The story of Haridasa Thakura and Maya Devi is a famous Vaishnava tale from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta detailing how the pure, steadfast devotion of Haridasa Thakura (known as the Namacharya or “Master of the Holy Name”) effortlessly defeated the personified external illusion of the material world.
The Attempted Seduction While Haridasa Thakura was chanting the holy names in a secluded cave near Shantipur, the local Zamindar, Ramachandra Khan, became envious of his spiritual influence. He hired a beautiful and famous local courtesan, who later revealed herself to be the incarnation of Maya Devi (the material illusion), to seduce him and destroy his vows.
The Test of Faith Maya Devi visited Haridasa Thakura on a full-moon night, attempting to use her beauty and sweet words to allure him. Despite her charms, Haridasa Thakura’s mind remained completely fixed on chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. He told her he would gladly engage with her after finishing his daily vow of chanting a fixed number of holy names.
The Transformation Maya Devi returned for three consecutive nights. Astounded that the chanting of the holy names prevented his mind from wavering in the slightest, she finally admitted defeat. Recognizing the purity of his devotion, she fell at his feet, begged for spiritual mercy, and was ultimately initiated by Haridasa Thakura into chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
Well today we are in Mayapura Dham, at the Shri Shri Radha Madhava Temple, celebrating the Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is a full day fast, followed by a nice Vegetarian feast at Sunset. The devotees here have been so kind and accommodating. And of course the deities are all spectacularly beautiful, and the prasadam is first class.We feel very grateful, and blessed to be here on such an auspicious occasion.
I remember as a young book distributor on the Radha Damadora Traveling Sankirtan Party back in 1975, we were getting fresh new cases of the Caitanya-caritamrta to distribute, “Hot off the press”. Literally the pages were still warm. We couldn’t wait to open up a new case and look at all the new pictures.
Celebrating Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
A 16th-Century Bengali Masterpiece
By Kalakantha Dasa
By any standards, Caitanya Mahaprabhu led a most remarkable life. As a child-scholar, He refuted the leading philosophers of His day. Later, as a young renunciant, He traveled widely, converting kings, panditas, Muslims, Buddhists, and thousands of their followers to the path of Krsna-bhakti. In His final years, He exhibited unprecedented miracles and devotional ecstasies. Even today, five hundred years later, Lord Caitanya’s movement reverberates around the world with startling religious vitality.
So today marks the Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In honor of His Appearance, we share with you a song by Narottama Das Thakur entitled “Gaurangera Duti Pada”, with a purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.
Gaurangera Duti Pada by Narottama Dasa Thakura
1) Anyone who has accepted the two lotus feet of Lord Caitanya can understand the true essence of devotional service. If one is captivated by the pleasing pastimes of Lord Caitanya, the dirty things in his heart will all become cleansed.
2) One who simply takes the holy name of Gaurasundara, Sri Krsna Caitanya, will immediately develop love of God. To such a person I say: Bravo! Very nice! Excellent! If one appreciates the merciful pastimes of Lord Caitanya and feels ecstasy and sometimes cries, this process will immediately help him to understand the eternal pastimes of Radha-Krsna.
3) Simply by understanding that the associates of Lord Gauranga are eternally free from material contamination, one can immediately be promoted to the transcendental abode of Lord Krsna. If one simply understands that the land of Navadvipa is not different from Vrndavana, then he actually lives in Vrndavana.
4) If one says: “Let me dive deep into the waves of the nectarean ocean of the transcendental loving movement introduced by Lord Caitanya”, he immediately becomes one of the confidential devotees of Radha and Krsna. It does not matter whether one is a householder living at home or a vanaprastha or sannyasi living in the forest, if he chants “O Gauranga, and becomes a devotee of Lord Caitanya, then Narottama dasa begs to have his association.
…Gauranga refers to Lord Caitanya, who has a fair complexion. One who has a fair complexion is called gaura, and since Lord Caitanya was very fair, just like molten gold, He was also named Gaurasundara. Narottama dasa Thakura says, gaurangera duti pada, jar dhana-sampada, se jane bhakati-rasa-sar. Anyone who has accepted the two lotus feet of Lord Caitanya can understand the true essence of devotional service. Devotional service is very difficult. It cannot be understood by any ordinary man. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, out of many thousands of persons who are trying to achieve the perfection of human life, only some actually become perfect and realize the self. And out of many thousands of such self-realized persons, only one can understand Krsna. Without understanding Krsna, how can one engage himself in the service of Krsna? Therefore, the devotional service of Krsna is not an ordinary thing. But fortunately, if one follows in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya (gaurangera duti pada) by following the path shown by Lord Caitanya-the process of simply chanting Hare Krsna-he can very easily understand what devotional service is. (from purport to the song “Gaurangera Duti Pada”)
Full song with Bengali Lyrics, English translation, and purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
…The essence of spiritual knowledge is found in the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which are identical with the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of knowledge. If knowledge does not include the understanding of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa, it is simply superfluous. By Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s grace, the nectar of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is flowing in different directions in hundreds and thousands of rivers. One should not think that the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are different from Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. It is said: śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a combination of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and without understanding His pastimes, one cannot understand Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore sings: rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala pirīti. “When shall I become very eager to study the books left by the six Gosvāmīs? Then I shall be able to understand the conjugal pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.” (Purport Madha-lila 25.271)
This is kinda a continuation of our previous post “Danger At Every Step”. But this is the solution to the dangers of the world; remembering God (Krishna) at every moment. That is Krishna Consciousness. That will help us endure the dangers of this material world.
That is, “O Lord Rāma, descendant of King Raghu, please protect Me. O Kṛṣṇa, O Keśava, killer of the Keśī demon, please maintain Me.”
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 7.96)
Prabhupāda: So we have to be very careful. The age is very bad, the Kali-yuga. You are experiencing. We have to simply take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and always cry,
Like that, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us. The time is very dangerous. And still, in this dangerous time… Just like in epidemic condition where every people is being contaminated and dying, still, the doctors appointed by the government, they have to go into the epidemic area and try to treat the person and save them. Our duty is like that. The whole atmosphere is epidemic, whole atmosphere, this Kali-yuga. And still, by the superior orders we have to preach this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Therefore our only shelter is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa, rakṣa mām. Very dangerous position. The foolish people, they are thinking that “We are very happy and we are very safe.” But nobody is safe. Nobody is safe. So we have to deal with persons very carefully, and at the same time, we have to push our missionary activities.
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Calcutta, January 6, 1971)
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya- nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 19.53)
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the mercy incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is addressed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as mahā-vadānyāvatāra, or the most magnanimous incarnation. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also says, karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau: it is only by His mercy that He has descended in this Age of Kali.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 7.150, Purport)
“May the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Lord Śrī Caitanya bestow His causeless mercy upon us. His smiling glance at once drives away all the bereavements of the world, and His very words enliven the auspicious creepers of devotion by expanding their leaves. Taking shelter of His lotus feet invokes transcendental love of God at once.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 3.63, Purport)
Today marks the appearance day of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We honor it with a fast until moon rise, followed by a nice vegetarian feast, chanting, and readings from the many pastimes of the Lord.
His Appearance
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared at Sridhama Mayapura, in the city of Navadvipa in Bengal, on the Phalguni Purnima evening in the year 1486 AD. His father, Sri Jagannatha Mishra, a learned brahmana from the district of Sylhet, came to Navadvipa as a student. He lived on the banks of the Ganges with his wife Srimati Sachidevi, the daughter of Srila Nilambara Chakravarty, a great learned scholar of Navadvipa. Their youngest son, who was named Vishvambhara, later became known as Nimai Pandita and then, after accepting the renounced order of life, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
His Pastimes
The wonderful pastimes performed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the city of Navadvipa and in Jagannath Puri are recorded by His biographers. The early life of the Lord is most fascinatingly expressed by the author of Chaitanya-bhagavata (Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura), and as far as the teachings are concerned, they are more vividly explained in the Chaitanya-Charitamrita (by Sri Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami). Now they are available to the English-speaking public in the Teachings of Lord Caitanya. (click on link to veiw or download)
My friend Padmapani Prabhu (the webmaster for Prabhupada Connect has been coming out with so many beautiful posts of late…we share another one with you here. Please visit his site if you get the chance.
“This Krishna consciousness movement is not something new, something that we have introduced or manufactured. It is authorized on the Vedic principles, authorized by acaryas like Caitanya Mahaprabhu and others. And the method is very simple; there is no loss. We are not charging anything, we are not asking for fees and giving the people some secret mantra and promising them that they will become God. No. This is open for everyone — children, women, girls, boys, old people — everyone can chant and see the results.” (Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 5)
Practicing Krishna Consciousness @ Home
The Simple Method
“The process is very simple. Just keep a picture of Lord Caitanya with His associates. Lord Caitanya is in the middle, accompanied by His principal associates — Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, and Srivasa. One simply has to keep this picture. One can keep it anywhere. It is not that one has to come to us to see this picture. Anyone can have this picture in his home, chant this Hare Krishna mantra, and thus worship Lord Caitanya. That is the simple method. But who will capture this simple method? Those who have good brains. Without much bother, if one simply keeps a picture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at home and chants Hare Krishna, then one will realize God. Anyone can adopt this simple method. There is no expenditure, there is no tax, nor is there any need to build a very big church or temple. Anyone, anywhere, can sit down on the road or beneath a tree and chant the Hare Krishna mantra and worship God. Therefore it is a great opportunity.” (Srila Prabhupada lecture, London’s Conway Hall, Nov. 1969)
So today is Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance day. We will honor it with a full day fast, which we will break at the appearance of the full moon with a nice prasadam feast. Also in honor of this auspiscious day, we share with you a lecture given in Mayapur India, on the Gaura Purnima day, in 1976. Hare Krishna!
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Lecture 7.9.38
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Māyāpur, March 16, 1976
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: “In this way, my Lord, You have appeared in different incarnations—as human beings, as animals, as a great saintly person, as demigods and as a fish and a tortoise. In this way You maintain the whole creation in different planetary systems and kill the demoniac principles in every age. My Lord, You therefore protect the principles of religion. In the age of Kali You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore You are known as Tri-yuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas.”
Prabhupāda:
itthaṁ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair lokān vibhāvayasi haṁsi jagat pratīpān dharmaṁ mahā-puruṣa pāsi yugānuvṛttaṁ channaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ’tha sa tvam
So here is a very specific statement about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is avatāra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He’s channa. Channa means covered, not directly, because He has appeared as a devotee. Avatāra… Rūpa Gosvāmī has found out that He’s avatāra of Kṛṣṇa. All the devotees, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rūpa Gosvāmī, and in the śāstra, and the Upaniṣad, Mahābhārata, in every… Sādhu-śāstra. Avatāra should be confirmed by great devotees, personalities, and must be collaborated with the statement in the śāstra.
“O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please protect Me and maintain Me. O Lord Rāma, descendant of King Raghu, please protect Me. O Kṛṣṇa, O Keśava, killer of the Keśī demon, please maintain Me.”
If one always chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, gradually one is freed from all reactions of sinful life, provided he chants offenselessly and does not commit more sinful activities on the strength of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In this way one is purified, and his devotional service causes the arousal of his dormant love of God. If one simply chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and does not commit sinful activities and offenses, one’s life is purified, and thus one comes to the fifth stage of perfection, or engagement in the loving service of the Lord (premā pum-artho mahān).
Prabhupada: (airport noises) (leads Prema-dhvani; says “Los Angeles bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!”) So my dear boys and girls, about six years ago I came to your country single-handed, with this pair of cymbals. Now you are so many chanting Hare Krsna. That is my success. It was the prediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara hoibe mora nama
Lord Caitanya desired that “In all the towns, in as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the globe, My name will be broadcast.” He is Krsna Himself, svayam krsna, krsna caitanya-namine, simply changing His name as Krsna Caitanya. So His prediction will never go in vain. That’s a fact. So my plan was that “I shall go to America. America is the leading country of the world. If I can convince (the) younger generation of America, they will take up.” I am old man. I came here at the age of seventy years; now I am seventy-six. So my warning is already there. In nineteen hundred and seventy-one, I had a severe heart attack. You know, all. So the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is now in your hands. You are American boys and girls, very intelligent and graced by Krsna. You are not poverty-stricken. You have enough resources, prestige. Everything materially, you are all well-equipped. If you kindly take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, your country will be saved, and the whole world will be saved.
By the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even a foolish child can fully describe the real nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enjoyer of the pastimes of Vraja, according to the vision of the revealed scriptures. (Ādi-līlā Chapter 4, Text 1)
This month as we explore the childhood pastimes of Lord Krsna in Vrndavan, it is important to keep in mind that, it is due to the mercy of the spiritual master and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that we are able to enter into the sublime understandings of the Lord. As is mentioned in the purport to the above sloka;
One can ascertain the meaning of this Sanskrit śloka only when one is endowed with the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the absolute Personality of Godhead, cannot be exposed to the mundane instruments of vision. He reserves the right not to be exposed by the intellectual feats of nondevotees. Notwithstanding this truth, even a small child can easily understand Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental pastimes in the land of Vṛndāvana by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (purport to Adi. 4.1)
but the real reason for this post is to remind out readers about the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya
“May that Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacīdevī be transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.” (Ādi-līlā Chapter 3, Text 4)
PURPORT
This is a quotation from the Vidagdha-mādhava, a drama compiled and edited by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
The Nectar of Devotion Lecture
Los Angeles, June 23, 1970
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.
So we have published our Nectar of Devotion.
So every one of you should read this Nectar of Devotion repeatedly.
The whole substance of Vaiṣṇava philosophy and activities, everything is there.
So every one of you read this Nectar of Devotion once, twice, thrice.
Unless you have got full-fledged ideas what is this devotional service… That was written by… Actually, it was spoken by Lord Caitanya to Rūpa Gosvāmī. For ten days continually He instructed Rūpa Gosvāmī at Prayāga, Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭa. You have seen the picture in TLC. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was at Allahabad, Prayāga, and Rūpa Gosvāmī met Him there. He was offering obeisances flat. You have seen that picture. So at that time Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally gave him instruction what is this cult of bhakti. So for ten days. And he took note of it and later on he placed this book in the form of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. That is in Sanskrit. It will be difficult for you. Therefore I have presented a summary study, and the summary study has come to 407 pages. If we would have elaborately described each and every verse, then it would have come to at least thousand pages.
“Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to taste the limitless nectarean mellows of the love of one of His multitude of loving damsels [Śrī Rādhā], and so He has assumed the form of Lord Caitanya. He has tasted that love while hiding His own dark complexion with Her effulgent yellow color. May that Lord Caitanya confer upon us His grace.”(This is the third verse of the second Caitanyāṣṭaka of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Stava-mālā.)
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Summary of Ādi-līlā, Chapter 4
The Confidential Reasons for Lord Caitanya’s Appearance
In this chapter of the epic Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has stressed that Lord Caitanya appeared for three principal purposes of His own. The first purpose was to relish the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the prime reciprocator of transcendental love of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of transcendental loving transactions with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself, and Rādhārāṇī is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish the loving mellow in the position of the object, Rādhārāṇī.
The second reason for His appearance was to understand the transcendental mellow of Himself. Lord Kṛṣṇa is all sweetness. Rādhārāṇī’s attraction for Kṛṣṇa is sublime, and to experience that attraction and understand the transcendental sweetness of Himself, He accepted the mentality of Rādhārāṇī.
The third reason that Lord Caitanya appeared was to enjoy the bliss tasted by Rādhārāṇī. The Lord thought that undoubtedly Rādhārāṇī enjoyed His company and He enjoyed the company of Rādhārāṇī, but the exchange of transcendental mellow between the spiritual couple was more pleasing to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī than to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī felt more transcendental pleasure in the company of Kṛṣṇa than He could understand without taking Her position, but for Śrī Kṛṣṇa to enjoy in the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was impossible because that position was completely foreign to Him. Kṛṣṇa is the transcendental male, and Rādhārāṇī is the transcendental female. Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of loving Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as Lord Caitanya, accepting the emotions and bodily luster of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Lord Caitanya appeared to fulfill these confidential desires and also to preach the special significance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and to answer the call of Advaita Prabhu. These were secondary reasons.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Five
How to Approach God
Actually all Vedic literature directs the human being toward the perfect stage of devotion. The paths of fruitive activities, speculative knowledge and meditation do not lead one to the perfectional stage, but by the process of devotional service the Lord actually becomes approachable. Therefore all Vedic literature recommends that one accept this process. In this regard, Caitanya Mahāprabhu quoted from the Lord’s instructions to Uddhava in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
na sādhayati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā
“My dear Uddhava, neither philosophical speculation, nor meditational yoga, nor penances can give Me such pleasure as devotional service practiced by the living entities.” (Bhāg. 11.14.20)
…Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu.”
…So if we want actually peace of mind, if we actually want to be free from this material fatiguement, then we must take the shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu is the strength, spiritual strength. And without spiritual strength you cannot approach Kṛṣṇa.
…Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends in His human form, He sends ahead all His devotees, who act as His father, teacher and associates in many roles. Such personalities appear before the descent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Before the appearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, there appeared His devotees like Śrī Mādhavendra Purī; His spiritual master, Śrī Īśvara Purī; His mother, Śrīmatī Śacīdevī; His father, Śrī Jagannātha Miśra; and Śrī Advaita Ācārya.
Advaita Ācārya having appeared, He found the world devoid of devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa because people were engrossed in material affairs.
Everyone was engaged in material enjoyment, whether sinfully or virtuously. No one was interested in the transcendental service of the Lord, which can give total relief from the repetition of birth and death.
Seeing the activities of the world, the Ācārya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people’s benefit.
[Advaita Ācārya thought:] “If Śrī Kṛṣṇa were to appear as an incarnation, He Himself could preach devotion by His personal example.
“In this Age of Kali there is no religion other than the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, but how in this age will the Lord appear as an incarnation?
“I shall worship Kṛṣṇa in a purified state of mind. I shall constantly petition Him in humbleness.
“My name, ‘Advaita,’ will be fitting if I am able to induce Kṛṣṇa to inaugurate the movement of the chanting of the holy name.”
“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is very affectionate toward His devotees, sells Himself to a devotee who offers Him merely a tulasī leaf and a palmful of water.”
Advaita Ācārya considered the meaning of the verse in this way: Not finding any way to repay the debt He owes to one who offers Him a tulasī leaf and water, Lord Kṛṣṇa thinks, “There is no wealth in My possession that is equal to a tulasī leaf and water.”
Thus the Lord liquidates the debt by offering Himself to the devotee. Considering this, the Ācārya began worshiping the Lord.
Thinking of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He constantly offered tulasī buds in water from the Ganges.
He appealed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa with loud calls and thus made it possible for Kṛṣṇa to appear.
Therefore the principal reason for Śrī Caitanya’s descent is this appeal by Advaita Ācārya. The Lord, the protector of religion, appears by the desire of His devotee.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, appeared in India in the fifteenth century. His mission was to freely distribute pure love of God to everyone without considering who was qualified or unqualified. He predicted that the whole world would one day hear the chanting of the Lord’s holy names. The first of the following three narratives is excerpted from Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to Srimad-Bhagavatam. The final two are taken from his English translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, an extensive account of Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings.
The Hare Krishna Movement 