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Chapter Five
Vyasa-puja-varnana
Description of Vyasa-puja
Text 1 Glory to Lord
Chaitanya, who is Lord Krishna Himself, He is the lamp of Navadvipa and the
lion who attacks the offenders. On a knotted string He chants a fixed number of
His own holy names.
Text 2 Glory, glory to
Lord Chaitanya, the master of all lives! Glory to Lord Chaitanya, the masterof
Nityananda and Gadadhara!
Text 3 Glory, glory to
Lord Chaitanya, who becomes the submissive servant of Advaita and the other
devotees! O Lord, giving them the gift of pure devotional service, please
deliver the poor people of this world.
Text 4 In this way, in
Lord Nityananda's association, the devotees became overwhelmed, happily tasting
the nectar of topics about Lord Krishna.
Text 5 They were all
generous, kind, and noble-hearted devotees of the Lord. Intoxicated by tasting
the nectar of Lord Krishna, they roared with happiness.
Text 6 Looking in the
four directions, smiling Lord Nityananda saw streams of bliss flowing from
everyone's eyes.
Text 7 Observing this
bliss, Lord Chaitanya said to Lord Nityananda,
Text 8 "Please hear,
Hear, O Shripada Nityananda Gosvami. Where will Your Vyasa-puja be?
Text 9 "You know
that tomorrow is the full-moon day of Vyasa-puja. Please say what is in Your
heart."
Text 10
Understanding Lord Chaitanya's hint, Lord
Nityananda placed His hand on Shrivasa Pandita.
Text 11
Smiling, Lord Nityananda said, "Please
hear, O Visvambhara. My Vyasa-puja will be at this young brahmana's home.
Text 12
Then Lord Chaitanya said to Shrivasa, "A
great burden is now placed on you."
Text 13
Shrivasa replied, "My Lord, it is not a
burden. By Your mercy my home has everything.
Text 14
"Cloth, mudga dal, a yajna-sutra, ghee,
betelnuts and betel leaves are all ready for the ceremony.
Text 15
"I need only get a book describing how to
perform this rite. Tomorrow I will become very fortunate. Then i will see the
Vyasa-puja."
Text 16
Lord Chaitanya was very pleased with
Shrivasa's words. All the Vaishnavas said, "Hari! Hari!"
Text 17
Lord Chaitanya said, "Listen, O Shripada
Gosvami. Let us all go to Shrivasa Pandita's home. We will make it
auspicious."
Text 18
Accepting Lord Chaitanya's order, blissful
Lord Nityananda at once departed.
Text 19
Accompanied by all the devotees, Lord Chaitanya
also departed. Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda looked like Krishna and
Balarama surrounded by Their servants in Gokula.
Text 20
Simply by entering Shrivasa's home, everyone
felt the intense bliss of Lord Krishna present in their bodies.
Text 21
By Lord Chaitanya's order the doors were
closed. Exceot for relatives and close friends, no one could enter.
Text 22
Then Lord Chaitanya gave the order for
kirtana. The sound of kirtana arose, and the external world went far away.
Text 23
Thus there was a blissful kirtana on the day
before the Vyassa-puja. Surrounded by the singing devotees, the two Lords
danced.
Text 24
Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda love each
other eternally. Thinking of each other, They danced together.
Text 25
Some devotees shouted. Some devotees roared.
Some devotees fell unconscious. Some devotees wept.
Text 26
Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda trembled,
perspired, and fainted in ecstasy. They wept, and the hairs of Their bodies
stood erect. Who can describe Their ecstati symptoms?
Text 27
The two Lords danced in spiritual bliss. One
moment They embraced, and the next moment They wept.
Text 28
Each of the two Lords wished to grasp the
other's feet, but because They were both very intelligent, neither succeeded.
Text 29
Overcome with bliss, They rolled about on the
ground. Enjoying transcendental pastimes, They did not know who They were.
Text 30
External consciousness was far from Them. Now
They were without clothes. The Vaishnavas tried to catch them. No one could.
Text 31
Who can catch the person who holds the three
worlds? Like wild madmen, the two Lords enjoyed pastimes of chanting the holy
names.
Text 32
"Chant! Chant!", Lord Chaitanya
screamed. His entire body was covered with perspiration from these blissful
pastimes.
Text 33
For many days Lord Chaitanya longed to meet
Lord Nityananda. Now He was no longer aware of the external world. Now He
floated in an ocean of bliss.
Text 34
Lord Chaitanya's dancing was very graceful. He
danced so enthusiastically that His feet touched His head.
Text 35
When Lord Nityananda's feet struck the ground,
the Vaishnavas thought the whole earth trembled.
Text 36
In this way the two Lords danced in ecstasy.
Who has the power to describe the bliss They felt?
Text 37
Then, to reveal the truth about Lord
Nityananda, Lord Chaitanya, accepting the mood of Lord Balarama, ascended the
throne of Lord Vishnu.
Text 38
Accepting the mood of Lord Balarama, Lord
Chaitanya, as if wild with intoxication, called out, "Bring wine! Bring
wine!"
Text 39
To Lord Nityananda Lord Chaitanya said,
"At once give Me the plow and club."
Text 40
Accepting Lord Chaitanya's order, with His own
hands Lord Nityananda placed something in Lord Chaitanya's hands.
Text 41
Some saw. Others did not see. Some saw the
plow and cluā with their own eyes.
Text 42
They to whom the Lord was merciful, saw.
Others had no power to see.
Text 43
Although Lord Nityananda was openly manifested
before everyone, only some few persons were able to understand these
confidential truths.
Text 44
Accepting the plow and cluā from Lord
Nityananda, Lord became like a madman. "Varuni! Varuni!", He
screamed.
Text 45
No one understood. No one knew what to do.
Everyone looked at each other's faces.
Text 46
In their hearts everyone thought of what to
do. They gave a pot of Ganga water to the Lord.
Text 47
The Lord offered the water to everyone, and
then He Himself drank. The Lord thought He was drinking wine made of kadamba
flowers.
Text 48
Surrounding Him on four sides, the devotees
recited prayers to Lord Balarama. At every moment the Lord called, "Nar#a!
Nar#a! Nar#a!"
Text 49
As if intoxicated, again and again He nodded
His head,
168Nar#a! Nar#a!",
He called. No one knew what "Nar#a" meant.
Texts Texts 50-51
Everone asked, "Lord, who is Nar#a?
Please tell us." The Lord replied, "He called out for Me, and I came.
You call Him Advaita Acarya. It is because of Nar#a that I descended to this
world.
Text 52
"Nar#a brought Me here from Vaikuntha.
Now He happily stays with Haridasa.
Text 53
"I have descended to this world to begin
the sankirtana movement. In home after home I will make people chant the holy
names.
Text 54
"Persons who are mad after academi
learning, wealth, family, material knowledge, and dry austerity naturally
commit offenses to My devotees.
Text 55
"To those lowly people I will not give
pure love of Krishna. But to the people of Nadiya I will give pure love of
Krishna, love that delights Brahma and all the demigods.
Text 56
Hearing this, all the devotees floated in
bliss. The next moment Lord Chaitanya became peaceful and sober.
Text 57
"Was I restless?", the Lord asked.
The devotees replied, "There was nothing wrong."
Text 58
The Lord affectionately embraced everyone. He
said, "Please don't take seriously the offenses I make at every
moment."
Text 59
When the Lord spoke these words, all the
devotees smiled. Then Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda rolled about on the
ground.
Text 60
Rapt in ecstati trance, wild Lord Nityananda
accepted no restraint.The Lord who bears the name Sesha was overcome with the
nectar of love for Krishna.
Text 61
One moment He laughed. The next moment He
danced. The next moment He was clothed only by the four directions. His body
was filled with the mood of being a child.
Text 62
Lord Nityananda, who is the root from which all
has come, was not aware where His danda, kamandalu, and garments had gone.
Text 63
Peaceful and grave Lord Nityananda was now
restless. Lord Chaitanya held Him. Then Lord Nityananda became still.
Text 64
Everyone thought Lord Chaitanya's words were
an iron rod for controlling wild animals. They did not think Lord Nityananda
was anything other than a ferocious wild lion.
Text 65
"Be still. Tomorrow You will see the
Vyasa-puja." After pacifying Lord Nityananda with these words, Lord
Chaitanya went to His own home.
Text 66
All the devotees also went to their homes.
Lord Nityananda stayed in Shrivasa's home.
Text 67
Late at night Lord Nityananda, screaming, tore
apart His danda and kamandalu, and threw the pieces here and there.
Text 68
Who understands the Supreme Lord's perfect
actions? Why did He break his danda and kamandalu?
Text 69
At sunrise Ramai Pandita arose. Seeing the
broken danda and kamandalu, he was very surprised.
Text 70
He told everything to Shrivasa Pandita.
Shrivasa said, "Go to Lord Chaitanya."
Text 71
Hearing the news from Ramai's mouth, Lord
Chaitanya came. Lord Nityananda was not in external consciousness. He was
laughing wildly.
Text 72
Lord Chaitanya picked up the danda in His
graceful hands. Taking Lord Nityananda with Him, He went to bathe in the Ganga.
Text 73
Shrivasa and the other devotees also came to
bathe in the Ganga. Lord Chaitanya then threw the danda into the Ganga.
Text 74
Restless Lord Nityananda did not pay attention
to anyone's words. For this Lord Chaitanya rebuked Him.
Text 75
Seeing a crocodile, Lord Nityananda ran to
catch it. Gadadhara and Shrivasa screamed, "Haya! Haya!"
Text 76
Lord Nityananda fearlessly swam to the middle
of the Ganga. Only Lord Chaitanya's words could stop Him.
Text 77
Lord Chaitanya called out to Lord Nityananda,
"Come at once and perform Vyasa-puja!"
Text 78
Hearing Lord Chaitanya's words, Lord
Nityananda emerged from the water. After bathing, He went home with Lord
Chaitanya.
Text 79
There all the devotees had gathered. There was
continual chanting of "Krishna!! Krishna!"
Text 80
Shrivasa Pandita became the acarya of
Vyasa-puja. On Lord Chaitanya's order, he performed all the rituals.
Text 81
Everyone sang in a sweet, sweet kirtana.
Shrivasa's home became the world of Vaikuntha.
Text 82
Learned in all the scriptures, Shrivasa
Pandita performed all the rituals.
Text 83
Placing a beautiful, splendidly fragrant
garland in Lord Nityananda's hand, Shrivasa said,
Text 84
"Listen. Listen, O Nityananda. Offering
prayers, bow down before Lord Vyasa.
Text 85
"Pleased, Lord Vyasa fulfills all the
desires of a person who, following the rules of scriptures, offers a garland to
Him."
Text 86
Hearing these words, Lord Nityananda said,
"It is so. It is so." Still, He did not understand anything that was
said.
Text 87
Shrivasa patiently repeated his words again
and again. Still Lord Nityananda did not understand. Holding the garland in His
hands, Lord Nityananda looked in the four directions.
Text 88
Saintly Shrivasa called out to Lord Chaitanya,
"Your Shripada Nityananda will not worship Lord Vyasa!"
Text 89
Hearing Shrivasa's words, Lord Chaitanya at
once came before Lord Nityananda.
Text 90
Lord Chaitanya said, "O Nityananda,
please hear My words. At once offer the garland to Lord Vyasa and worship
Him."
Text 91
Lord Nityananda looked at Lord Chaitanya. He
at once placed the garland around Lord Chaitanya's head.
Text 92
The garland was very beautiful by the Lord's
curly hair. Then Lord Chaitanya manifested a six-armed form.
Text 93
In His hands Lord Chaitanya held a conchshell,
cakra, club, lorus, mace, and plow. Gazing at this form, Lord Nityananda
fainted in ecstasy.
Text 94
Gazing at this sių-armed form, Lord
#Nityananda fainted. He fell to the ground. He showed no sign of being alive.
Text 95
The Vaishnavas became frightened. Calling out,
"Krishna, please save Him! Krishna, please save Him!", they
remembered Lord Krishna.
Text 96
Then Lord Chaitanya, the son of Jagannatha
Misra, roared. Placing Lord Nityananda on His lap, the Lord roared like
thunder.
Text 97
When He saw the six-armed form, Lord
Nityananda fell unconscious. With His own hands, Lord Chaitanya picked Him up.
Text 98
He said, "Rise! Rise, Nityananda! Please
be peaceful. Carefully listen to the chanting of the holy names in sankirtana.
Text 99
"You descended to this world to bring the
chanting of the holy names. Now You have succeeded in this mission. What more
do You want?
Text 100
"You own pure devotional service and pure
love for Krishna. You are made of pure love for Krishna. If You do not give it,
no one can attain pure devotional service.
Text 101
"Please control Yourself. Get up. Look at
Your friends. You can give pure devotional service to anyone You wish.
Text 102
"Even if he worships Me, a person who has
even half a sesame seed's worth of hatred for You will never be dear to
Me."
Text 103
In this way Lord Nityananda attained Lord
Chaitanya. Hearing Lord Chaitanya's words, and gazing at Lord Chaitanya's
sių-armed form, Lord Nityananda became filled with bliss.
Text 104
Lord Chaitanya always resides in Lord Ananta
Sesha's heart. Please do not be surprised to know that Lord Nityananda is Lord
Ananta Sesha Himself.
Text 105
What is surprising about the Lord's showing
this sių-armed form. All these playful pastimes are perfectly appropriate for
this incarnation of the Lord.
Text 106
When Lord Ramacandra offered pinda, Dasaratha
personally came before the Lord's eyes.
Text 107
If that was wonderful, then this is also
wonderful. Without doubt these are all the playful pastimes of Lord Krishna.
Text 108
Lord Nityananda never leaves the mood of being
a servant (dasya, of Lord Chaitanya. He never accepts even half a sesame seed's
worth of any other mood.
Text 109
At every moment He is like Lakshmana, whose
heart, life, and treasure is Lord Ramacandra, the beloved of Sita.
Text 110
Lord Nityananda's heart is like that. At every
moment He is delighted to serve Lord Chaitanya.
111-Text 113
Even though He is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead Himself, even though He is supremely independent, even though He is the
creator, maintainer, and destroyer of the material universes, even though He is
all-pervading within the material universes, even though He continues to exist
after all the material universes disappear, and even though the Vedas affirm
that he is limitless and eternal, Lord Ananta Sesha is always delighted to
serve Lord Krishna with great love.
Text 114
Please know that in yuga after yuga, and in
incarnation after incarnation, Ananta Sesha serves Lord Krishna. That is His
nature.
Text 115
When He descended to this world as Lakshmana,
He became Lord Rama's younger brother. In this way Lord Ananta Sesha always
served Lord Rama.
Text 116
Neglecting eating, drinking, and sleeping, He
served Lord Rama's feet. Moment after moment He desire to serve was never
satiated.
Text 117
When He descended to this world as Balarama,
He became Lord Krishna's elder brother. In His heart He never turned away from
service to Lord Krishna.
Text 118
He always addressed Lord Krishna as
"Master". He always thought of Lord Krishna with devotion. He never
thought of Him in any other way.
Text 119
Please know without doubt that Lord Nityananda
is Lord Ananta Sesha Himself.
Text 120
Anyone who sees that Lord Nityananda and Lord
Balarama are different persons is bewildered in his heart.
Text 121
Anyone who disrespects a devotee of the Lord,
a devotee who is like devotional service personified, commits a great offense
to Lord Vishnu.
Text 122
Even though Brahma and Siva bow down before
her, Goddess Lakshmi enjoys pastimes of serving Lord Vishnu's feet. That is her
nature.
Text 123
Even though He is the all-powerful master of
all potencies, Lord Ananta Sesha serves Lord Vishnu. That is His nature.
Text 124
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is very
happy to describe this service attitude of His devotees.
Text 125
The Supreme Lord is completely subservient to
His devotees. That is His nature. The glory of this truth can be heard from the
Supreme Lord's own mouth.
Text 126
Lord Vishnu and the Vaishnavas are both
delighted to glorify each other's natures. The Vedas declare that this is Their
natural tendency.
Text 127
The nature of Lord Vishnu and the Vaishnavas
is carefully described in the Puranas. The opinions I express in writing are
based on the evidence of the Puranas.
Text 128
In His heart Lord Nityananda thinks,
"Lord Chaitanya is My master, and I am His servant."
Text 129
Day and night no other worlds come to His
mouth. He says, "I am His servant, and He is My master in every way.
Text 130
"Anyone who offers prayers to Lord
Chaitanya and to Me, and who glorifies Me as a servant of Lord Chaitanya, will
certainly attain Me."
Text 131
To please Lord Nityananda I have described how
He gazed on Lord Chaitanya's six-armed form.
Text 132
The spiritual truth is that Lord Chaitanya
resides in Lord Nityananda's heart. There They both gaze at each other. Of this
there is no doubt.
Text 133
According to the pastimes of Their different
incarnations, Lord Nityananda serves Lord Chaitanya. Who can understand Their
pastimes?
Text 134
Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead
accepts service from Himself. This is described in the Vedas, Mahabharata, and
Puranas.
Text 135
The books that describe the Supreme Lord's
activities are called "Vedas". The Vedas completely reject the idea
that Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda are different persons.
Text 136
Without engaging in devotional service, no one
can understand these truths. Some few persons who have attained Lord
Chaitanya's mercy can understand them.
Text 137
All the Vaishnavas are eternally pure and full
of transcendental knowledge. Sometimes you may see that they disagree about
some point. There disagreements are only their pastimes.
Text 138
Persons who do not understand this find that
their intelligence becomes destroyed. Persons who praise one Vaishnava and
criticize another perish.
Text 139
This is described in the following words of
Shri Narada Purana:
abhyarcayitva pratimasu
vishnum
nindan jane sarva-gatam tam eva
abhyarcya padau hi
dvijasya murdhni
druhyann ivajno narakam prayati
"A fool who worships the Deity of
Lord Vishnu but blasphemes the Supersoul present in all beings, or who worships
the feet of a brahmana, but then attacks the brahmana's head, goes to
hell."
Text 140
Therefore, you should stay far away from
persons whose talk harms the Vaishnavas and from persons who givepain to
ordinary living entities.
Text 141
A person who gives pain to other living beings
and then worships Lord Vishnu, worships in vain. In death he suffers.
Text 142
A person attached to material things may,
unaware that Lord Vishnu is the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, still
worship Lord Vishnu.
Text 143
On the one hand he washes a brahmana's feet,
and on the other hand he kicks the brahmana's head.
Text 144
How can such a person attain auspiciousness
for even a moment? What will become of him? Please think about this in your
heart.
Text 145
Blaspheming a Vaishnava is a hundred times
more sinful than harming an ordinary living being.
Text 146
A person who faithfully worships the Deity of
the Lord, but then neither respects the devotees nor shows mercy to the fallen
conditioned souls is a degraded fool.
Text 147
Such a person worships one incarnation of the
Lord but does not worship the other incarnations. He thinks that Lord Krishna
and Lord Ramacandra are different persons.
Text 148
The scriptures affirm that a devotee who has
no love and devotion fro Lord Balarama is the lowest of devotees.
Text 149
This is described in the following words of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.47):
arcayam eva haraye
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhakteshu canyeshu
sa bhaktah prakritah smritah
"A prakrta or materialisti devotee
does not purposefully study the sastra and try to understand the actual
standard of pure devotional service. Consequently he does not show proper
respect to advanced devotees. He may, however, follow the regulative principles
learned from his spiritual master or from his family who worships the Deity. He
is to be considered on the material platform, although he is trying to advance
in devotional service. Such a person is a bhakta-praya (neophyte devotee), or
bhaktabhasa, for he is a little enlightened by Vaishnava philosophy."*
Text 150
In this way I have described the nature of the
lowest devotees. Gazing at Lord Chaitanya's sių-armed form, Lord Nityananda
became satisfied.
Text 151
Anyone who hears this description of Lord
Nityananda's gazing at Lord Chaitanya's sių-armed form will become free from
the bonds of repeated birth and death.
Text 152
Returned to external consciousness, Lord
Nityananda wept. From His two lotus eyes flowed a river of tears.
Text 153
Then Lord Chaitanya said to everyone,
"The Vyasa-puja is now completed. Please begin kirtana."
Text 154
Accepting the Lord's order, everyone became
blissful. The sound of Lord Krishna's name suddenly arose in the four directions.
Text 155
Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda danced
together. The two brothers were like wild madmen. They were no longer aware of
external things.
Text 156
All the Vaishnavas were overcome with bliss.
In this way the festival of Vyasa-puja was very happily performed.
Text 157
Some danced, some sang, some rolled on the
ground, and some held the Vaishnavas' feet.
Text 158
Hiding, Lord Chaitanya's mother, who is indeed
the mother of all the worlds, gazed at all the blissful pastimes.
Text 159
Gazing at Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda,
in her heart she thought, "There are my two sons."
Text 160
Only Lord Ananta Sesha has the power to
describe the great glory of this Vyasa-puja festival.
Text 161
Writing in sutras, I have thus described a
little of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes. A person who in any way glorifies Lord
Krishna attains auspiciousness.
Text 162
For the remainder of that Vyasa-puja festival
day, the devotees, accompanied by Lord Chaitanya, happily danced.
Text 163
The devotees became mad with bliss. Calling
out, "O Krishna!", they wept.
Text 164
In this way Lord Chaitanya revealed the truth
of pure devotion to Himself. Becoming peaceful, Lord Chaitanya approached the
devotees.
Text 165
Lord Chaitanya said to Shrivasa Pandita,
"Bring at once the food that was offered to Lord Vyasa."
Text 166
The food was at once brought, and with His own
hand Lord Chaitanya distributed it to everyone.
Text 167
Accepting the food from the Lord's haned, the
devotees blissfully ate.
Text 168
Calling whoever was in the house, with His own
hand the Lord distributed food to everyone.
Text 169
The servants and maidservants in the home of
the Vaishnavas Shrivasa thus attained the very sacred food that Brahma and all
the demigods think themselves very fortunate to attain.
Text 170
Everyone in Shrivasa's home became blissful.
Who has the power to describe Shrivasa's good fortune?
Text 171
Every day the Lord enjoyed many blissful
pastimes in Navadvipa. Still, the people were not aware of them.
Text 172
The two moons Shri Krishna Chaitanya and Shri
Nityananda are my life and soul. I, Vrindavana dasa, sing the glories of Their
feet.