Sharanagati

“Having shown the verse to Svarūpa Dāmodara with great wonder, Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked him how Rūpa Gosvāmī could understand the intentions of His mind.”[1]  Actually Svarupa Damodara was a censor for anything approaching Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Everything was going through him and he was checking it if it was appropriate for Mahaprabhu’s taste. Why? Because Mahaprabhu was so sensitive, that if some idea, some verse, some message came to Him that was corresponding His feelings, He would faint immediately. But if something antagonistic to His feelings would approach Him, He would faint with double intensity. Therefore Svarupa Damodara was just like a protective shield for Mahaprabhu: “Only through me!” But here, you see, this message was coming without him. And immediately the effect was there – Mahaprabhu fell in ecstasy.

And you know, ecstasy sometimes manifests in divine madness. Then the person behaves in a very unusual and unexpected way; you cannot calculate how he will behave. First of all He is beating His devotees – then embracing! Very unusual! Therefore Svarupa Damodara wanted to make a more peaceful, more easy, more simple situation: “Don’t upset the master.”

“Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī replied to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “If Rūpa Gosvāmī can understand Your mind and intentions, he must have Your Lordship’s special benediction.”[2] The Lord said, “I was so pleased with Rūpa Gosvāmī that I embraced him and bestowed upon him all necessary potencies for preaching the bhakti cult.”  And this is another sign of divine ecstasy – lack of memory, lack of remembering. He mentions here only the embrace! He does not talk about the slap on the face. Although we should know that most probably the special benediction was distributed by the touch of the hand. Like the healing power is transmitted to the diseased person by divine touch. But this was more secret than the embrace. Embrace everybody can understand, right? “Ah, God is merciful!” But the slap on the face? It is a very sweet connection to God. If we could achieve that once!

Therefore it is said that “Chaitanya Charitamrita” is the textbook, the know-how of devotional life. If we want to be devotees, follow this example. And wherever we can find this very intense and purified divine mood, we should run and take our part there. And with all our efforts we should be ready to help and serve to enhance that mood. Because it is described here (in “Chaitanya Charitamrita”) in order to manifest in other places. So when such intensity of feelings and such purity of intention is there, it is divine.

And you can say: ah, it was easy five hundred years back. But don’t use it as an excuse. We have all the chance to live in such a pure condition of the consciousness. This is only one little paragraph from the pastimes of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but even from this very little story how much we can benefit! So please, try to carry it in your hearts and if you get sometimes a slap here and there, don’t be upset, this is special blessing. Then the powers are delegated to you.