BRC: Manuscripts-the search begins
February 7, 2011
An important day on our BRC calendar. Today we started our manuscript search and record program. With generous donations from Srutadeva prabhu in San Diego, Nrsimhadeva prabhu from Murwillumbah Australia, and Bhakta Vinoda Kumar from Dubai we purchased this week a Canon Powershot G12 semi-professional camera with various accessories such as a tripod, extra flashes etc. for making good quality digital images of the works.
The movable viewfinder is especially useful when working with a tripod.
Along with that we took delivery of a hired vehicle donated for the use of the BRC for the next three months specifically for this program by the generosity of Mayapur CEO Naru-gopala prabhu and the Mayapur Administrative Council.
Our first visit was to Kumara Hatta, nowadays generally known as Halisahar. It was a natural place to begin because our chief researcher Smt. Bharati Roy (above center) and her assistant Ashish (above right) both live in here.
This is the birth place of Srila Isvara Puri, the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya.
Srila Prabhupada mentions it in Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 9.11:
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, “Sri Isvara Puri was a resident of Kumara-hatta, where there is now a railroad station known as Kamarhatta. Nearby there is another station, named Halisahara, which belongs to the Eastern Railway. This railway runs from the eastern section of Calcutta.”
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Isvara Puri pleased his spiritual master by service, and by the blessings of his spiritual master he became such a great personality that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him as His spiritual master.
Srila Isvara Puri was the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but before initiating Lord Caitanya he went to Navadvipa and lived for a few months in the house of Gopinatha Acarya. At that time Lord Caitanya became acquainted with him, and it is understood that he served Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by reciting his book, Krsna-lilamrta. This is explained in Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda, Chapter Eleven.
To teach others by example how to be a faithful disciple of one’s spiritual master, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, visited the birthplace of Isvara Puri at Kumara-hatta and collected some earth from his birth site. This He kept very carefully, and He used to eat a small portion of it daily. This is stated in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda, Chapter Seventeen. It has now become customary for devotees, following the example of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, to go there and collect some earth from that place.”
A temple was constructed here in 1935
and is currently run by Sri Kishori dasa Babaji, the son of the first pujari.
There are beautiful Deities of Sri Sri Radha Vinoda, Gaura Nitai and a large murti of Srila Isvara Puripada.
Following Lord Caitanya’s example, the place became so popular and so many devotees took earth from it that it was later transformed into a large pond called Caitanya Doba (doba means ‘pond’).
Kishori Baba is a friend of Bharati Roy, and he kindly agreed to give us access to their manuscript collection. Unlike many other places, this one is kept very conscientiously, with the manuscripts kept clean and protected with cloth wrappings.
Here’s the first one we viewed, a book about the glories of Srimati Radharani. According to the notation, it was written in 1708 Sakabda, or 1790 AD-over 300 years old! The paper is cotton based hand made parchment. Very durable and flexible.
Bharati is photographing 15 manuscripts here before moving on to the next place on a list of about 15 libraries, mathas and sripats this month, where we hope to discover more valuable texts and record them.
Assistant to Kishori Babaji is Sri Ajay.
By his enthusiastic endeavor they have established the Baishnab Research Institute
He has gained official government recognition for Caitanya Doba as a national heritage site and with limited funds and help is establishing a library of old books to preserve them before they rot or pass through the digestive tracts of the numerous insects and worms that abound in a tropical climate
As you can see, there is an urgent need to locate and preserve what Srila Prabhupada referred to in 1972 as a “treasure house of Vaisnava lore.” Any help our readers can provide is more than welcome.
If you are interested in supporting this important program please contact me about our BRC membership program:
More soon!
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