The Journey Home
[Madhya 17]
Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 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 Sri Caitanya’s cloth and water pot. This would allow Sri Caitanya to freely chant and dance on His way to Vrindavana. Having settled the practicalities, Sri Caitanya 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 Sri Caitanya 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 the Lord arrived in Varanasi, He met Tapan Misra 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, Sri Caitanya stayed there for ten days. In a town swarming with impersonalists, Chandrashekhar and Tapan Misra were practically the only Vaishnavas present. The local leader of the Mayavadi sannyasis was Prakashananda Saraswati, and when he heard of Sri Caitanya’s sankirtan movement he flatly dismissed it as sentimental and emotional. He openly blasphemed Sri Caitanya as a pretender and charlatan who was hypnotizing people en masse. When Sri Caitanya 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, the Lord 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 Sri Caitanya 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, Sri Caitanya became immersed in an ocean of transcendental feeling as He recounted the divine pastimes that He had enacted 5000 years ago as Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Caitanya had finally arrived home!
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