20200426 Haridāsa Ṭhākura Praises Mahāprabhu and Cites the Instances of Glories of Remembering the Lord (Part 1)

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

We want to thank the devotees who are donating on this Akṣaya Tṛtīyā for different purposes. Thank you very much for your helping Māyāpur. On my website you have a place they can donate? (Servant: Yes, Guru Mahārāja!)

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Chapter entitled as Haridāsa Ṭhākura Praises Mahāprabhu
and Cites the Instances of Glories of Remembering the Lord

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.52

bhu kṛpā-śravaṇe haridāsera mūrchā, prabhu tatcaitanya sampādana evaṃ haridāsera gaurastavamukhe sadṛṣṭānta kṛṣṇasmaraṇera phala-kīrtana

prabhu-mukhe śuni' mahā-kāruṇya-vacana
mūrchita pāḍilā haridāsa tata-kṣaṇa

Translation: After hearing those most compassionate words from the mouth of the Lord, Haridāsa immediately fell unconscious to the ground.

Jayapatākā Swami: Haridāsa Ṭhākura after hearing the words from the mouth of the Lord, His great compassionate activities, he fell to the ground unconscious. You see, the Lord showed on His back that He had absorbed the beating of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. And that since Haridāsa was praying to deliver the executioners, to forgive them, so therefore the Lord, He wanted to destroy them right away. But since Haridāsa Ṭhākura was praying for their welfare, He couldn’t destroy them. So, then He couldn’t tolerate that His devotee was suffering so much distress, so He took the hits, the beating on His own back, to save Haridāsa Ṭhākura from suffering. So, when Haridāsa Ṭhākura saw that, the lesions on the back of Lord Caitanya from the beating that He Had absorbed, Haridāsa Ṭhākura then fainted on the ground unconscious.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.53

bāhya dūre gela bhūmi-tale haridāsa
ānande ḍubilā, tilārdheka nāhi śvāsa

Translation: As he lost external consciousness and merged in the ocean of ecstasy, his breathing completely stopped.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the external consciousness of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, went far away, and he fell on the ground. He was submerged in an ocean of ecstasy, thinking how merciful is the Lord, and at the time there was no symptom of breath.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.54

prabhu bale,—“uṭha uṭha mora haridāsa
manoratha bhari' dekha āmāra prakāśa”

Translation: The Lord then said, “Get up! Get up! My dear Haridāsa. See My manifestation to the satisfaction of your heart.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, get up, get up, My dear Haridāsa! see My manifestation, to the satisfaction of your heart.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.55

bāhya pāi' haridāsa prabhura vacane
kothā rūpa-daraśana—karaye krandane

Translation: Haridāsa regained his external consciousness by the words of the Lord, but how can he see the form of the Lord because of crying.

After hearing those most compassionate words from the mouth of the Lord, Haridāsa immediately fell unconscious to the ground. As he lost external consciousness and merged in the ocean of ecstasy, his breathing completely stopped. The Lord then said, “Get up! Get up! My dear Haridāsa. See My manifestation to the satisfaction of your heart.” Haridāsa regained his external consciousness by the words of the Lord, yet he cried so profusely that he could not see the Lord's form.

On hearing the glories of the devotees from the mouth of Mahāprabhu, Haridāsa became overwhelmed with ecstasy and fell unconscious to the ground. Mahāprabhu then helped him regain his external consciousness and ordered him to see His mahā-prakāśa pastimes. By the words of the Lord, Haridāsa concealed his internal mood and came back to his external senses. As he cried, he then began to consider where he should see the Lord's manifestation. The sentiments that one develops when one is on the transcendental platform do not remain present on returning to the external platform. In the external world one perceives everything in terms of enjoyer and the enjoyed, but in the internal world one perceives only the object of service and the servants. The self-realized liberated soul is capable of perceiving the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord displays His worshipable form to him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he regained his external consciousness hearing the Lord’s words. But he could not see the form of the Lord, because he was crying.

Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu was glorifying the devotees of the Lord. When Haridāsa Ṭhākura heard this, he became overwhelmed with ecstasy, and fell unconscious on the ground. So, the Lord, by ordering Haridāsa Ṭhākura to see His mahā-prakāśa pastimes, He helped Haridāsa to regain consciousness. So, by hearing the Lord’s words, he concealed his inner feelings of ecstasy, and came to external consciousness. But he was crying so profusely that he couldn’t see at all! So, he didn’t know where to look to see the Lord! But somehow, when one is ecstatic, absorbed in the internal sentiments, when regaining consciousness, the same feelings are not there. He doesn’t experience the same. We saw that for instance, His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda sometimes he would fall into ecstasy and uncontrollably he would be crying. In Gorakhpur he was telling the pastime of Lord Caitanya meeting with Sanātana Gosvāmī, and he said that it was like gopīs and Kṛṣṇa meeting. He choked up and he couldn’t speak. In Māyāpura here also it happened. But it was very rare, he tried to conceal his ecstasy, but sometimes he couldn’t and he would fall into internal sentiments. And after sometime he would say to the devotees, chant! So, these elevated devotees would see that sometime they fall into this ecstasy. Normally, we don’t want to show ecstasy because some imposters have profited on cheating innocent people by displaying ecstasy. One devotee went to speak to a speaker who had been crying, and profusely crying. People thought, oh, he is pure devotee! And when he went backstage to speak to him, he was pulling a chilli out of his nose. Ha! So, some people imitate these ecstasies. But actually, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he wasn’t imitating and stopping breathing is not possible for ordinary person. So, when one is in external consciousness, they are perceiving things in a different way, seeing as the enjoyer and enjoyed. But in the internal spiritual ecstasies, one sees the object of service and the servants. They see the worshipable Lord, and the Lord shows His worshipable form to the devotee.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.56

sakala aṅgane paḍi' gaḍāgaḍi yāya
mahā-śvāsa vahe kṣaṇe, kṣaṇe mūrchā pāya

Translation: Haridāsa rolled about the entire courtyard. One moment he breathed heavily, and the next moment he lost consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he rolled about on the courtyard. Sometimes he breathed very heavily, sometimes he was unconscious, he lost his consciousness.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.57

mahāveśa haila haridāsera śarīre
caitanya karāye sthira—tabu nahe sthire

Translation: Haridāsa was overwhelmed with ecstasy. Although Lord Caitanya tried to pacify him, he could not remain calm.

The word mahāveśa is used to indicate that when Haridāsa lost his external consciousness, his internal symptoms awakened. In worldly language the word aveśa refers to external bodily conceptions, but from the transcendental point of view it refers to the living entities' eternal characteristics.

Jayapatākā Swami: Ha! Ha! Ha! So, in Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s body, sometimes he was in extreme ecstasy and sometimes Lord Caitanya pacified him, but he could not remain calm. So sometimes Haridāsa Ṭhākura lost his external consciousness, and his internal ecstatic, loving symptoms awakened. So, this is the living entity’s eternal characteristics, from the transcendental point of view. They are meant to be filled with love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.58

“bāpa viśvambhara, prabhu, jagatera nātha
pātakīre kara kṛpā, paḍila tomāta

Translation: “My dear Viśvambhara, O Lord of the universe, please be merciful to this sinful person. I fall at Your feet.

While offering prayers to Mahāprabhu, Ṭhākura Haridāsa said, “O Jagannātha, O maintainer of the universe, O father of the universe. You are entrusted with the responsibility of bestowing mercy on a sinful person like me.”

Jayapatākā Swami: “Viśvambhara, my dear father, my Lord, the master of the universe, have mercy on this sinful person. I fall at Your lotus feet.”

So Haridāsa Ṭhākura was offering His prayers to Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. He said, O Jagannātha! O maintainer of the Universe! Father of the universe! You are entrusted with the responsibility of bestowing mercy on a sinful person like me. You see, my name is JAYA PATĀKĀ and if you put the accent, here it says pātakī. So, if you put the accent, on the first syllable, pātakī, it means sinful person, patākā means the flag. Ha! So, the victory flag is Jayapatākā. Sometimes people say pātaka, that is correct, I am a very sinful person, Ha! Ha! I need the Lord’s mercy! Ha! Ha!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.59

nirguṇa adhama sarva-jāti bahiṣkṛta
muñi ki baliba prabhu tomāra carita?

Translation: “I have no good qualities. I am a fallen outcaste. How can I possibly describe Your glories?

“O Lord, how will I be able to describe Your pastimes? I am neither a high-class nor middle-class person in society; I am simply fallen. I am not enriched with any material qualities. I am bereft of all good qualities. I do not belong to any of the Āryan castes. Therefore, I have no qualification whatsoever to describe Your qualities.”

Jayapatākā Swami: I have no good qualities, I am the most fallen person, I am outcasted from all castes. How can I glorify my Lord’s glories? So Haridāsa Ṭhākura was speaking very humbly that how can he glorify the Lord, how is it possible for him to glorify the Lord, and how can he describe the Lord’s pastimes? He is neither high class nor middle class person in society. He said, I am simply fallen! I don’t have any good qualities. I don’t belong to the Āryan caste. So therefore, I don’t have any qualification to describe Your glories.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.60

dekhile pātaka, more paraśile snāna
muñi ki baliba prabhu tomāra ākhyāna?

Translation: “If one sees me, he becomes sinful. If one touches me, he should take bath. How then can I glorify Your topics?

“I am a sinful person. No pious person should see me, or that person will more or less be touched by sin. I am an untouchable. If anyone touches me, he should take bath to purify himself. I am such an unqualified person that I am not capable of offering prayers to You.”

Jayapatākā Swami: “If one sees me, he becomes a sinner pātaka, if they touch me, they have to take a bath, to purify themselves. So how can I glorify Your topics or pastimes, my dear Lord?” So, he is saying how he is so unqualified, he is not capable of offering suitable prayers to the Lord. He is saying this out of great humility, but actually he has the real qualification which is pure devotion. So, we see that his expression of humility would definitely touch the heart of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 10.61-062

eka satya kariyācha āpana-vadane
ye jana tomāra kare caraṇa-smaraṇe

kīṭa-tulya haya yadi—tā're nāhi chāḍa
ihāte anyathā haile narendrere pāḍa

Translation: “You have spoken the truth with your own mouth that will never forsake anyone who remembers Your lotus feet, even if he is as insignificant as an insect. But you forsake the greatest kings if they do not remember Your lotus feet.

“You do not forsake even the most insignificant living entity, but You diminish the prowess of great kings who are situated on the topmost platform of respect.”

Jayapatākā Swami: You have spoken the truth from your own mouth. Those persons who remember Your lotus feet, even if they are as insignificant as an insect, You will never forsake them. But in the same way, You will not deliver a king who does not worship or remember Your lotus feet. So, the aspect like the king is in the utmost prominent position, now in the modern democracy maybe the Head of States and the Prime Ministers are in the topmost position of respect, but if they are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, if they don’t remember the lotus feet of the Lord, then they will not be delivered. But the Lord will not forsake even an insignificant creature like an insect, if they remember the lotus feet of the Lord. So how exalted it is to remember the lotus feet of the Lord?

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So, we will continue reading tomorrow.

So today HG Haṁsadūta Prabhu left his body. I was associated with him, he was my temple president and I was a bhakta, in Montreal. And then he left for opening a temple in Seattle, and Vancouver, and I was made the temple president. He did many services to Śrīla Prabhupāda. He came to Kolkata in 1970, and he went to Bombay and did many services. Whatever his faults, he did so much devotional service, and certainly it goes to his credit. He published books in Germany, he did many services. In this moment of leaving the body, we asked all the devotees to pray for his achieving the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda and going back home, back to Godhead. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Any questions? Today is the Akṣaya-tṛtīyā and any offering you did today, you get unlimited benefit - until the end of the universe. That is why it is said akṣaya, the benefit of any devotional service you do today, it doesn’t perish. So today is a good day to offer donations, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, do some devotional service. As His Holiness Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami mentioned this morning, we gave to each of the temples in Māyāpur, some grains and ghee, and whatever we had in stock. And we intend to give more. Because some of these small temples, they are in great crisis. So, this is also mentioned that in the exchange of love is to give and receive – some temples they also gave us. So for all the temples, even the rich temples, we were giving like a box of ghee, and for the poor temples we gave grains and ghee. So, we couldn’t reach all the temples but we will continue to give tomorrow. I want to thank all the devotees who helped to distribute this bhoga to the temples. Of course we have the Food for Life distribution, going out to the public, special the poor public and we are trying to maintain social distancing there, as far as possible. But sometimes you see, villagers they become very excited, they are very hungry, they rush, we have to have them maintain social distancing. So that we have to do!

So any questions? I want to thank all the devotees who have sent their realizations. I got realizations from China, from Nepal.

Question: Dearmost Guru Mahārāja. In Pañca-Tattva, three Prabhus are Lords and Gadādhara Paṇḍita is śakti-tattva and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is jīva-tattva. Is jīva-tattva expansion of śakti-tattva? Kindly clarify. Śānta Gopī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: There are two kinds of jīva-tattva. Like the friends of Kṛṣṇa, apparently, they are expansions of Kṛṣṇa. And those who are gopīs or the queens of Dvārakā, they are the expansions of the śakti-tattva. There may be some difference. Audio break

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja! My unlimited, unlimited, millions of obeisances at your lotus feet! Tomorrow is Akṣaya Tṛtīyā and Candana-yātrā begins. If you could please speak something on this, please.

Jayapatākā Swami: I am still absorbed in the unlimited, millions and tens of millions of praṇāmas!! It will take me a few lifetimes to absorb all those praṇāmas! You see today is Akṣaya Tṛtīyā, maybe you asked the question yesterday. Akṣaya Tṛtīyā is somehow connected to the creation of Lord Brahmā. What I understand is that on this tithi, he started creation, secondary creations of the universe. So, any spiritual activity done today lasts for a life of Brahmā. Which is, one day is like 4 billion years. So, that is for almost eternity! And on this day in Jagannātha Purī, they start the Candana-yātrā. That continues for 21 days. At this time, it is a bit hot in India, of course here we have been having like cool weather, comparatively, I mean for us! 25 degrees C, ha! But that is a lot in Europe! That is very high in Russian and Europe. But here at the time of Narasiṁha Caturdaśī, sometimes it gets about 40! But right now anyway, since it is a hot period, we offer the Lord sandalwood paste. That is why it has the name, Candana-yātrā. And in Puri, they take out Lord Jagannātha on the boat, in the Narendra-sarovara. They normally they do that for 21 days also. But as a tradition, we do in Māyāpur for seven days. Maybe during this lockdown period, they can consider doing it for 21 days! We want to thank the Rasāmṛta Kuñja and Vraja Kumāra, he has loaned the swimming pool, which is now in the temple room, which the devotees are using for the boat festival of the Lord. And from 5 to 6 in the evening, you can witness the Lords enjoying Their boat festival. So, I am very grateful lor the facilitation of the Lord’s boat festival. So, that is in a nutshell, something about the Candan-yātrā and the boat festival. So today since it is Akṣaya-tṛtīyā any sponsorship of books, any donation, not only does it receive a 100 times benefit because of the Vaiśākha month, but also some other result stays perpetually for a life of Brahmā. Haribol! So many people have donated books and donated for the Food for Life and cows, for different programs. So devotees they have sent me donations and I want to thank all of them. On this occasion, I took the opportunity to distribute bhoga for different deities in navadvīpa-dhāma.

Alright!

Submission: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Guru Mahārāja! Please accept my respectful obeisances. Today on this auspicious occasion, 63 god brothers, god sisters, chanted 63 lakh names japa. We wish to offer the result to Guru Mahārāja.

Daṇḍavat! They said that they chanted 63 lakhs of japa, 63 persons chanted 63 lakhs mantras. They said they are offering me the fruits of that. Thank you very much!