(4/7) Mahaprabhu's Mystic Pastimes

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking to devotees worldwide,
30 November 2020, part 4

Gurudev told that the city of Nabadwip Dham was very famous for its scholars and education. Everyone thought that one could be a great professor, but if they had not studied in Nabadwip, nobody considered them a great scholar. This is the kind of place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born. You are all very honourable persons, and I would like to tell you about Mahaprabhu. So many of His pastimes took place in Puri and during the Ratha-yatra time.

At Ratha-yatra time, when many devotees came to Puri from Bengal and other places, Mahaprabhu would put Nityananda Prabhu in charge of all pilgrims. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, who was in charge of the Jagannath Temple, was a great pandit, a great scholar. When Mahaprabhu had just come to Puri, Gopinath Acharya told him, 'How can you understand that He is the Lord? I know that He is the Lord because I have some mercy, but you have no mercy, that is why you cannot understand it.' When Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya spoke to Mahaprabhu, he called Him 'navin sannyasi', a new-comer sannyasi, and Mahaprabhu dealt with him in a very humble way. He taught us with His own example. He said to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, 'Yes, Prabhu. I have no quality or qualification. Becoming mad, I left the service to My Mother and My home and took sannyas. After that, I have come here. Please protect My sannyas.' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya said, 'All right, but you need to study Vedas and Vendanta.' After that, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya taught Vedanta to Mahaprabhu during seven days. During all seven days, Mahaprabhu did not ask any questions and did not say anything. Finally, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya asked Him, 'You have been only listening to me for seven days, but You are not asking any questions. What is going on?' Mahaprabhu replied, 'Prabhu, when you are reading Vedanta, I can understand it very easily, but when you start explaining it, I cannot understand anything.' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya became disturbed to hear it. In the end, they discussed the 'Atma ramas cha munayoh' sloka. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya explained it in nine different ways, and Mahaprabhu gave other eighteen kinds of explanation. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was astonished. Surrendering himself, he paid a prostrate obeisance to Mahaprabhu. Still, even then, he was not able to understand who Mahaprabhu was. But when Mahaprabhu showed His six-armed form (holding a conch, a wheel, a club and a lotus, showing His forms manifest in the Kali and other ages), Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya finally understood that Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Lord. He was so overwhelmed that he continued lying in an obeisance. After some time, Mahaprabhu called him, 'Please wake up! Wake up!' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya asked Him, 'Prabhu, I see You are now an ordinary sannyasi, but what have I just seen?' Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was greatly astonished.

After that incident, Mahaprabhu told Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya that He did not want to stay in Puri and that He was going to travel to South India. Before Mahaprabhu left, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya told Him, 'If You are going to South India, I know one more person there who is just like You. He knows the siddhanta, he knows everything about devotion. His name is Raya Ramananda. You can meet with him in Godavari.'

When Mahaprabhu came to Godavari, He met with Raya Ramananda and revealed His rasa-raja maha-bhava chaitanya-svarupa: He showed that His original identity was a combined form of Radha (maha-bhava) and Krishna (rasa-raja).

I have told you before that when Krishna was sitting in Imlitala in Vrindavan, He saw His reflection in the Yamuna River and thought, 'I am so beautiful! Why does Radharani cry taking My Name? Why does She love Me so much? I want to take Her form and taste it!' This is how this Radha-Krishna's combined form appeared.

During His last twelve years, and especially during the last six years, when Mahaprabhu stayed in Gambhira, Puri, He tasted union in separation, showing pastimes of separation (viraha-lila). Exhibiting Radharani's mood, Mahaprabhu always thought about Krishna and sometimes broke His head, sometimes smashed His face in the agony of separation. Sometimes, the door of Gambhira would be closed, but He would escape and be found in a cowshed in a disfigured form, looking like a pumpkin or a tortoise. One time, when all doors were closed, He managed to get out and jumped into the sea seeing Krishna's, Radharani's and Vraja gopis' pastimes in it. He floated in this way all the way to Konark, where a fisherman caught Him with his net, thinking, 'I have caught a very big fish today!' When the fisherman brought Mahaprabhu's body to the shore, he could not recognise Him. In the meantime, Svarup Damodar and Ray Ramananda started searching for Mahaprabhu. When they saw the fisherman coming down the street and chanting, 'Hare Krishna! Hare Kirshna!' they first thought, 'Oh, there is a ghost there. We should not go this way!' But then they understood that the fisherman had found something strange. They asked the fisherman to take them to the shore, and there, they saw Mahaprabhu lying down on the sand. Taking Him to Gambhira, they washed His clothes and bathed Him...

There are so many pastimes that Mahaprabhu showed in Puri...

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 26.4 Mb
Length: 49 min
Language: English

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Understanding Religion of Kali-Yuga
2) Who Is Mahaprabhu?
3) Understanding Lord Jagannath
4) Mahaprabhu's Mystic Pastimes
5) Small Service, Great Heart
6) Love and Appreciate Mahaprabhu's Gift
7) Highest Devotion