20230103 Īśvara Purī Receives the Blessing of Mādhavendra Purī, Whereas Rāmacandra Purī Receives a Rebuke from Him, Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 3rd,2023 in Śrī Dhāma 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book Today's chapter is entitled as:

Īśvara Purī Receives the Blessing of Mādhavendra Purī, Whereas Rāmacandra Purī Receives a Rebuke from Him, Part 1
Under the section: Rāmacandra Purī Criticizes the Lord

Śrī-gaurāṅga-līlā-smaraṇa-maṅgala-stotram
–By Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

He always tolerated the offenses of Rāmacandra Purī, who was fond of blaspheming his superiors, and who had become bewildered and fallen into the muddy well of quarrelsomeness. The Lord accepted Amogha because he attained a little fragment of a devotee's mercy. May Śacī-devī's son eternally travel on the path of my memory.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol! Here Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is praying to always remember the pastimes of Lord Gaurahari.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.1

taṁ vande kṛṣṇa-caitanyaṁ
rāmacandra-purī-bhayāt
laukikāhārataḥ svaṁ yo
bhikṣānnaṁ samakocayat 

Translation: Let me offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who reduced His eating due to fear of the criticism of Rāmacandra Purī.

Jayapatākā Swami: As we see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu reduced His eating because Rāmacandra Purī was always criticizing Him. Therefore He wanted to avoid the criticism of Rāmacandra Purī and this caused great suffering to all the devotees.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.2

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya karuṇā-sindhu-avatāra
brahmā-śivādika bhaje caraṇa yāṅhāra

Translation: All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the incarnation of the ocean of mercy! His lotus feet are worshiped by demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is worshipped as the special incarnation of the Mercy of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.3

jaya jaya avadhūta-candra nityānanda
jagat bāṅdhila yeṅha diyā prema-phāṅda

Translation: All glories to Nityānanda Prabhu, the greatest of mendicants, who bound the entire world with a knot of ecstatic love for God!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda, He gave out the mercy of Lord Caitanya and flooded the world with love of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.4

jaya jaya advaita īśvara avatāra
kṛṣṇa avatāri’ kaila jagat-nistāra

Translation: All glories to Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead! He induced Kṛṣṇa to descend and thus delivered the entire world.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu had said many times the reason He descended is due to the prayers and chanting of Advaita Gosāñi. So He came to deliver the world and give kṛṣṇa-prema.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.5

jaya jaya śrīvāsādi yata bhakta-gaṇa
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu—yāṅra prāṇa-dhana

Translation: All glories to all the devotees, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura! Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is their life and soul.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has many devotees who descended to assit Him in His pastimes, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.6

nīlācale bhaktagaṇasaha gaurera līlā

ei-mata gauracandra nija-bhakta-saṅge
nīlācale krīḍā kare kṛṣṇa-prema-taraṅge

Translation: Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, at Jagannātha Purī, performed His various pastimes with His devotees in the waves of love for Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here is the description of the wonderful pastimes of Lord Caitanya in Nīlācala and they are being glorified.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.7

rāmacandra-purīra āgamana—

hena-kāle rāmacandra-purī-gosāñi āilā
paramānanda-purīre āra prabhure mililā

Translation: Then a sannyāsī named Rāmacandra Purī Gosāñi came to see Paramānanda Purī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: Ramacandra Purī is a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī, that means he is spiritual uncle of Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.8

paramānanda-purī o prabhura rāmacandra-purīke yathocita padamaryādā-dāna —

paramānanda-purī kaila caraṇa vandana
purī-gosāñi kaila tāṅre dṛḍha āliṅgana

Translation: Paramānanda Purī offered respects at the feet of Rāmacandra Purī, and Rāmacandra Purī strongly embraced him.

Purport: Because Rāmacandra Purī was a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī, both Paramānanda Purī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered him respectful obeisances. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that although Rāmacandra Purī was naturally very envious and although he was against the principles of Vaiṣṇavism — or, in other words, against the principles of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees — common people nevertheless addressed him as Gosvāmī or Gosāñi because he was superficially in the renounced order and dressed like a sannyāsī. In the modern age the title gosvāmī is used by a caste of gṛhasthas, but formerly it was not. Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, for example, were called gosvāmī because they were in the renounced order. Similarly, because Paramānanda Purī was a sannyāsī, he was called Purī Gosvāmī. By careful scrutiny, therefore, one will find that gosvāmī is not the title for a certain caste; rather, it is properly the title for a person in the renounced order.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Ramacandra Purī was called Gosvāmī because of his being in renounced order.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.9

vaiṣṇava-sannyāsīra sāmpradāyika vyavahāra —

mahāprabhu kailā tāṅre daṇḍavat nati
āliṅgana kari’ teṅho kaila kṛṣṇa-smṛti

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also offered obeisances unto Rāmacandra Purī, who then embraced Him and thus remembered Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered obeisances to Rāmacandra Purī in consideration of his being a disciple of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, the spiritual master of His own spiritual master, Īśvara Purī. When a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī meets another Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī, they both remember Kṛṣṇa. Even Māyāvādī sannyāsīs generally remember Nārāyaṇa, who is also Kṛṣṇa, by saying oṁ namo bhagavate nārāyaṇāya or namo nārāyaṇāya. Thus, it is the duty of a sannyāsī to remember Kṛṣṇa. According to smṛti-śāstra, a sannyāsī does not offer obeisances or blessings to anyone. It is said, sannyāsī nirāśīr nirnamaskriyaḥ: a sannyāsī should not offer anyone blessings or obeisances.

Jayapatākā Swami: But still it is common to offer respects to the Godbrother of the guru.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.10

jagadānandera bhikṣā-dāna —

tina-jane iṣṭha-goṣṭhī kailā kata-kṣaṇa
jagadānanda-paṇḍita tāṅre kailā nimantraṇa

Translation: The three of them talked about Kṛṣṇa for some time, and then Jagadānanda came and extended an invitation to Rāmacandra Purī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita was offering an invitation to Rāmacandra Purī thus to feed Jagannātha prasāda.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.11

svayaṁ yathātirikta bhojanapūrvaka bhikṣādātāra vā pariveśana-kārīra nindā—

jagannāthera prasāda ānilā bhikṣāra lāgiyā
yatheṣṭa bhikṣā karilā teṅho nindāra lāgiyā

Translation: A large quantity of the remnants of food from Lord Jagannātha was brought in for distribution. Rāmacandra Purī ate sumptuously, and then he wanted to find faults in Jagadānanda Paṇḍita.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmacandra Purī’s habit was to criticize every body, even though he was given prasāda and he ate sumptuously, he wanted to find faults in the donor Jagadānanda Paṇḍita.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.12

svayaṁ jagadānandake pracura bhojana karāiyā ‘atyāhāri’ jñāne gauragaṇera nindā —

bhikṣā kari’ kahe purī,—“śuna, jagadānanda
avaśeṣa prasāda tumi karaha bhakṣaṇa”

Translation: After finishing the meal, Rāmacandra Purī requested, “My dear Jagadānanda, please listen. You eat the food that is left.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.13

āgraha kariyā tāṅre vasi’ khāoyāila
āpane āgraha kari’ pariveśana kaila

Translation: With great eagerness Rāmacandra Purī seated Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and personally served him prasāda.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, it seems like something very proper.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.14

āgraha kariyā punaḥ punaḥ khāoyāila
ācamana kaile nindā karite lāgila

Translation: Encouraging him again and again, Rāmacandra Purī fed him sumptuously, but when Jagadānanda had washed his hands and mouth, Rāmacandra Purī began criticizing him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, it seems that Rāmacandra Purī, he would feed the person again and again and then he would criticize him.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.15

yathārtha śuddha-vairāgyavān gauragaṇera vairāgyahīna-jñāne nindā —

“śuni, caitanya-gaṇa kare bahuta bhakṣaṇa
‘satya’ sei vākya,—sākṣāt dekhiluṅ ekhana

Translation: “I have heard,” he said, “that the followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu eat more than necessary. Now I have directly seen that this is true.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, although he was feeding Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, having him take again and again, afterwards he criticized him, ‘why are eating so much?’

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.16

sannyāsīre eta khāoyāñā kare dharma nāśa
vairāgī hañā eta khāya, vairāgyera nāhi ‘bhāsa’”

Translation: “Feeding a sannyāsī too much breaks his regulative principles, for when a sannyāsī eats too much, his renunciation is destroyed.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmacandra Purī didn’t object when he was serving again and again, and then he forced people to take more and more. Afterwards he criticized everyone, so he was a critical person.

Thus ends the chapter entitled,

Īśvara Purī Receives the Blessing of Mādhavendra Purī, Whereas Rāmacandra Purī Receives a Rebuke from Him, Part 1