20210705 Mādhavendra Purī is Pleased to Meet Advaita Ācārya and Accepts Him as a Disciple Part 1

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 5^th July 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

Introduction: Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, the chapter entitled:

Mādhavendra Purī is Pleased to Meet Advaita Ācārya and Accepts Him as a Disciple Part 1

Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.420

pṛthivīte sambhāṣaṇa-yogya lokera abhāva—

loka dekhi' duḥkha bhāve śrī-mādhava-purī
‘hena nāhi, tilārddha sambhāṣā yāre kari’

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Mādhavendra Purī became distressed on seeing the condition of the people. He did not find anyone fit to converse with. Since the people were not at all Kṛṣṇa conscious, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī did not find anyone with whom he could discuss Kṛṣṇa-bhakti with. He was distressed to see the people suffering,  at the same time he didn’t find anyone, he could actually talk with.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.421

sannyāsigaṇao āpanādigake nārāyaṇa abhimāna karāya mādhavendrara asambhāṣya—

sannyāsīra sane vā karena sambhāṣaṇa
seha āpanāre mātra bale ‘nārāyaṇa’

Jayapatākā Swami: When he tried to speak with a sannyāsī, the sannyāsī would claim to be Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa! 

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.422

e duḥkhe sannyāsī-saṅge nā kahena kathāhena
sthāna nāhi, kṛṣṇa-bhakti śuni yathā

Jayapatākā Swami: Because of this unhappy situation, he would not speak with sannyāsīs. He could not find any place where devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa was discussed. The sannyāsī in those days majorly were Māyāvādīs and they thought themselves being Nārāyaṇa covered by māyā, and once the māyā is cleared away they  realize they are Nārāyaṇa, so that is why they are called Māyāvādīs, because they say māyā can cover Nārāyaṇa. So, like this Śrī Mādhavendra Purī didn’t find any Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa or sannyāsī with whom he could talk to.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.423

‘jñānī, ‘yogī, ‘tapasvī', 'sannyāsī,-nāme vikhyāta vyaktigaṇerao kṛṣṇadāsya-mahimā o kṛṣṇera aprākṛta śrī-vigrahe āsthāhīna—

‘jñānī yogī tapasvī sannyāsī’ khyāti yāra
kāra mukhe nāhi dāsya-mahimā-pracāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Even those renowned as jñānīs, yogis, ascetics, and sannyāsīs never spoke about the glories of service to the Lord.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: People who were intoxicated by material life considered that by worshiping Maṅgala-caṇḍī and singing her glories they had attained the highest platform of religious principles and pious activities. They took great pride in the service of Viṣahari and Ṣaṣṭhī; in other words, they considered their service as equal to the service of the Supreme Lord, and in this way they propagated their learned stature. Some of them worshiped the demons and Daityas to increase their wealth and family and to fulfill their material desires. Some of them glorified their temporary fruitive activities by praising the activities of the best of the yogis, the best of the sense enjoyers, and the best of the rulers. The most pious people chanted the names of Puṇḍarīkākṣa and Govinda only at the time of taking bath. People intoxicated with material life would never discuss the glorification of Kṛṣṇa, Vaiṣṇavas, or the purpose of Kṛṣṇa's variegated pastimes. On seeing such abominable behavior of the materialistic people, Śrī Mādhavendra became particularly unhappy. Mādhavendra Purī did not even try to converse with the best of sannyāsīs who proudly claimed to be Nārāyaṇa. He merged in an ocean of distress because he saw that the people of the entire world were devoid of devotional service. Although he introduced the performance of congregationally glorifying Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with the desire to deliver such people, they could not understand his intention. The so-called jñānīs, yogis, ascetics, and sannyāsīs could not understand the glories of devotional service to the Supreme Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: This gives a true picture of the situation, prior to the advent of Lord Caitanya and great souls like Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, Advaita Ācārya, they were feeling very much frustrated and distressed at this situation of the world.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.424

yata adhyapaka saba tarka se vākhāne
tārā saba kṛṣṇera vigraha nāhi māne

Jayapatākā Swami: All the teachers simply taught dry argument. They did not accept that Lord Kṛṣṇa has a form.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: The best of the Sanskrit teachers were the crest jewels among dry speculators. They became averse to Kṛṣṇa's service by considering that His form was ordinary. They tried to establish through argument that devotional service to the Lord was useless.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this was the situation, all the people were either interested in nirākāra in impersonalism or in sense gratification or anything but devotional service. This distressful situation was causing distress to Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.

Transcribed and verified by JPS Archives 06^th July 2021