Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is divided into three sections, called līlās, a word that literally means "pastimes"—the Ādi-līlā (recounting the early period of Lord Caitanya's pastimes), the Madhya-līlā (recounting the middle period), and the Antya-līlā (recounting the final period). The notes of Murāri Gupta form the basis of the Ādi-līlā, and Svarūpa Dāmodara's diary provides the details for the Madhya- and Antya-līlās.
Pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Expressions researched:
"Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes"
|"Caitanya performed His pastimes"
|"Caitanya's pastimes"
|"His pastimes, Lord Caitanya"
|"pastimes of Caitanya"
|"pastimes of Lord Caitanya"
|"pastimes of Sri Caitanya"
Notes from the compiler:
VedaBase query: "caitanya* pastime*"@4
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
CC Introduction:
In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa is manifested in five different features, known as the pañca-tattva, to whom Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja offers his obeisances in the fourteenth verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Kṛṣṇa and His associates appear as devotees of the Supreme Lord in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaitācārya, Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu and Śrīvāsa Prabhu. In all cases, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the source of energy for all His devotees. Since this is the case, if we take shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the successful execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are sure to make progress. In a devotional song, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, "My dear Lord Caitanya, please have mercy upon me. There is no one who is as merciful as You. My plea is most urgent because Your mission is to deliver all fallen souls, and no one is more fallen than I. Therefore I beg priority."
CC Adi-lila
CC Adi 3.48, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Caitanya have two divisions—the early pastimes (ādi-līlā) and the later pastimes (śeṣa-līlā). He has four names in each of these two līlās.
CC Adi 4.107, Translation:
In the final portion of His pastimes, Lord Caitanya was obsessed with the madness of separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa. He acted in erroneous ways and talked deliriously.
CC Adi 6.39, Translation:
With all of them Lord Caitanya performed His pastimes, and with them He spread His mission.
CC Adi 7.162, Translation:
I have here given a brief account of these pastimes of Lord Caitanya, but later I shall describe them in an extensive way.
CC Adi 7.170, Translation:
I again and again offer obeisances unto the Pañca-tattva. Thus I think that I will be able to describe something about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 7.170, Translation:
I again and again offer obeisances unto the Pañca-tattva. Thus I think that I will be able to describe something about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 8.34, Translation:
As Vyāsadeva has compiled all the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana dāsa has depicted the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.
CC Adi 8.42, Translation:
What a wonderful description he has given of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya! Anyone in the three worlds who hears it is purified.
CC Adi 8.44, Translation:
Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has written Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala and therein described in all respects the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.
CC Adi 8.46, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are unlimited and unfathomable. Therefore, in describing all those pastimes, the book became voluminous.
CC Adi 8.48, Translation:
He ecstatically described the pastimes of Lord Nityānanda, but the later pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained untold.
CC Adi 8.65, Translation:
By his causeless mercy he ordered me to write about the last pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 8.66, Purport:
It is said in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (137) that the servant of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana named Bhṛṅgāra descended as Kāśīśvara Gosāñi during the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In our householder life we also sometimes visited this temple of Vallabhapura and took prasādam there at noon. The Deities of this temple, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda and the Gaurāṅga vigraha, are extremely beautiful. Near Vallabhapura is a beautiful temple of Jagannātha. We sometimes used to take prasādam in this Jagannātha temple also. These two temples are situated within a one mile-radius of the Śrīrāmapura railway station, near Calcutta.
CC Adi 8.67, Translation:
Śrī Yādavācārya Gosāñi, a constant associate of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, was also very enthusiastic in hearing and chanting about Lord Caitanya's pastimes.
CC Adi 8.71, Translation:
In Vṛndāvana there were also many other great devotees, all of whom desired to hear the last pastimes of Lord Caitanya.
CC Adi 8.72, Translation:
By their mercy, all these devotees ordered me to write of the last pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because of their order only, although I am shameless, I have attempted to write this Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
CC Adi 8.72, Purport:
To write about the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not an ordinary endeavor. Unless one is empowered by the higher authorities, or advanced devotees, one cannot write transcendental literature, for all such literature must be above suspicion, or, in other words, it must have none of the defects of conditioned souls, namely mistakes, illusions, cheating and imperfect sense perceptions. The words of Kṛṣṇa and of the disciplic succession that carries the orders of Kṛṣṇa are actually authoritative. To be empowered to write transcendental literature is a privilege in which a writer can take great pride. As a humble Vaiṣṇava, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, being thus empowered, felt very much ashamed that it was he who was to narrate the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 8.81, Purport:
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī took permission not only from the Vaiṣṇavas and Madana-mohana but also from Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, who is understood to be the Vyāsa of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 8.82, Translation:
Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura is the authorized writer on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Without his mercy, therefore, one cannot describe these pastimes.
CC Adi 10.13, Purport:
The place where Candraśekhara's house was situated is now known as Vrajapattana. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura established the Śrī Caitanya Maṭha at this place. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu decided to accept the renounced order of life, Candraśekhara Ācārya was informed of this by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, and therefore he was present when Lord Caitanya accepted sannyāsa from Keśava Bhāratī in Katwa. It is he who first spread the word in Navadvīpa of Lord Caitanya's accepting sannyāsa. Śrī Candraśekhara Ācārya was present during many important incidents in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He therefore forms the second branch of the tree of Lord Caitanya.
CC Adi 10.15, Purport:
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (147–53) it is stated, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa's pleasure potency, formerly known as Vṛndāvaneśvarī, is now personified in the form of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has pointed out that in the shape of Lakṣmī, the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa, she was formerly very dear to the Lord as Śyāmasundara-vallabhā. The same Śyāmasundara-vallabhā is now present in Lord Caitanya's pastimes as Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Formerly, as Lalitā-sakhī, she was always devoted to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Thus Gadādhara Paṇḍita is simultaneously an incarnation of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Lalitā-sakhī." In the Twelfth Chapter of this part of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a description of the descendants or disciplic succession of Gadādhara Paṇḍita.
CC Adi 10.97, Translation:
Because Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was an assistant to Svarūpa Dāmodara, he knew much about the external and internal features of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Thus the two brothers Rūpa and Sanātana always used to hear of this from him.
CC Adi 10.138, Purport:
Govinda was the personal servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (137) it is stated that the servants formerly named Bhṛṅgāra and Bhaṅgura in Vṛndāvana became Kāśīśvara and Govinda in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. Govinda always engaged in the service of the Lord, even at great risk.
CC Adi 10.144, Purport:
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (139) it is stated that two servants who formerly supplied milk and water to Lord Kṛṣṇa became Rāmāi and Nandāi in the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 11.55, Translation:
Śrīla Vyāsadeva described the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Vyāsa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Vṛndāvana dāsa.
CC Adi 12.94, Translation:
The ocean of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is immeasurable and unfathomable. Who can have the courage to measure that great ocean?
CC Adi 13.6, Translation:
Thus I have spoken the preface of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Now I shall describe Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes in chronological order.
CC Adi 13.44, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu are unlimited. How much can a small living entity elaborate about those transcendental pastimes?
CC Adi 13.45, Translation:
If Śeṣa Nāga Ananta personally were to make the pastimes of Lord Caitanya into sūtras, even with His thousands of mouths there is no possibility that He could find their limit.
CC Adi 13.46, Translation:
Devotees like Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara and Murāri Gupta have recorded all the principal pastimes of Lord Caitanya in the form of notes, after deliberate consideration.
CC Adi 13.48, Translation:
Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, the authorized writer of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is as good as Śrīla Vyāsadeva. He has described the pastimes in such a way as to make them sweeter and sweeter.
CC Adi 13.50, Translation:
The transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya have actually been relished by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. I am simply trying to chew the remnants of food left by him.
CC Adi 14.5, Purport:
"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be." To execute His pastimes, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears on this planet or within this universe like an ordinary human being or human child, yet He maintains His superiority as the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as a human child, but His uncommon activities, even in His childhood—like the killing of the demon Pūtanā or the lifting of Govardhana Hill—were not the engagements of an ordinary child. Similarly, although the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, as they will be described in this chapter, appear like the activities of a small boy, they are uncommon pastimes impossible for an ordinary human child to execute.
CC Adi 14.22, Purport:
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata this pastime is described as follows: "The Lord, with His beautiful eyes, would cry, but He would stop immediately upon hearing the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. When the ladies, understanding the fun of the Lord, discovered that He would cry and then stop upon hearing the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, they all took it as a clue to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa as soon as the Lord cried. Thus it became a regular function. The Lord would cry, and the ladies would begin chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, clapping their hands. In this way all the ladies of the neighboring houses would assemble in the home of Śacīmātā to join in the saṅkīrtana movement twenty-four hours a day. As long as the ladies continued to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, the Lord would not cry but would very pleasingly smile upon them."
CC Adi 14.70, Translation:
After thus expressing their feelings to each other, Lord Caitanya and Lakṣmī returned home. Who can understand the grave pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu?
CC Adi 14.95, Translation:
This is a synopsis of the childhood pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, placed herewith in chronological order. Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has already elaborately explained these pastimes in his book Caitanya-bhāgavata.
CC Adi 15.16, Purport:
Betel nuts are an intoxicant, and therefore the regulative principles prohibit eating them. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastime of fainting after eating betel nuts is a solid instruction to all of us that one should not touch betel nuts, even those offered to Viṣṇu, just as one should not touch grains on the Ekādaśī day. Of course, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's fainting had a particular purpose. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can do whatever He likes and eat whatever He wants, but we should not imitate His pastimes.
CC Adi 16.18, Translation:
I cannot understand the inconceivable pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for although Tapana Miśra wanted to live with Him in Navadvīpa, the Lord advised him to go to Vārāṇasī.
CC Adi 16.110, Translation:
The nectarean drops of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes can satisfy the senses of everyone who hears them.
CC Adi 17 Summary:
The Seventeenth Chapter, as summarized by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, describes Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes from His sixteenth year until the time He accepted the renounced order of life. Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has already vividly described these pastimes in the Caitanya-bhāgavata; therefore Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī describes them only briefly. Vivid descriptions of some portions of His pastimes are seen in this chapter, however, because Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has not elaborately described them.
CC Adi 17 Summary:
The King of Vrajabhūmi is Nanda Mahārāja, and the same person in Navadvīpa is Jagannātha Miśra, the father of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, mother Yaśodā is the Queen of Vrajabhūmi, and in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya she is Śacīmātā. Therefore the son of Śacī is the son of Yaśodā. Śrī Nityānanda occupies an ecstatic position of parental love in servitude and fraternal attraction. Śrī Advaita Prabhu exhibits the ecstasy of both fraternity and servitude. All the Lord's other associates, situated in their original love, engage in the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi 17.7, Purport:
On the plea of disturbance of the bodily air and metabolism, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu acted as if crazy. Thus in His school He began to explain the grammar of verbs through Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Explaining everything in grammar in relationship to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord induced His students to refrain from worldly education, for it is better to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and in this way attain the highest perfectional platform of education. On these grounds, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī later compiled the grammar entitled Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa. People in general consider such explanations crazy. Therefore the Lord's purpose in His attitude of craziness was to explain that there is nothing within our experience but Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for everything may be dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu have been very vividly described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-līlā, Chapter One.
CC Adi 17.12, Purport:
Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu was born in the village of Ekacakrā, in the district of Birbhum, as the son of Padmāvatī and Hāḍāi Paṇḍita. In His childhood He played like Balarāma. When He was growing up, a sannyāsī came to the house of Hāḍāi Paṇḍita and begged to have the paṇḍita's son as his brahmacārī assistant. Hāḍāi Paṇḍita immediately agreed and delivered his son to him, although the separation was greatly shocking, so much so that Hāḍāi lost his life after the separation. Nityānanda Prabhu traveled on many pilgrimages with the sannyāsī. It is said that for many days He lived at Mathurā with him, and at that time He heard about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes in Navadvīpa. Therefore He came down to Bengal to see the Lord. When Lord Nityānanda came to Navadvīpa, He was a guest at the house of Nandana Ācārya. Understanding that Nityānanda Prabhu had arrived, Lord Caitanya sent His devotees to Him, and thus there was a meeting between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu.
CC Adi 17.309, Translation:
Only a person who has firm faith in the wonderful pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu can approach His lotus feet.
CC Adi 17.321, Translation:
The Eighth Chapter gives the reason for describing Lord Caitanya's pastimes. It also describes the greatness of Lord Kṛṣṇa's holy name.
CC Madhya-lila
CC Madhya 1.10, Translation:
To describe the unlimited pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not possible, but I now wish to relate the chief incidents and give a synopsis of those pastimes occurring at the end.
CC Madhya 1.13, Translation:
Actually the authorized compiler of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa, the incarnation of Vyāsadeva. Only upon his orders am I trying to chew the remnants of food that he has left.
CC Madhya 2.1, Translation:
While relating in synopsis form the last division of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in this chapter I shall describe the Lord's transcendental ecstasy, which appears like madness due to His separation from Kṛṣṇa.
CC Madhya 2.83, Translation:
Such topics are not to be discussed freely because if they are, no one will understand them. Such are the wonderful pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Unto one who is able to understand, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has shown mercy by giving him the association of the servant of His own servant.
CC Madhya 2.84, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are the topmost of jewels. They have been kept in the storehouse of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, who has explained them to Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who has repeated them to me. Whatever little I have heard from Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī I have described in this book, which is presented to all devotees.
CC Madhya 2.85, Translation:
If one says that Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is full of Sanskrit verses and therefore not understandable by a common man, I reply that what I have described are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and that for me to satisfy everyone is not possible.
CC Madhya 2.85, Purport:
Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī and one who follows in his footsteps do not have to cater to the public. Their business is simply to satisfy the previous ācāryas and describe the pastimes of the Lord. One who is able to understand can relish this exalted transcendental literature, which is actually not meant for ordinary persons like scholars and literary men. Generally, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes recorded in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta are studied in universities and scholastic circles from a literary and historical point of view, but actually Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is not a subject matter for research workers or literary scholars. It is simply meant for those devotees who have dedicated their lives to the service of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya 2.87, Translation:
If one does not understand in the beginning but continues to hear again and again, the wonderful effects of Lord Caitanya's pastimes will bring love for Kṛṣṇa. Gradually one will come to understand the loving affairs between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs and other associates of Vṛndāvana. Everyone is advised to continue to hear over and over again in order to greatly benefit.
CC Madhya 2.91, Translation:
In this chapter I have to some extent described the essence of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya at the end. If I die in the meantime and cannot describe them in detail, at least the devotees will have this transcendental treasure.
CC Madhya 2.95, Translation:
Receiving orders from the above authorities and the Vaiṣṇavas of Vṛndāvana, especially from Haridāsa, the priest of Govindajī, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, have tried to describe one small particle of one drop of one wave of the ocean of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya 6.285, Translation:
If one hears with faith and love these pastimes concerning Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's meeting with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, he very soon is freed from the net of speculation and fruitive activity and attains the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's lotus feet.
CC Madhya 7.39, Purport:
This Kṛṣṇadāsa, known as Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, is not the Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa mentioned in the Eleventh Chapter, verse 37, of the Ādi-līlā. The Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa mentioned in the Eleventh Chapter is one of the twelve gopālas (cowherd boys) who appeared to substantiate the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is known as a great devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. The brāhmaṇa named Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa who went with Śrī Caitanya to South India and later to Bengal is mentioned in the Madhya-līlā, Tenth Chapter, verses 62–79. One should not take these two to be the same person.
CC Madhya 7.152, Translation:
One who hears these pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great faith will surely very soon attain the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya 7.153, Translation:
I admit that I do not know the beginning or the end of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. However, whatever I have written I have heard from the mouths of great personalities.
CC Madhya 8.309, Translation:
This part of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes is most confidential. One can derive benefit quickly only by faith; otherwise, by arguing one will always remain far away.
CC Madhya 9.236, Translation:
All the people there were greatly astonished to see the ecstatic pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They all received the Lord very well.
CC Madhya 9.359, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are unlimited. No one can properly describe His activities, yet I make the attempt out of greed. This but reveals my shamelessness.
CC Madhya 9.363, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are just like an unfathomable ocean. It is not possible for me to enter into it. Simply standing on the shore, I am but touching the water.
CC Madhya 9.364, Translation:
The more one hears the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith, analytically studying them, the more one attains the ecstatic riches of love of Godhead.
CC Madhya 11.95, Purport:
There are many professional chanters who can perform congregational chanting with various musical instruments in an artistic and musical way, but their chanting cannot be as attractive as the congregational chanting of pure devotees. If a devotee sticks strictly to the principles governing Vaiṣṇava behavior, his bodily luster will naturally be attractive, and his singing and chanting of the holy names of the Lord will be effective. People will appreciate such kīrtana without hesitation. Even dramas about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya or Śrī Kṛṣṇa should be played by devotees. Such dramas will immediately interest an audience and be full of potency. The students of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness should note these two points and try to apply these principles in their spreading of the Lord's glories.
CC Madhya 11.241, Translation:
As long as the devotees remained at Jagannātha Purī with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the pastime of saṅkīrtana was performed with great jubilation every day.
CC Madhya 14.256, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are unlimited and endless. Even Sahasra-vadana, Lord Śeṣa, cannot reach the limits of His pastimes.
CC Madhya 15.299, Translation:
These are the peculiar characteristics of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. Thus the Lord ate in Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's house, and in this way Sārvabhauma's love for the Lord has become very well known.
CC Madhya 15.301, Translation:
Whoever hears these pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith and love will attain the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet very soon.
CC Madhya 16.143, Translation:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya to take Gadādhara Paṇḍita with him. The Bhaṭṭācārya told Gadādhara Paṇḍita, “Get up! Such are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya 16.201, Translation:
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes are all uncommon. Whoever listens to His activities becomes glorious, and his life becomes perfect.
CC Madhya 17.233, Translation:
The whole world became merged in the inundation of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One can swim in that water to the extent that he has the strength.
CC Madhya 18.64, Translation:
After seeing the places of Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Śrī Caitanya went to Śeṣaśāyī, where He saw Lakṣmī and recited the following verse.
CC Madhya 18.224, Translation:
What ordinary living being can describe the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu? I have only indicated the general direction in the form of a summary.
CC Madhya 18.226, Translation:
From beginning to end the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are uncommon. Just hear them with faith and accept them as true and correct.
CC Madhya 18.228, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are an ocean of nectar. Even a drop of this ocean can inundate the whole world with transcendental bliss.
CC Madhya 19.119, Translation:
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.
CC Madhya 19.132, Purport:
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī had no fixed residence. They stayed beneath a tree for one day only and wrote huge volumes of transcendental literature. They not only wrote books but chanted, danced, discussed Kṛṣṇa and remembered Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. Thus they executed devotional service.
CC Madhya 24.350, Translation:
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.
CC Madhya 25 Summary:
From that day on, all the sannyāsīs of Vārāṇasī became devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Before returning to His headquarters at Jagannātha Purī, the Lord advised Sanātana Gosvāmī to go to Vṛndāvana. The Lord then departed for Jagannātha Purī. Kavirāja Gosvāmī then describes something about Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and Subuddhi Rāya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to Jagannātha Purī through the great forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa in central India. At the end of this chapter, Kavirāja Gosvāmī sums up the incidents of the madhya-līlā and instructs every living being to read this sublime book of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes.
CC Madhya 25.239, Translation:
Whoever hears Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes with faith and love very soon attains shelter at the Lord's lotus feet.
CC Madhya 25.269, Translation:
All devotees should hear about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes with faith and love. By the grace of the Lord, one can thus attain shelter at His lotus feet.
CC Madhya 25.270, Translation:
By understanding the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one can understand the truth about Kṛṣṇa. By understanding Kṛṣṇa, one can understand the limit of all knowledge described in various revealed scriptures.
CC Madhya 25.271, Translation:
The pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are the essence of all nectar, and that nectar is flowing in hundreds of rivers in all directions. The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are an eternal reservoir, and one is advised to let his mind swim like a swan on this transcendental lake.
CC Madhya 25.271, Purport:
The essence of spiritual knowledge is found in the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which are identical with the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of knowledge. If knowledge does not include the understanding of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa, it is simply superfluous. By Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's grace, the nectar of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's pastimes is flowing in different directions in hundreds and thousands of rivers. One should not think that the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are different from Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. It is said, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: "Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa." Thus without understanding the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one cannot understand Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore sings, rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti/ kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala pirīti: "When shall I become very eager to study the books left by the Six Gosvāmīs? Then I shall be able to understand the conjugal pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa."
CC Madhya 25.277, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are full of nectar, and the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are like camphor. When one mixes these, they taste very sweet. By the mercy of the pure devotees, whoever tastes them can understand the depths of that sweetness.
CC Madhya 25.278, Translation:
Men become strong and stout by eating sufficient grains, but the devotee who simply eats ordinary grains but does not taste the transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa gradually becomes weak and falls down from the transcendental position. However, if one drinks but a drop of the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, his body and mind begin to bloom, and he begins to laugh, sing and dance.
CC Madhya 25.281, Translation:
Taking the feet of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī and Jīva Gosvāmī on my head, I always desire their mercy. Thus I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, humbly try to describe the nectar of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which are mixed with the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
CC Madhya 25.283, Translation:
The Caitanya-caritāmṛta pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu constitute a very secret literature. It is the life and soul of all devotees. Those who are not fit to relish this literature, who are envious like hogs and pigs, will certainly not adore it. However, this will not harm my attempt. These pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will certainly please all saintly people who have clear hearts. They will certainly enjoy it. We wish that this will enhance their enjoyment more and more.
CC Antya-lila
CC Antya 1.9, Translation:
I have briefly described the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu known as the madhya-līlā. Now I shall attempt to describe something about His last pastimes, which are known as the antya-līlā.
CC Antya 1.33, Translation:
Such are the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the son of mother Śacī. He even delivered a dog simply by inducing it to chant the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa.
CC Antya 2.159, Translation:
“Haridāsa cannot have been degraded; he must have attained liberation. This is a pastime of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's. You will all understand it later.”
CC Antya 2.170, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are like nectar, and they are deep like the ocean. People in general cannot understand them, but a sober devotee can.
CC Antya 2.171, Translation:
Please hear the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith and confidence. Do not argue, for arguments will produce a contrary result.
CC Antya 3.47, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are deeper than millions of seas and oceans. Therefore no one can understand what He does or why He does it.
CC Antya 3.269, Translation:
I have heard from the mouth of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī all that Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī recorded in his notes about the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Antya 5.88, Purport:
To inundate the three worlds with nectar is the purpose of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. How this could be possible was exhibited by Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and later by Ṭhākura Narottama dāsa and Śyāmānanda Gosvāmī, who all represented the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Now that same mercy is overflooding the entire world through the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The present Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is nondifferent from the pastimes performed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when He was personally present, for the same principles are being followed and the same actions performed without fail.
CC Antya 5.89, Translation:
O devotees, relish daily the nectar of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for by doing so one can merge in transcendental bliss and attain full knowledge of devotional service.
CC Antya 5.104-105, Translation:
A poet who does not know the grammatical regulative principles, who is unfamiliar with metaphorical ornaments, especially those employed in drama, and who does not know how to present the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa is condemned. Moreover, the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are especially difficult to understand.
CC Antya 7.165, Translation:
No one can understand the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They are like the Ganges, for hundreds and thousands of branches flow from even one of His activities.
CC Antya 7.169, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are very deep. Who can understand them? Only one who has firm, deep devotion to His lotus feet can understand these pastimes.
CC Antya 10.160, Translation:
One who hears about the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith and love will certainly attain ecstatic love for the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu without fail.
CC Antya 11.15, Translation:
Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya, the chief assistants in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes, remained with Him both day and night.
CC Antya 13.76, Translation:
The hot chili-like taste burned the tongues of those who chewed the seeds. Thus the eating of pīlu fruits from Vṛndāvana became a pastime of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's.
CC Antya 14.7, Purport:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's transcendental feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa and His consequent madness are not at all understandable by a person on the material platform. Nonetheless, a so-called party of devotees named nadīyā-nāgarī has sprung up and introduced the worship of Viṣṇupriyā. This certainly indicates their ignorance concerning Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. In the opinion of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, such worship is a product of the imagination. Many other methods of worshiping Caitanya Mahāprabhu have also been introduced, but they have all been rejected by stalwart devotees like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.
CC Antya 14.119, Translation:
In his book Gaurāṅga-stava-kalpavṛkṣa, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has very vividly described Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastime of running toward the Caṭaka-parvata sand dune.
CC Antya 14.121, Translation:
Who can properly describe all the uncommon pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu? They are all simply His play.
CC Antya 15.1, Translation:
The ocean of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to understand, even for such demigods as Lord Brahmā. By enacting His pastimes, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu submerged Himself in that ocean, and His heart was absorbed in that love. Thus He exhibited in various ways the exalted position of transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa.
CC Antya 15.95, Translation:
Thus I have described Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes in the garden, which He entered, mistaking it for Vṛndāvana.
CC Antya 15.98, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are unlimited; it is not possible to write of them properly. I can give only an indication of them as I try to introduce them.
CC Antya 18.13, Translation:
If Ananta, with His one thousand hoods, tried to describe even one day's pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He would find them impossible to describe fully.
CC Antya 18.23, Translation:
When an ordinary living entity describes the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he purifies himself by touching one drop of that great ocean.
CC Antya 19.75, Translation:
This pastime of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's has been described very nicely by Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī in his book known as Gaurāṅga-stava-kalpavṛkṣa.
CC Antya 19.101, Purport:
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that he has been able to describe these four pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by the blessings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī was not actually a direct disciple of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, but he followed the instructions given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. He therefore acted according to the directions of Rūpa Gosvāmī and prayed in every chapter for his mercy.
CC Antya 20.70, Translation:
Even Anantadeva, who has thousands of faces, could not reach the end of describing the transcendental bliss of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes.
CC Antya 20.74, Translation:
I have only very briefly described the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu not described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. Nevertheless, because those transcendental pastimes are so numerous, the size of this book has increased.
CC Antya 20.76, Translation:
What I have described gives merely an indication, but by following this indication one may obtain a taste of all the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Antya 20.77, Translation:
I cannot understand the very deep, meaningful pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. My intelligence cannot penetrate them, and therefore I could not properly describe them.
CC Antya 20.80, Translation:
The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are like the unlimited sky. How, then, can an ordinary living being describe them all?
CC Antya 20.82, Translation:
Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura is Lord Nityānanda's favorite devotee, and therefore he is the original Vyāsadeva in describing the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Antya 20.82, Purport:
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that all writers after Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura who are pure devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and who have tried to describe the Lord's activities are to be considered like Vyāsa. Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura is the original Vyāsadeva in describing caitanya-līlā, and all others who follow in his footsteps by describing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes are also to be called Vyāsadeva. The bona fide spiritual master is called Vyāsa because he is a representative of Vyāsa. Worshiping the birthday of such a spiritual master is called Vyāsa-pūjā.
CC Antya 20.83, Translation:
Although Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has within his jurisdiction the full store of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes, he has left aside most of them and described but a small portion.
CC Antya 20.87, Purport:
"The unlimited pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will be described by Vyāsadeva in the future." Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that these statements indicate that in the future, other representatives of Vyāsadeva will elaborately describe Lord Caitanya's pastimes. The purport is that any pure devotee in the disciplic succession who describes the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is confirmed to be a representative of Vyāsadeva.
CC Antya 20.88, Translation:
The ocean of nectarean pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like the ocean of milk. According to his thirst, Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura filled his pitcher and drank from that ocean.
CC Antya 20.90-91, Translation:
I am a very insignificant living being, like a small red-beaked bird. Just as such a bird drinks the water of the sea to quench its thirst, so I have touched only a drop of the ocean of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. From this example, you may all understand how expansive are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:
In the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa is manifested in five different features, known as the pañca-tattva, to whom Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja offers his obeisances in the fourteenth verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Kṛṣṇa and His associates appear as devotees of the Supreme Lord in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaitācārya, Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu and Śrīvāsa Prabhu. In all cases, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the source of energy for all His devotees. Since this is the case, if we take shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the successful execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are sure to make progress. In a devotional song, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, "My dear Lord Caitanya, please have mercy upon me. There is no one who is as merciful as You. My plea is most urgent because Your mission is to deliver all fallen souls, and no one is more fallen than I. Therefore I beg priority."
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 8:
It is said that all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are eternal, and this is confirmed in every scripture. Generally people cannot understand how Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes, but Lord Caitanya clarified this by comparing the performance of His pastimes to the orbit of the sun. According to Vedic astrological calculations, the twenty-four hours of a day are divided into sixty daṇḍas. The days are again divided into 3,600 palas. The sun disc can be perceived crossing the sky in steps of sixty palas each, and that time constitutes a daṇḍa. Eight daṇḍas make one prahara, and the sun rises and sets within four praharas. Similarly, four praharas constitute one night, and after that the sun rises. And just as the sun can be seen in its movement through 3,600 palas, all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa can be seen in any of the universes.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.4:
Those who try to understand Lord Kṛṣṇa without receiving His mercy, like Dr. Radhakrishnan, will certainly be deluded even if they are scholar—philosophers like him. The Brahma-saṁhitā says that Kṛṣṇa is easily manifest to the devotees but is beyond the reach of Vedic scholars. Śrīla Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya has proved this point by participating in a pastime of Lord Caitanya's in which the Bhaṭṭācārya exhibited his Vedic learning. In recent times, paṇḍitas such as Śrī Bankim Chattopadhyaya and Dr. Bhandarkar became equally deluded trying to approach this subject.
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 1.16.23 -- Hawaii, January 19, 1974:
Prabhupāda: There is no difference, because you approach Kṛṣṇa. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar..., mām eti. "He comes to Me." Kṛṣṇa, when He's there... Just like Kṛṣṇa was on this planet. To live with Kṛṣṇa and to go to Goloka Vṛndāvana and to live with Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference.
Devotee (3): Is this birth we have now considered in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes? This saṅkīrtana movement is part of Lord Caitanya's pastimes?
Prabhupāda: I do not follow.
Satsvarūpa: Is this life, this present life, is this also being within Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, because Lord Caitanya's saṅkīrtana movement is Kṛṣṇa's pastimes.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. If you actually remain with saṅkīrtana, that means you are with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He's called jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate. He's liberated even in this body. He's liberated. Because Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name is not different. Absolute. Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya... (CC Madhya 17.133). If you have understood that Kṛṣṇa's name and Kṛṣṇa are the same thing, that, you are always living with Kṛṣṇa, if you have understood this... Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ. Kṛṣṇa is not different. Kṛṣṇa's book, Kṛṣṇa's words, Kṛṣṇa's name, Kṛṣṇa's fame, Kṛṣṇa's glory, Kṛṣṇa's entourage—everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa—that is Kṛṣṇa. But if you have got that perfect knowledge, then you are living with Kṛṣṇa, always. You are already in the Vaikuṇṭha.
Lecture on SB 3.28.1 -- Honolulu, June 1, 1975:
The mother is taking instruction from son. So it doesn't matter. One should not think, "Oh, he is my son. What instruction I shall take from him? I know better than him." No. Son or anyone, anyone, if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa he becomes guru. This is the Vedic system. It doesn't matter. Caitanya Mahāprabhu approved this. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born in a very respectable brāhmaṇa family. He was very advanced learned scholar, and after all He took sannyāsa. So when He was discussing with Rāmānanda Rāya Rāmānanda Rāya was a gṛhastha, householder and governor of Madras, means politician. A householder, politician, and he was born not in brāhmaṇa family; in kāraṇa, kāyastha family. They are considered as śūdras. So he had no position to instruct Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave him the place of instructor and He took the position of a listener. Just see Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. He gave him the position of instructor and He took the position of student, listener.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.391-405 -- New York, January 2, 1967:
Lord Caitanya's pastimes going on, still going on, but some of the fortunate devotees, they can see. Anything, God's pastimes, that is perceivable through devotional service. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Only way. This is the process. No other process. No amount of speculation, no amount of academic education, no amount of philosophical discussion can..., one can... It is confirmed in the Vedic literature: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhya, na bahunā śrutena. Na ayam ātmā... This self-realization is not possible. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhya, simply by discussion, nobody can arrive. Nobody can understand what is self-realization, what is Supreme Soul, the Absolute Truth. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena, na medhayā. Medhayā means one who is, who has got very good brain substance, he also cannot.
Purports to Songs
Purport to Gaurangera Duti Pada -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:
And then he says, gaurāṅgera madhuri-līlā, yāra karṇe praveśilā. Now he comes to the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. He says that "Lord Caitanya's pastimes are also as much transcendental as Lord Kṛṣṇa's." As in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that anyone who can simply understand the transcendental appearance, disappearance, activities, work of Kṛṣṇa, he immediately becomes eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. Simply by understanding the pastimes and the work, transcendental activities of Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, one who enters into the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he immediately becomes freed from all contamination of the heart. Gaurāṅgera madhuri-līlā, yāra karṇe praveśilā. Karṇe praveśilā means simply one has to receive the message of Lord Caitanya. Karṇe means in the ear. To give the message a submissive aural reception. Then immediately one's heart becomes freed from all material contamination.
Purport to Gaurangera Duti Pada -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:
Nitya-līlā means the pastimes, or the loving exchange, affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, that is eternal. That is not temporary. We should not think that Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pastimes, loving affairs, is just like the business of a, of a young boy or girl, as we see in this material world. Such loving affairs is not at all loving affairs. They are lusty affairs, and they are not eternal. Therefore they break. Today I am in love with somebody and next day it breaks. But Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā is not like that. It is eternal. Therefore that is transcendental and this is temporary. So simply one who is absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he can immediately understand what is the actual position of the loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Nitya-līlā tāre sphure. Sei yaya rādhā-mādhava, sei yaya vrajendra-suta pāśa. And simply by doing that, he becomes eligible to enter into the abode of Kṛṣṇa. Vrajendra-suta. Vrajendra-suta means the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana. He's sure to go to associate with Kṛṣṇa in his next birth.
Purport to Gaurangera Duti Pada -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:
And then he says, gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi, yebā jāni cintāmaṇi. A... The gaura-maṇḍala means the place in West Bengal wherein Lord Caitanya had His pastimes. In Navadvīpa, during Lord Caitanya's birth anniversary, the devotees go and circumambulate different places of Lord Caitanya's pastimes. It takes nine days. So that portion of Bengal is called gauḍa-maṇḍala. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, "One who understands that there is no difference between this part of the country with Vṛndāvana," tāra haya vraja-bhūmi vāsa, "it is as good as one lives in Vṛndāvana." Then he says, gaura-prema rasārṇarve. Lord Caitanya's activities is just like an ocean of loving affairs of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore one who takes a dip into this ocean, gaura-prema-rasārṇave, sei taraṅga yebā ḍube. Just like we take a dip and bath, and we play, sport, in the waves of the ocean or sea. Similarly, one who takes pleasure, taking a dip and sporting with the waves of the ocean of Lord Caitanya's distribution of love of God, such a person becomes immediately a confidential devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Do it. Apply your American brain how to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is success.
- idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā
- sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ
- avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito
- yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam
- (SB 1.5.22)
Whatever talent one has got... These talents are also acquired after austerity. It is not ordinary thing. So everything should be employed to describe Uttamaśloka, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is Uttamaśloka. So we have got so many Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastime. We can overflood. Just like you can overflood with this literature, we can overflood... This is art. Art, music, everything we can utilize. In any way one is addicted—let him eat only, let him sing only, let him paint only, let him dance only—we have got everything. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Let him do business also. Yes. Engineering-construct temple. It is so all-perfect movement, Kṛṣṇa... That is Kṛṣṇa, all-attractive. Everyone can be attracted and give up everything. He will be attracted by Kṛṣṇa in such a way that he'll give up all nonsense. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No more other enga... Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). All other attraction finished. Simply Kṛṣṇa.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Room Conversation -- February 16, 1977, Mayapura:
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This book is now very nice because there are many fine illustrations inside, more than there used to be. They've added. The Teachings of Lord Caitanya, I was thinking in particular. I have a copy of that, and there are many color illustrations inside now. Wonderful book, the summary of all of Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's introduction gives a whole... It's like all of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya condensed into a few pages.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is there in the Teaching of Lord Caitanya.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, teachings of Lord Caitanya. This is... You remember that...
Prabhupāda: Near Bombay.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bombay, at Rāma temple you stayed at. This was taken by Brijbasi. They took this picture. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...rasāmṛta-sindhu like my other books, word to word. Then Bon Mahārāja began. So Bon Mahārāja could not do it. Only he published only a part of it with gorgeous sound, that, only that eleven hundred or one thousand copies printed forever.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
Letter to Juggannath Babu -- Calcutta 14 March, 1949:
You have encouraged your mill employees by establishing a recreation club and the amiable feelings of your employees with the benevolent proprietors as has been exhibited in yesterdays function, may be supplemented by infusing them with spiritual inspiration by the simple method as done by Lord Caitanya. In the last portion of His transcendental pastimes, Lord Caitanya lived in Puri-dhama and worshiped the Lord Jagannatha. By Some way or other your mill area has been named as the Jagannatha Puri and I suggest that an actual temple of Sri Jagannathaji may be erected by the guru-mandala for the benefit of these mill workers. If they simply make melodious kirtana of Rama or Krishna or both combined and they are offered the prasadam of Sri Jagannatha surely they shall imbibe the spiritual tendency inherent in every human
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1969 Correspondence
Letter to Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 9 February, 1969:
Panca-tattva is described as Krishna in five expansions, namely Krishna Himself in the role of a devotee; His Incarnation in the role of a devotee; His energy in the role of a devotee; His expansion in the role of a devotee; and His two energies (internal and marginal) in the role of devotees. So the external energy is not there. Therefore the whole manifestation is transcendental. There are three energies, namely internal, external, and marginal. Although all of the energies are connected with Krishna, the external energy is differentiated. Just like darkness is another part of light, and therefore darkness can not stand before the light, but it stands somewhere by the side of the light. Without light, there is no existence of darkness, but darkness cannot be found in the light. Similarly, there is no darkness or activities of the external energy in the Pastimes of Lord Caitanya.
Letter to Sivananda -- Los Angeles 22 July, 1969:
Jaya Govinda was correct in his observation that Radha-Krishna Pastimes should not be discussed at the present time. Unless one is highly elevated in spiritual understanding it is risky to discuss these Pastimes. Caitanya Mahaprabhu never discussed Radha-Krishna Lila with ordinary persons. We have so many other things to discuss; what is the soul, what is bhakti. To understand Radha and Krishna's Pastimes, that is our aim, but we should not indulge in this at present. Then there is sure to be misunderstanding.
1970 Correspondence
Letter to Upendra -- Los Angeles 24 June, 1970:
The actress girl, Janne, has arrived here. She has presented me one ballpoint pen, and she has also transferred travelers checks to the amount of $500 to the Society. She appears to be very nice intelligent girl, and we are trying to engage her for some dramatical performance on the basis of Lord Caitanya's pastimes.
1972 Correspondence
Letter to Nayanabhirama -- Los Angeles 18 September, 1972:
I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 4, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Yes, I did not see your drama in New Vrndavana about the advent of Lord Krsna. But I have heard from others that it was done very nicely, so I am very much pleased. These kinds of dramas about Krsna, Krsna's pastimes, and also Lord Caitanya's pastimes, are very much desirable for presenting to the public widely. So if you can organize your traveling party to present such dramas all over your country and other places that will be very much appreciated. Perhaps you can work together with Visnujana for presenting our road show opera to the public also. I had opportunity to see that opera in Pittsburgh and it was very well done, with a lot of drama and dancing as well. You may keep me informed from time to time what is the progress of your play-acting group, Vaikuntha Players.
1974 Correspondence
Letter to Radhavallabha -- Bombay 9 May, 1974:
I am in due receipt of your letter undated. Now you are preparing the publications of Vol.1 and Vol.3 of Caitanya Caritamrta. As far as subtitles all the volumes should have on the cover just as it is on the cover of Vol.2, "The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu". As for the subtitle on the inside title page which is now printed in Vol.2 as "Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the renounced Order of Life," you can make a subtitle suitable according to the subject matter of the subsequent volume. But the phrase "The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu" should appear on the cover of every volume.
| Page Title: | Pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 22 of Nov, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=127, OB=3, Lec=6, Con=2, Let=6 |
| No. of Quotes: | 144 |