They Do Not Know What is Prema-Bhāva (06/29/02)

They Do Not Know What is Prema-Bhāva (06/29/02)

_____Mahārāja,

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

So much for the preaching against Dhruva and Prahlada — the following are two verses from Caitanya-bhāgavata describing how Mahāprabhu used to hear the pastimes of Dhruva and Prahlāda from Bhāgavatam. We read the purport by Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and he says that Mahāprabhu used to hear the pastimes of Dhruva and Prahlāda hundreds of times!

gadādhara paḍena summukha bhāgavata
śuniyā prakāśe prabhu prema-bhāva yata
prahlāda-caritra āra dhruvera-caritra
śatāvṛtti kariyā śunena sāvahita

“Whenever Gadādhara would recite the Bhāgavatam, the Lord would manifest various symptoms of love. The Lord would hear the glories of Prahlāda and Dhruva hundreds of times.” (Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 10.13-14)

Furthermore it should be mentioned that Mahāprabhu heard those pastimes from Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita who is non-different from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. That is significant. Who could be better qualified as a speaker of Bhāgavatam than Gadadhara Paṇḍita, and who could be a more qualified listener than Mahāprabhu? Yet still the pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā were not discussed – only the pastimes of Dhruva and Prahlāda were narrated.

When hearing the pastimes of Dhruva and Prahlāda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would manifest the symptoms of prema-bhāva, love of God, but these rascals are such fools that they criticise Dhruva and Prahlāda. The conclusion is that, not only do they not have even the slightest prema-bhāva in their contaminated hearts, they do not even have an idea what real prema-bhāva actually is. When they speak about mañjarī-bhāva, it is like the reflection of the moon in a bucket of water — they actually have no real connection with the higher subjective plane.

Also, it is mentioned in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.134, purport that Mahāprabhu only discussed the intimate līlās of Kṛṣṇa with three of His confidential associates.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance to you. Haribol.

Praṇāmas,

Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha