20200210 Mahāprabhu's First Manifestation at the House of Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī

Caitanya Book Reading,

10^th February 2020, Śrī dhāma Māyāpur, 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! 

Mahāprabhu's First Manifestation
at the House of Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī

 Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.8

madhya-khaṇḍa-kathā yena amṛtera khaṇḍa
ye kathāśunile ghuce antara-pāṣaṇḍa

Jayapatākā Swami:  The topics of the Madhya Khaṇda are like drops of nectar. Who hears those topics their internal atheism and demoniac nature are completely vanquished, in the heart of anyone who hears these narrations.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.9

madhya-khaṇḍa-kathā, bhāi, śuna eka-citte
saṅkīrtana ārambha haila yena mate

Jayapatākā Swami:  My dear brothers, please listen to these narrations with an attentive mind. Hear how the sankīrtana yajña, pastimes began.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.10

gayā kari’ āilena śrī-gaurasundara
paripūrṇa dhvani haila nadīyā-nagara

Jayapatākā Swami:  Sri Gaurasundara returned from Gayā to Navadvīpa dhāma, and the whole of the Navadvīpa dhāma was filled with the news that the Lord has come back.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.11

dhāilena yata saba āpta-varga āche
keha āge, keha mājhe, keha ati pāche

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, the Lord’s friends and relatives came running to see the Lord. Some saw Him ahead, some saw Him in between and some came later.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.12

yathā-yogya kailā prabhu sabāre sambhāṣa
viśvambhare dekhi’ sabe hailā ullāsa

Jayapatākā Swami:  According to the appropriate manner, the Lord appropriately spoke with everyone. They all were seeing Viśvambara, became jubilant, happy, filled with joy, upon seeing Lord Viśvambara.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.13

āguvāḍi’ sabe ānilena nija-ghare
tīrtha-kathā sabāre kahena viśvambhare

Jayapatākā Swami:  They all greeted the Lord Viśvambara at His house and He told everyone the topics of His pilgrimage. So they all came before the Lord to greet Him and accompany Him to His house.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.14

prabhu bale,—“tomā sabākāra āśīrvāde
gayā-bhūmi dekhiyā āinu nirvirodhe”

Jayapatākā Swami:  The Lord said, by all of your blessings, I was able to see the sacred land of Gayā and come back without any difficulty.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.15

parama sunamra hai’ prabhu kathā kaya
sabe tuṣṭa hailā dekhi’ prabhura vinaya

Jayapatākā Swami:  Being supremely humble, the Lord talked with everyone. Everyone was very satisfied to see the Lord’s humility.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.16

śire hasta diyā keha ’cirajīvī kare
sarva-aṅge hasta diyā keha mantra paḍe

Jayapatākā Swami:  Some touched the Lord’s head with the hand, giving Him the blessing that He live a long time – cirajīvī. Others touched all the parts of His body with their hands, chanting various mantras.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.17

keha vakṣe hasta diyā kare āśīrvāda
“govinda śītalānanda karuna prasāda”

Jayapatākā Swami:  So some placed their hand on His chest and gave Him the blessing, “may Govinda bestow cooling, blissful mercy on You!”

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.18

hailā ānanda-mayīśacī bhāgyavatī
putra dekhi’ hariṣe nā jāne āche kati

Jayapatākā Swami:  The most fortunate Mother Śacī, was thrilled with joy, ānanda-mayī, she was overwhelmed with happiness, seeing her son. She forgot herself with joy! This was while seeing her son.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.19

lakṣmīra janaka kule ānanda uṭhila
pati-mukha dekhiyā lakṣmīra duḥkha gela

Jayapatākā Swami:  The family of Lakṣmī-devī, her father, etc. became most happy and Lakṣmī looking at the face of her husband, all the sadness and separation left her heart.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.20

sakala vaiṣṇava-gaṇa hariṣa hailādekhite
o sei-kṣaṇe keha keha gelā

Jayapatākā Swami:  All the Vaiṣṇavas became very pleased. Some of them went immediately to see the Lord.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.21

sabākāre kari’ prabhu vinaya-sambhāṣa
vidāya dilena sabe gelā nija-vāsa

Jayapatākā Swami:  So the Lord spoke with everyone very humbly, and then He bid them all farewell, goodbye and they all returned to their homes.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.22

viṣṇu-bhakta guṭi-dui-cāri-jana
laiyārahaḥ-kathā kahibāre vasilena giyā

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, the Lord then took some viṣṇu-bhaktas, some devotees, Vaiṣṇavas, two or four of them, to speak some confidential topics. Then He went to some solitary place, sat down to discuss with  them. So, in the world, there is the non-devotees and devotees of Lord Viṣṇu. So the non-devotees, they are interested in all kinds of material topics. But the vaiṣṇavas are interested in the topics of Hari. So the Lord, He took some Vaiṣṇavas, went to some solitary place, a few of them, a small group, and then sat down to discuss some confidential matters.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.23

prabhu bale,—“bandhu-saba śuna,
kahi kathākṛṣṇera apūrva ye dekhiluṅ yathā yathā

Jayapatākā Swami:  The Lord said, listen My dear friends, please hear My description, some of the wonders of Kṛṣṇa that I have seen!

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.24

gayāra bhitara mātra hailāṅa praveśa
prathamei śunilāṅa maṅgala viśeṣa

Jayapatākā Swami:  As soon as I entered Gayā, the sacred dhāma of Gayā, I heard some auspicious sounds, the most auspicious sounds.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.25

sahasra sahasra vipra paḍe veda-dhvani
’dekha dekha viṣṇu pādodaka tīrtha-khāni’

Jayapatākā Swami:  Thousands and thousands of brāhmaṇas were chanting Vedic mantras. Look at the place where Kṛṣṇa washed His lotus feet. See the holy spot where Lord Viṣṇu washed His lotus feet.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.26

pūrve kṛṣṇa yabe kailā gayā-agamana
sei-sthāne rahi’ prabhu dhuilā caraṇa

Jayapatākā Swami:  Previously, when Kṛṣṇa went to visit Gayā, He washed His feet there, at that place.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.27-028

yāṅra pādodaka lāgi’ gaṅgāra mahattva
śire dhari’ śiva jāne pādodaka-tattva
se caraṇa-udaka-prabhāve sei sthāna
jagate haila ’pādodaka-tīrtha’ nāma”

Jayapatākā Swami:  The Ganges became glorious because of the touch of the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Śiva realized the glories of that water, by holding it on His head! By the influence of the water which washed the lotus feet of the Lord, that place became known in the world as Pādodaka-tīrtha, or the holy place of washing the lotus feet of the Lord.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18.21 states:

athāpi yat-pāda-nakhāvasṛṣṭaṁ
jagad viriñcopahṛtārhaṇāmbhaḥ
seśaṁ punāty anyatamo mukundāt
ko nāma loke bhagavat-padārthaḥ

“Who can be worthy of the name of the Supreme Lord but the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Brahmājī collected the water emanating from the nails of His feet in order to award it to Lord Śiva as a worshipful welcome. This very water is purifying the whole universe, including Lord Śiva.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (3.28.22) it is stated:

yac-chauca-niḥsṛta-sarit-pravarodakena
tīrthena mūrdhny adhikṛtena śivaḥ śivo 'bhūt
dhyātur manaḥ-śamala-śaila-nisṛṣṭa-vajraṁ
dhyāyec ciraṁ bhagavataś caraṇāravindam

“The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.”

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.29

pāda-padma-tīrthera laite prabhu nāma
ajhare jharaye dui kamala-nayana

Jayapatākā Swami:  As soon as the Lord said the name, pāda-padma-tīrtha, the holy place of the Lord’s lotus feet, then the Lord Caitanya started to cry, tears of love incessantly from His lotus eyes!

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.30

śeṣe prabhu hailena baḍa asambara
‘kṛṣṇa’ bali’ kāndite lāgilā bahutara

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, finally the Lord He lost all His composure, and saying the name of Kṛṣṇa, He began to profusely cry. So, the Lord Caitanya, He was so inspired by love of Kṛṣṇa, He was unable to control Himself and He started to cry in great ecstasy. So, He couldn’t conceal His natural affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa at that point.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 1.31

bharila puṣpera vana mahāprema-jale
mahāśvāsa chāḍi’ prabhu ’kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa’ bale

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, the flower garden became filled with the tears of love of the Lord. Sighing deeply the Lord chanted the name of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa! You see, Nimāi Paṇḍita when He left Navadvīpa to go to Gayā, He was the greatest scholar. He would defeat everyone in argument. But when He came back, He was now showing a whole new aspect of love for Kṛṣṇa. So, going to Gayā, getting initiated by Īśvara Purī, seeing the Lord in Kānāi Nāṭaśālā, He became a different person, He became fully inundated with love of Kṛṣṇa, and that is the setting for starting the sankīrtana movement. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

I was very early but I got held up by the GBC. So I don’t want to be too late. Any questions?

Question: Dear most Guru Mahārāja, did Lakṣmī-priyā disappear in separation of Lord Caitanya when He went to Gayā? Here it is not mentioned. Whereas in Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is mentioned. Kindly clarify.

Jayapatākā Swami:  When Lord Caitanya went to East Bengal, at that time Lakṣmī-priyā disappeared. As far as I remember, when He went to Gayā, He had married Viṣṇu-priyā. So maybe they used the word Lakṣmī in place of Viṣṇu-priya. I am a bit confused myself, because as I understood, when He went to East Bengal and came back, Lakṣmī-priyā had left. And when He went to Gayā, He had already married Viṣṇu-priya. So maybe our editors can clarify this point. It is true that Viṣṇu-priyā is also Lakṣmī. Ha!

Question: Many times if there are two equally important services that come up at the same time, which of those should we give preference to?

—Śāntīrupinī Rādhā devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami:  Usually what the authorities say what service we should do. This is not a philosophical question. If you can give some example to me personally, then maybe I can understand. The way it is presented, it is very hard to say. Usually, one does the service that is most important! Ha! Ha! I was once asked by Śrīla Prabhupāda to get him a rose. The temple president told me that I shouldn’t do that, he had some other service. I said I would do whatever service you want, but I would first get Śrīla Prabhupāda a rose he wanted! So my president yelled at me and he said I was in māyā! But, anyway, I got the rose for Śrīla Prabhupāda and then I appeared for my temple service.

Thank you very much! Haribol! Gauuuuurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!