Lord Caitanya's disappearance

[Guest guest]

Generally devotees don't like to dilate on the Lord's disappearance, but as

some questionable "evidence" has been presented the topic needs further

discussion.

 

Rupa Vilasa Prabhu has quoted Satyaraja.

 

> Satyaraja cites the tapes of conversations between Hayagriva and Srila

> Prabhupada in San Francisco, April 5 and 6, 1967, "Outline of Lord

> Caitanya Play."

>

 

What are the exact quotes?

 

> He also writes: "Achyutananda, for instance, was an Oriyan disciple who

> was actually at the Jagannath temple at the time of the Lord's departure,

> In the first chapter of his authoritative work, "Shunya Samhita," he

> clearly says, 'Lord Caitanya, the great dancer, chanted the name of

> Radharani and like a flash of lightning, immersed Himself within the

> sacred body of Jagannath.' This then is considered the most authoritative

> account of the Lord's final manifest pastime, since it was described by an

> eyewitness." He also cites the same account in "Jagannath Charitamrita"

> and Ishvara das' "Chaitanya Bhagavat."

>

 

This Achyutananda was a prominent member of the ati-bari apasampradaya whose

impersonalistic leanings are clear from the title of his book "Shunya

Samhita" which may be considered authoritative by persons not committed to

the line of Bhaktivinoda. The account of Lord Caitanya chanting the name of

Radha in public is also suspect as there is no record of Him doing so in

biographies considered authoritative by acaryas in lines considered bona

fide by Srila Bhaktivinoda.

 

> However, Bhaktivinoda Thakura in "Sri Chaitanya Mahaprahu, His Life and

> Precepts," cites the Tota Gopinatha version. This is supported by

> "Bhakti-ratnakar."

>

> Srila BSST writes in his CC commentary: "His disappearance is traced to

> His amalgamation with Gopinatha at Tota in Puri...Some are of the opinion

> that He merged into the Jagannath Deity at the Gundicha Temple in

> Sundarachal."

 

This statement suggests that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila BSST

support the Tota Gopinath version, and that Srila BSST mentions the merging

into Jagannath as an opinion held by others, but not particularly by

himself.

 

NB Achyutananda is cited as seeing LC merge into Jagannath at the Jagannath

temple; Srila BSST mentions the opinion that LC merged into Jagannath at the

Gundicha temple.

(Text 16791) --------------

 

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