20201011 Saṅkīrtana in the House of Advaita Ācārya (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book compilation by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 11th, 2020 in Śrī 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!

govardhanadharam vande
gopālam goparūpiṇam
gokulotsavam īśānam
govindam gopikāpriyam

Introduction: Today we continue with the Kṛṣṇa Caitanya līlā book compilation. 

The chapter is entitled: Saṅkīrtana in the House of Advaita Ācārya (Part 2)

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.229

satvare gāite lāgilena bhakta-gaṇa
`bola bola' bali' prabhu garje ghane ghana

Jayapatākā Swami: The assembled devotees immediately began to sing. Lord Caitanya said repeatedly, “Chant! Chant!”, He roared!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.130

‘bal’ ‘bal’ bale, nāce, ānande vihvala
bujhana nā yāya bhāva-taraṅga prabala

Translation: Upon standing up, the Lord said, “Go on speaking! Go on speaking!” Thus He began to dance, overwhelmed with pleasure. No one could understand the strong waves of this ecstasy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, he would suddenly manifest some ecstatic symptoms, and so He requested the devotees to continue chanting and He in great ecstasy was dancing.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.230

nityānanda o advaitera vyavahāra—
dhariyā bulena nityānanda mahābalī
alakṣite advaita layena pada-dhūli

Jayapatākā Swami: The most powerful Nityānanda Prabhu grabbed Advaita Ācārya. Lord Advaita secretly took the lotus foot dust from Nityānanda Prabhu’s lotus feet.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.131

prabhura saṅge satarka nityānanda :—
nityānanda saṅge bule prabhuke dhariñā
ācārya, haridāsa bule pāche ta’ nāciñā

Translation: Lord Nityānanda began to walk with Caitanya Mahāprabhu to see that He would not fall, and Advaita Ācārya and Haridāsa Ṭhākura followed Them, dancing.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.231

mahāprabhura atimartya kṛṣṇa-prema-lāsya—
aśru, kampa, pulaka, huṅkāra, aṭṭahāsa
kibā se adbhuta aṅga-bhaṅgīra prakāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya manifested wonderful bodily movements and ecstatic symptoms like crying, trembling, hairs standing on end, loud chanting and loud laughing, all these were wonderful manifestations of the Lord.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.232

kibā se madhura pada-cālana-bhaṅgi
mākibā se śrī-hasta-cālanādira mahimā

Jayapatākā Swami: How sweet was the movement of His lotus feet, and how glorious was the movement of His lotus hands! 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.233

ki kahiba se vā prema-rasera mādhurī
ānande tuliyā bāhu bale `hari hari'

Jayapatākā Swami: How can I describe the sweetness of His mellow of pure love, which He manifested? In great transcendental blissful ecstasy, He raised His two arms and chanted loudly, “Hari! Hari! Hari! Hari! Hari Haribol!”

So, the ecstatic symptoms of Lord Caitanya the way He danced, the way He moved His feet, the way He moved His arms, hands, how He manifested different types of ecstatic symptoms, this is something to behold, and the author is admitting his inability to actually properly describe all these ecstatic symptoms. And his inability to describe these wonderful manifestations of the Lord’s dancing, to the Hare Kṛṣṇa chanting”

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.234

rasa-maya nṛtya ati adbhuta-kathana
dekhiyā paramānande ḍube bhakta-gaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: His dancing was, so true for transcendental mellows, it was extremely wonderful. Those devotees who saw it all, were submerged into an ocean of transcendental ecstasy.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.235

hārāiyāchilā prabhu sarva bhakta-gaṇa
hena prabhu punar-bāra dilā daraśana

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord that had been lost by all the devotees the same Lord would now again seen by them. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.236

ānande nāhika bāhya kāhāro śarīre
prabhu veḍi' sabhei ullāse nṛtya kare

Jayapatākā Swami: Absorbed in their transcendental ecstasy, no one became conscious of their external bodies, all circled the Lord Caitanya, and happily danced.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.237

kebā kāra gāye paḍe kebā kāre dhare
kebā kāra caraṇa dhariyā vakṣe kare

Jayapatākā Swami: Some fell on the body of others, some embraced others. Some grabbed the lotus feet of others, and held the lotus feet to their chest 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.238

kebā kāre dhari' kānde, kebā kibā bole
keho kichu nā jāne premera kutūhale

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone embraced someone else, crying in ecstasy. Someone spoke something to others. So, they all didn’t know anything in the happiness of their ecstatic love.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.239

sapārṣade nṛtya kare vaikuṇṭha īśvara
e-mata apūrva haya pṛthivī-bhitara

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world, danced with His associates. Such incomparable pastimes took place in this world. So how Lord Caitanya came down from Goloka Vṛndāvana and was dancing with His associates, chanting the holy names, this is something incomparable. And this wonderful pastime happened on this planet, in the holy land of Navadvīpa dhāma, or in Nadia district, this happened in Śāntipura.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.132

prabhute bahubhāva-vaicitrya :—
ei mata prahareka nāce prabhu raṅge
kabhu harṣa, kabhu viṣāda, bhāvera taraṅge

Translation: In this way the Lord danced for at least three hours. Sometimes the symptoms of ecstasy were visible, including pleasure, moroseness, and many other waves of ecstatic emotional love.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.133

upavāsānte atyadhika nṛtye prabhura klānti :—
tina dina upavāse kariyā bhojana
uddaṇḍa-nṛtyete prabhura haila pariśrama

Translation: The Lord had been fasting for three days, and after that period He took eatables sumptuously. Thus when He danced and jumped high, He became a little fatigued.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.134

kṛṣṇapreme prabhura śramabodharāhitya haileo śramāpanodana :—
tabu ta’ nā jāne śrama premāviṣṭa hañā
nityānanda mahāprabhuke rākhila dhariñā

Translation: Being fully absorbed in love of Godhead, He would not understand His fatigue. But Nityānanda Prabhu, catching Him, stopped His dancing.

Jayapatākā Swami: So we see how Nityānanda Prabhu, He takes various moods. This mood was like vātsalya, where He takes care of the Lord like a parent, or like an elder brother. So in this way, He was always caring for Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.135

ācārya-gosāñi tabe rākhila kīrtana
nānā sevā kari’ prabhuke karāila śayana

Translation: Although the Lord was fatigued, Nityānanda Prabhu kept Him steady by holding Him. At that time Advaita Ācārya suspended the chanting and, by rendering various services to the Lord, made Him lie down to take rest.

Jayapatākā Swami: We see how Advaita, Nityānanda, all the associates were rendering service to Lord Caitanya. In this way they were also in spiritual bliss, especially Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Ācārya Prabhu.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.240

kevala ‘haribola’-dhvani—
“hari bola hari bola hari bola bhāi!”
ihā bai āra kichu śunite nā pāi

Jayapatākā Swami: “Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! Brothers! Nothing else could be heard other than this.” Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.241

ki ānanda haila se advaita-bhavane
se marma jānena sabe sahasra-vadane

Jayapatākā Swami: What was the ecstasy experienced in Advaita’s house, that confidential mystery is understood by the thousand-headed Anantaśeṣa. So, the Anantaśeṣa, the sahasra-vadana, could also include Lord Nityānanda.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.242

āpane ṭhākura tabe dhari' jane jane
sarva-vaiṣṇavere kare prema-āliṅgane

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya personally embraced each of the devotees personally, one after another. All the Vaiṣṇavas were given this loving embrace.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.243

pāiyā vaikuṇṭha-nāyakera āliṅgana
viśeṣa ānande matta haya bhakta-gaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Getting the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha’s loving embrace, the devotees present felt intoxicated by a special transcendental ecstasy.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.244

harināma huṅkāre nava-navāyamāna premonmāda-prakāśa—
`hari' bali' sarva-gaṇe kare siṁha-nāda
punaḥ-punaḥ bāḍe āro sabāra unmāda

Jayapatākā Swami: So, all the devotees chanted Haribol! Roaring like lions, again and again, their maddened state increased again and again. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.245

sāṅgopāṅge nṛtya kare vaikuṇṭhera pati
pada-bhare ṭalamala kare vasumatī

Jayapatākā Swami: The master of Vaikuṇṭha danced with His associates and devotees. By the weight of His lotus feet, the earth swayed. 

It reminds in the Canto 11 of Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, in one verse the prediction of Lord Caitanya appearance:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ

There it mentions the word sāṅgopāṅgā, the associates and the expansions and energies.

Translation: “In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions.” 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.246

nityānanda prabhu-vara parama uddāma
caitanya veḍiyā nāce mahājyotir-dhāma

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda Prabhu who was greatly effulgent, He was transcendentally maddened and He danced around Lord Caitanya, with great enthusiasm.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.247

ānande advaita nāce—karaye huṅkāra
sabei caraṇa dhare—ye pāya yāhāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Advaita was dancing in great ecstasy and roared loudly. Everyone grabbed the lotus feet of others, whoever they could. 

Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 1.248

navadvīpe yena haila ānanda-prakāśa
sei-mata nṛtya, gīta, sakala vilāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: The ecstasy that was experienced, manifested in Navadvīpa, was manifested in Śāntipura. In that way dancing, singing and transcendental pastimes were all manifested. 

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 14.90

sannyāsa karilā prabhu–kāro nāhi mane
ānande goṅāya dinarātri saṅkīrtane

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya had taken sannyāsa, that was not crossing anyone’s mind. In transcendental bliss, they passed day and night in the congregational chanting of the holy names, in saṅkīrtana.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 14.91

saṅkīrtane bhorā prabhu nija-guṇa gāya
ānandahṛdaye āpe nācaye nācaya

Jayapatākā Swami: In that saṅkīrtana ecstasy, Lord Gaurāṅga was singing His own holy names. He was singing His own glories and qualities. His heart filled with bliss, He danced and inspired others to dance also. 

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 14.92

sarvabhaktagaṇa nāce prema-rasa-raṅge
advaita-ācārya nāce nijaputra-saṅge

Jayapatākā Swami: All the devotees danced in the ecstasy of tasting the mellows of pure love for Krsna. Lord Advaita Ācārya danced with His own sons.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 14.93

sabhāra hṛdaye prema bāḍhila apāra
aśru-kampa pulakādi sāttvika-vikāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone’s heart was filled with a limitless, every increasing ocean of spiritual, loving ecstasy. They manifested the eight symptoms of ecstatic love, starting from crying, trembling, hairs standing on end, in every body.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 14.94

sabhāra hṛdaye bhela ānanda-ullāsa
aichana śuniñā sukhī e locanadāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone’s heart became filled with happiness of transcendental ecstasy. Hearing of all this, Locana dāsa had become filled with spiritual bliss.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.136

daśadina śāntipure vāsa :—
ei-mata daśa-dina bhojana-kīrtana
eka-rūpe kari’ kare prabhura sevana

Translation: For ten continuous days Advaita Ācārya held feasting and chanting in the evening. He served the Lord in this way without any change.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see how everyone was feeling so much separation from the Lord in Navadvīpa, and then the Lord came in Śāntipura and met with all the devotees. And Lord Caitanya was chanting and dancing for ten days. All the devotees forgot about all their lamentation and separation. They were submerged in an ocean of spiritual ecstasy. 

Thus Ends the Chapter, Saṅkīrtana in the House of Advaita Ācārya