20200420 Contribution of Murāri Gupta

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

Chapter entitled as Contribution of Murāri Gupta

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 17.69

murāri-gupta-mukhe śuni’ rāma-guṇa-grāma
lalāṭe likhila tāṅra ’rāmadāsa’ nāma

Translation: Murāri Gupta was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra. When Lord Caitanya heard Lord Rāmacandra’s glories from his mouth, He immediately wrote on his forehead “rāmadāsa” [the eternal servant of Lord Rāmacandra].

CB Ādi-khaṇḍa 1.145

murārira gauranitāi vā kṛṣṇa-rāma-tattvāvagati

madhya-khaṇḍe, caitanya-nitāi—kṛṣṇa-rāma
jānilā murāri-gupta mahā-bhāgyavān

Translation: In the Madhya-khaṇḍa the most fortunate Murāri Gupta is able to recognize Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu to be Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

COMMENTARY

The most fortunate Murāri Gupta certainly knew that Nitāi and Gaura were Rāma and Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: In the Madhya-khaṇḍa, the most fortunate Murāri Gupta was able to recognize Caitanya Nitāi as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 10.49

śrīmurāri gupta-mahimā o śākhā

śrī-murāri gupta śākhā—premera bhāṇḍāra
prabhura hṛdaya drave śuni’ dainya yāṅra

Translation: Murāri Gupta, the twenty-first branch of the tree of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was a storehouse of love of Godhead. His great humility and meekness melted the heart of Lord Caitanya.

PURPORT: Śrī Murāri Gupta wrote a book called Śrī Caitanya-carita. He belonged to a vaidya physician family of Śrīhaṭṭa, the paternal home of Lord Caitanya, and later became a resident of Navadvīpa. He was among the elders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Lord Caitanya exhibited His Varāha form in the house of Murāri Gupta, as described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Third Chapter. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His mahā-prakāśa form, He appeared before Murāri Gupta as Lord Rāmacandra. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu were sitting together in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Murāri Gupta first offered his respects to Lord Caitanya and then to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu, however, was older than Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and therefore Lord Caitanya remarked that Murāri Gupta had violated social etiquette, for he should have first shown respect to Nityānanda Prabhu and then to Him. In this way, by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Murāri Gupta was informed about the position of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, and the next day he offered obeisances first to Lord Nityānanda and then to Lord Caitanya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave chewed pan, or betel nut, to Murāri Gupta. Once Śivānanda Sena offered food to Lord Caitanya that had been cooked with excessive ghee, and the next day the Lord became sick and went to Murāri Gupta for treatment. Lord Caitanya accepted some water from the waterpot of Murāri Gupta, and thus He was cured. The natural remedy for indigestion is to drink a little water, and since Murāri Gupta was a physician, he gave the Lord some drinking water and cured Him.

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura in His Caturbhuja-mūrti, Murāri Gupta became His carrier in the form of Garuḍa, and in these pastimes of ecstasy the Lord then got up on his back. It was the desire of Murāri Gupta to leave his body before the disappearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but the Lord forbade him to do so. This is described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Twenty. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu one day appeared in ecstasy as the Varāha mūrti, Murāri Gupta offered Him prayers. He was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, and his staunch devotion is vividly described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Fifteenth Chapter, verses 137 through 157.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 10.50

pratigraha nāhi kare, nā laya kāra dhana
ātma-vṛtti kari’ kare kuṭumba bharaṇa

Translation: Śrīla Murāri Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as a physician and maintained his family with his earnings.

PURPORT: It should be noted that a gṛhastha (householder) must not make his livelihood by begging from anyone. Every householder of the higher castes should engage himself in his own occupational duty as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya, but he should not engage in the service of others, for this is the duty of a śūdra. One should simply accept whatever he earns by his own profession. The engagements of a brāhmaṇa are yajana, yājana, paṭhana, pāṭhana, dāna and pratigraha. A brāhmaṇa should be a worshiper of Viṣṇu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A kṣatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaiśya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty. Since Murāri Gupta was born in a physician’s family (vaidya-vaṁśa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivī-varṇāśrama. Murāri Gupta was an ideal gṛhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By practicing as a physician, he maintained his family and at the same time satisfied Lord Caitanya to the best of his ability. This is the ideal of householder life.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, during this pandemic time, we are visiting the houses of various gṛhasthas. It is very nice to see how they are worshipping deities in the house. How they are using this situation to preach. Some of them have bhakti-vṛkṣa groups or nāma-haṭṭa groups, and some are giving classes. But they work and maintain their family through working, but they preach in all their spare time. So, it is very inspiring to see how the householders are serving the Lord by executing their occupational duties.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 10.51

cikitsā karena yāre ha-iyā sadaya
deha-roga bhāva-roga,—dui tāra kṣaya

Translation: As Murāri Gupta treated his patients, by his mercy both their bodily and spiritual diseases subsided.

PURPORT: Murāri Gupta could treat both bodily and spiritual disease because he was a physician by profession and a great devotee of the Lord in terms of spiritual advancement. This is an example of service to humanity. Everyone should know that there are two kinds of diseases in human society. One disease, which is called adhyātmika, or material disease, pertains to the body, but the main disease is spiritual. The living entity is eternal, but somehow or other, when in contact with the material energy, he is subjected to the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. The physicians of the modern day should learn from Murāri Gupta. Although modern philanthropic physicians open gigantic hospitals, there are no hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has taken up the mission of curing this disease, but people are not very appreciative because they do not know what this disease is. A diseased person needs both proper medicine and a proper diet, and therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement supplies materially stricken people with the medicine of the chanting of the holy name, or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and the diet of prasādam. There are many hospitals and medical clinics to cure bodily diseases, but there are no such hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The centers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are the only established hospitals that can cure man of birth, death, old age and disease.

Jayapatākā Swami: We have many devotees that have taken education to be certified as physicians. But they only treat some material diseases. Here Śrīla Prabhupāda is elucidating that the physicians should not only cure the body, but like Murāri Gupta, cure the spiritual disease. Because of our forgetfulness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we try to be happy in the material world. We don’t realize that the real happiness is serving the Lord! So, this Murāri Gupta showed that he would cure the material and spiritual diseases. So, we request all the doctors, physicians, to see the both diseases – the material and spiritual disease. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.10

‘caitanyacarite’ murārikartṛka ādi-līlāra evaṃ ‘kaḍacāya’ svarūpakartṛka śeṣa-līlāra granthana –

mahāprabhura līlābhinaya —

prathama 24 vatsara navadvīpe gṛhasthya-līlā, śeṣa 24 vatsara nīlācale sannyāsa-

cabbiśa vatsara prabhu kaila gṛha-vāsa
nirantara kaila kṛṣṇa-kīrtana-vilāsa

Translation: For twenty-four years Lord Caitanya lived in the gṛhastha-āśrama [household life], always engaging in the pastimes of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya in His gṛhastha life, He showed the ideal gṛhastha life. He was feeding sannyāsīs and poor people every day. At the same time, He was teaching Sanskrit to His students, and He was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! So, His chanting in Navadvīpa started the saṅkīrtana movement. And that has continued throughout the world now, by the efforts of His Divine Grace Abhaya Caraṇāravinda Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda. So, Lord Caitanya, at the age of 24, last 24 years of His pastime, He was a sannyāsī, and then He travelled throughout India for 6 years, and then he stayed in Jagannātha Purī for 18 years.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.11

cabbiśa vatsara-śeṣe kariyā sannyāsa
āra cabbiśa vatsara kaila nīlācale vāsa

Translation: After twenty-four years He accepted the renounced order of life, sannyāsa, and He resided for twenty-four years more at Jagannātha Purī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, as a sannyāsī, on the excuse of searching for His elder brother, Viśvarūpa dāsa, He travelled throughout India. He went to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, He went to Mahārāshtra, found His brother’s samādhi in Pāṇḍarpura. Then He went to Dvārakā and He came back to Jagannātha Purī, and then He went to Bīhār, Jhārikhaṇḍa and Banaras, Prayāga, parts of Rājasthān and to Vṛndāvana. So, like this He travelled throughout India, and He was preaching the harināma-saṅkīrtana. He converted the sannyāsīs of Banaras to bhakti yoga from jñāna-yoga. So that is the subject matter of this book, 24 years as a gṛhastha and then after 24 years as a sannyāsī.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.12

śeṣa 24 vatsarera 6 vatsara uttara o dakṣiṇa-bhārate kṛṣṇānveṣaṇa o pracāra:—

tāra madhye chaya vatsara—gamanāgamana
kabhu dakṣiṇa, kabhu gauḍa, kabhu vṛndāvana

Translation: Of these last twenty-four years, He spent the first six continually touring India, sometimes in South India, sometimes in Bengal and sometimes in Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.13

aṣṭādaśa vatsara rahilā nīlācale
kṛṣṇa-prema-nāmāmṛte bhāsā’la sakale

Translation: For the remaining eighteen years He continuously stayed in Jagannātha Purī. Chanting the nectarean Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, He inundated everyone there in a flood of love of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Lord Caitanya when He was in Jagannātha Purī, He was taking the role as a devotee, and people at that time may not have understood, that He was actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but now they understand, that actually He was the Supreme Lord and He came as a devotee, and He was staying there for so many years in Jagannātha Purī. So that is why Śrīla Prabhupāda had said, that they devotees in Purī, who worship Lord Jagannātha, they should now accept the devotees of Lord Caitanya, who have come from all over the world. Because this was the prediction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was staying in Jagannātha Purī.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.14

gṛhasthya-līlāi ādi-līlā evaṃ sannyāsa-līlāi madhya o antya-līlā —

gārhasthye prabhura līlā—‘ādi’-līlākhyāna
‘madhya’- ‘antya’-līlā—śeṣa-līlāra dui nāma

Translation: The pastimes of His household life are known as the ādi-līlā, or the original pastimes. His later pastimes are known as the madhya-līlā and antya-līlā, or the middle and final pastimes.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the categorization in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta. In the Caitanya Bhāgavata, they use the ādi-līlā as His householder life prior to the saṅkīrtana movement, and madhya-līlā as the saṅkīrtana pastime while He was a gṛhastha, and the antya-līlā is after He took sannyāsa. So, this particular categorization is what they used in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.15

ādi-līlā-madhye prabhura yateka carita
sūtra-rūpe murāri gupta karilā grathita

Translation: All the pastimes enacted by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His ādi-līlā were recorded in summary form by Murāri Gupta.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Murāri Gupta’s notes are called the Murāri Gupta Koḍca. That is explained in a greater manner in the Caitanya Maṅgala by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura. Also, most of the early pastimes are explained in Caitanya Bhāgavata. So, since different books highlight different pastimes, this book is trying to unite all the relevant books of Caitanya Līlā, because each author respected the other author. So, generally they didn’t repeat the same pastime in detail. But they would give the summary of it, or they would give some other details which were not mentioned.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.16

prabhura ye śeṣa-līlā svarūpa-dāmodara
sūtra kari’ granthilena granthera bhitara

Translation: His later pastimes [the madhya-līlā and antya-līlā] were recorded in the form of notes by His secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, and thus kept within a book.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these were these direct associate of Lord Caitanya - Murāri Gupta in the early life and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī in the later life. They gave their notes in Sanskrit form. Those were put down by authors in Bengali. Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura wrote the Caitanya Bhāgavata and Locanadāsa Ṭhākura wrote the Caitanya Maṅgala. Other books give some details, like Prema Vaivarta by Jagadānanda Paṇḍita. Like that there are some other writings which give some details. So, we are trying to combine all these eight literatures, into one book of the Caitanya pastimes. The Caitanya Caritāmṛta is especially known for its chronology, its philosophy and pastimes. Some books are very good in pastimes but they may not be so accurate in chronology. And they may not explain in great depth the philosophy. So, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta is considered the most authoritative of all. But the Caitanya Caritāmṛta does not speak much about the early life of Lord Caitanya. So that is spoken by Murāri Gupta and Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura and others.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.17

ei dui janera sūtra dekhiyā śuniyā
varṇanā karena vaiṣṇava krama ye kariyā

Translation: By seeing and hearing the notes recorded by these two great personalities, a Vaiṣṇava, a devotee of the Lord, can know these pastimes one after another.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.44

ananta caitanya-līlā kṣudra jīva hañā
ke varṇite pāre, tāhā vistāra kariyā

Translation: The pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu are unlimited. How much can a small living entity elaborate about those transcendental pastimes?

Jayapatākā Swami: Here Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja is taking a very humble position. He is saying that I am an individual living entity, how much can I explain about the unlimited, transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu? So, he tried to elaborate some pastimes, but Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are unlimited. So, he is apologizing, that he cannot say all the pastimes! But he tried to write somehow. So that is to our benefit, that he wrote down some of the pastimes of the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.45

svayaṃ anantadevao gaura-līlāra anta pāite asamartha —

সূত্র করি’ গণে যদি আপনে অনন্ত
সহস্রবদনে তেঁহো নাহি পায অন্ত

Translation: If Śeṣa Nāga Ananta personally were to make the pastimes of Lord Caitanya into sūtras, even with His thousands of mouths there is no possibility that He could find their limit.

Jayapatākā Swami:  You see, we the individual devotees have some pastime with Lord Caitanya, and in one pastime He may execute unlimited, simultaneous pastimes, from the viewpoint of different devotees. So, it is not possible to explain all the exchanges and pastimes of the Lord. However, we are trying to explain whatever pastimes were recorded by the principal authors.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.46

murāri o śrīsvarūpera sva-kṛta sūtre ādi o śeṣa-līlāra granthana –

dāmodara-svarūpa, āra gupta murāri
mukhya-mukhya-līlā sūtre likhiyāche vicāri’

Translation: Devotees like Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and Murāri Gupta have recorded all the principal pastimes of Lord Caitanya in the form of notes, after deliberate consideration.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the basis of all Caitanya Līlā, are the notes of Murāri Gupta and Swarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. Those were expanded especially by Vṛndāvanadāsa Ṭhākura and Locana dāsa Ṭhākura.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.47

sei, anusāre likhi līlā-sūtragaṇa
vistāri’ varṇiāchena tāhā dāsa-vṛndāvana

Translation: The notes kept by Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and Murāri Gupta are the basis of this book. Following those notes, I write of all the pastimes of the Lord. The notes have been described elaborately by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura.

As I mentioned, Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura expanded elaborately, the gṛhastha pastimes of the Lord. And both the saṅkīrtana pastimes and pre saṅkīrtana pastimes. The Caitanya Caritāmṛta mentions elaborately, the final pastimes of the Lord. So, the Caitanya Maṅgala also gives the pre pastimes, what was the situation before the advent of the Lord. How was Lord Caitanya brought into the material world. Some of the details, how was the situation at the time prior to Lord Caitanya’s coming, were mentioned by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. So, all of these authors, have something to contribute. I am trying to present the compilation of all these authors. So that in one book, you get most of the principal pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But it is not possible to write all the pastimes, since Lord Caitanya has unlimited pastimes. We can only write those which have been compiled by these great Vaiṣṇavas. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Thus ends the Chapter -
Contribution of Murāri Gupta

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I want to thank the Māyāpur Russian community, for having contributed to the Food for Life program, for the COVID-19 situation. I thank the Russian community.

Question: Russian Facebook question: Hare Krsna Guru Mahārāja. PAMRO. In one of the classes you said that nobody will realize the Lord and His devotees, without Their mercy. Please explain how to get Their mercy? Euginia Kusnetsova.

Guru Mahārāja: There are various methods mentioned. One you can get the mercy by the mercy of guru. One can get the mercy by praying to Lord Nityānanda or Lord Advaita. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prayed to all the Pañca-Tattva. And also, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that by preaching His message, the souls are most dear to Him in this world. So, like that there are different things mentioned, and one can try by preaching, by taking some responsibility, by spreading the movement of Lord Caitanya and Śrīla Prabhupāda, you see, one can get this special mercy.

Alright!

Virtual table sponsorships were announced. Prema Prakāśa dāsa from Coventry, UK sponsored 71 Bhagavad-gītās with a message: As ISKCON Coventry group, we are contributing 71 Bhagavad-gītās for the health of Prema Mañjarī dāsī Mātājī’s health.

I mentioned yesterday, Prema Mañjarī dd is in ICU, not because of COVID-19 but some other problem.  We want to pray for her. She had done lot of service especially to Lord Jagannātha Baladeva Subhadrā, and she is the wife of Haridāsa prabhu, in ISKCON Coventry. So, we will chant one time for her Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!