The Pain of Broken Hearts

Sri Krishna appears during the last part of Dvapara yuga with His divine abode and paraphernalia, and after His divine pastimes, He goes back to Goloka Vrindavan with all His paraphernalia and divine abode. There are three kinds of manifestation—Vrindavan, Mathura, and Dvaraka—and in each of them the pastimes are so beautiful, effulgent and full of joy.

When Krishna left with His abode, at that time there appeared Srimad Bhagavatam, whose form is non-different from Sri Krishna. It is written in the scriptures,

krsne sva-dhamopagate
dharma-jnanadibhih saha
kalau nasta-drsam esa
puranarko 'dhunoditah

"This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.3.43)

This Purana Surya (Srimad Bhagavatam) appeared after the disappearance of Krishna. Bhagavatam is the divine form of Sri Krishna—its twelve cantos are twelve parts of Sri Krishna's body. This is written in the scriptures.

padau yadiyau prathama-dvitiyau
trtiya-turyau kathitau yad-uru
nabhis tatha panchama eva sastho
bhujantaram dor-yugalam tathanyau

kanthas tu rajan navamo yadiyo
mukharavindam dasamam praphullam
ekadaso yas cha lalata-pattam
siro 'pi yad dvadasa eva bhati

"The Bhagavatam's First and Second Cantos are Lord Krishna's feet, and the Third and Fourth Cantos are His thighs. The Fifth Canto is His navel, the Sixth Canto is His chest, and the Seventh and Eighth Cantos are His arms. The Ninth Canto is His throat, the Tenth His blooming lotus face, the Eleventh His forehead, and the Twelfth His head."

(Padma Purana)

After the glorification of that divine Bhagavatam, it is said:

namami devam karuna-nidhanam
tamala-varnam suhitavataram
apara-samsara-samudra-setum
bhajamahe bhagavata-svarupam

"I bow down to that Lord, the ocean of mercy, whose color is like that of a tamala tree and who appears in this world for the welfare of all. I worship Him as the bridge for crossing the unfathomable ocean of material existence. Srimad Bhagavatam has appeared as His very self."

(Padma Purana)

'Bhajamahe bhagavata-svarupam': the scriptures write that the twelve cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam are twelve parts of Krishna's body, and now this Bhagavata-svarupa, Sri Krishna Himself, has appeared as Sri Gaurangadev. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the divine form of Krishna and Radharani: Krishna takes the heart and halo of Radharani and appears as Sri Gaurangadev—later, after taking sannyas, He became known as Sri Chaitanyadev.

The divine form of Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-svarupa) has given us Krishna Himself, and Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur mentions very clearly: "Aradhyo Bhagvan brajesa-tanayas-tad-dhama Vrndavanam. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the son of Nanda Maharaja, is to be worshiped along with His transcendental abode, Vrindavan." Brajesa tanaya means He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He plays with Srimati Radharani in Vrindavan Dham, and the Vraja gopis also participate in this Krishna-lila. That is the highest place of the Lord's playground.

Here, there is one thing mentioned in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. It has come out of Radharani's mouth:

na gani apana-duhkha, dekhi' vrajesvari-mukha,
vraja-janera hrdaya vidare
kiba mara' vraja-vasi, kiba jiyao vraje asi',
kena jiyao duhkha sahaibare?

"I do not care for My personal unhappiness, but when I see the morose face of mother Yasoda and the hearts of all the inhabitants of Vrindavan breaking because of You, I wonder whether You want to kill them all. Or do You want to enliven them by coming there? Why are You simply keeping them alive in a state of suffering?

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.145)

The meaning is this: "We do not consider our hearts' pain, but when we see Mother Yasoda's face and Mother Yasoda's situation without Your presence, our heart is breaking after breaking after breaking [sic]. We cannot tolerate this pain. We can tolerate our pain, but seeing Mother Yasoda, we cannot tolerate her pain."

In Mahaprabhu's pastimes, we can see a similar situation: when Mahaprabhu wanted to take sannyas, He told five devotees about it, and one of them was Sachi Mata. When she heard it, she fainted, but Mahaprabhu showed His divine form to her and said, "Who are you and who I am?" He explained everything to her, then Sachi Mata received some nourishment, but only for the time being. When Mahaprabhu left, Sachi Mata immediately fell into a coma-like state. She sat outside the house in this state, and Mahaprabhu touched her lotus feet and left. Sachi Mata did not show any expression at that time.

In Vraja Dham, Mother Yasomati and Nanda Maharaj also became like that. Here, in Mahaprabhu's pastimes, there is some peculiarity—Krishna Himself told Srimati Radharani, "Rakhite tomara: I worship Narayan every day to maintain Your affectionate form, and I Myself am getting some power from Narayan." Krishna does not say, "It is My power"—He says, "I get power from Narayan, so I come to Vraja Dham every day—I play with You, and You enjoy with Me, and after that I come back to Dvaraka and You feel it was all a dream, but it is not a dream, it is true."

rakhite tomara jivana, sevi ami narayana,
tanra saktye asi niti-niti
toma-sane krida kari', niti yai yadu-puri,
taha tumi manaha mora sphurti

"You are My most dear, and I know that in My absence You cannot live for a moment. Just to keep You living, I worship Lord Narayana. By His merciful potency, I come to Vrindavan every day to enjoy pastimes with You. I then return to Dvaraka Dham. Thus You can always feel My presence there in Vrindavan."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.154)

Scriptures write like this.

Mahaprabhu also sent Damodar to Sachi Mata to serve there. He told Damodar, "When My mother offers bhog to Narayan thinking about Me, I come to take prasadam there—and I really take it. My mother thinks it is an illusion and not true, she thinks maybe she has forgotten to offer the bhog, but it is not so. When My mother gives bhog, I take that prasadam and then come back. You can remind My mother what happened on a certain day.” Mahaprabhu told this to Damodar, who then went to Navadwip to protect Mahaprabhu's family there.

Anyhow, we always remember Srimati Radharani, Her associates and other Vraja gopis, but we forget about Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasomati. However, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami mentions:

na gani apana-duhkha, dekhi' vrajesvari-mukha,
vraja-janera hrdaya vidare
kiba mara' vraja-vasi, kiba jiyao vraje asi',
kena jiyao duhkha sahaibare?

"I do not care for My personal unhappiness, but when I see the morose face of mother Yasoda and the hearts of all the inhabitants of Vrindavan breaking because of You, I wonder whether You want to kill them all. Or do You want to enliven them by coming there? Why are You simply keeping them alive in a state of suffering?

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.145)

This kind of question was asked by Srimati Radharani, and Krishna gave a very sweet answer saying, "I come to Vraja Dham every day—You think it is an illusion or a dream, but it is not: it is My presence, and it is true." Srimati Radharani believed it. Krishna spoke also one sloka, we find it in Srimad Bhagavatam:

mayi bhaktir hi bhutanam
amrtatvaya kalpate
distya yad asin mat-sneho
bhavatinam mad-apanah

"Rendering devotional service to Me qualifies any living being for eternal life. But by your good fortune you have developed a special loving attitude toward Me, by which you have obtained Me."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.82.44)

"I cannot give anything in return for your incomparable devotion. Generally, My divine bhakti gives everyone ecstasy, but I am getting ecstasy from your devotion. Such is My situation." Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami gave a very nice expression in Chaitanya Charitamrita,

eta tanre kahi krsna, vraje yaite satrsna,
eka sloka padi' sunaila
sei sloka suni' radha, khandila sakala badha,
krsna-praptye pratiti ha-ila

"While speaking to Srimati Radharani, Krishna became very anxious to return to Vrindavan. He made Her listen to a verse which banished all Her difficulties and which assured Her that She would again attain Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.159)

Having heard this sloka, Radharani believed, "What Krishna is saying is the truth," and the pain of Her heart was gone. Khandila sakala badha.

Here, in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, what is expressed by Kaviraj Goswami in every sloka is extremely beautiful and good. We cannot conceive their meaning—we know Sanskrit, but the Sanskrit meaning is not sufficient here; deeper, deeper and the deepest meanings is there. There is one sloka, for example:

sri-krsna-rupadi-nisevanam vina
vyarthani me 'hany akhilendriyany alam
pasana-suskendhana-bharakany aho
bibharmi va tani katham hata-trapah

"'My dear friends, unless I serve the transcendental form, qualities and pastimes of Sri Krishna, all My days and all My senses will become entirely useless. Now I am uselessly bearing the burden of My senses, which are like stone blocks and dried wood. I do not know how long I will be able to continue without shame.'"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 2.28)

In another sloka, it is said that "for those who have not got the darshan of Sri Krishna's rupa, guna, lila, vaichitra (form, qualities, pastimes, variegatedness), everything is useless—they are hopeless." Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami expressed it very beautifully in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita,

vamsi-ganamrta-dhama, lavanyamrta-janma-sthana,
ye na dekhe se chanda vadana
se nayane kiba kaja, paduka tara munde vaja,
se nayana rahe ki karana

"Of what use are the eyes of one who does not see the face of Krishna, which resembles the moon and is the birthplace of all beauty and the reservoir of the nectarean songs of His flute? Oh, let a thunderbolt strike his head! Why does he keep such eyes?

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 2.29)

'Vamsi-ganamrta-dham': Krishna's beautiful face is the source of vamsi-dhvani (the song of the Flute) that makes all universes go mad and is an abode of nectar (amrita-dham). Srila Rupa Goswami expressed about the sound of Krishna's Flute in Sri Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu: "Bhindann anda-kataha-bhittim abhito babhrama vamsi-dhvanih: the transcendental vibration of the Flute penetrated the strong coverings of the universe and everything started whirling." 'Anda-kataha' means it breaks through all universes and goes up to Vrindavan—such is the power of vamsi-ganamrta-dhama (the song of the Flute, that is an abode of nectar). 'Lavanyamrta-janma-sthana': all beauty is concentrated in the form of Sri Krishna's divine face. Those who do not see it lose everything—without the darshan of Sri Krishna's face it is not necessary to live. And there is an even more beautiful expression:

krsnera madhura vani, amrtera tarangini,
tara pravesa nahi ye sravane
kanakadi-chhidra sama, janiha se sravana,
tara janma haila akarane

"Topics about Krishna are like waves of nectar. If such nectar does not enter one's ear, the ear is no better than the hole of a damaged conchshell. Such an ear is created for no purpose."

krsnera adharamrta, krsna-guna-charita,
sudha-sara-svada-vinindana
tara svada ye na jane, janmiya na maila kene,
se rasana bheka jihva sama

"The nectar from the lips of Lord Krishna and His transcendental qualities and characteristics surpass the taste of the essence of all nectar, and there is no fault in tasting such nectar. If one does not taste it, he should die immediately after birth, and his tongue is to be considered no better than the tongue of a frog."

mrga-mada nilotpala, milane ye parimala,
yei hare tara garva-mana
hena krsna-anga-gandha, yara nahi se sambandha,
sei nasa bhastrara samana

"One's nostrils are no better than the bellows of a blacksmith if one has not smelled the fragrance of Krishna's body, which is like the aroma of musk combined with that of the bluish lotus flower. Indeed, such combinations are actually defeated by the aroma of Krishna's body."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 2.31-33)

And so on. These are simple slokas, few letters, but the expression of Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami is so beautiful and so very expressive, it touches the heart and lives in the hearts of devotees...

I was thinking this morning that we always hear about gopis, gopis, gopis, Radharani, but Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami gave a hint, one line only, about Yasomati. He says, "We are so sad—we sometimes faint from Your separation, but this is not our extreme feeling. We feel extreme sadness when we see Mother Yasomati's face." Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also gave much respect and honour to Sachi Mata—as much as it was possible by a sannyasi, and even more than that. There is a reason for this, and he who knows it very well is Srila Rupa Goswami: he composed many verses in glorification of Chaitanyadev, but everywhere he bows down to Sachi Mata,

anarpita-charim chirat karunayavatirnah kalau
sampayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhaktisriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah sachi-nandanah

May the Supreme Lord, who is known as the son of Srimati Sachidevi, be transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.

(Vidagdha-Madhava, 1.2)

Sachinandan Gaura Hari never leaves Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu's ideal. Srila Rupa Goswami knows and our Guru Maharaj knows it—we have seen the same line in him.

You know also, you have heard that the first glorification composed by Srila Guru Maharaj was Bhaktivinoda-viraha Dasakam, about Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, and Srila Guru Maharaj captured the heart of Prabhupad Saraswati Thakur with it because Srila Saraswati Thakur was very deeply attracted to the conception of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the way it was given by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. That was the main thing. No one can compare with what Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has given—no one can compare with that conception of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's religion. When Srila Guru Maharaj first presented Bhaktivinoda-viraha Dasakam to Srila Prabhupad, Srila Prabhupad was at first reading it and considering, "Is the grammar perfect or not? Is the meter perfect or not?" and so on, but when he came to this verse (verse 6) he forgot everything:

lokanam hita-kamyaya bhagavato bhakti-pracharas tvaya
granthanam rachanaih satam abhimatair nana-vidhair darsitah
acharyaih krta-purvvam eva kila tad ramanujadyair budhaih
premambho-nidhi-vigrahasya bhavato mahatmya-sima na tat

By writing many books and multifarious methods recognized by the pure devotees, you have demonstrated the preaching of pure devotional service unto the Supreme Lord, for the benefit of the whole world. We have heard similar achievements in previous times by stalwart scholars such as Sri Ramanuja and many other Acaryas; but the glory of you—the very embodiment of the nectar of divine love—does not end (cannot be confined) here.

Reading this sloka, Srila Prabhupad said, "Happy style." This was his word—"Happy style." It means that he was convinced with that. That was the peculiarity of both Srila Guru Maharaj and Srila Rupa Goswami.

Srila Rupa Goswami praised Sachi Mata everywhere, he even gave this identification of Sri Chaitanyadev as Sachinandan Gaura Hari because no mother can tolerate what Sachi Mata did—she tolerated everything for sake of the world's blessings; and she saw with her own eyes that Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev is a yuga-avatar, and not only a yuga-avatar, but He has come with a higher taste of ecstasy and He is tasting that in Gambhira. At that time, Sachi Mata would get news about Mahaprabhu almost every week...

Anyhow, this is our Guru Maharaj's divine gift for us. We can understand that if we take shelter of Mahaprabhu's conception, we must go to Srila Saraswati Thakur and the conception given by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur in so many of his books and songs—he gifted us so many things, and everything is expressed very, very perfectly.

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's conception was not sectarian. We can see that he collected many slokas composed by Sri Yamuna Acharya, who is a chief and an acharya of Sri Ramanuja Sampradaya, translated them into Bengali and turned them into a song book. This proves that his conception is non-sectarian. Wherever there were very good things, he accepted that—he collected verses from Madhva Acharya, from Yamuna Acharya, Nimbaditya, from Vishnu Swami, from Sankar Acharya. For example, Sankar Acharya wrote,

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
bhaja govindam mudha mate
samprapte sannihite kale
nahi nahi raksati dukrn karane

"Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, O fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death."

mudha jahihi dhanagamatrsnam
kuru sadbuddhim manasi vitrsnam
yallabhase nijakarmopattam
vittam tena vinodaya chittam

"O fool! Give up your thirst to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts of the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past."

nalinidalagata jalamatitaralam
tadvajjivitamatisayachapalam
viddhi vyadhyabhimanagrastam
lokam sokahatam cha samastam

"The life of a man is as uncertain as rain drops trembling on a lotus leaf. Know that the whole world remains a prey to disease, ego and grief."

kate kanta dhana gatachinta
vatula kim tava nasti niyanta
trijagati sajjanasam gatiraika
bhavati bhavarnavatarane nauka

"O mad man! Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth? Is there no one to guide you ? There is only one thing in the three worlds that can save you from the ocean from samsara. Board the boat of pure association quickly."

(Bhaja Govindam, 1, 2, 4, 13)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur took all these slokas and presented them in a non-sectarian way, and Mahaprabhu also gave this conception as achintya-bhedabhed siddhanta. Mahaprabhu did not distribute achintya bhedabhed vada, such as visistadvaita-vada, dvaitadvaita-vada, there are many vadas, but Mahaprabhu did not give any vada, vivada, etc. He gave us achintya-bhedabheda siddhanta. This is also non-sectarian.

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is written everywhere, no one can deny it, so we practise Krishna conception, this is our life. What more can I say? As far as possible we are trying to practise, and we are doing it under the guidance of Srila Guru Maharaj.

Jay Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay!
Jay Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur ki jay!
Harinama-sankirtana ki jay!
Haridas Thakur ki jay!
All the assembled devotees ki jay!
Samaveta bhakta-mandala ki jay!
Gaura premanande Hari bol!

 — : • : — 

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