Chaitanya Bhagavata

by Bhumipati Dāsa | 2008 | 1,349,850 words

The Chaitanya Bhagavata by Sri Vrindavan Das Thakura is a scripture belonging to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition from the 16th century. It is similair in content to the Caitanya Caritamrita, but asserts that Chaitanya was the direct incarnation of Krishna (as Bhagavan). The Caitanya Bhagavata contains three major parts including many details regard...

In this chapter the author introduces and glorifies various devotees while describing the devotees’ arrival in Nīlācala from Bengal just before the Ratha-yātrā. He also describes Śrī Advaita Ācārya and other devotees’ arrival in Nīlācala with their wives, sons, servants, and maidservants; Mahāprabhu’s going to Āṭhāranālā to receive Śrī Advaita Ācārya; Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa, and Govinda’ s arrival at the lake called Narendra- sarovara for the Candana-yātrā ceremony; the Lord’s watching the Candana-yātrā festival along with the devotees from Bengal; the Lord’s performance of water sports in Narendra-sarovara; the Lord’s taking darśana of Lord Jagannātha; Mahāprabhu’s pastime of setting the example of serving tulasī; Śrī Advaita Ācārya’s glorification of Mahāprabhu’s associates and their unique position; and the transcendental position of the Vaiṣṇavas.

When the time for Lord Jagannātha’s Ratha-yātrā festival came closer, the devotees from Bengal left for Nīlācala to see the Ratha-yātrā festival under the order of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Paṇḍita Śrīvāsa, Śrī Candraśekhara, Paṇḍita Gadādhara dāsa, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, Paṇḍita Vakreśvara, Pradyumna Brahmacārī, Ṭhākura Haridāsa, Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura, Śrī Mukunda Datta Ṭhākura, Śivānanda Sena, Govindānanda, the scribe Vijaya dāsa, Sadāśiva Paṇḍita, Puruṣottama Sañjaya, Nandana Ācārya, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, Śrīdhara, Bhagavān Paṇḍita, Gopīnātha Paṇḍita, Śrīgarbha Paṇḍita, Vanamālī Paṇḍita, Jagadiśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita, Buddhimanta Khān, Ācārya Purandara, Murāri Gupta, Garuḍa Paṇḍita, Gopīnātha Siṃha, Śrī Rāma Paṇḍita, Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita, Paṇḍita Dāmodara who had gone to see mother Śacī, and Śrī Advaita Prabhu took various eatables that were dear to the Lord and journeyed with their wives, sons, servants, maidservants, and relatives to Nīlācala while chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa along the way. At Kamalapura the devotees saw the flag on top of the Jagannātha temple and offered their respectful obeisances.

Mahāprabhu could understand that the devotees from Bengal headed by Śrī Advaita were coming, so He had sent Jagannātha mahā-prasāda all the way to Cuttack to welcome them and He personally led the devotees of Nīlācala to Āṭhāranālā to greet the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. As the devotees of Bengal headed by Śrī Advaita and the devotees of Nīlācala headed by Śrī Gaurasundara met each other at Āṭhāranālā, their great ecstasy swelled and overflowed like the confluence of the Ganges and the ocean. Then, keeping Śrī Mahāprabhu in front, the Śrī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas went to the banks of Narendra-sarovara while performing saṅkīrtana and dancing in ecstasy. Since by the arrangement of providence the Candana- yātrā, or boat festival of Śrī Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Govinda, fell on that day, the devotees from Bengal and the devotees from Nīlācala together performed a huge kīrtana. On seeing the boat festival of Śrī Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Govinda, Mahāprabhu jumped into the water of Narendra-sarovara with the devotees and performed various water sports.

Although all kinds of people such as materialists, sannyāsīs, and brahmacārīs engaged in swimming in the waters of Narendra lake during the boat festival of Śrī Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Govinda, by the influence of Śrī Caitanya’s illusory energy, they could not come anywhere near Śrī Caitanya or His devotees. Śrī Caitanya’s mercy is obtainable only by unmotivated service attitude. It is not possible to associate with Śrī Caitanya and His devotees or see their pastimes through education, wealth, or austerities. Not understanding the transcendental glories of chanting of the holy name of Hari, the proud Māyāvādī sannyāsīs fall down by regularly blaspheming Śrī Caitanyadeva for failing to study Vedānta, practice prāṇāyāma, or execute duties befitting a sannyāsī. Although some exalted sannyāsīs glorify Śrī Caitanyadeva as a mahājana, some consider Him a learned scholar, and some consider Him a great devotee, they are unable to understand the actual identity of Śrī Caitanya. Since Gaurasundara, who is nondifferent from the son of the King of Vraja, and His devotees, who are nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa’s associates of Vraja, engaged in water sports in Narendra-sarovara, the waters of Narendra became as fortunate as the rivers Yamunā and Ganges.

After completing their water sports in Narendra, Śrīman Mahāprabhu along with His devotees went to the Jagannātha temple to see Lord Jagannātha. On seeing both moving and stationary Jagannātha together, the devotees offered repeated obeisances to Them. Kāśī Miśra greeted all the devotees with remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s garland. The Lord, enacting the pastime of an instructing spiritual master, displayed the pastime of accepting the remnants of Jagannātha’s garland. Śrīman Mahāprabhu alone knows the glories of serving the Vaiṣṇavas, tulasī, the Ganges, and mahā-prasāda. Mahāprabhu therefore taught Vaiṣṇavas the principles of devotional service by exhibiting the pastime of offering obeisances to the swanlike Vaiṣṇavas. The renounced order of life is the topmost among the āśramas. If the son of a person takes sannyāsa, then even the formerly respectable father of that son must offer his son respects. In the same way, Mahāprabhu, the all-respectable Supreme Lord engaged in pastimes as a sannyāsī, used to display the pastime of offering respect to the Vaiṣṇavas in order to reveal the supremacy of the swanlike Vaiṣṇavas.

Mahāprabhu’s pastimes of worshiping tulasī were unique. The Lord would fill a small pot with choice dirt and plant tulasī in it. Then whenever the Lord would walk in the street chanting the name of Hari, someone would walk with that potted tulasī in front of the Lord. Thus the Lord would chant the holy name while seeing and following tulasī.

Whenever Mahāprabhu would sit down and chant, He would place tulasī by His side so that He could see her while chanting the holy name. Śrīman Mahāprabhu declared that He could not live without seeing tulasī as a fish cannot live out of water. Only those who, rather than imitate, sincerely follow śikṣā-guru Nārāyaṇa’s teachings under the guidance of the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas are delivered from the hands of inauspiciousness.

After taking darśana of Lord Jagannātha, Śrī Mahāprabhu returned to His residence with the devotees. The Lord, who is like a desire tree for the devotees, would satisfy the devotees according to their respective desires. Mahāprabhu always kept the devotees with Him, showing them affection as one would his own son, and the devotees also constantly remained absorbed in the blissful service of the Lord. The devotees from Bengal and Nīlācala lived together and engaged in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana without consideration of caste or place of birth. By the mercy of Śrī Caitanyadeva, everyone received an opportunity to see the Vaiṣṇavas from Śvetadvīpa. Śrī Advaita Ācārya repeatedly said with His own mouth that only by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya did He also have the opportunity to see those exalted Vaiṣṇavas, whom even the demigods are unable to see.

The Vaiṣṇavas are actually the Supreme Lord’s eternal associates, who accompany the Lord when He descends in this world. Just as Lord Vāsudeva appears with Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Saṅkarṣaṇa, and as Lord Rāmacandra appears with Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, and Śatrughna, similarly, these Vaiṣṇavas appear by the order of Mahāprabhu to assist the Lord in His pastimes.

Therefore the birth and pastimes enjoyed by Vaiṣṇavas are not the fruits of their karma. By the Lord’s will the Vaiṣṇavas appear in this world to assist the Lord in His pastimes, and by the Lord’s will they disappear from this world.

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