Śrī Godruma Kalpāṭavī – Fourth Desire Tree

Obeisance at the Lotus Feet of the Śrī Nāma Haṭṭa Employees

The Christian missionaries who are coming from abroad to carry out religious preaching are paid a salary in exchange for their work. Thus their activities are not selfless, and thereby no truly auspicious benefit is achieved for the world. But Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s Nāma Haṭṭa is not of that nature. Our preachers of the holy name carry the Lord’s mood from village to village in a selfless, dedicated manner, preaching and fulfilling Śrī Caitanya’s order.

In the near future, this type of preaching about eternal religious principles will spread not only across the length and breadth of India but throughout the entire world. The holy sound of Śrī Caitanya’s mṛdaṅga will be heard, and everyone, whether brāhmaṇa or mleccha, will attain pure devotion to the lotus feet of Śrī Hari.

Description of Preaching Activities

13 Paus, Caitanyābda 405: The work of Śrī Nāma Haṭṭa begins. Some of the workers gather at Calcutta’s Kumāratūlī Śrī Gaura-Gopīnātha Kuñja, Bidan Street, in the house of Śrīyuta Rai Kānāilal Dey Bahadur, and at the Rāmabagana Bhaktibhavān for a large festival. Śrī Bipin-bihāri Bhakti-tīrtha has established one prapannāśrama at Amalajoda village, in Burdwan District, and in the neighboring villages also he is preaching the glories of the holy name.

Śrīyuta Haradhan Datta of Badanganj, Hooghly District, who is a very opulent vipaṇī (traveling preacher), established a prapannāśrama in his own village and has also conducted nāma-utsavas (grand festivals for preaching about the holy name) in the villages. Śrīyuta Rādhāballava Choudhuri, another opulent vipaṇī, who is the landlord of Serpur, also established a prapannāśrama in his village, and has been preaching nāma-tattva and pure nāma-utsava in nearby villages. Śrīyuta Vrajaka Vipaṇī Kṛṣṇa Kiśora Goswami organized a discussion of pure nāma matters and a nāma-utsava in the house of Śrīyuta Kālidās Saha, at Srirampur City, on Sunday, 23 Chaitra, on the occasion of Śrī Hari-vasara (Ekādaśī). Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Raghunandan Kavya-tīrtha organized nāma-utsava and lectures at Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma in the month of Vaiśākha. Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Madhusūdhana Dās organized nāma-utsava at the end of Caitra at Sambalpur. Śrīyuta Sūrya Nārāyana Biśwās performed nāma-utsava very carefully in Radhamohanpur village of Sonamukhi, Bakura District. Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Kuñjabihārī Banarjee preached pure nāma and pure nāma-tattva in Gopalpur village, Burdwan District. Beginning 1 Vaiśākha, Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Kālīpāda Chatterjee preached every day during the Hari-bhakti-pradāyanī Sabhā Gṛha, at Raipur village, Bakura District. Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Rajib-locana Dās, of Mainak village, preached pure nāma-tattva at Mainak Market, at Srihatta, Bangladesh.

Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Jadunātha Mukherjee, of Jibanpur village, organized the hoisting of the flag of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu in the adjacent Anekanek village, and has been preaching pure nāma-tattva very extensively throughout Medinipur District. Vrajaka Vipaṇī Śrīyuta Dvārakānātha Vasaka is preaching pure devotional subjects at Dhaka in Bangladesh.

The devotees of Nāma Haṭṭa in Śrī Godruma discussed topics regarding the devotional works of those great personalities and, with a full and joyful heart, offered them daṇḍavat-praṇāma. Now it is acknowledged that the Nāma Haṭṭa of Śrīmat Nityānanda Prabhu has been reawakened. Everything happens according to His desire.

Mitigating doubts

Many people have written to the Godruma Kalpāṭavī regarding the description of certain workers in the second part, namely the prāmāṇika, the dhopa, and the darjī. What is the exact nature of their duties? The post of barber, washerman, and tailor are most elevated. Except for highly qualified persons, no one can accept these three positions. The worker who can bring a lusty, ill-behaved, and dirty person with unkempt hair to the position of a clear and pure Vaiṣṇava is known as the barber of the Nāma Haṭṭa. A person who can raise someone who, having gone astray, has become contaminated and whose fallen character can be compared to clothes stained with filth and stool—one who can clean and reinstate such a person—is called a Nāma Haṭṭa washerman. Karma, jnana, yoga, and various kinds of Vedic ritualistic activities are compared to separate pieces of cloth. An expert tailor can join these together with the thread of pure devotional truth, which establishes activities based upon perfect and pure devotional principles. This is the activity of the tailor of the Nāma Haṭṭa.

Good Judgement

All those born in the family of the Lord and engaged in selfless preaching of the holy name shall be known as the Nāma Haṭṭa’s paṇya-vīthikā-pati. Any ten or more employees of the Nāma Haṭṭa who together come to Godruma-kṣetra to establish themselves deeply in the activities of spreading the Nāma Haṭṭa shall then become Śrī Nāma Haṭṭa’s pañcayat, as representatives of the main merchant. (Here Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura mentions the names of three more storekeepers, four more brokers, and twenty-seven more traveling salesmen.) (Signed) The most meek and poor Śrī Kedārnātha Bhaktivinoda Surabhī Kuñja, Godrumadvīpa, Swarūpagañj, Nadia