Lord Caitanya
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, a hidden incarnation of Lord Krishna, appeared in Mayapur
in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd
Phalguna 1407 Sakabda, answering to the 18th of February, 1486, of the
Christian era. His father, Jagannatha Misra, a poor brahmana of the
Vedic order, and his mother, Saci-devi, a model good woman, both
descended from brahmana stock originally residing in Sylhet. Mahaprabhu
was a beautiful child, and the ladies of the town came to see him with
presents. His mother's father, Pandita Nilambara Cakravarti, a renowned
astrologer, foretold that the child would be a great personage in time;
and he, therefore, gave him the name Visvambhara. After his fifth year,
he was admitted into a pathasala where he picked up Bengali in a very
short time.
It was at the age of 14 or 15 that Mahaprabhu was married to
Laksmidevi, the daughter of Vallabhacarya, also of Nadia. He was at this
age considered one of the best scholars of Nadia, the renowned seat of
nyaya philosophy and Sanskrit learning. It was at this time that he
preached Vaisnavism at intervals. After teaching him the principles of
Vaisnavism, he ordered Tapana Misra to go to and live in Benares. During
his residence in East Bengal, his wife Laksmidevi left this world from
the effects of snakebite. On returning home, he found his mother in a
mourning state. He consoled her with a lecture on the uncertainty of
human affairs. It was at his mother's request that he married
Visnupriya, the daughter of Raja Pandita Sanatana Misra. His comrades
joined him on his return from pravasa or sojourn. He was now so renowned
that he was considered to be the best pandita in Nadia
Nimai Pandita was naturally a soft-hearted person, though strong in
his principles. He declared that party feelings and sectarianism were
the two great enemies of progress and that as long as he should continue
to be an inhabitant of Nadia belonging to a certain family, his mission
would not meet with complete success. He then resolved to be a citizen
of the world by cutting his connection with his particular family, caste
and creed, and with this resolution he embraced the position of a
sannyasi at Katwa, under the guidance of Kesava Bharati of that town, on
the 24th year of his age.
Caitanya visited numerous places in Southern India as far as Cape
Comorin and returned to Puri in two years by Pandepura on the Bhima.
From this time, that is, from his 31st year, Mahaprabhu continually
lived in Puri in the house of Kasi Misra until his disappearance in his
forty-eighth year at the time of sankirtana in the temple of
Tota-gopinatha. During these 18 years, his life was one of settled love
and piety. He was surrounded by numerous followers, all of whom were of
the highest order of Vaisnavas and who were distinguished from the
common people by their purest character and learning, firm religious
principles and spiritual love of Radha-Krsna. His sentiments carried him
far and wide in the firmament of spirituality every day and night, and
all his admirers and followers watched him throughout. He worshiped,
communicated with his missionaries at Vrindavana, and conversed with
those religious men who newly came to visit him. He sang and danced,
took no care of himself and oft-times lost himself in religious
beatitude.
Humility was personified in him. His sweet appearance gave cheer to
all who came in contact with him. He appointed Prabhu Nityananda as the
missionary in charge of Bengal. He dispatched six disciples (Gosvamis)
to Vrndavana to preach love in the upcountry.
Lord Caitanya's Mission
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on
the Science of Krishna, a task which those who follow Him have continued
to carry out down to the present day. The elaborations and expositions
on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are in fact most voluminous,
exacting and consistent due to the system of disciplic succession.
Although Lord Caitanya was widely renowned as a scholar in His youth, He
left only eight verses, called Siksastaka. These eight verses clearly
reveal His mission and precepts. These supremely valuable prayers are
translated herein.
1. Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
3. One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
4. O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.
5. O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
6. O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
7. O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
8. I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Founder-Acharya, International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
