Chaitanya's Life And Teachings: From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amritaKṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi
Religion
Chaitanya's Life And Teachings: From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amrita
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi
Chaitanya, 1486-1534; Hinduism
Then, Swarup in anxiety took counsel of the other _bhaktas_ next day
and made Shankar Pandit sleep in the Master's room, nursing His feet. In
fear of Shankar He could not leave the room nor knock His face against
the walls. These feats Raghunath-das has described in his
_Chaitanya-staba-kalpa-briksha_.
One _Baishakh_ night, when it was full moon, the Master went with His
_bhaktas_ to visit the great Jagannáth-vallabh park. The trees and
creepers were in full bloom as at Brindában, the green parrots, bees and
cuckoos were discoursing [love]. The Zephyr was blowing laden the scent
of flowers, and freshening made the tree-tops dance. Under the bright
moonlight the plants and creepers blazed in a silvery sheen. Spring
pervaded the atmosphere. The sight threw the Master into a rapture. He
bade the stanza _Lalita labanga latá_ [of the _Git-Govinda_, canto ix.
verse 6] be sung, and moved up and down dancing with His followers.
Passing thus from tree to tree, He came under an _Ashoka_ tree and lo!
he beheld Krishna standing there. He rushed to meet Krishna, who
disappeared laughing. The Master, losing Krishna after having caught
sight of him, fell down in a faint. The odour of Krishna's person filled
the garden; it took away the Master's senses, it maddened Him, and He
began to sing and hold forth on the verses that Radha, enamoured of the
scent of Krishna's body, had addressed to her _sakhi_.
Swarup and Rámánanda sang, the Master danced in rapture, and thus the
night wore on to dawn.
THE LAST CHARGE TO THE APOSTLES
Thrilled with delight, the Master spoke, "Listen, Swarup and Rámánanda
Ray! the supreme healer in this iron age is _sankirtan of the Name_. It
is [equivalent to] the Vedic sacrifice, and the true sacrificer in it is
rewarded with Krishna's feet. Sankirtan enables us to conquer sin and
the world; it creates purity of soul, all kinds of _bhakti_ and
devotional practice. Chant the Name at meals, in bed, here there and
every where. It is not restricted to a particular place or time, it
works everywhere. It bears the name of _sarva-shakti_ (omnipotent).
"Listen, Rámánanda, to the way in which the Name should be recited in
order to conceive a passion for it. The devotee, if high of rank, should
regard himself as lowly like the grass. He should learn patience from
the tree, which does not cry out even when it is cut down and which does
not beg for water even when it is perishing of drought, but on the other
hand gives away its possessions to all who ask of it, bears sun and rain
itself but protects others from them. The Vaishnav, however high, should
be free from pride; he should venerate all forms of life as animated by
Krishna. Take Krishna's Name thus, and you will be inspired with
_prem_."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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