The Desire Tree
[Adi 9-12]
We are all pleasure-seeking beings (anandamaya-bhyasat). Every desire, every plan and every action is performed with this in mind. Shri Chaitanya came to show that this universal quest for happiness must be founded upon our eternal spiritual nature. He distinguished fleeting material pleasures from true fulfilment of the soul, and established bhakti-yoga as the means to dive into that ocean of happiness. Over time, a desire tree of devotion (bhakti-kalpataru) took root to proliferate this understanding far and wide. This figurative tree consists of those devotees who were transformed and empowered by Shri Chaitanya’s spiritual potency, and who subsequently became messengers of this divine love.
After travelling to Gaya and receiving initiation from Ishvara Puri, Shri Chaitanya became infused with divine love. Through His public chanting and personal interactions, He planted the seed of the bhakti-kalpataru in Navadvip, and it later spread to Jagannatha Puri and Vrindavana. Shri Chaitanya is described as the creator, maintainer and the life source of this transcendental tree that gives spiritual shelter and nourishment to the entire planet. The two main branches of the tree are Advaita Acharya and Nityananda Prabhu, and Chapters Ten, Eleven and Twelve comprehensively describe these exalted Vaishnavas and their lineages.
Shri Chaitanya urged everyone to become a part of the desire tree and share its fruits with the entire world: “I am the only gardener. How many places can I go? How many fruits can I pick and distribute? Therefore I order every man within this universe to accept this Krishna Consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere.”
This compassionate desire to uplift the world is at the heart of genuine spirituality; we find ourselves by thinking of others. By accessing genuine spiritual wisdom, people can flourish on all levels: physically, emotionally, socially and, most importantly, spiritually. Thus, sharing Krishna Consciousness is considered the highest welfare work for humanity at large.
Shrila Prabhupada was especially empowered in this regard. In 1965, just a few days before his sixty-ninth birthday, Shrila Prabhupada set out for America with the mission to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Begging passage from a local steamship company, he travelled as the only passenger on-board a small weathered cargo ship named the Jaladuta. In his possession was a suitcase, an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal, Indian rupees worth about seven dollars, and several boxes of books. When the Jaladuta arrived in New York Harbour 37 days later, Shrila Prabhupada disembarked as a lone renunciant in an urban jungle. He had come to America knowing no one, with absolutely no visible means of support, and with only a meagre handful of possessions. His task seemed impossible.
Yet his unshakeable faith in Krishna carried him through. Between the years 1965 and 1977, Shrila Prabhupada miraculously managed to spread the teachings of Krishna Consciousness to every major city in the world and officially formed ISKCON, the newest branch of the bhakti- kalpataru . He demonstrated the eternal relevance of spiritual wisdom in our modern times, and singlehandedly implanted an ancient tradition into the Western world. Today, the movement continues to grow, gradually fulfilling the remarkable prophecy of Shri Chaitanya: “In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.”
Krishnadasa lists the followers of Shri Chaitanya who form different branches of this desire tree of devotion.
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