20231211 Chapter 9 Śrī-caitanyotkarṣatā (Part 2)

The following is a Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, on December 11th,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!

Chapter Nine: 
Śrī-caitanyotkarṣatā —Śrī Caitanya’s excellence

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 103

ativikrama, tejaḥ, kānti, snigdhatā, gatimādhurya o aiśvarya-pradarśana-pūrvaka gauraharira utkarṣatā varṇana—

Description of the excellence of Gaurahari by His exhibition of great prowess, splendor, effulgence, gentleness, sweetness in movement and opulence

mādyat-koṭi-mṛgendra-huṅkṛti-ravas tigmāṁśu-koṭi-cchaviḥ
koṭīndūdbhaṭa-śītalo gati-jita-pronmatta-koṭi-dvipaḥ
nāmnā durgata-koṭi-niṣkṛti-karo brahmādi-koṭīśvaraḥ
koṭy-advaita-śiro-maṇir vijayate śrī-śrī-śacīnandanaḥ

Anuvāda: Koṭi mattakeśarīra huṅkārera nyāya gambhīra svarayukta, koṭi sūrya apekṣāo tejomaya kāntidhārī, koṭi candra apekṣāo adhika suśītala, koṭi mattagajendra gamana apekṣā sundara gativiśiṣṭa, ‘harekṛṣṇa’-prabhṛti nāma-saṅkīrtana dvārā koṭi durddaśāgrasta vyaktira nistāraka, koṭi brahmādirao īśvara, koṭi advaitavādigaṇera upāsya, nirviśeṣa-brahmera parama parākāṣṭhā parama brahmasvarūpa arthāt advayajñānera pūrṇapratīti-svarūpa śrī-śrī-śacīnandana viśeṣarūpe jayayukta hauna.

Translation: Whose sound is like the roaring of crores of mad lions, who has the effulgence more than that of crores of suns, more cooling than crores of moons, whose walking gait is more beautiful than crores of mad-elephants’ movements, who is the deliverer of crores of distressed people, who is the controller of crores Brahmās, who is worshipable by crores and crores of Advaita-vādīs and who is the form of parama-brahma, the supreme zenith of nirviśeṣa-brahma, i.e. who is seen as the complete form of transcendental knowledge beyond duality, let that Śrī Śacīnandana be victorious.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Jaya! Gaurāṅga! I was thinking that how Kṛṣṇa comes down and He acts like a human being. Some people have some association with Him, especially the Vrajavāsīs, Mathuravāsīs and Dvārakāvāsīs. Lord Caitanya, He is also Krsna, but Kṛṣṇa did not hide it but Lord Caitanya hid it. You see, in the parikramā around the Deities downstairs, there is the saṅkīrtana party, Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, Gadādhara, Advaita and Śrīvāsa. Actually, He is Kṛṣṇa but He is mixing with all the people of Kali-yuga and His purpose was to deliver the sinners. In Kali-yuga, nobody can say they are free of all sins. So here the author is giving some of the qualities of Lord Caitanya which are very exceptional, very wonderful and how during His pastimes, He was present with all the people, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda brought that chanting to us, all over the world, so, He was especially empowered by Lord Caitanya so, such an experience of chanting with Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana movement, in the 11th canto it is said that those who are intelligent, they would follow Lord Caitanya. Śrī Śacīnandana ki jaya!

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 104

hṛdayera andhakāra-nāśaka nigūḍha prema rasāsvādana-mārga-prakāśaka gaurapradīpa

The Gaura (Lord Caitanya) pradīpa (light) destroys heart’s darkness and illuminates the path of relishing the mellow.

yo mārgo dūra-śūnyo bata iha balavat-kaṇṭako yoti-durgo
mithyārtha-bhrāmako yaḥ sapadi rasamayānanda-niḥsyandako yaḥ
sadyaḥ pradyotayaṁs taṁ prakaṭita-mahimā snehavān hṛd-guhāyāḥ
kopy antar dhvānta-hantā sa jayati navadvīpa-dīpyat-pradīpaḥ

Anuvāda: Ye bhaktimārga prākṛta-buddhira agocara evaṁ karmādira nyāya bāhyāḍamvaraśūnya, hāya! Yāhā śuṣkajñāna o karmāgrarūpa kaṇṭake avaruddha sutarāṁ atiśaya durgama, yāhā mithyāviṣaye satyatvarūpe bhramotpādaka evaṁ āśupremānandarasa-pravāhaka, sei bhakti-mārgake yini sadya uddīpta kariyā cittaguhāra antaḥsthalīya ajñānāndhakāra vināśa karena evaṁ yini bhakti-mahimā-prakaṭakārī, sei sneha-pūrṇa navadvīpa-pradīpa kona eka anirvacanīya puruṣa jayayukta haun.

Translation: The path of devotional service is beyond the perception of material intelligence and devoid of unpretentious external material activities, alas!, and is covered by the thorns in the form of dry knowledge and eagerness for the performance of compulsory (nitya) and occasional [naimittika] and therefore is very difficult to enter, which creates illusion of knowing untruth to be as true and quickly showers the happiness of loving mellow. Having immediately illuminated that path of devotional service, he who has destroyed the darkness of illusion in the cave of the heart and who manifests the glory of bhakti, that affectionate light shining in Navadvīpa, a certain indescribable person be victorious.

Jayapatākā Swami: So here Lord Gaurāṅga is described as an indescribable person. That bhakti, the happiness of devotional service is beyond the mind and senses. Here in the room behind us, in 1972 or ‘73 I had a very high fever. It was very high - 105 or something, my whole body was in pain. I was listening to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lecture on Nectar of Devotion that he gave in Vṛndāvana, and I was feeling so much happiness. So, I realized I am not the body, my body is suffering but I am feeling so ecstatic hearing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lecture. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki ! Jay! Haribol! So somehow Lord Caitanya, He takes the light of bhakti and lights up our heart. This is the glory of bhakti and this is the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 105

dūrād eva dahan kutarka-salabhān koṭīndu saṁśītalo
jyotiḥ-kandala-sadma-san-madhurimā bāhyāntara-dhvānta-hṛt
sa-snehāśaya-varti-divya-visarat-tejāḥ suvarṇa-dyutiḥ
kāruṇyād iha jājvalīti sa navadvīpa-pradīpo’dbhutaḥ

Anuvāda: Ye aprākṛta-pradīpa dūra haitei kutarkarūpa pataṅgasamūhake dagdha karitechena, yāhā koṭi candra apekṣāo suśītala o jyotiḥ - puñjera āvāsasthala, atiśaya snigdha, bāhyābhyantarera andhakāra-nāśaka, snehayukta antaḥkaraṇarūpa varttikā haite yāṅhāra divyatejo vinirgata haiteche evaṁ yāṅhāra kānti suvarṇera nyāya, sei navadvīpa-pradīpa (gaurasundara) kṛpāpūrvaka ei prapañce dīpti pāitechena.

Translation: The transcendental light which even from far a distance only, is burning useless arguments like moths, is more cooling than crores of moons and is the residence of abundant light,is very gentle, is the destroyer of darkness outside and inside, whose beautiful radiance is emanating from the wick of affectionate heart and whose complexion like gold, that light of Navadvīpa (Gaurasundara) is transcendentally shining in this world out of compassion.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya He manifested in Navadvīpa out of compassion. He didn’t have anything to gain here. He just came to give out mercy! And He was giving the saṅkīrtana yajña, He was giving people the taste of the super excellent taste of the mellow of bhakti. And He had a golden complexion like Rādhārāṇī, He was Kṛṣṇa who took the color and mood of Rādhārāṇī. So, He wanted to give out this special mercy. So, maybe it is very difficult for us to understand how wonderful it is that Kṛṣṇa had come as Lord Caitanya! And how He would come and mix with the devotees and chant Hare Krsna. Even when the devas saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead dancing, chanting, crying, Indra deva, Vāyu-deva, all the devas, they fainted! It was so wonderful! The unapproachable Supreme Personality of Godhead who lives in the milk ocean known as Śvetadvīpa, He comes down and is chanting, dancing and experiencing ecstasy. So, they took human form and they joined the kīrtana. How wonderful it is that Lord Caitanya, He came to this world to give out Kṛṣṇa-prema! He did something in South India, He did not do in Navadvīpa. When He would walk on the road as a sannyāsī, He would see someone walking the other way, He would go and embrace them and they would feel ecstasy being embraced by Lord Caitanya. So, Lord Caitanya was, He did not have discretion, like sometimes we have book distributor who think oh, he will take, he won’t take, but Lord Caitanya didn’t consider who is qualified, who is not, this one will take, this one will not – He gave it to everybody, EVERYBODY! So, this is a special quality of Lord Caitanya, to give out the mercy to everyone. Śrīla Prabhupāda took His mercy and distributed that in America, Europe, Russia and Kaśādeśa.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 106

vibhāvādi sāttvika-bhāva-śobhita gaurahari

Gaurahari is beautiful with vibhāva (the basis of ecstatic love), anubhāva (the symptoms of ecstasy), sattvika-bhāva (ecstatic manifestations), and vyabhicārī (disturbing ecstatic symptoms)

cītkārair daśa-diṅ-mukhaṁ mukharayan attatta-hāsa-cchaṭā-
vīcībhiḥ sphuṭa-kunda-kairava-gaṇa-prodbhāsi kurvan nabhaḥ
sarvāṅgaṁ pavanoccala-ccaladala-prāya-prakampaṁ dadhan
mattaḥ prema-rasonmadāpluta-gatir gauro hariḥ śobhate

Anuvāda: Harṣavviṣāde atyanta utkaṇṭhita haiyā, ucca śabde daśadik pratidhvanita karite karite, aṭṭa aṭṭa hāsyacchaṭāla-harī dvārā vikasita kunda o kumuda-kusumera nyāya gagana-maṇḍala parama ujjvala karite karite, vāyucālita cañcala aśvatthatarura nyāya prakampita aṅgasamūha dhāraṇapūrvaka premarasottha harṣagarvādimade uddaṇḍa nṛtyaśīla matta gaurahari sarvotkarṣera sahita virāja karitechena.

Translation: Filling the ten directions by the echoes of loud shouting due to being greatly anxious due to joy and sorrow, greatly brightening the sky just like the blossoming kunda (jasmine) and kumuda (white lotus) flowers by the waves of the splendor of loud laughter, holding all the trembling limbs like the wind-driven banyan tree (aśvattha) and jumping high and dancing due to the various symptoms of love such as pride, joy and so on, maddened Gaurahari is super excellently present.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes while chanting Gaurahari would laugh very loudly, it’s called attahāsa. He would jump high, sometimes He would fall down. He was manifesting ecstasies which are indescribable. Not that He was just, He was actually experiencing those ecstasies and those who were fortunate enough in chanting with Him, they also experienced it. Also like some devotees, they dance and chant like a mad person but they are not thinking about what others are thinking. Sometimes Lord Caitanya would be experiencing different kinds of ecstasies. In Navadvīpa, He was listening to Murāri Gupta chanting the Sahasranāma of Lord Viṣṇu. When he chanted Narsiṁha’s names, Lord Gaurāṅga grabbed a stick and ran out on the street and He cried: “Where are the demons? Where are the demons? I will kill them!” People were frightened and they ran away. Then Lord Caitanya thought, Oh, I scared the people! But Śrīvāsa had seen all this, he told Him You did not scare them, You liberated them! By seeing You they are definitely liberated! Then also, Murāri Gupta, he read the pastime of Varāhadeva. And Lord Caitanya, He manifested hooves from His body. If someone said I am God, you can say, ok, show me your universal form or just say, show me some hooves! Ha! Ha! and Lord Caitanya He took the form of Varāhadeva and running around with His hooves. So Lord Caitanya, in His manifestation of ecstasies He would do some amazing things. We are all very fortunate that we are all staying in Navadvīpa and here Lord Caitanya, for 24 years, He manifested ecstatic pastimes and various symptoms. Hare Kṛṣṇa!