20231127 Chapter 7 Firm Devotion to the Worshipable Object (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, on November 27th, 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 Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Thank you very much.Haribol! Today we will be continuing with the new chapter. Chapter is entitled: Chapter 7.

upāsya-niṣṭhā – Firm devotion to the worshipable object

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.59

ekānta kṛṣṇa-bhakterao alabhya rādhā-kṛṣṇe nigūḍha-prema caitanya-caraṇāśrayei labhya

The confidential Rādhā kṛṣṇa prema that is not attained even by the exclusive devotees of Kṛṣṇa is obtained only by the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya

īśaṁ bhajantu puruṣārtha-catuṣthayāśā
dāsā bhavantu ca vihāya harer upāsyān
kiñcid rahasya-pada-lobhita-dhīr ahaṁ tu
caitanyacandra-caraṇaṁ śaraṇaṁ karomi

Anuvāda: dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣera āśāya keha jagadīśvarera ārādhanā karena, karuna; athavā anyānya upāsyasakalake parityāga kariyā śrī-harirai ekānta dāsa ha’na, haūn. āmi kintu śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇera ye kichu ati durllabha, ati-gūḍha premarasa, tāhārai āsvādane lubdhacitta haiyā śrī-caitanyacandrera caraṇe śaraṇa grahaṇa karitechi.

Some worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, desiring the four goals of life, viz., religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, liberation. Let them do that. Or giving up other objects of worship, they become the exclusive servant of Lord Hari. Let them become. But, being greedy to taste some rare secret loving mellow of Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, I take shelter of the lotus feet of Caitanya candra.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here the special value of Lord Caitanya’s devotion, to be devoted to Lord Caitanya one gets naturally loving devotion for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. We heard how the six Gosvāmīs used to run to the Vṛndāvana forests, where is Rādhā and Mādhava? Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that they are not saying, I have Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, I have prema, they are always seeking! Lord Caitanya taught that by having a feeling of separation from Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, you could always be very close to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kaṁsā, he was Kṛṣṇa conscious, he was always thinking about Kṛṣṇa but he was thinking in a negative way. We could think about Radha and Kṛṣṇa in a positive way and in this way be always close to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So, some people, they desire liberation, they desire to get some material facilities, someone could be fixed to devotion to Śrī Hari, but he is saying by devotion to Lord Gaurāṅga he gets the secret love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So, this is something which people don’t usually understand. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.60

dehadharma, manodharmādi apaharaṇakārī śrī-gaurahari—

Gaurahari steals the activities of body, mind etc.

niṣṭhāṁ prāptā vyavahṛti-tati-laukikī vaidikī yā
yā vā lajjā prahasana-samudgāna-nāṭyotsaveṣu
ye vābhūvann ahaha sahaja-prāṇa-dehārtha-dharmā
gauraś cauraḥ sakalam aharat ko’pi me tīvra-vīryaḥ

Laukika o vaidika ye sakala vyavahāre āmāra niṣṭhā, uccahāsya, uccakīrtana o nṛtyādi-utsave ye ye lajjā evaṁ prāṇa o dehera nimittabhūta svābhāvika ye sakala dharma vidyamāna chila, konao eka amitaprabhāva gaura-vigrahadhārī caura āmāra se sakalai apaharaṇa kariyāchena.

Whatever faith I had in worldly common activities and activities prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations, my shyness in laughing loudly, chanting loudly, dancing and festivals and my natural activities related to life and body, all these were stolen by a certain golden personality with great power.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, normally, we put our priority either in the material world or in the Vedic regulations. But by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, all these attachments were stolen away. And he lost all shyness, he was laughing loudly, chanting loudly, dancing and having festivities. So, the devotees of Lord Caitanya, they lose all material attachments. They even lose spiritual attachments. They are just attached to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, they are just attached to Gaurāṅga!

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.61

bala-pūrvaka cittake svīya-pādapadme niyogakārī śrī-gaurahari

Gaurahari forcefully engages the consciousness in His lotus feet

sāndrānandojjvala-rasamaya-prema-pīyūṣa-sindhoḥ
koṭiṁ varṣan kim api karuṇā-snigdha-netrāñcalena
ko’yaṁ devaḥ kanaka-kadalī-garbha-gaurāṅga-yaṣṭis
ceto’kasmān mama nija-pade gāḍha-yuktaṁ cakāra

Karuṇāsnigdha nayana-prānta haite niviḍa-ānandojjvala-rasamaya prema-pīyūṣa-payodhikoṭi varṣaṇa karite karite kanaka-kadalī- garbhera nyāya gauravarṇa dehadhārī anirvacanīya kon līlāmaya puruṣa, akasmāt āmāra cittake tadīya caraṇāravinde gāḍhaniviṣṭa karilena?

A certain person who is beyond description, who is shining with golden limbs like a stick of golden banana calyx and who by the corners of the gentle and merciful eyes is showering nectarean ocean of love with ever new mellows of splendid intensified bliss, has suddenly strongly absorbed my consciousness unto His own lotus feet.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s effect is mentioned. That the author, he was attracted by the transcendental aspects of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus his consciousness was fully absorbed in meditating on the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. So, he said that Lord Caitanya who is beyond description, who has golden limbs, He would look from the corner of His eyes and attract the devotees. He attracts the love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, the love which was transcendental and irresistible. So, he thought that we can be absorbed in Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes by the mood of separation. So, Lord Caitanya, He was teaching us how to feel separation for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and like that, people would take the shelter of His lotus feet. So, the author, he is presenting that previously I had attachment for other things, but now by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, I simply want to have love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and I am absorbing myself in Lord Gaurahari’s lotus feet.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.62

vaikuṇṭha apekṣāo śreṣṭha prema-bhakti-pīṭha navadvīpera māhātmya—

Navadvīpa, the abode of loving devotional service is excellent than Vaikuṇṭha

svayaṁ devo yatra druta-kanaka-gauraḥ karuṇayā
mahā-premānandojjvala-rasa-vapuḥ prādurabhavat
navadvīpe tasmin pratibhavana-bhakty-utsavamaye
mano me vaikuṇṭhād api ca madhure dhāmni ramate

Galita kāñcanera nyāya gaurakānti, mahā-bhāva-rūpa-śṛṅgāra-rasa-vigraha līlāmaya bhagavān kṛpāparavaśa haiyā svayaṁ yathāra āvirbhūta haiyāchena, yathāya pratyeka bhavana prema-bhakti-devīra utsave pūrṇa, yāhā vaikuṇṭha apekṣāo adhika mādhuryamaya, sei navadvīpa-dhāme āmāra mana vihāra kariteche.

Haribol! Gaurāṅga ! Nabadvīpa Dhāma Kī ! Jaya! The place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full of pastimes, who is golden in color like molten gold and whose body is the form of conjugal mellows of mahā-bhāva, has descended by His causeless mercy, the place every home is endowed with the festivals of the goddess of loving devotional service and which is sweeter than Vaikuṇṭha, in that abode of Navadvīpa, my mind delights.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, You are all so fortunate, you are here in Navadvīpa! How the Lord with the golden color has descended from the spiritual world in Navadvīpa and His body is the reservoir of māha-bhāva, the highest level of Kṛṣṇa-prema and up to the level of bhāva there are eight step and then in Prema there are another eight steps, and māha-bhāva is eight levels. So, it says how Lord Caitanya was always in the mood of māha-bhāva , the supreme ecstasy of love for Krsna. He would be seeing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, just in the distance and He would be running after them. In many different pastimes He saw in Kṛṣṇa-prema, this is very confidential, very secret, not many people understand Kṛṣṇa’s special mādhurya-rasa, but Lord Caitanya understood. By being devoted to Him, people could achieve that confidential love. 

Actually, January to February 2024 is the inauguration of the Ayodhyā Rāma Temple. The government specifically invited ISKCON to participate in that festival. So, in the recent meeting of the ISKCON Continental Committee, the different temple presidents, they decided that ISKCON should give out three things – one thing is books, book distribution, they should especially, Māyāpur and Delhi should be responsible. And they should also give out prasāda. I think it is Mumbai and somewhere else they will be giving out prasāda. And rest of the temples would do kīrtana to show that we do kīrtana. So what do you want to do, is to sell some small books and give Bhagavad-gītā free! So you sell Rs 30 books and give a Rs. 200 book free. We don’t want to give out free books, we want people to take it seriously. But we are giving subsidized books. If anybody would like to donate books for Ayodhyā opening, then then can phone up HH Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Maharaja’s number and say that you are donating for Ayodhyā. If you want books to keep yourself and distribute, then don’t say it is for Ayodhyā. 

So yesterday morning we inaugurated the book marathon. Of course, apart from Ayodhyā we want everyone to take some pledge to take some books. What they do in Delhi, the go to each devotee, each Nāmahaṭṭa, each Bhakti-vṛkṣa, how many books are you pledging? Everybody pledges. One gentlemen an old man about 60 years he pledged 5000 Bhagavad-gītās. That’s what they do, some devotees pledge 100, some 200, just one person 5000. His tactic was he would put himself in front of the car and say I won’t move until you take the book! In Delhi that works. I don’t know here! Anyway, they are very determined. HH Bhakti Vijaya Bhagavata Maharaja said that he found out, as of now Delhi is slightly ahead. We want you all to participate so that we can Māyāpur in the Number 1 place. The abode of Navadvīpa is sweeter than Vaikuṇṭha.