20200525 Lord Gaurasundara's Beauty

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

So today we had an informal Bureau meeting in the morning and afternoon. And that is why we are a little late for the class. 30^th of June we are planning to have another meeting. So I requested that they end it half hour earlier, so that I can attend the class, and they did. Anyway, today we are reading on:

Chapter: Lord Gaurasundara’s Beauty

Yesterday He was preparing the procession on the Chand Kazi’s house. Everywhere you could hear the loud chanting of HARIBOL! Everyone was ecstatic, everyone was filled with loving ecstasy. Lord Caitanya said that He was making a rain of love of Godhead! You remember how when Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā, into the arena and after He defeated Kaṁsa, He went to his mother and father, Devakī and Vasudeva. Thy were offering Him respect because He did this amazing thing, of killing King Kaṁsa. But He didn’t want them to offer Him respect, but rather parental love. So He spread some līlā dust over them, and then they forgot their respect, and became filled with parental love. Lord Gaurasundara, if He wants, He can spread loving dust over all the devotees. It seems that is what He did, because everyone became filled with loving ecstasy.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.169

Lord Gaurāṅga, He was chanting and dancing in kīrtana, in the midst of all the devotees. All the devotees were wearing flower garlands, various sandalwood pulp and colors, on their bodies.

“The phrase śrī-phagu-candana refers to coloured powder and sandalwood paste. In spring it is customary to smear coloured powder and sandalwood paste on one’s body. From this it is understood that Śrī Gaurasundara’s pastime of subduing the opposition to kīrtana took place sometime around Holi.”

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.170

All the devotees were very beautiful. Their hands having karatālas, cymbals, and whompers, big karatālas. Each one of them had the potency to defeat millions of lions!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.171

All the devotees were surrounding Śrī Sacinandana, and He came out and began to move forward.

“The word apana vigraha means “His own forms (this refers to the devotees)”. The devotees surrounded the Lord on the four directions.”

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.172

Lord Gaurāṅga, as soon as He moved forward, dancing in the loving ecstasy, everyone chanted the name of Hari, Haribol! HARIBOL! HARIIII BOOOOOL! And this way the people were floating in the waves of loving ecstasy!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.173

All the sufferings and miseries of the material world, disappeared by seeing the lotus face of Lord Gaurāṅga! Feeling great ecstasy and joy, all the persons present, began to chant the name of Hari. They were all chanting the name of Hari! HARIBOL! HARIBOL! HARIBOOOOOL!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.174

Lord Gaurāṅga’s beauty defeated millions of Cupids! There is no limit to His beauty. There is nothing which you can compare it with. Lord Caitanya was so beautiful, that those who were witnessing, they could not compare it with anything. Sometimes we see comparisons like many moons or something, some natural beauty. But the Lord was so transcendentally beautiful that you could not compare it with anything! So by seeing that, all the suffering of the material life was immediately gone, and everybody felt great joy, and all sides they were chanting the holy names. Haribol! Haribol!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.175

Still, by His mercy, I am trying to explain His beauty. Otherwise, who is able to describe His beautiful form?

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.176

His effulgent, golden form is the essence of all the Vedas. His golden form was decorated with sandalwood pulp, and He appeared like the form of the moon.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.177

His curling hair was decorated with a garland of jasmine flowers, which was most beautiful! His sweet, sweet, smile conquered all artistic expression!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.178

His forehead was beautifully decorated with sandalwood paste, and also He had dots of colored powder on His forehead. He raised His hands and He chanted Haribol! He chanted the name of Lord Hari from His transcendental, moonlike face.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.179

Ha! Ha! The garland round His neck, reached to His knees, gently swayed. And His entire body was dampened, by the tears flowing from His lotus eyes.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.180

His two great arms were like golden columns. Hairs were standing on His body in ecstasy, therefore He looked like a golden kadamba flower.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.181

Lord Gaurasundara’s lips were most enchanting, and His teeth were very beautiful. His two eyebrows stretched beautifully, to the bottom of His ears.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.182

His shoulders defeated the king of the elephants, and He had a broad chest, which was decorated with a beautiful, white, thin brāhmaṇa thread. So although the author was saying he could not appropriately describe the beauty of Lord Gaurāṅga, by the mercy of the Lord, he is trying. And we can see, Bengali is very poetic, describing the incomparable beauty of the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.183

His two lotus feet were the residence of Lakṣmī and Tulasi. He was wearing very fine, spotless cloth. He was wearing supremely pure, spotless cloth.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.184

His raised nose and His lionlike neck were enchanting. His body was taller than anyone’s, taller and more golden than anyone’s.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.185

People, no matter where they were standing, in all directions they said, see how the Lord’s hair is decorated very beautifully with various flowers!

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.186

There were so many people, that the crowd was thick, that if a mustard seed was dropped, it would not reach the ground.

“The crowd of people was so thick that even a small mustard seed would not reach the ground if it was thrown among them.”

So many people came out to see Lord Gaurāṅga and His kīrtana. The whole Navadvīpa town was present.

Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.187

Yet the Lord’s mercy was distributed at that time, and somehow everyone could see the Lord’s lotus face, with great happiness!

Thus ends the chapter entitled: Lord Gaurasundara’s Beauty.

So we see how the Lord’s pastime was so beautiful, all the people in Navadvīpa had the blessing to participate in this great saṅkīrtana procession. And seeing the beauty of Lord Gaurāṅga, which was incomparable, everyone was floating in an ocean of transcendental bliss! So how fortunate were the devotees of Navadvīpa, to participate in this saṅkīrtana yagna! With the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come as a devotee, to lead the saṅkīrtana, and to establish civil disobedience against the Cand Kazi. That the holy name should be chanted everywhere, in the whole world.

Some devotees say, how can we serve the Lord if there are difficulties? But, here there was extreme difficulty, but the Lord, He led the devotees to solve the problem. And just by seeing His beautiful face, His smile, His golden body, all the miseries of material life disappeared, and everyone was most ecstatic! We can see how the real purpose of life is to achieve the transcendental service of the Lord. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

So we won’t have question and answer tonight, since I have to get ready, we are late already.

Mahā Varāha Dāsa announced: The demise of Ekaprema devī dāsī from… She left her body, she is a disciple of Guru Mahārāja and mother to two disciples of Guru Mahārāja, … Prema dāsa and Amala Prema devī dāsī. Guru Mahārāja always calls them the “Prema family” – Eka Prema, Dāmodara Prema and Amala Prema. And also one devotee Manohara Murāri dāsa from Nāmahaṭṭa in Māyāpur, also left his body. So we request all the devotees watching online to kindly pray for these two souls, so that they can go home back to Godhead. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Donations were announced.

Announcement: So guru maharaj’s personal virtual table is meant to give opportunities to his disciples, well-wishers, a chance to collectively fulfill one single personal instruction regarding book distribution. This personal instruction guru maharaj received in 1970s, that every month he should also see to that that ten thousand mahā big books and hundred thousand small books are distributed every month. All sponsorships in this regard is used 100% in distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books to the needy. Anyone, from anywhere, at any time can what’s app your sponsorship to guru maharaj’s virtual book table number at: +91 94 34760402.

Virtual table contact number for books is: +91 9434760402. The virtual table is manned by His Holiness Bhakti Vijay Bhāgavata Swami, earlier known as Veṇudhārī Prabhu, who took sannyāsa on Guru Mahārāja’s Vyāsa-pūjā. (What’s app message can be sent.)