5 June 2020
Understanding the Super Excellence of Gaudiya Vaisnavism Day 5
Hare Krishna! We have participants from 765 locations. Are you all ready for the japa talk? Let’s continue the presentation of the Superexcellence of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism. Today is also the special day. Jagannatha Snana Yatra Mahotsava ki jai!It is essential to remember Jagannatha’s Snana Yatra. We will do smaran within this session.
But first we will cover the presentation of Understanding the Superexcellence of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism. All of you are becoming Gaudīya Vaiśnavas. Understand Viśrambha Madhurya Rasa. Viśrambha Madhurya, Viśrambha Sakhya, Viśrambha Vatsalya are the specialities of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism. Aiśvarya Mishrit Sakhya, Vatsalya, Madhurya are known as devotees of Mathuradhish or Dvarakadhish. Gaudīya means devotees from Vraja or Vrindavan. They are the devotees of Vrajendranandan, who is the topmost. Lord Krsna is Purna in Dvaraka, Purnatar in Mathura and Purnatam in Vrindavan. Lord becomes Purnatam due to His Viśrambha Madhurya, Sakhya or Vatsalya.
jaya jayojjwala rasa sarva rasa sāra
parakiyā bhave jahā brajete prachāra
parakīyā-bhāve ati rasera ullāsa
vraja vinā ihāra anyatra nāhi vāsa
Translation:
There is a great increase of mellow in the unwedded conjugal mood. Such love is found nowhere but in Vraja. (CC Adi-lila 4.47)
In Dvaraka, the Lord becomes Dvarakadhish. He has 16108 wives. His relationship with His wives like Rukmini is called Svakiyā bhāva. But in Vrindavan, the relationship between Krsna and Radharani or the Gopīs is called Parakiyā bhāva. Parakiyā bhāva is greater than Svakiyā bhāva.
aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam
ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita
srimad bhagavatam pramanam amalam prema pum-artho mahan
sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradarah na parah
Translation:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, is worshipped along with His transcendental abode Vrndavana. The most pleasing form of worship for the Lord is that which was performed by the gopis of Vrindavana. Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless authority on everything and pure love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life for all men. These statements, for which we have the highest regard, are the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Caitanya-matta-manjusa by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhu-vargeṇa yā kalpitā
Translation:
There is no better worship than what was conceived by the Vraja gopīs. (Caitanya-matta-manjusa by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
āpāne ācāre prabhū jagate sikhāya
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has become the ācārya of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism and He is teaching Vraja Bhakti to everyone. While explaining this, He recommends worshiping in the mood of the gopīs of Vraja. They should be kept as an ideal.
From the point of view of the revealed scriptures with regard to the Superexcellence of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism , Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said,
sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradarah na parah
Translation:
These statements, for which we have the highest regard, are the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Caitanya-matta-manjusa by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said this in Caitanya Manjusha.
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyaṁ
yasmin pāramahaṁsyam ekam amalaṁ jñānaṁ paraṁ gīyate
tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaṁ naiṣkarmyam āviskṛtaṁ
tac chṛṇvan su-paṭhan vicāraṇa-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ
Translation:
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless Purāṇa. It is most dear to the Vaiṣṇavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahaṁsas. This Bhāgavatam reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, becomes completely liberated. (ŚB 12.13.18)
“Pancham purusharthah” Premā pumartho mahān
Translation:
The 4 purusharthas are dharma, artha, kama, moksha. These are four and fifth is prema pumartho mahan. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised to develop our bhakti, love for Kṛṣṇa. (Caitanya Manjusha)
tasmāc chāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te
kāryākārya-vyavasthitau
jñātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ
karma kartum ihārhasi
Translation:
One should therefore understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures. Knowing such rules and regulations, one should act so that he may gradually be elevated. (BG 16.24)
Krsna said that scripture is the proof. Which scripture? Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, as it is, is an amala purāna (perfectly pure). It is free from contamination of the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. The mode of goodness is also material. There are 6 Purānas in Sattva, 6 in Raja and 6 in Tama, but Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is beyond all these 3 modes as it is an amala purāna. Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu would hear Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. He would go to Tota Gopīnatha Temple daily to hear Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Katha from Gadhādhar Pandit. Apart from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmrta, Caitanya Bhāgavata, Caitanya Mangal are our scriptures. In all these 3 scriptures, there is more description of the Madhurya of the Lord.
madhurādhi-pater akhilam madhuram
Translation:
Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness. (Madhurastakam by Vallabhacarya)
Madhurya lila of Śri Krsna and Radharani has been described in detail in Caitanya-caritāmrta or Caitanya Bhāgavata in comparison to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Śukadeva Goswami did not feel comfortable in describing the Madhurya lila or mentioning the name of Radharani.
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. (ŚB 10.30.28)
Śukadeva Goswami indirectly mentions Radharani as anayārādhito, who worships Krsna. His worshipable Lord is Radharani. That’s why Radharani is called Śukeshta, worshipable by Śukadeva Goswami. If you want to relish the transcendental pastimes of Radha and Krsna, then you have to turn towards Caitanya-caritāmrta. In Caitanya Bhāgavata, there is not much description of such lilas by Vrindavan Dasa Thakur. Pastimes, emotions and realisations of Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannatha Puri is mentioned vividly in Caitanya-caritāmrta. Caitanya-caritāmrta is the great contribution of Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami. The revealed scriptures and literatures of Gaudīya Vaiśnavas are the topmost. The six Goswamis have composed many scriptures like Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu by Śrila Rupa Goswami or Brihad Bhagavatamrta by Śrila Sanatana Goswami.
We have scriptures of ācārya traya, three ācāryas namely Narottama Dāsa Thakur, Shyamānand Pandit and Śrinivas Ācārya. Then we have scriptures and commentaries of Vishwanath Cakravarti Thakur, Gaudīya Vedānta Ācārya Baladeva Vidyabhushan, Śrila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Śrila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and Śrila Prabhupāda. From the point of view of quantity as well as content, these books are matchless. These books are full of Madhurya and emotions of devotional service. Such books can’t be found in any other religion. There are innumerable books. These books and its content reveal the Superexcellence of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism.
From Lord Brahma, the 4 Vedas were emanated, one from each mouth. This was not Lord Brahma’s compilation. Lord Brahma was given this knowledge by the Lord.
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi
Translation:
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth. (ŚB 1.1.1)
Vedas are apaurusheya. In fact these Vedas are not even compiled by the Lord. Vedas are eternal like the Lord. There was no such time when there were no Vedas. Vedas means Upaniśad, Vedānta Sutra, Purāna, Mahābhārata, Pancaratra and all such scriptures which help us to know about the Absolute. There are two divisions of Vedic Knowledge, Śruti and Smriti. Śruti is apaurusheya and then there is Smriti. Vedas, Upaniśad, Vedānta Sutra are Śruti. Purāna, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Mahābhārata are Smriti.
There are 4 Vedas and each Vedā is divided into 4 parts namely Sanhitā, Bramhan, Upanishad, Aranyaka. Upanishad and the remaining three are a part of Vedā. Smriti is divided into Purāna, Itihāsa (History) and Shad Darshan. Shad Darsana is further classified into Sānkhya, Yoga, Vaiśeshika, Nyāya, Pūrva Mimānsā and Vedānta Sutra. Vedānta Darsana is compiled by Śrila Vyāsadeva and it is the topmost in Shad Darsana. Vedānta is called Uttar Mimānsā. Gaudīya Vaiśnavas believe in Vedānta Darsana. Other religions believe in Sānkhya or Yoga or Pūrva Mimānsā. Pūrva Mimānsā includes Karma Kānda, Jñana Kānda, etc.
karma kānda, jñāna kānda kevala vishyer bhanda
Vedānta is the essence of Shad Darsana. Gaudīya Vaiśnavas believe in Vedānta and it is our scripture. Vedās includes Upanishad and the essence of Upanishad is Vedānta Sutra. Śrila Vyāsadeva wrote a commentary on Vedānta Sutra. Sutra which is like code language is difficult to understand. Athāto brahma jijñāsā means this human life is made for inquiring about the Absolute Truth.
artho ’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ
bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo ’sau
vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ
Translation:
The meaning of the Vedānta-sūtra is present in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The full purport of the Mahābhārata is also there. The commentary of the Brahma-gāyatrī is also there and fully expanded with all Vedic knowledge.(CC Madhya 25.143)
Ayam means this, Śrimad Bhāgavatam. Śrimad Bhāgavatam is the commentary on Brahma Sutra or Vedānta Sutra. Śrila Prabhupāda would say that Śrimad Bhāgavatam is the natural commentary on Vedānta Sutra. Śrila Vyāsadeva, who wrote Vedānta Sutra, wrote Śrimad Bhāgavatam as well to explain the meaning of Vedānta Sutra.
Bhagavad-gītā is graduation, Śrimad Bhāgavatam and Caitanya Caritāmrta are post graduation. There are other samples of Gaudīya literatures like Śrī Vrndāvana Mahimāmrta, Śrī Manah Śiksā of Raghunath Dasa Goswami, Gopāla Campū of Jīva Goswami, Dāna-Keli-Kaumudī, Śrī Brhad Bhāgavatāmrta, Bhakti-ratnākara and so on. There is discussion of Krsna’s name, His form, qualities, pastimes in these books.
As you have heard, today is the Jagannatha Snana Yatra festival in Jagannatha Puri. Jagannatha likes all festivals. But very dear to Jagannatha is Jagannatha Snana Yatra festival. Today is Jyeshta Purnima also. On this day this Snana Yatra festival takes place. As you are seeing, arrangements are being made for Snana Yatra. This is taking place in Ananda Bazaar where you get prasāda, not inside the temple. There is a special altar where Snana Yatra takes place.
Jagannatha Baladev Subhadra ki jai!
In some time, Jagannatha’s Snana Yatra will start. You are now having darsana of Jagannatha in Mayapur.
Anavasare jagannathera nā pāiyā darshan
Virahe alāranātha karīlā gamana
Till Netrotsava, Jagannatha darsana will be closed. Lord will have a fever. It’s not COVID. It’s transcendental fever. If you want to have darsana of Jagannatha, then there is another temple at Alarnath, 15-20 kms away from Jagannatha Puri. Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu went there. Darsana is closed because the Lord is not well. He is in bed rest with a special diet. You are also having darsana of Alarnath via the media. Those who really want to see Lord Jagannatha, they go to Alarnath.
One time Śrī Krsna Caitanya Mahāprabhu was having darsana in Alarnath, He offered His full obeisance on a Sila. With that, the Sila melted by the touch of Mahāprabhu’s transcendental limbs. When He got up, different marks of the limbs of the Lord remained there. When Gaudīya Vaiśnava go there to have darsana in Alarnath, they also take darsana of the marks of the limbs of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
One thing which we need to understand is that today Krsna became Jagannatha. There is nothing as an appearance of Jagannatha as such. He already appeared in Mathura as Krsna. Now He is in Dvaraka as a full fledged Krsna. After this He went to Kurukshetra and met the Vraja vasis after a long time. When Krsna, Baladev and Subhadra heard about the pain of separation of the Vraja vasis, their forms transformed. This all happened today. Krsna became Jagannatha for a short time and then He became normal. But every pastime of the Lord is eternal. The Lord came to Pandharpur and kept His hands on His waist for a short time waiting for Pundarik to get free, but He is still worshipped in the same way.
Kar katavari, tulasichya mala, aise roop dolaa davee haree
Translation:
Oh Hari, let my eyes behold that form of Yours in which Your hands are on the waist and there are several necklaces of basil beads in Your neck. (Abhanga 17, Kar Katavari, Tukaram Gatha)
In the same way, Lord Krsna became Jagannatha out of love when He heard from Rohini about the pangs of separation of the devotees of Vrindavan when Krsna left them and went to Dvaraka and became Dvarakadhish. On hearing this, Krsna, Baladev and Subhadra became the Jagannatha form.
Jeī Gaur, Seī Krsna, Seī Jagannath
Jagannatha is Krsna and Gauranga. This also proves the Superexcellence of Gaudīya Vaiśnavism. Gaudīya Vaiśnavas love the Lord and the Lord loves Gaudīya Vaiśnavas. Gaudīya Vaiśnavas means devotees of Vraja. Vraja Bhakti is the topmost.
On the day of Ratha-yatra after becoming well, the Lord directly proceeds to Vrindavan to meet the Vraja vasis. Gundicha Temple in Jagannatha Puri is Vrindavan and Jagannatha Temple is Dvaraka. So the Lord goes from Dvaraka to Vrindavan.
Jagannatha Swami ki jai!
Jagannatha Snana Yatra Mahotsava ki jai!
Jagannatha Puri Dhāma ki jai!
Gaura prema nande hari haribol!