Text 1
Bhaktipremamahargha-ratnanikara tyagen santoshayan
Bhaktan bhaktajanatinishkritibidhou purnabatirna kalou
Pashgun parichuyarnan trijagatang hunkarabajrankurei
Srimannyasasiromanirbijoyatang Chaitanya rupa prabhu
Translation –
All glories to Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the crest jewel of all sannyasis, who appears in this age of Kali to bestow the greatest treasure of pure love of God unto the surrendered souls.He appears in His complete form and delivers the devotees showering upon them this rare gift of prema bhakti. By roaring like a thunderbolt, He crushes the atheists to dust.
Purport –
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead ,had mercifully appeared at Yogpeeth (in Mayapur) about 500 years ago (in the year 1486 AD), in order to bless us with His most wonderful,deep and ecstatic pastimes.He had appeared to reveal that devotional service unto Him is the highest perfection of life. The identity of Lord Chaitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be verified in a number of Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam,Mahabharata, Garuda Purana,Nrsimha Purana, Padma purana,Bhavishya Purana, Narada Purana etc. We are quoting just two of such references below, for the pleasure of the devotees.
aham purno bhavisyami yuga sandhyau visesatah
mayapure navadvipe bhavisyami saci sutah
(Garuda Purana)
– In the future, in first part of Kali yuga, I shall appear in my complete spiritual form at Mayapur, Navadvipa and become the son of Saci.
The mission of the Lord,along with a description of His golden complexion and how He descends along with His confidential associates in this age of Kali ,to inaugurate the Sankirtana Yajna is revealed in Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata purana) –
Krishna varnam tvishakrishnam sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32)
Lord Chaitanya though, except for a few rare occasions, had never revealed His identity as the Supreme Lord.He forever remained absorbed in His mood as a devotee of Lord Krishna.There were several reasons for Lord Chaitanya to appear in this world. Sri Krishna after enacting the sweet pastimes of Vrindavana, pondered over how He had not bestowed the science of unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme, for a long long time.The entire world worships Him in a mood of reverence, strictly following the rules and regulations ordained in the scriptures.However such a worship does not please Him very much ,as spontaneous loving attachment, which is the very essence of a relationship, is absent in such a form of worship.
Aishwarya jnanete saba jagat misrita
Aishwarya sithila preme nahi mora prita
(Chaitanya Caritamrta, adi -3.16)
The general populace is very much aware of the six absolute opulences of the Supreme Lord (strength, beauty,wealth, knowledge, fame, renunciation) and hence they visualize and worship the Lord reverentially in His opulent form.Though one who worships this opulent form of the Lord achieves liberation and a destination in the Vaikuntha planets (spiritual world), yet such a person, is largely ignorant of the ecstatic sweet mellows as experienced by the elevated devotees of Vrindavana. The devotees of Vrindavana are always immersed in a mood of spontaneous loving relationship with the Supreme.The Lord now wanted to freely bestow this Supreme benediction of unalloyed devotional service, the highest ecstasy of spirituality, the treasure of the residents of Vrajabhumi ,to one and all. He wanted to distribute this Supreme science of Krishna consciousness, receiving which nothing else remains to be achieved, to all the fallen souls of this age of Kali, irrespective of their caste,creed or qualification. Understanding this deep mood and mission of the Lord ,Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has foretold in Samalochana, Sajjana Tosani –
ati alpa dinera madhei mahaprabhu sarva desa vyapi haiya eka matra upasya-tattva haitechen.
In a very short time, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will become the sole object of worship in all the villages, towns, and cities of the world.
Lord Chaitanya is also referred to as ‘Maha Vadanyaya’ or the most munificent ,as He is the most merciful incarnation of the Supreme.The Chaitanya Chandramrita states :
Pasanaah parisochito mrita rasair naivankurah sambhavet
Langulam saramapater vivrinatah syad asya naivarjavam
Hastava unnayata budhah aho dharyaam vidhor mandalam
Sarvam sadhanam astu Gaura karunabhave na bhavotsavah
(Chaitanya Chandramrita,
Text 33)
Even if watered and nourished with nectar for millions of years, a stone will not sprout a single blade of grass. Even if a dog’s tail is stretched and extended , it will never become straight. A man may stretch out his arms as much as he likes, but he will never be able to catch the moon.Similarly a person may follow the various kinds of spiritual practices for millions of lives but he will not be able to attain the pure unadulterated love of God without achieving the mercy of Lord Gauranga.
As we shall later read in Chaitanya Mangala, that Narada muni, one of the greatest devotees of the supreme Lord, felt greatly disheartened observing the piteous state of the fallen souls in this age of kali. The age of kali is marked with a sharp decrease of religiosity and the complete absence of God consciousness in general. He saw how the people of this age were greatly afflicted with miseries and how they remained primarily concerned with satisfying only their belly and genitals. Not seeing any hope for these people getting delivered, Narada muni rushed to vaikuntha, the supreme spiritual abode, and revealed his sorrowful heart to Lord Narayana. Lord Narayana then all of a sudden, revealed to Narada His golden form as Lord Gauranga, which was saturated with love and ecstatic bliss. Narada muni fainted seeing this wonderful form as he had never before seen a form as blissful ,as enchanting, and so full of transcendental prema as that of Lord Gaurahari. Lord Gauranga then dissipated all miseries of Narada muni and revealed to him how He would descend in the age of Kali and bestow upon the sinful people of the age with the supreme benediction of pure love of God. He would flood the people with waves of ecstatic bliss, and eliminate every ounce of misery from this world. Narada muni understood that Lord Gauranga was the essence of all the incarnations of the Supreme (avatara sar Gaura avatara) and the most magnanimous.He then happily left vaikuntha to convey this wonderful news of the Lord Gauranga’s descent to all the exalted personalities.
Yata yata avatara saba haite sar
Kabhu nahi dekhi heno premar bhandar
Safal janam din, safal nayan
Ki dekhilun Gaura rupa , prasanna bayan
(Chaitanya Mangala , 2.121-122)
–
(Narada muni says) ‘Of all the Lord’s incarnations , Lord Gauranga is the best. I have never ever seen such a reservoir of pure ecstatic love. My life has become successful, my eyes have borne fruit, as today I have been able to behold the beautiful form of Lord Gauranga with His pleasant, blissful, smiling face’.
In the Navadvipa Dham Mahatmya it has been mentioned, how Lord Jagannatha had revealed to Ramanujacharya the Supreme position of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu hearing which, Sri Ramanuja became greatly attracted to the golden avatara. Ramanujacharya then immediately wanted to worship and widely preach devotion unto Lord Gauranga all over the three worlds. At that time Lord Jagannatha stopped him and said –
‘Gaura-leela ati gudha rakhibe gopane, se leelara aprakate pabe sarva jane’
Please keep the glories of Lord Gauranga’s pastimes a secret for now. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappears from this world, the whole world will receive the treasure of Lord Gauranga’s glorious pastimes.
The Navadvipa dham mahatmya also states –
‘ara eka gudha katha suna sarva jana, kali jive yogya vastu Gaura leela dhana’
Please hear the most confidential secret. The most suitable thing for the conditioned souls in this age of Kali, is the supreme treasure of Lord Gauranga’s pastimes.
So we must daily hear and contemplate upon Lord Gauranga’s amazing enchanting nectarean pastimes. This shall clean our heart and purify our consciousness. Also, it shall help us rekindle our lost attraction towards the golden avatara. We should understand that all living entities, already possess a very deep and strong attraction towards Lord Gaurahari. Hearing and contemplating upon His pastimes shall help us revive our lost relationship with Him (Sravanadi-suddha-chitte karaye udaya). When Mahaprabhu was travelling to Vrindavana through the forest of Jharkhand, even the animals of the jungle, recognised their eternal Lord and danced in ecstasy, thereby participating in His Harinama sankirtana movement.
So everyday we should ‘Read, Contemplate and Preach’ atleast one of Lord Gauranga’s pastimes. We should read atleast one of Lord Gaurahari’s pastimes in a day, contemplate upon it and preach it to any person we desire.The next day we can Read,contemplate and preach a different pastime of Lord Gaurasundara. In this way we would purify our consciousness and progress very quickly in devotion.
Ati aparupa leela prakashila prabhu
Chari yuge adbhut katha nahi shune kabhu
(Chaitanya Mangala , 1.94)
– Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had manifested the most wonderful incomparable pastimes, never heard before in any of the four yugas.
Staying very humble and submissive, and equipped with the remembrance of Gauranga’s blissful form and amazing pastimes, we should follow His instructions of daily chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra –
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The word ‘Hare’ refers to the Supreme Lord’s internal energy or Srimati Radharani and the word ‘Krishna’ refers to Lord Krishna, the supreme personality of Godhead.As Lord Gauranga is non different from Sri Radha and Krishna (Sri Krishna Chaitanya ,Radha Krishna Nahe anya), the syllables ‘Hare Krishna’ is non different to Lord Gauranga.Thus Lord Gauranga is also worshipped when we chant the above Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
While chanting on the above Hare Krishna Maha mantra we should try to meditate upon Lord Gauranga’s sankirtana pastimes. Chanting the Maha Mantra gives us an opportunity to pray so that Lord Gauranga accepts us as one of His own and engages us in His sankirtana movement. By Chanting the Maha mantra, we constantly beg for Mahaprabhu’s causeless mercy.
In Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata as well, it has been mentioned how Nityananda Prabhu always chants the glories and pastimes of Lord Gauranga and makes all of His associates and followers do the same as well.
Nirabadhi sri Krishna Chaitanya sankirtana
Karayen karen laiya bhaktagana
(Chaitanya Bhagavata 3.5.329)
At this point we should note that Lord Gauranga is the supreme Lord and hence supremely independent. So we cannot demand for His mercy by any of our spiritual practices. However, we can act favourably and place ourselves in a suitable position so that we have a good chance of being a recipient of His causeless mercy. It is also very important that when we chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra, we sincerely pray to Sri Chaitanya to engage us in His sankirtana and not just chant mechanically. When we read, contemplate and preach His pastimes, we should try to actually relish them and not do it just for the sake of it. Moreover, our genuine love and devotion towards Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ,His qualities and His pastimes, shall determine our spiritual progress.
(Pathamanjari Raga)
Text 2
Namoh Namoh Vande, Deva Ganeshwara
Vighnavinashana Mahasaya
Ekadanta mahakaya , sarvakarje sahaya
Jaya jaya parvati tanaya
Translation –
I offer my humble obeisances unto Lord Ganesha , who destroys all obstacles and brings success in all endeavors. He has a body of a huge elephant with one tusk. All glories to Sri Ganesha, the son of mother Parvati
Purport –
It has been mentioned in the Brahma samhita, that Lord Ganesh derives his powers of destroying the impediments that stand in one’s way of progress, from the lotus feet of Lord Govinda. Hence all of his glories rests entirely on the grace of Govinda, whose lotus feet he treasures upon his head.It has been recommended in ‘Bhakti rasamrita sindhu’ by Srila Rupa Goswami, that devotees should worship Ganesh in order to remove all obstacles in their path of devotional service. However, worshipping lord Ganesh for any material benefits, leads to further material entanglements, and thus becomes an obstacle in the path of one’s spiritual progress.
Text 3
Hara-Gauri vando maathe, yuriya yugala-hathe
Charane pariya kara seva
Tri jagate eka karta, Vishnu bhakti bara data
Sabe ek ei devi deva
Translation –
Folding my hands and bowing my head, I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Shiva and mother Parvati. I fall down at their lotus feet and serve them because they can easily bestow upon one the greatest boon of devotion unto Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is the supreme cause of all causes and is the master of all of the three worlds (heaven, earth and hell).
Purport –
Lord Shiva and mother Parvati are great vaishnavas. Lord Shiva is the original spiritual master of one of the bonafide vaishnava sampradaya (family) known as the Rudra sampradaya (Rudra is another name for Lord Shiva). There are four bonafide vaishnava sampradayas – Rudra, Kumara, Brahma and Sri. Their founding spiritual masters are Lord shiva, four kumaras, Lord Brahma and Lakshmi devi respectively. All of these four bonafide spiritual lineages propagate the correct teachings of devotion unto Lord Hari, the Supreme master. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Lord Himself, took initiation in the Brahma sampradaya and thereby taught by example how a true seeker should accept a spiritual master in a bonafide disciplic succession, for making further progress in his/her spiritual life.
Simantadvipa, one of the nine islands of Navadvipa, is a place where Parvati devi had performed severe austerities and meditated upon the blissful form of Lord Gauranga. Being pleased with her prayers, Lord Chaitanya blessed her with His all-enchanting darsana. She is a great devotee of the supreme Lord and therefore one of her names is ‘Vaishnavi’.
Text 4
Sarasvati vando munde , keli kara mora tunde
Kaha Gaurahari Guna-gatha
Abidita, trijagate , gaurabarna vaninathe
Adbhuta aparupa katha
Translation –
I bow my head and pray to goddess Sarasvati that she plays upon my lips and empowers me to sufficiently glorify Lord Gaurahari , who is yet unknown in these three worlds.May i speak the wonderful blissful topics glorifying the golden hued Lord.
Purport –
Goddess Sarasvati is a great servant of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and acts according to His directions. The great digvijayi pandita Keshava Kashmiri, was a great devotee of goddess Sarasvati. However, he lost in a debate with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was then a mere boy and a simple sanskrit grammar teacher. It was a greatly embarrassing loss for a learned scholar like Keshava.In his dream that night, goddess sarasvati revealed to Keshava Kashmiri, the original identity of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the Supreme Lord and her worshipable master. She revealed how she always acts only under His instructions. Keshava kashmiri then realized why he had lost that debate and surrendered unto the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu the next day.
In the Mahaprakash Leela pastimes, or the ecstatic pastimes that continued for twenty one hours, Mahaprabhu had performed several miracles. When He blessed poor Kolavecha Sridhar, who lived by selling banana leaves, Sridhar wanted to glorify Mahaprabhu but could not express his heart sufficiently. On Mahaprabhu’s directions, devi Sarasvati descended and blessed Sridhar, so that he could then glorify his beloved Nimai (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) to his heart’s content.
Text 5
Kaku karo devagane, ara yata gurujane
Vighna na karoho keho ithi
Na chanho sampada bara, muin ati pamara
Nirvighne sampurna hou punthi
Translation –
In a voice choked with emotion, i humbly beg the demigods and my superiors to not place any obstacle in my way. I don’t desire any boon of wealth; i am very fallen and sinful. All i desire for, is this book be completed without any difficulty.
Purport –
This is the perfect mood in which a devotee should seek the blessings of all his superiors, and pray to them so that he could continue with his devotional service without facing impediments. A devotee is ‘anyabhilasita sunyam’ or in other words he has no material desires. All he hankers for is to render service unto Lord Gauranga, the supreme Lord, life after life.
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanishvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate any wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Neither do I want any number of followers. What I want is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.
Text 6
Vishnu-bhakta vando aage, ara yata mahabhage
Yara gune prithivi pabitra
Sarva-jive kare daya, vishese arati paiya,
Tribhuvane mangala charitra
Translation –
Let me glorify the devotees of Lord Vishnu (the Supreme Lord), and the fortunate mahabhagavatas, whose divine qualities purify the earth. They bestow their causeless mercy upon all suffering living entities and everyone loves them. Such exalted devotees are the most auspicious personalities in all of the three worlds.
Text 7
Muin ati abhajana , na bujho dahina-bama
Aakasha dharite chanho baahe,
Andhe divyaratna bachhe, parvata na dekhe kachhe,
Na jani ki parinama haya
Translation –
A worthless person like me, who cannot distinguish the right from the left, wants to grab the sky with my own hands. It’s just like a blind person, who cannot see even a mountain nearby, trying to search for a cintamani gem. I don’t know what the results will be.
Purport –
The contents of this verse should not be taken literally. This verse expresses the humility of Locana das Thakura. It is the mark of great devotees, that they consider themselves fallen and unfit for performing any service unto the Lord. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had instructed ‘trinad api sunicena, taror api sahishnuna’ or in other words, a devotee needs to be humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree. This is the actual qualification for performing devotional service and it is this quality in His devotees, that attracts Lord Gauranga towards them. Sri Haridasa Thakura, inspite of being the namacharya and an eternal associate of the Lord, forever considered himself fallen and never entered the temple of Jagannatha Puri. He used to perform his bhajana, staying at Siddha Bakula, situated outside the Jagannatha Puri temple. Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis, inspite of being the prime minister and the finance ministers of erstwhile Bengal, fell prostrated at the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga, holding straws between their teeth, when they happened to meet Him. They surrendered their opulence, position, fame, etc and dedicated their lives completely in the service of Mahaprabhu.
Text 8
Sabe ek bharosa achhe, prabhu tahi kaho bachhe
Guna gaya uttama adhame
Sarvajive samadaya, sabe paya padachhaya
Adhikari nahika niyame
Translation –
I have but one hope,as Lord Gauranga bestows His mercy upon anyone who sings the glories of the Supreme Lord, irrespective of whether one is good or bad. Overlooking disqualifications, He is equally merciful to everyone and freely gives the shelter of His lotus feet.
Purport –
Chaitanya Chandramrita states :
dristah sprstah kirtitah samsmrito va
durasthair apy anato vadrito va
premnah saram datum iso ya ekah
Sri Chaitanya naumi devam dayalum
(Chaitanya Chandramrita,
Text 4)
– Whether seen, touched, glorified, intensely remembered, bowed down from afar or worshiped, Lord Gauranga causelessly awards to anyone and everyone the essence of pure unalloyed love for Himself. Thus I offer my respectful obeisances unto this most merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation of the Supreme. He freely distributes the greatest benediction of pure ecstatic love of God upon one and all without judging one’s qualification or considering whether one’s deserving. That is why Sri vasudeva Ghosh sings in one of his bhajans – ‘gao gao punah Gaurangera guna, sarala kariya mana, ei bhava sagare emono doyal, na dekhiye ek jon’. Here Vasudeva Ghosh urges one and all to sing the glories of Lord Gauranga. He adds that he has not seen anyone in these entire three worlds as compassionate and as merciful as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam , it has been foretold-
krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam sangopangastra-parshadam,yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah (11.5.32)
The above verse describes the incarnation of the supreme Lord as Sri Chaitanya and it expresses that in the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the holy name of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His servants, associates, weapons and companions.
What the people in satya Yuga could not achieve by means of their severe austerities and the astanga yoga process, what the people of Treta could not achieve by means of their great sacrifices, what the people of Dvapara could not obtain by means of their elaborate deity worship, has been made easily obtainable in this age of kali through the process of sankirtana inaugurated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
That is why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is called the ‘Maha-vadanyaya’ or the most munificent incarnation. His form is so blissful, so saturated with ecstatic love that anyone who sees Him, chants His name or contemplates upon His pastimes, is atonce delivered of all material contaminations and becomes filled with pure love of God.That is why Sri Narottama das thakura sings – ‘ye Gaurangera nama loy, taar hoy Prema udoy’.
Seeing Lord Gauranga’s audarya (magnanimous) pastimes as to how He delivered the two miscreant brothers named Jagai and Madhai, even Yamaraja ,the demigod in charge of punishing the sinful, became ecstatic and fell unconscious. These two brothers were so sinful that Chitragupta, who keeps track of one’s pious and impious deeds, had lost count of the number of sinful acts they had performed. There was no crime that these two had not committed. They were murderers, cow eaters, drunkards, etc. So when Lord Chaitanya bestowed upon them, the greatest treasure of love of God, and converted them into pure devotees, even Yamaraja and the demigods became very ecstatic and blissful.
The Navadvipa dham mahatmya states –
‘ara eka gudha katha suna sarva jana, kali jive yogya vastu Gaura leela dhana’
Please hear the most confidential secret. The most suitable thing for the conditioned souls in this age of Kali, is the supreme treasure of Lord Gauranga’s pastimes.
In this age of Kali, the only hope for the conditioned souls is contemplation upon the blissful enchanting, heart rending pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Ati aparupa leela prakashila prabhu
Chari yuge adbhut katha nahi shune kabhu
(Chaitanya Mangala , 1.94)
– Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had manifested the most wonderful incomparable pastimes, never heard before in any of the four yugas.
In addition, staying very humble and submissive, and equipped with the remembrance of Gauranga’s blissful form and amazing pastimes, we should follow His instructions of daily chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra –
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The word ‘Hare’ refers to the Supreme Lord’s internal energy or Srimati Radharani and the word ‘Krishna’ refers to Lord Krishna, the supreme personality of Godhead.As Lord Gauranga is non different from Sri Radha and Krishna (Sri Krishna Chaitanya ,Radha Krishna Nahe anya), the syllables ‘Hare Krishna’ is non different to Lord Gauranga.Thus Lord Gauranga is also worshipped when we chant the above Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
While chanting on the above Hare Krishna Maha mantra we can also try to meditate upon Lord Gauranga’s sankirtana pastimes. Chanting the Maha Mantra gives us an opportunity to pray so that Lord Gauranga accepts us as one of His own and engages us in His sankirtana movement. By Chanting the Maha mantra, we constantly beg for Mahaprabhu’s causeless mercy.
Before we begin chanting each round of Hare Krishna mahamantra, we should beg shelter of Lord Chaitanya and the pancha tattva by chanting the following mantra –
‘Jaya Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita Gadadhara, Srivasa adi Gaura bhakta vrinda’.
Lord Gauranga’s name and His pastimes are non different from Him. So when we meditate upon Him, His name or His pastimes, we are in fact directly associating with Him. The more we do this regularly, the more we cleanse our consciousness which further helps in reviving our spontaneous faith and devotion unto Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
One who meditates and contemplates upon Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic form and His enchanting blissful pastimes ,is very quickly cleansed of all contaminations. With a purified consciousness, they can then quite easily chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, offenselessly and attentively.
By meditating and contemplating upon Lord Gauranga’s blissful pastimes and chanting atleast 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra in a day (by which we pray to Mahaprabhu to engage us in His sankirtana movement), we can very quickly advance in our devotional life.
So to summarize, we should chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra daily (preferably atleast 16 rounds) by which we pray to Lord Chaitanya to engage us in His sankirtana.And at the same time we should ‘Read, Contemplate and Preach’ atleast one of Lord Gauranga’s pastimes everyday.
In addition we should adhere to the four regulative principles of devotional life – No Meat eating (represents compassion), No Gambling (represents truthfulness), No intoxication (represents austerity) and No illicit sex (represents cleanliness) .These restrictions enable us to let go of the shackles that keep us bound to our material existence, and help us fly higher in the sky of divine love.
Lord Chaitanya reveals His mission in the following two verses. So let us try to worship Him, follow His instructions, contemplate upon His blissful enchanting pastimes and thereby get flooded with the ecstasy of Gauranga prema.
Nija preme bhasaiba e brahmanda sob
Kabhu na rakhibo dukhha, shoka ek lob
Bhasaiba sthabara , jangama devagane
Shuni anandita kahe e das Locana-e
(Chaitanya Mangala, 568-569)
Translation –
(Lord Gauranga said) ‘I shall flood the universe with the nectar of ecstatic devotional service unto Myself. Not the slightest tinge of suffering shall remain. I shall flood the moving, the unmoving, the demigods in that ecstatic nectar’. Locana das narrates this pastime, being filled with bliss.
Text 9
Ye punah Vaishnava janah, tara katha kahi sunah
Akarane daya sarva-loke,
Para lagi jivana, para lagi bhusana
Para-upakare mane sukhe
Translation –
Please hear the characteristics of a pure devotee of the Lord. They shower their causeless mercy upon everyone, and live for the benefit of others. The ornaments that decorate their blissful body are for the welfare of all living entities.They derive their happiness out of making others happy.
Text 10
Thakura Sri Narahari, das Prana adhikari
Yanra padaprati aashe aash
Adhameo sadh kare, Gaura-guna gahibare
Se bharosha e Locana das
Translation –
Sri Narahari Sarkara Thakura (Locana das’ spiritual master) is the Lord and the owner of my life. His lotus feet are the very goal of my existence. Although I am the most fallen, yet i yearn to sing the indescribable glories of Lord Gaurasundara. The lotus feet of my spiritual master (Sri Narahari) are the only hope by which I can achieve this perfection.
Purport –
This is the mood of a vaishnava. He dedicates his very life in the service of his spiritual master. The relationship between the spiritual master and his disciple is eternal and it is only due to the causeless mercy of the spiritual master that one can make any significant progress in his/her spiritual life. The spiritual master is the representation of Nityananda prabhu, who guides a soul rekindle his lost relationship with Lord Gauranga. The causeless mercy of Nitai is manifested through one’s spiritual master.The lotus feet of the spiritual master are the greatest treasure in the life of a disciple.
Text 11
Tanra pada parashade, gaiba anabashade
Ei mora bharosha antara
Se du-khani charana, ishta-siddhi-kama
Hridaye thuiba nirantara
Translation –
Clasping onto his (Sri Narahari’s) lotus feet ,i shall be able to sing the glories (of Lord Gauranga) in ecstasy. This is my firm belief.
I shall forever hold his two lotus feet close to my heart. They shall satisfy my yearnings to serve my worshipable Lord and attain all perfection.
Purport –
It is only the blessings and the causeless mercy of the spiritual master that helps a devotee serve and please the supreme Lord. The mercy of one’s gurudeva empowers one to preach and expand the movement of the Lord. A disciple should always remember this and be conscious of this fact.Hence he should dedicate any glories he receives while preaching ,unto his Gurudeva and Sri Gauranga.