Sri Caitanya Caritamrita

Adi-lila
Chapter 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features

Text 1: Let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, 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.
Text 2: Let me offer glorification to the Supreme Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. One who has taken shelter of His lotus feet is the most glorified person.
Text 3: In the beginning I have discussed the truth about the spiritual master. Now I shall try to explain the Pañca-tattva.
Text 4: These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement with great pleasure.
Text 5: 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.
Text 6: Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has manifested Himself in five as a devotee, expansion of a devotee, incarnation of a devotee, pure devotee and devotional energy.
Text 7: Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all pleasure, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, the supreme controller. No one is greater than or equal to ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, yet He appears as the son of MahÄrÄja Nanda.
Text 8: Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the supreme enjoyer in the rÄsa dance. He is the leader of the damsels of Vraja, and all others are simply His associates.
Text* 9: The selfsame Lord Kṛṣṇa advented Himself as ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu with all His eternal associates, who are also equally glorious.
Text 10: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who is the supreme controller, the one Personality of Godhead, has ecstatically become a devotee, yet His body is transcendental and not materially tinged.
Text 11: The transcendental mellow of conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa is so wonderful that Kṛṣṇa Himself accepts the form of a devotee to relish and taste it fully.
Text* 12: For this reason ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the supreme teacher, accepts the form of a devotee and accepts Lord NityÄnanda as His elder brother.
Text 13: ÅšrÄ« Advaita Ä€cÄrya is Lord Caitanya’s incarnation as a devotee. Therefore these three tattvas [Caitanya MahÄprabhu, NityÄnanda Prabhu and Advaita GosÄñi] are the predominators, or masters.
Text 14: One of Them is MahÄprabhu, and the other two are prabhus. These two prabhus serve the lotus feet of MahÄprabhu.
Text 15: The three predominators [Caitanya MahÄprabhu, NityÄnanda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu] are worshipable by all living entities, and the fourth principle [ÅšrÄ« GadÄdhara Prabhu] is to be understood as Their worshiper.
Text* 16: There are innumerable pure devotees of the Lord, headed by ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura, who are known as unalloyed devotees.
Text 17: The devotees headed by GadÄdhara Paṇá¸ita are to be considered incarnations of the internal potency of the Lord. They are confidential devotees engaged in the service of the Lord.
Text 18-19: 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 saṅkīrtana 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.
Text 20-21: The characteristics of Kṛṣṇa are understood to be a storehouse of transcendental love. Although that storehouse of love certainly came with Kṛṣṇa when He was present, it was sealed. But when ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu came with His associates of the Pañca-tattva, they broke the seal and plundered the storehouse to taste transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa. The more they tasted it, the more their thirst for it grew.
Text 22: Śrī Pañca-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.
Text 23: In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya MahÄprabhu 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 Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.
Text 24: Although the members of the Pañca-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.
Text 25: 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.
Text 26: The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind.
Text 27: When the five members of the Pañca-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.
Text 28: The more the five members of the Pañca-tattva cause the rains of love of Godhead to fall, the more the inundation increases and spreads all over the world.
Text 29-30: The impersonalists, fruitive workers, false logicians, blasphemers, nondevotees and lowest among the student community are very expert in avoiding the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and therefore the inundation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot touch them.
Text 31-32: Seeing that the MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s 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.â€
Text 33: Thus the Lord accepted the sannyÄsa order of life after full consideration.
Text 34: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu remained in householder life for twenty-four years, and on the verge of His twenty-fifth year He accepted the sannyÄsa order.
Text* 35: After accepting the sannyÄsa order, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu attracted the attention of all those who had evaded Him, beginning with the logicians.
Text* 36: Thus the students, infidels, fruitive workers and critics all came to surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord.
Text 37: Lord Caitanya excused them all, and they merged into the ocean of devotional service, for no one can escape the unique loving network of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text 38: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared in order to deliver all the fallen souls. Therefore He devised many methods to liberate them from the clutches of mÄyÄ.
Text 39: All were converted into devotees of Lord Caitanya, even the mlecchas and yavanas. Only the impersonalist followers of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya evaded Him.
Text 40: While Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu was passing through VÄrÄṇasÄ« on His way to Vá¹›ndÄvana, the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ« philosophers blasphemed against Him in many ways.
Text 41: The blasphemers said, “Although a sannyÄsÄ«, He does not take interest in the study of VedÄnta but instead always engages in chanting and dancing in saá¹…kÄ«rtana.
Text 42: “This Caitanya MahÄprabhu is an illiterate sannyÄsÄ« and therefore does not know His real function. Guided only by His sentiments, He wanders about in the company of other sentimentalists.â€
Text 43: Hearing all this blasphemy, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu merely smiled to Himself, rejected all these accusations and did not talk with the MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s.
Text 44: Thus neglecting the blasphemy of the VÄrÄṇasÄ« MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu proceeded to MathurÄ, and after visiting MathurÄ He returned to meet the situation.
Text 45: This time Lord Caitanya stayed at the house of CandraÅ›ekhara, although he was regarded as a śūdra or kÄyastha, for the Lord, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is completely independent.
Text 46: As a matter of principle, Lord Caitanya regularly accepted His food at the house of Tapana MiÅ›ra. He never mixed with other sannyÄsÄ«s, nor did He accept invitations from them.
Text 47: When SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« came from Bengal, he met Lord Caitanya at the house of Tapana MiÅ›ra, where Lord Caitanya remained continuously for two months to teach him devotional service.
Text 48: On the basis of scriptures like ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, which reveal these confidential directions, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu instructed SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« regarding all the regular activities of a devotee.
Text* 49: While Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu was instructing SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, both CandraÅ›ekhara and Tapana MiÅ›ra became very unhappy. Therefore they submitted an appeal unto the lotus feet of the Lord.
Text 50: “How long can we tolerate the blasphemy by Your critics against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather than hear such blasphemy.
Text 51: “The MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s are all criticizing Your Holiness. We cannot tolerate hearing such criticism, for this blasphemy breaks our hearts.â€
Text 52: While Tapana MiÅ›ra and CandraÅ›ekhara were thus talking with ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, He only smiled slightly and remained silent. At that time a brÄhmaṇa came there to meet the Lord.
Text 53: The brÄhmaṇa immediately fell at the lotus feet of Caitanya MahÄprabhu and requested Him to accept his proposal in a joyful mood.
Text 54: “My dear Lord, I have invited all the sannyÄsÄ«s of Benares to my home. My desires will be fulfilled if You also accept my invitation.
Text 55: “My dear Lord, I know that You never mix with other sannyÄsÄ«s, but please be merciful unto me and accept my invitation.â€
Text 56: Lord Caitanya smiled and accepted the invitation of the brÄhmaṇa. He made this gesture to show His mercy to the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s.
Text* 57: The brÄhmaṇa knew that Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu never went to anyone else’s house, yet due to inspiration from the Lord he earnestly requested Him to accept this invitation.
Text* 58: The next day, when Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu went to the house of that brÄhmaṇa, He saw all the sannyÄsÄ«s of Benares sitting there.
Text 59: As soon as ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu saw the sannyÄsÄ«s 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.
Text 60: After sitting on the ground, Caitanya MahÄprabhu exhibited His mystic power by manifesting an effulgence as brilliant as the illumination of millions of suns.
Text 61: When the sannyÄsÄ«s saw the brilliant illumination of the body of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, their minds were attracted, and they all immediately gave up their sitting places and stood in respect.
Text 62: The leader of all the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s present was named PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ«, and after standing up he addressed Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu as follows with great respect.
Text 63: “Please come here. Please come here, Your Holiness. Why do You sit in that unclean place? What has caused Your lamentation?â€
Text 64: The Lord replied, “I belong to a lower order of sannyÄsÄ«s. Therefore I do not deserve to sit with you.â€
Text 65: PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ«, however, caught ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu personally by the hand and seated Him with great respect in the midst of the assembly.
Text* 66: PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ« then said, “I understand that Your name is ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. You are a disciple of ÅšrÄ« KeÅ›ava BhÄratÄ«, and therefore You are glorious.
Text 67: “You belong to our Åšaá¹…kara-sampradÄya and live in our village, VÄrÄṇasÄ«. Why then do You not associate with us? Why is it that You avoid even seeing us?
Text 68: “You are a sannyÄsÄ«. Why then do You indulge in chanting and dancing, engaging in Your saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement in the company of fanatics?
Text 69: “Meditation and the study of VedÄnta are the sole duties of a sannyÄsÄ«. Why do You abandon these to dance with fanatics?
Text 70: “You look as brilliant as if You were NÄrÄyaṇa Himself. Will You kindly explain the reason that You have adopted the behavior of lower-class people?â€
Text 71: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu replied to PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ«, “My dear sir, kindly hear the reason. My spiritual master considered Me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me.
Text 72: “ ‘You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study VedÄnta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.
Text 73: “ ‘Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
Text 74: “ ‘In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.’
Text* 75: “After describing the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra, My spiritual master taught Me another verse, advising Me to always keep it within My throat.
Text 76: “ ‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’
Text* 77: “Since I received this order from My spiritual master, I always chant the holy name, but I thought that by chanting and chanting the holy name I had been bewildered.
Text* 78: “While chanting the holy name of the Lord in pure ecstasy, I lose Myself, and thus I laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a madman.
Text 79: “Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa had covered all My spiritual knowledge.
Text 80: “I saw that I had become mad by chanting the holy name, and I immediately submitted this at the lotus feet of my spiritual master.
Text 81: “ ‘My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mahÄ-mantra!
Text 82: “ ‘Chanting the holy name in ecstasy causes Me to dance, laugh and cry.’ When My spiritual master heard all this, he smiled and then began to speak.
Text 83: “ ‘It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa.
Text 84: “ ‘Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.
Text* 85: “ ‘For a devotee who has actually developed bhÄva, the pleasure derived from dharma, artha, kÄma and moká¹£a appears like a drop in the presence of the sea.
Text* 86: “ ‘The conclusion of all revealed scriptures is that one should awaken his dormant love of Godhead. You are greatly fortunate to have already done so.
Text* 87: “ ‘It is a characteristic of love of Godhead that by nature it induces transcendental symptoms in one’s body and makes one more and more greedy to achieve the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
Text 88: “ ‘When one actually develops love of Godhead, he naturally sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes chants and sometimes runs here and there just like a madman.
Text 89-90: “ ‘Perspiration, trembling, standing on end of one’s bodily hairs, tears, faltering voice, fading complexion, madness, melancholy, patience, pride, joy and humility — these are various natural symptoms of ecstatic love of Godhead, which causes a devotee to dance and float in an ocean of transcendental bliss while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
Text 91: “ ‘It is very good, my dear child, that You have attained the supreme goal of life by developing love of Godhead. Thus You have pleased me very much, and I am very much obliged to You.
Text 92: “ ‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing saá¹…kÄ«rtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting kṛṣṇa-nÄma, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’
Text 93: “Saying this, My spiritual master taught Me a verse from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. It is the essence of all the BhÄgavatam’s instructions; therefore he recited this verse again and again.
Text* 94: “ ‘When a person is actually advanced and takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is agitated and loudly chants the holy name. He also laughs, cries, becomes agitated and chants just like a madman, not caring for outsiders.’
Text 95-96: “I firmly believe in these words of My spiritual master, and therefore I always chant the holy name of the Lord, alone and in the association of devotees. That holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes causes Me to chant and dance, and therefore I chant and dance. Please do not think that I intentionally do it. I do it automatically.
Text 97: “Compared to the ocean of transcendental bliss that one tastes by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization [brahmÄnanda] is like the shallow water in a canal.
Text 98: “ ‘My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.’ â€
Text 99: After hearing Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, all the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s were moved. Their minds changed, and thus they spoke with pleasing words.
Text 100: “Dear ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, what You have said is all true. Only one who is favored by fortune attains love of Godhead.
Text 101: “Dear Sir, there is no objection to Your being a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is satisfied with this. But why do You avoid discussion on the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra? What is the fault in it?â€
Text 102: After hearing the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s speak in that way, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu smiled slightly and said, “My dear sirs, if you don’t mind I can say something to you regarding VedÄnta philosophy.â€
Text 103: Hearing this, the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s became somewhat humble and addressed Caitanya MahÄprabhu as NÄrÄyaṇa Himself, who they all agreed He was.
Text 104: “Dear Caitanya MahÄprabhu,†they said, “to tell You the truth, we are greatly pleased to hear Your words, and furthermore Your bodily features are so pleasing that we feel extraordinary satisfaction in seeing You.
Text 105: “Dear Sir, by Your influence our minds are greatly satisfied, and we believe that Your words will never be unreasonable. Therefore You may speak on the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra.â€
Text 106: The Lord said, “VedÄnta philosophy consists of words spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead NÄrÄyaṇa in the form of VyÄsadeva.
Text 107: “The material defects of mistakes, illusions, cheating and sensory inefficiency do not exist in the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Text 108: “The Absolute Truth is described in the Upaniṣads and Brahma-sūtra, but one must understand the verses as they are. That is the supreme glory in understanding.
Text* 109: “ŚrÄ«pÄda Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya has described all the Vedic literatures in terms of indirect meanings. One who hears such explanations is ruined.
Text 110: “Śaá¹…karÄcÄrya is not at fault, for it is under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that he has covered the real purport of the Vedas.
Text 111: “According to direct understanding, the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has all spiritual opulences. No one can be equal to or greater than Him.
Text 112: “Everything about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is spiritual, including His body, opulence and paraphernalia. MÄyÄvÄda philosophy, however, covering His spiritual opulence, advocates the theory of impersonalism.
Text 113: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of spiritual potencies. Therefore His body, name, fame and entourage are all spiritual. The MÄyÄvÄdÄ« philosopher, due to ignorance, says that these are all merely transformations of the material mode of goodness.
Text 114: “Śaá¹…karÄcÄrya, who is an incarnation of Lord Åšiva, is faultless because he is a servant carrying out the orders of the Lord. But those who follow his MÄyÄvÄdÄ« philosophy are doomed. They will lose all their advancement in spiritual knowledge.
Text 116: “The Lord is like a great blazing fire, and the living entities are like small sparks of that fire.
Text 117: “The living entities are energies, not the energetic. The energetic is Kṛṣṇa. This is very vividly described in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa and other Vedic literatures.
Text 118: “ ‘Besides these inferior energies, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.’
Text 119: “ ‘The potency of Lord Viṣṇu is summarized in three categories — namely, the spiritual potency, the living entities and ignorance. The spiritual potency is full of knowledge; the living entities, although belonging to the spiritual potency, are subject to bewilderment; and the third energy, which is full of ignorance, is always visible in fruitive activities.’
Text 120: “The MÄyÄvÄda philosophy is so degraded that it has taken the insignificant living entities to be the Lord, the Supreme Truth, thus covering the glory and supremacy of the Absolute Truth with monism.
Text 121: “In his VedÄnta-sÅ«tra ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva has described that everything is but a transformation of the energy of the Lord. Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, however, has misled the world by commenting that VyÄsadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition to theism throughout the entire world.
Text 122: “According to Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, by accepting the theory of the transformation of the energy of the Lord, one creates an illusion by indirectly accepting that the Absolute Truth is transformed.
Text 123: “Transformation of energy is a proven fact. It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion.
Text* 124: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is opulent in all respects. Therefore by His inconceivable energies He has transformed the material cosmic manifestation.
Text* 125: “Using the example of a touchstone, which by its energy turns iron to gold and yet remains the same, we can understand that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead transforms His innumerable energies, He remains unchanged.
Text* 126: “Although a touchstone produces many varieties of valuable jewels, it nevertheless remains the same. It does not change its original form.
Text 127: “If there is such inconceivable potency in material objects, why should we not believe in the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
Text 128: “The Vedic sound vibration oá¹kÄra, the principal word in the Vedic literatures, is the basis of all Vedic vibrations. Therefore one should accept oá¹kÄra as the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of the cosmic manifestation.
Text 129: “It is the purpose of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to present praṇava [oá¹kÄra] as the reservoir of all Vedic knowledge. The words ‘tat tvam asi’ are only a partial explanation of the Vedic knowledge.
Text 130: “Praṇava [oá¹kÄra] is the mahÄ-vÄkya [mahÄ-mantra] in the Vedas. Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya’s followers cover this to stress without authority the mantra tat tvam asi.
Text 131: “In all the Vedic sÅ«tras and literatures, it is Lord Kṛṣṇa who is to be understood, but the followers of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya have covered the real meaning of the Vedas with indirect explanations.
Text 132: “The self-evident Vedic literatures are the highest evidence of all, but if these literatures are interpreted, their self-evident nature is lost.
Text 133: “To prove their philosophy, the members of the MÄyÄvÄda school have given up the real, easily understood meaning of the Vedic literature and introduced indirect meanings based on their imaginative powers.â€
Text* 134: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu thus showed for each and every sÅ«tra the defects in Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya’s explanations, all the assembled MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s were struck with wonder.
Text* 135: All the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s said, “Your Holiness, kindly know from us that we actually have no quarrel with Your refutation of these meanings, for You have given a clear understanding of the sÅ«tras.
Text* 136: “We know that all this word jugglery springs from the imagination of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, and yet because we belong to his sect, we accept it although it does not satisfy us.
Text* 137: “Now let us see,†the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s continued, “how well You can describe the sÅ«tras in terms of their direct meaning.†Hearing this, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu began His direct explanation of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra.
Text 138: “Brahman, who is greater than the greatest, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is full in six opulences, and therefore He is the reservoir of ultimate truth and absolute knowledge.
Text* 139: “In His original form the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full with transcendental opulences, which are free from the contamination of the material world. It is to be understood that in all Vedic literature the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal.
Text 140: “When we speak of the Supreme as impersonal, we deny His spiritual potencies. Logically, if you accept half of the truth, you cannot understand the whole.
Text 141: “It is only by devotional service, beginning with hearing, that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the only means to approach Him.
Text 142: “By practicing this regulated devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master, certainly one awakens his dormant love of Godhead. This process is called abhidheya.
Text 143: “If one develops his love of Godhead and becomes attached to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, gradually he loses his attachment to everything else.
Text 144: “Love of Godhead is so exalted that it is considered to be the fifth goal of human life. By awakening one’s love of Godhead, one can attain the platform of conjugal love, tasting it even during the present span of life.
Text 145: “The Supreme Lord, who is greater than the greatest, becomes submissive to even a very insignificant devotee because of his devotional service. It is the beautiful and exalted nature of devotional service that the infinite Lord becomes submissive to the infinitesimal living entity because of it. In reciprocal devotional activities with the Lord, the devotee actually enjoys the transcendental mellow of devotional service.
Text 146: “One’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, activities in terms of that relationship, and the ultimate goal of life [to develop love of God] — these three subjects are explained in every aphorism of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra, for they form the culmination of the entire VedÄnta philosophy.â€
Text 147: When all the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s thus heard the explanation of Caitanya MahÄprabhu on the basis of sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana, they spoke very humbly.
Text 148: “Dear Sir, You are Vedic knowledge personified and are directly NÄrÄyaṇa Himself. Kindly excuse us for the offenses we previously committed by criticizing You.â€
Text 149: From that moment when the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s heard the explanation of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra from the Lord, their minds changed, and on the instruction of Caitanya MahÄprabhu, they too chanted “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!†always.
Text 150: Thus Lord Caitanya excused all the offenses of the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s and very mercifully blessed them with kṛṣṇa-nÄma.
Text 151: After this, all the sannyÄsÄ«s took the Lord into their midst, and thus they all took their meal together.
Text* 152: After taking lunch among the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who is known as Gaurasundara, returned to His residence. Thus the Lord performs His wonderful pastimes.
Text 153: Hearing the arguments of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and seeing His victory, CandraÅ›ekhara, Tapana MiÅ›ra and SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« were all extremely pleased.
Text* 154: Many MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s of VÄrÄṇasÄ« came to see the Lord after this incident, and the entire city praised Him.
Text* 155: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu visited the city of VÄrÄṇasÄ«, and all of its people were very thankful.
Text* 156: The crowd at the door of His residence was so great that it numbered hundreds of thousands.
Text 157: When the Lord went to visit the temple of Viśveśvara, hundreds of thousands of people assembled to see Him.
Text* 158: Whenever Lord Caitanya went to the banks of the Ganges to take His bath, big crowds of many hundreds of thousands of people assembled there.
Text* 159: Whenever the crowds were too great, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu stood up, raised His hands and chanted, “Hari! Hari!†to which all the people responded, filling both the land and sky with the vibration.
Text 160: After thus delivering the people in general, the Lord desired to leave VÄrÄṇasÄ«. After instructing ÅšrÄ« SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, He sent him toward Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text* 161: Because the city of VÄrÄṇasÄ« was always full of tumultuous crowds, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, after sending SanÄtana to Vá¹›ndÄvana, returned to JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 162: I have here given a brief account of these pastimes of Lord Caitanya, but later I shall describe them in an extensive way.
Text 163: ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya MahÄprabhu and His associates of the Pañca-tattva distributed the holy name of the Lord to invoke love of Godhead throughout the universe, and thus the entire universe was thankful.
Text 164: Lord Caitanya dispatched the two generals RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« to Vá¹›ndÄvana to preach the bhakti cult.
Text 165: As RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« were sent toward MathurÄ, so NityÄnanda Prabhu was sent to Bengal to preach extensively the cult of Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 166: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu personally went to South India, and He broadcast the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa in every village and town.
Text* 167: Thus the Lord went to the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, known as Setubandha [Cape Comorin]. Everywhere He distributed the bhakti cult and love of Kṛṣṇa, and in this way He delivered everyone.
Text 168: I have thus explained the truth of the Pañca-tattva. One who hears this explanation increases in knowledge of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 169: While chanting the Pañca-tattva mahÄ-mantra, one must chant the names of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya, NityÄnanda, Advaita, GadÄdhara and ÅšrÄ«vÄsa with their many devotees. This is the process.
Text* 170: I again and again offer obeisances unto the Pañca-tattva. Thus I think that I will be able to describe something about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text 171: Praying at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ« RaghunÄtha, always desiring their mercy, I, KṛṣṇadÄsa, narrate ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, following in their footsteps.
Text 0: Chapter Summary