20230415 Fortunate Brāhmaṇa Asks Lord Caitanya to Clear His Doubt About Nityānanda Prabhu

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 15th,2023 in Dallas, USA.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Continuation of the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, Today's chapter is entitled as:

Fortunate Brāhmaṇa Asks Lord Caitanya to Clear His Doubt About Nityānanda Prabhu
Under the Section: The Glories of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.1

jaya-kīrtanamukhe maṅgalācaraṇa—

jaya jaya gauracandra jaya nityānanda
jaya jaya prabhura yateka bhakta-vṛnda

Jayapatākā Swami: All glories all glories to Lord Gaurāṅga, all glories all glories to Lord Nityānanda, all glories all glories to the Supreme Lord’s devotees.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.2

hena-mate mahāprabhu nityānanda-candra
sarva-dāsa-saha kare kīrtana-ānanda

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, Mahāprabhu, Lord Nityānanda Candra enjoyed the ecstatic bliss of kīrtana along with all of His servitors.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.3

abhinna-rohiṇī-nandana śrī-nityānandera līlā-vilāsa o śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-caraṇe lokākarṣaṇa—

vṛndāvana-madhye yena karilena līlā
sei-mata nityānanda-svarūpera khelā

Jayapatākā Swami: As He performed pastimes in Vṛndāvana dhāma, in the same way Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa played.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.4

akaitava-rūpe sarva-jagatera prati
laoyāyena śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rati-mati

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda without any duplicity, He gave towards all the people of the world, He brought them to attachment and love to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.

Purport: The majority of the people in the world are attracted to sense gratification and liberation. On the pretext of presenting religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu attracted everyone to the pure devotional service propagated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.5

saṅge pāriṣada-gaṇa—parama uddāma
sarva navadvīpe bhrame mahājyotir-dhāma

Jayapatākā Swami: Along with His eternal associates who were most enlightened, He wandered throughout Navadvīpa dhāma, as a great abode of transcendental effulgence.

So Lord Nityānanda, He manifested Himself in Navadvīpa dhāma as a most effulgent personality. And He was spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.6

avadhūta-nityānandera ācāra-pracāre kāhāro sukha, kāhāro aviśvāsa—

alaṅkāra-mālāya pūrṇita kalevara
karpūra-tāmbūla śobhe suraṅga adhara

Jayapatākā Swami: His body was fully decorated with ornaments and garlands. Betel nuts mixed with camphor caused His reddish lips to glisten.

Purport: The word suraṅga means “red” or “blood red.”

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.7

dekhi’ rāma-nityānanda prabhura vilāsa
keho sukha pāya, kāro nā janme viśvāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: On seeing the transcendental pastimes of Lord Nityānanda Rāma Prabhu, some people became very happy and some people, faith did not arise in their hearts.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.8

śrīman-mahāprabhura sahādhyāyī o prabhura prati śraddhāyukta janaika brāhmaṇera akṣaja-netre śrī-nityānanda ācaraṇa darśane sandeha—

sei navadvīpe eka āchena brāhmaṇa
caitanyera saṅge tāna pūrva adhyayana

Jayapatākā Swami: In that Navadvīpa dhāma, there resided one brāhmaṇa who studied previously along with Lord Caitanya as a co-student.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.9

nityānanda-svarūpera dekhiyā vilāsa
citte kichu tāna janmiyāche aviśvāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: On seeing Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa’s activities, he developed some doubts in his mind.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.10

caitanya-candrete tāra baḍa dṛḍha-bhakti
nityānanda-svarūpera nā jānena śakti

Jayapatākā Swami: He had firm, strong, pure devotion for Lord Caitanyacandra. He did not realize the potency of Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.11

daive sei brāhmaṇa gelena nīlācale
tathāi āchena kata-dina kutūhale

Jayapatākā Swami: By the arrangement of providence, that brāhmaṇa went to Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī. There he resided for some time very enthusiastically.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.12

prati-dina yāya vipra śrī-caitanyera sthāne
parama viśvāsa tāna prabhura caraṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyday, that brāhmaṇa went to see Lord Caitanya. He had great faith in the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.13

vidhi-niṣedhātīta aprākṛta paramahaṃsa-līlā abhinna-baladeva śrīman nityānandera āśramavirodhī ācāra-darśane mahāprabhura nikaṭa brāhmaṇera praśna—

daive eka dina sei brāhmaṇa nibhṛte
citte icchā karilena kichu jijñāsite

Jayapatākā Swami: In due course of time, one day that brāhmaṇa, in solitude, decided in his mind to inquire from Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.14

vipra bale,—“prabhu, mora eka nivedana
karimu tomāra sthāne, yadi deha’ mana

Jayapatākā Swami: The brāhmaṇa said to Lord Caitanya, O Lord, I want to submit to You an appeal. I will place it in Your presence, if You permit me.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.15

more yadi ’bhṛtya’ hena jñāna thāke mane
ihāra kāraṇa prabhu kaha śrī-vadane

Jayapatākā Swami: If you consider me as Your servant, then tell me the reason to clear my doubt, by Your divine mouth.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.16

navadvīpe giyā nityānanda-avadhūta
kichu ta’ nā bujhoṅ muñi karena ki-rūpa

Jayapatākā Swami: After going to Navadvīpa, Nityānanda Avadhūta, whatever He is doing, I cannot understand anything.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.17

So this brāhmaṇa, he did not understand what Lord Nityānanda, what He was doing, why He was behaving the way He did. But he had faith in Lord Caitanya. So he placed before Him to explain what is the actual position of Lord Nityānanda.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.17

sannyāsa-āśrama tāna bale sarva-jana
karpūra-tāmbūla se bhojana sarva-kṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone says that He is in the sannyāsa-āśrama. But He is always chewing betel nuts mixed with camphor.

Purport: Since Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu taught the people of this world to accept scented oils, sandalwood paste, fine dress, and ornaments as the remnants of Kṛṣṇa, foolish people branded Him as “fond of enjoyment.” As a result, many people had no faith in Him. Then again, the intelligent persons who considered that giving up objects related to Hari was phalgu-vairāgya, or false renunciation, took pleasure in Nityānanda Prabhu’s preaching.

According to the injunctions of the scriptures, a sannyāsī is prohibited from accepting objects of enjoyment like scented oil, sandalwood paste, and betel nuts, but the precocious, proud, prākṛta-sahajiyās freely enjoy an abundance of betel nuts on the pretext of honoring prasāda. Since the imitation of paramahaṁsa behavior by such unqualified people is always condemnable, ordinary foolish people fell into illusion by considering even Śrī Nityānanda, the original shelter of paramahaṁsa principles, as a vivikta (dry renunciant) or a dhīra-sannyāsī (neophyte sannyāsī).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, some people did not understand the activities of Lord Nityānanda. And when they saw His activities, they doubted Him. So this question is being asked to Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.18

dhātu-dravya paraśite nāhi sannyāsīre
sonā, rūpā, muktā se tāṅhāra kalevare

Jayapatākā Swami: Items made of metal are not to be touched by a sannyāsī. But on His body there is gold, silver and pearls.

Purport: The prākṛta-sahajiyās say that at the present time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa dāsa has protected the honor of the sannyāsa-āśrama by refusing to accept items made of metal. A devotee sannyāsī should not use gold and silver like Śrī Nityānanda. There is no doubt that the principles of the independent Vedic sannyāsī become polluted by using these items, but if one internally considers himself a paramahaṁsa and externally does not use items made of metal, the desire for fame will capture his heart and, as a result of cheating people, such behavior will be accepted as low-class.

If one refrains from using items made of metal during processions and festivals because people will criticize, and if one displays poverty in the performance of the Lord’s service, then the misguided, materialistic philanthropists will not be able to understand the purport of the verse beginning ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ. If in the present day one gives up saffron loincloth and becomes misguided by wearing fine silk cloth and decorating his body with sandalwood paste and flower garlands, then, as a result of imitating the behavior of paramahaṁsas, he will bring about his own ruination. And if some portion of the ideal characteristics of Śrī Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, and Śrīmat Nityānanda Prabhu is seen in a devotee situated in paramahaṁsa principles and devoid by nature of the desire for fame, then every intelligent person will understand. Unfortunate people accumulate offenses by seeing materialism in Vaiṣṇavas.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is a strange situation in the present day. Śrīla Prabhupāda in Calcutta, he went to the Punjab National Bank because he had an account there. But the doorkeeper, he blocked his entrance. He said, “No beggars allowed.” Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I am not a beggar, I am going to call the bank manager, I have an account here.” So he wanted to tell us that he did not want to go anywhere without his disciples. If you don’t dress nice, then people will not accept. People study, how you are, how are you dressed. And it is not that like previously if you went on the Indian Railway you got free passes as sādhus. No kṛṣṇa-prasāda. But now if you go as a beggar, they will throw you out. We have to dress nice because people judge by your appearance. So it is not the same when you can be very renounced and people will accept. So like that Lord Nityānanda, He dressed very nicely, He was not a sannyāsī, He had never taken sannyāsa vows and He was ordered by Lord Caitanya that He should marry. And therefore, He married Jāhnavā and Vasudhā. So, He is Balarāma and His consorts are the reincarnations of Revatī and Varuṇī.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.19

kāṣāya kaupīna chāḍi’ divya paṭṭavāsa
dharena candana mālā sadāi vilāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: He gives up saffron loin cloth, and He wears fine silk cloth. He always decorates Himself with sandalwood paste and flower garlands.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.20

daṇḍa chāḍi’ lauha-daṇḍa dharena vā kene
śūdrera āśrame se thākena sarva-kṣaṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Why did Lord Nityānanda give up carrying the daṇḍa? Why did He take up an iron staff? He always stays in the homes of śūdras.

Purport: While explaining the activities of Śrī Nityānanda to Śrī Gaurasundara, the enthusiastic brāhmaṇa with superficial vision said that a sannyāsī is supposed to carry a daṇḍa, but instead of doing that, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu has taken up an iron staff and spends time with unseeable and untouchable śūdras rather than giving up their association. Since Śrī Nityānanda exhibited such behavior, which was opposed to the scriptural injunctions, the brāhmaṇa had no faith in Him and was therefore doubtful.

Jayapatākā Swami: So he was clearing up his doubts by asking Lord Caitanya. This is the system that one asks the sādhu or the guru regarding any questions.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.21

śāstra-mata muñi tāna nā dekhoṅācāra
eteke mohāra citte sandeha apāra

Jayapatākā Swami: I do not find His behavior in accordance with the scriptures, so due to this reason my mind has become full of doubts.

Purport: In the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa, Chapter 83, it is stated:

tāmbūlaṁ vidhavā-strīṇāṁ
yatīnāṁ brahmacarinām

sannyāsināṁ ca go-māṁsa
surā-tulyaṁśrutau śrutam

“For a widow, a brahmacārī, a renunciate, or a sannyāsī to eat betel nuts is as good as eating beef and drinking wine. This is heard in the Vedas.”

In the Paramahaṁsa Upaniṣad it is stated:

aniketa-sthitir eva sa bhikṣur
hāṭakādīnāṁ naiva parigrahet

“A sannyāsī should not have a fixed residence and should never accept opulent items like gold.”

In the Kūrma Purāṇa it is stated:

grāmānte vṛkṣa-mule vā vāsaṁ devālaye ’pi
vādhauta-kāṣāya-vasano bhasmac channatanūruhaḥ

“A sannyāsī should live outside the village, under a tree, or in a temple. He should wear clean saffron cloth and cover his body with ashes.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (7.13.2) it is stated:

bibhṛyād yady asau vāsaḥ
kaupīnācchādanaṁ param

“A person in the renounced order of life may try to avoid even a dress to cover himself. If he wears anything at all, it should be only a loincloth.”

In the commentary on the Paramahaṁsa Upaniṣad it is stated:

“A wise sannyāsī should give up gold utensils for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, because if he decorates himself with gold he becomes the killer of a brāhmaṇa, if he touches gold with the spirit of enjoyment he becomes a dog-eater, and if he accepts gold a sannyāsī becomes the killer of the self.

In the Āruṇeya Upaniṣad it is stated:

“A sannyāsī should accept only a sannyāsa daṇḍa, loincloth, and outer cloth and give up everything else.”

In the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti-khaṇḍa, Chapter 33, it is stated:

“A sannyāsī is one who keeps only a daṇḍa, a waterpot, and saffron cloth and who always travels and does not stay at one place. He should maintain his livelihood by giving up greed and accepting meals at the houses of pious brāhmaṇas.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So Lord Nityānanda, He was trying to deliver all the fallen souls. And just like Rāmānanda Rāya was technically a śūdra but he was a great devotee. So, not seeing the caste, we see the person based on their devotional service. And we see that there are five things prohibited in the Age of Kali – one of those things is accepting the sannyāsa-āśrama. So, the system Śrīla Prabhupāda told that if someone takes sannyāsa, they should live in the temple. And if you see that people walked around in loin cloth, probably they would be arrested! This present society is quite different. But the thing is that one should everything to serve Kṛṣṇa, and that is the standard.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.22

‘baḍa-loka’ bali’ tāṅre bale sarva-jane
tathāpi āśramācāra nā karena kene

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone says that Lord Nityānanda is a great personality, but then why doesn’t He behave according to His āśrama?

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.23

yadi more ‘bhṛtya’ hena jñāna thāke mane
ki marma ihāra? prabhu, kaha śrī-vadane”

Jayapatākā Swami: If You consider me as Your servant, O Prabhu, when I have this kind of knowledge in my mind, what is the actual mystery Prabhu, please tell me with Your divine mouth.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 6.24

sukṛti brāhmaṇa praśna kaila śubha-kṣaṇe
amāyāya prabhu tattva kahilena tāne

Jayapatākā Swami: The pious brāhmaṇa had made this inquiry at an auspicious moment. Without any deception, the Lord explained the truth to this brāhmaṇa.

Purport: The doubt that the brāhmaṇa developed on seeing Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s deviation from proper behavior was actually an indication of his good fortune.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Fortunate Brāhmaṇa Asks Lord Caitanya to Clear His Doubt About Nityānanda Prabhu
Under the Section: The Glories of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu

So, this brāhmaṇa was having understanding of the proper behavior of different āśramas. So he wanted his doubt to be cleared by Lord Caitanya. So, that is the end of this chapter. What Lord Caitanya tells the brāhmaṇa will be told in the next chapter.