Throughout the world, any devotee who comes in the disciplic succession following Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura daily remembers Śrī Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and prays for his mercy.

viśvanātha bhakta sātha, baladeva jagannātha
tāṅra priya śrī bhaktivinoda
mahā-bhāgavata vara, śrī-gaura-kiśora-vara
hari-bhajanete yāṅra moda
śrī-varṣabhānavī-varā, sadā sevya-sevā-parā
tāhāṅra dayita-dāsa nāma

[I offer respects to] Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura along with his devotees, to Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa and to Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, whose dear disciple is Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. [I offer respects to] Śrī Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, the exalted devotee, whose great pleasure is the worship of the Lord. Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, is always fixed in Her service to the Lord. I am the servant of him who is dear to Her.

There is also a Sanskrit version of the disciplic succession, where Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is mentioned in the following way:

vaiṣṇava-sārvabhaumaḥ śrī-
jagannātha-prabhus tathā
śrī-māyāpura-dhāmnas tu
nirdeṣṭā sajjana-priyaḥ

Next in the line is Jagannātha Prabhu, known as Vaiṣṇava Sārvabhauma. Very dear to the saintly, he designated the dhāma of Śrī Māyāpura.

There were four dark ages in the history of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava lineage: (1) preceding the appearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu; (2) following the disappearance of the Six Gosvāmīs; (3) after the disappearance of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, Śyāmānanda Prabhu, and Rasikānanda Deva Gosvāmī; and (4) following the disappearance of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura and Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu.

One should not think that the Mādhva-Gauḍīya disciplic succession following in the spirit of Rūpa Gosvāmī has been disrupted on account of these periods of darkness. Sometimes spiritual masters in the disciplic succession are individual performers of solitary bhajana (viviktānandī), and sometimes preachers who delight in the propagation of devotional doctrines (goṣṭhyānandi). To the untrained eye, it seems that one can measure the strength of an ācārya by the number of disciples he makes, but this is not an appropriate criterion for judgement.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu’s disciple was Uddhava Dāsa or Uddhara Dāsa. This Vaiṣṇava had a disciple also named Uddhava Dāsa, who gave the renounced order to Madhusūdana Dāsa. This Madhusūdana Dāsa Bābājī was famed throughout the Vaiṣṇava world as the Siddha Madhusūdana Dāsa Bābājī from Sūrya-kuṇḍa. Madhusūdana Dāsa Bābājī conferred paramahaṁsa-veṣa (bābājī initiation) to Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura wrote: “All of these Vaiṣṇavas adopted the lifestyle of the paramahaṁsa, preaching the path of pure devotion by their example. They are thus the objects of the greatest faith and reverence in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava lineage.”

From this statement of Śrīla Prabhupāda, we learn that all these bhajanānandīs not only practiced the anchorite life of solitary worship but engaged in preaching activities as well, serving as ācāryas.

Bābājī Mahārāja was born in a respectable family in Tangail district in what is today Bangladesh, in around 1780 AD. According to some people he was born into a family of Vārendra Kāyasthas in Taras village in Pabna district. The names of his parents are unknown.

After accepting pāramahaṁsya-veṣa, Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī set the exemplary standard of intense bhajana in Navadvīpa and Vṛndāvana, so much so that he was accepted by all the bhajanānandī Vaiṣṇavas as their leader. He remained in this world for more than a century.

Bābājī Mahārāja performed loving service to Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa during eight periods of the day following the path of rūpānuga (followers of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī) devotees, while staying in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. On one occasion when he was engaged in bhajana in Vraja with other bhajanānandī Vaiṣṇavas, a certain professional speaker on the Bhāgavata from Katwa decided to move to Vṛndāvana to make his living, looking for gold and glory. Even though he gave an excellent discourse on the Bhāgavata, the renounced Vaiṣṇavas showed no enthusiasm for his lectures. When he inquired into the reasons for this, Bābājī Mahārāja and the other Vaiṣṇavas told him any discourse on the Bhāgavata by someone who has other goals in mind cannot be called a true explanation of the Bhāgavata. His words can have no beneficial effect on anyone, not even himself. Indeed, such discourses have a negative effect on the consciousness of the listener. The Vaiṣṇavas led by Bābājī Mahārāja thus advised the professional speaker to give up the business of giving Bhāgavata discourses as a means of making his living. By their grace, this money-minded Vaiṣṇava was completely transformed and he gave up his false pride in his learning and high birth. He became a great devotee with such humility that he paid prostrated obeisances to every creature living in the holy dhāma.

Bābājī Mahārāja was himself a dedicated and intense bhajanānandī, but he did not believe that disciples who were unqualified and filled with material desires should be allowed to act in ways detrimental to service to Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas on the pretext of engaging in the service of the Holy Name. He engaged his less qualified disciples who had taken the renounced order in working in the garden next to his cottage so that he could offer vegetables to the deity and the Vaiṣṇavas. If the senses are not engaged in the service of Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, one does not develop the qualifications necessary to chant properly and it is impossible to experience the power of the Holy Name. When an individual engages the senses and sense objects in relation to the body and bodily relations, then attachment for these naturally arises. When we are fixed in the consciousness that our very self, including our body and senses, belong to the Lord, and we engage our senses in the service of the Lord and His devotees, then our feelings of love and possessiveness for Him increase.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura met Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja for the first time in 1880 AD. Their second meeting took place in the village of Amlajora in Burdwan district in 1891. On this occasion, they spent the entire night (ekādaśī day) discussing topics of Gaura-Kṛṣṇa. Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja encouraged Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to preach Gaura’s name and abode.

Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda gave an account of this eventful night in his Sajjana-toṣaṇī magazine: “After spending the whole night in the ekādaśī vigil, people from the entire village gathered together at 8 AM to go on nagara-saṅkīrtana through the streets. Placing the venerable Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja at the head of the group, they made their way to the Prapannāśrama. It is impossible to describe Bābājī Mahārāja’s ecstatic transformations during this kīrtana. Though he is over a hundred years old, he dances like a lion, sometimes singing out the couplet,

nitāi ki nāma eneche re nāma eneche nāmer hāṭe,
śraddhā mūle nāma diteche re

‘What divine Name is this that Nitāi has brought? He has brought the Name to the marketplace and is distributing it for the price of faith!’

As Bābājī Mahārāja sang, he cried and fell to the ground in ecstasy. I then saw something transpire which I had never seen before. All present were affected by his mood: their eyes filled with tears and their hairs stood on end, and even though they could barely sing, they remained absorbed in the kīrtana and danced wildly.”

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has also written about Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja in his autobiography: “In 1892, Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and many other Vaiṣṇavas participated in the saṅkīrtana festival in Godruma and then in Śrī Māyāpura. In the month of Māgha in 1299 (Bengali), Bābājī Mahārāja came from Kuliya-Navadvīpa with his associates to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s residence, Surabhī Kuñja, in Godrumadvīpa. A great saṅkīrtana festival was held there on Wednesday, the 27th of Māgha.”

A physically powerful vrajavāsī named Bihārīdāsa Bābājī was Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s personal servant. He used to place Bābājī Mahārāja in a large wicker basket and carry him from place to place. Even though Bābājī Mahārāja was very aged, his sight was still good. His eyelids drooped, however, covering his eyes, and he had to lift them in order to see. It is said that when Bihārīdāsa Bābājī carried Bābājī Mahārāja in the wicker basket to the birthplace of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Bābājī Mahārāja jumped out of the basket and began to dance madly, singing the names jaya śacīnandana gaura-hari. Everyone was amazed to see the old bābājī dance in this way. Through his divine vision, Bābājī Mahārāja pointed out the site of Mahāprabhu’s birth and then later khola-bhāṇgāra-dāṇgā, the site where the Kāzī broke a mṛdaṅga, that is, Śrīvāsa Aṅgana.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has described these events in Sajjana-toṣaṇi, 4th Khaṇḍa, pg. 234-5, as follows: “At eleven o’clock in the morning on Thursday, the 20th of Phālguna in 1299 of the Bengali era (1892 AD), devotees filled three boats on the west bank of the Ganges in Navadvīpa town. Mahendra Bābu, a well-known devotee, brought them from the western bank. The great devotee Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja was carried in a palanquin. By the time the party reached Māyāpura it was impossible to count the number of people who had gathered. Śrī Dvārika Bābu and a party of devotees carrying colourful flags were waiting for the renounced Vaiṣṇavas with a joyous kīrtana at Mahāprabhu’s birthplace. When all these devotees had gathered in the raised area where Mahāprabhu was born and started to dance, it was such a wondrous sight as had likely not been seen in Navadvīpa-dhāma for nearly four hundred years. Later the devotees sat down and, after discussing the matter, decided that deity service should be established both at the birthplace and at Śrīvāsa Aṅgana. Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahāśaya proposed that Jagannātha Miśra and Śacī Devī should be worshipped in one building and Mahāprabhu with Lakṣmī Devī and Viṣṇupriyā standing on His either side in another. On the other hand, Pañca-tattva deities should be consecrated in Śrīvāsa Aṅgana.”

In those days, there was a large kadamba tree at the birthsite in Māyāpura. Bābājī Mahārāja came and danced under this tree. Śrī Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī used to sit under that tree, chanting the Holy Name in a deep trance.

Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja spent many years in a cottage in Koladvīpa. This is where Bābājī Mahārāja’s samādhi is now situated. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had a concrete veranda built for this cottage.

Bābājī Mahārāja also came to visit Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his house, Bhakti Bhavana, in Ram Bagan in Kolkata. There he also met Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura upon whom he showered unlimited affection. When he learned that Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was expert in astrology, he asked him to publish an almanac based on the vaiṣṇava-siddhānta. Later, Srila Prabhupāda published Nabadvīpa-Pañjikā from the Chaitanya Math.

Though Bābājī Mahārāja would not allow anyone to take his photograph, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was able to arrange to have one taken when he came to visit Bhakti Bhavana. It shows Bābājī Mahārāja sitting on a wooden seat with his worshipable Giridhārī deity on his chest. If Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had not done this, we would be eternally deprived of knowing what Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī looked like.

Bābājī Mahārāja deeply loved Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. We have heard that he later gave his Giridhārī to Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and that this deity is still being served in Bhakti Bhavana.

When approaching the end of his sojourn in this world, Bābājī Mahārāja became hunched and tiny looking. Nevertheless, when he danced in kīrtana in a divine intoxicated state, he appeared to his full height of six feet. When absorbed in the ecstatic mood of kīrtana, he would sometimes jump five or six feet into the air. With his tall figure and long arms, he made people think of Mahāprabhu.

Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s disappearance took place on the śukla-pratipad of the month of Phālguna, Monday, February 25, 1895. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote of it in Sajjana-toṣaṇī (Year:2, page:2): “At ten o’clock in the morning of the 14th of Phālguna in 1301 of the Bengali era, in his bhajana-kutīra in Koladvīpa in Navadvīpa town, the old general of the Vaiṣṇavas went to his eternal abode. Siddha Bābājī Mahāśaya went to the spiritual world, leaving this world in darkness. Our mundane eyes will no longer be able to see his ecstatic dancing in kīrtana. May he bestow his blessings on us from his place in the eternal abode.”

Rāsavihārī Gosvāmī of Puruniya in Burdwan district was Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s initiated disciple. Rāsavihārī Gosvāmī initiated the independent King of Tripura, Rājā Īśāna Candra Maṇikya Bāhādura. Rasavihari Gosvāmī’s deity, Rāsavīharī Jīu, is worshipped to this day in the Rājā’s palace.

rūpānugānāṁ pravaraṁ sudāntaṁ
śrī-gauracandra-priya-bhakta-rājam
śrī-rādhikā-mādhava-citta-rāmaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

śrī-sūrya-kuṇḍāśrayiṇaḥ kṛpālor
vidvad-vara-śrī-madhusūdanasya
preṣṭha-svarūpeṇa virājamāṇaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, who was the dearest associate of Śrī Madhusūdana Dāsa Bābājī, the most merciful resident of Sūrya-kuṇḍa.

śrīdhāma-vṛndāvana-vāsi-bhakta-
nakṣatra-rāji-sthita-soma-tulyam
ekānta-nāmāśrita-saṅgha-pālaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, who stood out from the rest of the devotees of Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana just like the moon amongst the stars. He was the protector of the assembly of Vaiṣṇavas who are uniquely dedicated to the chanting of the Holy Name.

vairāgya-vidyā-hari-bhakti-dīptaṁ
daurjanya-kāpaṭya-vibheda-vajram
śraddhā-yuteṣv ādara-vṛttimantaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, aglow with devotion to Hari, endowed with knowledge and renunciation, a veritable thunderbolt to those who are wicked and duplicitous and ever affectionate to the faithful.

saṁ prerito gaura-sudhāṁśunā yaś
cakre hi taj-janma-gṛha-prakāśam
devair nutaṁ vaiṣṇava-sārvabhaumaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, who was directed by Gaurāṅga Himself to point out the place where He appeared on this earth. He is worshipped by even the gods as the sovereign of the Vaiṣṇavas on this earth.

sañcārya sarvaṁ nija-śakti-rāśiṁ
yo bhakti-pūrṇe ca vinoda-deve
tene jagatyāṁ hari-nāma-vanyāṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, who infused the devoted Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura with all of his own potency, and through him unleashed the flood of harināma throughout the universe.

śrī-nāma-dhāmnoḥ prabala-pracāre
īhāparaṁ prema-rasābdhi-magnam
śrī-yoga-pīṭhe kṛta-nṛtya-bhaṅgaṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate great Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, always immersed in the ocean of sacred rapture and engaged in forcefully preaching the Holy Names and the Lord’s abode. He danced ecstatically in the Yogapīṭha at Māyāpura.

māyāpure-dhāmani sakta-cittaṁ
gaura-prakāśena ca moda-yuktam
śrī-nāma-gānair galad-aśru-netraṁ
vande jagannātha-vibhuṁ vareṇyam

I venerate Jagannātha Prabhu, the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, who is totally attached to the holy dhāma of Māyāpura, who is joyful from receiving the vision of Gaurāṅga, whose eyes flow with tears from the chanting of the Holy Names.

he deva he vaiṣṇava-sārvabhauma
bhaktyā parābhūta-mahendra-dhiṣṇya
tvadegātra-vistāra-kṛtiṁ supuṇyāṁ
vande muhur bhaktivinoda-dhārām

O Lord! O sovereign of the Vaiṣṇavas! Through your devotion, you have overcome even the planets of demigods. I constantly venerate the most pious line of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura that has grown out from your body and works.

The book Śrī-sarasvati-jaya-śrī, published by the Bagh Bazar Gaudiya Math in 1934, gives an account of the transcendental life and instructions of Vaiṣṇava Sārvabhauma Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. Most Revered Srila Bhakti Pramode Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, the chairman of the editorial board of Caitanya-vāṇī magazine, wrote an article that included some portions of the book as well as about the svapna-samādhi of Srila Prabhupāda. It is presented below for the benefit of the sincere readers.

On September 28, 1922, after the Kolkata Gaudiya Math’s annual festival, Śrīla Prabhupāda travelled to Vṛndāvana where he arrived on Saturday, Sept 30. That was the appearance day of Śrī Madhvācārya and Vijaya-daśamī. Through the efforts of Dr. Bala Haridāsa, he and his disciples stayed at the Ghosh family residence opposite the Lāla Bābu temple. On October 3, Śrīla Prabupāda went for darśana of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s beloved deities, Rādhā-Govinda. He and his disciples went to look at a few places, seeking a site to establish a Math in Vṛndāvana.

On hearing of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s arrival, Paṇḍit Madhusūdana Gosvāmī Sārvabhauma of the Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī’s family lineage came to visit him from Rādhā-Rāmaṇa Gherā. They discussed scriptural matters for about two hours and Śrīla Prabhupāda presented him with the latest copy and a few back issues of Gauḍīya magazine. Madhusūdana Gosvāmī was very pleased with the high calibre of discussion found in Gauḍīya and stated that one day it would be the guiding publication for all Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.

On October 4, Śrīla Prabhupāda visited Madana-Mohana, the beloved deities of Sanātana Gosvāmī. On his way back, he visited the famous Paṇḍita Rāmakṛṣṇa Dāsa Bābājī in Madana-Mohana Ṭhora, near the walled garden of the Rādhā-Vallabha Temple. In the discussion that followed, Paṇḍita Bābājī claimed that the chanting of the Holy Name is on the same level as any other devotional activity and that all the various songs, even those that contradict the Gosvāmīs’ teachings, are equivalent to the nāma-saṅkīrtana. He also stated that unless one was educated in the study of logic, or nyāya, one could not be qualified for the study of Vedānta. He also argued that it was unnecessary to discuss mundane and spiritual matters.

Śrīla Prabhupāda replied in accordance with the teachings of the Gosvāmīs, as furthered by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu, Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. He said, “Śrīman Mahāprabhu taught that the chanting of the Holy Names is the primary devotional practice as well as being the goal of all such practice. The conclusion of the Gosvāmīs is that through the process of chanting one should constantly remember the transcendence. Śrīman Mahāprabhu and His followers are distinguished for their transcendental conclusions. The one who is not steadfastly established in such divine conclusions, will engage in fulfilling his own instinctive mundane desires in the name of hari-bhajana, thus opening the royal road to self and mass deception.

“Śrīla Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī’s teachings were in line with those of Rūpa Gosvāmī. He would in no way embrace any snappy jingles that made an improper mixture of the divine sentiments. Offensive chanting can in no way be equated with the pure Name. The scriptures talk about the positive effects of chanting either with faith or without it, but this is not at all the same as chanting without giving up the ten offences. It is self-deception to think that you can allow yourself to commit any one of the ten offenses, knowingly or unknowingly, and still chant the Holy Names effectively.” (Sarasvatī-jaya-śrī, Vaibhava Parba, 1st Khaṇḍa, 27th Vaibhava)

According to Sarasvatī-jaya-śrī, 6th Vaibhava, page 41, it was Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja who identified the suklā pañcamī of the month of Māgha as the appearance day of Viṣṇupriyā Devī, the potency of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He told this to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and from him the custom was established throughout the Vaiṣṇava world so that everyone honours Viṣṇupriyā Devī on this day.

Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura chose Viṣṇupriyā Devī’s appearance day to reinstate the Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja Sabhā or World Vaiṣṇava Association. This was done in the midst of a kīrtana on February 5, 1919 at the Ultadanga Math, also known as the Bhaktivinoda Āsana. The following article appeared in Amrita Bazar Patrika, a Kolkata English-language daily, on the 10th of February:

“On Wednesday last (5th instant) was celebrated with great eclat the Advent Ceremony of Śrī Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī at the same Āsana (7 Ultadanga Junction Road). The occasion was solemnised by the reinstitution of Śrī Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja Sabhā as inaugurated by no less a personage than Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī himself eleven years after the passing of Śrī Śrī Mahāprabhu and as given fresh impetus by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura 33 years ago.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda gave an explanation of the history of the Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja Sabhā, which was published in Sajjana-toṣaṇī, vol. 21, no. 9.

After the disappearance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, the much aggrieved Śrīla Prabhupāda stayed in Māyāpura at Vraja-pattana (now a part of the Caitanya Math campus). He wondered, “How can I fulfil the desires of my gurus by preaching the pure doctrine of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu throughout the world. I have no man power to help me and no money to speak of. I have no great learning by which I can enchant the mundane. I have no assets of any kind that qualify me to perform this herculean task. It seems that I will not be able to fulfil the desires of my gurus.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda exhibited the pastimes of entering into a deep saddened state, thinking that it would be impossible for him to continue the preaching mission. His work on writing a commentary on Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Upadeśāmṛta also came to a halt after only eight verses.

One night, however, Śrīla Prabhupāda had a svapna-samādhi (dream-like vision) in which he saw all the members of the Pañca-tattva being led by Mahāprabhu in saṅkīrtana, dancing while moving toward the birthplace at the Yogapīṭha in Māyāpura, from the eastern side of its naṭya-mandira. They were followed by the Six Gosvāmīs and by Vaiṣṇava Sārvabhauma Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and other guru-varga members of the disciplic succession, all appearing in effulgent, divine forms. They consoled Śrīla Prabhupāda, saying, “Why are you worrying? Get the task of preaching pure devotion underway. Preach Mahāprabhu’s message everywhere: spread service to Gaura-dhāma (Mahāprabhu’s abode), Gaura-nāma (His name), and Gaura-kāma (His desire or work). All of us are ready to support you at every turn. We will help you at every moment in your efforts to preach pure devotional service. Countless people, unlimited wealth and extraordinary scholarship are all waiting for you to call for them. Whenever you need anything at all, it will come to you to be engaged in the service of the preaching mission. Simply go forward to preach the message of love of God as given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, giving it your total effort. No worldly force will be able to disrupt this effort. We are with you always.”

The following morning, Śrīla Prabhupāda joyfully told Paramānanda Prabhu and some other faithful followers about his dream. From that day onward, he displayed an unbounded enthusiasm for the worldwide preaching of Mahāprabhu’s message. He completed his Anuvṛtti of the Upadeśāmṛta. These efforts have borne fruit inasmuch as those seeking service to the divine throughout India have been washed up in the flood of pure devotional preaching that he started. The flood has even begun to inundate the West. It thus seems to me that Śrīla Prabhupāda is constantly repeating Mahāprabhu’s instructions to all of us:

yāre dekho tāre kaho kṛṣṇa upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāro ei deśa
ihāte nā bādhibe tomāra viṣaya taraṅga
punarapi ei ṭhāñi pābe mora saṅga

Instruct whomever you see in the orders of Kṛṣṇa. Become a spiritual master on My order and deliver everyone in this land. Do this and you will never again be entangled in the waves of materialistic life. Indeed, you will have My company again, here in this very place.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.7.128-9)