Manasik Vraja Mandal Parikrama

[Paramananda das]

Manasika Vraja Mandal Parikrama

today the actual parikrama of Vraja Mandal would have started ,some Vraja Mandal Parikramas start with all of Mahura first and some even omit Mathura ,from my understanding and knowledge from Caitanya Caritamrta, Lord Caitanya started bathing at all 24 Ghats of Yamuna at Visrama Ghat in Mathura and from there went to the many holy places in Mathura and then He proceeded to the rest of Vraja .Visrama Ghat is a very ancient holy place in Satya Yuga Lord Varaha spoke the Varaha Purana to mother Earth , after He had killed Hiranyaksa ,So actually in Satya Yuga we had both Lord Varaha and Lord Narasimha present on Earth .If you read Srila Laghubhagavatamrta by Srila Rupa Goswami it is a bit confusing to understand when Lord Narasimha and Lord Varaha appeared last time .In the Sri Sampradaya there are no such confusion it is very clear and simple :

In the Nrsimha-Purana, it is stated:
satye daitya-kuladhi-nasa-samayesimhordhva-martyakrtis tretayam das-kandharam paribhavan rameti namakrtihgopalan paripalayan vraja-pure bharam haran dvapare gaurangah priya-kirtanah kali-yuge chaitanya-nama prabhuh

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead who in the Satya-Yuga appeared as a half-man, half-lion to cure a terrible disease that had ravaged the daityas, and who in the Treta-Yuga appeared as Rama [Lord Ramachandra], the person who defeated the ten-headed Demon Ravana, and who in the Dvapara-Yuga removed the earth's burden, and protected the Gopa [cowherd men] people of Vraja-pura, will appear again in the Kali-Yuga. His form will be golden, He will delight in chanting the Lord's holy names, and His name will be Caitanya."

Bhrgupata das a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a wellknown sankirtana devotees challenged me about the apperance of Lord Narasimha if it was in Satya Yuga or not .I told him bring me the evidence from sastra that you have to support if Lord Narasimha did not appeare in Satya Yuga, he could not provide such pranam and stopped talking to me.He also challenged Srila Prabhupadas statement that Ramanavami is a fasting day though he told me he fast .My student and disciple Isvara Puri Prabhu stayed in ISKCON LA some years ago and asked my Gurudeva why are devotees taking grains on Visnutattva days like Ramanavami and Gaura Purnima? This is going on in many temples in ISKCON they no longer follow Srila Prabhupadas instruction on fasting on Visnutattva days :

710407LE.BOM Lectures
So this process should be adopted, how to become sukrtina. Sukrti means yajna-dana-tapa-kriya. One must perform sacrifices as prescribed in the sastras, and they must give in charity their hard-earned money for Krsna's cause. That is called dana. Yajna, dana, and tapasya. Tapasya. Just like tomorrow is Sri Rama-navami. The tapasya will be that all the devotees will observe fasting from morning till evening. This is called tapasya. Just like Ekadasi day--there is no eating sumptuously. Simply you take little fruits and flowers. Try to avoid that also. You don't take even water. That is really ekadasi. But because we cannot do it--in the Kali-yuga the time is different--therefore we are allowed to take little fruit and milk, which is called anukalpa. These are different methods of tapasya. And yajna. This yajna, sankirtanaih prayair yajnaih, yajanti hi su-medhasah. In this age you cannot perform that big asvamedha yajna, gomedha yajna, rajasuya yajna, so many other yajnas. It is not possible. First of all, you have no means to perform such yajnas, hundreds and hundreds of tons ghee required for putting into the sacrificial fire. You have not even a drop of your ghee. So forget all those yajnas. In this age, yajnaih sankirtanaih prayaih.
“One must perform sacrifices as prescribed in the shastras, and they must give in charity their hard-earned money for Krsna's cause. That is called dana. Yajna, dana, and tapasya. Tapasya. Just like tomorrow is Sri Rama-navami. The tapasya will be that all the devotees will observe fasting from morning till evening. This is called tapasya”.

Pandal Lecture, Bombay, April 7, 1971
Our next ceremony is Lord Ramacandra's Birthday, on the 7th of April. It should be observed in the same way as Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day, namely, fasting up to evening and then accept Prasadam, and all our ceremonies should be performed with continuous Kirtana, of Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. That will make all our functions successful.

Srila Prabhupada already stated in 1971 that Ramanavami must be observed just like Ekadasi and only Anukalpa prasadam be taken but all over ISKCON many temples disobey .I also tried to explain over and over again to Pyari Mohan das the TP on a" two mans" temple in Hartford Connecticut (him and his wife )what Srila Prabhupadas standard was but my temples choose to have forgotten Srila Prabhupadas standards as they want to satisfie their tongues on Visnu tattva days and have a huge feast of grains.Palaka das a socalled disciple of Srila Prabhupada here in Maryland took out devotees on Harinama and invited them to pizza bought from the store.
Anyway back to the Visrama Ghat glorification so yes Lord Varaha appeared in Satya Yuga to kill Hiranyakasipy and safe mother Earth .For many devotees they have some misconception about when the 10 Avatars appeared of will appear this is widely accepted among most Billions of Hindus what I will present here :

10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu
1. Matsya (Fish – Satya Yuga)
2. Kurma (Tortoise – Satya Yuga)
3. Varaha (Boar – Satya Yuga)
4. Narasimha (Half-man/half-lion – Satya Yuga)
5. Vamana (Dwarf – Treta Yuga)
6. Parashurama (Warrior with an Axe – Treta Yuga)
7. Rama (Prince/king of Ayodhya – Treta Yuga)
8. Balarama (Philosopher & Guide – Dwapara Yuga)
9. Krishna (Philosopher & Guide – Dwapara Yuga)
10. Kalki (Eternity/White-Horse – Kali Yuga)

This is to make it simple so everyone can understand .If you read Srimad Bhagavatam carefully you will understand also who is Lord Varahas son with Bhudevi mother Earth
in the Brahma Purana it is stated that Narakasura was concieved by Lord Varaha and Bhudevi :this is the quote in English if I get a Brahma Purana I can provide the sanskrit also but this is the translation : the Earth conceived by lord Boar generated asura Naraka known also by the name Bhauma. Lord Vishnu gave him Pragjyotisha, the capital city of Kamarupa.

Kokamukha in modern-day Nepal.Actually in India people celebrate Krsna killing of Narakasura as you can read about in the Krsna book and Srimad Bhagavatam 10 Canto chapter 59

ŚB 10.59.14
तान् पीठमुख्याननयद् यमक्षयं
निकृत्तशीर्षोरुभुजाङ्‍‍घ्रिवर्मण: ।
स्वानीकपानच्युतचक्रसायकै-
स्तथा निरस्तान् नरको धरासुत: ।
निरीक्ष्य दुर्मर्षण आस्रवन्मदै-
र्गजै: पयोधिप्रभवैर्निराक्रमात् ॥ १४ ॥
tān pīṭha-mukhyān anayad yama-kṣayaṁ
nikṛtta-śīrṣoru-bhujāṅghri-varmaṇaḥ
svānīka-pān acyuta-cakra-sāyakais
tathā nirastān narako dharā-sutaḥ
nirīkṣya durmarṣaṇa āsravan-madair
gajaiḥ payodhi-prabhavair nirākramāt
Synonyms
tān — them; pīṭha-mukhyān — headed by Pīṭha; anayat — He sent; yama — of Yamarāja, the lord of death; kṣayam — to the abode; nikṛtta — cut off; śīrṣa — their heads; ūru — thighs; bhuja — arms; aṅghri — legs; varmaṇaḥ — and armor; sva — his; anīka — of the army; pān — the leaders; acyuta — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; cakra — by the disc; sāyakaiḥ — and arrows; tathā — thus; nirastān — removed; narakaḥ — Bhauma; dharā — of the goddess of the earth; sutaḥ — the son; nirīkṣya — seeing; durmarṣaṇaḥ — unable to tolerate; āsravat — exuding; madaiḥ — a viscous secretion produced from the foreheads of excited elephants; gajaiḥ — with elephants; payaḥ-dhi — from the Ocean of Milk; prabhavaiḥ — born; nirākramāt — he came out.

Translation
The Lord severed the heads, thighs, arms, legs and armor of these opponents led by Pīṭha and sent them all to the abode of Yamarāja. Narakāsura, the son of the earth, could not contain his fury when he saw the fate of his military leaders. Thus he went out of the citadel with elephants born from the Milk Ocean who were exuding mada from their foreheads out of excitement.

After Narakasura was killed Mother Earth offered prayer to Lord Krsna :
Text 23: The goddess of the earth then approached Lord Kṛṣṇa and presented Him with Aditi’s earrings, which were made of glowing gold inlaid with shining jewels. She also gave Him a Vaijayantī flower garland, Varuṇa’s umbrella and the peak of Mandara Mountain.
Text 24: O King, after bowing down to Him and then standing with joined palms, the goddess, her mind filled with devotion, began to praise the Lord of the universe, whom the best of demigods worship.
Text 25: Goddess Bhūmi said: Obeisances unto You, O Lord of the chief demigods, O holder of the conchshell, disc and club. O Supreme Soul within the heart, You assume Your various forms to fulfill Your devotees’ desires. Obeisances unto You.
Text 26: My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.
Text 27: Obeisances unto You, the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva, Viṣṇu, the primeval person, the original seed. Obeisances unto You, the omniscient one.
Text 28: Obeisances unto You of unlimited energies, the unborn progenitor of this universe, the Absolute. O Soul of the high and the low, O Soul of the created elements, O all-pervading Supreme Soul, obeisances unto You.
Text 29: Desiring to create, O unborn master, You increase and then assume the mode of passion. You do likewise with the mode of ignorance when You wish to annihilate the universe and with goodness when You wish to maintain it. Nonetheless, You remain uncovered by these modes. You are time, the pradhāna, and the puruṣa, O Lord of the universe, yet still You are separate and distinct.
Text 30: This is illusion: that earth, water, fire, air, ether, sense objects, demigods, mind, the senses, false ego and the total material energy exist independent of You. In fact, they are all within You, my Lord, who are one without a second.
Text 31: Here is the son of Bhaumāsura. Frightened, he is approaching Your lotus feet, since You remove the distress of all who seek refuge in You. Please protect him. Place Your lotus hand, which dispels all sins, upon his head.
Text 32: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus entreated by Goddess Bhūmi in words of humble devotion, the Supreme Lord bestowed fearlessness upon her grandson and then entered Bhaumāsura’s palace, which was filled with all manner of riches.

So Lord Varaha rested at Visrama Ghat in Satya Yuga and spoke Varaha Purana to mother Earth .In Treta Yuga Lord Satrughna came to Mathura after killing the demon Lavansura in the forest of Mahavana (one of the 12 forests of Vraja ) ,Lord Satrughna is as you may recall one of the brothers of Lord ramachandra and is also Visnutattva .So Sastra has stated there is no better place to rest than Visrama Ghat and by bathing in Yamuna all past sins are destroyed so one must never again sin after bathing in Yamuna,it is the real Babtisme .In Dvarpara Yuga Lord Sri Krsna rested at Visrama Ghata after killing Kamsa and in Kali yuga Lord Caitanya came to Visrama Ghat and bathed and rested by Yamuna devi His beloved devotee.Actually in Gaura Lila Bhudevi mother Earth appeared as Lord Gaurangas wife , Visnupriya.So every morning when we wake up we must pray: dear Mother Earth forgive me for stepping on you , you are a pure devotee of Lord Caitanya and His very wife Visnupriya, I offer my humble obaisences to your lotusfeet
(this is my own prayer to mother mother Visnupriya I believe the pure Vaisnavas will appriciate it.Yesterday some would do the Sankalpa it is called for starting Vraja Mandal Parikrama other will do today but this year we can do manasik in the mind and I will give some glories of many places in Vraja .