Guest guest Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 The Appearance of Sri Advaita Acharya. Shri-Advaita-Tattva The Philosophical Truths About Shrila Advaita Acharya Prabhu `advaita acarya' bali' katha kaha ya'ra sei `nada' lagi mora ei avatara The Supreme Lord Gauranga said: "This incarnation of Mine in Kali-yuga was induced by Nada, whom you all call as Advaita Acharya." Shrila Advaita Acharya is the original cause for the advent of the most merciful incarnation of Lord Krishna as Lord Gauranga. Thus if we do not worship and celebrate with great enthusiam the appearance day of Shrila Advaita Acharya - Advaita Saptami - which falls on Saturday 8th February 2003, we will find if very difficult to achieve the mercy of Lords Nityananda- Gauranga. By celebrating the festival of Advaita Saptami, we try to express our gratitude to Shri Advaita Acharya for the greatest service ever rendered to the conditioned souls of inducing the Lord to appear in His most magnanimous incarnation along with His elder brother Lord Nityananda Balarama (je anilo prema dhana karuna prachura). Recommended reading: Cc Adi Chp 12 and other references given below from CBh and Cc. Prayer of this day: doya koro sitapati advaita gosai tava kripa bale pai chaitanya-nitai "O Lord Shri Advaita Acharya Prabhu, husband of Shrimati Sita Thakurani (incarnation of Goddess Durga or Katyayani), please be causelessly merciful on me, so that I can achieve the shelter of the lotus feet of Lords Nityananda and Lord Gauranga by the strength of Your mercy, which is the only way." 6.1 maha-visnur jagat-karta mayaya yah srjaty adah tasyavatara evayam advaitacarya-isvarah Lord Advaita Acarya is the incarnation of Maha-Visnu, whose main function is to create the cosmic world through the actions of maya. (Cc. Adi 6.4) 6.2 advaitam harinadvaitad acaryam bhakti-samsanat bhaktavataram isam tam advaitacaryam asraye Because He is nondifferent from Hari, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is called Acarya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord's devotee. Therefore I take shelter of Him. (Cc. Adi 1.13) Mahavisnu is the Efficient Cause and Advaita is the Material Cause of Mundane Creation 6.3 apane purusa visvera 'nimitta'-karana advaita-rupe 'upadana' hana narayana 'nimittamse' kare tenho mayate iksana 'upadana' advaita karena brahmanda-srjana Lord Visnu is the efficient cause (nimitta) of the material world, and Narayana, in the form of Sri Advaita, is the material cause (upadana). Lord Visnu, in His efficient aspect glances over the material energy, and Sri Advaita as the material cause, creates the material world. (Cc. Adi 6.16,17) Advaita is Sadasiva 6.4 bhaktavatara acaryo 'dvaita yah sri sadasivah He who was Sri Sadasiva is the bhakta-avatara, Sri Advaita Prabhu. (Gaura-Ganoddesadipika, 11) The Meaning of the Name Advaita 6.5 maha-visnura amsa advaita guna-dhama isvare abheda, teni 'advaita' purna nama Sri Advaita, who is the reservoir of virtues, is the main limb of Mahavisnu. His full name is Advaita, for He is identical in all respects with the Lord. (Cc. Adi 6.26) Advaita Acarya is a Preacher of Krsna-bhakti 6.6 jiva nistarila krsna-bhakti kari' dana gita-bhagavate kaila bhaktira vyakhyana He delivered all living beings by offering the gift of krsna-bhakti. He explained Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam in the light of devotional service. (Cc. Adi 6.28) He is the Avatara of Mahavisnu and a Devotee of Lord Caitanya 6.7 advaita-acarya-gosani saksat isvara prabhu guru kari' mane, tinho ta' kinkara Lord Advaita Acarya is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Lord Gauranga accepts Him as His preceptor, Advaita Acarya is a servant of the Lord. (Cc. Adi. 5.147) Advaita and Nityananda are Servants of Lord Gauranga 6.8 eka mahaprabhu, ara prabhu duijana dui prabhu sebe mahaprabhura carana There is one "Mahaprabhu" and two Prabhus. The two Prabhus serve the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu. (Cc. Adi 7.14) Two Branches Among the Followers of Advaita 6.9 advaitanghry-abja-bhrogams tan sarasara-bhrto 'khilan hitva 'saran sara-bhrto naumi caitanya jivanan The followers of Sri Advaita were of two kinds. Some were real followers (saragrahi) and the others were false (asaragrahi). Rejecting the false followers, I offer my respectful obeisances to the real followers of Sri Advaita Acarya, whose life and soul was Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Cc. Adi 12.1) The Saragrahi Followers of Advaita are Devotees of Gauranga 6.10 prathame ta' eka-mata acaryera gana pache dui-mata haila daivera karana keha ta' acarya ajnaya, keha ta' svatantra sva-mata kalpana kare daiva-paratantra acaryera mata yei, sei mata sara tanra ajna langhi' cale, sei ta' asara At first all the followers of Advaita Acarya shared a single opinion, but later they followed two opinions as ordained by providence. Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the acarya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivi-maya. The opinion of the acarya is essential. Anyone who disregards his order is useless (asara-grahi). (Cc. Adi. 12.8-10). The Useless Followers of Advaita Acarya were cut off >From Gauranga's Mercy 6.11 ihara madhye mali pache kona sakha-gana na mane caitanya-mali durdaiva karana srjaila, jiyaila, tanre na manila krtaghna ha-ila, tanre skandha kruddha ha-ila kruddha hana skandha tare jala na sancare jalabhave krsa sakha sukaiya mare After the disappearance of Lord Gauranga, the gardener of the tree of love of Godhead, some of the sub-branches of the Advaita branch, for unfortunate reasons, deviated from His path. Some branches did not accept the trunk that vitalized and maintained the entire tree When they thus became ungrateful, the trunk was angry at them. Thus Lord Caitanya did not sprinkle upon them the water of His mercy, and they gradually withered and died. (Cc. Adi 12.67-69) Thus ends the Sixth Jewel of Gaudiya Kanthahara, entitled Advaita-tattva. compiled by Om Visnupada Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada CBh Madhya Chp 5: TEXT 49 saghane dhulaya sira, `nada', `nada' bale nadara sandarbha keha na bujhe sakale The Lord vigorously shook His head while calling, "Nada, Nada," but no one understood the actual meaning of the word Nada. The word sandarbha means "purport,confidential meaning," or "mystery." It is stated: "Those statements that reveal a most confidential meaning, that are the essence of a subject, and that give various meanings to understand a subject matter are known by learned scholars as sandarbha." TEXT 50 sabe balilena,-"prabhu, `nada' bala kare?" prabhu bale,-"ailun muni yahara hunkare Everyone inquired, "O Lord, who is this Nada You are calling?" The Lord replied, "He by whose loud cries I came. TEXT 51 `advaita acarya' bali' katha kaha ya'ra sei `nada' lagi mora ei avatara "This incarnation of Mine was induced by Nada, whom you all call Advaita Acarya. TEXT 52 mohare anila nada vaikuntha thakiya niscinte rahila giya haridasa laina "Nada has brought Me from Vaikuntha, but now He is living free from all cares with Haridasa. Lord Gauranga Himself holds the feet of Shrila Acharya Text 41 Lord Caitanya always thought Advaita Acärya His spiritual master. At this Advaita would feel very unhappy. Text 42 Advaita was not able to serve Lord Caitanya directly. While Lord Caitanya slept, Advaita would grasp the Lord's feet. Text 43 In His heart He meditated on Lord Caitanya's feet. Advaita always desired to serve Lord Caitanya directly. That was His constant desire. Text 44 Although He did not have the power to serve Him directly, Advaita yearned to serve Lord Caitanya. Therefore Advaita resorted to stealing the dust from Lord Caitanya's feet. Text 45 When Lord Caitanya fainted in ecstaté love, Advaita approached the Lord's feet. Text 46 Offering daëòavat obeisances, Advaita fell before the soles of the Lord's feet. With the tears from His eyes, Advaita washed Lord Caitanya's feet. Text 47 When Lord Caitanya fainted in ecstasy, on His own head Advaita wiped the Lord's feet. Offering daëòavat obeisances, He worshiped the Lord. Text 48 Only because he had attained Lord Caitanya's great, great mercy could Advaita act in these ways. Text 49 Therefore Advaita was the first of the Vaiñëavas. All the Vaiñëavas affirmed, "Advaita is very fortunate." Text 50 Wicked persons do not understand the secret of Lord Advaita's transcendental glories. Text 51 One day Lord Caitanya danced, and Advaita happily followed Him. Text 52 Then Lord Caitanya fell unconscious. Seeing this, Advaita anointed His limbs with the dust of the Lord's feet. Then He hid. Text 53 Lord Caitanya was perfectly aware of all these wonderful activities. Then Lord Caitanya began dancing again. Dancing and dancing, He did not feel happy. Text 54 Lord Caitanya said, "Why is it not revealed to My heart? Whom have I offended, that now I do not feel joyful? Text 55 "What was stolen from Me. Who stole it? Because of this offense, I have no power to dance in ecstasy. Text 56 "Did someone touch the dust of My feet? Tell the truth. Don't worry. This I tell to you." Text 57 Hearing the words of He who is the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, the devotees became afraid. Silent, no one spoke. Text 58 If they spoke, they were afraid of Advaita's response. If they did not speak they would die. Understanding their dilemma, Advaita folded His hands and said, Text 59 "If a thief cannot take directly, he will take when no one is looking. Text 60 "I am the thief. Please forgive My transgression. If it displeases You, I will not do it." Text 61 Advaita's words made Lord Caitanya angry. On the preText of angry words Lord Caitanya described the glories of Advaita. Text 62 He said, "You destroy everything, and even then You feel no remorse in Your heart. Text 63 "Then, when everything is destroyed, You won't be happy unless You destroy Me also. Text 64 "You kill the ascetics, sannyäsés, yogés, and philosophers. Whom do You not kill with Your trident? Text 65 "When people grasp Your feet to attain the goal of life, You respond by killing them. Text 66 "A certain sincere Vaiñëava who lives in Mathurä has come to see the glory of Your feet. Text 67 "After seeing You, how can anyone attain devotion to Lord Viñëu? Whatever devotion he attains, Your eternal potency will take away. Text 68 "When You touch the dust of a person's feet, You destroy him. Without mercy You destroy him. Text 69 "Lord Kåñëa has given to You all the devotion that exists in the countless universes. Text 70 "Still You roâ from a small person who has little. There is no mercy in Your heart. You roâ from the poor. Text 71 "You are a hoodlum. You are the greatest of robbers. You have robbed My happiness of love for Lord Kåñëa." Text 72 In this way, on the preText of criticizing Him, Lord Caitanya praised Advaita Acärya. Hearing the Lord's words, all the devotees floated in bliss. Text 73 Then Lord Caitanya said, "You have robbed Me. Can I not roâ You? Look! Look! I will roâ from the robber." Text 74 After speaking these words, Lord Caitanya grasped Advaita's feet and, laughing and laughing, took the dust that was there. Text 75 Advaita had no power to defeat the fair lion of Lord Caitanya. On His own head Lord Caitanya rubbed Advaita's feet. Text 76 Holding to His own chest Advaita's feet, Lord Caitanya said, "Look! Look! I have tied up the thief. I have imprisoned Him in My heart. Text 77 "A hundred times You robbed Me. I am the master of the house. Now, in one time, I reclaim all that was robbed from My house." Text 78 Then Advaita said, "What You say is true. You are the master of the house. I did not understand anything. Text 79 "My life, intelligence, mind, and body are all Your property. Lord, if You kill someone, who can protect him? Text 80 "You give happiness, and You also give suffering. If You punish someone, who can protect him? Text 81 "Närada and the sages went to Dvaraka City to see the life's treasure that is Your feet. Text 82 "Then You would take the dust from their feet. What could they do then? That I ask You. Text 83 "When You take the dust of his feet, what can Your servant do? Text 84 "How can Your servant give the dust of his feet to You? Who can disobey Your command? Text 85 "It is not right for the Supreme Lord to act in this way. You will destroy me, and You think it is funny. Text 86 "You may either protect Me or destroy Me. Lord, You will do whatever You wish." Text 87 Then Lord Caitanya said, "You are the keeper of the storehouse of devotional service. That is why I serve Your feet. Text 88 "Anyone who anoints his body with the dust of Your feet will float in the nectar of pure love for Lord Kåñëa. Text 89 "If You do not give it, no one can attain devotional service. Please know perfectly well that, "I am Your property." Text 90 "You can sell Me as You like. Lord, I tell You the truth." Text 91 In their hearts all the devotees meditated on Lord Caitanya's great mercy to Advaita. Text 92 They said, "The Lord has truly served Him. Therefore Advaita is a very exalted person. Ten million liberations are not equal to a small fragment of the mercy Advaita has attained. Text 93 "Even the demigod Çiva never attained mercy like the mercy Advaita attained from Lord Caitanya." Text 94 "We are fortunate to associate with such an exalted devotee. The dust of this devotee's feet we place on all our limbs." Text 95 The devotees were very happy to praise Advaita. Because of their past misdeeds, the sinners feel unhappy to hear Advaita's glories. Text 96 Everything I have now said is true. They who have no faith in the Vaiñëavas' words will perish. Text 97 Lord Caitanya stood up and said, "Haribol!" Then the devotees around Him in the four directions began to sing. Text 98 Overcome with bliss, forgetting all else, and now become like a wild man, Advaita Acärya danced. Text 99 Placing His hand on His beard and knitting His eyebrows, Advaita Acärya, the master of Çäntipura, loudly roared. Then He began to dance. ADVAITA (ACARYA PRABHU): He is a disciple of Madhavendra Puri, and constitutes one of the figures amongst the Pancatattva. He is the combined incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu and Lord Sadashiva. He was born in a varendra brahmana family on the seventh day of the bright fortnight in the month of Magha, 1355 Saka (1433 AD.), in the village named Lauda in Srihatta. According to Bangabhasa O Sahitya, Advaita Prabhu was born in 1434 AD. and met Vidyapati in 1458 AD. Advaita's former name was Kamalaksha (Kamalakanta) Vedapancanana. His two wives were Sita Devi and Sri Devi. Acyutananda was born of Sita Devi (1425 Saka 1503 AD.), followed by Krsnadasa, Gopala, Balarama, Svarupa, and Jagadisa Misra. While Sri Devi gave birth to one son named Syamadasa (Premavilasa 24). From Lauda, Advaita Prabhu migrated to the village of Navahatta and later to Santipura. He also had a house at Navadvipa. In 1480 Saka (1558 AD.), at the age of 125 years (i.e. 25 years after the disappearance of Lord Gauranga) Advaita Prabhu returned to the spiritual world. However, according to Premavilasa 24, Advaita Prabhu was born in Santipura. He studied the Vedas and other scriptures under a scholar named Santacarya in Phullavati village near Santipura, where he was awarded the title Acarya. The genealogy of Advaita Prabhu can be found in Premavilasa 24. To verify the meeting of Advaita with Vidyapati, it is known that in 1330 Saka (1408 AD.) Vidyapati received the endowment of Bisaphi village from Sivasimha. Vidyapati was born around 1307 Saka (1385 AD.), and was a contemporary of Candidasa . Vidyapati mentions their meeting one another in songs he composed in 1325 Saka (1403 AD.). One manuscript of the Bhagavata which was copied by Vidyapati is still available and carries the date of copying as 1379 Saka (1457 AD.) Evidence shows that Vidyapati was alive until 1401 Saka (1479 AD.). In 1485 AD. Advaita Prabhu, at the age of fifty two, arrived at the room where Lord Gauranga was born. Much earlier he undertook a pilgrimage. Hence his meeting with Vidyapati should be taken as a fact. --------- Sri Advaita Acarya, Ideal Householder Devotee A lecture by Giriraj Swami (Durban, February 1989) Today is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, who is one of the associates of Lord Caitanya in the Panca-tattva and the incarnation of Maha-Visnu. So we shall read some of the pastimes of Advaita Acarya with Lord Caitanya from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Three, "Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Stay at the House of Advaita Acarya." "In his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives the following summary study of the Third Chapter. After accepting the sannyasa order at Katwa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu traveled continuously for three days in Radha-desa and, by the trick of Nityananda Prabhu, eventually came to the western side of Santipura. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was induced to believe that the river Ganges was the Yamuna. When He was worshiping the sacred river, Advaita Prabhu arrived in a boat. Advaita Prabhu asked Him to take His bath in the Ganges and took Him to His (Advaita's) house." We shall begin reading from this point: TEXTS 38-41 Advaita Acarya said, "You have been fasting continuously for three days in Your ecstasy of love for Krsna. I therefore invite You to My home, where You may kindly take Your alms. Come with Me to My residence." Advaita Prabhu continued, "At My home I have just cooked one palmful of rice. The vegetables are always very simple. There is no luxurious cooking--simply a little liquid vegetable and spinach." Saying this, Sri Advaita Acarya took the Lord into the boat and brought the Lord to His residence. There Advaita Acarya washed the feet of the Lord and was consequently very happy within. All the eatables were first cooked by the wife of Advaita Acarya. Then Srila Advaita Acarya personally offered everything to Lord Visnu. PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada This is the ideal householder's life. The husband and wife live together, and the husband works very hard to secure paraphernalia for worshiping Lord Visnu. The wife at home cooks a variety of foods for Lord Visnu, and the husband offers it to the Deity. After that, arati is performed, and the prasadam is distributed amongst family members and guests. According to the Vedic principles, there must always be a guest in a householder's house. In my childhood I have actually seen my father receive not less than four guests every day, and in those days my father's income was not very great. Nonetheless, there was no difficulty in offering prasadam to at least four guests every day. According to Vedic principles, a householder, before taking lunch, should go outside and shout very loudly to see if there is anyone without food. In this way he invites people to take prasadam. If someone comes, the householder offers him prasadam, and if there is not much left, he should offer his own portion to the guest. If no one responds to his call, the householder can accept his own lunch. Thus the householder's life is also a kind of austerity. Because of this, the householder's life is called the grhastha-asrama. Although a person may live with his wife and children happily in Krsna consciousness, he also observes the regulative principles followed in any temple. If there is no Krsna consciousness, the householder's abode is called a grha-medhi's house. Householders in Krsna consciousness are actually grhasthas--that is, those living in the asrama with their families and children. Sri Advaita Prabhu was an ideal grhastha, and His house was the ideal grhastha-asrama. COMMENTARY by Giriraj Swami We can learn many things about how to live in the grhastha-asrama from Advaita Acarya. Acarya means one who teaches by example. So Advaita Acarya taught by example the life of the ideal householder devotee. The first point is that the grhastha should worship the Deity at home. Deity worship means that the Deity is installed and the householder worships the Deity according to the rules and regulations of the scriptures, under the guidance of the spiritual master. Then the worship is accepted as bona fide. The husband should work very hard to collect the paraphernalia for worship. Householders may be materially opulent, so their opulence must be engaged in the service of the Deity. Otherwise the householders will become contaminated by their material activities and fall down. Deity worship is most essential for householders. The wife cooks nice foods to offer to the Lord, and then the husband offers the foods to the Deity. Then arati is performed according to the rules and regulations and the prasadam is distributed. In other words, one should invite people to one's home to attend arati, hear Bhagavad-gita, and take prasadam. In this way one's home becomes an asrama. Or one can visit the temple and attend the arati in the temple, one can sacrifice one's possessions for the service of the Deity in the temple, and one can invite guests to come to the temple. Thus one can fulfill the basic principles of grhastha-asrama. TEXT 42 All the prepared food was divided into three equal parts. One part was arranged on a metal plate for offering to Lord Krsna. PURPORT The word badaila, meaning "increased," is very significant in this verse. It is a sophisticated word used by the grhasthas in Bengal. Whenever food is prepared and we take away a portion, the food is actually decreased. But here it is the system to say badaila, or "increased." If food is prepared for Krsna and offered to Him and the Vaisnavas, the stock is increased, never decreased. TEXTS 43-47 Of the three divisions, one was arranged on a metal plate, and the other two were arranged on plantain leaves. These leaves were not bifurcated, and they were taken from a banana tree that held at least thirty-two bunches of bananas. The two plates were filled very nicely with the kinds of food described below. The cooked rice was a stack of very fine grains nicely cooked, and in the middle was yellow clarified butter from the milk of cows. Surrounding the stack of rice were pots made of the skins of banana trees, and in these pots were varieties of vegetables and mung dal. Among the cooked vegetables were patolas, squash, manakacu, and a salad made with pieces of ginger and various types of spinach. There was sukhta, bitter melon mixed with all kinds of vegetables, defying the taste of nectar. There were five types of bitter and pungent sukhtas. Amongst the various vegetables were newly grown leaves of nimba trees fried with eggplant. The fruit known as patola was fried with phulabadi, a kind of dal preparation first mashed and then dried in the sun. There was also a preparation known as kusmanda-manacaki. PURPORT We request our editors of cookbooks to add all these nice preparations described by the experienced author Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. TEXTS 48-63 The preparation made with coconut pulp mixed with curd and rock candy was very sweet. There was a curry made of banana flowers and squash boiled in milk, all in great quantity. There were small cakes in sweet and sour sauce and five or six kinds of sour preparations. All the vegetables were so made that everyone present could take prasada. There were soft cakes made with mung dal, soft cakes made with ripe bananas, and soft cakes made with urad dal. There were various kinds of sweetmeats, and condensed milk mixed with rice cakes, a coconut preparation and every kind of cake desirable. All the vegetables were served in pots made of banana leaves taken from trees producing at least thirty-two bunches of bananas. These pots were very strong and big and did not tilt or totter. All around the three eating places were a hundred pots filled with various kinds of vegetables. Along with the various vegetables was sweet rice mixed with ghee. This was kept in new earthen pots. Earthen pots filled with highly condensed milk were placed in three places. Besides the other preparations, there were chipped rice, made with milk and mixed with bananas, and also white squash boiled in milk. Indeed, it is not possible to describe all the preparations that were made. In two places there were earthen pots filled with another preparation made with yogurt, sandesa (a sweetmeat made with curd) and banana. I am unable to describe it all. Upon the stack of boiled rice and all the vegetables were flowers of the tulasi trees. There were also pots filled with scented rosewater. There were three sitting places where soft cloths were placed. Thus Lord Krsna was offered all the food, and the Lord took it very pleasantly. It is the system, after offering food, to perform bhoga-arati. Advaita Prabhu asked the two brothers, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, to come see the arati. The two Lords and all others present went to see the arati ceremony. After arati was performed for the Deities in the temple, Lord Krsna was made to lie down to rest. Advaita Acarya then came out to submit something to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Advaita Prabhu said, "My dear Lords, kindly enter this room." The two brothers, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, then came forward to take the prasadam. When Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu went to accept the prasadam, They both called Mukunda and Haridasa to come with Them. However, Mukunda and Haridasa, both with folded hands, spoke as follows. When Mukunda was called for, he submitted, "My dear sir, I have something to do that is not yet finished. Later I shall accept the prasadam, so You two Prabhus should now please enter the room." Haridasa Thakura said, "I am the most sinful and lowest among men. Later I shall eat one palmful of prasadam while waiting outside." PURPORT Although the Hindus and Muslims lived together in a very friendly manner, still there were distinctions between them. The Mohammedans were considered yavanas, or lowborn, and whenever a Muslim was invited, he would be fed outside of the house. Although personally called by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu to take prasadam with Them, still, out of great humility, Haridasa Thakura submitted, "I shall take the prasadam outside of the house." Although Haridasa Thakura was an exalted Vaisnava accepted by Advaita Acarya, Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, nonetheless, in order not to disturb social tranquility, he humbly kept himself in the position of a Muslim, outside the jurisdiction of the Hindu community. Therefore he proposed to take prasadam outside the house. Although he was in an exalted position and equal to other great Vaisnavas, he considered himself a papistha, a most sinful man, and adhama, the lowest among men. Although a Vaisnava may be very much advanced spiritually, he keeps himself externally humble and submissive. TEXT 64 Advaita Acarya took Lord Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu within the room, and the two Lords saw the arrangement of the prasadam. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu especially was very pleased. PURPORT Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was pleased because He saw how nicely so many varieties of food were prepared for Krsna. Actually all kinds of prasadam are prepared for Krsna, not for the people, but the devotees partake of prasadam with great pleasure. TEXT 65 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu approved of all the methods employed in cooking and offering food to Krsna. Indeed, He was so pleased that He said, "Frankly, I will personally take the lotus feet of anyone who can offer Krsna such nice food and place those lotus feet on My head birth after birth." When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu entered the room, He saw three divisions of food, and He knew that all of these were meant for Krsna. However, He did not understand the intentions of Advaita Acarya. PURPORT Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura states that one of these servings was offered in a metal dish and was meant for Krsna, whereas the other two were placed on big banana leaves. The offering on the metal plate was personally offered by Advaita Acarya to Krsna. The other two servings, on banana leaves, were to be accepted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda. This was Advaita Acarya's intention, but He did not disclose this to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the food offered in three places, He thought that all of it was meant for Krsna. TEXTS 67-70 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Let Us sit down in these three places, and We shall take prasadam." However, Advaita Acarya said, "I shall distribute the prasadam." Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu thought that all three servings were meant for distribution; therefore He asked for another two banana leaves, saying, "Let Us have a very little quantity of vegetable and rice." Advaita Acarya said, "Just sit down here on these seats." Catching Their hands, He sat Them both down. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "It is not proper for a sannyasi to eat such a variety of foods. If he does, how can he control his senses?" PURPORT The word upakarana indicates a variety of foods, such as dal, vegetables and other varieties of possible dishes that one can eat very nicely with rice. It is not proper, however, for a sannyasi to eat such palatable dishes. If he did so, he would not be able to control his senses. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not encourage sannyasis to eat very palatable dishes, for the whole Vaisnava cult is vairagya-vidya, as renounced as possible. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also advised Raghunatha dasa Gosvami not to eat very palatable dishes, wear very nice garments or talk on mundane subjects. These things are all prohibited for those in the renounced order. A devotee does not accept anything to eat that is not first offered to Krsna. All the rich foods offered to Krsna are given to the grhasthas, the householders. There are many nice things offered to Krsna--garlands, bedsteads, nice ornaments, nice food and even nicely prepared pan, betel nuts--but a humble Vaisnava, thinking his body material and nasty, does not accept such preparations for himself. He thinks that by accepting such things he will offend the lotus feet of the Lord. Those who are sahajiyas cannot understand what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu meant when He asked Advaita Acarya to bring two separate leaves and give a small quantity of the prasadam to Him. TEXTS 71-74 When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not accept the food that had already been served, Advaita Acarya said, "Please give up Your concealment. I know what You are, and I know the confidential meaning of Your accepting the sannyasa order." Advaita Acarya thus requested Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to eat and give up juggling words. The Lord replied, "I certainly cannot eat so much food." Advaita Acarya then requested the Lord to simply accept the prasadam without pretense. If He could not eat it all, the balance could be left on the plate. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "I will not be able to eat so much food, and it is not the duty of a sannyasi to leave remnants." PURPORT According to Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.18.19): bahir jalasayam gatva tatopasprsya vag-yatah vibhajya pavitam sesam bhunjitasesam ahrtam "Whatever edibles a sannyasi gets from a householder's house he should take outside near some lake or river, and after offering it to Visnu, Brahma and the sun (three divisions), he should eat the entire offering and not leave anything for others to eat." TEXTS 75-85 In this connection Advaita Acarya referred to Caitanya Mahaprabhu's eating at Jagannatha Puri. Lord Jagannatha and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are identical. Advaita Acarya pointed out that at Jagannatha Puri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ate fifty-four times a day, and each time He ate many hundreds of pots of food. Sri Advaita Acarya said, "The amount of food that three people can eat does not constitute even a morsel for You. In proportion to that, these edibles are not even five morsels of food for You." Advaita Acarya continued, "By My great fortune You have just come to My home. Please do not juggle words. Just begin eating and do not talk." Upon saying this, Advaita Acarya supplied water to the two Lords so that They could wash Their hands. The two Lords then sat down and, smiling, began to eat the prasadam. Nityananda Prabhu said, "I have undergone fasting for three days continuously. Today I had hoped to break My fast." Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was thinking that the quantity of food was enormous, Nityananda Prabhu, on the contrary, thought it not even a morsel. He had been fasting for three days and had greatly hoped to break fast on that day. Indeed, He said, "Although I am invited to eat by Advaita Acarya, today is also a fast. So small a quantity of food will not even fill half My belly." Advaita Acarya replied, "Sir, You are a mendicant traveling on pilgrimage. Sometimes You eat fruits and roots, and sometimes You simply go on fasting. "I am a poor brahmana, and You have come to My home. Please be satisfied with whatever little food You have received and give up Your greedy mentality." Lord Nityananda Prabhu replied, "Whatever I may be, You have invited Me. Therefore You must supply as much as I want to eat." His Divine Grace Advaita Acarya, after hearing the statement of Nityananda Prabhu, took the opportunity presented by the joking words and spoke to Him as follows. Advaita Acarya said, "You are a reject paramahamsa, and You have accepted the renounced order of life just to fill up Your belly. I can understand that Your business is to give trouble to brahmanas." PURPORT There is always a difference of opinion between a smarta-brahmana and a Vaisnava gosvami. There are even smarta opinions and Vaisnava gosvami opinions available in astrological and astronomical calculations. By calling Nityananda Prabhu a bhrasta avadhuta (a rejected paramahamsa), Advaita Acarya Prabhu in a sense accepted Sri Nityananda Prabhu as a paramahamsa. In other words, Nityananda Prabhu had nothing to do with the rules governing smarta-brahmanas. Thus, under pretense of condemning Him, Advaita Acarya was actually praising Him. In the avadhuta stage, the paramahamsa stage, which is the supermost stage, one may appear to be visayi, on the platform of sense gratification, but in actuality he has nothing to do with sense gratification. At that stage, a person sometimes accepts the symptoms and dress of a sannyasi and sometimes does not. Sometimes he dresses like a householder. We should know, however, that these are all joking words between Advaita Acarya and Nityananda Prabhu. They are not to be taken as insults. TEXT 86 Advaita Acarya accused Nityananda Prabhu, saying, "You can eat ten to twenty manas of rice. I am a poor brahmana. How shall I get so much rice? PURPORT A mana is a measurement containing about four kilograms. TEXTS 87-96 "Whatever You have, though it be a palmful of rice, please eat it and get up. Don't show Your madness and strew the remnants of food here and there." In this way, Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu ate and talked with Advaita Acarya jokingly. After eating half of each vegetable preparation given to Him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu abandoned it and went on to the next. As soon as half of the vegetable in the pot was finished, Advaita Acarya filled it up again. In this way, as the Lord finished half of a preparation, Advaita Acarya again and again filled it up. After filling a pot with vegetables, Advaita Acarya requested Them to eat more, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "How much more can I go on eating?" Advaita Acarya said, "Please do not give up whatever I have already given You. Now, whatever I am giving, You may eat half and leave half." In this way, by submitting various humble requests, Advaita Acarya made Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda eat. Thus Caitanya Mahaprabhu fulfilled all the desires of Advaita Acarya. Again Nityananda Prabhu jokingly said, "My belly is not yet filled up. Please take away Your food. I have not taken the least of it." After saying this, Nityananda Prabhu took a handful of rice and threw it on the floor in front of Him, as if He were angry. When two or four grains of the thrown rice touched His body, Advaita Acarya began to dance in various ways with the rice still stuck to His body. When the rice thrown by Nityananda Prabhu touched His body, Advaita Acarya thought Himself purified by the touch of remnants thrown by Paramahamsa Nityananda. Therefore He began dancing. PURPORT The word avadhuta refers to one above all rules and regulations. Sometimes, not observing all the rules and regulations of a sannyasi, Nityananda Prabhu exhibited the behavior of a mad avadhuta. He threw the remnants of food on the ground, and some of these remnants touched the body of Advaita Acarya. Advaita Acarya accepted this happily because He presented Himself as a member of the community of smarta-brahmanas. By touching the remnants of food thrown by Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Acarya immediately felt Himself purified of all smarta contamination. The remnants of food left by a pure Vaisnava are called maha-maha-prasadam. This is completely spiritual and is identified with Lord Visnu. Such remnants are not ordinary. The spiritual master is to be considered on the stage of paramahamsa and beyond the jurisdiction of the varnasrama institution. The remnants of food left by the spiritual master and similar paramahamsas or pure Vaisnavas are purifying. When an ordinary person touches such prasadam, his mind is purified, and his mind is raised to the status of a pure brahmana. The behavior and statements of Advaita Acarya are meant for the understanding of ordinary people who are unaware of the strength of spiritual values, not knowing the potency of food left by the bona fide spiritual master and pure Vaisnavas. TEXT 97 Advaita Acarya jokingly said, "My dear Nityananda, I have invited You, and indeed I have received the results. You have no fixed caste or dynasty. By nature You are a madman. PURPORT The words sahaje pagala ("by nature a madman") indicate that Nityananda Prabhu was transcendentally situated on the paramahamsa stage. Because He always remembered Radha-Krsna and Their service, this was transcendental madness. Sri Advaita Acarya was pointing out this fact. TEXT 98 "To make Me a madman like Yourself, You have thrown the remnants of Your food at Me. You did not even fear the fact that I am a brahmana." PURPORT The words apanara sama indicate that Advaita Acarya considered Himself to belong to the smarta-brahmanas, and He considered Nityananda Prabhu to be on the transcendental stage with pure Vaisnavas. Lord Nityananda gave Advaita Acarya His remnants to situate Him on the same platform and make Him a pure unalloyed Vaisnava or paramahamsa. Advaita Acarya's statement indicates that a paramahamsa Vaisnava is transcendentally situated. A pure Vaisnava is not subject to the rules and regulations of the smarta-brahmanas. That was the reason for Advaita Acarya's stating, apanara sama more karibara tare: "to raise Me to Your own standard." A pure Vaisnava, or a person on the paramahamsa stage, accepts the remnants of food (maha-prasadam) as spiritual. He does not consider it to be material or sense gratificatory. He accepts maha-prasadam not as ordinary dal and rice but as spiritual substance. To say nothing of the remnants of food left by a pure Vaisnava, prasadam is never polluted, even if it is touched by the mouth of a candala. Indeed, it retains its spiritual value. Therefore by eating or touching such maha-prasadam, a brahmana is not degraded. There is no question of being polluted by touching the remnants of such food. Actually, by eating such maha-prasadam, one is freed from all the contaminations of the material condition. That is the verdict of the sastra. COMMENTARY There is a story that a plate of maha-prasadam that had been offered to the Deity in one of the temples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had somehow been approached by a dog who started to sniff and touch the maha-prasadam. None of the devotees knew what to do with the maha-prasadam after the dog had touched it, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, as the acarya, took the plate of maha-prasadam and honored it--ate it. TEXT 99 Nityananda Prabhu replied, "These are the remnants of food left by Lord Krsna. If You take them to be ordinary remnants, You have committed an offense." PURPORT In the Brhad-visnu Purana it is stated that one who considers maha-prasadam to be equal to ordinary rice and dal certainly commits a great offense. Ordinary edibles are touchable and untouchable, but there are no such dualistic considerations where prasadam is concerned. Prasadam is transcendental, and there are no transformations or contaminations, just as there are no contaminations or transformations in the body of Lord Visnu Himself. Thus even if one is a brahmana, he is certain to be attacked by leprosy and bereft of all family members if he makes such dualistic considerations. Such an offender goes to hell, never to return. This is the injunction of the Brhad-visnu Purana. TEXTS 100-106 Srila Nityananda Prabhu continued, "If You invite at least one hundred sannyasis to Your home and feed them sumptuously, Your offense will be nullified." Advaita Acarya replied, "I shall never again invite another sannyasi, for it is a sannyasi who has spoiled all My brahminical smrti regulations." After this, Advaita Acarya made the Lords wash Their hands and mouths. He then took Them to a nice bed and made Them lie down to take rest. Sri Advaita Acarya fed the two Lords cloves and cardamom mixed with tulasi flowers. Thus there was a good flavor within Their mouths. Sri Advaita Acarya then smeared the bodies of the Lords with sandalwood pulp and then placed very fragrant flower garlands on Their chests. When the Lord lay down on the bed, Advaita Acarya wanted to massage His legs, but the Lord was very hesitant and spoke as follows to Advaita Acarya. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Advaita Acarya, You have made Me dance in various ways. Now give up this practice. Go with Mukunda and Haridasa and accept Your lunch." PURPORT Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is here telling Advaita Acarya that it is not befitting for a sannyasi to accept nice beds to lie on or to chew cloves and cardamom and have his body smeared with sandalwood pulp. Nor is it befitting for him to accept fragrant garlands and have his legs massaged by a pure Vaisnava. "You have already made Me dance according to Your vow," Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Now please stop it. You can go and take Your lunch with Mukunda and Haridasa." TEXTS 107-111 Thereupon Advaita Acarya took prasadam with Mukunda and Haridasa, and they all wholeheartedly ate as much as they desired. When the people of Santipura heard that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was staying there, they all immediately came to see His lotus feet. Being very pleased, all the people loudly began to shout the holy name of the Lord, "Hari! Hari!" Indeed, they became struck with wonder upon seeing the beauty of the Lord. They saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's very fair-complexioned body and its bright luster, which conquered the brilliance of the sun. Over and above this was the beauty of the saffron garments that glittered upon His body. People came and went with great pleasure. There was no calculating how many people assembled there before the day was over. * * * So we can end the reading now, and you can hand me the papers with the questions to answer. Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu ki jaya! Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya! Question: Some devotees say that one who is chanting Hare Krsna can perform fire sacrifice. Others say no. Please clarify. Giriraj Swami: A fire sacrifice is meant to be performed on a specific occasion, such as an initiation, marriage, or Deity installation. The fire sacrifice can be performed by twice-initiated brahmanas who recite the gayatri-mantra, not really by devotees who have only been initiated into hari-nama. Question: Sandalwood soap in not available in the supermarket. What soap would you recommend us to buy? Giriraj Swami: Om apavitrah pavitro va sarvavastham gato 'pi va / yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantarah sucih: "One who remembers the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is purified within and without." Question: If Krsna is the supreme creator, then why are there spiritual and material creators? Giriraj Swami: The Supreme Authority does not have to do everything Himself. He has His agents to do His bidding. In fact, if Krsna had to do all of the work Himself, what would be the meaning of His being Supreme? Being Supreme means that His order cannot be disobeyed. Thus, He orders people to act on His behalf. There is an interesting story of a German scholar who went to India to find God. He visited so many temples. Finally he came to the Radha-Krsna temple in Calcutta, and he announced, "Now I have found God." The devotees asked him, "How do you say that now you have found God?" The German scholar replied, "I visited so many temples in this country, and in every temple I saw that the Deity was engaged in some sort of work, either in meditating or killing some demon--something. But here I see that this God is simply playing on His flute and dancing, so He must be the Supreme: He doesn't have any work to do." Even in the ordinary world, a big man doesn't have much work to do. If the big man wants to create a factory he just orders his secretary, the secretary passes on the order, and the big man's agents do everything. The big man simply says two words, and his agents do everything else. In the same way, Krsna doesn't have to create personally. He just tells Brahma, tapah, and Brahma creates the universe for Krsna. Although Brahma is the immediate agent for executing the order of Krsna to create or engineer the material universe, Krsna is the original cause of all causes. He is the origin of Baladeva, His first expansion, and Baladeva expands into Sankarsana, Vasudeva , Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, then Narayana, and then another quadruple expansion. Eventually Maha-Visnu expands into Garbhodakasayi Visnu, and from the lotus navel of the Garbhodakasayi Visnu Lord Brahma is born, and Lord Brahma creates the material universe. Thus Brahma is also an expansion of Krsna, indirectly. So Krsna has His potencies to act on His behalf. Therefore the Vedas say, na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate / parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. "The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, but He has so many energies which do everything for Him, and those energies act so perfectly that everything seems to be taking place automatically." That is God. (Even then, Brahma does not actually create the material elements. Lord Visnu or Krsna supplies the material ingredients, and Brahma just fashions and assembles them to form the universe.) Question: Can it be recommended that the book "Process of Deity Worship" by BBT be used to assist the householders in Deity worship? Giriraj Swami: There are many books that can assist householders in Deity worship. The Nectar of Devotion gives instructions about Deity worship, as do the Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Caitanya-caritamrta. But if one is actually serious about worshiping the Deity, the Deity has to be installed. Then one must worship the Deity according to the rules and regulations. One must be twice initiated as a brahmana to worship an installed Deity, and one must follow the rules and regulations--just as we read of Advaita Acarya, the ideal householder. One should follow the same rules and regulations at home as in the temple. So if one is actually serious and able, one must follow the standard process. Otherwise, Deities that are not installed may be like pictures. To a picture you can offer as much as you like: you can offer a flower, you can offer incense, you can offer arati, you can offer whatever you can. So an uninstalled Deity may be considered the same as a picture in the house. Of course, for the sake of show if one wants to keep Deities so that others may think, "Oh, he is very advanced!" that's something else. But if one is actually serious about making advancement in spiritual life, one has to begin by following the regulative principles, chanting Hare Krsna, sixteen rounds, taking initiation, and actually becoming qualified to worship the Deity. Then one can really make advancement. And certainly the GBC approved guidelines in the Deity worship book can help. Question: If one cooks meat in the house and serves the family and then comes and works in the temple, is there karma? Giriraj Swami: If the woman cooks meat and serves the family because the family insists on eating meat, she is implicated in the sinful activity of animal slaughter. Now, when she comes to the temple and does voluntary devotional service, she gets spiritual credit. You cannot say that because she is cooking meat at home she can't come to the temple. It is better to come to the temple and do some service even if one cannot follow all of the rules and regulations at home. Sometimes the woman is in an awkward position if the husband is not Krsna conscious, unfortunately. Still, Krsna knows the sincerity of the person, so if she sincerely wants to serve Krsna, even if by circumstances she is forced for some time to do something which is not congenial, Krsna will appreciate her desire to become Krsna conscious and He will help her. Of course, one should not develop the offensive mentality of thinking that, "I can do all nonsense at home and then come to the temple and chant Hare Krsna and do some service to nullify my sinful reactions so I can go on with my sinful activities." We should never think like that; that is very offensive. Rather, we should think that we must stop our sinful activities and engage in the service of the Lord: then the service will be effective. If one is trying to give up sinful activities, but due to circumstances or bad association or previous conditioning one is not able to give up sinful activities all at once, still one can endeavor to give up the sinful activities and at the same time engage in devotional service. That will help one advance. Question: Is there any harm if we happen to worship the Deity of Lord Krsna at home? Giriraj Swami: Generally, worshiping the Deities is beneficial if one worships according to the rules and regulations. But if one worships and commits offenses--of course, even if one worships and commits offenses by accident one can still improve. Still, to protect oneself from offenses one may begin with the worship of the most merciful Panca-tattva or Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Hare Krsna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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