20210113 Lord Gaurāṅga Empowers Everyone Whom He Met to Be Preachers

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 13th, 2021 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!

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu Compilation:

Lord Gaurāṅga Empowers Everyone Whom He Met to Be Preachers

 

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.91

prāte punarāya yātrā :— 
prātaḥ-kāle snāna kari’ karilā gamana
bhakta-gaṇe vidāya dilā kari’ āliṅgana

Translation: The next morning, after taking His bath Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started on His South Indian tour. He bade farewell to the devotees by embracing them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the great affection that Lord Caitanya had for His devotees was expressed by Him embracing them.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.92

prabhura nirapekṣatā :— 
mūrcchita hañā sabe bhūmite paḍilā
tāṅhā-sabā pāne prabhu phiri’ nā cāhilā

Translation: Although they all fell to the ground unconscious the Lord did not turn to see them but proceeded onward.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see that the devotees, they were feeling great separation from Lord Caitanya how they all fainted on the ground unconscious. But the Lord being complete in renunciation He didn’t look back but proceeded forward to South India.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.93

prabhura paścāte jalapātrādi bāhaka kṛṣṇadāsa :—
vicchede vyākula prabhu calilā duḥkhī hañā
pāche kṛṣṇadāsa yāya jala-pātra lañā

Translation: In separation, the Lord became very much perturbed and walked on unhappily His servant, Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was carrying His waterpot followed behind.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this verse describes how the Lord felt separation from His devotees but He did not look back But he was unhappy to be separated from His devotees. These are some of the exceptional qualities of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.94

sei-dina bhaktagaṇera upavāsānantara purī-gamana :— 
bhakta-gaṇa upavāsī tāhāṅi rahilā
āra dine duḥkhī hañā nīlācale āilā

Translation: All the devotees remained there and fasted and the next day they all unhappily returned to Jagannātha Purī.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.95

matta-siṁha-prāya prabhu karilā gamana
premāveśe yāya kari’ nāma-saṅkīrtana

Translation: Almost like a mad lion, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went on His tour filled with ecstatic love and performing saṅkīrtana, chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.96

śrī-mukhakīrttita-śloka :— 
kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! he
kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! he 
kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! rakṣa mām
kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! kṛṣṇa! pāhi mām 
rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava! rakṣa mām
kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! pāhi mām

Translation: The Lord chanted:

Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! rakṣa mām
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! pāhi mām

That is, “O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please protect Me and maintain Me.” He also chanted:

Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! rakṣa mām
Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! pāhi mām

That is, “O Lord Rāma, descendant of King Raghu, please protect Me Kṛṣṇa, O Keśava, killer of the Keśī demon, please maintain Me.”

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.9

Translation: Then setting forward to the southern lands, Gaura Hari danced and sang:

Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Oh!
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Oh!
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Protect Me!
Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Protect Me!

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.10

Translation: While He chanted this mantra, tears of prema fell from His eyes Those tears formed an ocean of love, and upon the billows of that ocean He floated about, lost to the world of externals He rolled about on the earth, His body trembled greatly, Then He would run swiftly Śrī Hari's throat became choked as He wept, and He cast affectionate glances at the creeper-covered trees.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was sometimes rolling on the ground in ecstasy and sometimes running ahead He was absorbed completely in His internal ecstasies of pure love for Kṛṣṇa

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.97

lokake harināma dāna :— 
ei śloka paḍi’ pathe calilā gaurahari
loka dekhi’ pathe kahe,—bala ’hari’ ’hari’

Translation: Chanting this verse, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu known as Gaurahari, went on His way. As soon as He saw someone He would request him to chant “Hari! Hari!”

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone He met he asked them to chant the holy name of Hari, Hari bol! And this way He was preaching to everyone.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.98

prabhura mukhe nāma-śravaṇe lokera harināma-grahaṇa :— 
sei loka prema-matta hañā bale ’hari’ ’kṛṣṇa
prabhura pāche saṅge yāya darśana-satṛṣṇa

Translation: Whoever heard Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu chant “Hari! Hari!” also chanted the holy name of Lord Hari and Kṛṣṇa In this way they all followed the Lord, very eager to see Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like honeybees going after the honey people were racing after Lord Caitanya to taste the nectar of His chanting.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.99

prabhura śaktisañcāre sei vaiṣṇavakarttṛka tad-grāmastha sakalera vaiṣṇavatā :— 
kata-kṣaṇe rahi’ prabhu tāre āliṅgiyā
vidāya karila tāre śakti sañcāriyā

Translation: After some time, the Lord would embrace these people and bid them return home, having invested each of them with spiritual potency.

Purport: In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that this spiritual potency is the essence of the pleasure potency and the knowledge potency. By these two potencies, one is empowered with devotional service. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself or His representative the unalloyed devotee, can mercifully bestow these combined potencies upon any man. Being thus endowed with such potencies, one can become an unalloyed devotee of the Lord. Anyone favored by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was empowered with this bhakti-śakti Thus the Lord’s followers were able to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness by divine grace.

Jayapatākā Swami: Similarly His Divine Grace Abhayacaraṇāravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda empowered people from all over the world to take up the process of devotional service enunciated by Lord Caitanya That way He empowered people with bhakti-śaktī and the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is spreading because of this bhakti-śaktī.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.100

sei-jana nija-grāme kariyā gamana
’kṛṣṇa’ bali’ hāse, kānde, nāce anukṣaṇa 

Translation: Each of these empowered persons would return to his own village, always chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and sometimes laughing, crying and dancing.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya by giving out His bhakti-śaktī people started to feel ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying and sometimes dancing. So in this way He was spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement unlimitedly, and today that principle is being spread throughout the world. Every religion says this slogan we should love God and Lord Caitanya practically gave that bhakti-śaktī, that potency to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.101

yāre dekhe, tāre kahe,—kaha kṛṣṇa-nāma
ei-mata ’vaiṣṇava’ kaila saba nija-grāma

Translation: Such an empowered person would request everyone and anyone whomever he saw — to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa In this way all the villagers would also become devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport: In order to become an empowered preacher one must be favored by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His devotee the spiritual master. One must also request everyone to chant the mahā-mantra. In this way, such a person can convert others to Vaiṣṇavism showing them how to become pure devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this special instruction of Lord Caitanya to tell everyone they met the message of Kṛṣṇa and to get the people chant hare Kṛṣṇa! In this way, people became Vaiṣṇavas. So Lord Caitanya did it personally and empowered the people to do that on His behalf The spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu also has this potency to encourage people to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and thus their life becomes successful.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.102

anyagrāma-vāsīrao sei vaiṣṇava-darśana-kṛpāphale vaiṣṇavatva-prāpti :— 
grāmāntara haite dekhite āila yata jana
tāṅra darśana-kṛpāya haya tāṅra sama

Translation: People from different villages who came to see such an empowered individual would become like him simply by seeing him and receiving the mercy of his glance.

Jayapatākā Swami: When Lord Caitanya would embrace such devotees or they would see Lord Caitanya they started to chant and laugh and cry and whoever saw them they also became very much inspired to take up devotional service.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.103

ei-rūpe samagra dākṣiṇātyavāsīra uddhāra o vaiṣṇavatva lābha :—
sei yāi’ grāmera loka vaiṣṇava karaya
anya-grāmī āsi’ tāṅre dekhi’ vaiṣṇava haya

Translation: When each of these newly empowered individuals returned to his own village, he also converted the villagers into devotees And when others came from different villages to see him they were also converted.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in this way the people simply by seeing or hearing Lord Caitanya, they became converted to Vaiṣṇavas Simply by seeing them, the others became converted and, in this way Vaiṣṇavism was spread naturally all over South India.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.104

sei yāi’ āra grāme kare upadeśa
ei-mata ’vaiṣṇava’ haila saba dakṣiṇa-deśa

Translation: In this way, as empowered men went from one village to another, all the people of South India became devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol! 

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.105

prabhu-karttṛka bahu bhāgyavān jīvera uddhāra :— 
ei-mata pathe yāite śata śata jana
’vaiṣṇava’ karena tāṅre kari’ āliṅgana

Translation: Thus, many hundreds of people became Vaiṣṇavas when they passed the Lord on the way and were embraced by Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: In other yugas Kṛṣṇa would protect His devotees and annihilate the miscreants but here we see that Lord Caitanya, He doesn’t use any weapon or violence, He simply embraces the people, and gives them love of Kṛṣṇa and destroys their demoniac nature giving them pure devotional nature, and in this way they also spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.106

prabhura bhikṣādātāra darśanakārigaṇerao vaiṣṇavatva lābhera para ācāryarūpe bahulokoddhāra 
yei grāme rahi’ bhikṣā karena yāṅra ghare
sei grāmera yata loka āise dekhibāre

Translation: In whatever village Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed to accept alms, many people came to see Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally a sannyāsī should not cook His own food So He would stay in some village and at that time there were brāhmaṇas who were vegetarian. He would take kṛṣṇa-prasāda and the people would come to see Him and He would bless everyone so that they take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.107

prabhura kṛpāya haya mahābhāgavata
sei saba ācārya hañā tārila jagat

Translation: By the mercy of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone became a first-class devotee Later they became teachers or spiritual masters and liberated the entire world.

Jayapatākā Swami: Simply be receiving the mercy of Lord Caitanya they became first class devotees or spiritual masters, and naturally they could deliver the people to be Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.108

ei-rūpe samagra dakṣiṇadeśera uddhāra:— 
ei-mata kailā yāvat gelā setubandhe
sarva-deśa ’vaiṣṇava’ haila prabhura sambandhe

Translation: In this way the Lord went to the extreme southern part of India and He converted all the provinces to Vaiṣṇavism.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya had the potency to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over South India and thus people became Vaiṣṇavas So in this way if people follow Lord Caitanya they can make their countries Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.109

prabhura kṛpā-mahimā navadvīpa apekṣā dākṣiṇātye adhikatara prakāśita :— 
navadvīpe yei śakti nā kailā prakāśe
se śakti prakāśi’ nistārila dakṣiṇa-deśe

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest His spiritual potencies at Navadvīpa but He did manifest them in South India and liberated all the people there.

Purport: At that time there were many smārtas (nondevotee followers of Vedic rituals) at the holy place of Navadvīpa which was also the birthplace of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Followers of the smṛti-śāstra are called smārtas. Most of them are nondevotees, and their main business is following the brahminical principles strictly However, they are not enlightened in devotional service. In Navadvīpa all the learned scholars are followers of the smṛti-śāstra, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not attempt to convert them. Therefore the author has remarked that the spiritual potency Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest at Navadvīpa was by His grace manifested in South India. Thus everyone there became a Vaiṣṇava By this it is to be understood that people are really interested in preaching in a favorable situation. If the candidates for conversion are too disturbing, a preacher may not attempt to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness amongst them It is better to go where the situation is more favorable. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was first attempted in India but the people of India, being absorbed in political thoughts, did not take to it. They were entranced by the political leaders. We preferred, therefore, to come to the West following the order of our spiritual master, and by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu this movement is becoming successful.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is using this example of why he came to the West to carry out the order of his spiritual master. And that in the West, people were more interested in spiritual matters, being frustrated with the Western materialism. But in India they were absorbed in the political thoughts. So it was difficult to change the way they were thinking. So it was better to preach in the West. So somehow, I got sent from the West to India, and here we find that Indian people like to hear from the Westerners about their own culture. So somehow or another we have to spread the sublime movement of Lord Caitanya and let the people get the mercy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.110

caitanya-bhakterai bhagavat-kṛpāśaktite viśvāsa :— 
prabhuke ye bhaje, tāre tāṅra kṛpā haya
sei se e-saba līlā satya kari’ laya

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s empowering of others can be understood by one who is actually a devotee of the Lord and who has received His mercy.

Jayapatākā Swami: How Lord Caitanya simply by embracing or blessing others, He could empower them to become great preachers and how He was giving His mercy out freely this could be understood by devotees. They see how the Lord has unlimited power to give out this mercy of pure love.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.111

aprākṛta-līlāya viśvāsa-phalei nitya-kalyāṇa-lābha, natuvā akṣaja-jñāne sarvanāśa :— 
alaukika-līlāya yāra nā haya viśvāsa
iha-loka, para-loka tāra haya nāśa

Translation: If one does not believe in the uncommon transcendental pastimes of the Lord, he is vanquished both in this world and in the next.

Jayapatākā Swami: If one thinks that Lord Caitanya’s mercy cannot reach anyone due to their caste creed, gender or anything material they will be lost. Lord Caitanya’s mercy could reach everyone and that should be believed by the devotees of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.112

prathamei kahila prabhura ye-rūpe gamana
ei-mata jāniha yāvat dakṣiṇa-bhramaṇa

Translation: Whatever I have stated about the beginning of the Lord’s tour should also be understood to hold for as long as the Lord toured South India.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya spent about 6 years travelling throughout South India, and wherever he went he asked all the people to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. He gave His bhakti-śaktī to everyone So the author is saying that Lord Caitanya did this throughout South India but He is not explaining it again and again to avoid repetition. But we should understand that this is the system that Lord Caitanya used while travelling throughout India and His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda used a similar system in the Western countries.

Tomorrow is the Makara-saṅkrāntī, Pongal day is like new year day in South India and we would usually be in South India and now observing this Bhogī and Poṅgal. So, Lord Caitanya His sublime process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa was spread by Śrīla Prabhupāda all over the world.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Gaurāṅga Empowers Everyone Whom He Met to Be Preachers.

Gaurāṇga! Śrīla Prabhupāda Ki ! Jaya!