Almost everyone has heard of Lord Christ, Lord Buddha, and the Prophet Mohammed, but very few people know anything about Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who appeared at the district of Mayapura, West Bengal, India, in the year of 1486. What makes Him so extraordinary is that He is a more recent incarnation of the same divine person, Krishna, who spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. This time, instead of appearing as the majestic advisor to Arjuna, He appeared in the role of His own devotee.
Lord Caitanya’s Primary Mission
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s primary mission was focused on the task of reestablishing the principals of religion. In this current millennium, known as Kali-yuga, (Iron Age of Darkness, Quarrel, Pride & Ignorance) the Lord does not directly engage in chastising the demoniac, or protecting the faithful like the Bhagavat Purana recorded about His activities during the Satya, Treta and Dvapara yugas. Therefore Lord Caitanya is sometimes referred to as the Tri-yuga avatara.
kali-yuge lilavatara na kare bhagavan ataeva ‘tri-yuga' kari' kahi tara nama
"In this Age of Kali there is no lila-avatara of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore He is known as Triyuga. That is one of His holy names." - Madhya Lila 6.99.” - Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila, Chapter 6, "The Liberation of Sarabhauma Bhattacarya”, Text 99 - LINK: http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/madhya/6/99/en
Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, He appeared to teach the conditioned living entity how to approach the Supreme Personality Of Godhead by appearing as His own devotee and He did that by personally setting a perfect example through all His own actions.
"I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall teach devotional service by practicing it Myself. "Unless one practices devotional service himself, he cannot teach it to others. This conclusion is indeed confirmed throughout the Gita and Bhagavatam.” - Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi Lila, Chapter 3, "The External Reasons for the Appearance of Lord Caitanya”, Text 30" - LINK: http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/adi/3/20/en
Because Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this age of Kali as a devotee, and not a lila-avatara, He is considered to be a concealed incarnation (chann-avatara). In His early life Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu hid His divine identity as God and played the part of a scholar where he demonstrated to all who knew him enormous knowledge and talent.
Even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s name is instructive. The word Caitanya means “living force” and the Sanskrit title “Mahaprabhu” is further reduced into two separate words: “Maha” which means “Great” and “Prabhu” which means “Master.” When all these words are conjoined together, the name Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu means: “The Lords Living Force as the Great Master.”
When the time was right, Lord Caitanya showed His intimate devotees that He was indeed the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and those revelations have been recorded in His biographies - the foremost of which is Sri Chaitanya Caritamrita. This 18 volume text provides details about His extraordinary life and travels throughout India. Even the title of Lord Caitanya’s biography is illustrative. Carita means “character,” and amrta means “immortal.” As part of God’s superior energy, the living entities are immortal and have the ability to move. But the inferior material energy, which consists of inanimate objects such as a table, cannot move and is not amrta. So the “Caitanya-Caritamrta” is appropriately translated to mean “the character of the living force in immortality.”
What Lord Caitanya Taught
At age twenty-four, Lord Chaitanya accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa, and left His home in Mayapura, a small village just North of Calcutta, to travel throughout India to spread love of God. He uplifted everyone He came in contact with - whether an atheist, criminal, or pious person - to the platform of love of Krishna. Lord Chaitanya did not consider whether the recipients of love of God were worthy or not; He indiscriminately bestowed what no incarnation of God had ever given before - pure love for Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
After traveling and preaching for six years, Lord Chaitanya returned to Jagannatha Puri, in the state of Orissa, where he resided for the remaining eighteen years of His manifestation on earth, completely absorbed in the mellows of pure love for Krishna. He visited Vrindavana, Benares, Allahabad, and Bengal during this time as well. Although Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, He accepted the mood and golden complexion of Srimati Radharani, His consort and greatest worshiper. For that reason He is also known as Lord Gauranga, which means the incarnation with the “Golden Complexion.” (Gaur = Golden in Color) In other words, although Lord Caitanya is God Himself, He was always absorbed in the mood of His topmost devotee, and thus He relished the highest love of Krishna together with His confidential associates.
Lord Chaitanya taught everyone the complete science of bhakti-yoga which is the yoga that cultivates un-tinged love for God. His immediate associates were the six Goswamis of Vrindavana and they compiled voluminous books such as the Nectar of Devotion and The Nectar of Instruction for anyone who is serious about restoring their lost love for God. His appearance as the incarnation for this age of Kali, was confirmed thousands of years ago in many places throughout the Puranas, the Mahabharata, Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Upanisads.
“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krsna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krsna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.” -Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 11, "Genera History”, Chapter 5, "Narada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva”, Text 32. LINK: http://vedabase.net/sb/11/5/32/en
Great Mantra for Deliverance
Lord Caitanya’s primary mission was to re-inaugurate the yuga-dharma, the religion of the age, in the form of the congregational chanting of the holy names of Krishna. To do that he revived the “Maha-Mantra”, this means the “Great mantra for deliverance.” It is not a secret, does not require that you pay dues to learn it, and isn’t owned by anyone. It is completely free for anyone who is wise enough to take it! The Maha-Mantra consists of the following 16 sacred invocations of Gods name:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
The Maha-Mantra can be recited quietly as a personal meditation or as a joyous celebration sung loudly with instruments and festive dancing. In the closing verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam Sukadeva Goswami elaborates on the extraordinary benediction of the Maha-Mantra.
“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” - Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 12, "The Age of Deterioration”, Chapter 3, "The Bhumi Gita”, Text 51. LINK: http://vedabase.net/sb/12/3/51/en
This may seem strangely unusual if one is not familiar with Vedic theology where it is philosophically explained how all the potencies of the Lord Himself are endowed within His holy name. But the same principal is suggested in the opening verse of the Bible where a similar concept is declared. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.- Bible; John 1:1-3”
We can hardly understand just how extraordinary it is to be able to gain the full benefit of association directly with God simply by remembering His names. That is why the real affection for absorbing one’s consciousness in the names of God can only be best expressed by Lord Sir Caitanya Mahaprabu himself:
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah
"My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as "Krsna" and "Govinda," by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.” - Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya Lila, Chapter 20, "The Siksastaka Prayers”, Text 16 - LINK: http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/antya/20/16/en
Hari Bolo Friends of the Vedas!
Please accept my respects. All glory to the transcendental light of the Bhagavad-Gita as It Is!
On Tuesday, March 6th, 2012, 2011 7:30 pm ...
TIME: 7:30pm
AT: American Vedic Association
STREET: 687 West Villanova Road
CITY: Ojai, California, 93023
PHONE: (805) 640-0405
C/O: mayesvara dasa ACBSP AKA: William Roberts MBA/MIS, CCP
...Come join this ALWAYS FREE evening that includes:
Congregational Mantra Meditation
A short study in Sanskrit
A Vegetarian Love Feast and
A Bona-fide Sat-sanga where we will discuss:
Comments
"Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement gives spiritual life to all living entities by dint of its transcendental radiation, and also it prevents the demonic class of men from overwhelming the pious class of men, and thus in every way it bestows all benediction, just like at night the moon illuminates everything." Srila Prabhupada
Hare Krsna! AGTSP! PAMHO. I would like to congratulate you on your Bramical Initiation.