Gaura Purnima lecture – Lord Chaitanya manifested the three internal reasons for his descent in his Ratha-yatra lila
It's today morning on the occasion of God Purnima we'll discuss about the intimate internal reasons why Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the evening I will talk about the magnanimity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu using an acronym GAURA G-A-U-R-A, I'll talk about five ways in which you can appreciate Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy, but here Srila Prabhupada would say that appreciating the bhajan of Radha Krishna is our internal business and refuting evolution, refuting Darwin is our external business so the morning programme is for our internal business so we'll try to appreciate here the sweetness of the mood in which Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears the deepest inner longing of the human heart is for love we all want to love and be loved although there are times when in our relationships we may get frustrated and sometimes we may say just leave me alone but if people literally left us alone and left us alone forever we would be miserable so we do want relationships and this theme of the intimate relationships between people this is one of the most enduringly appealing theme throughout history whether it be novels or nowadays whether it be movies they all talk about love and of course they talk about love in romantic terms largely between male and female but still the principle is that everyone wants to love and be loved and this theme constantly attracts the human heart and yet the fact of life is that whatever loving relationships we establish they will be thwarted sooner or later we'll find that sooner or later the person we love either we go away or they go away for whatever reason if for no other reason then ultimately for death and then all relationships are terminated now the human heart longs for what the movies call as H.E.A. happily ever after and yet we have Krishna telling us in the Bhagavad Gita in 8.15 that this world is Dukkhalayam Ashashvatam so Dukkhalayam Ashashvatam is actually the exact opposite of happily ever after Dukkhalayam is it's not happy it's a place of misery Ashashvatam is the opposite of ever after so this raises the question that if this heart's longing which is so innate to us and yet its ultimate frustration is so inevitable in this world if on one side this longing is very deeply rooted within us on the other side we see that there is just no chance of this longing being fulfilled in this world so what does this imply suppose we came to the temple hall and suddenly found on the wooden floor a golden ear ring lying over it or some golden ornament now nothing around it is made of gold so naturally the question would come where does this gold come from so because everything else is of a significantly different nature so when something of another nature comes up we ask where does it come from so everything in this world is temporary is meant to be doomed and yet we have this longing for lasting love everlasting love in fact so where does this longing come from and that the bhakti tradition explains it comes from our essence our soul and this soul is non-material everything in this world is material but the soul is non-material and the soul's belonging is meant to be fulfilled at the spiritual level in an eternal relationship with Krishna God as explained in the Vaishnava tradition especially the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition is not just authority figure who is to be bowed down and worshipped and adored he is a person who wants to love and be loved and not only can we have an intimate relationship with him but he already has intimate relationships with many of his most intimate devotees millions of his most intimate devotees and that relationship is so satisfying that Krishna himself wants to taste that relationship more and more and the secret of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's descent is for his longing Vetti Lobhaat as it's said in the words Lobha actually means strong desire or greed so Krishna has a greed and it is that greed which makes him descend as Lord Chaitanya so what is that greed which Krishna has actually Krishna at one level we say that he is free from lust, anger, greed envy, pride and illusion yes that is true but these same emotions at a material level they cause us illusion and bondage but at a spiritual level they can bring us elevation and liberation and Krishna has these emotions not in their impure self-centred forms but in their pure selfless forms so Krishna also has a strong desire Lobha he has, what is that greed for it is described over here in the later, so this verse basically introduces what is the reason for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's descent and the subsequent chapters of the Adi Lila actually elaborate on these reasons, so here it is said that in the later chapters that Krishna performs pastime with the Gopis he sees that the Gopis are so happy the Gopis are so jubilant, the Gopis are so delighted, so ecstatic, he feels that you know what, I am not feeling so happy, what is this sometimes when we are doing say we are practising bhakti for many many years, for maybe dozen years or several decades, then sometimes bhakti becomes mechanical for us and we are doing kirtans and kirtan is just something which we do everyday but there are some new people who come and they are dancing with so much ecstasy you wonder what is happening, they are just new and they are feeling so much ecstasy, I have been around so long, I don't feel much ecstasy, what is going on? Sometimes when we see others being happy if we are very self-centred, we feel why are they happy, I should be happy we want to take away their happiness but if we are not so self-centred, still we are concerned, what is it that they are relishing I too want to relish that so same way, Krishna when he sees in the especially the Rasa Leela how the Gopis are relishing pure devotion, how the Gopis are completely absorbed and maddened in remembrance of him, in the desperate desire to somehow be reunited with him actually the Rasa Leela is described in 5 chapters in the 10th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam and it is from chapters 29 to 33 of the 10th canto and these 5 chapters are called the Rasa Panchadhyay the 5 chapters of Rasa Leela and the broad outline of these 5 chapters is, in the 29th chapter, Krishna calls out plays the flute and calls the Gopis and the Gopis leave everything and rush towards Krishna, the Gopis thereby demonstrate they just give up everything and rush towards Krishna, to surrender to him, to give their life to him, to please him and then in the 30th chapter there is a brief conversation between Krishna and the Gopis, Krishna tells, why have you come here, please go back home, this is not a time for ladies to be out of their homes and Krishna actually teaches dharma to them and then the Gopis, they protest Krishna you only called us, why are you sending us back and after that they start performing the Rasa dance but at that time Gopis, it seems that they become proud and because of that Krishna disappears from them and the Gopis become mad, how has Krishna disappeared, where should we go they search everywhere far and wide in the forest Kavi Karanapur has written a book called Anvrindavan Champu, in which he describes that the Gopis go so deep into the Vrindavan forest, it's late night and the forest is at that place so thick that even the moonlight and the starlight can't penetrate, the Gopis can't even see their hands in front of them then they decide, we can't find Krishna here and they become desperate, they say we can't live without Krishna and yet we don't have Krishna, what should we do so they decide to go back to the place where they had performed pastimes with Krishna earlier, to the banks of the Yamuna and they sit down there and they all start offering prayers to Krishna as they are offering prayers to Krishna those prayers are described in the celebrated Gopi Gita which is the 31st chapter of the 10th Canto and jayati te dhikam janmanavraja beautiful sweet short prayers, which all are very alliterative, the first words of all the lines are alliterations and the Gopis offer fervent prayers and Jiva Goswami, in his book called Gopal Champu, he actually analyses each prayer and he analyses the nature of each Gopi and he explains which prayer is offered by which Gopi so each of the prayers is offered by individually one one Gopi and then after that as a response to that prayer, in the 32nd chapter Krishna appears and again there is conversation between Krishna and the Gopis and then 33rd chapter the celebration of Supreme Love when the Gopis and Krishna perform Raas Leela so throughout this even when Krishna is separated from them and even when Krishna is united with them at all these times the Gopis are mad in love for Krishna and Krishna is observing the Gopis and he sees they are experiencing so much ecstasy so much joy what is this joy and among all the Gopis, there is one Gopi who is special many Gopis are special, in fact all Gopis are special Lakshmi Devi is the goddess of fortune all the Gopis are actually super goddesses of fortune because they are far more intimately connected with Krishna so there is a goddess of fortune there is a super goddess of fortune which are all the Gopis and among them there is a supreme Gopi Radharani she is the supreme goddess of fortune and she is experiencing the maximum ecstasy and Krishna sees that he desires what is it that this particular Gopi, Srimati Radharani is experiencing so this was described three things normally when there is a relationship there is A and there is B so A is at one end of the relationship B is at the other end of the relationship so if we apply this to the human divine relationship the soul is here, the devotee is here, Krishna is here so Krishna experiences the devotee a lord relationship, the devotional relationship from the position of the lord he is the lord he is the receiver of devotion and Krishna feels that as the receiver of devotion I am not experiencing as much ecstasy as my devotees are experiencing so therefore he desires to shift position from the receiver of devotion to the giver of devotion and the receiver of the lord's love so he decides to shift his position, so the acharyas give the example that there is Premashray and there is Premavishay there is a reservoir of love and there is the object of love so for example in our aarti we have a candle or a lamp if we have one candle or one lamp which is kept in some earthen container then that lamp gives light whichever direction it is pointed but on that lamp itself, below it there will be no light chikannath baldev subhadra mayya ki jai so below that reservoir there will be no light below that lamp whereas around it all there will be light, so like that it is said that Krishna is the object of love and Radharani is the giver of love so because Krishna has all the attractiveness within him he receives that love Radharani transmits that love but because he is like the lamp within him he feels there is some incompleteness and he feels that it is all the beauty, all the attractiveness that is there within me but I am not able to experience it just as a lamp is not able to experience its own light fully on its lower side it can't experience so like that he says that I can't experience this love and therefore I want to experience what is it that Radharani is experiencing and therefore he decides to change his position, come from the position of the lord to the position of the devotee and not just any ordinary devotee the top most devotee radha bhava jyoti subhalitam naumi krishna sarupam so to describe about who is lord Chaitanya he is krishna sarupam he is the form of Krishna but in what form is he radha bhava that he has taken the bhava the disposition, the emotion of Radharani and not only the disposition radha bhava jyoti subhalitam jyoti means complexion subhalitam, very attractive radha bhava jyoti subhalitam naumi krishna sarupam so he is Krishna who has come with the emotion and the complexion of Radharani now how did he get the complexion that our acharyas have revealed in other places when Krishna expressed his desire to Radharani I want to experience what you are experiencing therefore I will go to the earth and I will dance in ecstasy I will roll in ecstasy so at that time Radharani said Krishna you will not be able to bear my ecstasy so normally you know parents tell a child you will not be able to do this but who will tell god you can't do this you will not be able to bear this but that is Radharani's love for Krishna she says Krishna you will not be able to bear my ecstasy that the ecstasy, the intensity of the emotions that you experience within that ecstasy you will not be able to bear that so what does this mean sometimes when people hear some very bad news or even sometimes extremely good news suppose sometimes in movies they show that say a woman is carrying some plate and suddenly she hears a news that oh someone has died immediately she falls over there she faints over there so why is that? Fainting is also described in the in the Bhagavatam 55th chapter Krishna and Rukmini talks when Krishna starts teasing Rukmini at that time she tells Krishna I think you have married the wrong person now he starts speaking like this Krishna simply wants to tease Rukmini but actually Rukmini feels as if Krishna is going to reject me now and she goes into so much anxiety that she faints so actually when actually fainting is a defence mechanism of the body when we experience too much pain or too much emotion for the body to sustain the body switches off so sometimes it can be because of physical pain just like if you are hit on the head there is so much pain that the body switches off so that the body that is already the damage to the body but the body will not have to experience the further pain that is there similarly when there is too much emotional pain at that time also the body switches off so similarly we will see that Jaitanya Mahaprabhu would often faint in ecstasy because he would have so much ecstasy that the body would switch off so similarly Radharani is telling Krishna over here that actually when you descend your body will not be able to sustain the extraordinary ecstasy that will vibrate through it that will wave through it that will trampede through it practically speaking so stampede through it so I want to protect you so then what does Radharani say she says I will wrap you with my complexion normally the fair complexion is considered extremely attractive but Krishna his complexion for Radharani is supremely attractive Krishna is Shyama he is dark complexion but he is not just Shyama he is Shyama Sundara he is dark and he is irresistibly attractive now in the early days of our movement when the devotees were preaching in America there was a disciple he was in Ohio State University he was an English professor while teaching English he was also talking about Krishna to his students so some of his students went and told their principal and the principal called him I heard you are talking about God in your classes sir I did not know that there is any rule against talking about God no but you are talking about a strange conception of God what is your conception of God I don't have any conception of God if you don't have any conception of God then how can you say that my conception is strange what is the basis for saying that no but you say that God is a cowboy that they will have cowboy movies of the west no not a cowboy he is a cowherd boy ok they couldn't get this cowherd boy what is that ok and you say that God is black at that time the civil rights movement was going on there was a conflict with black and white you say God is black he says no God is blue he just saw the blues at that time he doesn't understand what is going on so Krishna's black complexion is very different from the material black complexion it is incredibly attractive it is there is a poet he says that in the actually Rupa Goswami also says this in the Lalita Madhava one of his beautiful books he says that actually the poet he says I glorified you with great poetry with great metaphors and I felt I had done a very good job but now that I am seeing you O Lord I feel as if you know I have glorified the king of the world as the landlord of a village actually the glorification is a minimisation similarly actually in words we cannot describe how beautiful Krishna is so Radharani she considers that Krishna's Shyama complexion Shyama Varna is so incredibly attractive that she can't tolerate the thought that if Krishna fails in ecstasy he will fall on the ground and that Shyama Varna may become spoiled that dark complexion may become spoiled and therefore she tells Krishna that I will cover you with my golden complexion and that's how Krishna himself desires the moon of Radharani and Radharani when she hears of Krishna's desire she gives her complexion also that's how Radha he has the bhava and yuti now when he assumes the bhava, the emotion what all does he assume those three things are described in this verse to understand these three things what are the three things Radha Pranayamahima the greatness of her love Radha Pranayamahima and then Madhurimananda what is the sweetness that she experiences in him what is his greatness by which she experiences that by which she gets attracted to him and then Yena Bhuta Madhurima and the third is Saukhyam Chasya Madhanubhavadaha and he experiences his love to understand this let's consider if there is a if there is originally a seed the seed has the potential to grow into say if it is a mango seed it has the potential to grow into a mango tree there is a seed then there is a fertile soil in which the seed has to be planted when it is planted in the fertile soil then after that the seed blossoms into say a big mango tree and it gives delicious mangoes so in the process of fructification there is the seed which comes first there is the soil and then there is the fruit that comes so similarly Krishna wants to experience three things about Lakshmipati Radhanani first is the seed what is her love for Krishna what is it that what is that mysterious feeling by which she is so forcefully so irresistibly attracted to Krishna so he wants to understand her attraction to Krishna that is the seed the second is he also understands she is so attracted to me but what is it in me that is attracting her so much so that is his attractiveness it is his attractiveness that he wants to understand so that is like the soil sometimes there may be a fertile soil but if there is no proper seed put in it then nothing will fructify over there so similarly Krishna is always all attractive but if we don't have devotion for him then even when we go in front of him even when we behold him there is no spiritual emotion there is no ecstasy that is experienced so the fertility of the soil is very important it is indispensable in fact but it alone is not enough, there has to be the proper seed also, sometimes some people ask you say Krishna is all attractive but I don't feel attracted to him why don't you feel attracted to him because right now the seed of devotion is very tender or it is not there also when that seed of devotion is there and as it grows then that attraction manifests so even when the seed is there we have this famous verse which says that Brahmanda Brahmite Kona Bhagyavan Jeev Guru Krishna Prasade Paye Bhaktila Tabeej so Brahmanda Brahmite in this universe there are so many souls who are wandering here and there all over the world and among them Kona Bhagyavan Jeev some very fortunate soul what is the fortune of that soul? Guru Krishna Prasade by the mercy of Guru and Krishna they get the Bhaktila Tabeej they get the seed of devotion so there is the attraction which Radharani feels for Krishna, there is the attractiveness of Krishna which actually is the cause of that attraction and thirdly that love is not just one sided that love is reciprocal when Radharani sees that Krishna also loves me that gives that gives Radharani such ecstasy to understand that nature of reciprocation when a mother when a woman first gives birth to a child she feels naturally attracted to her baby and initially when the baby is born the baby may not even understand ok here is the person, she is my mother she loves me, for the baby all of existence is potential food for her initially she suckles the mother's breast and puts her finger in her mouth and everything, she takes her toe and puts it in her mouth, whatever toy she puts in her mouth so initially the baby may not even understand actually this is my mother and this mother loves me and she loves, cares for me even without that the mother feels a shower of love for her baby but as the baby starts growing and the baby starts becoming aware, oh this is not just a comfortable soft place, this is a person this person loves me and as the baby starts understanding this and the baby starts expressing love for the mother at that time when the mother sees that my baby also loves me back she feels great joy at that time so similarly Radharani she already has attraction to Krishna and Krishna already has attractiveness supreme attractiveness but when Radharani sees that Krishna also loves me at that time saukhyam chasya mad anubhavata when she experiences my love for her, her ecstasy increases much more so normally there is a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder so that say a boy sees a girl, a girl sees a boy and they say they fall in love with each other now when somebody is in love they may say that this boy is so attractive this girl is so attractive and nobody else compares with that now others may say no, there are other people also very beautiful why are you so captivated with that but when there is affection when there is attraction, then one sees so much beauty but Krishna's beauty is not subjective like that when it comes to Krishna beauty doesn't just lie in the eye of the beholder beauty lies outside the eye also, Krishna is eternally beautiful but the perception of that beauty lies in our heart to the extent we are pure, to that extent we perceive Krishna's beauty just like the sun always gives light but if my eyes are closed, I can't perceive the sun's light but even if I am not perceiving the sun's light, the sun is still giving light similarly, Krishna is always all attractive, but to the extent our eyes are open, that means to the extent our heart is directed towards Krishna to the extent towards which we are trying to love Krishna to that extent we start appreciating Krishna's beauty and we can start relishing his reciprocation so there is the affection of Radha Rani for Krishna there is the attractiveness of Krishna which further increases their affection and there is the reciprocation of Krishna which gives enormous satisfaction to Srimati Radha Rani so now from Radha Rani's perspective Krishna wants to experience what is her affection for me, what is her attraction for me and then from her perspective, he wants to experience okay, what is it in me that attracts her to me just like sometimes the Pujaris may decorate the Deities very beautifully on the altar but then, they are seen from the altar, then they may come out from the altar and look from the temple, okay, how do the Deities look from here, this is what he wants so like that, Krishna is himself all attractive, but when, say some, if we look at ourselves in the mirror you know you see, oh, I don't look good or I look good, but even if we look at ourselves, we are still looking from our perspective so Krishna, he can know himself, but he knows himself from his perspective, he wants to know Radha Rani is so attractive what is it in me that attracts her so he wants to take her role and by taking her role, he wants to understand what is her sweetness, what is my attractiveness, what is it in me that attracts her so much, and then further he wants to know, okay sometimes we may see a beautiful statue or a beautiful object and we may get mesmerised people go to India and they want to see Taj Mahal or people go to various places and they want to see some wonders of the world, but those wonders, they may be very captivatingly attractive but they don't reciprocate Krishna wants to say that when I reciprocate at that time, what does Radha Rani feel I want to experience that also, and in fact if we look at the Chaitanya Jyotam further, especially the pastimes that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performs in his later half, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived for 48 years, out of which the first 20 years, he did not manifest his devotion, he was primarily a scholar named Nimai Pandit and for 4 years, he manifested his devotion as a resident of Navadweep, as a grahastha, and then for the next 6 years, he travelled all over India, North India, South India, North India sharing love of God and in the last 18 years of his life, he just relished Krishna Prem in Jagannath Puri so when he relished Krishna Prem in Jagannath Puri at that time, in his pastimes, he demonstrates all these 3 things what was the affection what was the affection that Radha Rani had for Krishna, he demonstrates that, and what was the attractiveness within Krishna that attracted him, if you look at all of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes, all of them are extraordinary, but this 3 level dynamic this is a little subtle, I'll conclude with this point but this may take a few minutes among all the pastimes of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the most extraordinary of his pastimes which was widely appreciated by many people was his dancing in Jagannath Rath Yatra in Jagannath Puri so now, in the Rath Yatra what exactly is happening we know philosophically speaking it is the gopis who are pulling Krishna from Kurukshetra back to Vrindavan, that is true at the same time when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is performing Rath Yatra actually there are multiple reciprocations that are happening there are broadly 3 levels of reciprocations, there are the devotees, there is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and there is Jagannath so there are 3 people, so there is a reciprocation between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the devotees there is a reciprocation between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Jagannath there is a reciprocation between the devotees and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu there is a reciprocation between devotees and Jagannath and there is a reciprocation between Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and there is a reciprocation between Jagannath and the devotees it is too complicated The point is, all of them have their own individual flavour. See, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in front of Jagannath, he is thinking, I am a devotee and Jagannath is my Lord. But for the devotees, when they are looking at Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they are thinking, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not just a devotee, not just a saint, he is the Supreme Lord.
So for them, the Lord is manifest in two ways. He is as Jagannath, who is they say the non-moving Eshwar and there is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is the dancing Eshwar. So he is manifested in both ways.
For Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he has his transcendental mood swings. Sometimes he is in the mood of a devotee, sometimes he is in the mood of the Lord himself. So we will try to understand how this verse and the three aspects which I talked about in this verse are manifested in the Jagannath Rath Yatra, in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's emotions.
So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, राधाया प्रने महिमा की द्रिषो What is the love of Shrimati Radharani for Krishna? He wants to experience that. So when he is dancing in front of Jagannath, what is he dancing for? Jagannath Rath Yatra, where people would pull Jagannath. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dances in front of Jagannath because he just doesn't want to pull Krishna back to Vrindavan, he wants to attract Krishna back.
So he is dancing in ecstasy and that dancing ecstasy, by that he is reminding Krishna, you know Krishna, this was what you were enjoying in Vrindavan, you left this and went away, now please come back, please come back. So he doesn't want to pull, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu practically never pulls the rope when he is in the Rath Yatra. All that he does is, he dances.
And that dance, the captivating attractiveness of that dance is the rope by which Jagannath is pulled towards Vrindavan. So what is happening? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is exhibiting, is exhibiting his love for Krishna through his ecstatic dancing. And as he dances ecstatically, Jagannath also sometimes plays in mysterious ways.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu becomes completely lost in ecstasy, lost to the outer world completely because he is not there in Jagannath Puri at that time. He is actually with his beloved Lord Krishna and he is, although Jagannath and Krishna seem to be externally not very similar. There is one of Prabhupada's early disciples.
She wrote a letter in 1967, Prabhupada had installed Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra in San Francisco and at that time, Prabhupada had not written any, because Chaitanya Charitamutha had not yet been published. So there was no written literature about Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra. So the devotees really, they were worshipping Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra very diligently but one devotee wrote in the letter, Prabhupada, Prabhupada, can you tell us who is this Lord whom you are worshipping? So they were worshipping every day diligently but they didn't know who he was.
They had someone deciding this is Krishna but they had heard about Krishna and Prabhupada had talked about Krishna. Jagannath did not look like Krishna at all. So what is this? Who is this, they were asking.
So then Prabhupada wrote a letter explaining and then of course Chaitanya Charitamutha came out where he described about Jagannath much more. But the thing is externally Jagannath may not look like Krishna but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is seeing Krishna over there. What is he seeing? Actually suppose, sometimes if say people are watching a TV programme or say a cricket match is going on, people are watching a cricket match and then they want to be absorbed in it.
So what do they do? They want to cut off all stimuli, all distractions. Or suppose, nowadays people can watch movies at their home also. But still people go to a theatre and in the theatre they pay money to watch the same movie.
Why? Because they feel in theatre they can experience that movie more. How is that? Because in the theatre first thing that happens is, two things happen actually. First the lights go off and then another light goes on.
So when the lights go off, all distractions are cut off. And when that light comes on, then complete absorption in illusion. That's what results.
So when we want to relish something a lot, then we don't want any distractions at all. So like that, when Jagannath is manifesting, what is happening? We know how Krishna manifested as Jagannath at one time. Rohini Devi, she was speaking Krishna's pastimes when she was in Dwarka.
And Krishna was standing outside the door and he was hearing. So at that time what happened? Krishna was hearing and he was so attracted. Just wanted to hear completely and not be distracted at all.
So what happened? Sometimes if our hand moves, even if it's unconscious, there's a little consciousness over there. Oh, I moved my hand like this. I moved my hand like that.
So Krishna doesn't want to have any distraction. And because of that, his hands get withdrawn into himself. It's like keep your hands steady so that there is no distraction.
Keep your legs steady so that there is no distraction. So like that, Krishna just withdraws his limbs, any of which may cause any distraction. And his eyes go big.
Just beholding. His eyes become big. And he's just absorbed in hearing the nectar which is coming from Rohini Devi's ears.
So basically here, what is Radharani? We are talking here about Ratha Yatra festival. The Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing. The Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he's seeing Jagannath, what is he seeing? He's not just seeing Jagannath.
He's seeing Krishna in ecstasy. What is the ecstasy? That Krishna is the all-attractive Supreme Lord. And it is described that when Jagannath has this expression, Jagannath is in ecstasy, thinking how much Radharani loves me.
How much the Gopis love me. And he goes into ecstasy. He smiles in delight.
And seeing that, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu goes into ecstasy. Because here, he's already captivated with Jagannath. But when he sees, Jagannath is noticing me.
Jagannath is pleased with me. And Jagannath wants the whole world to know that actually I am doing all this for my devotee, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's pleasure. And that's why sometimes, Jagannath stops.
The Ratkat stops moving. And there are big bodybuilders who try to move, they can't move. The king is anxious and he brings elephants and the elephants can't move.
And then nothing happens. Then Lord Chaitanya comes and what does he do? Just touches his head. Just touches his head on the cart and the same cart which could not be moved by elephant, just starts moving smoothly.
So Jagannath, through this, what does he demonstrate? He demonstrates how much he's pleased with Lord Chaitanya. How much he loves Lord Chaitanya. And then, people start cheering loudly.
They say, Jai Jagannath! Jai Chaitanya! Jai Gauranga Mahaprabhu! They glorify both of them because they're seeing this majestic reciprocation of love. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sees, actually Jagannath is noticing me. Jagannath is acknowledging me.
Jagannath is proclaiming my love for him. Proclaiming his love for me. Proclaiming the speciality of my love for him.
Because Jagannath was not moving earlier. Now he started moving. When he sees that, he goes into ecstasy.
And he's singing Jagannath. He can't even sing Jagannath. Ja, ja, ja, ja, ga, ga, ga.
There is so much ecstasy in him that he can't even enunciate the words. That is, as we sing in the Shikshashtakam, that we, that the throat becomes choked with emotion and full of, the body, the head stands in ecstasy and then, one can't even speak words. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu goes into that extraordinary level of ecstasy.
So, In this way, enriched with bhava, enriched with devotion, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descends through the, the metaphor is given over here, that it is said that the moon rose from the milk ocean. So like that. Now the moon is actually eternally existing, but that time it appeared as if it rose from the milk ocean.
So like that, Lord Chaitanya is the eternal Lord, but here it appeared as if he came from the womb of Shashi Devi. And he came to demonstrate that, to relish that supreme love, to demonstrate that supreme love and to share that supreme love. So, how he shared that love, we will discuss in the evening class.
I'll quickly summarise what I discussed here. I discussed about how the longing for love is our deepest longing and yet it is inevitably frustrated in this world because of its temporary nature. So, where does this longing come from? It doesn't come from matter, it comes from spirit and it is meant to be fulfilled in the spiritual realm.
And how it is fulfilled in the spiritual realm eternally is demonstrated in the loving relationship between the Lord and his devotees. And he has many devotees, the topmost among whom is Srimati Radharani. And Krishna and Srimati Radharani, they have a very intimate love.
And in this loving reciprocation, actually Krishna feels, I am left out. Radharani is experiencing more ecstasy than what I am experiencing. Just as others get more light from the lamp, then the lamp itself, lower side of the lamp remains unillumined.
So, Krishna wants to switch himself in the relationship, his position from that of the receiver of devotion to the reservoir of devotion, who gives out devotion. So, that's why he wants to take on the mood of Srimati Radharani. And when he wants to take on the mood of Srimati Radharani, we discuss which mood, when Radharani was utterly maddened in separation from Krishna in the Rasa Leela, especially when she was separated from Krishna, as was manifested in the Gopi Gita, 31st chapter of the 10th Canto.
And when Krishna tells Radharani that I am going to come in your mood, Radharani feels Krishna's dark complexion is so irresistibly attractive, he'll get spoiled when he falls and faints. So, how she covers him with her complexion. And that's how he gets the emotion and the complexion of Srimati Radharani.
And we discuss about the emotion, what all is there in emotion. I took the seed metaphor. That first, there has to be fertile soil, but even if the soil is fertile, without a seed in it, no fruit will grow.
So, the fertile soil is Krishna's supreme attractiveness. The seed is Radharani's devotion. And the fruit is the ecstasy, the infinite happiness that Radharani experiences when she sees Krishna loves me back.
So, she has immense love for Krishna and Krishna wants to know, what is her love for me? What is the extraordinary nature of her attraction for me? And further, he wants to understand from Radharani's perspective, what is it within him that attracts her? And then, what is it when she sees that he loves me? Just as when a mother understands, oh, my baby is seeing, maybe he's also loving me. Mother feels great joy like that. When that awareness comes, not only do I love Krishna, not only is Krishna lovable, but Krishna loves me back.
She sees that the ecstasy that she experiences at that time, that is what also Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants to experience. And we discussed how in the Ratha Yatra, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gets to experience all these three. He is, by dancing, in order to pull with the beauty of his dance, Jagannath back to Krishna.
He is manifesting the same ecstasy that Radharani felt when she was separated from Krishna and when she was longing for union with him. And then, when he sees the attractiveness of Krishna, that he's seeing that Jagannath is not just a form different from Krishna, it is Krishna in the ecstasy of about to be reunited through recollection with Krishna, with the Vrajavasis, that is Jagannath. And lastly, we discussed how when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was, Jagannath specially noted Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and reciprocated.
He would not move till, not even the greatest physical force would he move, but just by a little tap of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's hand, he moved. That means, he showed that, I notice, I appreciate, I celebrate your love. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw that, he just went into ecstasy.
Unable to even speak the name of Jagannath. So, in this way, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in the Rath Yatra pastime, fulfilled, demonstrated the fulfilment of the three reasons why he manifested in this world. Thank you very much.
Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki, Shri Prabhupada ki, Shri Gaurpurnima Mahamahotsav ki, Tai Gaur Premanande. Is it possible that in the real life, Yeah, I'll repeat it. Is it possible that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Leela is too elevated for general people? Yes, definitely, it is elevated.
At the same time, there is a, there is the intellectual aspect, there is the aesthetic aspect, and there is ultimately the spiritual aspect. The spiritual aspect of the Leela is, what is it that Krishna and Radharani are experiencing, that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants to experience? It's a very esoteric emotion, which we can't experience. But at the level of conceptualisation, at the intellectual level at least, the conception of what the spiritual world is, if that itself is understood to some extent, that can enhance people's attraction to spirituality and attraction to God.
You know, in the Sistine Chapel in Europe, there is that famous picture of God extending his grace to Adam. And in that picture, God is depicted as an old man. And Adam is young and handsome and he is raising his hand.
So God is extending his grace and Adam is getting the grace. But if you look at the picture, actually speaking, Adam looks healthier and stronger than God. No offence to God, no offence to anyone there.
But the fact is, that is not a particularly attractive conception of God. And people have that conception of God as a grand old man or something like that. Then it's not a very attractive conception.
In the Christian tradition, broadly the conception of heaven is that of a perpetual family reunion. You know, it is not exactly a celebration of God. Now it is your grandfather, grandmother, your lost sister, your lost cousin, all of you will be eternally united together.
Well, it's fine. But it's not an irresistibly captivating conception of God. So if you at least intellectually understand how much subtle, how refined, how variegated the spiritual world is, that is demonstrated through La Chaitanya's pastimes, then that itself creates some intellectual appreciation and attraction to Lord Chaitanya and to the spiritual world ultimately.
So that is important. And that's why according to people's level, we can explain whatever is practical. Now Prabhupada did not talk about the rasa leela too much.
But still he talked about Krishna as the butter thief. He still talked about Krishna as, he gave Krishna book for everyone, for mass distribution actually, he gave it. So while it is difficult for people to understand the esoteric aspects of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes, still the basic pastimes and the basic conception that is there, if you can explain that, then it can be a whole new universe opening for many people in what spirituality is, what love for God is and what life's ultimate perfection is.
So according to time, place and circumstance, we can explain to people. But yes, the elevated pastimes of Lord Chaitanya, especially the internal moods, they are so elevated that most people can't understand it. At the same time, we as devotees, we do need to gradually appreciate these pastimes.
Because it is our legacy, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharya, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition in which this has been revealed, that our Acharyas have preserved it, have elaborated it and they have given it to us. And unfortunately, these elevated emotions have been prematurely imitated and that has led to the Sahajiya tradition, Sahajiya Appasampradaya. So now, actually, these elevated emotions, this elevated love of God, that is our tradition's legacy to us and through us to the world.
Now if we also start saying this is too elevated, then the only people who will be talking about it will be the Sahajiyas and they will misrepresent it. But because we are not talking about it, their misrepresentation will become the only representation of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition available to people. And that has unfortunately happened.
In much of the world, in the academic world, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition is primarily thought of as a Sahajiya tradition. And it's gone, it's thought of by some people as a neo-Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, which is really not Gaudiya Vaishnava. Because it has too many other things, which doesn't focus on the essence of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which is not true.
Chaitanya Krishna Prabhupada did give us the essence. But we as devotees who have been practising for many years, we do need to understand, at least to some level, appreciate it ourselves and share it with others, so that that which is our legacy, which is our tradition's legacy to us, that is not taken away and misrepresented by others. Our Acharyas protected the legacy, certainly, so that Chaitanya Krishna Prabhupada was very cautious, that is very elevated, don't trespass into it in advance.
Don't trespass into it prematurely. At the same time, if we don't, Krishna Prabhupada wanted us to come to this level. Right in the first chapter of the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Prabhupada gives a list of the various commentaries in the Bhagavatam.
And he says, the serious students of the Bhagavatam should study these commentaries. So Prabhupada has given us access to all this. So with his blessings and following in his footsteps, if we gradually gain appreciation for this, then that which is elevated, that will elevate us, and that which is elevated, we'll also be able to present to people in a way, which they can appreciate.
Does this answer the question? So thank you very much. He is? Handsome. Okay.
So she is attracted because you were speaking that he wanted me. Okay. So you say because he is handsome.
Okay, yeah. Is Radharani attracted to Krishna because he is handsome? Yeah. I mean, real world, men and women, they both are attracted to each other.
Yeah, that's true. See, it is not that Radharani is attracted to Krishna just because he is handsome. But his handsomeness is also a part of who he is.
That is also what attracts him. So that means Krishna is one person and he has, you know, six opulences, beauty, strength, knowledge, fame, renunciation, wealth, all of these. So they all are Krishna.
We can't separate Krishna's beauty, Krishna's handsomeness from the person Krishna. They are non-different from him. So Radharani is attracted to Krishna as a full person.
Actually, in Sangeet Madhav, there is a very beautiful pastime. Again, this is a very esoteric pastime. But what happens is that Prabodhan Saraswati is depicting that at a time when the first time Radha and Krishna meet in the spiritual world, in the manifest, you know, when they are descended to this world, first time it happens.
How do they meet? So what happens is Radharani is going through the, near her house in Barsana and she hears a flute being played. And just by this flute being played, this flute is so attractive. Whoever is playing this flute, I've lost my heart to him.
I lost my heart to him, whoever it is. And then afterwards, she sees Krishna walking through the forest. And she says, I have such a handsome, such an attractive young boy.
She falls in love with him. And she doesn't know that this same handsome boy is the person who played the flute. So she starts thinking, what is this? What kind of woman am I? I was attracted to that man and now I'm attracted to this man also.
And then, and after that, she sees, actually, she sees, she experiences another aspect of Krishna. That is, she sees that these cows are being herded with so much expertise that there is such an attractive fragrance coming. Now when the cows are there, Krishna has so many cows.
But behind it, Krishna, she can't see him only. She says, there are so many cows and they're all being herded with such expertise. And whoever is there, that person has such an extraordinary fragrance coming from his body.
So this fragrant cowherd boy, she feels I'm attracted to him also. And she starts thinking, I am really a terrible woman. I'm attracted to three men now.
And then, she's thinking like that, she's berating herself. And at that time, what happens? There, Krishna, actually, through all this, Krishna is teasing her. But then, Krishna appears in front of her.
And then, at one time, in one vision, she sees, she sees that fragrance, it's suddenly increasing, coming, increasing. And she sees that the same boy whom she had seen. And she sees that same boy is playing a flute.
And that captivating sound which is coming, that is coming through the same boy. And she feels so relieved. Oh, it is the same person I'm attracted to.
So, Krishna is so attractive that just his form can attract Srimati Radharani. Krishna is so attractive that just his fragrance can attract Srimati Radharani. Completely attractive.
Overwhelm her heart. And he is so attractive that just his music, the sweetness of his music, that can attract Srimati Radharani. So, she is, in that sense, you know, like there are magnets and there is iron filing.
Krishna is the magnet, Radharani is the iron filing. But this magnet, whichever part of the magnet Radharani experiences, she is attracted to that. So, his handsomeness also is what she is attracted to.
But it is not only his handsomeness. It is this complete person, every aspect of it, she is attracted to him. Does it answer your question? Take everything.
Yes, correct. So, Lord Caitanya came to show us how we can make. So, that means, why not? Because in the same, I don't know if it is correct to say, level that Srimati Radharani.
And if it is not, why? Because Krishna and we want to love in the highest. Yeah, that's true. So, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to offer us, to tell us how we can love Krishna.
So, he is experiencing the love of Srimati Radharani. So, can we also experience that love? If not, why not? Actually, there is completeness in the spiritual world. So, it is not that, say, when, consider another pastime.
Say, in Ramlila, there is Hanuman, there is Sita, there is Lakshman. Now, Ram has one kind of relationship with, say, Sita and he has another kind of relationship with Hanuman. Now, Hanuman doesn't feel that, oh, Ram loves Sita more.
He doesn't feel unfulfilled. He doesn't think that, I want to be Sita so that Ram will love me more. He is completely fulfilled in his position.
So, what it means is, suppose, so we talk about his five Rasas. Shantaras, Tastaras, you know about this, Sakharas, Vatsalaras, Madhuras. So, among these he said, Madhuras is the highest.
And in Madhuras, Gopi's love is the highest and in that, Radharani's love is the highest. So, what does this mean? Actually, everybody is complete. Everybody is completely fulfilled in their love for Krishna.
At the same time, there are levels of this love. It's like, compare, there are, say, five glasses of water. Say, one is, say, 200 ml, another is 400 ml, another 600 ml, another 800 ml, one is 1 litre, 1000 ml.
Now, all these glasses are full. They cannot take even one drop of water more. So, all of them are full.
From their own perspective, they are completely full. Their fullness is nothing deficient in it. Yeah, but from the, let me complete this.
But from the perspective of an objective level, we have the one litre glass as the maximum water. So, like that, whatever is our eternal relationship with Krishna, in that relationship, we will be completely fulfilled. At the same time, there are levels of intimacy which Krishna has with different devotees.
And that is Krishna's prerogative as a person. Now, there are some devotees in some other Vaishnava traditions also, they give an explanation, why Krishna has a flute? Why Krishna plays only a flute? Why not a violin? Why not a guitar? Why not some other instrument? Why Krishna has a peacock feather only? Why not some other bird's feather? Why Krishna wears a pitambar only? Why Krishna wears only yellow clothes? Now, somebody may give some explanations esoterically for this. But essentially, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas have not given much esoteric explanations for this.
They focus, Krishna is a person. As a person, he has his preferences. So, why does he wear a flute? Why does he play a flute? Because that's what he likes.
Why does he wear a peacock feather? That's what he likes. Why does he eat butter only? Why not something else? That's what he likes. So, it's his liking.
So, if we understand that God is a person, God is a person, he has his likes. Now, when he likes something, that does not mean he doesn't like other things or dislikes other things. It is just that he is a person.
And his personal preference is ornament his personality. So, from our perspective, we will be completely fulfilled in our eternal relationship with Krishna. We will not feel, oh, why don't I love Krishna as much as Radharani? We will be satisfied in our relationship.
At the same time, from Krishna's perspective, he sees that, oh, the kind of love that Radharani has for me, what is this love? It is the highest love. Nobody has that love. It's interesting that even the Gopis, they also don't feel envious of Radharani.
They also feel appreciative because their whole in the spiritual world is to please Krishna. Radharani pleases Krishna the most, then let us send Radharani to Krishna. So, in the Rasalila also, which I just pointed towards, however, it is said that when the Gopis became proud, Krishna left the Gopis and went away.
But actually, the Gopis did not become proud. The Gopis, they were simply thinking how fortunate we are. How fortunate we are.
And yet, they had the thought that, actually, all of us don't have the same level of love for Krishna. And therefore, they wanted that Radharani's love, singular love, be uniquely demonstrated for the world. And that's why they acted as if they were proud.
And that's why what happened? Krishna left them and went alone with Radharani. So, the Gopis did not become proud. The Gopis simply acted as if proud so that Krishna would leave them and go with Radharani.
If Krishna had been with all the Gopis, then all the Gopis' love would have been considered to be equal, of the same level. But the Gopis wanted the world to know that Radharani's love is greatest. That's why they left.
They acted as if proud and Krishna left them. And when Krishna was with Radharani, and when Radharani realised that Krishna is only with me, she initially felt such ecstasy. Oh, Krishna loves me alone and loves me so much.
But the next moment, she started thinking, but what will be the condition of Lata? What will be the condition of Vishaka? They are my Sakhis and being separated from Krishna, what will they feel? And she said, no, I cannot enjoy Krishna alone. She thinks like that. And therefore, she thinks that Krishna is taking her into the forest and she thinks, let me slow Krishna down.
And because Krishna is rapidly going into the forest, she wants that the Gopis will also be searching, let the Gopis catch me, catch us, find us and locate us and be with us again. So therefore, she tells Krishna, Krishna, this forest is… I'm getting tired. I'm getting tired.
How long do we have to walk? So she basically acts tired so that Krishna will slow down. But then what happens? Krishna thinks that she has become proud. And Krishna says to her, because this is a jungle, I cannot get a palanquin for you.
So therefore, you can just ride on my back. And Krishna bends down as if to get Radharani to climb on her. Radharani is shocked.
She doesn't expect Krishna to get angry. And she is looking at him and right in front of her, Krishna disappears. And Radharani is devastated that Krishna has left me and gone away.
And similarly, when the Gopis, when they initially see that, oh, Radharani, that Krishna has left us and gone with one special Gopi, they start feeling a little annoyed. Who is the special Gopi whom Krishna has gone? But when they finally find Radharani, Radharani is swooned in agony in separation from Krishna. And when they see, oh, Krishna has left Radharani also, they all come around her, they revive her and they console her.
So the point which I'm making throughout this pastime is that there is, because Krishna is the centre and everybody wants to please Krishna, so by Krishna's arrangement, he has his preferences. And nobody objects to those preferences. Everybody feels fulfilled perfectly in their role in Krishna's Leela in this pastimes.
So the grass in Vrindavan, if Krishna just steps once on that grass, that grass feels completely satisfied. That grass doesn't think, I want to be Radharani to be constantly embraced by Krishna. And the Gopis don't feel that.
They also don't feel that I want to be Radharani. So rather than trying to understand intellectually, because we right now operate from a very limited material and self-centred perspective to understand how then we perfect satisfaction in the spiritual world, right now we can focus primarily on trying to absorb ourselves in Krishna. Once we are absorbed in Krishna, we will ourselves realise that Krishna is always available for me.
Now in this world sometimes there are love triangles. You know, say there is one person and one girl and two boys love that girl. Then what happens, that girl, if she loves one boy, she is not available for the other boy.
So then there is a conflict because of that. But Krishna is not like that. No, Krishna can love you fully, be fully available for you, and despite making himself fully available to you, he is still fully available to me.
And he is still fully available to everyone. So Krishna is not limited. And that's why, no matter what is the nature of Krishna's relationship with someone else, even if their loving is in a situation of a higher intimacy than is ours, we won't feel anything missing.
Because Krishna will be fully available for us, and we will be fully satisfied, provided we are absorbed in him. Say, if we are not absorbed in Krishna, we are saying, hey, what is Krishna doing with them? What is Krishna doing with them? Then we will be dissatisfied. That is the material mentality.
The material mentality is what? Say, today evening there is Gaur Purnima. After the festival, there is going to be a feast. But suppose it's a special feast, where everyone is getting a distinct feast.
Now, you have a plate of prasad which is different from somebody else's, and all of us have different plates of prasad. But it's all feast, all delicious items. But instead of savouring our own feast, we look, oh, he has got that, oh, she has got that.
And if we keep looking at others' plates, we will be dissatisfied. Although we have enough to be fully satisfied. So, rather than looking at what is in others' plate, we focus on appreciating what is in our plate.
So, like that, in the spiritual world, because everybody is absorbed in Krishna, everybody is concerned with pleasing Krishna, so nobody feels any resentment because of any hierarchy that might be there in the spiritual world. Everybody is completely satisfied in their relationship with Krishna. Does it answer your question? Okay.
So, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
Sorry, I went over time. I will be fasting. If you have some more questions, we can talk for some time.