The Mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada · Vrindavan · 1975
Chapters
Introduction and opening prayers
Prabhupāda: Śrīman... [break] CC Madhya 19.53নমো মহাবদান্যায় কৃষ্ণপ্রেমপ্রদায় তে ।কৃষ্ণায় কৃষ্ণচৈতন্যনাম্নে গৌরত্বিষে নমঃ ॥ ৫৩ ॥namo mahā-vadānyāyakṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya tekṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.
śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁsthāpitaṁ yena bhū-talesvayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁdadāti sva-padāntikamhe kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindhodīna-bandho jagat-pategopeśa gopikā-kāntarādhā-kānta namo 'stu tehare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare harehare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
Śrīman Rajya-pala Sahib... [Hindi] Acyutānanda Swami, he has tried to speak in Hindi, and you have heard him. So similarly, [Hindi]. So he has given me permission to speak in English.
Devotees: Haribol!
Prabhupāda: Thank you. [chuckles]
The advent of Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is addressed by Rūpa Gosvāmī as mahā-vadānyāya. CC Madhya 19.53নমো মহাবদান্যায় কৃষ্ণপ্রেমপ্রদায় তে ।কৃষ্ণায় কৃষ্ণচৈতন্যনাম্নে গৌরত্বিষে নমঃ ॥ ৫৩ ॥namo mahā-vadānyāyakṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya tekṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmine. He has assumed the name of Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Actually He is Kṛṣṇa. That is confirmed in Vedic literature. Especially in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said,
SB 11.5.32कृष्णवर्णं त्विषाकृष्णं साङ्गोपाङ्गास्त्रपार्षदम् ।यज्ञै: सङ्कीर्तनप्रायैर्यजन्ति हि सुमेधस: ॥ ३२ ॥kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁsāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadamyajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyairyajanti hi su-medhasaḥIn the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.
So Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, after taking His sannyāsa order, His name was Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. So Rūpa Gosvāmī said that "You are Kṛṣṇa. You have now come as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya." Why? Kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
= "Just to distribute love of Kṛṣṇa." And Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission was premā pum-artho mahān. Generally people understand dharma artha kāma mokṣa
but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that above mokṣa, above liberation, there is love of God. That is wanted.
Principles of pure devotional service
Premā pum-artho mahān. And this is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām, vāstavya-vastu vedyam atra
And Śrīdhara Svāmī says that kaitava-dharma... In simple word, cheating. Kaitava means cheating, or false. So when there are false dealings, that is cheating.
So according to Vyāsadeva, dharma artha kāma mokṣa, that is not very essential thing. Real thing is how to advance in the science of loving God, Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-prema. And the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says,
SB 1.2.6स वै पुंसां परो धर्मो यतो भक्तिरधोक्षजे ।अहैतुक्यप्रतिहता ययाऽत्मा सुप्रसीदति ॥ ६sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmoyato bhaktir adhokṣajeahaituky apratihatāyayātmā suprasīdatiThe supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
If you want really peace, then you should stand on the platform of paro dharma. Paro dharma. Just like Kṛṣṇa has described, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parāh
Parā and para. Parā is applicable to the puruṣa, and para is applicable to the prakṛti. So we are prakṛti, we are not puruṣa. Puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa, as described by Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ śāśvatam ādyam
And in the Brahma-saṁhitā also it is = ādi-puruṣaṁ. Kṛṣṇa is described, ādi-puruṣaṁ. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādiḥ ādiḥ govindam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.
So this kṛṣṇa-bhakti, Kṛṣṇa personally came to teach kṛṣṇa-bhakti. He came here in this district Mathurā. And the Kṛṣṇa birthplace is still there.
So Kṛṣṇa personally came to teach the science of kṛṣṇa-bhakti. And although He proposed that dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge but at the end He says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
And this is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that dharma-projjhita kaitavo atra
Except surrendering to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, anything which is going on in the name of dharma, that is not dharma. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya. When Kṛṣṇa came, He did not come to reestablish Hindu religion or Christian religion or Muslim religion.
No. Religion is religion. Gold is gold. You cannot say "Hindu gold," "Muslim gold," "Christian gold." That is not possible. That is not possible. That is called kaitava-dharma, cheating dharma. Gold is gold, pure gold.
Therefore Bhāgavata says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam
= "Dharma means the order or the law given by God." That is dharma. This is the simple explanation of dharma. If you want to know what do we mean by dharma, then dharma means dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. Just like law.
Law means which is given, sanctioned, by the governor. You cannot make your law at home. You cannot say, "The law given by the government or by the governor, I don't care for it.
I shall make my own law." That is not possible. That will never be accepted as law. You can make your law.
Similarly, if you manufacture dharma without any reference to the authority, that is not dharma. That is cheating religion. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ.
So therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, what He is speaking, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, that is dharma. All other things are cheating.
And when Kṛṣṇa says, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, He does not say it to any particular community or any country or any nation.
Spiritual education and self realization
He speaks to everyone. BG 14.4सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः संभवन्ति याः ।तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ॥४॥sarva-yoniṣu kaunteyamūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥtāsāṁ brahma mahad yonirahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitāIt should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.
He says, "I am the seed-giving father of all forms of life." Kṛṣṇa does not say that "I am speaking to Indian or the Hindus." No. Kṛṣṇa is speaking to everyone, to His every son.
It doesn't matter whether he is white or black or blue or... It doesn't matter. These are skin disease. Kṛṣṇa says that we don't take this body as yourself. Asmin dehe. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam...
This transformation of the body, that is natural. But within the body, the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa is there. That you have to understand.
That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. We have to understand what is there within the body. That is the beginning of spiritual education.
Unfortunately, the whole world is going on under the impression that "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am European..." That is condemned in the śāstra.
SB 10.84.13यस्यात्मबुद्धि: कुणपे त्रिधातुकेस्वधी: कलत्रादिषु भौम इज्यधी: ।यत्तीर्थबुद्धि: सलिले न कर्हिचि-ज्जनेष्वभिज्ञेषु स एव गोखर: ॥ १३ ॥yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātukesva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥyat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicijjaneṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥOne who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth — such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.
Go, go means cow, and kharaḥ means ass.
So yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. This bag of three dhātus—kapha, pitta, vāyu—if one takes it that "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am American," so śāstra says, "He is not even human being." Sa eva go-kharaḥ
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very, very important from this angle of vision, that everyone is thinking this body as he is. Nobody understands that he is within this body.
Just like we are within this dress; I am not this dress. This is the primary education of spiritual life. Unfortunately, it is very much lacking.
And now you can see practically that these European and American boys, they are all young men, but they have forgotten the bodily relationship.
We have got in our institution Africans, Canadians, Australians, Europeans, Indians, but they do not consider with reference to this bodily concept of life. They live as eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.
That is the instruction given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa
So actually, if we want to be happy, then we have to accept the principle of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Bhakti comes out of love. You cannot make one forced to love you. It comes automatically.
That automatic love is there in everyone's heart for Kṛṣṇa. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti sādhya kabhu nayaśravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udayaUdaya means it is awakened.
Everyone has got love for Kṛṣṇa within the heart. That is natural. But that love is distributed in different ways. How? Yasyātmā-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke sva-dhiḥ kalatradisu bhauma idya-dhiḥ
This love has been distributed familywise, communitywise, nationwise, countrywise, like that. So this love has to be concentrated, converted, to be love of Kṛṣṇa. That is required. Then everything is perfect.
That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching, and He practically... Kṛṣṇa-prema-prdaya. To develop love for somebody, that requires very elaborate process. It is not... Because we are in the darkness.
Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, BG 7.3मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥३॥manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣukaścid yatati siddhayeyatatām api siddhānāṁkaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥOut of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.So we cannot understand even Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa.
Actually, there are so many malinterpretation about Kṛṣṇa. I do not wish to discuss, because they have been made, mistaken, by big, big leaders.
So people cannot understand even Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa, and what to speak of loving Kṛṣṇa. That is very difficult job.
The global sankirtana movement
But Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He distributed this love of Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda is standing before you, and He delivered many, many sinful persons to the transcendental position of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta hoilo sei, balarāma hoilo nitāi. This Balarāma, He became Nitai, and Kṛṣṇa, He became Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
These two brothers, the same two brothers, Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa, Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, again as Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu. So what was Their business?
The pāpī-tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo. This is Their business. All the pāpīs and all the persons suffering from material anxieties, They delivered? "Yes." How?
Tāra sākṣī jagāi mādhāi. There were two brothers, Jagāi and Mādhāi. They are very debauchees. That debauchees means what was their fault?
The fault was that they took their birth in brāhmaṇa family, but they became woman-hunter and drunkards and cheaters, like that. So Nityānanda Prabhu delivered them to become first-class Vaiṣṇava.
Pāpī-tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo, tāra sākṣī jagāi and mādhāi. So five hundred years ago, to become a drunkard was most abominable, especially in the higher section of the Hindu society.
But now it has become a fashion.
So if you want to develop the position of the society, position of the country, which is now full with pāpī-tāpī, you have to accept the process of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and that is practically being manifested.
These European, American boys, they are also the same type, Jagāi and Mādhāi. That is a fact. They were, at least. Now they are not. So how they have become delivered?
The same process = pāpī-tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so important, and there is practical result, that you introduce this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offenselessly, not with offense, then the world situation will improve very much.
That's a fact. And it is being actually enacted in the present position. We are sending our men from village to village in Europe and America. We have introduced. We are taking advantage of the modern facilities.
We are using this microphone for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, we are using nice buses, cars and wagons to go to village to village and distribute book and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
One of the leaders is present here, Śrīman Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī. He is going. He is controlling about one dozen buses. And here is Haṁsadūta also. He is doing the same in Germany.
So we have introduced this as Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma [CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126].
Throughout the whole world, as many villages and towns are there, this saṅkīrtana movement should be introduced. And especially in India, because if... In India the people are generally Kṛṣṇa conscious.
By artificial means they are trying to forget. This is the position. This should be stopped. They have got natural tendency for becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Therefore in these days, still so many hundreds and thousands of people coming to Vṛndāvana to relish the transcendental mellow of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
And now the foreigners are also attracted to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and I am trying to place them in our temple. This temple is one of them. We have got four, five temples in India.
We are constructing one big temple in Hyderabad, and we are getting good response.
So it is our request to the leaders of the society and to the people of India that they may take this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement, Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, very seriously.
It will be good for everyone, and the whole world will become peaceful. We do not expect that throughout the whole world everyone will take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
But even five percent, two percent, three percent people takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there will be great example. Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ lokas tad anuvartate
Spreading knowledge through literature
So our only request is that this simple thing: CC Adi 17.21হরের্নাম হরের্নাম হরের্নামৈব কেবলম্ ।কলৌ নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব গতিরন্যথা ॥ ২১ ॥harer nāma harer nāmaharer nāmaiva kevalamkalau nāsty eva nāsty evanāsty eva gatir anyathā“ ‘In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.’
...this formula of the Vedic śāstra. And you will be surprised—I invite you to come to our different centers in Europe and America—how they are chanting, dancing before the Deity, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda or Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
Recently I had been to Atlanta for the first time. But the boys and the girls there, they have taken three big, big houses. The middle house has been transformed into temple.
How nicely they are chanting and dancing, you will be surprised if you go. So this movement is undoubtedly increasing in the foreign countries, and why not in our country?
So the government, the leaders and the guardians, they should deeply contemplate on the serious nature of this movement and help us. Now we are bringing men from the foreign countries to preach. How long I shall bring?
If we want to spread this movement all over India very seriously, then we invite educated, intellectual young men to come forward to study this movement. It is not blind; we have got books.
We have already published about fifty books on this movement. So for the Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is meant for both kind of men.
The ordinary men without any education, illiterate, he can also take to it, and the most advanced scientists, philosopher, philanthropist, politician, they also can take to it. So we are helping both ways.
Those who are educated scientist, philosopher, for them we have got volumes of books. And those who are not educated, they can simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That will help them, both ways.
Therefore this movement has become important and interesting. Our books are being purchased by the topmost class of man. Big, big professors in the universities, they are giving standing order.
The books which are not published, they are putting standing order. Here our one sannyāsī is present, Satsvarūpa. He is visiting the libraries, universities, professors, and we are getting very good response.
So don't take it as a sectarian movement. Don't misunderstand this movement as a CIA movement. These are all foolishness.
Do you think that the Americans are so fools that for propagating their CIA movement they will become Vaiṣṇava and chant and dance? The Americans have become so fools? No. They have taken it very seriously.
They are not CIA, not American nor European. They are Vaiṣṇavas; they are servant of Kṛṣṇa. Don't misunderstand them. And try to cooperate and help this movement for the benefit of the whole human society.
Thank you very much.
Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]