Gopāla was worshiped, and the Annakūṭa festival was observed. This festival was known everywhere, and many people from the neighboring villages came to join. One night the Gopāla Deity again appeared to Mādhavendra Purī in a dream and asked him to go to Jagannātha Purī to collect some sandalwood pulp and smear it on the body of the Deity. Having received this order, Mādhavendra Purī immediately started for Orissa. Traveling through Bengal, he reached Remuṇā village and there received a pot of condensed milk (kṣīra) offered to the Deity of Gopīnāthajī. This pot of condensed milk was stolen by Gopīnātha and delivered to Mādhavendra Purī. Since then, the Gopīnātha Deity has been known as Kṣīra-corā-gopīnātha, the Deity who stole the pot of condensed milk. After reaching Jagannātha Purī, Mādhavendra Purī received permission from the King to take out one maund of sandalwood and twenty tolas of camphor. Aided by two men, he brought these things to Remuṇā.
Collect (CC)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By the potency of the shelter of His lotus feet, even a fool can collect the valuable jewels of conclusive truth from the mines of the revealed scriptures.
There are four orders of spiritual life, namely, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa, and in each of these āśramas there are four divisions. The divisions of the brahmacarya-āśrama are sāvitrya, prājāpatya, brāhma and bṛhat, and the divisions of the gṛhasthāśrama are vārtā (professionals), sañcaya (accumulators), śālīna (those who do not ask anything from anyone) and śiloñchana (those who collect grains from the paddy fields). Similarly, the divisions of the vānaprastha-āśrama are vaikhānasa, vālakhilya, auḍumbara and pheṇapa, and the divisions of sannyāsa are kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, haṁsa and niṣkriya. There are two kinds of sannyāsīs, who are called dhīras and narottamas, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.13.26–27). At the end of the month of January in the year 1432 śakābda (A.D. 1510), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the sannyāsa order from Keśava Bhāratī, who belonged to the Śaṅkara-sampradāya.
“Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa had covered all My spiritual knowledge.
This is explained in Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa, Chapter Eleven.
To teach others by example how to be a faithful disciple of one's spiritual master, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, visited the birthplace of Īśvara Purī at Kumāra-haṭṭa and collected some earth from his birth site. This He kept very carefully, and He used to eat a small portion of it daily. This is stated in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa, Chapter Seventeen. It has now become customary for devotees, following the example of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to go there and collect some earth from that place.
Now, however, India is known as a poverty-stricken country, and whenever anyone from America or another opulent country goes to India, he sees many people lying by the footpaths for whom there are not even provisions for two meals a day. There are also institutions collecting money from all parts of the world in the name of welfare activities for poverty-stricken people, but they are spending it for their own sense gratification. Now, on the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started, and people are benefiting from this movement. Therefore it is now the duty of the leading men of India to consider the importance of this movement and train many Indians to go outside of India to preach this cult. People will accept it, there will be cooperation among the Indian people and among the other people of the world, and the mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will then be fulfilled.
Anyone who knows the art can do it and thus render the highest benefit to humanity. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu takes the part of a gardener because although a gardener is naturally not a very rich man, he has some fruits and flowers. Any man can collect some fruits and flowers and satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, as the Lord recommends in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
One cannot satisfy the Supreme Lord by his riches, wealth or opulent position, but anyone can collect a little fruit or a flower and offer it to the Lord. The Lord says that if one brings such an offering in devotion, He will accept it and eat it.
It is the desire of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that the benevolent activities of the saṅkīrtana movement, which was inaugurated five hundred years ago in Navadvīpa, be spread all over the world for the benefit of all human beings. Unfortunately, there are many so-called followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu who are satisfied simply to construct a temple, make a show of the Deities, collect some funds and utilize them for eating and sleeping. There is no question of their preaching the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. But even though they are unable to do so, if anyone else does it they become envious. This is the condition of the modern followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Age of Kali is so strong that it affects even the so-called followers of Lord Caitanya.
Rāghava Paṇḍita's sister Damayantī was the dear maidservant of the Lord. She always collected various ingredients with which to cook for Lord Caitanya.
It is stated that Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, an inhabitant of Navadvīpa, was Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's first companion in the saṅkīrtana movement. When Lord Caitanya returned from Gayā after initiation, He stayed with Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī because He wanted to hear from this devotee about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī collected alms of rice from the inhabitants of Navadvīpa, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took pleasure in eating the rice that he cooked. It is said that Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī was one of the wives of the yajñic brāhmaṇas during the time of Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vṛndāvana. Lord Kṛṣṇa begged food from the wives of the yajñic brāhmaṇas, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed a similar pastime by begging rice from Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī.
One should simply accept whatever he earns by his own profession. The engagements of a brāhmaṇa are yajana, yājana, paṭhana, pāṭhana, dāna and pratigraha. A brāhmaṇa should be a worshiper of Viṣṇu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A kṣatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaiśya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty. Since Murāri Gupta was born in a physician's family (vaidya-vaṁśa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivī-varṇāśrama. Murāri Gupta was an ideal gṛhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra and Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Śrīdhara was a poor brāhmaṇa who made a living by selling banana-tree bark to be made into cups. Most probably he had a banana-tree garden and collected the leaves, skin and pulp of the banana trees to sell daily in the market. He spent fifty percent of his income to worship the Ganges, and the balance he used for his subsistence. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started His civil disobedience movement in defiance of the Kazi, Śrīdhara danced in jubilation. The Lord used to drink water from his water jug. Śrīdhara presented a squash to Śacīdevī to cook before Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa. Every year he went to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī. According to Kavi-karṇapūra, Śrīdhara was a cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana whose name was Kusumāsava. In his Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (133) it is stated:
He personally defrayed all the expenditures for the marriage ceremony. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was attacked by vāyu-vyādhi (derangement of the air within the body) Buddhimanta Khān paid for all requisite medicines and treatments to cure the Lord. He was the Lord's constant companion in the kīrtana movement. He collected ornaments for the Lord when He played the part of the goddess of fortune in the house of Candraśekhara Ācārya. He also went to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu when He was staying at Jagannātha Purī.
When Jīva Gosvāmī was still present, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī compiled his famous Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Later, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī inspired Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and Duḥkhī Kṛṣṇadāsa to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Bengal. Jīva Gosvāmī was informed that all the manuscripts that had been collected from Vṛndāvana and sent to Bengal for preaching purposes were plundered near Viṣṇupura, in Bengal, but later he received the information that the books had been recovered. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī awarded the designation Kavirāja to Rāmacandra Sena, a disciple of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya's, and to Rāmacandra's younger brother Govinda. While Jīva Gosvāmī was alive, Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-devī, the pleasure potency of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, went to Vṛndāvana with a few devotees. Jīva Gosvāmī was very kind to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, the Vaiṣṇavas from Bengal.
After offering my obeisances unto all the devotees of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, who are like bumblebees collecting honey from His lotus feet, I shall try to describe those who are the most prominent.
Many svāmīs have adopted this hypocritical means of preaching for the last eighty years or more, but no one could preach the real cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. They merely came back to India falsely advertising that they had converted all the foreigners to the ideas of Vedānta or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then they collected funds in India and lived satisfied lives of material comfort. As one fans paddy to separate the real paddy from useless straw, by accepting the criterion recommended by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī one can very easily understand who is a genuine world-preacher and who is useless.
Whatever riches Jagannātha Miśra collected in the form of gifts and presentations, and whatever he had in his house, he distributed among the brāhmaṇas, professional singers, dancers, bhāṭas and the poor. He honored them all by giving them riches in charity.
"The advent of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is just like an expanding ocean of nectar. One who does not collect the valuable jewels within this ocean is certainly the poorest of the poor."
Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.19, 20, 23) states:
- śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
- na yat-karṇa-pathopeto jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
- bile batorukrama-vikramān ye
- na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya
- jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta
- na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ
- jīvañ chavo bhāgavatāṅghri-reṇuṁ
- na jātu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
- śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ
- śvasañ chavo yas tu na veda gandham
“A person who has no connection with Kṛṣṇa consciousness may be a very great personality in so-called human society, but actually he is no better than a great animal. Such big animals are generally praised by other animals like dogs, hogs camels and asses.
Tapana Miśra is a vivid example of such a person. He was a learned scholar, but he could not ascertain what the goal of life is. Therefore he was given a chance to hear Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructing Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya's instruction to Tapana Miśra is especially significant for persons who loiter here and there collecting books and reading none of them, thus becoming bewildered regarding the aim of life.
CC Madhya-lila
Both Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī brought various scriptures to Vṛndāvana and collected the essence of these by compiling many scriptures on devotional service. In this way they delivered all rascals and fallen souls.
Whatever he immediately put down in writing was finished in the year 1476 Śaka (A.D. 1554). Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī completed the Laghu-toṣaṇī in the year Śakābda 1504 (A.D. 1582).
The subject matter of the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, was collected by Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī and is known as a vaiṣṇava-smṛti. This vaiṣṇava-smṛti-grantha was finished in twenty chapters, known as vilāsas. In the first vilāsa there is a description of how a relationship is established between the spiritual master and the disciple, and mantras are explained. In the second vilāsa, the process of initiation is described. In the third vilāsa, the methods of Vaiṣṇava behavior are given, with emphasis on cleanliness, constant remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the chanting of the mantras given by the initiating spiritual master.
In the sixth vilāsa, the required practices for inviting the transcendental form of the Lord and bathing Him are given. In the seventh vilāsa, one is instructed on how to collect flowers used for the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. In the eighth vilāsa, there is a description of the Deity and instructions on how to set up incense, light lamps, make offerings, dance, play music, beat drums, garland the Deity, offer prayers and obeisances and counteract offenses. In the ninth vilāsa, there are descriptions about collecting tulasī leaves, offering oblations to forefathers according to Vaiṣṇava rituals, and offering food. In the tenth vilāsa there are descriptions of the devotees of the Lord (Vaiṣṇavas, or saintly persons). In the eleventh vilāsa, there are elaborate descriptions of Deity worship and the glories of the holy name of the Lord.
The descriptions given in those verses by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī are actually a description of those portions compiled by Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the regulative principles of devotional service compiled by Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī do not strictly follow our Vaiṣṇava principles. Actually, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī collected only a summary of the elaborate descriptions of Vaiṣṇava regulative principles from the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. It is Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī’s opinion, however, that to follow the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa strictly is to actually follow the Vaiṣṇava rituals in perfect order. He claims that the smārta-samāja, which is strictly followed by caste brāhmaṇas, has influenced portions that Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī collected from the original Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. It is therefore very difficult to find out Vaiṣṇava directions from the book of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī.
After collecting these books, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to Jagannātha Purī. At that time, the bathing ceremony of Jagannātha was taking place, and He saw it.
Sometimes, for business purposes, large crowds of men are taken to different places of pilgrimage, and money is collected from them. That is a very lucrative business, but Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, expressing their opinion in the presence of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, disapproved of such crowded pilgrimages. Actually when Lord Caitanya visited Vṛndāvana, He visited it alone and accepted a servant only at His devotees' request. He never visited Vṛndāvana with crowds of people for a commercial purpose.
Each day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally went to a village and collected a great quantity of rice and other grains for the preparation of prasādam.
The vegetable preparations were made from various kinds of spinach, roots and fruits collected from the forest, and someone made baḍā and baḍi by mashing dhal. In this way the brāhmaṇas prepared all kinds of food.
“"Prepare very nice foods of all descriptions from the grains and ghee collected for the yajña. Prepare rice, dhal, then halavah, pakorā, purī and all kinds of milk preparations like sweet rice, sweetballs, sandeśa, rasagullā and lāḍḍu."
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, therefore advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajña and begin the Govardhana-pūjā to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being the supreme controller of the heavenly planets. The honest and simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Mahārāja, accepted Kṛṣṇa's proposal and executed in detail everything He advised.
This is the paramahaṁsa stage, the highest stage for a sannyāsī. A sannyāsī can beg from door to door just to collect food, but a paramahaṁsa who has taken ayācita-vṛtti, or ājagara-vṛtti, does not ask anyone for food. If someone offers him food voluntarily, he eats. Ayācita-vṛtti means being accustomed to refrain from begging, and ājagara-vṛtti indicates one who is compared to a python, the big snake that makes no effort to acquire food but rather allows food to come automatically within its mouth. In other words, a paramahaṁsa simply engages exclusively in the service of the Lord without caring even for eating or sleeping. It was stated about the Six Gosvāmīs: nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. In the paramahaṁsa stage one conquers the desire for sleep, food and sense gratification.
Mādhavendra Purī wanted to leave Jagannātha Purī because the people were honoring him as a great devotee; however, this threatened to hinder his collecting sandalwood for the Gopāla Deity.
When all the devotees at Jagannātha Purī heard that the Gopāla Deity wanted sandalwood, in great pleasure they all endeavored to collect it.
Those who were acquainted with government officers met with them and begged for camphor and sandalwood, which they collected.
“After receiving the transcendental orders of Gopāla, this great personality traveled thousands of miles just to collect sandalwood by begging.
One who prefers living in great mountains, even among ferocious animals, to attain the summit of philosophical speculation (understanding that the essence of this material world is useless) is called Parvata. A sannyāsī who has dipped into the ocean of the Absolute Truth and collected some valuable stones of knowledge from that ocean, who never falls from the regulative principles of a sannyāsī, is called Sāgara. One who has learned the classical art of music, who engages in its culture, and who has become expert and completely aloof from material attachment is called Sarasvatī. Sarasvatī is the goddess of music and learning, and in one hand she holds a musical instrument called a vīṇā. A sannyāsī who is always engaged in music for spiritual elevation is called Sarasvatī. One who has become completely educated and is freed from all kinds of ignorance and who is never unhappy, even in a distressed condition, is called Bhāratī.
From there He went to Kāmakoṣṭhī-purī and later arrived at southern Mathurā. A brāhmaṇa devotee of Lord Rāmacandra talked with Him. Then the Lord took His bath in the river Kṛtamālā. On the hill known as Mahendra-śaila, the Lord saw Paraśurāma. Then the Lord went to Setubandha and took His bath at Dhanus-tīrtha. He also visited Rāmeśvara, where He collected some papers connected with Sītādevī, whose illusory form had been kidnapped by Rāvaṇa. The Lord next visited the places known as Pāṇḍya-deśa, the Tāmraparṇī River, Naya-tripati, Ciyaḍatalā, Tila-kāñcī, Gajendra-mokṣaṇa, Pānāgaḍi, Cāmtāpura, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, Malaya-parvata and Kanyā-kumārī. The Lord then confronted the Bhaṭṭathāris at Mallāra-deśa and saved Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa from their clutches. The Lord also collected the Brahma-saṁhitā, Fifth Chapter, on the banks of the Payasvinī River.
He saw the Gopāla Deity installed by Śrī Madhvācārya. He then defeated the Tattvavādīs in śāstric conversation. The Lord next visited Phalgu-tīrtha, Tritakūpa, Pañcāpsarā, Sūrpāraka and Kolāpura. At Pāṇḍarapura the Lord received news from Śrī Raṅga Purī that Śaṅkarāraṇya (Viśvarūpa) had disappeared there. He then went to the banks of the Kṛṣṇa-veṇvā River, where He collected from among the Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas a book written by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. The Lord then visited Tāpī, Māhiṣmatī-pura, the Narmadā River and Ṛṣyamūka-parvata. He entered Daṇḍakāraṇya and liberated seven palm trees. From there He visited a place known as Pampā-sarovara and visited Pañcavaṭī, Nāsika, Brahmagiri and also the source of the Godāvarī River, Kuśāvarta. Thus the Lord visited almost all the holy places in South India. He finally returned to Jagannātha Purī by taking the same route, after visiting Vidyānagara again.
“From my childhood I have been collecting the glories of the holy name from revealed scriptures.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu promised to come daily to see Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and this indicates that Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was so advanced in spiritual life that, although considered unfit to enter the temple, he was being personally visited by the Lord every day. Nor was there any need for his going outside his residence to collect food. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu assured Haridāsa Ṭhākura that the remnants of His food would be sent there. As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.22), yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham: “I arrange all life's necessities for My devotees.”
After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu collected all the straw, dust and grains of sand in one place, He gathered it all in His cloth and threw it outside.
The Lord then told the devotees, "I can tell how much you have labored and how well you have cleansed the temple simply by seeing all the straw and dust you have collected outside."
Even though all the devotees collected dirt in one pile, the dirt collected by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was much greater.
While Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was picking up the straws and grains of sand, He said, “I shall gather everyone's collection, and I shall ask whoever has collected less than all the others to pay a fine of sweet cakes and sweet rice.”
“Collect all kinds of small and large flags and ringing bells. Then decorate the carrier and have various musical and dancing parties accompany it. In this way decorate the carrier attractively.
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. These ecstatic symptoms are explained in the following verse, which is from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Anubhāva-prakaraṇa 39).
“He collects coconuts with great endeavor from a place twenty miles away, and he pays four paṇas each for them.
“In this way, from distant villages he collects excellent bananas, mangoes, oranges, jackfruits and whatever other first-class fruits he has heard about.
“All these fruits are collected from distant places and bought at a high price. After trimming them with great care and purity, Rāghava Paṇḍita offers them to the Deity.
At Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's house, there was always a full stock of food. Whatever spinach, vegetables, fruit and so on were required, he collected and brought back home.
"You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas I am a most insignificant living being. Therefore please accept a little quantity of food from my house."
A sannyāsī is expected to collect a little food from each and every householder. That is to say, he should take whatever he requires to eat. This system is called mādhukarī. The word mādhukarī comes from the word madhukara and means "honey-collecting bees." Bees collect a little honey from each flower, but all these small quantities of honey accumulate to become a beehive. Sannyāsīs should collect a little from each and every householder and should eat simply what is necessary to maintain the body. Being a sannyāsī, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu could collect a little food from the house of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, and this was the Bhaṭṭācārya's request.
“"What we have had to arrange with great endeavor by collecting elephants, horses, chariots and infantry soldiers has already been accomplished by the Gandharvas."
Śivānanda Sena, who was in charge of the party, made arrangements to clear the tax collecting centers. He took care of all the devotees and happily traveled with them.
The Lord collected whatever remnants of food were left by Lord Jagannātha. He also took remnants of the Lord's kaḍāra ointment, sandalwood and ropes with Him.
Whenever the Lord had a chance to visit a village, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya would beg alms and acquire some rice and vegetables. If there were no village, Balabhadra would cook whatever rice remained and collect some spinach from the forest for the Lord to eat. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the behavior of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya.
In this way the Lord passed through the jungle of Jhārikhaṇḍa and finally reached Vārāṇasī. After taking His bath at the Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭa at Vārāṇasī, He met Tapana Miśra, who took the Lord to his place and respectfully gave Him a comfortable residence. At Vārāṇasī, Vaidya Candraśekhara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's old friend, also rendered service unto Him. Seeing the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa informed Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the leader of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs.
“Our Lord, please take one very nice brāhmaṇa with You. He will collect alms for You, cook for You, give You prasādam and carry Your waterpot while traveling.
"The other brāhmaṇa can carry Your cloth and waterpot, and Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya will collect alms and cook for You."
Along the way, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya collected all kinds of spinach, roots and fruit whenever possible.
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya used to keep a stock of food grain that would last from two to four days. Where there were no people, he would cook the grain and prepare vegetables, spinach, roots and fruits collected from the forest.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then marked His body with tilaka made from the mud of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, and with the help of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, He collected some of the mud and took it with Him.
“One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required, (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to attain, (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters, (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically, (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.”
The word mādhukarī comes from the word madhukara, which refers to bees collecting pollen from flower to flower. A mādhukarī is a saintly person or a mendicant who does not accept a full meal at one house but begs from door to door, taking a little food from each householder's place. In this way he does not overeat or give householders unnecessary trouble. A person in the renounced order may beg but not cook. His begging should not be a burden for the householders. The mādhukarī process is strictly to be followed by a bābājī, that is, one who has attained the paramahaṁsa stage. This practice is still current in Vṛndāvana, and there are many places where alms are offered. Unfortunately, there are many beggars who have come to Vṛndāvana to accept alms but not follow the principles of Sanātana Gosvāmī.
The body can be maintained with no problem if one follows the instructions given in this verse. To maintain the body, we require shelter, food, water and clothing, and all these necessities can be obtained without approaching puffed-up rich men. One can collect old garments that have been thrown out, one can eat fruits offered by the trees, one can drink water from the rivers, and one can live within the caves of mountains. By nature's arrangements, shelter, clothing and food are supplied to the devotee who is completely surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee does not need a puffed-up materialistic person to maintain him. In other words, devotional service can be discharged in any condition. This is the version of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6):
“The word "ca" can also present a secondary thing to be done at the same time. This way of understanding the word "ca" is called anvācaye. An example is "O brahmacārī, go out to collect alms and at the same time bring in the cows."
The anvācaye meaning of the word ca indicates that between the two words compounded by the word ca, one is given more importance and the other is considered subordinate. For example, "O brahmacārī, please go out and collect alms and at the same time bring in the cows." In this statement, the collection of alms is of first importance, and the second business of collecting the cows is subordinate. Similarly, one who always meditates upon Kṛṣṇa is mainly a devotee of Kṛṣṇa engaged in His devotional service. Other ātmārāmas are subordinate in devotional service.
“After this, you should describe how one should decorate his body with gopīcandana, wear neck beads, collect tulasī leaves from the tulasī tree, cleanse his cloth and the altar, cleanse his own house or apartment and go to the temple and ring the bell just to draw the attention of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
“Vyāsadeva collected whatever Vedic conclusions were in the four Vedas and 108 Upaniṣads and placed them in the aphorisms of the Vedānta-sūtra.
“"The essence of all Vedic literature and all histories has been collected in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam."
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was collected by the incarnation of God, Vyāsadeva, and it was later taught to his son, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.41).
Subuddhi Rāya would collect dry wood in the forest and take it to the city of Mathurā to sell. For each load he would receive five or six paise.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī collected some books about archaeological excavations in Mathurā, and wandering in the forest, he sought to renovate all those holy places.
CC Antya-lila
Nevertheless, his brother, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Ācārya, discoursed upon the commentary of impersonalism (Māyāvāda). Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, the secretary of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, forbid Bhagavān Ācārya to indulge in hearing that commentary. Later, when Junior Haridāsa, following the order of Bhagavān Ācārya, went to collect alms from Mādhavīdevī, he committed an offense by talking intimately with a woman although he was in the renounced order. Because of this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected Junior Haridāsa, and despite all the requests of the Lord's stalwart devotees, the Lord did not accept him again. One year after this incident, Junior Haridāsa went to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā and committed suicide. In his spiritual body, however, he continued to sing devotional songs, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard them. When the Vaiṣṇavas of Bengal went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, these incidents became known to Svarūpa Dāmodara and others.
When the month of Pauṣa arrived, Jagadānanda and Śivānanda collected all kinds of paraphernalia for the Lord's reception. Every day, they would wait until evening for the Lord to come.
As Kṛṣṇa promises, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: (BG 18.66) "I shall save you from all sinful reactions." When our Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect contributions in the form of membership fees, the money thus coming to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is strictly employed to advance Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. The Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees collect the money of others for the service of Kṛṣṇa, and they are satisfied with Kṛṣṇa's prasādam and whatever He gives them for their maintenance. They do not desire material comforts. However, they go to great pains to engage the possessions of prostitutes, or persons who are more or less like prostitutes, in the service of the Lord and thus free them from sinful reactions. A Vaiṣṇava guru accepts money or other contributions, but he does not employ such contributions for sense gratification.
This Gopāla Cakravartī lived in Bengal. His duty as chief tax collector was to collect 1,200,000 coins to deposit in the treasury of the emperor.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to accomplish many purposes through the exegetical endeavors of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī. First Sanātana Gosvāmī compiled the book called Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta to teach people how to become devotees, execute devotional service and attain love of Kṛṣṇa. Second, he compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, wherein he collected authoritative scriptural injunctions regarding how a Vaiṣṇava should behave. Only by the endeavors of Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī were all the lost places of pilgrimage in the Vṛndāvana area excavated. He established Madana-mohana, the first Deity in the Vṛndāvana area, and by his personal behavior he taught how one should act in the renounced order, completely devoted to the service of the Lord. By his personal example, he taught people how to stay in Vṛndāvana to execute devotional service.
He collected whatever money he had accumulated in Bengal and divided it among his relatives, the brāhmaṇas and the temples.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī collected many revealed scriptures, and from the evidence in those scriptures they excavated all the lost sites of pilgrimage. Thus they established temples for the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Herein Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī instructs the poet from Bengal to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava and learn from him. In India especially, there is now a class of professional Bhāgavatam readers whose means of livelihood is to go from village to village, town to town, reading Bhāgavatam and collecting dakṣiṇā, or rewards, in the form of money or goods, like umbrellas, cloth and fruit. Thus there is now a system of Bhāgavata business, with recitations called bhāgavata-saptāha that continue for one week, although this is not mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nowhere does Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam say that the Bhāgavatam should be heard for one week from professionals. Rather, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17) says, śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ: one should regularly hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a self-realized Vaiṣṇava. By such hearing, one becomes pious: hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām.
Sometimes it is seen that when a Māyāvādī sannyāsī reads the Bhāgavatam, flocks of men go to hear jugglery of words that cannot awaken their dormant love for Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes people go to see professional dramas and offer food and money to the players, who are expert at collecting these offerings very nicely. The result is that the members of the audience remain in the same position of gṛham andha-kūpam, family affection, and do not awaken their love for Kṛṣṇa.
In the Bhāgavatam (7.5.30), it is said, matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ‘bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām: the gṛha-vratas, those who are determined to continue following the materialistic way of life, will never awaken their dormant love of Kṛṣṇa, for they hear the Bhāgavatam only to solidify their position in household life and to be happy in family affairs and sex.
"To understand the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you must approach a self-realized Vaiṣṇava." One should rigidly avoid hearing the Bhāgavatam from a Māyāvādī or other nondevotee who simply performs a grammatical jugglery of words to twist some meaning from the text, collect money from the innocent public, and thus keep people in darkness.
Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī strictly prohibits the behavior of the materialistic so-called hearers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Instead of awakening real love for Kṛṣṇa, such hearers of the Bhāgavatam become more and more attached to household affairs and sex life (yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45)).
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took prasādam at the temple, but later he would stand at the Siṁha-dvāra gate and eat only whatever he could gather by alms. Later he lived by taking alms from various chatras, or food distributing centers. When Raghunātha's father received news of this, he sent some men and money, but Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī refused to accept the money. Understanding that Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was living by begging from the chatras, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented him with His own guñjā-mālā and a stone from Govardhana Hill. Thereafter, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī used to eat rejected food that he had collected and washed. This renounced life greatly pleased both Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took by force some of the same food, thus blessing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī for his renunciation.
At that time there was a Muslim official collecting the taxes of Saptagrāma.
Formerly, when the Muslim government was in power, the person appointed tax collector would collect the taxes of the local zamindars, or landholders. He would keep one fourth of the collection for himself as a profit, and the balance he would deliver to the treasury of the government.
When Hiraṇya dāsa, Raghunātha dāsa's uncle, made an agreement with the government to collect taxes, the Muslim caudhurī, or tax collector, having lost his position, became extremely envious of him.
Hiraṇya dāsa was collecting 2,000,000 coins and therefore should have delivered 1,500,000 to the government. Instead, he was giving only 1,200,000, thus making an extra profit of 300,000 coins. Seeing this, the Muslim caudhurī, who was a Turk, became his rival.
At night Raghunātha dāsa would collect that decomposed rice, bring it home and wash it with ample water.
“He served in the place known as Mālajāṭhyā Daṇḍapāta, soliciting and collecting money there and depositing it in the government treasury.
“Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka is in charge of collecting money on behalf of the government, but he misappropriates it. Not fearing the King, he squanders it to see dancing girls.
Although such persons may call themselves preachers, live in Vṛndāvana or Navadvīpa, and also print many religious books, it is all for the same purpose, namely to earn a living to maintain their wives and children. They may also professionally recite the Bhāgavatam or other scriptures, worship the Deity in the temple and initiate disciples. Making a show of devotional paraphernalia, they may also collect money from the public and use it to cure the disease of some family member or near relative. Sometimes they become bābājīs or collect money on the plea of worshiping the poor, whom they call daridra-nārāyaṇa, or for social and political upliftment. Thus they spread a network of business schemes to collect money for sense gratification by cheating people in general, who have no knowledge of pure devotional service. Such cheaters cannot understand that by offering devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can be elevated to a position of eternal servitude to the Lord, which is even greater than the position of Brahmā and other demigods.
“‘Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka would collect some and pay some, spending it at will, but I would not consider this very seriously. This time, however, he was put into trouble because of a misunderstanding with the prince.
In this way varieties of prasādam were collected, then packed up in different loads and carried on the heads of the four servants.
Ghāṭī refers to the different toll booths used by the zamindars to collect taxes in each state. Generally, this tax was collected to maintain the roads governed by the various zamindars. Since the devotees from Bengal were going to Jagannātha Purī, they had to pass through many such toll booths. Śivānanda Sena was in charge of paying the tolls.
Jagadānanda Paṇḍita replied, "He who will eat has cooked this. As far as I am concerned, I simply collect the ingredients."
| Page Title: | Collect (CC) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 21 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=92, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 92 |