Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: Adi-lila
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter 7

Adi7.77

TEXT 77

ei ajna pana nama la-i anuksana

nama laite laite mora bhranta haila mana

SYNONYMS

ei—this; ajna—order; pana—receiving; nama—the holy name; la-i—chant; anuksana—always; nama—the holy name; laite—accepting; laite—accepting; mora—My; bhranta—bewilderment; haila—taking place; mana—in the mind.

TRANSLATION

"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.

Adi7.78

TEXT 78

dhairya dharite nari, hailama unmatta

hasi, kandi, naci, gai, yaiche madamatta

SYNONYMS

dhairya—patience; dharite—capturing; nari—unable to take; hailama—I have become; unmatta—mad after it; hasi—laugh; kandi—cry; naci—dance; gai—sing; yaiche—as much as; madamatta—madman.

TRANSLATION

"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.

Adi7.79

TEXT 79

tabe dhairya dhari’ mane karilun vicara

krsna-name jnanacchanna ha-ila amara

SYNONYMS

tabe—thereafter; dhairya—patience; dhari’-accepting; mane—in the mind; karilun—I did; vicara—consideration; krsna-name—in the holy name of Krsna; jnana acchanna—covering of My knowledge; ha-ila—has become; amara—of Me.

TRANSLATION

"Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Krsna had covered all My spiritual knowledge.

PURPORT

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu hints in this verse that to chant the holy name of Krsna one does not need to speculate on the philosophical aspects of the science of God, for one automatically becomes ecstatic and without consideration immediately chants, dances, laughs, cries and sings just like a madman.

Adi7.80

TEXT 80

pagala ha-ilan ami, dhairya nahi mane

eta cinti’ nivedilun gurura carane

SYNONYMS

pagala—madman; ha-ilan—I have become; ami—I; dhairya—patience; nahi—not; mane—in the mind; eta—thus; cinti’-considering; nivedilun—I submitted; gurura—of the spiritual master; carane—at his lotus feet.

TRANSLATION

"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.

PURPORT

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as an ideal teacher, shows us how a disciple should deal with his spiritual master. Whenever there is doubt regarding any point, he should refer the matter to his spiritual master for clarification. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that while chanting and dancing He had developed the kind of mad ecstasy that is possible only for a liberated soul. Yet even in His liberated position, He referred everything to His spiritual master whenever there were doubts. Thus in any condition, even when liberated, we should never think ourselves independent of the spiritual master, but must refer to him as soon as there is some doubt regarding our progressive spiritual life.

Adi7.81

TEXT 81

kiba mantra dila, gosani, kiba tara bala

japite japite mantra karila pagala

SYNONYMS

kiba—what kind of; mantra—hymn; dila—you have given; gosani—My lord; kiba—what is; tara—its; bala—strength; japite—chanting; japite—chanting; mantra—the hymn; karila—has made Me; pagala—madman.

TRANSLATION

" ’My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this maha-mantra!

PURPORT

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu prays in His Siksastaka:

yugayitam nimesena
caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me

“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.” It is the aspiration of a devotee that while he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra his eyes will fill with tears, his voice falter and his heart throb. These are good signs in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In ecstasy, one should feel the entire world to be vacant without the presence of Govinda. This is a sign of separation from Govinda. In material life we are all separated from Govinda and are absorbed in material sense gratification. Therefore, when one comes to his senses on the spiritual platform he becomes so eager to meet Govinda that without Govinda the entire world becomes a vacant place.

Adi7.82

TEXT 82

hasaya, nacaya, more karaya krandana

eta suni’ guru hasi balila vacana

SYNONYMS

hasaya—it causes Me to laugh; nacaya—it causes Me to dance; more—unto Me; karaya—it causes; krandana—crying; eta—thus; suni’-hearing; guru—My spiritual master; hasi—smiling; balila—said; vacana—words.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

PURPORT

When a disciple very perfectly makes progress in spiritual life, this gladdens the spiritual master, who then also smiles in ecstasy, thinking, “How successful my disciple has become!” He feels so glad that he smiles as he enjoys the progress of the disciple, just as a smiling parent enjoys the activities of a child who is trying to stand up or crawl perfectly.

Adi7.83

TEXT 83

krsna-nama-maha-mantrera ei ta’ svabhava

yei jape, tara krsne upajaye bhava

SYNONYMS

krsna-nama—the holy name of Krsna; maha-mantrera—of the supreme hymn; ei ta’-this is its; svabhava—nature; yei—anyone; jape—chants; tara—his; krsne—unto Krsna; upajaye—develops; bhava—ecstasy.

TRANSLATION

It is the nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Krsna.

PURPORT

In this verse it is explained that one who chants the Hare Krsna mantra develops bhava, ecstasy, which is the point at which revelation begins. It is the preliminary stage in developing one’s original love for God. Lord Krsna mentions this bhava stage in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8):

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”

A neophyte disciple begins by hearing and chanting, associating with devotees and practicing the regulative principles, and thus he vanquishes all of his unwanted bad habits. In this way he develops attachment for Krsna and cannot forget Krsna even for a moment. Bhava is almost the successful stage of spiritual life. A sincere student aurally receives the holy name from the spiritual master, and after being initiated he follows the regulative principles given by the spiritual master. When the holy name is properly served in this way, automatically the spiritual nature of the holy name spreads; in other words, the devotee becomes qualified in offenselessly chanting the holy name.

When one is completely fit to chant the holy name in this way, he is eligible to make disciples all over the world, and he actually becomes jagad-guru. Then the entire world, under his influence, begins to chant the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Thus all the disciples of such a spiritual master increase in attachment for Krsna, and therefore he sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes dances and sometimes chants. These symptoms are very prominently manifest in the body of a pure devotee. Sometimes when our students of the Krsna consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion. As explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, actually this is not due to practice, for without extra endeavor these symptoms become manifest in anyone who sincerely chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

Many fools, not knowing the transcendental nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, sometimes impede our loudly chanting this mantra, yet one who is actually advanced in the fulfillment of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra induces others to chant also. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana; unless one receives special power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot preach the glories of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. As devotees propagate the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general population of the entire world gets the opportunity to understand the glories of the holy name. While chanting and dancing or hearing the holy name of the Lord, one automatically remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because there is no difference between the holy name and Krsna, the chanter is immediately linked with Krsna. Thus connected, a devotee develops his original attitude of service to the Lord. In this attitude of constantly serving Krsna, which is called bhava, he always thinks of Krsna in many different ways. One who has attained this bhava stage is no longer under the clutches of the illusory energy. When other spiritual ingredients, such as trembling, perspiration and tears, are added to this bhava stage, the devotee gradually attains love of Krsna.

The holy name of Krsna is called the maha-mantra. Other mantras mentioned in the Narada-pancaratra are known simply as mantras, but the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is called the maha-mantra.

Adi7.84

TEXT 84

krsna-visayaka prema--parama purusartha

yara age trna-tulya cari purusartha

SYNONYMS

krsna-visayaka—in the subject of Krsna; prema—love; parama—the highest; purusa-artha—achievement of the goal of life; yara—whose; age—before; trna-tulya—like the grass in the street; cari—four; purusa-artha—achievements.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

PURPORT

While chanting the holy name of the Lord, one should not desire the material advancements represented by economic development, religiosity, sense gratification and ultimately liberation from the material world. As stated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the highest perfection in life is to develop one’s love for Krsna (prema pum-artho mahan sri-caitanya-mahaprabhor matam idam). When we compare love of Godhead with religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, we can understand that these achievements may be desirable objectives for bubhuksus, or those who desire to enjoy this material world, and mumuksus, or those who desire liberation from it, but they are very insignificant in the eyes of a pure devotee who has developed bhava, the preliminary stage of love of Godhead.

Dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and moksa (liberation) are the four principles of religion that pertain to the material world. Therefore in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is declared, dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: cheating religious systems in terms of these four material principles are completely discarded from Srimad-Bhagavatam, for Srimad-Bhagavatam teaches only how to develop one’s dormant love of God. The Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and therefore it ends with the words, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” (Bg. 18.66) To adopt this means, one should reject all ideas of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation and fully engage in the service of the Lord, which is transcendental to these four principles. Love of Godhead is the original function of the spirit soul, and it is as eternal as the soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This eternity is called sanatana. When a devotee revives his loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it should be understood that he has been successful in achieving the desired goal of his life. At that time everything is automatically done by the mercy of the holy name, and the devotee automatically advances in his spiritual progress.

Adi7.85

TEXT 85

pancama purusartha--premanandamrta-sindhu

moksadi ananda yara nahe eka bindu

SYNONYMS

pancama—fifth; purusa-artha—goal of life; prema-ananda—the spiritual bliss of love of Godhead; amrta—eternal; sindhu—ocean; moksa-adi—liberation and other principles of religiosity; ananda—pleasures derived from them; yara—whose; nahe—never comparable; eka—one; bindu—drop.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

Adi7.86

TEXT 86

krsna-namera phala--’prema’, sarva-sastre kaya

bhagye sei prema tomaya karila udaya

SYNONYMS

krsna-namera—of the holy name of the Lord; phala—result; prema—love of Godhead; sarva—in all; sastre—revealed scriptures; kaya—describe; bhagye—fortunately; sei—that; prema—love of Godhead; tomaya—Your; karila—has done; udaya—arisen.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

Adi7.87

TEXT 87

premara svabhave kare citta-tanu ksobha

krsnera carana-praptye upajaya lobha

SYNONYMS

premara—out of love of Godhead; svabhave—by nature; kare—it induces; citta—the consciousness; tanu—the body; ksobha—agitated; krsnera—of Lord Krsna; carana—lotus feet; praptye—to obtain; upajaya—it so becomes; lobha—aspiration.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

Adi7.88

TEXT 88

premara svabhave bhakta hase, kande, gaya

unmatta ha-iya nace, iti-uti dhaya

SYNONYMS

premara—by such love of Godhead; svabhave—by nature; bhakta—the devotee; hase—laughs; kande—cries; gaya—chants; unmatta—mad; ha-iya—becoming; nace—dances; iti—here; uti—there; dhaya—moves.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

PURPORT

In this connection Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami says that sometimes persons who have no love of Godhead at all display ecstatic bodily symptoms. Artificially they sometimes laugh, cry and dance just like madmen, but this cannot help one progress in Krsna consciousness. Rather, such artificial agitation of the body is to be given up when one naturally develops the necessary bodily symptoms. Actual blissful life, manifested in genuine spiritual laughing, crying and dancing, is the symptom of real advancement in Krsna consciousness, which can be achieved by a person who always voluntarily engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. If one who is not yet developed imitates such symptoms artificially, he creates chaos in the spiritual life of human society.

Adi7.89-90

TEXTS 89-90

sveda, kampa, romancasru, gadgada, vaivarnya

unmada, visada, dhairya, garva, harsa, dainya

eta bhave prema bhaktaganere nacaya

krsnera anandamrta-sagare bhasaya

SYNONYMS

sveda—perspiration; kampa—trembling; romanca—standing of the hairs on the body; asru—tears; gadgada—faltering; vaivarnya—changing of bodily color; unmada—madness; visada—melancholy; dhairya—patience; garva—pride; harsa—joyfulness; dainya—humbleness; eta—in many ways; bhave—in ecstasy; prema—love of Godhead; bhakta-ganere—unto the devotees; nacaya—causes to dance; krsnera—of Lord Krsna; ananda—transcendental bliss; amrta—nectar; sagare—in the ocean; bhasaya—floats.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

PURPORT

Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Priti-sandarbha (66), explains this stage of love of Godhead: bhagavat-priti-rupa vrttir mayadi-mayi na bhavati. kim tarhi, svarupa-sakty-ananda-rupa, yad-ananda-paradhinah sri-bhagavan apiti. Similarly, in the 69th anuccheda he offers further explanation: tad evam priter laksanam citta-dravas tasya ca roma-harsadikam. kathancij jate ’pi citta-drave roma-harsadike va na ced asaya-suddhis tadapi na bhakteh samyag-avirbhava iti jnapitam. asaya-suddhir nama canya-tatparya-parityagah priti-tatparyam ca. ata evanimitta svabhaviki ceti tad visesanam. Transcendental love of Godhead is not under the jurisdiction of the material energy, for it is the transcendental bliss and pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Supreme Lord is also under the influence of transcendental bliss, when one comes in touch with such bliss in love of Godhead, one’s heart melts, and the symptoms of this are standing of the hairs on end, etc. Sometimes a person thus melts and manifests these transcendental symptoms yet at the same time is not well behaved in his personal transactions.This indicates that he has not yet reached complete perfection in devotional life. In other words, a devotee who dances in ecstasy but after dancing and crying appears to be attracted to material affairs has not yet reached the perfection of devotional service, which is called asaya-suddhi, or the perfection of existence. One who attains the perfection of existence is completely averse to material enjoyment and engrossed in transcendental love of Godhead. It is therefore to be concluded that the ecstatic symptoms of asaya-suddhi are visible when a devotee’s service has no material cause and is purely spiritual in nature. These are characteristics of transcendental love of Godhead, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.6):

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

“That religion is best which causes its followers to become ecstatic in love of God that is unmotivated and free from material impediments, for this only can completely satisfy the self.”

Adi7.91

TEXT 91

bhala haila, paile tumi parama-purusartha

tomara premete ami hailan krtartha

SYNONYMS

bhala haila—let it be good; paile—You have gotten; tumi—You; parama-purusartha—superexcellent goal of life; tomara—Your; premete—by development in love of Godhead; ami—I; hailan—become; krta-artha—very much obliged.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.

PURPORT

According to revealed scriptures, if a spiritual master can convert even one soul into a perfectly pure devotee, his mission in life is fulfilled. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura always used to say, “Even at the expense of all the properties, temples and mathas that I have, if I could convert even one person into a pure devotee, my mission would be fulfilled.” It is very difficult, however, to understand the science of Krsna, what to speak of developing love of Godhead. Therefore if by the grace of Lord Caitanya and the spiritual master a disciple attains the standard of pure devotional service, the spiritual master is very happy. The spiritual master is not actually happy if the disciple brings him money, but when he sees that a disciple is following the regulative principles and advancing in spiritual life, he is very glad and feels obliged to such an advanced disciple.

Adi7.92

TEXT 92

naca, gao, bhakta-sange kara sankirtana

krsna-nama upadesi’ tara’ sarva-jana

SYNONYMS

naca—go on dancing; gao—chant; bhakta-sange—in the society of devotees; kara—continue; sankirtana—chanting of the holy name in assembly; krsna-nama—the holy name of Krsna; upadesi’-by instructing; tara’-deliver; sarva-jana—all fallen souls.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.’

PURPORT

It is another ambition of the spiritual master to see his disciples not only chant, dance and follow the regulative principles but also preach the sankirtana movement to others in order to deliver them, for the Krsna consciousness movement is based on the principle that one should become as perfect as possible in devotional service oneself and also preach the cult for others’ benefit. There are two classes of unalloyed devotees-namely, gosthy-anandis and bhajananandis. Bhajananandi refers to one who is satisfied to cultivate devotional service for himself, and gosthy-anandi is one who is not satisfied simply to become perfect himself but wants to see others also take advantage of the holy name of the Lord and advance in spiritual life. The outstanding example is Prahlada Maharaja. When he was offered a benediction by Lord Nrsimhadeva, Prahlada Maharaja said:

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan

“My dear Lord, I have no problems and want no benediction from You because I am quite satisfied to chant Your holy name. This is sufficient for me because whenever I chant I immediately merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. I only lament to see others bereft of Your love. They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification, with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of maya.” (Bhag. 7.9.43)

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains in his Anubhasya, “A person who has attracted the attention of the spiritual master by his sincere service likes to dance and chant with similarly developed Krsna conscious devotees. The spiritual master authorizes such a devotee to deliver fallen souls in all parts of the world. Those who are not advanced prefer to chant the Hare Krsna mantra in a solitary place.” Such activities constitute, in the language of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, a type of cheating process in the sense that they imitate the activities of exalted personalities like Haridasa Thakura. One should not attempt to imitate such exalted devotees. Rather, everyone should endeavor to preach the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all parts of the world and thus become successful in spiritual life. One who is not very expert in preaching may chant in a secluded place, avoiding bad association, but for one who is actually advanced, preaching and meeting people who are not engaged in devotional service are not disadvantages. A devotee gives the nondevotees his association but is not affected by their misbehavior. Thus by the activities of a pure devotee even those who are bereft of love of Godhead get a chance to become devotees of the Lord one day. In this connection Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advises that one discuss the verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam beginning naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah (10.33.30), and the following verse in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.255):

anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate

One should not imitate the activities of great personalities. One should be detached from material enjoyment and should accept everything in connection with Krsna’s service.

Adi7.93

TEXT 93

eta bali’ eka sloka sikhaila more

bhagavatera sara ei--bale vare vare

SYNONYMS

eta bali’-saying this; eka—one; sloka—verse; sikhaila—has taught; more—unto Me; bhagavatera—of Srimad-Bhagavatam; sara—essence; ei—this is; bale—he said; vare vare—again and again.

TRANSLATION

“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.”

PURPORT

This verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.40) was spoken by Sri Narada Muni to Vasudeva to teach him about Bhagavata-dharma. Vasudeva had already achieved the result of Bhagavata-dharma because Lord Krsna appeared in his house as his son, yet in order to teach others, he desired to hear from Sri Narada Muni to be enlightened in the process of Bhagavata-dharma. This is the humbleness of a great devotee.

Adi7.94

TEXT 94

evam-vratah sva-priya-nama-kirtya

jatanurago druta-citta uccaih

hasaty atho roditi rauti gayaty

unmada-van nrtyati loka-bahyah

SYNONYMS

evam-vratah—when one thus engages in the vow to chant and dance; sva—own; priya—very dear; nama—holy name; kirtya—by chanting; jata—in this way develops; anuragah—attachment; druta-cittah—very eagerly; uccaih—loudly; hasati—laughs; atho—also; roditi—cries; rauti—becomes agitated; gayati—chants; unmada-vat—like a madman; nrtyati—dancing; loka-bahyah—without caring for outsiders.

TRANSLATION

" ’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.’

Adi7.95-96

TEXTS 95-96

ei tanra vakye ami drdha visvasa dhari’

nirantara krsna-nama sankirtana kari

sei krsna-nama kabhu gaoyaya, nacaya

gahi, naci nahi ami apana-icchaya

SYNONYMS

ei—this; tanra—his (My spiritual master’s); vakye—in the words of; ami—I; drdha—firm; visvasa—faith; dhari’-depend; nirantara—always; krsna-nama—the holy name of Lord Krsna; sankirtana—chanting; kari—continue; sei—that; krsna-nama—the holy name of Lord Krsna; kabhu—sometimes; gaoyaya—causes Me to chant; nacaya—causes Me to dance; gahi—by chanting; naci—dancing; nahi—not; ami—Myself; apana—own; icchaya—will.

TRANSLATION

"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.

PURPORT

A person who cannot keep his faith in the words of his spiritual master but acts independently never receives the authority to chant the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the Vedas (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23):

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” This Vedic injunction is very important, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu supported it by His personal behavior. Believing in the words of His spiritual master, He introduced the sankirtana movement, just as the present Krsna consciousness movement was started with belief in the words of our spiritual master. He wanted to preach, we believed in his words and tried somehow or other to fulfill them, and now this movement has become successful all over the world. Therefore faith in the words of the spiritual master and in the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the secret of success. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu never disobeyed the orders of His spiritual master and stopped propagating the sankirtana movement. Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, at the time of his passing away, ordered all his disciples to work conjointly to preach the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. Later, however, some self-interested, foolish disciples disobeyed his orders. Each one of them wanted to become head of the mission, and they fought in the courts, neglecting the order of the spiritual master, and the entire mission was defeated. We are not proud of this; however, the truth must be explained. We believed in the words of our spiritual master and started in a humble way-in a helpless way-but due to the spiritual force of the order of the supreme authority, this movement has become successful.

It is to be understood that when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced, He did so by the influence of the pleasure potency of the spiritual world. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu never considered the holy name of the Lord to be a material vibration, nor does any pure devotee mistake the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra to be a material musical manifestation. Lord Caitanya never tried to be the master of the holy name; rather He taught us how to be servants of the holy name. If one chants the holy name of the Lord just to make a show, not knowing the secret of success, he may increase his bile secretion, but he will never attain perfection in chanting the holy name. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented himself in this way: "I am a great fool and do not have knowledge of right and wrong. In order to understand the real meaning of the Vedanta-sutra, I never followed the explanation of the Sankara-sampradaya or Mayavadi sannyasis. I’m very much afraid of the illogical arguments of the Mayavadi philosophers. Therefore I think I have no authority regarding their explanations of the Vedanta-sutra. I firmly believe that simply chanting the holy name of the Lord can remove all misconceptions of the material world. I believe that simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. In this age of quarrel and disagreement, the chanting of the holy names is the only way to liberation from the material clutches.

“By chanting the holy name,” Lord Caitanya continued, “I became almost mad. However, after inquiring from My spiritual master I have come to the conclusion that instead of striving for achievement in the four principles of religiosity [dharma], economic development [artha], sense gratification [kama] and liberation [moksa], it is better if somehow or other one develops transcendental love of Godhead. That is the greatest success in life. One who has attained love of Godhead chants and dances by his nature, not caring for the public.” This stage of life is known as bhagavata-jivana, or the life of a devotee.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, “I never chanted and danced to make an artificial show. I dance and chant because I firmly believe in the words of My spiritual master. Although the Mayavadi philosophers do not like this chanting and dancing, I nevertheless perform it on the strength of his words. Therefore it is to be concluded that I deserve very little credit for these activities of chanting and dancing, for they are being done automatically by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Adi7.97

TEXT 97

krsna-name ye ananda-sindhu-asvadana

brahmananda tara age khatodaka-sama

SYNONYMS

krsna-name—in the holy name of the Lord; ye—which; ananda—transcendental bliss; sindhu—ocean; asvadana—tasting; brahma-ananda—the transcendental bliss of impersonal understanding; tara—its; age—in front; khata-udaka—shallow water in the canals; sama—like.

TRANSLATION

"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.

PURPORT

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.38) it is stated:

brahmanando bhaved esa
cet parardha-guni-krtah
naiti bhakti-sukhambhodheh
paramanu-tulam api

“If brahmananda, the transcendental bliss derived from understanding impersonal Brahman, were multiplied a million times, such a quantity of brahmananda could not compare with even an atomic portion of the pleasure relished in pure devotional service.”

Adi7.98

TEXT 98

tvat-saksat-karanahlada-

visuddhabdhi-sthitasya me

sukhani gospadayante

brahmany api jagad-guro

SYNONYMS

tvat—Your; saksat—meeting; karana—such action; ahlada—pleasure; visuddha—spiritually purified; abdhi—ocean; sthitasya—being situated; me—by me; sukhani—happiness; gospadayante—a small hole created by the hoof of a calf; brahmani—the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman understanding; api—also; jagat-guro—O master of the universe.

TRANSLATION

“ ’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.’ ”

PURPORT

The transcendental bliss enjoyed in pure devotional service is like an ocean, whereas material happiness and even the happiness to be derived from the realization of impersonal Brahman are just like the water in the hoofprint of a calf. This is a verse from the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (14.36).

Next verse (Adi7.99)