20210411 Lord Caitanya And His Associates Cleanse the Guṇḍicā Temple

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 11th, 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa dear devotees ! We will continue with the Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, today's chapter is entitled as:

Mock Fight of Śrī Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.188

nitāi o advaita, parasparera kautuka-kalaha:—
advaita-nityānanda vasiyāchena eka ṭhāñi
dui-jane krīḍā-kalaha lāgila tathāi

Translation: Śrī Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu sat side by side, and when prasāda was being distributed They engaged in a type of mock fighting.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.189

advaitakarttṛka sūtrapāta:—
advaita kahe,—avadhūtera saṅge eka paṅkti
bhojana kariluṅ, nā jāni habe kon gati

Translation: First Advaita Ācārya said, “I am sitting in line with an unknown mendicant, and because I am eating with Him, I do not know what kind of destination is awaiting Me.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Advaita Ācārya is saying this mock criticizing of Lord Nityānanda prabhu so that they could enjoy having a kind of mock fight between each other. Actually, They love each other, and this is just an excuse to have some discussion. So, Advaita Ācārya is taking the point of view of a smārta-brāhmaṇa, which He is not, He is a Vaiṣṇava-brāhmaṇa, so anyway by this smārta consideration Lord Nityānanda He is an unknown mendicant.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.190

sannyāsīra annasparśadoṣa nāi:—
prabhu ta’ sannyāsī, uṅhāra nāhi apacaya
anna-doṣe sannyāsīra doṣa nāhi haya

Translation: “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is in the renounced order of life. Consequently He does not recognize discrepancies. As a matter of fact, a sannyāsī is not affected by eating food from anywhere and everywhere.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.191

“nānna-doṣeṇa maskarī”—ei śāstra-pramāṇa
āmi ta’ gṛhastha-brāhmaṇa, āmāra doṣa-sthāna

Translation: “According to the śāstras, there is no discrepancy in a sannyāsī’s eating at another’s house. But for a householder brāhmaṇa, this kind of eating is faulty.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.192

‘āpanāke gṛhastha brāhmaṇa’ baliyā advaitera laukika smārta-samājera ānugatya-chalanā
janma-kula-śīlācāra nā jāni yāhāra
tāra saṅge eka paṅkti-baḍa anācāra

Translation: “It is not proper for householders to dine with those whose previous birth, family, character and behavior are unknown.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.193

nityānandera kevalādvaitavāda-garhaṇa:—
nityānanda kahe,—tumi advaita-ācārya
‘advaita-siddhānte’ bādhe śuddha-bhakti-kārya

Translation: Nityānanda Prabhu immediately refuted Śrīla Advaita Ācārya, saying, “You are a teacher of impersonal monism, and the monistic conclusion is a great hindrance to progressive, pure devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Nityānanda , since Advaita Ācārya had taken the position of a smarta-brāhmaṇa, and He said, You are an impersonalist and that is a great hindrance to pure devotional service.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.194

nityānandakarttṛka advaitera nindācchale advayajñāna-mahimā-varṇana:—
tomāra siddhānta-saṅga kare yei jane
‘eka’ vastu vinā sei ’dvitīya’ nāhi māne

Translation: “One who participates in Your impersonal monistic philosophy does not accept anything but the one Brahman.”

Purport: The impersonal monist does not believe that God is the only object of worship and that the living entities are His eternal servants. According to the monists, God and the devotee may be separate in the material state, but when they are spiritually situated, there is no difference between them. This is called advaita-siddhānta, the conclusion of the monists. Monists consider devotional service of the Lord to be material activity; therefore they consider such devotional activities to be the same as karma, or fruitive activity. This monistic mistake is a great stumbling block on the road to devotional service.

Actually this discussion between Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda was a mock fight to serve as a great instruction for all devotees. Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu wanted to point out that Advaita Ācārya, a pure devotee, did not agree with the monistic conclusion. The conclusion of devotional service is:

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.” (Bhāg. 1.2.11)

Absolute knowledge consists of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. This conclusion is not the same as that of the monists. Śrīla Advaita Ācārya was given the title of ācārya because He spread the bhakti cult, not the philosophy of monism. The true conclusion of advaita-siddhānta, expressed at the very beginning of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 1.3), is not the same as the philosophy of the monists. Here advaita-siddhānta means advaya-jñāna, or oneness in variety. Actually Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu was praising Śrīla Advaita Ācārya through friendly mock fighting. He was giving the Vaiṣṇava conclusion in terms of the Bhāgavatam’s conclusive words, vadanti tat tattva-vidaḥ. This is also the conclusion of a mantra in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, ekam evādvitīyam.

A devotee knows that there is oneness in diversity. The mantras of the śāstras do not support the monistic conclusions of the impersonalists, nor does Vaiṣṇava philosophy accept impersonalism without variety. Brahman is the greatest, He who includes everything, and that is oneness. As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: there is no one superior to Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is the original substance because every category emanates from Him. Thus He is simultaneously one with and different from all other categories. The Lord is always engaged in a variety of spiritual activities, but the monist cannot understand spiritual variety. The conclusion is that although the powerful and the power are one and the same, within the energy of the powerful there are varieties. In those varieties there is a distinction between the different parts of one’s personal self, between types of the same category, and between types of different categories. In other words, there is always variety in the categories, which are understood as knowledge, the knower and the knowable. Due to the eternal existence of knowledge, the knower and the knowable, devotees everywhere know about the eternal existence of the form, name, qualities, pastimes and entourage of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Devotees never agree with the monists’ preaching of oneness. Unless one adheres to the conceptions of the knower, the knowable and knowledge, there is no possibility of understanding spiritual variety, nor can one taste the transcendental bliss of spiritual variety.

The philosophy of monism is an adjustment of the Buddhist philosophy of voidism. In a mock fight with Śrī Advaita Ācārya, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu was refuting this type of monistic philosophy. Vaiṣṇavas certainly accept Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate “one,” and that which is without Kṛṣṇa is called māyā, or that which has no existence. External māyā is exhibited in two phases — jīva-māyā, the living entities, and guṇa-māyā, the material world. In the material world there is prakṛti (material nature) and pradhāna (the ingredients of material nature). However, for one who becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, the distinction between material and spiritual varieties does not exist. An advanced devotee like Prahlāda Mahārāja sees everything as one — Kṛṣṇa. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.4.37), kṛṣṇa-graha-gṛhītātmā na veda jagad īdṛśam. One who is in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not distinguish between things material and spiritual; he takes everything to be related to Kṛṣṇa and therefore spiritual. By advaya-jñāna-darśana, Śrīla Advaita Ācārya has glorified pure devotional service. Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu herein sarcastically condemns the philosophy of the impersonal monists and praises the correct nondual philosophy of Śrī Advaita Prabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this apparent mock fighting between Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu is actually bringing out the problems within the impersonal philosophy and what the true Vaiṣṇava philosophy is.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.195

advayajñāna-virodhī jaḍa-dvaitajñānī vā māyāvādīra saṅgera niṣiddhatā-viṣaye iṅgita:—
hena tomāra saṅge mora ekatre bhojana
nā jāni, tomāra saṅge kaiche haya mana

Translation: Nityānanda Prabhu continued, “You are such a monist! And now I am eating beside You. I do not know how My mind will be affected in this way.”

Purport: Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ (Bg. 2.62). One develops his consciousness according to society and association. As Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu admits, a devotee should be very careful when associating with those who are not devotees. When asked by a householder devotee what the behavior of a devotee should be, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately replied:

asat-saṅga-tyāga, — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra A Vaiṣṇava, a devotee, should simply discard intimate association with nondevotees. In his Upadeśāmṛta, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described the symptoms of intimate relationships in this way:

The words bhuṅkte bhojayate indicate that one should eat with devotees. One should carefully avoid eating food offered by nondevotees. Indeed, a devotee should be very strict in not accepting food from a nondevotee, especially food prepared in restaurants or hotels or on airplanes. Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu’s reference in this connection is meant to emphasize that one should avoid eating with Māyāvādīs and covert Māyāvādīs like the sahajiyā Vaiṣṇavas, who are materially affected.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Advaita Ācārya took the mock position of a monist smarta-brāhmaṇa, He was saying that I am taking My food with this unknown mendicant and Nityānanda prabhu was taking the position of a pure Vaiṣṇava and He was saying that I am taking My prasāda with a Māyāvādī, so what will be My destination? How will I be affected?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.196

nindācchale prabhudvayera parasparera stuti:—
ei-mata dui-jane kare balābali
vyāja-stuti kare duṅhe, yena gālāgāli

Translation: Thus They both went on talking and praising one another, although Their praise appeared negative, for it appeared as if They exchanged ill names.

Jayapatākā Swami: Actually, They were glorifying each other but in a subtle way. So actually those who understood what They were saying could understand that They were appreciating each other.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.197

prabhura sakala bhaktake mahāprasāda-dāna:—
tabe prabhu sarva-vaiṣṇavera nāma lañā
mahā-prasāda dena mahā-amṛta siñciyā

Translation: Thereafter, calling all the Vaiṣṇavas, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu distributed mahā-prasāda as if sprinkling nectar. At that time the mock fight between Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu became more and more delicious.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.198

prasāda-sammānānte haridhvani diyā utthāna o ācamana –
bhojana kari’ uṭhe sabe hari-dhvani kari’
hari-dhvani uṭhila saba svarga-martya bhari’

Translation: After taking their lunch, all the Vaiṣṇavas stood up and chanted the holy name of Hari, Hari Bol! and the resounding noise filled all the upper and lower planetary systems.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the name of the Lord is transcendental, the loud chanting of the Lords names could penetrate the whole universe, up to the higher planets and the lower planets.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.199

bhaktagaṇake svahaste mālya-candana-dāna:—
tabe mahāprabhu saba nija-bhakta-gaṇe
sabākāre śrī-haste dilā mālya-candane

Translation: After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered flower garlands and sandalwood pulp to all His devoted personal associates.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was distributing these garalnds and sandalwood pulp to all His intimate associates.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.200

svarūpādi sapta pariveśakera sarvaśeṣe prasāda-prāpti:—
tabe pariveśaka svarūpādi sāta jana
gṛhera bhitare kaila prasāda bhojana

Translation: The seven persons headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara who were engaged in distributing prasāda to others then took their meals within the room.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the very advanced devotees were engaged in serving prasāda, and after they had served everyone they took their lunch privately.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.201

govindera sāhāyye haridāsera prabhu-bhuktaśeṣa-prāpti:—
prabhura avaśeṣa govinda rākhila dhariyā
sei anna haridāse kichu dila lañā

Translation: Govinda saved some remnants of food left by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and kept them carefully. Later, one portion of these remnants was delivered to Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Haridasa Ṭhākura got some remnants from Lord Caitanya’s plate.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.202

govindera sarvaśeṣa prabhṛcchiṣṭa prāpti:—
bhakta-gaṇa govinda-pāśa kichu māgi’ nila
sei prasādānna govinda āpani pāila

Translation: The remnants of food left by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were later distributed among devotees who begged for them, and finally Govinda personally took the last remnants.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 12.203

guṇḍicā-mārjana-līlārai nāmāntara ‘dhoyāpākhalā’-līlā:—
svatantra īśvara prabhu kare nānā khelā
‘dhoyā-pākhalā’ nāma kaila ei eka līlā

Translation: The fully independent Supreme Personality of Godhead performs various types of pastimes. The pastime of washing and cleansing the Guṇḍicā temple is but one of them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the highest perfection of human life is to be participating in the pastimes of Supreme Personality of Godhead. So these pastimes are being displayed by Lord Caitanya in Jagannātha Purī, the cleaning of the Guṇḍicā temple, the cleaning of the Narasiṁha temple, taking of the prasāda with the devotees and giving out garlands and sandalwood pulp and prasāda and so many pastimes. So, we are blessed to hear these pastimes, and there is no difference between hearing the pastime and associating with the Lord. How Nityānanda and Advaita were also associating with each other, so we can have glimpse of the unlimited variety of Vaiṣṇava sañga.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Mock Fight of Śrī Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu.