20210111 Lord Caitanya Visits Ālālanātha (Part 1)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 11th, 2021 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!

Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book,

Lord Caitanya Visits Ālālanātha

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.59

prabhura ālālanātha-pathe dakṣiṇa-yātrā :— 
samudra-tīre tīre ālālanātha-pathe
sārvabhauma kahilena ācārya-gopīnāthe

Translation: While the Lord was going along the path to Ālālanātha, which was located on the seashore, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya gave the following orders to Gopīnātha Ācārya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.60

gopīnāthadvārā sārvabhaumera 4 khānā kaupīna-bahirvāsa gṛha haite ānāiyā prabhuke dāna:— 
cāri kaupīna-bahirvāsa rākhiyāchi ghare
tāhā, prasādānna, lañā āisa vipra-dvāre

Translation: “Bring the four sets of loincloths and outer garments I keep at home, and also some prasādam of Lord Jagannātha. You may carry these things with the help of some brāhmaṇa.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.61

rāyarāmānanda saha sākṣātkārera janya sārvabhaumera prabhuke anurodha:— 
tabe sārvabhauma kahe prabhura caraṇe
avaśya pālibe, prabhu, mora nivedane

Translation: While Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was departing, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya submitted the following at His lotus feet: “My Lord, I have one final request that I hope You will kindly fulfill.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.62

‘rāmānanda rāya’ āche godāvarī-tīre
adhikārī hayena teṅho vidyānagare

Translation: “In the town of Vidyānagara, on the bank of the Godāvarī, there is a responsible government officer named Rāmānanda Rāya.

Purport: In the Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that Vidyānagara is today known as Porbandar. There is another Porbandar in western India, in the province of Gujarat.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.63

śūdra viṣayi-jñāne upekṣā nā karibe
āmāra vacane tāṅre avaśya milibe

Translation: “Please do not neglect him, thinking he belongs to a śūdra family engaged in material activities. It is my request that You meet him without fail.”

Purport: In the varṇāśrama-dharma, the śūdra is the fourth division in the social status. Paricaryātmakaṁ karma śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam (Bg. 18.44). Śūdras are meant to engage in the service of the three higher classes — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya belonged to the karaṇa class, which is the equivalent of the kāyastha class in Bengal. This class is regarded all over India as śūdra. It is said that the Bengali kāyasthas were originally engaged as servants of brāhmaṇas who came from North India to Bengal. Later, the clerical class became the kāyasthas in Bengal. Now there are many mixed classes known as kāyastha. Sometimes it is said in Bengal that those who cannot claim any particular class belong to the kāyastha class. Although these kāyasthas or karaṇas are considered śūdras, they are very intelligent and highly educated. Most of them are professionals such as lawyers or politicians. Thus in Bengal the kāyasthas are sometimes considered kṣatriyas. In Orissa, however, the kāyastha class, which includes the karaṇas, is considered in the śūdra category. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya belonged to this karaṇa class; therefore he was considered a śūdra. He was also the governor of South India under the regime of Mahārāja Pratāparudra of Orissa. In other words, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya informed Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that Rāmānanda Rāya, although belonging to the śūdra class, was a highly responsible government officer. As far as spiritual advancement is concerned, materialists, politicians and śūdras are generally disqualified. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya therefore requested that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu not neglect Rāmānanda Rāya, who was highly advanced spiritually although he was born a śūdra and a materialist. A viṣayī is one who is attached to family life and is interested only in wife, children and worldly sense gratification. The senses can be engaged either in worldly enjoyment or in the service of the Lord. Those who are not engaged in the service of the Lord and are interested only in material sense gratification are called viṣayī. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya was engaged in government service, and he belonged to the karaṇa class. He was certainly not a sannyāsī in saffron cloth, yet he was in the transcendental position of a paramahaṁsa householder. Before becoming Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s disciple, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya considered Rāmānanda Rāya an ordinary viṣayī because he was a householder engaged in government service. However, when the Bhaṭṭācārya was actually enlightened in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, he could understand the exalted transcendental position of Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya; therefore he referred to him as adhikārī. An adhikārī is one who knows the transcendental science of Kṛṣṇa and is engaged in His service; therefore all gṛhastha devotees are designated as dāsa-adhikārī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Lord Caitanya taught yei kṛṣṇa-tattva vettā, sei 'guru' haya – one who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he is a guru. So Rāmānanda Rāya although he was born in a lower class, he knew the science of Kṛṣṇa. This is the thing that Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya realized.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.64

tomāra saṅgera yogya teṅho eka jana
pṛthivīte rasika bhakta nāhi tāṅra sama

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya continued, “Rāmānanda Rāya is a fit person to associate with You; no other devotee can compare with him in knowledge of the transcendental mellows.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmānanda Rāya is said to be incarnation of Viśākā devi and as such he knew the intimate aspects of the transcendental mellow between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.65

pāṇḍitya āra bhakti-rasa,—duṅhera teṅho sīmā
sambhāṣile jānibe tumi tāṅhāra mahimā

Translation: “He is a most learned scholar as well as an expert in devotional mellows. Actually he is most exalted, and if You talk with him, You will see how glorious he is.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.66

pūrve vaiṣṇava ke smārta apekṣā laghu-jñāne bhaṭṭera upahāsa :— 
alaukika vākya ceṣṭā tāṅra nā bujhiyā
parihāsa kariyāchi tāṅre ’vaiṣṇava’ baliyā

Translation: “I could not realize when I first spoke with Rāmānanda Rāya that his topics and endeavors were all transcendentally uncommon. I made fun of him simply because he was a Vaiṣṇava.”

Purport: Anyone who is a not a Vaiṣṇava, or an unalloyed devotee of the Supreme Lord, must be a materialist. A Vaiṣṇava living according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s injunctions Caitanya means “spiritual force.” All of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s activities were carried out on the platform of spiritual understanding; therefore only those who are on the spiritual platform are able to understand the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Materialistic persons cannot understand these activities and are generally known as karmīs or jñānīs. The jñānīs are mental speculators who simply try to understand what is spirit and what is matter. Their process is neti neti: “ This is not spirit, this is not Brahman. The jñānīs are a little more advanced than the dull-headed karmīs, who are simply interested in sense gratification. Before becoming a Vaiṣṇava, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a mental speculator (jñānī), and being such, he always cut jokes with Vaiṣṇavas. A Vaiṣṇava never agrees with the speculative system of the jñānīs. Both the jñānīs and karmīs depend on direct sense perception for their imperfect knowledge. The karmīs never agree to accept anything not directly perceived, and the jñānīs put forth only hypotheses. However, the Vaiṣṇavas, the unalloyed devotees of the Lord, do not follow the process of acquiring knowledge by direct sense perception or mental speculation. Because they are servants of the Supreme Lord, devotees receive knowledge directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He speaks it in the Bhagavad-gītā, or sometimes as He imparts it from within as the caitya-guru. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

The Vedas are considered to have been spoken by the Supreme Lord. They were first realized by Brahmā, who is the first created being within the universe (tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye). Our process is to receive knowledge through the paramparā system, from Kṛṣṇa to Brahmā, to Nārada, Vyāsa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the six Gosvāmīs. By disciplic succession, Lord Brahmā was enlightened from within by the original person, Kṛṣṇa. Our knowledge is fully perfect due to being handed from master to disciple A Vaiṣṇava is always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus neither karmīs nor jñānīs can understand the activities of a Vaiṣṇava. It is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā-mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even the most learned man depending on direct perception of knowledge cannot understand the activities of a Vaiṣṇava. After being initiated into Vaiṣṇavism by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya realized what a mistake he had made in trying to understand Rāmānanda Rāya, who was very learned and whose endeavors were all directed to rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: So when Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was practicing the system of jñāna-yoga, he could not appreciate or understand the situation of Rāmānanda Rāya. After achieving devotional service, he could understand that Rāmānanda Rāya was a very exceptional devotee. So, he was advising Lord Caitanya to see him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.67

pare caitanya-kṛpāya cinmaya-vaiṣṇava-mahima-upalabdhi :— 
tomāra prasāde ebe jāninu tāṅra tattva
sambhāṣile jānibe tāṅra yemana mahattva

Translation: The Bhaṭṭācārya said, “By Your mercy I can now understand the truth about Rāmānanda Rāya. In talking with him, You also will acknowledge his greatness.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.68

prabhura tadvākyapālane sammati :— 
aṅgīkāra kari’ prabhu tāṅhāra vacana
tāṅre vidāya dite tāṅre kaila āliṅgana

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s request that He meet Rāmānanda Rāya. Bidding Sārvabhauma farewell, the Lord embraced him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.69

prabhukarttṛka vaiṣṇava-gṛhasthake sammāna :— 
“hare kṛṣṇa bhaji’ more kariha āśīrvāde
nīlācale āsi’ yena tomāra prasāde”

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the Bhaṭṭācārya to bless Him while he engaged in the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa at home, so that by Sārvabhauma’s mercy the Lord could return to Jagannātha Purī.

Purport: The word kariha āśīrvāde means “continue to bestow your blessings upon Me.” Being a sannyāsī, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in the fourth order of life and was thus due all respect and adoration, whereas Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, as a householder, was in the second order. A sannyāsī is supposed to offer blessings to a gṛhastha, yet now, by His practical behavior, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested the blessings of a gṛhastha. This incident shows the special significance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s preaching. He gave equal status to everyone, regardless of material considerations. His movement is thoroughly spiritual. Although apparently a gṛhastha (householder), Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was unlike the so-called karmīs interested in sense gratification. After being initiated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Bhaṭṭācārya was perfectly situated in the spiritual order; therefore it was quite possible for him to offer blessings even to a sannyāsī. He was always engaged in the service of the Lord, even at home. In our disciplic line we have the example of a perfect householder paramahaṁsa —Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. In his book Śaraṇāgati, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states, ye-dina gṛhe, bhajana dekhi’, gṛhete goloka bhāya (Śaraṇāgati 31.6). Whenever a householder glorifies the Supreme Lord in his home, his activities are immediately transformed into the activities of Goloka Vṛndāvana, spiritual activities taking place in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet of Kṛṣṇa. Activities exhibited by Kṛṣṇa Himself at Bhauma Vṛndāvana, the Vṛndāvana-dhāma existing on this planet, are not different from His activities on the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana. This is proper realization of Vṛndāvana anywhere. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we inaugurated the New Vṛndāvana activities, wherein devotees are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and this is not different from Goloka Vṛndāvana. The conclusion is that one who acts strictly in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is competent to offer blessings to sannyāsīs, even though he be a gṛhastha householder. Although he is in an exalted position, a sannyāsī still must elevate himself to the transcendental platform by rendering service to the Lord. By His actual behavior, Caitanya Mahāprabhu begged the blessings of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. In this way He set the example of how one should expect blessings from a Vaiṣṇava regardless of his social position.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was showing that His spiritual movement was beyond the varṇāśrama. These people by being exalted Vaiṣṇavas, were able to give blessing to everyone. So, it is very important that we understand that the actual perfection of life is to be a devotee of the Lord, a Vaiṣṇava. The external varṇa is secondary. The actual thing which is important is the position of being a devotee of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.70

prabhura yātrā o sārvabhaumera mūrcchā :— 
eta bali’ mahāprabhu karilā gamana
mūrcchita hañā tāhāṅ paḍilā sārvabhauma

Translation: Saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu departed on His tour, and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya immediately fainted and fell to the ground.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.1

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was feeling such separation from the Lord as soon as the Lord departed, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fainted on the ground. Such is the unalloyed devotion for Lord Caitanya.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca 3.14.1

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was so disturbed by Gaurāṅga's departure that he fainted on that very spot. Similarly, the hearts of all the other devotees were very much perturbed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.71

nirapekṣa prabhu :— 
tāṅre upekṣiyā kaila śīghra gamana
ke bujhite pāre mahāprabhura citta-mana

Translation: Although Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fainted, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not take notice of him. Rather, He left quickly. Who can understand the mind and intention of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?

Purport: It was naturally expected that when Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fainted and fell to the ground Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have taken care of him and waited for him to regain consciousness, but He did not do so. Rather, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately started on His tour. It is therefore very difficult to understand the activities of a transcendental person. Sometimes they may seem rather odd, but a transcendental personality remains in his position, unaffected by material considerations.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in some of these incidents, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya at this time and other times, Gadādhara prabhu, they would faint in separation of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord would stop, sometimes He would go on. If the Lord stopped whenever someone fainted in separation, He can never go on, because it is very common that He inspired such love among these devotees. So He would proceed in His transcendental way.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.72

mahānubhāvera cittera svabhāva ei haya
puṣpa-sama komala, kaṭhina vajra-maya

Translation: This is the nature of the mind of an uncommon personality. Sometimes it is soft like a flower, but sometimes it is as hard as a thunderbolt.

Purport: The softness of a flower and the hardness of a thunderbolt are reconciled in the behavior of a great personality. The following quotation from Uttara-rāma-carita (2.7) explains this behavior. One may also consult the Madhya-līlā, third chapter, verse 212.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.73

paraspara viruddha-dharmera samāśraya bhagavānera nyāya bhagavadbhaktao komala o kaṭhora :— bhavabhūtikṛta ‘uttara-rāmacarite’ tṛtīyāṅke 2/7–23śa śloka

vajrād api kaṭhorāṇi
mṛdūni kusumād api
lokottarāṇāṁ cetāṁsi
ko nu vijñātum īśvaraḥ

Translation: “The hearts of those above common behavior are sometimes harder than a thunderbolt and sometimes softer than a flower. How can one accommodate such contradictions in great personalities?”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 7.74

nityānanda prabhu bhaṭṭācārye uṭhāila
tāṅra loka-saṅge tāṅre ghare pāṭhāila

Translation: Lord Nityānanda Prabhu raised Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and with the help of His men saw him to his home.

Jayapatākā Swami: We will end here. How Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fainted and Lord Nityānanda helped him to get up, and send some of His devotees, with him to his house. So, Lord Caitanya, He was an uncommon personality, sometimes He was soft as a flower, sometimes harder than the thunderbolt. So being an independent Lord, He has to manifest His pastimes and that required a kind of determination.

Since I have to do various kinds of protocols and treatments for my health, so I have to end here, we will start tomorrow.