Appearance Day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita
Today is the appearance day of Gadādhara Paṇḍita, and therefore I have chosen a verse that I found in a song … It is a very beautiful prayer offering obeisances to Lord Gadādhara.
gadādharaṁ ahaṁ vande mādhvācārya-nandanam
mahā-bhāva-svarūpaṁ śrī-caitanya-bhinna-rūpiṇam
Gadādharaṁ means “unto Gadādhara,” that is, Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Gadādhara is a name of Kṛṣṇa. It means “He who holds the gada”, the mace, the bearer of the club. Of course, most often Kṛṣṇa does not carry a mace; it is Viṣṇu who carries the mace. Ahaṁ vande – “I offer my respectful obeisances.” Mādhvācāryaṁ nandanam – “he who gives pleasure to Mādhvācārya”, but this may also refer to Gadādhara Paṇḍita’s father, whose name was Mādhava Miśra.
Mahā-bhāva refers, of course, to the highest platform of bhāva, transcendental ecstasy. Svarūpa means one’s own identity or form. Thus Gadādhara Paṇḍita is the form of mahā-bhāva, of love of God. Śrī caitanya-abhinna-rūpiṇam. Abhinna means “non-different”: his form is not different from the form of Lord Caitanya.
This prayer may be rendered approximately as follows:
“I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, who is non-different from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who gives transcendental pleasure to Mādhvācārya and who is the form of the highest, transcendental happiness.”
That is my speculative translation. I also have another verse, which comes from the same book; it is a praṇāma-mantra:
śrī hlādinī-svarūpāya gaurāṅga-suhṛdaya ca
bhakta-śakti-pradhānāya gadādhara namo ’stu te
“O Gadādhara, I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the form of the Lord’s hlādinī-śakti, who are very dear to Lord Gaurāṅga, and who are the original bhakti-śakti (devotional energy).”
Today we can explain a few facts from the life of Gadādhara Paṇḍita. According to the Western calendar, Lord Caitanya appeared – who knows in which year? 1486. And Gadādhara appeared in 1487. So he was more than a year younger than Lord Caitanya and also appeared in Navadvīpa, in a place situated not far from Lord Caitanya’s birthplace. His father’s name was Mādhava Miśra.
Gadādhara and Nimāi were very close to each other from the very beginning. As small children they played together. Gadādhara’s mother also used to visit Śacī Mā, whom she regarded as her sister. Gadādhara and Nimāi went to school together. Does anyone know what their teacher’s name was? Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita. Very good. Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita was their teacher and he taught them many things, above all logic and grammar.
Nimāi was a very precocious child, proud of the fact that he learned quickly. There are young children who learn very fast and like to show it off – Nimāi belonged precisely to this category. As we know, he was very mischievous and caused a lot of trouble. Gadādhara was not like that; he was completely different. He was very calm and restrained, always quiet and patient. From the very beginning he showed great renunciation. He also liked solitude. Of course, at the same time he did not like to be separated from Nimāi.
Very often the mischievous Nimāi would disturb Gadādhara. He would challenge him with some nonsensical logical arguments. At school they were learning logic and grammar, and Nimāi had the habit of challenging everyone to debate, including Gadādhara. Gadādhara did not like this; he did not appreciate that mood, and at such times he would try to avoid Nimāi.
Naturally, Nimāi understood Gadādhara’s mood. And when on one occasion Gadādhara thought, “What is the use of all this nonsense?”, Nimāi said to him: “Just wait – very soon I intend to reveal Myself as a great Vaiṣṇava, and even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva will come to offer Me their obeisances.”
Later, still in Navadvīpa, when Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi arrived there, Gadādhara was taken by Mukunda Datta to visit him. Lord Caitanya practically regarded Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi as His father. Sometimes, even when Puṇḍarīka was not present, Lord Caitanya would call out his name, and the devotees wondered, “Who is this Puṇḍarīka?” This was because Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi is none other than Vṛṣabhānu. Puṇḍarīka was greatly respected and renowned as a great Vaiṣṇava.
Whenever any Vaiṣṇava came to Navadvīpa, Gadādhara would be taken by Mukunda Datta and together they would visit that devotee. Gadādhara had heard much about Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, but when he met him he was shocked. It was not what he had expected. He had thought he would meet a renounced person, but it appeared instead that he had met someone who was a complete viṣayī, a sense enjoyer. He wore very expensive dhotī with a broad gold border, all kinds of gold rings, diamonds in his ears (even today one can see brāhmaṇas from South India wearing large diamond earrings). He did not look like a Vaiṣṇava; he looked very strange.
In his mind Gadādhara was disappointed. Mukunda Datta could understand what was going on in Gadādhara’s mind, but at the same time he knew that Puṇḍarīka was in fact a great devotee. So he began to chant certain verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam connected with the pastime of killing Pūtanā, where it is said that Kṛṣṇa is so merciful that He accepted Pūtanā as His mother.
When Puṇḍarīka heard these verses, he became overwhelmed by extraordinary ecstasy and began to behave in a completely mad way. In his ecstasy he completely lost control. Many precious items in the room where they were staying were smashed and destroyed. At a certain point he fell to the ground unconscious and remained lying in that state for a long time.
When Gadādhara saw this he was greatly astonished and immediately realized: “Oh! I have committed a great offense in my mind; I thought he was an ordinary viṣayī, whereas in reality he is a great Vaiṣṇava. What can I do now to rectify this great offense?”
At that time Gadādhara had not yet been initiated by a guru, so he thought that the best way to counteract this offense would be to fall at his lotus feet and ask for initiation. So he did so and, as far as I remember, he also asked Lord Caitanya for permission to take this initiation. In this way Gadādhara wanted to rectify his offense. At the same time he gave us a lesson in how careful we must be in judging other devotees.
We, as conditioned souls, generally have the tendency to think that we are more advanced than others. But the most advanced devotees feel themselves the least advanced; they see that everyone is engaged in service to Kṛṣṇa. There is a danger of thinking that someone is not advanced, and due to such offensive mentality we may draw upon ourselves the anger of Kṛṣṇa.
Another pastime of Gadādhara with Nimāi, also in Navadvīpa, is described. On one occasion Gadādhara brought pān – betel leaves for chewing – to Nimāi. Lord Caitanya was in a particular mood; He felt such intense separation from Kṛṣṇa that He was calling out, “Where is Kṛṣṇa, where is Kṛṣṇa?” Gadādhara answered Him, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? He is in Your heart.”
Lord Caitanya immediately began tearing at His chest in the region of His heart, as if He wanted to take Kṛṣṇa out from His heart. Śacī Mā was greatly alarmed: “What will happen now?” Gadādhara thought, “There may be trouble.” So he said, “Please, calm down, Kṛṣṇa is just coming. Kṛṣṇa will come soon; everything will be all right.”
Because Gadādhara had such a peaceful nature, Lord Caitanya became pacified, and Śacī Mā was very happy and relieved, and she said, “Although this Gadādhara is only a young boy, he is very intelligent.” She wanted Gadādhara always to be present with Nimāi, because she was convinced that Gadādhara had a good influence on her son, that Nimāi calmed down in his presence.
On another occasion Gadādhara learned that Lord Caitanya wanted to visit Śuklāmbara Brāhmacārī and that they planned to speak about Kṛṣṇa-kathā. For some reason, Gadādhara was not invited, but since he had heard that Lord Caitanya would be discussing Kṛṣṇa-kathā, he decided to go there. So he went to Śuklāmbara Brāhmacārī’s house before Lord Caitanya arrived and went inside.
When Lord Caitanya and His devotees arrived, they all sat outside the house and began to discuss Kṛṣṇa-kathā, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. As they talked, the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya and His associates increased more and more; everyone was deeply moved by these wonderful pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. After some time Lord Caitanya calmed everyone down and silence fell.
Then everyone could hear the sound of weeping coming from inside the house – it was Gadādhara Paṇḍita; he could not calm himself, he was too deeply absorbed in ecstasy. Lord Caitanya called him out, embraced him and said, “O Gadādhara, you are so pious and have so many good qualities; you are such a wonderful devotee.”
Now another pastime that took place in Navadvīpa. Once Lord Caitanya was travelling with the devotees through various parts of Navadvīpa, and they entered one of the forests of Navadvīpa. Lord Caitanya sat down and Gadādhara began picking flowers and making a garland. At that time his true identity as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was revealed, and his relationship with Lord Caitanya is that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. In fact, according to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, Gadādhara Paṇḍita is the combination of three persons. He is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. As we know, one of Rādhārāṇī’s associates is Lalitā Devī, who is also known as Anurādhā, meaning “she who follows Rādhā”; wherever Rādhārāṇī goes, Lalitā is there. Therefore, when Rādhārāṇī entered the form of Gadādhara, Lalitā followed her. Rādhārāṇī is never separated from Kṛṣṇa; where Rādhārāṇī is, Kṛṣṇa must be.
In any case, in that forest Gadādhara made a garland and offered it to Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya had Gadādhara sit opposite Him, just as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa sit, and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura performed the ārati ceremony. Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu, who were also there, sat down as well, and the whole scene looked just like the Pañca-tattva whom we worship on the altar.
In 1510 Lord Caitanya accepted sannyāsa and went to Jagannātha Purī, and of course Gadādhara had to go with Him, for there could be no question of separating the two. Gadādhara never took sannyāsa, but when he was staying in Jagannātha Purī he accepted what is called kṣetra-sannyāsa: he took a vow that he would never leave Jagannātha Purī.
He worshipped the Deity of Kṛṣṇa that Lord Caitanya had found hidden in a garden, known as Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha. Ṭoṭā means “garden.” Gadādhara vowed that he would remain there and worship Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha.
Four years later, in 1514, Lord Caitanya returned to Bengal to visit His mother and to see the Ganges. When He was leaving, Gadādhara decided that he would go with Him. I will now read the relevant verses from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
paṇḍita kahe – “yāhāṅ tumi, sei nīlācala
kṣetra-sannyāsa mora yāuka rasātala”
When asked to go back to Jagannātha Purī, Gadādhara Paṇḍita said to the Lord:
“Wherever You are, that place is Nīlācala (Jagannātha Purī). Let this so-called kṣetra-sannyāsa of mine go to hell.”
prabhu kahe – “seva kara gopīnātha-sevana”
paṇḍita kahe – “koṭi-seva tvat-pāda-darśana”
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Gadādhara Paṇḍita to remain in Jagannātha Purī and render service to Gopīnātha, Gadādhara Paṇḍita replied:
“By simply seeing Your lotus feet, one renders millions of times more service to Gopīnātha.”
prabhu kahe – “seva chāḍibe, āmāya lāge doṣa
iñhā rahi’ seva kara – āmāra santoṣa”
Then Lord Caitanya said:
“If you give up His service – Gopīnātha’s – it will be My fault. Better that you stay here and do the service; that will satisfy Me.”
paṇḍita kahe – “saba doṣa āmāra upāre
tomā-saṅge na yāiba, yāiba eka-śare”
Gadādhara Paṇḍita replied:
“Do not worry; all the fault will fall upon my head. I will not accompany You; I will go on my own.”
“āi’ke dekhite yāiba, na yāiba tomā lāgi’
‘pratijñā’ – ‘seva-tyāga-doṣa’, tāra āmi bhāgī”
“I will go to see Śacī Mā, but I should not go on Your account. I alone will be responsible for abandoning my vow and the service to Gopīnātha.”
After that he set off, heading in the same direction as Lord Caitanya. Then they met in a place called Kaṭaka. At that point Lord Caitanya thought, “Well, what can I do? So be it,” and they travelled together. But again, after several days, Lord Caitanya said, “No, this is not good.” He had mixed feelings because of the intimacy of their mood as Gadai-Gaurāṅga, Lord Caitanya and Gadādhara. And then it became difficult for Gadādhara:
“āmāra saṅge rahite cāha – vāñchā nija-sukha
tomāra dui dharma yāya – āmāra haya duḥkha”
“The fact that you want to go with Me is simply a desire for your own sense enjoyment. In this way you are breaking two religious principles, and this makes Me very unhappy.”
“yadi mora sukha cāha, nīlācala yāha
ara kichu nā balile, āmāra ha-ila gāha”
“If you desire My happiness, please return to Nīlācala. If you say anything more about this, you will only condemn Me.”
At this point Lord Caitanya got into a boat and departed, and Gadādhara fell to the ground fainting. Seeing this, Lord Caitanya said to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, while they were still close enough: “Take care of him and bring him back to Jagannātha Purī.”
This is another lesson from Lord Caitanya showing how strict He was regarding the observance of religious principles. Sometimes, in the name of bhakti, we may ignore certain rules and recommendations. Yes, sometimes this is possible, but as we see, there are many examples where Lord Caitanya adheres to these principles. Although they are so intimate, Lord Caitanya insisted that since Gadādhara had taken that vow, he had to keep it.
It is also mentioned that Lord Caitanya used to visit Gadādhara in the Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha temple. Gadādhara took part in the pastime of Lord Caitanya’s disappearance. Lord Caitanya departed in a very mystical way. One day He simply vanished and no one knew what had happened to Him. Everyone searched for Him.
Finally they found His upper garment in the courtyard of the Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha temple, and they noticed a crack near the knee of Lord Gopīnātha, which had not been there before. Then everyone understood that Lord Caitanya had disappeared and entered the Deity of Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha.
At that time the Deity of Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha, who is quite large in size, was standing, like most Deities. Shortly after Lord Caitanya’s departure, Gadādhara, due to feelings of separation, began to age rapidly and became very physically weak, and because of this it was very difficult for him to serve Gopīnātha. It was hard for him to dress Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha and place a garland on Him, because it was a big Deity. Feeling compassion for His devotee, Lord Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha simply sat down. You can go there now and see how Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha is sitting.
Gadādhara felt such separation from Lord Caitanya that he departed one year after Him. Before that he had met Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, who had not managed to meet Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya told Śrīnivāsa in a dream to go and find Lord Gadādhara. Such, then, are the pastimes.
In Navadvīpa there are the Deities of Lord Caitanya and Gadādhara known as Gaura-Gadādhara, sometimes called Gadai-Gaurāṅga. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura worshipped Gadai-Gadādhara and composed a song in which the last line is wonderful and refers to Lord Caitanya and Gadādhara:
“Remember Gaura-Gadādhara during Their pastimes, meditate on Gaura-Gadādhara, that divine couple of extraordinary, perfect beauty. Listen to the wonderful descriptions of the pastimes of Gaura-Gadādhara and worship Them in the forests of Godruma, as They are bathed in moonlight.”
Today is the avirbhāva-mahotsava of Lord Gadādhara, that is, the celebration of His appearance, and we will perform an abhiṣeka. In fact, it would be appropriate to bathe Lord Caitanya together with Lord Gadādhara.
Does anyone have any questions about Lord Gadādhara?
Question: In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that Gadādhara served Lord Caitanya in the mood of Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī Devī, just as Jagadānanda had the mood of Satyabhāmā. Could you please explain how this relates to the fact that Gadādhara is the incarnation of Rādhārāṇī, Lalitā and Kṛṣṇa, and we know that Rādhārāṇī sometimes becomes angry with Kṛṣṇa? Could Mahārāja explain this?
Kṛṣṇa Kṣetra Swami: I would like to, but this is beyond my capacity… These are very interesting topics, but very difficult to understand. In Caitanya-līlā there is an enormous variety and fluidity of spiritual feelings. Lord Caitanya took on all sorts of moods. On one occasion He accepted the mood of Lakṣmī and enacted a pastime appearing in the role of Lakṣmī in a drama performed by the devotees. He was so well disguised that even His own mother, Śacīdevī, did not recognize Him.
By studying the Caitanya-caritāmṛta we find an enormous variety of moods and emotions, very specific exchanges. And as described in literature such as the aforementioned Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, some of these personalities were combinations of more than one person; we have mentioned Gadādhara, but also Rāmānanda Rāya. He is Arjuna, but he is also Viśākhā. You may say, “Arjuna and Viśākhā?” The explanation I have heard is that he manifests the mood of Arjuna up to the moment in his conversation with Lord Caitanya when he moves from giving external reasons to giving the inner explanations of devotional service. At that point he becomes Viśākhā. We can only say that we have heard this.
Question: Can we understand that the body of Gadādhara Paṇḍita was used by those three persons you mentioned?
Kṛṣṇa Kṣetra Swami: Next question, again above my head. It is stated differently, namely that they entered into the body of Gadādhara. And now we could begin to speculate about this. But I think it is better to accept it as it is stated.
Question: Could Mahārāja tell some story connected with that Deity of Gaura-Gadādhara in Navadvīpa?
Kṛṣṇa Kṣetra Swami: There is more than one. When we were going on Navadvīpa-parikramā, one of the places we visited is called Campāhaṭi. It seems that Lalitā used to pick campā flowers there. And there is a small temple with large Deities of Gaura-Gadādhara. Very ecstatic Deities. They are supremely merciful and have been worshipped for the last sixty years by the same pūjārī, who is a disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. After building that temple, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī gave him the instruction: “Just stay here and worship these Deities.” And he accepted that instruction as his very life and soul. Very simple: “My Guru Mahārāja told me to stay here and worship these Deities, so I stay here and worship Them.” He has been a brahmacārī his whole life. You can go there sometime and visit him.
There are also two rooms built there by the Bhaktivedanta Charity Trust, which Śrīla Prabhupāda established in order to protect, renovate and rebuild temples in Navadvīpa and in Bengal. Now there are two guest rooms there.