20231121 Chapter 5 Śrī Caitanya-abhakta-nindā (Part 5)

The following is a Sri Chaitanya Chandrāmṛtam Class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 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 be continuing with comentation of the Śrī Caitanya Candrāmṛtam.

Śrī-caitanyā-bhakta-nindā - Criticism of the Non-devotees of Lord Caitanya

gaurasundarera svayaṁ bhagavattāya sandehakāri-vyakti sarvaśāstrajña haileo jaḍasaṁsārebhrāmyamāna baddhajīvamātra

Sri Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 5.37

Even a person who is well versed in all the scriptures, doubting Lord Caitanya’s supremacy, is merely a conditioned living entity wandering in the material existence

acaitanyam idaṁ viśvaṁ
yadi caitanyam īśvaram
na vidhuḥ sarva-śāstrajñā
hy api bhramyanti te janāḥ

Nikhila-śāstravid vyaktigaṇao yadi śrī-caitanyacandrake ‘svayaṁ bhagavān’ baliyā nā jānena, tabe tāṅhārā acijjagatei gatāgati kariyā thākena.

Prabhupāda’s Translation: This material world is without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa consciousness personified. Therefore, if a very learned scholar or scientist does not understand Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, certainly he is wandering uselessly in this world.”

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s Translation: Even the knowers of all the scriptures, if they do not know Śrī Caitanya to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then they are coming and going in the material world (bound to the fruitive activities they simply wander in the hell, heaven and so on. There is no cessation of coming and going).

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya teaches us how to love Kṛṣṇa, if we don’t do the devotional service to Kṛṣṇa then we end up wandering in this material world and we don’t get delivereḍ Therefore people should be taught Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s actual position otherwise they just wander in this material world according to their karma, sometimes heaven and sometimes hell and so on. So, Lord Caitanya descends to give people real understanding of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya taught if we are feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa then we can be with Kṛṣṇa always. Separation is a mothod of fixing our mind on Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya has shown us how to do devotional service in separation and in this way one will always be absorbed in thoughts of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Sri Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 5.38

gaurapādapadma-mahimā-anabhijña vyaktira rasa-rahasya-lābha asambhava

It is impossible to get the secret of mellows by the persons who are unaware of the glories of the lotus feet of Gaurāṅga

svādaṁ svādaṁ madhurima-bharaṁ svīya-nāmāvalīnāṁ
mādaṁ mādaṁ kim api vivaśī-bhūta-viśrasta-gātraḥ
vāraṁ vāraṁ vrajapati-guṇān gāya gāyeti jalpan
gauro dṛṣṭaḥ sakṛd api na yair durghaṭā teṣu bhaktiḥ

Yini ‘hare kṛṣṇa’ ‘hare kṛṣṇa’ ityādi svīya nāmāvalīra rasa-mādhuryātiśaya punaḥ punaḥ āsvādane uttarottara pramatta haiyā konao anirvacanīyabhāve bibaśa o skhalitagātra haitechena evaṁ yini sakalake āhvāna kariyā vṛndāvanendrera guṇāvalī ‘kīrtana kara’, ‘kīrtana kara’ —eirūpa bārambāra balitechena, sei śrī-gaurasundarake yāhārā ekabārao darśana kare nāi, tāhādera bhaktilābhera sambhāvanā sudūraparāhata.

Lord Caitanya is again and again tasting in large quantities, the mellow of sweetness of His own names such as, ‘Hare Kṛṣṇa’. Therefore, becoming increasingly intoxicated, he is overwhelmed in an undescribable way and thus His body slips and falls down. Also, He is telling everyone again and again, “Sing! Sing the qualities of the Lord of Vṛndāvana.” One who has not seen even once that Gaurasundara, for him the possibility of getting bhakti is very far and is crushed.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself combined with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, so He actually gives one the special taste of Kṛṣṇa bhakti, which normally is very hard to get. But by Lord Caitanya’s mercy, it is available. So, in Māyāpur we have the Pañca-tattva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu Nityānanda Śrī Advaita Gadādhara Śrīvāsa ādi gaura bhakta vṛnda! If one has Lord Caitanya then he can very easily obtain love of Kṛṣṇa. So, people are taking the mercy of Lord Caitanya, they actually don’t realize that mercy is available through the chanting. Lord Caitanya, He would get people to sing and chant. By this means they could realize Kṛṣṇa and they would get the taste for kṛṣṇa-prema. So, Lord Caitanya was always intoxicated by chanting the holy names. In this way, He made it possible, even the most fallen soul to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya. 

Sri Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 5.39

binā bīje aṅkurodgamera nyāya gaurabhakti-vyatīta nigūḍha premalābha sampūrṇa asambhaba

Like a sprout without a seed, getting the secret love without devotion to Lord Caitanya is completely impossible

vinā bījaṁ kiṁ nāṅkura-jananam andho ‘pi na kathaṁ
prapaśyen no paṅur giri-śikharam ārohati katham
yadi śrī-caitanye hari-rasamayāścarya-vibhave
‘py abhaktānāṁ bhāvī katham api para-prema-rabhasaḥ

Atiyatneo yadi kakhanao svīya bhakti-rasasvarūpa parama-camatkārakāri bibhava viśiṣṭa śrī-caitanyacandre bhaktihīna vyaktidigera pareśa-sambandhī premānanda udita haibāra sambhāvanā thāke, tāhā haile binā bīje aṅkurodgama haya nā kena? andhavyaktii vā dekhite pāya nā kena? Āra paṅgui vā sumerupavatera śikharadeśe ārohaṇa karite pāre nā kena?

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s Translation: Lord Caitanya is endowed with the opulence of very wonderful mellow of His own devotional service. If there is possibility of a person by great endeavor, to develop, at anytime, the happiness of love to Lord Kṛṣṇa, without devotion to Lord Caitanya, then why there is no sprouting without seeds? Or why the blind can’t not see? Or why the lame cannot climb the peak of mount Sumeru?

Commentary by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: For those who have not taken shelter of Lord Caitanya, for them relishing the mellow of love for Kṛṣṇa is completely impossible.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, awakening the love of Kṛṣṇa, it’s possible by the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya, if He did not give His mercy, how then, its’ like, if you don’t have a seed, how will you get a sprout. So Kṛṣṇa, He reveals Himself to the devotees of Lord Caitanya In the Juhu temple in Mumbai, many people gather around the Deities of Rādhā Rāsabīhāri and Sītā Rāma Lakṣmaṇa, but not so many around Nitāi Gaura. But actually we should understand that by the mercy of Nitāi Gaura that we get the awakening of love for Kṛṣṇa and so people should crowd around Nitāi Gaura and then proceed to the other Deities. We see Śrīla Prabhupāda, in all his temples he has Nitāi Gaura. Like in Vṛndāvana, Nitāi Gaura, then Kṛṣṇa Balarāma and then Rādhe Śyāma. So, it’s important to get the mercy from Lord Caitanya before we get to the other Deities like Rādhā Mādhava, etc. So, many temples, modern temples, they don’t like to put Nitāi Gaura. But normally we hear that we need to get the mercy of Nitāi Gaura to have love for Radha and Krsna.

Hari bol!