20210203 Lord Caitanya Reveals His Identity to Rāmānanda Rāya (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 3rd, 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!

Today is the Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, chapter is entitled:

Lord Caitanya Reveals His Identity to Rāmānanda Rāya (Part 2).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.284

saṁjñā-lābhānte prabhura sannyāsa-veṣadarśane vismaya:— 
prabhu tāṅre hasta sparśi’ karāilā cetana
sannyāsīra veṣa dekhi’ vismita haila mana

Translation: When Rāmānanda Rāya fell to the ground unconscious, Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched his hand, and he immediately regained consciousness. But when he saw Lord Caitanya in the dress of a sannyāsī, he was struck with wonder.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.285

rāyake prabhura sāntvanā, nija kṛṣṇa-svarūpatva o rādhā-bhāvadyuti mayatvera uddeśyādi samasta gūḍha kāraṇai akapaṭe jñāpana:— 
āliṅgana kari’ prabhu kaila āśvāsana
tomā vinā ei-rūpa nā dekhe anya-jana

Translation: After embracing Rāmānanda Rāya, the Lord pacified him, informing him, “But for you, no one has ever seen this form.”

Purport: In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.25) Lord Kṛṣṇa states:

“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency [yogamāyā], and so they do not know Me, who am unborn and infallible.”

The Lord always reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone. The devotees, however, are always engaged in the service of the Lord, serving with the tongue by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and tasting mahā-prasādam. Gradually the sincere devotee pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Lord reveals Himself. One cannot see the Supreme Lord by making personal efforts. Rather, when the Lord is pleased by the service of a devotee, He reveals Himself.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Rāmānanda Rāya, because he pleased the Lord, he was able to see Lord Caitanya’s form as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, no one has seen this before.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.286

mora tattva-līlā-rasa tomāra gocare
ataeva ei-rūpa dekhāiluṅ tomāre

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed, “All the truths about My pastimes and mellows are within your knowledge. Therefore I have shown this form to you.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.287

gaura aṅga nahe mora — rādhāṅga-sparśana
gopendra-suta vinā teṅho nā sparśe anya-jana

Translation: “Actually My body does not have a fair complexion. It only appears so because it has touched the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. However, She does not touch anyone but the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.288

tāṅra bhāve bhāvita kari’ ātma-mana
tabe nija-mādhurya kari āsvādana

Translation: “I have now converted My body and mind into the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; thus I am tasting My own personal sweetness in that form.”

Purport: Gaurasundara here informed Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, “My dear Rāmānanda Rāya, you were actually seeing a separate person with a fair-complexioned body. Actually I am not fair. Being Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am blackish, but when I come in touch with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī I become fair-complexioned externally. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī does not touch the body of anyone but Kṛṣṇa. I taste My own transcendental features by accepting the complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Without Rādhārāṇī, one cannot taste the transcendental pleasure of Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal love. ” In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments on the prākṛta-sahajiyā-sampradāya, which considers Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya to possess different bodies. They misinterpret the words gaura aṅga nahe mora in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.287. From that verse and the present verse we can understand that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Both are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the form of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord enjoys spiritual bliss and remains the shelter of all devotees, viṣaya-vigraha. And in His Gaurāṅga feature Kṛṣṇa tastes separation from Kṛṣṇa in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This ecstatic form is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always the transcendental reservoir of all pleasure, and He is technically called dhīra-lalita. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of spiritual energy, personified as ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa; therefore only Kṛṣṇa can touch Her. The dhīra-lalita aspect is not seen in any other form of the Lord, including Viṣṇu and Nārāyaṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is therefore known as Govinda-nandinī and Govinda-mohinī, for She is the only source of transcendental pleasure for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the only person who can enchant His mind.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is revealing that He is actually Kṛṣṇa, but He has been touched by Rādhārāṇī. Therefore, He looks like having a golden complexion.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.289

tomāra ṭhāñi āmāra kichu gupta nāhi karma
lukāile prema-bale jāna sarva-marma

Translation: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then admitted to His pure devotee, Rāmānanda Rāya, “Now there is no confidential activity unknown to you. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then admitted to His pure devotee, Rāmānanda Rāya, “Now there is no confidential activity unknown to you. Even though I try to conceal My activities, you can understand everything in detail by virtue of your advanced love for Me.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, although Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya tried to conceal His real identity from Rāmānanda Rāya, Rāmānanda Rāya could understand His actual nature, because of His advanced pure love for the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.290

gūḍha bhajanakathā sarvatra aprakāśya:— 
gupte rākhiha, kāhāṅ nā kario prakāśa
āmāra bātula-ceṣṭā loke upahāsa

Translation: The Lord then requested Rāmānanda Rāya, “Keep all these talks a secret. Please do not expose them anywhere and everywhere. Since My activities appear to be like those of a madman, people may take them lightly and laugh.”

Jayapatākā Swami: During Lord Caitanya presence, these things are not to be exposed. But after He left now everyone realized that He is really the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.291

prabhu o rāya ubhayei āśrayera bhāve pramatta:— 
āmi — eka bātula, tumi — dvitīya bātula
ataeva tomāya āmāya ha-i sama-tula

Translation: Caitanya Mahāprabhu then said, “Indeed, I am a madman, and you are also a madman. Therefore we are on the same platform.”

Purport: All these conversations between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appear ludicrous to a common man who is not a devotee. The entire world is filled with material conceptions, and people are unable to understand these conversations due to the conditioning of mundane philosophy. Those who are overly attached to mundane activities cannot understand the ecstatic conversations between Rāmānanda Rāya and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Consequently, the Lord requested that Rāmānanda Rāya keep all these conversations secret and not expose them to the general populace. If one is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he can understand these confidential talks; otherwise they appear crazy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore informed Rāmānanda Rāya that they both appeared like madmen and were therefore on the same platform. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.69):

“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled, and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.”

Sometimes Kṛṣṇa consciousness appears like a type of madness to mundane people, just as the activities of mundaners are considered a form of madness by Kṛṣṇa conscious men.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the mundaners takes everything in terms of sense gratification, since they identify themselves with the body so they don’t understand what the Kṛṣṇa conscious people are doing, and they are thinking that the Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees are crazy! But the Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees think the materialists are crazy, because they are taking what is temporary to be real!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.292

rāyasaha prabhura daśa divasa yāpana:— 
ei-rūpa daśa-rātri rāmānanda-saṅge
sukhe goṅāilā prabhu kṛṣṇa-kathā-raṅge

Translation: For ten nights Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya spent a happy time discussing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Caitanya Reveals His Identity To Rāmānanda Rāya. Part-2

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya asked perfect questions and Rāmānanda Rāya gave perfect answers. Therefore, Lord Caitanya revealed His actual identity to Rāmānanda Rāya. So Rāmānanda Rāya is said to be non-different from Viśākhā-devī, the intimate assistant of Rādhārāṇī So, he was enjoyed in this relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa assuming the mood and color of Rādhārāṇī as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was also seeing and experiencing the relationship as the enjoyed. Although as Kṛṣṇa, He is the enjoyer, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu He acts as the enjoyed. So, He told Rāmānanda Rāya, “you are a madman and I am a madman, we are on the same platform, so better not to tell anyone because they won’t understand. So, this exposed the secret of Lord Caitanya’s taking the role of a devotee to understand the love of Rādhārāṇī for Himself.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!