Nama Om…
Mukham karoti vacalam..
Today is Wednesday. Monday, Wed, Fri and Sun are shaving days. Tues, Thurs and Sat we don’t shave. So today I have shaved my head and face. Sometimes in the month of Damodar or Chatur maas we grow our beard but Srila Prabhupad said that that makes sense if the devotee is doing some special austerity or vrata but if you are eating normal food and grow your food, no use!! So when I would do the chatur maas just eating khichdi, then I grew my beard. That was many years ago during the time of Srila Prabhupad. Bus since then since we only follow the minimum, no shaak, no dahi, no milk, no urad dal. So I don’t see a meaning to growing a beard. The idea is that when we are doing austerities we don’t shave; we keep the bodily things to a minimum. So now I have been here for some time and gradually I am regaining some strength. But I still have a considerable distance to go. The first year is a bit sensitive after liver and kidney transplant. If I get any infection, it could prove to be very serious. So we are taking precautions so outside we wear face mask, people visiting me they wear face mask. So the doctor said I should do physical therapy, I should eat a lot which I cannot do so much. I also should rest which also I cannot do so much. But generally I am feeling little better. The ICU is a hellish condition but they take very nice care you know but it is not natural. So I am happy to be here thanks to Ajita Gopinath and his family.
So we will continue with the Caitanya book compilation. Normally I would read all these texts beforehand and then compile them in my mind and come out with a synopsis. But since there is no time to read them ahead, I just go through all the texts that relates to a particular subject, and giving translation where there is none. So then on the Gaya trip, several authorities have spoken about Lord Caitanya’s visit to Gaya. Murari Gupta, Vrndavandas Thakur, Locanadas in Caitanya Mangal, and also the Kavi Karnapura in his Caitanya Caritamrita Mahakaavya. Some of them are having different details. So we want to include in the compilation all the details but not duplicate the same subject matter. So now we are where Lord Caitanya has taken initiation, He has worshipped the Gadaadhara footprints of Lord Vishnu. He had headed off towards Vrndavan but there was a voice from the sky which said no, now is not the time. When You take sanyas you will go to Vrndavan, now You should return to Navadvip, be in Your house, start the sankirtan movement. Haribol! You have come to deliver all the people. So you start that and later You can go to Vrndavan.
Murari Gupta Korcha
Being the Supreme Godhead You are able in all respects to do or not do anything according to Your own desire. You are completely independent, still Your master, please consider these words of your surrendered servant.
So the devas or demigods from the heavens spoke to the Lord. We are Your servants. Therefore, we offer this reminder at Your lotus feet. O Supreme Lord, You are supremely independent, whatever You desire cannot be checked by anyone. So therefore O Supreme Lord, please return to Navadvip. You will see the city of Mathura later. So the devas spoke from the sky. They wanted to remind Gaurasundar that He appeared in the world to distribute love of God, and chanting of the holy names and at present there was no need at for Him to go to Mathura. So they prayed to Him as the Supreme Controller of everyone. No one can transgress the Supreme Will. So they are appealing to Him to go back to Navadvip, to see Mayapur and later go to Mathura. So that everyone can be delivered by the sankirtan movement. Lord Caitanya had external and internal purposes for His descent. His external purpose was to establish the yuga dharma, chanting of the holy names of the Lord and with that to distribute love of Godhead. His internal purpose was to find out how the devotee is feeing, worshipping the Lord. So what the devas were doing was requesting the Lord to do His internal research later and first establish His external purpose of coming. Chanting the holy name and spreading love of Godhead. So they knew that if the Lord desired to do something no one could stop Him. Similarly, there is no one to order the Lord, simply appealing reminding that He had His external purpose and that was to establish the sankirtan movement. Hare Krishna!
Hearing the sweet words of the devatas or demigods, Lord Caitanya became happy to go back to Navadvip and immediately He went with His associate brahmanas surrounding Him. So He departed for His home. Lord Caitanya is Krishna and if Krishna wants to do something, no one can stop Him. But He may change His mind and no one can stop that. Then demigods from the heavens were appealing to the Lord that He should first go back home to His house in Navadvip and later go to Mathura. So the Lord if He changes His mind, He will do that. Someone asked Prabhupad one time, if Krishna can do something so heavy He cannot pick up. Prabhupad said that yes, He would do something heavy that He could not pick up and then later He will pick it up!! Ha! That is the wonderful nature of the Supreme Lord!!
So Lord Gaurasundar after hearing the voice from the heaven was satisfied and stopped His journey to Vrndavan.
The Lord returned to His room in Gaya. Then He took His students back to Navadvip where He revealed the devotional service of Lord Krishna.
So this was the same description from Caitanya Mangal. The Lord heard with His own ears the message from the angels or devas, demigods in the sky. So Lord Vishwambhar immediately ended His journey to Vrndavan and with His brahmana companions went to Navadvip.
So this is Murari Gupta’s Korcha in Sanskrit translated in English. Please read it:
“Having heard the supernatural words Sri Hari returned to His home where His kinsfolk at once surrounded Him. He fell and bowed down at the feet of His mother and Sachi mata’s eyes became filled with tears of joy.”
Sachi mata is the form of parental affection and as soon she saw her beloved son, she became joyful and her eyes became filled with tears of joy. So all the residents of Navadvip were very happy to see Nimai again.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He returned His journey to His house. Actually, step by step He went forward on foot until He came to Navadvip.
So after some days, mother Sachi saw her Son return to Navadvip. She filled her house with festivals. All her desires were fulfilled.
So His very sweet sound filled the whole area. The musical instruments described here as mridanga, josh, potaha, ponal, banava, kahal, kanshya, mardal and many other types of instruments. So these filled the sky from every direction and the sound rose higher and higher and everyone was filled with happiness. So I don’t know what to say, we will have to take pictures of these instruments, there is no translation, potahas, banavas, kahalas, only mridangas and cymbals we know. What are mardals? Kanshya is gong? So there was a festive mood just by Gaurasundar’s coming back.
In one story I read, maybe we don’t have that scripture here, when the Lord was returning from Gaya to go to Navadvip, He passed thru Kanainaathshaala. Which is also on the bank of the Ganges. There He sat down and he saw a cowherd boy at a great distance, playing on a flute and the cowherd boy danced and came closer. He could see His dhoti, His waist cloth, His urban, with peacock feather in it. He came closer and closer and He could see the special marking of Vishnu, the shark ear rings, His Srivatsa on His chest. So then He was sure that He was Krishna and His hairs were standing on end, His eyes filled with tears and Krishna came up and hugged Him and then His ecstasy was beyond description. Then Krishna ran off. So He went running after Him. So then Krishna at one point went behind a tree and disappeared. So Lord Caitanya was falling on the ground. So that place in Kanainaathshaala where Lord Caitanya was rolling the ground is still there. Lord Caitanya had visiting Kanainaathshaala at least three time. Going to Gaya, coming back from Gaya, seeing Krishna. When He was a sanyasi He went to Ramkeli and then He went to Kanainaathshaala and came back. Somehow this Kanainaathshaala by Krishna’s mercy came to us. The deities were stolen. So the Ramanandi sampradaya had been in charge for 300 years but it was told that if you ever fail to worship the deity you should give the deity to the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya, whoever is the most prominent guru. So the deity was stolen and the mahanta was 99 years old. He came to Mayapur; he was sitting in our Long building. Our manager Dayaram das came to speak to him and asked if he would take prasadam. He said, no I just take fruit and I have already done that. What would you like? He said I want to hand over my Sri paat at Kanainaathshaala and I heard that Bhakti Vedanta Swami was the greatest preacher of the Brahma Madhva line so that is why I am here. So then he named me as Prabhupad’s representative as the mahanta, I am officially the mahanta of Kanainaathshaala and now Iskcon is formally in seva of Kanainaathshaala. We never go the original deity back wbut got new deity installed. Then land is on millions of dollars of china clay. And the mahanta as worried that any of his disciple would sell it off just to get the money. So we have been valuing that place and it is a beautify place, it is at the border of Bihar and the northern border of Jharkhand, in the southern district on the Ganges. Ganges is 6 km wide. Because it is just north of the Farakka Barrage. And it is very near to Malda and Ramkeli. So it is an amazing place to visit and government has built a guesthouse and we are also developing the place. There is the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya established by Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and there are the ancient footprints of Radha and Krishna. So you go there and can still feel the transcendental vibration. So we will end here. Lord Caitanya has returned to Navadvip, returned to His house. From here on we will hear about how the sankirtan movement expands. Haribol! Gauranga Gauuuuuuuranga!
Mahavaraha das : Farakka Barrage is a barrage across the the Ganges river located in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal roughly 16.5 km from the border with Bangladesh near Chapai Nawabgunj district. Farakka Barrange township is located in Farakka in Murshidabad district.
Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
14 November 2018