Sharanga Thakur became famous thanks to the fact that he brought back to life a dead young man by touching his foot and whispering the maha-mantra in his ear. Here we pray to become an instrument of the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and to awaken people to spiritual life. This is the place where you can get the authority to do so.
Sharanga Deva Gaudiya Math
A small temple, opened by the heirs of Sharanga Murari, is now supported by devotees of the Gaudiya Math. The following Deities are located on the altar. The largest are Radha-Madana-Gopal (which was worshiped by Vasudeva Datta Thakur). The smaller ones are Radha-Gopinatha, which was served by the Sharanga Murari. The smallest are Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. Sivananda Sena worshiped them. The deities of Gaura-Gadadhara were worshiped by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and his disciples.
The current pujari, Jagadbandhu Prabhu, has been serving in this place since he was ten years old.
Jananivasa Prabhu: There are also Deities of Radha-Madan-Gopal in Mamgachi. These are the Deities of Vasudeva Datta. There are three pairs of famous Deities installed there: Gaura-Gadadhara, Radha-Gopinatha and Radha-Madana-Gopal. They all stand on one altar, in the new temple. Many years after the departure of Vasudeva and Mukunda Datta, some strangers settled in their house. They did not want the Deities to stand there, and were about to throw them into the Ganges. These people were not Vaisnavas.
Once, Sagara Maharaja, a student of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, was taking a train to Calcutta. And in a dream the Divine appeared to him. The Lord said: “They want to throw me in the Ganges! Come and save me! I am from Mamgachi. My name is Madana-Gopal. ” Sagara Maharaja returned and immediately went with the devotees there. They went around all the neighborhoods and interviewed all the locals until, finally, they came to that house.
“Yes, we wanted to throw them away,” the owners told them. “Better give them to us,” the devotees asked.
The hosts agreed. So the Deities were saved.
The old pujari from Mamgachi said that Sagara Maharaja had nowhere to stop. And after he spent several days there, someone sacrificed land to him ... They stayed there together - Sagara Maharaja and Jagadbandhu. Jagadbandhu became a devotee when he was only ten years old.
Once, a disagreement arose between the devotees. This caused such pain to Sagara Maharaja that he said: "I do not want to stay here anymore." That evening, during the sandhya-arati, sitting opposite the Deities, he left the body and went into the spiritual world.
Sri Sharanga Thakur
Sri Sharanga Thakur (Sharanga Murari) - a significant branch on the tree of Sri Caitanya - lived in Mamagacchi, Modadrumadvipa, Navadvipa). Inhabited by a bakula tree, he worked hard every day, although he was one-armed, trying to please his beloved Deity.
He collected fruits, vegetables and firewood. He begged alms for rice and cooked, washed, clothed, and fed his Lord. After a full day of service to the Deity, Sharanga crossed the Ganges to join the Harinama-sankirtana group of Mahaprabhu in Mayapur.
Once, upon visiting Sharanga, Lord Gauranga noticed that the beloved Sharanga tree, the bakula, had withered and almost died. Lord Caitanya embraced the tree with his beautiful golden hands, and it, completely rejuvenated, was covered with green leaves and fresh fragrant flowers. From that day on, devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu worship this special tree of Sri Dham Mayapur - kalpa-vriksha. Some devotees collect small pieces of wood that accidentally fall to the ground and make neck beads out of them or worship them. Sharanga Thakur vowed never to initiate disciples, despite the insistent requests of Lord Caitanya. Once he relented and decided on this step. Taking a bath in the Ganges, he pushed away a dead body passing by him, and it suddenly awakened to life. Stunned, the man slowly recovered and bowed before Sharanga Thakur, who had just so miraculously revived him to life. Having given him initiation, Sharanga Thakur became known as Shanranga Murari Thakur, as his disciple's previous name was Murari.
In Vraja-lila, Sharanga serves Radha and Krsna as Nandimukhi-sakhi. After riding a rickshaw forty-five minutes from Navadvipa, you can still see the deities of Sharanga Thakura and the Bakula tree Kalpa Vriksha.
Srila Prabhupada, referring to the Anubhasha of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, writes: “Another name is Thakura Sarangi dasa - Sharinga Thakur. Sometimes it is also called Sharingapani or Sharingadhara. He lived in Navadvipa, on Modadrumadvipa, and worshiped the Supreme Lord in a secluded place on the banks of the Ganges. He did not accept disciples, but the Supreme Lord pushed him over and over again from the heart. One morning, he decided: “The one whom I will see first today will become my student.” When he went to the Ganges to take a bath, he accidentally noticed a corpse floating on the river and touched it with his foot. The dead man immediately came to life, and Thakur Saranga accepted him as a student. This student subsequently became famous under the name Thakura Murari. His name is inextricably linked with the name of Sri Sarangi. His spiritual descendants still inhabit the village of Shar. In Mamgachhi there is a temple, which, they say, was founded by Saranga Thakur. Not so long ago, a new temple was erected there, opposite the Bakul tree, which is currently run by members of the Gaudiya Math. They say that now this temple is managed much better than before. In Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika (172) it is said that Saranga Thakur in the past was a gopi named Nandimukhi. Some devotees claim that he was Maharaja Prahlada, but Sri Kavi-karnapura, referring to his father, Sivananda Sena, does not agree with this opinion ”(Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi, 10.113, comm.).
The young man initiated by Sharanga Thakur came from a rather wealthy family, and on that very day his wedding was to take place. However, right before this joyful event, a cobra stung him, from which he immediately died. According to Bengali traditions, a person bitten by a snake should not be cremated, so the corpse, wrapped in harinama chadar, was put into the river.
Sharanga Thakur whispered a mantra in his ear, and the young man returned to life. The young man was called Murari. Lord Caitanya, having heard the news that a disciple had appeared at Thakur, was very pleased and with a huge crowd of devotees came to his house to look at the unusual young man.
Father and mother Murari, heartbroken, once heard that their son was not dead, and now lives in the village of Mamgachhi. Arriving there, they tried to persuade the young man to return home, but he told them: “You gave me only a dead body, and my spiritual master revived him. Therefore, I will stay with him. ” The Caitanya Bhagavata describes the unusual behavior of a saint named Murari Caitanya dasa. Some believe that this refers to a young man revived by Sharanga Thakur, while others say that he refers to Sharanga Thakur (sometimes called Sharanga Murari).
Murari Chaitanya Das
In his commentary on Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 11.20), Srila Prabhupada writes:
Murari Caitanya Das was born in the village of Sar-vrindavana-pura, which is located three kilometers from the Galashi railway station on the branch leading to Bourdvan. When Murari Caitanya das came to Navadvipa, he settled in the village of Modadrum, or Mamgachhi-grama. At that time, he received the name of Sharing or Sarang Murari Chaitanya das. Today, the descendants of his family live in the town of Sarer Pata. In the fifth chapter of Antya-khanda “Caitanya-bhagavata”, the following description is found: “Murari Caitanya das had no physical bodily appearance: he was completely spiritual. Sometimes he chased tigers in the jungle and treated them like cats and dogs. He slapped tigers on the cheeks and took poisonous snakes into his hands. He was not afraid for his outer body, completely forgetting about its existence. He could chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra for days or hours or talk about Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. Sometimes he spent two or three days under water without feeling any inconvenience. He acted as if his body was stone or wood, and at the same time used all his energy to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. No one has described the special character traits of Murari Caitanya dasa, but it is known that wherever he appears, all people gain Krishna consciousness due to the atmosphere that he created by his presence. ”
Bakul tree
Opposite the Sharangi Murari Temple, the Bakul tree is growing, which is more than 500 years old. Lord Caitanya loved to rest beneath him when he returned from philosophical debate from Vidyanagara. Sharanga Thakur often chanted the mantra under this tree. The tree gave a shadow and thereby helped his bhajan. Once, noticing that it had begun to dry, Lord Caitanya performed a miracle. He hugged him, and the tree came to life. In this way, He showed how dear to Him those who serve His devotees.
Until now, although the core is almost completely absent in this tree, it grows and bears flowers and fruits.
Translated from dhama.dayalnitay.ru