15 October 2020
Ecstatic meeting of Mahāprabhu with Vishakha Gopi in Gaur-Lila!
Hare Krsna! Devotees from 777 locations are chanting with us today.
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!
Śrī Krishna Caitanya Mahāprabhu ki jai! Rāmānanda Rāya ki jai!
When Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw Rāya Rāmānanda, He wanted to run towards him, but Mahāprabhu thought that it would not be appropriate as a sannayāsi. A sannayāsi must be serious, not sentimental. Thus, Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained seated on the bank of Godāvarī situated in Kohur, Andhra Pradesh. Then, Rāya Rāmānanda’s attention went to Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
sūrya-śata-sama kānti, aruṇa vasana
subalita prakāṇḍa deha, kamala-locana
Translation
Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya then saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be as brilliant as a hundred suns. The Lord was covered by a saffron garment. He was large in body and very strongly built, and His eyes were like lotus petals. (CC Madhya 8.18)
Mahāprabhu was dressed in a yellow coloured dhoti, yellow as that of early dawn. His complexion is also of golden yellow colour.
ajanu-lambita-bhujau kanakavadhatau
sankirtanaika-pitarau kamalayataksau
visvambharau dvija-varau yuga-dharma palau
vande jagat-priyakaro karunavatarau
Translation
I offer my respects unto Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, whose arms extend down to Their knees, who have golden yellow complexions, and who inaugurated the congregational chanting of the Holy Names. Their eyes resemble the petals of a lotus; They are the maintainers of all living entities; They are the best of brahmanas, the protectors of religious principles for this age, the benefactors of the universe, and the most merciful of all incarnations.(Caitanya-Bhagavata 1.1.1)
His hands are reaching to the knees. His eyes resemble the petals of a lotus. Seeing this form of Gaurānga Mahāprabhu, Rāya Rāmānanda ran towards Mahāprabhu and offered his obeisances. Then, both of them stood up. This was the first time the two were meeting. Rāya Rāmānanda was welcomed by Mahāprabhu. When a special person arrives, the other person honours him either by standing or embracing him. That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu stood up and then enquired, “Are you Rāya Rāmananda?” As they had never met before. Mahāprabhu had been told by Sārvabhaumā Bhattācārya that Rāya Rāmānanda was a very good devotee and therefore, Mahāprabhu should surely meet him. Seeing him, Mahāprabhu almost realised that he should be Rāya Rāmānanda. Then, Rāya Rāmānanda very humbly introduced himself as the lowly fallen soul. Mahāprabhu behaved as if He didn’t know anything and so He enquired whether he was Rāya Rāmānanda. Is there any person whom Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not aware of?
vedāhaṁ samatītāni
vartamānāni cārjuna
bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
māṁ tu veda na kaścana
Translation
O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows. (BG. 7.26)
Śrī Krsna said that He knows everything, samatītāni, here atītā means past. He knows the past, the present (vartamānāni) and the future (bhaviṣyāṇi) of all living entities. Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Krsna Himself. But since He has become a devotee, He is playing this role very nicely. He is acting as a foolish person (agya), and not prgya meaning knowledgeable person. Those who knew Caitanya Mahāprabhu as Krsna Himself, got bewildered by such kinds of inquiries by the Lord. Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāya Rāmānanda came further and hugged each other. As soon as their bodies touched, they experienced ecstasy. Their bodies were shivering, tears were rolling out of their eyes which were bathing each other. They lost their bodily consciousness. They became stiff like a pillar, and since there was no bodily consciousness, they fell down as pillars would fall on the ground with a firm base. This is transcendental darsana. It is not any kind of fakism. After some time, they got to know that the Vedic brāhmanās were witnessing them, who came with Rāya Rāmānanda to have a bath in Godāvarī River. They thought that it’s not appropriate to show these emotions in front of those brāhmanās as they would not understand.
vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya
Translation
Even a very intelligent man cannot understand the activities of a pure Vaiṣṇava.
It is difficult to understand the actions of pure Vaiśnavas, even the scholars and materially intelligent people fail to understand. Many of the people witnessing this divine unison were not scholarly or even intelligent. Thus, Mahāprabhu and Rāya Rāmānanda controlled themselves and didn’t let their bhāva or emotions take over. Then, they proceeded with their conversations, which lasted for sometime.
One day, one brāhmana invited Mahāprabhu to honor lunch prasada at his place. Mahāprabhu accepted the invitation. Before proceeding to the brāhmana’s place, Mahāprabhu and Rāya Rāmānanda decided to meet again and not only once again, but they kept on meeting several times and had transcendental discussions. Although Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu is parivrājakācārya sannayāsi meaning always travelling for preaching purposes, but on special request by Rāya Rāmānanda, He stayed for many days and had discussions. This conversation between Rāya Rāmānanda and Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a very popular one, described in the 8th chapter in Madhya-lila, Caitanya Caritāmrta. This is worth studying. In this, they are discussing the highest mood of conjugal love. This could only be discussed with Rāya Rāmānanda as he is Vishakha Devi of Krsna lila. Vishakha Devi has now become the governor of Andhra Pradesh in the male form of Rāya Rāmānanda, but his actual mood is that of Vishakha gopi. Therefore, they were discussing these confidential matters. This conversation is like the conversation between Krsna and the primary gopi Vishakha, which is unique. Caitanya Mahāprabhu would not discuss such topics with any other person. Rādhārāni is also an important part of the discussion. They are discussing Rādhārāni and Her divine mood.
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya
Translation
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is none other than the combined form of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Krsna. (Caitanya Bhāgavata)
rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād
ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam
Translation
The loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one in Their identity, previously They separated Themselves. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. (CC Ādi 1.5)
antaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ bahir-gauraṃ darśitāṅgādi-vaibhavam
kalau saokīrtanadyaiḥ smaḥ kṛṣṇa-caitanyam-āśritāḥ
Translation
I take shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself, thinking of Himself. He is internally Kṛṣṇa blackish but externally, he appears in golden complexion. In this age of Kalī, Kṛṣṇa appears as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, simultaneously manifesting His eternal associates, opulences, expansions, and incarnations. In this way, he preaches the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by performing sankīrtana. (Tattva-sandarbha 2)
With the mood and complexion of Śrīmati Rādhārani, Krsna has appeared as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ, Radha and Krsna are two souls and have united to become Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I offer my respectful obeisances to such a Krsna. Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu could not hide His real identity in front of Vishakha. Rāya Rāmānanda (Vishakha Devi) was meeting Mahāprabhu for so long, that now he wanted to see the original Vrindavan form of Krsna. Mahāprabhu’s form is also the original form in Navadvīpa. Thus, Mahāprabhu showed this unison of Radha and Krsna to Vishakha. Just like Radha and Krsna give darsana to Vishakha in Vrindavan, similarly Mahāprabhu gave darsana to Rāya Rāmānanda in Kohur, on the bank of Godāvarī River. This place is also considered as Vrindavan of South India. There is also a Gaudīya Matha there. This is an extremely rare and fortunate place, where Mahāprabhu gave this transcendental darsana as Radha and Krsna. When we read this pastime in Caitanya Caritāmrta, we become aware of the true identity of Mahāprabhu. This pastime is proof of the fact that Mahāprabhu is the united form of Radha and Krsna. It is not only in words that Mahāprabhu is Radha and Krsna united, but it was also shown by Mahāprabhu Himself. Otherwise it would have been difficult for us to understand this fact only verbally. Like Śrī Krsna gave Arjuna special darsana of His universal form in the 11th chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā, He gave darsana of His original Vrindavan form to Rāya Rāmānanda, that is the unison of Radha and Krsna in Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Question and Answer session
Question 1: Why do we need to read Bhagavad-Gītā first then Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and then Caitanya Caritāmrta?
Gurudev uvaca: Bhagavad-Gītā begins with,
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
Translation
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. (B.G. 2.20)
We are soul, not body. And Bhagavad-gītā ends with,
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Translation
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. (BG. 18.66)
Krsna asks to surrender unto Him, but people surrender unto demigods.
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ
prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ
taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya
prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā
Translation
Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures. (B.G 7.20)
Surrendering unto Krsna means giving up all Karma-kanda, Jnana-kanda, etc. He has given do’s and don’ts also.
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me
Translation
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. (BG 18.65)
Then Krsna asks to worship Him. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam begins with the end of Bhagavad-Gītā. Bhagavad-Gītā has already established the devotion in us by surrendering unto Krsna. That is the first step or the basic knowledge.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam starts with,
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
Translation
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. (BG. 7.19)
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is for those who know Vāsudeva or Krsna to be the cause of all causes and therefore surrender unto Him. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also mentions,
dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt
Translation
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart. (ŚB 1.1.2)
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam rejects all the religious activities covered by fruitive intention. It uproots the threefold miseries. It is for those devotees who are fully pure in heart. First, there are 9 cantos in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and then in the 10th canto, the Lord talks about Himself.
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
Translation
All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists. (ŚB 1.3.28)
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, this is the main statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The appearance, the activities and the disappearance of Śrī Krsna has been vividly described in the 10th and 11th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Lord discusses His conjugal love with the Gopis in the middle of 10th canto.
jaya jayojjwala-rasa sarva-rasa-sār
parakīyā-bhāve jāhā brajete pracār
Translation
All glories, all glories to the mellow of conjugal love, which is the most excellent of all rasas and is propagated in Vraja by Sri Krsna in the form of the divine parakiya-bhava [paramour love]. (10th verse, Jaya Radhe Jaya Krsna Jaya Vrndavana, Sri Vraja Dhama Mahimamrta, by Krsna Dāsa)
There is dominance of parakiya-bhava or madhurya rasa in Vrindavan and a little bit of dāsya rasa, sākhya rasa and vātsalya rasa is there. These rasas are highest and divine in Vrindavan as compared to Vaikuntha or Dvaraka. The highest of the pastimes of the Lord are those of conjugal love with the Gopis, that has been explained very briefly in the 5 chapters of Rasa Pancadhyaya of 10th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The conjugal love pastimes have been discussed vividly in Caitanya Caritāmrta. In fact, the main or confidential motive behind the appearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to realise the mood of Śrīmati Rādhārāni.
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge
Translation
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium. (BG. 4.8)
Every incarnation of the Lord appears to protect the pious, to destroy the demons and to reestablish the principles of religion. In this incarnation also, Caitanya Mahāprabhu protected His devotees, destroyed the demoniac qualities in people like in case of Jagai Madhai and established religion by spreading the Hare Krsna mahā-mantra everywhere, but the main motive behind His appearance was to realise the mood of Śrīmati Rādhārāni. That is why, Krsna has appeared as Caitanya Mahāprabhu with the mood and complexion of Śrīmati Rādhārani.
śri-rādhār bhāve ebe gorā avatāra
hare kṛṣṇa nām gaura korilā pracāra
Translation
It is He who has come. He has come! Oh, from Vraja He has come to Nadiya. Accepting the mood and luster of Sri Radha, He has come from Vraja to Nadiya. He has come! Now Lord Govinda, the cowherd boy, has come as Lord Gauranga. He has come distributing the Hare Krsna maha-mantra! (4th verse, Jaya Jaya Jagannatha Sacira, by Vasudeva Ghosa)
Gaurānga Mahāprabhu distributed the Hare Krsna mahā-mantra in Madhya-lila and finally he did His main work in Gambhira, Jagannātha Puri for 18 years. This all happened when Mahāprabhu was with Rāya Rāmānanda who is Vishakha Devi, Swarūpa Dāmodara who is Lalita Devi and many other associates. Their discussions would go on. They got engrossed in Hare Krsna kīrtana which is in Madhurya Rasa. They would listen to Geet Govinda filled with Madhurya lila, hear books by Vidyapati Chandi Dāsa, read Krsna Karnamrta and would listen to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Gadādhar Pandita. Some parts of Madhya lila and majorly Antya lila narrate a lot of nectarian pastimes and discussions of the conjugal love of Radha and Krsna. In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, there is limited mention of these pastimes.
anayārādhito nūnaṁ
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ
prīto yām anayad rahaḥ
Translation
Certainly this particular gopī has perfectly worshiped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, Govinda, since He was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.( SB. 10.30.28)
Śukadeva Goswāmī has very cautiously delivered it. He has not even uttered the name of Rādhārāni openly as the katha was publicly being delivered. He didn’t find all the audience eligible to listen to the ultimate pastimes of Radha and Krsna. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is graduation and Caitanya Caritāmrta is post graduation.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Therefore, we must not rush towards the highest level. We are not qualified or capable of jumping to Madhurya or Sringāra rasa. We should climb gradually through the steps.
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam
Translation
This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed. (BG. 9.2)
The real king of education (rāja-vidyā) and the king of confidential knowledge (rāja-guhyam) has been described in Caitanya Caritāmrta or the Nectar of Devotion (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu). This has been mentioned in many scriptural sources that those who rush towards the conjugal love pastimes, who don’t wish to follow the chapter wise sequence, who wish to jump to higher levels, become sahājiya, which means they are not following the proper ladder. This is one of the Ap-sampradayas which is very dangerous. They take the Antya-lilas cheaply. Therefore, it is said in relation to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam that first we must read 9 cantos in sequence and then the 10th canto. The sahājiyas don’t learn the basics like Bhagavad-gītā or first 9 cantos of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. They skip that and jump directly to rasa panchadhyay of the 10th canto. Although not understanding it properly, they wish to not only study it, but also teach it to others.
There is secondary, then higher secondary, then graduation and then post graduation. This is the sequence. Therefore, Śrīla prabhupāda cautioned us. There must be foundation first, then the higher floors in a building. Similarly, If the basics are strong then your steps are firm, you won’t fall from where you reach. These sahājiyas don’t understand Radha Krsna properly.
ātmavan manyate jagat
Translation
Everyone thinks of others according to his own position.
They misunderstand that Krsna is also lusty like us and always engrossed in the sexual inclination activities. It is difficult and rather dangerous to preach to such faithless people. Preaching is an art and thus requires proper identification of whom to deliver the instructions of the Lord, otherwise it will be an offence. There is not the same medicine for every person. Therefore, we must consult the physician for whether it is kāma-roga, krodha-roga or lobha-roga. You cannot prescribe medicines and diet till you do not have proper knowledge about the medicines and diseases. Therefore, always start from the foundation. If the foundation is strong then the building can go upto great heights.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
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Hare Krsna!