20161112 A Talk from the Caitanya book.

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 12th 2016 in Sri Dhāma Mayapur, India. The talk was given from the Caitanya book.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim  

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam  

paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram 

Hari Om Tat Sat

Since it is Bhishma Panchak, I can’t take any throat pills like lozenges so my voice is a little weak. Lord Caitanya is in East Bengal and he went there as a grihastha Nimai Pandit. 

So we will have someone read in Bengali, I will give a translation and within the translation I will give purport. So this is a section of the Caitanya book by which we are presenting the past times of Lord Caitanya. 

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So the students were addressing Nimai Pandit, “Please accept us as your students. Accept us as your students, let all the credit go to you. In the whole world you will be known as our teacher and sing your glories.”  So as I said, the students in East Bengal they thought that many students had gone to Navadvipa to study and they found that the best teacher was Nimai Pandit. So when they understood that Nimai Pandit had come, they felt themselves very fortunate. And they are requesting that he teach them. And they were coming with offerings, that was the system there, teachers would not asked a particular price but they were given according to the past deeds of the students they were given remunerations. So they came with presents, to show that they were serious.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So the Lord smiled at the request of all these people and he gave them assurance that he would teach them. So he spent some days in East Bengal but he was enjoying his past times of Vidya, giving knowledge in the East Bengal. The Lord, he comes to Vrindavan as a cowherd boy and in Mathura and Dwarka as a Kshatriya. Here he came as a Brahmana, like Vamana deva he also came as a Brahmana. For it was weird for the Lord to come as a Brahmana. So in this pastime he came as a second initiated devotee.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So this way Lord of Vaikunta, Lord Gaurachandra, He was enjoying the pastimes of knowledge and enjoying these pastimes He spend somedays in East Bengal.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So there are great number of students in East Bengal and the Lord he enjoyed the pastime of teaching them, seeing the Padmavati or the Padma river, the Lord he was enjoying his scholarly pastimes. 

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So the Lord accepted so many students, he had thousands and thousands of students that it was difficult to understand who was studying under whom.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

So the residents of East Bengal they came running to learn from Nimai Pandit and they were very eager to learn from him. The Lord just by his merciful glance he would give his instructions, in two months all the people of East Bengal who came to study under him became very knowledgeable. Lord Caitanya, he gave them the Sanskrit knowledge that they were hankering for, in a very short period of time 2 months they became very wise.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

Hundreds and hundreds of students, they received some titles and they went home back with titles and when they went home then many people there heard about Nimai Pandit and saw that he had given them titles and then they also wanted to study under him and gain some diploma title and to get the knowledge from him.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

Even people who were chandalas, it means dog eaters, who were fallen souls, what to speak of good souls even the fallen, the Lord gave them all the Harinama.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

 The Lord did not consider who was good who was bad whose activities were pure or who was impure he gave all mercy freely and regardless whether they are pure or impure, whether they are wise or foolish. He helped them all to pass over the ocean of birth or death. 

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

In the boat of naama sankirtan the Lord, He arranged the boat, crossing them across the ocean of birth and death and winding up their material lives, He was inviting everyone to come and use this transcendental boat.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

If there was anyone who tried to run away He would grab them and keep them on his lap, he carried them to the farthest place in this ocean of birth and death. And delivered them thus was the mercy of Gaurahari,

 Haribol!! Gaura Haribol. Haribol.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

We don’t hear of anyone having so much mercy not in any yuga nor in any millennium. What avatar is there that asks, begs to please give me your sins. So this is the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

 Lord Caitanya purified all the fallen souls, made them as pure as He was and giving out Radha Kṛṣṇa pure love. He gave people the qualifications to serve the Lordships. Such was His mercy. 

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

He gave them all transcendental knowledge and in a short time they gained unlimited knowledge, special knowledge that they became pundits in two weeks or a month.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

 So the Lord made the people pure at heart, although He being the master of the three worlds he gave out this mercy freely, by His mercy people became changed, He manifested his mercy and delivered all the people of East Bengal. 

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

You see, Lord Caitanya is actually the Lord of Vaikuntha, he came down from Vaikuntha to give out not only knowledge but knowledge about the Supreme personality of Godhead. Knowledge about Radha and Kṛṣṇa, so He was enjoying this mellow of giving out knowledge. While he was in East Bengal, he was in this way changing the people and making them naturally Krsna consciousness.

Devotee: Reads in Bengali

Lord’s personal influence of his knowledge was striking the people with wonder, hundreds and hundreds of students they came running to study under Nimai Pandit and they were charmed by the intellect of Lord Caitanya.

Gaura Gaura Gaura Gaura Gaura Gaura  Gaura Gaura Gauranga!!.

So students was just seeing Lord Caitanya,that He has such an ingenious intellect but people didn’t think that he was Kṛṣṇa himself. I mean, some may have thought that He was an empowered Kṛṣṇa’s avatar or something or that he was Guru of Devas, Brihaspathi but no one really knew who he was but they were very attracted. And the Lord, He taught them knowledge and at the same time he gave out the Harinaama and the people they were very eager to learn from him. In this way while He was in East Bengal, He had so much influence over all the youth.

 I would be giving Bhagavatam class tomorrow, so please come quickly. 

Hari Bol!![all devotees cheer by saying Haribol]