20200615 Lord Gaurahari Performs saṅkīrtana in Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Courtyard; the Death of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Son.

The following is the reading from the new Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 15th June 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 is the disappearance day of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, we are very fortunate that ISKCON has the birthplace of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura in Bangladesh. We know that, and we heard last night, how even a maid servant of Śrīvāsa, received the special mercy of Lord Caitanya. So even if a servant, maidservant of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura received the special mercy of Lord Caitanya, then what to speak of the glories of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, there is no end to them. So, in Mayapur we have the Śrīvāsa deity in our Pañca-tattva, and so we are very grateful to have this mercy of serving Śrīvāsa and all the Gaura-bhaktās, śrīvasādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, this chapter is entitled:

Lord Gaurahari Performs saṅkīrtana in Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Courtyard; the Death of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Son.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.227

śrīvāsabhavane prabhura kīrtanakāle śrīvāsaputrera deha-tyāga
eka dina śrīvāsera mandire gosāñi
nityānanda-saṅge nṛtya kare dui bhāi

Translation: One day the two brothers Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were dancing in the holy house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 25.24

śrīvāsaputrera paraloka-prāptite śrīvāsera ācaraṇa—
eka-dina nāce prabhu śrīvāsa-mandire
sukhe śrīnivāsa-ādi saṅkīrtana kare

Jayapatākā Swami: One day, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was dancing in the courtyard of Śrīvāsa, in great transcendental happiness. in great transcendental happiness. Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and all the devotees happily engaged in saṅkīrtana. So Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote a particular song which portrayed this pastime of Lord Caitanya. Like in so many days, Lord Caitanya and all the assembled devotees, were chanting and dancing to the saṅkīrtana. Lord Nityānanda was there, various associates were there, all blissfully chanting the holy names, at that time, Śrīvāsa’s son, left his body.

So that song written by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura – The Dispelling of Grief:

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 24.1

pradoṣa-samaye, śrīvāsa-aṅgane saṅgopane gorā-maṇi
śrī-hari-kīrtane, nāce nānā-raṅge, uṭhila maṅgala-dhvani

Translation: “In the evening twilight, within the privacy of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita’s courtyard, the cream-lustered jewel, Lord Gauramaṇi, raised a most auspicious vibration by His chanting of Hari-kīrtana, which He personally accompanied by dancing in various playful moods.”

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and various auspicious vibrations arose. We see that Lord Caitanya would chant with His associates in the courtyard of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, and there He would display different ecstatic symptoms, but in the privacy of Śrīvāsa’s courtyard. So, this was a very intimate time, when Lord Caitanya and His associates were engaged in saṅkīrtana.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 24.2

mṛdaṅga mādala, bāje karatāla mājhe mājhe jayatura
prabhura naṭana, dekhi’ sakalera, haila santāpa dūra

Translation: Accompanied by the playing of the mṛdaṅga drum and karatālas, and amidst occasional victorious shouts of “Jaya! Jaya”, the dramatic dance of the Lord dispelled the grief of all those who witnessed it.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, people suffer in this material world, and they are always experiencing different kinds of suffering. But seeing the Lord chanting and dancing, one would forget, or would take away all one’s suffering or sadness. So, by the chanting of Lord Caitanya and His dancing, one would be absorbed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 24.3

akhaṇḍa premete, mātala takhana sakala bhakata-gaṇa
āpana pāsari’, gorācande gheri’, nāce gāya anukṣaṇa

Translation: Then, becoming madly intoxicated in supreme ecstatic love, all the assembled devotees completely forgot themselves and incessantly began to dance and chant wildly, surrounding Lord Gauracandra.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the devotees were incessantly chanting and wildly dancing, surrounding Lord Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, and in this way the whole scene was transcendental, absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 17.228

śrīvāsa-putrera tāhāṅ haila paraloka
tabu śrīvāsera citte nā janmila śoka

Traslation: At that time, a calamity took place – Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s son died. Yet Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was not at all sorry.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see if someone is sick, then you have to call a doctor, and take steps to cure the person. But if they are already dead, there is nothing you can do. So, since Śrīvāsa was so much interested in pleasing Lord Caitanya, that he didn’t consider anything personal. So that is why being on the transcendental platform, he didn’t feel sorry that his son went back to Godhead.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 25.25

daive vyādhi-yoge gṛhe śrīvāsa-nandana
paraloka hailena dekhe nārī-gaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: By the will of providence, Śrīvāsa’s son had a deceased in the house, and the ladies, Śrīvāsa’s wife and other ladies saw Śrīvāsa’s son leaving his body.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 24.4

mata samaye, daiva-vyādhi-yoge
śrīvāsera antaḥ-pure
tanaya-viyoge, nārī-gaṇa śoke
prakāśala uccaiḥ-svare

Translation: At this time, within the inner chamber of Śrīvāsa’s house, one of his sons suddenly died due to some disease, as ordained by the will of providence. Due to separation from the boy, all the women of the household began to lament and cry out in a loud voice.

Jayapatākā Swami: So naturally, the mother and other ladies, when they saw Śrīvāsa’s son had left his body, they started to lament and cry in a loud voice.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 24.5

krandana uṭhile, ha'be rasa-bhaṅga
bhakativinoda ḍare
śrīvāsa amani, bujhila kāraṇa
paśila āpana ghare

Translation: Now Bhaktivinoda fears that the transcendental mellows of the Lord’s kīrtana will be disturbed by the uprising of such loud crying sounds. However,  Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita has now understood the cause of this sound and has personally entered the house.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, while the kīrtana was going on outside, Lord Caitanya, Nityānanda and others, are chanting and dancing in ecstasy. The sound from the house of ladies lamenting and crying, so naturally when Śrīvāsa went into the house and understood what was the cause. But when he saw that his son had left, then he was more concerned that the chanting of Lord Caitanya should not be disturbed. This was Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s nature, that he was, rather than his own interest, he was always thinking of the Lord’s interest. we will see, how Lord Caitanya reacts. This is beyond the call of duty, so to speak. This shows how Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is so much always trying to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, Lord Gaurahari Performs saṅkīrtana in Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Courtyard; the death of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s Son.

You see we believe that the soul never dies, Bhagavad-gītā tells us that the soul leaves the body, in a subtle body, and goes to the next birth, or goes back to Godhead. So, since Śrīvāsa’s son left his body during Lord Caitanya’s chanting of the harināma-saṅkīrtana, whoever thinks of Kṛṣṇa at the time of leaving their body, will go back to Kṛṣṇa. So, the body perishes, but the soul never perishes. So, the soul is a spiritual entity, the gross body of five elements is material energy, and the subtle body which carries the soul, is the mind intelligence and false ego. So, the soul is taken by the subtle body to the next birth.

Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura Gives Solace to His Family Members.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 25.26

ānande karena nṛtya śrī-śacī-nandana
ācambite śrīvāsa-gṛhe uṭhila krandana

Jayapatākā Swami: As Śrī Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī was dancing in loving ecstasy, suddenly the sound of crying, came from inside the house of Śrīvāsa.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 25.27

satvare āila gṛhe paṇḍita śrīvāsa
dekhe, putra haīyāche paraloka vāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: So Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita therefore immediately went inside his house, and he saw that his son had left his body and gone to the transcendental realm.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 25.28

parama gambhīra bhakta mahā-tattva-jñānīs
trī-gaṇere prabodhite lāgilā āpani

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was a greatly grave devotee, and he was conversant with the great truths of the spiritual science, so he began to solace the ladies with spiritual knowledge.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 25.1

praveśiyā antaḥ-pure, nārī-gaṇe śānta kare
śrīvāsa amiyā upadeśe
śuna pāgalinī-gaṇa, śoka kara akāraṇa
kibā duḥkha thāke kṛṣṇāveśe

Translation: Entering into the inner chamber, Śrīvāsa began to pacify all of the women there by giving them spiritual instructions that were as sweet as nectar. He said, “Look here, you crazy ladies, you all lament uselessly, for what kind of unhappiness can there possibly be in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa!”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, his son had left the body during the kīrtana of Lord Caitanya, chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. Certainly, that child would reach an auspicious destination, so what is the use for lamenting? so in this way he was counselling the ladies.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 25.2

kṛṣṇa nitya suta yāra, śoka kabhu nāhi tāra
anitya āsakti sarva-nāśa
asiyācha e saṁsāre, kṛṣṇa bhajībara tāre
nitya-tattve karaha vilāsa

Translation: Whoever has Kṛṣṇa for his eternal Son never has to lament for anything, although if one becomes attached to that which is temporary, then everything is lost. You have all come into this material world for the purpose of worshiping Kṛṣṇa, so now you should all become situated in the eternal Absolute Truth.

Jayapatākā Swami: The purpose of human life is to engage in the devotional service of Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa, and to go back to Kṛṣṇa. In this material world, there is birth, there is death, there is old age and there is disease. But these are not things that should be lamented for, they are beyond our control. Rather we should stay fixed in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. So, this was the spiritual advice, instruction given by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, to his wife and the ladies.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 25.3

e dehe yavat sthiti, kara kṛṣṇacandre rati
kṛṣṇa jāna dhana,
jana, prāṇa e deha-anuga yata, bhāi bandhu pati suta
anitya sambandha bali' māna

Translation: As long as you are existing in this body, you should all cultivate love and attachment for Lord Kṛṣṇa, knowing Him to be your real wealth, real friend and your very life and soul. All of the followers of this body namely brothers, friends, husbands and sons should be accepted as being only temporary relationships.

Jayapatākā Swami: We normally take our family relationships as something permanent, but actually our permanent relationship is with Kṛṣṇa, and all these other relationships are temporary, based on the body. So Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, he was a real tattva-jñani, he understood the Absolute Truth, and thus he was instructing these ladies to see things from the transcendental platform.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 25.4

kebā kāra pati suta, anitya-sambandha-kṛta
cāhile rākhite nāre tāre
karama-vipaka-phale, suta ha'ye vase kole
karma-kṣaya āra raite nāre

Translation: Whoever wants to hold onto husbands or sons will not be able to keep them, for all these relationships are only temporary. Even if your son is sitting in your very lap, you still cannot protect him for when his bad fruitive reactions fructify, then his present karma is finished, and he will not be able to remain here any longer.

Jayapatākā Swami: Mother father, they cannot save one if one’s time is up, and so here Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is explaining the instructions of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. That how one should not be hanging on to the material relationships, rather be hanging on to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Śrī Gītāmālā 25.5

ithe sukha duḥkha māni’, adho-gati labhe prāṇī
kṛṣṇa-pada haite paḍe dūre
śoka samvariyā ebe, nāmānande maja' sabe
bhakativinoda-vāñchā pūre

Translation: By accepting this type of temporary happiness and distress, many other living entitites are now being degraded into lower species of life, falling, far, far away from Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Therefore, you should all give up your temporary lamentation right now, and just become absorbed in the bliss of the Lord’s holy names. All of Bhaktivinoda’s desires are now being fulfilled by hearing Śrīvāsa speak such nice eternal truths.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is giving the correct consciousness everybody should have, and he is explaining what is the real truth, and how in this material world, there is always different kinds of suffering. We should be completely fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes people lament because some temporary relationship is frustrated. But that lamentation may be there even in the animal species. Some cows, if their calf dies, then they stop giving milk. So, the milk man, he stuffs the dead body of the calf and hangs it by the cow, and then the cow is happy, “oh, my calf is alive”, and she continues to give milk. So, if one is lamenting in the material life, it is not very exalted, and many people are degraded to lower species. Now Śrīvāsa is instructing, how one should see things from a transcendental point of view, and not lament for the body, because the soul lives on.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, “Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura Gives Solace to His Family Members”

Any questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja. Please accept my respectful obeisances. When we fall into trouble and misery, it is very difficult for us to stay calm. Different thoughts and tension arise in our mind. In that time, how to fix our mind to Sri Guru Mahārāja and Kṛṣṇa.

—Your daughter,
Antīmā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see we should have the vision of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, seeing the difference from material relationship, and the spiritual reality. If we have this knowledge, naturally we can transcend the suffering and troubles of the material world. But since we are conditioned, and we lament over things which should not be lamented for, therefore, say one family member dies, different varṇas have different times or periods, when we are not supposed to go to the temple. I think brāhmaṇas have 11 days and śūdras 30 days. So, the more one has spiritual knowledge, they may be able to recover. Now I heard that the head priest of the Guruvāyur temple, if someone dies in his family, they wouldn’t tell him. Because if they told him, he would have to stop worship for so many days. So, while he is in the six months as head priest. He would not hear about any misfortune in his family. Fixing your mind on guru and Kṛṣṇa, is a matter of spiritual wisdom. Last question.

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Question: Dear most Guru Mahārāja. Please accept my respectful obeisances.All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. When the soul leaves the body with a certain mentality, he the soul, will get a body keeping the same mentality? Even though he had been chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa for years?

—Your insignificant servant,
Ojasvinī Rādhikā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: If the person had been chanting the holy names for years, why would he have the same mentality? Naturally, his mentality should change. Bharata Mahārāja, he had left the empire of the world, to engage in austerities and practice of spiritual life. But he became attached to a deer. So therefore, he had to take birth as a deer. But because he was spiritually advanced, he could remember his previous life. So, then he realized his mistake. That he had unfortunately become attached to a deer, when he had left the empire of the world, to engage in self-realization. He should not have become so attached to a deer. Yes, the consciousness we have at the time of leaving, will lead us to a future birth. But hopefully, by chanting the holy name, one will be able to remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. Anyway, Kṛṣṇa will certainly help one who has been chanting for a long time. Thank you for your question, Ojasvinī Rādhikā devī dāsī. 

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