Yogapith Mayapur
The
glorious appearance place of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Maha prabhu is
located on the island of Shri Antardwip. Before the time of the Lord's
birth, this area was known as Nadia. Later, after the Lord's birth, it
became known as Navadwip. It is today known as Mayapur.The central point
of Shri Gaura Mandala is Shri Navadwip Dham. The central point of Shri
Navadwip Dham is Shridham Mayapur. At the center of Shridham Mayapur is a
vortex which is the appearance place of Shri Krishna Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, Shri Yoga Pith. Shri Antardwip is within Shridham Mayapur
and it spreads up to Bharadvaja Tila, some portions of Vamana Pukara,
Shri Mayapur, Ganga Nagara, and Shri Chand Kazi's Samadhi. The house of
Shri Jagannatha Misra, the father of Mahaprabhu, was at Vamana
Pukara.During the excavation of Mayapur by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saras-wati Thakur Prabhupada in 1934, a smali four-armed Deity of
Adhok-saja Vishnu was discovered. This was the worshipable Deity of Shri
Jagannatha Misra, and this murti can still be seen on the central altar
in front of the Deities Gaura-Narayana, with Vishnupriya on His left
and Laksmipriya on His right. On the left hand altar are the Deities
Shri Shri Radha-Madhava and Shri Krishna Chaitanyadeva along with
Jagannatha. On the right hand altar are Panca Tattva Deities.Before this
majestic temple was built, the temple of Shri Jagannath Misra once
stood. To the right you can see a wonderful neem tree. Under the shelter
of such a tree at this place Lord Nimai appeared as the son of
Jagannath Misra and Shrimati Sacidevi. Shrimati Sacidevi was a devout
and chaste lady, fixed in religious principles and devoted to her
husband. She was the personification of mercy. Shrimati Sacidevi
previously had given birth to eight daughters who had died. She then
gave birth to Nimai's older brother, Visvarupa. Shri Visvarupa was an
extraordinary boy who was extremely knowledgeable in the scrip tures. He
was peaceful by nature. He always served and offered respect to others.
Visvarupa was a beautiful child who had no interest in sense enjoyment.
His only interest was devotional service.
On
the 23rd Phalguna of 1407, Sakabda year, or by the Western calendar,
March 14,1486, a full moon lunar eclipse occurred on Holi. Millions of
devotees stood in the Ganges River while loudly chanting Hari Nama.
Within this extremely auspicious atmosphere, Lord Krishna, having the
beautiful molten gold color and the sublime transcendental mood of His
beloved Shrimati Radharani, incarnated in the womb of Shrimati Sacidevi
as Shri Krishna Chaitanya.
The
Lord, even before taking birthTinitiated His Hari Nama San-kirtan
movement. Astrologers had foretold of the exact time of the lunar
eclipse and the inhabitants of Nadia were constantly chanting the names
of Krishna. Chanting as they walked, thousands of people made their way
to the Ganges to bathe. People who never had chanted the names of
Krishna found themselves walking to the Ganges chanting His names.
Lord
Chaitanya remained in His mother's womb for a full 14 months. Then by
His mystic potency, Yogamaya arranged a full lunar eclipse at the time
of His birth. Millions of people crowded the Ganges, loudly chanting the
names of Krishna. The old, the young, the ignorant, the knowledgeable,
the pious, the impious, the sinful, the sinless - everybody was chanting
the Holy Names of Krishna when the Lord appeared during the full lunar
eclipse. The names Gopal, Govinda, Gopinatha, Giridhari, Shyamasundara,
Madan-mohan, Madhusudana, Hari, Yadava, Madhava, Keshava, Narayana,
Jagan nath and the ecstatic chanting of:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
were
the only sounds that one could hear. The father of Shrimati Sacidevi,
Shrila Nilambar Cakravarti, was a famous scholar, logician and
astrologer. By his astrological calculations, he determined that his
grandson Nimai was an exalted personality. He therefore named Him
Visvambhara, the sustainer of the universe. The ladies of the neigh
borhood, after presenting Him with gifts and blessing Him, called Him
Gaurahari because of His beautiful golden complexion. His mother called
Him Nimai because of the neem tree under which He was born, and His
father called Him Gauranga. As a baby He often cried. But as soon as
anyone would snap their fingers and chant "Hari! Haribol!", Nimai would
immediately stop crying and would laugh.Practically speaking, as soon as
Nimai was born He began incessant ly crying. Although His mother,
father and all His relatives and friends tried many things to get Him to
stop, He would not stop crying. But as soon as someone chanted the
names of Krishna, He would stop crying and break into a big, beaming
smile. So everyone who visited the house of Sacidevi and Jagannath Misra
would chant the names of Krishna to insure that Nimai would not cry.In
the first year of His birth, on the occasion of the anna prasana
ceremony, items like rice, gold, jewels, silver and a copy of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam were placed before Him. Nimai crawled directly to the
Shrimad-Bhagavatam and took it within His arms in preference to the
other mundane articles.
He
once sat on the hood of a cobra, much to the shock of His parents. At
another time He was carried away on the back of a thief and received a
tour of the village. Sometimes, pretending to be sick, He would display
ecstatic symptoms of love of Godhead. At times Nimai would sprinkle the
local pandits with water after they had finished their baths, and thus
caused them to take bath again. These pandits complained to Jagannath
Misra who went to the Ganges to catch Nimai red-handed and punish Him.
But Nimai was not there. That night Jagannath Misra in a dream saw a
heavenly being who warned him not to punish or chastise Nimai because He
was not an ordinary boy. Shri Jagannath Misra in his dream replied to
the heaven ly being that whether Nimai was a supernatural being or the
Supreme Lord Himself, as a father it was his duty to educate his son in
proper manners, and he would do that in every way. The heavenly being,
smiling and pleased, blessed Jagannath Misra.
The
young girls of the village also complained to Sacimata that when they
brought flowers, incense and ghee lamps to do puja to Ganga devi, Nimai
would steal the offerings for Himself. Sometimes He ate clay instead of
the sweets His mother had prepared for Him. Once Sacimata caught Him
eating clay and snatched it from Him. Sacidevi demanded to know why
Nimai was eating clay. Nimai clever ly replied that milk sweets were
nothing but clay transformed, so why couldn't He eat clay. His mother,
being the daughter of a logician, quickly explained that earth in the
form of a jug could be used as a water pot, but in the form of a brick
it could not. In the same manner, earth, in the form of milk sweets
could be used as food, and earth in the form of clay could be used as a
water pot. Nimai understood and never ate clay again. Nimai once sat
atop a pile of earthen pots that were thrown away after cooking, and His
mother, thinking they were contaminated, implored Him to please come
down.
Once
on Ekadashi day, Nimai appeared at a devotee's house and ate all the
bhoga preparations meant for Lord Krishna. Once a brahmana who was
making a pilgrimage arrived at the house of Jagannath Misra. After
accepting Jagannath Misra's invitaiton, the brahmana prepared an
offering for his worshipable Deity, Bala Gopal. As he was pronouncing
his mantras, Nimai entered the room and ate up all the sweet rice. The
brahmana opened his eyes and was mortified. Jagan nath Misra apologized
for Nimai's behavior and requested the brah mana to again cook and make
an offeringfor his Deity. The brahmana was appeased, and he again
cooked. No1 sooner had he pronounced his mantras for a second time,
Nimai appeared, took a handful of the milk sweets, and ran from the
room. The brahmana became morose. Visvarupa, with kind words and gentle
demeanor, again supplied fresh articles to the brahmana and persuaded
him to cook for a third time by promising to keep his brother under lock
and key.
When
the brahmana finally finished his cooking it was very late. Everyone
was fast asleep. The brahmana felt relieved that he could at last
finally feed his worshipable Deity Bala Gopal. With great patience he
uttered the Gopal mantra, and at that exact moment, Nimai appeared. He
smiled and asked the brahmana why he was uttering the Gopal mantra and
offering food to Him if he did not want Him to eat it! Then Nimai showed
the brahmana an eight-armed Bala Gopal form, which transported the
brahmana into an ocean of ecstasy. Nimai then cautioned the brahmana to
not reveal His identity to anyone. The brahmana thereafter remained in
Shridham Navadwip and regularly visited the house of Shri Jagannath
Misra. These are some of the sweet and intimate pastimes that Lord Nimai
performed during His early childhood, from infancy up to the age of
six. At the age of seven, His father dutifully had the sacred thread
ceremony performed for his son, and Nimai attained twice-born status.
When He was eight years old, His father admitted Him to the school of
Gangadas Pandit in Ganganagar. His classmates were Shri Gadadhara,
Svarupa Damodara, Jagadananda, Mukunda and others. In only two years,
Nimai mastered all the intricacies of Sanskrit grammar, philosophy and
rhetoric. After that, at the age often, Nimai returned home and
continued His learning by studying all the Vedic literatures in His
father's library. His study included nyaya and such books as
Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Shri Bhagavad-gita, and all the Puranas and
Upanisads.
When
Nimai was 14, while walking along the banks of the Ganges, He met His
eternal consort, Laksmipriya devi, the daughter of Valla-bhacarya. The
Shri Gaura Ganoddessa Dipika reveals Laksmipriya as an incarnation of
Laksmi devi. Lord Chaitanya married her, but after only four years,
Laksmipriya devi, by the will of the Lord, left this world.
In
Treta-yuga during Krishna's incarnation as Lord Rama, Sita devi
appeared with Him. Mother Sita had a very difficult time in this
incarnation because Lord Rama, directly after Their marriage, was
banished to the forest to live as a hermit. As His wife, She chose to
accompany Him along with Rama's younger brother, Laksman, who is the
incarnation of Balaramji. Once while living in the forest, She requested
Lord Rama to capture a wonderful golden deer. Rama immediately left and
kept Laksman to guard Sita. By a demon's trick, Sita was fooled into
thinking Rama was in danger, and She accused Laksman of desiring Lord Rama's
death to Her for himself. Laksman-ji became seriously offended. Wicked
Ravana then kidnapped Sita and forcibly carried Her to Lanka and kept
Her a prisoner. Of course, he could not capture the real Sita devi, but
he captured a mayic expansion which resembled the real Sita devi. But
others thought a man other than Her husband had touched Her, and they
considered as not being totally pure. Thus as soon as Lord Rama and His
army defeated Ravana and rescued Sita, Sita was forced, alone and un
protected, into exile in the forest.
So
for all these reasons Sita devi requested Lord Rama to give Her the
opportunity to serve Him again in another pastime. Lord Rama told Her
that in Kali-yuga, when He would appear in His golden form as Gauranga,
She would have Her desire fulfilled as His wife. Thus She appeared again
as Vishnupriya devi, who became the Lord's wife when He was 18.Just
before this time, Nimai Pandit formed a school of His own, and He began
preaching and teaching Krishna bhakti to His students. At 17, He
travelled to Gaya and took Vaishnava diksa from Shri Isvara Puri, the
disciple of the great maha-bhagavata Shri Madhavendra Puri of the Brahma
Madhva Vaishnava Sampradaya.
Upon
returning from Gaya, Nimai revealed Himself as having completely
changed. Nimai Pandit now acted as a great devotee of the Lord. Advaita
Acarya, Shrivas Pandit, Jagadish, and others, who already were
Vaishnavas before the appearance of Mahaprabhu, were amazed at the
profound transformation that occurred in Nimai Pandit. No more did He
act as a sVnarta pandit, a pedantic logician, or the wrangling
rhetorician who so effortlessly had humbled the great pandit Keshava
Misra from Kashmir.
Now
Nimai would swoon upon hearing the name of Krishna. He would faint at
hearing the sound of a flute or a cow's moo. He would fall unconscious
when He was a Deity of Krishna.
At
this time Nimai inaugurated His sankirtan movement in the courtyard of
the house of Shrivas Pandit. There, with His sincere followers, He
practiced Krishna bhakti and sang and danced while exhibiting the
eight-fold symptoms of ecstatic emotions. During this time, Shri
Nityananda Prabhu, who was waiting in Shri Vrindavan Dham for the Lord
to begin His sankirtan movement, learned that Mahaprabhu was in Shri
Navadwip Dham. Nityananda then immedi ately came to join the Lord's
pastimes. During this period, Keshava Kashmiri was defeated, Jagai and
Madhai were redeemed, and the Chand Kazi was delivered.
All
these transcendental pastimes culminated when Nimai was 24. At that
time Nimai exhibited His detachment and left His elderly mother and
beautiful wife. He crossed the river Ganges late one night and travelled
25 miles to the city of Katwa and accepted sannyasa from Keshava
Bharati. He, at that time, received the transcendental name Shri Krishna
Chaitanya.Of the many confidential and esoteric reasons for the
appearance of Shri Krishna Chaitanya, four are of major importance.
First, He appeared to spread the congregational chanting of the Holy
Names of Krishna, which is the yuga dharma, the religion of this age.
Second, He appeared to freely distribute, as was never done before, love
of God.Thirdly, He appeared because of the powerful supplications of
Shri Advaita Acarya, who worshiped the Supreme Lord in His form of
saligram sila with Tulasi manjaris and Ganges water. Advaita Acarya
loudly would roar the Holy Names of Krishna and would call for the
Supreme Lord to descend and deliver the fallen.
Fourth,
the Supreme Lord Krishna wanted to fulfill three confiden tial desires
of His own. First, He wished to taste the super-excellent unalloyed love
that Shrimati Radharani has for Him. Second, He wished to enjoy the
transcendental sweetness that Shrimati Radharani experiences when
serving Him. Third, He wished to know what kind of ecstasy Shrimati
Radharani enjoyed through Her love for Him. To remember these wonderful
pastimes and worship and to honor the places where they took place is
the highest austerity
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