20230720 The Way to Awaken Our Dormant Love for Kṛṣṇa’s Lotus Feet, Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 20th,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:

The Way to Awaken Our Dormant Love for Kṛṣṇa’s Lotus Feet
Under the section: The meaning of the Śikṣāṣṭaka and how the Lord tasted it Himself

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.1

jātaprema bhakterai prabhura vipralambhabhāvānusaraṇe yogyatā :—

Translation: Only the most fortunate will relish the mad words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which were mixed with jubilation, envy, agitation, submissiveness and grief, all produced by ecstatic loving emotions.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was experiencing love of Rādhārāṇī for Lord Kṛṣṇa and so, this love is very elevated and very complicated. Lord Caitanya was going deep into the madness of love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.3

purīte anukṣaṇa vipralambhava vyākula prabhu :—

ei-mata mahāprabhu vaise nīlācale
rajanī-divase kṛṣṇa-virahe vihvale

Translation: While Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus resided at Jagannātha Purī [Nīlācala], He was continuously overwhelmed, night and day, by separation from Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya started His pastimes by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in the saṅkīrtana yajña and gradually became more and more absorbed in kṛṣṇa-prema.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.4

prabhura paramapreṣṭha antaraṅga nitya-saṅgidvaya : —

svarūpa, rāmānanda,—ei dui jana sane
rātri-dine rasa-gīta-śloka āsvādane

Translation: Day and night He tasted transcendental blissful songs and verses with two associates, namely Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya.

Jayapatākā Swami: These two devotees were particularly serving Lord Caitanya in His extreme ecstasies.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.5

āṭaṭī sāttvika o tetriśaṭī vyabhicāri-bhāvodaya:—

nānā-bhāva uṭhe prabhura harṣa, śoka, roṣa
dainyodvega-ārti utkaṇṭhā, santoṣa

Translation: He relished the symptoms of various transcendental emotions, such as jubilation, lamentation, anger, humility, anxiety, grief, eagerness and satisfaction.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the ecstasies of love for Kṛṣṇa are detailed here. Lord Caitanya would enjoy experiencing these ecstasies.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.6

svayaṁ vā bhaktadvaya-saha tattadbhāvoddīpaka śloka-pāṭha vā śravaṇa :—

sei sei bhāve nija-śloka paḍiyā
ślokera artha āsvādaye dui-bandhu lañā

Translation: He would recite His own verses, expressing their meanings and emotions, and thus enjoy tasting them with these two friends.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.7

kona dine kona bhāve śloka-paṭhana
sei śloka āsvādite rātri-jāgaraṇa

Translation: Sometimes the Lord would be absorbed in a particular emotion and would stay awake all night reciting related verses and relishing their taste.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He would taste these different ecstasies of love for Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes, He would absorb Himself in one of these ecstasies. He would stay up the whole night reciting verses.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.8

prabhukartṛka sādhya-sādhana vā upeya-upāyera abheda-varṇana; sarvaśreṣṭha o sarvotkṛṣṭa carama abhidheya vā śābdikāvatāra śrīnāma-kīrtana-māhātma-varṇana : –

harṣe prabhu kahena,—“śuna svarūpa-rāma-rāya
nāma-saṅkīrtana—kalau parama upāya

Translation: In great jubilation, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “My dear Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāmānanda Rāya, know from Me that chanting the holy names is the most feasible means of salvation in this Age of Kali.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya came to popularize and establish the process of sacrifice called nāma-saṅkīrtana.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.9

kṛṣṇa-kīrtanakārīi ekamātra subuddhimān :—

saṅkīrtana-yajñe kalau kṛṣṇa-ārādhana
sei ta’ sumedhā pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa

Translation: “In this Age of Kali, the process of worshiping Kṛṣṇa is to perform sacrifice by chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who does so is certainly very intelligent, and he attains shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: For further information, one may refer to Ādi-līlā, Chapter Three, texts 77-78

Jayapatākā Swami: In the 11th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Caitanya has predicted that says, Kṛṣṇa will come but He will not be black in color. He will be accompanied by His associates, His expansions, etc. and that those who follow this system are very intelligent, or will be followed by people who are very intelligent.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.10

śrīmad-bhāgavate (11/5/30)—

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

Translation: “In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.’

Purport: This verse is spoken by Saint Karabhājana in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32). For further information, see Ādi-līlā, chapter three, text 52.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.11

śuddhanāmera phala—niḥśreyasa o kṛṣṇa-premodaya:

nāma-saṅkīrtana haite sarvānartha-nāśa
sarva-śubhodaya, kṛṣṇa-premera ullāsa

Translation: “Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can be freed from all undesirable habits. This is the means of awakening all good fortune and initiating the flow of waves of love for Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: When Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he went to the house of Govardhana and Malik and the Panditas there they said that by chanting Hare Krsna one gets liberation, but Haridāsa Ṭhākura had said that this is a side benefit. The real benefit is love of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 20.12

śrī-mukhaniḥsṛta śrī-śikṣāṣṭaka (vā śrī-bhāgavata-niryāsa); nāmābhāsa o nāmera phala:—

padyāvalīte (10) dhṛta śikṣāṣṭakera 1ma śloka—

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ
śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ
sarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam

Translation: “Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’

Purport: This is the first verse of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Śikṣāṣṭaka. The other seven verses are found in texts 16, 21, 29, 32, 36, 39 and 47.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, now go through the Śikṣāṣṭakam verse by verse and we will discuss Lord Caitanya’s mood when He chanted the Śikṣāṣṭakam. So, we would hope that everyone will relish deeply the Śikṣāṣṭakam. Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that Lord Caitanya, He only wrote these eight verses. Although He glorified the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but He said that everyone of Lord Caitanya’s followers should know the Śikṣāṣṭakam and it’s quite common for the gurukula students to chant the Śikṣāṣṭakam in the morning.

It’s late now, we will end here and the next days we will chant the Śikṣāṣṭakam. So, this first verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam glorifies the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa māhā-mantra.

Someone told me, who is a Sanskrit scholar, that they study these eight verses and each one is perfect in its composition and that each one has got a different meter, a different format. So, the Sanskrit scholars study that from the academic point of view and found that very interesting.

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you very much!