Before accepting sannyāsa (the renounced order), Lord Caitanya was known as Viśvambhara. The word viśvambhara refers to one who maintains the entire universe and who leads all living entities. This maintainer and leader appeared as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya to give humanity these sublime teachings. Lord Caitanya is the ideal teacher of life's prime necessities. He is the most munificent bestower of love of Kṛṣṇa. He is the complete reservoir of all mercies and good fortune. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhagavad-gītā, the Mahābhārata and the Upaniṣads, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself, and He is worshipable by everyone in this age of disagreement. Everyone can join in His saṅkīrtana movement. No previous qualification is necessary. Just by following His teachings, anyone can become a perfect human being. If a person is fortunate enough to be attracted by Lord Caitanya, he is sure to be successful in his life's mission. In other words, those who are interested in attaining spiritual existence can easily be released from the clutches of māyā by the grace of Lord Caitanya. The teachings presented in this book are nondifferent from the Lord.
Bestow (CC)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa."
CC Adi-lila
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.
May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all."
"May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī be transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love."
“For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the existence of the material world is useless.
“My plenary portions can establish the principles of religion for each age. No one but Me, however, can bestow the kind of loving service performed by the residents of Vraja.
“"There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?"
"May the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Lord Śrī Caitanya bestow His causeless mercy upon us. His smiling glance at once drives away all the bereavements of the world, and His very words enliven the auspicious creepers of devotion by expanding their leaves. Taking shelter of His lotus feet invokes transcendental love of God at once."
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to make known to all the conditioned souls that He is more attracted by rāga-bhakti than vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service under scheduled regulations. It is said in the Vedas (Taittirīya Up. 2.7), raso vai saḥ: the Absolute Truth is the reservoir for all kinds of reciprocal exchanges of loving sentiments. He is also causelessly merciful, and He wants to bestow upon us this privilege of rāga-bhakti. Thus He appeared by His own internal energy. He was not forced to appear by any extraneous force.
The acts of yogamāyā make it possible for the Lord and the gopīs, in loving ecstasy, to sometimes meet and sometimes separate. These transcendental loving affairs of the Lord are unimaginable to empiricists involved in the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore the Lord Himself appears before the mundaners to bestow upon them the highest form of spiritual realization and also personally relish its essence. The Lord is so merciful that He Himself descends to take the fallen souls back home to the kingdom of Godhead, where the erotic principles of Godhead are eternally relished in their real form, distinct from the perverted sexual love so much adored and indulged in by the fallen souls in their diseased condition.
Incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear in all the species of life, although this is inconceivable to the human brain. The Lord's pastimes are differentiated according to the appreciating capacity of the different types of bodies of the living entities. The Supreme Lord bestows the most merciful benediction upon human society when He appears in His human form. It is then that humanity gets the opportunity to engage in different kinds of eternal service to the Lord.
The potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that always enriches Him with transcendental bliss is not material, but the Śaṅkarites have accepted it as such because they are ignorant of the identity of the Supreme Lord and His pleasure potency. Those ignorant persons cannot understand the distinction between impersonal spiritual bliss and the variegatedness of the spiritual pleasure potency. The hlādinī potency gives the Lord all transcendental pleasure, and the Lord bestows such a potency upon His pure devotee.
The product of the hlādinī-śakti is love of Godhead, which has two divisions—namely, pure love of Godhead and adulterated love of Godhead. Only when the hlādinī-śakti emanates from Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is bestowed upon the living being to attract Him does the living being become a pure lover of God. But when the same hlādinī-śakti is adulterated by the external, material energy and emanates from the living being, it does not attract Kṛṣṇa; on the contrary, the living being becomes attracted by the glamor of the material energy. At that time instead of becoming mad with love of Godhead, the living being becomes mad after material sense enjoyment, and because of his association with the qualitative modes of material nature, he is captivated by its interactions of distressful, unhappy feelings.
In the teachings of Advaita Prabhu there is no question of fruitive activities or impersonal liberation. Bewildered by the spell of the material energy, however, persons who could not understand that Advaita Prabhu is nondifferent from Viṣṇu wanted to follow Him with their impersonal conceptions. The attempt of Advaita Prabhu to punish them is also auspicious. Lord Viṣṇu and His activities can bestow all good fortune, directly and indirectly. In other words, being favored by Lord Viṣṇu and being punished by Lord Viṣṇu are one and the same because all the activities of Viṣṇu are absolute. According to some, Maṅgala was another name of Advaita Prabhu. As the causal incarnation, or Lord Viṣṇu's incarnation for a particular occasion, He is the supply agent or ingredient in material nature. However, He is never to be considered material.
"My dear Lord, I do not wish to become a man of religion or a master of economic development or sense gratification, nor do I wish for liberation. Although I can have all these from You, the supreme bestower of benedictions, I do not pray for any of these. I simply pray that I may always be engaged as a servant of Your lotus feet." Nṛsiṁhadeva offered Prahlāda Mahārāja all kinds of benedictions, but Prahlāda Mahārāja did not accept any of them, for he simply wanted to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, a pure devotee wishes to be blessed like Mahārāja Prahlāda by being thus endowed with devotional service. Devotees also offer their respects to Hanumān, who always remained a servant of Lord Rāma.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the bestower of this great benediction. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, premā pum-artho mahān: "Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction for all human beings." Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, therefore first offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu before describing His magnanimity in bestowing love of Godhead.
"A sannyāsī, accepting the renounced order very strictly and wearing nothing more than a loincloth, should always enjoy the philosophical statements in the Vedānta-sūtra. Such a person in the renounced order is to be considered very fortunate." The Māyāvādīs in Vārāṇasī blasphemed Lord Caitanya because His behavior did not follow these principles. Lord Caitanya, however, bestowed His mercy upon these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and delivered them by means of His Vedānta discourses with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.
In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warns against artificial displays of the bodily symptoms called aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra. (CC Antya 14.99) That is also an offense. One should seriously and sincerely continue to chant the Pañca-tattva names śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. All these ācāryas will bestow their causeless mercy upon a devotee and gradually purify his heart. When he is actually purified, automatically he will experience ecstasy in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Previous to the composition of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura wrote a book called Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata. Only those subjects which were not discussed by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura in his Caitanya-bhāgavata have been taken up by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī to be depicted in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. In his very old age, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī went to Vṛndāvana, and by the order of Śrī Madana-mohanajī he wrote Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Thus we are now able to relish its transcendental bliss.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī points out in this connection that Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the combined form of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa (mahāprabhu śrī-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa—nahe anya). Therefore when fools considered Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be an ordinary human being and thus treated Him disrespectfully, the merciful Lord, in order to deliver these offenders, accepted sannyāsa so that they would offer Him obeisances, accepting Him as a sannyāsī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa to bestow His great mercy on people in general, who cannot appreciate Him as Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa Themselves.
I take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who Himself is the tree of transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa, its gardener and also the bestower and enjoyer of its fruits.
“Although I am acting as a gardener, I also want to be the tree, for thus I can bestow benefit upon all.
In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasādam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestows His causeless mercy upon His devotees in three features: His own direct appearance (sākṣāt), His prowess within someone He empowers (āveśa), and His manifestation (āvirbhāva).
Without this grace and mercy, one cannot compose transcendental literature. By dint of the grace of the Lord, however, even one who is unfit for a literary career can describe wonderful transcendental topics. Description of Kṛṣṇa is possible for one who is empowered. Kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana (CC Antya 7.11). Unless endowed with the mercy of the Lord, one cannot preach of the Lord's name, fame, qualities, form, entourage and so on. It should be concluded, therefore, that the writing of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī manifests specific mercy bestowed upon the author, although he thought of himself as the most fallen. We should not consider him fallen because he describes himself as such. Rather, anyone who is able to compose such transcendental literature is our esteemed master.
The next morning the poet came to Lord Caitanya and surrendered unto His lotus feet. The Lord bestowed His mercy upon him and cut off all his bondage to material attachment.
Once Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the house of Śrīdhara after kīrtana and drank water from his damaged iron pot. Then He bestowed His benediction upon all the devotees according to their desires.
Sudāmā Vipra was born in a family of brāhmaṇas, and he was a learned scholar and a class friend of Kṛṣṇa's, yet he considered himself unfit to be strictly called a brāhmaṇa. He called himself a brahma-bandhu, meaning "one born in a brāhmaṇa family but not brahminically qualified." Because of His great respect for brāhmaṇas, however, Kṛṣṇa embraced Sudāmā Vipra, although he was not a regular brāhmaṇa but a brahma-bandhu, or friend of a brāhmaṇa family. Murāri Gupta could not be called even a brahma-bandhu because he was born of a vaidya family and according to the social structure was therefore considered a śūdra. But Kṛṣṇa bestowed special mercy upon Murāri Gupta because he was a beloved devotee of the Lord, as stated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The purport of Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura's elaborate discussion of this subject is that no qualification in this material world can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, yet everything becomes successful simply through development of devotional service to the Lord.
Thereafter the Lord charitably bestowed His benediction upon all His devotees. He gave the remnants of His food to Nārāyaṇī, showing her special respect.
CC Madhya-lila
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.
Saying this, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed various benedictions upon Rūpa Gosvāmī, and taking the verse, He later showed it to Svarūpa Gosvāmī.
The Lord said, “I was so pleased with Rūpa Gosvāmī that I embraced him and bestowed upon him all necessary potencies for preaching the bhakti cult.
After this incident, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His mercy upon Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya by showing him His original form as the Lord.
After bestowing mercy upon Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the Lord started for southern India. When He came to Kūrma-kṣetra, He delivered a person named Vāsudeva.
After Rāmānanda Rāya's arrival, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His mercy upon Kāśī Miśra and met Pradyumna Miśra and other devotees. At that time three personalities—Paramānanda Purī, Govinda and Kāśīśvara—came to see Lord Caitanya at Jagannātha Purī.
In that garden, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His mercy upon King Pratāparudra. Afterwards, when the Bengali devotees were about to return home, the Lord gave separate orders to almost every one of them.
If one considers the statements of the Caitanya-bhāgavata along with the description by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, it is clear that present-day Navadvīpa was formerly known as Kuliyā-grāma. While at Kuliyā-grāma, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His favor upon Devānanda Paṇḍita and delivered Gopāla Cāpala and many others who had previously committed offenses at His lotus feet. At that time, to go from Vidyānagara to Kuliyā-grāma one had to cross a branch of the Ganges. All of those old places still exist. Cināḍāṅgā was formerly situated in Kuliyā-grāma, which is now known as Kolera Gañja.
Why should a Vaiṣṇava be envious of another Vaiṣṇava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaiṣṇava is very pleased to accept another Vaiṣṇava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the śāstra (upekṣā). The word upekṣā means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaiṣṇavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. When Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā nistāra peyeche kebā, he is indicating an actual Vaiṣṇava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava.
After fully instructing Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent him to Mathurā with empowered devotional service. In Benares He also bestowed His mercy upon the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. He then returned to Nīlācala (Jagannātha Purī).
“My dear Lord, kindly bestow this benediction as a result of whatever service I have rendered unto You from my childhood.
The spiritual potency of the Lord is manifested in three phases—the internal or spiritual potency, the marginal potency, which consists of the living entities, and the external potency, known as māyā-śakti. We must understand that in each of these three phases the original spiritual potencies of pleasure, eternity and knowledge remain intact. When the potencies of spiritual pleasure and knowledge are both bestowed upon the conditioned souls, the conditioned souls can escape the clutches of the external potency, māyā, which acts as a cover obscuring one's spiritual identity. When freed, the living entity awakens to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages in devotional service with love and affection.
The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad completely distinguishes the Lord from the living entities. The living entity is subjected to the reactions of fruitive activity, whereas the Lord simply witnesses such activity and bestows the results. According to the living entity's desires, he is wandering from one body to another and from one planet to another, under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā. However, when the living entity comes to his senses by the mercy of the Lord, he is awarded devotional service. Thus he is saved from the clutches of māyā. At such a time he can see his eternal friend, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and become free from all lamentation and hankering.
“‘When a person takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without reservation, the unlimited, merciful Lord bestows His causeless mercy upon him. Thus he can pass over the insurmountable ocean of nescience. Those whose intelligence is fixed in the bodily conception, who think, "I am this body," are fit food for dogs and jackals. The Supreme Lord never bestows His mercy upon such people.’”
The Supreme Lord never bestows His benediction upon those fixed in the bodily conception. As Kṛṣṇa clearly states in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):
- sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
- ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."
The verse that Caitanya Mahāprabhu quoted (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.7.42) explains the meaning of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's statement. Kṛṣṇa bestowed His causeless mercy upon Arjuna just to get him out of the bodily conception. This was done at the very beginning of the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (2.13), where Kṛṣṇa says, dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā. In this body, there is an owner, and one should not consider the body to be the self. This is the first instruction to be assimilated by a devotee. If one is under the bodily conception, he is unable to realize his true identity and engage in the loving devotional service of the Lord.
Along with other devotees, Nityānanda Prabhu accompanied the Lord to Ālālanātha, but there Lord Caitanya left them all behind and went ahead with the brāhmaṇa Kṛṣṇadāsa. The Lord began chanting the mantra "kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa he." In whatever village He spent the night, whenever a person came to see Him in His shelter, the Lord implored him to preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. After teaching the people of one village, the Lord proceeded to other villages to increase devotees. In this way He finally reached Kūrma-sthāna. While there, He bestowed His causeless mercy upon a brāhmaṇa called Kūrma and cured another brāhmaṇa, named Vāsudeva, who was suffering from leprosy. After curing this brāhmaṇa leper, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu received the title Vāsudevāmṛta-prada, meaning "one who delivered nectar to the leper Vāsudeva."
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.
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.
“I can see that You have bestowed special mercy upon Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Therefore You have touched me, although I am untouchable. This is due only to his love for You.
""The favor mother Yaśodā obtained from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the bestower of liberation, was never obtained even by Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva, nor even by the goddess of fortune, who always remains on the chest of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu.""
“"When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord"s arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?’
“"When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord"s arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?’”
That day, Lord Caitanya remained there and accepted prasādam at his house. After bestowing mercy upon him in this way, the Lord proceeded ahead.
“"When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord"s arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma exactly resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?’
In answer to this question, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied that His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, was so empowered that he was as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, Īśvara Purī was the spiritual master of the whole world. He was not a servant of any mundane rule or regulation. An empowered spiritual master like Īśvara Purī can bestow his mercy upon anyone, irrespective of caste or creed. The conclusion is that an empowered spiritual master is authorized by Kṛṣṇa and his own guru and should therefore be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in this Age of Kali to exhibit the superexcellence of mādhurya-rasa, a gift never previously bestowed by any ācārya or incarnation. Consequently Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is accepted as the most magnanimous incarnation. It is He only who distributed love of Kṛṣṇa while exhibiting the superexcellence of loving Kṛṣṇa in the conjugal rasa.
Thus the living entity wanders within this universe riding upon a chariot (the body) bestowed by material nature. A similar explanation is given in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.3.3–4):
- ātmānaṁ rathinaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ ratham eva tu
- buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragraham eva ca
- indriyāṇi hayān āhur viṣayāṁs teṣu gocarān
- ātmendriya-mano-yuktaṁ bhoktety āhur manīṣiṇaḥ
Here it is said that the living entity is the passenger riding in the chariot of the body, which is offered by material nature. The intelligence is the charioteer, the mind constitutes the reins controlling the horses, and the senses are the horses. Thus the living entity is the false enjoyer of the material world.
""Alas, has Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu made His advent deciding that He will deliver all others with the exception of me? He bestows His merciful glance upon many lower-class men who are usually not even to be seen.""
Finally Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, “My dear King, do not worry. Because of your firm determination, I am sure that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy will definitely be bestowed upon you.”
“If the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not bestowed upon a person—regardless of how learned a scholar that person may be and regardless of his seeing or listening—he cannot accept Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
""O my Lord! O unlimited one! Although I was merged in the ocean of nescience, I have now, after a long time, attained You, just as one may attain the seashore. My dear Lord, by getting me, You have obtained the right person upon whom to bestow Your causeless mercy.""
Everyone said, "Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is present in my group. Indeed, He does not go anywhere else. He is bestowing His mercy upon us."
Although the King had been refused an interview, he was indirectly bestowed causeless mercy. Who can understand the internal potency of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?
Dressing himself as a Vaiṣṇava, Mahārāja Pratāparudra entered the garden at Balagaṇḍi alone and began reciting verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He then took the opportunity to massage the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord, in His ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, immediately embraced the King and thus bestowed mercy upon him. When there was an offering of prasādam in the garden, Lord Caitanya also partook of it. After this, when Lord Jagannātha's ratha car stopped moving, King Pratāparudra called for many elephants to pull it, but they were unsuccessful. Seeing this, Lord Caitanya began to push the car from behind with His head, and the car began moving. Then the devotees began pulling the car with ropes.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy was aroused because of the King's previous service. Therefore, without even asking who he was, the Lord immediately bestowed His mercy upon him.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has particularly bestowed upon all fallen souls in this age the most potent method of devotional service—saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the Lord's holy name—and whoever takes to it through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is immediately elevated to the transcendental position. As Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) recommends, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ.
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa." Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura has also sung, parama karuṇa, pahuṅ dui jana, nitāi-gauracandra: "The two brothers Nitāi and Gaura are so kind that no one can compare to Them."
Accepting Vāsudeva Datta as a great devotee, the Lord said, “Such a statement is not at all astonishing because you are the incarnation of Prahlāda Mahārāja. It appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa has bestowed complete mercy upon you. There is no doubt about it.
"Therefore, Amogha, get up and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra! If you do so, Kṛṣṇa will unfailingly bestow mercy upon you."
"Now that he has become a Vaiṣṇava, he is offenseless. You can bestow your mercy upon him without hesitation."
Finally Rāmānanda Rāya pacified the King and made him sit down. The Lord bestowed mercy upon him through His body, mind and words.
A Kṛṣṇa conscious person should not be absorbed in material things, for his only business is the devotional service of the Lord. If one is engaged in this way, Kṛṣṇa will certainly bestow His mercy. As Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised Raghunātha dāsa, yathā-yogya viṣaya bhuñja' anāsakta hañā. The same is repeated, antare niṣṭhā kara, bāhye loka-vyavahāra. This means that one must have no desire within his heart other than to serve Kṛṣṇa.
At Vārāṇasī, Vaidya Candraśekhara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's old friend, also rendered service unto Him. Seeing the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa informed Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the leader of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. Prakāśānanda made various accusations against the Lord. The Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa was very sorry about this, and he brought the news to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, inquiring from Him why the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs did not utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. In reply, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that they were offenders and that one should not associate with them. In this way the Lord bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next passed through Prayāga and Mathurā and then took His lunch at the home of a Sānoḍiyā brāhmaṇa, a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī. He bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa by accepting lunch at his place. Thereafter the Lord visited the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana and was filled with great ecstatic love. As He toured the Vṛndāvana forests, He heard the chirping of parrots and other birds.
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya replied, “My dear Lord, You are Kṛṣṇa Himself, and therefore You are merciful. I am a fallen living entity, but You have bestowed a great favor upon me.
Candraśekhara said, “My dear Lord, You have bestowed Your causeless mercy upon me because I am Your old servant. Indeed, You have come here personally to give me Your audience.
Devotional service is kleśa-ghnī even for beginners. This means that it reduces or nullifies all kinds of suffering. The word śubha-dā indicates that devotional service bestows all good fortune, and the word kṛṣṇa-ākarṣiṇī indicates that devotional service gradually attracts Kṛṣṇa toward the devotee. Consequently a devotee is not subject to any sinful reaction.
“"The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa"s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa's name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa's name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.’
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then bestowed upon Kṛṣṇadāsa His causeless mercy by embracing him. Kṛṣṇadāsa became mad with ecstatic love and began to dance and to chant the holy name of Hari.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then bestowed His causeless mercy upon all the people there, and everyone became ecstatic with love of God. Finally they all returned to their homes.
After bestowing His mercy upon them in this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left. All those Pāṭhāna Muslims then became mendicants.
In this way Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed His pastimes. Coming to the western part of India, He bestowed good fortune upon the yavanas and mlecchas.
Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). The Supreme Lord has multipotencies, which the Lord bestows on His fortunate devotees. The Lord has a special potency by which He spreads the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Antya 7.11): kali-kālera dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana/ kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana. "One cannot spread the holy name of Kṛṣṇa without being specifically empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa."
"From the very beginning, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was deeply attracted by the transcendental qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus he was permanently relieved from family life. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and his younger brother, Vallabha, were blessed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Although the Lord was transcendentally situated in His transcendental eternal form, at Prayāga He told Rūpa Gosvāmī about transcendental ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. The Lord then embraced him very fondly and bestowed all His mercy upon him."
The characteristics of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī have thus been described in various places by the poet Kavi-karṇapūra. An account has also been given of how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His causeless mercy upon Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī.
"Although I am the lowest of men and have no knowledge, the inspiration to write transcendental literatures about devotional service has been mercifully bestowed upon me. Therefore I am offering my obeisances at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given me the chance to write these books."
Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart, and if one desires something, Kṛṣṇa fulfills one's desire. If the living entity by chance or fortune comes in contact with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and wishes to associate with that movement, Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in everyone's heart, gives him the chance to meet a bona fide spiritual master. This is called guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Kṛṣṇa is prepared to bestow His mercy upon all living entities, and as soon as a living entity desires the Lord's mercy, the Lord immediately gives him an opportunity to meet a bona fide spiritual master. Such a fortunate person is fortified by both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master. He is helped from within by Kṛṣṇa and from without by the spiritual master. Both are prepared to help the sincere living being become free from material bondage.
The word guru-prasāda indicates that the spiritual master is very merciful in bestowing the boon of devotional service upon the disciple. That is the best possible gift the spiritual master has to offer. Those with a background of pious life are eligible to receive life's supreme benefit, and to bestow this benefit, the Supreme Personality of Godhead sends His representative to impart His mercy. Endowed with the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master distributes the mercy to those who are elevated and pious. Thus the spiritual master trains his disciples to render devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called guru-kṛpā. It is kṛṣṇa-prasāda, Kṛṣṇa's mercy, that He sends a bona fide spiritual master to the deserving disciple. By the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, one meets the bona fide spiritual master, and by the mercy of the spiritual master, the disciple is fully trained in the devotional service of the Lord.
The Maharashtrian brāhmaṇa came, and the Lord met him. Out of affection, the Lord bestowed His mercy upon him.
Much mercy was thus bestowed upon Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, and I have briefly described all those topics.
Being pleased with Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His causeless mercy upon him. By the Lord's mercy, Sanātana Gosvāmī received the spiritual strength to inquire from Him.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Lord Kṛṣṇa has bestowed His full mercy upon you so that all these things are known to you. For you, the threefold miseries certainly do not exist.
All of these forms are mūrti forms, and They are worshiped in the temples. Their names are Keśava at Mathurā, Puruṣottama or Jagannātha at Nīlācala, Śrī Bindu Mādhava at Prayāga, Madhusūdana at Mandāra, and Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana at Ānandāraṇya, which is situated in Kerala, South India. At Viṣṇu-kāñcī is Lord Varadarāja, and Hari is situated at Māyāpur, Lord Caitanya's birth site. Thus in different places throughout the universe there are various Deities in temples bestowing Their causeless mercy upon the devotees. All these Deity forms are nondifferent from the mūrtis in the spiritual world of the Vaikuṇṭhas. Although the arcā-mūrti, the worshipable Deity form of the Lord, appears to be made of material elements, it is as good as the spiritual forms found in the spiritual Vaikuṇṭhalokas.
The Deity in the temple, however, is visible to the material eyes of the devotee. It is not possible for one in material, conditioned life to see the spiritual form of the Lord. To bestow causeless mercy upon us, the Lord appears as the arcā-mūrti so that we can see Him. It is forbidden to consider the arcā-mūrti to be made of stone or wood.
“Such ecstatic transactions between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs are possible only in Vṛndāvana, which is full of the opulences of transcendental love. The form of Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all transcendental qualities. It is like a mine of gems. The opulences belonging to all the personal expansions of Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to be bestowed by Kṛṣṇa; therefore Kṛṣṇa is the original source and shelter of everyone.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura mentions that the qualities of beauty, humility, mercy, merit, patience and expert intelligence are brilliant qualities, and when they are exhibited in the person of Nārāyaṇa, one should know that they are bestowed upon Nārāyaṇa by Kṛṣṇa. Good behavior, mildness and magnanimity are found only in Kṛṣṇa. Only Kṛṣṇa performs welfare activities for the whole world.
If one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully, even though he may sometimes be agitated due to having previously practiced mental speculation and yogic mysticism, he will be saved by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. The fact is that devotional service is bestowed by the blessings of a pure devotee (sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ). A pure devotee is the supreme transcendentalist, and one has to receive his mercy for one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness to be awakened. One has to associate with pure devotees. If one has firm faith in the words of a great soul, pure devotional service will awaken.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains this point. Is this bhāgya (fortune) the result of an accident or something else? In the scriptures, devotional service and pious activity are considered fortunate. Pious activities can be divided into three categories: pious activities that awaken one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness are called bhakty-unmukhī sukṛti, pious activities that bestow material opulence are called bhogonmukhī sukṛti, and pious activities that enable the living entity to merge into the existence of the Supreme are called mokṣonmukhī sukṛti. These last two awards of pious activity are not actually fortunate. Pious activities are fortunate when they help one become Kṛṣṇa conscious. The good fortune of bhakty-unmukhī is attainable only when one comes in contact with a devotee. By associating with a devotee willingly or unwillingly, one advances in devotional service, and thus one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness is awakened.
“"O my Lord, I do not have any love for You, nor am I qualified for discharging devotional service by chanting and hearing. Nor do I possess the mystic power of a Vaiṣṇava, knowledge or pious activities. Nor do I belong to a very high-caste family. On the whole, I do not possess anything. Still, O beloved of the gopīs, because You bestow Your mercy on the most fallen, I have an unbreakable hope that is constantly in my heart. That hope is always giving me pain."
“‘These qualities are (1) the Lord is always situated in His original position, (2) He is omniscient, (3) He is always fresh and youthful, (4) He is the concentrated form of eternity, knowledge and bliss, and (5) He is the possessor of all mystic perfection. There are another five qualities, which exist in the Vaikuṇṭha planets in Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of Lakṣmī. These qualities are also present in Kṛṣṇa, but they are not present in demigods like Lord Śiva or in other living entities. These are (1) the Lord possesses inconceivable supreme power, (2) He generates innumerable universes from His body, (3) He is the original source of all incarnations, (4) He bestows salvation upon enemies He kills, and (5) He has the ability to attract exalted persons who are satisfied in themselves. Although these qualities are present in Nārāyaṇa, the dominating Deity of the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they are even more wonderfully present in Kṛṣṇa.
“If You want to make a lame man like me dance, kindly bestow Your transcendental blessings by placing Your lotus feet on my head.
I have thus explained the mercy bestowed on Sanātana Gosvāmī by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If one hears this description, all moroseness in the heart will diminish.
We simply wish to present the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the best of our ability so that those who are really honest can cleanse their hearts. We hope that they enjoy this literature and bestow their blessings upon us. It appears that even such a great personality as Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī met with some envious obstacles; what, then, to speak of us, who are only insignificant creatures in this universe. We are simply trying to execute the orders of our spiritual master to the best of our ability.
CC Antya-lila
"How could Rūpa Gosvāmī have understood My heart?" the Lord asked.
Svarūpa Dāmodara replied, “I can understand that You have already bestowed Your causeless mercy upon him.
"No one could otherwise understand this meaning. I can therefore guess that previously You bestowed upon him Your causeless mercy."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Rūpa Gosvāmī met Me at Prayāga. Knowing him to be a suitable person, I naturally bestowed My mercy upon him.
"I thereupon also bestowed upon him My transcendental potency. Now you also should give him instructions. In particular, instruct him in transcendental mellows."
Svarūpa Dāmodara said, “As soon as I saw the unique composition of this verse, I could immediately understand that You had bestowed upon him Your special mercy.
"Had You not previously bestowed Your mercy on him," they said, "it would not have been possible for him to express Your internal feelings."
""May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacīdevī be transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.""
""The moonlike Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as the son of mother Śacī, has now appeared on earth to spread devotional love of Himself. He is the emperor of the brāhmaṇa community. He can drive away all the darkness of ignorance and control the mind of everyone in the world. May that rising moon bestow upon us all good fortune.""
"To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His special favor upon Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī because Rūpa Gosvāmī wanted to serve the Lord to the best of his ability. Such is the reciprocation between the devotee and the Lord in the discharge of devotional duties.
"Although I am the lowest of men and have no knowledge, the Lord has mercifully bestowed upon me the inspiration to write transcendental literature about devotional service. Therefore I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given me the chance to write these books."
After the Dola-yātrā festival ended, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bade farewell to Rūpa Gosvāmī also. The Lord empowered him and bestowed upon him all kinds of mercy.
Seeing Śrīkānta Sena, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed causeless mercy upon him. Śrīkānta Sena stayed near Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for about two months at Jagannātha Purī.
"All of you may now go to your homes. May Lord Kṛṣṇa bestow His blessings upon you all. Do not be sorry because of my being insulted."
"My dear Lord, the family upon which You bestow even a little mercy is always fortunate, for such mercy makes all miseries disappear."
Sanātana Gosvāmī was dear to everyone because of his exalted qualities and learning. Suitably, therefore, they bestowed upon him mercy, friendship and honor.
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead has assumed a golden complexion and has become the soul of the body named Lord Jagannātha, whose blooming lotus eyes are widely expanded. Thus He has appeared in Jagannātha Purī and brought dull matter to life. May that Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva, bestow all good fortune upon you."
When one differentiates between the body and the soul of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he immediately becomes an offender. Because the living entities in the material world are generally covered by material bodies, the body and the soul of an ordinary human being cannot be identical. The Supreme Lord bestows the fruits of one's activities, for He is the Lord of the results of fruitive action. He is also the cause of all causes, and He is the master of the material energy. Therefore He is supreme. An ordinary living being, however, in his material condition, experiences the results of his own fruitive activities and therefore falls under their influence. Even in the liberated stage of brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) identification, he engages in rendering service to His Lordship. Thus there are distinctions between an ordinary human being and the Supreme Lord. Karmīs and jñānīs who ignore these distinctions are offenders against the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has fully bestowed His mercy on him. Who can keep home such a madman of Caitanyacandra?"
“Because of the mercy bestowed upon him by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Raghunātha dāsa, although situated in such material happiness, does not like it at all. Therefore let every one of you be merciful toward him and give him the benediction that he may very soon attain shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Raghunātha dāsa offered prayers at the lotus feet of all the devotees, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. Seeing the special mercy Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had bestowed upon Raghunātha dāsa, they embraced him also.
After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again bestowed His mercy upon Raghunātha dāsa by giving him a stone from Govardhana Hill and a garland of small conchshells.
""There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?""
“"When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced around the neck by the Lord"s arms. This transcendental favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma resemble the beauty and fragrance of lotus flowers. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very beautiful according to material estimation?’
“My dear Lord, You have cured the blindness of my false pride by smearing my eyes with the ointment of Your mercy. You have bestowed so much mercy upon me that my ignorance is now gone.
"Kindly bestow upon me Your pure mercy so that I may also become renounced. I am no longer interested in material enjoyment."
Indeed, when all the devotees had requested the Lord to bestow His mercy upon Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka, the Lord had replied that He could do nothing.
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is always pleased to accept anything given with faith and love by His devotees and is always ready to bestow mercy upon them.
Although these are only material results of following religious principles, the karmīs consider them everything. Such ritualistic activities are called karma. Karmīs who adopt devotional service very loosely and who therefore remain on the platform of material activities are called prākṛta-sahajiyās. They cannot understand how pure devotional service is rendered in parental and conjugal love, for this can be understood only by the special mercy bestowed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu upon pure devotees.
All glories to all the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for the Lord is their life and soul! All of you, kindly bestow devotional service upon me.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired, "My dear Haridāsa, what is the news?"
Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, "My Lord, whatever mercy You can bestow upon me."
"In Vṛndāvana you should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day and read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam continuously. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will very soon bestow His mercy upon you."
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Gaurahari) bestows ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa upon anyone who hears all these topics with faith and love.
Seeing the woman's eagerness, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Lord Jagannātha has not bestowed so much eagerness upon Me.
The woman was so eager to see Lord Jagannātha that she forgot she was offending the feet of a Vaiṣṇava by climbing the column of Garuḍa. She also neglected to consider that by putting her foot on the shoulder of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, she offended the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These are both grievous offenses that displease the Supreme Lord and Vaiṣṇavas. She was so eager to see Lord Jagannātha, however, that she committed all these offenses obliviously. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu praised her eagerness; He regretted that Lord Jagannātha had not bestowed such great eagerness upon Him.
Kālidāsa replied, “My dear sir, please bestow your mercy upon me. I have come to see you, although I am very fallen and sinful.
When Kālidāsa visited Jagannātha Purī, Nīlācala, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed great mercy upon him.
In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained at Jagannātha Purī, Nīlācala, and He invisibly bestowed great mercy upon Kālidāsa.
“The women of Vṛndāvana are just like lilies growing hot in the sun of lusty desires. But moonlike Kṛṣṇa makes them all jubilant by bestowing upon them the nectar of His hands. O My dear friend, where is My moon now? Save My life by showing Him to Me!
“‘My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as "Kṛṣṇa" and "Govinda," by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.’
The Third Chapter also tells how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered everyone by bestowing upon the universe the holy name of the Lord, and it describes how Haridāsa Ṭhākura established the glories of the holy name by his practical example.
| Page Title: | Bestow (CC) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Gopinath |
| Created: | 02 of Aug, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=145, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 145 |