Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu the spiritual maste

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.1

Māyāpur, March 25, 1975

Prabhupāda:

vande gurūn īśa-bhaktān

īśam īśāvatārakān

tat-prakāśāṁś ca tac-chaktīḥ

kṛṣṇa-caitanya-saṁjñakam

[Cc. Ādi 1.1]

Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. That was observed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. He composed

one hundred verses praising the glories of Lord Caitanya, but

because Caitanya Mahāprabhu was playing the part of a devotee, He threw away

the ślokas, because "This is not for Me." That was Caitanya Mahāprabhu's humbleness.

But the devotees know that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-

caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa combination of Śrī Caitanya...

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu means Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined. In the beginning there

is Kṛṣṇa, and then Kṛṣṇa divided into two, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. And then again combined,

that is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

rādhā-kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād

ekātmānāv api (bhuvi purā) deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau

 caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam...

[Cc. Ādi 1.5]

So the Gosvāmī's siddhānta, that Kṛṣṇa is one. There is no rivalry with Kṛṣṇa. God is

one. Eka-brahma dvitīya nāsti. There cannot be many Gods. So when God, Kṛṣṇa,

wants to enjoy His pleasure potency, that is Rādhārāṇī. So He manifests Himself,

manifests His energy... His energy and He, there is no difference. Śakti-śaktimator

abhedaḥ. The śāstra says śakti and the śaktimat—means one who possesses

the śakti (śakti means power, potency)—they are equal. There is no difference. Just like

the sun. Sun is the powerful, and the sunshine is the power. So there is heat in the sun

and there is heat also in the sunshine. There is light in the sun and there is light in the

sunshine also. Therefore qualitatively they are one so far heat and light is concerned.

But the temperature of the sun and the temperature of the sunshine may be different.

May be not. Actually there is difference. This is the basic principle of all

philosophies. Acintya-bhedābheda. Acintya means inconceivable, bheda means

different, and abheda means nondifferent. The whole situation... The one is there, God,

but He has expanded Himself in different way. Eko bahu syām.

So that is described here. Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-saṁjñakam. Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu,

He has expanded Himself as gurūn. The guru, the spiritual master, he's also

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktaḥ **. In all

the śāstras, guru is accepted as Kṛṣṇa. Sākṣād-dharitvena. Sākṣād means directly. Just

like you offer your devotion, respects, to guru. So that respect is offered

to Kṛṣṇa. Guru also does not think himself that he is Kṛṣṇa, but he collects the
devotional services of the disciples to offer to Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. We cannot

approach Kṛṣṇa directly. We should approach

through guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. That is

the injunction of the śāstra, that one should approach the guru who can transfer the

service from the disciple to the Supreme Person. So... Therefore the first offering

is guru, vande gurūn. Then guru creates many devotees. Guru's business is to canvass

on behalf of Supreme Lord. That is guru's business. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-

dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66], so, "You give up all

material, engage..." Sarva-dharmān means in the material world we have created so

many so-called duties. This is our material disease. People are interested in material

engagements and they have created different varieties of engagements. Sociology,

communism, and this "ism," that "ism," philanthropism, altruism, internationalism,

nationalism—many, many duties they have created. That is all material. Kṛṣṇa, out of

His causeless mercy... (children crying) Stop that children. Out of His causeless mercy,

He comes, He descends. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata [Bg. 4.7].

Glānir, this is glānir. Human life is meant for one thing, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to

inquire about the Supreme Absolute Truth. But instead of doing that, they have created

so many "isms." That is their misfortune.

Real business is athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human life, nature, gives us the

opportunity to inquire about the Absolute Truth. We have got the intelligence. The cats

and dogs, they have no intelligence to inquire about the Absolute Truth. The trees, the

plants, the aquatics, the animals, the beasts, the uncivilized man—so many, 8,400,000
forms and species of life. Out of that, the civilized men, the Aryans... Ārya. Ārya means

the person who has got godly qualification. This is the meaning of Āryan. Āryan,

advanced. Āryan does not mean godless society. They are non-Āryans. Real Āryan

means... Because we are part and parcel of God, naturally we have got, in minute

quantity, the qualities of God. That is natural. But on account of our material

association, those qualifications are covered now by upādhi, by various designations.

This is our material disease. Material disease means... Just like a gold is covered by

dirty, dirty things. Similarly, we are actually gold, because part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We

are a small Kṛṣṇa, very small, but we are also the same quality. But it is covered. This is

our disease. And these coverings are going on in different names—socialism,

communism, and this "ism"—so many. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu,"

"I am Muslim," "I am white," "I am black"—these are all designations.

So it is the business of the guru to clear up these designations, dirty things.

Therefore, vande gurūn īśam. Guru, first offering because he is the agent

of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said that "You give up all these designative dharma; take to

real dharma." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam [Bg. 18.66]. "That is your real

business." But even Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa does not fail... But Kṛṣṇa does not force. So even upon

the request of Kṛṣṇa we do not give up our designation. This is the

difficulty. Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, and

nobody practically, except the Pāṇḍavas and few other devotees, nobody took it

seriously. And what to speak of now. They are talking of Bhagavad-gītā, scholars

of Bhagavad-gītā, but without Kṛṣṇa. That is their business. These demons, they are
preaching Bhagavad-gītā without Kṛṣṇa. Nobody preaches about Kṛṣṇa. Nobody says

what Kṛṣṇa wants. Sarva-dharmān parityajya. Kṛṣṇa wants this, but they are

misinterpreting in different ways and diverting the attention of the people most

foolishly, that... In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa is the center. So this is going on. You

know, you are coming all from foreign countries. Bhagavad-gītā is popular in your

country, at least amongst the scholars and theosophists and theologists. Going on, for

the last two hundred years at least. But nobody understood Kṛṣṇa. That is the

difference. Now for the last, say, five or ten years, because we are presenting Kṛṣṇa as it

is, it has become very easy for you to accept it. Unadulterated Kṛṣṇa. Before this,

everything was presented adulterated. Therefore there was no effect.

So if you push on this movement, unadulterated Kṛṣṇa, it will go on. It will go on.

And as soon as you adulterate Kṛṣṇa, it will not go on. It will not be effective. You may

be very good scholar or very good politician or this or that, but you'll never understand

what is Kṛṣṇa. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ [Bg. 7.25]. If you

want to pollute Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will never be revealed to

you. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ [Brs. 1.2.234]. So by the

grace of Kṛṣṇa you have taken the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. It is great fortune for

you. So do not adulterate Kṛṣṇa. That is my request. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa. And to

understand Kṛṣṇa, the Kṛṣṇa Himself taught... That was also difficult.

Then Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (is) teaching us how to approach Kṛṣṇa. That is Caitanya-

caritāmṛta. Caitanya means spiritual, living, and carita means character. So Caitanya-

caritāmṛta means that the supreme living force, Kṛṣṇa. The living force is Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore we contradict the so-called scientific theory that life has come from

chemicals, matter. No. We are trying our best. We have engaged our scientist students.

They have already..., one student has already written one small book, The Scientific

Basis of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, and we are going to publish another book. I have given

instruction to the scientist students. What is the heading of that?

Devotees: Life Comes From Life.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Life Comes From Life. That is the fact. These modern so-called

scientific theory that life comes from matter, that is not fact. Because our original

person, Kṛṣṇa, said, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo [Bg. 10.8]. Aham, this aham word is

applicable to a person, person. And person means living force. So Caitanya-

caritāmṛta means that living force is a person, and His caritra, His characteristic, this

is Caitanya. And that is amṛta. Amṛta means not dead matter. Mṛta means dead,

and amṛta means not dead, living force. So he is living force; his characteristics are also

living force; and they are, because living force, they

are amṛta. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]. We have got experience what is

living force and what is dead matter. That we have got experience. And that is further

explained by Kṛṣṇa, that living force

means na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20], na jāyate na mriyate kadācit. That is

explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, that living force is not finished even after the

annihilation of this body. Very nice statement by Kṛṣṇa. We can understand living... In

the life, when we are alive, the body is moving, we can understand what is living force.

And we can understand further when the body does not move—that difference, why the
body was moving and why the body is not now moving. If we simply study this

difference of position we can understand what is living force. It is not very difficult.

Simply we have to understand, "Now this living force is gone out of this body; therefore

the body is no longer moving and it is a dead matter." This is this... So this Caitanya-

caritāmṛta means we are talking of the living force, not of the dead matter. We should

always remember. So the guru belongs to that living force. And Īśa, Īśa means

controller. So everyone, that living force. Gurūn, īśa, īśa-bhaktān, īśa-

bhaktān and īśam. So they are all living force. The Lord, His devotee, His

representative, everyone, they belong to the spiritual platform, living force. Caitanya-

saṁjñakam. Caitanya means living. That personification of all living forces

is Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. People

mistake Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu because by misfortune they

understand Kṛṣṇa Caitanya as a devotee or just like so-called sādhu or yogi, like that.

That is mistake. Kṛṣṇa Caitanya means the original living force, Kṛṣṇa.

So Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, he understood Him. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he

understood Him. Similarly, the followers of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya,

and all the Gosvāmīs, they will understand Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And one who

understands or follows the path enunciated by Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for

them Kṛṣṇa is very easily obtained. This is called Caitanya-caritāmṛta. If you follow

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is described

by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī. Purāṇa-puruṣaḥ, I just

now forget the verse. Yes:

 vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī

kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye

[Cc. Madhya 6.254]

So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the same Kṛṣṇa, Purāṇa-puruṣaḥ. Ādyaṁ Purāṇa-

puruṣaḥ. Purāṇa-puruṣa means Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead, very

old. Purāṇa means very old. So, vairāgya-vidyā-śikṣārtham. Because we are suffering

here on account of so many designations, so Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to

purify us from all these nonsense designations. That is called vairāgya-

vidyā. Rāga means attachment. So... And virāga. This false attachment we have to give

up. That is practically being manifested by practical life, how to love Kṛṣṇa, how to

approach Him. That is the characteristic of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And

therefore He is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Canto, kṛṣṇa-

varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam [SB 11.5.32]. Kṛṣṇa-varṇam: He belongs to the same

category, Kṛṣṇa. Or He is describing Kṛṣṇa always. His only business is to

describe Kṛṣṇa. But His complexion is not Kṛṣṇa, akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means white.

Because Kṛṣṇa had many colors. One of the colors was pīta, golden,

golden avatāra. So, tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. This sāṅgopāṅgāstra-

pārṣadam is described here, that gurūn, īśam, īśa-bhaktān, īśāvatārakān tat-

prakāśāṁś ca tat-chaktiḥ. This is sāṅgopāṅga.

 So study this Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Now we have got this English edition, very

elaborately described, following the footsteps of our Guru Mahārāja,

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. So there is no such edition

of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, very elaborately described. But it can be understood by the

advanced student. It can be... And so... Advanced, you can, anyone, you can become

advanced. Advanced means at least one should understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. If you simply understand these two words, that Kṛṣṇa is the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you are advanced. It is not very difficult.

Everything, all Vedic literature, they are meant for

understanding Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. So if you simply

understand... What is that understanding? That Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. We have written in our Kṛṣṇa book, "Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead." If you become convinced, then your study of Vedas—

finished. Tepus tapas te sasnur āryā [SB 3.33.7]. Anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa...

What is that understanding? Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat

kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "My dear Arjuna, there is no more superior authority

or person or truth than Myself." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat

kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg. 7.7]. These few words, if you simply understand... Blindly

or openly, it doesn't matter. Because if you touch fire, either blindly or openly, it will

act. It will act. It is not that because I blindly accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person, that

will not act. No, it will act. Even if you have accepted Kṛṣṇa blindly, it will act. Because

the thing is the same. Either you accept in open eyes or blind eyes. So similarly, if you
accept this theory—it is not theory; this is fact, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead—these few words, then you are advanced student, immediately. Take it from

me, that simply this conviction, that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,"

then you are advanced student in spiritual life.

So all these persons associated with Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Nityānanda,

Śrī Advaita, and Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa, all of them, they are one. One in this sense,

they are all interested how to push on Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He's trying personally, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. And Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Śrīvāsa, Gadādhara, they are

trying to help. So..., and to approach all these five supreme persons, you require the

help of guru. Therefore the guru is offered first the respectful

prayers, vande gurūn. And gurūn, bahu-vacana, plural number, that many gurus. But

they are not many; they are one, guru-tattva. Just like Kṛṣṇa has many forms, but that

does not mean Kṛṣṇa is different. No. Kṛṣṇa is one. Similarly, guru, there may be many

gurus, it doesn't matter, but their philosophy must be one: to teach everyone

that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there may be thousands of gurus,

but the guru's business is to teach the disciple that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. That is the test of guru. If guru is teaching something else, nonsense, then he

is not guru. Gurur na sa syāt. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-

viśāradaḥ. A brāhmaṇa, he is very expert in his business, in Vedic culture,

Vedic mantras, tantras. That is the test of the brāhmaṇa, that he is very learned.

So ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ. Viśārada, very

expert. Avaiṣṇavo gurur na sa syāt. But if he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa or if he's not

a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot become guru. Ṣaḍ-vaiṣṇavaḥ śvapaco guruḥ. But one

person who is coming from the family of dog-eaters... The dog-eaters, they are

considered to be the lowest of the human beings. So, śva-paca, śva means dog,

and paca means eater or cooker. So śvapaca, even a person is coming from

the śvapaca family, and if he's a Vaiṣṇava, if he's a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he can

become guru. On the other side, even born in a brāhmaṇa family and very expert in

Vedic ritualistic performances, mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, he cannot become guru if he

does not understand Kṛṣṇa. So therefore guru is very important because he has

accepted Kṛṣṇa... Tattva-darśibhiḥ, he has seen the truth. So therefore guru is first

offered... This is the test of guru. Guru does not become Kṛṣṇa himself, but he canvasses

door to door to induce that "You become devotee of Kṛṣṇa." This is sign

of guru. Vande gurūn īśa-bhaktān. Īśa-bhaktān. Then we shall describe later on.

Thank you very much. (end)