20230117 Lord Gaurāṅga and Avadhūtacandra, Śrī Nityānanda, Spend Some Time Together in Great Ecstasy, Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 17th,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:

Lord Gaurāṅga and Avadhūtacandra, Śrī Nityānanda, Spend Some Time Together in Great Ecstasy, Part 1
Under the section: Śrī Nityānanda’s Return Journey to Nīlācala from Navadvīpa

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.73

puspopavane upaveśana, paraspara guhyālāpa —

kata-kṣaṇe dui prabhu bāhya prakāśiyā
vasilena nibhṛte puṣpera vane giyā

Jayapatākā Swami: After some time the two Lords manifested Their external consciousness, They went to a flower forest and sat down in a secluded place.

So, the external consciousness means consciousness of the material world. Previously They were in such ecstasy that They were not actually conscious of the external world.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.74

īśvare parameśvare haila ki kathā
vede se ihāra tattva jānena sarvathā

Jayapatākā Swami: The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His expansions as the Supreme Lord had Their discussions. But these discussions are known completely known by the Vedas and no one else.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.75

nityānande caitanye yakhane dekhā haya
prāya āra keha nāhi thāke se samaya

Jayapatākā Swami: When Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda would meet each other, usually there was no one else present at that time.

Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda would discuss Kṛṣṇa-kathā, topics on Lord Kṛṣṇa confidentially and no one else would be there around. Actually it is very rare to see the Supreme Lord come down and manifest Himself, and it is even more rare to see the Supreme Lord come down as a devotee and relish discussing the topics about Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although He is Kṛṣṇa He is playing the part of a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He had borrowed the heart of Rādhārāṇī and He is researching what a wonderful thing it is to be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.76

ki karena ānanda-vigraha dui-jana
caitanya-icchāya keha nā thāke takhana

Jayapatākā Swami: What These Lords, who are the personification would do, no one knows because by Lord Caitanya's will no one at that time was present.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.77

nityānanda-svarūpa o prabhu-icchā jāni’
ekānte se āsiyā dekhena nyāsi-maṇi

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa, He knows the inner desire of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, at that time He would meet this jewel among sannyāsīs alone.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.78

āpanāre yena prabhu nā karena vyakta
ei-mata lukāyena nityānanda-tattva

Jayapatākā Swami: Just as Lord Caitanya did not reveal His own identity publicly in the same way He concealed the actual factual truth of the real identity of Nityānanda Prabhu.

Although Lord Caitanya was really the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and although Balarāma has come as Lord Nityānanda, Lord Caitanya would keep all these things concealed from the general public. Only very intimate associates knew His actual identity and He would not allow anyone to address Him as the Supreme Lord, as He was playing the part of devotee, but actually He was.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.79

sukomala durvijñeya īśvara hṛdaya
veda-śāstre brahmā, śiva saba ei kaya

Jayapatākā Swami: The heart of the Supreme Lord is very soft and very difficult to understand. In the Vedic literatures, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva have also confirmed this fact.

Purport: (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Śrīla Prabhupāda) In the Uttara Rāma-carita (3.23) it is stated:

“The hearts of those above common behavior are sometimes harder than a thunderbolt and sometimes softer than a flower. How can one accommodate such contradictions in great personalities?”

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes Lord Caitanya is acting as Mahāprabhu, a great teacher and He deals very strongly with devotees who are giving a bad example. But sometimes He is in the mood of mercy just giving out love of Godhead freely, without considering who is qualified and who is not qualified. So He has these different moods. This shows that He is completely independent.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.80

nā bujhi’, nā jāni’ mātra sabe gāya gāthā
lakṣmīro ei se vākya, anyera ki kathā

Jayapatākā Swami: People who chant the glories of the Lord admit that they do not know or they don’t understand what the mind is or the heart is of the Supreme Lord, although they sing His glories, even Lakṣmī Devi says the same thing, what to speak of others?

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.81

ei mata bhāva-raṅge caitanya-gosāñi
ei kathā nā kahena eka-jana-ṭhāñi

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Caitanya Gosāñi enjoyed the ecstatic exchanges and this He did not disclose to anyone.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.82

hena se tāṅhāra raṅga,—sabei mānena
“āmāra adhika prīta kāro nā vāsena

Jayapatākā Swami: Such are His pastimes, that everyone thought, more than me, the Lord did not love anyone more than me.

Just like Lord Kṛṣṇa when He was picnicking with His cowherd boyfriends, everybody though the Lord is just looking at me. How is that possible? Like that, everyone thinks that Lord Caitanya is just loving me, That is the power of the Supreme Lord . Actually, Lord Caitanya loves everyone, but especially those who take up bhakti-yoga. In the Bhagavad-gītā, in the eighteenth chapter Kṛṣṇa says that those who preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā they are the dearest to me and no one in the world is more dear than them.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.83

āmāre se kahena sakala gopya katha
’muni-dharma kari’ kṛṣṇa bhajibe sarvathā

Jayapatākā Swami: “He tells me all the confidential topics like, ‘Practice the principles of a mendicant and always worship Lord Kṛṣṇa.’

So, based on time, place and circumstance, different principles are stressed. Lord Caitanya, He taught, whether one is a gṛhastha, or one is in the renounced order, we should all chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra and in this way go back to Godhead . Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying here in Mayapur 1976, that many ladies are joining our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and they need to be protected, and the system is that in the childhood they are protected by the parents, in youth and middle age by their husbands, and in old age protected by their eldest son or their sons. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that somehow, the girls are to be married so that they are protected. But it seems that at the present time, to be a responsible gṛhastha is very important. We hope that all the brahmacārīs would preach like this because most of our devotees are gṛhasthas or aspiring gṛhasthas . The gṛhasthas should worship Kṛṣṇa, take Kṛṣṇa-prasāda, distribute books, chant and preach and read Śrīla Prabhupāda books. Although the society is with married people, they don’t practice spiritual life, they need good examples so that the whole world would take up Lord Caitanya's process.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.84

vetra, vaṁśī, barhā, guñjā-mālā, chāṅda-daḍi
ihā vā dharena kene muni-dharma chāḍi’”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Nityānanda is speaking although Lord Caitanya said like this “He tells Me to give up the principles of a mendicant and to take up the stick, flute, peacock feather, conchshells garland, chāṅda-daḍi, guñja-mālā, and rope.”

So, Lord Nityānanda is saying why does He tell me to give up the principles of a mendicant and accept the stick, flute, peacock feather, conchshells garland, guñja-mālā, special rope.

So, Lord Nityānanda is informing others that Lord Caitanya is telling them to practice being a mendicant and worship Kṛṣṇa, but to Me He says, give up being a mendicant and take up all these things like the stick, flute, peacock feather, etc. Why is He doing that?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, chāṅda-daḍi refers to the rope used to bind the hind legs of a cow while milking, so it is cow milking rope.

Purport: The word barhā means “peacock feather.”

The phrase chāṅda-daḍi refers to the rope used to bind the hind legs of a cow while milking.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.85

keha bale,—“bhakta-nāma yateka prakāra
vṛndāvane gopa-krīḍāadhika sabāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone say that, “The Supreme Lord’s had many devotional activities but amongst all the activities, the activities or pastimes, with the cowherd boys in Vṛndāvana are superior to His pastimes with all other devotees.”

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): The perfection of all types of devotees and devotional service is found in the exchanges between the transcendental residents of the transcendental abode of Vṛndāvana.

Jayapatākā Swami: The gopa-krīḍā, all the pastimes with the cowherd people would be known, because it refers to gopas, means the gopas' parents and the gopīs.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.86

gopa-gopī-bhakti—saba tapasyāra phala
yāhā vāñche brahmā, śiva īśvara-sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotion attained by the gopas and gopīs of Vṛndāvana is the result of great austerities. That platform is desired by Brahmā, Śiva, and other great personalities.

Purport (By Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Śrīla Prabhupāda): In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.12.11) it is stated:

“In this way, all the cowherd boys used to play with Kṛṣṇa, who is the source of the Brahman effulgence for jñānīs desiring to merge into that effulgence, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead for devotees who have accepted eternal servitorship, and who for ordinary persons is but another ordinary child. The cowherd boys, having accumulated the results of pious activities for many lives, were able to associate in this way with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can one explain their great fortune?”

See Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (2.16-18)

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa He assumes the postion of a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana so that His devotees can exchange their love for Him in various mellows, and this opportunity is given to the most fortunate living entities. This is something that is a secret and people around the world are not aware of this possibility. For them God is either impersonal or very distant but one can actually exchange love with Him is something very confidential, but Lord Caitanya is giving it freely to everyone just if you want it.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 7.87

śrī-uddhavādi-vāñchita gokula-bhāvera sudurlabhatva—

ati kṛpā-pātra se gokula-bhāva pāya
ye bhakti vāñchena prabhu śrī-uddhavarāya

Jayapatākā Swami: A person who is extremely fortunate can achieve the mood of a resident of Gokula, and that mood of devotional service is desired even by the great master Śrī Uddhavarāya.

See Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.61).

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Gaurāṅga and Avadhūtacandra, Śrī Nityānanda, Spend Some Time Together in Great Ecstasy, Part 1
Under the section, Śrī Nityānanda’s Return Journey to Nīlācala from Navadvīpa