Lord Caitanya cut down the pride of Vallabha Acarya by preaching to him about how Krsna can only be found and known thru His pure devotees.
Antya 7.10-“One canimmediately purify his entire house simply by remembering exalted personalities,to say nothing of directly seeing them, touching their lotus feet, washing their feet or offering them places to sit.’
PURPORT-This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.19.33).
Antya 7.16–Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “My dear Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, you are a learned scholar. Kindly listen to Me. I am a sannyāsī of the Māyāvāda school. Therefore I have no chance of knowing what kṛṣṇa-bhakti is.
Antya 7.17--“Nevertheless, My mind has become purified because I have associated with Advaita Ācārya, who is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Antya 7.20-“Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, the avadhūta, is also directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is always intoxicated with the madness of ecstatic love. Indeed, He is an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Antya 7.21-“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya perfectly knows the six philosophical theses. He is therefore the spiritual master of the entire world in the six paths of philosophy. He is the best of devotees.
Antya 7.24–“Through the mercy of Rāmānanda Rāya, I have understood that ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest goal of life and that spontaneous love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection.
Antya 7.27--“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā, is accessible to those devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.’
Antya 7.29-“When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs wereembraced by the arms of the Lord. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consortsin the spiritual world. Indeed, never was such a favor even imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, whose bodily luster and aroma resemble those of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women who are very beautiful according to the material estimation?’
Antya 7.50-52--“Ācāryaratna, Ācāryanidhi, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Jagadānanda, Dāmodara, Śaṅkara, Vakreśvara, Kāśīśvara, Mukunda, Vāsudeva, Murāri and many other devotees have descended in Bengal to preach to everyone the glories of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and the value of love for Him. I have learned from them the meaning of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.”
Antya 7.53—Knowing that Vallabha Bhaṭṭa’s heart was full of pride,Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhuspoke these words, hintingat how one can learn about devotional service.
PURPORT-Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was greatly proud of his knowledge in devotional service, and therefore he wanted to speak about Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu without understanding the Lord’s position. The Lord therefore hinted in many ways that if Vallabha Bhaṭṭa wanted to know what devotional service actually is, he would have to learn from all the devotees He mentioned, beginning with Advaita Ācārya, Lord Nityānanda, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Rāmānanda Rāya.As Svarūpa Dāmodara has said, if one wants to learn the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one must take lessons from a realized soul. One should not proudly think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lordsimply by reading books.One must become a servant of a Vaiṣṇava.As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has confirmed, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: one cannot be in a transcendental positionunless one very faithfully serves a pure Vaiṣṇava.One must accept a Vaiṣṇava guru (ādau gurv-āśrayam), andthen by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is. That is called the paramparā system.
Antya 7.54–“I am a great Vaiṣṇava. Having learned all the conclusions of Vaiṣṇava philosophy, I can understand the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and explain it very well.”
Antya 7.55-Such pride had existed for a long time within Vallabha Bhaṭṭa’s mind,butas he heardthe preaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,his pride was cut down.
Antya 7.56–When Vallabha Bhaṭṭa heard from the mouth of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the pure Vaiṣṇavism of all these devotees,he immediately desired to see them.
The conclusion–ONLY thru the mercy of the Lords pure devotees can we ever entertain the hope of slightly understanding Him and getting His darshan. And some say Srila Prabhupada did not give us everything? Or he was “only” a devotee of Maha Vishnu? “What a goat wont eat what a fool wont speak”…..
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
