Pastimes Of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu | Rus-Split | 15.5.90 | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja

So today is the last day of my lecture in your wonderful city of Kyiv on this trip. If Kṛṣṇa desires, I hope to be back again in few months. Nothing happens without Kṛṣṇa's permission. Not even a blade of grass can move. So I was— I'm going to lecture today till 1 o'clock. So we will first do our obeisances to the disciplic succession, to the guru parampara, and then I will— this— I'll make a short kīrtan, so then we can start that reading very soon. So what should we just discuss today? I was thinking we will discuss Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's childhood pastimes. So Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, he states that if one remembers Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then if something is difficult, it becomes easy. But if somebody does not remember Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then what is easy becomes difficult. So Kṛṣṇa's Kavirāja says that just like the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Yasodha, Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared as the son of Sakti. But Kṛṣṇa das Kavirāja Mahārāja tells us that, "Now these pastimes may appear to be like the pastimes of a young child. It should not be forgotten that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So just like the babies, they lie down and they lift their legs. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was lying down on His back and lifted His leg, and on His legs His parents saw, they saw the signs of flag, thunderbolt, conch shell, and fish. So when Caitanya Mahāprabhu's father and mother saw, because normally there are no signs on the feet, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu was lying down and he lifted his feet and they saw all these signs on his feet. They said, "Oh, this is not an ordinary child." So when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was young baby, one day he was crying. So his mother carried the baby and started feeding, breastfeeding him milk. But when she was breastfeeding him milk, she saw all these auspicious signs on Caitanya Mahāprabhu's leg. So when she saw it, she was amazed. And then she called her husband Jagannātha Mīsra. Jagannātha Mīsra then called Nilāmbārā Çakravartī, who was expert astrologer. Just like when Kṛṣṇa appeared, His parents had called an astrologer whose name was Garga Muni, isn't it? So there was Nilambara Chakravarti. So he said, "I have seen that there are 32 bodily marks in a great personality, and all these marks are there in this child." So he confirmed that this was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This boy is Narayana. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore we must have a ceremony soon to keep his name. He said we should call all the brahmanas. Just when Kṛṣṇa was born, you know, even though Kṛṣṇa's father was in jail, he mentally gave away cows and other charity to the brahmanas. So Jagannātha Mahaṣaya, the father of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he arranged for the ceremony by which the child would be given a name. And he gave charity to the brahmanas. Just like, I don't know what the tradition is in your country, but I know in these Western countries, in America, when a child is born, they distribute cigars. But in the Vedic system, when a child is born, they distribute prasad to the brahmanas and charity, not cigars. What is the tradition in our country? So then Caitanya Mahāprabhu was given the name of Viśvāmbara. Viśvāmbhar means one who maintains the whole world. Just like your country, it's a very big country, 22 million square miles, isn't it? 22 million square miles. But there's somebody who's running this country. So also there are many universes, and there's somebody who's running all these universes, and that's Kṛṣṇa. At any one time, there are thousands of planes flying in the sky. And within these planes, more or less life is complete. In some aeroplanes they even have gambling casinos, and every aeroplane has a bar. So if a materialist, by some manipulation of the air, can have aeroplanes floating in the sky, why can't Kṛṣṇa float thousands of planets at the same time? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was called Viśvāmbhar, Because Caitanya Mahāprabhu is none else but the Personality of Godhead. Caitanya means the living force. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the living force within every entity. As long as the Ātmā is there and the body, we have the living force is there. But the moment the Ātmā leaves the body, there's no living force in the body and the body is dead. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's purpose was to make everyone chanta Hare Kṛṣṇa. So when He was a young child, He was very attractive child. All the neighborhood women were coming to see him. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu would start crying, and when all the ladies would start chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, then he would smile. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu made it clear to everyone that his appearance was to make people chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and he was doing this from his very birth. Once there was a Brahmana who had stayed in Jagannātha Miśra's house. So he has, he had prepared his offering to offer to the Deities. So every time he would cook and get his offering ready to offer to the Deities, Caitanya Mahāprabhu would come from behind and eat it. So it happened once, it happened twice, then it happened again the third time. And the Brahmana was very angry. Every time he was cooking to offer it to Kṛṣṇa, and before he could offer it, Caitanya Mahāprabhu would come and eat it. Then finally, after the third time, then Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His transcendental form to this brahmana, but told him, "Don't tell anyone that I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead." He showed him His transcendental form. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was young, He was dressed up very nicely with all rich ornaments. I have told, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was God. So One day, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was playing in the courtyard of His father when two thieves were passing by. They said, "Oh, this child is wearing so much jewelry." So they carried the child, and they were thinking that they will take the child away, then rob the jewelry from the child. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu misled them completely. The thieves were thinking that they were running, but they— Caitanya Mahāprabhu tricked them and brought them exactly back to His house. Sodhu, shedhu. The thieves were thinking, "We will take the child to the forest and kill him and take the jewelry." But Caitanya Mahāprabhu completely tricked them, and while they were thinking they were going to the forest, they actually brought Caitanya Mahāprabhu back to His father's house. Story that Prabhupāda used to say about, which is connected to this, but not exactly, I'll tell you that story. The moral of the story is That somehow or the other you think of Kṛṣṇa, you'll get purified. So once there was somebody who was giving a lecture on Lord Kṛṣṇa and saying how Kṛṣṇa is the richest man and how his body is full of— decorated with jewelry and so on. And there was a thief in the audience, and the thief was thinking that, "Oh, this boy Kṛṣṇa is wearing so much jewelry." 'Let me go to Vrindavan and then I will find this boy Kṛṣṇa, rob his jewellery and I'll become a rich man.' So Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, so this thief went to Vrindavan, but he was all along thinking. What was he thinking? 'Where will I find Kṛṣṇa so I can rob his jewellery?' So one day he finally found Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan. And then when Kṛṣṇa said, 'Okay, you can take my jewellery.' Then the thief said, "No, no, no, no, I don't want your jewelry." Because by thinking of Kṛṣṇa, the thief got purified. All along he was thinking, "When will I go to Vṛndāvana and find that Kṛṣṇa and steal all the jewelry?" Finally, when he saw Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa offered him a jewelry, he said, "Niyat, I don't want them." Just like yesterday or day before yesterday, I gave you that story of Dhruva Mahārāja. How Dhruva Mahārāja had this desire to have a very opulent kingdom. Finally, when Kṛṣṇa gave him that kingdom, offered him anything he want, he said, "Now I don't want. I was looking for broken glass, now I found a diamond." So somehow or the other, if we can train our mind to think of Kṛṣṇa, then the mind will go away from lust, anger, greed, envy, hatred. Otherwise the mind is our enemy. Manaye vamanuśram kānaṁ bandaye mokṣa bandaye viśayaḥ saṅgau muktaaye nirviśaṁ manahā. The mind can be the best of friends and the worst of enemies. The mind which is uncontrolled is the worst of enemies, and the mind which is controlled is the best of friends. So you see, there is so much for us to meditate upon. It is not that in our books we only have one pastime which Kṛṣṇa gave, or one pastime which Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed, or one pastime, līlā, of the other devotees. No. The books translated by Prabhupāda, Prabhupāda translated nearly 80 books. There is so much in material to meditate upon. We just have to understand the importance of the spiritual meditation. So we must make one determination, one resolution. Just like the karmis, on January 1st of every year, they make some resolutions, isn't it? They say, "Okay, this year I'm going to reduce my cigarettes, I'm going to reduce my smoking." or whatever. They make New Year resolutions. So devotee must make one resolution, and that resolution is he's going to try and control the mind. Therefore, I often state that there are 5 regulative principles to follow in ISKCON, not 4. 4 we know, huh? No illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat, fish, eggs, no gambling. But the 5th is to controlling the oṁ. So if you control the oṁ, then spiritual life will become easy and sweet. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a Sanskrit scholar. He was studying grammar at the place of Gangadāsa Pandit, and only once the teacher would explain the rules of Sanskrit grammar, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have it in his heart. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the number one student in his class. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the best student in the class. He always used to come out first. One day Caitanya Mahāprabhu told his mother, "I want to make one request to you. Will you please grant me that request? I want to request, my dear mother, that you please stop eating greens on Ekāda-sī." So, Caitanya, because Prabhupāda says in the purport that to eat greens on Ekāda-sī is very sinful. So after Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested his mother, Sacīmātā, she stopped taking greens on Ekāda-sī. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also had an elder brother. Whose name was Viśvarūpa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's parents, they wanted to get Viśvarūpa married as soon as he became a little older. But as soon as Viśvarūpa heard that his parents are trying to get him married, he left home and took sannyāsa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's parents said that their elder son has taken sannyāsa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu: "My dear parents, please do not worry. I'll take care of you." So later on, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was married to Lakṣmī Devī. So, as we said earlier, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when God descends, He plays the perfect role. Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa also, when He appeared, He was playing the role of a very obedient son, an ideal king. Even when Lord Rāma was present on the planet. So the Supreme Lord plays a perfect role so that others can be attracted to His idol example. So we should never think that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like an ordinary man or He is just like an ordinary grihastha. How is He the Supreme Personality of Godhead? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a big Sanskrit scholar. All students would come to Him and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was teaching them Sanskrit. And everyone, just by hearing from him once, they would learn, they would understand it very thoroughly. His explanation was so thorough. So the hundreds of students would come to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu converted them all to first-class scholars. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he also started the Sankirtana movement, and the Sankirtana movement was started by Caitanya Mahāprabhu in East Bengal. And this was started when he was young. And gradually the Sankirtan movement expanded all over the country. There was a Brahmin by the name of Tapan Mishra. That Brahmin Tapan Mishra came to meet Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu told him, "You please go to Banaras, and I will see you over there later on." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu spread the Sankirtan movement. But when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in East Bengal one day, His wife Lakṣmidevi, she was bitten by a snake and then she died. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was concentrating in preaching through the sankirtana process and his wife was back at home. So she was very upset that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always traveling. And she was bitten by a snake and she died. Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu married the Goddess of Fortune. Viṣṇupriya. And he defeated a very big Sanskrit scholar called Kaśyavakashmiri. Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu, on the bank of the Ganges, he would be holding his Sanskrit classes with his devotees. Just like some of your devotees who have been to Māyāpur, you may have, they may have told you that every day at the bank of the Ganges, our ISKCON devotees go, they go with some sannyāsī or some guru and he gives them a class on the bank of the Ganga. So similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to have classes on the bank of the Ganges, and there was one, a big Sanskrit scholar called Keshava Kashmiri. So Keshava Kashmiri was a very, very proud Sanskrit scholar. He had composed a very long poetry with 100 verses. When he chanted the poetry, Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not say anything. So Keshava Kashmiri was surprised. He said, "Aren't you listening?" But then Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted it back and he pointed out all the faults. So then Keshava Kashmiri was defeated. Then Goddess Sarasvati came in his dream and told him who this Caitanya Mahāprabhu is. Then he became his devotee. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, later on when he grew older, he was initiated by Īśvāpuri. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu also showed His universal form to Advaita Ācārya. Now, as we said, the Supreme Lord always sets an idol example. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu also accepted a spiritual master, Īśvāpuri. Just like when Kṛṣṇa came on this planet, He also accepted a spiritual master. Who was Kṛṣṇa's spiritual master? Sandipa Nīmāni. So just like Kṛṣṇa accepted a spiritual master, Caitanya Mahāprabhu also accepted a spiritual master. And then Caitanya Mahāprabhu also showed His universal form, but He showed His universal form to Advaita Ācārya. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, very often people ask us, "Jesus Christ did so many wonders. Did your God do any wonders?" The Christians say, "Jesus Christ brought so many dead people alive. What has Kṛṣṇa done?" So Kṛṣṇa displayed many forms. And so did Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed His sādhbūja form to Nityānanda Prabhu. Sādhbūja form is a form in which the Lord has six hands. Six hands, huh? Did you hear about this form before? The form, this form is a combination of three incarnations. The form of Śrī Rāma-candra is symbolized by a bow and arrow. And the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa is symbolized with what? A stick and a flute, because Kṛṣṇa has a flute and a stick to take care of the cows. And the form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is symbolized with a danda and a— Good, smart boy. And a water pot. So after showing His six-handed form, then He showed him His four-handed Naraṇa form. Standing in a three-curved position. And finally the Lord showed Nityānanda His two-handed Kṛṣṇa form playing the flute. So the point is, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we take advantage of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instructions, then we can fulfill the goal of life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instructions are very, very simple and very, very practical. They are not complicated. Just like you see in your country, none of you are Sanskrit scholars or even scholars in the Vedic scriptures, but just by taking advantage of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's basic philosophy, all of you are making spiritual advancement. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu emphasized this: Hare Nāma, Hare Nāma, Hare Nāma eva kevalam. Kalo nasteva nasteva nasteva eva gatīr nithā. "Chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names." And by chanting the holy names, they will be the development of love of God. So a Vaiṣṇava, he does not ask for anything. He only asks for the benediction that he may always chant the holy name, because the holy name is the greatest treasure for the Vaiṣṇava. You know that story of Sanatana Gosvāmī and the touchstone? Everybody knows that story. So the story is very important because The story, even though it is very simple, but it has a very, very great purport. So once there was a Brahman who was very poor, and a poor man always thinks only if he becomes rich all his problems will be solved. Just like a diseased man thinks if only I become healthy all my problems will be solved. So the Brahman had worshipped and he had got a benediction by which he could go to Vṛndāvana. And obtained from Sanatana Gosvāmī a touchstone that could convert everything into gold. So when he went to Sanatana Gosvāmī, he said, "I am very poor. I want to get my daughter married." In India, to get the daughters married, you have to spend a lot of money. So he said, "I want to get my daughter married. I need some money." So the great sage said, "No problem." 'I have a touchstone that will convert everything to gold.' He said, 'Where is that touchstone?' 'Under the garbage.' So the Brahmin really saw that touchstone is converting everything into gold. So he was very happy. But then one intelligent man met him and he said, 'Oh, who gave you this touchstone?' So when the Brahmin told him the whole history, then that man said, "If this was the most valuable thing this great sage in Vṛndāvana had, why did he keep it under a heap of garbage? You don't keep anything valuable under garbage. Surely he must be having something more valuable than this." So when the brahman went to Sanatana Gosvāmī, Sanatana Gosvāmī said, "Okay, if you want the most expensive thing, then throw away this touchstone." Why? Because to get love of God, you have to throw maya away. You cannot have bhoga and sense enjoyment at the same time. There's a saying in English, "You cannot have your cake and eat it too." You make a very nice cake and you say, "Oh boy, this cake should always keep appearing beautiful." But at the same time, your stomach says, "Come on, I want to eat it." So you want to eat the cake. But at the same time you want it to be there to look beautiful. It's not possible. So just like you cannot have the cake and eat it, you cannot have māyā and Kṛṣṇa-prema at the same time. To have one, you have to throw the other out. That is known as tapasya. Therefore spiritual life is based on tapasya, and without tapasya there cannot be spiritual life. About this there should be no secret. Prabhupāda, Never told anyone, "Huh, you can have Kṛṣṇa and sense enjoyment." When Prabhupāda went to America in 1965, at that time there were so many so-called swamis from India trying to, you know, attract the American youth. But Prabhupāda did not compromise. He told them clearly that if you want to understand the purest person, you have to become pure. So you have to give up sense enjoyment. So if we want to develop real Kṛṣṇa-prema, then we had to make some sacrifice. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Chant the holy name." And Kṛṣṇa-dāsa Kavirāja says that we should write down the holy name round our neck and we should always be associated with the holy name. So Kṛṣṇa-dāsa Kavirāja has explained, bahū janmā kāre yādi śrāvana-kīrtanā tabhūtana-pāya kṛṣṇa-paday prema-dhāna. One may go on chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa again and again and again, birth after birth, but till he comes to the stage where he chants without offenses, he will not be able to develop love of God. Bhāuvijñāṇmakaraye yadi śāvana-kṛṣṇa-tabhūtana-pāyaḥ kṛṣṇa-pradheḥ prema-dhānaḥ. Nama-vāsaya nama-prāsad. These are the offenses against the holy name. So there are 10 offenses against the Holy Name which we should all be aware of. Just like yesterday we discussed 26 qualities of a devotee and we discussed different principles of surrender, we should also be aware of the offenses that we should avoid in chanting the Holy Names of Kṛṣṇa. So the author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, "Please tie the Holy Name round your neck." Because if you tie the Holy Name round your neck, you will never forget it. So I see you, some of your devotees are very, very creative. You make all these pendants and so on. So somebody should make a pendant of the Holy Name and put it round his neck, because this is what Kṛṣṇa Mahāskara-virāṭṣaya. And if you put it round your neck, He says you will never forget it. So Prabhupāda says that one must chant the Holy Name according to the principles of trinādapi-sūni-cena, what we discussed yesterday. And if we are avoiding the offenses, then we will be able to make spiritual advancement. So the 10 offenses to be avoided in chanting the Holy Name. Do all of you know the 10 offenses? Do you know the meaning of the 10 offenses properly? Ah, one other, one other point that I mentioned was yesterday we discussed the principles of surrender, the 26 qualities of a devotee. So we should also know the offenses that we should avoid so that we can make our chanting pure. Eh, Krishna, Hari Krishna.