{"id":37289,"date":"2020-02-09T02:14:51","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T07:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=37289"},"modified":"2022-02-09T02:15:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T07:15:12","slug":"teachings-of-lord-caitanya-introduction-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/teachings-of-lord-caitanya-introduction-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachings of Lord Caitanya: Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Originally delivered as five morning lectures on <\/em>Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta \u2013 the authoritative biography of Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu, by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b \u2013 before the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, New York City, April 10\u201314, 1967.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The word caitanya<\/em> means \u201cliving force,\u201d carita<\/em> means \u201ccharacter,\u201d and am\u1e5bta<\/em> means \u201cimmortal.\u201d As living entities we can move, but a table cannot because it does not possess living force. Movement and activity may be considered signs of the living force. Indeed, it may be said that there can be no activity without the living force. Although the living force is present in the material condition, this condition is not am\u1e5bta,<\/em> immortal. The words caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> then, may be translated as \u201cthe character of the living force in immortality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But how is this living force displayed immortally? It is not displayed by man or any other creature in this material universe, for none of us are immortal in these bodies. We possess the living force, we perform activities, and we are immortal by our nature and constitution, but the material condition into which we have been put does not allow our immortality to be displayed. It is stated in the Ka\u1e6dha Upani\u1e63ad<\/em> that eternality and the living force are characteristics of both ourselves and God. Although this is true in that both God and ourselves are immortal living beings, there is a difference. As living entities, we perform many activities, but we have a tendency to fall down into material nature. God has no such tendency. Being all-powerful, He never comes under the control of material nature. Indeed, material nature is but one display of His inconceivable energies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An analogy will help us understand the distinction between ourselves and God. From the ground we may see only clouds in the sky, but if we fly above the clouds we can see the sun shining. From the sky, skyscrapers and cities seem very tiny; similarly, from God\u2019s position this entire material creation is insignificant. The living entity is also insignificant, and his tendency is to come down from the heights, where everything can be seen in perspective. God, however, does not have this tendency. The Supreme Lord is not subject to falling down into illusion (m\u0101y\u0101<\/em>), any more than the sun is subject to falling beneath the clouds. Impersonalist philosophers (M\u0101y\u0101v\u0101d\u012bs) maintain that because we fall under the control of m\u0101y\u0101<\/em> when we come into this material world, God must also fall under m\u0101y\u0101\u2019s<\/em> control. This is the fallacy of their philosophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu should therefore not be considered one of us. He is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself, the supreme living entity, and as such He never comes under the cloud of m\u0101y\u0101.<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, His expansions and even His higher devotees never fall into the clutches of illusion. Lord Caitanya came to earth simply to preach k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-bhakti,<\/em> love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In other words, He is Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself teaching the living entities the proper way to approach K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. He is like a teacher who, seeing a student doing poorly, takes up a pencil and writes, saying, \u201cDo it like this: A, B, C.\u201d From this one should not foolishly think that the teacher is learning his ABC\u2019s. Similarly, although Lord Caitanya appears in the guise of a devotee, we should not foolishly think He is an ordinary human being; we should always remember that Lord Caitanya is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a (God) Himself teaching us how to become K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious, and we must study Him in that light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> (18.66)<\/a> Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a says, \u201cGive up all your nonsense and surrender to Me. I will protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We say, \u201cOh, surrender? But I have so many responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And m\u0101y\u0101,<\/em> illusion, says to us, \u201cDon\u2019t do it, or you\u2019ll be out of my clutches. Just stay in my clutches, and I\u2019ll kick you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is a fact that we are constantly being kicked by m\u0101y\u0101,<\/em> just as the male ass is kicked in the face by the she-ass when he comes for sex. Similarly, cats and dogs are always fighting and whining when they have sex. Even an elephant in the jungle is caught by the use of a trained she-elephant who leads him into a pit. We should learn by observing these tricks of nature.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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M\u0101y\u0101<\/em> has many ways to entrap us, and her strongest shackle is the female. Of course, in actuality we are neither male nor female, for these designations refer only to the outer dress, the body. We are all actually K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s servants. But in conditioned life we are shackled by iron chains in the form of beautiful women. Thus every male is bound by sex, and therefore one who wishes to gain liberation from the material clutches must first learn to control the sex urge. Unrestricted sex puts one fully in the clutches of illusion. Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu officially renounced this illusion at the age of twenty-four, although His wife was sixteen and His mother seventy and He was the only male in the family. Although He was a br\u0101hma\u1e47a<\/em> and was not rich, He took sanny\u0101sa,<\/em> the renounced order of life, and thus extricated Himself from family entanglement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If we wish to become fully K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious, we have to give up the shackles of m\u0101y\u0101.<\/em> Or, if we remain with m\u0101y\u0101,<\/em> we should live in such a way that we will not be subject to illusion, as did the many householders among Lord Caitanya\u2019s closest devotees. With His followers in the renounced order, however, Lord Caitanya was very strict. He even banished Junior Harid\u0101sa, an important k\u012brtana<\/em> leader, for glancing lustfully at a woman. The Lord told him, \u201cYou are living with Me in the renounced order, and yet you are looking at a woman with lust.\u201d Other devotees of the Lord had appealed to Him to forgive Harid\u0101sa, but He replied, \u201cAll of you can forgive him and live with him. I shall live alone.\u201d On the other hand, when the Lord learned that the wife of one of His householder devotees was pregnant, He asked that the baby be given a certain auspicious name. So while the Lord approved of householders having regulated sex, He was like a thunderbolt with those in the renounced order who tried to cheat by the method known as \u201cdrinking water underwater while bathing on a fast day.\u201d In other words, He tolerated no hypocrisy among His followers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> we learn how Lord Caitanya taught people to break the shackles of m\u0101y\u0101<\/em> and become immortal. Thus, as mentioned above, the title may be properly translated as \u201cthe character of the living force in immortality.\u201d The supreme living force is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is also the supreme entity. There are innumerable living entities, and all of them are individuals. This is very easy to understand: We are all individual in our thoughts and desires, and the Supreme Lord is also an individual person. He is different, though, in that He is the leader, the one whom no one can excel. Among the minute living entities, one being can excel another in one capacity or another. Like each of these living entities, the Lord is an individual, but He is different in that He is the supreme individual. God is also infallible, and thus in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> He is addressed as Acyuta, which means \u201cHe who never falls down.\u201d This name is appropriate because in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> Arjuna falls into illusion but K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a does not. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself reveals His infallibility when he says to Arjuna, \u201cWhen I appear in this world, I do so by My own internal potency.\u201d (Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> 4.6)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thus we should not think that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is overpowered by the material potency when He is in the material world. Neither K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a nor His incarnations ever come under the control of material nature. They are totally free. Indeed, in \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> one who has a godly nature is actually defined as one who is not affected by the modes of material nature although in material nature. If even a devotee can attain this freedom, then what to speak of the Supreme Lord?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The real question is, How can we remain unpolluted by material contamination while in the material world? \u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b explains that we can remain uncontaminated while in the world if we simply make it our ambition to serve K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. One may then justifiably ask, \u201cHow can I serve?\u201d It is not simply a matter of meditation, which is just an activity of the mind, but of performing practical work for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In such work, we should leave no resource unused. Whatever is there, whatever we have, should be used for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. We can use everything \u2013 typewriters, automobiles, airplanes, missiles. If we simply speak to people about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, we are also rendering service. If our mind, senses, speech, money and energies are thus engaged in the service of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, then we are no longer in material nature. By virtue of spiritual consciousness, or K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, we transcend the platform of material nature. It is a fact that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, His expansions and His devotees \u2013 that is, those who work for Him \u2013 are not in material nature, although people with a poor fund of knowledge think that they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> teaches that the spirit soul is immortal and that our activities in the spiritual world are also immortal. The M\u0101y\u0101v\u0101d\u012bs, who hold the view that the Absolute is impersonal and formless, contend that a realized soul has no need to talk. But the Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas, devotees of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, contend that when one reaches the stage of realization, he really begins to talk. \u201cPreviously we only talked of nonsense,\u201d the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava says. \u201cNow let us begin our real talks, talks of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d In support of their view that the self-realized remain silent, the M\u0101y\u0101v\u0101d\u012bs are fond of using the example of the waterpot, maintaining that when a pot is not filled with water it makes a sound, but that when it is filled it makes no sound. But are we waterpots? How can we be compared to them? A good analogy utilizes as many similarities between two objects as possible. A waterpot is not an active living force, but we are. Ever-silent meditation may be adequate for a waterpot, but not for us. Indeed, when a devotee realizes how much he has to say about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, twenty-four hours in a day are not sufficient. It is the fool who is celebrated as long as he does not speak, for when he breaks his silence his lack of knowledge is exposed. The Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> shows that there are many wonderful things to discover by glorifying the Supreme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the beginning of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b writes, \u201cI offer my respects to my spiritual masters.\u201d He uses the plural here to indicate the disciplic succession. He offers obeisances not to his spiritual master alone but to the whole parampar\u0101,<\/em> the chain of disciplic succession beginning with Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself. Thus the author addresses the guru in the plural to show the highest respect for all his predecessor spiritual masters. After offering obeisances to the disciplic succession, the author pays obeisances to all other devotees, to the Lord Himself, to His incarnations, to the expansions of Godhead and to the manifestation of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s internal energy. Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu (sometimes called K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya) is the embodiment of all of these: He is God, guru, devotee, incarnation, internal energy and expansion of God. As His associate Nity\u0101nanda, He is the first expansion of God; as Advaita, He is an incarnation; as Gad\u0101dhara, He is the internal potency; and as \u015ar\u012bv\u0101sa, He is the marginal living entity in the role of a devotee. Thus K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a should not be thought of as being alone but should be considered as eternally existing with all His manifestations, as described by R\u0101m\u0101nuj\u0101c\u0101rya. In the Vi\u015bi\u1e63\u1e6d\u0101dvaita philosophy, God\u2019s energies, expansions and incarnations are considered to be oneness in diversity. In other words, God is not separate from all of these: everything together is God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Actually, the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> is not intended for the novice, for it is the postgraduate study of spiritual knowledge. Ideally, one begins with the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> and advances through \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> to the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta.<\/em> Although all these great scriptures are on the same absolute level, for the sake of comparative study the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> is considered to be on the highest platform. Every verse in it is perfectly composed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the second verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> the author offers his obeisances to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nity\u0101nanda. He compares Them to the sun and the moon because They dissipate the darkness of the material world. In this instance the sun and the moon have risen together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Western world, where the glories of Lord Caitanya are relatively unknown, one may inquire, \u201cWho is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya?\u201d The author of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> \u015ar\u012bla K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja, answers that question in the third verse of his book. Generally, in the Upani\u1e63ads<\/em> the Supreme Absolute Truth is described in an impersonal way, but the personal aspect of the Absolute Truth is mentioned in the \u012a\u015bopani\u1e63ad,<\/em> where we find the following verse:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

hira\u1e47mayena p\u0101tre\u1e47a
\nsatyasy\u0101pihita\u1e41 mukham
\ntat tva\u1e41 p\u016b\u1e63ann ap\u0101v\u1e5b\u1e47u
\nsatya-dharm\u0101ya d\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e6daye<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cO my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.\u201d (\u012a\u015bopani\u1e63ad<\/em> 15)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The impersonalists do not have the power to go beyond the effulgence of God and arrive at the Personality of Godhead, from whom this effulgence is emanating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The \u012a\u015bopani\u1e63ad<\/em> is a hymn to that Personality of Godhead. It is not that the impersonal Brahman is denied; it is also described, but that Brahman is revealed to be the glaring effulgence of the body of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. And in the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> we learn that Lord Caitanya is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself. In other words, \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. The Param\u0101tm\u0101, or Supersoul, who is present within the heart of every living entity and within every atom of the universe, is but the partial representation of Lord Caitanya. Therefore \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya, being the basis of both Brahman and the all-pervading Param\u0101tm\u0101 as well, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. In short, we should know that He is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, God, and that nothing is equal to or greater than Him. There is nothing superior to be conceived. He is the Supreme Person.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b, a confidential devotee taught for more than ten days continually by Lord Caitanya, wrote:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

namo mah\u0101-vad\u0101ny\u0101ya
\nk\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-prema-prad\u0101ya te
\nk\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101ya k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-caitanya-
\nn\u0101mne gaura-tvi\u1e63e nama\u1e25<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cI offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avat\u0101ra,<\/em> even K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given \u2013 pure love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lord Caitanya\u2019s teachings begin from the point of surrender to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. He does not pursue the paths of karma-yoga<\/em> or j\u00f1\u0101na-yoga<\/em> or ha\u1e6dha-yoga<\/em> but begins at the end of material existence, at the point where one gives up all material attachment. In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a begins His teachings by distinguishing the soul from matter, and in the eighteenth chapter He concludes at the point where the soul surrenders to Him in devotion. The M\u0101y\u0101v\u0101d\u012bs would have all talk cease there, but at that point the real discussion only begins. As the Ved\u0101nta-s\u016btra<\/em> says at the very beginning, ath\u0101to brahma-jij\u00f1\u0101s\u0101:<\/em> \u201cNow let us begin to inquire about the Supreme Absolute Truth.\u201d R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b thus praises Lord Caitanya as the most munificent incarnation of all, for He gives the greatest gift by teaching the highest form of devotional service. In other words, He answers the most important inquiries that anyone can make.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are different stages of devotional service and God realization. Strictly speaking, anyone who accepts the existence of God is situated in devotional service. To acknowledge that God is great is something, but not much. Lord Caitanya, preaching as an \u0101c\u0101rya,<\/em> a great teacher, taught that we can enter into a relationship with God and actually become God\u2019s friend, parent or lover. In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a showed Arjuna His universal form because Arjuna was His very dear friend. Upon seeing K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as the Lord of the universes, however, Arjuna asked K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a to forgive the familiarity of his friendship. Lord Caitanya goes beyond this point. Through Lord Caitanya we can become friends with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and there will be no limit to this friendship. We can become friends of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a not in awe or adoration but in complete freedom. We can even relate to God as His father or mother. This is the philosophy not only of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> but of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> as well. There are no other scriptures in the world in which God is treated as the son of a devotee. Usually God is seen as the almighty father who supplies the demands of His sons. The great devotees, however, sometimes treat God as a son in their execution of devotional service. The son demands, and the father and mother supply, and in supplying K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a the devotee becomes like a father or mother. Instead of taking from God, we give to God. It was in this relationship that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s mother, Ya\u015bod\u0101, told the Lord, \u201cHere, eat this or You\u2019ll die. Eat nicely.\u201d In this way K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, although the proprietor of everything, depends on the mercy of His devotee. This is a uniquely high level of friendship, in which the devotee actually believes himself to be the father or mother of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, Lord Caitanya\u2019s greatest gift was His teaching that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can be treated as one\u2019s lover. In this relationship the Lord becomes so much attached to His devotee that He expresses His inability to reciprocate. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was so obliged to the gop\u012bs,<\/em> the cowherd girls of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, that He felt unable to return their love. \u201cI cannot repay your love,\u201d He told them. \u201cI have no more assets to give.\u201d Devotional service on this highest, most excellent platform of lover and beloved, which had never been given by any previous incarnation or \u0101c\u0101rya,<\/em> was given by Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. Therefore K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja, quoting \u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b, writes in the fourth verse of his book, \u201cLord Caitanya is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in a yellow complexion, and He is \u015aac\u012bnandana, the son of Mother \u015aac\u012b. He is the most charitable personality because He came to deliver k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-prema,<\/em> unalloyed love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, to everyone. May you always keep Him in your hearts. It will be easy to understand K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a through Him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have often heard the phrase \u201clove of Godhead.\u201d How far this love of Godhead can actually be developed can be learned from the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava philosophy. Theoretical knowledge of love of God can be found in many places and in many scriptures, but what that love of Godhead actually is and how it is developed can be found in the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava literatures. It is the unique and highest development of love of God that is given by Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Even in this material world we can have a little sense of love. How is this possible? It is due to the presence of our original love of God. Whatever we find within our experience within this conditioned life is situated in the Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate source of everything. In our original relationship with the Supreme Lord there is real love, and that love is reflected pervertedly through material conditions. Our real love is continuous and unending, but because that love is reflected pervertedly in this material world, it lacks continuity and is inebriating. If we want real, transcendental love, we have to transfer our love to the supreme lovable object \u2013 K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the basic principle of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In material consciousness we are trying to love that which is not at all lovable. We give our love to cats and dogs, running the risk that at the time of death we may think of them and consequently take birth in a family of cats or dogs. Our consciousness at the time of death determines our next life. That is one reason why the Vedic scriptures stress the chastity of women: If a woman is very much attached to her husband, at the time of death she will think of him, and in the next life she will be promoted to a man\u2019s body. Generally a man\u2019s life is better than a woman\u2019s because a man usually has better facilities for understanding the spiritual science.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness is so nice that it makes no distinction between man and woman. In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> (9.32)<\/a>, Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a says, \u201cAnyone who takes shelter of Me \u2013 whether a woman, \u015b\u016bdra, vai\u015bya<\/em> or someone of low birth \u2013 is sure to achieve My association.\u201d This is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s guarantee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu informs us that in every country and in every scripture there is some hint of love of Godhead. But no one knows what love of Godhead actually is. The Vedic scriptures, however, are different in that they can direct the individual in the proper way to love God. Other scriptures do not give information on how one can love God, nor do they actually define or describe what or who the Godhead actually is. Although they officially promote love of Godhead, they have no idea how to execute it. But Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu gives a practical demonstration of how to love God in a conjugal relationship. Taking the part of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu tried to love K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b loved Him. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was always amazed by R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b\u2019s love. \u201cHow does R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b give Me such pleasure?\u201d He would ask. In order to study R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a lived in Her role and tried to understand Himself. This is the secret of Lord Caitanya\u2019s incarnation. Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, but He has taken the mood and role of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b to show us how to love K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Thus the author writes in the fifth verse, \u201cI offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, who is absorbed in R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b\u2019s thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This brings up the question of who \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is and what R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is. Actually R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the exchange of love \u2013 but not ordinary love. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a has immense potencies, of which three are principal: the internal, the external and the marginal potencies. In the internal potency there are three divisions: samvit, hl\u0101din\u012b<\/em> and sandhin\u012b.<\/em>The hl\u0101din\u012b<\/em> potency is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pleasure potency. All living entities have this pleasure-seeking potency, for all beings are trying to have pleasure. This is the very nature of the living entity. At present we are trying to enjoy our pleasure potency by means of the body in the material condition. By bodily contact we are attempting to derive pleasure from material sense objects. But we should not entertain the nonsensical idea that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who is always spiritual, also tries to seek pleasure on this material plane. In the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a><\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a describes the material universe as a nonpermanent place full of miseries. Why, then, would He seek pleasure in matter? He is the Supersoul, the supreme spirit, and His pleasure is beyond the material conception.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To learn how K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a enjoys pleasure, we must study the first nine cantos of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a>,<\/em> and then we should study the Tenth Canto, in which K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pleasure potency is displayed in His pastimes with R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b and the damsels of Vraja. Unfortunately, unintelligent people turn at once to the sports of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in the Da\u015bama-skandha,<\/em> the Tenth Canto. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s embracing R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b or His dancing with the cowherd girls in the r\u0101sa<\/em> dance are generally not understood by ordinary men, because they consider these pastimes in the light of mundane lust. They foolishly think that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is like themselves and that He embraces the gop\u012bs<\/em> just as an ordinary man embraces a young girl. Some people thus become interested in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a because they think that His religion allows indulgence in sex. This is not k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-bhakti,<\/em> love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, but pr\u0101k\u1e5bta-sahajiy\u0101<\/em> \u2013 materialistic lust.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To avoid such errors, we should understand what R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a actually is. R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a display Their pastimes through K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s internal energy. The pleasure potency of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s internal energy is a most difficult subject matter, and unless one understands what K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is, one cannot understand it. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a does not take any pleasure in this material world, but He has a pleasure potency. Because we are part and parcel of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the pleasure potency is within us also, but we are trying to exhibit that pleasure potency in matter. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, however, does not make such a vain attempt. The object of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pleasure potency is R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b; K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a exhibits His potency as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b and then engages in loving affairs with Her. In other words, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a does not take pleasure in this external energy but exhibits His internal energy, His pleasure potency, as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b and then enjoys with Her. Thus K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a manifests Himself as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b in order to enjoy His internal pleasure potency. Of the many extensions, expansions and incarnations of the Lord, this pleasure potency is the foremost and chief.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is not that R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is separate from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is also K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, for there is no difference between the energy and the energetic. Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic, there is no energy. Similarly, without R\u0101dh\u0101 there is no meaning to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and without K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a there is no meaning to R\u0101dh\u0101. Because of this, the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Similarly, those who worship N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a first of all utter the name of Lak\u1e63m\u012b, as Lak\u1e63m\u012b-N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a. Similarly, those who worship Lord R\u0101ma first of all utter the name of S\u012bt\u0101. In any case \u2013 S\u012bt\u0101-R\u0101ma, R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Lak\u1e63m\u012b-N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a \u2013 the potency always comes first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a are one, and when K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a desires to enjoy pleasure, He manifests Himself as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b. The spiritual exchange of love between R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the actual display of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s internal pleasure potency. Although we speak of \u201cwhen\u201d K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a desires, just when He did desire we cannot say. We only speak in this way because in conditioned life we take it that everything has a beginning; however, in spiritual life everything is absolute, and so there is neither beginning nor end. Yet in order to understand that R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a are one and that They also become divided, the question \u201cWhen?\u201d automatically comes to mind. When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a desired to enjoy His pleasure potency, He manifested Himself in the separate form of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, and when He wanted to understand Himself through the agency of R\u0101dh\u0101, He united with R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, and that unification is called Lord Caitanya. This is all explained by \u015ar\u012bla K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja in the fifth verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the next verse the author further explains why K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a assumed the form of Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a desired to know the glory of R\u0101dh\u0101\u2019s love. \u201cWhy is She so much in love with Me?\u201d K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a asked. \u201cWhat is My special qualification that attracts Her so? And what is the actual way in which She loves Me?\u201d It seems strange that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, as the Supreme, should be attracted by anyone\u2019s love. A man searches after the love of a woman because he is imperfect \u2013 he lacks something. The love of a woman, that potency and pleasure, is absent in man, and therefore a man wants a woman. But this is not the case with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who is full in Himself. Thus K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a expressed surprise: \u201cWhy am I attracted by R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b? And when R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b feels My love, what is She actually feeling?\u201d To taste the essence of that loving exchange, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a made His appearance in the same way that the moon appears on the horizon of the sea. Just as the moon was produced by the churning of the sea, by the churning of spiritual loving affairs the moon of Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu appeared. Indeed, Lord Caitanya\u2019s complexion was golden, just like the luster of the moon. Although this is figurative language, it conveys the meaning behind the appearance of Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. The full significance of His appearance will be explained in later chapters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After offering respects to Lord Caitanya, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja begins offering them to Lord Nity\u0101nanda in the seventh verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta.<\/em> The author explains that Lord Nity\u0101nanda is Balar\u0101ma, who is the origin of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s first expansion is Balar\u0101ma, a portion of whom is manifested as Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a, who then expands as Pradyumna. In this way so many expansions take place. Although there are many expansions, Lord \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the origin, as confirmed in the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101.<\/em> He is like the original candle, from which many thousands and millions of candles are lit. Although any number of candles can be lit, the original candle still retains its identity as the origin. In this way K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a expands Himself into so many forms, and all these expansions are called vi\u1e63\u1e47u-tattva.<\/em> Vi\u1e63\u1e47u is a large light, and we are small lights, but all are expansions of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When it is necessary to create the material universes, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u expands Himself as Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u. Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u lies down in the Causal Ocean and breathes all the universes from His nostrils. Thus from Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u and the Causal Ocean spring all the universes, and all these universes, including ours, float in the Causal Ocean. In this regard there is the story of V\u0101mana, who, when He took three steps, stuck His foot through the covering of this universe. Water from the Causal Ocean flowed through the hole that His foot made, and it is said that that water became the river Ganges. Therefore the Ganges is accepted as the most sacred water of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u and is worshiped by all Hindus, from the Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u is actually an expansion of Balar\u0101ma, who is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s first expansion and, in the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana pastimes, His brother. In the mah\u0101-mantra<\/em> \u2013 Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Hare Hare\/ Hare R\u0101ma, Hare R\u0101ma, R\u0101ma R\u0101ma, Hare Hare\u2014the word \u201cR\u0101ma\u201d refers to Balar\u0101ma. Since Lord Nity\u0101nanda is Balar\u0101ma, \u201cR\u0101ma\u201d also refers to Lord Nity\u0101nanda. Thus Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Hare R\u0101ma addresses not only K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and Balar\u0101ma but Lord Caitanya and Lord Nity\u0101nanda as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The subject matter of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> deals primarily with what is beyond this material creation. The cosmic material expansion is called m\u0101y\u0101,<\/em> illusion, because it has no eternal existence. Because it is sometimes manifested and sometimes not, it is regarded as illusory. But beyond this temporary manifestation is a higher nature, as indicated in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> (8.20)<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

paras tasm\u0101t tu bhavo \u2019nyo
\n\u2019vyakto \u2019vyakt\u0101t san\u0101tana\u1e25
\nya\u1e25 sa sarve\u1e63u bh\u016bte\u1e63u
\nna\u015byatsu na vina\u015byati<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cYet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.\u201d (Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em>8.20)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The material world has a manifested state (vyakta<\/em>) and a potential, unmanifested state (avyakta<\/em>). The supreme nature is beyond both the manifested and the unmanifested material nature. This superior nature can be understood as the living force, which is present in the bodies of all living creatures. The body itself is composed of inferior nature, matter, but it is the superior nature that is moving the body. The symptom of that superior nature is consciousness. Thus in the spiritual world, where everything is composed of the superior nature, everything is conscious. In the material world there are inanimate objects that are not conscious, but in the spiritual world nothing is inanimate. There a table is conscious, the land is conscious, the trees are conscious \u2013 everything is conscious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is not possible to imagine how far this material manifestation extends. In the material world everything is calculated by imagination or by some imperfect method, but the Vedic literatures give real information of what lies beyond the material universe. Since it is not possible to obtain information of anything beyond this material nature by experimental means, those who believe only in experimental knowledge may doubt the Vedic conclusions, for such people cannot even calculate how far this universe extends, nor can they reach far into the universe itself. That which is beyond our power of conception is called acintya,<\/em> inconceivable. It is useless to argue or speculate about the inconceivable. If something is truly inconceivable, it is not subject to speculation or experimentation. Our energy is limited, and our sense perception is limited; therefore we must rely on the Vedic conclusions regarding that subject matter which is inconceivable. Knowledge of the superior nature must simply be accepted without argument. How is it possible to argue about something to which we have no access? The method for understanding transcendental subject matter is given by Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/a>,<\/em> where K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a tells Arjuna at the beginning of the fourth chapter:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

ima\u1e41 vivasvate yoga\u1e41
\nproktav\u0101n aham avyayam
\nvivasv\u0101n manave pr\u0101ha
\nmanur ik\u1e63v\u0101kave \u2019brav\u012bt<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cI instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun god, Vivasv\u0101n, and Vivasv\u0101n instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ik\u1e63v\u0101ku.\u201d (Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> 4.1)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is the method of parampar\u0101,<\/em> or disciplic succession. Similarly, \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> explains that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a imparted knowledge into the heart of Brahm\u0101, the first created being within the universe. Brahm\u0101 imparted those lessons to his disciple N\u0101rada, and N\u0101rada imparted that knowledge to his disciple Vy\u0101sadeva. Vy\u0101sadeva imparted it to Madhv\u0101c\u0101rya, and from Madhv\u0101c\u0101rya the knowledge came down to M\u0101dhavendra Pur\u012b and then to \u012a\u015bvara Pur\u012b, and from him to Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One may ask that if Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself, then why did He need a spiritual master? Of course, He did not need a spiritual master, but because He was playing the role of \u0101c\u0101rya<\/em> (one who teaches by example), He accepted a spiritual master. Even K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself accepted a spiritual master, for that is the system. In this way the Lord sets the example for men. We should not think, however, that the Lord takes a spiritual master because He is in want of knowledge. He is simply stressing the importance of accepting the disciplic succession. The knowledge of that disciplic succession actually comes from the Lord Himself, and if the knowledge descends unbroken, it is perfect. Although we may not be in touch with the original personality who first imparted the knowledge, we may receive the same knowledge through this process of transmission. In \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> it is stated that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, transmitted transcendental knowledge into the heart of Brahm\u0101. This, then, is one way knowledge is received \u2013 through the heart. Thus there are two processes by which one may receive knowledge: One depends directly upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated as the Supersoul within the heart of all living entities, and the other depends upon the guru, or spiritual master, who is an expansion of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Thus K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a transmits information both from within and from without. We simply have to receive it. If knowledge is received in this way, it doesn\u2019t matter whether it is inconceivable or not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a><\/em> there is a great deal of information given about the Vaiku\u1e47\u1e6dha planetary systems, which are beyond the material universe. Similarly, a great deal of inconceivable information is given in the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta.<\/em>Any attempt to arrive at this information through experimental knowledge will fail. The knowledge simply has to be accepted. According to the Vedic method, \u015babda,<\/em> or transcendental sound, is regarded as evidence. Sound is very important in Vedic understanding, for if it is pure it is accepted as authoritative. Even in the material world we accept a great deal of information sent thousands of miles by telephone or radio. In this way we also accept sound as evidence in our daily lives. Although we cannot see the informant, we accept his information as valid on the basis of sound. Sound vibration, then, is very important in the transmission of Vedic knowledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Vedas<\/em> inform us that beyond this cosmic manifestation there are extensive planets in the spiritual sky. This material manifestation is regarded as only a small portion of the total creation. The material manifestation includes not only this universe but innumerable others as well, but all the material universes combined constitute only one fourth of the total creation. The remaining three fourths is situated in the spiritual sky. In that sky innumerable planets float, and these are called Vaiku\u1e47\u1e6dha-lokas. In every Vaiku\u1e47\u1e6dha-loka, N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a presides with His four expansions: Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and V\u0101sudeva. This Sa\u1e45kar\u1e63a\u1e47a, states K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja in the eighth verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> is Lord Nity\u0101nanda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As stated before, it is in His form as Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u that the Lord manifests the material universes. Just as a husband and wife combine to beget offspring, Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u combines with His wife M\u0101y\u0101, or material nature. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> (14.4)<\/a>, where K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a states:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

sarva-yoni\u1e63u kaunteya
\nm\u016brtaya\u1e25 sambhavanti y\u0101\u1e25
\nt\u0101s\u0101\u1e41 brahma mahad yonir
\naha\u1e41 b\u012bja-prada\u1e25 pit\u0101<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cIt should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunt\u012b, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vi\u1e63\u1e47u impregnates m\u0101y\u0101,<\/em> the material nature, simply by glancing at her. This is the spiritual method. Materially we are limited to impregnating by only one particular part of our body, but the Supreme Lord, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u, can impregnate by any part. Simply by glancing, the Lord can conceive countless living entities in the womb of material nature. The Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101<\/em> confirms that the spiritual body of the Supreme Lord is so powerful that any part of His body can perform the functions of any other part. We can touch only with our hands or skin, but K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can touch just by glancing. We can see only with our eyes; we cannot touch or smell with them. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, however, can smell and also eat with His eyes. When food is offered to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, we do not see Him eating, but He eats simply by glancing at the food. We cannot imagine how things work in the spiritual world, where everything is spiritual. It is not that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a does not eat or that we imagine that He eats; He actually eats, but His eating is different from ours. Our eating process will be similar to His when we are completely on the spiritual platform. On that platform every part of the body can act on behalf of any other part.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vi\u1e63\u1e47u does not require anything in order to create. He does not require the goddess Lak\u1e63m\u012b in order to give birth to Brahm\u0101, for Brahm\u0101 is born from a lotus flower that grows from the navel of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u. The goddess Lak\u1e63m\u012b sits at the feet of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u and serves Him. In this material world sex is required to produce children, but in the spiritual world a man can produce as many children as he likes without having to take help from his wife. So there is no sex there. Because we have no experience with spiritual energy, we think that Brahm\u0101\u2019s birth from the navel of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u is simply a fictional story. We are not aware that spiritual energy is so powerful that it can do anything and everything. Material energy is dependent on certain laws, but spiritual energy is fully independent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Countless universes reside like seeds within the skin pores of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u, and when He exhales, they are all manifested. In the material world we have no experience of such a thing, but we do experience a perverted reflection in the phenomenon of perspiration. We cannot imagine, however, the duration of one breath of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u, for within one breath all the universes are created and annihilated. This is stated in the Brahma-sa\u1e41hit\u0101.<\/em> Lord Brahm\u0101 lives only for the duration of one breath, and according to our time scale 4,320,000,000 years constitute only twelve hours for Brahm\u0101, and Brahm\u0101 lives one hundred of his years. Yet the whole life of Brahm\u0101 is contained within one breath of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u. Thus it is not possible for us to imagine the breathing power of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u, who is but a partial manifestation of Lord Nity\u0101nanda. This the author of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> explains in the ninth verse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the tenth and eleventh verses K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja describes Garbhodaka-\u015b\u0101y\u012b Vi\u1e63\u1e47u and K\u1e63\u012brodaka-\u015b\u0101y\u012b Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, successive plenary expansions of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u. Brahm\u0101 appears upon a lotus growing from the navel of Garbhodaka-\u015b\u0101y\u012b Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, and within the stem of that lotus are so many planetary systems. Then Brahm\u0101 creates the whole of human society, animal society \u2013 everything. K\u1e63\u012brodaka-\u015b\u0101y\u012b Vi\u1e63\u1e47u lies on the milk ocean within the universe, of which He is the controller and maintainer. Thus Brahm\u0101 is the creator, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u is the maintainer, and when the time for annihilation arrives, \u015aiva will finish everything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the first eleven verses of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b thus discusses Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu as \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Lord Nity\u0101nanda as Balar\u0101ma, the first expansion of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Then in the twelfth and thirteenth verses he describes Advaita \u0100c\u0101rya, who is another principal associate of Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu\u2019s and an incarnation of Mah\u0101-vi\u1e63\u1e47u. Thus Advaita \u0100c\u0101rya is also the Lord, or, more precisely, an expansion of the Lord. The word advaita<\/em> means \u201cnondual,\u201d and His name is such because He is nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. He is also called \u0101c\u0101rya,<\/em> teacher, because He disseminated K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness. In this way He is just like Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. Although Lord Caitanya is \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself, He appeared as a devotee to teach people in general how to love K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Similarly, although Advaita \u0100c\u0101rya is the Lord, He appeared just to distribute the knowledge of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness. Thus He is also the Lord incarnated as a devotee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is manifested in five different features, known as the Pa\u00f1ca-tattva, to whom \u015ar\u012bla K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja offers his obeisances in the fourteenth verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta.<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and His associates appear as devotees of the Supreme Lord in the form of \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Caitanya, \u015ar\u012b Nity\u0101nanda Prabhu, \u015ar\u012b Advaita \u0100c\u0101rya, \u015ar\u012b Gad\u0101dhara Prabhu and \u015ar\u012bv\u0101sa Prabhu. In all cases, Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu is the source of energy for all His devotees. Since this is the case, if we take shelter of Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu for the successful execution of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, we are sure to make progress. In a devotional song, Narottama d\u0101sa \u1e6ch\u0101kura sings, \u201cMy dear Lord Caitanya, please have mercy upon me. There is no one who is as merciful as You. My plea is most urgent because Your mission is to deliver all fallen souls, and no one is more fallen than I. Therefore I beg priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With verse fifteen, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b begins offering his obeisances directly to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja was an inhabitant of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana and a great devotee. He had been living with his family in Katwa, a small town in the district of Burdwan, in Bengal. He worshiped R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a with his family, and once when there was some misunderstanding among his family members about devotional service, he was advised by Nity\u0101nanda Prabhu in a dream to leave home and go to V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. Although he was very old, he started out that very night and went to live in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. While he was there, he met some of the Six Gosv\u0101m\u012bs, the principal disciples of Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu. He was requested to write the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> by the devotees of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. Although he began this work at a very old age, by the grace of Lord Caitanya he finished it. Today it remains the most authoritative book on Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu\u2019s philosophy and life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b was living in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, there were not very many temples. At that time the three principal temples were those of Madana-mohana, Govindaj\u012b and Gop\u012bn\u0101tha. As a resident of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja offers his respects to the Deities in these temples and requests God\u2019s favor: \u201cMy progress in spiritual life is very slow, so I\u2019m asking Your help.\u201d In the fifteenth verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta,<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa offers his obeisances to the Madana-mohana vigraha,<\/em> the Deity who can help us progress in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness. In the execution of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, our first business is to know K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and our relationship with Him. To know K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is to know one\u2019s self, and to know one\u2019s self is to know one\u2019s relationship with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Since this relationship can be learned by worshiping the Madana-mohana vigraha,<\/em> K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b first establishes his relationship with Him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When this is established, in the sixteenth verse K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa offers his obeisances to the functional Deity, Govinda. The Govinda Deity is called the functional Deity because He shows us how to serve R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. The Madana-mohana Deity simply establishes that \u201cI am Your eternal servant.\u201d With Govinda, however, there is actual acceptance of service. Govinda resides eternally in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. In the spiritual world of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana the buildings are made of touchstone, the cows are known as surabhi<\/em> cows, givers of abundant milk, and the trees are known as wish-fulfilling trees, for they yield whatever one desires. In V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a herds the surabhi<\/em> cows, and He is worshiped by hundreds and thousands of gop\u012bs,<\/em> cowherd girls, who are all goddesses of fortune. When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a descends to the material world, this same V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana descends with Him, just as an entourage accompanies an important personage. Because when K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a comes His land also comes, V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana is considered to exist beyond the material world. Therefore devotees take shelter of the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana in India, for it is considered to be a replica of the original V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. Although one may complain that no kalpa-v\u1e5bk\u1e63a,<\/em> wish-fulfilling trees, exist there, when the Six Gosv\u0101m\u012bs were there, kalpa-v\u1e5bk\u1e63as<\/em> were present. It is not that one can simply go to such a tree and make demands; one must first become a devotee. The Gosv\u0101m\u012bs would live under a tree for one night only, and the trees would satisfy all their desires. For the common man this may all seem very wonderful, but as one makes progress in devotional service, all this can be realized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana is actually experienced as it is by persons who have stopped trying to derive pleasure from material enjoyment. \u201cWhen will my mind become cleansed of all hankering for material enjoyment so I will be able to see V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana?\u201d one great devotee asks. The more K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious we become and the more we advance, the more everything is revealed as spiritual. Thus K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b considered the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana in India to be as good as the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana in the spiritual sky, and in the sixteenth verse of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> he describes R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as seated beneath a wish-fulfilling tree in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, on a throne decorated with valuable jewels. There K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s dear gop\u012b<\/em> friends serve R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a by singing, dancing, offering betel nuts and refreshments, and decorating Their Lordships with flowers. Even today in India people decorate swinging thrones and re-create this scene during the month of July\u2013August. Generally at that time people go to V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana to offer their respects to the Deities there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Finally K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b offers his blessings to his readers in the name of the Gop\u012bn\u0101tha Deity, who is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as master and proprietor of the gop\u012bs.<\/em> When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a played upon His flute, all the gop\u012bs,<\/em> or cowherd girls, were attracted by the sound and left their household duties, and when they came to Him, He danced with them. These activities are all described in the Tenth Canto of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a>.<\/em> These gop\u012bs<\/em> were childhood friends of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and many were married, for in India the girls are generally married by the age of twelve. The boys, however, are not married before eighteen, so K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who was fifteen or sixteen at the time, was not married. Nonetheless, He called these girls from their homes and invited them to dance with Him. That dance is called the r\u0101sa-l\u012bl\u0101<\/em> dance, and it is the most elevated of all the V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana pastimes. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is therefore called Gop\u012bn\u0101tha because He is the beloved master of the gop\u012bs.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b petitions the blessings of Lord Gop\u012bn\u0101tha: \u201cMay that Gop\u012bn\u0101tha, the master of the gop\u012bs,<\/em>K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, bless you. May you become blessed by Gop\u012bn\u0101tha.\u201d The author of the Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta<\/em> prays that just as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a attracted the gop\u012bs<\/em> by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader\u2019s mind by that transcendental vibration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Introduction Originally delivered as five morning lectures on Caitanya-carit\u0101m\u1e5bta \u2013 the authoritative biography of Lord Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu, by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47ad\u0101sa Kavir\u0101ja Gosv\u0101m\u012b \u2013 before the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, New York City, April 10\u201314, 1967. … 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-37289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-03 21:16:13","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\/37289","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=37289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}