Today as most of the world celebrates Gaura Purnima, (Appearance
day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu), I was reminded of a lecture given by
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada on Gaura Purnima in Mayapur, India,
March 16th, 1976. So with pleasure we are posting this famous Gaura
Purnima lecture in its entirety.
Prabhupāda:…Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. You are worshiping
Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and there is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Deity also. There are
some parties, they protest, “Why Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Deity should be
placed along with Kṛṣṇa?” But they do not know śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. It is not different. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is
Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed by the śāstras. Here it is said, channaḥ kalau
yad abhava. In the Kali-yuga, directly He does not appear as the
incarnation like Nṛsiṁhadeva or Vāmanadeva or Lord Rāmacandra, yes, but
as devotee. So He’s the same incarnation, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Abhavat. “Therefore sometimes You are called as tri-yuga.” There are
four yugas, but He is known… Because in three yugas He appears
distinctly, and in the fourth yuga, the Kali-yuga, as devotee, therefore
He’s called tri-yuga. So today is the birthday or appearance day of
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and this is the birthplace, this Māyāpura, and
you are all present here. It is a good fortune. Always remember Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda…
Devotees: …śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.
Prabhupāda: This will make your life perfect.
Full Lecture
Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā Lecture
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.38
Given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Māyāpur, March 16, 1976
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa:
“In
this way, my Lord, You have appeared in different incarnations—as human
beings, as animals, as a great saintly person, as demigods and as a
fish and a tortoise. In this way You maintain the whole creation in
different planetary systems and kill the demoniac principles in every
age. My Lord, You therefore protect the principles of religion. In the
age of Kali You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Therefore You are known as Tri-yuga, or the Lord who appears in
three yugas.”
Prabhupāda:
itthaṁ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair
lokān vibhāvayasi haṁsi jagat pratīpān
dharmaṁ mahā-puruṣa pāsi yugānuvṛttaṁ
channaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ‘tha sa tvam
So
here is a very specific statement about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is
avatāra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the same Supreme Personality of
Godhead, but He’s channa. Channa means covered, not directly, because He
has appeared as a devotee. Avatāra… Rūpa Gosvāmī has found out that
He’s avatāra of Kṛṣṇa. All the devotees, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rūpa
Gosvāmī, and in the śāstra, and the Upaniṣad, Mahābhārata, in every…
Sādhu-śāstra. Avatāra should be confirmed by great devotees,
personalities, and must be collaborated with the statement in the
śāstra. So here is another statement in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The
directly, it is stated in the Eleventh Canto, you know,
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ prāyair
yajanti hi sumedhsaḥ
[SB 11.5.32]
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He was being described before King
Nimi by Karabhājana Muni the different incarnation in different
millenniums, yuga-dharma-vṛttam… Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also described
by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, yuga-dharma-pālo. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is
described here as channaḥ kalau. In the Kali-yuga He’s not appearing as
other incarnations, not like Nṛsiṁhadeva or many, Vāmanadeva, Lord
Rāmacandra. He is appearing as a devotee. Why? Now, this is the most
magnanimous avatāra. People are so foolish, they could not understand
Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ [Bg.
18.66], they took it: “Who is this person ordering like that,
Sarva-dharmān parityajya? What right?” That is our material disease. If
somebody is ordered to do something, he protests, “Who are you to order
me?” This is the position. God Himself, Kṛṣṇa, what can He say? He
orders, the Supreme Person, Supreme Being. He must order. He’s the
supreme controller. He must order. That is God. But we are so foolish
that when God orders that “You do this,” we take it otherwise: “Oh, who
is this man? He’s ordering like that. And sarva-dharmān parityajya,
‘giving up everything’? Why shall I give Him?” Sarva-dharmān: “I have
created so many dharmas, ‘isms.’ I shall give it up? Why shall I give it
up?” Therefore the same Lord came again as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Today
is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance day, so we must discuss this very
thoroughly, that, that Rūpa Gosvāmī understood it. Therefore we have to
go through guru. Rūpa Gosvāmī is our guru. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said,
rūpa-raghunātha-pade,
hoibe ākuti,kabe hāma bujhabo, śrī-yugala-pīriti If we want to
understand the transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, then we have to go through guru, guru-paramparā system.
Otherwise it is not possible. Rūpa-raghunātha pade hoibe ākuti. Unless
we accept this process, unless we submit… This whole process is
submission. Kṛṣṇa wants this. Sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. So
if you want to approach Kṛṣṇa, you have to become very submissive. And
to whom? “Kṛṣṇa is not here. To whom I shall submit?” No. To His
devotee, to His representative. The business is submission. So Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared this day for giving mercy to the fallen
souls who are so foolish, they cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is
personally teaching how to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And that is
this kīrtana. You’ll find. You have seen the picture in our Teachings of
Lord Caitanya that in Prayag He was engaged in chanting, and Rūpa
Gosvāmī is offering his obeisances. That is the first meeting with Rūpa
Gosvāmī, and he composed this verse, namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te… [Cc. Madhya 19.53].
Devotees: …kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ.
Prabhupāda:
Yes. So this is channaḥ-avatāra. He’s Kṛṣṇa, He has come to give you
kṛṣṇa-prema, but He’s acting like a Kṛṣṇa devotee. This is covered. He
is not commanding now, “You do this.” Yes, He’s commanding, “Do this,”
but in different way. Because people misunderstood, “Oh, who is this
person commanding?” Even some so-called rascal scholar, he has said,
“It’s too much to demand.” They have remarked like that. Yes,
sophisticated persons, they are thinking like that. But our process is
to submit. Unless we submit, there is no hope of advancing in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teaching.
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
[Cc. Ādi 17.31]
If
you want to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then you have to take this
principle, tṛṇād api sunīcena. You have to become humbler than the
grass. Grass, it is lying on the street. Everyone is trampling down.
Never protests. In the lawn you are… Everyone is trampling the grass.
There is no protest. Taror api sahiṣṇunā. And tolerant than the tree.
The tree is giving us so much help. It is giving us fruit, flower,
leaves, and when there is scorching heat, shelter also. Sit down
underneath. So beneficial, still, we cut. As soon as I like, I cut it
down. But there is no protest. The tree does not say, “I have given you
so much help, and you are cutting me?” No. Tolerant. Yes. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu
has selected, taror api sahiṣṇunā. And amāninā mānadena. For oneself one
should not expect any respectful position, but he, the devotee, should
offer all respect to anyone.
Amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Cc. Ādi 17.31].
If
we acquire this qualification, then we can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra
without any disturbance. This is the qualification. So Caitanya
Mahāprabhu came to teach these principles. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. There is
no… Na caitanyāt kṛṣṇāt para-tattvaṁ param iha. Para-tattvam, the
Supreme Truth, is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Supreme Truth is Kṛṣṇa, but
Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not different from Kṛṣṇa.
Na caitanyāt kṛṣṇāt para-tattvaṁ param iha, yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi [Cc. Ādi 1.3].
The
Brahman, advaita, monists’ Brahman, which is described in the Upaniṣad,
yad, that factor, yad advaita brāhmaṇopaniṣadi, Paramātmā, and the
Paramātmā, Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān—this is the three features of
the Supreme Absolute Truth.
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
[SB 1.2.11]
The Absolute Truth is one, advaya-jñāna. There is
no difference. But He, according to our qualification of understanding
the Absolute Truth, He appears as Brahman, impersonal Brahman; He
appears as localized Paramātmā, Supersoul; and He appears as the beloved
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, according to the receiver. Ye
yathā māṁ prapadyante [Bg. 4.11]. That is meant. If you want to
understand the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, you realize that.
If you want to realize the Absolute Truth as Paramātmā, everywhere,
all-pervading, you can realize Him. And if you want to see Him as the
most beloved, then you can also have. That is the meaning of ye yathā
māṁ prapadyante. You can realize the Absolute Truth any way. He is
prepared to manifest Himself as you desire. So “as you desire” does not
mean… That also, He is present because, here it is stated,
nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatāraiḥ. According to the evolutionary process,
so there was water all over the universe. So at that time,
daśa-avatāra, keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Similarly, He
became tortoise. Then He becomes Nṛsiṁhadeva, He became Vāmanadeva—so
many. That is going on, nitya, nitya-līlā. Don’t think the avatāra comes
only to the human society, nṛ. But He appears amongst the animals,
amongst the insects, amongst the trees. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā
there is statement, “Among the trees, I am this tree. Among the animals,
I am this animal. Among the persons… Among the fighters, I am this, I
am this.” He’s everything, but just to point out a few… In another place
He says, raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya [Bg. 7.8]. He is prepared to be
appreciated by you in any condition of life if you take His instruction
how to realize Him. And if you manufacture your own way, no, that is not
possible. That is… Even if you are most ordinary man, still, you can
realize Him. There is no difficulty. How? Kṛṣṇa said, raso ‘ham apsu
kaunteya: “My dear Arjuna, I am the taste of the water.” Now, who does
not drink water? Anyone? The animal also drinks water and the human
being also drinks water. But the animal cannot understand God, although
God is there in the water, and the man can understand because he is
human being. Therefore a human being is different from animal. If we
remain like animals—we are drinking water, but we are not realizing
Kṛṣṇa—then you are animal. This is animals. And if we drink
water—everyone drinks water many times—so many times we can remember
Kṛṣṇa. And that is the process of devotional… Smaraṇam.
Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam [SB 7.5.23]
So
every time, if you drink water and remember Kṛṣṇa, then you are on the
devotional service. Where is the difficulty? But the rascals will not
take it. That is the… Where is the difficulty? Everyone drinks water,
and as soon as you drink water when you are thirsty, and the taste of
the water appeases your thirst, so if you simply remember that “In the
Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that this taste is Kṛṣṇa,” then immediately
you remember Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as you remember Kṛṣṇa, it is devotional
service, smaraṇam. Where is the difficulty? Where is the difficulty for
becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious? Raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi
śaśi-sūryayoḥ: “I am the illumination of the moon and the sun.” So who
does not see the moonshine and the sunshine? In daytime you see the
sunshine and at night you see the moonshine. So if you see the sunshine
and moonshine and if you remember Kṛṣṇa’s instructions that “This
sunshine, moonshine, I am,” so where is the difficulty?
raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya
prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu
(śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu)
[Bg. 7.8]
Now, if you think, “Eh, I am so learned Vedantist. Why shall I study
the sunshine-moonshine and what? I shall chant oṁ.” (laughter) “Rascal,
this oṁ I am. (laughter) You are so big Vedantist. You chant oṁ, but
that I am.” Praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu. Every Vedic mantra is chanted after
the vibration of omkara. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūr…
This is the Vedic mantra always, every Veda. So either you become
Vedantist or ordinary human being—does not know anything—you can realize
Kṛṣṇa. There is no difficulty. So Kṛṣṇa taught everything for becoming
Kṛṣṇa conscious, but still, we are so rascal we could not understand
Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa came again: “These rascals failed to understand
Me, and now I shall teach how to become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa by My
personal behavior.” That is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, by His personal…
Don’t think that because He’s playing the part… Just like somebody is
giving massage to my body. So he’s not giving properly. So immediately I
take his hand and I began to give massage, “Do like this. Do like
this.” That does not mean I am masseur or I am servant of that person.
Similarly, don’t forget that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya.
You are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and there is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s
Deity also. There are some parties, they protest, “Why Caitanya
Mahāprabhu’s Deity should be placed along with Kṛṣṇa?” But they do not
know śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. It is not different. So
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed by the śāstras. Here it is
said, channaḥ kalau yad abhava. In the Kali-yuga, directly He does not
appear as the incarnation like Nṛsiṁhadeva or Vāmanadeva or Lord
Rāmacandra, yes, but as devotee. So He’s the same incarnation, Lord
Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Abhavat. “Therefore sometimes You are called as
tri-yuga.” There are four yugas, but He is known… Because in three yugas
He appears distinctly, and in the fourth yuga, the Kali-yuga, as
devotee, therefore He’s called tri-yuga. So today is the birthday or
appearance day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and this is the birthplace,
this Māyāpura, and you are all present here. It is a good fortune.
Always remember Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
prabhu-nityānanda…
Devotees: …śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.
Prabhupāda: This will make your life perfect. Thank you very much. (end)
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