The Glories of the Dhama

It is not by coincidence that the Bhaktivedanta Academy is situated in Sri Mayapura Dhama. According to learned authorities, this Dhama, situated on the eastern bank of the Ganges River, is the most holy place in the universe. Incalculable benefits are awarded a student who studies, applies and teaches devotional principles here.

In his Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura writes of the glories of Sri Mayapura Dhama as follows: "Sri Navadvipa Dhama is essentially non-different from Sri Vrndavana Dhama. But Mayapura is above both Navadvipa and Vrndavana. In the middle of the Sri Mayapura is the maha-yogapitha, the temple of Jagannatha Misra, the father of Lord Caitanya. As the incarnation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is covered in Kali-yuga, so is His dhama Sri Navadvipa. No other holy place of pilgrimage in Kali-yuga compares with Sri Navadvipa. If one performs devotional service in Sri Navadvipa Dhama especially in Sri Mayapura, one quickly gets Krsna-prema-siddhi (the perfection of love of Krsna)."

Along a similar vein, Srila Prabodananda Saraswati writes in Navadvipa Sataka: "If your heart is set on crossing over the ocean of repeated birth and death, enjoying the sweet nectar of hari-nama, and hankering to play in the ocean of Krsna-prema, then please reside in Mayapura City."

Why is Sri Mayapura Dhama so special? To begin understanding the glories of the Dhama one must be aware of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's greatness, for Sri Mayapura Dhama is His eternal pastime place.

In his introduction to Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami describes Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as follows:

May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Saci-devi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.

The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krsna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krsna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krsna Himself.
(C.C. Adi 1.4-5)

The glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Sri Mayapura Dhama are fathomless like the stars in the sky. One can catch a glimpse of these by reading the following literature: Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura and Navadvipa Sataka by Srila Prabhodananda Saraswati.