Chapter 9
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Travels to the Holy Places
A summary of the Ninth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
After leaving Vidyanagara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited such places of
pilgrimage as Gautami-ganga, Mallikarjuna, Ahovala-nrsimha, Siddhavata,
Skanda-ksetra, Trimatha, Vrddhakasi, Bauddha-sthana, Tirupati, Tirumala,
Pana-nrsimha, Siva-kanci, Visnu-kanci, Trikala-hasti, Vrddhakola,
Siyali-bhairavi, Kaveri-tira and Kumbhakarna-kapala.
Finally the Lord went to Sri Ranga-ksetra, where He converted a brahmana
named Venkata Bhatta, who, along with his family, became a devotee of Krsna.
After leaving Sri Ranga, Caitanya Mahaprabhu reached Rsabha-parvata, where He
met Paramananda Puri, who later arrived at Jagannatha Puri. Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu then proceeded farther, arriving at Setubandha Ramesvara. At Sri
Saila-parvata, the Lord met Lord Siva and his wife Durga in the dress of a
brahmana and brahmani. From there He went to Kamakosthi-puri and later arrived
at southern Mathura. A brahmana devotee of Lord Ramacandra's talked with Him.
Then the Lord took His bath in the river Krtamala. On the hill known as
Mahendra-saila, the Lord saw Parasurama. Then the Lord went to Setubandha and
took His bath at Dhanus-tirtha. He also visited Ramesvara, where He collected
some papers connected with Sitadevi, whose illusory form was kidnapped by
Ravana. The Lord next visited the places known as Pandya-desa, Tamraparni,
Naya-tripadi, Ciyadatala, Tila-kanci, Gajendra-moksana, Panagadi, Camtapura,
Sri Vaikuntha, Malaya-parvata and Kanya-kumari. The Lord then met the
Bhattatharis at Mallara-desa and saved Kala Krsnadasa from their clutches. The
Lord also collected the Brahma-samhita, Fifth Chapter, on the banks of the
Payasvini River. He then visited Payasvini, Srngavera-puri-matha and
Matsya-tirtha. At the village of Udupi He saw the Gopala Deity installed by Sri
Madhvacarya. He then defeated the Tattvavadis in sastric conversation. The Lord
next visited Phalgu-tirtha, Tritakupa, Pancapsara, Surparaka and Kolapura. At
Sri Rangapuri the Lord received news of Sankararanya's disappearance. He then
went to the banks of the Krsnavenva River, where He collected from among the
Vaisnava brahmanas a book written by Bilvamangala, Krsna-karnamrta. The Lord
then visited Tapti, Mahismati-pura, Narmada-tira and Rsyamuka-parvata. He
entered Dandakaranya and liberated the seven palm trees. From there He visited
a place known as Pampa-sarovara and visited Pancavati, Nasika, Brahmagiri and
also the source of the Godavari River, Kusavarta. Thus the Lord visited almost
all the holy places in South India. He finally returned to Jagannatha Puri by
taking the same route, after visiting Vidyanagara again.
TEXT 1
TEXT
nana-mata-graha-grastan
daksinatya-jana-dvipan
krparina vimucyaitan
gauras cakre sa vaisnavan
SYNONYMS
nana-mata--by various philosophies; graha--like crocodiles;
grastan--captured; daksinatya-jana--the inhabitants of South India;
dvipan--like elephants; krpa-arina--by His disc of mercy; vimucya--liberating;
etan--all these; gaurah--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; cakre--converted; sah--He;
vaisnavan--to the Vaisnava cult.
TRANSLATION
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted the inhabitants of South India.
These people were as strong as elephants, but they were in the clutches of the
crocodiles of various philosophies, such as the Buddhist, Jain and Mayavada
philosophies. With His disc of mercy the Lord delivered them all by converting
them into Vaisnavas, devotees of the Lord.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's converting the people of South India into
Vaisnavas is compared herein to Lord Visnu's delivering Gajendra the elephant
from the attack of a crocodile. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited southern
India, almost all the residents were within the jaws of the crocodiles of
Buddhist, Jain and Mayavada philosophy. Here Kaviraja Gosvami states that
although these people were as strong as elephants, they were almost in the
clutches of death because they were being attacked by the crocodiles of various
philosophies. However, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of Visnu
mercifully saved the elephant Gajendra from the clutches of a crocodile, so He
saved all the people of South India from the clutches of various philosophies by
converting them into Vaisnavas.
TEXT 2
TEXT
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya--all glories; sri-caitanya--to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
jaya--all glories; nityananda--unto Nityananda Prabhu; jaya advaita-candra--all
glories to Advaita Prabhu; jaya--all glories; gaura-bhakta-vrnda--to the
devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord
Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Sri Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to the
devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
TEXT 3
TEXT
daksina-gamana prabhura ati vilaksana
sahasra sahasra tirtha kaila darasana
SYNONYMS
daksina-gamana--touring in South India; prabhura--of the Lord;
ati--very; vilaksana--extraordinary; sahasra sahasra--thousands and thousands;
tirtha--holy places; kaila--did; darasana--visit.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's tour of South India was certainly very
extraordinary because He visited many thousands of places of pilgrimage there.
TEXT 4
TEXT
sei saba tirtha sparsi' maha-tirtha kaila
sei chale sei desera loka nistarila
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; tirtha--holy places; sparsi'--touching;
maha-tirtha--into great places of pilgrimage; kaila--made them; sei
chale--under that plea; sei desera--of those countries; loka--the people;
nistarila--He delivered.
TRANSLATION
On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many
thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy
places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.
PURPORT
It is said: tirthi-kurvanti tirthani.
A tirtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities
visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage,
they were all purified by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's visit. Many people go to
these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free
from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they are counteracted by
the visit of great personalities like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His strict
followers. Many kinds of patients come to a hospital, which may be infected by
many types of disease. Actually the hospital is always infected, but the expert
physician keeps the hospital sterilized by his expert presence and management.
Similarly, places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the
sinners who go there, but when a personality like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
visits such a place, all contaminations vanish.
TEXT 5
TEXT
sei saba tirthera krama kahite na pari
daksina-vame tirtha-gamana haya pherapheri
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; tirthera--of holy places; krama--the chronological
order; kahite--to tell of; na pari--I am unable; daksina-vame--left and right;
tirtha-gamana--visiting the holy places; haya--is; pherapheri--going and coming
back
TRANSLATION
I cannot chronologically record all the places of pilgrimage visited by
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I can only summarize everything by saying that
the Lord visited all holy places right and left, coming and going.
TEXT 6
TEXT
ataeva nama-matra kariye ganana
kahite na pari tara yatha anukrama
SYNONYMS
ataeva--therefore; nama-matra--only as a token record; kariye ganana--I
count; kahite--to tell; na pari--I am unable; tara--of that; yatha--as;
anukrama--chronological order.
TRANSLATION
Because it is impossible for me to record all these places in
chronological order, I simply make a token gesture of recording them.
TEXTS 7-8
TEXT
purvavat pathe yaite ye paya darasana
yei grame yaya, se gramera yata jana
sabei vaisnava haya, kahe 'krsna' 'hari'
anya grama nistaraye sei 'vaisnava' kari'
SYNONYMS
purva-vat--as done previously; pathe--on the way; yaite--while going;
ye--anyone who; paya--gets; darasana--audience; yei--which; grame--in the
village; yaya--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu goes; se--that; gramera--of the
village; yata--all; jana--people; sabei--all of them; vaisnava haya--become
devotees; kahe--say; krsna hari--the holy names of Lord Krsna and Hari; anya
grama--other villages; nistaraye--delivers; sei--He; vaisnava--devotees;
kari'--making.
TRANSLATION
As previously stated, all the residents of the villages visited by Lord
Caitanya became Vaisnavas and began to chant "Hari" and
"Krsna." In this way, in all the villages visited by the Lord,
everyone became a Vaisnava, a devotee.
PURPORT
The holy names of Krsna and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Krsna
maha-mantra, are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go
to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Krsna. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There
cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we
are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Krsna
maha-mantra, the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet
by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to
open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting Hare
Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare.
TEXT 9
TEXT
daksina desera loka aneka prakara
keha jnani, keha karmi, pasandi apara
SYNONYMS
daksina desera--of South India; loka--people; aneka--many;
prakara--varieties; keha--someone; jnani--philosophical speculator;
keha--someone; karmi--fruitive worker; pasandi--nondevotees;
apara--innumerable.
TRANSLATION
In South India there were many types of people. Some were philosophical
speculators, and some were fruitive workers, but in any case there were
innumerable nondevotees.
TEXT 10
TEXT
sei saba loka prabhura darsana-prabhave
nija-nija-mata chadi' ha-ila vaisnave
SYNONYMS
sei saba loka--all those people; prabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; darsana-prabhave--by the influence of His visit; nija-nija--their
own; mata--opinion; chadi'--giving up; ha-ila--became; vaisnave--devotees.
TRANSLATION
By the influence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these people abandoned
their own opinions and became Vaisnavas, devotees of Krsna.
TEXT 11
TEXT
vaisnavera madhye rama-upasaka saba
keha 'tattvavadi', keha haya 'sri-vaisnava'
SYNONYMS
vaisnavera madhye--amongst Vaisnavas; rama-upasaka saba--all worshipers
of Lord Sri Ramacandra; keha--someone; tattva-vadi--followers of Madhvacarya;
keha--someone; haya--is; sri-vaisnava--devotees following the disciplic
succession of Sri Ramanujacarya
TRANSLATION
At the time, all the South Indian Vaisnavas were worshipers of Lord
Ramacandra. Some were Tattvavadis, and some were followers of Ramanujacarya.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura points out that the word
"Tattvavadi" refers to the followers of Srila Madhvacarya. To
distinguish his disciplic succession from the Mayavadi followers of
Sankaracarya, Srila Madhvacarya named his party the Tattvavadis. Impersonal
monists are always attacked by these Tattvavadis, who attempt to defeat their
philosophy of impersonalism. Generally, they establish the supremacy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually the disciplic succession of
Madhvacarya is known as the Brahma Vaisnava sect; that is the sect coming down
from Lord Brahma. Consequently the Tattvavadis, or followers of Madhvacarya, do
not accept the incident of Lord Brahma's illusion, which is recorded in the
Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srila Madhvacarya has purposefully avoided
commenting on that portion of Srimad-Bhagavatam in which brahma-mohana, the
illusion of Lord Brahma, is mentioned. Srila Madhavendra Puri was one of the
acaryas in the Tattvavada disciplic succession, and he established the ultimate
goal of transcendentalism to be attainment of pure devotional service, love of
Godhead. Those Vaisnavas belonging to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, the disciplic
succession following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, are distinct from the
Tattvavadis, although they belong to the same Tattvavada-sampradaya. The
followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are therefore known as the
Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya.
The word pasandi refers to those who are opposed to pure devotional
service. In particular, these are the Mayavadis, the impersonalists. A
definition of pasandi is given in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (1.73), wherein it is
stated:
yas tu narayanam devam
brahma-rudradi-daivataih
samatvenaiva vikseta
sa pasandi bhaved dhruvam
A pasandi is one who thinks that the Supreme Lord Narayana, the
Personality of Godhead, is on the same level with the demigods, headed by Lord
Brahma and Lord Siva. The devotee never considers Lord Narayana to be on the
same platform with Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. The Madhvacarya-sampradaya and
Ramanuja-sampradaya are mainly worshipers of Lord Ramacandra, although the Sri
Vaisnavas are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Narayana and Laksmi and the
Tattvavadis are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Krsna. At present, in most of
the monasteries belonging to the Madhva-sampradaya, Lord Ramacandra is
worshiped.
In the book known as Adhyatma-ramayana, there are statements in Chapters
Twelve to Fifteen about the worship of the Deities Sri Ramacandra and Sita.
There it is stated that during Lord Ramacandra's time there was a brahmana who
took a vow to fast until he saw Lord Ramacandra. Sometimes, due to business,
Lord Ramacandra was absent from His capital for a full week and could not be
seen by citizens during that time. Because of his vow, the brahmana could not
take even a drop of water during that week. Later, after eight or nine days,
when the brahmana could see Lord Ramacandra personally, he would break his
fast. Upon observing the brahmana's rigid vow, Lord Sri Ramacandra ordered His
younger brother Laksmana to deliver a pair of Sita-Rama Deities to the
brahmana. The brahmana received the Deities from Sri Laksmanaji and worshiped
Them faithfully as long as he lived. At the time of his death, he delivered the
Deities to Sri Hanumanji, who, for many years, hung Them around his neck and
served Them with all devotion. After many years, when Hanumanji departed on the
hill known as Gandha-madana, he delivered the Deities to Bhimasena, one of the
Pandavas, and Bhimasena brought Them to his palace, where he kept Them very
carefully. The last king of the Pandavas, Ksemakanta, worshiped the Deities in
that palace. Later, the same Deities were kept in the custody of the kings of
Orissa known as Gajapatis. One of the acaryas, known as Narahari Tirtha, who
was in the disciplic succession of Madhvacarya, received these Deities from the
King of Orissa.
It may be noted that these particular Deities of Rama and Sita have been
worshiped from the time of King Iksvaku. Indeed, they were worshiped by the
royal princes even before the appearance of Lord Ramacandra. Later, during Lord
Ramacandra's presence, the Deities were worshiped by Laksmana. It is said that
just three months before his disappearance, Sri Madhvacarya received these
Deities and installed them in the Udupi temple. Since then the Deities have
been worshiped by the Madhvacarya-sampradaya at that monastery. As far as the
Sri Vaisnavas are concerned, beginning with Ramanujacarya, they also worshiped
Deities of Sita-Rama. Sita-Rama Deities are also being worshiped in Tirupati
and other places. From the Sri Ramanuja-sampradaya there is another branch
known as Ramanandi or Ramat, and the followers of that branch also worship
Deities of Sita-Rama very rigidly. The Ramanuja-sampradaya Vaisnavas prefer the
worship of Lord Ramacandra to that of Radha-Krsna.
TEXT 12
TEXT
sei saba vaisnava mahaprabhura darsane
krsna-upasaka haila, laya krsna-name
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; vaisnava--devotees; mahaprabhura--of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; darsane--by seeing; krsna-upasaka--devotees of Lord Krsna;
haila--became; laya--took; krsna-name--the holy name of Lord Krsna.
TRANSLATION
After meeting Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all those different Vaisnavas
became devotees of Krsna and began chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
TEXT 13
TEXT
rama! raghava! rama! raghava!
rama! raghava! pahi mam
krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! raksa mam
SYNONYMS
rama--O Rama; raghava--O descendant of Raghu; pahi--please protect;
mam--me; krsna--O Krsna; kesava--O killer of Kesi; raksa--protect; mam--me.
TRANSLATION
" 'O Lord Ramacandra, descendant of Maharaja Raghu, kindly protect
me! O Lord Krsna, killer of the Kesi demon, kindly protect me!' "
TEXT 14
TEXT
ei sloka pathe padi' karila prayana
gautami-gangaya yai' kaila ganga-snana
SYNONYMS
ei sloka--this Sanskrit verse; pathe--on the way; padi'--reciting;
karila--did; prayana--going; gautami-gangaya--to the bank of the Gautami-ganga;
yai'--going; kaila--did; ganga-snana--bathing in the Ganges.
TRANSLATION
While walking on the road, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to chant this
Rama Raghava mantra. Chanting in this way, He arrived at the banks of the
Gautami-ganga and took His bath there.
PURPORT
The Gautami-ganga is another branch of the river Godavari. Formerly a
great sage named Gautama Rsi used to live on the bank of this river opposite
the city of Rajamahendri, and consequently this branch was called the
Gautami-ganga.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that Srila Kaviraja Gosvami has recorded
the names of the holy places visited by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu but that there
is no chronological order of the places visited. However, there is a notebook
of Govinda dasa's containing a chronological order and references to
geographical positions. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura requests the readers to
refer to that book. According to Govinda dasa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to
Trimanda from the Gautami-ganga. From there He went to Dhundirama-tirtha,
another place of pilgrimage. According to this book, after visiting the
Gautami-ganga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Mallikarjuna-tirtha.
TEXT 15
TEXT
mallikarjuna-tirthe yai' mahesa dekhila
tahan saba loke krsna-nama laoyaila
SYNONYMS
mallikarjuna-tirthe--to the holy place known as Mallikarjuna;
yai'--going; mahesa--the deity of Lord Siva; dekhila--He saw; tahan--there;
saba loke--all the people; krsna-nama--Lord Krsna's holy name; laoyaila--He
induced to chant.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Mallikarjuna-tirtha and saw the
deity of Lord Siva there. He also induced all the people to chant the Hare
Krsna maha-mantra.
PURPORT
Mallikarjuna is also known as Sri Saila. It is situated about seventy
miles south of Karnula on the right bank of the Krsna River. There are great
walls all around the village, and within the walls resides the deity known as
Mallikarjuna. It is a deity of Lord Siva and is one of the Jyotirlingas.
TEXT 16
TEXT
ramadasa mahadeve karila darasana
ahovala-nrsimhere karila gamana
SYNONYMS
rama-dasa--Ramadasa; maha-deve--of Mahadeva; karila--did;
darasana--seeing; ahovala-nrsimhere--to Ahovala-nrsimha; karila--did;
gamana--going.
TRANSLATION
There he saw Lord Mahadeva [Siva], the servant of Lord Rama. He then
went to Ahovala-nrsimha.
TEXT 17
TEXT
nrsimha dekhiya tanre kaila nati-stuti
siddhavata gela yahan murti sitapati
SYNONYMS
nrsimha dekhiya--after seeing the Lord Nrsimha Deity; tanre--unto Him;
kaila--did; nati-stuti--offering of various prayers; siddhavata--to Siddhavata;
gela--He went; yahan--where; murti--the Deity; sita-pati--Lord Ramacandra.
TRANSLATION
After seeing the Ahovala-nrsimha Deity, Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered many
prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavata, where He saw the Deity of
Ramacandra, the Lord of Sitadevi.
PURPORT
Siddhavata, also known as Sidhauta, is ten miles east of the village
Kudapa. Previously this place was also known as southern Benares. There is a
great banyan tree there, and it is therefore known as Siddhavata. Vata means
banyan tree.
TEXT 18
TEXT
raghunatha dekhi' kaila pranati stavana
tahan eka vipra prabhura kaila nimantrana
SYNONYMS
raghu-natha dekhi'--after seeing Lord Ramacandra, the descendant of
Maharaja Raghu; kaila--offered; pranati--obeisances; stavana--prayers;
tahan--there; eka--one; vipra--brahmana; prabhura--to Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; kaila--did; nimantrana--invitation.
TRANSLATION
After seeing the Deity of Lord Ramacandra, the descendant of King Raghu,
the Lord offered His prayers and obeisances. Then a brahmana invited the Lord
to take lunch.
TEXT 19
TEXT
sei vipra rama-nama nirantara laya
'rama"rama' vina anya vani na kahaya
SYNONYMS
sei vipra--that brahmana; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Ramacandra;
nirantara--constantly; laya--chants; rama rama--the holy names Rama Rama;
vina--without; anya--other; vani--vibration; na--does not; kahaya--speak.
TRANSLATION
That brahmana constantly chanted the holy name of Ramacandra. Indeed,
but for chanting Lord Ramacandra's holy name, that brahmana did not speak a
word.
TEXT 20
TEXT
sei dina tanra ghare rahi' bhiksa kari'
tanre krpa kari' age calila gaurahari
SYNONYMS
sei dina--on that day; tanra ghare--the house of that brahmana;
rahi'--staying; bhiksa kari'--accepting prasada; tanre--unto him; krpa
kari'--showing mercy; age--ahead; calila--departed; gaura-hari--Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
That day, Lord Caitanya remained there and accepted prasada at his
house. After bestowing mercy upon him in this way, the Lord proceeded ahead.
TEXT 21
TEXT
skanda-ksetra-tirthe kaila skanda darasana
trimatha aila, tahan dekhi' trivikrama
SYNONYMS
skanda-ksetra-tirthe--in the holy place known as Skanda-ksetra; kaila--did;
skanda darasana--visiting Lord Skanda (Karttikeya, son of Lord Siva);
trimatha--at Trimatha; aila--arrived; tahan--there; dekhi'--seeing;
trivikrama--a form of Lord Visnu, Trivikrama.
TRANSLATION
At the holy place known as Skanda-ksetra, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
visited the temple of Skanda. From there He went to Trimatha, where He saw the
Visnu Deity Trivikrama.
TEXT 22
TEXT
punah siddhavata aila sei vipra-ghare
sei vipra krsna-nama laya nirantare
SYNONYMS
punah--again; siddha-vata--to the place known as Siddhavata;
aila--returned; sei--that; vipra-ghare--in the house of the brahmana; sei
vipra--that brahmana; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna; laya--chants;
nirantare--constantly.
TRANSLATION
After visiting the temple of Trivikrama, the Lord returned to
Siddhavata, where He again visited the house of the brahmana, who was now
constantly chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
TEXT 23
TEXT
bhiksa kari' mahaprabhu tanre prasna kaila
"kaha vipra, ei tomara kon dasa haila
SYNONYMS
bhiksa kari'--after accepting lunch; mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; tanre--unto him; prasna kaila--asked a question; kaha vipra--My
dear brahmana friend, please say; ei--this; tomara--your; kon--what;
dasa--situation; haila--became.
TRANSLATION
After finishing His lunch there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the
brahmana, "My dear friend, kindly tell Me what your position is now.
TEXT 24
TEXT
purve tumi nirantara laite rama-nama
ebe kene nirantara lao krsna-nama"
SYNONYMS
purve--formerly; tumi--you; nirantara--constantly; laite--used to chant;
rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Ramacandra; ebe--now; kene--why;
nirantara--constantly; lao--you chant; krsna-nama--the holy name of Krsna.
TRANSLATION
"Formerly you were constantly chanting the holy name of Lord Rama.
Why are you now constantly chanting the holy name of Krsna?"
TEXT 25
TEXT
vipra bale,----ei tomara darsana-prabhave
toma dekhi' gela mora ajanma svabhave
SYNONYMS
vipra bale--the brahmana replied; ei--this; tomara darsana-prabhave--by
the influence of Your visit; toma dekhi'--after seeing You; gela--went;
mora--my; a-janma--from childhood; svabhave--nature.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana replied, "This is all due to Your influence, sir.
After seeing You, I have lost my lifelong practice.
TEXT 26
TEXT
balyavadhi
rama-nama-grahana amara
toma dekhi' krsna-nama aila eka-bara
SYNONYMS
balya-avadhi--since the days of my childhood;
rama-nama-grahana--chanting the holy name of Lord Ramacandra; amara--my; toma
dekhi'--upon seeing You; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna; aila--came;
eka-bara--once only.
TRANSLATION
"From my childhood I have been chanting the holy name of Lord
Ramacandra, but upon seeing You I chanted the holy name of Lord Krsna just
once.
TEXT 27
TEXT
sei haite krsna-nama jihvate vasila
krsna-nama sphure, rama-nama dure gela
SYNONYMS
sei haite--since that time; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna;
jihvate--on the tongue; vasila--was seated tightly; krsna-nama--the holy name
of Lord Krsna; sphure--automatically comes; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord
Ramacandra; dure--far away; gela--went.
TRANSLATION
"Since then, the holy name of Krsna has been tightly fixed upon my
tongue. Indeed, since I have been chanting the holy name of Krsna, the holy
name of Lord Ramacandra has gone far away.
TEXT 28
TEXT
balya-kala haite mora svabhava eka haya
namera mahima-sastra kariye sancaya
SYNONYMS
balya-kala haite--from my childhood; mora--my; svabhava--practice;
eka--one; haya--there is; namera--of the holy name; mahima--concerning the
glories; sastra--the revealed scriptures; kariye sancaya--I collect.
TRANSLATION
"From my childhood I have been practicing this chanting and have
been collecting the glories of the holy name from revealed scriptures.
TEXT 29
TEXT
ramante yogino 'nante
satyanande cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau
param brahmabhidhiyate
SYNONYMS
ramante--take pleasure; yoginah--transcendentalists; anante--in the
unlimited; satya-anande--real pleasure; cit-atmani--in spiritual existence;
iti--thus; rama--Rama; padena--by the word; asau--He; param--supreme;
brahma--truth; abhidhiyate--is called.
TRANSLATION
" 'The Supreme Absolute Truth is called Rama because the
transcendentalists take pleasure in the unlimited true pleasure of spiritual
existence.'
PURPORT
This is the eighth verse of the Sata-nama-stotra of Lord Ramacandra,
which is found in the Padma Purana.
TEXT
30
TEXT
krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo
nas ca nirvrti-vacakah
tayor aikyam param brahma
krsna ity abhidhiyate
SYNONYMS
krsih--the verbal root krs; bhu--attractive existence;
vacakah--signifying; sabdah--word; nah--the syllable na; ca--and;
nirvrti--spiritual pleasure; vacakah--indicating; tayoh--of both;
aikyam--amalgamation; param--supreme; brahma--Absolute Truth; krsnah--Lord
Krsna; iti--thus; abhidhiyate--is called.
TRANSLATION
" 'The word "krs" is the attractive feature of the Lord's
existence, and "na" means spiritual pleasure. When the verb
"krs" is added to the affix "na," it becomes
"Krsna," which indicates the Absolute Truth.'
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Mahabharata (Udyoga-parva 71.4).
TEXT 31
TEXT
param brahma dui-nama samana ha-ila
punah ara sastre kichu visesa paila
SYNONYMS
param brahma--the Absolute Truth; dui-nama--two names (Rama and Krsna);
samana--on an equal level; ha-ila--were; punah--again; ara--further; sastre--in
revealed scriptures; kichu--some; visesa--specification; paila--is found.
TRANSLATION
"As far as the holy names of Rama and Krsna are concerned, they are
on an equal level, but for further advancement we receive some specific
information from revealed scriptures.
TEXT 32
TEXT
rama rameti rameti
rame rame manorame
sahasra-namabhis tulyam
rama-nama varanane
SYNONYMS
rama--Rama; rama--Rama; iti--thus; rama--Rama; iti--thus; rame--I enjoy;
rame--in the holy name of Rama; manah-rame--most beautiful;
sahasra-namabhih--with the one thousand names; tulyam--equal; rama-nama--the
holy name of Rama; vara-anane--O lovely-faced woman.
TRANSLATION
" 'Lord Siva addressed his wife Durga as Varanana and explained,
"I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus enjoy this beautiful
sound. This holy name of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord
Visnu."'
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Brhad-visnu-sahasranama-stotra in the
Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana (72.335).
TEXT 33
TEXT
sahasra-namnam punyanam
trir-avrttya tu yat phalam
ekavrttya tu krsnasya
namaikam tat prayacchati
SYNONYMS
sahasra-namnam--of one thousand names; punyanam--holy; trih-avrttya--by
thrice chanting; tu--but; yat--which; phalam--result; eka-avrttya--by one
repetition; tu--but; krsnasya--of Lord Krsna; nama--holy name; ekam--only one;
tat--that result; prayacchati--gives.
TRANSLATION
" 'The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names
of Visnu three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of
Krsna.'
PURPORT
This verse from the Brahmanda Purana is found in the Laghu-bhagavatamrta
(1.5.354), by Rupa Gosvami. Simply by chanting the name of Krsna once, one can
attain the same results achieved by chanting the holy name of Rama three times.
TEXT 34
TEXT
ei vakye krsna-namera mahima apara
tathapi la-ite nari,
suna hetu tara
SYNONYMS
ei vakye--in this statement; krsna-namera--of the holy name of Krsna;
mahima--glories; apara--unlimited; tathapi--still; la-ite--to chant; nari--I am
unable; suna--just hear; hetu--the reason; tara--of that.
TRANSLATION
"According to this statement of the sastras, the glories of the
holy name of Krsna are unlimited. Still I could not chant His holy name. Please
hear the reason for this.
TEXT 35
TEXT
ista-deva rama, tanra name sukha pai
sukha pana rama-nama ratri-dina gai
SYNONYMS
ista-deva--my worshipable Lord; rama--Lord Sri Ramacandra; tanra
name--in His holy name; sukha pai--I get happiness; sukha pana--getting such
transcendental happiness; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Rama;
ratri-dina--day and night; gai--I chant.
TRANSLATION
"My worshipable Lord has been Lord Ramacandra, and by chanting His
holy name I received happiness. Because I received such happiness, I chanted
the holy name of Lord Rama day and night.
TEXT 36
TEXT
tomara darsane yabe krsna-nama aila
tahara mahima tabe hrdaye lagila
SYNONYMS
tomara darsane--by meeting You; yabe--when; krsna-nama--the holy name of
Krsna; aila--appeared; tahara--His; mahima--glories; tabe--at that time;
hrdaye--in the heart; lagila--became fixed.
TRANSLATION
"By Your appearance, Lord Krsna's holy name also appeared, and at
that time the glories of Krsna's name awoke in my heart."
TEXT 37
TEXT
sei krsna tumi saksat----iha nirdharila
eta kahi' vipra prabhura carane padila
SYNONYMS
sei--that; krsna--the Personality of Godhead, Krsna; tumi--You;
saksat--directly; iha--this; nirdharila--concluded; eta kahi'--saying this;
vipra--the brahmana; prabhura--of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; carane--at the
lotus feet; padila--fell down.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana concluded, "Sir, You are that Lord Krsna Himself. This
is my conclusion." Saying this, the brahmana fell down at the lotus feet
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 38
TEXT
tanre krpa kari' prabhu calila ara dine
vrddhakasi asi' kaila siva-darasane
SYNONYMS
tanre--unto him; krpa kari'--showing mercy; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
calila--traveled; ara dine--the next day; vrddhakasi--to Vrddhakasi;
asi'--coming; kaila--did; siva-darasane--visiting Lord Siva's temple.
TRANSLATION
After showing mercy to the brahmana, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left
the next day and arrived at Vrddhakasi, where He visited the temple of Lord
Siva.
PURPORT
Vrddhakasi's present name is Vrddhacalam. It is situated in the southern
Arcot district on the bank of the river Manimukha. This place is also known as
Kalahastipura. Lord Siva's temple there was worshiped for many years by
Govinda, the cousin of Ramanujacarya.
TEXT 39
TEXT
tahan haite cali' age gela eka grame
brahmana-samaja tahan, karila visrame
SYNONYMS
tahan haite--from there; cali'--going; age--forward; gela--went;
eka--one; grame--to a village; brahmana-samaja--assembly of brahmanas; tahan--there;
karila visrame--He rested.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then left Vrddhakasi and proceeded further. In
one village He saw that most of the residents were brahmanas, and He took His
rest there.
TEXT 40
TEXT
prabhura prabhave loka aila darasane
laksarbuda loka aise na yaya ganane
SYNONYMS
prabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; prabhave--by the influence;
loka--people; aila--came; darasane--to see Him; laksa-arbuda--many millions;
loka--persons; aise--came; na--not; yaya ganane--can be counted.
TRANSLATION
Due to the influence of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many millions of men
came just to see Him. Indeed, the assembly being unlimited, its members could
not be counted.
TEXT 41
TEXT
gosanira saundarya dekhi' tate premavesa
sabe 'krsna' kahe, 'vaisnava' haila sarva-desa
SYNONYMS
gosanira--of the Lord; saundarya--the beauty; dekhi'--seeing; tate--in
that; prema-avesa--ecstatic love; sabe--everyone; krsna kahe--uttered the holy
name of Krsna; vaisnava--Vaisnava devotees; haila--became;
sarva-desa--everyone.
TRANSLATION
The Lord's bodily features were very beautiful, and in addition He was
always in the ecstasy of love of Godhead. Simply by seeing Him, everyone began
chanting the holy name of Krsna, and thus everyone became a Vaisnava devotee.
TEXT 42
TEXT
tarkika-mimamsaka, yata mayavadi-gana
sankhya, patanjala, smrti,
purana, agama
SYNONYMS
tarkika--logicians; mimamsaka--followers of Mimamsa philosophy; yata--all;
mayavadi-gana--followers of Sankaracarya; sankhya--followers of Kapila;
patanjala--followers of mystic yoga; smrti--supplementary Vedic literature;
purana--Puranas; agama--the tantra-sastras.
TRANSLATION
There are many kinds of philosophers. Some are logicians who follow
Gautama or Kanada. Some follow the Mimamsa philosophy of Jaimini. Some follow
the Mayavada philosophy of Sankaracarya, and others follow Kapila's Sankhya
philosophy or the mystic yoga system of Patanjali. Some follow the smrti-sastra
composed of twenty religious scriptures, and others follow the Puranas and the
tantra-sastra. In this way there are many different types of philosophers.
TEXT 43
TEXT
nija-nija-sastrodgrahe sabai pracanda
sarva mata dusi' prabhu kare khanda khanda
SYNONYMS
nija-nija--their own; sastra--of the scripture; udgrahe--to establish
the conclusion; sabai--all of them; pracanda--very powerful; sarva--all;
mata--opinions; dusi'--condemning; prabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kare--does;
khanda khanda--breaking to pieces.
TRANSLATION
All of these adherents of various scriptures were ready to present the
conclusions of their respective scriptures, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke
all their opinions to pieces and established His own cult of bhakti based on
the Vedas, Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra and the philosophy of
acintya-bhedabheda-tattva.
TEXT 44
TEXT
sarvatra sthapaya prabhu vaisnava-siddhante
prabhura siddhanta keha na pare khandite
SYNONYMS
sarvatra--everywhere; sthapaya--establishes; prabhu--Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; vaisnava-siddhante--the conclusion of the Vaisnavas; prabhura--of
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; siddhanta--conclusion; keha--anyone; na pare--is
not able; khandite--to defy.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the devotional cult everywhere. No
one could defeat Him.
TEXT 45
TEXT
hari' hari' prabhu-mate karena pravesa
ei-mate 'vaisnava' prabhu kaila daksina desa
SYNONYMS
hari' hari'--being defeated; prabhu-mate--into the cult of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; karena pravesa--enter; ei-mate--in this way; vaisnava--Vaisnava
devotees; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kaila--made; daksina--South
India; desa--country.
TRANSLATION
Being thus defeated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these
philosophers and their followers entered into His cult. In this way Lord
Caitanya made South India into a country of Vaisnavas.
TEXT 46
TEXT
pasandi aila yata panditya suniya
garva kari' aila sange sisya-gana lana
SYNONYMS
pasandi--nonbelievers; aila--came there; yata--all; panditya--erudition;
suniya--hearing; garva kari'--with great pride; aila--came there; sange--with;
sisya-gana--disciples; lana--taking.
TRANSLATION
When the nonbelievers heard of the erudition of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
they came to Him with great pride, bringing their disciples with them.
TEXT 47
TEXT
bauddhacarya maha-pandita nija nava-mate
prabhura age udgraha kari' lagila balite
SYNONYMS
bauddha-acarya--the leader in Buddhist philosophy; maha-pandita--greatly
learned scholar; nija--own; nava--nine; mate--philosophical conclusions;
prabhura age--before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; udgraha--argument;
kari'--making; lagila--began; balite--to speak.
TRANSLATION
One of them was a leader of the Buddhist cult and was a very learned
scholar. To establish the nine philosophical conclusions of Buddhism, he came
before the Lord and began to speak.
TEXT 48
TEXT
yadyapi asambhasya bauddha ayukta dekhite
tathapi balila prabhu garva khandaite
SYNONYMS
yadyapi--although; asambhasya--not fit for discussion;
bauddha--followers of Buddha's philosophy; ayukta--not fit; dekhite--to see;
tathapi--still; balila--spoke; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
garva--pride; khandaite--to diminish.
TRANSLATION
Although the Buddhists are unfit for discussion and should not be seen
by Vaisnavas, Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke to them just to decrease their false
pride.
TEXT 49
TEXT
tarka-pradhana bauddha-sastra 'nava mate'
tarkei khandila prabhu, na pare sthapite
SYNONYMS
tarka-pradhana--argumentative; bauddha-sastra--scriptures of the
Buddhist cult; nava mate--in nine basic principles; tarkei--by argument;
khandila--refuted; prabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na--not; pare--can;
sthapite--establish.
TRANSLATION
The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and
logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
defeated them in their argument, they could not establish their cult.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that according to the Buddhist cult there
are two ways of understanding philosophy. One is called Hinayana, and the other
is called Mahayanaa. Along the Buddhist path there are nine principles: (1) The
creation is eternal; therefore there is no need to accept a creator. (2) This
cosmic manifestation is false. (3) "I am" is the truth. (4) There is
repetition of birth and death. (5) Lord Buddha is the only source of
understanding the truth. (6) The principle of nirvana, or annihilation, is the
ultimate goal. (7) The philosophy of Buddha is the only philosophical path. (8)
The Vedas are compiled by human beings. (9) Pious activities, showing mercy to
others and so on are advised.
No one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument. One may be very expert
in logic, and another person may be even more expert in the art of argument.
Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real
conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of Vedic
principles understand this. However, it is seen here that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument. Those who are preachers in ISKCON
will certainly meet many people who believe in intellectual arguments. Most of
these people do not believe in the authority of the Vedas. Nevertheless, they
accept intellectual speculation and argument. Therefore the preachers of Krsna
consciousness should be prepared to defeat others by argument, just as Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. In this verse it is clearly said, tarkei khandila
prabhu. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu put forward such a strong argument that
they could not counter Him to establish their cult.
Their first principle is that the creation is always existing. But if
this is the case, there can be no theory of annihilation. The Buddhists
maintain that annihilation, or dissolution, is the highest truth. If the
creation is eternally existing, there is no question of dissolution or
annihilation. This argument is not very strong because by practical experience
we see that material things have a beginning, a middle and an end. The ultimate
aim of the Buddhist philosophy is to dissolve the body. This is proposed
because the body has a beginning. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation is
also a gigantic body, but if we accept the fact that it is always existing,
there can be no question of annihilation. Therefore the attempt to annihilate
everything in order to attain zero is an absurdity. By our own practical
experience we have to accept the beginning of creation, and when we accept the
beginning, we must accept a creator. Such a creator must possess an
all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gita (13.14):
sarvatah pani-padam tat
sarvato-'ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah sruti-mal loke
sarvam
avrtya tisthati
"Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and
He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading
everything."
The Supreme Person must be present everywhere. His body existed before
the creation; otherwise He could not be the creator. If the Supreme Person is a
created being, there can be no question of a creator. The conclusion is that
the cosmic manifestation is certainly created at a certain time, and the
creator existed before the creation; therefore the creator is not a created
being. The creator is Param Brahman, or the Supreme Spirit. Matter is not only
subordinate to spirit but is actually created on the basis of spirit. When the
spirit soul enters the womb of a mother, the body is created by material
ingredients supplied by the mother. Everything is created in the material
world, and consequently there must be a creator who is the Supreme Spirit and
who is distinct from matter. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that the
material energy is inferior and that the spiritual energy is the living entity.
Both inferior and superior energies belong to a supreme person.
The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The
world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must
suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We
may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual
nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains
and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no
one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material
creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.
The Buddhists maintain that the principle "I am" is the
Ultimate Truth, but this excludes the individuality of "I" and
"you." If there is no "I" and "you," or
individuality, there is no possibility of argument. The Buddhist philosophy
depends on argument, but there can be no argument if one simply depends on
"I am." There must be a "you," or another person also. The
philosophy of duality--the existence of the individual soul and the
Supersoul--must be there. This is confirmed in the Second Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gita (2.12), wherein the Lord says:
na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param
"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all
these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."
We existed in the past in different bodies, and after the annihilation
of this body we shall exist in another body. The principle of the soul is
eternal, and it exists in this body or in another body. Even in this lifetime
we experience existence in a child's body, a youth's body, a man's body and an
old body. After the annihilation of the body, we acquire another body. The
Buddhist cult also accepts the philosophy of transmigration, but the Buddhists
do not properly explain the next birth. There are 8,400,000 species of life,
and our next birth may be in any one of them; therefore this human body is not
guaranteed.
According to the Buddhist's fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only
source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha
rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of
standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual
speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own
intelligence as the ultimate criterion--as is presently fashionable--the
scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim
that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and
everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis
of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to
establish his own theory as the ultimate truth. The Buddhists theorize that
annihilation, or nirvana, is the ultimate goal. Annihilation applies to the
body, but the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. If this were
not the case, how can so many multifarious bodies come into existence? If the
next birth is a fact, the next bodily form is also a fact. As soon as we accept
a material body, we must accept the fact that that body will be annihilated and
that we will have to accept another body. If all material bodies are doomed to
annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we
wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is
attained is explained by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti
tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and
activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this
material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
This is the highest perfection--to give up one's material body and not
accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection
means one's existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we
positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual
body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.
We cannot accept the theory that the Buddhist philosophy is the only way,
for there are so many defects in that philosophy. A perfect philosophy is one
that has no defects, and that is Vedanta philosophy. No one can point out any
defects in Vedanta philosophy, and therefore we can conclude that Vedanta is
the supreme philosophical way of understanding the truth. According to the
Buddhist cult, the Vedas are compiled by ordinary human beings. If this were
the case, they would not be authoritative. From the Vedic literature we
understand that shortly after the creation Lord Brahma was instructed in the
Vedas. It is not that the Vedas were
created by Brahma, although Brahma is the original person in the universe. If
Brahma did not create the Vedas but he is acknowledged as the first created
being, wherefrom did Vedic knowledge come to Brahma? Obviously the Vedas did
not come from an ordinary person born in this material world. According to
Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: after the creation, the
Supreme Person imparted Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahma. There was
no person in the beginning of the creation other than Brahma, yet he did not
compile the Vedas; therefore the conclusion is that the Vedas were not compiled
by any created being. Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who created this material world. This is also accepted by
Sankaracarya, although he is not a Vaisnava.
It is stated that mercy is one of the qualities of a Buddhist, but mercy
is a relative thing. We show our mercy to a subordinate or to one who is suffering
more than ourselves. However, if there is a superior person present, the
superior person cannot be the object of our mercy. Rather, we are objects for
the mercy of the superior person. Therefore showing compassion and mercy is a
relative activity. It is not the Absolute Truth. Apart from this, we also must
know what actual mercy is. To give a sick man something forbidden for him to
eat is not mercy. Rather, it is cruelty. Unless we know what mercy really is,
we may create an undesirable situation. If we wish to show real mercy, we will
preach Krsna consciousness in order to revive the lost consciousness of human
beings, the living entity's original consciousness. Since the Buddhist
philosophy does not admit the existence of the spirit soul, the so-called mercy
of the Buddhists is defective.
TEXT 50
TEXT
bauddhacarya 'nava prasna' saba uthaila
drdha yukti-tarke prabhu khanda khanda kaila
SYNONYMS
bauddha-acarya--the teacher of the Buddhist cult; nava prasna--nine
different types of questions; saba--all; uthaila--raised; drdha--strong;
yukti--argument; tarke--with logic; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
khanda khanda kaila--broke into pieces.
TRANSLATION
The teacher of the Buddhist cult set forth the nine principles, but Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke them to pieces with His strong logic.
TEXT 51
TEXT
darsanika pandita sabai paila parajaya
loke hasya kare, bauddha paila lajja-bhaya
SYNONYMS
darsanika--philosophical speculators; pandita--scholars; sabai--all of them;
paila parajaya--were defeated; loke--people in general; hasya kare--laugh;
bauddha--the Buddhists; paila--got; lajja--shame; bhaya--fear.
TRANSLATION
All mental speculators and learned scholars were defeated by Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and when the people began to laugh, the Buddhist philosophers felt
both shame and fear.
PURPORT
These philosophers were all atheists, for they did not believe in the
existence of God. Atheists may be very expert in mental speculation and may be
so-called great philosophers, but they can be defeated by a Vaisnava firmly
situated in his conviction and God consciousness. Following in the footsteps of
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON
should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all
types of atheists.
TEXT 52
TEXT
prabhuke vaisnava jani' bauddha ghare gela
sakala bauddha mili'
tabe kumantrana kaila
SYNONYMS
prabhuke--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; vaisnava jani'--knowing to be a
Vaisnava; bauddha--the Buddhists; ghare gela--returned home; sakala
bauddha--all the Buddhists; mili'--coming together; tabe--thereafter;
ku-mantrana--plot; kaila--made.
TRANSLATION
The Buddhists could understand that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a
Vaisnava, and they returned home very unhappy. Later, however, they began to
plot against the Lord.
TEXT 53
TEXT
apavitra anna eka thalite bhariya
prabhu-age nila 'maha-prasada' baliya
SYNONYMS
apavitra--polluted; anna--food; eka--one; thalite--plate;
bhariya--filling; prabhu-age--in front of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
nila--brought; maha-prasada baliya--calling it maha-prasada.
TRANSLATION
Having made their plot, the Buddhists
brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
called it maha-prasada.
PURPORT
The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaisnava.
In other words, a Vaisnava cannot accept any food offered by an avaisnava in
the name of maha-prasada. This should be a principle for all Vaisnavas. When
asked, "What is the behavior of a Vaisnava?" Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
replied, "A Vaisnava must avoid the company of an avaisnava [asat]."
The word asat refers to an avaisnava, that is, one who is not a Vaisnava.
Asat-sanga-tyaga,--ei vaisnava-acara (Cc. Madhya 22.87). A Vaisnava must be
very strict in this respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaisnava.
If an avaisnava offers food in the name of maha-prasada, it should not be
accepted. Such food cannot be prasada because an avaisnava cannot offer
anything to the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Krsna consciousness movement
have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaisnava; however,
if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by
an avaisnava should not be accepted by a Vaisnava. Even if an avaisnava cooks
food without fault, he cannot offer it to Lord Visnu, and it cannot be accepted
as maha-prasada. According to Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (9.26):
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit
or water, I will accept it."
Krsna can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An
avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot
offer the food he cooks to Visnu, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. It is
better that a Vaisnava abandon such food as untouchable.
TEXT 54
TEXT
hena-kale maha-kaya
eka paksi aila
thonte kari' anna-saha thali lana gela
SYNONYMS
hena-kale--at this time; maha-kaya--having a large body; eka--one;
paksi--bird; aila--appeared there; thonte kari'--by the beak; anna-saha--with
food; thali--the plate; lana--taking; gela--went away.
TRANSLATION
When the contaminated food was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a
very large bird appeared on the spot, picked up the plate in its beak and flew
away.
TEXT 55
TEXT
bauddha-ganera upare anna pade amedhya haiya
bauddhacaryera mathaya thali padila bajiya
SYNONYMS
bauddha-ganera--all the Buddhists; upare--upon; anna--the food;
pade--began to fall down; amedhya--untouchable; haiya--being;
bauddha-acaryera--of the teacher of the Buddhists; mathaya--on the head;
thali--the plate; padila--fell down; bajiya--making a great sound.
TRANSLATION
Indeed, the untouchable food fell upon the Buddhists, and the large bird
dropped the plate on the head of the chief Buddhist teacher. When it fell on
his head, it made a big sound.
TEXT 56
TEXT
terache padila thali,----matha kati' gela
murcchita hana acarya bhumite padila
SYNONYMS
terache--at an angle; padila--fell down; thali--the plate; matha--the
head; kati'--cutting; gela--went; murcchita--unconscious; hana--becoming;
acarya--the teacher; bhumite--on the ground; padila--fell down.
TRANSLATION
The plate was made of metal, and when its edge hit the head of the
teacher, it cut him, and the teacher immediately fell to the ground
unconscious.
TEXT 57
TEXT
hahakara kari' kande saba sisya-gana
sabe asi' prabhu-pade la-ila sarana
SYNONYMS
haha-kara--a roaring sound; kari'--making; kande--cry; saba--all;
sisya-gana--disciples; sabe--all of them; asi'--coming; prabhu-pade--to the
lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; la-ila--took; sarana--shelter.
TRANSLATION
When the teacher fell unconscious, his Buddhist disciples cried aloud
and ran to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for shelter.
TEXT 58
TEXT
tumi ta' isvara saksat, ksama aparadha
jiyao amara guru, karaha prasada
SYNONYMS
tumi--You; ta'--indeed; isvara--the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
saksat--directly; ksama--please excuse; aparadha--offense; jiyao--bring back to
consciousness; amara--our; guru--spiritual master; karaha--do; prasada--this
mercy.
TRANSLATION
They all prayed to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, addressing Him as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and saying, "Sir, please excuse our
offense. Please have mercy upon us and bring our spiritual master back to
life."
TEXT 59
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----sabe kaha 'krsna' 'krsna' 'hari'
guru-karne kaha krsna-nama ucca kari'
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; sabe--all of you;
kaha--chant; krsna krsna hari--the holy names of Lord Krsna and Hari;
guru-karne--near the ear of your spiritual master; kaha--chant; krsna-nama--the
holy name of Lord Krsna; ucca kari'--very loudly.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then replied to the Buddhist disciples, "You should all
chant the names of Krsna and Hari very loudly near the ear of your spiritual
master.
TEXT 60
TEXT
toma-sabara 'guru' tabe paibe cetana
saba bauddha mili' kare krsna-sankirtana
SYNONYMS
toma-sabara--all of you; guru--the spiritual master; tabe--then;
paibe--will get; cetana--consciousness; saba bauddha--all the Buddhist
disciples; mili'--coming together; kare--do; krsna-sankirtana--chanting of the
Hare Krsna mantra.
TRANSLATION
"By this method your spiritual master will regain his
consciousness." Following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advice, all the
Buddhist disciples began to chant the holy name of Krsna congregationally.
TEXT 61
TEXT
guru-karne kahe sabe 'krsna' 'rama' 'hari'
cetana pana acarya bale 'hari' 'hari'
SYNONYMS
guru-karne--into the ear of the spiritual master; kahe--they said;
sabe--all together; krsna rama hari--the holy names of the Lord, namely Krsna,
Rama and Hari; cetana--consciousness; pana--getting; acarya--the teacher;
bale--chanted; hari hari--the name of Lord Hari.
TRANSLATION
When all the disciples chanted the holy names Krsna, Rama and Hari, the
Buddhist teacher regained consciousness and immediately began to chant the holy
name of Lord Hari.
PURPORT
Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that all the Buddhist
disciples were actually initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu into the chanting
of the holy name of Krsna, and when they chanted, they actually became
different persons. At that time they were not Buddhists or atheists but
Vaisnavas. Consequently they immediately accepted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's
order. Their original Krsna consciousness was revived, and they were
immediately able to chant Hare Krsna and begin worshiping the Supreme Lord
Visnu.
It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches
of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can
revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare
Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual
master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that
he can worship Lord Visnu. This is the purpose of diksa, or initiation.
Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.
One point to note in this regard is that the spiritual master of the
Buddhists did not initiate his disciples. Rather, his disciples were initiated
by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and they in turn were able to initiate their
so-called spiritual master. This is the parampara system. The so-called
spiritual master of the Buddhists was actually in the position of a disciple,
and after his disciples were initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they acted
as his spiritual masters. This was possible only because the disciples of the
Buddhist acarya received the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Unless one is
favored by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the disciplic succession, one cannot act
as a spiritual master. We should take the instructions of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, the spiritual master of the whole universe, to understand how one
becomes a spiritual master and a disciple.
TEXT 62
TEXT
krsna bali' acarya prabhure karena vinaya
dekhiya sakala loka ha-ila vismaya
SYNONYMS
krsna bali'--chanting the holy name of Krsna; acarya--the so-called
spiritual master of the Buddhists; prabhure--unto Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
karena--does; vinaya--submission; dekhiya--seeing this; sakala loka--all the
people; ha-ila--became; vismaya--astonished.
TRANSLATION
When the spiritual master of the Buddhists began to chant the holy name
of Krsna and submitted to Lord Sri Caitanya M
