24. Wonderfully Merciful

24. Wonderfully Merciful:

In this Kali-yuga there is no other dharma:

kali-yuga dharma haya 

hari-sankirtana etad 

arthe avatırna 

sri sacinandana

Kali-yuga dharma is hari-sankirtana. Therefore Sri Sachinandan Gaurahari descended to introduce and propagate that dharma. (Sri Caitanya-bhagavata adi 14.139)

kali-kale nama-rupe krşna-avatara nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistăra

Krishna came as Gauranga Mahaprabhu and introduced nama-sankirtana by which the whole world will be delivered. Especially in Kali-yuga, there is no other incarnation of Krishna-only năma-avatara. Krishna has incarnated himself in the form of His holy name. (Cc. adi 17.22)

năma vinu kali-kale 

nahi ara dharma 

sarva-mantra-sära nama, 

ei sästra-marma

In this age of Kali there is no dharma other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures. (Cc. adi 7.74)

Nama-sankirtana will be preached and propagated. The atmosphere will be filled with the transcendental sound vibration hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare. Then the whole world will be delivered.

Without Prema, Life is Useless!

tära madhye sarva-śrestha 

nama-sankirtana 

niraparādhe nāma laile 

paya prema-dhana

Of the 9 processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord. If your chanting is offenseless you will get krsna-prema. (Cc. antya 4.71)

That is, you will definitely get Krishna. Then your life will be successful. You will achieve all perfection, the supreme perfection of this rarely achieved human birth - Krsna-prema. Without that krsna-prema, without love of Krsna, life is useless.

Prema-dhana vina vyartha 

daridra jivana

dasa Kari vetana more 

deha prema- dhana 

(Cc. antya  2037)

I am poor, because I am bereft of real wealth. Real wealth is prema-dhana. "I am devoid of that wealth. therefore I am truly poor. O Krishna, please make me your dasa! Make me your servant! Let me serve you! I don't want any wages in return." The servant serves and the master gives him wages. But here the devotee says, "I am your servant. Let me render loving service unto you, and in return I don't want any other sort of salary. All I want is prema-dhana, the wealth of love for Krishna."

Mahaprabhu is known as prema-purusottama, He who gives krsna-prema freely. Lochan das Thakur in Sri Caitanya-mangala writes, (Nitai Guna Mani, "Nityananda, the Jewel of Virtues", text 3)

dina hina patija pamara nahi bache! brahmara durlabha prema sabakäre yace

Even Brahma cannot easily get such prema, such love for God, but Lord Chaitanya gives it to the most degraded, sinful persons, such as Jagai and Madhai. Therefore he is known as prema-purusottama, the Personality of Godhead who gives love of God. He never discriminates whether one is patita, most degraded, or most elevated. He never considers whether one deserves it or not. Generally, you get what you deserve. But Sriman Mahaprabhu is so wonderfully merciful that He offers krsna-prema to one and all without discrimination.

Three Times Wonderful:

Therefore He is called adbhuta-doyälu, adbhuta-vadanya, and adbhuta-audarya. Three times Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami uses the word adbhuta, "wonderful". Mahaprabhu is wonderfully munificent, wonderfully merciful, and wonderfully magnanimous. Without Mahaprabhu's krpä, mercy, no one can get krsna-prema. Mahaprabhu gives it. So we must beg for Mahaprabhu's mercy, otherwise our life will be useless. This is also confirmed by Bhaktivinoda Thakur (Gitāvali, Sri-năma-kirtana, Song 3):

krsna-rati vina jivan to 

miche he gaura-krpa ha'le he

If you cannot develop rati, attachment, love towards Krishna, your life is useless. If you get the mercy of Gauranga then you'll get krsna-prema.

Otherwise you cannot get prema. Mahaprabhu is so wonderfully merciful. He showers His mercy on all:

uttama adhama kichu na bachila yäciya dileka kola 

kahe premănanda emana gauranga hrdaye dhariya dola

bhaja gauränga kaha gauränga 

laha gauränga năma re 

ye jana gauranga bhaje 

sei haya amara prana re 

Gauranga is such a personality, says Premananda Das Thakur, that He never discriminates whether one is uttama or adhama, the most elevated or the most degraded. He offers His lap and embraces one and all, "Come to my fold!" He gives krsna-prema to everyone. Therefore, utter the name of Gauranga, sing the name of Gauranga, and speak about Gauranga! One who does gauranga-bhajan is my life and soul.

Mahaprabhu is wonderfully merciful even to māyāvādis, who are great offenders at the lotus feet of Krishna - māyāvādi krsne aparādhi. They think themselves the Supreme Lord. They cannot be delivered, but Mahaprabhu also showered mercy upon them. Without Mahaprabhu's mercy they cannot be saved.

Sweetness and Mercy:

Mahaprabhu's lila is such a sweet lila. There is madhurya-maya-lilă and audarya-maya-lilă. The pastimes of Krishna are very sweet. They are madhurya-maya-lila. But Mahaprabhu's lila is madhurya-maya and audarya- maya. He is audarya-maya vigraha, the embodiment of magnanimity, and His lila is more magnanimous and merciful lila. Mahaprabhu is Krishna. He's non-different from Krishna, but Mahaprabhu's lila is  more merciful lila than krsna-lila. That is the only difference.

Similarly, abhinnatvan nama-naminoh - there is no difference between nama and nami, the name of the Lord and the Lord Himself. There is no difference, but there is one law that Rupa Goswami established in his Nämästakam (verse 7), purvasmát param eva hanta karunam. Of these two, nama and nami, nama is more merciful -  the name of Krishna is more merciful than Krishna.

Similarly, there is no difference between Gaura and Krishna. Krishna is Gaura, Gaura is Krishna. Krina-lila is gaura-lila: gaura-lilä is krsna-lila. There is no difference. Still, of these two types of lilas, gaura-lila is more merciful lila than krsna-lila, It is full of both sweetness and magnificence.

Gauranga is prema-purusottama. Krishna is lila- purusottama. Gauranga gives krsna-prema. Krishna, the topmost enjoyer of pastimes, becomes bound up with that prema. Krishna in the form of Gauranga gives that prema by which He Himself is bound up -  prema-bandhana. Such is the sweet, magnanimous Iila of Gaura.

garängera madhura-lila, 

yänra karne pravesila 

hrdaya nirmala bhelo tara

If the pleasing and sweet pastimes of Gauranga enter someone's ear, that fortunate devotee's heart will be cleansed of all material contamination. Hrdaya nirmala, his heart will be purified. (Narottama das Thakur, Savarana-sri-gaura-mahima, Prarthana, Text 1)

Gaura-lila, caitanya-lilă, is amrtera sindhu - the unlimited ocean of nectar. Yaha eka bindu - even one drop from that ocean will inundate the whole world with krsna-prema. Such is Gauranga's lila.

Lion-like Mahaprabhu:

Mahaprabhu's sannyasa-lila was 24 years. Out of that, for 18 continuous years he stayed in Jagannath Puri dham. For the first 6 years of His period of sannyasa, he traveled and preached. That was His pracara-lila. Mahaprabhu showered His wonderful mercy on one and all. Even mäyävädis were no exception. He also showered His mercy upon them.

Otherwise, mayavādis cannot be delivered. Gaura's dealings were very sweet dealings. He was never

harsh, never rude at all. But when he spoke, he spoke like a bullet. He very strongly defeated all defective conclusions, bogus philosophies, and pseudo-siddhantas, and established pure bhakti-siddhanta, priti purna vyavahara yukti pürna katha. He was affectionate in His behaviour, but unyielding in discussions regarding siddhanta. That was Mahaprabhu's way. His dealings were very sweet, but when He spoke He was caitanya-simha. Simhera-garjana - he roared like a lion, simha-griva, simha-virya, simhera hunkara -The lion-like Lord Chaitanya has the shoulders of a lion, the powers of a lion, and the loud voice of a lion. (Ce adi 3.30) According to astrological calculation, in his chart it says that he was born in the simha-lagna.

Mahaprabhu uncompromisingly defeated the maydvadis and thereby they received His mercy and turned into vaisnanas. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a brahmavadi, a follower of Shankaracharya. He got the mercy of Mahaprabhu and became a very intimate devotee of Mahaprabhu. Prakasananda Saraswati was the leader of thousands of mayāvādi sannyäsis in Kasi. Mahaprabhu went to Kasi to shower His mercy upon them. He is so merciful.

Selling the Holy Name:

Mahaprabhu was chanting hare krsna, dancing in the streets of Kasi surrounded by His devotees. He thereby propagated the yuga-dharma and gave krsna-prema through chanting Krishna's holy name.

If your chanting is offenseless, if you chant the pure name, definitely you will get krsna-prema, and get Krishna. It is such an easy process. In other ages the prescribed processes are very difficult. Hardly anyone gets krsna-prema. But in Kali-yuga especially in this yuga, which is a special Kali-yuga due to Mahaprabhu's appearance it is very easy. Provided your chanting is pure, you'll definitely receive krsna-prema through chanting His holy name. But mäyävadis cannot understand this.

In Kasi, when Mahaprabhu was chanting and dancing on the street, the followers of Prakasananda Saraswati reported to Prakasananda that a sannyāsī from Gaudadesh, Bengal, had come-a sannyasi who chants and dances on the street! Prakasananda Saraswati then criticized Mahaprabhu. 

He said:

'sannyasi'-nama-matra, maha-indrajäli! 

'käsipure' na vikābe tanra bhavakali

"This Caitanya is a sannyasi in name only. Actually, he is a first-class magician. His sentimental performance cannot be very much in demand here in Kasipur. He has come here to sell his jugglery, but we are great sannyāsīs. His performance cannot be sold here." (Cc.madhya.17.120)

Mahaprabhu's followers felt great pain when they heard Prakasananda Saraswati's criticism of Gauranga.

They came and reported it to Him, "Mahaprabhu, this is what Prakasananda Saraswati is saying!" Mahaprabhu only smiled. He didn't become angry. No, He tolerated it and smiled.

But you cannot tolerate one word! If someone says, "You are a rascal," you become furious. "What? I am a rascal? I'll beat you with my shoes!" You cannot tolerate it. But Mahaprabhu is so tolerant. This is His teaching. "taror iva sahisnuna" - be as tolerant as a tree; and He practically demonstrated how to be as tolerant as a tree. He didn't become angry. Rather, he said,

bhavakäli vecite ami ailāna käsipure grāhaka nahi, na vikāya, laña yaba ghare

"I have come here to sell my bhāvakāli, devotional sentiments, but I cannot find any customers. What shall I do? I am a businessman. I have come here to do business, to sell my jugglery here, but there are no customers. If my commodities are not sold, I must take them back home.

(Cc.madhya 17.144)

He continued:

bhari bojhā laña ailāna, 

kemane laña yaba? 

alpa-svalpa-mülya päile, 

ethai veciba

"I have brought a very heavy load to sell in Kasi. Shall I take it all back? No, no, no! If I get but a fraction of the price, I shall sell it here. I don't want any profit. Even for a meager amount I will sell my bhāvakäli in this city." (Cc. madhya 17.145)

That means Mahaprabhu has gone to Kasi to deliver the mayavadis. He is so merciful, wonderfully merciful. Without the mercy of Mahaprabhu, no one can develop such krsna-prema and be delivered from this dreadful ocean of material existence.

Simplicity and Faith:

Therefore, one should develop strong, unflinching faith in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and be free from duplicity and crookedness One should develop simplicity, and with a simple heart follow the vaishnava-dharma given in the vaishnana-sastras. Chant hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare răma hare răma răma răma hare hare. Then definitely your chanting will be pure, you will get krsna-prema, and you will get Krishna.

caitanya-carita suna śraddha-bhakti kari 

mätsarya chadiyā mukhe bala 'hari' 'hari'

Hear caitanya-carita, caitanya-lila, the qualities and pastimes of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, with strong faith and devotion, says Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami (Cc madhya 9.361). matsarya chadiya - Give up envy. Become non- envious, and chant, hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare răma hare răma răma răma hare hare. This is the only dharma in this Kali-yuga, hari-sankirtana.

ei kali-kale ära nähi kona dharma

vaisnava, vaisnava-sästra, ei kahe marma

In this age there is no other dharma; vaisnava, and vaişnava-sästra-one should render service unto pure vaişnavas, and one should read śuddha-vaisnava-śāstra, bhakti-sästra, with strong faith and a simple heart. Giving up enviousness and duplicity, one should hear this lila, Sri Krishna Chaitanya's sweet, magnanimous, and merciful lila, from a dear devotee of Gaura. One should take shelter of a gaura-priya-jana, a dear devotee of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Under his guidance one should chant, hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare räma hare rama räma räma hare hare.

Definitely You Will Get:

This is the dharma of Kali-yuga. If you follow this, definitely you will get krsna-prema because Mahaprabhu is prema-purusottama- the topmost person who freely gives krsna-prema. He is wonderfully merciful. He showers His mercy unto one and all without discrimination. No discrimination is there, provided you are not envious or duplicitous. Provided there is no crookedness in your heart. Have a simple heart and no envy. Have firm, unflinching faith in the holy name; Mahaprabhu; and His dear devotee. This is the only requirement, nothing else. Then, you will definitely get the mercy of Mahaprabhu, and the mercy of the holy name. You will develop krsna-prema and achieve all perfection in this one life.

- By Srila Gaura Govinda Swami