Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata
Madhya-khanda -
By
Vyasa Avatara Shrila Vrindavana dasa Thakura
Chapter Five: Lord Nityänanda's Vyäsa Püjä Ceremony and His Darçana of the Lord's Six-armed Form
TEXT 1
jaya
navadvipa-nava-pradipa
prabhavah
pasanda-gajaika-simhah
svanama-saìkhya-japa-sutra-dhari
caitanya-candro bhagavan murarih
All
glories to Caitanyacandra, who is nondifferent from Lord Murari, who is the new lamp of Navadvipa, who is like an
unparal- leled lion in subduing the
atheistic elephants, and who holds a string for counting His own names, "Hare Krsna," which He
chants.
TEXT 2
jaya jaya
sarva-prana-natha visvambhara jaya
nityananda-gadadharera isvara
All
glories to Visvambhara, the life and soul of all! All glories to the Lord of Nityananda and Gadadhara!
TEXT 3
jaya jaya
advaitadi-bhaktera adhina bhahti-dana deha'
prabhu uddharaha dina
All
glories to the Lord, who is controlled by His devotees headed by Advaita! O Lord, please distribute Your
devotional service and deliver the
fallen souls.
"Please
deliver the ignorant nondevotees, those who are devoid of devotional service, from their engagement in
material enjoyment by awarding them the
propensity for serving Krsna." In accordance with this desire of Advaita, Lord Gaurasundara appeared
in this world to propagate devotional
service. The Lord advented in this world to deliver the fallen souls as a service to Sri Advaita;
therefore, since He fulfilled the prayer
of Advaita, Gaurasundara is under His control.
In the
Caitanya-candramrta (36) it is stated: "A person who does not take advantage of the nectar of devotional
service overflowing during the presence
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's cult is certainly the poorest of the poor."
TEXT 4
hena-mate
nityananda-saìge hutuhale krsna-katharase
sabe haila vihvale
In this
way, all the devotees became overwhelmed while dis- cussing topics of Krsna in the association of
Nityananda.
TEXT 5
sabe
maha-bhagavata parama udara krsna-rase matta
sabe karena huìkara
All the
devotees were greatly magnanimous maha-bhagavatas. They roared loudly as they became intoxicated in
the mellows of Krsna consciousness.
TEXT 6
hase
prabhu nityananda cari-dike dekhi' vahaye
ananda-dhara sabakara-aìkhi
Lord
Nityananda smiled as He looked around. Tears of love flowed from everyone's eyes.
TEXT 7
dekhiyaananda
mahaprabhu visvambhara nityanandaprati
kichu karila uttara
When
Mahaprabhu Visvambhara saw this ecstatic scene, He spoke something to Nityananda.
TEXT 8
"suna
suna nityananda sripada gosaìi vyasa-puja
tomara haibe kon thaìi?
uO Sripada
Nityananda Gosaìi, please hear. Where should we hold Your Vyasa-puja ceremony?
Introductory
knowledge of the Absolute Truth, Vrajendra-nan- dana, who is the predominating Deity of the samvit
potency, is called Veda. The marginal
potency, one of the three potencies of the Supreme Lord, has spiritual characteristics. Advaya-jìana
Vrajendra-nandana is situated within the
conceptions of knower, knowledge, and the object of knowledge. The Lord, who is the
personification of knowledge, takes the
form of sound and manifests as Vedic literature. When the Vedic literatures, consisting of knowledge related
to sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana,
fail to check the impersonal concept, then the advayajìana, or Absolute Truth, gives up its variegated
characteristics. In the perfectional
stage of their impersonal conceptions, those who give importance to material variegatedness lose
their individuality. Sri Krsnadvaipayana
Vyasa divided the Vedas into three parts. The Rg, Sama, and Yajur Vedas entangle materialistic persons in
karma-kanda and create illusions in
their understanding of the actual purport of the Vedas. Since the impersonalists do not accept the
eternality of
distinctions such as great and small, they are
unable to accept Sri Vedavyasa as the
spiritual master and they therefore forcibly con- sider him the propounder of their ignorance. Being
unable to understand the actual
intention of Srimad Vyasa, those covered Buddhists who claim that the Supreme Lord is a product of matter
and are thus bereft of His service
consider themselves as Brahman, which is devoid of distinctions such as individuality, devotion, and
aversion. Srimad Anandatirtha remained a
true servant of his spiritual master and became renowned as the topmost follower of Sri Vyasa by
establishing a difference of opinion
with such persons. In this disciplic succession from Madhva we hear topics of great personalities like Sriman
Laksmipati Tirtha and Sri Madhavendra
Puripada. Although the tradition of Guru-puja, or Vyasapuja, is current among the Mayavadis, or the
paìcopasakas, in such Vyasa- puja there
is a prominence of false ego. Due to the absence of pure devotional service, they can never
conduct Sri Vyasa-puja. In the
Mayavadi sampradaya the make-show
of Vyasa-puja is seen on Guru Purnima day in the month of Asadha
(June-July). The Vedas state that the
very moment one develops detachment, one will retire from material enjoyment and achieve a taste for the service
of the Lord. In this regard there is no
consideration of proper or improper time. As soon as the living entity's material enjoyment is
vanquished, he approaches an acarya and
takes shelter of his lotus feet. Taking shelter at the lotus feet of an acarya in this way Is &£ real
meaning of the term Vyasa-puja. Sri
Vyasa-puja is a prescribed function for all four asramas, but
particularly the sannyasis should
observe this function. Members of those
sampradayas in Aryavarta that accept the teachings of Sri Vyasadeva
are famous as vedanugas, or followers of
the Vedas. Every year they all worship
their spiritual master on his appearance day. The most suitable day for accepting sannyasa is Purnima, the
full moon day. Whether impersonalist or
personalist, all sannyasis worship their spiritual masters. That is why Vyasa-puja is generally
celebrated on the full moon day of
Asadha, which is considered the appearance day of the spiritual master. The servants of Sri Gaudiya Matha observe Sri
Vyasa-puja every year on the fifth day
of the waning moon in the month of Magha (January- February) as a sign of
respect. The observance of Sri Vyasa-puja differs in various branches. Since brahmatias of all
four asramas who have
undergone the prescribed purificatory
processes are under the shel- ter of a
spiritual master who represents Sri Vyasa, they more or less regularly worship Sri Vyasadeva as a
prescribed duty; but the annual
observance of Vyasa-puja is the
beginning of worshiping the spiritual
master throughout the year. Another name for Sri Vyasa- puja is Sri Guru-pada-padme padyarpana, or "bathing
the lotus feet of the spiritual master
with five ingredients," or the process by which it is made known that the inner desire of the spiritual master
is to properly serve the Lord. That is
why our well-wishing guide and predecessor spiritual master Srila Thakura Narottama has glorified our primary
guru, Sri Rupa Gosvami, as follows:
sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistarh
sthapitam yena bhu-tale svayam rupah
kada mahyarh dadati sva-padantiham
"When
will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill
the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me
shelter under his lotus feet?" The most merciful Sri Caitanyadeva's pastimes of distributing love of Krsna that Sri
Rupa prescribed to his followers as the
remedy for curing the disease of aversion to the service of the Lord are the ideal offering for
Vyasa-puja.
TEXT 9
kali haibe
paurnamasi vyasera pujana apane bujhiya
bala, ya're lay a mana"
"Tomorrow
is the full moon day when Vyasa is worshiped, so consider and inform us what is to be done."
TEXT 10
nityananda
janilena prabhura iìgita hate dhari' anilena
srivasa pandita
Nityananda
understood the Lord's hint and brought Srivasa Pandita forward by the hand.
Jagad-guru
Sri Nityananda Prabhu was a brahmacari
disciple of Parivrajakacarya Sri
Laksmlpati Tirtha, who enacted the pastimes of
subordination to the Sri Madhva-sampradaya.
Therefore He under- stood that since the
following day was Purnima, the day renounced persons shave their heads, the day of Vyasa-puja had
arrived. When Sri Mahaprabhu saw that
Purnima was drawing near. He asked Nityananda
Prabhu where Vyasa-puja should be celebrated. Vyasa- puja is
observed on the full moon day by
renounced persons such as sannyasis and
brahmacaris. The term Sri Vyasa-puja
indicates the offering of oblations
and sraddha to one's predecessor gurus. At that time Sri
Gaurasundara was not yet enacting the
pastime of accepting sannyasa. But since Sri
Nityananda Prabhu was enacting the pastime of a servant of the most renounced Tirthapada, He was engaged in the
pastime of practicing strict
brahmacarya. We find His brahmacari
name was "Sri Nityananda
Svarupa." From ancient times brahmacari disciples of Tirtha and Asrama sannyasis have been addressed as Svarupa.
TEXT 11
hasi' bale
nityananda,—"suna visvambhara vyasa-puja
ei mora vamanara ghara"
Nityananda
smiled and said, "Please hear, O Visvambhara, I will observe Vyasa-puja in the house of this
brahmana."
The phrase
vamanara ghara refers to the house or residence of
Srivasa.
TEXT 12
srivasera
prati bale prabhu visvambhara "bada bhara
lagila ye tomara upara"
Lord
Visvambhara said to Srivasa, "This is a great respon- sibility for you."
TEXT 13
pandita
balena,—"prabhu kichu nahe bhara tomara
prasade sarva gharei amara
Srivasa Pandita replied, "O Lord, this is
not at all a burden for me. By Your
mercy, everything is available in my home.
TEXT 14
\astra,
mudga, yajìa-sutra, ghrta, guya, pana vidhiyogya yata sajja saba xidyamana
"Cloth,
mung dal, brahmana threads, ghee, betel, pan, and whatever else is needed are all there.
TEXT 15
paddhati-pustaka
matra magiyaaniba hali mahabhagya,
vyasa-pujana dekhiba"
"I
only have to borrow a book explaining the procedures. I am most fortunate, for tomorrow 1 will see the
Vyasa-puja."
The
process for Vyasa-puja differs in the various sannyasa sampradayas. It was decided that the same process of
Vyasa-puja that Sri Nityananda Prabhu
was accustomed to would be observed in the house of Srivasa.
»
TEXT 16
prita
haila mahaprabhu srivasera bole 'hari hari' dhvani kare vaisnava-sakale
Mahaprabhu
was greatly pleased by the words of Srivasa, and all the Vaisnavas began to chant "Hari,
Hari."
TEXT 17
visvambhara
bale,—"suna sripada gosai subha kara,
sabe panditera ghara yai"
Visvambhara
said, "O Sripada Gosaìi, please listen. With Your blessing, we will all go to Srivasa Pandita's
house."
TEXT 18
anandita
nityananda prabhura vacant sei ksane ajìa
lai' karila gamane
Nityananda
was pleased with the Lord's words. Taking the Lord's instruction, they all immediately departed.
TEXT 19
sarva-gane
calila thakura visvambhara rama-krsna
vedi' yena gokula-kiìkara
As
Nityananda and Visvambhara went along with Their as- sociates, it appeared that Balarama and Krsna were
surrounded by the residents of Gokula.
TEXT 20
pravista
haila matra srivasa-mandire bada krsnananda
haila sabara sarire
As soon as
they entered the house of Srivasa, everyone was filled with ecstatic love for Krsna.
TEXT 21
kapata
padila tabe prabhura ajìaya apta-gana vinaara
yaite na paya
The Lord
ordered that the main entrance be closed so that no one other than intimate associates could enter.
On
entering Srivasa's house, Sri Gaura and Nityananda ordered that the outside door be closed. Then no one could
enter Srivasa's house other than persons
who were surrendered to the Lord. All of Sri
Gaurasundara's functions would begin with kirtana. That is why the
door was closed in order to check those
who were ineligible to see the function.
TEXT 22
kirtana
karite ajìa karila thakura uthila kirtana-dhvani, bahya gela dura
The Lord
gave instructions to begin kirtana. As the sound of that kirtana arose, everyone lost external consciousness.
Prior to
Vyasa-puja, Sri Gaurasundara ordered the devotees to begin kirtana. No one was allowed to enter the
Vyasa-puja arena except intimate
servants of the Lord. When on the Lord's instruc- tion the devotees began to loudly chant, they lost
their various external perception and
thoughts.
TEXT 23
vyasa-puja-aahivasa-ullasa-kirtana
dui prabhu nace, vedi' gaya bhakta-gana
In the
ecstatic Adhivasa klrtana prior to Vyasa-puja, the two Lords danced as the devotees surrounding Them sang.
The
devotees were jubilant in anticipation of the Vyasa-puja ceremony. Sri Gaura and Nityananda both began to dance
in the kirtana. The devotees surrounded
the Lords and expressed their joy through their
performance of kirtana.
TEXT 24
cira
divasera preme caitanya-nitai doìhe doìha
dhyana kari' nace eka thaìi
Caitanya
and Nitai are bound by eternal love. They meditated on each other as They danced together.
Both Sri
Caitanya and Sri Nityananda are eternally bound to each other by love. Each one meditates on the other as
They madly dance together. The Supreme
Lord is engaged in meditating on His ser- vant, and the devotee is also engaged in meditating on His
worshipable Lord. The word dhyana in
this verse does not refer to material thoughts. The dhyana here refers to spiritual absorption; in other
words, this absorption is totally devoid
of gross material
TEXT 22
thoughts and full of spiritual pleasure. Just
as the material senses acquire the
subtle status of an object from the gross world in order to serve the mind, which is the basis of the senses,
and thus convert its gross status into a
subtle one; giving up gross and subtle material
enjoyment with the desire for only eternal spiritual objects causes the descent of variegated spiritual pleasure in
this world. Material pleasure derived
from this world is completely distinct from spiritual pleasure that has descended.
TEXT 25
huìkara
haraye keha, keha va garjana keha
murcha yaya, keha karaye krandana
Someone
roared loudly, and someone cried out. Someone fell unconscious, while someone else wept.
When
spintual consciousness awakens in the heart of a condi- tioned soul, the symptoms of ecstatic love manifest
in his body. He then loses worldly
conceptions and displays symptoms of variegated spiritual pleasure in this world. In order to exhibit
this ideal, Sri Gaurasundara, who is the
Lord of the fourteen worlds and who is beyond the jurisdiction of material nature, danced with ecstatic love
in the company of His associates. It is
completely unreasonable to attribute the state of material conditioning on the transcendental
pastimes that Vrajendranandana
personally manifests in this world in order to remove the conditioned souls' darkness of ignorance.
When conditioned souls are situated on
the path of sadhana, they cannot understand the glorious transcendental nature of the Lords pastimes.
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