20200526 All Auspiciousness in Nadia

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 26^th May 2020 in Śrīdhāma 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

Introduction: Today we had the Māyāpur Executive Board meeting from 5.30 till 7.30 pm. That’s why we are running late today. Next MEB meeting will be on Wednesday, 3^rd of June. Till then we hope to have our class at the normal time, five minutes after the Indian sunset. If you are being troubled by subtle entities, use these five minutes at sunset, to create auspicious sounds and to put auspicious fragrances, like frankincense, incense. This was observed by Śrīla Prabhupāda and in his rooms Ganges water was sprinkled, the mantras were chanted and the frankincense was also burnt and various auspicious sounds were made. So, you can try this and it should be helpful. Because Māyāpur is in a financial crunch, therefore we were discussing different options, Anuttama Prabhu said he would help with the international campaign. We also hope that the farmers who are connected to Māyāpur, will donate some grains. We are giving grains to the various Gauḍīya Maṭhas and temples that are in need, especially the small temples. Someone wrote a letter and said ISKCON is a like a big banyan tree giving shelter to everyone. So, I thank everyone for their continuous support for Food-Relief, for Devotee-Care and for the different aspects of Māyāpur.

We are continuing to read how Lord Caitanya is taking a procession, throughout the Navadvīpa dhāma, to end up at the house of the Chand Kazi. Yesterday, we read about how Lord Caitanya, He was manifesting His beauty, and everybody was ecstatic and started to chant.

So today the chapter is entitled:

ALL AUSPICIOUSNESS IN NADĪYĀ

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.188

prabhura śrīmukha-darśane nārīgaṇera uludhvanipūrvaka haridhvani evaṁ prati ghare maṅgalācāra
prabhura śrī-mukha dekhi' saba nārī-gaṇa
hulāhuli diyā 'hari' bale anukṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Seeing Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s auspicious face, the women folk who were present, made the ulu-dhvani and chanted the names of Hari! Haribol! Haribol!

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: “The word hulāhuli refers to ulu-dhvani, a sound the Bengali ladies make while vibrating their tongues.

Jayapatākā Swami: Anyone can make that sound here? (The translators made the ulu-dhvani sound) They say that this sound is made by the apsāras, in the heavenly planets, only the pious ladies could make that.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.189

kāndira sahita kalā sakala duyāre
pūrṇa-ghaṭa śobhe nārikela āmrasāre

Jayapatākā Swami: At every doorway they kept banana-kāndi, bunches of bananas, there were full water pots, beautifully decorated with coconut and mango leaves.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.190

ghṛtera pradīpa jvale parama sundara
dadhi, dūrvā, dhānya divya bāṭāra upara

Jayapatākā Swami: Ghee lamps were burning very beautifully, there was yogurt, dūrvā grass and rice paddy, placed over the attractive plates.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.191

ei mata nadīyāra prati-dvāre dvāre
hena nāhi jāni, ihā kon jane kare

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, every doorstep in Nadīa was decorated, but no one knew who had done this.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.192

strī-puruṣa sakalera nagara-kīrtane bhramaṇa o ‘strīputrādi kathāṁ jahurviṣayinaḥ' ślokera yāthārthya-darśana—

bale strī-puruṣa saba loka prabhu-saṅge
keha kāho nā jāne paramānanda-raṅge

Jayapatākā Swami: The women and men in ecstasy, and all the people, were going along with Lord Gaurāṅga, chanting the holy name. They didn’t know about the other people; they were absorbed in spiritual bliss.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: “Something most wonderful and miraculous has happened because the divine full moon Śrī Caitanya-candra has graciously illuminated the sky of everyone's heart imbuing them with ambrosial transcendental love. Being deeply attracted by that the materialists have given up talking about their wives, children and mundane affairs. The pandits have given up arguing the scriptural conclusions, the yogis have given up the difficulty of controlling the breath, the ascetics have given up their austerity and the impersonalist renunciates have given up their pursuit of impersonal philosophy. Now there is only one exclusive and super excellent taste, the nectar of pure devotional service, compared to which, nothing else is attractive anymore.” Haribol!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, by performing this māhā-great, saṅkīrtana procession, has completely stolen the minds of everyone. Everyone was absorbed in the ecstasy of the loving service of the saṅkīrtana. So, this is illustrated by the fact that materialists, yogīs, paṇḍitas, impersonalists, etc., were all attracted to the Harināma saṅkīrtana. They were all tasting the nectar and forgot everything else.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.193

cauryābhilāṣī vyaktirao kīrtane yogadāna—

corera āchila citta—`ei avasare
āji curi karibāṅa prati-ghare ghare'

Jayapatākā Swami: The thieves thought, this is a golden opportunity, today, we will steal house to house.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.194

śeṣe cora pāsarila bhāva āpanāra
`hari' bai mukhe kāro nā āise āra

Jayapatākā Swami: Ultimately the thieves forgot their own plans, nothing other than the name of Hari, was heard coming from their mouths! Haribol! Haribol!

In the Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛta it says:

strī-putrādi-kathāṁ [strī-putrādi-kathāṁ jahur vivaṣayiṇaḥśāstra-pravādaṁ budhāyogīndrā vijahur -marun-niyama-ja-kleśaṁ tapas tāpasāḥjñānābhyāsa-vidhiṁ jahuś ca yatayaś caitanya-candre parām āviṣkurvati bhakti-yoga-padavīṁ naivānya āsīd rasaḥ,

 “Now that Lord Caitanya-candra has revealed the path of pure devotional service, the materialists have given up talking about their wives, children, and material affairs, the scholars have given up debating the scriptures, the yogis have given up the trouble to control their breath, the ascetics have given up their austerities, and the impersonalists have given up studying Vedānta. Being attracted by the sweet beauty of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, all the shopkeepers have stopped selling their insignificant wares.].

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana was stealing the mind of everyone, the thieves, the merchants, the yogis, materialists, everybody. So, like that, we can pray that we can also have our consciousness stolen by Lord Caitanya! Haribol!

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.195

śrī kṛṣṇera acintya-śaktira prabhāva—

haila sakala patha khai-kaḍi-māyā
kebā kare, kebā phele, hena raṅga haya

Jayapatākā Swami: All the roadways that they went were strewn with huge rice and small conch shells, but everyone was so absorbed in ecstasy, that they didn’t know who brought them, or who threw them.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.196

'stuti-hena' nā māniha e-sakala kathā
ei mata haye—kṛṣṇa viharena yathā

Jayapatākā Swami: Don’t think that these topics are some exaggeration, these things happen when Kṛṣṇa is personally enjoying His pastimes.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.197

nava-lakṣa prāsāda dvārakā ratna-māyā
nimeṣe haila, ei bhāgavate kaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Nine hundred thousand palaces manifested in Dvārakā, filled with jewels, they manifested in a moment! this is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: “In this regard one should refer to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.50.49-53”.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.198-199

ye kāle yādava-saṅge sei dvārakāya
jala-keli karilena ei dvija-rāya

jagate vidita haya lavaṇa-sāgara
icchāmātra haila amṛta-jaladhara

Jayapatākā Swami: At that time, 5000 years ago, in Dvārakā, along with the Yādavas, the same Lord of the twice born, was enjoying water sports. The world famous, salt ocean, by His desire, became a water body of nectar!

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.200

'hari-vaṁśe' kahena se-saba gopya-kathā
eteka sandeha kichu nā kariha ethā

Jayapatākā Swami: In the scripture called Hari-vaṁśa, these confidential topics are described, do not have any doubt in this regard.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Refer to the Hari-vaṁśa, Chapter 145.

Jayapatākā Swami: The point is that since Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself, come as a devotee, so He could perform wonderful activities. If He has a saṅkīrtana processing chanting the holy names, it could be something wonderful and inexplicable! We should not doubt the potency of Lord Gaurāṅga. If He wants, He can do anything! Just as He created these unlimited, millions of universes, and just as He destroys all the universes! So similarly having a massive, ecstatic saṅkīrtana is not something astonishing, when we think of Kṛṣṇa’s potency!

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.201

se-i prabhu nāce nija-kīrtane vihvala
āpanei upasanna sakala maṅgala

Jayapatākā Swami: That Supreme Personality of Godhead dances, overwhelmed in His own kīrtana, naturally all auspiciousness automatically manifests!

Thus, ends the contents to, Nagara Saṅkīrtana and Mercy Upon Chand Kazi, entitled, All Auspiciousness in Nādia.

How the devotees in Navadvīpa 500 years ago, they were so blessed. They could not only see the Lord they could chant and dance with Him. By His transcendental presence, everything became auspicious, how the houses were decorated, just as we read, when Kṛṣṇa would arrive in Dvārakā, how people would decorate their house, their doorways, in the same way when Lord Caitanya took this saṅkīrtana all the houses were decorated, with bunches of bananas, on the tree stock, and full water pots, little cups with plates and bowls, with auspicious items, like yogurt, kuśa grass and various other things. The whole atmosphere was auspicious, everybody, men and women, they were all participating in this great saṅkīrtana-yajña, the sacrifice of chanting the holy names and even if people had other preoccupations, as soon as they saw Lord Caitanya and His procession, they forgot everything else and joined in, whether they were thieves, whether they were yogīs, whether they were merchants. So, this is what we need today, that everybody could be absorbed in the pure love of the Lord. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Since there is no difference between the Lord’s holy name and the Lord Himself, by chanting these holy names, everybody is absorbed in the transcendental association of the Lord.

Any questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Gurudeva! Please accept my respectful obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! My devotional service is not consistent. One day I will be doing service or chanting with enthusiasm and some days it is not the same. Why is it like this? I want to improve my devotional service, but laziness has pervaded all over me. Please help me Guru Mahārāja! Raṅgavallī Gopī devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: There are different steps of devotional service. The first step is śraddhā, then satsaṅga, and then bhajana-kriyā, at the state of bhajana-kriyā, one usually takes initiation. Next stage is called anartha-nivṛtti, there are different anarthas, unwanted things. One of those anarthas is called, thick and thin, one day the devotional service is thick, one day it is thin, it seems that you are on the stage of anartha-nivṛtti. One day you are feeling enthusiastic, next day you feel laziness. So, you have to keep on with your devotional service, pray for the mercy of Nitāi-Gaura and Pañca-tattva. Then you reach the next stage, is called niṣṭhā which means steady, you don’t have one day up and one day down, you will be always steady. Next stage after that you are having a constant taste. So now you may have a glimpse, some day you may have a taste, but some days no taste. When you attain the stage of ruci, every day you will have taste! Every day! Don’t you want to reach that stage?! Why you are delaying? and then after that you get attached to that taste. That is called āsakti, then after āsakti, you come into the ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa, aṣṭa-sātvika-bhāva- eight ecstasies. After that whenever Kṛṣṇa blesses you, you can achieve kṛṣṇa-prema. So, you are making progress! Someday up, someday down. Some people they don’t have any up, they are very fallen! You have some day up and someday down. Keep on going soon you will reach the stage of niṣṭhā. Haribol! Haribol! Thank you Raṅgavallī Gopī devī dāsī.

Question: Guru Mahārāja (Jayapatākā Swami: Yes!) Please accept my respectful obeisances. (Jayapatākā Swami: Yes!) Thank you for showering your mercy on us! Gurudeva, I have a question regarding a female devotee. How to keep bhakti strong in her family when no one else is a devotee at home. She faces lot of difficulties while doing bhakti herself in home and no one is supportive.

Your fallen servant,
Kackuly Rāṇī, Dāmodaradeśa. 

Jayapatākā Swami: I can say that Kṛṣṇa blesses you, if you are facing these difficulties at home and still engaged in devotional service. It is easy if everyone is favorable. Since no one is supporting and that person is doing devotional service, Kṛṣṇa appreciates very much. Kṛṣṇa, He had His friends approach the brāhmaṇas, who were doing sacrifice, saying that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are hungry, but they said, “Don’t bother us now we are busy doing yajna.” They went back to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and said what to do? Then They said, “Ask their wives.” They went back and asked the wives, they immediately served Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Then their husbands realized that although these ladies haven’t gone through all the processes we did, they have natural devotion, more than we do and so devotion is not dependent on support. If you have it, it is nice. But if you do it in spite of no support, then Kṛṣṇa will give you all mercy! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

And if she is smart, she may be able to get her in-laws or parents, whoever it is, to also take up to devotional service. Right now, during this pandemic, people are overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, so this is a good chance to have the people chant. Because they realize the government, the doctors, that is only so much they can do. They said, we will find a vaccine by next year. But there is no guarantee. So, at this time, people are generally more favorable to devotional service. So, this is a good chance to show your strength in devotion to Kṛṣṇa and get others to chant. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Last question.

Question: Dearest Guru Mahārāja, Please accept my respectful obeisances (Jayapatākā Swami: Accepted!) Thank you so much Guru Mahārāja. How will we be absorbed in these sweet pastimes? How to do mananam?

Your servant,
Hemāngi Gopī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, we are trying to write these pastimes now, whatever I say they are recording, they are writing it down. We hope that we will have a book with illustrations, and people can read the pastimes. But if you remember the pastimes, then naturally you will become absorbed. How Lord Caitanya, He had such amazing pastimes. And by feeling separation for the Lord’s pastimes, that is the process of vipralamba, of separation. So that is the way we can achieve the Lord’s transcendental association. Haribol!