20231114 - Chapter 4 - Śrī Caitanya-bhakta-mahimā part 4

The following is a Sri Chaitanya Chandrāmṛtam Class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 14th,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! Happy Govardhana Pūjā! Today we will be continuing with comentation of the Śrī Caitanya Candrāmṛtam Chapter 4.

The Glories of the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Part - 4)

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 4.27

nṛtyotsave gaurabhakta-vṛndera premonmāda atulanīya—

kecit sāgara-bhū-dharān api parākrāmanti nṛtyanti vai
kecid deva-purandarādiṣu mahā-kṣepaṁ kṣipanto muhuḥ
ānandodbhaṭa-jāla-vihvalatayā te ‘dvaitacandrādayaḥ
ke ke noddhatavanta īdṛśi punaś caitanya-nṛtyotsave

Anuvāda: Premāmṛtāsvāda-janita asīma ānandajāle jaḍita haiyā vāhyasphūrtira abhāve murārigupta pramukha bhaktagaṇera madhye keha keha yena bhūdhara o sāgarakeo ullaṅghana karitechena, śrīvāsa pramukhabhaktagaṇera madhye keha keha indrādi devatāgaṇake punaḥ punaḥ dhikkāra pradāna karite karite nṛtya karitechena, etādṛśa śrī-caitanya-nṛtyotsave sei advaita pramukha (tāṅhādera nyāya pravīṇa, paṇḍita o ācārya) kon bhaktagaṇai vā uddhata hayena nāi!

Translation [Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura]: Devoid of external consciousness, because of being covered by the net of unlimited happiness produced by tasting the nectar of love, some among the devotees like Murāri Gupta leap over even ocean and mountains and some among the devotees like Śrīvāsa dance while repeatedly condemning Indra and the other demigods. In a dancing festival of Śrī Gaurāṅga like this, who among the devotees headed by Śrī Advaita Ācārya (those who are elderly, scholarly and ācārya) did not become haughty?

Jayapatākā Swami: Here Lord Caitanya’s associates would have dancing festivals. Generally, we have different kinds of festivals. But a festival where everybody dances, this is very rare and the senior scholarly devotees, they are very proud. So, here we find the devotees actually are very inspired and filled with love and that love is motivating them to dance. So, this is a very rare situation. I was just being shown some video where hundreds of devotees were offering lamps and dancing. So, we see here also in Mayapur, the devotees were engaged in dancing after offering lamps. Like this, it describes they have a dancing festival. They look down on the devas and others for their inability to participate in the dancing.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 4.28

ye gūḍha-kṛṣṇapādapadma-rasa-sambandha bhūta, bhaviṣyat o varttamāna-kāle sakalera pakṣei asambhava, tāhā gaurabhaktagaṇera sarvakāle sulabha—

bhūto vā bhavitāpi vā bhavati vā kasyāpi yaḥ ko ‘pi vā
sambandho bhagavat-padāmbuja-rase nāsim jagan-maṇḍale
tat sarvaṁ nija-bhakti-rūpa-paramaiśvaryeṇa vvikrīḍito
gaurasyāsya kṛpā-vijṛmbhitatayā jānanti nirmatsarāḥ

Anuvāda: Ei pṛthivīmaṇḍale bhagavat-pādapadma-rase, kāhārao ye konao prakāra sambandha haya nāi, haibe nā vā haiteche nā, nijabhakti-rūpa parameśvaryera sahita krīḍāśīla gaurasundarera kṛpā prakāśita haoyāya tatkṛpodbhāsita nirmatsara-bhaktagaṇa sei sakala rasa-mādhurya avagata haiyāchena arthāt ye gūḍha kṛṣṇa-pādapadma-rasa-sambandha kāhārao kakhanao haya nāi, haibe nā, varttamāneo haiteche nā, tāhā gaurapārṣadagaṇai gaurakṛpāya nirantara upalabdhi karitechena.

Translation [Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura]: In this world there has not been, there will not be, and there is not, in any way, anywhere now any taste for the lotus feet of the Lord. Those non-envious devotees have known this by the mercy of Lord Gaurasundara who mercifully manifested this by engaging in sporting with the great opulence of His own devotional service. In other words, nobody has ever obtained before, will not obtain and is not obtaining the secret relation to the taste of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Only those associates of Lord Caitanya constantly realize this by the mercy of Gaura.

Jayapatākā Swami: Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! So this is very interesting. It is not that there have been or there will not be, there will not be anyway, anywhere, taste for the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, this is something that Lord Caitanya distributed. He gave out very freely and so the devotees who are engaged in harināma-kirtana with Lord Caitanya, they could taste the nectar of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Normally we cannot get a taste for Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. But here, we see that devotees, they got it! They got it by the mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga. So how many of you would like to get the mercy of the lotus feet of Lord Gaurāṅga? So, this thing is very rare and very hard to obtain. But by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, it is accessible. People were dancing and they were conscious of the sweet smell of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. So again and again, they were getting this transcendental aroma. Normally, it is not available. In fact, even people who try, they cannot get it and this is something which Lord Caitanya gave to the devotees. Now the devotees, they are expressing how wonderful is the fragrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are and this is the secret which only by the mercy of Lord Caitanya one can get. Now the devotees who are non-envious they get this, by the mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga. This was available only to the associates of Lord Caitanya. By Lord Caitanya’s mercy they could relish it. So, many aspects of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes which were revealed to the devotees of Lord Caitanya. In other words, nobody had ever obtained before, and will not obtain in the future and is not obtaining the secret relishing the taste of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Only the associates of Lord Caitanya get this special mercy. So, who wants? So, the secret is to take the shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet by the mercy of Lord Caitanya. 

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Kṛṣṇa He told all the devotees, all the cows to get together and He lifted up the Govardhana hill and He gave them shelter. And He lifted with one finger the Govardhana hill. So this mount Govardhana, like a gigantic umbrella gave shelter to all the vraja-vāsīs. And the friends of Kṛṣṇa thought that they are just as strong as Kṛṣṇa, they are helping Kṛṣṇa to hold up the mountain with their sticks and so all the cowherds before they had considered that Indra was the Govinda, the protector of the cows but now that Kṛṣṇa was protecting the cows, they saw Kṛṣṇa as Govinda. And then all the storm clouds which had been sent by Indra, they realized that they are messing around with the wrong person! And that they begged for forgiveness and they went back. So, when the storm was over, then Govinda, He asked everyone along with their cows, to leave from under the mountain, and then He put the mountain down. So, the cowherd men questioned Nanda Mahārāja that don’t tell us that your son is an ordinary boy! We just saw Him lifting the mountain up. Who is your son? Then Nanda Mahārāja said that the astrologer Garga muñi told us that your son, He had all the powers of Nārāyaṇa. He will bring good fortune for you and He will protect all the vraja-vāsīs.