20200307 Wonderful Transformations of Mahāprabhu During Kīrtana in The Courtyard of Śrīvāsa (Part 2)

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

I was reading today how Mādhavendra Purī came across Advaita Ācārya. He was seeing the whole world worshipping different devatas and devīs, but nobody was a Vaiṣṇava. And the sannyāsīs thought they were Kṛṣṇa, and so they addressed each other as Nārāyaṇa. So, he was very dissatisfied with the whole situation! He did not want to associate with anyone, because no one was a Vaiṣṇava. So he would walk by the side of the Ganges, because people did not walk there much, because that was where people went to the toilet! So, he somehow came across Advaita Ācārya’s āśrama, which is by the side of the Ganges. Advaita Ācārya seeing he is a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī, he immediately offered his obeisances. And no one offered Mādhavendra Purī any respect because they did not appreciate Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs. When Mādhavendra Purī saw that Advaita Ācārya was a Vaiṣṇava, he immediately picked him up and embraced Him. And the two were glorifying Kṛṣṇa. So he was feeling such spiritual bliss. Both of them they lost consciousness of the external world and their bodies. They were just absorbed in the ecstasy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, Advaita Ācārya had invited Mādhavendra Purī to stay for some days. And then Advaita Ācārya took initiation from Mādhavendra Purī. So, He observed all the sacred days, Vyāsa-pūjā, disappearance days, tirobhava-tithi. Today is the disappearance day of Mādhavendra Purī. And today is the day that is especially for worshipping Mādhavendra Purī. He was such a devotee that if he saw a dark cloud in the sky, he would faint in ecstasy! If he heard the name of Kṛṣṇa, he would just immediately become ecstatic, and start to shout loudly! HARIBOL! HARIBOL! HARIIIIIIIIBOL! He was a very special devotee! He would go into mahābhāva and all his hairs would stand on ends, his voice would choke up. So he was a very special devotee! So, on his disappearance day, Advaita Ācārya had arranged a big festival. I think that we could take the example that he gave, for Gaura Pūrṇimā festival. All the Vaiṣṇavas had come and volunteered for different services. Lord Nityānanda, He took responsibility to give garlands, and sandalwood pulp to all the visiting Vaiṣṇavas. One devotee took the responsibility to bathe the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas. Mother Śacī and the different vaisnavis took the responsibility of cooking the feast! And some devotees were chanting, some were dancing, some were doing different services. Someone distributing prasādam and all that could be heard was the sound of Hari! HARIBOL! HARIBOL! HARIBOL! You want more you say Hari! You have had enough you say Hari! So the name of Hari was all pervasive! And then we usually calculate how many quintals of rice. Bins. They would calculate as how many cottages of ingredients! 10-12 cottages of leaf plates, banana leaves, 2-4 cottages of cipiṭaka, some kind of sweet, but I am still trying to find out the recipe! cipiṭaka! But they had cottages of like, 2-4 cottages of mung sprouts, 2-4 of mung-dal, big piles of firewood as high as mountains. So, that is so many ingredients that Lord Caitanya said that no human being can do this, I think Advaita Ācārya must be an avatāra of Mahadeva!  It is not possible for Him, but for Lord Maheśa it is possible. And in the Bhāgavatam it says that Śiva was always chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. And Satī was saying to her father that everybody glorifies Śiva and the two syllable name Śi-va is all auspicious. And just by saying the name one is freed from all sins! But nobody is offensive to Him except You. I don’t want the body which will come from you, if you have offended Śiva. And there is another verse that I think from one of the Purāṇas, it says that if you don’t respect Śiva, you cannot worship Kṛṣṇa because He is very dear to Kṛṣṇa – vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ. So, we should worship Lord Śiva as the greatest Vaiṣṇavas. One of the four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas comes from Lord Śiva. So, like this, then Lord Caitanya said, anyone who takes prasādam at this place, on this tithi, they certainly get bhakti for Govinda and Vṛndāvandāsa Ṭhākura, he was saying what pastimes Lord Caitanya would do in one day. It cannot be described in thousands of years. So, he said that he only is able to explain a little bit, but the pastimes are so amazing that it can be described by Anantadeva with thousands of mouths and never finds an end!! So, anyone who hears the pastime of Lord Caitanya, respectfully, they get love of Kṛṣṇa, certainly! Haribol! Gauuurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

So, we will read some more pastimes.

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Chapter entitled as Wonderful Transformations of Mahāprabhu During Kīrtana in The Courtyard of Śrīvāsa – continued…

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.152

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe āpane ye gāya ucca-dhvani
brahmāṇḍa bhedaye yena hena-mata śuni

Translation: Sometimes the Lord sang so loudly that the sound vibration pierced the covering of the universe.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, His body would perspire in such a way that it seemed like the Ganges was flowing from His body.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.153

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe haya aṅga brahmāṇḍera bhara
dharite samartha keha nahe anucara

Translation: Sometimes His body became as heavy as the universe, then none of His followers could hold Him still.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.154

kṣaṇe haya tulā haite atyanta pātala
hariṣe kariyā kāndhe bulaye sakala

Translation: Sometimes He would become as light as cotton, and His followers would happily carry Him on their shoulders.

Sometimes the Lord's body would become lighter than cotton. The devotees would then carry Him on their shoulders to different places.

The word pātala means “thin,” “light,” or “tiny.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.155

prabhure kariyā kāndhe bhāgavata-gaṇa
pūrṇānanda hai' kare aṅgane bhramaṇa

Translation: The pure devotees happily carried the Lord on their shoulders and wandered around the courtyard.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.156

yakhane yā haya prabhu ānande mūrchita
karṇa-mūle sabe `hari' bale ati bhīta

Translation: Whenever the Lord fell unconscious to the ground out of bliss, the devotees became very frightened and chanted the name of Hari in His ear.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.157

kṣāne kṣaṇe sarva aṅge haya mahākampa
mahāśīte bāje yena bālakera danta

Translation: Sometimes His entire body shook vigorously like a boy's teeth chattering due to excessive cold.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.158

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe mahāsveda haya kalevare
mūrtimatī gaṅgā yena āilāśarīre

Translation: Sometimes His body perspired in such a way that it appeared that the Ganges was flowing from His body.

(reader skipped these 6 verses(?))

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.159

kakhana vā haya aṅga jvalanta anala
dite mātra malayaja śukhāya sakala

Translation: Sometimes His body became as hot as a blazing fire, and when sandalwood pulp was smeared on His body, it dried immediately.

Sometimes the heat of His body was like a blazing fire, for as soon as sandalwood pulp was applied to His body, it would dry up. The word malayaja refers to the sandalwood brought from the Malaya Hills.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes His body was burning like a forest fire. And if someone put sandalwood pulp on His body, it would dry immediately. So, sometimes Lord Caitanya, He would laugh for three hours, sometimes He would cry for three hours. Sometimes He would perspire like rivers of Ganges water and sometimes His body would become so hot that even if one put cooling sandalwood pulp on His head or body, it would immediately dry up. Such was the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.160

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe adbhuta vahaye mahāśvāsa
sammukha chāḍiyā sabe haya eka-pāśa

Translation: Sometimes the Lord would sigh heavily, and everyone would move out of the way of His breath.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes the Lord would sigh so heavily that everyone would move to one side, to avoid His forceful sighing.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.161

kṣaṇe yāya sabāra caraṇa dharibāre
palāya vaiṣṇava-gaṇa cāri-dike ḍare

Translation: Sometimes He tried to catch everyone's feet, and the Vaiṣṇavas ran away out of fear.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He tried to catch the lotus feet of all the Vaiṣṇavas. And the Vaiṣṇavas would run away out of fear.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.162

kṣaṇe nityānanda-aṅge pṛṣṭha diyā vase
caraṇa tuliyā sabākāre caḥi' hāse

Translation: Sometimes He would sit, leaning against Nityānanda, and sometimes He lifted His feet, looked at everyone, and smiled.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes He would lean against Lord Nityānanda, sitting. Sometimes, He lifted His lotus feet, looked at everyone and smiled.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.163

bujhiyā iṅgita saba bhāgavata-gaṇa
luṭaye caraṇa-dhuli apūrva ratana

Translation: Understanding the intention of the Lord, all the devotees stole the wonderful jewel-like dust from the Lord's lotus feet.

Jayapatākā Swami: Understanding the intention of the Lord, all the devotees present stole the dust from the lotus feet of the Lord, which was like an incomparable jewel.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.164

ācārya gosāñi bale,—“āre āre corā!
bhāṅgila sakala tora bhāri-bhuri morā”

Translation: Ācārya Gosāñi said, “আরে আরে চোরা! (Hey Hey thief!), we have broken into Your hidden treasury.

Advaita Prabhu addressed Gaurasundara as cora, or “thief,” and said,

“Now we understand Your glories.” The phrase bhāri-bhuri means “opulence,” “gravity,” “reverence,” “self-esteem,” “glories,” or “pride.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Ācārya Advaita Gosāñi said, ‘hey hey, thief!’ ‘We have broken into Your hidden treasury!’ So Advaita Ācārya, He was saying that everybody could understand the glories of Lord Caitanya, the opulence. And therefore, they were taking the jewel like dust from the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.165

mahānande viśvambhara gaḍāgaḍi yāya
cāri-dike bhakta-gaṇa kṛṣṇa-guṇa gāya

Translation: Viśvambhara rolled on the ground in ecstasy as all the devotees sang the glories of Kṛṣṇa on all sides.

Jayapatākā Swami: As the devotees were saying the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa on all the sides, Viśvambhara rolled on the ground in great ecstasy! So, Lord Caitanya would feel unlimited loving ecstasy, as they glorified the qualities of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.166

yakhana uddaṇḍa nāce prabhu viśvambhara
pṛthivī kampita haya, sabe pāya ḍara

Translation: When Lord Viśvambhara danced madly, the earth shook and everyone became frightened.

Jayapatākā Swami: When Lord Viśvambhara danced like a mad man, the earth shook and tremored. Everyone became frightened.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.167

kakhano vā madhura nācaye viśvambhara
yena dekhi nandera nandana naṭavara

Translation: Sometimes Viśvambhara danced so sweetly it resembled the enchanting dance of Nanda's son.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, Viśvambhara Prabhu danced very sweetly, and it resembled the enchanting dance of Nanda Mahārāja’s son, who was the most expert dancer.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.168

kakhano vā kare koṭi-siṁhera huṅkāra
karṇa-rakṣā-hetu sabe anugraha tāṅra

Translation: Sometimes His roaring resembled that of millions of lions, yet by His mercy, everyone's ears were saved from harm.

Although the sound of the Lord's roaring like a million lions was capable of breaking the living entities' eardrums, He mercifully protected their weak eardrums.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He would roar like millions of lions. And yet by His mercy, everyone’s ears were saved from harm. So, the Lord’s loud roaring was like a million lions that was capable of breaking everybody’s ear drums. But mercifully the Lord protected everyone’s ears.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.169

pṛthivīra ālaga haiyā kṣaṇe yāya
keha vā dekhaye, keha dekhite nā pāya

Translation: Sometimes when He walked, He walked above the ground. Some persons saw this, while others could not.

The loud roaring of the Lord sometimes cracked the earth. Sometimes He walked above the ground, in other words, without touching the ground. Some devotees saw this, while others could not.

The word ālaga, or ālga (derived from the word alagna), means “aloof,” “separated,” or “different.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, when He walked, He walked above the earth. Some people saw this, while others could not. So sometimes, the Lord’s loud roaring cracked the earth. Sometimes He walked above the earth. So, like this some could see, some could not, that He was walking above the earth.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.170

bhāvāveśe pākala locane yāre cāya
mahātrāsa pāñā sei hāsiyā palāya

Translation: In His ecstasy, whoever the Lord looked at with His red eyes would first become frightened and then run away laughing.

The word pākala means “blood-red,” “red,” or “crimson.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, when the Lord was absorbed in His loving ecstasy, whoever He looked at, would at first become frightened, and then after that, they would run away laughing. So, He would have an ecstatic glance, His eyes would be red.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.171

bhāvāveśe cañcala haiyā viśvambhara
nācena vihvala hañā nāhi parāpara

Translation: Viśvambhara became agitated in ecstasy and danced forgetful of His self and others.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Viśvambhara Prabhu, He became absorbed, agitated in ecstasy and He would dance unconscious of the others and even of His own body. He would be completely absorbed in ecstasy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.172

bhāvāveśe eka-bāra dhare yā'ra pāya
āra bāra punaḥ tā'ra uṭhaye māthāya

Translation: In ecstasy, He would catch the feet of someone and then climb on his head.

Sometimes the Lord touched the feet of a devotee, and sometimes He climbed on that devotee's head.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, absorbed in ecstasy, He would sometimes grab a devotee’s lotus feet. Another time, He would climb up on the head of some other devotee, maybe that devotee. Sometimes He would grab his feet, sometimes he would climb up to the head, like this. He was enjoying the pastime with all the devotees.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.173

kṣaṇe yā'ra galā dhari' karaye krandana
kṣaṇeke tāhāra kāndhe kare ārohaṇa

Translation: Sometimes He would cry while embracing someone around their neck, and then the next moment He would climb on his shoulders.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He would grab some devotee by the neck and cry. Sometimes, He would climb on that devotee’s shoulders.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.174

kṣaṇe haya bālya-bhāve parama cañcala
mukhe vādya bāya yena chāoyāla-sakala

Translation: Sometimes He would become extremely restless in the mood of a child and make various childish noises in His mouth.

Sometimes the Lord made various noises with His mouth like a most restless child.

The word bāya (a shortened form of bājāya) means “to play [an instrument].”

The word chāoyāla means “child,” “boy,” or “inexperienced.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He would become in the mood of a child, become extremely restless. And in His mouth, He would make various childish noises, like a child makes.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.175

caraṇa nācāya kṣaṇe, khala khala hāse
jānu-gati cale kṣaṇe bālaka-āveśe

Translation: Sometimes He shook His feet and laughed exuberantly. Sometimes He crawled on His knees like a small child.

The phrase jānu-gati cale refers to crawling about on one's knees. Jānu-gati means “moving with the knees” or “crawling.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He would dance on His feet, sometimes He would laugh exuberantly, sometimes He would crawl on His knees like a small baby.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.176

kṣaṇe kṣaṇe haya bhāva—tribhaṅga-sundara
prahareka sei-mata thāke viśvambhara

Translation: Sometimes Viśvambhara became absorbed in the mood of Kṛṣṇa, in His beautiful threefold bending form. He remained in that state for three hours.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes, He would be absorbed, in the mood of Kṛṣṇa in His threefold bending form which is very beautiful. And He would stay in that position for three hours.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.177

kṣaṇe dhyāna kari' kare muralīra chanda
sākṣāt dekhiye yena vṛndāvana-candra

Translation: Sometimes He would become absorbed in meditation and play a flute. Then He appeared exactly like Kṛṣṇa, the moonlike Lord of Vṛndāvana.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes He would be absorbed in meditation of Kṛṣṇa and play the flute. Then He appeared just like Vṛndāvana-candra, Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.179

bāhya pāi' dāsya-bhāve karaye krandana
dante tṛṇa kari' cāhe caraṇa-sevana

Translation: On regaining His external consciousness, He would cry in the mood of a servant. He would hold straw between His teeth and beg for the service of the Lord's lotus feet.

Jayapatākā Swami: Regaining His external consciousness, He cried in a mood of a servant of Kṛṣṇa. He would take a straw in His teeth and He would beg for the service of Kṛṣṇa‘s lotus feet.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 8.179

cakrākṛti hai' kṣaṇe prahareka phire
āpana caraṇa giyā lāge nija śire

Translation: Sometimes He whirled in a circle for three hours, and sometimes He danced in such way that His feet touched His head.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, He would spin around in a circle, nonstop for three hours. He would dance in such a way that sometimes His lotus feet touched His head.

So, Lord Caitanya was in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, in his garden and all these ecstasies He would display. Devotees could understand what if these ecstasies were shown outside, the people could not understand.

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Are there any questions? And also, there is a book table at the back, if you want you can get a book and I can sign later.

Question: Advaita Gaurahari dāsa, Germany: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear Guru Mahārāja, PAMRO (Guru Mahārāja said: Accepted) Now in the current situation with the corona virus, what would you advise to do? Should we stop hall programs for a while and instead do more street harināma and outside book distribution? Your servant.

Jayapatākā Swami: You have to see what the local situation is. And see who calls the shots. You know, in some places, people are advised to stay in the house and they are self-quarantined.  In that case, doing Harinam outside and book distribution would not be possible. They are advising not to shake hands, not to kiss! Someone in Italy said, I cannot follow, I have to kiss!! Ha! I am from Sicily! So, everyone recommends that we should wash our hands with soap, frequently, especially before we eat. And not to touch our face. Some lady, newscaster, she was showing how it is not possible not to touch the face. In one minute, 13 times she would touch her face! Itching in the nose, eyes. So I don’t know, what is possible? Sometimes, some yogis say that is just an air borne disease. So by chanting mantras, the disease won’t affect you. I don’t know. But at least we can wash our hands! Ha! Ha! We can avoid kissing and shaking hands! Someone in the newscast said we all become like Indians, Namaste! (Fold hands) There could be worse things! So you have to see the situation in each country. In Iran, they have banned the Friday prayers. I was thinking that here in Mayapur we are having maṅgalāratis and huge crowds of devotees! Of course if anyone gets sick it could be an emergency situation. But anyway we are requesting people to see to their personal hygiene, don’t shake hands, don’t touch, just general advice. But, it is hard to say, we don’t unnecessarily want to not chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! And, if it becomes very serious, we all will be watching mangala arati on Mayapur TV, that is what I do! Because the doctor says I should avoid crowds! They should announce, they always announce that ladies should go for tulasī-pūjā behind Narasiṁhadeva. They never say the men should come this side. I saw that sometimes the men are there with the ladies and their family, ha! Ha! And I don’t know what happened! But they announce that if anyone is coughing or sneezing or with a cold, they should not go to the temple. They should have themselves checked in the hospital.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja, daṇḍavat praṇāmas (Jayapatākā Swami: Yes!) To help us deepen our preaching in Latin America, please can you give us three pieces of advice about preaching effectively in Latin America? Your servant, Sāndīpani Muni Kṛṣṇa dāsa, London, UK.

Jayapatākā Swami: ‘bala kṛṣṇa, bhaja kṛṣṇa, kara kṛṣṇa-sikṣā'! Lord Caitanya asked us, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, worship or serve Kṛṣṇa and study Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. But also prasādam, they like it! So, you have four things! Chanting, serving, studying the books and eating prasādam! Can you do this extreme austerity, this maha tapasya! Eating prasādam?!!

No questions? Anybody here new?

Offering: Guru Mahārāja, Today Bhaktin Zang Zing Zow and Bhaktin Zang Zing Hung donated Rs. Ten thousand for the Śāntīpura festival. Nārāyaṇī devī dāsī also donated ten thousand rupees for the Śāntīpura festival. These three devotees are in China.

Jayapatākā Swami: Not this Nārāyaṇī, the one in China! So let us all chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

Bhaktin Zang Zing Zow and Bhakti Zang Zing Hung.

Sevā Padmā dd and her bhakti-vṛkṣa members, from Dāmodaradeśa donated fifty thousand rupees for Śāntīpura festival. And here devotees yesterday contributed 23 thousand and day before yesterday, 48 thousand rupees.

Special offering to Guru Mahārāja from Sahiśṇu Kṛṣṇa dāsa and family 71 Bhagavad-gītās.

Bhaktin Mohinī Murali, donated one square foot of the TOVP, 7000 rupees.

Offering: Thank you! So we got Rs. 20000 from Caitya Guru in China on behalf of his parents, for Śāntīpura festival.

Jayapatākā Swami: Thank you Bhaktin Caitya Guru dāsī.

Mandakinī Mātājī, Guru Mahārāja’s god-sister wanted to share a few words with Guru Mahārāja.

This year the midterm GBC meeting is in Pune, India. We look forward to seeing you then. (Guru Mahārāja told a new devotee who had come there).

Submission: Mātājī had a ten-year-old son who was chanting. But the parents cannot come out of depression. They want your blessings so they can come out of depression.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes when a child leaves his body and he is chanting, he will go back to Godhead. (Guru Mahārāja started talking in Hindi. And then switched to English as he was being translated into Hindi for the Mātājī.)  One sadhu was giving blessings, so he gave blessings to a young brahmacārī, may you die right away because if he dies as a brahmacārī, as a young man, he will go back to Godhead. The king, he told, that you will live a long time, because when he dies he will go to hell! Ha! And one butcher who was there, he said, you live or die, it is the same! You are living in hell and if you die you go to hell! And one pure Vaiṣṇava, your living or dying is the same! Living, you are in the spiritual world and dying, you go back to the spiritual world! So, if your son had cancer from four years of age, and left at ten when he was chanting, that is auspicious, that he would probably go back to Godhead!