Home

Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!

(To listen to the Bengali audio katha click here)

 

There is a story in the Caitanya Charitamrita which indicates the glory and power of the holy names of the Lord. There are several versions of how it is told. 

In Gaur before the invasion of the Mughals, there was a man called Subuddhi Rai who was very wealthy and held a very powerful position in the Gaur kingdom.

He had a young Muslim servant named Hussain who used to carry out various tasks for him. Subuddhi Rai was quite fond of him.  One day because of some serious offence committed by Hussain, Rai punished him by whipping him. But still he continued to employ the boy and taught him all he knew. 

Time passed and as providence would have it, the tables turned. Gaur was overtaken by Muslim invaders and they appointed Hussain as the local regent giving him the title Hussain Shah.

Now Hussain Shah ruled from a palace and wielded much power. One day his wife happened to see the whip scars on her husband’s back and she became curious to know how he got them. 

When he told her the story, she became very angry and said, “What kind of man are you? You must kill Subuddhi Rai! You must have him punished by death for doing this!” He replied “Yes, I always dreamed of taking revenge for that humiliation…” 

But he couldn’t bring himself to kill Subuddhi as he had been like a father to him. He was in a dilemma so he thought of a way. 

In those days there was extreme casteism in the land with orthodox Brahmins perpetuating all sorts of superstition and outright lies to keep the people under their control. 

A Hindu could be rejected by society and his community by being declared an “outcaste” for the most trivial of reasons. There was a ritualistic way of making a Hindu an “outcast”.

Hussain Shah took some water from the drinking pot of a Muslim and sprinkled it on the head of Subuddhi Rai and simply because of that he was rejected by the Hindu Society.

Of course he did not want to be ostracised, so he went from pillar to post asking people how he could be reinstated in his position as a Hindu.

He went to one so-called saintly person and said “What am I to do they sprinkled water from a Muslim’s pot on my head”. The man replied, “O there is nothing you can do to become a Hindu again. You are finished”.

He went to another who said “O water from Muslim's pot on your head!? There is nothing any one can do. You are an outcaste for life”.

He went to yet another person who advised him of one way to reclaim his “Hinduness” He said to boil ghee and to drink it. “But if I drink it I will die!” “Yes you will die but because ghee is very pure in your next birth you will get to be a Hindu..”

Wandering hither and thither he went to Banaras hoping to find salvation. By the Lord’s mercy, one day he happened to meet Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu there. The compassionate Lord heard his sad story and was anguished by the level of ignorance and superstition in society.

He said “Don’t worry about all these things. You just chant the holy mahamantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”. You will not only become a Brahmana but you will become the highest, most elevated Vaishnav. You will become a pure devotee of the Lord which is beyond all these socio religious designations. Go to Vrindavan. Live there and serve the Dham and your life will become blessed.”

Subudhi Rai decided to put his faith in Mahaprabhu’s words. He went to Vrindavan and began to chant the Holy Names diligently, living like a sadhu. 

Whenever Bengali devotees of Mahaprabhu would come to Vrindavan, they would usually suffer from bouts of indigestion because they were mainly rice eaters and in Vrindavan only wheat chapatis were available. 

Subuddhi took it upon himself to help the visiting Bengali devotees. He would go and collect firewood from the forest and sell it and with whatever money he got he would buy rice and feed it to the Bengali Vaishnavas. He himself just ate a handful of roasted chanas and he was quite content.

He would also serve them by massaging their feet with warm oil and give them a place to stay. He would personally take them around all the forests and Leela sthalis of Vrindavan. 

When Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis came to Vrindavan on Mahaprabhu’s orders, Subuddhi met them and joyfully served them, showing them all the important places in Vrindavan. Sanatan Goswami was very pleased to see the high level of his detachment and renunciation.

Thus Subuddhi Rai became a pure Vaishnava as foretold by Sriman Mahaprabhu. The Supreme Lord is very pleased with a sincere devotee who chants the holy names without offence in a pure and humble state of mind. 

 

Jai Gurudev!

Jai Jai Shri Radhey !