All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga

Sowing the seed of our highest benefit

In glorification of Srila Gadadhar Pandit and Srila Sachchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakur on their Holy Disappearance day

By His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

From Heart and Halo, Part Two, 'Heart and Halo'

Sri Sri Gaura Gadadhar, worshipped since the time of Mahaprabhu at the Sri Sri Gaura Gadadhar Mandir in Champahati, Sri Nabadwip Dham. "It is as if Mahaprabhu has taken away Gadadhar Pandit's soul, and the body is still standing! That is the position of Gadadhar Pandit; he is quite empty, and following Mahaprabhu. He is not full in himself. Something, the most important thing, his heart, has been taken by Mahaprabhu, so he has no other alternative but to follow Him."

In Gaura-lila, Gadadhar Pandit is holding the helm, everything belongs to him; still he has to admit he's dispossessed, that Gauranga has taken everything! He is exhaustively dedicated to Gauranga. So Srila Kaviraja Goswami says: teho laksmi-rupa, tara sama keha nai, that he represents the main potency of Gauranga, and no one is to be compared with him. This is the conclusion of Srila Kaviraja Goswami about Sri Gadadhar. He is Gaura-premamaya, the embodiment of Sri Gaura's love.

Gadadhar Das represents the halo of Radharani, but Gadadhar Pandit represents Her mood, Her nature - Her heart.* It is as if Mahaprabhu has taken away Gadadhar Pandit's soul, and the body is still standing! That is the position of Gadadhar Pandit; he is quite empty, and following Mahaprabhu. He is not full in himself. Something, the most important thing, his heart, has been taken by Mahaprabhu, so he has no other alternative but to follow Him. He is wholly given to Mahaprabhu. Gadadhar Pandit's position, the part he played, was something like that of Radharani, Her heart stolen by Krishna, the empty body still standing. Radha-bhava-dyuti-subalitam naumi Krsna-svarupam: He was fully engrossed in the conception of Sri Gauranga. Gauranga had taken everything from him, so he had no other alternative; he was fully engrossed, captured completely by Him.

We find his activity throughout his whole life was like this. Of the other devotees, some were ordered to go to Vrindavan, and some were allowed to go there, but though Gadadhar Pandit wanted to visit Vrindavan with Mahaprabhu Himself, he was denied: "No, you won't go." When Jagadananda Pandit asked to go there, Mahaprabhu, with hesitation, granted him permission, "Yes, go there, but move always under the guidance of Rupa and Sanatana." He also gave him some special instructions: "Do this, and this, and don't do that." But Gadadhar Pandit was not allowed to go there.

He was the representation of Srimati Radharani Herself, yet his peculiar position was such: the Queen of Vrindavan, but now transferred to Nabadwip. His position had become just the opposite; he could not enter Vrindavan! He prayed for permission, but Mahaprabhu did not give it. He said, "No, stay and live here." And he had to do so. Sri Gadadhar Pandit represents the predominated moeity of the Whole. The Whole consists of predominating and predominated moeities, and he represents the predominated half. He is one half of the Absolute Truth.

*In the Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta purports by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad (Adi-lila, 10.15) it is stated that Srila Gadadhar Pandit, the fourth branch of the Chaitanya tree, is the combination of Srimati Radharani and Lalita-sakhi. In the Pancha-Tattva, Srila Gadadhar Pandit represents the internal potency or pleasure potency of the Lord. In Adi-lila 10.53, it is explained that Srila Gadadhar Das, the twenty-third branch of the Chaitanya tree, is considered to be a united form of Chandrakanti, who is the effulgence of Srimati Radharani, and Purnananda, who is the foremost of Lord Balarama's very dear girlfriends. Thus Srila Gadadhar Das was one of the associates of both Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu.