Sri Caitanya-carita-maha-kavya Srila Murari Gupta

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Introduction

As indicated at the end of book, it was compiled by the author soon after Lord Caitanya's disappearance and was read by many of the Lord's associates, including Advaita Acarya and Srivasa Thakura, and they all greatly appreciated it. As indicated in a purport by Srila Prabhupada to the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami: "By this time (of the compilation of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta), contemporary and near-contemporary scholars and devotees had already written several biographical works on the life of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There included Sri Caitanya-carita, by Murari Gupta, Caitanya-mangala, by Locana dasa Thakura, and Caitanya-bhagavata."

It is very interesting to note that the other biographies of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu utilized the notebooks of Murari Gupta for their information, thus indicating that all the great associates of the Lord Accept his account as accurate and reliable. In a purport to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada wrote: The Lord's early life was recorded by one of His chief devotees and contemporaries, namely Srila Murari Gupta, a medical practitioner of that time, and the latter part of the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was recorded by His private secretary Sri Damodara Gosvami, or Srila Svarupa Damodara, who was practically a constant companion of the Lord at Puri. These two devotees recorded practically all the incidents of the Lord's activities, and later on all the books dealing with the Lord, which are above mentioned, were composed on the basis of kadacas (notebooks) by Srila Damodara Gosvami and Murari Gupta."

Murari Gupta was one of the Lord's principal associates at Navadvipa and he figured in many of His pastimes, The importance of Murari Gupta can be gauged by this verse of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: "Murari Gupta, the twenty-first branch of the tree of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, was a storehouse of love Godhead. His great humility and meekness melted the heart of Lord Caitanya."

In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada wrote: "Sri Murari Gupta wrote a book called Sri Caitanya-carita. He belonged to a vaidya physician family of Sriharta, the paternal home of Lord Caitanya, and later became a resident of Navadvipa. He was among the elders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya exhibited His Varaha form in the house of Murari Gupta, as described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, Third Chapter. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His maha-prakasa form, He appeared before Murari Gupta as Lord Ramacandra. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu were sitting together in the house of Srivasa Thakura, Murari Gupta first offered his respects of Lord Caitanya and then so Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu, however, was older than Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and therefore Lord Caitanya remarked that Murari Gupta had violated social etiquette, for he should have first shown respect to Nityananda Prabhu and then to Him. In this way, by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Murari Gupta was informed about the position of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and the next day he offered abeisanes first to Lord Nityananda and then to Lord Caitanya. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave chewed pan, or betel nut, to Murari Gupta. Once Sivananda Sena offered food to Lord Caitanya that had been cooked with excessive ghee, and the next day the Lord becae sick and went to Murari Gupta for treatment. Lord Caitanya accepted some water from the water pot of Murari Gupta, and this He was cured. The naural remedy for indigestion is to drink A little water, and since Murari Gupta was a physician, he gave the Lord some drinking water and cured Him."

"When Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the house of Srivasa Thakura in His Caturbhuja murti, Murari Gupta became His carrier in the form of Garuda, and in these pastimes of ecstasy the Lord then got up on his back. It was the desire of Murari Gupta to leave his body before the disappearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but the Lord forbade him to do so. This is described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, Chapter Twenty. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu one day appeared in ecstasy as the Varaha murti, Murari Gupta offered Him prayers. He was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra, and his staunch devotion is vividly described in the Caitanya-caritamrta."

There is another verse in the Caitanya-caritamrta that gives a hint of Murari Gupta's character: "Srila Murari Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as a physician and maintained his family with his earnings."

In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada wrote: "It should be noted that a grhastha (householder) must not make his livelihood by begging from anyone. Every householder of the higher castes should engage himself in his own occupational duty as a Brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya, but he should not engage in the service of other, for this is the duty of a sudra. Since Murari Gupta was born in a physician's family (vaidya-vamsa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivi-varnasrama. Murari Gupta was an ideal grhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. By practicing as a physician he maintained his family and at the same time satisfied Lord Caitanya to the best of his ability. This is the ideal of householder life."

In the Caitanya-caritamrta there is a very nice section that shows how much affection Lord Caitanya had for Murari Gupta: Murari Gupta was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra. When Lord Caitanya heard Lord Ramacandra's glories from his mouth, He immediately wrote on his forehead "ramdasa" [the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra].

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then embraced Murari Gupta and began to speak about hi firm faith in devotional service. This was heard by all the devotees. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Previously I induced Murari Gupta again and again to be allured by Lord Krsna. I said to him, 'My dear Gupta, Lord Sri Krsna, Vrajendra-kumara, is the supreme sweetness,' I then requested Murari Gupta, 'Worship Krsna and take shelter of Him. But for His service, nothing appeals to the mind. In this way, he heard from Me again and again. By My influence, his mind was a little converted. Murari Gupta then replied. 'I am Your Servant and Your order-carrier. I have no independent existence.'

"After this, Murari Gupta went home and spent the whole night thinking how he would have to give up the association of Raghunatha, Lord Ramacandra. Thus he was overwhelmed Murari Gupta then began to pray at the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra. He prayed that death would come that night because it was not possible for him to give up the service f the lotus feet of Raghunatha. Thus Murari Gupta cried the entire night. There was no rest for his mind; therefore he could not sleep but stayed awake the entire nigh."

"In the morning Murari Gupta came to see Me. Catching hold of My feet and crying, he submitted an appeal. Murari Gupta said, 'I have sold my head unto the lotus feet of Raghunatha. I cannot withdraw my head, for that would give me too much pain. It is not possible for me to give up the service of Raghunatha's lotus feet. At the same time, if I do not do so I shall break Your order. What can I do?' In this way Murari Gupta appealed to Me, saying, 'You are all-merciful, so kindly grant me this mercy: Let me die before You so that all my doubts will be finished.' Hearing this, I became very happy."

"I then raised Murari Gupta and embraced him I said to him, 'All glories to you, Murari Gupta! Your method of worship is very firmly fixed – so much so that even upon My request your mind did not turn. The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet. Just to test your firm faith in your Lord, I requested you again and again to change your worship from Lord Ramacandra to Krsna, 'In this way, I congratulated Murari Gupta, saying, 'Indeed, you are the incarnation of Hanuman. Consequently you are the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra. Why should you give up the worship of Lord Ramacandra and His lotus feet?" I accept this Murari Gupta as My life soul. When I hear of his humility, it perturbs My very life."

Let us now hear about the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu from the mouth of Murari Gupta. Just as we like to hear about Srila Prabhupada from the mouths of many of his disciples, it is inspiring to her about Lord Caitanya from all those who His direct association.

From the Jacket

"When Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the house of Srivasa Thakura in His Caturbhuja murit, Murari Gupta became His carrier in the form of Garuda, and in these pastimes of ecstasy the Lord then got up on his back. It was the desire of Murari Gupta to leave his body before the disappearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but the Lord forbade him to do so. Thus is described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, Chapter Twenty.

There is another verse in the Caitanya caritamrta that gives hind of Murari Gupta's character: "Srila Murari Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as physician and maintained his family with his earnings."

In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada wrote" "It should be noted that a grhastha (householder) must not make his livelihood by begging from anyone. Every householder of the higher castes should engage himself in his own occupational duty as a Brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya, but he should not engage in the service of others, for this is the duty of sudra …

Since Murari Gupta was born in physician's family (vaidya-vamsa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Srimad – Bhagavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivi-varnasrama. Murari Gupta was an ideal grhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. By practicing as a physician he maintained his family and at the same time satisfied Lord Caitanya to the best of his ability. This is the ideal of householder life."

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Lord Caitanya said to Murari Gupta after embracing him:

'All glories to you, Murari Gupta! Your method of worship is very firmly fixed so much so that even upon My request your mind did not turn. The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet. Just to test your firm faith in your Lord, I requested you again and again to change your worship from Lord Ramacandra to Krsna.' In this way, I congratulated Murari Gupta, saying, 'Indeed, you are the incarnation of Hanuman. Consequently you are the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra. Why should you give up the worship of Lord Ramacandra and His lotus feet?' I accept the Murari Gupta as My life and soul. When I hear of his humility, it perturbs my very life."

Back of the Book

This book was compiled by the author soon after Lord Caitanya's disappearance and was read by many of the Lord's associates, including Advaita Acarya and Srivasa Thakura.

As indicated at the end of this book, it was compiled by the author soon after Lord Caitanya's disappearance and was read by many of the Lord's associates, including Advaita Acarya and Srivasa Thakura, and they all greatly appreciated it. As indicated in a purport by Srila Prabhupada to the Sri Caitanya – caritamrta of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami: "By this time (of the compilation of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta), contemporary and near-contemporary scholars and devotees had already written several biographical works on the life of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These included of Sri Caitanya -carita, by Murari Gupta, Caitanya-mangala, by Locana dasa Thakura, and Caitanya-bhagavata."

It is very interesting to note that the other biographies of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu utilized the notebooks of Murari Gupta for their information, thus indicating that all the great associates of Lord accept his accounts as accurate and reliable. In a purport to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada wrote: "The Lord's early life was recorded by one of His chief devotees and contemporaries, namely Srila Murari Gupta, a medical practitioner of that time, and the later part of the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was recorded by His private secretary Sri Damodara Gosvami, or Srila Svarupa Damodara, who was practically a constant companion of the Lord at Puri. These two devotees recorded practically all the incidents of the Lord's activities, and later on all the books dealing with the Lord, which are above mentioned, were composed on the basic of Kadacas(notebooks) by Srila Damodara Gosvami and Murari Gupta."

Murari Gupta was one of the Lord's principal associates at Navadvipa and he figured in many of His pasties. The importance of Murari Gupta can be gauged by this verse of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: "Murari Gupta, the twenty-first branch of the tree of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, was a storehouse of love of Godhead. His great humility and meekness melted the heart of Lord Caitanya."