Tota Gopinath is the Deity worshipped by Sri Gadadhara pandit. Sacimata and Gadadhara's mother were friends as close as sisters, so Gadadhara was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's friend since earliest boyhood. When Sacimata noticed that Gadadhara could soothe Nimai's moods of intense separation from Krsna, better even than she could, she asked him to stay always at Nimai's side. Gadadhara took a vow to serve Tota Gopinath in His temple and never leave. The diary of a devotee in Orissa at that time says that when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left the planet everyone first thought he had gone missing inside the Gundica Matha. Devotees searched Puri in every direction for a sign of him. Finally his outer garment was found on the ground outside Tota Gopinath's temple and a small crack or mark had appeared in the Deity's right knee. Devotees understand that Sri Mahaprabhu merged with this Deity.
Gadadhara was the appearance of Srimati Radharani, and after Sri Caitanya's disappearance his longing for Mahaprabhu was so great that every day he aged another year. He got so frail that he couldn't reach up to garland the Lord properly, so Sri Gopinatha obligingly knelt and He remains kneeling to this day. He is flanked on either side by Radha and Lalita.
About Me
- Neilmadhav
- When I first saw a tshirt with the quotation LOST MY HEART IN VRINDABAN, I wondered why does it says like that as the heart is synonymous with girls and romance (atleast in material world). I knew about vrindaban like every other normal hindu boy but had not much fascination for visiting it whatsoever. First time my close friend took me to vrindaban and as soon as he got down from the bus the first thing he did was to offer obeisance to the land. I was amazed at the level of respect he had for the land and little did I know then that my fascination would be the same as his in years to come. My first visit to ISKCON was wonderful. Iskcon has been my guide to krsna and vrindaban. I owe it all the His Divine Grace people fondly call prabhupad. I was wondering why have I not come here before. I realized what was I missing all these years. White marble temple looked awesome. Since then vrindaban occupy the central part of my being. Experiences that follow are beyond words to be defined but still I try to put something’s worth sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment