What are you doing Prabhu in order to get into the Gaura Gaura Gaura Purnima mood?

[krsna]

 

 

Gaura Purnima is one week away, the spiritual highlight of the year for followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

What are you doing in order to to receive the unlimited blessings of the Golden Avatar into your heart and soul??? /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Gauranga Bolo Haribol!

 

[krsna]

Yuga Dharma

 

Self-realization for the current age.

 

 

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. (srimad bhagavatam 11.5.32)

 

In this age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari. (brhan naradiya purana 3.8.126)

 

Lord Caitanya said: "In as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the Earth, My holy name will be sung." (caitanya bhagavat)

 

My dear king, although Kali Yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. (S.B.12.3.51)

 

Whatever result was obtained in Satya Yuga by meditating on Visnu, in Treta Yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dwapara Yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali Yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. (S.B.12.3.52)

 

The fundamental religious system in the age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Unless empowered by Krsna, one cannot propagate the sankirtana movement. (caitanya caritamrta 7.11)

 

Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens. (C.c. Madhya 22.107)

 

KRSNA & CAITANYA, IDENTICAL

 

Lord Krsna said, "In Kali Yuga, when the sankirtan movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Saci Devi. By the Ganges shore in Navadvip in a brahmana’s house, I shall appear as the best of the brahmanas." (vayu purana)

 

Peaceful at heart, His neck long and His complexion fair, the Supreme Lord will appear as Gauranga, surrounded by His devotees. (agni purana)

 

Lord Krsna said, "My plenary portions can establish the principles of religion for each age. No one but Me, however, can bestow Vraja prema, the kind of loving service performed by the residents of Vraja. (C.c. Adi 3.26)"

 

Lord Krsna said, "Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear in the Kali Yuga to start the sankirtan movement." (brahma yamala)

 

It was also related by Gargamuni, the priest who performed the name giving ceremony for Lord Krsna five thousand years ago, "This boy has appeared before in three colors: red, white and yellow…" (S.B.10.8.13)Yellow in this case represents Lord Caitanya, who appears in Kali Yuga with a golden complexion.

 

Lord Caitanya is directly Krsna as proven by the voluminous Vedic scriptures. Krsna in the garb of a devotee descended in Kali Yuga as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

O most munificent incarnation! You are Krsna Himself appearing as Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krsna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You. (sri gauranga pranama)

 

DIVINE BIRTH

 

On the most auspicious day of February 18, 1486, when the moon was in eclipse, the Lord took birth. At this time all of India went to the holy rivers and started to chant the holy names of the Lord, as was the custom on such occurrences of an eclipse. Understanding that the Lord had appeared, demigods from the heavenly regions descended to greet the Lord and offer their obeisances. From Brahmaloka came Brahma and Saraswati; from Mount Kailas came Lord Siva and Uma; from Indraloka came King Indra and Indrani. Taking human forms, these divine beings mingled with the villagers who came with abundant gifts to present to the newborn and His parents.

 

The scene was transcendentally chaotic as musicians; actors, singers and poets engaged themselves. The seen was such that no one could recognize who was coming and who was going. It was such a festive occasion.

 

The Lord appeared to His parents Jagannatha Misra and Saci Devi with a golden body that outshone millions of suns. The villagers were so amazed that the child was so beautiful that they continually gazed upon His form like bees licking honey. The Lord’s parents were greatly immersed in parental love for the Lord that there seemed nothing else in the world. Elsewhere, in Santipur, Sri Adwaita understanding that the Lord had taken birth, danced with Haridas Thakur chanting: "Hari, Hari, Hari…"

 

It was in such a grand spectacle that the Lord decided to appear.

 

INFANCY AND YOUTH

 

On His name giving ceremony, His grandfather, Nilambar Chakravarti, named the Lord Visvambhara. The neighboring ladies named Him Gaura for his golden complexion. Sita Thakurani, the wife of Adwaita Acharya, named the Lord Nimai because he was born under a neem tree. Other’s named Him Gaura-Hari because He looked like a golden Krsna. Sita Thakurani upon beholding the Lord said to herself that except for a difference in color, the child looked exactly like Nandananda, the son of Nanda Maharaja.

 

When the Lord’s grandfather read His chart, he was amazed. All the reading indicated a great personality. Upon the body of the Lord were the markings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

Hearing about His son’s extraordinary chart reading filled Jagannatha Misra with bliss that he didn’t know how to repay the brahmanas for their generous readings.

 

As Indian custom goes, when a child is small he is placed infront of some articles such as gold, scripture etc. When little Nimai was placed down, he immediately went for the Srimad Bhagavatam.

 

When the Lord was able to crawl, He found a snake and started to play with it. Upon seeing this, the family members started to panic. They immediately took Nimai away, although Nimai was still trying to touch the snake. That snake was no other than Ananta Sesa.

 

When the Lord was small He used to incessantly cry and would only stop when He heard the chanting of the holy name. In such a way, the Lord induced others to chant the holy name of the Lord even in His infancy.

 

MORE YOUTH PASTIMES

 

Once two thieves came upon Nimai and wanted to steal the jewels He was wearing. Inducing Him near them the two thieves called Nimai who replied, "O.K." Upon the head of the thieves the Lord went for a ride. Soon the thieves came upon Nimai’s home thinking it their hide out. Filled with fear, they ran away.

 

As Nimai grew, He became more naughty. He would steal from others, pick fights with other kids, pinch little babies etc. When the villagers came to complain, little Nimai would act as if He knew nothing they said. Showing anger, mother Saci would ask the Lord if He didn’t have enough in His home. Once Nimai started to eat clay instead of sweets. When mother Saci saw this she rebuked her child. But Nimai asked what was the difference? Being intelligent, mother Saci told Nimai that sweets are nutritious whereas clay is not defeating the mayavada philosophy of "all is one". Another time a pilgrim brahmana came to the Misra home. Staying as a guest, the brahmana started to cook and then offer His food to His deity, but before He could, Nimai ate the offering. This happened for three times. The Lord’s older brother, Visvarupa pleaded with the brahmana to cook for a third time. Finally at night the brahmana was offering boga to the Lord when Nimai appeared. He told the brahmana that his calling the Lord was so great that He had to come. Wonder-struck, the brahmana offered the Lord prayers upon beholding His form. The brahmana became a resident of Navadvip and regularly visited Lord Nimai.

 

NIMAI THE SCHOLAR

 

By the age of ten little Nimai was proficient in all the scriptures. No one could defeat Him in a debate. By age eleven, he had opened His own school of grammar. Students from all over flocked to become His pupil.

 

It was around this time that the Lord’s father passed on to the spiritual world. This sudden shock placed the entire family into disarray. Now, Nimai was the only companion of His widowed mother.

 

Seeing that being a householder without a wife is no life at all, the Lord asked permission from His mother to marry. Finding a suitable match in Laxmipriya, mother Saci arranged the marriage of the Lord with the daughter of Vallabha Acharya. At this time the Lord met Isvara Puri, the disciple of Madhavendra Puri, a great devotee of the Lord. The two were so happy to see one another that they forgot external consciousness. Each day for an hour or two the Lord talked with Isvara Puri. Once, the Lord decided to go to East Bengal. While the Lord was away with His students, Laxmipriya was so distraught with separation from her Lord that she passed away. Returning home, the Lord was shocked at the news.

 

It was around this time that young Nimai defeated the great digvijayi, Keshava Kashmiri. It so happened that Keshava Kashmiri was a favorite of the goddess of Learning, mother Saraswati. Being blessed by her, he traveled all over, defeating everyone, that is until He approached the Lord. Showing him mercy, the Lord revealed His identity to the digvijayi. From then one the digvijayi was a devotee.

 

JOURNEY TO GAYA

 

After being remarried to Visnupriya, daughter of Sanatana Misra, the Lord went to Gaya on the pretext of giving pinda to His forefathers. This journey would forever change His life. In Gaya, the Lord once again met Isvara Puri who initiated the Lord into the holy name. A big transformation then occurred. The Lord fully manifested love of Godhead. No more a practicing scholar, Nimai was a lover of God. After returning home, the Lord started to perform kirtan in the home of His devotee, Srivas Pandit. Everyday the devotees would come with the Lord and relish the sweet kirtans held all through the night. Soon the Lord was joined with His spiritual brother Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda was born in the village of Ekachakra in the district of Birbhum. He was the only son of Hadai Pandit and Padmavati Devi. As a child Nitai would always perform Krsna Lila with His friends. These performances would amaze the villagers who would ask, "Nitai, how do you know all these details about Lord Krsna’s pastimes.I was apart of them", replied Nitai.

 

Along with Lord Caitanya and the rest who danced in the Home of Srivas was Adwaita Acharya. It was upon the request of Adwaita Prabhu that the Lord decided to descend to Earth. Seeing that the world was overburdened with materialists who didn’t know their own welfare, Adwaita appealed to the Lord. Sitting on the shore of the Ganges, Adwaita worshiped salagram-sila with tulasi leafs. Day after day He did this, until one day His cries were heard by the Lord in Vaikuntha.

 

SANKIRTAN AND RENUNCIATION

 

Holding daily sankirtan in the streets with His devotees, the Lord encouraged others to chant the holy name and become devotees.

 

Once, Lord Caitanya told His devotees to go out and ask everyone to chant the holy name of the Lord. Taking this order on their heads, Lord Nityananda and Haridas Thakur went out on their mission. Soon, they found two brothers who were formerly brahmanas but later became the lowest of the low by performing abominable acts. The two devotees tried to induce them to chant but the brothers only chased them. Later the devotees tried again, this time one of the brothers hit Nitai in the head. Hearing this news, Lord Caitanya rushed to kill the culprits, but Nitai forbade Him. Receiving the mercy of the Lord Nityananda, the two brothers became devotees.

 

In another incident there was a Muslim magistrate that hated to hear the holy name. Once his men broke a mrdhanga and ordered all chanting to stop. Upon hearing this, the Lord formed a great riot consisting of millions. Soon the Kazi understood his mistake and surrendered to the Lord as a servant.

 

Later, at the age of twenty-four, the Lord took sannyasa from Keshava Bharati. This brought both joy and sadness in the eyes of the devotees. After taking Sannyasa, the Lord wanted to go to Vrndavana, but he was tricked in to going to Adwaita’s home in Santipur. Afterwards, the Lord went to Jagannatha Puri.

 

JAGANNATHA PURI

 

Arriving in Jagannatha Puri, the Lord went to see Lord Jagannatha. Seeing the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu fainted in love of Godhead. In was in this way that Sarvabhauma Battacharya met the Lord. He ordered his attendants to take the Lord to his home where he did some test to find out whether the symptoms the Lord was showing were genuine. Understanding that the symptoms were real, the Battacharya tried to bring the Lord to consciousness, but nothing worked. Finally, the Lord’s associates arrived chanting the holy name. Hearing the maha-mantra, Lord Caitanya regained consciousness. The Battacharya then welcomed his guest and fed them maha-parsada from the Jagannatha temple.

 

Later, the Battacharya debated with His brother-in-law on whether Lord Caitanya was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Gopinatha was a devotee of the Lord; he presented concise statements from the Vedic scriptures proving that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Lord. Still not believing, the Battacharya wanted to instruct the young sannyasi on Vedanta. For seven consecutive days, he lectured and for seven days the Lord listened but without a response. Finally the Battacharya asked why the Lord said nothing. The Lord told Him that he fully understood Vedanta but the interpretations of the Battacharya were hiding the true meanings of the Vedanta. Lord Caitanya then proved with superhuman accuracy the true meaning of the Vedanta and also showed mercy to the Battacharya who then understood the Lord to be the Supreme Person.

 

RAMANANDA ROY

 

Lord Caitanya on the advice of the Battacharya went to see the governor of Madras. Upon meeting each on the banks of the Godavari, they both felt transcendental bliss. The Lord and His servant embraced one other with transcendental love, bringing amazement upon onlookers. Seeing that there were those who were of a low mentality, the Lord and His servant came back to external consciousness. The soon scheduled to meet in a secluded place where they could converse freely about Krsna katha without any intrusions. Later in the day the Lord asked Ramananda Roy what was the goal of human life. He replied with quotes showing that performing one’s duty in accord with the Vedic conjunction was the prime means to attain the Supreme. Lord Caitanya replied with, "Go on further". Then He said that karma yoga was higher, renunciation, renunciation with knowledge until he arrived at pure devotional service following the different moods: servitude, being a friend, parent, and conjugal lover.

 

The Lord made him go on further until he described the intense mood of Srimati Radharani in separation from the Lord. After being satisfied with Ramananda Roy’s answers, the Lord revealed Himself as the combined forms of Lord krsna and Srimati Radharani.

 

By His devotion to the Lord, all of the citizens of Ramananda Roy’s district became devotees.

 

THE LORD TOURS SOUTH INDIA

 

After leaving Ramananda Roy’s district of Vidyanagara, the Lord visited important holy site such as Gautami-ganga, Mallikarjuna, Ahovala-nrisinga, Siddhavata, Skanda-kshetra etc.

 

From Papanasanam the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived in Sri Rangam. He spent four months in Sri Rangam having darshan of Ranganath Swami, a deity of Lord Krsna cherished by the inhabitants of Sri Rangam. While at Sri Rangam, the Lord missed Lord Jagannatha, so He carved deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subadra with His own hands and worshiped them.

 

The Lord met with Vyenkata Bhatta, the head priest of the Ranganath Temple, his brothers’ Tirumalla and Prabodhananda Saraswati and his son, later to be known as Gopala Bhatta Goswami of the Six Goswamis of Vrndavana. The Lord also blessed one devotee who was studying the Bhagavad Gita. Although he could not read, this brahmana was so intensely weeping upon looking at the Gita. Others would ridicule him for turning the book the wrong way and trying to read. Once Lord Caitanya came upon the brahmana and asked why he cried. The brahmana replied that he cried upon seeing the love the Lord has for his devotees, that he would personally become the chariot driver of Arjuna. The Lord then embraced him and declared the brahmana the true knower of the Gita.

 

The Lord, while at Sri Rangam, converted some Buddhist.

 

Then the Lord returned to Orissa to give special mercy to King Prataparudra, who swept the track on which Lord Jagannatha goes in procession, with a golden broom.

 

BENARES

 

Lord Caitanya, while on His tour of South India, stopped at Benares, one of India’s prominent places of learning and devotion. At the time Benares was mostly filled with followers of Shankaracharya’s teachings of impersonalism. While in Benares, Lord Caitanya stayed at two devotee’s homes, Tapan Misra and Chandrashekhar Acharya. While there the Lord also met with Srila Sanatana Goswami and instructed Him for two months on devotional service. Sanatana was the elder brother of Rupa, whom the Lord had previously instructed in Prayag.

 

After instructing Srila Sanatana on confidential devotional service, the Lord ordered him to go to Vrndavana with his brother Rupa Goswami, where they may reestablish the lost holy sites.

 

Before this, the Lord accompanied by Sanatana, Tapan Misra and Chandrashekhar and others went out and performed sankirtan chanting: hare krsna, hare krsna, krsna krsna, hare hare, hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare. In Benares, there were many that were envious of the Lord; they considered His chanting and dancing low class. This brought the devotees pain, so they approached Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who was completely unaffected. Upon being invited by a brahmana who was hosting many sannyasis, the Lord went to see the mayavadi sannyasis. Showing His ability as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord defeated all the false speculations of the sannyasis and converted them into devotees of the Lord.

 

FINAL LILA OR PASTIMES

 

Lord Caitanya’s Glories are inexhaustible. Not even Ananta Sesa, who holds the entire material creation on His heads, and who has a thousand mouths, can adequately describe Lord Caitanya, for His glories are always expanding; there is no end to them.

 

After returning from His tour of South India in 1516, Lord Caitanya stayed for eighteen years in Jagannatha Puri, Orissa. There, for the first Six years, He was tirelessly engaged in preaching and sankirtan. At this Juncture, the Lord was thirty years old. Accompanied by His followers, who flocked in the hundreds, the Lord would go out everyday and hold mass sankirtan in the streets of Jagannatha Puri.

 

Year in and year out, the Lord’s devotees like: the Six Goswamis of Vrndavana, Haridas Thakur, Srivas, Lord Nityananda, Sri Adwaita, Gadadhara, Svarupa Damodara, Tapan Misra and a host of others would come see the Lord. During this time, one of the Lord’s beloved devotees, Srila Haridas Thakur, passed away. He foresaw the future departure of the Lord and so wanted to leave before, so as not to experience immense lamentation. Fixing his eyes upon His Lord and chanting the holy names, Haridas left this world in a blissful mood.

 

For six consecutive years the Lord and His devotees engaged in sankirtan, but then in 1522 at the age of thirty-six, the Lord halted sankirtan and left it onto His senior able devotees. His mood changed and He completely went into ecstatic trance in love of Godhead. He started to fully experience love of Godhead in the mood of Srimati Radharani.

 

ASCENT

 

Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not one of the living entities, who, at the time of death, accept different bodies in conjunction with the law of karma. His body is totally sat-cit-ananda, eternally full of knowledge and bliss. When He descends, He does so by His spiritual potency, and as such; He is not affected by the material world as the conditioned soul is. There is no difference between the Lord’s body, name, fame, etc. As the Lord appears by His divine potency, he also leaves in the same manner, never leaving anything behind for the dogs and worms to eat.

 

His intimate devotees did not openly discuss Lord Caitanya’s divine disappearance. Being tied by a network of divine love for the Lord, His devotees could not bear to discuss his disappearance. It was too painful for the devotees to see their Lord leave their presence (Although, as the Lord says to Narada, "O Narada, I am not in Vaikuntha nor am I in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees glorify My name, form, qualities and transcendental pastimes.") In essence, the Lord may have physically, by the perception of the eye, left His devotees, but as he declares, "I am always with my devotees in all circumstances."

 

[Guest guest]

Lamenting!

[krsna]

 

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

"My dear king, although Kali Yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. (S.B.12.3.51) "

 

I don't have access to the SB - can someone please post the sanskrit of this verse? I have found that many times "Hare Krsna Mahamantra" is put in the translation but does not actually exist in the sanskrit.

 

[krsna]

Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.51-2

 

kaler dosa-nidhe rajann

asti hy eko mahan gunah

kirtanad eva krsnasya

mukta-sangah param vrajet

krte yad dhyayato visnum

tretayam yajato makhaih

dvapare paricaryayam

kalau tad dhari-kirtanat

 

"The most important factor in this Age of Kali, which is an ocean of faults, is that one can be free from all contamination and become eligible to enter the kingdom of God simply by chanting the holy names. The self-realization that was achieved in the Satya millennium by meditation, in the Treta millennium by the performance of different sacrifices, and in the Dvapara millennium by worship of Lord Krsna can be achieved in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the holy names, Hare Krishna."