20231226 Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta Chapter 1 Part 2

The following is a Śrī Caitanya-Siksamṛita class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, on December 26th,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!

Gaurāṅga! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will be continuing with part 2 of the preface for Śrīla Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta of Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Part-2

mahāprabhura priya evaṁ śrī-jīvera udāhṛta ukta ślokadvaya haite vivecanā karuna ye śarīra o śarīrera anugata samāja yātrā nirvāhera janya varnāśrama dharma avaśya svīkārya. mahāprabhura upadeśa ei ye kevala indriya tṛptira janya ai dharmake svīkāra karibe nā, kintu taddvārā deha yātrā nirvāha pūrvaka kṛṣṇānuśīlana rūpa bhakti sādhana karibe. ataeva dvitīya vṛṣṭite ye dharmādharma sambandhe upadeśa samudāya smṛti śāstra haite saṁgraha karā haiyāche, se samudāyai bhakti sādhanera gauna upāya rūpe mahāprabhu kartṛka nirdiṣṭa baliyā jānibena.

Translation: Please examine these two verses dear to Mahāprabhu and [as] quoted by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī. One should certainly accept varṇāśrama-dharma in order to maintain the body and the society based on the body. Mahāprabhu’s instruction is that one should not accept that dharma just for sense gratification, but to maintain the body through that [dharma] and to engage in the sādhana of bhakti by cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, one should understand that all the instructions pertaining to dharma and adharma, which have been gathered from the smṛti-śāstras in the Second Shower, have been taught by Mahāprabhu as the secondary means in the sādhana of bhakti.

Jayapatākā Swami: Today I woke up with a little UTI (Urinary Track Infection) and the lift is also broken. So, things are running a little late.

In here in varnāśrama, there are lots of things that one sees in relation to the body. But Lord Caitanya taught that we should do varnāśrama in order to further our advancement in bhakti. We should be naturally developing our attachment and love for Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, He would not take it very seriously, any of the instructions pertaining to the body. He would take them seriously as a means of developing our natural affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa.

tṛtīya, caturtha, pañcama, ṣaṣṭha o saptama vṛṣṭite ye samasta upadeśa pradatta haiyāche, se samudāya mahāprabhu śrī-rūpa, sanātana o jīva dvārā hari-bhakti-vilāsa, bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu o ṣaṭ-sandarbha prabhṛti granthe pracāra kariyachena. bhāva bhakti vicārera antargata ye jñāna vairāgya vicāra tāhā śrī-jīva o baladeva svīya svīya granthe prabhura śikṣā svarūpe pracāra kariyāchena.

Translation: Mahāprabhu has propagated all the teachings presented in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Showers in books such as Śri Sanātana’s, Rūpa’s and Jīva’s Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Bhaktirasāmṛta-sindhu and Ṣaṭ-sandarbha. Śrī Jīva and Baladeva have propagated the analysis of jñāna and vairāgya [found] within the analysis of bhāva-bhakti in their respective books as the Lord’s teachings.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we understand this Śīkṣāmṛta contains many philosophies about Lord Caitanya and sometimes different aspects of His pastimes of understanding Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. So, this book goes through all these different things.

aṣṭama vṛṣṭite yāhā likhita haiyāche se samudāya mahāprabhura tattva samudrera budbuda svarūpa āmarā vicāra dvārā udbhāvita kariyāchi. sei sakala vicāra śrī-caitanya-śikṣāmṛtera antargata karāya kona doṣa haite pāre nā.

Translation: Like bubbles from the ocean of Mahāprabhu’s philosophy, we have produced everything written in the Eighth Shower through our deliberations [of His teachings]. There cannot be any fault in including all those deliberations in Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta.

Jayapatākā Swami: Here Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is explaining what he is doing, different chapters are described as showers, and the philosophical tattvas which are presented, he describes as bubbles – bubbles of the ocean of Lord Caitanya. So, Lord Caitanya’s philosophy is bubbling to the surface!

āja kāla baṅgadeśe grantha racanāra ye pranālī haiyāche evaṁ se samasta vaijñānika śabda vyavahṛta haiteche, sei pranālī o śabda samūha vyavahāra pūrvaka ei grantha pranīta haila. erūpa siddhānta karibena nā ye āmi mahāprabhura upadeśa kona aṁśe parityāga kariyāchi vā parivartana kariyāchi. yadi keha icchā karena, tabe āmāra likhita samasta kathāra pramāna ullikhita grantha samūha haite dite pāri.

Translation: This book has been presented in the style with which books are composed in today’s Bengal and it employs scientific terms that are in [current] use. Please don’t come to the conclusion that I have set aside or changed any aspect of Mahāprabhu’s teachings. If anyone wants, I can give evidence for everything that I have written from the books that I have enlisted earlier.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, this is the Preface to the book, he has used some scientific, colloquial Bengali in his writing. And sometimes someone may think, why is he using all these big words. But if they want to know the original Bengali texts like Saṭ-sandarbhas of Rūpa and Sanātana, he is willing to show that reference. And he is explaining that he is only writing what is in the modern style. Now, modern style keeps changing. I think the modern style a few hundred years ago and what is in Bengal now would be a different style. Anyway, that is what this book is.

saṁskṛta śloka vā ṭīkā e granthe uddhṛta haya nāi. saṁskṛta saṁyukta haile grantha sādhāranera pakṣe durbodhya haiyā paḍe. yadio āmāra sādhya mata sarala bāṁlā bhāṣāya grantha khāni likhilāma, tathāpi vicārya viṣaya samūha bujhite haile anekaṭā vaijñānika buddhira prayojana. yāṅhādera cidvijñāna viṣaye ālocanā svalpa, tāṅhādera pakṣe granthakhāni kaṭhina haile āmāra aparādha nāi. āmāra prārthanā ei ye yatnera sahita dhīre dhīre vicāra pūrvaka tāṅhārā ei grantha khāni pāṭha karibena. tāhā haile tāṅhārā kramaśaḥ vaijñānika vicāre paṭu haibena. pare viśeṣa phala ei haibe ye kichu saṁskṛta ālocanā kariyā pūrvokta mahātmādigera viracita vicāra pūrṇa o rasa pūrṇa grantha sakala anāyāse bujhite pāribena.

Translation: I have not quoted Sanskrit verses or commentaries in this book. If I were to add in Sanskrit, the book will become incomprehensible to the ordinary [readers]. Though I have written the book in simple Bengali language to the best of my ability, if one has to understand the topics that have been deliberated upon, one requires a lot of scientific intelligence. I am not at fault if those who have hardly studied the science of spirituality find this book difficult. I pray that they carefully and slowly read through this book while deliberating [on its contents]. If they do that, they will gradually become sharp in scientifically analyzing [the topics of this book]. Later on, a special benefit will be that after learning a little Sanskrit, they will be able to easily understand all the books filled with philosophy and rasa composed by the great souls mentioned earlier.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda asked us to make the scientific museum of the Vedic Planetarium. He wanted to show that the teachings of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā are actually scientific. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Preface here, he is explaining how, writing in ordinary Bengali sometimes it may seem that he is using very scientific words, but it is because actually bhakti-yoga is a great science! If you practice it, follow the rules and regulations then you get the result expected. Just like science – you do the experiment properly, you get the result. So do bhakti-yoga properly, you will get the result.

yāṅhārā vaiṣṇavadigera śāstra ālocanā karite evaṁ tāṅhādera pavitra dharma śikṣā karite icchā karena, tāṅhārā prathame ei granthakhāni rītimata pāṭha karuna.

Translation: Those who wish to study the scriptures of the Vaiṣṇavas and learn about their pure dharma should first of all systematically study this book.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is recommending that newcomers before they delve into these great works of the Mahāntas, the gurus, he composed this book for making it more accessible for everyone. So he wrote and he signed his name.

Śrī śrī gaurāṅga-dāsānudāsa śrī kedāranātha datta

Translation: A servant of the servants of Śrī Śrī Gaurāṅga, Śrī Kedāra Nātha Datta

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa! So that was the introduction/Preface. So now we start the book.