{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38016/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38016","id":"gutenberg_38016","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38016","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Chaitanya, 1486-1534","Hinduism"],"text":"Produced by James Simmons\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAITANYA'S LIFE AND TEACHINGS\n\n\nFrom his contemporary Bengali biography\nthe _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_:\n\n\nTranslated into English\n\nBY\n\nJADUNATH SARKAR, M.A., I.E.S.\n\n\n\nSECOND EDITION,\n\n_Revised and enlarged, with topographical notes._\n1922\n\n\n\nM. C. SARKAR & SONS, CALCUTTA,\nLUZAC & Co., LONDON.\n\n\n\nRs. 2.\n\n\n\nPUBLISHED BY S. C. SARKAR\n\nM. C. Sarkar & Sons, 90/2A, Harrison Road, Calcutta.\n\n\n\n\nPRINTER: S. C. MAZUMDAR\n\nSRI GOURANGA PRESS\n\n_71/1, Mirzapur Street, Calcutta._\n\n\n\n1481/21.\n\n\n\nTO\n\n_Professor_ RAJA GOPALACHARIAR, M.A., B.L.,\n\nWHO HAS DONE SO MUCH TO MAKE THE VAISHNAV\nSAINTS OF THE SOUTH KNOWN TO US,\n\nI DEDICATE THIS ATTEMPT TO PLACE THE ORIGINAL LIFE OF\nCHAITANYA--THE GREATEST VAISHNAV TEACHER OF\nTHE NORTH WITHIN THE REACH OF ALL\nREADERS OF ENGLISH WHO KNOW\nNOT THE BENGALI TONGUE.\n\n\n\nPATNA COLLEGE,\n_10th April, 1913._\n\nJ. SARKAR\n\n\n\nTHE AUTHOR AND HIS BOOK\n\nKrishna-das Kaviraj, the author of the _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_, was\nborn in the Vaidya caste, at Jhamatpur, a village of the Katwa\nsub-division of the Burdwan district in Bengal, (1496 A.D.) Having lost\nhis parents in early life, he was brought up by his late father's\nsister. He read Persian at the village school, and then began to study\nSanskrit in order to qualify himself for practising Hindu medicine, the\nprofession of his caste. Every part of his great poem bears evidence to\nhis profound mastery of Sanskrit literature, particularly of the\n_Bhagabat Puran_. The young orphan, while still unmarried, was\nconverted to Vaishnavism by Nityananda, and begged his way on foot to\nBrindaban, where he spent the remainder of his long life in religious\nstudy, meditation and worship. He was initiated as a Vaishnav monk by\nRaghunath-das, who along with Swarup Damodar had been body-servants to\nChaitanya during that saint's stay at Jagannath. From his _guru_,\nKrishna-das learned the particulars of Chaitanya's life and teaching\nwhich he has embodied in the present biography.\n\nHis first efforts at authorship were in Sanskrit and dealt with the\nmysteries of _bhakti_ and the service of Krishna. The great work of his\nlife was the composition of his old age, and was undertaken at the\nrequest of the faithful. Every evening the Bengali Vaishnavs of\nBrindaban used to gather together and hear the acts of their Master read\nout from his poetical biography, the _Chaitanya Bhagbat_ composed by\nBrindaban-das. But this book dealt with the saint's last years in too\nmeagre and concise a fashion to satisfy the curiosity of his followers.\nThey, therefore, led by Haridas Pandit, the chief servitor of the\nGovindaji temple, pressed Krishna-das to write a new and fuller life of\nthe Master. The poet was old and infirm, but he regarded the request as\na solemn charge which he was not free to decline. That very evening he\nprayed to the image of Madanmohan, and the god's approbation was shown\nby a sign,--a garland of flowers slipping down from his neck at the end\nof the prayer! On the bank of the Radha-kunda tank, the aged Krishna-das\ncompleted his _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_ in 1582 after nine years of\nunremitting toil. It is divided into three Books, the _Adi Lila_, the\n_Madhya Lila_, and the _Antya Lila_, dealing respectively with the\nthree stages of Chaitanya's life, _viz._, (i) the 24 years from his\nbirth to the time of his entering the monastic order, (ii) the six years\nof his pilgrimage, and (iii) the last eighteen years of his life, which\nwere spent in residence at Puri. In spite of its epic length, prolixity,\nand repetitions, the _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_ is a masterpiece of\nearly Bengali literature, and has the further merit of making the subtle\ndoctrines of the Vaishnav faith intelligible to ordinary people. Indeed,\nthe older school of Vaishnav Fathers, as represented by Jiv Goswami, had\nat first objected to its publication, lest the merits and completeness\nof this vernacular work should cause the learned Sanskrit treatises on\n_bhakti_ exegetics to be neglected by the public! The author's\nmanuscript is still preserved in the Radha-Damodar temple of Brindaban,\nand worshipped as a holy relic.\n\nThe Second Book (_Madhya Lila_), which is the longest and most detailed\nof the three and the foremost authority on Chaitanya's teachings, life\nand character, and contains the clearest and fullest exposition of\nVaishnav philosophy, has been here translated into English for the first\ntime. In the second edition, many long extracts from the Third Book\n(_Antya Lila_) have been added, to complete the story of Chaitanya's\ndoings and sayings at Puri till his death. Readers to whom the Bengali\ntongue is unknown, will here find an unvarnished account of Chaitanya as\nhis contemporaries knew him, without any modern gloss, interpolation or\ncriticism. My version is literal; only, in certain places needless\ndetails have been curtailed, all repetitions have been avoided, and the\ntexts so freely quoted by our author from the Sanskrit scriptures have\nbeen indicated by reference to chapter and verse, instead of being done\ninto English. The word _Prabhu_, applied by the author to Chaitanya,\nhas been rendered by me as _Master_.\n\nThere are three other contemporary lives of Chaitanya in old Bengali.\nThe earliest of them is the _Chaitanya Bhagabat_, composed in 1535\nA.D., by the Brahman Brindaban-das, a sister's son of Shribas Pandit of\nNavadwip. This author (b. 1507, d. 1589) was a votary of God as\nincarnate in Nityananda; to him Chaitanya was almost a secondary object\nof adoration. His poem is encumbered with miracles and digressions, and\nfar inferior to Krishna-das's work in wealth of philosophic exposition\nand description of men and events.\n\nTrilochan-das (born 1523) wrote the _Chaitanya-Mangal_ at the age of\nfourteen! It is full of marvellous incidents and should be classed with\nromances rather than with sober histories. Its text is still sung by\nwandering minstrels and is appreciated by the lower ranks of the\nVaishnav community.\n\nJayananda Mishra (b. about 1511) wrote his _Chaitanya-Mangal_ about\n1568, and his poem gives us much new information about the saint and his\nfamily. He is our only authority for the narrative of Chaitanya's death,\nwhich I have translated at the end of this work.\n\n* * * *\n\nIn the second edition parts of two chapters of the first edition,\n_viz._, xviii. pp. 254-269 and xxii. pp. 290-303, have been omitted, as\nthey can be understood only by very learned Sanskrit scholars, the\nremaining part of ch. xxii has been incorporated with ch. xxi, while ch.\nxxiii has been renumbered as xxii. In the present edition, all the\nchapters from xxiii to the end are taken from the _Antya Lila_.\n\nIn preparing the second edition, the translation has been carefully\ncompared with the text and minutely revised. Many mistakes have been\ndetected and corrected; some of them came no doubt from the manuscript\nfrom which the first edition was printed, but most of the others were\ndue to the inefficiency and carelessness of the press. In going through\nthe original a second time I have in a few places modified my\ninterpretation of the text made twelve years ago.\n\nA long and important appendix has now been added, giving the exact\nsituation and some description of the various holy places visited by\nChaitanya, (with references to the best and most modern sources of\ninformation, such as Gazetteers and maps).\n\n\n\nA SHORT LIFE OF CHAITANYA\n\nNavadwip, a town in the Nadia district of Bengal, situated on the river\nGanges, 75 miles north of Calcutta, was a great trading centre and seat\nof Hindu learning in the 15th century. Sanskrit logic (_nyay_) for\nwhich Bengal is most famous among all the provinces of India, was very\nhighly developed and studied here, and the fame of its scholars was\nunsurpassed in the land. But, if we may believe the biographers of\nChaitanya, the atmosphere of the town was sceptical and unspiritual.\nThere was a lack of true religious fervour and sincere devotion. Proud\nof their intellectuality, proud of the vast wealth they acquired by\ngifts from rich Hindus, the local _pandits_ despised _bhakti_ or\ndevotion as weak and vulgar, and engaged in idle ceremonies or idler\namusements. Vedantism formed the topic of conversation of the cultured\nfew; wine and goat's meat were taken to kindly by the majority of the\npeople, and such _Shakta_ rites as were accompanied by the offering of\nthis drink and food to the goddess and their subsequent consumption by\nher votaries, were performed with zeal and enthusiasm.\n\nJagannath Mishra, surnamed Purandar, a Brahman of the Vaidik sub-caste,\nhad emigrated from his ancestral home in Sylhet and settled here in\norder to live on the bank of the holy Ganges. His wife was Shachi, a\ndaughter of the scholar Nilambar Chakravarti. One evening in February or\nMarch, 1485 A.D., when there was a lunar eclipse at the same time as\nfull moon, a son was born to this couple. It was their tenth child; the\nfirst eight, all daughters, had died in infancy, and the ninth, a lad\nnamed Vishwarup, had abandoned the world at the age of sixteen when\npressed to marry, and had entered a monastery in the Madras presidency.\n\nThe new-born child was named Vishwambhar. But the women, seeing that his\nmother had lost so many children before him, gave him the disparaging\nname of Nimai or short-lived in order to propitiate Nemesis. The\nneighbours called him _Gaur_ or _Gauranga_ (fair complexioned) on\naccount of his marvellous beauty. That the child was born amidst the\nchanting of Hari's name all over Navadwip on the occasion of the\neclipse, was taken to be an omen that he would prove a teacher of\n_bhakti_. Passing over the lucky signs of his horoscope, and the\nmiracles and Krishna-like antics with which pious imagination has\ninvested his boyhood, we may note that he showed great keenness and\nprecocity of intellect in mastering all branches of Sanskrit learning,\nespecially grammar and logic.\n\nOn the death of his father, Vishwambhar, while still a student, married\nLakshmi, the daughter of Vallabh Acharya, with whom he had fallen in\nlove at first sight. He now became a householder, and began to take\npupils like many other Brahmans of Navadwip. As a _pandit_ he surpassed\nthe other scholars of the place and even defeated a renowned champion of\nanother province, who was travelling all over India holding\ndisputations.\n\nOn his return from a scholastic tour in East Bengal, in which he\nreceived many gifts from pious householders, he found that his wife had\ndied of snake-bite during his absence. After a while the widower married\nVishnu-priya. At this time his head was turned by the pride of\nscholarship, and his victories in argument made him slight other men.\nDuring a pilgrimage to Gaya, he met Ishwar Puri, a Vaishnav monk of the\norder of Madhavacharya and a disciple of that Madhavendra Puri who had\nfirst introduced the cult of bhakti for Krishna among the _sannyasis_.\nVishwambhar took this Ishwar Puri as his guru or spiritual guide. A\ncomplete change now came over his spirit. His intellectual pride was\ngone; he became a _bhakta_; whatever subject he lectured on, the theme\nof his discourse was love of Krishna. Indeed, he developed religious\necstasy and for some time behaved like a mad man: he laughed, wept,\nincessantly shouted Krishna's name, climbed up trees, or raved in\nabstraction imagining himself to be Krishna. He now made the\nacquaintance of the elderly scholar and _bhakta_ Adwaita Acharya, and\nwas joined by a sannyasi named Nityananda, who became to him even more\nthan what Paul was to Christ.\n\nMany people of Navadwip now believed Chaitanya to be an incarnation of\nKrishna and did him worship, while Nityananda came to be regarded as\nBalaram, (the elder brother of Krishna). Religious processions were\nfrequently got up, in which the devout, headed by the two, went dancing\nand singing through the streets or assembled in the courtyards of\nhouses. This was the origin of the _nam-kirtan_ ('chanting God's name')\nwhich has ever been the most distinctive feature of this creed.\nChaitanya's greatest achievement at this time was the reclamation of two\ndrunken ruffians, Jagai and Madhai, who were a terror to the city. The\napostles of _bhakti_ had also to face mockery and persecution from\nscoffers and unbelievers (_pashandi_), which were overcome by\nsupernatural signs. We pass over the scenes of ecstasy, tireless\nexertion in _kirtan_, madness and miracles, which form the extant\nhistory of this period of Chaitanya's life. But the conversions among\nthe learned were few, and Chaitanya at last in despair resolved to turn\nhermit for their salvation, arguing thus, \"As I must deliver all these\nproud scholars, I have to take to an ascetic life. They will surely bow\nto me when they see me as a hermit, and thus their hearts will be\npurified and filled with _bhakti_. There is no other means.\" So, he\ninduced Keshav Bharati to initiate him as a _sannyasi_ (1509) under the\nname of Krishna-Chaitanya, usually shortened into CHAITANYA, which we\nhave anticipated in this sketch. He was then 24 years of age. His\nmother, who had often before urged him not to desert her as his elder\nbrother had done, was heart-broken at the loss of her sole surviving\nchild, but Chaitanya consoled her in every possible way, and bowed to\nher wishes in many points in his after years as obediently as he had\ndone before renouncing the life of a householder.\n\nThe next six years were passed by him in pilgrimages to Orissa, the\nSouthern Land, and Brindaban, and in the preaching of _bhakti_ in many\nparts of India, as described in detail in the present volume.\n\nThereafter, at the age of 30, he settled at Puri, and spent his\nremaining days in the constant adoration of Jagannath. Disciples and\nadmirers from many places, chiefly Bengal and Brindaban, visited him\nhere; and he edified them by his discourses, acts of humility, and\npenances. Towards the close of his life he had repeated fits of\nreligious ecstasy in which he acted in utter disregard of his\nlife,--once leaping into the blue ocean, at another time battering his\nface against the walls of his room.\n\nAt last in June-July, 1533, his physical frame broke down under such\nprolonged mental convulsion and self-inflicted torments, and he passed\naway under circumstances over which the piety of his biographers has\ndrawn the veil of mystery.\n\nIn his lifetime his disciples had organized a mission. In Bengal the new\ncreed was preached and spread far and wide by Nityananda, who afterwards\ncame to be regarded as a god, co-ordinate with Chaitanya. Modern\nBrindaban, with its temples, Sanskrit seminaries and haunts for\nrecluses, is the creation of the Bengali Vaishnavs, and it has eclipsed\nthe older city of Mathura. Here the brothers Rup and Sanatan,--descended\nfrom a Prince of Karnat who had settled in Bengal and whose descendants\nhad become completely Bengalized, joined Chaitanya's Church. These two\nand their nephew Jiv Goswami were great Sanskrit scholars and their\ndevotional works, commentaries, &c. encouraged a revival of Sanskrit\nstudies in general in that Muslim age. These three, with Gopal Bhatta,\nnephew of the celebrated Vedantist Prakashananda who was latterly\nconverted to _bhakti_ by Chaitanya and changed his name into\nPrabodhananda, and Raghunath Bhatta, son of an up-country Brahman\nbhakta, and the last Raghunath-das, a Kayastha saint of the Saptagram\nzamindar family of the Hugli district and the guru of our author, formed\nthe six Fathers of Chaitanya's Church. Except Rup and Sanatan, most of\nthe other disciples of Chaitanya adopted the Bengali tongue as their\nmedium, and greatly enriched it with their songs, biographies, poems,\ntravels, and translations of the bhakti literature from Sanskrit. The\nVaishnav Goswamis, both at Brindaban and Navadwip, have kept up the\nstudy of Sanskrit to our own day. A classified list of Chaitanya's\ndisciples is given in Book I. canto x and those of Nityananda and\nAdwaita's disciples in cantos xi and xii respectively.\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY\n\n_Abadhut_--an ascetic who has renounced the world.\n\n_Acharya_--a family name or title of Brahmans, _lit._, teacher.\n\n_Adwaita Acharya_--an elderly scholar of Shantipur and associate in\nChaitanya's devotions before he became a sannyasi.\n\n_Arati_--divine service performed to a god in the early morning or\nafter dusk, with lamps, incense, and instrumental music, especially\nbells.\n\n_Balaram_--the elder brother of Krishna; the images of the two with\nthat of their sister Subhadra between them, are worshipped in the temple\nof Jagannath.\n\n_Bania_--grocer, (also acts as banker).\n\n_Bhagabat_--an adorer of Bhagaban or Vishnu as God; the Bhagabat, the\nname of a Puran, regarded by the Vaishnavs as their Scripture.\n\n_Bhakta_--a devotee, who seeks salvation through faith.\n\n_Bhakti_--faith, devotion.\n\n_Bharati_--the title of an order of monks.\n\n_Bhattacharya_--a title of Brahmans.\n\n_Bhog_--see _prasad_.\n\n_Dhoti_--a sheet of cloth worn round the lower limbs by Hindu males.\n\n_Gandharva_--a class of celestial musicians.\n\n_Garuda_--a bird ridden by Vishnu, sacred to the Vaishnavs.\n\n_Gaur_--(1) a city in the Malda district, the capital of Bengal during\nthe Pathan period; also applied to the whole country of Bengal, (Gaur).\n(2) or _Gauranga_, a title of Chaitanya.\n\n_Gauriya_--a native of Bengal.\n\n_Ghaghar_--a musical instrument.\n\n_Ghat_--bathing stairs in a river, usually sacred.\n\n_Ghee_--melted butter.\n\n_Gopis_--milk-maids of Brindaban with whom Krishna disported.\n\n_Goswami_--a title of respect, usually given to spiritual leaders among\nthe Vaishnavs.\n\n_Govardhan_--a sacred hill near Brindaban.\n\n_Guru_--spiritual preceptor, initiator into learning or a faith.\n\n_Haridas_--a Muhammadan who had turned Vaishnav under Chaitanya's\ninfluence. There was another Haridas, a born Hindu, among Chaitanya's\nfollowers.\n\n_Jagannath_--or Lord of the Universe, name of the idol of Krishna\nworshipped in the temple at Puri; also applied to the town of Puri.\n\n_Jharikhand_--the jungle country, Chota Nagpur and the Santhal\nparganas.\n\n_Kali yug_--the present or iron age of the world.\n\n_Katak_--the capital of Orissa and the seat of King Pratap Rudra of the\nGajapati dynasty.\n\n_Kholan_--instrument of music, being a long earthenware drum covered at\nboth ends with leather; distinctive of the Bengali Vaishnavs.\n\n_Kirtan_ or _sankirtan_, chanting God's name to the accompaniment of\ndance and song.\n\n_Kulin_--(1) a man of blue blood (kul), descended from a mythical\nancestor of high character or social position in a very far-off age. (2)\nthe name of a village in Bengal.\n\n_Kunda_--a pool of water, sacred to some god or saint.\n\n_Lila_--the antic or sport of a god, particularly of Krishna.\n\n_Madhav Pun_--also Madhavendra, a monk, the spiritual guide of that\nIshwar Puri who was the guru of Chaitanya.\n\n_Maha-patra_--minister of the Rajah of Orissa.\n\n_Maha-prasad_--food offered to Jagannath and thereafter considered as\nholy.\n\n_Mangal-arati_--early morning worship, see _arati_.\n\n_Mantra_--spell, sacred verse (usually in Sanskrit).\n\n_Mahanta_--the abbot of a Hindu monastery.\n\n_Nilachal_--the Blue Mountain. Name of the mound on which the temple of\nJagannath at Puri is situated.\n\n_Nimai_--a nick-name of Chaitanya.\n\n_Nupur_--bells tied to the feet in dancing.\n\n_Odhra_--Orissa.\n\n_Pandas_--attendants at a temple (such as Jagannath); they act as\nguides to pilgrims for a consideration.\n\n_Pandit_--scholar, one versed in Sanskrit.\n\n_Parichha_--the highest servitor of the temple of Jagannath.\n\n_Prasad_--food dedicated to a god at his worship, and thereafter eaten\nby the faithful as something holy.\n\n_Prayag_--the town of Allahabad, at the junction of the Ganges and the\nJamuna.\n\n_Prem_--love, the highest form of bhakti or devotion.\n\n_Puri_--(1) a town on the sea-coast in Orissa, containing the temple of\nJagannath. (2) the title of an order of monks.\n\n_Purushottam_--a title of Vishnu; usually applied to the temple of\nJagannath at Puri.\n\n_Rarh_--the upland of Burdwan and Birbhum districts, west of the\nGanges.\n\n_Sankirtan_--see _kirtan_.\n\n_Sannyasi_--ascetic, monk, religious mendicant.\n\n_Sarvabhauma_--i.e., \"universal doctor,\" a man of encyclopaedic\nknowledge. In the book this title is applied to a great scholar and\nVedantic philosopher of Navadwip, who had settled at Puri and was held\nin high honour by the local king. His father was the scholar Visharad, a\nfellow-student of Chaitanya's maternal grandfather. His sister's husband\nwas Gopinath Acharya, who, too, lived at Puri. Also called the\nBhattacharya, and Bhatta; not to be confounded with the Bhattacharya\n(i.e., Balabhadra) of ch. xv-xxiii.\n\n_Shalgram_--a round dark pebble, worshipped as an emblem of Vishnu,\n(found in the Gandak river).\n\n_Shantipur_--a town on the Ganges, some miles below Navadwip.\n\n_Shastra_--Scripture.\n\n_Shikdar_--the revenue collector of a district, local governor.\n\n_Shloka_--a complete verse, couplet or quatrain.\n\n_Shripad_--a title of respect, here applied to Nityananda.\n\n_Shri-Vaishnav_--one of the four main sects of the Vaishnavs; they\nadore Narayan and Lakshmi (=_Shri_), instead of Krishna and Radha.\n\n_Shudra_--the lowest caste among the Hindus.\n\n_Subhadra_--the sister of Krishna.\n\n_Thug_--a class of professional robbers who used to strangle or poison\ntheir victims, after mixing with them on the way, disguised as\ntravellers.\n\n_Tirtha_--sacred place, usually containing a bathing place.\n\n_Tulsi_--(1) the Indian Basil plant, sacred to Vishnu, and venerated by\nthe Vaishnavs as almost divine. \"She is the Indian Daphne\"\n(_Birdwood_). (2) the name of a minister of the king of Orissa.\n\n_Vaikuntha_--the heaven of Vishnu.\n\n_Vaishnav_--worshipper of Vishnu, the preserver, one incarnation of\nwhom is Krishna. The Shaivas are the worshippers of Shiva the destroyer,\nwhile the Shaktas are the worshippers of Shakti or energy, the wife of\nShiva.\n\n_Varaha_--the \"Boar,\" the 3rd incarnation of Vishnu.\n\n_Vidya-nagar_--Rajmahendri, in the Madras presidency.\n\n_Vrihaspati_--the teacher of the gods; hence, a man versed in all the\nbranches of learning.\n\n_Vishwarup_--Chaitanya's elder brother, who turned a sannyasi under the\ntitle of Shankarayana and died in the monastery of Pandharpur in\nSouthern India.\n\n_Yug_--era or cycle of time.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: KING PRATAP RUDRA BOWING TO CHAITANYA]\n\n(From an old painting in the possession of the Zamindar of Kunjaghata)\n\n\n\nCHAITANYA-CHARIT-AMRITA\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nAt the House of Adwaita\n\nGlory to Shri Chaitanya! Glory to Nityananda, to Adwaita, and to all\nfollowers of Gaur! In the month of Magh when the Master completed His\ntwenty-fourth year, in the bright fortnight, He turned hermit. Then led\nby devotion He set off for Brindaban, and wandered for three days in the\nRarh country, hallowing it with His footsteps and chanting the following\nverse in rapture:\n\n_\"I too shall cross the terrible and dark ocean of the world by means of\ndevotion to the Supreme Being, as the sages did of yore, by service at\nthe lotus-like feet of Mukunda.\"[1]_\n\nThe Master said, \"True are the words of this Brahman, who chose the\nservice of Mukunda as his life's task. The highest robe [in which a man\ncan clothe himself] is devotion to the Supreme Soul, the service of\nMukunda which brings salvation. That robe he put on. Now shall I go to\nBrindaban and serve Krishna in solitude.\"\n\nSo saying the Master moved day and night, the picture of religious\necstasy, heedless which way He walked. Nityananda, Acharya Ratna, and\nMukunda, all three followed Him. All who saw Him, cried \"Hari! Hari!\" in\ndevotion, and forgot sorrow and loss. The cow-boys shouted Hari's name,\nat the sight of the Master, who stroked their heads saying, \"Go on with\nyour chant,\" and thanked them saying, \"Blessed are ye! ye have\ngratified me by pouring Hari's name into my ears!\" Nityananda took the\nboys apart and thus tutored them, \"When the Master asks you about the\nroad to Brindaban, show Him the path leading to the Ganges.\" This they\ndid and He took that path. Nityananda spoke to Acharya Ratna, \"Hasten to\nAdwaita and tell him that I shall lead the Master to his house. He\nshould keep a boat ready at the riverside. Thence go to Navadwip and\nfetch Shachi and all the disciples.\"\n\nSending him off, Nityananda came before the Master and showed himself.\n\"Whither are you going, Shripad?\" the Master asked. \"With thee to\nBrindaban\" was the reply. \"How far is Brindaban?\" \"Behold, yonder is the\nJamuna!\" So saying Nityananda led the Master to the Ganges. This river\nHe mistook for the Jamuna. He thanked His stars that He had beheld the\nJamuna, sang its praise, and after bowing bathed in it. He had no second\nclothing except His loin-cloth with Him. Just then Adwaita arrived in a\nboat, with a fresh loin-cloth and upper garment, and appeared bowing\nbefore the Master, who was puzzled to see him and asked, \"You are the\nAcharya Goswami. Why have you come here? How did you know that I was at\nBrindaban?\" The Acharya replied \"It is Brindaban wherever you are. It is\nmy good luck that you have come to the Ganges bank.\" The Master said,\n\"So, Nityananda has played me a trick: he has led me to the Ganges and\ncalled it the Jamuna!\" The Acharya replied, \"False are not the words of\nShripad. You have now indeed bathed in the Jamuna, for the Ganges and\nthe Jamuna flow in one channel, the eastern waters being called Ganga\nand the western (in which you have bathed) Jamuna. Change your wet cloth\nfor a dry one. Four days have you fasted in fervour of love. Come to my\nhouse to-day, I invite thee. I have cooked a handful of rice, with dry\ncoarse curry, broth and green herbs.\" Saying this he took the Master on\nboard to his house, and joyfully washed His feet. His wife had al ready\ndone the cooking. The Acharya himself dedicated the food to Vishnu, and\nserved it in three equal portions. [Description of the dinner omitted.]\n\nThe Master said, \"Long have you made me dance, now leave it off. Dine\nwith Mukunda and Haridas.\" Then the Acharya broke his fast with those\ntwo, to his heart's content. The people of Shantipur, hearing of the\nMaster's arrival, flocked to gaze on His feet. In joy they cried \"Hari!\nHari!\" and wondered at His beauty. His fair complexion, which eclipsed\nthe Sun in splendour, was set off by his red robe. Endless streams of\npeople came and went throughout the day. At dusk the Acharya began a\n_sankirtan_; he danced, while the Master gazed on. Goswami Nityananda\ndanced hand in hand with the Acharya, and Haridas behind them. This song\naccompanied their dance:\n\n    _\"How shall I speak of my bliss to-day?\n    The Beloved (Krishna) has entered my temple for ever!\"_\n\nWith perspiration, thrill, tears of joy, shout, and roar, they turned\nand turned, touching the Master's feet now and then. The Acharya\nembraced Him and said \"Long did you wander after escaping from me. Now\nthat I have got you in my house, I shall hold you fast!\" So the Achaiya\ncontinued dancing and singing for three hours after nightfall. The\nMaster was in an attitude of longing as He had not yet gained union with\nKrishna, and this separation made His love burn the more fiercely.\nImpatiently He fell down on the ground, at which the Acharya stopped his\ndance. Mukunda, who knew the Master's heart well, began to sing verses\napt for His passion. The Acharya raised Him to make Him dance. At the\nverses, the Master could no longer be held back. He was all tears,\ntremour, thrill, sweat, and broken accents,--now rising up, now falling\ndown, now weeping.\n\n    The song: [Radha speaks]\n\n    _Woe is me, dear sister, for my present state!_\n    _The love of Krishna has caught my body and soul like a poison._\n\n    _My heart burns day and night; I know no peace._\n    _O that I could fly where Kanu (Krishna) is to be found!_\n\nSweetly did Mukunda sing the above ditty, which made the Master's heart\nburst, as the emotions of penitence, melancholy, rapture,\nfrolicsomeness, pride, and humility struggled with it. He was stricken\ndown by the force of His passion, and lay down breathless on the ground.\nThe faithful grew alarmed, when lo! He sprang up with a shout, overcome\nwith ecstasy and saying \"Chant, chant, [the name of Hari].\" None could\nunder stand the strong tides of His emotion.\n\nNityananda moved on holding Him, while the Acharya and Haridas danced\nbehind them. Three hours did He pass thus, now joy now sadness surging\nin His heart. The dinner had come after five days of fasting; so the\nwild dance greatly fatigued Him, but He felt it not to His ecstasy.\nNityananda held Him back by main force; the Acharya ended the _kirtan_,\nand laid the Master in His bed with every care.\n\nIn the same way ten days were passed in dinners and singing. In the\nmorning the Acharya brought mother Shachi in a litter followed by the\nfaithful. All the people of Navadwip came,--old and young, men and\nwomen,--forming a vast crowd. The Master was dancing and singing the\nName, when Shachi arrived at Adwaita's house and He fell prone at her\nfeet. She took Him up into her bosom and wept, both of them being rapt\nat seeing each other. Shachi was distracted at seeing His shaven crown:\nshe wiped His body, kissed His mouth, and gazed at Him intently; but\ncould not see anything as tears filled her eyes. She mourned saying, \"My\ndarling Nimai! be not cruel to me as Vishwarup was, whom I never saw\nafter he had turned hermit. If _you_ too do so, it will be the death of\nme.\" The Master replied amidst tears, \"Listen, mother! This body is your\ngift and not my own. My birth is from you, my body has been nursed by\nyou. In ten million births I cannot repay my debt to you. True, I have\nbecome a _sannyasi_ with or without your consent, but I shall never\nslight your wishes. I shall live wherever you bid me, I shall do\nwhatever you command.\" So saying He bowed to her again and again, while\nshe joyfully clasped Him repeatedly.\n\nThen the Acharya led her in, and the Master made haste to receive the\nfaithful, welcoming them, looking into their faces and embracing them,\none after another. They grieved at the sight of His bare head, and yet\ndelighted at His beauty. How can I name all the devotees Shrivas, Ramai,\nVidyanidhi, Gadadhar, Gangadas, Vakreshwar, Murari, Shuklambar,\nBuddhimanta Khan, Nandan, Shridhar, Vijay, Vasudev, Damodar, Mukunda and\nSanjay? Graciously He smiled on meeting the people of Navadwip. They\ndanced in delight singing \"Hari, Hari.\" The Acharya's house was turned\ninto Vishnu's Heaven. From Navadwip and many villages men flocked to see\nthe Master. For many days the Acharya supplied them all with food, drink\nand quarters; his store was inexhaustible, the more he spent the more\nwas it filled again. From that day forward Shachi herself did the\ncooking, and the Master dined in the company of the faithful. In the day\nthey had the Acharya's love and the sight of the Master, at night His\ndance and song. While He was singing all passions swept over Him, now He\nstood still, now trembled, now shed tears of joy or uttered broken\nwords, now He fainted. At times He fell down on the ground, at which\nmother Shachi wept, saying \"Methinks Nimai's body has been shattered.\"\nThen she piteously prayed to Vishnu, \"Grant me this reward for my\nworship of thee since my infancy, that when Nimai falls on the ground,\nit may not hurt Him!\" The loving mother Shachi was out of herself with\ntransports of delight and meekness.\n\nShrinivas and other Brahmans wanted to feast the Master. But Shachi\nentreated them saying, \"Where again shall I see Nimai? You will meet Him\nelsewhere, but for me, miserable one, this is His only visit. Therefore,\nso long as He lives with the Acharya, I shall feed Him. I beg this\nfavour of you all.\"\n\nThe faithful bowed in assent to the mother's wish. The Master too,\ncaught His mother's love-longing and said to His assembled followers: \"I\nhad started for Brindaban without your consent. So my journey was cut\nshort by a hindrance. True, I have embraced the monastic life all of a\nsudden, yet I shall not be dead to you all. I shall not leave you in\nlife, nor shall I leave my mother. It does not, however, become a hermit\nto live with his kindred in his birth-place. Let me not lay myself open\nto this charge. Devise a means by which I can be true to both my\nduties.\"\n\nAt these sweet words, the Acharya and others went to Shachi and told her\nof His wish. Shachi, the Mother of the World, answered, \"I shall be\nhappy if He stays here, but if He is blamed it will grieve me. This plan\nstrikes me as a happy solution: let Him live on the Nilachal (Puri),\nwhich is as it were a next door house from Navadwip; men pass frequently\nbetween the two places, and I shall always get news of Him. You all may\ncome and go, and He too may sometimes visit Navadwip at the Ganges bath.\nI count not my own joy or sorrow. What makes Him happy is happiness to\nme.\"\n\nThe faithful praised her, \"Mother, thy words are like an oracle of the\ngods!\" At their report the Master rejoiced, did reverence to the people\nof Navadwip and other adorers, and said, \"You are my greatest friends.\nGrant this my prayer, all of you, that you may ever in your homes sing\nKrishna's _sankirtan_, Krishna's name, Krishna's deeds, Krishna's\nworship. Now give me leave to go to the Nilachal; I shall visit you\nbetween whiles.\" Smiling He bade them farewell with due respect. But\nwhen He wished to start, Haridas cried piteously \"You are going to the\nNilachal, but what will be my salvation? I have not strength enough to\ngo there. How can this lowly one hold to his sinful life without getting\nsight of you?\" The Master answered, \"Have done with thy self-abasement.\nIt agitates my mind. For thy sake I shall pray to Jagannath; I shall\ntake thee to Purushottam\". Then the Acharya meekly begged Him to stay\nfor a few days more, and the Master listened to him and did not go away.\nSo, the Acharya, Shachi, and the faithful rejoiced. Daily did the\nAcharya hold the grand celebration the sweet discourse on Krishna in the\ncompany of the devout in the day-time, and the revelry of _sankirtan_\nat night. Joyfully did Shachi cook, and merrily did the Master dine with\nthe faithful. The service of the Master brought fulfilment to Acharya's\nreverence, devotion, home, and wealth, while Shachi delighted in gazing\non her son, and feasting Him to her heart's content.\n\nThus did the faithful beguile some days in the Acharya's house in great\nbliss. At last the Master told them, \"Go you all to your own homes;\nthere make Krishna's _sankirtan_. We shall meet again; sometimes you\nwill go to Puri, at others I shall come to you at the Bathing in the\nGanges.\" Goswami Nityananda, Pandit Jagadananda, Pandit Damodar, and\nMukunda Datta, these four[2] were sent by the Acharya to bear the Master\ncompany. Comforting His mother, He bowed at her feet, walked round her,\nand then set off. The cry of lamentation rose in the Acharya's house,\nbut the Master quickened His pace, heedless of it. Adwaita followed Him\nsome distance weeping, when He turned back with clasped hands, solaced\nhim, and spoke these gentle words, \"You should comfort my mother and\nlook after the congregation, for if you give way to grief they will all\ndie!\" Embracing He turned Adwaita back, and passed on freely. To the\nbank of the Ganges He went with the four, and then to Puri by way of\nChhatrabhog.[3] [_Madhya Lila_, text, canto 3.]\n\n[1] From the Brahman mendicant's speech reported in the _Shrimad\nBhagabat_, XI. xxiii. verse 53.\n\n[2] The _Chaitanya Bhagabat_ mentions two others, Govinda and Gadadhar,\n(III. 2).\n\n[3] _Chhatrabhog_. A village where the Ganges divides into innumerable\nbranches before falling into the sea. It is famous for its submerged\nShiva styled _Ambu-linga_.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nThe Miracles of Madhav Puri\n\nSo the Master went to the Nilachal, with His four companions, absorbed\nin the _kirtan_ (singing) of Krishna. One day He entered a village and\nbrought back a large quantity of rice by personally begging for alms. On\nthe way the ferrymen did not refuse Him a crossing. He blessed them and\ncame to Remuna, [1] where He devoutly visited the charming image of\nGopinath. As He bowed down at the feet of the image, the bunch of\nflowers on its crown dropped upon His head. At this Master rejoiced and\ndanced and sang long with the faithful. The attendants of Gopinath\nmarvelled at His power, ardour, beauty, and accomplishments, and served\nHim in many ways. There He passed the night, in desire of the _kshir\nprasad_ (condensed milk) of which He had heard from Ishwar Puri before.\nThe god was known as the _Gopinath who stole the kshir_, because, as\nthe devotees told the tale, he had once stolen _kshir_ for Madhav Puri.\n\nIn days gone by Madhav Puri had wandered on to Govardhan, near\nBrindaban, in his ecstasy heeding not whether it was day or night, and\nfalling down to the ground without caring what sort of place it was.\nAfter making a circuit of the rock, he came to the Govinda-_kunda_\n(pool), bathed, and sat down under a tree in the evening. A Cow-boy came\nand held a pail of milk before him, saving with a smile, \"Puri! drink\nthis milk. Why don't you take what you have longed for? What are you\nmusing on?\" The Child's beauty charmed the heart of the Puri, and his\nsweet words took away his hunger and thirst. The Puri asked, \"Who are\nyou and where do you live? How did you know that I was fasting?\" The Boy\nanswered, \"I am a milk-man of this village. In _my_ village none can\nremain fasting. Some beg for rice, some for milk. I convey food to those\nwho do not beg. The women who had come to draw water saw you, and sent\nme with this milk for you. I must be off now to milk my cows, but I\nshall come again for my pail.\" Then the Boy went away and was not seen\nagain. Madhav Puri wondered, laid the emptied pail down, and began to\npray without sleeping. Towards the end of the night he dozed off into\nunconsciousness, and dreamt that the Boy came and led him by the hand to\na bower saying \"Here I dwell, suffering much from cold and rain, wind\nand sun. Bring the villagers together, remove me from the bower to the\nhill-top and there lodge me properly in a monastery. Bathe me profusely\nin cold water. Long have I looked forward to the day when Madhav would\ncome to serve me. Moved by thy love I have accepted thy service, and I\nshall appear in the flesh to save the world by my sight. I am Gopal, the\nUplifter of Govardhan Hill. My image was installed by King Bajra,[2] and\nis the guardian deity of this place. My attendant, in fear of the\nmisbelievers, removed me from the hill to this grove for concealment and\nthen fled. Since then I have been here. It is well that you have come.\nNow bring me out carefully.\" So saying the Boy disappeared. Madhav Puri\nawoke, and judging that he had seen Shri Krishna without recognizing\nhim, he rolled on the ground in a transport of devotion. After some\nweeping he calmed his mind and set about to carry out the Lord's\nbidding. After his morning bath he went into the village, called the\npeople together, and said, \"The Lord of your village, the Uplifter of\nGovardhan, is in a grove. Let us seek him out. The grove is dense and\nhard to enter. Take hatchets and spades with yourselves to make a door.\"\nThe villagers joyfully accompanied him, and cut an entrance into the\ngrove, where they found to their joy and wonder the image lying hidden\nunder earth and grass. Removing the covering they knew (the image). But\nit was very heavy, so the strongest men joined together to take it up\nthe hill. There the idol was placed on a stone seat, with another big\nstone at its back as a support. The Brahmans of the village fetched\nwater from the Govinda-_kunda_ in fresh pots. Nine hundred pots of\nwater were brought; many musical instruments were played; the women\nsang. It was a great festival with dancing and singing. All the curd\nmilk and _ghee_ in the village were brought there with sweets, and all\nother articles of offering. The image was bathed by Madhav Puri himself,\nworshipped and installed there. All the food available in the village\nwas brought to the hill, offered to the god and an _anna-kut_ (pyramid\nof consecrated food) was formed. In one day's preparation this grand\nfeast was accomplished. The image was laid on a bedstead, a straw thatch\nbuilt over it, with walls of straw.\n\nThe Goswami Puri ordered the Brahmans to feast all the villagers, old\nand young. They dined, the Brahmans and Brahmanis first, then the others\nin due order. The people who came from other villages looked at Gopal\nand got his _prasad_. Men wondered at the power of the Puri who had\nproduced the pyramid of rice. He brought all the Brahmans to Vaishnavism\nand employed them in the various services (of the god). Again, at close\nof day he roused the god, offered some light refreshments as _bhog_. It\nwas noised abroad that Gopal had appeared there, and people flocked from\nneighbouring villages to see the god. The villagers joyfully gave feasts\nin honour of him on different days, each building up a pyramid of rice.\nAt night the image was laid to rest; the Puri drank a little milk.\n\nNext morning the same kind of service began. The people of a village\ncame with all their milk, curd, _ghee_ and rice, and offered them to\nGopal. The Brahmans cooked as before and Gopal tasted of the heap of\nrice. The people of Brindaban love Gopal of themselves, and he too loves\nthem. They all came, partook of the holy _prasad_ and forgot their\nsorrow and loss at the sight of him. From other provinces men arrived\nwith presents when they heard that Gopal had appeared there. The rich\nmen of Mathura sent costly offerings out of devotion. Gold, silver,\ncloth, incense and food stuffs were daily presented in vast quantities\nand swelled the store (of the temple). One very rich Kshatriya built the\ntemple (at his own cost), some one else the kitchen, another the walls.\nThe citizen of Brindaban presented a cow each, and thus Gopal got a\nthousand cows. Two Brahman hermits came from Bengal, and the Puri\nreceived them with attention, made them his disciples, and entrusted to\nthem the service of the god. So he waited on the god for some two years,\nglad to see him served right royally.\n\nOne night the Puri had a dream, in which Gopal spoke to him, \"I burn, I\nburn! Rub me with sandal wood from the Blue Mountain, and from nowhere\nelse, and then shall I be cooled. Go there quickly.\" The Puri, inspired\nby devotion, travelled to the eastern country to do the Lord's behest,\nappointing others to carry on the service. At Shantipur he visited\nAdwaita Acharya, who was moved by his devotion to get himself initiated\nby him and became his disciple. Thence the Puri proceeded south [i.e.,\nto Orissa], and at Remuna saw the Gopinath, whose beauty threw him into\necstasy. After singing and dancing he sat down in the vestibule and\nasked the (attendant) Brahman about the different dishes served to the\ngod. The splendour of the service made him infer that the _bhog_ was\nexcellent. So he resolved to inquire into the character of the _bhog_\nand appoint it for his Gopal too. The Brahman described to him how\ntwelve earthen pots full of _kshir_, called _amrita-keli_ (the cream\nof nectar) famous and unmatched in the world, were offered to the god\nevery evening. Just then that _bhog_ was presented. The Puri only\nthought, \"If I can get a little of the _kshir prasad_ unasked, I may\nlearn its taste for the purpose of establishing it as my Gopa's _bhog_.\"\nBut the longing shamed him and he prayed to Vishnu.\n\nThen the _bhog_ was removed and the _arati_ was celebrated. The Puri\nbowed and went out without saying a word. He was passionless,\nindifferent to the world, vowed not to ask for anything. If he got\nanything unasked he ate it, otherwise he fasted; the nectar of love was\nenough for him, he felt not hunger or thirst. That he had coveted the\n_kshir_ struck him as a sin. So he sat down in the deserted square of\nthe village-market singing hymns.\n\nIn the meantime the priest laid the image to sleep, finished his duties,\nand went to bed, where he had a dream. The god came and told him, \"Up,\npriest, and open my door. I have kept a pot of _kshir_ for the hermit.\nYou will find it concealed under the skirt of my lower garment. You all\ndid not notice it under my illusion. Take the _kshir_ quickly to Madhav\nPuri who is sitting in the market place.\" The priest arose, bathed,\nopened the shrine, and found the _kshir_ under the lappet of the god's\n_dhoti_. He washed the spot and went into the village with the pot of\n_kshir_ and walked through the market crying, \"Take this _kshir_,\nwhosoever is named Madhav Puri! For your sake Gopinath had concealed\nthis _kshir_. Take it and eat it, Puri, thou luckiest man in the three\nworlds.\"\n\nAt this the Puri disclosed himself. The priest gave him the _kshir_,\nbowed, and told the whole story, to the rapture of the Puri. The\nattendant priest marvelled at his devotion and said, \"It is only fitting\nthat Krishna should be obedient to him.\"\n\nLovingly did the Puri drink the _kshir_, then he washed the pot, broke\nit, and tied the sherds in a corner of his sheet, eating one of the\nbroken pieces every day, at which he grew wonderfully enraptured. At the\nclose of the night he set off for Puri (Jagannath), bowing to Gopinath\nthen and there, in fear that a crowd would gather round him next\nmorning, when they heard that the Lord had sent him _kshir_.\n\nSo he fared on, till he came to Puri in the Blue Mountain; the sight of\nJagannath threw him into an ecstasy, he rose up and fell down, he\nlaughed, danced, and sang, in intense delight. It was noised abroad that\nMadhav Puri had come to the holy place: men flocked to do him reverence.\nSuch is the nature of fame, it comes God-sent to those who seek it not.\nIn fear of public notice the Puri had fled thither, but fame clung to\nthis devotee of Krishna all the way. Eager as he was to escape from the\nplace, the need of sandal for his god held him back. He told the story\nof Gopal to the attendants of Jagannath and the _mohants_, and begged\nsandal wood for him. The faithful exerted themselves for it. Those who\nknew the Rajah's minister (_patra_) begged him and thus collected the\ncamphor and sandal. A Brahman and a servant for carrying the sandal were\nsent with the Puri, and given their travelling expenses. Royal passports\nwere given to the Puri by the minister, addressed to the officers of the\nfrontier outposts and the ferries.\n\nSo he returned to Remuna after some time, made many bows to Gopinath,\nand danced and sang long in rapture. The servitors of the temple did him\nreverence and fed him on the _kshir prasad_. While sleeping in the\ntemple, he had a dream at the close of night: Gopal came and told him,\n\"Hark thee, Madhav! I have got all the camphor and sandal. Rub this\nsandal with camphor and anoint Gopinath with it daily. Gopinath's body\nis one with mine! Lay the sandal on him and I shall feel the cooling\neffect. Doubt not, hesitate not, believe and give up the sandal as I bid\nyou.\" So saying, Gopal vanished; the Goswami awoke, called together the\nservitors of Gopinath, and told them, \"The Lord bids you rub all this\nsandal and camphor on Gopinath's person; for thus will Gopal be cooled.\nHe is the Supreme Lord and his order is mighty. In summer Gopinath\nshould be anointed with sandal paste.\" The servitors rejoiced at it. The\nPuri set the two men to rub the sandal into paste and hired two other\nmen also [for the work]. So he daily rubbed the sandal and the attending\npriests laid it on gleefully. He stayed there doing this till the sandal\nwas all gone. At the end of summer he again went to the Nilachal and\npassed there four months.\n\nThe Master told His disciples of the sweet life of Madhav Puri and\nremarked, \"Think of it, Nityananda; happiest of men is the Puri. Krishna\nappeared to him on the pretext of giving him milk. Thrice did he appear\nto him in dream to lay his commands. His love so influenced the god that\nhe revealed himself, accepted the Puri's service, and saved the world.\nFor his sake Gopinath stole the _kshir_ and got the surname of\n\"_kshir_-stealer.\" On the god's body did he lay camphor and sandal, and\nhis love overflowed at it. Hard it is to carry camphor and sandal\nthrough a Muslim country (Bengal and Upper India). Gopal knew that the\nPuri would be put in distress in doing this task. So, the gracious god,\never tender to his devotees, himself took the sandal (at Remuna) in\norder that the Puri's task might be done. Think of the Puri's extreme\ndevotion! It transcends nature, it amazes the mind! He is silent,\npassionless, indifferent to every earthly thing. He keeps with himself\nno companion, lest he should have to speak on any ungodly material\nsubject. That such a man, on receiving Gopal's command, travelled two\nthousand miles to beg for sandal! He lay fasting and yet did not ask for\nfood! Such a man carried the sandal one _maund_ of sandal and 20\n_tolas_ of camphor, rejoicing that he would lay them on Gopal! The\nfrontier custom-officer of Orissa stopped him but he showed the royal\npass and was set free. He never reflected how he would carry the sandal\nthrough the Muslim land, long distance, and countless hindrances. He had\nnot a shell (_kowri_) with him to pay duty at the custom barrier, and\nyet in his enthusiasm he set forth to carry the sandal. Such is the\nnatural effect of true love,--not to think of one's own sufferings and\ntroubles! Gopal had bidden him bring the sandal, only to show to the\nworld the Puri's deep devotion. And he brought it joyfully through all\nhardships to Remuna. Gopal had meant by it only to try him, and when the\ntrial was over the god grew gracious. We are powerless to understand the\ndepth of his love for Krishna and Krishna's graciousness to his\ndevotee.\"\n\nSo saying the Master recited a stanza of the Puri's composition, which\nhas lighted the world like the moon. Discourse on the stanza only\nrevealed its full beauty, just as the odour of sandal wood spreads with\nrubbing. I deem this stanza the rarest gem in poetry. Radha speaks it\nthrough the mouth of Madhavendra. How did Chaitanya relish it! None\nbesides these three can know its full flavour. The Puri finally attained\nto the supreme realization [_i.e._, death], reciting this stanza:\n\n    The stanza [Radhika speaks]:--\n\n    _\"O Lord! Gracious to the lowly! thou art now in\n    Mathura. When wilt thou come to me? Darling mine!\n    my heart runs about in pain of longing to see thee.\n    What shall I do?\"_\n\nOn reciting the stanza the Master fell down on the ground in a trance,\nsenseless with the intensity of love. Nityananda hurriedly took Him up\nin his arms. Chaitanya rose weeping, and ran hither and thither in a\ntransport of devotion, shouting, laughing, dancing, and singing. Oft did\nHe repeat the first word of the stanza, His voice choked with emotion\nand tears running down His cheeks. He trembled, perspired, wept with\njoy, stood still, changed colour, now showing remorse, now grief, now\nstupor, now pride or meekness. The stanza opened the gate of His love.\nThe servitors of Gopinath gazed on tke Master's outpouring of love. But\nHe came back to Himself on seeing a crowd gathering. The _bhog_ was\nperformed, then the _arati_. The priest laid the god to rest, came out of\nthe shrine and placed the twelve pots of _kshir_ before the Master, who\njoyfully took five pots for Himself and His disciples and returned the\nother seven to the priest. True, the sight of Gopinath had been food\nenough for Him; but He now drank the _kshir_ as a mark of reverence.\nThe night was passed in singing the Name. In the morning He attended the\n_mangal arati_ and then departed. [Text, canto 4.]\n\n[1] _Remuna_, 10 miles north-west of Baleshwar in Orissa.\n\n[2] The great-grandson of Krishna and his successor on the throne\nof Mathura.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nThe Legend of Gopal the Witness\n\nGlory to Chaitanya! Glory to Nityananda! Glory to Adwaita! and Glory to\nthe followers of Chaitanya!\n\nOn His way the Master came to the village of Jajpur, where He bowed to\nthe image of Varaha. He danced and sang in love and prayed long, passing\nthe night in that village. To Katak[1] He went to see the Sakshi-Gopal,\nwhose beauty threw Him into a rapture. After dance and song He prayed to\nthe Gopal with abstraction. That night during His halt there with His\ndisciples He heard the legend of Gopal. Nityananda in his former\npilgrimage had come to Katak, seen the Sakshi-Gopal, and heard the\nlegends of the god, which he now narrated to the Master. Once on a time\ntwo Brahmans of Vidya-nagar [Rajmahendri] set out on a pilgrimage, and\nafter visiting Gaya, Benares, Allahabad, &c., reached Mathura. They made\na tour of the [Maha-] ban, and beheld Govardhan and the Twelve Woods,\nknown as _Dwadash ban_, finally going to Brindaban. In the great temple\nGopal was worshipped with great pomp. They bathed at the Keshi ghat, the\npool of Kaliya, and other places, and rested in the temple of Gopal,\nwhose beauty ravished their hearts. There they blissfully passed a few\ndays. One of the Brahmans being old had been tended carefully by the\nyounger one. The old man, pleased with his attendance, said, \"Long have\nyou served me, and through your help have I performed my pilgrimage.\nEven a son does not serve his father so lovingly. Through your kindness\nI have been saved every trouble. It will be rank ingratitude if I do not\nhonour you. So I shall wed my daughter to you.\" The youth replied,\n\"Listen, sir! Why talk of that which cannot be? You are a high _kulin_,\ngreat in learning and Wealth, while I am a non-_kulin_ lacking in\nscholarship and riches. I am no worthy match for your daughter. Through\nlove of Krishna have I served you, as he is pleased with attention to\nBrahmans. What pleases the Lord increases the store of faith.\" The elder\nanswered, \"Doubt not. What wonder is there in it that I should give you\nmy daughter?\" The younger Brahman rejoined, \"You have a large circle of\nkindred, friends and sons, without whose consent you cannot possibly wed\nyour daughter to me. Witness the case of Bhishmak, the father of\nRukmini, who was opposed by his son in giving his daughter, as he\nwished, to Krishna.\" The old man answered, \"My daughter is my property.\nWho can oppose me in giving away what is mine? I shall give you my\ndaughter in despite of all. Don't doubt it, but derive your consent.\"\nThe youth said, \"If you have really decided to give me your daughter,\nmake a vow before Gopal.\" The old Brahman addressed Gopal and said,\n\"Know that I shall give my daughter to this man.\" The youth added,\n\"Lord, be thou my witness, and I shall summon thee to give thy testimony\nif he breaks his promise.\"\n\nSo saying the two returned to their homes, the young man serving the\nother like an elder. The old man now reflected, \"I pledged my word to\nthis Brahman in a holy place, but how can I keep it? I must consult my\nwife, sons, kindred and friends.\" So, one day he gathered his own folk\nand told them the whole story, at which they lamented and cried \"Never\nutter such words again! You will lose your _kul_ if you wed your\ndaughter to a low-born man. You will be a laughing stock to all!\" The\nBrahman urged, \"How can I retract a promise made in a holy place? Come\nwhat may, I will give him my daughter.\" His kinsfolk threatened to\nboycott him, and his wife and children to take poison. The Brahman\npleaded, \"He will make a case of it by calling his witness. When he wins\nmy daughter by a decree, my faith will be proved worthless!\" His son\nanswered, \"Oh! the witness is an idol in a far-off land. Who will bear\ntestimony against you? Do not be alarmed. You need not tell the lie that\nyou had never made him such a promise; you will only have to pretend\nforgetfulness. If you do that I shall beat the Brahman in court.\" At\nthis the Brahman, full of anxiety, prayed intently to Gopal, \"Gopal, to\nthee I appeal: save my faith and save my kindred, save both sides!\"\n\nOne day the younger Brahman visited him, bowed reverently, and said with\nfolded hands, \"You promised me your daughter, but are now silent on the\npoint! Is this your sense of justice?\" The old man remained silent; but\nhis son ran with a stick to beat the visitor, crying, \"Wretch! you want\nto wed my sister! Dwarf, you wish to catch the moon!\" The youth fled,\nbut another day he called all the villagers together, who summoned the\nold man. Then the younger Brahman spoke, \"This man promised his daughter\nto me. Ask him why he does not give her up now.\" On being questioned by\nthe people, the elder Brahman replied, \"Listen, friends, I do not\nremember what I said so long ago.\" At this his son got the chance to put\nin his words boldly, \"My father had much money with him during his\npilgrimage. This villain, his only companion, coveted the money,\nintoxicated him with _dhutura_, robbed him and said that thieves had\ntaken away his money, and then spread the tale that he had promised his\ndaughter to him. Judge ye all, whether he is a worthy match for my\nsister.\" The assembled people were filled with suspicion, as greed often\nmakes men commit sin. The younger Brahman pleaded, \"Hear, my masters, he\nis lying to win the case. His father, pleased with my attendance,\npromised me his daughter voluntarily, and when I declined alleging my\nunworthiness and our disparity in wealth, learning and _kul_, he\nrepeatedly pressed me to accept her, and at my suggestion called Gopal\nto witness his promise. I conjured the god to bear testimony for me,\nshould this Brahman break his word. He is my witness, whose word is held\ntrue in the three worlds.\" The old man replied, \"This is good. If Gopal\nappears here and bears testimony, I shall certainly give you my\ndaughter.\" His son agreed to it. The old man only thought, \"Kind is\nKrishna. Surely he will bear my word out.\" His son was confident that\nthe image would not come to act as a witness. So thinking diversely they\nagreed. At the younger Brahman's request both parties signed a written\ndeed of agreement to abide by this test, to prevent future disputes. It\nwas left with an umpire. The young man continued, \"Listen, all ye here!\nThis Brahman is pious and true of speech, never wishing to retract his\nword. It is only his fear of the suicide of his kinsfolk that has made\nhim tell a lie. Thanks to his piety, I will bring Krishna as a witness\nand enable Hm to keep his word.\" At this the sceptics laughed; some\nsaid, \"God is good, He may come.\"\n\nThen the younger Brahman went to Brindaban, prostrated himself and\nprayed to the image, \"God of the Brahmans! thou art ever kind. Have pity\nand save the honour of two Brahmans. I mind not whether I get the girl\nor not, but it would be a great pity if a Brahman's promise is broken.\nFor this reason, do thou bear witness, for he who will not bear\ntestimony to the truth that he knows, commits a sin.\" Krishna replied,\n\"Brahman! return home, assemble the public, and meditate on me. I shall\nappear and give my evidence. But my image can not be taken there.\" The\nBrahman protested, \"Even if you appear in your four-armed form, none\nwill believe you. But if this very image goes there and speaks out of\nits mouth, then all will deem it true.\" Krishna said, \"Nobody ever heard\nof an idol travelling!\" The Brahman replied \"Why do you speak of being\nan idol? You are not a mere image but the Darling of Brindaban. Do an\nunprecedented act for the sake of a Brahman.\" Laughingly Gopal said,\n\"Hear, Brahman, I shall travel after you; but do not look behind, or\nelse I shall stop there. You will hear (on the way) only the jingling of\nmy _nupur_, and thus know that I am going on. Give me one _seer_ of\nrice [daily], which I shall eat when accompanying you.\" Next day, after\ntaking the Lord's leave, the Brahman set out on his return, delighted to\nhear the jingle of the _nupur_ behind him, and offering excellent rice\nto the image. So he arrived near his village and then thought, \"Now have\nI come to my village and shall go home and tell the people of the\narrival of my witness. But I cannot believe if I do not see him with my\nown eyes. It will be no harm if he stays here. So he looked behind him;\nand Gopal stopped there, saying with a smile, \"Go home; here will I stay\nwithout going any further.\"\n\nWhen the Brahman reported the tale, the people marvelled at it, and came\nto see the witness. They bowed to Gopal, delighted with his beauty and\namazed to hear that the image had travelled thither. Then the old\nBrahman in joy prostrated himself before Gopal, who gave his evidence\nbefore the people, and the younger Brahman got his betrothed bride. The\nLord spoke to the two Brahmans, \"You will be my servants birth after\nbirth. I am pleased with you; beg a boon.\" They prayed together, \"Grant\nus this that you remain here, so that all may know your favour to your\nservants.\" Gopal remained there, and the two served him. The people of\nthe country flocked to see him. The king of the land heard the wonderful\nlegend and beheld the Gopal with supreme delight. He built a temple and\nendowed the service of the god, who became famous under the name of\nGOPAL THE WITNESS. Thus has _Sakshi-Gopal_ accepted, worship and stayed\nat Vidya-nagar for long. Purushottam, the Rajah of Orissa, conquered the\ncountry in battle and seized the many-jewelled throne named\n_manik-sinhasan_. Purushottam Dev was a great devotee and entreated\nGopal to go to his capital. Gopal, pleased with his piety, consented and\nwas taken to Katak, where his worship was installed. The Rajah gave the\n_manik-sinhasan_ to Jagannath. His queen, when visiting Gopal, gave him\nmany ornaments in devotion. A costly pearl hung from her nose, and\nwishing to give it too she reflected, \"Ah, if there had been a hole in\nthe Lord's nose, I, his hand maid, could have made him put this pearl\non!\" With this thought she bowed and returned home. At the end of the\nnight Gopal appeared to her in a dream and said, \"In my infancy my\nmother had bored my nose and very tenderly hung there a pearl. The hole\nis there still. Make me wear the pearl you wished to give.\" The queen\nspoke to her husband, and the two went to the temple with the pearl,\nhung it from the hole in the nose which was found out, and a great\nfestival of joy was held. From that day on has Gopal stayed at Katak and\nbeen known as _Sakshi-Gopal_.\n\nThe master with all His disciples heard the legend of Gopal from\nNityananda and was delighted. While He stood before Gopal, the faithful\nseemed to see them both as of one body, of one complexion, large-limbed,\nred-robed, grave of mien, beaming with glory, lotus-eyed, moon-faced,\nboth of them in rapture for each other.\n\nAt the sight of both, Nityananda in great joy winked at the faithful and\nthey all smiled. So the night was passed in great entertainment, and\nnext morning, after witnessing the matin service, they set off.\nBrindaban-das has described fully how He visited Bhubaneshwar on the way\n(to the Blue Mountain). At Kamalpur He bathed in the Bhagi [2] river,\nand gave His mendicant's stick to Nityananda to carry. With his\ndisciples He went to see Kapoteshwar [Shiva]. Here Nityananda broke the\nMaster's stick into three and threw it (into the river). From that Shiva\nshrine the Master returned, and was thrown into ecstasy by the sight of\nthe spire [3] of the temple of Jagannath. He prostrated Himself and\ndanced in love; the disciples too, in love, danced and sang, following\nthe Master on the highway. He laughed, wept, danced, roared and shouted,\nand made a thousand leagues of those six miles. On reaching Athara-nala\n(Eighteen Water courses) the Master came to His senses a little and\nasked Nityananda for His stick. But Nityananda answered, \"It was broken\ninto three bits. You fell down in a swoon of devotion, and as I caught\nyou, we two tumbled on the stick which was broken by our weight. I know\nnot where it was dropped. Through my fault was your stick broken. Punish\nme as you think fit.\" The Master was sad and spoke a little bitterly,\n\"You have all done me great good, forsooth, by coming to the Blue\nMountain! You could not even preserve the stick, my only property. You\ngo before me to see Jagannath or let me go there before you. But we will\nnot go together.\" Mukunda Datta said, \"Master, go thou before us; we\nshall arrive after and not in thy company\". The Master hastened there.\nNone could understand the cause why one Master broke the other's stick\nand why the latter suffered it to be done, or was angry at the result.\nThe deep mystery of the breaking of the stick can be understood only by\nhim who has constant faith in the two Masters. [Text, canto 5.]\n\n[1] The image of _Sakshi-Gopal_ is now installed at a village of the\nsame name 48 miles south of Katak town.\n\n[2] _Indian Atlas_ (sheet 116) names the river here as _Bargovee_.\n\n[3] The place meant is evidently Jagannath Vallabh, six miles north of\nPuri; from this place the spire of the temple of Jagannath can be seen.\n_Athara-nala_ is two miles north of Puri.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nThe Conversion of Sarvabhauma\n\nThe Master went in an ecstatic mood to the temple of Jagannath, and was\nbeside Himself with love at the sight of the god. He rushed to embrace\nthe image, but fell down on the temple floor, senseless with devotion.\nHappily Sarvabhauma noticed Him, and stopped the door keeper\n(_Parichha_, mace-bearer) who was about to beat the Master. Sarvabhauma\nmarvelled exceedingly as he gazed on the beauty of the Master and His\ntransport of love. The hour of _bhog_ arrived, yet the Master did not\ncome to His senses. Sarvabhauma then thought of a plan, and had Him\nconveyed by his disciple the door-keeper to his house and laid Him down\non a clean spot. But the Master showed no respiration, no heaving of the\nchest. The Bhattacharya grew alarmed. He held a fine piece of cotton to\nthe Master's nose; it stirred, and he was reassured. The Bhattacharya\nsat musing thus, \"This is the _sattvika_ form of the passion for\nKrishna. It is named the \"bright-pure\" (_sudipta sattvika_), and is\ndisplayed only by a devotee who has attained to constant realization\n(_nitya-siddhi_). This ecstasy is possible only in one whose devotion\nis extreme. I wonder to see it manifested in an [ordinary] man's\nperson.\"\n\nWhile he was pondering thus, Nityananda and the others arrived at the\nmain gate, and overheard the people talking among themselves, \"A\n_sannyasi_ came here and swooned away at the sight of Jagannath; he is\nstill in a trance. Sarvabhauma has conveyed him to his own house.\" They\nknew from this that it was the Great Master. Just then came there\nGopinath Acharya, the son-in-law of Visharad of Nadia, and a devotee and\nacquaintance of the Master. He knew Mukunda from before, and was\nsurprised to see him there. Mukunda bowed, the Acharya embraced him and\nasked him news of the Master. Mukunda replied, \"The Master has come\nhere, and we with Him.\" The Acharya bowed to Nityananda Goswami, and\nagain asked them all about the Master. Mukunda said, \"After taking the\nmonastic vow, the Master came to the Blue Mountain taking us with Him.\nLeaving us behind He came to visit this temple, and we have arrived now\nto seek Him. From what we have heard from others, we conclude that He is\nin Sarvabhauma's house, whither He was removed on fainting at the sight\nof the god. I have met you luckily, just as I was wishing for your\nsight. Let us go to Sarvabhauma's house, and after seeing the Master we\nshall visit the temple.\"\n\nGopinath in delight conducted them to Sarvabhauma's house, where he\nbeheld the Master and felt mingled joy and grief. He introduced them all\nto Sarvabhauma, and took them inside. Sarvabhauma bowed to Nityananda\nGoswami and saluted the others in the proper mode. Then he sent them all\nin charge of his son Chandaneshwar, to the temple. They joyed to behold\nthe god. Nityananda went out of himself in devotion, but the others\nquieted him. The servitor of the shrine presented them with the garland\nand _prasad_ of the god, to their great delight. Then they returned to\nthe Master, and chanted the divine name loud and long. In the third\nquarter [of the day], Chaitanya awoke, and rose up shouting, _Hari!\nHari!_ Reverently Sarvabhauma took the dust of His feet [to place it on\nhis own head], and entreated Him, \"Take your midday meal soon. I shall\nfeed you to-day with Jagannath's _maha-prasad_.\" The Master quickly\ncame back from His bath in the sea, and feasted with His followers on\nthe rice, broth and other kinds of _prasad_, which Sarvabhauma served\nto them from golden dishes. The Master said, \"Help me with the hash of\ngourd (_lau_) and other vegetables, and serve these others with cakes\nand sweets.\" But the Bhattacharya entreated Him with folded palms, \"How\nhas Jagannath himself fed? Do you too taste all of these,\" and so made\nHim eat the cakes and sweets too. After the dinner, he helped the Master\nto wash, then took leave to retire with Gopinath Acharya and eat their\nown meals. When they returned, [the Acharya] bowed saying \"I salute\nNarayan,\" and the Master responded with \"Be thy mind constant in\nKrishna!\" At these words Sarvabhauma knew Him to be a Vaishnav hermit.\nHe then asked Gopinath Acharya about the worldly life of the Master. The\nAcharya replied, \"His home was at Navadwip; his father Jagannath Mishra,\nsurnamed Purandar Mishra, gave him the name of Vishwambhar. His maternal\ngrandfather was Nilambar Chakravarti.\" Sarvabhauma added \"Nilambar\nChakravarti! why, he was a fellow-student of my father Visharad, who, I\nknow, had a high regard for Purandar Mishra, too. I honour both for\ntheir connection with my father.\"\n\nDelighted to hear that Chaitanya was a man of Nadia, Sarvabhauma thus\naddressed Him, \"You are of honourable birth, and a _sannyasi_ in\naddition. Make me, therefore, your personal disciple.\" At this the\nMaster cried out, \"O Vishnu! O Vishnu!\" and then spoke humbly to the\nBhattacharya, \"You are the teacher of the world and the benefactor of\nmankind. You teach _Vedanta_ and [thereby] benefit men of monastic\nlife. I am a young monk, ignorant of good and evil. I have sought refuge\nwith you, regarding you as my teacher. For your society have I come\nhere, hoping that you will train me in all ways. You saved me in my\ngreat danger to-day.\" The Bhattacharya said, \"Never go to the temple\nalone, but always with me or one of my men.\" The Master replied, \"I\nshall not enter the shrine, but gaze from the Garuda [pillar in the\nquadrangle].\" Then Sarvabhauma addressed Gopinath Acharya, \"You will be\nguide to this Goswami in visiting the temple. Lodge him in the house of\nmy mother's sister, which is a quiet place, and look to all his needs.\"\nSo he did. Next day Gopinath took the Master to the temple to show Him\nJagannath as he rose from his bed. Mukunda Datta led Him back to\nSarvabhauma's house, who spoke thus, \"This _sannyasi_ is meek in\ndisposition, lovely in form. I daily love Him the more. Tell me what\norder He has joined and what name He has chosen.\" Gopinath replied, \"He\nhas been named Shri Krishna-Chaitanya; His spiritual guide is Keshav\nBharati, blessed man!\" Sarvabhauma remarked, \"His name is well-chosen,\nbut the Bharati order is not ranked high [among the ten classes of\n_sannyasis_].\"\n\nGopinath answered, \"He does not care for outward [dignity]. Hence His\nindifference to the more famous orders of monks.\" The Bhattacharya\njoined in, \"Ah, He is in the full bloom of youth. How can He keep the\nmonastic rules? However, I shall ceaselessly teach Him Vedanta, and lead\nHim on to the rank of a recluse of the Monist school (_adwaita_). If He\nthen wishes it, I shall robe Him anew with the yellow robe of a yogi,\npurify Him, and enter Him into one of the higher orders.\"\n\nGopinath and Mukunda grieved to hear it; and the former expostulated,\n\"Bhattacharya! You know not His greatness. The signs of divinity have\nreached their extreme limit in Him! Hence He is famed as the Great God.\nBut in a place of ignorance even the wise know nothing.\"\n\nThe [Sarvabhauma's] disciples asked, \"What proof is there of His\ndivinity?\" The Acharya replied, \"The belief of the wise is proof of\ndivinity.\" The disciples objected, saying, \"It is by inference that God\nis recognized.\" But the Acharya answered, \"No, God is not known by\ninference, but only by those on whom He bestows His grace, even a\nparticle of it. Witness Brahma's praise of Vishnu in the _Shrimad\nBhagabat_, Book X. canto xiv. verse 28:\n\n_\"'Lord! true it is that knowledge can gain salvation, but Thy glories\ncan be known only by him who has been blessed even with a particle of\nfavour from Thy lotus-like feet. O Perfect Being! A man lacking Thy\ngrace, may be free from earthly lusts, may have studied the scriptures\nfor ages, but still he cannot know Thee fully!'_\n\n\"O Sarvabhauma, you may be the World's Teacher, a master of theology,\nunrivalled in the world in scholarship. But you have not gained God's\ngrace, hence you cannot know God. I do not blame you, but the scripture\nsays clearly that the knowledge of God cannot come from mere\nscholarship.\"\n\nSarvabhauma replied, \"Weigh thy words well, Acharya! How do you prove\nthat you have gained God's grace?\" The Acharya replied, \"We know a\nmaterial thing by observing it. Our knowledge of the nature of a thing\nis proved by grace. On this sannyasi's person are all the marks of\ndivinity. You yourself witnessed his ecstasy of spiritual love. And yet\nyou know not God! Such are the ways of God's illusion, materialists see\nHim and yet recognize Him not!\"\n\nSmilingly spoke Sarvabhauma, \"We are arguing in a friendly spirit. Don't\nget warm. Blame me not, I am only arguing from the strict standpoint of\nview of _Shastra_. Chaitanya Goswami is [I admit] a great saint. But\nthere is no incarnation of Vishnu in the Kali era. Hence Vishnu's\nepithet _Tri-yug_ or the Lord of Three. But scripture tells us that the\nKali era is without an incarnation.\"\n\nSadly did the Acharya answer, \"You pride yourself on your knowledge of\nscripture, but you do not mind the _Bhagabat_ and the _Mahabharat_,\nwhich are the chief of scriptures. Both of them assert that God will\nappear in the human form in the Kali era, and yet you maintain the\ncontrary! As God will not appear in Kali for mere earthly exploits [but\nonly for purifying faith], we call him _Tri-yug_. In every era Krishna\nappears for the spiritual needs of the age. You are a logician, and yet\nyou do not perceive this!\"\n\nTexts quoted in support; _Bhagabat_, X viii. 9, XI. v. 28, 29;\n_Mahabharat_, Anushasan Parva, Dan-dharma, canto 149, v. 75-92.\n\n\"I need not waste these many words on you. They will bear no more fruit\nthan seed sown on sterile soil. When His grace is on you, you will be\nconvinced. Your disciple, who is plying me with all sorts of sophistic\narguments, I blame him not; he is under illusion (_maya_). As the\n_Bhagabat_, Book VI. canto iv. verse 26, puts it:\n\n_[The words of Daksha to God], I bow to the Omnipotent Supreme God,\nwhose power of illusion raises endless controversies among logicians\nfond of dispute, and keeps their souls ever wrapt in delusion!_\n\n\"Again, the _Bhagabat_, XI. xxii. 3, [Krishna's words to Uddhava].\"\n\nThen Sarvabhauma said, \"Go to the monk [Chaitanya] and invite him and\nhis followers to my house. First feed them with _prasad_, and then give\nme lessons [in theology]!\" The Acharya, being Sarvabhauma's sister's\nhusband, could [boldly] blame, praise, laugh at or school him.\n\nMukunda was greatly pleased with the Acharya's reasoning, as he was inly\ngrieved and angry at the speech of Sarvabhauma.\n\nThe Acharya came to Chaitanya's house and invited Him on behalf of the\nBhattacharya. As he talked with Mukunda he spoke ill of Sarvabhauma in a\npained spirit. But the Master broke in with, \"Say not so. The\nBhattacharya has really favoured me; he wants to safeguard my monastic\nlife, and has taken pity on me out of tenderness. Why blame him for it?\"\n\nNext day, the Master visited the temple of Jagannath in the company of\nthe Bhattacharya, and then accompanied him to his house. The\nBhattacharya seated the Master first and began to teach Him _Vedanta_.\nWith mingled tenderness and reverence he said, \"It is a _sannyasi's_\nduty to hear the Vedanta read. You should constantly attend to it.\" The\nMaster answered, \"Show me thy favour. Whatever you bid me is indeed my\nduty.\"\n\nFor seven days did the Master thus listen to the expounding of the\nVedanta, without making any comment of His own. On the eighth day,\nSarvabhauma asked Him, \"For seven days have you heard me in unbroken\nsilence. I know not whether you follow me or not.\" The Master replied,\n\"I am ignorant, and have not studied [the subject]. I merely listen at\nyour bidding. I listen only because such is a sannyasi's duty. But I\ncannot follow your interpretation.\" The Bhattacharya retorted, \"He who\nis conscious of his own ignorance asks for a second explanation. But you\nremain ever silent as you listen. I know not your mind's workings.\" The\nMaster replied, \"I understand the verses clearly enough. But it is your\ncommentary that puzzles me. A commentary should elucidate the text,\nwhereas your exposition conceals the text! You do not expound the plain\nmeaning of the aphorisms, but cover them up with your fanciful\ninterpretation. The primary meaning is the plain sense of the terms of\nthe _Upanishad_, and Vyas says it in his aphorisms. You [on the other\nhand] let the primary sense go, and give a conjectural secondary sense.\nYou reject the meanings of words as given in lexicons, and attribute to\nthem meanings evolved from your imagination. _Shruti_ is the chief of\nproofs. The primary meaning as given by _Shruti_ can alone carry\nconviction.\n\n\"What are conchshells and cowdung but naturally unclean things, _viz._,\nthe bone and ordure of animals? And yet they are taken as very pure,\nbecause _Shruti_ says so. Of the spiritual truth that is held forth [in\nVedanta] the meaning is plain and self-evident. Fanciful interpretation\nonly spoils the clear sense. The sense of Vyas's aphorisms is clear like\nthe sun; you are only enveloping it with the cloud of your conjectural\ncommentary. The _Vedas_ and the _Purans_ tell us how to discern\nBrahma. That Brahma is [only another name for] God in His totality. The\nSupreme Being is full of all powers, and yet you describe Him as\nformless? The _Shrutis_ that speak of Him as abstract\n(_nir-bishesha_), exclude the natural and set up the unnatural.\n\n\"From Brahma originates the Universe, it lives in Brahma, and it is\nmerged again in the same Brahma. The three attributes of God are that He\nis the three cases, Ablative, Instrumental and Locative [in relation to\nthe Universe]. These three qualities particularize God. When He desired\nto be many, He looked at [=employed] His natural powers. The physical\nmind and eye could not have then existed. Therefore, the Immaterial\nBrahma had an eye to see and a mind to will with. The terms Brahma means\nthe Perfect Supreme Being (_Bhagaban_), and the scriptures affirm that\nKrishna is the Supreme Being. The meaning of the Vedas is too deep for\nhuman understanding, the Purans make their senses clear. Witness\nBrahma's address to God in the _Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 31:--\n\n_'Blessed, blessed are Nanda the cowherd and other citizens of Mathura,\nwhose friend is the Beatific Perfect Eternal Brahma'._\n\n\"_Shruti_ itself denies to Brahma material hands and feet, and yet it\nsays that God moves swiftly and receives everything! Therefore,\n_Shruti_ asserts Brahma to be particular (_sa-bishesha_). It is only a\nfanciful interpretation as opposed to a direct one, that speaks of\nBrahma as abstract (_nir-bishesha_). How do you call that God formless\nwho has the six qualities and is supremely blissful? You conclude Him to\nbe powerless, who has the three natural powers, as is evident from the\n_Vishnu Puran_, VI. vii. 60 and 61, and I. xii. 41.\n\n\"God's nature consists of _sat_, _chit_ and _ananda_. The _chit_\npower assumes three different forms in three aspects; it becomes\n_hladini_ from the _ananda_ aspect; it becomes _sandhini_ in the\n_sat_ aspect, and _sambita_ (known as knowledge of Krishna) in the\n_chit_ aspect. The _chit_ power is God's very essence [or inner\nnature]; the life power (_jiba-shakti_) appertains to Him only\noccasionally; _maya_ is entirely outside Him [i.e., affects creation\nonly]. But all these three offer devotion in the form of love. The\nLord's six powers are only manifestations of the _chit_ power. And yet\nyou have the presumption to deny such a power? God and creation differ\nas the master and the slave of illusion respectively, and yet you affirm\nthat creation is identical with the Creator! In the _Gita_ creation is\nrecognized as a force exerted by God, and yet you make such creation one\nwith God! See the _Gita_, vii. 4, the words of Shri Krishna to Arjun:--\n\n_Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, sense, and self-consciousness\nthese eight powers (or natures) have emanated from me._\n\n\"Again, the next verse in the _Gita_:\n\n_Valiant hero! the eight natures_ (prakriti) _about which I have\nalready spoken to you, are inferior. Beyond them I have a higher or\nliving nature which upholds this Universe._\n\n\"God's form is composed of _sat_, _chit_ and _ananda_; and yet you\nassert that form to be a corruption of the _satwa_ quality! He is a\nwretch who denies form to God; touch not, behold not that slave of\nDeath. The Buddhists are atheists from not respecting the Vedas. Atheism\nin a believer of the Vedas is a worse heresy than Buddhism. Vyas\ncomposed his aphorisms for the salvation of men, but the interpretation\nof these aphorisms by the 'school of illusion' (_maya-vadi_) is the\ncause of perdition.\n\n\"Vyas's aphorisms accept the theory of effect (_parinam_). God is an\nincomprehensible power, but He is manifested as creation. The\nphilosopher's stone produces gold without undergoing any change in\nitself, similarly God takes the form of creation without suffering any\ncorruption. Objecting to this aphorism as an error of Vyas, you have set\nup the theory of _bivarta_ by a fanciful interpretation [of it]. Error\nconsists in a creature imagining I am one with the Creator. But creation\nis not unreal, it is only perishable. The great word _Pranaba_ is the\nimage of God; from that _Pranaba_ all the Vedas have sprung in this\nworld. The words Thou art That (_tat-twam asi_) when applied to\ncreation are only fractional (_pradeshika_), but you, without minding\nthe _Pranaba_, call these words the supreme truth.\"\n\nThus did the Master find a hundred faults with the fanciful\ninterpretation [of the Vedantists]. The Bhattacharya supported his own\nposition, using refutation, feint, pressure, and other logical devices.\nBut the Master answered them all and established His own view. The Vedas\n[he maintained] assert only three things about God, _viz._, our\nrelation to Him, devotional exercises, and love (our need) as the fruit\nof devotion. All the rest [attributed to Him] is mere conjecture. The\nwords of the Veda are self-evident, and should not be interpreted with\nthe help of conjecture. But Sarvabhauma was not to blame for it; he was\nmerely carrying out God's will, in expounding atheistical philosophy\nbased on fancy. _Vide_ the _Padma Puran_, Part II. canto 62, verse 31.\n\nThe Bhattacharya was speechless and motionless with wonder as he heard\nthese words. The Master addressed him, \"Marvel not, O Bhattacharya! The\nsupreme manhood consists in faith in God. Even those who directly\ncommune with God (_atmaram_) adore Him, the Supreme Being's attributes\nare so incomprehensible! Witness the _Bhagabat_, I. vii. 10, Suta's\nwords to Saunaka and others:\n\n_'Such are the attributes of Hari that even mystical and passionless\nrecluses feel for Him unreasoning devotion.'_\n\nThe Bhattacharya said, \"Sir, I long to hear this verse interpreted.\" The\nMaster replied, \"Do you first explain it, and then I shall say what I\nthink of it.\" The Bhattacharya expounded the verse, like a logician, in\nnine different ways in accordance with the scriptures. But the Master\nsmiled as He said, \"I know, Bhattacharya, that you are a veritable\nVrihaspati, and surpass all other men in interpreting the scriptures.\nBut your interpretation shows mere scholarship. The verse has yet\nanother sense!\" Then at the Bhattacharya's request the Master gave His\nown interpretation; passing by the nine interpretations given by the\nBhattacharya, He gave 18 other explanations of His own. First He\ndetermined the meaning of each of the eleven words contained in the\nverse, as taken separately; then He gave different explanations in\nconnection with _atmaram_, laying emphasis on each of the eleven words\nin succession. The Lord, His powers, and His attributes, all three are\nincomprehensibly, unspeakably great! These three steal the heart of the\ndevotee, to the neglect of all other forms of devotion. Sanak, Shukadev\nand others bear witness to this. His diverse expositions filled the\nBhattacharya with wonder, and the self-abasing belief that the Master\nwas Krishna indeed. \"Alas!\" thought he, \"He is Krishna incarnate, but I\nin my ignorance have grievously sinned by showing pride to Him.\"\nPenitently he sought refuge with the Master, who graciously appeared to\nhim in His divine form, first as four-armed (Vishnu), then as Krishna\nplaying on the flute. At this vision Sarvabhauma fell prostrate on the\nground, then rose again and prayed to Him with clasped hands. The\nMaster's grace made spiritual knowledge illumine his heart, he now knew\nthe glory of God's name, faith, gift, the esoteric meanings of the\nletters of the alphabet, &c. In a moment he composed a hundred verses,\nsuch as even Vrihaspati would have failed to frame. The delighted Master\nembraced him, and the Bhattacharya fainted in an ecstasy of joy,\nweeping, standing still, tumbling down at the Master's feet.\n\nThe sight delighted Gopinath Acharya. The Master's disciples smiled at\nthe dance of Sarvabhauma. Gopinath spoke to the Master, \"You have so\ntransformed that Bhattacharya!\" The Master replied, \"You are a devotee,\nyour society has so wrought on him through the great grace of\nJagannath.\" Then He composed Bhattacharya, who thereafter praised Him\nlong, saying, \"It was a light work to Thee to save the world, in\ncomparison with the wonderful power Thou hast manifested in converting\nme. Logic had made me hard like an ingot of iron. Thou hast, melted me.\nOh Thy wondrous might!\"\n\nThe Master returned to His quarters; Sarvabhauma feasted Him by means of\nGopinath Acharya. Next day He went to Jagannath's temple, and beheld the\ngod rise from his bed. The attending priest presented to the Master the\ngarland and offered rice of the god. The Master rejoiced at it, tied the\ngifts to the hem of his garment, and hastened to Bhattacharya's house.\nIt was dawn; Bhattacharya awoke just then and cried out \"O Krishna! O\nKrishna!\" to the delight of the Master. Coming out Bhattacharya met the\nMaster, bowed at His feet in a tumult of reverence, and seated Him. The\nMaster untied the knot in His skirt and presented the _prasad_ to\nSarvabhaurna, who joyously ate it after reciting the following verse,\nthough he had not yet bathed, nor said his matin prayer, nor even\ncleaned his teeth,--because Chaitanya's grace removed all stupor from\nhis mind.\n\nFrom the _Padma Puran_, _Taste the maha-prasad as soon as you get it,\nthough it may be dry, stale or brought from a distance. Wait not for a\nmore proper time in this case._\n\nThen, again, Hari has said, '_In tasting the maha-prasad no rule of time\nor place should be observed; a good man should eat it as soon as he gets\nit.'_\n\nAt this the Master was delighted and embraced Sarvabhauma in a\ntransport. They both danced, Master and pupil, clasping each other,\nperspiring, trembling, shedding tears in ecstasy. The Master said,\n\"To-day have I conquered the three worlds lightly! To-day have I\nascended Baikuntha! To-day all my wishes are realized! Because\nSarvabhauma has shown faith in the _maha-prasad_. To-day you have taken\nrefuge in Krishna with all your heart. Krishna has taken pity on you\nwithout any reserve. To-day he has removed your bondage to flesh; to-day\nyou have torn off the meshes of illusion. To-day your heart has been\nmade worthy to gain Krishna, because you have eaten the _prasad_ in\nviolation of Vedic ceremonies. As the _Bhagabat_, II. vii. 41, puts it:\n\n_\"Those whom the Lord favours and who take refuge at His feet with all\ntheir heart and without reserve, can conquer illusion. Then they no\nlonger look ubon this fleshly body the food of dogs and jackals as 'I'\nor 'mine'.\"_\n\nSo saying the Master returned home. Thenceforth Bhattacharya lost his\npride (of learning). Thenceforth he knew of nothing except Chaitanya's\nfeet, and expounded no scripture except that of _bhakti_. At his deep\nVaishnavism, Gopinath Acharya danced, clapping his hands and crying\n_Hari! Hari!_ Next day Bhattacharya came to visit the Master, without\nhaving first gone to Jagannath. He lay prostrate, and thanked the Master\nmuch, penitently recounting his own former follies. As he wished to hear\nof the chief means of cultivating faith, the Master instructed him by\nchanting Hari's name.\n\n_\"Hari's name, Hari's name, Hari's name alone; in the Kali era there is\nno other means of salvation, no other, indeed no other!\" [Vrihad Narad\nPuran.]_\n\nIn full detail did the Master hold forth on the meaning of the above\nverse. Bhattacharya was filled with wonder. Gopinath Acharya said,\n\"Bhattacharya! I told you before that you would come to this!\"\nBhattacharya bowed to him thankfully and replied, \"The Master has\nblessed me by reason of my being related to you. You are a great\ndevotee, and I a blind logician. For your sake has the Master favoured\nme.\" Pleased with his meekness, Chaitanya embraced him and then said,\n\"Now go and see the god\". Bhattacharya, after visiting Jagannath, came\nhome with Jagadananda and Damodar [two disciples of Chaitanya], and sent\nto Chaitanya many kinds of choice _prasad_ with his own cook in their\ncompany, and also put two verses of his own written on a palm leaf into\nthe hands of Jagadananda for Chaitanya. When they arrived at the\nMaster's house, Mukunda Datta took the letter from his hand, and wrote\nthe two verses on the outer wall. Then Jagadananda took the letter\ninside to Chaitanya, who read and tore it up, but the followers learnt\nthe verses by rote from the wall. The verses are given in\n_Chaitanya-chandrodaya_, Act VI. Sc. 32:\n\n_I seek refuge with that unequalled supreme Man, who has become\nincarnate as Shri Krishna Chaitanya, in order to teach passionlessness\n(_bairagya_) and devotion through faith (_bhakti-yog_). May my mind,\nlike a bee, settle firmly on the lotus-feet of the Lord Shri Krishna\nChaitanya, who has appeared in order to revive his own bhakti-yog, which\nhad perished through the wickedness of ages._\n\nSarvabhauma became a disciple of the Master, attending to nothing but\nHis service. Ever did he meditate, pray, and recite the name 'Shri\nKrishna-Chaitanya, the son of Shachi, the abode of virtues!' One day he\ncame to the Master, bowed, and recited Brahma's hymn to God from the\n_Bhagabat_, changing two letters near its end. The _Bhagabat_, X. xiv.\n8:\n\n_'Lord! That man alone enters into the inheritance of Thy salvation like\na true heir, who in eager longing for the day of Thy grace passes his\nlife worshipping Thee with all his mind body and speech and enjoying the\nfruits of his actions without being attached to them.'_\n\nThe Master interrupted him saying, \"The text has Thy salvation\n(_muktipada_). Why do you read it as Thy faith (_bhaktipada_)?\"\nBhattacharya answered, \"Salvation is not the fruit at which the faithful\nfix their gaze; as for those who lack faith in the Lord, salvation\nbecomes a sort of punishment to them [as they are annihilated in the\nLord without being able to serve and love Him]. He who does not admit\nthe incarnate Krishna, and he who blames and fights against that\nincarnation, both of them are punished by being merged in the Lord\n(_Brahma sayujya mukti_). The devotee does not long for emancipation.\nThere are five kinds of salvation, _viz._, _salokya_ (living in the\nsame plane with God), _samipya_ (nearness to God), _sarupya_ (assuming\nthe same form as God), _sarshti_ (equalling the glory of God) and\n_sayujya_ (absorption in the Deity). Though the first four afford means\nof serving the Lord, yet true devotees seldom elect them, but they dread\nand despise the _sayujya_ emancipation, preferring hell to it.\n'Absorption in the abstract God (_Brahma_)' and 'Absorption in the God\nclad in attributes (_saguna ishwar_)' are two forms of the same thing,\nindeed the latter is worse still. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_ III. xxix. II,\nKapila's speech to Devahuti.\"\n\nThe Master objected, \"The term _muktipada_ has other senses too; it\nmeans God Himself, i.e., He whose feet are the means of salvation. It\nmay also mean The abode of salvation, which is the 9th object [mentioned\nin the _Bhagabat_, II. x. 1]. Both etymologies yield the sense of\nKrishna. Why need you change the text to _Bhaktipada_?\" Bhattacharya\nreplied, \"No, I cannot adopt the reading. Though you interpret the term\n_muktipada_ in the same sense of _bhaktipada_, yet the former is\nobjectionable as ambiguous. Though _mukti_ has five connotations, yet\nits principal meaning is absorption in God. So, the word _mukti_ fills\nme with fear and contempt, while _bhakti_ kindles delight in the\nheart\". At this the delighted Master smiled and clasped Bhattacharya\nfirmly to His bosom. It was a pure act of grace on Chaitanya's part that\nBhattacharya, who had been a student and teacher of the doctrine of\nillusion, spoke thus. We recognize the philosopher's stone only when it\ntouches a piece of iron. So all men knew the Master for the veritable\nDarling of Braja (Krishna) when they saw the deep the Vaishnav spirit of\n[His disciple] Bhattacharya. Then did Kashi Mishra and others of the\nBlue Mountain come and seek asylum at the Master's feet. I shall first\ndescribe how Sarvabhauma served the Master, and how carefully he fed\nHim. [Text, canto 6.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nHealing the leper Vasudev\n\nThe Master renounced the world in the bright fortnight of Magh, and came\nto reside at Puri in Falgun. At the end of the latter month He witnessed\nthe swinging ceremony of Jagannath and danced and sang long in ecstasy.\nIn Chaitra He liberated Sarvabhauma. Early in Baishakh He wished to\ntravel to the South. He assembled His followers, embraced them, held\nthem by the hand, and spoke humbly, \"I know you to be dearer than life.\nLife I can part with, but not with you. You my friends have done me a\ngood turn by bringing me here to see Jagannath. Now I beg one favour\nfrom you all, give me leave to go to the South. I must set out to seek\nVishwarup [my elder brother], and I will travel alone, taking none with\nme. Do you all stay at Puri till I return from Setubandha.\"\n\nThey all knew that Vishwarup had attained to liberation, and that the\nquest of him was only a ruse of the Master for carrying salvation to\nSouthern India. Greatly did they grieve on hearing His words, and sat\nsilent with woe-begone faces. Nityananda said, \"How can that be? We\ncannot let you go alone. One or two of us must bear you company, lest\nmishap should befall you. Choose any two that you like. I know the roads\nto the holy places of the South. Bid me, Master, go with you.\" The\nMaster replied, \"I am as a dancer and you are like the manager\n(_sutradhar_) of the play. I dance as you make me. On turning hermit I\nset out for Brindaban, but you brought me to Adwaita's house. On the way\nto the Nilachal you broke my staff. Your deep love is marring my\n[life's] work. Jagadananda wants me to turn a worldling. In fear of him\nI have to do whatever he bids, me. If ever I disobey him he in anger\nspeaks not to me for three days! Mukunda grieves at the rigours of my\nmonastic life: the three baths daily even in winter, the sleep on the\nbare ground. He grieves inly, though he speaks not of it; but his sorrow\nmakes me doubly unhappy. I am a _sannyasi_, Damodar is a Brahmachari,\nand yet he constantly holds the pedagogue's rod over me. I did not know\nhis character before. My conduct must be quite different from his.\nHaving gained the favour of Krishna, he cares not for the opinions of\nother men; but I cannot be so regardless of the public. Do you all,\ntherefore, stay behind at Puri, while I make my pilgrimage alone for\nsome time.\"\n\nUnder the pretext of picking their faults the Master really pointed out\nthe merits which had made them win His heart. Words cannot describe\nChaitanya's love for His devotees. He himself bore the hardship of an\nascetic's life, but when one of His devotees grieved at the sight of\nthese hardships, the Master could not bear the sight of his grief! He\nset forth on His pilgrimage as a solitary hermit. Four of them entreated\nHim hard for permission to accompany Him, but He followed His own will\nand did not listen to them. At last Nityananda urged, \"As you please. It\nis my duty [to obey you], be the result my happiness or sorrow. But one\nfurther request I must make: consider whether you can accept it. Your\nloin-band wrapper and gourd of water, these are the only articles that\nyou will take with you. But your two hands are ever busy in counting\nyour recitation of Hari's name [on the notches of your fingers]. How,\nthen, will you carry your wrapper and gourd? Who will take care of these\nwhen you fall down on the road in a trance? Keep my word: take this\nhonest Brahman Krishna-das with you. He will only carry your wrapper and\ngourd, and never say a word, whatever you may do.\" The Master consented.\nThey took him to Sarvabhauma's house, who seated them all after\nsalutation. After a varied discourse on Krishna, the Master said, \"I\nhave come to beg your permission. I must search for Vishwarup who\nretired as a hermit to the South. Give me leave to go South. Your\npermission will enable me to return in safety.\" At these words\nSarvabhauma was much grieved at heart; clasping the Master's feet he\nsaid piteously, \"Through the accumulated merit of many previous births\nhave I gained your society. But Fate has now parted our company. I can\nbear the death of a son through a stroke of lightning, but not the pang\nof separation from you! You are your own master and shall go; but stay\nsome days more and let me gaze on your feet.\" His humility relaxed the\nMaster's resolution and He lingered for some time longer. Eagerly did\nthe Bhattacharya invite and feast Him with dishes cooked in his own\nhouse. His wife, called Shathi's mother, cooked the meal: her history is\nmarvellous, and I shall narrate it in detail later on.\n\nAfter a halt of five days at the Bhattacharya's place, the Master asked\nleave to start. His eagerness forced the Bhattacharya to consent. He\nwent with him to the temple and sought the permission of Jagannath. The\nserving priest presented the Master with the god's garland, which He\njoyously took as a symbol of permission.\n\nThe Lord Gaur started for the South in joy, after walking round\nJagannath in the company of His disciples and the Bhattacharya. He took\nthe road of Alalnath, along the shore. Sarvabhauma sent Gopinath Acharya\nto bring from his house four loin-bands and wrappers and some prasad, to\nthe Vipradwar gate. Then he begged the Master, \"You must keep my\nrequest. On the bank of the Godavari dwells Ramananda Ray, governor of\nVidya-nagar.[1] Despise him not as a Shudra and worldling. See him for\nmy sake. He is worthy of your society. The world has not another\nappreciative devotee like him. In him scholarship and faith have reached\ntheir extreme points. When you talk with him you will know his worth. I\nused to laugh at him as a Vaishnav, because I failed to understand his\nsuperhuman words. But Thy grace has now made me know his true merit.\nConversation with him will disclose his greatness.\" The Master agreed,\nembraced him and bade him farewell saying, \"Worship Krishna at home and\nbless me, so that through your favour I may return to Puri.\"\n\nWhen the Master turned to go, Sarvabhauma fell down there in a faint,\nbut the Master moved on quickly, without heeding him. Who can understand\nthe heart and mind of the Master? The hearts of the great are at once\ntender as flowers and hard as the thunderbolt. Nityananda raised\nBhattacharya and sent him home with his men. The faithful quickly\novertook the Master, and Gopinath also arrived with the clothes and\n_prasad_. The Master went with them to Alalnath, where He sang hymns\nfor a long time, dancing and singing in rapture. The persons present\nflocked to gaze on the scene: they shouted _Hari! Hari!_ while the\nMaster danced in ecstasy in their midst. The people marvelled as they\ngazed at His golden hue, His crimson robe, and His tears of delight, His\ntremour and perspiration, which set off His beauty. All who came to see\nit forgot their homes and stayed to join in the dance and song of Shri\nKrishna Gopal; men and women, old and young, all were swept away by the\ntide of spiritual love. Seeing it Nityananda said to the faithful, \"He\nwill dance thus at every village [on the way].\" It was high time, but\nthe people did not leave Him; so Nityananda contrived a plan: He took\nthe Master away for His noonday bath, the people rushing on all sides to\nlook on. After the bath he led the Master to the temple, and as soon as\nhis own men had entered he shut the door. He fed the Master, and they\nall ate His leavings. The crowd gathered outside the gate, shouting\n_'Hari! Hari!'_ Then he opened the door and the people entered joyfully\nto gaze on the Master.\n\nThe stream of people thus passed and repassed till the evening. They all\nbecame Vaishnavs and danced and sang [with the Master]. He passed the\nnight there with the faithful, in delightful discourses on Krishna. Next\nmorning after the morning bath, He bade farewell to the faithful. They\nfainted, but He looked not at them. The Master wended His way grieving\nat separation from them, Krishna-das following Him with the gourd. The\nfaithful passed the day there in a fast, and returned sorrowing to Puri\nthe next day. Like a raging lion the Master walked forth, chanting God's\nname in a transport of love. His words were:\n\n    _Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!\n        Krishna! Krishna! O!_\n\n    _Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!\n        Krishna! Krishna!_\n\n    _Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!\n        Krishna! Krishna! Save me!_\n\n    _Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!\n        Krishna! Krishna! Deliver me!_\n\n    _Ram Raghav! Ram Raghav! Ram Raghav! Save me!_\n\n    _Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav!\n        Deliver me!_\n\nAs the Lord Gaur walked on reciting the above verses He met a wayfarer\nand asked him to chant Hari's name. Mad with love that man cried 'Hari!\nKrishna!' and followed the Master out of longing to gaze at Him. After a\nlong embrace the Master dismissed him, filled with spiritual power.\n\nThe man on returning home made all his village Vaishnav, talking of\nKrishna, laughing, weeping, dancing incessantly, and urging all to take\nKrishna's name. Chance visitors from other villages became like Him from\nthe sight of Him, and spread Vaishnavism in their own villages. In this\nway was the whole Southern country converted to Vaishnavism. In this way\ndid the Master make hundreds Vaishnav by embracing them in His travels.\nIf He lodged and dined in anybody's house in a village, all the\nvillagers flocked to see Him. Through the Master's grace they became\ngreat _bhaktas_, and acted as apostles for the deliverance of mankind.\nAll the way to Setubandha, He did this; connection with Him made all the\nland Vaishnav. The power He had not manifested at Navadwip, He now put\nforth for the salvation of the South. He who worships the Master gains\nHis favour and realizes the truth of these miracles. He who believes not\nin supernatural miracles loses both this world and the next.\n\nIn this way the Master travelled to the shrine of the Tortoise[2] [the\nSecond Incarnation], saluted and praised the god, dancing, singing,\nsmiling and weeping in rapture, to the wonder of by-standers. Crowds\ngathered to see Him; the Very sight of His marvellous beauty and\ndevotion made them Vaishnavs. They danced with uplifted arms chanting\nKrishna's name in deep emotion. These very men converted other villages.\nThus did the nectar of Krishna's name overflow the country, Vaishnavism\nspreading from man to man.\n\nAfter a time the Master came back to His senses. The priest of the\nTortoise did Him great reverence. This happened everywhere that He went.\nIn that village a Vaidik Brahman named Kurma, very reverently invited\nthe Master, brought Him home, washed His feet, and with his whole family\ndrank the washing of His feet; then he lovingly fed the Master with many\nkinds of dishes, and they all partook of the leavings. He praised the\nMaster thus: \"Thy lotus-like feet, which Brahma himself adores, have\ncome to my house. O my boundless good fortune! To-day my birth, race,\nand faith have been glorified. Lord, have mercy on me and take me with\nThee! I cannot bear the sorrows of this worldly life.\" But the Master\nreplied, \"Say not so! Stay at home and recite Krishna's name\nceaselessly. Teach Krishna's lore to whomsoever you meet with. At my\nbidding be thou an apostle and save this land! The world will never\nentangle you, but you will see me here again.\"\n\nEvery one at whose house He dined, made this request, and received this\ncharge from the Master. Everywhere in His pilgrimage, till the return to\nPuri, it was exactly what He did at the Tortoise temple.\n\nThe night spent there, next morning, the Master bathed and resumed His\njourney; the Brahman Kurma followed Him long, but at last the Master\npersuaded him to return home. A high-minded Brahman named Vasudev, was\ncovered with leprosy, but as the maggots dropped from his rotting limbs\nhe used to pick them up and restore them to their places. [3] At night\nhe heard of Chaitanya's arrival, and next morning went to Kurma's house\nto see Him; on hearing that the Master was gone, he fell down in a\nfaint, and lamented in many ways. Just then the Master returned,\nembraced him, and lo! his leprosy as well as grief was gone at the touch\nand his body became sound and beautiful! He marvelled at the Master's\ngrace and clasped His feet and praised Him by repeating the verse in the\n_Bhagabat_ X. lxxxi. 14, (Rukmini's message sent to Krishna by the\nmouth of a Brahman).\n\nLong did he thank the Master, saying, \"Listen, Gracious One! No man has\nyour virtue. Even wretches fled from me at the stench of my body. But\nthou, Supreme Lord, hast touched me! Better for me my former state of\nmisery, because henceforth my heart will swell with pride.\" The Master\nsoothed him saying, \"No, you will not be puffed up. Ever take Krishna's\nname and save men by teaching them about Krishna. Soon will Krishna\naccept you\".\n\nSo saying the Master vanished. The two Brahmans wept with joy at His\ngrace, clasping each other by the neck. [Text, canto 7.]\n\n\n[1] _Vidya-nagar_. Evidently _Rajmahendri_, now on the left bank of\nthe Godavari. It was an important strategic point, being on the natural\nfrontier between Kalinga and the kingdoms of the Madras coast. In 1459 a\nminister of the Gajapati king was ruling in this town; in 1470 it was\ncaptured by the Muhammadan Sultan of the Bahmani dynasty. Soon after\n1480 it was taken by the king of Orissa; about 1515 it was captured by\nKrishna Dev, the king of Vijayanagar, but restored. In 1543 we find it\nruled by Vidyadri, a Prince of the Gajapati line, who lost it finally to\nthe Muhammadans in 1571. (_Godavari Gazetteer_, 244-245.)\n\n[2] _Sri Kurmam_, 8 m.e. of Chicacole and the greatest place of\npilgrimage to the Telegus. (_Ganjam Manual_ 62).\n\n[3] In Christian hagiology the same story is told about a saint of\nEurope, who addressed the maggots, \"Eat, brothers, eat!\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nThe Meeting with Ramananda Ray\n\nThus did the Master wend His way. On reaching the temple of the\nNrisingha (Man-lion) Incarnation at Jiyad,[1] He made His bow and\nrapturously sang and danced long in honour of the god, saying, \"Glory to\nNrisingha! Glory to Nrisingha! Prahlad's Lord! Glory to you, O\nLotus-lipped, O Bee on the Lotus!\" [The _Bhagabat_, VII. ix. I. verse\nquoted in Shridhar Goswami's commentary].\n\nMany such verses did the Master recite as He prayed to the god. The\nserving priest presented Him with the god's garland. As before, a\nBrahman invited and fed the Master, who passed the night there. Next\nmorning He took up His journey again, His emotion of faith making Him\nheedless of outer things day and night. As before, He made the people\nturn Vaishnav, and after a long time reached the bank of the Godavari,\nwhich reminded Him of the Jamuna, while the wood on the bank suggested\nBrindaban. After dancing in the wood, He crossed the river and bathed\nthere. Sitting at the water's edge away from the _ghat_, the Master\nchanted Krishna's name. Just then arrived Ramananda Ray in a litter,\nattended by Jiyad musicians and many Vaidik Brahmans, to bathe. He\nbathed and performed the rites duly. The Master at first sight knew him\nfor Ramananda Ray, and longed to meet him, but sat checking His\neagerness. Ramananda Ray came up to Him on seeing a _sannyasi_, and\nwondered as he gazed on His person beaming like a hundred suns, His robe\nof the hue of the morning sun, His large vigorous frame, His eyes like\nthe lotus. As he prostrated himself before the Master, the latter stood\nup and said, \"Rise, and chant Krishna's name\", and though thirsting with\ndesire to embrace him, He asked, \"Art thou Ramananda Ray?\" The man\nanswered, \"Yes, I am that slave, a vile Shudra.\" Passionately did the\nMaster embrace him, and both tumbled down on the ground in excess of\ndevo tion, senseless with love, inert or perspiring, weeping, trembling,\nwith hair standing on end, pale of hue, and lisping 'Krishna! Krishna!'\n\nThe Vaidik Brahmans marvelled as they beheld it, and inly thought, \"This\n_sannyasi_, we see, is powerful like Brahma. Why does he weep after\nembracing a Shudra? This noble is a grave and learned man; why then has\nhe been maddened by the touch of the _sannyasi_?\" The Master checked\nHimself on seeing strangers. The two composed themselves and sat down\nthere. Smilingly the Master began, \"Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya has spoken\nto me of your merits, and pressed me to see you. For that purpose have I\ncome here. It is well that I have met you so easily.\" The Ray replied,\n\"Sarvabhauma knows me for his servant, and is ever on the watch to do me\ngood even indirectly. Through his grace have I met you, and to-day my\nlife has become a success. That you have graciously touched this\nuntouchable Shudra is the proof of your mercy and that of Sarvabhauma.\nThou art the God Narayan himself, and I a royal servant, a worldling, a\nwretch! In touching me thou didst not feel repulsion or fear of the\nVedas! The Vedas forbid you even to look at me. Thy mercy leads thee to\nperform a forbidden act. Thou art God indeed; who can know thy ways? For\ndelivering me hast thou come here, O Fountain of Mercy! O Saviour of the\nFallen! Such is the habit of the great, to sate a wretch he goes out of\nhis way to pay him a visit! _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. viii. 2, Nanda's\nwords to Garga:\n\n_'Master, that saints travel from their own hermitages is only for doing\n[spiritual] good to those householders who cannot leave their houses;\nthere is no other purpose in it.'_\n\n\"The thousand men, Brahmans and others, in my train, have had their\nhearts melted by Thy sight. All of them are shouting _Krishna! Hari!_\nAll are tremulous, all are weeping in joy. Verily you have every\ncharacteristic, internal and external, of God. No mortal can possess\nsuch supernatural power!\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"You are the greatest of devotees. It is your sight\nthat has softened the hearts of all. Why impute it to another? I am only\na _sannyasi_ holding the theory of illusion (_maya-vad_), but even I\nhave been steeped in the love of Krishna by your touch. Knowing that my\nheart is hard to reform, Sarvabhauma had asked me to meet you.\"\n\nThus did the two praise each other, each delighted to see the other.\nThen a Vaishnav Vaidik Brahman bowed and invited the Master, who\naccepted the invitation knowing him to be a Vaishnav. Smiling, the\nMaster said to Ramananda, \"I wish to hear the discourse of Krishna from\nyour lips. I hope I shall see you again.\" The Ray replied, \"You have\ncome here to save this sinner. But my wicked heart has not been cleansed\nby the mere sight of you. Stay for 5 or 7 days to purge my hard heart of\nits sins.\" Ramananda Ray bowed and went away, though loth to part, while\nthe Master went to the Brahman's house to dine. Eagerly did the two look\nfor their meeting in the evening. As the Master was sitting after his\nsunset bath, the Ray arrived with a servant. He bowed to the Master, who\nembraced him. The two conversed in a retired spot. The Master bade him\nrecite the verses indicating the means of gaming devotion (_sadhya_).\nThe Ray replied, \"We acquire faith in Vishnu by doing the duties of our\nrank. As the _Vishnu Puran_, III. viii. 8, says, '_Worship the Supreme\nBeing Vishnu by doing the prescribed duties of your caste. There is no\nother means of pleasing Him._'\" The Master objected, \"This is only an\nexternal means. Mention one more advanced.\" The Ray replied, \"The\nhighest means of acquiring devotion is to resign to Krishna the fruits\nof our acts, as the _Gita_, IX. 27, puts it:\n\n_'O Son of Kunti, consign to me whatever you do, be it eating,\nperforming the horn ceremony, alms-giving, or austerity._'\"\n\nThe Master again objected, \"This too is external. Go deeper into the\nsubject.\" The Ray answered, \"The highest means of devotion is abandoning\none's caste-duties [out of love for Krishna], as the Lord says to Uddhav\nin the _Bhagabat_, XI. xi. 32:\n\n_'He too is the highest of holy men, who knowing well the gain and loss\nof such a course, worships me by renouncing the Vedic rites and\nceremonies of his caste, though these too were ordained by me.'_\n\n\"Also, as the _Gita_, xvvi. 66, has it:\n\n_'Take refuge in ME alone, giving up all religions. Grieve not; I will\ndeliver thee from all sins.'_\n\nBut to this the Master objected, \"This too is external. Tell me of a\nstill higher means.\" The Ray answered, \"Faith based on knowledge is the\nhighest means of devotion. As Shri Krishna says to Arjun in the _Gita_,\nxviii. 54:\n\n_'The peaceful soul that dwells on Brahma, and feels not sorrow or\ndesire, but is the same in all states, gains my supreme bhakti.'\"_\n\nAgain the Master objected as before. The Ray answered, \"Faith\nindependent of knowledge is the highest instrument of devotion. Witness\nBrahma's words to God in the _Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 3:\n\n_'Lord, hard as Thou art to be won in the Universe, yet they realize\nThee who reject the quest of theological knowledge but stay at home,\nlistening to Thy story as told by holy men and accepting it with all\ntheir mind, body and soul.'\"_\n\nThe Master remarked, \"It is so; but mention a higher still.\" The Ray\nsaid, \"The highest devotion is _love)_ (_prem-bhakti_). Witness the\nfollowing verses of Ramananda Ray quoted in the _Padyavali_, cantos xi\nand xii respectively:\n\n_'We relish food and drink only so long as we have hunger and thirst.\nSimilarly, the devotee delights not in worshipping his heart's darling\nwith elaborate Preparations, but in love alone.'_\n\n_'Get a heart inspired with love of Krishna, if ever you can get it. Its\nonly price is greed,--a price which we cannot acquire even by the\naccumulated merits of ten millions of births.'\"_\n\nThe Master remarked as before. The Ray replied, \"The love of a servant\nis the highest devotion. Witness the speech of Durvasha in the\n_Bhagabat_, IX. v. 11:--\n\n_'What is too hard for the Lord's servants to gain, as the very\nlistening to His name purifies all creatures?'\"_\n\nThe Master remarked, \"It is so, but give a still deeper cause.\" The Ray\nreplied, \"Love as for a comrade is the highest form of devotion. Witness\nShukdev's words to Parikshit, in the _Bhagabat_, X. xii. 10:\n\n_'God is known to the good as the consciousness of divine pleasure\n(brahma-sukhanubhuti), and to His servants as the Supreme Object of\nAdoration. That such a God played with the deluded cow-boys in the garb\nof a human child, was due to their excessive merit.'\"_\n\nThe Master said, \"This too is good. Mention a higher one still.\" The Ray\nwent on, \"The highest devotion is love as for a _child_. Witness the\nfollowing verses of the _Bhagabat_:\n\n_'Shukdev! what high-class meritorious deeds did Nanda perform, and what\ndid the blessed Yashoda do that she suckled the Divine Being?\"_ (X.\nviii. 36).\n\n_'The bliss that the cowherd's wife Yashoda derived from her Saviour-son\nwas never gained by Brahma, or Shiva, or even by Lakshmi though clasped\nto His person.'_ (X. ix. 15.)\n\nThe Master said, \"This is good, no doubt. But mention a higher still.\"\nThe Ray replied, \"Passion as for a lover is the highest form of\ndevotion. Witness the following verses of the _Bhagabat_:\n\n_'Verily the favour shown by the Supreme Being to the fair ones of\nBrindaban, when in the rasa sport He clasped them round the neck with\nHis arms, was not enjoyed even by Lakshmi, who is held to His heart, nor\nby the heavenly nymphs though blooming and odorous like the lotus; not\nto speak of other women.'_ (X. xlvii. 53)\n\nThe Ray continued, \"Many are the means of attaining to Krishna, and\nthere are degrees of such attainment. By whichever of these means a man\nis inspired, it appears as the highest to him. It is only when we judge\nfrom a position of detachment that we can discriminate them as good,\nbetter, and best.\n\n\"The preceding five passions are arranged in the order of their upward\ndevelopment. With the increase of quality there is an increase of\ndeliciousness at each step. The _shanta_ passion attains its maturity\nin the _dasya_, the _dasya_ in the _sakhya_, the _sakhya_ in the\n_batsalya_, and all of these four are concentrated in the _madhura_,\njust as the properties of the four elements, _viz._, sky, air, &c.\nincrease in an advancing order and are all united in the fifth element,\nthe Earth. The full attainment of Krishna results from this last passion\nof conjugal love (_prema_). The _Bhagabat_ asserts that Krishna is a\nslave to devotion in the form of _prema_.\n\n\"Krishna's purpose remains constant in all ages: He makes a return to\nour adoration in exactly the same form in which we offer it. But He\ncannot reciprocate this _prem_ adoration to the full, and so remains\nour debtor, as the _Bhagabat_ affirms. (X. xxxii. 21, Krishna's words\nto the milk-maids).\n\n\"True, Krishna is the highest type of beauty and grace, but even His\ncharm increases when He is in the company of the Lady of Braja. Witness\nthe _Bhagabat_, X. xxxiii. 6:\n\n_'As the beauty of the emerald is set off when it is placed amidst\ngolden-coloured gems, so shines Krishna when girt round by the beaming\ngirls of Brindaban.'\"_\n\nThe Master remarked, \"This is indeed the extreme point among the means\nof devotion. Kindly tell me if there is anything beyond it!\" The Ray\nsaid, \"I did not know before that the earth contained any man who would\ninquire beyond this point! Of all kinds of conjugal passion Radha's love\nis celebrated in all our Scriptures as the highest\".\n\nThe Master said, \"Speak on! I delight to hear. A wondrous stream of\nnectar is flowing out of your lips. Show how Krishna abducted Radha for\nfear of interruption by the other cow-herd girls; because a love that\nextends to others than the beloved is not deep enough. If you can show\nthat for Radha's sake Krishna openly forsook the other Gopis, then I\nshall know that he passionately loved her.\" The Ray replied, \"Hear,\nthen, of this glorious power of love. The three worlds cannot match\nRadha's love. Krishna broke away from the circle of the _rasa_ dance of\nthe Gopis and wandered through the woods mourning for Radha. Witness the\n_Git-Govinda_, canto III. verses 2 and i, and the _Ujjwala-Nilmani_,\nverse 43.\n\nRadha left the dance in anger and wounded pride. Krishna grew restless\nas he lost her. His whole heart was set on the _rasa_ dance, and Radha\nwas the chain that bound his heart to it. In her absence, the _rasa_\ndance palled on his taste. So he left the circle of dancers to seek her\nout. As he roamed hither and thither, without finding her, he grieved,\nstricken with Cupid's dart. A thousand million Gopis could not satiate\nhis passion. From this you may infer Radha's merit!\"\n\nThe Master said, \"I have now learnt those spiritual mysteries for which\nI came to you. Now have I learnt how to ascertain the various methods of\nadoration. But I long to hear more: tell me of Krishna's form, of\nRadha's form, what mystery is _rasa_, what is the essence of love\n(_prem_). Be kind and tell me these mysteries; none but you can expound\nthem.\" The Ray answered, \"I know nothing of these things, but only utter\nwhat you inspire me with, as the parrot repeats what it has learnt by\nrote. You are God incarnate; who can comprehend your artifice? You send\nyour message to my heart, and make my tongue deliver it, without my\nknowing whether I am speaking well or ill!\"\n\nThe Master answered, \"I am merely a _sannyasi_, a slave to the theory\nof illusion and ignorant of the mysteries of faith (_bhakti_). The\nsociety of Sarvabhauma has purified my mind, and I asked him to speak on\ndevotion to Krishna. But he replied that he knew not Krishna's lore, and\nreferred me to you as a master of it. So I came to you, on hearing of\nyour reputation, and yet you praise me because I am a _sannyasi_! Be he\na Brahman, be he a hermit, be he even a Shudra, if he knows Krishna's\nmysteries, he is a guru. Cheat me not of such knowledge for my being a\nsannyasi. Fill my mind by holding forth on the mysteries of Radha and\nKrishna.\"\n\nThe Ray was a great devotee and adorer of Vishnu, and his mind was proof\nagainst Krishna's illusion. But he yielded to the Master's pressing, and\nhis will was shaken. So he said, \"I am a dancer and you are the manager\nof the theatre; I dance as you make me. My tongue is merely a harp, and\nyou the musician who plays on it. I utter whatever you think of in your\nmind.\n\n\"Krishna is the Highest God, the Perfect Being Himself, the source of\nall Incarnations, the chief of all causes. He is the source of the\neternal Heaven, the eternal Incarnation, the eternal Universe. His body\nis composed of _sat_, _chit_ and _ananda_; He is the Son of Mathura's\nlord, full of all wealth, all power, all _ras_. _Vide_ the _Brahma\nSamhita_ V. i.\n\nAt Brindaban He appeared as the supernatural youthful Cupid, at whose\nadoration the formula recited is Love, the offering presented is the\nseed of Love. There He drew all hearts of men and women, of the animate\nand the inanimate. He was Cupid's self, the conqueror of hearts. Witness\nthe _Bhagabat_, X. xxxii. 2.\n\n\"He ravished the hearts of Incarnations like Lakshmi's husband, [_Vide_\nthe _Bhagabat_, X. lxxxix. 32]; He drew to Himself women like Lakshmi\n[_Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. xvi. 32.]\n\n\"His own beauty charmed His own heart, and He wished to embrace Himself\n[_Vide_ the _Lalita-Madhav_, Act viii. verse 28.]\n\n\"Such in brief is Krishna's form. Now let me tell you a little of\nRadha's self. Krishna's powers are infinite, but three of them are the\nchief, _viz._, the _chit_ power, the illusion power (_maya_), and the\npreservation power (_jiba_). These three I call the internal, the\nexternal, and the marginal (or adjacent). The highest is the internal\n_swarup_ power. Witness the _Vishnu Puran_, VI. vii. 60.\n\n\"Krishna's self is composed of _sat_, _chit_ and _ananda_. Therefore\nHis _swarup_ power must be of three kinds: in the _ananda_ portion it\nis _hladini_, in the _sat_ portion it is _sandhini_, in the _chit_\nportion it is _sambita_. Witness the _Vishnu Puran_, I. xii. 48:\n\n\"What delights Krishna is named the _Ahladini_ power, by which He\nenjoys delight. Krishna is Himself delight, and yet He tastes delight.\n_Hladini_ has been created to give enjoyment to the faithful. The\nessence of _hladini_ is named _prem_ (love). The story of _prem_ is\nfilled with the emotions of _ananda_ and _chit_. The supreme emotion\n(_mahabhaba_), is the quintessence of _prem_. The lady Radha is the\npersonation of that supreme emotion. [Vide the _Brahma Samhita_, V.\n33]\"\n\n* * * * *\n\nThe Master spoke, \"This is the limit of the thing adored. Through your\ngrace I have learnt it of a verity. None can gain the Adorable without\nadoration. Tell me kindly the way to gain Him.\"\n\nThe Ray answered, \"I speak as you make me, without my knowing what I\nsay. Where in all the three worlds can we find the constant man who\ncannot be shaken by your illusive play? You are speaking through my\nmouth; yet you are my listener! Hear, then, the deep mystery of\nadoration. The play of Radha with Krishna is extremely deep, and cannot\nbe learnt from the _dasya_, _batsalya_ and other moods. The _sakhis_\n(female associates) alone are qualified for it; from them has this play\n(_lila_) spread. This play cannot be kept up without _sakhis_; they\nalone relish this _lila_ in full. _Sakhis_ alone have a right to this\n_lila_, i.e., those who adore Krishna in the spirit of His _sakhis_.\nSuch votaries can practise devotion in the form of attending on Krishna\nand Radha in their secret bower. There is no other means of mastering\nthis form of devotion. Witness the _Git-Govinda_, x. 17:\n\n_'What man versed in the deepest mystery (ras) will not take refuge at\nthe feet of the sakhis, the personations of the chief power, without\nwhose help Radha and Krishna's pleasure-force and\npleasure-manifestation, though self-expressive, cannot for a moment\nattain to fulness of development?'\"_\n\n\"The character of the _sakhis_ baffles description. A _sakhi_ does not\nlong to play with Krishna all by herself; but she feels a keener delight\nin contriving Krishna's dalliance with Radha. Radha is verily the\nWishing creeper (_Kalpalata_) of the love of Krishna, and the _sakhis_\nare the leaves, flowers, and shoots of this creeper! If the nectar of\ndalliance with Krishna waters the creeper, the leaves, &c. delight in it\nten million times more than if they themselves had been watered! _Vide_\nthe _Git-Govinda_, x. 16.\n\n\"The _sakhis_ do not wish for Krishna's embrace, but they exert\nthemselves to make Krishna embrace Radha. For this purpose they send\nKrishna to her under a thousand pretexts. Thereby they gain a pleasure\nten million times sweeter than that of selfish enjoyment. The unselfish\ndevotion of these towards each other strengthens the deliciousness\n(_ras_), and the sight of such unselfish love delights Krishna. The\nlove felt by the Gopis is not truly earthly lust; for the sake of\nanalogy we call it lust (_kam_).\n\n\"Earthly lust seeks sensual gratification for one's own self. The\npassion of the Gopis, on the other hand, seeks Krishna's enjoyment,\nabandoning all idea of self. They hanker not for their own pleasure, but\nif they embrace Krishna it is only to please _Him_.\n\n\"He whose heart is lured by the nectar of the Gopi's passion, adores\nKrishna abandoning Vedic worship. That man wins in Brindaban the Darling\nof Braja's lord, who adores Him by following the path of passionate love\n(_rag_). He who adores Krishna in the spirit of any of the people of\nBraja [contemporaneous with Krishna], is born at Braja in his next birth\nin the form of that person whose passion he imitated, and thus gains\nKrishna. This is proved by the _Upanishads_ and the _Shrutis_. Witness\nthe _Bhagabat_, X. lxxxvii. 19.\n\n\"In that verse the term _samadrisha_ indicates adoration in that\nspirit, the term _samah_ speaks of the acquisition by the gods of the\npersons of the Gopis, _anghri padma sudha_ means the delight of\nKrishna's society. At Braja you will not gain Krishna by following the\npath of prescribed ceremonies. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. ix. 16:\n\n_'Ascetics proud of their conquest of the flesh, and scholars centred in\nthemselves, cannot gain the Supreme Lord so easily as His devotees\n(_bhaktas_) can.'_\n\n\"Therefore, having taken on ourselves the attitude of the Gopis, we\ndaily meditate on Krishna's dalliance with Radha. In the _siddhi_ body\nwe meditate and serve it, and in the next birth we gain Radha-Krishna's\nfeet by being born as _sakhis_. You cannot gain Krishna, however much\nyou adore Him, if you only meditate on Him as a divinity and not serve\nHim as a Gopi. See, how Lakshmi adored Him, but could not gain Him in\nBraja. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. xlvii. 3.\"\n\nOn hearing all this the Master embraced him, and the two wept holding\neach other by the neck. Thus did they pass the night in transports of\ndevotion, and at dawn parted, each to his own work. When taking leave,\nRamananda Ray clasped the Master's feet and begged him, \"You have come\nhere out of pity for me. Stay here therefore for some ten days to reform\nmy sinful heart. None but you can deliver mankind; none else can impart\nlove for Krishna.\"\n\nThe Master answered, \"I came here on hearing of your merits, to purify\nmy own mind by listening to your discourses on Krishna. You are indeed\nworthy of your reputation. You are the limit of human knowledge as\nregards the mystery of the love of Krishna and Radha. What of ten days?\nSo long as I live, I cannot part with you. Let us two dwell together at\nPuri, passing our days happily in talk about Krishna.\" So they parted.\nIn the evening the Ray came again. The two sat together in seclusion and\nheld a delightful dialogue, the Master asking and Ramananda answering\nthroughout the night.\n\nThe Master asked, \"Which science is the chief of sciences?\" The Ray\nanswered, \"There is no [true] science except devotion to Krishna.\" \"What\nis the greatest glory in a creature?\" \"The fame of being a devotee of\nKrishna's love.\" \"What wealth is estimable among human possessions?\" \"He\nis wealthy indeed who loves Radha and Krishna.\" \"What is the heaviest of\nsorrows?\" \"There is no sorrow other than lack of devotion to Krishna.\"\n\"Whom should we consider as truly liberated?\" \"He is the foremost of the\nemancipated who loves Krishna.\" \"What song among all songs is peculiarly\nown to creatures?\" \"That ditty which speaks of the amorous sports of\nKrishna and Radha.\" \"What is the best of right courses?\" \"There is no\nright course except the society of Krishna's devotees.\" \"Whom does\ncreation ceaselessly remember?\" \"The name, virtues, and exploits of\nKrishna are the chief things to be remembered.\" \"What is the proper\nsubject of meditation for mankind?\" \"The lotus-feet of Radha and Krishna\nare the chief object of meditation.\" \"Where ought a man to live\nabandoning all else?\" \"Brindaban, the land of Braja, where the _rasa_\nplay was performed.\" \"What is the best thing for a creature to hear?\"\n\"The love-dalliance of Radha and Krishna is a potent medicine to the\near.\" \"What is the chief object of worship?\" \"The highest objects of\nadoration are the coupled names Radha-Krishna.\" \"What are the respective\ndestinations of those who desire liberation and devotion?\" \"One gets an\nimmovable body, the other a celestial person. The foolish crow pecks at\nthe ash-fruit (_nimba_), while the connoisseur cuckoo feeds on the\nmango-blossom of love. The luckless scholar tastes arid theological\nknowledge, while the lucky [devotee] drinks the nectar of Krishna's\nlove.\"\n\nThus did the two while away the night in talking of Krishna, dancing,\nsinging, and weeping. At dawn they returned, each to his own duties.\n\nNext evening the Ray came again, and after discoursing on Krishna in a\nloving communion for some time, he clasped the Master's feet and\nimplored Him, \"The mysteries of Krishna, Radha, love, _rasa_, and\n_lila_, are diverse. But you have made them all clear to my heart. It\nhas been as if Narayan taught the Vedas to Brahma. Such are the ways of\nthe Searcher of Hearts; He does not outwardly tell us of a thing, but\nreveals it to our hearts. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, I. i. I.\n\n\"There is one doubt still in my heart. Be good enough to resolve it.\nWhen I first saw you, you looked like a _sannyasi_; but now I behold in\nyou Krishna, the cowherd!\n\n\"Lo, there stands before you a golden idol, the golden hue of which\nenvelopes all your body. That reveals the flute held to your lips and\nyour lotus-eyes glancing with many emotions! I marvel as I behold you in\nthis form. Tell me truly the cause of it.\" The Master replied, \"Deep is\nyour love for Krishna. Know this to be the effect of love that when the\ntrue devotee gazes on any object, animate or inanimate, Krishna is\nmanifested to him in that object. The object gazed at may be inanimate\nor animate, but he sees not its natural form; his adored deity appears\nin everything. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, XI. ii. 43, Hari's words to\nJanak:--\n\n_'He is the highest of devotees who beholds in every creature the God of\nhis adoration, and all creation in the spirit of God.'_\n\n\"Also, the _Bhagabat_, X. xxxv. 5, the speech of the Gopis to Krishna:\n\n_'Then the fruit and flower laden branches of plants and creepers felt\nas it were within themselves the God who was manifesting Himself, and\nwith their limbs thrilling with delight began to shed drops of honey.'_\n\n\"Deep is your love for Radha and Krishna; hence you behold Them in\neverything.\" The Ray objected, \"Master, leave thou thy tricks. Conceal\nnot thy true form from me. Having taken on thyself the emotion and\nbeauty of Radhika, thou hast become incarnate in order to taste thy own\ndelight. Thy secret object is the enjoyment of love; incidentally thou\nhast filled the universe with love. Thou hast come of thy own accord to\ndeliver me. And now thou deludest me! What sort of conduct is this?\"\n\nThen the Master smiled and manifested His true form in which were\nblended Krishna, the Prince of delight (_ras_) and God, the Supreme\nEmotion. In rapture Ramananda fainted and rolled on the ground. The\nMaster touched his arm and brought him back to his senses. Then the Ray\nbeheld the Master looking like a _sannyasi_; but the latter embraced\nhim and soothed him thus, \"Who else than you can behold this form? You\nknow fully my essence and mysterious exploits (_lila_); hence have I\nshown you this form. My body is not of a fair complexion, but this\ncomplexion is due to contact with Radha's body. She touches none except\nthe Prince of the Cowherds. I make my own heart imagine her emotions,\nand thus I taste the delicious sweetness of Krishna. My acts are not\nhidden from you. Even if I were to conceal any, you would know it by the\ncompelling force of your love. Keep this matter a secret from the\npublic, lest people should laugh at my endeavours as those of a mad man.\nI am a mad man, and so are you; we two are a match!\"\n\nThus did the Master spend ten days happily in sweet discourse about\nKrishna with Ramananda Ray. Much did He discuss the secret\npleasure-sport of Brindaban, but could not come to the end of the\nsubject. If a man discovers a mine with copper, bronze, silver, gold,\ngem, and the wishing stone deposited in successive layers, he comes upon\nricher and richer things as he goes on digging. Similarly did the Master\nquestion Rama Ray and get his answer.\n\nNext day He took leave of the Ray and ordered him, \"Give up your earthly\nconcerns and go to Puri, where I shall soon return after finishing my\npilgrimage. There we shall live together passing our days happily in\ntalking about Krishna.\"\n\nSo saying He sent Ramananda home with an embrace, and then lay down to\nsleep. At dawn the Master saw a Hanuman (monkey), bowed to it, and set\nout. All classes of people at Vidya-pur, on meeting with the Master,\nquitted their own faiths and turned Vaishnav. Ramananda was distracted\nby the absence of the Master and ever meditated on Him, utterly\ndisregarding all his own affairs.\n\nChaitanya's character is by nature like thickened milk, Ramananda's\ncharacter is sugar added to it, and the dalliance of Radha and Krishna\nis like camphor thrown into this compound, which only the fortunate can\ntaste. He who once drinks it in through his ears, can never leave it for\nits deliciousness. All spiritual truths are learnt if you hear it; it\ncreates faith and love in Radha-Krishna's feet.\n\nKnow the hidden truth of Chaitanya from this episode. Attend to it with\nfaith; do not reason. This supernatural deed is deeply mysterious. You\ncan realize it if you believe, but reasoning will only set it afar off.\nThis precious thing is for them only whose sole riches are the feet of\nShri Chaitanya, Nityananda, and Adwaita! I have celebrated the Meeting\nwith Ramananda on the basis of Damodar Swarup's Diary (_Karcha_).\n[Text, canto 8.]\n\n[1] Evidently Simhachalam, a hill five miles north of Vizagapatam,\ncontaining a temple to Narasimha. This is the most famous, richest and\nbest sculptured shrine in Vizagapatam. An inscription shows that a queen\nof Gonka III. covered the image with gold. Architecturally the temple\napparently deserves high praise. (_Vizagapatam Gazetteer_, 323-325,\n28-29.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nThe Pilgrimage to the South\n\nThe Master travelled very extensively in the South, visiting thousands\nof holy places. At His touch they became the holiest of holy places.\nUnder the pretext of a pilgrimage He delivered the people of that\ncountry. I shall only give a list of the places without arranging them\nin the order in which they were visited.\n\nAs before, whoever met Him on the way and all the people of every\nvillage that He lodged in, were turned into Vaishnavs and made to chant\nHari's name. _They_ in their turn converted other villages. Diverse\nwere the people of the South, some scholars, some ritualists, some\nextreme sceptics, Lo! the marvellous effect of the sight of the Master!\nall such men gave up their own creeds and turned Vaishnav. Even among\nthe Vaishnavs [of the South] some were worshippers of Vishnu in the\nincarnation of Ram, some the followers of Madhwacharya, some of\nRamanuj's sect of Shri Vaishnavs. All of them, on meeting with the\nMaster, became worshippers of Vishnu in the incarnation of Krishna, and\nbegan to chant Krishna's name.\n\nThe Master journeyed on, reciting the verse:\n\n    _O Ram Raghav! O Ram Raghav! O Ram Raghav!\n        Deliver me!_\n\n    _O Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav!\n        Save me!_\n\nHe bathed in the Ganga Gotami (Godavari). At Mallikarjun He visited the\nshrine of Mahesha, where He made all the people recite Krishna's name.\nHe beheld the Ramdas Mahadev, and also the Man-Lion at Ahobal, bowing\nto and glorifying the latter. At Siddha-bat is the image of Sita's lord;\nthe Master bowed to the image of Ram and sang hymns to it. There He was\ninvited by a Brahman of the place, who incessantly took Ram's nume and\nno other. After passing the day in his house as his guest, the Master\nproceeded on. At Skanda-kshetra He visited Kartik, and at Tri-matha the\ngod Tri-vikrama, whence He returned to that Brahman's house at\nSiddha-bat, but found him chanting Krishna's name! After dinner the\nMaster asked him, \"Why, Brahman! has this change come over you? Formerly\nyou used to cry 'Ram, Ram' and now you chant Krishna's name!\" The Brahman\nreplied, \"This is the effect of your visit. The sight of you changed my\nlife-long habit. From childhood have I been chanting Ram's name; but\nwhen I met you I once tittered the word Krishna, and since then\nKrishna's name has settled on my tongue. It is Krishna's name that comes\nout of my mouth, while the name of Ram has disappeared. It had been my\npractice since my boyhood to collect the texts bearing on the glory of\nGod's names. In the _Padma Puran_, we read:\n\n_'Yogis sport (rama) in the eternal God, whose self is composed of_\nsat, chit, _and_ ananda. _Hence the term Ram means the Supreme God.'_\n\n\"Again, the _Mahabharat_, Udyog Parba, canto lxxi. 4, says _'the term\n'Krishna', meaning the Supreme God, has been derived from the verb_\nkrish _meaning existence and the inflexion_ na _meaning cessation.'_\n\n\"So, the two names _Ram_ and _Krishna_ appeared equal, but I next\nfound texts making a discrimination between them. The _Padma Puran_ has\nthis:\n\n_'O perfect-featured Darling! my heart's Delight! reciting the word Ram\nthrice earns as much merit as taking [God's] name a thousand times!'_\n\n\"The _Brahmanda Puran_ asserts,\n\n_'A single utterance of the name of Krishna is as efficacious as\nreciting God's thousand sacred epithets three times in succession.'_\n\n\"The last text proves the immeasurable excellence of Krishna's name. And\nyet I could not repeat it, only because I found delight in the name of\n_Ram_, the god of my vows (_ishtadev_), and took the latter\nincessantly. When at your visit the word _Krishna_ rose [to my lips],\nmy heart recognized its glory. And I truly inferred that you are Krishna\nhimself.\" So saying the Brahman fell at the Master's feet, who after\nbestowing His grace left him the next day.\n\nAt Vriddha Kashi the Master visited Shiva, and thence went on to another\nvillage, where He lodged with the Brahmans. So great was His power that\ncountless people,--hundreds of thousand, millions even,--came to see\n[Him]. Beholding the beauty and religious ecstasy of the Master they all\nchanted Krishna's name, and the whole region was converted to\nVaishnavism. He refuted and proved faulty all the doctrines of the\nlogicians, _mimansakas_, illusionists, with the followers of Sankhya,\nPatanjal, Smriti, Puran, and Veda, though they were strong in defending\ntheir tenets. Everywhere the Master established the dogmas of\nVaishnavism, which none could refute. His vanquished antagonists\naccepted His creed, and so He made the South Vaishnav. On hearing of His\nscholarship the sceptics (_pashandi_) came to Him, boastfully bringing\ntheir pupils with them. A very learned Buddhist professor held forth on\nthe nine doctrines of his church before the Master. Though the Buddhists\nare unfit to be talked to or even to be looked at, yet the Master argued\nwith him to lower his pride. The very Buddhist philosophy of nine\ntenets, though rich in logical reasoning, was torn to pieces by the\nMaster's argumentation. The Buddhist professor raised all his nine\nquestions, but only to be refuted by the Master's vigorous logic. The\ngreat philosophers were all vanquished; the audience tittered; the\nBuddhist felt shame and alarm. Knowing that the Master was a Vaishnav,\nthe Buddhists retired and hatched a wicked plan: They placed before the\nMaster a plate of unclean rice, describing it as Vishnu's _prasad_. But\njust then a huge bird swooped down and carried off the plate in its\nbeak! The rice falling on the bodies of the Buddhists was [openly]\nrendered impure; the plate fell down slanting on the Buddhist\nprofessor's head, cutting it open, and throwing him down in a fit. His\ndisciples lifted up their voices in lamentation, and sought the Master's\nfeet imploring Him, \"Thou art God incarnate! O forgive us! Out of thy\ngrace restore our teacher.\" The Master replied, \"Cry out, all of you,\nKrishna's name. Pour the word loudly into your teacher's ears, and he\nwill recover.\" They did it, the professor rose up and began to chant\n_Hari! Hari!_ He did reverence to the Master saluting Him as Krishna,\nto the wonder of all. After this playful act the Son of Shachi vanished;\nnone could see Him.\n\nHe arrived at Tirupati Tirumal, where He beheld the four-armed idol, and\nthen advanced to Venkatar. At Tirupati He beheld the image of Ram, to\nwhich He bowed and sang hymns. The people marvelled at His powers. Then\nHe came to the Man-Lion of Pana, which He saluted and extolled in a\ntransport of love. At Shiva Kanchi he visited Shiva; His power turned\nthe worshippers of Shakti and Shiva into Vaishnavs. At Vishnu Kanchi he\nbeheld Lakshmi and Narayan, to whom He bowed and prayed long, danced and\nsang in fervour. His stay of two days bowed the hearts of men to\nKrishna. Thence by way of Tirunal He went to Tri-kal-hasti, and bowed to\nthe image of Mahadev there. And so on to the Paksha-tirtha, the Shiva,\nthe Vriddhakal-tirtha (the shrine of the White Boar), Pitambar [probably\nChidambaram] (the shrine of Shiva), the Shiyali Bhairabi Devi, the bank\nof the Kaveri, Gosamaj (Shaiva holy place) and Bedawan, (where He adored\nthe Amrita-linga Shiva). Everywhere the worshippers at Shiva's shrines\nwere turned into Vaishnavs. Thence He reached Devasthan, a Vaishnav\nshrine, and there kept constant company with the Shri-Vaishnavs.\nProceeding further He visited the lake formed by Kumbhakarna's skull,\nthe Shiva-kshetra, Papa-nashan (a shrine of Vishnu), and Shri-rangam,\nwhere He bathed in the Kaveri and then adored Ranganath, bowing and\nhymning to the god to His heart's satisfaction, and dancing and singing\nin rapture, to the marvel of all beholders.\n\nHere a Shri-Vaishnav named Venkata Bhatta invited the Master to his\nhouse, reverently washed His feet and with his family drank of the\nwater. After feeding he besought the Master thus: \"Master, the four\nmonths of asceticism (_chaturmasya_) are at hand. I pray thee pass them\nin my house, and of thy grace save me by discoursing on Krishna.\" At his\nhouse the Master stayed for four months, passing the time happily in\ntalking about Krishna with the Bhatta. Daily He bathed in the Kaveri,\nvisited Shri Ranga, and danced in ecstasy. All men flocked to gaze on\nHis beauty and rapture of devotion, and at the sight they forgot sorrow\nand misery. From all quarters flocked hundreds of thousands, and as they\nbeheld the Master they chanted Krishna's name and no other term. All\nbecame worshippers of Krishna, to the marvel of mankind. The Brahmans\nresident at Shri Ranga invited Him on successive days; but when the four\nmonths were over there were some Brahmans left who had had no\nopportunity to entertain Him.\n\nIn that holy place dwelt a Brahman devoted to Vishnu, who recited the\n_Gita_ in the temple. In the fervour of delight he read the 18 cantos,\nmaking mistakes, at which some scoffed, some laughed, some chid him, but\nhe heeded them not and went on with his readings in a rapt mood. The\nMaster delighted as He beheld the reader's tears of delight, tremour,\nand perspiration at his task, and asked him, \"Hark you, Sir! what [deep]\nmeaning inspires you with such rapture?\" The Brahman replied, \"I am an\nignorant man, not knowing the meanings of words. The _Gita_ I read at\nmy _guru's_ bidding, correctly or incorrectly as it may be. My heart is\nrapt when I behold [before my mind's eye] the dark beauty of Krishna as\nhe sits as driver in Arjun's chariot giving moral lessons. I can never\nbring myself to give up reading the _Gita_, because I ever behold HIM\nso long as I read the book.\" To him the Master spoke thus, \"Thou alone\nart truly worthy to read the _Gita_, as thou knowest the essence of its\nmeaning.\" So saying He embraced the Brahman, who, however, clasped His\nfeet and prayed, \"The sight of you gives me double the joy. Verily I\nthink you are that Krishna.\" He could recognize the true nature of the\nMaster, as the love of Krishna had purged his mind [of its grossness].\nBut the Master cautioned him not to tell it to any one else. The Brahman\nbecame a devout admirer of the Master and never parted from Him in those\nfour months, which He spent at the Bhatta's house in blissful discourse\nabout Krishna. The Bhatta's household gods were Lakshmi and Narayan. The\nMaster, pleased with his devotion, ever treated the Bhatta like a\nfriend, constantly joking with him, as is the manner of friendship. One\nday He asked, \"Bhatta! your Lakshmi is the type of devoted and chaste\nwives. My god is Krishna, a cow-herd. How could such a chaste lady seek\nthis other man's society? Why did she for this object discard pleasure\nand perform endless austerities? Witness the following verse of the\n_Bhagabat_, X. xvi. 32:\n\n_\"Lord! Out of a longing to be worthy to touch the dust of Thy feet,\nLakshmi, though a [weak] woman, abstained from enjoyment and went\nthrough long penances, etc.\"_\n\nThe Bhatta answered, \"Krishna and Narayan are essentially one; only\nKrishna showed more of sportiveness and charm. Hence Lakshmi's chastity\nwas not marred when she, for the sake of delight, sought Krishna's\ncompany [Quotation from the _Bhakti-rasdmrita-sindhu_]. Playful Lakshmi\ndesired Krishna for the sake of the greater gain and _rasa_ delight\nafforded by His society. What harm is there in it? Why are you joking?\"\nThe Master rejoined, \"I know there is nothing to blame in it. The\n_Shastra_ asserts that Lakshmi never enjoyed the _rasa_ dance with\nKrishna [_Vide Bhagabat_, X. xlvii. 53]. But the Shrutis attained to\nKrishna's society by their austerities. [_Ibid_, X. lxxxvii. 19]. What\nwas the reason of this difference?\" \"My mind fails to explain the\nreason, as I am a petty creature with a weak understanding, while God's\nacts are infinite like the deep ocean. You are Krishna's self and know\nyour own; exploits. Their inner meaning is known only to those on whom\nyou have bestowed such knowledge.\" The Master said, \"Such is the natural\ncharacteristic of Krishna that by His sweetness He wins all hearts. The\nmen of Brindaban knew Him not as God, because He came to them as one of\nthemselves. One tied Him to the wooden pestle [_udukhal_], fancying Him\nto be her son. Some mounted on His back, taking Him to be a play-fellow.\nThe people of Brindaban knew Him as the son of Braja's chief, and not as\nthe Godhead. He who adores Krishna in the manner of the people of\nBrindaban, can alone attain to Him there. _Vide Bhagabat_, X. ix. 16.\nThe Shrutis imitated the milk-maids [_Gopis_] and by taking the form of\nthe Gopis they obtained the Son of the Queen of Mathura. They were\nincarnated in the bodies of the Gopis of Braja, and so disported with\nKrishna in the _rasa_ play. Krishna was of the milkman caste; the Gopis\nwere his dear ones; so Krishna refused goddesses and other women.\nLakshmi wanted to unite with Krishna in His form of a milkman, and yet\nshe did not seek Him by assuming the shape of a Gopi. But in no other\nform than that of a Gopi can the _rasa_ pleasure be consummated, as\nVyas has said in his verses, _viz._, _Bhagabat_, X. xlvii. 53.\"\n\nBefore this the Bhatta used to think in his pride, \"Narayan is God\nHimself, and the worship of Him is the highest stage. And therefore the\nworship offered by the Shri-Vaishnavs is the highest form of adoration.\"\nBut the Master, to dash his folly down, opened all this controversy by\nmeans of a jest. He addressed him thus, \"Bhatta, doubt not, know of a\nverity that Krishna is God Himself. Narayan is only the manifestation of\nthe power (_vilas_) of Krishna, therefore could Krishna steal the hearts\nof Lakshmi and others. (_Vide Bhagabat_ I. iii 28). Krishna surpassed\nNarayan in power. Hence did Lakshmi ever long for Krishna. The verse you\nhave read proves that Krishna is God incarnate. (_Vide\nBhakti-rasamrita-sindhu_, pt. I. ii. 32). Krishna stole the heart of\nLakshmi but Narayan could not (conversely) win the love of the Gopis.\nWhat to speak of Narayan? Even Krishna him self, when He assumed the\nform of the four-armed Narayan to amuse the Gopis, failed to win their\nlove in that shape! (_Vide Lalita-Madhav_, vi. 13).\" Thus did the\nMaster humble his pride, but then He gave a new turn to the conclusion\nto soothe the Bhatta's feelings, saying, \"Grieve not, Bhatta, I have\nonly jested. Listen to the teaching of the _Shastra_ in which Vaishnavs\nbelieve: Just as Narayan and Krishna are one essence, so are Lakshmi and\nthe Gopis identical and not diverse. Lakshmi in the garb of the Gopis\ntasted Krishna's company. In theology it is a sin to recognize a\nplurality of gods. The devotee meditates on one and the same God\n[diversely according to his fancy]; he gives different images to the\nsame deity.\"\n\nThe Bhatta spoke, \"I am a miserable creature, while thou art that\nKrishna, the Incarnate God. I know nothing of the unfathomable ways of\nGod, but I hold as truth whatever you tell me. Fully have I been blessed\nby Lakshmi-Narayan, as His grace has enabled me to see thy feet. Thou\nhast graciously spoken to me of the glory of Krishna, whose beauty,\nqualities and powers are beyond human calculation. Now have I learnt\nthat devotion to Krishna passes all else. You have blest me by unfolding\nthis truth.\" So saying the Bhatta clasped the Master's feet, who\ngraciously hugged him to His bosom.\n\nThe four months came to an end. The Master took leave of the Bhatta and\nfrom Shri-rangam set out for the South. The Bhatta wanted to leave his\nhome and follow Him, but with great effort the Master turned him back.\nWhen He left, the Bhatta fainted away (in grief). Thus did Shachi's Son\ndisport Himself.\n\nTo the Rishava peak He went and there prayed to the deity Narayan, and\nvisited Paramananda Puri, who was spending his \"four months\" there. The\nMaster bowed at the feet of the Puri, who embraced Him. For three days\nthey lived together in that Brahman's house, lovingly talking on\nKrishna's delightful lore. The Puri said, \"I am going to Jagannath,\nwhence I shall proceed to Bengal to bathe in the Ganges.\" The Master\nanswered, \"Go to the Nilachal, where I shall shortly join you on my\nreturn from Setubandha. I long to keep company with you. Do kindly visit\nthe Nilachal.\" So He parted from the Puri and joyfully proceeded further\nsouth. The Puri went to the Nilachal, while the Master visited\nShri-Shaila, where lived a Brahman named Shiva-Durga. Rejoicing to see\nthe Master, he feasted Him for three days, and the two dis coursed of\nmysteries in secret. After friendly association with him, the Master\nleft him and went to the city of Kamakoshti, and thence to the Southern\nMathura [Madura], where He was invited by a Brahman, noble-minded,\ndetached from the world, and a worshipper of Ram. After bathing in the\nKritamala, the Master went to his house; but as the Brahman never\ncooked, he could place no food before the guest. The Master asked, \"Hark\nyou, Sir, it is noon and yet you are not cooking? Why is it?\" The\nBrahman replied, \"Master, I live in the forest, where at present nothing\ncan be had for cooking. But Lakshman will bring some wild herbs, fruits,\nand roots, and then will Sita cook them.\" The Master was pleased with\nthe Brahman's devotion. The host now hurriedly began cooking and the\nMaster was fed in the third quarter of the day. But the Brahman himself\nfasted, at which the Master asked, \"Why do you fast? What grieves you?\nWhy mourn you?\" The Brahman replied, \"I have no need to live; I shall\ndestroy myself by jumping into fire or water. The divine Sita, the\nmother of the world and the emblem of Supreme Goodness, was (rudely)\ntouched by a demon, as I hear. So I ought not to live. This sorrow\nconsumes me, though my spirit does not leave the body.\" To him the\nMaster thus: \"Think not so any longer. You are learned and yet you do\nnot judge the matter in your mind! Sita, the beloved of God, is the\nembodiment of spirituality and bliss (_chit ananda_). Physical senses\ncannot see her, not to speak of touching her. Ravan abducted only an\nillusive image of Sita, while the true Sita had disappeared.[1] The\nVedas and the Purans constantly teach this truth that the Material\ncannot take cognisance of what is non-Material. Believe my words, and\nnever harbour such sad thoughts again.\" Reassured by the Master's words\nthe Brahman dined and took delight in life.\n\nAfter bathing in the Kritamala, the Master went to Durbesan, where he\nsaw the image of Raghunath. Thence to Mahendra hill, where He adored\nParashu Ram. At Setubandha He bathed in the Dhanu-tirtha (Bow shrine).\nVisiting Rameshwar, He rested there. An assembly of Brahmans was\nlistening to the reading of the _Kurma Puran_, in the course of which\nthe episode of chaste women was reached. The narrative declared that\nRavan stole only a false phantom of Sita. At the sight of Ravan the true\nSita sought refuge with Fire, who lodged her with Parvati, while he\ndeluded Ravan by giving up to him a false image of Sita. After Ram had\nslain Ravan, and Sita submitted to the ordeal of fire, the false Sita\nvanished, while the real Sita was delivered to Ram by Fire. The Master\nwas delighted to hear this theory. So He borrowed from the Brahman the\nleaf (containing the passage), and made a copy for being placed in the\nbook, while He took the old leaf for creating conviction and returned to\nthe Southern Mathura, where He gave the leaf to the Brahman Ramdas.\n\nAt this the Brahman was overjoyed and clasped the Master's feet weeping\nand saying, \"Thou art Ram incarnate, visiting me in the disguise of a\n_sannyasi_, and raising me from deep sorrow. Do consent to dine at my\nhouse to-day, because on that day I was too melancholy to entertain thee\nworthily. It is my good fortune that thou hast come again!\"\n\nSo saying the Brahman cooked deliciously and feasted the Master nicely.\nAfter passing the night under his roof, the Master went to the\nTamraparni in the Pandya land, where He bathed in the river and wandered\non the bank gazing at the Nine Tirupadis in wonder.\n\nThence He visited Chiyartala (the shrine of Ram Lakshman), Til Kanchi\n(the shrine of Shiva), Gajendra-Mokshan (where there was an image of\nVishnu), Pana-garhi (shrine of Ram), Chamtapur (Ram Lakshman), Shri\nVaikuntha (Vishnu), the Malay Mountain (Agastya), Kanya Kumari [Cape\nComorin], Amlitala (Ram), the Mallar land (where the Bhattamaris dwelt),\nand then after seeing Tamal Kartik, He reached Betapani (Raghunath's\nshrine), where He passed the night.\n\nThe Master's companion, the Brahman Krishna-das, met a Bhattamari, who\ntempted the simple Brahman by offering him a woman and money. In the\nmorning Krishna-das went away to the Bhattamari. Soon the Master came in\nquest of him and addressed the Bhattamari tribe thus, \"Why have you\ndetained my Brahman (follower)? I am, as you see, a _sannyasi_; and so\nare you too. It is unfair of you to put me in trouble.\"\n\nAt this the Bhattamaris took up arms and flocked round the Master to\nthrash Him. But the weapons dropped from their hands and struck their\nown limbs, so that they fled away on all sides. Lamentation rose in\ntheir houses. The Master dragged Krishna-das away by the hair, and that\nday reached the Payaswini river, in which He bathed and visited the\ntemple of Adi Keshav, where He bowed, prayed, danced and sang for a long\nwhile in rapture, to the amazement of the beholders. All the people\ntreated Him very respectfully and He joined the assembly of the very\ndevout there. Here He got a manuscript of the book\n_Brahma-samhitadhyaya_ to His boundless delight, tremour, weeping,\nthrill, perspiration, stupor, and frenzy (of joy), because the _Brahma\nSamhita_ is unrivalled among works of exegetics (_siddhanta shastra_)\nand it is the chief instrument for teaching the glory of Govinda, as it\nexpresses vast dogmas in a few words. It is the very cream of Vaishnav\nsacred writings.\n\nVery carefully did He get the book copied. Thence He went to Ananta\nPadmanav, where He spent two days, to Shri Janardan, where also He\nhymned and danced for some two days, to Payoshni, where Shankar Narayan\nis worshipped, to the monastery of Shringeri, the seat of Sankaracharya,\nto _Matsya-tirtha_ (Fish shrine), to the river Tungabhadra, and to\n[Upidi], the seat of Madhwacharya, the spokesman of spiritual truth.\nHere He gazed devotedly on the Udupa-Krishna. The image of Krishna in\nthe form of the dancing young cowherd (_Gopal_) was very charming.\nMadhwacharya was moved by a dream to rescue this image from a cargo of\nconsecrated earth [_Gopichandan_] in a sunken ship, and to install it\n[at Udipi], where it is worshipped to this day.\n\nThe Master was overjoyed to see the image of Krishna, and in fervour of\ndevotion danced and sang (before it) for many a day. The _tattwavadis_,\ntaking the Master for a _mayavadi_, at first slighted Him, but\nafterwards they marvelled at His religious ecstasy, and venerated Him\ngreatly as a (true) Vaishnav. Aware of their pride in Vaishnavism, the\nMaster began a discourse with them. The high priest of the\n_tattwavadis_ was an expert in all the holy books. The Master, assuming\nthe tone of a humble inquirer, put questions to him: \"I do not clearly\ncomprehend _sadhya_ (end) and _sadhan_ (means). Do please enlighten me\non the subject.\" The high priest replied, \"To the worshipper of Krishna\nthe highest _sadhan_ is to resign to Krishna the religious system\ncentring round caste and ashram. Translation to Vishnu's heaven, after\nattaining to the fivefold salvation, is the supreme _sadhya_. Thus\nspeak the _Shastras_.\" The Master objected, \"The _Shastras_ assert\nthat the supreme _sadhan_ of the love and service of Krishna is\nlistening to and singing His praise. _Vide Bhagabat_, VII. v. 18.\n\n\"From listening to and singing hymns, one comes to love Krishna. That is\nthe fifth human end, the limit of human attainment. _Vide Bhagabat_,\nXI. ii. 38. All kinds of scripture condemn (devotion to) work and teach\nus to abstain from the fruit of our works. Therefore from work cannot\nspring love and devotion to Krishna. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. xi. 32; also\n_Gita_, xviii. 66; _Bhagabat_, XI. xx. 9. Truly devoted men renounce\nthe fivefold salvation; in their eyes salvation is worthless, no better\nthan hell! _Vide Bhagabat_, III. xxix. 11; V. xiv. 43; VI. xvii. 23.\n\n\"The devout abjure salvation and work alike. And you establish these two\nthings as the end and means! Ah! you are only befooling me as I am a\n[mere] _sannyasi_. You have not told me of the true characteristics of\nend and means.\"\n\nAt this the high priest of the tattwa School was inly ashamed, while he\nmarvelled at the Vaishnav spirit of the Master. So he replied, \"Your\nexposition is the true one. All _Shastras_ declare this to be the\nVaishnav dogma. Yet our order holds the views laid down by\nMadhwacharya.\" The Master rejoined, \"The votary of work and the votary\nof knowledge are alike lacking in faith. In your order I see signs of\nthese two. I see only one merit in your order: you have fixed, upon the\ntrue God.\"\n\nAfter thus humbling the pride of that sect the Master went to the Falgu\nshrine, then to Tritakup (the shrine of Vishala), Panchapsara, Gokarna\n(where Shiva is worshipped), Dwaipayani, Suparak, Kolhapur (where He\nbeheld Lakshmi and Kshir Bhagavati), Nanga-Ganesh, Chor Parvati, and\nPandupur [=Pandharpur]. Here before Vitha's image He sang and danced\nlong.\n\nA Brahman of the place invited and reverently fed the Master. Learning\nthe good news that Shri Ranga Puri, a disciple of Madhav Puri, was\nresiding in another Brahman's house in that village the Master went to\nsee him. As He prostrated Himself before the Puri in devotion, He wept,\ntrembled and was thrilled and covered all over with sweat. Shri Ranga\nPuri wondered at the sight and cried out, \"Rise, blessed one. Surely you\nare connected with my _guru_, or you could not have displayed such\nfervour of devotion\". So, he raised and embraced the Master, and the two\nwept clasping each other's neck. After a spell of rapture, the two came\nround, and the Master said how He was related to Ishwar Puri. (At this)\ntheir love welled out wondrously and each honoured the other. Day and\nnight they held forth on Krishna for a week or so.\n\nThe Puri asked about His birth-place. The Master replied Navadwip. Shri\nRanga Puri had once visited that town in the train of Madhav Puri. He\nspoke how he had been feasted in the house of Jagannath Mishra, how\ndelicious the hash of green banana-flower (_mocha_) had tasted, what a\nchaste woman and tender to the world like a mother was Jagannath's wife,\nhow she was matchless in the universe for her skill in cookery, and how\nshe had feasted the _sannyasis_ as lovingly as if they were her own\nsons, how one of her sons had turned monk in youth with the title of\nShankararanya and had attained to death in that very place (_viz._,\nPandupur). The Master broke in, \"In his earthly life Shankar was my\nbrother. Jagannath Mishra was my father.\" So they had a friendly\nassembly, and then Shri Ranga Puri set out to visit Dwaraka. The Master\nwas detained for some four days by His Brahman host. He bathed in the\nBhimarathi and visited the shrine of Vithal. Then He walked by the bank\nof the Krishna-binna, visiting the temples at the many holy places\nthere. The Brahmans of the country were Vaishnavs and studied the\n_Krishna-karnamrita_, of which book the Master joyfully made a copy.\nThe world has nothing like the _Karnamrita_, which kindles pure\ndevotion to Krishna. He only knows the fulness of the beauty and\nsweetness of Krishna's exploits, who ceaselessly reads the\n_Karnamrita_. He carried with Himself the manuscripts of the _Brahma\nSamhita_ and the _Karnamrita_ like two precious jewels.\n\nAfter bathing in the Tapti, He went to the city of Maheshwati, and then\nvisiting many holy places on the way, reached the bank of the Narmada.\nAfter visiting the Shrine of the Bow (_Dhanu-tirtha_), He bathed in the\nNirbindhya, and then passed on to the Rishyamukha mountain and the\nDandaka forest, where He beheld a _saptatal_ tree, very old stout and\nhigh. As the Master embraced the _saptatal_, the tree disappeared\nbodily, at which the people marvelled and cried out, \"This _sannyasi_\nis an incarnation of Ram, for lo! the _tal_ tree has flown up to\nVishnu's heaven. Who but Ram can work such a miracle?\"\n\nThen the Master bathed in the lake of Pampa, and rested in the\nPanchavati wood. From Nasik and Trimbak He passed on to Brahma-giri, to\nKushavarta (the source of the Godavari), the seven (branches of the)\nGodavari, and many other shrines, and finally returned to Vidya-nagar.\n\nOn hearing of His arrival, Ramananda Ray joyfully hastened to Him and\nprostrated himself; but the Master raised him and clasped him to His\nbosom. Both wept in delight and their minds were unstrung by rapture.\nAfter recovering composure they talked of many things together. The\nMaster gave a narrative of His pilgrimage, and showed him the\n_Karnamrita_ and the _Brahma Samhita_, saying \"These two books bear\nout the theories of devotion (_prem_) which you had expounded to me.\"\nThe Ray in delight tasted the books in the Master's company and took\ncopies of them.\n\nThe whole village was agitated by the news of the _sannyasi's_ return\nand all men flocked to see Him. At this Ramananda went back to his own\nhouse. At noon the Master rose for His meal. Ramananda returned at night\nand the two kept a vigil discoursing of Krishna. Thus five or six days\nwere spent blissfully, the two holding forth on Krishna day and night.\nRamananda said, \"With thy leave, Master, I petitioned my king, and he\nhas permitted me to visit the Nilachal. I have already begun my\npreparations for departure.\" The Master replied, \"I have come here only\nto take you to the Nilachal.\" But the Ray objected, \"Master, go you in\nadvance. A noisy throng of elephants, horses and soldiers surrounds me.\nLet me first dispose of them, and then after ten days I shall follow\nyou.\" The Master consented and returned to the Nilachal by the route He\nhad previously followed, the people every where chanting Hari's name as\nthey saw Him. He rejoiced at it. From Alalnath he sent Krishna-das in\nadvance to call Nityananda and others of His own folk. At the news,\nNityananda went to meet the Master, his devotion knowing no bounds.\nJagadananda, Damodar, Gopinatli Acharya and Mukunda Pandit went along\ndancing, unable to contain their delight. They all met the Master on the\nway, and He lovingly embraced them, all weeping in delight. Sarvabhauma\nBhattacharya joined the Master on the beach of the ocean and fell at His\nfeet; but the Master raised him up and held him to the bosom,\nSarvabhauma weeping in rapture. The whole party went to visit\nJagannath's shrine, where the Master had a transport of devotion,\ntrembling, perspiring, weeping in delight, dancing and singing again and\nagain. The servitors of the temple offered Him the dedicated garlands\nand food of the god, at which the Master regained composure. The\nattendants of Jagannath joyfully flocked together. Kashi Mishra (the\nhigh priest) fell at His feet, but the Master did him honour and\nembraced him. The _Parichha_ of Jagannath, too, did Him obeisance.\n\nSarvabhauma took the Master to dinner at his own house, and fed Him and\nHis party at noon on sumptuous dishes from the temple. Thereafter he\nmade the Master lie down and rubbed His feet; but the Master bade him go\nand dine; and He passed the night also in Sarvabhauma's house to please\nhim, narrating the story of His pilgrimage all night to His followers\nand host, and saying, \"In all the holy places I have visited I did not\nmeet with a single Vaishnav who can equal you. Only Ramananda Ray gave\nme intense delight.\" The Bhatta replied, \"It was just for that reason\nthat I had asked you to see him.\" [Text, canto 9.]\n\n[1] This is exactly like the version of the legend of the abduction of\nHelen given by Stesichorus and accepted by Euripides in his _Helena_.\n\n\nNOTES ON THE PLACES VISITED BY CHAITANYA IN THE SOUTH\n\n[In this connection we should bear in mind that no record of Chaitanya's\npilgrimage was kept at the time it was made. His disciples heard of it,\nevidently piece-meal, from his lips long after-wards. A diary\nconstructed on this basis by Govinda-das has been lost. Our author,\nKrishna-das Kaviraj, frankly admits (at the beginning of canto ix) that\nhe has not been able to name the holy places, of the South in the order\nin which they were visited by the Master. We should also note that this\npilgrimage was performed between April 1510 and January 1512 and that\nthe great and widespread revival of temple building which resulted from\nthe restoration of the Vijaynagar empire under Krishna Dev just began at\nthe time of Chaitanya's visit, but was completed long afterwards. Hence\nmany of the famous shrines of the South dating from the early 16th\ncentury were not seen by him, as they were completed after his visit].\n\n_Ahobal.--Ahobilam_, in the Sirvel taluq of the Karnul district. The\nmost sacred Vishnu temple in the district, it is dedicated to Narasimha.\nTogether with other temples in the neighbourhood, it forms a group known\nas the Nava (nine) Narasimha, represent ing nine different forms of\nVishnu. The original temple is supported by 64 pillars, each of which is\nbeautifully carved into several miniature pillars. In front is a fine\nunfinished mantapam with large pillars of white sand-stone, about 3 feet\nin diameter, elaborately sculptured. (_Kurnool Manual_, 183-184, 145).\n\n_Ananta Padmanava_.--The famous Padmanava temple in Trivandrum.\n\n_Betapani_.--_Bhutapandi_ in Travancore, in the Tobala taluq, n. of\nNagarcoil, with temple of Bhutanath. [R. M. Ghose.]\n\n_Brahma-giri_.--There is a Brahmagiri near Sopara (_Bom. Gaz._ xiv.\n315); but that is not the place meant in our text. The reference is to\nthe _Brahma mountain_, in the ridge joining which to the Trimbak\nmountain the Kikvi, a larger and more distant branch of the Godavari\n(than the one issuing at Trimbak) takes its rise. (_Bombay Gaz_. rvi.\n7).\n\n_Chamtapur.--Chenganur_ in Travancore State. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Chiyar-tala.--Shertala_ near Nagarcoil, [according to R. M. Ghose].\n\n_Courtallam_, 7 m. s. w. of Tenkashi in the Tinnevelly district, 450\nft. above sea-level. The falls of the Chittar (a river which joins the\nTamraparni 15 m. n. J e. of Tinnevelly) at this place are famous among\nthe Hindus for their virtue of cleansing from sin. [_Tinn. Man._ 96.]\n\n_Dhanu-tirtha.--Dhanus-kodi_, terminus of the S. I. Railway, 12 m.\nsouth-east of Rameshwaram. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Durbesan.--Darvashayan_, on the sea-coast seven miles east of Ramnad.\n[R. M. G.]\n\n_Gajendra-mokshan_.--Probably Devendra-mokshan or Suchindram, 2 m. s.\nof Nagarcoil. Here Indra was cleansed of his sin and built a temple to\nSthanu-linga Shiva. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Ganga Gotami_.--The Godavari river. At Kobur, opposite Rajmahendri,\nwas the hermitage of the sage Gautama, from whom this river is named.\n\n_Gokarna_.--On the west coast, about 20 miles s. e. of Karwar, famous\nfor its temple of Mahabaleshwar and a very popular place of pilgrimage.\n(_Bombay Gazetteer_, Kanara, xv. pt. 2, pp. 289-301).\n\n_Kolhapur_.--Out of about 250 temples in this city at present six are\nwell-known, namely, the temples of Ambabai or Mahalakshmi, Vithoba,\nTemblai, Mahakali, Phirangai or Pratyangiras, and Yallamma. (_Bombay\nGaz_. xxiv. 309-311).\n\n_Kumbha-kama.--Kumbakonam_ in the Tanjore district, 20 miles north-east\nof Tanjore town. It contains 12 principal Shaiva and 4 Vaishnav temples\nand one dedicated to Brahma. (_Tanjore Gaz_. 217-219).\n\n_Madura_--on the river Vaigai, the minor basin of which is called\n_Kritima-nadi_ (the _Krita-mala_ of our text). Its temples are\ndescribed in the _Madura Gazetteer_, 267-274.\n\n_Mahendra hill_.--There is a peak of this name in the Travancore State,\nbut too far from Cape Comorin.\n\n_Malay mountain (Agastya)_.--(i) There is a temple to the sage Agastya\nin the village Agastyampalli, close to Vedaranniyam, near Point Calimere\nin the Tanjore district; but it cannot be the place meant, (ii) _Palni_\nin the Madura district contains a famous temple to Subrahmanya on the\ntop of a hill (Shivagiri) created by Agastya. But there is no temple to\nAgastya here. (_Madura Gaz._ 304-306). (iii) R.M. Ghose is inclined to\nidentify it with _Pothia_ hill (near Cape Comorin), the reputed abode\nof Agastya (K. Pillai's _Tamils 1,800 Years Ago_, 21.) (iv) The\nTamraparni rises on either side of a fine conical peak known as\n_Agastiar-malai_ or Agastya's hill. (_Tinn. Man._ 91).\n\n_Mallar land._--Malabar.\n\n_Mallikarjun.--Shri-Shailam_, on the south bank of the Krishna, 70\nmiles below Karnul. In the centre of the enclosure is the temple of\nMallikarjun Shiva, the chief deity worshipped here, and considered as\none of the _jyotir-lingas_. (_Kurnool Manual_, 181-183, 144). There is\nanother and much less famous temple to Mallikarjun at Bezvada on the\nKrishna river.\n\n_Matsya-tirtha_.--Either (1) _Mahe_, the French possession on the\ncoast of the Malabar district. Or (2) _Matsya-gundam_, a curious pool\non the Macheru river, near the village of Matam, six miles north\nnorth-west of Pacleru (in the Padwa taluq of the Vizaga-patam district).\nA barrier of rocks runs right across the river there, and the stream\nplunges into a great hole and vanishes beneath this, reappearing again\nabout a hundred yards lower down. Just where it emerges from under the\nbarrier it forms a pool which is crowded with _mahseer_ of all sizes.\n(_Vizagapatam Gaz._ 285).\n\n_Nine Tripadi.--Alwar Tiru-nagari_, 17 m. s. e. of Tinnevelly. Around\nit are 9 temples to Vishnu (_Tirupati_), the idols of which are\nassembled in this town on holy days. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Paksha-tirtha.--Pakshi-tirtham_ or _Tiru-kadi-kundram_, 9 miles south\neast of Chingleput. [R. M. G.] \"The hill of the sacred kites.\" It is a\nridge terminating in a spiked hill, some 500 feet above sea-level, on\nwhich stands a Shiva temple. The name of the hill is Vedagiri or\nVedachalam, and the idol is called Veda-girishwar. Every day two birds\nof the kite species come to the mountain and are fed by an attendant\nBrahman. The same two are believed to have come from Benares to receive\nthis daily dole from time immemorial. (_Chingleput Man_. 106-107).\n\n_Pampa_.--The ancient and Puranic name of the Tungabhadra. The village\nof Hampi (the site of the famous capital Vijaynagar) was originally\nknown as Pampa-tirtha. This name (also _Pampa-saras_) is now borne by a\ntank on the Haidarabad side of the Tungabhadra near Anegundi. (_Bellary\nGazetteer_, 6, 261).\n\n_Pana_.--Panakal Narasimha at Mangal-giri, 7 m. south of Bezvada. But\nit is too far to the north. [R. M. G.] When visitors offer a draught to\nNarasimha-swami, the image in the temple refuses to drink more than half\nof it. (_Kistna Dist. Man._ 179).\n\n_Pana-garhi.--Panagodi_, 30 m. s. s. w. of Tinnevelly on the road to\nTrivandrum. [R. M. G.] But the temple there is to Ramlinga-swami Shiva\nand not to Ram.\n\n_Panchavati_.--Identified with Nasik in the Bombay presidency. Nasik\nand Trimbak (at the source of the Godavari) are described in _Bombay\nGazetteer_, xvi.\n\n_Pandupur.--Pandharpur_, on the Bhima river, 38 miles due west of\nSholapur; famous for its temple to Vithoba. (_Bombay Gaz_. xx.\n415-481).\n\n_Papa-nashan_.--Eight miles s. w. of Kumbakonam (Tanjore Gaz. 221).\nThere is another city of this name 29 miles west of Palamkota, (in the\nTinnevelly district). Here near a pagoda the Tamraparni river takes its\nlast fall from the hills to the level country. (_Tinn. Man._ 91).\n\n_Payaswini.--Tiru-vattar_ in the Travancore State. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Pitambar_.--Evidently Chidambaram, 26 miles south of Cuddalore. Famous\nfor its great pagoda, covering 39 acres in the centre of the town, and\nsourrounded on all four sides by a street 60 feet wide. It contains the\nAkasa-linga. (_S. Arcot Manual_, 400-407).\n\n_Rishava peak--Anagarh-malai_, 12 miles north of Madura. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Rishyamukh_.--Identified with the hill on the Nizam's side of the\nnarrowest of the gorges in the Tungabhadra near Hampi. (_Bellary Gaz._\n261).\n\n_Shiva image_.--Either Vedagiris at Pakshi-tirtham or the _lingam_ in\nthe shore temple at Mahavalipuram (Seven Pagodas).\n\n_Shiva Kanchi_.--The modern _Conjeveram_, also called the Southern\nBenares, 56 miles south-west of Madras. The Shiva temple is dedicated to\nEkambara-swami. South-east of it stands _Vishnu Kanchi_ or Little\nConjeveram, with its temple to Vishnu under the name of Varada-raj.\n\n_Shiva-kshetra_.--There is a Shiva-ganga tank at Tanjore. The great\nBrihatishwar temple of this town seems to be meant in our text.\n(_Tanjore Gaz._ 269-271).\n\n_Shiyali_.--The head-quarters of a taluq of that name in the Tanjore\ndistrict, about 48 miles n. e. of Tanjore town. It has a famous Shiva\ntemple with a large tank, a shrine dedicated to the Tamil saint\nTiru-jnan Sambandhar, and some other separate shrines, and evidently an\nimage of Shiva's consort who is said to have given suck to this saint\nwhen he visited this temple as a child. (_Tanjore Gaz_. 258).\n\n_Shri Janardan_.--Near the Varkala railway station, 26 miles north of\nTrivandrum.\n\n_Shringeri_.--In the Kadur district of Mysore. Situated 13 25 N. 75 19\nE., on the left bank of the Tunga, 7 miles s. of Hariharpur. Its full\nname is Rishya-shringa-giri. It is the head-quarters of the Jagat-guru\nor successor of Shankaracharya in the headship of the Smartas. (Rice,\n_Mysore Gazetteer_, ii. 443-445).\n\n_Shri-rangam_.--The famous Vishnu temple in an island between the\nKolerun and the Kaveri, north of Trichinopoly. (_Trichinopoly Manual_,\n337-340 and _Gazetteer_, 45-51, 91-126, 319).\n\n_Shri-Shaila_.--The most famous place of this name is the one in the\nKarnul district, described above under Mallikarjun. But that place\ncannot be meant in this context, which suggests some hill between\nTrichinopoly and Madura, sacred to Shri or Lakshmi.\n\n_Shri-Vaikuntha_.--_Shri Vaikuntham_, four miles n. of Alwar\nTirunagari. [R. M. G.], on the left bank of the Tamraparni and 16 m. s.\ne. of Tinnevelly.\n\n_Siddha-bat.--Sidhout_, 10 miles east of Cuddapa town. Sometimes known\nas the Dakshina Kashi or the Southern Benares. The name is derived from\n_Siddha-vatam_ or the hermit's banyan tree. Eight miles south of it is\nOntimetta ('the solitary hill') with a large and very holy pagoda and a\ntank. The pagoda is dedicated to Kodanda-Ram-swami. (_Cuddapah Manual_,\n48-49).\n\n_Suparak-Sopara_--(in the Thana district), 26 miles north of Bombay. It\nwas the capital of the Konkan from very ancient times to 1,300 A.D.\n(_Bombay Gaz_. xiv. 314-342).\n\n_Tamal-kartik.--Tobala_, 44 m. s. of Tinnevelly, 2 m. e. of Aramvali\npass, temple of Subrahmanya. [R. M. G.]\n\n_Tamraparni_.--A river on the left bank of which Tinnevelly stands.\n\n_Til Kanchi_.--Probably _Tenkashi_, 30 m. n. w. of Tinnevelly town.\n\n_Tirupati_.--A very famous holy city in the Chandra-gin taluq of the N.\nArcot district. In Lower Tirupati, which stands in the plain, there are\n15 templesf the chief of them being dedicated to Govinda-raja-swami (the\nbrother of Venkateshwar) and Ramswami. Upper Tirupati, usually called\n_Tirumala_ (from _Tirumalai_, holy hill), stands on the top of the\nrange, six miles north west of Lower Tirupati. Its chief divinity is\nVenkateshwar. (_North Arcot Manual_, 142-153).\n\n_Tri-kal-hasti.--Shri Kalahasti_, popularly called _Kalahastri_, on\nthe right bank of the Suvarnamukhi river, 22 miles n. e. of Tirupati.\nFamous for its shrine of the Vayu-linga Shiva. (_N. Arcot Man_.\n220-222).\n\n_Udipi_.--36 miles north of Mangalore (in the South Kanara district),\nthe principal seat of the Madhavacharya priests. The temple of Krishna\nis said to have been founded by Madhavacharya himself, who set up in it\nan image of Krishna originally made by Arjun. There are also eight\nancient _maths_, each with a swami. (_S. Canara Manual_, ii. 263. For\na full description, see _Bombay Gazetter_, xxii. 56).\n\n_Vedaban.--Vedaranniyam_ or the forest of the Vedas, in the south east\ncorner of the Tirutturaippundi taluq of the Tanjore district and five\nmiles north of Point Calimere. Orthodox Brahmans consider it second only\nto Rameshwaram in sanctity. (_Tanjore Gaz_. 284).\n\n_Vriddha-kal_.--Varaha-swami temple, a monolithic pagoda, n. w. of\n\"Arjun's Penance\" and 3/4 m. s. of Valipitham, at Mahavalipuram or Seven\nPagodas; image of Vishnu with a huge boar's head, overcanopied by the\nShesha Nag.\n\n_Vriddha-kashi.--Vriddhachalam_, on the Manimukta (an affluent of the\nVellar), in the S. Arcot district. Sometimes called Vriddha-kashi. (_S.\nArcot Manual_, 438-440). It cannot be the place meant, if the order of\nholy places given in our text be correct.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nThe Reunion of the Vaishnavs\n\nAfter the Master had set out for the South, King Pratap Rudra summoned\nSarvabhauma, seated him after due salutation, and asked him concerning\nthe Master, saying, \"I hear that a very gracious person has come to your\nhouse from Bengal. People say that he has shown you much kindness. Do\nplease help me to see him.\" The Bhatta replied, \"True is what you have\nheard. But you cannot see him; he is a _sannyasi_ withdrawn from the\nworld, living in seclusion, and not visiting kings even in dreams. I\ncould, however, have contrived somehow an interview between him and you:\nbut he has recently gone to the South.\" The king asked, \"Why did he\nleave Jagannath's shrine?\" The Bhatta replied, \"Such is one of the deeds\nof saints. They visit holy places on the plea of making pilgrimages, but\nthey thereby bring salvation to worldly men. _Vide Bhagabat_, I. xiii. 8.\nSuch is the unalterable character of a Vaishnav: he is not a man but\nrather a particle of God.\" The Raja rejoined, \"Why did you let him\ndepart? You ought to have clasped his feet and importuned him to stay\nhere.\" Bhattacharya answered, \"He is a god and a free being. He is\nKrishna's self and not a dependent creature. Still I had tried to detain\nhim, but could not succeed as God is free.\"\n\nThe Raja said, \"Bhatta! you are the chief of wise men. As you call him\nKrishna, I must believe it. When he comes here again, may I see him once\nand gratify my eyes?\" The Bhatta replied, \"He will soon return. We want\na suitable place for him to lodge in; it must be near the temple and yet\nsecluded. Choose such a lodging for him.\" The king said, \"Kashi Mishra's\nhouse is just that sort of place, close to Jagannath and yet very\nretired.\" The king thereafter remained expectant. Bhattacharya informed\nKashi Mishra, who said, \"Blessed am I that such a holy Master will lodge\nunder my roof.\"\n\nThus did all the people of Puri live in ever-growing expectation of\nseeing the Master, when He returned from the South. All rejoiced at the\nnews, and they all begged Sarvabhauma thus, \"Lead us to the Master, that\nthrough thy mediation we may reach Chaitanya's feet.\" Bhattacharya\nreplied, \"To-morrow the Master will go to Kashi Mishra's house, where I\nshall introduce you to Him.\"\n\nNext day the Master visited Jagannath in company with Bhattacharya, in\ngreat delight. The servitors met Him with the god's food and He embraced\nthem all. After the visit Bhattacharya led Him to Kashi Mishra's house.\nKashi Mishra fell at His feet, and gave up to Him not his house only but\nhis soul also. The Master appeared to him in the four-armed shape, and\nembraced him to make him one of His own followers.\n\nThen the Master took His seat there. Around Him sat Nityananda and other\ndevotees, The Master was pleased with the arrangements of the house,\nwhich satisfied all His needs. Then Sarvabhauma said, \"Master, this\nhouse is worthy of you. Accept it, as Kashi Mishra prays.\" The Master\nreplied, \"My body is under your control. What you bid me, I must do, as\nin duty bound.\" Then Sarvabhauma, seating himself at the right hand of\nthe Master, began to introduce one after another all the people of Puri,\nsaying, \"All these men have been residing in the Nilachal in eager\nlonging to meet you. They have fared like the thirsty _chatak_ bird that\ncries in anguish for water. All were determined [to see you]. This one\nis Janardan, a constant attendant on the person of Jagannath. This other\nis Krishna-das who holds the golden rod [in the temple]. Here is\nShikhi Mahanti, the officer in charge of the [temple] secretariate.\nThis, Pradyumna Mishra, is foremost among Vaishnavs, and he waits on\nJagannath during the god's sleep. Murari Mahanti, the brother of Shikhi\nMahanti, has no refuge save your feet. [These are] Chandaneshwar,\nSingheshwar, Murari Brahman, and Vishnu-das, all of whom meditate on\nyour feet. Here are the high-minded Praharaj Mahapatra, and his kinsman\nParamananda Mahapatra. These Vaishnavs are the ornaments of this holy\nplace, and all devotedly intent on your feet.\" They all prostrated\nthemselves on the ground before the Master, who graciously held them to\nHis bosom.\n\nJust then came there Bhabananda Ray, with his four sons; and they all\nfell at the Master's feet. Sarvabhauma introduced them, \"This is\nBhabananda Ray whose eldest son is Ramananda Ray.\" The Master embraced\nhim and spoke in praise of Ramananda adding, \"One cannot adequately\ndescribe to the world the greatness of him whose son is a jewel like\nRamananda. Truly, you are Pandu, your wife is Kunti, and your five\nhigh-souled sons are the five Pandav brothers.\" The Ray replied, \"I am a\nShudra, a worldling and a wretch. That you have touched me is the only\nholy thing [about me]. I lay down at your feet myself with my house,\nbelongings, servants, and five sons. This youth Vaninath will constantly\nwait on you, to do whatever you bid him. Know me as your own, feel no\ndelicacy, but order whatever you desire.\" The Master answered, \"What\ndelicacy can there be? You are not a stranger to me. In birth after\nbirth you with your family have been my servants. In some five days\nRamananda will arrive here. His society will complete my bliss.\" So\nsaying He embraced the father, while the four sons laid their heads at\nHis feet. They were all sent home, only Vaninath Patta Nayak was\nretained by the Master.\n\nBhattacharya sent away the other people. Thereafter the Master called\nfor deaf Krishna-das, and said \"Listen, Bhattacharya, to the story of\nthis man. He had accompanied me to the South, but left me to join the\ntribe of Bhattamari. But I rescued him from their hands. Having brought\nhim back here I give him his discharge. Let him go wherever he likes; I\nhave no longer any concern with him.\" At this Krishna-das set up a\nlamentation. When the Master went away for His noonday worship,\nNityananda, Jagadananda, Mukunda, and Damodar laid their heads together,\nsaying, \"We have to send a messenger to Bengal to report the Master's\narrival to His mother. Adwaita, Shribas and others of the faithful will\nall flock hither on hearing of His return. Let us send Krishna-das (for\nthe purpose).\" With this they consoled Krishna-das.\n\nNext day they prayed to the Master, \"Allow us to send a man to Bengal,\nas mother Shachi, Adwaita and other devotees have all been plunged in\nconcern since they heard of your setting out for the South. Let a man go\nand give them the glad tidings (of your safe return).\" The Master\nassented, \"Do as you like.\" So they sent Krishna-das to Bengal, with a\npresent of the _maha-prasad_ for the Vaishnavs there.\n\nDeaf Krishna-das reached Bengal, saw mother Shachi at Navadwip, bowed,\nand gave her the _maha-prasad_ and the news of the Master's return from the\nSouth. The mother rejoiced at the news, and so did the faithful led by\nShribas. Then Krishna-das went to the house of Adwaita Acharya, gave him\nthe _prasad_, bowed, and told him all about the Master. The Acharya in\nrapture danced, sang, and shouted for a long time. How shall I name all\nthe flock who exulted at the news,--Haridas Thakur, Vasudev Datta, Murari\nGupta, Shivananda, Acharya Ratna, Pandit Vakreshwar, Acharya Nidhi, the\nPandits Gadadhar, Shriram, Damodar, Shriman, and Raghav, Vijay,\nShridhar, and Acharya Nandan. They all went in a body to Adwaita, bowed\nat his feet, and were clasped to his bosom. Two or three days were spent\nby the Acharya in great rejoicing (with them), and then he confirmed the\ndesire to make a pilgrimage to the Nilachal. Gathering together at\nNavadwip, they set off for Jagannath with mother Shachi's leave. At the\nreport about the Master, Satyaraj and Ramananda from the Kulin village\njoined them, and so did Mukunda and Narahari from Raghunandan Khand.\nJust then Paramananda Puri arrived at Nadia from the South, travelling\nalong the banks of the Ganges. He lodged in comfort in the temple of\nmother Shachi, who honourably fed him. On hearing there of the Master's\nreturn, the Puri too wished to hasten to the Nilachal. He set off\nthither with the Master's devotee, the Brahman Kamalakanta, and soon\narrived in the Master's presence, who rejoiced at the meeting and\nlovingly saluted his feet, while the Puri embraced Him.\n\nThe Master said, \"I long to live in thy company. Make the Nilachal thy\nabode, as thou lovest me.\" The Puri replied, \"It is because I desire\nyour society that I came hither from Bengal. The news of your return\nfrom the South has gladdened the heart of Shachi. The other devotees are\ncoming to see you, but as they made delay I had started quickly (before\nthem).\" The Master assigned to the Puri a retired room in Kashi Mishra's\nhouse and an attendant.\n\nNext day arrived Swarup Damodar, who had touched the inmost recess of\nthe Master's spirit. His name in the world was Purushottam Acharya, and\nhe waited on the Master at Navadwip. Wild at the Master's renunciation\nof the world, he went to Benares and turned monk there. His _guru_,\nChaitanyananda, bade him study the _Vedanta_ and expound it to the people.\nHe was totally withdrawn from the world and a deep scholar, having taken\nrefuge in Krishna with all his body and soul. He had turned _sannyasi_, in\na wild longing to worship Krishna in freedom from every (earthly)\nthought and care. As a _sannyasi_ he cast off his sacred thread and took\nthe tonsure, but did not put on the yogi's dress. Swarup was the new\nname given to him. With his _guru's_ permission he came to the Nilachal,\nbeing day and night out of his senses in the bliss of loving Krishna. He\nwas a perfect scholar, holding converse with none, and living in\nseclusion unknown to the world, He had known the mystery of the love of\nKrishna; his very body was a picture of love; he seemed the exact second\nself of the Master. Every book, verse, or song brought to the Master had\nto be first examined by Swarup before He would hear it. The Master took\nno delight in compositions that clashed with the theory of _bhakti_ and\nlacked the spirit of delight (_ras_). So, Swarup Goswami tasted books and\nread to the Master only such as were correct. Vidyapati, Chandidas and\n_Git-Govinda_ were the poetry that delighted the Master. Damodar surpassed\nothers, as he was a veritable gandharva in musical skill and a\nVrihaspati in Shastric lore. He was a darling to Adwaita and Nityananda,\nand the very life of Shribas and other faithful ones.\n\nSuch was Damodar who came and prostrating him self clasped the Master's\nfeet while he recited stanza 20 of Act VIII. of the drama\n_Chaitanya-chandrodaya_.\n\nThe Master raised and embraced him. The two swooned away in ecstasy.\nAfter a while regaining composure the Master began thus: \"I have dreamt\nthat you would come to-day. It is good (that you have come); I am like a\nblind man who has got back his two eyes.\" Swarup answered, \"Pardon my\nsin, Master I erred grievously when I left you and sought another\n(_guru_). I had not a particle of faith in your feet, but, sinner that I\nwas, I had left you to go to another country! I had no doubt left you,\nbut _you_ did not forsake me. Thy grace has been a chain round my neck,\ndragging me to thy feet.\"\n\nThen Swarup bowed at Nityananda's feet, who lovingly embraced him. He\nalso did due courtesy as he met Jagadananda, Mukunda, Shankar,\nSarvabhauma, and Paramananda Puri. The Master gave him a quiet room with\na servant to draw water and do other services.\n\nOne day the Master sat surrounded by Sarvabhauma and other faithful\nones, holding sweet discourse on Krishna, when Govinda arrived,\nprostrated himself, and said, \"I am Govinda, a servant of Ishwar Puri,\nat whose bidding I have come to you. The Puri, when attaining to _siddhi_\n(death) told me to go and serve Krishna-Chaitanya. Kashishwar will come\n(here) after visiting holy places. At my Master's bidding I have\nhastened to your feet.\" To this the Master replied, \"Ishwar Puri loved\nme like a son, and has sent you to me as a favour.\" At this Sarvabhauma\nasked, \"How could the Puri retain a Shudra attendant?\" The Master\nanswered, \"God is supremely independent. His mercy is not bound by (the\nrules of) the Vedas. God's grace defies caste and family distinctions.\"\nWitness how Krishna dined at the house of Bidur. Love and service are\nmere instruments of Krishna's mercy. When actuated by mercy He acts\nindependently [of the conventions of religion]. Loving treatment is a\nmillion times more blissful than dignity. The very hearing of it gives\nintense delight.\"\n\nSo saying the Master embraced Govinda, who then bowed at the feet of\nall. The Master spoke, \"Bhattacharya, solve this problem: the very\nservant of my _guru_ is honourable to me, and it is not seemly that he\nshould serve me. And yet the _guru_ has commanded it. What should I do?\"\nThe Bhatta answered, \"A _guru's_ command is most strong, and the Shastras\ndirect us not to violate it. Witness the _Raghuvamsa_, xiv. 53, and\nValmiki's _Ramayan_, Ayodhya-kanda, xxii. 9.\"\n\nThen the Master consented and permitted Govinda to serve His body. All\nhonoured him as the Master's favourite attendant, while Govinda made\narrangements for all the Vaishnavs. He was accompanied by the two\nHaridases (who were surnamed the greater and lesser chanters), Ramai and\nNandai, in tending the Master. Govinda's good fortune baffles\ndescription.\n\nOne day Mukunda Datta said to the Master, \"Brahmananda Bharati has come\nto see you. Permit me to bring him hither.\" But He replied, \"The Bharati\nis my guru. It is I who should go to him.\" So saying, He went to\nBrahmananda, with all His followers. At the sight of Brahmananda clad in\ndeer skin, the Master grieved at heart, pretended not to have observed\nhim, and asked Mukunda where the Bharati was. Mukunda replied, \"Here,\nbefore you!\" But the Master objected, \"You do not know. It is not he,\nbut somebody else whom you are ignorantly pointing out. Why should the\nBharati Goswami wear a skin?\" At this Brahmananda inly reflected, \"He\nlikes not my robe of deer skin. He has spoken well. A skin is worn as a\nmark of pride (of asceticism). The wearing of it cannot give me\nsalvation from the World. Henceforth I shall renounce this garment.\" The\nMaster learnt of his thought, and had a cloth brought, which Brahmananda\nput on after discarding the skin. Then the Master bowed at his feet, but\nthe Bharati objected saying, \"These your acts are for instructing the\npeople. Never bow down to me again, it frightens me. Here are now two\ngods, _viz._, Jagannath the stationary, and you the moving god. You are\nthe fair god, while Jagannath is the dark deity. These two (between\nthem) have redeemed the world.\" The Master demurred, \"The truth is that\nyour coming has revealed two Brahmas at Purushottam: your name is\nBrahmananda, and (you are) the fair-coloured moving Brahma, while\nJagannath is the dark and motionless one.\" The Bharati cried out, \"Be\nthou the judge between us, Sarvabhauma, and attend to my logical dispute\nwith Him. The Shastras tell us that creation is _vyapya_, while Brahma is\n_vyapak_.\n\nHe has reformed me by taking away my skin robe. This shows that one is\n_vyapya_ and the other is _vyapak_. _Vide Mahabharat_, Dan-parva, ch. 149,\nstanza 1091. To the Master truly belong those (divine) epithets,\nsandal-pasted _prasad_, _dor_, two-armed _Angad_.\" Bhattacharya replied, \"O\nBharati, the victory is thine, as I see.\" The Master said, \"Whatever you\nsay must be true. In a logical disputation, the disciple must always\nyield to the _guru_.\" But the Bharati objected, \"No, no, the reason (of my\nvictory) is otherwise. It is thy nature to admit defeat at the hands of\nthy _bhaktas_. Listen to another feat of thine. All my life I had\nworshipped the formless Deity, but when I saw thee, Krishna became\nmanifest before my eyes. Krishna's name broke forth from my lips,\nKrishna's image was stamped on my heart and eye. My soul thirsts for\nthee as thou resemblest Krishna. My condition is truly like that of\nBillamangal, as described in the _Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu_.\"\n\nThe Master rejoined, \"Deep is your love of Krishna, so that whatever\nyour eye glances on, you see a Krishna there.\" Bhattacharya replied,\n\"Yes, but only after Krishna had first revealed himself in the flesh.\nLove alone can enable us to see him. His favour is the (only) means of\nseeing him.\" The Master cried out, \"Holy God! Holy God! what art thou\nsaying, Sarvabhauma? Your praise in hyperbole is satire in disguise.\" So\nsaying He led the Bharati to His own house and lodged him there. Ram\nBhattacharya and Bhagaban Acharya waited on the Master, leaving all\nother works.\n\nAnother day Kashishwar Goswami arrived and was honourably lodged by the\nMaster with Himself. He used to escort the Master to the temple of\nJagannath, removing the crowd from before Him. As all rivers and brooks\nunite in the ocean, so did the Master's worshippers, wherever they might\nhave been, all come together at His feet. He graciously kept them at His\nhouse. Thus have I described the Master's assembling of Vaishnavs.\n[Text, canto 10.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nThe Grand Chanting (Bera Kirtan)\n\nOne day Sarvabhauma said, \"Master, may I make bold to submit a thing?\"\nHe replied, \"Say thy say without hesitation. If it is a proper request,\nI shall keep it, if not, not.\" Sarvabhauma said, \"Here is Pratap Rudra\nRay, eager to meet you.\" The Master clapped His hands to His ears,\nmurmured an appeal to God, and replied, \"Why such an improper speech,\nSarvabhauma? I am a hermit withdrawn from the world. For me to meet a\nking or a woman is fatal like a draught of poison.\"\n\nSarvabhauma entreated, \"True are thy words. But this Raja is a votary of\nJagannath and the chief of devotees.\" \"Still, a king is only the deadly\nsnake in another form, just as the touch of even the wooden statue of a\nwoman causes mental perturbation. Say not so again. If you do, you will\nmiss me from this place.\" Alarmed, Sarvabhauma retired to his own house.\n\nAt this time King Pratap Rudra of the Gajapati dynasty arrived at Puri.\nWith him came Ramananda Ray, who first of all interviewed the Master in\ngreat delight. The Ray prostrated himself, the Master embraced him, and\nthe two shed tears of joy. At this loving intercourse, all the _bhaktas_\nwondered. The Ray said, \"I reported your behest to my king, who relieved\nme of my office, as you wished. I told him that if he would let me I\nshould remain at Chaitanya's feet, as I no longer wished to manage\naffairs (of state). At the mention of thy name the king in delight rose\nfrom his throne and embraced me. On hearing thy name he was enraptured;\nhe held my hand and very graciously told me, 'Enjoy your salary as\nbefore, and adore Chaitanya's feet in freedom from all cares. I,\nworthless wretch, am unfit to behold Him. Blessed are they in life that\nadore Him. Right gracious is He, the son of Braja's lord. In some other\nbirth He will certainly grant me the sight of Him.' I myself have not a\ntithe of the passion of devotion which I saw in the Raja.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"You are the foremost of the adorers of Krishna. He\nis fortunate who loves you. Krishna will accept the Raja because of the\ngreat favour he has shown to you. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. xix. 21, III. vii.\n20, and two verses from the _Adi Puran_ and the _Padma Puran_.\"\n\nThe Ray bowed at the feet of the four apostles, _viz._, the Puri, the\nBharati, Swarup and Nityananda, and properly met Jagadananda, Mukunda,\nand the other faithful ones. The Master asked, \"Ray! have you visited\nJagannath?\" The Ray replied, \"I am going to see the god now.\" At this\nthe Master cried out, \"What hast thou done, Ray? Why did you come to me\nbefore visiting the god?\" The Ray answered, \"My feet are my carriage, my\nheart is the driver; wherever they take me I, as rider, must go. What\ncan I do? My heart brought me hither, and did not suggest the idea of\nvisiting Jagannath first.\" The Master replied, \"Hasten to see the god;\ngo to your kindred and home afterwards.\" At the Master's command the Ray\nwent to see the god. Who can fathom the mystery of the Ray's devotion?\n\nOn reaching Puri, the king summoned Sarvabhauma, and after bowing to him\nasked, \"Did you submit my prayer to the Master?\" Sarvabhauma replied, \"I\nhave entreated Him hard, but He still refuses to grant interview to\nkings. If we press Him further He will go away from this place.\" At this\nthe king lamented, \"His advent is for redeeming the sinful and the\nlowly. He has saved Jagai and Madhai. Has He incarnated Himself with the\ndetermination to deliver the whole world excepting Pratap Rudra, alone?\nWell, He has vowed not to see me, and I now vow to give up this life if\nI cannot see Him. If I am not rich in the great Master's grace, what\nboots my kingdom, my body? Everything is useless to me.\"\n\nHearing this Sarvabhauma grew alarmed, and he marvelled at the ardour of\nthe king's devotion. So he said, \"My liege! grieve not. The Master will\nsurely take pity on you. He can be compelled by love, and your love is\nmost profound; He cannot help doing you grace. Still, I suggest a device\nby which you can see Him. At the Car Festival, the Master with all His\nfollowers will dance in rapture in front of Jagannath's car, and enter\nthe garden in an ecstatic mood. Just then, clad in a plain robe and\nreciting the _Krishna-rasa-panchadhyayi_ all alone, you will run and clasp\nthe Master's feet. He will then be oblivious of the outer world, and on\nhearing Krishna's name will embrace you as a Vaishnav. To-day Ramananda\nRay has lauded your devotion to the Master, whose mind has been turned\nby it.\"\n\nAt these words the king rejoiced and accepted this plan of meeting with\nthe Master. He learnt from the Bhatta that the Bathing Festival would\noccur three days afterwards. Thus consoling the king, the Bhatta\nreturned home.\n\nAt the Bathing Festival, the Master greatly rejoiced to see the\nceremony; but when Jagannath withdrew to retirement, He deeply mourned\nfor it, and in anguish of separation, like the milkmaids during\nKrishna's absence, He retired to Alalnath, leaving His followers behind.\nThey afterwards joined Him, and reported that many of the faithful had\narrived from Bengal. Sarvabhauma brought the Master back to His quarters\nin Puri, and informed the king of the fact. Just then Gopinath Acharya\narrived at the Court, blessed the king, and said, \"Hark thee,\nBhattacharya, two hundred Vaishnavs are coming from Bengal,--all of them\nfollowers of the Master and very spiritual personages. They have\nappeared in the city. Arrange for their being given lodgings and\nconsecrated food.\" The king replied, \"I shall order the _Parichha_, to\nassign them lodgings &c., as they require. Show me, Bhattacharya, the\nMaster's followers arrived from Bengal, one by one.\" The Bhatta said,\n\"Climb to the roof of the palace. Gopinath will point them out as he knows\nthem all, I know none, though I long to do so. Gopinath will introduce\neach.\" So saying the three ascended to the roof, while the Vaishnavs came\nnear them. Damodar Swarup and Govinda, sent on by the Master, welcomed the\nVaishnavs on the way with the god's garlands and _prasad_. To the Rajah's\nquery Bhattacharya said, \"This one is Swarup Damodar, the _alter ego_ of\nthe Master. That is His servant Govinda. By their hands has He sent the\ngarlands as a mark of honour.\" Swarup and Govinda successively garlanded\nAdwaita and bowed to him. But the Acharya knew not Govinda and asked who\nhe was. Damodar Swarup answered \"He is Govinda, a highly meritorious\nservant of Ishwar Puri, who had ordered him to tend our Master, and by\nHim is Govinda now retained.\"\n\nThe king asked, \"Who is the high spiritual chief to whom both have given\ngarlands?\" The Acharya replied, \"He is Adwaita Acharya, respected by our\nMaster and highly honoured by all. That one is Shribas Pandit, and those\nare Vakreshwar Pandit, Vidyanidhi Acharya, Gadadhar Pandit, Acharya\nRatna, Purandar Acharya, Gangarlas Pandit, Shankar Pandit, Murari Gupta,\nNara-yan Pandit, Haridas Thakur (the purifier of the world), Hari\nBhatta, Nrisinghananda, Vasudev Datta, Shivananda, Govinda, Madhav, Vasu\nGhosh (three brothers, whose chanting delights the Master), Raghav\nPandit, Acharya Nandan, Shriman Pandit, Shrikanta Narayan, Shridhar (the\nwhite robed), Vijay, Vallabh Sen, Sanjay, Satyaraj Khan (a resident of\nKulin village), Ramananda, Mukunda-das, Narahari, Raghunandan, Chiranjib\n(of Khanda), Sulochan, and many more. How can I name them all? They all\nfollow Chaitanya and hold Him as their life.\"\n\nThe king answered, \"The sight fills me with wonder. I have never before\nbeheld such radiance among Vaishnavs. They are all resplendent of hue\nlike a million Suns. Never before have I heard such entrancing street\nsinging. Nowhere else have I seen such devotion, such dancing, such\nshouting of Hari's name, and nowhere else have I seen or heard the like\nof it.\"\n\nBhattacharya said, \"True are thy words. Chaitanya has created this\ndevotional procession-singing (_sankirtan_). His incarnation is for\npreaching religion; in the Kali age the _sankirtan_ of Krishna's name is\nthe (only) religion. Wise are those who worship Krishna by means of\n_sankirtan_; all other men are overpowered by the spirit of Kali. _Vide\nBhagabat_, XI. v. 29\".\n\nThe king asked, \"The Shastras prove that Chaitanya is Krishna\n(incarnate). Why then do scholars turn away from Him?\" The Bhatta\nanswered, \"He alone whom Chaitanya favours even a bit can know Him as\nKrishna. He who has not Chaitanya's grace is nowise a scholar, as he\nsees and hears Chaitanya without recognizing the God in Him. _Vide\nBhagabat_, X. xiv. 28.\"\n\nThe king asked, \"Why are they all hastening to Chaitanya's lodgings\nwithout first visiting Jagannath?\" The Bhatta replied, \"Such is the\nnatural consequence of devotion. Their hearts are yearning to see the\nMaster. They will see Him first, and then led by Him will visit\nJagannath.\" The king next said, \"Vaninath, the son of Bhabananda Ray, is\nconveying the _maha-prasad_ by five or six porters to the Master's\nhouse. Why is such a huge quantity needed?\" The Bhatta answered,\n\"Knowing that the faithful were coming, the Master had bidden him bring\nthe _prasad_\". The king objected, \"It is the custom for pilgrims to\nfast on reaching a holy place (before they see the god). But why are\nthese men breaking their fast?\" The Bhatta answered, \"What you mention\nis the rule of religion. But in this path of devotion there is a subtle\ninner meaning. God's indirect (or general) command is that pilgrims\nshould first shave their heads and fast. But the Master's direct (or\nimmediate) order is feasting on the _prasad_. Where the _maha-prasad_\nis not available, fasting is the rule; but it is a sin to refuse the\n_prasad_ when the Master bids one eat it; especially when He is\ndistributing it with His own hands, who will reject such blessedness in\norder to fast? Before this He had one morning offered me the _prasad_,\nand I had eaten it before rising from my bed! He whose heart receives\nChaitanya's gracious call discards the Vedas and conventional religion,\nand seeks refuge in Krishna alone. _Vide Bhagabat_, IV. xxix. 43.\"\n\nThen the king descended from the palace terrace. He summoned Kashi\nMishra and the _Parichha_ officer and bade them, \"The Master's followers\nhave come to Him. Give them food and board to their comfort, and make it\neasy for them to see the god. Heedfully obey the Master's behests. Even\nwhen He does not speak out, carry out His hinted purpose.\" So saying he\ndismissed them.\n\nSarvabhauma then went away to visit the temple. Gopinath Acharya and\nSarvabhauma from afar beheld how the Master met the Vaishnavs. The\nVaishnavs (from Bengal) took the way to Kashi Mishra's house, leaving\nJagannath's lion-gate on their right. Just then the Master coming with\nHis attendants met them on the way in great glee. Adwaita bowed at His\nfeet, but He embraced him. In rapture of devotion the two were greatly\nexcited, but in consideration of the occasion the Master composed\nHimself somewhat. The new arrivals all bowed to Him, and He embraced and\naddressed each of them in turn, took them inside His house (which was\nfilled with the throng of countless Vaishnavs), seated them by Himself,\nand personally gave them garlands and sandal-paste. Then Gopinath and\nSarvabhauma arrived there and saluted all in proper terms.\n\nSweetly did the Master address Adwaita, \"Thy coming has made me complete\nto-day.\" But Adwaita objected, \"Such is the nature of God. He is full\nand the source of all power, and yet He exults in the society of the\nfaithful and ever disports in many ways with them.\"\n\nThe Master, delighted to meet Vasudev, stroked his body and said,\n\"Mukunda has beeh my companion from my childhood. But the sight of you\ngives me even more delight.\" Vasudev replied, \"That Mukunda has gained\nyour society is a second birth to him. Therefore is his rank higher than\nmine, though I am his elder brother. Your grace has made him excel in\nall virtues.\" Then the Master added, \"I have brought two manuscripts\nfrom the South for you. They are with Swarup; take copies of them.\"\nVasudev was pleased to get the books, and every Vaishnav (from Bengal)\ntook a copy of them; so that gradually the two works spread everywhere.\n\nLovingly did the Master address Shribas and others, \"You four brothers\nhave bought me (with your kindness),\" to which Shribas replied, \"Why do\nyou speak just the contrary of the fact? We four are bondsmen purchased\nby your grace.\"\n\nSeeing Shankar, the Master spoke to Damodar [his elder brother], \"My\nlove for you is mixed with respect, whereas towards Shankar I feel pure\naffection. Therefore keep him in your company.\" Damodar replied,\n\"Shankar was born after me, but your grace has made him my elder\nbrother.\"\n\nTo Shivananda He said, \"I knew before [this your first introduction to\nme] that you were ardently devoted to me.\" At these words Shivananda was\nenraptured; he prostrated himself on the ground and recited an extempore\nSanskrit stanza.\n\nMurari Gupta, without coming to the Master at first, lay prostrate out\nof doors. The Master searched for him, and many ran out to bring Murari\nin. Murari presented himself before the Master holding two blades of\ngrass between his teeth as a mark of abject humility. As the Master\nadvanced to yyelcome him, Murari stepped back shouting, Touch me not,\nLord, I am a sinner, my body is unworthy of your touch.\" The Master\nreplied, \"Away with your lowliness, Murari; the sight of it pierces my\nheart.\" So saying He embraced Murari, seated him by His side and patted\nhim on the back.\n\nSimilarly, with words of praise and repeated embraces did the Master\nreceive Acharya Ratna, the Vidyanidhi, Gadadhar Pandit, Gangadas, Hari\nBhatta, and Purandar Acharya. Then He asked, \"Where is Haridas?\" But\nHaridas lay prostrate far away on the edge of the public road, whence he\nhad first beheld Chaitanya. He had not resorted to the Master's\nreception, but stopped at a distance. The devotees hurried there to lead\nhim in, but Haridas said, \"I am a low person, of no caste, and debarred\nfrom going close to the temple. If I can get a little retired space in\nthe garden, I shall lie there and pass my time in loneliness, so that no\nservitor of Jagannath may have anv occasion to touch me. That is my\nprayer.\"\n\nAt the report of this speech the Master was pleased. Just then Kashi\nMishra and the _Parichha_ arrived and did obeisance to the Master.\nDelighted to see so many Vaishnavs, they were introduced to all with due\ncourtesy. Then they entreated the Master, \"Permit us to make\narrangements for these Vaishnavs. We have chosen lodgings for all and\nshall serve them with the _maha-prasad_.\" The Master replied, \"Gopinath!\ntake the Vaishnavs with you and bestow them in the lodgings chosen for\nthem. Deliver the _maha-prasad_ to Vaninath, who will distribute it to\nall. Close to my place is a very lonely house in this flower-garden. Let\nme have it, as I need it for lonely meditation.\" Then Mishra said, \"All\nis thine, and this begging is needless. Take whatever houses you please.\nWe two are slaves waiting for your bidding. Be pleased to command us in\nwhatever you wish for.\"\n\nThe two now left with Gopinath and Vaninath; the former was shown all\nthe lodging-houses, and the latter was given immense quantities of the\n_maha-prasad_ (for the whole party). Thereafter Vaninath returned with the\nconsecrated rice and cakes, and Gopinath after cleaning the lodgings.\nThe Master said, \"Hear, all ye Vaishnavs! Go to your respective\nlodgings. After bathing in the ocean and gazing at the pinnacle of the\ntemple, come here for your dinner.\" After bowing to the Master, they\nwere led away to their quarters by Gopinath.\n\nThen He came to receive Haridas, who was chanting God's name in rapture.\nHaridas fell flat at the Master's feet, who clasped him to His bosom.\nBoth wept in fervour of love,--the Master overcome by the disciple's\nmerits and the disciple by the Master's. Haridas cried, \"Touch me not,\nMaster, I am a low untouchable wretch.\" But the Master answered, \"I\ntouch you to be purified myself, because I lack your pure religion.\nEvery moment you acquire as much piety as by bathing in all holy places,\nor by performing sacrifice, austerities, and alms-giving, or by reading\nthe Vedas. You are holier than a Brahman or a _sannyasi_! _Vide\nBhagabat_ III. xxxiii. 7.\" So saying He took Haridas into the garden\nand gave him a room all apart, adding, \"Live here, chanting His name.\nDaily will I come and join thee. Bow to the discus on the top of the\ntemple of Jagannath (which you can see from here). The _prasad_ will be\nsent to you here.\" Nityananda, Jagadananda, Damodar, and Mukunda\nrejoiced on meeting with Haridas.\n\nAfter bathing in the sea the Master returned to His quarters. Adwaita\nand his party also bathed in the sea, gazed (reverently) at the pinnacle\nof the temple, and came to the Master's house for dinner. Chaitanya\nseated them in proper order and Himself distributed the food. So lavish\nwas His hand that He gave two or three men's food to each. But all the\nfaithful held their hands back from the dinner so long as the Master\nfasted. Swarup reported this to Him, saying, Unless you sit down to\nmeal, none else will dine. Gopinath Acharya has invited the party of\n_sannyasis_ to dine with you. He has brought the _prasad_, and the\nPuri and Bharati were waiting for you. Do you sit down to dinner with\nNityananda, while I serve the Vaishnavs.\" Then the Master carefully sent\nthe _prasad_ to Haridas by the hand of Govinda, and Himself sat at\nmeals with all the _sannyasis_, while the Acharya served them in\ndelight. Swarup Damodar and Jagadananda served the Vaishnavs, who ate\nall sorts of cakes and syrups, joyously shouting Hari's name every now\nand then.\n\nAfter they had dined and washed their hands, the Master gave each a\ngarland and a sandal-paste mark. They then retired to their lodgings for\nrest. In the evening they came to Him again, when Ramananda also\narrived. The Master introduced him to all the Vaishnavs. With the whole\nparty He went to Jagannath's temple, and began to chant (_kirtan_).\nAfter the burning of evening incense He began a _sankirtan_. The\n_Parichha_ presented Him with a garland and sandal-paste.\n\nFour parties sang on four sides, while in their midst danced Shachi's\ndarling. Eight _dholes_ and 32 cymbals were played on. All shouted\n\"Hari! Hari!\" and cheered. The blissful sound of _kirtan_ penetrated\nthrough the 14 regions to the empyrean. As the _kirtan_ began, devotion\nwelled out; the people of Puri ran thither and marvelled at the singing,\nhaving never seen such transports of love before.\n\nNext the Master went round Jagannath's temple, dancing and singing,\nwhile the four parties of chanters preceded and followed Him. As He was\nfalling down, Nityananda held Him up. Men wondered as they beheld His\nweeping, tremour, perspiration, and deep shouting. The tears ran down\nHis cheeks like jets from a syringe and bathed the men around. After\ndancing round the temple for a long time, He performed _kirtan_ behind\nit, the four parties singing in a high pitch, while Chaitanya danced\nwildly in the middle. After dancing long He stopped and permitted the\nfour Apostles to dance with the four parties, Nityananda, Adwaita\nAcharya, Vakreshwar Pandit, and Shrinibas while the Master from the\ncentre gazed on. Here He manifested a miraculous power: every one who\ndanced around Him saw that the Master was gazing only at him! He\nmanifested this power only because He wished to behold the dance of the\nfour. Every one noticed His attentive gaze but did not know how He could\ngaze on four sides! Just as at the feast on the Jamuna's bank, Krishna\nin the midst of his comrades seemed to be gazing at every one of them at\nthe same time.\n\nAs each came up to Him dancing, the Master firmly clasped him to His\nbosom. The people of Puri swam in a sea of delight as they beheld such\ngrand dancing, devotion, and _sankirtan_. The king himself on hearing of\nthe splendour of the _kirtan_, ascended to the terrace of his palace with\nhis Court to gaze at it. The sight increased his admiration and his\neagerness to be introduced to the Master.\n\nAfter finishing the chanting and beholding the ceremony of showering\nflowers on Jagannath, the Master returned home with all the Vaishnavs.\nThe Parichha brought to Him plenty of prasad which He divided among all.\nThen he dismissed them and retired to bed. All the time they were with\nHim, they daily performed _kirtan_ in this style. [Text, canto n.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nCleansing Jagannath's garden-house\n\nBefore this, when the Master returned from the South, King Pratap Rudra\nGajapati, eager to see Him, wrote to Sarvabhauma from Katak to get the\nMaster's consent to an interview. On Bhattacharya replying that the\nconsent was withheld, the king wrote again, \"Entreat the _bhaktas_ of\nthe Master to intercede with Him for me. Through their favour I may\nreach His feet. I like not my kingship if I cannot gain His grace. If\nChaitanya does not take pity on me, I shall give up my throne and turn a\nreligious mendicant.\" Bhattacharya in great alarm went to the\n_bhaktas_, told them of the king's plight and showed them the letter.\n\nThey marvelled at the king's devotion to the Master and said, \"He will\nnever receive the king. If we entreat Him, it will only grieve Him.\" But\nSarvabhauma said, \"Let us all go to Him. We shall tell Him about the\nking's conduct without pressing Him to grant an interview.\"\n\nSo they all repaired to the Master's presence, eager to speak and yet\nsilent. He asked, \"What is it that you have all come to say? I see you\nhave of something in your minds. Why then do you not speak it out?\"\nNityananda replied, \"We have a prayer to make. We cannot keep it back,\nand yet we fear to speak. Proper or improper we shall report it all to\nyou. If you do not see him the king wishes to turn hermit.\" The Master's\nheart was secretly softened by the speech, but with a show of harshness\nHe said, \"I see that you all wish to take me to see the king at Katak!\nNot to speak of the next world, even the people (of the earth) will\nblame me. Not to speak of other people, even Damodar will condemn me. If\nI ever receive the king it will be with Damodar's approval and not at\nyour request.\" Damodar said, \"You are God and a free being. You know\nbest what is proper (for you) and what is not. How can a petty creature\nlike me lay down the rule to you? I shall witness your granting him an\naudience of your own accord. The king loves you, love compels you,\ntherefore his love will make you touch him. A free God as you are, it is\nyour nature to be swayed by love.\"\n\nNityananda broke in, \"Where is the man that dares bid you interview the\nking? But it is the nature of devoted ones that they give up their lives\nif they fail to obtain the object of their adoration. Witness how the\nsacrificing Brahman's wife gave up her life on failing to go out and see\nKrishna [_Bhagabat_, X. xxiii]. There is one way, however, if you will\nonly listen to it, by which you will not meet the king and yet his life\nwill be saved: give him of thy grace thy wearing apparel, by getting\nwhich he will hold to life.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"You are all highly learned. Do whatever you think\nfit.\" Then Nityananda begged from Govinda one of the _dhotis_ of the\nMaster, and sent it by Sarvabhauma to the king, who gleefully adored the\ncloth as if it were the Master Himself.\n\nThereafter when Ramananda Ray came back from the South and entreated the\nking to let him stay with the Master, the king gladly consented, and\npressed him to entreat the Master, whose favourite he was, to grant him\nan interview. Then the two arrived at Puri, and Ramananda waited on the\nMaster and reported to Him the king's love and devotion. He repeatedly\ntook occasion to mention the subject, being a minister expert in\ndiplomacy, and succeeded in softening the Master's mind.\n\nPratap Rudra could not contain himself in his eagerness, and again\npressed Ramananda, who begged the Master to show His feet only once to\nthe king. But the Master replied, \"Judge for yourself, Ramananda,\nwhether a hermit ought to receive a king. Such an interview ruins a\nhermit in this world and the next, and makes him a butt of ridicule.\"\nRamananda pleaded, \"You are God and your own master; whom fear you? You\nare subject to none!\" The Master replied, \"I am a _sannyasi_ living in\nhuman habitations, and I fear worldly dealings with all my soul and\nbody. Even the most trifling failing of a _sannyasi_ is talked of by\nall men, just as a spot of ink on a white cloth cannot be hidden.\" The\nRay urged, \"You have saved (by your touch) many a sinner, while this\nking is a devotee of God and your _bhakta_.\" The Master parried the\nargument thus, \"Just as a jar full of milk is shunned if it contains\neven one drop of wine, so is Pratap Rudra, clad in all the virtues,\ndefiled by his title of King. Still, if you are keen about it, introduce\nhis son to me. The Shastras say, _the son is one's own self born\nagain_. My interview with the son will be equivalent to a meeting with\nthe father.\"\n\nThe Ray reported it to the king and conducted the Prince to the Master.\nThe royal youth was handsome and dark, clad in a yellow robe and jewels,\n--so that he reminded one of Krishna. On seeing him, the Master thought of\nKrishna, lovingly received him, and said, \"A very pious personage is\nthis youth, the sight of whom makes all men remember the Darling of\nBraja's lord. Blessed am I that I have seen him.\" So saying He\nrepeatedly embraced the Prince, who was transported by the touch and\nbegan to perspire, tremble, weep, exult and stand inert, and (then)\ndanced and wept chanting Krishna's name. The _bhaktas_ present praised his\ngood fortune. Then the Master composed him and bade him come there\ndaily.\n\nThe Ray took the Prince away to the king who rejoiced at his son's\nexploit, and in embracing his son felt the touch of the Master's person\nas it were. Thenceforth the lucky Prince was numbered among the Master's\n_bhaktas_.\n\nSo did He pass His time blissfully in ceaseless _sankirtan_ with His\nfollowers. He was feasted with His companions by the Acharya and others\nsuccessively. Thus some time passed and the day of the Car Festival\napproached. At the outset He called for Kashi Mishra, the _Parichha_\nminister and Sarvabhauma, and smilingly said, \"I beg to undertake the\nservice of cleansing the Gundicha temple.\" The _Parichha_ replied, \"We\nare all your servants, bound to do whatever you wish for. On me has been\nlaid the special command of my king to quickly perform whatever you bid.\nCleaning the temple is not a task worthy of you; but it is one of your\nplayful acts; do whatever you like. But many pitchers and brooms will be\nrequired. Permit me to bring them here to-day.\" So he delivered to the\nMaster a hundred new pitchers and brooms.\n\nNext morning the Master rubbed His followers over with sandal-paste,\ngave each a broom and went with them to the Gundicha temple to clean it.\nFirst He swept and cleaned the inside, the roof, and the throne. The two\ntemples, large and small, were swept and washed, and then the\ndancing-hall in front. The hundred _bhaktas_ plied their brooms, the\nMaster in the middle guiding them by His own manner of sweeping.\nFollowing Him they gleefully chanted Krishna's name while at work. The\ndust covered His fair form; now and then His tears washed the ground.\nThe god's dining-hall was swept and then the court-yard. At last all the\nrooms were cleaned. He made a bundle of the collection of straw, dust\nand pebbles in His outer clothing and threw them outside. So did His\nfollowers, too. The Master said, \"I shall learn the amount of the labour\ndone by each from the size of his bundle of sweepings.\" So their bundles\nwere heaped together, but the Master's own bundle was seen to exceed the\nentire heap.\n\nAfter cleansing the interior, He divided the work again among them,\ntelling them to make the place thoroughly tidy by removing all the fine\ndust, small straws and gravel. He rejoiced to see the cleansing finished\na second time by His party of Vaishnavs. A hundred other followers had\nbeen waiting with a hundred pitchers of water from the outset, for their\nturn. As soon as the Master called for water they placed the hundred\npots before Him. He first washed the temple, top-floor, wall, and the\nthrone in the interior. The water was dashed in earthen cups on to the\ntop, and thus the upper walls were washed. He Himself washed the throne,\nwhile the _bhaktas_ washed the inner shrine, and scrubbed it with their\nown hands. Some poured water on the Master's hands, some on His feet,\nand some covertly drank up the water (so consecrated). Some begged this\nwater from others. After the temple had been cleansed they poured water\ninto the drain and thus the court-yard was submerged. With His own cloth\nthe Master wiped the building and the throne. It took a hundred pitchers\nof water to wash the temple.\n\nThe purified temple became spotless, cool and delicious, like His own\nmind laid bare to view. A hundred filled their pitchers at the tank, or,\nif crowded out, at the well. A hundred _bhaktas_ brought the filled\npitchers in, while another hundred ran off with the empty ones. Only\nNityananda, Adwaita, Swarup, the Bharati, and the Puri did not draw\nwater. (In their hurry) many pitchers were knocked together and broken,\nbut men brought hundreds of new pots to replace them. They shouted\n_Krishna! Krishna!_ as they filled their pots, or broke them, delivered\nthe filled pitchers or begged for new ones. No other word was uttered\nthere; Krishna's name became a mystic word to express all their\ndifferent purposes. In ecstasy of devotion the Master chanted Krishna's\nname and did alone the work of a hundred men, as if He had put forth a\nhundred arms in washing and scrubbing. He also went up to each to\ninstruct him, praising those whose tasks were well done and gravely\nchiding those who were slovenly. \"You have done well, teach others to do\nthe like,\"--at these words of His they were put on the alert and did\ntheir work with all their heart. Then they washed the _Jagmohan_[1] the\ndining room, the dancing-hall, the court-yard, the kitchen, the environs\nof the temple, and all nooks and private places.\n\nJust then an honest simple Bengali emptied his pitcher at the Master's\nfeet and drank the water. At this the Master turned angry and sorry. He\ninly felt pleased, but for the instruction of others outwardly professed\nanger, calling out to Swarup \"Look at the conduct of your _Gauriya_. He\nhas washed my feet in God's temple and drunk the water. From this sin\nwhere can I hope for salvation? Your Bengal man has caused me this\nmisery.\" Then Swarup took the man by the nape of his neck, shoved him\nout of the temple, and on his return entreated the Master to pardon the\nman. The Master was now satisfied. He seated all in two rows and sat in\nthe middle, picking up straws and brambles with His own hands. \"I shall\nsee what a heap the gleaning of each can make. He whose collection is\nsmall must forfeit his cake and syrup to me!\" Thus was the temple made\nclean, cool and pure, like His own mind. The water running down the\ndrain looked like a new river flowing to the ocean.\n\nHe then cleansed the Man-lion temple in and out, rested a little, and\nthen set up dancing. And in the same manner He swept the roads in front\nof the temple. The _bhaktas_ danced around, while the Master danced in\ntheir midst like a raging lion, perspiring, trembling, turning pale,\nbeing thrilled, and roaring. After washing His body He marched in\nadvance, showering down tears, while the _bhaktas_ washed themselves\nclean, like unto the deluge of rain from the clouds in the month of\n_Shravan_. The loud _sankirtan_ filled the sky, the vigorous dance of\nthe Master shook the earth. The resonant singing of Swarup pleased the\nMaster, who danced wildly in delight. After dancing thus, He took rest\nat the proper time.\n\nShri Gopal, the son of the Acharya, when allowed by the Master to dance,\nwas so overcome by devotion that he fell down in a fit. The father\nhurriedly took him up in his arms, and was afflicted to see his\nbreathing stopped. Uttering with a sky-splitting roar the \"spell of\nNrisingha\" he dashed water on the youth's face. But the youth did not\nregain consciousness, in spite of all their efforts. The Acharya wept,\nthe _bhaktas_ wept too. Then the Master laid His hand on the youth's\nbreast and cried out, \"Rise Gopal!\" and lo! at the cry Gopal came round.\nThe _bhaktas_ danced chanting Hari's name.\n\nAfter a short rest, the Master disported with His followers in the tank.\nOn rising from the water He put on dry clothes, bowed to Nrisingha, and\nwent to sit in the garden, with His followers around Him. Then Vaninath,\naccompanied by Kashi Mishra and Tulsi _Parichha_, brought to Him the\n_maha-prasad_, rice, cakes, and syrup, enough to feed five hundred men.\nThe Master delighted at the sight. On the terrace He sat down to meal\nwith the Puri, Brahmananda Bharati, Adwaita Acharya, Nityananda,\nAcharya-Ratna, Acharya-Nidhi, Shribas, Gadadhar, Shankar Nyayacharya,\nRaghav, Vakreshwar and Sarvabhauma. Then the _bhaktas_ sat down in the\nsuccessive terraces below them, in due order. The garden was filled with\nthem. The Master repeatedly called for Haridas, who from afar off\nreplied, \"Partake of thy repast with the _bhaktas_, Master. I am all\ntoo unworthy to sit with thee. Govinda will afterwards give me _prasad_\noutside the gate.\" Knowing his intent, the Master did not press him\nfurther. The food was served up by Swarup, Jagadananda, Damodar,\nKashishwar, Gopinath, Vaninath and Shankar, while the _bhaktas_ shouted\n_Hari! Hari!_ at intervals. The Master remembered the picnic on the\nJamuna bank which Krishna had held of yore. He checked, as inopportune,\nthe rapture of devotion which seized His mind (at the thought), and\nsaid, Serve me with sauce and fry only, and let the _bhaktas_ have the\nsweets. Being omniscient He knew who liked which dish, and directed\nSwarup to serve each according to his taste. Jagadananda, in the course\nof his serving, dropped sweet things unawares on the Master's plate, and\nthough the Master angrily protested, he supplied more by force or\ncunning, as such serving was his delight. As Jagadananda came there on\nhis rounds again and gazed at the sweets he had served before, the\nMaster in fear of him ate a little of them, lest Jagadananda should\nhimself fast! Swarup with his hands full of sweet _prasad_ stood before\nthe Master praying \"Taste a little of this _maha-prasad_ and see what\nJagannath has eaten!\" He placed them on the plate, and the Master moved\nby his kindness, ate a little. Thus did these two _bhaktas_ repeatedly\nshow their wonderful tender regard for Him. Sarvabhauma, who sat at the\nMaster's side, smiled at their loving conduct. The Master ordered sweets\nto be served to Sarvabhauma and repeatedly pressed him to eat. Gopinath\nAcharya placed nice dishes before Sarvabhauma and said sweetly,\n\"Bhattacharya! where is your former line of conduct now? Whence do you\nfeel such supreme bliss? Answer me that.\" Sarvabhauma replied, \"I was a\nsophistical disputant. Your grace has made me attain to this fortune.\nThe Master is the only Gracious One. Who else could have turned a crow\n(like me) into a _garuda_ (the favourite bird of Vishnu)? Formerly I used\nto howl with the sophist jackals, and now out of the same mouth I utter\nKrishna's name! What was my former concourse with externalist logician\ndisciples, and what is this society of saints like merging in the ocean\nwaves!\" The Master said, \"Your devotion to Krishna had already matured\n(before I met you). It is your society that has made us all devoted to\nKrishna!\" There is none like the Master, in the three worlds, to exalt\nthe glory of the _bhakta_ and to soothe a _bhakta's_ heart. Then the\nMaster sent cakes and syrup from the leavings of His plate, to each\n_bhakta_ by name.\n\nAdwaita and Nityananda, sitting together began a mock quarrel, the\nformer saying, \"I have dined in the same row with a hermit (_abadhut_).\nWho knows what my fate will be in the next world? The Master Himself is\na _sannyasi_, and as such is above defilement from food-contact (with a\ncasteless man like an _abadhut_), for so the Shastras say. But I am a\nBrahman householder, and therefore liable to defilement. It has been a\ngreat sin on my part to dine in the same row with a man whose birth,\npedigree, conduct and character are unknown to me!\"\n\nNityananda replied, \"You are Adwaita Acharya. According to the theory of\n_Adwaita_ system (Monism), the duty is abstract _bhakti_. He who\naccepts your theory recognizes only one principle and no second. With\nsuch a person as you have I dined! I know not what led me to join your\ncompany.\" So they wrangled, really praising one another in the garb of\nabuse.\n\nAfter the dinner, the Vaishnavs rose up shouting _Hari_ loudly enough\nto split earth and heaven. The Master gave to each of them a garland\nwith His own hand. Next the waiters, Swarup and the other six, sat down\nto their repast within the room. Govinda laid aside the leavings of the\nMaster's plate, to be given to Haridas. The _bhaktas_ and even Govinda\nhimself took a little of this hallowed food. Various are the sports of\nthe free God, such as this ceremony of washing and cleaning.\n\nFor a fortnight the people had been denied sight of the god Jagannath\n[while his image was being painted anew]; and their grief changed into\njoy when, at the expiry of the period, the eye-painting (i.e., the last\nstage) being over, they could again see him. The Master went thither\nwith all His followers. First marched Kashishwar, making a lane through\nthe crowd, next went Govinda with a bowl of water. In front of the\nMaster walked the Puri and the Bharati, and by His side Swarup and\nAdwaita, the other _bhaktas_ bringing up the rear. Anxiously did He go to\nJagannath's temple and in passion of longing stepped beyond the rules,\nasking to see the fair face of the god in the dining room. The thirsty\neyes of the Master ardently drank in the face of Krishna, like a pair of\nbees sucking in a lotus. The god's eyes surpassed the blooming lotus in\nbeauty, his cheeks flashed radiance like a polished turquoise mirror,\nhis lower lip was sweet as the Bandhuli flower, a light smile spread a\nripple of nectar over his form. As the _bhaktas_ gazed on, the charm of\nthe god's countenance increased every moment; their thirst increased\nwith its gratification; their eyes could not move from that face. Thus\ndid the Master with His following gaze at the god till noon, perspiring,\ntrembling, weeping incessantly, and again checking these outbursts in\norder to have a clearer view of the deity. At the time of _bhog_ He began\nto sing _kirtan_, forgetful of everything else in the bliss of gazing.\nThe _bhaktas_ led Him back to His quarters at noon. The servitors offered\nto the god a double quantity of prasad, knowing that the Car Festival\nwould take place next morning. [Text, canto 12.]\n\n[1] A quadrangle in front of the inner shrine, where the worshippers stand\nwhen gazing on the idol.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nThe Dance before Jagannath's Car.\n\nNext day the Master took care to bathe with His followers before it was\ndawn. Pratap Rudra himself accompanied by his Court showed the Master's\n_bhaktas_ the ceremony of Jagannath leaving his throne to take his seat\nin the car. Girt round by Adwaita, Nityananda and other _bhaktas_, the\nMaster delightedly witnessed the scene. The stout _pandas_ [attendants\non an idol] like so many wild elephants, conveyed Jagannath in their\narms, some holding the god's neck and some his feet. A strong thick rope\nwas fastened to his waist, and the _pandas_ raised the image by pulling\nat the two ends of the rope. Thick and high heaps of cotton were placed\nat different points, and the god was raised from one and quickly rested\non another of them; but the touch of his feet broke up the heaps and\nscattered the cotton with a loud sound. (In fact) Jagannath supports the\nuniverse; who can move him? He moves of his own will, to disport\nhimself. Shouts of \"Great Lord! Master! Master!\" rose up, but nothing\ncould be heard amidst the clang of many instruments of music. Then\nPratap Rudra, with his own hands, swept the path with a golden\nbroom-stick, and sprinkled sandal water on the ground. He was a king\naccustomed to sit on the throne, but in as much as being so high he did\nsuch lowly services, he gained Jagannath's grace. The Master rejoiced at\nthe sight, and this lowly service of the king gained for him the\nMaster's regard.\n\nMen marvelled as they beheld the trappings of the car. It was covered\nwith fresh gold and high as the Sumeru mountain. Hundreds of\nfly-whiskers and polished mirrors hung from it; above were flags and a\npure canopy. The _ghagar_ rattled, bells jingled on it. Many coloured\nsilk cloths covered it. Jagannath mounted one car, Subhadra and Balaram\ntwo others.\n\nFor fifteen days had Jagannath remained (behind a screen), dallying in\nsecret with Lakshmi, and now with her leave he came out for a ride in\nhis car to give delight to his adorers. The fine white sand on the road\nsuggested a river bank, and the gardens on both sides made the place\nlook like Brindaban. Jagannath went along in his car, pleased with what\nhe saw on both sides. Bengali athletes dragged the car joyfully. It sped\nat one time, slackened at another, and sometimes stopped altogether. In\nfact it moved of its own will, and not under the force of men.\n\nThen the Master with His own hands gave to the _bhaktas_ sandal paste\nand garlands Then He divided the chanters (_kirtanias_) into four\nparties, consisting in all of 24 singers and eight men playing on the\n_khol_, their chiefs being Swarup and Shribas. Then He bade Nityananda,\nAdwaita, Haridas, and Vakreshwar dance. In the first party Swarup was\nthe leading singer, while the other five were Damodar, Narayan, Govinda\nDatta, Raghav Pandit and Shri Govindananda; with them danced Adwaita. Of\nthe second party the spokesman was Shribas, his followers being\nGangadas, Haridas, Shriman, Shuvananda, and Shri Ram Pandit. Here danced\nNityananda. Mukunda led the third party, consisting of Vasudev,\nGopinath, Murari, Shrikanta, and Vallabh Sen, with Haridas Thakur as the\ndancer. The fourth party was composed of Haridas, Vishnudas, Raghav,\nMadhav Ghosh and his brother Vasudev Ghosh, their leader being Govinda\nGhosh, and their dancer Vakreshwar Pandit. Other parties of _kirtan_\nsingers were formed by the pilgrims from the Kulin village, (with\nRamananda and Satyaraj as their dancers), the Acharyas of Shantipur\n(with Achyutananda as their dancer), the men of Khand (with Narahari and\nShri Raghunandan as their dancers). In short four parties preceded the\ncar of Jagannath, two walked on the flanks, and one in the rear. These\nseven parties played on 14 _khols_ in all, the music of which maddened\nthe Vaishnavs present. The cloud of Vaishnav enthusiasm melted in\nshowers, their eyes dropped tears along with the nectar of _kirtan_.\nThe shout of _kirtan_ filled the three worlds and drowned all other\nsounds. The Master visited the seven positions shouting \"Hari\" and\n\"Glory to Jagannath!\" with uplifted arms.\n\nAnother miracle did He manifest: at the same moment He was present with\nall the seven parties, so that each cried out, \"The Master is with us.\nOut of His grace for us He has not gone elsewhere.\" No one can describe\nthe inscrutable power of the Master, only the pure-souled esoteric\n_bhakta_ can know it.\n\nJagannath, pleased with the _sankirtan_, stopped his car. At this\nPratap Rudra marvelled exceedingly and became overcome with excess of\ndevotion. He spoke of the Master's greatness to Kashi Mishra, who\nreplied, \"You are, O King, fortunate beyond limit.\" The king and\nSarvabhauma exchanged glances, as none else knew the secret manipulation\nof Chaitanya;--only those whom He favours can know Him; without His\ngrace even Brahma cannot recognize Him. He had been delighted with the\nlowly service done by the king, and for that reason had revealed His\nmystery to him. True, He had shown Himself to the king only indirectly;\nbut who can pierce through this illusion of Chaitanya? Sarvabhauma and\nKashi Mishra were amazed at the grace shown to the king.\n\nThus did the Master play for some time, singing and making His followers\ndance, now assuming one form, now many, ever putting forth His powers\naccording to the work to be done. In the ardour of play He forgot\nHimself, and wished not to put a stop to it. Every moment did He do\nsupernatural feats, as He had in a preceding birth performed _rasa_ and\nother sports at Brindaban.\n\nDancing thus, the Master swept the people away on the wave of enthusiasm\nAs Jagannath was going to the Gundicha garden-house, the Master\nperformed _kirtan_ before the god for a long time. First He made His\n_bhaktas_ dance, and then, wishing to dance Himself, united the seven\nparties, placed nine men (Shribas, Ramai, Raghu, Govinda, Mukunda,\nHaridas, Govindananda, Madhav, and Govinda) under Swarup to sing and\nmove in the Master's company, while the other parties sang around Him.\nAfter bowing to Jagannath, with folded palms and uplifted face the\nMaster prayed:\n\n_\"Salutation to Shri Krishna! who is the divine God, the protector of\nbrahmans and kine, and benefactor of the universe. To Krishna, to\nGovinda, I bow again and again!\"_ (_Vishnu Puran_, pt. I. xix. 48.)\n\n_\"Victory attend Devaki's son, the Lamp of the Vrishni race, the lord!\nDeep blue like the clouds is his colour, tender are his limbs. He is the\nRedeemer of the world from its load of sin. Victory to him! Victory!\"_\n(_Padavali_, c. 108.) Also _Bhagabat_, X. xc. 24 and _Padavali_,\nc. 63.\n\nReciting these verses the Master bowed low again, while the _bhaktas_\nwith folded palms adored God. Dancing impetuously with loud roars, He\nmoved in circles, like a lathe. Wherever His feet touched the ground,\nthe \"earth with its hills and oceans trembled. He manifested stupor,\nperspiration, joyous weeping, tremour, turning pale, all sorts of\nhelplessness, pride, exultation and humility. Stumbling He rolled on the\nground, like a golden hill thrown on the earth. Nityananda and Adwaita\nhastened to raise Him up in their arms, shouting _Hari! Hari!_ Three\ncircles were formed to keep the crowd back. The first was formed by\nNityananda, the second was composed of Kashishwar, Mukunda and other\n_bhaktas_ locking their hands together. Outside Pratap Rudra with his\nministers formed another ring to keep the spectators in check. The king,\nwith his hand resting on the shoulder of his prime-minister, was gazing\nin absorption at the Master's dance. As Shrinibas, sunk in devotion, was\nstanding before the king, the prime-minister touched him and said \"Step\naside.\" But Shrinibas in the ardour of his dancing was forgetful of all\nelse. He was pushed repeatedly and at last grew angry and slapped the\nminister to stop his pushing. At this the minister in anger wanted to\nrebuke him, but Pratap Rudra checked him saying, \"Blessed art thou, to\nbe touched by him. Such happiness has not been my share!\"\n\nNot to speak of the people, even Jagannath himself wondered at the\ndancing of the Master, stopped his car, and gazed at the dance with\nwinkless eyes. Subhadra and Balaram smiled in delight at the sight of\nthe dance. A strange change came over the Master while dancing with all\nHis might: all the eight spiritual phases (_satwik bhab_) manifested\nthemselves at the same time. His hair stood on end, with their roots in\nthe skin bulging out, like a _Shimul_ tree girt round with thorns. His\nteeth clashed together fearfully, as if they would be dislocated. Blood\nand sweat ran over His body. He lisped _ja--ja--ga--ga_ inarticulately.\nHis eyes poured down tears like syringes, and moistened the men around.\nFair was His complexion, at times turning into rosy, at times resembling\nthe _Mallika_ flower. At times He stood inert, at times He rolled on\nthe ground; at times motionless like a dry wood, at other times\nprostrate on the ground and breathing faintly, to the alarm of His\n_bhaktas_. At times water oozed out of His eyes and nostrils and foam\nout of His mouth,--as the moon sheds bubbles of nectar. Shuvananda, mad\nwith passion for Krishna, collected and drank up that froth; highly\nfortunate was he.\n\nAfter dancing violently for some time the Master wished to manifest\nanother mood. Leaving the dance He bade Swarup sing. Swarup, knowing His\ntaste, began,--\n\n_\"I have met the lord of my life, For whose sake I had been withering in\nthe fire of Cupid.\"_\n\nLoudly did Swarup sing this burden, while the Master in delight danced\ntenderly. Slowly Jagannath's car moved on, Shachi's son dancing before\nit. With eyes fixed on Jagannath all danced and sang. (At times) the\nMaster walked behind the car with the party, of _kirtan_ singers,--His\narms making the action of song. When Chaitanya lagged behind, Jagannath\nstopped his car; when the Master walked ahead the god propelled his car\nslowly. Thus did the two urge each other on!\n\nIn the course of dancing another change of mood came over the Master:\nwith uplifted arms He loudly recited the following stanza.\n(_Kavya-prakash_, I. canto 4 and also _Padavali_ c. 380).\n\nAgain and again did He read the stanza, of which the meaning was known\nto Swarup only. It meant in effect that as the milkmaids at Kurukshetra\nwere delighted to see Krishna, so was the Master gratified at the sight\nof Jagannath. Under that emotion He had the burden sung (by Swarup). At\nlast Radha prays to Krishna, \"You are the same [beloved] and I am the\nsame [lover, as during your incarnation as Krishna], and yet Brindaban\nsteals my heart. Appear at Brindaban again! Here there are crowds and\nthe din and bustle of elephants, horses and chariots;--there only flowery\nwoodlands, the bee's murmur, the cuckoo's cooing! Here you are dressed\nas a King girt round by warriors, there you were a cow-boy, in the\ncompany of flute players! Here I have not a drop of the ocean of bliss I\nused to taste in thy society at Brindaban. Take me with thee to dally at\nBrindaban again. Thus only can my heart be gratified.\" In the ardour of\nHis devotion the Master recited the stanzas of the _Bhagabat_, voicing\nRadhika's longing. But other people could not understand the verses;\nSwarup alone knew their meaning but spoke not. (Afterwards) Rup Goswami\nproclaimed the sense. (_Vide Bhagabat_ X. lxxxii. 35 and 31).\n\nIn Swarup's company had the Master day and night enjoyed the sense of\nthese verses in His house. During His dance the same emotion overcame\nHim; so He recited the stanzas and danced gazing at Jagannath.\nSwarup,--fortunate beyond expression in being absorbed body and soul in\nthe Master,--sang, while the Master drank in his music in abstraction.\nUnder passion's sway the Master sat down and with bowed head traced\nletters on the ground with His finger. Lest His finger should be hurt,\nSwarup prevented Him. Swarup's song was in exact accord with the\nMaster's emotion; he gave a vocal shape to every mood of the Master's\nheart.\n\nAs He gazed at Jagannath's lotus-like face, flashing in the sunlight,\nhis beautiful eyes, his perfumes, robes, garlands and ornaments, the\nocean of joy surged up in the Master's heart, a wild storm swept through\nHim; rapture and wildness raised a tumult, the different emotions fought\nin Him like hostile armies. A passion rose, a passion subsided, it came\nto terms with another, and at last His normal mood of spirituality\n(_satwik_) asserted itself. The Master's body was a pure hill of gold;\nHis emotion a tree with every flower in bloom. The sight drew the hearts\nof all; with the nectar of love He moistened their minds. All the\nservitors of Jagannath, all the courtiers of the king, the pilgrims, and\nthe residents of Puri,--all marvelled at the Master's dance and rapture,\nand all felt devotion to Krishna. In enthusiasm they danced, sang, and\nset up a din. The pilgrims by joining the dance increased the happiness\nfourfold. Jagannath hiniself moved on slowly to witness the Master's\ndance.\n\nThus dancing, the Master advanced to where Pratap Rudra stood, and was\nabout to fall down when the king held Him up. On seeing him the Master\nrecovered composure and cried shame on Himself for having touched a\nKing, a worldling, adding, \"In his rapture Nityananda has ceased to be\nheedful [of me]. Kashishwar, Govinda and others, too, are at a\ndistance.\" True, the Master had been pleased to see Pratap Rudra numbly\nserving Jagannath as a sweeper, and had meant to meet the king, yet He\nprofessed anger in order to warn His followers against consorting with\nworldly-minded men. The king grieved at the Master's speech, but\nSarvabhauma told him not to lose heart, \"The Master is pleased with you;\nHe is only instructing His followers by means of you. I shall seize a\nproper time for entreating Him. You will then go and meet Him.\"\n\nThen the Master walked round the car, and standing behind it pushed it\nwith His head. At His push the car ran on with a clatter; the people\naround shouted _Hari! Hari!_ Next the Master led His followers away to\ndance before the cars of Subhadra and Balaram, and when that was done He\nreturned to dance before Jagannath's car. So the cars reached Balgandi,\nwhere they stopped, and Jagannath looked on both sides: on the left were\nthe abodes of Brahmans in cocoanut groves, on the right a flower garden\nresembling Brindaban. It is the rule that Jagannath breakfasts here on\nten million dishes. Every devotee of Jagannath, whatever his position,\noffers his best food to the god. The king, his wives, ministers and\ncourtiers, all citizens of Puri, great and small, the pilgrims from\nvarious lands, the people of the province, all offered him their\nrespective _bhog_. No order was observed, each deposited his offering\nof food in front, behind, on the two sides of the god, or in the garden,\nwherever he could find a spot. The crowd grew immense at the time of the\n_bhog_, and so the Master stopped dancing and entered the garden, where\nHe lay prostrate on the veranda of the garden house, overcome with love;\nthe exertion of dancing made Him perspire copiously and He enjoyed the\nfragrant cool wind. All the _bhaktas_ who had been singing _kirtan_\ncame and rested under the trees. [Text, canto 13.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nThe Hora-Panchami Procession of Lakshmi\n\nAs the Master lay thus in the trance of love, Pratap Rudra entered the\ngarden alone, casting off his royal robes and dressed as a [common]\nVaishnav, according to the advice of Sarvabhauma. With folded hands he\ntook permission of every bhakta and then mustered enough courage to fall\ndown clasping the Master's feet. The Master lay on the ground, His eyes\nclosed in love; the king eagerly nursed His feet. Pratap Rudra recited\nthe stanzas of the Rasa dance, (_Bhagabat_, X. xxxi. i). Infinite was\nthe Master's delight as He heard the verses, and He repeatedly cried \"Go\non.\" When the king proceeded to the stanza beginning with _\"The\nnectar-like discourse of thee\"_, the Master in devotion rose up and\nembraced the king, saying \"You have given me many priceless gems. I have\nnothing to give in return, save this embrace.\" So saying He read the\nverses over and over again, both quivering and showering tears.\n\n_\"The nectar-like discourse of thee, O darling! is life to the afflicted,\nthe theme of praise to sages, and the antidote to sin. The hearing of it\ndoes good and gives peace. Blessed are they who spread it far and wide\non earth, for they are truly givers of much alms.\"_ (_Bhagabat_, X.\nxxxi. 9).\n\nCrying the 'giver of much alms', the Master embraced the king, not\nknowing now who he was. The king's lowly service had won for him the\nMaster's pity, who now made him a gift of His grace without any inquiry.\nLo! the power of Chaitanya's grace, which bears fruit without\nquestioning. The Master asked, \"Who art thou, my benefactor, that hast\npoured by surprise into my ears the nectar of Krishna's deeds?\" The king\nreplied, \"I am the slave of thy slaves. My only desire is that you may\nmake me the servant of your servants.\" Then the Master revealed His\ngodhead to the king, forbidding him to tell it to anybody. Though\nknowing everything at heart, He outwardly showed as if He did not know\nthat the visitor was a king. The _bhaktas_ extolled the king for his\ngood fortune. Pratap Rudra took leave after prostrating him self, and\nthen with folded palms bowed to all the _bhaktas_, and went away. At\nnoon the Master with His followers breakfasted on the plentiful prasad\nsent by the king by the hands of Vaninath, Sarvabhauma and Ramananda.\nThe prasad from the Balgandi _bhog_ was excellent and of infinite\nvariety, but none of them was cooked food. [Details of the dishes.]\n. . .\n\nKnowing the fatigue of the _kirtan_ singers, Chaitanya resolved to\nfeast them. He seated them in rows and began to serve the food Himself.\nEach man was given one leaf and ten cups of _Keya_ leaves. Swarup\ninformed Him that as none would dine before the Master, He ought to sit\ndown to meal. Then the Master sat down with His circle and fed all to\ntheir fill. The excess of _prasad_ that was left over sufficed to feed\na thousand men. Govinda, at the Master's bidding, brought in beggars to\neat this food. At the sight of the beggars feast the Master taught them\nto chant Hari's name, and they were carried away on the stream of love\nas they shouted _Hari-bol_.\n\nNow came the time for dragging the car of Jagannath. The Bengal athletes\npulled at the rope, but the car did not move. So they gave up the work\nin despair. The king and his Court hastened thither in alarm. He set the\nwrestlers to draw the car and applied his own hand to it; but still the\ncar did not move. Then powerful elephants were harnessed to the car, but\nit did not advance a step in spite of their utmost efforts. Hearing this\nthe Master arrived with His followers and gazed at the furious elephants\npulling at the car. The elephants shrieked at the blows of the goad, but\nthe car stirred not, and the people lamented.\n\nThen the Master took away the elephants, gave the ropes to His\nfollowers, and Himself pushed the car from behind with His head. The car\nsped along rattling. The _bhaktas_ merely held the ropes; they had not\nreally to pull, as the car advanced of itself. In delight the people\nshouted \"Glory! Glory to Jagannath!\" No other sound was heard. In a\ntwinkle the car reached the gate of the Gundicha garden, the people\nmarvelling at the power of Chaitanya. They set up a roar of \"Glory to\nGaurchandra! Glory to Krishna-Chaitanya!\" At the sight of the Master's\nmight, Pratap Rudra and his courtiers swelled with enthusiasm. Then the\nservitors performed the ceremony of dismounting Jagannath from his car\nand conveying him to the Gundicha people. The three images were placed\non their thrones, and the ceremony of the gods bath and dinner\ncommenced. The Master began a joyous dance and _kirtan_ in the\ncourtyard in delight. His love welled out in blissfulness, and the sight\nof it swept away the beholders in a torrent of love. In the evening He\nwitnessed the adoration with lamps, and came to the _Ai-tota_ garden\nfor reposing. Adwaita and eight other leading followers invited Him for\nnine days. Among the rest as many got a chance of entertaining Him as\nthere were days in the \"four months,\" while the rank and file of His\nfollowers had a day free for each individually; so two or three of them\ncombined to give Him a joint entertainment on one day.\n\nThus did the Master play at dining out. After His morning bath He\nvisited Jagannath, where He danced and sang with His followers, now\nbidding Adwaita dance, now Nityananda, Haridas, Achyutananda, Vakreshwar\nor some other bhakta. Thrice in the day did He sing _kirtan_ in the\nGundicha garden, imagining that Krishna had come to Brindaban and that\nthe period of separation was over. Cherishing in His heart the idea that\nKrishna was then dallying with Radha there, He remained absorbed in that\nemotion (of gratification), acting in many gardens the feats of Krishna\nat Brindaban, disporting in the tank of Indradyumna, splashing His\n_bhaktas_ with water, while they splashed Him from all sides, now\nforming one circle, now many, and clapping their hands while croaking\nlike frogs. Sometimes a pair of them wrestled in the water, the Master\nlooking on to see who would win. Adwaita and Nityananda tried to\noverwhelm each other with water; the former was beaten and vented his\nfeelings in abuse. Vidyanidhi struggled with Swarup, Shribas with\nGadadhar, Raghav Pandit with Vakreshwar, Sarvabhauma with Ramananda Ray.\nThe gravity of the last two disappeared and they became boys again!\nSeeing their excitement the Master smiled and said to Gopinath Acharya,\n\"Both are grave scholars and venerable men, but they are acting like\nwild boys. Stop them.\" Gopinath replied, \"When the ocean of your grace\nsurges up, a single drop of it can easily drown tall mountains like Meru\nand Mandar, what to speak of these two small stones? It is thy grace\nonly that has given the nectar of _lila_ to one whose life was formerly\nspent in chewing the dry husks of logical disputation.\" Laughing, the\nMaster brought Adwaita there and made him lie on his back on the water\nlike the _Shesha_ serpent, while He Himself reclined on him (like\nVishnu). Thus did He act the _lila_ of Vishnu reposing on the serpent.\nAdwaita, putting forth his strength, began to float on the water bearing\nthe Master.\n\nAfter disporting in the water for some time He returned with His\nfollowers to the _Ai-tota_. At the Acharya's house He dined with His\nleading followers. The _prasad_ brought by Vaninath served to feed the\nother followers. In the evening He visited the god and danced before\nhim, and at night returned to the garden to sleep.\n\nIn the garden, in company with His _bhaktas_ He sported as at\nBrindaban. The trees and creepers blossomed at His sight, the bee and\nthe black-bird sang, the zephyr blew. Under each tree He danced, Vasudev\nDatta alone singing. Each (_bhakta_) sang under a different tree;\nChaitanya alone danced in supreme rapture. Then He bade Vakreshwar\ndance, while He sang. Swarup and other _kirtanias_ joined the Master in\nsinging, forgetful of all else in the vehemence of their love.\n\nAfter performing this woodland sport, He went to the Narendra tank for\nwater-sport. Then He returned to the garden and dined out with His\n_bhaktas_. For the nine days that Jagannath remained at Gundicha, such\nwas the Master's life. He lodged in the large flower garden named\n_Jagannath-vallabh_.\n\nWhen the time came for the ceremony of _Hora-Panchami_, the king spoke\nearnestly to Kashi Mishra, \"To-morrow is Hora-Panchami, the day of\nLakshmi's triumph. Let the celebration be of unprecedented splendour, so\nthat the Master may be filled with wonder. Let extraordinary\narrangements be made for the ceremony. Let coloured cloths, bells,\nfly-whiskers and umbrellas be brought out of my wardrobe as well as\nJagannath's, and let the flagstaff, flag, bell, &c. be decorated. Let\n(Lakshmi's) litter be set forth with varied music and dance. The\nexpenditure should be double (the ordinary), so that the ceremony may\neclipse the Car festival. Act so that the Master may be drawn to come\nout with His followers to behold it.\"\n\nNext morning the Master with His party visited Jagannath at Gundicha,\nand then returned to the temple eager to behold the Hora-Panchami\nfestival. Kashi Mishra with great honour seated the Master and His party\nin a good position. Chaitanya wished to hear about a particular emotion\nand smilingly asked Swarup, \"Though Jagannath lives at Dwaraka,\nmanifesting his natural be-pretext of a ride in his car. From the temple\nhe goes to visit Brindaban. The parks here resemble Brindaban; he longs\nto see them therefore, and leaves his temple on the pretext of a ride in\nhis car. From the temple he goes to Gundicha and there disports day and\nnight in the many gardens. But why does he not take Lakshmi with him?\"\nSwarup answered, \"Listen, Master, to the reason. Lakshmi has no access\nto Brindaban, as Krishna's playmates there are milk-maids. So none but\nthe latter can ravish Krishna's heart.\" The Master continued, \"Krishna\nsets out on the plea of a ride. Subhadra and Baladev accompany him. His\ndalliance with the milk-maids is done in secret in the parks, unknown to\nothers. Krishna does not overt offence. Why then does Lakshmi fly into a\nrage at his journey to Gundicha?\" Swarup replied, \"Such is the nature of\na loving mistress. Indifference on the part of her sweetheart rouses her\nanger.\"\n\nJust then Lakshmi arrived in an angry mood at the Lion Gate, riding a\ngolden litter set with many gems, and accompanied by rows of men bearing\nflags, fly-whiskers, umbrellas and standards, with many musicians, and\npreceded by the dedicated dancing-girls (_devdasi_). A hundred richly\ndressed hand-maids bearing betel-leaf caskets, goglets of water, fans\nand fly-whiskers, and much display of wealth and retinue came in her\ntrain. Her maids chained the chief servitors of Jagannath and dragged\nthem to her feet, punishing them like thieves and fining them heavily.\nShe beat them till they almost fainted, and abused them in feigned\nanger. The Master's followers laughed hiding their faces with their\nhands as they beheld the forwardness of Lakshmi and her maids. [Swarup\ngave a long explanation of Lakshmi's mood, with illustrative quotations\nfrom Sanskrit treatises on love].\n\nAt his words Shribas laughed and said \"Hark you, Damodar! behold the\nvast wealth of my Lakshmi. Brindaban can boast of only flowers, leaves,\nhills, peacock plumes, and the _Gunchha_ fruit. And yet Jagannath has\ngone to visit Brindaban! Lakshmi might naturally suspect Krishna's\nmotive in leaving such wealth for poor Brindaban.\" As he was laughing\nLakshmi turned to chastise him, saying \"Behold, your god has left such\nsplendour and gone to the Gundicha garden for the sake of flowers,\nleaves and fruits! Why does the chief of the wise act thus? Bring your\nlord before Lakshmi!\" So saying, Lakshmi's handmaids brought the\nMaster's attendants tied with their waist-bands, made them bow at her\nmercy. They beat (Jagannath's) car with their sticks, and treated\nJagannath's officers like thieves, until they cried with folded hands,\n\"To-morrow shall we produce Jagannath before you.\" Then Lakshmi was\npacified and returned to her abode. . . [Swarup again shows Lakshmi's\nconduct as natural in a true lover].\n\nThe Master listened with absorption to his exposition of the pure\nemotion of Radha, and began to dance in rapture while Swarup sang. \"Sing\non! Sing on!\" He cried with ears on the alert. His enthusiasm welled\nforth on hearing the song of the love-making at Brindaban, and He\nflooded the village of Puri with devotion. Lakshmi went back to her own\nplace in time, but the Master danced on till the third quarter of the\nday. The four parties grew tired with singing, but His ardour became\ndoubly intense. Under the influence of Radha's love He became an image\nof the passion. Nityananda seeing Him from afar prayed to Him, but came\nnot near in consideration of His ecstasy. None but Nityananda could hold\nthe Master [and force Him to stop dancing]. His ecstasy did not cease,\nand the _kirtan_ therefore had to continue. So, Swarup by gesture\ninformed Him how the party was exhausted. At this the Master came to\nHimself, and returned to the garden. After taking rest He had His midday\nbath and dined pleasantly with His party on the many dishes sent from\nJagannath's and Lakshmi's prasad. In the evening He bathed again and\nvisited Jagannath, dancing and singing before the god.\n\nHe sported in the Narendra tank with His _bhaktas_, and held a picnic\nin the garden. Thus He spent eight days, after which came the return\njourney of Jagannath in his car to his temple, at which the Master in\nsupreme delight danced and sang as during the outward ride.\n\nWhen Jagannath again occupied his throne, the Master returned with His\nfollowers to His quarters. [Text, canto 14.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nThe Dinner at Sarvabhauma's House\n\nThus did the Master live at the Nilachal with His followers, engaged in\ndancing, singing, and delight. In the first year (of His stay) He used\nto visit Jagannath to whom He bowed, hymned, danced and sang. When the\ngod's _Upala-bhog_ was offered, He issued from the temple and took\nHaridas home with Himself, and there chanted Hari's name.\n\nAdwaita arriving there adored the Master, washed His feet with perfumed\nwater, rubbed Him all over with fragrant sandal-paste, placed a garland\nround His neck and the tufted _Tulsi_ flower on His head, prostrated\nhimself at the Master's feet, and adored Him with folded palms. The\nMaster adored the Acharya with the flowers and Tulsi leaves left over on\nthe ritual tray, and recited the verse \"I bow to thee, that art what\nthou art!\" Then He made a playful sound with His lips and had a laugh at\nthe Acharya. Thus did the two honour each other. The Acharya repeatedly\nasked the Master to dinner. . . The Master with His party dined at the\nhouses of the different _bhaktas_ on successive days. Thus did they\nspend four months in His company, witnessing all the festivals of\nJagannath.\n\nOn Krishna's Nativity Day took place the ceremony of Nanda's grand\nfestival, at which the Master with His _bhaktas_ personated the\ncowherds [of Mathura]. On His own shoulders did He carry the loads of\nmilk and curds to the place of the ceremony, shouting Hari's name. Kanai\nKhuntia played the _role_ of Nanda and Jagannath Mahanti that of the\nqueen of Braja. With Pratap Rudra himself, Kashi Mishra, Sarvabhaunia,\nand the _Parichha_ (minister) Tulsi, the Master danced and sported,\nspattering all their bodies with milk, curds and yellow liquid. Adwaita\nsaid, \"Bear with me when I tell the truth. I shall know you for a\ncowherd only if you can brandish a staff!\" At this the Master began to\nplay with the staff. He tossed it in the air and caught it repeatedly as\nit fell. He swung it round His head, behind, before, on the two sides,\nand between the legs, spectators laughing. The stick circled round and\nround like a lathe, all men wondering at the sight. Similarly Nityananda\ntoo played with his staff. Who can fathom the deep cowherd mood of these\ntwo? At the king's command, Tulsi Parichha brought out a costly cloth,\nonce worn by Jagannath, and tied it round the Master's head. [Other\nclothes] were presented to the Acharya and other followers of the\nMaster. Kanai Khuntia and Jagannath Mahanti, in their enthusiasm, gave\naway all the wealth of their houses. At this the Master was greatly\ndelighted, and bowed to them as his parents (_i.e._, as Nanda and his\nwife, the foster-parents of Krishna). In deep spiritual exaltation did\nHe return to His quarters. Thus did Chaitanya play.\n\nOn the _Bijaya-dashami_, the day of the storming of Lanka, the Master\nwith His followers played the part of the monkey army [of Ram].\nTransported by the spirit of Hanuman, He seized a branch and broke it\noff as if it were the citadel of Lanka, shouting in a rage, \"Where art\nthou, Ravan! Thou hast kidnapped the Mother of the World. Wretch! I\nshall destroy thee with thy kith and kin.\" The people marvelled at His\npassion and exclaimed \"Glory! glory!\" So, too, did He witness the\ncelebration of _Rasa-yatra_, _Dipavali_ and _Utthan-dwadashi_. One\nday He and Nityananda formed a plan in secret, the nature of which His\nfollowers afterwards guessed only from the result. Calling all His\n_bhaktas_ together, He said, \"Return ye all to Bengal. Come here every\nyear and visit the Gundicha garden with me.\" On Adwaita Acharya he\nhonourably laid His command, \"Teach the lesson of faith in Krishna to\nall men, down to the Chandals.\" Nityananda was bidden, \"Go to Bengal.\nFreely proclaim the gospel of devotion and love. Ramdas, Gadadhar and\nsome others will assist you. Now and then I shall be with you, and\nstanding unseen shall witness your dancing.\" Embracing Shribas Pandit,\nHe clung to his neck and said tenderly, \"In the _kirtan_ at your house\nI shall always dance. You alone of all men will be able to see me. Give\nmy mother this cloth and all this _prasad_ bow to her and beg her\npardon for all my faults. I have turned a monk leaving her service; this\nhas been an act of irreligion and not of religion on my part. I am bound\nby her love; service to her is my religion. It has been madness on my\npart to quit it. Tell her to have pity on me, as No mother finds fault\nwith a crazy child. What need have I of monachism? Love is wealth to me;\nI must have gone out of my mind when I turned _sannyasi_. At her\ncommand I am staying at the Nilachal. I shall occasionally go home to\nsee her. Daily do I go and behold her feet; she feels a delighted\nsensation but does not admit it as true. One day [for instance] she\ncooked rice, five or six vegetable soups, _sak_, _mochaghanta_, fried\n_patal_, _nim_ leaves, lemon, bits of ginger, curds, milk, and sugar\nand cream, and offered these many dishes to _Saligram_. Taking up the\n_prasad_ she lamented, All these were Nimai's favourite dishes. He is\nnot here. So I went there quickly and ate up every thing. On seeing the\nempty dish she wiped her tears and asked, Who has eaten the rice and\nsoups? Why is the dish empty? Has the young Gopal (idol) eaten them up?\nOr has an illusion seized my mind? Has some animal came in and devoured\nthem? Or did I by mistake serve no food on the plate at all? So thinking\nshe looked again at the cooking-pots and found them full, to her wonder\nand suspicion [of defilement by some beast or demon]. She then called\nIshan, had the place cleaned, and offered rice to the god Gopal afresh.\nThus, whenever she cooks nice dishes, she weeps in eager desire to feed\nme on them. Her affection compels me to eat (the food there); and she is\npleased at heart, though outwardly she is disconsolate. This happened on\nthe last _Bijaya-dashami_ day. Say unto her and make her believe.\"\nThough overcome in making this speech, the Master composed Himself in\norder to bid farewell to the _bhaktas_.\n\nTo Raghav Pandit He spoke feelingly, \"Your pure devotion has made me\nyour servant. Hear, all ye, the story of his serving Krishna in the most\npious and excellent manner. Let me speak of one thing only, namely his\noffering of cocoanut as _bhog_. In his place cocoanut sells at five\n_gandas_ [i.e., quarter anna each]. Though his orchards have hundreds\nof cocoanut palms yielding _lakhs_ of fruits, yet wherever he hears of\nvery sweet cocoanuts, he procures them at the price of four annas for\none, even from 20 miles distance. Every day he strips the fibre off five\nor six fruits and cools them in water. Then at _bhog_ he smoothes them\nand making small holes at the top offers the fruits to Krishna, who\ndrinks the milk within, and leaves the fruits empty or full of liquid at\ndifferent times. When the fruit is empty of milk, the Pandit rejoices,\ncracks the nut and spreading the kernel on a hundred dishes, offers them\nto Krishna, while he meditates outside (the god's dining room). Krishna\neats the offering, and leaves the dishes bare, or fills them again with\nthe kernel. At this the Pandit's devotion grows and he swims in the\nocean of love.\n\n\"One day his servant brought ten cleaned cocoanuts to be offered to the\ngod; but while waiting outside the door he happened to touch the wall\nabove with his hand and then placed the same hand on the fruits. On\nseeing this the Pandit threw away the fruits as defiled and unworthy of\noffering to the god, because the dust raised by the feet of people\nentering at the door sticks to the wall above. By such pure loving\nservice he has surpassed the world . . . Similarly whenever he hears of\nany good fruit like plantain, mango, or jack, in far off villages, he\ncarefully buys them dear, washes, cleans, and offers them to the god.\nSo, too, vegetables, roots, fruits, _chira_, _hurum_, confects, cakes,\nsweet drinks, condensed milk, _kashandi_, pickles, scents, cloth,\nornaments, and the pick of all things he offers cleanly to the god. His\nloving service is unmatched and soothes the eyes of all who behold it.\"\n\nSo saying the Master embraced Raghav, and showed due respect to the\nother _bhaktas_. To Shivananda Sen he spoke in terms of honour, \"Do you\nlook after Vasudev Datta, who is so charitable that every day he spends\nall his day's earnings, saving nothing. But he is a householder and\nought to save, for without saving a man cannot support his kinsmen. You\nhave the charge of the income and expenditure of his house. In your\ncapacity as head man arrange (his affairs properly). Come every year\nwith all the _bhaktas_ to the Gundicha garden, taking care of them.\"\n\nTo the pilgrims from the Kulin village He said, \"Come here every year\nwith striped silk cloth (for Jagannath). Gunaraj Khan wrote the _Shri\nKrishna Vijay_, one devotional sentence of which, 'Nanda's darling\nKrishna is the lord of my life', has made me the bondsman of his line.\nNot to speak of you, even a dog of your village is dear to me, above all\nothers.\"\n\nAt this Satyaraj Khan and Ramananda too entreated the Master, \"I am a\nworldly man; how can I practise devotion? I beg thee to lay commands on\nme.\" The Master replied, \"Ever serve Krishna, ever serve Vaishnavs, ever\nsing Krishna's name.\" Satyaraj asked, \"How shall I know a Vaishnav? Tell\nme of his general characteristics.\" The Master answered, \"Whosoever\nutters Krishna's name even once is to be honoured above all other men.\nKrishna's name alone washes away all sins and kindles many forms of\nfaith. It does not make a man wait for religious initiation or priestly\nministration, but as soon as the word is formed on the tongue, it\nredeems all men down to the Chandal caste. Along with that, Krishna's\nname destroys our bondage to the world and draws the heart to the love\nof Krishna. _Vide_ Shridhar Swami's stanza in the _Padavali_, xviii.\nTherefore, he who utters Krishna's name alone is truly a Vaishnav.\nHonour him as such.\"\n\nOf the pilgrims from Khanda the leaders were Mukunda-das, Raghunandan,\nand Narahari. To the first, Shachi's son spoke thus, \"Tell me truly\nwhether you are the father and Raghunandan your son, or the converse?\nDispel my doubt.\" Mukunda replied, \"I verily believe that Raghunandan is\nmy father and I his son, because our devotion to Krishna has been\nimbibed from him.\" The delighted Master broke out, \"True are thy words.\nHe who gives us faith in Krishna is our _guru_.\" Bliss it is to the\nMaster to unfold the greatness of _bhaktas_, and He holds forth on the\nsubject through five mouths as it were. Turning to His followers He\nsaid, \"Hark ye about Mukunda's faith. It is a pure and deep love, like\nunalloyed gold. Outwardly he is a physician royal and serves his master.\nBut who can fathom his heart's devotion? One day the Musalman king was\ntalking with him about medicine, on a high dais, when a servant held a\npeacock-feather fan over the Nawab's head. At the sight (of Krishna's\ncrest), Mukunda in a rapture of devotion tumbled down from the height.\nThe Nawab, thinking that he was overcome by death, dismounted, restored\nhim to his senses, and asked where he had been hurt. Mukunda replied\nthat he did not feel much pain. Then to the Nawab's query about the\ncause of his fall, he replied that he was subject to epilepsy. The Nawab\nwas very wise, he discerned the real reason and thenceforth regarded\nMukunda as a great devotee.\"\n\nRaghunandan served at Krishna's temple, in front of which there was a\ntank with a _Kadamba_ tree blooming all the year round on its _ghat_.\nDaily two flowers blossomed there (as if) derived from Krishna. The\nMaster continued, turning to Mukunda, \"Your business is to earn money,\nRaghunandan's to serve Krishna. His heart has no other desire. Let\nNarahari remain with my _bhaktas_. Do you three ever perform these\nduties respectively.\"\n\nGraciously He addressed the two brothers, Sarvabhauma and\nVidya-vachaspati, \"Krishna is at present manifest in the form of wood\nand water, the sight and ablution of which saves mankind. As the wooden\ngod he lives at Puri, while the deity as water is the river Bhagirathi.\nLet Sarvabhauma worship the wooden god and Vachaspati the water-deity\".\n\nEmbracing Murari Gupta, the Master extolled his sincere devotion thus,\n\"Listen, O ye _bhaktas_! I had formerly often tempted him saying,\n'Passing sweet is the lad of Braja's lord, O Gupta! Krishna is God\nhimself, in all His fulness, the refuge of all. Love is pure, clean, the\nsource of all passions (_ras_), the ocean in which all virtues are\nstored like gems. He is wise, expert, sedate, the chief of the masters\nof emotions. Sweet is his character, sweet is his fascination; his\nsports are marked by cleverness and skill. Worship that Krishna, seek\nrefuge in him. The heart cannot accept any other object of adoration'.\nHis respect for me somewhat influenced him and he replied that he was my\nservant, ready to do my bidding, without free will. Going home, he was\nrestless at the thought of giving up his idol Raghunath, and cried, 'How\ncan I quit the feet of Raghunath? Kill me to-night, O Lord! So he spent\nthe whole night watching and weeping, sore at heart. In the morning he\nreturned, clasped my feet and cried, I have sold my head at Raghunath's\nfeet, and cannot draw it away now, so great would be the pain of it. I\ncannot leave Raghunath's feet, and on the other hand thy command will be\ndisobeyed. I have no help for it. Take pity, therefore, on me, O Kind\nOne; and let me die before thee, so that the conflict within me may be\nended'. At these words I rejoiced exceedingly, raised and embraced him,\nsaying, 'Excellent! Excellent! firm is your devotion, O Gupta, as my\nwords have not shaken your purpose. It is the devotion of servants of\nthis kind that ought to be offered at the Lord's feet,--when the Lord\ndraws away His feet the devotee does not let go his grasp. That I urged\nyou repeatedly was only to test this your earnest faith. You are Hanuman\nhimself, the servant of Ram. Why then should you leave his lotus feet?\nThis is that Murari Gupta [addressing the other _bhaktas_], the very\nlife of me. My heart breaks to see his meekness of spirit.\"\n\nThen He embraced Vasudev, and dwelt on his merits with a thousand\ntongues. The Datta, blushing to hear his own praise, begged at the\nMaster's feet, \"Thou hast come down to deliver the world. Grant one\nprayer of mine. It can be easily granted, if thou willest, O Gracious\nOne! My heart breaks to see the sorrows of mankind. Lay thou the sins of\nthe rest of mankind on my head; let me suffer in hell under the load of\ntheir sins, so that, Master, thou mayest remove the earthly pangs\n[_i.e._, birth on earth] of all other beings.\" These words melted the\nMaster's heart. Trembling and weeping He answered in broken accents,\n\"This request is no surprise, coming from you who are a Prahlad. Full is\nKrishna's grace on you. Krishna brings to fruition whatever his servants\nask for; he has no other work than to gratify his servants wishes. You\nhave prayed for the salvation of all the creatures of the universe. (I\nsay) they will all be delivered, without suffering for their sins. The\ntask is not too much for Krishna, who is omnipotent. Why should he make\nyou (alone) undergo the due chastisement for (their) sins? Those whose\ngood you desire are Vaishnavs, all of whose sins are removed by Krishna.\nWitness the _Brahma Samhita_, v. 60.\n\n\"At your mere wishing, the universe will be redeemed. It is no labour\nfor Krishna to deliver all men. Ten million figs (_dumbur_) can grow on\none tree; similarly ten million universes float in the water of the\nPure. The tree knows not the loss, if a fruit drops and perishes. So,\ntoo, if one universe is set free [from re-birth], Krishna does not\nregard it even as a trifling loss. Endless are Krishna's possessions.\nVaikuntha and other places belong to him. They are girt round by the\nocean of the Cause of Creation. Countless illusive universes float in\nthat ocean, just as a pot of oil-seeds may float in the ditch round a\ncity. The loss of one seed-grain out of it matters nothing. So, too,\nKrishna does not feel the loss if one universe is gone. Even if illusion\nand all the universes subject to it perish, Krishna does not mind the\nloss. The illusion [-created world] is no more to Krishna than a\nshe-goat is to the owner of ten millions of cows giving inexhaustible\nmilk. _Vide Bhagabat_, X. lxxxvii, 10.\"\n\nIn such terms did the Master speak of the different merits of all His\nfollowers, embrace and give them leave. They wept at parting from Him,\nwhile His mind, too, was saddened. Gadadhar Pandit stayed with Him and\nwas settled by Him at Jaleswar [in Jagannath-Puri]. The Puri,\nJagadananda, Swarup Damodar, Damodar Pandit, Govinda, and Kashishwar,--\nthese lived with the Master at Puri. He visited Jagannath every morning.\n\nOne day Sarvabhauma solicited Him with folded palms thus, \"Now that all\nthe Vaishnavs have returned to Bengal, I have got an opportunity of\nentertaining you. Be pleased to be a guest at my house for a month.\" The\nMaster replied, \"It is opposed to my rules of duty. I can't do it.\"\nSarvabhauma persisted, \"Let it be for twenty days only.\" But the Master\nobjected, No, that too is opposed to the rules of a _sannyasi_.\"\nSarvabhauma came down to fifteen days, but the Master insisted on dining\nwith him for one day only. Then Sarvabhauma, clasping His feet, begged\nfor ten days out of which the Master gradually reduced five, and\naccepted the invitation for five days only. Then Sarvabhauma made\nanother prayer, saying, \"There are ten monks with you, out of whom the\nPuri will dine with me for five days, as I told you before. Damodar\nSwarup, my friend, will go to my house with you and at times alone. The\nother eight will be my guests dining singly for two days each. Thus a\nmonth is filled up with engagements. I fear lest I should fail to show\ndue hospitality if so many monks come to me together. You, too, will\nvisit my house with your shadow, and sometimes in the company of Swarup\nDamodar.\" Glad of the Master's nod [of assent] he invited Him that very\nday. The Bhattacharya's wife was called Shathi's mother; she was greatly\ndevoted to the Master and a very mother in tenderness. [The cooking, the\ncourses, and the dinner described in great detail].\n\nThe Master said, \"It is impossible to eat so much rice\" [_viz._, three\nmaunds]. The Bhatta replied, \"I know what is a sufficient quantity for\nyou. At Puri you [as Jagannath] eat _bhog_ 52 times a day, and the\nquantity for each time is hundreds of loads. At Dwaraka you [as King\nKrishna dine daily] at the houses of your 16,000 queens, 108 mothers,\nand the Yadav clan. At Brindaban you dine twice daily at the houses of\nyour kinsmen and cowherd comrades. At the Govardhan sacrifice heaps of\nrice were brought for you, in comparison with which my dishes form less\nthan a mouthful. You are God indeed. I am a wretched little creature.\nConsent to take only a little mouthful of food at my house.\" Smiling,\nthe Master sat down, the Bhatta serving Him with the _prasad_ of\nJagannath. Just then there came Amogh, the son-in-law of Bhattacharya\nand the husband of Shathi. He was a _Kulin_ and a fault-finder. He\nwished to see the feeding, but could not come, as Bhattacharya kept\nwatch at the door stick in hand! When Bhattacharya was busy serving the\n_prasad_, Amogh came in and looking at the rice began to criticise,\n\"What! a single monk is eating this rice, on which ten or twelve others\ncan feed to their fill!\" Hearing these words Bhattacharya looked over\nhis shoulders, and Amogh fled away. . . . His father-in-law cursed him\nand his mother-in-law prayed for her daughter's widowhood.\n\nThat night Amogh spent in hiding, and next morning he was seized with\ncholera. At the news that he was dying, Bhattacharya exclaimed, \"The\ngods are on my side, and are doing my work. A sin against God bears\nimmediate fruit. Witness the _Mahabharat_, Bana-parva, ccxli. 17, and\n_Bhagabat_, X.iv.3i.\"\n\nWhen Gopinath Acharya went to see the Master, in answer to a question\nabout Bhattacharya, he said, \"The couple had fasted at night. Amogh is\ndying of cholera.\" At this the merciful Master hastened there, laid His\nhand on Amogh's breast and said, \"Pure by nature is this Brahman's\nheart,--a fit place for Krishna to sit on. Why have you seated the\nChandal Envy here, and thus defiled a very holy spot? Your sins are\nended by the society of Sarvabhauma. When sin is gone, men recite\nKrishna's name. Rise, thou, Amogh! chant Krishna's name. Soon will God\nhave mercy on you.\" At these words, Amogh rose up with the cry of\n_Krishna! Krishna!_ and began to dance in an ecstasy, of devotion,\nweeping, trembling, standing stockstill, perspiring, lisping. The Master\nsmiled at seeing the surging up of his love. But he begged the Master,\nholding His feet, \"Gracious Master! forgive my fault.\" With this he\nslapped his own cheeks till they were swollen. Gopinath Acharya held his\nhand to stop him, and the Master stroked his body to console him saying,\n\"You are an object of affection to me, being related to Sarvabhauma.\nEven the very servants and dogs of his house are dear to me above all\nothers. Thou hast not offended. Chant Krishna's name.\"\n\nSo saying the Master came to Sarvabhauma's house, who clasped His feet,\nbut the Master embraced him, took His seat and began, \"Amogh is a child.\nHe cannot offend. Why are you fasting, why are you angry with him? Up,\nbathe, visit Jagannath, and break your fast soon, if you want to please\nme. I shall wait here so long as you do not return with the _prasad_\n(for your dinner).\" Clasping His feet Sarvabhauma asked \"Amogh was\ndying. Why did you revive him?\" The Master replied, \"Amogh is your\nchild. The father, especially if he is the nourisher, does not take note\nof the offence of his boy. He has now turned Vaishnav; his sin is gone;\ndo you then look kindly on him.\" The Bhatta said, \"Go, Master, to see\nthe god. I Shall quickly join you there after taking my bath.\" But He\nreplied, \"Gopinath! stay here. When the _prasad_ comes to him, inform\nme of it.\" Then He went to see the god, while the Bhatta bathed, prayed,\nand dined.\n\nThis Amogh became extremely devoted to the Master. A very sedate man, he\nincessantly recited Krishna's name. [Text, canto 15.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nThe Return to Bengal\n\nPratap Rudra grew sad when he heard that the Master wished to visit\nBrindaban; calling Sarvabhauma and Ramananda, the king entreated them,\n\"The Master's mind is inclined to go away from Puri. Try to keep Him\nhere. Without Him this kingdom is of no delight to me. Try every means\nto detain the hermit.\" When the Master was taking counsel with the two\nabout making a pilgrimage to Brindaban, they said, \"Wait to see the Car\nFestival, and set out in the month of Kartik.\" In Kartik they urged, \"It\nis mid-winter now. Better set out after witnessing the Swinging\nFestival.\" So they plied all arts to put off His departure; and gave not\ntheir consent in fear of parting with His company. True, the Master was\na free agent, under nobody's control. Yet He did not depart against the\nwishes of His followers.\n\nIn the third year of His stay, the Bengal followers wished to go to\nPuri. So, they all resorted to Adwaita Acharya, who set out joyfully to\nsee the Master. Nityananda, though charged by Him to stay in Bengal and\npreach the faith of love, nevertheless went to see Him. Who can\nunderstand the display of Nityananda's love? Who can number the _bhaktas_\nthat started? Acharya Ratna, Vidyanidhi, Shribas, Ramai, Vasudev,\nMadhav, and Govinda (the three brothers), Raghav Pandit with his casket\nfitted up, the residents of the Kulin village with their striped silk\ncloth (for Jagannath), Narahari and Raghunandan of Khanda, in short all\nof the _bhaktas_ went; who can count them? Shivananda Sen made\narrangements about the stages of the road, and guided the whole party in\ncomfort, supplying all their needs and securing lodgings, as he knew all\nabout the road to Orissa.\n\nThat year the ladies too set out to visit the Master: With the Acharya\nwent Achyuta's mother, Malini with Shribas Pandit, with Shivananda his\nwife and son named Chaitanya-das, with Acharya Ratna his wife. All the\nladies took from their houses all kinds of choice things formerly dear\nto Him, to feed the Master with. Shivananda looked after their needs,\nprovided them with lodgings by winning over the officers of the halting\nstations (_ghatial_), and everywhere nourished them with provisions.\n\nAt Remuna they saw Gopinath (idol), at whose temple the Acharya danced\nand sang. Nityananda knew all the servitors of the god; so they highly\nhonoured the party. The night was passed there; Nityananda distributed\namong them the twelve pots of condensed milk (_bhog_) presented by the\nservitors. Then Nityananda told them the whole story of Madhav Puri, the\ninstallation of the Gopal, the begging of sandal by Gopal, the stealing\nof _kshir_ by Gopinath for the Puri,--as he had heard it from the\nMaster. The Vaishnavs rejoiced.\n\nSo they wended their way to Katak. After visiting the Witness Gopal they\nspent the night there. Nityananda told the legend of the god, to the\nincreased delight of the Vaishnavs, who pushed on to Puri, eager at\nheart to meet the Master. When they reached Athara-nala (Bridge of 18\nspans), Govinda, sent by the Master with two garlands to welcome them,\nmet the party and placed the garlands on the necks of Adwaita and\nAbadhut Goswami, to their intense bliss. There the two began the\n_sankirtan_ of Krishna and advanced dancing. Next Swarup and other\nfollowers, sent by the Master, received them with garlands at the\nNarendra Tank. When they reached the Lion Gate, Chaitanya Himself came\nout to meet them all. He took them to see Jagannath, and then led them\nto His own lodgings. With His own hands He served them the _prasad_\nbrought by Vaninath and Kashi Mishra. They were then sent to take rest\nin the houses respectively occupied by them in the previous year.\n\nThus the _bhaktas_ spent four months at Puri, joining in His _kirtan_.\nWhen the season of the Car Festival arrived, He took them, as on the\nlast occasion, to wash the Gundicha temple, presented to Jagannath the\nstriped silk brought by the people of the Kulin village, danced long\nbefore the car, and then returned to the garden. While He was reposing\non the bank of the tank, Krishna-das, a Brahman of West Bengal (Rarh)\nand a disciple of Nityananda, was so fortunate as to pour on the\nMaster's head a pot of water, to His great relief.\n\nThe Master dined with all His followers on the numerous dishes of\n_Balgandi bhog_ sent to Him. As before, they witnessed the Car\nprocession and the _Hora-Panchami_ procession with Him. The Master was\ninvited to dinner by Acharya Goswami, at which a rain storm burst. Then\nShribas invited Him, and the Master's favourite dishes were cooked by\nMalini, who was His handmaid in devotion, but a mother in tenderness.\nAcharya Ratna and other leading disciples gave dinners to the Master at\nintervals. When the four months were over He again took counsel in\nsecret with Nityananda. The Acharya whispered to the Master mystic\nhints; he seemed to be muttering and none could know his meaning.\nChaitanya laughed at seeing the gestures of his face. This the Acharya\ntook to be a mark of assent, and he began to dance in delight; none knew\nwhat the request and the consent were. But the Master embraced and\ndismissed him.\n\nThen He addressed Nityananda, \"Listen, Shripad! I pray thee grant this\nrequest of mine. Don't come to Puri every year, but stay in Bengal to\ncarry out my will, for I see none else who can do the work. You alone\ncan accomplish my hard undertaking.\" Nityananda replied, \"I am but the\nbody; you are the life of it. It is admitted that the body cannot live\napart from life; yet you, by your incomprehensible power, are performing\nsuch an impossibility. Well, I shall do whatever you make me. I am not\nsubject to any [other] law.\" The Master embraced and gave him leave, and\nso to the other _bhaktas_ too.\n\nThe pilgrims from the Kulin village begged, as before, \"Master, appoint\nus our duty,\" to which He replied, \"Serve Vaishnavs, chant Krishna's\nname. These two will lead you soon to Krishna's feet.\" The men asked,\n\"By what signs can a Vaishnav be known?\" The Master knew their real\nthoughts, smiled, and answered, \"He is the true Vaishnav, who has\nKrishna's name ever on his lips. Adore his feet.\" Next year they put the\nvery same question, and the Master by His answer taught them the\ngradations of Vaishnavs: \"Know him to be the besf of Vaishnavs, the\nsight of whom brings Krishna's name on your tongue.\" Thus did He\ndescribe in succession the three grades of Vaishnavs: good, better, and\nbest.\n\nAll the Vaishnavs returned to Bengal. Vidyanidhi alone stayed at Puri\nthat year. He formed a close friendship with Swarup, and the two lived\ntogether engaged in discourse on Krishna. He gave _mantra_ anew to\nGadadhar Pandit. On the day of _Orani Shashthi_ he witnessed the\nprocession, and felt contempt at beholding Jagannath wearing a cloth\nwith the size not washed out of it. That very night Jagannath and\nBalaram visited him [in his sleep] and laughingly slapped his cheeks.\nVidyanidhi was inly glad at finding his cheeks swollen. . . .\n\nThus did the _bhaktas_ of Bengal come every year and witness the god's\nprocession in the Master's company. I shall describe only the years in\nwhich something special happened. Four years did the Master pass in this\nway: two years [after He took the monastic vow] were taken up by the\npilgrimage to the South and the return; the next two years He [stayed at\nPuri] wishing to go to Brindaban, but unable to stir at Ramananda's\nopposition. In the fifth year the Bengal pilgrims returned home\nimmediately after witnessing the Car Festival without staying [for four\nmonths].\n\nThen the Master embraced Sarvabhauma and Ramananda and said, \"Very eager\nam I to visit Brindaban. At your objection I have not set out these two\nyears. I _must_ go now. Do you both consent, for I have no other refuge\nsave you. In Bengal my two refuges are my mother and the river Ganges,\nboth gracious ones. On my way I shall see them. Permit me freely to\ndepart.\"\n\nAt these words they reflected, \"It is not good to oppose Him too much,\"\nand then told Him, \"It is now the rainy season, which makes travel\nimpossible. You will certainly depart on the _Vijaya-dashami_.\"\n\nOn that day the Master set out, taking with Himself all the _prasad_ of\nJagannath that had been given Him, and also the sandal wood and coloured\nthreads. Taking leave of Jagannath, He started in the morning, and sent\nback the Oriya disciples who were following Him. With His men He reached\nBhabanipur, Ramananda Ray coming behind in his litter. They spent the\nnight there, feeding on the copious _prasad_ sent by Vaninath. Next day\nthe Master reached Bhubaneshwar. At Katak He saw the [Sakshi-] Gopal\nimage. Here a Brahman named Swapneshwar bade Him to dinner, while\nRamananda Ray invited His followers. The Master lodged in the outer\ngarden, and after dinner reposed under the _Bakul_ tree.\n\nRamananda Ray went to inform King Pratap Rudra, who hastened thither in\njoy and repeatedly prostrated himself at the Master's feet in ecstasy,\nand prayed to Him with tremour and tears. The Master, pleased with his\nfaith, rose up and embraced him. The king hymned and bowed to Him again,\nhis body bathed with the tears of the Master's grace. Ramananda composed\nand seated the king, and the Master showed His favour to him in body\nmind and speech. So great was the favour shown that He became famous in\nthe world under the name of \"the Saviour of Pratap Rudra.\" The royal\nministers adored the Master, who then dismissed the king. Coming out\nPratap Rudra sent letters to all officers in his kingdom, bidding them,\n\"Build new houses in different villages [on the route]; fill six or\nseven such rooms with provisions. There lodge the Master and wait on Him\nday and night with your rods [of authority] in hand.\" His ministers\nHarichandan and Mangraj he ordered, \"Conduct all this business. Bring a\nnew boat to the river [Mahanadi] bank. When the Master after bathing\ncrosses the river, plant a staff there to mark the spot as a holy\n_tirtha_. I shall daily bathe there. May I die there. Hang out fine new\ncloths at the four gates. Ramananda, go you back to the Master.\" The\nking heard that the Master would resume His journey in the evening. So\nhe transported his wives in covered litters on the backs of elephants,\nwhich were drawn up in a line along the route. In the evening the Master\nproceeded with His followers and bathed at the _ghat_ of the\nChitrotpala [Mahanadi] river. The queens bowed when they saw Him, and at\nthe sight of Him they were filled with devotion, chanting Krishna's name\nwith tears in their eyes. In the three worlds has not been heard of such\nanother gracious saint, whose very view from a distance inspires love of\nKrishna.\n\nThen He crossed over in a boat, and in the moonlit night reached \"the\nfour gates\" (_chatur dwar_). Here He passed the night, and next morning\nbathed and ate the _maha-prasad_ of Jagannath, which the Parichha used\nto send Him daily in huge quantities at the king's command by means of a\nhost of servants.\n\nThen the Master wended His way, served by Ramananda, Mangraj, and Hari\nChandan, the three [officers of the king]. He was accompanied by the\nPuri Goswami, Swarup Damodar, Jagadananda, Mukunda, Govinda, Kashishwar,\nHaridas Thakur, Vakreshwar Pandit, Gopinath Acharya, Damodar Pandit,\nRamai, Nandai and many other _bhaktas_, of whom I have named the chief\nonly, for who can count them all? When Gadadhar Pandit followed Him, the\nMaster forbade him to quit the seat of his monastic devotions. The\nPandit pleaded, \"Where you are, there is my Puri. Let my seat of\nmonachism go to wrack and ruin.\" The Master said, \"Stay here,\nworshipping Gopinath;\" but the Pandit insisted, \"The sight of thy feet\nis worth ten million worship of gods.\" The Master argued, \"If you give\nup the worship, mine will be the sin. Stay here and worship, if you want\nto please me.\" The Pandit answered, \"Let the entire sin rest on me. I\nshall go alone, and not in your company. I am going [to Nadia] to see\nthe Mother, and not to bear you company. I am ready to bear the sin of\nquitting the worship I had vowed to perform.\" So saying the Pandit\nproceeded alone. At Katak the Master called him. The Pandit's devotion\nto Chaitanya passes comprehension: he gave up the vowed worship of\nKrishna as lightly as a straw. The Master was inly pleased at his\nconduct, but in loving anger He told him, holding his hand, \"Your object\nof quitting your promised worship has been fulfilled, as you have\nalready arrived far [from the temple of your god at Puri]. By wishing to\nstay with me, you are seeking your (selfish) pleasure. I grieve to see\nyou losing both your _dharmas_ (duties). If you wish to make me happy,\nreturn to Puri. I shall swear an oath, if you insist any further.\" So\nsaying the Master embarked, while the Pandit swooned away on the bank.\nHe bade Sarvabhauma lead the Pandit away. Sarvabhauma said, \"Get up!\nsuch is the Master's play. You know how Krishna broke his own vow to\nkeep the vow of his adorer Bhishma. _Vide Bhagabat_, I. ix. 34.\nSimilarly the Master has endured separation from you in order to keep\nyour vow sacred.\" So saying he consoled Gadadhar, and the two returned\nfull of grief to Puri. For His sake His _bhaktas_ renounced their\nreligious and earthly duties, but the Master could not bear that they\nshould sin thus.\n\nAt Jajpur He dismissed the two royal ministers who had been escorting\nHim, after talking day and night about Krishna. At every village (on the\nway) the royal officers, under orders, entertained the Master with\nvarious things in the newly built houses. So faring forth He reached\nRemuna [1], where He dismissed Ramananda Ray. The Ray fell down on the\nground in a dead faint; the Master took him up in His arms and wept.\n\nThen He reached the boundary of the Odhra country, where the royal\nofficer met Him, tended Him for three or four days, and told Him about\nthe path in front. \"Before you lies the land of a wine-bibing Muslim\nking, through fear of whom none can travel on the road. His territory\nextends to Pichhalda. None dares cross the river in awe of him. Stay\nhere for some days, while we negotiate with him to secure a safe voyage\nfor you.\" Just then an Oriya servant of the Muslim had visited Katak in\ndisguise. This Hindu spy, witnessing the wonderful deeds of the Master,\nreported to his king, \"A monk has come from Jagannath, with many pious\npersons in his train. They sing of Krishna incessantly, laughing,\ndancing, singing, weeping. The people flocked in _lakhs_ to see Him,\nbut after once seeing Him they could not return home, as they became\nalmost mad, chanting Krishna's name, dancing, weeping and rolling on the\nground. He cannot be described in words, but has to be seen, to be\nunderstood fully. His power shows that He is God.\" So saying the spy\nchanted _Hari! Krishna!_ laughing, weeping, and dancing like mad. This\nturned the Muslim king's mind. He sent his own confidential Hindu\nminister to the Oriya king's [frontier] officer. The man bowed to the\nMaster and became overwhelmed with love as he cried _Krishna! Krishna!_\nThen he composed himself and spoke to the Oriya king's officer, \"The\nMuslim governor has sent me to you to seek your permission for him to\ncome here and meet the Master. He is very anxious to do it, and entreats\nyou. Fear not any attack, it will be a peaceful journey.\" At this the\nfrontier-officer cried out in wonder, \"A Muslim's heart! Who could have\ndone this to it? Surely the Master Himself turned his heart, as the\nsight and (even) thought of Him saves the world. Then he turned to the\nconfidential minister and said, \"He is lucky. Let him come here to see\nthe Master, unarmed and with only six or seven attendants, if I am to\ntrust in him.\"\n\nOn hearing this, the Muhammadan governor arrived in a Hindu dress, and\nprostrated himself with tears of joy on seeing the Master from afar. The\nfrontier-officer led him forward with due honour, and the governor with\nfolded palms stood before the Master reciting Krishna's name and saying,\n\"Why have I been born in a low Muhammadan family? Why did not Fate send\nme to earth as one of the Hindu race, for then I could have come near\nthy feet? My life is useless. Let me die!\" The frontier-officer, moved\nby these words, praised the Master after clasping His feet, \"This man\nhas got a view of thee, whose very name when heard purifies a Chandal.\nWhat wonder that he will be saved? Such is the efficacy of looking at\nthee!\" Witness the _Bhagabat_, III. xxxiii 6.\n\nThen the Master looked benignly at the Muslim and in soothing terms told\nhim to repeat Krishna's name. The governor replied, \"As I have found\nacceptance with thee, bid me serve thee. Let me earn deliverance from\nthe sin of hurting Brahmans, cows and Vaishnavs, of which I have been\ntoo often guilty.\" Then Mukunda Datta broke in, \"Listen, Sir, our Master\nwishes to reach the bank of the Ganges. Help Him to go there. It is a\ngreat command and a good service.\"\n\nThe Muslim bowed to the Master and His party and set off gleefully. The\nfrontier-officer embraced him, formed a friendship with him, and gave\nhim many presents. Next morning the Muslim governor sent out many\ndecorated boats with his Hindu minister to escort the Master. The Oriya\nfrontier-officer, too, accompanied Him. The Master placed His men in the\ncabin of a new boat, and dismissed the frontier-officer, who stood on\nthe bank gazing at the voyagers with tears in his eyes. The governor\nafter bowing at the Master's feet, started the flotilla, with ten\nboat-loads of soldiers as a defence against pirates. He crossed the\nterrible river Mantreshwar, and proceeded to Pichhalda, at which\n(frontier) village the Master sent him back. The new disciple's\nexpressions of devotion on the occasion were indescribable.\n\nIn that boat the Master reached Panihati, and robed the captain in the\nrobe of His favour. The report of His coming created a sensation: men\ncrowded together on land and water. Raghav Pandit came and led the\nMaster to his house, making their way through the press of men with\ngreat difficulty. The Master halted there one day. Next morning He\nreached Kumarhati, where Shribas dwelt. Thenoe He proceeded to the\nhouses of Shivananda and Vasudev. When lodging with the Vachaspati, He\none night fled to the Kulia village shrinking from the crowd. Here in\nthe house of Madhav-das millions had a view of Him, and here He stayed a\nweek saving all the sinners. Thence He went to the Acharya's house at\nShantipur, where He met mother Shachi for soothing her grief. Thence He\nvisited Ramkeli and the dancing-hall, returning to Shantipur for a ten\ndays halt. Here Raghunath-das met Him. There were two brothers, Hiranya\nand Govardhan-das, the owners of Sapta-gram and twelve _lakhs_ of\nRupees. Both were very charitable and rich Brahmans, well-behaved,\nhigh-born, and foremost in piety, the support of the Brahmans of\nNavadwip, whom they helped with land and money. Their guru was Nilambar\nChakravarti, who treated them like his brothers. As they had formerly\nserved Purandar Mishra, they were well-known to the Master.\nRaghunath-das was the son of this Govardhan, and averse to the world\nfrom his childhood.\n\nOn the Master's coming to Shantipur after turning hermit, Raghunath had\ncome and fallen down at His feet in a rapture of love. The Master had\ngraciously touched him with His toe. Raghunath's father always did good\nturns to the Acharya who did Raghunath a favour, helping him to eat the\nleavings of the Master's dinner. After staying at the Master's feet for\na week, he had been sent away by the Master when He went to Puri.\nRaghunath returned home, turned mad with love, and repeatedly ran away\nfrom his father's house to go to Puri. But his father seized him on the\nway and kept him tied up, with five watchmen to guard him day and night\nand four servants and two cooks, in all eleven guards.\n\nRaghunath was brooding over his failure to go to Puri, when he heard of\nthe Master's present visit to Shantipur and begged his father thus: \"Let\nme go and see the Master's feet, or my soul will quit my body.\" His\nfather then sent him with many men and things and an order to return\nsoon. Raghunath spent a week at Shantipur in the Master's company, ever\npondering on his heart's wish, \"How shall I escape from my guards? How\nshall I go to Puri with the Master?\" The omniscient Chaitanya, knowing\nhis mind, told him soothingly by way of instruction, \"Peace! go home.\nTurn not wild. It is only gradually that men reach the shore of the\nworld-ocean. Don't ape renunciation of the world, in order to make a\nshow before the people. Enjoy your worldly possessions duly, without\nsetting your heart on them. Cherish piety in your heart, while outwardly\nyou discharge your temporal affairs. Soon will Krishna deliver you. When\nI return here from Brindaban on my way to Puri, come to me by some\ndevice. Krishna will at that time inspire you with the device. Who can\nhold back one whom Krishna favours?\"\n\nRaghunath returned home, followed the Master's advice, outwardly gave up\nhis mania and other-worldliness, and did his proper work without being\nabsorbed in it. His parents were pleased at the change and relaxed their\nrigour.\n\nHere at Shantipur, the Master embraced Adwaita and other _bhaktas_ one\nby one and said, \"Permit me, ye all, to go to Puri. As I have met you\nall here, you need not go to Puri this year. From this place I will\nproceed to Brindaban. Grant your permission, so that my journey may be\nsafe.\" Holding His mother's feet He long entreated her and got her\nconsent to visit Brindaban, and then sent her back to Navadwip.\n\nHe then set out for Puri with His followers, being served on the way by\nthe same men as before. On His arrival at Puri there was a bustle in\nthat village: His joyful _bhaktas_ came and were all embraced by\nHim,--Kashi Mishra, Ramananda, Pradyumna, Sarvabhanma, Vaninath, Shikhi,\nGadadhar Pandit and others. To them He said, \"I wanted to go to\nBrindaban by way of Bengal, after seeing my mother and the Ganges. When\nI arrived in Bengal a thousand followers gathered round me; myriads of\npeople flocked there to see the fun. The crowd blocked the roads.\nWherever I put up, the houses and walls were broken down by their\npressure. Wherever the eye rested there was a sea of heads. With great\ndifficulty I reached the Ramkeli village, where two brothers Rup and\nSanatan came to me. They were foremost of devotees, winners of Krishna's\ngrace, outwardly royal ministers and governors, old in knowledge faith\nand wisdom, and yet behaving as meeker than grass. Their humility could\nhave pierced a stony (heart). Highly pleased I gave them leave saying,\n'It is good to be lowly and curb one's own pride. Soon will Krishna\ndeliver you.' When going away Sanatan spoke a riddle: 'To be followed by\na million men is not the right manner of visiting Brindaban.' At that\ntime I did not mind the saying, and next morning reached a village named\nKanai's Dancing-hall. Here at night I pondered over Sanatan's dark\nsaying and it struck me, 'He has spoken well. With so many men following\nme, people will point at me as parading saint-ship. Lonely is that\nBrindaban, hard to win, difficult of access. I must go there alone or\nwith only one companion.' Madhavendra Puri had gone there all alone, and\n(hence) had Krishna appeared to him on the pretext of serving him with\nmilk. And I,--I am going there like a travelling showman. It is not fit\nto visit Brindaban with a host. A pilgrimage thither accords only with\nsolitary travelling. Instead of my going there alone (as is proper), an\narmy is accompanying me beating drums! O Shame on me! O Shame on me! So\nsaying I became unsettled, gave up the journey and returned to thfe\nGanges. Leaving my _bhaktas_ at different places I have arrived here\nwith only five or six. Favour me and give me your counsel how I may\npeacefully go to Brindaban. I have failed to reach Brindaban because I\nleft Gadadhar behind here and thus pained him!\" At this Gadadhar in\nrapture seized the Master's feet and spoke meekly, \"Wherever you are,\nthere is Brindaban, there Jamuna, Ganges and all holy places. You are\ngoing to Brindaban only to give an object-lesson to men. You will do\nwhat your heart likes. The rainy season is coming. Spend these four\nmonths at Puri. Thereafter do as you list. Go or stay as you like. Who\ncan prevent you?\" The other _bhaktas_ joined in and said, \"Gadadhar has\nvoiced our thoughts.\" Yielding to their wishes, the Master stayed there\nfour months. Pratap Rudra was glad to hear of it. That day Gadadhar\nfeasted the Master and His _bhaktas_. [Text, canto 16.]\n\n[1] The author, however, tells us in canto 1 that Ramananda Ray\naccompanied the Master to Bhadrak. Remuna is 5 miles west and Bhadrak 28\nmiles south of Baleshwar.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nThe Pilgrimage to Brindaban\n\nWith the coming of early autumn the Master's mind turned to His\npilgrimage. He secretly took counsel with Ramananda and Swarup, saying,\n\"If you two help me, I can visit Brindaban. At night I shall quit my bed\nand escape by the forest path without taking a single attendant. If any\none afterwards seeks to follow me, do you detain him, letting none\ndepart. Mind not the sorrow. Be of good cheer and give me leave. If I\nleave you pleased, my way-faring will be happy.\"\n\nThe two replied, \"You are God and a free agent; you act your will,\nsubject to none. But listen to one request of ours. You have just now\nsaid that our happiness would make you happy. Well, then, Sir, grant\nthis our prayer. You must take a good Brahman with you. He will cook\nyour food and carry your pots. In the forest path you will not meet with\nany Brahman whose cooking is fit to be eaten. Give us leave to send a\nBrahman along with you.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"No, I shall take none of my own comrades with me.\nIf I take one, the others will be grieved. Some sweet-souled stranger\nmay be my companion. I can take one such if I can get him.\" Swarup\nsuggested, \"Here is Balabhadra Bhattacharya, tender to you, a scholar, a\npious man and a gentleman. He had come from Bengal with you during your\nfirst advent. He wishes to visit all the _tirthas_. He has a Brahman\nservant; he will do your cooking on the way. We shall all be happy if\nyou take him with you, as then you will feel no hardship in making your\nway through the forest. The Brahman servant will carry your cloth,\nwater, and pots, while Bhattacharya will cook your food.\" The Master\nagreed to it and took Balabhadra Bhattacharya with Him.\n\nThe night before, He visited Jagannath and took the god's leave, and\nbefore sunrise He slipped away unperceived. In the morning the\n_bhaktas_ missed Him and ran about anxiously seeking Him. Swarup\nstopped them, and they stayed, knowing such to be the Master's wish.\nLeaving the beaten track the Master took to by-paths, and passing by the\nleft of Katak entered the jungle. In the lonely forest He fared forth,\nchanting Krishna's name,--elephants and tigers moved away from the path\nat the sight of Him. In an ecstatic mood He passed through herds of\ntigers, elephants, rhinoceroses and boars. Bhattacharya shrank in\nterror, but they stepped aside cowed by the Master's power.\n\nOne day a tiger was lying across the path. The Master in abstraction\ntrod on it and cried, \"Speak Krishna's name!\" And lo! the tiger stood up\nand began to dance, while chanting _Krishna! Krishna!_ Another day He\nwas bathing in the river, when a herd of wild elephants came there to\ndrink. They arrived before Him as He was offering the oblation of\nwater. Bidding them repeat Krishna's name He rushed sprinkling the water\non them. Every elephant touched by that water shouted _Krishna_ and\ndanced and ran about in love. Some rolled on the ground, some bellowed,\nto the marvel of Bhattacharya.\n\nOn the way the Master sang _kirtan_ aloud. The deer flocked thither,\ndrawn by His sweet voice, and marched with Him on two sides, while He\npatted their backs and playfully recited the verses, _Bhagabat_, X. xxi.\n11. Just then six or seven tigers came up and joined the deer in\naccompanying the Master. The sight reminded the Master of Brindaban and\nHe recited the verses descriptive of the virtues of Brindaban.\n_Bhagabat_, X. xiii. 55.\n\nWhen the Master shouted \"Chant Krishna's name,\" the deer and the tigers\ndanced together (peacefully) shout ing Krishna! Krishna! a wonderful\nsight to Balabhadra Bhattacharya. The tigers and deer embraced and\nkissed each other, the Master smiling at the fun of it. Leaving them\nthere He went on. The peacock and other birds, on seeing Him, proceeded\nin His company singing _Krishna!_ and dancing like mad. The Master\nshouted, 'Say _Hari_!' Trees and creepers rejoiced at the sound. To all\nthe animate and inanimate things in the jungle of Chota Nagpur\n(_Jharikhand_) He communicated the name of Krishna and maddened them\nwith love. In every village that He passed through or halted in, all the\nmen were filled with devotion. If one heard the name of Krishna from His\nlips, he spread it to a second, the second to a third, and so on. All\nchanted Krishna-Hari's name, danced, wept, and laughed; from one to\nanother the whole land became Vaishnav. Though for fear of drawing a\ncrowd the Master concealed His devotion and gave no outward exhibition\nof it, yet the very sight of Him, the hearing of His words, and His\npower made all the people Vaishnpv. Travelling in Central Bengal, East\nBengal, West Bengal, and Orissa, He had delivered the people there. Now,\non the pretext of a pilgrimage to Mathura, He came to Jharikhand and\nsaved the ruffianly bearish people by teaching them the faith that\nsprings from Krishna's name. The wood suggested Brindaban, every hill\nlooked like Govardhan, every river seemed to Him a Jamuna. There He\ndanced in ecstasy, and fell down weeping.\n\nBhattacharya gathered all green leaves, roots and fruits wherever he\nfound them on the way. When they halted at a village, six or seven\nBrahmans would invite Him; one supplied Bhattacharya with rice, another\nwith milk, curds, _ghee_, or sugar. Where there was no Brahman\ninhabitant, all the Shudra merchants invited Bhattacharya. He cooked the\nwild vegetables, which delighted the Master. He kept a store of rice to\nlast for three or four days. In the lonely parts of the jungle, where\nthere was no human habitation, Bhattacharya cooked that rice with soup\nof wild vegetables. The picnic delighted the Master exceedingly and the\nsolitude gratified Him. Bhattacharya served Him as tenderly as a slave,\nhis Brahman carrying the water-pot and clothing. Thrice daily He bathed\nin the hot springs, twice He warmed Himself by the fire, as fuel was\nabundant; ever did He move in solitude rapt in love. Feeling the bliss\n(of such a life) He said, \"Much have I travelled, but nowhere have I\nfound any trace of the (alleged) hardships of journeying in forests.\nPassing gracious has Krishna been to me: He has directed me to this\nforest path to give me varied delight. Previously when I had resolved to\nvisit Brindaban after seeing my mother, the Ganges and my _bhaktas_,\nand taking a party of my followers faith me, and with that aim went to\nBengal, and after delighting myself with the sight of those dear ones, I\nset out joyfully with my followers, a million people joined me. Then\nKrishna instructed me through the mouth of Sanatan; He hindered that\njourney and brought me to this forest path. O Ocean of Mercy! gracious\nunto this humble wretch! There can be no pleasure without thy grace!\"\nThen embracing Bhattacharya He said, \"All this pleasure have I through\nthy help.\" But Bhattacharya replied, \"You are Krishna, you are the\ngracious one! I am a despicable being; you have taken pity on me; you\nhave (deigned to) take me with you, and to eat food cooked by me. I am a\nwretch. But you have ennobled this crow to the rank of _Garuda_. You\nare God Himself, a free being!\"\n\nThus did Balabhadra hymn the Master and please His mind by his loving\nservice. Thus enjoying much bliss He reached Benares and bathed at noon\nat the Mani-Karnika ghat. Tapan Mishra was then bathing there, and felt\nsome surprise on seeing the Master, as he had previously (only) heard of\nChaitanya having turned hermit. When the recognition became certain, he\nwas filled with rapture, and wept clasping the Master's feet, but He\nraised and embraced him. The Mishra guided the Master to the temple of\nVishweshwar and Bindu Madhav, and at last brought Him to his own house,\nwhere he served Him, danced (in ecstasy) with his garment fluttering,\ndrank with his whole family the washings of the Master's feet, fed Him,\nhonoured Balabhadra Bhattacharya, and arranged for his cooking.\n\nAfter taking His meal the Master lay down, the Mishra's son, Raghu,\nshampooing His feet. The Mishra family ate the leavings of the Master's\nplate. Chandra-Shekhar, a scribe of the Vaidya caste, resident in\nBenares, a friend of the Mishra and a devotee of the Master, came there\non hearing of His arrival. As he wept at His feet, Chaitanya lifted up\nand graciously embraced him. Chandra-Shekhar said, \"Great is thy grace,\nMaster that thou hast appeared to thy servant! At my first coming to\nBenares I used to hear nothing but the words 'illusion' (_maya_) and\nBrahma. Here nothing was preached except expositions of the six systems\nof philosophy. Then the Mishra kindly told me of Krishna, and we two\nmeditated ceaselessly on thy feet. Omniscient God! thou hast appeared to\nus. Let us both serve thee for some days before thou goest to Brindaban,\nas we hear.\" The Mishra added, \"Master, during your stay at Kashi do not\nconsent to dine anywhere except in my house.\" Thus the Master, compelled\nby His two devotees, stayed there for some ten days against His will. A\nMaratha Brahman came to see Him, marvelled at His beauty and devotion,\nand invited Him, but He declined saying that He was already engaged for\nthe day. With the same plea He put him off day after day in fear of some\n_sannyasis_ joining His company.\n\nPrakashananda used to deliver public lectures on Vedanta to his many\npupils. The Maratha Brahman, after having viewed the Master, described\nHim to Prakashananda thus, \"A _sannyasi_ has come here from Jagannath,\nwhose glory and power I cannot adequately describe. Big of limbs, fair\nas the purest gold, long-armed, lotus-eyed, clad in all the marks of\nGod-head, as one can see. O, marvel! The sight of Him convinces one that\nHe is Narayan. Whosoever beholds Him chants Krishna's _sankirtan_. All\nthe marks of a great _bhagabat_ as described in the _Bhagabat_ are\nevident in Him. Ever does His tongue sing Krishna's name, His eyes run\ntears like the Ganges stream. Now He dances, now laughs, now sings and\nnow weeps, or at times roars like the lion. The world's benefactor is\nHe, named Krishna-Chaitanya. His name, appearance, and virtues, all are\nmatchless. To see Him is to know Him as fashioned in God's mould.\nHearing will not make one credit this marvellous tale.\"\n\nThe philosopher laughed much and scoffed at the Brahman, saying, \"I have\nheard that there is a _sannyasi_ in Bengal, an emotionalist, a disciple\nof Keshav Bharati and a fraud on the public. He is named Chaitanya, and\nwith his emotional band he roams over the country dancing. Everyone who\nsees him calls him God. Such is his spell, all beholders are bewitched.\nI hear that the great scholar Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya has turned mad in\nthis Chaitanya's company. He is a _sannyasi_ in name only, but really a\ngreat wizard. But his stock in trade of sentimentality will not sell at\nKashi! Attend to Vedanta; do not resort to him! The companionship of the\nwild man will ruin you in life and death.\" Grieved at these words, the\nMaratha Brahman left the place appealing to Krishna. His mind having\nbeen purged by the Master's sight, he came to Him and unfolded the tale\nof his sorrow. The Master smiled. The Brahman continued, \"When I first\nmentioned you to him, he said that he knew you. When he uttered your\nname in the course of his abuse of you, he thrice used the form\n_Chaitanya_ without adding Krishna! It grieved me to hear him speak\nyour name in such a contemptuous manner. Tell me the reason of his\nconduct, for my lips uttered Krishna's name as soon as I saw you.\" The\nMaster replied, \"The philosophers who hold the doctrine of illusion sin\nagainst Krishna. They constantly prate about _Brahma_, _Atma_ and\n_Chaitanya_, and cannot utter the name of Krishna, because that is\nequivalent to Krishna's self. The name, the image, and the self of a god\nare all one; there is no distinction between them; the three are of the\nform of soul's bliss (_chidananda_). Between Krishna's body and\npersonality, between his name and Krishna himself there is no\ndifference. In the case of creatures, no doubt, name, body, and\npersonality are different from one another. _Vide Hari-bhakti-vilas_\nxi. 269.\n\n\"Therefore Krishna's name, body, and action (_vilas_) cannot be\ncomprehended by the natural senses; they manifest themselves. His name,\nqualities, and antics are the soul's bliss (_chidananda_) like\nKrishna's own form. From delight in God comes the fuller pleasure of\nappreciating Krishna's actions (_lila_), which attract and conquer the\nspiritual man. _Vide Bhagabat_, XII. xii. 52.\n\n\"From delight in God comes the fuller pleasure (of relishing) Krishna's\nmerits, which attract the inmost spirit of the soul. _Vide Bhagabat_, I.\nvi. 10. Not to speak of Krishna's feet, even the odour of the _Tulsi_\nplant captivates the inmost sense of the soul. _Vide Bhagabat_, III.,\nxv. 43.\n\n\"Therefore does Krishna's name fail to rise to his lips; the\nIllusionists are mere Phenomenalists. He has said that I have come to\nKashi with a parcel of sentiments for which there is no customer here,\nand I must take it all back! Well, how shall I carry away this heavy\nload? I will sell it here even for a trifle!\" So saying and making that\nBrahman His own, next morning He set out for Mathura. The three followed\nHim, but He sent them home from a distance. In His absence they used to\nmeet together and sing His praise, mad with love. At Allahabad He bathed\nin the Triveni, and danced and sang in devotion before the image of\nMadhav. In rapture at the sight of the Jamuna, He jumped into it, but\nwas hurriedly dragged out by Bhattacharya. Three days He spent thus at\nAllahabad saving men by imparting to them the love and name of Krishna.\nOn the way to Mathura wherever He halted, He made the people dance to\nKrishna's loved name. He now made the people of the West Vaishnavs, as\nHe had formerly done those of the South. Wherever He came to the Jamuna\non the way, He leapt into it, senseless with love.\n\nOn approaching Mathura, He prostrated Himself in an ecstasy of devotion\nat the sight of the city. Here He bathed in the Vishram ghat, and bowed\nto Kesav's image at the place of his nativity. He danced, sang, and\nshouted in rapture,--men marvelling at his fervour. One Brahman clasped\nHis feet and then began to dance with Him over come with love. Both\ndanced in rapture, embraced each other, and cried _Hari! Krishna!_ with\nuplifted arms. The spectators shouted _Hari! Hari!_--there was a tumult;\nthe attendant of the image garlanded the Master. Marvelling at the sight\nof the Master, the people said, \"Such beauty and such devotion can never\nbe human. Verily, He is the incarnation of Krishna, come to Mathura to\nsave mankind, because at the sight of Him men are intoxicated with love\nand laugh weep dance and sing Krishna's name!\"\n\nThen the Master took the Brahman apart and asked him secretly, \"You are\na Brahman, noble-minded, simple and old. Whence did you acquire such\nwealth of love?\" The man replied, \"When Madhavendra Puri came here on\nhis travels, he was pleased to be my guest; he made me his disciple and\nate of my cooking. That great soul revealed the (concealed) Gopal, who\nis worshipped at Govardhan to this day.\" At this the Master touched his\nfeet, but the Brahman in alarm fell down at the Master's feet. The\nMaster explained, \"You are my _guru_, and I am almost a disciple to you.\nThe _guru_ should not bow to the disciple.\" The Brahman in fear and\nsurprise asked, \"Why do you, a _sannyasi_, use such language? But stay!\nYour fervour makes me infer that you are connected with Madhavendra Puri\n[by the tie of initiation]. He was filled with love of Krishna: nowhere\ndo we find even the savour of such love except jmong those connected\nwith him.\" Then Bhattacharya explained the Master's relation to the\nPuri, at which the Brahman began to dance in rapture. He conducted the\nMaster to his own house, and of his own will served Him in many ways. He\nmade Bhattacharya cook the Master's meal, but He smilingly said, \"The\nPuri has dined with you. Do thou feed me. This is an instruction for me.\n_Vide Gita_, iii. 21.\"\n\nThough the Brahman was a _Sanoria_, at whose house _sannyasis_ do not\ndine, yet the Puri, drawn by his truly Vaishnav behaviour, had initiated\nand dined with him. Now that the Master begged to eat of his cooking,\nthe Brahman humbly said, \"Great is my fortune that I shall feast you.\nYou are God, unfettered by rule and practice. But the ignorant will\nblame you, which I cannot bear to hear.\" The Master answered, \"The\n_Shruti_, the _Smriti_ and all the sages are not of one opinion, but\nat variance with one another. The actions of good men are for confirming\nreligion. The Puri's action is the essence of that religion. _Vide\nEkadashi-tattwa_, Vyas's words:\n\n_'Logical reasoning cannot establish our duty. The Shrutis are\nconflicting. Not a rishi whose views do not differ from those of others.\nThe truth of religion is hidden in a cave. Follow therefore the path\ntrodden by good men.'\"_\n\nThen the Brahman feasted the Master, to see whom the citizens of Mathura\ncame in _lakhs_. The Master appeared to them outside the house, and with\nuplifted arms cried \"Chant _Hari! Hari!_\" The men raised a shout of\n_Hari!_ and danced mad with love. He bathed at the 24 ghats of the\nJamuna, and was shown by that Brahman all the holy sites: Swayambhu,\nVishram, Dirgha-Vishnu, Bhuteshwar, Mahavidya, Gokarna, &c.\n\nWishing to see the woods, He took the Brahman with Him and visited the\nMadhu-ban, the Tal-ban, Kumud and Bahula, in all of which He sang in a\nfervour of love. The cows grazing by the way surrounded the Master with\nloud bellowings, but grew still at the sight of His over flowing\ndevotion, and licked His limbs tenderly. When He became quiet, He rubbed\ntheir backs, and they would not leave Him as He advanced. The cowherds\nstopped them with great difficulty.\n\nHis voice drew to Him herds of deer, which gazed at His face, licked His\nbody, and followed Him on the way without fear. The black-bird and the\nbee sang sweetly on seeing Him; the peacocks strutted dancing before\nHim. At His coming the trees and creepers of Brindaban put forth sprouts\n(as if they were thrilled) and shed honey like tears. Branches laden\nwith flowers and fruits, bowed to His feet, as friend hastens to greet\nfriend with a present. At the sight of Him, the animate and inanimate\nthings of Brindaban rejoiced, as on meeting with their friend. Seeing\ntheir affection the rapt Master played with them all, over come by their\ninfluence. Each tree and creeper He embraced; in thought He offered\nevery flower and fruit to Krishna. Weeping, trembling, shaken with love,\nHe shouted, 'Say _Krishna! Krishna!_' The living and the inert shouted\n_Krishna_ as if echoing His deep voice. Clasping the necks of the deer\nHe wept, while the deer trembled and shed tears. The green parrot with\nits mate appeared on the branches, and on His wishing to hear their\nspeech they flew on to His hand and recited verses in praise of Krishna.\n_Vide Govinda-lilamrita_, xiii. 29 &c.\n\nWonder and enthusiasm seized the Master at these words, and the birds\nflew back to the branch. Delighted He gazed at the dance of the\npeacocks, the neck of the bird reminding Him of Krishna, and He swooned\naway in rapture. The (local) Brahman and Bhattacharya nursed Him,\nsprinkled Him with water and fanned Him with His cloth. Loudly they\npoured Krishna's name into His ears, (at which) He awoke and rolled on\nthe ground. The brambles of the rough jungle path scratched His limbs,\nbut Bhattacharya took Him in his lap to soothe Him. Krishna's love had\nfilled His mind, so He sprang up with the cry of \"Chant! Chant!\" and\nbegan to dance. Bhattacharya and the (Mathura) Brahman sang Krishna's\nname, while the Master wended His way dancing. The Brahman marvelled at\nthe fervour of His love and grew concerned about His safety. His passion\nof devotion on the way to Brindaban grew tenfold of what it had been at\nPuri; it increased a thousandfold on seeing Mathura, and a hundred\nthousand times when He roamed the woods of Brindaban. When He was in\nother lands the mention of Brindaban had caused His love to well out;\nand now He had actually come to that Brindaban! His soul was steeped in\nlove day and night, and He bathed and dined (unconsciously) as a matter\nof habit. [Text, canto 17.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nThe Master's doings at Brindaban\n\nDancing thus the Master reached the village of Arith, where He suddenly\nrecovered His senses. He asked the people about the Radha pool\n(_kunda_); but they knew it not, nor did the Brahman guide. But the\nomniscient discovered the hidden _tirthas_ and bathed in shallow pools\nin two rice-fields. The villagers wondered at the spectacle. The Master\nbegan to praise the Radha pool in love: \"Radha is dearest to Krishna\namong all the milk-maids. So is the Radha-_kunda_ dear (to him) as the\nbathing-place of his darling. In this pool Krishna ever sported in the\nwater with Radha and on the bank he dallied in the _rasa_ dance.\nWhosoever bathes once here gets from Krishna a love rivalling that of\nRadha. The pool is charming like Radha's self; its glory is great like\nRadha's.\"\n\nRecollecting Krishna's acts in the pool, He danced in rapture on the\nbank, and painted His forehead with its mud. Bhattacharya took a little\nof the mud. Next, the Master went to the Suman tank. At the sight of the\nGovardhan hill He was affected, prostrated Himself before it, and madly\nembraced a rock. In a frenzy of devotion He proceeded to the village of\nGovardhan, where he bowed to the god Hari-dev, the first incarnation of\nNarayan, who dwelt on the western edge of Mathura. Before the god He\ndanced in rapture, the people at the wondrous news flocking to see Him,\nand admiring His beauty and devotion. The attendant of the image\nentertained Him. Bhattacharya cooked in the Brahma-_kunda_ and the\nMaster bathed, dined, and passed the night in the temple. At night He\ncogitated, \"No, I must not ascend Govardhan. How then can I get the\nsight of Gopal?\" He remained silent over the matter, but Gopal knowing\nHis mind, played a trick. The god Gopal was installed at Anna-kut, a\nvillage of the Rajputs. Some one informed the headman at night that the\nTurks were arming to sack the village, and so they should all flee at\nnight with their god. The villagers in alarm first transferred Gopal to\nthe Ganthuli village, where the god was worshipped in secret in a\nBrahman's house. Then they all fled, leaving the village empty. Thus did\nGopal migrate repeatedly in fear of the Muslims, being removed from\ntemple to bower or to another village.\n\nIn the morning the Master after bathing in the Manas Ganga, set out to\nwalk round Govardhan. Moved to rapture at the sight of the hill, He\nadvanced dancing and chanting the verses, _Bhagabat_, X. xxi. 18.\n\nBathing at the Govinda-kunda and other holy spots, He learnt that Gopal\nhad gone to Ganthuli, whither He proceeded to see the god, before whom\nHe danced and sang in a transport of devotion. Moved by Gopal's beauty\nHe recited a _shloka_ and danced till the close of the day.\n\nFor three days did He view Gopal; on the fourth day Gopal came away with\nHim, as He walked singing and dancing, and went back to his former\ntemple [on the hill], while the Master stayed at the foot of it. The\npeople in delight cheered aloud _Hari! Hari!_ Thus does the tender\nGopal descend from the hill on some pretext, in order to show himself to\nthe devotee who passionately longs to see him and yet declines to set\nfoot upon Govardhan. Thus did he appear to Rup and Sanatan. When Rup was\ntoo old to walk and yet longed to see Gopal's charms, the god took\nrefuge for a month in the Vithaleshwar temple at Mathura in fear of the\nMuslims. Then Rup with his disciples saw him there for a month. [Rup's\ndisciples named]. After a month Gopal went back to his temple, while Rup\nreturned to Brindaban.\n\nThen the Master visited the Kamya forest, and all other places in\nBrindaban in the manner described before. Thence to Nandishwar, at the\nsight of whom He fell into an ecstasy. After bathing in the Paban and\nother pools, He climbed the hill and asked if there was any temple on\nthe top. Being directed by the local people, He entered the cave and\nthere beheld the image of the fair dancing Child between his robust\nparents. He bowed at the feet of Nanda and Yashoda, and in rapture\ntouched all the limbs of the child Krishna. After dancing and singing\nthere all day, He visited the Khadir wood, the Vishnu reposing on the\nSesha Snake, Khela-_tirtha_, the Bhandir wood, the Bhadra wood (across\nthe Jamuna), the Shri-ban, the Ivauha-ban, the Maha-ban, (the\nbirth-place of Radha), where He beheld the site of the killing of\nYamalarjun, to the over flowing of His love. After visiting Gokul He\nreturned to Mathura. Here He stayed at that Brahman's house, visiting\nKrishna's birth-shrine; but He left Mathura on account of its press of\npeople and dwelt in seclusion at Akrur-_tirtha_.\n\nAnother day He visited Brindaban, bathed in the Kaliya lake and\nPraskandan. From the Twelve Suns (_Dwadash Aditya_) He went to the\nKashi _tirtha_. At the place of _rasa_ He fainted away in love, and on\nrecovering rolled on the ground, laughed, wept, danced, recited verses,\nand sang. In such deeds was the day spent there, in the evening He\nreturned to Akrur for breakfast.\n\nNext morning He bathed at the Chiraghat of Brindaban, and rested under a\nvery ancient tamarind tree of the age of Krishna's exploits, with a\nsmooth platform built round its trunk. Close by flowed the Jamuna; cool\nbreezes blew; the water of the Jamuna gazed at the beauty of Brindaban.\nAfter singing the holy names under the tamarind tree, the Master\nperformed His noonday prayer and breakfasted at Akrur. The people of the\nvillage crowded in such numbers to see Him that He could not dance\nfreely. So He came back to Brindaban, and sitting apart sang the holy\nnames till noon. In the third quarter of the day He appeared to the\npeople and advised them all to make _sankirtan_ of Krishna's name.\n\nThen arrived a Vaishnav, of the Rajput race, named Krishna-das, a\nhouseholder living in a village on the other side of the Jamuna. After\nbathing in the Keshighat he was going to the Kali lake when he suddenly\nbeheld a holy man sitting under the tamarind tree. Admiring the beauty\nand fervour of the Master, he bowed to Him in devotion. To the Master's\nquery as to who he was, he replied, \"I am a miserable householder, a\nRajput from across the river. I long to be servant to a Vaishnav. Last\nnight in sleep I saw a vision which exactly agrees with you.\" As the\nMaster graciously embraced him, the Rajput mad with love danced crying\n_Hari! Hari!_ He followed the Master at noon to the Akrur-_tirtha_ and\nate His leavings. Next morning he bore the Master's water-pot [to\nBrindaban] and kept His company, leaving his wife, children and home.\n\nEverywhere men began to say that Krishna had again appeared at\nBrindaban. One morning the citizens of Mathura were returning from\nBrindaban with a great noise, when the Master met them and asked them\nwhence they were coming. They replied, \"Krishna has appeared in the\nwater of the Kali-daha lake. He is dancing on the hood of the snake\nKaliya, whose jewel is flashing in the water. We have seen it with our\nown eyes. It is beyond doubt.\" The Master smiled and remarked, \"It is\nall very true.\" Thus for three nights people flocked there, all saying\non their return that they had beheld Krishna. When they said in the\nMaster's presence that they had seen Krishna, Saraswati indeed moved\nthem to speak the truth, for in seeing _Him_ they were beholding the true\nKrishna; while they were neglecting the real before their eyes in order\nto behold the unreal [apparition of Krishna in the lake]. When\nBhattacharya begged leave to behold Krishna there, the Master slapped\nhim and said, \"You are a learned man, and yet you have turned a fool,\nbelieving the story of fools! Why should Krishna appear in that lake?\nFools in their delusion are making a fuss [about nothing]. Don't lose\nyour senses. Stay at home. To-morrow at night go and see Krishna.\"\n\nIn the morning a quiet man came to the Master, and He asked him if he\nhad seen Krishna. The man replied, \"A fisherman was catching fish in the\nlake with a lamp in his boat. People seeing him from a distance mistook\nhim for Krishna dancing on the snake; the boat was regarded as the\nsnake's hood, and the lamp as its crown-jewel! True, Krishna _has_ come\nto Brindaban, but it is not true that the people have seen him. Far from\nseeing him they are holding a false notion, just as an imbecile\n[_sthanu_] man takes things in a contrary light.\" The Master asked,\n\"Where have you seen Krishna?\" The man replied, \"You are a _sannyasi_ a\nwalking Narayan. You have come to Brindaban, as the incarnation of\nKrishna, to deliver all men by your appearance.\" The Master invoked God\nin horror and cried, \"Say not so! Never regard this, the humblest of\ncreatures, as Krishna. A _sannyasi_ is a particle of _chit_, a\ncreature is like a single ray of light; but Krishna, full of all the six\npowers, is like the Sun. A creature and the Creator can never be equal,\nany more than a blazing fire and a solitary spark can be. The fool who\nspeaks of a creature as equal to God is a sinner, destined to be\npunished by Yama.\"\n\nThe man replied, \"You have not the human mind. Your appearance and\ncharacter are like Krishna's. In form you resemble the Son of Braja's\nlord; your bright complexion eclipses your yellow robe. The musk's\nfragrance cannot be concealed even if it is tied up in a cloth; so too\nyour Godly nature cannot be kept hidden. Supernatural is your character,\nyour wisdom unfathomable, the sight of you has driven the world mad with\nthe love of Krishna. Woman, child, old man, a Chandal, or even a\nMuslim,--whosoever once beholds you, dances madly, chanting Krishna's\nname. He becomes a teacher unto others and converts the world. Not to\nspeak of seeing you, the mere hearing of your name throws a man into a\nfrenzy of devotion to Krishna and makes him a spiritual deliverer to all\nothers. Your name sanctifies even Chandals. Super human are your\npowers,--beyond description. _Vide Bhagabat_, III. xxxiii. 6. Such is\nyour glory, you have the attributes of detachment. Your form and\nattributes prove you to be Krishna!\"\n\nThe Master favoured these men, and they returned home wild with love.\nThus did He stay a few days at Akrur, saving men by imparting to them\nthe love of Krishna's name. That disciple of Madhav Puri invited every\nhouseholder in Mathura. The people of Mathura, Brahmans and good men, in\nparties of ten or twenty every day invited Bhattacharya, who could\naccept only one of the invitations. The people, getting no opportunity\nof giving dinners, pressed that Brahman to accept their hospitality.\nKanauji, Deccani, and Vaidik Brahmans all humbly asked the Master to\ndinner. They came to Akrur in the morning, cooked, offered the food to\nthe _Shalgram_, and fed the Master on it. One day, sitting on the Akrur\nghat, the Master reflected, \"Here did Aknir see Vaikuntha, and the\npeople of Brindaban got a view of heaven. So saying He jumped into the\nwater; Krishna-das set up a loud lamentation; Bhattacharya hurried there\nand dragged the Master out. Then he took secret counsel with the (local)\nBrahman, saying, \"The Master was rescued only because I was at hand. But\nif He is drowned at Brindaban who will save Him? Here we have crowds of\nvisitors and the plague of invitation every day. It is not good for Him\nto be constantly in an ecstasy. The best plan would be to remove Him\nfrom Brindaban.\" The Brahman (host) replied, \"Let us take Him to Prayag;\nwe shall enjoy the journey along the bank of the Ganges. You should ask\nHis consent to bathe in the Ganges at Soron and then start with Him by\nthe same route. It is now the month of Magh; if we start now, we shall\nreach Prayag in time for bathing during Capricorn. After saying\nsomething of your own sorrows, broach to him the request to lead you to\nPrayag during Capricorn. Tell Him also of the joy of following the bank\nof the Ganges.\"\n\nThen Bhattacharva besought the Master thus \"I cannot bear this\ndisturbance by the people. They worry me to accept their invitations.\nWhen people come in the morning and fail to find you, they plague me to\ndeath. I shall be happy if I follow the bank of the Ganges, and starting\nnow reach Prayag in time for bathing in Capricorn. My mind is restless.\nI cannot bear [our life here]. I submit to whatever the Master may be\npleased to command.\" Though unwilling to leave Brindaban, the Master, to\ngratify His _bhakta_, said sweetly, \"Never shall I be able to repay my\ndebt to you for your having escorted me to Brindaban. I shall do your\nwish. Take me wherever you desire.\"\n\nIn the morninq-He bathed and became overcome with devotion at the\nthought of leaving Brindaban. Unconscious of the things outside, He fell\ninto a trance of love. Bhattacharya took Him in a boat across the river\nto Maha-ban. The devoted Krishna-das and that Brahman knew the route\nalong the Ganges. On the way He sat down under a tree with His party, in\norder to refresh them from fatigue. Many cows were grazing there, and\nthe sight filled Him with delight. Suddenly a cowherd played on his\nflute, and at once rapture seized the Master; He fell down in a swoon,\nfoaming at the mouth and His breathing stopped.\n\nJust then ten Pathan cavalrymen arrived there, dismounted, and gazing at\nthe Master jumped to the conclusion that His five companions were\nsharpers who had poisoned Him with _dhutura_ in order to rob Him of His\ngold. So they tied up the five and threatened to behead them. The\nBengalis began to tremble; only the Rajput Krishna-das was fearless and\nthat Brahman bold of speech. The Brahman cried out, Tathan! I appeal to\nyour Padshah! Take me with you to the _shikdar_. This hermit is my\n_guru_; I am a Brahman of Mathura. I have a hundred acquaintances at\nthe royal Court. This hermit has a disease which makes Him fall down in\na fit. He will soon recover consciousness. Wait a little here. Keep us\ntied up. After inquiring of Him, slay us if we deserve. The Pathan\nreplied, \"You two are up-country men; here are three Bengali _thugs_\nquaking in fear.\" Krishna-das said, \"I live in this village, with 100\ntroopers and 200 bowmen under me. If I raise a shout they will come\nhere, kill you, and take away your horses and accoutrement. The Bengalis\nare not sharpers. You are rogues, as you want to rob pilgrims and to\nkill them!\" At this the Pathan hesitated. Just then the Master came to\nHis senses, rose up with a shout of _Hari! Hari!_ and danced in rapture\nwith uplifted arms.\n\nHis devotional cry pierced the heart of the Muslim, who in fear released\nthe five, so that the Master saw not the captivity of His followers.\nBhattacharya held and seated the Master, who became aware of the things\naround Him when He saw the Muslims. The Pathans bowed at His feat and\ncharged the five with having poisoned Him with _dhutura_. But He\nreplied, \"They are not _thugs_, but my companions. I am a begging\nhermit, with no wealth to be robbed. Occasionally I fall into epileptic\nfits, when these five kindly nurse me.\" One of the Muslims, a grave man\nclad in black and called a Pin, was melted at heart on seeing the\nMaster. He propounded monotheism and one common God, on the basis of his\nholy book (_viz._, the _Quran_). But the Master refuted all his\npropositions by arguments based on the Muslim scripture, till the man\nwas silenced. The Master continued, \"Your scripture establishes one\ncommon God [in the beginning] and refuting that theory sets up in the\nend a particular God, who is full of all powers, dark of hue, the\nembodiment of _sat_, _chit_ and _ananda_, the perfect Spirit, the soul\nof all, all-pervading, eternal, the self of every thing, the source of\ncreation life and destruction, the refuge of all universes whether gross\nor fine, the most excellent, adorable by all, the first cause of\neverything. Men are saved by faith in Him,, and freed from the bondage\nof the world only by serving Him. Delight in Him is the supreme human\nattainment, while salvation can give only a particle of that bliss. The\nhighest beatitude comes only from serving His feet. After first\ninsisting on work, knowledge and mental abstraction, these are then set\naside and the service of God is laid down as the final duty. Your\ntheologians have no knowledge of their own scriptures; they forget that\nwhere there are two injunctions, the latter is sronger. Decide after\nstudying your own holy books, and see what is laid down as the final\nconclusion.\"\n\nThe Muslim replied, \"True are your words. Men cannot realize God as\ndescribed in the scriptures. They discourse on the abstract God\n(_Gosain_); nobody thinks of adoring the incarnate God. You are such,\nGod's own self. Have mercy on me, unworthy sinner! Much have I read, but\ncannot ascertain the _sadhya_ and _sadhan_ from the Muslim scriptures.\nAt the sight of you my tongue utters Krishna's name, and I have been\ncured of my proud confidence in my own knowledge. Tell me graciously\nwhat are _sadhya_ and _sadhan_.\" So saying he fell at the Master's\nfeet, who said, \"Rise! In repeating Krishna's name you have been washed\npure from the sins of million births. Say _Krishna! Krishna!_\" They\nchanted the name and were filled with rapture. The Master renamed him\nRamdas.\n\nThere was another Pathan named Bijuli Khan, a young Prince and the\nmaster of Ramdas and other Pathan troopers. He too fell down at the\nMaster's feet, with the cry of Krishna! The Master touched his head with\nHis toe, and went on His way. All the Pathans turned _bairagis_ and\nwere famous as \"Pathan Vaishnavs.\" They roamed everywhere singing the\nMaster's praise. The Bijuli Khan became a very spiritual person honoured\nin every _tirtha_.\n\nAt Soron He bathed in the Ganges and walked along the river bank to\nPrayag. When He dismissed the Mathura Brahman and Krishna-das, they\nbegged with folded palms, \"Let us follow you to Prayag. Where again\nshall we see your feet? It is a Muslim country, you may be oppressed\nanywhere. Your companion, Bhattacharya, is a mere pandit and does not\nknow how to address people.\" The Master smilingly consented and they\nfollowed Him. Everyone who beheld Him turned frantic with love and sang\n_sankirtan_ aloud. They communicated their faith to others, and these\nto others again, so that the whole land became Vaishnav, just as the\nMaster had previously converted the South during His pilgrimage.\n\nSo walking He reached Prayag, where He bathed for ten days at the\njunction of the three rivers during the sun's progress through\nCapricorn. [Text, canto 18.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nHow the Master favoured Rup\n\nRup and Sanatan, after meeting the Master at the village of Ramkeli,\nwent back to their own quarters. The two brothers devised how to get rid\nof their worldly ties. They secured two priests with costly gifts, and\nperformed two ceremonies preparatory to a journey (_purashcharan_) in\nthe mantra of Krishna, hoping thereby to attain speedily to Chaitanya's\nfeet. Then Rup came to his own house by boat with much wealth, of which\nhe distributed one half to Brahmans and Vaishnavs, one quarter to his\nkinsmen for their support, and laid by the other quarter for paying the\nfine. The money was lodged with good Brahmans, and ten thousand Rupees\nwere deposited with a grocer at Gaur, subject to expenditure by Sanatan.\nWhen Rup heard of the Master's journey to Puri and of His intention to\ngo to Brindaban by the forest route, he sent two agents to Puri to bring\nquickly word about the date of the Master's starting for Brindaban, as\nhe wanted to shape his own course accordingly.\n\nAt Gaur Sanatan thought within himself, \"The Sultan's love for me is a\ntie (keeping me here). If he were only to turn angry, it will be my\ndeliverance.\" On the plea of illness he stayed at home, gave up his\nofficial work, and discontinued his visits to the Court. The greedy\nwriters (_Kayastha_) transacted the business of state (in his absence),\nwhile he at home discussed the _Shastras_. With twenty or thirty\nBhattacharya pandits he discussed the _Bhagabat_ in assembly. One day\nthe Sultan with only one attendant suddenly entered Sanatan's meeting.\nAt the sight of the king, all hurriedly stood up, and seated him with\ndue honour. The Sultan said, \"I sent a physician to you, who reported\nthat you were in perfect health. All my affairs depend on you, and yet\nyou are staying at home neglecting them! You have ruined all my\nbusiness. Tell me what you really mean by it?\" Sanatan replied, \"I am\nunable to do the work. Get some one else for the purpose.\" The Sultan in\nanger cried out again and again, \"Your elder brother is acting like a\nrobber. He has desolated the districts (_chakla_) under him by killing\nmen and cattle. And here you are ruining all my affairs!\" Sanatan\npleaded, \"You are the free king of Bengal; punish all offenders.\"\n\nAt this the Sultan returned to his palace and imprisoned Sanatan lest he\nshould escape. When the king set out to invade Orissa, he asked Sanatan\nto accompany him. The minister replied, \"I cannot bear you company, as\nyou are going to molest my gods.\" Then the Sultan set out, leaving\nSanatan in prison.\n\nWhen the Master set out for Brindaban, the two messengers brought news\nof it to Rup. At this Rup wrote to Sanatan, \"Chaitanya has started for\nBrindaban. We two brothers are going to join him. Do you run away from\nGaur by hook or crook. I have left ten thousand Rupees with a grocer\nthere. Spend it to secure your release soon, and fly to Brindaban by any\nway that you can find.\" Then Rup went to Prayag with his youngest\nbrother, Anupam Mallik (surnamed?) Shri-Vallabh, devout Vaishnav.\n\nThe Master delighted at the news. As He was going to visit Bindu Madhav,\n_lakhs_ of men came to meet Him, some weeping, some laughing, some\nsinging and dancing, others rolling on the ground while shouting\n_Krishna! Krishna!_ The Master drowned Prayag in the flood of Krishna's\nlove, while the Ganges and the Jamuna between them had failed to\nsubmerge the land! Seeing the crowd, Rup and his brother stood apart.\nThe Master was thrown into ecstasy when beholding Madhav, and danced\nwith uplifted arms shouting 'Say _Hari! Hari!_' Men marvelled at His\ngreatness. His feats at Prayag baffle description. A Deccani Brahman who\nknew Him, took Him to his house, where the Master was sitting down in\nseclusion when Rup and Vallakh came to Him. With two blades of grass\nbetween their teeth, they fell down prone on seeing Him from afar. Again\nand again they rose up and fell down, reciting many verses, overcome\nwith love at the sight of Him. Graciously did the Master speak, \"Rise,\nrise! Rup, come to me! Krishna's grace passes all speech: He has plucked\nyou from the well of worldliness in which you were sunk. Witness the\n_Hari-bhakti-vilas_, x. 91; the words of God:\n\n_'It is not by studying the four Vedas that one can become my bhakta.\nEven low-caste Chandals can win my love by their faith. To such bhaktas\nI grant my love and accept their love, and they are worthy of adoration\nlike myself'.\"_\n\nRepeating the above verse He embraced both and placed His feet on their\nheads as a favour. At this they praised Him humbly with folded palms.\n[Verses].\n\nThen the Master seated them by Himself and asked for the news of\nSanatan. Rup answered, \"He is in the king's prison. If you save him then\nonly can he be released. The Master said, \"Sanatan has been set free and\nwill soon join us all. The Brahman invited the Master to dinner. Rup\npassed the day there. Balabhadra Bhattacharya bade both the brothers to\ndinner, and the two ate the leavings of the Master's plate. The Master\nlodged in a house on the junction of the rivers; Rup and Vallabh took a\nhouse near it.\n\nThere was then one Vallabh Bhatta[1] at the village of Ambuli. He came on\nhearing of the Master's arrival, bowed to Him, received His embrace, and\nthe two discoursed long on Krishna, at which the Master's devotion\nsurged up, but He checked Himself in the presence of the Bhatta, who\ndetected the uncontrollable fervour within Him and marvelled\nexceedingly. Then the Bhatta invited the Master, who introduced to him\nthe two brothers. They very humbly bowed to the Bhatta from a distance,\nand as he ran to meet them they receded further crying, \"Touch not\nuntouchable sinners like us!\" The Bhatta marvelled; the Master was\ndelighted and told their story to the Bhatta, adding, \"Touch not these;\nthey are of a low caste, while you are a Vaidic sacrificial Brahman, old\nand a _kulin_.\" Hearing Krishna's name incessantly on their lips, the\nBhatta, taking hint from the Master's winking, remarked, \"Krishna's name\nis dancing on their tongue. They cannot be low; they are the best of\nmen. Witness the _Bhagabat_ III. xxxiii. 7.\"\n\nThe Master, pleased to hear it, praised him much and in rapture recited\nthese verses:\n\n_\"Wise men will honour even a Chandal who has been purified in\nconsequence of the sins of his low birth having been burnt away by the\nblazing fire of pure faith; while an atheist is not to be honoured even\nthough learned in the Vedas. Vain are high pedigree, scholarship,\nrepetition of the holy name, and austerities, in a man who lacks faith\nin God. As a lifeless doll is dressed up only for show to people, so are\nthe virtues of a faithless man futile._ (_Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya_, iii.\n12 and 11.)\"\n\nThe Bhatta wondered as he gazed at the Master's passion of devotion,\npower, true faith, and beauty. He took Him with His followers in a boat\nto his own house for dinner. Beholding the sparkling blue waters of the\nJamuna, the Master was overcome by love, and leaped into the river with\na roar. They were all seized with concern at it and hurriedly pulled Him\nout of the water. He began to dance on the boat, which rolled right and\nleft under His weight and shipped a good deal of water, being ready to\nsink. His love was uncontrollable; still in the presence of the Bhatta\nthe Master checked Himself, as His transport was inopportune, and\ndisembarked at the Ambuli ghat. The anxious Bhatta, after keeping His\ncompany at bath, brought Him to his own house, gave Him a fine garment,\nwashed His feet and poured the water on the heads of himself and his\nfamily. He clothed the Master in a new waist-band and _dhuti_, and\nadored Him with scents, flowers, incense and lights. Bhattacharya cooked\nand the Master dined; so did Rup and his brother; Rup and Krishna-das\nwere given the leavings of His dinner. After chewing spices the Master\nlay down to repose, the Bhatta rubbing His feet. Sent away by the\nMaster, the Bhatta despatched his own dinner and came back to His feet.\n\nNow came there Raghupati Upadhyaya, a great scholar and Vaishnav of\nnorth Bihar (Tirhut). As he bowed, the Master greeted him with \"Be thy\nmind fixed on Krishna,\"--to the great delight of the Upadhyaya. At the\nMaster's request he recited verses of his own composition describing\nKrishna's deeds. [Verses.]\n\nThe Master had a transport of love as He listened and urged the poet to\nproceed further. The Upadhyaya marvelled at such fervour, and knew Him\nto be Krishna himself and not a mortal. The Master asked, \"Upadhyaya!\nwhat do you consider most excellent?\" The poet replied, \"Black is the\nbest of colours.\" \"Where is the best abode of the black complexion?\" The\npoet answered, \"Mathura is the best of cities.\" \"Which is the best\nage--boyhood, maturity, or adolescence?\" The Upadhyaya replied,\n\"Adolescence is the only age fit for our meditation.\" \"Which do you\nthink is the best among emotions?\" \"Love is the highest of all emotions\n(_ras_).\" The Master remarked, \"Thou hast taught me the true lore\", and\nthen in a tremulous voice recited Madhavendra Puri's verses (embodying\nthe above answers). In rapture He embraced the Upadhyaya, who began to\ndance in a frenzy of love.\n\nVallabh Bhatta marvelled at the sight. With his two sons he fell down at\nthe Master's feet. The villagers flocked thither to see Him, and at His\nsight became worshippers of Krishna. Vallabh Bhatta stopped the Brahmans\nwho were inviting the Master, saying, \"This holy man jumped into\nmid-Jamuna in ecstasy. I must not detain Him here, but convey Him back\nto Prayag. Invite Him there, if you list.\" So saying he carried the\nMaster across in the boat.\n\nAvoiding the press of the people, the Master went to the Dashashwamedh\nghat and there taught Rup about Krishna's essence, the path of\n_bhakti_, the lore of emotions, the conclusions of the _Bhagabat_. He\nimparted to Rup all the doctrines He had learnt from Ramananda, and\ninfused (His own) force into Rup's heart, in order to make him a perfect\ndoctor of Vaishnav theology. (Verses quoted from the\n_Chaitanya-chandrodaya_.)\n\nThanks to the Master's grace on them, Rup and Sanatan became objects of\nfavour and pride to all His leading devotees and associates. Chaitanya's\nattendants used to ask every one who returned to Bengal from Brindaban,\n\"Tell us how Rup and Sanatan are living there. Tell us of their\nasceticism, their meals, their adoration of Krishna all day.\" Then\npraising the two, the returned pilgrims would answer, \"The two are\nliving homeless, sleeping every night under a different tree. In the\nBrahman houses they get coarse food, in contrast with the sweetmeats\nthey formerly fed upon. They chew dry bread or gram, leaving all\nenjoyments. In their hands is the beggar's gourd, they are wrapped in\ntattered quilts; they speak of Krishna, chant his name, dance, and\nexult. Throughout the day and night they recite Krishna's praise, and\nsleep for two hours, and sometimes, absorbed in the passion of chanting\nthe name, they deny themselves even that short sleep. At times they\ncompose works on _bhakti_, hear discourses about Chaitanya, and\nmeditate on Him.\" These words greatly pleased the Fathers of the Church.\nWhat wonder [that such should be their life], when Chaitanya's grace was\non them?\n\nThus passing ten days at Prayag, the Master taught Rup and inspired him\nwith strength, adding, \"Listen, Rup! to the signs of a _bhakta_, which\nI shall describe in brief sentences, without going into detail. I speak\nto you only of one drop of the shoreless profound ocean of _bhakti_, in\norder to give you a smack of it. Behold in the universe countless beings\nthat pass through 84 lakhs of births. The nature of a creature is as\nminute as a hundredth part of a hundredth part of the point of a hair.\n[Verses from the _Shruti-byakhya_, and the _Panchadashi_, 83.]\n\n_'O, immutable God! if we admit that bodied beings are limitless,\neternal and omnipresent, then we cannot maintain the law that they are\nsubject to you. Then the creatures, though subject to birth, will be\nlaw-givers unto themselves, even though they have not risen above their\nmortal nature. Those who say that God and beings are equal, know not thy\ntrue nature and their doctrines are false._ (_Bhagabat_, X. lxxxvii.\n26.)'\n\n\"Among creatures we must distinguish between the animate and the\ninanimate. Among the animate are many classes, such as sky-dwellers,\nland animals, water animals &c., men being only a minority of them.\n[Eliminate from] men the Mlechchhas, Pulindas, Bauddhas, and Shabars;\nand from the followers of the Vedas one-half who follow the Vedas in\nlips only, doing sins condemned by the Vedas and disregarding piety.\nAmong religious people many are devoted to work [as the means of\nsalvation]. For ten million men devoted to work we have one devoted to\nknowledge, and therefore superior to the former. Among ten million men\ndevoted to knowledge we have only one liberated soul. And among ten\nmillion liberated souls hardly one devotee of Krishna is found. The\n_bhakta_ of Krishna is passionless and tranquil, while those who covet\nenjoyment, salvation or _siddhi_ are perturbed. Witness the\n_Bhagabat_, VI. xiv 4.\n\n\"In roving through the universe, lucky is the man who gets the seed of\nthe creeper of faith (_bhakti_) through the grace of his _guru_ and\nKrishna. He sows the seed like a gardener, waters it with hearing and\nchanting [the holy name]. As the creeper grows it pierces through the\nuniverse, passes beyond the _Biraja Brahma_ world to the _Para-byom_,\nand above that to the heavenly Brindaban, where it creeps up the\nwishing-tree of Krishna's feet, spreads and bears fruit in the form of\nlove (_prem_). If any sin against Vaishnavism is done, it uproots or\ntears the creeper like a wild elephant, its leaves wither. Then the\ngardener on earth carefully covers it, to save it from the elephant of\nsin. But if parasites, like love of enjoyment or salvation and countless\nother things,--or forbidden practices like rubbish,--slaughter of living\nbeings,--thirst of gain or fame, adhere to the creeper, then these\nparasites flourish from the watering, while the main creeper's growth is\narrested. Cut off the parasites first; then will the main branch reach\nthe heavenly Brindaban. When the mature fruit of love drops down, the\ngardener tastes it, and proceeding up the creeper he reaches the\nwishing-tree. There (in Vishnu's heaven) he tends the wishing-tree, and\nblissfully tastes the juice of the fruit of love. That is the highest\nfruit, the supreme human bliss, in comparison with which the four human\nattainments are as straw. From pure faith is born love. Therefore I tell\nyou of the signs of pure faith: Leaving desire for others, worship of\nothers, knowledge and work, devote all your senses to the cultivation of\nKrishna. This is pure faith, the source of love. Its signs are described\nin the _Narada-pancha-ratra_ and the _Bhagabat_, III. xxix. 10--12 &c.\n\n\"If one desires enjoyment, salvation, &c., he cannot kindle love, even\nby means of devotion (_sadhan_). From the culture of _bhakti_ ardour\nis born; when ardour deepens it is called love (_prem_). As love grows\nit is successively called _sneha_, _man_, _pranaya_, _rag_,\n_anurag_, _bhab_, _maha-bhab_, just as we have successively\ncane-seed, sugarcane juice, molasses, sugar, and fine sugarcandy. All\nthese are the enduring forms of _bhakti_ in Krishna, if they are joined\nby provocation and addiction of mind. When the spiritual (_satwik_) and\nextensive (_byabhichari_) emotions mingle together, _bhakti_ in\nKrishna becomes a veritable nectar in taste, just as curd, when mixed\nwith sugar, ghee, pepper, and camphor, becomes deliciously sweet. In\ndifferent _bhaktas_ the inclination (_rati_) assumes different forms,\n_viz._, the _shanta_, the _dasya_, the _sakhya_, the _batsalya_,\nand the _madhur_. From these differences in the nature of the passion,\nthe mood (_ras_) of Krishna's love assumes five forms of the same name,\nwhich are called the chief _rasas_, while there are seven minor\n_rasas_, _viz._, the comic, the grotesque, the heroic, the pathetic,\nthe rude, the horrible, and the timid. The five former moods permanently\noccupy the minds of _bhaktas_; while the seven minor moods rise\nfitfully when they get a favourable occasion. The nine sages [who\ninstructed king Nimi] and Sanak and others are examples of _bhaktas_ of\nthe _shanta_ mood. Countless are the _bhaktas_ everywhere who\nillustrate the _dasya_ mood. The _sakhya_ mood is typified in Shridam\nand other [cow-boys] and in Bhim and Arjun of Hastinapur. The _bhaktas_\nof the _batsalya_ mood are father, mother and other elders. Of the\n_madhur_ mood of _bhakti_, the examples are chiefly the milkmaids of\nBrindaban, Krishna's queens, Lakshmi and countless others.\n\n\"Again, ardour (_rati_) for Krishna is of two kinds: (1) accompanied by\na sense of his Godhead, and (2) pure and simple. At Gokul the latter was\ndisplayed, free from any consciousness of his Godhead, while at Mathura,\nDwaraka, Vaikuntha and other places the former prevailed. Where the\nsense of his Godhead is predominant, love [for him] is contracted;\nwhereas the way of pure ardour is to disregard his Godhead even when it\nis openly shown. In the _shanta_ and _dasya_ emotions this\nconsciousness of His Godhead is a little kindled, but in the\n_batsalya_, _sakhya_ and _madhur_ it is shrunk up. When Krishna bowed\nat the feet of Vasudev and Devaki, they were frightened by the sense of\nhis Godhead. Witness the _Bhagabat_, X. xliv. 35.\n\n\"Arjun was awe-struck at beholding the vision of Krishna as God, and\nbegged his pardon for having treated him familiarly under the notion of\na friend. Vide the _Gita_, xi. 41. When Krishna jested with Rukmini,\nshe became mortally afraid lest he should quit her. _Vide_ the\n_Bhagabat_, X. Ix. 23.\n\n\"The pure love called _kebala_ (unmixed) ignores his divinity, and in\ncase it does recognize him as God, it disavows its loving connection\nwith him. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. viii. 35, ix. 12, xviii. 14, xxx.\n32, xxxi. 16.\n\n\"The _shanta ras_ consists in recognizing the true nature of Krishna\nand fixing the mind on him only. Krishna has himself said, 'Devoting the\nmind exclusively to me is the virtue of _shama_'. _Vide_ the\n_Bhagabat_, XI. xix. 33:\n\n_'Shama consists in fixing the mind on me; dama is control of the organs\nof the senses; titiksha is endurance of sorrow; and dhriti is checking\nwhat rises on the tongue.'_\n\n\"It is the duty of a _shanta_ votary to give up thirst for everything\nexcept Krishna; hence a _shanta_ and a _bhakta_ of Krishna are\nidentical terms. Krishna's devotee regards heaven and even salvation as\nno better than hell. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, VI. xvii. 23.\n\n\"Devotion to Krishna and conquest of desire are the two marks of a\n_shanta bhakta_. All the five kinds of _bhaktas_ are necessarily\nmarked by these qualities, just as sound, the attribute of the sky, is\npossessed by the other four elements also. A _shanta_ votary's\nattachment to Krishna is like an odourless flower; he has _only_\nacquired a true sense of God's nature, as the supreme spirit and\ndivinity. The _dasya_ mood better develops the cognition of Krishna as\nthe Lord of full powers. A _das bhakta_ constantly gratifies Krishna by\nserving him with a sense of his divinity, honour, and great\nglorification; _dasya ras_ has the merit of the _shanta ras_ plus\nservice, _i.e._, it has two merits. The _sakhya ras_ possesses these\ntwo merits [plus absolute trust in Krishna]. In _dasya_ Krishna's\nservice is marked by honour and glorification; in _sakhya_ by reliance.\n\n\"A _sakha bhakta_ sits on Krishna's back, or carries him on his shoulders,\nor has a mock fight with him; he serves Krishna and at times makes\nKrishna serve him! The chief characteristic of the _sakhya ras_ is free\ncomradery, without any feeling of respect or awe. So this _ras_ has _three_\nqualities; in it Krishna is loved more ardently, as he is held equal to\nthe _bhakta's_ self; hence this _ras_ captivates the good. In the _batsalya\nras_ there are the above three qualities, plus tenderness, which in its\nexcess leads to chiding and chastisement. Such a devotee regards himself\nas the patron and Krishna as the _protege_; his service takes the form of\npaternal care. This _ras_, therefore has _four_ qualities, and is like\nnectar.\n\n\"In the _madhur ras_ all the above four qualities are present in a\nheightened form, and in addition to them the votary serves Krishna as a\nlover offering him his or her own person. Here _five_ qualities are\npresent. All the [four] emotions find their synthesis in the _madhur_,\njust as in the case of the five elements (sky, air, light, water and\nearth) the attributes of the first four are all united in the fifth.\nHence is the _madhur ras_ of wondrous deliciousness. This emotion has\nbeen fully described. Reflect how to spread it. While meditating,\nKrishna will illuminate your heart. Through Krishna's grace, even an\nignorant man reaches the farthest shore of the emotions.\"\n\nSo saying the Master embraced Rup and started for Benares next morning.\nRup begged leave to accompany Him as he could not bear the pang of\nparting. But the Master objected, \"Let me lay down your duty. You are\nnow within easy reach of Brindaban; go there. Thence return to Bengal\nand join me at Puri.\" After giving him a (parting) embrace the Master\nembarked. Rup fell down there in a swoon. The Deccani Brahman took him\nto his house.\n\nThen Rup and his brother went to Brindaban. When the Master reached\nBenares, Chandra Sekhar met Him outside the village, as he had dreamt\nthe previous night that the Master had come to his house and so he had\ncome out of the village to wait for Him. Delighted to see the Master, he\nbowed at His feet and took Him home with him. At the news, Tapan Mishra\ncame to the Master; forming a select assembly he invited Him and made\nHim dine at his house. Chundra Shekhar invited Bhattacharya. After the\nfeast Tapan Mishra begged Him, \"Grant me kindly one favour that I beg of\nthee. So long as thou stayest at Kashi do not dine anywhere except in my\nhouse.\" The Master accepted his invitation as He knew that He would stay\nfor a week only and would not dine with hermits. He lodged with Chandra\nShekhar. The Maratha Brahman and many good men of the Brahman and\nKshatriya castes visited the Master. [Text, canto 19.]\n\n[1] The celebrated Vallabh-acharya (born in 1479), the founder of the\nPushtimarga school of Vaishnavism. _Ambuli_ is evidently _Arail_, a\nvillage on the Jamuna opposite Allahabad, which contains a temple of the\nVallabh-acharya sect.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nSanatan meets the Master and is taught of God's forms\n\nAt Gaur, Sanatan lay in prison, when to his delight he received Rup's\nletter. Then he spoke to his Muslim jailor: \"You are a living saint, a\nvery pious man, well-read in the _Quran_. [There it is written that] if\na man ransoms a captive with his wealth, God gives him salvation.\nFormerly I had done you good turns; now show your gratitude by reliasing\nme. I offer you five thousand Rupees. Accept the sum, and by setting me\nfree gain both money and religious merit.\"\n\nThe Muslim replied, \"Hark you, Sir, I can let you off, but I fear the\nSultan.\" Sanatan rejoined, \"Fear not the Sultan. He has gone to Orissa.\nIf he comes back, tell him that when Sanatan was sent to the bank of the\nGanges to ease himself, he jumped into the river, sank down with his\nfetters, and could not be traced after much search. Fear not, I shall\nnot live in this country, but turn _darvesh_ and go to Mecca.\" The\nMuhammadan was still reluctant. So Sanatan heaped up seven thousand\nRupees before him, at the sight of which his greed was roused. At night\nhe sent Sanatan across the river after filing off his fetters. Sanatan\navoided the road by Telia Garhi, the gate of Bengal, and travelling day\nand night entered the Patra hills. There he besought a rustic land owner\nto guide him over the hill. A palmist present with the landowner\nwhispered to him that Sanatan had eight gold coins with himself. At this\nthe man gladly promised to convey Sanatan over the hill by his own\nservants at night and asked to prepare his meal in the meantime. With\nmarks of honour he gave him rice. Sanatan bathed in the river, broke his\ntwo days fast, and reflected, \"Why does this land-owner show respect to\nme?\" Then he asked [his attendant] Ishan if he had any property with\nhimself. Ishan replied, \"Seven gold coins.\" At this Sanatan rebuked him\nsaying, \"Why have you brought this deadly thing with yourself?\" Then he\ngave the seven pieces to the land-owner and sweetly said, \"Take these\nfrom me and honestly conduct me over the hill. I am a run-away from the\nking's prison and cannot take the Telia Garhi road. You will acquire\nmerit if you help me to cross the hill.\" The land-owner replied, \"I knew\nbefore that your servant had eight gold pieces with him, and I had\ndetermined to murder you at night for the money. It is well that you\nhave told me of the money, and so I have been saved from the sin of\nmurder. I am so pleased that I shall not take the coins, but guide you\ngratis for the sake of merit.\"\n\nBut Sanatan urged, \"Some one else will murder me for the money. Accept\nit and save my life.\" Then the land-owner sent four footmen of his own,\nwho led Sanatan across the hill by the forest paths at night. Emerging\nfrom the hill Sanatan asked Ishan, \"I know you have still something\nleft.\" \"Yes, one gold coin,\" answered Ishan. Sanatan said, \"Return home\nwith it.\" So, leaving him, the holy man set out alone, a bowl in his\nhand, a tattered quilt on his back, and (therefore) fearless (of\nrobbers). In course of time he reached Hajipur,[1] and in the evening sat\ndown in a garden. His brother-in-law, Shrikanta, a royal officer, lived\nhere, entrusted by the Sultan with three _lakhs_ of Rupees to buy and\ndespatch horses. From a height he discerned Sanatan, and at night came\nto him with only one attendant. The two had a friendly meeting, and\nSanatan told the tale of his escape. Shrikanta said, \"Stay here a day\nor two. Put on decent robes and cast off your rags.\" Sanatan replied,\n\"No, I shall not linger a minute here. Help me to cross the Ganges, I\nshall go away at once.\" Shrikanta with care gave him a Bhutia blanket\nand ferried him over.\n\nSanatan in time reached Benares, where he was glad to hear of the\nMaster's arrival. Going to Chandra Shekhar's house, he sat down at the\ngate. The Master, knowing it, told Chandra Shekhar, \"There is a Vaishnav\nat the gate. Bring him in.\" Chandra Shekhar reported to the Master that\nthere was no Vaishnav but only a _darvesh_ at the gate. The Master\nreplied, \"Well, bring him in.\" Glad to be called, Sanatan entered. When\nhe was in the court-yard, the Master rushed out and embraced him in\nrapture. At His touch Sanatan was overcome by love and cried out in a\nfaltering voice, \"Touch me not! touch me not!\" The two wept ceaselessly,\nclasping each other's necks, to the wonder of Chandra Shekhar. Then the\nMaster took him by the hand and seated him by His side on the _veranda_\nof the house, stroking Sanatan's body with His own hands. Sanatan cried,\n\"Touch me not, Master!\" but the Master answered, \"I touch you to purify\nmyself. Through the strength of your faith you can cleanse the whole\nuniverse. Witness the _Bhagabat_, I. xiii. 8, VII. ix. 9. By seeing,\ntouching, and praising a _bhakta_ like you, all my senses are\ngratified, as the scripture asserts. _Vide_ the\n_Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya_, xiii. 2.\"\n\nThe Master continued, \"Listen, Sanatan! Krishna is very kind, the\nsaviour of the fallen. He has delivered you from the worst hell\n(_rauraba_). Limitless and profound is the ocean of his mercy.\" Sanatan\nobjected, \"I know not Krishna. I recognize your grace as having effected\nmy deliverance.\" Then at the Master's request he told the whole story of\nhis flight. The Master told him, \"I met both your brothers, Rup and\nAnupam, at Prayag. They have gone to Brindaban.\" Then He introduced\nSanatan to Tapan Mishra and Chandra Shekhar. Tapan Mishra invited him,\nthe Master adding, \"Go, Sanatan, shave yourself,\" and telling Chandra\nShekhar to take away the rags of Sanatan. They made him bathe in the\nGanges, and Chandra Shekhar gave him a new garment, which he refused to\naccept. At this the Master was delighted exceedingly.\n\nAfter His noon-day prayer, the Master went with Sanatan to dine at Tapan\nMishra's house. As He sat down to His meal He ordered the Mishra to\nserve Sanatan also, but he replied, \"Sanatan has some rites to perform.\nYou dine first. I shall give him your _prasad_.\" After dinner the\nMaster rested. The Mishra gave Sanatan His leavings and offered him a\nnew cloth, which Sanatan declined to accept, asking instead for one of\nthe Mishra's old clothes. So the Mishra gave him an old cloth, which he\ncut into a waist-band and wrapper.\n\nSanatan was introduced by the Master to the Maratha Brahman, who gave\nhim a general invitation to dinner during the whole of his stay at\nKashi. But Sanatan declined saying, \"I shall rove (begging alms) like\nthe bee. Why should I procure all my food from one Brahman's house.\"\n\nExceedingly pleased was the Master at Sanatan's detachment from the\nworld, and He often cast glances at the Bhutia blanket, from which\nSanatan guessed that He disapproved of it. So Sanatan planned to get rid\nof the blanket. When he went to the Ganges to perform his noon-day\nrites, he met a Bengali drying his quilt, and asked him to exchange it\nfor his blanket, as a favour. The man retorted, \"Why are you, a\nvenerable man, mocking me? Why should you exchange your costly blanket\nfor a quilt?\" Sanatan replied, \"I am not joking but am in earnest. Do\nmake the exchange.\" So saying he gave up the blanket, placed the quilt\non his shoulders and came to Chaitanya. At the Master's query he told\nthe whole tale. The Master remarked, \"I have thought of it. Krishna, who\nhas delivered you from attachment to earthly goods, cannot have left a\nremnant of that attachment in you. No good physician leaves even a trace\nof the disease unremoved. You were living on alms from door to door, and\nyet there was a three Rupee blanket on your back! It spoiled your virtue\nand made you a mock unto the beholders.\" Sanatan replied, \"He who has\nreleased me from worldly ties has also cured this last remnant of\nworldliness in me.\"\n\nThe pleased Master showed grace to him, and thus emboldened him to put\nquestions. Formerly the Master had put questions to Ramananda Ray, which\nthe latter had answered under His inspiration. So, now, inspired by the\nMaster, Sanatan put questions, while He established spiritual truths.\n\nThen Sanatan, biting a blade of grass as a token of abjectness, clasped\nthe Master's feet; and said, \"Low-born, with low comrades, a fallen\nwretch, I have wasted my life, plunged in the well of vile worldliness.\nI know nothing of my own good or evil, but I have held as truth whatever\nwas approved in vulgar practice. As you have graciously saved me, tell\nme of your grace what my duties are. Who am I? Why are the three\nafflictions (_tapa_) oppressing me? I know not what will do me good. I\nknow not even how to ask about the truth of _sadhya_ and _sadhan_. Do\nyou of your own accord, unfold all these truths to me.\" The Master\nreplied, \"Full is Krishna's grace to you. You know all the truths and\nare not subject to the three afflictions. You are strong in Krishna's\nstrength, you know the truths already. It is the nature of _sadhus_ to\ninquire about what they know, only to confirm it.\n\n\"You are a proper agent for preaching _bhakti_. Listen to all the\ntruths as I tell them in due order:\n\n\"The soul of man is the eternal servant of Krishna. The _tatastha_\npower of Krishna manifests differences [between the Creator and His\ncreatures], just as a ray of the sun transforms itself into a flame of\nfire. Krishna has by nature three powers:-_viz._, the _chit_, the\nlife, and the illusion powers. _Vide_ the _Vishnu Puran_ I. xxix. 50,\nVI. vii. 60 and 61, I. iii. 2, the _Gita_ vii. 5 and 14, and the\n_Bhagabat_, XI. ii. 35.\n\n\"When a creature forgets Krishna, his face is ever turned to external\nthings, and therefore under the influence of illusion he undergoes the\nmisery of being born in the world, now rising to heaven, now sinking to\nhell, just as a criminal is ducked in water by royal command.\n\n\"If under the teaching of true scripture, a man turns to Krishna, he is\nsaved, he gets rid of illusion. A creature labouring under illusion\nremembers not Krishna. So Krishna kindly created the Vedas and Purans.\nHe makes himself known through scripture, _guru_, and the soul; and man\ncomes to realize 'Krishna is my lord and saviour'. The Vedas treat of\nRelation, Epithet, and Needs; that Relation is the attaining of Krishna,\nfaith is the means of this attainment, the epithets are his names; love\nis the (supreme) need, the most precious treasure and the highest\nachievement of humanity. _Madhur_ service is the means of gaining\nKrishna. By serving him we can enjoy the relish of him. The following\nparable will illustrate it: An all-knowing seer visited a poor man and\nseeing his misery said, 'Why are you so poor? Your father has left you a\nlarge legacy. He died elsewhere and therefore could not inform you of\nit.' At these words the man began to hunt for his treasure. In the same\nmanner the _Vedas_ and _Purans_ instruct men about Krishna. The\ncounsel of the seer is the source, the treasure is the consequence. By\nhis own knowledge the man could not attain to his father's treasure the\nseer had to tell him the method of discovering it: 'Here lies the\ntreasure. If you dig in the south, hornets will rise and not money. If\nyou dig west a gnome will show itself and hinder you. In the north your\ndiggings will discover a dark serpent, which will swallow you up. But by\ndigging a little on the east side you will get the pots of treasure.'\nSimilarly the _Shastras_ assert that leaving work, knowledge and\nabstraction (_yog_), one can influence Krishna by faith alone. _Vide_\nthe _Bhagabat_, XI. xiv. 19 & 20.\n\n\"Therefore is faith the only means of gaining Krishna, and it is\ndescribed in all _Shastras_ as _abhidheya_. As wealth gives pleasure\nand drives away sorrow of itself, so _bhakti_ kindles love of Krishna,\nand when love is turned to Krishna man is freed from bondage to the\nworld. The fruit of love is not riches or the cessation of re-birth, but\nits chief object is the enjoyment of the beatitude of loving.\"\n\n[A long discourse on Krishna's forms, omitted in the second edition.]\n[Text, canto 20.]\n\n[1] The town of Hajipur on the north bank of the Ganges, opposite Patna,\nwas the seat of the governor of Bihar on behalf of the Sultans of\nBengal. (_Riyaz-us-salatin_, Eng. tr. 134 _n_.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nOn the sweetness of Krishna's attributes\n\n[The Master continued His teaching of Sanatan thus:]\n\n\"God in His all-embracing form dwells in the highest Space\n(_para-byom_). The diverse Vaikunthas are beyond count. The extent of\neach Vaikuntha is millions and millions of miles. _Ananda_ inspired by\n_chit_ fills all the Vaikunthas. All of [His] attendants are filled\nwith the six attributes (_aishwaryya_). The endless Vaikunthas and\nSpace are His retinue; above all of them is Krishna's Heaven, like the\nseed-pod of the lotus. Thus, [Krishna's] six attributes are [only]\nplaces of [His] incarnation. Even Brahma and Shiva cannot count them,\nwhat to speak of men? _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 21, Brahma's hymn\nto Krishna.\n\n\"Thus Krishna's celestial attributes are endless; Brahma, Shiva, Sanak\nand others cannot see their end. _Vide_ the _Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 7.\n\n\"Not to speak of Brahma and others, even Ananta with his thousand\ntongues, is eternally singing [of His attributes] without being able to\nfinish them. Vide Bhagabat, II. ii. 40.\n\n\"Even Krishna, the omniscient and supreme being, cannot find the end of\nHis own attributes, but remains eagerly longing [to know of them]. _Vide\nBhagabat_, X. lxxxvii. 37.\n\n\"The mind fails to comprehend His exploits, even of the time when He\nincarnated himself in Brindaban. At one and the same time He created the\nnatural and the supernatural groups of cow-herds and kine, as described\nin _Bhagabat_, [X. xiii and xiv], countless Vaikuntha-born embryos, with\ntheir respective Lords. Such a marvel is heard of no other [god]. The\nhearing of it makes the heart overcome [with rapture]. In that miracle\nof His every one of the millions and millions of calves, cowboys, their\nrods, pipes, horns, clothes and ornamems, all assumed the form of the\nfour-armed Lord of Vaikuntha, each with a separate universe, and Brahma\nadored him. From the body of one Krishna all these appeared! And after a\nmoment they all disappeared in that body! The sight amazed and\nfascinated Brahma, and after hymning [to Krishna], he declared this, Let\nhim who says that he knows the full extent of Krishna's power, know it.\nBut as for me, I admit with all my body and mind that not a drop of this\nendless ocean of your power is cognizable by my speech or intellect!\n_Vide Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 36.\n\n\"Many are the glories of Krishna; who can know them? Think of the\nwondrous quality of the place Brindaban: the _Shastras_ speak of it as\n32 miles in extent, and yet in one corner of it the embryos of the\nuniverse floated! Krishna's divine power is boundless beyond\ncalculation.\"\n\nThe Master, Himself the ocean of divine attributes, was seized with\necstasy in speaking of Krishna's divine attributes; His mind became\nabsorbed in the subject and He lost consciousness. He (then) recited\n_Bhagabat_, III. ii. 21, and expounded it, relishing with delight its\nsense. \"Krishna is the Supreme Deity, God Himself. None else is greater\nthan He or even equal to Him. _Vide Brahma Samhita_, V. I. Brahma,\nVishnu, and Shiva, the lords of creation, [preservation, and\ndestruction], all obey Krishna; He is their suzerain. _Vide Bhagabat_,\nII. vi. 30.\n\n\"Hear the meaning of the phrase _unequalled Supreme Lord_: Three\n_purush_ incarnations are the causes of the universe, _viz._,\nMaha-Vishnu, Padmanava, Kshirodak Swami. These three occupy the souls of\neverything, gross or subtle. These three are the refuge of all, and the\nlords of the universe. And yet they are mere particles of Krishna, who\nis supreme [over them]. _Vide Brahma Samhita_, v. 54.\n\n\"This interpretation is only external. Listen to the esoteric sense. The\n_Shastras_ speak of three abodes of Krishna, _viz._, Antahpur, Golok,\nand Brindaban, in which [last] ever dwell [His] parents and friends;\nwhere He manifested His sweet attributes, tenderness, mercy, &c.; where\nthe illusion of _yog_ was His bondmaid, and where _rasa_ and other\nexploits took place.\n\n\"Below it the Supreme Space named Vishnu's Heaven, where dwell Narayan\nand other eternal forms of Him, is situated. The middle abode of Krishna\nis the store-house of the six attributes, where He dwells in His eternal\nform (_ananta_). The Vaikunthas are endless, and there the rooms and\nattendants (even) are full of the six attributes. _Vide Brahma\nSamhita_, v. 49, [and other Sanskrit verses].\n\n\"Below it is His external abode, beyond the _Biraja_, where the\nuniverses are endless, and the rooms are illimitable. It is named\nDevidham, where creatures dwell. The Lakshmi of the Universe nourishes\nit; illusion dwells there as His slave.\n\n\"In these three places does Krishna dwell as the Supreme Lord, _viz._,\nGolok, the Supreme Space, and Nature. The region where He manifests His\n_chit_ power is called the Three-fold Divinity (_tripad aishivaryya_),\nwhereas the places of the display of His power of illusion are called\nOne-fold (_ekapad_).\n\n\"The Three-fold Divinity of Krishna is beyond speech. Hear, therefore,\nof the One-fold Divinity. All the Brahmas and Shivas of the eternal\nuniverse are embraced by the term 'eternal rulers of spheres'\n(_chira-loka-pala_). One day Brahma came to Dwaraka to see Krishna; the\nporter took the message to Krishna, who asked 'Which Brahma? What is his\nname?' The porter returned and asked Brahma, who replied in amazement,\n'Go, tell him, it is the four-headed father of Sanak.' After taking\nKrishna's permission, the porter introduced him. Brahma prostrated\nhimself at Krishna's feet, who showed him honour and reverence and asked\nfor the reason of his visit. Brahma replied, 'I shall tell you of that\nafterwards. First solve one problem of my mind. What did you mean by\nasking 'Which Brahma?' What Brahma other than I can there be in the\nuniverse?' At this Krishna smiled and plunged into meditation, and\nimmediately innumerable troops of Brahmas came there, some with ten\nheads, some with twenty, hundred, thousand, million, even a milliard,\nbeyond the power of counting. Rudras came with millions of millions of\nheads. Indras appeared with millions of eyes. At the sight the\nfour-headed Brahma became senseless, like a hare surrounded by a herd of\nelephants. All these Brahmas prostrated themselves before Krishna's\nseat, which was touched by their crowns. None can [adequately] describe\nthe unimaginable power of Krishna. In one body there were as many images\nas there were Brahmas. His seat, struck with the crowns of the Brahmas,\nset up a sound, as if the crowns recited praises of His seat! With\nfolded palms, Brahma Rudra and other deities hymned Krishna thus: 'Lord!\nGreat is thy mercy to us, as thou hast shown us thy feet. Oh our good\nfortune! thou hast called and accepted us as thy slaves. Bid us, and we\nshall place thy behest on our heads.' Krishna replied, 'I longed to see\nyou, and so called you all together. Be ye all happy! Have you any thing\nto fear from the demons?' They said, 'Thanks to thy grace, we are\neverywhere triumphant. Latterly thou hast, by incarnating thyself,\ndestroyed the load of sins which used to weigh the Earth down.' This\nproves the divine nature of Dwaraka and other [spheres], each of which\nimagines 'Krishna dwells in _my_ region.' The presence of Krishna made\nDwaraka feel glory (_baibhaba_); they had all met together, and yet\nnone could see the others. Then Krishna gave leave to all the Brahmas,\nand they returned home after bowing to Him. The four-headed Brahma was\namazed at the sight, and again bowed at Krishna's feet, saying, 'I have\nto-day witnessed an example of what I had previously known for certain\nin my mind.' _Vide Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 36.\n\n\"Krishna replied, 'This universe, though 500 million leagues in extent,\nis very small; hence you have four heads only. Other universes are a\nthousand million, a _lakh kror_, or even a _kror kror_ leagues in\nextent, and their Brahmas have heads proportioned to these sizes. Thus\ndo I uphold the whole system of universes. Even my one fold divinity\ncannot be measured. Who will measure my three-fold divinity?' So saying\nKrishna dismissed Brahma. The divine form of Krishna cannot be\nexplained. The phrase _Supreme Lord_ has another deep meaning: the term\n_tri_ means the three regions of Krishna, _viz._, Gokul (named Golok),\nMathura, and Dwaraka. In these three He always dwells naturally. These\nthree places are full of His inner complete divinity. Of these three\nKrishna Himself is the lord. The guardians of directions in all the\naforesaid universes, and the eternal guardians of creation in _Ananta_\nand Vaikuntha, all bow to Krishna's seat, touching it with the jewel of\ntheir crowns. In His own _chit_ power Krishna dwells ever. This\nproperty of _chit_-power is called the six divine attributes; it is\nalso styled Lakshmi in the form of supreme bliss. Hence, the Vedas\ndeclare Krishna to be God Himself. I cannot plunge in the boundless\nnectar-oceah of Krishna's divine power, but have touched only a drop of\nit\". The Master paused for a while, and after composing Himself\ncontinued to teach Sanatan. [Text, canto 21.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nDiscourse on Devotion as the Aim\n\n[The Master continued His address to Sanatan thus]:\n\n\"The Vedas teach that Krishna is the sole Essence. Now let me speak of\nthe signs of the aim (_abhidheya_), from which one can get Krishna and the\ntreasure of Krishna's love. All the _Shastras_ speak of faith in Krishna\nas the aim. Hence the sages declare,\n\n_'We know for certain that thou, O Lord, art our refuge, because the mode\nof thy worship that Mother Shruti lays down in answer to our questions,\nis also indicated by Sister Smritis and Brother Purans'._\n\n\"This truth is taught by the Monist school that Krishna is God Himself;\nHe dwells in the form of the _Swarup_ power; spreading out in the forms\nof _swamsha_ and _bibhinnamsha_, He disports Himself in Ananta,\n_Vaikuntha_, and Brahmanda. The four-sided incarnations are His\n_swamsha_ extension. The created world is the example of His\n_bibhinnamsha_ power. Such creatures are of two classes, _viz._, one\never liberated, the other ever fettered to the world. The ever liberated\nare ever eager for Krishna's feet; they are named Krishna's followers\nand they enjoy the bliss of serving Him. The ever fettered are ever\nexcluded from Krishna, and ever feel the sufferings of Hell; the Fury,\nIllusion, ever torments them for that reason; the three internal agonies\nscourge them; they are kicked at by Lust, Anger [and other deadly sins]\nwhose slaves they are. If in the course of their life's wanderings they\nmeet with a saint as their healer, his teaching like a charm exorcizes\nthe demon (Illusion) out of them; then they feel _bhakti_ for Krishna\nand come to Him. Faith in Krishna is the supreme end (_abhidheya_).\nWorthless are the fruits of other kinds of devotion, such as work,\n_yog_, and knowledge,--in comparison with the bliss of _bhakti_; the\nformer cannot give us Krishna unless we have _bhakti_ in Him. _Vide\nBhagabat_ I. v. 12 and II. iv. 16. Knowledge dissociated from _bhakti_\ncannot give salvation; but a man devoted to Krishna can gain salvation\nwithout knowledge. _Vide Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 4 and the _Gita_, vii. 14.\n\n\"Creation, the eternal slave of Krishna, forgot this fact; hence\nIllusion tied a rope round its neck. If a creature adores Krishna and\nserves his _guru_, he is released from the meshes of Illusion and\nattains to Krishna's feet. If, while observing the rules of his caste, a\nman does not adore Krishna, he will be plunged in hell in spite of his\ndoing his caste-duties. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. v. 2 & 3. The votary of\nknowledge imagines that he has attained to the condition of one\nliberated even in earthly life; but in truth his mind cannot be purified\nwithout faith in Krishna. _Vide Bhagabat_, X. ii. 26. Krishna is like\nthe Sun, while Illusion is as darkness; hence Illusion has no power to\nremain where Krishna is. _Vide Bhagabat_, II. v. 13. Even if a man\nprays once saying Krishna I am thine, he is saved by Krishna from the\nbonds of Illusion. If the seeker after enjoyment, salvation and\nattainment (_siddhi_), is wise, he adores Krishna with deep _bhakti_.\n_Vide Bhagabat_, II. iii. 10. If a man adores Krishna in longing for\nother [material] gains, He gives the votary His own feet unasked,\narguing, 'In adoring me he is soliciting for material joys. What a great\nfool is he, in thus begging for poison instead of nectar! I am wiser,\nwhy then should I grant this fool [his coveted] earthly pleasures? Let\nme give him the nectar of my feet, so that he may forget earthly joys'.\n_Vide Bhagabat_, V. xix. 28. If a man adores Krishna even for fleshly\nlusts, he [soon] longs to abandon his desires and become a slave of\nKrishna. In going through this worldly life, some are fortunate enough\nto gain salvation; just as a log of wood drifting down the current now\nand then lands on the bank. _Vide Bhagabat_, X. xxxviii. 4. By good\nluck some men's bondage to the world is about to be severed, [when] they\nare emancipated by the society of holy men, and are inspired with\ndevotion to Krishna. _Vide Bhagabat_ X. ii. 35. If Krishna favours any\nblessed man, He teaches him as his _guru_ seated in the heart. _Vide\nBhagabat_, XI. xxix. 6. If in the company of holy men a man feels\ninclined towards _bhakti_ in Krishna, he gets love, the fruit of\n_bhakti_, and is freed from the world. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. xx. 8.\nSave through the favour of the noble a man cannot feel _bhakti_ in\nanything; not to speak of his gaining devotion to Krishna, he is not\neven freed from bondage to the world. _Vide Bhagabat_, V. xx. 12 and\nVII. v. 25. All _Shastras_ recommend the companionship of the holy. As\nsoon as such society is resorted to, it gives success in everything.\n_Vide Bhagabat_, I. xvii. 13. The gracious Krishna, in addressing Arjun\n[in the _Gita_], has laid down instructions for the salvation of\nmankind. Vide the _Gita_, xviii. 64 and 65.\n\n\"God had first commanded the Vedic religion, work, _yog_, and\nknowledge. After these had been observed, He finally commanded\n_bhakti_, which must, therefore, be superior [to the former]. If, in\naccordance with this [latest] dispensation, a devotee feels _shraddha_,\nhe leaves all works and adores Krishna. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. xx. 9. The\nterm _shraddha_ means firm and unquestioning faith. If one adores\nKrishna, it is equivalent to his doing all the prescribed ceremonies [of\nreligion]. _Vide Bhagabat_, IV. xxxi. 12.\n\n\"Men who have _shraddha_ are qualified for bhakti, and are ranked as\nsuperior, average, and inferior, according to the quality of their\n_shraddha_. He whose _shraddha_ is confirmed by listening to the\nreasoning contained in the _Shastras_ is a superior 'entitled to\n_bhakti_', and he is liberated from the world. He whose _shraddha_ is\nstrong in spite of his ignorance of _shastric_ arguments, is an average\n'entitled to _bhakti_'; he, too, is very fortunate. He whose\n_shraddha_ requires a visible object [of adoration] is an inferior\n'entitled to _bhakti_'; in time he will advance to the stage of a\nsuperior _bhakta_. There are different grades of _bhakti_, according\nto differences of ardour and passion, as has been described in the\neleventh _skanda_ of the _Bhagabat_, (XI. ii. 43-45).\n\n\"All the high attributes are found in the person of a Vaishnav, because\nKrishna's attributes spread to His _bhaktas_. (_Ibid_, V. xviii. 12).\nThe following qualities mark a Vaishnav; they cannot be exhaustively\nnamed, I only take a rapid view: he is compassionate, spiteless,\nessentially true, saintly, innocent, charitable, gentle, pure, humble, a\nuniversal benefactor, tranquil, solely dependent on Krishna, free from\ndesire, quiet, equable, a victor over the six passions (_sharguna_),\ntemperate in diet, self-controlled, honouring others and yet not proud\nhimself, grave, tender, friendly, learned, skilful and silent. _Vide\nBhagabat_, III. xxv. 20, V. v. 2. The society of holy men is the root\nof the birth of devotion to Krishna (_Bhagabat_, X. li. 35, XI. ii. 28,\nxxv. 22). The principal limb that springs up from it is love of Krishna.\nIt is proper conduct for a Vaishnav to abjure the society of the wicked.\nThe man who consorts with women is one kind of sinner, while the man\nlacking in faith in Krishna belongs to another kind. (_Bhagabat_ III.\nxxxi. 35, 33 & 34). Leaving these [temptations] and the religious system\nbased on caste, [the true Vaishnav] helplessly takes refuge with\nKrishna. _Vide_ the _Gita_, xviii. 66; _Bhagabat_, X. xlviii.\n\n\"If a learned man happens to sing Krishna's praise, he adores Krishna to\nthe exclusion of all other deities, as is proved by the case of Uddhav.\n_Vide Bhagabat_, III. ii. The helpless and the refugee [among devotees]\nhave the same characteristics. Then comes resignation in. After taking\nrefuge in Krishna, the votary gives himself entirely up to Krishna, who\nthen elevates him to His own nature. _Vide Hari-bhakti-vilas_, xi. 417\n& 418; _Bhagabat_, XI. xxix. 32.\"\n\n\"Give ear, O Sanatan, while I turn to speak of the attainment\n(_sadhan_) of _bhakti_, which gives us the rich treasure of love for\nKrishna. Hearing [chant] and other acts [of the physical organs] are the\n_swarup_ signs of it; while in the _tatastha_ sign love is born. Love\nfor Krishna is ever an end (_siddha_); it is never a means (_sadhya_).\nIt is kindled in a pure heart by listening [to Krishna's praise], and\nother acts of the organs. The _sadhan_ of _bhakti_ is of two kinds:\none following the ordinances of religion, the other following the\n[heart's] inclination. The man without a natural desire [for Krishna]\nadores Him in obedience to the bidding of the _Shastras_; such\n_bhakti_ is called regular (_baidhi_).\n\n_'King! It is the duty of the men who seeks liberation to hear, to\npraise, and to meditate about God, the universal Soul, the supremely\nBeautiful, and the Liberator from bondage.'_ (_Bhagabat_, II. i. 5.\nand also XI. v. 2.)\n\n\"The modes of cultivating _bhakti_ are many; I shall only tell you\nbriefly of the chief of them: [they are] taking refuge at the feet of\nthe _guru_, initiation, service of the _guru_, inquiry into the true\nreligion, following the path of saints, renunciation of enjoyment out of\nlove for Krishna, residence at holy places associated with Krishna,\naccepting alms no further than suffices [for one's sustenance], fasting\non the tenth day of the moon, reverence to foster-mothers, fig trees,\nkine, Brahmans and Vaishnavs, shunning from a distance all offences\nagainst adoration and the holy name, abjuring the company of\nnon-Vaishnavs, taking only a few disciples, avoiding the study and\nexposition of too many books and arts, looking at loss and gain as\nalike, control of grief and other passions, abstention from abusing\nother gods and scriptures, never listening to scandal about Vishnu or\nVaishnavs nor to village gossip, giving no shock by thought or speech to\nany creature that lives, listening [to chant], hymn-singing, keeping God\nin remembrance, worship, adoration [in words], attendance [on idols],\nassuming the attitudes of servant and comrade [to Krishna], dedication\nof one's own self [to God], dancing, singing, petitioning and\nprostration before [Krishna's image], rising to welcome [His image], and\nfollowing it as a mark of respect, visiting shrines at _tirthas_,\nwalking round shrines, hymning, reading scriptures, reciting the holy\nname, _sankirtan_, enjoying incense garlands perfumed essence and the\n_maha-prasad_, witnessing the grand celebration of _arati_ and the\ndivine image, giving up whatever is dear to one's own self, meditation,\nand serving Him.\n\n\"The service of the following four is approved by Krishna:--the _Tulsi_\nplant, Vaishnavs, Mathura, and the book _Bhagabat_.\n\n\"Direct all your efforts to [the service of] Krishna, witness His\nmercies, celebrate His Nativity and other days in the company of\n_bhaktas_. Ever fly to him for refuge, celebrate Kartik and other\n_bratas_.\n\n\"These are the sixty-four modes of cultivating bhakti. The five chief of\nthem are (1) the society of holy men, (2) _kirtan_ of Krishna's name, (3)\nlistening to the reading of the _Bhagabat_, (4) dwelling at Mathura, and\n(5) reverential service of His image. Even a little of these five\ncreates love for Krishna.\n\n\"Some _bhaktas_ pursue only one of these modes, some many. When the\nmind has become steady, the wave of love surges up [in it]. Many\n_bhaktas_ have attained to success by following one mode only.\nAmbarisha and other _bhaktas_ cultivated many modes. (_Vide Bhagabat_,\nIX. iv. 15-17)-The man who by renouncing desire adores Krishna in\nobedience to the injunctions of the _Shastras_, is not indebted to the\ngods the _Rishis_ or the manes of his ancestors. (_Bhagabat_, XI. v.\n37). He who adores Krishna's feet rejecting _shastric_ rites, feels\nnevertheless no temptation for forbidden sins. Even if he commits a sin\nunwittingly, Krishna purifies him and he need not practise penance for\nit. (_Bhagabat_, XL v. 38). Theological knowledge and monachism are not\nat all necessary means of cultivating bhakti; Krishna's society gives\ninoffensiveness and discipline. _Vide Bhagabat_, XI. xx. 31.\n\n\"Hitherto I have held forth on the cultivation of _bhakti_ in\naccordance with the shastric teaching. Now, let me tell you, Sanatan,\nabout _bhakti_ in compliance with natural inclination. This latter kind\nof _bhakti_ is chiefly found in the people of Brindaban, and those who\ncultivate it are called _raganuga_ ('inclination-led'). A passionate\nlonging for the object of desire is the _swarup_ characteristic of\ninclination (_rag_); absorption in the object of desire is its\n_tatastha feature_. The nature of an 'inclination-led' _bhakta_ pays\nno heed to _shastric_ reasoning.\n\n\"Its two types are _external_ and _internal_. In the external, the\ndevotee through his physical organs performs listening (to chant) and\nchanting, while in his mind he imagines himself to be identical with his\nideal [such as any _sakhi_ or cowherd mate of Krishna], and thus [in\nfancy] serves Krishna at Brindaban day and night. With drawing himself\ninto his own mind, such a votary ever remains close to his object, the\ndearest Krishna, and thus serves Him incessantly. In the path of\ninclination (_rag_), he takes Krishna as the object of his chief\nemotion, _viz._, as master, comrade, child or sweetheart. (_Bhagabat_,\nIII. xxv. 35)\n\n\"From the sprout of love (_prem_) issue two things, _rati_ (addiction)\nand _bhab_ (emotion). These two conquer the Lord for us. Thus have I\nexpounded _ebhidheya_, from which we gain the treasure of love for\nKrishna.\" [Text, canto, 22.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nOn Love, the fruit of Devotion\n\n[The Master continued]--\"Listen now, Sanatan, to love, the fruit of\n_bhakti_, the hearing of which gives knowledge of the spirit of\n_bhakti_. When passion (_rati_) in Krishna is deepened it is called\n_prem_ (love), the permanent form of _bhakti_ in Krishna. It also has\ntwo aspects, _viz._, _swarup_ and _tatastha_. If any man has the\ngrace to feel _shraddha_, he consort with pious men, from which\ncompanionship result the hearing and chanting of Krishna's name. From\nthe attainment of _bhakti_, all his troubles are removed, and as a\nconsequence of the latter, his faith becomes constant, which gives him a\ntaste for the listening and [hymning of Krishna's name]. From taste\n(_ruchi_) comes strong inclination (_asakti_), which gives birth to\nthe sprout of passion for Krishna in the soul. When this emotion is\ndeepened, it takes the name of love (_prem_). That love is the\n(ultimate) fruit, the source of every bliss. _Vide Bhagabat_, III. xxv.\n22. The man in whose heart this emotion sprouts up is marked by the many\nqualities named in the _Shastras_. (_Bhakti-ras-amrita-sindhu_, I.\nRati-bhakti, verse 11, _Bhagabat_ I. xix. 13). No earthly affliction\ncan disturb his mind. Such a man never wastes his time without communing\nwith Krishna. He never fears [attack by] enjoyment, material success, or\nthe objects of sensual gratification. (_Bhagabat_, V. xiv. 42). Even\nthe noblest _bhakta_ considers himself as lowly, and firmly believes\nthat Krishna will take pity on him. He is ever expectant, ever\npassionately longing [for union with Krishna]. Ever does he relish the\nwork of singing Krishna's names, and ever engages in it. At all times is\nhe addicted to holding forth on Krishna's charms. Ever does he reside at\nthe scenes of Krishna's exploits.\n\n\"So far I have described the marks of _rati_ for Krishna. Now let me\ndescribe the characteristics of love for Krishna. Even the wise fail to\ncomprehend the speech, acts and gestures of the man whose heart is full\nof love for Krishna. (_Bhagabat_, XI. ii. 38). As love develops, it\ntakes the forms of _sneha_, _man_, _pranaya_, _rag_, _anurag_,\n_bhab_, and _mahabhab_, just as, from the same source of sugar-juice\nwe have molasses, _gur_ (_khanda_), black sugar, [yellow] sugar-candy,\nand white sugar-candy. As these grow successively purer and more\ndelicious, so too do the above stages in the development of love. In\nrelation to its subject, _rati_ is of five kinds _viz._, _shanta_,\n_dasya_, _sakhya_, _batsalya_, and _madhur_. These five permanent\nemotions (_bhab_) have five different flavours, which delight the\n_bhakta_ and over-power Krishna. The permanent emotions of love etc.,\non meeting with the proper ingredient, mature in the form of\nKrishna-_bhakti ras_. The permanent emotion (_bhab_) on being mingled\nwith _ras_ is changed into these four,--_bibhaba_, _anubhaba_,\n_sativika_, _byabhichari_;--just as curd, on being mixed with _gur_,\nblack pepper, and camphor, becomes a thing of matchless deliciousness\nnamed _rasal_. _Bibhaba_ is of two kinds, (i) _alamban_, which is\nkindled by Krishna, etc., and (ii) _uddipan_, by the notes of His\nflute, etc. _Anubhaba_ is stimulated by smile, dance and song. Stupor\nand other sensations are included in _satwika anubhaba_. _Byabhichari_\nis of 33 kinds, such as delight, rapture, &c.\n\n\"_Ras_ is of five kinds,--_shanta_, _dasya_, _sakhya_, _batsalya_,\nand _madhur_. In the _shanta ras_, _rati_ advances to the stage of\n_prem_; in the _dasya_ to _rag_, _sakhya_ and _batsalya_ attain to\nthe limit of _anurag_ (as was the case with Subal and others love for\nKrishna).\n\n\"Krishna, the darling of Braja's lord, is the chief of lovers, while the\nlady Radha is at the head of mistresses. Krishna's qualities are\nendless, even a single one of them when unfolded can soothe the ears of\na _bhakta_.\n\n\"Countless are Radhika's qualities, of which 25 are the principal ones,\nwhich have conquered Krishna.\n\n\"The lover and his mistress are the themes of two _rasas_, and the\nforemost of the class are Radha and Krishna. Similarly, in the _dasya\nras_, the subject is a servant, in the _sakhya_ a comrade, in the\n_batsalya_ the parents.\n\n\"This _ras_ is tasted only by Krishna's _bhaktas_; those who are not\ndevoted to Him have not the lot to enjoy it. Before this, at Allahabad I\ndiscoursed on _ras_ and inspired with my power your brother Rup\nGoswami. Do you preach the lore of _bhakti_; do you discover the lost\nshrines of Mathura. At Brindaban teach the adoration of Krishna, the\nproper conduct of Vaishnavs, and the scriptures of the creed of\n_bhakti_.\"\n\nThus did the Master teach Sanatan all about the temperate conquest of\npassions (_bairagya_) and condemned arid _bairagya_ which consists of\n(mere) knowledge. _Vide_ the _Gita_, xii. 13 _et seq_ and\n_Bhagabat_, II. ii. 5.\n\nThen Sanatan asked about the metaphorical interpretations (_siddhanta_)\nof all the acts of Krishna's life and the Master clearly explained them.\nAt last Sanatan clasped His feet and biting a wisp of grass in sign of\nabjectness prayed to Him thus: \"I am a wretch, of low caste, and the\nservant of the unclean. And yet thou hast taught me theological\nexpositions which even Brahma knows not! My despicable mind cannot\ncontain even a single drop of this ocean of exposition that thou hast\npoured into it. Thou canst make even the lame dance, if so thou wishest.\nLay thy feet on my head and pronounce on me the blessing that all that\nthou hast taught me may become bright within me. May I derive power from\nthy power!\" And the Master blessed him accordingly. [Text, canto 23.]\n\nAgain did Sanatan clasp the Master's feet and ask Him, \"I have heard\nthat you explained to Sarvabhauma in eighteen different ways the\nfollowing couplet of the _Bhagabat_, I. vii. 10:--\n\n[Sanskrit words]\n\n\"My mind, on hearing of it, has been seized with wonder and curiosity.\nIf thou tellest it [again] graciously, my ears will be charmed.\" The\nMaster answered, \"I am a mad man; Sarvabhauma took my mad words for\ntruth. I do not remember what ravings I uttered in his house. But should\nyour company inspire me I may possibly recollect a little of it. My mind\nis not naturally enlightened as to the sense of the verses; what I shall\nsay is only the outcome of the influence of your company.\"\n\n[His 61 subtle interpretations of the above stanza and the rules of\nSanskrit grammar lexicography and logic appealed to by the Master in\nsupport of them, are omitted here in the 2nd edition.]\n\nListening to these [sixty-one diverse] explanations, Sanatan was filled\nwith wonder, and praised the Great Master, clinging to His feet, \"Thou\nart God incarnate, the darling of Braja's lord. Thy breath called into\nbeing all the Vedas. Thou art the speaker in the _Bhagabat_, and thou\nknowest its meaning, which none else can under stand!\" The Master\nobjected, \"Why praise me? Why not consider the nature of the\n_Bhagabat_, which is like Krishna, all-embracing, the refuge of all.\nEvery couplet, nay every letter of it breathes a variety of senses. By\nmeans of a dialogue this fact has been established in the _Bhagabat_\nitself. (I. i. 23 and iii. 42). These my interpretations of the\n_shloka_ are like the ravings of a mad man. Who will accept them? If\nany one be mad like me, he will understand the meaning of the\n_Bhagabat_ from this [specimen].\"\n\nAgain did Sanatan with folded palms entreat Him, \"Master, thou has\nbidden me write the sacred code (_smriti_) of Vaishnavs. I am a man of\nlow caste, ignorant of ceremonial cleanness (_achar_). How can\n_smriti_ be taught by me? If you teach me an outline of it in the form\nof _sutras_ (aphorisms), if you yourself enter my heart, then the\nsketch will inspire the mind of a low man like me. Thou art God;\nwhatever thou makest me speak will prove true\". The Master replied,\n\"Whatever you wish to do, Krishna will inspire your mind with [knowledge\nof it]. I, however, give you a rapid survey of the different points\n[which you should deal with in compiling the Vaishnav sacred code] (_A\nlong list, not translated here_). In every case quote as your authority\nthe sayings of the Purans. When you will write, Krishna will inspire\nyou.\" [text, canto 24.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nThe Master converts the people of Benares and returns to Jagannath\n\nThus did the Master in two months instruct Sanatan in the entire lore of\nthe philosophy of faith. Chandra Shekhar's comrade, Paramananda\nKirtania, an expert artist, performed _kirtan_ before the Master.\n\nAs the Master had slighted the _sannyasis_ they everywhere spoke ill of\nHim. At this the Maratha [Brahman] sadly reflected, Whosoever has a\nclose view of the Master's character feels Him to be God indeed, and\nadmits Him as such. If I can bring them and Him together, they will\nperceive this [quality] and become His followers. I have always to dwell\nin Kashi, and if I do not effect this, it will be a matter of\neverlasting regret to me.\"\n\nSo, he invited all the _sannyasis_, and himself went on a visit to the\nMaster. Chandra Shekhar and Tapan Mishra, grieved to hear Him defamed,\nwere humbly entreating Him, and His mind, too, was thinking of the\nconversion of the _sannyasis_, in order to remove the grief of His\n_bhaktas_. Just then the Maratha Brahman arrived and clasping the\nMaster's feet by much entreaty induced Him to accept his invitation. At\nnoon He went to His host's house, and bestowed salvation on the\n_sannyasis_ in the manner described in Part I. of this book.\n\nFrom the day on which He blessed the _sannyasis_, a sensation was\ncreated in the village; crowds flocked to behold the Master; scholars of\nvarious schools came to discuss theology with Him, but He refuted all\ntheir philosophies and established faith as the final truth. By His\nreasoned speech he turned the minds of them all, and they followed His\ninstruction and began to chant Krishna's name. All men laughed, sang,\nand danced. The _sannyasis_ submitted to Him; quitting their studies\nthey formed assemblies of their own [to discourse on faith].\n\nA disciple of Prakashananda, equal to him in attainments, spoke\nreverently of the Master in open meeting thus, \"Chaitanya is Narayan\nhimself. He explains the aphorisms of Vyas most charmingly. His\nexposition of the root meaning of the _Upanishads_ gratifies the\nhearing and mind of scholars even. Our teacher [Prakashananda] gives a\nfanciful explanation of the aphorisms of the _Upanishads_ leaving their\nessential meaning out. On hearing his fanciful explanations scholars\npretend to approve, but are not inwardly convinced, whereas Chaitanya's\nwords feel to be truth indeed. In the Kali Yug, one cannot vanquish the\nWorld by asceticism; the highest conclusion and true source of bliss is\ncontained in the exposition which He gave of the verses '_Hari's name\nalone &c_'. The _Bhagabat_ asserts that there cannot be salvation\nwithout faith, and that rapture in the name [of Hari] can give an easy\ndeliverance in the Kali Yug. (_Bhagabat_, X. xiv. 4 and ii. 26).\n\n\"The term _Brahma_ connotes God full of the six divine attributes. To\ndescribe Him as abstract is to impair His fulness. The _Shruti Purans_\ndeal with the manifestations of Krishna's _chit_ power. Philosophers\nlaugh at it irreverently. They look upon Krishna's _chidananda_ images\nas a mere piece of illusion. In this they sin grievously. Chaitanya's\nview is the true one. (_Bhagabat_, III. ix. 3 and 4; _Gita_, ix. n and\nxvi. 19). The aphorisms [of Vedanta] teach the theory of _parinam_\n(result), but our teacher disregards it, calls Vyas ignorant, and\nasserts the theory of _bivarta_. This fanciful interpretation does not\nsatisfy the mind. Fancies at variance with scripture prove a man a\nwretch. Engaged in vain disputation, I have hitherto forgotten to know\nthe Supreme Essence. Oh! how shall I merit Krishna's grace? Our teacher\nhas obscured the meaning of Vyas's aphorisms, whereas Chaitanya has\nrevealed it. True are His words; all other theories are false and\nfutile.\"\n\nSo saying he began to sing Krishna's _sankirtan_. At this Parkashananda\nremarked, \"The Acharya was eager to establish Monism, and he had\ntherefore to twist the sense of the aphorisms. If you admit God's\n_bhagawanship_, you cannot establish Monism. So the Acharya had to refute\nall the _Shastras_. No author who wishes to set up his own theory can give\nthe plain meaning of the scriptures. A philosopher of the _Mimansa_ school\nspeaks of God as a part and parcel of [His] work; the _Sankhya_ speaks of\nHim as the cause of Nature all over the universe. The _Nyaya_ asserts that\nthe world was composed out of atoms; the Illusionist speaks of the\nabstract Brahma as the Cause. Patanjal (alone) tells us of the true\nnature of Krishna; so He is the true God, according to the _Vedas_. None\nrecognizes God as the Supreme Cause, each school of philosophy only\nsets up its own theory by refuting the views of its rivals. Thus from\nthe six schools of philosophy we cannot know the [spiritual] truth. Only\nthe words of great men are reliable. Chaitanya's words are a stream of\nnectar. What He says is the essence of spiritual truth. Hearing all\nthis, the Maratha Brahman in delight went to report it to the Master,\nwhom he met going to visit Bindu Madhav after His bath in the five\nstreams. At the Brahman's narration He was pleased. Beholding the beauty\nof Bindu Madhav Hewas enraptured and danced in the courtyard [of the\ntemple] in love, while Chandra Shekhar, Paramananda, Tapan and Sanatan\njoined in a _sankirtan_ chanting,--\n\n_\"Hail to Hari and Hara! to Krishna the Yadav, to Gopal, Govinda, Ram\nand Madhusudan.\"_\n\n_Lakhs_ of men surrounded them shouting _Hari! Hari!_ The blessed cry\nfilled earth and heaven. Hearing it near him, Prakashananda came there\nwith his pupils, moved by curiosity. Beholding the Master's charm of\nperson and dancing, he with his disciples joined the cry of _Hari!\nHari!_ The Master trembled, spoke in a choking voice, perspired,\nchanged colour, or at times stood rigidly inert, bathing the bystanders\nwith His tears, His body thrilled with ecstasy like the _Kadamba_ tree.\nHe displayed every passion, exultation, abjectness, lightness &c., to\nthe marvel of the people of Benares.\n\nOn seeing the crowd, the Master recovered His senses, and stopped His\ndance before the _sannyasis_. He bowed very low to Prakashananda, who,\nhowever clasped His feet. The Master cried out, \"You are the instructor\nof the world, and beloved [of all], while I am not worthy to be your\npupil's pupil. Why should a high one like you bow to a low one like me?\nAs you are God-like, by so doing you are destroying me [in sin]. Though\neverything becomes you, as it becomes God, yet, for the sake of holding\nup a lesson before the people, you should cease acting thus [humbly].\"\nPrakashananda replied, \"By touching your feet I have washed away all the\nsin of my former abuse of you!\" (_Bhagabat_, I. v. 12, Chakravarti's\ncommentary, quotation from the appendix cited in the _Basana-vashya_,\nalso X. xxxiv. 7).\n\nThe Master cried out, \"O God! O God! I am a despicable creature. It is a\nsin to regard any creature as Vishnu. Even if a God-like person holds a\ncreature to be Vishnu, then God will rank him among the infidels.\n(_Hari-bhakti-vilas_, i. 71).\"\n\nPrakashananda replied, \"You are God himself. But even if you insist on\nbeing regarded as God's slave, you tire still worthy of being honoured\nabove us. That I once abused you will be the cause of my ruin.\n(_Bhagabat_ VI. xvi. 4, X. iv. 31, and VII. v. 25). I now bow at your\nfeet, that I may kindle faith in them.\"\n\nSo saying he sat down there with the Master, and asked Him, \"The errors\nyou have pointed out in the theory of illusion, are, I know, the\nfanciful interpretations of Shankar Acharya. Your exposition of the\nessential meaning of the aphorisms has charmed the minds of all. You are\nGod and can do everything. Tell me then briefly, I long to hear [your\ninterpretation of Vyas's aphorisms]. The Master protested, \"I am a\ncreature insignificant in knowledge. Vyas was God's self and his\naphorisms have a deep meaning, which no creature can know. Hence he has\nhimself explained his aphorisms. When the writer is his own commentator,\nmen can understand his meaning. The meaning of _pranaba_ in the\n_Gayatri mantra_ is explained at length in the four verses of the\n_Bhagabat_, II. ix. 30-33. First God imparted these four verses to\nBrahma, who taught them to Narad, and the latter to Vyas, who reflected,\n\"I shall make the _Bhagabat_ itself a commentary on any aphorisms.\" So\nhe accumulated the teaching of the four _Vedas_ and the _Upanishads_.\nEvery _rik_ which is the subject matter of a particular aphorism, is\nformed into a separate verse in the _Bhagabat_. The _Bhagabat_ and the\n_Upanishads_, therefore, speak with one voice; the former is nothing\nmore than a commentary on the latter. _Bhagabat_, VIII. i. 8, says,\n\n_\"'Everything that exists in the world is the abode of God. Therefore\nenjoy what God has given you, and covet not another's possessions.'_\n\n\"The above verse takes a bird's-eye view of the whole subject. Similarly\nevery verse of the _Bhagabat_ is like a rik. In the 'four verses' the\n_Bhagabat_ has unfolded the characteristics of Connection, Means\n(_abhidheya_), and Need. Connection with 'I' is the truth; perception\nof 'I' is the highest knowledge, the devotion and faith necessary to\nattain to 'I' is called the Means. The fruit of devotion is love, which\nis the radical Need. That love enables a man to enjoy 'I'. _Vide_ the\n_Bhagabat_, II. ix. 30, God's words to Brahma:\n\n_'The knowledge of me is deeply mysterious. Accept as spoken by me\nwhatever is united to supreme knowledge (bijnan), attended by mystery,\nand a part of tat.' Or in other words, God says here, 'These three\ntruths have I explained to you, because being a creature you could not\nhave understood them, viz., my nature, my dwelling (sthiti), and\nmy attributes, works, and six powers. My grace will inspire you with all\nthese.'_ So saying God imparted the three truths to Brahma: (i)\n_Bhagabat_ II. ix. 31,--\n\n_'May you, through my grace, at once attain to true knowledge about the\nnature of my form (swarup), my component element (sattwa), and my\nattributes and acts.'_ (God's speech to Brahma).\n\n\"Or in other words, God says 'Before creation, being myself endowed with\nthe six divine powers, and drawing into myself _Prapancha_-Nature, I\ncreate while dwelling within it. The _Prapancha_ that men beholds is no\nother than me. In destruction my remaining attributes manifest\nthemselves, completing me and so _Prapancha_-nature finds absorption in\nme.'\n\n\"(2) Again, _Bhagabat_, II. ix. 32, God speaks to Brahma:--\n\n_'This I alone existed before creation, and none else. Nature, the cause\nof the gross and subtle universes, did not then exist. This I alone\nexist even after creation; this universe is indeed myself. Whatever will\nsurvive the destruction (pralaya) of the world will also be this I.'_\n\n\"In this verse the phrase 'This I' occurs thrice and determines the\ndwelling of the full-power divine incarnation (_vigraha_). He has\n(clearly) pronounced on this point in order to rebuke those\n(philosophers) who do not admit incarnations (_vigraha_). The term\n'_this_' indicates _jnan_, _vijnan_, and _vivek_. Illusion is God's\nwork, therefore God's self ('_I_') is different from illusion, just as\na faint glow shines in the sky where the Sun was, but it cannot appear\nof itself without aid of the Sun. It is only by going beyond illusion\nthat we can perceive. Here the truth of Connection [with God] has been\nunfolded.\n\n\"(3) Next in _Bhagabat_, II. ix. 33, God tells Brahma,--\n\n_'Know that to be my illusion which being unreal appears to the (human)\nmind as real, or being real is not recognized by the mind; just as the\nreflection in the water of the moon of the sky, though unreal, seems to\nbe a second moon indeed; or as the Rahu of darkness, though real,\nescapes man's perception.'_\n\n\"Listen to an exposition of faith as a means of devotion. In religious\nrites we have to observe distinctions according to person, locality,\ntime and condition. But in the practice of _bhakti_ no such difference\nhas to be made; it is the duty of all in every place, condition and\ntime. Ask a _guru_ about faith, and learn its nature from him.\n(_Bhagabat_, II. ix. 35).\n\n_'The man who seeks spiritual truth will admit that that substance alone\nis the Soul (atma) which dwells at all times and within everything by\nacting as the anwaya (necessary) and byatireka (non-necessary) causes\n[of things].'_\n\n\"Attachment to '_I_' is love, the Needful thing. I shall describe its\nmarks by means of actions. As the five spirits (_pancha-bhut_) dwell\nwithin and without all creation, similarly I inspire my _bhaktas_\nwithin and without. (_Bhagabat_, II. ix. 34),--\n\n_'As the Great Spirits (maha-bhutani) enter material objects after their\ncreation, but remained outside them as causes before their creation, so\nI too remain at once within and without all created things.'_\n\n'My _bhakta_ has confined me to his lotus-like heart. Wherever he\nglances he beholds me.' (_Bhagabat_, XI. ii. 50 and 43, X. xxx. 4).\n\n\"Thus does the _Bhagabat_ explain three things, Connection, Means, and\nNeed. (_Bhagabat_, I. ii. 1).\n\n\"Now listen to the _abhidheya_ faith, which inspires every line of the\n_Bhagabat_ (XI. xiv. 20).\n\n\"Now hear about love, the radical Need, whose marks are joyous tears,\ndance and song. (XI. iii. 32 and ii. 38).\n\n\"Therefore is the _Bhagabat_ that author's own commentary on the\n_Brahma Sutra_; it settles the meaning of the _[Maha] Bharat_,\nexplains the _Gayatri_, and amplifies by gloss the meaning of the\n_Vedas_, as is said in the _Garuda Puran_. _Vide_ also the two verses\nfrom the same Puran quoted by Shridhar Swami in his commentary on the\n_Bhagabat_, I. 1, also _Bhagabat_, I. i. 1-3 and 19, the _Gita_,\nxviii. 54, _Bhagabat_, II. i. 9, III. xv. 43, I. vii. 10.\"\n\nThen the Maratha Brahman told the assembled people how the Master had\nexplained the last mentioned verse in sixty-one different ways. The men\nwondered and pressed the Master, who gave His interpretations again.\nThey marvelled exceedingly and concluded that Chaitanya was Krishna\nincarnate.\n\nThis said, the Master left the place. Men bowed to Him and shouted\n_Hari! Hari!_ All the people of Benares began to make _sankirtan_ of\nKrishna's name, laughing, dancing and singing in love. The _sannyasi_\nphilosophers took to the study of the _Bhagabat_. (In short) the Master\nsaved the city of Benares, which became a second Navadwip [in fervour].\n\nReturning to His quarters with His attendants, the Master said\njestingly, \"I had come to Benares to sell my sentimental stuff, for\nwhich there was no purchaser here. I could not carry my merchandise back\nto my country, as you would have been grieved to see me carrying the\nload! So, to please you all, I have distributed my goods freely!\"\n\nThey all replied, \"You have come to deliver mankind. Before this you had\ncarried salvation to the South and the West. Benares alone was adverse\nto you, and now you have redeemed it, to our delight.\"\n\nThe sensation at Benares spread. Millions of country people began to\ncome to the city. They could not see the Master at the place of\n_sankirtan_, but formed lines on both sides of the road to watch Him\ngoing to bathe or visit Vishweshwar. With uplifted arms He ordered them\nto chant Hari's name; they prostrated themselves and shouted _Hari!\nHari!_\n\nFive days were thus passed in delivering the people, and then the Master\ngrew anxious. When He started walking away at night, His five _bhaktas_\nfollowed Him,--_viz._, Tapan Mishra, Raghunath, the Maratha Brahman,\nChandra Shekhar, and the singer Paramananda,--all wishing to accompany\nHim to Puri. But the Master sent them back gently, giving them leave to\ncome afterwards, as He was returning alone by the Jharikhand route. To\nSanatan He said, \"Go to Brindaban, to your two brothers. If my _bhakta_\nbeggars, clad in quilt and bowl in hand, go there, cherish them.\" So\nsaying He embraced and left them, while they all fell down fainting.\nRecovering they sadly took the way back to home.\n\nWhen Rup reached Mathura, at the Dhruba ghat he met Subuddhi Ray, who\nhad once been governor of Gaur with Sayyid Husain Khan as his servant.\nHusain was ordered to dig a tank, and on his committing some fault, his\nmaster, the Ray, flogged him. When, afterwards, Husain Shah became\nSultan of Bengal, he greatly promoted Subuddhi Ray.\n\nBut the Sultana, noticing the scar of the lash on Husain's back, pressed\nhim to murder the Ray. The Sultan declined saying that the Ray was his\nformer patron, a father unto him. But the queen urged him to destroy the\nRay's caste while sparing his life. Husain answered that Subuddhi would\nnot survive the loss of his caste. The king was hard pressed by the\nqueen, and at last forced water from his own goglet into the Ray's\nmouth. At this the Ray left all his possessions, fled to Bewares, and\nasked the _pandits_ there about the proper penance. Thev replied, \"Give\nup your life by drinking steaming _ghee_. This is not a venial sin!\"\nThe Ray remained perplexed, but when the Master arrived there, he told\nHim all. Chaitanya advised him to go to Brindaban and ceaselessly chant\nKrishna's name, as one utterance of the name would wash away all his\nsins and a repetition of it would gain him Krishna's feet.\n\nThe Ray reached Mathura by way of Prayag, Ayodhya, and the Naimish\nforest (where he lingered some days). In the meantime the Master\nreturned from Brindaban to Prayag, and Subuddhi on reaching Mathura\ngrieved to miss Him. The Ray sold dry faggots at Mathura, at five or six\npiece per bundle. He lived by chewing one pice worth of gram and lodged\nthe rest of his earnings with a _bania_. Whenever he met a poor\nVaishnav, he fed him, and to Bengali pilgrims he gave curd, rice and oil\nfor anointing the body. Rup greatly favoured him, and took him through\nthe \"Twelve Woods\" in his own company.\n\nAfter a month at Brindaban, Rup hurriedly left to search Sanatan out.\nHearing that the Master had taken the Ganges route to Prayag, Rup and\nhis brother Anupam followed that path. But Sanatan from Prayag went to\nMathura by the king's highway, and so missed Rup, who had taken a\ndifferent route, as Subuddhi Ray told Sanatan on his arrival at Mathura.\nTenderly did the Ray treat Sanatan, who cared not for tender treatment;\nbeing very averse to the world, he roamed through the woods, passing a\nday and night under each tree and grove. Securing a copy of the holy\nbook named _Mathura Mahatmya_, he searched the forests to discover the\nforgotten shrines.\n\nRup with his youngest brother came to Kashi and there met the Maratha\nBrahman, Chandra Shekhar, and Tapan Mishra. He lived with Chandra\nShekhar, dined with the Mishra, and heard from the latter how the Master\nhad taught Sanatan. Delighted was he to hear from them about the\nMaster's doings at Kashi and His grace to the _sannyasis_, and to see\nthe devotion of the people to him, and hear them chanting _kirtan_.\nAfter a ten days stay there, Rup left for Bengal.\n\nThe Master wended His way to Puri, feeling intense bliss in the lonely\njungle path. Balabhadra accompanied Him, and He sported with the deer\nand other animals as during His first journey. Reaching Athara-nala He\nsent Bhattacharya in advance to summon His followers. At the news of His\nreturn, they got a new life as it were, ran to Him in rapture and met\nHim at the Narendra tank. The Master touched the feet of the Puri and\nthe Bharati, who embraced Him lovingly. Damodar Swarup, Gadadhar Pandit,\nJagadananda, Kashishwar, Govinda, Vakreshwar, Kashi Mishra, Pradyumna\nMishra, Damodar Pandit, Haridas Thakur, Shankar Pandit, and all other\n_bhaktas_ fell down at His feet. He embraced each and was over come\nwith love. The faithful swam in the ocean of bliss. With them He went to\nvisit Jagannath, before whom He with His party danced and sang long in\nrapture. The servitor of the god presented Him with a garland and\n_prasad_, while Tulsi Parichha bowed at His feet.\n\nThe Master's arrival was [soon] noised abroad in the village.\nSarvabhauma, Ramananda, and Vaninath joined Him. With them all He\nrepaired to Kashi Mishra's house. Sarvabhauma bade Him to dinner, but He\ndeclined, and ordering some _maha-prasad_ to be brought, feasted there\nwith all His followers. [Text, canto 25.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII[1]\n\nThe Master teaches His disciples at Puri; the meeting with Sanatan\n\n_Author's words in commencing the Last Acts (Antya Lila)_:--\"I bow to\nthe Lord God Krishna-Chaitanya, whose grace enables a cripple to cross\nmountains and a dumb man to recite the scriptures. I am blind; this path\nis difficult, and I am again and again stumbling on it. May the saints\nbe my support by lending me the staff of their compassion!\n\n\"I adore the feel of my six _gurus_,--Rup, Sanatan, Raghunath Bhatta,\nJiv, Gopal Bhatta, and Raghunath-das,--who will remove evil (from my\npath) and fulfil my desire. In the _Madhya Lila_ I have given a brief\noutline of the _Antya Lila_. I am now stricken with the decrepitude of\nage, and know death to be near. Therefore, I write in detail such acts\nof the _Antya Lila_ as have not been described before.\"\n\nWhen the Master returned from Brindaban to Nilachal, Swarup Goswami sent\nword of it to Bengal. Shachi rejoiced to hear of it; all the _bhaktas_\nrejoiced. They all set off for Nilachal. The men of Kulin village and\nthe men of Khand all joined Acharya Shivananda. Shivananda Sen undertook\nto pass them through the police out posts (_ghati_) of the road, looked\nafter them, and secured lodgings for them. When they arrived at\nNilachal, they all met the Master, as in past years. At the end of four\nmonths, the Master sent the _bhaktas_ back to Bengal.\n\nEvery year the Bengali adorers used to come, meet the Master, and then\nreturn home. From other provinces, too, people used to come to\nJagannath-Puri and attain the bliss of gazing at the feet of\nChaitanya. But there were many householders who could not come. For\ntheir salvation the Master inspired worthy disciples in those countries\nwith His own force, and thus all countries were made Vaishnav.\n\nBhagaban Acharya, a great Vaishnav, very learned and high-born (_arya_),\nlived at Jagannath-Puri, seeking the Master's company, as the cow-boys\n[of Mathura did Krishna's]. He was a comrade of Swarup Goswami, and took\nabsolute refuge at the feet of Chaitanya. At times he used to invite the\nMaster and made Him dine alone in his house.\n\nOne day, when the Acharya had bidden the Master to dinner at his house,\nhe called the Master's chanter, the Lesser Haridas, and told him to\nbring on his behalf a _maund_ of white rice from the sister of Shikhi\nMahiti. She was named Madhavi Devi, an old anchorite and devout\nVaishnav. At his meal the Master praised the rice and learnt that it had\nbeen supplied by Madhavi through the Lesser Haridas. When He returned to\nHis lodgings, he ordered Govinda to exclude Haridas from the place from\nthat day onwards.\n\nHaridas grieved at the Master's doors being closed to him. For three\ndays he fasted. None knew the reason of his exclusion. Then Swarup and\nothers asked the Master, who replied, \"I cannot look at the face of a\nbairagi who speaks to a woman. Our passions are hard to control and take\nhold of their natural objects of gratification. Even the wooden statue\nof a woman can steal the heart of an ascetic.\" (They prayed for His\npardon, but in vain. When even Puri Goswami interceded for Haridas, the\nMaster in anger threatened to leave His disciples there and migrate\nalone to Alalnath). At the sight of Haridas's punishment, terror seized\nall the _bhaktas_. They gave up conversing with women even in dreams.\n\nThus did Haridas pass a year, and yet the Master did not feel any grace\nfor him. So, one night Haridas bowed to the Master [from a distance] and\nwent away to Allahabad without telling anybody. He concentrated his mind\non attaining to the Master's feet [in the next life] and gave up his\nlife by plunging into the junction of the three rivers, (_Triveni_ at\nAllahabad).\n\nAn Oriya Brahman boy, handsome, gentle of manner, but fatherless, used\nto visit the Master at Puri daily, bow to Him and hold converse with\nHim. The Master was as life unto him, and he enjoyed the Master's\nfavour. Damodar could not bear to see this attachment, and again and\nagain forbade the boy [to come]. But he could not live without seeing\nthe Master; he came daily and the Master showed him great love; it is\nnatural for a boy to come where he meets with love.\n\nThe sight grieved Damodar, but he could not say any thing as the boy\nheeded not his prohibition. One day the boy visited the Master, who\nlovingly inquired after his [health]. After a time the boy left. Damodar\ncould not contain himself any longer, but burst out with, \"In other\nconnections you are called a _Goswami_. We shall soon know what sort of\n_Goswami_ you are! All men will soon sing the praise of our _Goswami!_\nHis reputation will be now established at Puri!\"\n\nThe Master, hearing it, asked, \"What is this that you are talking,\nDamodar?\" The man replied, \"You are a free God. You act as you please.\nWho can forbid you? But who can shut the mouth of the garrulous world?\nYou are a wise man. Why then do you not reflect deeply? Why do you love\na widow's son? True, she is chaste and an ascetic; but she has the\nfaults of being beautiful and young. You too are youthful and extremely\nhandsome. This will give an opportunity to scandal-mongers to whisper.\"\n\nDamodar ceased speaking. The Master, pleased at heart, smiled and\nreflected, thinking \"This is a current of the purest love. I have no\nwell-wisher like Damodar.\"\n\nAnother day, the Master took Damodar aside and said, \"Damodar, go to\nNavadwip, and stay there with my mother. I do not see any other guardian\nfor her than you. You have warned me even! I have no candid friend like\nyou among my followers. Unless a man is candid (_lit._, impartial),\nvirtue cannot be guarded. You have done something which even I cannot\ndo. You have reprimanded me, what shall we say of others? Go to my\nmother's house and remain at her feet. In your presence nobody can act\nfreely. Come here occasionally to see me, and then return there quickly.\nConvey to mother my millions of salutation. Make her happy with the news\nof my happiness. Say that I have sent you to her to tell her constantly\nof me. So saying delight her heart.\"\n\n(The miracles of the Vaishnav saint Haridas Thakur, _not translated_).\n\nWhen Rup Goswami, after visiting the Master at Puri, went to Bengal for\nreturning to Brindaban, his brother Sanatan came from Mathura to\nNilachal. He travelled by the Jharikhand jungles (Santal parganas), now\nfasting, now chewing [dry grains]. Scabs broke out on his skin from the\nbad water of Jharikhand and the irregularity of diet, and exudations ran\ndown his body.\n\nOn the way he sadly reflected, \"I belong to a low caste. My body is\nvile. I shall fail to see the Master when I go to Puri. He lives, I\nhear, near the temple. But I dare not go near it, as the servitors of\nJagannath are constantly passing there on business and it will be a sin\nif I [accidentally] touch them. Therefore, I shall renounce my body by\nthrowing myself under the wheels of Jagannath's car when the god is\ntaken out in the car procession; thus shall I attain at a holy place\nrelief from my pangs and the salvation of my soul.\"\n\nSo resolving, he came to Nilachal and alighted at Haridas's place. He\nbowed at the feet of Haridas, who learning his name embraced him. His\nheart yearned for the sight of the Master. Haridas assured him that He\nwould soon come.\n\nThe Master, after witnessing the _Upala-bhog_ of Jagannath, came there\nwith His disciples to meet Haridas. The two prostrated themselves at His\nfeet. The Master raised Haridas and embraced him. Haridas said, \"Here is\nSanatan, bowing to you.\" The Master looked at Sanatan with interest and\nadvanced to embrace him, while Sanatan ran backwards shouting, \"Touch me\nnot, Master, I beseech Thee. I am of low caste, and in addition my skin\nis running with exudations.\" But the Master embraced him by force, and\nHis fair body was stained with Sanatan's sores. He introduced all His\ndisciples to Sanatan, who bowed at their feet. With them all the Master\nsat down on the raised terrace, while Haridas and Sanatan sat below. He\ninquired after Sanatan's health, who replied \"My supreme bliss is that I\nhave gazed on Thy feet.\" The Master then asked about the Vaishnavs of\nMathura, and Sanatan reported that they were well.\n\nThe Master said, \"Rup [your brother] was here for ten months, and he\nleft for Bengal only ten days ago. Your [youngest] brother Anupam has\ndied on the bank of the Ganges. He was a staunch devotee of Ram.\"\nSanatan replied, \"I have been born in a low family; All sorts of\nwickedness and wrongdoing were my hereditary burden. Such a family thou\nhast accepted, without scorning it! My whole family has been blessed by\nthy grace. This Anupam was devoted to Ram-worship from his childhood.\nDay and night he used to meditate on the name of Ram, hear the\n_Ramayan_ read, and chant it. He used to live with Rup and myself\nconstantly and listen with us to Krishna's deeds and the _Bhagabat_. We\none day tested him saying, Listen, dear, Krishna is very delicious; he\nabounds in beauty, sweetness, love, and grace. Do you, therefore, adore\nKrishna in our company. We three brothers shall dwell together in the\ndelights of discourses on Krishna. So we two urged him again and again.\nOur influence turned his mind a little and he responded, How long can I\nresist your command? Initiate me in the mantra and I shall adore Krishna\n[in future]. So saying, he paced up and down all the night, waking and\ncrying how he could leave Ram's feet. Next morning he told us, I have\nsold my head to the feet of Ram, and it pains me excessively to draw my\nhead away thence, Have mercy on me and permit me to worship Ram's feet\nbirth after birth. Then we two embraced him and praised him saying noble\nis the firmness of thy faith. Master, when you bless a family, it enjoys\nevery good, and all its troubles, disappear.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Just in the same way did I test Murari Gupta\nbefore. That _bhakta_ is noble who does not leave his Lord's feet. That\nMaster is blessed who does not abandon his own devotee. It is well that\nyou have come here. Dwell in the same house with Haridas.\"\n\nOne day the Master came there, as was his daily wont, to meet the two,\nand began abruptly to speak, \"Sanatan! If giving up life could have made\none gain Krishna, I could have sacrificed my life a million times over\nin a moment. It is not by courting death but by adoration that we can\ngain Krishna. There is no other way of gaining him than _bhakti_.\nSuicide and the like are a low dark (_tamas_) kind of _dharma_. But\nthe _tamas_ and _rajas_ kinds of _dharma_ cannot give us the essence\nof Krishna. Without _bhakti_ there cannot be love, and without love\nKrishna cannot be attained.\n\n\"Suicide and the like are a _tamas dharma_, and the cause of sin;\nthrough them a devotee cannot attain to Krishna's feet. The loving\n_bhakta_ wishes to quit his body when separated from his Lord; but when\nlove has brought Krishna to him, he cannot think of death.\n\n\"Give up your evil intention and listen to the _kirtan_, and soon will\nyou get the treasure of love for Krishna. Even a low-caste man is not\nunfit to adore Krishna. Even a well-born Brahman is not, [merely by\nreason of his birth] worthy to adore him. He who adores is great; the\nman wanting in devotion is low and despicable. In the worship of Krishna\nthere is no distinction of caste or pedigree. The Lord is more gracious\nto the lowly, while the high-born, the learned, and the rich are too\nproud [in His eyes]. \"Among the methods of adoration the chief are the\nnine kinds of _bhakti_, which is most potent in giving us, Krishna's\nlove, even Krishna himself. The highest of these is _nam-sankirtan_,\nchanting the Name. Chant the Name with a pure soul and you will win the\ntreasure of divine love!\"\n\nSanatan marvelled when he heard all this, thinking \"The Master is\nomniscient. He has divined my plan of suicide and forbidden it.\" Then he\nclasped the Master's feet, crying, \"You are omniscient, gracious, free,\nand God. I move like a wooden machine as you turn my handle. I am lowly,\na wretch, and wicked of disposition. What would you gain by keeping me\nalive?\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Your body is my property. You have given yourself\nup to me. How dare you think of destroying what is another's property?\nCannot you distinguish between a crime and a just deed? Your body is my\nchief instrument; with it I shall carry out many purposes. The\nexposition of the nature of devotion, the devotee and Krishna-_prem_,\nthe duties and daily practices of Vaishnavs, the establishing of\ndevotion to Krishna, love for Krishna and service, the restoration of\nforgotten holy places, the teaching of asceticism, the preaching of this\nfaith at Mathura and Brindaban which are my favourite places, all these\nI wish for. But by my mother's command I live at Nilachal, and therefore\nI cannot preach the religion at Mathura in person. The body by means of\nwhich I want to do all these works, you want to give up. How can I allow\nit?\"\n\nAt this Sanatan said, \"I bow to thee. Who can fathom the depths of thy\nheart? As the juggler makes the wooden puppet dance, while it knows not\nwhat it plays or what it sings, so, too, does the man whom you inspire,\ndance with out knowing why he is dancing or through whom.\"\n\nThereafter the Master embraced the two and left for His home to do His\nnoontide devotions.\n\nHaridas mourned to Sanatan, \"None can be compared with you in good\nfortune. The Master has declared your body to be His own property. He\nwill do through you at Mathura the work that He cannot do in His own\nperson. Through you He will compose the exegetics of _bhakti_, and lay\ndown its scriptures and practices. [Alas!] my body has been of no\nservice to the Master. My body, though born in the [holy] land of\nBharat, has become futile.\"\n\nBut Sanatan consoled him saying, \"Who else is your equal? Among the\nMaster's followers you are the most fortunate. The work of His\nincarnation is the preaching of the Name, and that work He does through\nyou. Daily do you chant the Name three hundred thousand times. Before\nall do you hold forth on the glory of the Name.\"\n\nThe Bengal _bhaktas_ came on pilgrimage, as before, on the occasion of\nthe Car festival, and stayed with the Master for the four months of the\nmonsoon. The Master introduced to them Sanatan who bowed at their feet\nand they favoured him. His excellent character and [deep] scholarship\nendeared Sanatan to all.\n\nIn the month of Jyaishtha the Master went to Yameshwar Tota (garden) to\ndine at the entreaty of His _bhaktas_. At noon He called for Sanatan,\nwho delighted to hear of it, and went to Him by way of the sea-beach. He\nreached the Master with his two feet blistered [by the hot sand].\n\nThe Master asked \"By what route have you come, Sanatan?\" He replied, \"By\nthe sea-side.\" Then the Master said, \"Why did you come over the hot\nsand? Why did you not take the cool path before the Lion Gate\n(_singha-dwar_)? The hot sand has blistered your feet. You cannot walk;\nhow could you bear the journey?\"\n\nSanatan replied, \"It was no great hardship. I did not feel that my feet\nwere being blistered. I am not entitled to pass by the _singha-dwar_\nroad, especially, as the servitors of the god Jagannath frequently pass\nalong it and it would be a disaster if I touch any of them.\"\n\nThe Master's heart was pleased to hear of it, and He began to tell\nSanatan, \"Though you are the saviour of the world and your touch can\npurify even the gods and sages, yet it is the sign of a [true] _bhakta_\nto respect the dignity [of rank or caste]. It is an ornament to a\n_sadhu's_ character to observe distinctions (_maryada_) of rank. Not\nto do so is to court public ridicule and to destroy one's own earthly\nlife and spiritual welfare as well.\"\n\nSanatan's body was covered with running eruptions. The Master embraced\nhim in spite of prohibition, and His body was stained with the\nexudation, at which Sanatan grieved.\n\nBut the Master said, \"The body of a Vaishnav is not material. It is\nsupra-physical and full of the _chit_ and _ananda_ of _bhakti_. At\nthe time of his initiation the _bhakta_ surrenders himself to Krishna,\nwho then renders him equal to his own self, and fills the body with his\nown _chit_ and _ananda_. The Lord Krishna has visited Sanatan's body\nwith sores only to test me. If I had in disgust refused to embrace him,\nI should have been guilty in the eyes of Krishna.\"\n\nSo saying, He embraced Sanatan again, and lo! the sores disappeared and\nhis body assumed a golden hue!\n\nAfter the _dol-yatra_ he was given leave to depart to Brindaban with\nminute instructions as to what he should do there to propagate the\nfaith. [A long list of the Vaishnav literature produced by Rup, Sanatan,\nand their nephew Jiv, the son of their youngest brother Vallabh\nAnupam,--_not translated here_].\n\n[1] Chapters XXIII-XXVII are taken from the _Antya Lila_ or Third Book\nof the text.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nMeeting with Vallabh Bhatta; the Master stints His food\n\nThus did the luminous Gaur (Chaitanya) perform many feats in many a\nplayful way with His _bhaktas_ at Nilachal. Though His heart was inly\npierced with the pang of separation from Krishna, yet He did not express\nit outwardly lest His disciples should grieve. When, however, His\nintense love-sickness [for Krishna] did break forth, His agony baffled\ndescription. The Krishna-talk of Ramananda and the [sacred] singing of\nSwarup saved the Master's life amidst the pain of separation from\nKrishna. In the day time His mind was diverted by the diverse company\nthat He met, but in [the solitude of] night His love-sickness waxed\nstrong. To please Him these two always kept Him company and consoled Him\nwith verses and songs about Krishna.\n\n[Account of how Raghunath-das, the son of a very rich revenue-farmer,\nescaped from his home at Saptagram in Bengal, joined the Master at Puri\nand lived in utter lowliness by begging.]\n\nOne year Vallabh Bhatta came and met the Master, bowing at His feet. The\nMaster embraced him as an adorer of Vishnu (_bhagabat_) and with honour\nmade him sit close to Himself.\n\nMeekly did the Bhatta address the Master, \"Long have I desired to see\nyou and to-day Jagannath has gratified that wish. Lucky is he who can\nbehold you, for you are as it were God in a visible form. Even to\nremember you [from a distance] hallows a man. No wonder, then, that the\nsight of you makes one blessed. (_Bhagabat_, I. xix. 30.) The\ndistinctive religion of the modern age is the _kirtan_ of Krishna's\nname, and this religion cannot be established without Krishna's own\npower. That you have founded this faith proves that you are inspired\nwith Krishna's divine force. Whosoever beholds you, swims in the stream\nof the love of Krishna. Only Krishna's spirit can call forth this love,\nas the scriptures say that Krishna is the sole inspirer of _prem_\n(love).\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Listen, great-minded Bhatta! I was a _sannyasi_\nfollowing the theory of illusion (_maya-vad_); I knew not _bhakti_ for\nKrishna. The Goswami Adwaita Acharya is God incarnate; _his_ society\nhas cleansed my mind. He has no peer in the knowledge of all the\nShastras and in devotion to Krishna, and therefore he has been rightly\nnamed _A-dwaita_ without a second. Nityananda, Sarvabhauma\nBhattacharya, Ramananda Ray, Damodar Swarup, Haridas Thakur, Acharya\nRatna and many other _bhaktas_ have all taught me Krishna-love and true\n_bhakti_, and have preached to the world love for the Krishna-name.\"\n\nSo spoke the Master artfully, as he knew the Bhatta to be very proud of\nhis learning, and to have long cherished the conceit that he knew all\nthe _bhakti_-theology of the Vaishnavs and could expound the _Shrimad\nBhagabat_ best. The Master's words curbed this pride of the Bhatta, and\nhe longed to know the many disciples whose Vaishnav character the Master\nhad just extolled. He asked, \"Where do these Vaishnavs live? How can I\nmeet them?\" The Master replied, \"Some live here, some on the bank of the\nGanges (_i.e._, at Navadwip, Panihati etc.). These latter have all come\nhere for the Car festival, and have taken up lodgings in this place.\nHere will you meet all of them.\"\n\nNext day when all the Vaishnavs came to the Master's place, He\nintroduced them to the Bhatta. Their Vaishnav-splendour filled the\nBhatta with amazement and he looked like a firefly in their company.\nThen he feasted the Master and His disciples on huge quantities of\n_maha-prasad_. The _sannyasis_ sat down with Paramananda Puri on one\nside. The Master sat down between Adwaita and Nityananda, while His\ndisciples sat before and behind. The _bhaktas_ from Bengal were\ncountless; they filled the yard row on row. Vallabh Bhatta marvelled at\nthe sight of them and bowed at the feet of each. He himself served the\n_maha-prasad_ to the Master and the _sannyasis_. They shouted _Hari!\nHari!_ on receiving the _prasad_. The roar of Hari's name filled the\nuniverse. The Bhatta gave away garlands, sandal-paste, betel-leaf and\nnuts and delighted all with his reverence.\n\nOn the day of the Car procession, the Master began _kirtan_. As before,\nHe formed seven distinct groups of singers, under Adwaita, Nityananda,\nHaridas, Vakreshwar, Shribas, Raghav Pandit, and Gadadhar, who sang at\ndifferent places. The Master roamed about shouting _Hari_, while\nfourteen drums (_madal_) lifted up the din of the _sankirtan_. The\nsight filled Vallabh Bhatta with marvel; he flew into a transport of\ndelight and could not control himself. Then the Master stopped the dance\nof the others and began to dance Himself. As he gazed on the Master's\nbeauty and the exuberance of His _prem_, the Bhatta believed that the\nMaster was Krishna himself!\n\nAfter the festival the Bhatta begged the Master, saying, \"I have written\na commentary on the _Bhagabat_ and want to read it to you.\" The Master\nreplied, \"I do not understand the meaning of the _Bhagabat_ and am not\nqualified to hear [and judge] any interpretation of it. I only sit down\nand recite Krishna's name, and even then fail to complete the promised\nnumber of recitations in twenty-four hours.\" The Bhatta rejoined, \"I\nhave made an exposition of the meaning of Krishna's name in my\ncommentary. Listen to it.\" But the Master objected, \"I do not pay any\nregard to the many senses of Krishna's name; I only know that he is\nYashoda's darling son and darkly beautiful [like the _Tamal_ leaves].\nThis only I know for truth, and I have not arrived at any other meaning\nof the name.\" At the Master's slight, the Bhatta went back to his\nquarters, downcast in mind. (He took his commentary to the chief\ndisciples, and even read out parts of his own motion, but they slighted\nit and he was abashed).\n\nDaily did Vallabh Bhatta go to the Master's place and dispute with\n[Adwaita] Acharya and other disciples. Whenever he established a\nproposition, the Acharya used immediately to refute it. Before them\nVallabh Bhatta appeared like a crane in the company of majestic swans.\n\nOne day the Bhatta asked the Acharya, \"Mankind is feminine, and Krishna\nis their husband, so you hold. No devoted wife utters her husband's\nname. And yet you repeat Krishna's name. What sort of _dharma_ is\nthis?\" The Acharya replied, \"_Dharma_ in the flesh is sitting before\nyou. Ask Him, and He will justify it.\"\n\nThen the Master broke in, \"You do not know the essence of _dharma_. It\nis the _dharma_ of a true wife to obey her husband's commands. Our\nhusband has commanded us to chant his name ceaselessly. No true wife can\ndisobey his command, and so we chant his name and derive from it the\nfruit of the birth of love for Krishna's feet.\" This silenced Vallabh\nBhatta and he went home sorrowing at his public humiliation.\n\nAnother day he came to the Master's assembly and said rather boastfully,\n\"I have refuted [Shridhar] Swami's commentary on the _Bhagabat_. I\ncannot accept his interpretation Where his view differs from mine, I do\nnot follow the Swami.\" The Master smiled and remarked,. \"One who does\nnot follow (her) _swami_ (=husband) is ranked among harlots!\"\n\nChaitanya had come to earth as an _avatar_ for the good of mankind; by\nvarious humiliations He purified the proud heart of the Bhatta. At night\nVallabh Bhatta began to reflect in his own house, \"Formerly the Master\nfavoured me greatly at Allahabad, when He accepted my invitation to\ndinner in the company of His disciples. Why then is His heart turned\naway from me now? Let my heart be free from the pride of gaining\nvictories in debate. The God-souled does good to all. I am filled with\nthe pride of asserting myself, and He humiliates me in order to cure me\nof this pride.\"\n\nSo thinking, next morning he came to the Master and meekly praising Him\ntook refuge at His feet, saying, \"I am ignorant and have foolishly\ndisplayed my learning before you. You are God and out of your natural\ngrace you have removed my pride by means of disgrace. The blindness of\npride has been removed from my eyes through the collyrium of your grace\nnow, and true knowledge has dawned on me. I have sinned. Forgive me;\ntake refuge with thee; lay thy feet on my head.\"\n\nThe Master checked him saying, \"You are a scholar and a devotee at the\nsame time. Where these two qualities are present, there pride cannot\nexist. You have written a commentary on the _Bhagabat_ in scorn of\nShridhar Swami! I understand the _Bhagabat_ through the grace of\nShridhar Swami; he is the world's _guru_, my _guru_. What you write\ncontrary to Shridhar is labour lost; no one will accept it. Therefore,\nwrite your commentary on the _Bhagabat_ in the footsteps of Shridhar.\nLeave off your pride and adore the Lord Krishna. Give up your failings\nand join the _kirtan_ of Krishna, and you will soon attain to Krishna's\nfeet.\"\n\nThen the Master agreed to dine at Vallabh Bhatta's house once again. The\nBhatta used to meditate on God as the child Gopal. But the society of\nGadadhar Pandit turned his mind, and he longed to adore the youthful\nGopal. He begged the Pandit to teach him the _mantra_ and ceremonial of\nthis kind of adoration, but Gadadhar declined to act without the\nMaster's permission ... Another day Gadadhar Pandit invited the Master,\nwho agreed and at the dinner permitted Vallabh Bhatta to be initiated by\nGadadhar.\n\n\nHOW THE MASTER STINTED HIS FOOD\n\nRamchandra Puri Goswami came to Nilachal and there met the Master and\nParamananda Puri Jagadananda Pandit invited Ramchandra Puri and fed him\non the _prasad_ of Jagannath. After the meal the Puri asked Jagadananda\nto feed on the food left over, and serving the _prasad_ repeatedly made\nhim eat much. And thereafter, washing his hands and mouth, Ramchandra\nPuri began to cavil, \"I had heard that Chaitanya's _bhaktas_ were great\ngluttons. Now I see it with my own eyes to be true. By gorging\n_sannyasis_ with so much food, their piety is destroyed. You are\n_bairagis_ and yet you are such huge eaters! Your _bairagya_ is not\nsincere.\"\n\nRamchandra Puri was notorious as the universal fault finder, having been\ncursed for it by his own religious preceptor, Madhavendra Puri. He now\ndwelt at Nilachal, detached by nature, staying at one place for some\ntime, taking his meal at some [other] place without having been bidden,\nand taking note of what others ate.\n\nThe Master was daily fed at different houses, at a cost of four _pan_\nof _cowries_ [_i.e._, one anna] for the three of them,--the Master,\nKashishwar, and Govinda (His body-servant.) Ramchandra Puri closely\ninquired into the Master's abode, manners, food, bed and travels. He\ncould not reach the Master's merits, but roaming in search of His\ndefects, could not find any. Then he began to slander the Master to all\nthe people, saying, \"He is a _sannyasi_ and yet eats sweetmeats. How\ncan such luxury enable him to control the lusts of the flesh?\"\n\nHe daily came to visit the Master, but only to pry into His\nshortcomings,--for that was the only work of the Puri,--while the Master\ndid him reverence as His _guru_. He knew of the slanders spoken by the\nPuri [against Him], but welcomed and honoured him greatly. One day the\nPuri came to the Master's house in the morning, and noticing some ants\non the floor, delivered this covert attack, \"Verily sweetmeats were\nbrought here last night, for ants are running about. A wonder\n_sannyasis_ dead to the world have such gluttonous cravings!\" And then\nhe left in a hurry.\n\nThe Master now saw with His own eyes what He had only heard before,\n[about the slander spread against Him]. He called Govinda and told him,\n\"From to-day my meal will be one packet of rice and curry of the\n_pinda-bhog_ worth 20 cowries [i.e., one quarter-anna]. Don't accept\nany food above this for me. If you bring more, you will not see me\nhere.\"\n\nHalf of this the Master ate and the other half He left for Govinda, and\nboth remained famished. Then He commanded Govinda and Kashishwar to beg\ntheir food elsewhere. Thus some days passed in great hardship. Hearing\nof it, Ramchandra Puri came to the Master and smiling told Him, \"It is\nnot a sannyasi's _dharma_ to gratify his appetite. He eats just enough\nto fill his stomach anyhow. I find you lean and hear that you eat only\nhalf your fill. This drying _bairagya_ is not a sannyasi's _dharma_. A\nsannyasi performs true _jnan-yog_ when he fills his stomach as far as\nis necessary but does not enjoy his food. (_Gita_, vi. 16-17.)\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"I am an ignorant child and your pupil. It is my\ngood fortune that you are teaching me.\" Ramchandra Puri then left.\n\nNext day the _bhaktas_ headed by Paramananda Puri complained to the\nMaster against Ramchandra as a universal fault-finder and instigator of\ngluttony, which he afterwards censured. They urged Him not to listen to\nRamchandra and famish Himself, but to return to His old diet and accept\ninvitations. But the Master replied, \"Why do you blame Ramchandra Puri?\nHe expounds the natural _dharma_, and has done no wrong. It is very\nwrong for a sannyasi to have a lustful palate. It is a sannyasi's duty\nto eat just as little as will keep body and soul together.\" They all\npressed Him hard, and yielding to their entreaty He fixed His rations at\none-half of its former cost, _viz._ at two pan of _cowries_ [_i.e._,\nhalf anna], which was shared by two, sometimes three persons. If a\nBrahman whose cooking He could not eat, invited Him, He took only\n_prasad_ worth two _pan_ of _cowries_. If it was a Brahman whose\ncooking He could eat, He took a little of _prasad_ [purchased with\nmoney] and a little of the meal cooked in His host's house. But at the\nhouses of Pandit Goswami, Adwaita Acharya, and Sarvabhauma, He ate\nwhatever they asked Him, for there He had no independence; He had come\ndown to earth to render His devotees happy.\n\nAfter a time Ramchandra Ptiri left Nilachal on a pilgrimage, to the\nintense delight of the Vaishnavs, who felt that a heavy stone had been\nlifted from their heads! They now freely invited the Master to _kirtan_\nand dance, and all freely partook of the _prasad_.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nThe love of the pilgrims from Bengal\n\nThe Bengal _bhaktas_ came to Nilachal [carrying loving presents,--food\nand preserves, for the Master]. It was the day of Jagannath's sporting\nin the water of the Narendra tank. The Master came there with His\nfollowers to see the water-sport and there the Bengal pilgrims met Him.\nThe Bengal musical parties were singing the _kirtan_; on meeting the\nMaster they began to weep in love. The water-sport, instrumental music,\nsong, dance and _kirtan_ created a tumult on the bank, while the boats\nplied merrily on the water. The mingled din of the _kirtan_ and weeping\nof the Bengalis filled the universe. Then the Master entered the water\nwith His disciples and sported gleefully with them all. These\nwater-sports have been described in detail by Brindaban-das in his\n_Chaitanya-mangal_. I shall not repeat them here.\n\nAnother day the Master went with His party to behold Jagannath at his\nrising from bed. There He began the _bera kirtan_. Seven parties began\nto sing, and seven chiefs danced in them, Adwaita Acharya, Nityananda,\nVakreshwar, Atrhyutananda, Shribas Pandit, Satyaraja Khan and\nNarahari-das. The Master visited all the seven groups, each thinking\nthat He was with it only! The roar of the _kirtan_ filled the earth;\nall the citizens came out to see it; the king came with his Court and\ngazed from a distance, the queens beheld the scene from the roofs of\nhouses. The earth trembled under the influence of the _kirtan_. Men\nshouted _Hari!_ thus adding to the din. After a while, the Master was\ninclined to dance Himself. Around Him the seven parties sang and beat\ntheir instruments; in the centre He danced in supreme transport of love.\nHe recollected the Oriya verse, _Jagamohan parimunda jaun!_ 'Charmer of\nthe universe! I abase myself before Thee', and bade Swarup sing it. To\nthis air He danced in ecstasy, while all the men around swam in tears of\nlove. With uplifted arms He cried, \"Chant! chant!\" and they in delight\nshouted _Hari! Hari!_ At times He fell down in a trance and ceased to\nbreathe, then suddenly started up with a roar. Frequent tremour burst\nover His body, making it look like the _shimul_ tree, now it was\nquivering and now it stiffened. The sweat burst through every pore in\nHis skin. With faltering speech he muttered _ja ja, ga ga, pari\npari_,--every tooth in his mouth shaking as if about to be loosened.\nEven in the third quarter of the day His dance did not cease. All the\npeople in ecstasy forgot [fatigue of] body and [the distinction of] self\nand others. Then Nityananda resorted to a device; he silenced the\n_kirtan_-singers gradually, and only the leaders of the seven groups\ncontinued singing with Swarup, but in a low tone. At the cessation of\nnoise, the Master came to Himself somewhat. Then Nityananda told Him how\nfatigued all were. The Master at this put an end to the _kirtan_ and\nwent to bathe in the sea with them all.\n\nThen with all His _bhaktas_ He partook of the _prasad_, dismissed\nthem, and retired to sleep at the door of the _gambhira_ (room).\nGovinda came to rub His feet, as was the usual practice, before going to\nfeed on His leavings The Master had stretched Himself at full length\nacross the doorway; Govinda could not enter the room and begged Him to\nmove aside a little, but He declined saying that He was too weak lo stir\nHis limbs, and told Govinda to do whatever he liked. Then Govinda threw\nhis sheet over the Master's body and entered the room leaping over Him.\nHis shampooing threw the Master into a sweet a sleep and relieved Him of\nHis fatigue. After two _dandas_ (48 minutes) He woke, and seeing\nGovinda there, asked in anger, \"Why are you here still, _Adi-basya?_\nWhy did you not go away for your meal when I fell asleep?\" Govinda\nreplied, \"You lay blocking the doorway, and I found no path for going\nout of the room.\" But the Master rejoined, \"How, then, could you come\nin? Why did you not go out in the same way that you entered?\n\nGovinda returned no answer, but reasoned within him self, \"I must do my\nappointed work, even if I have to commit any fault or go to hell for so\ndoing. For the sake of doing my duty I do not hesitate to commit a\nmillion sins, but I fear even the touch of sin for my own personal\nneeds.\"\n\nThis year the Bengal pilgrims came in large numbers,--two to three\nhundred of them, including many women. Shivananda Sen acted as their\nguide and caretaker on the way.\n\nThey came to Puri and met the Master, the women gazing at Him from a\ndistance. They were all given lodging-houses and invited by the Master\nto eat the _maha-prasad_. The entire family of Shivananda enjoyed His\ngrace. After the meal He told Govinda to give the leavings on His plate\nto Shivananda's wife and sons so long as they stayed there. A\nsweetmeat-seller (_modak_) of Nadia, named Parameshwar, had his shop\nclose to the Master's paternal house. In His boyhood He used to visit\nthis man's shop and the man used to treat Him to confects made with\nmilk. He loved the Master from His infancy, and this year came to see\nHim. He prostrated himself before the Master saying, \"I am Parameshwar.\"\nIn delight at seeing him the Master asked, \"Parameshwar! are you well?\nIt is a happy thing that you have come.\" The man added \"Mukunda's mother\nhas come\", [meaning his own wife]. The Master was shocked to hear the\nname of a woman, but out of love for Parameshwar said nothing. The\nloving simple-minded grocer did not know the ways of the learned; these\nqualities inly delighted the Master.\n\nFour months passed away in the usual way, and then He permitted the\npilgrims to return to Bengal. They invited Him to dinner and He lovingly\nspoke to them all, \"Every year you come here to see me, undergoing many\nhardships on the two journeys. For this reason I feel inclined to forbid\nyour coming, but the pleasure of your society tempts my heart. I had\ncommanded Nityananda to live in Bengal. He has come here in defiance of\nmy order; what can I say to him? The [old] Adwaita Acharya, leaving his\nwife, children and home behind, performs a long and difficult journey to\nmeet me. How can I repay the debt of his love? I merely sit here at\nNilachal without having to do any exertion for your sake. I am a\n_sannyasi_, without wealth. With what shall I repay my debt to you? My\nonly property is my body, and this I give up to you. Sell it, if you\nlist.\"\n\nThe Master's speech melted their hearts; tears ran down their cheeks\nwithout ceasing. He, too, wept clasping their necks, and weeping\nembraced them. So, they could not set out on their journey home that\nday, but passed five or seven days more at Puri in the same way.\n\nAt last the Master consoled them and gave them leave to depart with\ncomposure of mind. The _bhaktas_ left the city weeping. The Master\nremained there in sadness of heart.\n\nLast year Jagadananda, the Master's companion, had by His leave gone to\nNadia to see mother Shachi. She in delight listened day and night to his\ndiscourse on the Master and His doings. All the _bhaktas_ of Nadia met\nhim and entertained him in their houses, listening in rapture to his\ntalk about the Master's inmost things. At the house of Shivananda he\nprepared a pot of medicated oil, scented with sandal-wood, and taking it\nto Nilachal asked Govinda to rub it on the Master's head, to cure Him of\nbile, wind and other sickly humours. Govinda reported it, but the Master\nreplied, \"A _sannyasi_ is forbidden to rub oil, especially scented oil.\nPresent it to the temple of Jagannath, where it will be used in lighting\nlamps, and his labour will be supremely rewarded.\"\n\nSome ten days afterwards, Govinda repeated Jagadananda's request that He\nshould accept the oil. The Master burst forth in anger, \"Very well,\nengage a servant to rub me with the oil! Is it for such pleasures that I\nhave turned _sannyasi_? What is ruin to me is a sport to you! Every one\nwho will smell the fragrant oil on my person in the streets, will call\nme a carnal _sannyasi_!\" Govinda remained silent on hearing this.\n\nNext morning, when Jagadananda came to the Master, He said, \"Pandit! you\nhave brought for me oil from Bengal. But I am a _sannyasi_ and cannot\naccept it. Present it to Jagannath to light the lamps of the temple.\nThat will be the reward of your labour.\" The Pandit replied, \"Who has\ntold you this piece of falsehood? I never brought any oil from Bengal.\"\nSo saying, he brought out of the room the pot of oil and broke it on the\nfloor of the yard in the Master's sight. Then he ran back to his own\nhouse, bolted the door of his bed-room from within, and shut himself up\nthere [without taking any food]. On the third day the Master went to his\ndoor and cried out, \"Rise, Pandit! you must feed me to-day on your own\ncooking. I shall come back at noon. I am now off to see Jagannath.\" So\nsaying, He left the house. The Pandit rose from his bed, bathed, cooked,\nand at noon, when the Master returned, placed the dishes before Him on\nthe leaves and bark of the plantain-tree. The Master said, \"You must\ndine with me. Serve your meal, on another leaf.\" But the Pandit\nentreated Him to eat first and let him sit down to his meal after his\nguest. The vegetable soup was delicious and the Master cried out, \"When\none cooks in anger, it tastes so sweet! This is a proof of Krishna's\ngrace on you.\"\n\nThe Pandit served and the Master ate, willing but unable to rise from\nthe feast, and eating ten times His usual food, in fear lest the Pandit\nshould fly into a rage again and fast himself! After the dinner, the\nMaster went back to His lodgings, leaving Govinda there to see that the\nPandit broke his fast. Jagadananda sent Govinda back to rub the Master's\nfeet, and put Him to sleep. But He again bade Govinda go and see that\nthe Pandit was really eating! When Govinda reported the fact, then the\nMaster lay down in bed in peace of mind.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\nThe Master's love-sickness for Krishna; His visions and transports of\nbhakti\n\nThe Master felt his separation from Krishna just as the milk-maids did\nafter Krishna had left Brinidaban for Mathura. Gradually He began to\nbreak out in wild lamentations, even as Radha had talked in delirium on\nmeeting with Uddhav. Ever did the Master consider Himself as Radha, and\nfelt [and acted] like her. No wonder, for such is the course of\n_divya-unmad_ (spiritual ecstasy).\n\nOne night when He was sleeping, He dreamt of Krishna in the _rasa_\ndance; the god was bending his body gracefully and playing on the flute,\nwearing a yellow garment and garlands of flowers, and looking like the\npicture of Love; the milkmaids were dancing in a circle, joining their\nhands together, while in the centre Krishna frolicked with Radha. The\nsight inspired the Master with the same mood; He felt that He was at\nBrindaban and had gained Krishna's company.\n\nAs He was late in rising, Govinda wakened Him; but He saddened when He\nbecame conscious of the real world. After performing the necessary acts\nof the morning He went to behold Jagannath. He stood close to the image\nof Garuda, while hundreds of thousands of worshippers thronged in front\nof Him. An Oriya woman, unable to see the god on account of the crowd,\nclimbed upon the Garuda and rested one foot on the Master's shoulder.\n\nGovinda saw it and hurriedly pushed her a way, but the Master forbade\nhim to make her dismount from His shoulder, saying, \"Don't remove her.\nLet her gaze at Jagannath to her heart's content\". The woman, however,\nquickly got down on seeing the Master and fell at His feet. The Master\nremarked, \"Jagannath has not inspired _me_ with this woman's passionate\nlonging for him. Her body mind and soul are so absorbed in the God that\nshe did not notice that she was treading on my shoulder! She is blessed.\nLet me worship her feet that I too may have her intensity of devotion.\"\n\nSadly did the Master return home, and sitting down on the ground began\nto draw lines on the floor with His finger-nails. Tears streamed from\nHis eyes and blinded His vision. \"Alas!\" He cried, \"after gaining\nKrishna, I have lost him. Who has taken away my Krishna? Where have I\ncome?\" In His trances He quivered with delight; but when He regained\nconsciousness, He felt that He had lost His treasure, and sang and\ndanced like mad, though He went through His bath, dinner etc. by\nmechanical habit.\n\nThe ten forms of love-sickness possessed Him day and night, never giving\nHim rest. Ramananda Ray by reciting verses [from Vidyapati, Chandidas\nand _Git-Govinda_] and Swarup by singing songs on Krishna's acts,\nbrought the Master somewhat back to His senses. At midnight they laid\nHim to bed in the inner room, and Ramananda returned to his own house,\nwhile Swarup and Govinda slept at the door. It was the Master's wont to\nwake all night, loudly chanting Krishna's name. [To-night] noticing the\nsilence within, Swarup pushed the door open. He found the other three\ndoors [also] closed from within, but the Master was not in the room.\nThey became alarmed at His absence, lighted their lanterns, and went out\nin search of Him.\n\nThey found the Master lying on an open space a little north of the\nLion-gate of the temple. His body was 5 or 6 cubits long; He was\nunconscious and His breathing had ceased! Each arm and leg was three\ncubits long and consisted only of bones and skin. His hands feet neck\nand waist were disjointed from the trunk by half a cubit and the places\nof junction were covered with the bare skin. He was foaming at the mouth\nand His eyes were fixed in a deadly stare.\n\nThis sight of Him made the _bhaktas_ very life go out of their bodies.\nThen Swarup with all the disciples loudly dinned the name of Krishna\ninto the Master's ears. After a long while the name entered His heart,\nand He shouted _Hari-bol!_ He became conscious and His limbs were\njoined to His trunk again, as before. This miracle of the Master has\nbeen reported by Raghunath-das in his _Chaitanya-staba-kalpa-briksha_.\nAs Raghunath-das always lived with the Master, I accept as true and\nwrite here what I have heard from him.\n\nOne day the Master, on the way to the sea, suddenly looked at the Chatak\nhillock, and taking it to be the Govardhan hill, He ran towards it in\nrapture with the speed of the wind. Govinda could not overtake Him.\n\nA hue and cry was raised and there was a great bustle. Everyone ran up\nfrom where he was,--Swarup, Jagadananda, Gadadhar, Ramai, Nandai, Nilai\nPandit, Shankar Puri, Bharati Goswami, all went to the sea-shore. The\nlame Bhagaban Acharya hobbled slowly behind.\n\nAfter running at first like the wind, the Master suddenly became stiff\non the way, unable to move further. Every pore of His skin swelled like\na boil, the hair stood on end on them like the _kadamba_ flower. Blood\nran out of His pores like sweat. His throat gurgled, not a syllable\ncould He utter. Ceaseless tears ran down both His cheeks He lost colour\nand became death-pale like a conch-shell. Then a quivering burst over\nHis frame like a tempest on the bosom of the sea. Trembling, He fell\ndown on the ground, and then Govinda came up with Him, sprinkled Him\nwith water from the flask, and fanned Him with his sheet. Swarup and the\nrest now arrived and all began to weep at the Master's plight. They\nloudly sang the _kirtan_ in His hearing and sprinkled Him with cold\nwater. After they had done so many times, He rose up with the cry of\n_Hari-bol!_ The Vaishnavs in delight shouted _Hari! Hari!_ The sound\nof joy rose up from all sides. Half-conscious again, the Master\naddressed Swarup, \"You have brought me back from Govardhan to here. You\nhave snatched me away from viewing Krishna's lila among the herds of\ncows and calves, Radha and her handmaids, on Govardhan hill Why have you\nbrought me away thence, only to cause me grief?\" So saying, He wept, and\nthe Vaishnavs wept at His plight.\n\nThus did the Master live at Nilachal, plunging day and night in the\nocean of grief at separation from Krishna. In the early autumn nights\nradiant with the moon in a cloudless sky, He roamed up and down with His\ndisciples, visiting garden after garden in delight and reciting or\nlistening to the songs of _rasa lila_. At times, overcome with love, He\ndanced and sang; at other times He imitated the _rasa lila_ in that\nmood; at times in a transport of passion He ran hither and thither, at\nothers He rolled on the ground in a faint. As soon as He recollected a\nverse of the _rasa lila_ He expounded it.\n\nI cannot describe all the acts He performed from day to day in these\ntwelve years [of residence at Puri], lest it should make my poem too\nlong.\n\nWhile rambling thus, the Master one night suddenly caught a sight of the\nsea from _Ai-tota_. The moonlight silvered the heaving billows they\nsparkled like the water of the Jamuna. Unseen by others, the Master went\nto the sea and leaped into it. He fainted and knew not what He was\ndoing;--the waves now sank Him, now floated Him; on the waves He was\ncarried about like a dry tree-trunk. On the waves He drifted towards\nKonarak, now under water, now above it,--and he dreamt all the time of\nKrishna sporting in the Jamuna with the milkmaids.\n\nIn the meantime, Swarup and other followers were startled when they\nmissed Him. Uncertain whither He had gone, to the Jagannath or any other\ntemple, to some other garden, the _Gundicha_ house or the Narendra\ntank, to the Chatak hill or to Konarak,--they searched for Him\neverywhere. A party of them came to the beach and there walked, looking\nout for Him, till near daybreak, when they concluded that He had\ndisappeared from the earth. They all thought that the worst had\nhappened.\n\nThey took counsel on the beach, and some of them went towards the\nChirayu hill, while Swarup moved east wards with a party searching for\nthe Master in the sea-water. Overwhelmed with sorrow, almost out of\ntheir senses, they still walked on searching for Him in their love.\n\nThey met a fisherman coming towards them with his net on his shoulders,\nlaughing weeping dancing and singing \"Hari! Hari!\" Swarup questioned him\nin surprise, \"Tell us, fisherman, have you met a man on this side? Why\nare you in this mood?\" The fisherman answered, \"I have not seen any man\nhere. But a dead body was caught in my net, and I carefully dragged it\nashore, thinking it to be a big fish. The sight of a corpse frightened\nme, and when I was clearing my net I happened to touch it. At once the\nspirit of the dead entered my body, striking me with tremor, weeping,\nchoking of voice, and bristling up of hair. It lay stiff as a corpse,\nwith a fixed stare in the eyes, but at times it groaned, at others\nremained inert. If I die of the possession of this ghost, how will my\nwife and children live? If I can find an exorcist, he will expel the\nevil spirit from me. I work at my trade of catching fish alone at night,\nbut no ghost can seize me as I remember the god Nrisingha. This ghost,\nhowever, holds me with a double grip when I repeat Nrisingha's name.\nDon't go there, I advise you, lest this ghost should possess you, too.\"\n\nFrom these words, Swarup understood it all, and told the fisherman\ngently, \"I am a great ghost-doctor, and I know how to lay spirits.\" He\nuttered some verses, laid his hand on the fisherman's head, gave him\nthree slaps, and cried out \"The evil spirit has left you. Fear no more.\"\nThe man now became a little composed. Swarup reassured him, \"He whom you\nhave taken for an evil spirit, is no ghost, but the Lord Sri\nKrishna-Chaitanya. In a transport of love He had jumped into the sea.\nHim have you raised in your net. His touch has thrilled you with\nKrishna's love, which you have mistaken for the possession of a ghost.\nNow that your fear is gone and your mind has been calmed, show me where\nyou have landed Him.\"\n\nThe fisherman said, \"I have often beheld the Master. It cannot be He; it\nis more than man's size.\"\n\nThe fisherman led them all to the place. They beheld Him lying on the\nground, huge-bodied, pale-skinned from immersion in water, coated with\nsea-sand. His limbs were abnormally long, loose and with the skin\nflapping. Over such a long path they could not carry Him home; so they\nremoved His wet loin-cloth and put a dry one on Him, and laid Him down\non a sheet of cloth after brushing away the sand. Then they lifted up\nthe chant of Krishna's _kirtan_ and poured it into His ears. After a\ntime the word entered His brain and He leaped up with a roar; His limbs\nwere rejoined and returned to their proper places. Half-unconscious\nstill, He looked hither and thither [in perplexity]. He spoke, as if\nfrom the sky, \"Beholding the Jamuna [in the ocean] I went to Brindaban,\nand there found Braja's darling sporting in the water; with Radha and\nthe other milkmaids. I stood on the bank gazing on the scene, while one\nof the _sakhis_ (female comrades of Radha) pointed out the mysteries to\nme. [A long but highly poetical description, _not translated_.]\nKrishna, Radha, and their companions rose from the water, dressed\nthemselves, partook of a rich picnic, and all retired to sleep. My heart\nwas filled with bliss at the sight. Just then you caught hold of me, and\nwith a great noise brought me here. Ah! where is the Jamuna, where\nBrindaban, where Krishna, and where the milkmaids? You have destroyed\nthat bliss!\"\n\nThen Swarup made Him bathe [in the sea] and brought Him home, to the\ndelight of all.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\nThe Master's last year on earth\n\nThus did the Master in love-madness for Krishna lament night and day.\nJagadananda Pandit was very dear unto Him, and was every year sent by\nHim to Nadia to console his forlorn mother Shachi. \"Go to Nadia\", so the\nMaster charged Jagadananda, \"convey my salutation to mother, touch her\nfeet on my behalf. Tell her to remember that I go there daily (in the\nspirit) to bow to her. That I have taken the _sannyasi's_ vow leaving\nher service only shows that I am mad and have really undone all\n_dharma_. Mother! pardon this fault of mine. I am obedient to thee, I\nam thy son. It is at thy bidding that I am living at Nilachal. I cannot\nleave thee while life remains to me.\" The Master presented to His mother\n(at the Puri's suggestion) the consecrated cloth that He had received at\nthe _Gopa-lila_ with choice _prasad_ of Jagannath. He was the crowning\nexample of filial piety, for even though a _sannyasi_ He served His\nmother.\n\nAfter receiving an enigmatic message in verse from the Acharya Goswami\n(of Shantipur) through Jagadananda when he returned to Puri, the Master\nplunged into a deeper trance. His ecstasy at Krishna-separation was\ndoubled. He raved frantically day and night, identifying Himself with\nRadha. Suddenly imagining that Krishna was leaving Brindaban for\nMathura, He (in the character of Radha) was seized with dizziness and\ndeveloped madness, mourning deliriously while clasping the neck of\nRamananda and addressing Swarup as one of the _sakhis_ (i.e., Radha's\ncompanions). He repeated the verse which Radha had spoken to Vishakha\n(her handmaid) and held forth on it.\n\nThus did Gauranga weep, saying, \"Alas! alas for Krishna! where hast thou\ngone?\" Swarup and Ramananda consoled Him in many ways, singing joyous\nsongs, which calmed Him a little.\n\nThese lamentations were carried on to midnight. Then Swarup laid the\nMaster to bed in His room. Ramananda left for his home, and Govinda lay\ndown at the door of the room. Love for Krishna was thrilling the\nMaster's heart; He awoke and began to sing the Name; the pang of\nseparation convulsed His heart, and He began to rub His face against the\nwall; His face, cheeks, nose were all lacerated, but in the vehemence of\necstasy He knew not of the blood streaming down.\n\nAll night He battered His face thus. Swarup, noticing the groaning\nsound, lighted a lamp, entered the room and saw His face. In intense\ngrief the two brought Him back to His bed and soothed Him. Swarup asked,\n\"Why didst thou do this?\" The Master answered, \"I could not contain\nmyself in the room in my [love] anxiety. I rushed in search of the door\nin order to go out very soon. I could not find the door and only knocked\nmy face against the four walls. It was torn, it bled, but still I could\nnot go out.\"\n\nThen, Swarup in anxiety took counsel of the other _bhaktas_ next day\nand made Shankar Pandit sleep in the Master's room, nursing His feet. In\nfear of Shankar He could not leave the room nor knock His face against\nthe walls. These feats Raghunath-das has described in his\n_Chaitanya-staba-kalpa-briksha_.\n\nOne _Baishakh_ night, when it was full moon, the Master went with His\n_bhaktas_ to visit the great Jagannath-vallabh park. The trees and\ncreepers were in full bloom as at Brindaban, the green parrots, bees and\ncuckoos were discoursing [love]. The Zephyr was blowing laden the scent\nof flowers, and freshening made the tree-tops dance. Under the bright\nmoonlight the plants and creepers blazed in a silvery sheen. Spring\npervaded the atmosphere. The sight threw the Master into a rapture. He\nbade the stanza _Lalita labanga lata_ [of the _Git-Govinda_, canto ix.\nverse 6] be sung, and moved up and down dancing with His followers.\nPassing thus from tree to tree, He came under an _Ashoka_ tree and lo!\nhe beheld Krishna standing there. He rushed to meet Krishna, who\ndisappeared laughing. The Master, losing Krishna after having caught\nsight of him, fell down in a faint. The odour of Krishna's person filled\nthe garden; it took away the Master's senses, it maddened Him, and He\nbegan to sing and hold forth on the verses that Radha, enamoured of the\nscent of Krishna's body, had addressed to her _sakhi_.\n\nSwarup and Ramananda sang, the Master danced in rapture, and thus the\nnight wore on to dawn.\n\n\nTHE LAST CHARGE TO THE APOSTLES\n\nThrilled with delight, the Master spoke, \"Listen, Swarup and Ramananda\nRay! the supreme healer in this iron age is _sankirtan of the Name_. It\nis [equivalent to] the Vedic sacrifice, and the true sacrificer in it is\nrewarded with Krishna's feet. Sankirtan enables us to conquer sin and\nthe world; it creates purity of soul, all kinds of _bhakti_ and\ndevotional practice. Chant the Name at meals, in bed, here there and\nevery where. It is not restricted to a particular place or time, it\nworks everywhere. It bears the name of _sarva-shakti_ (omnipotent).\n\n\"Listen, Ramananda, to the way in which the Name should be recited in\norder to conceive a passion for it. The devotee, if high of rank, should\nregard himself as lowly like the grass. He should learn patience from\nthe tree, which does not cry out even when it is cut down and which does\nnot beg for water even when it is perishing of drought, but on the other\nhand gives away its possessions to all who ask of it, bears sun and rain\nitself but protects others from them. The Vaishnav, however high, should\nbe free from pride; he should venerate all forms of life as animated by\nKrishna. Take Krishna's Name thus, and you will be inspired with\n_prem_.\"\n\nAs He spoke He was filled with growing meekness of spirit and began to\nbeg for pure _bhakti_ at Krishna's hands. The true devotee, as is the\nlaw of love, holds that he has not even a particle of faith in Krishna!\n_\"Lord! I ask not for wealth or followers or the gift of poesy. Give me\nin birth after birth only unreasoning instinctive devotion to God.\"_\n\nIn utter lowliness of spirit He proclaimed Himself a worldly-minded\ncreature and prayed to be inspired with a slave's devotion (_dasya\nbhakti_). _\"O Nanda's son! Have pity on this thy servant sunk in the\ndread ocean (of the World)! Look on me as a particle of dust on thy\nlotus-feet!\"_ Next, He was seized with the anxiety of humility and\nbegged of Krishna, \"Without the wealth of thy love my life is poor and\nfutile. Make me thy slave and give me the treasure of thy love as my\nwages.\"\n\nThen came the mood of melancholy-humility: _\"My eyes are running with\ntears like the rainy sky. A moment is as long to me as an aeon. The\nabsence of Govinda (Krishna) has made the universe empty to me!\"_\n\nIn this way He recited His own eight Sanskrit verses on the different\nmoods of _bhakti_ and expounded them all. For twelve years He thus\ntasted the sweets of Krishna-love day and night with His two friends.\nThese acts of His are endless, even a thousand narratives cannot arrive\nat their end. Therefore, I bow my head and conclude His _lilas_ here. I\nbow at the feet of all my Vaishnav hearers and end my history of\nChaitanya's acts.\n\nThe last scene (translated from the _Chaitanya-mangal_ of Jayananda, p.\n150):\n\nWhen dancing at the Bijaya of the Car festival in the month of Asharh,\nHis left toe was suddenly pierced by a brick [lying on the road]. When\nAdwaita left for Bengal, the Master secretly told him [of His coming\ndisappearance]. With all His followers He sported in the water of the\nNarendra tank [for the last time]. On the sixth day of the moon, the\npain in His toe grew severer, and He was forced to take to His bed in\nthe garden. Here He told the Pandit Goswami that He would leave the\nearth next night at 10 o clock. Celestial garlands of many-coloured\nflowers were thrown on Him from the unseen. Celestial singers\n(_vidyadhar_) began to dance on the highway. The gods began to cry out,\n\"Bring the heavenly chariot!\" The Master mounted into Vishnu's car with\nthe figure of Garuda on its spire. His material body lay behind on the\nearth, while He went to Vaikuntha (Vishnu's heaven). Many of His\nservants killed themselves by serpent-bite. Meteors and thunderbolts\nfell on the earth. At the news Nityananda and Adwaita Acharya,\nVishnupriya and Shachi swooned away. Purushottam and other servitors of\nthe Master grew speechless at His departure.\n\nNityananda consoled the disciples and vowed before them, \"We will keep\nthe Name alive. We will make all men down to the Chandals, Vaishnavs. We\nwill not differentiate [low] castes like the Chandals or Muslims, but\nwill give them all love and _bhakti_ and make them all dance [with us]\nat _kirtan_. We will make the realms of Bengal and Orissa blessed.\" The\nVaishnavs shouted applause at his words.","title":"Chaitanya's Life And Teachings: From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amrita","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":86438}