19821209 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 11.41-46

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami on December 9th, 1982 in Boston, Massachusetts. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 11, Verse 41-46.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Translation: All glories to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda Prabhu! All glories to Śrī Advaita Prabhu! All glories to the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

Text 41

ksetre asi’ raja sarvabhauma bolaila 
sarvabhaume namaskari’ tanhare puchila

(mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurum dīna-tāranam)

Translation: When King Pratāparudra returned to Jagannātha Purī, he called for Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. When the Bhaṭṭācārya went to see the King, the King offered him respects and made the following inquiries.

Text 42

mora lagi’ prabhu-pade kaile nivedana? 
sarvabhauma kahe, — kainu aneka yatana

Translation: The King asked, "Have you submitted my petition to the Lord?"

Sārvabhauma replied, "Yes, with much endeavor I have tried my best.

Text 43

tathāpi nā kare teṅha rāja-daraśana
kṣetra chāḍi' yābena punaḥ yadi kari nivedana

Translation: "Yet despite my great endeavor, the Lord would not agree to see a king. Indeed, He said that if He were asked again, He would quit Jagannātha Purī and go elsewhere."

Text 44

śuniyā rājāra mane duḥkha upajila
viṣāda kariyā kichu kahite lāgila 

Translation: Hearing this, the King became very unhappy and, greatly lamenting, began to speak as follows.

Text 45

pāpī nīca uddhārite tāṅra avatāra
jagāi mādhāi teṅha karilā uddhāra 

Translation: The King said, "Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has descended just to deliver all kinds of sinful, lowborn persons. Consequently He has delivered sinners like Jagāi and Mādhāi.

Text 46

pratāparudra chāḍi' karibe jagat nistāra
ei pratijñā kari' kariyāchena avatāra

Translation: "Alas, has Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu incarnated to deliver all kinds of sinners with the exception of a king named Mahārāja Pratāparudra.

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is thus described by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra mo-sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra. If Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu descended to reclaim sinners, then one who is the most sinful and lowborn is the first candidate for the Lord's consideration. Mahārāja Pratāparudra considered himself a most fallen soul because he had to deal with material things constantly and enjoy material profits. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's business was the deliverance of the most fallen. How, then, could He reject the King? The more fallen a person is, the more he has the right to be delivered by the Lord-provided, of course, he surrenders unto the Lord. Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a fully surrendered soul; therefore the Lord could not refuse him on the grounds that he was a worldly pounds-shillings man.

Jayapatākā Swami: Mahārāja Pratāparudra has now become completely dedicated to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The first time that Mahārāja Pratāparudra saw Lord Caitanya… of course he was very attracted, but when he saw that Lord Caitanya was in such ecstasy that there was drool coming from His mouth, and that He was rolling in the dust, and His body had become covered with dust, and at that time, there was a little confusion in his mind as to what was the real position of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he didn’t know exactly what to make of the symptoms that he was seeing.

As you may know... that, at that time he had a dream of Lord Jagannātha, and in that dream, he saw the deity of Lord Jagannātha and the deity was drooling, just like Lord Caitanya, and the deity was covered with dust, and then, Lord Jagannātha told him that, “You are doubting Caitanya Mahāprabhu but your body which is as a king, anointed with camphor, with scented oils, with sandalwood pulp, is never qualified to touch the dust-covered saliva-soaked drooling transcendental form of Lord Caitanya, which is completely transcendental.”, and then Lord Jagannātha suddenly turned into Lord Caitanya in the dream, and then again back into Jagannātha, and then Pratāparudra Mahārāja, awoke.

So, then, this was the first indication that Mahārāja Pratāparudra had that actually Lord Caitanya Himself was Kṛṣṇa coming down for this particular pastime, but even then, when Mahārāja Pratāparudra wanted, and became completely devoted after this association, and other association with Lord Caitanya, and after he wanted to have His audience, we see that he was not given that opportunity to have the audience with Lord Caitanya.

Lord Caitanya was showing the example that a sannyāsi, especially in those days would never intimately associate with some king. This is significant because someone in the renounced order of life, if they intimately associate with politicians, with worldly-minded people, then there’s every chance that they can become polluted.

We know from the history of the Christian Church that when the Popes and the kings were very intimately connected that the Popes became completely entwined in various kind of political intrigues, and in this way, the whole Church you know, became like a political hotbed and there was a lot of distraction from any real spiritual purpose, except for a few isolated monasteries that didn’t have anything to do with these things.

So, in the Vedic culture, there is a separation between sannyāsīs, who are supposed to be the spiritual master for all the sections of society, and the worldly-minded kings. That the worldly-minded kings, they would have to come off of their pedestals and come down and meet the sannyāsīs as ordinary people, and only in that way would they be able to get an audience, that they were supposed to respect a sannyāsī as spiritual master, and the sannyāsī was not supposed to intimately be attached with the affairs of the court, like that, and so Mahāprabhu, He was maintaining those standards. Of course, we know that Mahāprabhu came to Jagannātha Purī to deliver, principally, three people. Anyone knows who those three people are? Devotee: Sārvabhauma

Jayapatākā Swami: One.

Devotee: Mahārāja Pratāparudra

Jayapatākā Swami: Two.

Devotee: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Jayapatākā Swami: She already said Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.

Devotee: Rāmānanda Rāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmānanda Rāya. To deliver Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmānanda Rāya and Pratāparudra Mahārāja, Lord Caitanya… this is one of His reasons for coming to Jagannātha Purī, to deliver these three devotees, and Lord Caitanya however, His way of delivering Mahārāja Pratāparudra was also that He never compromised the principles.

He followed the strict principle that a preacher cannot preach unless his character is spotless. Little spot on the preacher’s character… the example’s given. It’s a like a piece of… a drop of ink on a white sheet. Everyone will see it, immediately. Unless that’s why Prabhupāda repeatedly advised us that for us to preach anywhere in the world, we have to have a good respect in those areas. If we act in such a way that people distrust us, then it’s very difficult to preach, because preaching is all a matter of faith. To some degree.

Of course, our… Kṛṣṇa consciousness has the maximum amount of scientific understanding, systematic presentation, even logical and beyond logical understandings, but nonetheless, if a person has already got it in his mind that, “Well, this person is not to be trusted, then no matter what you say, even if it makes sense, it’s very hard to convince someone of something because they won’t really listen. So, for a preacher, it’s essential that his character should be held in great esteem. Mahārāja… Prabhupāda, rather, he advises that his id… his… his desire was that everyone should understand IS… and see ISKCON devotees as the most honest, that they shouldn’t do anything dishonest, which would hamper the good respect of the people.

So, in those days, for a sannyāsī to go and see kings would be considered a type of inappropriate action, although nowadays, there’s not that amount of strict understanding. Also, there’s not any kings anymore, either, but except for a few isolated places, but nonetheless, the so there… and that’s the reason why Lord Caitanya, He… superficially, He wouldn’t come down to the platform of just go… associating with the king. The same thing happened in Māyāpur. Jayadeva, the great writer of the ten avatāra, and other… Jagannātha stotrams, and everything - jaya jagadīśa hare - he was originally born and living in Navadvīpa-dhāma, in Rudradvīpa. Antardvīpa side, just there. this year, during the festival, we took the devotees to the house of Jayadeva, and from there, later on, of course he went to Jagannātha Purī.

So, when Jayadeva was there, that was about 1,000 years ago, during the rule of the that time, the Mohammedans had not attacked Bengal, it was during the time of Lakṣmaṇa Sena Dynasty. The Sena Dynasty had come up from South India, and conquered over Bengal, and they were ruling, there from Bengal, itself, and they’d established their capitol in Navadvīpa, in Māyāpura-dhāma. Also their palace is still there in Māyāpura-dhāma. It has been covered by dirt, and one can still see part of the house, showing under this massive hill. That I can tell you, later about that.

So, anyway, at the time when the kingdom was in full swing, you see, that’s why Navadvīpa became known as the greatest place for the scholars, because during this… this time of the Ballāla Sena Dynasty, they were promoting the scholars and that continued on, even through the Mohammedan rule. They had two capitols. One was in Gauḍa, near Rāmakeli, and the other was in Navadvīpa. So, the principle one, they shifted to Navadvīpa, because it was so beautiful. Even, 400 years before Lord Caitanya appeared. So, at that time, the king, he went down to see Jayadeva, so when he saw Jaya… and he bowed… offered his obeisances, and then he requested that Jayadeva would become one of… would become one of his ministers, or something like that, because he was such a great poet, but Jayadeva became completely insulted that a king had entered into his courtyard, because he was a brāhmaṇa, and he didn’t want that his good name would be you see, disgraced by associating with such a materialistic person as a king.

So he threatened that he was going to leave Navadvīpa forever, because of this insult. Now, what did he have to do to associate with a worldly person like a king, who’d… didn’t have any Kṛṣṇa consciousness in his life? So, the king fell down on his knees and he said that, “Please don’t leave my kingdom.” That, “I need the association of the Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees.” And “I know that it’s my great misfortune that I have this worldly assignment of being a king and being involved in politics, but I simply want the association of the Vaiṣṇavas, and therefore, I beg you to please, don’t leave my kingdom. That I won’t come to you as a king. I can come in any way. So, then Jayadeva, he considered that this king is actually a Vaiṣṇava, in spite of my insulting him to his face, instead he just kneeled down and he begged that I don’t leave his kingdom.

It was actually like a test. Then, Jayadeva said, “Well I’ve already said I’m going to leave Navadvīpa, but I won’t leave your (crashing sound), I won't leave your kingdom. I’ll go across the river, and I’ll stay in the campaka-hāṭi, and you can come and see me there, but you have to come incognito. You can’t come as a king. So, then, that was agreed, and Jayadeva, he moved across the river.

Campahāṭi got the name that during Kṛṣṇa… Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pastimes, you know how… Vṛndāvana, there was sometimes such a need for garlands, you know, with rāsa-līlā and everything going on, there was a lot of garlands required, so the gopīs had their private caṁpaka tree forests in Navadvīpa, and by their transcendental skill, they would go there, and every day they would pick these caṁpā flowers which is specially blow… grow very nicely in Bengal, and they would get all of the flowers for their garlands and then take them back to Vṛndāvana. This is the Gupta-Vṛndāvana, and now Bhavānanda Gosvāmī’s also recreating that forest transcendental orchard garden aspect at Māyāpur-dhāma.

Even today, the Campahāṭi got the name because after the Dvāpara-yuga was over, and the gopīs were no longer coming to get the caṁpā flowers, with all those caṁpā trees, campa… goloka-caṁpā as its called, I don’t know what they… those are what they make the garlands out of in Hawaii, the type they make… the yellow ones are called the goloka-caṁpā, but there are 5 types of caṁpā. They have a name that they call it… those flowers, here in America in a leigh.

Devotee: Frangipani

Jayapatākā Swami: Frangipanis. Frangipani are goloka-caṁpās, the yellow ones, and the other type of caṁpās are there. There’s five different main kinds. Bhavānanda Gosvāmī has in Māyāpur the special kind that’s green… the flower itself is green and it’s so aromatic that it even hypnotizes cobra snakes, so you have to be careful, sometimes the cobras, they go by and they get intoxicated by the flower and they just get kind of dazed there, and if you’re not careful you can step on one while they’re completely, intoxicated by the smell of the flower. They just lay around the tree. It’s so sweet. So, in any case, Jayadeva Gosvāmī, then he was living over there in that forest, or as I was explaining that after the Dvāpara-yuga’s over, because they had all these flower trees, so naturally as Kali-yuga progresses, people, they want to utilize the material thing more profitably, so they started to sell all those flowers and hāṭa means, you know, marketplace, so Campahāṭi became a marketplace for caṁpā flowers (laughing), and they were selling it to all the people around after Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes had wound up, so even today, it’s known as Campahāṭi. It’s on the farthest extreme of Navadvīpa-dhāma. Navadvīpa-dhāma is 16 krośas, or 32 miles in circumference.

So this is one side in a place known as Ṛtuudvīpa. So there, Jayadeva, he had set up his house and there he was writing some poetry about Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. At that time, he had some he… that… I forget the exact… there was a long… there was some pastime in his writing where he got… he couldn’t really finish it, or something, and he was very desirous of seeing Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in Navadvīpa. He knew that this was going to be the future coming of Lord Caitanya, but he wanted to see the Lord Caitanya as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, in Navadvīpa-dhāma. So, then the Lord appeared to him as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and then came as Lord Caitanya, and then He told him, “You have to go to Jagannātha Purī. Lord Jagannātha wants you to go there. You have service to do.” He fell at His feet and prayed that, “Please allow me to stay here. I want to stay with You, and You’re so kind that You’ve revealed Your form even before Your coming here.” But he said, “No. Jagannātha has called you. You have to go there.”, and then He disappeared. So, like this, then Jayadeva, he went down to Jagannātha Purī. Of course, after that, it’s history.

So, in the same way as Jayadeva didn’t want to associate with the king, even the great astrologist Khanar. Khanar was, you see, the daughter-in-law of Vikramaditya. Bihamir, the astrologer of Vikramaditya. He had nine jewels, and so one jewel was physician, one was a politician, one was a astrologer, one was a… Kalidas, a poet, like that, he had one the ninth jewel was his astrologer, who was able to predict the future and do so many things, but his daughter-in-law was his Khanar, so she, although she was a woman, she was the greatest astrologer in terms of… even excelled her husband and her father-in-law, and she put the astrology and signs into a very simple language for the common people.

In India most of the farmers know the “Khanar says”. Just like she says “āūsa cāsa lāge tīna māsa.” This, “to grow early rice takes three months.” Then she… she had all these sayings that Prabhupāda would quote, that, “If it rains in the month of Māgha, then it means that the king is pious.”, and things like that. So there are many type of signs like that. At different time of the year, if there were these things that happened, it meant the king was impious or pious. If you leave and you see full water pots, or you see a jackal on the left side of the road or, so on and so forth, they’re all so many signs and dṛṣtīs, that… astrological omens. So, she has a lot of works. It’s mentioned in the Kṛṣṇa Book, when Kṛṣṇa was leaving, He saw a lot of bad signs… or was it Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa… I forget. In Kṛṣṇa Book, it mentions, and Prabhupāda says that there’s a book called Khanara-vacana, and these different signs are mentioned, there.

So, because she was so famous like that, and she put things in such a nice poetic simple way that the common people were all, first time, they were that astrology was really brought within their reach, so then the father-in-law, he was… the king said that, “I want to make her my tenth jewel, in the court.”, but in those days, women would also not go in the court, because in court there were all these politics and dancing girls, and any respectable woman would never go in a king’s court. So, because… but the king was… you know, insisting that, “Well, she should become, you know the tenth jewel because she had attained so much prominence, even though she was in the court, but being without the court… outside of it, still she was writing and in other ways, influencing the whole society.

So, then she decided that, to save the honor of her family, because they’re… she… her chastity otherwise would be kind of just brought into criticism by the very strict Vedic society if she accepted that, and yet the same time, the king wouldn’t… he was infatuated with the idea because… she would still speak, but it would be like, behind closed doors, it would be in a secluded way, so she decided she was going to cut out her tongue. If she cut her tongue off, then she could no longer go to the court room, because she couldn’t speak. But, she did her chart and found that she was going to die by bleeding of the tongue, so she… it worked out the same. She cut out her tongue, and bled to death, to save the chastity and honor of her family. They couldn’t stop the bleeding. So, that was… she’s the greatest known woman astrologer in history of Vedic astrology. She had many works.

So, like this, the king’s court was considered to be materialistic, and the king’s, generally, they wouldn’t go to the courtroom unless it was absolutely necessary, but if a king was actually very humble and devoted, he would go incognito, whatever and meet these devotees. So, here, Mahārāja Pratāparudra, being a surrendered soul, and he, knowing that Lord Caitanya was actually there to deliver the most fallen, he was feeling that, “Since I’m so fallen, then how is it that I… that everyone’s going to be delivered except for me?” So, this is truly the most fallen, and unfortunate.

Text 47

adarśanīyān api nīca-jātīn
saṁvīkṣate hanta tathāpi no mām
mad-eka-varjaṁ kṛpayiṣyatīti
nirṇīya kiṁ so 'vatatāra devaḥ

Translation: "'Alas, has Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu made His advent deciding that He will deliver all others with the exception of me? He bestows His merciful glance upon many lower-class men who are usually not even to be seen.' "

Purport: This verse is found in the Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (8.28). 

Text 48

tāṅra pratijñā-more nā karibe daraśana
mora pratijñā-tāṅhā vinā chāḍiba jīvana 

Translation: Mahārāja Pratāparudra continued, "If Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is determined not to see me, then I am determined to give up my life if I do not see Him.

Purport: A devotee with Mahārāja Pratāparudra's determination will certainly be victorious in advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.14):

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ 
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

"Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion."

These are the symptoms of a mahātmā engaged in the Lord's service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus Mahārāja Pratāparudra's determination is very much exalted and is called dṛḍha-vrata. Because of this determination, he was finally able to receive Lord Caitanya's direct mercy.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see. One should be completely single-pointed for getting Lord Caitanya’s mercy. Even if one is the most fallen soul, but if one is single-pointedly determined to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya, then even if otherwise, one is completely unqualified, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, that person can be delivered. Simply by surrendering unto His lotus feet.

Text 49

yadi sei mahāprabhura nā pāi kṛpā-dhana
kibā rājya, kibā deha,-saba akāraṇa

Translation: “If I do not receive Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, my body and my kingdom are certainly useless.”

Purport: This is an excellent example of dṛḍha-vrata, determination. If one does not receive the Supreme Personality of Godhead's mercy, one's life is defeated. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.5) it is said: parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. Unless one inquires into spiritual life, everything is useless. Without spiritual inquiry, our labor and the object of our labor are simply a waste of time.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, it’s already 7:00. Do we still go on, for…

Devotee: Yes.

Text 50

eta śuni' sārvabhauma ha-ilā cintita
rājāra anurāga dekhi' ha-ilā vismita

Translation: Hearing King Pratāparudra’s determination, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya became thoughtful. Indeed, he was very astonished to see the King’s determination.

Purport: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was astonished because such determination is not possible for a worldly man attached to material enjoyment. The King certainly had ample opportunity for material enjoyment, but he was thinking that his kingdom and everything else was useless if he could not see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is certainly sufficient cause for astonishment. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that bhakti, devotional service, must be unconditional. No material impediments can actually check the advancement of devotional service, be it executed by a common man or a king. In any case, devotional service rendered to the Lord is always complete, despite the devotee's material position. Devotional service is so exalted that it can be executed by anyone in any position. One must simply be dṛḍha-vrata, firmly determined.

Jayapatākā Swami: We can see here how Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement is actually taking the mood of Vṛndāvana. How the followers of His saṅkīrtana movement, are actually following in the footsteps of the gopīs and of the residents of Vṛndāvana. Just as Lakṣmī-devī was doing tapasyā, to get into Vṛndāvana pastimes for a long time, she was doing tapasyā to try to join the rāsa-līlā, but she was not allowed. She was refused. Even she was the chief goddess of fortune, who could always sit on the chest, just be on… embraced on the chest of Lord Nārāyaṇa, she was not allowed to enter into the rāsa-līlā because she had this queenly attitude. She had this enjoy… not enjoying of course, service attitude, but in a service of respect and reverential attitude. Therefore, she was not allowed to come.

So, in the same way… in a slightly different way, of course, not exactly the same, Lord Caitanya, if anyone wanted to approach Him, they could not approach with any spiritual or material type of false ego, or type of pride, you see… of any sort. They can’t come with any preconceived esteem of themselves. They have to come in in a very humble attitude, thinking themselves lower than a straw in the street, more humble than a piece of straw in the street, and more tolerant than the tree. In this way, the king, he might think, “Well, I’m a great king. I should come in, and I should be immediately accepted. What a great opportunity for Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The king of Orissa is coming to see Him. He should be very honored and so on and so forth.” No. Lord Caitanya completely put him down. “I don’t want to see him. In fact if he tries to force Me to see him, I’ll leave. I don’t have to stay here. I’m a sannyāsi. I can go anywhere.”

The same thing, we see in Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s life, where he just had a little idea that, “Well I’m a great scholar, that Gaura Kiṣora Dāsa Bābājī will be very happy to accept me as a disciple.”, but when he went there, Gaura Kiṣora refused him, that, “No. I will not give you initiation. You’re a great scholar. I am just a humble illiterate sādhu. How can I become your guru? You should rather, go somewhere else. I cannot accept you as a disciple.”, and he was completely shocked. In fact, three times, he he asked and only on the third time when he was so determined that, “If you don’t give me initiation, then I’m throwing myself in the Ganges, and taking… what is the use of living, if I can’t get the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master?”

That’s dṛḍha-vrata, determined to get the shelter. That, no one can approach the Lord and think that, “I will be able to enter in the Lord’s pastimes because I am PhD, or I am king, or congressman, or I am a king…” whatever, or that, “I am very intelligent, or I am very rich.”, or somehow buy off the guru. Something like that. No. Actual… of course, one may be engaged in devotional service, but to actually get into the pastimes, to get into the intimate service of the Lord, one has to give up all kinds of false ego, all kinds of false designations:

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate

(Cc. Madhya 19.170) 

Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ: to give up all upādhīs, sarva upādhīs. All the upādhīs, all the superficial designations, all the different coverings that a person is identifying oneself with that, “I’m a scholar”, or “I’m a great tennis player”, or “I’m the best chess player”, or whatever it may be. Everyone has got some different type of false identities that they associate with… themselves with. Ultimately to get into the intimate eternal pastimes of the Lord, which are fully spiritual, which have nothing to do with any designation of this material world, which are all temporary, whether from king, or to pauper, unless one simply is going in as a humble servitor of the Lord, without any material superficial designation, one cannot be accepted in that highest intimate association with the Lord, as His confidential servitor. One has to go in completely without false egos, just with the ego that, “I’m the servant of the servant of the Lord.”

So, just as a test, we can see how Lord Caitanya is putting Mahārāja Pratāparudra through these various tests, to show that he is not coming to Him as a king, but as a humble devotee, and for that reason, because he’s determined to go to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya… nothing else is mattering to him, he’s actually showing that he is qualified, and ready to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. No one should take this mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, cheaply. He gives His mercy to the most fallen of souls, but if someone thinks that they have any other qualification, apart from being the most fallen to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya, then they may be left without that mercy. It’s simply sheer mercy. There’s no qualification one can have which is great enough that one can have which will qualify one to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

What He’s giving, you couldn’t buy it for anything. You couldn’t exchange it for anything. It’s so great, it’s so invaluable that it’s simply given as a sheer mercy. There’s… there’s no other way. It’s… that simply if a person has got this determination and approaches in the proper attitude, then the Lord, He’s inclined to give that person His mercy, but actually, it is so valuable that there’s no price anyone could pay. It’s simply that it’s His mercy. It’s His wish to give out this transcendental treasure to those who are eager for it, who want it, who are determined to get it, and who approach Him in that humble and surrendered mood. He gives it to them. So, knowing that, all the great devotees of the Lord, and all the aspiring transcendentalists, they give up their false attachment to thinking of themselves as most important in the material world, and they just approach the Lord as humble servitors and they get that invaluable mercy, just as in the future, Mahārāja Pratāparudra also gets that mercy from the Lord, and he’s able to personally come. He goes in a white dress, incognito, and he massages the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this way, he gets the mercy of the Lord. Of course, that was after quite a bit of trials and tribulation, but of course, he felt it was completely worth it, and his life at that time was fulfilled.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare 

Any Questions? Mahārāja Pratāparudra kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Prabhupāda kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrotā-gaṇa kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Glories to the listeners.

Any question? Yes?

Devotee: You mentioned about spiritual and material false egos, what’s the difference? 

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t believe I said spiritual false ego, but you can… if one has, it’s not a false ego. I don’t think I said exactly that, but if one has even in the spiritual life, there’s two categories. There’s approaching the Lord in awe and reverence, and… just like if you read the story about Lakṣmī and the was it the pañca… the what do they call it, where they have Lakṣmī goes in…

Devotee: Hera Pañcami

Jayapatākā Swami: Hera Pañcami festival, how Lakṣmī has got a specific relationship with the Lord, so that relationship is that she thinks that Kṛṣṇa is almost like her hen-pecked husband, or something, and but in Nārāyaṇa worship, even that’s actually like a higher stage, but in Nārāyaṇa… Lakṣmī-devī has got all kinds of awe and reverence for the Lord, and this is a higher in the spiritual world.

At that same time, she’s got an opinion of herself as being Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, the like Queen of Lord Nārāyaṇa, so she has that type of motherly disposition towards all the living entities and she has got a particular mood which is more like that of a queen or of someone who… it’s very hard to explain… type of her own type of transcendental pride, which fits in very nicely in Vaikuṇṭha, and is appropriate there, but for the intimate relations in Vṛndāvana, where the devotees all associate with the Lord, simply on the platform of pure love, and there’s no formality at all in it, it’s all spontaneous, loving exchange, well her mood doesn’t fit in there. So, she wasn’t allowed to go into the rāsa-līlā.

In that context, I was saying that Lord Caitanya’s mood, where one has to co… to approach him, just come completely in a humble state of mind, that there was… you could see a type of relation in that as just as even in the spiritual world the Lakṣmīs can’t go into the rāsa-līlā, because they have already some preconceived, different type of relationship within their own characters that doesn’t allow them to enter into the spontaneous loving pastimes in Vṛndāvana, while Lord Caitanya, His were all spontaneous loving pastimes, and no one could go in with any kind of formal attitude, but had to come in completely informally, and simply surrender unto the Lord. It’s not a false ego in the spiritual sky. But… It’s a real ego, but it’s not the ego that is accepted in Vṛndāvana pastimes. So, Lord Caitanya and His pastimes are very much linked with the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. He’s feeling separation from the Lord. His chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, there’s a part in Navadvīpa-dhāma, where Lord Caitanya would do kīrtana with all of His associates, and that kīrtana was accepted by great ācāryas as being completely non-different from the rāsa-līlā, and that place in Navadvīpa where they would perform the kīrtana and be dancing in ecstasy, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is accepted as being non-different from the rāsa-līlā place of Vṛndāvana. This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, and feeling separation for Kṛṣṇa and dancing ecst… in ecstasy has got links with Lord Kṛṣṇa’s intimate pastimes in Vṛndāvana.

We’re following in the footsteps of the great devotees in Vṛndāvana; therefore, one has to approach Lord Caitanya completely in a humble state of mind. If one thinks that, “Well spiritually, I am very advanced. I can perform tapasyās or this or that.” Or materially, if one thinks that they are qualified because they have some good looks, money, fame or education, those are not qualifications to enter into the pastimes of the Lord, or to enter into His movement. His movement is a continuing pastime in relation with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

It’s purely… this process of saṅkīrtana is not at all on the material platform. It’s completely on the spiritual platform, therefore, for persons to actually perform it, they have to give up all the different types of material conceptions of life, and they have to enter into the spiritual conception of life, known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness, anointing their eyes with the salve of love. Bhakti-vilocanena, then they’ll be able to see the Lord, not otherwise. We have other people outside who chant and still have material ideas, but they’ll not be able to enter into the real ecstasies of devotional service. They’ll simply be able to scratch the surface, get the scent.