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EDITORIAL March 1, 1999 VNN3205 The Highest Magnanimity BY SRILA BHAKTIRAKSAKA SRIDHAR DEVA GOSWAMI MAHARAJA EDITORIAL, Mar 1 (VNN) — (from Sanga wfd@efn.org) Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes from the highest position, he cannot give ordinary things, and his attention must be drawn to the most needy. Is it unnatural? The highest magnanimity must take notice of the lowest and most needy. And if he wants to help them, he will do so with his own coin. He cannot distribute to them only glass or stone chips. When he has the opulence of jewels and gems, why should he distribute stone chips to the lowest level? He must extend his real wealth to the lowest and poorest people. So we should all fall at the feet of the great messiah, Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu. His devotees say, "If we had to conceive of a place where Gauranga had not appeared, we could not maintain our lives. We shudder to think of living without such a magnanimous friend as Sri Gauranga." How could one live his life without Gauranga? It is impossible. The world is not worth living in without Gauranga. Sri Gauranga is most magnanimous. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his associates, the Panca-tattva, have come to raise all souls from their fallen condition. Generally, only deserving persons can gain entrance into Vrindavan, into Krishna lila. But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krishna himself has come down to cure the offenders of their offenses and grant them entrance into Vrindavan. Simply by chanting the names of the Panca-tattva and by remembering their lila, we can be purified even from the lowest position and prepare for participation in Vrindavan lila. In Goloka Vrindavan, Radha Govinda are enjoying their pastimes of divine love within their own circle. And there is another quarter, where Radha Govinda are combined as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu - Krishna himself in the mood of Radharani is tasting his own sweetness with his entourage. We have to realize this through the recommended process. Who is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu? He came here to bestow upon us the gift which will promote us to the highest goal of life. To bring Sri Gauranga nearer to our soul is to get, even unconsciously, a guarantee of our achievement in Krishna lila. For the fallen souls it is more useful to cultivate devotion for Sri Gauranga. That will give us the complete fulfillment of life with the least trouble. Devotion to Gauranga will not lead to any haphazard or misconceived Krishna consciousness, but real Krishna consciousness. We can have full Krishna consciousness - plus something more. What is that? The distribution of Krishna consciousness. Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, the giver of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, the most valuable theological literature which has ever seen the light of day, has written: "What is Krishna lila? It is the real essence of nectar. It is the gist of sweetness, happiness and ecstasy. The sweetness of the sweetest thing that can ever be conceived is represented in Krishna lila. Then what is Caitanya lila? In Caitanya lila, that sweet nectar of Krishna lila is flowing in all ten directions in hundreds of streams as if from a fountain. That fountain is Caitanya lila." Although Caitanya lila appears later than Krishna lila, Caitanya lila is the source, the foundation. We see that Krishna appeared in Dvapara Yuga, in the previous age, and then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared later, in Kali Yuga. Still, their lila is eternal. First there is the giver, then the gift. And the gift of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is that in all ten directions, he is distributing unlimited streams of sweet Krishna lila to the world. Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami concludes, "O devotees, come! Like so many swans, you must swim in the lake of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes. From that lake Krishna lila is flowing to the world in different streams. Devotees, like clouds, take nectar from that lake, and distribute that nectar freely to the fortunate souls. Come and live in that lake. Ask the swan of your mind to take shelter there. May that swan swim in the nectarine lake of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's life and precepts, from which so many hundreds of streams of nectar are flowing in all directions. O devotees, I offer this humble prayer to you." Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami About the Author | Other Stories by this Author Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9903/ET01-3205.html
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