20210225 Phalaśruti - The Result of Hearing the Section Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Travels to the Holy Places in South India

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 25th, 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 Compilation of the Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, chapter entitled:

Phalaśruti - The Result of Hearing the Section Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Travels to the Holy Places in South India

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.338

ālālanāthe āsiyā nityānandādike ānayanārtha saṅgī kṛṣṇadāsake preraṇa:— 
ālālanāthe āsi’ kṛṣṇadāse pāṭhāila
nityānanda-ādi nija-gaṇe bolāila

Translation: When the Lord reached Ālālanātha, He sent His assistant Kṛṣṇadāsa ahead to call for Nityānanda Prabhu and other personal associates.

Jayapatākā Swami: Today being the appearance day of Nityānanda prabhu, we can see how Lord Caitanya is eager to call Lord Nityānanda and other devotees to meet them.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.339

prabhu-darśanārthe nityānandādira mahā vyastabhāve āgamana:— 
prabhura āgamana śuni’ nityānanda rāya
uṭhiyā calilā, preme theha nāhi pāya

Translation: As soon as Nityānanda Prabhu received news of the arrival of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He immediately got up and started out to see Him. Indeed, He was very impatient in His great ecstasy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya Nitāi! Hari bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.340

jagadānanda, dāmodara-paṇḍita, mukunda
nāciyā calilā, dehe nā dhare ānanda

Translation: Śrī Nityānanda Rāya, Jagadānanda, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda all became ecstatic in their happiness, and dancing along the way, they went to meet the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.341

gopīnāthācārya calilā ānandita hañā
prabhure mililā sabe pathe lāg pāñā

Translation: Gopīnātha Ācārya also went in a very happy mood. They all went to meet the Lord, and they finally contacted Him on the way.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.342

sakalake prabhura premāliṅgana:— 
prabhu premāveśe sabāya kaila āliṅgana
premāveśe sabe kare ānanda-krandana

Translation: The Lord was also filled with ecstatic love, and He embraced them all. Out of their love, they began to cry with pleasure.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol!

Caitanya-Carita-Mahā-Kāvya 13.50

Translation: Gauracandra arrived at Puri, the destroyer of illusion, which was decorated profusely and saw the deity before Snāna-yatra.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.343

samudratīre sārvabhaumasaha milana:— 
sārvabhauma bhaṭṭācārya ānande calilā
samudrera tīre āsi’ prabhure mililā

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya also went to see the Lord with great pleasure, and he met Him on the beach by the sea.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.344

sārvabhauma mahāprabhura paḍilā caraṇe
prabhu tāṅre uṭhāñā kaila āliṅgane

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord pulled him up and embraced him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see how much love Lord Caitanya had for His devotees, He would pick them up and embrace everyone. He had so much love and the devotees had so much love for Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.345

sakalake laiyā prabhura jagannātha-darśana o bhāvāveśe nṛtya-gīta 
premāveśe sārvabhauma karilā rodane
sabā-saṅge āilā prabhu īśvara-daraśane

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya cried in great ecstatic love. Then the Lord, accompanied by them all, went to the temple of Jagannātha.

Caitanya-Carita-Mahā-Kāvya 13.51

Translation: As the waves of the ocean increase when the moon rises, when Gauracandra appeared in Purī, the people had all their ignorance destroyed and their eyes blossomed like lotuses.

Jayapatākā Swami: By the presence of Lord Caitanya, people in Jagannātha Purī their eyes became like lotus floweṛs. They were so happy to see the divine form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Simply by seeing Him, all the sufferings of the material life was immediately destroyed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.346

jagannātha-daraśana premāveśe kaila
kampa-sveda-pulakāśrute śarīra bhāsila

Translation: Due to ecstatic love experienced upon visiting Lord Jagannātha, inundations of trembling, perspiration, tears and jubilation swept the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-Carita-Mahā-Kāvya 13.52

Translation: Though some were engaged in seeing Jagannātha, some were offering respects to the Deity, some were performing worship, some were circumambulating the Deity and others were serving the Deity, they all approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-Carita-Mahā-Kāvya 13.53

Translation: He made everyone happy, some by laughter, some by glances, some by smiles, some by embraces, and some by fulfilling their desires.

Jayapatākā Swami: How Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu reciprocates with different devotees, according to how they approach Him, thus everyone is fully satisfied.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.347

bahu nṛtya-gīta kaila premāviṣṭa hañā
pāṇḍā-pāla āila sabe mālā-prasāda lañā

Translation: In ecstatic love Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced and chanted. At that time all the attendants and priests came to offer Him a garland and the remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food.

Purport: Those who are priests engaged in Lord Jagannātha’s service are called pāṇḍās or paṇḍitas, and they are brāhmaṇas. The attendants who look after the temple’s external affairs are called pālas. The priests and attendants went together to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: We see how Lord Caitanya He would always chant and dance in ecstasy. All the priests, attendants, everyone became very inspired by Lord Caitanya’s transcendental behavior.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.348

prabhura dhairyadhāraṇa o jagannātha-sevakagaṇasaha milana:— 
mālā-prasāda pāñā prabhu susthira ha-ilā
jagannāthera sevaka saba ānande mililā

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became patient after receiving the garland and prasādam of Lord Jagannātha. All the servants of Lord Jagannātha met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great pleasure.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.349

prabhura dhairyadhāraṇa o jagannātha-sevakagaṇasaha milana:— 
mālā-prasāda pāñā prabhu susthira ha-ilā
jagannāthera sevaka saba ānande mililā

Translation: Afterward, Kāśī Miśra came and fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord respectfully embraced him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.350

madhyāhne sagaṇa prabhuke bhaṭṭācāryera bhikṣādāna:— 
prabhu lañā sārvabhauma nija-ghare gelā
mora ghare bhikṣā bali’ nimantraṇa kailā 

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya then took the Lord with him to his home, saying, “Today’s luncheon will be at my home.” In this way he invited the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.351

divya mahā-prasāda aneka ānāila
pīṭhā-pānā ādi jagannātha ye khāila

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya brought various types of food remnants that had been left by Lord Jagannātha. He brought all kinds of cakes and condensed-milk preparations.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see Lord Jagannātha is famous for having chappana-bhoga, 56 offering . Apparently He had a blessing that His hands would never be dry! Because He will always be taking prasāda, then take prasāda and wash hands, before the hands dry they give Him some more bhoga. So if we actually the right connections then you can get all kinds of māhā-prasāda of Lord Jagannātha. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya being the head priest He arranged all the different varieties of prasāda of Lord Jagannātha.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.352

madhyāhna karilā prabhu nija-gaṇa lañā
sārvabhauma-ghare bhikṣā karilā āsiyā

Translation: Accompanied by all His associates, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s house and took His noon lunch there.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.353

bhikṣā karāñā tāṅre karāila śayana
āpane sārvabhauma kare pāda-saṁvāhana

Translation: After offering food to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya made Him lie down to rest, and he personally began to massage the legs of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.354

bhaṭṭācārya-gṛhe rātrivāsa o sakalera nikaṭa tirtha-yātrā-vibaraṇa varṇana:— 
prabhu tāṅre pāṭhāila bhojana karite
sei rātri tāṅra ghare rahilā tāṅra prīte

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then sent Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya to take his lunch, and the Lord remained that night in his home just to please him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.355

sārvabhauma-saṅge āra lañā nija-gaṇa
tīrtha-yātrā-kathā kahi’ kaila jāgaraṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His personal associates remained with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. They all stayed awake the entire night as the Lord spoke of His pilgrimage.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was telling all about His travels throughout South India and all the devotees were hearing with rapt attention.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.356

prabhukarttṛka sārvabhaumera o rāyera praśaṁsā:— 
prabhu kahe,—eta tīrtha kailuṅ paryaṭana
tomā-sama vaiṣṇava nā dekhiluṅ eka-jana

Translation: The Lord told Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, “I have traveled to many holy places, but I could not find a Vaiṣṇava as good as you anywhere.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.357

eka rāmānanda rāya bahu sukha dila
bhaṭṭa kahe,—ei lāgi’ milite kahila

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “I received much pleasure from the talks of Rāmānanda Rāya.” The Bhaṭṭācārya replied, “For this reason I requested that You meet him.”

Purport: In the Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya (beginning of the eighth act) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “Sārvabhauma, I have traveled to many holy places, but I cannot find a Vaiṣṇava as good as you anywhere. However, I must admit that Rāmānanda Rāya is wonderful.”

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya replies, “Therefore, my Lord, I requested that You see him.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then says, “There are, of course, many Vaiṣṇavas in these holy places, and most of them worship Lord Nārāyaṇa. Others, who are called Tattvavādīs, are also Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa worshipers, but they do not belong to the pure Vaiṣṇava cult. There are many worshipers of Lord Śiva, and there are also many atheists. Regardless, My dear Bhaṭṭācārya, I very much like Rāmānanda Rāya and his opinions.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.358

prabhura tirtha-yātrā-vṛttānta ei granthe saṁkṣepei varṇita:— 
tīrtha-yātrā-kathā ei kailuṅ samāpana
saṅkṣepe kahiluṅ, vistāra nā yāya varṇana

Translation: Thus I have ended my narration about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, describing it in brief. It cannot be described very broadly.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that in the seventy-fourth verse of this chapter it is stated that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited the temple of Śiyālī-bhairavī, but actually at Śiyālī Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited the temple of Śrī Bhū-varāha. Near Śiyālī and Cidambaram there is a temple known as Śrī Muṣṇam. In this temple there is a Deity of Śrī Bhū-varāha. In the jurisdiction of Cidambaram there is a district known as southern Ārkaṭa. The town of Śiyālī is in that district. There is a temple of Śrī Bhū-varāhadeva nearby, not Bhairavī-devī. This is Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s conclusion.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.359

caitanya-līlā varṇane granthakārera lālasā:— 
ananta caitanya-līlā kahite nā jāni
lobhe lajjā khāñā tāra kari ṭānāṭāni

Translation: The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are unlimited. No one can properly describe His activities, yet I make the attempt out of greed. This but reveals my shamelessness.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, he is expressing His greed to tell the pastimes of Lord Caitanya although it is not possible to tell all the pastimes of the Lord since His pastimes are unlimited. But somehow Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has told something to help all the devotees to understand something about the Lord. Actually, Lord Nityānanda prabhu who was present, He and other devotees would relish the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.360

prabhura tirtha-yātrāchale lokoddhāra-kathā-śravaṇera phala:— 
prabhura tīrtha-yātrā-kathā śune yei jana
caitanya-caraṇe pāya gāḍha prema-dhana

Translation: Whoever hears of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage to various holy places attains the riches of very deep ecstatic love.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks, “The impersonalists imagine some forms of the Absolute Truth through the direct perception of their senses. The impersonalists worship such imaginary forms, but neither Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam nor Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepts this sense gratificatory worship to be of any spiritual significance.” The Māyāvādīs imagine themselves to be the Supreme. They imagine that the Supreme has no personal form and that all His forms are imaginary like the will-o’-the-wisp or a flower in the sky. Both Māyāvādīs and those who imagine forms of God are misguided. According to them, worship of the Deity or any other form of the Lord is a result of the conditioned soul’s illusion. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms the conclusion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on the strength of His philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. That philosophy holds that the Supreme Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation. That is to say, there is unity in diversity. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu proved the impotence of fruitive workers, speculative empiric philosophers and mystic yogīs. The realization of such men is simply a waste of time and energy.

To set the example, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally visited temples in various holy places. Wherever He visited, He immediately exhibited His ecstatic love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When a Vaiṣṇava visits the temple of a demigod, his vision of that demigod is different from the vision of the impersonalists and Māyāvādīs. The Brahma-saṁhitā supports this. A Vaiṣṇava’s visit to the temple of Lord Śiva, for example, is different from a nondevotee’s visit. The nondevotee considers the Deity of Lord Śiva an imaginary form because he ultimately thinks that the Supreme Absolute Truth is void. However, a Vaiṣṇava sees Lord Śiva as being simultaneously one with and different from the Supreme Lord. In this regard, the example of milk and yogurt is given. Yogurt is actually nothing but milk, but at the same time it is not milk. It is simultaneously one with milk yet different from it. This is the philosophy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4):

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.”

The Absolute Truth, God, is everything, but this does not mean that everything is God. For this reason Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His followers visited the temples of all the demigods, but they did not see them in the same way an impersonalist sees them. Everyone should follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and visit all temples. Sometimes mundane sahajiyās suppose that the gopīs visited the temple of Kātyāyanī in the same way mundane people visit the temple of Devī. However, the gopīs prayed to Kātyāyanī to grant them Kṛṣṇa as their husband, whereas mundaners visit the temple of Kātyāyanī to receive some material profit. That is the difference between a Vaiṣṇava’s visit and a nondevotee’s visit.

Not understanding the process of disciplic succession, so-called logicians put forward the theory of pañcopāsanā, in which a person worships one of five deities — namely Viṣṇu, Śiva, Durgā, the sun-god or Ganeśa. In this conception the impersonalists imagine one of these five deities as supreme and reject the others. Such philosophical speculation, which is certainly idol worship, is not accepted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or by Vaiṣṇavas. This imaginary deity worship has recently been transformed into Māyāvāda impersonalism. For want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, people are victimized by the Māyāvāda philosophy, and consequently they sometimes become staunch atheists. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu established the process of self-realization by His own personal behavior. As stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 8.274):

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

“A Vaiṣṇava never sees the material form of anything, moving or nonmoving. Rather, everywhere he looks he sees the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and immediately he remembers the transcendental form of the Lord.”

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Caitanya would visit all the temples of the devas but He would see them as Vaiṣṇavas and He would remember Kṛṣṇa. So like this devotees should not criticize the devas. They should see them as devotees of the Lord, simultaneously one and different from the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.361

kṛṣṇa-caitanye dṛḍha-śraddhā o akaitava-mane hari-saṅkīrtanai jīvera ekamātra parama-dharma:— 
caitanya-carita śuna śraddhā-bhakti kari’
mātsarya chāḍiyā mukhe bala ’hari’ ’hari’

Translation: Please hear the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith and devotion. Giving up envy of the Lord, everyone chant the Lord’s holy name, Hari.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.362

tadvyatīta “nānyaḥ panthā vidyate'yanāya”:— 
ei kali-kāle āra nāhi kona dharma
vaiṣṇava, vaiṣṇava-śāstra, ei kahe marma

Translation: In this Age of Kali there are no genuine religious principles other than those established by Vaiṣṇava devotees and the Vaiṣṇava scriptures. This is the sum and substance of everything.

Purport: One must have firm faith in the process of devotional service and the scriptures that support it. If one hears the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with this faith, he can be freed from his envious position.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for such nonenvious persons (nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām). In this age a person should not envy Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement but should chant the holy names of Hari and Kṛṣṇa, the mahā-mantra. That is the sum and substance of the eternal religion, known as sanātana-dharma. In this verse the word Vaiṣṇava refers to a pure devotee and fully realized soul, and the word vaiṣṇava-śāstra refers to śruti, or the Vedas, which are called śabda-pramāṇa, the evidence of transcendental sound. One who strictly follows the Vedic literature and chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will actually be situated in the transcendental disciplic succession. Those who want to attain life’s ultimate goal must follow this principle. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.17), it is said:

“Vedic literature, direct perception, history and hypothesis are the four kinds of evidential proofs. Everyone should stick to these principles for the realization of the Absolute Truth.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, everyone in this material world are thinking that they can achieve happiness through sense gratification. But there is a limit to the happiness we receive from the senses and the same senses also give us distress and grief. So Lord Nityānanda and Gaurāṅga, They are giving us this great transcendental happiness which is not available normally in this material world, golokera prema dana harināma saṅkīrtana. So, this happiness has directly descended from the spiritual world. So this is a great opportunity for the people in Kali-yuga, to take the mercy of Nitāi Gaura and thus taste the unlimited happiness of spiritual bliss.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.363

śrī-śrī-caitanya-candrera līlāra asamorddha gāmbhīrya o granthakārera sahaja dainya:— 
caitanya-candrera līlā—agādha, gambhīra
praveśa karite nāri,—sparśi rahi’ tīra

Translation: The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are just like an unfathomable ocean. It is not possible for me to enter into it. Simply standing on the shore, I am but touching the water.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya’s ectasies is not possible for mundane people to understand, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has explained that, just like an ocean, he is only able to touch the edge, the depth and width of the ocean is beyond his ability to express. So how Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda came from the spiritual world, giving this unlimited spiritual happiness to the conditioned souls in this Kali-yuga.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.364

caitanyera anuśīlanakramei kṛṣṇe prīti-lābha:— 
caitanya-carita śraddhāya śune yei jana
yateka vicāre, tata pāya prema-dhana

Translation: The more one hears the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith, analytically studying them, the more one attains the ecstatic riches of love of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari bol! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda!

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, Phalaśruti - The Result of Hearing The Section Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Travels to the Holy Places in South India.