20221227_Glorification of Lord Caitanya by Vallabha Bhaṭṭa

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on December 27th,2022 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! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Today's chapter is entitled as:

Glorification of Lord Caitanya by Vallabha Bhaṭṭa
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.1 

sparśamaṇi gaura-bhaktagaṇake vandanā:— 

caitanya-caraṇāmbhoja-makaranda-liho bhaje
yeṣāṁ prasāda-mātreṇa pāmaro ’py amaro bhavet

Translation: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Simply by the causeless mercy of the devotees engaged in licking honey from His lotus feet, even a fallen soul becomes eternally liberated. 

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by taking shelter of the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then one can easily achieve all success, even achieve eternal liberation. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.3

ratha-yātrāra pūrve gauḍīya-bhaktagaṇera āgamana:— 

varṣāntare yata gauḍera bhakta-gaṇa āilā 
pūrvavat mahāprabhu sabāre mililā

Translation: The next year, all the devotees of Bengal went to visit Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and as previously, the Lord met each and every one of them. 

Jayapatākā Swami: So, previously it was described how different devotees were paying their obeisances to Lord Caitanya, some were crying some were remaining prostrated and they felt themselves unworthy of Lord Caitanya's mercy.

But Lord Caitanya lifted up everyone, embraced them and greeted them.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.4

vallabhabhaṭṭera āgamana : — 

ei-mata vilāsa prabhura bhakta-gaṇa lañā 
hena-kāle vallabha-bhaṭṭa milila āsiyā

Translation: Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed His pastimes with His devotees.

Then a learned scholar named Vallabha Bhaṭṭa went to Jagannātha Purī to meet the Lord. 

Purport: By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupāda For a description of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, one may refer to Madhya-līlā, chapter nineteen, text 61.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 19.61

se-kāle vallabha-bhaṭṭa rahe āḍāila-grāme
mahāprabhu āilā śuni’ āila tāṅra sthāne

Translation: At that time, Śrī Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was staying at Āḍāila-grāma, and when he heard that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had arrived, he went to His place to see Him.

Purport: Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was a great learned scholar of Vaiṣṇavism.

In the beginning he was very much devoted to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but since he thought that he could not receive proper respect from Him, he later joined the Viṣṇu Svāmī sect and became the ācārya of that sect.

His sect is celebrated as the Vallabhācārya-sampradāya.

This sampradāya has had great influence in Vṛndāvana near Gokula and in Bombay.

Vallabha Bhaṭṭa wrote many books, including a commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam called Subodhinī-ṭīkā and notes on the Vedānta-sūtra in the form of an Anubhāṣya.

He also wrote a combination of sixteen short works called Ṣoḍaśa-grantha.

The village where he was staying — Āḍāila-grāma, or Adelī-grāma — was near the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamunā, on the other side of the Yamunā from Prayāga, about one mile from the river.

A temple of Lord Viṣṇu there still belongs to the Vallabha-sampradāya. 

Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was originally from a place in southern India called Trailaṅga.

There is a railway station there called Niḍāḍābhalu.

Sixteen miles from that station is a village called Kāṅkaḍabāḍa, or Kākuṅrapāḍhu.

A learned brāhmaṇa named Lakṣmaṇa Dīkṣita used to live there, and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was his son.

There are five sections of the brāhmaṇa community of Āndhra Pradesh, known as Bella-nāṭī, Vegī-nāṭī, Muraki-nāṭī, Telagu-nāṭī and Kāśala-nāṭī.

Out of these five brahminical communities, Vallabhācārya took his birth in the community of Bella-nāṭī in the year 1400 Śakābda Era (A.D. 1478).

According to some people, Vallabha Bhaṭṭācārya’s father took sannyāsa before Vallabha’s birth, and he returned home to take Vallabhācārya as his son.

According to the opinion of others, Vallabhācārya was born in 1400 Śakābda Era on the Ekādaśī day of the dark moon in the month of Caitra, and he took his birth in a brāhmaṇa family surnamed Khambhaṁpāṭībāru.

According to this account, his father’s name was Lakṣmaṇa Bhaṭṭa Dīkṣita, and he was born in Campakāraṇya.

In someone else’s opinion, Vallabhācārya appeared near the village named Cāṅpā-jhāra-grāma, which is near a railway station named Rājima in Madhya Pradesh.

After studying for eleven years at Vārāṇasī, Vallabhācārya returned home.

On his return, he heard that his father had departed from the material world.

Keeping his brother and mother at home, he went to the banks of the river Tuṅgabhadrā, to a village called Vidyānagara, where he enlightened Kṛṣṇadeva, the grandson of King Bukkarāja.

After that, he traveled throughout India thrice on trips lasting six years each.

Thus he passed eighteen years and became victorious in his discussions of revealed scripture.

When he was thirty years old, he married Mahālakṣmī, who belonged to the same brāhmaṇa community as his.

Near Govardhana Hill he established a Deity in the valley.

Finally he came to Āḍāila, which is on the other side of the Yamunā from Prayāga.

Vallabhācārya had two sons, Gopīnātha and Viṭhṭhaleśvara, and in his old age he accepted the renounced order.

In 1452 Śakābda Era (A.D. 1530), he passed away from the material world at Vārāṇasī.

His book known as Ṣoḍaśa-grantha and his commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra (Anubhāṣya) and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Subodhinī) are very famous.

He wrote many other books besides.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.5

bhaṭṭera prabhupada-vandana, tāṅhāke vaiṣṇava-buddhite prabhura āliṅgana:—

āsiyā vandila bhaṭṭa prabhura caraṇe
prabhu ‘bhāgavata-buddhye’ kailā āliṅgane

Translation: When Vallabha Bhaṭṭa arrived, he offered his obeisances at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Accepting him as a great devotee, the Lord embraced him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Vallabha Ācārya was embraced by Lord Caitanya accepting him as a great devotee.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.6

bhaṭṭera savinayokti—jagannāthakarttṛka prabhu-darśanākāṅakṣā-pūraṇa:—

mānya kari’ prabhu tāre nikaṭe vasāilā
vinaya kariyā bhaṭṭa kahite lāgilā

Translation: With great respect, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu seated Vallabha Bhaṭṭa near Him.

Then Vallabha Bhaṭṭa very humbly began to speak.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.7

“bahu-dina manoratha tomā’ dekhibāre
jagannātha pūrṇa kailā, dekhiluṅ tomāre

Translation: “For a long time,” he said, “I have desired to see You, my Lord.

Now Lord Jagannātha has fulfilled this desire; therefore I am seeing You.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Vallabha Ācārya had desired to see Lord Caitanya and now by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa this was possible.

Vallabha Ācārya has many followers especially in Gujurat.

But this is very interesting, the relation between Vallabha Ācārya and Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.8

vallabhera prabhuke bhagavattulya-buddhi o gaurava-stuti, kintu śaraṇāgatira abhāva:—

tomāra darśana ye pāya sei bhāgyavān
tomāke dekhiye,—yena sākṣāt bhagavān

Translation: “One who receives Your audience is fortunate indeed, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.9

prabhura darśana dūre thākuka, smaraṇei pavitratā:—

tomāre ye smaraṇa kare, se haya pavitra
darśane pavitra habe,—ithe ki vicitra?

Translation: “Since one who remembers You is purified, why should it be astonishing that one becomes purified by seeing You?

Jayapatākā Swami: If one simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that person becomes purified, so what to speak of actually seeing Lord Caitanya and coming in His presence!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.10

Who would like to see Lord Caitanya?

śuddha-bhaktera sākṣātsevana dūre thākuka, asākṣāte smaraṇa-prabhāvei śuddhi:—

śrīmad-bhāgavate (1/19/33)—

yeṣāṁ saṁsmaraṇāt puṁsāṁ
sadyaḥ śuddhyanti vai gṛhāḥ
kiṁ punar darśana-sparśa-
pāda-śaucāsanādibhiḥ

Translation: “One can immediately purify his entire house simply by remembering exalted personalities, to say nothing of directly seeing them, touching their lotus feet, washing their feet or offering them places to sit.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.19.33).

Jayapatākā Swami: As this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam śloka says, if we can simply remember the exalted devotees that is much purifying.

If we can remember all the great devotees who followed in the disciplic succession of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.11

kṛṣṇera svarūpa-śaktii nāma-kīrttanakārī ācāryera prākaṭyasādhinī:—

kali-kālera dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana

Translation: “The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

Unless empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot propagate the saṅkīrtana movement.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda had cited this verse many times and we can see that he spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world and he has written many transcendental literatures which are used all over the world .

So without Kṛṣṇa's mercy this would not have been possible.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.12

kṛṣṇanāma pravarttanahetu prabhuke svarūpaśaktimāna-jñāna:—

tāhā pravartāilā tumi,—ei ta ‘pramāṇa’
kṛṣṇa-śakti dhara tumi,—ithe nāhi āna

Translation: “You have spread the saṅkīrtana movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Therefore it is evident that You have been empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

There is no question about it.

Purport: Śrī Madhvācārya has brought our attention to this quotation from the Nārāyaṇa-saṁhitā:

“In the Dvāpara-yuga one could satisfy Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu only by worshiping opulently according to the pāñcarātrikī system, but in the Age of Kali one can satisfy and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari simply by chanting His holy name.” Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains that unless one is directly empowered by the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot become the spiritual master of the entire world (jagad-guru).

One cannot become an ācārya simply by mental speculation.

The true ācārya presents Kṛṣṇa to everyone by preaching the holy name of the Lord throughout the world.

Thus the conditioned souls, purified by chanting the holy name, are liberated from the blazing fire of material existence.

In this way, spiritual benefit grows increasingly full, like the waxing moon in the sky.

The true ācārya, the spiritual master of the entire world, must be considered an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

Indeed, he is personally embracing Kṛṣṇa.

He is therefore the spiritual master of all the varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and all the āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa).

Since he is understood to be the most advanced devotee, he is called paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura.

Ṭhākura is a title of honor offered to the paramahaṁsa.

Therefore, one who acts as an ācārya, directly presenting Lord Kṛṣṇa by spreading His name and fame, is also to be called paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda he was definitely empowered by Krsna and the previous ācāryas.

The secret of success which he told was to strictly follow the instructions of the previous ācāryas.

That was his motto, anyone who follows the previous ācāryas very strictly, they naturally will be very successful.

So, he would say that one should test to see how much he is following by the seeing the success of his preaching.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.13

sevonmukhera kṛṣṇanāmadātā gauradarśane kṛṣṇapremodaya:—

jagate karilā tumi kṛṣṇa-nāma prakāśe
yei tomā dekhe, sei kṛṣṇa-preme bhāse

Translation: “You have manifested the holy name of Kṛṣṇa throughout the entire world.

Anyone who sees You is immediately absorbed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the previous ācāryas had stated that actually there is no shortage in this world, there is only one shortage - lack of Kṛṣṇa-prema.

And that we can achieve simply by remembering Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and following His instructions.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.14

rūpaśakti-prabhāve kṛṣṇerai kṛṣṇa-prema-prakaṭana-sāmarthya:—

prema-parakāśa nahe kṛṣṇa-śakti vine
‘kṛṣṇa’—eka prema-dātā, śāstra-pramāṇe

Translation: “Without being especially empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot manifest ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa is the only one who gives ecstatic love.

That is the verdict of all revealed scriptures.

Jayapatākā Swami: Actually, Advaita Gosāñi is the incarnation of Mahā-Viṣṇu and Sadāśiva.

Although He could give liberation, but to awaken love of Kṛṣṇa was not in His power.

Therefore He asked Kṛṣṇa to personally descend and Kṛṣṇa came as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, combined form Rādhārani and Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.15

laghu-bhāgavatāmṛte (1/5/37) vilvamaṅgala-vākya

Translation: “There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?’ ”

Purport: This is a verse written by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura.

It is quoted by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.37).

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, who came in the form of a devotee and He combined with Rādhārānī, He took Her heart and Her complexion.

Therefore, instead of being dark colored, His complexion was golden.

But Kṛṣṇa could give love of Kṛṣṇa but you had to beg it from Him, you had to surrender.

But Rādhārāṇī gives the love freely, therefore Lord Caitanya He was Kṛṣṇa but He gave love freely, not considering who was qualified and who was not qualified and He gave it to everyone.

Haribol!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Glorification of Lord Caitanya by Vallabha Bhaṭṭa
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa