20150208 Initiation Address

Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes, His Divine Grace Tridandi Goswami Prabhodananda Saraswati Maharaja, he said that the pastimes of Lord Caitanya is like an ocean of pastimes, ocean of transcendental mellows and those who are not been touched by that ocean, by the waves of that ocean they are very, very unfortunate and for almost eternally, yugas and yugas, they will remain in this unfortunate condition. So we know that Kṛṣṇa comes once in a day of Brahmā, so I calculated how much time that was.  Four billion three hundred twenty million years and the night of Brahmā is also equally long that means that Kṛṣṇa comes to this universe once in a day of Brahmā or after eight billion six hundred and forty million years.

But to get the love of Kṛṣṇa one has to fully surrender unto Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes Lord Caitanya comes after Kṛṣṇa, not everytime and that means after 8 billion six hundred forty million years Kṛṣṇa will come again. But whether Lord Caitanya will come, that’s not sure. And Kṛṣṇa wants to take the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Just like Rādhārāṇī is so merciful.  Lord Caitanya also gives out his mercy freely. He gave His mercy to a cultivator, He gave His mercy to a Buddhist monk who wanted to kill him.  He travelled all over Andhra Pradesh. He visited different temples. He gave his famous order

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

And for six years he travelled all over India and he stayed in Gṛhasthas house almost every night. How many of you Gṛhasthas would like to have Lord Caitanya as your house guesṭ? [Guru Mahārāja questions and raises his hand] The wife will have to pour water and the husband would massage the water in his feet and the….8.34-8.40 wife has to cook prasadam for Lord Caitanya, then the husband would serve Him. Lord Caitanya would give His instructions to the family, to the neighbours and relatives.  So how many would like to receive Lord Caitanya in their house? [Guru Mahārāja asks] They are not raising their hands back there means they don’t want. [All laugh] They want a movie star. [All devotees laugh] If in a house the son is very dear but if he dies, the dead body is taken out. So Kṛṣṇa is the soul of all the souls that’s why He is so dear. 

Now Lord Caitanya, predicted that he would send someone to spread the message all over to the places where he didn’t go. So this year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary, when Śrīla Prabhupāda went to the West.  Lord Caitanya, he would only eat at in the house of Brahmana’s. Śrīla Prabhupad would eat prasādam in the house of vegetarians, even if they are not Brahmana’s .Of course many times he cooked for himself and he taught to devotees how to cook. We see in the television how there are different terrorist and how they shoot with their guns and kill innocent people.  But don’t think that Srila Prabhupad didn’t have his bullets, he didn’t not think he didn’t have his bullets he had also bullets, but his bullets were not violent. He would give sweet balls, ‘Gulab Jamuns’ He called this the ISKCON bullets. You take that and your heart would melt. How many of you would like to taste one of Prabhupāda’s sweets? I can’t arrange them, may be Vedanta Chaitanya can. [Guru Mahārāja laughs along with the devotees] 

Since its late I will not tell many pastimes. But I will tell a short pastime.

After Jagannath Mishra, the father of Lord Caitanya left this world.  Mother Saci bought her son to the pandits to request them to teach Lord Caitanya. She said “Please I am entrusting my son unto you all, you please teach him. He doesn’t have a father, so you please treat him as your own son. Don’t keep him far, keep him close. Whatever you know please impart to hiṃ”. So the pandits feeling very much emotional by her words. Her son is a very good student and one day he will be a teacher of teachers.  I won’t be surprised then, when we study under Him.  He will be a great Vallabha acharya. This is my word. So Saci mata she went back to her house. So then Lord Caitanya was studying with the other students. First he studied under Vishnu Pandit and then under Sudarshan Pandit and finally under Ganga Das Pandit. Because these Pandits were teaching so many young brahmanas. So he wanted to give them spiritual blessings, so he studied under them. And sometimes he sat with the other students and he----20.13-20.16 because he was humorous by nature. He said the East Bengal dialect is very sweet and is very tasty. So he began to speak in that dialect, smiling at every word .So when he was studying under Ganga Das Pandit, he would learn things one day and then would have to study on the second day. Anywhere he goes, eating, sleeping, walking he would have his sastras under his arms. And Ganga Pandita said that one day he would be Teacher of Teachers. I say he will be a great Bhattacharya.

Lord Caitanya took a humble mood,” If they have your blessings, what’s not possible by your blessings?” Lord Caitanya would sit, he had his upavita, [Guru Mahārāja repeats] brahmana thread over his shoulder. His complexion was golden in colour, His eyes are like lotuses, it says that it reached back almost to his ears. He had curly hair. Everything of the Lord was beautiful and perfectly made. His teeth were all very finely made and symmetrical across the mouth.  When people would see him they couldn’t take their eyes off him.  I wanted to see his beautiful features and many would say “Dhanya ! Dhanya! Wonderful! Wonderful![Guru Mahārāja says jubiliantly] This was when Lord Caitanya was 9 or 10 years old. So the Supreme Lord he came down from the spiritual world to give out his mercy freely. He went to do the Pindi for his father in Gaya and there he met Iswara Puri, a famous disciple of Madhevendra Puri and took his initiation.  After his initiation he was changed. He was now a devotee. And he went off to see the well- established devotee. He went to see Srivas, who was the incarnation of  Nārada Muni .So many devotees like Hanuman, Prahlad various devotees from the spiritual world from all over the universe they came to join Lord Caitanya  in giving out his mercy. And he asked Srivas “People say that I have some disease .I just want to check with you whether I have any disease or not?” Srivas asked Him “What are your symptoms?” “Whenever I hear the holy name of Kṛṣṇa my hairs stand on end my voice get choked up, tears pour down from my eyes .These are the symptoms I have.  Sometimes I laugh sometimes I cry” Srivas said “Yes, you have a disease and I want that disease too. (Laughing) “You have the disease of love for Kṛṣṇa “. Brahmā, Siva want that disease. 

So my dear devotees you can get this disease from Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda very easily. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, follow the nine practices of Bhakti yoga, at least some of the major ones. Avoid offences. Srila Prabhupāda said that it took him 20 years to get his perfection.  So it may take a little time, but other methods take many, many, many, many births. 

bahūnāṁjanmanāmante
jñānavānmāṁprapadyate
vāsudevaḥsarvamiti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

Everyone should practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and achieve this perfection in association of the devotees very soon. This ceremony is to give you special blessings of the Guru Parampara. And by Srila Prabhupāda’s mercy, Lord Caitanya’s mercy, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness process is now available. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purana it says that the gateways of the spiritual world are open ten thousand years. And Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s Guru told him how he would get Lord Caitanya’s special mercy by spreading the sankirtana movement all over the world. He said not only you, but all those who help you. Who wants to help Śrīla Prabupāda? [Guru Maharājā asks]

All devotees raise their handṣ

Guru Mahārāja speaks in Telugu, Kritagnyatalu

So I will end here.