19790910 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 7 - Understanding The Pañca-tattva (Part 2)

The following is class given by His Holiness, Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 10th, 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7, Text 1-17.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Text 1

agaty-eka-gatiṁ natvā
hīnārthādhika-sādhakam
śrī-caitanyaṁ likhāmy asya
mādhuryaiśvarya-śīkaram

Translation: Let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the ultimate goal of life for one bereft of all possessions in this material world and is the only meaning for one advancing in spiritual life. Thus let me write about His magnanimous contribution of devotional service in love of God.

Purport (by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda): A person in the conditioned stage of material existence is in an atmosphere of helplessness, but the conditioned soul, under the illusion of māyā, or the external energy, thinks that he is completely protected by his country, society, friendship and love, not knowing that at the time of death none of these can save him. The laws of material nature are so strong that none of our material possessions can save us from the cruel hands of death. In Bhagavad-gītā Verse 9, Chapter 13, it is stated, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam: one who is actually advancing must always consider the four principles of miserable life, namely, birth, death, old age and disease. One cannot be saved from all these miseries unless he takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore the only shelter for all conditioned souls. An intelligent person, therefore, does not put his faith in any material possessions, but completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a person is called akiñcana, or one who does not possess anything in this material world. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also known as Akiñcana-gocara, for He can be achieved by a person who does not put his faith in material possessions. Therefore, for the fully surrendered soul who has no material possessions on which to depend, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the only shelter.

Everyone depends upon dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kāma (sense gratification) and ultimately mokṣa (śālvation), but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, due to His magnanimous character, can give more than salvation. Therefore in this verse the words hīnārthādhika-sādhakam indicate that although by material estimation śālvation is of a quality superior to the inferior interests of religiosity, economic development and sense gratification, above śālvation there is the position of devotional service and transcendental love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the bestower of this great benediction. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, premā pum-artho mahān: “Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction for all human beings.” Śrīla Kṛṣṇadasa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, therefore first offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu before describing His magna… magnanim… uh… mangana… magnanimity in bestowing love of Godhead.

Text 2

jaya jaya mahāprabhu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
tanhara caranaśrīta, sei bada dhanya

People don’t repeat. Just go on.

Translation: Let me offer glorification to the Supreme Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One who has taken shelter of His lotus feet is the most glorified person.

Purport: Prabhu means master. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the supreme master of all masters; therefore He is called Mahāprabhu. Any person who takes shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is most glorified because by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he is able to get promotion to the platform of loving service to the Lord, which is transcendental to salvation.

Text 3

purve gurv-ādi chaya tattve kaila namaskara
guru-tattva kahiyachi, ebe pancera vicara

Translation: In the beginning I have discussed the truth about the spiritual master. Now I shall try to explain the Pañca-tattva.

Purport: In the first chapter of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, the author, Śrī Kṛṣṇadasa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, has described the initiator spiritual master and the instructor spiritual master in the verse beginning with the words vande gurun īśa-bhaktan isam isavatarakan. In that verse there are six transcendental subject matters, of which the truth regarding the spiritual master has already been described. Now the author will describe the other five tattvas (truths), namely, īśa-tattva (the Supreme Lord), His expansion tattva, His incarnation tattva, His energy tattva and His devotee tattva.

Text 4

pañca-tattva avatirna caitanyera sange
pañca-tattva laña karena saṅkīrtana range

Translation: These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His saṅkīrtana movement with great pleasure.

Purport: In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is the following statement regarding Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

kṛṣṇa-varnam tvisakṛṣṇam  
sangopangastra-parsadam 
yajñaih saṅkīrtana-prayair  
yajanti hi su-medhasah

“In the Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.” (Bhāgavatam 11.5.32) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always accompanied by His plenary expansion Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, His incarnation Śrī Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu and His marginal potency Śrīvāsa Prabhu. He is in the midst of them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are complete when we say śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. As preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting this Pañca-tattva mantra; then we say Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the Pañca-tattva mantra, namely, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is known as mahā-vadanyavatara, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare), we must first take shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, learn the Pañca-tattva mahā-mantra, and then chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. That will be very effective.

Taking advantage of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, many unscrupulous devotees manufacture a mahā-mantra of their own. Sometimes they sing, bhaja nitāi gaura radhe śyāma hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma (devotees laugh) or śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī-radhe govinda. (devotees laugh) Actually, however, one should chant the names of the full Pañca-tattva (śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda) and then the sixteen words (devotees chant in unison) Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, but these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but the method prescribed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pure devotees is to chant first the full Pañca-tattva mantra and then chant the mahā-mantra- Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Text 5

pañca-tattva — eka-vastu, nahi kichu bheda
rasa asvadite tabu vividha vibheda

Translation: Spiritually there are no differences between these five tattvas, for on the transcendental platform everything is absolute. Yet there are also varieties in the spiritual world, and in order to taste these spiritual varieties one should distinguish between them.

Purport: In his Anubhāṣya commentary Śrī Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura describes the Pañca-tattva as follows: The supreme energetic, the Personality of Godhead, manifesting in five kinds of pastimes, appears as the members of the Pañca-tattva. Actually there is no difference between them because they are situated on the absolute platform, but they manifest different spiritual varieties as a challenge to the impersonalists to taste different kinds of spiritual humors or rasas. In the Vedas it is said, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: “The varieties of energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are differently known.” From this statement of the Vedas one can understand that there are eternal varieties of humors, or tastes, in the spiritual world. Śrī Gaurāṅga, Śrī Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, Śrī Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa are all on the same platform, but in spiritually distinguishing between them one should understand that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the form of a devotee, Nityānanda Prabhu appears in the form of a devotee’s spiritual master, Advaita Prabhu is the form of a bhakta (devotee) incarnation, Gadādhara Prabhu is the energy of a bhakta or devotee, and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is a pure devotee. Thus there are spiritual distinctions between them. The bhakta-rūpa (Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu), the bhakta-svarūpa (Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu) and the bhakta-avatāra (Śrī Advaita Prabhu) are described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, His immediate manifestation and His plenary expansion, and They all belong to the Viṣṇu category. Although the spiritual and marginal energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, they are predominated subjects, whereas Lord Viṣṇu is the predominator. As such, although they are on the same platform, they have appeared differently in order to facilitate tasting of transcendental mellows. Actually, however, there is no possibility of one being different from the other, but… for the… for the worshiper and the worshipable cannot be separated at any stage. On the absolute platform, one cannot be understood without the other.

Text 6

pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ
bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ
namāmi bhakta-śaktikam

Translation: Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has manifested Himself in five as a devotee, expansion of a devotee, incarnation of a devotee, pure devotee and devotional energy.

Purport: Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is the immediate expansion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as His brother. He is the personified spiritual bliss of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. His body is transcendental and full of ecstasy in devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore called bhakta-rūpa (the form of a devotee), and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is called bhakta-svarūpa (the expansion of a devotee). Śrī Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of a devotee, is viṣṇu-tattva and belongs to the same category. There are also different types of bhaktas, or devotees, on the platforms of neutrality, servitude, friendship, paternity and conjugal love. Devotees like Śrī Dāmodara, Śrī Gadādhara and Śrī Rāmānanda are different energies. This confirms the Vedic sūtra parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. All these bhakta subjects, all these devotee subjects taken together constitute Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Text 7

svayam bhagavān kṛṣṇa ekale īśvara
advitiya, nandātmaja, rasika-śekhara

Translation: Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all pleasure, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, the supreme controller. No one is greater than or equal to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, yet He appears as the son of Mahārāja Nanda.

Purport: In this verse Kavirāja Gosvāmī gives an accurate description of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by stating that although no one is equal to or greater than Him and He is the reservoir of all spiritual pleasure, He nevertheless appears as the son of Mahārāja Nanda and Yaśodamāyī. 

Text 8

rāsādi-vilāsī, vrajalalanā-nāgara
āra yata saba dekha,—tāṅra parikara

Translation: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the supreme enjoyer in the rāsa dance. He is the leader of the damsels of Vraja, and all others are simply His associates.

Purport: The word rāsādi-vilāsī (“the enjoyer of the rāsa dance”) is very important. The rāsa dance can be enjoyed only by Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the supreme leader and chief of the damsels of Vṛndāvana. All others are His devotees and associates. Although no one can compare with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there are many unscrupulous rascals who imitate the rāsa dance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are Māyāvādīs, and people should be wary of them. The rāsa dance can be performed only by Śrī Kṛṣṇa and no one else.

Text 9

sei kṛṣṇa avatīrṇa śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
sei parikara-gaṇa saṅge saba dhanya

Translation: The selfsame Lord Kṛṣṇa advented Himself as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with all His eternal associates, who are also equally glorious.

Text 10

ekale īśvara-tattva caitanya-īśvara
bhakta-bhāvamaya tāṅra śuddha kalevara

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the supreme controller, the one Personality of Godhead, has ecstatically become a devotee, yet His body is transcendental and not materially tinged.

Purport: There are different tattvas, or truths, including īśa-tattva, jīva-tattva and śakti-tattva. Īśa-tattva refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, who is the supreme living force. In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad it is said, Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme eternal and the supreme living force. The living entities are also eternal and are also living forces, but they are very minute in qual… in quantity, whereas the Supreme Lord is the supreme living force and the supreme eternal. The supreme eternal never accepts a body of a temporary material nature, whereas the living entities, who are part and parcel of the supreme eternal, are prone to do so. Thus according to the Vedic mantras the Supreme Lord is the supreme master of innumerable living entities.

The Māyāvādī philosophers, however, try to equate the minute living entities with the supreme living entity. Because they recognize no distinctions between them, their philosophy is called Advaita-vada, or monism. Factually, however, there is a distinction. This verse is especially meant to impart to the Māyāvādī philosopher the understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme controller. The supreme controller, the su… the Personality of Godhead, is Kṛṣṇa Himself, but as a transcendental pastime He has accepted the form of a devotee, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa comes to this planet exactly like a human being, some rascals consider Him to be one of the ordinary humans. One who thinks in that mistaken way is described as mūḍha, or foolish. Therefore one should not foolishly consider Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be an ordinary human being. He has accepted the ecstasy of a devotee, but He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since Caitanya Mahāprabhu, there have been many imitation incarnations of Kṛṣṇa who cannot understand that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Kṛṣṇa Himself and not an ordinary human being. Less intelligent men create their own “Gods” by advertising a human being as God. This is their mistake. Therefore here the words tāṅra śuddha kalevara warn that Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s body is not material but purely spiritual. One should not, therefore, accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu as an ordinary devotee, although He has assumed the form of a devotee. Yet one must certainly know that although Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He accepted the ecstasy of a devotee one should not misunderstand His pastimes and place Him in exactly the same position as Kṛṣṇa. It is for this reason only that when Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was addressed as Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu He blocked His ears, not wanting to hear Himself addressed as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a class of devotees called Gaurāṅga-nagari, who stage plays of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes using a vigraha, or form, of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is a mistaken… this is a mistake that is technically called rāsābhāsa. While Caitanya Mahāprabhu is trying to enjoy as a devotee, one should not disturb Him by addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Text 11

kṛṣṇa-mādhuryera eka adbhuta svabhāva
āpanā āsvādite kṛṣṇa kare bhakta-bhāva

Translation: The transcendental mellow of conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa is so wonderful that Kṛṣṇa Himself accepts the form of a devotee to relish and taste it fully.

Purport: Although Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, He has a special intention to taste Himself by accepting the form of a devotee. It is to be concluded that although Lord Caitanya is present in the form of a devotee, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore Vaisnavas sing, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: “Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined together are Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” Caitanyākhyam prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayam caikyam āptam: Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has said, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa assumed oneness in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Text 12

ithe bhakta-bhava dhare caitanya gosañi
‘bhakta-svarūpa’ tanra nityānanda-bhai

Translation: For this reason Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the supreme teacher, accepts the form of a devotee and accepts Lord Nityānanda as His elder brother.

Text 13

‘bhakta-avatāra’ tanra ācārya-gosañi
ei tina tattva sabe prabhu kari’ gai

Translation: Śrī Advaita Ācārya is Lord Caitanya’s incarnation as a devotee. Therefore these three tattvas [Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Gosañi] are the predominators, or masters.

Purport: Gosañi means gosvāmī. A person who has full control over the senses and mind is called a gosvāmī or gosañi. One who does not have such control is called a godāsa, or a servant of the senses, and cannot become a spiritual master. A spiritual master who actually has control over the mind and senses is called Gosvāmī. Although the Gosvāmī title has become a hereditary designation for unscrupulous men, actually the title Gosañi, or Gosvāmī, began from Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who presented himself as an ordinary gṛhastha and minister in government service but became gosvāmī when he was actually elevated by the instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore Gosvāmī is not a hereditary title but refers to one’s qualifications. When one is highly elevated in spiritual advancement, regardless of wherefrom he comes, he may be called Gosvāmī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Gosañi Prabhu are natural gosvāmīs because They belong to the viṣṇu-tattva category. As such, all of Them are prabhus (“predominators” or “masters”), and They are sometimes called Caitanya Gosañi, Nityānanda Gosañi and Advaita Gosañi. Unfortunately, Their so-called descendants who do not have the qualifications of gosvamis have accepted this title as a hereditary designation or a professional degree. That is not in accord with the śāstric injunctions. 

Text 14

eka mahāprabhu, ara prabhu duijana
dui prabhu seve mahaprabhura carana

Translation: One of Them is Mahāprabhu, and the other two are prabhus. These two prabhus serve the lotus feet of Mahāprabhu.

Purport: Although Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Lord Śrī Advaita Prabhu all belong to the same Viṣṇu category, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is nevertheless accepted as the Supreme, and the other two prabhus engage in His transcendental loving service to teach ordinary living entities that every one of us is subordinate to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In another place in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 5.142) it is said, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya: the only supreme master is Kṛṣṇa, and all others, both viṣṇu-tattva and jīva-tattva, engage in the service of the Lord. Both one must distinguish between the viṣṇu-tattva servitors and jīva-tattva servitors. The jīva-tattva servitor, individual soul, the spiritual master, is actually the servitor God. As explained in previous verses, in the absolute world there are no such differences, yet one must observe these differences in order to distinguish the Supreme from His subordinates.

Text 15

ei tina tattva, — ‘sarvaradhya’ kari mani
caturtha ye bhakta-tattva, — ‘arādhāka’ jani

Translation: The three predominators [Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu] are worshipable by all living entities, and the fourth principle [Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu] is to be understood as Their worshiper.

Purport: In his Anubhāṣya, Śrī Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, describing the truth about Pañca-tattva, explains that we can understand that Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the supreme predominator and that Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu are His subordinates but are also predominators. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Lord, and Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu are manifestations of the Supreme Lord. All of Them are viṣṇu-tattva, the Supreme, and are therefore worshipable by the living entities. Although the other two tattvas, or truths within the category of Pañca-tattva — namely, śakti-tattva and jīva-tattva, represented by Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa — are worshipers of the Supreme Lord, they are in the same category because they eternally engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Text 16

śrīvasadi yata koti koti bhakta-gana
‘śuddha-bhakta’-tattva-madhye tan-sabara ganana

Translation: There are innumerable pure devotees of the Lord, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, who are known as unalloyed devotees.

Text 17

gadādhara-panditadi prabhura ‘śakti’-avatāra
‘antaranga-bhakta’ kari’ ganana yanhara

Translation: The devotees headed by Gadādhara Paṇḍita are to be considered incarnations of the internal potency of the Lord. They are internal potential devotees engaged in the service of the Lord.

Purport: In connection with verses 16 and 17, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains in his Anubhāṣya commentary: “There are specific symptoms by which the internal devotees and the unalloyed or pure devotees are to be known. All unalloyed devotees are śakti-tattvas, or potencies of the Lord. Some of them are situated in conjugal love and others in filial affection, fraternity and servitude. Certainly all of them are devotees, but by making a comparative study it is found that the devotees or potencies who are engaged in conjugal love are better situated than the others. Thus devotees who are in a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in conjugal love are considered to be the most confidential devotees of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Those who engage in the service of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and Lord Advaita Prabhu generally have relationships of parental love, fraternity, servitude and neutrality. When such devotees develop great attachment for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they too become situated within the intimate circle of devotees in conjugal love.” This gradual development of devotional service is described by Śrī Narottama dasa Ṭhākura as follows:

gaurāṅga’ balite habe pulaka-śarīra
'hari hari’ balite nayane ba’he nīra
āra kabe nitāi-cāṅdera karuṇā ha-ibe
saṁsāra-vāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha’be
viṣaya chāḍiya kabe śuddha ha’be mana
kabe hāma heraba śrī vṛndāvana
rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti
kabe hāma būjhāba se jugala pīriti

“When will there be eruptions on my body as soon as I chant the name of Lord Caitanya, and when will there be incessant torrents of tears as soon as I chant the holy names Hare Kṛṣṇa? When will Lord Nityānanda be merciful toward me and free me from all desires for material enjoyment? When will my mind be completely freed from all contamination of desires for material pleasure? Only at that time will it be possible for me to understand Vṛndāvana. Only if I become attached to the instructions given by the six Gosvāmīs, headed by Rūpa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, will it be possible for me to understand the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.” By attachment to the devotional service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one immediately comes to the ecstatic position. When he develops his love for Nityānanda Prabhu he is freed from all attachment to the material world, and at that time he becomes eligible to understand the Lord’s pastimes in Vṛndāvana. In that condition, one… when one develops his love for the six Gosvāmīs, he can understand the conjugal love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. These are the different stages of a pure devotee’s promotion to conjugal love in the service of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in an intimate relationship with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Rāmeśvara Swami: Jaya. So, Ācāryapada, do you want to speak, or do you just want to take questions?

Jayapatākā Swami: I would like to hear some of the nectar from your lotus lips Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami.

Devotees: Jaya!

Rāmeśvara Swami: Actually the reason we chose this chapter to begin tonight is because you are the Ācārya of Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma and this chapter describes the Lord of Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma. We thought we would hear from you therefore, (devotees laughing) on this subject.

Personally, I can only comment a little and then we can hope to hear from you. I can explain only that this is a very difficult subject matter to understand. People have a hard time even distinguishing between the spirit within their body and their material body. Most people cannot distinguish at all and instead simply take themselves to be this material body. So people cannot even understand such a simple thing – the difference between the soul and the body. then it of course is very difficult to expect them to understand God because God, the Supreme Lord, everything about Him is infinite and unlimited. Therefore, uh… how He exists, the different forms that He manifests Himself in, the different transcendental feelings or emotions that He experiences, His different transcendental desires, all of these things,they are unlimited and infinite in variety.

The subject matter or the science of God is not a simple affair. It is not something that can be limited to… as some sectarian people think, to one book. This science of God is not something that can be understood with our material mind and it is not something that can be understood through our material senses. Uh, It is uh, beyond the mind and beyond the senses. But it is not beyond the soul to understand. Therefore, one must distinguish between the soul and the mind and senses of this body.

Once that distinction is made, then one can begin to actually understand the science of God. That is the platform on which one can begin to understand this transcendental science. Until we come to that platform, then of course we can’t approach God. Now when we come to that platform of completely distinguishing between the soul and the mind and senses of this material body, and we stop identifying with the mind and senses of this body, and absorb ourselves in the uh, eternal identity that we are eternally spirit soul, uh, we have nothing to do with this material body, we should not act under the dictation of this body, we should not act under the dictation of this mind and senses but we should act only as spirit souls.

Once we are situated in that way, then the subject matter of God which is infinite and unlimited. Everything about Kṛṣṇa is full of infinite variety, His form, His characteristics, His qualities, His activities, His abilities, His energies, His desires, His pleasures, these are all infinite in their variety and they are all unlimited. These things can be understood uh, through the spiritual senses and spiritual mind, not through the material senses and material mind. They can be understood. But the subject matter is very difficult for ordinary people. There is no doubt of that. Therefore this incarnation of Kṛṣṇa as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has appeared because the subject matter is so difficult, the qualification is so great, you have to make such advancement to be able to distinguish between the soul and the body and you have to stop acting as if the body has any meaning and the mind has any meaning, and it is so rare and it is so difficult.

Therefore this incarnation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has appeared because it is so difficult to understand, because it is so difficult to even be qualified to begin to understand. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa came as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to bestow the transcendental realization. But Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as we will later read tomorrow night, the next section, gives this enlightenment and He bestows the qualification for understanding God without any charge, without any uh, preliminary uh… assets or qualities. Caitanya Mahāprabhu simply awards; that is His principle characteristic. This incarnation of God is unique among all the different, infinite manifestations of God. He gives what no other manifestation of God ever gives. He gives perfect knowledge of this transcendental science freely to those who are unqualified to have such priceless knowledge of enlightenment, to… of… for those who are unqualified to take this highest pleasure which far beyond the pleasures known to the beings of this material world.

The pleasures of the transcendental world of Kṛṣṇa are infinite and the pleasures of this mundane world are limited. No matter how much we enjoy something in this material world, it is limited in terms of time, in terms of space and in terms of quantity. No matter what it is and how much you enjoy it, it is limited. But the pleasure of the transcendental world is infinite. It is unlimited. That is the difference between spirit and matter. Spirit has no limit. Spirit has nothing to restrict it.

So the people of this world are not qualified to know this very well and they are not qualified to experience this enlightenment and they are not qualified to taste this transcendental pleasure of the spiritual world. Yet despite this, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is enabling them to have this enlightenment and to experience the very same bliss that the pure souls who reside eternally in the abode of God experience at every moment. Caitanya Mahāprabhu enables people who have no qualification to have that bliss and to have that enlightenment.

So I cannot understand very well these descriptions myself. But I just know this much that uh, because Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so uh, merciful beyond uh, any mercy that God has ever previously shown to any living being, the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu surpasses anything that God has ever done before. So I know that much and therefore I have faith that if I can somehow or other do something which pleases Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then there is a chance because He is so merciful that uh, He can give me this uh, gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without any other qualification, just I do something that pleases Him, I try to do some service for Him. That’s all I know. I can’t explain anything uh, very complicated in this matter, in this science of God. But I have firm faith that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa in His most merciful aspect and to do something that pleases Him is the greatest uh, thing in life. It will surpass any achievement; it will surpass any type of position in the material world. It will surpass any type of experience that this material world can offer.

So somehow or other I have this faith by the mercy of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace, Śrīla Prabhupāda. And with this faith I am just trying to push myself into a position where Caitanya’s mercy will fall on me. So this is the easy way to become enlightened in the science of God. To take some other path of yoga is very difficult and it is doubtful whether one will be successful in this Kali-yuga. People are more interested in satisfying their senses and enjoying the flickering pleasure of this ephemeral world in the form of cinema and music and sex and so on.

People are more interested in this than tasting the bliss of the spiritual world. That is their unfortunate foolishness that they think that this pleasure of the material world is a very good thing and you don’t need anything else except this pleasure. Of course they forget the obvious point that this material world’s pleasure will fade away very quickly and then they are left with nothing. In old age it is… it is, their sex power is gone and their eyesight fades and their belly shrivels and their bones are full of pain. People who depend on the body for pleasure will be very much disappointed in old age because they have failed to get the mercy of Caitanya, then another body awaits them. That is unfortunate. Anyway, that is the condition of most people; they are not even interested in experiencing the bliss of the spiritual world. They are content to take this cheap pleasure when they can have eternal, unlimited pleasure, they settle for temporary pleasure. That is foolishness. If you had the choice you choose the left hand and there is a million dollars and you choose the right hand and there is one dollar and they are choosing the right hand, they are choosing the one dollar instead of the million dollars.

Such a crude analogy does not adequately explain what they are missing out on by not trying to become God conscious. Anyway the different paths for becoming God conscious are very difficult and I myself have no qualification to practice them, neither do most souls who live in this Kali-yuga. So the easy way, the cheap way, the simple way to become God conscious and experience this bliss and now… enlightenment is simply let the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu fall on our heads. That is the easy way. So that… that is our faith.

He is pouring the mercy. We must just put ourselves in the right place so that it falls on us. It is as simple as that. And then that bliss will be there, that knowledge will be there, despite the fact that we may have no good qualities and all bad qualities, we may be full of material desires, we may have so many defects and deficiencies but if we just put ourselves in the right position and let Caitanya’s mercy fall on us then despite all the disqualifications we become God conscious, enlightened souls. So, that much I know. And the rest we have to hear from Śrīla Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, Ācāryapada about Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrīdhama Māyāpur.

Jayapatākā Swami: What would you like to hear? (devotees laugh) It is not possible to tell all of it! There is no limit.

Rāmeśvara Swami: Because I am a fool. I don’t even know what questions should be put at this point. But because you have lived in the holy dhāma for so many years, perhaps you could just tell us a few things about Śrī Caitanya and His dhāma that will make us more attached to putting ourselves in that position that His mercy will fall on us.

Jayapatākā Swami: Tonight we are beginning the study on God’s descent as His own devotee, to show by example how to serve Himself. Just like a school teacher will sometimes take the chalk… take the pencil and show the student, “You write in this way.” So the Supreme Person could see that the people are so fallen that no amount of good instruction alone will have any effect. It is essential to also show them by example what is the way of developing pure love of God, pure kṛṣṇa-prema.

So here, for the first time in this reading we are seeing the Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu together.

Actually Lord Caitanya was born in Māyāpur where I live… or have for some times, and Lord Nityānanda was born at Ekacakra in Rāḍhadeśa, a part of the state of Gauḍadeśa where the Ganges doesn’t flow. So there, I think even today it’s a good five hour drive, what happened is that in Their childhood, They were not together. Their brotherhood is of a deeper nature. They are brothers for a long time. So Lord Nityānanda when He appeared… when Lord Caitanya appeared of course, we know that the whole world rejoiced and was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and Hari bol at that time was the full moon eclipse. In India it is customary on a full moon eclipses, the devotees all go to the sacred river Ganges and they bathe and they yell, "Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol!" And in this way the Lord’s advent was uh, rejoiced.