This latter work, by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, who was then considered the principal authority on Śrī Caitanya's life, was highly revered. While composing his important work, Vṛndāvana dāsa, fearing that it would become too voluminous, avoided elaborately describing many of the events of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's life, particularly the later ones. Anxious to hear of these later pastimes, the devotees in Vṛndāvana requested Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, whom they respected as a great saint and scholar, to compose a book narrating these episodes in detail. Upon this request, and with the permission and blessings of the Madana-mohana Deity of Vṛndāvana, he began compiling Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which, due to its literary excellence and philosophical thoroughness, is today universally regarded as the foremost work on the life and profound teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Blessings (CC and Other Books)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
Finally Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī offers his blessings to his readers in the name of the Gopīnātha Deity, who is Kṛṣṇa as master and proprietor of the gopīs. When Kṛṣṇa played upon His flute, all the gopīs, or cowherd girls, were attracted by the sound and left their household duties, and when they came to Him, He danced with them. These activities are all described in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These gopīs were childhood friends of Kṛṣṇa, and many were married, for in India the girls are generally married by the age of twelve. The boys, however, are not married before eighteen, so Kṛṣṇa, who was fifteen or sixteen at the time, was not married. Nonetheless, He called these girls from their homes and invited them to dance with Him. That dance is called the rāsa-līlā dance, and it is the most elevated of all the Vṛndāvana pastimes. Kṛṣṇa is therefore called Gopīnātha because He is the beloved master of the gopīs.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī petitions the blessings of Lord Gopīnātha: "May that Gopīnātha, the master of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, bless you. May you become blessed by Gopīnātha." The author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta prays that just as Kṛṣṇa attracted the gopīs by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader's mind by that transcendental vibration.
CC Adi-lila
In His later pastimes He is known as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. He blesses the whole world by teaching about the name and fame of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the father and inaugurator of the saṅkīrtana movement. One who worships Him by sacrificing his life, money, intelligence and words for the saṅkīrtana movement is recognized by the Lord and endowed with His blessings. All others may be said to be foolish, for of all sacrifices in which a man may apply his energy, a sacrifice made for the saṅkīrtana movement is the most glorious.
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.9.11) is a prayer by Lord Brahmā to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa for His blessings in the work of creation. Knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the descriptions of the Vedic scriptures. For example, the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29) describes that in the abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is made of cintāmaṇi (touchstone), the Lord, acting as a cowherd boy, is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. Māyāvādīs think that the devotees have imagined the form of Kṛṣṇa, but the authentic Vedic scriptures have actually described Kṛṣṇa and His various transcendental forms.
At the end of the festival Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa went away, offering his blessings to everyone. At that time he had some controversy with my brother.
There are some foolish critics who say that Europeans and Americans cannot be offered sannyāsa, but here we find that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to preach the saṅkīrtana movement all over the universe. For preaching work, sannyāsīs are essential. These critics think that only Indians or Hindus should be offered sannyāsa to preach, but their knowledge is practically nil. Without sannyāsīs, the preaching work will be impeded. Therefore, under the instruction of Lord Caitanya and with the blessings of His associates, there should be no discrimination in this matter, but people in all parts of the world should be trained to preach and given sannyāsa so that the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's saṅkīrtana movement will expand boundlessly. We do not care about the criticism of fools. We shall go on with our work and simply depend on the blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates, the Pañca-tattva.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to preach the saṅkīrtana movement of love of Kṛṣṇa throughout the entire world, and therefore during His presence He inspired the saṅkīrtana movement. Specifically, He sent Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī to Vṛndāvana and Nityānanda to Bengal and personally went to South India. In this way He kindly left the task of preaching His cult in the rest of the world to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The members of this Society must always remember that if they stick to the regulative principles and preach sincerely according to the instructions of the ācāryas, surely they will have the profound blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and their preaching work will be successful everywhere throughout the world.
Thus Īśvara Purī, by the grace of his spiritual master, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, became a great devotee in the ocean of love of Godhead.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states in his Gurv-aṣṭaka prayer, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi: ** "By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement." It is by the mercy of the spiritual master that one becomes perfect, as vividly exemplified here. A Vaiṣṇava is always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if he appears to be an invalid, this gives a chance to his disciples to serve him. Īśvara Purī pleased his spiritual master by service, and by the blessings of his spiritual master he became such a great personality that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted him as His spiritual master.
This prediction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's is now actually coming to pass. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is being distributed all over the world through the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and people who were leading confused, chaotic lives are now feeling transcendental happiness. They are finding peace in saṅkīrtana, and therefore they are acknowledging the supreme benefit of this movement. This is the blessing of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. His prediction is now factually being fulfilled, and those who are sober and conscientious are appreciating the value of this great movement.
By the order of the Lord, Sanātana Gosvāmī was cleanly shaved and his dress changed to that of a mendicant, or bābājī. He put on old garments of Tapana Miśra's and took prasādam at the house of a Maharashtrian brāhmaṇa. Then, in discourses with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord Himself explained everything about devotional service to Sanātana Gosvāmī. He advised Sanātana Gosvāmī to write books on devotional service, including a book of directions for Vaiṣṇava activities, and to excavate the lost places of pilgrimage in Vṛndāvana. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave him His blessings to do all this work and also explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī the import of the ātmārāma verse from sixty-one different angles of vision.
He lived a long time, residing for most of his life at Rādhā-kuṇḍa. The place where Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī performed his devotional service still exists by Rādhā-kuṇḍa. He almost completely gave up eating, and therefore he was very skinny and of weak health. His only concern was to chant the holy name of the Lord. He gradually reduced his sleeping until he was almost not sleeping at all. It is said that his eyes were always full of tears. When Śrīnivāsa Ācārya went to see Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the Gosvāmī blessed him by embracing him. Śrīnivāsa Ācārya requested his blessings for preaching in Bengal, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī granted them. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (186) it is stated that Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was formerly the gopī named Rasa-mañjarī. Sometimes it is said that he was Rati-mañjarī.
When Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī took permission from all the Vaiṣṇavas before writing Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī also gave him his blessings, but he requested him not to mention his name in the book. Therefore Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has mentioned Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī only very cautiously in one or two passages of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has written in the beginning of his Tattva-sandarbha, “A devotee from southern India who was born of a brāhmaṇa family and was a very intimate friend of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī has written a book that he has not compiled chronologically.
All sorts of respectable brāhmaṇa gentlemen and ladies, carrying plates filled with various gifts, came with their presentations. Seeing the newborn child, whose form resembled natural glaring gold, all of them happily offered their blessings.
In outer space all the demigods, including the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka, Siddhaloka and Cāraṇaloka, offered their prayers and danced to the accompaniment of music, songs and the beating of drums. Similarly, in Navadvīpa city all the professional dancers, musicians and blessers gathered together, dancing in great jubilation.
As there are professional singers, dancers and reciters of prayers in the heavenly planets, so in India still there are professional dancers, blessers and singers, all of whom assemble together during householder ceremonies, especially marriages and birth ceremonies. These professional men earn their livelihood by taking charity on such occasions from the homes of the Hindus. Eunuchs also take advantage of such ceremonies to receive charity. That is their means of livelihood. Such men never become servants or engage themselves in agriculture or business occupations; they simply take charity from neighborhood friends to maintain themselves peacefully. The bhāṭas are a class of brāhmaṇas who go to such ceremonies to offer blessings by composing poems with references to the Vedic scriptures.
It is the Vedic system to observe all kinds of festivals, including birthday festivals, marriage festivals, name-giving festivals and festivals marking the beginning of education, by especially inviting brāhmaṇas. In every festival the brāhmaṇas are to be fed first, and when the brāhmaṇas are pleased they bless the festival by chanting Vedic mantras or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
In exchange for the paraphernalia of worship He usurped for Himself, Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to bless the girls to fulfill all their ambitions and desires. One can easily become happy and obtain the material benefits of a good husband, wealth, food grain and a number of nice children by worshiping Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa at an early age, it is not necessary for His devotees to follow Him by also taking sannyāsa. One can stay a householder, but one must be a devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then one will be happy, with all the material opulences of a good home, good children, good mate, good wealth and everything he desires. Therefore the śāstras advise, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32). Every householder, therefore, who is actually intelligent should introduce the saṅkīrtana movement home to home and live peacefully in this life and go back to Godhead in the next.
Some devotees call this exhibition of ecstasy by the Lord sāta-prahariyā bhāva, or "the ecstasy of twenty-one hours," and others call it mahābhāva-prakāśa or mahā-prakāśa. There is a description of this sāta-prahariyā bhāva in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Nine, which mentions that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu blessed a maidservant named Duḥkhī with the name Sukhī. He called for Kholāvecā Śrīdhara and showed him His mahā-prakāśa. Then He called for Murāri Gupta and showed him His feature as Lord Rāmacandra. He offered His blessings to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and at this time He also asked Advaita Prabhu to explain the Bhagavad-gītā as it is (gītāra satya-pāṭha) and showed special favor to Mukunda.
"You have committed an offense at the lotus feet of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura," the Lord said. "First you must go there and beg for his mercy, and then if he gives you his blessings and you do not commit such sins again, you will be freed from these reactions."
CC Madhya-lila
We had the opportunity to receive a similar blessing from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī when we presented an essay at his birthday ceremony. He was so pleased with that essay that he used to call some of his confidential devotees and show it to them. How could we have understood the intentions of Śrīla Prabhupāda?
“This prophet always desires your good fortune. By His grace, all your business is successful. By His blessings, you will attain victory everywhere.
It is the etiquette among sannyāsīs, those on the fourth platform of spiritual life, to offer respects by saying oṁ namo nārāyaṇāya ("I offer my respectful obeisances unto Nārāyaṇa"). This greeting is used especially by Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. According to the smṛti scriptures, a sannyāsī should not expect anything from anyone, nor should he consider himself identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs never think of themselves as being one with the Lord; they always consider themselves eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, and they want to see everyone in the world become Kṛṣṇa conscious. For this reason, a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī always offers his blessings to everyone, saying kṛṣṇe matir astu ("May you become Kṛṣṇa conscious").
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the Bhaṭṭācārya to bless Him while he engaged in the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa at home, so that by Sārvabhauma's mercy the Lord could return to Jagannātha Purī.
The word kariha āśīrvāde means "continue to bestow your blessings upon Me." Being a sannyāsī, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in the fourth order of life and was thus due all respect and adoration, whereas Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, as a householder, was in the second order. A sannyāsī is supposed to offer blessings to a gṛhastha, yet now, by His practical behavior, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested the blessings of a gṛhastha. This incident shows the special significance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's preaching. He gave equal status to everyone, regardless of material considerations. His movement is thoroughly spiritual. Although apparently a gṛhastha (householder), Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was unlike the so-called karmīs interested in sense gratification. After being initiated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Bhaṭṭācārya was perfectly situated in the spiritual order; therefore it was quite possible for him to offer blessings even to a sannyāsī.
This is proper realization of Vṛndāvana anywhere. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we inaugurated the New Vṛndāvana activities, wherein devotees are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and this is not different from Goloka Vṛndāvana. The conclusion is that one who acts strictly in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is competent to offer blessings to sannyāsīs, even though he be a gṛhastha householder. Although he is in an exalted position, a sannyāsī still must elevate himself to the transcendental platform by rendering service to the Lord. By His actual behavior, Caitanya Mahāprabhu begged the blessings of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. In this way He set the example of how one should expect blessings from a Vaiṣṇava regardless of his social position.
"May the Lord, who in the beginning of the creation amplified the potent knowledge of Brahmā from within his heart and inspired him with full knowledge of creation and His own self, and who appeared to be generated from the mouth of Brahmā, be pleased with me." This was spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī when he invoked the blessing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead before delivering Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
"It is very difficult to give up material opulence, land, children, society, friends, riches, wife or the blessings of the goddess of fortune, which are desired even by great demigods. But King Bharata did not desire such things, and this was quite befitting his position, because for a pure devotee whose mind is always engaged in the service of the Lord, even liberation, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is insignificant. And what to speak of material opportunities?"
Due to King Pratāparudra's firm determination, the Bhaṭṭācārya predicted that the King would receive Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy without fail. As confirmed elsewhere in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 19.151), guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja: "By the mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, one gets the seed of devotional service." The Bhaṭṭācārya was the spiritual master of King Pratāparudra, and he gave his blessings to the effect that the Lord would be merciful upon the King. The mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa combine to grant success to a devotee engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
This process is very simple. One need only be firmly convinced by the spiritual master that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one decides this, he can make further progress by thinking of Kṛṣṇa, chanting of Kṛṣṇa and glorifying Him. There is then no doubt that such a fully surrendered devotee will receive the blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya explains this further.
In this way I have explained the Lord's pastime of saṅkīrtana, and I bless everyone with this benediction: By listening to this description, one will surely become a servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
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. Caitanya Mahāprabhu forbade Nityānanda to visit Nīlācala every year. Questioned by the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma, Caitanya Mahāprabhu again repeated the symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava. Vidyānidhi also came to Jagannātha Purī and saw the festival of Oḍana-ṣaṣṭhī. When the devotees bade farewell to the Lord, the Lord was determined to go to Vṛndāvana, and on the day of Vijaya-daśamī, He departed.
The Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa was very sorry about this, and he brought the news to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, inquiring from Him why the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs did not utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. In reply, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that they were offenders and that one should not associate with them. In this way the Lord bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next passed through Prayāga and Mathurā and then took His lunch at the home of a Sānoḍiyā brāhmaṇa, a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī. He bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa by accepting lunch at his place. Thereafter the Lord visited the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana and was filled with great ecstatic love. As He toured the Vṛndāvana forests, He heard the chirping of parrots and other birds.
The words snigdha ("very peaceful") and su-snigdha ("affectionate") are used in verses fourteen and fifteen respectively, and they are also found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.8): brūyuḥ snigdhasya śiṣyasya guravo guhyam apy uta. "A disciple who has actual love for his spiritual master is endowed, by the blessings of the spiritual master, with all confidential knowledge." Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has commented that the word snigdhasya means prema-vataḥ. The word prema-vataḥ indicates that one has great love for his spiritual master.
Raghupati Upādhyāya first offered his respects to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord gave him His blessings, saying, "Always stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness."
Raghupati Upādhyāya was very pleased to hear the Lord's blessings. The Lord then asked him to describe Kṛṣṇa.
When a living entity is situated on the platform of vātsalya-rati, he thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His childhood feature. In this feature, the Lord has to be protected by the devotee, and at this time the devotee takes the position of being worshiped by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These feelings of parental love are called vātsalya-rati. When the devotee is situated on this platform, he wants to maintain the Lord like a son, and he desires all good fortune for the Lord. He offers blessings to the Lord by touching His feet and head.
An intelligent person should abandon the processes of karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and mystic yoga. One should give up all these useless processes and take seriously to the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this way one's life will be successful. If one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully, even though he may sometimes be agitated due to having previously practiced mental speculation and yogic mysticism, he will be saved by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. The fact is that devotional service is bestowed by the blessings of a pure devotee (sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ). A pure devotee is the supreme transcendentalist, and one has to receive his mercy for one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness to be awakened. One has to associate with pure devotees. If one has firm faith in the words of a great soul, pure devotional service will awaken.
This verse was spoken by Prahlāda Mahārāja to his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, the king of demons. Prahlāda Mahārāja had informed his father of the nine basic processes of bhakti-yoga, explaining that whoever takes to these processes is to be considered a highly learned scholar. Hiraṇyakaśipu, however, did not like his son to talk about devotional service; therefore he immediately called Prahlāda's teacher, Ṣaṇḍa. The teacher explained that he had not taught devotional service to Prahlāda but that the boy was naturally inclined that way. At that time Hiraṇyakaśipu became very angry and asked Prahlāda why he had become a Vaiṣṇava. In answer to this question, Prahlāda Mahārāja recited this verse to the effect that one cannot become the Lord's devotee without receiving the mercy and blessings of another devotee.
“If You want to make a lame man like me dance, kindly bestow Your transcendental blessings by placing Your lotus feet on my head.
"Now, will You please tell me, "Let whatever I have instructed all be fully manifested unto you." By blessing me in this way, You will give me strength to describe all this."
Sanātana Gosvāmī was a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee has no business other than serving Kṛṣṇa; consequently Kṛṣṇa is always ready to help him. This benediction was given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Sanātana Gosvāmī, who was authorized to write Vaiṣṇava smṛti. Sanātana Gosvāmī was a pure devotee of the Lord, and through the blessings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he was able to write the book perfectly.
One cannot write on spiritual matters without being blessed by Kṛṣṇa and the disciplic succession of gurus. The blessings of the authorities are one's power of attorney. One should not try to write anything about Vaiṣṇava behavior and activities without being authorized by superior authorities. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.2): evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ.
When we began distributing the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the Western countries, a similar thing happened. In the beginning we were very much disappointed for at least one year because no one came forth to help this movement, but by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, some young boys joined this movement in 1966. Of course we distributed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's message of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without bargaining or selling. As a result, this movement has spread all over the world, with the assistance of European and American boys and girls. We therefore pray for all the blessings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu upon all the devotees in the Western world who are spreading this movement.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is spreading throughout the world, is being appreciated by sincere people, although they have never previously heard of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Now even the higher, priestly circles are appreciating this movement. They have concluded that this movement is very nice and that they have something to learn from it. Nonetheless, in India there are some people who say that they belong to this cult but who are actually very envious of the ācārya. They have tried to suppress our activities in many ways, but as far as we are concerned, we follow in the footsteps of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī and take them as envious pigs and hogs. We simply wish to present the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the best of our ability so that those who are really honest can cleanse their hearts. We hope that they enjoy this literature and bestow their blessings upon us. It appears that even such a great personality as Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī met with some envious obstacles; what, then, to speak of us, who are only insignificant creatures in this universe. We are simply trying to execute the orders of our spiritual master to the best of our ability.
CC Antya-lila
This verse (Vidagdha-mādhava 1.2) also appears in the Ādi-līlā (1.4 and 3.4). In his commentary on the Vidagdha-mādhava, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks, mahā-prabhoḥ sphūrtiṁ vinā hari-līlā-rasāsvādanānupapatter iti bhāvaḥ: "Without the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one cannot describe the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said, vo yuṣmākaṁ hṛdaya-rūpa-guhāyāṁ śacī-nandano hariḥ pakṣe siṁhaḥ sphuratu: “May Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is exactly like a lion that kills all the elephants of desire, be awakened within everyone's heart, for by His merciful blessings one can understand the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.”
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested all His personal associates to bless Rūpa Gosvāmī so that he might continuously describe the pastimes of Vṛndāvana, which are full of emotional love of Godhead.
"All of you may now go to your homes. May Lord Kṛṣṇa bestow His blessings upon you all. Do not be sorry because of my being insulted."
Thus Hiraṇya dāsa left his home, but by the intelligence of Raghunātha dāsa the misunderstanding was mitigated. Then Raghunātha dāsa went to Pānihāṭi, and following the order of Nityānanda Prabhu, he observed a festival (ciḍā-dadhi-mahotsava) by distributing chipped rice mixed with yogurt. The day after the festival, Nityānanda Prabhu gave Raghunātha dāsa the blessing that he would very soon attain the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. After this incident, Raghunātha dāsa, with the help of his priest, whose name was Yadunandana Ācārya, got out of his house by trickery and thus ran away. Not touching the general path, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī secretly went to Jagannātha Purī. After twelve days, he arrived in Jagannātha Purī at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
For five days Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took prasādam at the temple, but later he would stand at the Siṁha-dvāra gate and eat only whatever he could gather by alms. Later he lived by taking alms from various chatras, or food distributing centers. When Raghunātha's father received news of this, he sent some men and money, but Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī refused to accept the money. Understanding that Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was living by begging from the chatras, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented him with His own guñjā-mālā and a stone from Govardhana Hill. Thereafter, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī used to eat rejected food that he had collected and washed. This renounced life greatly pleased both Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took by force some of the same food, thus blessing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī for his renunciation.
"The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to become one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana, for the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered obeisances to Rāmacandra Purī in consideration of his being a disciple of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, the spiritual master of His own spiritual master, Īśvara Purī. When a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī meets another Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī, they both remember Kṛṣṇa. Even Māyāvādī sannyāsīs generally remember Nārāyaṇa, who is also Kṛṣṇa, by saying oṁ namo bhagavate nārāyaṇāya or namo nārāyaṇāya. Thus it is the duty of a sannyāsī to remember Kṛṣṇa. According to smṛti-śāstra, a sannyāsī does not offer obeisances or blessings to anyone. It is said, sannyāsī nirāśīr nirnamaskriyaḥ: a sannyāsī should not offer anyone blessings or obeisances.
Īśvara Purī received the blessing of Mādhavendra Purī, whereas Rāmacandra Purī received a rebuke from him. Therefore these two persons, Īśvara Purī and Rāmacandra Purī, are examples of the objects of a great personality's benediction and punishment. Mādhavendra Purī instructed the entire world by presenting these two examples.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that he has been able to describe these four pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by the blessings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī was not actually a direct disciple of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, but he followed the instructions given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. He therefore acted according to the directions of Rūpa Gosvāmī and prayed in every chapter for his mercy.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Finally Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī offers his blessings to his readers in the name of the Gopīnātha Deity, who is Kṛṣṇa as master and proprietor of the gopīs. When Kṛṣṇa played upon His flute, all the gopīs, or cowherd girls, were attracted by the sound and left their household duties, and when they came to Him, He danced with them. These activities are all described in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These gopīs were childhood friends of Kṛṣṇa, and many were married, for in India the girls are generally married by the age of twelve. The boys, however, are not married before eighteen, so Kṛṣṇa, who was fifteen or sixteen at the time, was not married. Nonetheless, He called these girls from their homes and invited them to dance with Him. That dance is called the rāsa-līlā dance, and it is the most elevated of all the Vṛndāvana pastimes. Kṛṣṇa is therefore called Gopīnātha because He is the beloved master of the gopīs.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī petitions the blessings of Lord Gopīnātha: "May that Gopīnātha, the master of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, bless you. May you become blessed by Gopīnātha." The author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta prays that just as Kṛṣṇa attracted the gopīs by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader's mind by that transcendental vibration.
"Dear Lord," the demigods said, "it is Your great mercy upon us that You have called us to see You. Is there any particular order? If so, we will carry it out at once."
"There is nothing especially required of you," Lord Kṛṣṇa replied. “I only wanted to see you all together at one time. I offer My blessings to you. Don’t be afraid of the demons.”
"By Your mercy, everything is all right," they all replied. "There are no disturbances at present, for by appearing on the earth You have vanquished everything inauspicious."
The missionary goal of a devotee is to convert simply one person into a pure devotee. Then the devotee's admission to the spiritual kingdom is guaranteed. The Lord was so much pleased with the Bhaṭṭācārya that He began to bless him repeatedly: "Dear Bhaṭṭācārya, now you are a completely pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is now very much pleased with you. From today you are free from the contamination of this material body and the entanglement under the spell of the material energy. You are now fit to go back to Godhead, back home." The Lord then cited a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.42):
- yeṣāṁ sa eṣa bhagavān dayayed anantaḥ
- sarvātmanāśrita-pado yadi nirvyalīkam
- te dustarām atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
- naiṣāṁ mamāham iti dhīḥśva-śṛgāla-bhakṣye
Nectar of Devotion
This eternal engagement in bhakti-rasa can be understood by a serious student upon studying The Nectar of Devotion. Adoption of bhakti-rasa, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will immediately bring one to an auspicious life free from anxieties and will bless one with transcendental existence, thus minimizing the value of liberation. Bhakti-rasa itself is sufficient to produce a feeling of liberation, because it attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Generally, neophyte devotees are anxious to see Kṛṣṇa, or God, but God cannot be seen or known by our present materially blunt senses. The process of devotional service as it is recommended in The Nectar of Devotion will gradually elevate one from the material condition of life to the spiritual status, wherein the devotee becomes purified of all designations. The senses can then become uncontaminated, being constantly in touch with bhakti-rasa.
When a person is undisturbed even in the presence of various causes of disturbance, he is called reserved and perseverant. An example of this perseverance and reservation is found in the behavior of King Parīkṣit, as described in the First Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, verse 15, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The King says there to all the sages present before him at the time of his death, "My dear brāhmaṇas, you should always accept me as your surrendered servant. I have come to the bank of the Ganges just to devote my heart and soul unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So please bless me, that mother Ganges may also be pleased with me. Let the curse of the brāhmaṇa's son fall upon me—I do not mind. I only request that at the last moment of my life all of you will kindly chant the holy name of Viṣṇu, so that I may realize His transcendental qualities."
A similar incident occurred when Kṛṣṇa entered the arena of sacrifice arranged by King Kaṁsa for His death. As soon as He entered the place, all the sages began to cry, "Jaya! Jaya! Jaya!" (which means "Victory!"). Kṛṣṇa was a boy at that time, and all the sages offered their respectful blessings to Him. The demigods who were present also began to offer beautiful prayers to Kṛṣṇa. And the ladies and girls present expressed their joy from all corners of the arena. In other words, there was no one in that particular place with whom Kṛṣṇa was not very popular.
He begot ten sons by each of His 16,108 queens, and all of these sons, headed by Pradyumna, Cārudeṣṇa and Sāmba, used to think themselves always protected by Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa's sons dined with Him, they would sometimes open their mouths for Kṛṣṇa to feed them. Sometimes when Kṛṣṇa would pat one of His sons, the son would sit on Kṛṣṇa's lap, and while Kṛṣṇa was blessing the son's head by smelling it, the others would shed tears, thinking how many pious activities he must have performed in his previous life. Out of Kṛṣṇa's many sons, Pradyumna, a son of Kṛṣṇa's chief queen, Rukmiṇī, is considered the leader. Pradyumna's bodily features resemble Kṛṣṇa's exactly. Pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa glorify Pradyumna because he is so fortunate: like father like son.
This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brāhmaṇa. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially laḍḍus, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more laḍḍus than anyone else, Madhumaṅgala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to Kṛṣṇa, "If You give me one more laḍḍu, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend Rādhārāṇī will be very much pleased with You." The brāhmaṇas are supposed to give blessings to the vaiśyas (farming and merchant caste), and Kṛṣṇa presented Himself as the son of Mahārāja Nanda, a vaiśya; so the brāhmaṇa boy was right in giving blessings to Kṛṣṇa. Thus Kṛṣṇa was very pleased by His friend's blessings, and He would supply him with more and more laḍḍus.
In enjoying Kṛṣṇa's attitude of stealing butter very stealthily, mother Yaśodā experienced the ecstasy of maternal love by smelling His head, sometimes patting His body with her hand, sometimes offering blessings, sometimes ordering Him, sometimes gazing at Him, sometimes maintaining Him and sometimes giving Him good instructions not to become a thief. Such activities are in maternal ecstatic love. An important point to be observed in this connection is that the childish propensity of stealing is there even in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore this propensity is not artificial. However, in the spiritual relationship there is no inebriety to this stealing propensity, as there is in the material world.
There is the following example of a mixture of parental love and laughter. A friend of mother Yaśodā told her, "My dear Yaśodā, your son has very cunningly stolen a lump of butter from my home. And to make me blame my own son for His mischief, He has smeared some of the butter on my son's face while he was sleeping!" Upon hearing this, mother Yaśodā shook her curved eyebrows. She could only look at her friend with a smiling face. May mother Yaśodā bless everyone with this smiling attitude. In this example the whole is the parental love, and the part is the laughter.
A similar statement, which is free from incompatibility, is in the Lalita-mādhava, wherein the author blesses all the readers of the book in the following manner: "Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to lift a mountain with a finger of His left hand, He is always humble and meek. He is always very kind to His loving devotees. He has frustrated Indra's attempt at vengeance by refusing him the sacrifice of Indra-yajña. He is the cause of all pleasure to all young girls. May He be ever compassionate upon you all!"
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Śrīmān Śyāmasundara dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmān Brahmānanda dāsa Brahmacārī, Śrīmān Hayagrīva dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmān Satsvarūpa dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīmatī Devahūti-devī dāsī, Śrīmatī Jadurāṇī-devī dāsī, Śrīmān Muralīdhara dāsa Brahmacārī, Śrīmān Bhāradvāja dāsa Adhikārī and Śrīmān Pradyumna dāsa Adhikārī, etc., for their hard labor in different ways to make this publication a great success.
As they were very hastily passing over the stone road, the flower garlands which were decorating their bodies fell to the ground, and it appeared that a shower of flowers was falling from the sky. From the movement of the different kinds of ornaments on their bodies, they were looking still more beautiful. In this way, they all reached the house of Nanda-Yaśodā and blessed the child: "Dear child, You live long just to protect us." While they were blessing child Kṛṣṇa in this way, they offered a mixture of turmeric powder, oil, yogurt, milk and water. They sprinkled this mixture not only on the body of child Kṛṣṇa but on all other persons who were present there. Also on that auspicious occasion, there were different bands of expert musicians playing.
When all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana smelled the good aroma from the smoke of the burning Pūtanā, they inquired from each other, "Where is this good fragrance coming from?" And while conversing, they came to understand that it was the fumes of the burning Pūtanā. They were very fond of Kṛṣṇa, and as soon as they heard that the demon Pūtanā had been killed by Kṛṣṇa, they offered blessings to the little child out of affection. After the burning of Pūtanā, Nanda Mahārāja came home and immediately took up the child on his lap and began to smell His head. In this way, he was quite satisfied that his little child was saved from this great calamity. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has given a blessing to all persons who hear the narration of the killing of Pūtanā by Kṛṣṇa: they will surely attain the favor of Govinda.
The brāhmaṇas who were present at that time were all qualified because they were not envious, they never indulged in untruthfulness, they were never proud, they were nonviolent, and they never claimed any false prestige. They were all bona fide brāhmaṇas, and there was no reason to think that their blessings would be useless. With firm faith in the qualified brāhmaṇas, Nanda Mahārāja took his child on his lap and bathed Him with water mixed with various herbs while the brāhmaṇas chanted hymns from the Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma Vedas.
As the brāhmaṇas chanted the Vedic hymns and performed the ritualistic ceremonies for the second time, Nanda Mahārāja again gave them huge quantities of grain and many cows. All the cows which were given in charity were covered with nice gold-embroidered garments, and their horns were bedecked with golden rings; their hooves were covered with silver plate, and they wore garlands of flowers. He gave so many cows just for the welfare of his wonderful child, and the brāhmaṇas in return bestowed their heartfelt blessings. And the blessings offered by the able brāhmaṇas were never to be baffled.
Certainly this was not the ordinary result of pious activities. These two contradictory facts astonished them. Thus they continued to pray: "O dear Lord, we are simply astonished to see that he is so fortunate as to have the dust of Your lotus feet on his head. This is a fortune sought after by great saintly persons. Even the goddess of fortune underwent severe austerities just to have the blessing of the dust of Your lotus feet, so how is it that Kāliya is so easily getting this dust on his head? We have heard from authoritative sources that those who are blessed with the dust of Your lotus feet do not care even for the highest post within the universe, namely the post of Lord Brahmā, or the kingship of the heavenly planets, or the sovereignty of this planet. Nor do such persons desire to rule the planets above this earth, such as Siddhaloka; nor do they aspire for the mystic powers achieved by the yoga process. Nor do the pure devotees aspire for liberation by becoming one with You. My Lord, although he is born in a species of life which is fostered by the most abominable mode of material nature, accompanied with the quality of anger, this king of the serpents has achieved something very, very rare. Living entities who are wandering within this universe in different species of life can very easily achieve the greatest benediction only by Your mercy."
Balarāma also embraced Kṛṣṇa, but He was laughing because when everyone else had been so overwhelmed with anxiety, He had known what would happen to Kṛṣṇa. All the trees on the bank of the Yamunā, along with all the cows, bulls and calves, were full of pleasure because of Kṛṣṇa's appearance there. The brāhmaṇa inhabitants of Vṛndāvana immediately came with their wives to congratulate Kṛṣṇa and His family members. And because brāhmaṇas are considered to be the spiritual masters of society, they offered their blessings to Kṛṣṇa and His family on account of Kṛṣṇa's release. They also asked Mahārāja Nanda to give them some charity on that occasion. Being so pleased by Kṛṣṇa's return, Mahārāja Nanda gave many cows and much gold in charity to the brāhmaṇas. While Nanda Mahārāja was thus engaged, Mother Yaśodā simply embraced Kṛṣṇa and made Him sit on her lap while she shed tears continuously.
Stricken by the fist of Balarāma, the demon fell down dead, just like a snake with a smashed head, and blood poured from his mouth. When the demon fell, he made a tremendous sound, and it sounded as if a great hill were falling upon being struck by the thunderbolt of King Indra. All the boys then rushed to the spot. Astonished by the ghastly scene, they began to praise Balarāma with the words "Well done! Well done!" All of them then embraced Balarāma with great affection, thinking that He had returned from death, and they offered their blessings and congratulations. All the demigods in the heavenly planets became very satisfied and showered flowers on the transcendental body of Balarāma, and they also offered their blessings and congratulations for His having killed the great demon Pralambāsura.
Requested in this way by Their friends, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma arranged to show compassion to certain wives of brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifices. These wives were great devotees of the Lord, and Kṛṣṇa took this opportunity to bless them. He said, "My dear friends, please go to the house of the brāhmaṇas nearby. They are now engaged in performing the Vedic sacrifice known as Āṅgirasa, for they desire elevation to the heavenly planets. All of you please go to them." Then Lord Kṛṣṇa warned His friends, "These brāhmaṇas are not Vaiṣṇavas. They cannot even chant Our names, "Kṛṣṇa" and "Balarāma." They are very busy in chanting the Vedic hymns, although the purpose of Vedic knowledge is to find Me. But because they are not attracted by the names of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, you had better not ask them for anything in My name. Better ask for some charity in the name of Balarāma."
According to the instruction of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Nanda Mahārāja and the cowherd men called in learned brāhmaṇas and began to worship Govardhana Hill by chanting Vedic hymns and offering prasādam. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana assembled together, decorated their cows and gave them grass. Keeping the cows in front, they began to circumambulate Govardhana Hill. The gopīs dressed themselves very luxuriantly and sat in bull-driven carts, chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. The brāhmaṇas, assembled there to act as priests for Govardhana-pūjā, offered their blessings to the cowherd men and their wives, the gopīs.
All the men loaded their valuables on carts and slowly left with their cows and other paraphernalia. After they had cleared out everything, Lord Kṛṣṇa very slowly replaced Govardhana Hill in exactly the same position it had been in before. When everything was done, all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana approached Kṛṣṇa with feelings of love and embraced Him with great ecstasy. The gopīs, being naturally very affectionate to Kṛṣṇa, began to offer Him yogurt mixed with their tears, and they poured incessant blessings upon Him. Mother Yaśodā, Mother Rohiṇī, Nanda and Balarāma, who is the strongest of the strong, embraced Kṛṣṇa one after another and, from spontaneous feelings of affection, blessed Him over and over again. In the heavens, different demigods from different planetary systems, such as Siddhaloka, Gandharvaloka and Cāraṇaloka, also began to show their complete satisfaction.
“My dear Lord, I committed a great offense unto Your lotus feet, being falsely proud of my material opulences, not knowing Your unlimited power. Therefore, my Lord, kindly excuse me, because I am fool number one. Kindly give me Your blessings so that I may not act so foolishly again. If You think, my Lord, that the offense is very great and cannot be excused, then I appeal to You that I am Your eternal servant; You appear in this world to give protection to Your eternal servants and to destroy the demons who maintain great military strength just to burden the very existence of the earth. As I am Your eternal servant, kindly excuse me.
Dear Kṛṣṇa, if You say that if we go home our respective husbands will satisfy the lusty flame of our desire, we can only say that that is no longer possible. You have given us a chance to be enjoyed by You in the forest and have touched our breasts once in the past, which we accepted as a blessing, as do the goddesses of fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas by You. Since we have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of our lust. Dear Kṛṣṇa, the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune are always worshiped by the demigods. Although she is always resting on Your chest in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, she underwent great austerity and penance to have some shelter at Your lotus feet, which are always covered by tulasī leaves. Your lotus feet are the proper shelter of Your servitors, and the goddess of fortune, instead of abiding on Your chest, comes down and worships Your lotus feet. We have now placed ourselves under the dust of Your feet. Please do not reject us, for we are fully surrendered souls.
“Dear Kṛṣṇa, dear friend, we know very well that You are not actually the son of Mother Yaśodā or the cowherd man Nanda Mahārāja. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul of all living entities. You have, out of Your own causeless mercy, appeared in this world, requested by Lord Brahmā for the protection of the world. It is by Your kindness only that You have appeared in the dynasty of Yadu. O best in the dynasty of Yadu, if anyone afraid of this materialistic way of life takes shelter at Your lotus feet, You never deny him protection. Your movements are sweet, and You are independent, touching the goddess of fortune with one hand and in the other bearing a lotus flower. That is Your extraordinary feature. Please, therefore, come before us and bless us with the lotus flower in Your hand.
In this way Akrūra expected blessings from the hand of Kṛṣṇa. He knew that Indra, who is the King of heaven and the master of the three worlds—the upper, middle and lower planetary systems—was blessed by the Lord simply for his offering a little water which Kṛṣṇa accepted. Similarly, Bali Mahārāja gave only three paces of land in charity to Vāmanadeva, and he also offered a little water which Lord Vāmanadeva accepted, and thereby Bali Mahārāja attained the position of Indra. When the gopīs were dancing with Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa dance, they became fatigued, and Kṛṣṇa wiped His hand, which is as fragrant as a lotus flower growing in Mānasa-sarovara Lake, over the pearllike drops of perspiration on the faces of the gopīs, and immediately the gopīs became refreshed.
To assure His parents that Kaṁsa was dead, Lord Kṛṣṇa dragged him just as a lion drags an elephant after killing it. When people saw this, there was a great roaring sound from all sides as some spectators expressed their jubilation and others cried in lamentation. From the day Kaṁsa had heard he would be killed by the eighth son of Devakī, he was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa with His wheel in hand, and because he was very much afraid of his death, he was thinking of Kṛṣṇa in that form twenty-four hours a day, without stopping—even while eating, while walking and while breathing—and naturally he got the blessing of liberation. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ: (BG 8.6) a person gets his next life according to the thoughts in which he is always absorbed. Kaṁsa was thinking of Kṛṣṇa with His wheel, which means Nārāyaṇa, who holds a wheel, conchshell, lotus flower and club.
Yamarāja returned the boy to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma brought him to his father. The brothers asked if Their teacher had anything more to ask from Them, but he replied, "My dear sons, You have done enough for me. I am now completely satisfied. What further want can there be for a man who has disciples like You? My dear boys, You may now go home. These glorious acts of Yours will always be renowned all over the world. You are above all blessing, yet it is my duty to bless You. I therefore give You the benediction that whatever You speak will remain as eternally fresh as the instructions of the Vedas. Your teachings will be honored not only within this universe or in this millennium but in all places and ages and will remain increasingly new and important." Due to this benediction from His teacher, Lord Kṛṣṇa's Bhagavad-gītā is ever-increasingly fresh and is renowned not only within this universe but in other planets and other universes also.
They are all considered demigods and goddesses. Since Goddess Durgā is always worshiped with her famous children, Rukmiṇī specifically offered her respectful obeisances to the deity in that way; however, her prayers were special. Ordinary people pray to Goddess Durgā for material wealth, fame, profit, strength and so on; Rukmiṇī, however, desired to have Kṛṣṇa for her husband and therefore prayed that the deity be pleased with her and bless her with that benediction. Since she desired only Kṛṣṇa, her worship of the demigods is not condemned. While Rukmiṇī was praying, she presented a variety of items before the deity, chief of which were water, different kinds of flames, incense, garments, garlands and various foods prepared with ghee, such as purīs and kachoris. She also offered fruits, sugarcane, betel nuts and spices. With great devotion, Rukmiṇī offered them to the deity according to the regulative principles, directed by the old brāhmaṇa ladies.
Kṛṣṇa also immediately accepted Satyā as His wife. Then there was a marriage ceremony with great pomp. The queens of King Nagnajit were also very much pleased because their daughter Satyā got Kṛṣṇa as her husband. Since the King and queens were very much pleased on this auspicious occasion, there was a celebration all over the city in honor of the marriage. Everywhere were heard the sounds of the conchshell and kettledrum and various other vibrations of music and song. The learned brāhmaṇas showered their blessings upon the newly married couple. In jubilation, all the inhabitants of the city dressed themselves with colorful garments and ornaments. King Nagnajit was so much pleased that he gave a dowry to his daughter and son-in-law, as follows.
"My dear Lord, may I inform You that this boy, whose name is Bhagadatta, is the son of my son, Bhaumāsura. He has been very much affected by the ghastly situation created by the death of his father and has become very much confused and afraid. I have therefore brought him to surrender unto Your lotus feet. I request Your Lordship to give shelter to this boy and bless him with Your lotus feet. I bring him to You so that he may be relieved of the reactions of all the sinful activities of his father."
“My dear Lord, You have advised me that I can still select another from the princely order and divorce myself from Your companionship. But, my dear Lord, it is perfectly well known to me that You are the reservoir of all good qualities. Great saintly persons like Nārada Muni are always engaged simply in glorifying Your transcendental characteristics. Someone who simply takes shelter of such a saintly person immediately becomes freed from all material contamination. And when he comes in direct contact with Your service, the goddess of fortune agrees to bestow all her blessings. Under the circumstances, what woman who has once heard of Your glories from authoritative sources and has somehow or other relished the nectarean fragrance of Your lotus feet would be foolish enough to agree to marry someone of this material world, who is always afraid of death, disease, old age and rebirth? I have therefore accepted Your lotus feet not without consideration but after mature and deliberate decision.
When Bāṇāsura was blessed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in this way, he came before the Lord and bowed down before Him, touching his head to the earth. Bāṇāsura immediately arranged to have his daughter Ūṣā seated with Aniruddha on a nice chariot, and then he presented them before Lord Kṛṣṇa. After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa took charge of Aniruddha and Ūṣā, who had become very opulent materially because of the blessings of Lord Śiva. Thus, keeping forward a division of one akṣauhiṇī of soldiers, Kṛṣṇa proceeded toward Dvārakā. In the meantime, all the people of Dvārakā, having received the news that Lord Kṛṣṇa was returning with Aniruddha and Ūṣā in great opulence, decorated every corner of the city with flags, festoons and garlands. All the big roads and crossings were carefully cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood pulp mixed with water. Everywhere was the fragrance of sandalwood. All the citizens joined with their friends and relatives to welcome Lord Kṛṣṇa with great pomp and jubilation, and a tumultuous vibration of conchshells, drums and bugles received the Lord. In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, entered His capital, Dvārakā.
Lord Balarāma became very anxious to see His father and mother in Vṛndāvana. Therefore, with great enthusiasm He started on a chariot for Vṛndāvana. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana had been anxious to see Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma for a very long time. When Lord Balarāma returned to Vṛndāvana, all the cowherd boys and the gopīs had grown up; but still, on His arrival, they all embraced Him, and Balarāma embraced them in reciprocation. After this He came before Mahārāja Nanda and Yaśodā and offered His respectful obeisances. In response, Mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja offered their blessings unto Him. They addressed Him as Jagadīśvara, or the Lord of the universe who maintains everyone. The reason for this was that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma maintain all living entities. And yet Nanda and Yaśodā were put into such difficulties on account of Their absence. Feeling like this, they embraced Balarāma and, seating Him on their laps, began their perpetual crying, wetting Balarāma with their tears. Lord Balarāma then offered His respectful obeisances to the elderly cowherd men and accepted the obeisances of the younger cowherd men. Thus, according to their different ages and relationships, Lord Balarāma exchanged feelings of friendship with them. He shook hands with those who were His equals in age and friendship and with loud laughing embraced each one of them.
Saint Nārada saw all these activities of the Lord, who is the Supersoul of all living entities but who played the role of an ordinary human being to manifest the activities of His internal potency. Smiling within himself, Nārada addressed the Lord as follows: "My dear Lord of all mystic powers, object of the meditation of great mystics, the extent of Your mystic power is certainly inconceivable, even to mystics like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. But by Your mercy, because of my being always engaged in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet, Your Lordship has very kindly revealed to me the actions of Your internal potency. My dear Lord, You are worshipable by all, and demigods and predominating deities of all fourteen planetary systems are completely aware of Your transcendental fame. Now please give me Your blessings so that I may be able to travel all over the universes singing the glories of Your transcendental activities."
But because the Lord is the Supreme Absolute, the result of all His weapons is one and the same. With the club and the disc He chastises the miscreants so that they may come to their senses and know that they are not all in all, for above them there is the Supreme Lord. And by bugling with the conchshell and offering blessings with the lotus flower, He always assures the devotees that no one can vanquish them, even in the greatest calamity. King Yudhiṣṭhira, being thus assured by the indication of Lord Kṛṣṇa, ordered his youngest brother, Sahadeva, accompanied by soldiers of the Sṛñjaya tribe, to conquer the southern countries. Similarly, he ordered Nakula, accompanied by the soldiers of Matsyadeśa, to conquer the kings of the western side. He sent Arjuna, accompanied by the soldiers of Kekayadeśa, to conquer the kings of the northern side, and he ordered Bhīmasena, accompanied by the soldiers of Madradeśa (Madras), to conquer the kings on the eastern side.
After hearing the prayers of the kings released from the prison of Jarāsandha, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is always the protector of surrendered souls and the ocean of mercy for the devotees, replied to them as follows in His sweet, transcendental voice, which was grave and full of meaning. "My dear kings," He said, “I bestow upon you My blessings. From this day forth you will be attached to My devotional service without fail. I give you this benediction, as you have desired. You may know from Me that I am always sitting within your hearts as the Supersoul, and because you have now turned your faces toward Me, I, as master of everyone, shall always give you good counsel so that you may never forget Me and so that gradually you will come back home, back to Godhead. My dear kings, your decision to give up all conceptions of material enjoyment and turn instead toward My devotional service is factually the symptom of your good fortune. Henceforward you will always be blessed with blissful life. I confirm that all you have spoken about Me in your prayers is factual.
When Lord Balarāma arrived, all the participants in the meeting—great sages, ascetics, brāhmaṇas and learned scholars—immediately arose from their seats and welcomed Him with great honor and respect. Some offered Him respects by standing up and then paying obeisances, and those who were elderly great sages and brāhmaṇas offered Him blessings after standing up. After this formality, Lord Balarāma was offered a suitable seat, and everyone present worshiped Him. Everyone in the assembly stood up in the presence of Balarāma because they knew Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Education or learning means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore, although Lord Balarāma appeared on the earth as a kṣatriya, all the brāhmaṇas and sages stood up because they knew who Lord Balarāma was.
The inhabitants of Naimiṣāraṇya, learned sages and brāhmaṇas, became most pleased by seeing this, and they offered their respectful prayers to Lord Balarāma. They offered their heartfelt blessings to the Lord, and all agreed that none of Lord Balarāma's attempts to do something would ever be a failure. The sages and brāhmaṇas then performed a ceremonial bathing of Lord Balarāma, just as the demigods bathe King Indra when he is victorious over the demons. The brāhmaṇas and sages honored Lord Balarāma by presenting Him with first-class new clothing and ornaments and the lotus garland of victory; this garland was the reservoir of all beauty and was everlasting—it was never to be dried up.
It is clear from the description of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that when Lord Balarāma was visiting the different places of pilgrimage He properly followed the Vedic system. After distributing cows at Setubandha, Lord Balarāma proceeded toward the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred, and Lord Balarāma bathed in them both. He then proceeded toward Malaya Hill. This hill is very great, and it is said to be one of seven peaks called the Malaya Hills. The great sage Agastya used to live there, and Lord Balarāma visited him and offered His respects by bowing down before him. After taking the sage's blessings, Lord Balarāma, with the sage's permission, proceeded toward the Indian Ocean.
That is the way for a bona fide disciple to become free from his debt to the spiritual master. It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life to the service of the spiritual master. My dear best of the twice-born, I am greatly pleased by your acts, and I bless you: May all your desires and ambitions be fulfilled. May the understanding of the Vedas which you have learned from me always continue to remain within your memory, so that at every moment you can remember the teachings of the Vedas and quote their instructions without difficulty. Thus you will never be disappointed in this life or the next.'“
Kṛṣṇa continued: "My dear friend, you may remember that many such incidents occurred while we were in the āśrama of our spiritual master. Both of us can realize that without the blessings of the spiritual master no one can be happy. By the mercy of the spiritual master and by his blessings, one can achieve peace and prosperity and be able to fulfill the mission of human life."
While the men were meeting in that way, the women also met one another in the same manner. They embraced one another in great friendship, smiling very mildly, and looked at one another with much affection. When they were embracing one another in their arms, the saffron and kuṅkuma spread on their breasts was exchanged from one person to another, and they all felt heavenly ecstasy. Due to such heart-to-heart embracing, torrents of tears glided down their cheeks. The juniors were offering obeisances to the elders, and the elders were offering their blessings to the juniors. They thus welcomed one another and asked after one another's welfare. Ultimately, however, all their talk was only of Kṛṣṇa. All the neighbors and relatives were connected with Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in this world, and as such Kṛṣṇa was the center of all their activities. Whatever activities they performed—social, political, religious or conventional—were transcendental.
After first offering prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the assembled sages wanted to take permission from King Dhṛtarāṣṭra and King Yudhiṣṭhira and then depart for their respective āśramas. At that time, however, Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the most celebrated of all pious men, approached the sages and with great humility offered his respects by falling down at their feet. Vasudeva said, "My dear great sages, you are more respected than the demigods. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto you. I wish for you to accept my one request, if you so desire. I shall consider it a great blessing if you kindly explain the supreme fruitive activity by which one can counteract the reactions of all other activities."
Nārada Muni, after offering respects to Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, went to the āśrama of Vyāsadeva, his disciple. Being properly received by Vyāsadeva in his āśrama and seated very comfortably, Nārada Muni narrated the entire story of what he had heard from Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi. In this way Śukadeva Gosvāmī informed Mahārāja Parīkṣit of the answers to his questions regarding the essence of Vedic knowledge and what is considered to be the ultimate goal in the Vedas. The supreme goal of life is to achieve the transcendental blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become engaged in the loving service of the Lord. One should follow in the footsteps of Śukadeva Gosvāmī and all the other Vaiṣṇavas in the disciplic succession and should pay respectful obeisances unto Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. The four sects of Vaiṣṇava disciplic succession, namely the Madhva-sampradāya, the Rāmānuja-sampradāya, the Viṣṇu-svāmi-sampradāya and the Nimbārka-sampradāya, in pursuance of all Vedic conclusions, agree that one should surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Therefore, to show special favor to a devotee, the Lord sometimes puts him into distress. Besides that, it is stated that the sweetness of happiness is sweeter to those who have tasted bitterness. The Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come down. As for His killing the demons, or miscreants, this can be easily done by His various energies, just as many asuras are killed by His external energy, Goddess Durgā. Therefore the Lord does not need to come down personally to kill such demons, but when His devotee is in distress He must come. Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva appeared not in order to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu but to save Prahlāda and to give him blessings. In other words, because Prahlāda Mahārāja was put into very great distress, the Lord appeared.
This means that every living entity within this material world, including the demigods, is conducted by the three modes of material nature, and therefore the qualities of ignorance and passion are very prominent within the material world. Those devotees who take blessings from the demigods are also infected with the material qualities, especially passion and ignorance. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has therefore stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that to take blessings from the demigods is less intelligent because when one takes benedictions from the demigods the results of such benedictions are temporary. It is easy to get material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but the result is sometimes disastrous. As such, the benedictions derived from demigods are appreciated only by the less intelligent class of men. Persons who derive benedictions from the demigods gradually become puffed up with material opulence and neglectful of their benefactors.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī addressed King Parīkṣit thus: “My dear King, Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva, the principal trio of the material creation, are able to bless or curse anyone. Of this trio, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are very easily satisfied but also very easily angered.
When the demon was offered this facility by Lord Śiva, he asked for a fearful and abominable benediction. The demon was very sinful, and sinful persons do not know what sort of benediction should be asked from the deity. Therefore he asked Lord Śiva to bless him with such power that as soon as he would touch anyone's head, it would immediately crack and the man would die. The demons are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as duṣkṛtīs, or miscreants. Kṛtī means "very meritorious," but when duḥ is added it means "abominable." Instead of surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the duṣkṛtīs worship different demigods to derive abominable material benefits. Although the duṣkṛtīs have brain power and merit, their merit and brain power are used for abominable activities. Sometimes, for example, materialistic scientists invent a lethal weapon.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Therefore the reprobates' only means of attaining any piety is through the association of devotees. We are looking forward to that time when the stalwart disciples of that illustrious crest jewel of all Vaiṣṇavas, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, having received the blessings of their spiritual master, will come together again for the benediction of the whole world and, without wasting any more time, preach the message of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābājī always tried to dissuade his disciple, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, from going to Calcutta, which he considered a bastion of Kali-yuga.
One must not misunderstand the meaning of the word samaḥ, "equal." It does not mean that the Lord is impersonal and that He will bless any whimsical act, even unruly behaviour. The Lord is absolutely personal, the reservoir of divine sentiments, the supreme performer of transcendental pastimes. And He is the well-wishing friend of all living beings. But friendship has different degrees of intimacy. Thus the Lord's equal disposition is not without varieties of personalism. In other words, the Lord reciprocates with us according to our intensity of love for Him. In the Gītā (4.11) He says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: "As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly." He responds to all the different devotional mellows—servitorship, fraternity, parental affection, and conjugal love. Similarly, he ignores those who disrespect Him by regarding Him as an ordinary mortal. Conversely, He always shelters and protects those who accept Him as the Supreme Lord and serve Him with loving devotion, following in the footsteps of past saintly masters.
The dry speculative philosophers may kindly note one point: By using the word teṣām, Lord Kṛṣṇa openly declares that He is always merciful to His surrendered devotees. The reason that the Lord expands Himself as the Supersoul and enters everyone's heart is not to bless the empiric philosophers and yogīs but to bless the devotees from within. If the Supreme Lord Himself wishes to enlighten the devotees with spiritual knowledge and gradually draw them closer to Him, then what question is there of such devotees ever coming under the spell of nescience? Rather, it is out of nescience only that the empiric philosophers try to approach the Supreme Truth on the strength of their own intellect. We know that the Supreme Lord can dissipate the darkness of ignorance with the spiritual effulgence emanating from His body. Can the empiricists do the same? One can never lift the gloom of nescience by one's own efforts.
It is strange but true that political leaders can never understand that the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal or formless but must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The scriptures are filled with passages that describe incarnations such as the gigantic form of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu lying on the Causal Ocean, but Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Still the demented political leaders cannot comprehend the truth. But if out of His mercy Lord Kṛṣṇa wishes to bless such atheists, then their rocklike hearts will soften and they will see the two-handed form of Kṛṣṇa playing His flute in Vṛndāvana.
In other words, the Supreme Lord personally intervenes and arranges for His surrendered devotee's success in spiritual life. Is there any doubt that once the Lord's divine energy is active, all our artificial endeavors are most insignificant and futile? The Lord's inconceivable potency that descends to bless us with spiritual perfection shows the magnitude and glory of His potencies. Certainly there are other methods for spiritual advancement, such as rāja-yoga, by which one can become equipoised, or difficult prāṇāyāma exercises, severe austerities, and renunciation, and these practices are very powerful. But when the Lord's divine potency acts, they all seem extremely ineffectual compared to the process of surrender, which invokes that potency. All these other methods, though very potent, are human endeavors. So how can they compare with the Supreme Lord's divine potency? With this divine potency the Lord blesses particular persons in particular circumstances.
Success in any activity depends on five essential factors: the place, the doer, the tools or senses, the endeavor, and finally the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Of these, the Supreme Lord's blessing is the most important. This sanction is enacted through the Supreme Lord's favorable supervision of His material energy, for it is by the Lord's will that material nature acts. Material nature acts according to one's consciousness: when the living entity is under the influence of the three modes of nature, his actions are conducted by the Lord's external energy, the material nature. But when he is in transcendental coonsciousness, the śuddha-sattva state, his actions are conducted by the Lord's internal, spiritual potency. The living entity can choose to have his activities conducted by either the Lord's external energy or His internal energy. This is the extent of the jīva's minute independence.
Those who seek the smaller values of life and thus take up yoga for selfish motives are not very noble, and even if they achieve success, they still remain inferior. But those who practice yoga for the benefit of others are truly worthy, for even if they personally do not attain perfection, they are very elevated souls. Devotees of the Lord practice the yoga called buddhi-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This yoga is meant to bless all humanity, as well as bring the practitioner to the perfection of life. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17) aptly describes the great value of such yoga:
- tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
- bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
- yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
- ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything.
Message of Godhead
We may be able to further discuss all these workers and their work later. But one may know at present that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the friend of everyone, whether he be an ordinary worker, an empiric philosopher, or even a mystic—and what to speak of the transcendentalists who are cent-percent servitors of the Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead always does good for one and all, by empowering His devotees to preach and propagate the transcendental process of devotional service to Godhead everywhere in accord with the specific time, place, and audience. The Lord is therefore called "Govinda," or the prime cause of all causes and the reservoir of all blessings. And the people in general can attain to perfect peace and tranquillity when they come to know Him by the gradual process of work with transcendental results.
Sri Isopanisad
Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.
Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)
To be saved from this faulty association, King Kulaśekhara prays fervently to the Lord that he may never forget His lotus feet in any future birth. A devotee who perfects his devotional service certainly goes back to Godhead without a doubt, so for him there is no question of birth or death. And, as mentioned above, a devotee who does not achieve complete perfection is guaranteed to take his birth in a learned and well-to-do family. But even if a devotee is not given the advantage of good parentage, if he can attain the benediction of always remembering the lotus feet of the Lord, that is greater than any number of material assets. Constant remembrance of the Lord's name, fame, qualities, and so on automatically nullifies the reactions of all vices and invokes the blessings of the Lord. This constant remembrance of the lotus feet of the Lord is possible only when one engages in His active service.
| Page Title: | Blessings (CC and Other Books) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur |
| Created: | 29 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=54, OB=57, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 111 |