(From the book Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava)
Next day the devotees toured the main holy places of Puri while performing sankirtana, finally arriving at the Simha-dvara gate of the Jagannatha temple. Here Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati quoted a verse spoken by the gopis, the inner significance of which is crucial for understanding Lord Caitanya’s pastimes in Puri:
ahus ca te nalina-nabha padaravindam
yogesvarair hrdi vicintyam agadha-bodhaih
samsara-kupa-patitottaranavalambam
geham jusam api manasy udiyat sada nah
“Dear Lord, whose navel is like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet be wakened also within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs.” (SB 10.82.48)
Singing this verse to the accompaniment of mrdangas and karatalas, Srila Sarasvati Thakura and his followers circumambulated the Jagannatha temple. They also sang Bengali verses from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta describing Caitanya Mahaprabhu speaking in the mood of Srimatl Radharani:
For most people the mind and heart are one, yet because My mind is never separated from Vrndavana, I consider My mind one with Vrndavana. My mind is already Vrndavana, and since You like Vrndavana, will You kindly place Your lotus feet there? I would deem that to be Your full mercy. My dear Lord, please hear My true submission. My home is Vrndavana, and 1 wish Your association there. But if 1 do not get it, then it will be very difficult for Me to keep My life.
My dear Krsna, formerly when You were staying in Mathura, You sent Uddhava to teach Me speculative knowledge and mystic yoga. Now You Yourself are speaking the same thing, yet My mind does not accept it. There is no place in My mind for jnana-yoga or dhyana- yoga. Although You know Me very well, You are still instructing Me in jnana-yoga and dhyana-yoga. It is not right that You do so. I want to withdraw My consciousness from You and engage it in material activities, but even though I try I cannot do so. I am naturally inclined to You only. Your instructions for Me to meditate on You are therefore simply ludicrous. In this way You are killing Me.
It is not very good that You think Me to be a candidate for Your instructions. The gopis are not like mystic yogis; they will never be satisfied simply by meditating on Your lotus feet and imitating so- called yogis. Teaching the gopis about meditation is another kind of duplicity. When they are instructed to undergo mystic yoga practice, they are not at all satisfied. On the contrary, they become more angry with You.
The gopis have fallen into the expansive ocean of separation and are being devoured by the timingila fish of their ambition to serve You. Because they are pure devotees, they are to be delivered from the mouth of this timingila fish. Since they have no material conception of life, why should they aspire for liberation? The gopis do not want the kind of liberation desired by yogis and jnanis, for they are already liberated from the ocean of mundane existence.
It is amazing that You have forgotten the land of Vrndavana. And how is it that You have forgotten Your father, mother, and friends? How have You forgotten Govardhana, the bank of the Yamuna, and the forest where You enjoyed rdsa-lildl Krsna, You are certainly a refined gentleman with all good qualities. You are well-behaved, softhearted, and merciful. I know that there is not even a tinge of fault to be found in You, yet Your mind does not even remember the inhabitants of Vrndavana. This is only My misfortune and nothing else.
I do not care for My personal unhappiness, but when I see the morose face of Your mother Yasoda, and the hearts of all the residents of Vrndavana breaking because of You, I wonder whether You want to kill them all. Is it that You want to enliven them by coming there?
Why are You simply keeping them alive in a state of suffering? The inhabitants of Vrndavana do not want You dressed like a prince, nor do they want You to associate with great warriors in a different country. They cannot leave the land of Vrndavana, and without Your presence they are dying. What will be their condition? My dear Krsna, You are the life and soul of Vrndavana-dfiama. You are especially the life of Nanda Maharaja. You are the only opulence in the land of Vrndavana; and You are very merciful. Come and let the residents of Vrndavana live. Kindly keep Your lotus feet again in Vrndavana. (Cc 2.13.137—47)
Srila Sarasvati Thakura stated that arousal of such feelings is the actual method of worship for Gaudlyas.
After circumambulating the temple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his retinue entered. First they took darsana of Lord Caitanya’s footprints and offered dandavat to them. After taking darsana of Lord Jagannatha from behind the Garuda-stambha, Srlla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati recited:
bhuvam sincann asru-srutibhir abhitah hana-pulakaih paritango nlpa-stabaka-nava-kinjalka-jayibhih hana-sveda-stoma-stimita-tanur utklrtana-sukhi sa caitanyah kim me punar api drsor yasyati padam
“While chanting the holy names, Caitanya Mahaprabhu became joyful and sprinkled the earth with showers of tears. All the hairs of His body, standing on end, appeared like the beautiful filaments of fresh kadamba blossoms, and His body glistened with perspiration. Will He again become visible before the path of my eyes.”
In explanation, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati described that when Lord Caitanya in the mood of Srimati Radharani meeting Krsna at Kuruksetra had darsana of Lord Jagannatha, the tears of love that burst forth from His eyes filled the drain behind the Garuda-stambha.
The next day was Snana-yatra, the festival of bathing Lord Jagannatha. After observing it, Srila Sarasvati Thakura spent the next two weeks taking his party around Purl and neighboring holy places, illuminating the significance of the various sites and as usual continuing to glorify Krsna wherever he went. The largest of several preaching functions was held at the estate of a prominent gentleman, during which Srila Sarasvati Thakura expounded the difference between personal and impersonal conceptions of the absolute.
On the day before Ratha-yatra, Srila Sarasvati Thakura read to his disciples the description of how Lord Caitanya would thoroughly clean the Gundica temple each year on this corresponding day. He explicated the internal meaning of this pastime: just as the Gundica temple must be cleansed immaculately to make it fit to receive the Lord, so must the heart of a devotee. As had Lord Caitanya and His associates, Srila Sarasvati Thakura and his retinue swept and washed the Gundica temple and adjacent Nrsimha temple and then bathed in the nearby Indradyumna-sarovara. The next day they chanted in front of Jagannatha’s cart, especially singing a verse that Lord Caitanya would recite during Ratha-yatra:
sei ta parana-natha painu
yaha lagi’ madana-dahane jhuri’ genu
Now I have gained the Lord of My life, in the absence of whom I was being burned by Cupid and was withering away. ( CC 2.155, 2.13.113)
Gaura Premanande HariHaribol