CC Madhya 12.38
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 38
vastra pāñā rājāra haila ānandita mana
prabhu-rūpa kari’ kare vastrera pūjana
SYNONYMS
vastra pāñā—getting that cloth; rājāra—of the King; haila—there was; ānandita mana—very happy mind; prabhu-rūpa kari’—accepting as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself; kare—executes; vastrera—of the cloth; pūjana—worship.
TRANSLATION
When the King received the old cloth, he began to worship it exactly as he would worship the Lord personally.
PURPORT
This is also the conclusion of the Vedic injunctions. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Absolute Truth, everything in relation to Him is on the same platform. The King had great affection for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and although he did not see the Lord, he had nonetheless already attained the conclusion of devotional service. Immediately upon receiving the cloth from Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the King began to worship it, accepting it as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord’s clothing, bedding, slippers and everything required as an ordinary necessity are all transformations of Śeṣa, Viṣṇu, the expansion of Śrī Baladeva. Thus the cloth and other paraphernalia of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are but other forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything connected to the Lord is worshipable. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructs us that just as Kṛṣṇa is worshipable, Kṛṣṇa’s place, Vṛndāvana, is also worshipable. And as Vṛndāvana is worshipable, similarly the paraphernalia in Vṛndāvana—the trees, roads, river, everything—is worshipable. A pure devotee thus sings, jaya jaya vṛndāvana-vāsī yata jana: “All glories to the residents of Vṛndāvana!” If a devotee has a staunch devotional attitude, all these conclusions will be awakened or revealed within the heart.
- yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
- tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
[ŚU 6.23]
“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) Thus following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Pratāparudra and other devotees, we should learn to worship everything belonging to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is referred to by Lord Śiva as tadīyānām. In the Padma Purāṇa it is said:
- ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
- tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam
“O Devī, the most exalted system of worship is the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. Greater than that is the worship of tadīya, or anything belonging to Viṣṇu.” Śrī Viṣṇu is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (BS 5.1). Similarly, the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual master, and all devotees of Viṣṇu are tadīya. The sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, guru, Vaiṣṇavas and things used by them must be considered tadīya and without a doubt worshipable by all living beings.