20231225 Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta Chapter 1 Part 1

The following is a Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, on December 25th, 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 begin with reading from the Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta by Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. It is translated as the Nectar of the Teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

nīti, dharma, jñāna, vairāgya, mukti, bhakti o prīti sambandhīya mahāprabhura upadeśa.

Mahāprabhu’s instructions related to morality, religion, knowledge, renunciation, liberation, devotional service and love.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Preface to the first edition of Śrī Caitanya-Siksamrta.

ki kārane balite pāri nā, anekerai śacīnandana śrī-śrī-caitanya devera upadiṣṭa mata jānite vāsanā janmiyāche. Śrī-caitanya-caritāmṛte tāṅhāra samasta śikṣāi pāoyā yāya, kintu ai grantha sakalera pakṣe bodhya naya. ataeva āmarā sarala gadye baṅgabhāṣāya mahāprabhura samasta śikṣāi saṁkṣepe saṁgraha karilāma. adhikantu tini bhaktira sahita naitika dharmera ye gūḍha sambandha ache, tadviṣaya ye sakala kathā ābhāse śikṣā diyāchilena, tāhā kichu spaṣṭa kariyā lekhā gela. tāṅhāra prakāśita rasatantra ye parimāne sādhāranera jñātavya tāhāi likhita haila. tanmadhye ye samudāya vyāpāra śrī-guru carana haite jñāta haoyā kartavya tāhā ei granthe pāoyā yāibe nā.

Translation: I can't say why, [but] many have developed the desire to learn about the teachings of Śacīnandana Śrī Śrī Caitanyadeva. All of His teachings can be found in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, but that text is not understandable to all. Therefore, we have summarized all the teachings of Mahāprabhu in simple prose in the Bengali language. Moreover, some clarity has been exhibited in writing about everything He had indicated in His teachings regarding the confidential relationship between bhakti and moral religious principles. Whatever is meant to be learnt by the general mass [of devotees] regarding the technicalities pertaining to rasa as revealed by Him have been written down. Regarding these subjects, whatever is meant to be learnt from the feet of a revered spiritual master will not be found in this book.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we cannot find in this book what is meant to be learnt from your guru. Many disciples, they say, that ah, there are many things they want to learn. But they don’t read all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. And we ask for questions, they never ask questions, they don’t necessarily ask. But they still give different excuses and read other books although they haven’t read all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Śrīla Prabhupāda translated the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in very simple language. Previously no one had done that and the Bengali Caitanya-caritāmṛta is what they call as ‘sādhu bhāśa’ which is different from the normal prose. So Śrīla Prabhupāda, he translated the Caitanya-caritāmṛta into vernacular language and His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami, he translated the Caitanya-caritāmṛta from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English to vernacular Bengali.

mahāprabhu svayaṁ kona grantha racanā karena nāi. tāṅhāra atyanta kṛpā pātra rūpa, sanātana, gopālabhaṭṭa, raghunātha dāsa, raghunātha bhaṭṭa, jīva, svarūpa dāmodara, rāya rāmānanda, kavikarṇapūra, baladeva vidyābhūṣana o viśvanātha cakravartī prabhṛti ācāryagana ye sakala grantha pranayana kariyāchena ai samasta grantha haite mahāprabhura upadeśa sakala saṁgraha karite haya. tāṅhādera madhye anekei mahāprabhura ādeśa mate grantha racanā kariyā tāṅhāke grantha śravana karāiyāchilena. ataeva ye sakala mata ai sakala mahātmāgana lipibaddha kariyāchena sei sakalai mahāprabhura sammata, tāhāte kichu mātra sandeha nāi. nimni likhita grantha samūha haite ei granthera vicāra samasta saṁgṛhīta haiyāche.

Translation: Mahāprabhu did not compose any books by Himself. One should assemble all of Mahāprabhu's teachings from all those books composed by Ācāryas such as the objects of His great mercy Rūpa, Sanātana, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, Raghunātha dāsa, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, Jīva, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, Kavi Karṇapūra, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣāna and Viśvanātha Cakravartī. Among them, a number of them composed books in line with Mahāprabhu's instructions and had Him hear those books. Therefore, all the teachings set out in writing by those mahātmās are authorized by Mahāprabhu and there is no doubt about it. All the deliberations in this book have been gathered from the following books:

1. śrī jīva gosvāmī racita ṣaṭ-sandarbha

2. śrī jīva gosvāmī racita sarva-samvādinī

3. śrī rūpa gosvāmī racita bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu

4. śrī rūpa gosvāmī racita ujjvala-nīlamaṇi

5. śrī sanātana gosvāmī racita bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta

6. śrī rūpa gosvāmī racita laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta

7. śrī sanātana gosvāmī racita hari-bhakti-vilāsa

8. śrī baladeva vidyābhūṣana kṛta vedānta-sūtra-bhāṣya

9. śrī baladeva vidyābhūṣana racita vedānta-syamantaka

10. śrī baladeva vidyābhūṣana racita prameya-ratnāvalī

11. śrī viśvanātha cakravartī racita śrī Bhāgavata-ṭīkā

12. śrī viśvanātha cakravartī racita śrīmad-bhagavad-gītāra ṭīkā

13. śrī kavi-karṇapūra racita caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka

14. śrī kavi-karṇapūra racita alaṅkāra-kaustubha

15. śrī kṛṣṇadāsa kavirāja racita caitanya-caritāmṛta

prabhṛti grantha samūha o sei sei granthera ṭīkā o tadanuyāyī nānā vidha kṣudra kṣudra pustaka.

1. Ṣaṭ-sandarbha composed by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī 2. Sarva-saṁvādinī composed by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī 3. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu composed by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī 4. Ujjvala-nīla-mani composed by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī 5. Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta composed by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī 6. Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta composed by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī 7. Hari-bhakti-vilāsa composed by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī 8. Vedānta-sūtra-bhāṣya written by Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana 9. Vedānta-syamantaka composed by Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana 10. Prameya-ratnāvalī composed by Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana 11. Commentary on Śrī Bhāgavata composed by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī 12. Commentary on Śrī Bhagavad-gītā composed by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī 13. Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka composed by Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra 14. Alaṅkāra-kaustubha composed by Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra 15. Caitanya-caritāmṛta composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja and the commentaries on these books and several booklets following them.

Ei granthera dvitīya vṛṣṭite varnāśRāma dharma vivṛta haiyāche. tāhāte keha keha mane karite pārena ye mahāprabhu sāmānya varnāśRāma dharma kona sthalei śikṣā dena nāi. ihāte āmādera baktavya ei ye prabhura jīvanaṭī sampūrṇa rūpe varnāśRāma dharma śikṣā deya. mahāprabhu svīya līlāmṛta o śikṣāmṛta dvārā tāpita jīva sakalake samyak paritṛpta kariyāchena. ādau gṛhastha dharme avasthiti kāle tini dharma śāstra haite ei ślokaṭī pāṭha karena:

na gṛhaṁ gṛhamityāhurgṛhiṇī gṛhamucyate
tayāhi sahitaḥ sarbān puruṣārthān samaśnute

Translation: Varṇāśrama-dharma has been explained in the Second Shower of this book. Regarding this, some might think that Mahāprabhu did not instruct about the very ordinary varṇāśrama-dharma at any point in time. In this regard, my opinion is that the Lord's life completely teaches [the world] about varṇāśrama-dharma. Mahāprabhu has fully satisfied the suffering jīvas with the nectar of His pastimes and the nectar of His teachings. In the beginning when He was situated in gṛhastha-dharma, He recited the following verse from the Dharma-śāstra: na gṛhaṁ gṛham ity āhur gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate tayā hi sahitaḥ sarvān puruṣārthān samaśnute “Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning. If one lives at home with his wife, together they can fulfill all the interests of human life.”’

Jayapatākā Swami: So, a house is not a home, A house needs to have a wife and then it is a home. That was the verse. So Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu He led the first half of His life as a gṛhastha and the second half He took sannyāsa because this was also predicted in the Vedas. This avatāra would spend 24 years as a gṛhastha and 24 years as a sannyāsī.

ei dharma śāstra upadeśa pūrvaka tini svayaṁ udvāha kārya svīkāra karena evaṁ jagatke tāhā śikṣā dena. pitā mātāra sevā, ātithya, pitāra dehānte gayā srāddhādi kriyā, brāhmaṇa sammāna, vidyābhyāsa, nyāya pūrvaka dhanopārjana, dayā, satyapālana, vratādira vyavasthā prabhṛti gauṇa vidhi pālana pūrvaka mānava ganake gauṇa vidhi śikṣā diyāchilena. sannyāsa āśRāma grahana karata āśrama niṣṭhāo suṣṭurūpe śikṣā dena. varnāśRāma dharma sambandhe tāṅhāra ye upadeśa tāhā tāṅhāra udāhṛta nimna likhita śrī-bhāgavata ślokadvaye viśeṣa rūpe upadiṣṭa haiyāche:

svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir haritoṣaṇaṁ (ŚB. 1.2.13)

varṇāśramarūpa dharma uttama rūpe anuṣṭhita haiyā yadi haritoṣaṇake lābha kare tabe tāṅhāra saṁsiddhi haya.

dharmaḥ sbanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
biśbaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayedat yadi ratiṁ
śrama ebahi kebalaṁ
(ŚB. 1.2.8)

uttamarūpe anuṣṭhita haiyāo yadi varṇāśrama dharma hari kathāya śraddhā utpatti na kare tabe anuṣṭātāra kevala akarmaṇya śrama mātra haya.

Translation: On the basis of this instruction from the Dharma-śastra, He got Himself married and He taught that instruction to the world. He taught mankind the secondary injunctions [of śastra] by following the secondary injunctions such as service to one's father and mother, service to uninvited guests, performance of śrāddha and other such rituals in Gayā upon the death of one's father, honoring brāhmaṇas, study, righteously earning money, compassion, truthfulness and accepting the [scriptural] arrangements concerning vows and so on. After accepting the sannyāsa-āśrama, He nicely instructed [the world] about being fixed in [His] āśrama-dharma. His instructions pertaining to varṇāśrama-dharma have especially been taught in the following two verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam quoted by Him: svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam “The highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation is to please the Personality of Godhead.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.13) If by excellently carrying out the dharma of varṇāśrama, one pleases Lord Hari, that is its highest perfection. dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam “The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.8) Jayapatākā Swami: Many people taught varṇāśrama, but here Lord Caitanya taught two things – that varnāśrama is meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and then the second instruction He gave is that, if practicing varṇāśrama one doesn’t have his natural attraction for Kṛṣṇa awakened, then it is so much useless labor.

uttamarūpe anuṣṭhita haiyāo yadi varṇāśrama dharma hari kathāya śraddhā utpatti na kare tabe anuṣṭātāra kevala akarmaṇya śrama mātra haya.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some smārtha brāhmaṇas they perform the varṇāśrama rules very meticulously but they don’t have any attraction for the message of Kṛṣṇa, for serving Kṛṣṇa. So, these people don’t have any protection of Kṛṣṇa and so much useless labor. The whole point of varṇāśrama is to develop attraction to the message of Kṛṣṇa.

So, this is part of the introduction. So, this is something very essential that all of the teachings of varṇāśrama, etc. are meant to please the Lord, and the real test is to see if one has developed attraction to hear the message of Kṛṣṇa.

This book is to give you the essence, but he has taken all the long list of books and taken down to a very simple cream. So all the varṇāśrama with its sub-duties, it is said that the real purpose is to please Lord Hari. By practicing it we should be developing attraction to hear about Hari,.

I heard a lot about this book and it has some instructions what to do in different situations, so I thought well let us read this. So, we can see how many books His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had studied to take out the essence and give it to you.

Today is Christmas. Merry Christmas! In The Christian churches we see Jesus with his hands across and in the future we will see Lord Caitanya with His hands up in the air.