19860624 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā 6.207-223

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami on June 24th 1986 in New Panihati Dham in Atlanta, Georgia. The class begins with a reading from the Caitanya Caritamrita, Antya lila, chapter 6, text 207- 223.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: After Raghunath Das had reached Vrinda, had reached Nilachal, Jagannath Puri and surrendered unto the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu had handed Das Raghunath to the charge of Swarup Damodar. Lord Caitanya gave other instructions to take care of Raghunath Das.

CC Antya 6.207 - “ pathe iṅha kariyāche bahuta laṅghana kata-dina kara ihāra bhāla santarpaṇa”

Translation: “On the way, Raghunātha dāsa has fasted and undergone hardships for many days. Therefore, take good care of him for some days so that he may eat to his satisfaction.”

CC Antya 6.208  ” raghunāthe kahe — “yāñā, kara sindhu-snāna jagannātha dekhi’ āsi’ karaha bhojana”

Translation: Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Raghunātha dāsa, “Go bathe in the sea. Then see Lord Jagannātha in the temple and return here to take your meal.”

CC Antya 6.209  “eta bali’ prabhu madhyāhna karite uṭhilā raghunātha-dāsa saba bhaktere mililā”

Translation: “ After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu got up and went to perform His midday duties, and Raghunātha met all the devotees present.”

 CC Antya 6.210  “raghunāthe prabhura kṛpā dekhi, bhakta-gaṇa vismita hañā kare tāṅra bhāgya-praśaṁsana”

 Translation: Having seen the causeless mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu upon Raghunātha dāsa, all the devotees, struck with wonder, praised his good fortune.

CC Antya 6.211 “raghunātha samudre yāñā snāna karilā jagannātha dekhi’ punaḥ govinda-pāśa āilā”

 Translation: Raghunātha dāsa took his bath in the sea and saw Lord Jagannātha. Then he returned to Govinda, the personal servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Antya 6.212 “prabhura avaśiṣṭa pātra govinda tāṅre dilā ānandita hañā raghunātha prasāda pāilā”

 Translation: Govinda offered him a plate with the remnants of food left by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Raghunātha dāsa accepted the prasādam with great happiness.

CC Antya 6.213 “ei-mata rahe teṅha svarūpa-caraṇe govinda prasāda tāṅre dila pañca dine”

Translation:  Raghunātha dāsa stayed under the care of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, and Govinda supplied him remnants of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s food for five days.

CC Antya 6.214 Translation: Beginning from the sixth day, Raghunātha dāsa would stand at the gate known as Siṁha-dvāra to beg alms after the puṣpa-añjali ceremony, in which flowers were offered to the Lord.

CC Antya 6.215 Translation: After finishing their prescribed duties, the many servants of Lord Jagannātha, who are known as viṣayīs, return home at night.

CC Antya 6.216 Translation: If they see a Vaiṣṇava standing at the Siṁha-dvāra begging alms, out of mercy they arrange with the shopkeepers to give him something to eat.

CC Antya 6.217 Translation: Thus it is a custom for all time that a devotee who has no other means of support stands at the Siṁha-dvāra gate to receive alms from the servants.

CC Antya 6.218 Translation: A completely dependent Vaiṣṇava thus chants the holy name of the Lord all day and sees Lord Jagannātha with full freedom.

CC Antya 6.219 Translation: It is a custom for some Vaiṣṇavas to beg from the charity booths and eat whatever they obtain, whereas others stand at night at the Siṁha-dvāra gate, begging alms from the servants.

CC Antya 6.220 Translation: Renunciation is the basic principle sustaining the lives of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s devotees. Seeing this renunciation, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is extremely satisfied.

Purport by Srila Prabhupada: Anyone, whether an ordinary materialistic person or a pure devotee, can understand the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s devotees if he studies it minutely. One will thus find that the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are not at all attached to any kind of material enjoyment. They have completely given up sense enjoyment to engage fully in the service of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and dedicate their lives and souls to serving Kṛṣṇa without material desires. Because their devotional service is free from material desires, it is unimpeded by material circumstances. Although ordinary men have great difficulty understanding this attitude of the devotees, it is greatly appreciated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: This is actually a point. What you are seeing in America, the common people they are not able to fully appreciate the attitude of the devotees in engaging fully in the service of Lord Krishna giving up sense enjoyment.

Sometimes as in America the system in the courts is what Balabhadra Prabhu? In the courts what they have? Jury system, no? Isn’t it? So the jury system is taking people of the street. So often they are not able to appreciate the great austerities or the great the absence of material sense gratification of the devotees because in the Western world the purpose of life is to be a little pious, or be a little moral and enjoy sense gratification up to the hilt.

But here they had a higher morality which is that everything should be done simply for the appreciation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that for that purpose everything else can be  compromised or curtailed. That simply or simply that satisfaction of the Lord should be the primary goal.

CC Antya 6.221 “prabhure govinda kahe, — “raghunātha ‘prasāda’ nā laya rātrye siṁha-dvāre khāḍā hañā māgi’ khāya”

Translation: Govinda said to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “Raghunātha dāsa no longer takes prasādam here. Now he stands at the Siṁha-dvāra, where he begs some alms to eat.

CC Antya 6.222 ” śuni’ tuṣṭa hañā prabhu kahite lāgila “bhāla kaila, vairāgīra dharma ācarila “

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard this, He was greatly satisfied. “Raghunātha dāsa has done well,” He said. “He has acted suitably for a person in the renounced order.

CC Antya 6.223 “vairāgī karibe sadā nāma-saṅkīrtana māgiyā khāñā kare jīvana rakṣaṇa”

Translation: A person in the renounced order should always chant the holy name of the Lord. He should beg some alms to eat, and he should sustain his life in this way.

 Purport: As stated in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa at the end of the twentieth vilāsa (366, 379, 382):

kṛtyāny etāni tu prāyo gṛhiṇāṁ dhanināṁ satām likhitāni na tu tyakta- 

parigraha-mahātmanām prabhāte cārdha-rātre ca madhyāhne divasa-kṣaye kīrtayanti hariṁ ye vai te taranti bhavārṇavam

evam ekāntināṁ prāyaḥ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ prabhoḥ kurvatāṁ parama-prītyā kṛtyam anyan na rocate

A well-to-do householder Vaiṣṇava cannot live like a person in the renounced order who completely takes shelter of the holy name. Such a householder should chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Then he will be able to cross beyond nescience. Pure devotees in the renounced order, however, who fully surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, should chant the holy name of the Lord with great love and faith, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. They should have no occupation other than chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the Bhakti-sandarbha (283), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says:

yady api śrī-bhāgavata-mate pañca-rātrādi-vad-arcana-mārgasyāvaśyakatvaṁ nāsti, tad vināpi śaraṇāpatty-ādīnām ekatareṇāpi puruṣārtha-siddher abhihitatvāt.

(aside: No translation. inaudible)

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So the duty of those who are in the renounced order, those who are sanyasis as well as those who are assisting the Sanyasis as a Brahmachari, their duty is to constantly chant the holy names of the Lord. They don’t have any other responsibilities but to the chant or engage in the sankirtan yajna.

CC Antya 6.224 “ vairāgī hañā yebā kare parāpekṣā kārya-siddhi nahe, kṛṣṇa karena upekṣā “

Translation: A vairāgī [a person in the renounced order] should not depend on others. If he does so, he will be  unsuccessful, and he will be neglected by Kṛṣṇa.

CC Antya 6.225 “vairāgī hañā kare jihvāra lālasa paramārtha yāya, āra haya rasera vaśa “

Translation: If a renunciant is eager for his tongue to taste different foods, his spiritual life will be lost, and he will be subservient to the tastes of his tongue.

CC Antya 6.225 vairāgīra kṛtya — sadā nāma-saṅkīrtana śāka-patra-phala-mūle udara-bharaṇa “

Translation: The duty of a person in the renounced order is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra always. He should satisfy his belly with whatever vegetables, leaves, fruits and roots are available.

CC Antya 6.224 “ jihvāra lālase yei iti-uti dhāya śiśnodara-parāyaṇa kṛṣṇa nāhi pāya” “

Translation: “One who is subservient to the tongue and who thus goes here and there, devoted to the genitals and the belly, cannot attain Kṛṣṇa.”

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given this advice. Sometimes you find that like in India you find some preachers,  so called sanyasi or vairagi, lives in the house of some grihastha and becomes gradually kind of like a pet sadhu.  And then of course they get very nice food and  treatment but here Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He doesn’t approve that a person should become dependent like that just remaining in the house of  one grihastha.

Maybe in a preacherly visit, one should visit the house of a grihastha for sure, to preach to them, to even stay while travelling for a day or two but should not stay more than three days in anyone’s house. This is like a regulative principle for vairagis. To stay more than that is you know under normal circumstances it’s not  considered appropriate.

 Because when they are becoming dependent upon them gradually Krishna stops giving their mercy. So someone in the renounced order simply depends on Krishna. He lives in the temple or travels and preaches. During their travelling and preaching they always stay dependent upon Krishna everyday, every moment chanting the holy name.

CC Antya 6.228 “āra dina raghunātha svarūpa-caraṇe āpanāra kṛtya lāgi’ kailā nivedane”

Translation: The next day, Raghunātha dāsa inquired at the lotus feet of Svarūpa Dāmodara about his duty.

CC Antya 6.229 “ki lāgi’ chāḍāilā ghara, nā jāni uddeśa ki mora kartavya, prabhu kara upadeśa”

Translation: “I do not know why I have given up household life,” he said. “What is my duty? Kindly give me instructions.”

CC Antya 6.230 “ prabhura āge kathā-mātra nā kahe raghunātha svarūpa-govinda-dvārā kahāya nija-bāt”

Translation: Raghunātha dāsa never even spoke a word before the Lord. Instead, he informed the Lord of his desires through Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Govinda.

CC Antya 6.231 “prabhura āge svarūpa nivedilā āra dine raghunātha nivedaya prabhura caraṇe”

Translation: The next day, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī submitted to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “Raghunātha dāsa has this to say at Your lotus feet.”

CC Antya 6.232Translation: ‘I do not know my duty or the goal of my life. Therefore, please personally give me instructions from Your transcendental mouth.’ ”

CC Antya 6.233 Translation: Smiling, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Raghunātha dāsa, “I have already appointed Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī as your instructor.

CC Antya 6.234 Translation: “You may learn from him what your duty is and how to discharge it. I do not know as much as he.

CC Antya 6.235 Translation: “Nevertheless, if you want to take instructions from Me with faith and love, you may ascertain your duties from the following words.

CC Antya 6.236 “grāmya-kathā nā śunibe, grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe”

Translation: “Do not talk like people in general or hear what they say. You should not eat very palatable food, nor should you dress very nicely.

CC Antya 6.237 “amānī mānada hañā kṛṣṇa-nāma sadā la’be vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa-sevā mānase karibe”

Translation: “Do not expect honor, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and within your mind render service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.”

Purport by Srila Prabhupada : Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya that when a man and woman are married, they beget children and are thus entangled in family life. Talk concerning such family life is called grāmya-kathā. A person in the renounced order never indulges in either hearing or talking about such subjects. He should not eat palatable dishes, since that is unfit for a person in the renounced order. He should show all respect to others, but should not expect respect for himself. In this way, one should chant the holy name of the Lord and think of how to serve Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We found that sometimes different disciples of Srila Prabhupada would go to him with their grihastha problems. Do you know what he would say to them, Nirguna Prabhu ? He would say that, he doesn’t want to deal with that. That as a spiritual master he is not obliged. As a sanyasi or a spiritual master to deal with the dealings between the husband and wife, that’s, that’s not his area to get into. And he also advised other sanyasis that the different arguments and different things have come about between the husband and wife that we shouldn’t get involved.

 Even one time, some time ago Vrikodhara Prabhu said how there was a husband and wife, they were having a fight.  The wife, the husband came in and started beating the wife, taking the child away, and the wife said, “Please give me my child, he was running with him.”

Then Vrikodhara Prabhu went, took the child back,  beat up the husband. You know whatever you know. Just in the, little bit of a scuffle was there. Something in  trying to get him to stop beating the wife, and in the temple the next day the husband goes to the court and makes a complaint against Vrikodhara. In a 24 hours husband- wife make up. Then the wife also goes and also joins with the husband against Vrikodhara for hitting his husband.

So even ha ha ha (laughter). Even in Mayapur there,  one husband-wife, asked Prabhupada that “Now we have three children, and we are now fifty years old or something, what should we do? We are 45 years old.” And he said, “Ok you had enough children. Now you can stop having children. You can live separate or you can be more renounced,”  like that.

So they took that to their heart for some time. But after some time the husband became inspired  again to live with his wife jointly, and so he approached to her for this purpose. But she said, “No, we can’t do this things anymore because we promised before guru we won’t do it.” But he was pushing and pushing. Finally started to beat her up right in the temple, right in the hallway with all the big devotees going around doing their service.

At that time Bhavananda Maharaj intervened,and said, “No, no beating I will allow in the temple. It’s too disturbing to the devotees.” Then the husband went out and then he made a case against Bhavananada Maharaj that he had kidnapped his wife. So then the police came and arrested him for kidnapping.(laugh) But this time the wife went and testified in the court that I am here on my own free will. I am not being kidnapped.” Something like that.

So this, seeing even in the recent history sometimes the relationship between husband and wife is very difficult to understand, especially for those in the renounced order. One day they are,  seems like they are like little children. And one day they are fighting and the next minute they are friends, so we don’t get involved in these things. As a category, categorically it’s a oblivious.  Maybe the other grihastas who can understand the secret, esoteric dealings in this ashram, they have to deal with these problems ashram if they are able.

 So here Raghunath Das, he was told that you don’t listen to material, ordinary thoughts, and you don’t repeat them. Don’t listen to the gossip and don’t spread the gossip.  Don’t engage in the materialistic talks and don’t listen to it. And das Raghunath, he was so strict in this that he was like the standard of all the Vaisnavas.

You could be talking to him about Krishna or something, and he would be there listening just in ecstasy. Then if you just turn the subject a little bit that “Did  you hear this one Vaisnava has some difficulty?” Immediately you look and where is das Raghunath? He would be gone.

 He would never hear anything bad about any Vaisnava, and he never say anything bad about any Vaisnava. True or false, he didn’t want to hear it. How is that going to help him in his spiritual life? If it’s false you are hearing an aparadha, and if it’s true even then what are you going to gain by hearing about the misfortune of another.

 Here the newspaper of course they make their business, no new is good news, materialistic news means they always want to repeat the bad news but in the spiritual world all the news is good. So this was the system of Das Raghunath. He didn’t want to hear any of the bad news. If there was any he simply was absorbed about hearing about Krishna, chanting Hare Krishna.  In this way he would stay far away from any scent of any kind of Vaisnava aparadha.

So in this way,

CC Antya 6.238 “ei ta’ saṅkṣepe āmi kailuṅ upadeśa svarūpera ṭhāñi ihāra pāibe viśeṣa

Translation: “I have briefly given you My instructions. Now you will get all details about them from Svarūpa Dāmodara.

CC Antya 6.238 “tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ”

Translation: “One who thinks himself lower than grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”

CC Antya 6.240 “eta śuni’ raghunātha vandilā caraṇa mahāprabhu kailā tāṅre kṛpā-āliṅgana”

Having heard this, Raghunātha dāsa offered prayers at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord, out of great mercy, embraced him.

CC Antya 6.241 Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again entrusted him to Svarūpa Dāmodara. Thus Raghunātha dāsa rendered very confidential service with Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī.

Purport: Antaraṅga-sevā refers to service performed in one’s spiritual body. Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was formerly Lalitādevī. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who was among his assistants, now also began to serve Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa within his mind.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Of course Raghunath das, he engaged in his spiritual service to Radha and Krishna on the transcendental platform. He was one of the liberated Nitya-siddha devotees who came to assist Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His pastimes. Different devotees had different responsibilities, different characteristics and qualities. So Raghunath Das Goswami was actually a nitya-siddha, eternally liberated devotee.

So he simply engaged in serving Radha and Krishna with his mind, with his body in the most elevated manner. These are the characteristics of and uttama adhikari. So they don’t engage as I mention in hearing about or discussing about any kind of negative discourse against a Vaisnava. However sometimes a uttama adhikari comes to the madhyama adhikari plane, like Srila Prabhupada to preach the message of Sri Mahaprabhu.

Prabhupada explains that a madhyama adhikari has to know what is a demon, what is a devotee. So somebody is not a devotee, he has to be able to understand that because he has to preach to the innocent people to avoid the demons and to take shelter of the devotees. Therefore madhyama adhikari viewpoint means that one can do this differentiation. At the same time madhyama adhikari should be very careful not to offend any devotee, rather simply to protect the other devotees or to protect innocent people from demoniac influences.

Prabhupada even mentioned that when one devotee, he was Rupa Goswami, came to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Caitanya congratulated him and gave him all mercy and embraced him. And when the other devotees saw this they also embraced him, and they also gave him welcome, they are very pleased.

So Prabhupada said in the  purport - this is the nature of  Vaisnava. When they see that somebody gets Krishna’s mercy, then they also want to give the mercy to that person. They also, they are very glad, they are very, they feel that it is very nice to see that somebody gets the mercy of Krishna and they... they respect that devotee.

But Prabhupada said that there are many persons in the garb of Vaisnavas in the Krishna conscious movement who are actually demons, who are not devotees. And their characteristic would be that if they see somebody  get the mercy of Krishna they won’t appreciate.

Specifically we see that there are some persons in the world who overtly appear to be in the Krishna conscious movement coming down from Bhakti Siddhantha Sarasvati Thakur, or coming down somehow in the disciplic succession, yet they are not able to give full appreciation to Srila Prabhupada or to his dedicated servitors inspite of having the garb of a Vaisnava.

So this kind of things should be watched out. One should be careful about it because according to Prabhupada’s advice if there is somebody who doesn’t appreciate a Vaisnava for his preaching work and criticizes directly or indirectly, then it’s probably, if you analyse it and if you ascertain then you could be sure that that person is not surely a Vaisnava. But it’s something like a Vaisnava, in the garb of a Vaisnava or possibly may even be  a demon in the garb of a Vaisnava.

In any case they are not Vaisnava because a Vaisanava is one who appreciates any good in a person. They can appreciate that, especially they appreciate when Krishna’s special mercy is given. Prabhupada’s ability to preach Krishna consciousness all over the world, his writing so many books, his establishing Krishna conscious temples, and making so many devotees, delivering them, uplifting them from the material illusion, that is definitely a quality of a Vaisnava, pure devotee, touch stone.

And  anyone in their right consciousness will appreciate that except for,  even the common man appreciate that. Some professors come, they appreciate the work that Prabhupada has done. So if there is someone, even  he may be dressed up as  some big sanyasi and they don’t appreciate then we can know that they are lower than normal man, that ordinary man.

Therefore we should... What should we do? We neglect them. We neglect them like somebody who’s got leprosy or AIDS, and he is walking around with a pusy body. Like that, we don’t want to get near.

Then all the devotees arrived. In other words Raghunath das, he left after the devotees had begun from Bengal, but he got there earlier. He really zipped along there, and then they all came and met Lord Caitanya with great feeling. They did a Gundica marjana. They danced during a rath yatra festival.

 Seeing all these pastimes, Raghunath Das he was totally in ecstasy. When he met all the devotees, Advaita Acharya gave him all kind of mercy. And then Sivananda Sen, he said, “Aha! Your father sent ten men to take you away. He wrote me a letter just asked me to send you back but those ten men received no information about you, they returned home.”

So when all the devotees from Bengal returned home after staying in Jagannath Puri for four months, Raghunath Das’s father heard about their arrival and therefore sent a man to Sivananda Sena.

CC Antya 6.249 “se manuṣya śivānanda-senere puchila “mahāprabhura sthāne eka ‘vairāgī’ dekhila”

Translation:  That man inquired from Śivānanda Sena, “Did you see anyone in the renounced order at the residence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It’s like sometimes the parents phone up, “Is my son Billy  there? Is my daughter Mavel there?”, Is there someone of this discription? In Mayapur sometimes they come with a picture. Is this person here? Cannot tell a lie. Ask somebody else

CC Antya 6.250 “ govardhanera putra teṅho, nāma — ‘raghunātha’ nīlācale paricaya āche tomāra sātha?”

Translation: “That person is Raghunātha dāsa, the son of Govardhana Majumadāra. Did you meet him in Nīlācala?”

CC Antya 6.251 śivānanda kahe, — “teṅho haya prabhura sthāne parama vikhyāta teṅho, kebā nāhi jāne

Translation: Śivānanda Sena replied, “Yes, sir. Raghunātha dāsa is with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and is a very famous man. Who does not know him?

CC Antya 6.252 svarūpera sthāne tāre kariyāchena samarpaṇa prabhura bhakta-gaṇera teṅho haya prāṇa-sama

Translation: “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has placed him under the charge of Svarūpa Dāmodara. Raghunātha dāsa has become just like the life of all the Lord’s devotees.

CC Antya 6.253 Translation: “He chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra all day and night. He never gives up the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, not even for a moment.

CC Antya 6.254 Translation “He is in the supreme order of renounced life. Indeed, he does not care about eating or dressing. Somehow or other he eats and maintains his life.

CC Antya 6.255 Translation: “After ten daṇḍas [four hours] of the night have passed and Raghunātha dāsa has seen the performance of puṣpāñjali, he stands at the Siṁha-dvāra gate to beg some alms to eat.

CC Antya 6.256 Translation: “He eats if someone gives him something to eat. Sometimes he fasts, and sometimes he chews fried grains.”

CC Antya 6.257 Translation: “After hearing this, the messenger returned to Govardhana Majumadāra and informed him all about Raghunātha dāsa”

CC Antya 6.258 Translation” Hearing the description of Raghunātha dāsa’s behavior in the renounced order, his father and mother were very unhappy. Therefore they decided to send Raghunātha some men with goods for his comfort.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: “I will give it to you only if you use if for your own sense gratification, if you give it to the temple I will not give it to you.” You have ever heard that before? (laughter) “This is for you, for your body.”

CC Antya 6.259 cāri-śata mudrā, dui bhṛtya, eka brāhmaṇa śivānandera ṭhāñi pāṭhāila tata-kṣaṇa

 Translation: Raghunātha dāsa’s father immediately sent four hundred coins, two servants and one brāhmaṇa to Śivānanda Sena.

CC Antya 6.260 Translation:Śivānanda Sena informed them, “You cannot go to Jagannātha Purī directly. When I go there, you may accompany me.

CC Antya 6.261 Translation: “Now go home. When all of us go, I shall take all of you with me.”

CC Antya 6.262 Translation: Describing this incident, the great poet Śrī Kavi-karṇapūra has written extensively about the glorious activities of Raghunātha dāsa in his Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka.

CC Antya 6.263 ācāryo yadunandanaḥ su-madhuraḥ śrī-vāsudeva-priyas tac-chiṣyo raghunātha ity adhiguṇaḥ prāṇādhiko mādṛśām śrī-caitanya-kṛpātireka-satata-snigdhaḥ svarūpānugo vairāgyaika-nidhir na kasya vidito nīlācale tiṣṭhatām

Translation: “Raghunātha dāsa is a disciple of Yadunandana Ācārya, who is very gentle and is extremely dear to Vāsudeva Datta, a resident of Kāñcanapallī. Because of Raghunātha dāsa’s transcendental qualities, he is always more dear than life for all of us devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Since he has been favored by the abundant mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he is always pleasing. Vividly providing a superior example for the renounced order, this very dear follower of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī is the ocean of renunciation. Who    among the residents of Nīlācala [Jagannātha Purī] does not know him very well?

Purport: This verse is from Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (10.3) of Kavi-karṇapūra.

(His Holiness Jayapataka Swami read the translation of Candrodaya-nāṭaka, with repetition by the devotees)

CC Antya 6.264 Translation:  “Because he is very pleasing to all the devotees, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī easily became like the fertile earth of good fortune in which it was suitable for the seed of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be sown. At the same time that the seed was sown, it grew into a matchless tree of the love of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and produced fruit.”

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Immediately Lord Caitanya threw the seed, psss... it came up to be a tree, produced fruit all at the same time.

 CC Antya 6.265 Translation: So in this verse the great poet Kavi Karnapurna gives the same information that Sivanandana Sena conveyed to the messenger of Raghunath Das’s father.

CC Antya 6.266 Translation: The next year, when Śivānanda Sena was going to Jagannātha Purī as usual, the servants and the brāhmaṇa, who was a cook, went with him.

CC Antya 6.267 Translation:The servants and brāhmaṇa brought four hundred coins to Jagannātha Purī, and there they met Raghunātha dāsa.

CC Antya 6.268 Translation:  Raghunātha dāsa did not accept the money and men sent by his father. Therefore the brāhmaṇa and one of the servants stayed there with the money.

CC Antya 6.269 Translation: At that time, Raghunātha dāsa began inviting Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his house with great attention for two days every month.

CC Antya 6.270 Translation: The cost for these two occasions was 640 kauḍis. Therefore he would take that much from the servant and the brāhmaṇa.

CC Antya 6.271 Translation: Raghunātha dāsa continued to invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in this way for two years, but at the end of the second year he stopped.

CC Antya 6.272 Translation: When Raghunātha dāsa neglected to invite Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for two consecutive months, the Lord, the son of Śacī, questioned Svarūpa Dāmodara.

CC Antya 6.273 Translation:The Lord asked, “Why has Raghunātha dāsa stopped inviting Me?”

Svarūpa Dāmodara replied, “He must have reconsidered something in his mind.“

CC Antya 6.274 Translation: ‘I invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by accepting goods from materialistic people. I know that the Lord’s mind is not satisfied by this.

CC Antya 6.275Translation:“ ‘My consciousness is impure because I accept all these goods from people who are interested only in pounds, shillings and pence. Therefore by this kind of invitation I get only some material reputation.

Purport: (aside:Should we end here?) Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that people who are under the bodily conception of life are called materialists. If we accept the offerings of such people, place them before the Lord and invite Vaiṣṇavas to partake of the prasādam, that attempt will gain us only a material reputation, not the actual benefit of service to a pure Vaiṣṇava. One should therefore try to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead by fully surrendering at His lotus feet. If one engages for the service of the Lord whatever money one has honestly earned, that is spiritual service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In other words, it is more important if one personally does devotional service, personally gives. Sometimes you find that someone goes to India and collect money from other people and they have that given to the devotees. But then they don’t give some of their own money. So they should also give their own money, engage some of it in the service of Krishna, in this way it is more pleasing to the Lord.

CC Antya 6.276 Translation: “ ‘At my request Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepts the invitations (Raghunath das continues) because He knows that a foolish person like me would be unhappy if He did not accept them.’

 Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that people who are advanced in learning but attached to material enjoyment, who are puffed up by material possessions, by birth in an elevated aristocratic family or by education, may offer showbottle devotional service to the Deity and also offer prasādam to Vaiṣṇavas. Because of their ignorance, however, they cannot understand that since their minds are materially polluted, neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, nor the Vaiṣṇavas accept their offerings. If one accepts money from such materialistic persons to offer food to the Deity and Vaiṣṇavas, a pure Vaiṣṇava does not accept it. This causes unhappiness for the materialists because they are fully absorbed in the bodily conception of life. Therefore they sometimes turn against the Vaiṣṇavas.

CC Antya 6.277 Translation:“Considering all these points,” Svarūpa Dāmodara concluded, “he has stopped inviting You.”

CC Antya 6.278 Translation: Hearing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled and spoke as follows.

CC Antya 6.279 “viṣayīra anna khāile malina haya mana malina mana haile nahe kṛṣṇera smaraṇa

Translation: “When one eats food offered by a materialistic man, one’s mind becomes contaminated, and when the mind is contaminated, one is unable to think of Kṛṣṇa properly.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura suggests that people who are materialistically inclined and sahajiyās, or so-called Vaiṣṇavas who take everything very casually, are both viṣayīs, or materialists. Eating food offered by them causes contamination, and as a result of such contamination, even a serious devotee becomes like a materialistic man. There are six kinds of association — giving charity, accepting charity, accepting food, offering food, talking confidentially and inquiring confidentially. One should very carefully avoid associating with both the sahajiyās, who are sometimes known as Vaiṣṇavas, and the non-Vaiṣṇavas, or avaiṣṇavas. Their association changes the transcendental devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa into sense gratification, and when sense gratification enters the mind of a devotee, he is contaminated. The materialistic person who aspires after sense gratification cannot properly think of Kṛṣṇa.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That’s why it is advised people not to eat food that is cooked by non-devotees. When you travel in India you will always, my party would always  get the food and prepare it ourselves, offer it to the Deity. Sometimes a person in India may be a vegetarian, they want to give the food, but we always experience in the beginning when we were preaching in Indian, that whenever we ate that we would get sick. We devotees... Many difficulties would come.

So then we stopped taking food from people outside even if they were apparently devotees. But immediately then the consciousness of the devotees started to improve. Still there are those who are attached to go to the houses of rich millionaires members and take their opulent offerings. Of course sometimes for preaching we can do this.

See this are normal rules which are there for our devotees own spiritual life. In other words for your own practice of Krishna consciousness, this is the standard. But if,  for preaching the sankirtan movement then there is a different standard. For preaching then you can do, then these things can be compromised. This is not just for feeding you own self but is actually for preaching.

In one case in Africa, Prabhupada was trying to establish Krishna consciousness there. He needed the support of various Indian communities, the Vaisnavas, so he said that he wanted people to become life members. So people invited him that please come and take meals in our house. He said that we will only take meals in your house if you become a life member. So people were becoming life members just so that Prabhupada would come and take Prasad at their house.

So Prabhupada was going two or three times a day to take prasadam at different people’s house. He said that they are becoming life members just so that we take Prasad. You see, even that was austere for the devotees, not that it didn’t take its toll. Because of that now in those countries they have a very broad base and people became very attached to Srila Prabhupada.

So for preaching he took this risk in order to establish the Krishna conscious movement there, but one should be very careful that where it’s not necessary for preaching that not to eat the food prepared by non-devotees or sahajiyas who have left the movemen.

CC Antya 6.278 viṣayīra anna haya ‘rājasa’ nimantraṇa dātā, bhoktā — duṅhāra malina haya mana

Translation: “When one accepts an invitation from a person contaminated by the material mode of passion, the person who offers the food and the person who accepts it are both mentally contaminated.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that there are three varieties of invitations — those in the mode of goodness, those in passion and those in ignorance. An invitation accepted from a pure devotee is in the mode of goodness, an invitation accepted from a person who is pious but materially attached is in the mode of passion, and an invitation accepted from a person who is materially very sinful is in the mode of ignorance.

CC Antya 6.279 iṅhāra saṅkoce āmi eta dina nila bhāla haila — jāniyā āpani chāḍi dila”

Translation:  “Because of Raghunātha dāsa’s eagerness, I accepted his invitation for many days. It is very good that Raghunātha dāsa, knowing this, has now automatically given up this practice.”

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: This is antya-lila. This is like all post-graduate studies. Raghunath dasa then he stopped, renounced,  begging. Gradually he renounced everything. Of course, he was begging for his own alms.