19841231 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 19.20-27

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on December 31st, 1984. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 19, Text 20-27.

Jayapatākā Swami (recites the verse, reads the translation and purport):

Cc. Madhya 19.20

rājā kahe, māra sthāne vaidya pāṭhāiluṅ
vaidya kahe, — vyādhi nāhi, sustha ye dekhiluṅ

Translation: The Nawab said, “I sent my physician to you, and he has reported that you are not diseased. As far as he could see, you are completely healthy.

Cc. Madhya 19.21

āmāra ye kichu kārya, saba tomā lañā
kārya chāḍi’ rahilā tumi gharete vasiyā

Translation: “I am depending on you to carry out so many of my activities, but you have given up your governmental duties to sit here at home.

Cc. Madhya 19.22

mora yata kārya-kāma, saba kailā nāśa
ki tomāra hṛdaye āche, kaha mora pāśa

Translation: “You have spoiled all my activities. What is your intention? Please tell me frankly.”

Cc. Madhya 19.23

sanātana kahe, — nahe āmā haite kāma
āra eka-jana diyā kara samādhāna

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “You can no longer expect any service from me. Please arrange for someone else to tend to the management.”

Cc. Madhya 19.24

tabe kruddha haṣā rājā kahe āra-bāra
tomāra ‘baḍa bhāi’ kare dasyu-vyavahāra

Translation: Becoming angry with Sanātana Gosvāmī, the Nawab said, “Your elder brother is acting just like a plunderer.

Cc. Madhya 19.25

jīva-bahu māri’ kaila cāklā saba nāśa
ethā tumi kailā mora sarva kārya nāśa

Translation: “By killing many living entities, your elder brother has destroyed all Bengal. Now here you are destroying all my plans.”

Cc. Madhya 19.26

sanātana kahe, — tumi svatantra gauḍeśvara
ye yei doṣa kare, deha’ tāra phala

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “You are the supreme ruler of Bengal and are completely independent. Whenever someone commits a fault, you punish him accordingly.”

Cc. Madhya 19.27

eta śuni’ gauḍeśvara uṭhi’ ghare gelā
palāiba bali’ sanātanere bāndhilā

Translation: Hearing this, the Nawab of Bengal stood up and returned to his home. He ordered the arrest of Sanātana Gosvāmī so that he would not be able to leave.

Purport: It is said that the relationship between the Nawab of Bengal and Sanātana Gosvāmī was very intimate. The Nawab used to consider Sanātana Gosvāmī his younger brother, and when Sanātana Gosvāmī showed a very strong intention to resign, the Nawab, feeling familial affection, essentially said, “I am your elder brother, but I do not look after the state management. My only business is attacking other states with my soldiers and fighting everywhere as a plunderer. Because I am a meat-eater (yavana), I am used to hunting all kinds of living beings. In this way I am destroying all kinds of living entities in Bengal. While engaged in this destructive business, I am hoping that you will tend to the administration of the state. Since I, your elder brother, am engaged in such a destructive business, you, being my younger brother, should look after the state management. If you do not, how will things continue?” This talk was based on a family relationship, and Sanātana Gosvāmī also replied in an intimate and joking way. Essentially, he told the Nawab, “My dear brother, you are the independent ruler of Bengal. You can act in whatever way you like, and if someone commits a fault, you can punish him accordingly.” In other words, Sanātana Gosvāmī was saying that since the Nawab was accustomed to acting like a plunderer, he should go ahead and take action. Since Sanātana was not showing much enthusiasm in performing his duty, the Nawab should dismiss him from his service. The Nawab could understand the intention of Sanātana Gosvāmī’s statement. He therefore left in an angry mood and ordered Sanātana Gosvāmī’s arrest.

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

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

Jayapatākā Swami: When so many other devotees are able to acclimatize to the environment in a temple or in a āśrama, so that means basically there is no bar for anyone to surrender and to live in an āśrama. If there is any difficulties due to some personal deficiencies on the part of an individual, in general. Sometimes a personal is not totally ready to take that degree of surrender.

Just like before one would try to swim in deep water, one would first practice swimming in shallow water. So before one is able to take on a large degree of surrender, one should practice building up one’s service attitude, one’s tolerance, one’s determination. Abruptly sometimes, if we try to change our environment, our mind is not able to adapt to that sudden change. Some people are more flexible than others.

Prabhupāda gives the example that there was a very rich businessman, who was a supporter of Gandhi’s movement in India. And Gandhi told him to give up everything and suddenly become, and become just like him, walking you know, with a loin, you know with his little dhoti and fasting and doing all those austerities. So he did so. He gave up his luxurious palace-like house and his car, you know, whatever all these facilities and followed Gandhi. And within one year he died. It’s that it was such an abrupt change for him. To change his environment that his nervous system or his body, whatever, it couldn’t adapt to it. So he died.

So there may be, for some people, just that to suddenly change their environment, unless they are actually prepared, unless they have got a taste for spiritual life, or unless they have got a tremendous determination to do so, then it may be premature. Now there is no loss, even if they enter into a temple and leave, because whatever service they do, that’s also to their credit. The problem is that by leaving they may lose a certain amount of their enthusiasm or self-confidence.

Actually there is no loss. They shouldn’t feel any type of loss  in trying because at least they tried, and that’s to their credit. Rather a person should be that determined. Just like if someone is trying to read some type of athletic goal. If they are not able to cross over the high jump or they, they practice jumping more and more until finally they get up to the requisite height.

It’s kind of very crude example, but in a more just introspective way of we see, “Well, where are my shortcomings? What are the reasons why I wasn’t able to surrender in association of devotees? Where is my false ego? Need to be trimmed down to size more?” And we should work on purifying ourselves, taking as much association as possible, advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness as much as possible in the association of devotees. And in this way, we can bring ourselves into a better situation. If the, in a more ideal position for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Shouldn’t lose our determination. We shouldn’t in any way feel that because I tried and wasn’t able to at the first or second or whatever attempt to achieve success, well I then should somehow lose heart. Because we are in the material world since millions of births and making a couple attempts... It’s not that the first attempt, one is immediately able to receive. If you study the lives of great sages like Viśvāmitra, he has tried so many times, again and again, and he would make a mistake, fall down. Again he would start up just trying to become a great ṛṣi where he was born in a kṣatriya family. What to speak of someone born in a yavana, mlechha culture and trying to become a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa?

There may be so many stumbles. Just like children when they are walking, they learn to stumble. I mean they fall down, but they go on trying. Eventually they learn to walk and talk. So similarly in our spiritual advancement we shouldn’t lose heart even if over a period of several years we had different difficulties. We should be determined to cling to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda knowing that as long as we can cling to Their lotus feet, They will deliver us. It’s more glorious to continue trying to make advancement then just becoming frustrated and thinking, “Well, there is no hope.”

There is no one who is so fallen that Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu cannot deliver them. As far as each individual who is ready to live in a community, what type of service they should do, these things have to be given in an individual basis considering each particular case history and personalities involved, so on. Some people are not at all prepared to live in an āśrama, and it is better for them to practice in their own residence.

Some people are overdue, and they should move in and they should live in a direct association with the devotees and that would be the best thing for their spiritual advancement. So these questions are normally dealt with by the spiritual leaders on an individual basis, and even if someone tries and isn’t able to succeed, they should also be just taken as the part of the learning process, and one shouldn’t have any other attitude than just determination to continue in making whatever progress one can from the present situation.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa!