20200320 Deliverance of Gopāla Cāpāla

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

So yesterday we heard how the envious people were going outside of the Śrīvāsa Aṅgana, and they were criticizing and speculating on the different activities of the devotees. But they were having kīrtana, very blissfully having kīrtana, and the people outside were speculating so many things, and anyone hearing the kirtan was saying they were obviously doing kīrtana, they were very sacred. Unfortunately, we are not able to enter into that kīrtana. And they would chase that devotee and say, oh, you are one of them, are you! So today we have started the class early so that it will be more convenient for the Chinese and this is also for the devotees here.

So today we are reading from the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, translation and purport is by Śrīla Prabhupāda. The deliverance of Gopāla Cāpāla.

* * *

Chapter entitled as Deliverance of Gopāla Cāpāla

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.37-38

śrīvāsera viruddhe gopāla-cāpālera kāṇḍa

eka-dina vipra, nāma — ‘gopāla cāpāla’
pāṣaṇḍi-pradhāna sei durmukha, vācāla

bhavānī-pūjāra saba sāmagrī lañā
rātre śrīvāsera dvāre sthāna lepāñā

Translation: One night while kīrtana was going on inside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s house, a brāhmaṇa named Gopāla Cāpāla, the chief of the nonbelievers, who was talkative and very rough in his speech, placed all the paraphernalia for worshiping the goddess Durgā outside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s door.

PURPORT: This brāhmaṇa, Gopāla Cāpāla, wanted to defame Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura by proving that he was actually a śākta, or a worshiper of Bhavānī, the goddess Durgā, but was externally posing as a Vaiṣṇava. In Bengal there is perpetual competition between the devotees of goddess Kālī and the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Generally, Bengalis, especially those who are meat-eaters and drunkards, are very much attached to worshiping the goddesses Durgā, Kālī, Śītalā and Caṇḍī. Such devotees, who are known as śāktas, or worshipers of the śakti-tattva, are always envious of Vaiṣṇavas. Since Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was a well-known and respected Vaiṣṇava in Navadvīpa, Gopāla Cāpāla wanted to reduce his prestige by bringing him down to the platform of the śāktas. Therefore, outside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s door he placed various paraphernalia for worshiping Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva, such as a red flower, a plantain leaf, a pot of wine, and reddish sandalwood paste. In the morning, when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura saw all this paraphernalia in front of his door, he called for the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and showed them that at night he was worshiping Bhavānī. Very sorry, these gentlemen called for a sweeper to cleanse the place and purify it by sprinkling water and cow dung there. This incident concerning Gopāla Cāpāla is not mentioned in the Caitanya-bhāgavata.

Jayapatākā Swami: Also, like the head of a goat, and the blood of a goat was put all over the door of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura as if he were worshipping Kālī. Sometimes they offer an animal sacrifice of a goat. So, they put the remnants of this animal sacrifice also on the plate and blood all over his doorway. So, all these people, the neighbors, they knew that this was not the doing of Śrīvāsa. And they avoided discussing. So, it had no effect on the prestige of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. We will find now what happened to Cāpāla Gopāla.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.39

kalāra pāta upare thuila oḍa-phula
haridrā, sindūra āra rakta-candana, taṇḍula

Translation: On the upper portion of a plantain leaf he placed such paraphernalia for worship as oḍa-phula, turmeric, vermilion, red sandalwood and rice.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.40

madya-bhāṇḍa-pāśe dhari’ nija-ghare gela
prātaḥ-kāle śrīvāsa tāhā ta’ dekhila

Translation: He placed a pot of wine beside all this, and in the morning when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura opened his door he saw this paraphernalia.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.41

śrīvāsake śaktira upāsaka-pratipādane ceṣṭā:–

baḍa baḍa loka saba ānila bolāiyā
sabāre kahe śrīvāsa hāsiyā hāsiyā

Translation: Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura called for all the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and smilingly addressed them as follows.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.42

nitya rātre kari āmi bhavānī-pūjana
āmāra mahimā dekha, brāhmaṇa-sajjana

Translation: “Gentlemen, every night I worship the goddess Bhavānī. Since the paraphernalia for the worship is present here, now all you respectable brāhmaṇas and members of the higher castes can understand my position.”

PURPORT: According to the Vedic system there are four castes—the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras—and below them are the pañcamas (literally, ”members of the fifth group”), who are lower than the śūdras. The higher castes—the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas and even the vaiśyas—were known as brāhmaṇa-saj-jana. The brāhmaṇas especially were known as saj-jana, or respectable gentlemen who guided the entire society. If there were disputes in the village, people would approach these respectable brāhmaṇas to settle them. Now it is very difficult to find such brāhmaṇas and saj-janas, and thus every village and town is so disrupted that there is no peace and happiness anywhere. To revive a fully cultured civilization, the scientific division of society into brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras must be introduced all over the world. Unless some people are trained as brāhmaṇas, there cannot be peace in human society.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Śrīla Prabhupāda had said that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement had to somehow establish the daivī-varṇāśrama. And this purport tells why.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.43

sthānīya bhadralokera manaḥkṣobha o sthāna-śuddhīkaraṇa:–

tabe saba śiṣṭa-loka kare hāhākāra
aiche karma hethā kaila kon durācāra

Translation: Then all the assembled gentlemen exclaimed, “What is this? What is this? Who has performed such mischievous activities? Who is that sinful man?”

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.44

hāḍike āniyā saba dūra karāila
jala-gomaya diyā sei sthāna lepāila

Translation: They called for a sweeper [hāḍi], who threw all the items of worship far away and cleansed the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.

PURPORT: The men in Vedic society who engage in public sanitary activities like picking up stool and sweeping the street are called hāḍis. Sometimes they are untouchable, especially when engaged in their profession, yet such hāḍis also have the right to become devotees. This is established by Śrī Bhagavad-gītā (9.32), where the Lord declares:

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

”O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], and śūdras [workers]—can attain the supreme destination.”

There are many untouchables of the lower caste in India, but according to Vaiṣṇava principles everyone is welcome to accept this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement on the spiritual platform of life and thus be freed from trouble. Neither equality nor fraternity is possible on the material platform.

When Lord Caitanya declares tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā, He indicates that one must be above the material conception of life. When one thoroughly understands that he is not the material body but a spiritual soul, he is even humbler than a man of the lower castes, for he is spiritually elevated. Such humility, in which one thinks himself lower than the grass, is called su-nīcatva, and being more tolerant than a tree is called sahiṣṇutva, forbearance. Being situated in devotional service, not caring for the material conception of life, is called amānitva, indifference to material respect; yet a devotee thus situated is called māna-da, for he is prepared to give honor to others without hesitation.

Mahatma Gandhi started the hari-jana movement to purify the untouchables, but he was a failure because he thought that one could become a hari-jana, a personal associate of the Lord, through some kind of material adjustment. That is not possible. Unless one fully realizes that he is not the body but is a spiritual soul, there is no question of his becoming a hari-jana. Those who do not follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His disciplic succession cannot distinguish between matter and spirit, and therefore all their ideas are but a mixed-up hodgepodge of problems. They are virtually lost in the bewildering network of Māyādevī.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.45

vaiṣṇavāparādhera phale gopāla-cāpālera kuṣṭha:–

tina dina rahi’ sei gopāla-cāpāla
sarvāṅge ha-ila kuṣṭha, vahe rakta-dhāra

Translation: After three days, leprosy attacked Gopāla Cāpāla, and blood oozed from sores all over his body.

Jayapatākā Swami: So by committing a vaiṣṇava-aparādha one gets a horrible result. So Cāpāla Gopāla for his offence to the pure devotee, Śrīvasa Ṭhākura, he was attacked by leprosy. Leprosy means that blood, the oxygen does not reach your extremities, and so he got sores all over his body and started to bleed and ooze pus.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.46

sarvāṅga beḍila kīṭe, kāṭe nirantara
asahya vedanā, duḥkhe jvalaye antara

Translation: Incessantly covered with germs and insects biting him all over his body, Gopāla Cāpāla felt unbearable pain. His entire body burned in distress.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes a person with leprosy has a type of lice which eat the rotting flesh of the leper, and so in this way the person suffers incredibly. So, they are describing this type of suffering that Cāpāla Gopāla was receiving,

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.47

gaṅgātīre avasthāna o prabhura nikaṭa uddhāra-kāmanā—

gaṅgā-ghāṭe vṛkṣa-tale rahe ta’ vasiyā
eka dina bale kichu prabhuke dekhiyā

Translation: Since leprosy is an infectious disease, Gopāla Cāpāla left the village to sit down on the bank of the Ganges underneath a tree. One day, however, he saw Caitanya Mahāprabhu passing by and spoke to Him as follows.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.48

grāma-sambandhe āmi tomāra mātula
bhāginā, mui kuṣṭha-vyādhite hañāchi vyākula

Translation: “My dear nephew, I am Your maternal uncle in our village relationship. Please see how greatly this attack of leprosy has afflicted me.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.49

loka saba uddhārite tomāra avatāra
muñi baḍa dukhī, more karaha uddhāra

Translation: “As an incarnation of God, You are delivering so many fallen souls. I am also a greatly unhappy fallen soul. Kindly deliver me by Your mercy.”

PURPORT: It appears that although Gopāla Cāpāla was sinful, talkative and insulting, he nevertheless had the qualification of simplicity. Thus, he believed Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who had come to deliver all fallen souls, and he appealed for his own deliverance, seeking the mercy of the Lord. He did not know, however, that the deliverance of the fallen does not consist of curing their bodily diseases, although it is also a fact that when a man is delivered from the material clutches his material bodily diseases are automatically cured. Gopāla Cāpāla simply wanted to be delivered from the bodily sufferings of leprosy, but Śrī Caitanya, although accepting his sincere appeal, wanted to inform him of the real cause of suffering.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, he is praying to Lord Caitanya, very humbly, very nicely, for mercy. But see what Lord Caitanya replies. We have to be very careful not offend a Vaiṣṇava. So Cāpāla Gopāla, he was, in spite of his bad qualities for being talkative, insulting, he also had the quality of simplicity and he accepted that Lord Caitanya was an avatāra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had come down, who had incarnated to deliver the fallen souls. So, he appealed that he was a greatly fallen soul, so therefore he should be delivered. But Śrīla Prabhupāda is explaining that, delivering the fallen souls doesn’t mean curing their material diseases, their physical diseases, it means awakening their pure love for Kṛṣṇa, their devotion for Kṛṣṇa. So, it is true that if someone gets delivered from the material clutches and in pure devotion, it is not that he will also be cured of his bodily diseases. But Cāpāla Gopāla, he wanted to be delivered from his bodily diseases without actually achieving actual deliverance of pure devotion for Kṛṣṇa. But Śrī Caitanya wanted to inform him of the real reason why he was suffering.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.50

uhāra vaiṣṇavāparādhahetu prabhura sakrodha vacana o uddhāre asammati:–

eta śuni’ mahāprabhura ha-ila kruddha mana
krodhāveśe bale tāre tarjana-vacana

Translation: Hearing this, Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared greatly angry, and in that angry mood He spoke some words chastising him.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.51

āre pāpi, bhakta-dveṣi, tore na uddhārimu
koṭi-janma ei mate kīḍāya khāoyāimu

Translation: “O sinful person, envious of pure devotees, I shall not deliver you! Rather, I shall have you bitten by these germs for many millions of years.

PURPORT: We should note herein that all our sufferings in this material world, especially from disease, are due to our past sinful activities. And of all sinful activities, actions directed against a pure devotee out of sheer envy are considered extremely severe. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted Gopāla Cāpāla to understand the cause of his suffering. Any person who disturbs a pure devotee engaged in broadcasting the holy name of the Lord is certainly punished like Gopāla Cāpāla. This is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. As we shall see, one who offends a pure devotee can never satisfy Caitanya Mahāprabhu unless and until he sincerely regrets his offense and thus rectifies it.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, our sickness in the material world is due to the previous karmas. And the worst offence or sin is to offend a pure devotee. So, the punishment for that are extreeeemely severe! Lord Caitanya wanted Cāpāla Gopāla to understand the real reason why he was suffering. So, anyone who offends a pure devotee, who is broadcasting the message of Godhead, is certainly subject to be punished by Cāpāla Gopāla. So, this is the special instruction of Lord Caitanya. As we have seen here, anyone who offends a pure devotee cannot satisfy Caitanya Mahāprabhu unless and until he sincerely regrets his offence and thus rectifies it. It seems like Lord Caitanya was very heavy, and certainly He is strong, but He is actually, giving him a chance to Cāpāla Gopāla to rectify himself. If He didn’t tell him the cause of his suffering, maybe he won’t rectify it and remain suffering, like He said, for millions of births, millions of years. So actually, Lord Caitanya’s harsh words are another form of His mercy because we will see how that influences both Cāpāla Gopāla and Śrīvāsa.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.52

śrīvāse karāili tui bhavānī-pūjana
koṭi janma habe tora raurave patana

Translation: “You have made Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura appear to have been worshiping the goddess Bhavānī. Simply for this offense, you will have to fall down into hellish life for ten million births.

PURPORT: There are many tantric followers who, wishing to eat meat and drink wine, practice the black art of worshiping the goddess Bhavānī in a crematorium. Such fools also consider this bhavānī-pūjā to be as good as worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa in devotional service. But such abominable tantric activities performed by so-called svāmīs and yogīs are herein condemned by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He declares that such bhavānī-pūjā for drinking wine and eating meat quickly plunges one into hellish life. The method of worship itself is already hellish, and its results must also be hellish and nothing more.

Many rascals say that whatever way one accepts, one will ultimately reach Brahman. Yet we can see from this verse how such persons reach Brahman. Brahman spreads everywhere, but appreciation of Brahman in different objects leads to different results. In the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) the Lord says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: “I reward everyone according to his surrender unto Me.” Māyāvādīs certainly realize Brahman in certain aspects, but realization of Brahman in the aspects of wine, women and meat is not the same realization of Brahman that devotees achieve by chanting, dancing and eating prasādam. Māyāvādī philosophers, being educated in paltry knowledge, think all sorts of Brahman realization one and the same and do not consider varieties. But although Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, by His inconceivable potency He is simultaneously not everywhere. Thus, the Brahman realization of the tantric cult is not the same Brahman realization as that of pure devotees. Unless one reaches the highest point of Brahman realization, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is punishable. All people except Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees are to some proportion pāṣaṇḍīs, or demons, and thus they are punishable by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, as stated below.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, some people practice black magic and worship goddess Bhavānī or Kālī and drink wine and eat meat. So, the foolish people, they say, jei kālī sei kṛṣṇa, a worship of Kālī is equal to worship of Kṛṣṇa. But this is not the truth. All these abominable tantric activities are performed by so called svāmīs and yogis. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He has declared that such Kālī or bhavānī-pūjā for the purpose of drinking wine and eating meat, quickly plunges the worshipper into hellish condition. The method of worship is hellish and the result of such worship will also produce hellish life. And some people say that whatever way you practice, you reach the absolute truth. This is not true. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He rewards everyone according to how they approach Him, how they surrender. So those who want to achieve Brahman but actually don’t surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then He reciprocates in that way. He doesn’t give them His personal realization. So, by performing this tantric worship of drinking wine and eating meat and enjoying with women, in an illicit manner does not produce the same realization of Brahman, the Absolute Truth, that devotees who chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, dance in ecstasy and eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam achieve. So, these people are very ignorant and think that all practices achieve the same transcendental realization. So, the absolute realization of the tantric practitioners is not the same as that of the pure Vaiṣṇava devotees. So, unless you are practicing pure devotional service or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you are subject to be punished by the laws of karma.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.53

pāṣaṇḍī saṁhārite mora ei avatāra
pāṣaṇḍī saṁhāri’ bhakti karimu pracāra

Translation: “I have appeared in this incarnation to kill the demons [pāṣaṇḍīs] and, after killing them, to preach the cult of devotional service.”

PURPORT: Lord Caitanya’s mission is the same as that of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which He states in the

Bhagavad-gītā (4.7–8):

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.”

As explained here, the real purpose of an incarnation of Godhead is to kill the atheists and maintain the devotees. He does not say, like so many rascal incarnations, that atheists and devotees are on the same platform. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the real Personality of Godhead, does not advocate such an idea.

Atheists are punishable, whereas devotees are to be protected. To maintain this principle is the mission of all avatāras, or incarnations. One must therefore identify an incarnation by His activities, not by popular votes or mental concoctions. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave protection to devotees and killed many demons in the course of His preaching work. He specifically mentioned that the Māyāvādī philosophers are the greatest demons. Therefore, He warned all others not to hear the Māyāvāda philosophy: māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa. Simply by hearing the Māyāvāda interpretation of the śāstras, one is doomed (Cc. Madhya 6.169).

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya’s mission is the same as Lord Kṛṣṇa’s.  Kṛṣṇa says paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, that I come to deliver the devotees and to annihilate the miscreants. However, Lord Caitanya’s method is a bit different. We found that in Jagāi Mādhāi, He killed their demoniac nature and He made them devotees. So, in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, He would kill the demons.  Lord Rāmacandra, He killed the demon Rāvaṇa. But Lord Caitanya kills the demoniac nature, but He delivers them to become pure devotees. Some people who offended Lord Nityānanda and offended Haridāsa Ṭhākura, like Rāmacandra Khān, he got punished severely and that is mentioned in the Caitanya Caritamṛta. So Cāpāla Gopāla he is going to receive the special mercy of Lord Caitanya because not only would his demoniac nature be purified but he will also achieve pure devotional service. So, every avatar has the same mission. It is just that Lord Caitanya did so without using weapons of violence. While Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, other avatāras used weapons of violence and also their paraphernalia of mercy. So Lord Caitanya, He gave out the mercy in two ways – by killing the demoniac nature and by establishing them in devotional service. Lord Caitanya warned everyone not to listen to the Māyāvādīs or impersonalist, because they create offenses to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So, some atheists want to be recognized as avatāras by popular vote or something. That is not the system. It is not that one is an avatāras because of vote. A person is an avatāras because he is predicted in the śāstra, He acts according to the śāstra and so on. So, Lord Caitanya, He achieved this by His special method, so therefore He is considered to be the most merciful of all avatāra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.54

vaiṣṇavāparādhīra niyata kaṣṭabhogahetu sahaje mṛtyu nāi—

eta bali’ gelā prabhu karite gaṅgā-snāna
sei pāpī duḥkha bhoge, nā yāya parāṇa

Translation: After saying this, the Lord left to take His bath in the Ganges, and that sinful man did not give up his life but continued to suffer.

PURPORT: It appears that an offender to a Vaiṣṇava continues to suffer and does not give up his life. We have actually seen that a great vaiṣṇava-aparādhī continuously suffered so much that it was difficult for him to move and yet he did not die.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, someone who has committed vaiṣṇava-aparādha, cannot easily die but at the same time his life is one of suffering.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.55-56

prabhura āgamane uhāra śaraṇāgati—

sannyāsa kariyā yabe prabhu nīlācale gelā
tathā haite yabe kuliyā grāme āilā

tabe sei pāpī prabhura la-ila śaraṇa
hita upadeśa kaila ha-iyā karuṇa

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya, after accepting the renounced order of life, went to Jagannātha Purī and then came back to the village of Kuliyā, upon His return that sinful man took shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord, being merciful to him, gave him instructions for his benefit.

PURPORT: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, in his Anubhāṣya, has given the following note in connection with the village Kuliyā. The village originally known as Kuliyā has developed into what is now the city of Navadvīpa. In various authorized books like the Bhakti-ratnākara, Caitanya-carita-mahākāvya, Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka and Caitanya-bhāgavata it is mentioned that the village of Kuliyā is on the western side of the Ganges. Even now, within the area known as Koladvīpa, there is a place known as kuliāra gaṣja and a place called kuliāra daha, both within the jurisdiction of the present municipality of Navadvīpa. In the time of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the two villages on the western side of the Ganges named Kuliyā and Pāhāḍapura both belonged to the jurisdiction of Bāhiradvīpa. At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa. At Śrī Māyāpur that place is still known as Dvīpera Māṭha. There is another place of the name Kuliyā near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā, but it is not the same Kuliyā mentioned here. It cannot be accepted as aparādha-bhañjanera pāḍa, or the place where the offense was excused, for that occurred in the above-mentioned Kuliyā on the western side of the Ganges. For business reasons many envious persons oppose excavation of the real place, and sometimes they advertise unauthorized places as the authorized one.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, you heard that when Lord Caitanya gave this very harsh words to Cāpāla Gopāla, that he had committed a vaiṣṇava-aparādha so therefore he had to suffer hellish birth for ten million birth. So, some devotees went to Śrīvāsa and asked him to please forgive Cāpāla Gopāla, and he said, “I am not a devotee, no one can offend me!”  They said “well, you may think you are not a devotee, but Lord Caitanya does. And do you want to be the cause of Cāpāla Gopāla to suffer?” And he said, “no, no, I don’t want anyone to suffer because of me.” They said, “then you have to forgive him. And if do that, then Lord Caitanya will deliver him.” So then that inspired Cāpāla Gopāla to go and, Cāpāla Gopāla fell at the feet of Śrīvāsa and begged him for forgiveness and Śrīvāsa forgave him. That was the background and then Lord Caitanya also delivered him. Kuliyā is where the present Navadvīpa city is. There is a saying, aparādha-bhañjanera pāḍa. I know that Koladvīpa is also Kuliyā. So there one can get forgiven for offences. So Caitanya Bhāgavata mentions that Kuliyā is on the western side of the Ganges. So Antardvīpa is on the eastern side of the Ganges, and the western side is Koladvīpa. So, in the time of Lord Caitanya, the place of Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa and after the British came, their railway station was formed on the western side and Kuliyā became known as Navadvīpa. So Śrīla Prabhupāda is confirming that the aparādha-bhañjanera pāḍa is on the western side of the Ganges. So, the British Lord came here to establish where is the real Navadvīpa and where is the Śrī Māyāpur, and his discovery was that, it can only be on the eastern side of the Ganges.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.57–58

śrīvāsapaṇḍitera nikaṭa aparādha-kṣamāra janya prabhura upadeśa:—

śrīvāsa paṇḍitera sthāne āche aparādha
tathā yāha, teṅho yadi karena prasāda

śaraṇāgatira para punarāya pāpācaraṇa niṣedha:

tabe tora habe ei pāpa-vimocana
yadi punaḥ aiche nāhi kara ācaraṇa

Translation: “You have committed an offense at the lotus feet of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura,” the Lord said. “First you must go there and beg for his mercy, and then if he gives you his blessings and you do not commit such sins again, you will be freed from these reactions.”

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.59

gopāla-cāpālera śrīvāsa-caraṇe śaraṇa grahaṇa o aparādha-mocana

tabe vipra la-ila āsi śrīvāsa śaraṇa
tāṅhāra kṛpāya haila pāpa-vimocana

Translation: Then the brāhmaṇa, Gopāla Cāpāla, went to Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and took shelter of his lotus feet, and by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s mercy he was freed from all sinful reactions.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, if you commit an offence to a Vaiṣṇava then you should ask that Vaiṣṇava to forgive you in order that you can be delivered.

Thus ends the chapter “Deliverance of Gopāla Cāpāla”

* * *

Haribol! So, is this 6 to 7 a good time? You are all sitting too close together. We want to keep what you call, keep a distance between each other, social distancing they call it, so if someone has the corona virus, he or she does not spread it to others!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Some Bhagavad-gītā sponsorships were announced.

Give them all a big Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Śrīla Prabhupāda asked me to distribute 10 thousand big books and 100 thousand small books, every month Since our saṅkīrtana devotees cannot go out now, at least I can hopefully reach my quota by this way. Haribol! I would like to welcome the sankirtan devotees who came today for the class. Haribol!

Not only do the saṅkīrtana devotees distribute books, but they are presently in Mayapur to study the Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava and so on. So, this is a very good example that all the saṅkīrtana devotees are taking seriously the study of Śrīla Prabhupāda books and we thank all of them. And we hope that other devotees will take this example. Any questions? Three minutes!

10, 9,8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,2 1!

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, Please accept my respectful obeisances. In case we do not know whom we have offended, but we have a feeling we have offended some devotee, what do we do? Your aspiring daughter, Pratyūṣa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Pratyūṣa? That is a very difficult question to answer. One time, Rūpa Gosvāmī was feeling great ecstasy in reading Bhāgavatam He laughed. HA! HA! HA! OH HO! HO! One devotee was walking by, he was crippled. He thought, oh, Rūpa Gosvāmī is laughing at me maybe because I am crippled!  After that Rūpa Gosvāmī lost his ecstasy and so he asked Sanātana Gosvāmī, what happened? He said you must have offended an Vaiṣṇava. That is why you lost your ecstasy. So how can I know who I offended? I don’t know. He said well, invite all the Vaiṣṇavas to come for a feast. And then who doesn’t show up – he is the one that feels offended. So then he had a big feast, and invited all the Vaiṣṇavas, but this crippled Vaiṣṇava did not come. And he went to him and begged for forgivance. He said, you laughed at me! Rūpa Gosvāmī said, no, no, I was reading the Bhāgavatam and felt ecstasy, but any offence, please forgive me. So how to know who you have offended? It may not be possible to have a feast, keep track of all. Ha! But I notice that some people touch everybody’s shoes in the stairs, they get the dust of the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas, because the dust of the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas also forgives you for offence. But you should be careful not commit any offence and by constantly chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, you can also gradually, eventually get the offences forgiven. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Thank you very much!

Today is Pāpamocana Ekādaśī, I hope you all heard the glories of Pāpamocana Ekādaśī. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Tomorrow evening also same time 6 to 7 o clock. Is that okay?