20210707 The Various Services Desired by Different Devotees on the āradhana tithi or appearance Day of Mādhavendra Purī

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 7th, 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!

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

The Various Services Desired by Different Devotees on the Appearance day of Sri Mādhavendra Purī 
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.441

mādhavendra-ārādhanā-tithite advaitera sānande sarvasva-nikṣepa— 
mādhava-purīra ārādhanāra divase
sarvasva nikṣepa kare advaita hariṣe

Jayapatākā Swami: Since then, Advaita Ācārya joyfully celebrated Mādhavendra Purī’s worshipable day every year. The tithi of Govinda dvādaśī is mentioned as the disappearance day of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, for some reason Srila Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura is mentioning it as a ārādhanā-tithi  but the translation is given as appearance day. It seems that it is the disappearance day that Śrīmad Advaita Ācārya was observing.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.442

advaitera pūjopakaraṇa saṁgraha — 
daive sei puṇya-tithi āsiyā mililā
santoṣe advaita sajja karite lāgilā

Jayapatākā Swami: By providence that auspicious day arrived, and Advaita _Acārya happily began to prepare and make arrangements or for the occasion.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.443

sei puṇya-tithi-divase sapārṣada śrī-gaurasundarera sukha 
śrī-gaurasundara saba-pāriṣada-sane
baḍa sukhī hailena sei puṇya-dine

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Śrī Gaurasundara and His associates all felt great happiness on that auspicious day.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.444

ācāryera pūjopakaraṇa-saṁgraha evaṁ caturdika haite bhaktagaṇera upāyanasaha āgamana o eka eka janera eka eka prakāra sevāra bhāra-grahaṇa— 
sei tithi pūjibāre ācārya-gosāñi
yata sajja karilena, tāra anta nāi

Jayapatākā Swami: There was no end to the arrangements made by Advaita Ācārya Gosāñi to celebrate that occasion.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.445

nānā dik haite sajja lāgila āsite
hena nāhi jāni ke ānaye kon bhite

Jayapatākā Swami: Ingredients flowed in from all directions. No one knew who brought them or where they came from. Lord Advaita simply by His desire to have a festival in honour of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, many ingredients were brought for the festival, and no one knew who was bringing them and where they came from, it just arrived.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.446

mādhavendra-purī-prati prīti sabākāra
sabei lailena yathā-yogya adhikāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Since everyone had love for Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, they all accepted appropriate responsibilities and sevā and the services. These devotees, associates of Lord Caitanya eagerly volunteered for different services, there was no one who didn’t get a service and everyone was eager to perform some service for Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.447

śacīmātāke mūla kariyā vaiṣṇava-gṛhiṇīgaṇera randhana-sabera bhāra-grahaṇa— 
āi lailena yata randhanera bhāra
āi veḍi’ sarva-vaiṣṇavera parivāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Mother Śacī took the responsibility of cooking, and the wives of the Vaiṣṇavas agreed to help her. So, all the responsibility for cooking was taken by Mother Śacī and all the married ladies of the Vaiṣṇavas, they were helping Mother Śacī in the cooking. So here all the different ladies volunteered for services.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.448

nityānandera vaiṣṇava-pūjāra bhāra-grahaṇa— 
nityānanda-prabhu-vara santoṣa apāra
vaiṣṇava pūjite lailena adhikāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was unlimitedly satisfied. He took the responsibility of worshiping all the Vaiṣṇavas. Here we will hear services that were taken by different personalities in detail.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.449

vibhinna bhaktera vibhinna-sevā-prāptira abhilāṣa— 
keha bale,—“āmi saba ghaṣiba candana”
keha bale,—“mālā āmi kariba granthana”

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone said, “I will grind whatever sandalwood paste is required.” Another said, “I will make flower garlands.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.450

keha bale,—“jala ānibāre mora bhāra”
keha bale,—“mora dāya sthāna-upaskāra”

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone else said, “I will bring the water.” Another person said, “My duty will be to sweep and clean the place.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.451

keha bale,—“muñi yata vaiṣṇava-caraṇa
mora bhāra sakala kariba prakṣālana”

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone said, “My responsibility will be to wash the feet of all the Vaiṣṇavas.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.452

keha bāndhe patākā, cāndoyā keha ṭāne
keha bhāṇḍārera dravya deya, keha āne

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone prepared flags, someone put up the canopy, someone gave the the ingredients to the storeroom, and someone brought them so everyone was volutering for different services and everyone was eager to render services. So, this should be the attitude for the devotee, to take up different services, to serve the deities, to serve the Vaiṣṇavas and to greet the Vaiṣṇavas. When they come to the Sunday feast, we give them sandalwood paste and when we have sufficient flowers we give them garland, and anyway with sweet words we welcome them. So, like this so many things in the temple, someone cleans after the prasāda is finished.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.453

kata jane lāgilā karite saṅkīrtana
ānande karena nṛtya āra kata jana

Jayapatākā Swami: Some devotees began chanting saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, and some were dancing in ecstasy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.454

āra kata jana `hari’ balaye kīrtana
śaṅkha-ghanṭā bājāyena āro kata jane

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the devotees chanted the name of Hari Hari Bol! in the kīrtana, while others blew conchshells and some rang bells.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.455

kata jana kare tithi pūjibāra kārya
keha vā hailā tithi-pūjāra ācārya

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of engaged in preparing the ingredients for the holy tithi worship, while someone took the role as the head priest, pujārī for worshipping on this sacred tithi.

Being absorbed in the mellows of transcendental happiness, all the devotees engaged in various activities according to their desires.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: The various devotees began to display their skills in the worship of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī during the grand festival of Advaita and Lord Gaura’s meeting. If those who pass their days relishing palatable foods and displaying laziness for the service of the Supreme Lord rather than accepting the responsibility of serving during the present artificial festivals read this portion of Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, they will understand that Gaurasundara, Nityānanda, and Advaita Prabhu’s festival is not meant for sense gratification like the ordinary festivals of the karmīs. Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha does not encourage such non-Vaiṣṇava festivals. The grand festivals of the Gauḍīya Maṭha are always celebrated by enthusiastic devotees with life. But ignorant persons say that festival organizers with life must save money for lifeless sacrifices to be performed after their death. When those claiming to be Gauḍīya Maṭha preachers desire to enjoy accumulated wealth and begin endeavoring like karmīs attached to material enjoyment, they better start saving money now to satisfy that desire. The Gauḍīya Maṭha devotees with life are not accumulators of such lifeless wealth. They say that when preachers become lifeless and entrust the responsibility of preaching to hired preachers, then if the hired preachers accumulate excess wealth, they become enjoyers rather than servants. Therefore, they are not prepared to accept the karmīs’ and jñānīs’ ambitions, which lead one to hell.

Jayapatākā Swami: In the modern day there are various mundane festivals like New year’s eve and such festivals where people drink and dance and they think they are very happy but they are enjoying sense gratification. But here devotees are participating in Lord Advaita’s festival for Śrī Mādhavendra Purī's sacred tithi and there is no intoxication and there is no distraction but everyone is happy, some arre dancing, some are singing, so this is a very successful festival for it is transcendental and that’s what our previous ācāryas were promoting.

ei mata parānanda-rase bhakta-gaṇa
sabei karena kārya yāra yena mana

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.456

Translation: Being absorbed in the mellows of transcendental happiness, all the devotees engaged in various activities according to their desires.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.457

caturdike mahā-mahotsavera hari-dhvanimaya kolāhala—
khāo pio leha deha’ āra hari-dhvani
ihā bai catur-dige āra nāhi śuni

Jayapatākā Swami: Nothing could be heard in the four directions other than the chanting of the name of Hari and the loud vibration of Hari bol! And the requests for everyone to eat prasāda, drink refreshments, take prasāda and give prasāda.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.458

śaṅkha, ghanṭā, mṛdaṅga, mandirā, karatāla
saṅkīrtana-saṅge dhvani bājaye viśāla

Jayapatākā Swami: The sound of the saṅkīrtana chanting accompanied by conchshells, bells, mṛdaṅgas, whompers and kartālas was tumultuous.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.459

parānande kāhāro nāhika bāhya-jñāna
advaita-bhavana haila śrī-vaikuṇṭha-dhāma

Jayapatākā Swami: In their transcendental ecstasy, no one displayed external consciousness. The house of Lord Advaita Ācārya thus transformed into the abode of Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma. So, everyone was absorbed in the loud vibrations of the congregational chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hari Bol filled the air. The sound of the musical instruments like mṛdaṅgas, kartālas, whompers, bells, conchshell blowing filled the air and the sound was totally transcendental, and the bliss of the devotees was also transcendental.

I always thought that Lord Caitanya went to Kānāi Nāṭaśālā, Rāmakeli then He came back and, on His way, back then the Govind Dvādaśī, so that needs to be ascertained. Because in Śāntipura there was the observance on the Govinda Dvādaśī and that is his disappearance day.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The Various Services Desired by Different Devotees on the āradhana tithi or appearance Day of Mādhavendra Purī 
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana