Four levels of loving exchanges during Rath Yatra

We are discussing from the Shri Nidhi Harvard and we will focus on a related theme that will build up to the yatra. Yesterday we discussed about how Krishna's pastimes need to be understood as trans-moral, not immoral and we discussed a philosophical and logical way how that understanding can be had.

Today we will discuss how Lord Chaitanya offers us a gateway to understanding the confidential pastimes of Krishna. The consistency in the teachings of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas is that it is only by the mercy of Shri Gaurinath that we can understand Radha-Krishna. So we will see how that is understood theoretically and then how that is demonstrated graphically through the past time of the yatra.

So because we all have material vision right now. Although as souls we are spiritual but currently our vision is material and with this material vision we tend to see everything materialistic. Many times people want something new in their life and that's why they go to new places so that I can see something new, experience something new.

However the scriptures explain us that essentially in the whole material world everything is the same. There is birth, old age, disease and death. There is Adhyatmik, Adhipautik, Adhidaivik, Klesh everywhere.

So the scriptures tell us don't seek new lands without seeking new eyes. First seek new eyes. That means develop a vision of knowledge.

First a vision of knowledge. So in 15.10 in the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna describes that a person who is covered by the delusion of unending sensual desires such a person cannot see anything spiritual, cannot see anything higher. Wherever the person goes the person will see the same old thing.

Same opportunities for eating, sleeping, mating, defending. Same prospects for satisfying lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, illusion. So gyan and chakshu should come.

By the eyes of knowledge we start perceiving spiritual reality. And by this knowledge when we transform our heart then, so first there is gyan chakshu. By gyan chakshu we get the impetus to transform our heart.

Then the spiritual reality, I belong to that spiritual reality. And I must change my heart, purify my heart so that I can become elevated to spiritual reality. When I come to that spiritual reality, then actually we develop prema chakshu.

So, knowledge is transitional to the development of prema. And then with prema chakshu prema anjane churita kutti villo chireena santah sadaivar udayesh villo chireena With the eyes of knowledge, the great souls can constantly see and relish Krishna's beautiful form in their heart. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives us an accelerated process by which we can develop this gyan chakshu and then develop the prema chakshu.

And that's how we can relish Krishna's pastimes and eventually enter into Krishna's pastimes. So, sometimes we say that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is very merciful. Mahavadanyaya avatar.

Mahavadanyaya avatar is most merciful. Nobody has been as merciful. But then we also say that we have to follow the fundamental principles.

And it's difficult. We have to develop humility. Pran, api, suni, chi.

That's also difficult. So, if the process is so difficult and demanding, then how exactly is Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu merciful? So, actually speaking, it is that the process for transforming the heart has been made easier. But still, we have to transform the heart.

It is like, suppose, now in India, IIT is among the most respected colleges. Students from all over the world, all over the country dream of becoming IITers. Now, IIT has a very difficult exam for entering, JEE.

And there are millions of students who apply for it and if a few thousands pass it. So, now, if tomorrow IIT decides that, you know, there'll be no JEE. Everybody can enter into IIT.

That is great. Everybody will come there. But after somebody comes into IIT, then one has to study.

Isn't it? So, if you see, the second verse of Shikshashtakam is naam naamakaari bahudhaaniyata lochithi kathrarpita nyamita smaranena kaana So, for starting the chanting of the holy name, there is no rule. But in the next verse, it is said, if you want to do kirtaniya sadabhari, if you want to come to the level of constantly chanting the holy name, then there is tunatapi sunnichena tarorapita ishna So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has removed the entry qualification. But, that doesn't mean there is no qualification.

There has to be the qualification of purification. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy is that there is no pre-qualification required for entering the process of purification. So, anybody and everybody can start practise.

And not only, mercy is not just in the starting. The mercy is also in the progress. By the process of chanting Hare Krishna and cultivating Krishna consciousness, we can move much faster and easier than any other process.

So, continuing the IIT example, we can, suppose, and has to get the knowledge of IIT, but there are special classes arranged, there are special coaching done so that the student can pass the exam easily and get the degree. So, there are special facilities available. But still, it is for us to redirect our heart.

You know, if we don't redirect our heart, we will… And in the spiritual world, we think, you know, the cricket World Cup, who won the match? It is for us, changing our desires is up to us. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives us the facility, the process by which we can easily and speedily redirect our desires. If we want to love Krishna, by chanting Hare Krishna and practising Krishna consciousness, we can do it rapidly and easily.

But still, changing our desires is up to us. So, the mercy is in the entrance and in the ease. But still, the journey is ours to take.

And in that journey, when we do that systematically, by following Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then we can make very rapid spiritual advancement. And the proof of this is in our own lives. You know, in Kali Yuga, most people are flagrantly breaking the four yoga principles, but most of us are able to follow them.

We might not have been following them a few years ago, but now we can follow them. We have been able to break free from many of the bad habits which we had earlier. And sometimes these bad habits, people who don't take shelter of Krishna, they struggle for years and they can't give up on bad habits.

The potency is there, and we have also experienced it. And we will keep experiencing it, as we keep practising the practises. So, specifically with respect to the conjugal pastimes of Krishna, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy is also evident.

So, I talked about the mercy in entrance, the mercy in the ease in the journey, and the mercy is also with respect to the accessibility of the destination. What does that mean, accessibility of the destination? As I mentioned earlier, yesterday, that because Radha and Krishna, in the spiritual world, they have a female and male form. So, it is easy for most people, easy and unfortunate, and most people drag their materialist conceptions of male-female relationships in the pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

So, that same love, that same principle of selfless devotion is demonstrated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His pastimes with His devotees. But here, all Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His intimate devotees, all of them are in a male form. And because of that, the colouring of our vision that is created by lust, that is avoided.

And that's how we can focus on the reciprocation of love that is happening without having to deal with the nagging doubt that is there something lusty, is there something sensual, is there something immoral. And by that focussing on understanding how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees are intimately reciprocating love at the most exalted level, we can aspire for similar love. And ultimately, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not different from Krishna.

Because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Radha Krishna Nahir. He is both Radha and Krishna together. So, by serving Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, by developing devotion for Him, our devotion for Radha Krishna is developed.

So, generally speaking, we know that for Lord Krishna, devotees serve Him in five rathas. Shanta, Dasya, Sakya, Vatsalya and Mandavya. But, in general, for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, all the devotees serve Him in Dasyas.

Although there are some elders to whom, like Paramananda Puri and others, whom Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu respects like His Guru, but still even they are in the mood of Dasya Rasool. And their rastha, their relationship has a particular form because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is playing the role of a sanyasi and there, they are playing the role of godbrothers of His spiritual master. But, in the spiritual world, in the spiritual Navadvip, there Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not a sanyasi.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is, as we see Him on the altar, has beautiful hair and He is there with all His associates. And in that, there when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu serves, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performs fast times, all the devotees serve Him prominently in Dasyas. And, it is described by serving Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Dasya Bhav, our original swaroopa in Krishna Leela will manifest.

So, somebody may be in Vatsalya, somebody may be in Madhurya, somebody may be in Tatyam, whatever is our swaroopa in Krishna Leela, that will manifest by serving Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Dasya Bhav. So, Uttaranaut Thakur has written several books about the glory of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Navadvip Dhammatma is a well-known book.

Another book is Navadvip Bhavataranga. And Navadvip Bhavataranga, he describes elaborately the glory of Navadvip Dham and the glory of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's marsusamankanesha. And basically, by cultivating devotion to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through Harinamsankirtan, the Madhurya rasa or whichever rasa we have in our swaroopa in Krishna, that will manifest.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrates those principles of pure selfless, sublime supreme devotion in a way that can be easily understood. Not understood in its detail, but in its principle we can see the exaltedness of the love. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, some people ask that if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was going to take sannyas, then why did he have to marry for a second time? Then he married for a second time and again he left his wife and she was so young at that time.

So, if he had to take sannyas, why did he have to marry? So, actually, there is always a problem that comes when we try to mix tattva and rasa. Tattva and rasa is philosophical truth. Philosophical truth is that, yes, a person should be responsible to the family member.

And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also demonstrated that. But, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his avatar, he is demonstrating the pinnacle of love. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu since every pastime has a particular focus.

So, the pastime of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taking sannyas, the focus is that he had all that anyone could aspire for in the world. He had a fame, he had family, he had prestige, he was born in a Brahmana family. So, he had everything that people aspire for and still he renounced.

So, now, if we see, Naudeep was such a society at that time that the whole community there came together to take care of Shri Shichimatha and Vishnupriyam. So, that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu renouncing at a young age is not primarily to be used as an example for being irresponsible or anything like that. The principle, this is a very exalted level of devotion and what is being demonstrated over here is that for the sake of Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave up everything that people aspire for.

And he gave it up and he would have had all excuses saying that I could have continued here and practised devotional service also. But he did not do that. So, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrates through his life exalted devotion.

But after demonstrating this exalted devotion, when he comes to Puri, in Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life, 24 years he is in Naudeep, 6 years he travels around and the remaining 18 years he stays in Puri. And in Puri what does he do? Actually in Puri, essentially he demonstrates the life of devotion. In the previous 6 years, he has demonstrated the life of preacher, as a Sanyasi.

So, in Naudeep, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not so much a Sanyasi, he is more of a devotee. Devotee in intense separation from Krishna. And actually it is described that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is meeting with Raman Nandaraya, when he went on South India tour.

Before that meeting, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was more in the mood of Krishna, to deliver the world. That's why he was travelling around, that's why he took Sanyas. But Raman Nandaraya is his intimate associate, Vishakasati.

And that meeting of Radharani with Vishakasati of Shaitanya Mahaprabhu with Raman Nandaraya brought out the Radha in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu very intensely. And Radharani primarily is not a preacher. Radharani is a servant.

She is simply serving Krishna and making all possible facilities for the enjoyment of Krishna. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu thereafter demonstrates the life of devotion. Complete absorption.

It is Divyon Maan. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu uses the word Divine Madness. So, of course, even through that Divine Madness, there is preaching that is demonstrated.

This is the kind of love that is really there, waiting for all of us, if we advance. And this Divyon Maan is manifested most intensely and in a sense demonstrated publicly for everyone to see in the Radhyatma. So, in the Radhyatma, there are loving exchanges that happen at five levels.

And we will discuss them one by one. There are four basic participants in the Radhyatma. There is Lord Jagannath.

Of course, Jagannath is Baldev Subhadra also. We will focus on Jagannath. There is Jagannath is there.

Then there is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then there are Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's associates who know that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is God. And then there are the general people.

So, we will focus on the reciprocations between Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then, the reciprocations between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his devotees. Then the reciprocations between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the general people.

And then the reciprocations between Jagannath and the general people. So, we will not discuss about Jagannath and the devotees. That will be an entirely different subject.

But let's look at these four. So, every relationship has its flavour, has its intensity and it has to be relished accordingly. So, that's why in Chetan Charitambudu he said that rasabhas, when the emotion of one relationship is mixed with the emotion of another relationship, then it doesn't work.

The Gopis of Vrindavan do not relish Krishna, especially young Gopis of Vrindavan, they do not relish Krishna's childhood pastimes. For them Krishna is a conjugal, conjugal partner for them. So, they relish Krishna as a young one.

Similarly, Yashodamaya Nanda Maharaj, they know that Krishna has grown up and they are thinking Krishna, we want to get Krishna married. But still for them primarily Krishna is their child. So, every relationship has its special flavour and it has to be understood in that way.

So, let's look at first the relationship between Jagannath and Sri Chaitanya Mahamudra and the reciprocations that happen therein. So, Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival has been going on for thousands of years. And the mood is that Sri Chaitanya, Sri Krishna is feeling separation from Vrindavan.

And Vidraju devotees are taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. So, there are many stories, but the primary story comes in the 81st, 82nd chapters of 10th Canto, where the Gopis and Krishna meet in Vrindavan. And then the Gopis long to take Krishna back.

And at that time Radha Rani and the Gopis envision that we will make a chariot and in that chariot we will take Krishna back. So, the Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival origin is over there. Now, in this Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival, which was going on for thousands of years, the devotional fervour reached a unique and unparalleled climax when Sri Chaitanya Mahamudra performed his fastas.

Because the mood at all times is that Radha Rani and the Gopis, they are all taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. And whoever is pulling the Ratha card, they are actually assisting Radha, the Gopis and all Vrajavasis, in taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. But when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was present, at that time Radha Rani is personally present.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna, but in the mood of Radha Rani. So, Radha, Bhava, Gopis, Vrindavan, Navami, Krishna. So, what was envisaged, what was desired, what was longed for by Shirdi Radha Rani in Kurukshetra, that take Krishna back to Vrindavan, that Shirdi Radha Rani was able to do, or rather Krishna in the mood of Radha Rani was doing, because Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was in the Radha Rani state.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is actually Radha Rani, Krishna in the mood of Radha Rani. And Radha Rani is feeling separation from Krishna. So, the Acharyas have described that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu assumed a specific mood.

Radha Rani also has many moods. Radha Rani's mood before, during the manifest past tense, before she meets Krishna for the first time. So, there is anticipation.

Then when she meets Krishna, then there is a special flavour. Then when she is separated from Krishna, but she is hoping to meet him again, there is another flavour. But when Krishna leaves Vrindavan and goes away, at that time the intensity of Radha Rani's love for Krishna attains its peak.

At that time, actually Radha Rani feels that there is no reason for me to live. But she prays to Krishna, Krishna when you left, even my life would have left. But your words that I will come back, although there is no life left in this body because of separation from you, but the life air inside this body is locked up because of your words that I will come back.

So, I have no reason to live. But I can't leave because your words have kept me here. So, at that time Radha Rani's mood of separation from Krishna was complete maddening absorption.

It was a divine madness. So, this was the verse that Madhavendra Puri would love to hear in his final days. Eswarapuri recited that and Shetan Mahaprabhu recited that.

And Krishnadaswamy says that I am repeatedly contemplating on this verse, its import and the devotion thereof will increase again and again. Just as the rubbing Chandan becomes more and more available for us. So, what is this verse? This is actually Radha Rani in this mood of separation from Krishna, after Krishna has left and gone away to Madhavendra.

So, I have become Bhima and you are Dayadrana, you are the master who is very merciful. You are Dayadrana, but now you have become Madhurana. When will I see you? Every morning I wake up simply with the hope that I will be able to see you.

But that hope is never fulfilled. So, because of not being able to see you, my heart is cut into thousands of pieces. My mind is wandering here and there.

What should I do? I do not know. So, it is a desperate call of Radha Rani for Krishna, please come back. So, when Krishna assumes the mood of Radha Rani, it is actually this mood.

Generally, we say that separation and love, the relationship is like wind and fire. Now, sometimes for Radha Rani, when she is separated from Krishna, her love grows much more. We may think, okay, I will become separated from devotees, my love for devotees will grow more.

No, what will happen is, if the fire is big, when the wind comes, the fire grows bigger. The fire spreads and burns other things. But if the fire is small, when the wind comes, the fire gets extinguished.

So, for us, separation will not increase the devotion. Separation will extinguish the devotion. But for Radha Rani, her devotion is so great that there is no question of extinction of that devotion.

So, that devotion has gone to its highest point. And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to understand that. That is why Krishna took that mood of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Now, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the mood of Radha Rani. Radha Rani, who is feeling separation from Krishna. And Jagannath is Krishna feeling separation from Radha Rani.

We know that Krishna, when he heard the past time, so now, actually the Jagannath's past time, you see, there are three different past times. Sometimes that relationship gets confused. One is the origin of this concept of Vatiyat.

The pulling of the cart, that is from Kurukshetra. But the origin of the form of Krishna, as Jagannath, that is not from Kurukshetra. That is from Dwarka.

So, when the gopis wanted Krishna to come from Kurukshetra, at that time Krishna was in his Shamsundar form. So, why is it that in Jagannath Rat Yatra, we don't have Krishna in the form of Shamsundar? Because when the gopis saw Krishna, they actually wanted him to come back and that time he was in the form of Krishna. But that time he was bound by duty.

And he was not ready to come. Whereas, here it is described in Dwarka, when Balram's mother Rohini described the past times of Krishna, in the absence of Krishna, to the other Dwarkavasis. So, Krishna, Balram and Subhadra heard them.

And in that time, their whole form became transformed. And that time they assumed the form that we see, Jagannath, Baldev and Subhadra. And at that time, they were not only ready, they were longing to come back.

So, the concept of Rat Yatra comes from Kurukshetra. The form of Jagannath comes from Dwarka. And both of them are brought together in this Jagannath Rat Yatra festival.

So, Jagannath is Krishna in separation from Radharani. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Radharani in separation from Krishna. And now, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing in front of Jagannath, actually, Jagannath is thinking of going from Nilachal, from Nilachal to Sundarachal, basically from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan.

So, in Jagannath Puri that is replicated as Nilachal to Sundarachal. But what important point is, Jagannath is thinking of going back to Vrindavan. And in order to persuade him to go back to Vrindavan, Radharani herself is there.

And Radharani is dancing in front of him. Radharani is telling Krishna, this is what? This is our love? This is what you left and went away? This is what you have been missing? Please come back. And Jagannath is so captivated by the dance of Shirdi Radharani, that actually Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants to test, is Jagannath really wanting to come back or is it because we are pulling? That comes.

So, actually what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does is, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu while dancing suddenly disappears. And he comes behind the Rathakart. The Rathakart is moving particularly and the Rathakart stops.

Because, you know, Vrindavan has attraction to Krishna because of the Vrajavasis. So, and the topmost of all Vrajavasis is Radharani. So, when Radharani is not there, Jagannath feels no attraction going to him.

He says, I want Radharani. And that's why everybody else, they are all devotees, they are all exalted devotees, but they are all pulling the cart, they cannot budge Jagannath anymore. Because, Jagannath is conquered only by love.

And the supreme of all loves is the love of Radharani. So, finally when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just comes forward and touches his head, there are giant elephants who try to pull Jagannath but the cart doesn't budge. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes and just nudges with his head.

And the cart starts rolling. Everybody is stunned. It is not that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's head has some physical strength that the elephants lack.

No, actually Jagannath doesn't move by physical strength. Jagannath moves by the strength of devotion. And when Jagannath sees this, actually yes, Radharani, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants me to come back.

Then, Jagannath is happy to go back. So, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is performing this dance, Jagannath is not only anticipating return to Vrindavan, Jagannath is already relishing return to Vrindavan. Because Radharani, for whom he wants to go back to Vrindavan is already there.

And they are already performing pastimes. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he recites several prayers at that time. And if you see externally, those prayers seem to be a little odd.

One of the prayers that he says is, So, he says that I am not a Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra. I am not a Brahmachari, Grahastha, Valaprastha, Sanyasi. He says, I am simply Gopi, Bhartar, Padukamalayo, Dasa, Dasanandas.

I am simply the servant of the, so, Buddhists. By the way, here Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing in front of Jagannath. So, what is the point of saying that I do not belong to any Varna, I do not belong to any Ashrama? The point is, the love of Vrindavan transcends everything else.

And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is emphasising that point. Although externally, he is in the Gaga of Sanyasi. He is born in a Brahmana family.

So, both from the Varna perspective and the Ashrama perspective, he is at the highest. But, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, I do not care for any of this. All that I care for is to reciprocate love with that person who is the Lord of the Gopis.

And I am simply his servant. So, there Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is actually exhibiting the mood of intense and undistracted love. There is nothing except love.

It is said, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he is in that mood, he also sings. He is in the mood of Radharani and Radharani is telling that, oh, these are the same trees, same forests, same place, but I do not feel the same flavour. So, please come back to me.

Radharani, when she is with Krishna, actually nothing material, nothing else matters. It is only the love that matters. And that is what is emphasised by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu often this way.

Now, for the devotees. Now, let us look at the relationship between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his devotees. So, for the devotees, they long, now the devotees there are primarily the Puri devotees who are residing and the Bengali devotees who come for the four months.

And they are there for the Rath Yatra festival also. So, now, when they come, at that time, they certainly want to take darshan of Jagannath. But for them, Jagannath is manifested much more accessibly and mercifully as to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

And that is why Pratap Rudra, when he is seeing from the balcony, he thinks that how is it that these people who have come, they are not going to take darshan of Jagannath, they are first going to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, he is surprised at that. But for them, they know that their Lord has manifested to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

And so, for all of them, for the devotees, they are all dancing for Jagannath's pleasure. But they are relishing the association with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as I said, God can reciprocate multiple relationships at many times.

That is the difference between God and any one of this. In this world, there is one girl and two boys love that girl. Then both become frustrated or they have to fight.

But Chaitanya Krishna is such that Krishna can love one devotee fully and he will be fully available for everyone else. So, this Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrates by expanding himself into seven forms. And those seven forms are in the seven different groups that are formed.

And they are all dancing at different places for the pleasure of Jagannath. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is there amidst all of them. Now, actually speaking, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does here what Krishna did with the devotees.

We know that Krishna expanded so that he could perform Rasila with each of the devotees. But actually, each Gopi felt that Krishna is only with me. Each Gopi felt, I am so fortunate Krishna is with me.

Why? Krishna was there with everyone and to ensure that even in that community that was the Rasa arena, there was privacy. Yogmaya acted. And every Gopi felt that Krishna is with me alone.

How fortunate I am. So, similarly, each group of devotees felt that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has come to us alone. And there are so many devotees, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu loves all of them.

But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has come to us. Why? Because he loves us so much. And in their presence, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing and singing.

And they were all swept up in the waves of devotion in his presence. So, for the devotees, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself is the Supreme Lord. And as the Supreme Lord, they want to relish his beauty and serve him eternally.

So, in the spiritual world, in the Brahma Samhita commentary of Jiva Goswami, he described that actually there is Vrindavan, there is Dwarka and then there is Mayapur. So, there are devotees who eternally serve Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And they don't directly treat Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as God.

But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with his devotees all glorify Krishna. And all eternally relish the Rasa of separation from Krishna. See, although separation from Krishna is in one sense painful, but there is intensity of love in that.

And in the spiritual world's Vrindavan, Krishna never leaves Vrindavan. Krishna is always there. So, how can the devotees in the spiritual world reach separation from Krishna? They do that in Navadvipa.

So, in Navadvipa, all the devotees along with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they are all in the mood of separation from Krishna. And all the devotees over here, they will all relish Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's presence. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally arranges everything.

Now, you will say, okay, these will be the leaders of these groups. Now, all these names are given in Chaitanya Charita Amrit. This will be the singer, this will be the primary dancer, this will be the group.

Why was all this described? Because although there is devotion, that doesn't mean that there is complete bliss. That is, because there is devotion, they want to offer the best to Chaitanya, to Shri Jagannath. And that's why everything is well coordinated.

And they are all dancing. Dancing is an exuberant activity. But even in that exuberance, there is organisation.

Very systematically, exuberance is being offered to Chaitanya, to Shri Jagannath. And all of them are dancing together. And for the devotees, this dance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is extraordinary.

It completely captivates and prevents their heart. Now, for the common people who come there, you know, even at Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's, at the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance, it was not that everybody immediately accepted that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Lord. They considered He was a great devotee.

But when they would come and see Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing, they would be thunderstruck. And actually that was what transformed Vallabha Bhatta. Vallabha Bhatta, when he first came to Chaitanya Chaitanya Chaitanya Ramakrishna, earlier I described how there were some arguments.

He tried to say how Chidambaram's commentary is wrong. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chastised him lovingly. But after that when he saw the dance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so, you know, when we talk about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu being God, it is not that the scriptural reference alone is enough.

If we look at Chaitanya Leela, it is not that when the devotees meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or different people meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they are all debating with the scripture. The scripture says this and you are that person, therefore you are God. It isn't like that.

Look, it is the devotional experience that transforms. So, scriptural reference is important but devotional experience is also important. Both transform.

So, we cannot, some people cannot have faith in the initial stage that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is God. We should not hammer that down based on scripture. Bhaktivinoda Thakur in the introduction to Krishna Samhita says that even if somebody cannot accept Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as God, let him accept Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a great teacher of devotion.

And if one experiences, Radha Gopinath, Madhavaniki, if one accepts him as a teacher of devotion and practises the principles of pure devotional service that he has taught, the waves of devotion that the person experiences in their heart, that will be the ultimate experience of transformation. So, he says, what is important, for new people he says, what is important is not accepting Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's divinity but accepting the process, the gift of love that you give. And the process that will make that gift of love exist.

So, for the people at that time in general, not everybody accepted Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as God. But when they would see him dancing in ecstasy, then they would be amazed. And Maharaj Pratap Rudra is actually, his speciality is that he belongs to the third category and he moves into the second category by the end of the Rath Yatra.

What is third and second category mean? First is Jagannath, second is? And so, the Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reciprocations are happening. And then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the devotee reciprocations he talks about. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and general people.

So, Pratap Rudra, when initially, did he know that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a great sanyasi? But it is during the time of the Rath Yatra that he sees. So, not everybody is able to see that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is present in all seven places. But Pratap Rudra sees.

And when he sees this, he is stunned. And Gopinath Patnaik is there with him and then there is Sarov Bhattacharya with him. And all these people are there, those who are the associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from Puri, who have accepted Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's divinity.

But they have not yet trusted or imposed it on Pratap Rudra. So, Pratap Rudra and Sarov Bhattacharya tells him, actually he is God. He says, okay, if you say this, I will accept it.

But still, he has his own questions. And then he sees. So, then the devotees… So, when the Rath Yatra is being performed, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing with the intimate associates.

And the Puri associates, that means Sarov Bhattacharya and others, they are not in the dance. They are there with Pratap Rudra. And they are watching.

And then they tell Pratap Rudra, you are extremely fortunate. You are able to see this. You are able to see this that actually Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is himself God.

He is God in separation from God, out of love. So, you are very fortunate. So, how does Pratap Rudra get that fortune? Actually, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes that because he performed venial service, because he swept the road in front of Jagannath, before the car started moving.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became very pleased by that. And that's how he revealed his divinity. And then we see this conflict between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his devotees.

Not conflict, but for lack of another word, I will use the word conflict. And between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and general people. So, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was dancing, the three circles were performed.

So, first circle was Dityanandram, protecting. Second circle was Srivastava. And third circle was Pratap Rudra.

So, Pratap Rudra, he was the king. And because he was the king, everybody respected him. And nobody would dare to come in.

Nobody would dare to come too close to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Pratap Rudra wanted to be there to do that service. At the same time, he felt that I am not so qualified that I can be in the first circle.

So, this is the third circle. And he wanted to serve, but without intruding. So, at that time, Pratap Rudra had a very reverential attitude.

But Srivastava Thakur, he was lost in ecstasy. Seeing Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing. And he blocked the vision of Pratap Rudra.

And Pratap Rudra had his servant Harishchandra with him. And what happened, Harishchandra just tapped Srivastava Thakur. Now, it is normally, the king wants to see Srivastava Thakur.

For Harishchandra, Srivastava Thakur is just another Vaishnava and there are thousands of Vaishnavas among him. They move aside. The king has to come.

King has to see. But Srivastava Thakur paid no attention. And then he tapped again.

And Srivastava Thakur paid no attention. And finally, it pushed a little bit vigorously. And Srivastava Thakur was actually absorbed in ecstasy.

Beholding the beautiful dance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was just drinking next to him with his eyes. And if somebody disturbs at such a time.

For us, if we are just relishing a nice glass of sweet rice. And as we are drinking, drinking, closing our eyes and drinking. And then we look down.

The glass is vanished. We look around. Somebody has taken it.

We want to slap that person. So, that is what happened. Srivastava Thakur was relishing.

And who is this person disturbing? He turned around and without even looking, he slapped Harishchandra on the face. And Harishchandra was shocked. First of all, you know, a king, he was like a minister to the king.

He was quite a respectable person in the social hierarchy. And for him to get slapped, that was shocking. And normally, you know, just like Yamadutas, when they found that they are farted, so they went to Yamaraj.

They expected Yamaraj to intervene on their behalf. Similarly, Harishchandra looked at Prataparudra. He said, she knew something.

So, Prataparudra, to his great surprise, said, Harishchandra, you are so fortunate. He said, what fortune? So, what was happening was, Harishchandra was not at all understanding these dynamics of devotion. So, actually, the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are in the inner circle of devotion.

And everybody else is in the outer circle. Prataparudra is moving towards the inner circle. But he recognises the intimacy of that inner circle.

And he doesn't want to intrude. So, he tells Harishchandra that actually, anything that the exalted devotees do, when they do it out of their love for Krishna, if we are a part of that, that is our fortune. That's why we are fortunate.

And far from chastising Srivastava, he appreciates the intensity of his devotion. And this reverential attitude towards the inner circle of devotees, what does all that do? Eventually, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu includes Prataparudra in the inner circle of devotees. Now, when the ratha-kart is going along and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gets a little tired, the ratha-kart stops.

And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu takes a rest. At that time, all the Vaishnavas tell Prataparudra that you go in layman's clothes and sing the Gopiki of the pleasures of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives him a grace and gives full mercy to him.

So, this is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with the common people. How somebody from the ranks of the common people enters into the ranks of the devotees is by humble service. Humble service to the Lord and to his devotees.

And lastly, we will conclude with this, the reciprocation between Jagannath and the devotees. So, not Jagannath and Jagannath and the general people. So, Jagannath… Now, we know in principle that Jagannath is actually going out so that he can return back to Vrindavan.

But whenever the Lord does, the Lord while doing one thing also achieves many other purposes. Just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he comes to relish the love of Srimati Radharani. But while relishing the love of Srimati Radharani, he is also distributing that love.

And he is benefiting people. Similarly, Jagannath is primarily going on the journey so that he can return back to Vrindavan. But while doing that, he comes out.

And he comes out and he gives his darshan to everyone. And all the people who do not get the mercy of Jagannath, they get the mercy. Now, in those times, the people who would not get the mercy of Jagannath, those who were because of the social conventions at that time, not allowed to enter into Jagannath temple.

So, at that time, people were not allowed and they were all crowded together. At least at this time, we can see Jagannath. But actually speaking, worse than somebody else not allowing us to practise bhakti is we ourselves not allowing ourselves to practise bhakti.

What does that mean? We not having the desire to practise bhakti. So, actually speaking, the second class of people are who Sri Jagannath Yatra blesses by the mercy of Sri Jagannath. You know, Sri Jagannath Prabhupada took Jagannath Yatra all over the world.

And people who didn't care for Jagannath, what to speak of not having qualification to go and take darshan of Jagannath, they had no interest in taking darshan of Jagannath. But what did Sri Prabhupada do? He took that Ratha Yatra all over the world. And by taking that Ratha Yatra all over the world, Jagannath comes out and at one level he is performing the most intimate bhakti, at the pinnacle of spiritual rasa.

But that highest of spiritual rasa is also benefiting people in all parts of India. That is the great miraculous mercy that Sri Prabhupada is performing. He took that Ratha Yatra festivals all over the world.

And Sri Prabhupada's Krishna consciousness was such that actually he was constantly thinking of Krishna and how to bring other people to Krishna. Sometimes some people say that Sri Prabhupada did not talk about very advanced emotions. He did not write so much from the Gaudiya literature.

He did not talk so much about Gaudiya Siddhanta. But Sri Prabhupada demonstrated the highest of the Gaudiya Siddhanta. Yesterday we were discussing how the Brajwasis, how the Gopis left everything for the sake of Krishna.

When Krishna played the flute, the Gopis left everything. So actually Sri Prabhupada did this for the sake of fulfilling his promise with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said in every town and village, my name is there.

So Sri Prabhupada in old age could have everything. He gave up his household. He went and lived in Vrindavan.

That is the perfection for most devotees. But Sri Prabhupada left Vrindavan. Sri Prabhupada left the association of the Brajwasis.

Sri Prabhupada left both material and spiritual comfort. Now materially, he had comfort in Vrindavan. He had respect for the sannyasis.

He already had to publish his Bhagavatam three volumes. And he could have become a big publisher of books. Sri Prabhupada left everything material and spiritual just to fulfil the call of the flautist in Vrindavan.

And the instruction of the spiritual master. So in old age Sri Prabhupada was having the same mood of selfless service and sacrifice that the Gopis were most into. Give up everything for the sake of the service of Krishna.

And Sri Prabhupada did that. What was the result? There was the flood of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy and spread all over the world. And billions of people who had ever heard of Chaitanya, they get the mercy of Chaitanya and they take darshan.

And Sri Prabhupada's genius was such that when he went to America, the hippies liked to do crazy things. And the idea of dancing on the street was just up the hip street. They would like to do that.

But when they would dance on the street, the police would come and catch them. And punish them, arrest them. But Sri Prabhupada started Ratha Yatra and the devotees were dancing on the street.

This was him, hippies and the police were escorting them. So, police were escorting them. Sri Prabhupada had this genius of how he could tap the topmost principles of devotion and tap the instincts of people which could be used in devotional service and bring the two together.

For the benefit of the people and for the benefit of people. So, the Jagannath Yatra festival that we celebrate is definitely the mercy of Jagannath, is definitely the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But for us it is most important, most important is the mercy of Sri Prabhupada.

That he has made this wealth of devotion applicable to all of us. So, Sri Prabhupada is in the inner circle of devotees. We are all in that outer circle among the common people.

And by the mercy of Sri Prabhupada, we are all moving towards that inner circle. And as we move towards that inner circle more and more, we will relish his devotion. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrates spontaneous devotion.

And we all aspire for spontaneous devotion. Where we want our mind to be naturally attracted to the Krishna. But Sri Prabhupada told us that we have to actually cultivate conscientious devotion.

And anticipate spontaneous devotion. Everyday I write an article on the Bhagavad Gita as a part of my service. Today morning I wrote this article.

We all want to anticipate spontaneous devotion. We want our mind to be naturally attracted to Krishna. And as we see in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that is what Raghunatha Bhakti is all about.

But we cannot jump to that prematurely. What happens is sometimes some people watch some Ramayana, Mahabharata, on television or some Krishna Leela. And they see how the devotees are having such devotion.

And this Radharani crying in separation from Krishna. And people are watching television. And then they also start crying.

They start crying tears. And then the programme ends. They change the channel.

And they see cricket match going on. And then Sathish Dalgona gets out for a zero. They start crying at that time also.

So what happens is, this is not genuine devotion. Bhakti Padeshaan Ho Viratti Ramayana. When there is genuine devotion, then there is emotion for Krishna but there is detachment for everything that is unrelenting with Krishna.

So, we don't just want occasional moments of devotion. We want a momentum of devotion. We want a momentum of devotion that will sustain us in our journey from our present stage to the next stage.

And that momentum of devotion will come by the practise of Samyama. So, conscientious devotion, not spontaneous devotion at our stage. Spontaneous devotion is what we aspire for.

That is what we anticipate. But conscientious devotion is what we cultivate. Conscientious devotion means the mind goes away to other things.

Wherever it goes, we bring it back to Krishna. And by that process of conscientious devotion, eventually, we will all develop spontaneous devotion. And then, we will also be able to relish the highest rasas of love that Pratyapara demonstrates.

So, to summarise, we started by talking about how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives us access to the intimate pastimes of Krishna by making the entrance free from everyone, by making the progress easy for everyone and by revealing the highest reciprocations of love in a way that can be easily understood, that will not be misunderstood. And then with respect to the Pratyapara pastime, we discussed about how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in the mood of Radha only in separation from Krishna after Krishna has left from love. So, we discussed the reciprocation between Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that is Radha Rani in separation from Krishna and Krishna in separation from Radha Rani.

And we discussed about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's reciprocation to his devotees, how Krishna is so personal that he makes every devotee feel valued and cared and loved. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu expanded into each of the servants. And Krishna expanded into all the devotees.

And then we discussed Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's reciprocation with the general people. How by giving them demonstrations and experiences of supreme love, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu infused similar love in the onlookers and gave them the realisation of his divinity and sublimity of Krishna Bhakti, of the love of Radha Krishna. And how by these experiences from the circle of general people, Pratyapara has removed the circle of devotees.

And by humble service to Krishna and his devotees. And the last thing we discussed is Jagannath and his devotees. Jagannath comes out to give his mercy to those who are either unqualified in the cultural context of Jagannath, but and also those who are uninterested in today's cultural context.

And that mercy of Jagannath is available to us through Sri Prabhupada's mercy. Sri Prabhupada, demonstrating Vajabhav, by giving up everything, incompetent material and spiritual, fulfils Krishna Mahaprabhu's prophecy of sharing Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Sri Prabhupada has taught us how we should reach his devotion.

Practise Aadhana Bhakti and by that gradually we will develop spontaneous devotion. Thank you very much. Jagannath Yatra Mahamahotsav ki, Sri Prabhupada ki, Venkateshwara Bhagwati ki, Jai Devotees.