Gaura Purnima Class 1/3: HH Jayapataka Swami

[Guest guest]

Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!

 

March 3, 2007

Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.5.32

Speaker: HH Jayapataka Swami

 

 

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

names 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 same verse is quoted by Krsnadasa Kaviraja in the

Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Three, verse 52. His Divine Grace

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has given the following commentary on

this verse. "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 Gaurahari.

 

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

Krsna-varnam 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 enjoying transcendental bliss by chanting and remembering His name

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

gospel. Varnayati means 'utters' or 'describes.' 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 that 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 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.

 

(Kaunteya, good quote for our ministry. Note it.)

 

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

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

Krsna Caitanya has appeared 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.' "

 

(Everybody is more and more attracted to Lord Caitanya's lotus feet here in

Mayapur dham?)

 

[Haribol!]

 

(Let's give a big "hummm" like humming bees. Hummm . . .)

 

[Hummmmm . . .]

 

I'm supposed to speak about the lila of Lord Caitanya's appearance. This

pastime of Lord Caitanya's appearance is very special. First of all, the

situation in Navadvipa was very unusual. We know that India is a land of

dharma, but we also find in the Bhagavatam that there are different kinds of

dharma. There is sanatana-dharma, bhagavat-dharma, the real internal

principle of religion, but there is also adharma, irreligion, which we find

now increasingly around the world. There is also apadharma, which is

something like dharma. Chala-dharma, fake dharma, kind of imitation dharma.

Apadharma, chala-dharma, one more was there, I forgot. Upadharma is like

secondary religious principles. There are others, too. So there are these

different kinds of superficial things.

 

Like people may do hatha yoga, some are comparing it is a religion, but they

are just doing it for good health. Not everyone is doing it for a spiritual

purpose, although it was originally meant to be a basis for spiritual

advancement. So like that there are so many different types of practices

which are actually not the real thing.

 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to give the real thing, but in Navadvipa at that

time, people were superficially very religious, but actually they were just

materialistic. People were worshiping more devas and devi, rather than

worshiping Krsna and Visnu. They were putting . . . .

 

This is Sri Madhava dasa, he is Prabhupada disciple. Maybe he wants to sit

in a chair. Someone wants to sacrifice? You're happy?

 

And people were marrying their daughters, big festivals, that was considered

like very deep religious ceremony, marriages. Of course it is an important

ceremony, but it is not the highest principle of spiritual life. What they

were doing is OK, it is one thing to marry your daughter, they would put on

a big festival and they would show that their daughter's was the richest,

nicest marriage in the town to show off that their family is more

aristocratic, more glorious, more spiritual, more religious. People wanted

to be known as a religious person, but it wasn't spiritual, it was just for

name and fame.

 

Then someone else got defeated. "He did a better wedding than mine. I must

defeat him, but I have no more daughters, what to do? So I marry Siva and

Parvati." Then he put on a bigger wedding for Siva and Parvati murtis.

 

Then someone said, "He defeated me, I must get him back! I will do a bigger

wedding, but I have no more daughters and he already did Siva and Parvati. I

should do something new, something never done before. I will marry a male

and female dog, kukur-vivaha, dog marriage." Where in sastra does it say you

should marry dogs? Another guy, "He defeated me again. Now I must get him

again. I will marry a female cat and a male cat." Like this it was going on.

 

The Vaisnavas said, "What is all this? What does this have to do with

religion or spiritual life? It is their ego trip?" People would make big

pujas to get material benefit, but hardly anyone was worshiping Visnu. No

one anyone was chanting the Holy Names. In fact they banned chanting the

Holy Name. They said it would destroy the power of the Holy Name. Only time

you were allowed to chant was when you were bathing in the Ganges. The

Ganges was pure. Otherwise your impure state wasn't appropriate for

chanting.

 

There are so many examples of how the material world in Navadvipa was

increasing, although superficially very religious, very religious. Really,

zero, point one-one something, point zero-zero-one. In the name of religion

they did fire yajna for their pet cat and dog. It wasn't really meant to

please Visnu. Yajnas are yajno vai visnuh, for the pleasure of Visnu. Theirs

was yajno vai aham. "Yajna is for me, to make me famous." So that was the

problem.

 

So Advaita Acarya, Haridas Thakur, Srivasa Thakur, they were praying for

Krsna to come to correct all these anomalies. Then Krsna agreed to come on

the day of . . . . About thirteen months before today, Jagannath Misra had

a dream that Krsna was in his mind, went to his heart, transferred over to

Sacimata's heart, entered into her womb. They didn't actually have

relations. At that time it was immaculate conception, the spiritual transfer

where the Lord entered from Jagannath Misra and went to Sacimata.

 

Sacimata found that she was expecting a baby. Her husband was noticing that

she became so beautiful. She looked like a goddess of fortune. People were

just walking up to him, "Here, my dear brahmana, take some money." He didn't

have to beg for alms. People would just walk up and hand him money. He was

never so rich before because goddess of fortune had come into his house.

Everything was very auspicious.

 

He told this to his wife, "Everything is becoming very auspicious. Oh, my

dear wife, people are just coming giving me money. What does this mean?"

 

She said, "Maybe there is some great soul in my womb making everything

auspicious. I am seeing heavenly beings coming and praying to me." The devas

were coming and praying to Lord Caitanya:

 

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

 

jaya jaya sri caitanya, jaya nityanada

jaya advaita candra, jaya gaura bhakta vrnda

 

"Gauranga, my dear Lord Krsna, we understand you are appearing in this age

of Kali as Lord Gauranga. In every yuga you come as an incarnation. You come

and you give out mukti, liberation, but it is very rare for you to give out

love of Krsna. But in this incarnation, we understand you are going to give

out freely love of Godhead."

 

How many here want love of Godhead?

 

[Haribol!]

 

How many want liberation?

 

"We are your devotees from the heavenly planets. We came here to beg for

your blessings. We don't want material blessings. Being residents of the

heavenly planets, we have enough material . . ." (Bangla patha hoche

kitchene. Kitchene giye bangla patha hoche. Bengali class in the kitchen.)

"In the heavenly planets we have so much sense gratification. We've got it

up to the neck, so much sense gratification that we have no material

problems. Only two problems: one problem is sometimes the demons come and

attack us to conquer heaven and enjoy it. Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, Bali

Maharaja, many have attacked us. Sometimes we are victorious, sometimes they

defeat us. this is a problem. Another problem is that so much sense

gratification, apsaras, handsome devas, nice rivers, gardens, mystical

powers, so much sense gratification, we forget to serve you. We forget your

loving service. We are deprived from your love because of too much sense

gratification."

 

How many want too much sense gratification?

 

If you do, you may end up in heaven. From there you come back down here

again. Prabhupada said many of his followers would go to heaven. It is a

danger if we are not focused on serving Krsna.

 

So these devas who came, they were focused, they were fed up. "Enough! We

want love of Godhead!"

 

Love of God, krsna-prema ki jai!

 

"And you give it, so please don't let us. . . . You are going to appear on

this planet, the human beings are going to get all the mercy, don't deprive

us of this mercy. We also want to get love for Krsna. Please Gauranga!

Gauranga! Gauranga!"

 

Then Lord Caitanya would make their little shadows visible. Mother Saci

would say, "What's this? Who's in my room?

 

ugra viram maha-visnum jvalantam sarvato-mukham

nrsimham bhisanam bhadram mrtyor-mrtyum namamy aham

 

Nrsimha protect me! some evil spirits are coming here! Evil spirits be gone!

Om Nrsimhaya Phat!" [Laughter] They're gone.

 

The devas ran away. "We are supposed to be invisible to human beings. Why

they could see us? This Gauranga was paying games with us."

 

So the two, Sacimata, Jagannath Misra, they are comparing their notes. They

are saying, "Something very special is happening." Now if the baby doesn't

come, nine months and so many days, immediately they want to do cesarean.

But he was in the womb thirteen months, no cesarean. That is why he had to

appear five hundred years ago. [Laughter] Then he came just at the right

time. Just like Prabhupada, he went to the west at the right time.

 

The Holy Name was appearing. The day of Gaura Purnima, it was a lunar

eclipse. Today also there is a lunar eclipse, three in the morning. Those

who want to get up early and bathe in the Ganges, you can go at three in the

morning and be in the water. Nice and cool. That time the water is warmer

than the air, maybe. This was a lunar eclipse just at moonrise, sunset.

Everyone was inside the water chanting: "Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! Hare

Krsna! Hare Krsna! Krsna Krsna! Hare Hare! Hare Rama! Hare Rama! Rama Rama!

Hare Hare!" Everyone was chanting because the system was when the eclipse

comes, you get contaminated. So if you're in the Ganges, then you counteract

is. So thousands of people went to the Ganges. Thousands of people were

chanting, "Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! Hare Krsna! Haribol!"

 

So they were wondering why they call this an unlucky day. Srivasa Thakur

said, "This is the best day in the year. Everyone is singing and dancing.

Everyone is chanting the Holy Names in the holy river, very auspicious."

They started dancing in ecstasy. Everyone was chanting.

 

Meanwhile, at the moonrise, Lord Caitanya appeared. Some say, "Why he would

appear at an inauspicious time like an eclipse?" The eclipse, you don't need

the moon when he appears because he is more brilliant than millions of

moons. So Lord Caitanya appeared and the news came that Jagannath Misra and

Sacimata had a boy. He is very beautiful. He is golden color. So all the

brahmana ladies started to come, putting kusa grass on his forehead,

sprinkling him with rice covered with turmeric powder, aksata. It was a

happy festivity.

 

Here comes Bhakti Vikasa Maharaja. I'm supposed to surrender my seat as soon

as they come. He's got a hundred meters.

 

So the devas and devis came from the heavenly planets to see Lord Caitanya

disguised as brahmana ladies. Today is the auspicious day when the Lord

appeared at the Yoga Pita. You are all blessed to be here.

 

It is said that if you bathe in the Ganges today, you get love of Krsna, but

please be careful. On this day, we have lost already two devotees, maybe

more over the years. I personally saved two from drowning on Gaura Purnima.

If you don't know swimming very well, don't follow the good swimmers and go

out in the middle. The Ganges is fifteen meters deep. You cannot die. Nobody

can die. I will not [unclear]. So be very careful. Don't go in the morning,

you'll get attacked with the colors. Holi is going on outside. After twelve

o'clock they will stop, twelve, one. But you go in the afternoon, take your

dip.

 

OK, Maharaja. Where is he? Ready? We'll do a little kirtan while he comes.

 

Thank you very much.

 

[To be continued with HH Bhakti Vikasa Maharaja's class]