20210328 Lord Caitanya Promises to Meet Haridāsa Ṭhākura Every day and send him Prasāda

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on March 28th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, today’s chapter entitled as:

Lord Caitanya Promises to Meet Haridāsa Ṭhākura Every day and Send him Prasāda

Jayapatāka Swami: So, yesterday we were reading how Lord Caitanya was meeting all the devotees from Bengal, and He remembered the names of all the devotees, even the devotees who He had never met before, He knew their names and He talked to them as if they were His old friends. So that means the Lord, He knows all of you, what you are doing. I may or may not know your name, but the Lord knows everything about you. But Murāri Gupta, he didn’t want to see Lord Caitanya, he was paying his prostrate obeisances at the Narendra Sarovar and he was crying and Lord Caitanya sent someone to bring him. And did you all remember that he was the physician from Navadvīpa and when Lord Caitanya made him to read out the thousand names of Lord Viṣṇu and sometimes He would ride on the back of Murāri Gupta. So great a devotee was Murāri Gupta and Lord Caitanya told him to worship Kṛṣṇa. But the next morning he said the whole night, he tried but always the image of Lord Rāma came. So, then he wanted to commit suicide because he was not carrying out the orders of Lord Caitanya . And then Lord Caitanya revealed that, actually he was Hanumān in his previous life with Lord Rāma so such a great devotee. But he is crying and He is telling Lord Caitanya, I am fallen, I am sinful, please don’t touch me, I mean he bowed down and touched the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He was crying. Lord Caitanya said, “You are breaking My heart, your meekness and humility is too much” He picked him up and embraced him. So, then Haridāsa Ṭhākura, He looked around and He didn’t see Haridāsa, where was Haridāsa and he was outside paying obeisances, crying and crying. Lord Caitanya said, “Why are you here?”, “I am low-born, I am very sinful fallen person, I don’t want the service of Lord Jagannātha,if They touch me They become contaminated So I just need some place somewhere near the temple where I can be in solitary. So Lord Caitanya said, that He would come to see him everyday and send him Jagannātha prasāda. So, we can see how these devotees were so exalted, but they were so humble. We think about ourselves very great sometimes. These associates of Lord Caitanya are so humble that they cry and they say that they are fallen but actually they are very advanced. I was thinking that, “I am really fallen”. So today we are reading the pastime of Lord Caitanya, where Lord Caitanya promises to meet Haridāsa Ṭhākura every day and send him prasāda.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.185

ṭhākura haridāsera nikaṭa prabhura āgamana:—
mahāprabhu āilā tabe haridāsa-milane
haridāsa kare preme nāma-saṅkīrtane

Translation: After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to meet Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and He saw him engaged in chanting the mahā-mantra with ecstatic love. Haridāsa chanted, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.186

haridāsera praṇāma, prabhura āliṅgana:—
prabhu dekhi’ paḍe āge daṇḍavat hañā
prabhu āliṅgana kaila tāṅre uṭhāñ

Translation: As soon as Haridāsa Ṭhākura saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he immediately fell down like a stick to offer Him obeisances, and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu raised him up and embraced him.

Jayapatāka Swami: So, we see Haridāsa Ṭhākura, how he was acting, how he was behaving. When he saw Lord Caitanya, it is stated that he offered his danḍavats , he fell down like a stick to offer Lord Caitanya his obeisances. Lord Caitanya would raise him up and embrace him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.187

parasparera guṇasmaraṇe bhakta o bhagavān, ubhayera prema-vihvalatā:—
dui-jane premāveśe karena krandane
prabhu-guṇe bhṛtya vikala, prabhu bhṛtya-guṇe

Translation: Then both the Lord and His servant began to cry in ecstatic love. Indeed, the Lord was transformed by the qualities of His servant, and the servant was transformed by the qualities of his master.

Purport: The Māyāvādī philosophers say that the living entity and the Supreme Lord are nondifferent, and therefore they equate the transformation of the living entity with the transformation of the Lord. In other words, Māyāvādīs say that if the living entity is pleased, the Lord is also pleased, and if the living entity is displeased, the Lord is also displeased. By juggling words in this way, Māyāvādīs try to prove that there is no difference between the living entity and the Lord. This, however, is not a fact.

In this verse Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī explains:

prabhu-guṇe bhṛtya vikala, prabhu bhṛtya-guṇe.

The Lord and the living entity are not equal, for the Lord is always the master, and the living entity is always the servant. Transformation takes place due to transcendental qualities, and it is thus said that the servant of the Lord is the heart of the Lord, and the Lord is the heart of the servant. This is also explained by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11):

As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.”

The Lord is always eager to congratulate the servant because of the servant’s transcendental qualities. The servant pleasingly renders service unto the Lord, and the Lord also very pleasingly reciprocates, rendering even more service unto the servant.

Jayapatāka Swami: So, the Lord reciprocates with the love of His servant, and when He reciprocates the servant feels more love. This is something, a transcendental exchange and it is not what the Māyāvādīs say. Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was moved by the qualities of Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitanya would be moved by the qualities of His servant, but Lord Caitanya is always the master and Haridāsa Ṭhākura is always His servant.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.188

ṭhākura haridāsera āpanāke aspṛśya-jñāna:—
haridāsa kahe,—prabhu, nā chuṅio more
muñi—nīca, aspṛśya, parama pāmare

Translation: Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “My dear Lord, please do not touch me, for I am most fallen and untouchable and am the lowest among men.”

Jayapatāka Swami: So, we see the sun can evaporate dirty water and make the place purified. But the sun is not contaminated. Similarly Lord Caitanya, if He touches anyone, he is not contaminated rather that person is purified so this statement of Haridāsa Ṭhākura that I am untouchable, first of all it is due to His extreme humility and second of all it does not apply to the Lord, since He is never contaminated.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.189

sākṣāt brahmaṇyadeva prabhukarttṛka haridāsera ācāryatva kīrtana:—
prabhu kahe,—tomā sparśi pavitra ha-ite
tomāra pavitra dharma nāhika āmāte

Translation: The Lord said, “I wish to touch you just to be purified, for your purified activities do not exist in Me.”

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: This is an example of the reciprocation of feelings between master and servant. The servant thinks that he is most impure and that the master should not touch him, and the master thinks that because He has become impure by associating with so many impure living entities, He should touch a pure devotee like Haridāsa Ṭhākura just to purify Himself. Actually both the servant and the master are already purified because neither of them is in touch with the impurities of material existence. They are already equal in quality because both of them are the purest. There is a difference in quantity, however, because the master is unlimited and the servant is limited. Consequently the servant always remains subordinate to the master, and this relationship is eternal and undisturbed. As soon as the servant feels like becoming the master, he falls into māyā. Thus it is by misuse of free will that one falls under the influence of māyā.

The Māyāvādī philosophers try to explain the equality of master and servant in terms of quantity, but they fail to explain why, if the master and servant are equal, the servant falls victim to māyā. They try to explain that when the servant, the living entity, is out of the clutches of māyā, he immediately becomes the so-called master again. Such an explanation is never satisfactory. Being unlimited, the master cannot become a victim of māyā, for in such a case His unlimitedness would be crippled or limited. Thus the Māyāvāda explanation is not correct. The fact is that the master is always master and unlimited, and the servant, being limited, is sometimes curtailed by the influence of māyā. Māyā is also the master’s energy and is also unlimited; therefore the limited servant or limited living entity is forced to remain under the master or the master’s potency, māyā. Being freed from māyā’s influence, one can again become a pure servant and equal qualitatively to the Lord. The relationship between master and servant continues due to their being unlimited and limited respectively.

Jayapatāka Swami: So, just like we are limited and we can be covered by cloud, and therefore we cannot see the sun. It is not that the sun is covered by the cloud. Just like when we fly in the airplane above the clouds, we can see that the sun is still there shining. So Māyāvādīs think that the cloud can cover the sun but that is not correct, it covers us because we are limited but māyā can never cover the Supreme Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.190

kṛṣṇa-bhakte sarvakṣaṇa sarva-tīrtha-snāna o sarvatapo yajña-dānādi-vidyamāna:—
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi sarva-tīrthe snāna
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe kara tumi yajña-tapo-dāna

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exalted Haridāsa Ṭhākura, stating, “At every moment you take your bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage, and at every moment you perform great sacrifices, austerity and charity.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.191

kṛṣṇa-bhaktai sāṅga-veda-vedāntādhītī o nikhila brāhmaṇa-sannyāsīra guru:—
nirantara kara cāri veda adhyayana
dvija-nyāsī haite tumi parama-pāvana

Translation: “You are constantly studying the four Vedas, and you are far better than any brāhmaṇa or sannyāsī.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.192

Śrīmad-Bhāgavate (3.33.7):—
aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then recited the following verse: “‘My dear Lord, one who always keeps Your holy name on his tongue becomes greater than an initiated brāhmaṇa. and therefore by material calculation may be the lowest among men, he is still glorious. This is the wonderful effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord. It is therefore concluded that one who chants the holy name of the Lord should be understood to have performed all kinds of austerities and great sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas. He has already taken his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. He has studied all the Vedas, and he is actually an Āryan.’”

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: The word Āryan means advanced. Unless one is spiritually advanced, he cannot be called an Āryan, and this is the difference between Āryan and non-Āryan. Non-Āryans are those who are not spiritually advanced. By following the Vedic culture, by performing great sacrifices and by becoming a strict follower of the Vedic instructions, one may become a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or an Āryan. It is not possible to become a brāhmaṇa, sannyāsī or Āryan without being properly qualified. Bhāgavata-dharma never allows one to become a cheap brāhmaṇa, sannyāsī or Āryan. The qualities or qualifications described herein are quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) and were spoken by Devahūti, the mother of Kapiladeva, when she understood the influence of devotional service (bhakti-yoga). In this way Devahūti praised the devotee, pointing out his greatness in all respects.

Jayapatāka Swami: So, this chanting of the holy names actually purifies the chanter and the chanter is known as the aryan. So caste, creed, color, gender, anything is not applicable to one who chants the holy name and the person can be purified in all aspects. Devahūtī understood this and she was praising the devotees.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.193

‘siddhabakule ṭhākura haridāsake sthāna-dāna:—
eta bali tāṅre lañā gelā puṣpodyāne
ati nibhṛte tāṅre dilā vāsā-sthāne

Translation: Saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took Haridāsa Ṭhākura within the flower garden, and there, in a very secluded place, He showed him his residence.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.194

prabhura svayaṁi bhaktasaha milanāṅgīkāra:—
ei-sthāne rahi’ kara nāma saṅkīrtana
prati-dina āsi’ āmi kariba milana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Haridāsa Ṭhākura, “Remain here and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. I shall personally come here to meet you daily.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.195

mandirera sudarśana-cakrake praṇāmārtha ājñā-dāna:—
mandirera cakra dekhi’ kariha praṇāma
ei ṭhāñi tomāra āsibe prasādānna

Translation: “Remain here peacefully and look at the cakra on the top of the temple and offer obeisances. As far as your prasāda is concerned, I shall arrange to have that sent here.”

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: Since he was born in a Muslim family, Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura could not enter the temple of Jagannātha due to temple restrictions. Nonetheless, he was recognized by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Haridāsa Ṭhākura, however, considered himself unfit to enter the Jagannātha temple. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could have personally taken Haridāsa Ṭhākura into the Jagannātha temple if He wished, but the Lord did not like to disturb a popular custom. Consequently, the Lord asked His servant simply to look at the Viṣṇu wheel on top of the temple and offer obeisances (namaskāra). This means that if one is not allowed to enter the temple, or if he thinks himself unfit to enter the temple, he can look at the wheel from outside the temple, and that is as good as seeing the Deity within.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu promised to come daily to see Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and this indicates that Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was so advanced in spiritual life that, although considered unfit to enter the temple, he was being personally visited by the Lord every day. Nor was there any need for his going outside his residence to collect food. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu assured Haridāsa Ṭhākura that the remnants of His food would be sent there.

As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.22), yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham:

“I arrange all life’s necessities for My devotees.”

A reference is made here for those who are very anxious to imitate the behavior of Ṭhākura Haridāsa in an unnatural way. One must receive the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His representative before adopting such a way of life. The duty of a pure devotee or a servant of the Lord is to carry out the order of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Nityānanda Prabhu to go to Bengal and preach, and He asked the Gosvāmīs, Rūpa and Sanātana, to go to Vṛndāvana and excavate the lost places of pilgrimage. In this case the Lord asked Haridāsa Ṭhākura to remain there at Jagannātha Purī and constantly chant the holy names of the Lord. Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave different persons different orders, and consequently one should not try to imitate the behavior of Haridāsa Ṭhākura without being ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His representative. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura condemns such imitations in this way:

“My dear mind, you are trying to imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in a secluded place, but you are not worth being called a Vaiṣṇava because what you want is cheap popularity and not the actual qualifications of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. If you try to imitate him you will fall down, for your neophyte position will cause you to think of women and money. Thus you will fall into the clutches of māyā, and your so-called chanting in a secluded place will bring about your downfall.”

Jayapatāka Swami: So, like this His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, he gave different orders and different instructions to different disciples and each disciple should carry out the instructions of the spiritual master and in this they can achieve all success in their devotional service.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.196

nityānandādira haridāsa-darśane ānanda:—
nityānanda, jagadānanda, dāmodara, mukunda
haridāse mili’ sabe pāila ānanda

Translation: When Nityānanda Prabhu, Jagadānanda Prabhu, Dāmodara Prabhu and Mukunda Prabhu met Haridāsa Ṭhākura, they all became very pleased.

Jayapatāka Swami: So, all the devotees were very pleased to meet Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and although Haridāsa Ṭhākura could not go to see the deities, since Lord Caitanya was like a moving Jagannātha, He would come every day to Haridāsa Ṭhākura. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda was indicating that His position was very special.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, Lord Caitanya Promises to Meet HaridāsaṬhākura Every day and Send him Prasāda.