20210202 Lord Caitanya Reveals His Identity to Rāmānanda Rāya (Part 1)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 2nd, 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, chapter entitled:

Lord Caitanya Reveals His Identity to Rāmānanda Rāya

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.267

rāyera saṁśaya:— 
eka saṁśaya mora āchaye hṛdaye
kṛpā kari’ kaha more tāhāra niścaye

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya then said that he had but one doubt within his heart, and he petitioned the Lord, “Please be merciful upon me and just remove my doubt.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.268

rāyera nikaṭa prabhura svarūpa āvirbhūta:— 
pahile dekhiluṅ tomāra sannyāsi-svarūpa
ebe tomā dekhi muñi śyāma-gopa-rūpa

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya then told Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “ At first I saw You appear like a sannyāsī, but now I am seeing You as Śyāmasundara, the cowherd boy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.269

rāyera rādhā-bhāvadyuti-suvalita gaurasundara-darśana:— 
tomāra sammukhe dekhi kāñcana-pañcālikā
tāṅra gaura-kāntye tomāra sarva aṅga ḍhākā

Translation: “I now see You appearing like a golden doll, and Your entire body appears covered by a golden luster.

Purport: Śyāmasundara is blackish, but here Rāmānanda Rāya says that he saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appear golden. The lustrous body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was covered by the bodily complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rādhārāṇī is golden in color and Kṛṣṇa is blackish. So somehow, Kṛṣṇa has taken the mood of Rādhārāṇī in His heart and the color of Rādhārāṇī in His body, although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Somehow Rāmānanda Rāya was seeing this and had some doubt.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.270

tāhāte prakaṭa dekhoṅ sa-vaṁśī vadana
nānā bhāve cañcala tāhe kamala-nayana

Translation: “I see that You are holding a flute to Your mouth, and Your lotus eyes are moving very restlessly due to various ecstasies.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.271

svayaṁ prabhukei rāyera gaurarūpera kāraṇa jijñāsā:— 
ei-mata tomā dekhi’ haya camatkāra
akapaṭe kaha, prabhu, kāraṇa ihāra

Translation: “I actually see You in this way, and this is very wonderful. My Lord, please tell me without duplicity what is causing this.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.272

rāyake ‘mahā-bhāgavata’ baliyā praśaṁsādvārā ātmagopana-ceṣṭā:— 
prabhu kahe, — kṛṣṇe tomāra gāḍha-prema haya
premāra svabhāva ei jāniha niścaya

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “You have a deep love for Kṛṣṇa, and one who has such deep ecstatic love for the Lord naturally sees things in such a way. Please take this from Me to be certain.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya tried to avoid the doubt of Rāmānanda Rāya. He, Rāmānanda Rāya had deep love for Kṛṣṇa, so naturally he saw Kṛṣṇa everywhere. So like this Lord Caitanya was trying to avoid the questions of Rāmānanda Rāya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.273

mahā-bhāgavata vā vaiṣṇava vā paramahaṁsera darśana:— 
mahā-bhāgavata dekhe sthāvara-jaṅgama
tāhāṅ tāhāṅ haya tāṅra śrī-kṛṣṇa-sphuraṇa

Translation: “A devotee advanced on the spiritual platform sees everything movable and inert as the Supreme Lord. For him, everything he sees here and there is but a manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.274

sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti
sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti

Translation: “The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.”

Purport: Due to his deep ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, the mahā-bhāgavata sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere and nothing else. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):

As soon as a devotee sees something — be it movable or inert — he immediately remembers Kṛṣṇa. An advanced devotee is advanced in knowledge. This knowledge is very natural to a devotee, for he has already read in the Bhagavad-gītā how to awaken Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.8):

“O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.”

Thus when a devotee drinks water or any other liquid, he immediately remembers Kṛṣṇa. For a devotee there is no difficulty in awakening Kṛṣṇa consciousness twenty-four hours a day. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says here:

A saintly person, an advanced devotee, sees Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day and nothing else. As far as movable and inert things are concerned, a devotee sees them all as transformations of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4):

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.”

Actually nothing is separate from Kṛṣṇa. When a devotee sees a tree, he knows that the tree is a combination of two energies —material and spiritual. The inferior energy, which is material, forms the body of the tree; however, within the tree is the living entity, the spiritual spark, which is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. This is the superior energy of Kṛṣṇa within this world Whatever living thing we see is simply a combination of these two energies. When an advanced devotee thinks of these energies, he immediately understands that they are manifestations of the Supreme Lord. As soon as we see the sun rise in the morning, we arise and set about doing our morning duties. Similarly, as soon as a devotee sees the energy of the Lord, he immediately remembers Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is explained in this verse: sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti.

A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life. This is also explained in the next verse, which is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.45).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the advanced devotee, or the mahā-bhāgavata, he sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere and in everything. Lord Caitanya said, Rāmānanda Rāya, “you are an advanced devotee, so naturally you see Kṛṣṇa everywhere.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.275

sarvatra kṛṣṇa-kārṣṇa-darśana:— 
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.45)—

sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed
bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany
eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “‘A person advanced in devotional service sees within everything the soul of souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he always sees the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of all causes and understands that all things are situated in Him.’

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.276

kṛṣṇa-sevāmaya-citte sarvatra cetanā vā kṛṣṇa-sevāvṛtti-darśana:— 
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.35.9)—

vana-latās tarava ātmani viṣṇuṁ
vyañjayantya iva puṣpa-phalāḍhyāḥ
praṇata-bhāra-viṭapā madhu-dhārāḥ
prema-hṛṣṭa-tanavo vavṛṣuḥ sma

Translation: “‘The plants, creepers and trees were full of fruits and flowers due to ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, being so full, they were bowing down. They were inspired by such deep love for Kṛṣṇa that they were constantly pouring showers of honey. In this way the gopīs saw all the forests of Vṛndāvana.’”

Purport: This verse (Bhāg. 10.35.9) is one of the songs the gopīs sang during Kṛṣṇa’s absence. In Kṛṣṇa’s absence the gopīs were always absorbed in thought of Him. Similarly, the mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, sees everything as potentially serving the Lord. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.126):

The advanced devotee does not see anything as unconnected with Kṛṣṇa. Unlike the Māyāvādī philosophers, a devotee does not see the material world as false, because he knows that everything in the material world is connected to Kṛṣṇa. A devotee knows how to utilize everything in the service of the Lord, and this is characteristic of the mahā-bhāgavata. The gopīs saw the plants, creepers and forest trees loaded with fruits and flowers and ready to serve Kṛṣṇa. In this way they immediately remembered their worshipable Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They did not simply see plants, creepers and trees the way a mundaner sees them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, a mundaner would see, “Oh! There are so many fruit trees bowing with plenty of fruits.” But the gopīs would immediately connect that with Kṛṣṇa. They thought all the trees were bowing down, paying their respect to Kṛṣṇa, everything they would see in relation to Kṛṣṇa because of their intense love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.277

vaiṣṇavera sarvottama carama darśana:— 
rādhā-kṛṣṇe tomāra mahā-prema haya
yāhāṅ tāhāṅ rādhā-kṛṣṇa tomāre sphuraya

Translation: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “My dear Rāya, you are an advanced devotee and are always filled with ecstatic love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore whatever you see — anywhere and everywhere — simply awakens your Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.278

rāyera spaṣṭabhāve prabhura avatāroddeśya-kīrtana:— 
rāya kahe, — prabhu tumi chāḍa bhāri-bhūri
mora āge nija-rūpa nā kariha curi

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “My dear Lord, please give up all these serious talks. Please do not conceal Your real form from me.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.279

rādhikāra bhāva-kānti kari’ aṅgīkāra
nija-rasa āsvādite kariyācha avatāra

Translation: Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “My dear Lord, I can understand that You have assumed the ecstasy and bodily complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. By accepting this, You are tasting Your own personal transcendental humor and have therefore appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya had understood the actual identity of Lord Caitanya. He has realized the actual position of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.280

nija-gūḍha-kārya tomāra — prema āsvādana
ānuṣaṅge prema-maya kaile tribhuvana

Translation: “My dear Lord, You have descended in this incarnation of Lord Caitanya for Your own personal reasons. You have come to taste Your own spiritual bliss, and at the same time You are transforming the whole world by spreading the ecstasy of love of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is the special mercy of Lord Caitanya, while He is experiencing the love that Rādhārāṇī has for Him. He is distributing love for Kṛṣṇa without any discrimination, not considering who is qualified and who is unqualified, He is giving to everyone, it is a special mercy, we should take this mercy of the Lord. When will we get such an opportunity?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.281

prabhura ātmagopana vā chalanāya rāyera anuyoga:— 
āpane āile more karite uddhāra
ebe kapaṭa kara, — tomāra kona vyavahāra

Translation: “My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy You have appeared before me to grant me liberation. Now You are playing in a duplicitous way. What is the reason for this behavior?”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.282

prabhukarttṛka rāyake svīya śyāma o gaurarūpa-pradarśana:— 
tabe hāsi’ tāṅre prabhu dekhāila svarūpa
‘rasa-rāja’, ‘mahābhāva’ — dui eka rūpa

Translation: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personification of ecstatic love of Godhead. These two forms had combined as one in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This being the case, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya.

Purport: This is described as rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was absorbed in the features of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This was disclosed to Rāmānanda Rāya when he saw Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. An advanced devotee can understand śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, being a combination of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, is nondifferent from Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa combined. This is explained by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī (Cc. Ādi 1.5):

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is one. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency combined. When Kṛṣṇa exhibits His pleasure potency, He appears to be two — Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one. This oneness may be perceived by advanced devotees through the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This was the case with Rāmānanda Rāya. One may aspire to attain such a position, but one should not try to imitate the mahā-bhāgavata.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya he got this special mercy from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We cannot imitate a mahā-bhāgavata like Rāmānanda Rāya, this is a special mercy he received.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.283

rāyera ānanda-mūrcchā:— 
dekhi’ rāmānanda hailā ānande mūrcchite
dharite nā pāre deha, paḍilā bhūmite

Translation: Upon seeing this form, Rāmānanda Rāya lost consciousness in transcendental bliss. Unable to remain standing, he fell to the ground.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmānanda Rāya could see Lord Caitanya as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So he was overwhelmed that he fell ecstatically unconscious to the ground.