The Lord Accepts Prasādam at the House of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

At noon, when there was an upala-bhoga offering in a place called bhoga-vardhana-khaṇḍa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would go outside the temple. Before going outside, He used to stand near the Garuḍa-stambha column and offer His obeisances and prayers. Afterwards, the Lord would visit Siddha-bakula, where Haridāsa Ṭhākura lived. After visiting with Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the Lord would return to His own place at the abode of Kāśī Miśra.

The Dīpāvalī festival takes place on the dark-moon night in the month of Kārttika (October-November). The Rāsa-yātrā, or rāsa dancing of Kṛṣṇa, takes place on the full-moon night of the same month. Utthāna-dvādaśī takes place the day after Ekādaśī in the waxing fortnight of the moon in the same month. All the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu participated in all these festivals.

This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s order to all His devotees. Kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotion to Kṛṣṇa, is open to everyone, even low-class men like caṇḍālas. One should follow this order in the disciplic succession stemming from Śrī Advaita and Nityānanda Prabhu and distribute Kṛṣṇa consciousness without discrimination throughout the world.

There are different kinds of men, beginning with the brāhmaṇa and going down to the lowest platform, known as caṇḍāla. Whatever one’s position, everyone in this Age of Kali needs to be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the greatest need of the day. Everyone is acutely feeling the pangs of material existence. Even in the ranks and files of the American Senate, the pinpricks of material existence are felt, so much so that April 30, 1974, was actually set aside as Prayer Day. Thus everyone is feeling the resultant pinpricks of Kali-yuga brought about by human society’s indulging in illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Now is the time for the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to distribute kṛṣṇa-bhakti all over the world and thus follow the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord has ordered everyone to become a guru (Cc. Madhya 7.128): āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa. Everyone in every town and village should be enlightened by the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be distributed to everyone indiscriminately. In this way, the entire world will be peaceful and happy, and everyone will glorify Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as He desires.

The word caṇḍāla actually refers to a dog-eater, who is considered the lowest of men. Even caṇḍālas can be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness due to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s benedictions. Kṛṣṇa-bhakti is not the monopoly of a certain caste. Everyone is eligible to receive this great benediction given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone should be given a chance to receive it and be happy.

The word dāna, meaning “charity,” is also significant in this verse. Whoever engages in the distribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a charitable person. Professional men recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and discuss kṛṣṇa-bhakti for an exchange of money. They cannot distribute such exalted transcendental property to everyone and anyone. Only pure devotees, who have no motive other than serving Kṛṣṇa, can give such transcendentally valuable benedictions out of charity.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus ordered Nityānanda Prabhu to deliver all the Bengalis to devotional service. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.32) the Lord says:

“O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaiśyas [merchants], and śūdras [workers] — can attain the supreme destination.” Whoever takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and follows the regulative principles can return home, back to Godhead.

In his Anubhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes, “There is a class of so-called devotees called prākṛta-sahajiyās who think that Nityānanda Prabhu is an ordinary human being. They have spread the news that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Nityānanda Prabhu to return to Bengal from Orissa just to marry and beget children. This is certainly a great offense against Nityānanda Prabhu.”

Such an offense is called pāṣaṇḍa-buddhi, or an atheistic remark. Offenders consider Nityānanda Prabhu to be like one of them, an ordinary human being. They do not know of Nityānanda Prabhu’s identity with the viṣṇu-tattva. Thinking Nityānanda Prabhu to be an ordinary human being is the business of mental speculators known as kuṇapātma-vādīs. These people accept the material body, which is a bag of three material elements (kuṇape tri-dhātuke), as themselves. They think that Nityānanda Prabhu’s body was similarly material and that it was meant for sense gratification. Whoever thinks in this way is a candidate for the darkest regions of hell. Those who hanker after women and money, who are self-interested and have the mentality of merchants, can certainly discover many things with their fertile brains and speak against the authorized revealed scriptures. They also engage in some moneymaking businesses to cheat innocent people, and they try to support their business programs by making such offensive statements. Actually Nityānanda Prabhu, being the expansion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is the most munificent incarnation. No one should consider Him an ordinary human being or an entity like the prajāpatis, who were ordered by Brahmā to increase generations. Nityānanda Prabhu should not be considered instrumental for sense gratification. Although professional so-called preachers support this idea, such statements are not found in any authorized revealed scriptures. Actually there is no support for these statements made by sahajiyās or other professional distributors of kṛṣṇa-bhakti.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that Rāghava Paṇḍita was not simply a crazy fellow suffering from some cleansing mania. He did not belong to the mundane world. In lower consciousness, accepting something to be spiritual when it is actually material is called bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. Rāghava Paṇḍita was an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and everything he saw was related to the service of the Lord. He was always absorbed in the transcendental thought of how he could always serve Kṛṣṇa with everything. Sometimes neophytes, devotees on the lower platform, try to imitate Rāghava Paṇḍita on the platform of material purity and impurity. Such imitation will not help anyone. As explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 4.174), bhadrābhadra-vastu-jñāna nāhika ‘prākṛte.’ On the transcendental platform there is no higher or lower, pure or impure. On the material platform, distinction is made between good and bad, but on the spiritual platform everything is of the same quality.

“In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying ‘This is good and that is bad’ is all a mistake.” (Cc. Antya 4.176)

Vāsudeva Datta and Śivānanda Sena were living in the same neighborhood, which is presently called Kumārahaṭṭa or Hālisahara.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya is a book of poems considered to be the first poetry book written in Bengal. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that this book was begun in the year 1395 Śakābda (A.D. 1473). After seven years, it was completed (in 1402 Śakābda). This book was written in plain language, and even half-educated Bengalis and women could read it very clearly. Even ordinary men with little knowledge of the alphabet could read this book and understand it. Its language is not very ornamental, and sometimes the poetry is not very sweet to hear. Although according to the sonnet style each line should contain fourteen syllables, there are sometimes sixteen, twelve or thirteen syllables in his verse. Many words used in those days could be understood only by local inhabitants, yet this book is still so popular that no bookstore is complete without it. It is very valuable for those who are interested in advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Śrī Guṇarāja Khān was one of the topmost Vaiṣṇavas, and he translated the Tenth and Eleventh Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for the understanding of the common man. The book Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya was highly praised by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is very valuable for all Vaiṣṇavas. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives a genealogical table and family history of Guṇarāja Khān. When a Bengali emperor named Ādiśūra first came from Kānyakubja, or Kānauj, he brought with him five brāhmaṇas and five kāyasthas. Since the king is supposed to be accompanied by his associates, the brāhmaṇas accompanied the King to help him in higher spiritual matters. The kāyasthas were to render other services. In the northern Indian high country, the kāyasthas are accepted as śūdras, but in Bengal the kāyasthas are considered among the higher castes. It is a fact that the kāyasthas came to Bengal from northern India, specifically from Kānyakubja, or Kānauj. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the kāyasthas who came from Kānyakubja were high-class men. Of them, Daśaratha Vasu was a great personality, and the thirteenth generation of his family included Guṇarāja Khān.

His real name was Mālādhara Vasu, but the title Khān was given to him by the Emperor of Bengal. Thus he became known as Guṇarāja Khān. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following genealogical table of Guṇarāja Khān: (1) Daśaratha Vasu; (2) Kuśala; (3) Śubhaśaṅkara; (4) Haṁsa; (5) Śaktirāma (Bāgāṇḍā), Muktirāma (Māinagara) and Alaṅkāra (Baṅgaja); (6) Dāmodara; (7) Anantarāma; (8) Guṇīnāyaka and Vīṇānāyaka. The twelfth generation included Bhagīratha, and the thirteenth Mālādhara Vasu, or Guṇarāja Khān. Śrī Guṇarāja Khān had fourteen sons, of whom the second son, Lakṣmīnātha Vasu, received the title Satyarāja Khān. His son was Śrī Rāmānanda Vasu; therefore Rāmānanda Vasu belonged to the fifteenth generation. Guṇarāja Khān was a very well known and wealthy man. His palace, fort and temples are still existing, and from these we can deduce that the opulence of Guṇarāja Khān was certainly very great. Śrī Guṇarāja Khān never cared for the artificial aristocracy introduced by Ballāl Sena.

The full verse-referred to here is:

“With folded hands I offer my prayers unto Kṛṣṇa, Nanda Mahārāja’s son, who is my life and soul.”

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that a person who simply chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa once becomes perfect and should be regarded as a Vaiṣṇava. This is confirmed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Upadeśāmṛta (5): kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta. With such faith in the holy name one may begin a life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But an ordinary person cannot chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa with such faith. One should accept the holy name of Kṛṣṇa to be identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Transcendence Himself. As the Padma Purāṇa states, “The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is identical with Kṛṣṇa and is like a cintāmaṇi gem, a touchstone. That name is Kṛṣṇa personified in sound and is therefore perfectly transcendental and eternally liberated from material contamination.” Thus one should understand that the name “Kṛṣṇa” and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical. Having such faith, one must continue to chant the holy name.

When one is situated on the neophyte platform, one cannot understand the devotional ingredients of a pure, unalloyed devotee. However, when the novice engages in devotional service — especially in Deity worship — and follows the order of a bona fide spiritual master, he is a pure devotee. Anyone can take advantage of hearing about Kṛṣṇa consciousness from such a devotee and thus gradually become purified. In other words, any devotee who believes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord is a pure devotee, even though he may be in the neophyte stage. By his association, others may also become Vaiṣṇavas.

One is known as a materialistic devotee if he simply worships the Deity of Hari with faith but does not show proper respect to the devotees and to others. This is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.47):

Yet even by associating with such a neophyte devotee, one can become a devotee also. When Lord Caitanya was teaching Sanātana Gosvāmī, He said:

“A person who has attained firm faith is a real candidate for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to the faith, there are first-class, second-class and neophyte devotees. One who has preliminary faith is called a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, or a neophyte. The neophyte, however, can become an advanced devotee if he strictly follows the regulative principles set down by the spiritual master. Therefore it is on the basis of faith and attachment to Kṛṣṇa that one can judge who is a madhyama-adhikārī or an uttama-adhikārī.” (Cc. Madhya 22.64, 69, 71)

It is thus concluded that even a neophyte devotee is superior to the karmīs and jñānīs because he has full faith in chanting the holy name of the Lord. A karmī or a jñānī, regardless of his greatness, has no faith in Lord Viṣṇu, His holy name or His devotional service. One may be advanced religiously, but if he is not trained in devotional service, he has very little credit on the transcendental platform. Even a neophyte devotee engaged in Deity worship in accordance with the regulations set forth by the spiritual master is in a position superior to that of the fruitive worker and speculative philosopher.

The nine types of devotional service are mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23):

“The process of devotional service entails hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord, offering service according to the time, place and performer, worshiping the Deity, offering prayers, always considering oneself the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Kṛṣṇa, constitute the highest attainment of life. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures.”

As for being freed from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa only once, one must chant the holy name without committing any offenses. Then chanting one name is sufficient to rescue a living being from all sinful reactions. Such a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is very important and woshipable. Indeed, the nine devotional processes, beginning with śravaṇa and kīrtana, can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly.

In this regard, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (173): yadyapi anyā bhaktiḥ kalau kartavyā, tadā; kīrtanākhya-bhakti-saṁyogenaiva. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kīrtana is very important. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dāsya and sakhya, should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kīrtana, the chanting of the holy name. We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, ārati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains dīkṣā in his Bhakti-sandarbha (283):

“Dīkṣā is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as dīkṣā.” The regulative principles of dīkṣā are explained in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.3-4) and the Bhakti-sandarbha (283). As stated:

“Even though born in a brāhmaṇa family, one cannot engage in Vedic rituals without being initiated and having a sacred thread. Although born in a brāhmaṇa family, one becomes a brāhmaṇa only after initiation and the sacred thread ceremony. Unless one is initiated as a brāhmaṇa, one cannot worship the holy name properly.”

According to the Vaiṣṇava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brāhmaṇa. The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Viṣṇu-yāmala:

“ ‘Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.’ ”

Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.10) further quotes:

“ ‘It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything — body, mind and intelligence — one must take Vaiṣṇava initiation from him.’ ”

The Bhakti-sandarbha (298) gives the following quotation from the Tattva-sāgara:

“ ‘By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brāhmaṇa.’ ”

The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (17.11-12), in discussing the puraścaryā process, quotes the following verses from the Agastya-saṁhitā:

“ ‘In the morning, afternoon and evening one should worship the Deity, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, offer oblations, perform a fire sacrifice and feed the brāhmaṇas. These five activities constitute puraścaryā. To attain full success when taking initiation from the spiritual master, one should first perform these puraścaryā processes.’ ”

The word puraḥ means “before,” and caryā means “activities.” Due to the necessity of these activities, we do not immediately initiate disciples in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. For six months, a candidate for initiation must first attend ārati and classes in the śāstras, practice the regulative principles and associate with other devotees. When one is actually advanced in the puraścaryā-vidhi, he is recommended by the local temple president for initiation. It is not that anyone can be suddenly initiated without meeting the requirements. When one is further advanced by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra sixteen rounds daily, following the regulative principles and attending classes, he receives the sacred thread (brahminical recognition) after the second six months.

In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (17.4-5, 7) it is stated:

“Without performing the puraścaryā activities, one cannot become perfect even by chanting this mantra for hundreds of years. But one who has undergone the puraścaryā-vidhi process can attain success very easily. If one wishes to perfect his initiation, he must first undergo the puraścaryā activities. The puraścaryā process is the life force by which one is successful in chanting the mantra. Without the life force, one cannot do anything; similarly, without the life force of puraścaryā-vidhi, no mantra can be perfected.”

In his Bhakti-sandarbha (283-84), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī describes the importance of Deity worship and initiation (dīkṣā) as follows:

yadyapi svarūpato nāsti, tathāpi prāyaḥ svabhāvato dehādi-sambandhena kadarya-śīlānāṁ vikṣipta-cittānāṁ janānāṁ tat-tat-saṅkocī-karaṇāya śrīmad-ṛṣi-prabhṛtibhir atrārcana-mārge kvacit kvacit kācit kācin maryādā sthāpitāsti.

“It is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s opinion that the process of Deity worship is not actually necessary, just as the specific prescriptions of the Pañcarātra and other scriptures do not have to be followed. The Bhāgavatam enjoins that even without practicing Deity worship one can achieve the complete success of human life by any of the other devotional processes, such as simply offering oneself at the Lord’s feet for His protection. Nonetheless, Vaiṣṇavas following the path of Śrī Nārada and his successors endeavor to establish a personal relationship with the Lord by receiving the grace of a bona fide spiritual master through initiation, and in this tradition the devotees are obliged at the time of initiation to begin engaging in Deity worship.

“Although Deity worship is not essential, the material conditioning of most candidates for devotional service requires that they engage in this activity. When we consider their bodily and mental conditions, we find that the character of such candidates is impure and their minds are agitated. Therefore, to rectify this material conditioning the great sage Nārada and others have at different times recommended various kinds of regulations for Deity worship.”

Similarly, the Rāmārcana-candrikā states:

“O best of the brāhmaṇas, even without initiation, preliminary purification or acceptance of the renounced order, one can attain perfection in devotional service simply by chanting the Lord’s holy name.”

In other words, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is so powerful that it does not depend on official initiation, but if one is initiated and engages in pañcarātra-vidhi (Deity worship), his Kṛṣṇa consciousness will awaken very soon, and his identification with the material world will be vanquished. The more one is freed from material identification, the more one can realize that the spirit soul is qualitatively as good as the Supreme Soul. At such a time, when one is situated on the absolute platform, one can understand that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. At that stage of realization, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as a material vibration, he falls down. One should worship and chant the holy name of the Lord by accepting it as the Lord Himself. One should therefore be initiated properly according to revealed scriptures under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Although chanting the holy name is good for both the conditioned and liberated soul, it is especially beneficial to the conditioned soul because by chanting it one is liberated. When a person who chants the holy name is liberated, he attains the ultimate perfection by returning home, back to Godhead. In the words of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.73):

“Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.”

The offenseless chanting of the holy name does not depend on the initiation process. Although initiation may depend on puraścaryā or puraścaraṇa, the actual chanting of the holy name does not depend on puraścaryā-vidhi, or the regulative principles. If one chants the holy name even once without committing an offense, he attains all success. During the chanting of the holy name, the tongue must work. Simply by chanting the holy name, one is immediately delivered. The tongue is sevonmukha-jihvā — it is controlled by service. One whose tongue is engaged in tasting material things and also talking about them cannot use the tongue for absolute realization.

“With the material senses one cannot understand the transcendental holy name of the Lord or His form, activities and pastimes. But when one actually engages in devotional service, utilizing the tongue, the Lord is revealed.” As it is said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 17.134):

“The holy name of Kṛṣṇa, His body and His pastimes cannot be understood by the blunt material senses. They are manifested independently.”

This verse is found in the Padyāvalī (29), an anthology of verses compiled by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

In his Upadeśāmṛta, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states: kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta dīkṣāsti cet praṇatibhiś ca bhajantam īśam. An advanced devotee should respect a person who has been initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and who is situated on the transcendental platform, chanting the holy name with faith and obeisances and following the instructions of the spiritual master. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura comments that serving Vaiṣṇavas is most important for householders. Whether a Vaiṣṇava is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Māyāvāda philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaiṣṇava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect. Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure, unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instruction.