Hidden Vyas and Open Vyas

Today is very good day for us because we have Mahāprabhu’s full Pastimes within Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat, especially in Nabadwīp-līlā, and that [is] given by Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur. Today is Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s appearance day.

[It is] very good for us [that] we have [the] opportunity to read Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat. Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur Pastimes were very critical actually, because the brother of Śrīvas Paṇḍit, who is within [the] Pañcha-Tattva, that Śrīvas Paṇḍit’s brother’s daughter was Narāyāṇī [and she was] living in Śrīvas Paṇḍit’s house. When she was [a] five years-old girl, Mahāprabhu gave his pan (betel nut) [and other] remnants offered to the Lord to Narāyāṇī. [Then] Mahāprabhu told Narāyāṇī, “Just now you got Kṛṣṇa-prema. You chant and dance in the name of Kṛṣna.” Narāyāṇī [was] immediatly intoxicated with Kṛṣṇa-prema, chanting the Holy Name of Lord and crying so much from separation. That Narāyāṇī’s son is Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur.

We are always going to Mamgachi (Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s birth place) in parikramā time, but his last Pastimes were near my birthplace [in] Denuda. We shall go there once maybe. He lived in Mamgachi, after that he went to Denuda and up to [his] last days he stayed there composed the Chaitanya-bhāgavata, almost the [entire] Pastimes of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. The last part of Chaitanya-līlā [is] expressed [by] Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī in Chaitanya-charitāmṛta so much, but he [didn’t udermine] the position and prestige of Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur. Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī always [referred to] Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur, “Chaitanya-līlāra vyāsa—vṛndāvana-dāsa,”—he is the Vedavyāsa incarnation in Chaitanya-līlā.

Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur many times mentioned, “What I am [saying] will be fully expressed when Vyās will come.” He indicated another Vyās, and we have seen that Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī [has] come. Then someone is hidden Vyās and someone is openly Vyās. We know Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur is the incarnation of Vedavyāsa for Chaitanya-līlā, and that Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s appearance day is today.

We are so happy when we are reading the Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat, we cannot believe how sweet this book is. Śrila Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur indicated [to] us about Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur. Prabhupād Saraswatī Ṭhākur wrote [it] in his Gauḍīya-bhāṣya,

śrī-chaitanya-bhāgavata grantha śuddha-bhakti-mata
kahe sadāśrī-bhaktivinoda
nirantara pāṭha-phale kubuddhi yāibe cha’le
kṛṣṇa preme labhite pramoda

Actually, Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur mentioned about Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat that it is pure śuddha-bhakti grantha, pure śuddha-bhakti, not depending upon any reason. It is like Ganges water flowing up to down, there is not anything bad influencing [it’s way]. Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur expressed [it in this] way.

Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur was direct and last disciple of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, and [was] too much intoxicated with the Pastimes of Nityānanda Prabhu. For that, in [the] Chaitanya-bhāgavata, he mentions Nityānanda Prabhu’s Pastimes [in a] different way, with [a] mood of intoxicated devotion. Then we can understand the Pastimes of Nityānanda Prabhu and Mahāprabhu both. Mahāprabhu [has] given Kṛṣna and Nityānanda Prabhu [has] given Gaurāṅga Sundar Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu told chant [the] Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra and Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur mentioned [that] Nityānanda Prabhu preached about Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu,

bhaja gaurāṅga, kaha gaurāṅga laha gaurāṅger nāma
yei jana gaurāṅga bhaje sei amara prāṇa

This way. Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur [was] actually ordered by Narāyāṇī Devī, “You try to compose [the] Chaitanya-līlā.” Narāyāṇī Devī was [a] pure devotee of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. I told before. And Mahāprabhu Himself given Kṛṣṇa-prema to Narāyāṇī Devī and that result came as Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur. He was too much intoxicated with [a] mood [of] devotion and too attrached [to the] Pastimes [of] Nityānanda Prabhu. When he composed and expressed Śrī-Chaitanya-līlā, Nityānanda’s Pastimes [are mentioned many times]. Who has little faith with Nityānanda Prabhu cannot tolerate [Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s] mood.

Sometimes he was very untolerant and said, “tabe lāthi māroṅ tā’ra śirera upare.” (Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavata: Ādi, 9.225) That means that [in this] way he [is] giving some chance to [the sinful person] to come to the lotus feet of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. [It is] mentioned [by] Prabhupād Śrīla Saraswati Ṭhākur that Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur fought with all the demoniac brāhmaṇ society. His Pastimes externally [appear] hard. From different corners many obstacles came, but he crossed over everything through his devotional activity and [his] devotional mood. Nityānanda Prabhu appeared sometimes in [Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s] body, we can see that. The mood of Nityānanda is [of] bestowing mercy [on] all the conditioned souls.

Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur always gave some indication [that], “I am not Vedavyāsa; Vedavyāsa will come and he will give you [the] Pastimes of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. I am ordered [by] Narāyāṇī Devī, my mother; I am trying to present Chaitanya-līlā some way in front of you all.”

But Kṛṣṇa Kavirrāj Goswāmī said, “No. He is really Vedavyāsa and he [is] giving [the] real Chaitanya-līlā. What he left [out] of [Chaitanya-līlā] to give us and rest of that līlā, I am expressing in front of you all.”

Nityānanda Prabhu [is] bestowing his mercy upon Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī also. By the grace of Nityānada Prabhu, Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī has got [the] chance to go to Vṛndāvan Dhām and stay there with all the Rūpānuga devotees. By the request of all the Rūpānuga Vaiṣṇavas [and] after giving full honor to Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur, he composed Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta. Always he mentioned in many places, “Chaitanya-līlāra vyāsa—Vṛndāvana-Dāsa,” (Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Ādi, 8.35)
—[Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur] is Vedavyāsa.

[I have got some] realization through [the] mercy of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, [that] both are Vyāsdeva, no doubt. When Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur said [that] Vyās will come in future, and when Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī said [that] Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur is Vedavyāsa, then we have got the light through their expression.

I composed two ślokas about Śrīla Kavirāj Goswāmī and Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur, when we published Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta,

dāsa-vṛndāvanaṁ vande kṛṣṇa-dāsa-prabhuṁ tathā
chhannāvatāra-chaitanya-līlā-vistāra-kāriṇau
[dvau nityānandapādābja-karuṇāreṇu-bhuṣitau]
[vyakta-chhannau budhachintyau vāvande vyāsa-rūpiṇau]
[śrī-guru-gaura-gāndharvā-govindāścha gaṇaiḥ saha]
[jayanti pāṭhakāśchatra sarveṣāṁ karuṇārthinaḥ]
(Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj)

[They] mean, “I [am] bowing [down] to Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī and Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur. First I bow down to Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur and then to Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī, because they [have] both appeared as Vedavyāsa. One [as] hidden and the other [as] open Vyāsdeva. That līlā they have done. In Chaitanya-līlā, they are position like this.”

But, “dvau nityānandapādābja-karuṇāreṇu-bhuṣitau,”
Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur and Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī are both, blessed by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu initiated Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur and mercifully [he brought] all [of his] blessings to Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī, and told,

āre āre kṛṣṇadāsa, nā karaha bhaya
vṛndāvane yāha,—tāṅhā sarva labhya haya
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Ādi, 5.195)

“Oh, Kṛṣṇadās, you don’t worry [and] don’t be fearful. You go to Vṛndāvan; there you will get everything by my grace.”

Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī [after] seeing that dream, when morning came, left his house, eveyrthing, and started for Vṛndāvan. When he went [to] Vṛndāvan, Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī was there, and others also, Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu, Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī Prabhu. [Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī] got [the] association of all [of] them. So many hundreds of Vaiṣṇavas [were] living there in Vṛndāvan Dhām [at] that time, all [were] Mahāprabhu’s followers. Everyday they heard from Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī the Pastimes of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, as [Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī] heard from Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī. When he was expressing that all, the Vaiṣṇavas requested to Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī, “As Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur mentioned [that] someone will come [as] Vyās, then you must express it.” By the request of Vṛndāvan Vaiṣṇava society, Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī composed the Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta. That is [the] fact.

Then I feel it, by the grace of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, “dvau nityānandapādābja-karuṇāreṇu-bhuṣitau,”—both are too much blessed by Nityānanda Prabhu. We consider through the vision of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj [that] one is [the] vyakta (open) Vedavyāsa, and another is [the] chhannau (hidden) Vedavyāsa. Actually, Śrī Chaitanya-līlā, is [a] hidden Pastime of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

It is written in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, “chhannaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ’tha sa tvam.”(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.38) it is chhanna avatār. When it is chhanna avatār then Vedavyāsa must be chhanna Vedavyāsa. Then [I’m] expressing in [this] śloka,

dvau nityānandapādābja-karuṇāreṇu-bhuṣitau
vyakta-chhannau budhāchintyau vāvande vyāsa-rūpiṇau

This way Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur and Śrīla Kavirāj Goswāmī blessed me. Through that little bit, we understand their glory.

Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur was too much intoxicated with [the] Pastimes of Nityānanda Prabhu and Mahāprabhu, but his unlimited love for Nityānanda Prabhu gives us [the] real property [of] Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Narrottama Dās Ṭhākur said,

nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭī-chandra-suśītala,
je chāyāya jagata juḍāy
heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi,
dṛḍha kori dharo nitāira pāya
se sambandha nāhi jāra, bṛthā janma gelo tāra,
sei paśu boḍo durāchāra
nitāi nā bolilo mukhe, majilo saṁsāra-sukhe,
vidyā-kule ki koribe tāra
ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā,
asatyere satya kori māni
nitāiyer koruṇā habe, braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe,
dharo nitāiyer charaṇ du’ khāni
(Mahaḥ-Śikṣā: 1-3)

If you want service of Lord Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī, you must surrender to Nityānanda Prabhu, and Nityānanda Prabhu [will] give entrance, visa to Vṛndāvan Dhām. Then you can enter into the Vṛndāvan Dhām. Otherwise, you cannot enter. Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī tried so many times to join with the Pastimes of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu in Puri Dhām. But he [was] not was successful. But when he got mercy from Nityānanda Prabhu, then he got relief from his family life. Nityānanda Prabhu said, “Now all your [obstacles are] gone [and] you will get to the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu.”

Next time when he tried, he was successful. And he joined with Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet; this is [a] fact. Without [the] mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, no one will get the mercy of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. And without Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, no one will get entrance into Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes.

jadi gaura nā ho’to, tobe ki hoito,
kemone dhoritām de
rādhāra mahimā prema-rasa-sīmā
jagate jānāta ke?
madhura vṛndā, vipina mādhurī,
praveśa chāturī sāra
baraja-juvatī, bhāvera bhakati,
śakati hoito kāra?
(Jadi Gaura nā ho’to: 1-2)

This was expressed [by] Vāsudev Ghoṣ who was great devotee of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and [a] good composer of Mahāprabhu’s Pastimes, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes.

Today is Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur’s very auspicious appearance day. We are all very happy to celebrate. [On this] festival day, so many devotees are sitting in front of me, from America, from Mexico: Śrī Ṛṣabadev Prabhu, Śrīpad Āśram Mahārāj, Mathurānāth Prabhu, Śrī Govinda Prabhu, so many are present. Añjali [and] Mukunda, etc. They are hearing, and they are very happy with your service. Śrīpad Ṛṣabdev Prabhu mentioned [to] me after coming here [that] he is getting life after hearing your internet preaching. I am very happy that you are engaging me with this service almost every week.

Jaya Śrīla Guru Mahārāj!
Jaya Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur ki jaya!