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

Chapter 9

Madhya9.32

TEXT 32

rama rameti rameti

rame rame manorame

sahasra-namabhis tulyam

rama-nama varanane

SYNONYMS

rama—Rama; rama—Rama; iti—thus; rama—Rama; iti—thus; rame—I enjoy; rame—in the holy name of Rama; manah-rame—most beautiful; sahasra-namabhih—with the one thousand names; tulyam—equal; rama-nama—the holy name of Rama; vara-anane—O lovely-faced woman.

TRANSLATION

“ ’Lord Siva addressed his wife Durga as Varanana and explained, ”I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord Visnu."’

PURPORT

This is a verse from the Brhad-visnu-sahasranama-stotra in the Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana (72.335).

Madhya9.33

TEXT 33

sahasra-namnam punyanam

trir-avrttya tu yat phalam

ekavrttya tu krsnasya

namaikam tat prayacchati

SYNONYMS

sahasra-namnam—of one thousand names; punyanam—holy; trih-avrttya—by thrice chanting; tu—but; yat—which; phalam—result; eka-avrttya—by one repetition; tu—but; krsnasya—of Lord Krsna; nama—holy name; ekam—only one; tat—that result; prayacchati—gives.

TRANSLATION

" ’The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names of Visnu three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of Krsna.’

PURPORT

This verse from the Brahmanda Purana is found in the Laghu-bhagavatamrta (1.5.354), by Rupa Gosvami. Simply by chanting the name of Krsna once, one can attain the same results achieved by chanting the holy name of Rama three times.

Madhya9.34

TEXT 34

ei vakye krsna-namera mahima apara

tathapi la-ite nari, suna hetu tara

SYNONYMS

ei vakye—in this statement; krsna-namera—of the holy name of Krsna; mahima—glories; apara—unlimited; tathapi—still; la-ite—to chant; nari—I am unable; suna—just hear; hetu—the reason; tara—of that.

TRANSLATION

"According to this statement of the sastras, the glories of the holy name of Krsna are unlimited. Still I could not chant His holy name. Please hear the reason for this.

Madhya9.35

TEXT 35

ista-deva rama, tanra name sukha pai

sukha pana rama-nama ratri-dina gai

SYNONYMS

ista-deva—my worshipable Lord; rama—Lord Sri Ramacandra; tanra name—in His holy name; sukha pai—I get happiness; sukha pana—getting such transcendental happiness; rama-nama—the holy name of Lord Rama; ratri-dina—day and night; gai—I chant.

TRANSLATION

"My worshipable Lord has been Lord Ramacandra, and by chanting His holy name I received happiness. Because I received such happiness, I chanted the holy name of Lord Rama day and night.

Madhya9.36

TEXT 36

tomara darsane yabe krsna-nama aila

tahara mahima tabe hrdaye lagila

SYNONYMS

tomara darsane—by meeting You; yabe—when; krsna-nama—the holy name of Krsna; aila—appeared; tahara—His; mahima—glories; tabe—at that time; hrdaye—in the heart; lagila—became fixed.

TRANSLATION

“By Your appearance, Lord Krsna’s holy name also appeared, and at that time the glories of Krsna’s name awoke in my heart.”

Madhya9.37

TEXT 37

sei krsna tumi saksat--iha nirdharila

eta kahi’ vipra prabhura carane padila

SYNONYMS

sei—that; krsna—the Personality of Godhead, Krsna; tumi—You; saksat—directly; iha—this; nirdharila—concluded; eta kahi’-saying this; vipra—the brahmana; prabhura—of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; carane—at the lotus feet; padila—fell down.

TRANSLATION

The brahmana concluded, “Sir, You are that Lord Krsna Himself. This is my conclusion.” Saying this, the brahmana fell down at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Madhya9.38

TEXT 38

tanre krpa kari’ prabhu calila ara dine

vrddhakasi asi’ kaila siva-darasane

SYNONYMS

tanre—unto him; krpa kari’-showing mercy; prabhu—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; calila—traveled; ara dine—the next day; vrddhakasi—to Vrddhakasi; asi’-coming; kaila—did; siva-darasane—visiting Lord Siva’s temple.

TRANSLATION

After showing mercy to the brahmana, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left the next day and arrived at Vrddhakasi, where He visited the temple of Lord Siva.

PURPORT

Vrddhakasi’s present name is Vrddhacalam. It is situated in the southern Arcot district on the bank of the river Manimukha. This place is also known as Kalahastipura. Lord Siva’s temple there was worshiped for many years by Govinda, the cousin of Ramanujacarya.

Madhya9.39

TEXT 39

tahan haite cali’ age gela eka grame

brahmana-samaja tahan, karila visrame

SYNONYMS

tahan haite—from there; cali’-going; age—forward; gela—went; eka—one; grame—to a village; brahmana-samaja—assembly of brahmanas; tahan—there; karila visrame—He rested.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then left Vrddhakasi and proceeded further. In one village He saw that most of the residents were brahmanas, and He took His rest there.

Madhya9.40

TEXT 40

prabhura prabhave loka aila darasane

laksarbuda loka aise na yaya ganane

SYNONYMS

prabhura—of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; prabhave—by the influence; loka—people; aila—came; darasane—to see Him; laksa-arbuda—many millions; loka—persons; aise—came; na—not; yaya ganane—can be counted.

TRANSLATION

Due to the influence of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many millions of men came just to see Him. Indeed, the assembly being unlimited, its members could not be counted.

Madhya9.41

TEXT 41

gosanira saundarya dekhi’ tate premavesa

sabe ’krsna’ kahe, ’vaisnava’ haila sarva-desa

SYNONYMS

gosanira—of the Lord; saundarya—the beauty; dekhi’-seeing; tate—in that; prema-avesa—ecstatic love; sabe—everyone; krsna kahe—uttered the holy name of Krsna; vaisnava—Vaisnava devotees; haila—became; sarva-desa—everyone.

TRANSLATION

The Lord’s bodily features were very beautiful, and in addition He was always in the ecstasy of love of Godhead. Simply by seeing Him, everyone began chanting the holy name of Krsna, and thus everyone became a Vaisnava devotee.

Madhya9.42

TEXT 42

tarkika-mimamsaka, yata mayavadi-gana

sankhya, patanjala, smrti, purana, agama

SYNONYMS

tarkika—logicians; mimamsaka—followers of Mimamsa philosophy; yata—all; mayavadi-gana—followers of Sankaracarya; sankhya—followers of Kapila; patanjala—followers of mystic yoga; smrti—supplementary Vedic literature; puranaPuranas; agama—the tantra-sastras.

TRANSLATION

There are many kinds of philosophers. Some are logicians who follow Gautama or Kanada. Some follow the Mimamsa philosophy of Jaimini. Some follow the Mayavada philosophy of Sankaracarya, and others follow Kapila’s Sankhya philosophy or the mystic yoga system of Patanjali. Some follow the smrti-sastra composed of twenty religious scriptures, and others follow the Puranas and the tantra-sastra. In this way there are many different types of philosophers.

Madhya9.43

TEXT 43

nija-nija-sastrodgrahe sabai pracanda

sarva mata dusi’ prabhu kare khanda khanda

SYNONYMS

nija-nija—their own; sastra—of the scripture; udgrahe—to establish the conclusion; sabai—all of them; pracanda—very powerful; sarva—all; mata—opinions; dusi’-condemning; prabhu—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kare—does; khanda khanda—breaking to pieces.

TRANSLATION

All of these adherents of various scriptures were ready to present the conclusions of their respective scriptures, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke all their opinions to pieces and established His own cult of bhakti based on the Vedas, Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra and the philosophy of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva.

Madhya9.44

TEXT 44

sarvatra sthapaya prabhu vaisnava-siddhante

prabhura siddhanta keha na pare khandite

SYNONYMS

sarvatra—everywhere; sthapaya—establishes; prabhu—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; vaisnava-siddhante—the conclusion of the Vaisnavas; prabhura—of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; siddhanta—conclusion; keha—anyone; na pare—is not able; khandite—to defy.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the devotional cult everywhere. No one could defeat Him.

Madhya9.45

TEXT 45

hari’ hari’ prabhu-mate karena pravesa

ei-mate ’vaisnava’ prabhu kaila daksina desa

SYNONYMS

hari’ hari’-being defeated; prabhu-mate—into the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; karena pravesa—enter; ei-mate—in this way; vaisnava—Vaisnava devotees; prabhu—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kaila—made; daksina—South India; desa—country.

TRANSLATION

Being thus defeated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these philosophers and their followers entered into His cult. In this way Lord Caitanya made South India into a country of Vaisnavas.

Madhya9.46

TEXT 46

pasandi aila yata panditya suniya

garva kari’ aila sange sisya-gana lana

SYNONYMS

pasandi—nonbelievers; aila—came there; yata—all; panditya—erudition; suniya—hearing; garva kari’-with great pride; aila—came there; sange—with; sisya-gana—disciples; lana—taking.

TRANSLATION

When the nonbelievers heard of the erudition of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they came to Him with great pride, bringing their disciples with them.

Madhya9.47

TEXT 47

bauddhacarya maha-pandita nija nava-mate

prabhura age udgraha kari’ lagila balite

SYNONYMS

bauddha-acarya—the leader in Buddhist philosophy; maha-pandita—greatly learned scholar; nija—own; nava—nine; mate—philosophical conclusions; prabhura age—before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; udgraha—argument; kari’-making; lagila—began; balite—to speak.

TRANSLATION

One of them was a leader of the Buddhist cult and was a very learned scholar. To establish the nine philosophical conclusions of Buddhism, he came before the Lord and began to speak.

Madhya9.48

TEXT 48

yadyapi asambhasya bauddha ayukta dekhite

tathapi balila prabhu garva khandaite

SYNONYMS

yadyapi—although; asambhasya—not fit for discussion; bauddha—followers of Buddha’s philosophy; ayukta—not fit; dekhite—to see; tathapi—still; balila—spoke; prabhu—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; garva—pride; khandaite—to diminish.

TRANSLATION

Although the Buddhists are unfit for discussion and should not be seen by Vaisnavas, Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke to them just to decrease their false pride.

Madhya9.49

TEXT 49

tarka-pradhana bauddha-sastra ’nava mate’

tarkei khandila prabhu, na pare sthapite

SYNONYMS

tarka-pradhana—argumentative; bauddha-sastra—scriptures of the Buddhist cult; nava mate—in nine basic principles; tarkei—by argument; khandila—refuted; prabhu—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na—not; pare—can; sthapite—establish.

TRANSLATION

The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated them in their argument, they could not establish their cult.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that according to the Buddhist cult there are two ways of understanding philosophy. One is called Hinayana, and the other is called Mahayanaa. Along the Buddhist path there are nine principles: (1) The creation is eternal; therefore there is no need to accept a creator. (2) This cosmic manifestation is false. (3) “I am” is the truth. (4) There is repetition of birth and death. (5) Lord Buddha is the only source of understanding the truth. (6) The principle of nirvana, or annihilation, is the ultimate goal. (7) The philosophy of Buddha is the only philosophical path. (8) The Vedas are compiled by human beings. (9) Pious activities, showing mercy to others and so on are advised.

No one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument. One may be very expert in logic, and another person may be even more expert in the art of argument. Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of Vedic principles understand this. However, it is seen here that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument. Those who are preachers in ISKCON will certainly meet many people who believe in intellectual arguments. Most of these people do not believe in the authority of the Vedas. Nevertheless, they accept intellectual speculation and argument. Therefore the preachers of Krsna consciousness should be prepared to defeat others by argument, just as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. In this verse it is clearly said, tarkei khandila prabhu. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu put forward such a strong argument that they could not counter Him to establish their cult.

Their first principle is that the creation is always existing. But if this is the case, there can be no theory of annihilation. The Buddhists maintain that annihilation, or dissolution, is the highest truth. If the creation is eternally existing, there is no question of dissolution or annihilation. This argument is not very strong because by practical experience we see that material things have a beginning, a middle and an end. The ultimate aim of the Buddhist philosophy is to dissolve the body. This is proposed because the body has a beginning. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation is also a gigantic body, but if we accept the fact that it is always existing, there can be no question of annihilation. Therefore the attempt to annihilate everything in order to attain zero is an absurdity. By our own practical experience we have to accept the beginning of creation, and when we accept the beginning, we must accept a creator. Such a creator must possess an all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gita (13.14):

sarvatah pani-padam tat
sarvato-’ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah sruti-mal loke
sarvam avrtya tisthati

“Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.”

The Supreme Person must be present everywhere. His body existed before the creation; otherwise He could not be the creator. If the Supreme Person is a created being, there can be no question of a creator. The conclusion is that the cosmic manifestation is certainly created at a certain time, and the creator existed before the creation; therefore the creator is not a created being. The creator is Param Brahman, or the Supreme Spirit. Matter is not only subordinate to spirit but is actually created on the basis of spirit. When the spirit soul enters the womb of a mother, the body is created by material ingredients supplied by the mother. Everything is created in the material world, and consequently there must be a creator who is the Supreme Spirit and who is distinct from matter. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that the material energy is inferior and that the spiritual energy is the living entity. Both inferior and superior energies belong to a supreme person.

The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.

The Buddhists maintain that the principle “I am” is the Ultimate Truth, but this excludes the individuality of “I” and “you.” If there is no “I” and “you,” or individuality, there is no possibility of argument. The Buddhist philosophy depends on argument, but there can be no argument if one simply depends on “I am.” There must be a “you,” or another person also. The philosophy of duality-the existence of the individual soul and the Supersoul-must be there. This is confirmed in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (2.12), wherein the Lord says:

na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”

We existed in the past in different bodies, and after the annihilation of this body we shall exist in another body. The principle of the soul is eternal, and it exists in this body or in another body. Even in this lifetime we experience existence in a child’s body, a youth’s body, a man’s body and an old body. After the annihilation of the body, we acquire another body. The Buddhist cult also accepts the philosophy of transmigration, but the Buddhists do not properly explain the next birth. There are 8,400,000 species of life, and our next birth may be in any one of them; therefore this human body is not guaranteed.

According to the Buddhist’s fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own intelligence as the ultimate criterion-as is presently fashionable-the scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to establish his own theory as the ultimate truth. The Buddhists theorize that annihilation, or nirvana, is the ultimate goal. Annihilation applies to the body, but the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. If this were not the case, how can so many multifarious bodies come into existence? If the next birth is a fact, the next bodily form is also a fact. As soon as we accept a material body, we must accept the fact that that body will be annihilated and that we will have to accept another body. If all material bodies are doomed to annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is attained is explained by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

This is the highest perfection-to give up one’s material body and not accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection means one’s existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.

We cannot accept the theory that the Buddhist philosophy is the only way, for there are so many defects in that philosophy. A perfect philosophy is one that has no defects, and that is Vedanta philosophy. No one can point out any defects in Vedanta philosophy, and therefore we can conclude that Vedanta is the supreme philosophical way of understanding the truth. According to the Buddhist cult, the Vedas are compiled by ordinary human beings. If this were the case, they would not be authoritative. From the Vedic literature we understand that shortly after the creation Lord Brahma was instructed in the Vedas.  It is not that the Vedas were created by Brahma, although Brahma is the original person in the universe. If Brahma did not create the Vedas but he is acknowledged as the first created being, wherefrom did Vedic knowledge come to Brahma? Obviously the Vedas did not come from an ordinary person born in this material world. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: after the creation, the Supreme Person imparted Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahma. There was no person in the beginning of the creation other than Brahma, yet he did not compile the Vedas; therefore the conclusion is that the Vedas were not compiled by any created being. Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who created this material world. This is also accepted by Sankaracarya, although he is not a Vaisnava.

It is stated that mercy is one of the qualities of a Buddhist, but mercy is a relative thing. We show our mercy to a subordinate or to one who is suffering more than ourselves. However, if there is a superior person present, the superior person cannot be the object of our mercy. Rather, we are objects for the mercy of the superior person. Therefore showing compassion and mercy is a relative activity. It is not the Absolute Truth. Apart from this, we also must know what actual mercy is. To give a sick man something forbidden for him to eat is not mercy. Rather, it is cruelty. Unless we know what mercy really is, we may create an undesirable situation. If we wish to show real mercy, we will preach Krsna consciousness in order to revive the lost consciousness of human beings, the living entity’s original consciousness. Since the Buddhist philosophy does not admit the existence of the spirit soul, the so-called mercy of the Buddhists is defective.

Madhya9.50

TEXT 50

bauddhacarya ’nava prasna’ saba uthaila

drdha yukti-tarke prabhu khanda khanda kaila

SYNONYMS

bauddha-acarya—the teacher of the Buddhist cult; nava prasna—nine different types of questions; saba—all; uthaila—raised; drdha—strong; yukti—argument; tarke—with logic; prabhu—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; khanda khanda kaila—broke into pieces.

TRANSLATION

The teacher of the Buddhist cult set forth the nine principles, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke them to pieces with His strong logic.

Madhya9.51

TEXT 51

darsanika pandita sabai paila parajaya

loke hasya kare, bauddha paila lajja-bhaya

SYNONYMS

darsanika—philosophical speculators; pandita—scholars; sabai—all of them; paila parajaya—were defeated; loke—people in general; hasya kare—laugh; bauddha—the Buddhists; paila—got; lajja—shame; bhaya—fear.

TRANSLATION

All mental speculators and learned scholars were defeated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and when the people began to laugh, the Buddhist philosophers felt both shame and fear.

PURPORT

These philosophers were all atheists, for they did not believe in the existence of God. Atheists may be very expert in mental speculation and may be so-called great philosophers, but they can be defeated by a Vaisnava firmly situated in his conviction and God consciousness. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all types of atheists.

Madhya9.52

TEXT 52

prabhuke vaisnava jani’ bauddha ghare gela

sakala bauddha mili’ tabe kumantrana kaila

SYNONYMS

prabhuke—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; vaisnava jani’-knowing to be a Vaisnava; bauddha—the Buddhists; ghare gela—returned home; sakala bauddha—all the Buddhists; mili’-coming together; tabe—thereafter; ku-mantrana—plot; kaila—made.

TRANSLATION

The Buddhists could understand that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaisnava, and they returned home very unhappy. Later, however, they began to plot against the Lord.

Madhya9.53

TEXT 53

apavitra anna eka thalite bhariya

prabhu-age nila ’maha-prasada’ baliya

SYNONYMS

apavitra—polluted; anna—food; eka—one; thalite—plate; bhariya—filling; prabhu-age—in front of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; nila—brought; maha-prasada baliya—calling it maha-prasada.

TRANSLATION

Having made their plot, the Buddhists brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and called it maha-prasada.

PURPORT

The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaisnava. In other words, a Vaisnava cannot accept any food offered by an avaisnava in the name of maha-prasada. This should be a principle for all Vaisnavas. When asked, “What is the behavior of a Vaisnava?” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “A Vaisnava must avoid the company of an avaisnava [asat].” The word asat refers to an avaisnava, that is, one who is not a Vaisnava. Asat-sanga-tyaga,-ei vaisnava-acara (Cc. Madhya 22.87). A Vaisnava must be very strict in this respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaisnava. If an avaisnava offers food in the name of maha-prasada, it should not be accepted. Such food cannot be prasada because an avaisnava cannot offer anything to the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Krsna consciousness movement have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaisnava; however, if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by an avaisnava should not be accepted by a Vaisnava. Even if an avaisnava cooks food without fault, he cannot offer it to Lord Visnu, and it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. According to Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (9.26):

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”

Krsna can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer the food he cooks to Visnu, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. It is better that a Vaisnava abandon such food as untouchable.

Madhya9.54

TEXT 54

hena-kale maha-kaya eka paksi aila

thonte kari’ anna-saha thali lana gela

SYNONYMS

hena-kale—at this time; maha-kaya—having a large body; eka—one; paksi—bird; aila—appeared there; thonte kari’-by the beak; anna-saha—with food; thali—the plate; lana—taking; gela—went away.

TRANSLATION

When the contaminated food was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a very large bird appeared on the spot, picked up the plate in its beak and flew away.

Madhya9.55

TEXT 55

bauddha-ganera upare anna pade amedhya haiya

bauddhacaryera mathaya thali padila bajiya

SYNONYMS

bauddha-ganera—all the Buddhists; upare—upon; anna—the food; pade—began to fall down; amedhya—untouchable; haiya—being; bauddha-acaryera—of the teacher of the Buddhists; mathaya—on the head; thali—the plate; padila—fell down; bajiya—making a great sound.

TRANSLATION

Indeed, the untouchable food fell upon the Buddhists, and the large bird dropped the plate on the head of the chief Buddhist teacher. When it fell on his head, it made a big sound.

Madhya9.56

TEXT 56

terache padila thali,--matha kati’ gela

murcchita hana acarya bhumite padila

SYNONYMS

terache—at an angle; padila—fell down; thali—the plate; matha—the head; kati’-cutting; gela—went; murcchita—unconscious; hana—becoming; acarya—the teacher; bhumite—on the ground; padila—fell down.

TRANSLATION

The plate was made of metal, and when its edge hit the head of the teacher, it cut him, and the teacher immediately fell to the ground unconscious.

Madhya9.57

TEXT 57

hahakara kari’ kande saba sisya-gana

sabe asi’ prabhu-pade la-ila sarana

SYNONYMS

haha-kara—a roaring sound; kari’-making; kande—cry; saba—all; sisya-gana—disciples; sabe—all of them; asi’-coming; prabhu-pade—to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; la-ila—took; sarana—shelter.

TRANSLATION

When the teacher fell unconscious, his Buddhist disciples cried aloud and ran to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for shelter.

Madhya9.58

TEXT 58

tumi ta’ isvara saksat, ksama aparadha

jiyao amara guru, karaha prasada

SYNONYMS

tumi—You; ta’-indeed; isvara—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; saksat—directly; ksama—please excuse; aparadha—offense; jiyao—bring back to consciousness; amara—our; guru—spiritual master; karaha—do; prasada—this mercy.

TRANSLATION

They all prayed to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and saying, “Sir, please excuse our offense. Please have mercy upon us and bring our spiritual master back to life.”

Madhya9.59

TEXT 59

prabhu kahe,--sabe kaha ’krsna’ ’krsna’ ’hari’

guru-karne kaha krsna-nama ucca kari’

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; sabe—all of you; kaha—chant; krsna krsna hari—the holy names of Lord Krsna and Hari; guru-karne—near the ear of your spiritual master; kaha—chant; krsna-nama—the holy name of Lord Krsna; ucca kari’-very loudly.

TRANSLATION

The Lord then replied to the Buddhist disciples, "You should all chant the names of Krsna and Hari very loudly near the ear of your spiritual master.

Madhya9.60

TEXT 60

toma-sabara ’guru’ tabe paibe cetana

saba bauddha mili’ kare krsna-sankirtana

SYNONYMS

toma-sabara—all of you; guru—the spiritual master; tabe—then; paibe—will get; cetana—consciousness; saba bauddha—all the Buddhist disciples; mili’-coming together; kare—do; krsna-sankirtana—chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra.

TRANSLATION

“By this method your spiritual master will regain his consciousness.” Following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s advice, all the Buddhist disciples began to chant the holy name of Krsna congregationally.

Madhya9.61

TEXT 61

guru-karne kahe sabe ’krsna’ ’rama’ ’hari’

cetana pana acarya bale ’hari’ ’hari’

SYNONYMS

guru-karne—into the ear of the spiritual master; kahe—they said; sabe—all together; krsna rama hari—the holy names of the Lord, namely Krsna, Rama and Hari; cetana—consciousness; pana—getting; acarya—the teacher; bale—chanted; hari hari—the name of Lord Hari.

TRANSLATION

When all the disciples chanted the holy names Krsna, Rama and Hari, the Buddhist teacher regained consciousness and immediately began to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.

PURPORT

Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that all the Buddhist disciples were actually initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu into the chanting of the holy name of Krsna, and when they chanted, they actually became different persons. At that time they were not Buddhists or atheists but Vaisnavas. Consequently they immediately accepted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s order. Their original Krsna consciousness was revived, and they were immediately able to chant Hare Krsna and begin worshiping the Supreme Lord Visnu.

It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.  In this way a sleeping human being can revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that he can worship Lord Visnu. This is the purpose of diksa, or initiation. Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.

One point to note in this regard is that the spiritual master of the Buddhists did not initiate his disciples. Rather, his disciples were initiated by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and they in turn were able to initiate their so-called spiritual master. This is the parampara system. The so-called spiritual master of the Buddhists was actually in the position of a disciple, and after his disciples were initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they acted as his spiritual masters. This was possible only because the disciples of the Buddhist acarya received the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Unless one is favored by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the disciplic succession, one cannot act as a spiritual master. We should take the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the spiritual master of the whole universe, to understand how one becomes a spiritual master and a disciple.

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