20201015 Haridāsa and the Devotees Question Lord Caitanya's Departure

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 15th, 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: Today we had the ISKCON India Advisory Committee, IIAC, meeting, the last day so that is why we are a little late. Today we are having the Caitanya class on:

Haridāsa and the Devotees Question Lord Caitanya's Departure

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.1

bhāṭiyārī rāga–diśā bhāyyā āre āre gaurā-gosāñira mahimā-guṇa gāhiomūrcchā

Jayapatākā Swami: Refrain: O! O! O! Please sing the glories of Lord Gaurāṅga Gosāñi! O! sing his glorious qualities āre

bhāyyā prāṇa-bhāyyā sāravāsanā re chāḍiha 
jagate yābat kāla jīya mahāprabhura caraṇa nā chāḍiha

Jayapatākā Swami: O! O! Please turn away from all material desires! As long as you stay in this world, turning away from all material desires, do not give up Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's feet!

eimate śubharātri suprabhāta haila 
prātaḥkriyā kari’ prabhu āsane basila

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, the night passed, auspiciously, and sunrise, dawn came. After Lord Gaurāṅga performed His morning duties, He sat on His seat or āsana.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.2

daṇḍa-kare yena sarvarājyera īśvara 
aruṇa vasana aṅge kare jhalamala

Jayapatākā Swami: Holding the sannyāsa danḍa in His hand, He seemed like the king, the controller of all the kingdoms. On His limbs, saffron garments glistened.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.3

yata nijajana kāche āchaye basiyā 
hāsi’ hāsi’ kahe prabhu sabhā sambodhiyā–

Jayapatākā Swami: His followers were sitting nearby Him, smiling and smiling, the Lord Gaurāṅga, addressed the assembly of devotees.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.188

bhaktagaṇa-samīpe prabhura āvedana :—

navadvīpa-vāsī ādi yata bhakta-gaṇa 
sabāre sammāna kari’ balilā vacana

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered respects to all the devotees present from Navadvīpa and other towns, speaking to them as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.189

tumi-saba loka—mora parama bāndhava 
ei bhikṣā māgoṅ,—more deha tumi saba

Translation: “My dear friends, you are all My intimate friends. Now I am begging a favor of you. Please give it to Me.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.190

sakalake kṛṣṇa-kīrtane ādeśa :—

ghare yāñā kara sadā kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana 
kṛṣṇa-nāma, kṛṣṇa-kathā, kṛṣṇa ārādhana

Translation: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested them all to return home and begin chanting the holy name congregationally. He also requested them to worship Kṛṣṇa, chant His holy name and discuss His holy pastimes.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Jay Śrīla Prabhupāda! The cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, is very nicely explained by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu authoritatively. It is not that everyone has to take sannyāsa like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone can execute the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness at home, as ordered by the Lord. Everyone can congregationally chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. One can also discuss the subject matter of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and install Deities of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Gaura-Nitāi or both and worship them very carefully in one’s own home. It is not that we have to open different centers all over the world. Whoever cares for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can install Deities at home and, under superior guidance, worship the Deity regularly, chanting the mahā-mantra and discussing the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We are actually teaching in our classes how to go about this. One who feels that he is not yet ready to live in a temple or undergo strict regulative principles in the temple— especially householders who live with a wife and children—can start a center at home by installing the Deity, worshiping the Lord morning and evening, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and discussing the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Anyone can do this at home without difficulty, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested all the devotees present there to do so. Lord Caitanya instructions gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole dhāko, so whether one is in the renounced order or is a gṛhastha, they should chant the holy names, worship Kṛṣṇa, study Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. This which was enunciated by Lord Caitanya to all those who were assembled.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.4

śrīnivāsa ādi kari’ yata bhaktagaṇa 
āpana āśrame sabhe karaha gamana

Jayapatākā Swami: My dear devotees, headed by Śrivāsa Ṭhākura, please everyone return to your own āśramas, and depart for your homes.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.6

tomarā thākibe–ājñā karibe pālana 
nirantara-divā-niśi karibe kīrtana

Jayapatākā Swami: Please follow My order, stay in your house. Continuously, day and night, perform kīrtana of the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.7

harināma bhaktasevā karibe sthāpana 
ei dharma kari’ yena tare’ sarvajana

Jayapatākā Swami: Chant the holy names of Lord Hari. Establish this service as a service for all the devotees. By performing this dharma, everyone is delivered. Lord Caitanya is giving His instructions, which are the basis of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. If everyone practices this throughout the world, they will get the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.8

nirmmatsara-antara haibe sarvajana 
sabhe sabhākāra mana kara ārādhana

Jayapatākā Swami: Please all of you be non-envious within your heart. Everyone should worship others within your hearts.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.5

nīlācala yāba jagannātha dekhibāre 
prasannavadane prabhu yadi dayā kare

Jayapatākā Swami: I will go to Nīlācala, Jagannatha Puri to see Lord Jagannātha, if the smiling-faced Lord casts His mercy on Me.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.191

purī yāite prabhura ājñā-prārthanā 

ājñā deha nīlācale kariye gamana 
madhye madhye āsi’ tomāya diba daraśana

Translation: After thus instructing the devotees, the Lord asked their permission to go to Jagannātha Purī. He assured them that at intervals He would come there and meet them again and again.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, He was reassuring the devotees, that they would have His darśana from time to time. So they should not feel discouraged.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.192

yathāyogya māna diyā sakalake vidāya-dāna :—

eta bali’ sabākāre īṣat hāsiñā 
vidāya karila prabhu sammāna kariñā

Translation: In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, offering due respects to all the devotees and smiling very mildly, bade them farewell.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Lord Caitanya was about to leave and saying these words, He encouraged all the devotees, and He started His journey to Jagannātha Purī.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.9

e bola baliyā prabhu uṭhilā satvare 
bāhu beḍi’ sabhākāre āliṅgana kare

Jayapatākā Swami: After speaking these words, Lord Gaura quickly stood. He embraced everyone in His arms. We can see how affectionate Lord Gaurāṅga is to all His devotees.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.10

prema-jale du-nayāna kare chalachala 
sakaruṇa kaṇṭha bhela gadagada svara

Jayapatākā Swami: So tears of love came from His two eyes, and with great compassion, His voice was choked up, with transcendental emotion. We can see that Lord Caitanya’s love for His devotees is unlimited.

Caitanya-Carita Mahā Kāvya 11.71

Leaving the devotees, embracing Advaita, who was covered in tears, he started to go. Hari-dāsa, holding grass in his teeth, his heart filled with longing, fell on the earth at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: Although Lord Caitanya is about to leave, Haridasa Thakura, with a straw in his teeth - that means very humbly - fell at His lotus feet.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.11

henai samaye sei prabhu haridāsa 
dante tṛṇa dhari’ paḍe pādāmbuja-pāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: At that moment, Haridasa Thakura, with a straw in his teeth, he fell down before Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.12

ati ārttanāde kānde sakaruṇa svare 
śunite sakala-loka-hṛdaya vidare

Jayapatākā Swami: Very compassionately Lord Caitanya was loudly crying. To hear His crying everyone’s heart broke. So, the emotions of Lord Caitanya, and the emotions of the devotees were reciprocal, and not only that Lord Caitanya touched His devotees’ hearts, but they actually felt very much affected by the Lord’s affection.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.193

haridāsera dainya o akiñcana :—

sabā vidāya diyā prabhu calite kaila mana 
haridāsa kāndi’ kahe karuṇa vacana

Translation: After requesting all the devotees to return home, the Lord decided to go to Jagannātha Purī. At that time Haridāsa Ṭhākura began to cry and speak some pathetic words.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.4.28

Translation: Then Haridāsa, holding grass between his teeth, then fell flat like a rod on the earth at the very soles of the Lord's feet.

Jayapatākā Swami: So we are hearing from the different books, on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, all expressing the same thing. And Haridāsa Ṭhākura humbly, with a straw in his teeth, fell at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.194

nīlācale yābe tumi, mora kon gati 
nīlācale yāite mora nāhika śakati

Translation: Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “You are going to Jagannātha Purī, and that is all right, but what will be my destination? I am not able to go to Jagannātha Purī.

Purport: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Although Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was born in a Muslim family, he was accepted as a properly initiated brāhmaṇa. As such, he had every right to enter the temple of Jagannātha Purī, but because there were some rules and regulations stipulating that only brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras (members of the varṇāśrama-dharma system) could enter, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, out of his great humility, did not want to violate these existing rules. He therefore said that he did not have the strength to enter into the temple, and he pointed out that if Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived within the temple, there would be no way for Haridāsa Ṭhākura to see Him. Later, when Haridāsa Ṭhākura went to Jagannātha Purī, he lived outside the temple, at a place called Siddhabakula. A monastery has now been erected there, known as Siddhabakula Maṭha. People who visit Jagannātha Purī often go to see Siddhabakula and the tomb of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, on the beach by the sea.

Jayapatākā Swami: Although the temple of Jagannātha Purī was inaugurated by Lord Brahmā, and Lord Brahmā appeared as Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the rules were such that he could not enter the temple. So, he was wondering how he could see the Lord. There is a place where Haridāsa Ṭhākura used to chant, under a bakula tree, that is called the Siddhabakula, and when he left his body, Lord Caitanya bathed it in the ocean, and took it and placed it in samādhi. That samādhi is still there. And our ISKCON temple is only a kitty corner from Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s samādhi.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.195

muñi adhama nā pāi tomāra darśana 
vyathita haila prabhu sajala-nayana

Translation: “Because I am the lowest among men, I shall not be able to see You. How shall I maintain my sinful life?”

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.13

vyathita haila prabhu sajala-nayana 
kātara-antara kichu kahiche vacana

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, with tears in His eyes, filled with emotion, His heart overcome, He said the follows.

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.14

eimata bhāgya mora habe katadine 
paḍiyā kāndiba jagannāthera caraṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, how many days would pass before I will become fortunate like this? When will I fall before Lord Jagannātha’s lotus feet and weep as You do?

Caitanya-Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 15.15

kahiba kātara kathā pādāmbuja pāñā 
saphala kariba āṁkhi śrī-mukha dekhiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: After attaining Lord Jagannātha’s lotus feet, I will say my distress. Gazing at Lord Jagannātha’s glorious face, my eyes will become fortunate.

So we will continue this chapter tomorrow.