TEXT 172
sri-rupa-raghunatha-pade yara asa
caitanya-caritamrta kahe krsnadasa
SYNONYMS
sri-rupaSrila Rupa Gosvami; raghunathaSrila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami; padeat the lotus feet; yarawhose; asaexpectation; caitanya-caritamrtathe book named Caitanya-caritamrta; kahe-describes; krsna-dasaSrila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami.
TRANSLATION
Praying at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha, always desiring their mercy, I, Krsnadasa, narrate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, following in their footsteps.
Instructions from this Chapter
Summarizing this chapter, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that one should derive from it the following lessons. (1) Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is an incarnation of mercy, He nevertheless gave up the company of one of His personal associates, namely Junior Haridasa, for if He had not done so, pseudo-devotees would have taken advantage of Junior Haridasa'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 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and as a result, devotees would surely have gone to a hellish life in the name of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (2) By chastising Junior Haridasa, the Lord set the standard for acaryas, or the heads of institutions propagating the Caitanya cult, and for all actual devotees. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to maintain the highest standard. (3) Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed that a pure devotee should be simple and free from sinful activities, for thus one can be His bona fide servant. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught His followers how to observe the renounced order strictly. (4) Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 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 Haridasa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His mercy toward him, thus showing how elevated was junior Haridasa'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 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu should give up all material sense gratification; otherwise, the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are very difficult to attain. (6) If one dies in such a celebrated holy place as Prayaga, Mathura or Vrndavana, 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 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Second Chapter, describing the chastisement of Junior Haridasa.

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