Å›rÄ«-Ä«Å›varapurÄ«-rÅ«pe aá¹…kura puá¹£á¹a haila
Äpane caitanya-mÄlÄ« skandha upajila
Å›rÄ«-Ä«Å›vara-purÄ« - by the name ÅšrÄ« Īśvara PurÄ«; rÅ«pe - in the form of; aá¹…kura - the seed; puá¹£á¹a - cultivated; haila - became; Äpane - Himself; caitanya-mÄlÄ« - the gardener of the name ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; skandha - trunk; upajila - expanded.
The seed of devotional service next fructified in the form of ÅšrÄ« Īśvara PurÄ«, and then the gardener Himself, Caitanya MahÄprabhu, became the main trunk of the tree of devotional service.
ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura writes in his AnubhÄá¹£ya, “ŚrÄ« Īśvara PurÄ« was a resident of KumÄrahaá¹á¹a, where there is now a railroad station known as KÄmarhaá¹á¹a. Nearby there is another station, named HÄlisahara, which belongs to the Eastern Railway. This railway runs from the eastern section of Calcutta.â€
Īśvara PurÄ« appeared in a brÄhmaṇa family and was the most beloved disciple of ÅšrÄ«la MÄdhavendra PurÄ«. In the last portion of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta (Antya 8.28-31), it is stated:
Ä«Å›vara-purÄ« gosÄñi kare Å›rÄ«-pada sevana
sva-haste karena mala-mÅ«trÄdi mÄrjana
nirantara kṛṣṇa-nÄma karÄya smaraṇa
kṛṣṇa-nÄma kṛṣṇa-lÄ«lÄ Å›unÄya anuká¹£aṇa
tuá¹£á¹a haÃ±Ä purÄ« tÄá¹…re kaila Äliá¹…gana
vara dilÄ kṛṣṇe tomÄra ha-uka prema-dhana
sei haite Ä«Å›vara-purÄ« premera sÄgara
“At the last stage of his life ÅšrÄ« MÄdhavendra PurÄ« became an invalid and was completely unable to move, and Īśvara PurÄ« so completely engaged himself in his service that he personally cleaned up his stool and urine. Always chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra and reminding ÅšrÄ« MÄdhavendra PurÄ« about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the last stage of his life, Īśvara PurÄ« gave the best service among his disciples. Thus MÄdhavendra PurÄ«, being very pleased with him, blessed him, saying, ‘My dear boy, I can only pray to Kṛṣṇa that He will be pleased with you.’ Thus Īśvara PurÄ«, by the grace of his spiritual master, ÅšrÄ« MÄdhavendra PurÄ«, became a great devotee in the ocean of love of Godhead.†ŚrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« states in his Gurv-aá¹£á¹aka prayer, yasya prasÄdÄd bhagavat-prasÄdo yasyÄprasÄdÄn na gatiḥ kuto ’pi: “By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement.†It is by the mercy of the spiritual master that one becomes perfect, as vividly exemplified here. A Vaiṣṇava is always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if he appears to be an invalid, this gives a chance to his disciples to serve him. Īśvara PurÄ« pleased his spiritual master by service, and by the blessings of his spiritual master he became such a great personality that Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu accepted him as His spiritual master.
ÅšrÄ«la Īśvara PurÄ« was the spiritual master of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, but before initiating Lord Caitanya he went to NavadvÄ«pa and lived for a few months in the house of GopÄ«nÄtha Ä€cÄrya. At that time Lord Caitanya became acquainted with him, and it is understood that he served ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu by reciting his book, Kṛṣṇa-lÄ«lÄmá¹›ta. This is explained in ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-bhÄgavata, Ä€di-khaṇá¸a, chapter eleven.
To teach others by example how to be a faithful disciple of one’s spiritual master, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, visited the birthplace of Īśvara PurÄ« at KumÄra-haá¹á¹a and collected some earth from his birth site. This He kept very carefully, and He used to eat a small portion of it daily. This is stated in the Caitanya-bhÄgavata, Ä€di-khaṇá¸a, chapter seventeen. It has now become customary for devotees, following the example of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, to go there and collect some earth from that place.
