Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the
ultimate goal of life for one bereft of all possessions in this material world and is
the only meaning for one advancing in spiritual life. Thus let me write about His magnanimous
contribution of devotional service in love of God.
Let me offer glorification to the Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One who has
taken shelter of His lotus feet is the most glorified person.
In the beginning I have discussed the truth about the spiritual master. Now I shall try
to explain the Panca-tattva. These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His sankirtana movement with great pleasure.
Spiritually there are no differences between these five tattvas, for on the transcendental
platform everything is absolute. Yet there are also varieties in the spiritual world,
and in order to taste these spiritual varieties one should distinguish between them.
Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, who has manifested Himself in five as a devotee,
expansion of a devotee, incarnation of a devotee, pure devotee and devotional energy.
Krsna, the reservoir of all pleasure, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, the
supreme controller. No one is greater than or equal to Sri Krsna, yet He appears as the
son of Maharaja Nanda. Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is the supreme enjoyer in the rasa dance. He is the leader of the damsels of
Vraja, and all others are simply His associates. The selfsame Lord Krsna advented Himself as
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with all His eternal associates, who are also equally glorious.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the supreme controller, the one Personality of Godhead,
has ecstatically become a devotee, yet His body is transcendental and not materially
tinged. The transcendental mellow of conjugal love
of Krsna is so wonderful that Krsna Himself accepts the form of a devotee to relish and
taste it fully. For this reason Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the
supreme teacher, accepts the form of a devotee and accepts Lord Nityananda as His elder brother.
Sri Advaita Acarya is Lord Caitanya's incarnation as a devotee. Therefore these three tattvas
[Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Gosani] are the predominators, or
masters. One of Them is Mahaprabhu, and the other two
are prabhus. These two prabhus serve the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.
The three predominators [Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu] are
worshipable by all living entities, and the fourth principle [Sri Gadadhara Prabhu] is
to be understood as Their worshiper. There are innumerable pure devotees of the
Lord, headed by Srivasa Thakura, who are known as unalloyed devotees.
The devotees headed by Gadadhara Pandita are to be considered incarnations of the internal
potency of the Lord. They are confidential devotees engaged in the service of the Lord.
The internal devotees or potencies are all eternal associates in the pastimes of the
Lord. Only with them does the Lord advent to propound the sankirtana movement, only
with them does the Lord taste the mellow of conjugal love, and only with them does He
distribute this love of God to people in general. The characteristics of Krsna are understood
to be a storehouse of transcendental love. Although that storehouse of love certainly
came with Krsna when He was present, it was sealed. But when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came
with His other associates of the Panca-tattva, they broke the seal and plundered the storehouse
to taste transcendental love of Krsna. The more they tasted it, the more their thirst
for it grew. Sri Panca-tattva themselves danced again and
again and thus made it easier to drink nectarean love of Godhead. They danced, cried, laughed
and chanted like madmen, and in this way they distributed love of Godhead.
In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider
who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not
take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity the members of the
Panca-tattva distributed love of Godhead. Although the members of the Panca-tattva plundered
the storehouse of love of Godhead and ate and distributed its contents, there was no
scarcity, for this wonderful storehouse is so complete that as the love is distributed,
the supply increases hundreds of times. The flood of love of Godhead swelled in all
directions, and thus young men, old men, women and children were all immersed in that inundation.
The Krsna consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether
one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind.
When the five members of the Panca-tattva saw the entire world drowned in love of Godhead
and the seed of material enjoyment in the living entities completely destroyed, they
all became exceedingly happy. The more the five members of the Panca-tattva
cause the rains of love of Godhead to fall, the more the inundation increases and spreads
all over the world. The impersonalists, fruitive workers, false
logicians, blasphemers, nondevotees and lowest among the student community are very expert
in avoiding the Krsna consciousness movement, and therefore the inundation of Krsna consciousness
cannot touch them. Seeing that the Mayavadis and others were
fleeing, Lord Caitanya thought: I wanted everyone to be immersed in this inundation of love
of Godhead, but some of them have escaped. Therefore I shall devise a trick to drown
them also. Thus the Lord accepted the sannyasa order
of life after full consideration. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained in householder
life for twenty-four years, and on the verge of His twenty-fifth year He accepted the sannyasa
order. After accepting the sannyasa order, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu attracted the attention of all those who had evaded Him, beginning with the
logicians. Thus the students, infidels, fruitive workers
and critics all came to surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord.
Lord Caitanya excused them all, and they merged into the ocean of devotional service, for
no one can escape the unique loving network of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in order to deliver all the fallen souls. Therefore
He devised many methods to liberate them from the clutches of maya.
All were converted into devotees of Lord Caitanya, even the mlecchas and yavanas. Only the impersonalist
followers of Sankaracarya evaded Him. While Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was passing
through Varanasi on His way to Vrndavana, the Mayavadi sannyasi philosophers blasphemed
against Him in many ways. "Although a sannyasi, He does not take interest
in the study of Vedanta but instead always engages in chanting and dancing in sankirtana.
"This Caitanya Mahaprabhu is an illiterate sannyasi and therefore does not know His real
function. Guided only by His sentiments, He wanders about in the company of other sentimentalists."
Hearing all this blasphemy, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu merely smiled to Himself, rejected
all these accusations and did not talk with the Mayavadis.
Thus neglecting the blasphemy of the Varanasi Mayavadis, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu proceeded
to Mathura, and after visiting Mathura He returned to meet the situation.
This time Lord Caitanya stayed at the house of Candrasekhara, although he was regarded
as a sudra or kayastha, for the Lord, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is completely
independent. As a matter of principle, Lord Caitanya regularly
accepted His food at the house of Tapana Misra. He never mixed with other sannyasis, nor did
He accept invitations from them. When Sanatana Gosvami came from Bengal, he
met Lord Caitanya at the house of Tapana Misra, where Lord Caitanya remained continuously
for two months to teach him devotional service. On the basis of scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam,
which reveal these confidential directions, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Sanatana
Gosvami regarding all the regular activities of a devotee.
While Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was instructing Sanatana Gosvami, both Candrasekhara and Tapana
Misra became very unhappy. Therefore they submitted an appeal unto the lotus feet of
the Lord. "How long can we tolerate the blasphemy of
Your critics against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather than hear such blasphemy.
"The Mayavadi sannyasis are all criticizing Your Holiness. We cannot tolerate hearing
such criticism, for this blasphemy breaks our hearts."
While Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara were thus talking with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
He only smiled slightly and remained silent. At that time a brahmana came there to meet
the Lord. The brahmana immediately fell at the lotus
feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and requested Him to accept his proposal in a joyful mood.
"My dear Lord, I have invited all the sannyasis of Benares to my home. My desires will be
fulfilled if You also accept my invitation. "My dear Lord, I know that You never mix with
other sannyasis, but please be merciful unto me and accept my invitation.
Lord Caitanya smiled and accepted the invitation of the brahmana. He made this gesture to show
His mercy to the Mayavadi sannyasis. 57>The brahmana knew that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
never went to anyone else's house, yet due to inspiration from the Lord he earnestly
requested Him to accept this invitation. The next day, when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
went to the house of that brahmana, He saw all the sannyasis of Benares sitting there.
As soon as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the sannyasis He immediately offered obeisances,
and then He went to wash His feet. After washing His feet, He sat down by the place where He
had done so. After sitting on the ground, Caitanya Mahaprabhu
exhibited His mystic power by manifesting an effulgence as brilliant as the illumination
of millions of suns. When the sannyasis saw the brilliant illumination
of the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, their minds were attracted, and they all immediately
gave up their sitting places and stood in respect.
The leader of all the Mayavadi sannyasis present was named Prakasananda Sarasvati, and after
standing up he addressed Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as follows with great respect.
"Please come here. Please come here, Your Holiness. Why do You sit in that unclean place?
What has caused Your lamentation?" The Lord replied: "I belong to a lower order
of sannyasis. Therefore I do not deserve to sit with you."
Prakasananda Sarasvati, however, caught Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally by the hand
and seated Him with great respect in the midst of the assembly.
Prakasananda Sarasvati then said: "I understand that Your name is Sri Krsna Caitanya. You
are a disciple of Sri Kesava Bharati, and therefore You are glorious.
"You belong to our Sankara-sampradaya and live in our village, Varanasi. Why then do
You not associate with us? Why is it that You avoid even seeing us?
"You are a sannyasi. Why then do You indulge in chanting and dancing, engaging in Your
sankirtana movement in the company of fanatics? "Meditation and the study of Vedanta are the
sole duties of a sannyasi. Why do You abandon these to dance with fanatics?
"You look as brilliant as if You were Narayana Himself. Will You kindly explain the reason
that You have adopted the behavior of lower-class people?"
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied to Prakasananda Sarasvati, "My dear sir, kindly hear the reason.
My spiritual master considered Me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me.
" 'You are a fool,' he said. 'You are not qualified to study Vedanta philosophy, and
therefore You must always chant the holy name of Krsna. This is the essence of all mantras,
or Vedic hymns. "Simply by chanting the holy name of Krsna
one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krsna
mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
" 'In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy
name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.'
"After describing the potency of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, My spiritual master taught
Me another verse, advising Me to always keep it within My throat.
" 'For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative,
there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.'
"Since I received this order from My spiritual master, I always chant the holy name, but
I think that by chanting and chanting the holy name I have been bewildered.
"While chanting the holy name of the Lord in pure ecstasy, I lose myself, and thus I
laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a madman. "Collecting My patience, therefore, I began
to consider that chanting the holy name of Krsna had covered all My spiritual knowledge.
"I saw that I had become mad by chanting the holy name, and I immediately submitted this
at the lotus feet of my spiritual master. " 'My dear lord, what kind of mantra have
you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this maha-mantra!
" 'Chanting the holy name in ecstasy causes Me to dance, laugh and cry.' When My spiritual
master heard all this, he smiled and then began to speak.
It is the nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops
his loving ecstasy for Krsna. " 'Religiosity, economic development, sense
gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of
Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.
" 'For a devotee who has actually developed bhava, the pleasure derived from dharma, artha,
kama and moksa appears like a drop in the presence of the sea.
" 'The conclusion of all revealed scriptures is that one should awaken his dormant love
of Godhead. You are greatly fortunate to have already done so.
" 'It is a characteristic of love of Godhead that by nature it induces transcendental symptoms
in one's body and makes one more and more greedy to achieve the shelter of the lotus
feet of the Lord. " 'When one actually develops love of Godhead,
he naturally sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes chants and sometimes runs here and
there just like a madman. " 'Perspiration, trembling, standing on end
of one's bodily hairs, tears, faltering voice, fading complexion, madness, melancholy, patience,
pride, joy and humility-these are various natural symptoms of ecstatic love of Godhead,
which causes a devotee to dance and float in an ocean of transcendental bliss while
chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. " 'It is very good, my dear child, that You
have attained the supreme goal of life by developing love of Godhead. Thus You have
pleased me very much, and I am very much obliged to You.
" 'My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sankirtana in association with
devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting krsna-nama, for by this
process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.'
"Saying this, My spiritual master taught Me a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is the
essence of all the Bhagavatam's instructions; therefore he instructed Me on this verse again
and again." " 'When a person is actually advanced and
takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is agitated
and loudly chants the holy name. He also laughs, cries, becomes agitated and chants just like
a madman, not caring for outsiders.' "I firmly believe in these words of My spiritual
master, and therefore I always chant the holy name of the Lord, alone and in the association
of devotees. That holy name of Lord Krsna sometimes causes Me to chant and dance, and
therefore I chant and dance. Please do not think that I intentionally do it. I do it
automatically. "Compared to the ocean of transcendental bliss
that is tasted by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, the pleasure derived from impersonal
Brahman realization [brahmananda] is like the shallow water in a canal.
" 'My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental
bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize
all other so-called happiness to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.'
" After hearing Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
all the Mayavadi sannyasis were moved. Their minds changed, and thus they spoke with pleasing
words. "Dear Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, what You have
said is all true. Only one who is favored by fortune attains love of Godhead.
"Dear sir, there is no objection to Your being a great devotee of Lord Krsna. Everyone is
satisfied with this. But why do You avoid discussion on the Vedanta-sutra? What is the
fault in it?" After hearing the Mayavadi sannyasis speak
in that way, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled slightly and said, "My dear sirs, if you don't
mind I can say something to you regarding Vedanta philosophy."
The seriously inquisitive student or sage, well equipped with knowledge and detachment,
realizes that Absolute Truth by rendering devotional service in terms of what he has
heard from the Vedanta-sruti. Hearing this, the Mayavadi sannyasis became
somewhat humble and addressed Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Narayana Himself, who they all agreed He
was. "Dear Caitanya Mahaprabhu," they said, "to
tell You the truth, we are greatly pleased to hear Your words, and furthermore Your bodily
features are so pleasing that we feel extraordinary satisfaction in seeing You.
"Dear sir, by Your influence our minds are greatly satisfied, and we believe that Your
words will never be unreasonable. Therefore You can speak on the Vedanta-sutra."
The Lord said, "Vedanta philosophy consists of words spoken by the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Narayana in the form of Vyasadeva. "The material defects of mistakes, illusions,
cheating and sensory inefficiency do not exist in the words of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. "The Absolute Truth is described by the Upanisads
and Brahma-sutra, but one must understand the verses as they are. That is the supreme
glory in understanding. "Sripada Sankaracarya has described all the
Vedic literatures in terms of indirect meanings. One who hears such explanations is ruined.
"Sankaracarya is not at fault, for he has thus covered the real purpose of the Vedas
under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"According to direct understanding, the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who has all spiritual opulences. No one can be equal to or greater than Him.
"Everything about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is spiritual, including His body,
opulence and paraphernalia. Mayavada philosophy, however, covering His spiritual opulence,
advocates the theory of impersonalism. "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full
of spiritual potencies. Therefore His body, name, fame and entourage are all spiritual.
The Mayavadi philosopher, due to ignorance, says that these are all merely transformations
of the material mode of goodness. "Sankaracarya, who is an incarnation of Lord
Siva, is faultless because he is a servant carrying out the orders of the Lord. But those
who follow his Mayavadi philosophy are doomed. They will lose all their advancement in spiritual
knowledge. "One who considers the transcendental body
of Lord Visnu to be made of material nature is the greatest offender at the lotus feet
of the Lord. There is no greater blasphemy against the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"The Lord is like a great blazing fire, and the living entities are like small sparks
of that fire. "The living entities are energies, not the
energetic. The energetic is Krsna. This is very vividly described in the Bhagavad-gita,
the Visnu Purana and other Vedic scriptures. " 'Besides these inferior energies, O mighty-armed
Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises all living entities
who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.'.'
" 'The potency of Lord Visnu is summarized in three categories-namely, the spiritual
potency, the living entities and ignorance. The spiritual potency is full of knowledge;
the living entities, although belonging to the spiritual potency, are subject to bewilderment;
and the third energy, which is full of ignorance, is always visible in fruitive activities.'
"The Mayavada philosophy is so degraded that it has taken the insignificant living entities
to be the Lord, the Supreme Truth, thus covering the glory and supremacy of the Absolute Truth
with monism. "In his Vedanta-sutra Srila Vyasadeva has
described that everything is but a transformation of the energy of the Lord. Sankaracarya, however,
has misled the world by commenting that Vyasadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition
to theism throughout the entire world. "According to Sankaracarya, by accepting the
theory of the transformation of the energy of the Lord, one creates an illusion by indirectly
accepting that the Absolute Truth is transformed. "Transformation of energy is a proven fact.
It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion.
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is opulent in all respects. Therefore by His inconceivable
energies He has transformed the material cosmic manifestation.
"Using the example of a touchstone, which by its energy turns iron to gold and yet remains
the same, we can understand that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead transforms
His innumerable energies, He remains unchanged. "Although a touchstone produces many varieties
of valuable jewels, it nevertheless remains the same. It does not change its original
form. "If there is such inconceivable potency in
material objects, why should we not believe in the inconceivable potency of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead? "The Vedic sound vibration omkara, the principal
word in the Vedic scriptures, is the basis of all Vedic vibrations. Therefore one should
accept omkara as the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
the reservoir of the cosmic manifestation. "It is the purpose of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead to present pranava [omkara] as the reservoir of all Vedic knowledge. The
words tat tvam asi are only a partial explanation of the Vedic knowledge.
"Pranava [omkara] is the maha-vakya [maha-mantra] in the Vedas. Sankaracarya's followers cover
this to stress without authority the mantra tat tvam asi.
"In all the Vedic sutras and scriptures, it is Lord Krsna who is to be understood, but
the followers of Sankaracarya have covered the real meaning of the Vedas with indirect
explanations. "The self-evident Vedic scriptures are the
highest evidence of all, but if these scriptures are interpreted, their self-evident nature
is lost. "To prove their philosophy, the members of
the Mayavada school have given up the real, easily understood meaning of the Vedic literature
and introduced indirect meanings based on their imaginative powers."
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu thus showed for each and every sutra the defects in Sankaracarya's
explanations, all the assembled Mayavadi sannyasis were struck with wonder.
All the Mayavadi sannyasis said, "Your Holiness, kindly know from us that we actually have
no quarrel with Your refutation of these meanings, for You have given a clear understanding of
the sutras. "We know that all this word jugglery springs
from the imagination of Sankarararya, and yet because we belong to his sect, we accept
it although it does not satisfy us. "Now let us see," the Mayavadi sannyasis continued,
"how well You can describe the sutras in terms of their direct meaning." Hearing this, Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu began His direct explanation of the Vedanta-sutra.
"Brahman, who is greater than the greatest, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He
is full of six opulences, and therefore He is the reservoir of ultimate truth and absolute
knowledge. "In His original form the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is full of transcendental opulences, which are free from the contamination of the
material world. It is to be understood that in all Vedic literature the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is the ultimate goal. "When we speak of the Supreme as impersonal,
we deny His spiritual potencies. Logically, if you accept half of the truth, you cannot
understand the whole. "It is only by devotional service, beginning
with hearing, that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the only means
to approach Him. "By practicing this regulated devotional service
under the direction of the spiritual master, certainly one awakens his dormant love of
Godhead. This process is called abhidheya. "If one develops his love of Godhead and becomes
attached to the lotus feet of Krsna, gradually he loses his attachment to everything else.
"Love of Godhead is so exalted that it is considered to be the fifth goal of human life.
By awakening one's love of Godhead, one can attain the platform of conjugal love, tasting
it even during the present span of life. "The Supreme Lord, who is greater than the
greatest, becomes submissive to even a very insignificant devotee because of his devotional
service. It is the beautiful and exalted nature of devotional service that the infinite Lord
becomes submissive to the infinitesimal living entity because of it. In reciprocal devotional
activities with the Lord, the devotee actually enjoys the transcendental mellow quality of
devotional service. "One's relationship with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, activities in terms of that relationship, and the ultimate goal of life [to develop
love of God]-these three subjects are explained in every aphorism of the Vedanta-sutra, for
they form the culmination of the entire Vedanta philosophy."
When all the Mayavadi sannyasis thus heard the explanation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu on
the basis of sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana, they spoke very humbly.
"Dear sir, You are Vedic knowledge personified and are directly Narayana Himself. Kindly
excuse us for the offenses we previously committed by criticizing You."
From that moment when the Mayavadi sannyasis heard the explanation of the Vedanta-sutra
from the Lord, their minds changed, and on the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they
too chanted "Krsna! Krsna!" always. Thus Lord Caitanya excused all the offenses
of the Mayavadi sannyasis and very mercifully blessed them with krsna-nama.
After this, all the sannyasis took the Lord in their midst, and thus they all took their
meal together. After taking lunch among the Mayavadi sannyasis,
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is known as Gaurasundara, returned to His residence. Thus the Lord performs
His wonderful pastimes. Hearing the arguments of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
and seeing His victory, Candrasekhara, Tapana Misra and Sanatana Gosvami were all extremely
pleased. Many Mayavadi sannyasis of Varanasi came to
see the Lord after this incident, and the entire city praised Him.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the city of Varanasi, and all of its people were very
thankful. The crowd at the door of His residence was
so great that it numbered hundreds of thousands. When the Lord went to visit the temple of
Visvesvara, hundreds of thousands of people assembled to see Him.
Whenever Lord Caitanya went to the banks of the Ganges to take His bath, big crowds of
many hundreds of thousands of people also assembled there.
Whenever the crowds were too great, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stood up, raised His hands and
chanted, "Hari! Hari!" to which all the people responded, filling both the land and sky with
the vibration. After thus delivering the people in general,
the Lord desired to leave Varanasi. After instructing Sri Sanatana Gosvami, He sent
him toward Vrndavana. Because the city of Varanasi was always full
of tumultuous crowds, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, after sending Sanatana to Vrndavana, returned
to Jagannatha Puri. I have here given a brief account of these
pastimes of Lord Caitanya, but later I shall describe them in an extensive way.
Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates of the Panca-tattva distributed the holy name
of the Lord to invoke love of Godhead throughout the universe, and thus the entire universe
was thankful. Lord Caitanya dispatched the two generals
Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami to Vrndavana to preach the bhakti cult.
As Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami were sent toward Mathura, so Nityananda Prabhu
was sent to Bengal to preach extensively the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally went to South India, and He broadcast the holy name
of Lord Krsna in every village and town.
Thus the Lord went to the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, known as Setubandha
[Cape Comorin]. Everywhere He distributed the bhakti cult and love of Krsna, and in
this way He delivered everyone. I thus explain the truth of the Panca-tattva.
One who hears this explanation increases in knowledge of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
While chanting the Panca-tattva maha-mantra, one must chant the names of Sri Caitanya,
Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara and Srivasa with their many devotees. This is the process.
I again and again offer obeisances unto the Panca-tattva. Thus I think that I will be
able to describe something about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Praying at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha, always desiring their mercy,
I, Krsnadasa, narrate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, following in their footsteps.