Sri Advaita Acarya<\/p>\n
ESP<\/p>\n
Who is Advaita Acarya
\nvraje avesha-rupatvad
\nvyuho yo\u2019pi sadashivah
\nsa evadvaita-gosvami
\ncaitanyabhinna-vigrahah<\/p>\n
Sadashiva, an expansion of the supreme lord in Vraja, is here known as Advaita Acharya. He is non-different from Chaitanya.
\n(Gaura-ganoddesha- dipika 76)<\/p>\n
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has written,
\n\u201cMaya has two functions, and Maha Vishnu appears in two ways according to those functions. When he is within the material world as creator, he is the universe\u2019s effective cause (nimitta-karana) in his form as Vishnu. In the unmanifest material energy (pradhana), appearing in the form of Rudra, he has a second identity as Advaita.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advaita\u2019s Appearance
\nAdvaita Acharya appeared in the village of Navagrama near the city of Sylhet as the son of the Varendra Brahmin Kuvera Pandita and his wife Nabha Devi, on the seventh day of the waxing moon in the month of Magh.
\nIn that auspicious moment, the moon of Advaita descended in the blessed womb of Nabha Devi.
\nIn his ecstasy, Kubera Pandit gave in charity to the Brahmins and the poor. He tiptoed to the birthing room and his heart was filled with gladness upon seeing his son\u2019s face. All the villagers came running to his house and said to each other,
\n\u201cWhat pious works did this Brahmin do that in his old age he has been blessed with such a jewel of a son?\u201d
\nThe gods rained down flowers without being seen. There is nothing with which this scene can compare. Ghanashyama sings of this great auspicious occasion when a joyous uproar rang around the earth.
\n(Bhakti-ratnakara 12.1759-62)
\nHis full name was Sri Kamalaksha or Kamala Kanta Vedapanchanana. His birth took place in 1434 AD and he disappeared in the year 1559, at the age of 125 years.<\/p>\n
Advaita\u2019s birthplace
\nIn the Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana, Advaita\u2019s birthplace is given as Laura Gram. It is also said there that Advaita Prabhu left Laura to go to live in Sylhet and then from there moved to Shantipur. He also had a home in Nabadwip.<\/p>\n
Advaita Prabhu\u2019s Travels
\nWhen Kubera Pandit and Nabha Devi disappeared, Advaita went to Gaya on the pretext of performing the appropriate rituals of mourning, and thence continued on a pilgrimage tour of all of India\u2019s holy places.
\nWhen he came to Vrindavan, he became absorbed in the worship of Krishna, but through his meditation he was able to understand that Krishna was about to appear in Nabadwip.
\nWhile on this pilgrimage tour, he came to Mithila where he met the poet Vidyapati. This encounter is beautifully described in the Advaitavilasa.
\nAdvaita Prabhu finally returned from Vrindavan to Shantipur after spending several days in Nabadwip. The people of Shantipur had been suffering from his separation for a long time and were very happy to see him back.<\/p>\n
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Advaita\u2019s wives and residences
\nAdvaita had two wives; one was named Sri, the other Sita. In the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika, it is written that the divine Yogamaya took the form of Advaita\u2019s wife Sita, and that Sri is her prakasha expansion.
\n(Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 86)
\nAdvaita Acharya also had two residences, one in Shantipur, the other not far from Srivasa\u2019s home in Nabadwip-Mayapur.<\/p>\n
Advaita\u2019s preaching
\nHis heart was greatly pained at seeing that the people of the world were devoid of any devotion to Vishnu and were as a consequence greatly suffering the pains of material life. Overwhelmed with compassion, he began to teach the Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavat, explaining that the purport of the scriptures was to engage in devotional service to Krishna.<\/p>\n
Madhavendra Puri
\nAt about the same time, Madhavendra Puri had a dream in which Govardhanadhari Gopal commanded him to find sandalwood paste for the Deity service. Madhavendra then started out for Puri, taking the road through western Bengal. While there, he stopped at Advaita\u2019s house in Shantipur. Advaita became convinced to accept Madhavendra Puri as his guru when he saw his devotional ecstasies, even though he himself is an expansion of the supreme lord. He underwent this ritual in order to demonstrate to the conditioned souls the necessity of accepting a spiritual master.
\nSo, he took care to receive the mantra from him, after which Madhavendra left to continue his voyage to the south.
\n(Caitanya Charitamrita 2.4.110-1)<\/p>\n
The Cause of the Lord\u2019s Incarnation
\nAdvaita appeared along with the other elderly members of Chaitanya\u2019s retinue and when he did so, he observed that the sinfulness of the age of Kali had reached a disturbing limit and that the world was entirely devoid of devotion to Krishna. He thought that a partial incarnation of the lord would not be sufficient to completely bring about the welfare of the earth in this state.
\nHe thought, \u201cThe world will only benefit if the Supreme Personality of Godhead himself descends to the earth.\u201d So he began to worship Krishna\u2019s lotus feet with Ganges water and tulasi leaves, shouting and pleading to the lord to become incarnate. With roars of love (prema-hunkara) Advaita showed his desire for the lord of Goloka to descend to the earth.<\/p>\n
He constantly offered water from the Ganges and tulasi manjaris while meditating on Krishna\u2019s lotus feet, at the same time calling to Krishna with loud roars. This is the way that he caused Krishna to descend. This, then, is the chief reason that Krishna Chaitanya became incarnate on this earth. He who is the bridge of justice descends at the wish of the devotee.
\n(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.3.107-9)<\/p>\n
Visvarupa
\nAdvaita Acharya established a tol for teaching Sanskrit in Nabadwip-Mayapur and started to engage in a deep study of the scriptures. Every day, Mahaprabhu\u2019s older brother Vishvarupa used to go to Advaita\u2019s house after bathing in the Ganges to listen to him lecture. On certain occasions, when Advaita was engaged in performing his puja, Vishvarupa would explain to everyone present there that devotion to Krishna was the ultimate purport of all the scriptures.
\nWhen Advaita heard him speaking in this way, he got up from worshiping his deity and embraced him.
\nSachi regularly sent little Nimai at lunchtime with something for Vishvarupa to eat. When Advaita Prabhu saw Nimai\u2019s beautiful face he became enchanted, but was unable to recognize him as his worshipable lord, the Supreme Truth.
\nIn the meantime, Vishvarupa had secretly decided that he would renounce family life out of a realization that the material world is temporary and that a human being\u2019s only real duty is to worship the lord. When he saw that his parents were starting to make wedding plans for him, he quickly left home and took sannyasa, after which he was known by the name Shankararanya.
\nSachi, Jagannath and other devotees all lamented his loss. Advaita too was pained by Vishvarupa\u2019s departure, but pacified everyone by saying that Krishna himself would appear soon to eradicate everyone\u2019s distress.<\/p>\n
Sachi and Jagannath became afraid that Nimai
\nAfter Vishvarupa\u2019s abandonment of the hearth, Sachi and Jagannath became afraid that Nimai would follow his example and so they put a stop to his education.
\nLater, however, when they heard Nimai speaking sweetly in the mood of Dattatreya, they decided it would be better to send him back to school. Jagannath Mishra left this world not long after Nimai was given the sacred thread and had become fully absorbed in his studies.<\/p>\n
Marriage to Laksmipriya and Isvara Puri
\nWhile Mahaprabhu was still fully devoted to his pastimes as a scholar, his marriage to Ballabha\u2019s daughter Lakshmipriya was arranged.
\nIn those days, Advaita was holding Bhagavat lectures and kirtan at his house in Nabadwip. All the devotees including Advaita were very enthused about the singer Mukunda Datta\u2019s voice. On one occasion Isvara Puri came to Advaita\u2019s house while on a visit to Nabadwip. From his vigorous appearance, Advaita was able to recognize that he was a Vaishnava sannyasi. Later, Gauranga also met him.
\nAt that time, Isvara Puri arrived in Nabadwip in a most discrete manner. Constantly preoccupied with the taste of Krishna devotion, he was single-minded, dear to Krishna and compassionate. No one was able to recognize him because he was not dressed as a sannyasi, until one day, by chance, he arrived at Advaita\u2019s house.
\n(Chaitanya Bhagavat 1.11.70-72)<\/p>\n
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\nAdvaita and Hari Das Thakur
\nBy his pastimes, Advaita Prabhu revealed that a Vaishnava is praiseworthy and worthy of worship, no matter what his family background. Namacharya Hari Das Thakur was born in a Muslim family in Burihan village in the district of Jessore, but later came to live in the village of Phuliya near Shantipur where he would come to associate with Advaita Prabhu. He was staying in a grotto where he was engaged in solitary devotional practices. This was after he had spent time preaching the glories of the Holy Names at the Chandpur house of Raghunatha Das Goswami\u2019s father and uncle, Govardhana and Hiranya Majumdar.
\nAdvaita used to invite Hari Das to come to his house in Shantipur to take prasad. This made Hari Das Thakur feel somewhat uneasy. However, Advaita Prabhu, the teacher of the people, claimed that his behavior was in conformity with all the scriptures, for to feed a great devotee like Hari Das is equal to the feeding of millions of Brahmins. In order to demonstrate this, he honored Hari Das by giving him the plate offered in the shraddha ceremony. On the annual date set aside for offering oblations to the forefathers, a householder Vaishnava offers all kinds of foodstuffs to the Lord and then invites Brahmins and Vaishnavas to take prasad. The mahaprasad is given to the guest of honor and Advaita Prabhu chose Hari Das for this special treatment.
\nAdvaita said, \u201cPlease don\u2019t be afraid. I shall only do what is accepted in scripture. If you eat, it is as though ten million Brahmins had eaten.\u201d After saying these words, he gave him the shraddha plate to eat.
\n(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.3.219-20)
\nOne of the branches of the Chaitanya tree is Hari Das Thakur, whose activities are amazing. He would unfailingly chant 300,000 names of the lord every day. I only give an indication here of his unlimited virtues; Advaita Acharya honored him by giving him the shraddha plate.
\n(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.10.43-4)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sri Advaita Acarya ESP Who is Advaita Acarya vraje avesha-rupatvad vyuho yo\u2019pi sadashivah sa evadvaita-gosvami caitanyabhinna-vigrahah Sadashiva, an expansion of the supreme lord in Vraja, is here known as Advaita Acharya. He is non-different from Chaitanya. … 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":[3,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-area2"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 14:18:00","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\/34050","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=34050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}