20210503 Varieties of Transcendental Egoistic Pride Manifested to Please Kṛṣṇa

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 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!

Continuation of the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book,

Varieties of Transcendental Egoistic Pride Manifested to Please Kṛṣṇa

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.136

dāmodara karttaka lakṣmīra etādṛśa apūrva asādhāraṇa mānera vyākhyā:—

dāmodara kahe,—aiche mānera prakāra
trijagate kāhāṅ nāhi dekhi śuni āra

Translation: Svarūpa Dāmodara said, “There is no egoistic pride like this within the three worlds. At least I have never seen it or heard of it.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, out of love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, Māhā-Lakṣmī exhbhited such egoistic pride. So this shows the extent of love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.137

kāntera audāsīnye māninī kāntāra ācaraṇa:—

māninī nirutsāhe chāḍe vibhūṣaṇa
bhūme vasi’ nakhe lekhe, malina-vadana

Translation: “When a woman is neglected and disappointed, out of egoistic pride she gives up her ornaments and morosely sits down on the ground, marking lines on it with her nails.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, This is the normal behavior of a lady who is neglected.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.138

vrajagopīra o satyabhāmāra mānao eirūpai:—

pūrve satyabhāmāra śuni evaṁ-vidha māna
vraje gopī-gaṇera māna—rasera nidhāna

Translation: “I have heard of this kind of pride in Satyabhāmā, Kṛṣṇa’s proudest queen, and I have also heard of it in the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who are the reservoirs of all transcendental mellows.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Svarūpa Dāmodara is expressing his experience that in the character of Satyabhāmā Rānī and the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, these extreme emotions were visible.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.139

lakṣmīra māna tadapekṣā vilakṣaṇa:—

iṅho nija-sampatti saba prakaṭa kariyā
priyera upara yāya sainya sājāñā

Translation: “But in the case of the goddess of fortune, I see a different kind of pride. She manifests her own opulences and even goes with her soldiers to attack her husband.”

Purport: After seeing the impudence of the goddess of fortune, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī wanted to inform Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the superexcellence of the gopīs’ loving affairs. He therefore said, “My Lord, I have never experienced anything like the behavior of the goddess of fortune. We sometimes see a beloved wife becoming proud of her position and then frustrated due to some neglect. She then gives up caring for her appearance, accepts dirty clothes and morosely sits on the ground and draws lines with her nails. We have heard of such egoistic pride in Satyabhāmā and the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, but what we see in the goddess of fortune here at Jagannātha Purī is completely different. She becomes very angry with her husband and attacks Him with her great opulence.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.140

prabhura praśnottare svarūpakarttṛka gopīra māna-varṇana:—

prabhu kahe,—kaha vrajera mānera prakāra
svarūpa kahe,—gopī-māna-nadī śata-dhāra

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Please tell me of the varieties of egoistic pride manifested in Vṛndāvana.” Svarūpa Dāmodara replied, “The pride of the gopīs is like a river flowing with hundreds of tributaries.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.141

kāntāra svabhāva o prītibhede māna-bheda:—

nāyikāra svabhāva, prema-vṛtte bahu bheda
sei bhede nānā-prakāra mānera udbheda

Translation: “The characteristics and modes of love are different in different women. Their jealous anger also takes on different varieties and qualities.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.142

gopīra anirvacanīya mānera saṁkṣepe varṇana:—

samyak gopikāra māna nā yāya kathana
eka-dui-bhede kari dig-daraśana

Translation: “It is not possible to give a complete statement about the different types of jealous anger manifest by the gopīs, but a few principles may serve as an indication.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.143

tribidha māninī:—

māne keha haya ‘dhīrā’, keha ta’ ‘adhīrā’
ei tina-bhede, keha haya ‘dhīrādhīrā’

Translation: “There are three types of women experiencing jealous anger: sober women, restless women and women both restless and sober.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.144

‘dhīrā’ māninīra svabhāva:—

‘dhīrā’ kānte dūre dekhi’ kare pratyutthāna
nikaṭe āsile, kare āsana pradāna

Translation: “When a sober heroine sees her hero approaching from a distance, she immediately stands up to receive him. When he comes near, she immediately offers him a place to sit.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.145

hṛdaye kopa, mukhe kahe madhura vacana
priya āliṅgite, tāre kare āliṅgana

Translation: “The sober heroine conceals her anger within her heart and externally speaks sweet words. When her lover embraces her, she returns his embrace.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.146

sarala vyavahāra, kare mānera poṣaṇa
kimvā solluṇṭha-vākye kare priya-nirasana

Translation: “The sober heroine is very simple in her behavior. She keeps her jealous anger within her heart, but with mild words and smiles she rejects the advances of her lover.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.147

‘adhīrā’ māninīra svabhāva:—

‘adhīrā’ niṣṭhura-vākye karaye bhartsana
karṇotpale tāḍe, kare mālāya bandhana

Translation: “The restless heroine, however, sometimes chastises her lover with cruel words, sometimes pulls his ear and sometimes binds him with a flower garland.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.148

‘dhīrādhīrā’ māninīra svabhāva:—

‘dhīrādhīrā’ vakra-vākye kare upahāsa
kabhu stuti, kabhu nindā, kabhu vā udāsa

Translation: “The heroine who is a combination of sobriety and restlessness always jokes with equivocal words. She sometimes praises her lover, sometimes blasphemes him and sometimes remains indifferent.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.149

trividha nāyikā; māna-kauśale mugdhāra anabhijñatā:—

‘mugdhā’, ‘madhyā’, ‘pragalbhā’,-tina nāyikāra bheda
‘mugdhā’ nāhi jāne mānera vaidagdhya-vibheda

Translation: “Heroines may also be classified as captivated, intermediate and impudent. The captivated heroine does not know very much about the cunning intricacies of jealous anger.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.150

mukha ācchādiyā kare kevala rodana
kāntera priya-vākya śuni’ haya parasanna

Translation: “The captivated heroine simply covers her face and goes on crying. When she hears sweet words from her lover, she is very satisfied.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.151

‘madhyā’ o ‘pragalbhā’rai pūrvokta ‘dhīrā’ ‘adhīrā’ o ‘‘dhīrādhīrā’ bheda; tāhātei kṛṣṇera sukha:—

‘madhyā’ ‘pragalbhā’ dhare dhīrādi-vibheda
tāra madhye sabāra svabhāve tina bheda

Translation: “Both the intermediate and impudent heroines can be classified as sober, restless and both sober and restless. All their characteristics can be further classified in three divisions.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.152

keha ‘prakharā’, keha ‘mṛdu’, keha haya ‘samā’
sva-svabhāve kṛṣṇera bāḍāya prema-sīmā

Translation: “Some of these heroines are very talkative, some are mild, and some are equipoised. Each heroine, according to her own character, increases Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s loving ecstasy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.153

prākharya, mārdava, sāmya svabhāva nirdoṣa
sei sei svabhāve kṛṣṇe karāya santoṣa

Translation: “Although some of the gopīs are talkative, some mild and some equipoised, all of them are transcendental and faultless. They please Kṛṣṇa by their unique characteristics.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see how Svarūpa Dāmodara is very expert in this science of the loving affairs of the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very happy to hear and is very ecstatic to hear all these intimate affairs. We can see that the loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and His lovers is of various types, all these things are pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore they give Kṛṣṇa transcendental loving ecstasies. We cannot compare these things with anything in this material world. as they are completely focused on Kṛṣṇa. The highest level of mediation, highest absorption in Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.154

gopīgaṇera nāyikā-lakṣaṇa-śravaṇe prabhura harṣa:—

e-kathā śuniyā prabhura ānanda apāra
‘kaha, kaha, dāmodara’,—bale bāra bāra

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt unlimited happiness upon hearing these descriptions, and He again and again requested Svarūpa Dāmodara to continue speaking.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.155

svarūpakarttṛka kṛṣṇera o gopīra parasparera prati prema-lakṣaṇa varṇana:—

dāmodara kahe,—kṛṣṇa rasika-śekhara
rasa-āsvādaka, rasamaya-kalevara

Translation: Dāmodara Gosvāmī said, “Kṛṣṇa is the master of all transcendental mellows and the taster of all transcendental mellows, and His body is composed of transcendental bliss.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.156

premamaya-vapu kṛṣṇa bhakta-premādhīna
śuddha-preme, rasa-guṇe, gopikā-pravīṇa

Translation: “Kṛṣṇa is full of ecstatic love and always subordinate to the love of His devotees. The gopīs are very much experienced in pure love and in the dealings of transcendental mellows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.157

gopikāra preme nāhi rasābhāsa-doṣa
ataeva kṛṣṇera kare parama santoṣa

Translation: “There is no flaw or adulteration in the love of the gopīs; therefore they give Kṛṣṇa the highest pleasure.

Purport: Rasābhāsa occurs when one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa is adulterated. There are different types of rasābhāsa — first class, second class and third class. The word rasa means “mellow,” and ābhāsa means “a shadow.” If one tastes one kind of mellow and something extra is imposed, that is uparasa. If something is derived from the original mellow, it is called anurasa. If something is appreciated that is far removed from the original mellow, it is called aparasa. Uparasa, anurasa and aparasa are, respectively, first-, second- and third-class rasābhāsas. As stated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (4.9.1-2):

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see there is a whole science in the loving affairs between Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees and the love of the gopīs is the purest, there is no rasābhāsa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.158

śrī-kṛṣṇera cinmayī rāsakrīḍā — [paragraph] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.25)—

evaṁ śaśaṅkāṁśu-virājitā niśāḥ
sa satya-kāmo ’nuratābalā-gaṇaḥ

siṣeva ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ
sarvāḥ śarat-kāvya-kathā-rasāśrayāḥ

Translation: “‘Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the Absolute Truth, enjoyed His rāsa dance every night during the autumn season. He performed this dance in the moonlight and with full transcendental mellows. He used poetic words and surrounded Himself with women who were very much attracted to Him.’

Purport: This verse is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.25). The gopīs are all transcendental spirit souls. One should never think that the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa have material bodies. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is also a spiritual abode, and there the days and nights, the trees, flowers and water, and everything else are spiritual. There is not even a trace of material contamination. Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Brahman and Supersoul, is not at all interested in anything material. His activities with the gopīs are all spiritual and take place within the spiritual world. They have nothing to do with the material world. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lusty desires and all His dealings with the gopīs are on the spiritual platform. One has to be transcendentally realized before even considering relishing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs. One who is on the mundane platform must first purify himself by following the regulative principles. Only then can he try to understand Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī are here talking about the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs; therefore the subject matter is neither mundane nor erotic. Being a sannyāsī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very strict in His dealings with women. Unless the gopīs were on the spiritual platform, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have never even mentioned them to Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. Therefore, these descriptions do not at all pertain to material activity.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these instructions are very important and if one approaches this as a mundane activity, they will be committing great offenses, therefore one should purify oneself before they enter into these confidential pastimes. These are the transcendental feelings of pure love between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. They have nothing to do with the material world.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Varieties of Transcendental Egoistic Pride Manifested to Please Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa is very pleased when His devotees manifest these types of transcendental egoistic loving pride because of their intense love for Lord Kṛṣṇa.