20190128 Advaita Ācārya’s Vision of The Lord’s Universal Form (Part 1)

mūkhaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī gurum dina tarinam
paramānanda mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya īśvaram
hari oṁ tat sat

Introduction: So today, Monday, the 28^th of January 2019, we had the physical therapy in the morning, with Benny, and voice therapy with Lakṣmī Nārāyaṇa. Then in the evening we went on the cycle, Ekarāṇī was counting, and up to here we had 540 cycles. Then I gave a short darśana to the Malaysian, Kuala Lumpur devotees.

Now we are having the class. This is about

Advaita Ācārya’s Vision of The Lord’s Universal Form

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 17.10

śacīke prema-dāna, tabe advaita-milana
advaita pāila viśvarūpa-daraśana

Jayapatākā Swami: Now this is from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, so we will read you Prabhupāda’s translation:

“Thereafter the Lord delivered love of Kṛṣṇa to His mother Śacī devī, nullifying Her offence at the feet of Advaita Ācārya. Thus there was meeting with Advaita Ācārya who later had a vision of the Lord’s universal form.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So this is explained now, Advaita refused to forgive Śacīmāta because He thought, she was the best of the devotees, and He became ecstatic in glorifying Her, and fainted in ecstasy. She took the dust of His lotus feet on the advice of Lord Caitanya, put it on Her head, and in this way, She was forgiven, and Lord Caitanya said, now My mother’s offence at the lotus feet of Advaita Ācārya has been rectified and She may have love of Kṛṣṇa without difficulty. So, Lord Caitanya made His mother an example of Vaiṣṇava offense. Now we should be very careful not to offend another devotee, not to blaspheme a devotee. All devotees are very dear to Kṛṣṇa; therefore, we should be careful not to offend a devotee. Even the husband and wife, are both devotees, they should also be very careful, not to offend each other. Ofcourse it is not condoned morally to hit one’s wife, but if one does that, being a Vaiṣṇava, not only is he guilty of a sin, but he is also guilty of an offence, because his wife is a Vaiṣṇavī. We saw in Māyāpur, one husband and wife, wife was chasing her husband down the road with an iron pan in the hand, a cooking pan. She was from Surinam or somewhere. Anyway that would also be offensive. So this was covered in the last chapter.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.32

advaitaprabhura gopībhāve nṛtya

eka dina advaita nācena gopī-bhāve
kīrtana karena sabe mahā-anurāge

Jayapatākā Swami: One day Advaita was dancing in the mood of a gopī. And everyone was performing kīrtana with great enthusiasm. This is from the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, 24.32.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.33

ārti kari’ nācaye advaita mahāśaya
punaḥ punaḥ dante tṛṇa kariyā paḍaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Lamenting in separation, Advaita Mahāśaya danced, again and again, with a straw in His teeth, He fell to the ground.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.34

gaḍāgaḍi’ yāyena advaita prema-rase
catur-dige bhakta-gaṇa gāyena ullāse

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita, He rolled on the ground in the mellow of pure love of Kṛṣṇa, as devotees in all the four directions were chanting very joyfully.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.35

nṛtya-sambaraṇa-ceṣṭāẏa bhaktagaṇera śrānti

dui prahare o nṛtya nahe samvaraṇa
śrānta hailena saba bhāgavata-gaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Six hours passed by and He was still dancing without any stopping. The Lord’s devotees became exhausted, after chanting and dancing, for such a long time.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.36

sakalera ācāryake beḍiyā upabeśana

sabe meli’ ācāryere sthira karāiyā
vasilena catur-dige ācārya veḍiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: So they all together, pacified Advaita Ācārya. They sat around Him in a circle.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.37

ācāryake susthira darśane śrīvāsādira snānārtha gamana o ācāryera punaḥ āveśa

kichu sthira hañā yadi ācārya vasilāś
rīvāsa-rāmāi-ādi tabe snāne gelā

Jayapatākā Swami: After Advaita Ācārya sat down, somewhat pacified, Śrīvāsa, Rāmāi and other devotees, they went to take their bath.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.38

ārti-yoga advaitera punaḥ punaḥ bāḍe
ekeśvara śrīvāsa-aṅgane gaḍi’ paḍe

Jayapatākā Swami: As Advaita prabhu’s separation steadily increased, He rolled around, alone, on the ground of Śrīvāsa’s courtyard.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.39

advaitera ārti prabhura hṛdgocara

kāryāntare nija-gṛhe chilā viśvambhara
advaitera ārti citte haila gocara

Jayapatākā Swami: Viśvambara Prabhu, He was at His own house, engaged in some activities. He understood the lamentation that Advaita Ācārya was experiencing.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.40

bhakta-ārti-pūrṇakārī sadānanda rāya āilā advaita yathā gaḍagaḍi’ yāya

bhakta-ārti-pūrṇakārī sadānanda rāya
āilā advaita yathā gaḍagaḍi’ yāya

Jayapatākā Swami: The ever-blissful Lord Gaurāṅga, who relieves the lamentation and suffering of all the devotees, He came to where Advaita prabhu was rolling on the ground.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.41

advaitera ārti dekhi’ dhari’ tāṅra kare
dvāra diyā vasilena giyā viṣṇu-ghare

Jayapatākā Swami: Seeing Advaita prabhu’s lamentation, He grabbed His hand. He took Advaita Ācārya inside the Viṣṇu temple, and He sat down there with Advaita Ācārya. At that time, there was a Viṣṇu temple in every Hindu’s house, and particularly in every brahmana’s house. And some houses there were also halls like Chaṅdī maṇḍapas in which ritualistic ceremonies were performed. So, Lord Viśvambara took Advaita by the hand and brought Him inside the Viṣṇu temple, closed the door, and sat down with Advaita.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.42

advaitera abhilāṣa jānibāra janya prabhura praśna

hāsiyāṭhākura bale,—“śunaha ācārya!
ki tomāra icchā, bala ki vā cāha kārya?”

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord smilingly said, listen Ācārya, what is Your desire? Tell Me! What do You want to be done?

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.43

advaitera manobhilāṣa jñāpana o viśbarūpa-darśana

advaita balaye,—“tumi sarva-veda-sāra
tomārei cāhoṅ prabhu, ki cāhiba āra”

Jayapatākā Swami: So Advaita Ācārya replied, You are the essence of all the Vedas. I simply want You Prabhu!! What else could I want? What else could I ask for?

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.44

hāsi’ bale prabhu,—“āmi ei ta’ sākṣāte
āra ki āmāre cāha bala ta’ āmāte”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Viśvambara smiled and said, I am here! I am right here! Tell Me, what else do You want from Me?!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.45

advaita balaye,—“prabhu kahilā su-satya
ei tumi sarva-veda-vedāntera tattva

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita prabhu replied, whatever You said Lord is completely true! su-satya! You are the subject matter of all the Vedas and the Vedānta.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.46

tathāpiha vaibhava dekhite kichu cāi”
prabhu bale,—“ki vā icchā bala mora ṭhāṅi”

Jayapatākā Swami: Still, I want to see some of Your transcendental opulences! Lord Gaurahari replied, so what is Your desire? Tell exactly, what You want to Me?

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.47

advaita balaye,—“prabhu pūrve arjunere
yāhā dekhāile tāhā icchā baḍa kare”

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita replied, Lord, what You previously showed to Arjuna, that, I have a strong desire to see that form You displayed to Arjuna!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.48

balite advaita mātra dekhe eka ratha
catur-dige sainya-dale mahā-yuddhapatha

Jayapatākā Swami: As soon as Advaita spoke these words, He saw a chariot, surrounded by armies, engaged in huge warfare, on the battlefield.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.49

rathera upare dekhe śyāmala-sundara
caturbhuja śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-padma-dhara

Jayapatākā Swami: He saw on the chariot a handsome, blackish, personality, with four hands, holding conch shell, disc, club and lotus.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 24.50

ananta-brahmāṇḍa-rūpa dekhe sei kṣaṇe
candra, sūrya, sindhu, giri, nadī, upavane

Jayapatākā Swami: In the unlimited Universal Form of the Lord, He saw at that time, moon, sun, oceans, mountains, rivers, and forests.

So we will stop here, and tomorrow we will hear more about the Universal Form. What is the time? 9.20 pm. If you have had any difficulty understanding something I said, then if you are on internet send it up to me and if you are here present, give it to Ekarani devī dāsī.

Are there any questions? I will take two questions.

Question: Why Advaita or Arjuna wanted to see the Universal Form of Kṛṣṇa? Why don’t they ask to see His supremacy form of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana? Rukmīni Rāmana dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya asked Advaita what He wanted to see and He told Him, I want to see the Universal Form. I want to see Your Vaibhava, Your glories. Why He did not ask to see something else, what can I say? The Lord asked Him, what He wanted to see and He said! In the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, the Lord asked Maitreya what He wanted to see? And he said, he wanted to see, how His material energy worked. He did not ask why did you want that? Why not something else? If you want to see Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, very good! And I hope that your desire will be fulfilled, but we cannot say why different people ask for different things! They ask what they want! Now when Maitreya asked for this, the Lord smiled. He sees Kṛṣṇa Himself and he asks to understand how the material nature! Now, why? What can we say? That is what he wanted to see! The Lord smiled, because he could ask for anything. He could ask to be transferred to Goloka Vṛndāvana, but instead, he wanted to see the material nature. Then the Lord flooded His āśrama and he was drowning, and then he went thru all the sufferings. And then, shuk! everything came back to normal. So, the Lord showed that by His material energy, He can create this type of illusion. We may ask, so why did Maitreya ask for that? So these type of questions are not reasonable, because everybody is an individual and they ask for whatever they want. You can think if the Lord asks me what I want, I definitely want to serve the Lord. I want to see His beautiful, all attractive form! I want to serve Him, so like that you think if the Lord asks you. I will give you anything you want. If want to be a king, I will make you a king. If you want mystic power, I will give you mystic power!  If you want to merge in the brahmajyoti, then you can do that! What do you want?  What will you ask for? It’s a good question!

Last question

We would like to congratulate Ajīta Gopinath and his better half, Rādhā Rajeśvari devī dāsī, it is their wedding anniversary today. Let us all give them a big Haribol! Haribol!

Mahā Varāha dāsa: We also would like to share a very sad news. One of Guru Mahārāja’s disciples, Līleśvara Gaurāṅga dāsa, he is from Curitiba, Brazil, 22 years old brahmacārī. In an attempt of robbery by some people outside, this brahmacārī reacted to the attempt of robbery and due to that he was badly injured and admitted to the ICU. And we got the news that he left his body. He was a very good bhakta. He joined ISKCON in 2012 and he was very good, very active and sincere devotee, sincere brahmacārī as well, and due to this untoward incident, unexpected, he left this world. So, we want Guru Mahārāja and along with Guru Mahārāja, and with his request, devotees all around the world, online now, we pray along with Guru Mahārāja we pray for his soul to reach the lotus feet of the Lord. (Maha Varāha dāsa) prabhu showed a picture of the devotee with Guru Mahārāja on his phone to the audience).

Jayapatākā Swami: Let us all chant Hare Kṛṣṇa for his successful destination to the spiritual world.

sri kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu nityānanda,
śrī advaita gadādhara, śrīvāsa ādī gaura bhakta vṛnda.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!