The Journey Home
[Madhya 17]
Although Shri Chaitanya planned to travel alone, Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodara strongly insisted that two devotees accompany Him. Balabhadra Bhattacharya would collect alms and cook meals, while an assistant brahmana would carry Shri Chaitanya’s cloth and water pot. This would allow Shri Chaitanya to freely chant and dance on His way to Vrindavana. Having settled the practicalities, Shri Chaitanya requested permission from His worshipable Lord Jagannatha, and slipped away in the dead of night to fulfil His long-cherished aspiration.
He travelled via the Jharikhanda forest, chanting and dancing in unbounded happiness. His ecstasy transformed the fierce tigers, powerful elephants and timid deer, who all symphonically chanted “Krishna Krishna!” The forest reminded Shri Chaitanya of Vrindavana, the transcendental abode where everyone lives together in spiritual harmony. He carried the spirit of Vrindavana with Him, and bestowed that holy influence upon the places and people He visited.
When Shri Chaitanya arrived in Varanasi, He met Tapan Mishra and his son, Raghunath Bhatta. The young boy, who would later become one of the six Goswamis of Vrindavana, humbly served the Lord with great devotion. Chandrashekhar also came to see the Lord, and out of loving affection, Shri Chaitanya stayed there for ten days. In a town swarming with impersonalists, Chandrashekhar and Tapan Mishra were practically the only Vaishnavas present. The local leader of the Mayavadi sannyasis was Prakashananda Saraswati, and when he heard of Shri Chaitanya’s sankirtan movement he flatly dismissed it as sentimental and emotional. He openly blasphemed Shri Chaitanya as a pretender and charlatan who was hypnotizing people en masse. When Shri Chaitanya heard these criticisms He mildly smiled, contemplating how to free the inhabitants of Varanasi from their dry scholarship and academic approach to spirituality. Nevertheless, He avoided confronting the mayavadis on this occasion. For now, the compelling priority was to visit Vrindavana.
Travelling via Prayag, Shri Chaitanya approached the sacred land of Mathura. Upon arrival, He fell to the ground and offered obeisances in ecstatic love. In this incarnation it would be His first and last visit to the holy dham; the appreciation He felt was indescribable. When Shri Chaitanya met the Sanodiya brahmana, a disciple of Madhavendra Puri, He immediately felt a deep connection with him. They continued the pilgrimage together, feeling increasing anticipation and excitement as they approached the sacred forest of Vrindavana. When they eventually arrived, Shri Chaitanya became immersed in an ocean of transcendental feeling as He recounted the divine pastimes that Shri Krishna had enacted 5000 years ago. He had finally arrived home!
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