(5/6) Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's Conversion

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham Parikrama
10 July 2018, translated from Bengali, part 5

...Mahaprabhu was overcome with ecstasy and did not regain consciousness. Nityananda Prabhu, Mukunda and others knew what could happen to the Lord and what was to be done. Eventually, they entered Puri and started asking around if anyone had seen Mahaprabhu. The guards at the temple said, 'We have not seen anyone like what you are describing, but one strange man has come today – we carried Him to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and left Him there.' The devotees came here and saw Mahaprabhu lying unconscious. Nityananda Prabhu then started chanting the Holy Name.

In the meantime, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's brother-in-law, Gopinath Acharya, came.

'Can you not recognise Him?' Gopinath Acharya asked Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya.

'Who is He?'

'He is the Master of the entire world! The Supreme Lord Himself has come here! He is Jagannath Misra's son and Nilambar Chakravarti's grandson. Can you not recognise Him? He is the Lord!'

'I do not think He is the Lord.'

'Of course, how would you? You do not have mercy! You do not have this kind of fortune to recognise the Lord.'

You know, there is one famous Bengali song:

হাট-বাজারে শাখা-সিঁদুর অনেক পাওয়া যায
কপালে থাকলে তখন তবেই পরা যায়

hata-bajare sakha-sindura aneka paowa yaya
kapale thakle takhan tabe-i para yaya

'There are a lot of conch bangles and sindoor sold at the market and in shops, but you can only wear them if you are destined to.'

So, Gopinath Acharya told Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, 'You do not have the fortune, the mercy, then how will you understand that He is the Lord?'

'Whatever. Whoever He is, I do not care,' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya said finally.

Then, as Nityananda Prabhu chanted kirtan, Mahaprabhu slowly came round. Mahaprabhu asked, 'Nitai, where have You brought Me? I was in Vrindavan, seeing wonderful pastimes, and where have You brought Me now?'

Then, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya stepped forward and asked,

'What is Your Name?'

'My Name was Nimai Visvambhar. I took sannyas from Keshav Bharati, and My Name has become Sri Krishna Chaitanya.'

'Sri Krishna Chaitanya, You have taken sannyas at this age?! You are only twenty-four! Have You even read Vedas and Vendanta?'

'I have not read all these things. Having left My mother and taken sannyas, I have become crazy. I roam around like a madman. Please give Me your mercy so that I may keep My sannyas.'

Just see what the Lord is saying!

'So, You do not know Vendanta?' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya asked again.

'No, I do not,' Mahaprabhu replied.

'All right, sit here then. I will teach it to You.'

(You can see here the six-arm form of the Lord. I will tell you how the Lord revealed this form.) Mahaprabhu began to listen to Vedanta, and for seven days He had been sitting like an obedient student. After seven days, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya asked Him, 'So, new sannyasi, You have been listening to Vedanta for seven days, but You are not saying anything. I cannot understand if You have understood anything or not.'

'Prabhu,' Mahaprabhu replied, 'when you are reading Vedanta from the book, I can understand everything very nicely, but when you start explaining it, I cannot understand anything.'

'What?!'

'Please do not mind Me saying it.'

There is one verse, atma-ramas cha munayo; you can find it in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. Its explanation is very beautiful. I have also heard Guru Maharaj explaining it very beautifully. I do not know if you have heard it; I can tell it to you later. Actually, whom shall I tell about it and who shall be able to understand it? Not all things are to be told in front of everyone.

So, then, Mahaprabhu and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya began to discuss this verse 'arma-ramas cha munayo'. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya gave nine kinds of different explanations, and Mahaprabhu gave eighteen explanations more. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya presented mayavadi-bhasya. He believed that Brahama creates everything, but we chant in the kirtan:

কৃষ্ণ হৈতে চতুর্ম্মুখ, হন কৃষ্ণসেবোন্মুখ,
ব্রহ্মা হৈতে নারদের মতি ।

krsna haite chatur-mukha, hana krsna-sevonmukha,
brahma haite naradera mati

"Through Krishna, Brahma became devoted to Krishna's service. Brahma inspired Narad. Narad inspired Vyasadev."

Brahma received everything from Krishna, but mayavadis say that everything comes from Brahma (the creator of the world) or Brahman (impersonal aspect of the Lord). For example, Rabindranath Tagore believed in Brahma-jnana. There are many others like that too – Rama Krishna Mission, Sarada Ashram, Bharat Seva Ashram. They are all mayavadis (impersonalists). They do not believe in Krishna. They think that Brahma creates everything and when the man dies, there is nothing after that. They do not believe in reincarnation. They are mayavadi – we must not even look at their faces! They say that Krishna has no form. Krishna has given us and other living entities two hands, two eyes, legs and so on, but Krishna Himself has no form?! Suppose I say, 'Prabhu, can you give me 10,000 rupees' and you give me the money. After that, I will tell others, 'Oh, that man has no money.' Is that so? So, the Lord has given us hands, legs, nose, ears, eyes – He creates the entire universe (Brahma creates everything by the wish of the Lord) – but they say that Krishna has no form. This is an offence! You must never listen to such things! You must never say such things. If somebody tells you that Krishna has no form, will you accept that? The Lord has a form! The Lord Himself says that among all His incarnations, His human pastimes in Vrindavan are the best.

When Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya heard Mahaprabhu's explanation, his eyes bulged: 'Who have I been reading Vedanta to for these seven days?! Who is He?' Still, even then he did not have faith that Mahaprabhu was the Lord. Then, Mahaprabhu revealed His six-armed form to him. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya could not longer see Mahaprabhu – instead, he saw a six-armed form of the Lord. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya fell in a prostrate obeisance at the Lord's feet and did not get up. After a while, Mahaprabhu called him, 'Sarvabhauma! Get up! Get up!' Slowly, he got up, 'What is this, Prabhu? What form have I just seen? And what form do I see now?' Then, he believed...

A depiction of the six-armed form of the Lord, revealed by Mahaprabhu to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Arriving at Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's House
2) Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's Conversion
3) Strongest Faith and Devotion