20200603 Kazi and His Men Become Frightened on Hearing the Saṅkīrtana

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 3^rdJune 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: So today we had the Māyāpur Executive Board meeting 5.30 to 7.30 pm, that’s why the class is late. Starting tomorrow we will have class five minutes after the sunset, in India, in Māyāpur. So today, Lord Caitanya came with His massive procession, to the house of the Chand Kazi.

This chapter is entitled:

Kazi and His Men Become Frightened on Hearing the Saṅkīrtana

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā, 17.141

kājīra ātmagopana —

kīrtanera dhvanite kājī lukāila ghare
tarjana garjana śuni’ nā haya bāhire

Translation: The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra certainly made the Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, the Kazi would not come out of his home.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Kazi’s order not to perform saṅkīrtana could stand only as long as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the chanters increasing in number; disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus, the Kazi was very much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world’s godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the saṅkīrtana movement under the banner of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world’s governments.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus, the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government—a government by the people, with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless the masses of people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, they cannot be good men. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra still has its potency. Therefore, people should understand it seriously and scientifically and spread it all over the world.

The saṅkīrtana movement started by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Twenty-third Chapter, beginning with verse 241, which states, “My dear Lord, let my mind be fixed at Your lotus feet.” Following Lord Caitanya’s chanting, all the devotees reproduced the same sound He chanted. In this way the Lord proceeded, leading the entire party on the strand roads by the bank of the Ganges. When the Lord came to His own ghāṭa, or bathing place, He danced more and more. Then He proceeded to Mādhāi’s ghāṭa. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Lord, who was known as Viśvambhara, danced all over the banks of the Ganges. Then He proceeded to Bārakoṇā-ghāṭa, then Nāgariyā-ghāṭa, and, traveling through Gaṅgānagara, reached Simuliyā, a quarter at one end of the town. All these places surround Śrī Māyāpur. After reaching Simuliyā, the Lord proceeded toward the Kazi’s house, and in this way He reached the door of Chand Kazi.

Jayapatākā Swami: Haribol! Gaurāṅga!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.376

vādya-kolāhala-śravaṇe kājīra nimāiyera vivāhārtha yātrā baliyā dhāraṇā—

kājī bale,—“hena bujhi nimāi paṇḍita
vihā karibāre vā calilā kona bhita

Jayapatākā Swami: The Kazi said, I understand Nimāi Paṇḍita, He must be going somewhere to get married.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.377

ebā nahe, more laṅghi’ hinduyāni kare
tabe jāti nimu āji sabāra nagare”

Jayapatākā Swami: If they have transgressed my orders by engaging in Hindu rituals, then I will forcibly convert them to Islam, everyone in the town.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.378

ei-mata yukti kājī kare sarva-gaṇe
mahāvādya-kolāhala śuni tata-kṣaṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, the Kazi was planning with his people, then at that time, he heard the great tumultuous sound of the kīrtana.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.379

prabhura kājīnagare āgamana o koṭikaṇṭhe haridhvani-śravane yavanagaṇera bhīti—

sarva-loka-cūḍāmaṇi prabhu viśvambhara
āilā nāciyā yathā kājīra nagara

Jayapatākā Swami: The crown jewel of all the people, Lord Viśvambhara, He came dancing, within the Kazi’s neighborhood.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā, 17.142

abhadralokera kāṇḍa :—

uddhata loka bhāṅge kājīra ghara-puṣpavana
vistāri’ varṇilā ihā dāsa-vṛndāvana

Translation: “Naturally some of the people who were much agitated began to retaliate the Kazi’s actions by wrecking his house and flower garden. Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has elaborately described this incident.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.380

koṭi koṭi hari-dhvani mahā-kolāhala
svarga, martya, pātālādi pūrila sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: Millions of people were chanting tumultuous sounds of the names of Hari, that sound penetrated the entire universe, including the heavenly planets, the earthly planets and the lower planets.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.381

śuniyā kampita kājī gaṇa-saha dhāya
sarpa-bhaye yena bheka indura palāya

Jayapatākā Swami: When they heard the loud sound of the kīrtana, the Kazi trembled in fear and ran away with his servants, just a mouse or frog runs away out of fear of a snake.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.382

pūrila sakala sthāna viśvambhara-gaṇe
bhaye palāite keha dig nāhi jāne

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Viśvambhara’s people filled up the entire area. In their fear they wanted to run away, but they didn’t know which way to run, since the entire area was filled with Viśvambhara’s followers.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.383

māthāra pheliyā pāga keha sei mele
alakṣite nācaye, antare prāṇa hāle

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of them took off their turbans and joined the kīrtana, as they danced incognito, unnoticed, internally they were trembling in fear.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.384

yā’ra dāḍi āche, sei hañā adhomukha
lāje māthā nāhi tole, ḍare hāle buka

Jayapatākā Swami: Those who had beards, they hung their heads down. Since they were embarrassed, they didn’t raise their heads, and their hearts trembled in fear.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.385

ananta arbuda loka kebā kā’re cine
āpanāra deha-mātra keha nāhi jāne

Jayapatākā Swami: The unlimited millions of people didn’t recognize anyone, they were not even aware of their own bodies, what to speak of recognizing others.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 23.386

sabei nācena, sabe gāyena kautuke
brahmāṇḍa pūriyā ‘hari’ bale sarva-loke

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone danced, and everyone chanted in ecstasy! The whole universe was filled with the sound of Hari, Hari’s names! Haribol! chanted by all the people. So, in this kīrtana, everyone was so ecstatic, they were completely chanting loudly, and it filled the whole universe. So, the Kazi and his men, they became were very afraid. Some of the Kazi’s men took off their Islamic turban, and started dancing in kīrtana with the devotees, hoping that they wouldn’t be recognized. Those who had beards, they hung their heads down, because they were frightened that they would be recognized. So, we see people are protesting all over the world, but here we see Lord Gaurāṅga, He was protesting that everyone has a right to worship the Lord, in the way that he wants to. So, if people do civil disobedience or protest, they should see the example of Lord Caitanya, and chant the holy names of the Lord. So, the Kazi was persecuting the Hindus, but Lord Caitanya, He was not afraid of the Kazi. So, the Kazi became afraid of Him. His men ran and tried to hide. He was in his room; he didn’t know what to do. So, we see how the situation is established, and how it is resolved.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, Kazi and His Men Become Frightened on Hearing the Saṅkīrtana.

Jayapatākā Swami: Tomorrow is the ciḍā-dadhi-mahotsava, the daṇḍa-mahotsava, where Lord Nityānanda punished Dāsa Raghunātha, told him to feed all His associates, a picnic of flat rice, yogurt and fruits.

So tomorrow we are having a special observance and different members of the community are also helping. It is said that Lord Nityānanda had 7 pots, and He invited Lord Caitanya to come. So, from South India, He came there, but not everybody could see Him, only a few could, Lord Nityānanda could. So that I will be giving a class tomorrow morning and also in the evening. So, this will continue day after tomorrow. So tomorrow, we are dedicating to the ciḍā-dadhi festival in Pānihāṭi.

If there are any questions today, I can answer. Any questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa my dear Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances, Sometimes I try to serve or do something good for Vaiṣṇavas (Jayapatākā Swami: why only sometimes?), but sometimes they misunderstand me. Then I have also lost my desire to serve Vaiṣṇavas, in that case, how can I handle these situations? How can I prosper my desire of service to those Vaiṣṇavas?

Your servant,
Aruṇakānti Gaurāṅga dāsa, Bangladesh.

Jayapatākā Swami: We saw Lord Caitanya in His third verse of the Śikṣāṣṭaka, He says amāninā māna-dena, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ - He says we should offer all respect to others and not expect any respect for ourselves. So, we want to serve the Vaiṣṇavas because they are dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they may or may not appreciate. But following Lord Caitanya’s instruction, we shouldn’t be affected by that. We should continue to want to serve the Vaiṣṇavas. Now you can try to understand how we could improve, but we are doing so, as a desire to please Kṛṣṇa.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tomorrow is Pānihāṭi festival. Devotees in China do not have ciḍā. They are asking what they can cook to offer and how they can celebrate? Thanks.

Your humble servant,
Marici dāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: You don’t have flat rice? It is a good business to start there, no competition. I saw ladies in the village hammering out rice and making it flat rice, Ha! with a type of a hammer that was at the end of a log, and they danced on the log and the log was going up, and they flattened the rice. I don’t think that is very easy for anyone to do. These ladies are empowered, they are very expert. I don’t know if there are any Indians in China or Indian stores that would have ciḍā in China. But if they don’t have, you can probably cook rice and mix it with fruit and yogurt and different spices, and that is the way they can celebrate.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances. Please tell me how can I guide the person, who is asking how to select or get a spiritual master? He is desiring to get a guru very seriously.

Your spiritual daughter,
Ratī Rupīṇī Jāhnavā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: It says that one accepts a dīkṣā-guru among sīkṣā-gurus, a sīkṣā-guru, who gives most enlightening, relevant personal instructions. So, this devotee could accept some gurus as sīkṣā-gurus, and take instruction from the sīkṣā-gurus, and see which guru they feel is representing Prabhupāda more for them, and ultimately take shelter, and that is the final test. When they think that they have found the guru, they take initiation. I have a number of questions that one could ask oneself, to understand who is, one’s dīkṣā-guru, one has one dīkṣā-guru, but no limit to how many sīkṣā-gurus they can have.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Gurudeva, please accept my respectful obeisances. How to preach to Durgā-devī worshippers without offending them? They are getting angry if we call her Māyā-devī. – Maṅgalamayī Mālīnī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Durga-devī is also a great Vaiṣṇavī, and she is the protectress of the holy dhāma, and so we need her mercy to enter into the holy dhāma. I usually tell the worshippers of devas or devīs that they should first worship Kṛṣṇa, and offer Kṛṣṇa prasāda to Durgā-devī or Śiva, because they are devotees, they like to have kṛṣṇa-prasāda. In Kolkata, the old Durgā-pūjā pandals, they worship Śālagrāma-śilās first, and then they offer the prasāda to Durgā-devī. But most people don’t realize what they are doing. Durgā-devī is not independent, she is the energy of Kṛṣṇa. So, if you preach to them that you worship Kṛṣṇa first, then you offer the prasāda to Durgā-devī, then usually they are not offended by that.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja! Daṇḍavat praṇāma! Still, people are persecuted while they attempt to preach in communist Government. countries. So how can devotees relate to these pastimes while seeing Mahāprabhu leading civil disobedience? - Kamalendra Singh Rathore.

Jayapatākā Swami: (He is a regular questioner.) You see Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. He was able to bring all the people of Navadvīpa under His leadership, and they all marched in kīrtana on the house of the Chand Kazi. Unfortunately, in most communist countries, we are not able to get all the people mobilized. But I think they could appreciate that Lord Caitanya being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He was able to mobilize everybody, therefore they could do civil disobedience. Maybe in the communist countries, where we have a minor presence, so we cannot do civil disobedience, but we try to blend into the population. I was seeing that, in some communist countries, they have face recognition, and they keep track of all the people. As long as we are not against the government, they don’t usually care too much. But we try to spread our message without offending anyone. But certainly, it is very beneficial that people are trying, practicing their Kṛṣṇa consciousness; even in great difficulties. Lord Kṛṣṇa certainly appreciates their sacrifice.

Question: Guru Mahārāja my humble praṇāma! How to avoid negativity amongst devotees? Transgressing the devotees sometimes due to certain actions of some devotees brings negativity and we end up transgressing them either mentally or in person.

Your spiritual daughter and humble servant,
Nāgnajitī Rāṇī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda answered this question that, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement/ temples is a hospital. What do you find in a hospital? If you find sick people, is it something surprising. People go to hospital because they are sick, and they have doctors that treat them and nurses that take care of them. So, like that, some of the people may be fellow patients and the doctor is the guru. He has his advanced disciples, who are like the nurses. So, if another patient acts sick, it is to be expected. So, one should not be negative because of that. Rather, the sick people are gradually becoming healed, but while they are healing; they may show some symptoms of illness, so we shouldn’t take it very, Nāgnajitī Rāṇī devī dāsī.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances. How can I increase my faith to guru and Gaurāṅga that they will mercy me surely although I am a very fallen soul? I have no quality to serve them and get Their mercy.

Your daughter,
Mīnākṣī Rādhikā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya said that He would deliver even the most fallen, and so that is your qualification. You are saying you are the most fallen, you are very fallen. He said He would deliver the very fallen and most fallen. He just advised that, one should avoid offences to the Vaiṣṇavas. So why do you say you don’t have the quality to get His mercy? You are not fallen enough?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear Guru Mahārāja. Please accept my respectful obeisances. (Jayapatākā Swami: Yes!) All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! (Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya!) During the lockdown, many people are relaxed and staying at home, not showing an interest in spiritual life. How can we inspire them to value and appreciate Kṛṣṇa.

Servant of your servant,
Rāma Kanai Mathureśa dāsa,
Reading, UK.

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, there may be some people who are lazy. But in general, we find that people are more interested. Recently in Chennai, they advertised on social media, that they are having a class for beginners on Bhagavad-gītā, they expected about 100 people, 9000 people registered! 9000! So much interest! There maybe a few people who are lazy in the lockdown, but many people are very interested, because they are seeing that the Government, the doctors, the scientists, they want to do something, but there is a limit to how much they can do. But they are seeing people all around are getting sick, they are dying. They want to know, what is the solution? What is the reason why they are suffering? I just heard from the Sri Lankan president of our temple, that Government called an interfaith meeting. Does your scripture say anything about the pandemic, and what is the solution? Actually, in different Purāṇas they say that to cure incurable diseases, chant the name of ‘Hari’, chant the name of ‘Kṛṣṇa, Govinda’ and there are various verses. So, actually for devotees, we don’t want to chant for any material reason because we want to get love of Kṛṣṇa. But for people who have this concern or desire, it is better that they take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, there is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param

Whether you have no desire, all desire or many desires or desire for liberation, you should engage in pure devotional service. So, whatever the situation is, you encourage them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and chant the name of Nitāi-Gaura! Nitāi-Gaurāṅga! Nitāi-Gaurāṅga! Nitāi-Gaurāṅga! So even today if one chants the name of Nitāi and Gaurāṅga, they get symptoms of ecstasy in their body. Haribol!

Thank you very much. [Tomorrow] giving class early in the morning at 8 clock and then class in the evening again. Thank you very much! Have a happy Ciḍā-dadhi mahotsava! Haribol! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Nitāi Gaurāṅga!

Transcribed by Jayarāseśvarī devī dāsī - 3^rd June 2020

Verified by JPS Archives team - 5^th June 2020