20230306 Guara Pūrṇimā Eve Address for Russian Devotees

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Tomorrow Lord Caitanya appeared. It was the lunar eclipse when Lord Caitanya appeared. And normally, the culture at that time was that you should not say the name of Kṛṣṇa loud. But if you are in the Ganges on a lunar eclipse and bathe in the Ganges then you could chant the holy name. So everyone was chanting in the Ganges. Haribol! Haribol! Goovinda! Govinda! Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare! Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura he thought they say this is an inauspicious day, but this is the most auspicious day as everyone is chanting! When Lord Caitanya appeared the whole world, the whole of Navadvīpa was chanting the holy name. And Mother Śacī, she had the child under a neem tree. Thus the child was known as Nimāi. But the father of Mother Śacī, Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, he was a very great astrologer. I think many Russians are interested in astrology. Is that true? “Da! Da!” (Yes! Yes!) Anyway, he was asked to see the future of this child. Of course, he could see that He would take sannyāsa, but he did not say that as he did not want disturb the parents. And he said, this child will take the burden of the whole world. Therefore, He should be known as Viśvambhara, who takes the weight the bhāra, of the viśva the universe. At that time people were superficially religious. But actually, they were more interested in name and fame. Like, someone would marry his daughter in a very big ceremony and someone he wanted to compete, he would marry his daughter in a bigger ceremony! Another man he had no more daughters to marry, he married a male and female dog. But dogs are not married. Just that he wanted name and fame.

So, it was kind of irreligious activities were going on in the name of religion. And practically, pure bhakti to pure Kṛṣṇa was non-existent. So Lord Caitanya, He came in the world to deliver people. He told Lord Nityānanda when He was in Jagannātha Purī, that We promised to deliver four kinds of people – You have to go back to Bengal and preach, to deliver the fools, the lowborn, the fallen and the sad, distressed. These people, We have to deliver. Do any of you qualify? Only one! I qualify – before I became a devotee, I qualified for all the four! Before you became devotees, how many of you qualified for all four? You see, everybody thinks in the mundane world, even big, big doctors and professors, think they are the body. So, that way they are foolish! And then lowborn – anyone who is not a proper Vaiṣṇava is lowborn. Fallen, patīta, anyone who does not follow the regulative principles is patīta. And distressed, anyone who is having ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and ādhibhautika is distressed. Who is free of those? So Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, They came to deliver all these people. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, He came and delivered the message of Nitāi Gaura. We as representatives, are trying to carry out Śrīla Prabhupāda’s legacy. And we want people to be happy.

So the real purpose of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to make everybody happy to go back home back to Godhead! I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, I said I want to serve you life after life. He said, why do you want to make me come back? I thought I had said the right thing! Then I said, I want to serve you even, life after life. If I am not qualified to go back then in my next life I also want to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.

So Lord Caitanya, He appeared when the whole world was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. In Śāntipur, Advaita Gosāñī, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, they felt very blissful. They started to dance in ecstasy. Haribol! So, like this, then all the ladies came to see the newborn Nimāi. Even demigoddesses, they took the human form of brāhmaṇa women and came to see the avatāra. Men were not allowed. Only ladies! So, they were amazed to see how the baby was molten gold in color! Gaurāṅga! Gaura means molten gold. Aṅga means body. The golden body. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

Actually, when the Ganges came down from the higher planets, then she flooded the āśrama of Jahnu Muni and he swallowed the Ganges up! Slurp! He was disturbed! So Bhāgī Mahārāja who was bringing the Ganges down, he was bewildered, she was gone! Then he realized that Jahnu Muni had swallowed her. So he prayed that his forefathers’ were burnt by Kapiladeva in the Sagara island, so he asked Jahnu Muni to reproduce the Ganges. And he said, I am sorry, I digested her! Bhāgī Mahārāja said that if you can drink the Ganges then somehow by your mystic power you can reproduce the Ganges. So, he produced the Ganges from his knee. And therefore, she got the name Jāhnavī. And then she came out. We visit Jahnudvīpa one of the islands in Navadvīpa. Then, the Ganges stopped right by the birthplace of Lord Caitanya. Imagine, what anxiety this was for Bhāgī Mahārāja! He was making a channel for the Ganges and then she stopped! And he prayed to her, what is happening? Why are you not moving? And then she communicated with Bhāgī Mahārāja that Lord Caitanya appears here in Kali-yuga and I want to be here for His appearance day! Anyone who bathes in my water at this place, on the day of Lord Caitanya’s appearance, they get love of Kṛṣṇa! Be very careful about it. Up to 12 there is Holi, they throw colors. If you go before 12 your cloth will be multi-colored. Otherwise, go after 12. They stop throwing colors sometime after 12. But you have to be very careful as the Ganges has a current and some devotees have left their body on Gaura Pūrṇimā. I saved many devotees, but I am not in a condition to save now.

So this is a very special day and Mother Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī, the wife of Advaita she came in a palanquin and she offered some rare items to the baby. The Supreme Lord coming to this world is a very special occasion. And of all the incarnations He is considered the most merciful. I regularly pray before the Pañca-tattva for my dīkṣā, śikṣā disciples and grand disciples. That they may be strong in their Kṛṣṇa consciousness and remain in peace. And that they not only preach; but be successful in their preaching. I am very grateful to Caitanya Candra Caraṇa dāsa for engaging all the devotees in preaching. I pray for everyone who spreads the movement of Lord Caitanya.

So, Lord Caitanya, He appeared in Kali-yuga and He is predicted in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and various śāstras. They today we are having the Adhivāsa for Lord Caitanya. Tomorrow in the afternoon, we will have the abhiṣeka. There will be three altars, the main altar of the pūjārīs, the sannyāsīs and other devotees bathe the Lord. There will be one where the mātājīs and one where the men bathe the Deities. So come ready to participate in the bathing tomorrow afternoon. When you go back to wherever you came from, please spread this movement of Lord Caitanya. Especially, Lord Caitanya was saying that whether one is a gṛhastha or one is in the renounced order, they can all engage in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we hope that everyone will engage in this spreading of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. Hare Kṛṣṇa! What is next?