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3|The Spiritual Masters

4|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the combined

>|form of Sri Radha and Krsna. He is the life of those

>|devotees who strictly follow in the footsteps of Srila Rupa

>|Gosvami. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami are

>|the two principal followers of Srila Svarupa Damodara

>|Gosvami, who acted as the most confidential servitor of

>|Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, known as Visvambhara in

>|His early life. A direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami was

>|Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. The author of Sri Caitanya-

>|caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, stands as the

>|direct disciple of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha

>|dasa Gosvami.

5|The direct disciple of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was

>|Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, who accepted Srila Visvanatha

>|Cakravarti as his servitor. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti

>|spiritual master of Om Visnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

>|Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, the divine master of our humble

>|self.

6|Since we belong to this chain of disciplic succession from

>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this edition of Sri Caitanya-

>|caritamrta will contain nothing newly manufactured by our

>|tiny brains, but only remnants of food originally eaten by

>|the Lord Himself. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu does not

>|belong to the mundane plane of the three qualitative modes.

>|He belongs to the transcendental plane beyond the reach of

>|the imperfect sense perception of a living being. Even the

>|most erudite mundane scholar cannot approach the

>|transcendental plane unless he submits himself to

>|transcendental sound with a receptive mood, for in that

>|mood only can one realize the message of Sri Caitanya

>|Mahaprabhu. What will be described herein, therefore, has

>|nothing to do with the experimental thoughts created by the

>|speculative habits of inert minds. The subject matter of

>|this book is not a mental concoction but a factual

>|spiritual experience that one can realize only by accepting

>|the line of disciplic succession described above. Any

>|deviation from that line will bewilder the reader's

>|understanding of the mystery of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta,

>|which is a transcendental literature meant for the

>|postgraduate study of one who has realized all the Vedic

>|their natural commentaries such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and

>|the Bhagavad-gita.

7|This edition of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta is presented for

>|the study of sincere scholars who are really seeking the

>|Absolute Truth. It is not the arrogant scholarship of a

>|mental speculator but a sincere effort to serve the order

>|of a superior authority whose service is the life and soul

>|of this humble effort. It does not deviate even slightly

>|from the revealed scriptures, and therefore anyone who

>|follows in the disciplic line will be able to realize the

>|essence of this book simply by the method of aural

>|reception.

8|The First Chapter of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta begins with

>|fourteen Sanskrit verses that describe the Absolute Truth.

>|Then the next three Sanskrit verses describe the principal

>|Deities of Vrndavana, namely, Sri Radha-Madana-mohana, Sri

>|Radha-Govindadeva and Sri Radha-Gopinathaji. The first of

>|the fourteen verses is a symbolic representation of the

>|Supreme Truth, and the entire First Chapter is in actuality

>|devoted to this single verse, which describes Lord Caitanya

>|in His six different transcendental expansions.

9|The first manifestation described is the spiritual master,

>|who appears in two plenary parts called the initiating

>|spiritual master and instructing spiritual master. They are

>|identical because both of them are phenomenal

>|manifestations of the Supreme Truth. Next described are the

>|devotees, who are divided into two classes, namely, the

>|apprentices and the graduates. Next are the incarnations (

>|avataras) of the Lord, who are explained to be nondifferent

>|from the Lord. These incarnations are considered in three

>|divisions-incarnations of the potency of the Lord,

>|incarnations of His qualities, and incarnations of His

>|authority. In this connection, Lord Sri Krsna's direct

>|manifestations and His manifestations for transcendental

>|pastimes are discussed. Next considered are the potencies

>|of the Lord, of which three principal manifestations are

>|described: the consorts in the kingdom of God (Vaikuntha),

>|the queens of Dvaraka-dhama and, highest of all, the

>|damsels of Vrajadhama. Finally, there is the Supreme Lord

>|Himself, who is the fountainhead of all these

>|manifestations.

10|Lord Sri Krsna and His plenary expansions are all in the

>|category of the Lord Himself, the energetic Absolute Truth,

>|whereas His devotees, His eternal associates, are His

>|energies. The energy and energetic are fundamentally one,

>|but since their functions are differently exhibited, they

>|are simultaneously different also. Thus the Absolute Truth

>|is manifested in diversity in one unit. This philosophical

>|truth, which is pursuant to the Vedanta-sutra, is called

>|acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, or the conception of

>|simultaneous oneness and difference. In the latter portion

>|of this chapter, the transcendental position of Sri

>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu and that of Srila Nityananda Prabhu are

>|described with reference to the above theistic facts.

11|Adi 1.1

12|TEXT 1

13|TEXT

14|vande gurun isa-bhaktan

15|isam isavatarakan

16|tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktih

17|krsna-caitanya-samjnakam

18|SYNONYMS

19|vande-I offer respectful obeisances; gurun-unto the

>|spiritual masters; isa-bhaktan-unto the devotees of the

>|Supreme Lord; isam-unto the Supreme Lord; isa-avatarakan-

>|unto the incarnations of the Supreme Lord; tat-of the

>|Supreme Lord; prakasan-unto the manifestations; ca-and; tat-

>|of the Supreme Lord; saktih-unto the potencies; krsna-

>|caitanya-Sri Krsna Caitanya; samjnakam-named.

20|TRANSLATION

21|I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters,

>| the devotees of the Lord, the Lord's incarnations, His

>|Himself, Sri Krsna Caitanya.

22|Adi 1.2

23|TEXT 2

24|TEXT

25|vande sri-krsna-caitanya-

26|nityanandau sahoditau

27|gaudodaye puspavantau

28|citrau san-dau tamo-nudau

29|SYNONYMS

30|vande-I offer respectful obeisances; sri-krsna-caitanya-to

>|Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya; nityanandau-and to Lord Nityananda;

>| saha-uditau-simultaneously arisen; gauda-udaye-on the

>|eastern horizon of Gauda; puspavantau-the sun and moon

>|together; citrau-wonderful; sam-dau-bestowing benediction;

>|tamah-nudau-dissipating darkness.

31|TRANSLATION

32|I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krsna Caitanya

>|and Lord Nityananda, who are like the sun and moon. They

>|have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauda to

>|dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully

>|bestow benediction upon all.

33|Adi 1.3

34|TEXT 3

35|TEXT

36|yad advaitam brahmopanisadi tad apy asya tanu-bha

37|ya atmantar-yami purusa iti so 'syamsa-vibhavah

38|sad-aisvaryaih purno ya iha bhagavan sa svayam ayam

39|na caitanyat krsnaj jagati para-tattvam param iha

40|SYNONYMS

41|yat-that which; advaitam-nondual; brahma-the impersonal

>|Brahman; upanisadi-in the Upanisads; tat-that; api-

>|certainly; asya-His; tanu-bha-the effulgence of His

>|transcendental body; yah-who; atma-the Supersoul; antah-

>|yami-indwelling Lord; purusah-supreme enjoyer; iti-thus;

>|sah-He; asya-His; amsa-vibhavah-plenary expansion; sat-

>|aisvaryaih-with all six opulences; purnah-full; yah-who;

>|iha-here; bhagavan-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sah-

>|He; svayam-Himself; ayam-this; na-not; caitanyat-than Lord

>|Caitanya; krsnat-than Lord Krsna; jagati-in the world; para-

>|higher; tattvam-truth; param-another; iha-here.

42|TRANSLATION

43|What the Upanisads describe as the impersonal Brahman is

>|but the effulgence of His body, and the Lord known as the

>|Himself, full with six opulences. He is the Absolute Truth,

>|and no other truth is greater than or equal to Him.

44|Adi 1.4

45|TEXT 4

46|TEXT

47|anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau

48|samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam

49|harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah

50|sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah

51|SYNONYMS

52|anarpita-not bestowed; carim-having been formerly; cirat-

>|for a long time; karunaya-by causeless mercy; avatirnah-

>|descended; kalau-in the Age of Kali; samarpayitum-to bestow;

>| unnata-elevated; ujjvala-rasam-the conjugal mellow; sva-

>|bhakti-of His own service; sriyam-the treasure; harih-the

>|Supreme Lord; purata-than gold; sundara-more beautiful;

>|dyuti-of splendor; kadamba-with a multitude; sandipitah-

>|lighted up; sada-always; hrdaya-kandare-in the cavity of

>|the heart; sphuratu-let Him be manifest; vah-your; saci-

>|nandanah-the son of mother Saci.

53|TRANSLATION

>|innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the

>|radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali

55|Adi 1.5

56|TEXT 5

57|TEXT

58|radha krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad

59|ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau

60|caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam

61|radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam

62|SYNONYMS

63|radha-Srimati Radharani; krsna-of Lord Krsna; pranaya-of

>|love; vikrtih-the transformation; hladini saktih-pleasure

>|potency; asmat-from this; eka-atmanau-both the same in

>|identity; api-although; bhuvi-on earth; pura-from

>|beginningless time; deha-bhedam-separate forms; gatau-

>|obtained; tau-those two; caitanya-akhyam-known as Sri

>|Caitanya; prakatam-manifest; adhuna-now; tat-dvayam-the two

>|of Them; ca-and; aikyam-unity; aptam-obtained; radha-of

>|Srimati Radharani; bhava-mood; dyuti-the luster; su-valitam-

>|who is adorned with; naumi-I offer my obeisances; krsna-

>|svarupam-to Him who is identical with Sri Krsna.

64|TRANSLATION

65|The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krsna are

>|transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal

>|pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krsna are one

>|in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now

>|these two transcendental identities have again united, in

>|the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has

>|manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of

>|Srimati Radharani although He is Krsna Himself.

66|Adi 1.6

67|TEXT 6

68|TEXT

69|sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva-

70|svadyo yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah

71|saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat

72|tad-bhavadhyah samajani saci-garbha-sindhau harinduh

73|SYNONYMS

74|sri-radhayah-of Srimati Radharani; pranaya-mahima-the

>|greatness of the love; kidrsah-of what kind; va-or; anaya-

>|by this one (Radha); eva-alone; asvadyah-to be relished;

>|yena-by that love; adbhuta-madhurima-the wonderful

>|sweetness; kidrsah-of what kind; va-or; madiyah-of Me;

>|saukhyam-the happiness; ca-and; asyah-Her; mat-anubhavatah-

>|from realization of My sweetness; kidrsam-of what kind; va-

>|or; iti-thus; lobhat-from the desire; tat-Her; bhava-adhyah-

>|richly endowed with emotions; samajani-took birth; saci-

>|the ocean; hari-Lord Krsna; induh-like the moon.

75|TRANSLATION

76|Desiring to understand the glory of Radharani's love, the

>|wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through

>|Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the

>|sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly

>|endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of

77|Adi 1.7

78|TEXT 7

79|TEXT

80|sankarsanah karana-toya-sayi

81|garbhoda-sayi ca payobdhi-sayi

82|sesas ca yasyamsa-kalah sa nitya-

83|nandakhya-ramah saranam mamastu

84|SYNONYMS

85|sankarsanah-Maha-Sankarsana in the spiritual sky; karana-

>|toya-sayi-Karanodakasayi Visnu, who lies in the Causal

>|Ocean; garbha-uda-sayi-Garbhodakasayi Visnu, who lies in

>|the Garbhodaka Ocean of the universe; ca-and; payah-abdhi-

>|sayi-Ksirodakasayi Visnu, who lies in the ocean of milk;

>|sesah-Sesa Naga, the couch of Visnu; ca-and; yasya-whose;

>|amsa-plenary portions; kalah-and parts of the plenary

>|portions; sah-He; nityananda-akhya-known as Lord Nityananda;

>| ramah-Lord Balarama; saranam-shelter; mama-my; astu-let

>|there be.

86|TRANSLATION

87|May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant

>|remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie

>|on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His

>|plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.

88|Adi 1.8

89|TEXT 8

90|TEXT

91|mayatite vyapi-vaikuntha-loke

92|purnaisvarye sri-catur-vyuha-madhye

93|rupam yasyodbhati sankarsanakhyam

94|tam sri-nityananda-ramam prapadye

95|SYNONYMS

96|maya-atite-beyond the material creation; vyapi-all-

>|expanding; vaikuntha-loke-in Vaikunthaloka, the spiritual

>|world; purna-aisvarye-endowed with full opulence; sri-catuh-

>|vyuha-madhye-in the quadruple expansions (Vasudeva,

>|Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha); rupam-form; yasya-

>|whose; udbhati-appears; sankarsana-akhyam-known as

>|Sankarsana; tam-to Him; sri-nityananda-ramam-to Lord

>|Balarama in the form of Lord Nityananda; prapadye-I

>|surrender.

97|TRANSLATION

98|I surrender unto the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Rama, who

>|is known as Sankarsana in the midst of the catur-vyuha [

>|consisting of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]

>|. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikunthaloka,

>|far beyond the material creation.

99|Adi 1.9

100|TEXT 9

101|TEXT

102|maya-bhartajanda-sanghasrayangah

103|sete saksat karanambhodhi-madhye

104|yasyaikamsah sri-puman adi-devas

105|tam sri-nityananda-ramam prapadye

106|SYNONYMS

107|maya-bharta-the master of the illusory energy; aja-anda-

>|sangha-of the multitude of universes; asraya-the shelter;

>|angah-whose body; sete-He lies; saksat-directly; karana-

>|ambhodhi-madhye-in the midst of the Causal Ocean; yasya-

>|whose; eka-amsah-one portion; sri-puman-the Supreme Person;

>|adi-devah-the original purusa incarnation; tam-to Him; sri-

>|nityananda-ramam-to Lord Balarama in the form of Lord

>|Nityananda; prapadye-I surrender.

108|TRANSLATION

109|I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Sri Nityananda

>|Rama, whose partial representation called Karanodakasayi

>|Visnu, lying on the Karana Ocean, is the original purusa,

>|the master of the illusory energy, and the shelter of all

>|the universes.

110|Adi 1.10

111|TEXT 10

112|TEXT

113|yasyamsamsah srila-garbhoda-sayi

114|yan-nabhy-abjam loka-sanghata-nalam

115|loka-srastuh sutika-dhama dhatus

116|tam sri-nityananda-ramam prapadye

117|SYNONYMS

118|yasya-whose; amsa-amsah-portion of a plenary portion; srila-

>|garbha-uda-sayi-Garbhodakasayi Visnu; yat-of whom; nabhi-

>|abjam-the navel lotus; loka-sanghata-of the multitude of

>|planets; nalam-having a stem that is the resting place;

>|loka-srastuh-of Lord Brahma, the creator of the planets;

>|sutika-dhama-the birthplace; dhatuh-of the creator; tam-to

>|Him; sri-nityananda-ramam-to Lord Balarama in the form of

>|Lord Nityananda; prapadye-I surrender.

119|TRANSLATION

120|I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Sri Nityananda

>|Rama, a partial part of whom is Garbhodakasayi Visnu. From

>|the navel of Garbhodakasayi Visnu sprouts the lotus that is

>|the birthplace of Brahma, the engineer of the universe. The

>|stem of that lotus is the resting place of the multitude of

>|planets.

121|Adi 1.11

122|TEXT 11

123|TEXT

124|yasyamsamsamsah paratmakhilanam

125|posta visnur bhati dugdhabdhi-sayi

126|ksauni-bharta yat-kala so 'py anantas

127|tam sri-nityananda-ramam prapadye

128|SYNONYMS

129|yasya-whose; amsa-amsa-amsah-a portion of a portion of a

>|plenary portion; para-atma-the Supersoul; akhilanam-of all

>|living entities; posta-the maintainer; visnuh-Visnu; bhati-

>|appears; dugdha-abdhi-sayi-Ksirodakasayi Visnu; ksauni-

>|bharta-upholder of the earth; yat-whose; kala-portion of a

>|portion; sah-He; api-certainly; anantah-Sesa Naga; tam-to

>|Him; sri-nityananda-ramam-to Lord Balarama in the form of

>|Lord Nityananda; prapadye-I surrender.

130|TRANSLATION

131|I offer my respectful obeisances unto the feet of Sri

>|Nityananda Rama, whose secondary part is the Visnu lying in

>|the ocean of milk. That Ksirodakasayi Visnu is the

>|Supersoul of all living entities and the maintainer of all

132|Adi 1.12

133|TEXT 12

134|TEXT

135|maha-visnur jagat-karta

136|mayaya yah srjaty adah

137|tasyavatara evayam

138|advaitacarya isvarah

139|SYNONYMS

140|maha-visnuh-Maha-Visnu, the resting place of the efficient

>|cause; jagat-karta-the creator of the cosmic world; mayaya-

>|by the illusory energy; yah-who; srjati-creates; adah-that

>|universe; tasya-His; avatarah-incarnation; eva-certainly;

>|isvarah-the Supreme Lord, the resting place of the material

>|cause.

141|TRANSLATION

142|Lord Advaita Acarya is the incarnation of Maha-Visnu, whose

>|main function is to create the cosmic world through the

>|actions of Maya.

143|Adi 1.13

144|TEXT 13

145|TEXT

146|advaitam harinadvaitad

147|acaryam bhakti-samsanat

148|bhaktavataram isam tam

149|advaitacaryam asraye

150|SYNONYMS

151|advaitam-known as Advaita; harina-with Lord Hari; advaitat-

>|from being nondifferent; acaryam-known as Acarya; bhakti-

>|samsanat-from the propagation of devotional service to Sri

>|Krsna; bhakta-avataram-the incarnation as a devotee; isam-

>|to the Supreme Lord; tam-to Him; advaita-acaryam-to Advaita

>|Acarya; asraye-I surrender.

152|TRANSLATION

153|Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He

>|is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of

>|devotion, He is called Acarya. He is the Lord and the

>|incarnation of the Lord's devotee. Therefore I take shelter

>|of Him.

154|Adi 1.14

155|TEXT 14

156|TEXT

157|panca-tattvatmakam krsnam

158|bhakta-rupa-svarupakam

159|bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam

160|namami bhakta-saktikam

161|SYNONYMS

162|panca-tattva-atmakam-comprehending the five transcendental

>|subject matters; krsnam-unto Lord Krsna; bhakta-rupa-in the

>|form of a devotee; sva-rupakam-in the expansion of a

>|devotee; bhakta-avataram-in the incarnation of a devotee;

>|bhakta-akhyam-known as a devotee; namami-I offer my

>|obeisances; bhakta-saktikam-the energy of the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead, who supplies energy to the devotee.

163|TRANSLATION

164|I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, who is

>|nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional

>|devotional energy.

165|Adi 1.15

166|TEXT 15

167|TEXT

168|jayatam suratau pangor

169|mama manda-mater gati

170|mat-sarvasva-padambhojau

171|radha-madana-mohanau

172|SYNONYMS

173|jayatam-all glory to; su-ratau-most merciful, or attached

>|in conjugal love; pangoh-of one who is lame; mama-of me;

>|manda-mateh-foolish; gati-refuge; mat-my; sarva-sva-

>|everything; pada-ambhojau-whose lotus feet; radha-madana-

>|mohanau-Radharani and Madana-mohana.

174|TRANSLATION

175|Glory to the all-merciful Radha and Madana-mohana! I am

>|lotus feet are everything to me.

176|Adi 1.16

177|TEXT 16

178|TEXT

179|divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadhah-

180|srimad-ratnagara-simhasana-sthau

181|srimad-radha-srila-govinda-devau

182|presthalibhih sevyamanau smarami

183|SYNONYMS

184|divyat-shining; vrnda-aranya-in the forest of Vrndavana;

>|kalpa-druma-desire tree; adhah-beneath; srimat-most

>|beautiful; ratna-agara-in a temple of jewels; simha-asana-

>|sthau-sitting on a throne; srimat-very beautiful; radha-

>|Srimati Radharani; srila-govinda-devau-and Sri Govindadeva;

>|prestha-alibhih-by most confidential associates; sevyamanau-

>|being served; smarami-I remember.

185|TRANSLATION

186|In a temple of jewels in Vrndavana, underneath a desire

>|tree, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, served by Their most

>|confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I

>|offer my humble obeisances unto Them.

187|Adi 1.17

188|TEXT 17

189|TEXT

190|sriman rasa-rasarambhi

191|vamsivata-tata-sthitah

192|karsan venu-svanair gopir

193|gopi-nathah sriye 'stu nah

194|SYNONYMS

195|sri-man-most beautiful; rasa-of the rasa dance; rasa-of the

>|Vamsivata; tata-on the shore; sthitah-standing; karsan-

>|attracting; venu-of the flute; svanaih-by the sounds; gopih-

>|the cowherd girls; gopi-nathah-Sri Gopinatha; sriye-

>|benediction; astu-let there be; nah-our.

196|TRANSLATION

197|Sri Srila Gopinatha, who originated the transcendental

>|mellow of the rasa dance, stands on the shore in Vamsivata

>|and attracts the attention of the cowherd damsels with the

>|sound of His celebrated flute. May they all confer upon us

>|their benediction.

198|Adi 1.18

199|TEXT 18

200|TEXT

201|jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda

202|jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

203|SYNONYMS

204|jaya jaya-all glory; sri-caitanya-to Sri Caitanya; jaya-all

>|glory; nityananda-to Lord Nityananda; jaya advaita-candra-

>|all glory to Advaita Acarya; jaya-all glory; gaura-bhakta-

>|vrnda-to the devotees of Lord Caitanya.

205|TRANSLATION

206|Glory to Sri Caitanya and Nityananda! Glory to

>|Advaitacandra! And glory to all the devotees of Sri Gaura [

>|Lord Caitanya]!

207|Adi 1.19

208|TEXT 19

209|TEXT

210|ei tina thakura gaudiyake kariyachena atmasat

211|e tinera carana vandon, tine mora natha

212|SYNONYMS

213|ei-these; tina-three; thakura-Deities; gaudiyake-the

>|Gaudiya Vaisnavas; kariyachena-have done; atmasat-absorbed;

>|e-these; tinera-of the three; carana-lotus feet; vandon-I

>|worship; tine-these three; mora-my; natha-Lords.

214|TRANSLATION

215|These three Deities of Vrndavana [Madana-mohana, Govinda

>|and Gopinatha] have absorbed the heart and soul of the

>|Gaudiya Vaisnavas [followers of Lord Caitanya]. I worship

>|Their lotus feet, for They are the Lords of my heart.

216|PURPORT

217|The author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta offers his respectful

>|obeisances unto the three Deities of Vrndavana named Sri

>|Radha-Madana-mohana, Sri Radha-Govindadeva and Sri Radha-

>|Gopinathaji. These three Deities are the life and soul of

>|the Bengali Vaisnavas, or Gaudiya Vaisnavas, who have a

>|natural aptitude for residing in Vrndavana. The Gaudiya

>|Vaisnavas who follow strictly in the line of Sri Caitanya

>|Mahaprabhu worship the Divinity by chanting transcendental

>|sounds meant to develop a sense of one's transcendental

>|relationship with the Supreme Lord, a reciprocation of

>|mellows (rasas) of mutual affection, and, ultimately, the

>|achievement of the desired success in loving service. These

>|three Deities are worshiped in three different stages of

>|one's development. The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

>|scrupulously follow these principles of approach.

218|Gaudiya Vaisnavas perceive the ultimate objective in Vedic

>|hymns composed of eighteen transcendental letters that

>|adore Krsna as Madana-mohana, Govinda and Gopijana-vallabha.

>| Madana-mohana is He who charms Cupid, the god of love,

>|Govinda is He who pleases the senses and the cows, and

>|Gopijana-vallabha is the transcendental lover of the gopis.

>|Krsna Himself is called Madana-mohana, Govinda, Gopijana-

>|vallabha and countless other names as He plays in His

>|different pastimes with His devotees.

219|The three Deities-Madana-mohana, Govinda and Gopijana-

>|vallabha-have very specific qualities. Worship of Madana-

>|mohana is on the platform of reestablishing our forgotten

>|relationship with the Personality of Godhead. In the

>|material world we are presently in utter ignorance of our

>|eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Pangoh refers

>|to one who cannot move independently by his own strength,

>|and manda-mateh is one who is less intelligent because he

>|is too absorbed in materialistic activities. It is best for

>|such persons not to aspire for success in fruitive

>|surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The

>|perfection of life is simply to surrender to the Supreme.

>|In the beginning of our spiritual life we must therefore

>|worship Madana-mohana so that He may attract us and nullify

>|our attachment for material sense gratification. This

>|relationship with Madana-mohana is necessary for neophyte

>|devotees. When one wishes to render service to the Lord

>|platform of transcendental service. Govinda is the

>|reservoir of all pleasures. When by the grace of Krsna and

>|the devotees one reaches perfection in devotional service,

>|he can appreciate Krsna as Gopijana-vallabha, the pleasure

>|Deity of the damsels of Vraja.

220|Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained this mode of

>|devotional service in three stages, and therefore these

>|worshipable Deities were installed in Vrndavana by

>|different Gosvamis. They are very dear to the Gaudiya

>|Vaisnavas there, who visit the temples at least once a day.

>|Besides the temples of these three Deities, many other

>|temples have been established in Vrndavana, such as the

>|temple of Radha-Damodara of Jiva Gosvami, the temple of

>|Syamasundara of Syamananda Gosvami, the temple of

>|Gokulananda of Lokanatha Gosvami, and the temple of Radha-

>|ramana of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. There are seven principal

>|temples over four hundred years old that are the most

>|important of the five thousand temples now existing in

>|Vrndavana.

>|side of the Himalayan Mountains and the northern part of

>|the Vindhya Hills, which is called Aryavarta, or the Land

>|of the Aryans. This portion of India is divided into five

>|parts or provinces (Panca-gaudadesa): Sarasvata (Kashmir

>|and Punjab), Kanyakubja (Uttar Pradesh, including the

>|modern city of Lucknow), Madhya-gauda (Madhya Pradesh),

>|Maithila (Bihar and part of Bengal) and Utkala (part of

>|Bengal and the whole of Orissa). Bengal is sometimes called

>|Gaudadesa, partly because it forms a portion of Maithila

>|and partly because the capital of the Hindu king Raja

>|Laksmana Sena was known as Gauda. This old capital later

>|came to be known as Gaudapura and gradually Mayapur.

222|The devotees of Orissa are called Udiyas, the devotees of

>|Bengal are called Gaudiyas, and the devotees of southern

>|India are known as Dravida devotees. As there are five

>|provinces in Aryavarta, so Daksinatya, southern India, is

>|also divided into five provinces, which are called Panca-

>|dravida. The four Vaisnava acaryas who are the great

>|authorities of the four Vaisnava disciplic successions, as

>|well as Sripada Sankaracarya of the Mayavada school,

>|appeared in the Panca-dravida provinces. Among the four

>|Vaisnava acaryas, who are all accepted by the Gaudiya

>|Vaisnavas, Sri Ramanuja Acarya appeared in the southern

>|part of Andhra Pradesh at Mahabhutapuri, Sri Madhva Acarya

>|appeared at Pajakam (near Vimanagiri) in the district of

>|Mangalore, Sri Visnusvami appeared at Pandya, and

>|south.

223|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the chain of disciplic

>|succession from Madhva Acarya, but the Vaisnavas in His

>|line do not accept the tattva-vadis, who also claim to

>|belong to the Madhva-sampradaya. To distinguish themselves

>|clearly from the tattva-vadi branch of Madhva's descendants,

>| the Vaisnavas of Bengal prefer to call themselves Gaudiya

>|Vaisnavas. Sri Madhva Acarya is also known as Sri Gauda-

>|purnananda, and therefore the name Madhva-Gaudiya-

>|sampradaya is quite suitable for the disciplic succession

>|of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Our spiritual master, Om

>|Visnupada Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja,

>| accepted initiation in the Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya.

224|Adi 1.20

225|TEXT 20

226|TEXT

227|granthera arambhe kari 'mangalacarana'

228|guru, vaisnava, bhagavan,-tinera smarana

229|SYNONYMS

230|granthera-of this book; arambhe-in the beginning; kari-I

>|make; mangala-acarana-auspicious invocation; guru-the

>|spiritual master; vaisnava-the devotees of the Lord;

>|bhagavan-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tinera-of

>|these three; smarana-remembering.

231|TRANSLATION

232|In the beginning of this narration, simply by remembering

>|the spiritual master, the devotees of the Lord, and the

>|Personality of Godhead, I have invoked their benedictions.

233|Adi 1.21

234|TEXT 21

235|TEXT

236|tinera smarane haya vighna-vinasana

237|anayase haya nija vanchita-purana

238|SYNONYMS

239|tinera-of these three; smarane-by remembrance; haya-there

>|is; vighna-vinasana-the destruction of all difficulties;

>|anayase-very easily; haya-there is; nija-our own; vanchita-

>|of the desired object; purana-fulfillment.

240|TRANSLATION

241|Such remembrance destroys all difficulties and very easily

>|enables one to fulfill his own desires.

242|Adi 1.22

243|TEXT 22

244|TEXT

245|se mangalacarana haya tri-vidha prakara

246|vastu-nirdesa, asirvada, namaskara

247|SYNONYMS

248|se-that; mangala-acarana-auspicious invocation; haya-is;

>|tri-vidha-three kinds; prakara-processes; vastu-nirdesa-

>|defining the object; asih-vada-benedictions; namah-kara-

>|obeisances.

249|TRANSLATION

250|The invocation involves three processes: defining the

>|objective, offering benedictions and offering obeisances.

251|Adi 1.23

252|TEXT 23

253|TEXT

254|prathama dui sloke ista-deva-namaskara

255|samanya-visesa-rupe dui ta' prakara

256|SYNONYMS

257|prathama-in the first; dui-two; sloke-verses; ista-deva-

>|worshipable Deity; namaskara-obeisances; samanya-generally;

>|visesa-rupe-and specifically; dui-two; ta'-certainly;

>|prakara-ways.

258|TRANSLATION

259|The first two verses offer respectful obeisances, generally

>|and specifically, to the Lord, who is the object of worship.

260|Adi 1.24

261|TEXT 24

262|TEXT

263|trtiya slokete kari vastura nirdesa

264|yaha ha-ite jani para-tattvera uddesa

265|SYNONYMS

266|trtiya slokete-in the third verse; kari-I make; vastura-of

>|the object; nirdesa-indication; yaha ha-ite-from which;

>|jani-I understand; para-tattvera-of the Absolute Truth;

>|uddesa-identification.

267|TRANSLATION

268|In the third verse I indicate the Absolute Truth, who is

>|the ultimate substance. With such a description, one can

>|visualize the Supreme Truth.

269|Adi 1.25

270|TEXT 25

271|TEXT

272|caturtha slokete kari jagate asirvada

273|sarvatra magiye krsna-caitanya-prasada

274|SYNONYMS

275|caturtha-fourth; slokete-in the verse; kari-I make; jagate-

>|for the world; asih-vada-benediction; sarvatra-everywhere;

>|magiye-I am begging; krsna-caitanya-of Lord Sri Krsna

>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu; prasada-the mercy.

276|TRANSLATION

277|In the fourth verse I have invoked the benediction of the

>|Lord upon all the world, praying to Lord Caitanya for His

>|mercy upon all.

278|Adi 1.26

279|TEXT 26

280|TEXT

281|sei sloke kahi bahyavatara-karana

282|panca sastha sloke kahi mula-prayojana

283|SYNONYMS

284|sei sloke-in that same verse; kahi-I tell; bahya-the

>|external; avatara-for the incarnation of Lord Caitanya;

>|karana-reason; panca-the fifth; sastha-and the sixth; sloke-

>|in the verses; kahi-I tell; mula-the prime; prayojana-

>|purpose.

285|TRANSLATION

286|In that verse I have also explained the external reason for

>|Lord Caitanya's incarnation. But in the fifth and sixth

>|verses I have explained the prime reason for His advent.

287|Adi 1.27

288|TEXT 27

289|TEXT

290|ei chaya sloke kahi caitanyera tattva

291|ara panca sloke nityanandera mahattva

292|SYNONYMS

293|ei-these; chaya-six; sloke-in verses; kahi-I describe;

>|caitanyera-of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tattva-truth; ara-

>|further; panca sloke-in five verses; nityanandera-of Lord

>|Nityananda; mahattva-the glory.

294|TRANSLATION

295|In these six verses I have described the truth about Lord

>|Caitanya, whereas in the next five I have described the

>|glory of Lord Nityananda.

296|Adi 1.28

297|TEXT 28

298|TEXT

299|ara dui sloke advaita-tattvakhyana

300|ara eka sloke panca-tattvera vyakhyana

301|SYNONYMS

302|ara-further; dui sloke-in two verses; advaita-of Sri

>|Advaita Prabhu; tattva-of the truth; akhyana-description;

>|ara-further; eka sloke-in one verse; panca-tattvera-of the

>|Panca-tattva; vyakhyana-explanation.

303|TRANSLATION

304|The next two verses describe the truth of Advaita Prabhu,

>|and the following verse describes the Panca-tattva [the

>|Lord, His plenary portion, His incarnation, His energies

>|and His devotees].

305|Adi 1.29

306|TEXT 29

307|TEXT

308|ei caudda sloke kari mangalacarana

309|tanhi madhye kahi saba vastu-nirupana

310|SYNONYMS

311|ei caudda sloke-in these fourteen verses; kari-I make;

>|mangala-acarana-auspicious invocation; tanhi-therefore in

>|that; madhye-within; kahi-I speak; saba-all; vastu-object;

>|nirupana-description.

312|TRANSLATION

313|These fourteen verses, therefore, offer auspicious

>|invocations and describe the Supreme Truth.

314|Adi 1.30

315|TEXT 30

316|TEXT

317|saba srota-vaisnavere kari' namaskara

318|ei saba slokera kari artha-vicara

319|SYNONYMS

320|saba-all; srota-hearers or audience; vaisnavere-unto the

>|Vaisnavas; kari'-offering; namaskara-obeisances; ei saba

>|slokera-of all these (fourteen) verses; kari-I make; artha-

>|of the meaning; vicara-analysis.

321|TRANSLATION

322|I offer my obeisances unto all my Vaisnava readers as I

>|begin to explain the intricacies of all these verses.

323|Adi 1.31

324|TEXT 31

325|TEXT

326|sakala vaisnava, suna kari' eka-mana

327|caitanya-krsnera sastra-mata-nirupana

328|SYNONYMS

329|sakala-all; vaisnava-O devotees of the Lord; suna-please

>|hear; kari'-making; eka-mana-rapt attention; caitanya-Lord

>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu; krsnera-of Lord Sri Krsna; sastra-

>|scriptural reference; mata-according to; nirupana-decision.

330|TRANSLATION

331|I request all my Vaisnava readers to read and hear with

>|rapt attention this narration of Sri Krsna Caitanya as

>|inculcated in the revealed scriptures.

332|PURPORT

333|Lord Caitanya is the Absolute Truth, Krsna Himself. This is

>|substantiated by evidence from the authentic spiritual

>|scriptures. Sometimes people accept a man as God on the

>|basis of their whimsical sentiments and without reference

>|to the revealed scriptures, but the author of Caitanya-

>|caritamrta proves all his statements by citing the sastras.

>|Thus he establishes that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead.

334|Adi 1.32

335|TEXT 32

336|TEXT

337|krsna, guru, bhakta, sakti, avatara, prakasa

338|krsna ei chaya-rupe karena vilasa

339|SYNONYMS

340|krsna-the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna; guru-the spiritual

>|masters; bhakta-the devotees; sakti-the potencies; avatara-

>|the incarnations; prakasa-plenary portions; krsna-Lord

>|Krsna; ei chaya-rupe-in these six features; karena vilasa-

>|enjoys.

341|TRANSLATION

342|Lord Krsna enjoys by manifesting Himself as the spiritual

>|masters, the devotees, the diverse energies, the

>|incarnations and the plenary portions. They are all six in

>|one.

343|Adi 1.33

344|TEXT 33

345|TEXT

346|ei chaya tattvera kari carana vandana

347|prathame samanye kari mangalacarana

348|SYNONYMS

349|ei-these; chaya-six; tattvera-of these expansions; kari-I

>|make; carana-the lotus feet; vandana-prayers; prathame-at

>|first; samanye-in general; kari-I make; mangala-acarana-

>|auspicious invocation.

350|TRANSLATION

351|I therefore worship the lotus feet of these six diversities

>|of the one truth by invoking their benedictions.

352|Adi 1.34

353|TEXT 34

354|TEXT

355|vande gurun isa-bhaktan

356|isam isavatarakan

357|tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktih

358|krsna-caitanya-samjnakam

359|SYNONYMS

360|vande-I offer respectful obeisances; gurun-unto the

>|spiritual masters; isa-bhaktan-unto the devotees of the

>|Supreme Lord; isam-unto the Supreme Lord; isa-avatarakan-

>|unto the incarnations of the Supreme Lord; tat-of the

>|Supreme Lord; prakasan-unto the manifestations; ca-and; tat-

>|of the Supreme Lord; saktih-unto the potencies; krsna-

>|caitanya-Sri Krsna Caitanya; samjnakam-named.

361|TRANSLATION

362|I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters,

>| the devotees of the Lord, the Lord's incarnations, His

>|Himself, Sri Krsna Caitanya.

363|PURPORT

364|Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has composed this Sanskrit verse

>|for the beginning of his book, and now he will explain it

>|in detail. He offers his respectful obeisances to the six

>|principles of the Absolute Truth. Gurun is plural in number

>|because anyone who gives spiritual instructions based on

>|the revealed scriptures is accepted as a spiritual master.

>|Although others give help in showing the way to beginners,

>|the guru who first initiates one with the maha-mantra is to

>|be known as the initiator, and the saints who give

>|instructions for progressive advancement in Krsna

>|consciousness are called instructing spiritual masters. The

>|initiating and instructing spiritual masters are equal and

>|identical manifestations of Krsna, although they have

>|different dealings. Their function is to guide the

>|conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead. Therefore

>|Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami accepted Nityananda Prabhu and

>|the six Gosvamis in the category of guru.

365|Isa-bhaktan refers to the devotees of the Lord like Sri

>|Srivasa and all other such followers, who are the energy of

>|the Lord and are qualitatively nondifferent from Him.

>|Isavatarakan refers to acaryas like Advaita Prabhu, who is

>|an avatara of the Lord. Tat-prakasan indicates the direct

>|manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

>|Nityananda Prabhu, and the initiating spiritual master. Tac-

>|chaktih refers to the spiritual energies (saktis) of Sri

>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Gadadhara, Damodara and Jagadananda

>|belong to this category of internal energy.

366|The six principles are differently manifested but all

>|equally worshipable. Krsnadasa Kaviraja begins by offering

>|his obeisances unto them to teach us the method of

>|worshiping Lord Caitanya. The external potency of Godhead,

>|called maya, can never associate with the Lord, just as

>|darkness cannot remain in the presence of light; yet

>|darkness, being but an illusory and temporary covering of

>|light, has no existence independent of light.

367|Adi 1.35

368|TEXT 35

369|TEXT

370|mantra-guru ara yata siksa-guru-gana

371|tanhara carana age kariye vandana

372|SYNONYMS

373|mantra-guru-the initiating spiritual master; ara-and also;

>|yata-as many (as there are); siksa-guru-gana-all the

>|instructing spiritual masters; tanhara-of all of them;

>|carana-unto the lotus feet; age-at first; kariye-I offer;

>|vandana-respectful obeisances.

374|TRANSLATION

375|I first offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of

>|my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing

>|spiritual masters.

376|PURPORT

377|Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his thesis Bhakti-sandarbha (202),

>|has stated that uncontaminated devotional service is the

>|objective of pure Vaisnavas and that one has to execute

>|such service in the association of other devotees. By

>|associating with devotees of Lord Krsna, one develops a

>|sense of Krsna consciousness and thus becomes inclined

>|toward the loving service of the Lord. This is the process

>|of approaching the Supreme Lord by gradual appreciation in

>|devotional service. If one desires unalloyed devotional

>|service, one must associate with devotees of Sri Krsna, for

>|by such association only can a conditioned soul achieve a

>|taste for transcendental love and thus revive his eternal

>|relationship with Godhead in a specific manifestation and

>|in terms of the specific transcendental mellow (rasa) that

>|one has eternally inherent in him.

378|If one develops love for Krsna by Krsna conscious

>|activities, one can know the Supreme Absolute Truth, but he

>|who tries to understand God simply by logical arguments

>|will not succeed, nor will he get a taste for unalloyed

>|devotion. The secret is that one must submissively listen

>|to those who know perfectly the science of God, and one

>|must begin the mode of service regulated by the preceptor.

>|A devotee already attracted by the name, form, qualities,

>|etc., of the Supreme Lord may be directed to his specific

>|manner of devotional service; he need not waste time in

>|approaching the Lord through logic. The expert spiritual

>|master knows well how to engage his disciple's energy in

>|the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he

>|engages a devotee in a specific devotional service

>|according to his special tendency. A devotee must have only

>|one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures

>|acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is

>|no limit, however, to the number of instructing spiritual

>|masters one may accept. Generally a spiritual master who

>|constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science

>|becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.

379|One should always remember that a person who is reluctant

>|to accept a spiritual master and be initiated is sure to be

>|baffled in his endeavor to go back to Godhead. One who is

>|not properly initiated may present himself as a great

>|devotee, but in fact he is sure to encounter many stumbling

>|blocks on his path of progress toward spiritual realization,

>| with the result that he must continue his term of material

>|existence without relief. Such a helpless person is

>|compared to a ship without a rudder, for such a ship can

>|never reach its destination. It is imperative, therefore,

>|that one accept a spiritual master if he at all desires to

>|gain the favor of the Lord. The service of the spiritual

>|master is essential. If there is no chance to serve the

>|spiritual master directly, a devotee should serve him by

>|remembering his instructions. There is no difference

>|between the spiritual master's instructions and the

>|spiritual master himself. In his absence, therefore, his

>|words of direction should be the pride of the disciple. If

>|one thinks that he is above consulting anyone else,

>|including a spiritual master, he is at once an offender at

>|the lotus feet of the Lord. Such an offender can never go

>|back to Godhead. It is imperative that a serious person

>|accept a bona fide spiritual master in terms of the sastric

>|injunctions. Sri Jiva Gosvami advises that one not accept a

>|spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social

>|and ecclesiastical conventions. One should simply try to

>|find a genuinely qualified spiritual master for actual

>|advancement in spiritual understanding.

380|Adi 1.36

381|TEXT 36

382|TEXT

383|sri-rupa, sanatana, bhatta-raghunatha

384|sri-jiva, gopala-bhatta, dasa-raghunatha

385|SYNONYMS

386|sri-rupa-Srila Rupa Gosvami; sanatana-Sanatana Gosvami;

>|bhatta-raghunatha-Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami; sri-jiva-Srila

>|Jiva Gosvami; gopala-bhatta-Gopala Bhatta Gosvami; dasa-

>|raghunatha-Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

387|TRANSLATION

>|Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Bhatta Raghunatha, Sri Jiva Gosvami,

>|Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

389|Adi 1.37

390|TEXT 37

391|TEXT

392|ei chaya guru-siksa-guru ye amara

393|tan'-sabara pada-padme koti namaskara

394|SYNONYMS

395|ei-these; chaya-six; guru-spiritual masters; siksa-guru-

>|instructing spiritual masters; ye-who are; amara-my; tan'-

>|sabara-of all of them; pada-padme-unto the lotus feet; koti-

>|ten million; namaskara-respectful obeisances.

396|TRANSLATION

397|These six are my instructing spiritual masters, and

>|therefore I offer millions of respectful obeisances unto

>|their lotus feet.

398|PURPORT

399|By accepting the six Gosvamis as his instructing spiritual

>|masters, the author specifically makes it clear that one

>|should not be recognized as a Gaudiya Vaisnava if he is not

>|obedient to them.

400|Adi 1.38

401|TEXT 38

402|TEXT

403|bhagavanera bhakta yata srivasa pradhana

404|tan'-sabhara pada-padme sahasra pranama

405|SYNONYMS

406|bhagavanera-of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhakta-

>|the devotees; yata-as many (as there are); srivasa pradhana-

>|headed by Sri Srivasa; tan'-sabhara-of all of them; pada-

>|padme-unto the lotus feet; sahasra-thousands; pranama-

>|respectful obeisances.

407|TRANSLATION

408|There are innumerable devotees of the Lord, of whom Srivasa

>|Thakura is the foremost. I offer my respectful obeisances

>|thousands of times unto their lotus feet.

409|Adi 1.39

410|TEXT 39

411|TEXT

412|advaita acarya-prabhura amsa-avatara

413|tanra pada-padme koti pranati amara

414|SYNONYMS

415|advaita acarya-Advaita Acarya; prabhura-of the Supreme Lord;

>| amsa-partial; avatara-incarnation; tanra-of Him; pada-

>|padme-unto the lotus feet; koti-ten million; pranati-

>|respectful obeisances; amara-my.

416|TRANSLATION

417|Advaita Acarya is the Lord's partial incarnation, and

>|therefore I offer my obeisances millions of times at His

>|lotus feet.

418|Adi 1.40

419|TEXT 40

420|TEXT

421|nityananda-raya-prabhura svarupa-prakasa

422|tanra pada-padma vando yanra muni dasa

423|SYNONYMS

424|nityananda-raya-Lord Nityananda; prabhura-of the Supreme

>|Lord; sva-rupa-prakasa-personal manifestation; tanra-of Him;

>| pada-padma-unto the lotus feet; vando-I offer respectful

>|obeisances; yanra-of whom; muni-I am; dasa-the servant.

425|TRANSLATION

426|Srila Nityananda Rama is the plenary manifestation of the

>|Lord, and I have been initiated by Him. I therefore offer

>|my respectful obeisances unto His lotus feet.

427|Adi 1.41

428|TEXT 41

429|TEXT

430|gadadhara-panditadi-prabhura nija-sakti

431|tan'-sabara carane mora sahasra pranati

432|SYNONYMS

433|gadadhara-pandita-adi-headed by Sri Gadadhara Pandita;

>|prabhura-of the Supreme Lord; nija-sakti-internal potencies;

>| tan'-sabara-of all of them; carane-unto the lotus feet;

>|mora-my; sahasra-thousands; pranati-respectful obeisances.

434|TRANSLATION

435|I offer my respectful obeisances unto the internal

>|potencies of the Lord, of whom Sri Gadadhara Prabhu is the

>|foremost.

436|Adi 1.42

437|TEXT 42

438|TEXT

439|sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu svayam-bhagavan

440|tanhara padaravinde ananta pranama

441|SYNONYMS

442|sri-krsna-caitanya-Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu;

>|prabhu-the Supreme Lord; svayam-bhagavan-is the original

>|Personality of Godhead; tanhara-His; pada-aravinde-unto the

>|lotus feet; ananta-innumerable; pranama-respectful

>|obeisances.

443|TRANSLATION

444|Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Personality of

>|Godhead Himself, and therefore I offer innumerable

>|prostrations at His lotus feet.

445|Adi 1.43

446|TEXT 43

447|TEXT

448|savarane prabhure kariya namaskara

449|ei chaya tenho yaiche-kariye vicara

450|SYNONYMS

451|sa-avarane-along with His associates; prabhure-unto Lord

>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kariya-having made; namaskara-

>|respectful obeisances; ei-these; chaya-six; tenho-He;

>|yaiche-what they are like; kariye-I make; vicara-discussion.

452|TRANSLATION

453|Having offered obeisances unto the Lord and all His

>|associates, I shall now try to explain these six

>|diversities in one.

454|PURPORT

455|There are many unalloyed devotees of the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead, all of whom are considered

>|associates surrounding the Lord. Krsna should be worshiped

>|with His devotees. The diverse principles are therefore the

>|eternal paraphernalia through which the Absolute Truth can

>|be approached.

456|Adi 1.44

457|TEXT 44

458|TEXT

459|yadyapi amara guru-caitanyera dasa

460|tathapi janiye ami tanhara prakasa

461|SYNONYMS

462|yadyapi-even though; amara-my; guru-spiritual master;

>|caitanyera-of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; dasa-the servitor;

>|tathapi-still; janiye-know; ami-I; tanhara-of the Lord;

>|prakasa-direct manifestation.

463|TRANSLATION

464|Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of

>|Sri Caitanya, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of

>|the Lord.

465|PURPORT

466|Every living entity is essentially a servant of the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead, and the spiritual master is also

>|His servant. Still, the spiritual master is a direct

>|manifestation of the Lord. With this conviction, a disciple

>|can advance in Krsna consciousness. The spiritual master is

>|nondifferent from Krsna because he is a manifestation of

>|Krsna.

467|Lord Nityananda, who is Balarama Himself, the first direct

>|manifestation or expansion of Krsna, is the original

>|spiritual master. He helps Lord Krsna in His pastimes, and

>|He is a servant of the Lord.

468|Every living entity is eternally a servant of Sri Krsna

>|Caitanya; therefore the spiritual master cannot be other

>|than a servant of Lord Caitanya. The spiritual master's

>|eternal occupation is to expand the service of the Lord by

>|training disciples in a service attitude. A spiritual

>|master never poses as the Supreme Lord Himself; he is

>|considered a representative of the Lord. The revealed

>|scriptures prohibit one's pretending to be God, but a bona

>|fide spiritual master is a most faithful and confidential

>|servant of the Lord and therefore deserves as much respect

>|as Krsna.

469|Adi 1.45

470|TEXT 45

471|TEXT

472|guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane

473|guru-rupe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gane

474|SYNONYMS

475|guru-the spiritual master; krsna-rupa-as good as Krsna;

>|hana-is; sastrera-of revealed scriptures; pramane-by the

>|evidence; guru-rupe-in the form of the spiritual master;

>|krsna-Lord Sri Krsna; krpa-mercy; karena-distributes;

>|bhakta-gane-unto His devotees.

476|TRANSLATION

477|According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed

>|scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Krsna.

>| Lord Krsna in the form of the spiritual master delivers

>|His devotees.

478|PURPORT

479|The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is

>|as good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A

>|spiritual master always represents himself as the humblest

>|servitor of the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple

>|must look upon him as the manifested representation of

>|Godhead.

480|Adi 1.46

481|TEXT 46

482|TEXT

483|acaryam mam vijaniyan

484|navamanyeta karhicit

485|na martya-buddhyasuyeta

486|sarva-deva-mayo guruh

487|SYNONYMS

488|acaryam-the spiritual master; mam-Myself; vijaniyat-one

>|should know; na avamanyeta-one should never disrespect;

>|karhicit-at any time; na-never; martya-buddhya-with the

>|idea of his being an ordinary man; asuyeta-one should be

>|envious; sarva-deva-of all demigods; mayah-representative;

>|guruh-the spiritual master.

489|TRANSLATION

490|"One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect

>|him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an

>|ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the

>|demigods."

491|PURPORT

492|This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.17.27) spoken by

>|Lord Krsna when He was questioned by Uddhava regarding the

>|specifically instructing how a brahmacari should behave

>|under the care of a spiritual master. A spiritual master is

>|not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He

>|is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his

>|parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly, without

>|the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the

>|plane of transcendental service.

493|The spiritual master is also called acarya, or a

>|transcendental professor of spiritual science. The Manu-

>|samhita (2.140) explains the duties of an acarya,

>|describing that a bona fide spiritual master accepts charge

>|of disciples, teaches them the Vedic knowledge with all its

>|intricacies, and gives them their second birth. The

>|ceremony performed to initiate a disciple into the study of

>|spiritual science is called upaniti, or the function that

>|brings one nearer to the spiritual master. One who cannot

>|be brought nearer to a spiritual master cannot have a

>|sacred thread, and thus he is indicated to be a sudra. The

>|sacred thread on the body of a brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya

>|is a symbol of initiation by the spiritual master; it is

>|worth nothing if worn merely to boast of high parentage.

>|The duty of the spiritual master is to initiate a disciple

>|with the sacred thread ceremony, and after this samskara,

>|or purificatory process, the spiritual master actually

>|begins to teach the disciple about the Vedas. A person born

>|a sudra is not barred from such spiritual initiation,

>|provided he is approved by the spiritual master, who is

>|duly authorized to award a disciple the right to be a

>|brahmana if he finds him perfectly qualified. In the Vayu

>|Purana an acarya is defined as one who knows the import of

>|abides by their rules and regulations, and teaches his

>|disciples to act in the same way.

494|Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of

>|Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore

>|in the dealings of an acarya there are no activities but

>|those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is

>|the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is

>|worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is

>|called asraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the

>|Lord of whom one must take shelter.

495|If one poses himself as an acarya but does not have an

>|attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered

>|an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him

>|from being an acarya. The bona fide spiritual master always

>|engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a

>|direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine

>|representative of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Such a spiritual

>|master is known as acaryadeva. Influenced by an envious

>|temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of

>|sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real acarya. In

>|fact, however, a bona fide acarya is nondifferent from the

>|Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an

>|acarya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This

>|will produce an effect subversive of transcendental

>|realization.

496|As mentioned previously, a disciple should always respect

>|the spiritual master as a manifestation of Sri Krsna, but

>|at the same time one should always remember that a

>|spiritual master is never authorized to imitate the

>|transcendental pastimes of the Lord. False spiritual

>|masters pose themselves as identical with Sri Krsna in

>|every respect to exploit the sentiments of their disciples,

>|but such impersonalists can only mislead their disciples,

>|for their ultimate aim is to become one with the Lord. This

>|is against the principles of the devotional cult.

497|The real Vedic philosophy is acintya-bhedabheda-tattva,

>|which establishes everything to be simultaneously one with

>|and different from the Personality of Godhead. Srila

>|Raghunatha dasa Gosvami confirms that this is the real

>|position of a bona fide spiritual master and says that one

>|should always think of the spiritual master in terms of his

>|intimate relationship with Mukunda (Sri Krsna). Srila Jiva

>|Gosvami, in his Bhakti-sandarbha (213), has clearly

>|Personality of Godhead exists in terms of their being very

>|dear to the Lord, not identical with Him in all respects.

>|Following in the footsteps of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami

>|and Srila Jiva Gosvami, later acaryas like Srila Visvanatha

>|Cakravarti Thakura have confirmed the same truths. In his

>|prayers to the spiritual master, Srila Visvanatha

>|Cakravarti Thakura confirms that all the revealed

>|scriptures accept the spiritual master to be identical with

>|the Personality of Godhead because he is a very dear and

>|confidential servant of the Lord. Gaudiya Vaisnavas

>|therefore worship Srila Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in

>|the light of his being the servitor of the Personality of

>|service and in the more recent songs of Srila Narottama

>|dasa Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and other

>|unalloyed Vaisnavas, the spiritual master is always

>|considered either one of the confidential associates of

>|Srimati Radharani or a manifested representation of Srila

>|Nityananda Prabhu.

498|Adi 1.47

499|TEXT 47

500|TEXT

501|siksa-guruke ta' jani krsnera svarupa

502|antaryami, bhakta-srestha,-ei dui rupa

503|SYNONYMS

504|siksa-guruke-the spiritual master who instructs; ta'-indeed;

>| jani-I know; krsnera-of Krsna; sva-rupa-the direct

>|representative; antaryami-the indwelling Supersoul; bhakta-

>|srestha-the best devotee; ei-these; dui-two; rupa-forms.

505|TRANSLATION

506|One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the

>|Personality of Krsna. Lord Krsna manifests Himself as the

>|Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.

507|PURPORT

508|Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami states that the

>|instructing spiritual master is a bona fide representative

>|of Sri Krsna. Sri Krsna Himself teaches us as the

>|instructing spiritual master from within and without. From

>|within He teaches as Paramatma, our constant companion, and

>|from without He teaches from the Bhagavad-gita as the

>|instructing spiritual master. There are two kinds of

>|instructing spiritual masters. One is the liberated person

>|fully absorbed in meditation in devotional service, and the

>|other is he who invokes the disciple's spiritual

>|consciousness by means of relevant instructions. Thus the

>|instructions in the science of devotion are differentiated

>|in terms of the objective and subjective ways of

>|understanding. The acarya in the true sense of the term,

>|who is authorized to deliver Krsna, enriches the disciple

>|with full spiritual knowledge and thus awakens him to the

>|activities of devotional service.

509|When by learning from the self-realized spiritual master

>|one actually engages himself in the service of Lord Visnu,

>|functional devotional service begins. The procedures of

>|this devotional service are known as abhidheya, or actions

>|one is dutybound to perform. Our only shelter is the

>|Supreme Lord, and one who teaches how to approach Krsna is

>|the functioning form of the Personality of Godhead. There

>|is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord

>|and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If

>|one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an

>|offense in the discharge of devotional service.

510|Srila Sanatana Gosvami is the ideal spiritual master, for

>|he delivers one the shelter of the lotus feet of Madana-

>|mohana. Even though one may be unable to travel on the

>|field of Vrndavana due to forgetfulness of his relationship

>|with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can get an

>|adequate opportunity to stay in Vrndavana and derive all

>|spiritual benefits by the mercy of Sanatana Gosvami. Sri

>|Govindaji acts exactly like the siksa-guru (instructing

>|spiritual master) by teaching Arjuna the Bhagavad-gita. He

>|is the original preceptor, for He gives us instructions and

>|an opportunity to serve Him. The initiating spiritual

>|master is a personal manifestation of Srila Madana-mohana

>|vigraha, whereas the instructing spiritual master is a

>|personal representative of Srila Govindadeva vigraha. Both

>|of these Deities are worshiped at Vrndavana. Srila

>|Gopinatha is the ultimate attraction in spiritual

>|realization.

511|Adi 1.48

512|TEXT 48

513|TEXT

514|naivopayanty apacitim kavayas tavesa

515|brahmayusapi krtam rddha-mudah smarantah

516|yo 'ntar bahis tanu-bhrtam asubham vidhunvann

517|acarya-caittya-vapusa sva-gatim vyanakti

518|SYNONYMS

519|na eva-not at all; upayanti-are able to express; apacitim-

>|their gratitude; kavayah-learned devotees; tava-Your; isa-O

>|Lord; brahma-ayusa-with a lifetime equal to Lord Brahma's;

>|api-in spite of; krtam-magnanimous work; rddha-increased;

>|mudah-joy; smarantah-remembering; yah-who; antah-within;

>|bahih-outside; tanu-bhrtam-of those who are embodied;

>|asubham-misfortune; vidhunvan-dissipating; acarya-of the

>|spiritual master; caittya-of the Supersoul; vapusa-by the

>|forms; sva-own; gatim-path; vyanakti-shows.

520|TRANSLATION

521|"O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual

>|science could not fully express their indebtedness to You,

>|even if they were endowed with the prolonged lifetime of

>|Brahma, for You appear in two features-externally as the

>|acarya and internally as the Supersoul-to deliver the

>|embodied living being by directing him how to come to You."

522|PURPORT

523|This verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.29.6) was spoken by

>|Sri Uddhava after he heard from Sri Krsna all necessary

>|instructions about yoga.

524|Adi 1.49

525|TEXT 49

526|TEXT

527|tesam satata-yuktanam

528|bhajatam priti-purvakam

529|dadami buddhi-yogam tam

530|yena mam upayanti te

531|SYNONYMS

532|tesam-unto them; satata-yuktanam-always engaged; bhajatam-

>|in rendering devotional service; priti-purvakam-in loving

>|ecstasy; dadami-I give; buddhi-yogam-real intelligence; tam-

>|that; yena-by which; mam-unto Me; upayanti-come; te-they.

533|TRANSLATION

534|"To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with

>|love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

>|"

535|PURPORT

536|This verse of the Bhagavad-gita (10.10) clearly states how

>|Govindadeva instructs His bona fide devotee. The Lord

>|declares that by enlightenment in theistic knowledge He

>|awards attachment for Him to those who constantly engage in

>|His transcendental loving service. This awakening of divine

>|consciousness enthralls a devotee, who thus relishes his

>|eternal transcendental mellow. Such an awakening is awarded

>|only to those convinced by devotional service about the

>|transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead. They

>|know that the Supreme Truth, the all-spiritual and all-

>|powerful person, is one without a second and has fully

>|transcendental senses. He is the fountainhead of all

>|emanations. Such pure devotees, always merged in knowledge

>|of Krsna and absorbed in Krsna consciousness, exchange

>|thoughts and realizations as great scientists exchange

>|their views and discuss the results of their research in

>|scientific academies. Such exchanges of thoughts in regard

>|to Krsna give pleasure to the Lord, who therefore favors

>|such devotees with all enlightenment.

537|Adi 1.50

538|TEXT 50

539|TEXT

540|yatha brahmane bhagavan

541|svayam upadisyanubhavitavan

542|SYNONYMS

543|yatha-just as; brahmane-unto Lord Brahma; bhagavan-the

>|Supreme Lord; svayam-Himself; upadisya-having instructed;

>|anubhavitavan-caused to perceive.

544|TRANSLATION

545|The Supreme Personality of Godhead [svayam bhagavan] taught

>|Brahma and made him self-realized.

546|PURPORT

547|The English maxim that God helps those who help themselves

>|is also applicable in the transcendental realm. There are

>|Personality of Godhead's acting as the spiritual master

>|master who instructed Brahma, the original living being in

>|the cosmic creation. When Brahma was first created, he

>|could not apply his creative energy to arrange the cosmic

>|situation. At first there was only sound, vibrating the

>|word tapa, which indicates the acceptance of hardships for

>|spiritual realization. Refraining from sensual enjoyment,

>|spiritual realization. This is called tapasya. An enjoyer

>|of the senses can never realize God, godliness or the

>|science of theistic knowledge. Thus when Brahma, initiated

>|by Sri Krsna by the sound vibration tapa, engaged himself

>|in acts of austerity, by the pleasure of Visnu he was able

>|to visualize the transcendental world, Sri Vaikuntha,

>|through transcendental realization. Modern science can

>|communicate using material discoveries such as radio,

>|television and computers, but the science invoked by the

>|austerities of Sri Brahma, the original father of mankind,

>|was still more subtle. In time, material scientists may

>|also know how we can communicate with the Vaikuntha world.

>|Lord Brahma inquired about the potency of the Supreme Lord,

>|and the Personality of Godhead answered his inquiry in the

>|following six consecutive statements. These instructions,

>|were imparted by the Personality of Godhead, acting as the

>|supreme spiritual master.

548|Adi 1.51

549|TEXT 51

550|TEXT

551|jnanam parama-guhyam me

552|yad vijnana-samanvitam

553|sa-rahasyam tad-angam ca

554|grhana gaditam maya

555|SYNONYMS

556|jnanam-knowledge; parama-extremely; guhyam-confidential; me-

>|of Me; yat-which; vijnana-realization; samanvitam-fully

>|endowed with; sa-rahasyam-along with mystery; tat-of that;

>|angam-supplementary parts; ca-and; grhana-just try to take

>|up; gaditam-explained; maya-by Me.

557|TRANSLATION

558|"Please hear attentively what I shall speak to you, for

>|transcendental knowledge about Me is not only scientific

>|but also full of mysteries.

559|PURPORT

560|Transcendental knowledge of Sri Krsna is deeper than the

>|impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge

>|of not only His form and personality but also everything

>|else related to Him. There is nothing in existence not

>|Sri Krsna, and yet nothing is Sri Krsna save and except His

>|primeval personality. This knowledge constitutes a complete

>|transcendental science, and Visnu wanted to give Brahmaji

>|full knowledge about that science. The mystery of this

>|knowledge culminates in personal attachment to the Lord,

>|with a resulting effect of detachment from anything "non-

>|serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping, praying,

>|assisting, fraternizing with the Lord, and sacrificing

>|everything for Him. These are different parts of the same

>|devotional service, which is full of transcendental mystery.

>| The Lord said to Brahma that since He was pleased with him,

>| by His grace the mystery was being revealed.

561|Adi 1.52

562|TEXT 52

563|TEXT

564|yavan aham yatha-bhavo

565|yad-rupa-guna-karmakah

566|tathaiva tattva-vijnanam

567|astu te mad-anugrahat

568|SYNONYMS

569|yavan-as I am in My eternal form; aham-I; yatha-in

>|whichever manner; bhavah-transcendental existence; yat-

>|whatever; rupa-various forms and colors; guna-qualities;

>|karmakah-activities; tatha eva-exactly so; tattva-vijnanam-

>|factual realization; astu-let there be; te-your; mat-My;

>|anugrahat-by causeless mercy.

570|TRANSLATION

571|"By My causeless mercy, be enlightened in truth about My

>|personality, manifestations, qualities and pastimes.

572|PURPORT

573|The transcendental personal forms of the Lord are a mystery,

>| and the symptoms of these forms, which are absolutely

>|different from anything made of mundane elements, are also

>|mysterious. The innumerable forms of the Lord, such as

>|Syamasundara, Narayana, Rama and Gaurasundara; the colors

>|of these forms (white, red, yellow, cloudlike syama and

>|others); His qualities, as the responsive Personality of

>|Godhead to pure devotees and as impersonal Brahman to dry

>|speculators; His uncommon activities like lifting

>|Govardhana Hill, marrying more than sixteen thousand queens

>|at Dvaraka, and entering the rasa dance with the damsels of

>|Vraja, expanding Himself in as many forms as there were

>|damsels in the dance-these and innumerable other uncommon

>|acts and attributes are all mysteries, one aspect of which

>|is presented in the scientific knowledge of the Bhagavad-

>|gita, which is read and adored all over the world by all

>|classes of scholars, with as many interpretations as there

>|are empiric philosophers. The truth of these mysteries was

>|revealed to Brahma by the descending process, without the

>|devotee like Brahma and, through Brahma, to Narada, from

>|Narada to Vyasa, from Vyasadeva to Sukadeva and so on in

>|the bona fide chain of disciplic succession. We cannot

>|discover the mysteries of the Lord by our mundane endeavors;

>| they are only revealed, by His grace, to the proper

>|devotees. These mysteries are gradually disclosed to the

>|various grades of devotees in proportion to the gradual

>|development of their service attitude. In other words,

>|impersonalists who depend upon the strength of their poor

>|fund of knowledge and morbid speculative habits, without

>|submission and service in the forms of hearing, chanting

>|and the others mentioned above, cannot penetrate to the

>|mysterious region of transcendence where the Supreme Truth

>|is a transcendental person, free from all tinges of the

>|material elements. Discovering the mystery of the Lord

>|eliminates the impersonal feature realized by common

>|spiritualists who are merely trying to enter the spiritual

>|region from the mundane platform.

574|Adi 1.53

575|TEXT 53

576|TEXT

577|aham evasam evagre

578|nanyad yat sad-asat param

579|pascad aham yad etac ca

580|yo 'vasisyeta so 'smy aham

581|SYNONYMS

582|aham-I, the Personality of Godhead; eva-certainly; asam-

>|existed; eva-only; agre-before the creation; na-never;

>|anyat-anything else; yat-which; sat-the effect; asat-the

>|cause; param-the supreme; pascat-at the end; aham-I, the

>|Personality of Godhead; yat-which; etat-this creation; ca-

>|also; yah-who; avasisyeta-remains; sah-that; asmi-am; aham-

>|I, the Personality of Godhead.

583|TRANSLATION

584|"Prior to the cosmic creation, only I exist, and no

>|phenomena exist, either gross, subtle or primordial. After

>|creation, only I exist in everything, and after

>|annihilation, only I remain eternally.

585|PURPORT

586|Aham means "I"; therefore the speaker who is saying aham, "

>|I," must have His own personality. The Mayavadi

>|philosophers interpret this word aham as referring to the

>|grammatical knowledge, but any person who has actual

>|knowledge of grammar can understand that aham means "I" and

>|that "I" refers to a personality. Therefore the Personality

>|of Godhead, speaking to Brahma, uses aham while describing

>|His own transcendental form. Aham has a specific meaning;

>|it is not a vague term that can be whimsically interpreted.

>|Aham, when spoken by Krsna, refers to the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead and nothing else.

587|Before the creation and after its dissolution, only the

>|Supreme Personality of Godhead and His associates exist;

>|there is no existence of the material elements. This is

>|confirmed in the Vedic literature. Vasudevo va idam agra

>|asin na brahma na ca sankarah. The meaning of this mantra

>|is that before creation there was no existence of Brahma or

>|Siva, for only Visnu existed. Visnu exists in His abode,

>|the Vaikunthas. There are innumerable Vaikuntha planets in

>|the spiritual sky, and on each of them Visnu resides with

>|His associates and His paraphernalia. It is also confirmed

>|in the Bhagavad-gita that although the creation is

>|periodically dissolved, there is another abode, which is

>|never dissolved. The word "creation" refers to the material

>|creation because in the spiritual world everything exists

>|eternally and there is no creation or dissolution.

588|The Lord indicates herein that before the material creation

>|He existed in fullness with all transcendental opulences,

>|including all strength, all wealth, all beauty, all

>|knowledge, all fame and all renunciation. If one thinks of

>|a king, he automatically thinks of his secretaries,

>|ministers, military commanders, palaces and so on. Since a

>|king has such opulences, one can simply try to imagine the

>|Lord says aham, therefore, it is to be understood that He

>|exists with full potency, including all opulences.

589|The word yat refers to Brahman, the impersonal effulgence

>|of the Lord. In the Brahma-samhita (5.40) it is said, tad

>|brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam: the Brahman

>|effulgence expands unlimitedly. Just as the sun is a

>|unlimitedly from that source, so the Absolute Truth is the

>|energy the creation appears, just as a cloud appears in

>|sunshine. From the cloud comes rain, from the rain comes

>|vegetation, and from the vegetation come fruits and flowers,

>| which are the basis of subsistence for many other forms of

>|life. Similarly, the effulgent bodily luster of the Supreme

>|Lord is the cause of the creation of infinite universes.

>|The Brahman effulgence is impersonal, but the cause of that

>|energy is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. From Him, in

>|His abode, the Vaikunthas, this brahmajyoti emanates. He is

>|choose to think this impersonal Brahman the ultimate or

>|absolute goal. But as stated in the Upanisads, one has to

>|penetrate the impersonal effulgence to see the face of the

>|Supreme Lord. If one desires to reach the source of the

>|sunshine, he has to travel through the sunshine to reach

>|the sun and then meet the predominating deity there. The

>|Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person, Bhagavan, as Srimad-

>|Bhagavatam explains.

590|Sat means "effect," asat means "cause," and param refers to

>|the ultimate truth, which is transcendental to cause and

>|effect. The cause of the creation is called the mahat-

>|tattva, or total material energy, and its effect is the

>|creation itself. But neither cause nor effect existed in

>|the beginning; they emanated from the Supreme Personality

>|of Godhead, as did the energy of time. This is stated in

>|the Vedanta-sutra (janmady asya yatah). The source of birth

>|of the cosmic manifestation, or mahat-tattva, is the

>|Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed throughout Srimad-

>|Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.

>|8) the Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavah: "I am the

>|fountainhead of all emanations." The material cosmos, being

>|temporary, is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest,

>|but its energy emanates from the Supreme Absolute Lord.

>|Before the creation there was neither cause nor effect, but

>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead existed with His full

>|opulence and energy.

591|The words pascad aham indicate that the Lord exists after

>|the dissolution of the cosmic manifestation. When the

>|material world is dissolved, the Lord still exists

>|personally in the Vaikunthas. During the creation the Lord

>|also exists as He is in the Vaikunthas, and He also exists

>|as the Supersoul within the material universes. This is

>|confirmed in the Brahma-samhita (5.37). Goloka eva nivasati:

>| although He is perfectly and eternally present in Goloka

>|Vrndavana in Vaikuntha, He is nevertheless all-pervading (

>|akhilatma-bhutah). The all-pervading feature of the Lord is

>|called the Supersoul. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, aham

>|krtsnasya jagatah prabhavah: the cosmic manifestation is a

>|display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. The material

>|elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,

>|intelligence and false ego) display the inferior energy of

>|the Lord, and the living entities are His superior energy.

>|Since the energy of the Lord is not different from Him, in

>|fact everything that exists is Krsna in His impersonal

>|feature. Sunshine, sunlight and heat are not different from

>|the sun, and yet simultaneously they are distinct energies

>|of the sun. Similarly, the cosmic manifestation and the

>|living entities are energies of the Lord, and they are

>|considered to be simultaneously one with and different from

>|Him. The Lord therefore says, "I am everything," because

>|everything is His energy and is therefore nondifferent from

>|Him.

592|Yo 'vasisyeta so 'smy aham indicates that the Lord is the

>|balance that exists after the dissolution of the creation.

>|The spiritual manifestation never vanishes. It belongs to

>|the internal energy of the Supreme Lord and exists

>|eternally. When the external manifestation is withdrawn,

>|the spiritual activities in Goloka and the rest of the

>|Vaikunthas continue, unrestricted by material time, which

>|has no existence in the spiritual world. Therefore in the

>|tad dhama paramam mama: "The abode from which no one

>|returns to this material world is the supreme abode of the

593|Adi 1.54

594|TEXT 54

595|TEXT

596|rte 'rtham yat pratiyeta

597|na pratiyeta catmani

598|tad vidyad atmano mayam

599|yathabhaso yatha tamah

600|SYNONYMS

601|rte-without; artham-value; yat-that which; pratiyeta-

>|appears to be; na-not; pratiyeta-appears to be; ca-

>|certainly; atmani-in relation to Me; tat-that; vidyat-you

>|must know; atmanah-My; mayam-illusory energy; yatha-just as;

>| abhasah-the reflection; yatha-just as; tamah-the darkness.

602|TRANSLATION

603|"What appears to be truth without Me is certainly My

>|illusory energy, for nothing can exist without Me. It is

>|like a reflection of a real light in the shadows, for in

>|the light there are neither shadows nor reflections.

604|PURPORT

605|In the previous verse the Absolute Truth and its nature

>|have been explained. One must also understand the relative

>|truth to actually know the Absolute. The relative truth,

>|which is called maya, or material nature, is explained here.

>| Maya has no independent existence. One who is less

>|intelligent is captivated by the wonderful activities of

>|maya, but he does not understand that behind these

>|activities is the direction of the Supreme Lord. In the

>|suyate sa-caracaram: the material nature is working and

>|producing moving and nonmoving beings only by the

606|The real nature of maya, the illusory existence of the

>|material manifestation, is clearly explained in Srimad-

>|Bhagavatam. The Absolute Truth is substance, and the

>|relative truth depends upon its relationship with the

>|Absolute for its existence. Maya means energy; therefore

>|the relative truth is explained to be the energy of the

>|Absolute Truth. Since it is difficult to understand the

>|distinction between the absolute and relative truths, an

>|can be compared to the sun, which is appreciated in terms

>|of two relative truths: reflection and darkness. Darkness

>|is the absence of sunshine, and a reflection is a

>|projection of sunlight into darkness. Neither darkness nor

>|reflection has an independent existence. Darkness comes

>|when the sunshine is blocked. For example, if one stands

>|facing the sun, his back will be in darkness. Since

>|darkness stands in the absence of the sun, it is therefore

>|relative to the sun. The spiritual world is compared to the

>|real sunshine, and the material world is compared to the

>|dark regions where the sun is not visible.

607|When the material manifestation appears very wonderful,

>|this is due to a perverted reflection of the supreme

>|sunshine, the Absolute Truth, as confirmed in the Vedanta-

>|sutra. Whatever one can see here has its substance in the

>|Absolute. As darkness is situated far away from the sun, so

>|the material world is also far away from the spiritual

>|world. The Vedic literature directs us not to be captivated

>|by the dark regions (tamah) but to try to reach the shining

>|regions of the Absolute (yogi-dhama).

608|The spiritual world is brightly illuminated, but the

>|material world is wrapped in darkness. In the material

>|world, sunshine, moonshine or different kinds of artificial

>|light are required to dispel darkness, especially at night,

>|for by nature the material world is dark. Therefore the

>|Supreme Lord has arranged for sunshine and moonshine. But

>|in His abode, as described in the Bhagavad-gita (15.6),

>|there is no necessity for lighting by sunshine, moonshine

>|or electricity because everything is self-effulgent.

609|That which is relative, temporary and far away from the

>|Absolute Truth is called maya, or ignorance. This illusion

>|is exhibited in two ways, as explained in the Bhagavad-gita.

>| The inferior illusion is inert matter, and the superior

>|illusion is the living entity. The living entities are

>|called illusory in this context only because they are

>|implicated in the illusory structures and activities of the

>|material world. Actually the living entities are not

>|illusory, for they are parts of the superior energy of the

>|Supreme Lord and do not have to be covered by maya if they

>|do not want to be so. The actions of the living entities in

>|the spiritual kingdom are not illusory; they are the actual,

>| eternal activities of liberated souls.

610|Adi 1.55

611|TEXT 55

612|TEXT

613|yatha mahanti bhutani

614|bhutesuccavacesv anu

615|pravistany apravistani

616|tatha tesu na tesv aham

617|SYNONYMS

618|yatha-as; mahanti-the universal; bhutani-elements; bhutesu-

>|in the living entities; ucca-avacesu-both gigantic and

>|minute; anu-after; pravistani-situated internally;

>|apravistani-situated externally; tatha-so; tesu-in them; na-

>|not; tesu-in them; aham-I.

619|TRANSLATION

620|"As the material elements enter the bodies of all living

>|beings and yet remain outside them all, I exist within all

>|material creations and yet am not within them.

621|PURPORT

622|The gross material elements (earth, water, fire, air and

>|ether) combine with the subtle material elements (mind,

>|intelligence and false ego) to construct the bodies of this

>|material world, and yet they are beyond these bodies as

>|well. Any material construction is nothing but an

>|amalgamation or combination of material elements in varied

>|proportions. These elements exist both within and beyond

>|the body. For example, although the sky exists in space, it

>|also enters within the body. Similarly, the Supreme Lord,

>|who is the cause of the material energy, lives within the

>|material world as well as beyond it. Without His presence

>|within the material world, the cosmic body could not

>|develop, just as without the presence of the spirit within

>|the physical body, the body could not develop. The entire

>|material manifestation develops and exists because the

>|Supreme Personality of Godhead enters it as Paramatma, or

>|the Supersoul. The Personality of Godhead in His all-

>|pervading feature of Paramatma enters every entity, from

>|the biggest to the most minute. His existence can be

>|realized by one who has the single qualification of

>|submissiveness and who thereby becomes a surrendered soul.

>|The development of submissiveness is the cause of

>|proportionate spiritual realization, by which one can

>|ultimately meet the Supreme Lord in person, as a man meets

>|another man face to face.

623|Because of his development of transcendental attachment for

>|the Supreme Lord, a surrendered soul feels the presence of

>|his beloved everywhere, and all his senses are engaged in

>|the loving service of the Lord. His eyes are engaged in

>|seeing the beautiful couple Sri Radha and Krsna sitting on

>|a decorated throne beneath a desire tree in the

>|transcendental land of Vrndavana. His nose is engaged in

>|smelling the spiritual aroma of the lotus feet of the Lord.

>|Similarly, his ears are engaged in hearing messages from

>|Vaikuntha, and his hands embrace the lotus feet of the Lord

>|and His associates. Thus the Lord is manifested to a pure

>|devotee from within and without. This is one of the

>|mysteries of the devotional relationship in which a devotee

>|and the Lord are bound by a tie of spontaneous love. To

>|achieve this love should be the goal of life for every

>|living being.

624|Adi 1.56

625|TEXT 56

626|TEXT

627|etavad eva jijnasyam

628|tattva-jijnasunatmanah

629|anvaya-vyatirekabhyam

630|yat syat sarvatra sarvada

631|SYNONYMS

632|etavat-up to this; eva-certainty; jijnasyam-to be inquired

>|about; tattva-of the Absolute Truth; jijnasuna-by the

>|student; atmanah-of the Self; anvaya-directly;

>|vyatirekabhyam-and indirectly; yat-whatever; syat-it may be;

>| sarvatra-everywhere; sarvada-always.

633|TRANSLATION

634|"A person interested in transcendental knowledge must

>|therefore always directly and indirectly inquire about it

>|to know the all-pervading truth."

635|PURPORT

636|Those who are serious about the knowledge of the

>|transcendental world, which is far beyond the material

>|cosmic creation, must approach a bona fide spiritual master

>|to learn the science both directly and indirectly. One must

>|learn both the means to approach the desired destination

>|and the hindrances to such progress. The spiritual master

>|knows how to regulate the habits of a neophyte disciple,

>|and therefore a serious student must learn the science in

>|all its aspects from him.

637|There are different grades and standards of prosperity. The

>|standard of comfort and happiness conceived by a common man

>|engaged in material labor is the lowest grade of happiness,

>|for it is in relationship with the body. The highest

>|standard of such bodily comfort is achieved by a fruitive

>|worker who by pious activities reaches the plane of heaven,

>|or the kingdom of the creative gods with their delegated

>|powers. But the conception of comfortable life in heaven is

>|insignificant in comparison to the happiness enjoyed in the

>|impersonal Brahman, and this brahmananda, the spiritual

>|bliss derived from impersonal Brahman, is like the water in

>|the hoofprint of a calf compared to the ocean of love of

>|Godhead. When one develops pure love for the Lord, he

>|derives an ocean of transcendental happiness from the

>|association of the Personality of Godhead. To qualify

>|oneself to reach this stage of life is the highest

>|perfection.

638|One should try to purchase a ticket to go back home, back

>|to Godhead. The price of such a ticket is one's intense

>|desire for it, which is not easily awakened, even if one

>|continuously performs pious activities for thousands of

>|lives. All mundane relationships are sure to be broken in

>|the course of time, but once one establishes a relationship

>|with the Personality of Godhead in a particular rasa, it is

>|never to be broken, even after the annihilation of the

>|material world.

639|One should understand, through the transparent medium of

>|the spiritual master, that the Supreme Lord exists

>|everywhere in His transcendental spiritual nature and that

>|the living entities' relationships with the Lord are

>|directly and indirectly existing everywhere, even in this

>|material world. In the spiritual world there are five kinds

>|of relationships with the Supreme Lord-santa, dasya, sakhya,

>| vatsalya and madhurya. The perverted reflections of these

>|rasas are found in the material world. Land, home,

>|furniture and other inert material objects are related in

>|santa, or the neutral and silent sense, whereas servants

>|work in the dasya relationship. The reciprocation between

>|friends is called sakhya, the affection of a parent for a

>|child is known as vatsalya, and the affairs of conjugal

>|love constitute madhurya. These five relationships in the

>|material world are distorted reflections of the original,

>|pure sentiments, which should be understood and perfected

>|in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead

>|under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. In the

>|material world the perverted rasas bring frustration. If

>|these rasas are reestablished with Lord Krsna, the result

>|is eternal, blissful life.

640|From this and the preceding three verses of the Caitanya-

>|caritamrta, which have been selected from Srimad-Bhagavatam,

>| the missionary activities of Lord Caitanya can be

>|verses, which are summarized in the four verses beginning

>|with aham evasam evagre (53) and concluding with yat syat

>|sarvatra sarvada (56). In the first of these verses (53)

>|the transcendental nature of Lord Krsna, the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead, is explained. The second verse (54)

>|further explains that the Lord is detached from the

>|workings of the material energy, maya. The living entities,

>|they are spiritual, in the material world they are encased

>|in bodies of material energy. The eternal relationship of

>|the living entities with the Supreme Lord is explained in

>|that verse. The next verse (55) instructs that the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable energies, is

>|simultaneously one with and different from the living

>|entities and the material energy. This knowledge is called

>|acintya-bhedabheda-tattva. When an individual living entity

>|surrendering process should be the primary concern of a

>|human being. In the next verse (56) it is said that a

>|conditioned soul must ultimately approach a bona fide

>|spiritual master and try to understand perfectly the

>|material and spiritual worlds and his own existential

>|position. Here the words anvaya-vyatirekabhyam, "directly

>|and indirectly," suggest that one must learn the process of

>|devotional service in its two aspects: one must directly

>|execute the process of devotional service and indirectly

>|avoid the impediments to progress.

641|Adi 1.57

642|TEXT 57

643|TEXT

644|cintamanir jayati somagirir gurur me

645|siksa-gurus ca bhagavan sikhi-pincha-maulih

646|yat-pada-kalpataru-pallava-sekharesu

647|lila-svayamvara-rasam labhate jayasrih

648|SYNONYMS

649|cintamanih jayati-all glory to Cintamani; soma-girih-

>|Somagiri (the initiating guru); guruh-spiritual master; me-

>|my; siksa-guruh-instructing spiritual master; ca-and;

>|bhagavan-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sikhi-pincha-

>|with peacock feathers; maulih-whose head; yat-whose; pada-

>|of the lotus feet; kalpa-taru-like desire trees; pallava-

>|like new leaves; sekharesu-at the toe nails; lila-svayam-

>|vara-of conjugal pastimes; rasam-the mellow; labhate-

>|obtains; jaya-srih-Srimati Radharani.

650|TRANSLATION

651|"All glories to Cintamani and my initiating spiritual

>|master, Somagiri. All glories to my instructing spiritual

>|master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who wears

>|peacock feathers in His crown. Under the shade of His lotus

>|feet, which are like desire trees, Jayasri [Radharani]

>|enjoys the transcendental mellow of an eternal consort."

652|PURPORT

653|This verse is from the Krsna-karnamrta, which was written

>|by a great Vaisnava sannyasi named Bilvamangala Thakura,

>|who is also known as Lilasuka. He intensely desired to

>|enter into the eternal pastimes of the Lord, and he lived

>|at Vrndavana for seven hundred years in the vicinity of

>|Brahma-kunda, a still-existing bathing tank in Vrndavana.

>|The history of Bilvamangala Thakura is given in a book

>|century of the Saka Era in the province of Dravida and was

>|the chief disciple of Visnusvami . In a list of

>|temples and monasteries kept in Sankaracarya's monastery in

>|Dvaraka, Bilvamangala is mentioned as the founder of the

>|Dvarakadhisa temple there. He entrusted the service of his

>|Deity to Hari Brahmacari, a disciple of Vallabha Bhatta.

654|Bilvamangala Thakura actually entered into the

>|transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna. He has recorded his

>|transcendental experiences and appreciation in the book

>|known as Krsna-karnamrta. In the beginning of that book he

>|has offered his obeisances to his different gurus, and it

>|is to be noted that he has adored them all equally. The

>|first spiritual master mentioned is Cintamani, who was one

>|of his instructing spiritual masters because she first

>|showed him the spiritual path. Cintamani was a prostitute

>|with whom Bilvamangala was intimate earlier in his life.

>|She gave him the inspiration to begin on the path of

>|devotional service, and because she convinced him to give

>|up material existence to try for perfection by loving Krsna,

>| he has first offered his respects to her. Next he offers

>|his respects to his initiating spiritual master, Somagiri,

>|and then to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was

>|also his instructing spiritual master. He explicitly

>|mentions Bhagavan, who has peacock feathers on His crown,

>|because the Lord of Vrndavana, Krsna the cowherd boy, used

>|to come to Bilvamangala to talk with him and supply him

>|with milk. In his adoration of Sri Krsna, the Personality

>|fortune, Srimati Radharani, takes shelter in the shade of

>|His lotus feet to enjoy the transcendental rasa of nuptial

>|love. The complete treatise Krsna-karnamrta is dedicated to

>|the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna and Srimati

>|Radharani. It is a book to be read and understood by the

>|most elevated devotees of Sri Krsna.

655|Adi 1.58

656|TEXT 58

657|TEXT

658|jive saksat nahi tate guru caittya-rupe

659|siksa-guru haya krsna-mahanta-svarupe

660|SYNONYMS

661|jive-by the living entity; saksat-direct experience; nahi-

>|there is not; tate-therefore; guru-the spiritual master;

>|caittya-rupe-in the form of the Supersoul; siksa-guru-the

>|spiritual master who instructs; haya-appears; krsna-Krsna,

>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahanta-the topmost

>|devotee; sva-rupe-in the form of.

662|TRANSLATION

663|Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the

>|Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee.

>|Such a spiritual master is none other than Krsna Himself.

664|PURPORT

665|It is not possible for a conditioned soul to directly meet

>|Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if one

>|becomes a sincere devotee and seriously engages in

>|devotional service, Lord Krsna sends an instructing

>|spiritual master to show him favor and invoke his dormant

>|propensity for serving the Supreme. The preceptor appears

>|before the external senses of the fortunate conditioned

>|soul, and at the same time the devotee is guided from

>|within by the caittya-guru, Krsna, who is seated as the

>|spiritual master within the heart of the living entity.

666|Adi 1.59

667|TEXT 59

668|TEXT

669|tato duhsangam utsrjya

670|satsu sajjeta buddhi-man

671|santa evasya chindanti

672|mano-vyasangam uktibhih

673|SYNONYMS

674|tatah-therefore; duhsangam-bad association; utsrjya-giving

>|up; satsu-with the devotees; sajjeta-one should associate;

>|buddhi-man-an intelligent person; santah-devotees; eva-

>|certainly; asya-one's; chindanti-cut off; manah-vyasangam-

>|opposing attachments; uktibhih-by their instructions.

675|TRANSLATION

676|"One should therefore avoid bad company and associate only

>|with devotees. With their realized instructions, such

>|saints can cut the knot connecting one with activities

>|unfavorable to devotional service."

677|PURPORT

678|This verse, which appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.26.26),

>|was spoken by Lord Krsna to Uddhava in the text known as

>|the Uddhava-gita. The discussion relates to the story of

>|Pururava and the heavenly courtesan Urvasi. When Urvasi

>|left Pururava, he was deeply affected by the separation and

>|had to learn to overcome his grief.

679|It is indicated that to learn the transcendental science,

>|it is imperative that one avoid the company of undesirable

>|persons and always seek the company of saints and sages who

>|are able to impart lessons of transcendental knowledge. The

>|potent words of such realized souls penetrate the heart,

>|thereby eradicating all misgivings accumulated through

>|years of undesirable association. For a neophyte devotee

>|there are two kinds of persons whose association is

>|undesirable: (1) gross materialists who constantly engage

>|in sense gratification and (2) unbelievers who do not serve

>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead but serve their senses

>|and their mental whims in terms of their speculative habits.

>| Intelligent persons seeking transcendental realization

>|should very scrupulously avoid their company.

680|Adi 1.60

681|TEXT 60

682|TEXT

683|satam prasangan mama virya-samvido

684|bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah

685|taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani

686|sraddha ratir bhaktir anukramisyati

687|SYNONYMS

688|satam-of the devotees; prasangat-by intimate association;

>|mama-of Me; virya-samvidah-talks full of spiritual potency;

>|bhavanti-appear; hrt-to the heart; karna-and to the ears;

>|rasa-ayanah-a source of sweetness; kathah-talks; tat-of

>|them; josanat-from proper cultivation; asu-quickly;

>|apavarga-of liberation; vartmani-on the path; sraddha-faith;

>| ratih-attraction; bhaktih-love; anukramisyati-will follow

>|one after another.

689|TRANSLATION

690|"The spiritually powerful message of Godhead can be

>|properly discussed only in a society of devotees, and it is

>|greatly pleasing to hear in that association. If one hears

>|from devotees, the way of transcendental experience quickly

>|devotion."

691|PURPORT

692|This verse appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.25.25), where

>|Kapiladeva replies to the questions of His mother, Devahuti,

>| about the process of devotional service. As one advances

>|in devotional activities, the process becomes progressively

>|clearer and more encouraging. Unless one gets this

>|spiritual encouragement by following the instructions of

>|the spiritual master, it is not possible to make

>|advancement. Therefore, one's development of a taste for

>|executing these instructions is the test of one's

>|confidence by hearing the science of devotion from a

>|qualified spiritual master. Then, as he associates with

>|devotees and tries to adopt the means instructed by the

>|spiritual master in his own life, his misgivings and other

>|obstacles are vanquished by his execution of devotional

>|service. Strong attachment for the transcendental service

>|of the Lord develops as he continues listening to the

>|messages of Godhead, and if he steadfastly proceeds in this

>|way, he is certainly elevated to spontaneous love for the

>|Supreme Personality of Godhead.

693|Adi 1.61

694|TEXT 61

695|TEXT

696|isvara-svarupa bhakta tanra adhisthana

697|bhaktera hrdaye krsnera satata visrama

698|SYNONYMS

699|isvara-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; svarupa-

>|identical with; bhakta-the pure devotee; tanra-His;

>|adhisthana-abode; bhaktera-of the devotee; hrdaye-in the

>|heart; krsnera-of Lord Krsna; satata-always; visrama-the

>|resting place.

700|TRANSLATION

701|A pure devotee constantly engaged in the loving service of

>|the Lord is identical with the Lord, who is always seated

>|in his heart.

702|PURPORT

703|The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without a second,

>|and therefore He is all-powerful. He has inconceivable

>|energies, of which three are principal. The devotee is

>|considered to be one of these energies, never the energetic.

>| The energetic is always the Supreme Lord. The energies are

>|related to Him for the purpose of eternal service. A living

>|entity in the conditioned stage can uncover his aptitude

>|for serving the Absolute Truth by the grace of Krsna and

>|the spiritual master. Then the Lord reveals Himself within

>|his heart, and he can know that Krsna is seated in the

>|heart of every pure devotee. Krsna is actually situated in

>|the heart of every living entity, but only a devotee can

>|realize this fact.

704|Adi 1.62

705|TEXT 62

706|TEXT

707|sadhavo hrdayam mahyam

708|sadhunam hrdayam tv aham

709|mad-anyat te na jananti

710|naham tebhyo manag api

711|SYNONYMS

712|sadhavah-the saints; hrdayam-heart; mahyam-My; sadhunam-of

>|the saints; hrdayam-the heart; tu-indeed; aham-I; mat-than

>|Me; anyat-other; te-they; na-not; jananti-know; na-nor;

>|aham-I; tebhyah-than them; manak-slightly; api-even.

713|TRANSLATION

714|"Saints are My heart, and only I am their hearts. They do

>|not know anyone but Me, and therefore I do not recognize

>|anyone besides them as Mine."

715|PURPORT

716|This verse appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.68) in

>|connection with a misunderstanding between Durvasa Muni and

>|Maharaja Ambarisa. As a result of this misunderstanding,

>|Durvasa Muni tried to kill the king, when the Sudarsana

>|cakra, the celebrated weapon of Godhead, appeared on the

>|scene for the devoted king's protection. When the Sudarsana

>|cakra attacked Durvasa Muni, he fled in fear of the weapon

>|and sought shelter from all the great demigods in heaven.

>|Not one of them was able to protect him, and therefore

>|Durvasa Muni prayed to Lord Visnu for forgiveness. Lord

>|Visnu advised him, however, that if he wanted forgiveness

>|he had to get it from Maharaja Ambarisa, not from Him. In

>|this context Lord Visnu spoke this verse.

717|The Lord, being full and free from problems, can

>|wholeheartedly care for His devotees. His concern is how to

>|elevate and protect all those who have taken shelter at His

>|feet. The same responsibility is also entrusted to the

>|spiritual master. The bona fide spiritual master's concern

>|is how the devotees who have surrendered to him as a

>|representative of the Lord may make progress in devotional

>|service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always

>|mindful of the devotees who fully engage in cultivating

>|knowledge of Him, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

718|Adi 1.63

719|TEXT 63

720|TEXT

721|bhavad-vidha bhagavatas

722|tirtha-bhutah svayam vibho

723|tirthi-kurvanti tirthani

724|svantah-sthena gada-bhrta

725|SYNONYMS

726|bhavat-your good self; vidhah-like; bhagavatah-devotees;

>|tirtha-holy places of pilgrimage; bhutah-existing; svayam-

>|themselves; vibho-O almighty one; tirthi-kurvanti-make into

>|holy places of pilgrimage; tirthani-the holy places; sva-

>|antah-sthena-being situated in their hearts; gada-bhrta-by

>|the Personality of Godhead.

727|TRANSLATION

728|"Saints of your caliber are themselves places of pilgrimage.

>| Because of their purity, they are constant companions of

>|the Lord, and therefore they can purify even the places of

>|pilgrimage."

729|PURPORT

730|This verse was spoken by Maharaja Yudhisthira to Vidura in

>|Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.10). Maharaja Yudhisthira was

>|receiving his saintly uncle Vidura, who had been visiting

>|sacred places of pilgrimage. Maharaja Yudhisthira told

>|Vidura that pure devotees like him are personified holy

>|places because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always

>|with them in their hearts. By their association, sinful

>|persons are freed from sinful reactions, and therefore

>|wherever a pure devotee goes is a sacred place of

>|pilgrimage. The importance of holy places is due to the

>|presence there of such pure devotees.

731|Adi 1.64

732|TEXT 64

733|TEXT

734|sei bhakta-gana haya dvi-vidha prakara

735|parisad-gana eka, sadhaka-gana ara

736|SYNONYMS

737|sei-these; bhakta-gana-devotees; haya-are; dvi-vidha-

>|twofold; prakara-varieties; parisat-gana-factual devotees;

>|eka-one; sadhaka-gana-prospective devotees; ara-the other.

738|TRANSLATION

739|Such pure devotees are of two types: personal associates [

>|parisats] and neophyte devotees [sadhakas].

740|PURPORT

741|Perfect servitors of the Lord are considered His personal

>|associates, whereas devotees endeavoring to attain

>|perfection are called neophytes. Among the associates, some

>|are attracted by the opulences of the Personality of

>|Godhead, and others are attracted by nuptial love of

>|Godhead. The former devotees are placed in the realm of

>|Vaikuntha to render reverential devotional service, whereas

>|the latter devotees are placed in Vrndavana for the direct

>|service of Sri Krsna.

744|TEXT

745|isvarera avatara e-tina prakara

746|amsa-avatara, ara guna-avatara

747|saktyavesa-avatara-trtiya e-mata

748|amsa-avatara-purusa-matsyadika yata

749|SYNONYMS

750|isvarera-of the Supreme Lord; avatara-incarnations; e-tina-

>|these three; prakara-kinds; amsa-avatara-partial

>|incarnations; ara-and; guna-avatara-qualitative

>|incarnations; sakti-avesa-avatara-empowered incarnations;

>|trtiya-the third; e-mata-thus; amsa-avatara-partial

>|incarnations; purusa-the three purusa incarnations; matsya-

>|the fish incarnation; adika-and so on; yata-all.

751|TRANSLATION

752|There are three categories of incarnations of Godhead:

>|partial incarnations, qualitative incarnations and

>|empowered incarnations. The purusas and Matsya are examples

>|of partial incarnations.

753|Adi 1.67

754|TEXT 67

755|TEXT

756|brahma visnu siva-tina gunavatare gani

757|sakty-avesa-sanakadi, prthu, vyasa-muni

758|SYNONYMS

759|brahma-Lord Brahma; visnu-Lord Visnu; siva-Lord Siva; tina-

>|three; guna-avatare-among the incarnations controlling the

>|three modes of material nature; gani-I count; sakti-avesa-

>|empowered incarnations; sanaka-adi-the four Kumaras; prthu-

>|King Prthu; vyasa-muni-Vyasadeva.

760|TRANSLATION

761|Brahma, Visnu and Siva are qualitative incarnations.

>|Empowered incarnations are those like the Kumaras, King

>|Prthu and Maha-muni Vyasa [the compiler of the Vedas].

762|Adi 1.68

763|TEXT 68

764|TEXT

765|dui-rupe haya bhagavanera prakasa

766|eke ta' prakasa haya, are ta' vilasa

767|SYNONYMS

768|dui-rupe-in two forms; haya-are; bhagavanera-of the Supreme

>|Personality of Godhead; prakasa-manifestations; eke-in one;

>|ta'-certainly; prakasa-manifestation; haya-is; are-in the

>|other; ta'-certainly; vilasa-engaged in pastimes.

769|TRANSLATION

770|The Personality of Godhead exhibits Himself in two kinds of

>|forms: prakasa and vilasa.

771|PURPORT

772|The Supreme Lord expands His personal forms in two primary

>|categories. The prakasa forms are manifested by Lord Krsna

>|for His pastimes, and their features are exactly like His.

>|When Lord Krsna married sixteen thousand queens in Dvaraka,

>|He did so in sixteen thousand prakasa expansions. Similarly,

>| during the rasa dance He expanded Himself in identical

>|prakasa forms to dance beside each and every gopi

>|simultaneously. When the Lord manifests His vilasa

>|expansions, however, they are all somewhat different in

>|their bodily features. Lord Balarama is the first vilasa

>|expansion of Lord Krsna, and the four-handed Narayana forms

>|in Vaikuntha expand from Balarama. There is no difference

>|between the bodily forms of Sri Krsna and Balarama except

>|that Their bodily colors are different. Similarly, Sri

>|Narayana in Vaikuntha has four hands, whereas Krsna has

>|only two. The expansions of the Lord who manifest such

>|bodily differences are known as vilasa-vigrahas.

775|TEXT

776|eka-i vigraha yadi haya bahu-rupa

777|akare ta' bheda nahi, eka-i svarupa

778|mahisi-vivahe, yaiche yaiche kaila rasa

779|ihake kahiye krsnera mukhya 'prakasa'

780|SYNONYMS

781|eka-i-the same one; vigraha-person; yadi-if; haya-becomes;

>|bahu-rupa-many forms; akare-in appearance; ta'-certainly;

>|bheda-difference; nahi-there is not; eka-i-one; sva-rupa-

>|identity; mahisi-with the queens of Dvaraka; vivahe-in the

>|marriage; yaiche yaiche-in a similar way; kaila-He did;

>|rasa-rasa dance; ihake-this; kahiye-I say; krsnera-of Krsna;

>| mukhya-principal; prakasa-manifested forms.

782|TRANSLATION

783|When the Personality of Godhead expands Himself in many

>|forms, all nondifferent in Their features, as Lord Krsna

>|did when He married sixteen thousand queens and when He

>|performed His rasa dance, such forms of the Lord are called

>|manifested forms [prakasa-vigrahas].

784|Adi 1.71

785|TEXT 71

786|TEXT

787|citram bataitad ekena

788|vapusa yugapat prthak

789|grhesu dvy-asta-sahasram

790|striya eka udavahat

791|SYNONYMS

792|citram-wonderful; bata-oh; etat-this; ekena-with one;

>|vapusa-form; yugapat-simultaneously; prthak-separately;

>|grhesu-in the houses; dvi-asta-sahasram-sixteen thousand;

>|striyah-all the queens; ekah-the one Sri Krsna; udavahat-

>|married.

793|TRANSLATION

794|"It is astounding that Lord Sri Krsna, who is one without a

>|second, expanded Himself in sixteen thousand similar forms

>|to marry sixteen thousand queens in their respective homes."

795|PURPORT

796|This verse is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.69.2).

797|Adi 1.72

798|TEXT 72

799|TEXT

800|rasotsavah sampravrtto

801|gopi-mandala-manditah

802|yogesvarena krsnena

803|tasam madhye dvayor dvayoh

804|SYNONYMS

805|rasa-utsavah-the festival of the rasa dance; sampravrttah-

>|was begun; gopi-mandala-by groups of gopis; manditah-

>|decorated; yoga-isvarena-by the master of all mystic powers;

>| krsnena-by Lord Krsna; tasam-of them; madhye-in the middle;

>| dvayoh dvayoh-of each two.

806|TRANSLATION

807|"When Lord Krsna, surrounded by groups of cowherd girls,

>|began the festivities of the rasa dance, the Lord of all

>|mystic powers placed Himself between each two girls."

808|PURPORT

809|This verse is also quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.3).

812|TEXT

813|pravistena grhitanam

814|kanthe sva-nikatam striyah

815|yam manyeran nabhas tavad

816|vimana-sata-sankulam

817|divaukasam sa-daranam

818|aty-autsukya-bhrtatmanam

819|tato dundubhayo nedur

820|nipetuh puspa-vrstayah

821|SYNONYMS

822|pravistena-having entered; grhitanam-of those embracing;

>|kanthe-on the neck; sva-nikatam-situated at their own side;

>|striyah-the gopis; yam-whom; manyeran-would think; nabhah-

>|the sky; tavat-at once; vimana-of airplanes; sata-with

>|hundreds; sankulam-crowded; diva-okasam-of the demigods; sa-

>|daranam-with their wives; ati-autsukya-with eagerness;

>|bhrta-atmanam-whose minds were filled; tatah-then;

>|dundubhayah-kettledrums; neduh-sounded; nipetuh-fell; puspa-

>|vrstayah-showers of flowers.

823|TRANSLATION

824|"When the cowherd girls and Krsna thus joined together,

>|each girl thought that Krsna was dearly embracing her alone.

>|denizens of heaven and their wives, all very eager to see

>|the dance, flew in the sky in their hundreds of airplanes.

>|They showered flowers and beat sweetly on drums."

825|PURPORT

>|4).

827|Adi 1.75

828|TEXT 75

829|TEXT

830|anekatra prakatata

831|rupasyaikasya yaikada

832|sarvatha tat-svarupaiva

833|sa prakasa itiryate

834|SYNONYMS

835|anekatra-in many places; prakatata-the manifestation;

>|rupasya-of form; ekasya-one; ya-which; ekada-at one time;

>|sarvatha-in every respect; tat-His; sva-rupa-own form; eva-

>|certainly; sah-that; prakasah-manifestive form; iti-thus;

>|iryate-it is called.

836|TRANSLATION

837|"If numerous forms, all equal in their features, are

>|displayed simultaneously, such forms are called prakasa-

>|vigrahas of the Lord."

838|PURPORT

839|This is a quotation from the Laghu-bhagavatamrta (1.21),

>|compiled by Srila Rupa Gosvami.

840|Adi 1.76

841|TEXT 76

842|TEXT

843|eka-i vigraha kintu akare haya ana

844|aneka prakasa haya, 'vilasa' tara nama

845|SYNONYMS

846|eka-i-one; vigraha-form; kintu-but; akare-in appearance;

>|haya-is; ana-different; aneka-many; prakasa-manifestations;

>|haya-appear; vilasa-pastime form; tara-of that; nama-the

>|name.

847|TRANSLATION

848|But when the numerous forms are slightly different from one

>|another, they are called vilasa-vigrahas.

849|Adi 1.77

850|TEXT 77

851|TEXT

852|svarupam anyakaram yat

853|tasya bhati vilasatah

854|prayenatma-samam saktya

855|sa vilaso nigadyate

856|SYNONYMS

857|sva-rupam-the Lord's own form; anya-other; akaram-features

>|of the body; yat-which; tasya-His; bhati-appears; vilasatah-

>|from particular pastimes; prayena-almost; atma-samam-self-

>|similar; saktya-by His potency; sah-that; vilasah-the

>|vilasa (pastime) form; nigadyate-is called.

858|TRANSLATION

859|"When the Lord displays numerous forms with different

>|features by His inconceivable potency, such forms are

>|called vilasa-vigrahas."

860|PURPORT

861|This is another quotation from the Laghu-bhagavatamrta (1.

>|15).

862|Adi 1.78

863|TEXT 78

864|TEXT

865|yaiche baladeva, paravyome narayana

866|yaiche vasudeva pradyumnadi sankarsana

867|SYNONYMS

868|yaiche-just as; baladeva-Baladeva; para-vyome-in the

>|spiritual sky; narayana-Lord Narayana; yaiche-just as;

>|vasudeva-Vasudeva; pradyumna-adi-Pradyumna, etc.;

>|sankarsana-Sankarsana.

869|TRANSLATION

870|Examples of such vilasa-vigrahas are Baladeva, Narayana in

>|Vaikuntha-dhama, and the catur-vyuha-Vasudeva, Sankarsana,

>|Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

873|TEXT

874|isvarera sakti haya e-tina prakara

875|eka laksmi-gana, pure mahisi-gana ara

876|vraje gopi-gana ara sabhate pradhana

877|vrajendra-nandana ya'te svayam bhagavan

878|SYNONYMS

879|isvarera-of the Supreme Lord; sakti-energy; haya-is; e-tina-

>|these three; prakara-kinds; eka-one; laksmi-gana-the

>|goddesses of fortune in Vaikuntha; pure-in Dvaraka; mahisi-

>|gana-the queens; ara-and; vraje-in Vrndavana; gopi-gana-the

>|gopis; ara-and; sabhate-among all of them; pradhana-the

>|chief; vraja-indra-nandana-Krsna, the son of the King of

>|Vraja; ya'te-because; svayam-Himself; bhagavan-the primeval

>|Lord.

880|TRANSLATION

881|The energies [consorts] of the Supreme Lord are of three

>|kinds: the Laksmis in Vaikuntha, the queens in Dvaraka and

>|the gopis in Vrndavana. The gopis are the best of all, for

>|they have the privilege of serving Sri Krsna, the primeval

>|Lord, the son of the King of Vraja.

882|Adi 1.81

883|TEXT 81

884|TEXT

885|svayam-rupa krsnera kaya-vyuha-tanra sama

886|bhakta sahite haya tanhara avarana

887|SYNONYMS

888|svayam-rupa-His own original form (two-handed Krsna);

>|krsnera-of Lord Krsna; kaya-vyuha-personal expansions;

>|tanra-with Him; sama-equal; bhakta-the devotees; sahite-

>|associated with; haya-are; tanhara-His; avarana-covering.

889|TRANSLATION

890|The personal associates of the primeval Lord, Sri Krsna,

>|are His devotees, who are identical with Him. He is

>|complete with His entourage of devotees.

891|PURPORT

892|Sri Krsna and His various personal expansions are

>|nondifferent in potential power. These expansions are

>|associated with further, secondary expansions, or servitor

>|expansions, who are called devotees.

893|Adi 1.82

894|TEXT 82

895|TEXT

896|bhakta adi krame kaila sabhara vandana

897|e-sabhara vandana sarva-subhera karana

898|SYNONYMS

899|bhakta-the devotees; adi-and so on; krame-in order; kaila-

>|did; sabhara-of the assembly; vandana-worship; e-sabhara-of

>|this assembly; vandana-worship; sarva-subhera-of all good

>|fortune; karana-the source.

900|TRANSLATION

901|Now I have worshiped all the various levels of devotees.

>|Worshiping them is the source of all good fortune.

902|PURPORT

903|To offer prayers to the Lord, one should first offer

>|prayers to His devotees and associates.

904|Adi 1.83

905|TEXT 83

906|TEXT

907|prathama sloke kahi samanya mangalacarana

908|dvitiya slokete kari visesa vandana

909|SYNONYMS

910|prathama-first; sloke-in the verse; kahi-I express; samanya-

>|general; mangala-acarana-invocation of benediction; dvitiya-

>|second; slokete-in the verse; kari-I do; visesa-particular;

>|vandana-offering of prayers.

911|TRANSLATION

912|In the first verse I have invoked a general benediction,

>|but in the second I have prayed to the Lord in a particular

>|form.

913|Adi 1.84

914|TEXT 84

915|TEXT

916|vande sri-krsna-caitanya-

917|nityanandau sahoditau

918|gaudodaye puspavantau

919|citrau san-dau tamo-nudau

920|SYNONYMS

921|vande-I offer respectful obeisances; sri-krsna-caitanya-to

>|Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya; nityanandau-and to Lord Nityananda;

>| saha-uditau-simultaneously arisen; gauda-udaye-on the

>|eastern horizon of Gauda; puspavantau-the sun and moon

>|together; citrau-wonderful; sam-dau-bestowing benediction;

>|tamah-nudau-dissipating darkness.

922|TRANSLATION

923|"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krsna Caitanya

>|and Lord Nityananda, who are like the sun and moon. They

>|have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauda to

>|dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully

>|bestow benediction upon all."

926|TEXT

927|vraje ye vihare purve krsna-balarama

928|koti-surya-candra jini donhara nija-dhama

929|sei dui jagatere ha-iya sadaya

930|gaudadese purva-saile karila udaya

931|SYNONYMS

932|vraje-in Vraja (Vrndavana); ye-who; vihare-played; purve-

>|formerly; krsna-Lord Krsna; balarama-Lord Balarama; koti-

>|millions; surya-suns; candra-moons; jini-overcoming;

>|donhara-of the two; nija-dhama-the effulgence; sei-these;

>|dui-two; jagatere-for the universe; ha-iya-becoming; sa-

>|daya-compassionate; gauda-dese-in the country of Gauda;

>|purva-saile-on the eastern horizon; karila-did; udaya-arise.

933|TRANSLATION

934|Sri Krsna and Balarama, the Personalities of Godhead, who

>|formerly appeared in Vrndavana and were millions of times

>|more effulgent than the sun and moon, have arisen over the

>|eastern horizon of Gaudadesa [West Bengal], being

>|compassionate for the fallen state of the world.

935|Adi 1.87

936|TEXT 87

937|TEXT

938|sri-krsna-caitanya ara prabhu nityananda

939|yanhara prakase sarva jagat ananda

940|SYNONYMS

941|sri-krsna-caitanya-Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya; ara-and; prabhu

>|nityananda-Lord Nityananda; yanhara-of whom; prakase-on the

>|appearance; sarva-all; jagat-the world; ananda-full of

>|happiness.

942|TRANSLATION

943|The appearance of Sri Krsna Caitanya and Prabhu Nityananda

>|has surcharged the world with happiness.

946|TEXT

947|surya-candra hare yaiche saba andhakara

948|vastu prakasiya kare dharmera pracara

949|ei mata dui bhai jivera ajnana-

950|tamo-nasa kari' kaila tattva-vastu-dana

951|SYNONYMS

952|surya-candra-the sun and the moon; hare-drive away; yaiche-

>|just as; saba-all; andhakara-darkness; vastu-truth;

>|prakasiya-manifesting; kare-do; dharmera-of inborn nature;

>|pracara-preaching; ei mata-like this; dui-two; bhai-

>|brothers; jivera-of the living being; ajnana-of ignorance;

>|tamah-of the darkness; nasa-destruction; kari'-doing; kaila-

>|made; tattva-vastu-of the Absolute Truth; dana-gift.

953|TRANSLATION

954|As the sun and moon drive away darkness by their appearance

>|and reveal the nature of everything, these two brothers

>|dissipate the darkness of ignorance covering the living

>|Truth.

955|Adi 1.90

956|TEXT 90

957|TEXT

958|ajnana-tamera nama kahiye 'kaitava'

959|dharma-artha-kama-moksa-vancha adi saba

960|SYNONYMS

961|ajnana-tamera-of the darkness of ignorance; nama-name;

>|kahiye-I call; kaitava-cheating process; dharma-religiosity;

>| artha-economic development; kama-sense gratification;

>|moksa-liberation; vancha-desire for; adi-and so on; saba-

>|all.

962|TRANSLATION

963|The darkness of ignorance is called kaitava, the way of

>|cheating, which begins with religiosity, economic

>|development, sense gratification and liberation.

964|Adi 1.91

965|TEXT 91

966|TEXT

967|dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam

968|vedyam vastavam atra vastu siva-dam tapa-trayonmulanam

969|srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte kim va parair isvarah

970|sadyo hrdy avarudhyate 'tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat

971|SYNONYMS

972|dharmah-religiosity; projjhita-completely rejected;

>|kaitavah-in which fruitive intention; atra-herein; paramah-

>|the highest; nirmatsaranam-of the one-hundred-percent pure

>|in heart; satam-devotees; vedyam-to be understood; vastavam-

>|factual; atra-herein; vastu-substance; siva-dam-giving well-

>|causing uprooting; srimat-beautiful; bhagavate-in the

>|Bhagavata Purana; maha-muni-by the great sage (Vyasadeva);

>|krte-compiled; kim-what; va-indeed; paraih-with others;

>|isvarah-the Supreme Lord; sadyah-at once; hrdi-within the

>|heart; avarudhyate-becomes confined; atra-herein; krtibhih-

>|by pious men; susrusubhih-desiring to hear; tat-ksanat-

>|without delay.

973|TRANSLATION

974|"The great scripture Srimad-Bhagavatam, compiled by Maha-

>|muni Vyasadeva from four original verses, describes the

>|most elevated and kindhearted devotees and completely

>|rejects the cheating ways of materially motivated

>|religiosity. It propounds the highest principle of eternal

>|religion, which can factually mitigate the threefold

>|miseries of a living being and award the highest

>|benediction of full prosperity and knowledge. Those willing

>|to hear the message of this scripture in a submissive

>|attitude of service can at once capture the Supreme Lord in

>|their hearts. Therefore there is no need for any scripture

>|other than Srimad-Bhagavatam."

975|PURPORT

976|This verse appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.2). The words

>|maha-muni-krte indicate that Srimad-Bhagavatam was compiled

>|by the great sage Vyasadeva, who is sometimes known as

>|Narayana Maha-muni because he is an incarnation of Narayana.

>|empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He

>|compiled the beautiful Bhagavatam to narrate some of the

>|pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His

>|devotees.

977|In Srimad-Bhagavatam, a distinction between real religion

>|and pretentious religion has been clearly made. According

>|to this original and genuine commentation on the Vedanta-

>|sutra, there are numerous pretentious faiths that pass as

>|religion but neglect the real essence of religion. The real

>|religion of a living being is his natural inborn quality,

>|whereas pretentious religion is a form of nescience that

>|artificially covers a living entity's pure consciousness

>|under certain unfavorable conditions. Real religion lies

>|dormant when artificial religion dominates from the mental

>|plane. A living being can awaken this dormant religion by

>|hearing with a pure heart.

978|The path of religion prescribed by Srimad-Bhagavatam is

>|different from all forms of imperfect religiosity. Religion

>|can be considered in the following three divisions: (1) the

>|path of fruitive work, (2) the path of knowledge and mystic

>|powers, and (3) the path of worship and devotional service.

979|The path of fruitive work (karma-kanda), even when

>|decorated by religious ceremonies meant to elevate one's

>|material condition, is a cheating process because it can

>|never enable one to gain relief from material existence and

>|achieve the highest goal. A living entity perpetually

>|struggles hard to rid himself of the pangs of material

>|existence, but the path of fruitive work leads him to

>|either temporary happiness or temporary distress in

>|placed in a position where he can temporarily feel material

>|happiness, whereas vicious activities lead him to a

>|distressful position of material want and scarcity. However,

>|of material happiness, he cannot in that way become free

>|from the pangs of birth, death, old age and disease. A

>|materially happy person is therefore in need of the eternal

>|relief that mundane religiosity in terms of fruitive work

>|can never award.

980|The paths of the culture of knowledge (jnana-marga) and of

>|mystic powers (yoga-marga) are equally hazardous, for one

>|does not know where one will go by following these

>|uncertain methods. An empiric philosopher in search of

>|spiritual knowledge may endeavor most laboriously for many,

>|many births in mental speculation, but unless and until he

>|reaches the stage of the purest quality of goodness-in

>|other words, until he transcends the plane of material

>|speculation-it is not possible for him to know that

>|everything emanates from the Personality of Godhead

>|Vasudeva. His attachment to the impersonal feature of the

>|Supreme Lord makes him unfit to rise to that transcendental

>|stage of vasudeva understanding, and therefore because of

>|his unclean state of mind he glides down again into

>|material existence, even after having ascended to the

>|highest stage of liberation. This falldown takes place due

>|to his want of a locus standi in the service of the Supreme

>|Lord.

981|As far as the mystic powers of the yogis are concerned,

>|they are also material entanglements on the path of

>|spiritual realization. One German scholar who became a

>|devotee of Godhead in India said that material science had

>|already made laudable progress in duplicating the mystic

>|powers of the yogis. He therefore came to India not to

>|learn the methods of the yogis' mystic powers but to learn

>|the path of transcendental loving service to the Supreme

>|Lord, as mentioned in the great scripture Srimad-Bhagavatam.

>| Mystic powers can make a yogi materially powerful and thus

>|give temporary relief from the miseries of birth, death,

>|old age and disease, as other material sciences can also do,

>| but such mystic powers can never be a permanent source of

>|relief from these miseries. Therefore, according to the

>|Bhagavata school, this path of religiosity is also a method

>|of cheating its followers. In the Bhagavad-gita it is

>|clearly defined that the most elevated and powerful mystic

>|within his heart and engage in the loving service of the

>|Lord.

982|The path of worship of the innumerable devas, or

>|administrative demigods, is still more hazardous and

>|uncertain than the above-mentioned processes of karma-kanda

>|and jnana-kanda. This system of worshiping many gods, such

>|as Durga, Siva, Ganesa, Surya and the impersonal Visnu form,

>| is accepted by persons who have been blinded by an intense

>|desire for sense gratification. When properly executed in

>|terms of the rites mentioned in the sastras, which are now

>|very difficult to perform in this age of want and scarcity,

>|such worship can certainly fulfill one's desires for sense

>|gratification, but the success obtained by such methods is

>|certainly transient, and it is suitable only for a less

>|intelligent person. That is the verdict of the Bhagavad-

>|gita. No sane man should be satisfied by such temporary

>|benefits.

983|None of the above-mentioned three religious paths can

>|deliver a person from the threefold miseries of material

>|existence, namely, miseries caused by the body and mind,

>|miseries caused by other living entities, and miseries

>|caused by the demigods. The process of religion described

>|in Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, is able to give its

>|followers permanent relief from the threefold miseries. The

>|Bhagavatam describes the highest religious form-

>|reinstatement of the living entity in his original position

>|of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord, which

>|is free from the infections of desires for sense

>|gratification, fruitive work, and the culture of knowledge

>|with the aim of merging into the Absolute to become one

>|with the Supreme Lord.

984|Any process of religiosity based on sense gratification,

>|gross or subtle, must be considered a pretentious religion

>|because it is unable to give perpetual protection to its

>|complete," and ujjhita indicates rejection. Religiosity in

>|the shape of fruitive work is directly a method of gross

>|sense gratification, whereas the process of culturing

>|spiritual knowledge with a view to becoming one with the

>|Absolute is a method of subtle sense gratification. All

>|such pretentious religiosity based on gross or subtle sense

>|gratification is completely rejected in the process of

>|bhagavata-dharma, or the transcendental religion that is

>|the eternal function of the living being.

985|Bhagavata-dharma, or the religious principle described in

>|Srimad-Bhagavatam, of which the Bhagavad-gita is a

>|preliminary study, is meant for liberated persons of the

>|gratification of pretentious religiosity. The first and

>|foremost concern of fruitive workers, elevationists,

>|empiric philosophers and salvationists is to raise their

>|material position. But devotees of Godhead have no such

>|selfish desires. They serve the Supreme Lord only for His

>|satisfaction. Sri Arjuna, wanting to satisfy his senses by

>|becoming a so-called nonviolent and pious man, at first

>|decided not to fight. But when he was fully situated in the

>|principles of bhagavata-dharma, culminating in complete

>|surrender unto the will of the Supreme Lord, he changed his

>|decision and agreed to fight for the satisfaction of the

>|Lord. He then said:

986|nasto mohah smrtir labdha

987|tvat-prasadan mayacyuta

988|sthito 'smi gata-sandehah

989|karisye vacanam tava

990|"My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone.

>|I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and

>|free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your

>|instructions." (Bg. 18.73) It is the constitutional

>|consciousness. Any so-called religious process that

>|interferes with this unadulterated spiritual position of

>|the living being must therefore be considered a pretentious

>|process of religiosity.

991|The real form of religion is spontaneous loving service to

>|Godhead. This relationship of the living being with the

>|Absolute Personality of Godhead in service is eternal. The

>|Personality of Godhead is described as vastu, or the

>|Substance, and the living entities are described as

>|vastavas, or the innumerable samples of the Substance in

>|relative existence. The relationship of these substantive

>|portions with the Supreme Substance can never be

>|annihilated, for it is an eternal quality inherent in the

>|living being.

992|By contact with material nature the living entities exhibit

>|varied symptoms of the disease of material consciousness.

>|To cure this material disease is the supreme object of

>|human life. The process that treats this disea