Cc Madhya 16.281

Text

tabu vṛndāvana yāha' loka śikhāite
seita karibe, tomāra yei laya citte

Synonyms

tabu-still; vṛndāvana yāha'-You go to Vṛndāvana; loka śikhāite-to teach the people in general; seita-that; karibe-You will do; tomāra-of You; yei-what; laya-takes; citte-in the mind.

Translation

"Although wherever You stay is Vṛndāvana, You still go to Vṛndāvana just to instruct people. Otherwise, You do whatever You think best."

Purport

It was not essential for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to go to Vṛndāvana, for wherever He stayed was immediately converted to Vṛndāvana. Indeed, there was also the River Ganges, the River Yamunā and all other places of pilgrimage. This was also expressed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself when He danced in the Ratha-yātrā. At that time He said that His very mind was Vṛndāvana (mora-mana--vṛndāvana). Because His mind was Vṛndāvana, all the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were taking place within Himself. Nonetheless, just to teach people, He visited bhauma-vṛndāvana, Vṛndāvana-dhāma in this material world. In this way the Lord instructed everyone to visit Vṛndāvana-dhāma, which is a very holy place. Materialists consider Vṛndāvana-dhāma an unclean city because there are many monkeys and dogs there, and along the bank of the Yamunā there is refuse. Some time ago, a materialistic man asked me, "Why are you living in Vṛndāvana? Why have you selected such a dirty place to live after retiring?" Such a person cannot understand that Vṛndāvana-dhāma is always a representation of the original Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Consequently Vṛndāvana-dhāma is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His abode, Vṛndāvana, are equally worshipable. Sometimes materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vṛndāvana as tourists. One who goes to Vṛndāvana with such materialistic vision cannot derive any spiritual benefit. Such a person is not convinced that Kṛṣṇa and Vṛndāvana are identical. Since they are identical, Vṛndāvana is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's vision (mora-mana-vṛndāvana) is different from the vision of an ordinary materialistic person. At the Ratha-yātrā festival, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, absorbed in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, dragged Lord Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke of this in the verses beginning āhuś ca te (Madhya 13.136).