Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 4.125

grāmera śūnya-hāṭe vasi' karena kīrtana

ethā pūjārī karāila ṭhākure śayana

SYNONYMS

grāmera — of the village; śūnya-hāṭe — in the vacant marketplace; vasi' — sitting down; karena — performs; kīrtana — chanting; ethā — in the temple; pūjārī — the priest; karāila — made; ṭhākure — the Deity; śayana — lying down.

TRANSLATION

Mādhavendra Purī left the temple and sat down in the village marketplace, which was vacant. Sitting there, he began to chant. In the meantime, the temple priest laid the Deity down to rest.

PURPORT

Although Mādhavendra Purī was not interested in eating and sleeping, his interest in chanting the mahā-mantra was as acute as if he were an aspiring transcendentalist rather than a paramahaḿsa. This means that even in the paramahaḿsa stage, one cannot give up chanting. Haridāsa Ṭhākura and the Gosvāmīs were all engaged in chanting a fixed number of rounds; therefore chanting on beads is very important for everyone, even though one may become a paramahaḿsa. This chanting can be executed anywhere, either inside or outside the temple. Mādhavendra Purī even sat down in a vacant marketplace to perform his chanting. As stated by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in his prayers to the Gosvāmīs: nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. A paramahaḿsa devotee is always engaged in chanting and rendering loving service to the Lord. Chanting the Lord's holy names and engaging in His service are identical. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23), there are nine kinds of devotional service: hearing (śravaṇam), chanting (kīrtanam), remembering (viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam), serving (pāda-sevanam), worship of the Deity (arcanam), praying (vandanam), carrying out orders (dāsyam), serving Him as a friend (sakhyam) and sacrificing everything for the Lord (ātma-nivedanam). Although each process appears distinct, when one is situated on the absolute platform he can see that they are identical. For instance, hearing is as good as chanting, and remembering is as good as chanting or hearing. Similarly, engaging in Deity worship is as good as chanting, hearing or remembering. The devotee is expected to accept all nine processes of devotional service, but even if only one process is properly executed, he can still attain the highest position (paramahaḿsa) and go back home, back to Godhead.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness