THE BIRTH RIGHT
(SRILA PRABHUPADA'S CHILDHOOD PASTIMES)
When irreligion become the usual trend
Lord or his devotee does surely descend
Following is the story of such a personality
Deliverer of the world, full of magnanimity
Today is Janamastami, a happy day
Everybody chants, dances and pray
Year is 1896, holy and precious
In India, the most auspicious
On this occasion in Calcutta city
Gour Mohan De celebrates festivity
A noble man, a cloth merchant
Above all Lord's loving servant
He and Rajani, his loving dear wife
Enjoyed their Krishna conscious life
They lived at 151 Harrisson Street
A blissful family, happy and sweet
Then came the Nandotasava festival
And Lord arranged a special arrival
Arrival of His loving associate
Who will change whole world’s fate
On this day, in middle of kirtan
Lord blessed Rajani with a son
All were eager to name the son
His father called ''Abhay Charan''
'Abhay' is fearless, 'Charan' means feet
Child is fearless in Krishna's lotus feet
Then was called a brilliant astrologer
To know about child’s coming future
"The child will be renunciate devotee"
Astrologer said, "At the age of seventy,
He will cross the seven oceans
To take Krishna's message to millions"
"He will be a great exponent of religion
And 108 temples that he will open"
All astonished but Gour Mohan was happy
He took child to be blessed by divinity
"O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible." (BG 9.13)
Across the street was a temple of Lord
Where Radha Govinda were landlord
Mulliks worshipped them for centuries
Daily offered rice, vegetables and kacauries
Among the daily visitors were Abhay
Took darshan of Lord everyday
Abhay took his father’s qualities
Specially worship of the deities
Gour Mohan used to come at night
First do arati to his deities, very bright
Children who were sleeping that time
Hear bell, wake up and join the rhyme
He wanted Abhay to be a preacher
And also a brilliant Mridanga player
He invites Sadhus and offers prayer
So as his son receives Radharani's favour
O great sage, among many millions who are liberated and perfect in knowledge of liberation, one may be a devotee of Lord Narayana, or Krishna. Such devotees, who are fully peaceful, are extremely rare. [Sukadeva Goswami to Parikshit Maharaja SB 6.14.5]
Rajani proposed that she do aspire
To send him to London to become lawyer
Gour Mohan’s reaction to it was to shun
Or else it would trap him in money or woman
He hired a Mridanga teacher
To teach Abhay, rhythms of prayer
He dreamed of Abhay singing Bhajan,
Playing Mridanga, preaching Bhagavatam
Although Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul from the very day of his birth, he still had to take lessons of Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Vyasadeva, who compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam under the instruction of another great soul, Sri Narada Muni. [Purport to SB 2.1.8]
Rajani, a religious minded house wife
Lovingly served the family for full life
Abhay was dearest to his mother
And she saved him from all danger
Rajani vowed to eat with left hand
Till Abhay notice her using wrong hand
Then one day little Abhay asked
“Abhay became wise”, she thought
She would take him to Ganges for bath
She became happy seeing Abhay laugh
She fed him with all lovable food and dish
Also bitter medicines against his wish
Abhay would go to temple with his father
Say prayers to the deities for hours together
He liked the full ceremony of arattika
Specially slated eyes of Radha Govinda
From the very beginning of his childhood, Prahlada Maharaja was uninterested in childish playthings. [SB 7.4.37] Just as a materialistic person is always absorbed in thoughts of material gain, a maha-bhagavata like Prahlada Maharaja is always absorbed in thoughts of Krishna. [Purport to SB 7.4.37]
Abhay was enamoured with festival of Ratha Yatra
Held every year for Jagannath Baldeva Subhadra
Abhay also heard of Lord Chaitanya
Dancing of Lord at Puri Ratha Yatra
Eager to go there, Abhay do inquire
Searched timetables and do acquire
The money for the railway fare
As he was dying to go there
Also Abhay wanted his own cart
His own Ratha Yatra with his own Lord
Gour Mohan bought one replica of cart
And constructed it to the best of his part
Abhay engaged everyone to help him
All prepared nicely and festival begin
‘It was a hit’, said all family members
Neighbourhood children and all others
Maharaja Parikshit was naturally inclined to Lord Krishna from his very childhood. He might have imitated either of the above-mentioned activities, and all of them establish his great devotion from his very childhood, a symptom of a maha-bhagavata. Such maha-bhagavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from birth. [Purport to SB 2.3.15]
Being attracted by Krishna's worship from infancy
Abhay, when six, demanded his personal deity
Gour Mohan gave him Radha Krishna deities
Abhay imitated the worship of temple deities
Imitating the priest and his father
Food, ghee lamp, all he would offer
Finally he put Them to rest at night
Thus Abhay took Krishna consciousness as his “birth right”.
Maharaja Parikshit, the grandson of the Pandavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Krishna by imitating the worship of the family Deity. [SB 2.3.15]
