Seeking the Kingdom of God

SRI CAITANYA BHAGAVATA

Madhya Lila Chapter 2

All glories to the moon-like Sri Gauracandra whose cooling rays benedict the entire universe. Kindly offer me Your lotus feet as the eternal treasure of my heart. All glories to Lord Gauranga and His devotees. If one hears the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya he surely attains the highest stage of love of God.
Advaita Acarya Prabhu heard the different comments from the Vaisnavas about the Lord's ecstatic trance, and he was extremely pleased. Overcome with joy, he spoke to the Vaisnavas: "My dear devotee brothers, I had a dream last night which I wish to reveal to all of you. I was feeling very sad and dejected, and I was fasting because I could not understand the text of the Bhagavad-gita. Sometime during the night a person came to me in my dream and said, 'Wake up Acarya! Take your food immediately. I will reveal to you the real meaning of the Bhagavad-gita text. But first, you must rise and eat, then worship Me.
'Discard this melancholy from your heart, for your austerities and vows have finally reaped a full harvest. All of your fasting, your worship, and your endless entreaties to the Lord crying, "Krsna! Krsna!", and the vow you made with lifted hands for the advent of the Lord, will all come to fruition. The chanting of Lord Krsna's holy name will constantly reverberate in every country, in every town, and in every village. By your mercy, everyone will be able to see here, in this Navadvipa, in Srivasa's house, devotional ecstasy that is rarely achieved even by Lord Brahma. Now I will take your leave, but first you must eat. I will appear to you again in the future.'
"When I opened my eyes I saw our Lord Visvambhara, but within moments He vanished from my sight. I do not understand the mysterious ways of Lord Krsna, how He acts and to whom He reveals what secrets.
"Visvambhara's elder brother, Visvarupa, use to come to my house and discuss Bhagavad-gita. At that time Visvambhara was a most exquisite child who was very charming to look at. He would come to my house to call His brother. The little child, Visvambhara, captivated my entire being with His extraordinary beauty. I would spontaneously bless Him saying, 'May You develop pure devotion to the Lord.'
"The child hailed from an illustrious family of great scholars; His maternal grandfather was Sri Nilambara Cakravarti. Lord Visvambhara is a great scholar, so it is natural that He would become attached to Lord Krsna. It is extremely pleasing to hear all the wonderful activities of Visvambhara. All of you kindly bless Him that He may develop the purest and highest devotional mood. May the Supreme Lord Krsna be merciful upon everyone and benedict them that they become totally mad with the chanting of the Lord's holy name. If there is any truth to my words, then in the future everyone will come to the house of this great brahmana, Sri Visvambhara."
Advaita Acarya Prabhu roared jubilantly and all of the devotees joined in with Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead descended in the form of His name, and everyone chanted, "Hari! Hari!".
Someone said, "Nimai Pandita has now become a great devotee, so He will propagate the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord and increase our joy." The devotees offered their obeisances to Advaita Acarya Prabhu and left in great ecstasy, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.
Whenever Lord Visvambhara met anyone on the street He would always speak with great affection. When He went for His early morning bath to the Ganges, He met all of the Vaisnava devotees on the way. When He saw Srivasa Thakura He would offer His obeisances. Being very pleased with His behavior, the devotees would bless Him saying, "May You develop unflinching devotion to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. Always chant Lord Krsna's name and only hear Krsna's glories. Everything becomes auspicious and successful when one worships the Supreme Lord Krsna; but without devotional service to His lotus feet, physical beauty, learning, etc., are useless. Krsna is the Supreme Father and the life and soul of everyone. Simply try to develop undeviating love for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna."
These heartwarming words filled Lord Visvambhara with joy. Lifting His face, He glanced at everyone, showering His mercy. He said, "Your blessings carry the weight of real truth. Who, other than you devotees, will bless Me with such mercy to receive devotional attachment to the Lord's lotus feet? Elevated devotees like yourselves are capable of granting devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Lord Krsna is very pleased and showers His mercy upon those who serve His devotees. I consider that it is due to My great fortune that you are teaching Me the process of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. I know that I can become attached to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna if I can serve pure devotees like yourselves."
In great humility, the Lord fell down and caught the feet of the Vaisnavas. He rendered service to them by wringing someone's wet cloth, folding someone's dhoti, or sometimes He brought the mud from the river on an usav grass asana. Some days He would carry something heavy for someone and bring it to their house. All the Vaisnavas would mildly protest, saying, "Oh Visvambhara, why are You doing this?" But the Lord continued to serve the Vaisnavas. In this way the Lord would serve His own devotees and servants everyday, performing all varieties of errands for them. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna Himself, yet He gave up His own position to serve His devotees.
All the scriptures proclaim that Lord Krsna is everyone's dearest friend, therefore Lord Krsna never hates or dislikes anyone; He is equally disposed to all living entities. Yet He is even willing to break this injunction for His pure and dedicated devotees. The proof of this statement is that Lord Krsna eliminated Duryodhana's entire family. It is the natural tendency of a pure devotee to serve the Supreme Lord Krsna; and it is Krsna's nature to serve His devotees. Lord Krsna becomes purchased by the love of His surrendered devotees, who are thus able to control Him. Satyabhama in Dvaraka can bear witness to this statement.
That selfsame Supreme Personality, Lord Krsna, is now living incognito in Navadvipa as Lord Gaurasundara, Visvambhara. Yet no one can recognize the Lord and the purpose for which He has accepted this incarnation.
Whoever desires to take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna must serve His pure devotees. Lord Gauracandra personally taught all the living entities that service to the Vaisnavas is the highest form of worship. Lord Visvambhara did not feel ashamed to serve His devotees. He did all sorts of menial services for them; carrying things for them, washing their cloth, and respectfully holding their hands, etc.
The devotees were very impressed with the Lord's humility. With all good intentions they blessed Him saying, "Worship the lotus feet of Krsna, remember only Krsna, and chant always His holy name. May Lord Krsna be as dear to You as Your very life. Go on repeating Lord Krsna's name, and become His dedicated menial servant. May only Lord Krsna manifest within Your heart, and by Your association may we be freed from all of our sufferings. By Your grace may all of those wretched fools who (ridicule?) the chanting of the Lord's holy name, drown in the nectarean flood of love of Godhead. You have defeated the entire world with Your knowledge of the scriptures; in the same way You must annihilate the fallen atheists with the purity of Your devotion. May we, by Your mercy, be overwhelmed with happiness through chanting Krsna's name and dancing in ecstasy."
All the Vaisnava devotees touched the Lord and blessed Him. Then they revealed to Him the sorrows in their hearts, "Alas! In Navadvipa all the scholars and teachers speak endlessly on various subjects, but when it comes to explaining the process of devotional service to Krsna, they remain silent. There are many great scholars, stalwarts of the renounced order, and ascetics living in Navadvipa, yet not one of them is heard glorifying Lord Krsna. Instead of praising the Lord's pastimes and explaining the process of devotional service, they are always criticizing. A sinful audience hears their words and believes in them; thus they treat us worse than dirt or grass in the street. My Lord, chanting of Krsna's name cannot be heard anywhere, so we are burning in the fire of distress. Lord Krsna is now pleased with us, therefore He has inspired You from within to take to the path of devotion. Now we know for certain that You will be the cause of annihilating the atheists. May You live forever chanting the holy name of Krsna, and may all the transcendental qualities of Krsna be revealed by You to the entire world."
The Lord accepted the blessings of His devotees with deep gratitude, for a Vaisnava's blessings can increase one's attachment to the lotus feet of Krsna.
The distressing plight and words of the devotees affected Lord Visvambhara, and He considered revealing Himself very soon. The Lord replied, "You are all beloved devotees of the Lord, whatever you say must certainly happen. My life is truly blessed by your encouraging words. I know that when you glorify the Supreme Lord Krsna and chant His holy name then there is no one who can stop you, not even death! What can a sinful atheist do to you? Just continue chanting the glories of Krsnacandra. The Supreme Lord cannot bear to see His devotees suffer, therefore Lord Krsna appears in different incarnations to protect His devotees. I see now that you will be the cause of Sri Krsna Candra's appearance in His next incarnation in Navadvipa to convert this whole place into the spiritual planet of Vaikuntha. You will redeem this world from illusion. Please allow me the favor that I may always be your humble servant."
Lord Visvambhara then touched the feet of all the Vaisnavas, and the devotees in return spontaneously blessed Him profusely. Finishing their bath in the Ganga, they dispersed and returned to their respective houses.
The Lord was feeling extremely joyful, but as He began to contemplate the words of the devotees and the suffering they were experiencing, He felt anger rising within Him and a desire to punish the atheistic society. He roared angrily, repeating, "I shall destroy them! I shall destroy them! I am Him, I am Him!" Conflicting emotions took hold of the Lord, sometimes He laughed, sometimes He cried, sometimes He fell unconscious, and sometimes He felt like beating and destroying. The Lord thus manifested His terrible mood of destroying the miscreants.
Mother Saci could not understand her son; everything seemed very perplexing. She thought that some disease had attacked the Lord. Mother Saci felt nothing but affection for her son, so she was deeply affected by this peculiar transformation in Him. She discussed it with everyone she met, "The Lord has already taken away my husband and my son, and all that I have left is this young boy. Now His actions perplex me, I do not know how to think of Him. Sometimes He laughs, sometimes He cries, and at other times He falls down unconscious. Often He speaks to Himself, and sometimes He yells out loud saying, 'Break the heads of those atheists!' Sometimes He runs to a tree and climbs into its branches, then suddenly with closed eyes He falls down to the ground. Sometimes His grinding teeth make a grating noise. Sometimes He claps His hands on His body, then falling down, He rolls on the ground, not saying a word."
The ordinary, ignorant people could not see the symptoms of love of Godhead in the Lord and thought it to be some disease, a sort of wind disorder. They suggested that He should remain bound up. Mother Saci's description of the Lord's condition attracted many people to come and see Him. When the Lord saw the people He charged at them. These ignorant fools simply laughed and ran away, thinking that the Lord was suffering from some wind disorder.
Mother Saci became flustered and ran after the people to pacify them. Some of the people told her, "He is definitely suffering from some wind disorder." While others said, "You are just an ignorant brahmana's wife, what is there to ask about this? It is apparent that He is suffering from some wind disorder. Give Him coconut water to drink and tie His feet in case He gets violent when madness overcomes Him." Some others suggested, "He is not to be cured with some simple medicine, you must give Him nothing less than 'siva ghee' to relieve Him from this attack of wind disorder. Apply the ghee on His head and then give Him a bath."
Saci devi, the affectionate, kind, and noble minded mother of the entire universe, became fraught with apprehension. Feeling at a loss, she simply prayed to Lord Govinda, taking complete shelter in Him. She sent people to the house of Srivasa and various other devotees, requesting them to come there.
One day Srivasa Pandita came to visit the Lord, and Visvambhara immediately got up and greeted Him with respect. Upon seeing a pure devotee of the Lord, Visvambhara's ecstatic emotions increased.
As Srivasa Pandita was circumambulating tulasi devi, the Lord manifested ecstatic symptoms: crying, shaking, shivering, horripilating(?), and then falling down unconscious on the ground. After a while, when external consciousness returned to the Lord, He began crying profusely and shaking uncontrollably. To Srivasa Pandita all these manifestations of the Lord were wonderful. He thought to himself, "These are the symptoms of the highest spiritual ecstasy of love of Godhead. Foolish persons misunderstand and think this is due to a wind disorder."
When the Lord could speak, He said to Srivasa Pandita, "Oh, it is you Pandita! What do you make of My condition? Some people are suggesting that I should be kept bound up because I suffer from some terrible wind disease. What is your opinion?"
Smiling, Srivasa Pandita replied, "Good wind, I also want to be attacked by the same wind that is causing this disorder in You. Actually, I see signs of great spiritual ecstasy of love of Godhead in You. You have been favored by Krsna's mercy."
The Lord was very happy to hear this from Srivasa Pandita and He embraced him affectionately. He said, "Everyone is saying that this is a wind disorder, but now you have given Me great hope. For this I am grateful and forever indebted to you. If you had also said that I was suffering from some wind disorder then certainly I would have jumped into the Ganga."
Srivasa replied, "Your love for the Supreme Lord Krsna has reached such ecstatic heights that it is even desirable by Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, and sages such as Saunaka. Let us all come together and glorify Krsna's holy name without caring about the criticisms of the atheists and sinners."
Srivasa Pandita said to Mother Saci, "Cast your sorrows away, your son does not suffer from wind disorder. I tell you positively that these symptoms are due to the highest love of Krsna. Even though you may see some wonderful and ecstatic pastimes of Lord Krsna, such activities and topics are far beyond the intellectual capacity of ignorant and materialistic nondevotees, so such subjects should not be discussed in their presence.
Srivasa left the house of Lord Caitanya and returned home, leaving behind a pacified and relieved Mother Saci. However, she could not completely remove the despondency she felt within, for she was always afraid that her son would leave home at any moment.
Such were the wonderful activities of Lord Visvambhara. How could anyone understand these transcendental pastimes, unless the Lord Himself revealed them?
One day the Lord and Gadadhara Pandita visited the house of Advaita Acarya Prabhu. Entering his house, They saw that the Acarya was busy offering water and tulasi to the Lord. With raised hands he was calling out, "Hari! Hari!", sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, completely oblivious to himself. He emitted loud, roaring sounds like a mad lion full of raging fury, as if He were the incarnation of the Lord of destruction, Rudra. When Lord Visvambhara saw Advaita Acarya Prabhu overcome with spiritual emotions, He fell down unconscious.
Due to pure devotional insight Advaita Acarya Prabhu could see that this person, Lord Visvambhara, was his most worshipable Lord. He thought to himself, "Today I have captured You, You are a thief. How will You escape from me today? All this time You have been hiding Your real identity from me and everyone, but now somehow You have come here. You cannot always cheat me. I know who You are, and now I will cheat the cheater."
Advaita Acarya Prabhu made all arrangements to worship the Lord, and reveal to the world the supreme absolute position of Lord Visvambhara, who so far had very cunningly hidden His true supreme spiritual identity. He brought all the different paraphernalia for worshiping the Lord. He offered incense, flowers and lamp to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya while repeating one verse over and over again, "My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world."
Sri Advaita was very happy to recognize the Lord of his heart, and he cried tears of joy, washing the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya with his tears. He stood with folded hands before Him and worshiped His lotus feet, chanting one sloka continuously.
A little amused, but nevertheless respectful, Gadadhara Pandita told Advaita Acarya Prabhu, "Oh Gosvami, it does not befit you to behave like this with someone so much younger than yourself, a mere lad."
Advaita Acarya Prabhu slightly laughed at Gadadhara Pandita's words and replied, "Oh Gadadhara Pandita! How long are you going to see Him as a mere lad?" A more profound thought dawned on Gadadhara Pandita's heart and he said, "Is He the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?"
After some time Lord Visvambhara regained His external consciousness, and saw that Advaita Acarya was worshiping Him, absorbed in an ecstatic trance. Lord Visvambhara quickly withdrew into Himself, hiding His real identity. With folded hands He began offering praises in glorification of Advaita Acarya Prabhu. He offered His obeisances to Advaita Acarya and touched his feet, taking the dust and placing it on His head, surrendering His life to Advaita Acarya Prabhu. "You are a magnanimous person," He said. "Please be gracious to Me. I am always your humble servant. Seeing you today is a blessing for me, and if you are merciful I will be able to chant the holy name of Lord Krsna. You can destroy the darkness of nescience because your heart is the permanent residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna." The Supreme Lord is most expert in glorifying His devotees, and this wonderful exchange of love and affection between the devotee and the Lord is spontaneous.
Sri Advaita said to himself, "All this is real (bravo?), today I have out-cheated the biggest cheat." The smiling Advaita Acarya replied, "My Supreme Lord, to me You are superior to everyone. Please remain here, I want to be with You and hear the wonderful transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna, so that I may be able to see You all the time. It is everyone's desire to be with You and chant the glories of Lord Krsna."
The Lord accepted, and appreciating Advaita Acarya's sentiment, He went back to His house. Advaita Acarya Prabhu was now convinced that his dear Lord had appeared. Secretly, he left Navadvipa and went to Santipura to test his bond of affection with the Lord.
He thought, if He is truly the Supreme Personality of Godhead then, I am His humble servant. He is certainly capable of tying His servant with the bonds of love and bringing him to His side."
Who is capable of understanding the mind of Sri Advaita Acarya? By his spiritual potency he was able to invoke the appearance of the Supreme Lord in this world. One who has no faith in these words will soon fall away from the righteous path and be destroyed.
The Supreme Lord Visvambhara continued to perform the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord along with all the Vaisnavas. All of them were very happy to have the Lord amongst them, but none of them could actually recognize Him as the Supreme Person. Everyday they saw the Lord go into wonderful ecstatic trance. This was an extraordinary sight for them, and it caused them to wonder whether this personality was actually the Supreme Lord Himself. When the Lord went into one of His ecstatic trances, only Ananta Sesa was able to describe it.
When the Lord was in ecstasy He trembled like a falling autumn leaf. This trembling was so uncontrollable that thousands of devotees could not keep Him still, streams of tears flowed unchecked like hundreds of rivers. His entire body broke out in horripilation(?) like a ripe, golden jackfruit. From time to time He would break into loud laughter, being very amused with Himself. At other times He would fall unconscious to the ground, unable to contain the bubbling ecstasy within. When external consciousness returned to Him, He kept repeating Lord Krsna's name.
The loud roaring sound that He sometimes made seemed to burst the eardrums of the nondevotees; but the devotees of the Lord, by His grace, gradually came closer to crossing the ocean of material existence. His body would at times become stiff like a marble statue, and at other times soft and pliable like butter. The devotees saw the wonderful transformations in the Lord, and everyone of them were convinced that it was not humanly possible to manifest such ecstatic symptoms.
They each offered comments according to their own level of understanding. Someone said, "He is definitely a partial incarnation of the Supreme Lord." Someone else said, "He is a great devotee. Maybe He is Sukadeva Goswami, or Prahlada, or even Narada Muni." Another said, "He is here to remove all calamities." The wives of the Vaisnava devotees who observed this also remarked, "Lord Krsna has taken His birth again." Another lady said, "I think that He is an incarnation of God." In this way, different people offered different opinions about the Lord. When the Lord finally regained His external consciousness He embraced everyone.
It is impossible for me to describe it. He would pitifully cry out for Krsna saying, "Oh tempter, who steals the hearts of the damsels of Vrndavana! Oh divine friend of the weak and frail! Oh ocean of mercy! Oh My Lord Syama! Alas, Alas! Tell me, How will I spend those awful and fretful days when I am unable to see You?" At other times He cried out, releasing heavy sighs, "Where can I find the sweet face of My Lord that always (flowers the fruit?)" Then gradually becoming still, the Lord revealed the pain in His heart saying, "Please be merciful and hear My pitiful condition. There is no end to My sorrows. Although I have found My life, My dear Krsna, now I have lost Him." The devotees were greatly pleased to hear these words that explained the mystery and increased their faith and reverence. Sitting around the Lord, they all listened as the Lord continued, "While returning from Gaya I came to a village named Kamai Naksala. There I saw a young boy of exquisite beauty. He had a glowing dark complexion, the color of the bark of the tamala tree. His curly hair was decorated with wild flowers. He wore a beautiful crown with a peacock feather stuck in it. All His jewelry and gems shone brightly like the sun.
"It is impossible for Me to describe the beauty of the delicately ornamented flute He held in His hand which captured everyone's heart, and His fine lotus feet which looked so attractive with ankle bells softly touching His skin. His graceful, strong arms were more formidable than a blue pillar, and were covered with sparkling jewels and gems. From His neck hung the famous kaustubha jewel, and His chest was marked with the srivatsa. How will I describe to you the beauty of His yellow golden silken dhoti, His dangling fish earrings, and His lazy lotus petal eyes? Smiling sweetly, He approached Me and embraced Me; then suddenly He ran away, fearing what, I do not know."
No one can enter into these intimate loving moods of Lord Caitanya unless and until He specially blesses someone to understand them. The Lord could proceed only so far with His narrations and then fall down unconscious on the ground, crying out, "Oh My Lord Krsna!" Greatly concerned, all the devotees quickly removed the dust from the Lord's body while loudly chanting, "Krsna, Krsna." The Lord seemed to become a little calm, and then again He became extremely restless crying out, "Where is My beloved Krsna? Where is My beloved Lord?", and He wept bitterly. Finally, the Lord was able to control Himself and could hold Himself still. His body then gradually returned to its butter-soft condition, and the devotees were happy.
The Lord's words, steeped with devotional emotions, filled their hearts to the brim. They said, "We are all feeling very fortunate and blessed to have Your association. Who is attracted by the opulence of Vaikuntha Dhama when You are here? A moment's association with You will enable anyone to taste the highest nectar of devotion. We are all Your followers, protected by You, so kindly lead us in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Krsna. We have been burned by the caustic words of the atheists, let your tears of love of Godhead cool us forever."
The Lord was very happy to hear these words from the Vaisnavas, and He returned to His house walking like a mad lion, filled with love of Krsna. Although He returned home, He never behaved like an ordinary, mundane family man in His house. He was always immersed in love of Krsna. Loving tears of separation from Krsna flowed profusely from His eyes like streams. How did the waters which washed His lotus feet in the form of the Ganga now appear in His eyes? He had only one answer to anyone's inquiry. Whenever He saw a Vaisnava devotee He would rush to him asking, "Where is My beloved Krsna? Where is my beloved Krsna?" Crying out like this, He broke down weeping, and the devotees tried to calm Him down.
One day when Gadadhara came to see the Lord, he noticed that the Lord was hiding a betel leaf in his hand. As soon as the Lord saw Gadadhara, He asked, "Where is that blackish boy who is dressed in yellow, and radiant with blossoming, youthful beauty?"
Such earnest yearnings of the Lord for Krsna were truly heart breaking, and it left everyone at a loss for words. Gadadhara Pandita replied bravely, "Lord Krsna resides within Your heart eternally."
When the Lord heard that Krsna was within His heart, He began to pierce His chest with His nails. With immense endeavor Gadadhara Pandita was able to restrain the Lord, holding tightly His hands and trying to calm Him down, "There, Krsna will come just now, try to compose Yourself."
Mother Saci saw how Gadadhara Pandita was able to pacify the Lord, and she was very satisfied with him. She thought, "I have never seen anybody so intelligent as this young boy. I feel afraid to even comfort Him, and this young lad has so intelligently and nicely pacified Nimai." She spoke to Gadadhara Pandita, "Dear boy, stay here always, do not leave Nimai's company to go anywhere else."
Mother Saci was awestruck by the Lord's ecstatic devotional trances. She saw Nimai as merely her young son. "He is not an ordinary mortal," she thought. "How is it possible for an ordinary human being to shed tears like gushing cascades? I do not know which extraordinary personality has come here." Mother Saci was therefore afraid to come in front of the Lord.
Towards the evening all of the Vaisnavas slowly assembled in Lord Caitanya's house. Sri Mukunda Mahasaya began reciting verses in a sweet melodious voice. Mukunda was blessed with such a beautiful voice that as soon as the Lord heard him recite, He went into an ecstatic trance. He loudly resounded the Lord's name, roaring like a lion. Losing His balance He fell in all directions. This made it difficult for the devotees to hold Him. All the ecstatic symptoms manifested within Him simultaneously; he expressed apprehension, laughter, trembling, paling, horripilating, roaring, etc. The devotees were filled with amazement at such a wonderful sight. The Lord's ecstatic absorption in love of God gradually increased in intensity. The whole night passed as if in a moment, and in the early morning hours the Lord came out of His trance.
Day and night, the Lord was totally absorbed in the nectar of kirtana, chanting the holy name. The Lord had already begun propagating the holy name; and seeing Him, all of the devotee's sufferings were destroyed. The beloved son of Mother Saci, Gaurasundara, continuously chanted the Lord's name loudly like the roaring of a lion. Waking the atheists out of their stupor, their kirtan disturbed the nondevotees.
Thus the atheistic population became enraged, and aimed abusive language at the devotees. Someone said, "I cannot even sleep at night." Another commented, "All their screaming and shouting will enrage the Lord, and that will cause their complete destruction." Another said, "They avoid philosophy and speculative knowledge, and so they behave arrogantly." Another said, "Who knows what they sing about? Behind all this mischief is that brahmana Srivasa. He and his three brothers get together and scream, 'Krsna! Krsna!' like madmen, just to fill their bellies. Does not one earn piety by chanting in his mind? Or is it sheer madness? The whole country will be ruined because of this Srivasa. Today I heard in the king's court that they will send two boats with government men to capture anyone who sings kirtana in Nadia. This is the king's order.
"Srivasa Pandita and his men will run away and escape, but we will have to suffer the entire brunt of this. I warned all of you earlier to throw Srivasa's house into the river. But you did not act because you thought I was joking. But now it is too late, the danger has come upon us."
Another said, "What do we care? If the government men come here we will just capture Srivasa and hand him over to them." The atheistic population of Navadvipa discussed about the Vaisnavas in this manner while two boats with the government men came to Navadvipa.
The Vaisnavas heard this news and simply took shelter of the Supreme Lord by remembering Him; in this way all of their fears were dissolved. They said, "Whatever the Supreme Lord Krsnacandra wants will happen, and it is for the best. As long as He is here, then what fear do we have from these wretched people?" Srivasa Pandita was a soft-hearted and magnanimous soul. This news disturbed him, and he became anxious for the well-being of the Vaisnavas. He was apprehensive because he knew that anything could happen under the Muslim rule.
The Supreme Lord Gaurasundara, the Supersoul, knew everything in everyone's heart. The devotees still were not aware that the Supreme Lord had come and was amongst them. Now the Lord began to manifest Himself. Lord Visvambhara roamed everywhere, unperturbed and unconcerned, his transcendental beauty unmatched within the entire creation. His body was decorated with sandalwood paste, His reddish lips were like the early morning sun, and His eyes were like a blooming lotus flower. Cascading curly tresses shone like a halo around His glowing moonlike face. He wore a brahmana thread around His shoulders, and dressed in fine clothes. His exquisite personal beauty completely captivated the mind. Casually chewing on pan, He went for a walk on the river bank.
When the devotees saw the Lord, they became very joyful; but the atheistic people felt intimidated. "He must have heard everything," they said, "Yet He shows no sign of fear. He strolls about as though He is a prince." Another person said, "Listen friends, I understand all this, wait and see. What you are observing now is just another trick to escape."
Fearlessly, Lord Visvambhara looked in every direction, observing the scenic beauty of the swift flowing Ganga and her banks. He saw a herd of cows grazing on the banks. Some of them went to the river to drink water, and a few young ones jumped about with raised tails. Some of them were butting each other, while others just lay around chewing their cud. This sight immediately agitated the Lord. He forgot Himself, and began emitting loud sounds like roaring. He kept saying, "I am Him, I am Him." In this condition the Lord ran to Srivasa's house shouting, "What are you doing now Srivasa?"
Srivasa was engaged in worshiping Lord Nrsimhadeva behind closed doors. The Lord came and kicked the door. The Lord screamed out, "Who are you worshiping? Whom are you meditating on? The person who you are worshiping is here!" Srivasa trembled, and sat awestruck. The Lord spoke to Srivasa calling out, "Oh Srivasa, all this time you did not know who I was. I left My spiritual abode of Vaikuntha and came down to this material world at your beckoning, because of your loud chanting of the holy name, and Advaita Acarya Prabhu's loud calling.
"Not recognizing Me, you are living completely complacent and unconcerned. And avoiding Me, Advaita Acarya Prabhu has gone back to Santipura. I have come to protect the pious and punish the miscreants. There is no need for you to worry, just go on worshiping Me."
Tears filled Srivasa's eyes and his heart swelled with love for the Lord. All his fears were destroyed by His assuring words. Currents of joy passed through his body, and he stood up with folded hands, offering prayers to the Lord. Srivasa Pandita was a good and pure devotee, and a great scholar. Having received the Lord's order, he began to offer prayers to Him.
He recited from the Srimad-Bhagavatam Lord Brahma's prayers to Lord Krsna, "'Oh Lord, You are the eternally worshipable Supreme Personality of Godhead. Your complexion is blackish like the monsoon cloud; and the color of Your cloth is yellow like a flash of lightning. Wild flowers adorn Your ears, and a peacock feather adorns Your crown. Your face looks so exquisite; a gently swaying flower garland hangs around Your neck. Your mouth is smeared with the curd that You have just eaten.
"'Your transcendental possessions - the cane, horn, and flute - are special features of Your beauty. Your feet are soft like the petals of the lotus. I worship You, the son of Maharaja Nanda. I worship the lotus feet of Lord Visvambhara, whose complexion is like the blackish monsoon cloud, and who wears a yellow dress. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of the son of Mother Saci, whose ornaments are a bunch of wild flowers and a peacock feather.'
"My obeisances at the lotus feet of the disciple, Gadadhara Pandita. Nimai, who is decorated with a flower garland, holds a preparation of sweet rice in His hands. I offer obeisances at the lotus feet of the son of Sri Jagannatha Misra, Nimai. A million full moons fade before the exquisite beauty of His face. I offer my obeisances at Your feet my Lord, You who hold the cane and the flute. I offer my obeisances to Your lotus feet. You who have been declared by the Vedas as the son of Maharaja Nanda."
Srivasa Pandita prayed like Brahma to the Lord's lotus feet. The words of transcendental praise flowed out with ease from his mouth, and he spoke on, "You are the Supreme Lord Visnu. You are Lord Krsna. You are the Lord of all sacrifices. The holiest of rivers, the Ganga, has sprung out of Your lotus feet. You are the life and beloved son of Janaka Maharaja, Lord Ramacandra; and You are Lord Nrsimhadeva. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are like bumblebees searching for honey at Your lotus feet. You are the knower and compiler of the Vedas; and You are the Supreme Lord Narayana.
"You appeared as Lord Vamana to trick Bali Maharaja. You are Lord Hayagriva. You are the soul of the universe. You are Lord Jagannatha, the moon of Nilacala; and You are the ultimate cause of all causes. Is there anyone who is not subordinate to Your energies, whether it be Your insurmountable material energy or Your internal spiritual energy? Even Laksmi devi is unaware of this, although she is Your constant companion. Lord Sesa who acts as a friend, companion, and brother, and who serves You in every respect, is even subjected to Your illusory potency, what to speak of others.
"You have placed me into this (??) existence of family life, which is a dark well of forgetfulness. My rare human birth has been wasted because I could not recognize You. In various ways You have deluded me, My Lord, going to the extent of putting on fine clothes, etc, (??) so I was unable to recognize You.
"Oh Lord of my heart, please listen to me. Now that I have met you I disregard all of my fears. All my sorrows and sufferings have vanished. My life has again begun, my day has come. My whole life and all of my endeavors have now become successful. The sun of good fortune has risen in my heart. My fore- fathers have been liberated, and my house has been sanctified. My eyes have never been blessed with such a wonderful sight as I am seeing today. I see Him whose lotus feet are most worshipable by the goddess of fortune, Ramadevi."
Observing the wonderful form of the Lord, Srivasa Pandita was unable to control himself, and he fell into an ecstatic trance. Currents of joy ran through his body, and he merged into an ocean of happiness. With raised arms he wept and breathed heavily, then rolled on the ground.
The Lord smiled and accepted Srivasa's prayers with great satisfaction. "Bring all your relatives in the house and let them see My form," the Lord said. "Along with your wife, worship My feet and ask for any boon that your heart desires."
Following the instructions of the Lord, Srivasa went into his house and gathered all his relatives, friends and wife, and returned quickly to the presence of the Lord. Weeping with joy, Srivasa offered all the flowers collected for the worship of Lord Visnu to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. With fragrant flowers, incense, and lamp, Srivasa, along with his wife, brothers, other relatives, servants, and maidservants, offered worship at the lotus feet of the Lord. They fell down and earnestly prayed, pleading for the Lord's mercy.
Srivasa was very dear to the Lord, therefore the Lord blessed him, as well as everyone present, by placing His lotus feet on their heads. Smiling, He said, "May your attachment and attraction for Me increase." The Lord spoke loudly like a roaring lion, and addressing Srivasa said, "Oh Srivasa, are you afraid of something? News has reached Me that the government men want to capture you, and they have come with two boats. I am the Supersoul within everyone's heart; I control and direct everyone's activities according to My sweet will. The king can only capture you if I, being situated in his heart, prompt him to do so.
"Yet, for some reason, if he acts independently and gives the order to capture you, then I will do the following: I will be the first to step into the boat and present Myself before the king. On seeing Me do you think that he will still remain sitting on the throne? I will delude him and take control of him.
"If the king evades this move of mine, then I have another alternative. I will tell the king, 'Listen to the truth, oh king. Call all of your religious heads and judges to come to the court. Collect all of your elephants, horses, animals, and birds, etc. Whatever you have, bring them to your place. Then order all of your Kazi priests to read from your scriptures and inspire every listener to such a state of spiritual emotion that they begin to cry.' If they fail to do so, then I will reveal my true identity to the king.
"Then I will say, 'Oh king, on the instructions of these same Kazi priests, whose spiritual powers we have already witnessed, you want to forbid the congregational chanting of the holy name of God. Now you shall see My power to the full satisfaction of your eyes. I will capture a mad elephant and bring him here, along with other elephants, horses, deer, and other animals, and make them all cry in ecstasy and chant Krsna's name.' I will make the king and all his men cry and chant Krsna's name. I know that you don't believe that it is possible, but I will show you right now and you can see for yourself."
The Lord noticed a small girl, who was the daughter of Srivasa Pandita's brother, named Narayani. Lord Gauracandra, the Supreme Godhead, the Supersoul within everyone's heart, ordered the little girl, "Narayani! Chant Krsna's name and cry in ecstasy." The four year old girl became extremely agitated with ecstatic spiritual emotions and cried out, "Oh Krsna!" She began to weep, losing all perception of the external world. Tears streamed down her body, and she fell to the ground. Smiling, Lord Visvambhara asked Srivasa, "Are your fears pacified now?" Vaisnavas will remember for many years to come how Narayani was a recipient of the Lord's mercy.
Srivasa, a very learned Pandita who is well versed in all the scriptural conclusions, threw up both of his hands and said, "My Lord, when you exhibit Your terrible form as all devouring time, and annihilate this entire material creation, I will fearlessly chant Your holy name. Now that You are here, present before me in my house, what fear do I have?"
Seeing the Lord manifest His opulent Vaikuntha form, Srivasa, along with all the assembled relatives, brothers, wife, and servants went into ecstatic trance. The transcendental form of the Lord that even the personified Vedas are eager to see, was now being seen by even the servants and maidservants of Srivasa Thakura. How can I possibly describe the magnanimous nature of Srivasa Pandita? A little dust from his lotus feet can purify the entire creation.
Lord Krsna appeared in the prison house of Vasudeva, and all of His pastimes were performed in the house of Nanda Maharaja. Similarly, Lord Caitanya appeared in the house of Sri Jagannatha Misra, but all His Vrndavana pastimes were performed in Srivasa Pandita's house. Srivasa Pandita was loved by all the Vaisnavas. Anyone who came to Srivasa's house experienced great joy. Even the servants and maidservants in the house of such a devotee can see the rarest of sights, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in person. From this we can understand that serving a pure devotee is the best process of attaining the supreme goal, because by the mercy of a Vaisnava one can certainly receive the shelter of Krsna's lotus feet. Lord Visvambhara ordered Srivasa Pandita, "Do not speak about this incident to anyone."
When the Lord regained His external consciousness He felt very ashamed of Himself, and after comforting Srivasa Pandita, He returned to His own house. Srivasa Pandita's whole house was immersed in jubilation.
Whoever reads Srivasa Pandita's prayer to the Lord will immediately be elevated to the position of eternal servant of Lord Krsna.
Lord Balarama, my beloved Lord and Master, has spoken to me from within my heart as the Supersoul, and so, on His order, I am writing these wonderful activities of Lord Caitanya.
I pray to the lotus feet of all the Vaisnavas that they bless me so that I may attain the service of Lord Balarama, my Lord and Master, birth after birth.
Just as there is no difference between the name Nrsimha and Yadusimha, in the same way, I know Lord Balarama and Nityananda Prabhu to be the same person.
Lord Balarama is very dear to Lord Caitanyacandra, and in his present incarnation I glorify Him by the name Avadhutacandra.
Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are my life and soul.
I, Vrndavana dasa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
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