20220101 All Classes of Men — Ātmārāmas, Munis and Nirgranthas Must Engage in the Service of the Lord, Part 1

The following is a Caitanya lila Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 1st,2022 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

My dear devotees Today we are reading from the Sri Krishna Caitanya compilation class, todays chapter is entitled as:

All Classes of Men — Ātmārāmas, Munis and Nirgranthas Must Engage in the Service of the Lord, Part 1

Under the section: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.283

ei paryanta 26 prakāra artha :—

ei āra tina artha gaṇanāte pāila 
ei dui artha mili’ ‘chābbiśa’ artha haila

Translation: “In this way we have found three more meanings [of the ātmārāma verse]. Combine these with the other meanings, and the total number of meanings adds up to twenty-six in all.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is going on with His explanations of the Ātmārāma verse. Sanātana Gosvāmī is listening.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.284

26 prakāra artha vyatirikta sthūlataḥ dvividha arthe sūkṣmataḥ 32 prakāra artha :—

āra artha śuna, yāhā — arthera bhāṇḍāra sthūle
‘dui’ artha, sūkṣme ‘batriśa’ prakāra

Translation: “There is yet another meaning, which is full of a variety of imports. Actually there are two gross meanings and thirty-two subtle meanings.

Purport: The two gross meanings refer to regulative devotional service and spontaneous devotional service. There are also thirty-two subtle meanings. Under the heading of regulative devotional service, there are sixteen meanings based on understanding the word ātmārāma to mean (1) a servant of the Lord as His personal associate, (2) a personal friend, (3) personal parents or similar superiors, (4) a personal beloved, (5) a servant elevated by spiritual cultivation, (6) a friend by spiritual cultivation, (7) parents and superior devotees by cultivation of devotional service, (8) a beloved wife or female friend by cultivation of devotional service, (9) a mature devotee as a servant, (10) a mature devotee as a friend, (11) a mature devotee as a parent and superior, (12) a mature devotee as a wife and beloved, (13) an immature devotee as a servant, (14) an immature devotee as a friend, (15) an immature devotee as a father or superior, and (16) an immature devotee as a beloved. Similarly, under the heading of spontaneous devotion there are also sixteen various associates. Therefore the total number of devotees under the headings of regulated devotees and spontaneous devotees is thirty-two.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is saying the different meanings based on regulative devotional service and spontaneous devotional service.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.285

ātmā-śabde kṛṣṇera sakala abatāraḥ—

‘ātmā’-śabde kahe — sarva-vidha bhagavān 
eka ‘svayaṁ bhagavān’, āra ‘bhagavān’-ākhyāna

Translation: “The word ‘ātmā’ refers to all the different Personalities of Godhead. One of them is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Kṛṣṇa, and the others are different incarnations or expansions of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: The word ātmā also includes all kinds of personalities known as Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that Kṛṣṇa has unlimited expansions. This is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.46):

dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya 
dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā 
yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti 
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The expansions of Kṛṣṇa are thus compared to candles that have been lit from an original candle. All the secondary candles are equally powerful, but the original candle is that from which all the others have been lit. Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is expanded as Balarāma, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Vāsudeva. In this way there are innumerable incarnations and expansions who are also called Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Regarding the variety of personalities known as Bhagavān, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the Personality of Godhead known as Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that His expansions are also called the Personality of Godhead. In other words, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the origin of all other Personalities of Godhead. Speculative philosophers and mystic yogīs also meditate upon the form of Kṛṣṇa, but this form is not the form of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a Bhagavān is but a partial representation of the Lord’s full potency. Nonetheless, He also has to be understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To clarify this matter, one should simply understand that Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, the friend of the cowherd boys and lover of the gopīs, is actually the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is attained by spontaneous love. Although His expansions are also called the Supreme Personality of Godhead, They are attained only by the execution of regulative devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Kṛṣṇa is attainable by spontaneous devotional service and the other expansions are attainable by regulative devotional service.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.286

sthūlataḥ dvividha bhakta (1) vidhipūjaka, (2) rāgayukta bhaktaḥ –

tāṅte rame yei, sei saba — ‘ātmārāma 
vidhi-bhakta’, ‘rāga-bhakta’, — dui-vidha nāma

Translation: “One who always engages in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called ātmārāma. There are two types of ātmārāmas. One is an ātmārāma engaged in regulative devotional service, and the other is an ātmārāma engaged in spontaneous devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana is worshipped by spontaneous devotional service and His expansions are worshipped by regulative devotional service.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.287

ubhayera pratyeke caturvidha (1) nitya-siddha, (2) sadhana-siddha evaṁ (3) o (4) dvividha sādhaka :—

dui-vidha bhakta haya cāri cāri prakāra 
pāriṣada, sādhana-siddha, sādhaka-gaṇa āra

Translation: “Both the ātmārāmas engaged in regulative devotional service and those engaged in spontaneous devotional service are further categorized into four groups. There are the eternal associates, the associates who have become perfect by devotional service, and those who are practicing devotional service and are called sādhakas, of whom there are two varieties.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.288

e sarva-śuddha aṣṭa-prakāraḥ—

jāta-ajāta-rati-bhede sādhaka dui bheda 
vidhi-rāga-mārge cāri cāri — aṣṭa bheda

Translation: “Those who are practicing devotional service are either mature or immature. Therefore the sādhakas are of two types. Since the devotees execute either regulative devotional service or spontaneous devotional service and there are four groups within these two divisions, altogether there are eight varieties.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda mentioned that his devotees were all pure devotees, some are ripe and some unripe. Like a mango, it may be ripe or unripe but even the unripe will eventually become ripe.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.289

vaidhībhaktite ukta caturvidha bhaktera pratyeke caturvidha bhede, sarva-śuddha 16 prakāraḥ—

vidhi-bhaktye nitya-siddha pāriṣada — ‘dāsa’ 
‘sakhā’ ‘guru’, ‘kāntā-gaṇa’, — cāri-vidha prakāśa

Translation: “By executing regulative devotional service, one is elevated to the platform of an eternally perfect associate, such as a servant, friend, superior or beloved woman. Each of these is of four varieties.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, one gets elevated to one of the primary rasas, neutral, servitude, friendship, parental and conjugal.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.290

sādhana-siddha — dāsa, sakhā, guru, kānta-gaṇa 
jāta-rati sādhaka-bhakta — cāri-vidha jana

Translation: “Among those who have perfected themselves by devotional service, there are servants, friends, superiors and beloved damsels. Similarly, there are four types of mature devotees.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by practicing sādhana-bhakti one can perfect himself or herself and thus there are four types.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.291

ajāta-rati sādhaka-bhakta, — e cāri prakāra vidhi-mārge bhakte ṣoḍaśa bheda pracāra

Translation: “Within the category of regulative devotional service, there are also immature devotees. These are also of four varieties. Thus, in regulative devotional service there are altogether sixteen varieties.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is writing out each variety into four separate categories.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.292

rāgamayī-bhaktio vaidhī-bhaktira nyāya 16 prakāra; ataeva-ātmārāma 32 prakāra

rāga-mārge aiche bhakte ṣoḍaśa vibheda 
dui mārge ātmārāmera batriśa vibheda

Translation: “On the path of spontaneous devotional service, there are also sixteen categories of devotees. Thus there are thirty-two types of ātmārāmas enjoying the Supreme Lord on these two paths.”

Jayapatākā Swami: The path of regulative devotional service and spontaneous devotional service each has sixteen varieties total thirty-two varieties.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.293

iṁhādera sahita muni, nirgrantha, ca o api yojyaḥ—

‘muni’, ‘nirgrantha’, ‘ca’ ‘api’, — cāri śabdera artha 
yāhāṅ yei lāge, tāhā kariye samartha

Translation: “When these thirty-two types of devotees are qualified with the words ‘muni,’ ‘nirgrantha,’ ‘ca’ and ‘api,’ the meanings can be increased in different ways and very soundly elaborated upon.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya use these different words to make many options.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.294

ei paryantya 58 prakāra arthaḥ—

batriśe chābbiśe mili, aṣṭa-pañcāśa 
āra eka bheda śuna arthera prakāśa

Translation: “When we add the twenty-six types of devotees to these thirty-two, they altogether number fifty-eight. You may now hear from Me of further manifestations of meanings.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the above thirty-two meanings plust the previous twenty-six equals fifty-eight.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, All Classes of Men — Ātmārāmas, Munis and Nirgranthas Must Engage in the Service of the Lord, Part 1

Under the section: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse