20200831 Viśvambhara Leaves Home to Accept Sannyāsa

The following is a reading from the new Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 31st, 2020 in Śrī Dhāma 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, Lord Caitanya is leaving for taking sannyāsa. Mother Śacī is seated at the doorway. Lord Caitanya kneeled down, held her hands and is speaking to her.

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śuna mātā, īśvarera adhīna saṁsāra
svatantra haite śakti nāhika kāhāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Listen My dear mother, this entire creation of material world is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one has the power to be independent.

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saṁyoga-viyoga yata kare sei nātha
tāna icchā bujhibāre śakti āche kā’ta

Jayapatākā Swami: Who has the power to understand the Supreme Lord’s will. Living entities meet and are separated, by the will of the Lord.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Since creation, maintenance and annihilation are found in the material world, there is distress in separation and there is enjoyment in meeting. The people of this material world, who are averse to the service of the Lord, are by the will of the Supreme Lord under the control of the Lord. Those who maintain desires that conflict with the desires of the Supreme Lord while remaining averse to the Supreme Lord will eventually understand their own weakness and surrender to the Lord. People who are averse to the service of the Lord are unable to understand Kṛṣṇa’s energies.

Jayapatākā Swami: It is recommended that everyone cooperate with the Lord’s will. His will is all good, and we have got the power to be independent. So therefore, we should cooperate with the will of the Lord, and try to serve the Lord. But if we don’t, the material energy will force us in various ways.

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daśa dināntare vā ki ekhane āmi
calile o kona cintā nā kariha tumi

Jayapatākā Swami: Whether I leave in ten days or now, by My leaving you should not lament.

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vyavahāra-paramārtha yateka tomāra
sakala āmāte lāge, saba mora bhāra”

Jayapatākā Swami: It is My full responsibility to take care of your worldly needs and your spiritual needs, all are My responsibilities.

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buke hāta diyā prabhu bale bāra bāra
“tomāra sakala bhāra āmāra āmāra”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya put His hand on His chest and He said again and again, all of your responsibility is Mine, its Mine!

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Śrī Gaurasundara said to Śrī Śacīdevī, the shelter of eternal vātsalya-rasa, “In your worldly dealings, I am your son, and in spiritual dealings, I am the object of your service. Therefore, I take full responsibility for you.”

Jayapatākā Swami: By serving the Lord, one should not be in anxiety. The Lord will take care of His devotees. He promises in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati. My devotee shall never perish.

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yata kichu bale prabhu, śacī saba śune
uttara nā kare, kānde ajhora nayane

Jayapatākā Swami: Mother Śacī listened to everything that was said by Lord Caitanya. But she did not respond, she made no reply. But she simply cried incessant tears from her eyes.

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pṛthivī-svarūpā hailāśacī jagan-mātāke
bujhibe kṛṣṇera acintya-līlā-kathā

Jayapatākā Swami: Mother Śacī, the mother of the whole universe, became as grave as the earth. Who can understand Lord Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable pastimes?

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Becoming like the earth, Śrī Śacīdevī became the upādāna-kāraṇa, or ingredient cause, of Śrī Gaurasundara's Deity form. The āśraya-vigrahas of śānta, dāsya, sakhya, and vātsalya-rasas keep a distance from the viṣaya-vigraha, but the āśraya-vigrahas of mādhurya-rasa sit on the same seat with the viṣaya-vigraha.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is a very esoteric explanation. How the four mellows, the four rasas of neutrality, service, friendship and parenthood, they keep some distance from the object of their worship. The vātsalya takes a superior position and the other rasas take a supporting role. But the mādhurya-rasa, is on an equal position with Kṛṣṇa, to exchange their mellows.

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jananīra padadhūli grahaṇa o pradakṣiṇānte prabhura yātrā o śacīra jaḍa prāya bhāva—

jananīra pada-dhūli lai' prabhu śire
pradakṣiṇa kari' tāne calilā satvare

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Gaurāṅga took the dust from His mother’s lotus feet, put it on His head. He circumambulated His mother, and then He immediately departed.

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calilena vaikuṇṭha-nāyaka gṛha haite
sannyāsa kariyā sarva jīva uddhārite

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the leader of Vaikuṇṭha, He left from His home to take sannyāsa, to deliver all the fallen souls.

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suna śuna āre bhāi, prabhura sannyāsa
ye kathāśunile sarva-bandha haya nāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: O dear brothers, listen to Lord Gaurāṅga’s taking sannyāsa. By hearing this description, all one’s material bondage will be destroyed.

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prabhu calilena mātra śacī jagan-mātā
jaḍa-prāya rahilena, nāhi sphure kathā

Jayapatākā Swami: When Lord Gaurāṅga left, the universal mother Śacī became almost inert and unable to speak, no speech came from her. So, Lord Gaurāṅga, Viśvambhara, He was taking sannyāsa, not because He needed to do some austerities, not because illusion in His household. He left to accept sannyāsa, to deliver all the fallen souls. So that He would give the message of serving Kṛṣṇa all over the continent, and He would spread the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa everywhere. So, the Lord of the Universe, the Lord of the Spiritual World, He walked around India to spread the message of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is truly something wonderful! How the Lord has descended from His spiritual abode, and how He is requesting all the people to please do devotional service, to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, to remember Kṛṣṇa, to serve Kṛṣṇa and to engage in the congregational chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and to read the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Thus ends the chapter, Viśvambhara Leaves Home to Accept Sannyāsa