Because of this, the Lord became a little soft. The King also made promises to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who hinted how the King might meet the Lord. During Anavasara, while Lord Jagannātha was resting for fifteen days, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, being unable to see Lord Jagannātha, went to Ālālanātha. Later, when the devotees from Bengal came to see Him, He returned to Jagannātha Purī. While Advaita Ācārya and the other devotees were coming to Jagannātha Purī, Svarūpa Dāmodara and Govinda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's two personal assistants, went to receive all the devotees with garlands. From the roof of his palace, King Pratāparudra could see all the devotees arriving. Gopīnātha Ācārya stood on the roof with the King, and, following Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's instructions, identified each and every devotee.
Bengali devotees
Expressions researched:
"Bengali devotee"
|"Bengali devotees"
|"devotees from Bengal"
|"devotees of Bengal"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The devotees of Orissa are called Uḍiyās, the devotees of Bengal are called Gauḍīyas, and the devotees of southern India are known as Drāviḍa devotees. As there are five provinces in Āryāvarta, so Dākṣiṇātya, southern India, is also divided into five provinces, which are called Pañca-draviḍa. The four Vaiṣṇava ācāryas who are the great authorities of the four Vaiṣṇava disciplic successions, as well as Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya of the Māyāvāda school, appeared in the Pañca-draviḍa provinces. Among the four Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, who are all accepted by the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, Śrī Rāmānuja Ācārya appeared in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh at Mahābhūtapurī, Śrī Madhva Ācārya appeared at Pājakam (near Vimānagiri) in the district of Mangalore, Śrī Viṣṇu Svāmī appeared at Pāṇḍya, and Śrī Nimbārka appeared at Muṅgera-patana, in the extreme south.
Every year he took a party of devotees from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī to visit Lord Caitanya. He maintained the entire party as they journeyed on the road.
Now let me enumerate the devotees of Bengal who first came to see the Lord at Jagannātha Purī.
CC Madhya-lila
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained for some days at Ālālanātha. In the meantime, He received news that all the devotees from Bengal were coming to Jagannātha Purī.
When the devotees from Bengal arrived at Jagannātha Purī, both Nityānanda Prabhu and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya greatly endeavored to take Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu back to Jagannātha Purī.
All the devotees from Bengal gradually began arriving at Jagannātha Purī. At this time, the residents of Kulīna-grāma also came to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the first time.
In that garden, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His mercy upon King Pratāparudra. Afterwards, when the Bengali devotees were about to return home, the Lord gave separate orders to almost every one of them.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu desired to meet all the devotees of Bengal every year. Therefore He ordered them to come to see the Ratha-yātrā festival every year.
At the end of the year, all the devotees from Bengal, headed by Advaita Ācārya, again came to see the Lord. Indeed, there was a great rush of devotees to Jagannātha Purī.
When all the devotees from Bengal arrived, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu allotted them residential quarters, and Śivānanda Sena was put in charge of their maintenance.
During those eighteen years, all the devotees of Bengal used to visit Him at Jagannātha Purī every year. They would remain there for four continuous months and enjoy the company of the Lord.
The devotees who had followed the Lord came into His presence and requested Him to return to Purī. They submitted that the devotees from Bengal were coming to Puruṣottama-kṣetra.
Narendra is a small lake still existing in Jagannātha Purī, where the Candana-yātrā festival takes place. Up to the present date, all the Bengali devotees who visit the Jagannātha temple first take their bath in this lake. There they wash their hands and feet before entering the temple.
After Sārvabhauma said this, he went up to the top of the palace with the King and Gopīnātha Ācārya. At this time all the Vaiṣṇava devotees from Bengal drew closer to the palace.
“The second person is Govinda, Lord Caitanya's personal servant. The Lord has sent garlands and remnants of Lord Jagannātha's food with these two persons simply to honor the devotees from Bengal.”
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives the following summary of this chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to go to Vṛndāvana, Rāmānanda Rāya and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya indirectly presented many obstructions. In due course of time, all the devotees of Bengal visited Jagannātha Purī for the third year. This time, all the wives of the Vaiṣṇavas brought many types of food, intending to extend invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī. When the devotees arrived, Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent His blessings in the form of garlands. In that year also, the Guṇḍicā temple was cleansed, and when the Cāturmāsya period was over, all the devotees returned to their homes in Bengal.
Then, for the third year, all the devotees of Bengal wanted to return again to Jagannātha Purī.
All the Bengali devotees gathered around Advaita Ācārya, and in great jubilation the Ācārya departed for Jagannātha Purī to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
When the devotees from Bengal reached Lake Narendra, Svarūpa Dāmodara and the others met them and offered them the garlands given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Every year the devotees of Bengal would come and stay with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to see the Ratha-yātrā festival.
During the fifth year, the devotees from Bengal came to see the Ratha-yātrā festival. After seeing it, they did not stay but returned to Bengal.
CC Antya-lila
Meanwhile, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī reached Bengal, after returning from Vṛndāvana. Although he could not follow the Bengali devotees, after some time he also came to Jagannātha Purī, where he stayed with Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī composed an important verse beginning with the words priyaḥ so ‘yam, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu relished it very much. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rāmānanda Rāya, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and others went to the place of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and heard some of the verses Rūpa Gosvāmī had composed for his books Lalita-mādhava and Vidagdha-mādhava.
Every year, devotees from Bengal would go to Jagannātha Purī to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and after the meeting they would return to Bengal.
When he was about to return to Bengal, the Lord told him, “Forbid the devotees of Bengal to come to Jagannātha Purī this year.
The Lord's devotees from Bengal stayed at Jagannātha Purī during the four months of the rainy season, and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced Sanātana Gosvāmī to them all.
At that time, all the devotees of Bengal were going to Jagannātha Purī to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Raghunātha dāsa's father said, “Now all the devotees from Bengal have gone to Jagannātha Purī to see Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
At this time, all the devotees from Bengal arrived, and, as previously, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu met them with great feeling.
When all the devotees from Bengal returned home after staying at Jagannātha Purī for four months, Raghunātha dāsa's father heard about their arrival and therefore sent a man to Śivānanda Sena.
The next year, all the devotees of Bengal went to visit Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and as previously, the Lord met each and every one of them.
The devotees from Bengal, whom I am unable to count, all sat down in lines in the courtyard.
The following summary of Chapter Ten is given by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. Before the Ratha-yātrā ceremony, all the devotees from Bengal started for Jagannātha Purī as usual. Rāghava Paṇḍita brought with him various kinds of food for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The food had been cooked by his sister, Damayantī, who then packed it in bags (jhāli). Thus the stock of food was generally known as rāghavera jhāli, "the bags of Rāghava." Makaradhvaja Kara, an inhabitant of Pānihāṭi who accompanied Rāghava Paṇḍita, was the secretary in charge of accounting for the rāghavera jhāli.
Govinda could not go out that day, however, and therefore he was unable to accept prasādam. From the character of Govinda it is to be learned that we may sometimes commit offenses for the service of the Lord, but not for sense gratification.
Govinda induced the Lord to eat all the food delivered by the devotees of Bengal for His service. All the Vaiṣṇavas used to invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to their homes. The Lord accepted the invitation of Caitanya dāsa, the son of Śivānanda Sena, and ate rice and yogurt there.
At the same time, all the devotees from Bengal arrived at the lake and had a great meeting with the Lord.
The Gauḍīya-sampradāya, consisting of all the devotees from Bengal, began congregational chanting. When they met the Lord, they began to cry loudly in ecstatic love.
All the devotees from Bengal stayed in Jagannātha Purī for the four months of the rainy season and observed many other ceremonies, such as the anniversary of Lord Kṛṣṇa's birth.
The devotees who came from Bengal stayed with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for four consecutive months, and then the Lord bade them farewell. After the Bengali devotees departed, the devotees who were the Lord's constant companions at Jagannātha Purī stayed with the Lord.
A summary of the Twelfth Chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya as follows. This chapter discusses the transformations of ecstatic love that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited day and night. The devotees from Bengal again journeyed to Jagannātha Purī to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. As usual, the leader was Śivānanda Sena, who traveled with his wife and children. Because arrangements were delayed en route and Lord Nityānanda did not have a suitable place to reside, He became somewhat disturbed. Thus He became very angry with Śivānanda Sena, who was in charge of the affairs of the party, and kicked him in loving anger. Śivānanda Sena felt highly favored to have been kicked by Nityānanda Prabhu, but his nephew Śrīkānta Sena became upset and therefore left their company.
Ghāṭī refers to the different toll booths used by the zamindars to collect taxes in each state. Generally, this tax was collected to maintain the roads governed by the various zamindars. Since the devotees from Bengal were going to Jagannātha Purī, they had to pass through many such toll booths. Śivānanda Sena was in charge of paying the tolls.
In this way the Lord spent the four months of the rainy season in various pastimes, and then He ordered the Bengali devotees to return to their homes.
All the devotees from Bengal would regularly invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for lunch, and the Lord would speak to them in very sweet words.
Those devotees who were familiar with pīlu fruits sucked on the seeds, but the Bengali devotees who did not know what they were chewed the seeds and swallowed them.
The Sixteenth Chapter is summarized by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. When the Bengali devotees of the Lord returned to Jagannātha Purī, a gentleman named Kālidāsa, who was an uncle of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, went with them to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kālidāsa had tasted the remnants of food of all the Vaiṣṇavas in Bengal, even Jhaḍu Ṭhākura. Because of this, he received the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī.
The next year, as usual, all the devotees from Bengal went to Jagannātha Purī, and, as in previous years, there was a meeting between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the devotees.
Along with the devotees from Bengal came a gentleman named Kālidāsa. He never uttered anything but the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
His heart is full of well-wishing for everyone. "Everyone" means for Indians, nationals? No, sarva-dehinām. Sarva-dehinām, all bodies, even for the cats and dogs. A devotee wishes welfare even of the cats and dogs by giving him prasādam: "Take little prasādam." So the dog will be also... There is an instance during Caitanya Mahāprabhu's time. Devotees from Bengal were going to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and on the way a dog also began to follow them. So the leader of the party, Śivānanda Sena, he was also giving food, prasādam, to the dog, and they had to cross one river, and the boatman would not take the dog.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: In Allahabad.
Jayapatākā: One advantage is they don't know any... Of course now, we have so many Bengali devotees. They don't know much English. They can generally speak most only in Bengali, most of these Godbrothers.
Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he's surrounded by these men. I don't think he'll come. I think they will...
Jayapatākā: They'll influence him not to come.
Bhavānanda: Yes. They are always there, around, around, around.
Prabhupāda: No, whatever they like, they do, but I think we shall not insist on this point because we cannot stop the association.
Prabhupāda: By Jalan's recommendation.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Then we'll send Smara-hari, and Sarva-bhāvana can go. You know Sarva-bhāvana, Bhakti-caru's friend? Remember that Bengali devotee? He can go with Smara-hari directly and get someone. I think we'll get someone from Calcutta. It is better if we get Calcutta. It'll be easier. But if we don't, then we'll immediately send someone to South. It will only be a matter of a few days. They can be back. Is it all right?
Prabhupāda: Under somebody's recommendation. Just like Jalan people.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There's another report, from Africa. Should I read it? It says, "The saṅkīrtana movement in the dark continent." This was written by Jalakāra and Śyāmalāl. Śyāmalāl is a Bengali devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda. You may remember him from Calcutta? He's gone to Africa to preach, and he and this other boy Jalakāra travel together all over Africa.
Prabhupāda: Yesterday... No, yesterday some prominent men, Dalmiya. Who came?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Dalmiya was here, Rāma-Kṛṣṇa Bajaj, Śrīmān Nārāyaṇa, and some gentleman from Auroville Society was here to see you. I think they were participating in that conference, Gītā-pratiṣṭhāna.
Correspondence
1973 Correspondence
Enclosed please find one letter addressed to me from one of our Bengali devotees, which I am forwarding to you for necessary action. Try to pacify him if he is offended. Everyone comes to us to offer voluntary service, so amongst ourselves there must be good behavior. One may not feel sorry. So the leaders must take precautions as far as possible.
| Page Title: | Bengali devotees |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 21 of Jan, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=46, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=3, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 51 |