19831021 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 13.55-60

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on October 21st, 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya-Caritamrta Madhya-lila, Chapter 13, Verse 55 to 60.

Jayapatākā Swami: So please hear the description of dancing of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Ratha-yātrā festival. His dancing is very enchanting please hear of it with great attention.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramananda madhavam śrī caitanya isvaram

Text 55

kīrtana dekhiyā jagannātha haraṣita
sańkīrtana dekhe ratha kariyā sthagita

Translation: Lord Jagannātha was very pleased by the saṅkīrtana, and He brought His car to a standstill just to see the performance.

Text 56

pratāparudrera haila parama vismaya
dekhite vivaśa rājā haila premamaya

Translation: King Pratāparudra also was astonished to see the saṅkīrtana of Lord Caitanya. He became inactive and was converted to ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Text 57

kāśī-miśre kahe rājā prabhura mahimā
kāśī-miśra kahe, — tomāra bhāgyera nāhi sīmā

Translation: When the King informed Kāśī Miśra of the glories of the Lord, Kāśī Miśra replied, “O King, your fortune has no limit!”

Text 58

sārvabhauma-sańge rājā kare ṭhārāṭhāri
āra keha nāhi jāne caitanyera curi

Translation: The King and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya were both aware of the Lord's activities, but no one else could see the tricks of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is the reaction that Mahārāja Pratāparudra and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya are having in seeing Lord Caitanya was going to the seven groups of saṅkīrtana, each group had 2 men beating drums, thus there were 14 drums were played so as Lord Caitanya… Then Lord Caitanya simultaneously was visible in all the 7 parties, but each party thought that Lord Caitanya was only with them and not with the other and no one else could see this mystic power of Lord Caitanya except the Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Mahārāja Pratāparudra the King.

Text 59

yāre tāńra kṛpā, sei jānibāre
pāre kṛpā vinā brahmādika jānibāre nāre

Translation: Only a person who has received the mercy of the Lord can understand. Without the Lord's mercy, even the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, cannot understand.

Text 60

rājāra tuccha sevā dekhi' prabhura tuṣṭa mana
sei ta' prasāde pāila 'rahasya-darśana'

Translation: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very satisfied to see the King except the menial task of sweeping the street, and for this humility the King received the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He could therefore observe the mystery of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's activities.

Purport: The mystery of the Lord's activities is described by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Lord Jagannātha was astonished to see the transcendental dancing and chanting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and He stopped His car just to see the dancing. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then danced in such a mystical way that He pleased Lord Jagannātha. The seer and the dancer were one and the same Supreme Person, but the Lord, being one and many at the same time, was exhibiting the variegatedness of His pastimes. This is the meaning behind His mysterious exhibition. By the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the King could understand how both of Them were enjoying each other's activities. Another mysterious exhibition was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's simultaneous presence in seven groups, by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the King could understand that also.

Thus end the Purport of text 60, Chapter 13 Madhya-lila of the Caitanya-Caritāmṛta.

Jayapatākā Swami: How Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord, arca-avatāra and how Kṛṣṇa as the yuga-avatāra, devotee avatāra, devotee of the Lord were having exchanges with each other, this is something very exalted. All these things the King could understand. Every devotee has a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. In the neophyte stage the relationship is not well understood. One serves Kṛṣṇa through the via media of the spiritual master, and the spiritual master gradually helps the disciple to advance and gradually when the disciple is able to understand more and more the desire of Guru and Kṛṣṇa, that is a sign of advancement.

Many times Prabhupāda would come into the temple he would ask the pujārī that, “How is the Deity feeling?” He would ask whether the Deity is feeling happy or not. The pujārīs would normally of course appear quite shocked, and Prabhupāda would immediately, before they could say anything say, “No. The pujārī is to know what is the mind of the Lord.” He said that sometimes even the Deity of Kṛṣṇa speaks to His pujārīs.” so that is the exalted position, of course, of pure devotional service where a devotee knows the mind of the Lord, you see. It is not difficult for Kṛṣṇa to know our mind as he is in everyone’s heart then he can understand through His unlimited potencies, but to know the mind of the Lord, that is something very exalted. Mahārāja Pratāparudra was able to know the mind of Jagannātha, and Lord Caitanya how They were exchanging loving exchanges while dancing in front of the Ratha-yātrā cart and while Jagannātha was being pulled. That’s a very exalted position to be able to know the mind of the Lord even a little bit, you see. That is actually the goal that the devotee is by practicing devotional service become so purified that they are able to know the mind of Kṛṣṇa and Guru. Prabhupāda once explained that the first-class disciple means the disciple who knows what the guru wants without the guru asking. Automatically he knows exactly what the guru wants. We saw in Vṛndāvana, Prabhupāda was lying on his you see… place there, translating and chanting and sometimes he would just go like this, (gestures) and the servants would look at each other and someone would run to the window and close it, “Alright!” he would several times just move a finger and they would run and do that… sometimes they would run and do the wrong thing and he would go (gestures) (laughter). Very rarely would he say anything, just by sign language. Even without sign language… you see, of course that’s dangerous… if you don’t know what he wants and you do the wrong thing then you’re in trouble. But that’s considered to be… the higher level is to know what the… Kṛṣṇa and the guru want.

One time Prabhupāda was praising a devotee. It was practically the highest praise that could be given, he said, “That devotee did exactly what I would have done had I have been in that situation, he knows my mind.” If we could always maintain that level of service, this is highest perfection, to be able to know the mind of Guru and Kṛṣṇa and to simply carry out their desires, you see. The second stage of disciples is one who carries out the order of Guru and Kṛṣṇa very responsibly and carefully, I mean they have to be ordered, “Do this, do that.” and they may carry out. Without order they don’t move, with order they do alright exactly, you see, second class. Then third class means that the order is given they do it but not very well, not very enthusiastically, not very efficiently. They do it kind of begrudgingly or somehow or another at their own time, you see. These are the three kinds of levels of devotee that – uttama, madhyama and kaniṣṭha disciple, you see.

Another type is there adhama. Adhama means disqualified, lousy. Adhama means practically not a disciple, that means… or guru gives an order they don’t do it, fallen. They don’t carry out the order of the guru, you see, they don’t take it that guru has taken such a huge responsibility to deliver a disciple out of the material world back to home, back to Godhead, you see. And Before Kṛṣṇa, before the Guru, before the sacrificial fire the disciple makes the promise to follow the regulative principles, to chant 16 rounds, in spite of that, whole, they don’t do it. This means that they are adhama you see, fallen, ungrateful.

So Mahārāja Pratāparudra, he was of the higher order. Practically speaking he was given the divine vision, he could see beyond what normally anybody can see to actually see the exchanges between Jagannātha and Lord Caitanya, this is inconceivable you see, for any ordinary devotee, even maybe a great devotee. We heard our Prabhupāda one time was driving… was being driven back by devotee after ratha-yātrā in San Francisco one of the recent Ratha-yātrās, one of the very big ones… don’t know exactly which year it was; early seventies I believe, may be sixty nine or something like that. Prabhupāda was sitting in the car just beaming, he turned to the driver and said, as they were driving and said, “Did you see how beautiful Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda were dancing amongst the devotees? Did you see how beautiful they were?” and the devotee’s driving… didn’t know what to say. “Jaya Prabhupāda!”

Prabhupāda could see Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda dancing amongst all the devotees, you see, just like Mahārāja Pratāparudra, he could see Lord Caitanya in all the seven saṅkīrtana parties, you see. Some were there in each party, they could see Lord Caitanya one time. There were others, no doubt some were in māyā they couldn’t even see Lord Caitanya, they were in the crowd, they couldn’t see Him, they just heard the kīrtana. Then there was Mahārāja Pratāpa; he could see in seven places. There is a saying in Bengali… you know, in America they say that, have a bad saying about doing two things at one time, hurting some poor bird with a stone, two birds even with one stone, it’s a very bad thing to do. They don’t say things like that in India, they have another saying, they say ‘ratha dekhe kelā bece’ that means going to ratha-yātrā and selling bananas, two, two things at one time. (laughter) Go to ratha-yātrā and you sell bananas. If you’re going to sell bananas, you go to the ratha-yātrā. You see Jagannātha, you get the spiritual benefit. At the same time you can sell a few bananas. I hope devotees don’t go to the… go to the football games and sell bumper stickers for this… for the same reason, going to the ratha-yātrā and selling bananas is little more purifying.

So some people are like that they want to be Kṛṣṇa Conscious and also do something material, but that spoils everything. Naturally we have material desires, naturally those desires are pulling on us, but as a devotee we have to be very conscious that those are material desires, that they are not for our betterment. Then we, whether you call it struggle or a fight or however you’d like to define it, but that we work to rather engage the senses in Kṛṣṇa’s service, you see.

Someone may be desiring to eat something. We know that just the desire to eat is not a spiritual desire but then, we control our senses we offer we prepare it without eating it we offer it to Jagannātha and then let the Lord take it, then after we take prasāda, that prasāda is purifying. It calms the sense. It inspires devotion. Similarly a person may have intense desire to associate with the opposite sex, because of material desire to have sex, but then they control that desire. They know that material desire that’s not a spiritual desire. They control it and they dovetail that, “Well…” that, “Kṛṣṇa, He’d like us to have a nice child and raise child to be a devotee, we can take one soul that’s floating there somewhere in reincarnation and give that soul an opportunity to go back to Godhead, and so then they control their senses and they have regulated sex life in gṛhastha-āśrama and they have a child and they raise the child in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that that child has an opportunity to go back to Godhead in this lifetime. And every single activity, like that we have to see “What is māyā? What is material activity and what is spiritual?” And in material activity if it is something very difficult for us to control then we find how to dovetail and how to utilize it that for Kṛṣṇa’s service so we get purified and then as we advance and then finally we come to this level, Mahārāja Pratāparudra was engaging his whole kingdom. He was sweeping the road in front of Jagannātha.

Lord Caitanya use to chastise, “You’re are a king. You’re a politician; I won’t associate with you, that means you’re a materialist. It was like a test to see if he was puffed up, but no. Mahārāja Pratāparudra passed the test. So much so, that by sweeping the road, by engaging his kingdom, everything, in Lord Jagannātha’s service, he actually purchased the mercy of Lord Caitanya which is invaluable. Just by Lord Caitanya causeless mercy, he was actually in a sense purchased by the sincere service of Mahārāja Pratāparudra. In the same way, we can, even though it’s inconceivable, by our humble service, by our sincere effort to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, we can purchase that mercy of Lord Caitanya. Not that we take the stand that we demand it, or it’s owed to us, but somehow or another They give that mercy.

By our trying to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, by our chanting, by our serving Jagannātha in these festivals, in different ways somehow another Lord Caitanya’s mercy is given, even we don’t ask for it, or we might even ask for it. We can’t demand it but we try to attract that attention of Lord Caitanya by our humble and sincere service and He gives the mercy, this the wonderful thing.

Let’s read a little bit more about Lord Caitanya.

Text 61

sākṣāte nā deya dekhā, parokṣe ta' dayā
ke bujhite pāre caitanya-candrera māyā

Translation: Although the King had been refused an interview, he was indirectly bestowed causeless mercy. Who can understand the internal potency of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?

Purport: As Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was playing the part of a world teacher, He did not agree to see the King, because a king is a mundane person interested in money and women. Indeed, the very name "king" suggests one who is always surrounded by money and women. As a sannyāsī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was afraid of both money and women. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refused to see the King, but indirectly, by the Lord's causeless mercy, the King was able to understand the Lord's mysterious activities. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's activities were exhibited sometimes to reveal Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and sometimes to show Him as a devotee. Both kinds of activities are mysterious and appreciated only by pure devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: So here its explaining more about how Mahārāja Pratāparudra was benedicted by Lord Caitanya Superficially Lord Caitanya rejected Mahārāja Pratāparudra but indirectly he gave a benediction. Sometimes in spiritual life one has to take some type of extreme tapasyā, seems as if one is not enjoying the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa rather however it is a… subsequently in another way Lord Kṛṣṇa gives a greater mercy or another form of mercy which is sublime, mysterious and transcendental.

Text 62

sārvabhauma, kāśī-miśra, — dui mahāśaya
rājāre prasāda dekhi' ha-ilā vismaya

Translation: When the two great personalities Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Kāśī Miśra saw Caitanya Mahāprabhu's causeless mercy upon the King, they were astonished.

Text 63

ei-mata līlā prabhu kaila kata-kṣaṇa
āpane gāyena, nācā'na nija-bhakta-gaṇa

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed His pastimes for some time in this way. He personally sang and induced His personal associates to dance.

Text 64

kabhu eka mūrti, kabhu hana bahu-mūrti
kārya-anurūpa prabhu prakāśaye śakti

Translation: According to His need, the Lord sometimes exhibited one form and sometimes many. This was being executed by His internal potency.

Text 65

līlāveśe prabhura nāhi nijānusandhāna
icchā jāni 'līlā śakti' kare samādhāna

Translation: Indeed, the Personality of Godhead forgot Himself in the course of His transcendental pastimes, but His internal potency [līlā-śakti], knowing the intentions of the Lord, made all arrangements.

Purport: It is stated in the Upaniṣads:

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jṣāna-bala-kriyā ca

"The Supreme Lord has multipotencies, which act so perfectly that all consciousness, strength and activity are being directed solely by His will." (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His mystic power in presenting Himself simultaneously in each and every sańkīrtana group. Most people thought that He was one, but some saw that He was many. The internal devotees could understand that the Lord, although one, was exhibiting Himself as many in the different saṅkīrtana groups. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced, He forgot Himself and was simply absorbed in ecstatic bliss. However His internal potency arranged everything perfectly. This is the difference between the internal and external potency. In the material world, the external potency (material energy) can act only after one endeavors at great length, but when the Supreme Lord desires, everything is performed automatically by the internal potency. By His will, things happen so nicely and perfectly that they appear to be carried out automatically. Sometimes the activities of the internal potency are exhibited in the material world. In fact, all the activities of material nature are actually performed by the inconceivable energies of the Lord, but so-called scientists and students of material nature are unable to understand ultimately how things are happening. They evasively conclude that everything is being done by nature, but they do not know that behind nature is the potent Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10):

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate

"This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and unmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."
(Bhagavad-gītā 9th Chapter, 10th Verse.)

Jayapatākā Swami: In these pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, many very very confidential subject matters are being revealed. So professionally Lord Caitanya is dancing with his devotees but through his dancing, this līlā, this pastime we are able to understand a very confidential secrets, mysteries about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you see. We know from the Bhāgavatam that one time Kṛṣṇa fell unconscious, of course, it’s in the 10th canto. At that time the whole world everything stopped, only Balarāma was conscious there he had to wake Kṛṣṇa then everything started to move again. So when Kṛṣṇa is the summum total of everything, if he stops everything stops… the supreme controller, but here we find the Lord Caitanya He’s forgotten Himself He is… He is absorbed in his pastime of dancing in ecstasy. He forgot everything else, yet things are going on. At that time while He was in ecstasy he is conscious but things are going on automatically by his various energies.

There is a crude example when President Regan was shot at, automatically his secret servicemen start jumping and standing on the way looking around and firing back and grabbing the President and doing their job. He didn’t have to give any order they knew what they are doing was, like that Lord Caitanya, what to speak of ordinary President has so many people they do their duty without being told at the spot, God has got unlimited, Kṛṣṇa has got unlimited energies and they automatically do their work. When Lord Caitanya is absorbed in ecstasy, he doesn’t have to worry how is everything going to to go on, automatically his līlā-śakti arranges everything perfectly. Different śaktīs, different energies they are arranging everything perfectly. This is a secret confidential knowledge about Supreme Personality of Godhead He simply desires something and automatically his energies do it.

Sometimes people think that they’re… want to enjoy in the material world. Normally the people in the material world are always suffering, when they become very frustrated then they receptive to spiritual understanding, they get a little bit of good association with a devotee, they start to practice devotional service and then they get relief from material suffering by that devotional service. After some time because our nature in kali-yuga is very short memory, sometimes the neophyte devotee, they forget how much suffering there is in material world how hard it is to get a little bit of so called pleasure, you see, how one has to struggle to so many birth just to be a human being how many weird human births as aborigines and so on we have to go through to become so-called civilized and how even as a human being what a struggle it is to get a little bit of so-called happiness which is flickering, impermanent and ultimately not completely satisfying, you see. So, when a one person… has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa and Guru gets little bit of relief and he start to forget how he was suffering in the material world, how difficult it is and then they sometimes started to dream that they might be happy again if they would do a little sense gratification, or they might even go beyond the dreaming stage and they might also even make some type of endeavor.

Sometimes māyā immediately give some little opportunity to enjoy, the next thing one knows when one leaves the shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then one’s put in this hard grind trying to scratch out little bit of material pleasure. Through a lot of hard work even to get a little money, then people they want to take a short cut they do something black market or smuggling or some illegal activity, you see. Then through high risk they get caught, they get thrown in jail, they get punished, their bad karmas. There is no shortcut, material world means you work hard and you get a little bit of happiness.

Prabhupāda explained this material world is a desert, in dessert there are animals, and sometimes animals think that they see water, they look in the desert and they see a mirage, they see some wavering heat waves and they think “There’s water!” and they start running for that water foolishly but there is no water in the desert. They run and run and they fall and they die. There is no water there, its simply mirage, illusion, you see. So Prabhupāda explained that there are people in this world who think that there is happiness in the material world, you see. They are just like animals. Only difference is some animals have four legs and some have two. But if they are running after that mirage, that there’s happiness in this material world, that means that they are illusioned just like the animals in the desert, and human life means, civilized life means we know that the happiness in this material world is insignificant. It’s after great difficulty, and it’s not the real happiness, it’s illusion. Real happiness is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So, that real happiness we can see here in the Lord Caitanya’s pastimes, dancing in ecstasy, chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa there is no tinge of material suffering there. Any material happiness is so much suffering. But in this transcendental ecstasy of Lord Caitanya there is no suffering. Pure transcendental ecstatic bliss, automatically coming, so we should be hankering for that mercy of Lord Caitanya when He is in this blissful mood, when he is observed in ecstasy that those tears just shooting from His eyes, He’d be dancing and tears are like shooting from a syringe just raining on the devotees, that we could just be showered by His tear drops, by… the dust of His lotus feet could anoint our head. That somehow or another we can taste even a drop of that pure, unadulterated, transcendental, ecstatic bliss. Then we may completely transform our whole nomenclature of pleasure, our whole position, and our whole existence. We would know, what is real happiness. Then it would be somewhat harder for māyā to cheat us, you see. Then we can try to maintain that transcendental happiness by constantly remaining in devotional service. Which there’s much to do now to prepare for the Ratha-yātrā, so I won’t speak any longer, then everybody has to go and do so much devotional service and relish this transcendental ecstasy.

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

Question: Have you… have they ever made a Ratha-yātrā in ISKCON where they go… Jagannātha goes, stays one place for a week and comes back?

Jayapatākā Swami: In Calcutta. Goes and stays, nine days. Comes back on the ninth day.

Comment: It’s like two parades.

Jayapatākā Swami: Two parades. You didn’t see the slide show? You criss-crossed. When I was in New Tālavana, you were here, and when I went through… just see.

So, we do Dāmodarāṣṭaka this late… this time?

Reply: (Inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Normally it’s good to do it like after maṅgala-ārati, and in the evening after sandhyā-ārati. It’s dark out. We can do it now. That’s a good time to do it. The candles are nicer in the dark.