20211117 Three Principal Forms of Bhagavān -2.tad-ekātma-rūpa - b.svāṁsa (Personal Expansions) -4.manvantarāvatāra, 5.yugāvatāra Part 2

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 17^th November 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 is the compilation of Caitanya līlā book, the chapter today is entitled:

Three Principal Forms of Bhagavān -2.tad-ekātma-rūpa - b.svāṁsa (Personal Expansions) - 4.manvantarāvatāra, 5.yugāvatāra

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.335

kṛṣṇa-‘dhyāna’ kare loka jñāna-adhikārī
tretāra dharma ‘yajña’ karāya ‘rakta’-varṇa dhari’

Translation: “In Satya-yuga the people were generally advanced in spiritual knowledge and could meditate upon Kṛṣṇa very easily. The people’s occupational duty in Tretā-yuga was to perform great sacrifices. This was induced by the Personality of Godhead in His reddish incarnation.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is describing each yuga, Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara yuga.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.336

dvāpare śyāma-varṇa dvibhuja bhagavān —

‘kṛṣṇa-padārcana’ haya dvāparera dharma
‘kṛṣṇa’-varṇe karāya loke kṛṣṇārcana-karma

Translation: “In Dvāpara-yuga the people’s occupational duty was to worship the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Lord Kṛṣṇa, appearing in a blackish body, personally induced people to worship Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Lord Caitanya is describing the Dvāpara-yuga, how Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in the blackish form, Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as the original personality of Godhead but He came in Dvāpara-yuga and He was worshipped by all the people.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.337

dvāpare bhagavān śyāmaḥ
pīta-vāsā nijāyudhaḥ
śrī-vatsādibhir aṅkaiś ca
lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ

Translation: “‘In Dvāpara-yuga the Personality of Godhead appears in a blackish hue. He is dressed in yellow, He holds His own weapons, and He is decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of Śrīvatsa. That is how His symptoms are described.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.27). The śyāma color is not exactly blackish. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura compares it to the color of the atasī flower. It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appears in a blackish color in all the Dvāpara-yugas. In other Dvāpara-yugas, previous to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, the Supreme Lord appeared in a greenish body by His own personal expansion. This is mentioned in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Hari-vaṁśa and Mahābhārata.

Jayapatākā Swami: In the previous Dvāpara-yuga, Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śyāmasundara, this was informed to Sanātana Gosvāmī  by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.338

namas te vāsudevāya
namaḥ saṅkarṣaṇāya ca
pradyumnāyāniruddhāya
tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ

Translation: “‘I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanded as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.’

Purport: This is a prayer from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.29) spoken by Karabhājana Muni when he was questioned by Mahārāja Nimi, the King of Videha, about the incarnations in specific yugas and their method of worship. Karabhājana Muni was one of the nine Yogendras, and he met the King to inform him about future incarnations.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.339

ei mantre dvāpare kare kṛṣṇārcana
‘kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana’—kali-yugera dharma

Translation: “By this mantra, the people worship Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvāpara-yuga. In Kali-yuga the occupational duty of the people is to chant congregationally the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.51):

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-bandhaḥ paraṁ vrajet

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.”

Thus in Kali-yuga one worships Lord Kṛṣṇa by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. To propagate this movement, Lord Kṛṣṇa personally appeared as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That is described in the following verse.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, how in Kali-yuga the process is simply chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa congregationally and in this way one may be freed from all the defects and reach the Supreme destination.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.340

kali-yuge pīta-varṇa nāma-prema-pracāraka dvibhuja bhagavān —

‘pīta’-varṇa dhari’ tabe kailā pravartana
prema-bhakti dilā loke lañā bhakta-gaṇa

Translation: “In the Age of Kali, Lord Kṛṣṇa assumes a golden color and, accompanied by His personal devotees, introduces hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. By this process He delivers love for Kṛṣṇa to the general populace.

Jayapatākā Swami: This shows the actual mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to deliver all the population, through the Harināma and Hare Kṛṣṇa māha-mantra which would awaken the natural love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.341

kalite svayaṁ kṛṣṇai avatārirūpe avatīrṇa –

dharma pravartana kare vrajendra-nandana
preme gāya nāce loka kare saṅkīrtana

Translation: “Lord Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, personally introduces the occupational duty of the Age of Kali. He personally chants and dances in ecstatic love, and thus the entire world chants congregationally.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the duty of the followers of Lord Caitanya, to induce the world to chant  the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.342

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

Translation: “‘In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32). See also Ādi-līlā, chapter three, text 52.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.343

āra tina-yuge dhyānādite yei phala haya
kali-yuge kṛṣṇa-nāme sei phala pāya

Translation: “In the other three yugas — Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara — people perform different types of spiritual activities. Whatever results they achieve in that way, they can achieve in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is so sublime that what you could achieve in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Tretā-yuga by fire sacrifices and Dvāpara-yuga by worshipping Kṛṣṇa personally or in the temple, you can achieve that in Kali-yuga by the congregational chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.344

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-bandhaḥ paraṁ vrajet

Translation: “‘My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.’

Purport: As mentioned above, this verse is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.3.51.

Jayapatākā Swami: This gives teh glories of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.345

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

Translation: “‘Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.’

Purport: This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.52). At the present moment in Kali-yuga there are many false meditators who concoct some imaginary form and try to meditate upon it. It has become fashionable to meditate, but people know nothing about the object of meditation. That is explained here. Yad dhyāyato viṣṇum. One has to meditate upon Lord Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa. Without referring to the śāstras, so-called meditators aim at impersonal objects.

Lord Kṛṣṇa has condemned them in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5):

kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.”

Not knowing how to meditate, foolish people simply suffer, and there is no benefit derived from their spiritual activities.

The same idea expressed in this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can be found in the following verse from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.2.17), Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa 72.25) and Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (38.97).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, people concoct some imaginary form to meditate on, rather than following śāstra and meditating on Lord Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa.  

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.346

dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais
tretāyāṁ dvāpare ’rcayan
yad āpnoti tad āpnoti
kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam

Translation: “‘Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of yajña in Tretā-yuga or by the worship of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Dvāpara-yuga is also obtained in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the glories of Lord Keśava.’

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.347

kaliṁ sabhājayanty āryā
guṇa-jñāḥ sāra-bhāginaḥ
yatra saṅkīrtanenaiva
sarva-svārtho ’bhilabhyate

Translation: “‘Those who are advanced and highly qualified and are interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga. Such people worship the Age of Kali because in this age one can advance in spiritual knowledge and attain life’s goal simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.36) spoken by the great sage Karabhājana Ṛṣi, one of the nine Yogendras. The sage was informing Mahārāja Nimi about the people’s duty to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to different processes in different yugas.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, although the age of Kali is considered the Iron-Age, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy if one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, then they can achieve all the success in their spiritual life.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.348

pūrvavat likhi yabe guṇāvatāra-gaṇa
asaṅkhya saṅkhyā tāṅra, nā haya gaṇana

Translation: “As stated before when I described the incarnations of the material modes [guṇa-avatāras], one should consider that these incarnations also are unlimited and that no one can count them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, all the different avatāra type are mentioned here, from one, Kṛṣṇa expands into many, just like one candle can light many candles and that one candle is not diminished, similarly Kṛṣṇa expands Himself into many different forms and these forms are almost the same as the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa and through His expansions, He is performing different activities in the different universes.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Three Principal Forms of Bhagavān -2.tad-ekātma-rūpa - b.svāṁsa (Personal Expansions) -4.manvantarāvatāra, 5.yugāvatāra part 2

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Transcribed and Verified by JPS Archives 18^th November 2021