The Golden Volcano of Divine Love - Introduction

The Golden Volcano of Divine Love

His Divine Grace Swami B.R. Sridhar

INTRODUCTION
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu preached the full-fledged theistic conception given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam mainly deals with the comparative study of theism and the ontology of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It surpasses all other Vedic literature, even the Purāṇas. The Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa represent the importance of devotion to Kṛṣṇa through narration and history to some extent, but fall short of the philosophical and ontological standard set by the Mahāpurāṇa, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can satisfy all Vedantic scholars, for it represents Kṛṣṇa consciousness in its fullest dignity. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam expounds as the highest attainment of theism not consciousness, intelligence, or ontology, but ecstasy, beauty, and harmony—rasa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, rasa is all-important. It is a unique treatise, for it takes theism from the plane of intellectual jugglery to the domain of rasa.
I once began writing a book which was to be a summary study of the eighteen thousand verse Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura condensed the whole Bhāgavata principle into one thousand verses in his Bhāgavatārka-marīchi-mālā. I had a mind to consolidate it even more, to represent it within three hundred verses. I began that book, but could not finish it.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a vast treatise in the Sanskrit language, filled with essential information, historical reference, and expositions on the major schools of philosophy. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, many minor points of history and geography are also mentioned which, although nonessential, support its conclusions. Whatever is unnecessary in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is eliminated when its meaning reaches its purest and most intensified glory in the teachings of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. So, if we are to consider the very gist of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we must study the life and precepts of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Just as the teachings of the great author of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, were percolated by the realizations of Śukadeva Goswāmī, the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been percolated by the life and precepts of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore, because the teachings of Śrīman Mahāprabhu represent the gist of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I would like to include here one of the verses I originally composed to introduce my summary study. It glorifies the position of Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the most intimate associate of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Gadādhara Paṇḍita used to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Jagannātha Purī, at the Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha temple. He would read, and Śrīman Mahāprabhu and the great devotees like Svarūpa Damodara and Ramānanda Rāya were his audience:
nīlāmbhodhi-taṭe sadā sva-virahā-kṣepanvitaṁ bāndhavaṁ 
śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ 
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ sadā sva-nayanāśru-pāyanaiḥ pūjayan 
gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara-vibhūr-bhūyāt mad-ekā-gatiḥ
“On the shore of the broad blue ocean, Gadādhara Paṇḍita used to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who was suffering from the great internal pain of separation from Himself (Kṛṣṇa). Gadādhara Paṇḍita supplied the wine of kṛṣṇa-līlā to intoxicate his afflicted friend and give Him relief. As he read, tears would fall from his eyes like flower offerings onto the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. May the pleasure of that brilliant personality, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the best of the Goswāmīs, be my only object in writing this book.”
The title of this book is The Golden Volcano of Divine Love. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu felt a great pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa which burned like fire and was expressed as the Śikṣāṣṭakam. This is explained in Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram (54):
śrī-svarūpa-rāya-saṅga-gambhirāntya-līlanaṁ 
dvādaśābda-banhi-garba-vipralambha-śīlanam 
rādhikāhirūḍha-bhāva-kānti-kṛṣṇa-kuñjaraṁ 
prema-dhāma-devam-eva-naumi-gaura-sundaram
“Diving deep into the reality of His own beauty and sweetness, Kṛṣṇa stole the mood of Rādhārāṇī and, garbing Himself in Her brilliant luster, appeared as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. For the last twelve years of His manifest pastimes, He was deeply absorbed in the mood of union and separation and shared His heart’s inner feelings with His most confidential devotees. In the agony of separation from Kṛṣṇa, volcanic eruptions of ecstasy flowed from His heart, and His teachings, known as Śikṣāṣṭakam, appeared from His lips like streams of golden lava. I fall at the feet of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, the Golden Volcano of Divine Love.”
He was vomiting the fire of painful separation from Kṛṣṇa in the form of the Śikṣāṣṭakam. Therefore, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is compared to a golden volcano and the Śikṣāṣṭakam is compared to divine lava.
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us that separation is the highest principle in divinity. Just as the most intense conception of ecstasy is association with Kṛṣṇa, the most intense conception of pain is separation from Kṛṣṇa. Yet the pain felt from Kṛṣṇa’s separation is far more intense than the ecstasy felt from His association. Śrīman Mahāprabhu says, “Can’t you understand the painful situation you are in? Your senses must have all been destroyed? Otherwise you would have died from the pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa. It is inconceivable. We belong to Him wholesale. He is all in all to us, but we can’t see Him. We are forcibly separated from Him. How can we tolerate this?” And Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura once said, “I can’t tolerate separation from Kṛṣṇa any longer. I can go on for only three or four more days, and then I shall have to leave this body.”
To love Kṛṣṇa means that we shall have to “die to live.” In the beginning divine love seems like lava, death, but really it is nectar, life. Many persons in this ordinary world are also frustrated in love. They sometimes go mad and commit suicide because they can’t tolerate the pain. But the pain which comes with separation from Kṛṣṇa, although compared with lava, is not injurious like lava. Kavirāja Goswāmī explains:
bahye viṣajvāla haya bhitore ānandamāya, kṛṣṇa premara adbhuta carite, “The wonderful characteristic of divine love of Kṛṣṇa is that although externally, it works like fiery lava, internally it is like sweet nectar that fills the heart with the greatest joy.”
Although he felt the greatest pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa, still, within His heart, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu experienced the deepest ecstatic joy. The ecstatic symptoms manifested by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu have never been found in the history of the world or even expressed in any scripture. In Him, we find the highest conception of the Ultimate Reality. This is explained in my Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram (66):
ātma-siddha-sāva līlā-pūrna-saukhya-lakṣanaṁ 
svānubhāva-matta-nṛtya-kīrtanātma-vanṭanam 
advayaika-lakṣya-pūrṇa-tattva-tat-parātparaṁ 
prema-dhāma-devam-eva naumi gaura-sundaram
“This is the all-conquering conclusion. The highest conception of the Ultimate Reality must also be the highest form of ananda, ecstasy. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa, ecstasy Himself, tasting His own sweetness and dancing in ecstatic joy. His own Holy Name is the cause of His ecstasy, expressed as dancing, and the Holy Name is the effect of His ecstasy, expressed as chanting. The cause is the effect. The dynamo is creating ecstatic energy which makes Him dance, and His chanting distributes that ecstasy to others.”
In this way, by every word from His lotus mouth and every gesture and movement of His beautiful golden figure, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu performs His ecstatic pastimes of divine love.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāj is the foremost pure devotee and is the patriarch of the followers of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. He is an intimate disciple and eternal associate of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākura, the founder-āchārya of Śrī Gauḍiya Math who masterminded a spiritual revolution to inundate the world with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Noted for his wonderful ability to draw out the inner meaning of the scriptures, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja once composed a poem describing the ontological positions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and the line of disciplic succession stemming from Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī was so pleased with his poem that he remarked, Śrīdhara Mahārāja is carrying the conception of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Now, I am satisfied that although I may go, at least one man will remain behind who can represent my conclusions.”
As he prepared to leave this mortal world, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī expressed his desire to fix his consciousness on the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. He called his beloved disciple Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja to his bedside and requested him to sing the famous song of Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī Pada. At that time, in what has been described as a ‘mystic transmission,’ he gave Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja entrance into the eternal entourage of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja’s vision, however, he was posted as the gatekeeper, the guardian of devotion (Bhakti Rakṣaka), to protect the storehouse of conclusive truths about the full-fledged theistic conception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Reality the Beautiful as presented in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and preached by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and the line of disciplic succession that has descended from Him, known as the Śrī Chatanya Saraswata Sampradāya.
Śrīpāda Nityānanda Prabhu.
By the grace of Nityānanda Prabhu we develop our attraction for Śrī Gaurāṅga. Nityānanda Prabhu helps us consolidate the foundation on which we can progress further. His mercy sometimes exceeds the mercy of Śrī Chatanya Mahāprabhu. He won’t allow even those who want to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness to escape. If someone says, “I don’t want it,” Nityānanda Prabhu won’t allow it. He will say, “No! You must want it. I request you earnestly—take it! Use it and you will be able to feel the value of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” He used to roam about here and there, rolling in the dust with tears in His eyes saying, “Take the name of Gaurāṅga and I will be sold to you.”
By His mercy, even the most fallen souls can attain the supreme goal. He is the most generous-hearted aspect of guru-tattva, so we must bow down our head to Him, accept His holy feet, and surrender to Him.
Śrī Chatanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Absolute Truth in its fullest and most dynamic expression. The influence of Rādhārāṇī over Kṛṣṇa has transformed Him into a devotee, and He is searching Himself. Kṛṣṇa—the personification of ecstasy and beauty —is mad in tasting His own internal nectar. His dancing indicates that he is full of ecstasy and His saṅkīrttana movement is the distribution of that ecstasy to others.
Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountain-head of all pleasure, ecstasy Himself, and Srīmati Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of ecstatic love of Godhead. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, but They have assumed two forms. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of divine love. The service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana can be attained only by unalloyed devotion to the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga.

Part 1
The Life of Śrī ChaitanyaMahāprabhu
The Golden Avatar
In the teachings of Karabhājana Ṛṣi we find mention of the different incarnations for different ages (yugāvatāras). In Dvāpara-yuga, the yugāvatāra is mentioned as follows:
dvāpare bhagavān śyāmaḥ pīta-vāsā nijāyudhaḥ 
śrīvatsādibhir aṅkaiś cha lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ
  
“In Dvāpara-yuga, Lord Kṛṣṇa appears with the color of a dark rain cloud, wearing lightning-colored garments. He is decorated with beautiful ornaments, His chest bears the mark of Śrīvatsa, and He carries His own weapons.”
After the description of the yugāvatāra of Dvāpara-yuga, Karabhājana Rṣi mentions the kali-yugāvatāra:
iti dvāpara urv-īśa stuvanti jagad-īśvaram 
nānā-tantra-vidhānena kalāv api tathā sṛṇu

 He says, “O King, up to Dvāpara-yuga, I have finished describing the incarnations for different ages who come to remind the people of the most appropriate duty for their age. They come and tell us, ‘If you do this, you will get the greatest benefit.’ O King, after the Dvāpara age is finished, the age of Kali comes. The incarnation for the age of Kali has been mentioned in many places in the scriptures, and now I am just going to explain that information to you.” (S.B. 11.5.31)
Then he says:
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣā ’kṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra pārṣadam 
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrttana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
In a suppressed way, this verse explains the advent of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. The ordinary meaning of kṛṣṇa-varṇam is “of a black color.” But tvisā ’kṛṣṇam means “His luster is not black.” “Accompanied by His associates, He is worshipped by the process of saṅkīrttana, the chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and those of sharp intellect will perform this kind of worship.”
Jīva Goswāmī explains the meaning of this verse in his own parallel verse:
antaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ bahir gauraṁ darśitāṅgādi-vaibhavam 
kalau saṅkīrttanādyaiḥ sma kṛṣṇa-caitanyam āśritāḥ
“I take shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who is outwardly of a golden complexion, but is inwardly Kṛṣṇa Himself. In this age of Kali, He displays His expansions while performing congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. That He is blackish within means that internally He is Kṛṣṇa; that He is golden without means that He has accepted the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. In the age of Kali, that Golden Lord is seen accompanied by His expansions, associates, and intimate devotees performing saṅkīrttana.”
Someone may argue that the meaning of kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ is that His color is black and His luster is also black. But how is this possible? That would be redundant. The conjunction between the words tvisā and akṛṣṇam mean that His color is kṛṣṇa, black, but His luster is akṛṣṇa: not black. Then, someone might say, “Not black does not necessarily mean golden. Why should it mean golden?” The answer is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Once Vasudeva sent the astrologer priest Garga Ṛṣi to Vṛndāvana to perform the name-giving ceremony for Kṛṣṇa. At that time, Garga Ṛṣi came to the house of Nanda Mahārāja and explained that Vasudeva had sent him. He said, “Your child is now a little grown up and the name-giving ceremony must be performed.” At that time, he spoke the following verse:
āsan varṇās trayo hy asya gṛhṇato ’nuyugaṁ tanūḥ 
śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ
“In past incarnations, this boy has appeared with different complexions: white, red, and gold, according to the particular age in which He appeared. Now He has assumed this blackish color.”
He said, “Kṛṣṇa comes in a white color in Satya-yuga, red in Treta-yuga, and He also comes with a golden complexion. Now in this Dvāpara-yuga He has come in a black color.” So the reference to the golden color (pīta) is found here, because only that color has been left for this present age of Kali. There is another reference to this golden color in the Upanishads: yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇam: “Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Brahman, appears in a golden form.” Rukma-varṇam means golden. And here also, non-black means golden.
Kṛṣṇa wanted to come as the incarnation for this age of Kali, as well as to fulfill His promise in Vṛndāvana: “I shall chant the glory of the gopīs, especially of Rādhārāṇī. I shall chant Her name, Her glory, and roll in the dust of the earth!” But Rādhārāṇī said, “I won’t allow Your body to roll in the dust of this earth. I shall cover You with my luster.” Both the mood as well as the luster of Rādhārāṇī capture Kṛṣṇa when He comes here in Kali-yuga. And this does not occur in all Kali-yugas, but only in a special Kali-yuga.
In all the days of Brahmā, in every yuga, the yugāvatāra comes, but Kṛṣṇa appears only once in a day of Brahmā, or once every 4.3 billion years. At that time, the Original Personality of Godhead (svayaṁ bhagavān) appears along with His abodes, Vṛndāvana and Navadwīpa. And Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu do not come here alone, but They come with Their paraphernalia and suitable companions.
And in this age of Kali, He performs a double function: He preaches nāma-saṅkīrttana, and more importantly, He assumes the mood of Rādhārāṇī to taste His own sweetness, rasa. He is rasa Himself. Kṛṣṇa thinks, “What is the intensity of the finest rasa in Me? I would like to taste that.” But only devotees can taste that, so He took the position of Rādhārāṇī to taste Himself as Kṛṣṇa, the central, final and perfect abode of rasa. Only Rādhārāṇī can taste the maximum rasa, so He has to take Her nature, Her mood and temperament to taste His own intrinsic ecstasy. For that reason He descended. His first duty was to spread nāma-saṅkīrttana, and the secondary, internal, private duty was to perform svabha-jana-vibhajana, to taste His own intrinsic ecstasy in the mood of Rādhārāṇī. In Purī, with Rāmānanda Rāya, Svarūpa Dāmodara, and other intimate associates, He tasted that great ocean of union in separation continuously for twelve years. In His last twelve years, He passed His time only in the process of tasting that mellow.
That incarnation is generally worshipped by saṅkīrttana. Without saṅkīrttana, Gaurāṅga and His paraphernalia cannot be worshipped. He is the propounder of saṅkīrttana, He loves saṅkīrttana, and He gets satisfaction only by saṅkīrttana. Only those who have sufficient merit (sukṛtivān), will worship Him by this process. The common mob cannot join this campaign. Those who have good guidance internally, good fortune, can catch the very gist of truth and engage in this process of nama-saṅkīrttana.
A rubbish-brain cannot detect what is right or wrong, or how precious this is. He cannot understand or follow this higher line of thought. A man should be judged by his ideal, his aspiration for higher things. If the ideal is great, the man is great. What should be the highest ideal? Love. Love is the supreme thing. It is the most rare and precious thing. Divine love and beauty is the highest thing ever known to the world, and those who can catch this are really possessed of good intellect (su-medhasaḥ). And one who possesses this highest ideal should be considered a man of higher order. He alone can understand and practice saṅkīrttana. He alone can take to this path, this process of satisfying the Supreme Being by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.
This is mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as well as in the Mahābharata and other Vedic scriptures. Karabhājana Ṝṣi, the last of the nine great yogis, has given us a clue to understand Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as the special incarnation for the age. He has mentioned the incarnation for this age of Kali in a mystic way. We may think, why has this not been described very plainly? So many avatāras are clearly described, but when Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as the incarnation for the age of Kali, it is discussed in a mystic way. The answer is found in the teachings of Prahlāda Mahārāja, who says, “O Lord, one of Your names is Triyuga, meaning one who incarnates in three ages—Satya, Tretā, and Dvāpara—but not in Kali. And why? Because the incarnation for the age of Kali is in disguise (chhannaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ‘tha sa tvam).” Here we find the key to this mystic way of representing Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to the fortunate and intelligent circle (su-medhasaḥ), that ordinary people may not have any clue.
dhyeyaṁ sadā paribhava-ghnam abhīṣṭa-dohaṁ 
tīrthāspadaṁ śiva-viriñchi-nutaṁ śaraṇyam 
bhṛtyārti-haṁ praṇata-pāla bhavābdhi-potaṁ 
vande mahā-puruṣa te charaṇāravindam
“O Mahāprabhu, Your lotus feet are the highest object of meditation, for they not only destroy the pain of material existence, but they bestow the greatest fulfillment to all souls who take shelter beneath them. Your lotus feet even purify all saintly persons and holy places. Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā aspire to take shelter beneath Your lotus feet. O Mahāprabhu, You give shelter to all who simply bow down before You. You relieve all the miseries of Your surrendered servants. In the grand ship of Your lotus feet, we can cross over this ocean of material miseries. O Mahāprabhu, I bow down before Your lotus feet.”
After mentioning the incarnation of Godhead for the age of Kali, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam suddenly begins this song in praise of that great yugāvatāra, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. With a grand voice the Bhāgavatam has come to sing the praise of that guide for Kali-yuga. This follows the verse which hints at the avatāra of Kali-yuga. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ means one who is always describing Kṛṣṇa, who always has on his lips the words “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa.” Another meaning of this expression is “One who is Kṛṣṇa Himself, but whose luster is not black.” If we look deeply, we shall find that hidden beneath His golden luster is the blackish body of Kṛṣṇa. With His own paraphernalia He has come to this plane, and service to Him is performed only by saṅkīrttana, divine sound in mass prayer. By that symptom we can recognize His divine position.
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is a hidden incarnation; He comes in disguise. Such an avatāra is worshipped by the divinely intellectual. In this way, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam first describes that uncommon, extraordinary personality, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, in a mystic way and then proclaims His nobility and greatness.
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains, “That same personality who came as Rāmachandra and Kṛṣṇa has again appeared. He has come to direct you to the real fulfillment of life. He is drawing the sweetest nectar from above for the sake of everyone. Only meditate on Him and all your troubles will be finished. He is the agent purifying all the holy places of pilgrimage and saintly persons by His touch, by His saṅkīrttana, by His drawing the highest things down from the highest plane. And even Brahmā and Śiva, puzzled by His noble gift, will begin to praise Him. They will eagerly aspire to take shelter under His lotus feet in surrender. The pains of all who come to serve Him will be removed, and their inner necessities will be fulfilled. And He will take care of those who take shelter of Him; they will be given protection as well as everything they may need. In this world where mortality rules, where we are continually experiencing the undesirable changes of repeated birth and death, in this area where no one wants to live, a great ship will come for us and take us within and carry us away from this unpleasant position. Let us fall at the feet of that great personality who comes to give the highest nectar.”
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam continues:
tyaktvā su-dustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ 
dharmiṣṭha ārya-vachasā yad agād araṇyam 
māyā-mṛgam dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad 
vande mahā-puruṣa te charaṇāravindam
“O Supreme Lord, You gave up the goddess of fortune and Her great opulence, which is most difficult to abandon, and is sought after even by the gods. In order to perfectly establish the principles of religion, You left for the forest to honor the brāhmaṇa’s curse. To deliver the sinful souls who chase illusory pleasures, You search after them and award them Your devotional service. At the same time, You are engaged in search of Yourself, in search for Śrī Kṛṣṇa: reality the beautiful.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Chakravartī Ṭhākura has given his explanation that although it seems that this verse applies to Lord Rāmachandra, who left His kingdom and went with Sītādevī to the forest to discharge the duties designed by his father, this also applies to Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Viśvanātha Chakravartī Ṭhākura has drawn out the internal meaning of this verse and applied it in the case of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Tyaktvā su-dustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ means He left imperial prosperity which is hard to abandon. Generally we find this in the case of Lord Rāmachandra, but Viśvanātha Chakravartī Ṭhākura says that surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ means the valuable devotional company of Viṣṇupriyā-devī. That may not appear to be a materially big thing, but the dedication that Viṣṇupriyā has shown in Her heart for Śrīman Mahāprabhu is greater than any imperial standard. And He had to leave that behind. Such a standard of sacrifice and service is never found even among the great society of the gods. For the sake of the public welfare, He had to ignore the serving, loving attitude of Viṣṇupriyā.
This verse mentions the curse of a brāhmaṇa. That brāhmaṇa told Śrīman Mahāprabhu, “I want to participate in your nocturnal kīrttanas in which You taste Kṛṣṇa-līlā, but the doors are closed.” When Śrīman Mahāprabhu used to perform kīrttana and taste the Vraja-līlā of Kṛṣṇa, he did so behind closed doors in deep night. But this brāhmaṇa thought himself a very qualified, religious person because he lived by only drinking milk and nothing else, so he said, “I must have entrance into that kīrttana. I do not eat anything but milk; why should I not be allowed?” Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Milk drinking is no qualification for entering into Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” The brāhmaṇa said, “Then I curse You to lose your family life!” “All right,” Mahāprabhu said and accepted the curse. And later He took sannyāsa and chased after those who were misguided by Māyādevī in order to save them. At the same time, although He is Kṛṣṇa, He accepted the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. For these two reasons, He left his apparently worldly life: He acted for the welfare of the public and, after finishing that work, spent the next twelve years tasting the very inner aspiration of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and searching after His own inner sweetness. This was what He came to show to the world. In this mystic way, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has proclaimed the magnanimous appearance of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.
After Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, He went to live in Jagannātha Purī. There, he converted the greatest scholar of the day, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya. After meeting Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, the great scholar Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya questioned his brother-in-law Gopīnātha Āchārya about the avatāra of the present age Kali-yuga. Gopīnātha had been living in Navadwīpa, and he was a follower of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. In his own way, Sārvabhauma began to praise Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as a beautiful man and a great scholar.
“I have great attraction for Him,” he said, “But I don’t think it wise that at such a young age He has taken sannyāsa, the renounced order of life. He has such a long life ahead of Him; how will He be able to keep up the dignity of the life of a sannyāsi, a life of renunciation? I can’t sit by and do nothing. I like this boy very much. I shall have to help Him as a
guardian, so that He may not lose His prestige by giving up sannyāsa, attracted by the fascination of worldly pleasures.”
Gopīnātha could not tolerate all this guardian like advice. He told Sārvabhauma, “This young man, who is very beautiful, charming, and scholarly, has attracted your attention, and you want to become His guardian to keep up the purity of His life. Do you think you will have to help Him? What do you mean by saying all these things? Don’t you know that He is really the incarnation of Godhead for this age? He is the avatāra for Kali-yuga; He inaugurated the yuga-dharma of nāma-saṅkīrttana in Navadwīpa, and His appearance is mentioned in the scriptures.” Sārvabhauma replied, “No, no! You are not talking to an ordinary person. Don’t think that you can say whatever you like and I will accept it. I am a hard nut to crack. What are you saying? There is no kali-yuga-avatāra. One of the names of Viṣṇu mentioned in the Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma in the Mahābhārata is Triyuga, ‘The Lord who appears only in three ages.’ That means that the Lord has no incarnation in Kali-yuga except Kalki, who is a pastime incarnation and not the yugāvatāra, the incarnation for the age.” Gopīnātha replied, “You think yourself so learned, but although you have studied all the scriptures, and are so proud of your learning, the Mahābhārata and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are the main scriptures of the followers of eternal religious principles, and still you have no particular knowledge about that.”
At that time, Gopīnātha Āchārya quoted passages from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Mahābhārata (kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tvisā ‘kṛṣṇaṁ, suvarṇa-varṇa hemāṅgo). In this way, he pressed his point: “Here we find the direct avatāra for the age of Kali. He has appeared to spread nāma-saṅkīrttana. He is not a man, but the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa Himself.” Sārvabhauma said, “No, no. Go away. Mind your own business. Don’t think that you can instruct me.” And in this way they argued.
 Later, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya told Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, “I would like to teach You Vedānta philosophy, so that You can keep up the standard of Your renunciation. I will teach You that this world is nothing, so that You never feel any charm to again enter into mundane life.” Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Yes, you are my guardian. Whatever you say, I must do. I will come and learn Vedānta philosophy from you at whatever time is suitable for you.
Then Gopīnātha Āchārya told Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, “Sārvabhauma is saying this because he doesn’t know Your real identity.” Śrīman Mahāprabhu replied, “Why are you speaking against him? He is My guardian. He was My father’s classmate, so he has great affection for Me. It is out of affection that he poses himself as My guardian and looks after My welfare. I don’t find any fault in that.”
In a few days, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu began to hear Vedānta from Sarvabhavana Bhaṭṭāchārya, and as Sārvabhauma would speak, He would remain silent like a good boy, as if He were hearing with a submissive attitude. But after he had been teaching Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu for seven days, Sārvabhauma had some doubt in his mind. He thought, “What is the matter” I am such a great scholar in Vedānta and logic, and I am trying my best with all my intelligence to put before Him the inner meaning of Vedānta, but I draw no response from Him. He is only quietly attending my discourse as if He is deaf and dumb. And I can’t say that He does not understand me, for He has a sharp intellect. I am sure of this, but still He gives no appreciation, no response whatsoever. He raises no question and gives no indication whether He understands or not—nothing of the kind. Then what am I doing?” He could not keep himself any longer. He put the question straight to the Lord: “For more than seven days I have been explaining the inner meaning of Vedānta to You. Many sannyāsis come to me to learn about Vedānta, but You don’t have any question about my talk, my explanation? You maintain a strange and wonderful silence. What is the reason?
Then, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu revealed Himself. He said, “Sārvabhauma, what you explain is on the basis of Śaṅkara’s philosophy, but I heard that it was by the order of the Lord that Śaṅkarāchārya concealed the real purpose of Vedānta. Its author, Vyāsadeva, is a completely theistic person, and he has prepared this Vedānta, but what you say is all based on atheistic scholarship.”
Sārvabhauma was a very intelligent man. He realized, “In a very gentle way, He wants to tell me that what I am explaining is all bogus. I am laboring diligently to explain Vedānta to my utmost capacity for the last seven days, and now He shows His true colors and says that what I am explaining is all false. What is He saying?” Still, in a gentlemanly way, Sārvabhauma with some hesitation asked Śrīman Mahāprabhu, “You say that what I have been explaining for the last seven days is all unsubstantial and unreal. Then can You give the proper meaning? If this is all improper and false, then what is the real meaning of Vedānta?” Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu humbly replied, “If you order Me to explain Vedānta, I will try. The sūtras or codes of Vedānta are lustrous in themselves. They are self-evident. The proper reading of the sutras leads towards Parabrahman, Kṛṣṇa.” Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu began with this introduction. He said that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the real explanation and commentary on Vedānta. It is mentioned in the Garuda Purāṇa:
artho ’yaṁ brahma-sūtrānāṁ bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ 
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo ’sau vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ

“Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam represents the real purport of Vedānta-sūtra. And although it is very difficult to draw out the real purpose of the one-hundred-thousand-verse epic Mahābhārata, the great history of the world, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has come to give its real meaning. The mother of all Vedic knowledge is the Gāyatri mantra. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the gist of Gāyatri in a very full-fledged way. And the supplementary truths of the Vedas are also found within Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.” Therefore, Vedānta must be explained in the line of the truth which has been expressed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Only then can the real meaning be understood.
When Śrīman Mahāprabhu mentioned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sārvabhauma, being a learned paṇḍita could not deny its validity. He said, “Yes, I also like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And I especially like this one very beautiful verse. At that time, Sārvabhauma, to regain lost prestige, began to explain the ātmārāma verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
ātmārāmāś cha munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame 
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta guṇo hariḥ
“Even the liberated souls fully satisfied in the self are irresistibly attracted by the superexcellent qualities of Kṛṣṇa and surrender to Him with unalloyed devotion.”
Sārvabhauma explained this verse in nine different ways, while Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, as before, sat silently hearing. After he had finished his explanation, Sārvabhauma thought that he had regained his position to a certain extent. Still, as a courtesy, he asked Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, “Are You satisfied with this explanation? If You can give any more light to this verse, I will listen to that.” Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu told him, “If you order me, I may try.” Then He gave eighteen different types of explanations of that verse, leaving aside the nine already given by Sārvabhauma.
At that time, while listening to the explanation of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Sārvabhauma gradually saw that he was losing his position. His pride was finished. Astounded, he thought, “This youth, this young boy, is not an ordinary person. No ordinary intellect can refute my arguments. Leaving aside all of my attempts to explain this verse, He gave eighteen wonderful explanations of this particular verse. What is this? Such consistent, irresistible, devotional, and beautiful explanations are coming, superseding all those that with great energy and effort I explained. No human being can surpass my explanations. No human intellect can cross mine. This is a different sort of explanation. It is all-encompassing. But it is coming from this young boy? What is this?”
Gradually, he lost his faith in himself and became baffled. He recalled how Gopīnātha Āchārya had said that Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was not a human being and thought, “It is not possible for a human to explain things in this way—it is something supernatural”. Then Mystic Revelation. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu reveals Himself as Nārāyaṇa and Kṛṣṇa to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya.
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu revealed to Sārvabhauma His spiritual position as Nārāyāṇa and Kṛṣṇa combined. In a trance, Sārvabhauma saw all these things and fell at the Lord’s feet, and almost completely lost consciousness.
When he arose from his trance, he found that boy still sitting there like a student with great humility. Then Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu asked him, “May I go for today?” Sārvabhauma said, “Yes, you may go now.” The Lord went away, and Sārvabhauma remained there. After some time, he recovered, and began to think, “What have I seen? Four-handed Nārāyāṇa, then Kṛṣṇa playing the flute! I was not defeated by a man—that is my solace. Sārvabhauma became a changed man and composed two verses:
vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga- 
śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-chaitanya-śarīra-dhārī 
kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye
“I surrender unto the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who is an ocean of mercy. He is the Original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and has descended to teach us the real meaning of knowledge, renunciation, and devotion to Him.”
kālān naṣṭaṁ bhakti-yogaṁ nijaṁ yaḥ 
prāduṣkartuṁ kṛṣṇa-chaitanya-nāmā 
āvirbhūtas tasya pādāravinde 
gāḍham gāḍham līyatāṁ chitta-bhṛṅgaḥ
“Let the honeybee of my mind dive deep into the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself. He has appeared to revive the path of unalloyed devotion, which had almost become lost due to the influence of time.”
These two verses were composed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya expressing that Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Lord Himself. The next day, early in the morning, Śrīman Mahāprabhu, with some prasādam from the Jagannātha temple, ran to Sārvabhauma while he was still in bed. He cried in a loud voice, “Sārvabhauma, how wonderful is this prasādam! It has a very extraordinary taste. Please take it. I have come for you with this prasādam.” Sārvabhauma arose from bed as Mahāprabhu offered him the prasādam, and he could not but accept it without cleansing his mouth. Ordinarily a brāhmaṇa paṇḍita, early in the morning, will first cleanse his mouth, bathe, offer different prayers, and only then take prasādam. But when Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu personally came and offered it to him with His own hand, what could Sārvabhauma do? He had to accept that prasādam. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu told him, “We have previously experienced the taste of so many things like ghee, rice, sweets, and spices. We all know what flavors they have, but this is wonderful. This has touched the lips of Kṛṣṇa Himself. It is extraordinarily wonderful and tasteful.”     
Then, Sārvabhauma eagerly ate that prasādam and began uttering some mantras:
śuṣkaṁ paryuṣitaṁ vāpi nītam vā dura-deśataḥ 
prāpti-mātreṇa bhoktavyaṁ nātra kāla-vichāraṇā
“One should take the mahā-prasāda of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as soon as one receives it, without consideration of time or place, even though it may be dried up, stale, or brought from a distant country.”
na deśa-niyamas tatra na kāla-niyamas tathā 
prāptam annaṁ drutaṁ śiṣṭair bhoktavyaṁ harir abravīt
“The prasāda of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is to be taken by gentleman as soon as it is received, without hesitation. There are no regulative principles concerning time and place. This is the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
He took prasādam, and the Lord and servant embraced one another and began to dance in ecstasy. As they danced, the symptoms of ecstasy appeared in both of them. They perspired, trembled, and shed tears. Absorbed in ecstatic love, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Today, I have conquered the whole world, for I have converted a scholar like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya. Now, he has so much faith in mahā-prasāda that without performing any Vedic rituals, he took the prasādam. My mission is successful!”
From that day on, Sarvabauma Bhaṭṭāchārya knew nothing but the lotus feet of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, and could only explain the scriptures with the conclusions of devotion. Seeing that Sārvabhauma had become a follower of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Gopīnātha Āchārya began to clap his hands and dance. He said, “Well, Sārvabhauma, what do you think now?” Sārvabhauma replied, “Gopīnātha, you are my real friend, for it is by your grace that I received the mercy of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.”
Although it is the duty of justice to seek qualifications, mercy has no such limits. Divine mercy does not care for any qualifications, but is always ready to compensate the weak and unfit. Only one thing is required: our sincere eagerness to receive mercy. In Chaitanya-caritāmṛta it is said:
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ 
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto’pi labhyate 
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ 
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate
“Pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa cannot be obtained by performing pious activities even for millions of births. It can be purchased only by paying one price: intense eagerness. Wherever it is available, one must purchase it immediately.” No qualifications from one’s previous life will help one to attain Kṛṣṇa consciousness; only eagerness and faith are important.
FRIEND OF THE FALLEN
And what is the effect of Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ 
kṣīyante chāsya karmāṇi mayi dṛṣṭe ’khilātmani
“Our inner aspiration for rasa, ecstasy, is buried in the heart and the heart is tied down and sealed. But hearing and chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa breaks the seal of the heart, and the heart awakens and opens to receive Kṛṣṇa: the reservoir of pleasure, ecstasy Himself (raso vai sah, akhila-rasāmṛta-murtiḥ).”
Our heart’s concern is with ecstasy, charm, and sweetness. And this is felt by the heart, not by the brain, so the heart has been given the most importance. The next effect is felt in the plane of knowledge. After getting a taste of divine sweetness, suspicion vanishes (rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣtvā nivartate). When we have a taste of real ecstasy (rasa), then all doubts are cleared. By getting a taste of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the heart is captured and when the heart is captured, the ecstasy of love of Godhead, prema, begins to flow. Being satisfied, the heart will say, “This is what I was searching for!” Then, the brain will follow, thinking, “Yes, there can be no doubt, this is the highest goal of our search. Dissolve everything else.” The heart will say, “I have attained prema, divine love—this is the highest thing! Stop all works from now on.” Then, karma will close all its workshops. After coming in touch with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the first result is that the heart awakens. When the heart is captured, the brain approves, and our karma, energizing in the wrong direction, stops. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the real wealth of the heart.
It is the nature of divine mercy to extend itself without caring for any law. The only consideration is our eagerness to accept it. Mercy is offered in this way: “Do you want this?” If we simply agree, “Yes, it is wonderful and most tasteful,” then we can have it. If our prayer is genuine, then nothing else is required. It is a simple transaction. If we want it, we will get it. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is most simple. Whether one is fit or unfit is unimportant. Anyone who simply wants it may have it.
And what of those who don’t want this divine gift? For them, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu distributed special mercy though His most magnanimous canvassing agent, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu won’t allow even those who want to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness to escape. If someone says, “I don’t want it,” Nityānanda Prabhu won’t allow it. He will say, “No! You must want it. I request you earnestly—take it! Use it and you will be able to feel the value of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”
To capture the market, a clever merchant may distribute free samples of his product to his customers, saying, “Take one free! There is no question of paying any price now. I am giving this away. Use it, and if you feel the value, the utility of my product—buy it.” And then afterwards everyone will purchase.
In a similar way, Nityānanda Prabhu traveled throughout Bengal making His humble appeal. Nityānanda Prabhu would knock at the door and fall at the feet of His customers, crying, “Please accept this! Don’t dismiss Me. Don’t drive Me away. Please do what I say. Give all your attention to Gaurāṅga and you will be benefited beyond expectation. This is My request to you.” He would shed tears, roll at their door, and say, “You are reluctant to accept this, but have no doubts. I implore you—take it! Believe Me. Please accept Gaurāṅga!” In this way, Nityānanda Prabhu used to wander down both sides of the Ganges, roaming here and there and preaching about Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.
Nityānanda Prabhu knows only Gaurāṅga. He is represented in Kṛṣṇa-līlā as Baladeva. Baladeva apparently performed the Rāsa-līlā, but at heart was only arranging Rāsa-līlā for Kṛṣṇa: His nature shows the experts of devotion that He is always dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise He would not be Baladeva. He has no individual thoughts for His own enjoyment; every atom of His body is always eager to make arrangements for the enjoyment of Kṛṣṇa. In a similar way, every atom of the body of Nityānanda Prabhu is conscious transcendental substance. And every atom of His body is meant only for the service and satisfaction of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.
One day, Mahāprabhu’s mother, Śachīdevī, had a dream that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were on a throne and Nityānanda Prabhu was addressing Baladeva, “Come down from Your throne! Your days are over. Now my Lord Gaurāṅga will be installed.” Baladeva refused: “No. I have My Lord—Kṛṣṇa.” There was a fight, but Nityānanda Prabhu was stronger and He took Baladeva down from the throne, saying, “Your day has gone. Now the time for My master, Gaurāṅga, has come. You are a trespasser, a usurper—You must come down.” And Baladeva could not defeat Nityānānda, who took Him down from the throne.
This is the nature of Nityānanda Prabhu’s relationship with Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. He has nothing of His own; His everything is Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. As Baladeva is to Kṛṣṇa, Nityānanda Prabhu is to Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. The aim of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s descent was to distribute the devotional service of Vṛndāvana most generously. On the other hand, Nityānanda Prabhu used to sing,
Bhaja gaurāṅga, kaha gaurāṅga laha gaurāṅger nāma, 
yei jana gaurāṅga bhaje sei āmāra prāna
“Worship Gaurāṅga, speak of Gaurāṅga, chant Gaurāṅga’s name. Whoever worships Śrī Gaurāṅga is My life and soul.” Nityānanda Prabhu tried His best to make the people at large accept Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. What did He say? “Come straight to the campaign of Śrī Chaitanya and you will safely attain Vṛndāvana.”
Of course, Navadwīpa, the abode of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, is no less valuable than Vṛndāvana, the abode of Kṛṣṇa. The same rasa which is found in Vṛndāvana is present in another feature in Navadwīpa. Some devotees have a special attraction for Vṛndāvana-līlā, others have a special attraction for Navadwīpa-līlā, and a third group represents both camps, but Navadwīpa is the most generous. In Vṛndāvana, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are confined to a confidential circle, but in Navadwīpa, those pastimes are distributed. Gaura-līlā is more generous than Kṛṣṇa-līlā.
In the Chaitanya-charitāmṛta (Mad. 25.261), Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Goswāmī explains his conception of the difference between Gaura-līlā and Kṛṣṇa-līlā:
kṛṣṇa-līlā amṛta-sāra, tāra śata śata dhāra, 
daśa-dike vahe yāhā haite 
se chaitanya-līlā haya, sarovara akṣaya, 
mano-haṁsa charāha’ tāhāte
He says, “There is no doubt that we find the highest nectarine taste of rasa in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. But what is Gaura-līlā? In Gaura-līlā, the nectar of Kṛṣṇa-līlā is not confined to a limited circle, but is being distributed on all sides. It is just as if from all ten sides of the nectarine lake of Kṛṣṇa-līlā hundreds of streams are flowing.”
Our highest aspiration is to achieve the service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, but in the beginning, we must approach Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu through His mani- fest representation, the Guru. Nityānanda Prabhu consolidates the foundation which helps us progress further in devotion. Quick progress without a good foundation invites a negative reaction, so the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu is our primary necessity. This approach culminates in the service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī (nitāiyer-karuṇā habe braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe).
To be reinstated as a servant of the servant to the extreme degree is the philosophy of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Our goal is not to become one with Kṛṣṇa—to receive service—we want to render service. The predominated moiety of the Absolute Truth is negative potency—the energy that serves—and the predominating moiety receives that service. Our best interest will be reached when, according to our constitutional nature, we attain our position in the line of servitors in the negative, predominated moiety; not by considering ourselves one with the positive, predominating moiety.
By the grace of Nityānanda Prabhu, we develop our attraction for Śrī Gaurāṅga. If we receive the grace of Śrī Gaurāṅga, we receive everything in the highest degree. And that is the safest way to approach Rādhā-Govinda. If we try to achieve Rādhā-Govinda in some other way, our attempt will naturally be artificial and defective; if we approach Rādhā-Govinda directly, avoiding Śrī Gaurāṅga, there will be great difficulty.
Therefore, we should invest all our energy in the service of Śrī Gaurāṅga. Then, we shall automatically find ourselves being lifted towards the highest level. Prabodhānanda Saraswati Ṭhākur prays:
yathā yathā gaura-padāravinde 
vindeta bhaktiṁ kṛta-puṇya-rāśiḥ 
tathā tathot sarpati hṛdy akasmād 
rādhā-padāmbhoja-sudhāmbhu-rāśiḥ
“As much as we devote ourselves to the lotus feet of Śrī Gaurāṅga, we will automatically achieve the nectarine service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in Vṛndāvan.” An investment in Navadwīpa Dhāma will automatically take one to Vṛndāvana. How one has been carried there will be unknown to him. But those who have good fortune invest everything in the service of Gaurāṅga. If they do that, they will find that everything has automatically been offered to the Divine Feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. She will accept them in Her confidential service and give them engagement, saying, “Oh, you have a good recommendation from Navadwīpa; I immediately appoint you to this service.” Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is introduced in the form of Gaurāṅga with the added element of magnanimity. No selfish sensualism can enter our consideration of the pastimes of Śrī Gaurāṅga, for there He appears as a sannyāsi and a devotee.
Of course, if we are to analyze Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, we shall find Kṛṣṇa in the garb of Rādhārāṇī. According to the impersonal philosophers, when negative and positive combine, they become non-differentiated oneness, but Vaiṣṇava philosophy says that when both positive and negative aspects of Godhead are combined, personality is not lost. Rather, in the garb of the negative, the positive is converted and begins searching for Himself in the mood of the highest searcher. According to Vaiṣṇavism, when positive and negative combine, they do not create equilibrium; rather their dynamic character is always maintained. The combination of Rādhā and Govinda is Śrī Gaurāṅga, and by the grace of Nityānanda Prabhu, we may be attracted to Śrī Gaurāṅga.
Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy sometimes exceeds the mercy of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Because it may create a bad precedent, Mahāprabhu some- times cannot accept certain fallen souls—He has to consider their status as well as other things.
Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy, however, does not care for any unfavorable circumstances; His mercy is very lavish and almost blind. He does not discriminate between different degrees of sinners. His mercy is all-embracing. And Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu cannot dismiss His recommendation. Even those who Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu rejected, Nityānanda Prabhu sheltered, and gradually Mahāprabhu had to accept them. So the grace of Nityānanda is the greatest both in magnitude and circumference, and that is our solace, for by His mercy even the most fallen souls can attain the supreme goal.
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu once told His followers, “Even if Nityānanda Prabhu is found with a fallen girl of the lowest kind, drinking wine in a wine shop, still you should know that He is above all these things. Although you may find Him apparently engaged in lower activities, He is never implicated. He may appear connected with so many fallen activities, but you should know that He is always revered by the creator of the universe, Lord Brahmā, and other exalted devotees. Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy is so powerful that if one simply takes a piece of His loincloth and wears it respectfully on his body, he will be saved from all the disturbances of the mundane senses.” Therefore we pray, “May my mind always stick to His holy feet; I offer my obeisances to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.”
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa for the benefit of those souls swallowed by māyā. He ran and chased after the fallen souls to deliver them from illusion by giving them the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and Nityānanda Prabhu, like His shadow, ran after Him wherever He went. He fully surrendered and identified himself with Mahāprabhu’s cause. So we must bow down to Nityānanda Prabhu. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu was merged in tasting the sweetness of Rādhā-Govinda līlā, and diving deep into that reality, however, at the same time, He wanted to deliver all souls whose hearts had not been devoured by the false notions of renunciation and exploitation, He ordered Nityānanda Prabhu, “Go to Bengal and try to deliver them—give them divine love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”
He ordered Nityānanda Prabhu to distribute divine love for Rādhā-Govinda, but instead, Nityānanda began to preach about Śrī Gaurāṅga. He thought, “It will be better for them to worship Gaurāṅga; that will help free them from their offenses in their present condition, and by doing so, they will automatically achieve a position in Rādhā-Govinda līlā.” He was ordered to preach the name of Kṛṣṇa, but instead began to preach the name of Gaurāṅga. So, for our own welfare, we bow down to Nityānanda Prabhu with all our humility.
We pray, “O Nityānanda Prabhu, O Gurudeva, please give me a drop of firm faith in Śrī Gaurāṅga, who is Rādhā-Govinda combined, tasting the sweetness of the divine nectar of the pastimes of Vṛndāvana. Give me a drop of faith, so that one day I may attain divine love and enter into that domain.”
If we neglect Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, our aspiration to serve Rādhā-Govinda will be a dream, an abstract imagination without reality. Nityānanda Prabhu is the refuge of all fallen souls. He is the most generous-hearted aspect of Guru-tattva; we must bow down our head to Him, accept His holy feet, and surrender to Him.
In the spiritual realm of Vaikuṇṭha, Nityānanda Prabhu is represented as Saṅkarṣaṇa, the Supreme Lord who is considered to be the foundation of everything in existence. All possible existence is maintained by His energy. Nityānanda Prabhu is the original Baladeva, the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, we should view the pastimes of Nityānanda Prabhu with full consciousness of His dignified position, although He used to roam about here and there, rolling in the dust with tears in His eyes, saying, “Take the name of Gaurāṅga and I will be sold to you.” Although He posed in this lower position, still, He should be considered in light of His actual dignified position. We must surrender to Him with that attitude. Balarāma is represented in different parts of the spiritual world in different aspects. He came here as Nityānanda Prabhu with Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. The truth about Nityānanda Prabhu has been exhaustively explained in Chaitanya-charitāmṛta and Chaitanya-bhāgavata. There, He is described as enjoying His life and relishing His pastimes with His own younger brother. To that Nityānānda, we must bow our heads.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa prema, divine love, is an inconceivable substance which is very pleasing and ecstatic. Great saints who get a taste of that wonderful substance throw away all sorts of aspirations, including salvation, which is lavishly praised by the Vedas. So Nityānanda Prabhu, although one with Baladeva, is greater than Him? Why? He is distributing divine love.
What is divine love? It is so important and valuable, so much higher than all other sorts of achievements, that one who can give divine love is far superior to those who can give duty, wealth, pleasure, and even salvation (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa). If we conceive that Kṛṣṇa is subordinate to Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, then of course Balārama is subordinate to Nityānanda Prabhu. In all other respects the two of Them are similar, but when magnanimity is added to Balārama, He becomes Nityānanda Prabhu.
First, the position of divine love must be established: the great saints discard salvation and other things after they get a slight scent of divine love. Once the position of divine love is established, we can understand that one who can give it must necessarily be superior to the givers of all other things.
So Nityānanda Balārama is superior to Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of the collective universes, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of this universe, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of all living beings. And that Balārama has come here as Nityānanda Prabhu—not with majesty, grandeur, or power, but in a human form—to distribute divine love. And He is the giver of Gaurāṅga. His greatness is proved by this fact. We can understand this by further examining the different aspects of His life, step by step.
Nityānanda Prabhu was born in Ekachakrā, and there He passed His early life. His parents, friends and neighbors were filled with ecstatic joy, being pleased with His sweet infant pastimes. From His birth, He was a pleasure to the whole atmosphere of Ekachakrā, and in this joyful atmosphere He passed His childhood years.
One day, while Nityānanda was still young, a sannyāsi came to His home and begged Him from His parents. The sannyāsi was roaming about to different holy places and he prayed for Nityānanda as his alms. He took Him in his company and Nityānanda Prabhu wandered about almost all the holy places, following that sannyāsi. It is said that the sannyāsi was Madhavendra Purī.
Then one day, from within, feeling ecstasy in His heart, Nityānanda Prabhu could understand that Śrī Gaurāṅga had begun His pastimes of saṅkīrttana in Navadwīpa. And with that inspiration, He came to Navadwīpa Dhāma.
That day, Mahāprabhu told His followers, “I had a dream that an extraordinarily great man, in a chariot marked with the palm tree flag of Balarāma, came to My door and said, ‘Where is the house of Nimāi Paṇḍita?’ Twice, thrice, four times—again and again—he keeps saying, ‘Where is the house of Nimāi Paṇḍita?’“ Mahāprabhu continued, “That great personage must have come last night to Navadwīpa. Try to search Him out.” They searched and searched, but could not find Him anywhere.
Then Mahāprabhu told them, “Let Me try.” He took them straight to the home of Nandanāchārya, and when Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu with His followers suddenly arrived there, they found Nityānanda Prabhu sitting on the veranda. After seeing Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu stared intently at Him for some time, became absorbed in Him, and fainted. In this way, in one day, He became the most intimate associate of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. When He was ordered by Śr

The Golden Volcano of Divine Love
His Divine Grace Swami B.R. Sridhar

Introduction

Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu preached the full-fledged theistic conception given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam mainly deals with the comparative study of theism and the ontology of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It surpasses all other Vedic literature, even the Purāṇas. The Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa represent the importance of devotion to Kṛṣṇa through narration and history to some extent, but fall short of the philosophical and ontological standard set by the Mahāpurāṇa, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can satisfy all Vedantic scholars, for it represents Kṛṣṇa consciousness in its fullest dignity. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam expounds as the highest attainment of theism not consciousness, intelligence, or ontology, but ecstasy, beauty, and harmony—rasa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, rasa is all-important. It is a unique treatise, for it takes theism from the plane of intellectual jugglery to the domain of rasa.

I once began writing a book which was to be a summary study of the eighteen thousand verse Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura condensed the whole Bhāgavata principle into one thousand verses in his Bhāgavatārka-marīci-mālā. I had a mind to consolidate it even more, to represent it within three hundred verses. I began that book, but could not finish it.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a vast treatise in the Sanskrit language, filled with essential information, historical reference, and expositions on the major schools of philosophy. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, many minor points of history and geography are also mentioned which, although nonessential, support its conclusions. Whatever is unnecessary in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is eliminated when its meaning reaches its purest and most intensified glory in the teachings of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. So, if we are to consider the very gist of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we must study the life and precepts of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Just as the teachings of the great author of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, were percolated by the realizations of Śukadeva Goswāmī, the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been percolated by the life and precepts of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore, because the teachings of Śrīman Mahāprabhu represent the gist of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I would like to include here one of the verses I originally composed to introduce my summary study. It glorifies the position of Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the most intimate associate of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Gadādhara Paṇḍita used to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Jagannātha Purī, at the Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha temple. He would read, and Śrīman Mahāprabhu and the great devotees like Svarūpa Damodara and Ramānanda Rāya were his audience:

nīlāmbhodhi-taṭe sadā sva-virahā-kṣepanvitaṁ bāndhavaṁ 
śrīmad-bhāgavatī kathā madirayā sañjīvayan bhāti yaḥ 
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ sadā sva-nayanāśru-pāyanaiḥ pūjayan 
gosvāmi-prabaro gadādhara-vibhūr-bhūyāt mad-ekā-gatiḥ

“On the shore of the broad blue ocean, Gadādhara Paṇḍita used to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who was suffering from the great internal pain of separation from Himself (Kṛṣṇa). Gadādhara Paṇḍita supplied the wine of kṛṣṇa-līlā to intoxicate his afflicted friend and give Him relief. As he read, tears would fall from his eyes like flower offerings onto the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. May the pleasure of that brilliant personality, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the best of the Goswāmīs, be my only object in writing this book.”

The title of this book is The Golden Volcano of Divine Love. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu felt a great pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa which burned like fire and was expressed as the Śikṣāṣṭakam. This is explained in Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram (54):

śrī-svarūpa-rāya-saṅga-gambhirāntya-līlanaṁ 
dvādaśābda-banhi-garba-vipralambha-śīlanam 
rādhikāhirūḍha-bhāva-kānti-kṛṣṇa-kuñjaraṁ 
prema-dhāma-devam-eva-naumi-gaura-sundaram

“Diving deep into the reality of His own beauty and sweetness, Kṛṣṇa stole the mood of Rādhārāṇī and, garbing Himself in Her brilliant luster, appeared as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. For the last twelve years of His manifest pastimes, He was deeply absorbed in the mood of union and separation and shared His heart’s inner feelings with His most confidential devotees. In the agony of separation from Kṛṣṇa, volcanic eruptions of ecstasy flowed from His heart, and His teachings, known as Śikṣāṣṭakam, appeared from His lips like streams of golden lava. I fall at the feet of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, the Golden Volcano of Divine Love.”
  
He was vomiting the fire of painful separation from Kṛṣṇa in the form of the Śikṣāṣṭakam. Therefore, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is compared to a golden volcano and the Śikṣāṣṭakam is compared to divine lava.

Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us that separation is the highest principle in divinity. Just as the most intense conception of ecstasy is association with Kṛṣṇa, the most intense conception of pain is separation from Kṛṣṇa. Yet the pain felt from Kṛṣṇa’s separation is far more intense than the ecstasy felt from His association. Śrīman Mahāprabhu says, “Can’t you understand the painful situation you are in? Your senses must have all been destroyed? Otherwise you would have died from the pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa. It is inconceivable. We belong to Him wholesale. He is all in all to us, but we can’t see Him. We are forcibly separated from Him. How can we tolerate this?” And Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura once said, “I can’t tolerate separation from Kṛṣṇa any longer. I can go on for only three or four more days, and then I shall have to leave this body.”

To love Kṛṣṇa means that we shall have to “die to live.” In the beginning divine love seems like lava, death, but really it is nectar, life. Many persons in this ordinary world are also frustrated in love. They sometimes go mad and commit suicide because they can’t tolerate the pain. But the pain which comes with separation from Kṛṣṇa, although compared with lava, is not injurious like lava. Kavirāja Goswāmī explains: bahye viṣajvāla haya bhitore ānandamāya, kṛṣṇa premara adbhuta carite, “The wonderful characteristic of divine love of Kṛṣṇa is that although externally, it works like fiery lava, internally it is like sweet nectar that fills the heart with the greatest joy.”

Although he felt the greatest pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa, still, within His heart, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu experienced the deepest ecstatic joy. The ecstatic symptoms manifested by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu have never been found in the history of the world or even expressed in any scripture. In Him, we find the highest conception of the Ultimate Reality. This is explained in my Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram (66):

ātma-siddha-sāva līlā-pūrna-saukhya-lakṣanaṁ 
svānubhāva-matta-nṛtya-kīrtanātma-vanṭanam 
advayaika-lakṣya-pūrṇa-tattva-tat-parātparaṁ 
prema-dhāma-devam-eva naumi gaura-sundaram
  
“This is the all-conquering conclusion. The highest conception of the Ultimate Reality must also be the highest form of ananda, ecstasy. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa, ecstasy Himself, tasting His own sweetness and dancing in ecstatic joy. His own Holy Name is the cause of His ecstasy, expressed as dancing, and the Holy Name is the effect of His ecstasy, expressed as chanting. The cause is the effect. The dynamo is creating ecstatic energy which makes Him dance, and His chanting distributes that ecstasy to others.”

In this way, by every word from His lotus mouth and every gesture and movement of His beautiful golden figure, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu performs His ecstatic pastimes of divine love.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāj is the foremost pure devotee and is the patriarch of the followers of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. He is an intimate disciple and eternal associate of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākura, the founder-āchārya of Śrī Gauḍiya Math who masterminded a spiritual revolution to inundate the world with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Noted for his wonderful ability to draw out the inner meaning of the scriptures, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja once composed a poem describing the ontological positions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and the line of disciplic succession stemming from Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī was so pleased with his poem that he remarked, Śrīdhara Mahārāja is carrying the conception of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Now, I am satisfied that although I may go, at least one man will remain behind who can represent my conclusions.”

As he prepared to leave this mortal world, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī expressed his desire to fix his consciousness on the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. He called his beloved disciple Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja to his bedside and requested him to sing the famous song of Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī Pada. At that time, in what has been described as a ‘mystic transmission,’ he gave Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja entrance into the eternal entourage of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja’s vision, however, he was posted as the gatekeeper, the guardian of devotion (Bhakti Rakṣaka), to protect the storehouse of conclusive truths about the full-fledged theistic conception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Reality the Beautiful as presented in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and preached by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and the line of disciplic succession that has descended from Him, known as the Śrī Chatanya Saraswata Sampradāya.

Śrīpād Nityānanda Prabhu.
By the grace of Nityānanda Prabhu we develop our attraction for Śrī Gaurāṅga. Nityānanda Prabhu helps us consolidate the foundation on which we can progress further. His mercy sometimes exceeds the mercy of Śrī Chatanya Mahāprabhu. He won’t allow even those who want to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness to escape. If someone says, “I don’t want it,” Nityānanda Prabhu won’t allow it. He will say, “No! You must want it. I request you earnestly—take it! Use it and you will be able to feel the value of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” He used to roam about here and there, rolling in the dust with tears in His eyes saying, “Take the name of Gaurāṅga and I will be sold to you.”

By His mercy, even the most fallen souls can attain the supreme goal. He is the most generous-hearted aspect of guru-tattva, so we must bow down our head to Him, accept His holy feet, and surrender to Him.

Śrī Chatanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Absolute Truth in its fullest and most dynamic expression. The influence of Rādhārāṇī over Kṛṣṇa has transformed Him into a devotee, and He is searching Himself. Kṛṣṇa—the personification of ecstasy and beauty —is mad in tasting His own internal nectar. His dancing indicates that he is full of ecstasy and His saṅkīrttana movement is the distribution of that ecstasy to others.

Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountain-head of all pleasure, ecstasy Himself, and Srīmati Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of ecstatic love of Godhead. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, but They have assumed two forms. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of divine love. The service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana can be attained only by unalloyed devotion to the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga.