19810617 Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.113

The following is a class given by HH Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 17th June 1981 at Los Angeles, California (USA). The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya Līlā, Chapter 7 – text 113.

namo mahā-vadanyaya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradaya te 
kṛṣṇaya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-namne gaura-tvishe namah

he kṛṣṇa karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate 
gopeśa gopikā kanta rādhā-kanta namo ‘stu te 

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī
vrṣabhānu-sute devī praṇamāmi hari-priye

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda 
jaya-advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

HARE KṚṢṆA, HARE KṚṢṆA, KṚṢṆA KṚṢṆA, HARE HARE 
HARE RĀMA, HARE RĀMA, RĀMA RĀMA, HARE HARE

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim 
yat-kripa tam aham vande śrī-gurum dina-taranam

♫ jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda 
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ♫

Cc. Madhya 7.113 

ei-mata yāite yāite gelā kūrma-sthāne 
kūrma dekhi’ kaila tāṅre stavana-praṇāme

Translation: When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to the holy place known as Kūrma-kṣetra, He saw the Deity and offered prayers and obeisances.

Purport: This Kūrma-sthāna is a well-known place of pilgrimage. There is a temple there of Kūrmadeva. In the Prapannāmṛta it is said that Lord Jagannātha took Śrī Rāmānujācārya from Jagannātha Purī and one night threw him to Kūrma-kṣetra. This Kūrma-kṣetra is situated on the line of the Southern Railway in India. One has to go to the railway station known as Śrīkakulam Road. From this station one goes eight miles to the east to reach the holy place known as Kūrmācala. Those who speak the Telugu language consider this holy place very important. This statement is reported in the government gazette known as Gañjāma Manual. There is the Deity of Kūrma there, and, as mentioned above, Śrīla Rāmānujācārya was thrown from Jagannātha Purī to this place. At that time he thought that the Deity of Kūrma was Lord Śiva’s deity; therefore he was fasting there. Later, when he understood that the kūrma-mūrti was another form of Lord Viṣṇu, he instituted very gorgeous worship of Lord Kūrma. This statement is found in the Prapannāmṛta (chapter thirty-six). This holy place of Kūrma-kṣetra, or Kūrma-sthāna, was actually reestablished by Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya under the influence of Lord Jagannātha-deva at Jagannātha Purī. Later the temple became under the jurisdiction of the king of Vijaya-nagara. The Deity was worshiped by the Vaiṣṇavas of the Madhvācārya-sampradāya. In the temple there are some inscriptions said to be written by Śrī Narahari Tīrtha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains these inscriptions as follows:

Just for the sake of saving time, So, when Ramanujācārya went to Jagannātha Purī, then Lord Jagannātha spoke to him and told him that “You are going to Ranganātha, Tirupati, these are all, but these temples are like the peel of the banana. The real fruit is Navadvīpa-dhāma. You should immediately go tonight without telling, you send all your associates to Kūrma-sthāna, to the place of Kūrma (as mentioned here) and you go alone immediately to Navadvīpa-dhāma. And there you will find the perfection of your life. And then you go and meet your disciples at Kūrma-sthāna. So, Of course whether he was thrown there, I am not sure. Then Ramanujācārya, he immediately proceeded to Navadvīpa. Reaching Navadvīpa-dhāma, in the island of Modadruma-dvīpa, in the place which is non-different from Vaikuṇṭha. There, he saw Lord Nārāyaṇa with Nīla, Bhū and Śrī. Bhūdevī, Nīla, and Śrī. And immediately prostrated himself. And there Lord Nārāyaṇa became Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Took that form and He blessed Ramanujācārya and told him that he should go all over and preach the dāsya-rasa. Ramanujācārya wanted to stay in Navadvīpa but He said no, “You have to go, as Jagannātha ordered, to Kūrma-sthāna. Later when I come, then you will join Me,” like that. So then Ramanujācārya went to Kūrma-sthāna and continued his preaching. From ‘The story by Nityananada to Jīva Goswami’ on the glories of Navadvīpa-dhāma.

Cc. Madhya 7.114 

premāveśe hāsi’ kāndi’ nṛtya-gīta kaila 
dekhi’ sarva lokera citte camatkāra haila

Translation: While at this place, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in His usual ecstasy of love of Godhead and was laughing, crying, dancing and chanting. Everyone who saw Him was astonished.

Cc. Madhya 7.115

āścarya śuniyā loka āila dekhibāre
prabhura rūpa-prema dekhi’ hailā camatkāre

Translation: After hearing of these wonderful occurrences, everyone came to see Him there. When they saw the beauty of the Lord and His ecstatic condition, they were all struck with wonder.

Cc. Madhya 7.116

darśane ‘vaiṣṇava’ haila, bale ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘hari’
premāveśe nāce loka ūrdhva bāhu kari’

Translation: Just by seeing Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone became a devotee. They began to chant “Kṛṣṇa” and “Hari” and all the holy names. They all were merged in a great ecstasy of love, and they began to dance, raising their arms.

Cc. Madhya 7.117

kṛṣṇa-nāma loka-mukhe śuni’ avirāma
sei loka ‘vaiṣṇava’ kaila anya saba grāma

Translation: Always hearing them chant the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the residents of all the other villages also became Vaiṣṇavas.

Cc. Madhya 7.118

ei-mata paramparāya deśa ‘vaiṣṇava’ haila
kṛṣṇa-nāmāmṛta-vanyāya deśa bhāsāila

Translation: By hearing the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the entire country became Vaiṣṇava. It was as if the nectar of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa over flooded the entire country.

Cc. Madhya 7.119

kata-kṣaṇe prabhu yadi bāhya prakāśilā
kūrmera sevaka bahu sammāna karilā

Translation: After some time, when Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu manifested His external consciousness, a priest of the Lord Kūrma Deity gave Him various offerings.

Jayapatākā Swami: Here we see how Caitanya Mahāprabhu, just by seeing His chanting and dancing and ecstasy, people were converted to pure devotees, and they began to… all could chant and dance. And other people seeing them chant and dance also became devotees. In this way, one after another, everyone became devotees of the Lord, Vaiṣṇavas.

Cc. Madhya 7.120

yei grāme yāya tāhāṅ ei vyavahāra
eka ṭhāñi kahila, nā kahiba āra bāra 

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mode of preaching has already been explained, and I shall not repeat the explanation. In whichever village the Lord entered, His behavior was the same.

Cc. Madhya 7.121

‘kūrma’-nāme sei grāme vaidika brāhmaṇa
bahu śraddhā-bhaktye kaila prabhura nimantraṇa 

Translation: In one village there was a Vedic brāhmaṇa named called Kūrma. He invited Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home with great respect and devotion.

Cc. Madhya 7.122

ghare āni’ prabhura kaila pāda prakṣālana
sei jala vaṁśa-sahita karila bhakṣaṇa 

Translation: This brāhmaṇa brought Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home, washed His lotus feet and, with his family members, drank that water.

Cc. Madhya 7.123

aneka-prakāra snehe bhikṣā karāila
gosāñira śeṣānna sa-vaṁśe khāila 

Translation: With great affection and respect, that Kūrma brāhmaṇa made Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu eat all kinds of food. After that, the remnants were shared by all the members of the family.

Cc. Madhya 7.124

‘yei pāda-padma tomāra brahmā dhyāna kare
sei pāda-padma sākṣāt āila mora ghare 

Translation: The brāhmaṇa then began to pray, “O my Lord, Your lotus feet are meditated upon by Lord Brahmā, and these very lotus feet have come into my home.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is a fact… that, remember how Lord Brahmā became a little bit proud and stolen the calves, cows and cowherd boys from Kṛṣṇa and put them in a cave and went away.

Of course, when he returned, then Kṛṣṇa showed His transcendental power. Because He had already re-manifested all the stolen calves and cowherd boys. And Brahma seeing that; and Kṛṣṇa, out of each of those cowherd boys and calves, manifested unlimited Nārāyaṇas. Each Nārāyaṇa more brilliant than millions of suns. And out of those cowherd boys the Nārāyaṇas were coming out with four hands: śankha, padma, gadā and cakra. They are coming out, going in; all the material elements, they’re going on all sides offering their respects to these forms of Nārāyaṇa. Seeing these millions of Nārāyaṇas coming out from the hundreds of cowherd boys he thought he had stolen, Brahmā became so bewildered that he fell down and begged Kṛṣṇa, “Please forgive me! Please forgive me for my offence. Do not forget that I am Your eternal devotee.”, and of course Kṛṣṇa forgave him. Brahmā returned the stolen cowherd boys and calves. Brahmā was thinking, “How fortunate are these cowherd calves, these cowherd boys. These cowherd boys are playing with Kṛṣṇa just like His friends. How fortunate! If only I could be so fortunate. Instead, as a Brahmā, I become so puffed up with my false position that I commit offence to the Lord, at the lotus feet of my Master, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”

Thinking this way, he left and decided to perform tapasyā for purification and meditate on the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Navadvīpa-dhāma at the Yoga-pīṭha, the very place where Lord Caitanya comes. Antardvīpa. There Lord Brahmā, he meditated on Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu knowing that He was the ocean of mercy. Meditating on Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the all-merciful golden avatāra appeared to him. Lord Brahmā bowed down with his four heads to the Lord, seeing His beautiful form with His lotus eyes going back to His ears, His hair tied up in a kaccha, in a brahminical style, with His flowing robes and flower garland, with bumble bees flying all around the garland trying to get the nectar from His lotus feet. And accompanied by His associates. Lord Brahmā said, “My dear Lord Gaurāṅga you are the most merciful avatāra. I am so fallen, kindly have Your mercy upon me. Because I am a Brahmā, therefore I always forget my position as Your eternal servant and I offend Kṛṣṇa. Since You are the ocean of mercy, please have Your mercy upon me that I may take birth, in Your upcoming incarnation, as Your assistant, an associate and that I may be purified from my false ego as a Brahmā, and learn humility; so that I may never forget, for the rest of my life, the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He accepted with the words, “Tathasthaha - so be it.”

Lord Brahmā, whatever you have wanted, you shall have. You will appear as My associate and when you leave your body, I will be personally present at that time. So your soul will be purified. But to purify you from the false ego of being a Brahmā, you have to take birth in a Mohammedan family. But you will be My dear devotee and your name will be Haridāsa. And you will chant everyday three hundred thousand names of Kṛṣṇa and by chanting these three hundred thousand names your whole life, that will give you enough sukṛti to last you the rest of your life of Brahmā. That you will never forget. Saying that Caitanya Mahāprabhu disappeared. Lord Brahmā again fell down, jumped up in joy– 

~~ ♫ catur mukhe brahmā bale kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
pañca mukhe mahādeva rāma rāma hare hare ♫ ~~

So Lord Brahmā went back to Brahmaloka to tidy up all the pending business and prepare for coming down in a few minutes of his time (laughter), five thousand moments, to join Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So actually Lord Brahmā did worship Caitanya Mahāprabhu and everything he desired was given to him by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. To be born in a Muslim family meant that he had to be humble, because he wouldn’t be accepted by the strict Hindus. But Lord Caitanya, He accepted him as His associate and devotee. So everything that he wanted was given. Actually we can see from this that Lord Brahmā desired to be an associate of Lord Kṛṣṇa, friend of Kṛṣṇa, that was being fulfilled by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So what else did the brāhmaṇa say here?

Cc. Madhya 7.125

mora bhāgyera sīmā nā yāya kahana
āji mora ślāghya haila janma-kula-dhana 

Translation: My dear Lord, there is no limit to my great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family,birth and riches have all been glorified.”

Cc. Madhya 7.126

kṛpā kara, prabhu, more, yāṅ tomā-saṅge
sahite nā pāri duḥkha viṣaya-taraṅge’ 

Translation: The brāhmaṇa begged Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “My dear Lord, kindly show me favor and let me go with You. I can no longer tolerate the waves of misery caused by materialistic life.”

Purport (by Śrīla Prabhupāda): This statement is applicable for everyone, regardless of how rich or prosperous one may be. Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura has confirmed this statement: saṁsāra-viṣānale, divā-niśi hiyā jvale. He states that the materialistic way of life causes a burning in the heart. One cannot make any provisions for the troublesome life of the material world. It is a fact that one may be very happy as far as riches are concerned and one may be very opulent in every respect, yet one has to manage the viṣayas to meet the demands of the body and of so many family members and subordinates. One has to take so much trouble to minister to others. Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura therefore prays: viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha’be mana. Thus, one must become freed from the materialistic way of life. One has to merge himself in the ocean of transcendental bliss. In other words, one cannot relish transcendental bliss without being freed from the materialistic way of life. It appears that the brāhmaṇa named Kūrma was materially very happy, for he expressed his family tradition as janma-kula-dhana. Janma means aristocratic birth. Janma kula means birth, aristocratic heritage and dhana means Lakshmi, money. Now, being glorious, he wanted to leave all these material opulences. He wanted to travel with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. According to the Vedic way of civilization, one should leave his family after attaining fifty years of age and go to the forest of Vṛndāvana to devote the rest of his life to the service of the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: In other words, whether one is very rich or one is very poor, this material world is designed just to create a burning in the heart, to create troublesome situations. Therefore, one should always be eager to take shelter of the Lord. Viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha’be mana. – when will we stop to see this material world as an object of sense enjoyment? When will our mind become pure? What is that pure mind? That pure mind is, the pure mind of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of wanting to see everything engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Whatever we see, we want to engage that in Kṛṣṇa’s service. This is the pure mind. But let us see how Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied.

Cc. Madhya 7.127

prabhu kahe, — “aiche bāt kabhu nā kahibā
gṛhe rahi’ kṛṣṇa-nāma nirantara laibā 

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Don’t speak like that again. Better to remain at home and chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa always.

Purport: It is not advisable in this Age of Kali to leave one’s family suddenly, for people are not trained as proper brahmacārīs and gṛhasthas. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised the brāhmaṇa not to be too eager to give up family life. It would be better to remain with his family and try to become purified by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra regularly under the direction of a spiritual master. This is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If this principle is followed by everyone, there is no need to accept sannyāsa. In the next verse, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised everyone to become an ideal householder by offenselessly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and teaching the same principle to everyone he meets.

Cc. Madhya 7.128

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa 

Translation: “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”

Purport: This is the sublime mission of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Many people come and inquire whether they have to give up family life to join the Society, but that is not our mission. One can remain comfortably in his residence. We simply request everyone to chant the mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. If one is a little literate and can read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is so much the better. These works are now available in an English translation and are done very authoritatively to appeal to all classes of men. Instead of living engrossed in material activities, people throughout the world should take advantage of this movement and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra at home with their families. One should also refrain from sinful activities—illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Out of these four items, illicit sex is very sinful. Every person must get married. Every woman especially must get married. If the women outnumber the men, some men can accept more than one wife. In that way there will be no prostitution in society. If men can marry more than one wife, illicit sex life will be stopped. One can also produce many nice preparations to offer Kṛṣṇa from grains, fruits, vegetables and milk. Why should one indulge in unnecessary meat-eating and maintain horrible slaughterhouses? What is the use of smoking and drinking tea and coffee? People are already intoxicated by material enjoyment, and if they indulge in further intoxication, what chance is there for self-realization? Similarly, one should not partake in gambling and unnecessarily agitate the mind. The real purpose of human life is to attain the spiritual platform and return to Godhead. That is the summum bonum of spiritual realization. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to elevate human society to the perfection of life by pursuing the method described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His advice to the brāhmaṇa Kūrma. That is, one should stay at home, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and preach the instructions of Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is the mission of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. That everyone should know what are the orders of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as given in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and instruct everyone else about these orders. In this way, we see that how the South Indian brāhmaṇa, he would chant and his friend would chant and his neighbors would chant and in this way the mission was expanding. So by this calculation, someone has come to the conclusion that the United States of America could be completely situated in a friendly mood to Kṛṣṇa, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in about 35 months! (laughing) By a very simple process called the One a Month Club. That if you just started from one person and if he convinces one other person to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, 108 times a day, and to also convince his friend to be friends of Kṛṣṇa in this way, then 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 518...12? goes on like that till you get up to 250 million after 35 months. See, very easy! (laughs) Of course it works out mathematically, but only if everyone at least brings in one per month. So it may be difficult to get everyone. Even some people, they stay in the temple, they can’t pay their own rent. They accrue a deficit. So if everybody lives in the temple, then they all have to be at least rent payers.

But here Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is advising that at least everyone should chant in their homes, then they won’t have the obligation to pay the rent to the temple. (laughter) But they still have to follow the instruction of the spiritual master. We should not forget that. It is said here very clearly. Under the direction of a spiritual master, one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mantra regularly and should learn how to follow the regulative principles. So this principle, if one is chanting in his home, that still means they have to follow the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master. Not that they become independent of the spiritual master. They may only be financially independent but spiritually they should always be under the shelter. So in this way, simply by one person a month, within a short time, literally millions of people. It takes only 22 months in Bolivia, that’s where I worked it out first (laughter), nearly four million people.

So atleast, of course, in the last months there will be a big rush trying to find out who is left. (laughter) Who are the people who are still not chanting? But that’s what happened. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu got everyone chanting, but He said, “There are still those yavanas, they are not chanting. Those argumental students and those particular type of butchers and others, somehow they all have to be brought.” Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “Do not worry.” This the mood of the devotee, to serve the Lord’s innermost desire - to deliver these fallen souls. Everyone who comes in contact with Kṛṣṇa consciousness; as Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami mentioned yesterday, “We want to distribute the Holy Name and the books which are giving the lessons, the instructions, whereby one will be induced or convinced to chant the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa.” When literally thousands and thousands of people start to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, following the example of the fully dedicated devotees in the temple, chanting in their homes, then the whole atmosphere will change. The karma of the world - the world and this country will change. Simply by people chanting. So this is what is important. People who read our books, who are favorable, somehow or other there should be a program to encourage them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa more and more. And gain faith through chanting and reading those books, in the spiritual master, and follow his guidance how to be purified, how to give up all these anarthas, unwanted miserable situations of life. Then there can be a total renovation of this crashing society.

Cc. Madhya 7.129

kabhu nā bādhibe tomāra viṣaya-taraṅga
punarapi ei ṭhāñi pābe mora saṅga” 

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised the brāhmaṇa Kūrma, “If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company.”

Purport: This is an opportunity for everyone. If one simply follows the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, under the guidance of His representative, and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, teaching everyone as far as possible the same principle, the contamination of the materialistic way of life will not even touch him. It does not matter whether one lives in a holy place like Vṛndāvana, Navadvīpa or Jagannātha Purī or in the midst of European cities, where the materialistic way of life is very prominent. If a devotee follows the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he lives in the company of the Lord. Wherever he lives, he converts that place into Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa. This means that materialism cannot touch him. This is the secret of success for one advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: So coming here to New Dvārakā, I can testify, in the association of Śrīla Rāmeśvara, that this place is converted into the dhāma. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to have everyone to hear the nectar from Śrīla Rāmeśvara on this point. I have to pack for my plane.

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦

Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami Nectar

Actually, this is the essence of our mission, to teach people to chant the names of Kṛṣṇa. Harināma-saṅkīrtana. To get people to chant is the essence of our mission, because Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu came from the transcendental abode of Goloka Vṛndāvana, to distribute pure love for Kṛṣṇa to those who had no good qualification. So that in itself is inconceivable. How someone without any good qualification can ever taste love of Kṛṣṇa which was previously impossible. Couldn’t even be imagined. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared to do the unimaginable and the impossible.

And how He did it was by placing this divine love of Kṛṣṇa, the ability to taste this divine love of Kṛṣṇa, within the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. So He personally came to distribute the Holy Name everywhere. Therefore this is the essence of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. To have the devotees educate the peoples of this world about the importance of singing the names of God by giving lectures, by distributing books, by personally demonstrating the chanting on the Harināma-kīrtana parties – these Harināma parties are demonstrations for the public. Our whole life is centered around this distribution of love of Kṛṣṇa because we are followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

We were discussing a little bit about this in our Pañca-Tattva Mandir in Laguna Beach that the Vaiṣṇava, in this age of Kali, he carefully studies and hears from bona fide authorities, and he comes to the conclusion that there will never be anything more important in his whole life. And this is a very deep realization. That there will never be anything more important in his whole life than establishing a relationship with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Vaiṣṇava cannot imagine anything being more precious or more valuable or more important to his life than this, because it is the characteristic of Caitanya Mahāprabhu that anyone who comes in contact with Him, immediately He bestows love of Kṛṣṇa on that living entity, on that living being. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s natural characteristic. Just like the natural characteristic of the sun is to radiate effulgent light and heat, so the natural characteristic of Lord Caitanya is to bestow love of God. So even though we are not very qualified, if we can somehow or other come into contact with Lord Caitanya, then automatically we will be able to taste this transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa.

It is written in the Ādi-līlā, chapter 7, that anyone who is in contact with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Prabhupāda writes, “immediately comes to the ecstatic platform.” Immediately! So how to have this transcendental contact with Caitanya Mahāprabhu? How to establish our transcendental relationship with Lord Caitanya? Transcendental, meaning that it is ever present, ever existing. That we are feeling Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s presence at every moment. That is the meaning of transcendental relationship. That is the goal of the devotee. His whole life is based on searching out this relationship and acting in a way and living in a way that this relationship becomes transcendental, permanent, ever present. That he is able to see every moment that he is in contact with Lord Caitanya. And he considers, the devotee thinks that this is the highest position. So let me go for it! There is nothing more important. There is nothing that is more valuable. Let me therefore dedicate myself, all my energy and all my time to this pursuit of the transcendental rasa with Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because otherwise, I have no qualification and I have no hope, to ever experience love of Kṛṣṇa. But if I can just find where is Lord Caitanya, automatically He will bestow love of Kṛṣṇa, which I could never get on my own in this age. I could never get love of Kṛṣṇa on my own. So this is how the devotee is thinking.

So to have a relationship, we can just study even in our ordinary dealings, there have to be similar mentalities, there have to be similar interests, there has to be compatibility. You can just study in ordinary human dealings why someone becomes a friend of someone else. Why there is some mutual friendship existing. Mutual, some kind of relationship. So, if someone has a great desire or a great anxiety, and his friend who is devoted to him sees that, and then gives up himself his time and energy. He endeavors to relieve his friend of that anxiety or to fulfill his desire. Then naturally the relationship becomes very intimate. So much gratitude and satisfaction and love is felt on both sides. So we learn from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and from the Nectar of Devotion and from all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purports and lectures and letters, we learn about the transcendental desires of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrī-caitanya-mano 'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale, this is the inner desire as revealed by Rūpa Gosvāmī of Lord Caitanya. Śrī-caitanya-mano – this is what is in His mind. Abhīṣṭaṁ – this is His desire. sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale – that His mission of chanting the Holy Names of the Lord be spread throughout the world. So one who wants this special benediction of love of God, who wants to taste this, he goes after the relationship with Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And when he hears about Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s inner desire, he is anxious for this to happen. Then that devotee who is serious about getting love of God and who knows he must go through Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he simply focuses his life, his mind, his whole heart on this inner desire, this anxiousness of the Lord, the mission of the Lord to get people all over the world to hear about Kṛṣṇa, to hear Kṛṣṇa’s message and to chant Kṛṣṇa’s names. And his whole life becomes simply dedicated to this.

This is the essence of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. To take up the mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and spread it all over the world. By dedicating ourselves in this way, we can know for certain that we will be benedicted with love of Kṛṣṇa and thus we will be able, without a doubt, to return back to home, back to Godhead. That is the process for the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda has written over and over that if one simply endeavors to distribute Kṛṣṇa’s message, simply endeavors to go out and preach, just depending on the mercy of Lord Caitanya; by his endeavor alone to distribute books, to print books, to get people to chant and know about Kṛṣṇa - Prabhupāda has written - that certainly, he will return to Kṛṣṇa, which means he will be blessed with the love of Kṛṣṇa. Returning to Kṛṣṇa is only possible when one has developed his love of Kṛṣṇa. That is the special characteristic of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and it is bestowed freely on His dedicated servants. That is the essence of our Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.

Jaya! Hare Kṛṣṇa!