199403 Navadvīpa Maṇḍala Parikarmā - Vidyānagara

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was going to dhāma, Kṛṣṇa would come as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. As it is explained in the Caitanya-maṅgala, that time he was instructed to tell all the devas including Brahmā and others to get ready for the Lord’s appearance and take their them in Navadvīpa, Nadīyā and Gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi and different parts where His pastimes would take place like Utkala, Nīlācala, Śrī Kṣetra. So, Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas he was very eager to teach Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He wanted to have that sevā to the day coming ahead and serve the Lord as a teacher. So he appeared in this place as Vidyānagar, which is famous for knowledge. I heard of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when the different devas appeared and take the human form to a certain degree, they become affected by whatever environment they were in. They become one of the players and when they leave their bodies they may go back to their original position. So, it’s a sacrifice for them to come and take a human form. But to have the opportunity of being with the Lord, they won’t miss it.

So, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya although he appeared here because in those days Navadvīpa was so filled with karma-kāṇḍīs and jñāna-kāṇḍīs, where different karmīs and jñānīs. He somehow got affected by the impersonal philosophy and he became a Māyāvādī and when he left Navadvīpa forgetting his original purpose and went to Nīlācala, where he became a great guru and instructor for all the Māyāvādis. Teaching the impersonal philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya. Now when, Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa and went to Jagannātha Purī. Then at that time, He separated from His other followers flaming, anger at Nityānanda for having broken His daṇḍa into three parts. And He went alone to the Jagannath Purī temple. And when he reached the Jagannath Purī temple and met before at Lord Jagannath, He felt so much ecstasy that He fell intense before the deities. So, the other devotees I mean the pujaris there they thought that He is mad man, or He is doing something offensive they didn’t really know exactly what to make of it. They were surrounding and they were about to so something like drag Lord Caitanya out or. And then Sārvabhauma seeing His unusual features His, knowing the signs of physiology, he could understand that He had the lakshan or He had the features of a great soul. So, then he went and personally asked to have Lord Caitanya bought to his house. So, they picked him up and bought to his house. At that time Sārvabhauma tried to analyze Him, and he saw that he could he feel no pulse and no heartbeat. So that when he put a cotton swap before His nose, he saw that there was very slight motion of the cotton fiber. Which showed that he was still alive, and he was in a deep trance. So, this convinced Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya that He was a great soul, He was a mahapurush and that He was in samādhi in trance because of the, but he considered that H e was a devotee. Like his brother in law, Gopīnath acharya preached to him and tried to convince him that Lord Caitanya was actually Kṛṣṇa avatar. But Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya was not accepting. So, Sārvabhauma, he asked Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he offered to teach Him the scriptures of Sankalp Vedānta sutras. So, Lord Caitanya agreed and for 7 days Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya taught Vedānta sutra to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was saying the study of Shankaracharya.  So, actually Lord Caitanya knew that is the original desire of Brihaspati for coming to this world was to teach Him. So, He allowed him to teach Him in Jagannath Purī. Of course, at the end of the instruction, after 7 days He hadn’t said anything. Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya asked Him that “did you understand? why you’re not answering to question?”, and Lord Caitanya said “I perfectly understand the sutras, but I don’t understand you’re explanations. Sutras are difficult to understand and the explanation simplify it”. So, he said I can understand the sutras but not you’re explanations. It was a very clever way of saying that you’re explanation is faulty. So, then of course, there was a lengthy discussion and Lord Caitanya explained the direct Vaishnava understanding, the Bhagavat understanding of Vedānta sutra. And that time He also explained the ātmā rāma verse and so many different ways. And this way finding Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya, he was also then convinced that actually this must be the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa that was predicted. Then he fell down and surrendered at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and lord Caitanya revealed His Shadbhuj or six handed form to Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya. If u went to Jagannath Purī to the house of Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya you can see the Shadbhuj deity there, where Lord Caitanya revealed His form to Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya. So there is the birth place of Sārvabhauma, after that Sārvabhauma became one the very great notarian of Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Neelachal and being the top pandit of the whole Purī. When he accepted Caitanya Mahāprabhu and have remarkable effect. Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya would join into the kirtans singing and dancing and raising his hands in ecstasy, and this way people were amazed how this very dry stuffy jñānī have become a bhakta and was dancing and chanting in ecstasy. Even one morning Lord Caitanya came before this when Sārvabhauma Bhattacharya was to be seen in his bed, when He came then He immediately offered Himself here’s a, the mangal ārati mahaprasad some cashews offered to the lord. Please accept in mahaprasadam. So, normally a smartha brahman they say a prayer brush teeth and then bath that then only I will take prasad. But the higher principle of bhakti is when we get mahaprasadam, no matter what you should accept it. So, immediately he accepted that prasadam and ate it, and then Lord Caitanya said you being a pandit how is it you didn’t first do brush teeth and do all those things, he said when I get the mahaprasad from you then there is no rule or regulations. Mahaprasad can be accepted anytime. So, Lord Caitanya gave all His devotees this cashew and asked all of them how do you like this, they all said very nice. So, just see, there is nothing but nut, so many of us had some nut before, what special about it but because this was tasted by the lips of Lord Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa’s own mouth’s nectar has formulated this offering. Therefore, it started incomparable taste. Now all of them who were just relishing the transcendental mercy Kṛṣṇa and how His presence in prasāda was such a inspiration and made a simple foodstuff into nectar. They were doing kīrtana at Vidyānagar, that according to Navadvīpa Māhātmya and other authorities, actually Gaṅgādāsa is at toll that is quite close to Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s house somewhere behind Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita or in front. Some people thought that Lord Caitanya came here to study on a daily basis but the other praman shows that He was going to school somewhere in Navadvip at the Gangadas pandit’s toll. But this Vidyanagaris a place, where there were many pandits and it was a place were a lot of knowledge was cultivated and lord Caitanya would come here sometimes and discuss with those pandits and meet with them. But not that He would daily come here for His studies as a some is popularly, some people think that. In fact, He defeated all the pandits here and made them into devotees. So, they became really Vidyanagar because they all became devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Gaurāṅga! (Everybody chants)

Nityānanda! (Everybody chants)

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya kī! (Everybody says jaya)

Vidyānagar kī (everybody says jaya).