20230105 All the Devotees of the Lord were Eating Half as much as Usual Because of Rāmacandra Purī

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 5th,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!

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

All the Devotees of Lord Caitanya were Eating Half as Much as Usual Because of Rāmacandra Purī
Under the section: Rāmacandra Purī Criticizes the Lord

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.38

rāmacandra-purīra śuṣkavairāgya—

rāmacandra-purī aiche rahilā nīlācale
virakta svabhāva, kabhu rahe kona sthale

Translation: Thus Rāmacandra Purī stayed at Jagannātha Purī. As is customary for those in the renounced order, he would sometimes stay someplace and then go away.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.39

paracchidrānveṣī rāmacandra-purī —

animantraṇa bhikṣā kare, nāhika nirṇaya
anyera bhikṣāra sthitira layena niścaya

Translation: There was no certainty of where Rāmacandra Purī would take his meal, for he would do so even uninvited. Nevertheless, he was very particular about keeping account of how others were taking their meals.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmacandra Purī he would just show up in some one’s house, ‘thank you for feeding me!’ Although he would not be invited, he would point out how much others were eating, so everybody was afraid of him.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.40

prabhura dainika bhikṣā-vivaraṇa—prabhusaha īśvara-purī-śiṣya govinda o kāśīśvarera ekatra bhikṣā :—

prabhura nimantraṇe lāge kauḍi cāri paṇa
kabhu kāśīśvara, govinda khāna tina jana

Translation: To invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would cost 320 kauḍis [small conchshells]. This would provide lunch for three people, including Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and sometimes Kāśīśvara and Govinda.

Jayapatākā Swami: 80 conchshells is one paisa, that means 320 conchshells (small conchshells) is 4 paisa. I have seen one paisa in the praṇāmi box (donation box) a kind of square coin.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.41

pratyaha prabhura bhikṣā iti-uti haya
keha yadi mūlya āne, cāri-paṇa-nirṇaya

Translation: Every day the Lord would take His meal at a different place, and if someone was prepared to pay for a meal, the price was fixed at only four paṇas.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.42

svayaṁ prabhukeo marttyajñāne taddoṣānveṣaṇa:

prabhura sthiti, rīti, bhikṣā, śayana, prayāṇa
rāmacandra-purī kare sarvānusandhāna

Translation: Rāmacandra Purī concerned himself with gathering all sorts of information about how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was situated, including His regulative principles, His lunch, His sleep and His movements.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmacandra Purī was studying Lord Caitanya's every move to find out some way to criticize Him.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.43

adhokṣaja svayaṁ bhagavān pūrṇa o nirddoṣa —

prabhura yateka guṇa sparśite nārila
chidra cāhi’ bule, kāṅhā chidra nā pāila

Translation: Because Rāmacandra Purī was interested only in finding faults, he could not understand the transcendental qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. His only concern was finding faults, but still he could not find any.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is an avatāra of Kṛṣṇa as a devotee, but that could not be understood by Rāmacandra Purī who was only interested to find fault but he could not find any.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.44

sannyāsīra vidhi o niṣedha—–

‘sannyāsī hañā kare miṣṭānna bhakṣaṇa
ei bhoge haya kaiche indriya-vāraṇa’?

Translation: At last he found a fault. “How can a person in the renounced order eat so many sweetmeats?” he said. “If one eats sweets, controlling the senses is very difficult.”

Jayapatākā Swami: It says how Lord Caitanya would take Jagannātha miṣṭānna, the sweet rice offered to Jagannātha and that was finally what Rāmacandra Purī criticized.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.45

sarvatra prabhu-nindā, athaca pratyaha prabhu-darśana—

ei nindā kari’ kahe sarva-loka-sthāne
prabhure dekhiteha avaśya āise prati-dine

Translation: In this way Rāmacandra Purī blasphemed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu before everyone, but nevertheless he would regularly come to see the Lord every day.

Jayapatākā Swami: Although Rāmacandra Purī was blaspheming the Lord Caitanya, he was so fortunate that he would come every day to see the Lord. How many of you would like to see the Lord every day?

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.46

prabhura maryādā-pradāna, rāmacandrera nindā viṣodgāra

prabhu guru-buddhye karena sambhrama, sammāna
teṅho chidra cāhi’ bule,—ei tāra kāma

Translation: When they met, the Lord would offer him respectful obeisances, considering him a Godbrother of His spiritual master. Rāmacandra Purī’s business, however, was to search for faults in the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.47

svanindā-śravaṇeo prabhura purīke padocita sammāna-dānapūrvaka vañcanā—

yata nindā kare tāhā prabhu saba jāne
tathāpi ādara kare baḍa-i sambhrame

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew that Rāmacandra Purī was criticizing Him before everyone, but whenever Rāmacandra Purī came to see Him, the Lord offered him respects with great attention.

Jayapatākā Swami: As Lord Caitanya is antaryāmi, the Supersoul, He knew that Rāmacandra Purī was criticizing Him. But still He would offer him respect as the God-brother of His guru. Now, Lord Caitanya is teaching us how we should be more careful when we are dealing with superior Vaiṣṇavas.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.48

ekadā prāte prabhugṛhe pipīlikā-śreṇī-darśane svayaṁ bhagavān prabhura vairagya-nindanānte prasthāna —

eka-dina prātaḥ-kāle āilā prabhura ghara
pipīlikā dekhi’ kichu kahena uttara

Translation: One day Rāmacandra Purī came in the morning to the abode of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Seeing many ants, he said something to criticize the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.49

rāmacandra-purī-vākya—

“rātrāv atra aikṣavam āsīt,
tena pipīlikāḥ sañcaranti
aho! viraktānāṁ sannyāsinām iyam indriya-lālaseti
bruvann utthāya gataḥ.”

Translation: “Last night there was sugar candy here,” he said. “Therefore ants are wandering about. Alas, this renounced sannyāsī is attached to such sense gratification!” After speaking in this way, he got up and left.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, there may be so many reasons why there are ants, but Rāmacandra Purī he used the ants to criticize the Lord, this was his nature to criticize everyone. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.50

svakarṇe prabhura purīkarttṛka anṛta-nindā-śravaṇa —

prabhu paramparāya nindā kairāchena śravaṇa
ebe sākṣāt śunilena ‘kalpita’ nindana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had heard rumors about Rāmacandra Purī’s blasphemy. Now He directly heard his fanciful accusations.

Purport: Rāmacandra Purī could find no faults in the character of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for He is situated in a transcendental position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ants are generally found everywhere, but when Rāmacandra Purī saw ants crawling in the abode of the Lord, he took it for granted that they must have been there because Caitanya Mahāprabhu had been eating sweetmeats. He thus discovered imaginary faults in the Lord and then left.

Jayapatākā Swami: We can see how Rāmacandra Purī overly critical of everybody, and like a fly finds the sore part and lands on a cut on the arm, he looks for anything he can criticize and as result he was rebuked by Mādhavendra Purī and here also he is imagining fashionable criticisms against Lord Caitanya, as a result love of Godhead is far away from him.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.51

vivarta-buddhivaśei bhagavāne doṣāropa —

sahajei pipīlikā sarvatra beḍāya
tāhāte tarka uṭhāñā doṣa lāgāya

Translation: Ants generally crawl about here, there and everywhere, but Rāmacandra Purī, imagining faults, criticized Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by alleging that there had been sweetmeats in His room.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.52

svanindā-śravaṇe jagadguru ācāryarūpī prabhura bhaya o lajjā —

śuni’ tāhā prabhura saṅkoca-bhaya mane
govinde bolāñā kichu kahena vacane

Translation: After hearing this criticism, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was doubtful and apprehensive. Therefore He called Govinda and instructed him as follows.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.53

svīya dainikabhikṣā-saṅkocana o govindera nikaṭa tatparimāṇa-nirddhāra —

“āji haite bhikṣā āmāra ei ta’ niyama
piṇḍā-bhogera eka cauṭhi, pāṅca-gaṇḍāra vyañjana

Translation: “From today on it will be a rule that I shall accept only one-fourth of a pot of Lord Jagannātha’s prasādam and five gaṇḍās’ worth of vegetables.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see how Lord Caitanya wanted to show the good example, so He reduced His eating to one-fourth of a pot of Jagannātha’s rice although Lord Caitanya He can eat more because He is bigger.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.54

parimāṇātirikta-grahaṇe sthānatyāga-bhayapradarśana —

ihā ba-i adhika āra kichu nā ānibā
adhika ānile āmā ethā nā dekhibā

Translation: “If you bring any more than this, you will not see Me here anymore.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.55

sarvabhaktake prabhura kaṭhorādeśa-jñāpana, sakalera dāruṇa duḥkha —

sakala vaiṣṇave govinda kahe ei bāt
śuni’ sabāra māthe yaiche haila vajrāghāta

Translation: Govinda relayed this message to all the devotees. When they heard it, they felt as if their heads had been struck by thunderbolts.

Jayapatākā Swami: Every body liked to feed Lord Caitanya sumptuously and now that He had restricted His eating so much, they felt like they had been hit by thunderbolts - something intolerable for them.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.56

durātmā rāmacandra-purīke prāṇādhika prabhura virodhi-jñāne bhaktagaṇera nindā—

rāmacandra-purīke sabāya deya tiraskāra
‘ei pāpiṣṭha āsi’ prāṇa la-ila sabāra’

Translation: All the devotees condemned Rāmacandra Purī, saying, “This sinful man has come here and taken our lives.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 5. 57-58

eka viprera prabhuke nimantraṇa—

sei-dina eka-vipra kaila nimantraṇa
eka-cauṭhi bhāta, pāṅca-gaṇḍāra vyañjana

prabhura janya govindera yathānirddiṣṭa-parimāṇa prasāda-grahaṇa, prabhura sāmānyāhāre viprera duḥkha—

ei-mātra govinda kaila aṅgīkāra
māthāya ghā māre vipra, kare hāhākāra

Translation: That day, a brāhmaṇa extended an invitation to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When Govinda accepted only five gaṇḍās’ worth of vegetables and a fourth of a pot of rice, the brāhmaṇa, in great despair, struck his head with his hand and cried, “Alas! Alas!”

Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally the devotees, they wanted to feed Lord Caitanya - that He was taking so little prasāda was a great suffering for the hosts.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.59

prabhura ardha-bhojana, govindera avaśiṣṭārddha-prāpti, bhaktagaṇera anna-jala-tyāga —

sei bhāta-vyañjana prabhu ardheka khāila
ye kichu rahila, tāhā govinda pāila

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ate only half of the rice and vegetables, and whatever remained was taken by Govinda.

Jayapatākā Swami: Actually Lord Caitanya was eating a very small quantity and of that taking only a half. So the half He left was taken by Govinda dāsa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.60

ardhāśana karena prabhu, govinda ardhāśana
saba bhakta-gaṇa tabe chāḍila bhojana

Translation: Thus both Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Govinda ate only half the food they needed. Because of this, all the other devotees gave up eating.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can understand how all the devotees wanted to please Lord Caitanya, when they saw the Lord was taking of what He needed, they could not eat anything.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.61

govinda o kāśīśvarake anyatra bhikṣā-grahaṇe ādeśa —

govinda-kāśīśvare prabhu kailā ājñāpana
‘duṅhe anyatra māgi’ kara udara bharaṇa’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Govinda and Kāśīśvara, “You may both take alms elsewhere to fill your bellies.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.62

prabhura bhojanasaṅkoca-phale bhakta-duḥkhaśravaṇe rāmacandrera prabhusamīpe āgamana —

ei-rūpa mahā-duḥkhe dina kata gela
śuni’ rāmacandra-purī prabhu-pāśa āila

Translation: In this way, some days passed in great unhappiness. Hearing of all this, Rāmacandra Purī went to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.65

tomāre kṣīṇa dekhi, śuni,—kara ardhāśana
ei ‘śuṣka-vairāgya’ nahe sannyāsīra ‘dharma’

Translation: “I have heard that You have cut Your eating in half. Indeed, I see that You are skinny. Such dry renunciation is also not the religion of a sannyāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, because of his criticism Lord Caitanya was eating half of what He needed, and then Rāmacandra Purī criticized Him that You are not eating enough, this is dry renunciation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.66

sarvāvasthāya yukta-vairāgyei siddhilābha—

yathā-yogya udara bhare, nā kare ‘viṣaya’ bhoga
sannyāsīra tabe siddha haya jñāna-yoga

Translation: “A sannyāsī eats as much as necessary to maintain his body, but he does not enjoy satisfying his senses materially. Thus a sannyāsī becomes perfect in his spiritual advancement in knowledge.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmacandra Purī he is instructing Lord Caitanya although he had no idea of who Lord Caitanya is.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 5.67-68

sarvatra yukta-vairāgyayuk bhakti-yogei anarthanāśa :—
śrīmad-bhagavad-gītāya (6.16-17)

Translation: “[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] ‘My dear Arjuna, one cannot perform mystic yoga if he eats more than necessary or needlessly fasts, sleeps and dreams too much or does not sleep enough. One should eat and enjoy his senses as much as necessary, one should properly endeavor to execute his duties, and one should regulate his sleep and wakefulness. Thus, one can become freed from material pains by executing mystic yoga.”

Purport: This is a quotation from the Bhagavad-gītā (6.16-17).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmacandra Purī is instructing Lord Caitanya on the process of mystic yoga, he did not understand the supremacy of bhakti.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.69

amāni-dharmera ādarśa prabhura dainyokti —

prabhu kahe,—“ajña bālaka mui ‘śiṣya’ tomāra
more śikṣā deha’,—ei bhāgya āmāra”

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then humbly submitted, “I am just like an ignorant boy and am like your disciple. It is My great fortune that you are instructing Me.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 8.70

prabhura bhaktagaṇera arddha-bhojana-śravaṇa—

eta śuni’ rāmacandra-purī uṭhi’ gelā
bhakta-gaṇa ardhāśana kare,—purī gosāñi śunilā

Translation: Hearing this, Rāmacandra Purī got up and left. He also heard from various sources that all the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were eating half as much as usual.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, All the Devotees of Lord Caitanya were Eating Half as Much as Usual Because of Rāmacandra Purī
Under the section: Rāmacandra Purī Criticizes the Lord