Text 116] The Lord Travels to Vrndavana 61
TEXT 116
sew fant fe clocacna nas Stye’ |
CHAA-SAS-PAY, COMPAS TAF 1 99 Ul
“suniyachi gauda-desera sannyasi—— ‘bhavuka’
kesava-bharati-sisya, loka-prataraka
SYNONYMS
suniyachi—l have heard; gauda-desera sannyasi—the sannydsi from Bengal;
bhavuka—sentimental; kesava-bharati-sisya—disciple of KeSava Bharati; loka-
prataraka—a first-class pretender.
TRANSLATION
Prakasananda Sarasvati said, ‘‘Yes, | have heard about Him. He is a sannyasi
from Bengal, and He is very sentimental. | have also heard that He belongs to
the Bharati-sampradaya, for He is a disciple of Kesava Bharati. However, He is
only a pretender.”
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was considered bhavuka (sentimental) because He
was always seen in the bhava stage. That is, He always exhibited ecstatic love for
Krsna. However, foolish people considered Him sentimental. In the material world,
so-called devotees sometimes exhibit emotional symptoms. Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's ecstatic love cannot be compared to the imitative emotional ex-
hibitions of pretenders. Such exhibitions do not continue for very long. They are
temporary. We actually see that some emotional imitators exhibit certain
symptoms, but immediately after their exhibition, they are attracted to smoking
and other things. In the beginning, when Prakasananda Sarasvati heard of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's activities, he considered them to be those of a pretender.
Consequently he called Him a loka-pratdraka, a pretender. Mayavadis cannot
understand the transcendental symptoms exhibited by a devotee; therefore
when such symptoms are manifest, the Mayavadis equate them with temporary
emotional feelings. However, PrakaSananda Sarasvati’s statement is offensive, and
consequently he should be considered an atheist (pasandi). According to Srila
Rapa Gosvami, since Prakasananda Sarasvati was not engaged in the Lord’s devo-
tional service, his sannydsa is to be considered phalgu-vairagya. This means that
since he did not know how to use things for the Lord’s service, his renunciation of
the world was artificial.
