20210120 Lord Caitanya Meets Rāmānanda Rāya on the Banks of Godāvarī (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 20th, 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 Book compilation Today's chapter entitled as:

Lord Caitanya Meets Rāmānanda Rāya on the Banks of Godāvarī (part 2)

 

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.108

kānaḍā-kusumākṛti aṅgera varaṇa
mayūra-śikhaṇḍa śire—muralīvadana

Jayapatākā Swami: Like a bluish flower His bodily form had a bluish color and He was wearing on His head a peacock feather and held a flute to His mouth.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.109

nānā ābharaṇa aṅge cikaṇīyā kālā
pītavastra paridhāna-gale vanamālā

Jayapatākā Swami: He was adorned with various ornaments on His smooth glossy blackish limbs and He wore a yellow garment with a beautiful forest flower garland on His neck.

Beautiful.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.110

tāhā dekhi’ mahārāja ānandita mana
punarapi hailā prabhu gauravaraṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: So, seeing this Śyamasundara form Rāmānanda Rāya became very ecstatic in his mind and then Lord Caitanya again appeared in His golden complexion.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.111

paśu, pakṣī, vṛkṣa āra yata latā-pātā
gaura-aṅga-chaṭā jhalamala kare tathā

Jayapatākā Swami: The beasts, birds, trees, leaves, and all the creepers and everything else reflected the dazzling molten gold aura of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.112

dekhiyā jānila rājā rāmānanda rāya
premāya vihvala dhare’ nija prabhu pāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmānanda Rāya, seeing this transcendental form of the Lord, He was overwhelmed with spiritual love that he received the darśana of his own Lord. He was overwhelmed with spiritual love of Kṛṣṇa and he held on to Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 1.113

caraṇe paḍiyā kānde avaśa śarīra
kare dhari’ lañā prabhu bhaigelā bāhira

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmānanda Rāya fell at the lotus feet of the Lord. He was crying and his body became unconscious. Holding on to his hand, Lord Caitanya took him outside the palace

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.16

rāmānandera sahita milanajanya prabhura vyagratā :— 
prabhu tāṅre dekhi’ jānila—ei rāma-rāya
tāṅhāre milite prabhura mana uṭhi’ dhāya

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could understand that the person who had come to bathe in the river was Rāmānanda Rāya. The Lord wanted so much to meet him that His mind immediately began running after him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.17

prabhusamīpe rāmānandera āgamana :—
tathāpi dhairya dhari’ prabhu rahilā vasiyā
rāmānanda āilā apūrva sannyāsī dekhiyā

Translation: Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was running after him mentally, He patiently remained sitting. Rāmānanda Rāya, seeing the wonderful sannyāsī, then came to see Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya was very attracted by Lord Caitanya and he went to see Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.18

prabhura rūpa-darśane rāyera vismaya o daṇḍavat-praṇāma :—
sūrya-śata-sama kānti, aruṇa vasana
subalita prakāṇḍa deha, kamala-locana

Translation: Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya then saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be as brilliant as a hundred suns. The Lord was covered by a saffron garment. He was large in body and very strongly built, and His eyes were like lotus petals.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.19

dekhiyā tāṅhāra mane haila camatkāra
āsiyā karila daṇḍavat namaskāra

Translation: When Rāmānanda Rāya saw the wonderful sannyāsī, he was struck with wonder. He went to Him and immediately offered his respectful obeisances, falling down flat like a rod.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Rāmānanda Rāya seeing Lord Caitanya immediately offered his obeisances falling at the ground. Being a sannyāsī in India that is the respect one gets. Since Lord Caitanya was Himself effulgent, He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so naturally Rāmānanda Rāya felt great devotion for Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.20

āliṅganotsuka prabhura dhairya, rāyake utthāpana o nāmajijñāsā :—
uṭhi’ prabhu kahe,—ūṭha, kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’
tāre āliṅgite prabhura hṛdaya satṛṣṇa

Translation: The Lord stood up and asked Rāmānanda Rāya to arise and chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very eager to embrace him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.21

tathāpi puchila,—tumi rāya rāmānanda?
teṅho kahe,—sei haṅa dāsa śūdra manda

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then inquired whether he was Rāmānanda Rāya, and he replied, “Yes, I am Your very low servant, and I belong to the śūdra community.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.22

paricaya śuniyāi prabhura rāyake āliṅgana, ubhayera prema :—
tabe tāre kaila prabhu dṛḍha āliṅgana
premāveśe prabhu-bhṛtya doṅhe acetana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya very firmly. Indeed, both the master and the servant almost lost consciousness due to ecstatic love.

Jayapatākā Swami: So this meeting of Lord Caitanya and Rāmānanda Rāya was very emotional for both, just like the meeting of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs. 

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.23

svābhāvika prema doṅhāra udaya karilā
duṅhā āliṅgiyā duṅhe bhūmite paḍilā

Translation: Their natural love for each other was awakened in them both, and they embraced and fell to the ground.

Purport: Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya was an incarnation of the gopī Viśākhā. Since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, there was naturally an awakening of love between Viśākhā and Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the combination of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa, and the gopī Viśākhā is a principal gopī assisting Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Thus, the natural love between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu awakened and they embraced.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the natural love between Kṛṣṇa and Viśākhā awakened when Lord Caitanya met Rāmānanda Rāya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.24

stambha, sveda, aśru, kampa, pulaka, vaivarṇya
duṅhāra mukhete śuni’ gadgada ’kṛṣṇa’ varṇa

Translation: When they embraced each other, ecstatic symptoms — paralysis, perspiration, tears, shivering, paleness and standing up of the bodily hairs — appeared. The word “Kṛṣṇa” came from their mouths falteringly.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.25

taddarśane vipragaṇera vismaya o vicāra :—
dekhiyā brāhmaṇa-gaṇera haila camatkāra
vaidika brāhmaṇa saba karena vicāra

Translation: When the stereotyped, ritualistic brāhmaṇas who were following the Vedic principles saw this ecstatic manifestation of love, they were struck with wonder. All these brāhmaṇas began to reflect as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.26

ei ta’ sannyāsīra teja dekhi brahma-sama
śūdre āliṅgiyā kene karena krandana

Translation: The brāhmaṇas thought, “We can see that this sannyāsī has a luster like the effulgence of Brahman, but how is it He is crying upon embracing a śūdra, a member of the fourth caste in the social order?”

Jayapataka Swami: So, this is difference between the external varṇāśrama consideration and the internal bhakti devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Since Lord Caitanya had a spiritual relationship with Rāmānanda Rāya that took precedence. But the vaidhi-brāhmaṇa only saw the external manifestation.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.27

ei mahārāja—mahā-paṇḍita, gambhīra
sannyāsīra sparśe matta ha-ilā asthira

Translation: They thought, “This Rāmānanda Rāya is the Governor of Madras, a highly learned and grave person, a mahā-paṇḍita, but upon touching this sannyāsī he has become restless like a madman.”

Jayapatākā Swami: They can’t understand why Rāmānanda Rāya is feeling ecstatic Kṛṣṇa prema by touching Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.28

prabhura bhāva-vega-samvaraṇa :—
ei-mata vipra-gaṇa bhāve mane mana
vijātīya loka dekhi, prabhu kaila samvaraṇa

Translation: While the brāhmaṇas were thinking in this way about the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw those outsiders and restrained His transcendental emotions.

Purport: Rāmānanda Rāya was intimately related to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; therefore he can be accepted as a sajātīya, a person within the intimate circle of the Lord. The brāhmaṇas, however, were followers of the Vedic rituals and were not able to have an intimate connection with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Consequently, they are called vijātīya-loka. In other words, they were not pure devotees. One may be a highly learned brāhmaṇa, but if he is not a pure devotee he is a vijātīya, an outcaste, one outside devotional service — in other words, a nondevotee. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya were embracing in ecstasy, the Lord restrained His transcendental emotions upon seeing the outsider brāhmaṇas.

Jayapatākā Swami: The outsider brāhmaṇa could not appreciate the transcendental emotion of Rāmānanda Rāya and Lord Caitanya. And Lord Caitanya controlled Himself because they were being watched by the outsider brāhmaṇas.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.29

prabhukarttṛka nijāgamana-kāraṇa varṇana :—
sustha hañā duṅhe sei sthānete vasilā
tabe hāsi’ mahāprabhu kahite lāgilā

Translation: When they regained their sanity, they both sat down, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled and began to speak as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.30

‘sārvabhauma bhaṭṭācārya kahila tomāra guṇe
tomāre milite more karila yatane

Translation: “Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya spoke of your good qualities, and he made a great endeavor to convince Me to meet you.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.31

tomā milibāre mora ethā āgamana
bhāla haila, anāyāse pāiluṅ daraśana’

Translation: “Indeed, I have come here just to meet you. It is very good that even without making an effort I have gotten your interview here.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.32

rāmānandera dainya o prabhustuti :—
rāya kahe,—sārvabhauma kare bhṛtya-jñāna
parokṣeha mora hite haya sāvadhāna

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya thinks of me as his servant. Even in my absence he is very careful to do me good.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya was very grateful to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya for always thinking about his welfare. He praised Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya in this way.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.33

tāṅra kṛpāya pāinu tomāra daraśana
āji saphala haila mora manuṣya-janama

Translation: “By his mercy I have received Your interview here. Consequently, I consider that today I have become a successful human being.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya considers human birth as a success because he had met Lord Gaurāṅga.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.34

sārvabhaume tomāra kṛpā,—tāra ei china
aspṛśya sparśile hañā tāṅra premādhīna

Translation: “I can see that You have bestowed special mercy upon Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Therefore You have touched me, although I am untouchable. This is due only to his love for You.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.35

kāhāṅ tumi—sākṣāt īśvara nārāyaṇa
kāhāṅ muñi—rāja-sevī viṣayī śūdrādhama

Translation: “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa Himself, and I am only a government servant interested in materialistic activities. Indeed, I am the lowest among men of the fourth caste.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the Governor Rāmānanda Rāya was considering himself very low and abominable.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.36

mora sparśe nā karile ghṛṇā, veda-bhaya
mora darśana tomā vede niṣedhaya

Translation: “You do not fear the Vedic injunctions stating that You should not associate with a śūdra. You were not contemptuous of my touch, although in the Vedas You are forbidden to associate with śūdras.

Purport: In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.32) the Lord says:

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya
ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās
te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

“O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers] — can attain the supreme destination.”

The word pāpa-yonayaḥ means “born into a lower-class.” According to the Vedic system of classification, women, vaiśyas, and śūdras belong to a lower social order. A low life means a life without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. High and low positions in society are calculated by considering a person’s Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A brāhmaṇa is considered to be on the highest platform because he knows Brahman, the Absolute Truth. The second caste, the kṣatriya caste, also know Brahman, but not as well as the brāhmaṇas. The vaiśyas and śūdras do not clearly understand God consciousness, but if they take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, they do not remain in the lower castes (pāpa-yonayaḥ). It is clearly stated: te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim.

Unless one has attained the highest standard of life, one cannot return home, back to Godhead. One may be a śūdra, vaiśya or woman, but if one is situated in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should not be considered strī, śūdra, vaiśya or lower than śūdra. Though a person may be from a lowborn family, if he is engaged in the Lord’s service he should never be considered to belong to a lowborn family. The Padma Purāṇa forbids, vīkṣate jāti-sāmānyāt sa yāti narakaṁ-dhruvam. A person goes to hell quickly when he considers a devotee of the Lord in terms of birth. Although Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya supposedly took birth in a śūdra family, he is not to be considered a śūdra, for he was a great advanced devotee. Indeed, he was on the transcendental platform. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore embraced him. Out of spiritual humility, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya presented himself as a śūdra (rāja-sevī viṣayī śūdrādhama). Even though one may engage in government service or in any other pounds-shillings-pence business — in short, in materialistic life — he need only take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a very simple process. One need only chant the holy names of the Lord and strictly follow the principles forbidding sinful activity. In this way one can no longer be considered an untouchable, a viṣayī or a śūdra. One who is advanced in spiritual life should not associate with nondevotees — namely men in government service and men engaged in materialistic activity for sense gratification or in the service of others. Such men are considered viṣayī, materialistic. It is said in (Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.23):

“A person who is very seriously engaged in cultivating devotional service with a view to crossing the ocean of nescience and who has completely abandoned all material activities should never see a śūdra, a vaiśya or a woman.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Normally a vaiśya, śūdra or woman is considered lower in material sense, but if one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then they are not to be considered from any external caste or gender, they should be considered by their spiritual qualifications, and if one still considers them by their material status, then that is offensive and they may quickly fall down.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.37

tomāra kṛpāya tomāya karāya nindya-karma
sākṣāt īśvara tumi, ke jāne tomāra marma

Translation: “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself; therefore no one can understand Your purpose. By Your mercy You are touching me, although this is not sanctioned by the Vedas.

Purport: A sannyāsī is strictly forbidden to see the viṣayīs, the materialistic people. But Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, out of His boundless and causeless mercy, could show favor to anyone, regardless of birth and position.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is described as a thousand times more merciful than Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although He is Kṛṣṇa, He has the heart of Rādhārāṇī. So He is a thousand times more merciful and thus He gives out His mercy freely without considering who is qualified or not.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.38

āmā nistārite tomāra ihāṅ āgamana
parama-dayālu tumi patita-pāvana

Translation: “You have come here specifically to deliver me. You are so merciful that You alone can deliver all fallen souls.

Purport: Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings in his Prārthanā (39):

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhu dayā kara more,
tomā vinā ke dayālu jagat-saṁsāre 
patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra,
mo sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra

“My dear Lord, please be merciful to me. Who can be more merciful than Your Lordship within these three worlds? You appear as an incarnation just to reclaim the conditioned, fallen souls, but I assure You that You will not find a soul more fallen than me.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s specific mission is to deliver fallen souls. Of course, in this Age of Kali there is hardly anyone who is not fallen according to the calculations of Vedic behavior. In His instructions to Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu described the so-called followers of Vedic religion in this way (Madhya 19.146):

So-called followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas formally, but they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali. People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally, “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Christian,” “I am this or that, ” but actually no one follows the principles enunciated in religious scriptures. This is the disease of this age. Therefore the merciful Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has simply advised us to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam. The Lord can deliver anyone and everyone, even though one may have fallen from the injunctions of revealed scriptures. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s special mercy. Consequently, He is known as patita-pāvana, the deliverer of all fallen souls.

Jayapatākā Swami: Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!