20211010 The Maulāna, Vijulī Khān and the Western People Become Vaiṣṇavas

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 10th October 2021 in Śrīdhāma 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! today We are continuing with the compilation of Caitanya līlā book, the chapter entitled today is:

The Maulāna, Vijulī Khān and the Western People Become Vaiṣṇavas

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.205

prabhura tāhāke āśvāsana, kṛṣṇa-nāmābhāsei tāhāra pāpapuñja-vināśa :—

prabhu kahe,—uṭha, kṛṣṇa-nāma tumi la-ilā
koṭi-janmera pāpa gela, ‘pavitra’ ha-ilā

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, Please get up. You have chanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, the sinful reactions you have accrued for many millions of lives are now gone. You are now pure.”

Jayapatākā Swami: By simply saying the name of Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya is saying that one gets purified. Even millions of lives of sinful reactions may be destroyed so, people somehow or another, chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa they will benefit immensely.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.206

prabhura ādeśe sakalera kṛṣṇanāma-grahaṇa :—

‘kṛṣṇa’ kaha, ‘kṛṣṇa’ kaha,—kailā upadeśa
sabe ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahe, sabāra haila premāveśa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then told all the Muslims there, Chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa! Chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa!” As they all began to chant, they were overwhelmed by ecstatic love.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! was chanted by the Muslims, anyone who chants they get the blessings, no matter what caste or creed. So, by chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa one gets blessed and they all began to overwhelm in ecstatic love .

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.207

prabhu-karttṛka tāṅhāra ‘rāmadāsa’-nāma-saṁskāra dāna :—

‘rāmadāsa’ bali’ prabhu tāṅra kaila nāma
āra eka pāṭhāna, tāṅra nāma—‘vijulī-khāṅna’

Translation: In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu directly initiated the saintly Muslim by advising him to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. The Muslim’s name was changed to Rāmadāsa. Another Pāṭhāna Muslim present there was named Vijulī Khān.

Purport: After being initiated, the devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement change their names. Whenever a person in the Western world becomes interested in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, he is initiated by this process. In India we are falsely accused of converting mlecchas and yavanas to the Hindu religion. In India there are many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs known as jagad-guru, although they have hardly visited the whole world. Some are not even sufficiently educated, yet they make accusations against our movement and accuse us of destroying the principles of the Hindu religion by accepting Muslims and yavanas as Vaiṣṇavas. Such people are simply envious. We are not spoiling the Hindu system of religion but are simply following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by traveling all over the world and accepting those who are interested in understanding Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇadāsa or Rāmadāsa. By the process of a bona fide initiation, their names are changed.

Jayapatākā Swami: In the second Canto fourth Chapter 18th Verse of Śrīmad-bhāgavatam it is stated that people of any background, even if they are very sinful by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, they can achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the Lord is all powerful.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.208

pāṭhāna-dalapati vijalī khāṅra paricaya :—

alpa vayasa tāṅra, rājāra kumara
‘rāmadāsa’ ādi pāṭhāna—cākara tāṅhāra

Translation: Vijulī Khān was very young, and he was the son of the king. All the other Muslims, or Pāṭhānas, headed by Rāmadāsa, were his servants.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya could understand who was who, and gave shelter to Vijulī Khān, the son of the King.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.209

tāṅhārao prabhupade śaraṇa-grahaṇa, prabhura tanmastake padārpaṇa :—

‘kṛṣṇa’ bali’ paḍe sei mahāprabhura pāya
prabhu śrī-caraṇa dila tāṅhāra māthāya

Translation: Vijulī Khān also fell down at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord placed His foot on his head.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by preaching from the Koran, He established great faith He established great faith and He ordered everyone to chant the names of Kṛṣṇa. Vijulī Khān surrendered to the Lord and bowed down before Him. Lord Caitanya put His lotus foot on the head of Vijulī Khān and so Vijulī Khān got the special mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.210

prabhura yātrā, sei sakala pāṭhānera vairagya-dharma grahaṇa :—

tāṅ-sabāre kṛpā kari’ prabhu ta’ calilā
seita pāṭhāna saba ‘vairāgī’ ha-ilā

Translation: After bestowing His mercy upon them in this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left. All those Pāṭhāna Muslims then became mendicants.

Jayapatākā Swami: Such was the mercy of Lord Caitanya, just by seeing Him once one will be completely changed.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.211

tāṅhādera ‘pāṭhāna-vaiṣṇava’-khyāti o sarvatra prabhuguṇa-gāna :—

pāṭhāna-vaiṣṇava bali’ haila tāṅra khyāti
sarvatra gāhiyā bule mahāprabhura kīrti

Translation: Later these very Pāṭhānas became celebrated as the Pāṭhāna Vaiṣṇavas. They toured all over the country and chanted the glorious activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is how the Pāṭhānas became Vaiṣṇavas by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.212

mahā-bhāgavata vijalī-khāṅra sarvatra mahattva-vistāra :—

sei vijulī-khāṅna haila ‘mahā-bhāgavata’
sarva-tīrthe haila tāṅra parama-mahattva

Translation: Vijulī Khān became a greatly advanced devotee, and his importance was celebrated at every holy place of pilgrimage.

Jayapatākā Swami:Having received the blessings of seeing Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Vijuli Khan became a great devotee and mahā-bhāgavata so such is the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.213

yukta-pradeśe āsiyā prabhura mlecchoddhāra :—

aiche līlā kare prabhu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
‘paścime’ āsiyā kaila yavanādi dhanya

Translation: In this way Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed His pastimes. Coming to the western part of India, He bestowed good fortune upon the yavanas and mlecchas.

Purport: The word yavana means meat-eater.” Anyone from a meat-eating community is called a yavana. One who does not strictly observe the Vedic regulative principles is called a mleccha. These words do not refer to any particular man. Even if a person is born in a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra family, he is a mleccha or yavana if he does not strictly follow the regulative principles or if he eats meat.

Jayapatākā Swami: Although in Bengal there are many brāhmaṇas, but recent census show that 98% of the population are non-veg. if anyone is a non-veg then according to this purport be considered as yavanas and mlecchas . In the Western world most of the people are yavanas and mlecchas, but His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was disseminating Kṛṣṇa consciousness and making all the mlecchas and yavanas into Vaiṣṇavas.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.214

soro kṣetre gaṅgā-snāna o gaṅgātīra-pathe prayāge gamana :—

soro-kṣetre āsi’ prabhu kailā gaṅgā-snāna
gaṅgā-tīra-pathe kailā prayāge prayāṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next went to a holy place of pilgrimage called Soro-kṣetra. He took His bath in the Ganges there and started for Prayāga on the path along the banks of the Ganges.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.215

sānoḍiyā-vipra o kṛṣṇadāsake vidāya dite icchā :—

sei vipre, kṛṣṇadāse, prabhu vidāya dilā
yoḍa-hāte dui-jana kahite lāgilā

Translation: At Soro-kṣetra, the Lord requested the Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa and Rājaputa Kṛṣṇadāsa to return home, but with folded hands they began to speak as follows.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.216

tāṅhādera prayāga paryanta anugamane prārthanā :—

prayāga-paryanta duṅhe tomā-saṅge yāba
tomāra caraṇa-saṅga punaḥ kāhāṅ pāba?

Translation: They prayed, "Let us go to Prayāga with You. If we do not go, when shall we again get the association of Your lotus feet?"

Jayapatākā Swami: So, they were very eager to maintain the association of Lord Caitanya, therefore they proposed the lord to accompany the Lord until Prayāga.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.217

mleccha-deśa, keha kāhāṅ karaye utpāta
bhaṭṭācārya—paṇḍita, kahite nā jānena bāt

Translation: This country is mainly occupied by Muslims. At any place someone can create a disturbance, and although Your companion Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya is a learned scholar, he does not know how to speak the local language.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these two from Mathurā gave some practical reason how they could help, since they know the local vernacular.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.218

prabhura īṣaddhāsya o tāṅhādera prabhura anugamana :—

śuni’ mahāprabhu īṣat hāsite lāgilā
sei dui-jana prabhura saṅge cali’ āilā

Translation: Hearing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted their proposal by smiling mildly. Thus those two persons continued to accompany Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the two from Mathurā convinced the Lord to accompany Him to Prayāga.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.219

pathe prabhura darśanakārī pratyekerai kṛṣṇanāma-grahaṇa :—

yei yei jana prabhura pāila daraśana
sei preme matta haya, kare kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana

Translation: Whoever got to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would feel himself overwhelmed with ecstatic love and would begin to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, whoever saw Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu would start to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare and they would feel overwhelmed with ecstatic love by the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Just by seeing Lord Caitanya all the people along the path became Kṛṣṇa conscious and became mad in love of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.220

tāṅhā haite apara vyaktira śravaṇa-suyoga, eirūpe śravaṇa-kīrtanadhārā-pāramparye sakaladeśera uddhāra :—

tāṅra saṅge anyonye, tāṅra saṅge āna
ei-mata ‘vaiṣṇava’ kailā saba deśa-grāma

Translation: Whoever met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became a Vaiṣṇava, and whoever met that Vaiṣṇava also became a Vaiṣṇava. In this way, all the towns and villages became Vaiṣṇava, one after the other.

Jayapatākā Swami: Such was the power of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, similarly Śrīla AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was empowered by Lord Caitanya, that whoever saw Him also became a Vaiṣṇava and whoever saw the Vaiṣṇava also became a Vaiṣṇava.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.221

dākṣiṇātyera nyāya paścima-deśerao uddhāra-sādhana :—

dakṣiṇa yāite yaiche śakti prakāśilā
sei-mata paścima deśa, preme bhāsāilā

Translation: Just as the Lord inundated South India on His tour there, He also inundated the western part of the country with love of Godhead.

Purport: According to some opinions, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited Kurukṣetra while going to Prayāga from Vṛndāvana. There is a temple of Bhadra-kālī in Kurukṣetra, and near that temple there is a temple containing the Deity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, all the places that Lord Caitanya visited could have pada pitha, or lotus foot print established there in case His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had installed these things and his desire was that at least 108 of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet should be established. So, we could finish the job and establish the lotus footprints in all tīrthas that Lord Caitanya visited.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The Maulāna, Vijulī Khān and the Western People Become Vaiṣṇavas 
Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana