na yatra vaikuṇá¹ha-kathÄ-sudhÄpagÄ
na sÄdhavo bhÄgavatÄs tadÄÅ›rayÄḥ
na yatra yajñeÅ›a-makhÄ mahotsavÄḥ
sureÅ›a-loko 'pi na vai sa sevyatÄm
na - not; yatra - where; vaikuṇá¹ha-kathÄ-sudhÄ-ÄpagÄḥ - the nectarean rivers of discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is called Vaikuṇá¹ha, or one who drives away all anxiety; na - nor; sÄdhavaḥ - devotees; bhÄgavatÄḥ - always engaged in the service of the Lord; tat-ÄÅ›rayÄḥ - who are sheltered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na - nor; yatra - where; yajña-īśa-makhÄḥ - the performance of devotional service to the Lord of sacrifices; mahÄ-utsavÄḥ - which are actual festivals; sureÅ›a-lokaḥ - a place inhabited by the denizens of heaven; api - although; na - not; vai - certainly; saḥ - that; sevyatÄm - be frequented.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared in the land of BhÄrata-vará¹£a, specifically in Bengal, in the district of Nadia, where NavadvÄ«pa is situated. It is therefore to be concluded, as stated by ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura, that within this universe, this earth is the best planet, and on this planet the land of BhÄrata-vará¹£a is the best; in the land of BhÄrata-vará¹£a, Bengal is still better, in Bengal the district of Nadia is still better, and in Nadia the best place is NavadvÄ«pa because ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared there to inaugurate the performance of the sacrifice of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra. The Å›Ästras recommend:
kṛṣṇa-varṇaá¹ tviá¹£Äkṛṣṇaá¹
sÄá¹…gopÄá¹…gÄstra-pÄrá¹£adam
yajñaiḥ saá¹…kÄ«rtana-prÄyair
yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ
Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is always accompanied by His very confidential associates such as ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda, ÅšrÄ« GadÄdhara and ÅšrÄ« Advaita and by many devotees like ÅšrÄ«vÄsa. They are always engaged in chanting the name of the Lord and are always describing Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore this is the best among all the places in the universe. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has established its center in MÄyÄpur, the birthsite of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, to give men the great opportunity to go there and perform a constant festival of saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajña, as recommended herein (yajñeÅ›a-makhÄ mahotsavÄḥ) and to distribute prasÄda to millions of hungry people hankering for spiritual emancipation. This is the mission of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Caitanya-bhÄgavata confirms this as follows: “One should not desire to be elevated even to a place in the heavenly planetary systems if it has no propaganda to expand the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no trace of Vaiṣṇavas, pure devotees of the Lord, and no festivals for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It would be better to live perpetually cramped within the airtight bag of a mother’s womb, where one can at least remember the lotus feet of the Lord, than to live in a place where there is no opportunity to remember His lotus feet. I pray not to be allowed to take birth in such a condemned place.â€
Similarly, in Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, KṛṣṇadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄ« says that since ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is the inaugurator of the saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement, anyone who performs saá¹…kÄ«rtana to please the Lord is very, very glorious. Such a person has perfect intelligence, whereas others are in the ignorance of material existence. Of all the sacrifices mentioned in the Vedic literatures, the performance of saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajña is the best. Even the performance of one hundred aÅ›vamedha sacrifices cannot compare to the sacrifice of saá¹…kÄ«rtana. According to the author of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, if one compares saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajña to other yajñas, he is a pÄá¹£aṇá¸Ä«, an infidel, and is liable to be punished by YamarÄja. There are many MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s who think that the performance of saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajña is a pious activity similar to the performance of the aÅ›vamedha-yajña and other such pious functions, but this is a nÄma-aparÄdha. Chanting of the holy name of NÄrÄyaṇa and chanting of other names are never equal, despite what MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s think.