“Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told the brahmana, ‘Indeed, you are an authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gita. Whatever you know constitutes the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita.’” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya, 9.102)

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प्रभु कहे, — गीता-पाठे तोमारइ अधिकार
तुमि से जानह एइ गीतार अर्थ-सार

prabhu kahe, — gītā-pāṭhe tomārā-i adhikāra
tumi se jānaha ei gītāra artha-sāra

“I am familiar with the concept of Adhokshaja, which applies to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is another name for Him, among countless others. People of the Vedic tradition prefer to use different names. Well, perhaps one person has their preferred name, the one that they will use, with the associated visual. It’s just that another person might prefer a completely different name, which has its own image.

“I understand what Adhokshaja means. It is a nice description. I think it appropriately applies to God. It is indeed interesting to find all the negations applied to terms familiar to us. For instance, the end is anta. God is the opposite of that; ananta. Adi is the beginning. God has no beginning, and so He is anadi.

“At some point, though, are you not taking things too far? When is enough? Why do we have to keep adding on to the descriptions? Why does Vedic literature have to continually expand, like a magazine which began publication thousands of years ago and still produces volumes at regular intervals? Why not just be satisfied with a single book? Why not focus on a single name? With so much variety, do you not run the risk of confusing people?”

Every aspect of genuine religion actually mirrors a natural tendency of the living being. Even prior to their connection to dharma, in the known sense, they will exhibit certain behaviors that later on might reemerge, but in their pure version. From eating to sleeping, from exercising to resting, from cooking to cleaning, and even from praising to criticizing.

“Akshaja means ‘the measurement of our senses,’ and adhokshaja means ‘that which is beyond the measurement of our senses.’” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.19.25 Purport)

For comparative study, we can take the case of a famous basketball player. They left such a mark on the game and the people who watched that there are still new documentaries being made about this player. Those documentaries often have more viewers than the actual live games being played today.

Such productions consist mostly of people talking. Sharing accounts. Offering appreciations. Different criticisms. The admirers cover every kind of statistical report they can think of. They then compare the metrics to other players, from both past and present. These comparisons are then used to further glorify the player of focus.

No one told people to follow this line. No one was necessarily incentivized with a huge payout to go over the statistics. It is a natural tendency of the admirers. They want others to become familiar with how exceptional this certain player was. You could say that there is a kind of joy to the process. Otherwise, who would follow through? It is not like the player in question is going to personally reward each admirer for their support.

With the Vedic tradition, a person can certainly choose to focus on a single book. They could hang on to something like Bhagavad-gita for the rest of their life, if they wish. They may not even fully understand the words, but just by holding the physical copy they get a vision of the two main participants. A person sees Krishna kindly steering the chariot for Arjuna. They are brought to tears by the thought of Krishna’s kindness, in His willingness to rescue someone so desperate for help.

This person may not understand any of the content, otherwise. Even within that book, the one Krishna is addressed by different names. This means that contemporaries like to praise the Supreme Lord, during His descents known as avatara, with terms that reference different properties, abilities, conditions, and accomplishments. There is something blissful to the process. The bliss is actually infinite in quantity and therefore impossible to measure. It is like the Adhokshaja property extends to devotion to the person who is known as Adhokshaja.

राजन् संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य
संवादम् इमम् अद्भुतम्
केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं
हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः

rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
saṁvādam imam adbhutam
keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ
hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ

“O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.” (Sanjaya, Bhagavad-gita, 18.76)

The highest authority on spiritual subject matters, Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, validates that such contemplation of Krishna is a perfect understanding of Bhagavad-gita. He personally gave this assurance to an illiterate brahmana. Mahaprabhu otherwise knows so much about the Supreme Lord. Shri Chaitanya can explain a single verse from Shrimad Bhagavatam in sixty-one different ways, if asked. Each explanation is glorification of Krishna. What to speak of sixty-one, the serpent in the spiritual world with unlimited hoods has been glorifying God since time immemorial.

सूत उवाच
आत्मारामाश्च मुनयो निर्ग्रन्था अप्युरुक्रमे
कुर्वन्त्यहैतुकीं भक्तिमित्थम्भूतगुणो हरि:

sūta uvāca
ātmārāmāś ca munayo
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ

“All different varieties of atmaramas [those who take pleasure in atma, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.7.10)

Whether we choose a single name or focus on a different name each day, the guiding principle is that we should stay connected. This is the meaning to bhakti-yoga. This was the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who we glorify, honor, remember, and vow to continuously serve. We take strength from Him every single day, but especially on the auspicious occasion of Gaura Purnima. In this dark age of quarrel and hypocrisy, Mahaprabhu kindly appeared, with His beautiful golden complexion, to lift us up to the highest standard of living, in an existence that can continue into the infinite future.

In Closing:

So proud my output to see,
As most creative writer to be.

But wherefrom that ability came?
Avatara of Chaitanya the name.

Who single verse widely explaining,
With each new appreciation gaining.

Gaura Purnima for Him meant,
Who infinite mercy to us sent.

Categories: gaura purnima, holiday

Tags: chaitanya, feature, gaura purnima, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry