The following is a transcription of part two of a lecture on Śrīla Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s Śrī Prema-vivarta by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California on June 17, 2008

Śrī Jagadānanda Prabhu says, “O my dear brothers, if you want bhakti, then, with one-pointed faith, try to perform bhajana of Gauracandra (Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu). Everyone must worship His lotus feet with undeviating devotion and reject the worship of demigods and goddesses as though they were on the same level as He. Know that all the demigods and goddesses are His servitors. Never let the mind entertain the idea that Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Gaurāṅga are different personalities. At the same time, even though They are the same, Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy is so much greater than Kṛṣṇa’s. This is because Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mercy is mixed with Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

“Be enlightened in spiritual truth; your spiritual master is the recipient of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s special mercy. Know that he is Mahāprabhu’s associate, and know that the eternal associates of the Lord are the different limbs of His transcendental body.

“Those who adamantly oppose Mahāprabhu’s divine position as the Supreme Person must clearly understand that every soul is His servant. Don’t worship any demigods. You can worship Śaṅkara (Lord Śiva) as Gopīśvara but do not worship him as Kailāsa Śaṅkara. You can pray to him, ‘O Gopīśvara, please give me vraja-prema.’

Jagadānanda Paṇḍita writes that the ‘enemies’ of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Navadvīpa, like the Prauḍhā brāhmaṇas (the elderly brāhmaṇas who were ‘harassed’ by small Nimāi when He splashed water over them and ‘spoiled’ their meditation, and who then went to Nimāi’s father to complain) are actually nourishers of rasa. In Vraja, Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mother-in-law, Jaṭilā, declares, “Kṛṣṇa must not enter our house.” She tries to stop Kṛṣṇa in every way from meeting with her daughter-in-law. She tries to ‘keep a lock and key’ on Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Why? Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s eagerness will increase by this. They will meet after a long time, and Their prema will increase immeasurably. In this way, such personalities nourish rasa.

Jagadānanda Paṇḍita says that if you want to advance in bhakti, do not criticize anyone. Do not indulge in useless criticism and find faults in others. Even if someone is genuinely bad, do not criticize him. Whether non-devotees are engaged in good or harmful activities, don’t criticize or glorify them. Otherwise, all their material qualities will enter your being.

He says that being one-pointed, one should chant and remember Śrī Gaurāṅga. Then, your gaura-bhakti will be automatically transferred to Kṛṣṇa; you will not have to try separately for this. When dāsya-bhakti, the mood of servitorship, for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu becomes mature, one’s bhakti is automatically transferred to vraja-bhāva.

Jagadānanda Paṇḍita writes, “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us to sing, ‘Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.’ He has told us to chant ‘Kṛṣṇa.’ Still, we should chant in glorification of Gaura and Nityānanda. They do not consider offences in chanting Their names, whereas there are offences considered in the chanting of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s names.”

Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja left Vṛndāvana at the end of their lives, went to Navadvīpa, and stayed there for the remainder of their lives. Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja has said, “When Kṛṣṇa stole butter, Mother Yaśodā chastised Him and bound Him to the grinding mortar – only for a little butter. So I don’t want to be in Vṛndāvana, in Nandagaon, or Varṣāṇā. We see that in His boyhood, Caitanya Mahāprabhu once broke everything in the household of Śacī-mata (His mother), mixed all the pieces, and then threw them here and there, or He would break His mother’s pots, throw rice here and there, and engage in so many other naughty pranks. But what did Śacī-mata do? She never bound Him or threatened to beat Him. So we should go to Navadvīpa.”

In this world, only Śrī Gauracandra is Guru. He taught Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya in a hidden way, He taught Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Tapana Miśra, Śrī Sarvabauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Prakāśananda Sarasvatī and his 60,000 followers, Śrī Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Keśava Kāśmīrī, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, and so many others.

What is ‘kū’ and what is ‘nāṭī’? What is favourable for bhakti is ‘su’, and unfavourable is ‘kū’. All actions against bhakti are ‘kū,’ and all the things that are not favourable are ‘na;’ they should be given up.* If you want to please anyone other than Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, such as your wife, husband, children or others – and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at the same time – you cannot. Two swords cannot fit in one sheath. Worship only Gauracandra in your mind.

When Uddhava visited Vṛndāvana and told the gopīs to meditate on Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs replied, “Oh, Uddhava, Your mind is many-branched, whereas our mind is one-pointed. But our mind is like zero now. When Kṛṣṇa went from here to Mathurā and Dvārakā, our minds also went with Him. Our minds are not with us, so how can we meditate?”

Jagadānanda Paṇḍita tells us, “Choose between engaging yourself in the transcendental devotional service of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or taking shelter of mundane activities; serving family, friends, and society. It is impossible to maintain both these activities simultaneously. I humbly caution that if we do not develop single-mindedness in executing devotional service, we place ourselves in the impossible task of crossing a river with two boats, with a foot in each. The boats float here and there, and we are split into two pieces.”

A flooded river is full of dangerous whirlpools, and entering that area, you will go down deep and be unable to come out. You will drown. We also see this in a whirling wind. Prema is also a vivarta (like a whirlpool). It is not straight and very dangerous, like a serpent. When serpents are alive, they are necessarily crooked, walking and running crookedly. They are only straight when they die.

Similarly, prema is crooked, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mind is crooked, Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mind is more crooked, and Kṛṣṇa’s mother is extremely crooked. His Vraja is crooked, His Yamunā River is crooked, His side-long glances are crooked, His gopīs are all crooked, and everything about Him is crooked. This is the real nature of prema. So don’t try to attain prema; otherwise, you will become crooked. Be far away; far away.

To explain the siddhānta about this ‘crooked’ nature of prema, Jagadānanda writes, “Like a whirlpool, my mind and heart dance in that love. I am always quarrelling with Śacīnandana.” In other words, his love is expressed indirectly, not in a straightforward, direct manner.

Once, Jagadānanda saw Mahāprabhu sleeping on the hard floor. To give Him more comfort while He slept, he made a very soft quilt from dry banana leaves, covered it with an old cloth, and gave it to Govinda to give to Him. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw it, He threw it out and exclaimed, “I don’t want this. I’m okay.” Hearing of this, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita immediately entered an angry, sulky mood. He is always engaged in prema-kalaha, loving quarrels, with Caitanya Mahārāja, as Śrīmatī Rādhikā engages in loving quarrels with Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Lalitā-devī tells Śrīmatī Rādhikā:

dhūrte vrajendra-tanaye tanu suṣṭ hu-vāmyaṁ
mā dakṣiṇā bhava kalaṅkini! lāghavāya
rādhe! giraṁ śṛṇu hitām iti śikṣayantīṁ
devīṁ guṇaiḥ sulalitāṁ lalitāṁ namāmi

Śrī Lalitāṣṭakam (4)

[“O Kalaṅkinī (unchaste one)! Rādhike! Vrajendra-nandana is very cunning, so be firm in Your contrariness. Don’t give into gentle submission. Rādhe, listen to these beneficial words.” In this way, she gives instructions. I offer praṇāma unto Lalitā-devī, who is a repository of charming qualities.”]

“O Rādhikā, don’t be straightforward with this crooked person. He is a great cheater. If You are straightforward like Rukmiṇī [the gopīs had heard from Paurṇamāsī-devī that Kṛṣṇa was married to Rukmiṇī in a previous yuga), You will not be able to control Him.”

Śrīmatī Rādhikā replies, “I am angry now, but when I see Kṛṣṇa my anger disappears. What shall I do? I am not able to maintain it.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave Śrī Jagadānanda Paṇḍita the name ‘Kundale Jagāi,’ meaning ‘quarrelsome Jagāi.’ Jagadānanda Paṇḍita writes, “I went to Vṛndāvana, weeping and weeping, because He has now told me, ‘Go and return.’ My nature is to quarrel, so I even quarrelled with Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in Vṛndāvana. When Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī asked me why I came to Vṛndāvana, I said that Śrī Gaura knows that I cannot live without Him, even though I become angry with Him. Still, He told me to leave Jagannātha Purī (Nīlācala). He sees that I am always weeping for Him and remembering, ‘Gaura Gaura’. He is in Nīlācala, and He is relishing my separation mood there.

“It is good that my woes give Him pleasure. Let me suffer eternal tribulations because His happiness brings me great joy. I weep day and night, feeling pangs of separation from my Lord, and my Lord Gaura smiles, looking at my tear-streaked face. I am here because Śacīnandana has made me foolish. He is joking with me. My beloved Lord Gaura knows everything about me, yet He sent me to Vṛndāvana while He stayed far away and watched the fun.

“In this way, I always remember His lotus feet. I am like Śrīmatī Rādhikā here. As She felt unbearable separation from Kṛṣṇa, so, due to being separated from Mahāprabhu, I weep continuously. Mahāprabhu is now laughing and thinking, ‘I told him not to go, but he has gone and is now feeling grievous separation from Me.’ Anyway, let Him be happy, even if I am unhappy.”

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, ‘My flute song is ambrosial, but when I hear the sweet words of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, I forget to play My flute. Her words are sweeter than the song of My flute.’ Mahāprabhu is none other than that same Kṛṣṇa. He is a cheater sannyāsī – simply in the dress of a sannyāsī.

“I brought candana (sandalwood) from Navadvīpa for Him to apply on His head, and He told me to give it to Lord Jagannātha for the burning oil lamp in His temple! I broke the vessel and locked myself in my room for three days, and then Mahāprabhu came to call me out of my sulky anger.”

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written in his Śrī Jaiva-dharma that Śrī Premadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja was often reading Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s Prema-vivarta.

On Book Distribution

One thing — I want to request something from you, as I requested from you yesterday. I went to look at the bookstall on my way to class. Most of the books are gone, but some are still there. So I request that you empty the book table. I don’t want to see any books or pictures (posters of the paintings). If you don’t need the books, buy them and give them to your friends here and there.

* Hṛdaya-daurbalya is of four kinds: (1) tuccha-āsakti (attachment to useless things), (2) kūṭī-nāṭī (deceitful behaviour. The word kūṭī-nāṭī may be broken down into the constituent parts kū, bad or evil, and na or nāṭī, that which is forbidden. In that case, it would mean doing wicked deeds or doing that which is forbidden),  (3) mātsarya (envy) and (4) sva-pratiṣṭhā-lālasā (desire for one’s fame and prestige). (Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu – A Drop of the Nectarean Ocean of Bhakti-rasa, Third Edition)

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)