TEXT 43
haridasa-thakura sakhara adbhuta carita
tina laksa nama tenho layena apatita
SYNONYMS
haridasa-thakuraof the name Haridasa Thakura; sakharaof the branch; adbhutawonderful; caritacharacteristics; tinathree; laksahundred thousand; namanames; tenhohe; layenachanted; apatitawithout fail.
TRANSLATION
The twentieth branch of the Caitanya tree was Haridasa Thakura. His character was wonderful. He used to chant the holy name of Krsna 300,000 times a day without fail.
PURPORT
Certainly the chanting of 300,000 holy names of the Lord is wonderful. No ordinary person can chant so many names, nor should one artificially imitate Haridasa Thakura's behavior. It is essential, however, that everyone fulfill a specific vow to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Therefore we have prescribed in our Society that all our students must chant at least sixteen rounds daily. Such chanting must be offenseless in order to be of high quality. Mechanical chanting is not as powerful as chanting of the holy name without offenses. It is stated in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-lila, Chapter Two, that Haridasa Thakura was born in a village known as Budhana but after some time came to live on the bank of the Ganges at Phuliya near Santipura. From the description of his chastisement by a Muslim magistrate, which is found in the Sixteenth Chapter of the Adi-lila of Caitanya-bhagavata, we can understand how humble and meek Haridasa Thakura was and how he achieved the causeless mercy of the Lord. In the dramas performed by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Haridasa Thakura played the part of a police chief. While chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in Benapola, he was personally tested by Mayadevi herself. Haridasa Thakura's passing away is described in the Antya-lila of Caitanya-caritamrta, Eleventh Chapter. It is not definitely certain whether Sri Haridasa Thakura appeared in the village named Budhana that is in the district of Khulna. Formerly this village was within a district of twenty-four parganas within the Sataksira division.

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