13 Pastimes with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

vārāṇasī paryanta — up to Vārāṇasī; svacchande — without disturbance; yāibā pathe — you can go on the path; āge — after that; sāvadhāne — with great care; yāibā — you should go; kṣatriya-ādi-sāthe — with the kṣatriyas..

Translation

“You may go as far as Vārāṇasī without encountering disturbances, but beyond Vārāṇasī you should be very careful to travel on the path in the company of the kṣatriyas.

Purport

In those days the path from Vārāṇasī to Vṛndāvana was infested with robbers, and therefore there were kṣatriyas to protect travelers.

Text 35

Verse text

Purport

The residents of Vṛndāvana and Mathurā are devotees of Kṛṣṇa in parental affection, and their feelings always conflict with the opinions of smārta-brāhmaṇas. Devotees who worship Kṛṣṇa in opulence cannot understand the parental devotional feelings of the residents of Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, who follow the path of spontaneous love. Devotees on the platform of vidhi-mārga (regulative devotional principles) may misunderstand the activities of those on the platform of rāga-mārga (devotional service in spontaneous love). Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Jagadānanda Paṇḍita to remain apart from the residents of Vṛndāvana, who were spontaneous devotees, so as not to become disrespectful toward them.

Text 38

Verse text

sanātana-saṅge kariha vana daraśana
sanātanera saṅga nā chāḍibā eka-kṣaṇa

Synonyms

sanātana-saṅge — with Sanātana Gosvāmī; kariha — do; vana daraśana — visiting the twelve forests; sanātanera — of Sanātana Gosvāmī; saṅga — association; nā chāḍibā — do not leave; eka-kṣaṇa — even for a moment.

Translation

“Visit all twelve forests of Vṛndāvana in the company of Sanātana Gosvāmī. Do not leave his association for even a moment.

Text 39

Verse text

Translation

“This saffron cloth is unfit for a Vaiṣṇava to wear; therefore I have no use for it. I shall give it to a stranger.”

Purport

Synonyms

pathe — on the path; tāre — him; mililā — met; viśvāsa-rāmadāsa — Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa; viśvāsa-khānāra — of the governmental accounting department; kāyastha — belonging to the kāyastha class; teṅho — he; rājāra — to the king; viśvāsa — secretary.

Translation

In Bengal he met Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa, who belonged to the kāyastha caste. He was one of the king’s secretaries.

Purport

The words viśvāsa-khānāra kāyastha indicate a secretary or clerk belonging to the kāyastha caste. Kāyasthas were usually secretaries to kings, governors or other important persons. It is said that anyone working in the government secretariat at this time was a kāyastha.

Text 92

Verse text

Purport

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya had become a greatly advanced devotee while still unmarried. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could see this, and therefore He advised him not to begin the process of material sense gratification. Marriage is a concession for people who are unable to control their senses. Raghunātha, however, being an advanced devotee of Kṛṣṇa, naturally had no desire for sense gratification. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him not to enter the bondage of marriage. Generally a person cannot make much advancement in spiritual consciousness if he is married. He becomes attached to his family and is prone to sense gratification. Thus his spiritual advancement is very slow or almost nil.

Text 113

Verse text

vṛddha mātā-pitāra yāi’ karaha sevana
vaiṣṇava-pāśa bhāgavata kara adhyayana

Synonyms

vṛddha — old; mātā-pitāra — of the mother and father; yāi’ — going back; karaha sevana — engage in service; vaiṣṇava-pāśa — from a pure Vaiṣṇava; bhāgavata — Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; kara adhyayana — study.

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, “When you return home, serve your aged father and mother, who are devotees, and try to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava who has realized God.”

Purport

One should note how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He advised him to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam not from professional men but from a real bhāgavata, a devotee. He also advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve his mother and father because they were both Lord Caitanya’s devotees. Anyone who wishes to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must try to serve the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: “Without serving a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, no one has ever been released from the materialistic way of life.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have never advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve ordinary parents, but since his parents were Vaiṣṇavas, the Lord advised him to serve them.

One might ask, “Why shouldn’t ordinary parents be served?” As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.18):

*gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt * *pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt
daivaṁ na tat syāt na patiś ca sa syān * na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

“One who cannot deliver his dependent from the path of birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father or mother, or a worshipable demigod, nor should such a person become a husband.” Everyone naturally gets a father and mother at the time of birth, but the real father and mother are those who can release their offspring from the clutches of imminent death. This is possible only for parents advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore any parents who cannot enlighten their offspring in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be accepted as a real father and mother. The following verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.200) confirms the uselessness of serving ordinary parents:

laukikī vaidikī vāpi yā kriyā kriyate mune
hari-sevānukūlaiva sa kāryā bhaktim icchatā

“One should perform only those activities — either worldly or prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations — which are favorable for the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

vaiṣṇavera — of the Vaiṣṇava; nindya-karma — reproachable activities; nāhi pāḍe kāṇe — he does not hear; sabe — all; kṛṣṇa bhajana kare — are engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service; ei-mātra — only this; jāne — he understands.

Purport

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā, thirteenth chapter, describing Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s visit to Vṛndāvana, the Lord’s hearing the song of the deva-dāsī, and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī’s achieving love of Kṛṣṇa.