24. The Fortunate People

24. The Fortunate People:

“Those highly fortunate people who reside constantly in the spiritual realm of Gaura-maṇḍala are living beyond the bounds of the material world. In great awe the demigods see the dhāmavāsīs (residents of the dhāma) as having four-handed forms of bluish-complexion, like the residents of Vaikuṇṭha.

“The numerous residents of Navadvīpa dhāma are constantly engaged in singing the glories of the Lord. Brahmā and other demigods descend from the heavenly planets to worship them in various ways. In fact, Lord Brahmā prays to take birth as a blade of grass in Navadvīpa dhāma to receive the dust from the feet of Lord Gaurāṅga’s bhaktas.

“They who live in Navadvīpa and think of Lord Gaura as their worshipable Lord should not be considered ordinary human beings. They are the spiritual associates of Lord Gaurāṅga. Simply by remembering them, great sinners can directly see and associate with them.” (Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya)

After accumulating heaps of pious activities one can take birth in the Lord’s holy dhāmas like Navadvīpa or Vṛndāvana. Being dear to Lord Caitanya, such residents are so qualified and fortunate that even if they commit sinful activities they receive a reduced reaction due to the merciful touch of the dhāma. After suffering one birth as an animal such sinful dhāmavāsīs are promoted to the spiritual world.

In this regard, Rūpa Gosvāmī says in Mathurā-māhātmya: “The worms, insects, birds and other creatures who die here all attain the supreme destination. A human, worm, insect, moth or bird who goes to Mathurā and dies there, becomes reborn as a four-armed resident of the spiritual world.”

“With a begging bowl in hand, we visit even the houses of the dog-eaters residing in beautiful Navadvīpa. When one realizes that the moving and non-moving residents of Navadvīpa have forms of eternal spiritual nectar, he then becomes a genuine servant of Śyāmasundara, the beloved of Śrī Rādhā. If one offensively thinks that the Gaura dhāma-vāsis do not have spiritual forms of eternality, bliss and knowledge, he will not attain the supreme abode.” (Caitanya Sataka)