Lord Caitanya's departure

[Guest guest]

Does anybody know how Lord Caitanya left this material world? i was told He merged into a deity but not sure which one.

 

thanking respondants in advance

 

Haribol

[Pritesh01]

I am also interested in finding this out i also heared this happend to another great devotee of lord krishna meera saying goge the orginal murti which was in dwarika is now in dakor (Ronchor Mandir) can any when confirm this,

[srivats]

Jai sri krishna !

 

 

I tried seraching about Caitanya's death in the internet and i have returned back to our own site , Jus go through the following link , i have not read it fully , it might help.

 

 

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/hinduism/15565/17/collapsed/5/o/1

 

Madhava Kesava Madhana Gopala

Srivats

 

 

[Guest guest]

http://www.geocities.com/athens/troy/3586/caitanya.html

[Krishna69]

The same kind of departure happend to Aandal also. I hope you all know about Aandal. She was one among the great Aalwars who lived in tamilnadu. She was born to a priest who was a devotee of Lord Krishna. She fell in love with Krishna and composed Thiruppavai on HIM. Its said that Aandal married Shree Krishna, and in every temple in tamilnadu Aandal has a separate sannidhi.

Shyam

[Krishna69]

Andal is Ayonjja- born to no womb. It is astonishing, and reads more than a fantacy; right form the time of her emergence, to the moment of merging into the archamurthi Sri Ranganatha at Srirangam. She was found as an extremely enticing fully blossomed infant of Vishnuchitta, the hero of the above legand in his garden on one fine morning during his collection of flowers for worship. Deeming her as god sent though an inveterate brahmachari living in a hut surrounded in a flower garden, he determined to bring her up as his daughter, she was named Godadevi - means Bhudevi, like the sukla paksha chandra, She started growing and became an apple to the eye of everyone in the town. She imbibed , rather assimilated her father's dedication and so always engaged in

 

singing the hymns of Lord Vishnu and assisting her father in gardening, and weaving of flowers into splended garlands. She was reverentally called the chip of the old block, she preferred solitude and had few mates. She was visitingapa Vatapatrasayi temple, alone or with her father in the morning and evening regularly, and made the neighbours and spectators raise their hands in veneration at site itself. Her father enlighted at the amazing spiritual evolution and unbounded devotion assisted and encouraged her in soulful involment in devotional activities. Her communion with God during ritualistic prayer services defied description. Finding that she was decorating herself with the garlands made for Sri Krishna at the temple deity, one day he was annoyed a little bit but made compromise himself comparing that unique act with peerless Sabari's offering of the fruits to SRIRAMA, after biting them to test their eat-worthiness. He also realised that her heart was leaning towards Sri Ranganatha and more so dreaming of marrying him alone. Finding it good but inpractible, he disuaded but in vain. She was also a Swacharya and composed two books of melodious music, beside gaining mastery over two languages Tamil and Sanskrit all from her father, who never had any schooling, but became proficient by intution and godly benediction.

 

One day she declared her obsession of marrying Sri Ranganatha and pleaded with her father not seek any alliance for her with any young man. Learning her persistence the chief priest of Sriranga temple visited the Alwar's house behest of SriRanganatha in dream and sealed her desire with his approval. It was then the Pandyan king arrived there and hailed the decision as the most propituous and volunteered to solemnise the wedding at state's expense at Srirangam. The elated priest offered to Andal the costliest jewels and dress donated to the temple by bhaktas in the past. Adorned with them, she was taken to Srirangam in a palanquin followed by thousands of Vaishnava bhaktas with the king and queen on one side and Alwar and the priest on the other side, walking all the way. Soon after reaching the portal, She advanced into the Garbhagriha and merged into the Archamurthi and obtain Sayuiya mukti. It was a rare spectacle, a unique and unoccurred incident and will never get reenacted at any time in future. Her master pieces Tiruppavai and Nachiyar Tirumoli are being sung in all Vaishnava temples in the month of Margali since then with unparalleled spirutual fervour.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Gaudiya or Bengal Vaishnavism is based on the life and teachings of Caitanya (1486-1533), the founder of the sect, who is also called Krishna-Caitanya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Gauranga ("Fair-limbed"). Gaudiya Vaishnavas are also called Caitanyas. Caitanya wrote only a Sanskrit poem of eight verses on his rapture at the embrace of the deity, though his ecstatic singing and dancing as he experienced the love of Krishna and Radha inspired others. Among these followers were the Six Gosvamins ("pastors") , who wrote a theology of the sect. The influence of Madhva, founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta, can be traced in the sect for Caitanya was initiated by a Madhva ascetic and Nityananda, the organiser of the sect, was a former Madhva ascetic.

The teachings of Caitanya are based on the Srimad bhagavatam, in which Brahman, transcendent reality, is fully personal (bhagavan) and Krishna is the quintessence of this divine person. Humans emanate from the divine source and are not fundamentally different from it. Rebirth continues until divine mercy allows the soul to realise its true nature, which is the devoted servant of Krishna.

The intense bhakti, devotion, of Caitanya caused popular tradition to regard him as an avatara, incarnation, of Krishna in a form with the fair complexion and emotions of Radha so that he can experience in one body the blissful union with his shakti, energy. Caitanya is also seen not as an avatara of Krishna but as Krishna himself. There is an erotic element in worship, for the devotee feminises himself as a gopi, cowherdess, to be seduced by Krishna. Radha is married to another and this is interpreted as love for the deity should overcome all conventional obstacles.

The Gosvamins wrote their theological works in Sanskrit. Sanatana and Jiva wrote commentaries on the Srimad bhagavatam, Rupa wrote on the aesthetic theology of bhakti as well as poems and inspirational plays as did Raghunathadasa and others. Gopala Bhatta and Sanatana produced the Haribhaktivilasa, a liturgical and disciplinary compendium, and Sanatana wrote the Brhadbhagavatamrtam, an allegory of the pilgrimage of the soul.

Many Vaishnavas in Orissa believe that Caitanya is Krishna in his Buddha incarnation as Jagannath-Buddha in Puri. Jagannath was conceived as Adi (Primordial) Buddha and the ninth avatara of Vishnu.

History Caitanya's given name was Visvambhara Misra and he was born at Nadia (Mayapur) in Bengal, sixty miles north of Calcutta beside the sacred river Bhagirathi. Nadia was once the capital of Bengal and has famous schools of Sanskrit. Born of Vaisnava brahman parents, he became proficient in Sanskrit grammar by the age of ten, and after his father died when he was fourteen or fifteen, he married and set up a Sanskrit school in his own house. His wife was Laksmipriya, daughter of the famous teacher Vallabhacharya. While Visvambhara was away on a scholarly tour in East Bengal, Laksmipriya died. He soon remarried, to Vishnupriya, daughter of a local pundit.

In 1508 when he was twenty-two he travelled to Gaya and performed Sraddha, observances for the dead, for his father and first wife. There he was overwhelmed with devotion to Krishna and met Isvara Puri, a Madhva ascetic. who later initiated him into the Bharati order of Shankara's Dashanamis. Back in Nadia, Visvambhara led kirtana, religious chanting, groups praising Krishna. This challenged the Muslim authorities. He soon became the charismatic leader of the Vaishnavas in Nadia. In 1510 he renounced at the feet of the ascetic Kesava Bharati and changed his name to Krishna-Caitanya ("he whose consciousness is Krishna").

Caitanya now adopted a mendicant life and for six years wandered from shrine to shrine all over India chanting the names of Krishna and calling for devotion to Krishna. He spent four months at Srirangam in South India and in 1515 visited Vrndavana, which is associated with Krishna legends, and fell into trances when he discovered the Radha-kunda (tank). He returned to Puri in Orissa, his special place, and in 1516 settled there for the rest of his life. At Puri he worshipped Lord Jagannath in the great temple as Krishna. His father's first name had been Jagannath. There is a tradition that on first seeing the Jagannath image, Caitanya fainted and merged himself into the image. Caitanya was to become a leader of the singers and dancers who accompanied the huge car of Jagannath in the annual procession. Yearly pilgrimages to Puri started to be made by Bengali Vaishnavas to visit Caitanya and continued for twenty years. This was an arduous journey for pilgrims in the sixteenth century.

Caitanya did not organise a sect around himself but his magnetism attracted men of great learning such as Sarvabhauma, the greatest authority on logic, and Advaita, leader of the Vaishnavas in Bengal, and men of power and wealth like the King of Orissa, Pratapa Rudra and his brahman minister, Ramananda Ray. Nityananda, a former Madhva ascetic, became the organiser of the sect. Caitanya sent a group of theologians to Vrndavana to write a theology of the sect. These became the Six Gosvamins of Vrndavana. The historical development of Vrndavana was mainly due to these disciples of Caitanya, who were to be known as Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Two brothers, Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamin, built the first of the temples of Vrndavana with the help of wealthy rajas from Rajasthan.

The death of Caitanya in 1533 is a mystery. According to the Gaudiya Vaishnava texts, Caitanya is the avatara of Krishna and thus any question of his death is absurd. Isvara Dasa and Achyutananda state that Caitanya disappeared into the image of Jagannath. One myth is that he saw a vision of Krishna on the waves and walked into the sea to him and was drowned. The Vaishnava community of Bengal was stunned and crushed by the passing of Caitanya.

Nityananda continued to organise the Gaudiya Vaishnavas and to give rules of conduct, and his son Virachandra carried on this work. The community in Vrndavana continued to grow and wrote commentaries, dramas, and lyrics, and the sacred sites around Mathura and Vrndavana were found and a pilgrimage to them established. The beneficent rule of Akbar enabled the building of a series of magnificent temples at Vrndavana. During the first half of the seventeenth century there were many brilliant writers of hymns in Bengal. Overall, the Gaudiya Vaishnavas gave to Bengal a wealth of devotional literature in Sanskrit and Bengali.

Caitanya was an important influence on the Brahmo Samaj with Keshab Chandra Sen leading kirtana processions through Calcutta. In the 1880's there was a neo-Krishna movement which led to the rediscovery of early Gaudiya Vaishnava literature. This resulted in the organisation of the Gaudiya Math (see separate entry) and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) or Hare Krishna movement (see ISKCON).

Symbols There are popular temples to Caitanya in Nadia and other small temples throughout Bengal and Orissa in places which have some association with the life of Caitanya. Mitra at the end of the nineteenth century in his Antiquities of Orissa claimed there were 800 Caitanya temples in Orissa alone. In Nadia is an image of Caitanya which tradition says was carved for his dying wife Laksmipriya from the nim tree which sheltered his birth. The Golden-image temple contains a life-size gilded image of Caitanya as Gauranga. In Dhakkadakshin, the birthplace of Caitanya's father, there is a temple where Caitanya is worshipped as an avatara of Krishna. At Vrndavana only the Govindji temple has images of Caitanya and Nityananda.

Caitanya is usually represented as a shaven-headed robed monk. In the Jagannath temple at Puri there is a seated image of Caitanya with a shaven head. At Pratappur the image is clothed with a robe that starts as a curious conical hat. Temples also contain images of Krishna and Radha and a salagrama, a round black stone that is a traditional symbol of Vishnu. Most temples also have images of Advaita and Nityananda. Kardaha, north of Calcutta, is associated with Nityananda and here are the oldest temples of the sect. Nityananda and Caitanya images, called Gaur-Nitai, are found side by side in the temples. One temple has old tantric symbols, suggesting tantric influence on the founders of the sect. There is a shrine in Nadia to Sachi and Vishnupriya, mother and wife of Caitanya, with images of these ladies.

Various relics of Caitanya are kept in different temples. The footprints of Caitanya where he stood near the Garuda pillar in the Jagannath temple to witness Jagannath are in a small chapel. Caitanya visited Adi Varaha temple near Jajpur on his way to Puri and his footprints are covered by a small temple. There are other footprints at Cuttack and Chaudwar. At the Alalnath temple in Orissa is a body impression of Caitanya on a large flat stone. The Radhakanta Math in Puri has the wooden sandals sent to Caitanya by Vishnupriya.

At the end of the nineteenth century images of Gauranga with six arms became popular, as did the worship of Gauranga-Vishnupriya in the first half of the twentieth century.

The tilak, sectarian mark, is two vertical lines on the forehead that meet between the eyes. Vairagis, ascetics of the sect, also place twelve tilaks on the body, each representing a name of Krishna. These are put on with a special mantra, sacred utterance, for each one. Often footprints of Krishna or the name Hare Krishna are stamped all over the body. Garlands are worn, the tulasi (basil, sacred to Vishnu) mala (necklace) being essential. Puja, worship, involves offerings of water, rice, durba grass, scents, flowers, incense, fruits, sweets, and betel. The Radha-Krishna mantra is used for the worship of Caitanya as he is the avatara of Radha-Krishna.

Adherents The majority of Bengali Hindus in the middle castes and considerable minorities in the upper and lower castes followed Krishna-Caitanya until a decline in the nineteenth century. Revitalisation came with the Gaudiya Math (see separate entry). There are large numbers of adherents also in Orissa with Puri being an important centre. Vrndavana in Uttar Pradesh is a pilgrimage centre and new temples are still being built there. The descendants of Nityananda live in Nadia and are the spiritual leaders and gurus of the sect. The grihasthas, householders, are the laity, and the vairagis are the ascetics of the sect. The vairagis live in akhras, monasteries. There are also female ascetics called vairaginis.

Other sects are associated with Caitanya. The Damodariya sect in Assam has maths, monasteries, on the island of Majula in the Brahmaputra River. The Bauls of Bengal, wandering religious singers and poets, claim to have been founded by Caitanya but they do not recognise the Gosvamins. Other sects with some Caitanya connection are the Kartabhajas, the Darbesh and a branch called the Shains, and the Kishoribhajas. The Jaganmohini sect do not claim any connection with Citanya but they are very similar to the

[Guest guest]

Lord Chaitanya entered into the body of Tota Gopinath the diety which He himself found with the sands of Jaggnatha Puri and gave to Srila Gadhara Pandit to worship.

When Lord Chaitanya entered into Tota Gopinatha a cracked appeared on the Lords right leg which was golden in color,If one visits the temple of Tota Gopinatha one can see this.

WE visited this temple and the purjari did show us

There is a nice story on VNN now where HH Srila Narayana Maharaja speaks of the pastimes of Gadhara Pandit and Lord Chaitanya and finding tota Gopinatha this is the diety Lord Chaitanya entered.

 

In Ecka Chaka the birth place Of Lord Nityananda there are exquistic Diety Of Shree Shree Radha Krishna and Shree Jahnavi Devi the wife of Lord Nityanada Prabhu.

 

The legion here is that as Shree Jahnavi Devi was takeing darshan of Shree Shree Radha Krishna ,Krishna Himself came off the altar and pulled Shree Jahnavi Devi up on the the altar closeing the altar doors.

 

When the doors were opened again Shree Jahnavi had taken her diety form.

 

I also was forgentate enough to have their drashan and the story was told to me by the temple priest in Eckachaka

 

before one enters this temple there is also a temple of Lord Jagganath Baladeva and Lady Subadra These are said the be the same dietes Lord Nityananda worshipped as a child

Jai Goura Nitai

YS

Pita das

[gHari]

This is the end of a planning session for a play about the life of Sri Caitanya:<blockquote>PrabhupAda: Third scene. In the same way, one day when He was 48 years old He entered the JagannAtha temple...

HayagrIva: And disappeared.

PrabhupAda: Disappeared. His friends outside waited and waited, and He never come back. That's all.

HayagrIva: They never knew what happened to Him. They never found...

PrabhupAda: Yes, they knew that He was KRSNa. He has merged into the existence of JagannAtha.</blockquote>

gHari

[Guest guest]

click below

 

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/hinduism/12011/26/collapsed/5/o/1

[gHari]

jijaji?

 

I'll take Prabhupada, thank you very much.

[Guest guest]

Interesting Giridhari Ji is there any more references in the veda base???

[gHari]

Yes, but the ones I found had the same content. I do remember reading that there were three concepts of the disappearance, but I can't seem to find them now. It was Srila Prabhupada I believe, but it could have been anywhere yet likely fairly authorative since I avoid bogus sources as much as possible. One was going into the ocean. The last I forget.

 

He was so mad after Lord Jagannatha. The final reunion of Srimati Radharani and Sri Krsna really sounds best to me. Lord Caitanya could no longer cope with the separation.

 

gHari

[Guest guest]

Andal’s compositions

 

Tirupavi – a 30 stanza hymn, expounds the vaisnava concepts of service, love and surrender.

Nachiyar tiruvaimozhi – expressing Andal’s Gopi bhava, it describes her love and separation from the Lord.

Varanam ayirum - describes her dream of the marriage with Lord Krsna.

To date all sri vaisnava temples conduct the Andal, Lord Ranganatha marriage utsava (festival). Varanam ayirum is chanted during the ceremony and also in the marriage ceremonies of sri vaisnavas.

 

Andal and Ramanuja

 

Ramanuja loved Tirupavai and he left his body listening to it. On one occasion , when Ramanuja was going on his daily rounds for alms reciting tirupavai, he found himself in front of the house of his acarya Periya Nambi. When he chanted the following stanza from the Tirupavai (stanza 18)

 

O daughter in law of Nanda Gopa (nappinai - incarnation of Nila Devi- south Indian equivalent to Radha- ) the owner of many mighty elephants

And who possess strong shoulders never turned back a foe

Lady with charming fragrant tresses ! Open the door

Listen to the rooster crowing everywhere

Flocks of cuckoo coo incessantly from the bower of madhavi flowers

You so expert with the ball, we will chant the names of your Lord

With your lotus red hands and jingling bangles,

Come, joyfully open the door ...

 

The outer door which was bolted, was opened abruptly by Atulai, the daughter of Periya Nambi , as the last words of the stanza – “with thy hand of red lotus and with the jingling of beautiful bangles, come nad opne the door “ – were being sung Ramanuaj, who was deeply immersed in the mood (bhava) of this stanza , at once imaged her to be Nappinai herself and fell; into a rapturous trance. When this incident was reported to Periya Nambi, he recognised the stanza at once, even before it was mentioned to him.

 

When Ramanuja came to know that Andal was unable to fulfil her vow due to her sudden marriage to Lord Rangatha . He personally performed them on her behalf. And when he arrived at Sri Rangam, Andal personally welcomed him, addressing him as her brother.

 

For more information on Andal and Sri Villiputtur refer to:

 

http://www.thiruman.com/SVP_photo/Main_Page/Srivilliputtur_homepage2.htm