Srila Gadadhar Pandit | The Personification of Gaura-prem
Goswāmī Mahārāj (GM):
mūkham karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī gurum dīna tāraṇaṁ
vande ’haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
nindantaṁ pulakotkareṇa vikasan-nīpa-prasūna-cchaviṁ
prordhvī-kṛtya bhuja-dvayaṁ hari-harīty-uccair vadantaṁ muhuḥ
nṛityantaṁ drutam aśru-nirjhara-cayaiḥ siñcantam ūrvi-talaṁ
gāyantaṁ nija-pārshadaiḥ parivṛtam śrī-gaura-candraṁ numah
ānanda-līlā-maya-vigrahāya
hemābha-divyac-chavi-sundarāya
tasmai mahā-prema-rasa-pradāya
caitanya-candrāya namo namas te
pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ
bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ
namāmi bhakta-śaktikam
nitāi gaura gadādhara advaita śrīvās
Today is the appearance day [of] Śrīla Gadādhar Paṇḍit Prabhu. Also the amāvāsya. Bhakti śakti as mentioned in the introductory śloka of Śrī Chaitanya Charitāmṛtam. And Guru Mahārāj is saying, really, bhakti śakti position is to fulfill all of Kṛṣṇa's necessities, His desires. And in Gaura-līlā, Kṛṣṇa's desires have, in a sense, taken a new turn.
apāraṁ kasyāpi praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya kutukī
rasa-stomaṁ hṛtvā madhuram upabhoktuṁ kam api yaḥ
rucaṁ svām āvavre dyutim iha tadīyāṁ prakaṭayan
sa devaś caitanyākṛtir atitarāṁ naḥ kṛpayatu
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛtam, Ādi-līlā: 4.52)
Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī [in] Chaitanyāṣṭakam [is] revealing most confidential things. Sometimes because even in those newly acquainted with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is a tendency to take these things for granted. As if it's just common knowledge to everyone, or...
But as we recently celebrated the appearance of Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur — and he is the Vyāsa of Śrī Chaitanya-līlā, considered really the biographer of Mahāprabhu; there are others, but really, Chaitanya-Bhāgavata occupies that position. And we've come to understand by the grace of our Guru-varga, in a comparative analysis between Chaitanya- Bhāgavata, Chaitanya-Charitāmṛtam. Guru Mahārāj says, Chaitanya-Bhāgavata, [is] rasa without ontology. There's a handful of Sanskrit ślokas there. And [for example], śrutvā guṇān bhuvana-sundara śṛṇvatāṁ te (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.52.37), one of the ślokas of Rukmiṇī, but...
You see, in Chaitanya-Charitāmṛtam, it is ontologically laden with so many deep mystical Sanskrit ślokas invoked particularly at the beginning, where the framework or the foundation is being laid for expressing the internal reason for the descent of Kṛṣṇa in this world as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. The implication being that this has not been fully expressed in the pages of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam — ahh, [correction], Chaitanya-Bhāgavata. It is that confidential. So, when Kavirāj Goswāmī is laying the foundation for what will be presented in Śrī Chaitanya-Charitāmṛtam, emphasizing the śeṣa-līlā, the final pastimes of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, after He takes sannyās.
Chaitanya-Bhāgavat [is] focusing upon, meaning, the Ādi-līlā, the beginning pastimes, His appearance here and up to, [and] including His sannyās and finishing with the pastimes of Jagannāth and Balabhadra slapping Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidi, who is really rāga-mārga bhakta, but he had some suspicion about the pāṇḍās in Purī, whether or not they're treating Jagannāth properly. [Laughter]. And Jagannāth and Balabhadra made it clear that They're accepting their sevā. Not to interfere, don't meddle there.
But...so, for establishing the foundation, Kavirāj Goswāmī [is] primarily quoting from Svarūpa Dāmodar's diary, and Rūpa Goswāmī, some Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī, Svarūpa Dāmodar's assistant. Svarūpa Dāmodar is the secretary of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Lalitā- sakhī of Kṛṣṇa-līlā, Rādhārāṇī's secretary, principal assistant, so naturally, Svarūpa Dāmodar could only be Lalitā-sakhī. Only Lalitā-sakhī would really be qualified, Lalitā, Visākhā. Svarūpa Dāmodar, Rāmānanda. They hold unique position, but particularly Svarūpa Dāmodar, Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī, prayojan-tattva āchārya.
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3)
Indicating the prayojan-tattva śloka of the Bhāgavatam that the veda-kalpa-taru, the kalpa-vṛkṣa, desire tree of vedā, with its so many branches and sub-branches. Really, its purpose, in time, the floral essence of the veda-kalpa-taru, is produced as vedānta-sūtra. Floral essence, flower, but gives way to producing the fruit, what Śrīla Prabhupāda called the fully ripened, mature, fruit.
Which is madhura-rasa. That juice, that divine, sweet, substance, that is the purpose of the vedas, of the vedānta, and the fruit when it is presented in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, nine cantos of pre-requisite culminating in the tenth canto, the birth and childhood pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, then twenty-nine chapters, twenty-eight chapters building to the twenty-ninth chapter, the rāsa-līlā of Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, and vraja-gopīs. So...when you are dealing with the Infinite, there has to be ways to express the Infinite in apparently finite, or condensed form to be accessible.
So you say, describe the Infinite to us. But a drop of the Infinite is infinite, and so we take it śraddhānvito ’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39). Our āchāryas, they are the experts in distributing this divine substance. Like Śukadeva. śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3). Expertly....Veda-vyāsa, Sukadeva Goswāmī. How to...like the expert physician seeing the condition of the patient and giving the medicine at the right time, the right dose etc.
As once Śrīla Gurudeva compared it to homeopathy, and saying that — because some people will say, well wait, vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39). You're saying that someone has to be cured, then they can take the medicine? Is this not the medicine? Hearing these divine topics, you know...dhīra. They miss this. No, it will make you dhīra. No, it is a pre-requisite. Means, otherwise, like Joyce, Portrait of Young Artist [transcriber note: reference to novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce], if aesthetic beauty produces a mundane reaction, it's either not aesthetic beauty or an unqualified student. But...so....what was I saying...that...
Oh, Gurudeva, so he said, he said it's like homeopathic medicine. You must identify, well first you have to examine the condition of the patient. Then identify that medicine. But additionally, what is its potency and the dosage of that potency. Not only identifying the medicine, but the potency of it and, then, what will be the dosage. And he added one thing that is so classically Gurudeva, Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj. He said, and, his time for healing must have come. That's so perfect and beautiful. So, how to come in connection with this divine substance?
How to reveal that? Śrī Rūpa is the expert, [in] Chaitanyāṣṭakam he's going to reveal why Mahāprabhu has descended, but in a śloka. I mean, it's an aṣṭakam, but three times he... aṣṭakam. And [in] this one he's saying, apāraṁ kasyāpi praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya kutukī (Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta Ādi-līlā: 4.52). At the rāsa-līlā, that's where he begins. Serving the billion, trillion supremely qualified, uniquely qualified, with completely individual characteristics, qualities, divine form. There are no duplicates. It's not duplicate, duplicate, duplicates so many times. All individuals.
ananda-cinmaya-rasa pratibhāvitābhis
tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
(Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.37)
They're all unique, in their beauty, quality, characteristics, mood, gesture, singing, dancing, and...One, observing One, rādhām ādhāya hṛdaye tatyāja vraja-sundarīḥ (Gīta-govinda: 3.1 by Jayadeva Goswāmī, quoted in Śrī Chaitanya-Charitāmṛtam; Ādi-līlā: 4.219). Rādhārāṇī absenting Herself from the rāsa-līlā, draws the attention of Kṛṣṇa. And, He's thinking — a billion, a trillion minus one, we would think, it's negligible, the difference. Not in this case. This is the shorthand math to understand to what degree Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is qualified. She cancels a trillion. tatyāja vraja-sundarīḥ. More than a trillion, in one.
Inconceivable, but Her absence causes Kṛṣṇa to search for Her and finding Her, after some time, She said from all the singing and dancing, I am fatigued. And if You like to go any further — They are going deeper and deeper in their Vṛndāvan forest — You have to carry me. And, Kṛṣṇa is carrying Her, at one point He places Her down and Her eyes are closed [and] She is thinking, is there anyone more fortunate than I? Kṛṣṇa left all of them for Me. And opens Her eyes, and Kṛṣṇa has vanished. And then we think, what's wrong with Kṛṣṇa? With all due respect. Why does He do these things? Is He cruel?
Is there something wrong? Or, is it that He is so astonished, enchanted by Her — Govinda-Mohinī — that He can't imagine...if this is what She is like when we are together in this divine loving exchange, what happens when She is separated from Me? bāhye viṣa-jvālā haya, bhitare ānanda-maya, kṛṣṇa-premāra adbhuta carita (Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta, Madhya-līlā: 2.50). The wonderfully astonishing quality, characteristic of Kṛṣṇa-prema is really demonstrated, expressed in the depth of separation. In the depths of separation, the heart yields the most superior type of loving substance of Kṛṣṇa-prema.
Hidden in a kuñja, observing Her, what She expresses in separation from Him, that converts Him, captures Him. It's not enough for Me to understand this theoretically, I want to experience it. As govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi, the puruṣa, the supreme enjoyer, cannot relish that position. Because that is the position of a devotee. And the devotee is not in the position of the enjoyer, but the enjoyed. So, He will have to abandon His position as enjoyer, or somehow suppress that and become enveloped in Her heart and halo. rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ (Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta, Ādi-līlā: 1.5).
To experience what She experiences. And that is revealed in Śrī Chaitanya- Charitāmṛtam as the internal reason for the descent of the Lord. And we're told, Guru Mahārāj says, Viṣṇu-priya, Gaura-Nārāyaṇa, like nāma-saṅkīrtan aspect of the pastimes. Gadādhar Paṇḍit, madhura-rasa. One name of Mahāprabhu, Gaurachandra. We just celebrated the appearance day, the Gaura Pūrṇimā, right? Full moon. Gaurachandra, the golden moon. Always this full moon analogy. Gadādhar Paṇḍit appears on the amāvasyā. There is no moon to be seen. There is a moon, can't be seen.
In a suppressed position. How...and Guru Mahārāj also said, two aṣṭamīs, Janmāṣṭamī, Rādhāṣṭamī, two aṣṭamīs make a pūrṇimā. So, the divine combination of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa — Gaurachandra. But when Gadādhar appears, why the amāvāsyā. Apparently — moon, but apparently not visible. Because rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ (Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta, Ādi-līlā: 1.5). Kṛṣṇa has hṛtvā madhuram upabhoktuṁ kam api yaḥ (Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta, Ādi-līlā: 4.275), has plundered the heart of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Which She will not give willingly. But we're told in Guru Mahārāj's ārati song, he said, you know, what is it nirakhi praphulla rādhā mukhe manda hāsa ( Śrīla Guru Mahāraj’s Śrī Sāraswat ārati –verse 7), She is slightly smiling.
To see what's happening to Kṛṣṇa. Under the influence of Her heart, Śyāmasundara has been transformed into Gaurāṅgasundar. So, Guru Mahārāj's [śloka is] Guru-rūpa-hariṁ gauram rādhā-ruchi-ruchāvṛtam gadādharanvitam vande vāṇi vinoda vanditam. The Guru-rūpa of Hari [is] Gaura. Guru-rūpa, when Kṛṣṇa takes the form of Guru, Guru-rūpa- harim gauram, becomes Gaurachandra. Their pastimes as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, madhura-rasa.
Gaura-līlā is the audhārya pastimes of Their...this is Their āchārya-līlā. Kṛṣṇa as Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, Rādhārāṇī as Gadādhar Paṇḍit. So...the...Guru Mahārāj, for his śloka collection, as Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur is extracting out of the eighteen thousand ray sun of the Bhāgavatam, approximately a thousand ślokas, Guru Mahārāj had in mind 300. One of the introductory ones, one for Veda-Vyāsa, there is also, as we'll discuss later, Gadādhar praṇām, but one also about Rādhārāṇī.
In relation to Bhāgavatam:
yad amiya-mahimā-śrī-bhāgavatyāḥ kathāyāṁ
pratipadam anubhūtaṁ chāpy alabdhābhidheyā
tad akhila-rasa-mūrti-śyāma-līlāvalambaṁ
madhura-rasa-dhi-rādhā-pādapadmaṁ prapadye
(By Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāja)
That although ostensibly the Bhāgavatam is about Kṛṣṇa, it's a Kṛṣṇa book, the book of Kṛṣṇa, devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Seems really, every step of the way, every śloka is to take us in the direction of the service of Her holy lotus feet. First śloka is really, what does is it say, ādi- rasa. Everything — janmādy asya yataḥ (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1) — everything is coming from madhura-rasa. The mukhya-rasa, principal rasa. Second śloka, nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ, kaitava dharma (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.2). Any religion that is not purely, perfectly, expressing this, is deceiving you.
And, and how, what will be critical to that expression nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ. Not only, not being envious, also not showing proper regard to the devotee and the Supreme devotee. Means Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And in the third śloka, we're told, this madhura-rasa substance. So, really, the Bhāgavatam is a book about rasa. It culminates in the presentation of madhura-rasa. Whatever you may see along the way, it should not become a side track or distracted from the principal message of the book. It's taking you in one direction. It's announced in the beginning, and really it's held consistently throughout, to gradually ascend, from, you know, śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, madhura rasa presentation.
So...the, I should say this, that....so, the āchārya-līlā of Rādhā-Govinda is as Gaura-Gadādhar in Gaura-līlā. And we know, that from a very early age, Gadādhar Paṇḍit — so, Gadādhar Paṇḍit is Rādhārāṇī, apperaring in Gaura-līlā. And Her [his] father’s name is Mādhava Miśra, so sometimes referred to as Mādhava-nandan. And Gadādhar Paṇḍit is this beautiful young boy, if we can ….we can't conceive how beautiful Gadādhar Paṇḍit must be. Rādhārāṇī appearing as a young, charming devotee.
Inconceivably beautiful, and sweet, and gentle nature. And Paṇḍit qualities. What was that name, Gurudeva gave, Rasamoyi Paṇḍita. And Gadādhar Paṇḍit is very infatuated with Nimāi Paṇḍit, and but thinks the only flaw of Nimāi Paṇḍit — He's perfect in every way, except He is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. [Laughter]. Which is true!. It's Kṛṣṇa! [Laughter]]. But...and the part of the beauty and the sweetness of the development of the pastimes of Mahāprabhu is that, beginning as one in a ostentatiously...what is that [word], ostensibly, whatever the word is, not a devotee.
Right? Qualified in every way but this. And, playing varieties of pastimes in Navadwīp, but Gadādhar Paṇḍit, when they're like teenagers, you could say, Nimāi Paṇḍit's already teaching the primary students Sanskrit and sometimes meeting Gadādhar. Gadādhar, come over here I want to talk to you. And they'll talk, and will have some mock argument with Gadādhar Paṇḍit, and take one position — Gadādhar Paṇḍit takes one position, Nimāi Paṇḍit takes the other, then Nimāi Pandit defeats Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And like, flustering Gadādhar, then Nimāi Paṇḍit turns around, takes Gadādhar's position and then defeats again.
And Gadādhar becoming more flustered. We're told, sometimes even, like, maybe trying to avoid Nimāi Paṇḍit. But unable to. But Gadādhar once asked Nimāi Paṇḍit to worship his deities, and Nimāi Paṇḍit is bathing, putting on fresh clothes, tilak, and goes to approach the deity, tears are streaming from His lotus eyes and drenching his clothing, washing away the tilak and then He realizes He needs to go bathe again, put on fresh clothes, put on tilak and again crying, like Gaṅgā streams of tears pouring out of His lotus eyes. And tells Gadādhar Pandit, I am so unfortunate, I can't worship the deity.
I don't have the proper...so, but where can I find Kṛṣṇa, Gadādhar? When he says, by the association of devotees, and also He got initiated by Īśwara-purī, He returns, and now His bhakta-bhāva is beginning. Which will culminate in Rādhā-bhāva, but begins in bhakta- bhāva. But with the search for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He's saying, Gadādhar, tell me, my heart is burning, I am wasting my life, where can I find Kṛṣṇa? And Gadādhar will say, very softly, Kṛṣṇa is in your heart. And Nimāi Paṇḍit [will say], Ohhh! and starts tearing His heart, His chest...going to rip open His chest and release Kṛṣṇa, and Gadādhar [says], no, not like that.
And then mother Śachī is thinking, I like this boy, Gadādhar. If Gadādhar will always be with Nimāi, then Nimāi will be all right. Very intelligent boy, and can control this divine madness of Nimāi. And...but Gadādhar...the father of Rādhārāṇī, Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāj, appears in the pastimes as Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi. But, as Guru Mahārāj told, like hide-and-seek, they're discovering one another. Gadādhar is in Rāḍha-deśa (also known as Rarh, or Rara, the country where the Ganges river does not flow), with, you know, Eastern Bengal, Puṇḍarīk, from there, Mukunda Datta, others....So, somehow, up to this point...and Gadādhar is like, he has not taken dīkṣā, or initiation.
And Mukunda Datta is the dear friend of Gadādhar and knows that from Chaṭṭagrām, that Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi keeps a house in Navadwīp, to have Gaṅgā-darśan, and Gaṅgā-pūja. We cannot understand from our fallen position, how significant this is to those who possess devotion. Guru Mahārāj said that Professor Sanyāl, who grew up to a fanatical follower, disciple of Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur — and I say that because he'd like hearing that — in their house, they kept, like, a bottle on their altar of Gaṅgā-jal. And on special days, a few drops would like, be put on someone's head and they would bow down and give daṇḍavats and....
You know, it was used in very — the holy water, like that, very special occasions. So, it was always something he saw in like, a little bottle. And then, when he came to Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh, in Kolkata, and then saw the Gaṅgā, so wide, he almost fainted. What we kept so respectfully, in a bottle on our altar, it's flowing like this. How wonderful!, As Mahārāja said:
cid-ānanda-bhanoḥ sadā nanda-sunoḥ
para-prema-pātrī drava-brahma-gātrī
aghānāṁ lavitrī jagat-kṣema-dhātrī
pavitrī-kriyān no vapur mitra-putrī
(Kavi Karṇapūra, Chaitanya-Chandrodaya naṭaka: 5.13).
This ‘cid-ānanda-bhanoḥ’ śloka, Mahāprabhu, when He sees Gaṅgā, Jamunā, saying, like, ohh, you're liquid Kṛṣṇa-prema, a river of prema is flowing.
That's how the Gaṅgā is seen. So, Puṇdarīka Vidyānidhi, we'e told, he goes to Navadwīp, and so respectfully...he can't tolerate to see people bathe in the Gaṅgā, cleansing themselves, washing their clothes, using it for some lower purpose. To serve them, not to serve. So, we're told, in the evening, he will go and bow down on the river bank and take a few drops upon his head, very respectfully, worshipfully. And Mukunda Daṭṭa knows the glories of Puṇdarīka Vidyānidhi. And, says to Gadādhar, do you want to meet a real vaiṣṇava? Because, we hear, there's so many different types of vaiṣṇavas.
Third class, second class, first class, and gradations within and without. So...Gadādhar [says], yes, I am very eager to have the darśan of a genuine vaiṣṇava. And Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi is coming [to Navadwīp], we're told, and so they go to meet him. And he's on a palanquin, and [one] that's all, you know, brass and gold and there's mirrors and he's smoking a hookah, his hair is oiled, he's chewing betel leaf, his teeth are all [red] lips are all bright red. He appears to be in some sort of state of divine intoxication. And Mukunda is like, there's your vaiṣṇava. [Laughter].
It's so beautiful, because, it will save us from vaiṣṇava-aparādha, and also from, how do you say, mis-perceiving who is not qualified as being qualified, what to speak of mis-perceiving the qualified as unqualified. There's two sides to this. We're talking about Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, accept no substitute. Like eka-Ramānanda, [as] Mahāprabhu [said], there aren't two. We're talking about quality. So, Gadādhar....and Mukunda Daṭṭa can see the look, Gadādhar Paṇḍit is like…...Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi is....red lips...
Seeing his own beauty in the mirror, like Gurudeva said, bhakty anvitaṁ- sundaraṁ (Śrīla Gurudeva’s pranāṁ mantra) , [as] Guru Mahārāj wrote about him. And Gurudeva said, looking very nice! So, he appears to be a viṣayī that is the point. And that's...exaggeratedly, portrayed with exaggeration here, underscored, then you can understand that it's to make a very important point. It's not an accident, or trivial. But seeing the hesitation, the apprehension, reticence on the part of Gadādhar, Mukunda is saying, ohh, I see...
How shall we bring out the subjective aspect? This Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, whom Mahāprabhu said, Vidyānidhi, means ocean of vidyā, He said, not Vidyānidhi, Premanidhi, he's an ocean of Kṛṣṇa-prema. We talked about a river, he's an ocean of Kṛṣṇa-prema. He [Mukunda Daṭṭa] is thinking, how....and the great vaiṣṇavas, they're concealing themselves. It's only neophytes and posers and imitationists who are trying to promote themselves as being advanced. The actually higher vaiṣṇavas are concealing their position. Mādhavendra- purī [is] running from fame.
But Mukunda is thinking, how to bring him out? And, Mukunda is also an excellent singer, I cannot sing like Mukunda. But I'll just mention, where he takes one śloka from the Bhāgavatam....and see which śloka he takes. Not something dealing with the confiden[tial aspects]...only posers, imitationists, do that. To deceive the foolish people. See what the genuine devotees are doing. What śloka did he [pick]? From the third canto of the Bhāgavatam. It's like, Vidura and Maitreya, or Uddhava, that section. And...
aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3. 2.23)
And hearing this — Guru Mahārāj says very nicely, he said, then the bomb burst. Puṇḍarīka, he [went].... kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema. Who is the more worshippable Lord and more worthy of taking shelter than Kṛṣṇa? He….the rākṣasī, witch, Pūtanā, approached Him with murderous intention, she wants to murder Him, by assuming the charming position of a buxom milk-laden nurse.
And with the approval of Yaśodā and Rohiṇī,entering the nursery, taking Kṛṣṇa in her lap and pushing her poisoned breast into the mouth of Kṛṣṇa. She is sent by Kaṁsa to kill Him. And...what does Kṛṣṇa do? He sucks the poison off the nipple, the milk through the nipple, sucks her prāṇa out of her body and what happens? She is liberated, she becomes liberated. We're told, achieves mother position, or mother-like [position], like that. Not just merged into the brahmajyoti, but elevated to a motherly-like position. And...if this is how treats His enemies, then friendship would be inconceivable.
If you approached Him — Viśwanāth takes it to [another level], Viśwanāth spells it out even more clearly by saying, then just śānta [rasa] would be superior to that. [That's] how he is making a point. Because that would be neutral. This is negative, and you get this type, so then neutral has to be better than that, then what to speak of dāsyam, sakhyam, vātsalya, madhura, svakīyā, parakīyā, like....ohh, inconceivable, we can't even conceive that far. That's why it's told this way. Narasiṁha Chaitanya Prabhu reminded me of a śloka, from the eleventh canto, talks about inference and subtlety. It's saying, this is the preferred method of revelation.
See, it is safe, it is a mystery to the unqualified. They're looking elsewhere. They're looking for explicit, overt....it's not like that. It's encrypted. Here, do you think Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāj, Gadādhar Paṇḍit, they don't know all these other things that...these fools discuss? Unqualified people discuss? Why do [they] make their approach this way? Because...
rādhā-mukunda pada-sambhava-gharma-bindu-
nirmañchanopakaraṇī-kṛta-deha-lakṣām
uttuṅga-sauhṛda-viśeṣa-vaśāt pragalbhāṁ
devīṁ guṇaiḥ sulalitāṁ lalitāṁ namāmi
(Śrī Lalitāṣṭakam: 1)
Devotion is measured in the inverse. Those — as Lalitā-sakhī praised by Rupa Goswami — who express, exhibit, possess the greatest magnitude of eagerness for the least aspect of sevā. That's how it is revealed.
For the least connection, they're showing such intensity. So, this śloka, brings the bomb burst. And Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi cannot conceal himself any longer. He is throwing the hookah, tearing the hair, tearing his clothes off, his body is trembling, showing all different types of ecstatic symptoms, he falls off the palanquin on the ground, screaming, kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema, [is there] anyone more merciful than Krsna? Look at this! How He liberated Pūtanā! And then Gadādhar Pandit is saying, ohh, no, what have I done? I have offended a higher vaiṣṇava, taking him to be a materialist.
Because I was looking at the objective aspect, and that eclipsed the subjective aspect of his actual devotional self, and now I am in big trouble. So, I came here to see the vaiṣṇava, and what have I done? I have committed vaiṣṇava-aparādha of the higher order. My life is ruined, in a moment. What shall I do? And...Guru Mahārāj said, we're told that if you will take shelter of the vaiṣṇava, become their disciple, then all offenses are forgiven. So, he wants to take initiation from Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi....
And...Mahāprabhu's approval is [there], tacit approval is there as well, because He was always saying, Bāp Puṇḍarīk, Bāp Puṇḍarīk...In the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, crying out, father! Where are you, father! He said, it's a natural connection that Puṇḍarīk should be the dīkṣā guru of Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And that Gadādhar Paṇḍit wanted to go to Vṛndāvan, just like devotees, sometimes they say, can I go to Vṛndāvan? I want to go to Vṛndāvan.. Think about that....Gadādhar Paṇḍit is asking...
And Mahāprabhu is saying no. The queen of Vṛndāvan is not being given permission to go there, to enter there. And rather takes kṣetra-sannyāsa...Means the vow to remain always and only in holy place, and this being Puroṣottam-kṣetra, Jagannāth Purī. And...we think, again, why? Is this cruel, or.....But, how painful it will be, absent Her vāma-bhāva, Her heart has been plundered, the wealth of Her heart has been looted, plundered by Mahāprabhu. For Her to return to Vṛndāvan, will be beyond painful experience.
So, in a sense, He is preventing that. But, with the deity Gopināth, ṭoṭā-Gopināth, Gadādhar is staying there, and...remember, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the greatest cook of all time, everywhere. I mean, enlisted by Yaśodā. We can say, what about Mā Yaśodā, but she brings Rādhārāṇī to help her prepare the lunch for Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī has some special benediction, but other than that She is Rādhārāṇī. [Laughter]. So, what is Her cooking? And...so, Nityānanda — and this is Gadādhar Paṇḍit...Nityānanda Prabhu, would bring ingredients and give them to Gadādhar Paṇḍit, then Gadādhar Paṇḍit will cook and invite Nityānanda, Gaura-Nityānanda for lunch.
How sweet is that? Like, Guru Mahārāj, he liked to chant this Nitāi, Gaura, Gadādhar, Advaita, Śrīvās. And I like that. I mean, of course, we chant Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita...that's Pancha-tattva maha-mantra. But many times Guru Mahārāj would just chant, Nitāi, Gaura, Gadādhar, Advaita, Śrīvās...Nitāi, Gaura, Gadādhar, Advaita, Śrīvās. And I like it because it's like, Nitāi, Gaura, Gadādhar. That is something very sweet about that sequence. And...so...and while, in Vṛndāvan, I mean in Jagannāth Purī...
So, inviting Gaura Nitai, Nityānanda for lunch, but also, we're told, giving Bhāgavatam class. And that becomes increasingly inconceivable. Because if you think...two things to consider. More than two, but I'll give only two to consider. And on the basis of what we've already said. I mentioned Guru Mahārāj's śloka, madhura-rasa-dhi-rādhā-pādapadmaṁ prapadye. Bhāgavatam taking us in the direction of the service of Her Holy lotus feet. So, She will explain the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. What will be that perspective? And...if we consider the Bhāgavatam śloka, where the sages say, now that Kṛṣṇa — Guru Mahārāj said, with the disappearance of Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvan-līlā has gone underground.
That's how he [said it]. It's gone underground. So, aprakaṭa. So, the sages — and I believe it's in Naimiṣāraṇya, or where Sūta Goswāmī....but....they're saying, now that Kṛṣṇa has returned to His own abode, and the world has been plunged into the depths of the darkness of the kali-yuga, where will they get guidance? And the verse is given there:
kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate
dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha
kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣaḥ
purāṇārko ’dhunoditaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.43)
kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣaḥ. Those who lost sight of reality, spiritual vision, on account of the darkness of the kali-yuga, it's saying, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa, as Prabhupāda said, it's risen as brilliant as the sun, illuminating all directions. But then, we think, what is that? It's not illumination like a light, illumination [here] means revealing what? Kṛṣṇa conception, reality, the spiritual world...and as we're told in Guru Mahārāj's śloka, to come in connection with that substantially means to come into connection with the service of Her Holy lotus feet. Kṛṣṇa conception comes from Her, it's an extension of Her consciousness. Right?
To experience it, Kṛṣṇa has to become Mahāprabhu. Right? Otherwise, as the Supreme Enjoyer, that's another position. The Supreme Personality of Godhead. But, the devotee supreme aspect is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So, and if this book is telling us in essence, that the...that Kṛṣṇa conception is revealed through the devotee, the Supreme devotee and what pastimes — all the other pastimes, rasas are clients or satellites of the principal rasa, which is madhura-rasa. And that is what this book is about. It's going to take you into the domain of madhura-rasa. So, it is impossible to enter there ignoring Her, or in the inverse, not understanding Her supreme position as those pastimes are exclusively dependent upon Her.
And it's not just that particular aspect. janmādy asya yataḥ (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1). Everything is sprung out of that plane. It's not some esoteric ontological trivia, but, primary. So...interesting, though. So, we're told, the Bhāgavatam, that's where you'll get those [sic] light. But, you know — Prabhupāda liked to quote this line, coming, in essence from Svarūpa Dāmodar, Bhāgavata paḍā giyā bhāgavata sthāne. If you want to hear the Bhāgavatam, you have to hear it from the person Bhāgavatam. Just reading on your own, you'll get confused, or side-tracked.
You always need a guide, guru. So, you say, oh, no, the purport is [there], no, you still need a guide. Read the purport, it'll tell you, you need a guide. If you read the purport saying you need a guru, you need a guide, it's not saying no, this....you don't....read this and you don't need a guru. Read the book and it will tell you what this nece[ssity is]...the thing I just quoted is from Prabhupāda telling you what the necessity is. To hear from a living Bhāgavata. So, now if we start....if you're taking notes, you say, so then, and then lo and behold, Gadādhar Paṇḍit is giving Bhāgavatam classes?
What is that like? To put it in another way, you know, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is explaining what the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam means. What we are to extract from there. And...we're told that Mahāprabhu, He ordered, gave order to Śrīnivās Āchārya to hear Bhāgavatam from [Gadādhar Paṇḍit], become a student of Bhāgavatam from Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And, it didn't happen physically, and I'll explain. But Guru Mahārāj made the point, he said, because of the will of Mahāprabhu, still he became, like the supreme [teacher], Śrīnivās Āchārya, the supreme teacher of the Bhāgavatam.
Because Mahāprabhu's will, backing was there for this transaction. But we hear that Śrīnivās Āchārya getting this inspiration from Mahāprabhu, he is making his approach to Gadādhar Paṇḍit and Gadādhar Paṇḍit says that what I want to teach you, my tears have washed away those ślokas. So, we need another Bhāgavatam. And he goes to Navadwīp, takes a few months, when he returns Gadādhar Paṇḍit has left the world. So, what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? What is following the order of guru? All these things have to be very carefully considered.
So...eighteen thousand — it's a sun, and if we take each śloka like a ray, [it's] an eighteen thousand-rayed sun. Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur, Bhagavatarka marici mālā, take a thousand, from there. Guru Mahārāj gets the inspiration for three hundred, approximately, a few hundred. And, was unable to achieve that. But writes the introductory ślokas, as I mentioned one before, praising Rādhārāṇī, another one [praising] Vedavyās, and this Gadādhar praṇām. What's he saying?
nīlāmbhodi-taṭe sadā sva-virahā-kṣepanvitaṁ bāndhavaṁ
śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ sadā sva-nayanāśru-pāyanaiḥ pūjayan
gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara-vibhūr-bhūyāt mad-ekā-gatiḥ
(Śloka by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāja)
So...as we mentioned previously, the svarūpam... [svarupaṁ] bibhrano jagad-atulam (Śrī Chaitanyāṣṭakam: Verse 3) the incomparable position of Svarūpa Dāmodar, and his assistant, Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī. In assisting Mahāprabhu, plunged into the depths of Rādhā-bhāva, assisting by supplying ślokas, songs — and Rāmānanda.
But, there's one other person who is uniquely qualified. Because Lalitā being by the side of Rādhārāṇī, when She is experiencing the depths of Kṛṣṇa-viraha, and in a world of divine madness and coming out of that, Lalitā-sakhī [is] maintaining her composure, to assist Her, by singing appropriate songs to augment feelings, and others to assuage the fire of separation in the heart. So that we can understand why Svarūpa Dāmodar must be there. But, the other person, it should go without saying, [who] is uniquely qualified to understand what Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī experiences, is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Herself.
And in Gaura-līlā, as Gadādhar Pandit. So, in this śloka, Guru Mahārāj is saying, on the shore of that broad, blue ocean, Nīlāchala, Purusottama-kṣetra, Jagannāth Purī. kṣepanvitaṁ bāndhavaṁ sva-viraha. In the company of His dearest friend, Kṛṣṇa as Mahāprabhu, what is he saying, sva-viraha, means separation from Himself. So Kṛṣṇa is seeing what it's like to experience separation from Kṛṣṇa. He's enveloped in the heart of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, so He can — and so, not just when a devotee is experiencing separation, but when the Supreme devotee is experiencing the depths of separation, plunged in the depths of separation.
We're told, sometimes, swallowed by the timiṅgila, the whale, swallowing whale of separation. And, the different stages of separation, culminate in the last one, which is death. But, the devotees don't die, because that would give Krsna unhappiness. But they feel like they want to die, they can't go on. They cannot live separated from Krsna. So, He's achieved that stage, that death-like stage of separation. And then, so...what does Gadādhar Paṇḍit do? By His side, Gadādhar Paṇḍit, śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ.
So, just like [for] a friend in this world, their lovesick friend, broken-hearted, devastated [friend], the friend supplies them some wine and some kind words to, you know, give them some relief. But here it's said śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā. The madira, the wine is Bhāgavat-kathā. So, the intoxicating substance that Gadādhar Paṇḍit is supplying to Mahāprabhu is the wine of Kṛṣṇa-kathā. And, what is it doing? sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ Like sañjīv, the Āyurvedic, how do you say, legendary, mystical, mythical medicine that brings one back from the dead.
You give them this medicine, they come back to life. So, he's supplying these ślokas. And remember, what is this an intro to? Guru Mahārāj's collection of ślokas. So, he's giving us a hint of the selection criteria. Is it those ślokas, the ones Mahāprabhu wanted Gadādhar Paṇḍit to teach to Śrīnivās Āchārya? Which ones are they? So, he's supplying these and it says, śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ sadā sva-nayanāśru-pāyanaiḥ pūjayan. So, as Gadādhar Paṇḍit is reading, it's bringing relief to the heart of Mahāprabhu, [who is] feeling deep Kṛṣṇa- viraha. But at the same time, Gadādhar Pandit, his lotus eyes are streaming lotus tears.
And they're falling onto the pages of the Bhāgavatam ślokas, that he is reading and washing them away. As if they're not to be known. Without the mediator. So, Guru Mahārāj is saying, gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara-vibhūr-bhūyāt mad-ekā-gatiḥ. Let this collection of ślokas be an offering to that best of the Goswāmīs, Gadādhar Paṇḍit. And be the only object of my presentation and fulfillment. gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara, the best of the Goswāmīs, Gadādhar Paṇḍit.
And...we've heard from Śrīla Gurudeva, Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, that the...Gurudeva, Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj called it the worship of Gaura Gadādhar as the private bhajan chamber of Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur. It's just as a sidebar...don't imitate this, don't try. He's saying it's the private bhajan chamber of Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur. Gaura and Gadādhar. Exclusively, madhura-rasa. On both sides. And...
We see in his songs, ‘Śrī Godruma Chandra Bhajana Upadeśa,’ Godrumadvīpa, Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur is saying, the last line of this song:
smaragaura-gadadhara-keli-kalam
bhavagaura-gadadhara-paksha-carah
shrinugaura-gadadhara-caru-katham
bhajagodruma-kanana-kunja-vidhum (without the diacritics)
I like that. Hear shrinugaura-gadadhara-caru-katham. The beautiful kathā about Gaura Gadādhar, and I was thinking, how it's....
Almost points to the śloka of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. You see how beautiful the expressing of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by Gadādhar Paṇḍit to the separation-plunged Kṛṣṇa-viraha heart of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. It gives you some indication...so beautiful, so sweet....
Jai Śrīla Gadādhar Paṇḍit āvirbhāva mahā mahotsava tithi ki jay!
And, for those in the temple room, you should sing the line from the song gaura-premamaya-tanu paṇḍit gadādhara.
Who is Gadādhar Pandit? Gaura-prema. We've heard Kṛṣṇa-prema, gaura-premamaya-tanu . Who is the personification of Gaura-prema? As Rādhārāṇī has mahābhāva, the highest quantity and the highest quality of Krsna-prema, Gadādhar Paṇḍit [has] the highest quality, the highest quantity of Gaura-prema.
Hare Krsna.
Jay Chants.
Transcribers: Anand Prabhu, Suvasini Devi Dasi.