Gaura Purnima - Divine Appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

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Compiled by Yashodanandana Dasa, Los Angeles, California

Srila Prabhupada explains the real nature of the form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the combined form of Sri Radha and Krishna. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami are the two principal followers of Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who acted as the most confidential servitor of Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, known as Vishvambhara in His early life. A direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami was Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. The author of Sri Chaitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, stands as the direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Adi Lila. Sri Kavi Karnapura glorifies the divine appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Kavi Karnapura explains the esoteric reason for the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

sri vrndavana bhuvi pura sac cid ananda sandro
gaurangibhih sadrsa rucibhih syama dhama nanarta
tasam sasvad drdhatara parirambha sambhedatah kim
gaurangah san jayati sa navadvipam alambamanah

The dark complexioned Sri Krishna, whose form is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge (sac-cid-ananda), formerly danced with the golden-complexioned Gopis in the land of Vrindavana. By intently embracing them, He attained a golden complexion like theirs. In this golden form He has now appeared in the town of Navadvipa.
Sri Kavi Karnapura in Sri Gaura-Ganoddesha-Dipika Text 1 (Translation by Sriman Kushakratha dasa)

Sri Prabhodhanda Sarasvati explains why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world.

stumas tam caitanyakrtim ati-vimaryada-paramad
bhutaudaryam varyam vraja-pati-kumaram rasayitum
visuddha-sva-premonmada-madhura piyusa-laharim
pradatum canebhyah para-pada-nabadvipa-prakatam

“Let us glorify the boundless merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, the prince of Vraja.  To taste the intoxicating sweet waves of the nectar of transcendental love for Krishna as well as to give that nectar to others, He has now appeared in the transcendental abode of Navadvipa as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

Sri Chaitanya-Chandramrta, Chapter One, Text One (Translation by Sriman Kushakratha dasa)

Citing Sri Prabhodhananda Sarasvati, Srila Prabhupada explains the power of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy upon His devotees.

kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-pur akasa-puspayate
durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate
visvam purna-sukhayate vidhi-mahendradis ca kitayate
yat-karunya-kataksa-vaibhavavatam tam gauram eva stumah

Lectures : Bhagavad-gita 4.26 -- Bombay, April 15, 1974
 

There is another verse written by Prabodhananda Sarasvati. He said, kaivalyam narakayate tridasa-pur akasa-puspayate durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. Protkhata-damstrayate. Just like dentist, when there is some pain in the teeth, they extract. That is called protkhata, extracted. So the indriyas have been compared with kala-sarpa, kala-sarpa, means a venomous snake. As soon as the kala-sarpa or snake touches in any part of your body, because the venomous teeth is there, death is there immediately. Therefore they're called kala-sarpa. Kala means death. Kala-sarpa. Therefore we are so much afraid of a snake. So but if the kala-sarpa's poison teeth is taken away, then it is no more, I mean, fearful. It is no more dangerous. Therefore Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that "By the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, our indriyas, the senses, which are compared with the kala-sarpa, may be kala-sarpa, but the poison teeth is extracted." Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate.

Lectures : Bhagavad-gita 4.26 -- Bombay, April 15, 1974  

Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18-19 -- Bombay, April 9, 1971

So yoga-siddhi, jugglery, yoga-siddhi magic, captivates foolish persons. So they want yoga-siddhi. If some foolish persons gather, then he gets sense enjoyment. That is another type of sense enjoyment. So therefore in the Chaitanya-caritamrta it is said that bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami sakali asanta. They are not paramahamsas. Paramahamsa... Here it is stated that bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham. Tatha paramahamsanam muninam amalatmanam [SB 1.8.20]. Amalatmanam means when there is no more dirty things. The karmis, they have got dirty things, sense enjoyment. The jnanis, they have got also dirty things. One may say that "Mukti is dirty thing?" Yes. According to Vaishnava calculation it is dirty thing, because Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, he said, kaivalyam narakayate. Kaivalyam means to become one with the Supreme, mukti. He said, "It is exactly like hell." Kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-purakasa-puspayate. "And these heavenly planets," the domain or the objective of the karmis, "that is like flower in the sky." And durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali. The yogis, their first business is... They get so much yoga-siddhi because first business is indriya-samyama. Yoga-siddhi is not obtained easily. One has to practice it. And the first practice is controlling the senses. Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate.

Srila Prabhupada elaborates and describes the benefit of surrendering to the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sakalam eva vihaya durad  caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam. You just try to submit yourself on the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya. By His mercy you'll find that, kaivalyam narakayate, you'll find that to become one with the Supreme, it will appear to you just like hell. To merge into the Supreme, that is the highest ambition of the impersonalists. But if you submit yourself to the lotus feet of Chaitanya-chandra, then you'll find that this conception is just like hell. Kaivalyam narakayate. Naraka means hell. You'll find kaivalyam, to become one. And tridasa-purakasa-puspayate. Tri-dasa-pura means the planets, higher planets where demigods live. Thirty-three million demigods, there are at least thirty-three million planets. Tri-dasa-purakasa-puspayate.
Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.8-9 -- New Vrindaban, May 24, 1969

dentist, when there some pain in the teeth, they extract. That is called protkhata, extracted. So the indriyas have been compared with kala-sarpa, kala-sarpa, means a venomous snake. As soon as the kala-sarpa or snake touches in any part of your body, because the venomous teeth is there, death is there immediately. Therefore they're called kala-sarpa. Kala means death. Kala-sarpa. Therefore we are so much afraid of a snake. So but if the kala-sarpa's poison teeth is taken away, then it is no more, I mean, fearful. It is no more dangerous. Therefore Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that "By the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, our indriyas, the senses, which are compared with the kala-sarpa, may be kala-sarpa, but the poison teeth is extracted." Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate.
 

Lectures : Bhagavad-gita 4.26 -- Bombay, April 15, 1974

Lectures : Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 13-15 -- Los Angeles, May 18, 1970

The idea is that Krishna planet or the Vaikuntha planets, they are beyond this Brahman effulgence, and those who are devotees, they are permitted to enter into these spiritual planets. Those who are not devotees, simply jnanis or demons... The jnanis and demons, they are offered the same place. The jnanis... Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah [SB 10.2.32]. They practice severe austerities, penances, to enter into the Brahman effulgence. But the demons, simply by becoming enemy of Krishna, they immediately get that place. The demons who are killed by Krishna, they are immediately transferred to this Brahman effulgence. So just imagine, the place which is given to the enemies of Krishna, is that very covetable thing? Suppose if somebody comes who is my enemy, I give him some place, and somebody, my intimate friend, I give him some other place. Similarly, this Brahman effulgence is not at all covetable. Therefore Prabodhananda Sarasvatipada, he has composed a verse, that Brahman... Kaivalyam narakayate. Kaivalya means the Brahman effulgence, simply spiritual light. So kaivalyam narakayate. He says that this Brahman effulgence is just like hell.

For a devotee, this Brahman... The jnanis who are trying to merge into the Brahman effulgence, for devotee it is stated as hell. Kaivalyam narakayate. Tri-dasa-pur akasa-puspayate (Chaitanya-chandamrita 5). And tri-dasa-pur means the planets of the demigods within this material world. People are very much anxious to go into the heavenly planet. That is called tri-dasa-pur or tri-dasa-pur, the residential quarters of the demigods. And for a devotee it is understood as will-o'-the-wisp, akasa-puspayate. And durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. And the yogis, they are trying to control the senses, which are considered as venomous serpents, the senses. That's a fact. So the bhakta says that "We are not afraid of the senses." Why? Protkhata-damstrayate. Because we have extracted the poison teeth. The senses has got a poison teeth. As soon as you indulge in sense gratification, immediately you become degraded. Immediately. So it is just like a venomous serpent. As soon as it touches you, little biting, finished your life. So it is like that. Durdanta-kala-sarpa-patali, indriya. But these venomous snakes, if their poison teeth is taken away, then it may be fearful for the boys and children. But if an elderly person knows that his poison teeth has been taken away, nobody's afraid of it.
So this Krishna consciousness means that we take away the poison teeth of the senses. So that even Krishna conscious persons are allowed for sense gratification, the poison teeth is broken. So therefore they are not gliding down to the hellish condition of life. So in this way, either the karmis or the jnanis or the yogis, they are always... They are, every one of them, trying to elevate. And above them is the devotees.

Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18-19 -- Bombay, April 9, 1971

So yoga-siddhi, jugglery, yoga-siddhi magic, captivates foolish persons. So they want yoga-siddhi. If some foolish persons gather, then he gets sense enjoyment. That is another type of sense enjoyment. So therefore in the Chaitanya-caritamrta it is said that bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami sakali asanta. They are not paramahamsas. Paramahamsa.. Here it is stated that bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham. Tatha paramahamsanam muninam amalatmanam [SB 1.8.20]. Amalatmanam means when there is no more dirty things. The karmis, they have got dirty things, sense enjoyment. The jnanis, they have got also dirty things. One may say that "Mukti is dirty thing?" Yes. According to Vaishnava calculation it is dirty thing, because Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, he said, kaivalyam narakayate. Kaivalyam means to become one with the Supreme, mukti. He said, "It is exactly like hell." Kaivalyam narakayate tri-dasa-purakasa-puspayate. "And these heavenly planets," the domain or the objective of the karmis, "that is like flower in the sky." And durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate. Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali. The yogis, their first business is... They get so much yoga-siddhi because first business is indriya-samyama. Yoga-siddhi is not obtained easily. One has to practice it. And the first practice is controlling the senses. Durdantendriya-kala-sarpa-patali protkhata-damstrayate

Srila Prabhupada cites Sri Prabhodhananda Sarasvati explaining the glorious appearance and golden form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

ananda lilamaya vigrahaya
hemabha-divya-cchavi-sundaraya
tasmai maha-prema-rasa-pradaya

In the year 1407 of the Saka Era (A.D. 1486), Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, and in the year 1455 (A.D. 1534) He disappeared from this world
Caitanyacandraya namo namaste

O Lord Chaitanya-chandra, O Lord whose form is full of blissful pastimes, O Lord whose complexion is as splendid gold, O Lord who gives in charity the nectar of pure love for Krishna, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Sri Chaitanya-Chandramrta 2.11. (translation by Sriman Kushakratha dasa)
Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.21 -- New York, April 13, 1973

So ananda-lilamaya-vigraha. Ananda-lila, Krishna's lila, pastimes are all jubilant. Ananda-lilamaya. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). He is by nature anandamaya. Krishna, you'll never find Krishna is very unhappy. Krishna is never unhappy. Krishna is always happy. Therefore nanda-gopa-kumaraya govindaya [SB 1.8.21]. He is happy, and whoever, whoever associates with Him, he's also happy. Govindaya We are after sense gratification. Go means senses. So if you associate with Krishna, you enjoy your senses affluently. Just like the gopis are dancing with Krishna. So there is no scarcity of sense gratification also. But that is not this sense gra..., gross sense gratification. That is spiritual sense. Ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya [Bs. 5.32]. We chant every day. That sense, you get, sense gratification is ananda-cinmaya, cinmaya, in the spiritual world. Not this third-class ananda with these bodily senses. This is not ananda. This is an illusion. We are thinking that "I'm enjoying," but that is not ananda. This ananda is not fact, because we cannot enjoy this material sense pleasure for long. Everyone has got experience. It is finished. But spiritual enjoyment does not finish. It increases. That is the difference. Ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya govindam adi-purusam [Bs. 5.32]

Srila Prabhupada cites Krishna dasa Kaviraja Goswami in His Chaitanya-charitamrita description of the details of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's avirbhava (appearance)

sri-krsna-caitanya navadvipe avatari
ata-callisa vatsara prakata vihari

Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, adventing Himself in Navadvipa, was visible for forty-eight years, enjoying His pastimes.

CC Adi Lila 13.8, 9, 10,

In the year 1407 of the Saka Era (A.D. 1486), Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, and in the year 1455 (A.D. 1534)
He disappeared from this world.
CC Adi-Lila 13   

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the full-moon evening in the month of Phalguna, an auspicious time full of auspicious symptoms, when Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu advented Himself with the chanting of the holy name, Hare Krishna
CC Adi-Lila 13.19

On the full-moon evening of the month of Phalguna when the Lord took birth, coincidentally there was also a lunar eclipse CC Adi-Lila 13.20

In jubilation everyone was chanting the holy name of the Lord-"Hari! Hari!"-and Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then appeared, after first causing the appearance of the holy name.
CC Adi-Lila 13.21

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the combined form of Sri Radha and Krishna. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami are the two principal followers of Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who acted as the most confidential servitor of Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, known as Vishvambhara in His early life. A direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami was Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. The author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, stands as the direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.
- Adi lila.

So we are spreading the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, this mission. Radha-Krishna mission it is practically. Sri Krishna Chaitanya radha krsna nahe anya. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is combination of Radha-Krishna. Radha-krsna pranya-vikrtitir hladini saktir asmad. Krishna and Radharani, the same absolute truth. Radharani is the pleasure potency of Krishna. And when Krishna wants to enjoy, He expands His pleasure potency in the form of Radharani. And when He wants to spread he loving affairs of Radha and Krishna, He takes the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and very kindly He gives the love of Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada talk at Radha Govinda-Mandir, Calcutta, India. March 24, 1976

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