CC daily 22 – M 80-83 – Improvisation is also an expression of devotion

Thank you. Chaitanya Charitamrta Madhya Leela 4th chapter, 80th verse आच्मन दिया दिलविद कसंचय आरथी करी लड़ो के करे जय जय So, Madhavendra Puri offered all the bhoga to the lord a magnificent festival is performed and as the offering was being completed, the lord was finishing his meal आच्मन दिया He offered water for washing the mouth दिलविद कसंचय विद कसंचय So, the tradition is that after a person has completed his meal some betel nuts are given for chewing So, he gave those विद कसंचय, those betel nuts to chew आरथी करी लड़ो आरथी करी लड़ो के करे जय जय and as the aarti was going on, people started glorifying जय जय they were all jubilant So, the aarti ceremony and the celebration of the installation is just going on now coming towards its summit शयया करायिल नुतन खात आनया नववस्त्रानी तार उपरे पातिया शयया करायिल So, now normally after a person has had a full meal very rich and wonderful meal then the person feels that now I would like to nap a little bit So, immediately the devotee want to serve the lord by arranging for a bed that he can take a nap, he can rest So, शयया करायिल So, now he had to prepare a bed, so he had already thought about it So, नुतन खात आनया So, a new bed was arranged नववस्त्रानी तार उपरे पातिया So, he brought new clothes and after getting the new clothes new cloth he put it on the on the bedstead So, the idea is everything that is offered to the lord should be fresh something that is not being used by anyone that's what he was doing over here he is offering the lord the best of everything उपरे पातिया and plus he made the bed ready शयया करायिल तुना ताति दिया अच्छारी दिक आवरिल उपरे ते के ताति दिया अच्छारी दिला तुना ताति दिया it's a straw mattress तुना is actually straw तुना ताति is mattress made of straws दिया with that चार दिक आवरिल the four directions were covered now the lord has manifested and we should have a wonderful temple but at present there is nothing the lord has just manifested and there is nothing that can be offered right away so the devotees are improvising and doing it the best that they can so they improvised and made a straw mat temple straw mat walls around the bed उपरे ते के ताति दिया अच्छारी दिला and so there were straw mattresses on four sides and on top of that also एक ताति there was one mattress which was put on top also so in this way a improvised temple was created so now Krishnaswami is going into vivid detail while describing the ceremony and of course it is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who has heard the narration of the event from his spiritual master Ishwara Puri who has heard it from Madhavendra Puri himself so it's a parampara of narration that is getting that is coming to us through the pages of Chaitanya Amrit but essentially the point is when it is put in the written form the author who becomes the literary narrator for the reader the author chooses what details to go up to in the book format so by going into such vivid details of what happened Krishnaswami is transporting us to the time of Madhavendra Puri and is giving us gives us experiential demonstration of how the devotional culture existed at that time and how the devotees served the lord so the important point is that there is in every devotional activity a mood and that mood is central and once that mood is understood then everything else falls into place once a devotee understands the mood in which things are services to be done then the appropriate form can come out so to a large extent devotees try to preserve the form and even now deity worship is performed in largely similar ways some differences might be there but the essential similarities in the mood of devotion so here because there was no no opulent temple available so an improvised temple structure was created using straw mattresses so the lord accepted it all because he had chosen to bless Madhavendra Puri by his appearance and he accepted it all happily because it was being offered by Madhavendra Puri with devotion karaha bhojane so Puri goes saying agya dila now that the lord has been served and the lord has been rested now Puri goes Swami Madhavendra Puri turned towards other people agya dila, what order did you give? sakal brahmane you gave order to all the brahmanas aa baala rudha gramera loka karaha bhojane baala and rudha, the children from the children to the elderly now everybody should be fed karaha bhojane there was abandoned food there now Madhavendra Puri himself he was a practitioner of ajgar vruthi would not even go and ask for food and see even now after this festival he eats very little but he is concerned that the lord's mercy be distributed to everyone and all those who have come for the lord's festival be blessed with his mercy so immediately he turns to the brahmanas as soon as the festival the lord is rested he says now the lord has bestowed so much mercy on all of us in the form of this prasad distribute this abundantly to everyone so here there are no exceptions no discrimination of caste, creed or anything like that suddenly from the children to the elderly let everyone be fed aa baala rudha gramera loka karaha bhojane so actually this is the highest form of social welfare because this form of welfare takes care of not just the body but also the soul and it doesn't just take care of the soul while neglecting the body deity Varshe offers this beautiful glimpse of this beautiful inspiring uplifting purifying enriching experiences that satisfy our heart and in that way they help us grow spiritually and along with the spiritual growth there is also physical nourishment because generally all programs involve some level of humanity worship they always conclude with prasad distribution of delicious food the food that is being distributed here that food that is distributed at the festivals that embodies manifest the mercy of the Lord and that mercy is meant for everyone it is meant to elevate one and all enable them to move closer to Krishna to move onwards in their spiritual journey by relishing the Lord's mercy so here Madhavendra Puri he is acting not only as an intimate servant of the Lord but also as a benevolent servant of humanity so he as a devotee acts as the best servant of all of humanity by connecting humanity with divinity and so that connection between humanity and divinity is happening through food so Madhavendra Puri is saying that let this food which is the mercy of the Lord let it be profusely distributed to everyone by which they can all become enriched, purified uplifted by the Lord's mercy and thus he gives the order to the brahmanas so now the brahmanas are leaders in their society but they are also taking orders from Madhavendra Puri because they have seen that we have been here for so long but the Lord never revealed in a dream that we have been here that I was that I am here but this saint came and the Lord revealed to him he is surely a great person the Lord has revealed himself so they take order from him and they will now arrange for food to be given to everyone so in this way spiritual festivals take care of not just the soul but also of the mind because they offer sweet music, dancing, singing entertainment and also take care of the body because they offer sumptuous.