Transcription
Go back to window. Die sweet, die sweet, goindom. Hurry Krishna. Hurry Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.
Dear devotees, in 45 minutes or so, we'll have the opportunity to visit another very sacred and holy place, uh, the village of Chapahhati, which you could say is most famous as, um, a residence, one of the residences, the main residence of the great Vaishnav author and poet, Sheila Jayadev Goswami.
So much could be said about where he, he describes the loving pastimes of Shrimati Radharani and Krishna. We will be touching on that in this lecture. But to put everything in proper perspective, u Sheila Jayadev Goswami was uh born in either the 11th or 12th century in a village here in Bengal called Kindu Bilva in the district of Birbhum, which is, you know, about 3 or 4 hours from here, not far away. And historically, uh, he lived during the reign of a, a king here in Bengal. His name was Lakshman Sen. And after growing up, he had this tendency to write beautiful poems and beautiful songs. And he mostly just kept to himself, satisfied just writing and glorifying Krishna. But as time went on, his works, his poems and so forth, they became very popular with the the common people.
And in time, some of his material reached the ears of the king Lakshman Sen. Now, how does that happen? A sage is living in, you know, a jungle area like this, just satisfied, glorifying his Lord, writing poems and songs, and then all of a sudden, the king hears about it. How does that happen? In those days, there was a tradition that the king, cuz he was always very busy with management and warfare, sometimes needed it just to kick back and have a little entertainment. So the king would be entertained by court musicians and singers.
So, so one day the king's sitting and the music's playing and the the singers are singing and this is all very nice. But as the choir sang, the king saw many of the singers swaying with tears in their eyes as they were singing the song. All the all the the the singers are they're they're crying about what they're singing about. So this caught his attention. So listening more closely, because, you know, kings are busy, the music's there, he's thinking about the next battle, whatever. He he himself started listening more closely to the words that were being sung in the song and he started crying.
So when the concert was over, he called for his chief minister and he said, "What saintly person must have composed that song about Krishna?" So the minister said, "Um, well sir, it's a, a strict renunciate who lives alone in the forest outside the city." So the king said, "What's his name?"
So his minister said, "His name is Jayadev Goswami, and he's loved by the people."
So the king said, "Bring him here. I want to meet him. No one disobeys the order of the king. You go bring him here. I want to see him now." So the minister said, "Sir, this saint, he probably won't come. He's or may not see it. He shies away from royalty and opulence and lives in seclusion."
So this conversation between, you know, the minister and the king went on for several weeks and the king was frustrated because he remembered those tears, that you know, tears don't come all the time. They come in moments of great grief or great joy, and these were joyful tears. He wanted to meet that renunciate. So he was so determined to meet this Jayadev that he dressed up, the king, he dressed up like a common man and went incognito to the humble bhajan kutir of Jayadev Goswami, just a few hours from here. Like I mentioned, Jayadev was popular. He was living in the forest, you know, writing and so forth. So the common people loved him. They'd all come and and listen, no problem. So if the king comes, it's a big thing. Security. So he came incognito and in that common dress, he sat in front of Jayadev when he was singing one song.
And, and like we do sometimes after we sing, we give some commentary. So Jayadev was speaking some some transcendental knowledge and he asked for questions and the king said, "I have a question." And he took off his costume as a common man and revealed himself as the king. And then he invited uh Jayadev to give up this simple life here in a grass hut and come live in the royal palace and write your songs there. The king said, "Everything will be taken care of for you."
But Jayadev showed no interest. He looked around his humble, humble dwelling, you know, very simple. He said, "Sir, I have everything here. And in my heart, I'm fully satisfied just worshiping the Lord of my heart by staying here and writing my poetry and songs. Thank you very much."
But the kings, you know, they're smart. They know how to rule. They're diplomats. They they know what is dharma because so many saintly persons are always coming to the palace to speak transcendental knowledge to enlighten even the king and the queen. So they, and many of them are rajashis, you know, powerful men but pious and saintly at the same time. So Lakshman Sen, he said, "Jayadev, yes, it's true what you say, and you have a right to stay in a secluded place because you're a renunciate. But take note, as a sadhu, you're meant to share your knowledge and wisdom with others. Without association of saints like yourself, how will the common man ever become freed from the vicious cycle of birth and death?"
So it's written at that point, Jayadev went silent.
So the king said, "This is what we'll do. There's a beautiful, very simple ashram not far from my palace called Chapahhati. It's a forest of chak trees. We'll make a simple bhajan kutir for you there where you can continue your writing. And he said, "Please, in this way, sometimes myself and others can come and take the dust from your lotus feet."
So being a Vaishnav, Jayadev, and knowing the primary duty of a Vaishnav is to deliver others, Jayadev agreed. So he moved. So he moved from wherever he was to Champahhati, which we're going to visit in a few minutes. A very beautiful forested area at that time, and the king built him a little hut and he was doing his writing there, and sometimes the king would come and pay his obeisances. Just just like heaven on earth.
But as some time passed, Lakshman Sen, he, for whatever reason, he sent Jayadev Goswami to Jagannath Puri for some, there was some special function. No. It's not explained exactly how it happened, but once there, Jayadev became the court uh poet in the in the palace of the king at Puri at that time, and the other other king noticed him as well, and he made him the court poet. Oh, couldn't go back to Chapahhati.
And then there's a wonderful pastime how he met his, um, wife Padmavati, but we'll have to tell that another time. But he met his his wife Padmavati. They married and eventually came back to the forest of Champahhati. Now, it was during that period the Goswami began writing his magnum opus. It's interesting, within the Gita Govinda, he very clearly um designates himself as the author of that great book. Like I've seen in the Vrindavan Research Institute in Vrindavan, there's thousands and thousands and thousands of scriptures, you know, mostly done on tree bark, etc., but very often there's no signature, there's no author because they're very humble. They don't want to ascribe their name to something that is glorifying Krishna. Very often you don't know who the author of this is. But this very, very, very famous book, we know who the author is.
He writes, "Kindu Bilva sudra saba Rohini Ram, he who appeared in the village of Kindu Bilva, remember, just as the moon rises from the ocean, has collected Sri Krishna's expressions of lamentation." That Jayadev is humbly narrating this song. Hare Krishna. You got it. Okay. So this book became very, very famous because, why? Krishna is all attractive.
Even today, if you go to Radha Bihari Lal in Loy Bazar, you'll find two or three editions of Gita Govinda. You can go online. It's there, and Swami is glorifying this book. So when I get to Dwarka, I'm going to go buy one. Um, but originally this book was actually, well, it was written for the pleasure of the Lord, but, um, it's originally intended for advanced devotees. It's not for everyone. Actually, in the introduction, Jayadev Goswami establishes the standard of who's qualified to read and hear the intimate pastimes of Radha and Krishna as described in Gita Govinda.
Here's the qualification: "If your heart yearns for remembrance of Shri Hari, which bestows all happiness, if you are hankering to contemplate upon Shri Hari with intense affection, and if you are overwhelmed with curiosity to know about Shri Hari's skill in amorous pastimes, then by all means read this book. You may find this poetry very sweet and pleasing. But if you do not, if you do not nurture these three desires, then this moving and lyrical literature, it's not for you. Only if your heart is full of intense greed to fathom Krishna's loving pastimes will you be able to appreciate this inspiring poetry."
We say in Polisha, careful. We know from Chaitanya Charitamrita that Maha Prabhu would regularly discuss these verses of Gita Govinda, but he would only do so with very confidential associates like Svarup Damodar and Ramananda Raya. Someday maybe, but, you know, it's okay. The longest journey begins with the first step. We have Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and, you know, and we can reflect on these things. We have senior devotees who can comment properly. But a word of caution: don't run to Radha Bihari Lal by Govinda right now. Though Paul had made it very clear that of all the songs in Govinda, only the invocation known as Dashavatar Stotra is fit to be heard by his followers. That's a popular song. We all know about the 10 incarnations of the Lord. Very beautiful.
I found a letter from Shri Prabhupada to Chaitanananda on July 15th, 1972. Uh, he wrote regarding the songs of Jayadev Goswami: "Those songs are for siddha bhaktas, not for us who are sadhaka bhaktas or learning bhaktas. Lord Chaitanya never divulged in public. He enjoyed them in the company of his selected three or four devotees. There is one song sung by Jayadev, worshiping the 10 incarnations. That song's all right for everybody."
Now, there's a very famous pastime about the time that Jayadev was composing that great literature. One late morning, he was, you know, at his desk with his feather pen writing Gita Govinda, and his wife Padmavati was cooking their lunch. Now, Jayadev's writing and writing, and, you know, how in Krishna's pastimes, it appeared Krishna was being controlled by the love of the gopis, and in particularly one gopi, Shrimati Radharani, that he was subordinate to these girls. And, you know, it's a funny thing. Thinking, "Gosh, what do I write now? How can I write that Krishna, the supreme controller, is controlled by anyone, especially some girls?" Even in the West, if you go to a dictionary and you look up God, the definition is the supreme controller of everything material and everything spiritual. So how is it that Krishna could be controlled by love?
So this is called writer's block. Now, if any of you are writers, I have my so many volumes of Diary of a Traveling Monk. Many times I, now, what do I say? So I go and I have some sweets, or I walk around the block, and I come back, and oh yeah, now I know what to write. He just didn't know what to write at that part. I mean, how can it be explained? God's the supreme controller. Can he be subordinate to his devotees? Getting confused. So, "I'll go take a bath on the Ganges. I'll be back in time for lunch."
Then one of the most amazing things ever to happen in Vaishnav history took place. While Jayadev Goswami was away bathing in the Ganges, Krishna disguised as Jayadev Goswami came to Jayadev's house and walked in. You know, right now in my Friday series, Stimulation for Ecstatic Love, we're doing the different disguises Krishna takes to break the anger of Radha. I think we're like 16 different disguises Krishna's taken so far. Here's a disguise. He disguised himself as a devotee. Jayadev Goswami walked in, and Padmavati was surprised. "Lunch is not almost just, I mean, you just left." So Krishna, dressed as, disguised as Jayadev, just said, "Yes, I'm going to go back to my work now." Krishna sat in the place, the seat of Jayadev, took the pen and wrote where Jayadev had hesitated to write himself.
Speaking to Shrimati Radharani, who was displaying jealous anger towards him, Krishna implored, "Oh beloved, your tender sprout-like feet are the antidote to Cupid's venom. Please place them, your feet, on my head as my ornament and glory. The scorching fire of Cupid's poison is unbearable. Please therefore let the touch of your feet quell the torment of my love."
Now the most famous line is, "Put your feet on my head as my ornament and glory." Surely Krishna is becoming subordinate to the love of his devotee. It's very clear for then, now, and forever. Yes, Krishna is supreme controller. But the mystery of it all, the knowledge that we have as Gaudiyas is that even God is controlled by love. Pure love of his devotee, primarily Shrimati Radharani. In Vrindavan pastimes, Radha doesn't do what Krishna says. Krishna does what Radha says. That's the beauty of Radhabhakti.
Okay. So, um, Krishna disguised as Jayadev got up to leave. And Padmavati said, "Oh, Pishadam's ready." So Krishna disguised as Jayadev sat down and had a full meal. She didn't realize it was going on. She didn't have to offer it to the deity. There's the walking, talking deity. And it was a big lunch. Even Krishna was full. Krishna. So he, he got up and, you know, did the ritual and, um, he said, "I need to go for another walk." So he left to go for another walk. And Padmavati, okay, she's cleaning up. There's nothing left. She's cleaning up. She was a good cook. And lo and behold, this is an English phrase. I don't know how you say in Russian. Lo and behold, a few minutes later, who walks in the door? Jayadev Goswami. "Oh, Jayadev, I'm hungry." "What are you talking about? You just had a big meal two minutes ago. You walked out and you're hungry again." He said, "Jayadev, have you gone mad? What are you talking about? I didn't eat. I was bathing in the Ganges." "Poo, no. You came in a few minutes ago. I saw you with my own eyes. You went over to your uh writings, you wrote something, and then as you were leaving, I had you sit down. I fed you rice."
So Jayadev went, "What?" And he went over to to that tablet where where he had hesitated and he saw those two verses which I quoted. And there he saw in that wet ink place, "Please place your feet on my head as my ornament and my glory." He went, "Krishna! Only Krishna could have solved his dilemma." He realized, being the advanced devotee he is, Krishna had come in and written that line. So he screamed, "IT'S A MIRACLE! IT'S A MIRACLE! IT'S A MIRACLE!" And tears of ecstasy flowed from his eyes. And he called out, "Padmavati, my dear wife, you are most fortunate. Krishna himself has written this line and accepted prasadam from your own hand." And then Padmavati fainted.
So this is a very famous um scripture, Gita Govinda, written by Jayadev Goswami and Krishna himself. And when it was finally finished, the Gita Govinda took him a long time. When it was finally finished, he concluded this book with the most beautiful prayer. It will melt your hearts. He wrote, "Whatever is delightful in the varieties of music, whatever is graceful in fine strains of poetry, and whatever is exquisite in the sweet art of love, let the happy and wise persons learn that from the songs of Govinda." And you can begin by the Stotra, the beginning, just like before reading 10th Canto, we go through the first nine Cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam, then we can understand the deeper truths.
So our chai has written that after Jayadev Goswami completed Gita Govinda, Lord Chaitanya appeared to him and gave him his blissful darshan and revealed to him how he would appear one day in nearby Navadvipa to begin his mission. Because Jayadev Goswami appeared way before Lord Chaitanya. So Lord Chaitanya appeared to him. "Hey, I'm going to appear here in Navadvipa one day." He gave him that blissful darshan. And then, and then in the dream, he said he, he should leave Champahhati and he should go back to Puri. Remember, he did some service for the king there. Go back to Puri. And he said that, "I will also come to Puri one day and relish your Govinda." And he went to Puri with his Gita Govinda, and it, this beautiful long poem about the glories of God and Krishna, it first spread throughout Orissa, then Bengal, then throughout India, down to the present day. Very famous book. In fact, the, the book became so popular in Puri that the priests, the Jagannath temple, they would read it to Jagannath Swami every day. And the underlying understanding actually is that Jayadev Goswami wrote this for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath. So that was accomplished. So he lived there for many years and continued his writings, and like all things come to pass, one day he left for the transcendental abode.
There's many more pastimes, but it's hot and it's late. I'll just tell you a few more pastimes. Many years after the departure of Jayadev Goswami, another king of Puri, King Purushottam Deva, he actually wrote what he called Abhinava Gita Govinda, you know, kind of like in a competitive spirit, and he insisted that his work, his Abhinava Gita Govinda, was better than Jayadev Goswami's. Nowhere. So he gave the instruction, "My Govinda should be read instead of Jayadev Goswami's Govinda." So he's the king. You don't like, you know, you don't argue with the king. Off with your head. Now, of course, there were some objections, but due to the politic, I would say, politically sensitive nature of the challenge, the temple priests decided to let Lord Jagannath decide for himself which one he liked best. Uh, now, no one was advanced enough to go up and ask Lord Jagannath, "Which one do you like best?" So the priests, you know what they did? They took both books, Jayadev Goswami's Gita Govinda and the king's Abhinava Gita Govinda, before they closed the temple that night. They put both books in front of Lord Jagannath and locked the temple up for the night.
So what, what's that going to do? Okay. So how's that, that Jag speaking? Oh no. Okay. I like that one. But they had a plan. They put both books there. Locked the door. And sure enough, the following morning, when the priests opened the temple door, they found the pages of the king's book scattered all over the floor, and Jayadev Goswami's Govinda nestled under Jagannath's arm, close to his heart. Fore. You know how he has those short little arms? Was tucked under his arm, right? Like that, right close to his heart. And Jagannath had an even bigger smile than he usually has. The Lord had given his verdict.
So another pastime took place about uh 300 years after Jayadev Goswami had departed this world. Again, inquiry on that occasion, Lord Jagannath had been uh laid down to sleep after his, um, midday meal. Lord takes a little nap because, you'll, we'll see when we get to Jagannath Puri. Jagannath eats 52 times a day. What's 52 times? He can eat a billion times. And all the prasadam is prepared by Lakshmi Devi. That's a pastime we'll tell when we get to Puri. But bear in mind, there's a lot of maha prasadam in Jagannath Puri. And it is so yummy, so tasty, and completely transcendental. I just love Jagannath Prasad there. The dal. Oh my god.
To me, Oh Lord of the universe, kindly be visible to me.
So he, he's taking a nap. You know, he's pretty full after 52 offerings. He's taking his midday meal. And outside, when Jagannath's sleeping, there was a, a florist, you know, the people that make the garlands, and he was singing Gita Govinda. It's meant to be sung in a garden uh near the temple grounds. And it said that Lord Jagannath was so eager to hear this spontaneous performance by, you know, a florist of his favorite work. It's described that this Govinda is Jagannath's favorite work. That Jagannath left the temple. The Jagannath, the deity, snuck out of his own temple. Nobody saw him, and he went to where that florist, you know, who was singing, so simple devotees singing the song, so beautifully. And Jagannath hid in the bushes, uh, not caring for the thorns that were ripping his cloth, etc., scratching his body, just to hear this beautiful singing. So for an hour and a half, the florist is singing in the bushes. And then Jagannath realized it was he was supposed to get up from his nap at that time, and they're going to open the doors and have arati. So Jagannath hurried back really quickly and got onto the altar. Boom. Just as the doors open.
But when the door opened and the priests saw him, they were shocked because all his clothes were torn from the thorns in the garden, and there were scratches on his body as well from all the brambles and thorns that he was hiding in. Like, how did that happen? It was just an hour and a half ago. What happened to the Lord's clothes? What scratched his body? Everyone was confused. So afraid they might get in trouble, they all ran to the king. And the king at that time was the famous Maharaja Prataprudra.
It's to go see so many discussions and, you know, astrologers were consulted, and nobody could figure out what happened to Lord Jagannath. But one night, the king, King Purushottam, he had a dream in which Lord Jagannath appeared to him and explained everything that had happened. Jagannath was a little embarrassed. He was apologizing. But this is what, "My devotee was singing with so much bliss, so much devotion, I went to hear him." So in that pastime, Lord Jagannath, you could say, once again revealed his exclusive attachment to uh Gita Govinda. And as such, Maharaja Prataprudra, obviously a great devotee, he issued the following royal order. It's actually 10 years before Lord Chaitanya arrived in Jagannath Puri, and it's, it's written in the temple, in the temple library, you can find this document. It's written what, um, Maharaja Prataprudra ordered as a result of that pastime to the citizens of Jagannath Puri. He wrote, "Performances of song and dance for Jagannath and Baladev will consist solely of Gita Govinda and no other work. Performers are therefore instructed to learn the songs of Gita Govinda exclusively. Four musicians will accompany the dancers who enact Gita Govinda before Lord Jagannath. Others may follow in chorus." Uh, temple officials who allow any other song to be performed will be deemed enemies of Jagannath.
So to the to the credit of the temple management, I believe this tradition is still carried on today. They did.
So today, I'd like to conclude uh our glorification of Jayadev Goswami, and we'll be visiting his residence or nearby his residence in Chapahhati with a beautiful poem by a medieval poet named Vidyapati. He entitles it "God's Choicest Poets." I love it. Drink deep, poets. It's like if you're thirsty, you open your mouth really wide. You pour that cool, refreshing water in. This is to nourish your heart, your your soul, your...
"All glories to Shri Jayadev, the crest jewel amongst poetic kings. All glories to Shri Vidyapati, the abode of Rasa. All glories to Shri Chandidas, the greatest connoisseur of Rasa. These poets, Jayadev, Vidyapati, etc., Chandidas. These poets are unparalleled in their excellence in the three worlds. The creation of these poets were pristine songs describing Madhurya Rasa. These songs were written in prose and verse, and they were relished by my Lord Gorachandra along with Ray Ramananda and Svarup Damodar. When Ray Ramananda and Svarup Damodar desired to awaken a particular mood within the Lord, they would sing these songs by these poets. Hearing their singing, even wood and stones would melt. Such were the sweet pastimes of these three individuals, Vidyapati and Chandidas. Those moods and emotions of Shrimati Radharani which were hidden from the masses in general were demonstrated with great effort by my Lord Gaura to one and all. Now that He has disappeared from external vision, these Rasas do not touch my heart. Even on listening to these songs, thus Vaishnavas simply cry."