20210311 Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s request to Lord Caitanya

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 11th March 2021 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India

 mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Today we will continue with the Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, today’s chapter is entitled as:

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s request to Lord Caitanya 
Under the section of the Beda Kīrtana of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.263

sapārṣada prabhura samudratīre kīrtana-vihāra samudrera saubhāgya-janaka—
bhakta-gaṇa-saṅge prabhu samudrera tire
sarva vaikuṇṭhādi-nātha kīrtane vihare

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, on the shore of the ocean in the association of His devotees, He enjoyed these pastimes. He is the Lord of all Vaikuṇṭhas and other planets. He was enjoying the kīrtana pastimes.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.264

vāsā karilena prabhu samudrera tire
viharena prabhu bhakti-ānanda-sāgare

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya made His residence on the shore of the ocean and Lord Caitanya enjoyed the devotional service in an ocean of spiritual bliss.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.265

ei avatāre sindhu kṛtārtha haite
ataeva lakṣmī janmilena tāhā haite

Jayapatākā Swami: In this avatāra of the Lord or the incarnation, the ocean attained perfection and was grateful, Therefore the Goddess of Fortune Lakṣmī devī she appeared from the ocean at this time.

Purport by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Since Śrīman Mahāprabhu was to come in the future to the shore of the ocean in Nīlācala, Lakṣmīdevī took birth as the daughter of the ocean.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.266

sindhusnāne nīlācala-vāsīra śubhodaya— 
nīlācala-vāsīra ye kichu pāpa haya
ataeva sindhu-snāne saba yāya kṣaya

Jayapatākā Swami: The residents of Nīlācala or Jagannātha Purī, whatever sins they had performed, by taking bath in the ocean, they are thereby nullified.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.267

gaṅgādevīra sindhusaha milana—
ataeva gaṅgādevī vegavatī haiyā
sei bhāgye sindhu-mājhe mililā āsiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: And therefore, Gaṅgādevī swiftly flows because of the ocean's good fortune, the Ganges flows swiftly to merge with the ocean's waters.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.268

hena mate sindhu-tīre śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
vaisena sakala mate sindhu kari' dhanya

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya by residing on the shore of the ocean, He made the ocean glorious by residing on its shore.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.269

prabhura nīlādri-gamana-kāle utkalādhipati pratāparudrera yuddhābhiyānopalakṣe anyatra avasthānahetu nīlācale anupasthiti 
ye samaye īśvara āilā nīlācale
takhane pratāparudra nāhika utkale

Jayapatākā Swami: At the time when Lord Caitanya came to Nīlācala, Pratāparudra Mahārāja was not present in Orissa at that time.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.270

yuddha-rase giyāchena vijayanagare
ataeva prabhu na dekhilā sei bāre

Jayapatākā Swami: He had gone to Vijaya-nagara on a military campaign. Therefore, he did not see Lord Caitanya at that time.

Purport by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: When Mahāprabhu arrived in Nīlācala, Mahārāja Pratāparudra was not present there. He had gone south to fight in Vijaya-nagara.

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.82: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya: Sārvabhauma, you also should go.

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.83: Sārvabhauma: Lord, I have something to request.

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.84: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya: What is it?

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.85: Sārvabhauma: Lord, if You assure me that I may speak without fear, then I will speak my request.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.3

sārvabhaumera prabhusamīpe kichu nivedanecchā:—
āra dina sārvabhauma kahe prabhu-sthāne
abhaya-dāna deha’ yadi, kari nivedane

Translation: The next day Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya requested Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to give him permission to submit a statement without fear.

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.86: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya: You may speak without fear.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.4

prabhura anumati dāna:—
prabhu kahe,—kaha tumi, nāhi kichu bhaya
yogya haile kariba, ayogya haile naya

Translation: The Lord gave the Bhaṭṭācārya assurance that he could speak without fear, but added that if his statement were suitable, He would accept it, and if it were not, He would reject it.

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.87: Sārvabhauma: Mahārāja Pratāparudra is very eager to see Your feet. If You give permission, we will bring him here.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.5

pratāparudrera pakṣa haiyā sārvabhaumera prabhu-kṛpā-yācñā :—
sārvabhauma kahe—ei pratāparudra rāya
utkaṇṭhā hañāche, tomā milibāre cāya

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, “There is a king named Pratāparudra Rāya. He is very anxious to meet You, and he wants Your permission.”

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.88: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya: (covers His ears) Sārvabhauma, even you are speaking like this?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.6

rāja-darśane prabhura asammati o vitṛṣṇā:—
karṇe hasta diyā prabhu smare ‘nārāyaṇa’
sārvabhauma, kaha kena ayogya vacana

Translation: As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard this proposal, He immediately covered His ears with His hands and said, “My dear Sārvabhauma, why are you requesting such an undesirable thing from Me?

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Lord Caitanya had taken the renounced order of life, he does not see the materialistic people. So He is considering the King must be materialistic, therefore He is considering Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s statement as irreligious.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.7

sannyāsīra dharma:—
virakta sannyāsī āmāra rāja-daraśana
strī-daraśana-sama viṣera bhakṣaṇa

Translation: “Since I am in the renounced order, it is as dangerous for Me to meet a king as to meet a woman. To meet either would be just like drinking poison.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.8 and Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.23

 premākāṅkṣīra bhoktṛbhāve bhogya-darśana viṣabhakṣaṇa-tulya niṣiddha:
 niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya
pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasya
sandarśanaṁ viṣayiṇām atha yoṣitāṁ ca
hā hanta hanta viṣa-bhakṣaṇato ’py asādhu

Translation: Greatly lamenting, the Lord then informed Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, “‘Alas, for a person who is seriously desiring to cross the material ocean and engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without material motives, seeing a materialist engaged in sense gratification or seeing a woman who is similarly interested is more abominable than drinking poison willingly.’”

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: This is a quotation from Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (8.23). Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enunciates the principles for a sannyāsī renouncing the material world for spiritual advancement. Spiritual advancement is not meant for magic shows and jugglery but for crossing the material world and being transferred to the spiritual world. Pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣoḥ means desiring to go to the other side of the material world. There is a river called Vaitaraṇī, and on one side of this river is the material world, and on the other side is the spiritual world. Since the Vaitaraṇī River is compared to a great ocean, it is named bhava-sāgara, the ocean of repeated birth and death. Spiritual life aims at stopping this repetition of birth and death and entering into the spiritual world, where one can live eternally cognizant and blissful.

Unfortunately, the general populace does not know anything about spiritual life or the spiritual world. The spiritual world is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.20):

“Yet there is another unmanifested nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.”

Thus there is a spiritual nature beyond this material world, and that spiritual nature exists eternally. Spiritual advancement means stopping material activities and entering into spiritual activities. This is the process of bhakti-yoga. In the material world, the via media for sense gratification is mainly a woman. One who is seriously interested in spiritual life should strictly avoid women. A sannyāsī should never see a man or a woman for material benefit. In addition, talks with materialistic men and women are also dangerous, and they are compared to drinking poison. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very strict on this point. He therefore refused to see King Pratāparudra, who was naturally always engaged in political and economic affairs. The Lord even refused to see the King despite the request of a personality like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who was the Lord’s intimate friend and devotee.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was explaining how Mahārāja Pratāparudra, how he engages in menial service to Lord Jagannātha therefore he is a very special king. One time Śrīla Prabhupāda was talking to a rich aristocratic businessman, he wanted to see Śrīla Prabhupāda perform some magic tricks. So, he said, “I went to America with Forty rupees and now I have forty crores, is that not a miracle?” He said, yes! yes! “That’s my magic!”

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.89: Sārvabhauma: Lord, this is true, but still, Mahārāja Pratāparudra is a servant of Lord Jagannātha.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.9

bhaṭṭācāryera rāja-praśaṁsā :—
sārvabhauma kahe,—satya tomāra vacana
jagannātha-sevaka rājā kintu bhaktottama

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya replied, “My dear Lord, what You have said is correct, but this King is not an ordinary king. He is a great devotee and servant of Lord Jagannātha.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.10

bhoktṛsajjāya bhogyajñāne vastura bahirdarśana haitei dvitīyābhiniveśaja bhayera utpatti:—
prabhu kahe,—tathāpi rājā kāla-sarpākāra
kāṣṭha-nārī-sparśe yaiche upaje vikāra

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Although it is correct that the King is a great devotee, he is still to be considered a venomous snake. Similarly, even though a woman be made of wood, one becomes agitated simply by touching her form.

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: Śrī Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has stated in his moral instructions: tyaja durjana-saṁsargaṁ bhaja sādhu-samāgamam. This means that one has to abandon the association of materialistic people and associate with spiritually advanced people. However qualified a materialist may be, he is no better than a venomous serpent. Everyone knows that a snake is dangerous and poisonous, and when its hood is decorated with jewels, it is no less poisonous or dangerous. However qualified a materialist may be, he is no better than a snake decorated with jewels. One should therefore be careful in dealing with such materialists, just as one would be careful in dealing with a bejeweled serpent.

Even though a woman be made of wood or stone, she becomes attractive when decorated. One becomes sexually agitated even by touching the form. Therefore one should not trust his mind, which is so fickle that it can give way to enemies at any moment. The mind is always accompanied by six enemies — namely, kāma, krodha, mada, moha, mātsarya and bhaya — that is, lust, anger, intoxication, illusion, envy and fear. Although the mind may be merged in spiritual consciousness, one should always be very careful in dealing with it, just as one is careful in dealing with a snake. One should never think that his mind is trained and that he can do whatever he likes. One interested in spiritual life should always engage his mind in the service of the Lord so that the enemies of the mind, who always accompany the mind, will be subdued. If the mind is not engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness at every moment, there is a chance that it will give way to its enemies. In this way we become victims of the mind.

Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra engages the mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa constantly; thus the mind’s enemies do not have a chance to strike. Following Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s example in these verses, we should be very careful in dealing with the mind, which should not be indulged in any circumstance. Once we indulge the mind, it can create havoc in this life, even though we may be spiritually advanced. The mind is specifically agitated through the association of materialistic men and women. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, through His personal behavior, warns everyone to avoid meeting a materialistic person or a woman.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is specifically warning us not to associate with a materialistic man or woman. So Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that, not once many times, that ladies who are engaged in preaching are special. Still the mind should always be kept under control engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.11 and Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.24

Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya- 
ākārād api bhetavyaṁ
strīṇāṁ viṣayiṇām api
yathāher manasaḥ kṣobhas
athā tasyākṛter api

Translation: “‘Just as one is immediately frightened upon seeing a live serpent or even the form of a serpent, one endeavoring for self-realization should similarly fear a materialistic person and a woman. Indeed, he should not even glance at their bodily features.’

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.90

Translation: If you say this again, you will never see Me again.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.12

lokaśikṣaka prabhura kaṭhora saṅkalpa, āśrama-maryādā rakṣaṇārtha sārvabhaumake tiraskāra:—
aiche bāta punarapi mukhe nā ānibe
kaha yadi, tabe āmāya ethā nā dekhibe

Translation: “Bhaṭṭācārya, if you continue to speak like this, you will never see Me here again. Therefore, you should never let such a request come from your mouth.”

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.91

Translation: (Sārvabhauma remains silent).

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.92: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya: Bhaṭṭācārya, much time has passed (it is very late and thus it is time for daily activities to be done).

Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.92: Sārvabhauma: As it pleases my Lord.

(He exits).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.13

sārvabhaumera viṣannamukhe prasthāna:—
bhaya pāñā sārvabhauma nija ghare gelā
vāsāya giyā bhaṭṭācārya cintita ha-ilā

Translation: Being afraid, Sārvabhauma returned home and began to meditate on the matter.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since Lord Caitanya said, if you speak like this to meet the King then I will never come here again. So, it put fear in the heart of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, as he do not want to lose the association of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s Request to Lord Caitanya. Under the section of the Beda Kīrtana of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jay!