20220914 The Snake Charmer Respects Haridāsa But Beats the Brāhmaṇa [Part 1]

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 14th,2022 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, today's chapter is entitled as:

The snake charmer respects the dancing Haridāsa Ṭhākura but beats the dancing brāhmaṇa

Under the section: The Glories of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.198

janaika ḍaṅkera (sarpa-krīḍakera) ākhyāna —

āra eka, śuna, tā’na adbhuta ākhyāna
nāgarāja ye kahilā mahimā tāhāna

Translation: Now please hear another wonderful incident that was narrated by the king of the snakes.

Jayapatākā Swami: The pastime involving Haridāsa Ṭhākura and the snake charmer and the brāhmaṇa who was doing astrology.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.199

janaika āḍhyera gṛhe ukta sarpadaṣṭa ḍaṅkera nṛtya—

eka-dina baḍa eka lokera mandire
sarpa-kṣata ḍaṅka nāce vividha prakāre

Translation: One day a snake charmer was dancing in the courtyard of one wealthy man.

Purport: The phrase sarpa-kṣata refers to being bitten by a snake or to a snake charmer who is possessed by the predominating deity of the snakes, Vāsuki, who is invoked by mantras when one is bitten by nonpoisonous snake. The word ḍaṅka (derived from the Hindi word ḍaṅk, meaning “hood” or “stinger”) refers to the person who makes a snake dance or to a snake charmer.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, its not clear if the snake charmer was dancing or the snake charmer was causing a snake to dance.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.200

ḍaṅkera cāridike taduccārita mantra-prabhāve tadīya saṅgigaṇera vādyasaha gīta-gāna —

mṛdaṅga-mandirā gīta—tā’ra mantra ghore
ḍaṅka beḍi’ sabei gāyena uccaiḥ-svare

Translation: His associates played the mṛdaṅga and a flute used for snake charming as they loudly sang on all sides of the snake charmer. The snake charmer was absorbed under the influence of some mantras that he was chanting.

Purport: The first line of this verse refers to singing to the accompaniment of musical instruments like the mṛdaṅga and cymbals or to be maddened, overwhelmed, or absorbed in the snake charmer’s chanting of mantras.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.201

daivāt haridāsera āgamana o ḍaṅkera nṛtya darśana—

daiva-gati tathāya āilā haridāsa
ḍaṅka-nṛtya dekhena haiyā eka-pāśa

Translation: By providence Haridāsa came there and began to watch the snake charmer from the side.

Purport: The phrase daiva-gati means “without any purpose” or “by one’s own sweet will.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he came to that house just by the will of providence and he was watching the dancing.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.202

mantra-prabhāve mānava śarīre vāsukira nṛtya —

manuṣya-śarīre nāga-rāja mantra-bale
adhiṣṭhāna haiyā nācaye kutūhale

Translation: By the power of the mantras chanted by the snake charmer, the king of snakes had appeared in the body of the snake charmer and was happily dancing.

Purport: The word nāga-rāja refers to Śeṣa, the devotee of Lord Viṣṇu; Ananta; or Vāsuki.

The word adhiṣṭhāna means “situated” or “possessed.”

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.203

ḍaṅka-saṅgigaṇera karuṇa-rāge kāliyahrade kṛṣṇera kāliyanāga damana-līlā-gāna—

kāliya-dahe karilena ye nāṭya īśvare
sei gīta gāyena kāruṇya-ucca-svare

Translation: The snake charmer was loudly and sweetly singing about Kṛṣṇa’s dance in the Kāliya lake.

Purport: The phrase kāliya-dahe refers to the particular lake within the Kālindī River named Kāliya-daha. Being afraid of Garuḍa, the fierce poisonous snake named Kāliya, the son of Kadru and Kaśyapa, lived there with his family.

For a description of this great snake Kāliya and the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa subduing this Kāliya by dancing on his heads in the Kāliya-daha, one should see Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.15.47-52, Chapter 16, verses 1-12 and Chapter 17, verses 1-12).

As Kṛṣṇa, the master of all arts, danced on the heads of Kāliya at Kāliya-daha, the snake charmer imitated that dance while loudly singing songs about the great mercy Kṛṣṇa gave Kāliya on the pre of awarding punishment.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this snake charmer was meditating and singing about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes dancing on the head of Kāliya, and thus he was in great ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.204

kṛṣṇa-kṛpā-mahimā-śravaṇe haridāsera bhūpatana o mūrchā—

śuni’ nija-prabhura mahimā haridāsa
paḍilā mūrcchita hai’ kothā nāhi śvāsa

Translation: As Haridāsa heard the glorious pastimes of His Lord, he fell unconscious to the ground and his breath stopped.

Jayapatākā Swami: Haridāsa Ṭhākura who was a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, when he heard of Kṛṣṇa’s Kāliya pastimes he fainted in ecstasy and it appeared like his breathing had stopped.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.205

saṁjñā-lābhānte haridāsera ānanda-huṅkāra o nṛtya—

kṣaṇeke caitanya pāi, kariyā huṅkāra
ānande lāgila nṛtya karite apāra

Translation: When he regained consciousness some moments later, he roared loudly and began to dance in ecstasy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Haridāsa Ṭhākura was dancing extremely enthusiastically and thus there was no limit to his transcendental ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.206

haridāsera aprākṛta bhāva-mudrāveśa-darśane ḍaṅkera ekapāśe sa-samrāme avasthāna —

haridāsa-ṭhākurera āveśa dekhiyā
eka-bhita hai’ ḍaṅka rahilena giyā

Translation: Seeing Haridāsa’s ecstatic mood, the snake charmer stopped his dancing and stood off to the side.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, when the snake charmer witnessed Haridāsa Ṭhākura's spontaneous ecstatic dancing, he stood to the side and watched Haridāsa Ṭhākura with great appreciation.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.207

kṛṣṇapremāveśe haridāsera ‘bhu-laṇṭhana o sāttvika-bhāvavikāra —

gaḍāgaḍi yāyena ṭhākura-haridāsa
adbhuta pulaka-aśru-kampera prakāśa

Translation: Ṭhākura Haridāsa rolled on the ground, and wonderful ecstatic symptoms like hairs standing on end, crying, and shivering became manifest in his body.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Haridāsa Ṭhākura had prema-bhakti it was very natural for him to express these ecstatic symptoms.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.208

haridāsera premakrandana, kṛṣṇe tadgatacittatā o premāveśa—

rodana karena haridāsa-mahāśaya
śuniñā prabhura guṇa hailā tanmaya

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.208

haridāsera premakrandana, kṛṣṇe tadgatacittatā o premāveśa—

rodana karena haridāsa-mahāśaya
śuniñā prabhura guṇa hailā tanmaya

Translation: Haridāsa was fully absorbed in ecstatic love after hearing the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and tears of love flowed from his eyes.

Purport: Overwhelmed by the snake charmer’s songs describing Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, Haridāsa Ṭhākura fell unconscious due to an awakening of love of God. Even symptoms of external consciousness like breathing could not be found in his body. After a while he regained his external consciousness, roared loudly, and began to dance in ecstatic love of God. Seeing mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura Haridāsa dance in the mood of love for Kṛṣṇa, the snake charmer, who was possessed by Anantadeva, respectfully stood aside. Being absorbed in hearing and remembering Kṛṣṇa’s incomparably great quality of mercy on the fierce, cruel serpent Kāliya, Ṭhākura Haridāsa became absorbed in love of Kṛṣṇa and began to roll on the ground and cry as his transcendental body manifested tears, shivering, and hairs standing on end.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Haridāsa Ṭhākura hearing the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the lips of the snake charmer was experiencing different ecstasies of love of Godhead and sometimes he was rolling on the ground, sometimes he fell unconscious, and he was manifesting different ecstatic symptoms. So, the snake charmer stood aside he appreciated Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s natural love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.209

premāviṣṭa haridāsera caturdike sakalera saharṣe kṛṣṇa-gīta; sa-samrame ḍaṅkera ekapāśe avasthāna—

haridāse beḍi’ sabe gāyena hariṣe
yoḍa-haste rahi’ ḍaṅka dekhe eka-pāśe

Translation: Then everyone surrounding Haridāsa joyfully began chanting Kṛṣṇa’s glories, while the snake charmer respectfully stood to the side with folded hands.

Jayapatākā Swami: By the association of Haridāsa Ṭhākura everyone was inspired to glorify Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.210

bahirdaśāya haridāsera avataraṇa, ḍaṅkera punaḥ nṛtyārambha —

kṣaṇeke rahila haridāsera āveśa
punaḥ āsi’ ḍaṅka nṛtye karilā praveśa

Translation: After Haridāsa returned to external consciousness, the snake charmer again began to dance.

Jayapatākā Swami: The activities that were going on are being explained here.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.211

haridāsera akaitava nirupādhi kṛṣṇaprema-darśane sakalerai harṣa—

haridāsa-ṭhākurera dekhiyā āveśa
sabei hailā ati ānanda-viśeṣa

Translation: Everyone was overwhelmed with joy after seeing Haridāsa’s ecstatic absorption.

Jayapatākā Swami: Seeing the exceptional joy of Haridāsa Ṭhākura in his pure kṛṣṇa-prema, everyone became joyful and happy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.212

sakalerai sva-sva-dehe tadīya pavitra padadhūli-lepana —

yekhāne paḍaye tāṅ’ra caraṇera dhūli
sabei lepena aṅge hai’ kutūhalī

Translation: They all eagerly took the dust from his footprints and smeared it on their bodies.

Jayapatākā Swami: This was a natural reciprocation , seeing his spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa, they took the dust of his footprints and put that on their bodies.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.213

janaika bhaṇḍa dhūrta kapaṭa vañcaka ānukaraṇika prākṛta-sahajiyā viprādhamera ākhyāna; tāhāra vaiṣṇava-guru haridāsera kṛṣṇaprītimūlaka aprākṛta bhāvamudrāke jaḍabhogya prākṛta jñāne anukaraṇa-saṅkalpa —

āra eka ḍhaṅga-vipra thāki’ seikhāne
“muñi o nācimu āji” gaṇe mane-mane

Translation: One pseudo brāhmaṇa who was in the audience thought, “I will also dance today.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this prākṛta-sahajiyā type of psuedo brāhmaṇa, he saw how Haridāsa Ṭhākura was being respected by everyone. He thought he would imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura and get the worship of everyone.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.214

bhaṇḍa, dhūrta, kapaṭa, vañcaka ānukaraṇika prākṛta-sahajiyāgaṇera citravṛtti—

“bujhilāṅa,—nācilei abodha barbare
alpa manuṣyere o parama-bhakti kare”

Translation: I understand that simply by dancing even an insignificant person, an illiterate fool, a barbarian is greatly worshiped.”

Jayapatākā Swami: This showed the motive of this cheater to get the worship of the people present.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.215

ānukaraṇika prākṛta-sahajiyāra kṛtrima bhū-patana o murchā-chala—

eta bhāvi’ sei-kṣaṇe āchāḍa khāiyā
paḍila yehena mahā-aceṣṭa haiyā

Translation: Thinking in this way, he immediately crashed to the ground and became motionless.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this cheating brāhmaṇa, he wanted worship from everyone and so he imitated Haridāsa Ṭhākura and crashed to the ground and remained motionless as if he were in ecstasy although he was not.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.216

ānukaraṇika prākṛta-sahajiyāra bhū-patanamātra krodhavaśe ḍaṅkera bhīṣaṇa vetrāghāta-rūpa ādarśa śikṣā-pradarśana —

yei-mātra paḍila ḍaṅkera nṛtya-sthāne
mārite lāgilā ḍaṅka mahā-krodha-mane

Translation: As soon as the pseudo brāhmaṇa fell in the dancing arena, the snake charmer, began beating him with great anger in his mind.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see how the snake charmer was very respectful towards Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He could recognize immediately that Haridāsa Ṭhākura was feeling natural ecstasy, But he saw this pseudo brāhmaṇa who hit the ground was an imitator and he thought that if he had real ecstasy he would not feel my beating. Then he began to beat the pseudo-brāhmaṇa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.217

āśe-pāśe ghāḍe-muḍe vetrera prahāra
nirghāta māraye ḍaṅka, rakṣā nāhi āra

Translation: The snake charmer severely beat the pseudo brāhmaṇa with a stick, around the neck, on the head and all over the body.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.218

tīvra-vetrāghātaphale ānukaraṇika prākṛta-sahajiyāra nijamūrti-prakāśa o palāyana—

vetrera prahāre dvija jarjara haiyā
‘bāpa bāpa’ bali’ śeṣe gela palāiyā

? Translation: After being beaten with a stick all over the body, the anguished brāhmaṇa ran away screaming, “Father! Father!”

Purport: The word ḍhaṅga-vipra refers to that pseudo brāhmaṇa, who was a hypocritical, deceitful, cheating, artificial, imitative prākṛta-sahajiyā and lowest of the brāhmaṇas. Being puffed-up with the pride of being a brāhmaṇa and being induced by his polluted intelligence, that pseudo brāhmaṇa tried to artificially imitate the transcendental characteristics of mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura Haridāsa. He considered, “Due to their blind faith, whenever ordinary foolish people see or hear any dancing or singing in a petty religious function, they offer abundant respect.

Therefore, since people offered such respect to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who is an ordinary human being (?) born in a non-Hindu family, while I am born in the topmost varṇa in Hindu society; if I can imitate the characteristics and eight ecstatic transformations of a Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura’s love, like an actor on stage, then no one can estimate how much profit, adoration, and distinction I will achieve. When people respect an ordinary human being (?) and nonseminal brāhmaṇa like Haridāsa Ṭhākura so much just by seeing his display of petty ordinary emotions, then if I, the son of a seminal brāhmaṇa, can simply mimic his transcendental emotions, I can’t imagine how much profit, adoration, and distinction I will receive.

If I exhibit artificial emotions, then my insignificant material fame will certainly surpass the fame of the transcendental Vaiṣṇava.” Thinking in this way, in order to exhibit artificial sentiments, that atheistic, hypocritical prākṛta-sahajiyā suddenly fell on the ground and artificially pretended to be unconscious. As soon as that pseudo brāhmaṇa deceitfully exhibited artificial sentiments by which one is naturally bound to slip and fall, the snake charmer understood his deceitfulness and saw him as a disturbance and obstruction to his own dancing and therefore began to beat him severely. He incessantly, severely, and mercilessly beat that atheist on his shoulders, head, and other bodily limbs. Due to the excessive beating, that fallen pseudo brāhmaṇa ultimately left that place, shouting, “O father, save me! O mother, save me! I’m dying!”

Jayapatākā Swami: When I was in ICU in Delhi, I saw around me people were suffering and one person he was saying, oh bapre bapa bap re, of father I am suffering, one person was saying oh mama I am suffering, oh mother I am suffering. Like that he was crying out baap baap and he was expressing his pain. So then he was revealed, exposed, that he was not in ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.219

ḍaṅkera nirvighne niścintamane nṛtya, sakalera vismaya —

tabe ḍaṅka nija-sukhe nācilā vistara
sabāra janmila baḍa vismaya antara

Translation: Thereafter the snake charmer happily continued on with his dance, as everyone there watched in astonishment.

Jayapatākā Swami: The people there may not have understood the pseudo brāhmaṇa, the prākṛta-sahajiyā, the imitator atheist was trying to get lābha, pūjā that naturally went to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but he was exposed by the snake charmer who could recognize real emotion from imitation.

Haribol!

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.220

ḍaṅkera nikaṭa sakalera aprākṛta o prākṛtera prati tadīya ācaraṇa-vaiśiṣṭyera kāraṇa-jijñāsā —

yoḍa-haste sabe jijñāsena ḍaṅka-sthāne
“kaha dekhi,—e-viprere mārilā vā kene?

Translation: Later they all folded their hands and asked the snake charmer, “Please explain to us why you beat the brāhmaṇa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 16.221

haridāsa nācite vā yoḍa-haste kene
rahilā,—e saba kathā kaha ta’ āpane?”

Translation: “And why did you stand aside with folded hands when Haridāsa was dancing?”

Jayapatākā Swami: The public was asking why the snake charmer did what he did. He was respecting Haridāsa Ṭhākura for his spontaneous ecstasy and he was exposing the pseudo brāhmaṇa for his cheating.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The snake charmer respects the dancing Haridāsa Ṭhākura but beats the dancing brāhmaṇa
Under the section: The Glories of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura