20230719 Will Destroy the Threefold Miseries, and the Unhappiness of False Arguments as Well, Part 2

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 19th, 2023 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 Krishna! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Today's chapter is entitled as:

Phalaśruti – Will Destroy the Threefold Miseries, and the Unhappiness of False Arguments as Well, Part 2
Under the section: The Inconceivable Behavior of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.96

gopīcittonmādī kṛṣṇāṅgagandha :—

hare nārīra tanu-mana, nāsā kare ghūrṇana,
khasāya nīvi, chuṭāya keśa-bandha
kariyā āge bāurī, nācāya jagat-nārī,
hena ḍākātiyā kṛṣṇāṅga-gandha

Translation: “The scent of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body is so attractive that it enchants the bodies and minds of all women. It bewilders their nostrils, loosens their belts and hair, and makes them madwomen. All the women of the world come under its influence, and therefore the scent of Kṛṣṇa’s body is like a plunderer.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rādhārāṇī is glorifying Kṛṣṇa for His being the object of mādhurya-rasa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.97

kṛṣṇāṅgagandha-āsvādanārtta gopīcitta :—

sei gandha-vaśa nāsā, sadā kare gandhera āśā,
kabhu pāya, kabhu nāhi pāya

pāile piyā peṭa bhare, piṅa piṅa tabu kare,
nā pāile tṛṣṇāya mari’ yāya

Translation: “Falling completely under its influence, the nostrils yearn for it continuously, although sometimes they obtain it and sometimes not. When they do they drink their fill, though they still want more and more, but if they don’t, out of thirst they die.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa’s bodily aroma is such that His devotees in mādhurya-rasa, they always want to smell the Lord’s transcendental fragrance.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.98

citrajalpokti:—

madana-mohana-nāṭa, pasāri gandhera hāṭa,
jagan-nārī-grāhake lobhāya
vinā-mūlye deya gandha, gandha diyā kare andha,
ghara yāite patha nāhi pāya”

Translation: “The dramatic actor Madana-mohana has opened a shop of scents that attract the women of the world to be His customers. He delivers the scents freely, but they make the women all so blind they cannot find the path returning home.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa in His pastime, He distributes His personal bodily scent and as a result, the ladies are so intoxicated that they cannot find their way home!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.99

prabhura unmādāvasthā :—

ei-mata gaurahari, gandhe kaila mana curi,
bhṛṅga-prāya iti-uti dhāya

yāya vṛkṣa-latā-pāśe, kṛṣṇa sphure—sei āśe,
kṛṣṇa nā pāya, gandha-mātra pāya

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His mind thus stolen by the scent of Kṛṣṇa’s body, ran here and there like a bumblebee. He ran to the trees and plants, hoping that Lord Kṛṣṇa would appear, but instead He found only that scent.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya, He was trying to see Kṛṣṇa again in this Jagannātha Vallabha Garden but all that He could find was the scent of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.100

svarūpa o rāyera ceṣṭāya prabhura vāhyadaśāya āgamana

svarūpa-rāmānanda gāya, prabhu nāce, sukha pāya,
ei-mate prātaḥ-kāla haila

svarūpa-rāmānanda-rāya, kari nānā upāya,
mahāprabhura bāhya-sphūrti kaila

Translation: Both Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāmānanda Rāya sang to the Lord, who danced and enjoyed happiness until the morning arrived. Then the Lord’s two associates devised a plan to bring Him to external consciousness.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.101

prabhura mātṛbhakti-pradarśana, kṛṣṇa-virahe udghūrṇā-citrajalpa varṇita :—

mātṛ-bhakti, pralāpana, bhittye mukha-gharṣaṇa,
kṛṣṇa-gandha-sphūrtye divya-nṛtya

ei cāri-līlā-bhede, gāila ei paricchede,
kṛṣṇadāsa rūpa-gosāñi-bhṛtya

Translation: Thus, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, the servant of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, have sung of four divisions of the Lord’s pastimes in this chapter: the Lord’s devotion to His mother, His words of madness, His rubbing His face against the walls at night, and His dancing at the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s fragrance.

Purport: Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that he has been able to describe these four pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by the blessings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī was not actually a direct disciple of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, but he followed the instructions given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. He therefore acted according to the directions of Rūpa Gosvāmī and prayed in every chapter for his mercy.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, someone asked yesterday how we can follow the vapu-sevā of the spiritual master? Here we see that Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja is not a direct disciple of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. He read the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the Nectar of Devotion, and he by following the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, he was following Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. So, it is possible to follow the instructions of the previous ācāryas by simply following the books they wrote, by following the instructions they gave.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.102

ei-mata mahāprabhu pāñā cetana
snāna kari’ kaila jagannātha-daraśana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus returned to external consciousness. He then bathed and went to see Lord Jagannātha.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya when He saw Kṛṣṇa, smelt the fragrance of Kṛṣṇa’s body, then He became absorbed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. But Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya resolved a plan to bring Him to external consciousness and when the Lord came to external consciousness and took His bath, then He could be talked to.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.103

aprākṛta adhokṣaja kṛṣṇa o kārṣṇa-līlā—

akṣaja jñānī jaḍa-vidyā-matta paṇḍitābhimānī tarkapanthīra agamyā :—

alaukika kṛṣṇa-līlā, divya-śakti tāra
tarkera gocara nahe caritra yāhāra

Translation: The pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are uncommonly full of transcendental potency. It is a characteristic of such pastimes that they do not fall within the jurisdiction of experimental logic and arguments.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are transcendental and Lord Caitanya was able to understand these pastimes about Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.104

ei prema sadā jāge yāhāra antare
paṇḍiteha tāra ceṣṭā bujhite nā pāre

Translation: When transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa awakens in someone’s heart, even a learned scholar cannot comprehend his activities.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya when He would be absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa, no one could understand Him because His manifestation was completely transcendental.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.105

bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.4.17)—

Translation: “The activities and symptoms of that exalted personality in whose heart love of Godhead has awakened cannot be understood even by the most learned scholar.”

Purport: This verse is quoted from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.4.17).

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.106

aprākṛta śraddhāra sahita prabhura adhokṣaja-līlāya. viśvāsa saṃsthāpanārtha anurodha :—

alaukika prabhura ‘ceṣṭā’, ‘pralāpa’ śuniyā
tarka nā kariha, śuna viśvāsa kariyā

Translation: The activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are undoubtedly uncommon, especially His talking like a madman. Therefore, one who hears of these pastimes should not put forward mundane arguments. He should simply hear the pastimes with full faith.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, So, in this way, He is advising how we can understand the full love of Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.107

bhramaragītāya śrī-rādhāra pralāpa o mahiṣīgaṇera gīte daśaprakāra citrajalpokti :—

ihāra satyatve pramāṇa śrī-bhāgavate
śrī-rādhāra prema-pralāpa ‘bhramara-gītā’te

Translation: The evidence of the truth of these talks is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There, in the section of the Tenth Canto known as the Bhramara-gīta, “The Song to the Bumblebee,” Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī speaks insanely in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: When Uddhava arrived from Mathurā carrying a message for the gopīs, the gopīs began talking about Kṛṣṇa and crying. Then Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī saw a bumblebee and began speaking to it like someone mad, thinking that the bee was a messenger of Uddhava’s or was someone very dear to him and Kṛṣṇa.

The verses are as follows (Bhāg. 10.47.12-21):

“My dear bumblebee, you are a very cunning friend of Uddhava and Kṛṣṇa. You are very expert in touching people’s feet, but I am not going to be misled by this. You appear to have sat on the breasts of one of Kṛṣṇa’s friends, for I see that you have kuṅkuma dust on your mustache. Kṛṣṇa is now engaged in flattering all His young girlfriends in Mathurā. Therefore, now that He can be called a friend of the residents of Mathurā, He does not need the help of the residents of Vṛndāvana. He has no reason to satisfy us gopīs. Since you are the messenger of such a person as He, what is the use of your presence here? Certainly Kṛṣṇa would be ashamed of your presence in this assembly.”

How has Kṛṣṇa offended the gopīs so that they want to reject Him from their minds?

The answer is given as follows:

“Kṛṣṇa no longer gives us the enchanting nectar of His lips; instead, He now gives that nectar to the women of Mathurā. Kṛṣṇa directly attracts our minds, yet He resembles a bumblebee like you because He gives up the association of a beautiful flower and goes to a flower that is inferior. That is the way Kṛṣṇa has treated us. I do not know why the goddess of fortune continues to serve His lotus feet instead of leaving them aside. Apparently she believes in Kṛṣṇa’s false words. We gopīs, however, are not unintelligent like Lakṣmī.”

After hearing the bumblebee’s sweet songs and recognizing that the bee was singing about Kṛṣṇa for Her satisfaction, the gopī replied:

“Dear bumblebee, Lord Kṛṣṇa has no residence here, but we know Him as Yadupati [the King of the Yadu dynasty]. We know Him very well, and therefore we are not interested in hearing any more songs about Him. It would be better for you to go sing to those who are now very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Those women of Mathurā have now achieved the opportunity of being embraced by Him. They are His beloveds now, and therefore He has relieved the burning in their breasts. If you go there and sing your songs to those fortunate women, they will be very pleased, and they will honor you.”

“O collector of honey, Kṛṣṇa must be very sorry not to see us gopīs. Surely He is afflicted by memories of our pastimes. Therefore He has sent you as a messenger to satisfy us. Do not speak to us! All the women in the three worlds where death is inevitable — the heavenly, middle and lower planets — are very easily available to Kṛṣṇa because His curved eyebrows are so attractive. Moreover, He is always served very faithfully by the goddess of fortune. In comparison with her, we are most insignificant. Indeed, we are nothing. Yet although He is very cunning, Kṛṣṇa is also very charitable. You may inform Him that He is praised for His kindness to unfortunate persons and that He is therefore known as Uttamaśloka, one who is praised by chosen words and verses.”

“You are buzzing at My feet just to be forgiven for your past offenses. Kindly go away from My feet! I know that Mukunda has taught you to speak very sweet, flattering words like this and to act as His messenger. These are certainly clever tricks, My dear bumblebee, but I can understand them. This is Kṛṣṇa’s offense. Do not tell Kṛṣṇa what I have said, although I know that you are very envious. We gopīs have given up our husbands, our sons and all the religious principles that promise better births, and now we have no business other than serving Kṛṣṇa. Yet Kṛṣṇa, by controlling His mind, has easily forgotten us. Therefore, don’t speak of Him any more. Let us forget our relationship.”

“When we remember the past births of Kṛṣṇa, My dear bumblebee, we are very much afraid of Him. In His incarnation as Lord Rāmacandra, He acted just like a hunter and unjustly killed His friend Vāli. Lusty Śūrpaṇakhā came to satisfy Rāmacandra’s desires, but He was so attached to Sītādevī that He cut off Śūrpaṇakhā’s nose. In His incarnation as Vāmanadeva, He plundered Bali Mahārāja and took all his possessions, cheating him on the pretext of accepting worship from him. Vāmanadeva caught Bali Mahārāja exactly as one catches a crow. My dear bumblebee, it is not very good to make friends with such a person. I know that once one begins to talk about Kṛṣṇa, it is very difficult to stop, and I admit that I have insufficient strength to give up talking about Him.”

“Topics about Kṛṣṇa are so powerful that they destroy the four religious principles — religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. Anyone who drinks even a small drop of kṛṣṇa-kathā through aural reception is freed from all material attachment and envy. Like a bird with no means of subsistence, such a person becomes a mendicant and lives by begging. Ordinary household affairs become miserable for him, and without attachment he suddenly gives up everything. Although such renunciation is quite suitable, because I am a woman I am unable to adopt it.”

“O My dear messenger, I am just like a foolish bird that hears the sweet songs of a hunter, believes in them due to simplicity, and is then pierced in the heart and made to suffer all kinds of miseries. Because we believed in Kṛṣṇa’s words, we have suffered great pain. Indeed, the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s nails has injured our faces. He has caused us so much pain! Therefore, you should give up topics concerning Him and talk about something else.”

After hearing all these statements from Śrīmatī Rādhikā, the bumblebee left and then returned. After some thought, the gopī said:

“You are Kṛṣṇa’s very dear friend, and by His order you have come here again. Therefore you are worshipable for Me. O best of messengers, tell Me now, what is your request? What do you want? Kṛṣṇa cannot give up conjugal love, and therefore I understand that you have come here to take us to Him. But how will you do that? We know that many goddesses of fortune now reside at Kṛṣṇa’s chest, and they constantly serve Kṛṣṇa better than we can.”

Praising the bumblebee for its sobriety, She began to speak in great jubilation.

“Kṛṣṇa is now living like a gentleman at the gurukula in Mathurā, forgetting all the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. But does He not remember the sweet house of His father, Nanda Mahārāja? We are all naturally His maidservants. Does He not remember us? Does He ever speak about us, or has He forgotten us completely? Will He ever forgive us and once again touch us with those hands fragrant with the scent of aguru?”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Rādhārāṇī is talking like a mad woman to the bumblebee. And hearing Her talk like this, Uddhava became completely convinced of Her intense love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.108

nijendriyatarpaṇapara mahāmahā-akṣajajñānī paṇḍitammanya jaḍavidyā-matterao aprākṛta vipralambharasa-bodhe asāmarthya :—

mahiṣīra gīta yena ‘daśame’ra śeṣe
paṇḍite nā bujhe tāra artha-viśeṣe

Translation: The songs of the queens at Dvārakā, which are mentioned at the end of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, have a very special meaning. They are not understood even by the most learned scholars.

Purport: These songs of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are verses 15-24 of the ninetieth chapter of the Tenth Canto.

All the queens incessantly thought of Kṛṣṇa. After their pastimes in the water, the queens said, “Our dear friend the osprey, Kṛṣṇa is now asleep, but we stay awake at night because of Him. You laugh at us when you see us awake at night, but why are you not sleeping? You seem absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. Have you also been pierced by Kṛṣṇa’s smile? His smile is very sweet. One who is pierced by such an arrow is very fortunate.”

“O cakravāki, you keep your eyes wide open at night because you cannot see your friend. Indeed, you are suffering very much. Is it because of compassion that you are crying, or are you trying to capture Kṛṣṇa by remembering Him? Having been touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, all the queens are very happy. Are you crying to wear Kṛṣṇa’s garland on your head? Please answer these questions clearly, O cakravāki, so that we can understand.”

“O ocean, you have no opportunity to sleep quietly at night. Instead, you are always awake and crying. You have received this benediction, and your heart is broken just like ours. Mukunda’s business with us is simply to smear our marks of kuṅkuma. O ocean, you suffer as much as we.”

“O moon, you appear to be suffering from a severe fever, perhaps tuberculosis. Indeed, your effulgence does not have the strength to destroy the darkness. Have you become mad after hearing the songs of Kṛṣṇa? Is that why you are silent? Seeing your suffering, we feel that you are one of us.”

“O Malayan breeze, kindly tell us what wrong we have done to you. Why do you fan the flames of desire in our hearts? We have been pierced by the arrow of Govinda’s glance, for He is perfect in the art of awakening the influence of Cupid.”

“Dear cloud, O friend of Kṛṣṇa’s, are you thinking of the Śrīvatsa symbol on Kṛṣṇa’s chest like us queens engaged in loving affairs with Him? You are absorbed in meditation, remembering the association of Kṛṣṇa, and thus you shed tears of misery.”

“Dear cuckoo, you possess a very sweet voice, and you are very expert in imitating others. You could excite even a dead body with your voice. Therefore, tell the queens that good behavior is their proper duty.”

“O magnanimous mountain, you are very grave and sober, absorbed in thoughts of doing something very great. Like us, you have vowed to keep within your heart the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva.”

“O rivers, wives of the ocean, we see that the ocean does not give you happiness. Thus you have almost dried up, and you no longer bear beautiful lotuses. The lotuses have become skinny, and even in the sunshine they are devoid of all pleasure. Similarly, the hearts of us poor queens are all dried up, and our bodies are skinny because we are now devoid of loving affairs with Madhupati. Are you, like us, dry and without beauty because you are devoid of Kṛṣṇa’s loving glance?”

“O swan, you have come here so happily! Let us welcome you. We understand that you are always Kṛṣṇa’s messenger. Now while you drink this milk, tell us what His message is. Has Kṛṣṇa said something about us to you? May we inquire from you whether Kṛṣṇa is happy? We want to know. Does He remember us? We know that the goddess of fortune is serving Him alone. We are simply maidservants. How can we worship Him, who speaks sweet words but never fulfills our desires?”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the queens in Dvārakā, they also feeling great separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa.

So, it is causeless, and the gopīs of Vṛndāvana and queens of Dvaraka show the intense feelings of separation and ecstatic love they have for Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.110

prabhura kṛṣṇa-virahaja vipralambhabhāvānusaraṇei anartha-nivṛtti o kṛṣṇa-premalābha :—

śraddhā kari, śuna ihā, śunite mahā-sukha
khaṇḍibe ādhyātmikādi kutarkādi-duḥkha

Translation: Just try to hear these topics with faith, for there is great pleasure even in hearing them. That hearing will destroy all miseries pertaining to the body, mind and other living entities, and the unhappiness of false arguments as well.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, normally we understand that there are three miseries – those caused by the body, ādhyātmika; those caused by other living entities, ādibhautika; and those caused by divine, natural extremities, ādidaivika and to hear someone say false arguments is very painful. So those are also cured by hearing the different appreciations of the consorts of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 19.111

nitya navanavāyamāna hṛtkarṇarasāyana caitanya-līlāmṛta

caitanya-caritāmṛta—nitya-nūtana
śunite śunite juḍāya hṛdaya-śravaṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is ever-increasingly fresh. For one who hears it again and again, the heart and ear become pacified.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in these pastimes mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is experiencing this great separation, great love of Kṛṣṇa’s consorts for Kṛṣṇa.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Phalaśruti – Will Destroy the Threefold Miseries, and the Unhappiness of False Arguments as Well, Part 2
Under the section: The Inconceivable Behavior of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Rukmiṇī devī, She told Kṛṣṇa that You know everything except one thing. He didn’t know how much His devotees loved Him and He didn’t know in what way they loved Him. So, this Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā is expressing how the different devotees of Kṛṣṇa love Kṛṣṇa. In this way, Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself, come as His devotee, to understand the science of loving Kṛṣṇa. So, these pastimes are transcendental, they are ever fresh and by hearing them repeatedly you get purified.

Haribol!

Gaurāṅga!