kÄá¹…gÄlera bhojana-raá¹…ga dekhe gaurahari
'hari-bola' bali' tÄre upadeÅ›a kari

 kÄá¹…gÄlera - of the beggars; bhojana-raá¹…ga - process of eating; dekhe - sees; gaurahari - ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; hari-bola bali' - chanting 'Haribol'; tÄre - them; upadeÅ›a kari - instructs.


Text

Observing the beggars eating prasÄdam, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu chanted, “Haribol!†and instructed them to chant the holy name.

Purport

In a song, ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura chants:

miche mÄyÄra vaÅ›e, yÄccha bhese’,
khÄccha hÄbuá¸ubu, bhÄi
jÄ«va kṛṣṇa-dÄsa, e viÅ›vÄsa,
ka’rle ta’ Ära duḥkha nÄi

“O people! Why are you being captivated by the waves of the ocean of nescience? If you would immediately accept Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as your eternal master, there would be no chance of being carried away by the waves of illusion. Then all your sufferings would stop.†Kṛṣṇa conducts the material world under the three modes of material nature, and consequently there are three platforms of life — higher, middle and lower. On whatever platform one may be situated, one is tossed by the waves of material nature. Someone may be rich, someone may be middle class, and someone may be a poor beggar — it doesn’t matter. As long as one is under the spell of the three modes of material nature, he must continue to experience these divisions.

ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu therefore advised the beggars to chant “Haribol!†while taking prasÄdam. Chanting means accepting one’s self as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the only solution, regardless of social position. Everyone is suffering under the spell of mÄyÄ; therefore the best course is to learn how to get out of the clutches of mÄyÄ. How to do so is stated by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (14.26):

mÄá¹ ca yo ’vyabhicÄreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇÄn samatÄ«tyaitÄn brahma-bhÅ«yÄya kalpate

“One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.â€

One can overcome the spell of mÄyÄ and attain the transcendental platform by agreeing to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Devotional service begins with Å›ravaṇaá¹ kÄ«rtanam; therefore ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu advised the beggars to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra for elevation to the transcendental position. On the transcendental platform, there is no distinction between the rich, the middle class and the poor.