20200628 The Flute of Kṛṣṇa is Stolen

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 28^th 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: So before we start to read the compilation of Caitanya-līlā, we request all the devotees to pray to Their Lordships, that if it so pleases the Lord, may His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami recover and come back to us in the saṅkīrtana movement, also on popular request we will have our vitual ulta-ratha. We are intending to have it on the 1^st of July, and those who want to participate, they should register on the website, www.mercyonwheel.com and if your congregational leaders or temple presidents want 500 participants at one time, they can have that and that system is also given, this gives the access code for your congregation. Today’s chapter is,

The Flute of Kṛṣṇa is Stolen

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 17.233

prabhura icchānuyāyī śrīvāsera madhura kṛṣṇalīlā- varṇana —

āveśete śrīvāse prabhu vaṁśī ta’ māgila
śrīvāsa kahe, —vaṁśī tomāra gopī hari’ nila

Translation: In ecstasy the Lord asked Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura to deliver His flute, but Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura replied, “Your flute has been stolen away by the gopīs.”

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 8.56

hasann asau sumadhuraṁ śrīvāsam avadat prabhuḥ

veṇuṁ prayaccha me śīghraṁ kva so’sti na tu dṛśyate

Translation: Smiling sweetly, the Lord said to Śrīvāsa, “Quickly bring my flute. Where is it? I do not see it.”

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.62

nayāne añjana mora muralīvadana

kahila amṛta kathā—śuna nijajana

Jayapatākā Swami: The black eye oinment on my eyes is the flute-player Kṛṣṇa. Lord Gaura spoke nectar words. My dear devotees please listen.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.63

kahila ta mahāprabhu śrīvāsa dekhiyā

mora vāṁśi deha-cāhe śrīhasta pātiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, when He saw Śrīvāsa, He said, holding out His beautiful hand, give Me My flute.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 8.57

tato’yaṁ vipra-pravaro hasann idam abhāṣata

veṇus tavāsti gopībhiḥ paritaḥ parirakṣitaḥ

Translation: Smiling, the best of brāhmaṇas said, the gopīs have hidden Your flute somewhere.”

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 2.15.3

śrīvāsam āha prahasan sa kṛṣṇo

veṇuṁ prayacchādya madīyam uttamam

tadāvadat so’pi tavālaye vibho

bhīṣmātmajāyāḥ parirakṣito’sti saḥ

Translation: Then Lord Kṛṣṇa laughingly spoke to Śrīvāsa, "Now bring Me My transcendental flute." Then that Paṇḍita replied, "Great Lord, that flute is within Your dwelling, carefully guarded by the daughter of Bhīṣmaka.

Jayapatākā Swami: So here there is a contradiction, on the one place it says, the gopīs stole Your flute, here it says Her Grace Rukmiṇī devī took the flute, and kept it safe in Her house.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.64

tabe sei śrīnivāsa paṇḍita ṭhākura

kahila tāṅhāre teṅha bhakta sucatura

Translation: Then the very intelligent and saintly devotee Śrīvāsa said to the Lord:

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita was a very intelligent and expert devotee, so he said to the Lord:

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa9.65

śuna śuna mahāprabhu ei tora ghare

rākhila bhīṣmaka-kanyā muralī tomāre

Jayapatākā Swami: Listen. Listen, O Lord Mahāprabhu. Rukmiṇī, the daughter of Bhīṣmaka, now holds Your flute in Your own house.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 2.15.4

veṇus tad asmin samaye na labhyate

rātrau kavāṭāpihite gṛhāntare

evaṁ niśamya prahasan niśāṁ tāṁ

bhaktaiḥ samaṁ loka-gurur nināya

Translation: At this time Your Lordship's flute is not available, for it is night and the flute is kept within a cabinet within the house." Hearing this, the guru of the whole world laughed loudly. Thus He passed the night with His bhaktas.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, sometimes He is in the mood of a devotee, sometimes in the mood of Kṛṣṇa. So, when He was in His ecstasy as Kṛṣṇa, asking for the flute, Śrīvāsa said that Rukmiṇī devī has kept Your flute in Your palace, then Lord Caitanya laughed. So, in this way, He was engaging in different pastimes with the devotees.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.66

kapāṭa lāgila rātre gharera duyāre

ekhani pāibā vāṁśī-kahila tomāre

Jayapatākā Swami: When You lock the door of Your house this evening, I tell You, You will regain Your flute!

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 2.15.5

prātar yayus te muditā dvijeśā

natvā hariṁ svaḥ-sarid-ambu-madhye

snātvā sukhenaiva hariṁ samarcya

bhuktvā prasādaṁ paramāṁ mudaṁ yayuḥ

Translation: In the early morning, after bowing before Śrī Hari, those leaders of the twice-born joyously walked to take bath in the Ganges river. Then after offering their daily worship to the mūrti of Śrī Hari, they accepted His prasāda and thereby felt supreme delight.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the devotees passed the night with Lord Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, and vary pastimes were enjoyed. Early in the morning they all went, took bath in the Ganges, worshipped the murti of Śrī Hari, and took Śrī Hari’s maha prasāda, they felt great spiritual bliss. So, some devotee was asking where is that Śrī Hari deity? We are looking, we didn’t find Him. But here it is revealed that there is a deity in Navadvīpa dhāma and the associates of Lord Caitanya worshiped Him.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 2.15.6

evaṁ mahā-krīḍanakaṁ murāreḥ

śrutvā vimucyeta bhavārṇavān naraḥ

paṭhel labhet tat-pada-paṅkaje ratiṁ

drutaṁ mahā-roga-gaṇād vimucyate

Translation: A man who hears of these very playful pastimes of the enemy of Murā becomes fully delivered out of the ocean of birth and death. One who recites also swiftly attains affectionate attachment for His lotus feet and is freed from host of diseases.

Jayapatākā Swami: So this verse gives us the phala-śrutī, it gives the benefit of hearing these playful pastimes. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, He was playfully enjoying with Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. He was asking for His flute. Kṛṣṇa is famous as vāṁśīvadana, as the flute player. So, Lord Caitanya, He doesn’t play on the flute normally, so His asking for flute, that means He is in ecstasy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīvāsa being a very intelligent and expert devotee, he responded to Lord Caitanya in that mood, as Lord Caitanya was in the mood of Kṛṣṇa. So he said that Rukmiṇī, who is the wife of Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā, She has taken Your flute and kept it in Your house. In this way he was responding with Lord Caitanya, who was in ecstasy of Kṛṣṇa. If one understands this and can appreciates this transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya, the transcendental mellows enjoyed by Lord Kṛṣṇa, then he will be freed from this material cycle of birth and death, and he will be able to participate in the Lord’s pastimes.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 2.17.7

yasya pāda-kamale kamalāyāḥ
prīta-sāgara-varo muhur babhau
tasya kṛṣṇa-pada-paṅkajāśraye
gopa-yauvana-vaśe’bhavan manaḥ

Translation: Śrī Gaurāṅga's lotus feet are tended by Kamalā, the goddess of fortune and she derives splendid ocean of love shines ever more brightly, and now that Gaurāṅga's mind becomes captivated by taking shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa in the mood of the gopīs.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the confidential reasons for Lord Caitanya’s appearance is to understand the love that His devotees, the gopīs have for Him, and now He is taking shelter in the mood of the gopīs, to understand their love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 8.58

vṛndāvana-krīḍitāni smṛtvā smṛtvā kṛpā-nidhiḥ

sāndrānandaika-sandoha-magnas tūṣṇīm abhūt kṣaṇam

Translation: Constantly remembering the Vṛndāvana pastimes, the ocean of mercy, submerged in great bliss, remained silent for some time.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 17.234

śuni’ prabhu ’bala’ ’bala’ balena āveśe

śrīvāsa varṇena vṛndāvana-līlā-rase

Translation: Hearing this reply, the Lord said in ecstasy, “Go on talking! Go on talking!” Thus Śrīvāsa described the transcendental mellows of the pastimes of Śrī Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 17.235

prathamete vṛndāvana-mādhurya varṇila

śuniyā prabhura citte ānanda bāḍila

Translation: In the beginning Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura described the transcendental sweetness of Vṛndāvana’s pastimes. Hearing this, the Lord felt great and increasing jubilation in His heart.

Jayapatākā Swami: So we read about Lord Caitanya establishing the saṅkīrtana movement, and here we get a glimpse of Lord Caitanya’s confidential pastimes, where He is relishing the sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, and He is feeling great and ever increasing jubilation, in His heart.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 17.236

tabe ’bala’ ’bala’ prabhu bale vāra-vāra

punaḥ punaḥ kahe śrīvāsa kariyā vistāra

Translation: Thereafter the Lord again and again asked him, “Speak on! Speak on!” thus, Śrīvāsa again and again described the pastimes of Vṛndāvana, vividly expanding them.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 8.59

tataś cātiśayāviṣṭo hṛṣṭa-romā mahāprabhuḥ

brūhi brūhīti satatam uccais taṁ nijagāda saḥ

Translation: Then completely absorbed, with hairs standing on end, Mahāprabhu spoke constantly to Śrīvāsa in a loud voice. “Tell me, tell me.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Gaurāṅga was feeling transcendental loving ecstasy. He wanted to hear the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana more and more. So, He was telling Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, tell more, tell more, we should be that eager to hear the pastimes of the Lord.

Thus, ends the chapter, The Flute of Kṛṣṇa is Stolen.

Any questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances, how can we understand the contradictions in the details of the Lord’s pastimes? though they don’t cause much difference in the pastimes, how can we know which one is correct?

Your insignificant spiritual daughter, Kālindī Gopīkāntaprīya dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the majority of the verses give the point, that Rukmiṇī has the flute, we will take that as the official version. Just one place it mentions that the gopīs had the flute, maybe both things were said to Lord Caitanya, at different times, but the original Sanskrit verses, they all say that Rukmiṇī, the queen has taken Your flute.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear Guru Mahārāja, Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, description, it describes that Lord Caitanya’s procession went through many towns from here to the Cand Kazi’s house, and afterwards to Śrīdhara aṅgana. The distance from here to the Cand Kazi’s place and Śrīdhara aṅgana is quite short, and some of the mentioned towns and villages mentioned are far from here like, Gādigāca etc. Please can you kindly explain.

Your insignificant aspiring servant, Bhāgīratī.

Jayapatākā Swami: It is said that Lord Caitanya, He went throughout Navadvīpa city, and there they describe the different parts as towns. But in modern usage, we would call them as neighborhoods. In London, they call the different parts of the city as boroughs or towns, and therefore since Birmingham is one city, they say that it is the biggest city in the UK, because London is actually many cities combined. That’s kind of an internal management process. We all know that it is one city, and the mayor of London is for all the boroughs. As far as I know, any way it is said that Lord Caitanya, He went for many days of Brahmā, in the kīrtana, and it seemed that He went through the different neighborhoods of Navadvīpa, on different side of the river, and when He finally reached the Cand Kazi, He had lakhs and millions of people.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear Guru mahārāja, (Guru mahārāja, Hare Kṛṣṇa!) Please accept my respectful obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, (Guru mahārāja: Jaya Prabhupāda ki jaya!) I can feel always that you give mercy to me though I am very fallen and unpurified soul. Without guru’s mercy, I cannot do anything. But sometimes I feel a great distance from the spiritual master in my mind. Dear beloved father, how can I feel, perceive that you, guru, are always with me and I am at your lotus feet?

Your most fallen daughter, Ratnamālinī Citrā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: You should understand that I am always supporting you. We are connected through the Supersoul, and thus as long as you are following my orders, Kṛṣṇa will help you in various ways. In that way, I am always with you, and you are always with me.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja, request your grace on the below two queries:

1.     If Lord Brahmā is subject to birth, death, old age and disease, then why Bhagavān has created different worlds instead of one world, where all can reside together? As the material world entities have limited potential?

2.     Why so many lokās in this material universe when all living beings are subject to birth, death, old-age, and disease?

Your humble servant,
Ravishankar Yayati.

Jayapatākā Swami:

1.     Since there are different desires, naturally there are different worlds, to house the people according to their nature and qualities. So, if everybody had the same desires and same nature, you would have one world. But since people have different desires, different natures, so there are different worlds. You may be in one of the worlds, there are 14 categories of planetary systems, and we are in the seventh level. There are 6 above us and 7 below us. So, because there are different natures, we naturally belong in different planets.

2.     I think that was already answered.

Question: Please accept my humble obeisances, dear Guru mahārāja, what can we do to help the Golden Age start from now? I am chanting extra and recommending near and dear ones to chant. Also preaching in YouTube to chant, but is there is anything I can also do to help the Golden Age start from now?

Amṛta Mādhavī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: More people that chant, the faster the Golden Age would come. So apart from near and dear ones, getting everyone to chant, would be a great help, to start the Golden Age. Now that this pandemic is there, the people should chant, and go back to the spiritual world, to please the God. This place is not a good place for us to stay, thank you Amṛta Mādhavī devī dāsī

Question: Please accept my respectful obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, (Guru mahārāja: Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!) Gurudeva, Arjuna being a nitya-siddha, he always accompanies the Lord in various pastimes. How about the souls like Duryodhana? do they also accompany the Lord or different souls?

Your spiritual daughter,
Purṇanandīnī Mādhavī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: We don’t hear anything about Duryodhana accompanying the Lord. Since he was always thinking about Kṛṣṇa negatively, then he may get the impersonal brahman liberation, and stay there for some time. The devotees don’t want this impersonal liberation, so, they go, they participate in the Lord’s pastimes.

Question: How to know which path we should opt when we are confused, as both being devotional?

Kamlendra Singh Rathore.

Jayapatākā Swami: That’s why you have a spiritual master, if you are confused about which path to take. He can clarify the issue. Which path, we have to see our nature, like Gajendra was fighting with the crocodile in the water. But he was an animal of the land, and gradually he was losing in the battle, like that we should see which path we are stronger in and opt for that.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru mahārāja, Dandavat praṇāmas, Dear guru mahārāja, please accept my humble obeisances, If I get pains by someone that time I feel stressed in myself. So, is it my karma or attachment? How do we control?

Udayan Roy.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we shouldn’t feel pain over what others say or do. If we identify with the body, then we may feel a pain, if they criticize our body. But if we are transcendental, and we are motivated by pleasing guru and Kṛṣṇa, then we won’t feel pain toward the activities or words of others.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear guru mahārāja, Please accept my respectful obeisances, (Guru mahārāja: Accepted) Guru mahārāja, in the night when we put our deities to sleep, can we keep Prabhupāda chanting near the deities, the whole night, is it ok or we should not do it?

Your insignificant servant,
Supriyo, East London.

Jayapatākā Swami: Soft kīrtana playing should be alright, Śrīla Prabhupāda asked us to have soft kīrtana in the temple. So, soft kīrtana should be alright, Supriyo.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Please accept my respectful obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, Dear Guru Mahārāja, If all the places that Śrīla Prabhupāda visited are holy places, then please can you explain why Śrīla Prabhupāda still encouraged the devotees to visit the holy dhāma, in particular, Māyāpur and Vṛndāvana?

Your insignificant servant,
Abhaya Caraṇa Nimāi dāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: The places that a pure devotee visits, or that where he has some pastimes or that he has installed some deities, are called are Śrīpats, they are like mini dhāmas. 1 ½ miles radius around them is purified. But we know that in Vṛndāvana and in Māyāpur, the Gaura maṇḍala-bhūmi is 168 miles and Navadvīpa dhāma is like 30 miles. Similarly, the Vṛndāvana dhāma is one size and Vraja maṇḍala is big, like 168 miles. So, it takes a month to visit all the places of Vraja maṇḍala, and so far no one has attempted to visit all the places in Gaura maṇḍala. So we are publishing a book so that devotees, if they want, they can do so. Like, Gita Nagari, New Vṛndāvana, New Pānihāṭi dhāma, that place is a holy place. But having all the devotees meet together in the dhāma, it has multiple benefits. First is visiting the holy dhāma, we see how that devotees from all over, from Russian, China, Europe, America, South America, Africa, Australasia, South East Asia, so in this way we can see, how we are one big worldwide family! The United Nations of the Spiritual World! Haribol!

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja, Please accept my respectful obeisances, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, During those times when this lila with Cand Kazi took place, did people in Bengal know Christianity?

Viśvambara Rāma dāsa,
Moscow, Russia.

Jayapatākā Swami: We don’t find much information about Christianity in Bengal, until the British and the French came. In South India, one of the apostles, Thomas, he came to India. But it didn’t seem he had much influence. But there are a large number of Christians in Kerala, and so they have some disciples who are originally from Christian families, so they have read some of the ancient teachings of Christianity, which came to India, directly from the apostles, and originally in Christianity, up to the fifth century, there was reincarnation. But we don’t hear much or anything about Lord Caitanya meeting any Christians. We read about Him meeting different sects of Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists, but we don’t read anything about the Christians.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances unto the dust of Your divine lotus feet. Gurudeva, how can we preach to my relatives, who are fully in different moods and practice different so called sahajiyā paths?

Gītā devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: Write me a personal letter, explaining about the family members, what they believe in, because there are different kinds of sahajiyās. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura mentioned 13 types, I don’t know what type they are following.

Thank you all very much!