20190214 Various Services by Devotees

mūkhaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī gurum dina tarinam
paramānanda mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya īśvaram
hari oṁ tat sat

Introduction: So today we are going to read the pastimes of Lord Caitanya – all these things happened during the 21-hour ecstatic manifestation of Lord Caitanya, where He showed His devotees that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Apart from this, He would present Himself as a simple devotee. This is a very rare occasion. Because Advaita Gosañi had prayed, cried, worshipped tulasī and śālagrāma-śilā, fasted, did many things to bring the Lord down. So the Lord was showing Advaita that He had come on His call! So that He would be satisfied that the Lord did come! But after that He would present Himself as a devotee, and before that as. There were only a few occasions when He revealed His actual identify.

Today I had the physical therapy. Then I went to the Rela Institute Hospital, saw the cardiologist and the hepatologist, and others, and they were happy, more or less, with the progress, and I should continue the same medicines, more or less! Ha! So after coming back I took some rest, and then in the evening I went cycling. After dinner I am trying to give a class, and try to take rest early. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Various Services by Devotees [Part – 3]

Caitanya-carita Mahā-kāvya 5.62

sotkaṇṭhaṁ sapadi gadādhareṇa puṣpaiḥ
sāmodair atiruciraiḥ sbayaṁ tadānīm
mālyaughaiḥ prabaṇatareṇa sauṣṭhabena
sa-sbāntair iba sa manorathair jugumphe

takhana svayaṁ gadādhara sugandha athaca atimanohara puṣpa dvārā utkaṇṭhā sahakāre tatkṣaṇāt sundara rūpe aneka prakāra mālya racanā karilena, ati spṛhā vaśataḥ puṣpera nyāya tām̐hāra manao tatkāle āmodita arthāt saharṣa o ati rucira haiyāchila, ihāte bodha haila tini yena manera dvārāi mālya granthana kariyāchilena.

Jayapatākā Swami: So this is a Sanskrit poetry translated into Bengali and English. So, in the beginning it says āha, oh, oh! Did not someone grind the sandalwood? Did not someone prepare uncountable betel nuts? Did not someone collect hundreds of flowers? and did not the whole earth become filled with festivals? Mahotsava! This was the ecstasy of the devotees – they felt that the whole world was having festival, maybe it was! that was their feeling, that everything was auspicious and the festival was wonderful! So, the whole earth was blessed because the Supreme Personality of Godhead had come down to this earth from the spiritual world! Haribol!

If there is any word that you have difficulty in understanding, please note it down. If you are here, give it to Ekarāṇī devī dāsī and if you are on the internet add it in the comments. Ekarāṇī is raising her hands, both her hands there! Someone else, he is raising his hand there - he is the imposter! Fake! He is not Ekarāṇī, she is Ekarāṇī!!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.64

divya gandha āni' keha lepe śrī-caraṇe
tulasī kamale meli' pūje kona jane

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone brought fragrant sandalwood paste, which he then smeared on the lotus feet of the Lord. Someone else brought Tulasī flowers and worshipped His lotus feet with those. It says that they put gandham on the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. In Hari-bhakti-vilāsa refers to gandha as a mixture of sandalwood paste, agaru and camphor. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa, it says that gandha is a mixture of 2 portions of musk, 4 portions of sandalwood, 3 portions of kuṅkuma and one portion of camphor. This is very dear to the Supreme Lord and all godly personalities. So, all these ingredients were mixed and offered to the Lord, to His lotus feet. Haribol!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.65

keha ratna-suvarṇa-rajata-alaṅkāra
pāda-padme diyā diyā kare namaskāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone offered ornaments to the Lord, which was made of gold, silver and gems. They offered to His lotus feet and offered obeisances. So the scripture is giving a detail, what type of pūjā they did.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.66

paṭṭa-neta, śukla, nīla, supīta Vasana
pāda-padme diyā namaskare sarva-jana

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone there offered their respectful obeisances to His lotus feet and someone offered white, blue and yellow silk cloth at the Lord’s lotus feet. So they used either silk cloth or art silk.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.67

nānā-vidha dhātu-pātra dei sarva-jane
nā jāni kateka āsi' paḍe śrī-caraṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Various kinds of metal containers were offered by so many devotees. No one could say, how many people came and offered and fell at His lotus feet! It is said that even the residents of the celestial planets came down, disguised as human beings, to participate in the worship of the Lord!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.68-69

vaiṣṇava sevāra mahima
ye caraṇa pūjibāre sabāra bhāvanā
aja ramā, śiva kare ye lāgi' kāmanā
vaiṣṇavera dāsa-dāsī-gaṇe tāhā pūje
ei-mata phala haya, vaiṣṇave ye bhaje

Jayapatākā Swami: The result of serving the Vaiṣṇavas is that, the lotus feet of the Lord - and that all living entities beginning from Brahmā, Lakshmi and Śiva desire to worship – They are now being worshipped by the servants and maid servants of the Vaiṣṇavas! So the devotees of the Lord, Vaiṣṇavas, one of their names is called akiñcana – they don’t have any personal, material assets. They think that everything is the property of the Lord, they are just custodians. So if a Vaiṣṇava, by material estimation, has nothing, then what to speak of his servants and maid servants, they are even more poor! But since Viṣṇu is the protector and the blesser of the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord, He is the Vaiṣṇava’s worshipable Lord, their treasure, their life and soul! So, the servants and maid servants of the Vaiṣṇava obtained the eligibility to worship the all desirable treasure – the Lord! He is the all desirable treasure of all the devotees! So by serving Prabhupāda, or serving the servants of Prabhupāda, we can also get the eligibility to serve the Lord. So, we don’t claim to be devotees, we are devotees of devotees! Even Lord Caitanya said, He is dāsānudāsa-anudāsa! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.70

dūrvā, dhānya, tulasī laiyā sarva-jane
pāiyā abhaya sabe dena śrī-caraṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Having obtained fearlessness, they offered dūrvā grass, rice paddy, tulasī and offered at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.71

nānā-vidha phala āni' dena pada-tale
gandha-puṣpa, candana, śrī-caraṇe keha ḍhāle

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of them brought different kinds of fruits and offered at His lotus feet. Someone else brought sandalwood paste and mixed, that was mentioned before. Some brought flowers, some brought sandalwood paste alone, and they offered this at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.72

keha pūje kariyāṣoḍaśa upacāre
keha vāṣaḍ-aṅga-mate, yena sphure yā're

Jayapatākā Swami: So someone he worshipped the lotus feet of the Lord with 16 ingredients. While, someone was inspired to offer 6 ingredients. As each person was inspired to do, he offered that type of worship. The six types of worship, the ingredients are: water, seat, cloth, lamps, food grains and betel nuts. Six items for invoking auspicious – cow dung, cow urine, yogurt, milk, ghee and gorochana – gorochana is something that comes from cow, and very sacred. Six ingredients of bhajana-mārga are: offering obeisances, offering prayers, offering the fruits of all activities, offering services, remembering the louts feet of the Lord and hearing the glories or topics of the Lord! Haribol! So the six items of pūjā, some varieties are explained here. Some offered 6 types, some offered 16 ingredients - as they felt, they offered, as they were inspired from their heart, they offered.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 5.61

karpūrair marica-sitābhir apy akhaṇḍā-
nandasyānubhaba-sahodaraṁ samantāt
kair no bā sapadi payo-bibhābanādi-
byāpārai rasa iba saṁmadāt prasasre

apara, kona vyaktigaṇai vā tatkṣaṇāt harsa hetu ai samaye karpūra, marica, sitā (cinī) o dugdhera vibhābanādi vyāpāra dvārā sarvatobhāve akhaṇḍānandera anubhava tulya rasake vistāra kare nāi?

Jayapatākā Swami: Did not the people experience at that time, so much spiritual joy? Like tasting camphor, black pepper and sugar mixed with milk? Different types of flavors of joy, of spiritual happiness were being experienced. In this way, everyone was experiencing a continuous, unbroken, bliss! And this was extending everywhere. All devotees were floating in an ocean of spiritual, blissful, mellows.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.73

kastūrī, kuṅkuma, śrī-karpūra, phāgu-dhūli
sabe śrī-caraṇe dei hai' kutuhalī

Jayapatākā Swami: So everyone with great joy, offered this musk, kuṅkuma, camphor and red powder at the lotus feet of the Lord. Gauuuuuuuuuuuurāṅga! A kind of red powder that is thrown at holi time was also offered to the Lord, to His lotus feet.

Are there any questions?

Question: Dear gurudeva, thank you (Guru Mahārāja said “thank you!”) for the nectarean classes that you give everyday. Guru Mahārāja, could you please tell us what kind of pastimes does Lord Caitanya have in the spiritual world? – Ratnāvali devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, some of the pastimes that He is showing here, He shows there, but He has ananta-līlā, unlimited pastimes. Even Ananta-deva who has a thousand heads, and all are simultaneously glorifying the Lord, they cannot find an end to His good qualities and His pastimes. So what can I say? We are tasting a drop here of these pastimes. There, in the spiritual world, it is an ocean! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

205 devotees online. Names of the devotees were read out by the repeater.

Someone is offering a rose! Thank you for that! Oh! Kapila Kairava Candrika! Oh Haribol! Thank you for that!

Someone is folding hands twice. Who is that? Gītośrī dāsa!

Repeater read names of some of the online devotees.

Who put the dog? Manyari sakhi

What is that? Cat?!!

Okay let us go there (to meet the devotees there).