Savarana-Gaura-Mahima
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Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness
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This is another song composed by Narottama dasa Thakura. He says that one who has accepted the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, in other words, one who has the only asset of possession the two feet of Lord Caitanya, such person is supposed to know what is the essence of devotional service. Se jane bhakati-rasa-sara. What is the purport of devotional service or what is the humor of devotional service can be understood by a person who has accepted Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet as everything. The idea is that actually Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, and He’s teaching devotional service to the living entities personally, directly. Therefore, the modes of devotional service as taught by Lord Caitanya is the most perfect, there cannot be any doubt. The expert, or the master, is teaching the servant how to work. If somebody is master of some engineering work, and he’s personally teaching some assistant, that teaching instruction is most perfect.
Then he says, gaurangera madhura-lila, yara karne pravesila. Now, he comes to the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. He says that Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are also as much transcendental as Lord Krsna’s. As in the Bhagavad-gita it is said that anyone who can simply understand the transcendental appearance, disappearance, activities, work of Krsna, he immediately becomes eligible to enter into the kingdom of God, simply by understanding the pastimes and the transcendental activities of Krsna. Similarly, one who enters into the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he immediately becomes freed from all contamination of the heart. Gaurangera madhura-lila yara karne pravesila. Simply one has to receive the message of Lord Caitanya. Karne means “in the ear” -- to give the message submissive aural reception. Then immediately one’s heart becomes freed from all material contamination. Then he says, ye gaurangera nama loya, tara hoy premodoya. The devotees are concerned how to develop love of Godhead. Narottama das Thakura recommends that anyone who simply chants Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda. Gauranga means with all of His paraphernalia. As soon as we speak of Gauranga, we should mean the five -- Lord Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, and Srivas, all together. So, se gaurangera nama loya, anyone who chants, immediately he’ll develop love of Godhead. Ye gaurangera nama loya, tara hoy premodoya, tare muni yai balihari. Narottama dasa Thakura says, "I offer him all congratulations, because it is certain that he has developed love of Godhead."
Then he says, gauranga-gunete jhure, nitya-lila tare sphure. Anyone, if he cries, by simply hearing the transcendental qualities of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he at once understands what is the loving affairs between Radha and Krsna. Nitya-lila means the pastimes or the loving exchange affairs between Radha and Krsna. That is eternal, that is not temporary. We should not think that Radha-Krsna’s pastimes, loving affairs is just like the business of a young boy or girl, as we see in this material world. So simply one who is absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he can immediately understand what is the actual position of the loving affairs of Radha-Krsna. Nitya-lila tare sphure, se jaya Radha-Madhava, se yaya vrajendra-suta pasa -- and simply by doing that he becomes eligible to enter into the abode of Krsna. Vrajendra-suta means the son of Nanda Maharaja in Vrndavana -- he’s sure to go to associate with Krsna in his next birth. Gaurangera sangi-gane, nitya siddha boli mane. There are three kinds of devotees. One is called sadhana-siddha. Sadhana-siddha means by following the regulative principles of devotional service, if one becomes perfect, he is called sadhana-siddha. Another devotee is called krpa-siddha. Krpa-siddha means even if he has not followed strictly all the regulative principles, still by the mercy of acarya, or a devotee, or by Krsna, he’s elevated to the perfectional stage. That’s special. And another devotee is called nitya-siddha. Nitya-siddha means they were never contaminated. The sadhana-siddha and krpa-siddha was contaminated by material touch and by following the regulative principles or by the mercy or grace of some devotee and acarya they are elevated to the perfectional stage. But nitya-siddha means they were never contaminated. They are ever liberated, so all the associates of Lord Caitanya just like Advaita Prabhu, Srivas, Gadadhara, Nityananada, they are Visnu-tattva. They are all liberated. Not only they, the Goswamis, there are many others, so they are ever liberated. So one who can understand that the associates of Lord Caitanya are ever liberated, nitya siddha boli mane, se yaya brajendra-suta pasa. Immediately he becomes eligible to enter into the abode of Krsna. Then he says, gauda-mandala-bhume, yeba jane cintamani. Gauda-mandala means the place in West Bengal wherein Lord Caitanya had His pastimes. In Navadvipa during Lord Caitanya’s birth anniversary, the devotees go and circumambulate different places of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. It takes nine days. So that portion of Bengal is called Gaura-mandala. So Narottama dasa Thakura says one who understands that there is no difference between this part of the country with Vrndavana, tara hoy vrajabhume basa. It is as good as one lives in Vrndavana. Then he says gaura-prema-rasarnave, se taranga yeba dube. Just like we take a dip and bath, and we play, sport in the waves of the ocean or sea, similarly one who takes pleasure taking a dip, and sporting with the waves of the ocean of Lord Caitanya’s distribution of love of God, such a person becomes immediately a confidential devotee of Lord Krsna. Se radha-madhava-antaranga. Antaranga means not ordinary devotee. They are a confidential devotee. Naottama dasa Thakura says, grhe va vanete thake. Such a devotee who is taking pleasure in the waves of Lord Caitanya’s movement, because he has become a very confidential devotee of the Lord, therefore Norttama dasa Thakura says -- such devotee, it doesn’t matter whether he is in the renounced order of life, or whether he is a householder, grha. Grha means householder. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement does not say that one has to become a renounced order sannyasi. Just like mayavadi sannyasis, impersonalists, Sankaracarya, they put the first condition that you take up the renounced order of life first, then you talk of spiritual advancement. So in Sankara-sampradaya nobody is accepted as a bona-fide impersonalist unless he has accepted the renounced order of life. But here in Caitanya’s movement, there is no such restriction. Advaita Prabhu, He was a householder, Nityananda, He was householder, Gadadhara He was also householder and Srivas, He was also householder and Caitanya Mahaprabhu also married twice. So it doesn’t matter.
So Narottama das Thakura says that to become in the renounced order of life, or to remain in householder life, that does not matter. If he is actually taking part in the movements of Caitanya’s sankirtana activities, and actually understanding what it is, he is taking sport in the waves of such a devotional ocean -- then such person is always liberated, and Narottama dasa Thakrua is aspiring his association ever increasingly. That is the sum and substance of this song.
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