20230205 Nārāyaṇa’s Pastime as Instructing Spiritual Master and The Best of Sannyāsīs

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 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!

Continuing Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation :

Nārāyaṇa’s Pastime as Instructing Spiritual Master and The Best of Sannyāsīs
Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.52

sva-sva-bhaktagaṇasaha govindadeva o prabhura svasthāne prasthānaḥ—

jala-līlā kari’ govinda calilā ālaya
nija-gaṇa lañā prabhu gelā devālaya

Translation: After concluding His pastimes in the water, Lord Govinda returned to His residence. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the temple, taking all His devotees with Him.

Purport: The Deity referred to herein as Govinda is the vijaya-vigraha in the temple of Jagannātha. When there is a need to take Jagannātha somewhere, the vijaya-vigraha is taken because the body of Jagannātha is very heavy. The vijaya-vigraha in the Jagannātha temple is known as Govinda. For the pastimes in Narendra-sarovara, the vijaya-vigraha was carried there instead of Lord Jagannātha.

Jayapatākā Swami: Many Deities have vijaya-vigrahas. Just like in Māyāpur we have vijaya-vigrahas that ride on the backs of the elephants, and they are very small. So, in the Lord Jagannātha temple the Deities are very big and heavy, and it is not possible to carry Them around. So for this Narendra-sarovara boat festival, they have the small vijaya-vigraha of the Deity and He would perform this boat festival. Just like in Māyāpur also we take the Rādhā Mādhava Deity (aṣṭa-dhātu Deity) instead of the marble Deity on our boat festival. Like this different Deities are used for different purposes. In the Jhulan-yātrā, a smaller Deity is used to observe the swing festival. So like this they had an utsava-mūrti, a festival Deity to observe the boat festival. His name was Śrī Govinda.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.142

bhaktagaṇake laiyā śrī-jagannātha sandarśanārtha mahāprabhura śrī-mandire gamana—

tabe prabhu jala-krīḍā sampanna kariyā
jagannātha dekhite calilā sabā laiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: After finishing His water sports, Lord Caitanya went with His devotees to see Lord Jagannātha in the temple.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.143

jagannātha-darśane prabhu o bhaktagaṇera ānanda-krandana—

jagannātha dekhi’ prabhu sarva-bhakta-gaṇa
lāgilā karite sabe ānande rodana

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya and His devotees all began to cry in loving ecstasy on seeing Lord Jagannātha.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.144

jagannātha dekhi’ prabhu hayena vihvala
ānanda-dhārāyā aṅga titila sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: On seeing Lord Jagannātha, Lord Caitanya became overwhelmed and His whole body became soaked with tears of loving ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.145

advaitādi-bhakta-goṣṭhī dekhena santoṣe
kevala ānanda-sindhu-madhye sabe bhāse

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita Ācārya and all the devotees in His group looked on with great satisfaction and everyone floated in the ocean of transcendental bliss.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.146

bhaktagoṣṭhīra sacala o niścala-jagannātha-darśane praṇati—

dui-dike sacala niścala Jagannātha
dekhi’ dekhi’ bhakta-goṣṭhī haya daṇḍapāta

Jayapatākā Swami: In the two directions there were both the moving and nonmoving Lord of the Universe, Lord Jagannātha. Seeing this, again and again, the assembled devotees fell flat, offering their obeisances.

The nonmoving Lord Jagannātha is the Deity form of Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā and Sudarśana cakra. The moving form was Lord Caitanya, and the devotees were watching both and they felt great loving sentiments and offered their prostrate obeisances.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.147

kāśīmiśra kartṛka jagannāthera galāra mālā-dvārā sakalera aṅgabhūṣā-sādhana—

kāśī-miśra āni’ jagannāthera galāra
mālā āni’ aṅga-bhūṣā kailena sabāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Kāśī Miśra then brought Lord Jagannātha’s prasāda garlands from Lord Jagannātha’s neck, bringing the mālā he offered them to all the devotees and decorated their bodies.

These activities were accepted by the devotees as being inspired by Lord Jagannātha. That taking the Deities’ prasāda garlands, decorating them on the bodies of the assembled bodies was considered as special mercy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.148

śikṣā-guru mahāprabhura mahā bhaktisahakāre prasāda-nirmālya-grahaṇa-līlā-dvārā lokaśikṣā —

mālā laya prabhu mahābhaya-bhakti kari’
śikṣā-guru nārāyaṇa nyāsi-veśa-dhārī

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, accepted the garland prasāda of Lord Jagannātha with great reverence and devotion. He was acting as the original śikṣā-guru, instructing spiritual master - Nārāyaṇa in the form dressed as a sannyāsī.

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): For a sannyāsī there is no prescription for accepting objects of enjoyment like sandalwood paste or scented oils. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva accepted the garland of Śrī Jagannātha with great respect to display an attitude of service and to preach in this world the purport of the verse:

“When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material, their renunciation is called incomplete.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, taking a garland that had not been offered to Kṛṣṇa may be a display of sense gratification. But Lord Caitanya by showing His devotion and respect to Lord Jagannātha, was teaching everyone that all things connected with the Lord may be accepted in His service. Uddhava Prabhu would always take the prasāda garlands which had been offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.149

vaiṣṇava-tulasī-gaṅgā-prasādera bhakti śikṣādāna—

vaiṣṇava, tulasī, gaṅgā, prasādera bhakti
tiṅho se jānena, anye nā dhare se śakti

Translation: Only Lord Caitanya knows the glories of the Vaiṣṇavas, tulasī, the Ganges, and mahā-prasāda — no one else has the ability to know.

Purport: Śrī Mahāprabhu alone knows how to respect the Vaiṣṇava devotees, tulasī, Gaṅgā, and the Lord’s prasāda. Apart from Śrī Mahāprabhu, others consider those objects equal to ordinary objects.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, people without spiritual understanding might consider these objects to be ordinary material items. But Lord Caitanya is teaching how we should respect the Vaiṣṇavas, the Ganges, tulasī and kṛṣṇa-prasāda. That everything connected with Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. Lord Śiva told Pārvatī how the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the best. With one exception – worshiping of the things connected with Lord Viṣṇu is even better.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.150

vaiṣṇave bhaktipradarśana-līlā dvārā lokaśikṣā—

vaiṣṇavera bhakti ei dekhāna sākṣāta
mahāśramī vaiṣṇavere kare daṇḍapāta

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya demonstrated proper Vaiṣṇava behavior by His own example by offering respect to other Vaiṣṇavas and by offering them prostrate obeisances.

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Among the four āśramas, the sannyāsa-āśrama is the topmost. Although He was situated in the sannyāsa-āśrama, Śrī Gaurasundara displayed the pastime of offering obeisances to Vaiṣṇavas situated in other āśramas. If even a young boy is situated in the sannyāsa-āśrama, he is offered obeisances by his father and mother. Although a father is supposed to be always respected by his son, after the son takes sannyāsa, the father must offer respect to his sannyāsī son.

Jayapatākā Swami: A sannyāsī goes through the system of leaving his previous āśrama and accepting the sannyāsa-āśrama. That is why when a sannyāsī refers to his parents he refers to them as ‘my previous āśrama parents – Purvāśrama pitā, mā’. Lord Caitanya was teaching how to respect Vaiṣṇavas. He is showing His example. Actually, as Kṛṣṇa, He does not have to offer respect to anyone. But since He is giving instructions by His behavior, He does things in such a way that people should follow Him.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.151

sannyāsīra sammāna-pitārao sannyāsāśramī putrake namaskāra —

sannyāsa grahaṇa kaile hena dharma tāṅra
pitā āsi’ putrere karena namaskāra

Translation: Religious principles prescribe that a father should offer respect to his son after the son accepts sannyāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since the sannyāsa-āśrama is considered the best of all the āśramas, therefore the father being in the gṛhastha-āśrama should offer respect to his son who is now a sannyāsī.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.152

sannyāsīsakalerai pūjita, vandita o namaskṛta—

ataeva sannyāsāśrama sabāra vandita
sannyāsī sannyāsī namaskāra se vihita

Translation: Therefore the sannyāsa order is to be respected by all. It is prescribed that a sannyāsī should offer obeisances to other sannyāsīs.

Jayapatākā Swami: I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, when I was in the USA, “When I meet a māyāvādī-sannyāsī what should I do?” He said, “A sannyāsī should always be offered respect.”

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): The smṛtis have prescribed the atonement for not offering obeisances to a sannyāsī as follows:

“One who does not offer respect to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to His Deity in the temple, or to a tridaṇḍī-sannyāsī must purify himself by fasting.”

In his commentary on Bhagavad-gītā (5.2) Śrī Madhvācārya quotes the Nāradīya Purāṇa as follows:

“The fourth spiritual order is sannyāsa, in which one renounces all kinds of activities. There is no superior religious principle in the world than this.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, taking sannyāsa is considered as a mahā-vrata. And so he is offered all respect. If one cannot maintain the vows of sannyāsa, then he should not be in the sannyāsa-āśrama.

Caitanya Bhāgavata. Antya-khaṇḍa 8.153

sarvanamaskṛta sannyāsa-āśramera vyavahāra ullaṅghana kariyāo śikṣā-guru bhagavānera vaiṣṇavera prati praṇati-līlā—

tathāpi āśrama-dharma chāḍi’ vaiṣṇavere
śikṣā-guru śrī-kṛṣṇa āpane namaskare

Jayapatākā Swami: So Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the śikṣā-guru, rejected āśrama-dharma to personally offer obeisances to the Vaiṣṇavas.

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Persons situated in the topmost āśrama generally show affection to persons situated in lower āśramas; they do not offer them obeisances. But śikṣa-guru Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally offers obeisances to a Vaiṣṇava.

Jayapatākā Swami: A Vaiṣṇava is considered superior even to any varnāśrama position. This is said by the śāstra. Actually, one could be a brāhmaṇa, expert in chanting all the mantras, but if he is not a Vaiṣṇava then even a person born in a dog eating family if he is a Vaiṣṇava, he should be offered all respect. And if a brāhmaṇa is not a Vaiṣṇava, he cannot be a guru, but a person born in a dog eater family, who is not a brāhmaṇa, if he is a Vaiṣṇava, he can be a guru.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.53

jagannātha-darśanānte bhaktagaṇera bhojana sampādana-pūrvaka svasthāne preraṇaḥ—

jagannātha dekhi’ punaḥ nija-ghare āilā
prasāda ānāñā bhakta-gaṇe khāoyāilā

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to His residence after visiting the temple of Jagannātha, He asked for a large quantity of Lord Jagannātha’s prasādam, which He then distributed among His devotees so that they could eat sumptuously.

Jayapatākā Swami: At the end of every function, it is customary to distribute prasāda. Lord Caitanya personally did this giving jagannātha-prasāda to all His devotees.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.54

iṣṭa-goṣṭhī sabā lañā kata-kṣaṇa kailā
nija nija pūrva-vāsāya sabāya pāṭhāilā

Translation: After talking with all the devotees for some time, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked them to occupy the individual residences in which they had lived the previous year.

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotees had come and by their good fortune when they arrived; they saw Lord Caitanya and His devotees from Purī. They engaged in the water sports, they watched the pastime of Śrī Govinda going around in the boat in the Narendra-sarovara. They went to see Lord Jagannātha and then they returned and followed Lord Caitanya to His residence. Then they all had jagannātha-prasāda. But they had not settled in their residences. All this happened just on their arrival! Wow! Then Lord Caitanya told them to stay in the houses they were staying in the previous year.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.55

rāghavakartṛka govindasamīpe svīya jhāli-rakṣaṇaḥ—

govinda-ṭhāñi rāghava jhāli samarpilā
bhojana-gṛhera koṇe jhāli govinda rākhilā

Translation: Rāghava Paṇḍita delivered the bags of eatables to Govinda, who kept them in a corner of the dining room.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Govinda was the personal servant of Lord Caitanya. Rāghava delivered his jhālis, his bags of eatables to Govinda dāsa, who kept them in the dining room.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.56

pūrva-vatsarera jhāli ājāḍa kariyā
dravya bharibāre rākhe anya gṛhe lañā

Translation: Govinda thoroughly emptied the bags from the previous year and kept them in another room to fill them with other goods.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the ingredients of Rāghava’s jhāli lasted one year or more, so anything that was left from the previous year, Govinda took that and emptied the room.

Caitanya Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 8.154

śrī-gaurasundarera akṛtrima tulasī-sevana-līlā—

tulasīra bhakti ebe śuna mana
diyāye-rūpe kailena līlā tulasī laiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the next pastime will be how a great devotee in the plant form, Tulasī Devī is being worshiped by Lord Caitanya.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Nārāyaṇa’s Pastime as Instructing Spiritual Master and the Best of Sannyāsīs
Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Haribol!