Å›rÄ«-rÅ«pa-raghunÄtha-pade yÄra ÄÅ›a
caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta kahe kṛṣṇadÄsa
Å›rÄ«-rÅ«pa - ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«; raghunÄtha - ÅšrÄ«la RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ«; pade - at the lotus feet; yÄra - whose; ÄÅ›a - expectation; caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta - the book named Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta; kahe - describes; kṛṣṇa-dÄsa - ÅšrÄ«la KṛṣṇadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄ«.
Praying at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ« RaghunÄtha, always desiring their mercy, I, KṛṣṇadÄsa, narrate ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, following in their footsteps.
Summarizing this chapter, ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura says that one should derive from it the following lessons. (1) Although ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is an incarnation of mercy, He nevertheless gave up the company of one of His personal associates, namely Junior HaridÄsa, for if He had not done so, pseudodevotees would have taken advantage of Junior HaridÄsa’s fault by using it as an excuse to live as devotees and at the same time have illicit sexual connections. Such activities would have demoralized the cult of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, and as a result, devotees would surely have gone to a hellish life in the name of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. (2) By chastising Junior HaridÄsa, the Lord set the standard for ÄcÄryas, or the heads of institutions propagating the Caitanya cult, and for all actual devotees. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu wanted to maintain the highest standard. (3) ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu instructed that a pure devotee should be simple and free from sinful activities, for thus one can be His bona fide servant. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu taught His followers how to observe the renounced order strictly. (4) ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu wanted to prove that His devotees are exalted and that their character is ideal. He kindly accepts His faithful devotees and teaches them how much tribulation and disturbance can be produced by even a slight deviation from the strict principles of devotional life. (5) By chastising Junior HaridÄsa, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu exhibited His mercy toward him, thus showing how elevated was Junior HaridÄsa’s devotion for Him. Because of this transcendental relationship, the Lord corrected even a slight offense committed by His pure devotee. Therefore one who wants to be a pure devotee of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu should give up all material sense gratification; otherwise, the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu are very difficult to attain. (6) If one dies in such a celebrated holy place as PrayÄga, MathurÄ or Vá¹›ndÄvana, one can be relieved of the reactions to sinful life and then attain the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (7) Although a pure or faithful devotee may fall down, he nevertheless ultimately gets the chance to go back home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of the Lord.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, Antya-lÄ«lÄ, second chapter, describing the chastisement of Junior HaridÄsa.
