SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHUS APPEARENCE DAY 3-3-2007(fasting till moonrise)

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This account originally appeared in a short work bySrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura entitled, 'Sri CaitanyaMahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts.'(dated 20th August1896.)" This was taken from "Prologue" to "Teachingsof Lord Caitanya"(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.1974. pages xiii-xxii.) Who better could we find toinclude here than the pure unalloyed devotee, andforemost scholar in Vaisnava circles SrilaBhaktivinoda Thakura to perform this task. He startshis essay; "Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Mayapur in the townof Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 23rdPhalguna (1407 Sakadba), answering to the 18th ofFebruary 1486 of the Christian Era. The moon waseclipsed at the time of His birth, and the people ofNadia were then engaged, as was usual on suchoccasions, in bathing in the Bhagirathi with loudcheers of Haribol. His father, Jagannatha Misra, apoor

'brahmana' of the Vedic order, and His mother,Saci-devi, a model good woman, both descended from'brahmana' stock originally residing in Sylhet.Mahaprabhu was a beautiful child, and the ladies ofthe town came to see Him with presents. His mother'sfather, Pandita Nilambara Cakravarti, a renownedastrologer, foretold that the child would be a greatpersonage in time; and he, therefore, gave him thename Visvambhara. The ladies of the neighbourhoodstyled him Gaurahari on account of His goldencomplexion, and His mother called Him Nimai on accountof the 'nimba' tree near which He was born. Beautifulas the lad was, everyone heartily loved to see Himevery day. As He grew up He became a whimsical andfrolicsome lad. After His fifth year, He was admittedinto a pathasala where He picked up Bengali in a veryshort time. "Most of His contemporary biographers have mentionedcertain anecdotes regarding Caitanya which

are simplerecords of His early miracles. It is said that when Hewas an infant in His mother's arms He weptcontinually, and when the neighbouring ladies cried'Haribol' He used to stop. Thus there was acontinuation of utterance of 'Haribol' in the house,foreshewing the future mission of the hero. It hasalso been stated that when His mother gave Himsweetmeats to eat, He ate clay instead of the food.His mother, asking for the reason, He stated that asevery sweetmeat was nothing but clay transformed, Hecould eat clay as well. His mother, who was also theconsort of a 'pandita', explained that every articlein a special state was adapted to a special use.Earth, while in the state of a jug, could be used as awater pot, but in the state of a brick such a use wasnot possible. Clay, therefore in the form ofsweetmeats was usable as food, but clay in its otherstates was not. The lad was convinced and admitted

Hisstupidity in eating clay and agreed to avoid themistake in the future. Another miraculous act has beenrelated. It is said that a brahmana on pilgrimagebecame a guest in His house, cooked food and readgrace with meditation upon Krsna. In the meantime thelad came and ate up the cooked rice. The 'brahmana',astonished at the lad's act, cooked again at therequest of Jagannatha Misra. The lad again ate up thecooked rice while the 'brahmana' was offering the riceto Krsna with meditation. The 'brahmana' was persuadedto cook for the third time. This time all the inmatesof the house had fallen asleep, and so the lad showedHimself as Krsna to the traveller and blessed him. The'brahmana' was then lost in ecstasy at the appearanceof the object of his worship. It has also been statedthat two thieves stole away the lad from His father'sdoor with a view to purloin His jewels and gave Himsweetmeats on the way. The

lad exercised His illusoryenergy and deceived the thieves back towards His ownhouse. The thieves, for fear of detection, left theboy there and fled. Another miraculous act that hasbeen described is the lad's demanding and getting fromHiranya and Jagadisa all the offerings they hadcollected for worshiping Krsna on the day of Ekadasi.When only four years of age He sat on rejected cookingpots which were considered unholy by His mother. Heexplained to His mother that there was no question ofholiness and unholiness as regards to earthen potsthrown away after the cooking was over. Theseanecdotes relate to His tender age up to the fifthyear. "In His eighth year, He was admitted into the tola ofGangadasa Pandita in Ganganagara close by the villageof Mayapur. In two years He became well read inSanskrit grammar and rhetoric. His readings after thatwere of the nature of self-study in His own house,where

He had found all-important books belonging toHis father, who was a 'pandita' himself. It appearsthat He read the 'smrti' in His own study, and the'nyaya' also, in competition with His friends, whowere then studying under the celebrated 'pandita'Raghunatha Siromani. "Now, after the tenth year of His age, Caitanyabecame a passable scholar in grammar, rhetoric, the'smrti' and the 'nyaya'. It was after this that hiselder brother Visvarupa left his house and acceptedthe 'ashrama' (status) of a 'sannyasi' (ascetic).Caitanya, though a very young boy, consoled Hisparents, saying that He would serve them with a viewto please God. Just after that, His father left thisworld. His mother was exceedingly sorry, andMahaprabhu, with His usual contented appearance,consoled His widowed mother. It was at the age of 14 or 15 that Mahaprabhu wasmarried to Laksmidevi, the daughter of Vallabhacarya,also of Nadia. He was

at this age considered one ofthe best scholars of Nadia, then renowned seat of'nyaya' philosophy and Sanskrit learning. Not to speakof the 'smarta panditas', the 'Naiyayikas' were allafraid of confronting Him in literary discussions.Being a married man, He went to Eastern Bengal on thebanks of the Padma for acquirement of wealth. There Hedisplayed His learning and obtained a good sum ofmoney. It was at this time that He preached Vaisnavismat intervals. After teaching him the principles ofVaisnavism, He ordered Tapanamisra to go to and livein Benares. During His residence in East Bengal, Hiswife Laksmidevi left this world from the effects ofsnake bite. On returning home, He found His mother ina mourning state. He consoled her with a lecture onthe uncertainty of human affairs. It was at Hismother's request that He married Visnupriya, thedaughter of Raja Pandita Sanatana Misra. His comradesjoined Him on

His return from pravasa or sojourn. Hewas now so renowned that He was considered to be thebest pandita in Nadia. Kesava Misra of Kashmir, whohad called himself the Great Digvijayi, came to Nadiawith a view to discuss with the 'pandita' of thatplace. Afraid of the so-called conquering pandita, thetola professors of Nadia left their town on pretenceof invitation. Kesava met Mahaprabhu at theBarokona-ghata in Mayapur, and after a very shortdiscussion with Him he was defeated by the boy, andmortification obliged him to decamp. Nimai Pandita wasnow the most important 'pandita' of His times. "It was at the age of 16 or 17 that He travelled toGaya with a host of His students and there took Hisspiritual initiation from Isvara Puri, a Vaisnava'sannyasi' and a disciple of the renowned MadhavendraPuri. Upon His return to Nadia, Nimai Pandita turnedreligious preacher, and His religious nature became sostrongly

represented that Advaita Prabhu, Srivasa andothers who had before the birth of Caitanya alreadyaccepted the Vaisnava faith were astonished at thechange of the young man. He was then no more acontending 'naiyayika', a wrangling 'smarta' and acriticizing rhetorician. He swooned at the name ofKrsna and behaved as an inspired man under theinfluence of His religious sentiment. It has beendescribed by Murari Gupta, an eye-witness, that Heshowed His heavenly powers in the house of SrivasaPandita in the presence of hundreds of His followers,who were mostly well-read scholars. It was at thistime that He opened a nocturnal school of 'kirtana' inthe compound of Srivasa Pandita with His sincerefollowers. There He preached, there He sang, there Hedanced, and there He expressed all sorts of religiousfeelings. Nityananda Prabhu, who was then a preacherof Vaisnavism and who had then completed His travelsall over

India, joined Him at that time. In fact, ahost of 'pandita' preachers of Vaisnavism, all sincereat heart, came and joined Him from different parts ofBengal. Nadia now became the regular seat of a host ofVaisnava 'acaryas' whose mission it was tospiritualize mankind with the highest influence of theVaisnava creed. "The first mandate that He issued to PrabhuNityananda and Haridasa was this: 'Go, friends, gothrough the streets of the town, meet every man at hisdoor and ask him to sing the name of Hari with a holylife, and you then come and report to Me every eveningthe result of your preaching.' Thus ordered, the twopreachers went on and met Jagai and Madhai, two mostabominable characters. They insulted the preachers onhearing Mahaprabhu's mandate, but were soon convertedby the influence of 'bhakti' (devotion) inculcated bytheir Lord. The people of Nadia were now surprised.They said, 'Nimai Pandita is

not only a giganticgenius, but He is certainly a missionary from GodAlmighty.' From this time to His twenty-third year,Mahaprabhu preached His principles not only in Nadiabut in all important towns and villages around Hiscity. In the houses of His followers He shewedmiracles, taught the esoteric principles of 'bhakti'and sang His 'sankirtan' with other bhaktas. Hisfollowers of the town of Nadia commenced to sing theholy name of Hari in the streets and bazaars. Thiscreated a sensation and roused different feelings indifferent quarters. The 'bhaktas' were highly pleased.The 'smarta brahmanas' became jealous of NimaiPandita's success and complained to Chand Kazi againstthe character of Caitanya as un-Hindu. The Kazi cameto Srivasa Pandita's house and broke a 'mrdanga'('khola' drum) there and declared that unless NimaiPandit ceased to make noise about His queer religionhe would be obliged to enforce

Mohammedanism on Himand His followers. This was brought to Mahaprabhu'snotice. He ordered the townspeople to appear in theevening each with a torch in his hand. This they did,and Nimai marched out with His 'sankirtan' divided in14 groups, and on His arrival in the Kazi's house, Heheld a long conversation with the Kazi and in the endcommunicated into his heart His Vaisnava influence bytouching his body. The Kazi then wept and admittedthat he had felt a keen spiritual influence which hadcleared up his doubts and produced in him a religioussentiment which gave him the highest ecstasy. The Kazithen joined the sankirtan party. The world wasastonished at the spiritual power of the Great Lord,and hundreds and hundreds of heretics converted andjoined the banner of Visvambhara after this affair. "It was after this that some of the jealous andlow-minded 'brahmanas' of Kulia picked a quarrel withMahaprabhu and

collected a party to oppose Him. NimaiPandita was naturally a soft-hearted person, thoughstrong in His principles. He declared that partyfeelings and sectarianism were the two great enemiesof progress and that as long as He should continue tobe an inhabitant of Nadia belonging to a certainfamily, His mission would not meet with completesuccess. He then resolved to be a citizen of the worldby cutting His connection with His particular family,caste and creed, and with this resolution He embracedthe position of a 'sannyasi' at Katwa, under theguidance of Keshava Bharati of that town, on the 24thyear of His age. His mother and wife wept bitterly forHis separation, but our hero, though soft in heart,was a strong person in principle. He left His littleworld in His house for the unlimited spiritual worldof Krsna with man in general. "After His 'sannyasa', He was induced to visit thehouse of Advaita Prabhu

in Santipura. Advaita managedto invite all His friends and admirers from Nadia andbrought Sacidevi to see her son. Both pleasure andpain invaded her heart when she saw her son in theattire of a 'sannyasi'. As a 'sannyasi', KrsnaCaitanya put on nothing but a 'kaupina' (two pieces ofcloth, a loin cloth) and a 'bahirvasa' (outercovering). His head was without hair, and His handsbore a 'danda' (stick) and a 'kamandalu' (hermit'swater pot). The Holy Son fell at the feet of Hisbeloved mother and said, "Mother! This body is yours,and I must obey your orders. Permit me to go toVrndavana for My spiritual attainments." The mother,in consultation with Advaita and others, asked her sonto reside in Puri (the town of Jagannatha) so that shemight obtain His information now and then. Mahaprabhuagreed to that proposition and in a few days leftSantipura for Orissa. His biographers have describedthe journey of Krsna

Caitanya (that was the name Hegot after His 'sannyasa') from Santipura to Puri ingreat detail. He travelled along the side of theBhagirathi as far as Chatrabhoga, situated now inThana Mathurapura, Diamond Harbour, 24 Parganas. ThereHe took a boat and went as far as Prayaga-ghata in theMidnapura District. Thence He walked through Balasoreand Cuttack to Puri, seeing the temple of Bhuvanesvaraon His way. Upon His arrival at Puri He saw Jagannathain the temple and resided with Sarvabhauma at therequest of the latter. Sarvabhauma was a gigantic'pandita' of the day. His readings knew no bounds. Hewas the best 'naiyayika' of the times and was known asthe most erudite scholar in the Vedanta philosophy ofthe school of Sankaracarya. He was born in Nadia(Vidyanagara) and taught innumerable pupils in the'nyaya' philosophy in his tola there. He had left forPuri some time before the birth of Nimai Pandita.

Hisbrother-in-law Gopinatha Misra introduced our newsannyasi to Sarvabhauma, who was astonished at Hispersonal beauty and feared that it would be difficultfor the young man to maintain 'sannyasa-dharma' duringthe long run of His life. Gopinatha, who had knownMahaprabhu from Nadia, had a great reverence for Himand declared that the 'sannyasi' was not a commonhuman being. On this point Gopinatha and Sarvabhaumahad a hot discussion. Sarvabhauma then requestedMahaprabhu to hear his recitation of theVedanta-sutras, and the latter tacitly submitted.Caitanya heard with silence what the great Sarvabhaumauttered with gravity for seven days, at the end ofwhich the latter said, 'Krsna-Caitanya! I think You donot understand the Vedanta, for You do not sayanything after hearing my recitation andexplanations.' The reply of Caitanya was that Heunderstood the sutras very well, but He could not makeout what

Sankaracarya meant by his commentaries.Astonished as this, Sarvabhauma said, 'How is it thatyou understand the meanings of the 'sutras' and do notunderstand the commentaries which explain the'sutras'? All well! If You understand the 'sutras',please let me have Your interpretations.' Mahaprabhuthereon explained all the 'sutras' in His own waywithout touching the pantheistic commentary ofSankara. The keen understanding of Sarvabhauma saw thetruth, beauty and harmony of arguments in theexplanations given by Caitanya and obliged Him toutter that it was the first time that he had found onewho could explain the Brahma-sutras in such a simplemanner. He admitted also that the commentaries ofSankara never gave such natural explanations of theVedanta-sutras as he had obtained from Mahaprabhu. Hethen submitted himself as an advocate and follower. Ina few days Sarvabhauma turned out to be one of thebest Vaisnavas

of the time. When reports of this cameout, the whole of Orissa sang the praise of KrsnaCaitanya, and hundred and hundreds came to Him andbecame His followers. In the meantime Mahaprabhuthought of visiting Southern India, and He startedwith one Krsnadasa Brahmana for the journey. "His biographers have given us a detail of thejourney. He went first to Kurmaksetra, where Heperformed a miracle by curing a leper named Vasudeva.He met Ramananda Raya, the Governor of Vidyanagara, onthe banks of the Godavari and had a philosophicalconversation with him on the subject of'prema-bhakti'. He worked another miracle by touching(making them immediately disappear) the seven'tala-trees' through which Ramacandra, the son ofDasaratha, had shot His arrow and killed the greatBali Raja. He preached Vaisnavism and'nama-sankirtana' throughout the journey. AtRangaksetra He stayed for four months in the house ofone

Venkata Bhatta in order to spend the rainy season.There He converted the whole family of Venkata fromRamanuja Vaisnavism to Krsna-bhakti, along with theson of Venkata, a boy of ten years named Gopala, whoafterwards came to Vrndavana and became one of the sixGoswamis or prophets serving under their leader SriKrsna Caitanya. Trained up in Sanskrit by his unclePrabodhananda Sarasvati, Gopala wrote several books onVaisnavism. "Sri Caitanya visited numerous places in SouthernIndia as far as Cape Comorin and returned to Puri intwo years by Pandepura on the Bhima. In this latterplace He spiritualized one Tukarama, who became fromthat time a religious preacher himself. This fact hasbeen admitted in his 'adhangas', which have beencollected in a volume by Mr. Satyendra Nath Tagore ofthe Bombay Civil Service. During His journey He hadseveral discussions with the Buddhists, the Jains andthe 'mayavadis' in

several places and converted Hisopponents to Vaisnavism. "Upon His return to Puri, Raja Prataparudra-deva andseveral 'pandita brahmanas' joined the banner ofCaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was now twenty-seven years ofage. In His twenty-eighth year He went to Bengal asfar as Gauda in Mald. There He picked up two greatpersonages named Rupa and Sanatana. Though descendedfrom the lines of Karnatic brahmanas, these twobrothers turned demi-Moslems by their continualcontact with Hussain Shah, the then Emperor of Gauda.Their names had been changed by the Emperor into DabirKhas and Sakara Mallik, and their master loved themheartily since they were both learned in Persian,Arabic and Sanskrit and were loyal servants of thestate. The two gentlemen had found no way to come backas regular Hindus and had written to Mahaprabhu forspiritual help while He was at Puri. Mahaprabhu hadwritten in reply that He would come to them

andextricate them from their spiritual difficulties. Nowthat He had come to Gauda, both the brothers appearedbefore Him with their long-standing prayer. Mahaprabhuordered them to go to Vrndavana and meet Him there. "Caitanya returned to Puri through Santipura, whereHe again met His dear mother. After a short stay atPuri He left for Vrndavana. This time He wasaccompanied by one Balabhadra Bhattacarya. He visitedVrndavana and came down to Prayag (Allahabad),converting a large number of Mohammedans to Vaisnavismby argument from the Koran. The descendant of thoseconverts are still known as Pathana Vaisnavas. RupaGoswami met Him in Allahabad. Caitanya trained him upin spirituality in ten days and directed him to go toVrndavana on missions. His first mission was to writetheological works explaining scientifically pure'bhakti' and 'prema'. The second mission was to revivethe places where Krsnacandra had

in the end of'Dvapara-yuga' exhibited His spiritual 'lila'(pastimes) for the benefit of the religious world.Rupa Goswami left Allahabad for Vrndavana, andMahaprabhu came down to Benares. There He resided inthe house of Candrasekhara and accepted His daily'bhiksa' (meal) in the house of Tapana Misra. Here itwas that Sanatana Goswami joined him and tookinstruction for two months in spiritual matters. Thebiographers, especially Krsnadasa Kaviraja, have givenus details of Caitanya's teachings to Rupa andSanatana. Krsnadasa was not a contemporary writer, buthe gathered his information from the Goswamisthemselves, the direct disciples of Mahaprabhu. JivaGoswami, who was the nephew of Sanatana and Rupa andwho has left us his invaluable work of Sat-sandarbha,has philosophized on the precept of his great leader.We have gathered and summarised the precepts ofCaitanya from the books of those great writers.

"While at Benares, Caitanya had an interview with thelearned 'sannyasis' of that town in the house of aMaratha 'brahmana' who had invited all the 'sannyasis'for entertainment. At this interview, Caitanya sheweda miracle which attracted all the 'sannyasis' to Him.Then ensued reciprocal conversation. The 'sannyasis'were headed by their most learned leader PrakasanandaSarasvati. After a short controversy, they submittedto Mahaprabhu and admitted that they had been misledby the commentaries of Sankaracarya. It was impossibleeven for learned scholars to oppose Caitanya for along time, for there was some spell in Him whichtouched their hearts and made them weep for theirspiritual improvement. The 'sannyasis' of Benares soonfell at the feet of Caitanya and asked for His grace('krpa'). Caitanya then preached pure 'bhakti' andinstilled into their hearts spiritual love for Krsnawhich obliged them to give up

sectarian feelings. Thewhole population of Benares, on this wonderfulconversion of the 'sannyasis', turned Vaisnavas, andthey made a master 'sankirtana' with their new Lord.After sending Sanatana to Vrndavana, Mahaprabhu wentto Puri again through the jungles with His comradeBalabhadra. Balabhadra reported that Mahaprabhu hadshown a good many miracles on His way to Puri, such asmaking tigers and elephants dance on hearing the nameof Krsna. "From this time, that is, from His 31st year,Mahaprabhu continually lived in Puri the house of KasiMisra until His disappearance in His forty-eighth yearat the time of sankirtana in the temple ofTota-gopinatha. During these 18 years, His life wasone of settled love and piety. He was surrounded bynumerous followers, all of whom were of the highestorder of Vaisnavas and who were distinguished from thecommon people by their purest character and learning,firm

religious principles and spiritual love ofRadha-Krsna. Svarupa Damodara, who had been known bythe name of Purusottamacarya while Mahaprabhu was inNadia, joined Him from Benares and accepted service asHis secretary. No production of any poet orphilosopher could be laid before Mahaprabhu unlessSvarupa had passed it as pure and useful. RayaRamananda was His second mate. Both he and Svarupawould sing while Mahaprabhu expressed His sentimentson a certain point of worship. Paramananda Puri wasHis minister in matters of religion. There arehundreds of anecdotes described by His biographerswhich we do not think it meet here to reproduce.Mahaprabhu slept short. His sentiments carried Him farand wide in the firmament of spirituality every dayand night, and all His admirers and followers watchedHim throughout. He worshipped, communicated with Hismissionaries at Vrndavana, and conversed with thosereligious men who

newly came to visit Him. He sang anddanced, took no care of Himself and of-times lostHimself in religious beatitude. All who came to Himbelieved in Him as the all-beautiful God appearing inthe nether world for the benefit of mankind. He lovedHis mother all along and sent her 'mahaprasada' nowand then with those who went to Nadia. He was mostamiable in nature. Humility was personified in Him. His sweet appearance gave cheer to all who came incontact with Him. He appointed Prabhu Nityananda asthe missionary in charge of Bengal. He dispatched sixdisciples (Goswamis) to Vrndavana to preach love inthe upcountry. This he markedly did in the case ofJunior Haridasa. He never lacked in giving properinstructions in life to those who solicited them. Thiswill be seen in His teachings to Raghunatha dasaGoswami. His treatment to Haridasa (senior) will showhow He loved spiritual men and how He defied castedistinction

in spiritual brotherhood."(ThakuraBhaktivinoda. 20th August 1896.) CHANT HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE AND BE HAPPY Your humble servant radhabhava gaur das

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