CC Madhya 16.137 – Gadadhara Pandita and Sri Chaitanya—Going to Vrindavan

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, yesterday was the disappearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita, one of the members of the Pancha tattva. He is the incarnation of the internal potency of Lord Krishna. And in Krishna-lila He was Srimati Radharani. And today, we will read and discuss Gadadhara Pandita’s extraordinary love for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This chapter is called “The Lord’s Attempt to go to Vṛndāvana,” because this episode took place in the context of Lord Chaitanya’s attempting to go to Vrindavan. So within the narration there are instructions on how one should go to Vrindavan and not go to Vrindavan.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

We read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā Chapter Sixteen – “The Lord’s Attempt to go to Vṛndāvana.” Now, Lord Chaitanya had the desire to go to Vrindavan quite soon after He arrived in Jagannatha Puri—after accepting sannyasa, the renounced order of life. But when King Pratāparudra, the ruler of the state of Orissa, heard that the Lord wanted to leave, he requested Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, who was the chief priest in Jagannatha Puri and Ramananda Rāya who had previously been the Governor of Madras, but who King Pratāparudra had allowed to come to Jagannatha Puri to be closer to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So he told them that, “The Lord wants to leave Puri and go to Vrindavan, and without the presence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu my Kingdom has no value, so please find some way to keep Him in Puri.” Thereafter, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself consulted Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Ramananda Rāya about His desire to go to Vrindavan, and He asked for their permission.

Now, Lord Chaitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead—and He is independent, He is free to do as He likes. But still, He would always take permission from His confidential associates, and He would not go anywhere without their permission. So, they began a series of ploys to keep Him in Jagannatha Puri. They said “Yes, you can go to Vrindavan, but first you should stay for Ratha-yatra, and then you can go in Kartik.” So Lord Chaitanya agreed and He waited for Ratha-yatra, and when Kartik came they said, “It is too cold in the Vrindavan during Kartik, you should wait until the Spring, until the Dola-yatra. So in this way, His departure kept getting delayed, but then finally He fulfilled all their conditions and they felt they couldn’t really keep Him any longer. So, I will describe now, or I will read the description of his departure from Jagannatha Puri and the beginning of His journey on the way to Vrindavan. And the King was a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, so he ordered all of his people to give Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all facility on His journey.

TEXT 117

When the King heard that the Lord was leaving that evening, he immediately made arrangements for some elephants with small tents on their backs to be brought there. Then all the ladies of the palace got on the elephants.

TEXT 118

All these ladies went to the road the Lord was taking and remained there in a line. That evening, the Lord departed with His devotees.

TEXT 119

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the bank of the river Citrotpalā to take His bath, all the queens and ladies of the palace offered their obeisances to Him.

TEXT 120

Upon seeing the Lord, they all felt themselves overwhelmed with love of Godhead, and, tears pouring from their eyes, they began to chant the holy name, “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!”

COMMENT

So, just to test your listening and remembering, what did I just read? King Pratāparudra arranged for many elephants with small tents, and then the ladies of the palace got on the elephants, and then the elephants stood in a row waiting for Lord Chaitanya to come. And then what happened? This is so important; you have to listen. This is so important; half of the room is ladies; you have to hear this. Of course, you are spirit souls, but. . . “Upon seeing the Lord, they all felt themselves overwhelmed with love of Godhead, and, tears pouring from their eyes, they began to chant the holy name, “Krishna! Krishna!”

TEXT 121

There is no one as merciful as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu within all three worlds. Simply by seeing Him from a distance, one is overwhelmed with love of Godhead.

COMMENT

You didn’t have to be close; sometimes people, you have to be close, but the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is such that even from a distance, He bestowed intense love of Krishna.

TEXT 122

The Lord then got into a new boat and crossed the river. Walking in the full moonlight, He finally reached the town known as Caturdvāra.

TEXT 123

The Lord spent the night there and in the morning took His bath. At that time, remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food arrived.

COMMENT

The remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s food is extremely spiritually potent, and even today people who go to Jagannatha Puri can live just on Jagannatha’s mahā-prasāda. There are fifty-six offerings a day, huge offerings, and in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta there is a description about how powerful Lord Jagannatha’s mahā-prasāda is. Lord Chaitanya, when He was in Jagannatha Puri, He would also honor the remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s mahā-prasāda. Of course, devotees would also invite Him and want to cook for Him. But now He was traveling, there were no cooking facilities as such, so the King arranged for mahā-prasāda to come. And some of that mahā-prasāda is made in such a way that it can last for months; years without any problem.

TEXT 124

Following the King’s orders, the superintendent of the temple sent large quantities of prasādam every day, and it was carried by many persons.

TEXT 125

After accepting the prasādam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stood up and started to go, chanting the holy names, “Hari! Hari!”

TEXT 126

Rāmānanda Rāya, Mardarāja and Śrī Haricandana always went with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and rendered various services.

TEXT 127–129

Paramānanda Purī Gosvāmī, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Jagadānanda, Mukunda, Govinda, Kāśīśvara, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, Gopīnātha Ācārya, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Rāmāi, Nandāi and many other devotees accompanied the Lord. I have mentioned only the chief devotees. No one can describe the total number.

COMMENT

Actually, repeating the names of the devotees, which are the names of Krishna, because they are all servants of Krishna, Krishnadasa, is also very enlivening and purifying. In my first year after joining the Boston temple, the temple was attacked by hooligans early in the morning. We were all still asleep, and we would get up latest by five o’clock, so it may have been 2:00 in the morning, and this gang—they just broke into the temple and they started to beat up the devotees. It was a really horrible situation, and somehow we managed to call the police, and eventually they left and some of the devotees were injured. So there was a court case and one of the devotees was called as a witness. His name was Nanda Kishore, he was a very humble, simple, kind devotee. And he had never really been in a courtroom or had any experience public speaking other than maybe giving some short talks on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana where we would chant on the streets. And the gang’s lawyer was really very smart and aggressive and tricky. And so they called Nanda Kishore to the witness box, and he was so nervous, he thought he won’t be able to say anything. He was just so nervous and so intimidated. So then they asked the first question, who was present when the incident took place. So he said Satsvarupa, Murari, Giriraj, all the names of the devotees and just by reciting the names of the devotees he got so purified and so enlivened that he was ready to take on all the challenges of the lawyer. So it is good to hear these names and repeat their names. And then he answered very intelligently. The lawyer was trying to make the case that we are in a weird cult basically, so he challenged Nanda Kishore that, “Who is this Krishna? According to the dictionary He is the Hindu God of Love,” trying to liken him to the Greek God of fertility, trying to make it seem like we were a very weird sex cult. And Nanda Kishore said to the judge, “Your honor, can I cite my authority?” And he said,

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

 anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

He quoted the authority of the Brahma-saṁhitā, that Krishna, who is the Supreme Godhead, who is known as Govinda, has an eternal, blissful spiritual form. He is the origin of everything and He has no origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes. So, just by beginning with reciting the names of the devotees, Krishna gave him the strength and intelligence to reply to all the questions.

TEXT 127–129

I have mentioned only the chief devotees. No one can describe the total number.

TEXT 130

gadādhara-paṇḍita yabe saṅgete calilā
‘kṣetra-sannyāsa nā chāḍiha’ — prabhu niṣedhilā

When Gadādhara Paṇḍita started to go with the Lord, he was forbidden to come and was asked not to give up the vow of kṣetra-sannyāsa.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

When one takes kṣetra-sannyāsa, he leaves his household life and goes to a place of pilgrimage devoted to Lord Viṣṇu. Such places include Puruṣottama (Jagannātha Purī), Navadvīpa-dhāma and Mathurā-dhāma. The kṣetra-sannyāsī lives in these places alone or with his family. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura considers kṣetra-sannyāsa to be the preferable vānaprastha situation in this Age of Kali. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya lived in this way, and he has been called a kṣetra-sannyāsī — that is, a sannyāsī living in Jagannātha Purī.

COMMENT

So, the idea of kṣetra-sannyāsa is that one never leaves the kṣetra, the holy place. He never spends the night outside of the holy place. Srila Jiva Gosvami also took kṣetra-sannyāsa; he actually was a sannyasi but he would never spend a night outside of Vrindavan. That was the vow of kṣetra-sannyāsa.

TEXT 131

When he was requested to return to Jagannātha Purī, Gadādhara Paṇḍita told the Lord, “Wherever You are staying is Jagannātha Purī. Let my so-called kṣetra-sannyāsa go to hell.”

TEXT 132

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Gadādhara Paṇḍita to remain at Jagannātha Purī and engage in Gopīnātha’s service-

COMMENT

Yes, there is a deity in Jagannatha Puri, it is there today, called Gopinatha. This deity was worshiped by Gadadhara Pandita.

TEXT 132

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Gadādhara Paṇḍita to remain at Jagannātha Purī and engage in Gopīnātha’s service- Gadādhara Paṇḍita replied, “One renders service to Gopīnātha a million times simply by seeing Your lotus feet.”

TEXT 133

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then said, “If you abandon His service, it will be My fault. It is better that you remain here and render service. That will be My satisfaction.”

TEXT 134

The Paṇḍita replied, “Do not worry. All the faults will be on my head. I shall not accompany You but shall go alone.

COMMENT

So, he was saying, “Don’t worry, no one will blame you that you allowed me to accompany you. I will go separately and all the blame will come to me, it won’t go to you. He had so much attachment for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 135

“I shall go to see Śacīmātā, but I shall not go for Your sake.

COMMENT

Saci-mata was Lord Chaitanya’s mother, and she lived in Navadvipa. So he was saying, “I am not going because you are going—I am not going to be with you—I am going to see your mother.”

TEXT 135

I shall be responsible for the abandoning of my vow and service to Gopīnātha.”

TEXT 136

Thus Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī traveled alone, but when they all arrived at Kaṭaka, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu called him, and he went into the Lord’s company.

TEXT 137

No one can understand the loving intimacy between Gadādhara Paṇḍita and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Gadādhara Paṇḍita gave up his vow and service to Gopīnātha just as one gives up a piece of straw.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Just to get Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s association, Gadādhara Paṇḍita gave up his life’s vow to engage in Gopīnātha’s service. This kind of loving affection can be understood only by very confidential devotees. Ordinarily, no one can understand its purport.

COMMENT

So this pastime took place on the level of pure love, and on the level of pure love one has no material desires. Ordinary devotees, they might give up their service or they may be negligent in their vows just because of spiritual weakness; they may have other priorities. But here, Gadadhara Pandita had no other interests besides pure devotional service. But within the realm of pure devotional service, he was so attached to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that he couldn’t give up His company; he felt he couldn’t give up His company, and even this lifelong vow of kṣetra-sannyāsa and service to Gopinatha was nothing to him. But it was huge; we can’t even imagine how attached Gadadhara Pandita was to Jagannatha Puri and Lord Gopinatha’s service; so it was huge. But that he gave up like it was a piece of straw, because his attachment to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unlimited.

TEXT 138

Gadādhara Paṇḍita’s behavior was very pleasing to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s heart. Nevertheless, the Lord took his hand and spoke to him, displaying the anger of love.

TEXT 139

“You have abandoned Gopīnātha’s service and broken your vow to live in Purī. All that is now complete because you have come so far.

TEXT 140

“Your wanting to go with Me is simply a desire for sense gratification. In this way, you are breaking two religious principles, and because of this I am very unhappy.

TEXT 141

“If you want My happiness, please return to Nīlācala. You will simply condemn Me if you say any more about this matter.”

COMMENT

So, internally Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was actually pleased with Gadadhara Pandita’s pure love and affection, but externally—because He was the acharya and He had to establish the proper conduct of His followers, He spoke to Gadadhara Pandita as He did and ordered him to return.

TEXT 142

Saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu got into a boat, and Gadādhara Paṇḍita immediately fell down unconscious.

TEXT 143

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya to take Gadādhara Paṇḍita with him. The Bhaṭṭācārya told Gadādhara Paṇḍita, “Get up! Such are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 144

“You should know that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself violated His own promise just to keep the promise of Grandfather Bhīṣma.

COMMENT

So, Lord Chaitanya knew that Gadadhara Pandita wouldn’t be able to bear the separation, and so He asked Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya to stay with Gadadhara Pandita and console him and give him company. And so Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya referred to an incident in which Lord Krishna broke His own promise in order to keep the promise of His devotee intact. In other words, he was explaining how important it is to Krishna that Krishna’s devotees keep their promises—keep their vows.

TEXT 145

sva-nigamam apahāya mat-pratijñām
ṛtam adhikartum avapluto ratha-sthaḥ
dhṛta-ratha-caraṇo ‘bhyayāc calad-gur
harir iva hantum ibhaṁ gatottarīyaḥ

TRANSLATION

“ ‘Intending to make my promise true, Lord Kṛṣṇa broke His own promise not to take up a weapon at Kurukṣetra. With His outer garment falling off, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa jumped from His chariot, picked up a wheel and came running at me to kill me. Indeed, He rushed at me like a lion going to kill an elephant, and He caused the whole earth to tremble.’

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Lord Kṛṣṇa promised not to fight in the Battle of Kurukṣetra or even take up a weapon. But when Bhīṣma wanted to keep his own promise to break the promise of the Lord, the Lord immediately got down from the chariot, and to make Bhīṣma’s promise true He picked up a chariot wheel and rushed forward to kill him. This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.9.37).

COMMENT

So, the history is that King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra were brothers. Dhritarashtra was the older brother, but because he was blind from birth he could not rule as the King, and therefore his younger brother Pandu became the King. And Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons called the Kauravas and King Pandu had only five sons, called the Pandavas. And they were the rightful heirs to the throne because Dhritarashtra had been disqualified because of his defect of being blind. So, Dhritarashtra always wanted that his eldest son Duryodhana, who was very envious of Krishna, wanted him to rule. But he really didn’t have the right to rule, but they tried by so many means to usurp the throne. And in the end it came to a war, the battle of Kurukshetra, Mahābhārata war, and at that time, there was the question of what Krishna’s role would be. And Krishna, of course He favors His devotees, and that is not a defect, dushasanam but it is an ornament bushanam. So, he said that, “I am going to take rest, and whoever I see first in the morning will have the choice. They can have either me or my army.” So early in the morning, Arjuna came, and Duryodhana came. And Duryodhana, being proud and haughty thought, “Well, I will stay at Krishna’s head, and when he wakes up he will see me. And Arjuna, being humble said, “I will stay at Krishna’s feet.” So when Krishna woke up, he bent his head forward, and the first one he saw was Arjuna. So, Arjuna got the choice and Arjuna said, “I will take you.” And Duryodhana was delighted. He thought, I would much rather have the army than this Krishna, who is this Krishna, I will take the army. So they were both happy; they both got what they wanted.

So, during the fighting, grandfather Bhīṣma, who is an extremely powerful warrior—perhaps the most powerful warrior on the whole battlefield, which included many extremely powerful fighters, he wasn’t killing the Pandavas. And Duryodhana challenged Bhīṣma deva, insulted his kshatriya honor by saying that, “You are not fighting to your full capacity, and that is why they are surviving, because of your affection for them.” So then Bhīṣma deva took the vow that, “In tomorrow’s fighting I will act in such a way, I will fight with such spirit that either I will kill Krishna’s friend Arjuna or I will force Krishna to break His promise not to take part in the fighting.” That was part of the condition, they could either have Krishna’s army or Krishna, and if they had Krishna, Krishna would not fight. He would not take up any weapon or fight, he would just be there. And still Arjuna took Krishna, and Krishna became the chariot driver of Arjuna.

So, it so happened that the way Bhīṣma deva was fighting, Arjuna was in danger. And wanting to both protect Arjuna and at the same time protect Bhīṣma deva’s word, Krishna got down from the chariot and rushed toward grandfather Bhīṣma. He took up a broken a chariot wheel to use as a weapon, which was breaking his promise, and He rushed toward Bhīṣma deva to kill him. Now, this is also very mysterious, because Bhīṣma deva is also a great devotee of Krishna, and he had love for Krishna. He is one of the twelve mahājanas and he took that sight of Krishna rushing towards him with a chariot wheel to kill him, it gives him great joy to remember that, and therefore he spoke this verse.

TEXT 146

ei-mata prabhu tomāra viccheda sahiyā
tomāra pratijñā rakṣā kaila yatna kariyā”

“Similarly, tolerating separation from you, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has protected your vow with great endeavor.”

COMMENT

So, not only was Gadadhara Pandita attached to Lord Chaitanya, Lord Chaitanya was extremely attached to Gadadhara Pandita, and He also didn’t want to lose Gadadhara Pandita’s association. But He tolerated the separation for Gadadhara Pandita for the sake of upholding His vow, because the Lord considers it important for His devotees to maintain their vows and He makes arrangements to help them maintain their vows.

TEXT 147

In this way Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya revived Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Then both of them, very much grief-stricken, returned to Jagannātha Purī, Nīlācala.

TEXT 148

All the devotees would abandon all kinds of duties for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s sake, yet the Lord did not like the devotees’ giving up their promised duties.

TEXT 149

All these are the misgivings of loving affairs. Whoever listens to these incidents gets the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet very soon.

COMMENT

So what Is the result of listening to these incidents?

Devotee: They get the shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, very good. So, Gadadhara Pandita and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya returned to Jagannatha Puri and Lord Chaitanya continued. And on the way, he stopped at Rama Khali. Rama Khali was the capital of Nawab Hussain Shah who was the ruler of Bengal, and Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, at the time were not Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Goswami, they were ministers in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah. But Lord Chaitanya had been corresponding with them, and He knew that they were great devotees, so He wanted to stop at Rama Khali on the way to Vrindavan to deliver them. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as it was, there were so many devotees following Him and by the time He reached Rama Khali there was a huge number of people following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And Sanatana Gosvami was very astute politically, he advised Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, “This is not the way to go to Vrindavan, with a big party. You should go quietly with one or two assistants.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:

TEXT 267

“Although I heard this, I did not pay it any attention, and in the morning I went to the place named Kānāi Nāṭaśālā.

TEXT 268

“At night, however, I considered what Sanātana had told Me.

COMMENT

Now, who is Lord Chaitanya? He is describing what happened. This is Lord Chaitanya himself. Up until now, Krishnadasa Kaviraja has been describing what happened. Now who is Lord Chaitanya relating this to? You don’t know. You can’t know. Because I haven’t told you, and we haven’t read it. In the end, he could not continue to Vrindavan. This is a very important instruction. He couldn’t continue to Vrindavan, so when he returned to Jagannatha Puri, he explained what happened; why he could not continue to Vrindavan.

TEXT 268

“At night, however, I considered what Sanātana had told Me.

TEXT 269

“I decided that Sanātana had spoken very well. I was certainly being followed by a large crowd, and when people would see so many men, they would surely rebuke Me, saying, ‘Here is another imposter.’

COMMENT

In other words, they would think, Oh he is just making a big show, and he is not a real devotee, he is just pretending to be a devotee and coming with many people. Of course, later our acharyas, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, even Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Navadvipa, they began the Navadvipa mandala parikramā and the Vraja mandala parikramā. So it is authorized, but otherwise it was considered inappropriate to go with a large crowd of people, who may not have been devotees, all of them but just attracted.

This is Lord Chaitanya continuing:

TEXT 270

“I then began to consider that Vṛndāvana is a very solitary place. It is invincible and very difficult to attain. I therefore decided to go there alone or, at the utmost, with only one person.

TEXT 271

“Mādhavendra Purī went to Vṛndāvana alone-

COMMENT

Madhavendra Puri is the great grandfather spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the spiritual master of Lord Chaitanya’s spiritual master.

TEXT 271

“Mādhavendra Purī went to Vṛndāvana alone, and Kṛṣṇa, on the pretext of giving him milk, granted him an audience.

TEXT 272

“I then understood that I was going to Vṛndāvana like a magician with his show, and this is certainly not good. No one should go to Vṛndāvana with so many men.

TEXT 273

“I have therefore resolved to go alone or, at the utmost, with one servant. In this way, My journey to Vṛndāvana will be beautiful.

TEXT 274

“I thought, ‘Instead of going to Vṛndāvana alone, I am going with soldiers and the beating of drums.’

TEXT 275

“I therefore said, ‘Fie upon Me!’ and being very much agitated, I returned to the banks of the Ganges.

TEXT 276

“I then left all the devotees there and brought only five or six persons with Me.

TEXT 277

“Now I wish that you all will be pleased with Me and give Me good consultation. Tell Me how I shall be able to go to Vṛndāvana without impediments.

COMMENT

So Lord Chaitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is putting Himself in the position of a dependence on His devotees, on His confidential devotees. And now He comes to the point; after giving all these reasons, he gives another reason. Who knows what the other reason is? Listen and you will hear.

TEXT 278

“I left Gadādhara Paṇḍita here, and he became very unhappy. For this reason I could not go to Vṛndāvana.”

TEXT 279

Being encouraged by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s words, Gadādhara Paṇḍita became absorbed in ecstatic love. Immediately clasping the lotus feet of the Lord, he began to speak with great humility.

TEXT 280

Gadādhara Paṇḍita said, “Wherever You stay is Vṛndāvana, as well as the river Yamunā, the river Ganges and all other places of pilgrimage.

TEXT 281

tabu vṛndāvana yāha’ loka śikhāite
seita karibe, tomāra yei laya citte

TRANSLATION

“Although wherever You stay is Vṛndāvana, You will still go to Vṛndāvana just to instruct people. Otherwise, You will do whatever You think best.

COMMENT

Now, this is a very important purport about Vrindavan, and going to Vrindavan.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It was not essential for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to go to Vṛndāvana, for wherever He stayed was immediately converted to Vṛndāvana. Indeed, at that place were also the river Ganges, the river Yamunā and all other places of pilgrimage. This was also expressed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself when He danced in the Ratha-yātrā. At that time He said that His very mind was Vṛndāvana (mora-mana — vṛndāvana). Because His mind was Vṛndāvana, all the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were taking place within Himself. Nonetheless, just to teach people, He visited bhauma-vṛndāvana, Vṛndāvana-dhāma in this material world.

COMMENT

Because it is one of the regulative principles of devotional service—to visit Vrindavan. One of the five most potent forms of devotional service is mathurā-vāsa, to reside in Vrindavan.

PURPORT (continued)

In this way the Lord instructed everyone to visit Vṛndāvana-dhāma, which is a very holy place.

Materialists consider Vṛndāvana-dhāma an unclean city because there are many monkeys and dogs there, and along the bank of the Yamunā there is refuse. Some time ago, a materialistic man asked me, “Why are you living in Vṛndāvana? Why have you selected such a dirty place to live after retiring?” Such a person cannot understand that the earthly Vṛndāvana-dhāma is always a representation of the original Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Consequently Vṛndāvana-dhāma is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His abode, Vṛndāvana, are equally worshipable. Sometimes materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vṛndāvana as tourists.

COMMENT

In fact, since Srila Prabhupada went to the West and came back with his disciples from America and established the Krishna-Balaram temple, many more people are coming to Vrindavan as tourists. It has always been there, but it is more now.

PURPORT (continued)

Sometimes materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vṛndāvana as tourists. One who goes to Vṛndāvana with such materialistic vision cannot derive any spiritual benefit. Such a person is not convinced that Kṛṣṇa and Vṛndāvana are identical. Since they are identical, Vṛndāvana is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s vision (mora-mana — vṛndāvana) is different from the vision of an ordinary materialistic person. At the Ratha-yātrā festival, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, absorbed in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, dragged Lord Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke of this in the verses beginning āhuś ca te (Madhya 13.136).

COMMENT

So, we won’t discuss this in detail, but the Jagannatha temple is considered to be a representation of Dvaraka. And the Gundica temple is considered a representation of Vrindavan. So, in the Ratha-yatra, Lord Chaitanya was pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannatha in the mood of Srimati Radharani, pulling Krishna back to Vrindavan. That Jagannatha temple can represent Dvaraka or Kurukshetra where the residents of Vrindavan and Srimati Radharani met Krishna after a long separation after Krishna had left Vrindavan. And Radharani felt that, “You are the same Krishna and I am the same Radha but we cannot enjoy in the same way here as in Vrindavan, because here You are dressed as a royal prince, You are surrounded by secretaries and ministers of soldiers, instead of the chirping of birds there is the clattering of hoofs of horses and the rattling of chariots, so please come back to Vrindavan.”

PURPORT (continued)

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13) it is stated:

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke

sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ

yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij

janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ

“A human being who identifies the body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth as worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow.”

COMMENT

So, this is what you should not do, if you do this, you are considered to be like an animal, like an ass or a cow. So what should you do when you go to a holy place of pilgrimage? Not just take bath, but what should you do? Yes. “One who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there.” One should seek out saintly persons and hear from them, that is what one should do when one goes to a holy place like Vrindavan.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally renovated Vṛndāvana-dhāma and advised His chief disciples, Rūpa and Sanātana, to develop it and open it to attract the spiritual vision of the general populace. At present there are about five thousand temples in Vṛndāvana, and still our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, is constructing a huge, magnificent temple for the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma, along with Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Guru-Gaurāṅga. Since there is no prominent Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma temple in Vṛndāvana, we are attempting to construct one so that people will be attracted to Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, or Nitāi-Gauracandra.

COMMENT

Now, this is so important, why Srila Prabhupada made Krishna-Balaram the central deities. Did you catch it? I will read a little more then I will ask you again, what was the reason?

PURPORT (continued)

Vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī suta haila sei. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that Balarāma and the son of Mahārāja Nanda have advented Themselves as Gaura-Nitāi. To propagate this fundamental principle, we are establishing a Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma temple to broadcast to the world that worship of Gaura-Nitāi is the same as worship of Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma.

COMMENT

So, why did Srila Prabhupada establish Krishna-Balaram as the central deities, to establish what fundamental principle? Raise your hand.

Devotee: To worship Krishna-Balarama and They have come as Gaura-Nitai.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, to establish the fundamental principle that Krishna and Balarama have descended in the age of Kali as Gaura-Nitai and the worship of Krishna-Balaram is the same as the worship of Gaura-Nitai. Now next, this is a very important point.

PURPORT (continued)

Although it is very difficult to enter into the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pastimes, most of the devotees of Vṛndāvana are attracted to the rādhā-kṛṣṇa-līlā. However, since Nitāi-Gauracandra are direct incarnations of Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, we can be directly in touch with Lord Balarāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa through Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu. Those who are highly elevated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can enter into the pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It is said, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: “Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”

COMMENT

It was very difficult to approach Radha and Krishna, but Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself, is a combination of Radha and Krishna and it is easy for us to approach Him because He is so merciful.

PURPORT (continued)

Sometimes materialists, forgetting the pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, go to Vṛndāvana, accept the land’s spiritual facilities and engage in material activity. This is against the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The prākṛta-sahajiyās proclaim themselves vraja-vāsīs or dhāma-vāsīs, but they are mainly engaged in sense gratification.

COMMENT

So the prākṛta-sahajiyās—prākṛta means material and sahajiyās means people who pay things very cheaply, they think it is a very cheap thing to see Radha and Krishna, to dance with Radha and Krishna. And at their worst, and there are many, still at their worst, they find some lady devotee, and they say, “You are Radha and I am Krishna, and we can enjoy sense gratification as Radha-Krishna.” It happens. So, the idea is that we have to distinguish between genuine devotees and these prākṛta-sahajiyās, because you don’t go to Vrindavan to engage in sense gratification. So, I will repeat this because it is very important. Because if one is not knowledgeable one can see many people, they appear to be devotees, they may even demonstrate ecstatic symptoms, they may put on a show of ecstatic symptoms and a naive person could think, Oh, this is an advanced devotee.

PURPORT (continued)

Sometimes materialists, forgetting the pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, go to Vṛndāvana, accept the land’s spiritual facilities and engage in material activity. This is against the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The prākṛta-sahajiyās proclaim themselves vraja-vāsīs or dhāma-vāsīs, but they are mainly engaged in sense gratification.

Thus they become more and more implicated in the materialistic way of life. Those who are pure devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness condemn their activities.

COMMENT

They have to distinguish—although we don’t like to criticize anyone and in a way they are devotees, they are chanting the holy name, although the consciousness is different. But pure devotees condemn their activities so that innocent people will not be misled by them.

PURPORT (continued)

The eternal vraja-vāsīs like Svarūpa Dāmodara did not even come to Vṛndāvana-dhāma.

COMMENT

Svarupa Damodara is Lalita devi in kṛṣṇa-līlā, he is Lords Chaitanya most confidential associate in Jagannatha Puri. He never came to Vrindavan. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go, but it means that, as Prabhupada said, you can’t go to Vrindavan by purchasing a ticket. Entrance into Vrindavan is really a matter of consciousness.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrī Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Śivānanda Sena, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, Śrī Śikhi Māhiti, Śrī Mādhavīdevī and Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī never visited Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that we have no authorized documents stating that these exalted personalities visited Vṛndāvana. Nonetheless, we find many nondevotees, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, prākṛta-sahajiyās, fruitive workers, mental speculators and many others with material motives going to Vṛndāvana to live. Many of these people go there to solve their economic problems by becoming beggars.

COMMENT

Yes, Mayavadi sannyasis; Mayavadi means they only know maya, really, that is all they know, they have no real spiritual conception and so they think that Krishna is maya, Krishna’s name is maya, material Krishna’s form is maya, material; they think it is all material. And sometimes they say that, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, that Brahman is real and this world is false, and they want to stop all activities. And Srila Prabhupada comments that, “If you want to stop all activities, why are you eating?” And as Prabhupada said, many people go to Vrindavan to solve their economic problems. And he said they go to Vrindavan to get chapattis. And he said that for every one chapati, there are many Mayavadis sannyasis competing for that one chapati. So yes, you have to beware. It is really safer just to stick with Prabhupada’s devotees. Anything else you really don’t know what you might be encountering, and you might not be so expert to distinguish what is what. So the safest is to stay with Prabhupada’s devotees, senior devotees, experienced devotees. They may take you to holy places of pilgrimage and they may interact with local people, and so indirectly you may interact with them under their shelter and protection. But it is not very safe to wander off on your own, in general.

PURPORT (continued)

Many of these people go there to solve their economic problems by becoming beggars. Although anyone living in Vṛndāvana somehow or other is benefited, the real Vṛndāvana is appreciated only by a pure devotee. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena. When one has purified eyes, he can see that Śrī Vṛndāvana and the original Goloka Vṛndāvana planet in the spiritual sky are identical.

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Śrī Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrī Bhagavān dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, and later Śrī Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura of Calcutta, always engaged in nāma-bhajana and certainly did not live anywhere but Vṛndāvana. Presently, the members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement throughout the world live in materially opulent cities, such as London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Moscow, Zurich and Stockholm. However, we are satisfied with following in the footsteps of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and other ācāryas. Because we live in the temples of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and continuously hold hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana — the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa — we consequently live in Vṛndāvana and nowhere else. We are also following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by attempting to construct a temple in Vṛndāvana for our disciples throughout the world to visit.

COMMENT

So, both, Srila Prabhupada did both; he established temples throughout the world where there is continuous hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and people in those temples are in Vrindavan. And he also constructed a temple in Vrindavan, where his disciples from materially opulent cities throughout the world can visit. So, now we come back to Gadadhara Pandita and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 282

ei āge āilā, prabhu, varṣāra cāri māsa
ei cāri māsa kara nīlācale vāsa

TRANSLATION

Taking this opportunity, Gadādhara Paṇḍita said, “Just now the four months of the rainy season have begun.

COMMENT

Lord Chaitanya tried to go to Vrindavan, but He didn’t go, then He came back to Jagannatha Puri and He said that because Gadadhara Pandita was unhappy, “therefore I could not go.” And now that Gadadhara Pandita is saying, “Now you have come back, it is time of Chaturmas, the four months of the rainy season, and generally saintly people, traditionally, would stay in one place during the four months of the rainy season.

TEXT 282

Taking this opportunity, Gadādhara Paṇḍita said, “Just now the four months of the rainy season have begun. You should therefore spend the next four months in Jagannātha Purī.

TEXT 283

“After remaining here for four months, You will be free to do as You like. Actually, no one can stop You from going or remaining.”

TEXT 284

Upon hearing this statement, the devotees present at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stated that Gadādhara Paṇḍita had properly presented their desire.

TEXT 285

Being requested by all the devotees, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu agreed to remain at Jagannātha Purī for four months. Hearing this, King Pratāparudra became very happy.

TEXT 286

That day Gadādhara Paṇḍita extended an invitation to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord took His lunch at his place with the other devotees.

TEXT 287

No ordinary human being can possibly describe Gadādhara Paṇḍita’s affectionate presentation of food or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s tasting this food.

TEXT 288

In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performs His pastimes, which are unlimited and unfathomable. Somehow or other, these have briefly been described. It is not possible to describe them elaborately.

TEXT 289

sahasra-vadane kahe āpane ‘ananta’
tabu eka līlāra teṅho nāhi pāya anta

TRANSLATION

Although Lord Anantadeva is always describing the pastimes of the Lord with His thousands of mouths, He cannot reach the end of even one of the Lord’s pastimes.

TEXT 290

śrī-rūpa-raghunātha pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa

TRANSLATION

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.

PURPORT

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, sixteenth chapter, describing Lord Caitanya’s attempt to go to Vṛndāvana.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So, are there any comments or questions? Yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:21:04]Thank you for the wonderful class, Maharaja. You mentioned Mayavadi sannyasis and I wanted to ask you how we should understand the pastime of Srila Prabhupada was visited by a Mayavadi sannyasi. I think his name was Sacinandana or something like that and Prabhupada was nice enough and he was very nice to Prabhupada. How should we see that, should we see that that we should be respectful to Mayavadis and those of another religious faith or should we consider that Prabhupada was very advanced and he could associate in such a way, but I should not because I am not advanced.

Giriraj Swami: Well, associate is one thing, and offer normal respect is another thing. Once a Mayavadi sannyasi visited the Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan when Srila Prabhupada was there, and Hari Suri Prabhu was Srila Prabhupada’s servant, and Srila Prabhupada told him to escort him and offer obeisances to him. And Hari Suri said, “Why should I offer obeisances to him? He is a Mayavadi.” Prabhupada said yes, but he is a sannyasi, so out of respect for the sannyasi order, you should offer respect. That is one thing, that is external but we shouldn’t associate with them to get spiritual knowledge but you can offer ordinary respect. Swami Sacinandana came to visit Srila Prabhupada when he was in the hospital which was a nice thing to do, and Prabhupada reciprocated. When Prabhupada first came to New York, he became a guest of a Doctor Mishra who was a Mayavadi. But he knew Sanskrit, he was actually quite knowledgeable and educated and cultured, and so he had an apartment in New York city where he allowed Prabhupada to stay. And he would invite Prabhupada to his ashram in up-state New York sometimes, Prabhupada would lead kirtan. Yadhubara Prabhu in his series, Following Srila Prabhupada, has some footage from Prabhupada at the ashram. And Doctor Mishra had a lady secretary, she was his main devotee at the time, and he deputed her to look after Swamiji; they called him Swamiji. And so Yadhubara interviewed her, found her and interviewed her. And later she came to San Diego; I met her. She has quite some stories to tell.

But in Los Angeles once, Srila Prabhupada told me, because quite often he said, well it is in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ, that impersonalists who neglect the service of the lotus feet of Krishna fall down from their position of imagined superiority or liberation. So he was saying that he hadn’t written these things based on theoretical knowledge but also from practical experience. So he said that once he went into the men’s room, and Doctor Mishra was just coming out. And Prabhupada detected the smell of ganja, marijuana. So Prabhupada was saying he knows that it is not just a theory but they actually do engage in sense gratification. But he also said that Doctor Mishra and he were friends, although when it came to philosophy they disagreed and they would argue vehemently. But personally they were friends and when Doctor Mishra became very ill, Prabhupada personally cooked for him and nursed him back to good health. And Doctor Mishra said that he thought it was because of Swamiji’s cooking that he was able to recover.

I had one similar realization as a newer devotee. I went to Lagos, Nigeria to raise funds for the Juhu project. And there was a nice man who was a supporter, and he arranged a program at his home, and he invited many affluent people from Lagos. He was Sindi. And he somehow, in the midst of it all, he started to speak Mayavadi philosophy. So, I just thought to myself that I have two choices here; I can smash him or I can let it go and speak to the points in my talk. And I thought if I smash him, then it probably could be the end of the relationship, could be the end of his service. And I thought, Why would I do that, that wouldn’t really serve any good purpose. So yes, I said everything I had to say in the class, but in terms of personal interaction I didn’t make it uncomfortable. And when Prabhupada said personally we were friends but on philosophy we would argue very vehemently, I thought it is possible to make that distinction. But that I would say requires some degree of realization. I don’t think that is something everyone can do, because we can get influenced. But that is to the point of being friends, but otherwise being respectful, having normal interaction, we should do that.

Any other questions?

Devotee: (Unintelligent)

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well Lord Chaitanya was absorbed in love for Krishna and He came to distribute love for Krishna, kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te. So even seeing Him for a distance, He was so merciful that they were overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Krishna and they began chanting Krishna, Krishna. But I heard such a nice reading by Srila Prabhupada of Caitanya-caritāmṛta in 1967 in San Francisco. I should actually bring the CD player and play it sometime. It is so sweet. And so the devotees were completely new, and he was reading from Caitanya-caritāmṛta and at a certain point it mentioned Haribol. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu raised His arms and said Haribol. And that time no one knew what Haribol was, it was new. And Prabhupada explained that Haribol is a shortcut of Hare Krishna and he actually told the devotees, “You can say Haribol.” He was getting the devotees to say Haribol. There is Hare Krishna, and there is also Haribol; Haribol is a shortcut of Hare Krishna.

And it reminded me of when the great Khali visited the Houston temple. The great Khali is huge; he is seven feet eight inches tall. He is like a giant. He is a world champion wrestler and for a while he lived in Los Angeles and he looks like a monster. If you really look in his eyes you will see he is a nice person. And when he was in Los Angeles he actually played some monsters or villains in some Hollywood films. So anyway he moved to Houston, he came to the Houston temple on Govardhana-puja day. He has a neighbor who is a devotee named Saṅkarṣaṇa dasa, initiated by His Holiness Radhanath Swami. And so he brought the great Khali, and he wanted him to meet me and to have some discussion. But he couldn’t hide himself; some movie stars, they put on dark glasses and try to conceal his identity, he was so huge that he couldn’t conceal his identity. So everyone was coming up to him and asking for his autograph. I hadn’t heard of him before frankly, but it seems like the Indians all knew him. But he really wanted to have a serious talk. At that stage the program was in Gauranga Hall, they were having the Anaakut. So, we will just go to the temple; the temple was empty, so we were sitting there and talking, having a very serious talk, he is actually a very nice person. So then gradually people finished prasāda in Gauranga Hall and began to come into the temple and I was trying to keep them away. So this one mother and her, maybe ten-year-old, son, he wanted the great Khali’s autograph. So I got up and I said “We really want to have a talk here, please be kind, give him a few minutes of peace so we can talk.” And she said “When we were driving to the temple tonight, my son—I guess she was telling him stories from the Mahābhārata, the Pandavas and Bhima. Bhima is very big and powerful. So, her son asked whatever a ten-year-old boy asked the mother, “Well how big and powerful was Bhima?” She said, “Well, like the great Khali.” And then they came to the temple and the great Khali was there. So she was saying, you have to let him get Khali’s autograph. And then by then I looked around there were already ten people around the great Khali getting his autograph.

So, okay, we can’t talk here. So we went back to the prasādam hall because he hadn’t taken prasāda, he wanted to avoid the crowds. So he sat down and was taking prasāda, there weren’t many people around and our very own Nama Ruci sat next to the great Khali, and the great Khali is huge; he was towering over him and Nama Ruci is this little guy looking up to him. And he said, “I am really sorry to do this to you, but my brother is a great fan of yours. I just want one picture of me with you so I can put it on Facebook and my brother can see me with you.” And Nama Ruci was apologizing and excusing himself and excusing himself for existing and apologizing, and the great Khali looked down at him and said, “You know Haribol? Nama Ruci said, “Yes, Haribol.” In other words, ”Don’t worry about it; Haribol. It is okay.” So yes. Sometimes it says Krishna, Krishna, sometimes Hare Hare, sometimes Haribol, but it is all Krishna. As Prabhupada said, shortcuts of Hare Krishna.

Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: I have one more question. You were reading about Gadadhara Pandita and Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport that these are the misgivings of loving affairs. Why is Prabhupada saying misgivings because misgivings means doubt or apprehension?

Giriraj Swami: Yes misgivings. In fact, Jagadananda Pandita wrote a whole book, Prema-vivarta, misgivings of loving affairs, reversals of loving affairs, because there is a lot of back and forth. Gadadhara Pandita wanted to be with Lord Chaitanya, but Lord Chaitanya sent him back, which was very difficult for both of them, but especially for Gadadhara Pandita. And then Lord Chaitanya wanted to go to Vrindavan, but somehow He couldn’t go, He turned back and came to Jagannatha Puri, and He was condemning himself for wanting to go Vrindavan like a magician with a big show. There is a lot of that; even with Srila Prabhupada there is a lot of that, especially at the end. He said he wanted to go to Govardhana Hill, and some disciples said, “No, if you go you will die on the way.” You don’t really know because it is dynamic, it is not just philosophy, it is real persons who love each other as individuals, and it is very dynamic.

Devotee: The story of Lord Chaitanya coming to Vrindavan, and excuse my ignorance, but the two qualities in that story would be fidelity and humility. And it is all hinged on service, having done the right thing , being humble to make this story about the qualities necessary to visit Vrindavan. So, in my journey it’s those qualities that will keep me on the straight and narrow.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. A combination, one is exactly what you said, your sincerity, your fidelity, and your humility. But the other is the other point of good association. Even Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He didn’t make plans independently, but He consulted his confidential devotees. So I think the combination of fidelity and humility, along with good advice from experienced devotees who are faithful and humble, that will ensure your successful visit to Vrindavan.

Devotee: I also missed the connection between the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita and Lord Chaitanya going to Vrindavan. I thought maybe it was about vows but I missed that and wasn’t really sure. And another question which is difficult to raise, so now in Vrindavan there are many swamis and gurus who come with lots of devotees but is that different in the direction of Sri Chaitanya being told that he come and enter more quietly.

Giriraj Swami: Well the first one about keeping one’s word; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu didn’t want Gadadhara Pandita to break his vow, kṣetra-sannyāsa, which means not to spend the night outside of Jagannatha Puri, and not give up his service to the deity of Gopinatha. So even though personally Lord Chaitanya would have wanted Gadadhara Pandita’s association, but because He didn’t want him to give up his vow, He forced him to return. And then Gadadhara Pandita fainted and then Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya revived him and quoted the verse from grandfather Bhīṣma that Krishna had vowed not to take part in the fighting, not to take up any weapon. But when Bhīṣma vowed that either he will kill Krishna’s friend Arjuna or force Krishna to break His promise, Krishna broke His promise to keep Bhīṣma’s vow intact, you understand? So in the same way, it is not that Krishna wants to break His promise. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He also has to set the best example, but even at the cost of His own word, He wants to keep Bhīṣma’s word. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even at the cost of Gadadhara Pandita’s association which was so dear to Him, He sacrificed that for Gadadhara Pandita’s vow. And as far as entering Vrindavan with a lot of people, an acharya may come with a number of devotees for the sake of encouraging them in their Krishna consciousness. As I mentioned, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had Vraja-mandala parikramā, that means going around the area of Vraja and camping at different places. He had maybe a hundred thousand people. You can see some of the old pictures, huge camps with so many tents. So that is approved because he is not a celebrity going with his entourage but he as an acharya taking the devotees to the holy dhāma and enriching them with kṛṣṇa-kathā and kṛṣṇa-nāma.

Devotee: It is said that there are over then thousand temples, I couldn’t quite conceive that. Is that like house or bug temples?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, five thousand. They vary, some are very big and some are very small. They may be just a little hole in the wall. But previously, means before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s time, there was almost nothing there. It was just like a jungle. And He sends Sanatana Gosvami there, and from that beginning of a few important temples back then; now there is five thousand, that is all because of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Gosvamis that all of this has come.

Alright, thank you very much, and we will meet again. Of course, tonight is Damodaraṣṭakam and tomorrow morning there is another very instructive pastime with Gadadhara Pandita. Very different; in a way it is different context, so we will read that tomorrow morning, Krishna willing for the Sunday program. Today is the last day of daylight savings, which makes Brahmatirtha earlier on the clock. Sunrise was at 7:45, so that means Brahmatirtha was six o’clock. That is a good deal but now it is going to be earlier on the clock, so we just have to make that adjustment. Maṅgala-ārati is always Brahmatirtha no matter whether it is daylight savings or not.

Alright, thank you again.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada