1|Adi 7-1975: Lord Caitanya in Five Features
2|Chapter 7
3|Lord Caitanya in Five Features
4|Adi 7.1
5|TEXT 1
6|TEXT
7|agaty-eka-gatim natva
8|hinarthadhika-sadhakam
9|sri-caitanyam likhyate 'sya
10|prema-bhakti-vadanyata
11|SYNONYMS
12|agati-of the most fallen; eka-the only one; gatim-
>|destination; natva-after offering obeisances; hina-inferior;
>| artha-interest; adhika-greater than that; sadhakam-who can
>|render; sri-caitanyam-unto Lord Sri Caitanya; likhyate-is
>|being written; asya-of the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
>|prema-love; bhakti-devotional service; vadanyata-
>|magnanimity.
13|TRANSLATION
14|Let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the ultimate goal of life for
>|one bereft of all possessions in this material world and is
>|the only meaning for one advancing in spiritual life. Thus
>|let me write about His magnanimous contribution of
>|devotional service in love of God.
15|PURPORT
16|A person in the conditioned stage of material existence is
>|in an atmosphere of helplessness, but the conditioned soul,
>|under the illusion of maya, or the external energy, thinks
>|that he is completely protected by his country, society,
>|friendship and love, not knowing that at the time of death
>|none of these can save him. The laws of material nature are
>|so strong that none of our material possessions can save us
>|from the cruel hands of death. In the Bhagavad-gita (13.9)
>|it is stated, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam:
>| one who is actually advancing must always consider the
>|four principles of miserable life, namely, birth, death,
>|old age and disease. One cannot be saved from all these
>|miseries unless he takes shelter of the lotus feet of the
>|Lord. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore the only shelter
>|for all conditioned souls. An intelligent person, therefore,
>| does not put his faith in any material possessions, but
>|completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
>|Such a person is called akincana, or one who does not
>|possess anything in this material world. The Supreme
>|Personality of Godhead is also known as Akincana-gocara,
>|for He can be achieved by a person who does not put his
>|faith in material possessions. Therefore, for the fully
>|surrendered soul who has no material possessions on which
>|to depend, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the only shelter.
17|Everyone depends upon dharma (religiosity), artha (economic
>|development), kama (sense gratification) and ultimately
>|moksa (salvation), but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, due to His
>|magnanimous character, can give more than salvation.
>|Therefore in this verse the words hinarthadhika-sadhakam
>|indicate that although by material estimation salvation is
>|of a quality superior to the inferior interests of
>|religiosity, economic development and sense gratification,
>|above salvation there is the position of devotional service
>|and transcendental love for the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the bestower of this
>|great benediction. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prema pum-
>|artho mahan: "Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction
>|for all human beings." Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami,
>|the author of Caitanya-caritamrta, therefore first
>|offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu before describing His magnanimity in bestowing
>|love of Godhead.
18|Adi 7.2
19|TEXT 2
20|TEXT
21|jaya jaya mahaprabhu sri-krsna-caitanya
22|tanhara caranasrita, sei bada dhanya
23|SYNONYMS
24|jaya-all glories; jaya-all glories; mahaprabhu-unto the
>|Supreme Lord; sri-krsna-caitanya-of the name Sri Krsna
>|Caitanya; tanhara-of His; carana-asrita-one who has taken
>|shelter of the lotus feet; sei-he; bada-is very much;
>|dhanya-glorified.
25|TRANSLATION
26|Let me offer glorification to the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu. One who has taken shelter of His lotus feet is
>|the most glorified person.
27|PURPORT
28|Prabhu means master. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the supreme
>|master of all masters; therefore He is called Mahaprabhu.
>|Any person who takes shelter of Sri Krsna Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu is most glorified because by the mercy of Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu he is able to get promotion to the
>|platform of loving service to the Lord, which is
>|transcendental to salvation.
29|Adi 7.3
30|TEXT 3
31|TEXT
32|purve gurv-adi chaya tattve kaila namaskara
33|guru-tattva kahiyachi, ebe pancera vicara
34|SYNONYMS
35|purve-in the beginning; guru-adi-the spiritual master and
>|others; chaya-six; tattve-in the subjects of; kaila-I have
>|done; namaskara-obeisances; guru-tattva-the truth in
>|understanding the spiritual master; kahiyachi-I have
>|already described; ebe-now; pancera-of the five; vicara-
>|consideration.
36|TRANSLATION
37|In the beginning I have discussed the truth about the
>|spiritual master. Now I shall try to explain the Panca-
>|tattva.
38|PURPORT
39|In the First Chapter of Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila,
>|the author, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, has described
>|the initiator spiritual master and the instructor spiritual
>|master in the verse beginning with the words vande gurun
>|isa-bhaktan isam isavatarakan . In that verse
>|there are six transcendental subject matters, of which the
>|truth regarding the spiritual master has already been
>|described. Now the author will describe the other five
>|tattvas (truths), namely, isa-tattva (the Supreme Lord),
>|His expansion tattva, His incarnation tattva, His energy
>|tattva and His devotee tattva.
40|Adi 7.4
41|TEXT 4
42|TEXT
43|panca-tattva avatirna caitanyera sange
44|panca-tattva lana karena sankirtana range
45|SYNONYMS
46|panca-tattva-these five tattvas; avatirna-advented;
>|caitanyera-with Caitanya Mahaprabhu; sange-in company with;
>|panca-tattva-the same five subjects; lana-taking with
>|Himself; karena-He does; sankirtana-the sankirtana movement;
>| range-in great pleasure.
47|TRANSLATION
48|These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
>|and thus the Lord executes His sankirtana movement with
>|great pleasure.
49|PURPORT
50|In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is the following
>|statement regarding Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
51|krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
52|sangopangastra -parsadam
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53|yajnaih
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>|sankirtana- prayair
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54|yajanti hi su
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>|-medhasah
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55|"In the Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient
>|intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by
>|His associates, by performance of sankirtana-yajna." (Bhag.
>|11.5.32) Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is always accompanied by
>|His plenary expansion Sri Nityananda Prabhu, His
>|incarnation Sri Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Sri
>|Gadadhara Prabhu and His marginal potency Srivasa Prabhu.
>|He is in the midst of them as the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead. One should know that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is
>|always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our
>|obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are complete when we
>|say sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita
>|gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. As preachers of the
>|Krsna consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances
>|to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting this Panca-tattva
>|mantra; then we say Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna,
>|Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. There
>|are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-
>|mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the
>|Panca-tattva mantra, namely, sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-
>|nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-
>|vrnda. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as maha-
>|vadanyavatara, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He
>|does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to
>|derive the full benefit of the chanting of the maha-mantra (
>|Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama,
>|Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare), we must first take
>|shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, learn the Panca-tattva
>|maha-mantra, and then chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
>|That will be very effective.
56|Taking advantage of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many
>|unscrupulous devotees manufacture a maha-mantra of their
>|own. Sometimes they sing, bhaja nitai gaura radhe syama
>|hare krsna hare rama or sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-
>|nityananda hare krsna hare rama sri-radhe govinda. Actually,
>| however, one should chant the names of the full Panca-
>|tattva (sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita
>|gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda) and then the
>|sixteen words Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare
>|Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, but these
>|unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire
>|process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can
>|express their feelings in that way, but the method
>|prescribed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pure devotees is to
>|chant first the full Panca-tattva mantra and then chant the
>|maha-mantra-Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare
>|Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
57|Adi 7.5
58|TEXT 5
59|TEXT
60|panca-tattva-eka-vastu, nahi kichu bheda
61|rasa asvadite tabu vividha vibheda
62|SYNONYMS
63|panca-tattva-the five subjects; eka-vastu-they are one in
>|five; nahi-there is not; kichu-anything; bheda-difference;
>|rasa-mellows; asvadite-to taste; tabu-yet; vividha-
>|varieties; vibheda-differences.
64|TRANSLATION
65|Spiritually there are no differences between these five
>|tattvas, for on the transcendental platform everything is
>|absolute. Yet there are also varieties in the spiritual
>|world, and in order to taste these spiritual varieties one
>|should distinguish between them.
66|PURPORT
67|In his Anubhasya commentary Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
>|Thakura describes the Panca-tattva as follows: The supreme
>|energetic, the Personality of Godhead, manifesting in
>|five kinds of pastimes, appears as the
>|Panca-tattva. Actually there is no difference between
>|them because they are situated on the absolute platform,
>|but they manifest different spiritual varieties as a
>|challenge to impersonalists to taste different kinds of
>|spiritual humors (rasas). In the Vedas it is said, parasya
>|saktir vividhaiva sruyate: "The
>|varieties of energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
>|are differently known." From this statement of the Vedas
>|one can understand that there are eternal varieties of
>|humors, or tastes, in the spiritual world. Sri Gauranga,
>|Sri Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Sri Gadadhara and Srivasa
>|are all on the same platform, but in spiritually
>|distinguishing between them one should understand that Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the form of a devotee, Nityananda
>|Prabhu appears in the form of a devotee's spiritual master,
>|Advaita Prabhu is the form of a bhakta (devotee)
>|incarnation, Gadadhara Prabhu is the energy of a bhakta,
>|and Srivasa is a pure devotee. Thus there are
>|spiritual distinctions between them. The bhakta-rupa (Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu), the bhakta-svarupa (Sri Nityananda
>|Prabhu) and the bhakta-avatara (Sri Advaita Prabhu) are
>|described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself,
>|His immediate manifestation and His plenary expansion, and
>|They all belong to the Visnu category. Although the
>|spiritual and marginal energies of the Supreme Personality
>|of Godhead are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead Visnu, they are predominated subjects, whereas Lord
>|Visnu is the predominator. As such, although they are on
>|the same platform, they have appeared differently in order
>|to facilitate tasting of transcendental mellows. Actually,
>|however, there is no possibility of one being different
>|from the other, for the worshiper and the worshipable
>|cannot be separated at any stage. On the absolute platform,
>|one cannot be understood without the other.
68|Adi 7.6
69|TEXT 6
70|TEXT
71|panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
72|bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
73|bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
74|namami bhakta-saktikam
75|SYNONYMS
76|panca-tattva-atmakam-comprehending the five transcendental
>|subject matters; krsnam-unto Lord Krsna; bhakta-rupa-in the
>|form of a devotee; svarupakam-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.
77|TRANSLATION
78|Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, who has
>|manifested Himself in five as a devotee, expansion of a
>|devotee, incarnation of a devotee, pure devotee and
>|devotional energy.
79|PURPORT
80|Sri Nityananda Prabhu is the immediate expansion of Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu as His brother. He is the personified
>|spiritual bliss of sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. His
>|body is transcendental and full of ecstasy in devotional
>|service. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore called bhakta-
>|rupa (the form of a devotee), and Sri Nityananda Prabhu is
>|called bhakta-svarupa (the expansion of a devotee). Sri
>|Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of a devotee, is visnu-
>|tattva and belongs to the same category. There are also
>|different types of bhaktas, or devotees, on the platforms
>|of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood and
>|conjugal love. Devotees like Sri Damodara, Sri Gadadhara
>|and Sri Ramananda are different energies. This confirms the
>|Vedic sutra parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate
>|. All these bhakta subjects taken together
>|constitute Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krsna Himself.
81|Adi 7.7
82|TEXT 7
83|TEXT
84|svayam bhagavan krsna ekale isvara
85|advitiya, nandatmaja, rasika-sekhara
86|SYNONYMS
87|svayam-Himself; bhagavan-the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
>| krsna-Lord Krsna; ekale-the only one; isvara-the supreme
>|controller; advitiya-without a second; nanda-atmaja-
>|appeared as the son of Maharaja Nanda; rasika-the most
>|mellow; sekhara-summit.
88|TRANSLATION
89|Krsna, the reservoir of all pleasure, is the Supreme
>|Personality of Godhead Himself, the supreme controller. No
>|one is greater than or equal to Sri Krsna, yet He appears
>|as the son of Maharaja Nanda.
90|PURPORT
91|In this verse Kaviraja Gosvami gives an accurate
>|description of Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead, by stating that although no one is equal to or
>|greater than Him and He is the reservoir of all spiritual
>|pleasure, He nevertheless appears as the son of Maharaja
>|Nanda and Yasodamayi.
92|Adi 7.8
93|TEXT 8
94|TEXT
95|rasadi-vilasi, vrajalalana-nagara
96|ara yata saba dekha,-tanra parikara
97|SYNONYMS
98|rasa-adi-the rasa dance; vilasi-the enjoyer; vraja-lalana-
>|the damsels of Vrndavana; nagara-the leader; ara-others;
>|yata-all; saba-everyone; dekha-must know; tanra-His;
>|parikara-associates.
99|TRANSLATION
100|Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the
>|supreme enjoyer in the rasa dance. He is the leader of the
>|damsels of Vraja, and all others are simply His associates.
101|PURPORT
102|The word rasadi-vilasi ("the enjoyer of the rasa dance") is
>|very important. The rasa dance can be enjoyed only by Sri
>|Krsna because He is the supreme leader and chief of the
>|damsels of Vrndavana. All other devotees are His
>| associates. Although no one can compare with
>|Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there are
>|many unscrupulous rascals who imitate the rasa dance of Sri
>|Krsna. They are Mayavadis, and people should be wary of
>|them. The rasa dance can be performed only by Sri Krsna and
>|no one else.
103|Adi 7.9
104|TEXT 9
105|TEXT
106|sei krsna avatirna sri-krsna-caitanya
107|sei parikara-gana sange saba dhanya
108|SYNONYMS
109|sei krsna-that very Lord Krsna; avatirna-has advented; sri-
>|krsna-caitanya-in the form of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; sei-
>|those; parikara-gana-associates; sange-with Him; saba-all;
>|dhanya-glorious.
110|TRANSLATION
111|The selfsame Lord Krsna advented Himself as Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu with all His eternal associates, who are also
>|equally glorious.
112|Adi 7.10
113|TEXT 10
114|TEXT
115|ekale isvara-tattva caitanya-isvara
116|bhakta-bhavamaya tanra suddha kalevara
117|SYNONYMS
118|ekale-only one person; isvara-tattva-the supreme controller;
>| caitanya-the supreme living force; isvara-controller;
>|bhakta-bhava-maya-in the ecstasy of a devotee; tanra-His;
>|suddha-transcendental; kalevara-body.
119|TRANSLATION
120|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the supreme controller, the
>|one Personality of Godhead, has ecstatically become a
>|devotee, yet His body is transcendental and not materially
>|tinged.
121|PURPORT
122|There are different tattvas, or truths, including isa-
>|tattva, jiva-tattva and sakti-tattva. Isa-tattva refers to
>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu, who is the
>|supreme living force. In the Katha Upanisad it is said,
>|nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam: the Supreme Personality
>|of Godhead is the supreme eternal and the supreme living
>|force. The living entities are also eternal and are also
>|living forces, but they are very minute in quantity,
>|whereas the Supreme Lord is the supreme living force and
>|the supreme eternal. The supreme eternal never accepts a
>|body of a temporary material nature, whereas the living
>|entities, who are part and parcel of the supreme eternal,
>|are prone to do so. Thus according to the Vedic mantras the
>|Supreme Lord is the supreme master of innumerable living
>|entities.
123|The Mayavadi philosophers, however, try to equate the
>|minute living entities with the supreme living entity.
>|Because they recognize no distinctions between them, their
>|philosophy is called Advaita-vada, or monism. Factually,
>|however, there is a distinction. This verse is especially
>|meant to impart to the Mayavadi philosopher the
>|understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
>|the supreme controller. The supreme controller, the
>|Personality of Godhead, is Krsna Himself, but as a
>|transcendental pastime He has accepted the form of a
>|devotee, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
124|As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, when the Supreme
>|Personality of Godhead Krsna comes to this planet exactly
>|like a human being, some rascals consider Him to be one of
>|the ordinary humans. One who thinks in that mistaken way is
>|described as mudha, or foolish. Therefore one should not
>|foolishly consider Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be an ordinary
>|human being. He has accepted the ecstasy of a devotee, but
>|He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu, there have been many imitation
>|incarnations of Krsna who cannot understand that Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself and not an ordinary human being.
>| Less intelligent men create their own "Gods" by
>|advertising a human being as God. This is their mistake.
>|Therefore here the words tanra suddha kalevara warn that
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu's body is not material but purely
>|spiritual. One should not, therefore, accept Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu as an ordinary devotee, although He has assumed
>|the form of a devotee. Yet one must certainly know that
>|although Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead, because He accepted the ecstasy of a devotee one
>|should not misunderstand His pastimes and place Him in
>|exactly the same position as Krsna. It is for this reason
>|only that when Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was addressed
>|as Krsna or Visnu He blocked His ears, not wanting to hear
>|Himself addressed as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
>|There is a class of devotees called Gauranga-nagari, who
>|stage plays of Krsna's pastimes using a vigraha, or form,
>|of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is a mistake that is
>|technically called rasabhasa. While Caitanya Mahaprabhu is
>|trying to enjoy as a devotee, one should not disturb Him by
>|addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
125|Adi 7.11
126|TEXT 11
127|TEXT
128|krsna-madhuryera eka adbhuta svabhava
129|apana asvadite krsna kare bhakta-bhava
130|SYNONYMS
131|krsna-madhuryera-the supreme pleasure potency of Krsna; eka-
>|is one; adbhuta-wonderful; svabhava-nature; apana-Himself;
>|asvadite-to taste; krsna-the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
>| kare-does; bhakta-bhava-accept the form of a devotee.
132|TRANSLATION
133|The transcendental mellow of conjugal love of Krsna is so
>|wonderful that Krsna Himself accepts the form of a devotee
>|to relish and taste it fully.
134|PURPORT
135|Although Krsna is the reservoir of all pleasure, He has a
>|special intention to taste Himself by accepting the form of
>|a devotee. It is to be concluded that although Lord
>|Caitanya is present in the form of a devotee, He is Krsna
>|Himself. Therefore Vaisnavas sing, sri-krsna-caitanya radha-
>|krsna nahe anya: Radha and Krsna combined together are Sri
>|Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna
>|tad-dvayam caikyam aptam. Sri Svarupa -damodara Gosvami
>|has said that
>| Radha and Krsna assumed oneness in the form
>|of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
136|Adi 7.12
137|TEXT 12
138|TEXT
139|ithe bhakta-bhava dhare caitanya gosani
140|'bhakta-svarupa' tanra nityananda-bhai
141|SYNONYMS
142|ithe-for this reason; bhakta-bhava-the ecstasy of a devotee;
>| dhare-accepts; caitanya-Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; gosani-
>|the transcendental teacher; bhakta-svarupa-exactly like a
>|pure devotee; tanra-His; nityananda-Lord Nityananda; bhai-
>|brother.
143|TRANSLATION
144|For this reason Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the supreme
>|teacher, accepts the form of a devotee and accepts Lord
>|Nityananda as His elder brother.
145|Adi 7.13
146|TEXT 13
147|TEXT
148|'bhakta-avatara' tanra acarya-gosani
149|ei tina tattva sabe prabhu kari' gai
150|SYNONYMS
151|bhakta-avatara-incarnation as a devotee; tanra-His; acarya-
>|gosani-the supreme teacher, Advaita Acarya Prabhu; ei-all
>|these; tina-three; tattva-truths; sabe-all; prabhu-the
>|predominator; kari'-by such understanding; gai-we sing.
152|TRANSLATION
153|Sri Advaita Acarya is Lord Caitanya's incarnation as a
>|devotee. Therefore these three tattvas [Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
>| Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Gosani] are the
>|predominators, or masters.
154|PURPORT
155|Gosani means gosvami. A person who has full control over
>|the senses and mind is called a gosvami or gosani. One who
>|does not have such control is called godasa, or a servant
>|of the senses, and cannot become a spiritual master. A
>|spiritual master who actually has control over the mind and
>|senses is called Gosvami. Although the Gosvami title has
>|become a hereditary designation for unscrupulous men,
>|actually the title Gosani, or Gosvami, began from Sri Rupa
>|Gosvami, who presented himself as an ordinary grhastha and
>|minister in government service but became gosvami when he
>|was actually elevated by the instruction of Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu. Therefore Gosvami is not a hereditary title but
>|refers to one's qualifications. When one is highly elevated
>|in spiritual advancement, regardless of wherefrom he comes,
>|he may be called Gosvami. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri
>|Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Advaita Gosani Prabhu are natural
>|gosvamis because They belong to the visnu-tattva category.
>|As such, all of Them are prabhus ("predominators" or "
>|masters"), and They are sometimes called Caitanya Gosani,
>|Nityananda Gosani and Advaita Gosani. Unfortunately Their
>|so-called descendants who do not have the qualifications of
>|gosvamis have accepted this title as a hereditary
>|designation or a professional degree. That is not in accord
>|with the sastric injunctions.
156|Adi 7.14
157|TEXT 14
158|TEXT
159|eka mahaprabhu, ara prabhu duijana
160|dui prabhu seve mahaprabhura carana
161|SYNONYMS
162|eka mahaprabhu-one Mahaprabhu, or the supreme predominator;
>|ara prabhu duijana-and the other two (Nityananda and
>|Advaita) are two prabhus (masters); dui prabhu-the two
>|prabhus (Nityananda and Advaita Gosani); seve-serve;
>|mahaprabhura-of the supreme predominator, Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu; carana-the lotus feet.
163|TRANSLATION
164|One of Them is Mahaprabhu, and the other two are prabhus.
>|These two prabhus serve the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.
165|PURPORT
166|Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu and
>|Sri Advaita Prabhu all belong to the same Visnu category,
>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is nevertheless accepted as the
>|Supreme, and the other two prabhus engage in His
>|transcendental loving service to teach ordinary living
>|entities that every one of us is subordinate to Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In another place in Caitanya-
>|caritamrta (Adi 5.142) it is said, ekale isvara krsna, ara
>|saba bhrtya: the only supreme master is Krsna, and all
>|others, both visnu-tattva and jiva-tattva, engage in the
>|service of the Lord. Both the visnu-tattva (as Nityananda
>|Prabhu and Advaita) and the jiva-tattva (srivasadi-gaura-
>|bhakta-vrnda) engage in the service of the Lord, but one
>|must distinguish between the visnu-tattva servitors and the
>|jiva-tattva servitors. The jiva-tattva servitor, the
>|spiritual master, is actually the servitor God. As
>|explained in previous verses, in the absolute world there
>|are no such differences, yet one must observe these
>|differences in order to distinguish the Supreme from His
>|subordinates.
167|Adi 7.15
168|TEXT 15
169|TEXT
170|ei tina tattva,-'sarvaradhya' kari mani
171|caturtha ye bhakta-tattva,-'aradhaka' jani
172|SYNONYMS
173|ei tina tattva-all three of these truths; sarva-aradhya-
>|worshipable by all living entities; kari mani-accepting
>|such; caturtha-fourth; ye-who is; bhakta-tattva-in the
>|category of devotees; aradhaka-worshiper; jani-I understand.
174|TRANSLATION
175|The three predominators [Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda
>|Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu] are worshipable by all living
>|entities, and the fourth principle [Sri Gadadhara Prabhu]
>|is to be understood as Their worshiper.
176|PURPORT
177|In his Anubhasya, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
>|describing the truth about the Panca-tattva, explains that
>|we can understand that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is
>|the supreme predominator and that Nityananda Prabhu and
>|Advaita Prabhu are His subordinates but are also
>|predominators. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme
>|Lord, and Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu are
>|manifestations of the Supreme Lord. All of Them are visnu-
>|tattva, the Supreme, and are therefore worshipable by the
>|living entities. Although the other two tattvas within the
>|category of Panca-tattva-namely, sakti-tattva and jiva-
>|tattva, represented by Gadadhara and Srivasa-are worshipers
>|of the Supreme Lord, they are in the same category because
>|they eternally engage in the transcendental loving service
>|of the Lord.
178|Adi 7.16
179|TEXT 16
180|TEXT
181|srivasadi yata koti koti bhakta-gana
182|'suddha-bhakta'-tattva-madhye tan-sabara ganana
183|SYNONYMS
184|srivasa-adi-devotees headed by Srivasa Thakura; yata-all
>|others; koti koti-innumerable; bhakta-gana-devotees; suddha-
>|bhakta-pure devotees; tattva-madhye-in the truth; tan-
>|sabara-all of them; ganana-counted.
185|TRANSLATION
186|There are innumerable pure devotees of the Lord, headed by
>|Srivasa Thakura, who are known as unalloyed devotees.
187|Adi 7.17
188|TEXT 17
189|TEXT
190|gadadhara-panditadi prabhura 'sakti'-avatara
191|'antaranga-bhakta' kari' ganana yanhara
192|SYNONYMS
193|gadadhara-of the name Gadadhara; pandita-of the learned
>|scholar; adi-headed by; prabhura-of the Lord; sakti-potency;
>| avatara-incarnation; antaranga-very confidential; bhakta-
>|devotee; kari'-accepting; ganana-counting; yanhara-of whom.
194|TRANSLATION
195|The devotees headed by Gadadhara Pandita are to be
>|considered incarnations of the internal potency of the Lord.
>| They are confidential devotees engaged in the service of
>|the Lord.
196|PURPORT
197|In connection with verses sixteen and seventeen, Sri
>|Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains in his Anubhasya:
>| "There are specific symptoms by which the internal
>|devotees and the unalloyed or pure devotees are to be known.
>| All unalloyed devotees are sakti-tattvas, or potencies of
>|the Lord. Some of them are situated in conjugal love and
>|others in filial affection, fraternity and servitude.
>|Certainly all of them are devotees, but by making a
>|comparative study it is found that the devotees or
>|potencies who are engaged in conjugal love are better
>|situated than the others. Thus devotees who are in a
>|relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in
>|conjugal love are considered to be the most confidential
>|devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Those who engage
>|in the service of Lord Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Advaita
>|Prabhu generally have relationships of parental love,
>|fraternity, servitude and neutrality. When such devotees
>|develop great attachment for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they
>|too become situated within the intimate circle of devotees
>|in conjugal love." This gradual development of devotional
>|service is described by Sri Narottama dasa Thakura as
>|follows:
198|gauranga balite habe pulaka sarira
199|hari hari balite nayane ba'be nira
200|ara kabe nitaicanda karuna karibe
201|samsara-vasana mora kabe tuccha habe
202|visaya chadiya kabe suddha habe mana
203|kabe hama heraba sri-vrndavana
204|rupa-raghunatha-pade ha-ibe akuti
205|kabe hama bujhaba sri-yugala-piriti
206|"When will there be eruptions on my body as soon as I chant
>|the name of Lord Caitanya, and when will there be incessant
>|torrents of tears as soon as I chant the holy names Hare
>|Krsna? When will Lord Nityananda be merciful toward me and
>|free me from all desires for material enjoyment? When will
>|my mind be completely freed from all contamination of
>|desires for material pleasure? Only at that time will it be
>|possible for me to understand Vrndavana. Only if I become
>|attached to the instructions given by the six Gosvamis,
>|headed by Rupa Gosvami and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, will it
>|be possible for me to understand the conjugal love of Radha
>|and Krsna." By attachment to the devotional service of Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu one immediately comes to the ecstatic
>|position. When he develops his love for Nityananda Prabhu
>|he is freed from all attachment to the material world, and
>|at that time he becomes eligible to understand the Lord's
>|pastimes in Vrndavana. In that condition, when one develops
>|his love for the six Gosvamis, he can understand the
>|conjugal love between Radha and Krsna. These are the
>|different stages of a pure devotee's promotion to conjugal
>|love in the service of Radha and Krsna in an intimate
>|relationship with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
207|Adi 7.18-19
208|TEXTS 18-19
209|TEXT
210|yan-saba lana prabhura nitya vihara
211|yan-saba lana prabhura kirtana-pracara
212|yan-saba lana karena prema asvadana
213|yan-saba lana dana kare prema-dhana
214|SYNONYMS
215|yan-saba-all; lana-taking company; prabhura-of the Lord;
>|nitya-eternal; vihara-pastime; yan-saba-all those who are;
>|lana-taking company; prabhura-of the Lord; kirtana-
>|sankirtana; pracara-movement; yan-saba-persons with whom;
>|lana-in accompaniment; karena-He does; prema-love of God;
>|asvadana-taste; yan-saba-those who are; lana-in
>|accompaniment; dana kare-gives in charity; prema-dhana-love
>|of Godhead.
216|TRANSLATION
217|The internal devotees or potencies are all eternal
>|associates in the pastimes of the Lord. Only with them does
>|the Lord advent to propound the sankirtana movement, only
>|with them does the Lord taste the mellow of conjugal love,
>|and only with them does He distribute this love of God to
>|people in general.
218|PURPORT
219|Distinguishing between pure devotees and internal or
>|confidential devotees, Sri Rupa Gosvami, in his book
>|Upadesamrta, traces the following gradual process of
>|development. Out of many thousands of karmis, one is better
>|when he is situated in perfect Vedic knowledge. Out of many
>|such learned scholars and philosophers, one who is actually
>|liberated from material bondage is better, and out of many
>|such persons who are actually liberated, one who is a
>|devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is considered
>|to be the best. Among the many such transcendental lovers
>|of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the gopis are the
>|best, and among the gopis Srimati Radhika is the best.
>|Srimati Radhika is very dear to Lord Krsna, and similarly
>|Her ponds, namely, Syama-kunda and Radha-kunda, are also
>|very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
220|Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments in his
>|Anubhasya that among the five tattvas, two are energies (
>|sakti-tattva) and the three others are energetic (saktiman
>|tattva). Unalloyed and internal devotees are both engaged
>|in the favorable culture of Krsna consciousness untinged by
>|philosophical speculation or fruitive activities. They are
>|all understood to be pure devotees, and those among them
>|who simply engage in conjugal love are called madhurya-
>|bhaktas, or internal devotees. The loving services in
>|parental love, fraternity and servitude are included in
>|conjugal love of God. In conclusion, therefore, every
>|confidential devotee is a pure devotee of the Lord.
221|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu enjoys His pastimes with His
>|immediate expansion Nityananda Prabhu. His pure devotees
>|and His three purusa incarnations, namely, Karanodakasayi
>|Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu, always
>|accompany the Supreme Lord to propound the sankirtana
>|movement.
222|Adi 7.20-21
223|TEXTS 20-21
224|TEXT
225|sei panca-tattva mili' prthivi asiya
226|purva-premabhandarera mudra ughadiya
227|pance mili' lute prema, kare asvadana
228|yata yata piye, trsna badhe anuksana
229|SYNONYMS
230|sei-those; panca-tattva-five truths; mili'-combined
>|together; prthivi-on this earth; asiya-descending; purva-
>|original; prema-bhandarera-the store of transcendental love;
>| mudra-seal; ughadiya-opening; pance mili'-mixing together
>|all these five; lute-plunder; prema-love of Godhead; kare
>|asvadana-taste; yata yata-as much as; piye-drink; trsna-
>|thirst; badhe-increases; anuksana-again and again.
231|TRANSLATION
232|The characteristics of Krsna are understood to be a
>|storehouse of transcendental love. Although that storehouse
>|of love certainly came with Krsna when He was present, it
>|was sealed. But when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came with His
>|other associates of the Panca-tattva, they broke the seal
>|and plundered the storehouse to taste transcendental love
>|of Krsna. The more they tasted it, the more their thirst
>|for it grew.
233|PURPORT
234|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is called maha-vadanyavatara
>|because although He is Sri Krsna Himself, He is even more
>|favorably disposed to the poor fallen souls than Lord Sri
>|Krsna. When Lord Sri Krsna Himself was personally present
>|He demanded that everyone surrender unto Him and promised
>|that He would then give one all protection, but when Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to this earth with His associates,
>|He simply distributed transcendental love of God without
>|discrimination. Sri Rupa Gosvami, therefore, could
>|understand that Lord Caitanya was none other than Sri Krsna
>|Himself, for no one but the Supreme Personality of Godhead
>|can distribute confidential love of the Supreme Person.
235|Adi 7.22
236|TEXT 22
237|TEXT
238|punah punah piyaiya haya mahamatta
239|nace, kande, hase, gaya, yaiche mada-matta
240|SYNONYMS
241|punah punah-again and again; piyaiya-causing to drink; haya-
>|becomes; maha-matta-highly ecstatic; nace-dances; kande-
>|cries; hase-laughs; gaya-chants; yaiche-as if; mada-matta-
>|one is drunk.
242|TRANSLATION
243|Sri Panca-tattva themselves danced again and again and thus
>|made it easier to drink nectarean love of Godhead. They
>|danced, cried, laughed and chanted like madmen, and in this
>|way they distributed love of Godhead.
244|PURPORT
245|People generally cannot understand the actual meaning of
>|chanting and dancing. Describing the Gosvamis, Sri
>|Srinivasa Acarya stated, krsnotkirtana-gana-nartana-parau:
>|not only did Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates
>|demonstrate this chanting and dancing, but the six Gosvamis
>|also followed in the next generation. The present Krsna
>|consciousness movement follows the same principle, and
>|therefore simply by chanting and dancing we have received
>|good responses all over the world. It is to be understood,
>|however, that this chanting and dancing do not belong to
>|this material world. They are actually transcendental
>|activities, for the more one engages in chanting and
>|dancing, the more he can taste the nectar of transcendental
>|love of Godhead.
246|Adi 7.23
247|TEXT 23
248|TEXT
249|patrapatra-vicara nahi, nahi sthanasthana
250|yei yanha paya, tanha kare prema-dana
251|SYNONYMS
252|patra-recipient; apatra-not a recipient; vicara-
>|consideration; nahi-there is none; nahi-there is none;
>|sthana-favorable place; asthana-unfavorable place; yei-
>|anyone; yanha-wherever; paya-gets the opportunity; tanha-
>|there only; kare-does; prema-dana-distribution of love of
>|Godhead.
253|TRANSLATION
254|In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
>|His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and
>|who was not, nor where such distribution should or should
>|not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got
>|the opportunity the members of the Panca-tattva
>|distributed love of Godhead.
255|PURPORT
256|There are some rascals who dare to speak against the
>|mission of Lord Caitanya by criticizing the Krsna
>|consciousness movement for accepting Europeans and
>|Americans as brahmanas and offering them sannyasa. But here
>|is an authoritative statement that in distributing love of
>|Godhead one should not consider whether the recipients are
>|Europeans, Americans, Hindus, Muslims, etc. The Krsna
>|consciousness movement should be spread wherever possible,
>|and one should accept those who thus become Vaisnavas as
>|being greater than brahmanas, Hindus or Indians. Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu desired that His name be spread in each
>|and every town and village on the surface of the globe.
>|Therefore, when the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is spread
>|all over the world, should those who embrace it not be
>|accepted as Vaisnavas, brahmanas and sannyasis? These
>|foolish arguments are sometimes raised by envious rascals,
>|but Krsna conscious devotees do not care about them. We
>|strictly follow the principles set down by the Panca-tattva.
257|Adi 7.24
258|TEXT 24
259|TEXT
260|lutiya, khaiya, diya, bhandara ujade
261|ascarya bhandara, prema sata-guna bade
262|SYNONYMS
263|lutiya-plundering; khaiya-eating; diya-distributing;
>|bhandara-store; ujade-emptied; ascarya-wonderful; bhandara-
>|store; prema-love of Godhead; sata-guna-one hundred times;
>|bade-increases.
264|TRANSLATION
265|Although the members of the Panca-tattva plundered the
>|storehouse of love of Godhead and ate and distributed its
>|contents, there was no scarcity, for this wonderful
>|storehouse is so complete that as the love is distributed,
>|the supply increases hundreds of times.
266|PURPORT
267|A pseudoincarnation of Krsna once told his
>|disciple that he had emptied himself by giving him all
>|knowledge and was thus spiritually bankrupt. Such bluffers
>|speak in this way to cheat the public, but actual spiritual
>|consciousness is so perfect that the more it is distributed,
>| the more it increases. Bankruptcy is a term that applies
>|in the material world, but the storehouse of love of
>|Godhead in the spiritual world can never be depleted. Krsna
>|is providing for millions and trillions of living entities
>|by supplying all their necessities, and even if all the
>|innumerable living entities wanted to become Krsna
>|conscious, there would be no scarcity of love of Godhead,
>|nor would there be insufficiency in providing for their
>|maintenance. Our Krsna consciousness movement was started
>|single-handedly, and no one provided for our livelihood,
>|but at present we are spending hundreds and thousands of
>|dollars all over the world, and the movement is increasing
>|more and more. Thus there is no question of scarcity.
>|Although jealous persons may be envious, if we stick to our
>|principles and follow in the footsteps of the Panca-tattva,
>|this movement will go on unchecked by imitation svamis,
>|sannyasis, religionists, philosophers or scientists, for it
>|is transcendental to all material considerations. Therefore
>|those who propagate the Krsna consciousness movement should
>|not be afraid of such rascals and fools.
268|Adi 7.25
269|TEXT 25
270|TEXT
271|uchalila prema-vanya caudike vedaya
272|stri, vrddha, balaka, yuva, sabare dubaya
273|SYNONYMS
274|uchalila-became agitated; prema-vanya-the inundation of
>|love of Godhead; caudike-in all directions; vedaya-
>|surrounding; stri-women; vrddha-old men; balaka-children;
>|yuva-young men; sabare-all of them; dubaya-merged into.
275|TRANSLATION
276|The flood of love of Godhead swelled in all directions, and
>|thus young men, old men, women and children were all
>|immersed in that inundation.
277|PURPORT
278|When the contents of the storehouse of love of Godhead is
>|thus distributed, there is a powerful inundation that
>|covers the entire land. In Sridhama Mayapura there is
>|sometimes a great flood after the rainy season. This is an
>|indication that from the birthplace of Lord Caitanya the
>|inundation of love of Godhead should be spread all over the
>|world, for this will help everyone, including old men,
>|young men, women and children. The Krsna consciousness
>|movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so powerful that it
>|can inundate the entire world and interest all classes of
>|men in the subject of love of Godhead.
279|Adi 7.26
280|TEXT 26
281|TEXT
282|saj-jana, durjana, pangu, jada, andha-gana
283|prema-vanyaya dubaila jagatera jana
284|SYNONYMS
285|sat-jana-gentle men; durjana-rogues; pangu-lame; jada-
>|invalid; andha-gana-blind men; prema-vanyaya-in the
>|inundation of love of Godhead; dubaila-drowned; jagatera-
>|all over the world; jana-people.
286|TRANSLATION
287|The Krsna consciousness movement will inundate the entire
>|world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a
>|rogue or even lame, invalid or blind.
288|PURPORT
289|Here again it may be emphasized that although jealous
>|rascals protest that Europeans and Americans cannot be
>|given the sacred thread or sannyasa, there is no need even
>|to consider whether one is a gentleman or a rogue because
>|this is a spiritual movement which is not concerned with
>|the external body of skin and bones. Because it is being
>|properly conducted under the guidance of the Panca-tattva,
>|strictly following the regulative principles, it has
>|nothing to do with external impediments.
290|Adi 7.27
291|TEXT 27
292|TEXT
293|jagat dubila, jivera haila bija nasa
294|taha dekhi' panca janera parama ullasa
295|SYNONYMS
296|jagat-the whole world; dubila-drowned; jivera-of the living
>|entities; haila-it so became; bija-the seed; nasa-
>|completely finished; taha-then; dekhi'-by seeing; panca-
>|five; janera-of the persons; parama-highest; ullasa-
>|happiness.
297|TRANSLATION
298|When the five members of the Panca-tattva saw the entire
>|world drowned in love of Godhead and the seed of material
>|enjoyment in the living entities completely destroyed, they
>|all became exceedingly happy.
299|PURPORT
300|In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
>|writes in his Anubhasya that since the living entities all
>|belong to the marginal potency of the Lord, each and every
>|living entity has a natural tendency to become Krsna
>|conscious, although at the same time the seed of material
>|enjoyment is undoubtedly within him. The seed of material
>|enjoyment, watered by the course of material nature,
>|fructifies to become a tree of material entanglement that
>|endows the living entity with all kinds of material
>|enjoyment. To enjoy such material facilities is to be
>|afflicted with the three material miseries. However, when
>|by nature's law there is a flood, the seeds within the
>|earth become inactive. Similarly, as the inundation of love
>|of Godhead spreads all over the world, the seeds of
>|material enjoyment become impotent. Thus the more the Krsna
>|consciousness movement spreads, the more the desire for
>|material enjoyment decreases. The seed of material
>|enjoyment automatically becomes impotent with the increase
>|of the Krsna consciousness movement.
301|Instead of being envious that Krsna consciousness is
>|spreading all over the world by the grace of Lord Caitanya,
>|those who are jealous should be happy, as indicated here by
>|the words parama ullasa. But because they are kanistha-
>|adhikaris or prakrta-bhaktas (materialistic devotees who
>|are not advanced in spiritual knowledge), they are envious
>|instead of happy, and they try to find faults in the Krsna
>|consciousness movement. Yet Srimat Prabodhananda Sarasvati
>|writes in his Caitanya-candramrta that when influenced by
>|Lord Caitanya's Krsna consciousness movement, materialists
>|become averse to talking about their wives and children,
>|supposedly learned scholars give up their tedious studies
>|of Vedic literature, yogis give up their impractical
>|practices of mystic yoga, ascetics give up their austere
>|activities of penance and austerity, and sannyasis give up
>|their study of Sankhya philosophy. Thus they are all
>|attracted by the bhakti-yoga practices of Lord Caitanya and
>|cannot relish a mellow taste superior to that of Krsna
>|consciousness.
302|Adi 7.28
303|TEXT 28
304|TEXT
305|yata yata prema-vrsti kare panca-jane
306|tata tata badhe jala, vyape tri-bhuvane
307|SYNONYMS
308|yata-as many; yata-so many; prema-vrsti-showers of love of
>|Godhead; kare-causes; panca-jane-the five members of the
>|Panca-tattva; tata tata-as much as; badhe-increases; jala-
>|water; vyape-spreads; tri-bhuvane-all over the three worlds.
309|TRANSLATION
310|The more the five members of the Panca-tattva cause the
>|rains of love of Godhead to fall, the more the inundation
>|increases and spreads all over the world.
311|PURPORT
312|The Krsna consciousness movement is not stereotyped or
>|stagnant. It will spread all over the world in spite of all
>|objections by fools and rascals that European and American
>|mlecchas cannot be accepted as brahmanas or sannyasis. Here
>|it is indicated that this process will spread and inundate
>|the entire world with Krsna consciousness.
313|Adi 7.29-30
314|TEXTS 29-30
315|TEXT
316|mayavadi, karma-nistha kutarkika-gana
317|nindaka, pasandi yata paduya adhama
318|sei saba mahadaksa dhana palaila
319|sei vanya ta-sabare chunite narila
320|SYNONYMS
321|mayavadi-the impersonalist philosophers; karma-nistha-the
>|fruitive workers; kutarkika-gana-the false logicians;
>|nindaka-the blasphemers; pasandi-nondevotees; yata-all;
>|paduya-students; adhama-the lowest class; sei saba-all of
>|them; maha-daksa-they are very expert; dhana-running;
>|palaila-went away; sei vanya-that inundation; ta-sabare-all
>|of them; chunite-touching; narila-could not.
322|TRANSLATION
323|The impersonalists, fruitive workers, false logicians,
>|blasphemers, nondevotees and lowest among the student
>|community are very expert in avoiding the Krsna
>|consciousness movement, and therefore the inundation of
>|Krsna consciousness cannot touch them.
324|PURPORT
325|Like Mayavadi philosophers in the past such as Prakasananda
>|Sarasvati of Benares, modern impersonalists are not
>|interested in Lord Caitanya's Krsna consciousness movement.
>|They do not know the value of this material world; they
>|consider it false and cannot understand how the Krsna
>|consciousness movement can utilize it. They are so absorbed
>|in impersonal thought that they take it for granted that
>|all spiritual variety is material. Because they do not know
>|anything beyond their misconception of the brahmajyoti,
>|they cannot understand that Krsna, the Supreme Personality
>|of Godhead, is spiritual and therefore beyond the
>|conception of material illusion. Whenever Krsna incarnates
>|personally or as a devotee, these Mayavadi philosophers
>|accept Him as an ordinary human being. This is condemned in
>|the Bhagavad-gita (9.11):
326|avajananti mam mudha
327|manusim tanum asritam
328|param bhavam ajananto
329|mama bhuta-mahesvaram
330|"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do
>|not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of
>|all that be."
331|There are also other unscrupulous persons who exploit the
>|Lord's appearance by posing as incarnations to cheat the
>|innocent public. An incarnation of God should pass the
>|tests of the statements of the sastras and also perform
>|uncommon activities. One should not accept a rascal as an
>|incarnation of God but should test his ability to act as
>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For example, Krsna
>|taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna also
>|accepted Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but for
>|our understanding Arjuna requested the Lord to manifest His
>|universal form, thus testing whether He was actually the
>|Supreme Lord. Similarly, one must test a so-called
>|incarnation of Godhead according to the standard criteria.
>|To avoid being misled by an exhibition of mystic powers, it
>|is best to examine a so-called incarnation of God in the
>|light of the statements of the sastras. Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|is described in the sastras as an incarnation of Krsna;
>|therefore if one wants to imitate Lord Caitanya and claim
>|to be an incarnation, he must show evidence from the
>|sastras about his appearance to substantiate his claim.
332|Adi 7.31-32
333|TEXTS 31-32
334|TEXT
335|taha dekhi' mahaprabhu karena cintana
336|jagat dubaite ami karilun yatana
337|keha keha edaila, pratijna ha-ila bhanga
338|ta-saba dubaite patiba kichu ranga
339|SYNONYMS
340|taha dekhi'-observing this advancement; mahaprabhu-Lord Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu; karena-does; cintana-thinking; jagat-
>|the whole world; dubaite-to drown; ami-I; karilun-
>|endeavored; yatana-attempts; keha keha-some of them; edaila-
>|escaped; pratijna-promise; ha-ila-became; bhanga-broken; ta-
>|saba-all of them; dubaite-to make them drown; patiba-shall
>|devise; kichu-some; ranga-trick.
341|TRANSLATION
342|Seeing that the Mayavadis and others were fleeing, Lord
>|Caitanya thought: I wanted everyone to be immersed in this
>|inundation of love of Godhead, but some of them have
>|escaped. Therefore I shall devise a trick to drown them
>|also.
343|PURPORT
344|Here is an important point. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted
>|to invent a way to capture the Mayavadis and others who did
>|not take interest in the Krsna consciousness movement. This
>|is the symptom of an acarya. An acarya who comes for the
>|service of the Lord cannot be expected to conform to a
>|stereotype, for he must find the ways and means by which
>|Krsna consciousness may be spread. Sometimes jealous
>|persons criticize the Krsna consciousness movement because
>|it engages equally both boys and girls in distributing love
>|of Godhead. Not knowing that boys and girls in countries
>|like Europe and America mix very freely, these fools and
>|rascals criticize the boys and girls in Krsna consciousness
>|for intermingling. But these rascals should consider that
>|one cannot suddenly change a community's social customs.
>|However, since both the boys and girls are being
>|trained to become preachers, those girls are not ordinary
>|girls but are as good as their brothers who are preaching
>|Krsna consciousness. Therefore, to engage both boys and
>|girls in fully transcendental activities is a policy
>|intended to spread the Krsna consciousness movement. These
>|jealous fools who criticize the intermingling of boys and
>|girls will simply have to be satisfied with their own
>|foolishness because they cannot think of how to spread
>|Krsna consciousness by adopting ways and means that are
>|favorable for this purpose. Their stereotyped methods will
>|never help spread Krsna consciousness. Therefore, what we
>|are doing is perfect by the grace of Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu, for it is He who proposed to invent a way to
>|capture those who strayed from Krsna consciousness.
345|Adi 7.33
346|TEXT 33
347|TEXT
348|eta bali' mane kichu kariya vicara
349|sannyasa-asrama prabhu kaila angikara
350|SYNONYMS
351|eta bali'-saying this; mane-within the mind; kichu-
>|something; kariya-doing; vicara-consideration; sannyasa-
>|asrama-the renounced order of life; prabhu-the Lord; kaila-
>|did; angikara-accept.
352|TRANSLATION
353|Thus the Lord accepted the sannyasa order of life after
>|full consideration.
354|PURPORT
355|There was no need for Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to
>|accept sannyasa, for He is God Himself and therefore has
>|nothing to do with the material bodily concept of life. Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not identify Himself with any of
>|the eight varnas and asramas, namely, brahmana, ksatriya,
>|vaisya, sudra, brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha and
>|sannyasa. He identified Himself as the Supreme Spirit. Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu, or for that matter any pure devotee,
>|never identifies with these social and spiritual divisions
>|of life, for a devotee is always transcendental to these
>|different gradations of society. Nevertheless, Lord
>|Caitanya decided to accept sannyasa on the grounds that
>|when He became a sannyasi everyone would show Him respect
>|and in that way be favored. Although there was actually no
>|need for Him to accept sannyasa, He did so for the benefit
>|of those who might think Him an ordinary human being. The
>|main purpose of His accepting sannyasa was to deliver the
>|Mayavadi sannyasis. This will be evident later in this
>|chapter.
356|Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has explained the
>|term "Mayavadi" as follows: "The Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead is transcendental to the material conception of
>|life. A Mayavadi is one who considers the body of the
>|Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna to be made of maya and
>|who also considers the abode of the Lord and the process of
>|approaching Him, devotional service, to be maya. The
>|Mayavadi considers all the paraphernalia of devotional
>|service to be maya." Maya refers to material existence,
>|which is characterized by the reactions of fruitive
>|activities. Mayavadis consider devotional service to be
>|among such fruitive activities. According to them, when
>|bhagavatas (devotees) are purified by philosophical
>|speculation, they will come to the real point of liberation.
>| Those who speculate in this way regarding devotional
>|service are called kutarkikas (false logicians), and those
>|who consider devotional service to be fruitive activity are
>|also called karma-nisthas. Those who criticize devotional
>|service are called nindakas (blasphemers). Similarly,
>|nondevotees who consider devotional activities to be
>|material are also called pasandis, and scholars with a
>|similar viewpoint are called adhama paduyas.
357|The kutarkikas, nindakas, pasandis and adhama paduyas all
>|avoided the benefit of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement
>|of developing love of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu felt
>|compassion for them, and it is for this reason that He
>|decided to accept the sannyasa order, for by seeing Him as
>|a sannyasi they would offer Him respects. The sannyasa
>|order is still respected in India. Indeed, the very dress
>|of a sannyasi still commands respect from the Indian public.
>| Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa to
>|facilitate preaching His devotional cult, although
>|otherwise He had no need to accept the fourth order of
>|spiritual life.
358|Adi 7.34
359|TEXT 34
360|TEXT
361|cabbisa vatsara chila grhastha-asrame
362|panca-vimsati varse kaila yati-dharme
363|SYNONYMS
364|cabbisa-twenty-four; vatsara-years; chila-He remained;
>|grhastha-householder life; asrame-the order of; panca-five;
>|vimsati-twenty; varse-in the year; kaila-did; yati-dharme-
>|accepted the sannyasa order.
365|TRANSLATION
366|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained in householder life for
>|twenty-four years, and on the verge of His twenty-fifth
>|year He accepted the sannyasa order.
367|PURPORT
368|There are four orders of spiritual life, namely,
>|brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa, and in
>|each of these asramas there are four divisions. The
>|divisions of the brahmacary-asrama are savitrya,
>|prajapatya, brahma and brhat, and the divisions of the
>|grhasthasrama are varta (professionals), sancaya (
>|accumulators), salina (those who do not ask anything from
>|anyone) and silonchana (those who collect grains from the
>|paddy fields). Similarly, the divisions of the
>|vanaprasthasrama are vaikhanasa, valakhilya,
>|audumbara and phenapa, and the divisions of sannyasa are
>|kuticaka, bahudaka, hamsa and niskriya. There are two kinds
>|of sannyasis, who are called dhiras and narottamas, as
>|stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.26 -27). At the end of
>|the month of January in the year 1432 sakabda (A.D. 1511),
>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the sannyasa order from
>|Kesava Bharati, who belonged to the Sankara-sampradaya.
369|Adi 7.35
370|TEXT 35
371|TEXT
372|sannyasa kariya prabhu kaila akarsana
373|yateka palanachila tarkikadigana
374|SYNONYMS
375|sannyasa-the sannyasa order; kariya-accepting; prabhu-the
>|Lord; kaila-did; akarsana-attract; yateka-all; palanachila-
>|fled; tarkika-adi-gana-all persons, beginning with the
>|logicians.
376|TRANSLATION
377|After accepting the sannyasa order, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|attracted the attention of all those who had evaded Him,
>|beginning with the logicians.
378|Adi 7.36
379|TEXT 36
380|TEXT
381|paduya, pasandi, karmi, nindakadi yata
382|tara asi' prabhu-paya haya avanata
383|SYNONYMS
384|paduya-students; pasandi-material adjusters; karmi-fruitive
>|actors; nindaka-adi-critics; yata-all; tara-they; asi'-
>|coming; prabhu-the Lord's; paya-lotus feet; haya-became;
>|avanata-surrendered.
385|TRANSLATION
386|Thus the students, infidels, fruitive workers and critics
>|all came to surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord.
387|Adi 7.37
388|TEXT 37
389|TEXT
390|aparadha ksamaila, dubila prema-jale
391|keba edaibe prabhura prema-mahajale
392|SYNONYMS
393|aparadha-offense; ksamaila-excused; dubila-merged into;
>|prema-jale-in the ocean of love of Godhead; keba-who else;
>|edaibe-will go away; prabhura-the Lord's; prema-loving;
>|maha-jale-network.
394|TRANSLATION
395|Lord Caitanya excused them all, and they merged into the
>|ocean of devotional service, for no one can escape the
>|unique loving network of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
396|PURPORT
397|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was an ideal acarya. An acarya is
>|an ideal teacher who knows the purpose of the revealed
>|scriptures, behaves exactly according to their injunctions
>|and teaches his students to adopt these principles also. As
>|an ideal acarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu devised ways to
>|capture all kinds of atheists and materialists. Every
>|acarya has a specific means of propagating his spiritual
>|movement with the aim of bringing men to Krsna
>|consciousness. Therefore, the method of one acarya may be
>|different from that of another, but the ultimate goal is
>|never neglected. Srila Rupa Gosvami recommends:
398|tasmat kenapy upayena
399|manah krsne nivesayet
400|sarve vidhi - nisedha syur
401|etayor eva kinkarah
402|An acarya should devise a means by which people may somehow
>|or other come to Krsna consciousness. First they should
>|become Krsna conscious, and all the prescribed rules and
>|regulations may later gradually be introduced. In our Krsna
>|consciousness movement we follow this policy of Lord Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu. For example, since boys and girls in
>|the Western countries freely intermingle, special
>|concessions regarding their customs and habits are
>|necessary to bring them to Krsna consciousness. The acarya
>|must devise a means to bring them to devotional service.
>|Therefore, although I am a sannyasi I sometimes take part
>|in getting boys and girls married, although in the history
>|of sannyasa no sannyasi has personally taken part in
>|marrying his disciples.
403|Adi 7.38
404|TEXT 38
405|TEXT
406|saba nistarite prabhu krpa-avatara
407|saba nistarite kare caturi apara
408|SYNONYMS
409|saba-all; nistarite-to deliver; prabhu-the Lord; krpa-mercy;
>| avatara-incarnation; saba-all; nistarite-to deliver; kare-
>|did; caturi-devices; apara-unlimited.
410|TRANSLATION
411|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in order to deliver all
>|the fallen souls. Therefore He devised many methods to
>|liberate them from the clutches of maya.
412|PURPORT
413|It is the concern of the acarya to show mercy to the fallen
>|souls. In this connection, desa-kala-patra (the place, the
>|time and the object) should be taken into consideration.
>|Since the European and American boys and girls in our Krsna
>|consciousness movement preach together, less intelligent
>|men criticize that they are mingling without restriction.
>|In Europe and America boys and girls mingle unrestrictedly
>|and have equal rights; therefore it is not possible to
>|completely separate the men from the women. However, we are
>|thoroughly instructing both men and women how to preach,
>|and actually they are preaching wonderfully. Of course, we
>|very strictly prohibit illicit sex. Boys and girls who are
>|not married are not allowed to sleep together or live
>|together, and there are separate arrangements for boys and
>|girls in every temple. Grhasthas live outside the temple,
>|for in the temple we do not allow even husband and wife to
>|live together. The results of this are wonderful. Both men
>|and women are preaching the gospel of Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu and Lord Krsna with redoubled strength. In this
>|verse the words saba nistarite kare caturi apara indicate
>|that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to deliver one and all.
>|Therefore it is a principle that a preacher must strictly
>|follow the rules and regulations laid down in the sastras
>|yet at the same time devise a means by which the preaching
>|work to reclaim the fallen may go on with full force.
414|Adi 7.39
415|TEXT 39
416|TEXT
417|tabe nija bhakta kaila yata mleccha adi
418|sabe edaila matra kasira mayavadi
419|SYNONYMS
420|tabe-thereafter; nija-own; bhakta-devotee; kaila-converted;
>|yata-all; mleccha-one who does not follow the Vedic
>|principles; adi-heading the list; sabe-all those; edaila-
>|escaped; matra-only; kasira-of Varanasi; mayavadi-
>|impersonalists.
421|TRANSLATION
422|All were converted into devotees of Lord Caitanya, even the
>|mlecchas and yavanas. Only the impersonalist followers of
>|Sankaracarya evaded Him.
423|PURPORT
424|In this verse it is clearly indicated that although Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted Muslims and other mlecchas
>|into devotees, the impersonalist followers of Sankaracarya
>|could not be converted. After accepting the renounced order
>|of life, Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted many karma-nisthas
>|who were addicted to fruitive activities, many great
>|logicians like Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, nindakas (
>|blasphemers) like Prakasananda Sarasvati, pasandis (
>|nondevotees) like Jagai and Madhai, and adhama paduyas (
>|degraded students) like Mukunda and his friends. All of
>|them gradually became devotees of the Lord, even the
>|Pathans (Muslims), but the worst offenders, the
>|impersonalists, were extremely difficult to convert, for
>|they very tactfully escaped the devices of Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu.
425|In describing the Kasira Mayavadis, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
>|Sarasvati Thakura has explained that persons who are
>|bewildered by empiric knowledge or direct sensual
>|perception, and who thus consider that even this limited
>|material world can be gauged by their material estimations,
>|conclude that anything that one can discern by direct sense
>|perception is but maya, or illusion. They maintain that
>|although the Absolute Truth is beyond the range of sense
>|perception, it includes no spiritual variety or enjoyment.
>|According to the Kasira Mayavadis, the spiritual world is
>|simply void. They do not believe in the Personality of the
>|Absolute Truth or in His varieties of activities in the
>|spiritual world. Although they have their own arguments,
>|which are not very strong, they have no conception of the
>|variegated activities of the Absolute Truth. These
>|impersonalists, who are followers of Sankaracarya, are
>|generally known as Kasira Mayavadis
>|.
426|Near Varanasi there is another group of impersonalists, who
>|are known as Saranatha Mayavadis. Outside the city of
>|Varanasi is a place known as Saranatha, where there is a
>|big Buddhist stupa. Many followers of Buddhist philosophy
>|live there, and they are known as Saranatha Mayavadis. The
>|impersonalists of Saranatha differ from those of Varanasi,
>|for the Varanasi impersonalists propagate the idea that the
>|impersonal Brahman is truth whereas material varieties are
>|false, but the Saranatha impersonalists do not even believe
>|that the Absolute Truth or Brahman can be understood as
>|the opposite of maya, or illusion. According to their
>|vision, materialism is the only manifestation of the
>|Absolute Truth.
427|Factually both the Kasira and Saranatha Mayavadis, as
>|well as any other philosophers who have no knowledge of the
>|spirit soul, are advocates of utter materialism. None of
>|them have clear knowledge regarding the Absolute or the
>|spiritual world. Philosophers like the Saranatha Mayavadis
>|who do not believe in the spiritual existence of the
>|Absolute Truth but consider material varieties to be
>|everything do not believe that there are two kinds of
>|nature, inferior (material) and superior (spiritual), as
>|described in the Bhagavad-gita. Actually, neither the
>|Varanasi nor Saranatha Mayavadis accept the principles of
>|the Bhagavad-gita, due to a poor fund of knowledge.
428|Since these impersonalists who do not have perfect
>|spiritual knowledge cannot understand the principles of
>|bhakti-yoga, they must be classified among the nondevotees
>|who are against the Krsna consciousness movement. We
>|sometimes feel inconvenienced by the hindrances offered by
>|these impersonalists, but we do not care about their so-
>|called philosophy, for we are propagating our own
>|philosophy as presented in Bhagavad-gita As It Is and
>|getting successful results. Theorizing as if devotional
>|service were subject to their mental speculation, both
>|kinds of Mayavadi impersonalists conclude that the subject
>|matter of bhakti-yoga is a creation of maya and that Krsna,
>|devotional service and the devotee are also maya. Therefore,
>| as stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, mayavadi krsne
>|aparadhi. "All the Mayavadis are offenders to Lord Krsna." (
>|Cc. Madhya 17.129) It is not possible for them to
>|understand the Krsna consciousness movement; therefore we
>|do not value their philosophical conclusions. However
>|expert such quarrelsome impersonalists are in putting
>|forward their so-called logic, we defeat them in every
>|respect and go forward with our Krsna consciousness
>|movement. Their imaginative mental speculation cannot deter
>|the progress of the Krsna consciousness movement, which is
>|completely spiritual and is never under the control of such
>|Mayavadis.
429|Adi 7.40
430|TEXT 40
431|TEXT
432|vrndavana yaite prabhu rahila kasite
433|mayavadi-gana tanre lagila nindite
434|SYNONYMS
435|vrndavana-the holy place called Vrndavana; yaite-while
>|going there; prabhu-Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; rahila-
>|remained; kasite-at Varanasi; mayavadi-gana-the Mayavadi
>|philosophers; tanre-unto Him; lagila-began; nindite-to
>|speak against Him.
436|TRANSLATION
437|While Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was passing through Varanasi
>|on His way to Vrndavana, the Mayavadi sannyasi philosophers
>|blasphemed against Him in many ways.
438|PURPORT
439|While preaching Krsna consciousness with full vigor, Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu faced many Mayavadi philosophers.
>|Similarly, we are also facing opposing svamis, yogis,
>|impersonalists, scientists, philosophers and other mental
>|speculators, and by the grace of Lord Krsna we successfully
>|defeat all of them without difficulty.
440|Adi 7.41
441|TEXT 41
442|TEXT
443|sannyasi ha-iya kare gayana, nacana
444|na kare vedanta-patha, kare sankirtana
445|SYNONYMS
446|sannyasi-a person in the renounced order of life; ha-iya-
>|accepting such a position; kare-does; gayana-singing;
>|nacana-dancing; na kare-does not practice; vedanta-patha-
>|study of the Vedanta philosophy; kare sankirtana-but simply
>|engages in sankirtana.
447|TRANSLATION
448|"Although a sannyasi, He does not
>|take interest in the study of Vedanta but instead always
>|engages in chanting and dancing in sankirtana.
449|PURPORT
450|Fortunately or unfortunately, we also meet such Mayavadis
>|who criticize our method of chanting and accuse us of not
>|being interested in study. They do not know that we have
>|translated volumes and volumes of books into English and
>|that the students in our temples regularly study them in
>|the morning, afternoon and evening. We are writing and
>|printing books, and our students study them and distribute
>|them all over the world. No Mayavadi school can present as
>|many books as we have; nevertheless, they accuse us of not
>|being fond of study. Such accusations are completely false.
>|But although we study, we do not study the nonsense of the
>|Mayavadis.
451|Mayavadi sannyasis neither chant nor dance. Their technical
>|objection is that this method of chanting and dancing is
>|called tauryatrika, which indicates that a sannyasi should
>|completely avoid such activities and engage his time in the
>|study of Vedanta. Actually, such men do not understand what
>|is meant by Vedanta. In the Bhagavad-gita (15.15) Krsna
>|says, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid
>|eva caham: "By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am
>|the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."
>|Lord Krsna is the actual compiler of Vedanta, and whatever
>|He speaks is Vedanta philosophy. Although they are lacking
>|the knowledge of Vedanta presented by the Supreme
>|Personality of Godhead in the transcendental form of Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam, the Mayavadis are very proud of their study.
>|Foreseeing the bad effects of their presenting Vedanta
>|philosophy in a perverted way, Srila Vyasadeva compiled
>|Srimad-Bhagavatam as a commentary on the Vedanta-sutra.
>|Srimad-Bhagavatam is bhasyo 'yam brahma-sutranam; in other
>|words, all the Vedanta philosophy in the aphorisms of the
>|Brahma-sutra is thoroughly described in the pages of Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam. Thus the factual propounder of Vedanta
>|philosophy is a Krsna conscious person who always engages
>|in reading and understanding the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam and teaching the purport of these books to the
>|entire world. The Mayavadis are very proud of having
>|monopolized the Vedanta philosophy, but devotees have their
>|own commentaries on Vedanta such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and
>|others written by the acaryas. The commentary of the
>|Gaudiya Vaisnavas is the Govinda-bhasya.
452|The Mayavadis' accusation that devotees do not study
>|Vedanta is false. They do not know that chanting,
>| dancing and preaching the principles of Srimad-Bhagavatam,
>|called bhagavata-dharma, are the same as studying Vedanta.
>|Since they think that reading Vedanta philosophy is the
>|only function of a sannyasi and they did not find Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu engaged in such direct study, they criticized
>|the Lord. Sripada Sankaracarya has given special stress to
>|the study of Vedanta philosophy: vedanta-vakyesu sada
>|ramantah kaupinavantah khalu bhagyavantah. "A sannyasi,
>|accepting the renounced order very strictly and wearing
>|nothing more than a loincloth, should always enjoy the
>|philosophical statements in the Vedanta-sutra. Such a
>|person in the renounced order is to be considered very
>|fortunate." The Mayavadis in Varanasi blasphemed Lord
>|Caitanya because His behavior did not follow these
>|principles. Lord Caitanya, however, bestowed His mercy upon
>|these Mayavadi sannyasis and delivered them by means of His
>|Vedanta discourses with Prakasananda Sarasvati and
>|Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya.
453|Adi 7.42
454|TEXT 42
455|TEXT
456|murkha sannyasi nija-dharma nahi jane
457|bhavuka ha-iya phere bhavukera sane
458|SYNONYMS
459|murkha-illiterate; sannyasi-one in the renounced order of
>|life; nija-dharma-own duty; nahi-does not; jane-know;
>|bhavuka-in ecstasy; ha-iya-becoming; phere-wanders;
>|bhavukera-with another ecstatic person; sane-with.
460|TRANSLATION
461|"This Caitanya Mahaprabhu is an illiterate sannyasi and
>|therefore does not know His real function. Guided only by
>|His sentiments, He wanders about in the company of other
>|sentimentalists."
462|PURPORT
463|Foolish Mayavadis, not knowing that the Krsna consciousness
>|movement is based on a solid philosophy of transcendental
>|science, superficially conclude that those who dance and
>|chant do not have philosophical knowledge. Those who are
>|Krsna conscious actually have full knowledge of the essence
>|of Vedanta philosophy, for they study the real commentary
>|on the Vedanta philosophy, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and follow
>|the actual words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as
>|found in Bhagavad-gita As It Is. After understanding the
>|Bhagavata philosophy, or bhagavata-dharma, they become
>|fully spiritually conscious or Krsna conscious, and
>|therefore their chanting and dancing is not material but is
>|on the spiritual platform. Although everyone admires the
>|ecstatic chanting and dancing of the devotees, who are
>|therefore popularly known as "the Hare Krsna people,"
>|Mayavadis cannot appreciate these activities because of
>|their poor fund of knowledge.
464|Adi 7.43
465|TEXT 43
466|TEXT
467|e saba suniya prabhu hase mane mane
468|upeksa kariya karo na kaila sambhasane
469|SYNONYMS
470|e saba-all these; suniya-after hearing; prabhu-the Lord;
>|hase-smiled; mane mane-within His mind; upeksa-rejection;
>|kariya-doing so; karo-with anyone; na-did not; kaila-make;
>|sambhasane-conversation.
471|TRANSLATION
472|Hearing all this blasphemy, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu merely
>|smiled to Himself, rejected all these accusations and did
>|not talk with the Mayavadis.
473|PURPORT
474|As Krsna conscious devotees, we do not like to converse
>|with Mayavadi philosophers simply to waste valuable time,
>|but whenever there is an opportunity we impress our
>|philosophy upon them with great vigor and success.
475|Adi 7.44
476|TEXT 44
477|TEXT
478|upeksa kariya kaila mathura gamana
479|mathura dekhiya punah kaila agamana
480|SYNONYMS
481|upeksa-neglecting them; kariya-doing so; kaila-did; mathura-
>|the town named Mathura; gamana-traveling; mathura-Mathura;
>|dekhiya-after seeing it; punah-again; kaila agamana-came
>|back.
482|TRANSLATION
483|Thus neglecting the blasphemy of the Varanasi Mayavadis,
>|Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu proceeded to Mathura, and after
>|visiting Mathura He returned to meet the situation.
484|PURPORT
485|Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not talk with the Mayavadi
>|philosophers when He first visited Varanasi, but He
>|returned there from Mathura to convince them of the real
>|purpose of Vedanta.
486|Adi 7.45
487|TEXT 45
488|TEXT
489|kasite lekhaka sudra-sricandrasekhara
490|tanra ghare rahila prabhu svatantra isvara
491|SYNONYMS
492|kasite-in Varanasi; lekhaka-writer; sudra-born of a sudra
>|family; sri-candrasekhara-of the name Candrasekhara; tanra
>|ghare-in his house; rahila-remained; prabhu-the Lord;
>|svatantra-independent; isvara-the supreme controller.
493|TRANSLATION
494|This time Lord Caitanya stayed at the house of
>|Candrasekhara, although he was regarded as a sudra or
>|kayastha, for the Lord, as the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead, is completely independent.
495|PURPORT
496|Lord Caitanya stayed at the house of Candrasekhara, a clerk,
>| although a sannyasi is not supposed to reside in a sudra's
>|house. Five hundred years ago, especially in Bengal, it was
>|the system that persons who were born in the families of
>|brahmanas were accepted as brahmanas, and all those who
>|took birth in other families-even the higher castes, namely,
>| the ksatriyas and vaisyas-were considered sudra non-
>|brahmanas. Therefore although Sri Candrasekhara was a clerk
>|from a kayastha family in upper India, he was considered a
>|sudra. Similarly, vaisyas, especially those of the suvarna-
>|vanik community, were accepted as sudras in Bengal, and
>|even the vaidyas, who were generally physicians, were also
>|considered sudras. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, did
>|not accept this artificial principle, which was introduced
>|in society by self-interested men, and later the kayasthas,
>|vaidyas and vaniks all began to accept the sacred thread,
>|despite objections from the so-called brahmanas.
497|Before the time of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the suvarna-vanik
>|class was condemned by Ballal Sen, who was then the King
>|of Bengal, due to a personal grudge. In Bengal the suvarna-
>|vanik class are always very rich, for they are bankers and
>|dealers in gold and silver. Therefore, Ballal Sen used to
>|borrow money from a suvarna-vanik banker. Ballal Sen's
>|bankruptcy later obliged the suvarna-vanik banker to stop
>|advancing money to him, and thus he became angry
>|and condemned the entire suvarna-vanik society as belonging
>|to the sudra community. Ballal Sen tried to induce the
>|brahmanas not to accept the suvarna-vaniks as followers of
>|the instructions of the Vedas under the brahminical
>|directions, but although some brahmanas approved of Ballal
>|Sen's actions, others did not. Thus the brahmanas also
>|became divided amongst themselves, and those who supported
>|the suvarna-vanik class were rejected from the brahmana
>|community. At the present day the same biases are still
>|being followed.
498|There are many Vaisnava families in Bengal whose members,
>|although not actually born brahmanas, act as acaryas by
>|initiating disciples and offering the sacred thread as
>|enjoined in the Vaisnava tantras. For example, in the
>|families of Thakura Raghunandana Acarya, Thakura Krsnadasa,
>|Navani Hoda and Rasikananda-deva (a disciple of Syamananda
>|Prabhu), the sacred thread ceremony is performed, as it is
>|for the caste Gosvamis, and this system has continued for
>|the past three to four hundred years. Accepting disciples
>|born in brahmana families, they are bona fide spiritual
>|masters who have the facility to worship the salagrama-sila,
>| which is worshiped with the Deity. As of this writing,
>|salagrama-sila worship has not yet been introduced in our
>|Krsna consciousness movement, but soon it will be
>|introduced in all our temples as an essential function of
>|arcana-marga (Deity worship).
499|Adi 7.46
500|TEXT 46
501|TEXT
502|tapana-misrera ghare bhiksa-nirvahana
503|sannyasira sange nahi mane nimantrana
504|SYNONYMS
505|tapana-misrera-of Tapana Misra; ghare-in the house; bhiksa-
>|accepting food; nirvahana-regularly executed; sannyasira-
>|with other Mayavadi sannyasis; sange-in company with them;
>|nahi-never; mane-accepted; nimantrana-invitation.
506|TRANSLATION
507|As a matter of principle, Lord Caitanya regularly accepted
>|His food at the house of Tapana Misra. He never mixed with
>|other sannyasis, nor did He accept invitations from them.
508|PURPORT
509|This exemplary behavior of Lord Caitanya definitely proves
>|that a Vaisnava sannyasi cannot accept invitations from
>|Mayavadi sannyasis or intimately mix with them.
510|Adi 7.47
511|TEXT 47
512|TEXT
513|sanatana gosani asi' tanhai milila
514|tanra siksa lagi' prabhu du-masa rahila
515|SYNONYMS
516|sanatana-of the name Sanatana; gosani-a great devotee; asi'-
>|coming there; tanhai-there at Varanasi; milila-visited Him;
>|tanra-His; siksa- in struction; lagi'-for the
>|matter of; prabhu-Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; du-masa-two
>|months; rahila-remained there.
517|TRANSLATION
518|When Sanatana Gosvami came from Bengal, he met Lord
>|Caitanya at the house of Tapana Misra, where Lord Caitanya
>|remained continuously for two months to teach him
>|devotional service.
519|PURPORT
520|Lord Caitanya taught Sanatana Gosvami in the line of
>|disciplic succession. Sanatana Gosvami was a very learned
>|scholar in Sanskrit and other languages, but until
>|instructed by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu he did not write
>|anything about Vaisnava behavior. His very famous book Hari-
>|bhakti-vilasa, which gives directions for Vaisnava
>|candidates, was written completely in compliance with the
>|instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In this Hari-
>|bhakti-vilasa Sri Sanatana Gosvami gives definite
>|instructions that by proper initiation by a bona fide
>|spiritual master one can immediately become a brahmana. In
>|this connection he says:
521|yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah
522|tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam
523|"As bell metal is turned to gold when mixed with mercury in
>|an alchemical process, so one who is properly trained and
>|initiated by a bona fide spiritual master immediately
>|becomes a brahmana." Sometimes those born in brahmana
>|families protest this, but they have no strong arguments
>|against this principle. By the grace of Krsna and His
>|devotee, one's life can change. This is confirmed in Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam by the words jahati bandham and sudhyanti.
>|Jahati bandham indicates that a living entity is
>|conditioned by a particular type of body. The body is
>|certainly an impediment, but one who associates with a pure
>|devotee and follows his instructions can avoid this
>|impediment and become a regular brahmana by initiation
>|under his strict guidance. Srila Jiva Gosvami states how a
>|non-brahmana can be turned into a brahmana by the
>|association of a pure devotee. Prabhavisnave namah: Lord
>|Visnu is so powerful that He can do anything He likes.
>|Therefore it is not difficult for Visnu to change the body
>|of a devotee who is under the guidance of a pure devotee of
>|the Lord.
524|Adi 7.48
525|TEXT 48
526|TEXT
527|tanre sikhaila saba vaisnavera dharma
528|bhagavata-adi sastrera yata gudha marma
529|SYNONYMS
530|tanre-unto him (Sanatana Gosvami); sikhaila-the Lord taught
>|him; saba-all; vaisnavera-of the devotees; dharma-regular
>|activities; bhagavata-Srimad-Bhagavatam; adi-beginning with;
>| sastrera-of the revealed scriptures; yata-all; gudha-
>|confidential; marma-purpose.
531|TRANSLATION
532|On the basis of scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam, which
>|reveal these confidential directions, Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu instructed Sanatana Gosvami regarding all the
>|regular activities of a devotee.
533|PURPORT
534|In the parampara system, the instructions taken from the
>|bona fide spiritual master must also be based on revealed
>|Vedic scriptures. One who is in the line of disciplic
>|succession cannot manufacture his own way of behavior.
>|There are many so-called followers of the Vaisnava cult in
>|the line of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who do not scrupulously
>|follow the conclusions of the sastras, and therefore they
>|are considered to be apa-sampradaya, which means "outside
>|of the sampradaya." Some of these groups are known as aula,
>|baula, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani sahajiya,
>|sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, ativadi, cudadhari and
>|gauranga-nagari. In order to follow strictly the disciplic
>|succession of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, one should not
>|associate with these apasampradaya communities.
535|One who is not taught by a bona fide spiritual master
>|cannot understand the Vedic literature. To emphasize this
>|point, Lord Krsna, while instructing Arjuna, clearly said
>|that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and confidential
>|friend that he could understand the mystery of the Bhagavad-
>|gita. It is to be concluded, therefore, that one who wants
>|to understand the mystery of revealed scriptures must
>|approach a bona fide spiritual master, hear from him very
>|submissively and render service to him. Then the import of
>|the scriptures will be revealed. It is stated in the Vedas (
>|Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23):
536|yasya deve para bhaktir
537|yatha deve tatha gurau
538|tasyaite kathita hy arthah
539|prakasante mahatmanah
540|"The real import of the scriptures is revealed to one who
>|has unflinching faith in both the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead and the spiritual master." Srila Narottama dasa
>|Thakura advises, sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya, hrdaye kariya
>|aikya. The meaning of this instruction is that one must
>|consider the instructions of the sadhu, the revealed
>|scriptures and the spiritual master in order to understand
>|the real purpose of spiritual life. Neither a sadhu (
>|saintly person or Vaisnava) nor a bona fide spiritual
>|master says anything that is beyond the scope of the
>|sanction of the revealed scriptures. Thus the statements of
>|the revealed scriptures correspond to those of the bona
>|fide spiritual master and saintly persons. One must
>|therefore act with reference to these three important
>|sources of understanding.
541|Adi 7.49
542|TEXT 49
543|TEXT
544|itimadhye candrasekhara, misra-tapana
545|duhkhi hana prabhu-paya kaila nivedana
546|SYNONYMS
547|iti-madhye-in the meantime; candrasekhara-the clerk of the
>|name Candrasekhara; misra-tapana-as well as Tapana Misra;
>|duhkhi hana-becoming very unhappy; prabhu-paya-at the lotus
>|feet of the Lord; kaila-made; nivedana-an appeal.
548|TRANSLATION
549|While Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was instructing Sanatana
>|Gosvami, both Candrasekhara and Tapana Misra became very
>|unhappy. Therefore they submitted an appeal unto the lotus
>|feet of the Lord.
550|Adi 7.50
551|TEXT 50
552|TEXT
553|kateka suniba prabhu tomara nindana
554|na pari sahite, ebe chadiba jivana
555|SYNONYMS
556|kateka-how much; suniba-shall we hear; prabhu-O Lord;
>|tomara-Your; nindana-blasphemy; na pari-we are not able;
>|sahite-to tolerate; ebe-now; chadiba-give up; jivana-life.
557|TRANSLATION
558|"How long can we tolerate the blasphemy of Your critics
>|against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather
>|than hear such blasphemy.
559|PURPORT
560|One of the most important instructions by Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu regarding regular Vaisnava behavior is that a
>|Vaisnava should be tolerant like a tree and submissive like
>|grass.
561|trnad api sunicena
562|taror iva sahisnuna
563|amanina manadena
564|kirtaniyah sada harih
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
565|"One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble
>|state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the
>|street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of
>|all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer
>|all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can
>|chant the holy name of the Lord constantly." Nevertheless,
>|the author of these instructions, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
>|did not tolerate the misbehavior of Jagai and Madhai. When
>|they harmed Lord Nityananda Prabhu, He immediately became
>|angry and wanted to kill them, and it was only by the mercy
>|of Lord Nityananda Prabhu that they were saved. One should
>|be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and
>|if insulted a Vaisnava should be tolerant and not angry.
>|But if there is blasphemy against one's guru or another
>|Vaisnava, one should be as angry as fire. This was
>|exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One should not
>|tolerate blasphemy against a Vaisnava but should
>|immediately take one of three actions. If someone
>|blasphemes a Vaisnava, one should stop him with arguments
>|and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this
>|he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do
>|this, he must go away. While Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in
>|Benares or Kasi, the Mayavadi sannyasis blasphemed Him in
>|many ways because although He was a sannyasi He was
>|indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana Misra and
>|Candrasekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable
>|for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya.
>|They could not stop it, however, and therefore they
>|appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu because this blasphemy
>|was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their
>|lives.
566|Adi 7.51
567|TEXT 51
568|TEXT
569|tomare nindaye yata sannyasira gana
570|sunite na pari, phate hrdaya-sravana
571|SYNONYMS
572|tomare-unto You; nindaye-blasphemes; yata-all; sannyasira
>|gana-the Mayavadi sannyasis; sunite-to hear; na-cannot;
>|pari-tolerate; phate-it breaks; hrdaya-our hearts; sravana-
>|while hearing such blasphemy.
573|TRANSLATION
574|"The Mayavadi sannyasis are all criticizing Your Holiness.
>|We cannot tolerate hearing such criticism, for this
>|blasphemy breaks our hearts."
575|PURPORT
576|This is a manifestation of real love for Krsna and Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There are three categories of
>|Vaisnavas: kanistha-adhikaris, madhyama-adhikaris and
>|uttama-adhikaris. The kanistha-adhikari, or the devotee in
>|the lowest stage of Vaisnava life, has firm faith but is
>|not familiar with the conclusions of the sastras. The
>|devotee in the second stage, the madhyama-adhikari, is
>|completely aware of the sastric conclusion and has firm
>|faith in his guru and the Lord. He, therefore, avoiding
>|nondevotees, preaches to the innocent. However, the maha-
>|bhagavata or uttama-adhikari, the devotee in the highest
>|stage of devotional life, does not see anyone as being
>|against the Vaisnava principles, for he regards everyone as
>|a Vaisnava but himself. This is the essence of Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu's instruction that one be more tolerant than a
>|tree and think oneself lower than the straw in the street (
>|trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna). However, even if
>|a devotee is in the uttama-bhagavata status he must come
>|down to the second status of life, madhyama-adhikari, to be
>|a preacher, for a preacher should not tolerate blasphemy
>|against another Vaisnava. Although a kanistha-adhikari also
>|cannot tolerate such blasphemy, he is not competent to stop
>|it by citing sastric evidences. Therefore Tapana Misra and
>|Candrasekhara are understood to be kanistha-adhikaris
>|because they could not refute the arguments of the
>|sannyasis in Benares. They appealed to Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu to take action, for they felt that they could
>|not tolerate such criticism although they also could not
>|stop it.
577|Adi 7.52
578|TEXT 52
579|TEXT
580|iha suni rahe prabhu isat hasiya
581|sei kale eka vipra milila asiya
582|SYNONYMS
583|iha-this; suni-hearing; rahe-remained; prabhu-Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu; isat-slightly; hasiya-smiling; sei kale-at that
>|time; eka-one; vipra-brahmana; milila-met; asiya-coming
>|there.
584|TRANSLATION
585|While Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara were thus talking with
>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He only smiled slightly and
>|remained silent. At that time a brahmana came there to meet
>|the Lord.
586|
587|PURPORT
588|Because the blasphemy was cast against Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu Himself, He did not feel sorry, and therefore He
>|was smiling. This is ideal Vaisnava behavior. One should
>|not become angry upon hearing criticism of himself, but if
>|other Vaisnavas are criticized one must be prepared to act
>|as previously suggested. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very
>|compassionate for His pure devotees Tapana Misra and
>|Candrasekhara; therefore by His grace this brahmana
>|immediately came to Him. By His omnipotency the Lord
>|created this situation for the happiness of His devotees.
589|Adi 7.53
590|TEXT 53
591|TEXT
592|asi' nivedana kare carane dhariya
593|eka vastu magon, deha prasanna ha-iya
594|SYNONYMS
595|asi'-coming there; nivedana-submissive statement; kare-made;
>| carane-unto the lotus feet; dhariya-capturing; eka-one;
>|vastu-thing; magon-beg from You; deha-kindly give it to me;
>|prasanna-being pleased; ha-iya-becoming so.
596|TRANSLATION
597|The brahmana immediately fell at the lotus feet of Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu and requested Him to accept his proposal in a
>|joyful mood.
598|PURPORT
599|The Vedic injunctions state, tad viddhi pranipatena
>|pariprasnena sevaya: one must approach a superior authority
>|in humbleness (Bg. 4.34). One cannot challenge a superior
>|authority, but with great submission one can submit his
>|proposal for acceptance by the spiritual master or
>|spiritual authorities. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is an ideal
>|teacher by His personal behavior, and so also are all His
>|disciples. Thus this brahmana, being purified in
>|association with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, followed these
>|principles in submitting his request to the higher
>|authority. He fell down at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu and then spoke as follows.
600|Adi 7.54
601|TEXT 54
602|TEXT
603|sakala sannyasi muni kainu nimantrana
604|tumi yadi aisa, purna haya mora mana
605|SYNONYMS
606|sakala-all; sannyasi-renouncers; muni-I; kainu-made;
>|nimantrana-invited; tumi-Your good self; yadi-if; aisa-come;
>| purna-fulfillment; haya-becomes; mora-my; mana-mind.
607|TRANSLATION
608|"My dear Lord, I have invited all the sannyasis of Benares
>|to my home. My desires will be fulfilled if You also accept
>|my invitation.
609|PURPORT
610|This brahmana knew that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the only
>|Vaisnava sannyasi in Benares at that time and all the
>|others were Mayavadis. It is the duty of a grhastha to
>|sometimes invite sannyasis to take food at his home. This
>|grhastha-brahmana wanted to invite all the sannyasis to his
>|house, but he also knew that it would be very difficult to
>|induce Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to accept such an
>|invitation because the Mayavadi sannyasis would be present.
>|Therefore he fell down at His feet and fervently appealed
>|to the Lord to be compassionate and grant his request. Thus
>|he humbly submitted his desire.
611|Adi 7.55
612|TEXT 55
613|TEXT
614|na yaha sannyasi-gosthi, iha ami jani
615|more anugraha kara nimantrana mani'
616|SYNONYMS
617|na-not; yaha-You go; sannyasi-gosthi-the association of
>|Mayavadi sannyasis; iha-this; ami-I; jani-know; more-unto
>|me; anugraha-merciful; kara-become; nimantrana-invitation;
>|mani'-accepting.
618|TRANSLATION
619|"My dear Lord, I know that You never mix with other
>|sannyasis, but please be merciful unto me and accept my
>|invitation.
620|PURPORT
621|An acarya, or great personality of the Vaisnava school, is
>|very strict in his principles, but although he is as hard
>|as a thunderbolt, sometimes he is as soft as a rose. Thus
>|actually he is independent. He follows all the rules and
>|regulations strictly, but sometimes he slackens this policy.
>| It was known that Lord Caitanya never mixed with the
>|Mayavadi sannyasis, yet He conceded to the request of the
>|brahmana, as stated in the next verse.
622|Adi 7.56
623|TEXT 56
624|TEXT
625|prabhu hasi' nimantrana kaila angikara
626|sannyasire krpa lagi' e bhangi tanhara
627|SYNONYMS
628|prabhu-the Lord; hasi'-smiling; nimantrana-invitation;
>|kaila-made; angikara-acceptance; sannyasire-unto the
>|Mayavadi sannyasis; krpa-to show them mercy; lagi'-for the
>|matter of; e-this; bhangi-gesture; tanhara-His.
629|TRANSLATION
630|Lord Caitanya smiled and accepted the invitation of the
>|brahmana. He made this gesture to show His mercy to the
>|Mayavadi sannyasis.
631|PURPORT
632|Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara appealed to the lotus feet
>|of the Lord regarding their grief at the criticism of Him
>|by the sannyasis in Benares. Caitanya Mahaprabhu merely
>|smiled, yet He wanted to fulfill the desires of His
>|devotees, and the opportunity came when the brahmana came
>|to request Him to accept his invitation to be present in
>|the midst of the other sannyasis. This coincidence was made
>|possible by the omnipotency of the Lord.
633|Adi 7.57
634| TEXT 57
635|TEXT
636|se vipra janena prabhu na ya'na ka'ra ghare
637|tanhara preranaya tanre atyagraha kare
638|SYNONYMS
639|se-that; vipra-brahmana; janena-knew it; prabhu-Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na-never; ya'na-goes; ka'ra-anyone's;
>|ghare-house; tanhara-His; preranaya-by inspiration; tanre-
>|unto Him; atyagraha kare-strongly urging to accept the
>|invitation.
640|TRANSLATION
641| 57>The brahmana knew that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu never
>|went to anyone else's house, yet due to inspiration from
>|the Lord he earnestly requested Him to accept this
>|invitation.
642|Adi 7.58
643|TEXT 58
644|TEXT
645|ara dine gela prabhu se vipra-bhavane
646|dekhilena, vasiyachena sannyasira gane
647|SYNONYMS
648|ara-next; dine-day; gela-went; prabhu-the Lord; se-that;
>|vipra-brahmana; bhavane-in the house of; dekhilena-He saw;
>|vasiyachena-there were sitting; sannyasira-all the
>|sannyasis; gane-in a group.
649|TRANSLATION
650|The next day, when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the
>|house of that brahmana, He saw all the sannyasis of Benares
>|sitting there.
651|Adi 7.59
652|TEXT 59
653|TEXT
654|saba namaskari' gela pada-praksalane
655|pada praksalana kari vasila sei sthane
656|SYNONYMS
657|saba-to all; namaskari'-offering obeisances; gela-went;
>|pada-foot; praksalane-for washing; pada-foot; praksalana-
>|washing; kari-finishing; vasila-sat down; sei-in that;
>|sthane-place.
658|TRANSLATION
659|As soon as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the sannyasis He
>|immediately offered obeisances, and then He went to wash
>|His feet. After washing His feet, He sat down by the place
>|where He had done so.
660|PURPORT
661|By offering His obeisances to the Mayavadi sannyasis, Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu very clearly exhibited His humbleness
>|to everyone. Vaisnavas must not be disrespectful to anyone,
>|to say nothing of a sannyasi. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|teaches, amanina mana-dena: one should always be respectful
>|to others but should not demand respect for himself. A
>|sannyasi should always walk barefoot, and therefore when he
>|enters a temple or a society of devotees he should first
>|wash his feet and then sit down in a proper place. In India
>|it is still the prevalent custom that one put his shoes in
>|a specified place and then enter the temple barefoot after
>|washing his feet. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is an ideal
>|acarya, and those who follow in His footsteps should
>|practice the methods of devotional life that He teaches us.
662|Adi 7.60
663|TEXT 60
664|TEXT
665|vasiya karila kichu aisvarya prakasa
666|mahatejomaya vapu koti-suryabhasa
667|SYNONYMS
668|vasiya-after sitting; karila-exhibited; kichu-some;
>|aisvarya-mystic power; prakasa-manifested; maha-tejo-maya-
>|very brilliantly; vapu-body; koti-millions; surya-sun;
>|abhasa-reflection.
669|TRANSLATION
670|After sitting on the ground, Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited
>|His mystic power by manifesting an effulgence as brilliant
>|as the illumination of millions of suns.
671|PURPORT
672|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead Krsna, is full of all potencies. Therefore it is
>|not remarkable for Him to manifest the illumination of
>|millions of suns. Lord Sri Krsna is known as Yogesvara, the
>|master of all mystic powers. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|is Lord Krsna Himself; therefore He can exhibit any mystic
>|power.
673|Adi 7.61
674|TEXT 61
675|TEXT
676|prabhave akarsila saba sannyasira mana
677|uthila sannyasi saba chadiya asana
678|SYNONYMS
679|prabhave-by such illumination; akarsila-He attracted; saba-
>|all; sannyasira-the Mayavadi sannyasis; mana-mind; uthila-
>|stood up; sannyasi-all the Mayavadi sannyasis; saba-all;
>|chadiya-giving up; asana-sitting places.
680|TRANSLATION
681|When the sannyasis saw the brilliant illumination of the
>|body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, their minds were attracted,
>| and they all immediately gave up their sitting places and
>|stood in respect.
682|PURPORT
683|To draw the attention of common men, sometimes saintly
>|persons, acaryas and teachers exhibit extraordinary
>|opulences. This is necessary to attract the attention of
>|fools, but a saintly person should not misuse such power
>|for personal sense gratification like false saints who
>|declare themselves to be God. Even a magician can exhibit
>|extraordinary feats that are not understandable to common
>|men, but this does not mean that the magician is God. It is
>|a most sinful activity to attract attention by exhibiting
>|mystic powers and then to utilize this opportunity to
>|declare oneself to be God. A real saintly person never
>|declares himself to be God but always places himself in the
>|position of a servant of God. For a servant of God there is
>|no need to exhibit mystic powers, and he does not like to
>|do so, but on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
>|a humble servant of God performs his activities in such a
>|wonderful way that no common man can dare try to act like
>|him. Yet a saintly person never takes credit for such
>|actions because he knows very well that when wonderful
>|things are done on his behalf by the grace of the Supreme
>|Lord, all credit goes to the master and not to the servant.
684|Adi 7.62
685|TEXT 62
686|TEXT
687|prakasananda-name sarva sannyasi-pradhana
688|prabhuke kahila kichu kariya sammana
689|SYNONYMS
690|prakasananda-Prakasananda; name-of the name; sarva-all;
>|sannyasi-pradhana-chief of the Mayavadi sannyasis; prabhuke-
>|unto the Lord; kahila-said; kichu-something; kariya-showing
>|Him; sammana-respect.
691|TRANSLATION
692|The leader of all the Mayavadi sannyasis present was named
>|Prakasananda Sarasvati, and after standing up he addressed
>|Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as follows with great respect.
693|PURPORT
694|As Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed respect to all the
>|Mayavadi sannyasis, similarly the leader of the Mayavadi
>|sannyasis, Prakasananda, also showed his respects to the
>|Lord.
695|Adi 7.63
696|TEXT 63
697|TEXT
698|ihan aisa, ihan aisa, sunaha sripada
699|apavitra sthane vaisa, kiba avasada
700|SYNONYMS
701|ihan aisa-come here; ihan aisa-come here; sunaha-kindly
>|hear; sripada-Your Holiness; apavitra-unholy; sthane-place;
>|vaisa-You are sitting; kiba-what is that; avasada-
>|lamentation.
702|TRANSLATION
703|"Please come here. Please come here, Your Holiness. Why do
>|You sit in that unclean place? What has caused Your
>|lamentation?"
704|PURPORT
705|Here is the distinction between Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|and Prakasananda Sarasvati. In the material world everyone
>|wants to introduce himself as very important and great, but
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced Himself very humbly and
>|meekly.The Mayavadis were sitting in an exalted position,
>|and Caitanya Mahaprabhu sat in a place that was not even
>|clean. Therefore the Mayavadi sannyasis thought that He
>|must have been aggrieved for some reason, and Prakasananda
>|Sarasvati inquired about the cause for His lamentation.
706|Adi 7.64
707|TEXT 64
708|TEXT
709|prabhu kahe,-ami ha-i hina-sampradaya
710|toma-sabara sabhaya vasite na yuyaya
711|SYNONYMS
712|prabhu kahe-the Lord replied; ami-I; ha-i-am; hina-
>|sampradaya-belonging to a lower spiritual school; toma-
>|sabara-of all of you; sabhaya-in the assembly; vasite-to
>|sit down; na-never; yuyaya-I can dare.
713|TRANSLATION
714|The Lord replied: "I belong to a lower order of sannyasis.
>|Therefore I do not deserve to sit with you."
715|PURPORT
716|Mayavadi sannyasis are always very puffed up because of
>|their knowledge of Sanskrit and because they belong to the
>|Sankara-sampradaya. They are always under the impression
>|that unless one is a brahmana and a very good Sanskrit
>|scholar, especially in grammar, one cannot accept the
>|renounced order of life or become a preacher. Mayavadi
>|sannyasis always misinterpret all the sastras with their
>|word jugglery and grammatical compositions, yet Sripada
>|Sankaracarya himself condemned such jugglery of words in
>|the verse prapte sannihite kale na hi na hi raksati dukrn
>|karane. Dukrn refers to suffixes and prefixes in Sanskrit
>|grammar. Sankaracarya warned his disciples that if they
>|concerned themselves only with the principles of grammar,
>|not worshiping Govinda, they were fools who would never be
>|saved. Yet in spite of Sripada Sankaracarya's instructions,
>|foolish Mayavadi sannyasis are always busy juggling words
>|on the basis of strict Sanskrit grammar.
717|Mayavadi sannyasis are very puffed up if they hold the
>|elevated sannyasa title Tirtha, Asrama or Sarasvati. Even
>|among Mayavadis, those who belong to other sampradayas and
>|hold other titles, such as Vana, Aranya or Bharati, are
>|considered to be lower-grade sannyasis. Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa from the Bharati-sampradaya,
>|and thus He considered Himself a lower sannyasi than
>|Prakasananda Sarasvati. To remain distinct from Vaisnava
>|sannyasis, the sannyasis of the Mayavadi-sampradaya always
>|think themselves to be situated in a very elevated
>|spiritual order, but Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in order
>|to teach them how to become humble and meek, accepted
>|Himself as belonging to a lower sampradaya of sannyasis.
>|Thus He wanted to point out clearly that a sannyasi is one
>|who is advanced in spiritual knowledge. One who is advanced
>|in spiritual knowledge should be accepted as occupying a
>|better position than those who lack such knowledge.
718|The Mayavadi-sampradaya sannyasis are generally known as
>|Vedantis, as if Vedanta were their monopoly. Actually,
>|however, Vedanti refers to a person who perfectly knows
>|Krsna. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, vedais ca
>|sarvair aham eva vedyah: "By all the Vedas it is Krsna who
>|is to be known. " (Bg. 15.15) The so-called Mayavadi
>|Vedantis do not know who Krsna is; therefore their title of
>|Vedanti, or "knower of Vedanta philosophy," is simply a
>|pretension. Mayavadi sannyasis always think of themselves
>|as real sannyasis and consider sannyasis of the Vaisnava
>|order to be brahmacaris. A brahmacari is supposed to engage
>|in the service of a sannyasi and accept him as his guru.
>|Mayavadi sannyasis therefore declare themselves to be not
>|only gurus but jagad-gurus, or the spiritual masters of the
>|entire world, although, of course, they cannot see the
>|entire world. Sometimes they dress gorgeously and travel on
>|the backs of elephants in processions, and thus they are
>|always puffed up, accepting themselves as jagad-gurus.
>|Srila Rupa Gosvami, however, has explained that jagad-guru
>|properly refers to one who is the controller of his tongue,
>|mind, words, belly, genitals and anger. Prthivim sa sisyat:
>|such a jagad-guru is completely fit to make disciples all
>|over the world. Due to false prestige, Mayavadi sannyasis
>|who do not have these qualifications sometimes harass and
>|blaspheme a Vaisnava sannyasi who humbly engages in the
>|service of the Lord.
719|Adi 7.65
720|TEXT 65
721|TEXT
722|apane prakasananda hatete dhariya
723|vasaila sabha-madhye sammana kariya
724|SYNONYMS
725|apane-personally; prakasananda-Prakasananda; hatete-by His
>|hand; dhariya-capturing; vasaila-made Him sit; sabha-madhye-
>|in the assembly of; sammana-with great respect; kariya-
>|offering Him.
726|TRANSLATION
727|Prakasananda Sarasvati, however, caught Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu personally by the hand and seated Him with great
>|respect in the midst of the assembly.
728|PURPORT
729|The respectful behavior of Prakasananda Sarasvati toward
>|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very much to be appreciated.
>|Such behavior is calculated to be ajnata-sukrti, or pious
>|activities that one executes unknowingly. Thus Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu very tactfully gave Prakasananda Sarasvati an
>|opportunity to advance in ajnata-sukrti so that in the
>|future he might actually become a Vaisnava sannyasi.
730|Adi 7.66
731|TEXT 66
732|TEXT
733|puchila, tomara nama 'sri-krsna-caitanya'
734|kesava-bharatira sisya, tate tumi dhanya
735|SYNONYMS
736|puchila-inquired; tomara-Your; nama-name; sri-krsna-
>|caitanya-the name Sri Krsna Caitanya; kesava-bharatira
>|sisya-You are a disciple of Kesava Bharati; tate-in that
>|connection; tumi-You are; dhanya-glorious.
737|TRANSLATION
738|Prakasananda Sarasvati then said: "I understand that Your
>|name is Sri Krsna Caitanya. You are a disciple of Sri
>|Kesava Bharati, and therefore You are glorious.
739|Adi 7.67
740|TEXT 67
741|TEXT
742|sampradayika sannyasi tumi, raha ei grame
743|ki karane ama-sabara na kara darsane
744|SYNONYMS
745|sampradayika-of the community; sannyasi-Mayavadi sannyasi;
>|tumi-You are; raha-live; ei-this; grame-in Varanasi; ki
>|karane-for what reason; ama-sabara-with us; na-do not; kara-
>|endeavor; darsane-to mix.
746|TRANSLATION
747|"You belong to our Sankara-sampradaya and live in our
>|village, Varanasi. Why then do You not associate with us?
>|Why is it that You avoid even seeing us?
748|PURPORT
749|A Vaisnava sannyasi or a Vaisnava in the second stage of
>|advancement in spiritual knowledge can understand four
>|principles-namely, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
>|devotees, the innocent and the jealous-and he behaves
>|differently with each. He tries to increase his love for
>|Godhead, make friendship with devotees and preach Krsna
>|consciousness among the innocent, but he avoids the jealous
>|who are envious of the Krsna consciousness movement. Lord
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself exemplified such behavior, and
>|this is why Prakasananda Sarasvati inquired why He did not
>|associate or even talk with them. Caitanya Mahaprabhu
>|confirmed by example that a preacher of the Krsna
>|consciousness movement generally should not waste his time
>|talking with Mayavadi sannyasis, but when there are
>|arguments on the basis of sastra, a Vaisnava must come
>|forward to talk and defeat them in philosophy.
750|According to Mayavadi sannyasis, only one who takes
>|sannyasa in the disciplic succession from Sankaracarya is a
>|Vedic sannyasi. Sometimes it is challenged that the
>|sannyasis who are preaching in the Krsna consciousness
>|movement are not genuine because they do not belong to
>|brahmana families, for Mayavadis do not offer sannyasa to
>|one who does not belong to a brahmana family by birth.
>|Unfortunately, however, they do not know that at present
>|everyone is born a sudra (kalau sudra-sambhavah). It is to
>|be understood that there are no brahmanas in this age
>|because those who claim to be brahmanas simply on the basis
>|of birthright do not have the brahminical qualifications.
>|However, even if one is born in a non-brahmana family, if
>|he has the brahminical qualifications he should be accepted
>|as a brahmana, as confirmed by Srila Narada Muni and the
>|great saint Sridhara Svami. This is also stated in Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam. Both Narada and Sridhara Svami completely agree
>|that one cannot be a brahmana by birthright but must
>|possess the qualities of a brahmana. Thus in our Krsna
>|consciousness movement we never offer the sannyasa order to
>|a person whom we do not find to be qualified in terms of
>|the prescribed brahminical principles. Although it is a
>|fact that unless one is a brahmana he cannot become a
>|sannyasi, it is not a valid principle that an unqualified
>|man who is born in a brahmana family is a brahmana whereas
>|a brahminically qualified person born in a non-brahmana
>|family cannot be accepted. The Krsna consciousness movement
>|strictly follows the injunctions of Srimad-Bhagavatam,
>|avoiding misleading heresy and manufactured conclusions.
751|Adi 7.68
752|TEXT 68
753|TEXT
754|sannyasi ha-iya kara nartana-gayana
755|bhavuka saba sange lana kara sankirtana
756|SYNONYMS
757|sannyasi-the renounced order of life; ha-iya-accepting;
>|kara-You do; nartana-gayana-dancing and chanting; bhavuka-
>|fanatics; saba-all; sange-in Your company; lana-accepting
>|them; kara-You do; sankirtana-chanting of the holy name of
>|the Lord.
758|TRANSLATION
759|"You are a sannyasi. Why then do You indulge in chanting
>|and dancing, engaging in Your sankirtana movement in the
>|company of fanatics?
760|PURPORT
761|This is a challenge by Prakasananda Sarasvati to Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
>|Thakura writes in his Anubhasya that Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu, who is the object of Vedanta philosophical
>|research, has very kindly determined who is an appropriate
>|candidate for study of Vedanta philosophy. The first
>|qualification of such a candidate is expressed by Sri
>|Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastaka:
762|trnad api sunicena
763|taror iva sahisnuna
764|amanina manadena
765|kirtaniyah sada harih
766|This statement indicates that one can hear or speak about
>|Vedanta philosophy through the disciplic succession. One
>|must be very humble and meek, more tolerant than a tree and
>|more humble than the grass. One should not claim respect
>|for himself but should be prepared to give all respect to
>|others. One must have these qualifications to be eligible
>|to understand Vedic knowledge.
767|Adi 7.69
768|TEXT 69
769|TEXT
770|vedanta-pathana, dhyana,-sannyasira dharma
771|taha chadi' kara kene bhavukera karma
772|SYNONYMS
773|vedanta-pathana-studying Vedanta philosophy; dhyana-
>|meditation; sannyasira-of a sannyasi; dharma-duties; taha
>|chadi'-giving them up; kara-You do; kene-why; bhavukera-of
>|the fanatics; karma-activities.
774|TRANSLATION
775|"Meditation and the study of Vedanta are the sole duties of
>|a sannyasi. Why do You abandon these to dance with fanatics?
776|PURPORT
777|As explained in regard to verse 41, Mayavadi sannyasis do
>|not approve of chanting and dancing. Prakasananda Sarasvati,
>| like Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, misunderstood Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu to be a misled young sannyasi, and therefore he
>|asked Him why He indulged in the association of fanatics
>|instead of executing the duty of a sannyasi.
778|Adi 7.70
779|TEXT 70
780|TEXT
781|prabhave dekhiye toma saksat narayana
782|hinacara kara kene, ithe ki karana
783|SYNONYMS
784|prabhave-in Your opulence; dekhiye-I see; toma-You; saksat-
>|directly; narayana-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; hina-
>|acara-lower-class behavior; kara-You do; kene-why; ithe-in
>|this; ki-what is; karana-reason.
785|TRANSLATION
786|"You look as brilliant as if You were Narayana Himself.
>|Will You kindly explain the reason that You have adopted
>|the behavior of lower-class people?"
787|PURPORT
788|Due to renunciation, Vedanta study, meditation and the
>|strict regulative principles of their daily routine,
>|Mayavadi sannyasis are certainly in a position to execute
>|pious activities. Thus Prakasananda Sarasvati, on account
>|of his piety, could understand that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was
>|not an ordinary person but the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead. Saksat narayana: he considered Him to be Narayana
>|Himself. Mayavadi sannyasis address one another as Narayana
>|because they think that they are all going to be Narayana
>|or merge with Narayana in the next life. Prakasananda
>|Sarasvati appreciated that Caitanya Mahaprabhu had already
>|directly become Narayana and did not need to wait until His
>|next life. One difference between the Vaisnava and Mayavadi
>|philosophies is that Mayavadi philosophers think that after
>|giving up their bodies they are going to become Narayana by
>|merging with His body, whereas Vaisnava philosophers
>|understand that after the body dies they are going to have
>|a transcendental, spiritual body in which to associate with
>|Narayana.
789|Adi 7.71
790|TEXT 71
791|TEXT
792|prabhu kahe-suna, sripada, ihara karana
793|guru more murkha dekhi' karila sasana
794|SYNONYMS
795|prabhu kahe-the Lord replied; suna-kindly hear; sripada-
>|Your Holiness; ihara-of this; karana-reason; guru-My
>|spiritual master; more-Me; murkha-fool; dekhi'-
>|understanding; karila-he did; sasana-chastisement.
796|TRANSLATION
797|Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied to Prakasananda Sarasvati, "
>|My dear sir, kindly hear the reason. My spiritual master
>|considered Me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me.
798|PURPORT
799|When Prakasananda Sarasvati inquired from Lord Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu why He neither studied Vedanta nor performed
>|meditation, Lord Caitanya presented Himself as a number one
>|fool in order to indicate that the present age, Kali-yuga,
>|is an age of fools and rascals in which it is not possible
>|to obtain perfection simply by reading Vedanta philosophy
>|and meditating. The sastras strongly recommend:.
800|harer nama harer nama
801|harer namaiva kevalam
802|kalau nasty eva nasty eva
803|nasty eva gatir anyatha
804|"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of
>|deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
>|There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no
>|other way." People in general in Kali-yuga are so fallen
>|that it is not possible for them to obtain perfection
>|simply by studying the Vedanta-sutra. One should therefore
>|seriously take to the constant chanting of the holy name of
>|the Lord.
805|Adi 7.72
806|TEXT 72
807|TEXT
808|murkha tumi, tomara nahika vedantadhikara
809|'krsna-mantra' japa sada,-ei mantra-sara
810|SYNONYMS
811|murkha tumi-You are a fool; tomara-Your; nahika-there is
>|not; vedanta-Vedanta philosophy; adhikara-qualification to
>|study; krsna-mantra-the hymn of Krsna (Hare Krsna); japa-
>|chant; sada-always; ei-this; mantra-hymn; sara-essence of
>|all Vedic knowledge.
812|TRANSLATION
813|" 'You are a fool,' he said. 'You are not qualified to
>|study Vedanta philosophy, and therefore You must always
>|chant the holy name of Krsna. This is the essence of all
>|mantras, or Vedic hymns.
814|PURPORT
815|Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja comments in
>|this connection, "One can become perfectly successful in
>|the mission of his life if he acts exactly according to the
>|words he hears from the mouth of his spiritual master."
>|This acceptance of the words of the spiritual master is
>|called srauta-vakya, which indicates that the disciple must
>|carry out the spiritual master's instructions without
>|deviation. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks in
>|this connection that a disciple must accept the words of
>|his spiritual master as his life and soul. Sri Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu here confirms this by saying that since His
>|spiritual master ordered Him only to chant the holy name of
>|Krsna, He always chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
>|according to this direction ('krsna-mantra' japa sada,-ei
>|mantra-sara).
816|Krsna is the origin of everything. Therefore when a person
>|is fully Krsna conscious it is to be understood that his
>|relationship with Krsna has been fully confirmed. Lacking
>|Krsna consciousness, one is only partially related with
>|Krsna and is therefore not in his constitutional position.
>|Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality
>|of Godhead Krsna, the spiritual master of the entire
>|universe, He nevertheless took the position of a disciple
>|in order to teach by example how a devotee should strictly
>|follow the orders of a spiritual master in executing the
>|duty of always chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. One who
>|is very much attracted to the study of Vedanta philosophy
>|must take lessons from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In this age,
>| no one is actually competent to study Vedanta, and
>|therefore it is better that one chant the holy name of the
>|Lord, which is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, as Krsna
>|Himself confirms in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15):
817|vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
818|vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
819|"By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the
>|compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."
820|Only fools give up the service of the spiritual master and
>|think themselves advanced in spiritual knowledge. In order
>|to check such fools, Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself presented
>|the perfect example of how to be a disciple. A spiritual
>|master knows very well how to engage each disciple in a
>|particular duty, but if a disciple, thinking himself more
>|advanced than his spiritual master, gives up his orders and
>|acts independently, he checks his own spiritual progress.
>|Every disciple must consider himself completely unaware of
>|the science of Krsna and must always be ready to carry out
>|the orders of the spiritual master to become competent in
>|Krsna consciousness. A disciple should always remain a fool
>|before his spiritual master. Therefore sometimes
>|pseudospiritualists accept a spiritual
>|master who is not even fit to become a disciple because
>|they want to keep him under their control. This is useless
>|for spiritual realization.
821|One who imperfectly knows Krsna consciousness cannot know
>|Vedanta philosophy. A showy display of Vedanta study
>|without Krsna consciousness is a feature of the external
>|energy, maya, and as long as one is attracted by the
>|inebrieties of this ever-changing material energy, he
>|deviates from devotion to the Supreme Personality of
>|Godhead. An actual follower of Vedanta philosophy is a
>|devotee of Lord Visnu, who is the greatest of the great and
>|the maintainer of the entire universe. Unless one surpasses
>|the field of activities in service to the limited, one
>|cannot reach the unlimited. Knowledge of the unlimited is
>|actual brahma-jnana, or knowledge of the Supreme. Those who
>|are addicted to fruitive activities and speculative
>|knowledge cannot understand the value of holy name of
>|Lord Krsna, which is always completely pure, eternally
>|liberated and full of spiritual bliss. One who has taken
>|shelter of the holy name of the Lord, which is identical
>|with the Lord, does not have to study Vedanta philosophy,
>|for he has already completed all such study.
822|One who is unfit to chant the holy name of Krsna but thinks
>|that the holy name is different from Krsna and thus takes
>|shelter of Vedanta study in order to understand Him must be
>|considered a number one fool, as confirmed by Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu by His personal behavior, and philosophical
>|speculators who want to make Vedanta philosophy an academic
>|career are also considered to be within the material energy.
>| A person who always chants the holy name of the Lord,
>|however, is already beyond the ocean of nescience, and thus
>|even a person born in a low family who engages in chanting
>|the holy name of the Lord is considered to be beyond the
>|study of Vedanta philosophy. In this connection Srimad-
>|Bhagavatam (3.33.7) states:
823|aho bata sva-paco 'to gariyan
824|yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
825|tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
826|brahmanucur nama grnanti ye te
827|"If a person born in a family of dog-eaters takes to the
>|chanting of the holy name of Krsna, it is to be understood
>|that in his previous life he must have executed all kinds
>|of austerities and penances and performed all the Vedic
>|yajnas." Another quotation states:
828|rg-vedo 'tha yajur-vedah sama-vedo 'py atharvanah
829|adhitas tena yenoktam harir ity aksara-dvayam
830|"A person who chants the two syllables ha-ri has already
>|studied the four Vedas-Sama, Rg, Yajur and Atharva."
831|Taking advantage of these verses, there are some sahajiyas
>|who, taking everything very cheaply, consider themselves
>|elevated Vaisnavas but do not care even to touch the
>|Vedanta-sutra or Vedanta philosophy. A real Vaisnava should,
>| however, study Vedanta philosophy, but if after studying
>|Vedanta one does not adopt the chanting of the holy name of
>|the Lord, he is no better than a Mayavadi. Therefore, one
>|should not be a Mayavadi, yet one should not be unaware of
>|the subject matter of Vedanta philosophy. Indeed, Caitanya
>|Mahaprabhu exhibited His knowledge of Vedanta in His
>|discourses with Prakasananda Sarasvati. Thus it is to be
>|understood that a Vaisnava should be completely conversant
>|with Vedanta philosophy, yet he should not think that
>|studying Vedanta is all in all and therefore be unattached
>|to the chanting of the holy name. A devotee must know the
>|importance of simultaneously understanding Vedanta
>|philosophy and chanting the holy names. If by studying
>|Vedanta one becomes an impersonalist, he has not been able
>|to understand Vedanta. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-
>|gita (15.15). Vedanta means "the end of knowledge." The
>|ultimate end of knowledge is knowledge of Krsna, who is
>|identical with His holy name. Cheap Vaisnavas (sahajiyas)
>|do not care to study the Vedanta philosophy as commented
>|upon by the four acaryas. In the Gaudiya-sampradaya there
>|is a Vedanta commentary called the Govinda-bhasya, but the
>|sahajiyas consider such commentaries to be untouchable
>|philosophical speculation, and they consider the acaryas to
>|be mixed devotees. Thus they clear their way to hell.
832|Adi 7.73
833|TEXT 73
834|TEXT
835|krsna-mantra haite habe samsara-mocana
836|krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana
837|SYNONYMS
838|krsna-mantra-the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra;
>|haite-from; habe-it will be; samsara-material existence;
>|mocana-delilverance; krsna-nama-the holy name of Lord Krsna;
>| haite-from; pabe-one will get; krsnera-of Lord Krsna;
>|carana-lotus feet.
839|TRANSLATION
840|"Simply by chanting the holy name of Krsna one can obtain
>|freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting
>|the Hare Krsna mantra one will be able to see the lotus
>|feet of the Lord.
841|PURPORT
842|In his Anubhasya, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami
>|says that the actual effect that will be visible as soon as
>|one achieves transcendental knowledge is that he will
>|immediately become free from the clutches of maya and fully
>|engage in the service of the Lord. Unless one serves the
>|Supreme Personality of Godhead Mukunda, one cannot become
>|free from fruitive activities under the external energy.
>|However, when one chants the holy name of the Lord
>|offenselessly, one can realize a transcendental position
>|that is completely aloof from the material conception of
>|life. Rendering service to the Lord, a devotee relates to
>|the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five
>|relationships-namely, santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya or
>|madhurya-and thus he relishes transcendental bliss in that
>|relationship. Such a relationship certainly transcends the
>|body and mind. When one realizes that the holy name of the
>|Lord is identical with the Supreme Person, he becomes
>|completely eligible to chant the holy name of the Lord.
>|Such an ecstatic chanter and dancer must be considered to
>|have a direct relationship with the Lord.
843|According to the Vedic principles, there are three stages
>|of spiritual advancement, namely, sambandha-jnana,
>|abhidheya and prayojana. Sambandha-jnana refers to
>|establishing one's original relationship with the Supreme
>|Personality of Godhead, abhidheya refe