20210523 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Mercifully Saves Amogha

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 23th May 2021 in Śrīdhāma 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

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, the chapter entitled:

Because of Amogha's Connection with Sārvabauma Bhaṭṭācārya Lord Caitanya Saves Amogha

Under the Section: The Lord Accepts Prasādam at the House of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.271

gopīnātha-samīpe prabhura bhaṭṭa-saṁvāda-jijñāsā —

gopīnāthācārya gelā prabhu-daraśane
prabhu tāṅre puchila bhaṭṭācārya-vivaraṇe

Translation: At this time, Gopīnātha Ācārya went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord asked him about the events taking place in Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s house.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.272

gopīnātha-mukhe sapatnīka bhaṭṭera prabhunindā-śravaṇahetu upavāsa o amoghera mumūrṣā-śravaṇa –

ācārya kahe, — upavāsa kaila dui jana
visūcikā-vyādhite amogha chāḍiche jīvana

Translation: Gopīnātha Ācārya informed the Lord that both the husband and the wife were fasting and that their son-in-law, Amogha, was dying of cholera.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.273

prabhura vyastabhāve gamana o amoghake sadupadeśa –

śuni’ kṛpāmaya prabhu āilā dhāñā
amoghere kahe tāra buke hasta diyā

Translation: As soon as Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard that Amogha was going to die, He immediately ran to him in great haste. Placing His hand on Amogha’s chest, He spoke as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.274

prabhura ‘brāhmaṇa’-saṁjñā nirdeśa :—

sahaje nirmala ei ‘brāhmaṇa’-hṛdaya
kṛṣṇera vasite ei yogya-sthāna haya

Translation: “The heart of a brāhmaṇa is by nature very clean; therefore it is a proper place for Kṛṣṇa to sit.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.275

‘mātsarya’-caṇḍāla kene ihāṅ vasāile
parama pavitra sthāna apavitra kaile

Translation: “Why have you allowed the caṇḍāla of jealousy to sit here also? In this way you have contaminated a most purified place, your heart.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.276

‘jāḍya’rūpa aparādha vimukta hailei śuddhanāmodaya —

sārvabhauma-saṅge tomāra ‘kaluṣa’ haila kṣaya
‘kalmaṣa’ ghucile jīva ‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’ laya

Translation: “However, due to the association of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, all your contamination is now vanquished. When a person’s heart is cleansed of all contamination, he is able to chant the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya has purified Amogha and we can understand that by chanting the holy name Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, all the contaminations in heart will be cleansed, and it is the great mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.277

amoghake kṛṣṇanāma-grahaṇe ājñā

uṭhaha, amogha, tumi lao kṛṣṇa-nāma
acire tomāre kṛpā karibe bhagavān

Translation: “Therefore, Amogha, get up and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra! Haribol! If you do so, Kṛṣṇa will unfailingly bestow mercy upon you.”

Purport: The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases — impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. All of these are one and the same truth, but Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān constitute three different features. Whoever understands Brahman is called a brāhmaṇa, and when a brāhmaṇa engages in the Lord’s devotional service, he is called a Vaiṣṇava. Unless one comes to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his realization of impersonal Brahman is imperfect. A brāhmaṇa can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra on the platform of nāmābhāsa, but not on the platform of pure vibration. When a brāhmaṇa engages in the Lord’s service, fully understanding his eternal relationship, his devotional service is called abhidheya. When one attains that stage, he is called a bhāgavata, or Vaiṣṇava. This indicates that he is free from contamination and material attachment. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the duality of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.”

A brāhmaṇa may be a very learned scholar, but this does not mean that he is free from material contamination. A brāhmaṇa’s contamination, however, is in the mode of goodness. In the material world, the three modes are goodness, passion and ignorance, and all of these are simply different gradations of contamination. Unless a brāhmaṇa transcends such contamination and approaches the platform of unalloyed devotional service, he cannot be accepted as a Vaiṣṇava. An impersonalist may be aware of the impersonal Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth, but his activities are on the impersonal platform. Sometimes he imagines a form of the Lord (saguṇa-upāsanā), but such an attempt is never successful in helping one attain complete realization. The impersonalist may consider himself a brāhmaṇa and may be situated in the mode of goodness, but nonetheless he is conditioned by one of the modes of material nature. This means that he is not yet liberated, for liberation cannot be attained unless one is completely free from the modes. In any case, the Māyāvāda philosophy keeps one conditioned. If one becomes a Vaiṣṇava through proper initiation, he automatically becomes a brāhmaṇa. There is no doubt about it. The Garuḍa Purāṇa confirms this:

“Out of many thousands of brāhmaṇas, one may become qualified to perform yajña. Out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas, one may be fully aware of the Vedānta philosophy. Out of many millions of learned Vedānta scholars, there may be one viṣṇu-bhakta, or devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. It is he who is most exalted.”

Haribol! Unless one is a fully qualified brāhmaṇa, he cannot advance in the spiritual science. A real brāhmaṇa is never envious of Vaiṣṇavas. If he is, he is considered an imperfect neophyte. Impersonalist brāhmaṇas are always opposed to Vaiṣṇava principles. They are envious of Vaiṣṇavas because they do not know the goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. However, when a brāhmaṇa becomes a Vaiṣṇava, there is no duality. If a brāhmaṇa does not become a Vaiṣṇava, he certainly falls down from the brāhmaṇa platform.

This is confirmed by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.3):

We can actually see that in this Age of Kali many so-called brāhmaṇas are envious of Vaiṣṇavas.

The Kali-contaminated brāhmaṇas consider Deity worship to be imaginative:

Such a contaminated brāhmaṇa may superficially imagine a form of the Lord, but actually he considers the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood. Similarly, such a contaminated brāhmaṇa considers the guru to be an ordinary human being, and he objects when a Vaiṣṇava is created by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Many so-called brāhmaṇas attempt to fight us, saying, “How can you create a brāhmaṇa out of a European or American? A brāhmaṇa can be born only in a brāhmaṇa family.” They do not consider that this is never stated in any revealed scripture.

Lord Kṛṣṇa specifically states in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13),

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.”

Thus a brāhmaṇa is not a result of the caste system. He becomes a brāhmaṇa only by qualification. Similarly, a Vaiṣṇava does not belong to a particular caste; rather, his designation is determined by the rendering of devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by this understanding we can see a Vaiṣṇava is automatically a brāhmaṇa, but a brāhmaṇa may not be a Vaiṣṇava.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.278

amoghera tatkṣaṇāt iha-roga o bhavarogamukti evaṁ kṛṣṇa-prema-lābha

śuni’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ bali’ amogha uṭhilā
premonmāde matta hañā nācite lāgilā

Translation: After hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and being touched by Him, Amogha, who was on his deathbed, immediately stood up and began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Thus, he became mad with ecstatic love and began to dance emotionally.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol! Just see how Lord Caitanya’s mercy has transformed Amogha. He was on his deathbed, he was offensive, critical and became completely purified and chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa and danced in ecstasy, such is the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.279

amoghera prabhupade kṣamā prārthanā:—

kampa, aśru, pulaka, stambha, sveda, svara-bhaṅga
prabhu hāse dekhi’ tāra premera taraṅga

Translation: While Amogha danced in ecstatic love, he manifested all the ecstatic symptoms — trembling, tears, jubilation, trance, perspiration and a faltering voice. Seeing these waves of ecstatic emotion, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to laugh.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.280

prabhura caraṇe dhari’ karaye vinaya
aparādha kṣama more, prabhu, dayāmaya

Translation: Amogha then fell before the Lord’s lotus feet and submissively said, “O merciful Lord, please excuse my offense.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see Kṛṣṇa had said, He comes to protect His devotees, and destroy the miscreants. So, Lord Caitanya He never took up weapon of violence, but He would kill the demoniac nature and leave the person with ecstatic love.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.281

sva-kṛta aparādha-smaraṇe nijagaṇḍe capeṭāghāta

ei chāra mukhe tomāra karinu nindane
eta bali’ āpana gāle caḍāya āpane

Translation: Not only did Amogha beg the Lord’s pardon, but he also began slapping his own cheeks, saying, “By this mouth I have blasphemed You.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.282

gaṇḍadeśa-sphīti-darśane gopīnāthera vāraṇa –

caḍāite caḍāite gāla phulāila
hāte dhari’ gopīnāthācārya niṣedhila

Translation: Indeed, Amogha continued slapping his face over and over until his cheeks were swollen. Finally Gopīnātha Ācārya stopped him by catching hold of his hands.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.283

prabhura tāhāke sāntvanā o bhaṭṭa-sambandhe snehāśīrvāda

prabhu āśvāsana kare sparśi’ tāra gātra
sārvabhauma-sambandhe tumi mora sneha-pātra

Translation: After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu pacified Amogha by touching his body and saying, “You are the object of My affection because you are the son-in-law of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.284

śuddha-bhakta bhaṭṭa-parivāre prabhura prīti:—

sārvabhauma-gṛhe dāsa-dāsī, ye kukkura
seha mora priya, anya jana rahu dūra

Translation: “Everyone in Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s house is very dear to Me,including his maids and servants and even his dog. And what to speak of his relatives?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.285

amoghake kṛṣṇa-nāma laite ādeśa —

aparādha’ nāhi, sadā lao kṛṣṇa-nāma
eta bali’ prabhu āilā sārvabhauma-sthāna

Translation: “Amogha, always chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and do not commit any further offenses.” After giving Amogha this instruction, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Sārvabhauma’s house.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, how Lord Caitanya had delivered Amogha , simply because of his relationship with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. So, we can see how Lord Caitanya is very merciful not only to His devotees, but even to his relatives, servants, his dogs. So that’s why devotees pray that they can be the dog of the Vaiṣṇavas. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Delivers Amogha Because of His Relationship with Sārvabauma Bhaṭṭācārya.