20190106 Viśvambhara Describes How He Saw Kṛṣṇa and Lost Kṛṣṇa

The following is a reading from the new Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 6th,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!

Introduction: This is the bamboo straw. Yesterday I went for my monthly check up at the Rela Hospital. I saw the hepatologist, dietician, ophthalmologist and the infectious diseases expert. Dr. Rela came to see me also, and he said that I am looking better. Then it seemed last year was a few days before!! But that trip on the other side of city, coming back here and giving class was very tiring. So today I had a meeting of the TOVP-E, Temple of Vedic Planetarium Exhibits, which happened from 8 to 10.30 am. Then at 12 the speech therapist came and we got into pronouncing some of the difficult, terminal words. I asked him about the temple where they didn’t serve salt to the deity. He didn’t know. So I asked Mahā Varāha [dāsa] to come and he explained “uppu illa appan”— that the Deity who doesn’t eat salt and that has become shortened to Uppilliappan, so like that we were having fun, learning some Tamil words. Then this evening I had a Māyāpur Vṛndāvana Trust meeting. I wanted to go to the snāna-yātrā; but all these meetings made it impossible. Any way I had meeting on the telephone and made comments.

Now we are trying to see how Lord Caitanya is confiding in some of His intimate associates, Some secrets how He saw and where He saw Kṛṣṇa and how He attained Kṛṣṇa and how He lost Kṛṣṇa! So we will go on with that now.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.180

tamāla-śyāmala eka bālaka sundara
nava-guñja-sahita kuntala manohara

Jayapatākā Swami: I saw a beautiful boy blackish like a Tamāla tree. He had His enchanting beautiful curly hair decorated with fresh guñjās.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.181

vicitra mayura-puccha śobhe tad-upari
jhalamala maṇi-gaṇa,—lakhite nā pāri

Jayapatākā Swami: On top of His head, He was decorated with a colorful peacock feather and the jewels on His body which were rocking, were so bright that I cannot see Him properly.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.182

hātete mohana vāṁśī parama-sundara
caraṇe nūpura śobhe ati-manohara

Jayapatākā Swami: He held a very attractive flute in His hand which was very beautiful. On His lotus feet there were ankle bells which were very beautiful and attractive.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.183

nīla-stambha jini’ bhuje’ ratna-alaṅkāra
śrīvatsa-kaustubha vakṣe śobhe maṇi-hāra

Jayapatākā Swami: His arms were decorated with jewel ornaments and their beauty conquered that of a blue column, and His chest was decorated with the mark of the Śrīvatsa, and He wore a Kaustubha jewel and beautiful jeweled necklaces.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.184

ki kahiba se pīta-dhaṭīra paridhāna
makara-kuṇḍala śobhe kamala-nayāna

Jayapatākā Swami: How can I understand how He wore His yellow dhoti? How can I describe the beautiful way He wore His yellow garments? The beauty of the ear rings shaped like shark increased the beauty of His lotus eyes!! Lord Caitanya is describing Kṛṣṇa that He saw in Kānāi-Nāṭaśālā.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.185

āmāra samīpe āilā hāsite-hāsite
āmā āliṅgiyā palāilā kon bhite”

Jayapatākā Swami: As He approached Me, He smiled again and again! And He came up to Me and He embraced Me and then He ran away somewhere!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.186

prabhu-kṛpā vyatīta sakalerai gopībhāvacitta prabhura vākya bujhite asāmarthya —

ki rūpe kahena kathāśrī-gaurasundare
tāna kṛpā vinā tāhā ke bujhite pāre?

Jayapatākā Swami: Who can understand in which way Gaurasundara spoke? His mood can only be understood by someone who is favored by Him. Who else can understand Him? So, Lord Caitanya is speaking very uncommon words and one who is not a devotee cannot understand these words.

Those who imitate Lord Gaurāṅga and try to show that they have achieved love of God, and artificially try to imitate Gaura, instead of love of God, they are simply running/rushing to Hell, without any impediment! Ha! So, the prākṛta-sahajiyās, those who have deviated from the strict understanding of Lord Caitanya’s mood, they want to ruin themselves for accumulating wealth, women and fame, for the evil purpose of deceiving themselves and others. They don’t understand the characteristics of Gaura who is the personification of transcendental vipralambha or separation from the Lord. In other words, they respect the materialists, the fruitive workers, the impersonalists, the jñānīs, who are devoid of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and who are engaged in material sense gratification, Then it is understood that they have not received the mercy from Śrī Gaurasundara, and they are inviting grave inauspiciousness as the result of their own offenses, they are trying to enjoy Gaura, this is explained by Śrīla Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.187

kṛṣṇakathā-varṇana madhye prabhura prema-mūrchā—

kahite kahite mūrchā gelā viśvambhara
paḍilā‘hā kṛṣṇa!’ bali’ pṛthivī-upara

Jayapatākā Swami: While speaking in this way Viśvambhara lost consciousness and fell to the ground exclaiming “Oh, Kṛṣṇa! Oh Kṛṣṇa!”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.188

sakalera prabhuke vyastabhābe dhāraṇa o dhūli-mārjana—

āthe-vyathe dhare saba ‘kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa’ bali’
sthira kari’ jhāḍilena śrī-aṅgera dhūli

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotees quickly picked up the Lord and they chanted Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! and they pacified Him and brushed the dust from His divine body.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.189

premavihvala prabhura kevala ‘kṛṣṇa’ baliẏā krandana —

sthira haiyā o prabhu sthira nāhi haya
‘kothā kṛṣṇa! kothā kṛṣṇa!’ baliyā kāndaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Although the Lord was pacified and He could not remain quiet, He continually cried, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where Is Kṛṣṇa!?” He said while crying.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.190

bahirdaśāẏa āsiẏā prabhura atidainya-vinaẏokti—

kṣaṇeke hailā sthira śrī-gaurasundara
svabhāve hailā ati-namra-kalevara

Jayapatākā Swami: After some time, the Lord was peaceful, and Sri Gaurasundara exhibited His natural, extreme, humility throughout His body!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.191

prabhura kṛṣṇabhajana-varṇana-śravaṇe sakalera sadainye pālaka-jñāne prabhuke stuti o sa-duḥkha-nivedana—

parama-santoṣa citta haila sabāra
śuniyā prabhura bhakti-kathāra pracāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone’s consciousness became greatly satisfied by hearing the Lord’s talk, on His devotional sentiments.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.192

sabe bale,—“āmarā-sabāra baḍa puṇya
tumi-hena-saṅge sabe hailāṅa dhania

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone said, we are all very blessed. You have given us Your association thus making us most fortunate.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.193

tumi saṅge yāra, tāra vaikuṇṭhe ki kare?
tileke tomāra saṅge bhakti-phala dhare

Jayapatākā Swami: For one who gets Your association, what is the value of Vaikuṇṭha? A moment of Your association gives the fruit of devotion. So Vaikuṇṭha refers to the spiritual sky, the part which is saturated with opulence. So, the phrase, ‘what one will do with Vaikuṇṭha?’ means that, Vaikuṇṭha is of less importance than what Lord Caitanya is giving.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.194

anupālya tomāra āmarā sarva-jana
sabāra nāyaka hai’ karaha kīrtana

Jayapatākā Swami: We are all Your surrendered and maintained, and protected persons, You are the leader and lead us in kīrtana, congregational chanting of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.195

pāṣaṇḍīra vākye dagdha śarīra sakala
tomāra e prema-jale karaha śītala”

Jayapatākā Swami: Words of the atheists burn all our bodies, please relieve us with the cooling water of Your love!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.196

bhaktagaṇake sāntvanānte prabhura sagṛhe āgamana—

santoṣe sabāra prati kariyā āśvāsa
calilena matta-siṁha-prāya nija-vāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Being satisfied with everyone, the Lord solaced everyone and returned to His house like a maddened lion.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.197

kṛṣṇapremānandābiṣṭa prabhura ācaraṇa dvārā sambhogamūlaka gauranāgarī-bāda nirāsa

gṛhe āile o nāhi vyābhāra-prastāva
nirantara ānanda-āveśa-āvirbhāva

Jayapatākā Swami: Although He returned to His house, He did not discuss ordinary, household subjects. Rather He constantly appeared in ecstasy, due to the transcendental pleasure. So even though Gaurasundara went home He did not discuss the mundane subjects that gṛhasthas or gṛhamedhīs discuss. He only wanted to discuss things which were connected to Kṛṣṇa. He was always absorbed in love of separation from Kṛṣṇa. This was the mood in the house of Gaurāṅga. In His household appearance, He was Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇupriyā was Mahā-Lakṣmī. But His personal involvement at this stage was always being in separation of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.198

prabhu-premāśru-barṇane granthakārera atula-kabitba-śakti

kata vā ānanda-dhārā vahe śrī-nayane
caraṇera gaṅgā kibā āilā vadane!

Jayapatākā Swami: How many tears of bliss were coming from His transcendental eyes, so that it seemed that the Gaṅgā was emanating from His lotus eyes. The Gaṅgā which originally emanated from His lotus feet was now emanating from His lotus eyes. In using this ornamental language, saying that the Ganges which emanates from the feet of Viṣṇu now seem to be flowing from His eyes, this shows the poetic genius of Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura who is said to be the incarnation of Vyāsadeva. The feeling of separation from Kṛṣṇa is also blissful and that is what materialists cannot understand, how the Lord who seems to be suffering from the separation is actually experiencing ecstasy and bliss.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.199

prabhura śrīmukhe sarvakṣaṇa ekamātra kṛṣṇakathā—

‘kothā kṛṣṇa! kothā kṛṣṇa!’ mātra prabhu bale
āra keha kathā nāhi pāya jijñāsile

Jayapatākā Swami: “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?” These were the only words that the Lord spoke. And if someone enquired, then there was no other reply. If anyone asks Lord Caitanya, Lord Gaurāṅga, anything else, He would always respond with topics of Kṛṣṇa. He wouldn’t say anything else. He was totally absorbed in separation and thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.200

antaraṅgabhakta-darśanamātra tām̐hāke prabhura kṛṣṇasandhāna-jijñāsā—

ye-vaiṣṇave ṭhākura dekhena vidyamāne
tāṅhārei jijñāsena,—“kṛṣṇa, kon khāne?”

Jayapatākā Swami: When the Lord saw any Vaiṣṇava, any devotee, He asked him, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Which direction is Kṛṣṇa?”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 2.201

baliyā krandana prabhu kare atiśaya
ye jāne ye-mata, sei-mata prabodhaya

Jayapatākā Swami: After The Lord spoke in this way, He wept profusely and various persons would try to solace Him according to their ability.

That ends the 51st chapter, “Viśvambhara describes how He saw Kṛṣṇa and lost Kṛṣṇa.”

So in Kānāi-Nāṭaśālā there is a very old tree and there is the place where Lord Caitanya rolled on the ground when He couldn’t find Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa came and embraced Him and then ran off and then Lord Caitanya ran after Him and Kṛṣṇa went behind the tree and when Lord Gaurasundara went behind the tree he did not see Kṛṣṇa. So then he fell to the ground and rolled, crying for Kṛṣṇa!

Haribol! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa! Haribol!