Antardvipa

Process of Devotional Service: Ātma-nivedanam (Full Surrender)

Devotee Who Attained Perfection Through This Process: Bali Mahārāja

By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: …. (9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahārāja Bali attained the desired result.
(Śrī Īśopaniṣad 17)

The island which lies at the junction of the Ganges and Yamunä is known in the sastras as Antardvipa. Within Antardvipa lies the holy sanctuary of Mayapur, where Lord Caitanya appeared. Know, devotees, that Mahavana, in the center of Goloka, is none other than Mayapur of Navadvipa….
That person who once visits Mayapur is easily freed from the bondage of maya. One who walks throughout Mäyäpur is freed from the influence of maya and the repetition of birth.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 3)

Sri Jiva said, “O Lord, what is the reason for the name Antardvipa?” Nityananda Prabhu answered, “At the end of Dvapara-yuga, Brahma undertook austerities here with a desire to achieve Gauranga’s mercy. Brahma had tried to deceive Govinda by stealing the cowherd boys and calves, but when he saw he was defeated by his own tricks, he became miserable and regretted his offense. He entreated Krsna with many prayers, and Krsna forgave him. But later, Brahma considered, ‘Thinking that I am the creator of the universe is useless. Simply because of this fault, I have been deprived of Krsna-prema and the enjoyment of the rasas of Vrindavana. If I could have taken birth as a cowherd boy, I could have easily served the master of the gopis. Although I was not able to achieve the nectar of those pastimes, now, when Gauranga appears, I will not fall prey to my wicked mind!’ Thinking like this, Brahma began meditating and performing austerities in Antardvipa. After many days, Gauracandra mercifully came and said, ‘O Brahma, I am satisfied with your austerities. I have come to fulfill your desire.’
“When Brahma opened his eyes, he saw Gauranga and fell to the earth unconscious. The Lord put His foot on Brahma’s head, and Brahma was enlightened with transcendental knowledge and began to pray, ‘I am a low and worthless wretch, controlled by pride. Forgetting Your lotus feet, I have turned to material sense gratification. I, Lord Siva, and the demigods headed by Indra are Your subjugated servants. This is written in scripture. But we are not so fortunate as Your pure servants, and thus maya covers us with the net of illusion. The first one hundred trillion years of my life have passed, and I have been forced to realize this at last. How will I spend the second one hundred trillion years of my life? If I remain in illusion, I will simply suffer. My only prayer is that I may become Your associate when You manifest Your pastimes. Having given up the illusion that I am the creator, I want to take birth in Your association and sing Your glories.’
“Hearing Brahma’s prayers, Lord Gauranga benedicted him, saying, ‘So be it. When My pastimes become visible on earth, you will take birth in a yavana’s house. Your name will be Haridasa Thakura, and you will be famous for your humility and completely free from all pride. You will chant three hundred thousand names a day, and when you pass from this world, you will be seeing Me. And at the end of the second one hundred trillion years of your life, you will attain Navadvipa-dhama and be absorbed in eternal rasa.
“‘Brahma, hear these secret (antara) words, but do not reveal this openly in the scriptures. Taking the role of a devotee, I will taste the nectar of bhakti-rasa and propagate the most rare process of sankirtana. I will make the devotees of all the previous avataras drunk with the nectar of Vrindavana. The love that Sri Radhika possesses is beyond My experience, so I will appear with Her sentiments and complexion. Taking the position of Radha, I will taste that happiness that only Radha obtains in serving Me. From today, act as My disciple and, in the form of Haridasa, always serve Me.’ Saying this, Gauranga became invisible, and Brahma fell to the ground unconscious.
“‘O Gauranga! Friend of the poor, dear to the devotees, when will I attain Your lotus feet?’ he cried. In this way, he wept for many days and then returned to his duties in Brahmaloka.”
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 5)

The Chandogya Upanisad describes a wonderful city called Brahmapura in the shape of eight-petaled lotus. The center of that lotus is Māyāpur, the abode of the Supreme Lord Śrī Caitanya as Paramātmā. The sky within that lotus, or antarākāśa, is known as Antardvipa. Within Brahmapura is a lotus-shaped dahara—the heart. In the center of that is the antarākāśa, or the interior sky. One should seek out and realize what is within that antarākāśa.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Pramana-Khanda, Chapter 1)