Simultaneously in Goloka

This poem is the poetic rendition of a pastime of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as narrated in Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 229-235 (See page n. for the whole story). It belongs to the category of poems related to my personal search for the continuity and simultaneous vision of the pastimes of the Lord as both Krishna and Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

CC Madhya Lila 11.221-224 "In His own pastimes in Vrindavana, when Krishna used to eat on the bank of the Yamuna, every gopa would perceive that Krishna was looking at him.

In the same way, when Caitanya Mahaprabhu observed the dancing, everyone saw that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was facing him.

When someone came nearby while dancing, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would tightly embrace him." 

"Upon seeing the great dancing, great love and great sankirtana, all the people of Jagannatha Puri floated in an ecstatic ocean of love."

Jaiva Dharma Ch.17   "Then there are devotees who in their period of sadhana worship both Sri Krishna and Sri Gauranga. After obtaining liberation they acquire two transcendental forms and serve Sri Krishna in Krsna-pitha and Sri Gauranga in Gaura-pitha simultaneously.  This is the divine and confidential mystery of the inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and difference of Sri Krishna and Sri Gauranga." 

Radiant like the air

at dusk,

the sweetest Lord,

with as much rice

as His hand could hold,

filled each plate.

In a row everyone sat 

and after Him, they ate,

then amidst them

He started to dance

and any shadows were dispelled;

From the blue town

people flocked

and crowded around,

as the sweeping waves of love

crashed Him to the ground,

while an ocean of tears

washed upon and drowned

the shore-like eyes

of all who came nearby.

Anyone close to the Lord,

within the reach

of His limbs,

was embraced by Him,

and all the dancers

in all directions,

and the singers

 on all sides, near and far,

everyone who was present,

met his eyes

in the same moment,

and each one,

at the same time,

felt to be the only one

beheld by that glance. 

O reader, now please

see this same scene,

the same youth,

but with blue skin

 as He sat on a rock,   ⁽¹⁾

in the blossoming of spring,

yogurt and rice in His hand

  and dates to share  ⁽²⁾

with His friends.

While they ate

He gazed at them

one on one,

facing each friend,

eye to eye

in the same moment,

and each one felt

at the same time

to be the only one

beheld by His glance.

And so, in the way

only the soul can

walk into Vraja and Navadvip

at the same time,

because in the spiritual realm

the two sacred places

simultaneously exist,

here it is difficult to conceive,

there just one chord weeps

 in separation and in union ~

this is the secret gift

of the Golden Lord appearing in Navadvip.

________________________________

(1) Gopala Campu “In the monsoon, Krishna with his friends takes shelter under a tree to avoid the rain and eats dates grown in beautiful valleys.  He sits on a stone slab near the water eating rice mixed with yogurt and calls the cows that are far away.  These activities attract our [Gopi's] hearts.”

(2) SBB 5.30 Comm. "Holding in His hand a very nice preparation of yogurt and rice, with pieces of suitable fruit between His fingers, He sat like a the whorl of a lotus, looking forward toward all His friends ..."

Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 11. 229-235 

.... in the middle of them the Lord Himself, known as the son of mother Saci, began to dance.(215)

When the tumultuous vibration of sankirtana resounded, all good fortune immediately  awakened ...(217)

When the congregational chanting began, ecstatic love immediately overflooded everything, and all the residents of Jagannatha Puri came running.(218)

(229-235):

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu fell down to the ground, Sri Nityananda Raya Prabhu lifted Him up.

The tears from the eyes of the Lord came out with great force, like water from a syringe. Indeed, all the people who surrounded Him were moistened by His tears.

While kirtana was going on, there was a transformation of ecstatic love and much tears, jubilation, trembling, perspiration and deep resounding in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Upon seeing this transformation, all the people present became very much astonished.

While this dancing was going on, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu watched them and performed a miracle. 

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stood in the middle of the dancers, and all the dancers in all directions perceived that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was looking at them.

Wanting to see the dancing of the four great personalities, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited this miracle of seeing everyone simultaneously.

Everyone who saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu could understand that He was performing a miracle, but they did not know how it was that He could see on all four sides.

Lamentation of Vishnupriya-devi

Bhakti Ratnakara Chapter 4 :"Because of separation from Caitanya, she never slept at night. If at all she slept, she would lie on the hard ground.
Her golden complexion had grown pale like the new moon. While chanting the names of Hari, she would set aside a grain of rice for each mantra.  Later in the day, only those grains would be soaked and offered to the Lord.  The offering was very small, and yet she would eat only a portion of it. "

Vishnupriya devi Thakurani lived her life in the slow burning agony of separation from Sri Gouranga after His departure. Nor would anyone ever hear her voice.  Constantly shedding tears .....

My heart walls in

a labyrinth of lamentation
where time is marked
by the fall
of a grain of rice
into a bowl,
then soaked in tears
that swell and drop
endlessly
from inner silent corners, 
where nothing else exists
but Your name
flowing in a stream,
there the chanting, the divine love
any instant of You -
abides,
 keeps me alive,
yet oblivious to life.
and You come in dreams  ⁽¹⁾
bathed in autumn moonlight
Your words my only delight;
neither the sun
nor the moon
giver of rest,
will ever rise
in this continuous sunset
of your absence,
and in this numbness
of my being
I lie on the bare ground
of my barren life;
time was meaningful before,
because of You,
when You ate, You slept or bathed,
what a piercing of the heart
this passing of the hours,
 no one has ever lived
without even
the slightest hope
of Your return!

(1) The dream by Sri Vishnupriya-devi BR Ch. 4 "Just then Sri Vishnupriya-devi was telling her favorite maidservant that she had had a dream, which she would describe.  Her Lord, who was the attractor of the entire creation, had appeared before her in an enchanting pose.  [...]  In his affectionate way, Caitanya made Visnupriya sit down, and he spoke to her in a soft sweet voice : ' A brahmana boy named Srinivasa has suffered indescribably.  Today he will come to see you.  Knowing him to be a dear devotee, you should bestow your mercy on him.'  Caitanya continued to delight her with his pleasing words and then suddenly disappeared, and she awoke in distress."

Sleepless Night

Gopala Campu  33.17  "But how can I give up the cowsheds, the forest, the cows. the people of Vraja,my servants, my friends, my gopis, my father and mother and Radha?  Without me, they cannot remain sane for a moment.  Thinking of them, I will be completely burned up as if there were a fire within me."

"My heart is filled with anguish that burns like a host of fiery torches.   I lay down to sleep, but I could not sleep a wink.  It is only with great difficulty that somehow I have survived this night." Sri Lalita Madhava. 

"During the day Krishna's mind was preoccupied with many things, but at night, as He lay beside Balarama in Their bullock cart, His mind was filled only with thoughts of His father and friends.

How would He tell them that He would be staying in Mathura? How would He convince them to return to Vraja? If they did return, how would He and they remain alive, separated from one another?"  NVM p.278

On the day Krishna killed Kamsa, He realized that was not the end of His adventures away from Vraja, He could not go back.

That night Krishna went to sleep in the bullock cart with Balarama, at the edge of the forest on the outskirts of Mathura. Even in this familiar setting, his heart was troubled because the next day He would have to tell Nanda Baba and His friends that He had to stay in Mathura and could not go back with them to Vraja. The events of those last few days in Mathura came into His mind churning His emotions into pangs of love. He remembered also the words of Narada that foretold His long absence from Vraja.  What a sharp pain to His heart thinking of Their future in separation!  

Sleepless night

In the backwoods

with no sound around,

familiar feelings arise

and the turmoil of the heart

echoes loud,

lying in the bullock cart
in the stillness of the dark

many thoughts crowd

back to the day when He had come;

    The words the laundryman spoke    (1)

resounded from a time remote,

his malevolent grin

 swiftly erased

by the touch of His fingertips;

     then the weaver from the past   (2)

desirous to dress Him up,

and the florist with the softest buds  (3)

offering his loving service,

asking for nothing else;

But the feelings that churn

this night into a blend of flavoured remembrances

are the grimaces of grief,

the cries of friends and relatives 

and praises from ladies’ voices  (4)

 He had never heard before,

 how they distracted His mind 

recalling the gopis’ love,

~ its spell...

so that for just one instant, He almost fell,

but was brought back to His senses

by an outcry, far beyond the fences

 as Nanda Baba's love erupted 
"Oh my son!"
~ so intense!

 At once He killed

the wrestler, and then the demon king,

dragging him by the hair

all around for everyone to see,  (5)

for the wrong he did

to the doe-eyed maid

with aguru scented hair.

So, now, how to tell

 father and friends

that He is not going back?

A morrow of sorrow

lurks in His heart,

He feels the burning

        Narada once foretold:    (6)

 many events

would avert His return
for a long time,

and Vraja would turn

into a desert of oases without hope

for those He loves.

They will not live, nor breathe,

the gopis will hardly eat,

Baba will not even drink,

Mother will only sigh,

and what about Him…

alone, far from Vraja and Radha…

from the amorous moonlights,

the forest, the cows,

the river at twilight,

how many nights will come to pass

like this one!...

when due to love, sleep is lost,

since for pain or for pleasure alike

the heart weeps or delights

 in sleepless nights.

((   1)   From NVM p.235  “Krishna at once recognized the washerman as the same unfortunate soul who criticized Lord Ramachandra for having accepted Sita after she had “lived in the house of another man” the demon Ravana.”

(    2)   From NVM p.237  “In a previous life this weaver had been the best tailor of Mithila.  He was requested by Janaka Maharaja to make clothes for Rama and Laksmana on the occasion of Rama’s marriage to Sita.

But even thought the tailor had prepared the finest clothes for the sons of Dasaratha, he was not allowed to dress Them himself.  Thus he lamented, hoping that fate would favour him some day.”

(    3)   SB 10.41.49,51  " [...] Thus with great pleasure he {Sudama} presented Them {Krishna

and Balarama} with garlands of fresh, fragrant flowers."

Sudama chose unshakable devotion for Krishna, the Supreme Soul of all existence;

friendship with His devotees, and transcendental compassion for all living beings."

(    4)   NVM p.263 "Krishna heard the ladies' praise and remembered the gopis.  That momentary distraction gave Canura the upper hand.  Nandaraja, sensing Krishna was in danger, stood up and called out "Oh my son!". 

(    5)   NVM p267 "Holding Kamsa by the hair, Krishna proudly dragged the dead King's lifeless body...."  This to give assurance to the people and the Vrsni that now the demon was dead, but there was also something else that Krishna remembered for which He pulled Kamsa by his hair ...

"Sankhacuda : Now in order to fulfill the unfulfilled desire of my dear friend King Kamsa, I will grab the hair of the lotus-like girl on this throne and drag Her away ."  Sri Lalita Madhava Act II

"And because She dries Her hair with the smoke of burning aguru, the aroma of Her hair fortifies that feeling of Krishna's presence." NVM p. 390

(6)  Gopala Campu 33.109, 111-113 "Krishna said 'Why will I not go to                                                                                                                     Vraja...."

             [Narada] "When Kamsa will be killed, his many friends, just like                                            Jarasandha, will become like him, how will you be able to go?"

             "Krishna said, 'I will not go just to see them?' 

             "Narada said with a rough laugh,

                                 'No, no.'    

   

The Way to Bhakti

BG 3.16 

evam pravartitam cakram

nanuvartayatiha yah

aghayur indriyaramo

mogham partha sa jivati 

                                      

"My dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin.  Living only for the satisfaction of the sense, such a person lives in vain."

Translation from "A comprehensive guide to Bhagavad Gita" - BG 3.16

"A cycle is made to turn.  One who does not keep it turning, a sense enjoyer of errant life,  lives in vain, Partha."

BG 4.31 "O Best of Kurus, one who does not sacrifice [offering] has not this world.  How then the next?"

The Way to Bhakti

evam ...in this way

the night again falls after  day,

the milky stars fall beyond the horizon

on their revolving way,

and ghee falls into the fire,

and the Source-of-All 
with the souls re-unite,

thus the Universe speaks ~

motion is a wheel

as you receive

offer back

do not keep,

just as the tree gives

from the water it receives,

but does not hold nor taste

how its fruit is sweet. (1)

Do not take, neither keep ~

always give back,

and put love in your hands
without holding back,

'cause it was given like that,

whatever we have is a gift,

do not grab for anything

lest envy, lust and greed

 hold your heart

in a dark grip;

from the air we receive our life,

from the earth the plants

to stay alive,

and emotions from a beautiful sky,

from the stars a cuddle to sleep,

even darkness gives us dreams

and we rejoice in the flowers,

the sun rays, the cool breezes,

but do not forget, it is not ours,

it is received,

gratefully reciprocate,

 love means to always give,

and in this way 
with Bhakti 

turn the universal wheel.

Mahabharata  113

पिबन्ति नद्य: स्वयम् एव न अम्भ: स्वयं न खादन्ति फलानि वॄक्षा: |

न अदन्ति सस्यं खलु वारिवाहा परोपकाराय सतां विभूतय: ||

The rivers don't drink their own water. The trees don't eat their own fruits. The clouds don't eat the crops to which they give the water.