Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Ādi-līlā
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 5
The Glories of Lord Nityānanda Balarāma
This chapter is chiefly devoted to describing the essential nature and glories of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the absolute Personality of Godhead, and His first expansion in a form for pastimes is Śrī Balarāma.
Beyond the limitation of this material world is the spiritual sky, paravyoma, which has many spiritual planets, the supreme of which is called Kṛṣṇaloka. Kṛṣṇaloka, the abode of Kṛṣṇa, has three divisions, which are known as Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula. In that abode the Personality of Godhead expands Himself into four plenary portions-Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Pradyumna (the transcendental Cupid) and Aniruddha. They are known as the original quadruple forms.
In Kṛṣṇaloka is a transcendental place known as Śvetadvīpa or Vṛndāvana. Below Kṛṣṇaloka in the spiritual sky are the Vaikuṇṭha planets. On each Vaikuṇṭha planet a four-handed Nārāyaṇa, expanded from the first quadruple manifestation, is present. The Personality of Godhead known as Śrī Balarāma in Kṛṣṇaloka is the original Saṅkarṣaṇa (attracting Deity), and from this Saṅkarṣaṇa expands another Saṅkarṣaṇa, called Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa, who resides in one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. By His internal potency, Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa maintains the transcendental existence of all the planets in the spiritual sky, where all the living beings are eternally liberated souls. The influence of the material energy is conspicuous there by its absence. On those planets the second quadruple manifestation is present.
Outside of the Vaikuṇṭha planets is the impersonal manifestation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which is known as the Brahmaloka. On the other side of the Brahmaloka is the spiritual kāraṇa-samudra, or Causal Ocean. The material energy exists on the other side of the Causal Ocean, without touching it. In the Causal Ocean is Mahā-Viṣṇu, the original puruṣa expansion from Saṅkarṣaṇa. This Mahā-Viṣṇu places His glance over the material energy, and by a reflection of His transcendental body He amalgamates Himself within the material elements.
As the source of the material elements, the material energy is known as pradhāna, and as the source of the manifestations of the material energy it is known as māyā. But material nature is inert in that she has no independent power to do anything. She is empowered to make the cosmic manifestation by the glance of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Therefore the material energy is not the original cause of the material manifestation. Rather, the transcendental glance of Mahā-Viṣṇu over material nature produces that cosmic manifestation.
Mahā-Viṣṇu again enters every universe as the reservoir of all living entities, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. From Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu expands Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of every living entity. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu also has His own Vaikuṇṭha planet in every universe, where He lives as the Supersoul or supreme controller of the universe. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu reclines in the midst of the watery portion of the universe and generates the first living creature of the universe, Brahmā. The imaginary universal form is a partial manifestation of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
In the Vaikuṇṭha planet in every universe is an ocean of milk, and within that ocean is an island called Śvetadvīpa, where Lord Viṣṇu lives. Therefore this chapter describes two Śvetadvīpas-one in the abode of Kṛṣṇa and the other in the ocean of milk in every universe. The Śvetadvīpa in the abode of Kṛṣṇa is identical with Vṛndāvana-dhāma, which is the place where Kṛṣṇa appears Himself to display His loving pastimes. In the Śvetadvīpa within every universe is a Śeṣa form of Godhead who serves Viṣṇu by assuming the form of His umbrella, slippers, couch, pillows, garments, residence, sacred thread, throne and so on.
Lord Baladeva in Kṛṣṇaloka is Nityānanda Prabhu. Therefore Nityānanda Prabhu is the original Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa and His expansions as the puruṣas in the universes are plenary expansions of Nityānanda Prabhu.
In this chapter the author has described the history of his leaving home for a personal pilgrimage to Vṛndāvana and his achieving all success there. In this description it is revealed that the author’s original paternal home and birthplace were in the district of Katwa, in the village of Jhāmaṭapura, which is near Naihāṭī. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s brother invited Śrī Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, a great devotee of Lord Nityānanda, to his home, but a priest named Guṇārṇava Miśra did not receive him well, and Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s brother, not recognizing the glories of Lord Nityānanda, also took sides with the priest. Therefore Rāmadāsa became sorry, broke his flute and went away. This was a great disaster for the brother of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. But on that very night Lord Nityānanda Prabhu Himself graced Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī in a dream and ordered him to leave on the next day for Vṛndāvana.
Adi5.1
TEXT 1
vande ’nantādbhutaiśvaryaṁ
śrī-nityānandam īśvaram
yasyecchayā tat-svarūpam
ajñenāpi nirūpyate
SYNONYMS
vande—let me offer my obeisances; ananta—unlimited; adbhuta—and wonderful; aiśvaryam—whose opulence; śrī-nityānandam—unto Lord Nityānanda; īśvaram—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yasya—whose; icchayā—by the will; tat-svarūpam—His identity; ajñena—by the ignorant; api—even; nirūpyate—can be ascertained.
TRANSLATION
Let me offer my obeisances to Lord Śrī Nityānanda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose opulence is wonderful and unlimited. By His will, even a fool can understand His identity.
Adi5.2
TEXT 2
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya—all glories; śrī-caitanya—to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; jaya nityānanda—all glories to Lord Nityānanda; jaya advaita-candra—all glories to Advaita Ācārya; jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda—all glories to the devotees of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TRANSLATION
All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All glories to Lord Nityānanda. All glories to Advaita Ācārya. And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Adi5.3
TEXT 3
ei ṣaṭ-śloke kahila kṛṣṇa-caitanya-mahimā
pañca-śloke kahi nityānanda-tattva-sīmā
SYNONYMS
ei—this; ṣaṭ-śloke—in six verses; kahila—described; kṛṣṇa-caitanya-mahimā—the glories of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; pañca-śloke—in five verses; kahi—let me explain; nityānanda—of Lord Nityānanda; tattva—of the truth; sīmā—the limitation.
TRANSLATION
I have described the glory of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya in six verses. Now, in five verses, I shall describe the glory of Lord Nityānanda.
Adi5.4
TEXT 4
sarva-avatārī kṛṣṇa svayaṁ bhagavān
tāṅhāra dvitīya deha śrī-balarāma
SYNONYMS
sarva-avatārī—the source of all incarnations; kṛṣṇa—Lord Kṛṣṇa; svayam—personally; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tāṅhāra—His; dvitīya—second; deha—expansion of the body; śrī-balarāma—Lord Balarāma.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarāma is His second body.
PURPORT
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the absolute Personality of Godhead, is the primeval Lord, the original form of Godhead, and His first expansion is Śrī Balarāma. The Personality of Godhead can expand Himself in innumerable forms. The forms that have unlimited potency are called svāṁśa, and forms that have limited potencies (the living entities) are called vibhinnāṁśa.
Adi5.5
TEXT 5
eka-i svarūpa doṅhe, bhinna-mātra kāya
ādya kāya-vyūha, kṛṣṇa-līlāra sahāya
SYNONYMS
eka-i—one; svarūpa—identity; doṅhe—both of Them; bhinna-mātra kāya—only two different bodies; ādya—original; kāya-vyūha—quadruple expansions; kṛṣṇa-līlāra—in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sahāya—assistance.
TRANSLATION
They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. He is the first bodily expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and He assists in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes.
PURPORT
Balarāma is a svāṁśa expansion of the Lord, and therefore there is no difference in potency between Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. The only difference is in Their bodily structure. As the first expansion of Godhead, Balarāma is the chief Deity among the first quadruple forms, and He is the foremost assistant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in His transcendental activities.
Adi5.6
TEXT 6
sei kṛṣṇa--navadvīpe śrī-caitanya-candra
sei balarāma--saṅge śrī-nityānanda
SYNONYMS
sei kṛṣṇa—that original Kṛṣṇa; navadvīpe—at Navadvīpa; śrī-caitanya-candra—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; sei balarāma—that Lord Balarāma; saṅge—with Him; śrī-nityānanda—Lord Nityānanda.
TRANSLATION
That original Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in Navadvīpa as Lord Caitanya, and Balarāma appeared with Him as Lord Nityānanda.
Adi5.7
TEXT 7
saṅkarṣaṇaḥ kāraṇa-toya-śāyī
garbhoda-śāyī ca payobdhi-śāyī
śeṣaś ca yasyāṁśa-kalāḥ sa nityā-
nandākhya-rāmaḥ śaraṇaṁ mamāstu
SYNONYMS
saṅkarṣaṇaḥ—Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa in the spiritual sky; kāraṇa-toya-śāyī—Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in the Causal Ocean; garbha-uda-śāyī—Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in the Garbhodaka Ocean of the universe; ca—and; payaḥ-abdhi-śāyī—Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in the ocean of milk; śeṣaḥ—Śeṣa Nāga, the couch of Viṣṇu; ca—and; yasya—whose; aṁśa—plenary portions; kalāḥ—and parts of the plenary portions; saḥ—He; nityānanda-ākhya—known as Lord Nityānanda; rāmaḥ—Lord Balarāma; śaraṇam—shelter; mama—my; astu—let there be.
TRANSLATION
May Śrī Nityānanda Rāma be the object of my constant remembrance. Saṅkarṣaṇa, Śeṣa Nāga and the Viṣṇus who lie on the Kāraṇa Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.
PURPORT
Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has recorded this verse in his diary to offer his respectful obeisances to Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. This verse also appears as the seventh of the first fourteen verses of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Adi5.8
TEXT 8
śrī-balarāma gosāñi mūla-saṅkarṣaṇa
pañca-rūpa dhari’ karena kṛṣṇera sevana
SYNONYMS
śrī-balarāma—Balarāma; gosāñi—the Lord; mūla-saṅkarṣaṇa—the original Saṅkarṣaṇa; pañca-rūpa dhari’-accepting five bodies; karena—does; kṛṣṇera—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sevana—service.
TRANSLATION
Lord Balarāma is the original Saṅkarṣaṇa. He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Adi5.9
TEXT 9
āpane karena kṛṣṇa-līlāra sahāya
sṛṣṭi-līlā-kārya kare dhari’ cāri kāya
SYNONYMS
āpane—personally; karena—performs; kṛṣṇa-līlāra sahāya—assistance in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sṛṣṭi-līlā—of the pastimes of creation; kārya—the work; kare—does; dhari’-accepting; cāri kāya—four bodies.
TRANSLATION
He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He does the work of creation in four other forms.
Adi5.10
TEXT 10
sṛṣṭy-ādika sevā,--tāṅra ājñāra pālana
’śeṣa’-rūpe kare kṛṣṇera vividha sevana
SYNONYMS
sṛṣṭi-ādika sevā—service in the matter of creation; tāṅra—His; ājñāra—of the order; pālana—execution; śeṣa-rūpe—the form of Lord Śeṣa; kare—does; kṛṣṇera—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vividha sevana—varieties of service.
TRANSLATION
He executes the orders of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Śeṣa He serves Kṛṣṇa in various ways.
PURPORT
According to expert opinion, Balarāma, as the chief of the original quadruple forms, is also the original Saṅkarṣaṇa. Balarāma, the first expansion of Kṛṣṇa, expands Himself in five forms: (1) Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa, (2) Kāraṇābdhiśāyī, (3) Garbhodakaśāyī, (4) Kṣīrodakaśāyī, and (5) Śeṣa. These five plenary portions are responsible for both the spiritual and material cosmic manifestations. In these five forms Lord Balarāma assists Lord Kṛṣṇa in His activities. The first four of these forms are responsible for the cosmic manifestations, whereas Śeṣa is responsible for personal service to the Lord. Śeṣa is called Ananta, or unlimited, because He assists the Personality of Godhead in His unlimited expansions by performing an unlimited variety of services. Śrī Balarāma is the servitor Godhead who serves Lord Kṛṣṇa in all affairs of existence and knowledge. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, who is the same servitor Godhead, Balarāma, performs the same service to Lord Gaurāṅga by constant association.
Adi5.11
TEXT 11
sarva-rūpe āsvādaye kṛṣṇa-sevānanda
sei balarāma--gaura-saṅge nityānanda
SYNONYMS
sarva-rūpe—in all these forms; āsvādaye—tastes; kṛṣṇa-sevā-ānanda—the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa; sei balarāma—that Lord Balarāma; gaura-saṅge—with Gaurasundara; nityānanda—Lord Nityānanda.
TRANSLATION
In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa. That same Balarāma is Lord Nityānanda, the companion of Lord Gaurasundara.
Adi5.12
TEXT 12
saptama ślokera artha kari cāri-śloke
yāte nityānanda-tattva jāne sarva-loke
SYNONYMS
saptama ślokera—of the seventh verse; artha—the meaning; kari—I do; cāri-śloke—in four verses; yāte—in which; nityānanda-tattva—the truth of Lord Nityānanda; jāne—one knows; sarva-loke—all over the world.
TRANSLATION
I have explained this seventh verse in four subsequent verses. By these verses all the world can know the truth about Lord Nityānanda.
Adi5.13
TEXT 13
māyātīte vyāpi-vaikuṇṭha-loke
pūrṇaiśvarye śrī-catur-vyūha-madhye
rūpaṁ yasyodbhāti saṅkarṣaṇākhyaṁ
taṁ śrī-nityānanda-rāmaṁ prapadye
SYNONYMS
māyā-atīte—beyond the material creation; vyāpi—all-expanding; vaikuṇṭha-loke—in Vaikuṇṭhaloka, the spiritual world; pūrṇa-aiśvarye—endowed with full opulence; śrī-catuḥ-vyūha-madhye—in the quadruple expansions (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha); rūpam—form; yasya—whose; udbhāti—appears; saṅkarṣaṇa-ākhyam—known as Saṅkarṣaṇa; tam—to Him; śrī-nityānanda-rāmam—to Lord Balarāma in the form of Lord Nityānanda; prapadye—I surrender.
TRANSLATION
I surrender unto the lotus feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, who is known as Saṅkarṣaṇa in the midst of the catur-vyūha [consisting of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikuṇṭhaloka, far beyond the material creation.
PURPORT
This is a verse from Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī’s diary. It appears as the eighth of the first fourteen verses of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Adi5.14
TEXT 14
prakṛtira pāra ’paravyoma’-nāme dhāma
kṛṣṇa-vigraha yaiche vibhūty-ādi-guṇavān
SYNONYMS
prakṛtira—the material nature; pāra—beyond; para-vyoma—the spiritual sky; nāme—in name; dhāma—the place; kṛṣṇa-vigraha—the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa; yaiche—just as; vibhūti-ādi—like the six opulences; guṇa-vān—full with transcendental attributes.
TRANSLATION
Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.
PURPORT
According to Sāṅkhya philosophy, the material cosmos is composed of twenty-four elements: the five gross material elements, the three subtle material elements, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, the five active senses, the five objects of sense pleasure, and the mahat-tattva (the total material energy). Empiric philosophers, unable to go beyond these elements, speculate that anything beyond them must be avyakta, or inexplicable. But the world beyond the twenty-four elements is not inexplicable, for it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the eternal (sanātana) nature. Beyond the manifested and unmanifested existence of material nature (vyaktāvyakta) is the sanātana nature, which is called the paravyoma, or the spiritual sky. Since that nature is spiritual in quality, there are no qualitative differences there; everything there is spiritual, everything is good, and everything possesses the spiritual form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. That spiritual sky is the manifested internal potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; it is distinct from the material sky manifested by His external potency.
The all-pervading Brahman, the impersonal glowing ray of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, exists in the spiritual world with the Vaikuṇṭha planets. We can get some idea of that spiritual sky by a comparison to the material sky, for the rays of the sun in the material sky can be compared to the brahmajyoti, the glowing rays of the Personality of Godhead. In the brahmajyoti there are unlimited Vaikuṇṭha planets, which are spiritual and therefore self-luminous, with a glow many times greater than that of the sun. The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, His innumerable plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions dominate each Vaikuṇṭha planet. In the highest region of the spiritual sky is the planet called Kṛṣṇaloka, which has three divisions, namely Dvārakā, Mathurā and Goloka.
To a gross materialist this kingdom of God, Vaikuṇṭha, is certainly a mystery. But to an ignorant man everything is a mystery for want of sufficient knowledge. The kingdom of God is not a myth. Even the material planets, which float over our heads in the millions and billions, are still a mystery to the ignorant. Material scientists are now attempting to penetrate this mystery, and a day may come when the people of this earth will be able to travel in outer space and see the variegatedness of these millions of planets with their own eyes. In every planet there is as much material variegatedness as we find in our own planet.
This planet earth is but an insignificant spot in the cosmic structure. Yet foolish men, puffed up by a false sense of scientific advancement, have concentrated their energy in a pursuit of so-called economic development on this planet, not knowing of the variegated economic facilities available on other planets. According to modern astronomy, the gravity of the moon is different from that of earth. Therefore one who goes to the moon will be able to pick up large weights and jump vast distances. In the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān is described as being able to lift huge weights as heavy as hills and jump over the ocean. Modern astronomy has confirmed that this is indeed possible.
The disease of the modern civilized man is his disbelief of everything in the revealed scriptures. Faithless nonbelievers cannot make progress in spiritual realization, for they cannot understand the spiritual potency. The small fruit of a banyan contains hundreds of seeds, and in each seed is the potency to produce another banyan tree with the potency to produce millions more of such fruits. This law of nature is visible before us, although how it works is beyond our understanding. This is but an insignificant example of the potency of Godhead; there are many similar phenomena that no scientist can explain.
Everything, in fact, is inconceivable, for the truth is revealed only to the proper persons. Although there are varieties of personalities, from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant, all of whom are living beings, their development of knowledge is different. Therefore we have to gather knowledge from the right source. Indeed, in reality we can get knowledge only from the Vedic sources. The four Vedas, with their supplementary Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and their corollaries, which are known as smṛtis, are all authorized sources of knowledge. If we are at all to gather knowledge, we must gather it from these sources without hesitation.
Revealed knowledge may in the beginning be unbelievable because of our paradoxical desire to verify everything with our tiny brains, but the speculative means of attaining knowledge is always imperfect. The perfect knowledge propounded in the revealed scriptures is confirmed by the great ācāryas, who have left ample commentations upon them; none of these ācāryas has disbelieved in the śāstras. One who disbelieves in the śāstras is an atheist, and we should not consult an atheist, however great he may be. A staunch believer in the śāstras, with all their diversities, is the right person from whom to gather real knowledge. Such knowledge may seem inconceivable in the beginning, but when put forward by the proper authority its meaning is revealed, and then one no longer has any doubts about it.
Adi5.15
TEXT 15
sarvaga, ananta, vibhu--vaikuṇṭhādi dhāma
kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-avatārera tāhāñi viśrāma
SYNONYMS
sarva-ga—all-pervading; ananta—unlimited; vibhu—greatest; vaikuṇṭha-ādi dhāma—all the places known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka; kṛṣṇa—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kṛṣṇa-avatārera—of the incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa; tāhāñi—there; viśrāma—the residence.
TRANSLATION
That Vaikuṇṭha region is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It is the residence of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations.
Adi5.16
TEXT 16
tāhāra upari-bhāge ’kṛṣṇa-loka’-khyāti
dvārakā-mathurā-gokula--tri-vidhatve sthiti
SYNONYMS
tāhāra—of all of them; upari-bhāge—on the top; kṛṣṇa-loka-khyāti—the planet known as Kṛṣṇaloka; dvārakā-mathurā-gokula—the three places known as Dvārakā, Mathurā and Vṛndāvana; tri-vidhatve—in three departments; sthiti—situated.
TRANSLATION
In the highest region of that spiritual sky is the spiritual planet called Kṛṣṇaloka. It has three divisions-Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula.
Adi5.17
TEXT 17
sarvopari śrī-gokula--vrajaloka-dhāma
śrī-goloka, śvetadvīpa, vṛndāvana nāma
SYNONYMS
sarva-upari—above all of them; śrī-gokula—the place known as Gokula; vraja-loka-dhāma—the place of Vraja; śrī-goloka—the place named Goloka; śveta-dvīpa—the white island; vṛndāvana nāma—also named Vṛndāvana.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Gokula, the highest of all, is also called Vraja, Goloka, Śvetadvīpa and Vṛndāvana.
Adi5.18
TEXT 18
sarvaga, ananta, vibhu, kṛṣṇa-tanu-sama
upary-adho vyāpiyāche, nāhika niyama
SYNONYMS
sarva-ga—all-pervading; ananta—unlimited; vibhu—the greatest; kṛṣṇa-tanu-sama—exactly like the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa; upari-adhaḥ—up and down; vyāpiyāche—expanded; nāhika—there is no; niyama—regulation.
TRANSLATION
Like the transcendental body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Gokula is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It expands both above and below, without any restriction.
PURPORT
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the great authority and philosopher in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, has discussed the abode of Kṛṣṇa in his Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord refers to “My abode.” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, examining the nature of Kṛṣṇa’s abode, refers to the Skanda Purāṇa, which states:
yā yathā bhuvi vartante
puryo bhagavataḥ priyāḥ
tās tathā santi vaikuṇṭhe
tat-tal-līlārtham ādṛtāḥ
“The abodes of Godhead in the material world, such as Dvārakā, Mathurā and Goloka, are facsimiles representing the abodes of Godhead in the kingdom of God, Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma.” The unlimited spiritual atmosphere of that Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma is far above and beyond the material cosmos. This is confirmed in the Svāyambhuva-tantra in a discussion between Lord Śiva and Pārvatī regarding the effect of chanting the mantra of fourteen syllables. There it is stated:
nānā-kalpa-latākīrṇaṁ
vaikuṇṭhaṁ vyāpakaṁ smaret
adhaḥ sāmyaṁ guṇānāṁ ca
prakṛtiḥ sarva-kāraṇam
“While chanting the mantra, one should always remember the spiritual world, which is very extensive and full of desire trees that can yield anything one desires. Below that Vaikuṇṭha region is the potential material energy, which causes the material manifestation.” The places of the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, such as Dvārakā, Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, eternally and independently exist in Kṛṣṇaloka. They are the actual abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and there is no doubt that they are situated above the material cosmic manifestation.
The abode known as Vṛndāvana or Gokula is also known as Goloka. The Brahma-saṁhitā states that Gokula, the highest region of the kingdom of God, resembles a lotus flower with thousands of petals. The outer portion of that lotuslike planet is a square place known as Śvetadvīpa. In the inner portion of Gokula there is an elaborate arrangement for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s residence with His eternal associates such as Nanda and Yaśodā. That transcendental abode exists by the energy of Śrī Baladeva, who is the original whole of Śeṣa, or Ananta. The tantras also confirm this description by stating that the abode of Śrī Anantadeva, the plenary portion of Baladeva, is called the kingdom of God. Vṛndāvana-dhāma is the innermost abode within the quadrangular realm of Śvetadvīpa, which lies outside of the boundary of Gokula Vṛndāvana.
According to Jīva Gosvāmī, Vaikuṇṭha is also called Brahmaloka. The Nārada-pañcarātra, in a statement concerning the mystery of Vijaya, describes:
tat sarvopari goloke
tatra lokopari svayam
viharet paramānandī
govindo ’tula-nāyakaḥ
“The predominator of the gopīs, Govinda, the principal Deity of Gokula, always enjoys Himself in a place called Goloka in the topmost part of the spiritual sky.”
From the authoritative evidence cited by Jīva Gosvāmī we may conclude that Kṛṣṇaloka is the supreme planet in the spiritual sky, which is far beyond the material cosmos. For the enjoyment of transcendental variety, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa there have three divisions, and these pastimes are performed in the three abodes Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula. When Kṛṣṇa descends to this universe, He enjoys the pastimes in places of the same name. These places on earth are nondifferent from those original abodes, for they are facsimiles of those original holy places in the transcendental world. They are as good as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself and are equally worshipable. Lord Caitanya declared that Lord Kṛṣṇa, who presents Himself as the son of the King of Vraja, is worshipable, and Vṛndāvana-dhāma is equally worshipable.
Adi5.19
TEXT 19
brahmāṇḍe prakāśa tāra kṛṣṇera icchāya
eka-i svarūpa tāra, nāhi dui kāya
SYNONYMS
brahmāṇḍe—within the material world; prakāśa—manifestation; tāra—of it; kṛṣṇera icchāya—by the supreme will of Lord Kṛṣṇa; eka-i—it is the same; svarūpa—identity; tāra—of it; nāhi—not; dui—two; kāya—bodies.
TRANSLATION
That abode is manifested within the material world by the will of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is identical to that original Gokula; they are not two different bodies.
PURPORT
The above-mentioned dhāmas are movable, by the omnipotent will of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Śrī Kṛṣṇa appears on the face of the earth, He can also make His dhāmas appear, without changing their original structure. One should not discriminate between the dhāmas on the earth and those in the spiritual sky, thinking those on earth to be material and the original abodes to be spiritual. All of them are spiritual. Only for us, who cannot experience anything beyond matter in our present conditioned state, do the dhāmas and the Lord Himself, in His arcā form, appear before us resembling matter to give us the facility to see spirit with material eyes. In the beginning this may be difficult for a neophyte to understand, but in due course, when one is advanced in devotional service, it will be easier, and he will appreciate the Lord’s presence in these tangible forms.
Adi5.20
TEXT 20
cintāmaṇi-bhūmi, kalpa-vṛkṣa-maya vana
carma-cakṣe dekhe tāre prapañcera sama
SYNONYMS
cintāmaṇi-bhūmi—the land of touchstone; kalpa-vṛkṣa-maya—full of desire trees; vana—forests; carma-cakṣe—the material eyes; dekhe—see; tāre—it; prapañcera sama—equal to the material creation.
TRANSLATION
The land there is touchstone [cintāmaṇi], and the forests abound with desire trees. Material eyes see it as an ordinary place.
PURPORT
By the grace of the Lord His dhāmas and He Himself can all be present simultaneously, without losing their original importance. Only when one fully develops in affection and love of Godhead can one see those dhāmas in their original appearance.
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya in the preceptorial line of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, has said for our benefit that one can perfectly see the dhāmas only when one completely gives up the mentality of lording it over material nature. One’s spiritual vision develops proportionately to one’s giving up the debased mentality of unnecessarily enjoying matter. A diseased person who has become diseased because of a certain bad habit must be ready to follow the advice of the physician, and as a natural sequence he must attempt to give up the cause of the disease. The patient cannot indulge in the bad habit and at the same time expect to be cured by the physician. Modern material civilization, however, is maintaining a diseased atmosphere. The living being is a spiritual spark, as spiritual as the Lord Himself. The only difference is that the Lord is great and the living being is small. Qualitatively they are one, but quantitatively they are different. Therefore, since the living being is spiritual in constitution, he can be happy only in the spiritual sky, where there are unlimited spiritual spheres called Vaikuṇṭhas. A spiritual being conditioned by a material body must therefore try to get rid of his disease instead of developing the cause of the disease.
Foolish persons engrossed in their material assets are unnecessarily proud of being leaders of the people, but they ignore the spiritual value of man. Such illusioned leaders make plans covering any number of years, but they can hardly make humanity happy in a state conditioned by the threefold miseries inflicted by material nature. One cannot control the laws of nature by any amount of struggling. One must at last be subject to death, nature’s ultimate law. Death, birth, old age and illness are symptoms of the diseased condition of the living being. The highest aim of human life should therefore be to get free from these miseries and go back home, back to Godhead.
Adi5.21
TEXT 21
prema-netre dekhe tāra svarūpa-prakāśa
gopa-gopī-saṅge yāṅhā kṛṣṇera vilāsa
SYNONYMS
prema-netre—with the eyes of love of Godhead; dekhe—one sees; tāra—its; svarūpa-prakāśa—manifestation of identity; gopa—cowherd boys; gopī-saṅge—with the cowherd damsels; yāṅhā—where; kṛṣṇera vilāsa—the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TRANSLATION
But with the eyes of love of Godhead one can see its real identity as the place where Lord Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes with the cowherd boys and cowherd girls.
THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/Adi5.htm