SRI CAITANYA BHAGAVATA

Adi Lila Chapter 10


All glories to Lord Caitanya, Sri Gauracandra. He is the supreme controller of all other isvaras and the most cherished Love of Lord Nityananda. He possesses an eternal transcendental form. O Lord, mercifully look upon the conditioned living souls. All glories to You, for You are the best of the brahmanas, the son of Sri Jagannatha Misra. All glories to Your devotees, the most elevated souls. You are an ocean of compassion, and Your beautiful eyes are like lotus petals. Be so kind, O Lord, as to grant me this prayer: may I remain constantly absorbed in Your magnanimous character.

Please read in this chapter about Lord Caitanya's pleasurable pastimes as a young scholar. He totally absorbed Himself in scholarly pursuits not finding time for anything else. After completing His daily brahminical duties early each morning, the Lord of the Universe, Sri Nimai Pandita, went to the house of Sri Gangadasa Pandita. He was accompanied by students who respected Him as an authoritative scholar and considered themselves His disciples. At Gangadasa's place He conducted debates. Many students who were not in His group for the debate and who did not submit to His tutorship were affronted or slighted by Nimai and His followers. After establishing His arguments in the debate, Nimai would discuss the different points He had made with His group, just as the other groups would do. Murari Gupta was not amongst Nimai Pandita's group, so Nimai confronted him and refuted his arguments.

Nimai wore His dhoti neatly wrapped around His slim, elegant frame, and sat amidst the students in the mood of a valiant prince. The sandalwood paste tilak decorating His forehead shone with a soft golden glow, and His exquisite and regular set of teeth were so effulgent that brilliant white pearls looked old and lackluster in comparison. At age sixteen, Nimai's youth blossomed like spring. He was beauty personified and even Cupid fell captive to His charm.

The erudition He exhibited in His pastimes as a scholar far superseded the knowledge and learning of Brhaspati. If any of the students tried to learn the scriptures on his own, Nimai was quick to taunt him.

The Lord would challenge, "Who is here? Such a great scholar to refute my arguments? Without even knowing the rules of proper conjugation some persons try to understand grammar by themselves and fool themselves into complacency. Yet in spite of their vanity, because of their ignorance they cannot answer My arguments properly. They cannot even debate the arguments properly."

Murari Gupta heard these provocative and boastful words of the Lord but remained silent and continued to do his work. Still Nimai would not leave him alone. He taunted Murari Gupta at every opportunity, but seeing the calm reaction of His dear servant, the Lord was actually very satisfied.

Once Nimai said to Murari Gupta, "You are a Vedic doctor. Why do you study grammar here? Go to your leaves and herbs and make a compound so you can cure the sick. Grammar is extremely difficult to learn. Here there is no mention of mucus, bile or indigestion. How do you want to accomplish anything in learning grammar just by studying on your own? Rather, go home and try to cure the sick."

Sri Murari Gupta was the partial expansion of Rudra, Lord Siva, and had a volatile temper. Yet Lord Visvambhara could not see a single trace of anger in him.

In reply Murari Gupta said, "O learned Brahmin, please tell me one thing: I see that You taunt everyone. Why are You so arrogant? On what subjects did You not receive a proper answer from me? Whether the discussion was on verb rules, astrology with its different purports, or other philological questions, I answered them all. Without asking and waiting for a reply You flaunt me. What do You really know? You are a learned brahmin, so why do You act like this? What more can I say?"

"Alright, discuss and analyze what you have read today," said Nimai. Murari Gupta began his explanations and the Lord immediately refuted them. Murari Gupta explained in a certain way but the Lord would explain the same subject in another way. At last the Master, not His servant, accepted defeat.

By the Lord's influence Murari exhibited great erudition and Nimai was extremely pleased by Murari's explanation. The Lord placed his soft lotus hands on Murari Gupta, and upon receiving that sublime touch, Murari experienced indescribable bliss.

"This Nimai cannot be an ordinary person," thought Murari to himself. "How would it be possible for an ordinary person to possess such vast learning? My body felt such spiritual excitement just by the touch of His hands. I think that I should not be ashamed to learn under his tutorship. There is no one as intelligent or learned in all of Navadvipa."

Then Murari Gupta, the Ayurvedic doctor, submitted to the Lord, "O Visvambhara, I will learn under your tutorship." In this affectionate manner the Master and His servant interacted. The Lord then took all His friends to the Ganga for a bath. The divine pastimes of Sri Caitanya as a scholar were enacted in this mood.

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