Your Invitation Into the Circle

Caitanya Mahāprabhu is going out and he is reaching out to all different sorts of persons, different sorts of social and philosophical categories: His direct associates; other Vaiṣṇava groups; other brahmanical traditions; Śāktas, Buddhists and tribals; and Muslims. There is one particular category which consists of four different groups: animals, plants, objects and substances. With animals we can refer to the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest pastime, in which the Lord inspires all animals not only to chant the holy name, but also to embrace each other. A tiger is embracing a deer and—Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja tells us—not only embracing, but also kissing! And then He comes to Vṛndāvana and He comes to Govardhana. Govardhana is a stone. What is Mahāprabhu doing? He is embracing the stone. And the stones are melting from His tears . . . these kinds of interactions. In Jagannātha Purī He runs over the sand dunes because He is thinking this is Govardhana Hill, He dives into the ocean because He thinks this is Yamunā. These interactions with animals, with plants, birds and objects, physical objects . . . it turns out He has His most intensive ecstatic emotions in relation to animate and inanimate—we may use the word—objects. 
 
All these connections He makes, bringing everyone, including us, as we read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, into His circle. He is allowing us, He is opening up the possibility for us to associate with Him, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as the Pañca-tattva are associating with Him.
 
—From a lecture on Structural Analysis of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Gaura Pūrṇimā Series) by Krishna Kshetra Swami, on March 9, 2020.

A Secret Desire

What does the Pañca-tattva do, according to Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, in the seventh and eighth chapters of the Ādi-līlā? How do they spend their time? They become plunderers. Plunder is more than theft. Plunder is taking everything. A thief may just grab a jewel and run. But a plunderer takes everything. Pañca-tattva are doing this only. They are plundering so that nothing is left. Nothing left? First of all, what are they plundering? Where are they plundering? The storehouse of kṛṣṇa-prema. There is a storehouse which is Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself and they are plundering that storehouse and distributing the goods very generously. They are not keeping it for themselves, they are distributing it. Who are they distributing to? To everyone, not considering who is qualified or who is not qualified. Because if we consider who is qualified in the Age of Kali, then no one is qualified. We are not qualified. So, they are distributing to all. And what happens to the storehouse of love? What happens to kṛṣṇa-prema? Is it emptied out? “So sorry. No more. It’s finished. I have to make a new order. Next yuga.” No. It keeps filling up, filling up, so they keep plundering. 
 
That plundering is giving us all an opportunity. And the opportunity is to join in the plundering. If you had a secret desire to be a thief you can now engage in devotional service. Hare Kṛṣṇa. 
 
pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ namāmi bhakta-śaktikam
 
and 
 
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda 
śri-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
 
Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. We are invited to participate. To do this we follow Mahāprabhu’s instructions, and to do this best we read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
 
—From a lecture on Structural Analysis of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Gaura Pūrṇimā Series) by Krishna Kshetra Swami, on March 9, 2020.