20201021 Lord Caitanya Teaches the Principles of Surrender and Reaches the Village of Āṭisārā (Part 1)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 21st October 2020 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India

Introduction: So, we are continuing with the compilation of (Lord) Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book:

Lord Caitanya Teaches the Principles of Surrender and Reaches the Village of Āṭisārā

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.3

caitanya-bhāgavate prabhura nīlācale gamanera para anyānya līlā madhurabhāve varṇita :—

nīlādri-gamana, jagannātha-daraśana
sārvabhauma bhaṭṭācārya-prabhura milana

Translation: The Lord went to Jagannātha Purī and visited Lord Jagannātha’s temple. He also met with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is the synopsis of the pastime.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.4

e saba līlā prabhura dāsa vṛndāvana
vistāri’ kariyāchena uttama varṇana

Translation: All these pastimes have been very elaborately explained by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura in his book Caitanya-Bhāgavata.

Jayapatākā Swami: Each author likes to respect other the author and they doesn’t usually explain the same thing twice, if they saw different details they may explain it or if the pastimes is not particularly elaborated by anyone else then the author will present. Since Caitanya-Bhāgavata was written before by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. Caitanya-caritāmṛta tend to cover the aspects which are not covered in Caitanya-Bhāgavata or in the Caitanya-maṅgala.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.05

sahaje vicitra madhura caitanya-vihāra
vṛndāvana-dāsa-mukhe amṛtera dhāra

Translation: By nature all the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are very wonderful and sweet, and when they are described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, they become like a shower of nectar.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.06

punarukti o dambha vā śrautapanthā-vir odhabhaye granthakāra nivṛtta :—

ataeva tāhā varṇile haya punarukti
dambha kari’ varṇi yadi taiche nāhi śakti

Translation: Therefore I very humbly submit that since these incidents have already been nicely described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, I would be very proud to repeat the same thing, and this would not be very good. I do not have such powers.

Jayapatākā Swami: Therefore, I am compiling this book because Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura explains some pastimes and Locana dāsa explains others and Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja explains the others. So, devotees of Lord Caitanya have requested me to present a compilation on all these different books on Caitanya-līlā. So, there are approximately nine or ten books of which three are most prominent so we are trying to present all these various books together as one pastime series.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.07

caitanya-bhāgavate yāhā vistṛta, tāhā e granthe saṁkṣepe, evaṁ yāhā tathāya saṁkṣipta, tāhā esthale vistṛtabhāve varṇita—

caitanya-maṅgale yāhā karila varṇana
sūtra-rūpe sei līlā kariye sūcana

Translation: I am therefore presenting only a synopsis of those events already described elaborately by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura in his Caitanya-maṅgala [now known as Caitanya-Bhāgavata].

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.08

tāṅra sūtre āche, teṅha nā kaila varṇana
yathā-kathañcit kari’ se līlā kathana

Translation: Some of the incidents he did not describe elaborately but only summarized, and these I shall try to describe in this book.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.09

granthakārera atulanīya mānada-dharma—vṛndāvanadāsera vandanā :–

ataeva tāṅra pāye kari namaskāra
tāṅra pāya aparādha nā ha-uk āmāra

Translation: I thus offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. I hope that I will not offend his lotus feet by this action.

Jayapatākā Swami: As I said each author is very respectful for the other author. As a result, they expect everybody will read all the books. Since that may not be possible, I am trying to give this version of the combined pastimes with limited purports. Still one can read the original books to get the full effect, experience and full instructions. I may not give all the spiritual instruction; mainly the pastimes and some teachings.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.10

nityānandādi cārijana-saṅge prabhura purīpathe yātrā:—

ei-mata mahāprabhu calilā nīlācale
cāri bhakta saṅge kṛṣṇa-kīrtana-kutūhale

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu proceeded toward Jagannātha Purī with four of His devotees, and He chanted the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, with great eagerness.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one should chant that to please Lord Caitanya and to follow in His footsteps

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.11

bhikṣā lāgi’ eka-dina eka grāma giyā
āpane bahuta anna ānila māgiyā

Translation: Each day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally went to a village and collected a great quantity of rice and other grains for the preparation of prasāda.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the gṛhastha’s dharma is to give charity and brahmacārī, vānaprasthas, and sannyāsīs they have the right to beg. They are supported by the gṛhasthas.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.31

daive gauragaṇa o kṛṣṇagaṇera abhinnatā—

daive se-i prabhu, bhakta-gaṇo se-i saba
upamāo se-i se, se-i se anubhava

Jayapatākā Swami: By will of providence, He was the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, they were the same assembled devotees, the situation was the same, and their realisations and feelings were the same.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.32

jīvana-maraṇa kṛṣṇa-icchāya se haya
viṣa vā amṛta bhakṣile o kichu naya

Jayapatākā Swami: Life and death depends on the will of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Drinking poison or nectar on its own does nothing.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): A person may die in this material world by drinking poison, and a living entity may gain eternal life by drinking nectar. Only by the will of Kṛṣṇa can material objects and spiritual objects award fruits. But if the will of Kṛṣṇa withdraws the power and propensities of those objects, they are unable to award such fruits. The conversation between Umā and Śiva is witness and evidence of this fact.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.033

ye-mate yāhāre kṛṣṇacandra rākhe māre
tāhā bai āra keha karite nā pāre

Jayapatākā Swami: No one can imitate how Lord Kṛṣṇacandra saves one and kills someone else.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Despite being inclined towards the Lord's service, many persons, because of committing vaiṣṇava-aparādha, consider the Lord's devotees as ordinary mortal beings by seeing them separate from the Lord. By thinking that Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇava are mortal, they cannot achieve realization of their sac-cid-ānanda status because of madness for sense gratification. As a result, they end up either knowingly or unknowingly becoming envious of Hari and Guru. Some of them dedicate themselves to karma-kāṇḍa, and because of desiring material enjoyment some consider sense gratification and liberation their ultimate goal of life. The Guru and Vaiṣṇavas are full of Kṛṣṇa's potencies. There is no difference between the energy and the energetic. Yet the energy can never be identified as the energetic. This is the difference between the philosophies of the impersonalists and the devotees of the Lord. In the Nārada-pañcarātra (1.14.4) Śrī Mahādeva says: “A person who is protected by the Supreme Lord becomes victorious everywhere, and one who is rejected by the Supreme Lord can never be protected by anyone.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.034

nityānanda-gadādharādi-saha nīlācalābhimukhe yātrā—

hena-mate śrī-gaurasundara nīlācale
āisena caliyā āpana-kutūhale

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Śrī Gaurasundara departed for Nīlācala, the town of Lord Jagannātha. He went in His own ecstatic mood.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.035

nityānanda, gadādhara, mukunda, govinda
saṁhati jagadānanda, āra brahmānanda

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord was accompanied by His associates Lord Nityānanda, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Mukunda dutta, Govinda dāsa, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, and Brahmānanda Purī.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.036

pathe bhaktagaṇera niṣkiñcanatā-parīkṣā—

pathe prabhu parīkṣā karena sabā'-prati
“ki sambala āche bala kāhāra saṁhati

Jayapatākā Swami: On the way the Lord Caitanya tested everyone tested everyone by asking, “What assets do you have tell Me, with you?”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.037

ke vā ki diyāche kāre pathera sambala
niṣkapaṭe mora sthāne kaha ta' sakala”

Jayapatākā Swami: “All of you tell Me frankly, non-duplicitously whether anyone has given any assets to you along the way.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.038

sabe bale,—“prabhu, vinā ājñāya tomāra
kāra dravya laite vāśakti āche kāra”

Jayapatākā Swami: They replied, “O Lord Caitanya, without your authorisation, without permission who has the power to bring anything?”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.039

śuniyāṭhākura baḍa santoṣa hailāśeṣe
sei lakṣye tattva kahite lāgilā

Jayapatākā Swami: On hearing their reply, the Lord Caitanya, He was greatly satisfied. Thereafter He revealed, He explained some truths regarding this topic.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.040

bhaktagaṇera nirapekṣatāẏa prabhura santoṣa—

prabhu bale,—“kāhāro ye kichu nā lailāihāte
āmāra baḍa santoṣa karilā

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord Caitanya said, “I am greatly satisfied that none of you took anything from anyone.”

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Lord Gaurasundara asked Nityānanda, Gadādhara, Mukunda, Govinda, and Brahmānanda, “What assets do you have with you?” In reply, they said, “We have no asset other than You.” On hearing their words and realizing their unalloyed determination, Gaurasundara expressed great satisfaction. Since pseudo devotees who deviate from the path of devotional service imagine a distinction between Guru-Vaiṣṇava and the Supreme Lord, they cannot understand the concept of oneness. The philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda is the only cause for the nourishment of transcendental mellows.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 2.41

śaraṇāgati-śikṣā-dāna—

“rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke?
māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke?'—

bhoktavya adṛṣṭe thāke ye-dine likhana
araṇye o āsi' mile avaśya takhana

Jayapatākā Swami: “Whatever you are destined to receive as eatables, you will get that certainly, even if you are in the forest.” In the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (7.74) it is mentioned: “Distress comes to embodied souls without asking, similarly happiness will also come by the arrangement of providence.”