20210706 Mādhavendra Purī is Pleased to Meet Advaita Ācārya and Accepts Him as a Disciple Part 2

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 6th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, Today's chapter is entitled as:

Mādhavendra Purī is Pleased to Meet Advaita Ācārya and Accepts Him as a Disciple Part 2

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.425

ei duḥkhe purīpādera vanavāse icchā— 
dekhite śunite duḥkhīśrī-mādhava-purī
mane mane cinte vane vāsa giyā kari'

Jayapatākā Swami: On seeing and hearing such things, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī became unhappy. He considered going to reside in the forest.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.426

prakṛta vaiṣṇavera ekānta durlabhatva — 
“loka-madhye bhrami kene vaiṣṇava dekhite
kothāo ‘vaiṣṇava’ nāma nāśuni jagate

Jayapatākā Swami: “Why am I looking for a Vaiṣṇava among ordinary people? In this world I have not even heard the word `Vaiṣṇava.' We can see Śrī Mādhavendra Purī had been wandering all over the world, atleast all over India and he is not able to find anyone who is a Vaiṣṇava, not even the word Vaiṣṇava, what to speak of actually seeing a Vaiṣṇava. Although he was wondering, the Vaiṣṇava concept was missing.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.427

purīpāda-kartṛka asambhāṣya lokālaya haite pāṣaṇḍajanahīna vane gamanera śreṣṭhatā-vicāra— 
ataeva e sakala loka-madhya haite
vane yāi, yathā loka nā pāi dekhite

Jayapatākā Swami: “Therefore I should leave these people and go to the forest so that I do not have to see such people.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.428

eteke se vana bhāla e saba haite
vane kathā nahe avaiṣṇavera sahite”

Jayapatākā Swami: “The forest is a better place to live, because I do not have to speak with non-devotees there.”

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: “When there is no public discussion of topics regarding the Supreme Lord, if I speak with anyone, I hear only about the illusory energy of the Lord. So, it is better for me to live in the forest, where there are no ordinary people and no non-devotees.” These considerations prominently arose in the mind of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, every devotee is responsible to maintain their Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and we can see from this example of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī that he was thinking, better to live in the forest, rather than being in a public place and have to discuss mundane topics. Of course, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement gives us a great facility since the coming of Lord Caitanya and His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda spread the Kṛṣṇa conscious vāṇi all over the world. We can distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s literatures and in this way engage the non-devotees to read about Kṛṣṇa. So, in this way one can avoid mundane association, by always keeping Kṛṣṇa in the center.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.429

eirūpa duḥkha-cintā-nimagna purīpādera advaita-prabhura sahita sākṣāt— 
ei mata manoduḥkha bhāvite cintite
īśvara-icchāya dekhā advaita-sahite

Jayapatākā Swami: While he was unhappily contemplating in this way, by the will of the Supreme Lord he met Advaita Ācārya.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.430

viṣṇu-bhakti-śūṇya dekhi’ sakala-saṁsāra
advaita ācārya duḥkha bhāvena apāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita Ācārya was greatly unhappy to see the entire world devoid of devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu.

So, Lord Advaita Ācārya after seeing Śrī Mādhavendra Purī had a similar thought, and they were both feeling unhappy that people were not practicing devotional service. The saw that the world was void of Śrī Kṛṣṇa bhakti.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.431

hari-bhakti-hīna saṁsārera durdaśā-darśane advaitācāryera hṛdayeo viṣama duḥkha; nirantara gītā-bhāgavatera pāṭha o bhakti-saṅgata vyākhyā— 
tathāpi advaita-siṁha kṛṣṇera kṛpāya
dṛḍha kari' viṣṇu-bhakti vākhāne sadāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Still, by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the lionlike Lord Advaita always preached the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu with firm determination.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: While Śrī Mādhavendra was feeling distress because of the absence of association with Kṛṣṇa's devotees, Śrī Advaita Prabhu, by the mercy of the Supreme Lord, began to forcefully preach the devotional service of Viṣṇu.

Jayapatākā Swami: This shows that one should not be discouraged that there is no devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Still, they should serve with determination, by giving out the mercy of the teachings of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.432

nirantara paḍāyena gītā-bhāgavata
bhakti vākhānena mātra—granthera ye mata

Jayapatākā Swami: Advaita Ācārya constantly taught Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. He taught that devotional service was the purport of these two literatures.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Māyāvādīs averse to the Lord's service do not discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and they cannot understand the purport of Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore Śrī Advaita Prabhu gave the karmīs, yogis, and Māyāvādīs an opportunity to hear explanations of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam based on devotional service. Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam never recommend any path other than devotional service. Because people averse to the mellows of devotional service do not understand this, they consider Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as literatures averse to the principles of devotional service. Actually, the only aim of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is to make all living entities inclined to Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: We understand from this, how important is to study Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-bhāgavatam. Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions that these two literatures are the basis for one being a spiritual master, so devotees should be well-versed in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.433

erūpa samaye advaitācāryera gṛhe mādhavendrera āgamana— 
henai samaye mādhavendra mahāśaya
advaitera gṛhe āsi' hailā udaya

Jayapatākā Swami: At that time Śrī Mādhavendra Purī arrived at the house of Lord Advaita.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Mādhavendra Purī arrived at the house of Advaita Prabhu in Śāntipura when Advaita was exhibiting enthusiasm for preaching.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.434

mādhavendra-purīra prati advaita prabhura praṇati o purīpādera āliṅgana— 
dekhiyā advaita tāna vaiṣṇava-lakṣaṇa
praṇāma haiyā paḍilena sei-kṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: As soon as Lord Advaita saw the signs of a Vaiṣṇava in Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, Lord Advaita offered him obeisances. So Lord Advaita and Śrī Mādhavendra Purī were anxious to meet a Vaiṣṇava, when Advaita saw a Vaiṣṇava, as a gṛhastha-brāhmaṇa He offered his obeisances to the sannyāsī Vaiṣṇava Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.435

mādhavendra-purī o advaita kari’ kole
siñcilena aṅga tāna premānanda-jale

Jayapatākā Swami: And Śrī Mādhavendra Purī embraced Advaita Ācārya and soaked his body with tears of ecstatic love.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.436

paraspara kṛṣṇa-kathāya tanmaya— 
anyo’nye kṛṣṇa-kathā-rase dui-jana
āpanāra deha kāro nā haya smaraṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: They both became so absorbed in discussing topics of Kṛṣṇa consciousness between themselves that they forgot about their bodies.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Śrī Mādhavendra and Śrī Advaita became so intoxicated by the mellows of discussing Kṛṣṇa's topics that they forgot about their own bodies. The conditioned souls of this material world are always absorbed in contrary topics. They are so intoxicated by the bodily concept of life that they have no remembrance of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is a difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee meeting and a materialist. So, because Advaita Ācārya and Śrī Mādhavendra Purī were both devotees, so they immediately discussing the topics of Kṛṣṇa in great ecstatic love. They didn’t think of anything else. So this is in contrast to materialists, who are absorbed in bodily relationships and bodily activities.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.437

megha-darśane mādhavendrera kṛṣṇoddīpanā o mūrchā— 
mādhava-purīra prema—akathya kathana
megha-daraśane mūrcchā haya sei kṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: The ecstatic love for krishna of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī is beyond description. He would lose consciousness upon seeing a rain cloud which reminded him of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: The ecstatic love for Lord Krsna of Śrī Mādhavendra is extraordinary. When ordinary people see a cloud, they think it may rain, and nice crops will grow, and the earth will cool. But Mādhavendra Purī saw the complexion of Kṛṣṇa within the cloud, and he became so absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa that he became completely aloof from the propensity to enjoy this external world and lost consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was totally ansorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa and he would see Kṛṣṇa everywhere.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.438

kṛṣṇanāma-śravaṇa-mātra bhāvāveśa o huṅkāra— 
‘kṛṣṇa’ nāma śunilei karena huṅkāra
kṣaṇeke sahasra haya kṛṣṇera vikāra

Jayapatākā Swami: As soon as he heard the name of Kṛṣṇa, he would roar loudly. In one moment thousands of transformations of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa would manifest in his body.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.439

purīpādera avasthā darśane advaitera santoṣa 
dekhiyā tāṅhāra viṣṇu-bhaktira udaya
baḍa sukhī hailā advaita mahāśaya

Lord Advaita Acarya was most pleased to see the manifestation of devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu in Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.440

śrī-advaitācāryera mādhavendra purīra upadeśa-grahaṇa-līlā — 
tāṅra ṭhāñi upadeśa karilā grahaṇa
hena-mate mādhavendra-advaita-milana

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Advaita then took instruction from him. This is how Mādhavendra and Lord Advaita met.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: The word ṭhāñi means “near” or “from.”

On seeing the full manifestation of devotional service in Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, Śrī Advaita Prabhu took mantra and instructions on worship from him. The desire that Advaita nourished in His heart as a bud now had the opportunity to blossom. Many people think that one should take mantra and instruction from a family guru and that there is no need to consider whether that guru has devotion to Kṛṣṇa or not, or that they will attain auspiciousness by artificially learning devotional service from those who deceive ordinary people to attain fame by manifesting eight kinds of bodily transformations while clapping their hands. Some time ago the practices of heating the body by binding a piece of garlic to the throat and shedding tears by rubbing the eyes with hands smeared with chili powder were accepted as limbs of devotional service by deceitful people, who thereby always remained inert and artificially shed tears from their dry eyes. To deliver the unfortunate people whose hearts were captured by the unauthorized practice of taking instructions from such deceitful people, persons who take shelter at the feet of Advaita genuinely cultivate and aspire for Śrī Mādhavendra's transformations of ecstatic love, which are devoid of the desire for enjoying wealth, women, and fame. Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha does not encourage any form of duplicity. Therefore the sincere servants of Gauḍīya Maṭha are followers of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī and instructors for uprooting these cheating practices.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since these practices like putting chilies in the nose and such things to cause one to cry was rejected by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He told his disciples to try to internalize their ecstasies and not show them publicly. Since at that time it was very common for people to imitate ecstatic symptoms by some manipulations. So we have also been similarly told by Srila Prabhupāda His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda that we should internalize out ecstatic symptoms. We heard that sometimes Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he would become uncontrollably ecstatic then he would run out of the room. Similarly, we saw His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in some occasions he would become overwhelmed by ecstatic symptoms, choked up, tears in his eyes and he would tell the devotees to chant, and he could not go on with his class. So, these are actually real symptoms that real devotees experience but some of the deceitful people try to cheat others by displaying such symptoms like an actor although their hearts are dry.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Mādhavendra Purī is Pleased to Meet Advaita Ācārya and Accepts Him as a Disciple. 
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana