19830918 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 19.140

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on September 18th, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 19, Verse 140.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda 
jayādvaitacandra, jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda 
jayādvaitacandra, jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

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

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale 
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe 
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ lāṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāriṇam

Text 140, Chapter 19, Madhya-līlā. This is a quote from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam commentary. 

Text 140

keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatāṁśa-sadṛśātmakaḥ
jivaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo ’yaṁ
saṅkhyātīto hi cit-kaṇaḥ

Translation: “'If we divide the tip of a hair into a one hundred parts and and divide it again into a hundred parts, that very fine division is the size of but one of the numberless living entities. They are all cit-kaṇa, particles of spirit, not matter.'

Purport (by Prabhupāda): This is quoted from the commentary on the portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wherein the Vedas personified offer their obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this statement in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.”

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally identifies Himself with the minute living entities. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit, the Supersoul, and the living entities are His very minute parts and parcels. Of course, we cannot divide the tip of a hair into such fine particles, but spiritually such small particles can exist. Spiritual strength is so powerful that a mere atomic portion of spirit can be the biggest brain in the material world. The same spiritual spark is within an ant and within the body of Brahmā. According to his karma, material activities, the spiritual spark attains a certain type of body. Material activities are carried out in goodness, passion and ignorance or a combination of these. According to the mixture of the modes of material nature, the living entity is awarded a particular type of body. This is the conclusion.

So, another similar verse quoted here:

Text 141

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeya
iti cāha parā śrutiḥ

Translation: “‘If we divide the tip of a hair into one hundred parts and then take one part and divide this into another one hundred parts, that ten-thousandth part is the dimension of the living entity. This is the verdict of the chief Vedic mantras.’

Purport: The first three padas of this verse from the Pañcadaśī-citra-dīpa (81) are taken from the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9).

Jayapatākā Swami: So here Caitanya Mahāprabhu is explaining to Rūpa Gosvāmī not only that there is a soul in the body but the dimension of that soul.... previously He explained that there are 8,400,000 species of life and that the soul is wandering by the process of transmigration or reincarnation, commonly known as, is migrating in these various species of which the human species is considered to be the most advanced, that will be described later of course. But now He is explaining that what is the nature of that spiritual spark that it is a cit-kaṇa – kaṇa means like a fragment or a small part, particle. The cit means conscious, spiritual... a cit-kaṇa means the spiritual particle different from the other atoms, molecules and so on – they do not have their own consciousness, they are rather blind mechanisms of the material energy. But that small particle cit-kaṇa... cit means cognizant, the small spiritual spark known as the jīva-ātmā or the spirit soul is conscious. It is alive. This is the difference between matter and the spirit.

So bodies of material nature are activated when the driver is present within them. There are so many science fiction stories about computers coming to life. The big fear everyone has that the computers are going to come alive and take over everything. The bare machine of this material nature in whatever form cannot have actual consciousness without the initiative of a spirit soul even the computer itself is programmed by a living person. So similarly in this whole material world even though we do not see Kṛṣṇa now, He originally initiated the activities and then naturally things are going on. What is making everything move is the mixture of spirit and matter, because the spirit soul is present there is action in the world, otherwise on its own, matter is motionless. It takes someone to start the engine in the automobile. The driver is necessary and the driver is the spirit soul. More about the soul…

Text 142

sūkṣmāṇām apy ahaṁ jīvaḥ 

Translation: “[Lord Kṛṣṇa says:] ‘Among minute particles, I am the living entity.’

Purport: The living entity is one with and different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As spirit soul, the living entity is one in quality with the Supreme Lord; however, the Supreme Lord is bigger than the biggest, and the living entity is the smallest of the small. The quote is the third pada of a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.16.11).

Jayapatākā Swami: So the living entity is the most minute particle by Kṛṣṇa’s admission. Therefore the spirit soul can enter into a body or even into the minute ovum or seed or the original seed state of the human body or other forms of bodies, plant, fish, whatever they may be, can enter right in there because it is so minute, most minute particle. There is no problem to enter. If we look at a distance from a forest it seems like one solid wall but when you find close you find there is quite some distance between each tree and you can walk through. Similarly the spirit soul is able to enter even though there appears to be a wall of atoms because it is so minute. The soul is kept afloat in the body on five types of airs.

The aṣṭāṅga, eight-fold mystic yoga system is the system through breathing exercises and meditation, finally samādhi, of controlling those airs and moving the spirit soul to different cakras or spiritual centres of the body. This is a mechanical system, you see. The process of bhakti-yoga is an automatic system based upon elevating the consciousness surrounding the soul, until the pure consciousness of the spirit soul is visible, manifest. So although the spirit soul is quite minute but the spirit has its unique position. Sometime Śrīla Prabhupāda explained what is the meaning of a king or president if he doesn’t have any citizens? What is the meaning of Supreme Lord if He doesn’t have anyone to be the Lord of? What is the meaning of the sun if it doesn’t have any sunlight, you see? But the sun is one and the sunlight particles are unlimited practically speaking yet each one has its part... together has to also be the particles of sunlight. Otherwise, if the sun does not have anything, it is not complete, in a sense. So Kṛṣṇa expands Himself thus although He is complete in Himself, by expanding Himself into so many minute living entities, each of them being a person, each of them having a similar quality though minute in quantity. Thus Kṛṣṇa has expanded His whole activities in a most wonderful way.

We should each one of us feel that although we may be a very small particle, that that relationship with Kṛṣṇa is indeed unique, it is valuable and that it is most important. Although we might be insignificant in our size compared to Kṛṣṇa, yet He is so kind that He is also willing to reciprocate with us on an equal level since we are of the same spiritual nature. Just like a small baby might be insignificant compared to the mother and father, they might be Rockefellers or Fords or whoever it may be, some big people... the child may not have any comparison at that point in time. So we are also directly an expansion of Kṛṣṇa but we are very minute. So one the one hand we are very infinitesimal and on the other hand because we are part of Kṛṣṇa we do have a permanent eternal, you can call it a birthright, or you can call it a real relationship with Kṛṣṇa and that is actually most valuable. To realize our position is incomparable with anything else.

Artificially people may try to put themselves in a position of being God; that is useless to put oneself in an artificial position. But to realize one’s real position by the very definition we are actually satisfied in our actual position. So that is... The goal of self-realization is to realize the self and the Supreme Self. So the first thing we should know is that there is a self, you see which modern science is not quite clear about. So Lord Caitanya is going on to explain more about the spirit entities.

Text 143

aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās
tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā 
ajani ca yan-mayaṁ tad avimucya niyantṛ bhavet 
samam anujānatāṁ yad amataṁ mata-duṣṭatayā

Translation: “‘O Lord, although the living entities who have accepted material bodies are spiritual and unlimited in number, if they were all-pervading there would be no question of their being under Your control. If they are accepted, however, as particles of the eternally existing spiritual entity— as part of You, who are the supreme spirit whole— we must conclude that they are always under Your control. If the living entities are simply satisfied with being identical with You as spiritual particles, then they will be happy being controllers of so many things. The conclusion that the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one and the same is a faulty conclusion. It is not a fact.’

Purport: This verse, which is also from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.87.30), was spoken by the personified Vedas.

Text 144

tāra madhye ‘sthāvara’, ‘jaṅgama’—dui bheda
jaṅgame tiryak-jala-sthalacara-vibheda 

Translation: “The unlimited living entities can be divided into two divisions— those that can move and those that cannot move. Among living entities that can move, there are birds, aquatics and animals. 

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is giving clear instructions on how the living entities live under different conditions. There are trees, plants and stones that cannot move, but still they must be considered living entities, or spiritual sparks. The soul is present in bodies like those of trees, plants and stones. They are all living entities. Among moving living entities such as birds, aquatics and animals, the same spiritual spark is there. As stated herein, there are living entities that can fly, swim and walk. We must also conclude that there are living entities that can move within fire and ether. Living entities have different material bodies composed of earth, water, air, fire and ether. The words tāra madhye mean “within this universe.” The entire material universe is composed of five material elements. It is not true that living entities reside only within this planet and not within others. Such a conclusion is completely contradictory to the Vedas. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.24):

acchedyo ‘yam adāhyo ‘yam akledyo ‘śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo ‘yaṁ sanātanaḥ

“This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.”

The soul has nothing to do with the material elements. Any material element can be cut to pieces, especially earth. As far as the living entity is concerned, however, he can be neither be burned nor cut to pieces. He can therefore live within fire. We can conclude that there are also living entities within the sun. Why should living entities be denied this planet or that planet? According to the Vedas, the living entities can live anywhere and everywhere— on land, in water, in air and in fire. Whatever the condition, the living entity is unchangeable (sthāṇu). From the statements of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Bhagavad-gītā, we are to conclude that living entities exist everywhere throughout the universes. They are distributed as trees, plants, aquatics, birds, human beings and so on.

Thus end the Purport to text 144.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the soul is not having anything to do with the material elements because it can’t be burnt, it can’t be destroyed, that means it can live in any circumstance. Therefore, if a body is created suitable to live in fire, the soul could live there because the soul will not be destroyed by fire or by anything. Nowadays people are very attracted to Superman, number 1, 2 and 3. But actually even Superman has his weaknesses according to the concoction of the writer, you see. But the living entity doesn’t have any weakness in terms of destructibility; its indestructible. So when we achieve our pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we come to the platform of realizing the self. That is what we are actually hankering for.

Nobody wants to die, no one wants to go through the changes of material life and until we come to the platform of God realization, self-realization, then we are always going to be subjected to the various conditions of the material world. Once we realize that we are not this body even materially... theoretically when we realize that we are the spirit soul in a general way then immediately we become relieved from so many material miseries and so many material anxieties. That is the first step in actually becoming self-realized. Someone who at least really theoretically understands whether practically realized but thoroughly understands... or not... thoroughly understands and accepts the fact that he is not the body, he is a spirit soul and he or she is acting accordingly.

So today being the appearance day of Vāmanadeva...last night we also discussed, today is the appearance day of Jayadeva. So Jayadeva of course was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He wrote the Gīta-govinda which was read by Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Jagannātha Purī during his stay there, very intimate books on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya,Lord Kṛṣṇa and Jayadeva, anyone know where Jayadeva was born?

Devotee: It wasnt Jaipur?

Jayapatākā Swami: You're thinking Jayadeva was born in Jaipur (laughter). He was born in Navadvipa. He was born in a holy dhāma Lord Caitanya’s, his birthplace. Jayadeva (inaudible) is just about 200 yards ahead the birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: (inaudible) He was… He appeared one thousand years ago. At that time Navadvīpa was made the capital of the whole Bengal by the then king either Lakṣmaṇa Sena or Ballāla Sena, I forget one of the two, Lakṣmaṇa and Ballāla Sena. Ballāla Sena. In Māyāpur there is a Ballāla-dighi that comes from Ballāla Sena. He dug a big lake there: many pastimes. So Jayadeva, he was residing in Navadvīpa and the king wanted he would become one of the ministers or something, because he was the greatest poet. The king was very proud that the greatest poet was living in his kingdom. So one day the king came to see him. So when the king came to see him then Jayadeva said that "Now I've been insulted, that a worldly man has come to see me. How can I live here?" He said, "Now I am going to leave this city of Navadvīpa, I am not going to remain here any longer. I don’t want to have to do anything with materialistic people. It is against the principle of Vaiṣṇavism associating with materialistic people like KINGS and other people in the mode of passion and ignorance." So he was actually testing the king.

The king offered his obeisances immediately and said that, "I am most fallen. You are an exalted Vaiṣṇava, so please forgive me for this offence. But I beg you not to leave my kingdom." that, "We need the association and blessing of great Vaisnavas like yourself and a fallen person like myself will never come and disturb you again, I can assure you,but do not leave my kingdom. " When Jayadeva saw the king was so humble in spite of him having insulting him to his face, he still tolerated, rather apologized. He was quite satisfied, and could see that the king himself actually was a Vaiṣṇava. So he said, "Since I said I will go out of Navadvīpa, I will go but I will stay across the river in Campahāṭi, and you can also come and see me but don’t come as a king, you come in ordinary Vaiṣṇava dress, in disguise and you can come and see me, I won’t mind."

Jayadeva, he took his residence in a place called Campahāṭi which is said to be a private garden of Rādhārāṇī and Her gopīs. They would get garlands for Kṛṣṇa made of the goloka-caṁpā. They would have their private garden there and go there and pick the caṁpā flowers and go back to Vṛndāvana and give to Kṛṣṇa. So after that, after the Dvāpara-yuga was over, they had so many caṁpā trees so then it became a big market for caṁpā trees. So haṭṭa means... Nāmahaṭṭa means the market, so Campahāṭi means a market place for caṁpā flowers. It is in the island of Ṛtudvīpa near the place where Lord Kṛṣṇa saved Bhīma from being killed by the rājā, Samudrasena. There Jayadeva was able to have the darśana of Lord Caitanya and His form of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, but then Lord Caitanya told him to go to Jagannātha Purī because Lord Jagannātha wanted him to go there. He went there and wrote the Daśāvatāra-stotram in Jagannātha Purī. So like this there are many great devotees in our disciplic succession and they have services which are completely intimate and on the transcendental platform to perform to Kṛṣṇa and His representatives. Similarly even today spreading the harināma-saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also a direct intimate service to Lord Caitanya. Prabhupāda very clearly says that those who are serving Lord Caitanya by the harināma-saṅkīrtana, congregational chanting of the holy names and preaching the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they are actually performing a direct personal service to the Lord and therefore they are considered to be confidential devotees.

So today we can request and beg for the blessings of Vāmanadeva, that Vāmanadeva said that His real mercy is when one has all opulence and all facilities yet does not become proud of everything, that these are due to one’s own previous activities and by His mercy one is able to remain ever surrendered at His lotus feet. Similarly, Jayadeva by his blessing we can understand the inner significance of worshiping Kṛṣṇa in His most sublime form, so we are always hankering for their mercy. So today especially on the occasion of their appearance day. In places where they have śālagrāma-śilās, at twelve noon when Vāmanadeva appears, they normally do an abhiṣeka before the noon ārati. I don’t think we have a śālagrāma here. I guess it doesn't apply. You could probably do a abhiṣeka. Do you have small little Deities? If somebody who wanted to do such a pūjā, they could. Because today is Dvādaśī so we fasted yesterday in Ekādaśī. On Dvādaśī you are not to fast, you are only to feast.

Jaya Vāmanadeva kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Jayadeva Gosvāmī kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Devotee: Śrīla Ācāryapāda kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes?

Question: Yes, Śrīla Ācāryapāda, you said Jayadeva Gosvāmī appeared across from ISKCON.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes.

Question: That he was requested by Lord Caitanya to go to Jagannātha...

Jayapatākā Swami: That was not an ordinary vision, that was a vision. Especially... you can see Lord Caitanya today, it wasn’t during Lord Caitanya’s pastimes but he was worshiping intensely Lord Caitanya and he got special darśana, extraordinary.

Question: I just want to know how long he lived.

Jayapatākā Swami: He didn't live that long. I don’t know exactly. I don’t think he lived more than a hundred years. He lived a normal... whatever people used to live in those days.

Yes?

Question: (Inaudible) I heard an extremely intimate description of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Are those accessible to devotees, or is it especially Prabhupāda... (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes, we don't... Until one comes up to the liberated platform they're not to go into those subject matters. Lord Caitanya wouldn’t discuss the Gīta-govinda and similar intimate pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, even the Tenth Canto of Bhāgavatam in the company of ordinary devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that for this we had to translate and put that in the Kṛṣṇa book otherwise even there if a devotee reads that and starts to get agitated or think that this is some material sex life or something like that or the mind...mentally gets agitated, then they should stop reading it. Until one transcends that type of vision, one should not hear the intimate pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa lest one momentarily thinks that this is the same type of activity as what man and woman are experiencing in this material world. One has to come up to the level of pure devotion, Kṛṣṇa-prema, to that type of level before one really appreciates the pastimes which have nothing to do with the material world.

Apart from the Jaya Jagadīśa Hare, I believe Prabhupāda requested the other songs of Gītā-govinda not to be sung. I seem to remember he asked Cidānanda Mahārāja not to sing, he used to sing. (audio break) que mas? (laughter) Anything else? (some inaudible conversation)

Jayapatākā Swami: In think he lived for a long time but I don’t know, so I will not just say. One should not say unless he knows. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Anyone knows the answer to that? He lived for a long time.