CC Madhya 1.54–71 – How to Get Special Mercy to Understand the Lord’s Confidential Moods

Giriraj Swami: Today, we shall be celebrating Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra, and I have been requested to speak about Ratha-yatra in honor of the occasion. The Ratha-yatra festival can be appreciated on many levels. Lord Jagannatha is Krishna, and especially in the present age, the Kali-yuga, people are so busy, they have no time to come to the temple, or they are so preoccupied with material affairs, they have no interest in coming to the temple to see God. So, on Ratha-yatra day, God comes out of the temple to bestow His mercy on all.

Srila Rupa Gosvami enumerates five items of devotional service that are especially potent, and he says that even a slight contact with any one of the five is enough to awaken love for Krishna, provided that one is free from offenses. So, in the Ratha-yatra festival, we give people the opportunity to associate with the five most potent items of devotional service;

Sādhu-saṅga, associating with advanced devotees, nāma-kīrtana, chanting and hearing the holy names of the Lord, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, hearing the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, worshiping the Deity with faith and reverence, and even residing in a holy place. Because the presence of Lord Jagannatha and His servants is the same as the temples, and any temple of Vishnu offers the same benefit as residing in a holy place connected to the Lord.

And so, in order to extend the Lord’s mercy, devotees make many arrangements to celebrate the festival and to attract people to participate. But there is also an internal aspect to the celebration, which is quite confidential. But because it is Ratha-yatra day and you are all aspiring devotees, we shall touch a bit on the internal significance of the Ratha-yatra.

There was a time in the history of ISKCON when we did not have all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. People come now and they take it for granted, the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. But that was not always the case. And as Srila Prabhupada was spreading the movement, he took time to translate his books. In fact, he was so eager to publish the books for our benefit that he would hardly sleep. He would retire at about ten o’clock at night and get up at about midnight, after only two hours sleep. And he would translate, dictate his books.

But one year, he shared with devotees who participated in the Ratha-yatra something of the inner mood of the Ratha-yatra. And because we did not have Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta at the time, what Srila Prabhupada disclosed was a revelation for us. The devotees commented how grateful they were to Srila Prabhupada to share some of these inner moods with us. And Srila Prabhupada explains in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, elaborately describes, that Lord Jagannatha in Nilacala in His temple in Jagannatha Puri is like Krishna in Dvaraka, or even more specifically, Krishna in Kurukshetra.

And the history is, as related in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that after Krishna left Vrindavan and the residents of Vrindavan were plunged into an ocean of separation, Krishna, at the time of a solar eclipse, took the opportunity, according to the scriptures, to go to the holy place of Kurukshetra and take bath and give charities on the occasion of the eclipse. And when Krishna announced that He would be going to Kurukshetra, so many other kings and saviors and saintly persons all decided to go to Kurukshetra.

And the residents of Vrindavan who have been in so much separation from Krishna, they also thought, Let us go, because Kurukshetra is not so far from Vrindavan. They were not interested in taking ritualistic baths and giving in charity, they were interested in only one thing, and that is Krishna. So, they made the journey, but when they arrived, they found that Krishna didn’t look the same, and that the whole situation in Kurukshetra was very different from the situation in Vrindavan. And the gopīs especially, they didn’t like the atmosphere, and especially, Srimati Radharani.

In Vrindavan, there was the Yamuna River, Govardhana Hill, the chirping of birds. And in Kurukshetra, there were soldiers and elephants and horses and the rivalry chariots. And Srimati Radharani’s sentiment was, “You are the same Krishna and I’m the same Radharani, but We are not able to relish pastimes here as we did in Vrindavan. So, please come back to Vrindavan.”

And Lord Chaitanya observed the Ratha-yatra in the mood of Srimati Radharani meeting Krishna at Kurukshetra. And as Srila Prabhupada said, Ratha-yatra is the emotional process of pulling Krishna back to Vrindavan. And that’s the sentiment of [Unintelligible 00:13:04], that Ratha-yatra is a very significant festival for Vaishnavas.

But even this confidential understanding of the Ratha-yatra, as performed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even that was not known, to anyone, practically. Only Lord Chaitanya’s most confidential associates in Puri, Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, could understand. Nobody else could understand. And Svarupa Damodara Gosvami did not disclose Lord Chaitanya’s internal mood to others. And so, even in the presence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, devotees did not understand His internal mood.

But one year, by chance, Srila Rupa Gosvami was present at the Ratha-yatra, and by some special mercy, and we will discuss what the requirement is to receive such special mercy, he was able to understand the inner mood of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, I will read a few verses from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and we can discuss further. But this is a very important point for all of us, how we can become recipients of special mercy that will allow us to understand the confidential moods of the Lord and His devotees, including our spiritual masters.

Please repeat after me.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter One, Text Fifty-Four.

TEXT 54

ratha-yātrāya āge yabe karena nartana
tāhāṅ ei pada mātra karaye gāyana

TRANSLATION

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to dance before the car during the festival, He always sang the following two lines.

TEXT 55

seita parāṇa-nātha pāinu
yāhā lāgī’ madana-dahane jhuri genu

TRANSLATION

“I have gotten that Lord of My life, for whom I was burning in the fire of lusty desires.”

COMMENT

Now, this verse is very mysterious. Madana-dahane, in the fire of lusty desires. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a strict sannyasi, and He couldn’t not be burning in the fire of material lusty desires like ordinary people. So, these lusty desires are really the desire to serve Krishna personally. And that burning was the feeling of separation from Krishna.

TEXT 55

“I have gotten that Lord of My life, for whom I was burning in the fire of lusty desires.”

TEXT 56

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to sing this song [seita parāṇa-nātha] especially during the latter part of the day, and He would think, “Let Me take Kṛṣṇa and go back to Vṛndāvana.” This ecstasy was always filling His heart.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Being always absorbed in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt the same separation from Kṛṣṇa that Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī felt when Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana and went to Mathurā. This ecstatic feeling is very helpful in attaining love of God in separation. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught everyone that one should not be overly anxious to see the Lord, but should rather feel separation from Him in ecstasy. It is actually better to feel separation from Him than to desire to see Him face to face. When the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, the residents of Gokula, met Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra during the solar eclipse, they wanted to take Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu also felt the same ecstasy as soon as He saw Jagannātha in the temple or on the Ratha-yātrā car. The gopīs of Vṛndāvana did not like the opulence of Dvārakā. They wanted to take Kṛṣṇa to the village of Vṛndāvana and enjoy His company in the groves. This desire was also felt by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and He danced in ecstasy before the Ratha-yātrā festival when Lord Jagannātha went to Guṇḍicā.

COMMENT

Now, even the explanation that we just read is quite mysterious and confidential, because it appears that the gopīs want to take Krishna back to Vrindavan because they will enjoy Krishna’s association more or better in Vrindavan. In other words, what they are expressing appears to be a selfish desire for their own happiness. But actually, the gopīs have no desire for happiness other than Krishna’s happiness. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta describes that prīti, or prema is the desire for one’s own happiness or sense gratification. Kāma, or lust, is the desire for one’s own happiness and sense gratification. And prīti, or prema, pure love, is the desire for Krishna’s gratification.

So, when the gopīs asked Krishna to come back to Vrindavan so they could enjoy His association, the underlying principle is that the gopīs know that Krishna Himself cannot be as happy anywhere else as in Vrindavan, and Krishna Himself cannot enjoy loving reciprocation with anyone else as much as the residents of Vrindavan. So really, they want Krishna to come back to Vrindavan and be with His most intimate devotees, because they know that will make Krishna happy.

And there are many episodes in which Krishna in Dvaraka is speaking in His sleep about the residents of Vrindavan. He was always in separation from the residents of Vrindavan, so much so that the kings of Dvaraka became very perturbed, “Who are these people in Vrindavan? Krishna is in Dvaraka with us but He is always remembering the residents of Vrindavan and shedding tears of love for them.” So, they wanted to understand what is the mystery of Vrindavan, and the only one among them who had experienced Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan was Mother Rohini.

So, they requested her to tell, “What is this Vrindavan? Who are these people? Why is Krishna crying even when He is with us?” So, it’s described that she gathered them in a hall to speak to them about Krishna in Vrindavan, but she ordered that the doors should be kept closed because she didn’t want to be interrupted. Actually, she knew that if Krishna and Balarama heard her speaking about the pastimes of Vrindavan, maybe they would want to return to Vrindavan.

So, Lady Subhadra was supposed to be at the door to make sure no one enters, but she put her ear to the door, and hearing about these pastimes, she herself entered into such an ecstatic state that her limbs contracted and her eyes opened wide, and she assumed a form of Subhadra that we see as the Jagannatha Deity. And then Krishna and Balarama came by. They saw Subhadra and her condition. They put Their ears to the door and They also experienced ecstatic symptoms and They assumed those forms of Lord Jagannatha and Baladeva that we see in Jagannatha Puri.

So, the love of the residents of Vrindavan is most pure, there is no tinge of selfishness. So, their desire to bring Krishna back to Vrindavan is really for Krishna’s pleasure. And by giving pleasure to Krishna, they experience pleasure. They have no other way of experiencing happiness outside of Krishna’s happiness.

TEXT 57

In that ecstasy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recited a verse when dancing in front of Lord Jagannātha. Almost no one could understand the meaning of that verse.

TEXT 58

“That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasī tree. That is my desire.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse appears in the Padyāvalī (386), an anthology of verses compiled by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

COMMENT

So, this verse is a verse that Lord Chaitanya learned, and it appears to be a verse from mundane love poetry. And why He would recite such a verse was a mystery.

TEXT 59

This verse appears to be the hankering between some ordinary boy and girl, but its actual deep meaning was known only to Svarūpa Dāmodara. By chance, one year Rūpa Gosvāmī was also present there.

TEXT 60

Although the meaning of the verse was known only to Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rūpa Gosvāmī, after hearing it from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, immediately composed another verse that described the meaning of the original verse.

TEXT 61

After composing this verse, Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote it on a palm leaf and put it on the roof of the thatched house in which he was living.

TEXT 62

After composing this verse and putting it on the roof of his house, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī went to bathe in the sea. In the meantime, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to his hut to meet him.

TEXT 63

To avoid turmoil, three great personalities — Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī — did not enter the temple of Jagannātha.

COMMENT

They were considered fallen. Haridasa Thakura was considered fallen because he was born in a Muslim family. Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami were considered fallen because of the association with Muslims. And in a humble mood, they did not go to the temple. But every day, Lord Chaitanya would go to visit them.

And Srila Prabhupada said that this shows that Lord Chaitanya did not approve of the policy of the temple not to allow people who were actually pure devotees to enter because of their birth or association. And that policy is still there, not to allow even Vaishnavas born outside of India, outside of the Hindu tradition. And even those who were born in India in the Hindu tradition are sometimes not given entry if they are members of ISKCON because they are considered to be contaminated by their association with [Unintelligible 00:34:43].

So, Srila Prabhupada says that although these three exalted personalities did not go to the temple to see Lord Jagannatha, Lord Jagannatha, in the form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, came personally to see them. He did not approve of them being denied of darshan [Unintelligible 00:35:11], and He personally went and gave them darshan every day.

TEXT 66

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the residence of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, He accidentally saw the palm leaf on the roof, and thus He read the verse composed by him.

TEXT 67

After reading the verse, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went into an ecstatic mood. While He was in that state, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī came and immediately fell down on the floor like a rod.

TEXT 68

When Rūpa Gosvāmī fell down like a rod, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu got up and gave him a slap. Then, taking him on His lap, He began to speak to him.

TEXT 69

“No one knows the purport of My verse,” Caitanya Mahāprabhu said. “How could you understand My intention?”

TEXT 70

Saying this, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed various benedictions upon Rūpa Gosvāmī, and taking the verse, He later showed it to Svarūpa Gosvāmī.

TEXT 71

Having shown the verse to Svarūpa Dāmodara with great wonder, Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked him how Rūpa Gosvāmī could understand the intentions of His mind.

COMMENT

And now, we come to the point.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

We had the opportunity to receive a similar blessing from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī when we presented an essay at his birthday ceremony. He was so pleased with that essay that he used to call some of his confidential devotees and show it to them. How could we have understood the intentions of Śrīla Prabhupāda?

COMMENT

So, this is a very good question that Lord Chaitanya asked Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, “How could Rupa Gosvami have understood My mind?” And Srila Prabhupada asked the same question, “How could I have understood the mind of Srila Prabhupada?” The mind of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. So, the basic answer comes in a verse quoted in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu,

TEXT 136

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

COMMENT

Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, everything about Krishna; His name, forms, qualities, pastimes, abode, everything about Krishna is transcendental. So, how can we understand? And the answer is, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, by engaging in service, beginning with the tongue, Krishna reveals Himself. So, it’s the service. And by service, selfless service, Krishna reveals Himself.

The same point is made in more detail in the story in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in which the king and queen had entered the vanaprastha stage of life and gone to the forest. After some time, the king gave up his body and his widow was left to lament. But after some time, a brahmana came and gave the queen some instructions.

So, Srila Prabhupada explains that figuratively, the king is the spiritual master, and the queen is the disciple. When the spiritual master disappears, the disciple should weep for the spiritual master, just as the queen wept for her departed husband. And she was ready to enter into the funeral fire to give up her life in the flames of the funeral fire.

And Srila Prabhupada explains that this means that the disciple should be ready to lay down his life to execute the mission of the spiritual master. Or in other words, if the disciple is unable to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he should rather die, he should feel, “I will rather die.” And in that state of complete detachment from the material world and feeling separation from the spiritual master and wanting to do nothing else than give one’s life in the service of the spiritual master, the spiritual master will appear and reveal his desires to his disciple.

Or Krishna. Krishna and the spiritual master work together. The spiritual master is the manifestation of Krishna, who is the Supersoul. So, the way to mitigate our demons of separation from Krishna or the spiritual master is to serve them, to follow their instructions, and by one’s reverence of service, they will reveal themselves to guide devotees.

So, this should be our mood at every moment. As Srila Prabhupada said and discussed in the incident where the king left his body and his widow was left alone in the forest, instead of seeing Krishna in some bush in Vrindavan, one should rather execute the orders of the spiritual master, and by executing the order of the spiritual master, one will, somehow or other, become associated with Krishna through following the order of the spiritual master.

So, this should be our mood, it should be our prayer. We should cry for Krishna. As Aindra Prabhu said, if you can’t cry for Krishna, you should cry because you can’t cry for Krishna, cry to be able to cry for Krishna. And that is the internal reason for the advent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He wanted to relish the pain of Srimati Radharani, and that was fulfilled in the Ratha-yatra. And the external reason was to spread the saṅkīrtana movement, and that was also achieved in the Ratha-yatra.

And this is something that we can also aspire to relish. Internally relish means separation, and externally relish means spreading the saṅkīrtana movement. The great benefit even for ordinary people in celebrating the Ratha-yatra is that just by seeing the smiling face of Lord Jagannatha in an ecstatic mood, one will be liberated.

There are such statements in the scripture, and one could wonder how is it possible? And Srila Prabhupada explained that at the time of death, all of one’s life passes through one’s mind, practically like images in a movie that’s going in fast motion. And you heard this [Unintelligible 00:48:22] at the time of death, all the events of one’s life pass very quickly through one’s mind. And then, when one comes to that moment when he gazed upon Lord Jagannatha with complete absorption, it’s like that movie that’s going in fast motion, freezes. And so, that image of Lord Jagannatha remains in a person’s mind at the time of death.

Hare Krishna.

Of course, we really want people to take up the process of Krishna consciousness. We want the festival to attract people, and we want to reciprocate with the people in such a way that they take up the practice. Because sometimes when asked about this idea that just by joining the Ratha-yatra one’s liberated just by coming to the Ratha-yatra.

Srila Prabhupada gave an example that there may be a hospital, and the hospital will advertise, “If you come to this hospital, you’ll be cured of your disease.” But it doesn’t mean you come to the hospital, look inside the door and leave and you’ll be cured. So, you come to the hospital and you’ll be cured implies you come to the hospital. When you come inside, you take the treatment and then leave.

So, if one is very fortunate at the time of death, he might just happen to remember Lord Jagannatha, but is more sure that he’ll be cured of his material disease if he actually enters the hospital, spiritual hospital that Srila Prabhupada created as ISKCON, and takes up the treatment and is really cured, and then he can also become an agent of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to bring more people to Krishna consciousness.

So, I wish you all success in your celebration of Ratha-yatra and the other three-day festival—the talks, performances. Last night, we were fortunate enough to see the production of His Holiness Indradyumna Swami and [Unintelligible 00:51:51], and it was a wonderful performance. I really enjoyed the performance myself. It was really spectacular.

So, that performance will be done tomorrow at the grounds. But it will be performed throughout the next two or three weeks. So, if you get to see it in an auditorium, it would be more controlled, the environment would be more controlled. We’ll be really able to see the artistry of the performance. But you can appreciate it more, I would venture to say if you are familiar with the story, so I suggest that all of you read this story, two Chapters in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Kṛṣṇa book about the meeting of [Unintelligible 00:53:16].

So, thank you very much. Does anyone want to add anything? Maharaja? [Unintelligible 00:53:47].

Devotee: [Unintelligible].

Giriraj Swami: This is Tattva Vita dasa. He is Srila Prabhupada’s disciple. Tattva Vita means who knows the truth. So, he is asking for the sake of others, not that he does not know the answer. [Unintelligible]

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there are exactly two verses. [Unintelligible]. But since you inquired, that’s a very nice verse, Text 73.

Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami inquired of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, “Rupa Gosvami can understand Your mind and intentions. He must have Your Lordship’s special benediction.” So, he got the special benediction of Lord Chaitanya, so he understood. Srila Prabhupada got the special benediction from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, so he understood. But why did they get the special benediction? It was from their selfless service, being ready to lay down their lives for the service of the master without having a personal concern.

Thank you for coming. Allright, so there is so much ecstasy, and I don’t know what to say with you, but whenever you are in doubt, there is one thing to do, chant the holy names.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare