Planet ISKCON

Today we are celebrating the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna, who descended in the age of Kali in the role of a devotee. He appeared on what we now call Gaura-purnima, in the evening of the full moon day in the month of Phalguna. At the time, there was a lunar eclipse, and as was the tradition, as recommended in scripture, Hindus immersed themselves in the Ganges and chanted the holy names. Eclipses are considered inauspicious, and to counteract the inauspiciousness, strict followers of the Vedic scriptures stand in a sacred body of water—a river, a kunda or lake, or the sea—and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. So, from the very beginning Lord Chaitanya was surrounded by the chanting of Hare Krishna, and He induced people to chant Hare Krishna more and more.

Advaita Acharya and Haridasa Thakura danced in ecstasy. On the plea of giving charity to brahmans on the occasion of the eclipse, Advaita Acharya and others distributed various gifts. All the devotees were jubilant, and they danced, performed sankirtana, and gave charity. The whole world was full of auspiciousness, and everyone was filled with transcendental bliss.

nadiya-udayagiri, purnacandra gaurahari,
   krpa kari’ ha-ila udaya
papa-tamah haila nasa, tri-jagatera ullasa,
   jagabhari’ hari-dhvani haya

“Thus by His causeless mercy the full moon, Gaurahari, rose in the district of Nadia, which is compared to Udayagiri, where the sun first becomes visible. His rising in the sky dissipated the darkness of sinful life, and thus the three worlds became joyful and chanted the holy name of the Lord.” (Cc Adi 13.98)

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a baby, sometimes He would cry and the elders would try to pacify Him in different ways, as people do when a baby cries. They would try to comfort Him, distract Him, and please Him, but nothing worked. Soon they discovered that if they chanted the holy name of Krishna, He would become peaceful and stop crying. So whenever he would cry, they would chant, and He would immediately become happy. His appearance inspired chanting, and His activities thereafter inspired more chanting.

sei-kale nijalaya, uthiya advaita raya,
  nrtya kare anandita-mane
haridase lana sange, hunkara-kirtana-range
  kene nace, keha nahi jane

“At that time Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, in His own house at Santipura, was dancing in a pleasing mood. Taking Haridasa Thakura with Him, He danced and loudly chanted Hare Krsna. But why they were dancing, no one could understand.” (Cc Adi 13.99)

By His divine will, Krishna arranged for His associates from Goloka Vrindavan to come to earth to join Him in His pastimes as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Some associates played the parts of elders, and they took birth before He did. Advaita Acharya and Haridasa Thakura were elders, and they themselves were friends. In fact, Advaita Acharya is Maha-vishnu, and Thakura Haridasa is Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma is a disciple and direct servant of Maha-vishnu. So, it is natural that they became close.

When the news spread that Jagannatha Misra and Sacimata had given birth to a baby boy, all sorts of respectable brahman gentlemen and ladies came with gifts and blessed the newborn child. Even the wives of the demigods came, disguised as the wives of brahmans, and presented various gifts. The day after the purnima there was a great celebration at Jagannatha Misra’s home. That day is observed today as the festival of Jagannatha Misra, because to celebrate the birth of his son he received various visitors and well-wishers and gave presentations to them all. And in the end, they all feasted.

We shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Thirteen, “The Advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,” beginning with the chapter summary:

“The thirteenth chapter of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta describes Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance. . . .

“A learned brahmana named Upendra Misra, who resided in the district of Srihatta, was the father of Jagannatha Misra, who came to Navadvipa to study under the direction of Nilambara Cakravarti and then settled there after marrying Nilambara Cakravarti’s daughter, Sacidevi. Sri Sacidevi gave birth to eight children, all daughters, who died one after another immediately after birth. After her ninth pregnancy she gave birth to a son, who was named Visvarupa. Then, in 1407 Saka Era (A.D. 1486), on the full-moon evening of the month of Phalguna, during the constellation of Simha (Leo) on the horizon, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared as the son of Sri Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra. After hearing of the birth of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, learned scholars and brahmanas, bringing many gifts, came to see the newly born baby. Nilambara Cakravarti, who was a great astrologer, immediately prepared a horoscope, and by astrological calculation he saw that the child was a great personality. This chapter describes the symptoms of this great personality.”

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

We can see the resemblance between the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya and those of Lord Krishna. In Mathura, Lord Krishna’s parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, first had six sons, all of whom were killed by Kamsa. Their seventh child was Balarama, but by the arrangement of Yogamaya, under Krishna’s direction, Balarama was transferred from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini in Vrindavan. Thus Devaki appeared to have had a miscarriage.

The eighth child was Krishna. Vasudeva did not want Kamsa to kill—or try to kill— Krishna, and by Yogamaya’s influence all the guards in Kamsa’s prison fell asleep and all the locked doors opened. Vasudeva then carried baby Krishna across the Yamuna to Gokula. There he found that Yasoda had given birth to a baby girl, but she was so exhausted from the labor of childbirth that she didn’t know if she had given birth to a son or a daughter. Vasudeva placed baby Krishna on Yasoda’s bed, picked up her daughter, and carried her back to Kamsa’s prison in Mathura.

As soon as the baby girl was placed in the prison room with Vasudeva and Devaki, she began to cry, and Kamsa concluded that Devaki had given birth to a daughter. Earlier, on the occasion of Devaki’s wedding, Kamsa had heard a voice from the sky (akasa-vani) telling him that the eighth son of Devaki would kill him. This child was a girl, but Kamsa was such a demon, surrounded by such demonic advisors, that he thought, “Let me not take any chances.” He snatched the baby to dash her on a rock and kill her as he had killed the other six children, but she slipped from his hands and flew into the sky, manifesting her form as the goddess Durga, and said, “You fool! The person who will kill you has already taken birth somewhere else.”

This is a striking statement—“the person who will kill you has already taken birth elsewhere”—because from the account so far, Krishna had taken birth in Kamsa’s prison in Mathura. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, as quoted by Srila Prabhupada, cites evidence from within Srimad-Bhagavatam and from other Puranas, such as the Hari-vamsa, that Yasoda gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The girl was an expansion of Yogamaya, and the boy was the original Krishna. When Vasudeva carried Vasudeva Krishna to Gokula, the Vasudeva Krishna entered into the original Krishna, and Vasudeva carried the baby girl back to Mathura.

Here in caitanya-lila we find that Sacidevi gave birth to eight daughters and that all of them died. Then finally she gave birth to a son, Visvarupa. Visvarupa left home at an early age and took sannyasa, and so for all material purposes he was dead. Srila Prabhupada said that sannyasa means civil death. The day on which Visvarupa took sannyasa is called Visvarupa-mahotsava—the same day on which Srila Prabhupada took sannyasa some four hundred years later.

In any case, it was a great occasion that Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra had given birth to a boy, and all the devotees from the area, such as Advaita Acharya and his wife Sita and Srivasa Thakura and his wife Malini, came and brought gifts and offered blessings to the new child.

TEXT 100

dekhi’ uparaga hasi’, sighra ganga-ghate asi’
 anande karila ganga-snana
pana uparaga-chale, apanara mano-bale,
 brahmanere dila nana dana

TRANSLATION

Seeing the lunar eclipse and laughing, both Advaita Acarya and Haridasa Thakura immediately went to the bank of the Ganges and bathed in the Ganges in great jubilation. Taking advantage of the occasion of the lunar eclipse, Advaita Acarya, by His own mental strength, distributed various types of charity to the brahmanas.

PURPORT

It is the custom of Hindus to give in charity to the poor as much as possible during the time of a lunar or solar eclipse. Advaita Acarya, therefore, taking advantage of the eclipse, distributed many varieties of charity to the brahmanas. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a statement in the Tenth Canto, Third Chapter, Verse Eleven that when Krsna took His birth, Vasudeva immediately took advantage of this moment and distributed ten thousand cows to the brahmanas. It is customary among Hindus that at the time a child is born, especially a male child, the parents distribute great charity in jubilation. Advaita Acarya was actually interested in distributing charity because of Lord Caitanya’s birth at the time of the lunar eclipse. People could not understand, however, why Advaita Acarya was giving such a great variety of things in charity. He did so not because of the lunar eclipse but because of the Lord’s taking birth at that moment. He distributed charity exactly as Vasudeva did at the time of Lord Krsna’s appearance.

COMMENT

In Vedic culture householders observe all auspicious ceremonies by giving in charity. They are happy, and they know they are happy by the grace of the Lord and the devotees. And in their happiness they want to give charity and receive more blessings. When the children become adults and observe their own birth anniversaries, they also give charity. One friend of the Juhu temple who was very strict about Vedic traditions did not like that we celebrated birthdays by giving presents to the birthday boy or girl. He said, “Birthday means the birthday person gives charity.” And he didn’t like birthday cakes either. He said, “You should distribute sandesa, rasagulla, or gulabjamun. Those are real sweets.”

TEXT 101

jagat anandamaya, dekhi’ mane sa-vismaya,
 tharethore kahe haridasa
tomara aichana ranga, mora mana parasanna,
 dekhi—kichu karye ache bhasa

TRANSLATION

When he saw that the whole world was jubilant, Haridasa Thakura, his mind astonished, directly and indirectly expressed himself to Advaita Acarya: “Your dancing and distributing charity are very pleasing to me. I can understand that there is some special purpose in these actions.”

TEXT 102

acaryaratna, srivasa, haila mane sukhollasa
  yai’ snana kaila ganga-jale
anande vihvala mana, kare hari-sankirtana
  nana dana kaila mano-bale

TRANSLATION

Acaryaratna [Candrasekhara] and Srivasa Thakura were overwhelmed with joy, and immediately they went to the bank of the Ganges to take bath in the water of the Ganges. Their minds full of happiness, they chanted the Hare Krsna mantra and gave charity by mental strength.

TEXT 103

ei mata bhakta-tati, yanra yei dese sthiti,
  tahan tahan pana mano-bale
nace, kare sankirtana, anande vihvala mana,
  dana kare grahanera chale

TRANSLATION

In this way all the devotees, wherever they were situated, in every city and every country, danced, performed sankirtana, and gave charity by mental strength on the plea of the lunar eclipse, their minds overwhelmed with joy.

TEXT 104

brahmana-sajjana-nari, nana-dravye thali bhari’
  aila sabe yautuka la-iya
yena kanca-sona-dyuti, dekhi’ balakera murti,
  asirvada kare sukha pana

TRANSLATION

All sorts of respectable brahmana gentlemen and ladies, carrying plates filled with various gifts, came with their presentations. Seeing the newborn child, whose form resembled natural glaring gold, all of them with happiness offered their blessings.

TEXT 105

savitri, gauri, sarasvati, saci, rambha, arundhati
  ara yata deva-narigana
nana-dravye patra bhari’, brahmanira vesa dhari’,
  asi’ sabe kare darasana

TRANSLATION

Dressing themselves as the wives of brahmanas, all the celestial ladies, including the wives of Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Nrsimhadeva, King Indra, and Vasistha Muni, along with Rambha, a dancing girl of heaven, came there with varieties of gifts.

PURPORT

When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a newly born baby, He was visited by the neighboring ladies, most of whom were the wives of respectable brahmanas. In the dress of brahmanas’ wives, celestial ladies like the wives of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva also came to see the newborn child. Ordinary people saw them as neighborhood respectable brahmana ladies, but actually they were all celestial ladies dressed in that way.

COMMENT

Savitri is the wife of Lord Brahma, Gauri is the wife of Lord Shiva, Sarasvati here is mentioned as the wife of Lord Nrsimhadeva, and Saci is the wife of King Indra. They all disguised themselves as brahman ladies, looking like ladies of the neighborhood, and came to offer respects to the newborn baby.

TEXT 106

antarikse deva-gana, gandharva, siddha, carana,
  stuti-nrtya kare vadya-gita
nartaka, vadaka, bhata, navadvipe yara nata,
  sabe asi’ nace pana prita

TRANSLATION

In outer space all the demigods, including the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka, Siddhaloka, and Caranaloka, offered their prayers and danced with musical songs and the beating of drums. Similarly, in Navadvipa city all the professional dancers, musicians, and blessers gathered together, dancing in great jubilation.

COMMENT

Bhata means “professional blessing-givers.”

PURPORT

As there are professional singers, dancers, and reciters of prayers in the heavenly planets, so in India still there are professional dancers, givers of blessings, and singers, all of whom assemble together during householder ceremonies, especially marriages and birth ceremonies. These professional men earn their livelihood by taking charity on such occasions from the homes of the Hindus. Eunuchs also take advantage of such ceremonies to receive charity. That is their means of livelihood. Such men never become servants or engage themselves in agriculture or business occupations; they simply take charity from neighborhood friends to maintain themselves peacefully. The bhatas are a class of brahmanas who go to such ceremonies to offer blessings by composing poems with references to the Vedic scriptures.

COMMENT

Vedic culture is very beautiful and highly elevated. Even now in India the culture is there, though not as much as before. When I was in Bombay last December, I visited an old friend, a very nice devotee, who was related to the Birlas. And it just so happened that there was an engagement ceremony in the Birla family, from the mother’s side. Sri Brijratan Mohatta had married Seth R. D. Birla’s daughter, and their son’s daughter was becoming engaged. So, I went to the engagement reception, and there I met a bhajana singer named Purushottam Das Jalota. When I first went to India in 1970, he was very popular. He would sing bhajanas in aristocratic Hindus’ homes and give lessons in voice and harmonium. As he grew older, his son, as happens, became his apprentice and also began to sing bhajanas and play harmonium. So, we invited his son, Anup, who was relatively unknown then, to perform at our auditorium in Juhu.

At the engagement reception Purushottam approached me. He was about eighty-seven then and was wearing a traditional Hindu jacket and cap. After we spoke for some time, he made an indication and said, “Anup is there” and tried to call him—I think for me to bless and encourage his son—but because his voice was not so loud, Anup could not hear him. I said, “That’s all right. I’ll go and see him.”

Anup remembered his first performance in the ISKCON auditorium. I didn’t usually attend such performances, but somehow that evening toward the end of the performance, I had felt drawn into the auditorium. I had found a seat toward the back and sat down. The whole atmosphere had been surcharged—I can’t explain it—and he had sung with such devotion that his words and voice had entered people’s minds and hearts. It had been a very special performance, and the devotees had recorded it and produced an audio cassette shat they would distribute on sankirtana—and it had become a hit. Many people would ask for Anup Jalota’s tape.

When I met Anup at the reception, he said that when he had entered the auditorium he had not been sure whether or not he would pursue a career as a singer. He had prayed, “Lord Krishna, I am Yours. Whatever You want You can do. If You want me to pursue this career, You can make me a success. If You don’t, that’s all right—whatever You wish.” And he remarked that it was because of his performance in the ISKCON auditorium and the recording of it that he had become a success as a singer. (I knew that was the case, but I didn’t want to say it. But he also knew it, and he said it—and it was true.)

That culture and that mood of devotion, of surrender, of dependence on the Lord are becoming rare—but they are still there.

Now we return to the description of Jagannatha Misra’s festival:

TEXT 107

keba ase keba yaya, keba nace keba gaya,
  sambhalite nare kara bola
khandileka duhkha-soka, pramoda-purita loka,
  misra haila anande vihvals

TRANSLATION

No one could understand who was coming and who was going, who was dancing and who was singing. Nor could they understand one another’s language. Yet all unhappiness and lamentation were immediately dissipated, and people became all-jubilant. Thus Jagannatha Misra was also overwhelmed with joy.

TEXT 108

acaryaratna, srivasa, jagannatha-misra-pasa,
  asi’ tanre kare savadhana
karaila jatakarma, ye achila vidhi-dharma,
  tabe misra kare nana dana

TRANSLATION

Candrasekhara Acarya and Srivasa Thakura both came to Jagannatha Misra and drew his attention in various ways. They performed the ritualistic ceremonies prescribed at the time of birth according to religious principles. Jagannatha Misra also gave varieties of charity.

TEXT 109

yautuka paila yata, ghare va achila kata,
  saba dhana vipre dila dana
yata nartaka, gayana, bhata, akincana jana,
  dhana diya kaila sabara mana

TRANSLATION

Whatever riches Jagannatha Misra collected in the form of gifts and presentations, and whatever he had in his house, he distributed among the brahmanas, professional singers, dancers, bhatas, and the poor. He honored them all by giving them riches in charity.

TEXT 110

srivasera brahmani, nama tanra ‘malini’,
  acaryaratnera patni-sange
sindura, haridra, taila, kha-i, kala, narikela,
  diya puje narigana range

TRANSLATION

The wife of Srivasa Thakura, whose name was Malini, accompanied by the wife of Candrasekhara [Acaryaratna] and other ladies, came there in great happiness to worship the baby with paraphernalia such as vermilion, turmeric, oil, fused rice, bananas, and coconuts.

PURPORT

Vermilion, kha-i (fused rice), bananas, coconuts, and turmeric mixed with oil are all auspicious gifts for such a ceremony. As there is puffed rice, so there is another preparation of rice called kha-i, or fused rice, which, along with bananas, is taken as a very auspicious presentation. Also, turmeric mixed with oil and vermilion makes an auspicious ointment that is smeared over the body of a newborn baby or a person who is going to marry. These are all auspicious activities in family affairs. We see that five hundred years ago at the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu all these ceremonies were performed rigidly, but at present such ritualistic performances hardly ever take place. Generally a pregnant mother is sent to the hospital, and as soon as her child is born he is washed with an antiseptic, and this concludes everything.

COMMENT

The parents and other elders did whatever they could to ensure the wellbeing of the child in all respects. They knew that the purpose of the child’s life was to serve and please God and that the child’s success in all respects depended on the mercy of God and His devotees.

TEXT 111

advaita-acarya-bharya, jagat-pujita arya,
  nama tanra ‘sita thakurani’
acaryera ajna pana, gela upahara lana,
  dekhite balaka-siromani

TRANSLATION

One day shortly after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born, Advaita Acarya’s wife, Sitadevi, who is worshipable by the whole world, took her husband’s permission and went to see that topmost child with all kinds of gifts and presentations

PURPORT

It appears that Advaita Acarya had two different houses, one at Santipura and one at Navadvipa. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born, Advaita Acarya was residing not at His Navadvipa house but at His Santipura house. Therefore, as formerly explained (text 99), from Advaita’s old paternal house (nijalaya) in Santipura, Sita came to Navadvipa to present gifts to the newborn child, Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 112

suvarnera kadi-ba-uli, rajatamudra-pasuli,
  suvarnera angada, kankana
du-bahute divya sankha, rajatera malabanka,
  svarna-mudrara nana haragana

TRANSLATION

She brought different kinds of golden ornaments, including armlets, necklaces, anklets, and bangles for the hands.

TEXT 113

vyaghra-nakha hema-jadi, kati-pattasutra-dori
  hasta-padera yata abharana
citra-varna patta-sadi, buni photo pattapadi,
  svarna-raupya-mudra bahu-dhana

TRANSLATION

There were also tiger nails set in gold, waist decorations of silk and lace, ornaments for the hands and legs, nicely printed silken saris, and a child’s garment, also made of silk. Many other riches, including gold and silver coins, were also presented to the child.

PURPORT

From the gifts presented by Sita Thakurani, Advaita Acarya’s wife, it appears that Advaita Acarya was at that time a very rich man. Although brahmanas are not the rich men of society, Advaita Acarya, being the leader of the brahmanas in Santipura, was considerably well-to-do. Therefore He presented many ornaments to the baby, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But Kamalakanta Visvasa’s asking for three hundred rupees from the King of Jagannatha Puri, Maharaja Prataparudra, on the plea that Advaita Acarya was in debt for that amount, indicates that such a rich man, who could present many valuable ornaments, saris, etc., thought it difficult to repay three hundred rupees. Therefore the value of a rupee at that time was many thousands of times what it is now. At present, no one feels difficulty over a debt of three hundred rupees, nor can an ordinary man accumulate such valuable ornaments to present to a friend’s son. Probably the value of three hundred rupees at that time was equal to the present value of thirty thousand rupees.

COMMENT

And the present value of thirty thousand rupees now is probably three hundred thousand rupees—or more.

TEXT 114–116

Riding in a palanquin covered with cloth and accompanied by maidservants, Sita Thakurani came to the house of Jagannatha Misra, bringing with her many auspicious articles such as fresh grass, paddy, gorocana, turmeric, kunkuma and sandalwood. All these presentations filled a large basket.

When Sita Thakurani came to the house of Sacidevi, bringing with her many kinds of eatables, dresses, and other gifts, she was astonished to see the newborn child, for she appreciated that except for a difference in color, the child was directly Krsna of Gokula Himself.

Seeing the transcendental bodily effulgence of the child, each of His nicely constructed limbs full of auspicious signs and resembling a form of gold, Sita Thakurani was very pleased, and because of her maternal affection, she felt as if her heart were melting.

TEXT 117

durva, dhanya, dila sirse, kaila bahu asise,
  cirajivi hao dui bhai
dakini-sankhini haite, sanka upajila cite,
  dare nama thuila ‘nimai’

TRANSLATION

She blessed the newborn child by placing fresh grass and paddy on His head and saying, “May You be blessed with a long duration of life.” But being afraid of ghosts and witches, she gave the child the name Nimai.

PURPORT

Dakini and Sankhini are two companions of Lord Siva and his wife who are supposed to be extremely inauspicious, having been born of ghostly life. It is believed that such inauspicious living creatures cannot go near a nima tree. At least medically it is accepted that nima wood is extremely antiseptic, and formerly it was customary to have a nima tree in front of one’s house. On very large roads in India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, there are hundreds and thousands of nima trees. Nima wood is so antiseptic that the Ayurvedic science uses it to cure leprosy. Medical scientists have extracted the active principle of the nima tree, which is called margosic acid. Nima is used for many purposes, especially to brush the teeth. In Indian villages ninety percent of the people use nima twigs for this purpose. Because of all the antiseptic effects of the nima tree and because Lord Caitanya was born beneath a nima tree, Sita Thakurani gave the Lord the name Nimai. Later in His youth He was celebrated as Nimai Pandita, and in the neighborhood villages He was called by that name, although His real name was Visvambhara.

COMMENT

Visvambhara means “one who maintains the universe.” Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 9.7) describes how Lord Chaitanya appreciated that name:

prabhu kahe, ami ‘visvambhara’ nama dhari
nama sarthaka haya, yadi preme visva bhari

“Lord Caitanya thought, ‘My name is Visvambhara, “one who maintains the entire universe.” Its meaning will be actualized if I can fill the whole universe with love of Godhead.’ ”

In my youth, my dentist was a family friend who had served in the American Army in India during World War II, and as he worked on my teeth he would tell me about his experiences. He remarked that he would often see Indians squatting along the roads brushing their teeth with twigs. As part of his work, he would treat Indians too, and he said that when he looked into their mouths he was astonished to find the most beautiful white teeth he had ever seen—and without any cavities. And all these people did was brush their teeth with twigs!

TEXT 118

putramata-snanadine, dila vastra vibhusane,
  putra-saha misrere sammani’
saci-misrera puja lana, manete harisa hana,
  ghare aila sita thakurani

TRANSLATION

On the day the mother and son bathed and left the maternity home, Sita Thakurani gave them all kinds of ornaments and garments and then also honored Jagannatha Misra. Then Sita Thakurani, being honored by mother Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra, was greatly happy within her mind, and thus she returned home.

PURPORT

On the fifth day from the birth of a child, as also on the ninth day, the mother bathes either in the Ganges or in another sacred place. This is called niskramana, or the ceremony of coming out of the maternity home. Nowadays the maternity home is a hospital, but formerly in every respectable house one room was set aside as a maternity home where children would take birth, and on the ninth day after the birth of a child the mother would come into the regular rooms in the ceremony called niskramana. Of the ten purificatory processes, niskramana is one. Formerly, especially in Bengal, the higher castes observed four months after the birth of a child as a quarantine. At the end of the fourth month, the mother could see the sun rise. Later the higher castes, namely the brahmanas, ksatriyas, and vaisyas, observed only twenty-one days as a quarantine, whereas the sudras had to observe thirty days. For the sections of society known as kartabhaja and satima, the mother of the child was immediately purified after the quarantine by the throwing of hari-nuta, small pieces of sweetmeat, in sankirtana. Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra, with the newborn child, were honored by Sita Thakurani. Similarly, while Sita Thakurani was returning home, she was also honored by Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra. That was the system in respectable families of Bengal.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada was also born in a separate house, under a jackfruit tree, that belonged to his mother’s parents. Last November His Holiness Radhanath Swami and I visited that place in south Calcutta, saw the tree under which Srila Prabhupada was born, and visited the Radha-Krishna temple that his mother frequented, and we imagined how she and the rest of the family must have prayed for the welfare of the new child, whom they named Abhay Charan, “one who is fearless, having taken shelter at Lord Krishna’s lotus feet.”

TEXT 119

aiche saci-jagannatha, putra pana laksminatha,
  purna ha-ila sakala vanchita
dhana-dhanye bhare ghara, lokamanya kalevara,
  dine dine haya anandita

TRANSLATION

In this way mother Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra, having obtained a son who was the husband of the goddess of fortune, had all their desires fulfilled. Their house was always filled with riches and grains. As they saw the beloved body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, day after day their pleasure increased.

PURPORT

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore everyone offered respects to Him. Even the denizens of heaven used to come in the dress of ordinary men to offer their respect to the Lord. His father and mother, Jagannatha Misra and Sacidevi, seeing the honor of their transcendental son, also became very pleased within their hearts.

TEXT 120

misra—vaisnava, santa, alampata, suddha, danta,
  dhana-bhoge nahi abhimana
putrera prabhave yata, dhana asi’ mile, tata,
  visnu-prite dvije dena dana

TRANSLATION

Jagannatha Misra was an ideal Vaisnava. He was peaceful, restrained in sense gratification, pure, and controlled. Therefore he had no desire to enjoy material opulence. Whatever money came because of the influence of his transcendental son, he gave it in charity to the brahmanas for the satisfaction of Visnu.

TEXT 121

lagna gani’ harsamati, nilambara cakravarti,
  gupte kichu kahila misrere
mahapurusera cihna, lagne ange bhinna bhinna,
  dekhi,—ei taribe samsare

TRANSLATION

After calculating the birth moment of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nilambara Cakravarti privately said to Jagannatha Misra that he saw all the different symptoms of a great personality in both the body and birth moment of the child. Thus he understood that in the future this child would deliver all the three worlds.

COMMENT

Although Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had all the signs of a great personality and was in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His father, Jagannatha Misra, considered Him to be simply his son.

As a child, Lord Chaitanya was quite naughty, and Jagannatha Misra would often chide Him and instruct Him in proper behavior. One night Jagannatha Misra had a dream in which a brahman told him, “You do not know anything about your son. Because you think Him to be your son, you rebuke and chastise Him.” Jagannatha Misra replied, “He may be a demigod, a mystic yogi, or a great saint, but whatever He may be, I know Him only as my son, and it is my duty to teach Him religion and morality. Otherwise, how will He learn? Even if He is Lord Narayana Himself, it is the duty of the father to instruct the son.” Even in his dreams, Jagannatha Misra was absorbed in the mellow of pure parental affection.

In his youth, Lord Chaitanya asked an astrologer to tell Him who He was in His past life. Through calculation and meditation, the astrologer saw the brilliantly effulgent form of the Lord as the resting place of the Vaikuntha planets. Struck with wonder, he said, “In Your previous birth You were the shelter of all creation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full of all opulence. And You are the same Personality of Godhead now.” Lord Chaitanya smiled and said, “I think you do not know very clearly what I was, for I know that in My previous birth I was a cowherd boy. I was born in a family of cowherd men and gave protection to the cows and calves, and because of these pious activities, I have now become the son of a brahman.”

TEXT 122

aiche prabhu saci-ghare, krpaya kaila avatare,
  yei iha karaye sravana
gaura-prabhu dayamaya, tanre hayena sadaya,
  sei paya tanhara carana

TRANSLATION

In this way Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, out of His causeless mercy, made His advent in the house of Sacidevi. Lord Caitanya is very merciful to anyone who hears this narration of His birth, and thus such a person attains the lotus feet of the Lord.

TEXT 123

paiya manusa janma, ye na sune gaura-guna,
  hena janma tara vyartha haila
paiya amrtadhuni, piye visa-garta-pani,
  janmiya se kene nahi maila

TRANSLATION

Anyone who attains a human body but does not take to the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is baffled in his opportunity. Amrtadhuni is a flowing river of the nectar of devotional service. If after getting a human body one drinks the water in a poison pit of material happiness instead of the water of such a river, it would be better for him not to have lived, but to have died long ago.

PURPORT

In this connection Srimat Prabodhananda Sarasvati has composed the following verses in his Caitanya-candramrta (37, 36, 34):

acaitanyam idam visvam yadi caitanyam isvaram
na viduh sarva-sastra-jna hy api bhramyanti te janah

“This material world is without Krsna consciousness. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna consciousness personified. Therefore if a very learned scholar or scientist does not understand Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, certainly he is wandering uselessly in this world.”

prasarita-maha-prema-piyusa-rasa-sagare
caitanya-candre prakate yo dino dina eva sah

“A person who does not take advantage of the nectar of devotional service overflowing during the presence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s cult is certainly the poorest of the poor.”

avatirne gaura-candre vistirne prema-sagare
suprakasita-ratnaughe yo dino dina eva sah

“The advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is just like an expanding ocean of nectar. One who does not collect the valuable jewels within this ocean is certainly the poorest of the poor.”

Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.3.19, 20, 23) states:

sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih
  samstutah purusah pasuh
na yat-karna-pathopeto
  jatu nama gadagrajah

bile batorukrama-vikraman ye
  na srnvatah karna-pute narasya
jihvasati dardurikeva suta
  na copagayaty urugaya-gathah

jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum
  na jatu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah
  svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham

“A person who has no connection with Krsna consciousness may be a very great personality in so-called human society, but actually he is no better than a great animal. Such big animals are generally praised by other animals like dogs, hogs, camels, and asses. A person who does not lend his aural reception to hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be considered to have earholes like holes in a field. Although that person has a tongue, it is like the tongue of a frog, which unnecessarily creates a disturbance by croaking, inviting the snake of death. Similarly, a person who neither takes advantage of the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees nor smells the tulasi leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord must be considered dead even though he is supposedly working.”

Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4 states:

nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad
  bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-’bhiramat
ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat
  puman virajyeta vina pasu-ghnat

“Who but the animal-killer or the killer of the soul will not care to hear glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Such glorification is enjoyed by persons liberated from the contamination of this material world.”

Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.56 says, na tirtha-pada-sevayai jivann api mrto hi sah: “Although a person is apparently living, if he does not serve the lotus feet of great devotees he is to be considered a dead body.”

COMMENT

By the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and that of His devotees, especially Srila Prabhupada, we have been given real life—the chance to live in Krishna consciousness

TEXT 124

sri-caitanya-nityananda, acarya advaitacandra,
  svarupa-rupa-raghunathadasa
inha-sabara sri-carana, sire vandi nija-dhana,
  janma-lila gaila krsnadasa

TRANSLATION

Taking on my head as my own property the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Acarya Advaitacandra, Svarupa Damodara, Rupa Gosvami, and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, I, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, have thus described the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Gaura-purnima, March 22, 2008, Dallas]

Answer Podcast

The post If someone imposes something on us because of their ego or authority, what can we do? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 August 2018, Vrindavan, India, Bhagavad-gita 4.9)

In The Nectar of Devotion there is a reference to ‘sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā,’ that we must make devotional service more dense. One of the symptoms of bhava is avyartha-kālatvam (Cc. Madhya 23.18-19) –   not to waste a moment. In theCaitanya-caritamrtait is said that while the associates of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were taking prasadam they were chanting the holy name in between bites. So they were not wasting a moment; their devotional service was very dense.

It is also said that devotional service must be ahaituky apratihatā – it must be uninterrupted and unmotivated (SB 1.2.6). But our devotional service is interrupted, “That was hard work; now I can take some rest.”

One hour later, “Okay, a little more devotional service.”

A little later, “Oh, now I can take a break. Now I can play with my phone.” Somehow or the other we are constantly interrupting our service.Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “If we want to overcome this then we have to increase our chanting as an attempt to make this service more dense. Or we should increase our preaching.” We see from Srila Prabhupada’s example that the emphasis is more on preaching than on bhajan; he was constantly preaching at every moment. That is what it means to make it more dense – to somehow increase our engagement by hearing and chanting, in the nine processes of devotional service and in preaching Krsna consciousness. Then that breakthrough will come by deep attachment.

It is said that whatever fruits of love of God we have got, when we distribute them then we will get more than we had before. So we can increase our daivi-sampad, our spiritual wealth, and then the inspiration will increase. That is our process – to somehow or the other increase. It is interesting that in a material field any work that you do in the beginning is difficult and you have to work hard. But after a while you become very expert and then your work requires less effort. But in spiritual life it is the opposite. As time goes on it takes more effort. In the beginning we may not make such an effort, but in time the eagerness increases for more; sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā, we have to make it more dense. 

The article " To increase our inspiration " was published on KKSBlog.

HH Jayapataka Swami  has been instrumental in organising this festival for over 25 years! 50,000 devotees honoured Prasadam. Read on for the lecture given by Maharaj “Lord Caitanya said this arrangement was not possible for a human being. He must be an incarnation of Mahesh. As a matter of fact, Advaita Gosai is the incarnation […]

The post Shantipur Festival lecture :HH Jayapataka Swami appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Madhavananda das: FAVORABLE SERVICE TO GAURANGA -- His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speaks about the importance of serving Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a devotee, not as Krishna.

Santhipur Festival 2019 (Album of photos)
50,000 devotees honored Prasadam!

Amazing developments in Bhaktivedanta Manor (Album of photos)
Have a look at our exciting developments of the Krishna Haveli a...

Grihasta SEMINAR by GVTeam (playlist of 5 videos)
Recorded last week in an Iskcon Temple in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The miss...

By Hari Narayana das

The month of March brings Nyepi - the day of silence throughout the whole of Bali. In the Balinese lunar calendar (Saka), Nyepi is New Year's Day. It is a day wholly dedicated to rest, staying in, turning off the lights and keeping quiet for 24 hours. It is one of the biggest and most unique ceremonies of the year, where staying in and resting is enforced by law. It is practiced island-wide where the Balinese dedicate an entire day to introspection and spiritual cleansing. Continue reading "Jagannatha Ratha Yatra in welcoming Silence Day (Nyepi)
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By Srutakirti das

I was fortunate to be with Srila Prabhupada in 1975 when Prabhupada was here in Mayapur for Gaura-purnima in March. I am going to try to give just a little bit of an idea of being with Prabhupada and some of the things that Srila Prabhupada was seeing. Continue reading "Gaura Purnima with Srila Prabhupada
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By Bhakti Charu Swami

Today is Gaura-purnima day. The purnima, the full moon of the month of phalgun. These two months, phalgun and caitra is the vasanta season, springtime in India. In India there are six seasons and each season consists of two months. Continue reading "Gaura-Purnima, the full moon of the month of phalgun
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By Jayapataka Swami

The situation in Navadvip and the whole of India that time was that people were religious but they were not spiritual. They were religious just to show on the outside but actually they did not know the purpose of religion. People spent a lot to marry off their daughter, to put on a big show to show that they were very religious. One such wealthy had no more daughters to marry off then he married a female cat or a female dog or some demigod. So this was not even in scripture. Marriage is for human beings. Like that they were doing all sorts of bogus religious activities just to show off. The Vaisnavas were seeing how the people were wasting their valuable human life and nobody was taking up the process of bhagavat-dharma. At that time Sitanath Advaita Gosai was feeling very concerned about how to deliver the fallen souls. So He decided to do a special fast and yajna to bring the Lord down. Since He was an avatara of Maha Visnu therefore His name was Advaita. So He is non-different from Krishna. So He said, "Since I am non-different I will bring Him down. He must come also." Continue reading "Gaura Purnima
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Answer Podcast

The post Don’t we need to look at people’s group identity, as when interacting with people from other organizations? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Adelaide, Australia]

Podcast

 

Podcast Summary

 

Video:

The post The Problem of Pain – Materialistic, Abrahamic and Dharmic explanations appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The new goshala at New Govardhana was finally completed and the devotees organised an official opening just before Gaura Purnima. This, for many years, was the dream of my God-brother, Venugopal das, who passed away last year.

Many devotees attended and it was fantastic to see the new facility, which included barn area, milking area, kitchen and upstairs seminar room. The morning started with kirtana, speeches, yajna, offering fresh feed to the cows and then wonderful feast.

One can not come to Vrindavan by road, boat, train, plane or helicopter, one can not. One can only come by pure devotional service, there’s no other way to come to Vrindavan.

The article " By boat, train or plane… " was published on KKSBlog.

Kurukshetra has been a holy place since Satya Yuga. Thus, many transcendental pastimes have taken place there. Most important is that Lord Krsna spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna at Kurukshetra during a great war there 5,000 years ago. A video of a pilgrimage lead by Indradyumna Swami.

Twenty-six such leaders attended the most recent presentation of the GBC-recommended course, offered from March 5^th to 8^th in the Chaitanya Bhavan building in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.

There is so much beauty in the world around us, we can learn so much from the world. Look at the all pervasive sky, it is everywhere. As the sky is everywhere, it is also in everything. Yet it remains unaffected. Like that our consciousness must be fixed in transcendence, unaffected by desires which may tempt the senses

On March 10, International Women’s Day, the Amravati, Maharashtra, ISKCON Girls’ Forum (IGF) successfully completed the movement’s inaugural Vaishnavi one-day padayatra.

Throughout the year, ISKCON members are able to submit proposals to the GBC. These proposals go through a review process and are vetted and voted on by GBC Deputies and committees. The final proposals are then submitted to the GBC body for majority voting.

In 1944, on the auspicious appearance day of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada started the English magazine, Back to Godhead. 

The horrific massacre that unfolded in Christchurch New Zealand on Friday 15^th March, in which to date 50 human beings have lost their lives, is truly a very dark moment in history, not only for Muslims but for all who treasure the gift of life. 

Good news from Kolkata (Album of photos)
Very good news! On 16th March 2019, ISKCON Kolkata was able to get possession of the ...

The new musical album of H.H. Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami, Akinchana Krishna Dasa.
Govinda Swami: A while ago Akincana and I were in Moscow. We visited the studio of Govardhanisvari along with Paramatma, sat down, sang for a few hours, and left the material in the hands of Govardhanisvari.
Well, she is expert, an accomplished violinist, and quite a magician. In English we say, “You can’t make a silk pure from a pig’s ear” .. yet, she refined our efforts and made it listenable.
If you are interested in listening to the two tracks the links are provided below. Hare Krishna !!

A visit to the beautiful temple of Iskcon Penang, Malaysia (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: We are now in ISKCON Penang, Malaysia. It’s an amazing temple, built by the Malaysian devotees. The Deities are Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kaneya Lal, and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. There is a wonderful museum upstairs, and in the grounds the puspa samadhi of my very dear old friend. HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Maharaja.

TOVP Online Gift Store Grand Opening on Gaura Purnima 2019.
The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium management is very pleased to announce the Grand Opening of our long-awaited online gift store on Gaura Purnima 2019 as an offering to the Lord on His divine appearance day. With over 1000 popular items for sale, this online, on-demand International store will bring further awareness, dedication and funds to the TOVP.

Visit to Kolkata (Album of photos)
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj gave a wonderful lecture in Kolkata on the topic of Mahaprabhu and His associates to set the mood for upcoming Gaura Purnima. The venue was the newly built banquet hall in Gurusaday Road’s ISKCON property. Maharaj made an announcement that today, 16th March 2019 marked a very significant day for all of us because since the year 1930, for the first time devotees set foot on the very rooftop of the building in Ultadanga where Srila Prabhupada first met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and received the instruction to go to west and preach Krishna Consciousness. And he added that finally, after all these years of struggle, the property belongs to ISKCON. He ended his lecture by glorifying the city Kolkata which resides on the bank of river Ganges, where Srila Prabhupada was born and from where he started his journey to the west that changed the course of the world. Please relish the photographs.

St Patrick’s Day Parade - 17th February 2019 (West End, London) (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Age of Kali, there is no religious principle except chanting Krishna’s name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Krishna’s holy name is the essence of all mantras. (Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1 Purport)

Srimad Bhagavatam by HH Candramauli Swami in Mayapur,

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By Ambarisa das

We are very pleased to announce on the most auspicious day of Gaur Purnima 2019 the launch of the promotion campaign for our historic 10 day fundraising event from May 7th (Akshaya Trittiya) until May 17th (Nrsimha Caturdasi). The *#Giving TOVP 10 Day Worldwide Matching Fundraiser* is exactly what it sounds like, a 10 day worldwide online window of opportunity to make a donation, large or small, to the TOVP that will be matched by myself, Ambarisa das. Continue reading "The #Giving TOVP 10 Day Worldwide Matching Fundraiser
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By Giriraj Swami

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Madhavendra Puri, who appears in the line of disciplic succession as the grand spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri was accepted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as His spiritual master. Sri Madhavendra Puri is very important for us, and today we shall read about his disappearance from Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eight: “Ramacandra Puri Criticizes the Lord.” Continue reading "Sri Madhavendra Puri’s Disappearance Day
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By Giriraj Swami

This is a very deep topic--feeling separation from Krsna in the mood of Srimati Radharani and the gopis. We are certainly not qualified to discuss it. Still, following our acaryas, we shall try to say something to glorify Sri Madhavendra Puri on his disappearance day Continue reading "Lessons from Madhavendra Puri
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Today is the disappearance day of Sri Madhavendra Puri, who appears in the line of disciplic succession as the grand spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri was accepted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as His spiritual master. Sri Madhavendra Puri is very important for us, and today we shall read about his disappearance from Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eight: “Ramacandra Puri Criticizes the Lord.”

INTRODUCTION by Srila Prabhupada

The following summary of the Eighth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya. This chapter describes the history of the Lord’s dealings with Ramacandra Puri. Although Ramacandra Puri was one of the disciples of Madhavendra Puri, he was influenced by dry Mayavadis, and therefore he criticized Madhavendra Puri. Therefore Madhavendra Puri accused him of being an offender and rejected him. Because Ramacandra Puri had been rejected by his spiritual master, he became concerned only with finding faults in others and advising them according to dry Mayavada philosophy. For this reason he was not very respectful to the Vaisnavas, and later he became so fallen that he began criticizing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for His eating. Hearing his criticisms, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu reduced His eating, but after Ramacandra Puri left Jagannatha Puri, the Lord resumed His usual behavior.

TEXT 1–6

tam vande krsna-caitanyam
   ramacandra-puri-bhayat
laukikaharatah svam yo
   bhiksannam samakocayat

Let me offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who reduced His eating due to fear of the criticism of Ramacandra Puri.

jaya jaya sri-caitanya karuna-sindhu-avatara
brahma-sivadika bhaje carana yanhara

All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of the ocean of mercy! His lotus feet are worshiped by demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva.

 jaya jaya avadhuta-candra nityananda
jagat bandhila yenha diya prema-phanda

All glories to Nityananda Prabhu, the greatest of mendicants, who bound the entire world with a knot of ecstatic love for God!

jaya jaya advaita isvara avatara
krsna avatari’ kaila jagat-nistara

All glories to Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead! He induced Krsna to descend and thus delivered the entire world.

jaya jaya srivasadi yata bhakta-gana
sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu—yanra prana-dhana

All glories to all the devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura! Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is their life and soul.

ei-mata gauracandra nija-bhakta-sange
nilacale krida kare krsna-prema-tarange

Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, at Jagannatha Puri, performed His various pastimes with His own devotees in the waves of love for Krsna.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The sannyasi Ramacandra Puri came to Nilacala to meet Paramananda Puri and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Lord Chaitanya saw Ramacandra Puri, He offered His obeisances at his feet because Ramacandra Puri was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri and a godbrother of Lord Chaitanya’s spiritual master, Isvara Puri. So, according to etiquette, He offered the same respect to Ramacandra Puri as to His spiritual master, Isvara Puri. In one line, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami summarizes Ramacandra Puri’s behavior:

TEXT 17–21

ei ta’ svabhava tanra agraha kariya
piche ninda kare, age bahuta khaoyana

The characteristic of Ramacandra Puri was that first he would induce someone to eat more than necessary and then he would criticize him.

purve yabe madhavendra karena antardhana
ramacandra-puri tabe aila tanra sthana

Formerly, when Madhavendra Puri was at the last stage of his life, Ramacandra Puri came to where he was staying.

puri-gosani kare krsna-nama-sankirtana
‘mathura na painu’ bali’ karena krandana

 Madhavendra Puri was chanting the holy name of Krsna, and sometimes he would cry, “O my Lord, I did not get shelter at Mathura.”

 ramacandra-puri tabe upadese tanre
sisya hana guruke kahe, bhaya nahi kare

 Then Ramacandra Puri was so foolish that he fearlessly dared to instruct his spiritual master.

“tumi—purna-brahmananda, karaha smarana
brahmavit hana kene karaha rodana?”

 “If you are in full transcendental bliss,” he said, “you should now remember only Brahman. Why are you crying?”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As stated in Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhutah prasannatma: a Brahman realized person is always happy. Na socati na kanksati: he neither laments nor aspires for anything. Not knowing why Madhavendra Puri was crying, Ramacandra Puri tried to become his advisor. Thus he committed a great offense, for a disciple should never try to instruct his spiritual master.

COMMENT

Although Ramacandra Puri had some knowledge of the scripture, he could not understand the behavior of Madhavendra Puri. He knew from the Bhagavad-gita that brahma-bhutah prasannatma: one who is on the Brahman platform becomes joyful. Most of us are on the material platform. We identify with the body, and because of such bodily identification we have to suffer. We suffer disease. The body is always subject to disease, and some diseases are extremely painful, and when we feel the pain sometimes we cry. We see how easily children cry, but even grown adults may cry like children when they identify with the body and feel pain. And sometimes the pain we experience within the mind is worse than the pain we suffer in the body. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if our mother or father, or our husband or wife, or our child, dies, we feel so much pain; we may cry more for the death of some loved one than for our own body. But when we realize “I am not the body; I am spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna,” we are relieved. We don’t have to cry for the body or mind.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if someone is riding in his car and another car hits it, he will jump out of his car and shout, “You hit me!” Why does he say to the other driver “You hit me?” Actually, the other car hit his car; it didn’t hit him. But he is saying “You hit me” because he identifies with the car. In the same way, if someone hits us, he is actually not hitting us, he is hitting only the body, but because we falsely identify with the body, we think, “Oh, he hit me; he hurt me.” Now, suppose an acquaintance was in the car that was hit. The acquaintance would not be so disturbed, because he doesn’t identify with the car. Actually, neither person was hit—only the automobile was hit—but the person who identifies with the car is disturbed, whereas the person who doesn’t remains undisturbed.

Ramacandra Puri thought that his spiritual master was crying because his master was not fixed on the spiritual platform. So he advised him not to cry. “You should think of Brahman,” he said. He could not understand the difference between spiritual lamentation and material lamentation, or spiritual hankering and material hankering. In the material world we hanker for material things, and if we don’t get them we cry. A girl wants a boy, and if she doesn’t get him she cries, or vice-versa—whatever it may be. Madhavendra Puri was crying, “I could not achieve Mathura. I could not achieve the goal of my life. My life is useless. What is the value?” He was hankering for Mathura and lamenting because he could not achieve it. So Ramacandra Puri thought, brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati: “He should be fixed in Brahman; he should neither hanker nor lament. But he is doing both! He is hankering for Mathura and lamenting because he could not achieve it.” Thus Ramacandra Puri foolishly dared to instruct his spiritual master.

How did his spiritual master respond? Actually, there are many important instructions to be derived from this incident, about how we should see and serve our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.

TEXT 22

suni’ madhavendra-mane krodha upajila
‘dura, dura, papistha’ bali’ bhartsana karila

Hearing this instruction, Madhavendra Puri, greatly angry, rebuked him by saying, “Get out, you sinful rascal!”

PURPORT

Ramacandra Puri could not understand that his spiritual master, Madhavendra Puri, was feeling transcendental separation. His lamentation was not material. Rather, it proceeded from the highest stage of ecstatic love of Krsna. When he was crying in separation, “I could not achieve Krsna! I could not reach Mathura!” this was not ordinary material lamentation. Ramacandra Puri was not sufficiently expert to understand the feelings of Madhavendra Puri, but nevertheless he thought himself very advanced. Therefore, regarding Madhavendra Puri’s expressions as ordinary material lamentation, he advised him to remember Brahman because he was latently an impersonalist. Madhavendra Puri understood Ramacandra Puri’s position as a great fool, and therefore he immediately rebuked him. Such a reprimand from the spiritual master is certainly for the betterment of the disciple

COMMENT

After I first met Srila Prabhupada in Boston, I perceived that everything about Krishna consciousness was perfect. The philosophy was perfect; the method, chanting Hare Krishna, was perfect; the prasada was extraordinary; and the devotees were also very special, not of this world. Everything was perfect. Every day for about ten days I came to be with Srila Prabhupada and the devotees, and then, when Srila Prabhupada was to leave for Columbus, I went with the devotees to the airport to see him off. But at the airport I saw that almost all the devotees were crying. I knew that they were feeling separation for Srila Prabhupada and were crying for him, but still some doubt came in my mind: everything about Krishna consciousness was perfect, but maybe the one defect was that the spiritual master was not always present.

I used to ask questions of some of the senior devotees (to me, all were senior), and so I asked Arundhati why everyone was crying. She answered with a statement by Srila Prabhupada: “In the spiritual world meeting and separation are the same—both are occasions of ecstasy.” And I thought that answer was perfect. On the absolute platform there is no difference between meeting and separating, no difference between laughing and crying, because all are on the platform of transcendental ecstasy.

Srila Prabhupada said of the materialists, “Whether they laugh or cry, it doesn’t make any difference, because in both cases they are suffering. Just like if you go to the insane asylum and see the crazy people, some may be laughing hysterically and some may be crying hysterically, but it doesn’t make any difference, because they are all suffering, whether laughing or crying.”

The spiritual platform is just the opposite. On the spiritual platform sometimes the devotees laugh and sometimes they cry, but in both cases they are experiencing transcendental ecstasy. Once, Jadurani dasi saw a photo of Srila Prabhupada and said, “Srila Prabhupada, you look so sad there.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “That was a moment of ecstasy.” For a pure devotee such as Srila Prabhupada, all emotions arise from the transcendental platform, from the exalted platform of love for Krishna. All are ecstasy. Madhavendra Puri’s lamentation and hankering for Mathura were transcendental ecstasy.

Coming back to Srila Prabhupada’s departure from Boston, I thought that the answer was very good in theory, that on the absolute platform there is no difference between meeting and separation, but I wondered whether in practice it was actually so. I was waiting and watching, and perhaps on the third day after Srila Prabhupada left, when we were on hari-nama–sankirtana in Boston—we had stopped outside a subway station and were chanting and playing mridanga and kartals—suddenly I felt Srila Prabhupada’s presence. I felt as if he was right there in our midst. My heart melted, and tears came to my eyes. I really felt that Srila Prabhupada was present—I knew that Srila Prabhupada was present—and then I thought, Yes, it is true. Everything about Krsna consciousness is perfect, not only in theory but in practice. It is true that there is no difference between meeting and separation.

Here we see in the behavior of Madhavendra Puri not only hankering and lamentation—which are considered no-no’s for Mayavadis—but also anger and harsh language, other no-no’s for Mayavadis, because apart from material anger (which is warned against in the Bhagavad-gita), there is also transcendental anger. Here Madhavendra Puri exhibited transcendental anger. In the material world we become angry when our lust is frustrated, but in the spiritual world pure devotees become angry when there are impediments in Krishna’s service—to remove such impediments. Madhavendra Puri saw that Ramacandra Puri was infected by some impersonal conception, and he wanted to remove that obstacle from Ramacandra Puri’s heart. Therefore, to remove that obstacle, he expressed transcendental anger.

In 1971, Srila Prabhupada celebrated a huge Hare Krishna festival at Connaught Place in New Delhi. After the program, a very nice Western young man came to meet Srila Prabhupada. He was very enlivened and inspired, and he exclaimed to Srila Prabhupada, “If the Hare Krishna movement spreads all over the world, people will become peaceful, they will learn to love one another, and there will be no more hatred or anger.” Srila Prabhupada asked, “What’s wrong with anger?” He didn’t just go along with the boy’s mood; he questioned him. “What’s wrong with anger? Did someone tell you that anger is bad? What’s wrong with anger?” Srila Prabhupada proceeded to explain that in the beginning, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna did not want to fight; Krishna spoke the whole Bhagavad-gita just to make him angry, so that he would fight, because without being angry, how can one fight and kill? “Krishna spoke the whole Bhagavad-gita just to make Arjuna angry,” Srila Prabhupada said, “so how can you say that anger is bad?” He explained that anything can be dovetailed in the service of the Lord, including anger. Arjuna was not angry for his own sake; he became angry for Krishna’s sake, and such anger is not bad—it is transcendental. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta says that in the material world conceptions of good and bad are all mental concoctions. There is no good or bad; everything in the material world—everything outside Krishna consciousness—is bad, and the same thing in Krishna consciousness is good. The Kauravas presented an obstacle to Krishna’s service, and Krishna wanted Arjuna to become angry to remove that obstacle. Similarly, Madhavendra Puri exhibited transcendental anger to remove from Ramacandra Puri’s heart the misconception that was coming in the way of his relationship with his spiritual master and obstructing his advancement in Krishna consciousness.

TEXT 23

‘krsna na painu, na painu ‘mathura’
apana-duhkhe maron—ei dite aila jvala

 “O my Lord Krsna, I could not reach You, nor could I reach Your abode, Mathura. I am dying in my unhappiness, and now this rascal has come to give me more pain.”

COMMENT

In effect, Madhavendra Puri said, “I am suffering so much pain because I could not attain Krishna and His abode, Mathura, and now my foolish disciple has come to give me more pain. So I am doubly unfortunate.”

TEXT 24

more mukha na dekhabi tui, yao yathi-tathi
tore dekhi’ maile mora habe asad-gati

“Don’t show your face to me! Go anywhere else you like. If I die seeing your face, I shall not achieve the destination of my life.”

COMMENT

Very strong words. Actually, one might not expect a spiritual master to speak to a disciple like this. And fortunately for us, Srila Prabhupada was extremely merciful. Although we probably did things much worse than Ramacandra Puri, Srila Prabhupada never rejected us. Once, when we were in Bombay, a devotee phoned Srila Prabhupada from Calcutta. A disciple had come from America to India and somehow fallen into smoking ganja (marijuana) and charas (hashish). Srila Prabhupada responded, “Tell him that if he does not give up smoking these things, I will reject him.” After the telephone conversation Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “Srila Prabhupada, is it true that you will reject him if he doesn’t give up smoking?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, I can never reject anyone.” Then Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “But Srila Prabhupada, there must be some limit. You must have to draw the line somewhere.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “There is no limit to Lord Nityananda’s mercy.”

Even in his chastisement, Srila Madhavendra Puri acted only for the ultimate benefit his disciple.

TEXT 25–26

krsna na painu muni maron apanara duhkhe
more ‘brahma’ upadese ei chara murkhe”

“I am dying without achieving the shelter of Krsna, and therefore I am greatly unhappy. Now this condemned foolish rascal has come to instruct me about Brahman.”

ei ye sri-madhavendra sripada upeksa karila
sei aparadhe inhara ‘vasana’ janmila

 Ramacandra Puri was thus denounced by Madhavendra Puri. Due to his offense, gradually material desire appeared within him.

PURPORT

The word vasana (“material desires”) refers to dry speculative knowledge. Such speculative knowledge is only material.

COMMENT

Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam: any desire other than the desire to serve and please Krishna is material. Thus, just as the desire for sense gratification is material, so too is the selfish desire for impersonal liberation. When we commit offenses, the result is that we become influenced and perhaps overwhelmed by material desires. Such material desires may be desires for gross sense gratification or subtle desires for liberation or other selfish aims.

PURPORT (concluded)

As confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.4), a person without devotional service who simply wants to know things (kevala-bodha-labdhaye) gains only dry speculative knowledge but no spiritual profit. This is also confirmed in the Bhakti-sandarbha (111), wherein it is said:

jivan-mukta api punar yanti samsara-vasanam
yady acintya-maha-saktau bhagavaty aparadhinah

“Even though one is liberated in this life, if one offends the Supreme Personality of Godhead he falls down in the midst of material desires, of which dry speculation about spiritual realization is one.”

In his Laghu-tosani commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.32), Jiva Gosvami says:

jivan-mukta api punar bandhanam yanti karmabhih
yady acintya-maha-saktau bhagavaty aparadhinah

“Even if one is liberated in this life, he becomes addicted to material desires because of offenses to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

A similar quotation from one of the Puranas also appears in the Visnu-bhakti-candrodaya:

jivan-muktah prapadyante kvacit samsara-vasanam
yogino na vilipyante karmabhir bhagavat-parah

“Even liberated souls sometimes fall down to material desires, but those who fully engage in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not affected by such desires.”

These are references from authoritative revealed scriptures. If one becomes an offender to his spiritual master or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he falls down to the material platform to merely speculate.

TEXT 27

suska-brahma-jnani, nahi krsnera ‘sambandha’
sarva loka ninda kare, nindate nirbandha

 One who is attached to dry speculative knowledge has no relationship with Krsna. His occupation is criticizing Vaisnavas. Thus he is situated in criticism.

TEXT 28–32

isvara-puri gosani kare sri-pada-sevana
svahaste karena mala-mutradi marjana

 Isvara Puri, the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, performed service to Madhavendra Puri, cleaning up his stool and urine with his own hand.

Isvara Puri was always chanting the holy name and pastimes of Lord Krsna for Madhavendra Puri to hear. In this way he helped Madhavendra Puri remember the holy name and pastimes of Lord Krsna at the time of death.

Pleased with Isvara Puri, Madhavendra Puri embraced him and gave him the benediction that he would be a great devotee and lover of Krsna.

Thus Isvara Puri became like an ocean of ecstatic love for Krsna, whereas Ramacandra Puri became a dry speculator and a critic of everyone else.

Isvara Puri received the blessing of Madhavendra Puri, whereas Ramacandra Puri received a rebuke from him. Therefore these two persons, Isvara Puri and Ramacandra Puri, are examples of the objects of a great personality’s benediction and punishment. Madhavendra Puri instructed the entire world by presenting these two examples.

COMMENT

If we please the spiritual master—if we please Srila Prabhupada—we get the greatest benediction: love for Krishna. And if we offend the spiritual master or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we become overwhelmed with material desires. So, we should be very, very careful in our relationship with Srila Prabhupada, that we serve him favorably and get his blessings. Otherwise, if we think that we know better than him, we may offend him, just as Ramacandra Puri offended Madhavendra Puri. And the result of such offenses will be that we will be overwhelmed with material desires.

TEXT 33

jagad-guru madhavendra kari’ prema dana
ei sloka padi’ tenho kaila antardhana

 His Divine Grace Madhavendra Puri, the spiritual master of the entire world, thus distributed ecstatic love for Krsna. While passing away from the material world, he chanted the following verse.

TEXT 34

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
   mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram
   dayita bhramyati kim karomy aham

 “O my Lord! O most merciful master! O master of Mathura! When shall I see You again? Because of my not seeing You, my agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?”

COMMENT

Earlier in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami remarked that the meaning of the verse uttered by Madhavendra Puri at the time of his passing from this world was understood by only three people: Madhavendra Puri himself, Srimati Radharani, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Nobody except Srimati Radharani could understand Her feelings of separation from Krishna. Krishna wanted to understand Her feelings of separation, and to do so He took Her position, as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus, only Srimati Radharani and Lord Chaitanya could really understand how Srimati Radharani felt in separation from Krishna, and by the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Madhavendra Puri could also understand.

TEXT 35

ei sloke krsna-prema kare upadesa
krsnera virahe bhaktera bhava-visesa

In this verse Madhavendra Puri teaches how to achieve ecstatic love for Krsna. By feeling separation from Krsna, one becomes spiritually situated.

TEXT 36–37

Madhavendra Puri sowed the seed of ecstatic love for Krsna within this material world and then departed. That seed later became a great tree in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

I have incidentally described the passing away of Madhavendra Puri. Anyone who hears this must be considered very fortunate.

COMMENT

Srila Madhavendra Puri Prabhu ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: Why did Madhavendra Puri rebuke Ramacandra Puri? Why did he not instruct him more about Krishna consciousness after rebuking him?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada has explained that different people learn by different methods. The most intelligent person learns by hearing; the next most intelligent learns by seeing; the next learns by experiencing; and the fourth never learns. Someone can learn about the pure devotee or about the spiritual master by hearing, but obviously, Ramacandra Puri did not understand Madhavendra Puri by hearing. Still, he could have understood by seeing the example of Isvara Puri—how Isvara Puri loved his spiritual master, how he served his spiritual master, and how his spiritual master was pleased by his service. But he could not see, either. The next alternative is to experience.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that someone may hear from authorities that one should not steal, but he may not understand. He may see that others who have stolen have been arrested and punished, but even by seeing this he may not understand. He may have to actually experience stealing, getting arrested, being punished, and suffering before he learns. And some don’t learn even with experience. They commit the same mistake again and again and suffer again and again. Although Madhavendra Puri’s rebuke appears to have caused harm to Ramacandra Puri (because he became filled with impersonal ideas), if one day Ramacandra Puri could understand, “I am suffering because of impersonal conceptions; I am suffering because I have offended Vaishnavas; I am suffering in so many ways,” he might realize, “Oh, I am suffering because I have offended my spiritual master.” He could consider, “How can I rectify my relationship with my spiritual master? How can I get his mercy?” And so he would be redeemed.

Dinabandhu dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Dinabandhu Prabhu just said that Mukunda Prabhu once went into Srila Prabhupada’s room, and Srila Prabhupada chastised him very heavily, saying, “You are living just like a karmi.” And with his left hand, Srila Prabhupada dismissed him: “Get out!” Mukunda Prabhu was very shaken. He consulted Shyamasundar Prabhu, and Shyamasundar instructed him, “Srila Prabhupada is your father, so he has the right to chastise you and correct you. Prabhupada hasn’t rejected you, but he has actually done his duty as your father to chastise and correct you. Prabhupada wants you to give up your job and surrender. You should give up your job, and don’t worry about it.” Then Dinabandhu Prabhu added, “And what wonderful service Mukunda Maharaja has been doing for so many years!”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Madhavendra Puri’s disappearance day, March 14, 1995, Vrindavan]