Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

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Not only is this one of my most favorite pictures from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, but this is one of the most nectarean chapters as well. This is a continuation from our previous post Drops of Nectar, and includes texts 279-289 from chapter eight of the Madhya-lila entitled “Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya”.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personification of ecstatic love of Godhead. These two forms has combined as one in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This being the case, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1975 Edition
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Madhya-līlā, Chapter 8, Text 279-289

Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

TEXT 279

rādhikāra bhāva-kānti kari’ aṅgīkāra
nija-rasa āsvādite kariyācha avatāra

rādhikāra—of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-kānti—ecstatic love and luster; kari’-making; aṅgīkāra—acceptance; nija-rasa—Your own transcendental mellow; āsvādite—to taste; kariyācha—You have made; avatāra—incarnation.

TRANSLATION

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “My dear Lord, I can understand that You have assumed the ecstasy and bodily complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. By accepting this, You are tasting Your own personal transcendental humor and have therefore appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 280

nija-gūḍha-kārya tomāra–prema āsvādana
ānuṣaṅge prema-maya kaile tribhuvana

nija-gūḍha-kārya—own confidential business; tomāra—Your; prema—transcendental love; āsvādana—tasting; ānuṣaṅge—simultaneously; prema-maya—transformed into love of God; kaile—You have made; tri-bhuvana—all the world.

TRANSLATION

“My dear Lord, You have descended in this incarnation of Lord Caitanya for Your own personal reasons. You have come to taste Your own spiritual bliss, and at the same time You are transforming the whole world by spreading the ecstasy of love of Godhead.

TEXT 281

āpane āile more karite uddhāra
ebe kapaṭa kara,–tomāra kona vyavahāra

āpane—personally; āile—You have come; more—unto me; karite—to make; uddhāra—deliverance; ebe—now; kapaṭa—duplicity; kara—You do; tomāra—Your; kona—what; vyavahāra—behavior.

TRANSLATION

“My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy You have appeared before me to grant me liberation. Now You are playing in a duplicitous way. What is the reason for this behavior?”

TEXT 282

tabe hāsi’ tāṅre prabhu dekhāila svarūpa
’rasa-rāja’ ’mahābhāva’–dui eka rūpa

tabe—therefore; hāsi’-smiling; tāṅre—unto him (Rāmānanda Rāya); prabhu—the Lord; dekhāila—showed; svarūpa—His personal form; rasa-rāja—the king of all transcendental humors; mahā-bhāva—the condition of ecstatic love; dui—two; eka—one; rūpa—form.

TRANSLATION

PURPORT

This is described as rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was absorbed in the features of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This was disclosed to Rāmānanda Rāya when he saw Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. An advanced devotee can understand śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, being a combination of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, is nondifferent from Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa combined. This is explained by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī:

rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād
ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam
(Cc. Ādi 1.5)

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is one. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency combined. When Kṛṣṇa exhibits His pleasure potency, He appears to be two-Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one. This oneness may be perceived by advanced devotees through the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This was the case with Rāmānanda Rāya. One may aspire to attain such a position, but one should not try to imitate the mahā-bhāgavata.

TEXT 283

dekhi’ rāmānanda hailā ānande mūrcchite
dharite nā pāre deha, paḍilā bhūmite

dekhi’-seeing this form; rāmānanda—Rāmānanda Rāya; hailā—there was; ānande—in ecstasy; mūrcchite—fainting; dharite—to hold him; nā—not; pāre—able; deha—the body; paḍilā—fell down; bhūmite—on the ground.

TRANSLATION

Upon seeing this form, Rāmānanda Rāya lost consciousness in transcendental bliss. Unable to remain standing, he fell to the ground.

TEXT 284

prabhu tāṅre hasta sparśi’ karāilā cetana
sannyāsīra veṣa dekhi’ vismita haila mana

prabhu—the Lord; tāṅre—unto Rāmānanda Rāya; hasta—the hand; sparśi’-touching; karāilā—made; cetana—conscious; sannyāsīra—of the sannyāsī; veṣa—the dress; dekhi’-seeing; vismita—struck with wonder; haila—became; mana—the mind.

TRANSLATION

When Rāmānanda Rāya fell to the ground unconscious, Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched his hand, and he immediately regained consciousness. But when he saw Lord Caitanya in the dress of a sannyāsī, he was struck with wonder.

TEXT 285

āliṅgana kari’ prabhu kaila āśvāsana
tomā vinā ei-rūpa nā dekhe anya-jana

āliṅgana kari’-embracing him; prabhu—the Lord; kaila—did; āśvāsana—pacifying; tomā vinā—but for you; ei-rūpa—this form; nā—not; dekhe—sees; anya-jana—anyone else.

TRANSLATION

After embracing Rāmānanda Rāya, the Lord pacified him, informing him, “But for you, no one has ever seen this form.”

In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.25) Lord Kṛṣṇa states:

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam

“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency [yogamāyā], and so they do not know Me, who am unborn and infallible.”

The Lord always reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone. The devotees, however, are always engaged in the service of the Lord, serving with the tongue by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and tasting mahā-prasāda. Gradually the sincere devotee pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Lord reveals Himself. One cannot see the Supreme Lord by making personal efforts. Rather, when the Lord is pleased by the service of a devotee, He reveals Himself.

TEXT 286

mora tattva-līlā-rasa tomāra gocare
ataeva ei-rūpa dekhāiluṅ tomāre

mora—My; tattva-līlā—truth and pastimes; rasa—and mellows; tomāra—of you; gocare—within the knowledge; ataeva—therefore; ei-rūpa—this form; dekhāiluṅ—I have shown; tomāre—unto you.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed, “All the truths about My pastimes and mellows are within your knowledge. Therefore I have shown this form to you.

TEXT 287

gaura aṅga nahe mora–rādhāṅga-sparśana
gopendra-suta vinā teṅho nā sparśe anya-jana

gaura—golden; aṅga—body; nahe—not; mora—My; rādhā-aṅga—of the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sparśana—the touching; gopendra-suta—the son of Nanda Mahārāja; vinā—except; teṅho—Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; nā—not; sparśe—touches; anya-jana—anyone else.

TRANSLATION

“Actually My body does not have a golden complexion. It only appears so because it has touched the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. However, She does not touch anyone but the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

TEXT 288

tāṅra bhāve bhāvita kari’ ātma-mana
tabe nija-mādhurya kari āsvādana

tāṅra—of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāve—in the ecstasy; bhāvita—enlightened; kari’-making; ātma-mana—body and mind; tabe—thereupon; nija-mādhurya—My own transcendental humor; kari—I do; āsvādana—tasting.

TRANSLATION

“I have now converted My body and mind into the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; thus I am tasting My own personal sweetness in that form.”

PURPORT

Gaurasundara here informed Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, “My dear Rāmānanda Rāya, you were actually seeing a separate person with a golden-complexioned body. Actually I am not golden. Being Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am blackish, but when I come in touch with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī I become golden-complexioned eternally. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī does not touch the body of anyone but Kṛṣṇa. I taste My own transcendental features by accepting the complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Without Rādhārāṇī, one cannot taste the transcendental pleasure of Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal love.” In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments on the prākṛta-sahajiyā-sampradāya, which considers Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya to possess different bodies. They misinterpret the words gaura aṅga nahe mora in Text 287. From that verse and the present verse we can understand that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Both are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the form of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord enjoys spiritual bliss and remains the shelter of all devotees, viṣaya-vigraha. And in His Gaurāṅga feature Kṛṣṇa tastes separation from Kṛṣṇa in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This ecstatic form is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always the transcendental reservoir of all pleasure, and He is technically called dhīra-lalita. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of spiritual energy, personified as ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa; therefore only Kṛṣṇa can touch Her. The dhīra-lalita aspect is not seen in any other form of the Lord, including Viṣṇu nor in Nārāyaṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is therefore known as Govinda-nandinī and Govinda-mohinī, for She is the only source of transcendental pleasure for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the only person who can enchant His mind.

TEXT 289

tomāra ṭhāñi āmāra kichu gupta nāhi karma
lukāile prema-bale jāna sarva-marma

tomāra ṭhāñi—before you; āmāra—My; kichu—anything; gupta—hidden; nāhi—is not; karma—action; lukāile—even if I conceal; prema-bale—by the force of your love; jāna—you know; sarva-marma—everything in detail.

TRANSLATION

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then admitted to His pure devotee, Rāmānanda Rāya, “Now there is no confidential activity unknown to you. Even though I try to conceal My activities, you can understand everything in detail by virtue of your advanced love for Me.”

Text pasted from; Causless Mercy