Chapter 15
The Lord Accepts Prasāda at the House of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya
TEXT 271
gopīnāthācārya gelā prabhu-daraśane
prabhu tāṅre puchila bhaṭṭācārya-vivaraṇe
SYNONYMS
gopīnāthācārya—Gopīnātha Ācārya; gelā—went; prabhu-daraśane—to see Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; prabhu—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; tāṅre—unto Him; puchila—inquired; bhaṭṭācārya-vivaraṇe—the affairs in the house of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.
TRANSLATION
At this time, Gopīnātha Ācārya went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Lord asked him about the events taking place in Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's house.
TEXT 272
ācārya kahe,--upavāsa kaila dui jana
visūcikā-vyādhite amogha chāḍiche jīvana
SYNONYMS
ācārya kahe—Gopīnātha Ācārya informed; upavāsa—fasting; kaila—observed; dui jana—the two persons; visūcikā-vyādhite—by the disease of cholera; amogha—Amogha; chāḍiche jīvana—is going to die.
TRANSLATION
Gopīnātha Ācārya informed the Lord that both the husband and wife were fasting and that their son-in-law Amogha was dying of cholera.
TEXT 273
śuni' kṛpāmaya prabhu āilā dhāñā
amoghere kahe tāra buke hasta diyā
SYNONYMS
śuni'-hearing; kṛpā-maya—merciful; prabhu—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; āilā—came; dhāñā—running; amoghere—unto Amogha; kahe—He says; tāra—His; buke—on the chest; hasta diyā—keeping His hand.
TRANSLATION
As soon as Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard that Amogha was going to die, He immediately ran to him in great haste. Placing His hand on Amogha's chest, He spoke as follows.
TEXT 274
sahaje nirmala ei 'brāhmaṇa'-hṛdaya
kṛṣṇera vasite ei yogya-sthāna haya
SYNONYMS
sahaje—by nature; nirmala—without contamination; ei—this; brāhmaṇa-hṛdaya—heart of a brāhmaṇa; kṛṣṇera—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vasite—to sit down; ei—this; yogya-sthāna—proper place; haya—is.
TRANSLATION
"The heart of a brāhmaṇa is by nature very clean; therefore it is a proper place for Kṛṣṇa to sit.
TEXT 275
'mātsarya'-caṇḍāla kene ihāṅ vasāile
parama pavitra sthāna apavitra kaile
SYNONYMS
mātsarya—jealousy; caṇḍāla—the lowest of the men; kene—why; ihāṅ—here; vasāile—you allowed to sit; parama pavitra—most purified; sthāna—place; apavitra—impure; kaile—you have made.
TRANSLATION
"Why have you allowed jealousy to sit here also? Because of this, you have become like a caṇḍāla, the lowest of men, and you have also contaminated a most purified place-your heart.
TEXT 276
sārvabhauma-saṅge tomāra 'kaluṣa' haila kṣaya
'kalmaṣa' ghucile jīva 'kṛṣṇa-nāma' laya
SYNONYMS
sārvabhauma-saṅge—by the association of Sārvabhauma; tomāra—your; kaluṣa—contamination; haila kṣaya—is now vanquished; kalmaṣa—contamination; ghucile—when dispelled; jīva—the living entity; kṛṣṇa-nāma—the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra; laya—can chant.
TRANSLATION
"However, due to the association of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, all your contamination is now vanquished. When a person's heart is cleansed of all contamination, he is able to chant the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 277
uṭhaha, amogha, tumi lao kṛṣṇa-nāma
acire tomāre kṛpā karibe bhagavān
SYNONYMS
uṭhaha—get up; amogha—Amogha; tumi—you; lao—chant; kṛṣṇa-nāma—the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa; acire—very soon; tomāre—unto you; kṛpā—mercy; karibe—will bestow; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
"Therefore, Amogha, get up and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra! If you do so, Kṛṣṇa will unfailingly bestow mercy upon you."
PURPORT
The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases-impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. All of these are one and the same truth, but Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān constitute three different features. Whoever understands Brahman is called a brāhmaṇa, and when a brāhmaṇa engages in the Lord's devotional service, he is called a Vaiṣṇava. Unless one comes to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his realization of impersonal Brahman is imperfect. A brāhmaṇa can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra on the platform of nāmābhāsa, but not on the platform of pure vibration. When a brāhmaṇa engages in the Lord's service, fully understanding his eternal relationship, his devotional service is called abhidheya. When one attains that stage, he is called a bhāgavata or a Vaiṣṇava. This indicates that he is free from contamination and material attachment. This is confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
"Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination."
A brāhmaṇa may be a very learned scholar, but this does not mean that he is free from material contamination. A brāhmaṇa's contamination, however, is in the mode of goodness. In the material world, the three modes are goodness, passion and ignorance, and all of these are simply different gradations of contamination. Unless a brāhmaṇa transcends such contamination and approaches the platform of unalloyed devotional service, he cannot be accepted as a Vaiṣṇava. An impersonalist may be aware of the impersonal Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth, but his activities are on the impersonal platform. Sometimes he imagines a form of the Lord (saguṇa-upāsanā), but such an attempt is never successful in helping one attain complete realization. The impersonalist may consider himself a brāhmaṇa and may be situated in the mode of goodness, but nonetheless he is conditioned by one of the modes of material nature. This means that he is not yet liberated, for liberation cannot be attained unless one is completely free from the modes. In any case, the Māyāvāda philosophy keeps one conditioned. If one becomes a Vaiṣṇava through proper initiation, he automatically becomes a brāhmaṇa. There is no doubt about it. The Garuḍa Purāṇa confirms this:
brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ
satra-yājī viśiṣyate
satra-yāji-sahasrebhyaḥ
sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ
sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā
viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate
"Out of many thousands of brāhmaṇas, one may become qualified to perform yajña. Out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas, one may be fully aware of the Vedānta philosophy. Out of many millions of learned Vedānta scholars, there may be one viṣṇu-bhakta, or devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. It is he who is most exalted."
Unless one is a fully qualified brāhmaṇa, he cannot advance in the spiritual science. A real brāhmaṇa is never envious of Vaiṣṇavas. If he is, he is considered an imperfect neophyte. Impersonalist brāhmaṇas are always opposed to Vaiṣṇava principles. They are envious of Vaiṣṇavas because they do not know the goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. However, when a brāhmaṇa becomes a Vaiṣṇava, there is no duality. If a brāhmaṇa does not become a Vaiṣṇava, he certainly falls down from the brāhmaṇa platform. This is confirmed by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.3): na bhajanty avajānanti sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ patanty adhaḥ.
We can actually see that in this Age of Kali many so-called brāhmaṇas are envious of Vaiṣṇavas. The Kali-contaminated brāhmaṇas consider Deity worship to be imaginative: arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. Such a contaminated brāhmaṇa may superficially imagine a form of the Lord, but actually he considers the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood. Similarly, such a contaminated brāhmaṇa considers the guru to be an ordinary human being, and he objects when a Vaiṣṇava is created by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Many so-called brāhmaṇas attempt to fight us, saying, "How can you create a brāhmaṇa out of a European or American? A brāhmaṇa can be born only in a brāhmaṇa family." They do not consider that this is never stated in any revealed scripture. It is specifically stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13): cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. "According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me."
Thus a brāhmaṇa is not a result of the caste system. He becomes a brāhmaṇa only by qualification. Similarly, a Vaiṣṇava does not belong to a particular caste; rather, his designation is determined by the rendering of devotional service.
TEXT 278
śuni' 'kṛṣṇa' 'kṛṣṇa' bali' amogha uṭhilā
premonmāde matta hañā nācite lāgilā
SYNONYMS
śuni'-hearing; kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa—the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; bali'-speaking; amogha uṭhilā—Amogha stood up; premonmāde—in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa; matta hañā—becoming maddened; nācite lāgilā—began to dance.
TRANSLATION
After hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and being touched by Him, Amogha, who was on his deathbed, immediately stood up and began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Thus he became mad with ecstatic love and began to dance emotionally.