MIRROR OF THE HEART

SRI CHAITANYA CHARITAMRTA

CHAPTER 12

TEXT 1

     Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu washed and cleansed the Guṇḍicā temple with His devotees and associates. In this way He made the temple as cool and bright as His own heart, and thus He made the place befitting for Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to sit. CHAITANYA CHARITAMRTA MADYA LILA CHAPETR 12 TEXT 1

DISCUSSION

Mahavirya: That's the ultimate understanding of the verse...our heart belongs to the Lord. anandamayo 'bhyasat, Vedanta sutra* means that all the living entities...they are manifest and produced to enhance the happiness of the Lord. The Lord produces unlimited quantities of living entities to enhance His enjoyment so our hearts are like a mirror. We go in there and cleanse the mirror with the Lord and the devotees and when the mirror is really cleansed then the Lord can see His own reflection on this and He becomes very happy…because Krishna is very narcissistic. There's nothing but Him actually in the ultimate sense. Everything is an expansion of the Lord, either an energy of the Lord or a personal expansion. It's meant for the enjoyment of the Lord. So we give our heart, cleanse our heart then Krishna can reflect His image there.

Gaurahari: The main thing is that we can see it. It's just like, the Lord can see everything. Christians sometimes say, "Do you know God loves you?" Well yes, I know intellectually, but do I love God? Do I have that realization? Do I have the realization that I'm sharing the same heart with God? This is what the cleansing is about…so that we can realize these things. The Lord's very happy when we start to realize our true position.

Mahavirya: The Lord can see everything except his own reflection your heart…if you don't want it. See, that's the free will He gave us. Otherwise love cannot exist. So we can either keep our heart for ourselves or… try to share it with me, myself and I, expanded ego. But that doesn't satisfy, of course. It doesn’t satisfy the Lord either. Even devotees are still in this mentality…like eating unspiced kitchery and to offer that to the Lord is not very pleasing. But when this pure devotion rises and the mirror is cleansed and you pray for the Lord and you bath the Lord with your tears and like that and the heart becomes very pure then Krishna can see. Oh, there are no more modes of material nature for you. So let me enjoy this nice image of myself in your heart.

*"In Vedanta-sutra it is stated, anandamayo 'bhyasat: God is anandamaya, full of bliss and pleasure. Since we are part and parcel of God, we also possess these same qualities. So the goal of our yoga process is to join with the supreme anandamaya, Sri Krsna, to join His dance party. Then we will be actually happy."  PATH OF PERFECTION CHAPTER 1