20181108 Śrī Gaurāṅga's display of devotion to Śrī Īśvara Purī

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book compilation class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 8, 2018, in Chennai, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: So we survived the Diwali morning (laughter) on Diwali day here, everybody was blowing out firecrackers and somehow that was their way of worshipping Kṛṣṇa. So in some places, there were hundreds of people blowing their firecrackers. Now it is pretty quiet! I am doing my physical therapy every day, chanting my rounds and giving this class, so I am gradually getting stronger I think, and I hope to be resuming my full duties in the future. I noticed yesterday there is a new feature to the Facebook. That is called Top Fan. And I have 427 Top Fans out of the 1,16,000 people who like my page or follow me. Top Fan means they regularly listen to my classes, or they follow me, or share my postings, they are very much active with my FB page. I don’t know if I should post their names, but I am very grateful for those who are my “Top Fans” for their dedication since I can’t mix right now wit the devotees because there is a great danger of me getting some infection. But I would like to take this opportunity to share my voice on Facebook, on my internet pages and also short messages on Twitter and emails. So in this way we are trying to take care of the devotees. We need the devotees to be very serious about their Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I didn’t ask anyone to be my disciple. You all asked to be my disciple. Now I have introduced you to Kṛṣṇa and if you are not following strictly, then Kṛṣṇa will say why have you introduced this person to Me, who is not serious? So please be serious. Read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, chant the holy names, take prasāda and do devotional service. I got some clippings from the devotees who were actively doing Dāmodara-pūjā. One has a bus, and he goes around every night. Over the bus he has a Deity and people come in and offer a lamp. In this way 800 people a week to offer Dāmodara-pūjā. It is just about one person’s story. I think we will have all the devotees trying to make more devotees and happy devotees. Which will be pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda and we will be very successful.

So we continue with Lord Caitanya in His temporary residence in Gayā where He is hosting Īśvara Purī Mahārāja, the favorite disciple of Mādhavendra Purī. So the Bengali will now be read by Deva Gaurāṅga dāsa.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi 17.96

bhagavānera svahaste bhakta-sevana; prabhu-kartṛka śiṣyera gurupadasevana-vidhi-śikṣā-dāna—

tabe prabhu īśvara-purīra sarva-aṅge
āpane śrī-haste lepilena divya-gandhe

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is actually, Kṛṣṇa Himself but He is taking the role of His devotee, to teach by example. So He is showing how a devotee should worship the Lord and His pure devotees, guru. So Lord Caitanya with His own hands, He took sandalwood paste, and He rubbed it over the body of Īśvara Purī.

So dear are the devotees to the Lord. With His own hands He is smearing sandalwood paste on His devotee’s body. Lord Caitanya is the Jagat-guru. He is showing by example how one should serve the spiritual master. By smearing the sandalwood paste on the body of Iśvara Purīpāda. In this way He served His spiritual master who is the manifestation of the Supreme Lord. He is showing that, the best ingredients in the material world should not be used for one’s sense gratification. It should be used in the service of Hari, guru and Vaiṣṇava. But the devotee should not think that, “Oh, I should be getting the worship.” If he gets it, he thinks this is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. He doesn’t desire it. So he is not in a pratiṣṭhāśā, desire for personal position or respect. But all the devotees naturally respect Hari, guru and Vaiṣṇavas. So this is the sublime situation.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi 17.97

yata prīta īśvarera īśvara-purīre
tāhā varṇibāre kon jana śakti dhare

Jayapatākā Swami: So much love that Lord Gaurahari has for His devotee Īśvara Purī, who has the ability to describe that?

It is beyond our imagination, how much love the Lord has for Īśvara Purī, how much love the Lord has for His devotee! Lord here is described as Īśvara, that means the Supreme Lord Śrī Gaurasundara!

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.98

āpane īśvara śrī-caitanya bhagavān
dekhilena īśvara-purīra janma-sthāna

Jayapatākā Swami: The Supreme Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally visited the birthplace of Īśvara Purī.

It is a different period of this pastime. There is Pānihāṭi dhāma, then the place of Lord Nityānanda. To the north 3 kilo meters from the Halisahar railway station is the place of Īśvara Purī Mahārāja’s birth. So the place is famous because Lord Caitanya took a handful of dust and said that wherever My guru has taken appearance that place is holy. So, so many devotees take handful of dust from that place that a lake formed, a small pond and to this day you can go and see that lake made by Lord Caitanya’s followers. So just as circumambulating and offering obeisances to the birthplace of one’s guru, we devotees offer our obeisances to the appearance place of Lord Caitanya and circumambulate Navadvīpa dhāma. These are part of the limbs of pure devotional service.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.99

prabhu bale,—“kumārahaṭṭerer namaskāra
śrī-īśvara-purīra ye-grāme avatāra”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Gaurahari said, “I offer My obeisances to the village of Kumārahaṭṭa, where Śrī Īśvara Purī has descended.”

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.100

kāndilena vistara caitanya sei sthāne
āra śabda kichu nāhi ’īśvara-purī’ vine

Jayapatākā Swami: Feeling separation from the spiritual master, Lord Caitanya cried profusely at that place and spoke nothing other than the name of Īśvara Purī Mahārāja.

So this section should probably be placed later in the book later when Lord Caitanya visits Pānihāṭi. But the author to help us understand how important was Īśvara Purī was to Lord Caitanya has described it here. The importance of guru-bhakti is shown personally by Lord Caitanya’s example.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.101

se-sthānera mṛttikā āpane prabhu tuli’
lailena bahirvāse bāndhi’ eka jhūli

Jayapatākā Swami: So the Lord after taking the dust from the birthplace of Īśvara Purī, He tied it in His bahirvāsa, the external cloth.

Lord’s garment as a sannyāsī is called the bahirvāsa. The top part is called uttariya and the one worn around the shoulder is cāddara. So He tied this to His cloth.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.102

prabhu bale,—“īśvara-purīra janma-sthāna
e mṛttikā-āmāra jīvana dhana-prāṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya said, “The dust from the birthplace of Īśvara Purī is My life’s wealth and living force.”

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi 17.103

hena īśvarera prīta īśvara-purīre
bhaktere bāḍāte prabhu saba śakti dhare

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya exhibited such affection for Īśvara Purī because the Lord takes pleasure in increasing the glories of His devotee.

He could have eliminated all the kṣatriya but instead He drove the chariot for Arjuna and let Arjuna and the Pāṇḍavas take all the credit. In this way the Lord takes pleasure to see His devotee’s glories broadcasted.

So the Lord worships His devotees. In this way Gaurasundara increased the prestige of His pure devotees by accepting Īśvara Purīpāda as His spiritual master. Plus, He is telling everyone that one should have a spiritual master in the disciplic succession. Since the Lord worships His devotees what to speak of other devotees worshipping the devotees. Some people don’t want to take a spiritual master. But here Gaurasundara is showing by His example that everyone should have a spiritual master. Gaurasundara did not accept Mādhavendra Purī as His spiritual master although Mādhavendra Purī was most highly elevated. Rather He accepted the disciple of Mādhavendra Purī, Śrīman Īśvara Purī as His spiritual master as Mādhavendra Purī had already gone back to godhead. So this is the system and people will say otherwise, they don’t know the proper śāstra.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.74

nayane galaye nīra-gadagada bhāṣa
madhura vacane kare gurura sambhāṣa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya had cried, tears pouring from His eyes, His voice was choked up with spiritual emotion and with sweet words He said to the spiritual master as follows.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.75

tomāra prasāde mui hailu kṛtārtha
āji haite deha dharma bhaigela yathārtha

Jayapatākā Swami: By your mercy I have achieved the goal of My life. From today the materialistic bodycentred life has fled away from Me.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.76

guru-bhakti prakāśiyā calilā ta prabhu
phalgunāmā nadī dekhi hāse lahu lahu

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way the Lord showed the guru-bhakti or devotion to one’s spiritual master and He proceeded on His way to see the Phalgu river and He smiled gently seeing the historical Phalgu river.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 1.15.19: he dayālo nyāsin! adya āpanāra caraṇa-saṅgalābhe durlabha kṛtārthatā lābha karilāma. adya śrī-kṛṣṇa-pādapadme madhumada āsvādane pūrṇakāma hailāma. ihātei duranta saṁsāra haite trāṇa pāiba.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Śacīnandana, the son of Śacī, said, “Oh merciful sannyāsī, today, by the touch of your feet I have achieved an extremely rare gift by which every desire of Mine is now fulfilled. That gift is the intoxicating honey of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Tasting that honey, My full desires are fulfilled. I shall cross over this materialistic, insurmountable ocean of birth and death and in this way, I will be delivered.”

Śrī Caitanya-carita Mahā-kāvya 4.60: On receiving the Kṛṣṇa mantra from Īśvara Purī, the Lord merciful to the universe, with hairs standing on end and tears flowing from His eyes, spoke.

Śrī Caitanya-carita Mahā-kāvya.4.61: Oh Yatipati, the Master of the sannyāsīs, by your association, by taking the shelter of your lotus feet My life has become successful. So I have become grateful and that is why I am taking the dust from your lotus feet.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.62

kṛṣṇa-dīkṣā binu deha akāraṇa dekhi
purāṇe e saba vākya sādhumukhe sākṣī

Jayapatākā Swami: Without Kṛṣṇa initiation I don’t see any way to attain devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa. All the purāṇas and all the authorities, they confirm this.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 1.15.18: śrīharira evamvidha vākyāmṛta pāna kariyā sei antaryāmī purī ānandabhare mantravara baliyā dilena. takhana bhaktivibhāvitacitta gauracandra ai daśākṣara mantravara prāpti kariyā svayaṁ tāṅhāke stava karite lāgilena.

Jayapatākā Swami: So hearing the nectarean words of Gaurahari, the Supersoul gave understanding to Īśvara Purī, that Īśvara Purī could understand the pure nature of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So filled with bliss he gave the mantra to Lord Caitanya. Then the Lord felt the mood of devotion arise, in His heart. He received a mantra with ten syllables and getting that mantra, He then began to offer praise to His gurudeva.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.63

aichana śuniñā vāṇī purī ye īśvara
nibhṛte kahilā tāṅre mahā-mantra-vara

Jayapatākā Swami: So hearing these words Īśvara Purī took the Lord to a secluded place. There in a private place, he repeated to the Lord the mahā-mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Ādi 7.64

gopīnātha mahā-mantra pāyā viśvambhara
pulakita saba aṅga-hariṣa antara

Jayapatākā Swami: So Viśvambhara on achieving Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mahā-mantra felt special bliss. His hairs on His body stood on end. Inside, He felt transcendental bliss in His heart. So we can see how Lord Caitanya got the mahā-mantra. In the same way guru-paramparā has passed this mantra down to us. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda took great endeavor to cross the oceans and bring this mahā-mantra all over the world. To America, Canada, 14 times he circled the globe and gave everywhere the chanting of the mahā-mantra. If you chant without offense, then the hairs on the body will stand erect and one will feel unlimited transcendental bliss in the heart. One may cry in ecstasy. So we hope that people will take this unlimited mercy of the mahā-mantra to their heart.

Śrī Caitanya-carita Mahā-kāvya.4.59: So on hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s words, the great sannyāsī Īśvara Purī, an ocean of mercy became jubilant and thus he gave the mahā-mantra to Lord Caitanya. The Lord gave respect to he who offered Him mercy.

Gaurāṅga-līlā Smaraṇa Maṅgala 18: So this summarizes what happened, that the Lord was surrounded by His students and He was offered respect by all the devatas. He attained the ten-syllable mantra from the mouth of His spiritual master Īśvara Purī at Gayā. And then He returned to Bengal on the pretext of suffering from a disease. He revealed the truth. Thus, we may meditate on Lord Gaurāṅga, who is in the form of a devotee intent on tasting the mellows of devotion.

We don’t know if we will come here but we heard that Lord Caitanya that first asked Īśvara Purī for initiation. But he said that, “You are a great paṇḍita, who am I to initiate you?” Lord Gaurāṅga said that, “If you don’t initiate Me then there is no use of My living. I will take My life.” Because he said these very intense words Īśvara Purī granted Him initiation. So by receiving initiation He manifested the symptoms of love of Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to his home place He was enjoying the transcendental symptoms of love of Godhead. So all the ācāryas have described these pastimes and something where it adds details.

So we will end here and start tomorrow from this part. Are there are any questions?