The Glorious Life and Divine Leelas of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj
The Miraculous Intervention of Srimati Radha Rani and the Devotee’s Journey
Once there was a terrible famine in Barsana. People did not even have grains to eat. At this time a pure devotee of Lord started thinking how to do Madhukari in this situation. So he decided to leave Barsana but it is better to give up one’s life than leaving Barsana. This devotee was still thinking this when suddenly a little girl came to his hut. That girl asked this devotee the reason for leaving Barsana.
So he put his problem in front of that girl. That girl laughingly said, “Oh Baba, that’s it. I am the daughter of Bankhandi Seth. You come to my house right now. There are some rotis kept for you in the kitchen shelf. Now go and take them.” Saying this, the girl went from there. This devotee was now a little confused but as soon as that girl said so, he went to her house. He went there and started begging.
When Bankhandi Seth came out, this devotee said, “Seth ji, your daughter has told me that there are some rotis kept in the kitchen shelf. Can you give me that alms?” After listening to this devotee, Bankhandi Seth could not understand anything. He went to the kitchen and saw that he was shocked. There were really many rotis kept in a shelf.
Seth brought those rotis and gave them to this devotee and also told him that his daughter was not a small girl but was married and did not even live in Barsana. Hearing this, the devotee understood that the small girl was none other than Shrimati Radha Rani herself. Then this incident spread like fire in the whole of Barsana. All the saints living there started coming to Seth Bankhandi’s house to beg for alms and even today the family of his descendants is the most prosperous and affluent family of Barsana.
So who was this devotee for whom Shrimati Radha Rani herself had arranged for Prasad? He was none other than the great Gaudiya Vaishnav Acharya Shiromani Shrila Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj.
Appearance of Shrila Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj
He appeared on this earth between 1750 and 1770 in Tangail village located in Bangladesh. Vrishbhanu Kund of Barsana used to be his residence. He loved the Dham so much that he used to stay in Braj Mandal for six months and in Navadwip Mandal for six months. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur decorated him with the title of “Sarvabhauma”.
It is said that he was one of the most rasik Vaishnavas of his time. His interest in Harinam is revealed by the fact that he used to continuously chant Hari Naam for three days and three nights without eating or drinking anything and without sleeping. Apart from this, he also used to do 1108 Dandavat Pranams every day.
Shrila Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj also followed the rules of Chaturmas with great vigor. In the first month, he used to eat only four bananas once a day. In the second month, he used to eat only a few guavas. In the third month, he used to take buttermilk only once and in the last month, he used to eat boiled banana flowers once a day and that too without salt.
The Miracle of Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj
Srila Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj was known far and wide due to his devotion. Now what happened was that a big businessman named Srinath Roy came to his door and asked him about some supernatural thing. Baba Ji Maharaj started insisting to show a miracle. He said that there is no other miracle in this world except the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. But the businessman was still insisting.
Suddenly Baba Ji Maharaj picked up a stick lying nearby and started banging it on the ground. When Srinath Roy asked him the reason for doing so, he told that a goat was coming to the Samadhi of Shrila Loknath Goswami near Radha Kund in Vrindavan and was eating the Tulsi plants. He was using the stick to drive the goat away from there. Srinath Roy could not believe how Baba Ji Maharaj came to know about what was happening at the Samadhi of Shrila Loknath Goswami while living in Navadwip.
For assurance, he sent a telegram to one of his relatives who lived in Vrindavan and that person confirmed that a big wild goat had indeed come to the Samadhi of Shrila Loknath Goswami and was uprooting the Tulsi plants. But suddenly on hearing the sound of a stick, it ran away from there.
On hearing this, it was as if the ground slipped from under the feet of the businessman and he immediately ran away. Babaji went to Maharaj and surrendered to him. Due to the fame of Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj, many people used to donate money to him. Once he asked his personal servant Bihari to buy rasgullas from the collected money.
What would a disinterested devotee like him do with rasgullas? When Bihari bought rasgullas and brought them, Baba Ji Maharaj asked him to feed all these rasgullas to the cows of the Dham and thus his affection for the residents of the Dham was amazing. In another such leela, when Baba Ji Maharaj was taking prasad, some dogs also started eating from his plate, then his servant Bihari chased them away from there.
Now seeing all this Baba Ji Maharaj got angry and asked Bihari to bring those dogs back otherwise he would not take the prasad. Then Bihari with great difficulty found all those dogs and brought them and Baba Ji Maharaj took the prasad along with them.
The Final Years and the Divine Revelation
When Baba Ji Maharaj’s age exceeded 100 years, then his body bent like a semicircle. He was not able to move even his body parts. Even his body got bent like a semicircle. Even to open his eyelids, he needed servants. His chief servant Bihari used to carry him from one place to another in a basket.
When he was 142 years old, Shrila Bhakti Vinod Thakur went to him to know about the place where Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born. In fact, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur had obtained many maps from the Bengal government and with their help he discovered a place where there were many Tulsi trees planted but to prove this place he needed the help of Shrila Jagannath das Babaji Maharaj.
When Bihari brought Babaji Maharaj to the place, suddenly 142-year-old Babaji Maharaj jumped up from his basket and started dancing Hari Naam with full power and seeing this Shrila Bhakti Vinod Thakur understood that this is the birthplace of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Disappearance of Shrila Jagannath Das Baba Ji Maharaj
To lead the people towards Krishna Bhakti, Babaji Maharaj transferred all his divine knowledge to the heart of Shrila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and finally at the age of 144, Srila Jagannath das Babaji Maharaj left this earth and returned to Golok Vrindavan Dham. Srila Jagannath das Babaji Maharaj is the Rasik Manjari in the eternal leela of Radha Krishna.
On the occasion of his disappearance day, we pray at his lotus feet that he should light the lamp of devotion in our hearts too, so that all the evils in our hearts get destroyed and pure love of Krishna gets awakened.
Conclusion: Prayers to Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj
gauravirbhava-bhumes tvam nirdeshta saj-jana-priyah
vaishnava-sarvabhaumah shri-jagannathaya te namah
I offer my respectful obeisances to Jagannatha dasa Babaji, who is respected by the entire Vaishnava community and who discovered the place where Lord Caitanya appeared.
Shrila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaj ki Jai!
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