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TEXT 45
kangalera bhojana-ranga dekhe gaurahari
'hari-bola' bali' tare upadesa kari
SYNONYMS
kangaleraof the beggars; bhojana-rangaprocess of eating; dekhesees; gaurahariSri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; hari-bola bali'-chanting "Hari bol"; tarethem; upadesa kariinstructs.
TRANSLATION
Observing the beggars eating prasada, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted, "Hari bol!" and instructed them to chant the holy name.
PURPORT
In a song, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura chants:
khaccha habudubu, bhai jiva krsna-dasa, e visvasa, ka'rle ta' ara duhkha nai "Everyone is captivated by the waves of the ocean of nescience, but if everyone would immediately accept Lord Sri Krsna as their eternal master, there would be no chance of being carried away by the waves of illusion. Then all sufferings would stop." Krsna conducts the material world under the three modes of material nature, and consequently there are three platforms of life-higher, middle and lower. On whatever platform one may be situated, one is tossed by the waves of material nature. Someone may be rich, someone may be middle class, and someone may be a poor beggar-it doesn't matter. As long as one is under the spell of the three modes of material nature, he must continue to experience these divisions.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore advised the beggars to chant "Hari bol!" while taking prasada. Chanting means accepting one's self as the eternal servant of Krsna. This is the only solution, regardless of social position. Everyone is suffering under the spell of maya; therefore the best course is to learn how to get out of the clutches of maya. That is the verdict of the Bhagavad-gita (14.26):
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate "One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman."
One can overcome the spell of maya and attain the transcendental platform by agreeing to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Devotional service begins with sravanam kirtanam; therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised the beggars to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra for elevation to the transcendental position. On the transcendental platform, there is no distinction between the rich, the middle class and the poor.
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