20230715 Feeling in His Heart the Ecstatic Emotions of the Gopīs, Lamentation in the Mood of Separation Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 15th, 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:

Feeling in His Heart the Ecstatic Emotions of the Gopīs, Lamentation in the Mood of Separation, Part 1
Under the section: The Inconceivable Behavior of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.30

prabhura kṛṣṇa-viraha-daśā vṛddhi :—

sei dina haite prabhura āra daśā ha-ila
kṛṣṇera viccheda-daśā dviguṇa bāḍila

Translation: From that day on, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s emotional state changed markedly; His feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa doubled in intensity.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since Lord Caitanya received the letter, the song, from Advaita Gosāñi, His mood changed markedly and He was feeling twice as much separation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.31

unmāda-pralāpa-ceṣṭā kare rātri-dine
rādhā-bhāvāveśe viraha bāḍe anukṣaṇe

Translation: As His feelings of separation in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī increased at every moment, the Lord’s activities, both day and night, were now wild, insane performances.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya in His earlier part of His pastimes in Navadvīpa and when the devotees from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī, He was mainly doing saṅkīrtana. But as time went on, His separation from Kṛṣṇa increased in the mood of Rādhārāṇī and the more esoteric purpose of His avatāra became prominent.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.32

prabhura udghūrṇā o pralāpa :—

ācambite sphure kṛṣṇera mathurā-gamana
udghūrṇā-daśā haila unmāda-lakṣaṇa

Translation: Suddenly there awoke within Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu the scene of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s departure to Mathurā, and He began exhibiting the symptom of ecstatic madness known as udghūrṇā.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, When Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā all the gopīs and Rādhārāṇī became completely mad! They were holding on to the chariot and praying to Kṛṣṇa not to go. So, Lord Caitanya was experiencing this ecstasy of separation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.33

rāmānandera galā dhari’ karena pralāpana
svarūpe puchena māni’ nija-sakhī-gaṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke like a madman, holding Rāmānanda Rāya by the neck, and He questioned Svarūpa Dāmodara, thinking him to be His gopī friend.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rukmiṇī had told Kṛṣṇa there was one thing He didn’t know. He did not know how much His devotees loved Him and in what way they loved Him. So, He said He would come as the devotee in the age of Kali. So now, He had come as Caitanya Mahāprabhu and took the mood of Rādhārāṇī. So, now He was experiencing that love in separation for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.34

pūrve yena viśākhāre rādhikā puchilā
sei śloka paḍi’ pralāpa karite lāgilā

Translation: Just as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī inquired from Her personal friend Viśākhā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, reciting that very verse, began speaking like a madman.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya is considered the avatāra of Vīśākhā and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī is considered the avatāra of Lalītā and it was known that Rādhārāṇī, in separation of Kṛṣṇa, She would become mad and in intense love She speaks to her confidants, Vīśākhā and Lalītā.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.35

śrī-rādhāra kṛṣṇa-virahe kṛṣṇasandhāna-jijñāsā (citrajalpa)

lalita-mādhave (3/25) viśākhāra prati śrī-rādhāra ukti

Translation: “My dear friend, where is Kṛṣṇa, who is like the moon rising from the ocean of Mahārāja Nanda’s dynasty? Where is Kṛṣṇa, His head decorated with a peacock feather? Where is He? Where is Kṛṣṇa, whose flute produces such a deep sound? Oh, where is Kṛṣṇa, whose bodily luster is like the luster of the blue indranīla jewel? Where is Kṛṣṇa, who is so expert in rāsa dancing? Oh, where is He, who can save My life? Kindly tell Me where to find Kṛṣṇa, the treasure of My life and best of My friends. Feeling separation from Him, I hereby condemn Providence, the shaper of My destiny.’

Purport: This verse is found in the Lalita-mādhava (3.25) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa goes to Mathurā and comes back after two weeks. But Rādhārāṇī was cursed that when Kṛṣṇa left for Mathura His stay would go on for a hundred years. So, this put Rādhārāṇī in a very intense situation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.36

ślokārtha; kṛṣṇa-viraha-vidhurā śrī-rādhāra vraja-vāsi-jīvana kṛṣṇera guṇa varṇanaḥ— yathā rāga—

“vrajendra-kula—dugdha-sindhu, kṛṣṇa tāhe pūrṇa indu,
janmi’ kailā jagat ujora

kānty-amṛta yebā piye, nirantara piyā jiye,
vraja-janera nayana-cakora

Translation: “The family of Mahārāja Nanda is just like an ocean of milk, wherein Lord Kṛṣṇa has arisen like the full moon to illuminate the entire universe. The eyes of the residents of Vraja are like cakora birds that continuously drink the nectar of His bodily luster and thus live peacefully.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.37

kṛṣṇa-darśana-tṛṣṇārttā śrī-rādhā :—

sakhi he, kothā kṛṣṇa, karāha daraśana
kṣaṇeke yāhāra mukha, nā dekhile phāṭe buka,
śīghra dekhāha, nā rahe jīvana

Translation: “My dear friend, where is Kṛṣṇa? Kindly let Me see Him. My heart breaks at not seeing His face even for a moment. Kindly show Him to Me immediately; otherwise I cannot live.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, there are eight levels up to ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, then there is prema and there are eight levels of prema. Rādhārāṇī is in the topmost level known as mahā-bhāva. She is very intensely focused on Kṛṣṇa. I mean, just saying that is an understatement!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.38

gopīprāṇadhana kṛṣṇacandra :—

ei vrajera ramaṇī, kāmārka-tapta-kumudinī,
nija-karāmṛta diyā dāna

praphullita kare yei, kāhāṅ mora candra sei,
dekhāha, sakhi, rākha mora prāṇa

Translation: “The women of Vṛndāvana are just like lilies growing hot in the sun of lusty desires. But moonlike Kṛṣṇa makes them all jubilant by bestowing upon them the nectar of His hands. O My dear friend, where is My moon now? Save My life by showing Him to Me!

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this was the kind of talk that Rādhārāṇī was engaged in with Her friends. She wanted to see Kṛṣṇa and She was overwhelmed.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.39

kṛṣṇa-virahe kṛṣṇa-rūpa-varṇana :—

kāhāṅ se cūḍāra ṭhāma, śikhi-piñchera uḍāna,
nava-meghe yena indra-dhanu

pītāmbara—taḍid-dyuti, muktā-mālā—baka-pāṅti,
navāmbuda jini’ śyāma-tanu

Translation: “My dear friend, where is that beautiful helmet with a peacock feather upon it like a rainbow upon a new cloud? Where are those yellow garments, shining like lightning? And where is that necklace of pearls that resemble flocks of herons flying in the sky? The blackish body of Kṛṣṇa triumphs over the new blackish rain cloud.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rādhārāṇī in Her ecstasy of separation is glorifying the bodily features of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This way, She was absorbed in meditating on Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.40

eka-bāra yāra nayane lāge, sadā tāra hṛdaye jāge,
kṛṣṇa-tanu—yena āmra-āṭhā

nārī-mane paiśe hāya, yatne nāhi bāhirāya,
tanu nahe,—seyā-kulera kāṅṭā

Translation: “If a person’s eyes even once capture that beautiful body of Kṛṣṇa, it remains always prominent within his heart. Kṛṣṇa’s body resembles the sap of the mango tree, for when it enters the minds of women, it will not come out, despite great endeavor. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s extraordinary body is like a thorn of the seyā berry tree.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, once someone sees Kṛṣṇa, His bodily beauty is such that they can never forget.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.41

jiniyā tamāla-dyuti, indranīla-sama kānti,
se kāntite jagat mātāya

śṛṅgāra-rasa-sāra chāni’, tāte candra-jyotsnā sāni’,
jāni vidhi niramilā tāya

Translation: “Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster shines like the indranīla gem and surpasses the luster of the tamāla tree. The luster of His body drives the entire world mad because Providence has made it transparent by refining the essence of the mellow of conjugal love and mixing it with moonshine.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is remembering Kṛṣṇa in the mood of Rādhārāṇī and thus He is glorifying Kṛṣṇa. As it has been mentioned there are five rasas – neutral rasa, servitude, friendship, parental and conjugal. So, Lord Caitanya, is exploring all the rasas but then now He is focused on the mādhurya rasa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.42

kṛṣṇa-kānti varṇana :—

kāhāṅ se muralī-dhvani, navābhra-garjita jini’,
jagat ākarṣe śravaṇe yāhāra

uṭhi’ dhāya vraja-jana, tṛṣita cātaka-gaṇa,
āsi’ piye kānty-amṛta-dhāra

Translation: “The deep vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s flute surpasses the thundering of new clouds and attracts the aural reception of the entire world. Thus the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana rise and pursue that sound, drinking the showering nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster like thirsty cātaka birds.

Jayapatākā Swami: The cātaka birds are birds that just drink water from the rain clouds. So, they are very thirsty, when they see a rain cloud, only then their thirst can be quenched. So Rādhārāṇī is comparing the Vrajavāsis to the cātaka birds who can only satisfy their thirst by seeing Kṛṣṇa and I read there was a yogī meditating in the Himalayas. He was in a cave, then he heard Krsna’s flute and he became so mad in separation that he started hitting his head on the stones. We get no idea what it is like to see or hear Kṛṣṇa! To hear His flute!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.43

mora sei kalā-nidhi, prāṇa-rakṣā-mahauṣadhi,
sakhi, mora teṅho suhṛttama

deha jīye tāṅhā vine, dhik ei jīvane,
vidhi kare eta viḍambana!”

Translation: “Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of art and culture, and He is the panacea that saves My life. O My dear friend, since I live without Him, who is the best among My friends, I condemn the duration of My life. I think that Providence has cheated Me in many ways.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rādhārāṇī is the ahlādini potency and that means She is Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency. Therefore, her love of Kṛṣṇa is the most beautiful and satisfying to Kṛṣṇa. So, Her prayers represent Her intense love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.44

vidhi-nindā :—

‘ye-jana jīte nāhi cāya, tāre kene jīyāya’,
vidhi-prati uṭhe krodha-śoka

vidhire kare bhartsana, kṛṣṇe dena olāhana,
paḍi’ bhāgavatera eka śloka

Translation: “Why does Providence continue the life of one who does not wish to live?” This thought aroused anger and lamentation in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who then recited a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that chastises Providence and makes an accusation against Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see here the love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Actually, when we read about, we see when they tell Kṛṣṇa what’s happening to the gopīs in Vṛndāvana then He gets overwhelmed by such crying and Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa, they are in such an overwhelming situation.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Feeling in His Heart the Ecstatic Emotions of the Gopīs, Lamentation in the Mood of Separation, Part 1