Mahaprabhu’s Supreme Gift Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami

Mahaprabhu’s Supreme Gift
Gaura Govinda swami maharaja

Krishna has many forms:

avatärä hy asaìkhyeyä hareù sattva-nidher dvijäù
athävidäsinaù kulyäù sarasaù syuù sahasraçaù
The incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like
rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water.
[Bhäg. 1.3.26]

In Brahma-saàhitä 5.46 it is said,
dépärcir eva hi daçäntaram abhyupetya
dépäyate vivåta-hetu-samäna-dharmä
yas tädåg eva hi ca viñëutayä vibhäti
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

From one original lamp many other lamps may be
lit, and they will all give the same light. There is no
difference in their potencies. Similarly, there is no
difference between avatära and avatäré. Krishna
is the one original lamp, müla-dépa-eka, and his
avatäras are asaìkhya, innumerable. Krishna is
avatäré, the source of all incarnations.

rämädi-mürtiñu kalä-niyamena tiñöhan
nänävatäram akarod bhuvaneñu kintu
kåñëaù svayaà samabhavat paramaù pumän yo
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Govinda, who is always situated in various
incarnations such as Rama, Nrisimha, and also many
sub-incarnations, but who is the original personality
of Godhead known as Krishna, who also incarnates
personally. [Brahmä-saàhita 5.39]

Rama, Nrisimha and Vaman are kalä, plenary portions
of the portion of Krishna. They are giving equal light, but
still one is the original lamp. There is no other difference.
The devotees worship the form they are most attracted
to. Räma-bhaktas are attracted to the form of Rama.

Nåsiàha-bhaktas like Prahlada are attracted to the form
of Lord Nrisimha. Those who are Kåñëa-bhaktas are
attracted to the all-beautiful form of Krishna.
Hanuman is a devotee of Rama. He has developed
unalloyed devotion to the form of Lord Rama.
Goswami Tulasi Das was a great devotee of Lord
Rama. Like Hanuman, he only wanted to see the
beautiful form of Lord Rama. He didn’t want to see
the form of Krishna. Once he went to a Krishna
temple and prayed to the deity, “Please give up your
flute and hold a bow and arrow. Show me your form
as Lord Rama. Then I will bow down to you.” The
deity immediately changed and he saw the beautiful
form of Lord Rama. Then he bowed down.

Garuda Meets Hanuman
In Dwarka, Krishna once sent for Garuda and
told him, “Go and call Hanuman.” So Garuda went
to Hanuman and told him, “Lord Krishna is calling
you to Dwarka.” Hanuman was busy chanting
räma-näma, “Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama.” He didn’t
pay any attention to Garuda. Garuda repeated
himself two or three times, “I have come from
Dwarka. Lord Krishna has sent me. He is calling
you. Please come.” Hanuman didn’t listen. Garuda
kept repeating himself until finally Hanuman gave
a great lash with his tail and Garuda was thrown
into the air and fell down in Dwarka in front of
Krishna. Hanuman wouldn’t listen to Garuda.
Garuda was morose. But Krishna could understand
what had happened. Lord Krishna said, “Why did
you say that Krishna was calling him? Go again.
This time tell him that Lord Rama is calling.” Again
Garuda went there and told Hanuman, “Lord Rama
is calling you. Please come.” “Oh, my master is
calling? All right, I will go immediately.” Garuda
said, “Please, sit on my shoulders. I will fly you
there in a moment.” “No. You go ahead. I am
going. I won’t sit on your shoulders.” Garuda went
back. Before Garuda reached there, Hanuman
had already arrived. Garuda saw that Krishna
had assumed the form of Lord Rama, Balaram
had assumed the form of Laksman, and Rukmini
had assumed the form of Sitadevi. Hanuman was
sitting there with folded hands. Krishna thought
his dear devotee wants to see this form of mine,
so he showed him the form of Lord Rama.

During his travels in South India, Mahaprabhu
had some discussion with the tattva-vädis in Udupi.
Although he didn’t agree with the tattva-vädis,
Mahaprabhu accepted the Madhva sampradäya,
which is known as the tattva-vädi sampradäya.
Why did he accept it?
sabe, eka guëa dekhi tomära sampradäye
satya-vigraha kari’ éçvare karaha niçcaye
— [Cc. madhya 9.277]
Mahaprabhu told them, “You are tattva-vädis. All of
your philosophies are detrimental to pure devotion,
çuddha-bhakti, because they stress on karma. Still,
I find one good quality in your sampradäya. You
have accepted the all-beautiful form of Krishna.” In
Udupi, the Madhva-sampradäya worships the deity
of Gopal. In one hand Gopal has a rope and in the
other hand is a manthara-daëòa, a churning stick.
Mahaprabhu said, “My grand guru Madhavendra
Puri has accepted this sampradäya, so I accept it.”
Vipralambha-bhäva bhajana, worship in
separation, began from Madhavendra Puri. In the
Madhva-sampradäya up to Lakshmipati, the guru
of Madhavendra Puri, this mood was not there.
It came with Madhavendra Puri. So Mahaprabhu
accepted this sampradäya.

ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeça-tanayas tad-dhäma våndävanaà
ramyä käcid-upäsanä vrajavadhü-vargeëa yä kalpitä
çrémad-bhägavatam pramäëam-amalaà premä pumartho mahän
çré caitanya mahäprabhur-matam-idaà taträdaro naù paraù

It is the conclusive opinion of Lord Chaitanya that the
most worshipable form of the Lord is that of Sri Krishna,
the son of Nanda Maharaja. Vrindavan-dhäma is the
topmost worshipable abode. The highest and most
pleasing type of worship of Krishna is done by the Vraja
gopés. Srimad-bhägavatam is the spotless authority on
everything. And kåñëa-prema is the fifth and highest
goal of life. [Caitanya-matta-maïjuñä commentary on
Çrémad-Bhägavatam by Srinath Chakravarti.]

This is the opinion of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and
is most important. Krishna, who is the son of Nanda
Maharaja, vrajeça-tanaya, gokuleça-tanaya, is to
be worshiped. Not vasudeva-tanaya. Why is that?
Väsudeva is a four-handed form. He is a portion
of Krishna. Krishna in Dwarka is complete, pürëa.
Krishna in Mathurä is more complete, pürëataraù; and
Krishna in Vrajabhumi is most complete, pürëatamaù.
There is the positive degree, the comparative degree
and the superlative degree — complete, more
complete and most complete. Vrajeça-tanaya is the
most complete form of Krishna. Mahaprabhu says
that Krishna is to be worshiped, ärädhyo bhagavän
vrajeça-tanayaù. That form is ten- or twelve-year-old
kiçora-kåñëa. Dwarkadish, Krishna in Dwarka, is a
king. He has so many wives and so much opulence.
But it is kiçora-kåñëa, ten- to twelve-year-old Krishna in
Vrajabhumi, that is the most beautiful form of Krishna.
He is very simple, gopa-veça, naöa-vara — he is
dressed as a cowherd boy and is the best of dancers.
He is not a king. He wears a peacock feather, holds
a flute, and plays with the cowherd boys. He is trébhaìga-
lalita, curved in three places.

How is he to be worshiped? Mahaprabhu says,
ramyä käcid-upäsanä vrajavadhü-vargeëa yä
kalpitä — He is to be worshiped with pure love
in the mood of the damsels of Vrajabhumi.
That is
the best process of worship. That is Mahaprabhu’s
teaching and Mahaprabhu’s opinion. The gopés
only see that kiçora form of Krishna, ten- to twelveyear-
old Krishna, gopa-veça, naöa-vara, veëu-kara
— cowherd boy dress, playing a flute and dancing
— a very beautiful form. They never want to see
any other form. They met Krishna in Kurukshetra
on the solar eclipse day. Krishna had come from
Dwarka. He was dressed as an opulent king.
The
gopés dragged him to Gopapur, saying, “We don’t
like this form and this opulent dress. Gopapur,
Vrajabhumi is there. The jungle of Vrindavan is there.
The Yamuna river is there. All the kuïjas are there.
The cows and calves are there. The cowherd boys
are there. Please come.” Then they dragged Krishna’s
cart. This is ratha-yäträ. They said “We don’t want
to see you in this form as a king.”
For a joke, Krishna once manifested his fourhanded
form of Narayan in one of the kuïjas.
When the gopés who were searching for Krishna
saw him, their love became shrunken. They thought,

Oh, it’s Narayan. Let’s go. We don’t want to see
him.” They only wanted to see kiçora-kåñëa, the
two-handed form that is curved in three places,
with flute in hand, gopa-veça, the cowherd boy,
the extraordinarily beautiful Krishna.
Srila Rupa
Goswami has mentioned this in Lalita-mädhava:
gopénäà paçupendra-nandana-juño bhävasya kas täà krté
vijïätuà kñamate durüha-padavé-saïcäriëaù rakriyäm
äviñkurvati vaiñëavém api tanuà tasmin bhujair jiñëubhir
yäsäà hanta caturbhir adbhuta-rucià rägodayaù kuïcati
Once Sri Krishna playfully manifested himself as
Narayan, with four victorious hands and a very
beautiful form. When the gopés saw this exalted
form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled.
A learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand
the gopés’ ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed
upon the original form of Lord Krishna as the son
of Nanda Maharaja. The wonderful feelings of
the gopés in ecstatic parama-rasa with Krishna
constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life. [Srila
Rupa Goswami’s Lalita-mädhava 6.54, quoted in
Cc. ädi 17.281.]
Rama and Mahaprabhu
With Lord Rama there is prema, there is love, but
the highest love as manifest by the gopés is not there.
Hanuman had no such prema. It is quite absent
between Lord Rama and his associates. Rama is
maryädä-puruñottama — he very strictly followed
Vedic etiquette. He refused to accept the munis of
Dandakaranya. When they requested that he accept
them as his wives, Lord Rama refused. “No. That
cannot be. In this incarnation I have this vow, ekapatni-
vrata. I cannot accept more than one wife. And
if you all accept me you will be burned to ashes by
the curse of Sitadevi. Wait for the next incarnation.”
Mahaprabhu gave this highest understanding.
Krishna as gopé-jana-vallabhä, gopénätha, gopékänta.
Mahaprabhu is giving the highest love — ärädhyo
bhagavän vrajeça-tanayas tad-dhäma våndävanaà,
ramyä käcid-upäsanä vrajavadhü-vargeëa yä
kalpitä. He is giving gopé-prema, rädhä-prema.
Mahaprabhu has assumed the sentiment of Radharani,
gopé-bhäva. Therefore he is giving that prema. ·
— Darshan. Mayapur. February 1991.