Sri Caitanya Converts Muslims into Krsna Devotees

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The Hindus and the Muslims in India

His Divine Grace

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada

Founder-Acarya of the

Hare Krishna Movement

 

(Unknown to most is the fact that Sri Caitanya introduced the method

of civil disobediance towards foreign rule nearly 500 yrs before

M.K.Gandhi.)

 

Five hundred years ago in India Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was

preaching the Hare Krishna movement. At that time India was being

ruled by the Mohammedans who were Muslims. The following narration

is a description of their attempts to stop the chanting of the Hare

Krishna maha-mantra by the Hindus. His Divine Grace A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (10-17-01)

 

Five hundred years ago in India one great personality was preaching

the Hare Krishna movement, He was Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and

He is accepted as Krishna Himself taking the form of a devotee to

show everyone how to taste the topmost spiritual ecstasy by chanting

Hare Krishna. At that time India was being ruled by the Mohammedans

who were Muslims. Lord Caitanya was, at this time, staying in Nadia,

West Bengal and the governor of Bengal at that time was known as

Subabangala. Keeping law and order and punishing criminals was

entrusted to a Kazi or city magistrate. The city magistrate was

Chand Kazi. The following narration is a description of the Kazi's

attempts to stop the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.

 

Lord Caitanya ordered all the residents of Navadvipa to chant the

Hare Krishna mantra, and in each and every home they began

performing sankirtana (congregational chanting of the holy names of

God) regularly. When the sankirtana movement thus started in

Navadvipa, no one could hear any other sound than the words "Hari!

Hari!" and the beating of the mrdanga (drum) and the clashing of

hand bells. Hearing the resounding vibration of the Hare Krishna

mantra, the local Mohammedans became greatly angry and submitted a

complaint to the Kazi.

 

As a result of this complaint Chand Kazi went to one home in the

evening where the chanting of Hare Krishna was going on and he broke

the mrdanga (drum) and spoke as follows: "For so long you did not

follow the regulative principles of the Hindu religion, but now you

are following them with great enthusiasm. May I know by whose

strength you are doing so? No one should chant Hare Krishna on the

streets of the city. Today I am excusing your offence and returning

home but the next time I see someone chanting Hare Krishna I will

certainly chastise him by confiscating all his property and

converting him into a Mohammedan." After saying this the Kazi

returned home.

 

The devotees, greatly shocked that they were forbidden to chant Hare

Krishna, submitted their grief to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord

Caitanya ordered, "Go and chant Hare Krishna! Today I shall kill all

the Mohammedans!"

 

The First Civil Disobedience Movement

The devotees returned home and once again began to chant Hare

Krishna, but because of the order of the Kazi, they were not

carefree but were always full of anxiety. Understanding the anxiety

within people's minds, the Lord called them together and spoke to

them as follows: "In the evening I shall chant Hare Krishna in every

town, therefore you should all decorate the city in the evening. In

the evening burn torchlights in every home. I shall give protection

to everyone. Let us see what kind of Kazi comes to stop our

chanting!" In the evening the Lord went out and formed three

chanting parties. In the front party Thakura Haridasa was dancing,

in the middle party Advaita Acarya danced with great jubilation and

the Lord, who is known as Guarasundara, danced Himself. He was

accompanied by Sri Nityananda Prabhu who moved with Lord Caitanya's

dancing. Following the Lord's chanting, all the devotees reproduced

the same sound He chanted. In this way the Lord proceeded, leading

the entire party on the strand roads by the bank of the Ganges. When

the Lord came to His own bathing place He danced more and more. Then

He proceeded to Madhai's bathing place. In this way Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu danced all over the banks of the Ganges. In this way he

traveled all around Sri Mayapur. Then the Lord proceeded towards the

Kazi's house, and in this way He reached the door of Chand Kazi.

 

Mumuring in anger and making a roaring sound the devotees under the

protection of Lord Caitanya became very agitated. The loud sound of

the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra certainly made the Kazi feel

very much afraid, and he hid himself in his room. Hearing the

devotees protesting and murmuring in great anger the Kazi would not

come out of his home.

 

The Kazi's order not to perform sankirtana could stand only as long

as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the

Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the chanters, increasing in

number, disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled

together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra

and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus the Kazi was very

much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.

 

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together

in the Krishna consciousness movement and protest against the

present degraded governments of the world's godless societies, which

are based on all kinds of sinful activities. The Srimad-Bhagavatam

states that in the age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class

people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of

governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga

that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their

lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and

their ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do

anything good for society.

 

The Only Remedy to the Worlds' Problems is the Hare Krishna Movement

 

The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the sankirtan

movement under the banner of Krishna consciousness and protest

against the sinful activities of all the world's governments. The

Krishna consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious

movement; it is movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of

human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty

scientifically, as ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the world

will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless

under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in

human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute

its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business.

Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live

in.

 

There is an immediate need for a good government -- a government by

the people, with Krishna consciousness. Unless the masses of people

become Krishna conscious, they cannot be good men. The Krishna

consciousness movement that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started by

chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra still has its potency.

Therefore people should understand it seriously and scientifically

and spread it all over the world.

 

Naturally some of the persons accompanying Lord Caitanya were very

much agitated and they began to retaliate the Kazi's actions by

wrecking his house and flower garden. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

reached the Kazi's house He sat down by the doorway and sent some

respectable persons to call for the Kazi. When the Kazi came, his

head bowed down, the Lord gave him the proper respect and a seat.

 

Although some of the men in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's civil

disobedience movement were agitated because they could not control

their minds, the Lord was thoroughly peaceful, sober and unagitated.

Therefore when the Kazi came down to see Him, the Lord offered him

proper respect because he was a respectable government officer. Thus

the Lord taught us by His personal behavior.

 

In a friendly way the Lord said, "Sir, I have come to your house as

a guest, but upon seeing Me you hid yourself in your room. What kind

of etiquette is this?" The Kazi replied, "You have come to my house

in a very angry mood. To pacify You, I did not come before You

immediately, but kept myself hidden. Now that You have become

pacified I have come to You. It is my good fortune to receive a

guest like Your Honour. In our village relationship Nilambara

Cakravarti is my uncle and since he is also Your grandfather by this

relationship You are my nephew. When a nephew is very angry his

uncle is tolerant and when the uncle commits an offence the nephew

does not take it very seriously. In this way the Kazi and the Lord

talked.

 

Lord Caitanya Preaches to the Kazi

 

The Lord said, "My dear uncle, I have come to your home just to ask

you some questions.Yes," the Kazi replied, "You are welcome, just

tell me what is on Your mind." The Lord said, "You drink cows milk

therefore the cow is your mother. And the bull plows the fields

thereby producing rice and other grains for your maintenance

therefore he is your father. Since the bull and cow are your father

and mother how can you kill and eat them? What kind of religious

principle is this? On what strength are you so daring that you

commit such sinful activities?"

 

Kazi replied, "As You have Your scriptures called the Vedas and

Puranas, we have our scripture known as the Holy Koran. According to

the Koran, there are two ways of advancement -- through increasing

the enjoying spirit and through decreasing the enjoying spirit. On

the path of decreasing attachment the killing of animals is

prohibited, however, on the path of material activities there is

regulation for killing cows. If such killing is done under the

guidance of scripture there is no sin." As a learned scholar the

Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "In Your Vedic scriptures there

is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this

injunction great sages performed sacrifices involving cow killing."

 

Refuting the Kazi's statement the Lord immediately replied, "The

Vedas clearly state that cows should not be killed. Therefore any

Hindu, whoever he may be, does not engage in cow killing. In the

Vedas and Puranas there are injunctions declaring that if one can

revive a living being he can kill it for experimental purposes.

Therefore great sages sometimes killed old animals and by chanting

Vedic hymns they again brought them back to life. This killing and

rejuvenation of such old and invalid animals was not truly killing

but an act of great benefit. Formerly there were powerful brahmanas

who could make such experiments using the Vedic hymns but now,

because of Kali-yuga, brahmanas are not so powerful. Therefore the

killing of cows and bulls for rejuvenation is forbidden. Since you

Mohammedans cannot bring killed animals back to life you are

responsible for killing them. Therefore you are going to hell. There

is no way for your deliverance. Cow killers are condemned to rot in

hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on

the body of the cow. There are many mistakes and illusions in your

scriptures. Their compilers, not knowing the essence of knowledge,

gave orders that were against reason and argument."

 

The Kazi admits defeat

 

After hearing these statements by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Kazi,

his arguments stunned, could not put forward any more words. Thus,

after due consideration, the Kazi accepted defeat and spoke as

follows, "My dear Nimai Pandita (Caitanya Mahaprabhu), what You have

said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently and

they are certainly not logical and philosophical."

 

The scriptures of the meat-eaters are not eternal scriptures. They

have been fashioned recently, and sometimes they contradict one

another. The scriptures of the meat-eaters are three: the Old

Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. Their compilation has a

history; they are not eternal like the Vedic knowledge. Therefore

although they have their arguments and reasonings, they are not very

sound and transcendental. As such modern people advanced in science

and philosophy deem these scriptures unacceptable.

 

The Kazi continued, "I know that our scriptures are full of

imagination and mistaken ideas yet because I am a Mohammedan I

accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient

support. The reasoning and arguments in the scriptures of the meat-

eaters are not very sound."

 

Upon hearing these statements from the Kazi, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

smiled and inquired from him as follows, "My dear uncle, I wish to

ask you another question. Please tell me the truth. Do not try to

cheat me with tricks. In your city there is always congregational

chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. A tumultuous uproar of

music, singing and dancing is always going on. As a Mohammedan

magistrate you have the right to oppose the performance of Hindu

ceremonies but you do not forbid them. I cannot understand the

reason why."

 

The Kazi said, "Everyone calls You Guarahari. Please let me address

you by that name."

 

The Kazi Saw a Very Fierce Lion After Breaking the Drum

 

"Kindly listen, O Guarahari! When I went to the Hindu's house and

broke the drum and forbid the performance of congregational chanting

in my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion roaring

very loudly. His body was like a human being's and His face like a

lion's. Placing its nails on my chest the lion said in a grave

voice, 'I shall immediately tear open your chest as you broke the

mrdanga drum! You have forbidden the performance of My

congregational chanting. Therefore I must destroy you!' Being very

much afraid of Him I closed my eyes and trembled. Seeing me so

afraid the lion said, 'I have defeated you just to teach you a

lesson, but I must be merciful to you. On that day you did not

create a very great disturbance. Therefore I have excused you and

not taken your life. But if you perform such activities again I

shall not be tolerant. At that time I shall kill you, your entire

family and all the meat-eaters.' After saying this the lion left but

I was very much afraid of Him. Just see the marks of His nails on my

heart!"

 

After this description the Kazi showed his chest. Having heard him

and seen the marks all the people accepted this wonderful incident.

The Kazi continued, "I did not speak to anyone about this wonderful

event but on the same day one of my orderlies came to see me. He

said, 'When I went to stop the congregational chanting of Hare

Krishna suddenly flames struck my face. My beard was burned and

there were blisters on my cheeks.' Every orderly who went gave the

same description. After seeing this I instructed them not to stop

the chanting of Hare Krishna but instead to go home and sit down.

After this all the meat-eaters came to me with a petition

complaining that after this order there will always be unrestricted

chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra in the city. 'In this way the

religion of the Hindus will increase unlimitedly. There are always

vibrations of "Hari! Hari!" We do not hear anything but this.' One

meat-eater said, 'The Hindus say, "Krishna, Krishna," and they

smile, cry, dance, chant and fall on the ground smearing their

bodies with dirt. Vibrating "Hari, Hari," they make a tumultuous

sound. If the King hears of it certainly he will punish you.' I then

inquired from these meat-eaters, 'I know that the Hindus chant the

name Hari because that is the name of their God. But you are

Mohammedan meat-eaters. Why do you also chant the name of the

Hindus' God?' The meat-eater replied, 'Sometimes I joke with the

Hindus. Some of them are called Krishnadasa and some are called

Ramadasa. Some are called Haridasa. They always chant "Hari, Hari."

Since that time my tongue also always vibrates the sound, "Hari,

Hari." I have no desire to say it, but still my tongue says it. I do

not know what to do.' Another meat-eater said, 'Sir, please hear me.

Since the day I joked with some Hindus in this way my tongue chants

the Hare Krishna mantra and cannot give it up. I do not know what

mystic mantras and herbal potions these Hindus know.'

 

After hearing this I sent all the meat-eaters back to their homes.

Then five or seven nonbeliving Hindus approached me. They

complained, 'Nimai Pandita (Caitanya Mahaprabhu) has broken the

Hindu religious principles. He has introduced the sankirtana

(congregational chanting) system which we have never heard from any

scripture. Nimai Pandita was previously a very good boy but since He

has returned from Gaya He conducts Himself differently. (Caitanya

Mahaprabhu went to Gaya and there He met His spiritual master, Sri

Isvara Puri, who instructed Him to always chant the Hare Krishna

maha-mantra.) Now he loudly sings all kinds of songs, clapping,

playing drums and hand bells, and making a tumultuous sound that

deafens our ears. We do not know what He eats that makes Him become

mad, dancing, singing, sometimes laughing, crying, falling down,

jumping up and rolling on the ground. He has made all the people

practically mad by always performing congregational chanting. At

night we cannot get any sleep, we are always kept awake. Now He has

given up His own name Nimai and introduced Himself by the name

Guarahari. He has spoiled the Hindu religious principles and

introduced the irreligion of nonbelievers. Now the lower classes are

chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra again and again. For this

sinful activity the entire city of Navadvipa will be deserted.

According to Hindu scripture God's name is supposed to be the most

powerful hymn. If everyone hears the chanting of the name the

potency of the hymn will be lost. Sir, you are the ruler of this

town. Whether Hindu or Moslem, everyone is under your protection.

Therefore please call Nimai Pandita and make Him leave this town.'

After hearing their complaints I told them, in sweet words, 'Please

go back home. I shall certainly prohibit Nimai Pandita from

continuing His Hare Krishna movement.' I know that Narayana is the

supreme God of the Hindus and I think that You are the same

Narayana. I feel this in my mind."

 

After hearing the Kazi speak so nicely Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

touched him and smilingly spoke as follows, "The chanting of the

holy name of Krishna from your mouth has performed a wonder -- it

has nullified the reactions of all your sinful activities. Now you

have become supremely pure. Because you have chanted the holy names

of the Lord -- Hari, Krishna and Narayana -- you are undobutedly the

most fortunate and pious."

 

The Kazi pledges never to disrupt the chanting of Hare Krishna again

 

After the Kazi heard this tears flowed down from his eyes. He

immediately touched the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke the

following sweet words, "Only by Your mercy have my bad intentions

vanished. Kindly favor me so that my devotion may always be fixed

upon You." The Lord said, "I wish to beg you for one favor in

charity. You must pledge that the sankirtana movement will not be

checked, at least in the district of Nadia." The Kazi replied, "To

as many descendants as take birth in my family in the future I give

this decree: no one should check the sankirtana movement." As a

result of this grave injunction by the Kazi even at present the

descendants of the Kazi's family do not oppose the sankirtana

movement under any circumstances. Even during the great Hindu-Muslim

riots in neighboring places the descendants of the Kazi honestly

preserved the assurance given by their forefather.

 

Hearing this the Lord got up chanting, "Hari! Hari!" Following Him

all the other devotees also got up and chanted the holy name. Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu went back to perform kirtana (chanting) and the

Kazi, his mind very happy, went with him. This is the incident

concerning the Kazi and the Lord's mercy upon him. Anyone who hears

this is also freed from all offences. (From Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

Adi-lila Chapter 17 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada)