Chandaneśwar Das was born in Belpukur villlage, the maternal home of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, on the full moon night during the lunar month of Karttik (Oct-Nov) also know as Sri Krishna Rasayatra or Rasa Purnima. He was given the name 'Chandan' by his Vaishnavi piśima, paternal aunt, who said his complexion was the color of sandalwood paste. The ladies murmured that the baby must be a Vaishnava since he was born on 'Ras', surely he would grow up to become a sadhu. He grew up in Belpukur Dham near Srila Nilambhar Chakrabarty's worshipable deity Sri Madan Gopal whom he adored.
At an early age he began singing Vaishnava hyms taught to him by his paternal uncle, Braja Kishor Das, who was a staunch adherant to Vaishnava principles. 'Chandan' began wearing Tulasi neckbeads and practicing vegetarianism under the guidance of his uncle. Braja Kishor Das wanted his nephew to become a Vaishnav and in the meantime Chandan's nickname became Sadhu. Years passed and Chandan grew up, went to college and made plenty of friends; he worked hard to help support his family and worked his way through college tutoring other students. He also began eating fish, singing pop tunes instead of bhajans and wearing jewelry instead of Tulasi mala. It seemed he had forgotten all about Krishna and the principles instilled in him at childhood through bad association, maybe he was not destined to become a Vaishnava afterall. Around that time, he earned a position working in the construction department in ISKCON Mayapur; seeing his talent, he quickly rose to a position of trust with the managers and supervisors. He made friends quickly in the new setting, falling right in with the culture and mood of Mayapur. His new friends steered him back toward spiritual life and soon Chandan was again vegetarian, chanting japa and wearing Tulasi as in his previous days. His supervisor, Giri-Govardhan prabhu took Chandan under his wing and preached to him carefully. One Lakshmi Puja day, as Chandan was getting ready to leave for the barbershop, Giri-Govardhan prabhu casually asked him to consider keeping a śikha while keeping his expectations low. When Chandan arrived at the shop he suddenly requested the barber to keep a small śikha for him; he was overcome by the words of Giri, even he was unsure why he did it. When he returned to Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir everyone was surprised and shocked to see his new haircut, short in front with a small śikha in the back. With this simple gesture, he'd gained the trust and respect of his fellow Vaishnava workers. He was taken more seriously now and his friends preached and advised him more freely. He was destined to leave Sri Mayapur Dham for the West very soon, where he would settle down and start a family, but he didn't know it yet.
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| Nilambhar Chakrabarty's Worshipable Deity Sri Madan Gopal, Belpukur, Nadia, West Bengal |
At an early age he began singing Vaishnava hyms taught to him by his paternal uncle, Braja Kishor Das, who was a staunch adherant to Vaishnava principles. 'Chandan' began wearing Tulasi neckbeads and practicing vegetarianism under the guidance of his uncle. Braja Kishor Das wanted his nephew to become a Vaishnav and in the meantime Chandan's nickname became Sadhu. Years passed and Chandan grew up, went to college and made plenty of friends; he worked hard to help support his family and worked his way through college tutoring other students. He also began eating fish, singing pop tunes instead of bhajans and wearing jewelry instead of Tulasi mala. It seemed he had forgotten all about Krishna and the principles instilled in him at childhood through bad association, maybe he was not destined to become a Vaishnava afterall. Around that time, he earned a position working in the construction department in ISKCON Mayapur; seeing his talent, he quickly rose to a position of trust with the managers and supervisors. He made friends quickly in the new setting, falling right in with the culture and mood of Mayapur. His new friends steered him back toward spiritual life and soon Chandan was again vegetarian, chanting japa and wearing Tulasi as in his previous days. His supervisor, Giri-Govardhan prabhu took Chandan under his wing and preached to him carefully. One Lakshmi Puja day, as Chandan was getting ready to leave for the barbershop, Giri-Govardhan prabhu casually asked him to consider keeping a śikha while keeping his expectations low. When Chandan arrived at the shop he suddenly requested the barber to keep a small śikha for him; he was overcome by the words of Giri, even he was unsure why he did it. When he returned to Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir everyone was surprised and shocked to see his new haircut, short in front with a small śikha in the back. With this simple gesture, he'd gained the trust and respect of his fellow Vaishnava workers. He was taken more seriously now and his friends preached and advised him more freely. He was destined to leave Sri Mayapur Dham for the West very soon, where he would settle down and start a family, but he didn't know it yet.
