{"id":20657,"date":"2020-01-05T03:12:24","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T07:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=20657"},"modified":"2022-02-09T01:59:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T06:59:09","slug":"teachings-of-lord-caitanya-chapter-twenty-eight-relationship-with-the-supreme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/teachings-of-lord-caitanya-chapter-twenty-eight-relationship-with-the-supreme\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachings of Lord Caitanya, CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Relationship with the Supreme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Relationship with the Supreme<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lord Caitanya rejected the statement cited by R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya from the Vi\u1e63\u1e47u Pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/i> because the Lord wished to reject a class of philosophers known as M\u012bm\u0101\u1e41sakas. The followers of Karma-m\u012bm\u0101\u1e41s\u0101 philosophy teach that God is subject to one\u2019s work. Their conclusion is that if one works nicely God is bound to give good results. Thus from the statement of the Vi\u1e63\u1e47u Pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/i> cited by R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya one might conclude that Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, the Supreme Lord, has no independence but is bound to award a certain kind of result to the worker. Such a dependent God becomes subject to the worshiper, who accepts the Supreme Lord as both impersonal and personal, as he wishes. Actually, the Karma-m\u012bm\u0101\u1e41s\u0101 philosophy stresses the impersonal feature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Because Lord Caitanya did not like such impersonalism, He rejected it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTell Me if you know something beyond this conception of the Supreme Absolute Truth,\u201d Lord Caitanya said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya understood the purpose of Lord Caitanya and, after stating that it is better to give K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a the results of fruitive activities, he quoted a verse from the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a> <\/i>(9.27):<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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yat karo\u1e63i yad a\u015bn\u0101si
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>yaj juho\u1e63i dad\u0101si yat
\nyat tapasyasi kaunteya
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>tat kuru\u1e63va mad-arpa\u1e47am<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cO son of Kunt\u012b, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you sacrifice, whatever you give away, and whatever austerity you undergo to achieve some goal, everything should be dedicated to My service.\u201d There is a similar passage in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/i> (11.2.36)<\/a>, which states that one should submit everything \u2013 all the results of the fruitive activities one performs with body, speech, mind, senses, intelligence, soul and modes of nature \u2013 to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lord Caitanya, however, also rejected this second statement, saying, \u201cIf you know of something higher, state it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Offering everything to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as enjoined by the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/i> and \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a>,<\/i> is better than impersonally making the Supreme Lord subject to our work, but it is still short of surrendering to the Supreme Lord. A worker\u2019s identification with material existence cannot be changed without proper guidance. Such fruitive activity will continue one\u2019s material existence. A worker is simply instructed here to offer the results of his work to the Supreme Lord, but there is no information given to enable one to get out of the material entanglement. Therefore Lord Caitanya rejected his proposal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After having his suggestions rejected twice, R\u0101m\u0101nanda proposed that one should forsake his occupational activities altogether and by such detachment rise to the transcendental plane. In other words, he recommended complete renunciation of worldly life. To support this proposal he cited evidence from \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/i> (11.11.32) wherein the Lord says, \u201cIn the scriptures I have described the ritualistic principles and the way one can become situated in devotional service by giving them up. That is the highest perfection of religion.\u201d R\u0101m\u0101nanda also quoted Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s similar statement in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/i> (18.66)<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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sarva-dharm\u0101n parityajya
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>m\u0101m eka\u1e41 \u015bara\u1e47a\u1e41 vraja
\naha\u1e41 tv\u0101\u1e41 sarva-p\u0101pebhyo
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>mok\u1e63ayi\u1e63y\u0101mi m\u0101 \u015buca\u1e25<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cGive up all kinds of religiousness and just surrender unto Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I shall protect you from all sinful reactions, and you will have nothing to be aggrieved over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lord Caitanya also rejected this third proposal from R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya, for He wanted to demonstrate that renunciation in itself is not sufficient. There must be positive engagement. Without positive engagement, the highest perfectional stage cannot be attained. Generally there are two kinds of philosophers in the renounced order of life. The goal of one is nirv\u0101\u1e47a,<\/i>and the goal of the other is the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Such philosophers cannot imagine that they can reach beyond nirv\u0101\u1e47a<\/i> and the Brahman effulgence to the Vaiku\u1e47\u1e6dha planets of the spiritual sky. Because in simple renunciation there is no conception of spiritual planets and spiritual activities, Lord Caitanya rejected this third proposal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya then cited more evidence from the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/i> (18.54)<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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brahma-bh\u016bta\u1e25 prasann\u0101tm\u0101
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>na \u015bocati na k\u0101\u1e45k\u1e63ati
\nsama\u1e25 sarve\u1e63u bh\u016bte\u1e63u
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>mad-bhakti\u1e41 labhate par\u0101m<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen by cultivation of knowledge a person realizes himself to be nondifferent from the Supreme Absolute Truth, he becomes joyful and is freed from all kinds of lamentation and material desires. At that time he perfects his Brahman realization by seeing everyone on the same spiritual level. Such Brahman realization can elevate one to the transcendental stage of devotional service.\u201d R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya first suggested devotional service with renunciation of the fruits of one\u2019s work, but here he suggests that devotional service with full knowledge and spiritual realization is superior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lord Caitanya, however, also rejected this proposal because simply by renouncing material results in Brahman realization one does not realize the spiritual world and spiritual activities. Although there is no material contamination when one attains the stage of Brahman realization, in that stage one is still not perfectly pure because there is no positive engagement in spiritual activity. Because it is still on the mental plane, it is external. The pure living entity is not liberated unless he is completely engaged in spiritual activity. As long as one is absorbed in impersonal thoughts or in thoughts of the void, one\u2019s entrance into an eternal, blissful life of knowledge is not complete. When spiritual knowledge is not complete, one will be hindered in his attempt to cleanse the mind of all material variegatedness. Thus impersonalists are frustrated in their attempts to make the mind void by artificial meditation. It is very difficult to void the mind of all material conceptions. In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/i> (12.5)<\/a> it is stated that those who indulge in such impersonal meditation find it very difficult to make spiritual advancement. In addition, whatever state they do attain is not complete liberation. Therefore Lord Caitanya rejected it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After his fourth proposal was rejected, R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya said that devotional service rendered without any attempt at mental speculation or cultivation of knowledge is the highest stage of perfection. To support this view he gave evidence from \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/i> (10.14.3)<\/a>, wherein Lord Brahm\u0101 tells the Supreme Personality of Godhead:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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j\u00f1\u0101ne pray\u0101sam udap\u0101sya namanta eva
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>j\u012bvanti san-mukharit\u0101\u1e41 bhavad\u012bya-v\u0101rt\u0101m
\nsth\u0101ne sthit\u0101\u1e25 \u015bruti-gat\u0101\u1e41 tanu-v\u0101\u1e45-manobhir
\n\u2003\u2003<\/span>ye pr\u0101ya\u015bo \u2019jita jito \u2019py asi tais tri-loky\u0101m<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy dear Lord, one should give up monistic speculation and the cultivation of knowledge altogether. He should begin his spiritual life in devotional service by receiving information of Your activities from a realized devotee of the Lord. If one cultivates his spiritual life by adhering to these principles and keeping himself on the honest path in life, then although Your Lordship is never conquered, You become conquered by the devotee following such a process.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya presented this proposal, Lord Caitanya at once said, \u201cYes, this is right.\u201d In other words, Lord Caitanya agreed that this process conforms to His mission. In this age there is no possibility of acquiring spiritual knowledge by discharging one\u2019s duties in the var\u1e47\u0101\u015brama<\/i>–dharma<\/i> system, by devotional service mixed with fruitive activity, by renunciation or by devotional service mixed with the culture of knowledge. Because most people are fallen and because there is no time to elevate them by a gradual process, the best course, according to Lord Caitanya, is to let them remain in whatever condition they are in but to engage them in hearing of the activities of the Supreme Lord as those activities are explained in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/i> and \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/i>. The transcendental messages of the scriptures should be heard from the lips of realized souls. In this way a person may continue to live in whatever condition he is in and still make spiritual progress. Thus one can surely advance and fully realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Although Lord Caitanya accepted these principles, He still requested R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya to further explain advanced devotional service. Thus Lord Caitanya gave R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya a chance to discuss gradual advancement from the principles of var\u1e47\u0101\u015brama-dharma<\/i> (the four castes and the four orders of spiritual life), through the offering of the results of fruitive activity, and through the speculative discussion of spiritual knowledge. Lord Caitanya rejected all these because in the field of executing pure devotional service there is very little use for such principles. Without self-realization, such artificial methods of devotional service cannot be accepted as pure devotional service. Self-realized, pure devotional service is completely different from all other kinds of transcendental activity. The highest stage of transcendental activity is always free from all material desires, fruitive efforts and speculative attempts at knowledge. In the highest stage one concentrates on the simple, favorable execution of pure devotional service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya could understand the motive of Lord Caitanya, and therefore he stated that attainment of pure love of Godhead is the highest perfectional stage. In the Pady\u0101val\u012b<\/i> there is a very nice verse which is said to be composed by R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya himself. The meaning of the verse is: \u201cAs long as there is hunger in the belly and one feels like eating and drinking, one can become happy by taking various eatables. Similarly, there may be much paraphernalia for worshiping the Supreme Lord, but only when that worship is mixed with pure love of Godhead does it become an actual source of transcendental happiness.\u201d Another verse composed by R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya states, \u201cEven after millions and millions of births of pious activities, one cannot achieve a sense of devotional service, but if somehow or other one desires to attain devotional service, the association of a pure devotee will make it possible. Thus from any available source one should try to acquire a strong desire to engage in devotional service.\u201d In these two verses, R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya has described the regulative principles and developed love of Godhead, respectively. Lord Caitanya wanted to bring him to the stage of developed love of Godhead, and He wanted him to speak from that platform. Thus the discussion between R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya and Lord Caitanya will now proceed on the basis of love of Godhead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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If love of Godhead is elevated to personal affinity, it is called prema-bhakti<\/i>. In the beginning of prema-bhakti<\/i> a particular relationship between the Supreme Lord and the devotee is not established, but when prema-bhakti<\/i> develops, a relationship with the Supreme Lord is manifested in different transcendental flavors. The first stage is servitude, wherein the Supreme Lord is accepted as the master and the devotee as His eternal servitor. When Lord Caitanya accepted this process, R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya described the relationship between the servitor and the master. He cited a verse from \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/i> (9.5.16)<\/a> spoken by Durv\u0101s\u0101 Muni, a great mystic yog\u012b<\/i> who considered himself very elevated and envied Mah\u0101r\u0101ja Ambar\u012b\u1e63a, who was known as the greatest devotee of the time. In an attempt to harass Mah\u0101r\u0101ja Ambar\u012b\u1e63a, Durv\u0101s\u0101 Muni had met with a great catastrophe and been defeated by the Sudar\u015bana cakra<\/i> of the Lord. Durv\u0101s\u0101 Muni admitted his fault and said, \u201cFor pure devotees who are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, whose very name is sufficient for liberation, nothing is considered impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Stotra-ratna<\/i> (43), Y\u0101mun\u0101c\u0101rya writes: \u201cMy Lord, those who keep themselves independent of Your service are helpless. They work on their own account and thus receive no support from superior authority. Therefore I long for the time when I shall engage fully in Your transcendental loving service without any desire for material satisfaction and without hovering on the mental plane. Only when I engage in such unalloyed devotional service will I enjoy actual spiritual life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Upon hearing this statement, the Lord requested R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya to go still further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Relationship with the Supreme Lord Caitanya rejected the statement cited by R\u0101m\u0101nanda R\u0101ya from the Vi\u1e63\u1e47u Pur\u0101\u1e47a because the Lord wished to reject a class of philosophers known as M\u012bm\u0101\u1e41sakas. The followers of Karma-m\u012bm\u0101\u1e41s\u0101 … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 08:43:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20657\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}