Does Advaita Acarya have a beard?

[Paramananda das]

 

  

Dear Devotees

Please accept my humble obaisences

Jaya Srila Prabhupada

Now most pictures of Srila Advaita Acarya in ISKCON depicts Him with a  beard, what is the souce for this? Something Srila Prabhupada said? Yes but  Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada said he has no beard ,so the authority of Srila  Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada is higher in this matter.

However no where in sastra is it mentioned  the CC, Caitanya Bhagavad,  Caitanya Mangal etc

Also in his Dhyanachandra Paddhati , nowhere do we find that Dhyanachandra  Goswami has described that Advaita Acarya has a beard.

Whatever it may be, normally in hindu society , mustach was more common,  but here we are talking about the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

Maha Visnu that has appeared as Advaita Acarya.

Dhyanachandra Goswami has given the following mantra and Gayatri mantra for  Advaita Acarya:

Mantra :Klim Advaitaya Svaha

Gayatri Mantra: Klim Advaitaya vidmahe maha visnave dhimahi tan no advaitah  pracodayat

These mantras are found in the Padma Purana and given as highly  confidential mantras to Narada Muni

Dhyanachandra Goswami has given some other for our meditation on Advaita Acarya such as  :

"With my head at His lotusfeet ,I offer my humble obaisences unto the  merciful Advaitachandra ,whose heart is drowned in the ocean of prema.

He delievers infinite number of devotees, and is honored and worshipped by  Caitanyachandra"

And he has given a Dhyana,meditation as follows:

" I meditate on the root of transcendental joy,Sri Advaita Prabhu,whose  lotusfeet are always served by the bhaktas.He wears cloth as white

as the moon or a kunda flower( a jasmine flower).He has  a pure golden  complexion ,beautiful arms and a smiling face.His eyes always lovingly  gaze

upond the lotusface of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He readily benedictions and fearlessness to the devotees  and His   lustrous body is ornamented

by prema"

At some Gaudiya maths in Navadvipa, like at Srivasa Angam we see that  Advaita Acaryas ,Arca Vigraha ,has no beard. 

Of course one interesting note is there is an ancient Partha Sarathi temple  in Madras (Chennai) where you see Krsna and Arjuna have mustaches.

This Deity was visited and accepted by Lord Caitanya also as described in  CC, but we have never heard or seen the mustach of Krsna and Arjuna

mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam?So these things are very mysterious, though  maybe not to important...but I thought I would mention this for

the pleasure of the vaisnavas.

May Srila Advaita Acarya bless us all with the sweet taste for the Hare  Krsna Mahamantra, and enabel us to chant 100.000 names everyday (64 rounds)

as ordered by Lord Caitanya,may Srila Advaita Acarya invest us all with the  bhakti sakti to  preach pure Krsna consciouness,without any ulterations.

At the lotusfeet of Nitai Gaura ,Sri Advaita Acarya, along with Sri  Gadadhara and Srivasa Pandita we offer our humble obaisences millions and  millions

of times.

Your humble servant

Paramananda das

 

    

[Paramananda das]

I believe you will find these prayers very sweet

  

SRI-SRI ADVAITA PRABHOR ASTAKAM

 

Eight Prayers to Sri Advaita Prabhu,

by Srila Ananda Gopala GosvamI

 

VERSE 1:

 

srllddvaita jagad-guro guna-nidhe gaurdnga devapriya sitdnatha daya-sudhdrnava vibho sad bhakti vistdraka hinarthadhika sadhaka dvija-made sat prema hemdcala svdmin kdtara kinkaresu karund-drstim manan niksipa srila - the most beautiful; advaita - Advaita Prabhu; jagad - universe; guro - O teacher!; guna - qualities; nidhe -ocean; gaurdnga-deva - Lord Caitanya; priya - dear; slta-natha  the husband of Slta; dayd - grace; sudhd - nectar; arna-va - ocean; vibho - O all-pervading One!; sad - real; bhakti -devotion; vistdraka - expander; hina - of the fallen; artha -purpose; adhika - more; sadhaka - accomplisher; dvija -brahmana; mane - O jewel!; sat - real; prema - love of God; hemdcala - golden mountain; svdmin - O master; kdtara -afflicted; kinkaresu - amongst the servants; karund - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

O Srila Advaita Prabhu! O universal teacher! O ocean of qualities! O Gaurahga-deva's dearmost associate! O husband of Slta! O nectar-ocean of grace! O all-pervad¬ing Lord! O expander of pure devotion! O You who are always engaged in bestowing benefit on the fallen souls! O jewel of brahmanas! O golden mountain of love of God! O master! Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflict¬ed servants!

 

VERSE 2:

 

avirbhuya vilokayan maru-samdm sad bhakti hinarh dharam

lokan kalmasa rasi ghora timirair andhdms ca tdparditan

ddau yasya tavaiva hanta krpaya cittam dayabdhe drutam

sa tvam kdtara kihkaresu karuna-drstirh manah niksipa

 

avirbhuya - appearing; vilokayan - seeing; maru -desert; samarh - resembling; sad - pure; bhakti - devotion; hinarh - bereft of; dharam - mother earth; lokan - people; kalmasa - sins; rasi - heaps; ghora - horrible; timiraih - dark¬ness; andharh - blind; ca - and; tdpa - affliction; arditdn - suf¬fering; ddau - in the beginning; yasya - whose; tava - yours; eva - only; hanta - alas!; krpaya - mercifully; cittam - con¬sciousness; dayd - compassion; abdhe - O ocean!; drutam -swiftly; sa - he; tvam - You; kdtara - afflicted; kihkaresu -amongst the servants; karuna - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

O ocean of compassion! Appearing in this world You saw that it had become like a desert, totally bereft of pure devotional practise. Aha! Seeing the afflicted people there blinded by the dense darkness of their abundant sins Your heart began to melt of great compassion. Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

VERSE 3:

 

gahgdmbhas tulasi dalair anasanair arddhya prdna priyam

golokdd avatdrya gopa tanayam gaurahga rupena yah

noma prema sudha-jharaih kali hatdnjivan samdpldvayah

sa tvam kdtara kihkaresu karuna-drstirh manah niksipa

 

gahga - Ganga; ambhah - water; tulasi - Tulasi; dalaih with leaves; anasanaih - while fasting; arddhya - worship¬ping; prdna - heart's; priyam - beloved; golokdt - from the Goloka planet; avatdrya - having descended; gopa - cowherd; tanayam - the son; gaurdhga-rupena - in the form of Gaurahga; yah - who; noma - name; prema - love of God; sudha - nectar; jharaih -with the streams; kali - the age of Kali; hatan - afflicted; JTvdn - the living beings; samdpldvayah -inundated; sa - he; tvam - You; kdtara - afflicted; kihkaresu-amongst the servants; karuna - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

By worshipping Your heart's beloved prince of the cowherds (Sri Krsna) with Ganga-water and Tulasi-leaves and by fasting You have caused Him to descend from His Goloka-planet in the form of Sri Gaurahga-deva, who inundated the living beings, that were afflicted by the pres¬ent age of Kali, with the nectar-flood of Hari-nama and prema. Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

VERSE 4:

 

drastum pujaka varya kdhksati mono nah sveda siktdmbardm

huhkdra dhvani dharinim vigalitam premdsrubhir mohinim

murtim te pulakais citam suradhuni tlra sthitam kampitdm

tasmdt kdtara kihkaresu karuna-drstirh manah niksipa

 

drastum - seeing; pujaka - priest; varya - best; kdhksati-desiring; manah - mind; nah - us; sveda - sweat; sikta -drenched; ambardm - garment; huhkdra - roar; dhvani - sound;dhdrinlm - holder; vigalitam - melting; prema - love of God;asrubhih - with tears; mohinim - enchanting; murtim - form; te-     Your; pulakaih - with goosepimples; citdm - heart; suradhurii-    Gahga; tira - bank; sthitdm - situated; kampitdth - shivering; tasmdt - thus; katara - afflicted; kihkaresu - amongst the ser¬vants; karund - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

O best of worshippers! When we see Your enchanting form shivering and studded with goosepimples, covered by garments that are drenched by sweatdrops of ecstasy, and when we hear You weeping and roaring of ecstasy, Your eyes filled with tears of love as You stand on the bank of the Ganga, our minds become very agitated. Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

 

 

 

VERSE 6:

 

kva tvam gaura-gandgranih kva nu vayam dlndti dlnd mahd

samsararnava magna durgata nardh kdlusya pahkdkuldh

tasmdt te padayor balam sasumatim bhaktim ca ydcamahe

svdmin katara kihkaresu karund-drstim manah niksipa

 

kva - where; tvam - You; gaura-gana - the associates of Lord Gauranga; agranlh - the foremost; kva - where; nu -whether; vayam - we; dlna - low; ati - very; dlnd - fallen souls; mahd - great; samsdra - material existence, household. life; arnava - ocean; magna - immersed; durgata - miserable; nardh - people; kdlusya - contamination; pahka - mud; akuldh-        agitated; tasmdt - therefore; te - Your; padayoh - Your feet; balam - strength; sasumatim - with the right attitude; bhaktim-devotion; ca - and; ydcamahe - we pray; svdmin - O master!; katara - afflicted; kihkaresu - amongst the servants; karund -merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

Where are You, the foremost of Lord Gaurangas associates, and where are we, the most miserable fallen souls that are drowning in the great ocean of materialistic life and are agitated by the muck of sin? Therefore we pray to you for strength and proper devotion to Your lotus feet. O master! Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

VERSE 7:

 

sitanatha cirdya moha timirdcchannam manah kandaram

asmakam samuditya gauraharind sdkam samudbhdsaya

sat premdmrta sincanaih sisirayan taptdms tu nah pdlaya

svdmin kdtara kinkaresu karund-drstim mandn niksipa

 

sitanatha - O husband of SM!; cirdya- for long; moha-delusion; timira - darkness; dchannam - covered over; manah - mind; kandaram - cave; asmakam - our; samuditya -arising; gaura-harind sdkam - with Gaurahari; samudbhdsaya-please illuminate; sat - pure; prema - love of God; amrta -nectar; sincanaih - by sprinkling; sisirayan - cooling off; taptdm - the affliction; tu - but; nah - our; pdlaya - protect; svdmin - O master!; kdtara - afflicted; kinkaresu - amongst the servants; karund - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk - slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

O Husband of SIta! May You always appear along with Sri Gaurahari and eradicate the darkness of delusion from the caves of our minds with Your illumination, and may You protect us afflicted souls by sprinkling us with the nectar of pure love of God! O master! Please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

VERSE 8:

 

srllddvaita daydnidhe tava subhe janmotsave sahgatdh

srlmat pdda saroruha dvaya samdrddhdrthinah sdmpratam

jdnlmo na vayam tu mudha-matayas te deva sevd-vidhim

tasmdt kdtara kinkaresu karund-drstim mandn niksipa

 

srila advaita - revered Advaita; dayd-nidhe - O ocean of mercy!; tava -Your; subhe - auspicious; janmotsave - dur¬ing the birth celebration; sahgatdh - assembled; srlmat - beau¬tiful; pdda - feet; saroruha - lotus; dvaya - a pair; samdrddha-worshipped; arthinah - for the sake of; sdmpratam - current¬ly; jdnlmo - knowing; na - not; vayam - we; tu - but; mudha-matayah - fools; te - Your; deva - God; seva - service; vidhim-rules; tasmdt - hence; kdtara - afflicted; kinkaresu - amongst the servants; karund - merciful; drstim - glance; mandk -slightly; niksipa - cast.

 

O Srila Advaita Prabhu! O ocean of mercy! We are now assembled to worship Your lotus-like feet on the auspicious occasion of Your birthday festival. But, O Lord, fools as we are we do not know the rules of this worship! Therefore, please cast a slight merciful glance on Your afflicted servants!

 

BENEDICTION:

 

yo'dhlte sarandgatas caranayor advaita deva prabhor

nityam bhakti vinamra mdnasatayd vandyasya tasydstakam

tarn ndmnd kamaldksa esa bhagavan srl krsna caitanyasu

ahgl-krtya nijdhghri sevakatayd premdmrtam yacchatu

 

yah - anyone; adhlte - recites; sarandgatah - taking shelter; caranayoh - two lotusfeet; advaita deva prabhoh - of the Lord Advaita; nityam - always; bhakti - devotion; vinamra-humbly; mdnasatayd - mentally; vandyasya - of this praise; tasya - His; astakam - eight verses of praise; tarn - Him; ndmnd - by name; kamaldksa - the lotus-eyed Kamalaksa; esa-this; bhagavan - God; srl krsna caitanyasu - with Sri Krsna Caitanya; ahglkrtya - having accepted; nija - own; ahghri -lotusfeet; sevakataya - being a servant; prema - love of God; amrtath - nectar; yacchatu - may

 

He bestow.May Lord Advaita-deva, who is also known as the lotus-eyed Kamalaksa, along with Sri Krsna Caitanya, accept anyone who is fully surrendered to His lotus feet and who always humbly and devotedly recites these eight verses, as His servant and bestow the nectar of love of God upon him.Thus ends the Sri Advaita Prabhor astakam by   SrTla Ananda Gopala Goswami 

 

[Paramananda das]

Comment by Payonidhi dason April 17, 2011 at 4:58am           Delete Comment

[Paramananda das]

Comment by Payonidhi dason April 17, 2011 at 4:58am           Delete Comment