20231128 Chapter 7 Firm Devotion to the Worshipable Object (Part 3)

The following is a Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, on November 28th,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!

Today we will be continuing with comentation of the Sri Chaitanya Chandrāmṛtam Chapter 7.

upāsya-niṣṭhā – Firm devotion to the worshipable object

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.63

gaura-pādapadme niṣṭhā—

Fixed faith in the lotus feet of Gaura

yat tad vadantu śāstrāṇi
yat tad vyākhyāntu tārkikāḥ
jīvanaṁ mama caitanya-
pādāmbhoja-sudhaiva tu

Śāstrasakala yāhā icchā, tāhāi baluna, tārkika paṇḍitagaṇao tāṅhādera yatheccha-vyākhyā karuna; kintu ekamātra śrī-caitanya-caraṇābja-sudhāi āmāra jīvana.

Translation (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Śrīla Prabhupāda): Whatever is the desire of all the scriptures, let them say that and let the scholarly logicians explain sufficiently whatever they desire but only the honey from the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya alone is my life.

Jayapatākā Swami: So normally there are many processes followed in the Vedas but taking shelter of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet is the most efficient. Lord Caitanya He is giving pure love of Kṛṣṇa, simply by following Lord Caitanya. So, the author, he describes this nectar coming from Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet as honey and he is firmly convinced that this honey from Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet is the real nectar that we are looking for.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.64

gaura-pādapadme gāḍha anurāga

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.64

Deep attachment for the lotus feet of Gaura

patanti yadi siddhayaḥ kara-tale svayaṁ durlabhāḥ
svayaṁ ca yadi sevakī-bhavitum āgatāḥ syuḥ surāḥ
kim anyad idam eva vā yadi caturbhujaṁ syād vapus
tathāpi mama no manāk calati gauracandrān manaḥ

Aṇimādi ati-durllabha siddhisakalao yadi svayaṁ āsiyā hastāmalaka haya, yadi samasta devatāgaṇa dāsatva karibāra janya svayaṁo āsiyā upasthita han; adhika ki, yadi vā āmāra ei dehai caturbhuja haya, tathāpi āmāra citta śrī-gauracandra haite kiñcinmātrao vicalita haibe nā৷

Even if the very rare yogic perfections headed by aṇimā, personally come and fall and be situated on my palms, even if the demigods come personally to become servants and furthermore even if this body becomes four-handed, still my mind will never slightly move away from Gauracandra.

Jayapatākā Swami: Gauracandra ki jaya! So, he is determined to have pure devotion for Lord Caitanya. No matter what happens. He may get all mystic powers, he may have four hands, but he is still fixed on Lord Caitanya. So, he is declaring that in his mind he will not even slightly move away from Lord Gauracandra.

Gauranga !

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.65

gaura-vimukha asuragaṇera saṅga parityāga

Giving up the association of the demons averse to Gaura

vāso me varam astu ghora-dahana-jvālāvalī-pañjare
śrī-caitanya-padāravinda-vimukhair mā kutracit saṅgamaḥ
vaikuṇṭhādi-padaṁ svayaṁ ca militaṁ no me mano lipsate
pādāmbhoja-rajaś-chaṭā yadi manāk gaurasya no rasyate

Bhayaṅkara agni-jvālā-pūrṇa piñjareo yadi āmāke vāsa karite haya, tabe tāhāo śreyaḥ, kintu konakāleo yena āmāra śrī-caitanya-padāravinda-vimukha-janera saṅga nā haya. Yadi śrī-gaura-pāda-padma-parāga-rāgera chaṭāra kiñcinmātrao āsvādana nā pāya, tabe āmāra citta sādhanādi binā svayaṁ-āgata vaikuṇṭhādi padao abhilāṣa kare nā৷

If I have to reside in a cage filled with fearful blazing flames of fire, then even that is better; but let me not have to meet persons averse to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. If I do not get to taste even a little of the pollens from the lotus feet of Gaura, then my mind does not desire even the abode of Vaikuṇṭha which comes personally without sādhanā.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the author, he wants to have a little mercy from Caitanya Mahāprabhu and even if he gets liberation or anything else, he won’t be happy. He wants to have Lord Gaurāṅga’s lotus feet. So, the devotees of Lord Gaurāṅga should be so fixed up that without Lord Gaurāṅga’s lotus foot dust they cannot survive. They want to receive the lotus foot dust of Lord Gaurāṅga! This is a very special stage to want to be fixed in Lord Caitanya’s lotus foot dust. That they understand that without the mercy of Lord Caitanya one doesn’t have anything valuable. So, he is praying that he wants the mercy of Lord Caitanya and he doesn’t want to associate with people who are averse to Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.66

gaura-pādapadma-vyatīta bhukti-mukti-siddhi atituccha

Without the lotus feet of Gaura, material enjoyment, liberation and yogic perfections are very insignificant

āstāṁ nāma mahān mahān iti varaṁ sarva-kṣamā-maṇḍale
loke vā prakaṭāstu nāma mahatī siddhiś camatkāriṇī
kāmaṁ cāru-caturbhujatvam ayatām ārādhya viśveśvaraṁ
ceto me bahu-manyate na hi na hi śrī-gaura-bhaktiṁ vinā

Samagra pṛthvīmaṇḍale ‘mahat’ ‘mahat’ baliyāi āmāra khyāti hauka, athavā bhūtale cirasthāyinī alaukikī siddhii āvirbhūta hauk, kimba. Viśveśvara viṣṇura ārādhanā kariyā svābhīṣṭa kamanīya caturbhujatvai lābha hauka, kintu gaura-bhakti vyatīta āmāra mana kakhanai ai sakalake bahumānana kare nā, kakhanai bahumānana kare nā৷

Let me famous in the whole as, ‘great personality,great personality,’ or let the uncommon yogic perfections descend, or by worshiping the Lord of the world, Viṣṇu, I may attain the desirable four-handed form, but all these are not given much honor, certainly is not given much honor by mind, without devotional service to Gaura.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, he was getting the mercy of Lord Viṣṇu, but he considered that as being insignificant. Without the mercy of Lord Caitanya, other mercies are not very important. So he is fixing his mind, his consciousness on Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the mind maybe attracted by all these things, but if there is no devotion for Lord Caitanya, that is not of any use.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam Chapter 7.67

gaura-bhaktera prārthanā—

caitanyeti kṛpāmayeti paramodāreti nānā-vidha-
premāveśita-sarva-bhūta-hṛdayetyāścarya-dhāmann iti
gauraṅgeti guṇārṇaveti rasa-rūpeti sva-nāma-priye
tyaśrāntaṁ mama jalpato janir iyaṁ yāyād iti prārthaye

He sarva-bhūtacittākarṣaka,’ ‘he saccidānanda-vigraha caitanyacandra,’ ‘he dayānidhe, ‘he mahā-vadānya,’ ‘he nānāvidha-premāveśita-sarva-bhūtahṛdaya,’ (arthāt yini dāsakhyādi vividha preme sarva-bhūta-hṛdayake āviṣṭa karena), “he tapta-kāñcanera nyāya parama camatkāra kāntidhārina,’ ‘he gaura-tanu-śrī-hari,' ‘he kalyāṇa-guṇa-bāridhe,’ ‘he vipralambha-rasera mūrta-vigraha, ‘he svanāma-priya,’— eirūpa nāma kīrtana karite karite āmāra ei janma ativāhita hauka, ihāi ekamātra prārthanā৷

My only prayer is that I spend my life in chanting your names such as these: Oh attracter of the consciousness of all living entities! Oh merciful! Oh most magnanimous! Oh fullfiler of the hearts of all living entities with the transcendental humor of servitude, friendship, parental affection or conjugal love! Oh very wonderful-complexioned like the molten gold! Oh Gaurāṅga! Oh ocean of auspicious qualities! Oh personified form of the mellow of separation (vipralambha rasa)! Oh who is fond of His name!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is described here as the personified form of separation, vipralambha. By thinking always of the Lord in vipralambha, in separation, one can always be with the Lord. And by Lord Caitanya’s mercy he would be fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. So, if this is so then he or she is completely fixed on Lord Kṛṣṇa’s separation. So, this way, one can be always fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Although they are fixed in the different rasas of Lord Caitanya, they are always thinking about Lord Caitanya. So, this was the process of separation, that the devotees are always thinking of Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa at all times, and this is something that everyone should be fixed in. And we take the shelter of Lord Caitanya and fix ourselves in that.

So, here it says to fix our consciousness on the separation of the Lord. The Lord likes His holy name. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!