20210116 Lord Caitanya Delivers Vāsudeva the Leper (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 16th, 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!

Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book,

Lord Caitanya Delivers Vāsudeva the Leper (Part 2)

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.147

prabhukarttṛka tāṅhāke ācārya haiyā kṛṣṇanāma upadeśa pūrvaka jīvoddhāre ādeśa :— 
prabhu kahe,—”kabhu tomāra nā habe abhimāna
nirantara kaha tumi ’kṛṣṇa’ ’kṛṣṇa’ nāma

Translation: To protect the brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra incessantly By doing so, he would never become unnecessarily proud.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this system of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra protects one from becoming unnecessarily proud. We always think that if we do anything right it is by the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa and if we do anything wrong it is due to our defect In this way we can always remain in a humble state of mind by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa māha-mantra.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.10

tuliyā doṅhāre prabhu kaila āliṅgana
prakāśa karila kathā madhura vacana

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya picked up and embraced the two brāhmaṇas Lord Gaurāṅga said in a sweet voice the following verse,

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.11

śuna śuna ahe dvija vacana āmāra
ki kāje āilā mahī-ki kara ācāra

Jayapatākā Swami: “O my dear brāhmaṇas please listen very attentively to what I am about to say for what great purpose you have come to this material world and what you should do?”

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.12

kali-yuge dharma—hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana
prakāśa karila kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahādhana

Jayapatākā Swami: The only religious principle in the age of Kali, is the congregational chanting of the holy name of Hari "harināma-saṅkīrtana” Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested His great treasure in the form of His holy name.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.13

nāma-guṇa-saṅkīrtane karaha ānanda
nācaha nācaha loka hau muktabandha

Jayapatākā Swami: Be blissfully chanting the good qualities in congregational chanting, the saṅkīrtana of the holy name dance and chant and make all the people liberated from material bondage."

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.14

e bola baliyā prabhu calila satvara
āpanāke āpe tārā haila agocara

Jayapatākā Swami: After Lord Caitanya gave these instructions He quickly departed and He disappeared from their vision.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.148

kṛṣṇa upadeśi’ kara jīvera nistāra
acirāte kṛṣṇa tomā karibena aṅgīkāra”

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also advised Vāsudeva to preach about Kṛṣṇa and thus liberate living entities. As a result, Kṛṣṇa would very soon accept him as His devotee.

Purport: Although Vāsudeva Vipra was a leper and had suffered greatly, still, after Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu cured him, He instructed him to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Indeed, the only return the Lord wanted was that Vāsudeva preach the instructions of Kṛṣṇa and liberate all human beings. That is the process of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Each and every member of this Society was rescued from a very abominable condition, but now they are engaged in preaching the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are not only cured of the disease called materialism but are also living a very happy life. Everyone accepts them as great devotees of Kṛṣṇa and their qualities are manifest in their very faces. If one wants to be recognized as a devotee by Kṛṣṇa, he should take to preaching work, following the advice of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Then one will undoubtedly attain the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, without delay.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrīla Prabhupāda has given us this causeless mercy just as Lord Caitanya had delivered the Vāsudeva leper and Śrīla Prabhupāda has given the good fortune to the souls in the material world and saved them from the abominable materialism. Just as Lord Caitanya had instructed the Vāsudeva the leper to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus he would be accepted by Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore also His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has instructed all the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and then delivered by his mercy to engage in the preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus they will be always be with Kṛṣṇa and they will be accepted as devotee by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.17

Translation: Looking upon these two devotees, who were now fully satisfied by love of Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune addressed them By My order kindly induce all people to accept the path of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti and become happy!”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see that just as Lord Caitanya had instructed Vāsudeva the leper, similarly His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has instructed me in many ways to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So please help Me because on my own I can do nothing. We want to induce all the people to accept the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become happy. Hari Bol! Gaurāṅga!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.149

prabhura kṛpā-smaraṇe kūrma o vāsudevera krandana :—
eteka kahiyā prabhu kaila antardhāne
dui vipra galāgali kānde prabhura guṇe

Translation: After instructing the brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva in that way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu disappeared from that place. Then the two brāhmaṇas, Kūrma and Vāsudeva embraced each other and began to cry remembering the transcendental qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: How they are remembering Lord Caitanya and they just embraced each other and cried such was the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.18

Translation: So, saying, Śrī Gaura Candra disappeared from that spot This astonished all the people, who then began to continuously chant the name of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.113

Translation: Seeing this, Kūrma, feeling pain in his body, fainted Then standing up, the best of brāhmaṇas lamented.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.114

Translation: He had attained great fortune. “Mahāprabhu, the Lord of all the universe, having stayed there, returned. But I did not realize he was the Lord for even a moment.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.115

Translation: “Man is a great fool, low, cruel and sinful for having held a priceless jewel in his hand. He does not protect it, being careless.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we get this rare human birth but we misuse it and we allow this treasure to slip through our fingers. Although Lord Caitanya was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He went house to house, village to village and He gave this incomparable mercy. And unfortunately human being do not realize what a rare gift this is! So, the Kūrma brāhmaṇa had this realization that how he was so blessed to have the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, a people in the age of Kali have the great mercy to follow His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is the pure representative of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus their life can become successful.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.116

Translation: “An animal, by nature foolish, chews grass and cannot relish the taste of nectar Though touching a touchstone, a man does not know that it is a great gem. He is foolish at all times.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Touchstone looks like an ordinary rock but when we touch it to iron, it turns iron to gold What is iron worth ? And what is the gold worth? If you have gold, it is a very great treasure but sometimes we may not understand that the touchstone is a special gen that can turn iron into gold. Similarly, human birth gives us this rare opportunity to awaken our lost relationship to Kṛṣṇa and we don’t take advantage of that You see people are suffering due to pestilence, pandemics, wars, global warming and different things upheavals, and they don’t realize that they can solve everything if they reestablish their lost relationship with Kṛṣṇa and chant the holy names. So the brāhmaṇa Kūrma he was realizing this.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.117

Translation: Kūrma could not endure the pain of separation from the most merciful Lord of the universe. He fainted, becoming unconscious many times.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.45: King: Bhaṭṭācārya, Caitanya must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If He were not He could not be so kind to a living entity Even the greatest mystic yogī cannot cure leprosy. “

Jayapatākā Swami: These two brāhmaṇas had followed Lord Caitanya and seeing these pastimes how Lord Caitanya had cured the leper how He had instructed the two brāhmaṇas to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and spread Kṛṣṇa bhakti. So then they returned to Jagannātha Purī and told these things to King Pratāparudra who was completely overwhelmed and he realized the Lord Caitanya must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.150

ei ākhyānera nāma—vāsudevoddhāra, prabhura nāma—vāsudevāmṛtaprada’ :— 
vāsudevoddhāra’ ei kahila ākhyāna
‘vāsudevāmṛta-prada’ haila prabhura nāma

Translation: Thus I have described how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reclaimed the leper Vāsudeva and so received the name Vāsudevāmṛta-prada.

Purport: The name Vāsudevāmṛta-prada is mentioned in the verses composed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.

Jayapatākā Swami: Vāsudevāmṛta-prada, prada means to give. Amṛta is nectar. So He delivered Vāsudeva from material life, that is one of his names, that was used by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya in his verses.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.151

ei ta’ kahila prabhura prathama gamana
kūrma-daraśana, vāsudeva-vimocana

Translation: Thus, I end my description of the beginning of the tour of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His visiting the temple of Kūrma and His liberating the leper brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is just the beginning of Lord Caitanyas South Indian tour. So, like this Lord Caitanya’s pastimes throughout South India continued what He did not manifest in Navadvīpa, He was manifesting in South India.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.152

caitanyalīlā-śravaṇei acaitanya-sevakera caitanya-prāpti :— 
śraddhā kari’ ei līlā ye kare śravaṇa
acirāte milaye tāre caitanya-caraṇa

Translation: One who hears these pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great faith will surely very soon attain the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Purport: When a person actually revives his consciousness with thoughts of Kṛṣṇa by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he revives his spiritual life and becomes addicted to the service of the Lord. Only then can he act as an ācārya. In other words, everyone should engage in preaching, following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu In this way one will be very much appreciated by Lord Kṛṣṇa and will quickly be recognized by Him Actually, a devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu must engage in preaching in order to increase the followers of the Lord. By thus preaching actual Vedic knowledge all over the world, one will benefit all mankind.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is encouraging how every true follower of Caitanya Mahāprabhu should engage in preaching to increase the number of devotees of the Lord. So, it is not that we receive the mercy of the Lord and then not doing anything. We are very grateful and we want to repay the Lord and we do that preaching and increasing the followers of the Lord.

Śrī Śrīmad Gaurāṅga-līlā-smaraṇa-maṅgala-stotram - 43½

By Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura

Translation: After staying there for some days He went to the South. At Kūrma-kṣetra, He cured the leper Vāsudeva, and at Vijaya-nagara He gave Rāmānanda Rāya the ocean of pure love of God. I meditate on Lord Gaurāṅga, who gives great pleasure to the people and who is the personified form of all holy places.

Jayapatākā Swami: So we should remember these transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya and as He travelled on foot in south India. Similarly, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda brought the message message of Lord Caitanya all over the world and thus he made the people happy by giving them Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Caitanya Delivers Vāsudeva the Leper.