temple courtyard. The twenty-four hour kirtan continued throughout. On the eve of Ramnavami, 19th April, we took the Deities on a bullock cart in a procession including an elephant, a local band, kerosene torch bearers and over 500 devotees dancing and singing Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. All of a sudden Prabhupada showed up and joined us for two hours. Prabhupada walked in front of the Deities cart, and the devotees surrounded him, dancing and singing ecstatically.
Guru Dasa's Remembrances
Srila Prabhupada wanted to feature Krishna and Balarama because the area of Raman Reti where the temple was to stand was where Krishna and Balarama played as cowherd boys with Their friends. Raman Reti means enjoyable sands. There's a nice park near the temple dedicated to Their dancing. It has an overwhelming feeling and is a wonderful place to chant Hare Krishna. HH Gurudasa Swami (11-26-03)
Vrindavana is the birthplace of Lord Krishna, which lies some ninety miles southeast of Delhi. I was in Delhi when Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter explaining his plan. He asked me to investigate a report that the king of Bharatpur wanted to give us one of his many Vrindavana palaces. Of the many palaces the Maharaja of Bharatpur owned around Vrindavana, the Laksmirini Kunj palace was especially beautiful. In his letter, Srila Prabhupada said it would be excellent as an ISKCON center. So we looked into it.
By Krishna's arrangement, however, the Laksmirani Kunj palace was not to be our ISKCON, Vrindavana, center. At our first meeting and later on, the king made various offers, but it soon became clear to us that he was more interested in getting money than in giving charity.
When Srila Prabhupada found out that no palace was available, he reluctantly turned his attention to construction. Construction work is a big endeavor, particularly in India, but now it was our only recourse.
The first step in actually constructing our temple was to find a good location. I liked best a one-acre site in the Raman Reti district, about five miles west of the center of town. I sent Srila Prabhupada a map and told him that the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Saraf, wanted to donate the land to us. The Sarafs had become familiar with some ISKCON devotees who were living in Vrindavana at a place known as Brahma-kunda, and they liked them very much. Srila Prabhupada accepted the donation and told us to go on with the work of making an ISKCON,Vrindavana, center. He really catalyzed things with a letter to us in June of 1972: "We have fenced the land, but otherwise we have done nothing. So immediately bricks must be brought so they can sit during the rainy season and become soaked. A tube well must be dug immediately. I don't know why this has not been done. If needed, we can draw the water up by pump and store it in a tank, just as at the Vrndavana train station. We shall require much water for construction and for the vegetation, so a water supply must be there. We must have our own well. Sweet or salty, it does not matter.
Water is scarce throughout Vrindavana. Besides, the Vrindavana municipal pipeline had not yet reached the Raman Reti area. And even if it had, it couldn't have provided us with sufficient water, for it only runs in the morning and the evening. So for such a large construction project, the pipeline would have been both costly and impractical.
A friend of mine--a water expert--came to help us. We tried to ascertain how we could get sweet water in an area that had up till then yielded only salty. Sweet water was much preferred, for then we would not have to depend on any other source for drinking and cooking water. But a sweet-water well was almost unheard of in that part of the district, because the ground was full of minerals. In fact, our plot was surrounded by tracts with only saltwater wells on them. By Krishna's grace, however, when we finally dug our well we hit pure, sweet water. Everyone in Vrindavana was amazed. They thought that perhaps we were mystics, and that certainly Krishna was blessing us. In either case, they reasoned, it made our temple very special.
When the sweet well got started, everyone in the area came, not only to ask for water, but also to see the project that had been so blessed by Lord Krishna. As a result, the public opinion forming around us was becoming very positive.
The next step in the project was to employ an architect to draw up plans for the building itself. Two architects from India submitted one plan each--very grandiose schemes--and Saurabha dasa, a devotee of Srila Prabhupada's from Holland, submitted two plans. We chose one of his. He didn't have as many years of experience as the professional architects, but still his design outclassed theirs. As a devotee, he knew exactly how to arrange things for the pleasure of the Deities on the altar.
In July, 1972 Srila Prabhupada wrote me, "You have told me that the water from the well is sweet. That is very good news. Water in Vrindavana, if it is sweet, is very digestive. Simply by drinking that water one becomes healthy. As far as the name of the temple is concerned, you can call our place the ISKCON Krishna-Balarama Temple."
That was the first mention of a Krishna-Balarama temple. Srila Prabhupada told us that it would be the only such temple in Vrndavana. He wanted to feature Krishna and Balarama because the area of Raman Reti where the temple was to stand was where Krishna and Balarama played as cowherd boys with Their friends. Raman Reti means "enjoyable sands." There's a nice park near the temple dedicated to Their dancing. It has an overwhelming feeling and is a wonderful place to chant Hare Krishna.
Meanwhile, several factors were holding up progress. First was a lack of money. The funds for the project were coming from our collections in Delhi, Calcutta, and Hyderbad. Every day two or three devotees would visit businessmen in their offices and appeal to them for donations as part of our membership drive. But the money was coming in slowly. In addition, we had little in the way of building materials because of government shortages. Rather than allot goods to religious groups, they preferred to support the army and movie theaters.
To try to remedy this situation, I regularly went to Delhi to talk with officials such as the Minister of Mining and the man who controlled allotments of cement. I'd go to their homes early in the morning, sometimes while they were still in their pajamas so they couldn't escape, and impress upon them the need for a center of Krishna consciousness in Vrindavana. This approach finally struck a sympathetic note, and they began to sanction the amounts of cement and steel we needed. But still we experienced shortages. We could get only little bits and pieces here and there, either because we didn't have much money or because the government would only give us small amounts at one time. During this difficult period, Srila Prabhupada wrote me, "Now go on and develop the Vrindavana center with full enthusiasm and do not be discouraged by any temporary setbacks. Always work in the spirit of being completely dependent on Krishna for everything." And indeed, Krishna always made it possible for the work to go on.
Miraculous things would happen. When hundreds of people had been denied their supplies, we'd get our order approved. When there was a flood in the river our sand came from, new sand from another location came through right on time to be mixed with the cement that had just come in from another place. In this way we were being trained to depend on Krishna, especially since we were building His temple in Vrndavana itself. We didn't consider these obstacles to be unpleasant incidents. They seemed to be Krishna's test to see how much love we were willing to Put into His temple.
Over the next two years, the temple building went up gradually while the guest house, which did not require such fine workmanship, shot up suddenly. We planted fruit trees for future gardens and built other shelters for the storage of as many as three thousands bags of cement at one time. Trucks rolled onto the property day and night, and each time a truck arrived, the peacocks would trumpet their joy. It was great. An interesting fact is that the whole temple was built by hand. Our only machine was a little cement mixer. The scaffolding was simply bamboo tied together. The ornamental work--peacocks, elephants, scrolls--was done by skilled masons who chipped bricks by hand. We didn't buy anything prefabricated. We cut it ourselves out of brick or red sandstone.
After plans for the triple altars had been finalized, we went to Jaipur to arrange for the carving of the Deities. Baradraja Prabhu went there three times, very kindly staying there at great sacrifice to oversee the work.
As the completion date drew near, we traveled all over India getting Deity paraphernalia--marble plates, silver staffs, six-foot brass lamps, clothing, a special type of jewelry from Jodhpur, and so on. Then Srila Prabhupada told us how to set up a festival for the temple opening. He told us to invite our life members, religious and government leaders, and dramatic troupes (including ISKCON's dancers).
Ramnavami Day
Finally, with Ramnavami on 20th April 1975, came the most significant day for ISKCON. The whole temple complex, including the boundary wall, was very opulently decorated with garlands of flowers and strings of mango leaves. Banana plants were tied to the temple pillars, and the whole place glittered with colored electric lights.
On Prabhupada’s invitation, the governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Channa Reddy, attended the festivities with many of his aides and security personnel. Prominent life members and guests were staying in their private rooms in the new forty-room ISKCON guesthouse, and the temple was packed with visiting devotees, VIPs, and Vrindavan residents and officials. All the senior devotees were there for the ceremony, and Prabhupada was ensuring that all the preparations were done correctly.
The Deities were made in Jaipur under the devotees’ supervision. After the abhisheka the Deities were moved from the courtyard into the darsana mandap of the temple. With a piece of gold nugget the brahmanas removed the wax from the Deities’ eyes, thus signifying that the Deities were now installed. The Deities were then shifted on to the altars to be dressed. All the while, a roaring kirtan was going on.
Prabhupada Uvaca
Prabhupada told us that what we witnessed during the three-day ceremony was: “...ritual part. The real installation of the Deities is done with the kirtan of the Hare Krishna mantra, but we are doing this so no one can criticize. The brahmanas and the Goswamis will never accept us so we have to do it like this. Now they have authorized the temple because they themselves have installed the Deities.” Prabhupada was very diplomatic.
Then there were speeches. Acyutananda spoke in English on behalf of the devotees, and Yasomatinandan spoke in Hindi. Some of Prabhupada’s Godbrothers also spoke. The chief guest, Mr. Channa Reddy, thanked and encouraged Srila Prabhupada and the devotees for spreading and broadcasting Lord Chaitanya’s message and for building the magnificent Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan.
Then Srila Prabhupada spoke: “So it is our request to the leaders of the society and to the people of India that they may take this Krishna conscious movement, Hare Krishna movement, very seriously. It will be good for everyone and the whole world will become peaceful. This movement is undoubtedly increasing in the foreign countries, and why not in our country? The government, the leaders and the guardians, they should deeply contemplate on the serious nature of this movement and help us. Now we are bringing men from the foreign countries to preach. How long I shall bring? If we want to spread this movement all over India very seriously, then we invite educated, intellectual young men to come forward to study this movement.
“So don’t take it as a sectarian movement. Don’t misunderstand this movement as a CIA movement. These are all foolishness. Do you think that the Americans are fools that for propagating their CIA movement they will become Vaisnava and chant and dance? The Americans have become so fools? No. They have taken it very seriously. They are not CIA, not American nor European. They are Vaisnavas; they are servants of Krishna. Don’t misunderstand them. And try to cooperate and help this movement for the benefit of the whole human society.”
Prabhupada then expressed his pleasure and gratitude and finally thanked all the dignitaries, guests, Vrajavasis and his disciples. After Prabhupada’s speech, there was another roaring kirtan that continued until the Deities were dressed and ready for the first arati.
Prabhupada Offers First Arati
There are three altars at Krishna-Balarama Mandir. On the middle altar, behind a beautiful backdrop of a Kadamba tree, Lord Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother, elegantly stands, His white marble complexion glowing. His left hand lightly rests on the right shoulder of black-marbled Krishna, who stands cheerfully with His left hand on His hip and a flute in His right hand. A cow and a calf sit at Their Lordships feet.
On the left altar are large white marble Deities of Gaura-Nitai and medium-size marble murtis of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur in a sitting posture.
On the right altar is the absolutely charming Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundar, flanked by delightful Lalita and Visakha sakhis.
Prabhupada wrote in the Chaitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 16.281), “We are establishing a Krishna-Balarama temple to broadcast to the world that worship of Gaura-Nitai is the same as worship of Krishna-Balaram.”
Srila Prabhupada chose to offer the first arati to Krishna-Balarama. The brahmanas blew the conch shells, the heavy doors swung open, and the breathtaking beauty of the Deities, dressed in multi-colored outfits designed by Kisori dasi, stunned us. All eyes were fixed on the center altar. Interestingly, Prabhupada had not removed his kurta. When Prabhupada turned to the assembly of devotees to offer the articles, we could see his face beaming with delight. His smile expressed victory and pride, the feeling that he had conquered the world.
Srila Prabhupada was thanking Krishna and Balarama for appearing in Their merciful Deity forms, welcoming them to Their new home—Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Raman-Reti, Vrindavan, where They had enjoyed Their pastimes of herding cows in Their manifest lila 5000 years ago.
Maha-prasad for One and All: After arati came a fabulous feast. Everyone took prasad to their hearts’ content. The governor and other VIPs took prasad in Prabhupada’s rooms. Prabhupada had instructed that southern dishes such as idlis and sambar should be prepared, particularly for the governor. Prabhupada personally supervised the serving, telling devotees the order in which the dishes should be served. Prabhupada insisted that everybody who came to his room must get nice prasad throughout the three-day ceremony.
Daivi Sakti's Memories
Srila Prabhupada didn’t come directly from Mayapur to Vrindavan. He was scheduled to go to Hyderabad first for a program there. But we were sent directly to Vrindavan to get Srila Prabhupada’s house ready before the festival began. Construction and preparations were still in full swing in the temple and guesthouse, and Prabhupada’s house was being used for everything imaginable since it was the only completed building. We thought we had a good two weeks to get everything in order before Prabhupada arrived in Vrindavan, but the day after we arrived, just after Mangal Arati, Bhavananda announced that a telegram had just come and that Srila Prabhupada would be arriving at 7:00 p.m. that very evening. This put us all into complete shock. We thought we had many days to prepare everything, and suddenly we had only half a day.
First and foremost, Their Lordships Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama, Gaura-Nitai and Radha-Shyamasundara had to be brought to the temple from Their temporary home in Prabhupada’s house. The men thoroughly washed the altars in the temple, and then one by one, with two devotees carrying each murti very carefully, Their Lordships were brought out of Prabhupada’s house and onto the altars in the temple to remain there until the installation. Then we closed up Prabhupada’s house and cleaned the whole place, starting from the furthest back corner through to the front door. Just as everything was completed, Prabhupada arrived at the gate and all the devotees welcomed him ecstatically.
This time the temple was positively going to open. In 1974, Srila Prabhupada had been disappointed when he arrived, but this year everything was just about ready for the grand opening. Srila Prabhupada entered his quarters, and from that moment on a whirlwind of activities centered around His Divine Grace. All day and night there was so much going on in Prabhupada’s house, with a never ending stream of guests and devotees coming to see him. Prasadam was required for the guests perpetually, and also Prabhupada’s meals needed to be cooked. For the few days before the installation, Prabupada’s cooking went on in the future Deity kitchen. Then, when the kitchen had to be set up to prepare for Their Lordships’ service, the cooking shifted to the pujari room. Then one day some strangers came to the pujari room and pushed the door open. These were the brahmanas who had come to prepare for the installation ceremony. Again the cooking was going to have to move, but we had nowhere to go. Prabhupada then gave permission to start cooking in his small, unfinished kitchen below the temple kitchen. With makeshift doors and no windows we set up the kitchen and practically remained in there throughout the entire festival.
The demand for prasadam was endless, as was Prabhupada’s preaching during that week.. Around the clock Prabhupada greeted guests, and he was serving halavah and pakoras to everyone who came to his room. When he went out of his house for a walk or to the temple, we’d use the time to clean his house, especially his darshan room, which would be full of prasadam from all the guests. Even during the installation ceremony the cooking was going on, and during the procession Prabhupada wanted his asana covers and curtains changed, so we had to stay back. When the maha photo was taken in front of the temple, Prabhupada’s breakfast needed to be prepared. But just being able to serve Prabhupada was worth missing all the excitement.
Prabhupada hardly rested or ate, there was too much to do, and Lord Krishna was giving him unlimited strength to carry on. Though we were exhausted, Prabhupada kept preaching and meeting all the guests. One day I was ready to quit in the kitchen because I was so tired and hungry. But then I remembered how much Prabhupada was doing, and we were only helping him a very little bit.
When the festival ended and Prabhupada left we had three months to complete whatever hadn’t been ready in time for the opening. My task was to get the garden planted and to finish up everything in Prabhupada’s house. Prabhupada’s upstairs quarters were constructed then. In all departments of the temple, the devotees had to struggle to reach the standard Prabhupada wanted. It was very austere living in Vrindavan in those days. There was a jaundice epidemic amongst the pujaris, which made the Deity worship extremely difficult. The twenty-four hour kirtan was everyone’s responsibility. We each had to sing at least one hour a day. All of the matajis were expected to make garlands and help roll chapatis in the devotee kitchen. Matajis were allowed to cook for Their Lordships in the Deity kitchen up until 1977.
There are so many devotees to thank for giving their lives to Srila Prabhupada, and specifically for helping to open the Krishna Balaram Mandir in Vrindavana. Prabhupada built a home in Vrindavana for all of us to live. He expanded this home throughout the world, and invited everyone to come back home, back to Godhead here in Sri Vrindavana Dhama, to the Krishna Balarama Mandir.
Historic Photograph
Concluding the festivities, Prabhupada and the devotees gathered together for a historic photo. It took at least an hour to set everyone in the proper position because there were over 500 devotees and the BBT photographers wanted everything right. The matajis had to climb up where the dome is, and everybody waited for Srila Prabhupada to arrive. When he arrived, all the GBCs came with him, causing some more confusion.
Finally we all returned to our respective yatras, enthused by the festival and happy in the knowledge that Krishna and Balarama had come to engage us in Their service. Prabhupada had finally achieved his dream of establishing his own temple in Vrindavana, so his foreign disciples could now comfortably visit the holy dhama of Vrindavana.
Chaitanya Bhagavat
Written by Srila Vrindavan das Thakur
Adi Lila Chapter 1
"I worship their Lordships Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, whose long arms extend down to their knees, whose beautiful complexions are the radiant yellow of molten gold and whose elongated eyes are like red lotuses. They are the topmost of the brahmanas, the guardians of religious principles for this age, the munificent benefactors of all living entities, and the most compassionate incarnations of Godhead. They initiated the congregational chanting of the names of Lord Krishna.
O Lord! You are the eternal truth - past, present, and future - and You appeared as the son of Sri Jagannatha Misra. I offer my repeated obeisances unto You along with Your inseparable servitors, Your unalloyed devotees, Your sons (referring to His renounced Gosvami disciples, or the devotional process of chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna), and Your relatives (Bhudevi as Sri Vishnu Priya, Sridevi as Sri Laksmi Priya, and Lila, Nila or Durga as Navadvipa Dhama). According to devotional tastes there are the two Gadadharas, Damodara, Narahari, Ramananda, Jagadananda etc. One is Sri Gadadhara Pandita - the expansion of Srimati Radharani and Sri Gadadhara Bhatta from South India who is Rangadevi.
I worship the two brothers, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, who are the embodiment of magnanimity. By Their inconceivable potency They are the transcendental, eternal supreme controllers of all. Now They have descended to the material world.
All glories to Sri Gaurasundara, the supremely powerful Lord of pure transcendence. He has an aura of molten gold, with lotus petal eyes, and six long graceful arms extending to His knees. While He sings the glories of the Lord, He dances in various pleasing postures, His heart inundated by the ecstatic emotions of devotional mellows.
All glories, all glories to the moonlike Sri Krishna Chaitanya. He is the fully independent Supreme Person, always engaged in transcendental pastimes. He is the Lord of the universe, the supreme controller of all controllers, and the personification of transcendence. All glories, all glories to the devotees of Sri Gauracandra. All glories, all glories to the ecstatic dancing of the Lord's intimate associates.
In the beginning I offer my humble obeisances to the feet of the loving, confidential devotees of Lord Sri Chaitanya. I then offer my obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya. He incarnated in Navadvipa, and He is known as Visvambhara.
That same Supreme Personality of Godhead has declared in the Vedas and Bhagavat, "Worship of My devotees is superior to worship of Me."
Lord Krishna said to Uddhava, "O Uddhava, serving My devotees is many times better than worshipping Me." (SB 11:19:21).
Therefore, I offer my worshipful prayers unto the devotees of the Lord before I begin to write this book. By this act may my present endeavor be successful.
I offer my respectful obeisances to my worshipable Lord and spiritual master, Sri Nityananda Raya, by whose mercy the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Chaitanya become spontaneously manifest. With a thousand tongues we should incessantly glorify the Supreme Lord Balarama, because His thousand mouths as Ananta Sesa constantly glorify Lord Krishna. Just as priceless gems are kept in secure custody, so also the invaluable jewel of knowledge about Krishna's pastimes is kept safely in the mouth of Anantadeva. Therefore the tongue which initially glorifies Balarama will automatically be qualified to vibrate the transcendental pastime of Sri Chaitanya.
Haladhara The Supreme Lord Haladhara holds His thousand hoods like snakes. He is a gigantic figure and the source of all inspiration. As Nityananda He is fully transcendental and eternally existent, intoxicated by the nectar of Sri Chaitanya. Whoever sings or hears about Nityananda's supramundane character is offered the supreme shelter of Lord Chaitanya.
Mahesa and his consort Parvatidevi take great pleasure in eulogizing the object of their love - Sankarsana, Nityananda Prabhu. In the midst of a million fresh young maidens, the pure devotee, Sri Siva, and his consort pour out nectarean devotional hymns to Lord Sankarsana.
Balarama's Rasa Dance All this is revealed in the Fifth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Balarama is worshipped by the entire Vaisnava world with songs of praise. Balarama danced with His gopis in Vrndavana, and their rasa dance is the pinnacle of sublimity. The Puranas describe that Balarama performed His rasa dance during the two months of spring, Madhava and Madhu. The Srimad Bhagavatam verses narrating this subject were spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami to Maharaja Pariksit.
Balarama spent the moonlit nights of the months of Vaisaka and Caitra with the cowherd damsels in the supramundane abode of Vrndavana. The place was set aglow with the rays of the moon. The lotus and kadamba flowers bloomed freely under the influence of the moon's rays, and a soft breeze circulated their scent. In the groves on the bank of the Jamuna, Balarama danced with the gopis, increasing their conjugal mood. The Supreme Lord Balarama, like an exquisite gem decorated by the cluster of gopis, performed His pleasurable pastimes. He behaved like Indra's elephant Airavata - the controller of many she-elephants. The Gandharvas observed the rasa dance and offered their prayers.
The sound of kettle drums rose from the heavens, the demigods joyously showered flowers upon Them, and the Gandharvas and sages worshipped the Supreme Lord Balarama with verses praising His activities. The sages unequivocally denounce association with women, yet they sung hymns in praise of Balarama's rasa dance with His cowherd damsels. The demigods attended Balarama's rasa dance to shower flower petals. They knew that there was no difference between Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama, Haladhara. The transcendental qualities of Balarama are obscure in the four Vedas, but the Puranas describe them boldly. What power do I have to describe them? Out of ignorance, some people disregard the Puranas and reject Balarama's rasa dance as unauthentic.
The two brothers, Lord Krishna and Balarama, performed the rasa dance with the gopis in the same place in Vrndavana. On the radiant full moon night of holi, at the end of sivaratri vrata, Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama, accompanied by Their cowherd boy friends, enjoyed Themselves in the midst of the beautiful maidens of Vrndavana. They were both pleasingly decorated with the finest jewelry, sandalwood pulp, wildflower garlands and exquisite clothes. The fortunate gopis sang sweetly, their hearts enraptured by love for Krishna and Balarama.
Evening had not set in; the moon and the stars appeared. The fragrance of Arabian jasmine intoxicated the bumblebees, and a light breeze carried the aromas of white lilies and lotus flowers. Considering that very moment to be appropriate, Krishna and Balarama began Their pleasurable dalliances. They sang together for the pleasure of all living entities, Their voices rising and falling melodiously.
If a person, after reading Srimad Bhagavatam, is not affectionately inclined towards Lord Balarama, then he is rejected by the Supreme Lord Vishnu and His devotees. In the words of Srimad Bhagavatam, a non-believer is a yavana (a barbarian). He is destined to suffer in hell, birth after birth.
There are others who, like eunuchs, make emotional gesticulations, challenging, "Which scripture describes the rasa dance of Balarama?" Who is so sinful that even after reading the scriptures, he can not accept the truth, but misinterprets the real meaning and gives his own distorted understanding?
Laksmana
Lord Balarama is the abode of Lord Chaitanya's deep affection. Offense at Balarama's lotus feet destroys all possibilities for salvation. In His incarnation as Laksmana the younger brother of Lord Ramacandra, Balarama enacted the role of the Lord's servitor. Yet in His manifestation as the Supreme Lord, Balarama serves Himself in every respect - as a friend and a brother, by fanning Him, putting Him to sleep, glorifying Him with Vedic invocations and expanding Himself as His house, umbrella, attire, jewelry and seat. "O Lord ! Your direct, partial expansion, Ananta Sesa, is the source of all the various ingredients for Your service in the transcendental realm of Vaikuntha. Ananta Sesa is famous because He is manifest as Your residence, bed throne, shoes, clothes, jewelry, etc. When shall I see you with Laksmidevi seated on the throne of Ananta Sesa?
Ananta Sesa
Ananta Sesa's partial expansion is the mighty Sri Garuda whose satisfaction is derived from acting as the Lord's carrier in every pastime. Ananta's devotees include Brahma, Siva, the four Kumaras, Srila Vyasadeva, Sukadeva Gosvami, Narada Muni and others. His glorious qualities are unlimited and are not fully understood by anyone. He is the original personality, the greatest mystic, the Supreme Lord, and the greatest devotee of the Vaisnavas.
Thus far you have heard about the wonderful services performed by Ananta Sesa; now hear about His great opulence. He is enthroned in the lower planetary system of patala as his own source and repose. He is worshipped by all as His thousand mouths continually taste the full nectar of love of Godhead. In the court of Brahma, Narada Muni plays on his vina, and with well-composed verses he sings the wonderful glories of Ananta. Is it humanly possible to know the supramundane nature of Anantadeva? Just by His glance, He sets in motion the three modes of material nature which are the cause of this world's creation, maintenance, and annihilation. Although He is one, He supports the entire variegated material cosmic manifestation Himself (within the pores of His person). He is beginningless and eternal. Other then Lord Sankarsana, who can offer shelter to persons devoid of all material aspirations? He is the support on which the material world manifests and acts. That Supreme Lord, the cause of all causes, has appeared in His sublime spiritual form. He is the most powerful; in comparison, the power of a lion is insignificant. He performs pure transcendental pastimes to capture the hearts of His dear devotees, and He destroys countless sins by manifesting His transcendental form. What more is there to say than this? One becomes purified by hearing or calling out the name of Lord Anantadeva, either respectfully or accidentally. Even a degraded person is purified when he tauntingly utters the name of Sri Ananta.
Anantadeva's mighty potency is beyond measure. That Supreme Lord carries on just one of His thousand heads the entire universe with all its living entities, mountains, and rivers, and that universe appears to be only a minute, atomic speck. Even if a person acquires a thousand tongues, how can he describe the power of the omnipotent Supreme Lord? Anantadeva is His own shelter and source, filled with unlimited power and strength. While residing in the lower planetary system of rasatala, He holds this gigantic cosmic manifestation with ease born of detachment. This material world's creation, maintenance, and annihilation, as well as the three modes of material nature, are activated by His glance. Who can fathom Anantadeva's non-dual, transcendental, eternal and unborn existence?
Out of mercy toward the living entities the Lord manifests His supramundane spiritual form while He performs His variegated pastimes. All living entities reside within that transcendental form. The mighty Lord Nrsimhadeva represents but a wave in the ocean of the Lord's unlimited pastimes which satisfy the hearts of His devotees. Anantadeva's unlimited names, when heard or chanted by anyone in any manner, immediately sever the noose of innumerable births and deaths. Thus the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord always appreciated those who glorify Him. Ananta Sesa is the supreme destination of the entire universe; His holy name is the only means for the living entities's redemption. The Lord holds on His head the unlimited material nature - along with its mountains and oceans - simply for its protection and maintenance. The entire universe is a speck on one of His thousand hoods, and because of His unlimited strength, He does not feel the burden.
Lord Anantadeva, the original Supreme Personality and maintainer of the entire cosmic manifestation, incessantly sings in glorification of Lord Krishna. He continuously describes every aspect of the Lord's divine attributes. Lord Krishna is eternal and His attributes are unending, therefore He can never be fully described or glorified. But Ananta is also eternal and His ability to glorify the Lord is unending. In Their divine relationship, neither is ever victorious. Even today Ananta Sesa's thousand mouths continuously sing the glories of the Supreme Lord Krishna Chaitanya. How wonderfully Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama compete with each other! Brahma, Siva, other demigods and the perfected sages look on, feeling great exhilaration. The eulogies of Anantadeva pursue the ever-expanding, elusive shores of Lord Krishna's ocean of qualities.
O Narada, I Brahma, and your elders, Sanaka and other sages cannot even fathom the extent of this material nature, what to speak of knowing the Supreme Lord's spiritual potencies. Anantadeva, the origin of all demigods, is unable to exhaustively glorify the Supreme Lord's transcendental opulence and potencies with His thousand mouths. Therefore how is it possible for ordinary mortals to understand these divine potencies? Anantadeva is Himself the master of unlimited attributes, and He resides in rasatala simply to support the vast material creation.
In the court of Brahma Narada Muni plays His vina and sings about these very same transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord. Brahma and others are stunned in ecstasy upon hearing about the supramundane qualities of the Supreme Lord, and Narada Muni is worshiped by all because he sings about those qualities. I have also been moved to write a few phrases in praise of the unlimited potencies of Lord Nityananda, Anantadeva, so I humbly request all of you to develop a loving devotional mood toward the Lord. Those who desire to cross over the dangerous ocean of material existence, yet drown in the ocean of devotional ecstasy, may take shelter of Lord Nityananda.
I pray to the merciful Vaisnava devotees of the Lord to fulfill my hearts yearning, that I may serve my Lord Balarama birth after birth. Just as dvija, vipra, and brahma are different names for the same person, similarly Nityananda, Ananta and Balarama are different names for the same Supreme Personality. My Lord Nityananda Prabhu appeared within my heart and instructed me to narrate the transcendental qualities of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in this book.
The pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are revealed by Nityananda's mercy only, because His personal expansion, Ananta Sesa, is the storehouse of information about Lord Chaitanya and Lord Krishna's pastimes. Although Sri Ananta Sesa is the embodiment of Krishna kirtana, I have been able to offer only a humble prayer in His honor.