20141118 Discussion on Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book work 18^th November 2014 in New Delhi, India

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Guru Mahārāja

Reading Commentary from the Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi-Khanda, 7.43.

Śrī Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 7.43

[Continuing the COMMENTARY from the previous day (17^th November)]

COMMENTARY: Although pure living entities and conditioned living entities are by nature both devotees of the Lord, the consciousness of the former has been awakened so they can feel the love of their eternal worshipable sac-cid-ānanda Lord Viṣṇu, while the latter are under the control of māyā and cannot do so. When the conditioned state is overcome, or when all anarthas are destroyed, a living entity under the shelter of service to Lord Viṣṇu can remain pure even while residing in this material world. At that time he is called a mahā-bhāgavata. The madhyama-bhāgavata is a pure servant of the mahā-bhāgavata. Unless the kaniṣṭha-bhāgavata reaches the stage of madhyama-bhāgavata, he remains the servant of the madhyama-bhāgavata even though he is serving a mahā-bhāgavata. Since the kaniṣṭha-bhāgavata desires his own spiritual progress and is traveling on the eternal perfect path to Vaikuṇṭha, he is superior to the conditioned souls who are desirous of material enjoyment and liberation. But he has faith only in Viṣṇu as the transcendental Absolute Truth, and this realization qualifies him as a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī. When one attains the level of kaniṣṭha-adhikāra, he can understand that his spiritual master is situated as a madhyama-adhikārī. But when he attains the level of madhyama-adhikāra, he can accept his spiritual master as a mahā-bhāgavata and qualify himself to become a pure devotee. The mahā-bhāgavatas have no engagement other than the service of Lord Hari and His devotees. Being attached to objects not related to Kṛṣṇa, ordinary conditioned souls engage in the service of the external world due to their impure intelligence. When such persons advance to the level of kaniṣṭha-adhikāra, they dovetail the fruits of their activities with the Lord and thus cultivate mixed devotional service. In the eternal nature of the living entities there is an eternal propensity called hari-bhakti. As a foolish conditioned soul is attracted to material objects, a pure living entity situated in devotional service, his constitutional propensity, is similarly attracted to the Lord. In the opinion of some unfortunate persons, “Even devotional service, the eternal propensity of the living entities, is a mundane, perverted, abominable, illusory propensity.” Those who argue, or the foolish persons who are expert in material consideration, cannot realize the pure form of devotional service, which is eternally full of knowledge and bliss and which is the goal of the liberated, self-satisfied, swanlike personalities; rather they accept devotional service, which is the eternally perfect transcendental propensity of the living entities, as a mental concoction. Due to this misconception ordinary people consider the eternal attraction of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the crest jewel of learned scholars, for Kṛṣṇa as material illusion, or moha. Keeping in mind the transcendental happiness derived from serving the Lord, the author at this juncture uses the word moha, illusion, for the understanding of ordinary people. It is natural for the eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa to serve Kṛṣṇa with love and ecstasy. In other words, the living entity in his constitutional position eternally worships Kṛṣṇa as his natural propensity. The conditioned soul with the mood for enjoyment cannot realize Kṛṣṇa’s love in this material world, but Kṛṣṇa who attracts the self-satisfied souls, unknowingly attracts the hearts of His servants, who have renounced material enjoyment, whose consciousness is awakened, and who are knowers of the Absolute Truth. This is what is meant by Kṛṣṇa attracting His servants who are under the shelter of śānta-rasa. The servants who are under the shelter of śānta-rasa, like the cows, sticks, horn, and flute of Vraja, although not situated in dāsya-rasa, unknowingly serve Kṛṣṇa, while externally appearing less-intelligent.

(18:13 TO 19:30 Repeating the verse and translation)

[The hilighted portion below is a discussion on ‘kaniṣṭha-adhikārī’ and ‘kaniṣṭha-bhāgavata’ – Śyāma Rasika Dāsa wanted to bring it to Vidvān Gaurāṅga Dāsa and Jaya Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Dāsa]

What is the quality of kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī (19:34 not clear) (some internal discussions)?

Jayapatākā Swami: What is kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī?

Commentary: Unless the kaniṣṭha-bhāgavata reaches the stage of madhyama-bhāgavata, he remains the servant of the madhyama-bhāgavata even though he is serving a mahā-bhāgavata. Since the kaniṣṭha-bhāgavata desires his own spiritual progress and is traveling on the eternal perfect path to Vaikuṇṭha, he is superior to the conditioned souls who are desirous of material enjoyment and liberation. But he has faith only in Viṣṇu as the transcendental Absolute Truth, and this realization qualifies him as a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Not (21:12 Not clear) What’s a kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī? It states that kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī sees the world as (21:29 not clear) (some internal discussions)

Commentary: When one attains the level of kaniṣṭha-adhikāra, he can understand that his spiritual master is situated as a madhyama-adhikārī. But when he attains the level of madhyama-adhikāra, he can accept his spiritual master as a mahā-bhāgavata and qualify himself to become a pure devotee.

Jayapatākā Swami: And Whats the (21:59 not clear) qualify as kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī? What are his qualities? kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī qualites … śānta-rasa

Jayapatākā Swami: (23:06 not clear) says kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī means that sometimes he has his (23:22 not clear) and that time he thinks that material enjoyment is something desirable

What he has got maybe..maybe I am not maybe its (23:56 not clear) devotee and they madhyama-adhikārī he doesn’t have any doubt, he is fixed..he sees the supreme lord as pure devotees he sees friends, aaa.. he sees them aaa.. innocent people he sees the (demons? 24:36) tries to avoid the demons..he preaches to the innocent he associates with (24:52 not clear) of the vaiṣṇavas and the friend of the supreme lord…he avoids the demons (25:11 not clear) and uttam (25:18 not clear) he always fixed (some internal discussions)

Jayapatākā Swami: (25:42 not clear) define kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī (25:50 to 26:48 internal discussions)

Jayapatākā Swami: So,I have already transcribed the verse? So we will read the purport again… (windows should be open)

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Guru Maharaj: When the materialist, who think that there is something desirable in the material world gets fixed up as a kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī or a neophyte devotee. He makes Viṣṇu as Supreme goal of his life but he doesn’t have deep appreciation for the devotees of the Lord. He sees his guru as a madhyama-adhikhārī and he renders his devotional service sometimes he gets bewildered but he always has the doubt that may be I am wrong and Viṣṇu Bhakti is the Supreme path.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: When kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī achieves the position of the madhyama-adhikhārī he sees his guru as a mahā-bhāgavata or uttama-adhikhārī and then he gets qualified to become a pure devotee of the Lord.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: He has no other activities except the service of the Lord and the Lord’s pure devotees.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Compared to this the ordinary materialists is bewildered by the external energy and thinks that the external energy is true and tries to achieve material happiness enjoying this material world.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: When he achieves the kaniṣṭha-adhikhārī position he serves the lord with mixed devotion, mixed with karma or mixed with jñana, mixed with fruitive activities, and mental speculation.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: The sanātana-dharma or eternal nature of the jīva or the conditioned soul is to engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Just as the conditioned soul is attracted to material enjoyment naturally in the same way the pure soul is attracted to Kṛṣṇa naturally and when the people in Advaita Gosāñī’s assembly saw the form of Lord Caitanya they naturally felt attracted even though they didn’t know who Lord Caitanya was, nor He was Supreme Personality of Godhead but they naturally felt attracted to Him.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Some unfortunate conditioned souls they mistakenly think that this eternal propensity of the pure soul to feel natural devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa is something of this material world and they think this as just insignificant and discardable thing. They don’t realize that it is the most valuable thing.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: These Materialistic people failing to taste the ecstasies that the paramahaṁsas or the pure souls experience when they engage in the devotional service for Kṛṣṇa. They think that the spiritual bliss of bhakti is some insignificant material concoction and thus they waste their time.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Such conditioned souls, even think that the pure attraction of Śukadeva Gosvāmī for the sat-cit-ānanada form of Lord Kṛṣṇa is something material.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the great writers of the Caitanya pastimes want to remind the readers how great and wonderful is the transcendental qualities and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and so that they don’t make the same mistake as the materialistic people and has those who have a lower qualification.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya had taught the position of the conditioned soul was being the eternal servitor of Lord Kṛṣṇa,

kṛṣṇer matir astu!

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’

and so that the loving service of the jīva or the individual soul is to engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and this is the essence of all scriptures, of all spiritual books of knowledge that we should simply be engaged in the spiritual loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Even if the conditioned soul doesn’t feel natural love for the Supreme Lord, when he sees the Lord or when he is engaged unknowingly in his service, he naturally feels a special attraction which is the nature of the individual soul.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of these conditioned souls are elevated to the position of śānta-rasa, whereas trees, cows, flute and such things inert objects which are used by Lord Kṛṣṇa and naturally they feel some attraction for Kṛṣṇa and thus they are blessed.

Deva Gaurāṅga Dāsa: [Bengali commentary]

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these conditioned souls even unconsciously are engaged in the service of the Lord in śānta-rasa, so in this way they also get the opportunity to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.