Gaura-nagara Bhava

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Gaura-nagara Bhava

 

Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

 

"No eternal associate of Mahaprabhu has taught any spiritual practice

(sadhana) corresponding with Gaura-nagara bhava. Sadhana is not to be

manufactured. It descends from above and corresponds with a particular

spiritual goal (sadhya). Without the sadhana, how can there be such a

sadhya?"

 

Q. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami wrote Caitanya-caritamrta, which Gaudiya

Vaisnavas accept as the definitive scripture on the life and teachings

of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Krsnadasa Kaviraja writes that Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu said something about Krsna, his words are

automatically accepted by Gaudiyas to be true. Thus it appears that to

be a Gaudiya Vaisnava one has to accept not only that Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu is Krsna but that Krsnadasa Kaviraja is the transparent

medium through whom Mahaprabhu can be understood. Is this correct?

 

A. The truth is that no one would know much of what Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu taught without his disciples having written about it, as

there are only ten verses attributed directly to Mahaprabhu. These are

his famous eight verses of Siksastakam and two others cited in

Padyavali. These other two verses are:

 

"I am not a ksatriya, a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a

householder, a vanaprastha, or a sannyasi. I am none other than the

servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri

Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis.The message of the Upanisads is

far from the nectar topics of Lord Hari. For this reason, the study of

the Upanisads does not result in a heart melting with emotion or

ecstatic symptoms, such as trembling, shedding tears, or standing of

hairs on the body."

 

Gaudiya Vaisnavism is about seeing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through the

eyes of his devotees. Other sects might view Mahaprabhu differently,

but who would be in a better position to understand him than those who

knew him personally and dedicated their lives to him? The celebrated

Six Goswamis of Vrndavana were such persons. They imparted their

experience and realizations of Mahaprabhu to Krsnadasa Kaviraja and

blessed him to reveal Sri Caitanya's life and teachings to the world

through his book Caitanya-caritamrta.

 

Q. What is my position if I accept Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Krsna but do

not accept the teachings of Krsnadasa Kaviraja?

 

A. People accept Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Bhagavan Sri Krsna because

this was the realization of his direct disciples. Chief among these

were the Six Goswamis of Vrndavana, who were among the first to write

that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krsna, basing their realization on

sastra. They permanently established this realization by citing

evidence from sastra that pointed to Krsna's appearance as Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu.

 

Therefore, to accept Mahaprabhu as Bhagavan but not accept the writings

of his disciples, particularly Krsnadasa Kaviraja, is uninformed in the

least. The Six Goswamis and other direct disciples of Sri Caitanya

imparted their experiences and realizations to Krsnadasa Kaviraja

Goswami and ordered him to represent them in writing. Without those

disciples' intimate knowledge of Sri Caitanya's words and pastimes no

one today would know that he was Krsna, or more specifically

Radha-Krsna combined. All who accept Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Krsna

owe a great debt of gratitude to his disciples, especially Krsnadasa

Kaviraja and the Six Goswamis of Vrndavana. Those who claim to know Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu independently of the teachings of his disciples are

only deluding themselves.

 

Q. There is a sect that worships the Deity of Gadadhara Pandita as a

woman, dressing him in a sari. Alongside him is worshiped the Deity of

Caitanya Mahaprabhu dressed as Krsna. Can you tell me something about

this type of worship?

 

A. Although Gaura is Krsna and Gadadhara is Radha, this worship is most

likely an expression of what is sometimes referred to as "Gaura-nagara

bhava." In pursuance of Gaura-nagara bhava, persons seek a conjugal

relationship with Mahaprabhu in the svarupa of a nagari, a village

girl. Both of the principal biographers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, namely

Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami and Vrndavana dasa Thakura, have rejected

this type of worship.

 

In Caitanya-caritamrta Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja writes, gopika-bhavera ei

sudrdha niscaya vrajendra-nandana vina anyatra na haya: "It is firmly

established that gopi-bhava is experienced only in relation to

Vrajendra-nandana Krsna and no one else." (Cc. 1.17.278)

 

In his Caitanya Bhagavata, Vrndavana dasa Thakura likewise writes: "The

Lord was apt to indulge in indiscriminate, merciful behavior towards

all, except that he never looked at a woman, even by a sidelong glance.

It is known to all the world that he did not even allow the name of a

woman to enter his ear. Those who are his real devotees, therefore,

never address Sri Gauranga as 'Gauranga-nagari,' or the enjoyer of

women. Although all forms of praise are applicable to the Lord, the

wise only sing that which is in accordance with his nature." (CB

15.28-31)

 

Thakura Bhaktivinoda openly condemned the sentiment of Gaura-nagara

bhava, as did his most prominent disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Saraswati. Although one can find some lines in Bhaktivinoda's poetry

that seem to indicate this sentiment, these lines have to be understood

in light of his criticism of Gaura-nagara bhava. The same holds true

for the Six Goswamis, who either openly rejected this sentiment or were

silent about it.

 

Some associates of Mahaprabhu, like Narahari and Locana dasa, do seem

to occasionally express this sentiment, but they have not discussed any

sadhana for attaining it. For that matter, it is possible that the

poetry expressing this sentiment was interpolated in an effort to lend

support to the concept of Gaura-nagara bhava. Indeed, without such

apparent support, advocates of Gaura-nagara bhava would have nothing to

stand on.

 

In the very least, it should be emphasized that no eternal associate of

Mahaprabhu has taught any spiritual practice (sadhana) corresponding

with Gaura-nagara bhava. Sadhana is not to be manufactured. It descends

from above and corresponds with a particular spiritual goal (sadhya).

Without the sadhana, how can there be such a sadhya, or if there is

such a sadhya, how will one attain it with no sadhana? One cannot make

up a sadhana corresponding with an imagined sadhya. In fact, doing so

is nothing more than a disturbance to the society of devotees.

 

sruti-smrti-puranadi-pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir

utpatayaiva kalpate

 

"Devotional service performed without reference to the Vedas, Puranas,

Pancaratras, and so on, must be considered sentimentalism. It causes

nothing but disturbance to society." (Brs. 1.2.101)

 

Q. Can the Deities of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his associate Nityananda

Prabhu (Gaura-Nitai) be worshiped in the mood of Radha-Krsna?

 

A. How can Gaura-Nitai be in the mood of Radha and Krsna? According to

Gaudiya siddhanta, Nitai is Balarama and Mahaprabhu is Krsna in the

mood of Radharani. When Mahaprabhu exhibits the mood of Radha, Nitai

steps back to facilitate his bhava. Therefore, Gaura can stand on the

altar next to Radha-Krsna to make the statement that he is one with

them, but Nitai, being Balarama, will not stand on the same altar next

to Radha-Krsna.

 

Again, Mahaprabhu can be seen as Radha-Krsna because he is Radha-Krsna

combined, but Gaura-Nitai will never been seen as Radha-Krsna because

they are not Radha-Krsna, they are Krsna and Balarama. Some people do

try to say that Nitai is Radha, but you will not find much support for

this idea anywhere in Gaudiya Vaisnavism.

 

Q. You say that Gaura-Nitai should not be worshiped with Radha-Krsna,

but I have noticed that in most Iskcon temples there are Gaura-Nitai

Deities, Radha-Krsna Deities, and sometimes a third set of Deities,

such as Sita-Rama or Krsna-Balarama, situated on adjoining altars. I

have also noticed that some Gaudiya Matha temples worship Sri Caitanya

accompanying Radha-Krsna on the same altar, and no Deity of Nityananda

is present. Can you explain this?

 

A. Gaura-Nitai and Radha-Krsna may be worshipped on adjoining altars,

just not on the same altar. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu may be worshiped

with Radha-Krsna on the same altar because he is Krsna in the mood of

Radha. He is Radha-Krsna combined. This type of Deity worship is common

throughout Gaudiya Matha institutions. In his Iskcon institution, my

Gurudeva Srila Prabhupada widely established the worship of

Gaura-Nityananda Deities out of deference to Nityananda Prabhu, who had

empowered him to preach. Indeed, Srila Prabhupada was from a family

that had been graced by Nityananda Prabhu some generations earlier.

 

For the most part, Srila Prabhupada's preaching involved introducing

Krsna consciousness to those who from the standpoint of varnasrama were

outcastes. By emphasizing the worship of Gaura-Nitai, he sought to

invoke the special mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, to whom Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu gave the task of delivering the most fallen. Srila

Prabhupada was so successful in his efforts to introduce the worship of

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu worldwide that his Godbrother Srila Sridhara

Maharaja referred to him as Nityanadavesa, or one who is especially

empowered by Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Locana dasa Thakura sings, amar

nitai guna mani aniya premer vanya bhasailo avani: "My Lord Nityananda,

the jewel of all virtues, has drowned the entire world in a flood of

ecstatic love of Krsna."

 

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum

http://www.swami.org/sanga/ or email sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org.

 

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