Chapter 17
The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Youth
This Seventeenth Chapter, as summarized by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya, describes Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes from His sixteenth year until the time He accepted the renounced order of life. Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has already vividly described these pastimes in the Caitanya-bhagavata. Therefore Krsna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes them only briefly. Vivid descriptions of some portions of His pastimes are seen in this chapter, however, because Vrndavana dasa Thakura has not elaborately described them.
In this chapter we shall find descriptions of the mango distribution festival and Lord Caitanya's discourses with Chand Kazi. Finally, the chapter shows that the same son of mother Yasoda, Lord Krsna, tasted four transcendental mellows of devotional service in His form of Sacinandana, the son of mother Saci. To understand Srimati Radharani's ecstatic love for Him, Lord Sri Krsna assumed the form of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The attitude of Srimati Radharani is considered the superexcellent devotional mentality. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna Himself assumed the position of Srimati Radharani to taste Her ecstatic situation. No one else could do this.
When Sri Krsna assumed the form of the four-armed Narayana, the gopis showed their respect, but they were not very much interested in Him. In the ecstatic love of the gopis, all worshipable forms but Krsna are rejected. Among all the gopis, Srimati Radharani has the highest ecstatic love. When Krsna in His form of Narayana saw Radharani, He could not keep His position as Narayana, and again He assumed the form of Krsna.
The King of Vrajabhumi is Nanda Maharaja, and the same person in Navadvipa is Jagannatha Misra, the father of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Similarly, mother Yasoda is the Queen of Vrajabhumi, and in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya she is Sacimata. Therefore the son of Saci is the son of Yasoda. Sri Nityananda occupies an ecstatic position of parental love in servitude and fraternal attraction. Sri Advaita Prabhu exhibits the ecstasy of both fraternity and servitude. All the Lord's other associates, situated in their original love, engage in the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
The same Absolute Truth who enjoys as Krsna, Syamasundara, who plays His flute and dances with the gopis, sometimes takes birth in a brahmana family and plays the part of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, accepting the renounced order of life. It appears contradictory that the same Krsna accepted the ecstasy of the gopis, and of course this is very difficult for an ordinary person to understand. But if we accept the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can understand that everything is possible. There is no need of mundane arguments in this connection because mundane arguments are meaningless in regard to inconceivable potency.
In the end of this Seventeenth Chapter Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, following in the footsteps of Srila Vyasadeva, has analyzed all the Adi-lila pastimes separately.
TEXT 1
TEXT
vande svairadbhuteham tam
caitanyam yat-prasadatah
yavanah sumanayante
krsna-nama-prajalpakah
SYNONYMS
vande--let me offer my obeisances; svaira--completely independent; adbhuta--and uncommon; iham--whose activities; tam--unto Him; caitanyam--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; yat--of whom; prasadatah--by the mercy; yavanah--even the unclean; sumanayante--are transformed into gentlemen; krsna-nama--of the holy name of Lord Krsna; prajalpakah--taking to the chanting.
TRANSLATION
Let me offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by whose mercy even unclean yavanas become perfectly well-bred gentlemen by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Such is the power of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
PURPORT
There is a persistent misunderstanding between caste brahmanas and advanced Vaisnavas, or gosvamis, because caste brahmanas, or smartas, are of the opinion that one cannot become a brahmana unless he changes his body. As we have discussed several times, it is to be understood that by the supremely powerful potency of the Lord, as described by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, everything is possible. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is as fully independent as Krsna. Therefore no one can interfere with His activities. If He wants, by His mercy He can convert even a yavana, an unclean follower of non-Vedic principles, into a perfectly well-behaved gentleman. This is actually happening in our propagation of the Krsna consciousness movement. The members of the present Krsna consciousness movement were not born in India, nor do they belong to the Vedic culture, but within the short time of four or five years they have become such wonderful devotees, simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, that even in India they are well received as perfectly well-behaved Vaisnavas wherever they go.
Although less intelligent men cannot understand it, this is the special power of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Actually, the body of a Krsna conscious person changes in many ways. Even in the United States, when our devotees chant on the street, American ladies and gentlemen inquire from them whether they are actually Americans because no one could expect Americans to become such nice devotees all of a sudden. Even Christian priests are greatly surprised that all these boys from Jewish and Christian families have joined this Krsna consciousness movement; before joining, they never regarded any principles of religion seriously, but now they have become sincere devotees of the Lord. Everywhere people express this astonishment, and we take great pride in the transcendental behavior of our students. Such wonders are possible, however, only by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They are not ordinary or mundane.
TEXT 2
TEXT
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya--all glories; sri-caitanya--to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; jaya--all glories; nityananda--to Lord Nityananda Prabhu; jaya advaita-candra--all glories to Advaita Acarya; jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda--all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya.
TRANSLATION
All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Acarya! And all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya!
TEXT 3
TEXT
kaisora-lilara sutra karila ganana
yauvana-lilara sutra kari anukrama
SYNONYMS
kaisora-lilara--of the activities before His youth; sutra--synopsis; karila--I have done; ganana--an enumeration; yauvana-lilara--of the pastimes of youth; sutra--synopsis; kari--I enumerate; anukrama--in chronological order.
TRANSLATION
I have already given a synopsis of the kaisora-lila of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now let me enumerate His youthful pastimes in chronological order.
TEXT 4
TEXT
vidya-saundarya-sad-vesa-
sambhoga-nrtya-kirtanaih
prema-nama-pradanais ca
gauro divyati yauvane
SYNONYMS
vidya--education; saundarya--beauty; sat-vesa--nice dress; sambhoga--enjoyment; nrtya--dancing; kirtanaih--by chanting; prema-nama--the holy name of the Lord, which induces one to become a devotee; pradanaih--by distributing; ca--and; gaurah--Lord Sri Gaurasundara; divyati--illuminated; yauvane--in His youth.
TRANSLATION
Exhibiting His scholarship, beauty and fine dress, Lord Caitanya danced, as He chanted and distributed the holy name of the Lord to awaken dormant love of Krsna. Thus Lord Sri Gaurasundara shone in His youthful pastimes.
TEXT 5
TEXT
yauvana-pravese angera anga vibhusana
divya vastra, divya vesa, malya-candana
SYNONYMS
yauvana-pravese--on the entrance of His youth; angera--of the body; anga--limbs; vibhusana--ornaments; divya--transcendental; vastra--garments; divya--transcendental; vesa--dress; malya--garland; candana--(smeared with) sandalwood pulp.
TRANSLATION
As He entered His youth, the Lord decorated Himself with ornaments, dressed Himself in fine cloth, garlanded Himself with flowers and smeared Himself with sandalwood.
TEXT 6
TEXT
vidyara auddhatye kahon na kare ganana
sakala pandita jini' kare adhyapana
SYNONYMS
vidyara auddhatye--because of pride in education; kahon--anyone; na--does not; kare--do; ganana--care; sakala--all; pandita--learned scholars; jini'--conquering; kare--does; adhyapana--studies.
TRANSLATION
By dint of pride in His education, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, not caring for anyone else, defeated all kinds of learned scholars while executing His studies.
TEXT 7
TEXT
vayu-vyadhi-cchale kaila prema parakasa
bhakta-gana lana kaila vividha vilasa
SYNONYMS
vayu-vyadhi--disease caused by disturbance of the air in the body; chale--on the plea of; kaila--made; prema--love of Godhead; parakasa--manifestation; bhakta-gana--the devotees; lana--taking with Him; kaila--did; vividha--varieties of; vilasa--pastimes.
TRANSLATION
In His youth, the Lord exhibited His ecstatic love of Krsna on the plea of disturbances of the bodily airs. Accompanied by His confidential devotees, He enjoyed various pastimes in this way.
PURPORT
According to Ayur-vedic treatment, the entire physiological system is conducted by three elements, namely, vayu, pitta and kapha (air, bile and mucus). Secretions within the body transform into other secretions like blood, urine and stool, but if there are disturbances in the metabolism, the secretions turn into kapha (mucus) by the influence of the air within the body. According to the Ayur-vedic system, when the secretion of bile and formation of mucus disturb the air circulating within the body, fifty-nine varieties of disease may occur. One of such diseases is craziness.
On the plea of disturbance of the bodily air and metabolism, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu acted as if crazy. Thus in His school He began to explain the grammar of verbs through Krsna consciousness. Explaining everything in grammar in relationship to Krsna, the Lord induced His students to refrain from worldly education, for it is better to become Krsna conscious and in this way attain the highest perfectional platform of education. On these grounds, Sri Jiva Gosvami later compiled the grammar entitled Hari-namamrta-vyakarana. People in general consider such explanations crazy. Therefore the Lord's purpose in His attitude of craziness was to explain that there is nothing within our experience but Krsna consciousness, for everything may be dovetailed with Krsna consciousness. These pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu have been very vividly described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, Chapter One.
TEXT 8
TEXT
tabeta karila prabhu gayate gamana
isvara-purira sange tathai milana
SYNONYMS
tabeta--thereafter; karila--did; prabhu--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; gayate--to Gaya; gamana--travel; isvara-purira sange--with Isvara Puri; tathai--there; milana--meeting.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter the Lord went to Gaya. There He met Srila Isvara Puri.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gaya to offer respectful oblations to His forefathers. This process is called pinda-dana. In Vedic society, after the death of a relative, especially one's father or mother, one must go to Gaya and there offer oblations to the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. Therefore hundreds and thousands of men gather in Gaya daily to offer such oblations, or sraddha. Following this principle, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu also went there to offer pinda to His dead father. Fortunately He met Isvara Puri there.
TEXT 9
TEXT
diksa-anantare haila, premera prakasa
dese agamana punah premera vilasa
SYNONYMS
diksa--initiation; anantare--immediately after; haila--became; premera--of love of Godhead; prakasa--exhibition; dese--in His home country; agamana--coming back; punah--again; premera--of love of God; vilasa--enjoyment.
TRANSLATION
In Gaya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was initiated by Isvara Puri, and immediately afterwards He exhibited signs of love of Godhead. He again displayed such symptoms after returning home.
PURPORT
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gaya, accompanied by many of His disciples, He became sick on the way. He had such a high fever that He asked His students to bring water that had washed the feet of brahmanas, and when they brought it the Lord drank it and was cured. Therefore everyone should respect the position of a brahmana, as indicated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Neither the Lord nor His followers displayed any disrespect to brahmanas.
The followers of the Lord must be prepared to offer brahmanas all due respect. But preachers of Lord Caitanya's cult object if someone presents himself as a brahmana without having the necessary qualifications. The followers of Lord Caitanya cannot blindly accept that everyone born in a brahmana family is a brahmana. Therefore one should not indiscriminately follow the Lord's example of showing respect to brahmanas by drinking water that has washed their feet. Gradually the brahmana families have become degraded because of the contamination of Kali-yuga. Thus they misguide people by exploiting their sentiments.
TEXT 10
TEXT
sacike prema-dana, tabe advaita-milana
advaita paila visvarupa-darasana
SYNONYMS
sacike--unto mother Sacidevi; prema-dana--giving love of Godhead; tabe--thereafter; advaita--with Advaita Acarya; milana--meeting; advaita--Advaita Acarya; paila--received; visva-rupa--of the universal form of the Lord; darasana--vision.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter the Lord delivered love of Krsna to His mother, Sacidevi, nullifying her offense at the feet of Advaita Acarya. Thus there was a meeting with Advaita Acarya, who later had a vision of the Lord's universal form.
PURPORT
One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was sitting on the throne of Visnu in the house of Srivasa Prabhu, and in a mood of His own He said, "My mother has offended the lotus feet of Advaita Acarya. Unless she nullifies this offense at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava, it will not be possible for her to achieve love of Krsna." Hearing this, all the devotees went to bring Advaita Acarya there. While coming to see the Lord, Advaita Acarya was glorifying the characteristics of mother Sacidevi, and thus upon arriving He fell down on the ground in ecstasy. Then, under the instruction of Lord Caitanya, Sacidevi took advantage of this situation to touch Advaita Acarya's lotus feet. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very much pleased by His mother's action, and He said, "Now My mother's offense at the lotus feet of Advaita Acarya has been rectified, and she may have love of Krsna without difficulty." By this example Lord Caitanya taught everyone that although one may be very much advanced in Krsna consciousness, if one offends the lotus feet of a Vaisnava his advancement will not bear fruit. We should therefore be very much conscious not to offend a Vaisnava. Caitanya-caritamrta has described such an offense as follows:
yadi vaisnava-aparadha uthe hati mata
upade va chinde, tara sukhi' yaya pata
(Cc. Madhya 19.156)
As a mad elephant may trample all the plants in a garden, so by committing one offense at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava one may spoil all the devotional service he has accumulated in his life.
After this incident, one day Advaita Acarya Prabhu requested Caitanya Mahaprabhu to display the universal form He had very kindly shown Arjuna. Lord Caitanya agreed to this proposal, and Advaita Prabhu was fortunate enough to see the universal form of the Lord.
TEXT 11
TEXT
prabhura abhiseka tabe karila srivasa
khate vasi' prabhu kaila aisvarya prakasa
SYNONYMS
prabhura--of the Lord; abhiseka--worship; tabe--after that; karila--did; srivasa--of the name Srivasa; khate--on the cot; vasi'--sitting; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kaila--did; aisvarya--opulence; prakasa--manifestation.
TRANSLATION
Srivasa Thakura then worshiped Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu by the process of abhiseka. Sitting on a cot, the Lord exhibited transcendental opulence.
PURPORT
Abhiseka is a special function for the installation of the Deity. In this ceremony the Deity is bathed with milk and water and then worshiped and given a change of dress. This abhiseka function was especially observed at the house of Srivasa. All the devotees, according to their means, worshiped the Lord with all kinds of paraphernalia, and the Lord gave benedictions to each devotee according to his desire.
TEXT 12
TEXT
tabe nityananda-svarupera agamana
prabhuke miliya paila sad-bhuja-darsana
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; nityananda-svarupera--of the Personality of Godhead Nityananda; agamana--appearance; prabhuke--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; miliya--meeting; paila--obtained; sat-bhuja-darsana--a vision of the six-armed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
After this function at the house of Srivasa Thakura, Nityananda Prabhu appeared, and when He met with Lord Caitanya He got the opportunity to see Him in His six-armed form.
PURPORT
The form of Sad-bhuja, the six-armed Lord Gaurasundara, is a representation of three incarnations. The form of Sri Ramacandra is symbolized by a bow and arrow, the form of Lord Sri Krsna is symbolized by a stick and flute like those generally held by a cowherd boy, and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is symbolized by a sannyasa-danda and kamandalu, or waterpot.
Srila Nityananda Prabhu was born in the village of Ekacakra in the district of Birbhum as the son of Padmavati and Hadai Pandita. In His childhood He played like Balarama. When He was growing up, a sannyasi came to the house of Hadai Pandita, begging to have the pandita's son as his brahmacari assistant. Hadai Pandita immediately agreed and delivered his son to him, although the separation was greatly shocking, so much so that Hadai lost his life after the separation. Nityananda Prabhu traveled on many pilgrimages with the sannyasi. It is said that for many days He lived at Mathura with him, and at that time He heard about Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes in Navadvipa. Therefore He came down to Bengal to see the Lord. When Lord Nityananda came to Navadvipa, He was a guest at the house of Nandana Acarya. Understanding that Nityananda Prabhu had arrived, Lord Caitanya sent His devotees to Him, and thus there was a meeting between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu.
TEXT 13
TEXT
prathame sad-bhuja tanre dekhaila isvara
sankha-cakra-gada-padma-sarnga-venu-dhara
SYNONYMS
prathame--at first; sat-bhuja--six-armed; tanre--unto Him; dekhaila--showed; isvara--the Lord; sankha--conchshell; cakra--disc; gada--club; padma--lotus flower; sarnga--bow; venu--flute; dhara--carrying.
TRANSLATION
One day Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited to Lord Nityananda Prabhu a six-armed form bearing a conchshell, disc, club, lotus flower, bow and flute.
TEXT 14
TEXT
tabe catur-bhuja haila, tina anga vakra
dui haste venu bajaya, duye sankha-cakra
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; catuh-bhuja--four-armed; haila--became; tina--three; anga--body; vakra--curved; dui haste--in two hands; venu bajaya--blowing the flute; duye--in two (hands); sankha-cakra--conchshell and disc.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter the Lord showed Him His four-armed form, standing in a three-curved posture. With two hands He played upon a flute, and in the other two He carried a conchshell and disc.
TEXT 15
TEXT
tabe ta' dvi-bhuja kevala vamsi-vadana
syama-anga pita-vastra vrajendra-nandana
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; ta'--certainly; dvi-bhuja--two-handed; kevala--only; vamsi--flute; vadana--on the mouth; syama--bluish; anga--body; pita-vastra--yellow dress; vrajendra-nandana--the son of Nanda Maharaja.
TRANSLATION
Finally the Lord showed Nityananda Prabhu His two-armed form of Krsna, the son of Maharaja Nanda, simply playing on His flute, His bluish body dressed in yellow garments.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya-mangala vividly elaborates upon this description.
TEXT 16
TEXT
tabe nityananda-gosanira vyasa-pujana
nityanandavese kaila musala dharana
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; nityananda--of the name Nityananda; gosanira--of the Lord; vyasa-pujana--worshiping Vyasadeva or the spiritual master; nityananda-avese--in the ecstasy of becoming Nityananda; kaila--did; musala dharana--carrying a plowlike weapon called a musala.
TRANSLATION
Nityananda Prabhu then arranged to offer Vyasa-puja, or worship of the spiritual master, to Lord Sri Gaurasundara. But Lord Caitanya carried the plowlike weapon called musala in the ecstasy of being Nityananda Prabhu.
PURPORT
By the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu arranged for Vyasa-puja of the Lord on the night of the full moon. He arranged for the Vyasa-puja, or guru-puja, through the agency of Vyasadeva. Since Vyasadeva is the original guru (spiritual master) of all who follow the Vedic principles, worship of the spiritual master is called Vyasa-puja. Nityananda Prabhu arranged for the Vyasa-puja, and sankirtana was going on, but when He tried to put a garland on the shoulder of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He saw Himself in Lord Caitanya. There is no difference between the spiritual positions of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, or Krsna and Balarama. All of Them are but different manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. During this special ceremony, all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu could understand that there is no difference between Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu.
TEXT 17
TEXT
tabe saci dekhila, rama-krsna----dui bhai
tabe nistarila prabhu jagai-madhai
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; saci--mother Sacidevi; dekhila--saw; rama-krsna--Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama; dui bhai--two brothers; tabe--thereafter; nistarila--delivered; prabhu--the Lord; jagai-madhai--the two brothers Jagai and Madhai.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter mother Sacidevi saw the brothers Krsna and Balarama in Their manifestation of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. Then the Lord delivered the two brothers Jagai and Madhai.
PURPORT
One night Sacidevi dreamt that the Deities in her house, Krsna and Balarama, had taken the forms of Caitanya and Nityananda and were fighting one another, as children do, to eat the naivedya, or offering to the Deities. On the next day, by the will of Lord Caitanya, Sacidevi invited Nityananda to take prasada at her house. Thus Visvambhara (Lord Caitanya) and Nityananda were eating together, and Sacidevi realized that They were none other than Krsna and Balarama. Seeing this, she fainted.
Jagai and Madhai were two brothers born in Navadvipa in a respectable brahmana family who later became addicted to all kinds of sinful activities. By the order of Lord Caitanya, both Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura used to preach the cult of Krsna consciousness door to door. In the course of such preaching they found Jagai and Madhai, two maddened drunken brothers, who, upon seeing them, began to chase them. On the next day, Madhai struck Nityananda Prabhu on the head with a piece of earthen pot, thus drawing blood. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard of this, He immediately came to the spot, ready to punish both brothers, but when the all-merciful Lord Gauranga saw Jagai's repentant behavior, He immediately embraced him. By seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and embracing Him, both the sinful brothers were at once cleansed. Thus they received initiation into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra from the Lord and were delivered.
TEXT 18
TEXT
tabe sapta-prahara chila prabhu bhavavese
yatha tatha bhakta-gana dekhila visese
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; sapta-prahara--twenty-one hours; chila--remained; prabhu--the Lord; bhava-avese--in ecstasy; yatha--anywhere; tatha--everywhere; bhakta-gana--the devotees; dekhila--saw; visese--specifically.
TRANSLATION
After this incident, the Lord remained in an ecstatic position for twenty-one hours, and all the devotees saw His specific pastimes.
PURPORT
In the Deity's room there must be a bed for the Deity behind the Deity's throne. (This system should immediately be introduced in all our centers. It does not matter whether the bed is big or small; it should be of a size the Deity room can conveniently accommodate, but there must be at least a small bed.) One day in the house of Srivasa Thakura, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu sat down on the bed of Visnu, and all the devotees worshiped Him with the Vedic mantras of the Purusa-sukta, beginning with sahasra-sirsa purusah sahasraksah sahasra-pat. This veda-stuti should also be introduced, if possible, for installations of Deities. While bathing the Deity, all the priests and devotees must chant this Purusa-sukta and offer the appropriate paraphernalia for worshiping the Deity, such as flowers, fruits, incense, arati paraphernalia, naivedya, vastra and ornaments. All the devotees worshiped Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this way, and the Lord remained in ecstasy for seven praharas, or twenty-one hours. He took this opportunity to show the devotees that He is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, who is the source of all other incarnations, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8): aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate. All the different forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or visnu-tattva, emanate from the body of Lord Krsna. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu exposed all the private desires of the devotees, and thus all of them became fully confident that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Some devotees call this exhibition of ecstasy by the Lord sata-prahariya bhava, or "the ecstasy of twenty-one hours," and others call it mahabhava-prakasa or maha-prakasa. There are other descriptions of this sata-prahariya bhava in the Caitanya-bhavagata, Chapter Nine, which mentions that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu blessed a maidservant named Duhkhi with the name Sukhi. He called for Kholaveca Sridhara, and showed him His maha-prakasa. Then He called for Murari Gupta and showed him His feature as Lord Ramacandra. He offered His blessings to Haridasa Thakura, and at this time He also asked Advaita Prabhu to explain the Bhagavad-gita as it is (gitara satya-patha) and showed special favor to Mukunda.
TEXT 19
TEXT
varaha-avesa haila murari-bhavane
tanra skandhe cadi' prabhu nacila angane
SYNONYMS
varaha-avesa--the ecstasy of becoming Varahadeva; haila--became; murari-bhavane--in the house of Murari Gupta; tanra skandhe--on the shoulders of Murari Gupta; cadi'--riding; prabhu--the Lord; nacila--danced; angane--in the yard.
TRANSLATION
One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu felt the ecstasy of the boar incarnation and got up on the shoulders of Murari Gupta. Thus they both danced in Murari Gupta's courtyard.
PURPORT
One day Caitanya Mahaprabhu began to cry out, "Sukara! Sukara!" Thus crying out for the boar incarnation of the Lord, He assumed His form as the boar incarnation and got up on the shoulders of Murari Gupta. He carried a small gadu, a small waterpot with a nozzle, and thus He symbolically picked up the earth from the depths of the ocean, for this is the pastime of Lord Varaha.
TEXT 20
TEXT
tabe suklambarera kaila tandula-bhaksana
'harer nama' slokera kaila artha vivarana
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; suklambarera--of Suklambara Brahmacari; kaila--did; tandula--raw rice; bhaksana--eating; harer nama slokera--of the verse celebrated as such; kaila--did; artha--of the meaning; vivarana--explanation.
TRANSLATION
After this incident the Lord ate raw rice given by Suklambara Brahmacari and explained very elaborately the import of the "harer nama" sloka mentioned in the Brhan-naradiya Purana.
PURPORT
Suklambara Brahmacari resided in Navadvipa on the bank of the Ganges. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was dancing in ecstasy, he approached the Lord with a begging bag containing rice. The Lord was so pleased with His devotee that immediately He snatched the bag and began to eat the raw rice. No one forbade Him, and thus He finished the entire supply of rice.
TEXT 21
TEXT
harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha
SYNONYMS
hareh nama--the holy name of the Lord; hareh nama--the holy name of the Lord; hareh nama--the holy name of the Lord; eva--certainly; kevalam--only; kalau--in the Age of Kali; na asti--there is none; eva--certainly; na asti--there is none; eva--certainly; na asti--there is none; eva--certainly; gatih--destination; anyatha--otherwise.
TRANSLATION
" 'In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.'
TEXT 22
TEXT
kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara
nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistara
SYNONYMS
kali-kale--in this Age of Kali; nama-rupe--in the form of the holy name; krsna--Lord Krsna; avatara--incarnation; nama--holy name; haite--from; haya--becomes; sarva--all; jagat--of the world; nistara--deliverance.
TRANSLATION
"In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krsna. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered.
TEXT 23
TEXT
dardhya lagi' 'harer nama'-ukti tina-vara
jada loka bujhaite punah 'eva'-kara
SYNONYMS
dardhya lagi'--in the matter of emphasizing; harer nama--of the holy name of Lord Hari; ukti--there is utterance; tina-vara--three times; jada loka--ordinary common people; bujhaite--just to make them understand; punah--again; eva-kara--the word eva, or "certainly."
TRANSLATION
"This verse repeats the word 'eva' ['certainly'] three times for emphasis, and it also three times repeats 'harer nama' ['the holy name of the Lord'], just to make common people understand.
PURPORT
To emphasize something to an ordinary person, one may repeat it three times, just as one might say, "You must do this! You must do this! You must do this!" Thus the Brhan-naradiya Purana repeatedly emphasizes the chanting of the holy name so that people may take it seriously and thus free themselves from the clutches of maya. It is our practical experience in the Krsna consciousness movement all over the world that many millions of people are factually coming to the spiritual stage of life simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra regularly, according to the prescribed principles. Therefore our request to all our students is that they daily chant at least sixteen rounds of this harer nama maha-mantra offenselessly, following the regulative principles. Thus their success will be assured without a doubt.
TEXT 24
TEXT
'kevala'-sabde punarapi niscaya-karana
jnana-yoga-tapa-karma-adi nivarana
SYNONYMS
'kevala'-sabde--by the word kevala, or "only"; punarapi--again; niscaya-karana--final decision; jnana--cultivation of knowledge; yoga--practice of the mystic yoga system; tapa--austerity; karma--fruitive activities; adi--and so on; nivarana--prohibition.
TRANSLATION
"The use of the word 'kevala' ['only'] prohibits all other processes, such as cultivation of knowledge, practice of mystic yoga, and performance of austerities and fruitive activities.
PURPORT
Our Krsna consciousness movement stresses the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra only, whereas those who do not know the secret of success for this Age of Kali unnecessarily indulge in the cultivation of knowledge, the practice of mystic yoga or the performance of fruitive activities or useless austerities. They are simply wasting their time and misleading their followers. When we point this out very plainly to an audience, members of opposing groups become angry at us. But according to the injunctions of the sastras, we cannot make compromises with these so-called jnanis, yogis, karmis and tapasvis. When they say they are as good as we are, we must say that only we are good and that they are not good. This is not our obstinacy; it is the injunction of the sastras. We must not deviate from the injunctions of the sastras. This is confirmed in the next verse of Caitanya-caritamrta.
TEXT 25
TEXT
anyatha ye mane, tara nahika nistara
nahi, nahi, nahi----e tina 'eva'-kara
SYNONYMS
anyatha--otherwise; ye--anyone who; mane--accepts; tara--of him; nahika--there is no; nistara--deliverance; nahi nahi nahi--there is nothing else, nothing else, nothing else; e--in this; tina--three; eva-kara--bearing the meaning of emphasis.
TRANSLATION
"This verse clearly states that anyone who accepts any other path cannot be delivered. This is the reason for the triple repetition 'nothing else, nothing else, nothing else,' which emphasizes the real process of self-realization.
TEXT 26
TEXT
trna haite nica hana sada labe nama
apani nirabhimani, anye dibe mana
SYNONYMS
trna--grass; haite--than; nica--lower; hana--becoming; sada--always; labe--chant; nama--the holy name; apani--personally; nirabhimani--without honor; anye--unto others; dibe--you should give; mana--all respect.
TRANSLATION
"To chant the holy name always, one should be humbler than the grass in the street and devoid of all desire for personal honor, but one should offer others all respectful obeisances.
TEXT 27
TEXT
taru-sama sahisnuta vaisnava karibe
bhartsana-tadane kake kichu na balibe
SYNONYMS
taru-sama--like a tree; sahisnuta--forbearance; vaisnava--devotee; karibe--should practice; bhartsana--rebuking; tadane--chastising; kake--unto anyone; kichu--something; na--not; balibe--will utter.
TRANSLATION
"A devotee engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate.
TEXT 28
TEXT
katileha taru yena kichu na bolaya
sukaiya mare, tabu jala na magaya
SYNONYMS
katileha--even being cut; taru--the tree; yena--as; kichu--something; na--not; bolaya--says; sukaiya--drying up; mare--dies; tabu--still; jala--water; na--does not; magaya--ask for.
TRANSLATION
"For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying it does not ask anyone for water.
PURPORT
This practice of forbearance (trnad api sunicena) is very difficult, but when one actually engages in chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra regularly.
TEXT 29
TEXT
ei-mata vaisnava kare kichu na magiba
ayacita-vrtti, kimva saka-phala khaiba
SYNONYMS
ei-mata--in this way; vaisnava--a devotee; kare--from anyone; kichu--anything; na--not; magiba--shall ask for; ayacita-vrtti--the profession of not asking for anything; kimva--or; saka--vegetables; phala--fruits; khaiba--shall eat.
TRANSLATION
"Thus a Vaisnava should not ask anything from anyone else. If someone gives him something without being asked, he should accept it, but if nothing comes, a Vaisnava should be satisfied to eat whatever vegetables and fruits are easily available.
TEXT 30
TEXT
sada nama la-iba, yatha-labhete santosa
eita acara kare bhakti-dharma-posa
SYNONYMS
sada--always; nama--the holy name; la-iba--one should chant; yatha--inasmuch as; labhete--gains; santosa--satisfaction; eita--this; acara--behavior; kare--does; bhakti-dharma--of devotional service; posa--maintenance.
TRANSLATION
"One should strictly follow the principle of always chanting the holy name, and one should be satisfied with whatever he gets easily. Such devotional behavior solidly maintains one's devotional service.
TEXT 31
TEXT
trnad api su-nicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
kirtaniyah sada harih
SYNONYMS
trnat api--than downtrodden grass; su-nicena--being lower; taroh--than a tree; iva--like; sahisnuna--with tolerance; amanina--without being puffed up by false pride; mana-dena--giving respect to all; kirtaniyah--to be chanted; sada--always; harih--the holy name of the Lord.
TRANSLATION
"One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord."
PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra.
TEXT 32
TEXT
urdhva-bahu kari' kahon, suna, sarva-loka
nama-sutre ganthi' para kanthe ei sloka
SYNONYMS
urdhva-bahu--raising my hands; kari'--doing so; kahon--I declare; suna--please hear; sarva-loka--all persons; nama--of the holy name; sutre--on the thread; ganthi--stringing; para--get it; kanthe--on the neck; ei--this; sloka--verse.
TRANSLATION
Raising my hands, I declare, "Everyone please hear me! String this verse on the thread of the holy name and wear it on your neck for continuous remembrance."
PURPORT
When chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, in the beginning one may commit many offenses, which are called namabhasa and nama-aparadha. In this stage there is no possibility of achieving perfect love of Krsna by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Therefore one must chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra according to the principles of the above verse, trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna. One should note in this connection that chanting involves the activities of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three must be engaged in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. The words "Hare Krsna" should be very distinctly pronounced and heard. Sometimes one mechanically produces a hissing sound instead of chanting with the proper pronunciation with the help of the lips and tongue. Chanting is very simple, but one must practice it seriously. Therefore the author of Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, advises everyone to keep this verse always strung about his neck.
TEXT 33
TEXT
prabhu-ajnaya kara ei sloka acarana
avasya paibe tabe sri-krsna-carana
SYNONYMS
prabhu--of the Lord; ajnaya--on the order; kara--do; ei sloka--of this verse; acarana--practice; avasya--certainly; paibe--he will get; tabe--afterwards; sri-krsna-carana--the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.
TRANSLATION
One must strictly follow the principles given by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this verse. If one simply follows in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya and the Gosvamis, certainly he will achieve the ultimate goal of life, the lotus feet of Sri Krsna.
TEXT 34
TEXT
tabe prabhu srivasera grhe nirantara
ratre sankirtana kaila eka samvatsara
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; prabhu--the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; srivasera--of Srivasa Thakura; grhe--in the home; nirantara--always; ratre--at night; sankirtana--congregational chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; kaila--performed; eka samvatsara--one full year.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu regularly led congregational chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in the house of Srivasa Thakura every night for one full year.
TEXT 35
TEXT
kapata diya kirtana kare parama avese
pasandi hasite aise, na paya pravese
SYNONYMS
kapata--door; diya--closing; kirtana--chanting; kare--performed; parama--very high; avese--in an ecstatic condition; pasandi--nonbelievers; hasite--to laugh; aise--come; na--does not; paya--get; pravese--entrance.
TRANSLATION
This ecstatic chanting was performed with the doors closed so that nonbelievers who came to make fun could not gain entrance.
PURPORT
Chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is open to everyone, but sometimes nonbelievers come to disturb the ceremony of chanting. It is indicated herein that under such circumstances the temple doors should be closed. Only bona fide chanters should be admitted; others should not. But when there is large-scale congregational chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, we keep our temples for everyone to join, and by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu this policy has given good results.
TEXT 36
TEXT
kirtana suni' bahire tara jvali' pudi' mare
srivasere duhkha dite nana yukti kare
SYNONYMS
kirtana suni'--after hearing the chanting; bahire--outside; tara--the nonbelievers; jvali'--burned; pudi'--to ashes; mare--die; srivasere--unto Srivasa Thakura; duhkha--troubles; dite--to give; nana--various; yukti--plans; kare--do.
TRANSLATION
Thus the nonbelievers almost burned to ashes and died in envy. To retaliate, they planned various ways to give trouble to Srivasa Thakura.
TEXTS 37-38
TEXT
eka-dina vipra, nama----'gopala capala'
pasandi-pradhana sei durmukha, vacala
bhavani-pujara saba samagri lana
ratre srivasera dvare sthana lepana
SYNONYMS
eka-dina--one day; vipra--one brahmana; nama--named; gopala capala--of the name Gopala Capala; pasandi-pradhana--the chief of the nonbelievers; sei--he; durmukha--ferocious, using strong words; vacala--talkative; bhavani-pujara--for worshiping the goddess Bhavani; saba--all; samagri--ingredients, paraphernalia; lana--taking; ratre--at night; srivasera--of Srivasa Thakura; dvare--on the door; sthana--the place; lepana--smearing.
TRANSLATION
One night while kirtana was going on inside Srivasa Thakura's house, a brahmana named Gopala Capala, the chief of the nonbelievers, who was talkative and very rough in his speech, placed all the paraphernalia for worshiping the goddess Durga outside Srivasa Thakura's door.
PURPORT
This brahmana, Gopala Capala, wanted to defame Srivasa Thakura by proving that he was actually a sakta, or a worshiper of Bhavani, the goddess Durga, but was externally posing as a Vaisnava. In Bengal there is perpetual competition between the devotees of Goddess Kali and the devotees of Lord Krsna. Generally Bengalis, especially those who are meat-eaters and drunkards, are very much attached to worshiping the goddesses Durga, Kali, Sitala and Candi. Such devotees, who are known as saktas, or worshipers of the sakti-tattva, are always envious of Vaisnavas. Since Srivasa Thakura was a well-known and respected Vaisnava in Navadvipa, Gopala Capala wanted to reduce his prestige by bringing him down to the platform of the saktas. Therefore outside Srivasa Thakura's door he placed various paraphernalia for worshiping Bhavani, the wife of Lord Siva, such as a red flower, a plantain leaf, a pot of wine, and reddish sandalwood paste. In the morning, when Srivasa Thakura saw all this paraphernalia in front of his door, he called for the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and showed them that at night he was worshiping Bhavani. Very much sorry, these gentlemen called for a sweeper to cleanse the place and purify it by sprinkling water and cow dung there. This incident concerning Gopala Capala is not mentioned in the Caitanya-bhagavata.
TEXT 39
TEXT
kalara pata upare thuila oda-phula
haridra, sindura ara rakta-candana, tandula
SYNONYMS
kalara pata--a banana leaf; upare--upon it; thuila--placed; oda-phula--a particular type of flower; haridra--turmeric; sindura--vermilion; ara--and; rakta-candana--red sandalwood; tandula--rice.
TRANSLATION
On the upper portion of a plantain leaf he placed such paraphernalia for worship as oda-phula, turmeric, vermilion, red sandalwood and rice.
TEXT 40
TEXT
madya-bhanda-pase dhari' nija-ghare gela
pratah-kale srivasa taha ta' dekhila
SYNONYMS
madya-bhanda--a pot of wine; pase--by the side of; dhari'--placing; nija-ghare--to his own home; gela--went; pratah-kale--in the morning; srivasa--Srivasa Thakura; taha--all those things; ta'--certainly; dekhila--saw.
TRANSLATION
He placed a pot of wine beside all this, and in the morning when Srivasa Thakura opened his door he saw this paraphernalia.
TEXT 41
TEXT
bada bada loka saba anila bolaiya
sabare kahe srivasa hasiya hasiya
SYNONYMS
bada bada--respectable; loka--persons; saba--all; anila--brought them; bolaiya--causing to be called; sabare--to everyone; kahe--addresses; srivasa--Srivasa Thakura; hasiya hasiya--while smiling.
TRANSLATION
Srivasa Thakura called for all the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and smilingly addressed them as follows.
TEXT 42
TEXT
nitya ratre kari ami bhavani-pujana
amara mahima dekha, brahmana-sajjana
SYNONYMS
nitya ratre--every night; kari--I do; ami--I; bhavani-pujana--worship of Bhavani, the wife of Lord Siva; amara--my; mahima--glories; dekha--you see; brahmana-sat-jana--all respectable brahmanas.
TRANSLATION
"Gentlemen, every night I worship the goddess Bhavani. Since the paraphernalia for the worship is present here, now all you respectable brahmanas and members of the higher castes can understand my position."
PURPORT
According to the Vedic system there are four castes--the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras--and below them are the pancamas, who are lower than the sudras. The higher castes--the brahmanas, the ksatriyas and even the vaisyas--were known as brahmana-saj-jana. The brahmanas especially were known as sajjana, or respectable gentlemen who guided the entire society. If there were disputes in the village, people would approach these respectable brahmanas to settle them. Now it is very difficult to find such brahmanas and saj-janas, and thus every village and town is so disrupted that there is no peace and happiness anywhere. To revive a fully cultured civilization, the scientific division of society into brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras must be introduced all over the world. Unless some people are trained as brahmanas, there cannot be peace in human society.
TEXT 43
TEXT
tabe saba sista-loka kare hahakara
aiche karma hetha kaila kon duracara
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; saba--all; sista-loka--gentlemen; kare--exclaimed; haha-kara--alas, alas; aiche--such; karma--activities; hetha--here; kaila--did; kon--who; duracara--sinful person.
TRANSLATION
Then all the assembled gentlemen exclaimed, "What is this? What is this? Who has performed such mischievous activities? Who is that sinful man?"
TEXT 44
TEXT
hadike aniya saba dura karaila
jala-gomaya diya sei sthana lepaila
SYNONYMS
hadike--a sweeper; aniya--calling; saba--all; dura karaila--caused to be thrown far; jala--water; gomaya--cow dung; diya--mixing; sei--that; sthana--place; lepaila--caused to be smeared over.
TRANSLATION
They called for a sweeper [hadi], who threw all the items of worship far away and cleansed the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.
PURPORT
The men in Vedic society who engage in public sanitary activities like picking up stool and sweeping the street are called hadis. Sometimes they are untouchable, especially when engaged in their profession, yet such hadis also have the right to become devotees. This is established by Sri Bhagavad-gita (9.32), where the Lord declares:
mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te 'pi yanti param gatim
"O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth--women, vaisyas [ merchants], as well as sudras [workers]--can approach the supreme destination."
There are many untouchables of the lower caste in India, but according to Vaisnava principles everyone is welcome to accept this Krsna consciousness movement on the spiritual platform of life and thus be freed from trouble. Equality or fraternity on the material platform is impossible.
When Lord Caitanya declares, trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna, He indicates that one must be above the material conception of life. When one thoroughly understands that he is not the material body but a spiritual soul, he is even humbler than a man of the lower castes, for he is spiritually elevated. Such humility, in which one thinks himself lower than the grass, is called su-nicatva, and being more tolerant than a tree is called sahisnutva, forbearance. Being situated in devotional service, not caring for the material conception of life, is called amanitva, indifference to material respect; yet a devotee thus situated is called mana-da, for he is prepared to give honor to others without hesitation.
Mahatma Gandhi started the hari-jana movement to purify the untouchables, but he was a failure because he thought that one could become a hari-jana, a personal associate of the Lord, through some kind of material adjustment. That is not possible. Unless one fully realizes that he is not the body but a spiritual soul, there is no question of his becoming a hari-jana. Those who do not follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His disciplic succession cannot distinguish between matter and spirit, and therefore all their ideas are but a mixed-up hodgepodge of problems. They are virtually lost in the bewildering network of Mayadevi.
TEXT 45
TEXT
tina dina rahi' sei gopala-capala
sarvange ha-ila kustha, vahe rakta-dhara
SYNONYMS
tina dina--three days; rahi'--remaining in that way; sei--that; gopala-capala--of the name Gopala Capala; sarva-ange--all over the body; ha-ila--became visible; kustha--leprosy; vahe--discharging; rakta-dhara--a flow of blood.
TRANSLATION
After three days, leprosy attacked Gopala Capala, and blood oozed from sores all over his body.
TEXT 46
TEXT
sarvanga bedila kite, kate nirantara
asahya vedana, duhkhe jvalaye antara
SYNONYMS
sarva-anga--all over the body; bedila--became covered; kite--by insects; kate--biting; nirantara--always; asahya--unbearable; vedana--pain; duhkhe--in unhappiness; jvalaye--burns; antara--without cessation.
TRANSLATION
Incessantly covered with germs and insects biting him all over his body, Gopala Capala felt unbearable pain. His entire body burned in distress.
TEXT 47
TEXT
ganga-ghate vrksa-tale rahe ta' vasiya
eka dina bale kichu prabhuke dekhiya
SYNONYMS
ganga-ghate--on the bank of the Ganges; vrksa-tale--underneath a tree; rahe--remains; ta'--certainly; vasiya--sitting; eka dina--one day; bale--says; kichu--something; prabhuke--the Lord; dekhiya--seeing.
TRANSLATION
Since leprosy is an infectious disease, Gopala Capala left the village to sit down on the bank of the Ganges underneath a tree. One day, however, he saw Caitanya Mahaprabhu passing by and spoke to Him as follows.
TEXT 48
TEXT
grama-sambandhe ami tomara matula
bhagina, mui kustha-vyadhite hanachi vyakula
SYNONYMS
grama-sambandhe--in a village relationship; ami--I (am); tomara--Your; matula--maternal uncle; bhagina--nephew; mui--I; kustha-vyadhite--by the disease of leprosy; hanachi--have become; vyakula--too much afflicted.
TRANSLATION
"My dear nephew, I am Your maternal uncle in our village relationship. Please see how greatly this attack of leprosy has afflicted me.
TEXT 49
TEXT
loka saba uddharite tomara avatara
muni bada dukhi, more karaha uddhara
SYNONYMS
loka--people; saba--all; uddharite--to deliver; tomara--Your; avatara--incarnation; muni--I (am); bada--very; dukhi--unhappy; more--unto me; karaha--please do; uddhara--deliverance.
TRANSLATION
"As an incarnation of God, You are delivering so many fallen souls. I am also a greatly unhappy fallen soul. Kindly deliver me by Your mercy."
PURPORT
It appears that although Gopala Capala was sinful, talkative and insulting, he nevertheless had the qualification of simplicity. Thus he believed Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who had come to deliver all fallen souls, and he appealed for his own deliverance, seeking the mercy of the Lord. He did not know, however, that the deliverance of the fallen does not consist of curing their bodily diseases, although it is also a fact that when a man is delivered from the material clutches his material bodily diseases are automatically cured. Gopala Capala simply wanted to be delivered from the bodily sufferings of leprosy, but Sri Caitanya, although accepting his sincere appeal, wanted to inform him of the real cause of suffering.
TEXT 50
TEXT
eta suni' mahaprabhura ha-ila kruddha mana
krodhavese bale tare tarjana-vacana
SYNONYMS
eta--thus; suni'--hearing; mahaprabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; ha-ila--there was; kruddha--angry; mana--mind; krodha-avese--out of intense anger; bale--says; tare--unto him; tarjana--chastising; vacana--words.
TRANSLATION
Hearing this, Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared greatly angry, and in that angry mood He spoke some words chastising him.
TEXT 51
TEXT
are papi, bhakta-dvesi, tore na uddharimu
koti-janma ei mate kidaya khaoyaimu
SYNONYMS
are--O; papi--you sinful person; bhakta-dvesi--envious of devotees; tore--you; na uddharimu--I shall not deliver; koti-janma--for ten million births; ei mate--in this way; kidaya--by the germs; khaoyaimu--I shall cause you to be bitten.
TRANSLATION
"O sinful person, envious of pure devotees, I shall not deliver you! Rather, I shall have you bitten by these germs for many millions of years.
PURPORT
We should note herein that all our sufferings in this material world, especially from disease, are due to our past sinful activities. And of all sinful activities, actions directed against a pure devotee out of sheer envy are considered extremely severe. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted Gopala Capala to understand the cause of his suffering. Any person who disturbs a pure devotee engaged in broadcasting the holy name of the Lord is certainly punished like Gopala Capala. This is the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As we shall see, one who offends a pure devotee can never satisfy Caitanya Mahaprabhu unless and until he sincerely regrets his offense and thus rectifies it.
TEXT 52
TEXT
srivase karaili tui bhavani-pujana
koti janma habe tora raurave patana
SYNONYMS
srivase--unto Srivasa Thakura; karaili--you have caused to do; tui--you; bhavani-pujana--worshiping the goddess Bhavani; koti janma--for ten million births; habe--there will be; tora--your; raurave--in hell; patana--fall down.
TRANSLATION
"You have made Srivasa Thakura appear to have been worshiping the goddess Bhavani. Simply for this offense, you will have to fall down into hellish life for ten million births.
PURPORT
There are many tantric followers who practice the black art of worshiping the goddess Bhavani in a crematorium, wishing to eat meat and drink wine. Such fools also consider this bhavani-puja as good as worship of Lord Krsna in devotional service. Such abominable tantric activities performed by so-called svamis and yogis are herein condemned, however, by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He declares that such bhavani-puja for drinking wine and eating meat quickly plunges one into hellish life. The method of worship itself is already hellish, and its results must also be hellish and nothing more.
Many rascals say that whatever way one accepts, one will ultimately reach Brahman. Yet we can see from this verse how such persons reach Brahman. Brahman spreads everywhere, but appreciation of Brahman in different objects leads to different results. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.11) the Lord says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: "I reward everyone according to his surrender unto Me." Mayavadis certainly realize Brahman in certain aspects, but realization of Brahman in the aspects of wine, women and meat is not the same realization of Brahman that devotees achieve by chanting, dancing and eating prasada. Mayavadi philosophers, being educated in paltry knowledge, think all sorts of Brahman realization one and the same and do not consider varieties. But although Krsna is everywhere, by His inconceivable potency He is simultaneously not everywhere. Thus the Brahman realization of the tantric cult is not the same Brahman realization as that of pure devotees. Unless one reaches the highest point of Brahman realization, Krsna consciousness, he is punishable. All people except Krsna conscious devotees are to some proportion pasandis, or demons, and thus they are punishable by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, as stated below.
TEXT 53
TEXT
pasandi samharite mora ei avatara
pasandi samhari' bhakti karimu pracara
SYNONYMS
pasandi--demons, atheists; samharite--to kill; mora--My; ei--this; avatara--incarnation; pasandi--atheist; samhari'--killing; bhakti--devotional service; karimu--I shall do; pracara--preaching.
TRANSLATION
"I have appeared in this incarnation to kill the demons [pasandis] and, after killing them, to preach the cult of devotional service."
PURPORT
Lord Caitanya's mission is the same as that of Lord Krsna, as He states in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7-8):
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium"
As explained here, the real purpose of an incarnation of Godhead is to kill the atheists and maintain the devotees. He does not say, like so many rascal incarnations, that both atheists and devotees are on the same platform. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, or Lord Sri Krsna, the real Personality of Godhead, does not advocate such an idea.
Atheists are punishable, whereas devotees are to be protected. To maintain this principle is the mission of all avataras, or incarnations. One must therefore identify an incarnation by His activities, not by popular votes or mental concoctions. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave protection to devotees and killed many demons in the course of His preaching work. He specifically mentioned that the Mayavadi philosophers are the greatest demons. Therefore He warned all others not to hear the Mayavada philosophy. Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa. Simply by hearing the Mayavada interpretation of the sastras, one is doomed (Cc. Madhya 6.169).
TEXT 54
TEXT
eta bali' gela prabhu karite ganga-snana
sei papi duhkha bhoge, na yaya parana
SYNONYMS
eta bali'--saying this; gela--went away; prabhu--the Lord; karite--to take; ganga-snana--a bath in the Ganges; sei--that; papi--sinful man; duhkha--pains; bhoge--suffers; na--not; yaya--go away; parana--the life.
TRANSLATION
After saying this, the Lord left to take His bath in the Ganges, and that sinful man did not give up his life but continued to suffer.
PURPORT
It appears that an offender to a Vaisnava continues to suffer and does not give up his life. We have actually seen that a great vaisnava-aparadhi is continuously suffering so much that it is difficult for him to move, and yet he does not die.
TEXTS 55-56
TEXT
sannyasa kariya yabe prabhu nilacale gela
tatha haite yabe kuliya grame aila
tabe sei papi prabhura la-ila sarana
hita upadesa kaila ha-iya karuna
SYNONYMS
sannyasa kariya--after accepting the renounced order of life; yabe--when; prabhu--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; nilacale--to Jagannatha Puri; gela--went; tatha haite--from there; yabe--when; kuliya--of the name Kuliya; grame--to the village; aila--came back; tabe--at that time; sei--that; papi--sinful man; prabhura--of the Lord; la-ila--took; sarana--shelter; hita--beneficial; upadesa--advice; kaila--gave; ha-iya--becoming; karuna--merciful.
TRANSLATION
When Sri Caitanya, after accepting the renounced order of life, went to Jagannatha Puri and then came back to the village of Kuliya, upon His return that sinful man took shelter at the Lord's lotus feet. The Lord, being merciful to him, gave him instructions for his benefit.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in his Anubhasya, has given the following note in connection with the village Kuliya. The village originally known as Kuliya has developed into what is now the city of Navadvipa. In various authorized books like Bhakti-ratnakara, Caitanya-carita-mahakavya, Caitanya-candrodaya-nataka and Caitanya-bhagavata it is mentioned that the village Kuliya is on the western side of the Ganges. Even now, within the area known as Koladvipa, there is a place known as kuliara ganja and a place called kuliara daha, both within the jurisdiction of the present municipality of Navadvipa. In the time of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu there were two villages, named Kuliya and Pahadapura, on the western side of the Ganges, both belonging to the jurisdiction of Bahiradvipa. At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvipa was known as Navadvipa. At Sri Mayapur that place is still known as Dvipera Matha. There is another place of the name Kuliya near Kancadapada, but it is not the same Kuliya mentioned here. It cannot be accepted as aparadha-bhanjanera pata, or the place where the offense was excused, for that occurred in the above-mentioned Kuliya on the western side of the Ganges. For business reasons many envious persons oppose excavation of the real place, and sometimes they advertise unauthorized places as the authorized one.
TEXTS 57-58
TEXT
srivasa panditera sthane ache aparadha
tatha yaha, tenho yadi karena prasada
tabe tora habe ei papa-vimocana
yadi punah aiche nahi kara acarana
SYNONYMS
srivasa panditera--of Srivasa Thakura; sthane--at the lotus feet; ache--there is; aparadha--offense; tatha--there; yaha--go; tenho--he; yadi--if; karena--does; prasada--blessings; tabe--then; tora--your; habe--there will be; ei--this; papa-vimocana--immunity from sinful reaction; yadi--if; punah--again; aiche--such; nahi kara--you do not commit; acarana--behavior.
TRANSLATION
"You have committed an offense at the lotus feet of Srivasa Thakura," the Lord said. "First you must go there and beg for his mercy, and then if he gives you his blessings and you do not commit such sins again, you will be freed from these reactions."
TEXT 59
TEXT
tabe vipra la-ila asi srivasa sarana
tanhara krpaya haila papa-vimocana
SYNONYMS
tabe--after that; vipra--the brahmana (Gopala Capala); la-ila--took shelter; asi--coming; srivasa--Srivasa Thakura; sarana--shelter of his lotus feet; tanhara krpaya--by his mercy; haila--became; papa-vimocana--free from all sinful reaction.
TRANSLATION
Then the brahmana, Gopala Capala, went to Srivasa Thakura and took shelter of his lotus feet, and by Srivasa Thakura's mercy he was freed from all sinful reactions.
TEXT 60
TEXT
ara eka vipra aila kirtana dekhite
dvare kapata,----na paila bhitare yaite
SYNONYMS
ara--another; eka--one; vipra--brahmana; aila--came; kirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra; dekhite--to see; dvare--in the gateway; kapata--the door (being closed); na paila--did not get; bhitare--inside; yaite--to go.
TRANSLATION
Another brahmana also came to see the kirtana performance, but the door was closed, and he could not enter the hall.
TEXT 61
TEXT
phiri' gela vipra ghare mane duhkha pana
ara dina prabhuke kahe gangaya laga pana
SYNONYMS
phiri' gela--went back; vipra--the brahmana; ghare--to his home; mane--within his mind; duhkha--unhappiness; pana--getting; ara dina--the next day; prabhuke--unto the Lord; kahe--says; gangaya--on the bank of the Ganges; laga--touch; pana--getting.
TRANSLATION
He returned home with an unhappy mind, but on the next day he met Lord Caitanya on the bank of the Ganges and spoke to Him.
TEXT 62
TEXT
sapiba tomare muni, panachi mano-duhkha
paita chindiya sape pracanda durmukha
SYNONYMS
sapiba--I shall curse; tomare--You; muni--I; panachi--I have; manah-duhkha--mentally very much aggrieved; paita--sacred thread; chindiya--breaking; sape--cursing; pracanda--fiercely; durmukha--one who speaks harshly.
TRANSLATION
That brahmana was expert in talking harshly and cursing others. Thus he broke his sacred thread and declared, "I shall now curse You, for Your behavior has greatly aggrieved me."
TEXT 63
TEXT
samsara-sukha tomara ha-uka vinasa
sapa suni' prabhura citte ha-ila ullasa
SYNONYMS
samsara-sukha--material happiness; tomara--Your; ha-uka--may it become; vinasa--all vanquished; sapa suni'--hearing this curse; prabhura--of the Lord; citte--within His mind; ha-ila--there was; ullasa--jubilation.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana cursed the Lord, "You shall be bereft of all material happiness!" When the Lord heard this, He felt great jubilation within Himself.
TEXT 64
TEXT
prabhura sapa-varta yei sune sraddhavan
brahma-sapa haite tara haya paritrana
SYNONYMS
prabhura--of the Lord; sapa-varta--the incident of the curse; yei--anyone who; sune--hears; sraddhavan--with affection; brahma-sapa--cursing by a brahmana; haite--from; tara--his; haya--becomes; paritrana--deliverance.
TRANSLATION
Any faithful person who hears of this brahmana's cursing Lord Caitanya is delivered from all brahminical curses.
PURPORT
One should know with firm conviction that the Lord, being transcendental, is never subject to any curse or benediction. Only ordinary living entities are subjected to curses and the punishments of Yamaraja. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is beyond such punishments and benedictions.When one understands this fact with faith and love, he personally becomes free from all curses uttered by brahmanas or anyone else. This incident is not mentioned in the Caitanya-bhagavata.
TEXT 65
TEXT
mukunda-dattere kaila danda-parasada
khandila tahara cittera saba avasada
SYNONYMS
mukunda-dattere--unto Mukunda Datta; kaila--did; danda--punishment; parasada--benediction; khandila--vanquished; tahara--his; cittera--of the mind; saba--all kinds of; avasada--depressions.
TRANSLATION
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu blessed Mukunda Datta with punishment and in that way vanquished all his mental depression.
PURPORT
Mukunda Datta was once forbidden to enter the association of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu because of his mixing with the Mayavadi impersonalists. When Lord Caitanya manifested His maha-prakasa, He called all the devotees one after another and blessed them, while Mukunda Datta stood outside the door. The devotees informed the Lord that Mukunda Datta was waiting outside, but the Lord replied, "I shall not soon be pleased with Mukunda Datta, for he explains devotional service among devotees, but then he goes to Mayavadis to hear from them the Yoga-vasistha-ramayana, which is full of Mayavada philosophy. For this I am greatly displeased with him." Hearing the Lord speak in that way, Mukunda Datta, standing outside, was exceedingly glad that the Lord would at some time be pleased with him, although He was not pleased at that moment. But when the Lord understood that Mukunda Datta was going to give up the association of the Mayavadis for good, He was pleased, and He at once called to see Mukunda. Thus He delivered him from the association of the Mayavadis and gave him the association of pure devotees.
TEXT 66
TEXT
acarya-gosanire prabhu kare guru-bhakti
tahate acarya bada haya duhkha-mati
SYNONYMS
acarya-gosanire--unto Advaita Acarya; prabhu--the Lord; kare--does; guru-bhakti--offering respects like a spiritual master; tahate--in that way; acarya--Advaita Acarya; bada--very; haya--becomes; duhkha-mati--aggrieved.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya respected Advaita Acarya as His spiritual master, but Advaita Acarya Prabhu was greatly aggrieved by such behavior.
TEXT 67
TEXT
bhangi kari' jnana-marga karila vyakhyana
krodhavese prabhu tare kaila avajnana
SYNONYMS
bhangi kari'--doing it in fun; jnana-marga--the path of philosophical speculation; karila--did; vyakhyana--explanation; krodha-avese--in the mood of anger; prabhu--the Lord; tare--to Him; kaila--did; avajnana--disrespect.
TRANSLATION
Thus He whimsically began to explain the path of philosophical speculation, and the Lord, in His anger, seemingly disrespected Him.
TEXT 68
TEXT
tabe acarya-gosanira ananda ha-ila
lajjita ha-iya prabhu prasada karila
SYNONYMS
tabe--at that time; acarya-gosanira--of Advaita Acarya; ananda--pleasure; ha-ila--aroused; lajjita--ashamed; ha-iya--becoming; prabhu--the Lord; prasada--benediction; karila--offered.
TRANSLATION
At that time Advaita Acarya was greatly pleased. The Lord understood this, and He was somewhat ashamed, but He offered Advaita Acarya His benediction.
PURPORT
Advaita Acarya was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri's spiritual master. Therefore Isvara Puri, the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, was Advaita Acarya's Godbrother. As such, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu treated Advaita Acarya as His spiritual master, but Sri Advaita Acarya did not like this behavior of Lord Caitanya, for He wanted to be treated as His eternal servant. Advaita Prabhu's aspiration was to be a servant of the Lord, not His spiritual master. He therefore devised a plan to antagonize the Lord. He began to explain the path of philosophical speculation in the midst of some unfortunate Mayavadis, and when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard about this, He immediately went there and in a very angry mood began to beat Advaita Acarya. At that time, Advaita Acarya, greatly pleased, began to dance, saying, "Just see how My desire has now been fulfilled! Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to treat Me honorably for so long, but now He is treating Me neglectfully. This is My reward. His affection for Me is so great that He wanted to save Me from the hands of the Mayavadis." Hearing this statement, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was somewhat ashamed, but He was very much pleased with Advaita Acarya.
TEXT 69
TEXT
murari-gupta-mukhe suni' rama-guna-grama
lalate likhila tanra 'ramadasa' nama
SYNONYMS
murari-gupta--of Murari Gupta; mukhe--from the mouth; suni'--hearing; rama--of Lord Ramacandra; guna-grama--glories; lalate--on the forehead; likhila--wrote; tanra--of Murari Gupta; rama-dasa--the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra; nama--the name.
TRANSLATION
Murari Gupta was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra. When Lord Caitanya heard Lord Ramacandra's glories from his mouth, He immediately wrote on his forehead "ramadasa" [the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra].
TEXT 70
TEXT
sridharera lauha-patre kaila jala-pana
samasta bhaktere dila ista vara-dana
SYNONYMS
sridharera--of Sridhara; lauha-patre--from the iron pot; kaila--did; jala-pana--drinking of water; samasta--all; bhaktere--to the devotees; dila--gave; ista--desired; vara-dana--benediction.
TRANSLATION
Once Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the house of Sridhara after kirtana and drank water from his damaged iron pot. Then He bestowed His benediction upon all the devotees according to their desires.
PURPORT
After the mass nagara-sankirtana in protest against the magistrate Chand Kazi, the Kazi was converted to a devotee. Then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned with His sankirtana party to the house of Sridhara, and Chand Kazi followed Him. All the devotees rested there for some time and drank water from Sridhara's damaged iron pot. The Lord accepted the water because the pot belonged to a devotee. Chand Kazi then returned home. The place where they rested is still situated on the northeastern side of Mayapur, and it is known as kirtana-visrama-sthana, "the resting place of the kirtana party."
TEXT 71
TEXT
haridasa thakurere karila prasada
acarya-sthane matara khandaila aparadha
SYNONYMS
haridasa thakurere--unto Haridasa Thakura; karila--did; prasada--benediction; acarya-sthane--in the home of Advaita Acarya; matara--of Sacimata; khandaila--vanquished; aparadha--the offense.
TRANSLATION
After this incident the Lord blessed Haridasa Thakura and vanquished the offense of His mother at the home of Advaita Acarya.
PURPORT
On the maha-prakasa day, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Haridasa Thakura and informed him that he was none other than an incarnation of Prahlada Maharaja. When Visvarupa took sannyasa, Sacimata thought that Advaita Acarya had persuaded Him to do so. Therefore she accused Him of this, which was an offense at Advaita Acarya's lotus feet. Later Lord Caitanya induced His mother to take the dust of Advaita Acarya's lotus feet, and thus her vaisnava-aparadha was nullified.
TEXT 72
TEXT
bhakta-gane prabhu nama-mahima kahila
suniya paduya tahan artha-vada kaila
SYNONYMS
bhakta-gane--unto the devotees; prabhu--the Lord; nama-mahima--glories of the holy name; kahila--explained; suniya--hearing; paduya--the students; tahan--there; artha-vada--interpretation; kaila--did.
TRANSLATION
Once the Lord explained the glories of the holy name to the devotees, but some ordinary students who heard Him fashioned their own interpretation.
TEXT 73
TEXT
name stuti-vada suni' prabhura haila duhkha
sabare nisedhila,----ihara na dekhiha mukha
SYNONYMS
name--in the holy name of the Lord; stuti-vada--exaggeration; suni'--hearing; prabhura--of the Lord; haila--became; duhkha--aggrieved; sabare--unto everyone; nisedhila--warned; ihara--of him; na--do not; dekhiha--see; mukha--face.
TRANSLATION
When a student interpreted the glories of the holy name as a prayer of exaggeration, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, greatly unhappy, immediately warned everyone not to see the student's face henceforward.
PURPORT
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained the glories of the transcendental potency of the Lord's holy name, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one unfortunate student said that such glorification of the holy name was an exaggeration in the sastras to induce people to take to it. In this way the student interpreted the glories of the holy name. This is called artha-vada, and it is one of the ten offenses at the lotus feet of the holy name of the Lord. There are many kinds of offenses, but the offense known as nama-aparadha, an offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, is extremely dangerous. The Lord therefore warned everyone not to see the face of the offender. He immediately took a bath in the Ganges with all His clothes to teach everyone to avoid such a nama-aparadha. The holy name is identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between the person God and His holy name. This is the absolute position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one who distinguishes between the Lord and His name is called a pasandi, or nonbeliever, an atheistic demon. Glorification of the holy name is glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should never attempt to distinguish between the Lord and His name or interpret the glories of the holy name as mere exaggerations.
TEXT 74
TEXT
sagane sacele giya kaila ganga-snana
bhaktira mahima tahan karila vyakhyana
SYNONYMS
sa-gane--with His followers; sa-cele--without leaving the clothes; giya--going; kaila--did; ganga-snana--bathing in the Ganges; bhaktira--of devotional service; mahima--glories; tahan--there; karila--did; vyakhyana--explanation.
TRANSLATION
Without even changing His garments, Lord Caitanya took a bath in the Ganges with His companions. There He explained the glories of devotional service.
TEXT 75
TEXT
jnana-karma-yoga-dharme nahe krsna vasa
krsna-vasa-hetu eka----prema-bhakti-rasa
SYNONYMS
jnana--the path of speculative knowledge; karma--fruitive activities; yoga--the process of controlling the senses; dharme--in the activities, in such an occupation; nahe--is not; krsna--Lord Krsna; vasa--pleased; krsna--of Lord Krsna; vasa--for the pleasure; hetu--reason; eka--one; prema--love; bhakti--devotional service; rasa--such a mellow.
TRANSLATION
"By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or mystic yoga to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Krsna, the Supreme Lord. Unalloyed devotional love for Krsna is the only cause for the Lord's satisfaction.
TEXT 76
TEXT
na sadhayati mam yogo
na sankhyam dharma uddhava
na svadhyayas tapas tyago
yatha bhaktir mamorjita
SYNONYMS
na--never; sadhayati--causes to remain satisfied; mam--Me; yogah--the process of control; na--nor; sankhyam--the process of gaining philosophical knowledge about the Absolute Truth; dharmah--such an occupation; uddhava--My dear Uddhava; na--nor; svadhyayah--study of the Vedas; tapah--austerities; tyagah--renunciation, acceptance of sannyasa, or charity; yatha--as much as; bhaktih--devotional service; mama--unto Me; urjita--developed.
TRANSLATION
"[The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, said:] 'My dear Uddhava, neither through astanga-yoga [the mystic yoga system to control the senses], nor through impersonal monism or an analytical study of the Absolute Truth, nor through study of the Vedas, nor through practice of austerities, nor through charity, nor through acceptance of sannyasa can one satisfy Me as much as one can by developing unalloyed devotional service unto Me.' "
PURPORT
Karmis, jnanis, yogis, tapasvis and students of Vedic literature who do not have Krsna consciousness simply beat around the bush and do not get any final profit because they have no clear knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nor do they have faith in approaching Him by discharging devotional service, although everywhere such service is repeatedly emphasized, as it is in this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.14.20). The Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 18.55) also declares, bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: "One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service." If one wants to understand the Supreme Personality factually, he must take to the path of devotional service and not waste time in profitless philosophical speculation, fruitive activity, mystic yogic practice or severe austerity and penance. Elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gita (12.5) the Lord confirms, kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam: "For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome." People who are attached to the impersonal feature of the Lord are obliged to take great trouble, yet nevertheless they cannot understand the Absolute Truth. As explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11), brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate. Unless one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original source of both Brahman and Paramatma, one is still in darkness about the AbsoluteTruth.
TEXT 77
TEXT
murarike kahe tumi krsna vasa kaila
suniya murari sloka kahite lagila
SYNONYMS
murarike--unto Murari; kahe--says; tumi--you; krsna--Lord Krsna; vasa--satisfied; kaila--made; suniya--hearing; murari--of the name Murari; sloka--verse; kahite--to speak; lagila--began.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya then praised Murari Gupta, saying, "You have satisfied Lord Krsna." Hearing this, Murari Gupta quoted a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam.
TEXT 78
TEXT
kvaham daridrah papiyan
kva krsnah sri-niketanah
brahma-bandhur iti smaham
bahubhyam parirambhitah
SYNONYMS
kva--whereas; aham--I (am); daridrah--very poor; papiyan--sinful; kva--whereas; krsnah--the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sri-niketanah--the shelter of the goddess of fortune; brahma-bandhuh--a caste brahmana without brahminical qualifications; iti--thus; sma--certainly; aham--I (am); bahubhyam--by the arms; parirambhitah--embraced.
TRANSLATION
" 'Since I am but a poor, sinful brahma-bandhu, not brahminically qualified although born in a brahmana family, and You, Lord Krsna, are the shelter of the goddess of fortune, it is simply wonderful, my dear Lord Krsna, that You have embraced me with Your arms.' "
PURPORT
This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.81.16) spoken by Sudama Vipra in the presence of Lord Sri Krsna. This and the previous verse quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam clearly indicate that although Krsna is so great that it is not possible for anyone to satisfy Him, He exhibits His greatness by being personally satisfied even with one who is disqualified from so many angles of vision. Sudama Vipra was born in a family of brahmanas, and he was a learned scholar and a class friend of Krsna's, yet he considered himself unfit to be strictly called a brahmana. He called himself a brahma-bandhu, meaning "one born in a brahmana family but not brahminically qualified." Because of His great respect for brahmanas, however, Krsna embraced Sudama Vipra, although he was not a regular brahmana but a brahma-bandhu, or friend of a brahmana family. Murari Gupta could not be called even a brahma-bandhu because he was born of a vaidya family and according to the social structure was therefore considered a sudra. But Krsna bestowed special mercy upon Murari Gupta because he was a beloved devotee of the Lord, as stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The purport of Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's elaborate discussion of this subject is that no qualification in this material world can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, yet everything becomes successful simply through development of devotional service to the Lord.
The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness cannot even call themselves brahma-bandhus. Therefore our only means for satisfying Krsna is to pursue the injunctions of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who says:
yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa
"Whomever you meet, instruct him on the teachings of Krsna. In this way, on My order, become a spiritual master and deliver the people of this country." (Cc. Madhya 7.128) Simply trying to follow the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we speak to the people of the world about Bhagavad-gita As It Is. This will make us qualified to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.
TEXT 79
TEXT
eka-dina prabhu saba bhakta-gana lana
sankirtana kari' vaise srama-yukta hana
SYNONYMS
eka-dina--one day; prabhu--the Lord; saba--all; bhakta-gana--devotees; lana--taking into company; sankirtana--chanting the Hare Krsna mantra; kari'--doing so; vaise--sat; srama-yukta--feeling fatigued; hana--thus being.
TRANSLATION
One day the Lord performed sankirtana with all His devotees, and when they were greatly fatigued they sat down.
TEXT 80
TEXT
eka amra-bija prabhu angane ropila
tat-ksane janmila vrksa badite lagila
SYNONYMS
eka--one; amra-bija--seed of a mango; prabhu--the Lord; angane--in the yard; ropila--sowed; tat-ksane--immediately; janmila--fructified; vrksa--a tree; badite--to grow; lagila--began.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then sowed a mango seed in the yard, and immediately the seed fructified into a tree and began to grow.
TEXT 81
TEXT
dekhite dekhite vrksa ha-ila phalita
pakila aneka phala, sabei vismita
SYNONYMS
dekhite dekhite--as people were seeing; vrksa--the tree; ha-ila--became; phalita--fully grown with fruits; pakila--ripened; aneka--many; phala--fruits; sabei--every one of them; vismita--struck with wonder.
TRANSLATION
As people looked on, the tree became fully grown, with fruits that fully ripened. Thus everyone was struck with wonder.
TEXT 82
TEXT
sata dui phala prabhu sighra padaila
praksalana kari' krsne bhoga lagaila
SYNONYMS
sata--hundred; dui--two; phala--fruits; prabhu--the Lord; sighra--very soon; padaila--caused to be picked up; praksalana--washing; kari'--doing; krsne--to Lord Krsna; bhoga--offering; lagaila--made it so.
TRANSLATION
The Lord immediately picked about two hundred fruits, and after washing them He offered them to Krsna to eat.
TEXT 83
TEXT
rakta-pita-varna,----nahi asthi-valkala
eka janera peta bhare khaile eka phala
SYNONYMS
rakta-pita-varna--the mangoes were red and yellow in color; nahi--there was none; asthi--seed; valkala--or skin; eka--one; janera--man's; peta--belly; bhare--filled up; khaile--if he would eat; eka--one; phala--fruit.
TRANSLATION
The fruits were all red and yellow, with no seed inside and no skin outside, and eating one fruit would immediately fill a man's belly.
PURPORT
In India a mango is considered best when it is red and yellow, its seed is very small, its skin is very thin, and it is so palatable that if a person eats one fruit he will be satisfied. The mango is considered the king of all fruits.
TEXT 84
TEXT
dekhiya santusta haila sacira nandana
sabake khaoyala age kariya bhaksana
SYNONYMS
dekhiya--seeing this; santusta--satisfied; haila--became; sacira--of mother Saci; nandana--son; sabake--everyone; khaoyala--made to eat; age--in the beginning; kariya--doing; bhaksana--eating Himself.
TRANSLATION
Seeing the quality of the mangoes, the Lord was greatly satisfied, and thus after eating first, He fed all the other devotees.
TEXT 85
TEXT
asthi-valkala nahi,----amrta-rasamaya
eka phala khaile rase udara puraya
SYNONYMS
asthi--seed; valkala--skin; nahi--there is none; amrta--nectar; rasa-maya--full of juice; eka--one; phala--fruit; khaile--if one eats; rase--with the juice; udara--belly; puraya--fulfilled.
TRANSLATION
The fruits had no seeds or skins. They were full of nectarean juice and were so sweet that a man would be fully satisfied by eating only one.
TEXT 86
TEXT
ei-mata pratidina phale bara masa
vaisnava khayena phala,----prabhura ullasa
SYNONYMS
ei-mata--in this way; prati-dina--every day; phale--fruit grew; bara--twelve; masa--months; vaisnava--the Vaisnavas; khayena--eat; phala--the fruits; prabhura--the Lord's; ullasa--satisfaction.
TRANSLATION
In this way, fruits grew on the tree every day throughout the twelve months of the year, and the Vaisnavas used to eat them, to the Lord's great satisfaction.
TEXT 87
TEXT
ei saba lila kare sacira nandana
anya loka nahi jane vina bhakta-gana
SYNONYMS
ei saba--all these; lila--pastimes; kare--performed; sacira--of mother Saci; nandana--son; anya loka--other people; nahi--do not; jane--know; vina--except; bhakta-gana--the devotees.
TRANSLATION
These are confidential pastimes of the son of Saci. Other than devotees, no one knows of this incident.
PURPORT
Nondevotees cannot believe this incident, yet the place where the tree grew still exists in Mayapur. It is called Amra-ghatta or Ama-ghata.
TEXT 88
TEXT
ei mata bara-masa kirtana-avasane
amra-mahotsava prabhu kare dine dine
SYNONYMS
ei mata--in this way; bara-masa--for twelve months; kirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra; avasane--at the end; amra-maha-utsava--festival of eating mangoes; prabhu--the Lord; kare--performs; dine dine--every day.
TRANSLATION
In this way the Lord Performed sankirtana every day, and at the end of sankirtana there was a mango-eating festival every day for twelve months.
PURPORT
On principle, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu would distribute prasada at the end of kirtana performances. Similarly, the members of the Krsna consciousness movement must distribute some prasada to the audience after performing kirtana.
TEXT 89
TEXT
kirtana karite prabhu aila megha-gana
apana-icchaya kaila megha nivarana
SYNONYMS
kirtana--sankirtana; karite--performing; prabhu--the Lord; aila--there was; megha-gana--bunches of clouds; apana-icchaya--by self-will; kaila--made; megha--of the clouds; nivarana--stopping.
TRANSLATION
Once while Caitanya Mahaprabhu was performing kirtana, clouds assembled in the sky, and the Lord, by His own will, immediately stopped them from pouring rain.
PURPORT
In this connection Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that once when Lord Caitanya was performing sankirtana a short way from the village, some clouds appeared overhead. By the supreme will of the Lord, the clouds were asked to disperse, and they did. Because of this incident, that place is still known as Meghera-cara. Since the course of the Ganges has now changed, the village of the name Belapukhuriya, which was formerly situated in a different place, called Taranavasa, has now become known as the Meghera-cara. The Madhya-khanda of the Caitanya-mangala also relates that once at the end of the day, when evening clouds assembled overhead and thundered threateningly, all the Vaisnavas were very much afraid. But the Lord took His karatalas in His hands and personally began chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, looking up towards the sky as if to direct the demigods in the higher planets. Thus all the assembled clouds dispersed, and as the sky became clear, with the moon rising, the Lord began dancing very happily with His jubilant and satisfied devotees.
TEXT 90
TEXT
eka-dina prabhu srivasere ajna dila
'brhat sahasra-nama' pada, sunite mana haila
SYNONYMS
eka-dina--one day; prabhu--the Lord; srivasere--unto Srivasa Thakura; ajna--order; dila--gave; brhat--great; sahasra-nama--one thousand names; pada--read; sunite--to hear; mana--mind; haila--wanted.
TRANSLATION
One day the Lord ordered Srivasa Thakura to read the Brhat-sahasra-nama [the thousand names of Lord Visnu], for He wanted to hear them at that time.
TEXT 91
TEXT
padite aila stave nrsimhera nama
suniya avista haila prabhu gauradhama
SYNONYMS
padite--while reading; aila--came; stave--in the prayer; nrsimhera--of Lord Nrsimha; nama--the holy name; suniya--hearing; avista--absorbed; haila--became; prabhu--Lord; gaura-dhama--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
As he read the thousand names of the Lord, in due course the holy name of Lord Nrsimha appeared. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard the holy name of Lord Nrsimha, He became fully absorbed in thought.
PURPORT
The Caitanya-mangala, Madhya-khanda, describes this incident as follows: Srivasa Pandita was performing the sraddha ceremony of his father, and as is customary, he was hearing the thousand names of Lord Visnu. At that time Gaurahari (Lord Caitanya) appeared on the scene, and He also began to hear the thousand names of Visnu with full satisfaction. When He thus heard the holy name of Lord Nrsimha, Lord Caitanya became absorbed in thought, and He became angry like Nrsimha Prabhu in His angry mood. His eyes became red, His hairs stood on end, all the parts of His body trembled, and He made a thundering sound. All of a sudden He took up a club, and people became greatly afraid, thinking, "We do not know what kind of offense we have now committed!" But then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu adjusted His thoughts and sat down on His seat.
TEXT 92
TEXT
nrsimha-avese prabhu hate gada lana
pasandi marite yaya nagare dhaiya
SYNONYMS
nrsimha-avese--in the ecstatic mood of Lord Nrsimha; prabhu--the Lord; hate--in His hand; gada--club; lana--taking; pasandi--the atheists; marite--to kill; yaya--goes; nagare--in the city; dhaiya--running.
TRANSLATION
In the mood of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Lord Caitanya ran through the city streets, club in hand, ready to kill all the atheists.
TEXT 93
TEXT
nrsimha-avesa dekhi' maha-tejomaya
patha chadi' bhage loka pana bada bhaya
SYNONYMS
nrsimha-avesa--the ecstasy of Lord Nrsimhadeva; dekhi'--seeing; maha-tejo-maya--very fierce; patha chadi'--giving up the road; bhage--run away; loka--all people; pana--getting; bada--very; bhaya--afraid.
TRANSLATION
Seeing Him appearing very fierce in the ecstasy of Lord Nrsimha, people ran from the street and fled here and there, afraid of His anger.
TEXT 94
TEXT
loka-bhaya dekhi' prabhura bahya ha-ila
srivasa-grhete giya gada phelaila
SYNONYMS
loka-bhaya--the fearful people; dekhi'--seeing this; prabhura--of the Lord; bahya--external sense; ha-ila--appeared; srivasa-grhete--in the house of Srivasa Pandita; giya--going there; gada--the club; phelaila--threw away.
TRANSLATION
Seeing the people so afraid, the Lord came to His external senses and thus returned to the house of Srivasa Thakura and threw away the club.
TEXT 95
TEXT
srivase kahena prabhu kariya visada
loka bhaya paya,----mora haya aparadha
SYNONYMS
srivase--unto Srivasa Thakura; kahena--says; prabhu--the Lord; kariya--becoming; visada--morose; loka--people; bhaya paya--become afraid; mora--My; haya--there is; aparadha--offense.
TRANSLATION
The Lord became morose and said to Srivasa Thakura, "When I adopted the mood of Lord Nrsimhadeva, people were greatly afraid. Therefore I stopped, since causing fear among people is an offense."
TEXT 96
TEXT
srivasa balena,----ye tomara nama laya
tara koti aparadha saba haya ksaya
SYNONYMS
srivasa balena--Srivasa Pandita said; ye--anyone who; tomara--Your; nama--holy name; laya--takes; tara--his; koti--ten million; aparadha--offenses; saba--all; haya--become; ksaya--vanquished.
TRANSLATION
Srivasa Thakura replied, "Anyone who takes Your holy name vanquishes ten million of his offenses immediately.
TEXT 97
TEXT
aparadha nahi, kaile lokera nistara
ye toma' dekhila, tara chutila samsara
SYNONYMS
aparadha--offense; nahi--did not; kaile--committed; lokera--of the people; nistara--liberation; ye--anyone who; toma'--You; dekhila--saw; tara--his; chutila--became free; samsara--material bondage.
TRANSLATION
"There was no offense in Your appearing as Nrsimhadeva. Rather, any man who saw You in that mood was immediately liberated from the bondage of material existence."
TEXT 98
TEXT
eta bali' srivasa karila sevana
tusta hana prabhu aila apana-bhavana
SYNONYMS
eta bali'--saying this; srivasa--Srivasa Thakura; karila--did; sevana--worship; tusta--satisfied; hana--becoming; prabhu--the Lord; aila--came back; apana-bhavana--to His own home.
TRANSLATION
After saying this, Srivasa Thakura worshiped the Lord, who was then greatly satisfied and returned to His own home.
TEXT 99
TEXT
ara dina siva-bhakta siva-guna gaya
prabhura angane nace, damaru bajaya
SYNONYMS
ara dina--another day; siva-bhakta--a devotee of Lord Siva; siva-guna--the qualities of Lord Siva; gaya--chants; prabhura--of Lord Caitanya; angane--in the courtyard; nace--dances; damaru--a kind of musical instrument; bajaya--plays on it.
TRANSLATION
On another day a great devotee of Lord Siva, chanting of Lord Siva's qualities, came to Lord Caitanya's house, where he began dancing in the courtyard and playing his damaru [a musical instrument].
TEXT 100
TEXT
mahesa-avesa haila sacira nandana
tara skandhe cadi nrtya kaila bahu-ksana
SYNONYMS
mahesa-avesa--in the mood of Lord Siva; haila--became; sacira--of mother Saci; nandana--son; tara skandhe--on his shoulder; cadi--getting on; nrtya--dance; kaila--did; bahu-ksana--for a long time.
TRANSLATION
Then Lord Caitanya, adopting the mood of Lord Siva, got on the man's shoulders, and thus they danced together for a long time.
PURPORT
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu adopted the mood of Lord Siva, for He is Siva also. According to the philosophy of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, Lord Siva is not different from Lord Visnu, but still Lord Siva is not Lord Visnu, just as yogurt is nothing but milk and yet is not milk nevertheless. One cannot get the benefit of milk by drinking yogurt. Similarly, one cannot get salvation by worshiping Lord Siva. If one wants salvation, one must worship Lord Visnu. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (9.4): mat-sthani sarva-bhutani na caham tesv avasthitah. Everything is resting on the Lord, for everything is His potential energy, yet He is not everywhere. Lord Caitanya's adopting the mood of Lord Siva is not extraordinary, but one should not therefore think that by worshiping Lord Siva one is worshiping Lord Caitanya. That would be a mistake.
TEXT 101
TEXT
ara dina eka bhiksuka aila magite
prabhura nrtya dekhi nrtya lagila karite
SYNONYMS
ara--another; dina--day; eka--one; bhiksuka--beggar; aila--came; magite--to beg; prabhura--of the Lord; nrtya--dancing; dekhi--seeing; nrtya--dancing; lagila--began; karite--to perform.
TRANSLATION
On another day a mendicant came to beg alms from the Lord's house, but when he saw the Lord dancing, he also began to dance.
TEXT 102
TEXT
prabhu-sange nrtya kare parama ullase
prabhu tare prema dila, prema-rase bhase
SYNONYMS
prabhu-sange--along with the Lord; nrtya kare--was dancing; parama--very; ullase--in satisfaction; prabhu--the Lord; tare--him; prema--love of Godhead; dila--delivered; prema-rase--in the mellows of love of God; bhase--began to float.
TRANSLATION
He danced with the Lord because he was favored by love of Krsna. Thus he flowed in the mellows of love of Godhead.
TEXT 103
TEXT
ara dine jyotisa sarva-jna eka aila
tahare sammana kari' prabhu prasna kaila
SYNONYMS
ara dine--some other day; jyotisa--an astrologer; sarva-jna--who knows everything; eka--one; aila--came there; tahare--unto him; sammana kari'--giving all honor; prabhu--the Lord; prasna--question; kaila--put.
TRANSLATION
On another day an astrologer came who was supposed to know everything--past, present and future. Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu received him with all honor and put this question before him.
PURPORT
Brahmanas generally used to become astrologers, Ayur-vedic physicians, teachers and priests. Although highly learned and respectable, such brahmanas went from door to door to distribute their knowledge. A brahmana would first go to a householder's home to give information about the functions to be performed on a particular tithi, or date, but if there were sickness in the family, the family members would consult the brahmana as a physician, and the brahmana would give instruction and some medicine. Often, since the brahmanas were expert in astrology, people would also be greatly inquisitive about their past, present and future.
Although the brahmana appeared at Lord Caitanya's house as a beggar, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu received him with great respect because he was a qualified brahmana who knew the astrological science perfectly. Although brahmanas would go door to door just like beggars, they were honored as very respectable guests. This was the system in Hindu society five hundred years ago, during the time of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This system was current even one hundred years ago; even fifty or sixty years ago, when we were children, such brahmanas would visit householders like humble beggars, and people would derive great benefit from the mercy of such brahmanas. The greatest benefit was that a householder could save a great deal of money from being spent on doctor bills because the brahmanas, aside from explaining the past, present and future, could ordinarily cure all kinds of diseases simply by giving instructions and some medicine. Thus no one was bereft of the benefit of a first-class physician, astrologer and priest. The important members of ISKCON should give careful attention to our Dallas school, where children are being taught Sanskrit and English to become perfect brahmanas. If they are actually trained as perfect brahmanas, they can save society from rogues and ruffians; indeed, people can live happily under the protection of qualified brahmanas. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita (4.13) gives special stress to the division of society (catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah). Unfortunately some people are now claiming to be brahmanas simply by birthright, with no qualifications. Therefore the entire society is in chaos.
TEXT 104
TEXT
ke achilun ami purva janme kaha gani'
ganite lagila sarva-jna prabhu-vakya suni'
SYNONYMS
ke achilun ami--who I was; purva janme--in My previous birth; kaha--please say; gani'--by your astrological calculation; ganite--to calculate; lagila--began; sarva-jna--a man who knows past, present and future; prabhu-vakya--the words of Lord Caitanya; suni'--hearing.
TRANSLATION
"Please tell Me who I was in My previous birth," the Lord said. "Please tell Me by your astrological computations." Hearing the words of the Lord, the astrologer immediately began to calculate.
PURPORT
Through astrology one can know past, present and future. Modern Western astrologers have no knowledge of the past or future, nor can they perfectly say anything about the present. Herein we find, however, that after hearing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's order, the astrologer immediately began his calculations. This was not a facade; he actually knew how to ascertain one's past life through astrology. A still-existing treatise called the Bhrgu-samhita describes a system by which anyone can immediately get information about what he was in the past and what he is going to be in the future. The brahmanas who went door to door as if beggars had perfect command of such vast knowledge. Thus the highest knowledge was easily available even to the poorest man in society. The poorest man could inquire from an astrologer about his past, present and future, with no need for business agreements or exorbitant payments. The brahmana would give him all the benefit of his knowledge without asking remuneration, and the poor man, in return, would offer a handful of rice, or anything he had in his possession, to satisfy the brahmana. In a perfect human society, perfect knowledge in any science--medical, astrological, ecclesiastical and so on--is available even to the poorest man, with no anxiety over payment. In the present day, however, no one can get justice, medical treatment, astrological help or ecclesiastical enlightenment without money, and since people are generally poor, they are bereft of the benefits of all these great sciences.
TEXT 105
TEXT
gani' dhyane dekhe sarva-jna,----maha-jyotirmaya
ananta vaikuntha-brahmanda----sabara asraya
SYNONYMS
gani'--by calculation; dhyane--by meditation; dekhe--sees; sarva-jna--knower of everything; maha-jyotir-maya--highly effulgent body; ananta--unlimited; vaikuntha--spiritual world; brahmanda--planets; sabara--of all of them; asraya--shelter.
TRANSLATION
Through calculation and meditation, the all-knowing astrologer saw the greatly effulgent body of the Lord, which is the resting place of all the unlimited Vaikuntha planets.
PURPORT
Here we get some information of the Vaikuntha world, or spiritual world. Vaikuntha means "without anxiety." In the material world, everyone is full of anxiety, but another world, where there is no anxiety, is described in the Bhagavad-gita (8.20):
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo
'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu
nasyatsu na vinasyati
"Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is."
As there are many planets within the material world, there are many millions of planets, called Vaikunthalokas, in the spiritual world. All these Vaikunthalokas, or superior planets, rest on the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-), the Brahman effulgence emanating from the body of the Supreme Lord creates innumerable planets in both the spiritual and material worlds; thus these planets are creations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The astrologer saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be the very same Personality of Godhead. We can just imagine how learned he was, yet he was traveling door to door, just like an ordinary beggar, for the highest benefit of human society.
TEXT 106
TEXT
parama-tattva, para-brahma, parama-isvara
dekhi' prabhura murti sarva-jna ha-ila phanphara
SYNONYMS
parama-tattva--the Supreme Truth; para-brahma--the Supreme Brahman; parama-isvara--the Supreme Lord; dekhi'--seeing; prabhura--of the Lord; murti--form; sarva-jna--the all-knowing astrologer; ha-ila--became; phanphara--confused.
TRANSLATION
Seeing Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be the same Absolute Truth, the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, the astrologer was confused.
PURPORT
Herein it is clearly indicated that the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Brahman, is, in the ultimate issue, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore a person is the beginning of all things. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8), mattah sarvam pravartate: everything begins from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is the supreme living entity. Therefore whatever exists, whether matter or spirit, is all but an emanation from the Supreme Person, or supreme life. The modern scientists' theory that life begins from matter is nonsense. Both matter and life begin from life. Unfortunately the scientists do not know this scientific fact; they are drifting in the darkness of their so-called knowledge.
TEXT 107
TEXT
balite na pare kichu, mauna ha-ila
prabhu punah prasna kaila, kahite lagila
SYNONYMS
balite--to say; na pare--is not able; kichu--anything; mauna--silent; ha-ila--became; prabhu--the Lord; punah--again; prasna--question; kaila--put; kahite--to speak; lagila--began.
Struck with wonder, the astrologer remained silent, unable to speak. But when the Lord again put the question before him, he replied as follows.
TEXT 108
TEXT
purva janme chila tumi jagat-asraya
paripurna bhagavan----sarvaisvaryamaya
SYNONYMS
purva janme--in the previous birth; chila--were; tumi--You; jagat--universe; asraya--shelter; paripurna--with full potencies; bhagavan--the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarva-aisvarya-maya--full of all opulences.
TRANSLATION
"My dear sir, in Your previous birth You were the shelter of all creation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full of all opulences.
TEXT 109
TEXT
purve yaiche chila tumi ebeha se-rupa
durvijneya nityananda----tomara svarupa
SYNONYMS
purve--in the past; yaiche--as much as; chila--You were; tumi--You; ebeha--now also; se-rupa--the same thing; durvijneya--inconceivable; nityananda--eternal happiness; tomara--Your; svarupa--identity.
TRANSLATION
"You are now the same Personality of Godhead that You were in Your previous birth. Your identity is inconceivable eternal happiness."
PURPORT
By the power of astrological science one can even ascertain the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything is to be identified by its symptoms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is identified by the symptoms mentioned in the sastras. It is not that anyone and everyone can become God without proof from sastras.
TEXT 110
TEXT
prabhu hasi' kaila,----tumi kichu na janila
purve ami achilan jatite goyala
SYNONYMS
prabhu--the Lord; hasi'--smiling; kaila--said; tumi--you; kichu--anything; na--not; janila--know; purve--in the past; ami--I; achilan--was; jatite--by caste; goyala--cowherd.
TRANSLATION
When the astrologer was speaking so highly of Him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stopped him and began to smile. "My dear sir," He said, "I think you do not know very clearly what I was, for I know that in My previous birth I was a cowherd boy.
TEXT 111
TEXT
gopa-grhe janma chila, gabhira rakhala
sei punye hailan ebe brahmana-chaoyala
SYNONYMS
gopa-grhe--in the house of a cowherd; janma--birth; chila--there was; gabhira--of the cows; rakhala--protector; sei punye--by those pious activities; hailan--became; ebe--now; brahmana--of a brahmana; chaoyala--son.
TRANSLATION
"In My last birth I was born in the family of cowherd men, and I gave protection to the calves and cows. Because of such pious activities, I have now become the son of a brahmana."
PURPORT
The words of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the greatest authority, herein clearly indicate that one becomes pious simply by keeping cows and protecting them. Unfortunately, people have become such rascals that they do not even care about the words of an authority. People generally consider cowherd men lowly members of society, but herein Caitanya Mahaprabhu confirms that they are so pious that in their next lives they are going to be brahmanas. The caste system has a specific purpose. If this scientific system is followed, human society will get the greatest benefit. Heeding this instruction by the Lord, people should serve cows and calves and in return get ample quantities of milk. There is no loss in serving the cows and calves, but modern human society has become so degraded that instead of giving protection to the cows and serving them, people are killing them. How can they expect peace and prosperity in human society while committing such sinful activities? It is impossible.
TEXT 112
TEXT
sarva-jna kahe ami taha dhyane dekhilan
tahate aisvarya dekhi' phanphara ha-ilan
SYNONYMS
sarva-jna--the all-knowing astrologer; kahe--says; ami--I; taha--that; dhyane--in meditation; dekhilan--saw; tahate--there; aisvarya--opulence; dekhi'--by seeing; phanphara--confused; ha-ilan--became.
TRANSLATION
The astrologer said, "What I saw in meditation was full of opulence, and therefore I was confused.
PURPORT
It appears that the astrologer not only was a knower of past, present and future through astrological calculation, but was a great meditator as well. Therefore he was a great devotee and could see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be the same personality as Krsna. He was puzzled, however, about whether Krsna and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were actually the same person.
TEXT 113
TEXT
sei-rupe ei-rupe dekhi ekakara
kabhu bheda dekhi, ei mayaya tomara
SYNONYMS
sei-rupe--in that form; ei-rupe--in this form; dekhi--I see; eka-akara--one form; kabhu--sometimes; bheda--difference; dekhi--I see; ei--this; mayaya tomara--Your maya.
TRANSLATION
"I am certain that Your form and the form I saw in my meditation are one and the same. If I see any difference, this is an act of Your illusory energy."
PURPORT
Sri-krsna-caitanya radha-krsna nahe anya: in the vision of a perfect devotee, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a combination of Radha and Krsna. One who sees Lord Caitanya to be different from Krsna is under the illusory energy of the Lord. It appears that the astrologer was already an advanced devotee, and when he came into the presence of the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he became perfectly self-realized and could see that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are one and the same Supreme Person.
TEXT 114
TEXT
ye hao, se hao tumi, tomake namaskara
prabhu tare prema diya kaila puraskara
SYNONYMS
ye hao--whatever You are; se hao tumi--whatever You may be; tomake--unto You; namaskara--my obeisances; prabhu--the Lord; tare--unto him; prema--love of Godhead; diya--delivered; kaila--did; puraskara--honor.
TRANSLATION
The all-knowing astrologer concluded, "Whatever You may be or whoever You may be, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You!" By His causeless mercy, the Lord then gave him love of Godhead, thus rewarding him for his service.
PURPORT
The incident of Lord Caitanya's meeting the all-knowing astrologer is not mentioned in the Caitanya-bhagavata, but we cannot therefore say that it did not take place. On the contrary, we must accept the statement of Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami that whatever the Caitanya-bhagavata did not mention he has especially mentioned in Caitanya-caritamrta.
TEXT 115
TEXT
eka dina prabhu visnu-mandape vasiya
'madhu ana', 'madhu ana' balena dakiya
SYNONYMS
eka dina--one day; prabhu--the Lord; visnu-mandape--in the corridor of a Visnu temple; vasiya--sitting; madhu ana--bring honey; madhu ana--bring honey; balena--says; dakiya--calling loudly.
TRANSLATION
One day the Lord sat down in the corridor of a Visnu temple and began calling very loudly, "Bring some honey! Bring some honey!"
TEXT 116
TEXT
nityananda-gosani prabhura avesa janila
ganga-jala-patra ani' sammukhe dharila
SYNONYMS
nityananda-gosani--Lord Nityananda Prabhu; prabhura--of the Lord; avesa--ecstasy; janila--could understand; ganga-jala--Ganges water; patra--pot; ani'--bringing; sammukhe--in front; dharila--placed it.
TRANSLATION
Nityananda Prabhu Gosani, understanding the ecstatic mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, brought a pot of Ganges water as a token and put it before Him.
TEXT 117
TEXT
jala pana kariya nace hana vihvala
yamunakarsana-lila dekhaye sakala
SYNONYMS
jala--water; pana kariya--after drinking; nace--dances; hana--becoming; vihvala--ecstatic; yamuna-akarsana--attracting the river Yamuna; lila--pastimes; dekhaye--sees; sakala--everyone.
TRANSLATION
After drinking the water, Lord Caitanya became so ecstatic that He began to dance. Thus everyone saw the pastime of attracting the river Yamuna.
PURPORT
Yamunakarsana-lila is the pastime of attracting Yamuna. One day, Sri Baladeva wanted the Yamuna River to come before Him, and when the river Yamuna refused, He took His plow, wanting to dig a canal so that Yamuna would be obliged to come there. Since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the original form of Baladeva, in His ecstasy He asked everyone to bring honey. In this way, all the devotees standing there saw the yamunakarsana-lila. In this lila, Baladeva was accompanied by His girlfriends. After drinking a honey beverage called Varuni, He wanted to jump into the Yamuna and swim with the girls. It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.65.25--30, 33) that Lord Baladeva asked Yamuna to come near, and when the river disobeyed the, order of the Lord, He became angry and thus wanted to snatch her near to Him with His plow. Yamuna, however, very much afraid of Lord Balarama's anger, immediately came and surrendered unto Him, praying to the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and admitting her fault. She was then excused. This is the sum and substance of the yamunakarsana-lila. The incident is also described in the prayer of Jayadeva Gosvami concerning the ten incarnations:
vahasi vapusi visade vasanam jaladabham
halahati-bhiti-milita-yamunabham
kesava dhrta-haladhara-rupa jaya jagad-isa hare
TEXT 118
TEXT
mada-matta-gati baladeva-anukara
acarya sekhara tanre dekhe ramakara
SYNONYMS
mada-matta--being intoxicated by drinking Varuni; gati--movement; baladeva--Lord Baladeva; anukara--imitating; acarya--Advaita Acarya; sekhara--at the head; tanre--Him; dekhe--sees; rama-akara--in the form of Balarama.
TRANSLATION
When the Lord, in His ecstasy of Baladeva, was moving as if intoxicated by the beverage, Advaita Acarya, the chief of the acaryas [acarya sekhara], saw Him in the form of Balarama.
TEXT 119
TEXT
vanamali acarya dekhe sonara langala
sabe mili' nrtya kare avese vihvala
SYNONYMS
vanamali acarya--of the name Vanamali Acarya; dekhe--sees; sonara--made of gold; langala--plow; sabe--all; mili'--meeting together; nrtya--dance; kare--perform; avese--in ecstasy; vihvala--overwhelmed.
TRANSLATION
Vanamali Acarya saw a golden plow in the hand of Balarama, and the devotees all assembled together and danced, overwhelmed by ecstasy.
TEXT 120
TEXT
ei-mata nrtya ha-ila cari prahara
sandhyaya ganga-snana kari' sabe gela ghara
SYNONYMS
ei-mata--in this way; nrtya--dancing; ha-ila--was performed; cari--four; prahara--a period of time lasting three hours; sandhyaya--in the evening; ganga-snana--taking bath in the Ganges; kari'--finishing; sabe--all; gela--returned; ghara--home.
TRANSLATION
In this way they danced continuously for twelve hours, and in the evening they all took bath in the Ganges and then returned to their homes.
TEXT 121
TEXT
nagariya loke prabhu yabe ajna dila
ghare ghare sankirtana karite lagila
SYNONYMS
nagariya--citizens; loke--all the people; prabhu--the Lord; yabe--when; ajna--order; dila--gave; ghare ghare--in each and every home; sankirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra; karite--to perform; lagila--began.
TRANSLATION
The Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvipa to chant the Hare Krsna mantra, and in each and every home they began performing sankirtana regularly.
TEXT 122
TEXT
'haraye namah, krsna yadavaya namah
gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana'
SYNONYMS
haraye namah--I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Hari; krsna--O Krsna; yadavaya--unto the descendant of the Yadu dynasty; namah--all obeisances; gopala--of the name Gopala; govinda--of the name Govinda; rama--of the name Rama; sri-madhusudana--of the name Sri Madhusudana.
TRANSLATION
[All the devotees sang this popular song along with the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.] "Haraye namah, krsna yadavaya namah. gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana."
TEXT 123
TEXT
mrdanga-karatala sankirtana-mahadhvani
'hari' 'hari'----dhvani vina anya nahi suni
SYNONYMS
mrdanga--drum; karatala--hand bells; sankirtana--chanting of the holy name of the Lord; maha-dhvani--great vibration; hari--the Lord; hari--the Lord; dhvani--sound; vina--except; anya--another; nahi--not; suni--one can hear.
TRANSLATION
When the sankirtana movement thus started, no one in Navadvipa could hear any sound other than the words "Hari! Hari!" and the beating of the mrdanga and clashing of hand bells.
PURPORT
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness now has its world center in Navadvipa, Mayapur. The managers of this center should see that twenty-four hours a day there is chanting of the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, with the addition of haraye namah, krsna yadavaya namah, for this song was a favorite of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's. But all such sankirtana must be preceded by the chanting of the holy names of the five tattvas--sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. We are already accustomed to chant these two mantras--sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda and Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Now, after these, the other two lines--namely, haraye namah, krsna yadavaya namah. gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana--should be added, especially in Mayapur. Chanting of these six lines should go on so perfectly well that no one there hears any vibration other than the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. That will make the center spiritually all-perfect.
TEXT 124
TEXT
suniya ye kruddha haila sakala yavana
kaji-pase asi' sabe kaila nivedana
SYNONYMS
suniya--by hearing; ye--that; kruddha--angry; haila--became; sakala--all; yavana--Muslims; kaji-pase--in the court of the Kazi, or magistrate; asi'--coming; sabe--all; kaila--made; nivedana--petition.
TRANSLATION
Hearing the resounding vibration of the Hare Krsna mantra, the local Muslims, greatly angry, submitted a complaint to the Kazi.
PURPORT
The phaujadara, or city magistrate, was called the kaji (Kazi). The jamidaras (Zamindars), or landholders (mandaleras), levied taxes on the land, but keeping law and order and punishing criminals was the duty entrusted to the Kazi. Both the Kazi and the landholders were under the control of the governor of Bengal, which at that time was known as Suba-bangala. The districts of Nadia, Islampura and Bagoyana were all under the Zamindar named Hari Hoda or his descendant known as Krsnadasa Hoda. It is said that Chand Kazi was the spiritual master of Nawab Hussain Shah. According to one opinion his name was Maulana Sirajuddina, and according to another his name was Habibara Rahamana. Descendants of Chand Kazi are still living in the vicinity of Mayapur. People still go see the tomb of Chand Kazi, which is underneath a campaka tree and is known as Chand Kazi's samadhi.
TEXT 125
TEXT
krodhe sandhya-kale kaji eka ghare aila
mrdanga bhangiya loke kahite lagila
SYNONYMS
krodhe--in anger; sandhya-kale--in the evening; kaji--the Chand Kazi; eka ghare--in one home; aila--came; mrdanga--drum; bhangiya--breaking; loke--unto the people; kahite--to speak; lagila--began.
TRANSLATION
Chand Kazi angrily came to one home in the evening, and when he saw kirtana going on, he broke a mrdanga and spoke as follows.
TEXT 126
TEXT
eta-kala keha nahi kaila hinduyani
ebe ye udyama calao kara bala jani'
SYNONYMS
eta-kala--so long; keha--anyone; nahi--not; kaila--performed; hinduyani--regulative principles of the Hindus; ebe--now; ye--that; udyama--endeavor; calao--you propagate; kara--whose; bala--strength; jani'--I want to know.
TRANSLATION
"For so long you did not follow the regulative principles of the Hindu religion, but now you are following them with great enthusiasm. May I know by whose strength you are doing so?
PURPORT
It appears that from the aggression of Baktiyar Khiliji in Bengal until the time of Chand Kazi, Hindus, or the followers of the Vedic principles, were greatly suppressed. Like the Hindus in present-day Pakistan, practically no one could execute the Hindu religious principles freely. Chand Kazi referred to this condition of Hindu society. Formerly the Hindus had not been straightforward in executing their Hindu principles, but now they were freely chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Therefore it must have been by the strength of someone else that they were so daring.
Actually, that was the fact. Although the members of the so-called Hindu society had followed the social customs and formulas, they had practically forgotten to execute their religious principles strictly. But with the presence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu they actually began following the regulative principles according to His order. That order is still existing, and anywhere and everywhere, in all parts of the world, one can execute it. That order is to become a spiritual master under the direction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by following the regulative principles, chanting daily at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, and preaching the cult of Krsna consciousness all over the world. If we adhere to the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we shall get spiritual strength without a doubt, and we shall be free to preach this cult of the Hare Krsna movement and not be hampered by anyone.
TEXT 127
TEXT
keha kirtana na kariha sakala nagare
aji ami ksama kari' yaitechon ghare
SYNONYMS
keha--anyone; kirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; na--do not; kariha--perform; sakala nagare--in the whole town; aji--today; ami--I; ksama kari'--excusing; yaitechon--am returning; ghare--home.
TRANSLATION
"No one should perform sankirtana on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home.
PURPORT
Such orders stopping sankirtana in the streets of the world's great cities have been imposed upon members of the Hare Krsna movement. We have hundreds of centers all over the world, and we have been specifically persecuted in Australia. In most cities of the Western world we have been arrested many times by the police, but we are nevertheless executing the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting on the streets of all the important cities, like New York, London, Chicago, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris and Hamburg. We must remember that such incidents took place in the past, five hundred years ago, and the fact that they are still going on indicates that our sankirtana movement is really authorized, for if sankirtana were an insignificant material affair, demons would not object to it. The demons of the time tried to obstruct the sankirtana movement started by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Similar demons are trying to obstruct the sankirtana movement we are executing all over the world, and this proves that our sankirtana movement is still pure and genuine, following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 128
TEXT
ara yadi kirtana karite laga paimu
sarvasva dandiya tara jati ye la-imu
SYNONYMS
ara--again; yadi--if; kirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; karite--to do; laga--contact; paimu--I shall take; sarva-sva--all possessions; dandiya--chastising; tara--his; jati--caste; ye--that; la-imu--I shall take.
TRANSLATION
"The next time I see someone performing such sankirtana, I shall certainly chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Muslim."
PURPORT
To convert a Hindu into a Muslim was an easy affair in those days. If a Muslim simply sprinkled water on the body of a Hindu, it was supposed that the Hindu had already become a Muslim. During the transition of the British in Bangladesh during the last Hindu-Muslim riots, many Hindus were converted into Muslims by having cows' flesh forcibly pushed into their mouths. Hindu society was so rigid at the time of Lord Caitanya that if a Hindu were converted into a Muslim, there was no chance of his being reformed. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. None of the Muslims came from outside; social customs somehow or other forced Hindus to become Muslims, with no chance of returning to Hindu society. Emperor Aurangzeb also inaugurated a tax that Hindus had to pay because of their being Hindus. Thus all the poor Hindus of the lower class voluntarily became Muslims to avoid the tax. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. Chand Kazi threatened to convert the people into Muslims by the simple process of sprinkling water on their bodies.
TEXT 129
TEXT
eta bali' kaji gela,----nagariya loka
prabhu-sthane nivedila pana bada soka
SYNONYMS
eta bali'--thus saying; kaji--the magistrate; gela--returned; nagariya loka--the citizens in general; prabhu-sthane--before the Lord; nivedila--submitted; pana--getting; bada--very; soka--shock.
TRANSLATION
After saying this, the Kazi returned home, and the devotees, greatly shocked that they were forbidden to chant Hare Krsna, submitted their grief to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 130
TEXT
prabhu ajna dila----yaha karaha kirtana
muni samharimu aji sakala yavana
SYNONYMS
prabhu--the Lord; ajna dila--ordered; yaha--go; karaha--and perform; kirtana--sankirtana, chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; muni--I; samharimu--shall kill; aji--today; sakala--all; yavana--the Muslims.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya ordered, "Go peform sankirtana! Today I shall kill all the Muslims!"
PURPORT
Gandhi is known for having started the movement of nonviolent civil disobedience in India, but about five hundred years before him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started His movement of nonviolent civil disobedience to the order of Chand Kazi. It is not necessary to commit violence to stop the opposition from hindering a movement, for one can kill their demoniac behavior with reason and argument. Following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, whenever there are obstacles the Hare Krsna movement should kill the opposition with reason and argument and thus stop their demoniac behavior. If we became violent in every case, it would be difficult for us to manage our affairs. We should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who disobeyed the order of Chand Kazi but subdued him with reason and argument.
TEXT 131
TEXT
ghare giya saba loka karaye kirtana
kajira bhaye svacchanda nahe, camakita mana
SYNONYMS
ghare giya--returning home; saba--all; loka--citizens; karaye--performed; kirtana--sankirtana; kajira--of the Kazi; bhaye--from fear; svacchanda--carefree; nahe--not; camakita--always full of anxieties; mana--the mind.
TRANSLATION
Returning home, all the citizens began performing sankirtana, but because of the order of the Kazi, they were not carefree but always full of anxiety.
TEXT 132
TEXT
ta-sabhara antare bhaya prabhu mane jani
kahite lagila loke sighra daki' ani'
SYNONYMS
ta-sabhara--of all of them; antare--in the mind; bhaya--fear; prabhu--the Lord; mane--in the mind; jani--understanding; kahite--to speak; lagila--began; loke--to the people; sighra--very soon; daki'--calling; ani'--bringing them.
TRANSLATION
Understanding the anxiety within the people's minds, the Lord called them together and spoke to them as follows.
TEXT 133
TEXT
nagare nagare aji karimu kirtana
sandhya-kale kara sabhe nagara-mandana
SYNONYMS
nagare--from town; nagare--to town; aji--today; karimu--I shall perform; kirtana--chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; sandhya-kale--in the evening; kara--do; sabhe--all; nagara--of the city; mandana--decoration.
TRANSLATION
"In the evening I shall perform sankirtana in each and every town. Therefore you should all decorate the city in the evening.
PURPORT
At that time, Navadvipa was composed of nine small cities, so the words nagare nagare are significant. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to perform kirtana in each of these neighboring towns. He ordered the city decorated for the function.
TEXT 134
TEXT
sandhyate deuti sabe jvala ghare ghare
dekha, kona kaji asi' more mana kare
SYNONYMS
sandhyate--in the evening; deuti--lamps; sabe--everyone; jvala--light up; ghare ghare--in each and every home; dekha--just wait and see; kona--which kind; kaji--magistrate; asi'--coming; more--unto Me; mana kare--orders Me to stop.
TRANSLATION
"In the evening, burn torchlights in every home. I shall give protection to everyone. Let us see what kind of Kazi comes to stop our kirtana."
TEXT 135
TEXT
eta kahi' sandhya-kale cale gauraraya
kirtanera kaila prabhu tina sampradaya
SYNONYMS
eta kahi'--saying this; sandhya-kale--in the evening; cale--went out; gaura-raya--Gaurasundara; kirtanera--of performing sankirtana; kaila--made; prabhu--the Lord; tina--three; sampradaya--parties.
TRANSLATION
In the evening Lord Gaurasundara went out and formed three parties to perform kirtana.
PURPORT
This is a scheme for performing kirtana in a procession. During Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's time, one party was composed of twenty-one men: four people playing mrdangas, one leading the chanting, and sixteen others striking karatalas, responding to the leading chanter. If many men join the sankirtana movement, they may follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and form different parties according to the time and the number of men available.
TEXT 136
TEXT
age sampradaye nrtya kare haridasa
madhye nace acarya-gosani parama ullasa
SYNONYMS
age--in front; sampradaye--in the party; nrtya--dancing; kare--does; haridasa--Thakura Haridasa; madhye--in the middle; nace--dances; acarya-gosani--Sri Advaita Acarya; parama--very; ullasa--happy.
TRANSLATION
In the front party danced Thakura Haridasa, and in the middle party danced Advaita Acarya with great jubilition.
TEXT 137
TEXT
pache sampradaye nrtya kare gauracandra
tanra sange naci' bule prabhu nityananda
SYNONYMS
pache--at the rear; sampradaye--in the party; nrtya--dancing; kare--does; gauracandra--Lord Gauranga; tanra--His; sange--along with; naci'--dancing; bule--moves; prabhu--Lord; nityananda--of the name Nityananda.
TRANSLATION
Lord Gaurasundara Himself danced in the rear party, and Sri Nityananda Prabhu moved with Lord Caitanya's dancing.
TEXT 138
TEXT
vrndavana-dasa iha 'caitanya-mangale'
vistari' varniyachena, prabhu-krpa-bale
SYNONYMS
vrndavana-dasa--Vrndavana dasa Thakura; iha--this; caitanya-mangale--in his book named Caitanya-mangala; vistari'--elaborately; varniyachena--has described; prabhu--of the Lord; krpa-bale--by the strength of mercy.
TRANSLATION
By the grace of the Lord, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has elaborately described this incident in his Caitanya-mangala.
TEXT 139
TEXT
ei mata kirtana kari' nagare bhramila
bhramite bhramite sabhe kaji-dvare gela
SYNONYMS
ei mata--in this way; kirtana--congregational chanting; kari'--executing; nagare--in the city; bhramila--circumambulated; bhramite bhramite--while thus moving; sabhe--all of them; kaji-dvare--at the door of the Kazi; gela--reached.
TRANSLATION
Peforming kirtana in this way, circumambulating through every nook and corner of the city, they finilly reached the door of the Kazi.
TEXT 140
TEXT
tarja-garja kare loka, kare kolahala
gauracandra-bale loka prasraya-pagala
SYNONYMS
tarja-garja--murmuring in anger; kare--do; loka--the people; kare--do; kolahala--roaring; gauracandra--of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; bale--by the power; loka--people; prasraya-pagala--became mad by such indulgence.
TRANSLATION
Murmuring in anger and making a roaring sound, the people, under the protection of Lord Caitanya, became mad through such indulgence.
PURPORT
The Kazi had issued an order not to perform kirtana, congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. But when this was brought up to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He ordered civil disobedience to the Kazi's order. Lord Caitanya and all His devotees, naturally enthusiastic although agitated, must have made a great noise with their loud cries.
TEXT 141
TEXT
kirtanera dhvanite kaji lukaila ghare
tarjana garjana suni' na haya bahire
SYNONYMS
kirtanera--of the sankirtana movement; dhvanite--by the sound; kaji--the Chand Kazi; lukaila--hid himself; ghare--in the room; tarjana--murmuring; garjana--protesting; suni'--hearing; na--does not; haya--come out; bahire--outside.
TRANSLATION
The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra certainly made the Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, the Kazi would not come out of his home.
PURPORT
The Kazi's order not to perform sankirtana could stand only as long as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the chanters, increasing in number, disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus the Kazi was very much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.
In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Krsna consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world's godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities. Srimad-Bhagavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the sankirtana movement under the banner of Krsna consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world's governments.
The Krsna consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government--a government by the people, with Krsna consciousness. Unless the masses of people become Krsna conscious, they cannot be good men. The Krsna consciousness movement that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra still has its potency. Therefore people should understand it seriously and scientifically and spread it all over the world.
The sankirtana movement started by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, Twenty-third Chapter, beginning with verse 241, which states, "My dear Lord, let my mind be fixed at Your lotus feet." Following Lord Caitanya's chanting, all the devotees reproduced the same sound He chanted. In this way the Lord proceeded, leading the entire party on the strand roads by the bank of the Ganges. When the Lord came to His own ghata, or bathing place, He danced more and more. Then He proceeded to Madhai's ghata. In this way Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Lord, who was known as Visvambhara, danced all over the banks of the Ganges. Then He proceeded to Barakona-ghata, the Nagariya-ghata, and, traveling through Ganganagara, reached Simuliya, a quarter at one end of the town. All these places surround Sri Mayapur. After reaching Simuliya, the Lord proceeded towards the Kazi's house, and in this way He reached the door of Chand Kazi.
TEXT 142
TEXT
uddhata loka bhange kajira ghara-puspavana
vistari' varnila iha dasa-vrndavana
SYNONYMS
uddhata--agitated; loka--persons; bhange--break; kajira--of the Kazi; ghara--house; puspa-vana--flower garden; vistari'--elaborately; varnila--described; iha--this; dasa-vrndavana--Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura.
TRANSLATION
Naturally some of the people who were very much agitated began to retaliate the Kazi's actions by wrecking his house and flower garden. Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has elaborately described this incident.
TEXT 143
TEXT
tabe mahaprabhu tara dvarete vasila
bhavya-loka pathaiya kajire bolaila
SYNONYMS
tabe--thereafter; mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tara dvarete--at the Kazi's door; vasila--sat down; bhavya-loka--respectable persons; pathaiya--sending; kajire--unto the Kazi; bolaila--had them call.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu reached the Kazi's house, He sat down by the doorway and sent some respectable persons to call for the Kazi.
TEXT 144
TEXT
dura ha-ite aila kaji matha noyaiya
kajire vasaila prabhu sammana kariya
SYNONYMS
dura ha-ite--from a distant place; aila--came; kaji--the Kazi; matha--head; noyaiya--bowed down; kajire--unto the Kazi; vasaila--gave a seat; prabhu--the Lord; sammana--respect; kariya--offering.
TRANSLATION
When the Kazi came, his head bowed down, the Lord gave him proper respect and a seat.
PURPORT
Some of the men in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's civil disobedience movement were agitated because they could not control their minds. But the Lord was thoroughly peaceful, sober and unagitated. Therefore when the Kazi came down to see Him, the Lord offered him proper respect and a seat because he was a respectable government officer. Thus the Lord taught us by His personal behavior. In pushing on our sankirtana movement of Krsna consciousness, we might have to face difficult days, but we should always follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and do the needful according to the time and circumstances.
TEXT 145
TEXT
prabhu balena,----ami tomara ailama abhyagata
ami dekhi' lukaila,----e-dharma kemata
SYNONYMS
prabhu balena--the Lord said; ami--I; tomara--your; ailama--have come; abhyagata--guest; ami--Me; dekhi'--seeing; lukaila--you disappeared; e-dharma kemata--what kind of etiquette is this.
TRANSLATION
In a friendly way, the Lord said, "Sir, I have come to your house as your guest, but upon seeing Me you hid yourself in your room. What kind of etiquette is this?"
TEXT 146
TEXT
kaji kahe----tumi aisa kruddha ha-iya
toma santa karaite rahinu lukaiya
SYNONYMS
kaji kahe--the Kazi replied; tumi--You; aisa--have come; kruddha--angry; ha-iya--being; toma--You; santa--pacified; karaite--to make; rahinu--I remained; lukaiya--hiding out of sight.
TRANSLATION
The Kazi replied, "You have come to my house in a very angry mood. To pacify You, I did not come before You immediately but kept myself hidden.
TEXT 147
TEXT
ebe tumi santa haile, asi, mililan
bhagya mora,----toma hena atithi pailan
SYNONYMS
ebe--now; tumi--You; santa--pacified; haile--have become; asi'--coming; mililan--I have met (You); bhagya mora--it is my great fortune; toma--You; hena--like; atithi--guest; pailan--I have received.
TRANSLATION
"Now that You have become pacified, I have come to You. It is my good fortune to receive a guest like Your Honor.
TEXT 148
TEXT
grama-sambandhe 'cakravarti' haya mora caca
deha-sambandhe haite haya grama-sambandha sanca
SYNONYMS
grama-sambandhe--in our neighborhood relationship; cakravarti--Your grandfather Nilambara Cakravarti; haya--becomes; mora--my; caca--uncle; deha-sambandhe--in a bodily relationship; haite--than; haya--becomes; grama-sambandha--neighborhood relationship; sanca--more powerful.
TRANSLATION
"In our village relationship, Nilambara Cakravarti Thakura was my uncle. Such a relationship is stronger than a bodily relationship.
PURPORT
In India, even in the interior villages, all the Hindu and Muslim communities used to live very peacefully by establishing a relationship between them. The young men called the elderly members of the village by the name caca or kaka, "uncle," and men of the same age called each other dada, "brother." The relationship was very friendly. There were even invitations from Muslim houses to Hindu houses and from Hindu houses to Muslim houses. Both the Hindus and the Muslims accepted the invitations to go to one another's houses to attend ceremonial functions. Even until fifty or sixty years ago, the relationship between Hindus and Muslims was very friendly, and there were no disturbances. We do not find any Hindu-Muslim riots in the history of India, even during the days of the Muslims' rule over the country. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims was created by polluted politicians, especially foreign rulers, and thus the situation gradually became so degraded that India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan. Fortunately, the remedy to unite not only the Hindus and Muslims but all communities and all nations can still be implemented by the Hare Krsna movement on the strong basic platform of love of Godhead.
TEXT 149
TEXT
nilambara cakravarti haya tomara nana
se-sambandhe hao tumi amara bhagina
SYNONYMS
nilambara cakravarti--of the name Nilambara Cakravarti; haya--becomes; tomara--Your; nana--maternal grandfather; se-sambandhe--by such a relationship; hao--become; tumi--You; amara--my; bhagina--nephew (the son of my sister).
TRANSLATION
"Nilambara Cakravarti is Your maternal grandfather, and by this relationship You are thus my nephew.
TEXT 150
TEXT
bhaginara krodha mama avasya sahaya
matulera aparadha bhagina na laya
SYNONYMS
bhaginara--of the nephew; krodha--anger; mama--maternal uncle; avasya--certainly; sahaya--tolerates; matulera--of the maternal uncle; aparadha--offense; bhagina--the nephew; na--does not; laya--accept.
TRANSLATION
"When a nephew is very angry, his maternal uncle is tolerant, and when the maternal uncle commits an offense, the nephew does not take it very seriously."
TEXT 151
TEXT
ei mata dunhara katha haya thare-thore
bhitarera artha keha bujhite na pare
SYNONYMS
ei mata--in this way; dunhara--of both of them; katha--conversation; haya--took place; thare-thore--with different indications; bhitarera--inner; artha--meaning; keha--anyone; bujhite--to understand; na pare--is not able.
TRANSLATION
In this way the Kazi and the Lord talked with each other with various indications, but no outsider could understand the inner meaning of their conversation.
TEXT 152
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----prasna lagi' ailama tomara sthane
kaji kahe,----ajna kara, ye tomara mane
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord said; prasna lagi'--just to inquire from you; ailama--I have come; tomara sthane--at your place; kaji kahe--the Kazi replied; ajna kara--just order me; ye--whatever; tomara mane--(is) in Your mind.
TRANSLATION
The Lord said, "My dear uncle, I have come to your home just to ask you some questions."
"Yes," the Kazi replied, "You are welcome. Just tell me what is in Your mind."
TEXT 153
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----go-dugdha khao, gabhi tomara mata
vrsa anna upajaya, tate tenho pita
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord said; go-dugdha khao--you drink cows' milk; gabhi--the cow (is); tomara--your; mata--mother; vrsa--the bull; anna--grains; upajaya--produces; tate--therefore; tenho--he; pita--(is) your father.
TRANSLATION
The Lord said, "You drink cows' milk; therefore the cow is your mother. And the bull produces grains for your maintenance; therefore he is your father.
TEXT 154
TEXT
pita-mata mari' khao----eba kon dharma
kon bale kara tumi e-mata vikarma
SYNONYMS
pita-mata--father and mother; mari'--killing; khao--you eat; eba--this; kon--what kind of; dharma--religion; kon bale--on what strength; kara--do; tumi--you; e-mata--such; vikarma--sinful activities.
TRANSLATION
"Since the bull and cow are your father and mother, how can you kill and eat them? What kind of religious principle is this? On what strength are you so daring that you commit such sinful activities?"
PURPORT
Everyone can understand that we drink the milk of cows and take the help of bulls in producing agricultural products. Therefore, since our real father gives us food grains and our mother gives us milk with which to live, the cow and bull are considered our father and mother. According to Vedic civilization, there are seven mothers, of which the cow is one. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu challenged the Muslim Kazi, "What kind of religious principle do you follow by killing your father and mother to eat them?" In any civilized human society, no one would dare kill his father and mother for the purpose of eating them. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu challenged the system of Muslim religion as patricide and matricide. In the Christian religion also, a principal commandment is "Thou shalt not kill." Nevertheless, Christians violate this rule; they are very expert in killing and in opening slaughterhouses. In our Krsna consciousness movement, our first provision is that no one should be allowed to eat any kind of flesh. It does not matter whether it is cows' flesh or goats' flesh, but we especially stress the prohibition against cows' flesh because according to sastra the cow is our mother. Thus the Muslims' cow-killing was challenged by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 155
TEXT
kaji kahe,----tomara yaiche veda-purana
taiche amara sastra----ketava 'korana'
SYNONYMS
kaji kahe--the Kazi replied; tomara--Your; yaiche--as much as; veda-purana--the Vedas and Puranas; taiche--similarly; amara--our; sastra--scripture; ketava--the holy book; korana--the Koran.
TRANSLATION
The Kazi replied, "As You have Your scriptures called the Vedas and Puranas, we have our scripture, known as the holy Koran.
PURPORT
Chand Kazi agreed to talk with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the strength of the scriptures. According to the Vedic scripture, if one can support his position by quoting from the Vedas, his argument is perfect. Similarly, when the Muslims support their position with quotations from the Koran, their arguments are also authorized. When Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu raised the question of the Muslims' cow-killing and bull-killing, Chand Kazi came to the standard of understanding from his scriptures.
TEXT 156
TEXT
sei sastre kahe,----pravrtti-nivrtti-marga-bheda
nivrtti-marge jiva-matra-vadhera nisedha
SYNONYMS
sei sastre--in the scripture (the Koran); kahe--it is ordered; pravrtti--of attachment; nivrtti--of detachment; marga--ways; bheda--difference; nivrtti--of detachment; marge--on the path; jiva-matra--of any living entity; vadhera--of killing; nisedha--prohibition.
TRANSLATION
"According to the Koran, there are two ways of advancement--through increasing the propensity to enjoy and decreasing the propensity to enjoy. On the path of decreasing attachment [nivrtti-marga], the killing of animals is prohibited.
TEXT 157
TEXT
pravrtti-marge go-vadha karite vidhi haya
sastra-ajnaya vadha kaile nahi papa-bhaya
SYNONYMS
pravrtti-marge--on the path of attachment; go-vadha--the killing of cows; karite--to execute; vidhi--regulative principles; haya--there are; sastra-ajnaya--on the order of the scripture; vadha--killing; kaile--if one commits; nahi--there is no; papa-bhaya--fear of sinful activities.
TRANSLATION
"On the path of material activities, there is regulation for killing cows. If such killing is done under the guidance of scripture, there is no sin."
PURPORT
The word sastra is derived from the dhatu, or verbal root, sas. Sas-dhatu pertains to controlling or ruling. A government's ruling through force or weapons is called sastra. Thus whenever there is ruling, either by weapons or by injunctions, the sas-dhatu is the basic principle. Between sastra (ruling through weapons) and sastra (ruling through the injunctions of the scriptures), the better is sastra. Our Vedic scriptures are not ordinary lawbooks of human common sense; they are the statements of factually liberated persons unaffected by the imperfectness of the senses.
Sastra must be correct always, not sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect. In the Vedic scriptures, the cow is described as a mother. Therefore she is a mother for all time; it is not, as some rascals say, that in the Vedic age she was a mother but she is not in this age. If sastra is an authority, the cow is a mother always; she was a mother in the Vedic age, and she is a mother in this age also.
If one acts according to the injunctions of sastra, he is freed from the reactions of sinful activity. For example, the propensities for eating flesh, drinking wine and enjoying sex life are all natural to the conditioned soul.The path of such enjoyment is called pravrtti-marga. The sastra says, pravrttir esam bhutanam nivrttis tu maha-phala: one should not be carried away by the propensities of defective conditioned life; one should be guided by the principles of the sastras. A child's propensity is to play all day long, but it is the injunction of the sastras that the parents should take care to educate him. The sastras are there just to guide the activities of human society. But because people do not refer to the instructions of sastras, which are free from defects and imperfections, they are therefore misguided by so-called educated teachers and leaders who are full of the deficiencies of conditioned life.
TEXT 158
TEXT
tomara vedete ache go-vadhera vani
ataeva go-vadha kare bada bada muni
SYNONYMS
tomara vedete--in Your Vedic literature; ache--there is; go-vadhera--for cow-killing; vani--injunction; ataeva--therefore; go-vadha--cow-killing; kare--does; bada bada--very, very great; muni--sages.
TRANSLATION
As a learned scholar, the Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages peformed sacrifices involving cow-killing."
TEXT 159
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----vede kahe go-vadha nisedha
ataeva hindu-matra na kare go-vadha
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord replied; vede--in the Vedas; kahe--is enjoined; go-vadha--cow-killing; nisedha--prohibition; ataeva--therefore; hindu--Hindu; matra--any; na--does not; kare--execute; go-vadha--cow-killing.
TRANSLATION
Refuting the Kazi's statement, the Lord immediately replied, "The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging in cow-killing.
PURPORT
In the Vedic scriptures there are concessions for meat-eaters. It is said that if one wants to eat meat, he should kill a goat before the goddess Kali and then eat its meat. Meat-eaters are not allowed to purchase meat or flesh from a market or slaughterhouse. There are no sanctions for maintaining regular slaughterhouses to satisfy the tongues of meat-eaters. As far as cow-killing is concerned, it is completely forbidden. Since the cow is considered a mother, how could the Vedas allow cow-killing? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that the Kazi's statement was faulty. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.44) there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected: krsi-goraksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam. "The duty of vaisyas is to produce agricultural products, trade and give protection to cows." Therefore it is a false statement that the Vedic scriptures contain injunctions permitting cow-killing.
TEXT 160
TEXT
jiyaite pare yadi, tabe mare prani
veda-purane ache hena ajna-vani
SYNONYMS
jiyaite--to rejuvenate; pare--one is able; yadi--if; tabe--then; mare--can kill; prani--living being; veda-purane--in the Vedas and Puranas; ache--there are; hena--such; ajna-vani--orders and injunctions.
TRANSLATION
"In the Vedas and Puranas there are injunctions declaring that if one can revive a living being, be can kill it for experimental purposes.
TEXT 161
TEXT
ataeva jarad-gava mare muni-gana
veda-mantre siddha kare tahara jivana
SYNONYMS
ataeva--therefore; jarad-gava--old cows; mare--killed; muni-gana--sages; veda-mantre--by the power of Vedic hymns; siddha--rejuvenated; kare--makes; tahara--his; jivana--life.
TRANSLATION
"Therefore the great sages sometimes killed old cows, and by chanting Vedic hymns they again brought them to life for perfection.
TEXT 162
TEXT
jarad-gava hana yuva haya ara-vara
tate tara vadha nahe, haya upakara
SYNONYMS
jarad-gava--old, invalid cows; hana--becoming; yuva--young; haya--become; ara-vara--again; tate--in that action; tara--his; vadha--killing; nahe--is not; haya--there is; upakara--benefit.
TRANSLATION
"The killing and rejuvenation of such old and invalid cows was not truly killing but an act of great benefit.
TEXT 163
TEXT
kali-kale taiche sakti nahika brahmane
ataeva go-vadha keha na kare ekhane
SYNONYMS
kali-kale--in the Age of Kali; taiche--such; sakti--power; nahika--there is none; brahmane--in the brahmanas; ataeva--therefore; go-vadha--killing of cows; keha--anyone; na--does not; kare--execute; ekhane--at the present.
TRANSLATION
"Formerly there were powerful brahmanas who could make such experiments using Vedic hymns, but now, because of the Kali-yuga, brahmanas are not so powerful. Therefore the killing of cows and bulls for rejuvenation is forbidden.
TEXT 164
TEXT
asvamedham gavalambham
sannyasam pala-paitrkam
devarena sutotpattim
kalau panca vivarjayet
SYNONYMS
asva-medham--a sacrifice offering a horse; gava-alambham--a sacrifice of cows; sannyasam--the renounced order of life; pala-paitrkam--an offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers; devarena--by a husband's brother; suta-utpattim--begetting children; kalau--in the Age of Kali; panca--five; vivarjayet--one must give up.
TRANSLATION
" 'In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyasa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man's begetting children in his brother's wife.'
PURPORT
This is a quotation from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana (Krsna-janma-khanda 185.180).
TEXT 165
TEXT
tomara jiyaite nara,----vadha-matra sara
naraka ha-ite tomara nahika nistara
SYNONYMS
tomara--you Muslims; jiyaite--bring to life; nara--cannot; vadha-matra--killing only; sara--the essence; naraka ha-ite--from hell; tomara--your; nahika--there is not; nistara--deliverance.
TRANSLATION
"Since you Muslims cannot bring killed animals back to life, you are responsible for killing them. Therefore you are going to hell; there is no way for your deliverance.
TEXT 166
TEXT
go-ange yata loma, tata sahasra vatsara
go-vadhi raurava-madhye pace nirantara
SYNONYMS
go-ange--on the body of the cow; yata--as many; loma--hairs; tata--so many; sahasra--a thousand; vatsara--years; go-vadhi--the killer of a cow; raurava-madhye--in a hellish condition of life; pace--decomposes; nirantara--always.
TRANSLATION
"Cow-killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of the cow.
TEXT 167
TEXT
toma-sabara sastra-karta----seha bhranta haila
na jani' sastrera marma aiche ajna dila
SYNONYMS
toma-sabara--of all of you; sastra-karta--compilers of scripture; seha--they also; bhranta--mistaken; haila--became; na jani'--without knowing; sastrera marma--the essence of scriptures; aiche--such; ajna--order; dila--gave.
TRANSLATION
"There are many mistakes and illusions in your scriptures. Their compilers, not knowing the essence of knowledge, gave orders that were against reason and argument."
TEXT 168
TEXT
suni' stabdha haila kaji, nahi sphure vani
vicariya kahe kaji parabhava mani'
SYNONYMS
suni'--by hearing; stabdha--stunned; haila--became; kaji--the Kazi; nahi--does not; sphure--utter; vani--words; vicariya--after due consideration; kahe--said; kaji--the Kazi; parabhava--defeat; mani'--accepting.
TRANSLATION
After hearing these statements by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Kazi, his arguments stunned, could not put forward any more words. Thus, after due consideration, the Kazi accepted defeat and spoke as follows.
PURPORT
In our practical preaching work we meet many Christians who talk about statements of the Bible. When we question whether God is limited or unlimited, Christian priests say that God is unlimited. But when we question why the unlimited God should have only one son and not unlimited sons, they are unable to answer. Similarly, from a scientific point of view, the answers of the Old Testament, New Testament and Koran to many questions have changed. But a sastra cannot change at a person's whim. All sastras must be free from the four defects of human nature. The statements of sastras must be correct for all time.
TEXT 169
TEXT
tumi ye kahile, pandita, sei satya haya
adhunika amara sastra, vicara-saha naya
SYNONYMS
tumi--You; ye--whatever; kahile--have said; pandita--O Nimai Pandita; sei--that; satya--truth; haya--is certainly; adhunika--of modern days; amara--our; sastra--scripture; vicara--logic; saha--with; naya--they are not.
TRANSLATION
"My dear Nimai Pandita, what You have said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently, and they are certainly not logical and philosophical.
PURPORT
The sastras of the yavanas, or meat-eaters, are not eternal scriptures. They have been fashioned recently, and sometimes they contradict one another. The scriptures of the yavanas are three: the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. Their compilation has a history; they are not eternal like the Vedic knowledge. Therefore although they have their arguments and reasonings, they are not very sound and transcendental. As such, modern people advanced in science and philosophy deem these scriptures unacceptable.
Sometimes Christian priests come to us inquiring, "Why are our followers neglecting our scriptures and accepting yours?" But when we ask them, "Your Bible says, 'Do not kill.' Why then are you killing so many animals daily?" they cannot answer. Some of them imperfectly answer that the animals have no souls. But then we ask them, "How do you know that animals have no souls? Animals and children are of the same nature. Does this mean that the children of human society also have no souls?" According to the Vedic scriptures, within the body is the owner of the body, the soul. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.13) it is said:
dehino 'smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change."
Because the soul is within the body, the body changes through so many forms. There is a soul within the body of every living entity, whether animal, tree, bird or human being, and the soul is transmigrating from one type of body to another. When the scriptures of the yavanas--namely, the Old Testament, New Testament and Koran--cannot properly answer inquisitive followers, naturally those advanced in scientific knowledge and philosophy lose faith in such scriptures. The Kazi admitted this while talking with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Kazi was a very intelligent person. He had full knowledge of his position, as stated in the following verse.
TEXT 170
TEXT
kalpita amara sastra,----ami saba jani
jati-anurodhe tabu sei sastra mani
SYNONYMS
kalpita--imagined; amara--our; sastra--scripture; ami--I; saba--everything; jani--know; jati--by community; anurodhe--being obliged; tabu--still; sei--that; sastra--scripture; mani--I accept.
TRANSLATION
"I know that our scriptures are full of imagination and mistaken ideas, yet because I am a Muslim I accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient support.
TEXT 171
TEXT
sahaje yavana-sastre adrdha vicara
hasi' tahe mahaprabhu puchena ara-vara
SYNONYMS
sahaje--naturally; yavana-sastre--in the scriptures of the meat-eaters; adrdha--unsound; vicara--judgment; hasi'--smiling; tahe--from him; mahaprabhu--Caitanya Mahaprabhu; puchena--inquired; ara-vara--again.
TRANSLATION
"The reasoning and arguments in the scriptures of the meat-eaters are not very sound," the Kazi concluded. Upon hearing this statement, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled and inquired from him as follows.
TEXT 172
TEXT
ara eka prasna kari, suna, tumi mama
yathartha kahibe, chale na vanchibe ama'
SYNONYMS
ara eka--one more; prasna--inquiry; kari--am putting; suna--hear; tumi--you; mama--maternal uncle; yatha-artha--as it is true; kahibe--you should speak; chale--by tricks; na vanchibe--you should not cheat; ama'--Me.
TRANSLATION
"My dear maternal uncle, I wish to ask you another question. Please tell Me the truth. Do not try to cheat Me with tricks.
TEXT 173
TEXT
tomara nagare haya sada sankirtana
vadya-gita-kolahala, sangita, nartana
SYNONYMS
tomara nagare--in your city; haya--there is; sada--always; sankirtana--chanting of the holy name of the Lord; vadya--musical sounds; gita--song; kolahala--tumultuous roaring; sangita--singing; nartana--dancing.
TRANSLATION
"In your city there is always congregational chanting of the holy name. A tumultuous uproar of music, singing and dancing is always going on.
TEXT 174
TEXT
tumi kaji----hindu-dharma-virodhe adhikari
ebe ye na kara mana bujhite na pari
SYNONYMS
tumi--you; kaji--the magistrate; hindu-dharma--the religious principles of the Hindus; virodhe--in opposing; adhikari--have the right; ebe--now; ye--that; na kara mana--you do not forbid; bujhite--to understand; na pari--I am not able.
TRANSLATION
"As a Muslim magistrate, you have the right to oppose the performance of Hindu ceremonies, but now you do not forbid them. I cannot understand the reason why."
TEXT 175
TEXT
kaji bale----sabhe tomaya bale 'gaurahari'
sei name ami tomaya sambodhana kari
SYNONYMS
kaji bale--the Kazi said; sabhe--all; tomaya--You; bale--address; gaurahari--by the name Gaurahari; sei name--by that name; ami--I; tomaya--You; sambodhana--address; kari--do.
TRANSLATION
The Kazi said, "Everyone calls You Gaurahari. Please let me address You by that name.
TEXT 176
TEXT
suna, gaurahari, ei prasnera karana
nibhrta hao yadi, tabe kari nivedana
SYNONYMS
suna--kindly hear; gaurahari--O Gaurahari; ei prasnera--of this question; karana--reason; nibhrta--solitary; hao--You become; yadi--if; tabe--then; kari--I shall make; nivedana--submission.
TRANSLATION
"Kindly listen, O Gaurahari! If You come to a private place, I shall then explain the reason."
TEXT 177
TEXT
prabhu bale,----e loka amara antaranga haya
sphuta kari' kaha tumi, na kariha bhaya
SYNONYMS
prabhu bale--the Lord said; e loka--all these men; amara--My; antaranga--confidential associates; haya--are; sphuta kari'--making it clear; kaha--speak; tumi--you; na--do not; kariha bhaya--be afraid.
TRANSLATION
The Lord replied, "All these men are My confidential associates. You may speak frankly. There is no reason to be afraid of them."
TEXTS 178-179
TEXT
kaji kahe,----yabe ami hindura ghare giya
kirtana karilun mana mrdanga bhangiya
sei ratre eka simha maha-bhayankara
nara-deha, simha-mukha, garjaye vistara
SYNONYMS
kaji kahe--the Kazi replied; yabe--when; ami--I; hindura--of a Hindu; ghare--in the house; giya--going there; kirtana--chanting of the holy name; karilun--made; mana--prohibition; mrdanga--the drum; bhangiya--breaking; sei ratre--on that night; eka--one; simha--lion; maha-bhayan-kara--very fearful; nara-deha--having a body like a human being's; simha-mukha--having a face like a lion's; garjaye--was roaring; vistara--very loudly.
TRANSLATION
The Kazi said, "When I went to the Hindu's house, broke the drum and forbade the performance of congregational chanting, in my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion, roaring very loudly, His body like a human being's and His face like a lion's.
TEXT 180
TEXT
sayane amara upara lapha diya cadi'
atta atta hase, kare danta-kadamadi
SYNONYMS
sayane--in a sleeping condition; amara--me; upara--upon; lapha diya--jumping; cadi'--mounting; atta atta--rough and hard; hase--laughs; kare--does; danta--teeth; kadamadi--gnashing.
TRANSLATION
"While I was asleep, the lion jumped on my chest, laughing fiercely and gnashing His teeth.
TEXT 181
TEXT
mora buke nakha diya ghora-svare bale
phadimu tomara buka mrdanga badale
SYNONYMS
mora--my; buke--on the chest; nakha--nails; diya--placing; ghora--roaring; svare--in a voice; bale--says; phadimu--I shall bifurcate; tomara--your; buka--chest; mrdanga--for the drum; badale--in exchange.
TRANSLATION
"Placing its nails on my chest, the lion said in a grave voice, 'I shall immediately bifurcate your chest as you broke the mrdanga drum!
TEXT 182
TEXT
mora kirtana mana karis, karimu tora ksaya
ankhi mudi' kanpi ami pana bada bhaya
SYNONYMS
mora--My; kirtana--congregational chanting; mana karis--you are forbidding; karimu--I shall do; tora--your; ksaya--destruction; ankhi--eyes; mudi'--closing; kanpi--I was trembling; ami--I; pana--getting; bada--very great; bhaya--fear.
TRANSLATION
" 'You have forbidden the performance of My congregational chanting. Therefore I must destroy you!' Being much afraid of Him, I closed my eyes and trembled.
TEXT 183
TEXT
bhita dekhi' simha bale ha-iya sadaya
tore siksa dite kailu tora parajaya
SYNONYMS
bhita dekhi'--seeing me so afraid; simha--the lion; bale--says; ha-iya--becoming; sa-daya--merciful; tore--unto you; siksa--lesson; dite--to give; kailu--I have done; tora--your; parajaya--defeat.
TRANSLATION
"Seeing me so afraid, the lion said, 'I have defeated you just to teach you a lesson, but I must be merciful to you.
TEXT 184
TEXT
se dina bahuta nahi kaili utpata
teni ksama kari' na karinu pranaghata
SYNONYMS
se dina--on that day; bahuta--very much; nahi--not; kaili--you did; utpata--disturbance; teni--therefore; ksama kari'--forgiving; na karinu--I did not execute; prana-aghata--the taking of your life.
TRANSLATION
" 'On that day you did not create a very great disturbance. Therefore I have excused you and not taken your life.
TEXT 185
TEXT
aiche yadi punah kara, tabe na sahimu
savamse tomare mari yavana nasimu
SYNONYMS
aiche--similarly; yadi--if; punah--again; kara--you do; tabe--then; na sahimu--I shall not tolerate; sa-vamse--along with your family; tomare--you; mari--killing; yavana--the meat-eaters; nasimu--I shall vanquish.
TRANSLATION
" 'But if you perform such activities again, I shall not be tolerant. At that time I shall kill you, your entire family and all the meat-eaters.'
TEXT 186
TEXT
eta kahi' simha gela, amara haila bhaya
ei dekha, nakha-cihna amora hrdaya
SYNONYMS
eta--thus; kahi'--saying; simha--the lion; gela--returned; amara--my; haila--there was; bhaya--fear; ei dekha--just see this; nakha-cihna--the nail marks; amora hrdaya--on my heart.
TRANSLATION
"After saying this, the lion left, but I was very afraid of Him. Just see the marks of His nails on my heart!"
TEXT 187