20190206 Lord's Abhiṣeka by Devotees (Part-5)

Come join us as His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja reads from the new Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book on February 6th, 2019 in Chennai, India.

Introduction: Today is the auspicious 6th of February, auspicious because it’s the day we render devotional service. Every day is auspicious if we do kṛṣṇa-bhakti, if we don’t do kṛṣṇa-bhakti it is not auspicious.

Today I had physiotherapy and voice therapy. I practiced speaking some of the words that you mentioned. If you have any words you have difficulty in understanding my speech, please give them here to Ekarāṇī devī dāsī or send them up on the internet.

Today we had a bureau meeting of the Indian Governing Body, held in Pune. I attended by internet, and they have some interesting initiatives. His Grace Madhusevīta dāsa has sent to India an 800 kilo Bhagavad-gītā, that Bhagavad-gītā is 1½ or couple of meters wide, in breadth and 2 m long guessing, 1½ height. Its pictures are amazing! It is a full Bhagavad-gītā, but the Bhagavad-gītā weighs 800 kilos. They have to break the wall to get it into the Delhi temple. So it will be on display. The Prime Minister of India said he would come and inaugurate. I am very glad to welcome devotees here from various parts of India and overseas.

I was reading the Caitanya-carita Mahā Kāvya, about Lord Caitanya’s visit to Śrīvāsa’s house.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.38

anantara mahāprabhu jīvāsera gṛhe upasthita haïẏā tadīẏa devagṛhera alindopari (cātālera upare) upabeśana karilena evaṃ gṛhamadhe ekānta dhyānaparāẏaṇa śrīvāsake uccasvare āhvāna karite lāgilena

Jayapatākā Swami: So the Lord, the unlimited Mahāprabhu, entered the courtyard of Śrīvāsa and He was present outside the temple door. There He called the meditative Śrīvāsa, with loud calls! He called out to Śrīvāsa.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.39

takhana vipraśreṣṭha śrīvāsa mahāprabhura bākya śravaṇa kariẏā dhyānādi parityāga pūrbaka gṛha haïte bahirgata haïlena ebaṃ cakṣu unmīlana karibā mātra sammukhe mahātejasvī śobhanāṅga, śacītanaẏa gaurāṅgadevake sammukhe darśana karilena.

Jayapatākā Swami: The best of the brāhmaṇas, Śrīvāsa, hearing Mahāprabhu’s calling, he gave up his meditation and other activities inside the temple room and he came out of the house. There his eyes focused on the great, effulgent form of the solar, beautiful bodied son of mother Śacī, Gaurāṅgadeva! He saw directly in front of him.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.020

yoḍa haste sammukhe sakala bhakta-gaṇa
rahilena parama ānanda-yukta mana

Jayapatākā Swami: This is from Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa.

With folded hands all the devotees offered their respects. And they stood before the Lord in great ecstasy.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.021

ki adbhuta santoṣera haila prakāśa
sabāi vāsena yena vaikuṇṭha-vilāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: How wonderful was their feelings of satisfaction! Everyone was feeling like they were enjoying in the spiritual world, Vaikuṇṭha.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.022

prabhu o vasilā yena vaikuṇṭhera nātha
tilārdheka māyā-mātra nāhika kothāta

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord also sat like the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world! There was not even a tinge of māyā present there! Māyā or illusion.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.40

anantara abhinaba tejomaẏa śrīmūrtidhārī gauracandra nija śobhāẏa suśobhita haïẏā śrīvāsake kahilena gaṅgājala aniẏana kariẏā śīghra āmāke abhiṣeka kara.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Gauracandra, the unlimited, ever fresh, effulgent, transcendental form, resilient with His beauty in that assembly, He told Śrīvāsa, to bring Ganges water quickly and do abhiṣeka to Him!

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.41

śrīrāma prabhṛti śrīvāsera sahodara bhrātṛgaṇa atiśaẏa autsukya sahakāre mahāprabhura abhiṣeka ceṣṭāẏa bibaśa haïẏā ye sakala ābhiṣecanika dravyāharaṇa karite prabṛtta haïlena.tatsamudaẏa dravya yena saẏaṃi āhṛta haïte lāgila

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīrāma and the other brothers of Śrīvāsa, enthusiastically arranged to perform the bathing ceremony of Mahāprabhu. With great happiness they were busy making all the arrangements, for the abhiṣeka or bathing ceremony. They arranged all the ingredients and with great enthusiasm they gathered, definitely the ingredients came of their own accord and were present there.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.023

prabhura iṅgite bhaktagaṇa-kartṛka prabhura abhiṣekagīta-kīrtana evaṃ puruṣasūkta-mantre abhiṣeka

ājñā haila,—“bala mora abhiṣeka-gīta”
śuni' gāya bhakta-gaṇa hai' haraṣita

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Lord ordered, chant, sing My abhiṣeka song! Hearing this, the devotees happily began to sing. Abhiṣeka-gīta refers to the prayers recited during the abhiṣeka ceremony. When the king of kings is installed on the throne, his subjects glorify him with various prayers and homages. So, in this way Lord Caitanya told them to perform an abhiṣeka or bathing ceremony This is done in the temple on a daily basis and sometimes in a very big way on special days. So, this supreme abhiṣeka is done especially for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.024

abhiṣeka śuni' prabhu mastaka ḍhulāya
sabāre karena kṛpā-dṛṣṭi amāyāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Hearing the abhiṣeka prayers the Lord lifted His head and He gave His merciful glance on everyone. Without any illusion, He gave mercy to everyone.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.025

prabhura iṅgita bujhilena bhakta-gaṇa
abhiṣeka karite sabāra haila mana

Jayapatākā Swami: The Lord’s indication was understood by all the devotees, and they decided to perform the abhiṣeka bathing ceremony.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.42

anantara śrīvāsera katipaẏa bhrātā tatkṣaṇāt ekaśata nūtana kalasa āniẏā upasthita karile aṅganagaṇa śīghra gaṅgā jala ānaẏana kurite gamana karilena.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s brothers quickly brought one hundred new pots and placed them before the Lord. After filling them with Ganges water, bringing them quickly from the Ganges.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 1.86

ethā śrīnivāsa gaurahari pāña ghare
nija bhrātṛgaṇe kaha ānanda antare

śuna rāma ayera sāmagrī tumi bara
aṣṭottara śata ghaṭa śrīpati āhāra

śrīkānta kahagā tumi vipra nārīgaṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Doctor says it is good if I cough up the mucus from my chest. So voice from behind the scenes of this drama, spoke – that was Śrīvāsa’s voice. Rāma! His brother, quickly bring the arghya and other articles of pūjā or worship. Śrīpati, quickly bring aṣṭottara-śata 108 excellent new kalasas. Śrīkānta, from every direction direct the brāhmaṇa ladies and pious women to bring water from the Ganges. And the brāhmaṇa ladies and pious ladies do the ulu-dhvani. You don’t know ulu-dhvani? 

Thank you!

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.43

tadanantara mahāprabhu yakhana aṅgaṇa madhyabhāge dhabalākāra gambhārī pīṭhopari upaviṣṭa haïlena, takhana tām̐hāke kṣīra sāgara madhyasthita sameruśṛṅgera nyāẏa bodha haïte lāgila

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu when He was in the center of Śrīvāsa’s courtyard, He was seated on top of the wooden dais made from Gambhārī wood. That time, He was as if in the centre of the milk ocean, Kṣīra- samudra. The auspicious golden mount Meru, He appeared like the auspicious golden mount Meru in the centre of the ocean of milk.

Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.026

sarva-bhakta-gaṇe bahi' āne gaṅgā-jala
āge chāṅkilena divya-vasane sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: All the devotees, they carried and brought Ganges water and they strained the water with fine clean cloth before using it. So this is the preparation, tomorrow the actual bathing ceremony starts.

So we will end here, since it is already after 9. Any questions please raise your hands or send it in by the internet.

Dīpā, London: How to repent for the offences committed to devotees so far unknowingly in this day and age?

Jayapatākā Swami: My dear spiritual daughter Dīpā, congratulations on your election as a counselor in the Municipality, in London. If you know who you offended, you can ask them to forgive you. If you don’t know or if they don’t want to forgive you, you can take the dust from their feet, or you can take the dust from their shoes outside the temple, or if you don’t know who you offended, you can pray to the devotees to please forgive you, and you can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa very seriously and with attention, and avoid future offences as far as possible. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Question: Can I take others’ fault on myself?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know if there is a system to take others’ faults. You can donate some of your merits to others. That is in the Padma Purāṇa that one lady she was donating some of her merits to a bull who was being mistreated and who died. So the ātmā from the bull took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy and he remembered that he was a bull from his previous life. Normally people are very greedy to get more merit, and they don’t give it away. So he was curious how she was giving away her merit. So he went to see her, and said, you don’t know me but I know you. Remember the bull who would be beaten and you gave some merit to the bull? So I was that bull and now I took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy and she revealed that she was reading the Bhagavad-gītā regularly. Therefore, she gave half of her merit to the bull and the bull took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy and he started to read the Bhagavad-gītā also and he went back to Godhead! Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! How many of you read the Bhagavad-gītā? Very good! Any other question? Internet?

Mādhurya Kādambinī: Can we bring some serious issues to the court if devotees are involved, if we cannot solve the issue among devotees in a peaceful way, civil matters like money, heritage and property?

Jayapatākā Swami: Obviously, this is a specific issue and without knowing the details, it is hard to say. I don’t want to be quoted that, “Oh, gurudeva told me to go to the court!” Since I don’t know the details. Generally, we try to exhaust all the possibilities of mediation and arbitration and everything, then only when there is no choice, we think about going to the court. Court is also very – like some of our devotees were sitting in the court they were getting bitten by the bed-bugs in the wooden benches, sucking their blood. So, some lawyer said you can put down the legal paper and sit on that, all the lawyers were reincarnated as bug! So, they could suck blood, but they respect the legal papers and so they won’t bite you if you sit on the legal papers! Ha! Ha! So going to court is also very time consuming and expensive option. So, we have to take the proper guidance whether such an adventure will be worth the time and energy. Better to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

Jaya Rādhe! I am looking at Rādhārāṇī. Haribol!