Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives a summary of the Twelfth Chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. The Twelfth Chapter describes the followers of Advaita Prabhu, among whom the followers of Acyutānanda, the son of Advaita Ācārya, are understood to be the pure followers who received the cream of the philosophy Śrī Advaita Ācārya enunciated. Other so-called descendants and followers of Advaita Ācārya are not to be recognized. This chapter also includes narrations concerning the son of Advaita Ācārya named Gopāla Miśra and Advaita Ācārya's servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. In his early life Gopāla fainted during the cleansing of the Guṇḍicā-mandira at Jagannātha Purī and thus became a recipient of the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The story of Kamalākānta Viśvāsa concerns his borrowing three hundred rupees from Pratāparudra Mahārāja to clear a debt of Advaita Ācārya's, for which Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chastised him when He came to know of it.
Enunciate (CC and Other Books)
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Just to enunciate the glories of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, I have tried to describe the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in detail.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has placed the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam quoted in text 52 (kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam (SB 11.5.32)) as the auspicious introduction to his Bhāgavata-sandarbha, or Ṣaṭ-sandarbha. He has composed this text (81), which is, in effect, an explanation of the Bhāgavatam verse, as the second verse of the same work. The verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was enunciated by Karabhājana, one of the nine great sages, and it is elaborately explained by the Sarva-saṁvādinī, Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary on his own Ṣaṭ-sandarbha.
Antaḥ kṛṣṇa refers to one who is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. This attitude is a predominant feature of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Even though many devotees always think of Kṛṣṇa, none can surpass the gopīs, among whom Rādhārāṇī is the leader in thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī’s Kṛṣṇa consciousness surpasses that of all other devotees.
A tree is matter, but a tree produces fruit. Water is matter, but water flows. In this way, say the Sāṅkhyites, matter is the cause of movements and production. As such, matter can be considered the material and efficient cause of everything in the cosmic manifestation. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has therefore enunciated the nature of pradhāna as follows:
“Material nature is inert, and as such it cannot be the cause of matter, neither as the material nor as the efficient cause. Seeing the wonderful arrangement and management of the cosmic manifestation generally suggests that a living brain is behind this arrangement, for without a living brain such an arrangement could not exist. One should not imagine that such an arrangement can exist without conscious direction. In our practical experience we never see that inert bricks can themselves construct a big building.
CC Madhya-lila
God's position is completely different from their concoction. Such Māyāvādī philosophers consider themselves above the influence of karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities and their reactions). For them, the spiritual world is equated with the Buddhist voidism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism. Voidism can be directly understood, but the impersonalism enunciated by Māyāvādī philosophers is not very easily understandable. Of course, Māyāvādī philosophers accept a spiritual existence, but they do not know about the spiritual world and spiritual beings. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):
One should not try to be an artificially advanced devotee, thinking "I am a first-class devotee, so it is best not to accept any disciples." Such thinking should be avoided. One has to become purified at home by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and preaching the principles enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus one can become a spiritual master and be freed from the contamination of material life.
There are many sahajiyās who decry the activities of the Six Gosvāmīs—Śrīla Rūpa, Sanātana, Raghunātha dāsa, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Jīva and Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmīs—who are the personal associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and who enlightened society by writing books on devotional service. Similarly, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and other great ācāryas like Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya and others accepted many thousands of disciples to induce them to render devotional service.
Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya used to come to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Rāmānanda Rāya, who was clothed in ordinary dress, offered the Lord respectful obeisances. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu questioned him on the object and process of worship and also asked him to recite verses from the Vedic literature.
First of all, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya enunciated the system of the varṇāśrama institution. He recited various verses about karmārpaṇa, stating that everything should be dedicated to the Lord. He then spoke of detached action, knowledge mixed with devotional service, and finally the spontaneous loving service of the Lord. After hearing Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya recite some verses, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the principle of pure devotional service devoid of all kinds of speculation. After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya to explain the higher platform of devotional service.
So-called followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas formally, but they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali. People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am this or that," but actually no one follows the principles enunciated in religious scriptures. This is the disease of this age. Therefore the merciful Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has simply advised us to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). The Lord can deliver anyone and everyone, even though one may have fallen from the injunctions of revealed scriptures. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's special mercy. Consequently He is known as patita-pāvana, the deliverer of all fallen souls.
Following the principle of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who never discussed the dealings between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs publicly, devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are enjoined not to discuss the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana in public. For the general public, saṅkīrtana is the most effective method to awaken Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If possible, one should discuss the principles enunciated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu followed this principle very strictly and discussed the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gītā with learned scholars like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī. However, He taught the principles of the bhakti cult to students like Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmī, and He discussed with Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya the topmost devotional dealings between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. For the general populace, He performed saṅkīrtana very vigorously. We must also follow these principles in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world.
Rāmānanda replied with this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27), which instructs that while remaining in the system of varṇāśrama-dharma one may offer the results of his activities to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in loving service. Naturally Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking Rāmānanda Rāya about the execution of devotional service. Rāmānanda Rāya first enunciated the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma in consideration of materialistic people. However, this conception is not transcendental. As long as one is in the material world, he must follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, but devotional service is transcendental. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma refers to the three modes of material nature, but transcendental devotional service is on the absolute platform.
According to such caste gurus, birth and family ties are considered foremost. However, the hereditary consideration is not acceptable to Vaiṣṇavas. The word guru is equally applicable to the vartma-pradarśaka-guru, śikṣā-guru and dīkṣā-guru. Unless we accept the principle enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement cannot spread all over the world. According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's intentions, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma. (CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult must be preached all over the world. This does not mean that people should take to His teachings and remain śūdras or caṇḍālas. As soon as one is trained as a pure Vaiṣṇava, he must be accepted as a bona fide brāhmaṇa. This is the essence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instructions in this verse.
This is a quotation from Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (8.23). Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enunciates the principles for a sannyāsī renouncing the material world for spiritual advancement. Spiritual advancement is not meant for magic shows and jugglery but for crossing the material world and being transferred to the spiritual world. Pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣoḥ means desiring to go to the other side of the material world. There is a river called Vaitaraṇī, and on one side of this river is the material world, and on the other side is the spiritual world. Since the Vaitaraṇī River is compared to a great ocean, it is named bhava-sāgara, the ocean of repeated birth and death. Spiritual life aims at stopping this repetition of birth and death and entering into the spiritual world, where one can live eternally cognizant and blissful.
Dharma is very confidential, uncontaminated by any material influence, and very difficult for ordinary men to understand. However, if one actually understands dharma, he immediately becomes liberated and is transferred to the kingdom of God. Bhāgavata-dharma, or the principle of religion enunciated by the paramparā system, is the supreme principle of religion. In other words, dharma refers to the science of bhakti-yoga, which begins by the novice's chanting the holy name of the Lord (tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ).
Therefore in this Age of Kali, as recommended here in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (text 98), kali-kāle dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana: the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the method of religion approved by all Vedic scriptures. In the next text of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32), this principle is further stressed.
“In the course of time, the transcendental news of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vṛndāvana was almost lost. To enunciate explicitly those transcendental pastimes, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu empowered Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī with the nectar of His mercy to carry out this work in Vṛndāvana.”
“Indeed, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, whose dear friend was Svarūpa Dāmodara, was the exact replica of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he was very, very dear to the Lord. Being the embodiment of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's ecstatic love, Rūpa Gosvāmī was naturally very beautiful. He very carefully followed the principles enunciated by the Lord, and he was a competent person to explain properly the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu expanded His mercy to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī just so he could render service by writing transcendental literatures.”
He engages His confidential servants who serve as spiritual masters and enlighten the conditioned living entities. Being present in everyone's heart, the Lord gives the living entities the conscience whereby they can accept the Vedas and the spiritual master. In this way the living entity can understand his constitutional position and his relationship with the Supreme Lord. As personally enunciated by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: through the study of Vedānta, one may become fully aware of his relationship with the Supreme Lord and act accordingly. In this way one may ultimately attain the platform of loving service to the Lord. It is in the living entity's best interest to understand the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, the living entities have forgotten that this is in their best interest, and therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31).
Sanātana Gosvāmī was enjoined (1) to broadcast the revealed scriptures on devotional service and establish the conclusions of devotional service, (2) to reestablish lost places of pilgrimage like Vṛndāvana and Rādhā-kuṇḍa, (3) to establish the Vṛndāvana method of temple worship and install Deities in temples (Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī established the Madana-mohana temple, and Rūpa Gosvāmī established the Govindajī temple), and (4) to enunciate the behavior of a Vaiṣṇava (as Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī did in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa). In this way Sanātana Gosvāmī was empowered to establish the cult of Vaiṣṇavism. As stated by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in his Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka (2):
“In the course of time, the transcendental news of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vṛndāvana was almost lost. To enunciate explicitly those transcendental pastimes, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu empowered Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī with the nectar of His mercy to carry out this work in Vṛndāvana.”
Lord Buddha's intention was to stop atheists from committing the sin of killing animals. Atheists cannot understand God; therefore Lord Buddha appeared and spread the philosophy of nonviolence to keep the atheists from killing animals. Unless one is free from the sin of animal-killing, he cannot understand religion or God. Although Lord Buddha was an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, he did not speak about God, for the people were unable to understand. He simply wanted to stop animal-killing. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya wanted to establish the predominance of one's spiritual identity; therefore he wanted to convert the atheists through an imaginary interpretation of the Vedic literatures. These are the secrets of the ācāryas. Sometimes they conceal the real purport of the Vedas and explain the Vedas in a different way. Sometimes they enunciate a different theory just to bring the atheists under their control. Thus it is said that Śaṅkara's philosophy is for pāṣaṇḍas, atheists.
CC Antya-lila
The philosophy enunciated by the Māyāvādīs is called ghaṭa-paṭiyā ("pot-and-earth") philosophy. According to this philosophy, everything is one. Such philosophers see no distinction between a pot made of earth and the earth itself, reasoning that anything made of earth, such as different pots, is also the same earth. Since Gopāla Cakravartī was a ghaṭa-paṭiyā logician, a gross materialist, what could he understand about the transcendental devotional service of the Lord?
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
In the Skanda Purāṇa there is this statement: "A person who is constantly engaged in reading literature enunciating the cultivation of Vaiṣṇava devotional service is always glorious in human society, and certainly Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes pleased with him. A person who very carefully keeps such literature at home and offers respectful obeisances to it becomes freed from all sinful reactions and ultimately becomes worshipable by the demigods."
It is also said to Nārada Muni, "My dear Nārada, a person who writes Vaiṣṇava literature and keeps such literature at home has Lord Nārāyaṇa always residing in his house."
Easy Journey to Other Planets
One should try to avoid offenses. There are ten offenses which one can commit while chanting the transcendental names, and these should be avoided as far as possible, but in any event, one should try to chant the holy names of the Lord at all times.
3. One should hear the transcendental topics enunciated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This hearing is made possible through platform lectures by bona fide devotees and by authorized translations of the Bhāgavatam.
4. One should make his home at Mathurā, the birthplace of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Or one may make his home as good as Mathurā by installing the Deity of the Lord to be worshiped by all members of the family after proper initiation from the spiritual master.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām: (BG 12.5) "All are pursuing the path of realizing Me, but those who have adopted courses without any bhakti find their endeavor very troublesome." Kṛṣṇa cannot be understood unless one comes to the point of bhakti.
Three paths are enunciated in the Bhagavad-gītā: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga. Those who are too much addicted to fruitive activities are advised to perform actions which will bring them to bhakti. Those who are addicted to the pursuit of empiric philosophy are also advised to act in such a way that they will realize bhakti. Karma-yoga is therefore different from ordinary karma, and jñāna-yoga is different from ordinary jñāna. Ultimately, as stated by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: (BG 18.55) only through execution of devotional service can one understand Kṛṣṇa.
On the day for extracting the soma juice, King Yudhiṣṭhira very respectfully received the special priest who had been engaged to detect any mistake in the formalities of the sacrificial procedure. The idea is that the Vedic mantras must be enunciated perfectly and chanted with the proper accent; if the priests who are engaged in this business commit any mistake, the checker, or referee priest, immediately corrects the procedure, and thus the ritualistic performances are perfectly executed. Unless perfectly executed, a sacrifice cannot yield the desired result. In this Age of Kali there is no such learned brāhmaṇa or priest available; therefore, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The only sacrifice recommended in the śāstras is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
The family members of the Yadu dynasty and the cowherds of Vṛndāvana had their minds fixed on Kṛṣṇa. That is the symptom of perfect knowledge. And because their minds were always engaged in Kṛṣṇa, they were automatically freed from all material activities. This stage of life is called yukta-vairāgya, as enunciated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Knowledge and renunciation, therefore, do not mean dry speculation and renunciation of activities. Rather, one must start speaking and acting only in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
In this meeting at Kurukṣetra, Kuntīdevī and Vasudeva, who were sister and brother, met after a long separation, along with their respective sons and daughters-in-law, children and other family members. By talking among themselves, they soon forgot all their past miseries.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
According to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, desire can never be nullified. While conditioned, the jīva is a repository of unlimited material desires, summarized as the catur-varga, the four goals of human life enunciated in the Vedic literature (religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation). However, in the liberated state produced by acting under the direction of the Lord's internal, spiritual energy, the jīva's true, spiritual desires become manifest. Śrī Aurobindo has discussed this subject (though not in detail), and for this we appreciate him more than Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi has more or less tried to completely choke the life out of desire. This forcible elimination of desire is spiritual suicide. There is no credit in finishing off the patient without curing his disease; the doctor is qualified when he can cure the disease and save the patient.
Thus the yogic process a surrendered servant of the Supreme Lord practices is altogether different form Patañjali's eightfold yoga system, beginning with sense control, yogic postures, and breath control. These practices are, in a sense, meant to increase physical prowess for better sense enjoyment. The devotee, on the other hand, follows the best yoga system of God-realization, which is enunciated in the Bhagavad-gītā. His activities are not selfishly motivated, aimed at realizing his own cherished dreams, but are directed toward fulfilling the will of God on earth. This yoga is known as buddhi-yoga, wherein lies the entire world's good fortune.
This realization is bereft of any understanding of the Lord's name, form, qualities, pastimes, or paraphernalia. But if these transcendental topics arrest our attention, one very soon begins following the path of bhakti-yoga—the path enunciated in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and Bhagavad-gītā. A transformation of vision takes place as one advances on this path. The rare soul who perfects this process can see the Supreme Lord in everything and everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. Quotes from various scriptures substantiate this point: In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ: (BG 7.19) "(The surrendered devotee knows) Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." And the Upaniṣads state, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: "Everything is permeated by Brahman."
The saintly, pure devotees, the guru, and the scriptures all represent the same Absolute Truth. The pure devotees are in fact all gurus because they never swerve from the spiritual principles enunciated in the scriptures: they see only through the lens of the scriptures. Spiritual practices are impossible to execute without the authority of these three ruling principles—the saintly devotees, the guru, and the scriptures. One must vehemently denounce the Western mentality of defying spiritual tradition and the scriptures. Such a mentality reveres mundane philosophies based on speculation and concocted logic, considering these practices signs of superior intelligence. The only weapon the proponents of such philosophies have is mundane argument, but often they exhibit a lack of mastery even of this art.
| Page Title: | Enunciate (CC and Other Books) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 22 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=20, OB=9, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 29 |