20221228 Pride of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was Cut Down as He Heard the Preaching by Lord Caitanya Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on December 28th,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:

Pride of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa Was Cut Down as He Heard the Preaching by Lord Caitanya
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.16

bhagavānera dainya o chalanā-ceṣṭā:—

mahāprabhu kahe—“śuna, bhaṭṭa mahā-mati
māyāvādī sannyāsī āmi, nā jāni kṛṣṇa-bhakti

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “My dear Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, you are a learned scholar. Kindly listen to Me. I am a sannyāsī of the Māyāvāda school. Therefore I have no chance of knowing what kṛṣṇa-bhakti is.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is presenting Himself in a very humble way so in this way He enters like a needle and comes out like a plow.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.17

bhagavānera bhaktaguṇa-varṇana ;- (1) mahāviṣṇu advaitācāryera guṇāvalī:—

advaitācārya-gosāñi—‘sākṣāt īśvara’
tāṅra saṅge āmāra mana ha-ila nirmala

Translation: “Nevertheless, My mind has become purified because I have associated with Advaita Ācārya, who is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, He is glorifying Advaita Gosāñi, saying that He is an avatāra of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Lord Caitanya is saying that He will become purified by associating with Advaita Gosāñi.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.18

‘advitīya bhaktiśāstrācārya’-nāmera sārthakatā:—

sarva-śāstre kṛṣṇa-bhaktye nāhi yāṅra sama
ataeva ‘advaita-ācārya’ tāṅra nāma

Translation: “He is unparalleled in His understanding of all the revealed scriptures and the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He is called Advaita Ācārya.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is glorifying Advaita Ācārya and presenting him to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.19

svayaṁ mahāviṣṇu haiyā ācārya-parama kṛpālu o parama-vaiṣṇava:—

yāṅhāra kṛpāte mlecchera haya kṛṣṇa-bhakti
ke kahite pāre tāṅra vaiṣṇavatā-śakti?

Translation: “He is such a great personality that by His mercy He can convert even the meat-eaters (mlecchas) to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa. Who, therefore, can estimate the power of His Vaiṣṇavism?

Purport: It is extremely difficult to convert a mleccha, or meat-eater, into a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore anyone who can do so is situated on the highest level of Vaiṣṇavism.

Jayapatākā Swami: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was able to convert many mlecchas into devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, therefore he is on the highest level of Vaiṣṇavism.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.20

(2) nityānanda-guṇāvalī; kṛṣṇera svarūpa-prakāśa haiyāo kṛṣṇa-premasindhu sevaka-vigraha:—

nityānanda-avadhūta—‘sākṣāt īśvara’
bhāvonmāde matta kṛṣṇa-premera sāgara

Translation: “Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, the avadhūta, is also directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is always intoxicated with the madness of ecstatic love. Indeed, He is an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Now Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is glorifying Lord Nityānanda how Lord Nityānanda is intoxicated with the madness of love of Kṛṣṇa. So, Lord Caitanya is glorifying all His expansions.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.21

(3) vāsudeva-sārvabhaumera guṇāvalī :—

ṣaḍ-darśana-vettā bhaṭṭācārya-sārvabhauma
ṣaḍ-darśane jagad-guru bhāgavatottama

Translation: “Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya perfectly knows the six philosophical theses. He is therefore the spiritual master of the entire world in teaching the six paths of philosophy. He is the best of devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is glorifying Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and in this way He is presenting all His advanced devotees to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.22

teṅha dekhāilā more bhakti-yoga-pāra
tāṅra prasāde jāniluṅ ‘kṛṣṇa-bhakti-yoga’ sāra

Translation: “Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya has shown Me the limit of devotional service. Only by his mercy have I understood that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is the essence of all mystic-yoga.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya had demonstrated Lord Caitanya how bhakti-yoga is the essence of all mystic-yoga. In this way Lord Caitanya is glorifying His devotees.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.23

(4) śrīrāma-rāyera guṇāvalī; rasikendramukuṭamauli o (a) ‘sambandha'tattva-vettā:—

rāmānanda-rāya kṛṣṇa-rasera ‘nidhāna’
teṅha jānāilā—kṛṣṇa—svayaṁ bhagavān

Translation: “Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya is the ultimate knower of the transcendental mellows of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service. He has instructed Me that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: Now Lord Caitanya is glorifying Rāmānanda Rāya saying how he has instructed Lord Caitanya on the essence of transcendental mellows and how he had instructed that Kṛṣṇa alone is the Supreme Person. So, we see Lord Caitanya, He presents His different devotees, some are śūdras, brāhmaṇas, they are in different material situations, but they all know the science of bhakti-yoga and they are extremely well-versed in bhakti-yoga. So, this must be very surprising to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, how Lord Caitanya is glorying all these other devotees, so this is Lord Caitanya's special pastime.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.24

(b) ‘prayojana’-tattvavettā, (c) ‘abhidheya’-tattvavettā:—

tāte prema-bhakti—‘puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi’
rāga-mārge prema-bhakti ’sarvādhika’ jāni

Translation: “Through the mercy of Rāmānanda Rāya, I have understood that ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest goal of life and that spontaneous love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection.

Purport: Puruṣārtha (“the goal of life”) generally refers to religion, economic development, satisfaction of the senses and, finally, liberation. However, above these four kinds of puruṣārthas, love of Godhead stands supreme. It is called parama-puruṣārtha (the supreme goal of life) or puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi (the most exalted of all puruṣārthas). Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by regulative devotional service, but the highest perfection of devotional service is spontaneous love of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rāmānanda Rāya is being glorfied as the knower of the Supreme goal of life. Normally one considers dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa as the four puruṣārtha. Lord Caitanya was taught by Rāmānanda Rāya that the supreme puruṣārtha beyond these four is love of Kṛṣṇa. So, through this instruction Lord Caitanya is saying how love of Kṛṣṇa is the supreme goal of life.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.25

(d) ‘rasa’-tattvavettā; kṛṣṇapremādhikya-hetu madhura-rasera sarvaśreṣṭhatā:—

dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, āra ye śṛṅgāra
dāsa, sakhā, guru, kāntā,—‘āśraya’ yāhāra

Translation: “The servant, friend, superior and conjugal lover are the shelters of the transcendental mellows called dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and śṛṅgāra.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is going directly to describing the highest mellows of spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.26

madhura-rase dvividhāvṛtti,—(a) pure ‘aiśvaryamiśrā’, (b) vraje ‘kevalā'; yaśodānandana vrajera pārakīyā kevalāvṛttitei labhya, svakīyā ‘aiśvaryamiśrāya’ nahe:—

‘aiśvarya-jñāna-yukta’, ‘kevala’-bhāva āra
aiśvarya-jñāne nā pāi vrajendra-kumāra

Translation: “There are two kinds of emotion [bhāva]. Emotion with an understanding of the Lord’s full opulences is called aiśvarya-jñāna-yukta, and pure, uncontaminated emotion is called kevala. One cannot achieve shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, simply by knowing His opulences.

Purport: Vide Madhya-līlā, chapter nineteen, text 192.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is glorifying pure love of Godhead and the different levels and especially the conjugal level. There are two levels, one who knows the opulences of Kṛṣṇa and one more is that they just love Kṛṣṇa, His being the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not important, they love Him for what He is.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.27

śrīmad-bhāgavate (10/9/21) —

nāyaṁ sukhāpo bhagavān dehināṁ gopikā-sutaḥ
jñānināṁ cātma-bhūtānāṁyathā bhakti-matām iha

Translation: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā, is accessible to those devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.’

Purport:This verse is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.21).

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda was teaching how to serve the Lord with spontaneous loving devotion, and in this way one can achieve the Lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya is giving out this pure love of Kṛṣṇa without considering who is qualified and who is not qualified, He gives out the love freely.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.28

ślokera śabdārtha; rāsakrīḍāya lakṣmīra anadhikāra:—

‘ātma-bhūta’-śabde kahe ‘pāriṣada-gaṇa’
aiśvarya-jñāne lakṣmī nā pāilā vrajendra-nandana

Translation: “The word ‘ātma-bhūta’ means ‘personal associates.’ Through the understanding of the Lord’s opulence, the goddess of fortune could not receive the shelter of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

Purport: Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, has complete knowledge of Kṛṣṇa’s opulences, but she could not achieve the association of Kṛṣṇa by dint of such knowledge. The devotees in Vṛndāvana, however, actually enjoy the association of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lakṣmī-devi wanted to associate with Kṛṣṇa in rāsa-līlā but she was not allowed because her conception of Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the residents of Vraja, they serve Kṛṣṇa with spontaneous love. Therefore they were allowed to associate with Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.29

śāstra-pramāṇa: —śrīmad-bhāgavate (10/47/60) —

Translation: “ When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord’s arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?’

Purport: This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.60).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the residents of Vṛndāvana, especially the gopīs they got the blessings of Kṛṣṇa which the other consorts could not achieve.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.30

vrajavāsigaṇera sakhya o vātsalyarase kevalā vā śuddhā rāgātmikā bhakti:—

śuddha-bhāve sakhā kare skandhe ārohaṇa
śuddha-bhāve vrajeśvarī karena bandhana

Translation: “In pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a friend mounts the shoulder of Kṛṣṇa, and mother Yaśodā binds the Lord.

Purport: Śuddha-bhāva, pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is not dependent on an understanding of the Lord’s opulences. Even without such opulences, the devotee in śuddha-bhāva is inclined to love Kṛṣṇa as a friend or son.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the friends and the parents of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa as a friend or son, they don’t think about his opulence. They have pure affection for him, that was the special quality of Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.31

‘mora sakhā’, ‘mora putra’,—ei ‘śuddha’ mana
ataeva śuka-vyāsa kare praśaṁsana

Translation: “In pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without knowledge of the Lord’s opulences, a devotee considers Kṛṣṇa his friend or son. Therefore this devotional attitude is praised even by Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Vyāsadeva, the supreme authority.

? Jayapatākā Swami: So, in the material world rich man wonders whether people like him for his money or for himself. Kṛṣṇa being the all-powerful, the Supreme Personality of Godhead He gives the blessing that people can have pure love for Him which is not dependent on His opulence, that He enjoys more.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.32

śāstra pramāṇa:—
śrīmad-bhāgavate (10/12/11)—

Translation: “Neither those who are engaged in self-realization, appreciating the Brahman effulgence of the Lord, nor those engaged in devotional service while accepting the Supreme Personality of Godhead as master, nor those who are under the clutches of māyā, thinking the Lord an ordinary person, can understand that certain exalted personalities, after accumulating volumes of pious activities, are now playing with the Lord in friendship as cowherd boys.’

Purport: By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupāda This verse is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.12.11).

Jayapatākā Swami: The hari-dhāma or Vaikuṇṭha the devotees there know that the Supreme Lord is all-powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead so their love is with this understanding of Kṛṣṇa's opulence, but the cowherd boys in Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa as their friend, they don’t know other things.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.33

śrīmad-bhāgavate (10/8/45) —

Translation: “When mother Yaśodā saw all the universes within Kṛṣṇa’s mouth, she was astonished for the time being. The Lord is worshiped like Indra and other demigods by the followers of the three Vedas, who offer Him sacrifices. He is worshiped as impersonal Brahman by saintly persons who understand His greatness through studying the Upaniṣads, as the puruṣa by great philosophers who analytically study the universe, as the all-pervading Supersoul by great yogīs, and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotees. Nevertheless, mother Yaśodā considered the Lord her own son.’

Purport: This verse is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.8.45).

Jayapatākā Swami: This shows how the different personalities have different views of Kṛṣṇa. Yaśoda devi in Vṛndāvana, she only knows Kṛṣṇa as her son, that’s the pure love in vātsalya-rasa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.34

śrīmad-bhāgavate (10/8/46) —

Translation: “ O brāhmaṇa, what pious activities did Nanda Mahārāja perform to receive the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa as his son? And what pious activities did mother Yaśodā perform that made the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa call her “Mother” and suck her breasts?’

Purport: This verse is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.8.46).

Jayapatākā Swami: This shows how Vraja-prema is so special. The parents and friends and lovers of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, they have the pure love for Kṛṣṇa without the opulence affecting their love.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 7.35

vrajera ‘kevala’-bhāve aiśvarya-jñānābhāva, ataeva ‘kevala’-bhāvera sarvaśreṣṭhatva:

aiśvarya dekhileha ‘śuddhera’ nahe aiśvarya jñāna
ataeva aiśvarya ha-ite ‘kevala’-bhāva pradhāna

Translation: “Even if a pure devotee sees the opulence of Kṛṣṇa, he does not accept it. Therefore pure consciousness is more exalted than consciousness of the Lord’s opulence.

Jayapatākā Swami: Having pure affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa is superior to just appreciating the opulences.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Pride of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa Was Cut Down as He Heard the Preaching by Lord Caitanya, Part 1
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa 

Lord Caitanya is describing to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa regarding the love of Vṛndāvana-dhāma. That can be achieved only when one awakens their natural love and affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa!