Mahārāja Pratāparudra made various arrangements for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's trip to Vṛndāvana. When He crossed the river Citrotpalā, Rāmānanda Rāya, Mardarāja and Haricandana went with Him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Gadādhara Paṇḍita to return to Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī, but he did not abide by this order. From Kaṭaka, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again requested Gadādhara Paṇḍita to return to Nīlācala, and He bade farewell to Rāmānanda Rāya from Bhadraka. After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu crossed the border of Orissa state, and He arrived at Pānihāṭi by boat. Thereafter He visited the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita, and from there He went to Kumārahaṭṭa and eventually to Kuliyā, where He excused many offenders. From there He went to Rāmakeli, where He saw Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana and accepted them as His chief disciples. Returning from Rāmakeli, He met Raghunātha dāsa and after giving him instructions sent him back home. Thereafter the Lord returned to Nīlācala and began to make plans to go to Vṛndāvana without a companion.
Cross (CC and Other Books)
Expressions researched:
"cross"
|"crossbeams"
|"crossbreed"
|"crossbreeding"
|"crossed"
|"crosses"
|"crossing"
|"crossings"
|"crosslegged"
|"crossley"
|"crossmaidan"
|"crossover"
|"crossroad"
|"crossroads"
|"crossways"
|"crosswise"
|"crossword"
|"crosswords"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
"We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Him, the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He destroys insults to His devotees. He removes the distresses of His devotees and satisfies their desires. He, the abode of all holy places and the shelter of all sages, is worshipable by Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. He is the boat of the demigods for crossing the ocean of birth and death."
- tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ
- dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
- māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad
- vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam
- (SB 11.5.34)
"We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He left His householder life, leaving aside His eternal consort, whom even the denizens of heaven adore. He went into the forest to deliver the fallen souls, who are put into illusion by material energy."
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." To surpass the influence of the illusory energy is very difficult, but those who are determined to catch hold of the lotus feet of the Lord are freed from the clutches of māyā. Therefore, pure devotees can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but demons, because of their miscreant behavior, cannot understand the Lord, in spite of seeing the many revealed scriptures and the uncommon activities of the Lord.
"The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity (karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa), the chandas, or Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the reality of all Vedānta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience." Similarly, the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad states, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the holy name."
By remembering the lotus feet of the Pañca-tattva, a dumb man can become a poet, a lame man can cross mountains, and a blind man can see the stars in the sky.
In Vaiṣṇava philosophy there are three ways for perfection—namely sādhana-siddha, perfection attained by executing devotional service according to the rules and regulations, nitya-siddha, eternal perfection attained by never forgetting Kṛṣṇa at any time, and kṛpā-siddha, perfection attained by the mercy of the spiritual master or another Vaiṣṇava. Kavirāja Gosvāmī here stresses kṛpā-siddha, perfection by the mercy of superior authorities. This mercy does not depend on the qualifications of a devotee. By such mercy, even if a devotee is dumb he can speak or write to glorify the Lord splendidly, even if lame he can cross mountains, and even if blind he can see the stars in the sky.
Sometimes it is to be seen that a dog can swim in the water for a few yards and then come back to the shore. Here, however, it is stated that if a dog is blessed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he can swim across an ocean. Similarly, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, placing himself in a helpless condition, states that he has no personal power, but by the desire of Lord Caitanya, expressed through the Vaiṣṇavas and the Madana-mohana vigraha, it is possible for him to cross a transcendental ocean to present Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Therefore he concluded that Īśāna was secretly carrying some money and that the hotel keeper was aware of this and therefore planned to kill them for it. Upon being questioned by Sanātana Gosvāmī, Īśāna admitted that he indeed had money with him, and immediately Sanātana Gosvāmī took the money and gave it to the hotel keeper, requesting him to help them get through the jungle. Thus with the help of the hotel keeper, who was also the chief of the thieves of that territory, Sanātana Gosvāmī crossed over the Hazipur mountains, which are presently known as the Hazaribags. He then met his brother-in-law Śrīkānta, who requested that he stay with him. Sanātana Gosvāmī refused, but before they parted Śrīkānta gave him a valuable blanket.
At the end of His twenty-fourth year, at the end of the fortnight of the waxing moon, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left Navadvīpa and crossed the river Ganges at a place known as Nidayāra-ghāṭa. Then He reached Kaṇṭaka-nagara, or Kāṭoyā (Katwa), where He accepted ekadaṇḍa-sannyāsa according to the Śaṅkarite system. Since Keśava Bhāratī belonged to the Śaṅkarite sect, he could not initiate Caitanya Mahāprabhu into the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsa order, whose members carry the tridaṇḍa.
CC Madhya-lila
If one considers the statements of the Caitanya-bhāgavata along with the description by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, it is clear that present-day Navadvīpa was formerly known as Kuliyā-grāma. While at Kuliyā-grāma, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His favor upon Devānanda Paṇḍita and delivered Gopāla Cāpala and many others who had previously committed offenses at His lotus feet. At that time, to go from Vidyānagara to Kuliyā-grāma one had to cross a branch of the Ganges. All of those old places still exist. Cināḍāṅgā was formerly situated in Kuliyā-grāma, which is now known as Kolera Gañja.
“(As a brāhmaṇa from Avantī-deśa said:) "I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by being firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. This was approved by the previous ācāryas, who were fixed in firm devotion to the Lord, Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
This is the first instruction to be assimilated by a devotee. If one is under the bodily conception, he is unable to realize his true identity and engage in the loving devotional service of the Lord. Unless one comes to the transcendental position, he cannot expect the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord, nor can he cross over the vast ocean of material nescience. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Without surrendering unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot expect release from the clutches of māyā, the illusory energy. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32), Māyāvādī sannyāsīs who falsely think of themselves as liberated from the clutches of māyā are called vimukta-māninaḥ. Actually, they are not liberated, but they think that they have become liberated and have become Nārāyaṇa Himself. Although they have apparently realized that they are not the material body but spirit soul, they nonetheless neglect the duty of the spirit soul, which is to render service to the Supreme Soul. Therefore their intelligence remains unsanctified.
After performing His usual chanting and dancing for some time in this forest, the Lord crossed the river and took His bath on the other bank.
"A person who is very seriously engaged in cultivating devotional service with a view to crossing the ocean of nescience and who has completely abandoned all material activities should never see a śūdra, a vaiśya or a woman." (Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka 8.23)
Often in the province of Gāṅga-pradeśa there were fights between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindus were on one bank of the river, and the Muslims on the other. Due to the community tension, no boat was available for crossing the river. The Muslim soldiers were always stopping passengers on the other side, but Madhvācārya did not care for these soldiers. He crossed the river anyway, and when he met the soldiers on the other side, he was brought before the king. The Muslim king was so pleased with him that he wanted to give him a kingdom and some money, but Madhvācārya refused. While walking on the road, he was attacked by some dacoits, but by his bodily strength he killed them all. When his companion Satya Tīrtha was attacked by a tiger, Madhvācārya separated them by virtue of his great strength. When he met Vyāsadeva, he received from him the śālagrāma-śilā known as Aṣṭamūrti. After this, he summarized the Mahābhārata.
Thus admitting his mistake, Brahmānanda Bhāratī thought, “He spoke well. I put on this deerskin only for prestige. I cannot cross over the ocean of nescience simply by wearing a deerskin.
Greatly lamenting, the Lord then informed Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, “‘Alas, for a person who is seriously desiring to cross the material ocean and engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without material motives, seeing a materialist engaged in sense gratification or seeing a woman who is similarly interested is more abominable than drinking poison willingly.
This is a quotation from Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (8.23). Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enunciates the principles for a sannyāsī renouncing the material world for spiritual advancement. Spiritual advancement is not meant for magic shows and jugglery but for crossing the material world and being transferred to the spiritual world. Pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣoḥ means desiring to go to the other side of the material world. There is a river called Vaitaraṇī, and on one side of this river is the material world, and on the other side is the spiritual world. Since the Vaitaraṇī River is compared to a great ocean, it is named bhava-sāgara, the ocean of repeated birth and death. Spiritual life aims at stopping this repetition of birth and death and entering into the spiritual world, where one can live eternally cognizant and blissful.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu usually saw Lord Jagannātha from a distance, standing behind the column of Garuḍa. But because he had not seen Lord Jagannātha for fifteen days, Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt great separation from Him. In great eagerness, Caitanya Mahāprabhu crossed the meeting hall and entered the room where food was offered, just to see the face of Lord Jagannātha. In verse 210, this action is called maryādā-laṅghana, a violation of the regulative principles. This indicates that one should not come very near a superior. Both the Lord's Deity form and the spiritual master should be seen from a distant place. This is called maryādā. Otherwise, as it is said, familiarity breeds contempt. Sometimes coming too near the Deity or the spiritual master degrades the neophyte devotee. Personal servants of the Deity and the spiritual master should therefore always be very careful, for negligence may overcome them in their duty.
The word niṣkiñcanasya refers to a person who has finished his material activities. Such a person can begin to execute his activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to cross over the ocean of nescience. It is very dangerous for such a person to have intimate relationships with mundane people or to become intimately related with women. This formality is to be observed by anyone who is serious about going back home, back to Godhead. To teach His personal associates these principles, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu expressed external anger when touched by the King. Since the Lord was very much satisfied with the humble behavior of the King, He intentionally allowed the King to touch Him, but externally He expressed anger just to warn His personal associates.
When Śrī Kṛṣṇa sees Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and wants to touch Her body, He prohibits Her from going to the spot where one can cross the river Yamunā.
Whenever Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī leaves Her house, She is always well dressed and attractive. It is Her womanly nature to attract Śrī Kṛṣṇa's attention, and upon seeing Her so attractively dressed, Śrī Kṛṣṇa desires to touch Her body. The Lord then finds some fault in Her and prohibits Her from going to a river crossing and stops Her from picking flowers. Such are the pastimes between Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Being a cowherd girl, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī regularly carries milk in a container and often goes to sell the milk on the other side of the Yamunā. To cross the river, She has to pay the boatman, and the spot where the boatman collects his fares is called the dāna-ghāṭi. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa stops Her from going, telling Her, "First You have to pay the fee; then You will be allowed to go." This pastime is called dāna-keli-līlā. Similarly, if Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī wants to pick a flower, Śrī Kṛṣṇa claims to be the garden's proprietor and prohibits Her. This pastime is called kila-kiñcita. Rādhārāṇī’s shyness arises due to Śrī Kṛṣṇa's prohibitions, and ecstatic loving bodily symptoms called kila-kiñcita-bhāva are manifest at this time.
The King also ordered them to maintain a new boat on the banks of the river, and wherever Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took His bath or crossed to the other side of the river, they should establish a memorial column and make that place a great place of pilgrimage. "Indeed," said the King, “I will take my bath there. And let me also die there.
The Lord then got into a new boat and crossed the river. Walking in the full moonlight, He finally reached the town known as Caturdvāra.
The jurisdiction of the Muslim government extended up to Pichaladā. Due to fear of the Muslims, no one would cross the river.
Mahārāja Pratāparudra's government officer further informed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that He should stay at the Orissa border for some days so that a peaceful agreement could be negotiated with the Muslim governor. In that way, the Lord would be able to cross the river peacefully in a boat.
The mahā-pātra crossed the river with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and when they reached the other shore, the Muslim governor personally received the Lord and worshiped His lotus feet.
When Vidyā-vācaspati suddenly arrived, he made arrangements for many boats to receive these people, but the people would not wait for the boats. Somehow or other they crossed the river and hurried toward the house of Vidyā-vācaspati. Due to this great crowd, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu secretly went to Kuliyā-nagara. After the Lord left Vidyānagara, however, all the people heard news of His leaving. They then accompanied Vācaspati to Kuliyā-nagara. Since the news of the Lord's arrival was immediately broadcast, large crowds arrived and greeted Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great jubilation. Indeed, when the crowd went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it increased ten thousand times in number. No one could say how many people crossed the river to see Him, but many hundreds of thousands made a great tumult when crossing the river Ganges. After crossing the river, everyone began to embrace one another because they heard the good news of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's arrival. Thus all the inhabitants of Kuliyā—the sinful, intermediate and spiritually advanced—were delivered and glorified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
"Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through Khānāyoḍā, Baḍagāchi and Dogāchiyā and then crossed the Ganges before arriving in Kuliyā."
As stated in the Caitanya-maṅgala:
- gaṅgā-snāna kari prabhu rāḍha-deśa diyā
krame krame uttarilā nagara "kuliyā"
- māyera vacane punaḥ gelā navadvīpa
vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, nija vāḍīra samīpa
"Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu walked through Rāḍha-deśa and gradually arrived at the Ganges. After bathing in the river, he crossed it and went to Kuliyā. Because He had promised His mother He would return to Navadvīpa, He went to Vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, a village near His house."
Be patient and return home. Don’t be a crazy fellow. By and by you will be able to cross the ocean of material existence.
This material world is just like a big ocean. It begins with Brahmaloka and extends to Pātālaloka, and there are many planets, or islands, in this ocean. Not knowing about devotional service, the living entity wanders about this ocean, just as a man tries to swim to reach the shore. Our struggle for existence is similar to this. Everyone is trying to get out of the ocean of material existence. One cannot immediately reach the coast, but if one endeavors, he can cross the ocean by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy. One may be very eager to cross this ocean, but he cannot attain success by acting like a madman. He must swim over the ocean very patiently and intelligently under the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His representative. Then, one day, he will reach the shore and return home, back to Godhead.
""The Supreme Personality of Godhead has the form of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)—transcendental bliss, knowledge and eternity. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him, who turns the dumb into eloquent speakers and enables the lame to cross mountains. Such is the mercy of the Lord.""
Afterwards, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw Khelā-tīrtha and then went to Bhāṇḍīravana. After crossing the Yamunā River, He went to Bhadravana.
Saying this, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya made Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sit aboard a boat. After they crossed the river, he took the Lord with him.
While crossing the river Yamunā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the glossy black water and was immediately bewildered with ecstatic love.
Sanātana Gosvāmī thereafter satisfied the superintendent of the jail by sweet solicitations and bribery. After giving the jailer seven thousand gold coins, Sanātana Gosvāmī was released. He then crossed the Ganges and fled. One of his servants, Īśāna, followed him, carrying eight gold coins. Sanātana Gosvāmī and his servant then spent the night in a small hotel on the way to Vārāṇasī (Benares). The hotel owner knew that Sanātana Gosvāmī and his servant had eight gold coins, and he decided to kill them and take the money. Making plans in this way, the hotel owner received them as honorable guests. Sanātana Gosvāmī, however, asked his servant how much money he had, and taking seven of the gold coins, Sanātana offered them to the hotel owner. Thus the owner helped them cross the hilly tract and proceed toward Vārāṇasī. On the way, Sanātana Gosvāmī met his brother-in-law, Śrīkānta, at Hājipura, and Śrīkānta helped him after he had heard about all Sanātana's troubles.
When the meat-eater saw the coins, he was attracted to them. He then agreed, and that night he cut Sanātana's shackles and let him cross the Ganges.
After crossing the hills, Sanātana Gosvāmī told his servant, "Īśāna, I think you still have some balance left from the gold coins."
Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “I shall not stay here even for a moment. Please help me cross the Ganges. I shall leave immediately.
With great care, Śrīkānta gave him a woolen blanket and helped him cross the Ganges. Thus Sanātana Gosvāmī departed again.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
The sun moves across the zodiac day and night and crosses the oceans between the seven islands one after the other.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
There are unlimited conditioned souls who are bereft of Lord Kṛṣṇa's service. Not knowing how to cross the ocean of nescience, they are scattered by the waves of time and tide. However, some are fortunate to contact devotees, and by this contact they are delivered from the ocean of nescience, just as a log floating down a river accidentally washes upon the bank.
By good fortune one becomes eligible to cross the ocean of nescience, and when one's term of material existence decreases, one may get an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. By such association, one's attraction to Kṛṣṇa is awakened.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
"Women, fourth-class men, uncivilized hill tribes, hunters and many others born of low families, as well as birds and beasts, can engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—who acts very wonderfully—and follow the path of the devotees and take lessons from them. Although the ocean of nescience is vast, they can still cross over it. What, then, is the difficulty for those who are advanced in Vedic knowledge?"
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.46). Lord Brahmā said this when speaking to his disciple Nārada about the wonderful characteristics of Lord Viṣṇu. Simply by chanting the glories of Lord Viṣṇu, one can cross the ocean of nescience, even though one may be lowborn.
There are thirty-two offenses to the Deity that should be avoided. (1) One should not enter the temple in a vehicle. Shoes and slippers should be removed before entering the temple. (2) One should offer obeisances as soon as he sees the Deity. (3) One should enter the temple after taking a bath. In other words, one should be very clean. (4) One should not offer obeisances to the Lord with one hand. (5) One should not circumambulate demigods before the Deities. (6) One should not spread his legs before the Deity. (7) One should not sit down before the Deity with his legs crossed, nor should one touch his legs with his hands. (8) One should not lie down before the Deity. (9) One should not eat before the Deity. (10) One should not speak lies before the Deity. (11) One should not speak very loudly before the Deity. (12) One should not talk nonsense before the Deity. (13) One should not cry before the Deity.
CC Antya-lila
A summary of the First Chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya as follows. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to Jagannātha Purī from Vṛndāvana, all His devotees from other parts of India, upon receiving the auspicious news, came to Puruṣottama-kṣetra, or Jagannātha Purī. Śivānanda Sena took a dog with him and even paid fees for it to cross the river. One night, however, the dog could not get any food and therefore went directly to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī. The next day, when Śivānanda and his party reached Jagannātha Purī, Śivānanda saw the dog eating some coconut pulp offered to it by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. After this incident, the dog was liberated and went back home, back to Godhead.
I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, by whose mercy even a lame man can cross over a mountain and a dumb man recite Vedic literature.
One day, when they needed to cross a river, an Orissan boatman would not allow the dog to get in the boat.
"O Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are just like an ocean. The river of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has reached You from a long distance—leaving far behind the tree of Her husband, breaking through the bridge of social convention, and forcibly crossing the hills of elder relatives. Coming here because of fresh feelings of love for You, that river has now received Your shelter, but now You are trying to turn Her back by the waves of unfavorable words. How is it that You are spreading this attitude?"
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." This was actually proved by the behavior of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Māyā enchants the entire world. Indeed, people have forgotten the ultimate goal of life because of the dazzling attractions of the material world. But this dazzling attraction, especially the attractive beauty of a woman, is meant for persons who are not surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) "One who is surrendered unto Me cannot be conquered by the illusory energy."
A so-called poet who has no knowledge of transcendental mellows and the overlapping of transcendental mellows cannot cross the ocean of the conclusions of devotional service.
He crossed Chatrabhoga, but instead of going on the general path, he proceeded on the path that went from village to village.
A well-to-do householder Vaiṣṇava cannot live like a person in the renounced order who completely takes shelter of the holy name. Such a householder should chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Then he will be able to cross beyond nescience. Pure devotees in the renounced order, however, who fully surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, should chant the holy name of the Lord with great love and faith, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. They should have no occupation other than chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the Bhakti-sandarbha (283), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says:
yady api śrī-bhāgavata-mate pañca-rātrādi-vad-arcana-mārgasyāvaśyakatvaṁ nāsti, tad vināpi śaraṇāpatty-ādīnām ekatareṇāpi puruṣārtha-siddher abhihitatvāt.
As previously, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed the cleansing ceremony at Guṇḍicā and chanted the famous verse jagamohana-pari-muṇḍā yāu. After kīrtana ended, He distributed prasādam to all the devotees and also took some Himself. Then He lay down at the door of the Gambhīrā to take rest. Somehow or other Govinda, the personal servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, crossed over the Lord's body and massaged His feet. Govinda could not go out that day, however, and therefore he was unable to accept prasādam. From the character of Govinda it is to be learned that we may sometimes commit offenses for the service of the Lord, but not for sense gratification.
Then Govinda spread the Lord's wrapper over His body and in this way entered the room by crossing over the Lord.
There was no way to go. How could he leave? When he thought of crossing over the Lord's body, he considered it a great offense.
Anyone who desires to cross over the ocean of nescience, please hear with great faith the life and characteristics of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
No one can cross over the ocean of Śivānanda Sena's good fortune, for the Lord considered Śivānanda's whole family His own.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives the following summary of the Seventeenth Chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. Absorbed in transcendental ecstasy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went out one night without opening the doors to His room. After crossing over three walls, He fell down among some cows belonging to the district of Tailaṅga. There He remained unconscious, assuming the aspect of a tortoise.
"How wonderful it is! Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left His residence without opening the three strongly bolted doors. Then He crossed over three high walls, and later, because of strong feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa, He fell down amidst the cows of the Tailaṅga district and retracted all the limbs of His body like a tortoise. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who appeared in that way, rises in my heart and maddens me."
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
It is said that all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are eternal, and this is confirmed in every scripture. Generally people cannot understand how Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes, but Lord Caitanya clarified this by comparing the performance of His pastimes to the orbit of the sun. According to Vedic astrological calculations, the twenty-four hours of a day are divided into sixty daṇḍas. The days are again divided into 3,600 palas. The sun disc can be perceived crossing the sky in steps of sixty palas each, and that time constitutes a daṇḍa. Eight daṇḍas make one prahara, and the sun rises and sets within four praharas. Similarly, four praharas constitute one night, and after that the sun rises. And just as the sun can be seen in its movement through 3,600 palas, all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa can be seen in any of the universes.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) it is stated that material nature is so strong that it can be surmounted only by those living entities who surrender unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Only they can cross the ocean of material existence. When a living entity forgets that he is eternally the servitor of Kṛṣṇa, that forgetfulness causes his bondage in conditioned life and his attraction for the material energy. Indeed, that attraction is the shackle of the material energy. Since it is very difficult for a person to become free as long as he desires to lord it over the material nature, it is recommended that he approach a spiritual master who can train him in devotional service. In this way he can get out of the clutches of the material nature and achieve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
He is a transcendental person, and the basic principle of the cosmic manifestation is His energy. Māyāvāda philosophy cannot trace the energy of the Supreme Lord back to its source, but all Vedic literatures give evidence of the Supreme Lord's various energetic manifestations. Viṣṇu is not a product of material nature, but material nature is a product of Viṣṇu's potency. The Māyāvādī philosophers understand Viṣṇu to be a product of material nature, but if Viṣṇu is a product of material nature, He can only be counted among the demigods. One who considers Viṣṇu to be a demigod is certainly mistaken and misled. How this is so is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.13–14): "Deluded by the three modes of material nature, the whole world does not know Me, who am above the material nature and inexhaustible. My material nature is so powerful that it is very difficult to surpass its spell, even for the greatest scholar, but those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
"Whoever takes complete shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord is favored by the Supreme Lord, who is known to be unlimited. Such a person also receives permission to cross the ocean of nescience. However, one who is under the misconception that his material body is himself cannot receive the causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Nectar of Devotion
In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that Gaṇapati worships the lotus feet of Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva and in that way has become auspicious for the devotees in clearing out all impediments. Therefore, all devotees should worship Gaṇapati. The Deities should not be bathed in water which has been touched by the nails or fingers. When a devotee is perspiring, he should not engage himself in worshiping the Deity. Similarly, there are many other prohibitions. For example, one should not cross or step over the flowers offered to the Deities, nor should one take a vow in the name of God. These are all different kinds of offenses in the matter of executing devotional service, and one should be careful to avoid them.
Nectar of Instruction
Another impediment is prajalpa, unnecessary talking. When we mix with a few friends, we immediately begin unnecessary talking, sounding just like croaking toads. If we must talk, we should talk about the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Those outside of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are interested in reading heaps of newspapers, magazines and novels, solving crossword puzzles and doing many other nonsensical things. In this fashion people simply waste their valuable time and energy. In the Western countries old men, retired from active life, play cards, fish, watch television and debate about useless socio-political schemes. All these and other frivolous activities are included in the prajalpa category. Intelligent persons interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should never take part in such activities.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
According to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra was just like a vast ocean full of dangerous animals. His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa and many others who were not ordinary fighters. Such warriors have been compared to the timiṅgila fish in the ocean. The timiṅgila fish can very easily swallow up big whales. The great fighters on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra could swallow many, many Arjunas very easily, but simply due to Kṛṣṇa's mercy, Arjuna was able to kill all of them. Just as one can cross with no exertion over the little bit of water contained in the hoofprint of a calf, so Arjuna, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, was able to very easily jump over the ocean of the Battle of Kurukṣetra.
Simply by meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages cross over this vast ocean of material existence without difficulty.
"O self-illuminated one, the great saintly persons who have crossed over the ocean of nescience by the help of the transcendental boat of Your lotus feet have not taken away that boat. It is still lying on this side." If one takes a boat to cross over a river, the boat also goes with one to the other side of the river. And so when one reaches the destination, how can the same boat be available to those who are still on this side? To answer this difficulty, the demigods say in their prayer that the boat of the Lord's lotus feet is not taken away. The devotees still remaining on this side are able to pass over the ocean of material nature because the pure devotees do not take the boat with them when they cross over. When one simply approaches the boat, the whole ocean of material nescience is reduced to the size of the water in a calf's hoofprint. Therefore, the devotees do not need to take the boat to the other side: they simply cross the ocean immediately. Because the great saintly persons are compassionate toward all conditioned souls, the boat is still lying on this side. In other words, one can meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord at any time, and by so doing one can cross over the great ocean of material existence.
Meditation means concentration upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Lotus feet indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are impersonalists do not recognize the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore their object of meditation is something impersonal. The demigods express their mature verdict that persons who are interested in meditating on something void or impersonal cannot cross over the ocean of nescience. Such persons are simply imagining that they have become liberated. "O lotus-eyed Lord! Their intelligence is contaminated because they fail to meditate upon the lotus feet of Your Lordship. As a result of this neglectful activity, the impersonalists fall down again into the material way of conditioned life, although they may temporarily rise to the point of impersonal realization." Impersonalists undergo severe austerities and penances to merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence, or impersonal Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have become liberated. Thus they fall down.
Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamunā and saw that the water of the Yamunā was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rāma when He was bridging over the gulf. In this way Vasudeva crossed the river Yamunā. On the other side, he went to the place of Nanda Mahārāja, situated in Gokula, where he saw that all the cowherd men were fast asleep. He took the opportunity to silently enter the house of Yaśodā, and without difficulty he exchanged his son for the baby girl newly born there. Then, after entering the house very silently and exchanging the boy for the girl, he returned to the prison of Kaṁsa and silently put the girl on the lap of Devakī. He again clamped the shackles on himself so that Kaṁsa could not recognize that so many things had happened.
When the best of the Vasus, named Droṇa, and his wife Dharā were ordered to increase progeny by Lord Brahmā, they said unto him, "Dear Father, we are seeking your benediction. When we take birth again within the universe, may the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in His most attractive feature of childhood absorb our whole attention. May our dealings with Him be so powerful that simply by hearing of these childhood activities of His, anyone will very easily cross over the nescience of birth and death." Lord Brahmā agreed to give them the benediction, and as a result the same Droṇa appeared as Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, and the same Dharā appeared as Mother Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda Mahārāja.
As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, simply by understanding Your constitutional position, appearance and disappearance, one can be immediately elevated to the spiritual kingdom after quitting this present body. Therefore to cross over the ocean of material nescience, an intelligent person takes shelter of Your lotus feet and is easily transferred to the spiritual world.
“There are many so-called meditators who do not know that You are the Supreme Soul. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, You are the Supreme Soul present in everyone's heart. Therefore there is no necessity of one's meditating on something beyond You. One who is always absorbed in meditation on Your original form of Kṛṣṇa easily crosses over the ocean of material nescience. But persons who do not know that You are the Supreme Soul remain within this material world in spite of their so-called meditation. If, by the association of Your devotees, a person comes to the knowledge that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Supersoul, then it is possible for him to cross over the ocean of material ignorance.
For the fortunate person who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa as everything, liberation is already there. He is no longer in the material world. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: Whoever is engaged in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa is already on the brahma-bhūta, (SB 4.30.20) or spiritual, platform. The very name Kṛṣṇa suggests piety and liberation. Anyone who takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa enters the boat for crossing over the ocean of nescience. For him, this vast expanse of the material manifestation becomes as insignificant as the water in a calf's hoofprint. Kṛṣṇa is the shelter of all great souls, and He is also the shelter of the material worlds. For one who is on the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Vaikuṇṭha, or the spiritual world, is not far away. He does not live within the material world, where there is danger at every step.
Indra cursed the action of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and said, "By defying the authority of the demigods, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana will suffer in material existence. Having neglected the sacrifice to the demigods, they cannot cross over the impediments of the ocean of material existence." Indra further declared, "These cowherd men in Vṛndāvana have neglected my authority on the advice of this talkative boy who is known as Kṛṣṇa. He is nothing but a child, and by believing this child, they have enraged me." Thus he ordered the Sāṁvartaka cloud to go and destroy the prosperity of Vṛndāvana. "The men of Vṛndāvana," said Indra, "have become too puffed up over their material opulence and are overconfident due to the presence of their tiny friend, Kṛṣṇa. He is simply talkative, childish and unaware of the complete cosmic situation, although He is thinking Himself very advanced in knowledge. Because they have taken Kṛṣṇa so seriously, they must be punished. They should be destroyed with their cows." In this way Indra ordered the Sāṁvartaka cloud to go to Vṛndāvana and inundate the place.
After Akrūra's departure, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and the cowherd boys entered Mathurā to see the city. They observed that the gate of Mathurā was made of first-class marble, very well constructed, and that the doors were made of pure gold. There were gorgeous orchards and gardens all around, and the whole city was encircled by canals so that no enemy could enter very easily. They saw that all the crossroads were decorated with gold and that there were copper and brass storehouses for stocking grain. And there were many rich men's houses, all appearing symmetrical, as if constructed by one engineer. The houses were decorated with costly jewels, and each and every house had nice compounds of trees bearing fruits and flowers. The corridors and verandas of the houses were decorated with silk cloth and embroidery work in jewels and pearls. In front of the balcony windows were pigeons and peacocks walking and cooing.
Then They learned how to make and solve riddles. They learned the art of how even a dull student can very quickly learn the alphabet and read books. Then They learned how to rehearse and act out a drama. They also studied the art of solving crossword puzzles, filling up the missing spaces and making complete words.
They also learned how to draw and read pictographic literature. In some countries in the world, pictographic literature is still current. A story is represented by pictures; for instance, a man and house are pictured to represent a man going home. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma also learned the art of architecture—how to construct residential buildings. They learned to recognize valuable jewels by studying their luster and colors. Then They learned the art of placing jewels in a gold and silver setting so that they look very beautiful. They also learned how to study soil to find minerals. This study of soil is now a greatly specialized science, but formerly it was common knowledge even for the ordinary man. They learned to study herbs and plants to discover how they would act as medicine for different ailments. By studying the different species of plants, They learned how to crossbreed plants and trees and get different types of fruits. They learned how to train and engage rams and cocks in fighting for sport. They then learned how to teach parrots to speak and to answer the questions of human beings.
In a book called Khanara-vacana, the various types of signs and omens are described. If when one is going out one sees someone with a bucket full of water, that is a very good sign. But if one sees someone with an empty bucket, it is not a good sign. Similarly, if one sees a cow being milked alongside its calf, it is a good sign. The result of understanding these signs is that one can foretell events, and Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma learned the science. They also learned the art of composing mātṛkā. A mātṛkā is like a crossword box, with three numbers in each row. If one adds any three from any side, it will come to nine. The mātṛkās are of different kinds and for different purposes.
While Kṛṣṇa was entering, the whole city was cleansed, all the different streets and roads were sprinkled with water, and the inhabitants, being joyous, decorated their respective houses and shops with flags and festoons. The brāhmaṇas chanted Vedic mantras at numerous places. The people constructed road crossings and gates at entrances to lanes and streets. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was entering the nicely decorated city of Mathurā in a festive attitude, the ladies and girls of Mathurā prepared different kinds of flower garlands to make the ceremony most auspicious. In accordance with the Vedic custom, they took yogurt mixed with fresh green grass and strewed it here and there to make the victory jubilation even more auspicious.
Since India is situated in the tropical zone, the atmosphere is always dry. Dust always accumulates on the streets and roads, so they must be sprinkled with water at least once a day, and in big cities like Calcutta twice a day. The roads of Kuṇḍina were arrayed with colored flags and festoons, and gates were constructed at particular crossings. The whole city was decorated very nicely. The beauty of the city was enhanced by the inhabitants, both men and women, who were dressed in fresh, washed clothes and decorated with sandalwood pulp, pearl necklaces and flower garlands. Incense burned everywhere, and fragrances like aguru scented the air. Priests and brāhmaṇas were sumptuously fed and, according to ritualistic ceremony, were given sufficient wealth and cows in charity. In this way, they were engaged in chanting Vedic hymns. The King's daughter, Rukmiṇī, was exquisitely beautiful.
My Lord Rāmacandra wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I saw personally how the ocean became agitated simply by my Lord's glancing over it. And when the whole ocean became agitated, the living entities like whales, alligators and timiṅgila fish all became perturbed. (The timiṅgila fish in the ocean can swallow big aquatics like whales in one gulp.) In this way the ocean was forced to give way and allow Rāmacandra to cross to the island known as Laṅkā. (This island is now said to be Ceylon. Lord Rāmacandra's construction of a bridge over the ocean from Cape Comorin to Ceylon is still well known to everyone.) After the construction of the bridge, a fire was set all over the kingdom of Rāvaṇa. During the fighting with Rāvaṇa, every part of his limbs was slashed to pieces by Your sharp arrows, and his heads fell to the face of the earth. Now I can understand that You are none other than my Lord Rāmacandra. No one else has such immeasurable strength; no one else could defeat me in this way.”
Thus, keeping forward a division of one akṣauhiṇī of soldiers, Kṛṣṇa proceeded toward Dvārakā. In the meantime, all the people of Dvārakā, having received the news that Lord Kṛṣṇa was returning with Aniruddha and Ūṣā in great opulence, decorated every corner of the city with flags, festoons and garlands. All the big roads and crossings were carefully cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood pulp mixed with water. Everywhere was the fragrance of sandalwood. All the citizens joined with their friends and relatives to welcome Lord Kṛṣṇa with great pomp and jubilation, and a tumultuous vibration of conchshells, drums and bugles received the Lord. In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, entered His capital, Dvārakā.
Following just behind the fiery demon, the Sudarśana cakra also entered Vārāṇasī. This city had been very opulent and great for a very long time. Even now, the city of Vārāṇasī is opulent and famous, and it is one of the important cities of India. There were then many big palaces, assembly houses, marketplaces and gates, with large and very important monuments by the palaces and gates. Lecturing platforms could be found at each and every crossroads. There were buildings that housed the treasury, elephants, horses, chariots and grain, and places for distribution of food. The city of Vārāṇasī had been filled with all these material opulences for a very long time, but because the King of Kāśī and his son Sudakṣiṇa were against Lord Kṛṣṇa, the viṣṇu-cakra Sudarśana (the disc weapon of Lord Kṛṣṇa) devastated the whole city by burning all these important places. This excursion was more ravaging than modern bombing. The Sudarśana cakra, having thus finished his duty, came back to his Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, at Dvārakā.
In the city there were as many as 900,000 great palaces built of first-class marble, with gates and doors made of silver. The pillars of the houses and palaces were bedecked with jewels such as touchstone, sapphire and emerald, and the floors gave off a beautiful luster. The highways, lanes, streets, crossings and marketplaces were all beautifully decorated. The whole city was full of residential homes, assembly houses and temples, all of different architectural beauty. All of this made Dvārakā a glowing city. The big avenues, crossings, lanes and streets, and also the thresholds of every residential house, were very clean. On both sides of every path there were bushes, and at regular intervals there were large trees that shaded the avenues so that the sunshine would not bother the passersby.
In this way the procession of Lord Kṛṣṇa's party advanced toward Hastināpura (New Delhi) and gradually passed through the kingdoms of Ānarta (Gujarat Province), Sauvīra (Surat), the great desert of Rājasthān, and then Kurukṣetra. Between those kingdoms were many mountains, rivers, towns, villages, pasturing grounds and mining fields. The procession passed through all these places in its advance. On His way to Hastināpura, the Lord crossed two big rivers, the Dṛṣadvatī and the Sarasvatī. Then He crossed the provinces of Pañcāla and Matsya. In this way, He ultimately arrived at Hastināpura, or Indraprastha.
The roads, streets and lanes of Hastināpura were all sprinkled with fragrant water through the trunks of intoxicated elephants. In different places of the city there were colorful festoons and flags decorating the houses and streets. At important crossroads there were gates with golden decorations, and at the two sides of the gates there were golden water jugs. These beautiful decorations glorified the opulence of the city. Participating in this great ceremony, all the citizens gathered here and there, dressed in colorful new clothing and decorated with ornaments, flower garlands and fragrant scents. The houses were all illuminated by hundreds and thousands of lamps placed in different corners of the cornices, walls, columns, bases and architraves, and from far away the rays of the lamps appeared to be celebrating the festival of Dīpāvalī (a particular festival observed on the New Year's Day of the Hindu calendar).
Everyone takes birth in this material world in continuation of his previous life, and thus he is subject to the stringent laws of nature, such as birth and death, distress and happiness, profit and loss. One should not be disturbed by duality but should always be fixed in My devotional service and thus remain balanced in mind and satisfied in all circumstances, considering all things to be given by Me. Thus one can live a very happy and peaceful life, even within this material condition. In other words, one should actually be callous to the material body and its by-products and should be unaffected by them. One should remain fully satisfied in the interests of the spirit soul and engage in the service of the Supersoul. One should engage his mind only in thinking of Me, one should simply become My devotee, one should simply Worship Me, and one should offer his respectful obeisances unto Me alone. In this way, one can cross over this ocean of nescience very easily and at the end come back to Me. In conclusion, your lives should constantly be engaged in My service.”
In the material world, everyone has a particular type of desire to be fulfilled, but one is never able to fulfill his desires to his full satisfaction. But King Yudhiṣṭhira, because of his unflinching devotion to Kṛṣṇa, could fulfill all his desires successfully by the performance of the Rājasūya sacrifice. From the description of the Rājasūya-yajña, such a function appears to be a great ocean of opulent desires. Such an ocean is not possible for an ordinary man to cross; nevertheless, by the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, King Yudhiṣṭhira was able to cross it very easily, and thus he became freed from all anxieties.
He was always in an envious and angry mood, and therefore on a slight provocation he spoke sharply with the doorkeepers and became angry. By the craftsmanship of the demon Maya, the palace was so decorated in different places that one who did not know the tricks would consider water to be land and land to be water. Duryodhana was illusioned by this craftsmanship, and when crossing water, thinking it to be land, he fell in. When Duryodhana, out of his foolishness, had thus fallen, the queens enjoyed the incident by laughing. King Yudhiṣṭhira could understand the feelings of Duryodhana, and he tried to restrain the queens, but Lord Kṛṣṇa indicated that King Yudhiṣṭhira should not restrain them from enjoying the incident. Kṛṣṇa desired that Duryodhana be fooled in that way and that all of them enjoy his foolish behavior.
“If a man is sufficiently educated in student life under the guidance of a proper teacher, his life becomes successful in the future. He can very easily cross over the ocean of nescience, and he is not subject to the influence of the illusory energy. My dear friend, everyone should consider his father to be his first teacher because by the mercy of one's father one gets this body. The father is therefore the natural spiritual master. Our next spiritual master is he who initiates us into transcendental knowledge, and he is to be worshiped as much as I am. The spiritual master may be more than one. The spiritual master who instructs the disciple about spiritual matters is called the śikṣā-guru, and the spiritual master who initiates the disciple is called the dīkṣā-guru. Both of them are My representatives. There may be many spiritual masters who instruct, but the initiator spiritual master is one. A human being who takes advantage of these spiritual masters and, receiving proper knowledge from them, crosses the ocean of material existence is to be understood as having properly utilized his human form of life. He has practical knowledge that the ultimate interest of life, which is to be gained only in this human form, is to achieve spiritual perfection and thus be transferred back home, back to Godhead.
The Bhagavad-gītā affirms, therefore, that a devotee is never vanquished. A devotee's path to the spiritual kingdom, back home, back to Godhead, is guaranteed. Even though a devotee slips in one birth, the continuation of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness elevates him further and further, until he goes back to Godhead. Not only does a pure devotee purify his own personal existence, but whoever becomes his disciple also becomes purified and is ultimately able to enter the kingdom of God without difficulty. In other words, not only can a pure devotee easily surpass death, but by his grace his followers can also do so without difficulty. The power of devotional service is so great that a pure devotee can electrify another person by his transcendental instruction on crossing over the ocean of nescience.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a nice verse in this regard: "Let others engage in severe austerities, let others fall to the land from the tops of hills and give up their lives, let others travel to many holy places of pilgrimage for salvation, or let them engage in deep study of philosophy and Vedic literature. Let the mystic yogīs engage in their meditational service, and let the different sects engage in unnecessary arguing as to which is the best. But it is a fact that unless one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, unless one is engaged in devotional service, and unless one has the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot cross over this material ocean." An intelligent person, therefore, gives up all stereotyped ideas and joins the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for factual liberation.
The personified Vedas continued: "Dear Lord, although great mystic yogīs may have full control over the elephant of the mind and the hurricane of the senses, unless they take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master they fall victim to the material influence and are never successful in their attempts at self-realization. Such unguided persons are compared to merchants going to sea on a ship without a captain." By one's personal attempts, therefore, one cannot get free from the clutches of material nature. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and work according to his direction. Then it is possible to cross over the nescience of material conditions. Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a nice verse in this connection, in which he says, "O all-merciful spiritual master, representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when my mind will be completely surrendered unto your lotus feet, at that time, only by your mercy, I shall be able to get relief from all obstacles to spiritual life, and I shall be situated in blissful life."
Seated on His chariot with Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa proceeded north, crossing over many planetary systems. These are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as sapta-dvīpa. Dvīpa means "island." These planets are sometimes described in the Vedic literature as dvīpas. The planet on which we are living is called Jambūdvīpa. Outer space is taken as a great ocean of air, and within that great ocean of air there are many islands, which are the different planets. On each and every planet there are oceans also. On some of the planets the oceans are of salt water, and on some of them there are oceans of milk. On others there are oceans of liquor, and on others there are oceans of ghee or oil. There are different kinds of mountains also. Each and every planet has a different type of atmosphere.
In our experience we can see many human beings who have yogic mystic power and who sometimes perform very wonderful acts, but Kṛṣṇa is understood to be the master of all mystic power. Therefore, when He saw that His horses were hesitant to proceed into the darkness, He immediately released His disc, known as the Sudarśana cakra, which illuminated the sky a thousand times brighter than sunlight. The darkness of the covering of the universe is also a creation of Kṛṣṇa's, and the Sudarśana cakra is Kṛṣṇa's constant companion. Thus He penetrated the darkness by keeping the Sudarśana cakra before Him. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that the Sudarśana cakra penetrated the darkness just as an arrow released from the Śārṅga bow of Lord Rāmacandra penetrated the army of Rāvaṇa. Su means "very nice," and darśana means "observation"; by the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa's disc, Sudarśana, everything can be seen very nicely, and nothing can remain in darkness. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna crossed over the great region of darkness covering the material universes.
The description of the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa is so attractive that it automatically gives us an impetus to study repeatedly, and the more we study the pastimes of the Lord, the more we become attached to Him. This very attachment to Kṛṣṇa makes one eligible to be transferred to His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana. As we have learned from the previous chapter, to cross over the material world is to cross over the stringent laws of material nature. The stringent laws of material nature cannot check the progress of one who is attracted by the spiritual nature. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself: "Although the stringent laws of material nature are very difficult to overcome, one who surrenders unto the Lord can very easily cross over nescience." There is no influence of material nature in the spiritual world. As we have learned from the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the ruling power of the demigods and the influence of material nature are conspicuous by their absence in the spiritual world.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Despite repeatedly tasting defeat at the hands of the divine energy, the evil forces cannot understand why "mankind cannot have any rest." Yet in the Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Personality of Godhead clearly explains this. At first He sternly warns the evil forces with these words, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome" (BG 7.14); and then in the next line He tells them how to overcome this divine energy, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: "But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Deluded by the three modes (goodness, passion, and ignorance), the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible. This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
All these facilities are products of the Lord's external, material energy. Since māyā is under the Supreme Lord's control, all the above-mentioned qualities also emanate from Kṛṣṇa Himself. But Lord Kṛṣṇa is beyond the periphery of our sensual experience, and therefore simply cultivating the nobler qualities—those in the mode of goodness—is not sufficient spiritual practice to elevate us to the Lord's lotus feet. The only way to overcome māyā is to take complete shelter at the Lord's lotus feet. Kṛṣṇa states in the Gītā (7.14) that those who surrender to Him can easily cross beyond māyā. Once māyā is surmounted, one's endeavor is crowned with the realization that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Instead of becoming an impersonalist and inviting misfortune and misery, the devotee surrenders to Lord Kṛṣṇa and never suffers in this world. When he leaves his present body, he transcends the material platform and becomes eligible to participate in the Lord's eternal pastimes. As the Supersoul, Lord Kṛṣṇa enlightens the devotee from within the heart and disperses the gloom of ignorance. The Lord gives the devotee the spiritual intelligence to attain Him. The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross, but when the devotee attempts to cross it, the Lord Himself intervenes to help. Alone the devotee would surely drown, but with the Lord's help he easily crosses over. Thus taking shelter of the Lord is the surest way to surmount the ocean of material existence.
The Māyāvādīs are never successful in their efforts to attain liberation on their own merit. The only way to conquer illusion and achieve liberation is to surrender to the Supreme Lord, who is complete with six absolute opulences. As Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly states in the Gītā (7.14), mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etān taranti te: "Those who surrender unto Me can easily cross beyond it (the modes of material nature)."
The necessities for ocean travel are a ship, a navigator, a rudder, and a favorable wind. One must clearly understand that this human body is the most suitable ship to take us across the ocean of nescience, the spiritual master is the best navigator, the scriptures are the rudder, and the Lord's mercy is the perfect wind. If we do not take advantage of this excellent arrangement and cross over the material ocean of nescience, then we are our own worst enemy. We must always fix our attention on the favorable wind of the Lord's mercy, which incarnates as the spiritual master. Therefore one must approach a spiritual master, take shelter of his lotus feet, and learn from him the science of devotional service. This is what the Upaniṣads enjoin—tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).
Message of Godhead
A Hitler, a Mussolini, or any other leader of that materialistic persuasion may offer his followers the mental concoction of doing good together in violent or nonviolent programs, and by such acts of so-called benevolence the leader may get recognition from his followers for some time. But the followers for whom this kind of leader has endeavored to do good will never get any lasting benefit out of such temporarily beneficial work. A void will be felt with the progress of all such benevolent activities. In fact, the followers will be put into more and more distressed conditions by following the path chalked out by this kind of so-called leader. If a blind man pretends to help another blind man cross a road, then both the blind leader and the blind follower shall fall into the further darkness of some unseen ditch. Everyone who is devoid of transcendental knowledge is just like a blind man; such a blind man must first eradicate his blindness before he can attempt to lead others to light.
Light of the Bhagavata
Lord Jesus Christ, Ṭhākura Haridāsa, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, and many such sages risked their life to propagate the message of Godhead. Self-realized saints and sages take such risks for the spiritual enlightenment of the people in general. They do not take vows of silence meant to win cheap glory from the ignorant mass of people. God is satisfied only when His devotees take all sorts of risks to propagate His glories. Such devotees are unafraid of the difficult journey to cross the ocean of nescience. They are always anxious for the welfare of the fallen souls, who are attached to the false enjoyment of materialistic life, in which they forget their eternal relation with God.
The moon is too cold for the inhabitants of this earth, and therefore ordinary persons who want to go there with earthly bodies are attempting to do so in vain. Merely seeing the moon from a distance cannot enable one to understand the real situation of the moon. One has to cross Mānasa Lake and then Sumeru Mountain, and only then can one trace out the orbit of the moon. Besides that, no ordinary man is allowed to enter that planet. Even those admitted there after death must have performed the prescribed duties to satisfy the pitās and devas. Yet even they are sent back to earth after a fixed duration of life—on the moon.
Sri Isopanisad
Intelligent human beings must always remember that the soul obtains a human form after an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of transmigration. The material world is sometimes compared to an ocean, and the human body is compared to a solid boat designed especially to cross this ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the ācāryas, or saintly teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination. If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize his life for self-realization, he must be considered ātma-hā, a killer of the soul. Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns in clear terms that the killer of the soul is destined to enter into the darkest region of ignorance to suffer perpetually.
Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)
Sometimes, even at the risk of having to cross many stumbling blocks, a devotee relinquishes all family connections and homely comforts for the Lord's service. Can the Lord forget all these sacrifices of His bona fide devotee? No, not even for a moment, for the relationship between the Lord and His devotee is reciprocal, as He clearly says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.29): "Whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend—is in Me—and I am also a friend to him."
The Lord refused to accept this proposal and instructed Raghunātha dāsa that it is useless to leave worldly connections out of sentimentality or artificial renunciation. One must have the real thing at heart. If one finds himself entangled in worldly connections, one should behave outwardly like a worldly man but remain inwardly faithful for spiritual realization. That will help one on the progressive march of life. Nobody can cross over the big ocean in a sudden jump. What was possible for Hanumān by the grace of Lord Rāma is not possible for an ordinary man. So to cross the ocean of illusion one should patiently cultivate devotion to the Lord, and in this way one can gradually reach the other side.
Although a pure devotee does not bother himself about what is going to happen next in his material situation, he is always alert not to forget his ultimate aim. King Kulaśekhara therefore prays that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord at any time.
| Page Title: | Cross (CC and Other Books) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur |
| Created: | 01 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=63, OB=47, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 110 |