20230210 Lord Caitanya Observed the General Etiquette, But on Principle Accepted Invitations Even from His Non-brāhmaṇa Devotees

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on february 10th,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 Caitanya Observed the General Etiquette, But on Principle Accepted Invitations Even from His Non-brāhmaṇa Devotees
Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.128

sarvanaivedya bhojanānte rāghavera jhāli avaśiṣṭaḥ—

govinda bale,—‘rāghavera jhāli mātra āche’
prabhu kahe,—‘āji rahu, tāhā dekhimu pāche’

Translation: Govinda replied, “Now there are only the bags of Rāghava.”

The Lord said, “Let them remain today. I shall see them later.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.129

anyadina prabhura ekākī bhojanakāle rāghavera jhālisthita uttama naivedyarāśi-bhojana o tatpraśaṃsāḥ—

āra dina prabhu yadi nibhṛte bhojana kailā
rāghavera jhāli khuli’ sakala dekhilā

Translation: The next day, while taking His lunch in a secluded place, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu opened the bags of Rāghava and inspected their contents one after another.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāghava Paṇḍita sent many preparations cooked by himself and his sister, Damayantī. Lord Caitanya was checking all the varieties of prasāda that they sent.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.130

saba dravyera kichu kichu upayoga kailā
svādu, sugandhi dekhi’ bahu praśaṁsilā

Translation: He tasted a little of everything they contained and praised it all for its flavor and aroma.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the preparations were made with great love and devotion, the flavor and aroma were also pleasing.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.131

ekavatsara pareo rāghavera jhālira vikārarahita naivedya-bhojanaḥ —

vatsareka tare āra rākhilā dhariyā
bhojana-kāle svarūpa pariveśe khasāñā

Translation: All the varieties of the remaining prasādam were kept to eat throughout the year. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ate His lunch, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī would serve it little by little.

Jayapatākā Swami: These preparations were made to last six months or a year, and Lord Caitanya would take a little bit with each meal and it was very good for His digestion.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.132

bhaktera śraddhā-datta naivedya-svīkāraḥ —

kabhu rātri-kāle kichu karena upayoga
bhaktera śraddhāra dravya avaśya karena upabhoga

Translation: Sometimes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would take some of it at night. The Lord certainly enjoys preparations made with faith and love by His devotees.

Purport: Kṛṣṇa is very pleased with His devotees and their offerings. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) the Lord says:

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.” Herein also we find that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted all this food because it had been offered by His devotees. Sometimes He would eat it during lunch and sometimes at night, but He would always think that since His devotees had offered it with great love and affection, He must eat it.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya did not need anything. But since the devotees had prepared with love and devotion, He would accept.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.133

svīya bhaktagaṇasaha prabhura kṛṣṇakathāya cāturmmāsya-yāpanaḥ—

ei-mata mahāprabhu bhakta-gaṇa-saṅge
cāturmāsya goṅāilā kṛṣṇa-kathā-raṅge

Translation: Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spent the entire period of Cāturmāsya [the four months of the rainy season] in the happiness of discussing topics of Kṛṣṇa with His devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya was always engaged in some form of kīrtana. Discussing the glories of Kṛṣṇa, is one example of kīrtana and He would discuss these glories of Kṛṣṇa will all His devotees.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.134

sva-sva-gṛhe advaitāryyādira nimantraṇaḥ—

madhye madhye ācāryādi kare nimantraṇa
ghare bhāta rāndhe āra vividha vyañjana

Translation: From time to time, Advaita Ācārya and others would invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for home-cooked rice and varieties of vegetables.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, devotees would give Lord Caitanya the Jagannātha Maha-prasāda. Sometimes, they would cook rice and vegetables at home to give Lord Caitanya. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.135-136

prabhupriya vicitra naivedya-varṇanaḥ—

maricera jhāla, āra madhurāmla āra
ādā, lavaṇa, lembu, dugdha, dadhi, khaṇḍa-sāra

śāka dui-cāri, āra sukutāra jhola
nimba-vārtākī, āra bhṛṣṭa-paṭola

Translation: They offered pungent preparations made with black pepper, sweet-and-sour preparations, ginger, salty preparations, limes, milk, yogurt, sugar candy, two or four kinds of spinach, soup made with bitter melon, eggplant mixed with nimba leaves, and fried paṭola.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya would take prasāda with all these varieties of taste, bitter, salty, pungent, astringent (opposite of acid) sour and sweet.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.137

bhṛṣṭa phula-baḍī, āra mudga-ḍāli-sūpa
vividha vyañjana rāndhe prabhura ruci-anurūpa

Translation: They also offered phula-baḍī, liquid mung dhal and many vegetables, all cooked according to the Lord’s taste.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the description that every day the Lord would take these preparations cooked with love and devotion

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.138

prabhura prasādasaha naivedya-bhojanaḥ—

jagannāthera prasāda āne karite miśrita
kāhāṅ ekā yāyena, kāhāṅ gaṇera sahita

Translation: They would mix these preparations with the remnants of food from Lord Jagannātha. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the invitations, He went sometimes alone and sometimes with His associates.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some people say that you should take only Jagannātha prasāda alone. Here we see that Lord Caitanya would take Jagannātha prasāda with other things.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.139

apara nimantraṇakārī gauḍīya bhaktagaṇaḥ—

ācāryaratna, ācāryanidhi, nandana, rāghava
śrīvāsa-ādi yata bhakta, vipra saba

Translation: Devotees like Ācāryaratna, Ācāryanidhi, Nandana Ācārya, Rāghava Paṇḍita and Śrīvāsa were all of the brāhmaṇa caste.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.140-141

ei-mata nimantraṇa karena yatna kari
vāsudeva, gadādhara-dāsa, gupta-murāri

kulīna-grāmī, khaṇḍa-vāsī, āra yata jana
jagannāthera prasāda āni’ kare nimantraṇa

Translation: They would extend invitations to the Lord. Vāsudeva Datta, Gadādhara dāsa, Murāri Gupta, the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma and Khaṇḍa and many other devotees who were not brāhmaṇas by caste would purchase food offered to Lord Jagannātha and then extend invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Purport: The inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma, such as Satyarāja Khān and Rāmānanda Vasu, were not brāhmaṇas by caste, nor were the inhabitants of Khaṇḍa, such as Mukunda dāsa, Narahari dāsa and Raghunandana. Therefore they would purchase prasādam from the market where the remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food was sold and then extend invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whereas Ācāryaratna,Ācāryanidhi and others who were brāhmaṇas by caste would cook at home when they invited the Lord. Caitanya Mahāprabhu observed the etiquette then current in society by accepting only prasādam cooked by members of the brāhmaṇa caste, but on principle He accepted invitations from His devotees, regardless of whether they were brāhmaṇas by caste.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya was accepting invitations from all His devotees. So, in this way, He satisfied everyone. At the same time, He observed external etiquette.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Caitanya Observed the General Etiquette, But on Principle Accepted Invitations Even from His Non-brāhmaṇa Devotees
Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Haribol!