the purpose of Mahaprabhu's mission

[Guest guest]

 

Five hundred years ago Nityananda Prabhu delivered Jagai and Madhai, and He took Jiva Gosvami on parikrama of Navadvipa-dhama. Now, however, we see hundreds or thousands of persons who were previously less than Jagai and Madhai are performing the same parikrama of Navadvipa-dhama. This is, of course, by the mercy of Lord Nityananda, who is distributing the wonderful mercy of Lord Caitanya through the disciplic succession. As Srila Prabhupada writes in the Caitanya-caritamrta: "Nityananda Prabhu delivered Jagai and Madhai, but a servant of Nityananda Prabhu, by His grace, can deliver many thousands of Jagais and Madhais. That is the special benediction of the disciplic succession." (Cc. 2.16.65)

 

 

Bhakti Ratnakara says,"Rasikananda's preaching was greatly influential; by his mercy many dacoits, blasphemers, demons, and nonbelievers were delivered. By his mercy, the jewel of bhakti was bestowed even upon Yavanas, Muslims, and untouchable outcastes of all description. He went from town to town with his followers, making many disciples and engaging them in Krishna's service. He even made the wild elephants his disciples, and engaged them in the service of Krishna and the Vaishnavas. Shri Rasikananda delivered many yavanas and mlechhas. One cannot count how many houses he visited on his preaching tour, or how many souls wre delivered. Rasikananda was almost like a madman, always absorbed in the holy name of Krishna, in nam-sankirtan. Everyone was astonished even to hear his wonderful qualities sung."

 

In summary, Rasikananda Prabhu, by his mercy, delivered many untouchables, outcastes, meateaters, muslims, atheists, and agnostics. The King of Mayur-bhanj, Raja Vaidyanatha Bhanj, as well as the king of Patashapur, Raja Gajapati, as well as the King of Mayana, Chandrabhanu and many other pious royal personages also took shelter at the lotus feet of Rasikananda Prabhu. The especially wicked Zamindara, Bhima, the yavana Suva Ahmed, and the atheist Shrikara, as well as many other persons gave up their evil ways and took shelter at the lotus feet of Shri Rasikananda Prabhu. He made tigers give up their mentality of being cruel beasts of prey, and converted them to krishna-bhakti.

 

 

"Here is an important point. Lord Chaitanya wanted to invent a way to capture the Mayavadis and others who did not take interest in the Krishna Consciousness movement. This is the symptom of an acharya. an acharya who comes for the service of the Lord cannot be expected to conform to a stereotype, for he must find the ways and means by which Krishna consciousness may be spread. Sometimes jealous persons criticize the Krishna consciousness movement because it engages equally both boys and girls in distributing love of Godhead. Not knowing that boys and girls in countries like Europe and America mix very freely, these fools and rascals criticize the boys and girls in Krishna consciousness for intermingling. But these rascals should consider that one cannot suddenly change a community's social customs. However, since both the boys and girls are being trained to become preachers, those girls are not ordinary girls but are as good as their brothers who are preaching Krishna consciousness. Therefore, to engage both boys and girls in fully transcendental activities is a policy intended to spread the Krishna consciousness movement. these jealous fools who criticize the intermingling of boys and girls will simply have to be satisfied with their own foolishness because they cannot think of how to spread Krishna consciousness by adopting ways and means which are favorable for this purpose. Their stereotyped methods will never help spread Krishna consciousness. Therefore, what we are doing is perfect by the grace of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for it is He who proposed to invent a way to capture those who strayed from Krishna consciousness." (purport C.C Adi 7.31-32)

 

 

 

"One should judge by action, not by promises. A maha- bhagavata can turn a living entity from abominable material life to the Lord's service. This is the test of a maha-bhagavata. Although preaching is not meant for a maha-bhagavata, a maha- bhagavata can descend to the platform of a madhyama- bhagavata just to convert others to Vaisnavism. Actually a maha-bhagavata is fit to spread Krishna consciousness, but he does not distinguish where Krishna consciousness should be spread from where it should not. He thinks that everyone is competent to accept Krishna consciousness if the chance is provided. A neophyte and intermediate devotee should always be anxious to hear the maha-bhagavata and serve him in every respect. The neophyte and intermediate devotees can gradually rise to the platform of uttama-adhikari and become first-class devotees. Symptoms of a first-class devotee are given in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.45).

[AncientMariner]

 

 

 

 

I take my hat off to devotees that are advanced enough to go out and spread Krishna consciousness to the masses including atheists etc. That takes some real devotion to do that. I know I am still a neophyte devotee because I would rather just stay in my trailer chant Hare Krishna and never talk to an atheist again. I think the devotees I met in the Seattle airport were maha-bhagavatas.