The Divine Name-Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Part-2 By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji

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Radhe Krishna To All,

 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived only for 48 years. The first twelve years of his life

he spent in playing pranks just as Krishna had. The next twelve years of his

life he shut himself in a room with few friends and performed Namasankirtan

(singing the divine name of the Lord). The next twelve years he visited various

Holy places. It was during these wanderings that he visited Sri Rangam in the

South. And, the last twelve years of his life was spent in solitude in a cave at

Puri.

 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's disciples Sanathana Goswami and Roopa Goswami were busy

authoring books. They found no peace till they converted the gushing up thoughts

into words. It is only through them do we learn the life history of the great

Incarnation (Avatar) Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

Mahaprabhu's disciple Nityananda was deeply concerned about the way the world

was moving. People were living with false values. There were no genuine Masters

to guide them and the innocent/ignorant people were being caught in the net of

quack Gurus. His Master Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had shut himself up in a room with

a small circle of close friends and was doing Namasankirtan. Nityananda desired

to bring to the Master's notice the need for guidance to the ignorant who were

being led astray with false values. He wished that his Guru would come out of

closed doors and take a look at the world. But how can one advise the Guru? How

can one instruct the Guru to do this or that? After much thinking he decided to

carry out this work surreptitiously.

 

One day, Nityananda informed Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that a Sadhu had invited them

for lunch. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the invitation and went to the Sadhu's

place along with Nityananda. When they reached the place he found a board

bearing the name of the Sadhu and the Ashram. They went in and were received

warmly by a person who wore a long beard and matted hair on his head. A personal

attendant of the Sadhu began to serve them food. Nityananda began to eat

happily. He did not seem to be the least concerned about their host or the

surroundings. The Sadhu asked them, " What would you like to have? - Ganga water

('Ganga teertham') or Bliss ('Ãnandam')? "

 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could not understand the words of the Sadhu. He turned to

Nityananda and said, " Nitai! I understand the term 'Holy Ganga water' but what

does he mean by Bliss ('Anandam')? "

Nityananda said, " Company of women! And, by Ganga water he does not mean the

Holy Ganga water but wine! " Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was aghast. " What! " he cried

out. And, taking hold of Nityananda's hand he rushed out. Panting heavily he ran

away from that place as quickly as the legs would carry him. He was seething

with anger.

 

Calming down the Guru Nityananda next led him to his (Mahaprabhu's) disciple

Advaitacharya's home. Advaitacharya welcomed them with great joy and offered

them seat. Nityananda said to him, " Our Gurudev is hungry. Please offer some

food. "

 

At once, Advaitacharya said to him, " Oh, I have not yet performed my daily

rites. I have to complete it and then cook food. It would take sometime! "

 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu jumped up from his seat and taking hold of Nityananda's

hand walked out of Advaitacharya's home.

 

The clever Nityananda had driven home the message! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu realized

what Nityananda was trying to convey to him. First he had showed him that the

world was being fooled by quack Gurus who claimed to show the path of

spirituality. And, secondly, in the name of adhering to the words of the

scriptures men failed to recognize its end purpose. Advaitacharya was so deeply

drowned in the performance of daily rites prescribed by the Scriptures that he

asked his Guru to wait for hours for offering him food!

 

We find reports from many parts of the world that someone crowing himself a

'Guru' mesmerizes people in large number and harms them. Caught under the spell

of mass hypnotism people dance to the tune of this 'self-crowned' Guru. People

do not hesitate even to consume poison and die! Such questionable incidents have

begun to occur in India, too. On the one side innumerable dangerous 'Gurus' have

cropped up who play on the innocence and ignorance of the people and on the

other side are people who are immersed in ritualism without understanding the

real import behind them. Let us say that a person has been asked to clean a

glass so that it could be used to drink water. The person keeps washing the

glass with no end in sight to the job given. He goes on scrubbing it. On and on

he goes. What was the purpose behind the instruction to clean the glass? - Only

to use it to drink water. But what does he do? He does not bring the cleaning to

a close so that it could

be used to drink water. Similarly, the Scriptures speak of the various rituals

only to purify your mind so that through the purified mind the Lord could be

attained.

 

!!! Will Continue !!!

 

Regards

 

Please Chant

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

 

and be happy

 

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