23. Sikhi Mahiti's Vision

23. Sikhi Mahiti's Vision:

Śri Caitanya-caritāmṛta Mahākāvya

The Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Mahäkävya is a Sanskrit work describing the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Although this book is generally accepted by Gaudiya Vaishnavas and is quoted by Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in his purport to Cc. Adi 10.135-136, there is some question as to its authorship. In his purport to Cc. Adi 10.62, Srila Prabhupada states:

According to expert opinion, Chaitanya das was the author of the book Caitanya-carita (also known as Caitanya-caritamrta), which was written in Sanskrit. The author was not Kavi Karnapur, as is generally supposed. This is the opinion of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

The book contains many details about Mahaprabhu's pastimes in Orissa that are not found elsewhere. The following story from the 13th chapter gives such details about Madhavi devi's brother, Sikhi Mahiti. This story, which is cited by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in his purport to Cc. ādi 10.135-136, also illustrates yet another conception of Lord Jagannath that he is identical with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

asti tatra vimalah sikhi-nāmā mahititi puruşottama-bhūmau nila-śaila-tilakasya mahātmā dasa-vat karunatăm samupetah

With over 50,000 manuscripts, the Orissa State Museum in Bhubaneswar has one of the largest collections of palm leaf books in the world. Among them are hundreds of versions of Jayadev Goswami's Gita-govinda and literatures following his style. The oldest palm leaf manuscript in their collection is a copy of Abhinava Gita-govinda attributed to Maharaja Purushottamdev.

In Jagannath Puri there is one pure, great soul by the name Sikhi Mahiti who received the mercy of Lord Jagannath befitting a servant of the Lord. (Text 69)

asya ko'py avarajo'sti murarir

nama tasya ca tathanu kanistha suddha-buddhir atha madhava-devi bhrátaras ta iti tatra samasah

Junior to him is Murari, and the youngest, of pure intelligence, is Madhavi-devi. They are brothers and sister. (90)

bhrātarau punar imau priyanujau gouracandra-niratau babhúvatuh niscala hi sahaja matih subha

vismrtim nahi dadhati karhicit

His two dear younger siblings were devoted to Lord Gaurachandra, and their pure minds were naturally steady and never forgot the Lord. (91)

natha esa paramah krpa-nidhih

prema-samprakatanärtham udyatah 

känta esa kamaniyatamayah

sri-saci-jathara-sindhu-candramah

Lord Gaurachandra is the Supreme Lord, the ocean of compassion, who has appeared for the sake of revealing pure love of Godhead. He is the beautiful full moon born from the ocean of Mother Sachi's womb. (92)

gauracandra iha samprati vrnda- ranya-candra udiyaya dharanyam etayor iti subhā matir asset santatam vidadhato rati-räsim

Krishnachandra, the moon of Vrindavan, has now arisen on this earth as Gaurachandra. Both Murari Mahiti and Madhavi's pure minds were always full of love for Lord Gaurachandra. (93)

Both of them made a great effort to induce their elder brother, Sikhi Mahiti, who was a loving servant of Lord Jagannath, to worship Lord Gaurachandra. But Sikhi Mahiti didn't become attached to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sikhi Mahiti was continually rendering service to the Lord in his mind. One night while he was rendering such service, he fell asleep. In a dream he saw his younger brother and sister at the lotus feet of Lord Gaurachandra. At that very moment his younger brother and sister, while waking him up, saw that he was trembling and horripilating due to seeing something wonderful. Gradually he opened his eyes, which were full of tears, and noticed his younger brother and sister. Sikhi became very happy and embraced them firmly.

He told them, "My dear brother and sister! Hear from me the wonderful thing I saw in my dream. Today I have realized that Lord Gaurachandra's greatness is unlimited. While I was gazing at Lord Jagannath, I saw Gaura enter into Jagannath's body and then come out again. Many times he did like this.

How truly amazing! Even now, after waking, I am still seeing the Lord doing the same thing. It is as if my eyes, by seeing some great illusion, have also inherited that illusion and are continuously replaying it. And the most amazing thing is that when I approached the Lord in my dream, chanting his name as I did so that limitless ocean of mercy embraced me with his strong, long, graceful arms.

While Sikhi Mahiti was speaking, the hairs of his body were standing on end, his voice was faltering due to great agitation, and he was continuously shedding teats from his eyes.

Hearing about his dream, Murari Mahiti and Madhavi became very happy, and they suggested to Sikhi Mahiti, who was already starting off to see Lord Jagannath, that he go and see Lord Gaurachandra there in the temple of Lord Jagannath. The three of them quickly went to see Lord Jagannath, with a great desire to also see the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Arriving at Jagannath's temple, the younger brother and sister saw Lord Gaurachandra in the jagamohana kirtana hall shedding rivers of tears from his eyes, and they became ecstatic. Sikhi Mahiti saw Lord Gaurachandra just as he had seen him in the dream, and his heart rejoiced with love.

The most merciful Lord Gaurachandra then embraced Sikhi Mahiti with his two arms.

Srila Kavi Karnapur concludes the story, saying:

tat-prabhrty ayam amusya padabja- dvandva-gandha-lava-vismrta- sarvah

sarvadaiva nija-daivatam enam sevate pratidinam guru-bhagyah

Since that time, Sikhi Mahiti has forgotten everything else due to obtaining a whiff of the sweet fragrance of the lotus feet of Lord Gaurachandra. Now, having become very fortunate, he constantly serves Lord Gaurachandra every day as his worshipable deity.

Further illustrating how the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu see him as non-different from Lord Jagannath, there is a special dress that is offered every year to Lord Jagannath's representative, the vijaya-vigraha-mürti Madan Mohan, during the Candana-yatra festival. Known as sad- bhüja-vesa, it represents six-armed Mahaprabhu. The same conception is reflected in the writing of Mahaprabhu's eternal associate Vasudev Ghosh - 

jei gaura sei krsna sei jagannath

"He who is Gaura is he who is Krishna is he who is Jagannath."





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