20181130 The Lord's Pastimes with Students after His Gayā Yātrā

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book work 30^th November 2018 in Chennai, India by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Guru Mahārāja. Reading from Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.196-198.

Under the section: The Lord's Pastimes with Students after His Gayā Yātrā

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Jayapatākā Swami: So today we will continue with the compilation of the Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book. We are now starting the Madhya-līlā. The Ādi-līlā was before Lord Caitanya started the saṅkīrtana movement. It was very sweet, but this section is even more sweet than sweet!! So now Lord Caitanya is acting as a pure devotee, as a mahā-bhāagavata and He is expressing ecstasy on the level of mahābhāva. We heard that Rādhārāṇī and Mādhavendra Purī are the only ones to have manifested this mahābhāva. So Lord Caitanya taking the mood of Rādhārāṇī is also experimenting in the mahābhāva. So this ecstasy in separation is the method which has the highest ecstasy. Sometimes Rādhārāṇī falls in such ecstasy that She falls unconscious. And when She goes unconscious then Kṛṣṇa goes unconscious then the whole world stops. When Kṛṣṇa is unconscious, just everything stops, everything is suspended. The only one who is conscious is Balarāma. He has the duty is to wake up Lord Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa has empowered Balarāma to do this. So Kṛṣṇa, He can reciprocate fully as much as He wants with Rādhārāṇī.

So now we are reading that He came back from Gayā. He is now manifesting His extreme devotion to Kṛṣṇa and gradually informs the Vaiṣṇava community but also teaching His students, they could not understand anything because everything He was explaining was in relation to Kṛṣṇa. So they were not used to this kind of explanation. So then He said, pack up your books and let us go to take bath in the Ganges. There after the Ganges bath everybody went to their homes. So now He is explaining some truths to His mother.

Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya 1.196

śāstra-pramāṇa—

tathā hi jaiminibhārate āśvamedhike parvaṇi—

yasmin śāstre purāṇe vā hari-bhaktir na dṛṣyate
śrotavyaṁ naiva tat śāstraṁ yadi brahmā svayaṁ vadet

Translation: “One should never hear a scripture or a Purāṇa that does not prominently describe the devotional service of Hari, even if it is recited by the four-headed Lord Brahmā.

Jayapatākā Swami: That scripture from Purāṇa which doesn’t explain Hari-bhakti in a prominent way, even if Caturmukha Brahmā comes to explain that scripture, in that case no one by any means they should not listen to them.

To give in the purport, verse which Prabhupāda said many times: muci hoi suci hoi odhi hari bhoje, suci hoi muci hai jadi Hari tyaje – one who is a shoe repairing man, if he is worshiping Hari he can be accepted as a pure brāhmaṇa and someone who is a brāhmaṇa becomes an impure muci if he gives up the worship of Hari.

Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya 1.197

“muci haye śuci haya, yadi ‘hari’bhaje, śuci haye muci haya, yadi ‘hari’tyaje”—

“caṇḍāla ’caṇḍāla’ nahe—yadi ‘kṛṣṇa’ bale
vipra ‘vipra’ nahe,—yadi asatpathe cale”

Translation: “A caṇḍāla is not a caṇḍāla if he chants the name of Kṛṣṇa, and a brāhmaṇa is not a brāhmaṇa if he engages in sinful activities.”

Commentary: Even if a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is born in the family of dog-eaters, he is actually the topmost brāhmaṇa; and, according to śāstra, an atheist who is sinful and devoid of devotion to Kṛṣṇa, though born in a brāhmaṇa family, is certainly a dog-eater. Seeing either of them according to ordinary caste consideration is prohibited. Their varṇa should be ascertained according to their taste, occupation, and nature, or symptoms. This is the intention and conclusion of all scriptures, beginning with the śrutis, smṛtis, Purāṇas, Itihāsas, and Pañcarātras.

In his commentary on the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, Śrī Madhvācārya quotes from the Sāma-saṁhitāas follows:

ārjavaṁ brāhmaṇe sākṣāt
śūdro ’nārjava-lakṣaṇaḥgautamas
tv iti vijñāya satyakāmam upānayat

“A brāhmaṇa possesses the quality of simplicity, and a śūdra possesses the quality of crookedness. Knowing this fact, Gautama awarded sacred thread initiation to Satyakāma and made him a first-class brāhmaṇa.”

In the Brahma-sūtra (1.3.34) it is stated: śug asya tad-anādara-śravaṇāt tad-ādravaṇāt sūcyate hi—“Pautrāyana was addressed as a śūdra because he had approached Raikva while overwhelmed with sorrow after hearing disrespectful words spoken about himself.” Śrī Pūrṇaprajña Madhvācārya has stated in his commentary on this sūtra: nāsau pautrāyaṇaḥśūdraḥśucād-dravaṇam eva hi śudatvam—“King Pautrāyaṇa was not a śūdra at birth, but because he was lamenting he was considered a śūdra.” In other words, “One who is affected by lamentation is called a śūdra.” In the Padma Purāṇa it is stated:

rājā pautrāyaṇaḥśokāc-
chūdreti muninoditaḥprāṇa-vidyām
avāpyāsmāt paraṁ dharmam avāptavān

“King Pautrāyaṇa was a kṣatriya, yet because of his lamentation, Raikva Muni called him a śūdra. Later the king attained the goal of life after learning confidential meditation on prāṇa from Raikva.”

In the Mahābhārata (Vana-parva 180.26) it is stated:

yatraital lakṣyate sarpa
vṛttaṁ sa brāhmaṇaḥ smṛtaḥyatraitan
na bhavet sarpa
taṁśūdram iti nirdiśet

“O snake, only a person endowed with the characteristics of a brāhmaṇa can be called a brāhmaṇa, otherwise he is a śūdra.”

In his commentary on Mahābhārata (Vana-parva 180.23-26) Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha has written: “In the same way, if a śūdra has qualities like truthfulness, then he is a brāhmaṇa. The symptoms of a śūdra, such as lust, are not present in a brāhmaṇa, and the symptoms of a brāhmaṇa, such as peacefulness, are not present in a śūdra. If someone born as a śūdra has qualities like peacefulness, then he is a brāhmaṇa. And if someone born as a brāhmaṇa has qualities like lust, then he is a śūdra. There is no doubt about it.”

In the Mahābhārata (Śānti-parva 189.8) it is stated:

śūdre caitad bhavel lakṣyaṁ dvije tac ca na vidyate
na vai śūdro bhavec chūdro brāhmaṇo brāhmaṇo na ca

“If the symptoms of a brāhmaṇa are found in a śūdra and if the symptoms of a śūdra are found in a brāhmaṇa, then the śūdra should not be called a śūdra and the brāhmaṇa should not be called a brāhmaṇa.”

In the Mahābhārata (Vana-parva 215.13-15) it is stated:

brāhmaṇaḥ patanīyeṣu vartamāno vikarmasu
dāmbhiko duṣkṛtaḥ prājñaḥ śūdreṇa sadṛśo bhavet
yas tu śūdro dame satye dharme ca satatotthitaḥ
taṁ brāhmaṇam ahaṁ manye vṛttena hi bhaved dvijaḥ

“After all, a brāhmaṇa who is proud and engaged in various sinful activities that result in his falling down into the degradation of being contaminated by impure karma is equal to a śūdra. And I consider a śūdra who is self-controlled, truthful, and always enthusiastic about executing his religious duties to be a brāhmaṇa. Indeed, the only criteria for being a brāhmaṇa is to possess pure behavior in the form of worshiping Hari.”

In the Mahābhārata (Śānti-parva 188.13 and 189.7) it is stated:

hiṁsānṛta-priyā lubdhāḥ
sarva-karmopajīvinaḥkṛṣṇāḥśauca-paribhraṣṭās
te dvijāḥśūdratāṁ gatāḥ

sarva-bhakṣa-ratir nityaṁ
sarva-karma-karo
’śuciḥtyakta-vedas tv anācāraḥ
sa vai śūdra iti smṛtaḥ

“When brāhmaṇas commit violence, speak lies, become greedy, earn their livelihood by any and all means, and lose their purity by engaging in sinful activities, then they become degraded into śūdras. One who is attached to eating all kinds of foods and performing all kinds of activities, who is impure, deviant from the principles of Vedic culture, and ill-behaved is known as a śūdra.”

In the Mahābhārata (Anuṣāsana-parva 143.50-51) it is stated:

na yonir nāpi saṁskāro na śrutaṁ na ca s
antatiḥkāraṇāni dvijatvasya vṛttam eva tu kāraṇam
sarvo ’yaṁ brāhmaṇo loke vṛttena tu vidhīyate
vṛtte sthitas tu śūdro ’pi brāhmaṇatvaṁ niyacchati

“Birth, purificatory processes, study of the Vedas, and good birth are not the criterion for being a brāhmaṇa. The only criterion is one’s occupation. A person is born as a brāhmaṇa in this world simply as a result of his nature. A śūdra situated in the occupation of a brāhmaṇa also becomes a brāhmaṇa.”

The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (Tenth Vilāsa) quotes from the Padma Purāṇa as follows:

na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktās te tu bhāgavatā matāḥsarva-varṇeṣu te śūdrā ye na bhaktā janārdane

“Devotees of the Lord are never śūdras, rather they are all first-class bhāgavatas. But if one is not a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he should be considered a śūdra even if he was born in a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya family.”

In the Atri-saṁhitā (372) it is stated:

brahma-tattvaṁ na jānāti brahma-sūtreṇa garvitaḥtenaiva sa ca pāpena vipraḥ paśur udāhṛtaḥ

“A person born in a brāhmaṇa family who proudly advertises himself as a sanctified brāhmaṇa but is ignorant of the Absolute Truth is because of this sin called an animal.”

In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.9.10) it is stated:

etad akṣaraṁ gārgi viditvāsmāl lokāt praiti sa brāhmaṇaḥ

“O Gārgi, one who is acquainted with that infallible truth by which one transcends death is a brāhmaṇa.”

In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.21) it is stated:

tam eva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṁ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ

“A wise person who knows the Supreme Lord, Parabrahman, through the process of devotion, is a brāhmaṇa.”

In the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa, Chapter 39) it is stated:

viṣṇor ayaṁ yato hy āsīt tasmād-vaiṣṇava ucyate
sarveśāṁ caiva varṇānāṁ vaiṣṇavaḥśreṣṭhaḥ ucyate

“One who is related to Viṣṇu through devotion is known as a Vaiṣṇava. A genuine Vaiṣṇava is superior to all the varṇas and is the best of all.”

In the Padma Purāṇa (Svarga-khaṇḍa, Ādi 24) it is stated:

sakṛt praṇāmī kṛṣṇasya mātuḥ stanyaṁ piben na hi
hari-pāde mano yeṣāṁ tebhyo nityaṁ namo namaḥ
pukkasaḥśvapaco vāpi ye cānye mleccha-jātayaḥte
’pi vandyā mahābhāgā hari-pādaika-sevakāḥ

“One who even once completely gives up his false ego and offers obeisances to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa will never again drink mother’s breast milk. One who keeps the holy feet of Hari within his mind is always worthy of worship. Whether one is a dog-eater or a mleccha, if he takes shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Hari with pure devotion and serves Him with attachment, he is to be considered most fortunate and highly worshipable.”

It is stated in the Skanda Purāṇa:

na me ’bhaktaś catur-vedī mad-bhaktaḥśvapacaḥ
priyaḥtasmai deyaṁ tato grāhyaṁ sa ca pūjyo yathā hy aham

“Even though a person is a very learned scholar of the Sanskrit Vedic literatures, he is not accepted as My devotee unless he is pure in devotional service. Even though a person is born in a family of dog-eaters, he is very dear to Me if he is a pure devotee who has no motive to enjoy fruitive activities or mental speculation. Indeed, all respects should be given to him, and whatever he offers should be accepted. Such devotees are as worshipable as I am.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) it is stated:

aho bata śva-paco 'to ga vrīyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

“Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required.”

The Bhakti-sandarbha (117) quotes the following verses from the Garuḍa Purāṇa:

brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ satra-yājī viśiṣyate
satra-yāji-sahasrebhyaḥ sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ
sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate
vaiṣṇavānāṁ sahasrebhya ekānty eko viśiṣyate

“It is said that out of thousands of brāhmaṇas, one is qualified to perform sacrifices, and out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas expert in sacrificial offerings, one learned brāhmaṇa may have passed beyond all Vedic knowledge. He is considered the best among all these brāhmaṇas. And yet, out of thousands of such brāhmaṇas who have surpassed Vedic knowledge, one person may be a viṣṇu-bhakta, and he is most famous. Out of many thousands of such Vaiṣṇavas, one who is completely fixed in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa is most famous.”

Jayapatākā Swami: A caṇḍāla is not a caṇḍāla if he chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. A vipra brāhmaṇa is not a brāhmaṇa if he goes on a sinful path.

So if a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is born in a family of dog eaters, he is actually the topmost brāhmaṇa. According to śāstra an atheist who is sinful and devoid of devotion to Kṛṣṇa and born in a brāhmaṇa family is certainly a dog eater. So seeing them by their ordinary caste consideration is prohibited. Like Jagāi and Mādhāi, they were very fallen but once they took initiation Lord Caitanya said that it was a great offence if anyone brought their previous sinful activities because now they are Vaiṣṇavas and they should be accepted as Vaiṣṇavas. So all scriptures beginning with śrutis, smṛti, itihāsas, Purāṇas and Pañcarātras, give these conclusions. One boy came up to Gautama Muni and he wanted to take initiation. So Gautama said, “What is your family? Are you a brāhmaṇa or what?” He said, “I don’t know; I don’t know who my father was. My mother had some relationship, and I was born. I don’t know my father.” So Gautama Ṛṣi said, “I will give you second initiation.” So he initiated him as a first class brāhmaṇa because he was not crooked, he was straightforward.

Similarly, king Pautrāyaṇa, he was criticized by someone and he lamented that. So because he lamented over getting some mundane criticism he was considered a śūdra. So one who is affected by lamentation is called a śūdra. So the king Pautrāyaṇa was a Kshatriya but because of his lamentation, Raikva Muni called him a śūdra. And that king then attained the supreme goal of life after learning the confidential meditation from Raikva Muni. So in the scriptures it is told that one who is endowed with the qualities of a brāhmaṇa can be called a brāhmaṇa otherwise he is a śūdra. So certain qualities are there in brāhmaṇas like truthfulness, peacefulness, but these are not present in a śūdra. But if someone even if he is born as a śūdra if they have peacefulness, truthfulness and other qualities of a brāhmaṇa then he is a brāhmaṇa and if someone is born as a brāhmaṇa and has qualities like lust, then he is a śūdra, there is no doubt about it. This is from the Mahābhārata. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He made the varṇāśrama system and He said guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ, by the qualities and nature of work. He did not say janma-karma, by one’s birth, He said by one’s qualities, there are many verses recited here how symptoms of brāhmaṇa are found in śūdra and symptoms of śūdra are found in the brāhmaṇa. Then the śūdra should not be called as śūdra and the brāhmaṇa should not be called as a brāhmaṇa. So all the verses say the same thing. So the criteria for being a brāhmaṇa is to possess pure behavior in the form of worshipping Lord Hari. Verse after verse. Purificatory processes, study of the Vedas and good birth are not the criteria for being a brāhmaṇa, the only criteria is one’s occupation and his qualities. If one is having the quality of devotion to Hari, even if he is born in a śūdra family, he should not be considered a śūdra, they are all first class bhāgavatas. But if one is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he should be considered a śūdra even if he is born in a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya family. This is from the Padma Purāṇa, Atri-saṁhita. From the Padma Purāṇa it is stated that one who is related to Viṣṇu thru devotion is known as a Vaiṣṇava, genuine Vaiṣṇava is superior to all the varṇas and is the best of all. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3^rd canto 33^rd chapter and 7^th verse, “Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in a family of dog eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required”.

I remember how at the Ardha-Kumbha-melā in 1971 Prabhupāda was giving a class on this topic. How one has chanting the holy names, they have done all the pious activities. So one of the devotees raised his hand and asked Prabhupāda, “Prabhupāda, you said that one who chants Hare Kṛṣṇa must have done all these pious activities, but when I see back my life I don’t think I have done anything pious, so then how is it I am able to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa?” Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “That I have made your good fortune for you.” Haribol! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!

So just by Prabhupāda’s mercy people have got the holy name which was only available after doing many, many pious activities. But Prabhupāda simply by his mercy, he gave this opportunity to us. So how grateful we should be to Śrīla Prabhupāda. It is said that out of thousands of brāhmaṇas one is glorified to perform sacrifices and out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas experience sacrificial offerings, one learned brāhmaṇa may have passed beyond Vedic knowledge, he is considered the best among all the brāhmaṇas. Yet out of thousands of such brāhmaṇas who have surpassed the Vedic knowledge one person may be a viṣṇu-bhakta and he is the most famous, and out of thousands of such Vaiṣṇavas, one who is really fixed in his service to Lord Kṛṣṇa is the most famous.

vaiṣṇavānāṁ sahasrebhya ekānty eko viśiṣyate

So they are translating viśiṣyate as famous. I don’t know Sanskrit but I think that viśiṣyate means special. This is from the Garuḍa Purāṇa quoted by Jīva Gosvāmī quoted in his Bhakti-Sandarbha.

Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya 1.198

mātā-devahūtira prati bhagavān kapiladevera bhakti-yoga-varṇanera punarābhinaya—

kapilera bhāve prabhu jananīra sthāne
ye kahilā, tāi prabhu kahaye ekhāne

Translation: Whatever the Lord as Kapila had previously instructed His mother, He now instructed to His mother again in the same mood.

Commentary: For a description of the conversation between Kapila and Devahūti, one should see the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Twenty-five, verses 7 to 44 as well as Chapters Twenty-six through Thirty-two.

Jayapatākā Swami: Whatever Kapiladeva instructed to His mother Devahūti, Gaurahari Mahāprabhu in that way instructed His mother.

Whatever was spoken by Kapila Muni the Lord spoke that in Navadvīpa to His mother. Lord Viśvambhara in the same mood as Kapila Muni, He was teaching His mother. He would talk to Mother Śacī in the same mood. So if someone wants to refer to Kapila Muni’s talks to Devahūti they should see Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3^rd canto chapter 25 verses 7 to 44 as well as chapters 26 to 32. So Lord Caitanya coming back as a Vaiṣṇava, even His mother was not understanding the changes in her son. She was worshipping Deities for His well-being but generally people could not understand the change in Nimāi Paṇḍita. Even His mother, His students and the general population. So Lord Gaurahari, He revealed to some of the special Vaiṣṇavas what He was going thru and then He tried to teach His students, but they could not understand. Now He is teaching His mother, the position of a pure Vaiṣṇava. So these are very interesting and Lord Gaurahari He played His first līlās as Nimāi Paṇḍita and now He has suddenly changed after taking initiation, so people are not understanding. But soon they will understand.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!