19840518 Arrival Address

 19840518 Arrival Address by H.H.Jayapatākā Swāmī Mahārāja @ New Orleans, USA

https://archives.JayapatākāSwāmī.com/courses/306577/lectures/5016042 

18/May/1984

Address given by
His Holiness Jayapatākā Swāmī Mahārāja
in New Orleans Louisiana

The following is an arrival address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swāmī Mahārāja on May 18th, 1984 in New Orleans Louisiana.

Jayapatākā Swāmī: Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered His devotees to go from house to house to preach to the people.

suno suno Nityānanda, suno haridās,

sarvatra amar ajna koroho prakas

prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhikṣā

bolo `kṛṣṇa,’ bhajo kṛṣṇa, koro kṛṣṇa- Śikṣā

Listen Nityānanda! Listen  Haridās,! Go broadcast My order, My command everywhere to all of the people. Go to house to house and beg the people this humble prayer – Please chant Hare  Kṛṣṇa,! Worship  Kṛṣṇa, and study the books, the teachings of Lord  śrī  Kṛṣṇa,.

So Lord Nityānanda,  Haridās,  Ṭhākura,, other devotees they took up this order and they went door to door preaching the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.  śrīla  Prabhupāda  has so kindly given us the Caitanya  caritāmṛta . There, we know that Lord  śrī  Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed that, I, He is the tree of devotion with the flowers and fruits of ecstatic love for God, pure love for God, for  Kṛṣṇa,. And at the same time He is the gardener. So He is saying “How many fruits can I eat and how many can I distribute alone? Everyone come and participate! Come and take this fruit and distribute it!”

  Śrīla   Prabhupāda  pointed out that this is very important for many reasons, you see. One reason is that if Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that “I can’t do this alone.” What to speak of anyone else? That  Kṛṣṇa, consciousness movement isn’t done by any one person’s effort. It’s done by group effort, by so many people participating. Otherwise why Caitanya Mahāprabhu is inviting everyone to come, participate, take this nectar, fruit of  Kṛṣṇa consciousness and distribute it to everyone? So, that is His causeless mercy!So like that we know that  Nitāi  and  Haridās, Lord  Balarāma has come down to assist  Kṛṣṇa, who is playing, who has come as  avatāra  of the devotee. And He is going and begging the people from house to house, what a grand opportunity those  gṛhasthas  had in  Navadvīpa  to have Lord Nityānanda and  Haridās  Ṭhākura, visit their very house and preach to them.

 śrīla  Prabhupāda  stressed how the previous  ācāryas  they are handing down  Kṛṣṇa, katha, the words spoken by  Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Bhagavad-gītā and the  śrīmad Bhāgavatam. These things Caitanya Mahāprabhu especially He wanted to be distributed, this knowledge to everyone.  Kṛṣṇa, kathā, that’s  Kṛṣṇa,  Śikṣā , spoken by  Kṛṣṇa,, spoken about  Kṛṣṇa,. These are very transcendental, this is the top most teachings that the Vedas have. The Vedas include many Purāṇas or histories which are centered around the pastimes of the Lord. If they didn’t have the pastimes of the Lord they wouldn’t have any spiritual value at all.

But there are so many other moral instructions, other details are given but the  śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is therefore called the nirmala or amala Purāṇa. Mala means dirty, contaminated. Actually even in Spanish mala. Same. Sanskrit, Spanish: Proves that Sanskrit is the mother language. So amala means no contamination with any karma, Jñāna, bhukti, mukti, siddhi kāmī, no type of materialistic contamination. Pure devotion for  Kṛṣṇa,, pure transcendental science Bhāgavata dharma. This is what  Nitāi ,  Haridās, and so many other devotees were distributing.

So of course sometimes I heard devotees make it like a excuse to  śrīla  Prabhupāda  that – “Well, I am so fallen! I am so fallen, I am so sinful, therefore I am… I can’t be a devotee!” But actually like  śrīla  Prabhupāda  said the essence of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement is simply giving out mercy, giving out causeless mercy. Where is the question of qualification? Lord Nityānanda and Advaita, Gadādhara,  Śrīvāsa,  Haridās,, they were giving out their mercy freely to anyone. In fact during the mahāprakāśa, when Lord Caitanya for twenty one hours showed His form, He was in the mood of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He showed His form of  Kṛṣṇa, to Advaita, showed His form as Rāmachandra to Murāri Gupta, different manifestations He assumed, and uh, at that time He was asking Advaita to take some, when He was in a mood like that He was telling Advaita that "You should take some boon."

It’s a very long pastime but just that one point. What did Advaita say after tremendous insistence finally said, “Alright, if You must have a boon from me then this is my request, this is my prayer: You give Your mercy to those who are the most unqualified, unfortunate, those who don’t have any hope under ordinary circumstances to become  Kṛṣṇa, conscious, to become recipients of Your mercy. Let them get the mercy first. Young or old, you see, man woman, whoever it may be.” Then He said, “But those who are very proud, who are puffed up, who criticize Your devotees, who offend Your devotees, who don’t have respect for Your devotees and obstruct this  saṅkīrtana  movement, let them die an ordinary death.” Those who are very proud, you see, specifically they are spiteful against the devotees knowing, you see, that they are devotees of  Kṛṣṇa, and who is  Kṛṣṇa, being proud of their money or their beauty or their good family or their education. And He even pointed out the high  brāhmaṇical  families.

Of course great high  brāhmaṇical  families like Sanātana GoSwāmī, Rūpa GoSwāmī actually very high  brāhmaṇical  families, others Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, Raghunāth Bhaṭṭa, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, they all surrendered to Lord Caitanya but they were very humble. It wasn’t that a brāhmaṇa couldn’t get delivered but that Advaita Gosāi being the head of the brahmanas He wanted that everyone should get the mercy specifically those who are unfortunate. If the brāhmaṇa is intelligent he will be humble he can also get the mercy because those who will be very humble, very free from type of false ego, puffed upness they can get Lord Caitanya’s mercy first.

 Nitāi  Gaura,  Nitāi  Haridās  Ṭhākura, you know how they delivered Jagāi-Mādhāi, Lord Nityānanda when He was struck by Mādhāi, Lord Caitanya came ready to kill him, that Mādhāi. Jagāi Mādhāi the two brother, immediately Sudarśana cakra coming down from the spiritual sky ready to in a second destroy them for their offenses, you see. But Lord Nityānanda is praying that, “No! There are so many people in the Kaliyuga like this.”

So Lord Caitanya made a stipulation that, “If they promise that they will not perform these bad activities again, they will lead a pure life, then I will give them relief!”  Jagāi  Mādhāi they surrendered, they agreed, they went to the Ganges, they bathed, they took initiation and they became completely purified by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, chanting in the Nādia district,  Navadvīpa , paying their obeisances to all the vaiṣṇavas of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

In fact other demigods like Lord Siva, Indra, Kartikeya, Varuṇa, they were all hiding. They would come down to  Navadvīpa  to observe Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes. So when they saw deliverance of Jagāi and Mādhāi, you see, they were overwhelmed. Some of them were saying that “We were worried to themselves – I was thinking that I would not get delivered because I am so attached but seeing this mercy now I feel that I… hope for me also.”And they were rejoicing, and just completely that how these daityas these demons, you see. Jagāi Mādhāi were practically on the level of here you would say like Al Capone, Babyface Nelson, something like that to be delivered. They organized crime, even the government, they wouldn’t mess with them, they had so many rogues under them and they were doing so many activities. They were so powerful that people would complain to the Kazi, they wouldn’t do anything because they were afraid of their own life. So practically you can say just like the Mafia they had established protection system. Everyone had to run in fear from them, you see, and if they were delivered! Who had even struck Lord Nityānanda in the head!

Yamarāja he heard about it from someone there. And he went over to Citragupta. You know Citragupta is the accountant of the demigods. He accounts, not that he counted money, but he is Yamarāja’s personal accountant for all the karma that everyone does. So when he went to Citragupta on his ratha, chariot, then he asked, what was the amount of sinful activities that Jagāi Mādhāi had amassed. In other words if he had come for the judgment, he wanted just what was the account that was cleaned off by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy?

So Citragupta replied that if we had, of course you can understand the type of accounting system he had. Modern day computers nothing to say, he is keeping track of every individual’s karma. He has many assistants of course. But they use different subtle methods for maintaining these records. But Candra… Citragupta was said to be the origin of the kāyasthas. kāyasthas are especially in the ancient Indian time kāyasthas would be the ones who would manage the financial affairs and accounting and different type of administration for the king. They were very qualified in maintaining those types of records.  Prabhupāda  made a comment, in the what’s it the Caitanya  caritāmṛta  that kāyasthas are very hard hearted. Like if someone was due to pay the money, they were very strict.

So Citragupta he replied that “If I were to put down all the account onto papers to present to you, it would take 100,000 kāyasthas. And it would take them so many years to read off, I mean to do this work. And even if those 100,000 were to read to you all their activity, then even then it would take, I forget how many, thousand years or something, tremendous amount of time, to actually give the full report of what they did.” They did so many things, you see, especially having being born in a high family as brāhmaṇas and then even their activities were more critically looked upon on under the laws of karma.

So one of the Yamadūtas said that, “Well we whatever records were there, that we have already thrown in the water, sacred water. Because what’s the use of keeping it! In one moment Caitnaya Mahāprabhu forgave all of their offenses. So what’s the use of keeping any more their records?” And Yamarāja he was meditating on how merciful Lord  Kṛṣṇa, was, how merciful Lord Caitanya was and thinking of His merciful qualities in delivering such a… sinful people who would have had to burn, you see, in inferno for so long, he fell unconscious in that deep samadhi, just meditating on this.

So Citragupta and others they thought that Yamarāja maybe just astonished or something and fell over. They were all fanning him trying to, you know, but he wouldn’t because he was in a samādhi. He wouldn’t come back to consciousness. Meanwhile Lord Siva, Nārada Muni and other devotees that had been there watching the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Nityānanda, they came over to Yamarāja’s place and uh, saw him unconscious and heard what happened from Citragupta. So then Lord Siva could understand because he being a pure devotee of the Lord that actually Yamarāja was absorbed in samādhi. Having heard of the mercy of the Lord he was overwhelmed and being completely absorbed in that devotion. So he started chanting Hare  Kṛṣṇa, and all the demigods they were chanting Hare  Kṛṣṇa,.

And then Yamarāja came to consciousness, he just started glorifying Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone started glorifying, Lord Indra, Varuṇa, everyone started glorifying –how merciful Lord Caitanya is! They all had a huge kīrtana, you see, four Kumāras, Śukadeva, all the you know great personalities from the heavenly kingdom, they all had a huge kīrtana glorifying Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda’s mercy.

Jagāi Mādhāi they living in  Navadvīpa , they were very sincere. Every day they would chant 200,000 times harināma, two lakhs. Actually it’s by  śrīla  Prabhupāda ’s mercy that he has told his disciples and that’s been handed down to chant 16000 names a day which is only 25, even then devotees - I have trouble finishing my rounds. Previously one lakhs, two lakhs, 200,000, 100,000, that was the normal, minimum. 200000 was more than minimum, that was intermediate, pretty advanced stage. But by  Prabhupādas mercy and the mercy of previous  ācāryas  so we have been given so much service for preaching and serving, you see, and only 25,000 names.

Actually  Haridās  Ṭhākura, used to take a oath of chanting ten million names of  Kṛṣṇa, in one month. And I calculated, actually by chanting sixteen rounds a day, we are are chanting ten million names in one year. We finish one crore in a year. He would do in one month. So we actually do it even then. Of course we are not even a flea compared to a speck of dust of these great devotees, devotees of the devotees lotus feet. But even then devotees sometimes make excuse , “I have a very difficult time hearing and chanting or finishing my rounds.” So it’s needed to be purified.

So Jagāi Mādhāi they took up the process very sincerely. In fact Mādhāi he was very upset. Although Lord Caitanya, Nityānanda, completely forgave them for all their offenses, Mādhāi, for he was the one that hit Nityānanda Prabhu, he couldn’t forget that actually that he had Nityānanda and caused Him to bleed. It was overwhelming him that he had committed such an offense and yet Lord Nityānanda was forgiving him. He kept thinking always that he was very fallen and how he could actually correct his mistake.

So one time Lord Nityānanda He used to, He didn’t have any, what do you say, abhimana, He would go just like in the mood of a child, running, sometimes He would just run across the field, and jump in the Ganges, swim across the Ganges in the middle of the flood. He would go the other side. There would be some kids playing in the Ganges, He would play with them for a few minutes. He would go to some devotees house, He would go start preaching, He would go different sometimes you know, sometimes very poor people, very low socially situated people, go right in their house. He wouldn’t have any type of high or low… He would just go everywhere wherever He felt like it, just spontaneous, simple, completely like a child, very simple compassionate, just go wherever He saw something which He liked, He’d go there. No type of pompousness or any kind of pretention at all. He was very simple and merciful.

So like that he was going around Nadiya preaching door to door without considering whose house was very qualified, he was just going everywhere. So one time Mādhāi found Lord Nityānanda preaching like that and caught Him alone. Actually he came by Mādhāi’s house. So he let Lord Nityānanda to come in and fell down at Lord Nityānanda’s lotus feet, grabbed His lotus feet and He started to pray that, “How fallen I am. Actually how exalted You, actually You are the source of the Ananta śeṣaś holding up the whole universe and You are that personality of Godhead who is the best servant, servitor of Lord  Kṛṣṇa,.”

Because  Balarāmaa  in  Kṛṣṇa, līlā, there is no one who performed more types of services for Lord  Kṛṣṇa, although He was also a personality of Godhead but He was always protecting and serving  Kṛṣṇa, in different ways, and he started to glorify Lord Nityānanda. That actually that Lord who Citraketu worshipped, see, that Lord who is the origin of Lord Siva, the Lord who when the Yamunā, He wanted the Yamunā river to come, hesitated, He immediately took His plow and pulled the Yamunā river over. That Lord who when the Dvivida, Dvivida Gorilla came and offended the gopīs and He killed him, that Lord who delivered him by taking his life. That Lord who during the chess game with Rukmiṇī when He beat Rukmiṇī many times but Rukmiṇī kept saying He didn’t win, even the voice from the heavens came and said, “No, Balarāma won!” Rukmiṇī then criticized oh! He started laughing, He is just a cowherder. He is just a foolish cowherder. What does He know about these things. And then  Balarāma  just, pow finished. (laughs)

Then he was saying that  Balarāma , that Lord who when the Kurus, they were all defeated, they were all finished because of their offenses against the Lord, because you know Sambha at the Svayaṁvara of Lakshmana, the daughter of Duryodhana. Then Samba wanted to, the son of  Kṛṣṇa, wanted to marry her. So he forcibly kidnapped her from the Svayaṁvara. So the Kurus they didn’t know what to do. So instead of doing something very chivalrous they took all the mahārathis, they were the emperors of the world, they took all the mahārathis, like half a dozen or dozen that were handy there and they go surround one Samba all alone. Rather than you know one on one fight even then they had trouble getting.So then Yadus were ready to go on, declare war. Nārada went and reported to the Yadu vaṁśa that they have done this, they have kidnaped Samba, held him as a prisoner. So they were ready to go and immediately attack the Kurus, they are kṣatriyas. (laughs) So then  Balarāmaa  said all right, no need for unnecessary war, I will go with the brāhmaṇas and with other people and go there. I am sure I can convince them, I am close with Duryodhana and others, not to do this. He goes, and of course  Balarāma  went with the senior members of the Yadu dynasty and the brāhmaṇas  and the other very respectable people. They went out and met  Balarāma  outside the town and He gave very logically nicely His proposition, saying ultimately give back Samba with the girl.

Instead what do they do, they criticized  Balarāma , they laughed, calling Him so many ill names, dogs or servant of the dogs, something like that they called Him, suddenly thinks he has become the master. Thinking that “Well we are the emperor, and the Yadu dynasty is one of our subordinate kingdoms and the empire.” like that. So of course then  Balarāma  became angry at their demeanor and then He started to pull the whole Hastināpura into the Yamunā. Then they came out and offered Him, then the they realized, oh they remembered  Balarāma ! Offered Him worship, brought out Samba, the girl (laughs) and then everything was you know settled for the time being but because of these offenses, Duryodhana and everyone else they had, they were all defeated in Kurukṣetra.

Like this Mādhāi was glorifying Lord  Balarāma , Nityānanda, “That same Lord, I have struck Him, I am such a demon, I am such an asura such a nishthura fallen just a heinous person, I have struck Him and have caused blood to come out and yet what He is giving me. He is giving me His causeless mercy.” He fell down, and he just grabbed, he just became overwhelmed you see, overwhelmed fell down and grabbed Nityānanda’s feet and prayed, “Please forgive me for my offenses! please forgive me for my offenses! You are my life, You are my soul! You are my everything. I don’t know anything else because You are so dear to Catianya Mahāprabhu. Therefore I am simply taking shelter of Your lotus feet.”

But then Lord Nityānanda instructed of course that “If someone just wants to take shelter of My lotus feet without Lord Caitanya, this give Me great pain.” There are some sects, sub sects or whatever off shoots, apa sampradaya, bogus kind of thing, they are just worshiping  Nitāi  without Lord Caitnaya. Actually Lord Nityānanda is never without Lord Caitanya, neither is Lord Caitanya without Nityānanda, they are connected eternally. Actually Nityānanda is giving that pure devotional service very freely. One can’t disconnect He is giving the pure devotional service to Mahāprabhu. By His mercy one gets the mercy of Lord Caitanya, like that.So then Nityānanda said “Just like a child if the child hits the father the father doesn’t mind. Whatever you do, you are just my child! I don’t take any offense.” And then He picked up Mādhāi and He embraced him. When He embraced Mādhāi he fell unconscious in the ecstasy. And when he came conscious again he fell down at the feet of Lord Nityānanda and said, “There is one more prayer, there is one more thing. You are so kind, You have forgiven me for my offenses. Yet you are expanded in the hearts of all living entities and I have committed unlimited crimes and different types of terrible violence, envious acts against so many living entities who are actually, You are situated in their hearts. Therefore this is also an offense to them and indirectly to You. How to get forgiven for these offenses?”

So then Lord Nityānanda told him that “You make one ghat, you make one bathing ghat. You know bathing ghat, whats the English translation for bathing ghāt? Bathing stairway. And by doing that so many people will come bathe in the Ganges. By bathing in the Ganges that will purify them, the Ganges purifies one, all will glorify you, ‘Thank you for giving us this nice bathing place.’ So you make one beautiful bathing ghāt. So people can come in this way and so Mādhāi would go and would beg all the different people in Nādia – please forgive me for my offenses.” He was so humble.

And sometimes in the kīrtana of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the devotees he would start crying, you see, how fallen he was, how merciful Lord Nityānanda and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu were, when he would cry everybody would melted by his, by his devotion. So he took with his own hands he took the shovel and he personally carved out from the side of the Ganges that the stairway and personally built with his own hands the bathing place for the public. That is very famous known as the Mādhāi ghat. Mādhāi ghāt. And people would go there, all glorifying Mādhāi ghāt. People gave it its name, it wasn.t that he gave it, just like big people in India put sign Birla Ghāt, whatever. He was not, not putting it that you put my name on it. He was doing it as an offering but the people they said “No this is Mādhāi ghāt.” And they were using it and he would also go every day in the Ganges, just see the Ganges and chant, do different services for Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

So he built this bathing ghāt for all of the devotees. The devotees used to go there and take their bath in the Ganges, that’s very near  śrīnathpur.  śrīnathpur is in Mayapur, not very far from our temple. Just recently four nāmahaṭṭa or three nāmahaṭṭa groups from  śrī,nathpur have signed up as under ISKCON and they all came and they chanted 24 hour kīrtana for Janmāṣṭamī. We had about, 20 different villages came, half hour, forty five minutes, each they all they chanted through the night for Lord  Kṛṣṇa,, Janmāṣṭamī, very nice to have all the people participating like that.

So then Jagāi… or Mādhāi he made this ghāt, Mādhāi ghāt. This way he got the mercy of Lord Nityānanda. If someone hears… actually the, of course like  Balarāma  when He was as  Balarāma  He was very powerful. I mean like romaharaṣaṇa was sitting on the Vyāsa āsana. He had been given the blessings by the four Kumāras, he had the life of Brahmā. Everybody bowed down when  Balarāma  came into the assembly but he didn’t bow down. He was on the Vyāsa āsana, for whatever reason he didn’t bow down.  Balarāma  became angry, touched him with a grass, took his life, even though he had the blessings, life as long as Brahmā.

Yet as Lord Nityānanda the mood He is taking is so merciful. That was also His mercy but now instead of killing and giving him liberation of course by personally taking the life, he’ll get liberated. Instead He is giving them pure love for  Kṛṣṇa, which is far greater than liberation. So when He descended as Lord Nityānanda,  Balarāma  has become so much more merciful. Even Lord Nityānanda, “If someone understands actually the nature of My personality then they will develop faith and they will also achieve the perfection of Lord Caitanya’s mercy.” If we actually understand that what is the mercy of Lord Caitanya, what is the mercy of Lord Nityānanda, how we could think for a second or even a moment of anything except for serving Their lotus feet, serving the devotees who have taken shelter of Their lotus feet. How could we think even for a fraction of a second?

 śrī,-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra

vicāra karite citte pābe camatkāra

Meditate, consider what is the transcendental mercy of  śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And by considering His transcendental mercy you will become wonder struck, astonished, there is no parallel. If you think of a parallel in human relations you’ll find no parallel. Tit for a tat. This is very common. Then you get someone, “Alright, forgive and forget.” But never the person who comes, the aggressor and he turns out to get complete the highest benedictions. Where is the parallel? Even the demigods are crying and overwhelmed. Indra he was given the bene… he had a hundred thousand eyes. But his eyes were never properly used till they could that pastime. That’s what he felt. “Now that my eyes are seeing this pastime of Caitanya Mahāprabhu now their perfection has come.”

(jaya) 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

Transcriber: Suvilasi Madhavi dd Date: 25 March 2015

Revised by Jagannatha dasa Brahmcari

Proofread by:Srivani Mtji

12/Oct/2020

Tags: Caitanya, Nityānanda,  Balarāmaa ,  Kṛṣṇa,,  Prabhupāda , Mādhāi Ghat