“Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu further advised the brahmana Kurma, ‘If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company.’” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 7.129)

Download this episode (right click and save)

कभु ना बाधिबे तोमार विषय-तरङ्ग
पुनरपि एइ ठाञि पाबे मोर सङ्ग”

kabhu nā bādhibe tomāra viṣaya-taraṅga
punarapi ei ṭhāñi pābe mora saṅga”

1. He conveyed high concepts outside of explicit instruction

Sanatana-dharma is religion. It is a culture. It has associated sound vibrations, which can be considered a language or a set of languages derived from an original source. It is something which governs. It is something which guides. It is something which limits.

As an umbrella to cover all of these applications, sanatana-dharma is also a philosophy. When studied as a philosophy, the corresponding word is Vedanta. This translates to “the end of knowledge” or “the final conclusion.” Vedanta is specifically for the human being. They have the capacity to reason, to postulate, to hypothesize, to deliberate, and to make conscious choices with respect to action.

Within Vedanta, there are typically subdivisions. Dvaita and advaita. To understand Vedanta along either of these lines is not easy. Consider the many years of schooling required simply to be literate in a particular language. To read and write in a cohesive and effective manner. To both absorb and communicate thoughts and ideas, such that there is no confusion.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught both the dvaita and advaita versions of Vedanta through a personal example. He did not start an institution of higher learning. He did not become a professor of high repute. He was not known to author sacred texts.

Rather, He revealed the eternal truth that both sides of Vedanta exist simultaneously, in a manner that does not contradict. Since this simultaneous division and lack of division is inconceivable, the truth can be described as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva.

Mahaprabhu is so wonderful that He displayed this truth in motion. Like an animated doll exhibit or a live-action drama played out on the stage of a traveling theater. He taught through example. The students, informal or formal, did not have to sit in a classroom. They could understand this highest truth, this complete explanation of Vedanta, which equates to transcendence, through the chanting of a mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

2. He showed the potency of a truly influential person

This chanting could be done quietly in what is known as japa meditation. It could also be done with others, in a public setting, through call-and-response accompanied by ecstatic dancing. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was particularly known for this kind of chanting.

It is interesting to see the difference in treatment. In the modern day, we consider someone to be influential based on their net worth. If they have the capacity to fund a film project. If they can pay off members of government to bend the rules in their favor. If they command high speaking fees when presenting before large audiences.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu shows how someone can be the most influential without having a penny to their name. A travelling teacher of the spiritual science, someone within the sannyasa ashrama of life, can be the greatest celebrity in a particular area. Their ability to influence is tied to their net worth in terms of knowledge and expertise. Mahaprabhu can lift others up simply by His association.

3. He did not remain complacent

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu travelled extensively for a specific period of His time in this world. This was to benefit others. A saintly person has every right to stay fixed in a holy place, such as Vrindavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Ayodhya, Puri, and Chitrakuta. They can accept visitors to the area and reveal confidential wisdom, such as that shared with Arjuna by Shri Krishna.

राज-विद्या राज-गुह्यं
पवित्रम् इदम् उत्तमम्
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं
सु-सुखं कर्तुम् अव्ययम्

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.2)

Specific to the time and circumstance, Lord Chaitanya found a way to widen the sphere of influence. By travelling from village to village, He induced others to chant the names of Hari simply through His presence. It is for this reason that chants of “Haribol” can be heard while worshiping that celebrated golden avatara.

4. He empowered others to teach the highest philosophy

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself. This means that He can rescue the entire universe all at once, if He so desires. He can create something like an infinitely flowing printing press, producing one book after another, each one more meaningful than its predecessor. There is no end to the glories of the Supreme Lord, and so for the empowered being there is no cause for halting in glorifying the one who is the beloved of Radha.

Mahaprabhu was so kind that He empowered others to do the writing. They were uplifted in the process, and the books they produced continue to be consulted to this day. This fills a vital gap in the base of knowledge. The words of Vedanta, such as in the Vedanta-sutra, can be twisted this way and that. After the passage of time, it might be difficult to recognize the original meaning. To have the proper explanations available is thus vital. Mahaprabhu empowered His associates to fulfill this task.

तस्य संदिदिहे बुद्धिर्मुहुः सीतां निरीक्ष्य तु
आम्नायानामयोगेन विद्यां प्रशिथिलामिव
दुःखेन बुबुधे सीतां हनुमाननलङ्कृताम्
संस्कारेण यथा हीनां वाचमर्थान्तरं गताम्

tasya saṃdidihe buddhirmuhuḥ sītāṃ nirīkṣya tu
āmnāyānāmayogena vidyāṃ praśithilāmiva
duḥkhena bubudhe sītāṃ hanumānanalaṅkṛtām
saṃskāreṇa yathā hīnāṃ vācamarthāntaraṃ gatām

“Seeing Sita, like trying to decipher knowledge from the Vedas which has become barely perceptible after lack of use, his mind became doubtful. As Sita was not decorated, with difficulty Hanuman could recognize her, like understanding a text which has gotten a different meaning due to a lack of purity.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.38-39)

5. He facilitated liberation even for the householders

Since the dawn of time, parents within the culture of Vedanta, of sanatana-dharma, have had the fear of their children leaving home early, for good, and taking to the life of renunciation. This is following in the tradition of the sons of Daksha, who developed that inclination after hearing the science of self-realization from Narada Muni.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself left home at a young age. He became a sannyasi for the purposes of teaching at a wider distribution, but through His mercy the same is not necessarily required of others. There is the story of Mahaprabhu urging one of His followers to stay at home. By associating with sacred texts like Bhagavad-gita and explaining the instructions, upadesha, to others, their life would be no different from the typical sannyasi.

This is a level of mercy which cannot be properly quantified. It is one of the kindest gifts to offer to others, as leaving home can be a tough decision to carry through on. Especially in the modern age, where so many expensive amenities are required to simply maintain a home, it is not always practical to give up everything and turn into a wandering beggar.

Because of the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and those who follow Him, we have access to the roadmap towards liberation. The very cause of all our sufferings, birth itself, can be eradicated through reaching the heights of consciousness, in what His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada refers to as Krishna consciousness.

In Closing:

Afraid to be all alone,
Not ready to leave home.

Understanding the appeal,
That to wider audience to reveal.

The science of self-realization needed,
Path by saintly people proceeded.

But Mahaprabhu as guru to enable,
Upadesha from place reliable and stable.

Categories: the five

Tags: chaitanya, feature, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion