20160801 Caitanya Book

20160801 Caitanya Book

Mukam karoti vacalam

Pangum langhyate girim

Yat kripa tamaham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

Paramananda madhavan

Sri Chaitanya ishvaram

Hari om tat sat

So reading and compiling the different instructions on Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Today we are reading from the Caitanya Bhagavat. Each pastime is described by different sastras. Some pastimes by one, some pastimes by two, three or four and even up to eight.

So now we are in the stage of the pastime of Nimai Pandit.

(Original text)

In this way all the examples I don’t consider to be appropriate. But there is one example that I think is appropriate.

(Original text)

So just as Lord Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaj, he would sit by the Kalindi river, the jamuna in the middle of his cowherd friends, sitting with them he would enjoy his pastimes.

Just as that Krishna Chandra would be sitting with his cowherd friends, I see that in the twice brahminical form on the bank of the Ganges, Lord Caitanya was sitting and enjoying the same, similar blissful pastimes.

So Vrindavan Das Thakur used three examples, the moon surrounded by the stars, Brihaspati surrounded by the devas- the cupid, but these three comparisons are unable to describe the Lord’s pastimes and unparalleled beauty because the moon has black marks resembling around it, it waxes and wanes and it cannot be seen in the day time. Gaur Chandra is devoid of black spots and he doesn’t diminish and he is visible in the day time.

Brihaspati is only partial to the devas and no sympathy for the demons but Gaur Sundar is equal with everyone and he is the spiritual master and the well-wisher of everyone.

Cupid appears in the mind of a person and causes mundane agitation, while the appearance of Gaur Sundar vanquishes all bondages and enlivens the conditioned souls above these three comparisons given incomplete, impartial indication of the Lord’s beauty. They are unable to give a complete description. Therefore Govinda and his unparalleled pastimes of sitting on the banks of the Yamuna with the cowherd boys is the best and ideal comparison to Gaura who is non-different from Krishna.

Hari Bol

Hari Bol (everyone)

Gauranga 

Gauranga (everyone)

Gauranga 

Gauranga (everyone)

Gaurasundar

Gaurasundar (everyone)

Sitting on the Ganges bank, whoever saw the beauty of Gaurasundars lotus face, he would get indescribable spiritual happiness and bliss.

(Original text)

Seeing the Lord’s effulgence which was very extraordinary on the side of the Ganges, everyone started to whisper to each other.

(Original text)

Someone said that effulgence is not of any human being and another said this brahman is a part of Visnu.

(Original text)

And others said, “this brahman has certainly come to fulfil the prediction that there will be a brahman ruler over the kingdom of Gaura”, another said, “this prediction will certainly be fulfilled, he has all the symptoms.

So according to how much intelligence and vision they have, they spoke according to their realization. So some of the people thought that he would be the Lord of the Gauriyas. He is pancha guara, which means Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, different parts of eastern India called Gaura’s.

The capital of …17.50-17.54… city is still known as Guara which was the ancient capital of Bengal and eastern India.

(Original text)

So all the people were whispering amongst themselves, the Lord was teaching his students to find out the faults of the other teachers and he engaged in explaining the scriptures on the banks of the Ganges.

(Original text)

Nimai Pandit would establish by his ingenuity that correct answers were incorrect, then no one could refute him. That which was proven as incorrect He would establish as correct. So in this way he cut down every body. At the end he established the proper meaning with new explanations.

The Lord was showing his scholarship and ingenuity and he would easily refute all the other pandits and then by giving his own explanations and logic, and then after he would refute everyone, he would establish the correct understanding by using his own ingenuity.

That’s why Lord Caitanya said, “Tarko bahu dur”, that logic alone would lead you far from the truth, because you can use logic in various ways. The thing is to hear from a bonafide spiritual master and understand what is exactly being passed on by the disciplic succession.

(Original text)

So the Lord said, “I consider someone to be a pandit but they should once come and face me and discuss with me. If they argument, who can stand up to my test and he will prevail in the argument defeating me, who has that power?

(Original text)

As the supreme Lord exhibits his pride in this way, he smashed all the pride of the others.

(Original text)

How many disciples the Lord had were students, there was no end to that, countless, they were sitting in small circles, may be not small but in circles and they would study under the Lord’s direction.

(Original text)

Everyday ten or twenty brahman boys, they would fall at the feet of the Lord and pay their obeisances.

(Original text)

Pandit ! we want to study with you, we want to learn something, you please be merciful to us, please be merciful that we can learn something.

(Original text)

“Bhalo… Bhalo… Good…Good… “, the Lord said smiling. The Lord would give his welcoming words in this way, everyday. The number of disciples or students studying under the Lord increased.

(Original text)

By the side of the Ganges, along with his students who were sitting in groups the Lord, the crown jewel of the Vaikuntha planets, he was seated.

(Original text)

From all sides people who were very fortunate they would see the Lord and the whole of Nabadwip by the Lord’s presence, by his transcendental influence they became happy and they had no distress.

(Original text)

That transcendental happiness, those fortunate souls who saw the Lord’s pastimes, who is there that can say how much good fortunate they had.

(Original text)

The transcendental happiness achieved by those who saw this pastimes, how pious they were, just by seeing the Lord they were freed from the material bondage.

So the pastimes of Lord Gauranga which are Vaikuntha pastimes, if you see one who has seen those pastimes then he will also be liberated and freed from material bondage.

Who wants to see those pastimes?

Who wants to even see those who have seen those pastimes?

Gau………..ranaga…..

Gau………..ranaga….. (everyone)

Gau………..ranaga…..

Gau………..ranaga….. (everyone)

(Original text)

So Vrindavan Thakur who was the incarnation of Vyasa Deva, he said, “my birth is sinful because it was not at that time, I was deprived from seeing that blissful pastime.

So if he was feeling cheated by appearing one generation later how unfortunate are we to have appeared 500 years later.

At least we could see Prabhuapda.

Hari Bol.

So Vrindavan Thakur is showing us how to be humble. Although he heard from those who had seen the pastime, but he thought that he was very unfortunate, because his birth didn’t happen during the pastimes of Sri Gaura Sundar.

I was not fortunate enough to see those ecstatic pastimes. So materialistic people they are very happy if they can take birth to enjoy the fruits of their good karma, but if they take birth during the manifest pastimes of the Lord they become glorious by seeing those pastimes even though otherwise they have taken abdominal births.

(Original text)

Still O Gaurasundar, please be merciful to me!, please be merciful to me!, so that I can remember your pastimes birth after birth.

Hari Bol

Hari Bol (everyone)

Gauranga

Gauranga (everyone)

Gauranga

Gauranga (everyone)

Gauranga

Gauranga (everyone)

Gauranga

Gauranga (everyone)

Gauranga

Gauranga (everyone)

So when we go on the parikrama of the Nabadwip Dham, you constantly remember the pastimes of the Lord.

Lord Nityanananda would go many times of the year. Sometimes he would see all the nine islands in one day.

Sometimes he would do panchakrosh parikrama, sometimes asthakrosh, sometimes the 69 krosh, 32 miles. So that’s every year we like to go on the parikrama because we will always be remembering the pastimes of the Lord as something transcendental and filled with unlimited bliss.

So the pastimes of the Lord present in our minds, they may awaken our good fortune.

(Original text)

Wherever you and Lord Nityananda, wherever Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda manifest your pastimes with your associates that I can be there as one of your servitors .

So we see how Vrindavan Das Thakur, he desires to always see and be present in the pastimes of Lord Gaura and Nityananda.

So tomorrow we go on with more pastimes.

Transcribed by : Sadananda Krishnaprem Das

Mumbai.