20221022 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.25.1

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 22nd, 2022 in Vṛndāvana, India.

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet 

So this morning reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.25.1

Translation: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King Parīkṣit, when Indra understood that his sacrifice had been put aside, he became furious with Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men, who were accepting Kṛṣṇa as their Lord. 

Purport (by Śrīla Prabhupāda): At the very beginning of this chapter Śukadeva Gosvāmī reveals the foolishness of Indra and the absurdity of his anger. Indra was frustrated because the residents of Vṛndāvana accepted Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their Lord. But the simple fact is that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Lord, not only of the residents of Vṛndāvana but of all that exists, including Indra himself. Thus Indra’s petulant reaction was ridiculous. As the common saying goes, “Pride goes before a fall.” 

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim 
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam 
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he told right in the beginning of the chapter, how Indra was angry that his worship was being set aside. That they accepted Kṛṣṇa as their Lord. In the Dvāpara-yuga, Kṛṣṇa does not keep the secret that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the vraja-vāsīs did not consider Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord. But they loved Him and they followed Him. But Indra should have known better. He should have known that Kṛṣṇa was His Lord and the Supreme Lord, but unfortunately he was angry. So Kṛṣṇa decided to humble him, by lifting up the Govardhana hill for seven days. Then gradually Indra realized that He was messing around with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. 

So this chapter tells about that pastime. I was thinking, how in Caitanya-līlā a similar situation happened. Although Lord Caitanya He kept it a secret that He was Kṛṣṇa Himself for the most part. But the Chand Kazi had forbade that the devotees perform saṅkīrtana. The Chand Kazi was the local administrator. In a sense, I mean, the vraja-vāsīs were worshiping Kṛṣṇa, Indra opposed that they stopped his worship. So at that time the Chand Kazi was the local administrator and he opposed Lord Caitanya’s chanting. So Lord Kṛṣṇa lifted the Govardhana hill and the vraja-vāsīs came to Nanda Mahārāja, and said, who is your son? You cannot tell us he is an ordinary person. He lifted the Govardhana hill for seven days, who is he?! He said, well, the astrologer Garga Muni told me that he has the power of Nārāyaṇa, and he will be very good for the cowherd people. He did not explain how He got the power of Nārāyaṇa because He is Nārāyaṇa, He is the source of Nārāyaṇa! So, the Chand Kazi breaking the mṛdanga is within the ordinary dealings. But how Lord Caitanya responded! 

I am writing a compilation of all the books on caitanya-līlā, I am already at the final stage, after He visits Vṛndāvana. So some of the other books like Caitanya-maṅgala, Caitanya-bhāgavata, they give more details than Caitanya-caritāmṛta. About the processions He organized against the Chand Kazi. He had four different parties. One led by Śrivāsa, one by Haridāsa Ṭhākura, one by Advaita Ācārya. One He was chanting and on two sides were Nityānanda Prabhu and Gadādhara Paṇḍita. But His party was at the end. But the different parties they gathered hundreds of thousands or more and gradually it swelled to a million or more people. It is amazing that Śrīvāsa is Nārada Muni, Haridāsa Ṭhākura is Brahma Haridāsa. Brahmā after he stole the cows, calves and cowherd boys he went to Māyāpur at the Yoga-pīṭha, Antardvīpa and there he chanted the name of Lord Caitanya. Gaurāṇga!

Finally, Lord Caitanya appeared and said, "What do you want?"

Brahmā said that, "Already the dvitīya-parārdha, second half of my life has already begun." You see Brahmā’s life is divided into two fifty-years, he has a special situation. Anyway, this is the pastime. Brahmā is fifty years old, fifty or fifty-one. He said I am still committing offences. I stole Your cowherd boyfriends, cows and calves. I heard that You are coming in Kali-yuga and giving out love for Kṛṣṇa freely. I would like to be freed from this offensive mentality and I want to have love of Kṛṣṇa. I would like to be Your associate during the coming pastime Lord Caitanya said tathāstu! So be it! You will appear in a non-Hindu family, therefore it will teach you humility and it will free you from the offense. You will chant three lakh names of Kṛṣṇa a day and therefore awaken your love for Kṛṣṇa, and you will be My associate. I was thinking forty-eight years how Lord Caitanya’s līlā, His līlā is forty-eight years. But for Lord Brahmā it is nothing.

One moment was one year in Vṛndāvana, right? Forty-eight years by Brahmā’s calculation is chukk! So in this kīrtana He had Nārada Muni, Lord Brahmā, and Advaita who is a combination of Sadāśiva and Mahā-Viṣṇu. Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, are Kṛṣṇa-Balarama and Rādhārāṇī is Gadādhara Paṇḍita.  In one sense Rādhe-śyāma. He had all - Nitāi Gaura, Kṛṣṇa Balarāma and Rādhe-śyāma. So Nityānanda and Gadādhara they were requested by Śacīmātā, sometimes Lord Caitanya would just crash to the ground, being unconscious in His ecstasy. So they were on either side to catch Him. That was His kīrtana, so elated. It is said that the kīrtana actually lasted for a day of Brahmā. Like a thousand yugas. Thousand catur-yugas. But by our calculation it may have been small but for those who participated in the kīrtana it was immense. The sound of the kīrtana not only reached all parts of the universe, but also reached the spiritual world. They could hear this kīrtana in Vaikuṇṭha. 

So it is an amazing situation, how did Lord Kṛṣṇa come as Lord Caitanya? Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana then He went to Mathurā and then He was in Dvārakā. One day, He went from the palace of Satyabhāmā to the palace of Rukmiṇī. Of course, although Rukmiṇī she is a queen, she cleaned the palace with her maids, to see that it was perfect for receiving Kṛṣṇa. Having the different children of Kṛṣṇa meet Him, then she took him into His private quarters. She was bathing his lotus feet, looking at His face, she was crying. 

Kṛṣṇa said, "I just arrived in your palace, you should be happy, why are you crying?" He started speculating, did some servant not listen to you? Like that.

Rukmiṇī said, "You know what Lord Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, You know what Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, You know what is going on in the material universes in the spiritual universes, but there is one thing You don’t know. Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, You don’t know." Nobody ever said there was something that Kṛṣṇa did not know. 

He said, "What do you mean?"

"There is one thing I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, You don’t know."

"What is that?"

"You don’t know how much Your devotees love You and in what way we love You! You are the Lord, You don’t have anyone above You, so You don’t have this experience."

So Kṛṣṇa said three times, "I will come in Kali-yuga as My devotee! I will come in Kali-yuga as My devotee! I will come in Kali-yuga as My devotee!" Haribol!

So He, Lord Caitanya was doing kīrtana marching towards the Chand Kazi. Lord Indra, he came down to watch what is this. He was accompanied by various devas. When they saw Lord Caitanya dancing, they started crying, and they fainted to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead chanting and dancing in ecstasy. When they came back to consciousness, they took human forms, and joined the kīrtana, Haribol! So, there were a group of atheists and they were looking at the devotees. But when they saw Lord Caitanya chanting, dancing, crying, they were completely overwhelmed be ecstasy. They started to chant and dance, raised their hands and cry and rolling on the ground. This kīrtana was very special! So everyone who saw the kīrtana, they could not resist, when the kīrtana went, they were sucked in! They joined the kīrtana! So this way not only the residents of Navadvīpa but also the residents from other planets joined the kīrtana. From the heavenly planets the Apsarās were showering flowers and small conch shells on the pathway. Finally, they were coming close to the place of the Chand Kazi. The Chand Kazi heard the kīrtana and was wondering what is that? Is it a Hindu wedding? He told the soldier, stop it?! What is this racket? They went out and saw a huge ocean of people, they were chanting, and some were yelling, down with the Kazi! They were also chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The soldiers took out their turbans and covered their beards, and raised their hands and started chanting! Haribol! So they would not be discovered. So of course you know what happened.

The Chand Kazi came out and said, "Your grandfather called me cācā. By village relation, I am Your uncle. So, why are You coming in such an angry mood to my house?" 

Lord Caitanya said, "Why are you keeping Your nephew sitting on the road?" Then Lord Caitanya told the crowd to be quiet and the Chand Kazi invited Lord Caitanya up on his verandah. 

I was thinking, how this līlā is similar in a sense to the Govardhana hill. Of course, Lord Caitanya did not lift any mountain. He kept his identity a secret. If you read the details of the kīrtana went on, how Lord Caitanya fainted and He was unconscious for some time, how the different kīrtana parties went to different parts of Navadvīpa. How they gathered everybody, everybody and more from other planets. So in a way He did what was normally impossible but when we hear about it we think probably someone did a mass movement, but when we read the details it is amazing! How the Supreme Lord, He came down just with the purpose of giving us love for Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa, He accepted those who fully surrendered to Him. But those who did not surrender, they did not get the mercy. But Lord Caitanya was so merciful, He gave His mercy even to those who did not surrender. If they just chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa, itself, He delivered. He gave His mercy to everyone - pāpī tāpī yata chīla harināme uddhārila. 

Kṛṣṇa came as the combined form of Rādhāraṇī and Kṛṣṇa. Then wae get the mercy of Rādhāraṇī with the power of Kṛṣṇa. We have a great opportunity to be part of Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana movement. And Kṛṣṇa predicts in the Brahma-Vaivarta Purāṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa predicts after 5000 years at the beginning of Kali-yuga or end of Dvāpara-yuga, a Golden Age will start within the Kali-yuga, when everybody, the whole world will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa!

So this is what we have to do! If we do it, we get the mercy, if we don’t do it, it will happen anyway but someone else will get the mercy. Just like Lord Kṛṣṇa lifted the Govardhana, Lord Caitanya expanded the saṅkīrtana. We should participate and we should encourage everyone to chant. When Lord Caitanya heard about Vṛndāvana his ecstasy would increase a hundred times. When He went to Mathurā, His ecstasy increased a thousand times. When He came to Vṛndāvana, His ecstasy increased a million times! He was uncontrollable. Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, he was worried that Lord Caitanya would jump into the Yamunā and do things, and if he was not there to pull Him out, he was afraid He may pass away or something.

Actually Lord Caitanya when He came, Vṛndāvana was covered. Already, Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were gone. There was some indentation in the paddy field. The villagers were amazed, what is this sannyāsī doing, scooping out water form a paddy field and taking bath! Actually the whole Vṛndāvana was revealed by Lord Caitanya and His followers. The six Gosvāmīs, His disciples. So we want to put the footprints of Lord Caitanya in all the places He visited. This was started by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. He did only about eight. Some of his followers did a little more but his desire was to have at least 108. So we are trying to establish, apparently they have agreed in Rādhā-kuṇḍa to put the lotus footprint of Lord Caitanya, also in Akrūra-ghāṭa. Lord Caitanya would stay in Akrūra-ghāṭa when He was in Vṛndāvana. We would like to put in every place where Lord Caitanya visited. When you go in Vṛndāvana parikramā, in all the places you will be able to see Lord Caitanya footprints. People should remember that Lord Caitanya revealed Vṛndāvana. 

I am very grateful to all the devotees who have come to Vṛndāvana, and for their help to the Temple Of the Vedic Planetarium. We want to make Lord Caitanya known. Śrīla Prabhupāda requested that we build a temple, the largest temple in the world, in Māyāpur. We are very grateful that Vraja Vilāsa dāsa that he has come to Vṛndāvana and going to different places to get donations. Vṛndāvana is Kṛṣṇa’s abode. If it wasn’t for Lord Caitanya, it might have been forgotten! Of course, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda brought us Vṛndāvana, Māyāpur, Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!

Any questions?  Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: I could see that you have so much love for Lord Caitanya. How can I develop that love for Lord Caitanya?

Jayapataka Swami: I don’t have any love! But the more you hear about Lord Caitanya, you have to be very stonehearted if you do not have any love for Him! Maybe after more than fifty years in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, my stone heart has softened a bit, by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy!

Question: Lord Brahmā came to Māyāpur and prayed to Lord Gaurāṇga. In Brahmaloka, when Brahmājī came, then there was nobody there? How did the universe go on?

Jayapataka Swami: He only came for a minute! Not even a minute!

Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahārāja: You were saying that Indra should have known that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. My question is why did Indra not know and what can we learn from this that we apply this in our own spiritual life?

Jayapatākā Swami: Apparently there is a new Indra in every Manavantara. There are fourteen manavantaras in the day of Brahmā. And Kṛṣṇa comes once in a day of Brahmā. So, Lord Indra should have known that the Kṛṣṇa is the same Kṛṣṇa mentioned in the Vedas, but you can look up in the phone book how many Kṛṣṇas are there, how many Gopālas are there! You can use your mobile phone and Google Kṛṣṇa. How many do you get? So somehow Indra should have known better, but he didn’t. So Lord Kṛṣṇa decided to humble him, and He did that by lifting the Govardhana hill. So maybe Kṛṣṇa put some of His māyā over Indra, so that He can manifest this pastime. If you read the Kṛṣṇa Book, when Kṛṣṇa liberated Kaṁsa, when He went to free Vasudeva and Devakī, they were first very respectful to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wanted them to speak to treat Him as their son. So Kṛṣṇa then sprinkled some līlā-dust! And their attitude changed! "Oh my dear son!" Kṛṣṇa had all kinds of potencies, He had līlā dust!  I wish we could all be sprinkled with this līlā-dust and naturally have love for Kṛṣṇa! But that Lord Caitanya gives us, if we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we chant Gaurāṇga, Gaurāṇga, Nityānanda! Nityānanda! Gaurāṇga, Gaurāṇga!

Question: In this pastime we see Indra committed an offence against Lord Kṛṣṇa. And then he realized that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But later in Kṛṣṇa līlā, he gain starts fighting with Lord Kṛṣṇa when he was provoked by his wife. I want to know why this type of situation happened and how do we overcome this? And in case of Dakṣa Prajāpatī we see he offended Lord Śiva, then he offended Nārada Muni. How do we not do such things and avoid such things? 

Jayapatākā Swami: We understand from this that if we get married, it is very important to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious wife! If the wife is not Kṛṣṇa conscious then she may have you fight with Kṛṣṇa! This reminds me Śrīla Prabhupāda, in a lecture he was giving in London, observing his Vyāsa-pūjā. He said he wanted all his gṛhastha followers to be paramahaṁsas. And he said how Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was a gṛhastha had many children. One was Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. And Śrīla Prabhupāda said we need many personalities like this. So the gṛhasthas should have such pure devotee children. Although Lord Indra in the caitanya-līlā pastime, he joined in the kīrtana. By then he seemed to have learned his lesson!

Any ladies’ questions?

Question: We see so many amazing orators in ISKCON, doing preaching service. Everyone wants mercy. And Lord Caitanya can give us mercy easily if we preach. So I also want the mercy but I see that my voice is not empowered. So could you please tell that how can we preach so that it penetrates the hearts of people? 

Jayapatākā Swami: Acintya Caitanya dāsa here was telling me how when he visited Kethuri-grāma and heard how Lord Caitanya left love for Godhead in the Padmā river for Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura bathed in the Padmā, he came out changed. But then he said Lord Caitanya had left His ecstasy in the Padmā river. But Śrīla Prabhupāda said that his books are his personal ecstasies, so if you read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, we can get love for Kṛṣṇa. And naturally if you read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and then you just be sincere to repeat what you have heard in your own words - I pray for the mercy of guru, Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa before giving every class and by Their mercy I give what I give. But these two things - reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and praying for Their mercy, that is what I know. Don’t be self-conscious. Think of Kṛṣṇa, and try to say Kṛṣṇa’s message. Kṛṣṇa ordered everybody yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa upadeśa - that is the secret.  

One time in this Kārtika month, we had a function in the town hall in South America, Ecuador, in Cuenca. There one civil contractor, he was a labor contractor (from Delhi?), he was not very educated. But he spoke, he was so sincere. Everybody was moved! Everybody there they were Christians, and they came and offered candles to Yaśoda and Kṛṣṇa. Haribol! If you are sincere, that is what changes peoples’ hearts! Thank you very much!