> # SRI CAITANYA BHAGAVATA

> ## Madhya Lila Chapter 19

> All glories to Lord Visvambhara, the Lord of all the Vaisnava devotees. You bring the living entities back to Your fold by giving them devotional service.

> The Lord performed His supramundane pastimes in Navadvipa hidden from the vision of gross materialists. He went to different devotee's homes and engaged in pleasurable pastimes with Nityananda, Gadadhara and other associates.

> The Lord is the source of all spiritual ecstasy for the devotees, and in His association they see everything in relationship to Lord Krsna. They are completely oblivious to the phenomenal world because they are engrossed in relishing the transcendental mellows of chanting the holy names of Krsna. They have no other business.

> Foremost amongst these intimate associates of the Lord is Advaita Acarya. His character is unfathomable and only a few devotees know His transcendental position, how close He is to the Lord. Whenever Lord Caitanya came out of His ecstatic trances He would immediately render service to the assembled Vaisnavas, especially to Advaita Acarya. These dealings of the Lord were the cause of Advaita's constant discontent. His hurt feelings rumbled in His mind like an active volcano.

> He thought, "He is constantly deceiving Me like a thief. He gives up His position and tries to cunningly catch My feet. I cannot match His strength for He is supremely powerful and He forcibly takes the dust from My feet. My only support is the devotional service, because without spiritual realization one cannot recognize the Supreme Lord Visvambhara as He is. People call me 'Advaita the Lion-Hearted' and I become even further deluded. Kindly destroy this delusion.

> "In Your pastimes with Bhrigu You are more glorious than Bhrigu (although some think otherwise). Therefore I will gather about Me hundreds of disciples like Bhrigu. This will enrage the Lord so much that He Himself will have to punish Me. Lord Caitanya has appeared to explain the path of devotional service - I will firmly oppose His instructions. Naturally this enrage Him, and He will have to punish Me, catching Me by the hair."

> Preoccupied with these plans, Advaita left Navadvipa accompanied by Haridasa Thakura. He came home remembering all that He had planned. He became obsessed with that one goal. He began to read and explain a book called Yogavasistha which subscribed to impersonalistic philosophy which was contradictory to the path of devotional service. He explained: "According to Yogavasistha the path of deductive knowledge or empiric speculation was the essence of self-realization. Without understanding the deductive path of knowledge, the path of devotion becomes impotent. Thus empiric knowledge is the essence of everything. Many persons leave home to live in the forest not understanding that this wealth of knowledge is found in the deductive path.

> "The path of devotion to Lord Visnu is like a mirror and the path of deductive knowledge is compared to the eyes. What use does a blind man have for a mirror? I have thoroughly studied the different scriptures, and I have readily arrived at the conclusion that empiric knowledge is the ultimate goal."

> Haridasa Thakura is more than familiar with the ways and nature of Advaita Acarya, and when he heard the Acarya's attempt to explain everything in light of empiric knowledge he merely laughed. Such is the transcendental characteristic of a pure devotee like Advaita Acarya. Those who are righteous can easily understand His position, but the offensive are rejected.

> Lord Visvambhara who is the most munificent Supreme Personality and who fulfills all desires, perceived in His heart Advaita Acarya's desire. One day He was promenading the streets of Navadvipa with Nityananda Prabhu, observing His own creation. Lord Brahma the creator of this universe was watching all these activities of the Lord, and feeling very fortunate and elated, he thought to himself, "The Supreme Lord is appreciating my artistry in engineering this creation."

> The two of Them looked like two full moons sailing across the sky as They moved about with charming gracefulness. The residents of Navadvipa could see Them each according to their own devotion.

> The demigods were also surveying the movements of the two moonlike Lords, but remained unseen to human eyes. They wondered in their minds and thought they were really seeing two moons. Because of this, they mistook their own heavenly abodes for the earth, and the earth for their heavenly planet. They also erred presuming that they were the earthly beings, and that the earthlings were the residents of the heavenly planets. They began talking with each other about the mystery of the two moons.

> Someone said, "Two moons together were never permitted entry in the heavenly planets." Someone else said, "Let me tell you that one of them is the original moon and the other is His reflection." Yet another said, "The son takes after the father in all respects, so one is the father moon and the other is his son. Mars?" It is not in the least bit surprising that the demigods are bewildered by the Lord's beauty, for even the Vedas find themselves inadequate to fully describe the Supreme Lord's extraordinary charming beauty.

> So the two Lords moved about in Navadvipa. Lord Visvambhara said to Lord Nityananda, "Let us go to Shantipur to Advaita Acarya's house." Both Lords were always ready to engage in pleasurable pastimes, so They immediately proceeded to Advaita Acarya's home.

> Almost halfway to Shantipur They approached a village called Lalitpura situated on the banks of the Ganga. There in a hut by the river lived a householder sannyasi. Lord Visvambhara requested from Nityananda Prabhu, "Please find out whose abode this is." Nityananda Prabhu replied, "Lord, this is a sannyasi's residence." Lord Visvambhara said, "If Our fortune permits We might see him. Let Us go." Happily They went in and offered obeisances to the sannyasi.

> The sannyasi was taken in by Lord Visvambhara's charming appearance, His perfectly shaped limbs and radiant smile. The sannyasi being extremely pleased blessed Him saying, "May You be blessed with wealth, fame, learning and a beautiful wife." The Lord immediately replied, "Dear Sir, Gosvami, this is really not a blessing. Please bless me: 'May you receive Krsna's blessings.' Such a blessing brings one to the platform of devotional service to Lord Visnu, and it is eternal, inexhaustible and infallible. It is not becoming of your position to bless me with these other materialistic advantages."

> With a false laugh, more out of displeasure than anything else, the sannyasi replied, "Now I have direct proof of the axiom I have so often heard: if you try to do good to people they take it in a bad way. This is exactly the manner in which this young brahmin has reacted. I was very pleased and I wished Him all success, but He turned my words around and even started blaming me."

> The sannyasi enquired, "Tell me, O young brahmana, why do You fault my blessings? If a man is born into this world and has not enjoyed the company of an attractive woman, or has not collected sufficient wealth, then what is the use of his living? I was wishing You success in this kind of pleasurable life, but You are ashamed and reluctant to receive it well. You may be a devotee of Lord Visnu but how will You maintain Yourself without earnings?"

> The Lord simply smiled at his words and placed His hand on His forehead in a gesture of sheer fatigue at the sannyasi's gross foolishness.

> The Lord utilized this situation to teach everyone that one should not ask for any blessings other than devotional service to the Supreme Lord. He said to the sannyasi, "Listen, O Gosvami. Whatever food we eat comes automatically due to our karma or as a result of our previous activities - whatever is destined for us.

> "If people take birth for the sole purpose of family life with wife, children and earnings, then why is he forced to leave everything at death? No one desires to be sick and ailing, so why do various diseases attack us and make us suffer? The reason for all this is karma; everything is a result of our previous activities. Only elevated and knowledgeable people have full understanding of these facts.

> "Some people point out that the Vedas say that the final goal of human life is to be elevated to the heavenly planets. However the real understanding of this Vedic injunction is that the Vedas have only so enunciated out of extreme leniency towards ignorant people. Materialistic and ignorant people are naturally inclined to a life of luxury and physical pleasures. So knowing this well, the Vedas have recommended accordingly - the Vedas are not to be blamed for this.

> "The general mass of people think that by chanting God's name and taking ablutions in the Ganga one will acquire wealth and success in family life. Thus they respect and take shelter of the Vedic injunctions. However the real result of such performance is that one quickly develops devotion to the Supreme Lord. And so the ignorant people who do not understand the purport of the Vedic injunctions, reject the fruit that leads to devotional service to Krsna, and endeavor after materialistic pleasures.

> "Please consider well all these points, O Gosvami, because there is no goal or activity superior to devotional service to Lord Krsna." Thus the Supreme Lord, the Supreme instructor (aiming these instructions toward the whole world), spoke to the sannyasi and pointed out that devotional service to Lord Krsna is the ultimate purpose of the Vedas. All these instructions of Lord Visvambhara are indeed the absolute truth, but those whose hearts are contaminated due to sinful activities cannot take them to heart.

> The householder sannyasi smiled and thought to himself, "This young brahmana must have become a lunatic due to the effect of some mantra. It could also be that the person dressed as a sannyasi who is accompanying Him has somehow mesmerized Him." The sannyasi spoke out loud, "Finally it has happened. In front of a mere child, I suddenly know nothing. I have travelled around the world - Ayodhya, Mathura, Badrik asrama, Gujarat, Kasi, Vijayanagar, Ceylon, and to many other cities - and now I am not supposed to know any longer what is good or what is bad. I have to learn all this from a suckling baby?"

> Still smiling Lord Nityananda replied, "Listen, Gosai. You don't have to unnecessarily agree with a mere child. I am well aware of your position and fame; please just consider my proposal as I am older. Forgive us for whatever has happened." Hearing his own praises being sung, the sannyasi once again became amiable, and requested his guests to take food. Lord Nityananda said, "We must leave right away since more urgent business must be attended to, but you can pack some eatables for Us which We can eat on the way after Our bath. The sannyasi insisted, "Take Your bath here, take Your meal, and after a cooling rest You can be on Your way again." The two Supreme Personalities have descended to this mortal world for the sole purpose of delivering the most fallen souls, and so they spent some time with the householder sannyasi.

> They washed away Their weariness in the cooling waters of the Ganga, and then returned to the sannyasi's dwelling. They offered some ripe mangoes, jackfruit and milk to Lord Krsna and then relished this Krsna prasadam in the presence of Their pleased host.

> The sannyasi was following the left-handed school of sakti worship, and they are accustomed to consuming liquor. The sannyasi indirectly made this known to Lord Nityananda. He asked, "Listen, Sripad. Shall I bring us some 'happiness'? How often will I get guests like You?" Lord Nityananda who had Himself travelled widely and had seen much, understood that this sannyasi was addicted to alcohol. The sannyasi asked several times whether he should bring happiness or not. Nityananda replied each time, "We must leave right now."

> The sannyasi's wife was sitting inside looking at the two Lords, whom she considered more charming than Cupid. She stared at them as if in meditation. She corrected her husband saying, "Why do you disturb Them during eating?"

> Lord Visvambhara inquired aside, "Of what happiness is he speaking?"
> Lord Nityananda replied, "I think he means liquor."

> Lord Caitanya immediately remembered Lord Visnu and called out His name. Quickly rinsing Their mouths and hands, They left the house. They walked to the riverside and jumped into the water of the Ganga and swam all the way to Santipur to Advaita Acarya's house.

> The Lord shows His mercy to a licentious drunkard but annihilates Vedantists if they are offensive to the devotees of the Lord or the Lord Himself. Although this so-called sannyasi was a drunkard and intimately associated with women, still the Lord visited his dwelling. He conversed with the sannyasi and gave him instructions, rested and ate in his house. This sannyasi may not become fully purified in this life but may have to return for another birth; the agnostics who criticize the Lord or His devotees will never become eligible to receive the Lord's mercy. Even if one is a sannyasi, still that does not make him eligible to see or meet the Supreme Lord. This is evident from the incident with the sannyasis that occurred in Varanasi.

> In the last section of this book is a description of how Lord Caitanya went to Kasi. Many residents and some sannyasis heard the news of His arrival. The sannyasis were joyful to receive the news and were eager to meet Him since they had heard much about His exceptional characteristics. These sannyasis were all impersonalistic Vedantists, and were well-versed in intellectual matters and the performance of various austerities. As life-long residents of Kasi they were well-respected. All their impressive qualifications were undermined though by one single fault - they taught and explained the Vedanta devoid of the science of devotion to Lord Visnu. Lord Caitanya is the Supersoul within each individual's heart. He was aware of this, and although He visited Kasi, He did not give these sannyasis the opportunity to meet Him.

> In Varnasi He stayed in Ramachandra Puri's matha for two months without revealing His whereabouts, but spent most of His time in Chandrasekhar's house. He left Varanasi two days before the Visvarup ksanra, the special shaving ceremony on the full moon day during Chaturmasya that is observed by Mayavadi sannyasis. He left without public knowledge, and only later did the sannysis come to know that they had missed seeing Him.

> The offense of criticizing the Lord or His devotee, even once, steals a person's proper intelligence. The sannyasis did not feel any remorse about not meeting the Lord. Further, they said, "We are all sannyasis. Why did He leave without first speaking to us? What was the reason He could not wait two days and perform the special shaving ceremony Visvaroop Ksanra? By doing this He has neglected the duties of His order."

> The intelligence of non-devotional people is spoiled in this manner, and Lord Siva never accepts worship from such offenders. In fact, Lord Siva, the Lord of Kasi, metes out punishment to such offenders of the Vaisnavas, and takes away whatever little devotion they may have.

> Lord Gaurasundara has advented specifically to deliver all the fallen souls with the exception of those who find fault in Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. Thus Lord Caitanya ate and rested in a drunkard's home, but avoided the company of the so-called learned Vedic sannyasis, just to prove this point. One must be always careful to avoid the Lord's wrath, but those who mock the Lord will suffer eternal punishment in the hands of Yamaraja, the demigod of death.

> Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Ananta Sesa, Kamala the universal Mother, are all constantly engaged in glorifying the Supreme Lord Gaurasundara. Thus if anyone is so unfortunate as not to be attracted by the sweet nectarean pastimes and qualities of Lord Caitanya, then all his Vedic learning and austerities as a sannyasi are rendered useless.

> Happily Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda proceeded towards Santipur along the bank of the Ganga. As they walked, Lord Caitanya loudly and repeatedly roared, "I am that; I am that person. Nada has awakened Me from sleep and brought Me here. He is, I believe, holding dissertations that camouflage the process of devotional service behind a facade of flowery words that present the speculative path of knowledge. Today I will punish him for this. Let the whole world see; I want everyone to see how he defends his bastion of speculative knowledge." While the Lord thunderously rumbled on in this manner, Lord Nityananda kept His silence, smiling in His mind. As Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu swam in the waves of the Ganga, this author recalls to memory Lord Mukunda, Narayana, lying on Ananta Sesa floating on the ocean of milk.

> Advaita Acarya, a stalwart amongst the followers of Lord Caitanya, knew from experience, that due to His high devotional merits the Lord would react angrily to His presenting the theory of speculative philosophy. So when He realized that Caitanya and Nityananda had come to Shantipur, He began to speak even more aggressively about impersonalistic knowledge. How can one really fathom the devotional mood and activities of the pure devotees of the Lord?

> Lord Nityananda accompanied the irate Lord Caitanya into Advaita's house. Advaita swayed in divine pleasure, playing out His part perfectly as "the impersonalist". Haridas Thakura offered obeisances to the Lord, falling on the ground like a rod; Acyuta, Advaita's son, also offered his respectful obeisances. Advaita's wife, Sitadevi, offered obeisances to the Lord in her mind and felt very upset seeing the Lord's countenance. The Lord's face and expression aroused fear in everyone's heart.

> Rumbling with anger, the Lord said, "Hey You, Nada! Tell Me which is superior: speculative knowledge - OR - devotional service?"
> Advaita replied, "Speculative knowledge is always superior, for what is the use of devotional service if a person is devoid of impersonal knowledge?"

> As soon as these words entered His ears, Lord Caitanya became inflamed and forgot His surroundings. He pulled Advaita out of His seat and dragged Him out to the patio. There He threw Him on the ground, and struck Him, again, and again.

> Advaita's wife, Sitadevi is the universal Mother who knows all these confidential topics. Yet she could not restrain herself from trying to stop the Lord. "Stop! Stop!" she cried out. "He is just an old brahmana. For whose benefit do You chastise Him so heavily? He is so old that He may not survive Your harsh behavior. You will find it difficult to avoid the consequences of Your actions." Lord Nityananda smiled at her words, while Haridasa Thakura repeated Krsna's name in great fear.

> Lord Caitanya was so angry that He did not even hear Sitadevi's words. Roaring like angry thunder He spoke to Advaita: "I was gently relaxing on the milk ocean and You interrupted My sleep, calling Me to attend to Your work. You engineered the propagation of devotional service, yet now You audaciously obscure the devotional process with Your circumvent explanations of impersonalism. If You had already made up Your mind to surreptitiously broadcast Your speculative theories, then why did You take the trouble of revealing Me to the world? I did not disregard Your desire and wishes, but you have deceived Me in all respects."

> At long last, Caitanya stopped chastising Advaita and went to sit next to the doorway. He spoke loudly, revealing His real identity to all. He said, "O Nada, you know everything. Behold, I am the one who slew Kamsa. Siva, Brahma, Ananta Sesa, Laksmidevi are all constantly engaged in serving Me. That impostor Vasudeva met his end, vanquished by My Sudarsan Chakra disc weapon. That same disc reduced the entire city of Varanasi to ashes. My arrow found its mark and killed the great demon king, Ravana. My invincible Sudarsana severed the arms of Bana and destroyed the powerful demon Naraka. I had lifted the Govardhana mountain with my left hand, and it is I who brought the heavenly parijata flower to earth. I tricked King Bali out of all his possessions and then benedicted him for his mood of surrender, and it was I who vanquished the terrible demon king Hiranyakasipu to favor my devotee Prabhlad." As the Lord revealed His various pastimes, Advaita felt gradually submerged in an ocean of ecstatic bliss.

> Advaita was more than happy to receive His due punishment in this manner. He clapped His hands and pranced in joy, feeling peace and humility within. He said, "My Lord, You have rightfully faulted Me, and I am lucky to get away with so little. Now I am clear about Your divine authority. I am feeling a renewed strength in My relationship with You as Your servant."

> Advaita danced around in ecstasy and then creasing His eyebrows together He prayed to the Lord, "Now where are Your flattering words about Me? What has happened to all that deceit? I am not Durvasa Muni that You can insult Me, whose remnants of rice You had smeared on Your body. Nor am I Bhrigu Muni whose foot impression decorated Your breast and is known as the famous Srivatsa. My name is simply Advaita, Your eternal and humble servant purely, and I am always hankering birth after birth to receive Your remnants. By the effect of Your remnants or mercy, I am unscathed by the ravages of Your illusory potency. The punishment is now over, so please give Me the shelter of Your lotus feet." Saying this, Advaita, the master of Santipur fell to the ground and placed His head on the Lord's lotus feet.

> Hastily and with due respect, Lord Visvambhara picked up Advaita on His lap as tears flooded the Lord's eyes cascading down unrestrained. Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura were unable to contain their ecstatic emotions at the sight of such a display of divine devotional fervor; tears flowed from their eyes in rivers. Sitadevi, Acyutananda and the servants of the house were crying in intense joy. Advaita's whole house became immersed in love of Godhead.

> Lord Visvambhara now felt ashamed after having chastised Advaita so severely. He wanted to compensate by offering Him a boon. He said, "If anyone so much as takes a little shelter at Your feet, be they an insect, worm, animal or bird, and even if they commit a million offenses against Me, I will still grant them My benediction."

> When Advaita heard this boon He fell at the Lord's feet and cried like a meek child. He wimpered, "Whatever You have said My Lord is certainly true. Now please hear and grant Me one favor. If anyone tries to follow and worship Me but does not serve Your lotus feet, then let that so-called devotion to Me vanquish them. I cannot accept anyone who does not serve You. They may be My son or servant, but I shall consider them a great offender and shall never see their face because I cannot bear to see anyone neglect Your lotus feet. Those who worship You, automatically become My dearest friend. Sometimes one may supersede Your worship and approach up to a million demigods, but those demigods will never entertain them. Instead they will surely squash them by some deception. All that I have said is not my own concoction, but is the verdict of the scriptures. The story from the Puranas about the death of Sudaksina is proof.

> "Sudakshina was the son of the king of Kasi. As a great devotee of Lord Siva, he was always immersed in meditation on his Lord. Being satisfied with his worship, Lord Siva appeared to him and said, 'Ask for a boon and I shall fulfill your heart's desire. Also, perform the special yajna of Abhicharyajna in order to master extraordinary powers, but be very cautious that you do not belittle or offend any Vaisnava devotee of the Lord. If you do you will be immolated.'

> "Sudaksina had no way of detecting the intention behind Lord Siva's words, so he duly performed the Abhichara sacrifice according to his Lord's instructions. Out of the sacrificial fire appeared a terrifying form possessing three hands, legs, and heads who stood towering over him. It said, 'Ask for your boon.' The prince replied, 'Go and burn down the city of Dvaraka.' The giant creature became visibly saddened and understood that the prince's desire could never be fulfilled. It nevertheless proceeded to Dvaraka at his request, and upon its arrival it was immediately attacked by the omnipresent and ever-watchful guard of Dvaraka, the Sudarsan Chakra disc.

> "No one can escape the wrath of Sudarsan, and so the giant submitted itself at the lotus feet of Sudarsan and said, 'The powerful sage Durvasa could not escape from you and neither could you be contained by such great personalities like Lord Brahma or Lord Siva. What can an insignificant person as myself do against such an exalted Vaisnava as you? Lord, I have no avenues of escape now. You are free to do anything you like to me. All glories to you, my Lord who is famous as Sudarsana; you are as powerful as my own Lord Sankara and the abode of Krsna. All glory to you who possesses the form of a disc and who is the best amongst the Vaisnava devotees. You instill fear in the hearts of the miscreants and protect the pious.'

> "Sudarsan was appeased by the giant's prayers and he told him to return to the prince who had sent him and destroy him by fire. The terrifying giant returned to the prince of Kasi and then destroyed him.

> "Sudaksina tried to override You, My Lord, and tried to worship Lord Siva with the yajna, but the result was that he met his death through this very same sacrifice. Similarly, I say that those who approach me dismissing Your lotus feet, I destroy them. You are everything to me; You are the Lord of my life, my most precious treasure, my father and my mother, my dearest friend. I cannot tolerate such offense at Your lotus feet.

> "There are many examples of this point in the scriptures. King Satrajit once met the Sun demigod and becoming attracted by his brilliance and personality began worshiping him. But then once he disobeyed Your orders and due to this offense he and his brother were killed. The Sun demigod saw all this with satisfaction since he had been very upset that Satrajit had disobeyed Your instructions. Duryodhana was a disciple of Lord Balarama, but because he disregarded You he and his entire race were eliminated.

> "Hiranyakasipu became practically invincible by the boon of Lord Brahma and this made him insolent and inimical towards You. So he also died along with his race of demons.

> "The ten-headed Ravana was the most powerful king of his time having received a boon from Lord Siva. He was offensive to You and challenged You, so he and his entire family were vanquished.

> "O Lord, You are the root cause and the Supreme Lord of all the demigods. Everything and everyone, seen and unseen is Your servant. If one tries to worship the servant but disregards the Lord and Master Himself, then the servant cannot tolerate this offense. The servant will make a show of accepting the worshipers' worship, but then eventually will personally destroy them. Worshiping demigods like Siva directly without worshiping You is like watering the branches instead of the root of the tree. You are the original cause of the Vedas, the brahmanas, sacrifices, and religious practices. I despise that person who disregards Your lotus feet."

> Lord Caitanya greatly appreciated Advaita's highly confidential and esoteric prayers. He spoke out in a voice that resembled a thunderclap: "Now listen to Me attentively: I say truly that those who worship Me directly but neglect My servants and devotees are most despicable wretches who by doing so cut My body into pieces. Their worship is like burning cinders on My body. Those who criticize and offend My devotee, My name which fulfills all desires will vanquish them. In this way I show My compassion for them. Every living entity is My servant, so I cannot tolerate any violence towards them. I destroy anyone who tries to hurt My servants, what to speak of You, Advaita. You are more dear to Me than My own body and any disrespect shown to You is dealt with severely by Me. Even if a sannyasi offends a pure devotee, he will fall down from his vows and deviate from his religious practices."

> Raising both His arms, Lord Gauracandra declared to the world, "Give up the offensive attitude of criticizing Vaisnavas and chant Lord Krsna's holy name. Anyone who practices this will surely be delivered by Me."

> Lord Caitanya's words gripped the devotees in a wave of unrestrained joy and they broke out chanting the Lord's name loudly. Advaita Acarya wept in ecstasy catching the Lord's lotus feet, and the Lord held Advaita in His endearing embrace and wept.

> Advaita's loving devotion flooded the entire universe. Such is the wonderful character and activity of Advaita Acarya. Advaita Acarya is non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Who then can really understand His words. The seemingly abusive exchange between Advaita and Lord Nityananda can be perceived only by those elevated souls who have reached that state of bliss beyond material influences. The words and activities of the Supreme Lord and His pure devotees, the Vaisnavas, can be understood and appreciated only by their mercy alone.

> Discussions of the spiritual nature amongst Advaita, Nityananda and other devotees can be realized by Lord Ananta alone, who then sings these with his innumerable mouths.

> Lord Visvambhara glanced at Advaita coming out of his ecstatic engrossment, and spoke with a smile, "I have chastised you in a moment of childish frivolity."
> Advaita replied, "All such pastimes are not factual, but performed to delude us."
> The Lord said, "Listen, Nityananda. You must kindly forgive Me for my reckless act of immaturity."

> Nityananda, Haridasa Thakura and Advaita Acarya exchanged glances amongst each other and then burst out in uncontrolled laughter.

> Lord Visvambhara always addressed Sitadevi, Advaita's wife as mother. She was a symbol of chastity, always serving her husband to his full satisfaction. Now Lord Visvambhara went to her saying, "Go quickly and prepare a sumptuous feast for Lord Krsna, and after offering it to Him, we shall partake of His remnants." The Lord then left to take His bath in Ganga along with Advaita, Haridas, Nityananda and others. Everyone was in a happy mood. Such unbounded joy and spiritual bliss seen in the Lord's nature is described in detail in the Vedas.

> Upon returning from His bath to the house, He washed His feet and prostrated Himself before Lord Krsna. Seeing the Lord in a prostrated position, Advaita fell at the Lord's lotus feet, and Haridas also in the ecstasy of devotee association fell at the feet of Advaita. Lord Nityananda witnessed this wonderful scene with feelings of spiritual bliss surging within Him. Here then was the transcendental bridge of the three expansions of Godhead, linked directly to the highest spiritual abode.

> Rising from offering obeisances to Lord Krsna, Lord Visvambhara noticed that Advaita Acarya was at His feet and He became very embarrassed. He chanted, "Visnu, Visnu," in humility.

> The Lord then took Advaita's hand and entered the eating room with Nityananda in His familiar charming way. The three Supreme Personalities sat down to eat. Each one of them was always animated with spiritual ecstasy and Lord Nityananda acted, as was His nature, as a highly restless young boy. Sitting away from Them by the door was Haridas Thakura who was spiritually elevated enough to see these different transcendental pastimes. Sita Thakurani, Advaita's wife, a most spiritually exalted and versatile lady was serving Them and remembering Lord Hari all the time. She served Them delicacies like flavored rice, ghee, milk, and sweet rice; everyone ate vivaciously with pleasure.

> Advaita Acarya began to laugh at Nityananda. They are in fact both the same Supreme Personality, but have become two absolute entities to participate and assist in Lord Krsna's pastimes. Just towards the end of Their meal, Lord Nityananda became overly restless like a child. He picked up the rice from His plate and threw it all around, and then laughed out loud in childish glee. Lord Visvambhara cried out in great concern, while Haridas Thakura could not check his laughter.

> Advaita pretended to be inflamed in rage, and revealed the truths about the absolute nature of Nityananda. He angrily said, "This Nityananda is a drunkard and His company has corrupted My caste. He cannot say who His guru is, nor the place of His birth. He simply introduces Himself as a sannyasi. No one knows Him or His caste or His family; He always walks around swaying like a drunken mad elephant. Previously He was eating in the houses of aliens, and now He has come here, trying to mix with the brahmanas.

> "I say thrice truly to you, Haridasa, that this drunkard will destroy everything." Working Himself into a fit of fake rage, Advaita threw off His clothes and clapping His hands, He pranced about in unrestrained glee.

> Lord Visvambhara started laughing at Advaita. Such was His nature that both young and old equally found His character stimulating. Nityananda also shook with laughter pointing His fingers at Advaita who was exhibiting such amusing postures in His pretended rage.

> After a while when They were again recomposed They rinsed Their mouths and hands, and then embraced each other experiencing ecstatic bliss. Both Advaita and Nityananda are like the two hands of Lord Caitanya. There is no enmity ever but only everlasting annuity between them. Their quarrels are simulated and meant to support Krsna's pastimes; such are the childlike mannerisms of the Supreme Lord and His pure devotees.

> Lord Caitanya passed His time in this manner in Advaita's house, engrossed in ecstatic bliss performing sankirtana. These supramundane activities can be understood by Lord Balarama alone, others cannot fathom the absolute excellences in the Supreme Lord's nature. By the blessings of Lord Balarama one is able to repeat these pastimes of Lord Caitanya because Sarasvati devi, the goddess of learning, seems to dance on His tongue.

> All these pastimes I have compiled having no idea of the chronological sequence; I have simply presented them as they appear to me and it was possible merely by the mercy of Lord Krsna.

> I therefore offer obeisances at the feet of all the beloved devotees of Lord Caitanya and beg their forgiveness for the offenses I might have committed in this endeavor.

> After a few days of sojourn in Advaita's house, Lord Caitanya returned to Navadvipa and His home accompanied by Lord Nityananda, Advaita and Haridasa. When the news of the Lord's return to Navadvipa spread, all the Vaisnavas hurriedly flocked to meet the Lord - bubbling delight was written on everyone's face.

> The sight of Lord Caitanya's moon-like face immediately dissipated their distress and they fell at His feet weeping. The Lord was their most precious soul; He lovingly embraced everyone who had come to meet Him. All His devotees were like His own expansions - compassionate and exalted Vaisnavas.

> All the devotees then offered obeisances to Advaita who was the cause for Lord Caitanya's advent. Jubilantly they met each other and began to playfully and loudly talk about Krsna's pastimes with the Lord. Mother Saci was extremely happy to see her son again, and together with Visnupriyadevi, she offered grateful thanks to their Deity.

> All of these pastimes can only be fully described by Lord Ananta alone; He is my life and soul. There is no difference between Lord Balarama and Lord Nityananda except in Their names, just as the three different words dvija, vipra and brahmana mean one and the same thing. One who hears with devotion these pastimes of the Lord in Advaita's house, attains the highest bliss.

> Lord Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda are my life and soul.

> I, Vrndavana dasa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.

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