20210201 Perfect Questions Perfect Answers (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 1st, 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: 

Perfect Questions Perfect Answers (Part 2)

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.249

kṛṣṇa premika sarvaśreṣṭha mukta:— 
‘mukta-madhye kon jīva mukta kari’ māni?’
‘kṛṣṇa-prema yāṅra, sei mukta-śiromaṇi’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then inquired, “Out of all liberated persons, who should be accepted as the greatest?”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “He who has love for Kṛṣṇa has attained the topmost liberation.”

Purport: In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.14.5), it is said:

“O great sage, of the many millions of liberated persons and of the millions who have attained perfection, he who is a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa is very, very rare. Indeed, he is the most perfect and peaceful person.”

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.60: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Good. Who are the liberated souls?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.61: Rāmānanda: They who love Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet and do not love anything else, who delight in bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotional service, and are not attracted to aṣṭāṅga-yoga or any other kind of yoga, who place their love in the transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and not in their own external material body, is actually liberated and free from the material world. Non-devotees who claim to be liberated are not so.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Rāmānanda Rāya explains how a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is actually liberated. if he has developed love of Kṛṣṇa and is detached material body and other forms of yoga.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.250

(6) kṛṣṇalīlāgānai śuddhajīvātmāra sahaja dharma:— 
‘gāna-madhye kona gāna — jīvera nija dharma?’
‘rādhā-kṛṣṇera prema-keli’ — yei gītera marma’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next asked Rāmānanda Rāya, “Among many songs, which song is to be considered the actual religion of the living entity?”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “That song describing the loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is superior to all other songs.”

Purport By Srila Prabhupada: As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.36):

“Lord Kṛṣṇa descends apparently as a human being, and He exhibits His transcendental pastimes in Vṛndāvana so that the conditioned soul may be attracted to hearing His transcendental activities.” Nondevotees are strictly prohibited from participating in songs celebrating the loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is a devotee, it is very dangerous to hear the songs about the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa that were written by Jayadeva Gosvāmī, Caṇḍīdāsa and other exalted devotees. Lord Śiva drank an ocean of poison, but one should not imitate this. One must first become a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Only then can one enjoy hearing the songs of Jayadeva and relish transcendental bliss. If one simply imitates the activities of Lord Śiva and drinks poison, one will certainly meet with death.

The talks between Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya are meant for advanced devotees only. Those who are on the mundane platform and who study these talks in order to put forward some thesis for a Ph.D. will not be able to understand them. Instead, these conversations will have a poisonous effect.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these discussions between Lord Caitanya and Rāmānanda Rāya are very elevated. Non-devotees cannot appreciate appropriately these discussions, and they may have a reverse effect, because not being devotees, they may think of these in terms of material exchanges. So one should first become a devotee, a pure devotee, then they can understand these confidential discussions.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.62: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: It is so. What should be glorified in song?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.63: Ramananda: Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vraja.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.251

(7) kṛṣṇa-bhakta-saṅgai jīvera ekamātra niḥśreyasa:— 
‘śreyo-madhye kona śreyaḥ jīvera haya sāra?’
‘kṛṣṇa-bhakta-saṅga vinā śreyaḥ nāhi āra’

Translation: Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Out of all auspicious and beneficial activities, which is best for the living entity?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The only auspicious activity is association with the devotees of Kṛṣṇa.”

Purport: According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.30):

Translation: “We are asking you to tell us what is the most perfect welfare activity. I think that in this material world, association with devotees — even if it be for a moment — is the greatest treasure house for mankind.”

Jayapatākā Swami: How association with devotees is so special and sacred is glorified here. Because a devotee is completely absorbed in the service to Kṛṣṇa. So by having a moment’s association with such a devotee can liberate one from their material conditioning.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.64: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: What is the best thing in the world?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.65: Rāmānanda: The association of saintly devotees.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.252

(8) kṛṣṇai ekamātra nitya smaraṇīya:— 
‘kāṅhāra smaraṇa jīva karibe anukṣaṇa?’
‘kṛṣṇa’-nāma-guṇa-līlā — pradhāna smaraṇa’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “What should all living entities constantly remember?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The chief objects of remembrance are always the Lord’s holy name, qualities and pastimes.”

Purport By srila Prabhupada: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.2.36) states:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī concludes, “The business of the living entity is to always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every circumstance. The Lord should be heard about, glorified and remembered by all human beings.”

Jayapatākā Swami: In the Vedic literature, it tells about Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, His qualities and His transcendental pastimes. So if we know more about the Lord naturally, our natural affection and love for the Lord awakens.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.66: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: What should be remembered?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.67: Rāmānanda: Kṛṣṇa's name.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.253

(9) rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādapadmai ekamātra dhyeya:— 
‘dhyeya-madhye jīvera kartavya kon dhyāna?’
‘rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāmbuja-dhyāna — pradhāna’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further inquired, “Out of many types of meditation, which is required for all living entities?”

Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The chief duty of every living entity is to meditate upon the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”

Purport By Srila Prabhupada: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.14) states:

Translation: Sūta Gosvāmī replied to the sages headed by Śaunaka, “Everyone should very attentively listen to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should glorify His activities and meditate upon Him regularly.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is how one can get liberated from the material world. By hearing the transcendental name, qualities and pastimes of the Lord.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.68: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: On what should one meditate?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.69: Rāmānanda: Kṛṣṇa's feet.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.254

(10) vrajai ekamātra vāstavya:— 
‘sarva tyaji’ jīvera kartavya kāhāṅ vāsa?’
‘vraja-bhūmi vṛndāvana yāhāṅ līlā-rāsa’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Where should the living entity live, abandoning all other places?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “He should live in the holy place known as Vṛndāvana or Vrajabhūmi, where the Lord performed His rāsa dance.”

Purport By Srila Prabhupada: According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.61):

Uddhava said, “Let me become one of Vṛndāvana’s herbs and plants that are trampled by the gopīs, who gave up all connections with family and friends and decided to worship the lotus feet of Mukunda. Those lotus feet are sought by all great saintly persons expert in the study of Vedic literature.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, it is said that one should live in a holy place, Vṛndāvana, Vraja bhumī. Navadvīpa is non-different from Vṛndāvana and Lord Caitanya stayed in Jagannātha Purī which is also a transcendental place of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So like that one should stay in Vṛndāvana, Mathurā, Dvārakā, Māyāpur, Jagannātha Purī, one of the holy places where the Lord realized His pastimes.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.70: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Where should one reside?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.71: Rāmānanda: In Vraja.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.255

(11) vrajai ekamātra śrotavya:— 
‘śravaṇa-madhye jīvera kon śreṣṭha śravaṇa?’
‘rādhā-kṛṣṇa-prema-keli karṇa-rasāyana’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Out of all topics people listen to, which is best for all living entities?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “Hearing about the loving affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is most pleasing to the ear.”

Purport: According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.39):

“He who faithfully hears about the dealings between Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs in the rāsa dance and he who describes these activities attain to the perfectional stage of devotional service and simultaneously lose material, lusty desires.”

A liberated person who hears about the loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is not inclined to have lusty desires. One mundane rogue once said that when the Vaiṣṇavas chant the name “Rādhā, Rādhā,” he simply remembers a barber’s wife named Rādhā. This is a practical example. Unless one is liberated, he should not try to hear about the loving affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. If one is not liberated and listens to a relation of the rāsa dance, he may remember his own mundane activities and illicit connections with some woman whose name may also be Rādhā. In the conditioned stage one should not even try to remember such things. By practicing the regulative principles, one should rise to the platform of spontaneous attraction for Kṛṣṇa. Then and only then should one hear about rādhā-kṛṣṇa-līlā. Although these affairs may be very pleasing both to conditioned and to liberated souls, the conditioned soul should not try to hear them. The talks between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are conducted on the platform of liberation.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Śrīla Prabhupāda explains how a mundane person cannot appreciate the transcendental nature of the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa So, one should try to understand the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa. That’s why the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are in the tenth Canto, and one reads the first nine cantos to prepare one to understand that Kṛṣṇa is completely transcendental. So he has no material nature or material desires.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.72: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: What should make the ear happy?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.73: Rāmānanda: Only Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vrndavana.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.256

(12) hare-kṛṣṇa-nāmai ekamātra kīrtanīya:— 
‘upāsyera madhye kon upāsya pradhāna?’
‘śreṣṭha upāsya — yugala ‘rādhā-kṛṣṇa’ nāma’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Among all worshipable objects, which is the chief?”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The chief worshipable object is the holy name of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.”

Purport: According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22):

“In this material world the living entity’s only business is to accept the path of bhakti-yoga and chant the holy name of the Lord.”

Jayapatākā Swami: The holy name of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, is chanting the name of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, The holy name of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, is chanting the name of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, Hare is Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa. So one should chant this holy name and thus they can get purified.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.74: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Who should be worshipped there?

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.75: Rāmānanda: Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are the supreme object of worship.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.257

(13) mumukṣu o bubhukṣura gati:— 
‘mukti, bhukti vāñche yei, kāhāṅ duṅhāra gati?’
‘sthāvara-deha, deva-deha yaiche avasthiti’

Translation: “And what is the destination of those who desire liberation and those who desire sense gratification” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked. Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “Those who attempt to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord will have to accept bodies like those of trees. And those who are overly inclined toward sense gratification will attain the bodies of demigods.”

Purport By Srila Prabhupada: Those who desire liberation by merging into the existence of God do not desire sense gratification within the material world. On the other hand, they have no information about serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Consequently, they are doomed to stand like trees for many thousands of years. Although trees are living entities, they are nonmoving. The liberated soul who merges into the existence of the Lord is no better than the trees. Trees also stand in the Lord’s existence because material energy and the Lord’s energy are the same. Similarly, the Brahman effulgence is also the energy of the Supreme Lord. It is the same whether one remains in the Brahman effulgence or in the material energy because in neither is there spiritual activity. Better situated are those who desire sense gratification and promotion to the heavenly planets. Such people want to enjoy themselves like denizens of heaven in the gardens of paradise. They at least retain their individuality in order to enjoy life. But the impersonalists, who try to lose their individuality, also lose both material and spiritual pleasure. They become just like a stone, which is immovable and has neither material nor spiritual activity. As far as the hard-working karmīs are concerned, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states (11.10.23):

“After performing various sacrificial rituals for elevation to the heavenly planets, the karmīs go there and enjoy themselves with the demigods to the extent that they have obtained the results of pious activities.”

In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.20-21) Lord Kṛṣṇa states:

“Those who study the Vedas and drink soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights. When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted,they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death.”

Therefore after finishing the results of pious activities, the karmīs return to this planet in the form of rain, and they begin their life as grass and plants in the evolutionary process.

Jayapatākā Swami: This explains how the living entities who desire to merge into the impersonal form of the Lord, how those who desire sense gratification, both are bereft of spiritual bliss. So it is better to be a devotee and thus reach the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.258

jñānī o bhaktera sādhana-vaiśiṣṭya:— 
arasa-jña kāka cūṣe jñāna-nimba-phale
rasa-jña kokila khāya premāmra-mukule

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “Those who are devoid of all transcendental mellows are like the crows that suck the juice from the bitter fruits of the nimba tree of knowledge, whereas those who enjoy mellows are like the cuckoos who eat the buds of the mango tree of love of Godhead.”

Purport: The speculative process of empiric philosophy is as bitter as the fruit of the nimba tree. Tasting this fruit is the business of crows. In other words, the philosophical process of realizing the Absolute Truth is a process taken up by crowlike men. But the cuckoolike devotees have very sweet voices with which to chant the holy name of the Lord and taste the sweet fruit of the mango tree of love of Godhead. Such devotees relish sweet mellows with the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the pastimes of the Lord relished by the devotees are very sweet. But the impersonalists, the jñāna-yogīs, they are tasting the bitter neem fruit, and thus they are compared to crow-like men.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.76: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Good. Speak on. Speak on.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari bol!

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.77: Rāmānanda: (withing himself) What more can I say to answer the Lord? I do not know what further words I can say that will give Him happiness. (Reflecting for a moment, he says openly)

“They who cannot taste sweetness will drink the bitter nimba juice of impersonal liberation. We, however, who know what is sweet, drink the dark, sweet nectar the amorous gopīs drank through the corners of their eyes.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.259

abhāgiyā jñānī āsvādaye śuṣka jñāna
kṛṣṇa-premāmṛta pāna kare bhāgyavān

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya concluded, “The unfortunate empiric philosophers taste the dry process of philosophical knowledge, whereas the devotees regularly drink the nectar of love of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, they are the most fortunate of all.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in this age of Kali one gets the special mercy of Lord Caitanya to taste the nectar of love of Kṛṣṇa. He has given us good fortune. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has distributed this mercy of Lord Caitanya all over the world, giving good fortune to everyone. Hari bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.260

kṛṣṇa-kathālocanāya ubhayera rātri-yāpana:— 
ei-mata dui jana kṛṣṇa-kathā-rase
nṛtya-gīta-rodane haila rātri-śeṣe

Translation: In this way Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya passed the whole night relishing the mellows of kṛṣṇa-kathā, topics about Kṛṣṇa. While they were chanting, dancing and crying, the night ended.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya and Rāmānanda Rāya spent the whole night discussing the transcendental topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They would chant, dance and cry, and in this way the night passed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.261

doṅhe nija-nija-kārye calilā vihāne
sandhyā-kāle rāya āsi’ mililā āra dine

Translation: The next morning they both departed to perform their respective duties, but in the evening Rāmānanda Rāya returned to meet the Lord again.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.262

pradina prabhupade rāyera nivedana – 
iṣṭa-goṣṭhī kṛṣṇa-kathā kahi’ kata-kṣaṇa
prabhu-pada dhari’ rāya kare nivedana

Translation: That evening, after discussing the topics of Kṛṣṇa for some time, Rāmānanda Rāya caught hold of the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.263

‘kṛṣṇa-tattva’, ‘rādhā-tattva’, ‘prema-tattva-sāra’
‘rasa-tattva’ ‘līlā-tattva’ vividha prakāra

Translation: “There is a variety of transcendental truths — the truth about Kṛṣṇa, the truth about Rādhārāṇī, the truth about Their loving affairs, the truth about transcendental humors, and the truth about the Lord’s pastimes.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.78: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Go on speaking like this.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.79: Rāmānanda: I cannot say anything beyond this. What shall I say further? (He thinks for a moment, and then says openly)

Licked by the cakora birds of the young gopīs, making the Lord's footprints shine like crystal studded jewels, and making the candrakānta jewels of the gopīs' eyes melt into many tears, may that moonlight of Lord Kṛṣṇa's toenails protect you all.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.80: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: This is poetry. Speak again.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.81: Rāmānanda: (reflecting for a moment) Shining as a rising sun prayed to by the darkness or as a blossoming red lotus in the Yamuna's water, and eclipsing the goddess of fortune, the Kaustubha gem, and the Śrīvatsa mark, may Śrī Rādhā's red-lac-lotus-foot-mark on Lord Hari's chest, protect us all.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.82: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: It is like that.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.83: Rāmānanda: (assuming the role of Śrīmatī Rādhā talking to a gopī-friend, he grasps Lord Caitanya's feet and says:) O gopī-friend, He is My lover, and I am His lover. There was now no difference between us. The god of love has crushed both our hearts into a powder and made a paste of the nectar of perfect love.

I no longer think “I am Your beloved and You are My beloved”. For us the conception of "I" and "You" is now destroyed. Still, I continue to think "You are My husband, and I am Your wife." What could be more surprising than this?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this represents the transcendental consciousness of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, that is being expressed by Rāmānanda Rāya to Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.264

śuddhahṛdaye udayahetu prabhura sva-prakāśatva:— 
eta tattva mora citte kaile prakāśana
brahmāke veda yena paḍāila nārāyaṇa

“You have manifested all these transcendental truths in my heart. This is exactly the way Nārāyaṇa educated Lord Brahmā.”

Purport: The heart of Brahmā was enlightened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is Vedic information given in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.18):

“Because I desire liberation, let me surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who first enlightened Lord Brahmā in Vedic knowledge through Lord Brahmā’s heart. The Lord is the original source of all enlightenment and spiritual advancement.” In this connection one may also refer to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.30-35, 11.14.3, 12.4.40 and 12.13.19.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, although Lord Caitanya was asking questions, and Rāmānanda Rāya was giving answers, Rāmānanda Rāya felt that the Lord was giving him the realization of these truths in his heart. Just like Brahmā was revealed the Vedic knowledge by the Supreme Lord in his heart.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.265

antaryāmī īśvarera ei rīti haye
bāhire nā kahe, vastu prakāśe hṛdaye

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “The Supersoul within everyone’s heart speaks not externally but from within. He instructs the devotees in all respects, and that is His way of instruction.”

Purport: Here Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya admits that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supersoul. It is the Supersoul that inspires the devotee; therefore He is the original source of the Gāyatrī mantra, which states, oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ [...]. Savitā is the original source of all intelligence. That Savitā is Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.22):

“May the Lord, who in the beginning of the creation amplified the potent knowledge of Brahmā from within his heart and inspired him with full knowledge of creation and His own self, and who appeared to be generated from the mouth of Brahmā, be pleased with me.” This was spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī when he invoked the blessing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead before delivering Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by the mercy of the Lord as the Supersoul, He can speak through the mouth of the devotee and thus the pure spiritual vibration can be manifested. The devotee invokes the mercy of the Lord to speak through him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.266

saccidvilāsamaya parameśvara vastura nirūpaṇa o dhyāna:— 
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1) —

Translation: “‘O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual,although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.’”

Purport By Srila Prabhupada: This is the opening invocation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the concept of Absolute Truth is different from God. God means controller and Absolute Truth means source of everything. That He existed before the material world and He exists during its manifestation, and exists after the material world is annihilated. He is the source of everything material and spiritual. So we can meditate upon Him and become purified.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.1

rāmānandadvārā prabhura nija bhaktisiddhānta-pracāra:— 
sañcārya rāmābhidha-bhakta-meghe
sva-bhakti-siddhānta-cayāmṛtāni
gaurābdhir etair amunā vitīrṇais
taj-jñatva-ratnālayatāṁ prayāti

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is known as Gaurāṅga, is the ocean of all conclusive knowledge in devotional service. He empowered Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who may be likened to a cloud of devotional service. This cloud was filled with the water of all the conclusive purports of devotional service and was empowered by the ocean to spread this water over the sea of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. Thus the ocean of Caitanya Mahāprabhu became filled with the jewels of the knowledge of pure devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this Caitanya-caritāmṛta is considered the special post graduate study of the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam. And it is said all the purports, everything is merged together into the cloud of Rāmānanda Rāya and rained over Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu So, Lord Caitanya, He is like the ocean of transcendental knowledge of pure devotional service.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Perfect Questions Perfect Answers.

Hari bol!