20210801 Initiation of Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika as Rūpa and Sanātana Who Advise Lord Caitanya to Travel to Vṛndāvana Without the Crowd

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 1st August 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 missing Initiation of Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika as Rūpa and Sanātana Who Advise Lord Caitanya to Travel to Vṛndāvana Without the Crowd Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 207 śrī-rūpake lakṣya kariyā prabhura ubhayake kṛpokti:— śuni’ mahāprabhu kahe, — śuna, dabira-khāsa/ tumi dui bhāi — mora purātana dāsa After hearing the prayer of Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “ My dear Dabira Khāsa, you two brothers are My old servants. So, they were the associates of the Lord from the previous birth Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 208 āji haite duṅhāra nāma ‘rūpa’ ‘sanātana’/ dainya chāḍa, tomāra dainye phāṭe mora mana “My dear Sākara Mallika, from this day your names will be changed to Śrīla Rūpa and Śrīla Sanātana. Now please abandon your humility, for My heart is breaking to see you so humble. Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Actually this is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s initiation of Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika. They approached the Lord with all humility, and the Lord accepted them as old servants, as eternal servants, and He changed their names. It is to be understood from this that it is essential for a disciple to change his name after initiation. śaṅkha-cakrādy-ūrdhva-puṇḍra- dhāraṇādy-ātma-lakṣaṇam tan nāma-karaṇaṁ caiva/ vaiṣṇavatvam ihocyate “After initiation, the disciple’s name must be changed to indicate that he is a servant of Lord Viṣṇu. The disciple should also immediately begin marking his body with tilaka (ūrdhva-puṇḍra), especially his forehead. These are spiritual marks, symptoms of a perfect Vaiṣṇava.” This is a verse from the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa. A member of the sahajiyā-sampradāya does not change his name; therefore he cannot be accepted as a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava. If a person does not change his name after initiation, it is to be understood that he will continue in his bodily conception of life. So, the principles of initiation are given in this verse, at least some of them. One changes his name, and wears the tilaka, of course we observe other things like Tulasī neck beads, have the Tulasī japa beads and accept certain vows, at least one’s name is changed. So, both Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs received new spiritual names and were thus initiated by Lord Śrī Caitanya. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 209 dainya-patrī likhi’ more pāṭhāle bāra bāra/ sei patrī-dvārā jāni tomāra vyavahāra “You have written several letters showing your humility. I can understand your behavior from those letters. So, they have written letters to Lord Caitanya humbling themselves in the letters. So, Lord Caitanya is accepting them and initiating them, and giving them spiritual names. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 210 tomāra hṛdaya āmi jāni patrī-dvāre/ tomā śikhāite śloka pāṭhāila tomāre “By your letters, I could understand your heart. Therefore, in order to teach you, I sent you one verse, which reads as follows. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 211 rāgamārgīya bhaktera lokavyavahāra:—śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyokta śloka— para-vyasaninī nārī/ vyagrāpi gṛha-karmasu tad evāsvādayaty antar/ nava-saṅga-rasāyanam “If a woman is attached to a man other than her husband, she will appear very busy in carrying out her household affairs, but within her heart she is always relishing feelings of association with her paramour.’ So, this is the same instruction that Lord Caitanya gave to Raghunātha dāsa, told him to behave outwardly like a pounds and sterling man, but in his heart to always keep Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 212 rūpa-sanātana-darśanārthe prabhura rāmakeli-āgamana:— gauḍa-nikaṭa āsite nāhi mora prayojana/ tomā-duṅhā dekhite mora ihāṅ āgamana “I really had no business in coming to Bengal, but I have come just to see you two brothers. So, why Lord Caitanya had come to Rāmakeli is being revealed here, He wanted to see these two brothers. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 213 ei mora manera kathā keha nāhi jāne sabe bale, kene āilā rāmakeli-grāme “Everyone is asking why I have come to this village of Rāmakeli. No one knows My intentions. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 214 utkaṇṭhita bhrātṛdvayake prabhura āśvāsa-dāna:— bhāla haila, dui bhāi āilā mora sthāne/ ghare yāha, bhaya kichu nā kariha mane “It is very good that you two brothers have come to see Me. Now you can go home. Do not fear anything. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 215 janme janme tumi dui — kiṅkara āmāra/ acirāte kṛṣṇa tomāya karibe uddhāra “Birth after birth you have been My eternal servants. I am sure that Kṛṣṇa will deliver you very soon.” So, here their eternal relationship with Lord Caitanya is being revealed. they are actually, nitya-siddhas, always been serving the Lord, but somehow, they have this position of ministers in the Hussain Shah government. Actually, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, it is said, how different brāhmaṇa lined up to get charity from Rūpa Gosvāmī, who was the Finance -minister. So, like that He was maintaining the brāhmaṇa by giving them lots of donations. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 216 ubhayera prabhupada śire dhāraṇa:— eta bali duṅhāra śire dharila dui hāte/ dui bhāi prabhu-pada nila nija māthe The Lord then placed His two hands on the heads of both of them, and in return they immediately placed the lotus feet of the Lord on their heads. So, they took the opportunity to place their heads on the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.4 Lord Janārdana placed His own foot upon Sanātana's head and declared, " Truly! Truly! Without doubt, you are a resident of Vṛndāvana! Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.5 "If you wish, I shall go with you to Mathurā Maṇḍala, to reveal the lost tīrthas of Mathurā and Vṛndāvana. Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.6 "It is your duty to accomplish all of this. Certainly, by My mercy it will come to pass, for that mercy is devotional service personified, the bestower of prema-bhakti." Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.7 After hearing this, the highly intelligent Sanātana and his younger brother then said, "Vṛndāvana is the pleasure garden of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Candra. It is delightful and sublime Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.8 "Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa forever sport there. That place is unattainable even by yogīs, devas, perfected beings, men and others. So, Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī are glorifying Vṛndāvana dhāma, and they are admitting that its not possible to stay there without the mercy of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 217 kṛpārdra prabhura ubhayera janya bhaktagaṇa-samīpe āvedana:— doṅhā āliṅgiyā prabhu balila bhakta-gaṇe/ sabe kṛpā kari’ uddhāraha dui jane After this, the Lord embraced both of them and requested all of the devotees present to be merciful upon them and deliver them. Sometimes Śrīla Prabhupāda would ask all the assembled devotees to give their mercy on someone who is going to go for some difficult preaching work. He said that Kṛṣṇa will also listen to you. I want to give them have them receive the maximum blessings. So, in the same way Lord Caitanya is asking all His devotees to bless Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 218 bhaktagaṇera vismaya o ānanda:— dui jane prabhura kṛpā dekhi’ bhakta-gaṇe/ ‘hari’ ‘hari’ bale sabe ānandita-mane When all of the devotees saw the mercy of the Lord upon the two brothers, they were very much gladdened, and they began to chant the holy name of the Lord, “Hari! Hari!” Hari Hari Hari Bol Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: unless one serves a Vaiṣṇava, he cannot be delivered. The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master and does not offend other Vaiṣṇavas, his path is clear. Consequently Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested all the Vaiṣṇavas present to show mercy toward the two brothers, Rūpa and Sanātana who had just been initiated by the Lord. When a Vaiṣṇava sees that another Vaiṣṇava is a recipient of the Lord’s mercy, he becomes very happy. Vaiṣṇavas are not envious. If a Vaiṣṇava, by the mercy of the Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord’s holy name all over the world, other Vaiṣṇavas become very joyful — that is, if they are truly Vaiṣṇavas. One who is envious of the success of a Vaiṣṇava is certainly not a Vaiṣṇava himself but is an ordinary, mundane man. Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaiṣṇavas. Why should a Vaiṣṇava be envious of another Vaiṣṇava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaiṣṇava is very pleased to accept another Vaiṣṇava who is bestowing the Lord’s mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the śāstra (upekṣā). The word upekṣā means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher’s duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaiṣṇavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. When Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā nistāra peyeche kebā, he is indicating an actual Vaiṣṇava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he had spread the mission of Lord Caitanya all over the world, and many sincere Vaiṣṇavas has appreciated that. However some people were envious and they maintained their envious nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda is saying here that even if such a people are dressed like a vaiṣṇava, sannyasi, missing actually, there is nothing to gain in spiritual life by being envious, rather may be in material life one is naturally envious of others, but spiritual life, since their goal is to please Kṛṣṇa, if someone is pleasing Kṛṣṇa, anoother one becomes very happy. The goal is Kṛṣṇa’s interests should be served. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 219 sakala bhakta-caraṇe kṛpā-yāñchā o dhanyavāda-prāpti:— nityānanda, haridāsa, śrīvāsa, gadādhara/ mukunda, jagadānanda, murāri, vakreśvara All the Vaiṣṇava associates of the Lord were present, including Nityānanda Prabhu, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Mukunda, Jagadānanda, Murāri and Vakreśvara. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 220 sabāra caraṇe dhari, paḍe dui bhāi/ sabe bale, — dhanya tumi, pāile gosāñi In accordance with the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the two brothers, Rūpa and Sanātana, immediately touched the lotus feet of these Vaiṣṇavas, who all became very happy and congratulated the two brothers for having received the mercy of the Lord. Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada This behavior is indicative of real Vaiṣṇavas. When they saw that Rūpa and Sanātana were fortunate enough to receive the mercy of the Lord, they were so pleased that they all congratulated the two brothers. A jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava is not at all happy to see the success of another Vaiṣṇava in receiving the Lord’s mercy. Unfortunately, in this Age of Kali there are many mundane persons in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas, and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has described them as disciples of Kali. He says, kali-celā. He indicates that there is another Vaiṣṇava, a pseudo Vaiṣṇava with tilaka on his nose and kaṇṭhī beads around his neck. Such a pseudo Vaiṣṇava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaiṣṇavas. Although passing for a Vaiṣṇava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore says that such a pseudo Vaiṣṇava is not a Vaiṣṇava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga. A disciple of Kali cannot become an ācārya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaiṣṇava ācārya. A Vaiṣṇava ācārya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgment. A false ācārya may try to override a Vaiṣṇava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga. Some of the so-called pseudo vaiṣṇavas, they take shelter of mundane court to get themselves call themselves Ācārya, but this is not under the jurisdiction any mundane court. An ācārya is self-effulgent and naturally has other qualities of spiritual knowledge its understanding and humility all thequalities spiritual knowledge its understanding and humility Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 221 vidāyakāle prabhuke sanātanera satparāmarśa-dāna:— sabā-pāśa ājñā māgi’ calana-samaya/ prabhu-pade kahe kichu kariyā vinaya After begging the permission of all the Vaiṣṇavas present, the two brothers, at the time of their departure, humbly submitted something at the lotus feet of the Lord. Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.18.9 "Dear Lord, if You go to that solitary place in the company of so many followers, what happiness will You feel there? O Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, with the sword of Your mercy, O Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, with the sword of Your mercy, You have cut the strong shackles of my ministerial post and so forth which bound me to samsāra. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 222 ihāṅ haite cala, prabhu, ihāṅ nāhi kāya/ yadyapi tomāre bhakti kare gauḍa-rāja They said, “Dear Lord, although the King of Bengal, Nawab Hussain Shah, is very respectful toward You, You have no other business here. Kindly depart from this place. So, they were also suggesting the Lord to depart, since He said that the confidential reason was to come and meet the two brothers, and since they were initiated and got their orders to go to Vṛndāvana so they were saying that all their mundane attachments had been cut by the Lord, and He should now go. Of course, Sanātana Gosvāmī was also saying that going with huge crowds of people is not the way to enjoy in Vṛndāvana. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 223 tathāpi yavana jāti, nā kari pratīti/ tīrtha-yātrāya eta saṅghaṭṭa bhāla nahe rīti “Although the King is respectful toward You, he still belongs to the yavana class and should not be believed. We think that there is no need for such a great crowd to accompany You on Your pilgrimage to Vṛndāvana. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 224 nija bhajana-kṣetre bahu bahiraṅga lokera aprayojana:— yāra saṅge cale ei loka lakṣa-koṭi/ vṛndāvana-yātrāra e nahe paripāṭī “Dear Lord, You are going to Vṛndāvana with hundreds and thousands of people following You, and this is not a fitting way to go on a pilgrimage.” Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Sometimes, for business purposes, large crowds of men are taken to different places of pilgrimage, and money is collected from them. That is a very lucrative business, but Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, expressing their opinion in the presence of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, disapproved of such crowded pilgrimages. Actually when Lord Caitanya visited Vṛndāvana, He visited it alone and accepted a servant only at His devotees’ request. He never visited Vṛndāvana with crowds of people for a commercial purpose. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 225 svayaṁ parameśvara haiyāo ācāryarūpe kaniṣṭhādhikārīke śikṣā-suyoga-dāna:— yadyapi vastutaḥ prabhura kichu nāhi bhaya/ tathāpi laukika-līlā, loka-ceṣṭā-maya Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Lord, and was therefore not at all fearful, He still acted like a human being to teach neophytes how to act. So, the Bhagavad-gītā says that whatever a great men does, the common men follow. So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He taught how to act by His own example. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 1. 226 bhrātṛdvayera vidāya grahaṇa:— eta bali’ caraṇa vandi’ gelā dui-jana/ prabhura sei grāma haite calite haila mana Having spoken thus, the two brothers offered prayers to the lotus feet of the Lord and returned to their homes. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then desired to leave that village. So, the purpose for which to Lord Caitanya had come to Rāmakeli was now completed and He could go onward. Thus ends the chapter entitled, Initiation of Dabira Khāsa and Sākara Mallika as Rūpa and Sanātana Who Advise Lord Caitanya to Travel to Vṛndāvana Without the Crowd. Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana