Sri Panca Parikrama (Five Most Sacred Pilgrimages)

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It is factually not possible to perform parikrama of Ekachakra by oneself. It can be performed only under the guidance of a Vaisnava who has received Sri Nityananda Prabhu's mercy. The Vaisnava who is humble, who is self-controlled, who is knowledgeable of the tattva, the siddhanta and the lila's that transpired here is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental tirtha of Ekachakra. The Vaisnava who has realised the conclusions of the Vedic scriptures and who is able to interpret these conclusions accurately and expertly communicate them to others is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental tirtha of Ekachakra. The Vaisnava who sees all as equal and who is equal to all, who never forgets the lotus feet of his own beloved guru is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental tirtha of Ekachakra. The Vaisnava who has witnessed these pastime places following in the footsteps of Prabhu Nityananda and Sri Krsna Caitanya and from the teachings of his own beloved guru has realised the comprehensive understanding and confidential mellows that They have of the eternal signifigance of this most sacred tirtha. This Vaisnava is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental land of Ekachakra.

It is not possible to perform Sri Panca Parikrama by oneself. It can be performed only under the guidance of a Vaisnava. The Vaisnava who is humble, who is self-controlled and who is knowledgeable of the tattva, the siddhanta and the lilas that transpired in these five most sacred parikrama places is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental lands of Sri Panca Parikrama. The Vaisnava who has realised the conclusions of the Vedic scriptures and who is able to interpret these conclusions accurately and expertly communicate them to others is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental lands of Sri Panca Parikrama. The Vaisnava who sees all as equal and who is equal to all and who never forgets the lotus feet of his own beloved guru is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental lands of Sri Panca Parikrama. The Vaisnava who has witnessed these pastime places following in the footsteps of Prabhu Nityananda and Sri Krishna Caitanya and from the teachings of the parampara acarya's and his own beloved guru has realized the comprehensive understanding and confidential mellows that They have of the eternal signifigance of these most divine dhama's, sacred ksetra's and holy tirtha. This Vaisnava is the correct living being to properly guide one throughout the transcendental lands of Sri Panca Parikrama.

Sri Panca Parikrama consists of pilgrimage too and parikrama of two divine dhama's, two sacred ksetra's and one holy tirtha. Yet factual parikrama begins at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. So with full humility let us all bow down in total surrender and mentally invoking his praniima mantra; pray to our spiritual master to bless us that our Sri Paiica Parikrama vrata will be successfully completed.

A dhama is understood to be completely puma and manifests exclusively at the appearance place of the avatari along with His eternal associates and intimate servitors who render devotion to Him in all the five rasa's. There He will perform baby, childhood and youth pastimes while exhibiting phenomenal activities and unprecedented lila's on the Earth. These exclusively unique and inimitable features precisely constitute the qualifications of what is dhama for the avatari and differentiates it from a ksetra or tirtha of the incarnations and expansions. Even Ayodha is not dhama as Lord Rama is not avatari. He and His three brothers are incarnations of Balarama's caturvyuha expansions of Vasudeva, Sankarsan, Pradyumna and Anirudha and have their respective universe above Vaikuntha but below Goloka. There is only one avatari, the Supreme Lord Krsna who appeared as Yasodanandana in Sri Vrndavana Dhama in Dvarapa yuga 5000 years ago and who appeared again as Sri Krsna Caitanya as Sacinandana in Sri Navadvtpa Dhama in Kali yuga 500 years ago. Thus these two dhama's being Sri Vrndavana Dhama of avatari Lord Krsna exhibiting the equisite ecstasy of madhurya-rasa and Sri Navadwipa Dhama of avatari Sri Krsna Caitanya manifesting the magnanimous munificence of audharya-rasa are the sole dhamas manifesting on the Earth in one day of Brahma, known as a kalpa and that only on a single planet in each of the three trillion 942 billion universes in material existence where His pastimes are performed continuously in chronological order in each of these universes, one second ahead of the other. Sri Vrndavana Dhama and Sri Navadwipa Dhama are both the same non-differentiated, transcendental reality of the absolute truth with only slight varieagation in mood and rasa.

Lord Krsna and Sri Vmdavana Dhama and Sri Krsna Caitanya and Sri Navadvipa Dhama both only manifest once in a day of Brahma, which is every 8 billion 640 million years. When Lord Krsna manifests Himself at the end of every thousandth Dvarapa Yuga; He then manifests Himself again in the beginning of the very next Kali Yuga as Sri Krsna Caitanya to spiritually invigorate the Vaisnavas and to inaugurate the yuga- dharma on Earth by the congregational chanting of harinama sankirtana while participating in it Himself with great rapture as it manifests. It should be clearly comprehended and understood that the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna Caitanya in Kali yuga are the conclusion of the Supreme Lord Krsna's transcendental pastimes in Dvarapa yuga.

Sri Jagannatha Ksetra of Ratha Yatra and Jagannatha Mahaprasad fame and Sri Kuruksetra of the Mahabharata War and Bhagavad-Gita fame are the two magnificent ksetra's which exhibit phenomenal pastimes of differentiated sublime transcendental mellows; but in essence they both are the supra confidential depository of vipralambha, euphoric devotion in acute separation.

Sri Ekachakra is the holy tirtha where Sri Nityananda Prabhu both appeared in 1474 AD and disappeared in 1534 AD and it harbors the treasure trove of pure devotional service. Like a powerful underground spring it is continuously emanating pure, pristine, unadulterated transcendental mercy, gushing out like a geyser into material existence to redeem all conditioned souls in creation who even accidently happen to make pilgrimage here.

So let us first make sankalpa for Sri Panca Parikrama considering it a veritable vrata of victory, for one who performs it will certainly be victorious over material existence. Sankalpa is making a formal vow to Krsna or any other Visnu tattva avatar as a promise to perform a devotional activity for their satisfaction. Without making sankalpa before commencing any vrata, stating what one hopes to accomplish and asking for the benediction to complete it successfully; one has not factually consummated communion with the Supreme Lord Krsna and unsanctified will not be eligible to receive the blessings which He is prepared to bestow for one's devotional endeavor. This is an eternal function of Vaisnava dharma.

Even for Ekadasi vrata one should make sankalpa and declare to Krsna what type of fast one is preparing to do whether it is nirjala, drinking water only, drinking only milk, eating only fruits, eating only at night etc. One should declare it to Lord Krsna, to the diety, and to the supersoul what one has vowed and promised to fulfill and beg for the mercy and blessings to successfully complete it. In this way one should think of Sri Panca Parikrama vrata in the same way one thinks of Caturmasya v rata, Kartik vrata, Bhishma Pancaka vrata and the paramount Purusottama vrata. We will now make sankalpa together with the following mantra before we begin.

O' lotus eyed Lord Krsna, I perform my Sri Panca Parikrama vrata of devotion to satisfy you. O' Govinda bless me to complete my vow.

One should carefully plan Sri Panca Parikrama vrata taking into consideration season, climate, health, weather and upcoming festival days at each location. Organize yourself and make complete travel arrangements with lodging before starting, choosing an auspicious day and time to begin each of the five parikrama's. For example if one began on the auspicious day of Akysa Tritya by going to Ekachakra it would insure complete success to uphold their vow and complete Sri Panca Parikrama as planned; but if one began during monsoon on amavasya, positive results could not be guaranteed. One should determine how long one will stay at each parikrama location, which places one will go each day and what is to be accomplished during each pilgrimage. Performing parikrama at exalted sites, taking bath in sacred rivers and holy kundas, performing nagar sankirtan, chanting extra rounds, eating mahaprasad increases the mercy and doubles the fun. It is essential to hear and learn about each pilgrimage's many sacred places and relish their pastimes with appropriate history and Hari katha. SrI Panca Parikrama reveals all the prominent and relevant places and their tattva at each of the five sacred pilgrimages according to established Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta and tradition.

It is without a doubt the most auspicious to begin Sri Panca Parikrama at the tirtha of Ekachakra, the glorious appearance place of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. There receiving His unreserved, causeless mercy fully guarantees completion and success. Ekachakra parikrama can be completed effortlessly in one day. Next go to Sri Navadwipa Dhama and ecstatically perform parikrama of the 9 islands beginning with Mayapur in Antardwipa and receive Lord Caitanya's munificent and magnanimous mercy. This parikrama can be performed nicely in seven days. After that simply go by train to jagannatha Purl and perform parikrama easily there in 5 days. Upon completion travel the long distance to Sri Vrndavana Dhama by train or plane and allow yourself 14 days to joyfully perform parikrama. Lastly travel four hours from Mathura to Kuruksetru visit the holy places, recite 6 chapters of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita a day at Jyotisar, completing 18 chapters of Srimad Bhagavad Gita in three days thereby successfully completing your vrata of Sri Pafica Parikrama.

All total you invested a month of your life which will reap inestimable spiritual benefit in this life and the next. The pilgrimage schedule of this book begins with Ekachakra, then Sri Navadwtpa Dhama and then jagannatha Purl as Lord Caitanya went to Jagannatha Purl before going to Sri Vrndavana Dhama. After finishing Sri Vrndavana Dhama we finally end at Kuruksetra after completing recitation of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 18 at Jyotisar.

Sri Panca Parikrama vrata has five limbs symbolizing the five rasas at these five sacred places of pilgrimage. In Ekachakra santa rasa is displayed because we are oblivious to the inundating ocean of mercy being showered upon us continuously by Sri Nityananda Prabhu, flowing incessantly with prema bhakti unbeknownst to us. In Kuruhsetra dasya rasa is imbibed as we reflect upon Lord Krsna's transcendental siddhanta given in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Bhishma's practical, unambiguous instructions given to King Yudhisthira while lying on his bed of arrows. In Sri Navadwipa Dhama we serve Lord Caitanya and His servitors exhibiting sakya rasa by propagating the yuga dharma and performing harinama sankirtan in association of the Vaisnavas which is the panacea and prime motivating force in Kali yuga. In jagannatha Ksetra we in humility exhibit vatsalya rasa following Sikastakam and take great care in pleasing jagannatha Svami, lord of the universe offering Him our everything for his full satisfaction. In Sri Vrndavana Dhama we follow the residents of Vrindavan and exhibit madhurya in whichever of the five rasa's we are situated in by the transcendental medium of vipralambha, euphoric devotion in acute separation.

All Vrajavasi's experience vipralambha and so in Vrndavana all rasa's are reflecting varying greater and lesser degrees of madhurya rasa. The Vrajavasis of all rasa's are always experiencing vipralambha, intensely longing for Krsna's association and service and are always in anxiety when they do not have it. The Vrajavasi's consciousness is perpetually in a heightened state of vipralambha, it is their nature.

Vrajavasi's like the saban girls in the forest are in santa rasa because although they heard about Krsna they never saw him. Yet they know of the symbols on His feet and when they see his footprints on the ground they wipe the dust from the imprints on their bodies and become lusty. The servants in dasya rasa heard rumors that Krsna is actually a ksatnya and not a vaisya and they worry that He may one day no longer need their service not being so high class servants. The cowherd boys in sahkya rasa hear stories that Krsna is actually a royal Prince and they feel nervous that He may no longer take out the cows with them and play in the forest all day as He will have to leave them to learn weaponry and diplomacy and enforce the laws of the land. Nanda Baba and Yashodamayi in vatsalya rasa have also heard gossip that Krsna is really the son of King Vasudeva and Queen Devaki in Mathura causing them great consternation and although they refuse to accept it, they always feel disturbed whenever they think about it and worry that Krsna may be taken from them. Krsna's beloved gopi's in madurya rasa become faint and inconsolable wondering how they will continue to exist if Krsna leaves them even for a moment. So in anguish they completely block the thought of Krsna ever leaving from their minds and never ever think about it; but at times they feel trepidation whenever they are not with Krsna. Although Krsna factually never leaves Vrndavana and remains eternally in aprakrita-lila there; He appears to depart in prakrita lila by His expansion of Vasudeva Krsna going to Mathura; to increase the Vrajavasis super excellent love for him. All five rasas intensely feel acute separation in vipralambha and although sambhoga must be wonderful and we are hoping to experience euphoric devotion in union one day, all we have ever actually experienced is vipralambha in acute separation emulating the Vrajavasis.

Hari Bhakti Vilas states that Vaisnavas must take bath, wear fresh cloth and put on Vaisnava tilaka before beginning parikrama. Offer respects to all living entities. Especially cows, banyan trees, brahmanas, Vaisnavas and everyone wearing Vaisnava tilaka. Parikramas must be performed between Brahma murhuta and sunset. Parikrama is never auspicious at night. The residents of these five sacred pilgrimages are always worshipable by all because they are extensions of the Supreme Lords form and as His varieagated personifications they are very precious to Him. The correct and authorized way to perform Sri Panca Parikrama is to do it barefoot, in a humble state of mind, chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra while hearing, relishing and honoring the glories of the sacred pilgrimage places in Sri Panca Parikrama.