19911004 Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya-līlā 2.1-11 & Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.10.5

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami on October 4^th, 1991 in Atlanta, Georgia. The class begins with a reading from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter-2, Verse 1 through 11, and continues with the reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, 7^th Canto, Chapter 10, Verse 5.

(CC Madhya 2:2)

Translation: While relating in synopsis form the last division of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in this chapter I shall describe the Lord’s transcendental ecstasy, which appears like madness due to His separation from Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: In this second chapter, the activities of Lord Caitanya that took place after the Lord accepted sannyāsa are generally described. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is specifically mentioned here as being Gaura, or of fair complexion. Kṛṣṇa is generally known to be blackish, but when He is absorbed in the thought of the gopīs, who are all of fair complexion, Kṛṣṇa Himself also becomes fair.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in particular felt separation from Kṛṣṇa very deeply, exactly like a lover who is dejected in separation from the beloved. Such feelings, which were expressed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for nearly twelve years at the end of His pastimes, are described in brief in this second chapter of Madhya-līlā.

(Leads chanting of the verse) (Devotees repeat) 

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda(CC Madhya 2:3)

All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all glories to Lord Nityānanda, all glories to Advaitācandra, all glories to all the devotees of the Lord.

śeṣa ye rahila prabhura dvādaśa vatsara
kṛṣṇera viyoga-sphūrti haya nirantara

During His last twelve years, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu always manifested all the symptoms of ecstasy in separation from Kṛṣṇa.

śrī-rādhikāra ceṣṭā yena uddhava-darśane
ei-mata daśā prabhura haya rātri-dine (CC Madhya 2:5)

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s state of mind, day and night, was practically identical to Rādhārāṇī’s state of mind when Uddhava came to Vṛndāvana to see the gopīs.

nirantara haya prabhura viraha-unmāda
bhrama-māyā ceṣṭā sadā, pralāpa-māyā vāda (CC Madhya 2:6)

The Lord constantly exhibited a state of mind reflecting the madness of separation. All His activities were based on forgetfulness, and His talks were always based on madness.

roma-kūpe raktodgama, danta saba hale
kṣaṇe aṅga kṣīṇa haya, kṣaṇe aṅga phule (CC Madhya 2:7)

Blood flowed from all the pores of His body, and all His teeth were loosened. At one moment His whole body became slender, and at another moment His whole body became fat.

gambhīrā-bhitare rātre nāhi nidrā-lava

bhitte mukha-śira ghaṣe, kṣata haya saba (CC Madhya 2:8)

The small room beyond the corridor is called the Gambhīrā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to stay in that room, but He did not sleep for a moment. All night He used to grind His mouth and head on the ground, and His face sustained injuries all over.

tina dvāre kapāṭa, prabhu yāyena bāhire
kabhu siṁha-dvāre paḍe, kabhu sindhu-nīre (CC Madhya 2:9)

Although the three doors of the house were always closed, the Lord would nonetheless go out and sometimes would be found at the Jagannātha temple, before the gate known as Siṁha-dvāra. And sometimes the Lord would fall flat into the sea.

caṭaka parvata dekhi’ ‘govardhana’ bhrame
dhāñā cale ārta-nāda kariyā krandane (CC Madhya 2:10)

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would also run very fast across the sand dunes, mistaking them for Govardhana. As He ran, He would wail and cry loudly.

Purport: Sometimes because of (excuse me) because of the winds of the sea, sometimes the sand would form dunes. Such sand dunes are called caṭaka parvata. Instead of seeing these sand dunes simply as hills of sand, the Lord would take them to be Govardhana Hill. Sometimes He would run toward these dunes at high speed, crying very loudly, expressing the state of mind exhibited by Rādhārāṇī. Thus Caitanya Mahāprabhu was absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes. His state of mind brought Him the atmosphere of Vṛndāvana and Govardhana Hill, and thus He enjoyed the transcendental bliss of separation and meeting.

In the seventh island of the Māyāpur-dhāma, the Māyāpur-Navadvīpa-dhāma, in the island of Modadrumadvipa, there is a place where Lord Rāmacandra visited, when he left Ayodhya before he went to Daṇḍakāraṇya forest. So, that is recorded in Śrī Navadvīpa Māhātmyaṁ that Sītādevī asked “What is this beautiful place? I feel very much at home here", and Rāmacandra explained to her that this was the place of his eternal pastimes, that he appears in the Age of Kali.  So, at the end of these pastimes, you are going to go and live in the forest and I am going to be worshiping a golden form of you in Ayodhya, feeling great separation from you. And in that incarnation, in the Kali-yuga, I am going to come, and you are also going to come as my consort, Viṣṇupriyā, and you are going to worship my golden form in your house; I am going to go into the forest.

“Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa at the age of twenty-four and left the comforts of family life...the association of his consort Viṣṇupriyā, who had just, was serving him in separation, and He went in to the forest.

So, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates with his devotees, as He promised in the Bhagavad-gītā:

 ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11).

So, Sītā... Rāma had to banish Sītā, but Sītā actually was very happy, living again in the forest. Rāma was actually experiencing more separation, feeling very bad that His wife was there in the forest, what's happening? So he was feeling that type of concern and separation, worshiping Sītā.

When Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa, He wasn't thinking about His consort in that way. He was rather thinking forward of Kṛṣṇa, serving Himself in the mood of Rādhārāṇī, but Viṣṇupriyā was feeling great separation from Lord Caitanya, and concerned about Caitanya Mahāprabhu and she was worshiping Deity of Lord Caitanya - Of course, Lord Caitanya is golden, so the Deity is also golden in colour.

It's also interesting to note Rādhārāṇī spent a significant portion of her life absorbed in complete separation of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, and here Kṛṣṇa has come as Lord Caitanya, He is also feeling that separation of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. So, Kṛṣṇa has taken the same mood as Rādhārāṇī. Of course, actually the separation is considered to be the highest ecstasy of devotional service. Materially, the idea of separation, of being separated from a loved one is the pits of frustration. Again in the spiritual realm, everything is transcendental. Different contradictory, or contradictions become equal, that although a devotee is feeling separation from the Lord, because the Lord in His separation, Lord and His devotion, Lord and His remembrance is not different. So, in that mood of separation of the Lord, the devotee is actually feeling spiritual ecstasy.

That separation brings one very close to Kṛṣṇa, brings one completely in connection with Kṛṣṇa. Beautifully, His Holiness Svarūpa Dāmodara Mahārāja sings the bhajanas in a mood of separation. This was the mood that Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and other ācāryas, especially they sing many songs in a mood of separation, which actually melts the heart of the listener. So, here, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja is giving us a little vision, preview of Lord Caitanya's last pastimes. He was very old, he was concerned he may die at any time and somehow these pastimes may be lost, so he is giving the pastimes in a synopsis, just referring to them, just at least for posterity's sake, they were referred to, not knowing that he would live long enough to finish the whole book. That's why here in the beginning of the second chapter he is just chronologically giving the pastimes of the Lord, Subsequently, he will give them in detail.

(CC Madhya 2:10)

upavanodyāna dekhi’ vṛndāvana-jñāna
tāhāṅ yāi’ nāce, gāya, kṣaṇe mūrcchā yā’na

Translation: Sometimes Caitanya Mahāprabhu mistook the small parks of the city for Vṛndāvana. Sometimes He would go there, dance and chant and sometimes fall unconscious in spiritual ecstasy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting to note that five hundred years ago, there were many small parks in Jagannath Purī – there is none left now, very few parks are left, only the deity temple parks are there. In Māyāpur, we are trying to build the spiritual township. We wanted to have many parks and many trees everywhere. So here, there were many, there are small parks in Jagannātha Purī, now if you see go, it's hard to find any small parks. They have constructed everything. So recently it must be that Jagannātha Purī was much more of a garden city than it is today.

(CC Madhya 2:11)

kāhāṅ nāhi śuni yei bhāvera vikāra
sei bhāva haya prabhura śarīre pracāra

Translation: The extraordinary transformations of the body due to transcendental feelings would never have been possible for anyone but the Lord, in whose body all transformations were manifest.

Purport (by Śrīla Prabhupāda): The ecstatic transformations of the body as described in such exalted literatures as the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu are practically not seen in this material world. However, these symptoms were perfectly present in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. These symptoms are indicative of mahābhāva, or the highest ecstasy. Sometimes sahajiyās artificially imitate these symptoms, but experienced devotees reject such imitations immediately. The author admits herein that these symptoms are not to be found anywhere but in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Translation (ŚB 7.10.5): A servant who desires material profits from his master is certainly not a qualified servant or pure devotee. Similarly, a master who bestows benedictions upon his servant because of a desire to maintain a prestigious position as master is also not a pure master.

Purport by His Divine Grace Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (devotees respond “Jaya”)

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20),

kāmais ai stair hṛta-jñānāḥ
prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ.

“Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods.” A demigod cannot become master, for the real master is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demigods, to keep their prestigious positions, bestow upon their worshipers whatever benedictions the worshipers want. For example, once it was found that an asura took a benediction from Lord Śiva by which the asura would be able to kill someone simply by placing his hands on that person’s head. Such benedictions are possible to receive from the demigods. If one worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, the Lord will never offer him such condemned benedictions. On the contrary, it is said in the Bhāgavatam (10.88.8),

yasyāham anugṛhnāmi
hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ.

If one is too materialistic but at the same time wants to be a servant of the Supreme Lord, the Lord, because of His supreme compassion for the devotee, takes away all his material opulences and obliges him to be a pure devotee of the Lord. Prahlāda Mahārāja distinguishes between the pure devotee and the pure master. Who is an unalloyed devotee with no material motives is the pure servant. One who has materialistic motivations cannot become a servant, and one who unnecessarily bestows benedictions upon his servant to keep his own prestigious position is not a real master.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport to Text 5, Chapter 10 of the Canto 7 of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Prahlāda, the best among exalted devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: The point is, a master is described here as “Swami”- another meaning of Swami is also “pati", these words not only mean controller or master, but they also mean protector. Now the servitor is protected by his master. So, by a true master. Therefore, how can a master give something to his servitor, which will be the sudden destruction of the servitor? Just like a parent wouldn't give some razor blades to the little toddler, “You play with this", even if the baby wants, “Oh, please give me that straight-edged razor, I want to play.” The parent will not give, because the baby will cut himself. So Kṛṣṇa, is a real master, the real master, protector of everyone, so some devotee wants something which is actually going to be destructive for the devotee, Kṛṣṇa will not give it. Therefore, some people, they choose to worship the devas or demigods, because they don't ask, it's like no questions asked. “Whatever you want, take it". That's appealing especially to the demoniac people who want things which they won't get from Kṛṣṇa. They want to take away people’s heads or to do some kind of with horrible powers, this special possibility to get that from the different devas.

But here, Prahlāda, he has been offered by Nṛśinghadeva, “You can have whatever you want". So that implies that Prahlāda, at once he could have any material benediction. He has a blank cheque “Take the cheque, you fill in the amount. Whatever you want, you can have.” But he is returning the cheque back to Nṛśinghadeva, “I don't want anything material. I am simply Your servitor. I simply want to serve You. I don't have any other desire. And, it's not very good that You are tempting me with some material things because, by doing that, if someone takes the material sense gratification, that could be a big obstacle on their path of devotional service".

So actually, Nṛśinghadeva, obviously he knows that Prahlāda was His unalloyed devotee and would not accept this temptation to take some material benediction. Later, after Prahlāda refused any material benediction, then Lord Caitanya [Nṛśinghadeva] ordered him, “You have to engage in some material activities, you have to act as a king for all these demons, but you shouldn't do any sense gratification, you shouldn't do any fruitive activities. So, Prahlāda Mahārāja, he remained as a king of the demons, but didn't do any material activities. It's a contradiction in one sense. How can you be a king and not do any material activities? Because Prahlāda Mahārāja is being told to see everything as the Lord's energy. Do everything in devotional service to the Lord. That's the special characteristic.

So although Prahlāda is going to get unlimited wealth and opulence, he won't forget Kṛṣṇa, he will use everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa. One has to be especially favoured by the Lord to be able to get the benediction of so much material opulence and not be at all affected. We see that many people become affected or corrupted because of concentration of wealth. That's the basic difficulty. But Prahlāda is being ordered by the Lord to accept this opulence. At the same time, the Lord is telling him to always remain Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, in his prayers, worshiping Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, he said that “I come here to Vṛndāvana and I am looking back at my life, I have wife, I have children, I have relatives, society, friends, but where are they all now? What does it all mean now? Here I am in Vṛndāvana, the holy dhāma of the Lord, taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Now that I don't have any money, I don't have to worry about family and friends because they have all left me anyway. When someone doesn't have any money, then nobody is very interested. Somebody wins the lottery, all kinds of relatives come up out of nowhere, “Hey Uncle Bill, I haven't seen you for a long time!” Prabhupāda said this was the causeless mercy of the Lord, he said that many of his material situations at a particular stage in his life all fell apart. Although astrologically, they weren't supposed to fall apart, they fell apart, and he took it to mean it was the mercy of the Lord. To just give that little last assistance in completely detaching. So, to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa, he may also take something away, if He sees it is an obstacle in the path of your spiritual life.

So that's why, Prahlāda, he was surprised why the Lord is offering me material benediction. So, actually, this is a test that is nicely showing the world where Prahlāda is at. Someone might think that “Oh, Prahlāda is just another devotee [among] so many nice devotees of God". In America, it came in the papers this morning, there are a hundred-and-forty-five million people that belong to different denominations and churches. It's gone up to a hundred-and-forty-seven million. So, yeah, a lot of people belong to some organized religion. So, many people are devoted to God, and in the whole world, there are so many. But here, the chapter is entitled “Prahlāda, the best among exalted devotees". Again, most devotees of the Lord are praying to the Lord to help them in some material sense. Give some material blessing. But here, Prahlāda is being personally offered by the Lord, “You can have anything you want", and he is saying “I don't want anything in exchange for my service to You. You are my master, I am your servant - that's all I need."

Rāmacandra offered Hanumān a blessing that he could have anything he wanted, but Hanumān didn't ask anything. He just said that “You are my master and I am your servant, that's all that I want".

But then, Rāma kept requesting “You take something. I have to give you something. Isn't there anything you want?”

So then finally, Hanumān said “Although You are my worshipable Lord, I am feeling very great affection for You. If I could just one time, like a son, embrace You, (aside: his father), if I could embrace You". So then, Hanumān, he embraced Lord Rāma. Rāma embraced him. So these are devotees with no material motives. They are serving the Lord simply for the Lord's pleasure. Even if the Lord offers them anything material, they don't accept. Even if the Lord offers them mukti, liberation, if it doesn't include the devotional service of the Lord, they are not interested.

When Lord Caitanya offered Kolaveca Śrīdhara a benediction during the mahā-prakāśa pastime in Navadvīpa, this simple banana peddler was a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, so Lord Caitanya offered him, “You can have anything you want. What do you want?",

He said “I don't want anything.”

He [Lord Caitanya] said “I want to give you a benediction, you have to take something. Do you want to become a big king? You can have so many subjects and big treasury, everything, head of state.”

Kolaveca Śrīdhara says “No, I don't want to be a king. I don't need that.”

“So then, what do you want? Do you want mystic power? You can get aṇimā, prāpti, anything you want you can have, you can become smaller than the smallest, mahimā - bigger than the biggest, aṣṭa-siddhi, all the eight mystic powers you can have. So, you want those?”

Kolaveca Śrīdhara said “No, I don' t need those eight siddhīs.”

“So then, what do you want? Alright, I'll give you liberation. No more birth and death. You can merge into the brahma-jyoti. Liberated.”

Kolaveca Śrīdhara said “No, I don't want to merge into the brahma-jyoti, I don't want any liberation."

“What is it that you want? Something you must ask from me.”

So then he said, “Well, If I had to ask for something, there is one thing that I wanted to... I could ask - although, I don't really want to ask anything, but if I had to ask, there is one thing I could ask. That You, as a child, You used to come to me and get bananas and vegetables from me, and we used to have so many different arguments over the prices of the vegetables and everything. And I would always be remembering Your smiling face, so, if You think it is possible, then I would like to provide You in any incarnation You take, all Your vegetable needs. Your bananas and vegetables. I would like to be able to see that smiling face. If that's not possible, at least allow me to take birth in a family of Your devotees, so that I can at least engage in your devotional service and hear Your holy name.

So then Lord Caitanya said to Kolaveca Śrīdhara, “Well, I am going to give you a benediction. Even Brahmā and Śiva, they are very eager to get this benediction. I am going to give you the benediction of pure Kṛṣṇa-prema” When the devotees heard how the Lord was giving this highest benediction to this simple banana peddler, this simple devotee, they became overwhelmed and they just started... there was a tumultuous roar “Nitāi-Gaura Premānande Hari Hari Haribol! (devotees respond “Haribol").

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu ki (devotees respond”Jaya").

Gaurāṅga ki (devotees respond”Jaya").

Hari Hari Haribol! (devotees respond”Haribol").

The whole sky was just filled with the tumultuous sound of the devotees. They became so mad in appreciation of the Lord's mercy that some of them were just like (gasps in exclamation).. couldn't believe it, they were pulling on their hair, hair is coming out of their heads. Some people are twisting out of the sounds, just rolling on the ground in ecstasy. How the Lord is so merciful to His devotees!

So, sometimes, the Lord tests His devotee by offering different alternatives. Even when the gopīs went to see Kṛṣṇa when He played the flute, He said so many things “You go back, it's late, what are you doing here?” So sometimes, Kṛṣṇa, He plays with the devotees in different ways, saying different things, so one has to be prepared for the worst. Be prepared that Kṛṣṇa may test one in different ways. So, the devotee should be very clear: actually, devotional service is goal oriented. We are working for the goal of pure devotional service and anything short of that, the devotee’s not interested. The devotee already understands that there is no value to this temporary material world, there is no value to liberation. See, the Lord Himself is offering Prahlāda, “Do you want anything? Take it.” Prahlāda is refusing, he is saying that it is not...” Good servant won't take anything, doesn't serve because he wants to get something in return. A pure devotee doesn't work with any material motive. Nor does a real master give something to His servitor, which does not serve Him. In other words, this material happiness is just an entanglement into laws of karma which help us to forget Kṛṣṇa. So, it's not very suitable for someone's well-being to engage in any kind of material activities, as far... I mean any fruitive activities.

So, before Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to us, before Kṛṣṇa will give this, it is like the final exam, “Is there anything you wanted? Would you like liberation or something?” Just like... kind of... double-checking, before you get to that point, māyā will have already offered you everything. Any you have to have... reject māyā's offering. It's not that Prahlāda got to this point of seeing Nārāyaṇa, seeing Narasiṁhadeva face to face by not having already passed so many other tests. His father was the richest man in the universe. He has already offered him, “You can have the entire universe, it's all yours. Just accept me as God. Reject Kṛṣṇa. I will give you the whole universe.” Prahlāda wasn't interested. He said “You get your powers from Kṛṣṇa. You are not independent.” That's what his father couldn't tolerate. His son believed in God. So Prahlāda had already gone through so many different tests. Even his father had given him over to the deprogrammers. As the sons of Śukrācārya completely programs this kid. Train him up to be a good materialist. But they were not able to change the ideas of Prahlāda. And, as part of the deprogramming attack, they tortured Prahlāda, trying to kill him in different ways, and when that failed, of course they were then just trying to eliminate him. But he was protected by Kṛṣṇa.

So in the very beginning stages, just like you had to go through first grade, second grade, third grade, you take their different tests, leading up to primary school leaving certificate, then going into your secondary school, then finally your high school graduation, finally going into university, then bachelor's, then master's, PhD. Many different levels are there and at each level, every year, there are so many examinations. Even there is smaller semester examinations, monthly examinations, quizzes, and so on. So we have to be prepared that māyā is going to be quizzing us: she is our school teacher for the first grades. She first of all offers us all types of allurements, trying to find out whether we have really realized that there is nothing other than Kṛṣṇa, that there is no happiness in this material world. If we still accept some of the things she offers, then she gives us her special training course. It's called “Bait and Kick".

She lures us and then she kicks us. Then we realize, first hand, that this material world is a place of suffering, duḥkhālayam aśāsvatam (Bg. 8.15). So, our goal is mahājano yena gatāḥ sa panthāḥ (Cc. Madhya 17.186), to follow in the footsteps of the mahājanas, Prahlāda is one of the mahājanas. He is the best of exalted devotees, why not follow in his footsteps? To get up to the position where he is, to see the Lord face-to-face, he had already crossed so many exams. Similarly, we have to be determined that at every step in our devotional service, we don't compromise. That we keep devotional service to Kṛṣṇa as our only activity. Even Prahlāda, later the Lord ordered him, that he became a king of the demons, “You live in that opulence, but you don't do any fruitive activities. It's an interesting point, how can you enjoy, be a king, be in opulence, and he says... and the Lord says, “Don't do fruitive activities.” Because, everything that Prahlāda does is consciously in the service of the Lord. The Lord ordered him to be the king, so okay, he did it. It's the Lord's order.

Kṛṣṇa ordered Arjuna to be a king, to fight the war, and so he did it. Not because he wanted to be the king, but because Kṛṣṇa wanted him to do it. Somebody has to do it, so Kṛṣṇa ordered a devotee to do it. So many demons and so many materialistic people are rulers and they exploit the people, why not have one dedicated devotee do it, and he will protect the citizens and guide them in the path of spiritual life to the extent that a head of state can do it. There are many examples. So, we have to be prepared every day, every moment, every day, all the time, for māyā to be giving her little quizzes, to check are we still committed to simply serving Kṛṣṇa? Sometimes she just does a random check, flash quiz, surprise quiz, and see if we pass. We get a few failure points, then she follows up on that and keeps trying with some more quizzes, So the devotees, they have, sometimes, you see devotees, they lose sight on what the goal is. Sometimes, they make comments, “Oh look at that devotee. He is able to do so much māyā, why can't I do it? That devotee misses maṅgala-ārati, so what's the problem if I miss maṅgala-ārati?” Or,” or that devotee has got this facility, why can't I have that facility? He is enjoying these things, so why can't I enjoy these things?...”

Someone like Prahlāda may be ordered, “You be the ruler. You do this". He didn't want to, he was offered – “You want anything?" or “You don't want anything". Kṛṣṇa gives you something, we use it in Kṛṣṇa's service. But the devotee doesn't want anything in anybody else's hands. If he is given something by Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, he will use it in Kṛṣṇa's service. Otherwise, a devotee who doesn't have any desire, neither the devotee is envious of anyone. Nirmatsarānām - no envy, Akāma (no desire for fruitive things). There may be other devotees who are not, because we are trying to get devotees gradually up to the level of pure devotional service. So, someone may not be on that level, but they are still doing some service, so we are trying to engage them and help them to become more purified in their service.

If we try to gauge our devotional service simply by the other conditioned souls that we are working with, that will not be the ultimate test. It may be interesting for academic reasons. But the real objective is to gauge ourselves in comparison to these great devotees, these exalted devotees, to try to come up. Just like nowadays there is a Olympic fever going on in Atlanta because the 1996 Olympics are going to be here. Somehow, people are thinking always about sports in different parts of the world. Recently, there was some big competition, some athletic competition, and some world records were set. Because the different people were running with the top runners in the 100-meter dash, whatever you call it, so, they set the new world record. Same... material things, there is always this competition, and one is trying to beat the other. But if they are running, and the other people aren't running very fast, then they can win easily. Usually, in those circumstances world records are broken when everybody is running at their peak speed, even the person in number two, in one race, he also broke the world record. But the person that held the record before, pushed his own record even more because of the intense competition.

So, it's very good if we have a good association. If we want to pace ourselves with a competition, we should choose the best devotee that we know, and try to serve that devotee, and try to come up to that devotee's level of devotional service. We shouldn't look at the weakest devotee in the āśrama and say, “Why can't I be like that?” In a race, who will say looking at a person that comes in the end of the marathon, “Why couldn't I run like him?” You look at the first, and the person in the front. And, in case you don't find anybody in the front, then you look to Śrīla Prabhupāda, look to the previous ācāryas, look to the Mahājanās, look to the great devotees, and try to gauge yourself by following in their footsteps. Then, you can get the mercy like Prahlāda, like Hanumān, like so many great devotees got, you can get the mercy. The Lord wants to give the mercy, wants to take you into His arms, He wants to take you into His association. It's our defect, we are the worst enemies of ourselves, we don't want it. Instead of being overwhelmed in separation, how to be with Kṛṣṇa, if we are still looking, “Well if that person has a VCR, then why don't I have one? That person has car, why can't I have one? That person has...”, then we are just like on the Joneses, like in America, trying to beat the Joneses. We are just into material thoughts.

We should see, which devotee is getting up every day for maṅgala-ārati, “Prabhu, how do you do it? I want to also be very regular in my devotional service.” Which devotee is chanting their rounds very nicely? Which devotee is doing saṅkīrtana very enthusiastically, distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books? Which devotee is always staying engaged in devotional service, come, you know, what may, they are always enthusiastic and doing their devotional service - we say, look for those devotees, serve those devotees. Try to get the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, get their good association. See what is it... how they are able to do those things so nicely. We should go for the highest examples we have, and try to emulate them, try to come up to their standards. Try to help them in their service to get their blessings, to also get their good quality. In the material life, anyone better than you, you want to pull them down. Actually they must have some other motive, and they are no good". Anyone lower than, “Arrey, these people, they are nothing. I am much greater than they are". Anyone equal? The whole attitude in material life is like that.

In spiritual life, you want to serve those who are more advanced, you want to help those who are less advanced, so you want to associate with those who are pure. We want to do whatever is pleasing to Kṛṣṇa, what is ever favourable route to our devotional service. Anything other than that, means that somehow we are compromising with māyā. So why we have the disciplic succession, why have these stories of great devotees, is so that we always keep the... this is the acid test, this is the Litmus test, this is the test of the devotional service, we have to gauge it according, ultimately according to these standards. This is what will keep Kṛṣṇa Consciousness pure for the next ten thousand years. Not like in some contemporary religions, where they... just see what is going on in society. Fifty years ago, everybody wore maxi-skirts and blouses up to their neck and nobody... a hundred years ago, maybe, not fifty, right? Wrong time zone. And now everybody wears mini-skirts and see-through blouses and what-not, so now it's alright to do that, because now the Nuns can have a higher skirts and everything, because you know, it's like you go by whatever the status of māyā is in the kingdom of māyā at this day and age.

And in this way, pretty soon, you got Bingo in the churches, and you know got lotteries, and oh everything, you know. Drinking in the basement, dances in the church auxiliary buildings, and all kinds of crazy things going on in the name of religion, just to attract the people. Because, they don't have a... they are not gauging by any absolute parameter. We don't want to fall into that syndrome.

We follow the mahājanas, we follow the great devotees. We don't look at the lowest common denominator, or what's the state of the weakest situation in the temple, we rather look to the best example, and try to move up to that.

“I am doing four hours of service a day, why should I do five hours, the other devotees are only doing three hours. So, I should also do three hours.” Rather, we should think, how I can do twenty-four hours? If I can do twenty-four hours a day devotional service a day, I won't be in this material world anymore, I won't be in forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa anymore, I will be in connection with Kṛṣṇa. Those who are doing less devotional service are less fortunate. Those who are doing more devotional service, they are more fortunate.

One time, a renowned sannyāsī went to Prabhupāda in Bombay and said, “Prabhupāda! So much service, I can't deal. I mean I have to do the construction, the temple president, the BBT, the GBC, I have to do so many different things. So, what should I do Śrīla Prabhupāda? I just don't know how to do everything, it's so much!

Then Prabhupāda said, “You can also take charge of the construction. In this way, you will be so busy that māyā will.... there will be no time for māyā. And this is the objective. We should be so absorbed in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, there is no chance for māyā to enter. No entry for māyā.

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

(Devotees join in reciting)

Any questions, or comments from...?

(Question inaudible) 

On a Deity: In Navadvīpa-dhāma, they have a deity which they claim was the Deity that Viṣṇupriyā worshiped. I don't know if it's... the part they were authentic. I don't know the real history of that Deity; I didn't investigate actually. They claim it to be the original deity made from the original neem tree that Lord Caitanya was born under. They used to charge fifty paisa to take a darśana. I don't know if it's the real Deity. They are - the Deities - they obviously exist somewhere, but I didn't... that's what people generally say, that that's the Deity, but, I didn't... Since we stopped charging people, they to our temple, they said, now you can go free. They don't charge any more. Bhaktisiddhānta stopped the charging business. Any other question? Mahārājas? Comments? Śrīdhara Mahārāja? (Śrīdhara Mahārāja replies, “Nice weather".

(Jayapatākā Swami laughs. Good day for a walk.) 42:29

*applause*

On God: People had a... They used to have a God where you just kind of... talk to God, tell God all your problems, just like the kind of psychiatrist that you go to and just open up everything. And it is his turn, listens, and once in a while he gives you whatever you want. But, the God that actually interacts with you, who will talk back, who act with you as a person, they get frightened, they don't know if it's like a new... a new concept. That the Lord is actually a person. So that's why Lord Caitanya, He has contributed this to the world, that He is revealing this mystery of God, mystery of a person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! Śrīla Prabhupāda brought that to the western world. Therefore, what Prabhupāda has contributed is probably historical. No parallels in the past thousands of years, of a revelation like what Śrīla Prabhupāda has brought here to the west.

Śrīla Prabhupāda kī

(Devotees respond, “Jaya!!")

Rūpa Gosvāmī was very rich, he gave fifty percent of his income to Kṛṣṇa, and Kolāveca Śrīdhara, who was very poor, but he gave fifty percent of his income to Kṛṣṇa. They were all leading their lives according to the guidelines given by their gurus by the scripture, and their purpose was that Kṛṣṇa would be pleased. They did their material activities as their duty and did their devotional activities... They did their material activities as their duty, but in such a way that they would be used in their devotional life. So, in this way, their activities are always connected with Kṛṣṇa, they just... there wasn't a dichotomy that they just did something that was unauthorized, just with the idea that “Well, a little sense gratification doesn't matter. I can do a little bit even though it's not Kṛṣṇa conscious, I can do a little bit, because I am also doing a little bit of devotion. I can smoke a few joints once in a while, it's alright, you know, I could, you know... It's alright if I have a little illicit sex, because anyway I am also chanting, so it's okay."

For gṛhasthas, there is rules how to be a gṛhastha, how to have sex life, how to do business, how to do everything, there is some principle. And the devotee acts accordingly, because his purpose is to please Kṛṣṇa. So, although they are... some people may be rich, some may be poor, but they are all doing their activities with the purpose of pleasing Kṛṣṇa. We have to see there is a categorical difference between doing your activities to please Kṛṣṇa, and being successful at it. You may personally be very successful materially, you may be very rich, but if he's still doing his activities with the purpose of pleasing Kṛṣṇa, and doesn't do things which are not conducive or not authorized in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he can be a pure devotee, even though he is materially rich, that's it. Even while he can be very poor, but if he thinks, “Well let me do...", just like you hear sometimes a devotee say, “Well,...I mean, that devotees who are, you know, not having children, they are having... they are doing their rhythm system or their doing... taking contraceptives, or doing different things because they want to enjoy. And they think,”

Anyway, I am chanting, I am a devotee, it's alright. It's not really possible to practice only once in a month.” So, people are doing all kind of things. And they are living with it by just saying, “I am doing a little bhakti", you know, “a little Kṛṣṇa.” And in the end, you see these people are put in complete anxiety. So we should be very clear that this is not pure devotional service. It's mixed devotional service, and they're not properly situated. Just not a bona fide, authorized path by the ācāryas. They have to accept it as māyā. You see, if you accept māyā as māyā, then you can start to cure. If you think that your disease is your natural state of life, they you are not going to try to cure the disease. It's like people have cancer or tuberculosis, you *cough cough cough* and they are smoking all the time. Someone says, “You are going to burn that cough, you've got to check this out”

“No, it's... I always has it".

They check with a doctor and they finally got cancer, because they just didn't take it seriously because they are always coughing, they thought it was like my natural state of life। We get into doing māyā and because of little bit we are getting shelter from Kṛṣṇa because we are doing some devotion, then we don't take it seriously. But actually what, māyā is gradually... the weeds are growing. What's happening is that we are allowing weeds to get watered like anything, and at one point that weed can grow, and afterwards smother our devotional creeper. And we have seen this even in, you know, so-called big devotees, that they have allowed the weeds to be watered. We have to be very careful of our garden, you are a florist sometimes, I don't know what you are doing now, but when we are growing our flowers, we have to keep the unnecessary plants out of the flower patch, otherwise they can smother the whole flower patch।

And what's happening is that, if we compromise with our pure devotional service, we are giving some of our energy to weeds, and maybe in the beginning, the weeds start off small, but after a while, they are going to grow and grow and grow, and eventually, the weeds can smother our actual devotional creeper. And this is what you see, so many devotees, in the beginning it was a little bhakti and a little bhukti, and after a while, bhukti took over. And there is a difference between Kolaveca Śrīdhara and many of these nitya-siddha devotees, who are all wealthy, in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's association, is that although they are doing their material activity, they were not actually doing sense gratification. I mean, they were not doing unrelated sense gratification. They were dovetailing everything in Kṛṣṇa's service. They ate Kṛṣṇa-prasādam, they did their material activity।

Just like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he was a magistrate, but he would finish his... he would use his position in order to find the birthplace of Lord Caitanya. Would spend the whole night writing Vaiṣṇava songs and books, and he would go out and preach, and he did so many different things, that... he had thirteen children, you know, his very advocacy wasn't practicing any contraceptives or anything, he was... you know, he had a lot of energy he dovetailed in Kṛṣṇa's service, he had a lot of children. And he engaged his children in Kṛṣṇa's service. And he also realized Kṛṣṇa, he realized his svarūpa, he realized everything. So one has to be completely honest with Kṛṣṇa, completely straightforward, and they had to engage in your activities in the way authorized by the ācāryas. As soon as you want to do something that's not authorized, then we are going to be in... we will be watering weeds, we will be putting our feet in two different boats, and we are going to be eventually down the road, we are going to be in difficulty.

So we shouldn't think that because some of Lord Caitanya's devotees were rich, that they were not pure devotees. Many, can personally be rich and then the same uses the money only for Kṛṣṇa. He may maintain his family and do his business in a bona fide way, and use... according to the proper way, he can use his money for Kṛṣṇa, and he can remain in the transcendental position if he sees everything as Kṛṣṇa's property. If he thinks “It's mine, and this is for me, and this is for Kṛṣṇa", soon as we start to divide, this is my Kṛṣṇa Conscious life, and this is my māyā life, then we're in two boats, so our point is that Kṛṣṇa has given us, look, it's not possible to be a brahmacārī, or sannyāsī for everybody in Kali-yuga, it's not even recommended, so Kṛṣṇa has given the way how you can practice devotional service, and live in this material situation, but there this is very clear way how to do it, and once you don't follow the way or the practice that is prescribed, then we will be watering weeds. So we should take... we have to minutely see how those... there is a difference between, you know like, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, who was completely detached from his material situation, completely sold out to Kṛṣṇa, at the same time he put on a facade of being a materialist. And someone like Govardhana, Hiranya Mazumdar, who were the parents of Raghunāth dāsa Gosvāmī, who put on the facade of being devotees, but who had lot of material attachments and they didn't want their son to be a full time devotee, they didn't want this that they took him and kept deprogramming him and kidnapping him, at the same time, they put on a show that they were pure devotees, sending him money, thinking how will he be happy without material comfort, so they are sending him money thinking that, you know, “He has to have material comfort to be happy."

So, that's why Lord Caitanya said they were vaiṣṇava-aparādhīs, they are almost Vaiṣṇavas, but they still have this conception. They think that unless you have all these material things, you can't be happy. They are attached to those things. Whereas, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, he had all the opulence’s, he was completely detached. He had it so he used it in Kṛṣṇa's service. He wasn't at all attached to it. In one second he could just throw the whole thing away in ecstasy of Kṛṣṇa, tear up this whole place. But because Kṛṣṇa gave him this wealth, he didn't just throw this away and artificially be a markeṭa-vairāgi, he used it in Kṛṣṇa's service, he built temples, helped the deity worship, Lakshmi-Nārāyaṇa temples, so many different things, but, he actually wasn't attached to the opulence that he had. He had it so he used for Kṛṣṇa's service. So there are nitya-siddha devotees who are very opulent, and there are other devotees who are mixed. And so, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi had a lot of Kṛṣṇa and Govardhan Hiranya Majumdar didn't have that level of love of Kṛṣṇa. They didn't have love of Kṛṣṇa. They had some devotion, maybe eventually by Lord Caitanya's mercy they got love of Kṛṣṇa, but at that point, they were still in the manoratha, they were blessed by Kṛṣṇa, they were getting some results for their spiritual activities, but they didn't have that level of... they weren't nitya-siddhas like the others, according to Lord Caitanya's explanation. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

 

Verified by: Sadananda Krsnaprem Das