20161111 Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book

20161111_Caitanya_Book_@_Sri_Mayapur_Dham_India

mükam karoti väcälam

pangum langhayate girim

yat-kåpä tam aham vande

sri-gurum dina-täranam

paramanda madhavam

Sri Caitanya Iswaram

Hari Om Tat Sat

So we are reading the Caitanya book. We are compiling different books into one book of the pastimes  of Lord Caitanya. The Caitanya Bhagawat which spoke on the early life, Caitanya Caritamrita on the latter life, Caitanya Mangal with little things in between and the other books which have the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. So we are trying to put those all together so that the devotees have access to the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. 

(original text)

Lord Caitanya is married and he is a grihastha. So he has decided to go to east Bengal to give his teachings of sankrit grammar and to spread the hari nam, and get some donations by which he will earn money to maintain his griha. So he is showing how one can be a idead grihastha. He has not yet taken his initiation but to some extent he is giving the spiritual message. 

(original text)

So Lord Caitanya, he played… between his classes he would bathe in the Padma river, and he would take his students and he would have a relaxed time in the Padma river, swimming and splashing. So the  Bhagirathi was blessed as the foot water wash of Lord Visnu, but Padma got the blessing of Lord Caitanya by his bathing in the water and those who bathe in the Padma get love for Krishna, and those who are envious against devotees they get problems. 

(original text)

So those people who live by the side of the Padma river, they could see the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Their eyes filled with transcendental bliss, seeing the Lord’s sporting pastimes in the water. 

(original text)

By seeing the pastime of Lord Caitanya all the people by the side of Padmavati became devotees and they were grabbing the lotus feet. Then they would see the lotus footprints of the Lord on the bank of the Padmavati, and just by seeing the lotus footprints they have become devotees. 

(original text)

So by the touch of the Lord’s lotus feet on the banks of the river the earth became ecstatic, her hair standing on end and she became so happy having the Lord realize his pastimes, touching his lotus feet on her body and all inauspicious things went far away. 

(original text)

So the Land of East Bengal is called the land that is not visited by the Pandavas. Therefore Lord Caitanya is realizing his pastimes there very carefully. That thought went far away and he blesses the East Bengal by his lotus feet.

(original text)

Hari Bol 

Hari Bol (everyone)

So the land known as Bangladesh or East Bengal is considered auspicious and sacred because Lord Caitanya had wandered through that land as many devotees of Lord Caitanya appeared in East Bengal and we would like to well establish in the minds of the government of Bangladesh, that their land is the sacred land and the people all over the world are followers of Lord Caitanya. They respect and worship the holy land of Bangladesh because Lord Caitanya realized his pastimes there.

(original text)

So Lord Caitanya as Nimai Pandi, he spend some extended time in Bangladseh, East Bengal. They were very enthusiastic. In fact even today we find that the residents of East Bengal are very enthusiastic and is not unexpected to have 25,000-50,000 people in some program, and people may come also from different religions and different backgrounds. So Lord Caitanya,  He realized His pastimes in East Bengal, and there he spread the Harinam sankirtan. So that’s even before he started the Harinam sankirtan movement. He was already distributing it in East Bengal and there people were chanting far and wide, and there were many devotee associates of Lord Caitanya who appeared in East Bengal like Pundarik Vidyanidhi, Vasudev Dutta, Mukunda Dutta, Murari Gupta, then Madhava Puri, so many… Rup and Sanatan Goswami, Hari Das Thakur, many, many, many personalities appeared in East Bengal. 

(original text)

So the Lord remained on the banks of the Padmavati river. Hearing this may people got great happiness. Lord Caitanya is considered the best of all the pandits and all the good students would go to Nabadwip to study under him, but for one reason or another some couldn’t go. So he could feel how happy they were that somehow this jewel of this pandit had gone and come on the bank of the Pandmavati river and he was teaching them. So the students who came to study under Nima Pandit were countless, hundreds and thousands. The word came out, “Oh, Nimai Pandit is here.” Everybody came to study and he would get all the people to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krihsna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krihsna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare (everyone)

So he was… Nimai Pandit was considered the crown jewel of all the teachers, all the professors and his coming to East Bengal was a matter in which everyone rejoiced. So that’s why so many students came to study under him, not to lose the chance. 

(original text)

So the students took it very seriously and they came with gifts in their hands. They were so eager to learn from Lord Nimai Pandit. So they came with the gifts first to be sure that they would be able to be taught. So they came very hastily, very eagerly.

(original text)

So they came and they offered real humble obeisances. They came with gifts, they came with humble words, and enthusiastic and humble. 

(original text)

So the students said, “We consider ourselves most fortunate because of your arrival here.” They came with gifts with hands and they humbly requested the Lord to please teach them. 

The Lord came covered by his yoga maya. So they didn’t know that he was the supreme personality of Godhead. So his pastimes are sometimes like that, in Kali Yuga he sometimes comes as the Channa Avatar, the covered incarnation. The incarnation of the Lord where he doesn’t reveal his actual identity to everyone. Like Krishna, he told that he was the supreme Personality of Godhead but Lord Caitanya said that he was a devotee only to Advaita Gosai because Advaita Gosai had done tapasya for his coming. He revealed who he was. So he kept himself covered but people somehow they knew that he was very special and they were praying that the Lord teach them.

(original text)

That great soul under who many people go to Nabadwip to study from. We are so fortunate we have come here at our doorstep and we can get the same education from Yourself here in East Bengal. So please teach us. 

So the residents of East Bengal, they thought themselves very fortunate because the Lord had come to their village, to their place. 

(original text)

So they offered their praise to the Lord. They said that you are the avatar of Brihaspati, the spiritual master of the devas and there is no professor like you. You have come down here to teach us. We are very fortunate. 

(original text)

Another said, “Actually it is not appropriate to compare you with Brihaspati. You are a empowered incarnation of the Lord. You are the angha Prakash, the partial incarnation of the Lord. It’s not possible for anyone except the Lord to have as much knowledge as you have. 

(original text)

There is no one who can have as much intelligence, as much learning as you do. You are certain a partial incarnation of the Lord. It’s not possible for a ordinary human. You have got the divine, transcendental opulence of the Lord. 

(original text)

So our humble request,”Please give us some knowledge. We want to receive the jewel of knowledge from you.” 

(original text)

O great jewel of the twice born. Our only purpose is to please give us some knowledge. 

The Lord has his pastimes and he kept himself covered. Actually he is Krishna himself. Whatever he does, he does in a special way. So as Nimai Pandit, he was the greatest of all padits. When he got initiated by Ishwar Puri and became a devotee, then he was the greatest of devotees, he was the most merciful. So whatever he does he does it in a superlative way. 

So thank you all. 

We will continue on his teaching pastimes.

(applause)