With His followers in the renounced order, however, Lord Caitanya was very strict. He even banished Junior Haridāsa, an important kīrtana leader, for glancing lustfully at a woman. The Lord told him, "You are living with Me in the renounced order, and yet you are looking at a woman with lust." Other devotees of the Lord had appealed to Him to forgive Haridāsa, but He replied, "All of you can forgive him and live with him. I shall live alone." On the other hand, when the Lord learned that the wife of one of His householder devotees was pregnant, He asked that the baby be given a certain auspicious name. So while the Lord approved of householders having regulated sex, He was like a thunderbolt with those in the renounced order who tried to cheat by the method known as "drinking water under water while bathing on a fast day." In other words, He tolerated no hypocrisy among His followers.
Water (CC)
Expressions researched:
"water"
|"water's"
|"watered"
|"waterfall"
|"waterfalls"
|"watering"
|"waterly"
|"waters"
|"watery"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
In support of their view that the self-realized remain silent, the Māyāvādīs are fond of using the example of the water pot, maintaining that when a pot is not filled with water it makes a sound, but that when it is filled it makes no sound. But are we waterpots? How can we be compared to them? A good analogy utilizes as many similarities between two objects as possible. A waterpot is not an active living force, but we are. Ever-silent meditation may be adequate for a waterpot, but not for us.
When it is necessary to create the material universes, Viṣṇu expands Himself as Mahā-Viṣṇu. Mahā-Viṣṇu lies down in the Causal Ocean and breathes all the universes from His nostrils. Thus from Mahā-Viṣṇu and the Causal Ocean spring all the universes, and all these universes, including ours, float in the Causal Ocean. In this regard there is the story of Vāmana, who, when He took three steps, stuck His foot through the covering of this universe. Water from the Causal Ocean flowed through the hole that His foot made, and it is said that that water became the river Ganges. Therefore the Ganges is accepted as the most sacred water of Viṣṇu and is worshiped by all Hindus, from the Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal.
CC Adi-lila
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, ahaṁ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ: the cosmic manifestation is a display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. The material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego) display the inferior energy of the Lord, and the living entities are His superior energy.
The gross material elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) combine with the subtle material elements (mind, intelligence and false ego) to construct the bodies of this material world, and yet they are beyond these bodies as well.
The highest standard of such bodily comfort is achieved by a fruitive worker who by pious activities reaches the plane of heaven, or the kingdom of the creative gods with their delegated powers. But the conception of comfortable life in heaven is insignificant in comparison to the happiness enjoyed in the impersonal Brahman, and this brahmānanda, the spiritual bliss derived from impersonal Brahman, is like the water in the hoofprint of a calf compared to the ocean of love of Godhead. When one develops pure love for the Lord, he derives an ocean of transcendental happiness from the association of the Personality of Godhead. To qualify oneself to reach this stage of life is the highest perfection.
O my merciful Lord Caitanya, may the nectarean Ganges waters of Your transcendental activities flow on the surface of my desertlike tongue. Beautifying these waters are the lotus flowers of singing, dancing and loud chanting of Kṛṣṇa's holy name, which are the pleasure abodes of unalloyed devotees. These devotees are compared to swans, ducks and bees. The river's flowing produces a melodious sound that gladdens their ears.
The tongue is compared to a desert because a desert needs a constant supply of refreshing water to make it fertile and fruitful. Water is the substance most needed in the desert. The transient pleasure derived from mundane topics of art, culture, politics, sociology, dry philosophy, poetry and so on is compared to a mere drop of water because although such topics have a qualitative feature of transcendental pleasure, they are saturated with the modes of material nature.
Lord Caitanya's movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is full of dancing and singing about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is compared herein to the pure waters of the Ganges, which are full of lotus flowers. The enjoyers of these lotus flowers are the pure devotees, who are like bees and swans. They chant like the flowing of the Ganges, the river of the celestial kingdom.
"O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone's dearest life. Are You not, therefore, my father, Nārāyaṇa? Nārāyaṇa refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara (Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu), and that Nārāyaṇa is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of māyā."
Kṛṣṇa said, "Brahmā, I cannot understand what you are saying. Lord Nārāyaṇa is He who sits in the hearts of all living beings and lies down in the waters of the Kāraṇa Ocean."
Brahmā replied, “What I have said is true. The same Lord Nārāyaṇa who lives on the waters and in the hearts of all living beings is but a plenary portion of You.
“These three Viṣṇus lying in the water are the Supersoul of everything. The Supersoul of all the universes is known as the first puruṣa.
The revealed scriptures mention nine means of attaining devotional service, of which the first and foremost is hearing from authority. The seed of devotion cannot sprout unless watered by the process of hearing and chanting.
Advaita Ācārya was a contemporary of Lord Caitanya's father. He felt sorry for the condition of the world because even after Lord Kṛṣṇa's appearance, no one had interest in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. This forgetfulness was so overwhelming that Advaita Prabhu was convinced that no one but Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself could enlighten people about devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore Advaita requested Lord Kṛṣṇa to appear as Lord Caitanya. Offering tulasī leaves and Ganges water, He cried for the Lord's appearance. The Lord, being satisfied by His pure devotees, descends to satisfy them. As such, being pleased by Advaita Ācārya, Lord Caitanya appeared.
"O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone's dearest life. Are You not, therefore, my father, Nārāyaṇa? "Nārāyaṇa" refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara (Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu), and that Nārāyaṇa is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of māyā."
The manifestation of the Nārāyaṇa who predominates in everyone's heart, as well as the Nārāyaṇa who lives in the waters (Kāraṇa, Garbha and Kṣīra), is Your plenary portion. You are therefore the original Nārāyaṇa.
"Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is very affectionate toward His devotees, sells Himself to a devotee who offers Him merely a tulasī leaf and a palmful of water."
Advaita Ācārya considered the meaning of the verse in this way: “Not finding any way to repay the debt He owes to one who offers Him a tulasī leaf and water, Lord Kṛṣṇa thinks, "There is no wealth in My possession that is equal to a tulasī leaf and water."
Through devotional service one can easily please Lord Kṛṣṇa with a leaf of the tulasī plant and a little water. As the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26), a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water (patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam), when offered with devotion, very much pleases Him. He universally accepts the services of His devotees. Even the poorest of devotees in any part of the world can secure a small flower, fruit or leaf and a little water, and if these offerings, and especially tulasī leaves and Ganges water, are offered to Kṛṣṇa with devotion, He is very satisfied. It is said that Kṛṣṇa is so much pleased by such devotional service that He offers Himself to His devotee in exchange for it. Śrīla Advaita Ācārya knew this fact, and therefore He decided to call for the Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa to descend by worshiping the Lord with tulasī leaves and the water of the Ganges.
Thinking of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He constantly offered tulasī buds in water from the Ganges.
“Just as the celestial waters of the Ganges flow unobstructed into the ocean, so when My devotees simply hear of Me, their minds come to Me, who reside in the hearts of all.
Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu reclines in the midst of the watery portion of the universe and generates the first living creature of the universe, Brahmā. The imaginary universal form is a partial manifestation of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
For the perfect yogī who has attained success in the method of leaving his body in perfect consciousness, transferring from one planet to another is as easy as an ordinary man's walking to the grocery store. As already discussed, the material body is just a covering of the spiritual soul. Mind and intelligence are the undercoverings, and the gross body of earth, water, air and so on is the overcoating of the soul. As such, any advanced soul who has realized himself by the yogic process, who knows the relationship between matter and spirit, can leave the gross dress of the soul in perfect order and as he desires. By the grace of God, we have complete freedom. Because the Lord is kind to us, we can live anywhere—either in the spiritual sky or in the material sky, upon whichever planet we desire. However, misuse of this freedom causes one to fall down into the material world and suffer the threefold miseries of conditioned life. The living of a miserable life in the material world by dint of the soul's choice is nicely illustrated by Milton in Paradise Lost. Similarly, by choice the soul can regain paradise and return home, back to Godhead.
Each and every planet has its particular atmosphere, and if one wants to travel to any particular planet within the material universe, one has to adapt his material body to the climatic condition of that planet. For instance, if one wants to go from India to Europe, where the climatic condition is different, one has to change his dress accordingly. Similarly, a complete change of body is necessary if one wants to go to the transcendental planets of Vaikuṇṭha. However, if one wants to go to the higher material planets, he can keep his finer dress of mind, intelligence and ego, but has to leave his gross dress (body) made of earth, water, fire, etc.
The numberless universes exist together in foamlike clusters, and so only some of them are surrounded by the water of the Causal Ocean. When agitated by the glance of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, material nature produces the total elements, which are eight in number and which gradually evolve from finer to gross. A part of ego is the sky, a part of which is air, a part of which is fire, a part of which is water, a part of which is earth. Thus one universe inflates to an area of four billion miles in diameter.
Surrounding Vaikuṇṭha is a mass of water that is endless, unfathomed and unlimited.
The earth, water, fire, air and ether of Vaikuṇṭha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.
The water of the Kāraṇa Ocean, which is the original cause, is therefore spiritual. The sacred Ganges, which is but a drop of it, purifies the fallen souls.
Māyā-śakti resides outside the Kāraṇa Ocean. Māyā cannot touch its waters.
The conditioned vital force, the subtle material ingredients called the dravya, and material nature (which is the field of activity where the false ego acts as the soul), as well as the eleven senses and five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether), which are the sixteen ingredients of the body—these are the ingredient aspect of māyā.
The material elements (earth, water, fire, etc.) are like smoke, the living entities are like sparks, and material nature as pradhāna is like the flaming wood. But all of them together are recipients of power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are thus able to manifest their individual capacities. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of all manifestations.
"Where am I, a small creature of seven spans the measure of my own hand? I am enclosed in the universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just like particles of dust passing through the opening of a window."
Then He created water from the perspiration of His own body and with that water filled half the universe.
After filling half the universe with water, He made His own residence therein and manifested the fourteen worlds in the other half.
There He manifested Vaikuṇṭha as His own abode and rested in the waters on the bed of Lord Śeṣa.
In the reservoir of water first created by the perspiration of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Lord lies on the Śeṣa plenary expansion of Viṣṇu, who is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and in the four Vedas as follows:
- sahasra-śīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasra-pāt
- sa bhūmiṁ viśvato vṛtvātyatiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam
The Viṣṇu form called Ananta-śayana has thousands of hands and legs and thousands of eyes, and He is the active generator of all the incarnations within the material world.
In the Siddhānta-śiromaṇi, an astrological text, the different oceans are described as follows: (1) the ocean of salt water, (2) the ocean of milk, (3) the ocean of yogurt, (4) the ocean of clarified butter, (5) the ocean of sugarcane juice, (6) the ocean of liquor and (7) the ocean of sweet water. On the southern side of the ocean of salt water is the ocean of milk, where Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu resides. He is worshiped there by demigods like Brahmā.
The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 2.36–42) gives the following description of the Viṣṇuloka within this universe, quoted from the Viṣṇu-dharmottara: "Above Rudraloka, the planet of Lord Śiva, is the planet called Viṣṇuloka, 400,000 miles in circumference, which is inaccessible to any mortal living being. Above that Viṣṇuloka and east of the Sumeru Hill is a golden island called Mahā-Viṣṇuloka, in the ocean of salt water. Lord Brahmā and other demigods sometimes go there to meet Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu lies there with the goddess of fortune, and it is said that during the four months of the rainy season He enjoys sleeping on that Śeṣa Nāga bed. East of Sumeru is the ocean of milk, in which there is a white city on a white island where the Lord can be seen sitting with His consort, Lakṣmījī, on a throne of Śeṣa. That feature of Viṣṇu also enjoys sleeping during the four months of the rainy season. The Śvetadvīpa in the milk ocean is situated just south of the ocean of salt water. It is calculated that the area of Śvetadvīpa is 200,000 square miles. This transcendentally beautiful island is decorated with desire trees to please Lord Viṣṇu and His consort."
Vidyāpati, a great and learned poet of Mithilā, has said that the pleasure derived from friendship, society and family life in the material world is like a drop of water, but our hearts desire pleasure like an ocean. Thus the heart is compared to a desert of material existence that requires the water of an ocean of pleasure to satisfy its dryness. If there is a drop of water in the desert, one may indeed say that it is water, but such a minute quantity of water has no value. Similarly, in this material world no one is satisfied in the dealings of society, friendship and love. Therefore if one wants to derive real pleasure within his heart, he must seek the lotus feet of Govinda.
Materialistic philosophers accept matter to be the material and efficient cause of creation; for them, matter is the cause of every type of manifestation. Generally they give the example of a waterpot and clay. Clay is the cause of the waterpot, but the clay can be found as both cause and effect. The waterpot is the effect and clay itself is the cause, but clay is visible everywhere. A tree is matter, but a tree produces fruit. Water is matter, but water flows. In this way, say the Sāṅkhyites, matter is the cause of movements and production. As such, matter can be considered the material and efficient cause of everything in the cosmic manifestation.
“The example of the water pot cannot be accepted because a waterpot has no perception of pleasure and distress. Such perception is within. Therefore the covering body, or the waterpot, cannot be synchronized with it.
“Sometimes material scientists give the example that milk turns into curd automatically and that distilled water pouring from the clouds falls down to earth, produces different kinds of trees, and enters different kinds of flowers and fruits with different fragrances and tastes. Therefore, they say, matter produces varieties of material things on its own. In reply to this argument, the same proposition of the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad—that different kinds of living creatures are put into different kinds of bodies by the management of a superior power—is repeated. Under superior superintendence, various souls, according to their past activities, are given the chance to take a particular type of body, such as that of a tree, animal, bird or beast, and thus their different tendencies develop under these circumstances.
“The form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described to be transcendental, very subtle, eternal, all-pervading, inconceivable and therefore nonmanifested to the material senses of a conditioned living creature. He desired to expand Himself into many living entities, and with such a desire He first created a vast expanse of water within the universal space and then impregnated that water with living entities. By that process of impregnation a massive body appeared, blazing like a thousand suns, and in that body was the first creative principle, Brahmā. The great Parāśara Ṛṣi has confirmed this in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. He says that the cosmic manifestation visible to us is produced from Lord Viṣṇu and sustained under His protection. He is the principal maintainer and destroyer of the universal form.
"O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone's dearest life. Are You not, therefore, my father, Nārāyaṇa? "Nārāyaṇa" refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara (Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu), and that Nārāyaṇa is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of māyā."
He worshiped Kṛṣṇa with tulasī leaves and water of the Ganges and called for Him in a loud voice. Thus Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared on earth, accompanied by His personal associates.
There are eleven expansions of Rudra, or Lord Śiva. They are as follows: Ajaikapāt, Ahibradhna, Virūpākṣa, Raivata, Hara, Bahurūpa, Devaśreṣṭha Tryambaka, Sāvitra, Jayanta, Pināki and Aparājita. Besides these expansions there are eight forms of Rudra called earth, water, fire, air, sky, the sun, the moon and soma-yājī. Generally all these Rudras have five faces, three eyes and ten arms.
With His body He worshiped the Lord by offering Ganges water and tulasī leaves, and by preaching devotional service He delivered the entire universe.
The seed of material enjoyment, watered by the course of material nature, fructifies to become a tree of material entanglement that endows the living entity with all kinds of material enjoyment. To enjoy such material facilities is to be afflicted with the three material miseries. However, when by nature's law there is a flood, the seeds within the earth become inactive. Similarly, as the inundation of love of Godhead spreads all over the world, the seeds of material enjoyment become impotent.
“Compared to the ocean of transcendental bliss that one tastes by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization (brahmānanda) is like the shallow water in a canal.
“"My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf."“
The transcendental bliss enjoyed in pure devotional service is like an ocean, whereas material happiness and even the happiness to be derived from the realization of impersonal Brahman are just like the water in the hoofprint of a calf. This is a verse from the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (14.36).
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is explained that the five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether constitute the gross energy of the Absolute Truth and that there are also three subtle energies, namely, the mind, intelligence and false ego, or identification with the phenomenal world. Thus the entire cosmic manifestation is divided into eight energies, all of which are inferior.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has both inferior and superior energies, and the difference between them is that the superior energy is factual whereas the inferior energy is a reflection of the superior. A reflection of the sun in a mirror or on water appears to be the sun but is not. Similarly, the material world is but a reflection of the spiritual world. Although it appears to be factual, it is not; it is only a temporary reflection, whereas the spiritual world is a factual reality. The material world, with its gross and subtle forms, is merely a reflection of the spiritual world.
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies." The separated energy acts as if it were independent, but here it is said that although such energies are certainly factual, they are not independent but merely separated.
The Supreme Lord declares:
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtaṁ aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." (BG 9.26) Therefore the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has many temples all over the world, and in each and every temple the Lord is offered these foods. On the basis of His demands, the devotees chant the holy name of the Lord offenselessly and never eat anything that is not first offered to the Lord.
If a devotee wants simple liberation, he gets it very easily from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. Muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate ’smān: for a devotee, mukti is not very important because mukti is always standing on his doorstep waiting to serve him in some way. A devotee, therefore, must be attracted by the behavior of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who live in a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The land, water, cows, trees and flowers serve Kṛṣṇa in śānta-rasa, His servants serve Him in dāsya-rasa, and His cowherd friends serve Him in sakhya-rasa. Similarly, the elder gopīs and gopas serve Kṛṣṇa as father and mother, uncle and other relatives, and the young gopīs, the cowherd girls, serve Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love.
Simply by talking of Nityānanda Prabhu one awakens his love for Kṛṣṇa. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.
Sometimes it is to be seen that a dog can swim in the water for a few yards and then come back to the shore. Here, however, it is stated that if a dog is blessed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he can swim across an ocean. Similarly, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, placing himself in a helpless condition, states that he has no personal power, but by the desire of Lord Caitanya, expressed through the Vaiṣṇavas and the Madana-mohana vigraha, it is possible for him to cross a transcendental ocean to present Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Thus the Lord brought the desire tree of devotional service to this earth and became its gardener. He sowed the seed and sprinkled upon it the water of His will.
Paramānanda Purī established a small monastery behind the western side of the Jagannātha temple, where he had a well dug to supply water. The water, however, was bitter, and therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed to Lord Jagannātha to allow Ganges water to come into the well to make it sweet. When Lord Jagannātha granted the request, Lord Caitanya told all the devotees that from that day hence, the water of Paramānanda Purī’s well should be celebrated as Ganges water, for any devotee who would drink it or bathe in it would certainly get the same benefit as that derived from drinking or bathing in the waters of the Ganges. Such a person would certainly develop pure love of Godhead.
“By the transcendental desire of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, water has been sprinkled all over the tree, and thus there are innumerable fruits of love of Godhead.
Once Śivānanda Sena offered food to Lord Caitanya that had been cooked with excessive ghee, and the next day the Lord became sick and went to Murāri Gupta for treatment. Lord Caitanya accepted some water from the waterpot of Murāri Gupta, and thus He was cured. The natural remedy for indigestion is to drink a little water, and since Murāri Gupta was a physician, he gave the Lord some drinking water and cured Him.
Once while Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was returning to Bengal from Jagannātha Purī with Nityānanda Prabhu, he forgot himself and began talking very loudly as if he were a girl of Vrajabhūmi selling yogurt, and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu noted this. Another time, while absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopīs, he carried a jug filled with Ganges water on his head as if he were selling milk.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started His civil disobedience movement in defiance of the Kazi, Śrīdhara danced in jubilation. The Lord used to drink water from his water jug. Śrīdhara presented a squash to Śacīdevī to cook before Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa. Every year he went to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī. According to Kavi-karṇapūra, Śrīdhara was a cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana whose name was Kusumāsava.
The spot where we now find Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa was an agricultural field during the time of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. A small reservoir of water was there, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bathed in that water and pointed out that originally Rādhā-kuṇḍa existed in that location.
“Another name of Ṭhākura Sāraṅga dāsa was Śārṅga Ṭhākura. Sometimes he was also called Śārṅgapāṇi or Śārṅgadhara. He was a resident of Navadvīpa in the neighborhood known as Modadruma-dvīpa, and he used to worship the Supreme Lord in a secluded place on the bank of the Ganges. He was not accepting disciples, but he was repeatedly being inspired from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to do so. Thus one morning he decided, "Whomever I see I shall make my disciple." When he went to the bank of the Ganges to take his bath, by chance he saw a dead body floating in the water, and he touched it with his feet. This immediately brought the body to life, and Ṭhākura Sāraṅga dāsa accepted him as his disciple. This disciple later became famous as Ṭhākura Murāri, and his name is always associated with that of Śrī Sāraṅga.
Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was present during the water sports of the Lord after the Ratha-yātrā festival.
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (139) it is stated that two servants who formerly supplied milk and water to Lord Kṛṣṇa became Rāmāi and Nandāi in the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Every branch and subbranch of the tree is full of innumerable fruits and flowers. They inundate the world with the waters of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Watered by the desire of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, these branches and subbranches have grown unlimitedly and covered the entire world with fruits and flowers.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Ten miles southwest of the Cāṅpāḍāṅgā railway station on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah, in Calcutta, to Āmtā, a village in the Hugli district, is a small town named Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara, where the temple in which Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the South Eastern Railway. On this line there is a station named Kolāghāṭa, from which one has to go by steamer to Rāṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of Rāṇīcaka is Khānākūla. The temple where Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the kūla (bank) of the Khānā (Dvārakeśvara River); therefore this place is celebrated as Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara.
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Five, there is the following statement: "Murāri Caitanya dāsa had no material bodily features, for he was completely spiritual. Thus he would sometimes chase after tigers in the jungle and treat them just like cats and dogs. He would slap the cheek of a tiger and take a venomous snake on his lap. He had no fear for his external body, of which he was completely forgetful. He could spend all twenty-four hours of the day chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra or speaking about Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda. Sometimes he would remain submerged in water for two or three days, but he would feel no bodily inconvenience. Thus he behaved almost like stone or wood, but he always used his energy in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. No one can describe his specific characteristics, but it is understood that wherever Murāri Caitanya dāsa passed, whoever was present would be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by the atmosphere he created."”
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also the gardener, and as He poured the water of His mercy on the tree, all the branches and subbranches grew, day after day.
As the trunk and branches were watered, the branches and subbranches spread lavishly, and the tree grew full with fruits and flowers.
The Advaita Ācārya branch received the water supplied by the original gardener, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this way, the subbranches were nourished, and their fruits and flowers grew luxuriantly.
The branches of Advaita Ācārya nourished by the water (jala) supplied by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu are to be considered bona fide ācāryas. As we have discussed hereinbefore, the representatives of Advaita Ācārya later divided into two groups—the bona fide branches of the ācārya's disciplic succession and the pretentious branches of Advaita Ācārya. Those who followed the principles of Caitanya Mahāprabhu flourished, whereas the others, who are mentioned below in the sixty-seventh verse, dried up.
Thus Lord Caitanya did not sprinkle upon them the water of His mercy, and they gradually withered and died.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as a gardener, poured water on the root of the bhakti tree and thus nourished all its trunks and branches. But nevertheless, under the spell of māyā, the most unfortunate condition of a living entity, some of the branches, not accepting the gardener who poured water on them, considered the trunk the only cause of the great bhakti-kalpataru. In other words, the branches or descendants of Advaita Ācārya who considered Advaita Ācārya the original cause of the devotional creeper, and who thus neglected or disobeyed the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, deprived themselves of the effect of being watered and thus dried up and died.
One who has no interest in kṛṣṇa-kathā or the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like dry, useless wood with no living force. The ISKCON branch, being directly watered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is becoming undoubtedly successful, whereas the disconnected branches of the so-called Hindu religion that are envious of ISKCON are drying up and dying.
On the eastern side of the temple is a ghāṭa known as Kadamba-khaṇḍī on the bank of a river called the Yamunā, and it is said that the Deity of Baṅkima Rāya was floating in the water and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu picked Him up and then installed Him in the temple. Thereafter, in a place known as Bhaḍḍāpura, in the village of Vīracandra-pura, about half a mile west, in a place underneath a nima tree, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was found. For this reason, the Rādhārāṇī of Baṅkima Rāya was known as Bhaḍḍāpurera Ṭhākurāṇī, the mistress of Bhaḍḍāpura.
According to a party named the Neḍādi-sampradāya, Vīrabhadra Prabhu, with the assistance of twelve hundred Neḍās (Buddhist monks), dug a great lake of the name Śvetagaṅgā. Outside of the temple are tombs of the Gosvāmīs, and there is a small river known as the Mauḍeśvara, which is called the water of Yamunā. Within half a mile from this small river is the birthplace of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.
Another place nearby is named Hāṅṭugāḍā. It is said that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu brought all the holy places there. Therefore the people in the surrounding villages go there instead of to the Ganges to take bath. It is named Hāṅṭugāḍā because Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu used to perform the dadhi-ciḍā festival of distributing chipped rice with yogurt prasādam there and He took the prasādam kneeling down. A sanctified lake in this place is always full of water throughout the year. A great fair is held there during Goṣṭhāṣṭamī, and there is another big fair on the birthday of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (58–63) it is described that Halāyudha, Baladeva, Viśvarūpa and Saṅkarṣaṇa appeared as Nityānanda Avadhūta.
With this consideration, Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, promising to cause Lord Kṛṣṇa to descend, began to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, with tulasī leaves and water of the Ganges.
Tulasī leaves and Ganges water, with, if possible, a little pulp of sandalwood, is sufficient paraphernalia to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." Following this principle, Advaita Prabhu pleased the Supreme Personality of Godhead with tulasī leaves and water of the Ganges.
It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse. All strict followers of the Vedic religion stand up in the water throughout the whole period of the eclipse and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. At the time of the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, such a lunar eclipse took place, and naturally all the people standing in the water were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Ācāryaratna (Candraśekhara) and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura were overwhelmed with joy, and immediately they went to the bank of the Ganges to bathe in her waters. Their minds full of happiness, they chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and gave charity by mental strength.
Anyone who attains a human body but does not take to the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is baffled in his opportunity. Amṛtadhunī is a flowing river of the nectar of devotional service. If after getting a human body one drinks the water in a poison pit of material happiness instead of the water of such a river, it would be better for him not to have lived, but to have died long ago.
"In a waterpot, which is a transformation of dirt, I can bring water very easily. But if I poured water on a lump of dirt, the lump would soak up the water, and my labor would be useless."
There is a nice description of the faults of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His childhood in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa, Chapter Three, where it is said that as a child the Lord used to steal all kinds of eatables from the houses of neighboring friends. In some houses He would steal milk and drink it, and in others He would steal and eat prepared rice. Sometimes He would break cooking pots. If there were nothing to eat but there were small babies, the Lord would tease the babies and make them cry. Sometimes a neighbor would complain to Śacīmātā, "My child is very small, but your child puts water in his ears and makes him cry."
Factually, if one worships the Supreme Lord there is no need to worship anyone else. For example, in a village of a limited area one may use different wells for different purposes, but when one goes to a river where there is water constantly flowing in waves, that water can serve all his purposes. When there is a river, one can take drinking water, wash his clothes, bathe and so on, for that water will serve all purposes. Similarly, if one worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, all his goals will be achieved.
When the gopīs went to bathe in the river Yamunā, they left their garments on the land and dipped into the water completely naked. Taking this opportunity, Kṛṣṇa stole all their garments and sat down in the top of a tree with them, desiring to see the girls naked just to become their husband. The gopīs desired to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband, and since it is only before her husband that a woman can be naked, to fulfill their desire Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted their prayers by this pastime of stealing their garments.
After His father and mother sprinkled water on His mouth with great haste, the Lord revived and said something wonderful they had never heard before.
During His kaiśora-līlā the Lord also sported in the water. He went to East Bengal to secure financial assistance, cultivate knowledge and introduce the saṅkīrtana movement, and there He met Tapana Miśra, whom He instructed about spiritual advancement and ordered to go to Vārāṇasī.
The Lord, as a teacher, performed various kinds of pranks in His sporting pastimes in the water of the Ganges.
The Ganges is water, and Lakṣmī is the goddess of fortune. Since water and a person are not actually similar, the comparison is metaphorical.
“Everyone knows that lotus flowers grow in the water of the Ganges. But to say that the Ganges takes birth from a lotus flower seems extremely contradictory.
“The existence of mother Ganges begins from the lotus feet of the Lord. Although this statement that water comes from a lotus flower is a contradiction, in connection with Lord Viṣṇu it is a great wonder.
Modern scientists are puzzled. They cannot even explain how such a large quantity of chemicals has formed the atmosphere. Scientists explain that water is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, but when asked where such a large quantity of hydrogen and oxygen came from and how they combined to manufacture the great oceans and seas, they cannot answer because they are atheists who will not accept that everything comes from life. Their thesis is that life comes from matter.
“"Everyone knows that lotus flowers grow in the water but water never grows from a lotus. All such contradictions, however, are wonderfully possible in Kṛṣṇa: the great river Ganges has grown from His lotus feet."
“Your poetic skill is like the constant flow of the waters of the Ganges. I find no one in the world who can compete with you.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Gayā, accompanied by many of His disciples, He became sick on the way. He had such a high fever that He asked His students to bring water that had washed the feet of brāhmaṇas, and when they brought it the Lord drank it and was cured. Therefore everyone should respect the position of a brāhmaṇa, as indicated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
The followers of Lord Caitanya cannot blindly accept that everyone born in a brāhmaṇa family is a brāhmaṇa. Therefore one should not indiscriminately follow the Lord's example of showing respect to brāhmaṇas by drinking water that has washed their feet. Gradually the brāhmaṇa families have become degraded because of the contamination of Kali-yuga. Thus they misguide people by exploiting their sentiments.
Abhiṣeka is a special function for the installation of the Deity. In this ceremony the Deity is bathed with milk and water and then worshiped and given a change of dress.
“For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying, it does not ask anyone for water.
Since Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was a well-known and respected Vaiṣṇava in Navadvīpa, Gopāla Cāpāla wanted to reduce his prestige by bringing him down to the platform of the śāktas. Therefore outside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura's door he placed various paraphernalia for worshiping Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva, such as a red flower, a plantain leaf, a pot of wine, and reddish sandalwood paste. In the morning, when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura saw all this paraphernalia in front of his door, he called for the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and showed them that at night he was worshiping Bhavānī. Very sorry, these gentlemen called for a sweeper to cleanse the place and purify it by sprinkling water and cow dung there. This incident concerning Gopāla Cāpāla is not mentioned in the Caitanya-bhāgavata.
They called for a sweeper (hāḍi), who threw all the items of worship far away and cleansed the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.
Once Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the house of Śrīdhara after kīrtana and drank water from his damaged iron pot. Then He bestowed His benediction upon all the devotees according to their desires.
After the mass nagara-saṅkīrtana in protest against the magistrate Chand Kazi, the Kazi was converted to a devotee. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned with His saṅkīrtana party to the house of Śrīdhara, and Chand Kazi followed Him. All the devotees rested there for some time and drank water from Śrīdhara's damaged iron pot. The Lord accepted the water because the pot belonged to a devotee.
Nityānanda Prabhu Gosāñi, understanding the ecstatic mood of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, brought a pot of Ganges water as a token and put it before Him.
After drinking the water, Lord Caitanya became so ecstatic that He began to dance. Thus everyone saw the pastime of attracting the river Yamunā.
To convert a Hindu into a Muslim was an easy affair in those days. If a Muslim simply sprinkled water on the body of a Hindu, it was supposed that the Hindu had already become a Muslim. During the transition of the British in Bangladesh during the last Hindu-Muslim riots, many Hindus were converted into Muslims by having cows' flesh forcibly pushed into their mouths. Hindu society was so rigid at the time of Lord Caitanya that if a Hindu were converted into a Muslim, there was no chance of his being reformed. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. None of the Muslims came from outside; social customs somehow or other forced Hindus to become Muslims, with no chance of returning to Hindu society. Emperor Aurangzeb also inaugurated a tax that Hindus had to pay because of their being Hindus. Thus all the poor Hindus of the lower class voluntarily became Muslims to avoid the tax. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. Chand Kazi threatened to convert the people into Muslims by the simple process of sprinkling water on their bodies.
CC Madhya-lila
In the fifteenth vilāsa, there are instructions on how to observe Ekādaśī fasting without even drinking water. There are also descriptions of branding the body with the symbols of Viṣṇu, discussions of Cāturmāsya observations during the rainy season, and discussions of Janmāṣṭamī, Pārśvaikādaśī, Śravaṇā-dvādaśī, Rāma-navamī and Vijayā-daśamī.
The Gopāla-campū is divided into two parts. The first part is called the eastern wave, and the second part is called the northern wave. In the first part there are thirty-three supplications and in the second part thirty-seven supplications. In the first part, completed in 1510 Śakābda (A.D. 1588), the following subject matters are discussed: (1) Vṛndāvana and Goloka; (2) the killing of the Pūtanā demon, the gopīs' returning home under the instructions of mother Yaśodā, the bathing of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, snigdha-kaṇṭha and madhu-kaṇṭha; (3) the dream of mother Yaśodā; (4) the Janmāṣṭamī ceremony; (5) the meeting between Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva, and the killing of the Pūtanā demon; (6) the pastimes of awakening from bed, the deliverance of the demon Śakaṭa, and the name-giving ceremony; (7) the killing of the Tṛṇāvarta demon, Lord Kṛṣṇa's eating dirt, Lord Kṛṣṇa's childish naughtiness, and Lord Kṛṣṇa as a thief; (8) churning of the yogurt, Kṛṣṇa's drinking from the breast of mother Yaśodā, the breaking of the yogurt pot, Kṛṣṇa bound with ropes, the deliverance of the two brothers (Yamalārjuna) and the lamentation of mother Yaśodā; (9) entering Śrī Vṛndāvana; (10) the killing of Vatsāsura, Bakāsura and Vyomāsura; (11) the killing of Aghāsura and the bewilderment of Lord Brahmā; (12) the tending of the cows in the forest; (13) taking care of the cows and chastising the Kāliya serpent; (14) the killing of Gardabhāsura (the ass demon), and the praise of Kṛṣṇa; (15) the previous attraction of the gopīs; (16) the killing of Pralambāsura and the eating of the forest fire; (17) the gopīs' attempt to approach Kṛṣṇa; (18) the lifting of Govardhana Hill; (19) bathing Kṛṣṇa with milk; (20) the return of Nanda Mahārāja from the custody of Varuṇa and the vision of Goloka Vṛndāvana by the gopas; (21) the performance of the rituals in Kātyāyanī-vrata and the worship of the goddess Durgā; (22) the begging of food from the wives of the brāhmaṇas performing sacrifices; (23) the meeting of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs; (24) Kṛṣṇa's enjoying the company of the gopīs, the disappearance of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa from the scene, and the search for Them by the gopīs; (25) the reappearance of Kṛṣṇa; (26) the determination of the gopīs; (27) pastimes in the waters of the Yamunā; (28) the deliverance of Nanda Mahārāja from the clutches of the serpent; (29) various pastimes in solitary places; (30) the killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa and the Hori; (31) the killing of Ariṣṭāsura; (32) the killing of the Keśī demon; (33) the appearance of Śrī Nārada Muni and a description of the year in which the book was completed.
After arriving at Jagannātha Purī, all the Vaiṣṇavas met with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Later, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sported in the water, taking all the devotees with Him.
After dancing in the Guṇḍicā temple, the Lord sported in the water with His devotees, and on Herā-pañcamī day they all saw the activities of the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī.
These lakes had bathing places constructed with jewels, and they were filled with blossoming lotus flowers. There were various birds chirping, and the water was exactly like nectar.
The devotee is at liberty to serve the Lord either in gross matter or in subtle matter. The important point is that the service be in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." The real ingredient is bhakti (devotion). Pure devotion is uncontaminated by the modes of material nature.
In this regard, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī writes in Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (5):
- yo māṁ dustara-geha-nirjala-mahā-kūpād apāra-klamāt
- sadyaḥ sāndra-dayāmbudhiḥ prakṛtitaḥ svairīkṛpā-rajjubhiḥ
- uddhṛtyātma-saroja-nindi-caraṇa-prāntaṁ prapadya svayaṁ
- śrī-dāmodara-sāc-cakāra tam ahaṁ caitanya-candraṁ bhaje
"Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who, by His unreserved mercy, kindly saved me from household life, which is exactly like a blind well without water, and placed me in the ocean of transcendental joy under the care of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī."
“I say, "My dear friends, you are asking Me to be patient, saying that Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of mercy and that some time in the future He will accept Me. However, I must say that this will not console Me. A living entity"s life is very flickering. It is like water on the leaf of a lotus flower. Who will live long enough to expect Kṛṣṇa's mercy?
“Love for Lord Kṛṣṇa is very pure, just like the waters of the Ganges. That love is an ocean of nectar. That pure attachment to Kṛṣṇa does not conceal any spot, which would appear just like a spot of ink on a white cloth.
Staying near the Garuḍa-stambha, the Lord would look upon Lord Jagannātha. What can be said about the strength of that love? On the ground beneath the column of the Garuḍa-stambha was a deep ditch, and that ditch was filled with the water of His tears.
Aśru is explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as a combination of joy, anger and moroseness that causes water to flow from the eyes without effort. When there is joy and there are tears in the eyes, the temperature of the tears is cold, but when there is anger, the tears are hot. In both cases, the eyes are restless, the eyeballs are red and there is itching. These are all symptoms of aśru.
"O river Yamunā, you are the blissful spiritual water that gives love to the son of Nanda Mahārāja. You are the same as the water of the spiritual world, for you can vanquish all our offenses and the sinful reactions incurred in life. You are the creator of all auspicious things for the world. O daughter of the sun-god, kindly purify us by your pious activities."
Upon saying this, Advaita Ācārya supplied water to the two Lords so that They could wash Their hands. The two Lords then sat down and, smiling, began to eat the prasādam.
"The women who come here to take water saw you, and they supplied Me with this milk and sent Me to you."
"Please construct a temple on top of that hill," the boy continued, “and install Me in that temple. After this, wash Me with large quantities of cold water so that My body may be cleansed.
All the brāhmaṇa priests of the village gathered together with nine waterpots, and water from Govinda-kuṇḍa lake was brought there and filtered.
When the Deity was being installed, nine hundred pots of water were brought from Govinda-kuṇḍa. There were musical sounds of bugles and drums and the singing of women.
In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (6.30) it is stated that the Deity should be bathed in water mixed with yogurt and milk, accompanied by the sounds of conchshells, bells and other instruments and the chanting of the mantra oṁ bhagavate vāsudevāya namaḥ, as well as the chanting of the Brahma-saṁhitā verses beginning cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29).
After the first bathing, further bathings were conducted with pañca-gavya and then with pañcāmṛta. Then the mahā-snāna was performed with ghee and water, which had been brought in one hundred pots.
After the mahā-snāna was finished, the Deity was again massaged with scented oil and His body made glossy. Then the last bathing ceremony was performed with scented water kept within a conchshell.
To perform the mahā-snāna, at least two and a half mānas (about twenty-four gallons) of water are needed to pour over the body of the Deity.
The Deity was first offered many varieties of food, then scented drinking water in new pots, and then water for washing the mouth. Finally pan mixed with a variety of spices was offered.
Many waterpots were filled with scented water for drinking, and Lord Śrī Gopāla, who had been hungry for many days, ate everything offered to Him.
The atheists cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing in the form of the Deity, can eat all the food offered by His devotees. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) Kṛṣṇa says:
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." The Lord is pūrṇa, complete, and therefore He eats everything offered by His devotees. However, by the touch of His transcendental hand, all the food remains exactly as before. It is the quality that is changed. Before the food was offered, it was something else, but after it is offered the food acquires a transcendental quality.
Mādhavendra Purī offered water to Gopāla for washing His mouth, and he gave Him betel nuts to chew. Then, while ārati was performed, all the people chanted, "Jaya, Jaya!" ("All glories to Gopāla!").
After taking rest, the Deity must be awakened at the end of the day, and immediately some food and some water must be offered to Him.
The Deity of Gopāla had been buried within the jungle for many years, and although He was installed and was offered thousands of pots of water, He still felt very hot. He therefore asked Mādhavendra Purī to bring sandalwood from the Malaya province. Sandalwood produced in Malaya is very popular. That province is situated on the western ghāṭa, and the hill Nīlagiri is sometimes known as Malaya Hill. The word malaya-ja is used to indicate the sandalwood produced in Malaya Province. Sometimes the word Malaya refers to the modern country of Malaysia. Formerly this country also produced sandalwood, but now they have found it profitable to produce rubber trees. Although the Vedic culture was once prevalent in Malaysia, now all the inhabitants are Muslims. The Vedic culture is now lost in Malaysia, Java and Indonesia.
Mundane rascals cannot understand that whatever Kṛṣṇa does, being absolute in nature, is all-good. This quality of the Lord is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.29). One may consider certain acts of a supremely powerful person to be immoral by mundane calculations, but this is not actually the case. For example, the sun absorbs water from the surface of the earth, but it does not absorb water only from the sea. It also absorbs water from filthy sewers and ditches containing urine and other impure substances. The sun is not polluted by absorbing such water. Rather, the sun makes the filthy place pure. If a devotee approaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead for an immoral or improper purpose, he nonetheless becomes purified; the Lord does not become infected.
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Two) it is said that when Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu arrived at Śrī Bhuvaneśvara, He visited the temple of Lord Śiva known as Gupta-kāśī (the concealed Vārāṇasī). Lord Śiva established this as a place of pilgrimage by bringing water from all holy places and creating the lake known as Bindu-sarovara. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took His bath in this lake, feeling a great regard for Lord Śiva. From the spiritual point of view, people still go to take a bath in this lake. Actually, by taking a bath there, one becomes very healthy even from the material viewpoint. Taking a bath and drinking the water of this lake can cure any disease of the stomach. Regular bathing certainly cures indigestion. The river Bhārgī, or Bhārgīnadī, came to be known as the Daṇḍa-bhāṅgā-nadī after Lord Caitanya bathed in its waters. It is situated six miles north of Jagannātha Purī. The reason for the change in names is given as follows.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is therefore said, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: "Two personalities—Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa—are combined in the incarnation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu." Therefore, considering Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be an extraordinary person, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu did not wait for the paramahaṁsa stage. He reasoned that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is automatically on the paramahaṁsa stage; therefore He does not need to carry the sannyāsa-daṇḍa. This is the reason Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu broke the staff into three pieces and threw it into the water.
After saying this, he made them all eat the various cakes and condensed-milk preparations. After feeding them, he offered them water to wash their hands, feet and mouths.
Thus Gopīnātha Ācārya took Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to His residential quarters and showed Him where to find water, tubs and waterpots. Indeed, he arranged everything.
“‘Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego are My eightfold separated energies.
This material world is the manifestation of the material energy of the Lord. This is explained by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4):
- bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
- ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies."
This brāhmaṇa brought Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home, washed His lotus feet and, with his family members, drank that water.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is known as Gaurāṅga, is the ocean of all conclusive knowledge in devotional service. He empowered Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who may be likened to a cloud of devotional service. This cloud was filled with the water of all the conclusive purports of devotional service and was empowered by the ocean to spread this water over the sea of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. Thus the ocean of Caitanya Mahāprabhu became filled with the jewels of the knowledge of pure devotional service.
The regulative principles according to the injunctions of the śāstras are necessary insofar as one's original dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not spontaneously awakened. An example of spontaneous action is the flowing of rivers into the ocean. Nothing can stop this flow of water. Similarly, when one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness is awakened, it spontaneously flows to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa without impediment.
“The qualities in the material elements—sky, air, fire, water and earth—increase one after another by a gradual process of one, two and three, and at the last stage, in the element earth, all five qualities are completely visible.
To explain the topmost quality of conjugal love, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī gives the example of the material elements—sky, air, fire, water and earth. In the sky (space) there is the quality of sound. Similarly, in air there are the qualities of sound and touch. In fire, there are three qualities—sound, touch and form. In water there are four qualities—sound, touch, form and taste. Finally, in earth there are all five qualities—sound, touch, form, taste and also smell. Now, one can see that the quality of the sky is in all—namely in air, fire, water and earth. In earth we can find all the qualities of material nature. The same can be applied to the rasa known as mādhurya-rasa, or conjugal love. In conjugal love there are the qualities of neutrality, servitorship, fraternity and parental affection, as well as those of conjugal love itself. The conclusion is that through conjugal love the Lord is completely satisfied.
In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person and is the husband of all the gopīs and the goddess of fortune. The trees in Vṛndāvana are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical vibrations, and all movements are dancing.
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī first smears Her body with the paste of Kṛṣṇa's affection for Her. She then takes Her bath in the water of mercy. After passing the paugaṇḍa age (from five to ten years), Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī first appears as mercy. The second bath is taken at noon in the water of tāruṇyāmṛta, or the nectar of youth. This is the actual expression of Her new youthfulness.
Over and above the other baths, the bath taken in the afternoon is taken in the nectar of full beauty. This nectar represents the personal qualities of beauty and luster. Thus there are three baths in different kinds of water.
In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states, "Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the creeper of love of Godhead, and the gopīs are exactly like twigs, flowers and leaves. When water is sprinkled on the creeper, the twigs, flowers and leaves indirectly receive all the benefits of the creeper itself. But water sprinkled directly on the twigs, leaves and flowers is not as effective as water sprinkled on the creeper's root. The gopīs are not as pleased when they directly mix with Kṛṣṇa as when they serve to unite Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī with Kṛṣṇa. Their transcendental pleasure lies in uniting Them."
""O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.""
According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.8):
- raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ
- praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu
"O son of Kuntī (Arjuna), I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man."
Thus when a devotee drinks water or any other liquid, he immediately remembers Kṛṣṇa. For a devotee there is no difficulty in awakening Kṛṣṇa consciousness twenty-four hours a day.
A saintly person, an advanced devotee, sees Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day and nothing else. As far as movable and inert things are concerned, a devotee sees them all as transformations of Kṛṣṇa's energy. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4):
- bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
- ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies."
In the book known as Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇa, there are statements in Chapters Twelve to Fifteen about worshiping the Deities of Śrī Rāmacandra and Sītā. There it is stated that during Lord Rāmacandra's time there was a brāhmaṇa who took a vow to fast until he saw Lord Rāmacandra. Sometimes, due to business, Lord Rāmacandra was absent from His capital for a full week and could not be seen by the citizens during that time. Because of his vow, the brāhmaṇa could not take even a drop of water during that week. Later, after eight or nine days, when the brāhmaṇa could see Lord Rāmacandra personally, he would break his fast. Upon observing the brāhmaṇa's rigid vow, Lord Śrī Rāmacandra ordered His younger brother Lakṣmaṇa to deliver a pair of Sītā-Rāma Deities to the brāhmaṇa. The brāhmaṇa received the Deities from Śrī Lakṣmaṇajī and worshiped Them faithfully as long as he lived. At the time of his death, he delivered the Deities to Śrī Hanumānjī, who, for many years, hung Them around his neck and served Them with all devotion. After many years, when Hanumānjī departed on the hill known as Gandha-mādana, he delivered the Deities to Bhīmasena, one of the Pāṇḍavas, and Bhīmasena brought Them to his palace, where he kept Them very carefully. The last king of the Pāṇḍavas, Kṣemakānta, worshiped the Deities in that palace. Later, the same Deities were kept in the custody of the kings of Orissa known as Gajapatis. One of the ācāryas, known as Narahari Tīrtha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya, received these Deities from the King of Orissa.
According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it."
Kṛṣṇa can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaiṣṇava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Viṣṇu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. It is better that a Vaiṣṇava abandon such food as untouchable.
Śrī Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa took Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home. After he washed the Lord's feet, all the members of his family drank the water.
The brāhmaṇa replied, “I have no reason to live. I shall give up my life by entering either fire or water.
The path from Mandapam through the ocean to the island known as Pambam consists partly of sand and partly of water. The island of Pambam is about seventeen miles long and six miles wide. On this island, four miles north of Pambam Harbor, is Setubandha, where the temple of Rāmeśvara is located. This is a temple of Lord Śiva, and the name Rāmeśvara indicates that he is a great personality whose worshipable Deity is Lord Rāma. Thus the Lord Śiva found in the temple of Rāmeśvara is a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra.
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are just like an unfathomable ocean. It is not possible for me to enter into it. Simply standing on the shore, I am but touching the water.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is compared to a cloud that pours water on fields of grain, which are like devotees suffering due to a shortage of rain. Separation from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like a drought, but when the Lord returns, His presence is like a nectarean rain that falls on all the grains and saves them from perishing.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then gave Svarūpa Dāmodara residence in a solitary place and ordered a servant to serve him with a supply of water and other necessities.
The tears from the eyes of the Lord came out with great force, like water from a syringe. Indeed, all the people who surrounded Him were moistened by His tears.
While Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu washed the temple of Guṇḍicā, a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava washed the lotus feet of the Lord and drank the water. This incident is very significant, for it awoke within the devotee ecstatic love.
While the temple was being swept, about a hundred men stood ready with filled waterpots, and they simply awaited the Lord's order to throw the water from them.
As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu called for water, all the men immediately brought the hundred waterpots, which were completely filled, and delivered them before the Lord.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself and His devotees began to throw water onto the ceiling. When this water fell, it washed the walls and floor.
Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to wash the sitting place of Lord Jagannātha with His own hands, and all the devotees began to bring water to the Lord.
Someone brought water to pour into the hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and someone poured water on His lotus feet.
The water that fell from the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was drunk by someone who hid himself. Someone else begged for that water, and another person was giving that water in charity.
After the room was washed, the water was let out through an outlet, and it then flowed and filled the yard outside.
Since hundreds of men were engaged in bringing water from the lake, there was no place to stand on the banks. Consequently someone began to draw water from a well.
Hundreds of devotees brought water in the pots, and hundreds took the empty pots away to fill them up again.
After everything was thoroughly washed, a Vaiṣṇava from Bengal, who was very intelligent and simple, came and poured water on the lotus feet of the Lord.
The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava then took that water and drank it himself. Seeing that, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt a little unhappy and was also outwardly angry.
“This person from Bengal has washed My feet within the temple of the Personality of Godhead. Not only that, but he has drunk the water himself.
When the water from the different rooms was finally let out through the halls, it appeared as if new rivers were rushing out to meet the waters of the ocean.
Advaita Ācārya and others began to chant the holy name of Lord Nṛsiṁha and sprinkle water. The roaring of the chant was so great that it seemed to shake the entire universe.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to visit the temple, Kāśīśvara walked in front, checking the crowds of people, and Govinda walked in the rear, bringing the sannyāsī’s pitcher filled with water.
The King sprinkled the road with sandalwood-scented water. Although he was the owner of the royal throne, he engaged in menial service for the sake of Lord Jagannātha.
Water flowed from His eyes and sometimes through His nostrils, and foam fell from His mouth. These flowings appeared to be torrents of nectar descending from the moon.
In Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, cowherd boys and even the calves, cows, trees and water are fully conscious of Kṛṣṇa. They are never satisfied with anything but Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī did not express Her personal unhappiness at being separated from Kṛṣṇa. She wanted to evoke Kṛṣṇa's feelings for the condition of all the others in Vṛndāvana-dhāma—mother Yaśodā, Mahārāja Nanda, the cowherd boys, the gopīs, the birds and bees on the banks of the Yamunā, the water of the Yamunā, the trees, the forests and all the other paraphernalia associated with Kṛṣṇa before He left Vṛndāvana for Mathurā.
Near the Guṇḍicā temple is a place known as Āiṭoṭā. This place was fixed up for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to rest in. When Lord Jagannātha was seated at Sundarācala, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw it as Vṛndāvana. He performed sporting pastimes in the water of the lake known as Indradyumna. For nine continuous days during Ratha-yātrā, the Lord remained at Sundarācala, and on the fifth day He and Svarūpa Dāmodara observed the pastimes of Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune.
There were many gardens near the Guṇḍicā temple, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees used to perform the pastimes of Vṛndāvana in each of them. In the lake named Indradyumna, He sported in the water.
The Lord personally splashed all the devotees with water, and the devotees, surrounding Him on all sides, also splashed the Lord.
While in the water they sometimes formed one circle and sometimes many circles, and while in the water they used to play cymbals and imitate the croaking of frogs.
Sometimes two would pair off to fight in the water. One would emerge victorious and the other defeated, and the Lord would watch all this fun.
The first sporting took place between Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu, who threw water upon each other. Advaita Ācārya was defeated, and He later began to rebuke Nityānanda Prabhu, calling Him ill names.
Svarūpa Dāmodara and Vidyānidhi also threw water upon each other, and Murāri Gupta and Vāsudeva Datta also sported in that way.
Another duel took place between Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and Gadādhara Paṇḍita, and yet another between Rāghava Paṇḍita and Vakreśvara Paṇḍita. Thus they all engaged in throwing water.
Indeed, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya engaged in water sports with Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, and they both lost their gravity and became like children.
Lying down on Advaita Prabhu, who was floating on the water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu demonstrated the pastime of Śeṣaśāyī Viṣṇu.
Manifesting His personal potency, Advaita Ācārya floated about on the water, carrying Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
After sporting in the water for some time, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to His place at Āiṭoṭā, accompanied by His devotees.
After thus performing pastimes in the garden for some time, they all went to a lake called Narendra-sarovara and there enjoyed sporting in the water.
After sporting in the water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to the garden and accepted prasādam with the devotees.
The maidservants were carrying water pitchers, cāmara whisks and boxes for betel nuts. There were hundreds of maidservants, all attractively dressed and wearing valuable necklaces.
One should never think that the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa have material bodies. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is also a spiritual abode, and there the days and nights, the trees, flowers and water, and everything else are spiritual. There is not even a trace of material contamination.
“The water in Vṛndāvana is nectar, and the brahmajyoti effulgence, which is full of transcendental bliss, is directly perceived there in its form.
“"The damsels of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, are super goddesses of fortune. The enjoyer in Vṛndāvana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The trees there are all wish-fulfilling trees, and the land is made of transcendental touchstone. The water is all nectar, the talking is singing, the walking is dancing, and the constant companion of Kṛṣṇa is His flute. The effulgence of transcendental bliss is experienced everywhere. Therefore Vṛndāvana-dhāma is the only relishable abode."
While worshiping Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Advaita Ācārya would offer Him scented water to wash His mouth and feet. Then Advaita Ācārya would smear very fragrant sandalwood pulp all over His body.
As usual, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced jubilantly. Everyone was covered with milk, yogurt and yellow turmeric water.
“Every day five to seven coconuts are clipped and put into water to keep cool.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “In this Age of Kali, Kṛṣṇa is manifest in two forms—wood and water. Thus, by enabling the conditioned souls to see the wood and bathe in the water, He helps them become liberated.
“Lord Jagannātha is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of wood, and the river Ganges is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of water.
Kṛṣṇa is spread throughout the whole universe in His impersonal form. Since everything is a manifestation of the Lord's energy, the Lord can manifest Himself through any energy. In this age, the Lord is manifest through wood as Lord Jagannātha, and He is manifest through water as the river Ganges.
“Just as there are millions of fruits on the uḍumbara tree, millions of universes float on the waters of the river Virajā.
“The entire spiritual world constitutes the unlimited opulence of Kṛṣṇa, and there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets there. The Causal Ocean is considered the surrounding waters of Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
On two sides of the stack of food were pitchers filled with scented cold water. The flowers of the tulasī tree were placed atop the mound of rice.
After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu finished eating, the Bhaṭṭācārya poured water for the Lord to wash His mouth, hands and legs and offered Him flavored spices, tulasī-mañjarīs, cloves and cardamom.
By the nectar of His personal glance, the cloud known as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu poured water upon the garden of Gauḍa-deśa and revived the people, who were like creepers and plants burning in the forest fire of material existence.
The Deity in the temple is not material—He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Similarly, considering the spiritual master an ordinary human being (guruṣu nara-matiḥ) is also an impediment. Nor should one consider a Vaiṣṇava a member of a particular caste or nation. Nor should a Vaiṣṇava be considered material. Caraṇāmṛta should not be considered ordinary drinking water, and the holy name of the Lord should not be considered an ordinary sound vibration. Nor should one look on Lord Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary human being, for He is the origin of all viṣṇu-tattvas; nor should one regard the Supreme Lord as a demigod. Intermingling the spiritual with the material causes one to look on transcendence as material and the mundane as spiritual. This is all due to a poor fund of knowledge.
The place called Pānihāṭi was located on the bank of the Ganges. After hearing that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had arrived, all kinds of men assembled both on land and on the water.
Another day, while Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was bathing in a river, a herd of maddened elephants came there to drink water.
While the Lord was bathing and murmuring the Gāyatrī mantra, the elephants came before Him. The Lord immediately splashed some water on the elephants and asked them to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa.
The elephants whose bodies were touched by the water splashed by the Lord began to chant "Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!" and dance and sing in ecstasy.
The Lord used to bathe three times a day in the warm water of the waterfalls. He also used to heat Himself morning and evening with a fire made with the limitless wood.
He washed the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and afterwards he and his whole family drank the wash water. He also worshiped Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and showed him respect.
While the Lord was going to Mathurā, He came across the river Yamunā several times, and as soon as He saw the river Yamunā, He would immediately jump in, falling unconscious in the water in the ecstasy of love of Kṛṣṇa.
They hastily sprinkled water over the Lord's body. Then they took up His outer cloth and began to fan Him with it.
The whole world became merged in the inundation of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One can swim in that water to the extent that he has the strength.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took His bath at Akrūra-ghāṭa, He submerged Himself in the water for a long time. Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya decided to take Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Prayāga after visiting the holy place known as Soro-kṣetra. While stopping near a village on the way to Prayāga, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu fainted in ecstatic love.
Āriṭ-grāma is also called Ariṣṭa-grāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu understood that in that village Ariṣṭāsura had been killed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. While there, He inquired about Rādhā-kuṇḍa, but no one could tell Him where it was. The brāhmaṇa accompanying Him could also not ascertain its whereabouts. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could then understand that the holy places known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were at that time lost to everyone's vision. He therefore discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, which were two reservoirs of water in two paddy fields. Although there was very little water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was omniscient and could understand that formerly these two ponds were called Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa. In this way Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa were discovered.
The Lord then understood that the holy place called Rādhā-kuṇḍa was no longer visible. However, being the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead, He discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa in two paddy fields. There was only a little water, but He took His bath there.
“In that lake, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī used to sport daily in the water and have a rāsa dance on the bank.
""Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, as well as Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respect to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.""
"With humility caused by great fear, Indra took hold of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and, in the company of a surabhi cow, performed His coronation festival by bathing Him with the waters of the heavenly Ganges River. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa's kingship over the cows became splendidly manifest. I pray that Govinda-kuṇḍa, the lake created by that ceremonial bath, may eternally appear before my eyes."
Since the river Yamunā flowed near Teṅtulī-talā, a very cool breeze blew there. While there, the Lord saw the beauty of Vṛndāvana and the water of the river Yamunā.
The people replied, “Kṛṣṇa has again manifested Himself on the waters of Kālīya Lake. He dances on the hoods of the serpent Kālīya, and the jewels on those hoods are blazing.
Akrūra-tīrtha is located on the road between Vṛndāvana and Mathurā. When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were being taken to Mathurā by Akrūra, the Lord rested at this place and took His bath in the Yamunā. When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma took Their baths, Akrūra saw the entire world of Vaikuṇṭha within the water. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana also saw the Vaikuṇṭha planets within the water.
While considering how Akrūra remained within the water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately jumped in and stayed under water for some time.
Prayāga is located at the confluence of two rivers—the Ganges and the Yamunā. Although these rivers were not able to flood Prayāga with water, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu inundated the whole area with waves of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.
While crossing the river Yamunā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the glossy black water and was immediately bewildered with ecstatic love.
Indeed, as soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the river Yamunā, He immediately made a great sound and jumped into the water. Everyone was filled with fear and trembling to see this.
They all hastily grabbed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and pulled Him out of the water. Once on the boat's platform, the Lord began to dance.
Due to the Lord's heavy weight, the boat began to tilt. It began filling up with water and was on the verge of sinking.
Vallabha Bhaṭṭācārya and his whole family then sprinkled that water over their heads. They then offered the Lord new underwear and outer garments.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.24) we find that the living entities are sarva-gata, which means that they can go anywhere. This indicates that there are living entities everywhere. They exist on land, in water, in air, in fire and in ether. Thus there are living entities in all types of material elements. Since the entire material universe is composed of five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—why should there be living entities on one planet and not others? Such a foolish version can never be accepted by Vedic students. From the Vedic literatures we understand that there are living entities on each and every planet, regardless of whether the planet is composed of earth, water, fire or air. These living entities may not have the same forms that are found on this planet earth, but they have different forms composed of different elements.
The living entities are described as ananta, or unlimited; nonetheless, they are said to belong to 8,400,000 species. As stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
- jala-jā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati
- kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam
- triṁśal-lakṣāṇi paśavaḥ catur-lakṣāṇi mānuṣāḥ
"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities (sthāvara), such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."
Living entities have different material bodies composed of earth, water, air, fire and ether. The words tāra madhye mean "within this universe." The entire material universe is composed of five material elements. It is not true that living entities reside only within this planet and not within others. Such a conclusion is completely contradictory to the Vedas.
As far as the living entity is concerned, however, he can be neither burned nor cut to pieces. He can therefore live within fire. We can conclude that there are also living entities within the sun. Why should living entities be denied this planet or that planet? According to the Vedas, the living entities can live anywhere and everywhere—on land, in water, in air and in fire. Whatever the condition, the living entity is unchangeable (sthāṇu). From the statements of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Bhagavad-gītā, we are to conclude that living entities exist everywhere throughout the universes.
In all the universes there are innumerable planets, and there are innumerable living entities upon those planets—in the air, on land and in the water. There are millions and trillions of living entities everywhere, and they are engaged by māyā in suffering and enjoying the results of their fruitive activity, life after life. This is the position of the materially conditioned living entities.
“When a person receives the seed of devotional service, he should take care of it by becoming a gardener and sowing the seed in his heart. If he waters the seed gradually by the process of śravaṇa and kīrtana (hearing and chanting), the seed will begin to sprout.
One who has not listened carefully to the instructions of the spiritual master is unfit for chanting or for preaching the cult of devotional service. One has to water the bhakti-latā-bīja by receiving instructions from the spiritual master.
“As one waters the bhakti-latā-bīja, the seed sprouts, and the creeper gradually grows to the point where it penetrates the walls of this universe and goes beyond the Virajā River, lying between the spiritual world and the material world. It attains brahma-loka, the Brahman effulgence, and penetrating through that stratum, it reaches the spiritual sky and the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana.
“Being situated in one's heart and being watered by śravaṇa-kīrtana, the bhakti creeper grows more and more. In this way it attains the shelter of the desire tree of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally situated in the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana, in the topmost region of the spiritual sky.
“The creeper greatly expands in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet, and there it produces the fruit of love for Kṛṣṇa. Although remaining in the material world, the gardener regularly sprinkles the creeper with the water of hearing and chanting.
By the grace of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, one nourishes the bhakti-latā by regularly sprinkling it with the water of śravaṇa-kīrtana, hearing and chanting. In this way the seed of the bhakti-latā sprouts and grows up and up through the whole universe until it penetrates the covering of the material universe and reaches the spiritual world.
It is the duty of the devotee who nourishes the creeper to be very careful. It is said that the watering of the creeper must continue: ihāṅ mālī sece nitya śravaṇādi jala. It is not that at a certain stage one can stop chanting and hearing and become a mature devotee. If one stops, one certainly falls down from devotional service.
Although one may be very much exalted in devotional service, he should not give up the watering process of śravaṇa-kīrtana. If one gives up that process, it is due to an offense.
“If one does not distinguish between the bhakti creeper and the other creepers, the sprinkling of water is misused because the other creepers are nourished while the bhakti creeper is curtailed.
“‘Just as the celestial waters of the Ganges flow unobstructed into the ocean, so when My devotees simply hear of Me, their minds come to Me. I reside in the hearts of all.
The two qualities of śānta-rasa mentioned in verse 215 are present in all kinds of devotees, whether they are in dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or madhura-rasa. The example of sound is given herein. Sound not only exists in the sky, or ether, but it is also present in air, fire, water and earth. This is a scientific explanation of devotional service. Just as sound is present in all material elements, the qualities found in śānta-rasa are present in all devotees, whether they are on the platform of dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or madhura-rasa.
“In the material condition, the living entity is sometimes raised to higher planetary systems and material prosperity and sometimes drowned in a hellish situation. His state is exactly like that of a criminal whom a king punishes by submerging him in water and then raising him again from the water.
“When putting the twelve tilaka marks on the twelve places of the body, one has to chant the mantra consisting of these twelve Viṣṇu names. After daily worship, when one anoints the different parts of the body with water, these names should be chanted as one touches each part of the body.
No one should consider the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood, nor should one consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being. No one should consider a Vaiṣṇava to belong to a particular caste or creed, and no one should consider caraṇāmṛta or Ganges water to be like ordinary water. Nor should anyone consider the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra to be a material vibration. All these expansions of Kṛṣṇa in the material world are simply demonstrations of the Lord's mercy and willingness to give facility to His devotees who are engaged in His devotional service within the material world.
Outer space is like an ocean of air. Just as there are islands in the watery ocean, these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space. There are nine khaṇḍas, known as (1) Bhārata, (2) Kinnara, (3) Hari, (4) Kuru, (5) Hiraṇmaya, (6) Ramyaka, (7) Ilāvṛta, (8) Bhadrāśva and (9) Ketumāla.
“"O learned brāhmaṇas, just as hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issue from great reservoirs of water, innumerable incarnations flow from Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power."
The material nature is explained as follows by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4):
- bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
- ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies." Thus the material elements also come from the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they are a different type of energy from the living entities.
“With the perspiration produced from His own body, the Lord filled half the universe with water. He then lay down on that water, on the bed of Lord Śeṣa.
“"O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth."
“Thus the Lord's pastimes are like the flowing Ganges water. In this way all the pastimes are manifested by the son of Nanda Mahārāja.
“"Between the spiritual and the material world is a body of water known as the river Virajā. This water is generated from the bodily perspiration of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Vedāṅga. Thus the river flows."
Lord Caitanya said, "This disease of Mine is caused by the personal features of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The three elements are the beauty of Kṛṣṇa's body, the beauty of His face, and the beauty of His smile. Stricken by these three beauties, My mind goes into convulsions. It wishes to drink the ocean of Kṛṣṇa's beauty, but because I am undergoing convulsions, My physician, who is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, does not even allow Me to take a drop of water from that ocean."
“"O King Rahūgaṇa, without taking upon one"s head the dust from the lotus feet of a pure devotee (a mahājana or mahātmā), one cannot attain devotional service. Devotional service is not possible to attain simply by undergoing severe austerities and penances, by gorgeously worshiping the Deity, or by strictly following the rules and regulations of the sannyāsa or gṛhastha order; nor is it attained by studying the Vedas, submerging oneself in water, or exposing oneself to fire or scorching sunlight.’
“"By pouring water on the root of a tree, one automatically satisfies the trunk, branches and twigs. Similarly, by supplying food to the stomach, where it nourishes the life air, one satisfies all the senses. In the same way, by worshiping Kṛṣṇa and rendering Him service, one automatically satisfies all the demigods."
After birth, every man is indebted in so many ways. He is indebted to the demigods for their supplying necessities like air, light and water. When one takes advantage of the Vedic literatures, one becomes indebted to great sages like Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Devala and Asita. When one takes birth in a particular family, he becomes indebted to his forefathers. We are even indebted to common living entities like cows, from whom we take milk. Because we accept service from so many animals, we become indebted. However, if one is completely engaged in the Lord's devotional service, he is absolved of all debts.
It is said:
- adhyāpanaṁ brahma-yajñaḥ pitṛ-yajñas tu tarpaṇam
- homo daivo balir bhauto nṛ-yajño ‘tithi-pūjanam
"By offering oblations with ghee, one satisfies the demigods. By studying the Vedas, one performs brahma-yajña, which satisfies the great sages. Offering libations of water before one's forefathers is called pitṛ-yajña. By offering tribute, one performs bhūta-yajña. By properly receiving guests, one performs nṛ-yajña." These are the five yajñas that liquidate the five kinds of indebtedness—indebtedness to the demigods, great sages, forefathers, living entities and common men.
""Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above all, does the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then should learned persons like devotees go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?""
To maintain the body, we require shelter, food, water and clothing, and all these necessities can be obtained without approaching puffed-up rich men. One can collect old garments that have been thrown out, one can eat fruits offered by the trees, one can drink water from the rivers, and one can live within the caves of mountains. By nature's arrangements, shelter, clothing and food are supplied to the devotee who is completely surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee does not need a puffed-up materialistic person to maintain him. In other words, devotional service can be discharged in any condition.
“"My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf."
“"All the cranes and swans in the water are being enchanted by the melodious song of Kṛṣṇa"s flute. They have approached and are worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full attention. Alas, they are closing their eyes and are becoming completely silent.’
As Kṛṣṇa wandered in the forest with Baladeva and the two of Them wonderfully played Their flutes, all the gopīs became very much attracted. Thus they praised the Lord's activities, describing how He was enthusing all the plants, birds, hills, water—everything.
“"The taste for loving service is like the water of the river Ganges, which flows from the feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Every day that taste diminishes the results of sinful activities acquired over a period of many births by those who perform austerities."
An elephant takes a very good bath and cleanses its body very nicely, but as soon as it comes out of the water, it picks up some dust on the shore and throws it all over its body. Atonement may be carried out very nicely, but it will not help a person if he continues committing sins.
“"After planting the tulasī tree before your house, you should daily circumambulate that tulasī plant, serve her by giving her water and other things, and continuously chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra."
In any condition, any man can live in a small cottage, plant a tulasī tree, water it in the morning, offer it prayers, and continuously chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Thus one can make vigorous spiritual advancement. This is not at all difficult. One simply has to follow the instructions of the spiritual master strictly. Then everything will be successful in due course of time.
One may live in a cave, in a cottage beside a river, in a palace or in a big city like New York or London. In any case, a devotee can follow the instructions of his spiritual master and engage in devotional service by watering the tulasī plant and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Taking the advice of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and our spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, one can go to any part of the world and instruct people to become devotees of the Lord by following the regulative principles, worshiping the tulasī plant and continuously chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
“He then fetched water and washed the sages' feet with great devotion. Then both husband and wife drank that water and sprinkled it on their heads.
Demigods are also living entities and parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore in one sense one worships Kṛṣṇa when one worships the demigods, but not in the proper way. There is a proper method to water a tree: one should water the root. But if one waters the leaves and branches instead, he is simply wasting his time. If one worships the demigods to the exclusion of Lord Viṣṇu, his rewards will only be material.
Actually householders and vānaprasthas should bathe two times a day (prātar-madhyāhnayoḥ snānaṁ vānaprastha-gṛhasthayoḥ). A sannyāsī should bathe three times daily, and a brahmacārī may take only one bath a day. Whenever one is not able to bathe in water, he can bathe by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
The five ingredients for Deity worship are (1) very good scents, (2) very good flowers, (3) incense, (4) a lamp and (5) something edible. As for ṣoḍaśopacāra, the sixteen ingredients, one should (1) provide a sitting place (āsana), (2) ask Kṛṣṇa to sit down, (3) offer arghya, (4) offer water to wash the legs, (5) wash the mouth, (6) offer madhu-parka, (7) offer water for washing the mouth, (8) bathe the Lord, (9) offer garments, (10) decorate the Lord's body with ornaments, (11) offer sweet scents, (12) offer flowers with good fragrance, like the rose or campaka, (13) offer incense, (14) offer a lamp, (15) give good food, and (16) offer prayers.
In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (11.127–140) there is a vivid description of what is required in Deity worship. There are sixty-four items mentioned. In the temple, worship should be so gorgeous that all sixty-four items should be available for the satisfaction of the Personality of Godhead. Sometimes it is impossible to get all sixty-four items; therefore we recommend that at least on the first day of installation all sixty-four items should be available. When the Lord is established, worship with all sixty-four items should continue as far as possible. The sixty-four items are as follows: (1) There must be a big bell hanging in front of the temple room so that whoever comes into the room can ring the bell. This item is called prabodhana, or offering oneself submissively to the Lord. This is the first item. (2) The visitor must chant "Jaya Śrī Rādhā-Govinda!" or "Jaya Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava!" when he rings the bell. In either case, the word jaya must be uttered. (3) One should immediately offer obeisances to the Lord, falling down like a stick. (4) There must be regular maṅgala-ārati in the temple during the early morning, an hour and a half before the sun rises. (5) There must be an āsana, a sitting place before the altar. This āsana is for the spiritual master. The disciple brings everything before the spiritual master, and the spiritual master offers everything to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (6) After maṅgala-ārati, the Deity is supposed to wash His teeth by using a twig; therefore a twig must be offered. (7) Water must be offered for washing the Deity's feet. (8) Arghya should be offered. (9) Water for ācamana should be offered. (10) Madhu-parka, a small bowl containing madhu (honey, a little ghee, a little water, a little sugar, yogurt and milk) should be offered. This is called madhu-parka-ācamana. (11) One should place wooden slippers before the Lord. (12) One should massage the body of the Lord. (13) One should massage the body of the Lord with oil. (14) With a soft, wet sponge one should remove all the oil smeared over the Lord's body. (15) One should bathe the Lord with water in which nicely scented flowers have been soaking for some time. (16) After bathing the body of the Lord with water, one should bathe Him with milk. (17) Then one should bathe Him with yogurt. (18) Then one should bathe Him with ghee. (19) Then one should bathe Him with honey. (20) Then one should bathe Him with water in which sugar has been dissolved. (21) Then one should wash the Deity with water and chant this mantra:
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.29)
(22) One should dry the entire body of the Lord with a towel. (23) A new dress should be put on the Lord's body. (24) A sacred thread should be placed on His body. (25) Water should be offered for cleansing His mouth (ācamana). (26) Nicely scented oils like liquid sandalwood pulp should be smeared over the Lord's body. (27) All kinds of ornaments and crowns should be placed on His body. (28) Then one should offer flower garlands and decorative flowers. (29) One should burn incense. (30) Lamps should be offered. (31) Precautions should always be taken so that demons and atheists cannot harm the body of the Lord. (32) Food offerings should be placed before the Lord. (33) Spices for chewing should be offered. (34) Betel nuts should be offered. (35) At the proper time, there should be arrangements so that the Lord may take rest in bed. (36) The Lord's hair should be combed and decorated. (37) First-class garments should be offered. (38) A first-class helmet should be offered. (39) The garments should be scented. (40) There should be Kaustubha jewels and other ornaments offered. (41) A variety of flowers should be offered. (42) Another maṅgala-ārati should be offered. (43) A mirror should be offered. (44) The Lord should be carried on a nice palanquin to the altar. (45) The Lord should be seated on the throne. (46) Again water should be given for the washing of His feet.
“The items of worship, such as water, conchshell, flowers, incense and lamp, should be described. You should also mention chanting softly, offering prayers, circumambulating and offering obeisances. All these should be carefully described.
This verse was spoken by Lord Brahmā, who perfectly realized the Supreme Personality of Godhead after meditating upon the Lord within the water of the Garbhodaka Ocean. Brahmā realized that the form of the Lord is completely spiritual. This is certainly a better understanding of the Absolute Truth than the impersonal understanding.
When the Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa went to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord was going to the temple of Bindu Mādhava after bathing in the waters of the Pañca-nada.
“‘O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
This became a perplexing problem for him because his wife kept requesting him to kill Subuddhi Rāya. Finally the Nawab sprinkled a little water on Subuddhi Rāya's head from a pitcher that had been used by a Muslim.
Five hundred years ago in India, the Hindus were so rigid and strict that if a Muslim would sprinkle a little water from his pitcher upon a Hindu, the Hindu would be immediately ostracized. Recently, in 1947, during the partition days, there was a big riot between Hindus and Muslims, especially in Bengal. The Hindus were forcibly made to eat cow's flesh, and consequently they began crying, thinking that they had become Muslims. Actually the Muslims in India did not come from the country of the Muslims, but Hindus instituted the custom that somehow or other if one contacted a Muslim, he became a Muslim.
Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī were born in a high brāhmaṇa family, but because they accepted employment under a Muslim government, they were considered Muslims. Subuddhi Rāya was sprinkled with water from the pitcher of a Muslim, and consequently he was condemned to have become a Muslim. Later, Aurangzeb, the Muslim emperor, introduced a tax especially meant for Hindus. Being oppressed in the Hindu community, many low-caste Hindus preferred to become Muslims. In this way the Muslim population increased.
Taking the Nawab's sprinkling water upon him as an opportunity, Subuddhi Rāya left his family and business affairs and went to Vārāṇasī.
It appears that Subuddhi Rāya was a big landholder and a responsible, respectable gentleman. He could not, however, avoid the social misconception that one becomes a Muslim when water is sprinkled on one's face from a Muslim's pitcher. Actually he was planning to give up his material life and leave his family. Hindu culture recommends four divisions—brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. Subuddhi Rāya was thinking of taking sannyāsa, and by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he received this opportunity. He therefore left his family and went to Vārāṇasī.
All the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should go to that lake and, remaining always under the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, become swans and cakravāka birds in those celestial waters. They should go on rendering service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and enjoy life perpetually. In this way all miseries will be diminished, the devotees will attain great happiness, and there will be jubilant love of God.
The devotees who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu take the responsibility for distributing nectarean devotional service all over the world. They are like clouds pouring water on the ground that nourishes the fruit of love of Godhead in this world. The devotees eat that fruit to their hearts' content, and whatever remnants they leave are eaten by the general populace. Thus they live happily.
CC Antya-lila
Junior Haridāsa had conclusively decided to attain shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus he entered deep into the water at Triveṇī, the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā at Prayāga, and in this way gave up his life.
He explained how Junior Haridāsa had made his resolution and had thus entered the waters at the confluence of the Yamunā and Ganges. Hearing these details, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and the other devotees were very surprised.
Then Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura related the details of Haridāsa's decision and his entering the waters at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā.
"Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra continuously and render service to the tulasī plant by watering her and offering prayers to her. In this way you will very soon get the opportunity to be sheltered at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa."
To purify the Durgā-maṇḍapa temple and the courtyard, Rāmacandra Khān sprinkled and smeared it with water mixed with cow dung, but still his mind was unsatisfied.
""My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness, including even brahmānanda, to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.""
Determined to deliver all the fallen souls, Advaita Ācārya decided to cause Kṛṣṇa to descend. With this vow, He began to offer Ganges water and tulasī leaves to worship the Lord.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī came alone from Mathurā to Jagannātha Purī to see Lord Caitanya. Because of bathing in bad water and not getting enough food every day while traveling on the path through Jhārikhaṇḍa (Jharkhand) Forest, he developed a disease that made his body itch. Suffering greatly from this itching, he resolved that in the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he would throw himself under the wheel of Jagannātha's car and in this way commit suicide.
Because of bad water in the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest and because of fasting, Sanātana Gosvāmī contracted a disease that made his body itch. Thus he was afflicted with itching sores from which fluid oozed.
“My dear Lord, You made Sanātana Gosvāmī drink the water of Jhārikhaṇḍa, and You actually generated the consequent itching sores on his body.
With his own hand, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya massaged their bodies with oil and bathed them with water. Indeed, Rāmānanda Rāya cleansed their entire bodies with his own hand.
Others, who could not get a place even on the bank of the Ganges, got down into the water and began eating their two kinds of chipped rice.
“For such worship, one needs a jug of water and a few flowers from a tulasī tree. This is worship in complete goodness when performed in complete purity.
Svarūpa Dāmodara gave Raghunātha dāsa two cloths, each about six inches long, a wooden platform and a jug in which to keep water.
The amount of transcendental bliss that Raghunātha dāsa enjoyed simply by offering water and tulasī is impossible to achieve even if one worships the Deity with sixteen kinds of paraphernalia.
At night Raghunātha dāsa would collect that decomposed rice, bring it home and wash it with ample water.
The day when all the devotees arrived at Jagannātha Purī, Lord Govinda was enjoying sporting pastimes in the waters of the lake known as Narendra-sarovara. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also enjoyed the ceremony in the water with His devotees.
She made many sweetmeats in the shape of balls. Some were made with powdered coconut, and others looked as white as the water of the Ganges. In this way she made many varieties of long-lasting sugar confections.
Thus all the Vaiṣṇavas from Bengal went to Jagannātha Purī. By chance, they arrived on the day when Lord Jagannātha performs pastimes in the water.
Boarding a boat in the water of Narendra-sarovara, Lord Govinda performed His water pastimes with all the devotees.
Because of the pastimes in the water, there was great jubilation on the shore, with music, singing, chanting and dancing creating a tumultuous sound.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu entered the water with His devotees and began His pastimes with them in great jubilation.
In his Caitanya-maṅgala (now known as Caitanya-bhāgavata), Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has given a detailed description of the activities the Lord performed in the water.
After concluding His pastimes in the water, Lord Govinda returned to His residence. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the temple, taking all His devotees with Him.
Simply because of this line, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was dancing in greatly ecstatic love. People all around Him floated in the water of His tears.
Kṛṣṇa is very pleased with His devotees and their offerings. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) the Lord says:
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it." Herein also we find that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted all this food because it had been offered by His devotees.
Everyone drank the water that had touched the lotus feet of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and then they smeared remnants of Lord Jagannātha's sandalwood pulp over Haridāsa Ṭhākura's body.
After saṅkīrtana, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bathed in the sea with His devotees, swimming and playing in the water in great jubilation.
Tānava, thinness, is described as follows:
- udañcad-vaktrāmbhoruha-vikṛtir antaḥ-kulaṣitā
- sadāhārābhāva-glapita-kuca-kokā yadu-pate
- viśuṣyantī rādhā tava viraha-tāpād anu-dinaṁ
- nidāghe kuly eva kraśima-paripākaṁ prathayati
When Uddhava returned to Mathurā after visiting Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa inquired from him about Rādhārāṇī and Viśākhā. Uddhava replied as follows: "Consider the condition of the gopīs! Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī especially is in a very painful condition because of separation from You. She has grown skinny, and Her bodily luster is almost gone. Her heart is immersed in pain, and because She has given up eating, Her breasts have become black, as if diseased. Because of separation from You, all the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī, appear like dried-up water holes under the scorching heat of the sun."
"(Lord Caitanya said:) "Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, as well as Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respect to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.""
Govinda sprinkled water from a karaṅga waterpot all over the Lord's body, and then, taking His own outer garment, he began to fan Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
The devotees loudly chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra near Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and washed His body with cold water.
“The consciousness of each woman within the three worlds is certainly like a high hill, but the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa's beauty is like an ocean. Even a drop of water from that ocean can flood the entire world and submerge all the high hills of consciousness.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered His personal servant Govinda that no one should take the water that had washed His feet.
Because of the Lord's strict order, no living being could take the water. Some of His intimate devotees, however, would take it by some trick.
One day as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was washing His feet in that place, Kālidāsa came and extended his palm to take the water.
The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee, and the remnants of food left by a devotee are three very powerful substances.
“"Aside from the rivers, the trees standing on the banks like great ascetics and engaging in welfare activities for all living entities drink the nectar of Kṛṣṇa"s lips by drawing water from the river with their roots. We cannot understand why they drink like that.
“If I do not think of Kṛṣṇa, My impoverished mind will die within a moment like a fish out of water. But when I see Kṛṣṇa's sweetly smiling face, My mind and eyes are so pleased that My desire for Him redoubles.
On an autumn evening when the moon was full, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu walked along the seashore near the Āiṭoṭā temple. Mistaking the sea for the Yamunā River, He jumped into it, hoping to see the water pastimes Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the other gopīs.
In the brilliant autumn moonlight, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu mistook the sea for the river Yamunā. Greatly afflicted by separation from Kṛṣṇa, He ran and dove into the sea and remained unconscious in the water the entire night. In the morning, He was found by His personal devotees. May that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the son of mother Śacī, protect us by His transcendental pastimes.
As the wind can carry away but a drop of the water in the ocean, a living entity can touch only a particle of the ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Thus all the verses about the rāsa-līlā dance were recited. Then finally the verse concerning the pastimes in the water was recited.
"As an independent leader among elephants enters the water with its female elephants, Kṛṣṇa, who is transcendental to the Vedic principles of morality, entered the water of the Yamunā with the gopīs. His chest had brushed against their breasts, crushing His flower garland and coloring it with red kuṅkuma powder. Attracted by the fragrance of that garland, humming bumblebees followed Kṛṣṇa like celestial beings of Gandharvaloka. In this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa mitigated the fatigue of the rāsa dance."
Brightened by the shining light of the moon, the high waves of the sea glittered like the waters of the river Yamunā.
Mistaking the sea for the Yamunā, the Lord ran swiftly and jumped into the water, unseen by the others.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu fully merged in the pastimes Lord Kṛṣṇa performed with the gopīs in the waters of the Yamunā.
Svarūpa Dāmodara proceeded east with others, looking for the Lord on the beach or in the water.
The fisherman replied, “I have not seen a single person here, but while casting my net in the water, I captured a dead body.
The Lord was lying on the ground, His body elongated and bleached white by the water. He was covered from head to foot with sand.
"Seeing the river Yamunā," He said, “I went to Vṛndāvana. There I saw the son of Nanda Mahārāja performing His sporting pastimes in the water.
“Lord Kṛṣṇa was in the water of the Yamunā in the company of the gopīs, headed by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. They were performing pastimes in a great sporting manner.
“I saw this pastime as I stood on the bank of the Yamunā in the company of the gopīs. One gopī was showing some other gopīs the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the water.
“All the gopīs entrusted their silken garments and ornaments to the care of their friends and then put on fine white cloth. Lord Kṛṣṇa, taking His beloved gopīs with Him, bathed and performed very nice pastimes in the water of the Yamunā.
“My dear friends, just see Lord Kṛṣṇa's sporting pastimes in the water! Kṛṣṇa's restless palms resemble lotus flowers. He is just like the chief of mad elephants, and the gopīs who accompany Him are like she-elephants.
“The sporting pastimes in the water began, and everyone started splashing water back and forth. In the tumultuous showers of water, no one could be certain which party was winning and which was losing. This sporting water fight increased unlimitedly.
“The gopīs were like steady streaks of lightning, and Kṛṣṇa resembled a blackish cloud. The lightning began sprinkling water upon the cloud, and the cloud upon the lightning. Like thirsty cātaka birds, the eyes of the gopīs joyously drank the nectarean water from the cloud.
“As the fight began, they splashed water on one another. Then they fought hand to hand, then face to face, then chest to chest, teeth to teeth and finally nail to nail.
“Thousands of hands splashed water, and the gopīs saw Kṛṣṇa with thousands of eyes. With thousands of legs they came near Him, and they kissed Him with thousands of faces. Thousands of bodies embraced Him. The gopīs heard His joking words with thousands of ears.
“Kṛṣṇa forcibly swept Rādhārāṇī away and took Her into water up to Her neck. Then He released Her where the water was very deep. She grasped Kṛṣṇa's neck, however, and floated on the water like a lotus flower plucked by the trunk of an elephant.
“Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into as many forms as there were gopīs and then took away all the garments that covered them. The water of the river Yamunā was crystal clear, and Kṛṣṇa saw the glittering bodies of the gopīs in great happiness.
“The lotus stems were friends of the gopīs and therefore helped them by offering them lotus leaves. The lotuses pushed their large, round leaves over the surface of the water with their hands, the waves of the Yamunā, to cover the gopīs' bodies. Some gopīs undid their hair and kept it in front of them as dresses to cover the lower portions of their bodies and used their hands as bodices to cover their breasts.
“Then Kṛṣṇa quarreled with Rādhārāṇī, and all the gopīs hid themselves in a cluster of white lotus flowers. They submerged their bodies up to their necks in the water. Only their faces floated above the surface, and the faces were indistinguishable from the lotuses.
“Many white lotus flowers were floating in the water, and as many bluish lotus flowers came nearby. As they came close together, the white and blue lotuses collided and began fighting with one another. The gopīs on the bank of the Yamunā watched with great amusement.
“When the raised breasts of the gopīs, which resembled the globelike bodies of cakravāka birds, emerged from the water in separate couples, the bluish lotuses of Kṛṣṇa's hands rose to cover them.
“The hands of the gopīs, which resembled red lotus flowers, arose from the water in pairs to obstruct the bluish flowers. The blue lotuses tried to plunder the white cakravāka birds, and the red lotuses tried to protect them. Thus there was a fight between the two.
“There were cantaloupes, kṣīrikās, palm fruits, keśuras, water fruits, lotus fruits, bel, pīlus, pomegranates and many others. Some of them are variously known in different places, but in Vṛndāvana all of them are always available in so many thousands of varieties that no one can fully describe them.
“This fisherman caught You in his net and rescued You from the water. Because of Your touch, he is now mad with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.
"After sporting in the water, Kṛṣṇa enjoyed a picnic. I can understand that after seeing this I must certainly have talked like a madman."
All the queens incessantly thought of Kṛṣṇa. After their pastimes in the water, the queens said, “Our dear friend the osprey, Kṛṣṇa is now asleep, but we stay awake at night because of Him. You laugh at us when you see us awake at night, but why are you not sleeping? You seem absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. Have you also been pierced by Kṛṣṇa's smile? His smile is very sweet. One who is pierced by such an arrow is very fortunate.”
“When a tree is cut down, it does not protest, and even when drying up, it does not ask anyone for water.
I am a very insignificant living being, like a small red-beaked bird. Just as such a bird drinks the water of the sea to quench its thirst, so I have touched only a drop of the ocean of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. From this example, you may all understand how expansive are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
In the Eighteenth Chapter is an account of how the Lord fell into the ocean and in ecstasy saw in a dream the pastimes of a water fight between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs.
If one hears the pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, I wash his lotus feet and drink the water.
| Page Title: | Water (CC) |
| Compiler: | Rishab |
| Created: | 31 of Jul, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=374, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 374 |