The Lord Begins His Tour of South India

A brahmacārī is supposed to assist a sannyāsī; therefore a brahmacārī should not try to instruct a sannyāsī. That is the etiquette. Consequently Dāmodara should not have advised Caitanya Mahāprabhu of His duty.

All the accusations made by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu against His beloved devotees actually showed His great appreciation of their intense love for Him. Yet He mentioned these faults one after another as if He were offended by their intense affection. The personal associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sometimes behaved contrary to regulative principles out of intense love for the Lord, and because of their love Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself sometimes violated the regulative principles of a sannyāsī. In the eyes of the public, such violations are not good, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so controlled by His devotees’ love that He was obliged to break some of the rules. Although accusing them, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was indirectly indicating that He was very satisfied with their behavior in pure love of Godhead. Therefore in verse 27 He mentions that His devotees and associates place more importance on love of Kṛṣṇa than on social etiquette. There are many instances of devotional service rendered by previous ācāryas who did not care about social behavior when intensely absorbed in love for Kṛṣṇa. Unfortunately, as long as we are within this material world, we must observe social customs to avoid criticism by the general populace. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s desire.

The Lord wanted to tour all the places of pilgrimage alone and strictly observe the duties of the renounced order.

From this verse it is clear that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was chanting the holy names a fixed number of times daily. The Gosvāmīs used to follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Haridāsa Ṭhākura also followed this principle. Concerning the Gosvāmīs — Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī — Śrīnivāsa Ācārya confirms, saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 6) In addition to other duties, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced the system of chanting the holy name of the Lord a fixed number of times daily, as confirmed in this verse (tomāra dui hasta baddha nāma-gaṇane). Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to count on His fingers. While one hand was engaged in chanting, the other hand kept the number of rounds. This is corroborated in the Caitanya-candrāmṛta and also in Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Stava-mālā:

Therefore devotees in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu must chant at least sixteen rounds daily, and this is the number prescribed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Haridāsa Ṭhākura daily chanted 300,000 names. Sixteen rounds is about 28,000 names. There is no need to imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura or the other Gosvāmīs, but chanting the holy name a fixed number of times daily is essential for every devotee.

This Kṛṣṇadāsa, known as Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, is not the Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa mentioned in the eleventh chapter, verse 37, of the Ādi-līlā. The Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa mentioned in the eleventh chapter is one of the twelve gopālas (cowherd boys) who appeared to substantiate the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is known as a great devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. The brāhmaṇa named Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa who went with Śrī Caitanya to South India and later to Bengal is mentioned in the Madhya-līlā, tenth chapter, verses 62-79. One should not take these two to be the same person.

In the Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that Vidyānagara is today known as Porbandar. There is another Porbandar in western India, in the province of Gujarat.

In the varṇāśrama-dharma, the śūdra is the fourth division in the social status. Paricaryātmakaṁ karma śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam (Bg. 18.44). Śūdras are meant to engage in the service of the three higher classes — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya belonged to the karaṇa class, which is the equivalent of the kāyastha class in Bengal. This class is regarded all over India as śūdra. It is said that the Bengali kāyasthas were originally engaged as servants of brāhmaṇas who came from North India to Bengal. Later, the clerical class became the kāyasthas in Bengal. Now there are many mixed classes known as kāyastha. Sometimes it is said in Bengal that those who cannot claim any particular class belong to the kāyastha class. Although these kāyasthas or karaṇas are considered śūdras, they are very intelligent and highly educated. Most of them are professionals such as lawyers or politicians. Thus in Bengal the kāyasthas are sometimes considered kṣatriyas. In Orissa, however, the kāyastha class, which includes the karaṇas, is considered in the śūdra category. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya belonged to this karaṇa class; therefore he was considered a śūdra. He was also the governor of South India under the regime of Mahārāja Pratāparudra of Orissa. In other words, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya informed Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that Rāmānanda Rāya, although belonging to the śūdra class, was a highly responsible government officer. As far as spiritual advancement is concerned, materialists, politicians and śūdras are generally disqualified. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya therefore requested that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu not neglect Rāmānanda Rāya, who was highly advanced spiritually although he was born a śūdra and a materialist.

A viṣayī is one who is attached to family life and is interested only in wife, children and worldly sense gratification. The senses can be engaged either in worldly enjoyment or in the service of the Lord. Those who are not engaged in the service of the Lord and are interested only in material sense gratification are called viṣayī. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya was engaged in government service, and he belonged to the karaṇa class. He was certainly not a sannyāsī in saffron cloth, yet he was in the transcendental position of a paramahaṁsa householder. Before becoming Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s disciple, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya considered Rāmānanda Rāya an ordinary viṣayī because he was a householder engaged in government service. However, when the Bhaṭṭācārya was actually enlightened in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, he could understand the exalted transcendental position of Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya; therefore he referred to him as adhikārī. An adhikārī is one who knows the transcendental science of Kṛṣṇa and is engaged in His service; therefore all gṛhastha devotees are designated as dāsa adhikārī.

Anyone who is a not a Vaiṣṇava, or an unalloyed devotee of the Supreme Lord, must be a materialist. A Vaiṣṇava living according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s injunctions is certainly not on the materialistic platform. Caitanya means “spiritual force.” All of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s activities were carried out on the platform of spiritual understanding; therefore only those who are on the spiritual platform are able to understand the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Materialistic persons cannot understand these activities and are generally known as karmīs or jñānīs. The jñānīs are mental speculators who simply try to understand what is spirit and what is matter. Their process is neti neti: “This is not spirit, this is not Brahman.” The jñānīs are a little more advanced than the dull-headed karmīs, who are simply interested in sense gratification. Before becoming a Vaiṣṇava, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a mental speculator (jñānī), and being such, he always cut jokes with Vaiṣṇavas. A Vaiṣṇava never agrees with the speculative system of the jñānīs. Both the jñānīs and karmīs depend on direct sense perception for their imperfect knowledge. The karmīs never agree to accept anything not directly perceived, and the jñānīs put forth only hypotheses. However, the Vaiṣṇavas, the unalloyed devotees of the Lord, do not follow the process of acquiring knowledge by direct sense perception or mental speculation. Because they are servants of the Supreme Lord, devotees receive knowledge directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He speaks it in the Bhagavad-gītā, or sometimes as He imparts it from within as the caittya-guru. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

“To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

The Vedas are considered to have been spoken by the Supreme Lord. They were first realized by Brahmā, who is the first created being within the universe (tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye). Our process is to receive knowledge through the paramparā system, from Kṛṣṇa to Brahmā, to Nārada, Vyāsa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the six Gosvāmīs. By disciplic succession, Lord Brahmā was enlightened from within by the original person, Kṛṣṇa. Our knowledge is fully perfect due to being handed from master to disciple. A Vaiṣṇava is always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus neither karmīs nor jñānīs can understand the activities of a Vaiṣṇava. It is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā-mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even the most learned man depending on direct perception of knowledge cannot understand the activities of a Vaiṣṇava. After being initiated into Vaiṣṇavism by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya realized what a mistake he had made in trying to understand Rāmānanda Rāya, who was very learned and whose endeavors were all directed to rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord.

The word kariha āśīrvāde means “continue to bestow your blessings upon Me.” Being a sannyāsī, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in the fourth order of life and was thus due all respect and adoration, whereas Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, as a householder, was in the second order. A sannyāsī is supposed to offer blessings to a gṛhastha, yet now, by His practical behavior, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested the blessings of a gṛhastha. This incident shows the special significance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s preaching. He gave equal status to everyone, regardless of material considerations. His movement is thoroughly spiritual. Although apparently a gṛhastha (householder), Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was unlike the so-called karmīs interested in sense gratification. After being initiated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Bhaṭṭācārya was perfectly situated in the spiritual order; therefore it was quite possible for him to offer blessings even to a sannyāsī. He was always engaged in the service of the Lord, even at home. In our disciplic line we have the example of a perfect householder paramahaṁsa — Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. In his book Śaraṇāgati, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states, ye-dina gṛhe, bhajana dekhi’, gṛhete goloka bhāya (Śaraṇāgati 31.6). Whenever a householder glorifies the Supreme Lord in his home, his activities are immediately transformed into the activities of Goloka Vṛndāvana, spiritual activities taking place in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet of Kṛṣṇa. Activities exhibited by Kṛṣṇa Himself at Bhauma Vṛndāvana, the Vṛndāvana-dhāma existing on this planet, are not different from His activities on the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana. This is proper realization of Vṛndāvana anywhere. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we inaugurated the New Vṛndāvana activities, wherein devotees are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and this is not different from Goloka Vṛndāvana. The conclusion is that one who acts strictly in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is competent to offer blessings to sannyāsīs, even though he be a gṛhastha householder. Although he is in an exalted position, a sannyāsī still must elevate himself to the transcendental platform by rendering service to the Lord. By His actual behavior, Caitanya Mahāprabhu begged the blessings of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. In this way He set the example of how one should expect blessings from a Vaiṣṇava regardless of his social position.

It was naturally expected that when Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya fainted and fell to the ground Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have taken care of him and waited for him to regain consciousness, but He did not do so. Rather, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately started on His tour. It is therefore very difficult to understand the activities of a transcendental person. Sometimes they may seem rather odd, but a transcendental personality remains in his position, unaffected by material considerations.

The softness of a flower and the hardness of a thunderbolt are reconciled in the behavior of a great personality. The following quotation from Uttara-rāma-carita (2.7) explains this behavior. One may also consult the Madhya-līlā, third chapter, verse 212.

This prediction of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s is applicable not only in India but also all over the world. That is now happening by His grace. The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness are now traveling from one village to another in the Western countries and are even carrying the Deity with them. These devotees distribute various literatures all over the world. We hope that these devotees who are preaching the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will very seriously follow strictly in His footsteps. If they follow the rules and regulations and chant sixteen rounds daily, their endeavor to preach the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will certainly be successful.

In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that this spiritual potency is the essence of the pleasure potency and the knowledge potency. By these two potencies, one is empowered with devotional service. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself or His representative, the unalloyed devotee, can mercifully bestow these combined potencies upon any man. Being thus endowed with such potencies, one can become an unalloyed devotee of the Lord. Anyone favored by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was empowered with this bhakti-śakti. Thus the Lord’s followers were able to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness by divine grace.

In order to become an empowered preacher, one must be favored by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His devotee, the spiritual master. One must also request everyone to chant the mahā-mantra. In this way, such a person can convert others to Vaiṣṇavism, showing them how to become pure devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

At that time there were many smārtas (nondevotee followers of Vedic rituals) at the holy place of Navadvīpa, which was also the birthplace of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Followers of the smṛti-śāstra are called smārtas. Most of them are nondevotees, and their main business is following the brahminical principles strictly. However, they are not enlightened in devotional service. In Navadvīpa all the learned scholars are followers of the smṛti-śāstra, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not attempt to convert them. Therefore the author has remarked that the spiritual potency Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest at Navadvīpa was by His grace manifested in South India. Thus everyone there became a Vaiṣṇava. By this it is to be understood that people are really interested in preaching in a favorable situation. If the candidates for conversion are too disturbing, a preacher may not attempt to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness amongst them. It is better to go where the situation is more favorable. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was first attempted in India, but the people of India, being absorbed in political thoughts, did not take to it. They were entranced by the political leaders. We preferred, therefore, to come to the West, following the order of our spiritual master, and by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu this movement is becoming successful.

Kūrma-sthāna is a well-known place of pilgrimage. There is a temple there of Kūrmadeva. In the Prapannāmṛta it is said that Lord Jagannātha took Śrī Rāmānujācārya from Jagannātha Purī and one night threw him to Kūrma-kṣetra. Kūrma-kṣetra is situated on the line of the Southern Railway in India. One has to go to the railway station known as Srikakulam Road. From this station one goes eight miles to the east to reach the holy place known as Kūrmācala. Those who speak the Telugu language consider this holy place very important. This statement is reported in the government gazette known as Gañjāma Manual. There is the Deity of Kūrma there, and, as mentioned above, Śrīla Rāmānujācārya was thrown from Jagannātha Purī to this place. At that time he thought that the Deity of Kūrma was Lord Śiva’s deity; therefore he was fasting there. Later, when he understood that the kūrma-mūrti was another form of Lord Viṣṇu, he instituted very gorgeous worship of Lord Kūrma. This statement is found in the Prapannāmṛta (chapter thirty-six). The holy place of Kūrma-kṣetra, or Kūrma-sthāna, was actually reestablished by Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya under the influence of Lord Jagannātha-deva at Jagannātha Purī. Later the temple came under the jurisdiction of the king of Vijaya-nagara. The Deity was worshiped by the Vaiṣṇavas of the Madhvācārya-sampradāya. In the temple there are some inscriptions said to be written by Śrī Narahari Tīrtha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains those inscriptions as follows: (1) Śrī Puruṣottama Yati appeared as the instructor of many learned men. He was a very favorite devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. (2) His preaching was accepted throughout the world with great respect, and by his power he liberated many nondevotees with strong reason and logic. (3) He initiated Ānanda Tīrtha and converted many foolish men to accept sannyāsa and punished them with his rod. (4) All his writings and words are very potent. He gave people devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu so they could be elevated to liberation in the spiritual world. (5) His instructions in devotional service were able to elevate any man to the lotus feet of the Lord. (6) Narahari Tīrtha was also initiated by him and became the ruler of Kaliṅga Province. (7) Narahari Tīrtha fought with the Śabaras, who were caṇḍālas, or hunters, and thus saved the temple of Kūrma. (8) Narahari Tīrtha was a very religious and powerful king. (9) In the Śaka Era 1203, in the month of Vaiśākha, in the fortnight of the moon’s waxing period, on the day of Ekādaśī, Narahari Ṭīrtha dedicated to the holy name of Yogānanda Nṛsiṁhadeva the temple he had constructed on His order. [The tablet is dated that very day, corresponding to Saturday, March 29, 1281 A.D.]