20210816 Wild Animals in Jhārikhaṇḍa Chant Kṛṣṇa and Dance Part 2

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 16th, 2021 in Sri Dhama Mayapur, 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, Part-2 of the chapter entitled :

Wild Animals in Jhārikhaṇḍa Chant Kṛṣṇa and Dance

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.46

jhārikhaṇḍe samasta sthāvara-jaṅgamake uddhāra vā kṛṣṇa-bhakti-pradāna:— 
‘jhārikhaṇḍe’ sthāvara-jaṅgama āche yata
kṛṣṇa-nāma diyā kaila premete unmatta

Translation: Thus all living entities in the forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa— some moving and some standing still— became maddened by hearing the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa vibrated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Purport: The great forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa is a great tract of land including Āṭagaḍa, Ḍheṅkānala, Āṅgula, Lāhārā, Kiyañjhaḍa, Bāmaḍā, Bonāi, Gāṅgapura, Choṭa Nāgapura, Yaśapura and Saragujā. All these places, which are covered with mountains and jungles, are known as Jhārikhaṇḍa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya chose to go through this route because He would not be followed by the people. But while going He inspired the animals, the plants everything to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.47

yei grāma diyā yāna, yāhāṅ karena sthiti
se-saba grāmera lokera haya ‘prema-bhakti’

Translation: In all the villages through which the Lord passed and in all the places He rested on His journey, everyone was purified and awakened to ecstatic love of God.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, there were some villages in this Jhārikhaṇḍa, and Lord Caitanya stayed in these villages. Wherever He went He also gave love for Godhead.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.48–49

prabhumukhe kīrttita śrī-nāma-śravaṇakārīra kṛṣṇa-bhakti-lābha, tanmukhe kīrttita kṛṣṇa-nāma-śravaṇa-kīrtana-dhārāya lokoddhāra:— 
keha yadi tāṅra mukhe śune kṛṣṇa-nāma
tāṅra mukhe āna śune tāṅra mukhe āna

prabhura gamanapathe śravaṇa-kīrtana- pāramparaye sakalera vaiṣṇavatva-lābha:— 
sabe ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘hari’ bali’ nāce, kānde, hāse
paramparāya ‘vaiṣṇava’ ha-ila sarva deśe

Translation: When someone heard the chanting of the holy name from the mouth of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and someone else heard this chanting from that second person, and someone again heard this chanting from the third person, everyone in all countries became a Vaiṣṇava through such disciplic succession. Thus everyone chanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and Hari, and they danced, cried and smiled.

Purport: The transcendental potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is herein explained. First, the holy name is vibrated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When someone hears from Him directly, he is purified. When another person hears from that person, he also is purified. In this way the purification process is advanced among pure devotees. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one can claim His potency. Nonetheless, if one is a pure devotee, hundreds and thousands of men can be purified by his vibration. This potency is within every living being, provided he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offenselessly and without material motives. When a pure devotee chants offenselessly, another person will become a Vaiṣṇava, and from him another Vaiṣṇava will emerge. This is the paramparā system.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda went all over the world and chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and those who heard him were purified and those who chanted also purified others, like this paramparā system goes on.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.50

bahiraṅga-lokera nikaṭa premaceṣṭā gopana karileo prabhura darśana o nāma-kīrtana-śravaṇei lokera bhakti lābha:— 
yadyapi prabhu loka-saṅghaṭṭera trāse
prema ’gupta’ karena, bāhire nā prakāśe

Translation: The Lord did not always manifest His ecstasy. Being afraid of a great assembly of people, the Lord kept His ecstasy concealed.

Jayapatākā Swami: Still by hearing the Lord chanting, people would become purified.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.51

tathāpi tāṅra darśana-śravaṇa-prabhāve
sakala deśera loka ha-ila ‘vaiṣṇave’

Translation: Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest His natural ecstatic love, everyone became a pure devotee simply by seeing and hearing Him.

Purport: Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as mahā-vadānya-avatāra, the most munificent incarnation. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not physically present now, simply by chanting His holy name (śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda) people throughout the world are becoming devotees. This is due to the ecstatic chanting of the holy name of the Lord. It is said that a pure devotee can see the Lord at every moment, and because of this he is empowered by the Lord. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38): premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared five hundred years ago, but it cannot be said that now the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is less than it was in His presence. By hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu through the paramparā system, one can be purified. Therefore, in this verse it is said, tathāpi tāṅra darśana-śravaṇa-prabhāve. It is not that everyone is able to see Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu physically, but if one hears about Him through books like Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and through the paramparā system of pure Vaiṣṇavas, there is no difficulty in becoming a pure Vaiṣṇava, free from mundane desires and personal motivations.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, people around the world by hearing about Lord Caitanya became pure devotees, even though they might have been addicted to sinful habits. This is the potency of the Lord Caitanya’s holy names and His powers.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.52

bhārata-varṣera sarvatrai lokoddhāra sādhana:— 
gauḍa, baṅga, utkala, dakṣiṇa-deśe giyā
lokera nistāra kaila āpane bhramiyā

Translation: In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally toured Bengal, East Bengal, Orissa and the southern countries, and He delivered all kinds of people by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in the 2nd Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapter 4, 18th verse, it is described how one can be purified by taking shelter of the pure devotee of the Lord.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.53

jhārikhaṇḍe nitānta kṛṣṇa-bahirmmukha lokerao uddhāra-sādhana:— 
mathurā yāibāra chale āsena jhārikhaṇḍa
bhilla-prāya loka tāhāṅ parama-pāṣaṇḍa

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to Jhārikhaṇḍa on His way to Mathurā, He found that the people there were almost uncivilized and were devoid of God consciousness.

Purport: The word bhilla refers to a class of men belonging to the Bheels. The Bheels are like Black Africans, and they are lower than śūdras. Such people generally live in the jungle, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had to meet them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya on His journey to Vṛndāvana, He went to this unique place where there were many tribals and uneducated people, but He also gave them pure love of Kṛṣṇa. He was munificent and didn’t consider anyone’s caste or creed or gender, He gave everyone the mercy of chanting the holy name.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.54

nāma-prema diyā kaila sabāra nistāra
caitanyera gūḍha-līlā bujhite śakti kāra

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave even the Bheels an opportunity to chant the holy name and come to the platform of ecstatic love. Thus He delivered all of them. Who has the power to understand the transcendental pastimes of the Lord?

Purport: As evidence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, we are experiencing that the people of Africa are taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting and dancing and taking prasāda like other Vaiṣṇavas. This is all due to the power of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Who can understand how His potency is working all over the world?

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya by His great mercy, His Kṛṣṇa consciousness delivers people all over the world, even if they are not otherwise very civilized or knowledgeable about transcendental science. But by His mercy everyone is delivered.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 4.1.12

Whenever they crossed a hill or river, the Supreme Lord could see only Govardhana Hill, Vṛndāvana, and the Kalindī River.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya He would see Govardhana, He would see Yamunā, He would see Vṛndāvana, so His vision was completely transcendental.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.55

prabhura mahā-bhāgavatocita vraja-līlāra uddīpana:— 
vana dekhi’ bhrama haya—ei ‘vṛndāvana’
śaila dekhi’ mane haya—ei ‘govardhana’

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest, He took it for granted that it was Vṛndāvana. When He passed over the hills, He took it for granted that they were Govardhana.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.56

yāhāṅ nadī dekhe tāhāṅ mānaye—‘kālindī’
mahā-premāveśe nāce prabhu paḍe kāndi’

Translation: Similarly, whenever Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw a river, He immediately accepted it as the river Yamunā. Thus while in the forest He was filled with great ecstatic love, and He danced and fell down crying.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya showed how to be Kṛṣṇa conscious in every circumstance, in everything He saw Kṛṣṇa’s presence.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 4.1.13

Moving with the vigor of an intoxicated elephant, He sometimes danced, sometimes ran, sometimes uttered thunderous roars, and sometimes He rolled about upon the earth.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was experiencing ecstasy remembering Vṛndāvana at every step and in this way He would manifest transcendental ecstasy.

Thus ends the chapter entitled,

Wild Animals in Jhārikhaṇḍa Chant Kṛṣṇa and Dance
Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana