20240229 Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta | First Stream — the beginning

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

Jayapatākā Swami: We had the opening of the books at the exhibition of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Some of you I think were there. Some may not have been there. I don’t know whether the Gauḍīya Maṭha was invited there because I did not see any of them there. Now we are reading from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta.

Today we will continue reading from the Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta by Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. It is translated as the Nectar of the Teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta

The Nectar of the teachings of Śrī Caitanya:

Today’s chapter is: First Shower — General description of determining the religion of highest goal.

First Stream — the beginning.

Respectful obeisances unto Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

Knowledgeable pastimes are in vidvat-pratīti and the result of avidvat-pratīti is impersonalistic realization —

I have begun to give a little glimpse of vidvat-pratīti. Vidvat-pratīti is possible only for those who transcending the material thought are able to realize the spiritual truth.

They see the form of Kṛṣṇa through their spiritual eyes, hear the kṛṣṇa-līlā through their spiritual ears. They fully relish Kṛṣṇa through spiritual tongue. All of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are transcendental and beyond matter. Because of Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potency, He can be the object of the physical eye, but by nature, all the material senses such as the eye are unable to perceive Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he is explaining things according to what we heard – vidvat-pratīti and avidvat-pratīti. Vidvat-pratiti is understandable by pure devotees. Avidvat-pratīti is mixed with impersonalism. So it is not visible to the material eyes. We talked about the spiritual vision – did you all bring slave with you? Bhakti-vilocanena, special salve put on the eyes to get bhakti. You have brought? This verse tells us that we have to have spiritual ears, spiritual tongue, so we can hear about Kṛṣṇa with spiritual ears. It is not the same as (inaudible) of course, we taste Kṛṣṇa by taking kṛṣṇa-prasāda. How many of you like kṛṣṇa-prasāda? You know what is spiritual tongue means. But for everything Kṛṣṇa is the object, and we are the subject. Kṛṣṇa-prasāda, Kṛṣṇa glance, Kṛṣṇa vision, everything is centered on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the object, and we are the subject.

* * *

During the time when the Lord manifested His appearance, all the pastimes and so on of the Lord, which are perceived through the senses, cannot bear the fruit of realization of truth, without vidvat-pratīti. Therefore, generally the avidvat-pratīti is gained.

Through avidvat-pratīti, kṛṣṇa-tattva is known by many as temporary. They imagine of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, growth and decay etc. of the body. It is only through avidvat-pratīti, the impersonal state is perceived as true and personal state as mundane. So since kṛṣṇa-tattva is personal, it is also concluded to be mundane.

Jayapatākā Swami: Normally, we see everything through our mundane senses. That is called avidvat-pratīti. Mundane pratīti. Actually, to understand Kṛṣṇa and understand Him as it is we have to see Him with a spiritual vision. So that is vidvat-pratīti. So we can see Kṛṣṇa through spiritual vision with the bhakti salve. Otherwise, everything we see with our mundane eyes, therefore they are thinking that Kṛṣṇa is mundane. That He has a material body, which goes through normal material changes. And that is not true.

I was talking to one Māyāvādī, and he was having beautiful Deities of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. I asked him, “Why he was having beautiful Deities of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?” and he was an old man. I was saying that, “Kṛṣṇa never goes old, but you are growing old.” He said, “This is my līlā!” I said, “Everybody is doing that līlā.” He told me, I can see Jagannātha, I just have to drink one kilo of hot, boiling ghee. I said, “I will die!” He said, “Yes, you will take next birth as a Hindu and then you can see.” The pūjārīs there were saying that the Śaṅkarācārya has to approve. That we are working on but these Śaṅkarācāryas, they have avidvat-pratīti vision. Kṛṣṇa, He appears He grows up to His youth and never gets old. Then He disappears, He goes back to the spiritual world. They think that He is mundane. Actually, Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. And those who have vidvat-pratīti senses, they can understand this. Kṛṣṇa He has no part to play in this material world, but He acts. He is actually not mundane, He is transcendental, but He does things so that the atheists, they are not disturbed. But He is actually, the transcendental personality.

* * *

Inability of logic —

It is not the function of logic to determine what the absolute truth is. Can the finite logic of humans act on the immeasurable substance? Therefore, the absolute truth can be known and relished only by the function of the devotional service that the living entity has. That which is called ‘unalloyed pure love’, in its initial state gets the name ‘Bhakti’. Without the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, vidvat-pratīti does not arise, since by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa the potency of knowledge (vidyā-śakti) helps the living entity.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, people try to understand Kṛṣṇa by logic. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura he is saying, can a human being understand the immeasurable by logic? We follow a kind of measurable routine. We take born, we grow, we produce some byproduct, we stay for a while, get old and die. Something like that. So Kṛṣṇa has to sometimes do this type of thing. He was born as Devakī’s son, He appeared with four hands, with ornaments and appeared like Viṣṇu. No child is born with full clothes, ornaments and four hands. Because Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth, He appears in a unique way. He was asked by His mother to take the form of a human baby. So He took the form of a baby, and He was delivered in the house of Yaśodā. And Yaśodā’s baby was taken back. So, Kṛṣṇa can do all these amazing things! Because He is the Absolute Truth! But Yaśodā, she thought that Kṛṣṇa was her son. Kaṁsa thought that the baby girl was going to kill him anyway, so he tried to kill the baby girl. But she flew out of his hands and said, “The person who will kill you has already appeared somewhere else.” In the spiritual world Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the object of pure love. So we want the people to have this pure bhakti or love for Kṛṣṇa, thus this material world will become like Vaikuṇṭha. One man asked Śrīla Prabhupāda on the train that, “The Bhāgavatam is very nice, but Kṛṣṇa keeps dancing with other people’s wives, and that should be taken out of the Bhāgavatam.” Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Are you married?” He said, “Yes!” Śrīla Prabhupāda, “You have a wife?” “Yes!” Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “All the wives actually belong to Kṛṣṇa. So you have stolen Kṛṣṇa’s wife, you are a thief!” Like that, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda answered that person. So we want that even if people are gṛhasthas they should think that Kṛṣṇa is actually the father, mother, husband, everything. We can realize Kṛṣṇa if Kṛṣṇa helps us. He gives us the vidya-śakti to help us.

* * *

Kṛṣṇa alone is the object of love (Viṣaya) —

The form of kṛṣṇa-svarūpa is the only more suitable form for unalloyed pure love than all the forms of absolute truth that have been observed in the world.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa’s form is so beautiful, so appropriate to be the object of love. There are other forms like Varāhadeva, but They are not so suitable. Actually, Lord Caitanya was hearing the Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma, when He heard about Varāhadeva, He took the form of Varāhadeva! He had four hoofs. Sometimes if someone says that they are God, we should tell them, show me your universal form!  We can also tell them at least show me your hoofs! Show your four hoofs. So no one can show their universal form, and no one can show hoofs, like how Lord Caitanya did. Because He is actually the Absolute Truth!

Unalloyed pure love cannot be applied in the concept of Allah established in the Muslim scriptures. Even the best friend Paigambar (the prophet Mohammad) could not realize His (Allah) form. Because, the object of worship stays away from the worshiper due to opulence, even after the object of worship is approached by friendship.

The ‘God’ who is thought of in Christianity, is also very distantly approached truth.

Then, there is nothing to mention about Brahman.

Nārāyaṇa also is not the substance attained by the simple love of living entities. Kṛṣṇa alone as the only direct form of object (viṣaya) of unalloyed pure love* eternally resides in Vraja-dhāma.

Jayapatākā Swami: So it is quite interesting, how they have love for Allah but don’t know what Allah is. The God that they approach in Christianity, they don’t know who God is, what He is. Brahman is the impersonal truth. So how could you love the impersonal? Nārāyaṇa He is full of opulence, and a person can have a servitude relationship. That is limited. Kṛṣṇa will show His pastimes in Vraja, Mathurā, Dvārakā, and especially in Vraja, He is lovable. People will love Him but they may or may not even know He is God! You love Him because He is lovable! He is nice! So Kṛṣṇa, the way He presents Himself as the Absolute Truth, He can be approached, He can be loved.

* * *

Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda had spoken many times that we are not this body. So if you ask God please give me nice ice cream, or beautiful wife, handsome husband, they are all things for the body. People come to me and say, “We are married for so many years we haven’t had a child.” Everything we desire, everything we want should be connected to our soul, should be connected to Kṛṣṇa. May I have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child, May I have a child who can serve Kṛṣṇa. Everything we ask should be somehow connected to Kṛṣṇa.

So we want to finish the TOVP, we want to have a nice place for people to come and worship Kṛṣṇa. Everything, we somehow want to be connected to Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee doesn’t ask for material things. If they ask for something material, they connect that to Kṛṣṇa. So, I want this thing for Your service. Everything should be connected to Kṛṣṇa, then it can be pure devotion. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is explaining here that the Lord has ananta-rūpa, He has unlimited forms. But the form of Kṛṣṇa is actually suitable for loving relationships.

* * *

I spoke this afternoon with our Gauḍīya brothers, and they tell me that I have to go in the evening for the inauguration of the Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Books Exhibition. How many of you saw that? It is a nice exhibition. They have depicted the whole life of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and they put the books on the wall. If you walk around the wall, you can grasp his life. They said there is a room on the second floor of the TOVP, it will be open at least during the festival, all the time.

Tomorrow, I may not be able to have a class because there would be a drama in the temple. I will miss you! It has been a long day for me. Will answer a couple of questions.