CONTENTS:
- SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU’S PASTIMES IN JAGANNATHA PURI, NILACHALA (PART - 4)
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU’S PASTIMES IN JAGANNATHA PURI, NILACHALA (PART - 4)
We all like rays of the sun yet qualitatively the same. A ray of the sun has light and heat just as sun has light and heat but a ray is very minute whereas the sun is absolute. The svamsa expansion one sun became two, two suns became four and this is how they all suns but expansions so they are known as swamsa expansions or incarnations. Lord Himself is expanding. His pleasure potency is a person, she is Srimati Radharani. Whenever Krishna expands Radharani also expands. Krishna became Vasudeva and His pleasure potency became Satyabhama. Krishna became Narayana, His pleasure potency became Laksmi. Krishna became Ramchandra, His pleasure potency became Sita. In this way His pleasure potency also expands as He does. The original pleasure potency is always with the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. The original Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krishna and His pleasure potency is Srimati Radharani. Then what does He do with His pleasure potency? How is pleasure derived? Pleasure is derived through loving exchange. Joy is experienced through love. So, what is happening between the Lord and His pleasure potency? Loving exchange and through that loving exchange He is enjoying His pleasure.
Now the point is the Lord wonders, “Why does She love Me so much? What is there in Me that attracts Her to Me? By loving Me what kind of joy She experiences?” Yes, although the Lord is all knowing but these three things He can’t find out, these three things He can’t possibly know. He therefore decides in order to know these three things, “I have to become Her. I have to play the role the way She plays, that means I have to love Myself then only will I understand what is there in Me that is attracting Her so much and by loving Me what kind of joy She experiences.” Now to understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed the mood of Srimati Radharani, deepest love and Krishna became Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When He assumed that role, He became Radharani. Although He is Krishna but His complexion became that of Radharani so that is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Now see how deep this understanding is.
Not love thy father love thy God without knowing who the father is, what He does? Here we get to know what He does. Naturally He must be doing something. Can we stay without doing anything? No. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita Without doing something one cannot exist. Living entity must do something, consciousness means doing something, living body means one has to do something so we have to do something because without doing something we cannot stay. Even for a moment one cannot remain inactive.
Anyway, does it make sense or am I just glorifying my way to be the best way because it happens to be my way and everybody has his way and thinks his way is the only way? My way is the best. Okay let me prove that my way is not a false claim, I very openly declare if there is anything that is better than what I have found so far please give it to me I will give this up and take that. I am searching for the best; I am not sentimentally attached to this process. I am attached to this process because so far, it’s the best that I have found and no one so far has been able to show me a way which is better than this. Rather when I spoke to them and if they had their ears open, they accepted, yes, this is the highest understanding of spiritual knowledge. Sometimes it also comes like let’s have a debate, let’s have a fight, you try to prove your way and I try to prove my way and let us see which the best is. Show me where this kind of way is available? About the spiritual reality, our spiritual identity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and about our relationship with Him and relationship is based on love.
There are various types of relationships, various types of loving exchanges.
- Neutrality: no hate or no love that is neutral. I don’t hate you or I don’t love you. Some love is there but at least no hate is there. Example: the person in my neighbourhood, I see him, he goes to the office and comes from the office, on weekends he does his lawns, and he does shopping. Sometimes in the supermarket I bump into him and we smile at each other so that is neutrality.
- Servitude: I have a servant at home my relationship with my servant is deeper than the relationship I have with my neighbour. My servant serves me I appreciate and give him a salary, I take care of him;
- Friendship: the relationship I have with my friends are deeper than the relationship I have with my servant;
- Parental: the relationship I have with my father and mother is deeper than the relationship I have with my friends; and I’m a sanyasi I can’t say (laughter)
- Conjugal: the relationship a married man has with his wife is deeper than the relationship he has with his parents. Often the mother cannot accept that so the conflict with the daughter-in –law.
One relationship is deeper than the preceding in succession. The highest is the relationship between a man and a woman. You can go even further, the relationship one has with his paramour/ girlfriend is deeper than his relationship with his wife. Anyway, one should not have that relationship. Prabhupada was saying whatever is in this material nature must be there in the spiritual nature. All these relationships are there with Krishna, Krishna has these relationships with His devotees. Some devotees are just happy meditating upon Krishna, they accept Krishna as God and they meditate upon Him, they are devotees in Santya rasa. Devotees who are treating Him as the Lord and Master and serves Him, they relationship is in servitude. The relationship with the Lord as a friend is there and also like that of a father and mother.
There is a relationship with the Lord as a married wife, a queen and there is a relationship with the Lord as His girlfriend without a consideration of marriage. In this way these are the relationships that are there with the Lord. Generally, when one understands Him as The Lord and Master then the relationship is naturally like a servant and master. Generally, the understanding is known as a servant and master but Vrindavan is a special region where the Lord is experiencing these three other relationships like friendship, parental and conjugal. Generally, these three relationships are not possible to have with the Lord because friendship is among equals, who can become equal to the Lord? Parental the devotees become superior and the Lord becomes subordinate, who can become superior to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Relationship in conjugal life is like that between a boyfriend and girlfriend.
How is it possible to have that kind of relationship with the Lord? Therefore, there is a very special region where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead because these relationships are not possible with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vrindavan is the region where the original Supreme Personality of Godhead is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is through Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that we actually got this mercy otherwise it was not available even in the Indian Vedic domain, even in the Vaishnava community prior to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
And Prabhupada mentioned that finally when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent him to the West, he sent him as a pauper, without any money, without any resources. But all kinds of wonderful things started to happen. So, Srila Prabhupada was not in the limelight, Srila Prabhupada was not even in the forefront when Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati was present. But Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakur knew who Srila Prabhupada was and what Srila Prabhupada would do. (Prabhupada realizations)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- You can go even further, the relationship one has with his paramour/ girlfriend is deeper than his relationship with his wife. Anyway, one should not have that relationship.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on 10 December 2019 at Jagannatha Puri at morning class (Divine Pilgrimage 2019))
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)