śuklāmbaro brahmacārī purāsīd yajñapatnikā
prārthayitvā yad-annaṁ śrī-gaurāṅgo bhuktavān prabhuḥ
kecid āhur brahmacārī yājñika-brāhmaṇaḥ purā
Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī was previously one of the wives of the sacrificial brāhmaṇas in Vraja. Mahāprabhu requested food from him and ate. Some people say that he was one of the sacrificial brāhmaṇas.
(Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 191)
ŚUKLĀMBARA BRAHMACĀRĪ, A POOR MENDICANT
Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī is counted among the branches of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was a resident of Navadvīpa town, manifesting the pastimes of a poor brāhmaṇa who begged for a living. Nevertheless, he had an abiding affection for the Lord. Though to an ordinary conditioned soul he appeared to be a poverty-stricken mendicant, to transcendental eyes he was rich because of his love for Mahāprabhu.
prema-dhana binā vyartha daridra jīvana
dāsa kari vetana more deha prema-dhana
Without the wealth of love of God, my life is poverty-stricken and worthless. Employ me as Your servant and pay me with the coin of ecstastic love of God.
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.20.37)
When Mahāprabhu returned from Gaya, He first met with the devotees in Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī’s house.
Śrīmān Paṇḍita then left along the banks of the Ganges to the house of Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī. Having heard the news, Gadādhara Paṇḍita quickly followed him there. He hid in Śuklāmbara’s house thinking that he would eavesdrop, as to what Mahāprabhu would talk about Kṛṣṇa. All the loving devotees of the Lord, such as Sadāśiva, Murāri, Śrīmān and Śuklāmbara, had gathered there when Viśvambhara, the jewel of the brāhmaṇas, came and met them.
(Caitanya Bhāgavata 2.1.78-82)
Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī, Sadāśiva, Murāri, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Śrīmān Paṇḍita and others were amazed to witness the Lord’s ecstatic transformations in Śuklāmbara’s house.
THE LORD SNATCHES RICE FROM ŚUKLĀMBARA’S BEGGING BAG
Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī was very fortunate, for the Lord snatched food from him and ate it Himself.
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta 1.10.38)
Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī maintained his life by offering and eating the foodstuffs which he daily acquired by begging. Since he was constantly absorbed in the joys of chanting the Names and qualities of the Lord, he never suffered from his poverty. Ignorant people thought he was just an ordinary beggar. No one can recognize Mahāprabhu’s servants unless they receive the Lord’s mercy.
One day, Mahāprabhu was sitting alone in a devotional trance when Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī happened by, his begging bag flung over his shoulder. When he saw the Lord, he started to dance ecstatically. The Lord was pleased to see the depth of Śuklāmbara’s feeling and He began to glorify him. He then plucked a handful of the dry rice from his bag and began to chew it. Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī was troubled to see the Lord eating the uncleaned and broken fragments of low-quality rice and felt that he had committed an offence. The Lord calmed him and said that He always ate His devotee’s food with great enthusiasm, but that He had no interest whatsoever in the finest foods of the non-devotee. The devotees were delighted to see the Lord’s mercy on Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, who was then given a blessing by the Lord.
The Lord said, “Listen, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī. I reside permanently in your heart. Whenever you eat, I eat. When you go out for begging, I accompany you. I have descended to distribute love of Godhead and you are My affectionate servant, lifetime after lifetime. I hereby bestow upon you prema-bhakti, which is My very soul.” When the devotees heard the Lord’s blessing, they made a joyful noise, shouting “Jaya, jaya!”
(Caitanya Bhāgavata 2.16.133-8)
Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura paraphrases Mahāprabhu’s blessing in his Gauḍīya-bhāṣya: “You are My poor servant lifetime after lifetime. You have no desire to enter into the family life to become an enjoyer. Rather, you remain a celebate and beg from house to house, making an offering to Me of whatever you collect in this way. Your vow of celibacy is unbreakable. You are free of the mundane egoism that is prominent in householders and retired persons. You are thus factually fixed in the highest state of spiritual life, the highest stage of the renounced order. You are a de facto sannyāsī, a completely surrendered carrier of the triple staff because you have successfully engaged every action of your body, mind and speech in My service. I pray constantly for your offerings for you offer everything to Me and have no interest in enjoying anything. It is for this reason that I have forcefully taken everything away from you, making you poor.”
(Caitanya Bhāgavata 2. 16.122-3)
The Lord was sitting here on this altar of Viṣṇu, absorbed in the sound of the Holy Name when Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī passed by on his begging rounds. Mahāprabhu lovingly put His hand in Śuklāmbara’s begging bag and took a handful of unwashed rice, calling him Sudāmā. With extreme humility, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī danced charmingly in the kīrtana with the bag still on his shoulder. The Lord and His devotees felt the intensity of their bliss increase as they watched Śuklāmbara’s ecstatic transformations. This is one of the pastimes of the Lord in the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, after which He went through the town back to His own house.
(Bhakti-ratnākara 12.2754-8)
THE LORD EATS AT ŚUKLĀMBARA’S HOUSE
Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa Chapter 26 also reports that Mahāprabhu ate cooked food in the house of Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, being attracted by his love. When the Lord announced to Śuklāmbara that He wished to eat at his house, the Brahmacārī felt nervous because he was afraid that he was unable to provide suitable food for the Lord with his begged rice. However, the Lord repeatedly told him that this was indeed His desire, and so Śuklāmbara went to the other devotees to ask their advice. The devotees praised his fortune and suggested that he cook without touching the food.
After taking bath, Śuklāmbara lit the stove and put water to boil. Then, without touching the rice, he poured it into the water along with the core of the plantain tree (thor), while remaining completely absorbed in chanting the Lord’s Names. At that moment, Lakṣmī Devī blessed the food cooked by the devotee by glancing at it. When Mahāprabhu came to Śuklāmbara’s house with His associates, He offered the cooked food to Lord Viṣṇu by His own hand. When it came time to eat it, He praised its wonderful taste. Once again the devotees cried at the sight of the Lord’s merciful attitude to Śuklāmbara.
When the devotees saw the wealth of the Lord’s blessings to Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, they all began to cry. The Lord continued to eat joyfully, greatly relishing its taste. May all the rich millionaire non-devotees observe the mercy received by the beggar Śuklāmbara. No one can attain the Lord’s mercy through wealth, high birth or scholarship. The scriptures repeatedly tell us that the Lord is only attracted by the taste of devotion.
(Caitanya Bhāgavata 2.26.28-31)
Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura comments on this in his Gauḍīya-bhāṣya: “Viṣṇu is the Lord of the sacrifice Who only eats that which is offered in the sacrifice of Brahmā. Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī gathered rice by begging from various houses. Householder brāhmaṇas thus normally consider it contaminated and refuse to accept it. However, Vaiṣṇavas hold that rice received from begging is superior to any other rice because it has been obtained by the mercy of the Lord. Though superficially this rice appears to be contaminated by the touch of non-devotees and offering it is thus a deviation from the usual rules and regulations, in Mahāprabhu’s path, the purity of a devotee’s heart is the most important ingredient in mahā-prasāda. One should not think that a millionaire is the only person who can offer foods suitable for the Lord. Śuklāmbara was poverty-stricken, but the Lord was satisfied with the food that he had gathered through begging. Those who are sinful and without an aptitude of service cannot understand this at all.”
One day, the Lord asked Śuklāmbara to cook lunch for him and took this path to his house along with the devotees. What can I say? The Lord ate Śuklāmbara’s cooking and a wonderful pastime took place there.
(Bhakti-ratnākara 12.3467-8)
Śuklāmbara is also cited in the Caitanya Bhāgavata as being amongst the Bengali devotees who went to Purī on the annual pilgrimage. Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, whose rice had been eaten by Lord Gaurasundara, joyfully went along.
(Caitanya Bhāgavata 3.8.23)