19891012 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.41-42

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 12th, 1989 in New Talavan farm, Carriere, Mississippi The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.41&42.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.41&42

diṣṭyāmba te kukṣi-gataḥ paraḥ pumān
aṁśena sākṣād bhagavān bhavāya naḥ
mābhūd bhayaṁ bhoja-pater mumūrṣor
goptā yadūnāṁ bhavitā tavātmajaḥ

Translation: O mother Devakī, by your good fortune and ours, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, with all His plenary portions, such as Baladeva, is now within your womb. Therefore you need not fear Kaṁsa, who has decided to be killed by the Lord. Your eternal son, Kṛṣṇa, will be the protector of the entire Yadu dynasty.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The words paraḥ pumān aṁśena signify that Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the verdict of the śāstra (kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam). Thus the demigods assured Devakī, “Your son is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is appearing with Baladeva, His plenary portion. He will give you all protection and kill Kaṁsa, who has decided to continue his enmity toward the Lord and thus be killed by Him.”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.42

śrī-śuka uvācaity/ abhiṣṭūya puruṣaṁ
yad-rūpam anidaṁ yathā
brahmeśānau purodhāya
devāḥ pratiyayur divam

Translation: After thus offering prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, the Transcendence, all the demigods, with Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva before them, returned to their homes in the heavenly planets.

Purport: It is said: “adyāpiha caitanya ei saba līlā kare yāṅ’ra bhāgye thāke, se dekhaye nirantare” (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya 23.513)

The incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear continuously, like the waves of a river or an ocean. There is no limit to the Lord’s incarnations, but they can be perceived only by devotees who are fortunate. The devatās, the demigods, fortunately understood the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus they offered their prayers. Then Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā led the demigods in returning to their homes.

The word kukṣi-gataḥ, meaning “within the womb of Devakī,” has been discussed by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī in his Krama-sandarbha commentary. Since it was said at first that Kṛṣṇa was present within the heart of Vasudeva and was transferred to the heart of Devakī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī writes, “How is it that Kṛṣṇa was now in the womb?” He replies that there is no contradiction. From the heart the Lord can go to the womb, or from the womb He can go to the heart. Indeed, He can go or stay anywhere. As confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35), aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. The Lord can stay wherever He likes. Devakī, therefore, in accordance with the desire of her former life, now had the opportunity to seek the benediction of having the Supreme Personality of Godhead as her son, Devakī-nandana.

Jayapatākā Swami: Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Tenth Canto, Second Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb.”

OṀ TAT SAT!!

Today is the disappearance day of which transcendental personalities?

Raghunātha Dāsa and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa.

We are just coming up before the sacred month of Dāmodara, the Dāmodara month is a special opportunity to increase in one’s devotional service. Because whatever devotional service is done one gets hundred times benefit. But during that month and just prior to it many transcendental festivals are there and many great devotees have disappeared and appeared during this time.

Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmi – his life is very well documented because he is a very colorful personality. He was the son of a landlord who was one of the richest landlords in Bengal. But in spite of having all material opulence, unlimited material wealth at his disposal, he was simply attached to the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he wanted to join Caitanya Mahāprabhu like anything. But his parents and uncle used all their royal influence and army to tie him down and capture him.

Then he did the Pāṇihāti festival cīḍā dahi, chipped rice festival which New Pāṇihāti celebrates every year as well as old Pāṇihāti in Bengal. He got the mercy of Nityānanda and then after some time he could escape and reach Jagannātha Purī. There he was accepted by Caitanya Mahāprabhu and given under the charge of Svarūpa Dāmodara and thus he became the assistant secretary of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Although he was used to a luxurious lifestyle, he became very austere and initially he was getting donations from his father which he used to provide prasādam for Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then when he could understand that Lord Caitanya was not very happy with that. Then he started to take a more renounced lifestyle just standing in front of the door of Jagannātha temple, he would take whatever mahāprasāda the pilgrims would give him.

Then he thought that wasn’t good so he would become more austere, just take the mahāprasāda they would throw out. Then he found that dogs and other animals would eat the mahāprasāda that they would throw out. So he felt bad that he was depriving them of that mercy, so he would let the animals eat that first and then whatever was left after the animals ate. Some rotten chunk of rice was there or rotten on the outside, he would take it and break it open and in the centre a good piece would be there and he would eat that! So, he became the personification of vairāgya – so nobody can be as renounced as Raghunātha dāsa. He became so renounced that we cannot even begin to imagine or imitate. Of course simultaneously he was always directly serving Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Therefore, different devotees had different qualities. Sanātana and Rūpa Gosvāmī were renowned for being the most humble. Rāmānanda Rāya for being totally undisturbed by any sense gratification, Raghunātha dāsa for renunciation. So of course, later, Raghunātha dāsa went to Vṛndāvana and was serving in association with the other five of the six Gosvāmīs, Rūpa and Sanātana. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja considered himself initiated by Lord Nityānanda but he accepted Rūpa and Raghunātha dāsa as his instructing spiritual masters.

So, throughout the Caitanya Caritāmṛta he always refers to rūpa raghunātha pade, that one who has taken the shelter of the lotus feet of Rūpa and Raghunātha. Of course, he found that in his family life there was not very suitable association – his brother had become very offensive to Lord Nityānanda. So he didn’t want to live where there were offenses to the vaishnavas or to the Lord. So then he left that place on the order of Lord Nityānanda, who appeared in his dream and ordered to go to Vṛndāvan because Lord Nityānanda appeared in his dream when he was at that place. He constructed a temple to the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda, he considered that Lord Nityānanda had actually come there and to this day there is a temple to Lord Nityānanda’s lotus feet, one of the places he visited and the temple of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja is still there. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja was very old rather and he could hardly write or hardly see but still somehow although he was so old he wrote the Caitanya Caritāmṛta from the notes that he had gathered from Rūpa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmi who had all the information from Svarūpa Dāmodara.

So specifically, the details of all the later life was gathered. He didn’t repeat the earlier life which was already recorded by Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura except some details that were not there. Otherwise he just would refer to the original teachings, not trying to duplicate an already done effort. So, Gopāla, this is Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī also lived in Vṛndāvana, one of the six Gosvāmīs. I know less about Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. I don’t know if anyone knows something about his activities but he was especially favored by Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he also took shelter in Vṛndāvana.

So today is the day that they left the world, went back to the spiritual sky. Great devotees are in the world, they are serving the Lord in transcendental devotional service, they are already in the pastimes of the Lord. The six gosvāmīs, they were practically seeing Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they were practically seeing and constantly feeling the presence of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So, although they were in this world by external vision, actually they were already in the transcendental world and their disappearance means that their visible connection with this world is cut. But they are already connected with the spiritual world and so that connection simply remains. So, it is on one hand a rejoicing because when anyone returns to the spiritual world that is also very happy, cause of rejoicing but on the other hand in this world we don’t get their association.

So, we didn’t have so much opportunity to associate or any opportunity to directly associate with the six gosvāmīs or other eternal associates. We are very fortunate to have had the association of Śrīla Prabhupāda who brought the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. And according to the previous ācāryas, one who is preaching the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also considered a confidential servitor.

Śrīla Prabhupāda was a nitya-siddha devotee who came down specifically to spread the saṅkīrtana movement and his teachings are not only explanations of the scripture but they are also prescriptions for the people of the present age. Just like a doctor comes, when I was in the hospital, It goes for days without a doctor coming. Sometimes I got upset, then I would hear the doctor would come, look at my record and give some instruction, take him off intravenous, put him on this or that, whatever.

So, the doctor was overseeing giving some prescription and sometimes the doctor would come and see everything and then he would give some specific instruction. So Lord Caitanya had given the general instruction to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, to read the Bhagavatam, etc. etc.

Then Śrīla Prabhupādaa, he gave specific instruction how that could be applied today in the 20th century. Śrīla Prabhupāda wasn’t a fanatic, he was the most expert spiritual physician who knew what we needed to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. He gave us the prescription to go back home back to Godhead. And if we follow his prescription, he guaranteed we could return to him. Now if we do follow there is not much to worry about. If we don’t follow strictly then there is a lot to be concerned about. Now people strictly follow Prabhupāda’s instructions like go to maṅgala-ārati, chant japa with the devotees, take kṛṣṇa-prasādam from the temple, attend Bhāgavatam class, guru-pūja. If you label them fanatics, no matter what you label them, they are Prabhupāda’s faithful followers who are trying to follow the instructions he gave to go back to Prabhupāda. There may be some people who are not losing sleep over getting back with Śrīla Prabhupāda you know. I can just tell you frankly as a person, who did not know whether I would be living or not, I only had two concerns, either that if I died I get back to Śrīla Prabhupāda and that if I live I could continue to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda in this life and I don’t see there is any other priority in my life or any other purpose, to any disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Whatever we do, what other purpose do we have than to serve Kṛṣṇa, to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda in this life or in the next.

Kṛṣṇa personally came down out of His causeless mercy to give us an opportunity to know Him, to serve Him. Lord Caitanya came down with the same purpose and to bring everybody into the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda came, just like the six gosvāmīs and other great previous ācāryas, he came with a special purpose of spreading this message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu to people who normally didn’t have the chance to get it. Here in the west we were running in a dark pool of sense gratification. We didn’t have any idea about spiritual life, didn’t have any idea about Vedic culture, didn’t have any idea of who we are, who is Kṛṣṇa or anything.

We thought we were the body, we thought that serving this body was the goal of life, and we are just rotating in the cycle of life and death. But Śrīla Prabhupāda, out of his causeless mercy, he brought to us this entire spiritual link with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, gave us the Bhāgavatam, gave us spiritual communities, gave us countless gifts and gave us prescriptions how we can remain in constant connection with him. Now the more that we remain connected, the more we can feel the presence of Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu in this movement.

Just as this verse that Prabhupāda referred to

“adyāpiha caitanya ei saba līlā kare yāṅ’ra bhāgye thāke, se dekhaye nirantare”

adyāpiha means today, right now, at the present time Caitanya Mahāprabhu is still performing these pastimes and those who have good fortune – yāṅ’ra bhāgye thāke, se dekhaye nirantare, they are able to see the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, nirantara – nir means without and antara means end – without cessation, they can see the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes are continuing even today. The only reason His pastimes don’t end, our ability to realize them, to experience them, to be part of them, that can end. Why? We can lose our good fortune. Because if we have good fortune then we will experience Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes. If we lose our good fortune or we don’t have it, we didn’t get it, then we don’t know, we don’t experience His pastimes.

So, we have to be very careful. Prabhupāda, Once someone asked Prabhupāda, “I didn’t have any spiritual qualification, I don’t see that I was doing any pious activities before I became your disciple. So how is it that I am even a devotee, I don’t understand! I didn’t cross over any of the Vedic regulative processes or anything. So how is it that I have all this good fortune? Then Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I have made your good fortune. I have given you your good fortune.” All of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples, his grand disciples, the devotees taking shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda certainly they are receiving, they received, and they will continue to receive the good fortune from Śrīla Prabhupāda as long as we follow his instructions. Prabhupāda said, “those who follow my instructions, they live with me.”

What other connection can we maintain? We can maintain sentimental connection, that is fanaticism! That is fanaticism, to remain sentimentally attached but we don’t actually follow. That is called lip service. Sentimentalism, fanaticism. That’s how the whole world is going on. The Muslims, the Christians, the Jews, the Hindus, they are fanatics because they don’t follow the scriptures. Many of them are fanatics, when they don’t follow the scriptures but they say; “I am a Muslim! I am a Hindu!” We don’t to have a fanatical Hare Kṛṣṇas. Who is a fanatic? The people who consider themselves Hare Kṛṣṇas but do not follow the instructions of Prabhupāda, they are real fanatics. Because Prabhupāda defined fanaticism as sentiment without knowledge, without practice. The people who practice Prabhupāda’s instructions, they are not fanatics, they are followers. They are the people that are getting the full mercy of Prabhupāda.

Others are getting some mercy in proportion to how much they are able to follow. When I see devotees, who are so nicely following, I am not so expert in following due to one reason or other. i consider that they are more fortunate than me. They are following so nicely, if I can only become a better follower of Śrīla Prabhupāda, then I would be more pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda. And I could hope to get even more mercy from Śrīla Prabhupāda. We should be very clear about what the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is!

The six gosvamīs, they were so great because they were realistic, they were humble, they had all good qualities. They would see a small defect in themselves and they would feel very ashamed. They would see defects that if any other person saw, they wouldn’t see there is a defect. But they were so determined to try to please Lord Caitanya that even a little bit of what they considered a feature that was not pleasing to Lord Caitanya, they would become very concerned.

So, Raghunātha dāsa is feeding Lord Caitanya with the money from his father. What is the need of? Lord Caitanya has so many devotees who are there to feed Him and Raghunātha dāsa having taken the renounced order why should he take money from his parents and then give it to Lord Caitanya? Lord Caitanya, He thought that, enough is enough., it was better for the gṛhasthas to feed Lord Caitanya and for those in the renounced order, they should do, they have other duties. There are different duties for gṛhasthas, for sannyāsīs, for people in the renounced order.

So he was taking from his parents, although he was in a renounced order he is giving Lord Caitanya meals, so after a while Lord Caitanya thought that this is kind of a funny situation. But he didn’t say anything directly through hints and through indications, and Raghunātha Dāsa he could pick up, this is not very pleasing to Lord Caitanya. So immediately he gave it up and he contributed that money some to Jagannātha or to some other fund. He didn’t use it for that purpose any more. So that is actually the mood of pure devotees, is that they are simply trying to know what is going to be pleasing to the Lord.

So Prabhupāda, he didn’t leave us in the dark or leave us in any kind of bewilderment as far as what is pleasing to him. Everybody in the whole world knows, what is pleasing to Prabhupāda because in no uncertain terms did he tell us that he wants us to follow the four regulative principles. Chant 16 rounds and attend spiritual programs, to associate with devotees, to engage in the saṅkīrtana movement, to preserve what he has given us and try to develop it. He has given his instructions and his books, in his lectures, to individuals in his letters. Because of the 20th century, we have Prabhupāda’s lectures taped, we have his letters microfilmed, we have all of his books published. Can you imagine if we had that for the six gosvāmīs from Lord Caitanya, all of Lord Caitanya’s talks on tape! The only thing we failed to do is that we really failed to videotape all of Prabhupāda’s lectures.

Actually, at that time it was not so common, a few videos we have. Now is like the video age, now we could have every discussion video but that is unfortunate that we didn’t take advantage, it was a new thing at that time. You can imagine how wonderful it would be to have photos and videos of Lord Caitanya,the six gosvāmīs. It was the Lord’s desire that He came before we got into that level of materialistic technology. We can see how technology has complicated life. So when Lord Caitanya came life was still simple. It was still much closer to the Vedic – at least in India – it was much closer to the Vedic culture. It was still Vedic culture, varṇāśrama really prominent. But now it is a different story, it is a different situation.

So, the six gosvāmīs they taught how we should use whatever we have in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Whatever will help us in furthering the cause of Kṛṣṇa, “yena tena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet” – whatever will encourage a person to become more attached to Kṛṣṇa, that is actually good, that is very beneficial. Here in this verses of the Bhāgavatam, the devatās, the great demigods, they are telling Mother Devakī that you are very fortunate because Kṛṣṇa is present in you. So that is very good for Devakī as she has Kṛṣṇa within and that is very good for the universe because Kṛṣṇa is present in the universe. And although Kamsa, he could be a devotee but instead he through his own desire, he has become an enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He decided by being inimical to Kṛṣṇa, to be killed by Kṛṣṇa. He decided to kill Kṛṣṇa, since you cannot kill Kṛṣṇa that is a decision to be killed by Kṛṣṇa. That is also an unusual kind in a way to his benefit in that he will receive liberation but it is much more beneficial to be a devotee of the Lord.

So the devatās, they can see that when Kṛṣṇa is present, it is all fortunate. And then then offered their prayers and returned back to their respective homes in the higher planets. It is interesting that in the purport the previous ācāryas and Prabhupāda, they give in the purport that the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear continuously, there is no limit but they can be perceived only by devotees who are fortunate. And they use(say) that Lord Caitanya is still present.

Actually, the devatās are saying that, “you are very fortunate because Kṛṣṇa is in your womb. So, don’t worry.” A lot of times devotees get apprehensive, they get afraid, they wonder what is my future? What is the future of the world? What is going to happen? But just as the devatās told Devakī don’t be afraid, don’t worry, actually these verses are telling us don’t worry because Kṛṣṇa is with us. Here the deities are present, Prabhupāda is present. The Bhāgavatam is present and if we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa congregationally, Hare Kṛṣṇa, the nāma-avatāra is present. So what is the question of fear when the Lord is present? Fear should only be there when the Lord is not present. When Kṛṣṇa is present there is no cause of fear.

It is very interesting when I heard the next verse because the verse 41 had the word “kukṣigata” but in the purport for 42 it gave the commentary on “kukṣigata.” So, it is kind of interesting that text 42’s commentary referred to verse 41. So then how are these two verses then in verse 42 it says, “the Lord is always present,” but in 41 the verse says, “it is your good fortune and ours, there is nothing to worry about because Kṛṣṇa is present within you.”

So, the two verses were very much connected in the purports. Prabhupāda is saying here referring to Lord Caitanya but the verse says that, “Kṛṣṇa is present, so Devakī you shouldn’t worry.” Because Devakī was worried naturally, she is in a prison house and her brother Kamsa is ready to kill her child as soon as he is born, he can do anything, he is very demoniac. He could kill them. He had tried to kill her once before.

Certainly, there was sufficient cause for being afraid. However, the devatās are saying, Śiva, Brahmā and other demigods are saying, “Don’t be afraid because Kṛṣṇa is present.” Then in the purport Prabhupāda says that, “Lord Caitanya is present today for those who are fortunate enough to see.” So sometimes we find devotees becoming fearful, apprehensive. Apparently in the material world there is kind of middle-age syndrome when people become afraid or something of their future, I think they call the middle-age syndrome, I am not sure of the technical word for it.

Actually, here Prabhupāda is telling that, “there is no need to be afraid because Caitanya Mahāprabhu is present.” We find 40-year-old devotees who have been in the movement for 20 years suddenly they become very concerned with getting a job, getting a house, getting this getting that. They give up active devotional service because of fear. Prabhupāda said, “Fear is an animal principal due to not remembering Kṛṣṇa, due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, animals have no consciousness of Kṛṣṇa, they are always afraid. Human beings are also afraid until they become Kṛṣṇa conscious. When we are Kṛṣṇa conscious then there is no cause of fear.” Prabhupāda’s name is Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupāda. Abhaya means fearless Charanaravinda – having taken shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa. “bhaja hu re mana śrī nanda nandana abhaya caraṇāravinda re”

So, by taking shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Nanda Nandana or taking shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His saṅkīrtana movement abhaya caraṇāravinda re –there is no cause of any fear. Everybody wants to be fearless, so the sure fire method of being fearless is to be in constant connection with Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His saṅkīrtana movement. So that connection is ofcourse maintained because of our own – you see when Lord Caitanya was present we could just run out in the saṅkīrtana party.

Lord Caitanya is still present, the saṅkīrtana party is still there but you cannot see Lord Caitanya except you can see Him on the altar. So, in order to get that association, we have to come to the temple and see Him on the altar and run out in the saṅkīrtana party, harināma. We have to still go out and join Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana, then we feel fearless. So, Prabhupāda knew it was very difficult in the material world to survive in the struggle for existence.

So he wanted to make it easier for devotees to have a simple living, high thinking, to simplify their lives so that they could give more time to being Kṛṣṇa conscious. And by being Kṛṣṇa conscious all the fears, all the anxieties, all the problems in their lives would be diminished to nothing. And more they are separated from that transcendental connection naturally fears and problems start to increase and the more we take material methods to solve them then the more – it is like a syndrome – we have to work harder, more and more complicated, then to solve that.

So Prabhupāda realized all this that we have to keep our problems to the minimum by simplifying our lives and by being as Kṛṣṇa conscious as possible by chanting and hearing and serving. So, the six gosvāmīs, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja are very merciful that they left many teachings behind them, they have written many books so that we can read these books. Prabhupāda was very kind, he left his books behind so that we can read and hear the books – bhāgavata nitya sevayā – I was supposed to serve the devotees, Bhāgavata and book Bhāgavata every day for purification.

So, in this way we can also get directly the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is the real purpose of human life to remain in transcendental consciousness.

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