Text 54] Lord Caitanya Meets Vallabha Bhatta 29
bhattera hrdaye drdha abhimana jani’
bhangi kari’ mahaprabhu kahe eta vani
SYNONYMS
bhattera hrdaye—in the heart of Vallabha Bhatta; drdha—fixed; abhimana—
pride; jani’—understanding; bhangi kari’—making a hint; mahdprabhu—Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kahe—spoke; eta vani—these words.
TRANSLATION
Knowing that Vallabha Bhatta’s heart was full of pride, Sri Caitanya
Mahdaprabhu spoke these words, hinting at how one can learn about devo-
tional service.
PURPORT
Vallabha Bhatta was greatly proud of his knowledge in devotional service, and
therefore he wanted to speak about Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu without
understanding the Lord’s position. The Lord therefore hinted in many ways that if
Vallabha Bhatta wanted to know what devotional service actually is, he would
have to learn from all the devotees He mentioned, beginning with Advaita
Acarya, Lord Nityananda, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya and Ramananda Raya. As
Svaripa Damodara has said, if one wants to learn the meaning of Srimad-
Bhagavatam, one must take lessons from a realized soul. One should not proudly
think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lord
simply by reading books. One must become a servant of a Vaisnava. As Narot-
tama dasa Thakura has confirmed, chadiya vaisnava-sevd nistara payeche keba:
one cannot be in a transcendental position unless one very faithfully serves a pure
Vaisnava. One must accept a Vaisnava guru (adau gurv-dsrayam), and then by
questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to
Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.
TEXT 54
“ona cr Cawe’,—efe here aa enfa |
alfa ca Sttas-eef Bea atarfa uw” es 0
“ami se ‘vaisnava’, ——bhakti-siddhanta saba jani
ami se bhagavata-artha uttama vakhani”
SYNONYMS
ami—l; se—that; vaispava—Vaisnava; bhakti-siddhanta —conclusions of devo-
tional service; saba—all; jani—l know; ami—l; se—that; bhagavata-artha—
meaning of the Bhagavatam; uttama—very well; vakhani—can explain.
