20230710 In His Half-External Consciousness Lord Caitanya Describes Seeing the Sporting Pastimes in the Water, Part 1

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

In His Half-External Consciousness Lord Caitanya Describes Seeing the Sporting Pastimes in the Water, Part 1
Under the section: Rescuing the Lord from the Sea

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.74

sakalera ucca-saṅkīrtana:—

sabe meli’ ucca kari’ karena saṅkīrtane
ucca kari’ kṛṣṇa-nāma kahena prabhura kāṇe

Translation: They all performed saṅkīrtana, loudly chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa into the Lord’s ear.

Jayapatākā Swami: This loudly chanting of saṅkīrtana in the ear of the Lord was a secret of how to bring the Lord in external consciousness.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.75

prabhura arddhavāhyadaśāya āgamana:—

kata-kṣaṇe prabhura kāṇe śabda paraśila
huṅkāra kariyā prabhu tabahi uṭhila

Translation: After some time the sound of the holy name entered the ear of the Lord, who immediately got up, making a great noise.

Jayapatākā Swami: The Hare Kṛṣṇa māhā-mantra was able to bring the Lord to the external consciousness. After first being half-conscious He would remember all the things He was seeing in His ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa in His ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Then gradually, He would become conscious and then they would chant loudly, saying Hari bol or something and then bring Him back to where He was.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.76

uṭhitei asthi saba lāgila nija-sthāne
‘ardha-bāhye’ iti-uti karena daraśane

Translation: As soon as He got up, His bones assumed their proper places. With half-external consciousness, the Lord looked here and there.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya would hear the Harināma saṅkīrtana, He would feel ecstatic and His bones would assume their proper places and while they would be looking around and still He was wondering what happened, where has gone the Yamunā river and where have gone the pastimes that He was seeing.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.77

prabhura daśātrayera paricaya:—

tina-daśāya mahāprabhu rahena sarva-kāla
‘antar-daśā’, ‘bāhya-daśā’, ‘ardha-bāhya’ āra

Translation: The Lord remained in one of three different states of consciousness at all times: internal, external and half-external.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, internal was completely absorbed in seeing the spiritual pastimes. External was seeing the world around Him and half external meant that He was talking, He was partially seeing the world around Him, but He was also seeing the transcendental pastimes.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.78

āpanāke gopīra kiṅkarī-jñānakārī prabhura arddhavāhya-daśā varṇana (citrajalpa):—

antar-daśāra kichu ghora, kichu bāhya-jñāna
sei daśā kahe bhakta ‘ardha-bāhya’-nāma

Translation: When the Lord was deeply absorbed in internal consciousness but He nevertheless exhibited some external consciousness, devotees called His condition ardha-bāhya, or half-external consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in this ‘ardha-bāhya’, half-external, Lord Caitanya would be able to comment on what He was seeing of the eternal pastimes and in this way the devotees could understand what was going on.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.79

‘ardha-bāhye’ kahena prabhu pralāpa-vacane
ākāśe kahena prabhu, śunena bhakta-gaṇe

Translation: In this half-external consciousness, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu talked like a madman. The devotees could distinctly hear Him speaking to the sky.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu would be seeing the pastimes and talking about things which were not visible to others.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.80

“kālindī dekhiyā āmi gelāṅa vṛndāvana
dekhi,—jala-krīḍā karena vrajendra-nandana

Translation: “Seeing the river Yamunā,” He said, “I went to Vṛndāvana. There I saw the son of Nanda Mahārāja performing His sporting pastimes in the water.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was actually seeing the full-moon reflecting on the sea waves. But He was considering them to be the Yamunā river and He jumped into the sea and was swept away by the waves. Sometimes, He was floating on the waves and sometimes He was immersed. But He was seeing all these pastimes of water sports in the Yamunā of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.81

rādhikādi gopī-gaṇa-saṅge ekatra meli’
yamunāra jale mahā-raṅge karena keli

Translation: “Lord Kṛṣṇa was in the water of the Yamunā in the company of the gopīs, headed by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. They were performing pastimes in a great sporting manner.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was seeing all these pastimes and He was completely absorbed in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.82

tīre rahi’ dekhi āmi sakhī-gaṇa-saṅge
eka-sakhī sakhī-gaṇe dekhāya sei raṅge

Translation: “I saw this pastime as I stood on the bank of the Yamunā in the company of the gopīs. One gopī was showing some other gopīs the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the water.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Somehow Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was able to see these pastimes and He was participating in these pastimes.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.83

āpanāke gopī-kiṅkarījñāne prabhukarttṛka kṛṣṇera śrī-rādhādi gopīgaṇasaha jalakrīḍā-varṇana [paragraph] (citrajalpa) yathā rāga—

paṭṭa-vastra, alaṅkāre, samarpiyā sakhī-kare,
sūkṣma-śukla-vastra-paridhāna

kṛṣṇa lañā kāntā-gaṇa, kailā jalāvagāhana,
jala-keli racilā suṭhāma

Translation: “All the gopīs entrusted their silken garments and ornaments to the care of their friends and then put on fine white cloth. Lord Kṛṣṇa, taking His beloved gopīs with Him, bathed and performed very nice pastimes in the water of the Yamunā.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was seeing all these pastimes between Kṛṣṇa, Rādhikā and the gopīs and somehow He was participating, seeing all Their pastimes and He was enjoying transcendental bliss.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.84

sakhi he, dekha kṛṣṇera jala-keli-raṅge

kṛṣṇa matta kari-vara, cañcala kara-puṣkara,
gopī-gaṇa kariṇīra saṅge

Translation: “My dear friends, just see Lord Kṛṣṇa’s sporting pastimes in the water! Kṛṣṇa’s restless palms resemble lotus flowers. He is just like the chief of mad elephants, and the gopīs who accompany Him are like she-elephants.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya, He was told that He didn’t understand how Rādhā and Rukmiṇī and all the gopīs, how much they loved Lord Kṛṣṇa, in what way, they loved Him. As the five rasas – neutral, servitorship, friendship, parental and conjugal – this is showing the conjugal love. How those who are in conjugal rasa with Krsna engage in the transcendental service to the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.85

ārambhilā jala-keli, anyo’nye jala phelāpheli,
huḍāhuḍi, varṣe jala-dhāra

sabe jaya-parājaya, nāhi kichu niścaya,
jala-yuddha bāḍila apāra

Translation: “The sporting pastimes in the water began, and everyone started splashing water back and forth. In the tumultuous showers of water, no one could be certain which party was winning and which was losing. This sporting water fight increased unlimitedly.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs versus the unlimited expansions of Kṛṣṇa, there was a huge splashing competition and so much water was flowing that it wasn’t sure who was winning and who was losing but naturally their love for Kṛṣṇa was increased.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 18.86

varṣe sthira taḍid-gaṇa, siñce śyāma nava-ghana,
ghana varṣe taḍit-upare

sakhī-gaṇera nayana, tṛṣita cātaka-gaṇa,
sei amṛta sukhe pāna kare

Translation: “The gopīs were like steady streaks of lightning, and Kṛṣṇa resembled a blackish cloud. The lightning began sprinkling water upon the cloud, and the cloud upon the lightning. Like thirsty cātaka birds, the eyes of the gopīs joyously drank the nectarean water from the cloud.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa was experiencing His natural love for the gopīs and the gopīs were reciprocating and feeling their love for Kṛṣṇa and all this is being felt by Lord Caitanya. Although, He was in the ocean and He was not aware actually of His situation.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, In His Half-External Consciousness Lord Caitanya Describes Seeing the Sporting Pastimes in the Water, Part 1
Under the section: Rescuing the Lord from the Sea