20200925 Lord Caitanya Proclaims that Gaṅgā Caused the Boys to Chant ‘Hari’

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 25th September 2020 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India.

govardhanadharam vande
gopālam goparūpiṇam
gokulotsavam īśānam
govindam gopikāpriyam

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: We are continuing our compilation of Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book.

Today’s chapter is: Lord Caitanya Proclaims that Gaṅgā Caused the Boys to Chant ‘Hari’

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.105

gaṅgāra mahimāya harināma-pracāra—

prabhu bale,—“gaṅgā kata dūra ethā haite?”
sabe balilena,—“eka-praharera pathe”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya asked, “How far is the Ganges from here?” all the children replied, “It is about three hours by walk from here.”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.106

prabhu bale,—“e mahimā kevala gaṅgāra
ataeva etā hari-nāmera pracāra

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya said, “This is only the glories of the Ganges. By her influence and outreach one hears the holy names of Hari chanted here.”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.107

gaṅgāra vātāsa āsiyā lāge ethā
ataeva śunilāṅa hari-guṇa-gāthā”

Jayapatākā Swami: “The breeze coming from the Ganges blow here. Therefore, I heard the glorification of Hari’s transcendental qualities.”

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: The waters of the Ganges are directly the nectar emanating from Śrī Hari's lotus feet. Any person who is touched by the air flowing over those waters of the Ganges is qualified to perform hari-kīrtana. Until one is fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his thirst for material enjoyment is not destroyed and he does not develop a taste for the glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa. 

Jayapatākā Swami: We can see that people are illusioned by the material energy they don’t have any chance to get out of this illusion. Unless they get a taste to glorify Lord Kṛṣṇa. By developing a taste for chanting the holy name, they become fortunate and thus they can destroy the illusion that they can be happy simply by material endeavors. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.108

viṣṇupādavāhinī gaṅgāra mahimā-vyākhyā o gaṅgādarśanāveśe prabhura dhāvana—

gaṅgāra mahimā vyākhyā karite ṭhākura
gaṅgā-prati anurāga bāḍila pracura

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, He glorified the Ganges, His attachment to the Ganges increased multifold.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.109

prabhu bale,—“āji āmi sarvathā gaṅgāya
majjana kariba” eta bali' cali' yāya

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya said, “Today I will certainly bathe in the Ganges.” Saying this, He departed.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.110

matta-siṁha-prāya calilena gaura-siṁha
pāche dhāilena saba caraṇera bhṛṅga

Jayapatākā Swami: The lionlike Lord Gaurāṅga walked like a maddened lion, and the beelike servants were running after the honey of His lotus feet from behind.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.111

gaṅgā-daraśanāveśe prabhura gamana
nāgāli nā pāya keha yata bhakta-gaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Gaurāṅga in anxiety to see the Ganges caused Him to walk so quickly that the devotees were not able to keep up with Him.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.112

sabe eka nityānanda-siṁha kari’ saṅge
sandhyā-kāle gaṅgā-tīre āilena raṅge

Jayapatākā Swami: Only the lion-like Nityānanda was with Him, the Lord joyfully arrived at the bank of the Ganges at the sunset.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.113

nityānandera saṅge prabhura gaṅgāsnāna o stava—
nityānanda-saṅge kari’ gaṅgāya majjana
‘gaṅgā gaṅgā’ bali’ bahu karilā stavana

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya took bath in the Ganges along with Lord Nityānanda and repeatedly recited the name of Gaṅgā in the course of offering many prayers.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.114 pūrṇa

kari' karilena gaṅgā-jala-pāna
punaḥ-punaḥ stuti kari' karena praṇāma

Jayapatākā Swami: He drank the Ganges water to His full satisfaction again and again He recited prayers to the Holy Ganges and then He offered His obeisances.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.115 “

prema-rasa-svarūpa tomāra divya jala
śiva se tomāra tattva jānena sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: “Your divine water is a manifestation of the mellows of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Lord Śiva knows all the truth of Your glories.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Since the water of the Ganges is liquid directly related to Kṛṣṇa,it is the manifestation of kṛṣṇa-prema-rasa, the mellows of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Rudra, the servant of the Supreme Lord, holds this prema-rasa on his own head. 

Jayapatākā Swami: Haribol! We see that Lord Śiva is a very special devotee. He holds the water of Ganges on His head there fore the mellows of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa are held on His head. We should be very careful not to offend Lord Śiva. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.116

sakṛt tomāra nāma karile śravaṇa
tāra viṣṇu-bhakti haya, ki punaḥ bhakṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: “One attains devotional service to Viṣṇu by hearing your holy name even once, and what to speak of drinking your water. again and again.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: There is no doubt that by drinking the water of the Ganges one attains supreme auspiciousness. Simply by hearing the name “Gaṅgā” even once, a living entity's propensity for serving the Supreme Lord is awakened. By the mercy of the Ganges, a living entity becomes qualified to chant the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the great glories of Ganges has been revealed here. Five hundred years Ganges water did not have any pollution now they have made cities factories all pour their garbage in the Ganges and Ganges water has the propensity to purify itself. We take some water and initially it had bacteria and things in it but everyday it reduced by half by ninth day it was completely pure. Recently Government of India has forbidden people to throw affluent in the river how much that has been followed I don’t know but we can see that Ganges water is a very special water it comes from the causal ocean and bathes the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and simply by bathing in her and by singing her name one gets devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa what to speak of drinking her divine waters.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.117

tomāra prasāde se `śrī-kṛṣṇa' hena nāma
sphuraye jīvera mukhe, ithe nāhi āna

Jayapatākā Swami: Oh! Ganges by your mercy the living entity becomes qualified to chant the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Naturally His holy names manifest on the Living entities mouth and there is no doubt about this.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.118-119

kīṭa, pakṣī, kukkura, śṛgāla yadi haya
tathāpi tomāra yadi nikaṭe vasaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Insects, birds, dogs, or jackals even if they reside near you... 

tathāpi tāhāra yata bhāgyera mahimā
anyatrera koṭīśvara nahe tāra samā

Jayapatākā Swami: Therefore, the limit of their glories is so great and their good fortune that even a multi-millionaire cannot be equal to the good fortune of insects, birds, dogs, or jackals reside near you. 

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Wild animals, birds, insects, and moths who live on the banks of the Ganges are fortunate. Residents of a place where the Ganges does not flow are not as fortunate, even if they are wealthy. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.120

patita tārite se tomāra avatāra
tomāra samāna tumi bai nāhi āra”

Jayapatākā Swami: “You have descended to deliver the fallen souls. There is no one equal to you in glories.”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.121

ei mata stuti kare śrī-gaurasundara
śuniyā jāhnavī-devī lajjita antara

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Śrī Gaurasundara, He offered his prayers and Jāhnavī-devī, the Ganges heard this, and she felt embarrassed in her heart. 

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (excerpt): Śrī Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (1.14) it is stated:

Śrī Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (1.14) it is stated:

“How can the glories of the Supreme Lord be described? The Ganges, who is carried on the head of Śiva and who purifies the three worlds, is glorified by the touch His lotus feet.”

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.9.9) it is stated:

“When King Bhagīratha approached Lord Śiva and requested him to sustain the forceful waves of the Ganges, Lord Śiva accepted the proposal by saying, ‘Let it be so.’ Then, with great attention, he sustained the Ganges on his head, for the water of the Ganges is purifying, having emanated from the toes of Lord Viṣṇu.”

Jayapatākā Swami: There are many verses from the Vedas glorifying the holy river, mother Ganges. “The waters of the Ganges, emanating from the feet of Murāri, enchant the mind. They rest on the head of Lord Tripurāri and destroy all sin. May those waters purify me. “A tortoise or fish in this water, a feeble lizard on the river's shore, and a wretched dog-eater in a nearby pasture are better than a royal prince far away from you.” 

Śrī Jāhnavī incarnated to deliver the inhabitants of the material world, therefore there is nothing equal to the Ganges. Although Śrī Gaurasundara is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He increased the glories of His servants and maidservants. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.122

ye prabhura pāda-padme vasati gaṅgāra
se prabhu karaye stuti,—hena avatāra

Jayapatākā Swami: The Supreme Personality of Godhead from whose lotus feet the Ganges emanates, that Lord offered His prayers glorifying the Ganges. Such are the characteristics of this incarnation of the Lord.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.123

gaurāṅgera gaṅgāstuti-līlā-śravaṇera phala—
ye śunaye gaurāṅgera gaṅgā-prati stuti
tāṅra haya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanye rati-mati

Jayapatākā Swami: Whoever hears Lord Gaurāṅga prayers offered to the Ganges will develop loving attachment mentality for the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! So by hearing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya one naturally develops spontaneous mentality of pure devotion to the Lord.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.124

kona sukṛtimānera bhavane nityānanda-saṅge sei grāme prabhura sei niśā-yāpana—
nityānanda-saṁhati se niśā sei-grāme
āchilena kona puṇyavantera āśrame

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Gaurāṅga with Lord Nityānanda that night stayed in that village in the house of one pious person. Here the house is described as āśrama, because according to the varnāśrama system, a gṛhastha, a householder his house is also an āśrama. So, this pious person is so fortunate to have Lord Nityānanda and Lord Caitanya with to stay in their house. This mercy was given to many souls this was very rarely given by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although He gave it to some people but Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda they gave out the mercy to many people. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.125

tatpara anyadina bhaktagaṇera prabhura darśanārtha āgamana—
tabe āra dine kathokṣaṇe bhakta-gaṇa
āsiyā pāila sabe prabhura darśana

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometime the next day the devotees came and found the Lord and had His darśana.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.126

bhaktagaṇa-saha nīlācalābhimukhe—
tabe prabhu sarva bhakta-gaṇa kari' saṅge
nīlācala-prati śubha karilena raṅge

Jayapatākā Swami: Thereafter, the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, accompanied by all the devotees, happily departed towards the auspicious Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī.

So the Caitanya-bhāgavata describes that the Lord He went by His own desire to that sacred abode of Jagannath Purī that means He was walking in the western side of the Ganges to the south.

Thus Ends the Chapter, Lord Caitanya Proclaims that Gaṅgā Caused the Boys to Chant ‘Hari’

Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!

?

Questions: How can we overcome the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī platform and quickly become madhyama adhikārī devotees? – Bhakta Bryan

Jayapatākā Swami: The kaniṣṭha platform is one when worships the Deity and thinks himself very qualified. But the madhyama-adhikārī sees the four tattvas – he sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His representatives, He sees the devotees of the Lord, which are His associates, His friends, the innocent people which He preaches to, and the atheists and the inimical people, he avoids. So, to start to appreciate the Lord and His devotees, and outreach to the innocent people, avoid the demons, then you will be on the madhyama platform.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja! How does karma from previous or this life play a role in one’s devotional life? Do the reactions of karma come in between one achieving the wealth of kṛṣṇa-prema?

Your sheltered spiritual daughter,
Pūjā.

Jayapatākā Swami: Karma may cause you to suffer and enjoy in the material world. That cannot interfere with your devotional service unless you let it. So, if you become very enamored by the happiness of the material life or become very depressed by the suffering of material life, then it can affect you. If you are committed to serving Kṛṣṇa in spite of whatever happiness or distress happens, then nothing can stop. Last question.

Question: Guru Mahārāja! I find it very difficult to practically follow the third verse of the Sīkṣāṣṭakam. How can I, a neophyte beginner become prideless and humble? Please help me. – Hari Hara Kṛṣṇa Caitanya dāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: If there is anything good that happens, then take that as the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. We take it as nothing to be falsely proud about, and if everything is done by the mercy of guru and Gaurāṅga and we are simply trying to serve their lotus feet, then why shouldn’t we be humble?

Why do we take the credit? You see, if we think we are the doer, then naturally we will become proud, and will become puffed up. If we see everything as the mercy of guru and Gaurāṅga, then we can be prideless and humble.