20190102 Viśvambhara and Gadādhara Met Advaita Ācārya (Part 2)

The following is a reading from the new Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 2nd, 2019 in Chennai, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Welcome to all the devotees in this year 2019! Śrīla Prabhupāda, he would thank the devotees for their preaching efforts. Thereafter he would say, now you double it. You do twice as much this year. So, like this he was always enthusing the devotees to strive for more, and devotees reached new heights that they didn’t know they could do before. Also, Rādhārāṇī, She always thinks how She could love Krṣṇa more and so the perfection is when we can think we can improve more, more, more, and more. If we think that we have already reached the apex, then we won’t try to do better.

Yamunā devī told how she prepared Prabhupāda’s room in Los Angeles. She had cleaned everything, she arranged Prabhupāda’s clothes in the drawer very orderly and systematically. When Prabhupāda came to the room, she was waiting for Prabhupāda to appreciate her wonderful service. But Prabhupāda opened all the drawers and did not say anything. He started looking here and there and she started getting worried that he is not appreciating and rather looking for any defect. Then Prabhupāda went to open the window. Usually when Prabhupāda would come we would give a fresh coat of paint to his quarters. So, then he went to open the window but the window was painted shut so although he tried very hard, he could not open it. He said, “What is this? Why the window doesn’t open?” Then she broke down and started crying. She wanted so much to do everything nice for Prabhupāda but she thought that she has done everything, and was proud of it. But Prabhupāda found one thing wrong, that the window was painted shut. So this taught her that we should never think that we have done enough for the guru. So she was revealing this pastime on Prabhupāda’s Vyāsa-pūjā.

So today I had the physiotherapist and voice therapist come by, also in the afternoon there was Krṣṇa Kāliya pastime presentation by some professional cinema producers. So, like this the day was very eventful. Some gṛhasthas had babies and they wanted their names urgently before they left the hospital, because they could not leave unless they gave a name for the babies. So two gṛhasthas were there in this situation. So, like this we were kept very busy. Some god brothers also came to see me.

And now I am going to continue with the Krṣṇa Caitanya book compilation.

Introduction: Lord Caitanya and Gadādhara went to see Advaita Gosāñi. When Lord Caitanya saw Advaita He fainted in ecstasy. Advaita thought I will worship Him now as He is unconscious. He felt that the Lord is like a thief who is hiding His identity from Me, so I will also worship Him while He is unconscious.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.134

curira samaya ebe bujhiyā āpane
sarva-pūjā-sajja lai’ nāmilā takhane

Jayapatākā Swami: So understanding that this was the moment for stealing from Lord Gauranga, He brought all the articles of worship and came down from His seat, ready to worship the Lord.

So Advaita in His humorous way is calling it thievery or stealing. But actually what He means is revealing the complete supremacy of Śrī Gaurāṅga Māhaprabhu, who is the source of everything. But He covered Himself to conceal His actual identity. Now Advaita thought, this is My opportunity to openly worship Him to My full satisfaction.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.135-136

pādya, arghya, ācamanīya lai’ sei ṭhāñi
caitanya-caraṇa pūje’ ācārya-gosāñi

gandha, puṣpa, dhūpa, dīpa caraṇa-upare
punaḥ punaḥ ei śloka paḍi, namaskare

Jayapatākā Swami: So Advaita Ācārya, He began to offer worship to Lord Caitanya. By worshiping the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, Advaita following the ceremonies, pādya, arghya, ācamanīya; sandalwood pulp, flowers, incense, lamps, were offered to His lotus feet again and again. This sloka was recited by Advaita. (The process to worship the lotus feet of the spiritual master is explained in the Arcanā-paddhati published by ISKCON Māyāpur).

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.137

namo brahmaṇya-devāya
go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
govindāya namo namaḥ

Jayapatākā Swami: The following pranāma mantra is offered to Krṣṇa:

namo brahmaṇya-devāya
go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
govindāya namo namaḥ

This is given in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed:

“Let me offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Krṣṇa, who is the worshipable deity for all the brahminical men, who is the well-wisher of cows and brahmanas and who is always benefitting the whole world. I offer my repeated obeisances to the Personality of Godhead known as Krṣṇa and Govinda.”

So offering foodstuff made to the deities we chant this mantra three times. For the elaborate meanings of ‘Go’, ‘Krṣṇa’ and ‘Govinda’, one should discuss Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary on the first verse of the Brahma-saṁhitā.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.138

punaḥ punaḥśloka paḍi’ paḍaye caraṇe
ciniyā āpana-prabhu karaye krandane

Jayapatākā Swami: Again and again, Advaita recited this verse and fell at the feet of Lord Viśvambhara, Recognizing Him as His own master, he cried profusely.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.139

pākhālilā dui pada nayanera jale
yoḍa-hasta kari’ dāṇḍāilā pada-tale

Jayapatākā Swami: He washed His two lotus feet with water of the tears from His eyes. He stood by the side of the Lord’s feet with folded hands.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.140

advaitake sasambhrame gadādharera tannivāraṇa; advaitera vākya-śravaṇe gadādharera prabhuprati īśvara-buddhi

hāsi’ bale gadādhara jihvā kāmaḍāi’
“bālakere, gosāñi! e-mata nā yuyāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Gadādhara smiled, biting His tongue, He said, it is not proper to behave like this towards a boy. So Gadādhara prabhu biting or pressing His tongue with His teeth while making a face indicating disapproval, extreme embarrassment, forbiddance or prohibition, and also telling Advaita Gosāñi that He shouldn’t act this way towards a boy like Viśvambhara.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.141

hāsaye advaita gadādharera vacane
“gadādhara! bālake jānibā katho-dine”

Jayapatākā Swami: Hearing Gadādhara’s words, Advaita smiled and said the following: Gadādhara, You will know this boy in some days.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.142

citte baḍa vismita hailā gadādhara
“hena bujhi avatīrṇa hailāīśvara”

Jayapatākā Swami: Gadādhara’s consciousness was struck with wonder and He thought to Himself, perhaps, the Supreme Lord has descended. So those who are the eternal associates of the Lord Gaura Krṣṇa, they can understand on seeing the Lord’s extraordinary, extraordinary ecstatic transformations of love, they can understand Sri Krṣṇa’s glorious pastimes. But the prākṛta-sahajiyās or the deviated followers of Lord Caitanya, even after hearing or reciting the pastimes, they are cheating and cheated. They think that He is doing licentious activities, and trying to say that Lord Caitanya is engaged in enjoying beautiful women but that is not the case. There is no such evidence anywhere. They are simply cheating and traversing the path to hell. And they don’t understand the spiritual characteristics of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. This is specially the gaurāṅga-nāgarīs, apasampradāya. And they call their līlās as nava-gaurāṅgas or new incarnations of Lord Gauranga. They do all kinds of offensive activities, not understanding how the Lord is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He is showing how one can love Him. He treats all other ladies with reservation and respect. He doesn’t even talk to them, He only talks to His mother and wife. Otherwise, He is very respectful and formal with all ladies.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.143

bahirdaśāẏa āsiẏā prabhura advaitake
premabhare arcanarata-darśana kata-kṣaṇe

viśvambhara prakāśiyā bāhya
dekhena āveśa-maya advaita-ācārya

Jayapatākā Swami: After a while Lord Viśvambhara, He manifested His external consciousness. There He saw that Advaita Ācārya was absorbed in ecstasy.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.144

ātmasaṅgopanapūrvaka prabhura advaita-stuti—

āpanāre lukāyena prabhu-viśvambhara
advaitere stuti kare’ yuḍi’ dui kara

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Viśvambhara, He tried to hide Himself by offering with His folded hands prayers glorifying Advaita.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.145

namaskāra kari’ tāṅna pada-dhuli laya
āpanāra deha prabhu tāṅre nivedaya

Jayapatākā Swami: He offered His obeisances to Advaita Gosāñi, taking the dust from His lotus feet (Advaita’s lotus feet) and then He offered His body to Advaita.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.146

“anugraha tumi more kara’ mahāśaya!
tomāra se āmi,—hena jāniha niścaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Oh great mahāśaya! Lord Viśvambhara said, please be merciful on Me! Know for certain, that I belong to You!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.147

dhanya hailāma āmi dekhiyā tomāre
tumi kṛpā karile se kṛṣṇa-nāma sphure

Jayapatākā Swami: My life has become auspicious and successful by seeing You. If You have Your mercy on Me, then the names of Krṣṇa will always manifest. So we will stop here.