Verse 2.13.9

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.13.9:

প্রতি ঘরে ঘরে গিযা কর এই ভিক্ষা `বল কৃষ্ণ, ভজ কৃষ্ণ, কর কৃষ্ণ-সিক্ষা’ ॥ ৯ ॥

प्रति घरे घरे गिया कर एइ भिक्षा `बल कृष्ण, भज कृष्ण, कर कृष्ण-सिक्षा’ ॥ ९ ॥

prati ghare ghare giyā kara ei bhikṣā `bala kṛṣṇa, bhaja kṛṣṇa, kara kṛṣṇa-sikṣā’ || 9 ||

prati ghare ghare giya kara ei bhiksa `bala krsna, bhaja krsna, kara krsna-siksa’ (9)

English translation:

(9) “Go to every house and beg in this way, `Chant the names of Kṛṣṇa, worship Kṛṣṇa, follow Kṛṣṇa’s instructions.’

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

A bhikṣuka is dependent on the donor, therefore, knowing that the

bhikṣuka is situated on a lower platform, the higher placed donor becomes compassionate on him. To beg for someone’s favor is called bhikṣā. The higher placed donor comes down from his platform and uplifts the needy bhikṣuka. Realizing that when Nityānanda Prabhu, the Lord of the fourteen worlds, and Nāmācārya Ṭhākura Haridāsa, the grandfather of everyone and the best of the pure devotees, would go begging alms in the dress of bhikṣukas, wealthy people would have no alms suitable to offer them, Gaurasundara employed the act of begging alms to bring those people to the transcendental kingdom.

The phrase bala kṛṣṇa is explained as follows: Words that are not related to Kṛṣṇa are more or less products of avidvad-rūḍhi, or the conventional meanings of words according to persons who are not enlightened. When a word’s vidvad-rūḍhi, or conventional meaning according to enlightened persons, is realized, it indicates Kṛṣṇa, and such meanings are nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. One who chants the names of Kṛṣṇa benefits his audience, and after achieving his own auspiciousness, he merges in the ocean of ecstasy due to remembrance of the Lord. When words indicate objects not related to Kṛṣṇa, then the conditioned souls forget their constitutional position and consider themselves the enjoyers. At that time the senses turn from the service of Hṛṣīkeśa and lord it over Hṛṣīkeśa’s external energy. The Lord’s instruction—“Chant the name of Kṛṣṇa”is the prime example of the Lord’s magnanimity. The name of Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa—only Kṛṣṇa in the form of guru can teach this. Becoming initiated into this teaching and eagerly preaching such teachings is service to Śrī Caitanya—in order to make this known, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Nāmācārya Haridāsa followed the order of the Lord. One who knows Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu as the origin of guru-tattva and who after being freed from the bondage of material existence chants Kṛṣṇa’s name, which appeared in the form of address from the mouth of Śrī Nāmācārya Haridāsa, will be delivered from all material obstacles and attain kṛṣṇa-prema, which is the goal of all living entities. Through Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Gaurasundara has imparted the qualification for

chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa to every human being. One who awards this qualification cannot be anyone other than Kṛṣṇa. Because if one does not possess something, how can he give it to others? The name and the person are nondifferent, therefore as soon as the holy names are chanted, love of Kṛṣṇa is guaranteed—only Kṛṣṇa can say this. Since kṛṣṇa-prema is unattainable for persons who are absorbed in thoughts of objects not related to Kṛṣṇa, the vibration of words that are not meant for the glorification of Kṛṣṇa results in material bondage. “Let the people of the world engage in glorifying Kṛṣṇa”—although this order was given to the original Śrī Jagad-gurudeva and Śrī Nāmācārya, since these two ācāryas carried out this order of the Lord, all pious persons who follow this order will also certainly become qualified to act as ācāryas, who alone are able to fully engage in the service of Śrī Caitanya. In the language of a bhikṣuka, bala kṛṣṇa—“Chant the name of Kṛṣṇa,” indicates the deliverance of the living entities. When this is received by a listener, he follows the order of Caitanyadeva, becomes freed from material conceptions, and acts as an ācārya, who is a manifestation of the Lord.

Defeating the concept of only one jagad-guru, the exalted spiritual masters who are manifestations of guru-tattva engage in delivering the living entities.

The phrase bhaja kṛṣṇa is explained as follows: Śrī Caitanyadeva ordered the two preachers to appeal to the conditioned souls to engage in the worship of Kṛṣṇa. Since the living entities who are averse to Kṛṣṇa are attracted to objects that are not related to Kṛṣṇa, they take shelter of the enjoyment propensity with a desire to become the controller of those relatively inferior objects. Therefore, giving up the worship of Kṛṣṇa, they consider sense enjoyment as “the goal” and desire to become the master of that. Such activities are impediments in their worship. Persons who are averse to the worship of Kṛṣṇa have various qualifications in this world. In order to achieve those qualifications the living entity gives up the worship of Kṛṣṇa and engages in the service of the six enemies headed by lust and anger, and in this way he invites inauspiciousness by

thinking himself the enjoyer of this manifest world. For the benefit of the living entities, the most magnanimous Śrī Viśvambhara ordered the two Prabhus, Śrī Nityānanda and Haridāsa, to preach the concept of worshiping Kṛṣṇa under the shelter of the holy name.

The phrase kara kṛṣṇa-sikṣā is explained as follows: Kṛṣṇa alone is the object of learning. When self-realized persons see spiritual variegatedness after realizing the meaning of kartāram īśaṃ puruṣaṃ brahma-yoniṃ—“The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is the source of the Supreme Brahman,” they understand the insignificance of knowledge that is not related to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa alone attracts all objects of this world. His beauty is extraordinary and incomparable. He is full of knowledge; only He is capable of dictating that objects not related to Him [Kṛṣṇa] are fit to be renounced. He is averse to enjoy any object other than His devotees. By the influence of kṛṣṇa-sikṣā, the living entities realize they are eternal. Such instructions destroy all nescience and ignorance of the living entities, and on the strength of kṛṣṇa-sikṣā there is no opportunity for unhappiness resulting from proximity with objects not related to Kṛṣṇa. By obtaining kṛṣṇa-sikṣā all perfection is achieved, the mirror of one’s mind is cleansed, the blazing forest fire of material existence is extinguished, the supreme goal of life is achieved, and one realizes that kṛṣṇa-sikṣā is the purport of all education. When this state is achieved by a living entity, he cannot be contaminated; rather, he becomes purified and attains supreme happiness at every moment. Kṛṣṇa- sikṣā is the giver of all opulences that deride all other processes for achieving the goal of life and the bestower of the highest platform of all sweetness. Kṛṣṇa-sikṣā is the destroyer of the living entities’ enjoying propensity and the belittler of liberation, therefore kṛṣṇa-sikṣā is most necessary for all living entities who desire their own benefit.