Gaura Purnima class 1 of 2 -- HH Jayapataka Swami

[Guest guest]

>From Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!

 

Sri Gaura Purnima - March 13, 2006

Verse: Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 3.52

Speaker: HH Jayapataka Swami

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krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam

sangopangastra-parsadam

yajnaih sankirtana-prayair

yajanti hi su-medhasah

 

TRANSLATION: "In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational

chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the name

of Krsna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krsna Himself. He

is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential

companions."

 

PURPORT: This text is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32). Srila Jiva Gosvami

has explained this verse in his commentary on the Bhagavatam, known as the

Krama-sandarbha, wherein he says that Lord Krsna also appears with a golden

complexion. That golden Lord Krsna is Lord Caitanya, who is worshiped by

intelligent men in this age. That is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam by Garga

Muni, who said that although the child Krsna was blackish, He also appears

in three other colors-red, white and yellow. He exhibited His white and red

complexions in the Satya and Treta ages respectively. He did not exhibit the

remaining color, yellow-gold, until He appeared as Lord Caitanya, who is

known as Gaura Hari.

 

Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that krsna-varnam means Sri Krsna Caitanya.

Krsna-varna and Krsna Caitanya are equivalent. The name Krsna appears with

both Lord Krsna and Lord Caitanya Krsna. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He always engages in describing Krsna

and thus enjoys transcendental bliss by chanting and remembering His name

and form. Lord Krsna Himself appears as Lord Caitanya to preach the highest

gospel.

Lord Caitanya always chants the holy name of Krsna and describes it also,

and because He is Krsna Himself, whoever meets Him will automatically chant

the holy name of Krsna and later describe it to others. He injects one with

transcendental Krsna consciousness, which merges the chanter in

transcendental bliss. In all respects, therefore, He appears before everyone

as Krsna, either by personality or by sound. Simply by seeing Lord Caitanya

one at once remembers Lord Krsna. One may therefore accept Him as

visnu-tattva. In other words, Lord Caitanya is Lord Krsna Himself.

 

Sangopangastra-parsadam further indicates that Lord Caitanya is Lord Krsna.

His body is always decorated with ornaments of sandalwood and with

sandalwood paste. By His superexcellent beauty He subdues all the people of

the age. In other descents the Lord sometimes used weapons to defeat the

demoniac, but in this age the Lord subdues them with His all-attractive

figure as Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that His beauty

is His astra, or weapon, to subdue the demons. Because He is all-attractive,

it is to be understood that all the demigods lived with Him as His

companions. His acts were uncommon and His associates wonderful. When He

propagated the sankirtana movement, He attracted many great scholars and

acaryas, especially in Bengal and Orissa. Lord Caitanya is always

accompanied by His best associates like Lord Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara

and Srivasa.

 

Srila Jiva Gosvami cites a verse from the Vedic literature which says that

there is no necessity of performing sacrificial demonstrations or ceremonial

functions. He comments that instead of engaging in such external, pompous

exhibitions, all people, regardless of caste, color or creed, can assemble

together and chant Hare Krsna to worship Lord Caitanya. Krsna-varnam

tvisakrsnam [sB 11.5.32] indicates that prominence should be given to the

name of Krsna. Lord Caitanya taught Krsna consciousness and chanted the name

of Krsna. Therefore, to worship Lord Caitanya, everyone should together

chant the maha-mantra-Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare

Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. To propagate worship in churches,

temples or mosques is not possible, because people have lost interest in

that. But anywhere and everywhere, people can chant Hare Krsna. Thus

worshiping Lord Caitanya, they can perform the highest activity and fulfill

the highest religious purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord.

 

Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, a famous disciple of Lord Caitanya, said,

"The principle of transcendental devotional service having been lost, Sri

Krsna Caitanya has appeared in order to deliver again the process of

devotion. He is so kind that He is distributing love of Krsna. Everyone

should be attracted more and more to His lotus feet, as humming bees are

attracted to a lotus flower." [End of purport]

 

__________________________

 

 

This is Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 3.52, "External Reasons for Lord

Caitanya's Appearance".

 

I've been asked to speak on the advent of Lord Caitanya.

 

Jagannatha Misra had a dream where he saw a brilliant light go from his mind

to his heart and transfer to the heart of Mother Saci. In this way she had

conceived Lord Caitanya through an immaculate conception.

 

Once Mother Saci conceived, she was carrying Krsna in the womb, Lord

Caitanya in the womb, she started to become very effulgent. Everyone in the

house became very happy. Mother Saci was very blissful, Jagannatha Misra was

very blissful. People also started to treat them very differently. They

would just walk up to Jagannatha Misra and, "Oh, you're a brahmana, please

take these gifts. Here's some cloth, here's some money, here's some

valuables." People were giving them gifts. Because the Lord had appeared in

their house, the goddess of fortune was making everything very auspicious

for them.

 

While Jagannatha Misra was out experiencing that, the devas would come and

circumambulate Mother Saci. They would come and offer prayers. Their prayers

were, "You come, my Lord in every millennium in different forms. You come as

Varaha, Kurma, Matsya, Nrsimha, Rama. Usually when you come you give your,

you give moksa easily, but you rarely give pure devotion. But in this

incarnation you have come to give out freely pure devotion. Please have your

mercy upon us. We are your devotees in the heavenly planets. There we are

suffering so much. Our suffering is not lack of material sense

gratification. That is the problem. We have so much material pleasure that

we forget about serving your lotus feet. There's only two problems we have -

attacks by the demons and absorption in sense gratification. So we are

deprived from experiencing love for Krsna. So this time give us in your

incarnation as Lord Gauranga, please have your mercy on us so that we can

get love for your lotus feet."

 

One day Advaita Goswami, he visited the house. They said, "Wow, what a

seniormost brahmana of the community has come!" They bathed his feet. They

gave him a welcome, the best seat they could find in their poor house. He

kept looking at Mother Saci, kept looking. Tears were coming in his eyes.

His hairs were standing on end. There was shaking in his body. Jagannatha

Misra was wondering, "What has happened to Advaita? What's his problem?

[laughs] Why is he acting like this? What is the situation?"

 

Suddenly Advaita got up and walked around Mother Saci, circumambulating her.

Jagannatha Misra said, "What are you doing? We are just poor brahmanas.

Don't do all these things! We are bewildered. We don't understand why you

are walking around my wife."

 

Advaita grabbed the hand of Jagannatha Misra and said, "Don't worry. I will

answer all your questions one day." Then he left.

 

So the two of them were discussing, "Why did he walk around you, Mother

Saci? It must not be because of us, it must be your child. You must be

having a very special child that is why this great soul, he walked around."

 

Mother Saci reached her tenth month of pregnancy, the time when most

children are born, but there was no sign of childbirth. The eleventh month

came, the twelfth month, the thirteenth month! They were getting worried,

Jagannatha Misra. "Three extra months, will my wife be all right? Will the

baby be all right?" If it was the west, it would be a Caesarean, right, even

India? Too late, we must. . . .

 

Nilambara Cakravarti, the father of Mother Saci, came and he did a horoscope

check. He said, "Don't worry, he will at an auspicious moment during the

month of Phalguna."

 

When we were on Navadvipa Parikrama, we heard that all of the ritus were

having a debate which one will get Lord Caitanya to appear during his

season. They said, "No, the summer is too hot. Winter is too cold. The misty

season is too foggy. Rainy season is too wet. Fall is not, already getting

chilly." So they figured out the spring season is best. Because Lord

Caitanya appeared in the spring, we can do Navadvipa Parikrama. [Haribol!]

Not too hot, not too cold. How many this year went on Navadvipa Parikrama?

Bhakti Bhrnga Govinda Maharaja told me he and Sivarama Maharaja made a

commitment in blood next year they are going. They always do beautiful

kirtans. So don't miss next year.

 

Then the actual day came, the Gaura Purnima. Because it was a lunar eclipse,

everyone was bathing. At that time, in Bengal, the caste brahmanas were

telling the people you can't chant the Holy Names unless you're in the

Ganges. During the eclipse, everyone was going in the Ganges so they

wouldn't get any bad influence from the eclipse. So while they are in the

water, what do they do? They are all chanting [singing] Hare Krsna Hare

Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Govinda! Krsna! Krsna! Govinda!

 

So the devotees, when they saw everyone was chanting, they said, "This is

the best day of our life! Everyone is singing the Holy Names!" so because

Lord Caitanya came, the external reason was to establish the yuga-dharma of

chanting the Holy Names. So he got everyone to chant during his appearance.

Everyone chanted. Apart from the Hindus, the Mohammedans, when they saw the

people chanting, they joked, "Hey, look at these people chanting Haribol,

Haribol, Govinda, Govinda! [laughter] What's wrong with them?" Somehow or

other, everyone was chanting, whether joking or. It is said on the heavenly

planets, they started dancing. There was harinama.

 

Then the day before appeared Gaurahari, Gaurahari, Gaurahari, all the

ladies, as soon as the child was born, they did uludhvani. [ladies ululate]

The Bengali pandal is a little more expert at this. Give it one more try.

One, two, three! The MIHE should have a seminar - free. Very good, thank

you. There were conch shells blowing. Adviata and Haridasa Thakura were

thirty kilometres away in Santipura. About thirty? More or less. They were

dancing in ecstasy. Just suddenly they got up and started dancing. Advaita,

on the excuse of lunar eclipse, he started giving in charity. He was so

blissful, he was feeling like Nanda Maharaja who had Krsna appear in his

house. He was giving the brahmanas, the poor people, everybody. He's giving

them charity.

 

Nilambara Cakravarti Thakura went to see immediately astrological check on

the spot from the simha lagna and simha rasi, two lion signs, regal signs.

He said this is very, very special. He is going to be the king of the

brahmanas. He is going to have exceptional qualities, an ocean of good

qualities. He will be non-different from Narayana, incomparable teachings to

make the whole world surrender. He will destroy demoniac influences and he

will deliver the universe and give love of Krsna to everyone. He saw the

baby's auspicious bodily symptoms: three lines in the legs, three lines in

the neck, arms down to his knees. Even as a baby, he looked exactly like

baby Krsna, only he was golden in color. He also saw in the chart he would

take sannyasa, but he didn't mention that to the parents because they won't

be happy to hear that. Parents have other ideas usually.

 

So Jagannatha Misra touched the feet of Nilambara Cakravarti and

appreciated. Outside, musical bands appeared playing mrdanga, shenai, flute,

drums, musical instruments. Big festival, this big festival came. Mother

Saci saw there were so many visitors coming. Actually all the celestial

ladies took the form of human brahmanas and came to see the baby. The wives

of Brahma and Siva, Nrsimhadeva, Indra, Vasistha, also the dancing girl,

Rambha, beautiful celestial ladies, they all came. Where are all these

beautiful ladies coming from? Who are they? They are all coming and blessing

the child "cirayu astu", cirayu astu means live forever. Saci was so joyful

to see everyone coming and blessing her child. They were all coming and

touching Saci's lotus feet. It was an amazing situation.

 

While the eclipse was going on, it was an all night festival. There was a

universal festival, not only on this planet, the kirtana started going on

Gandharvaloka, Kinnaraloka, Siddhaloka. You can't imagine they have

asta-siddhi, they can manifest twenty arms with mrdangas. They can do

anything, more or less, materially. So they were dancing in ecstasy.

 

People in Navadvipa, so many bands came. People were chanting in different

languages. People didn't even understand what language they were speaking.

It was so mysterious why people were coming from different countries,

different places.

 

Candrasekhara and Srivasa meanwhile said to Jagannatha Misra, "It's time

that we do the ceremony for the birth, the ritualistic ceremonies. So they

did the jata-karmas, the different yajnas and things for the blessing of the

child. Then Jagannatha Misra, he gave charity like Nanda Maharaja. Whatever

gifts he got, he again gave to the brahmanas, gave to the brahamans, gave to

the musicians, gave to everybody who was there. Then Malini, the wife of

Srivasa, she came and put turmeric powder, vermillion, put scented oil,

sandalwood oil, threw fused rice, khoi. I don't know if you know what fused

rice is, they gave it out last night but it had gur on it. It was morki(?).

It's fused rice. Without the gur it is called khoi in Bengali and its

considered very auspicious.

 

Like this there was a big festival going on for the advent of Lord Caitanya.

So today we should also keep all our image of this happiness of Lord

Caitanya in our heart. Tonight there's a lunar eclipse somewhere from 2:50

until sunrise. I don't know if anybody is going to go bathing in the Ganges

or chanting in the temple. Good time to chant. I heard the pujari said that

when the full moon of Lord Caitanya is coming you don't have to keep the

temple closed. Usually when there is an eclipse, you h{ave to keep the

temple closed, but when the full moon of Lord Caitanya is appearing, then

you don't have to.

]

GAURANGA! Happy Gaura Purnima.

 

Bhakti Purusottama Swami Maharaja is next on the slot.

 

Hare Krsna. [applause]

 

 

[HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami's class will be posted soon. . . .]