20210205 Transformation of Lord Rāma's Devotee

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 5th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, Entitled

Transformation of Lord Rāma's Devotee

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.1

avaiṣṇavamatagrasta dākṣiṇātyavāsīra uddhārakārī gaurahari:– 
nānā-mata-grāha-grastān
dākṣiṇātya-jana-dvipān
kṛpāriṇā vimucyaitān
gauraś cakre sa vaiṣṇavān

Translation: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu converted the inhabitants of South India. These people were as strong as elephants, but they were in the clutches of the crocodiles of various philosophies, such as the Buddhist, Jain and Māyāvāda philosophies. With His disc of mercy the Lord delivered them all by converting them into Vaiṣṇavas, devotees of the Lord.

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s converting the people of South India into Vaiṣṇavas is compared herein to Lord Viṣṇu’s delivering Gajendra the elephant from the attack of a crocodile. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited southern India, almost all the residents were within the jaws of the crocodiles of Buddhist, Jain and Māyāvāda philosophy. Here Kavirāja Gosvāmī states that although these people were as strong as elephants, they were almost in the clutches of death because they were being attacked by the crocodiles of various philosophies. However, just as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the form of Viṣṇu saved the elephant Gajendra from the clutches of a crocodile, so He saved all the people of South India from the clutches of various philosophies by converting them into Vaiṣṇavas.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so merciful, by His presence, by His chanting, by His preaching people became converted to Vaiṣṇavas and thus they were saved from various impersonal and voidists and they became devotees so this shows the spirit of Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that His followers must save the people from the conscious of impersonalist and voidist philosophy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.3

prabhura dakṣiṇa-yātrā:— 
dakṣiṇa-gamana prabhura ati vilakṣaṇa
sahasra sahasra tīrtha kaila daraśana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s tour of South India was certainly very extraordinary because He visited many thousands of places of pilgrimage there.

Jayapatākā Swami: Just as there are different divya-deśas and holy places in South India, people would visit the holy places and leave their sinful reaction there. But Lord Caitanya by visiting these holy places, He would free the tīrthas from all the residual bad karmas that people left there so in this way He rejuvenated the tīrthas.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.4

prabhura darśanaphale tīrthasamūha tīrthīkṛta, tāhāte lokoddhāra:– 
sei saba tīrtha sparśi’ mahā-tīrtha kaila
sei chale sei deśera loka nistārila

Translation: On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.

Purport: It is said, tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni. A tīrtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage, they were all purified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit. Many people go to these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they are counteracted by the visit of great personalities like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His strict followers. Many kinds of patients come to a hospital, which may be infected by many types of diseases. Actually the hospital is always infected, but the expert physician keeps the hospital sterilized by his expert presence and management. Similarly, places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the sinners who go there, but when a personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visits such a place, all contaminations vanish.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He could purify the holy places and all the people who saw Him also became purified. So those devotees that strictly follow Lord Caitanya, they can also purify the conditioned soul.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.5

prabhura dakṣiṇavāme bhramaṇaphale granthakārera varṇanāya bhaugolika kramabhaṅga, esthale kevala digdarśana:— 
sei saba tīrthera krama kahite nā pāri
dakṣiṇa-vāme tīrtha-gamana haya pherāpheri

Translation: I cannot chronologically record all the places of pilgrimage visited by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I can only summarize everything by saying that the Lord visited all holy places right and left, coming and going.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, it is not possible to describe in great detail all the holy places visited by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, wherever He went the holy places became mahā-tīrthas, great holy places, simply by His visiting them, and whoever saw Him also became purified, just by seeing Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.6

ataeva nāma-mātra kariye gaṇana
kahite nā pāri tāra yathā anukrama

Translation: Because it is impossible for me to record all these places in chronological order, I will simply make a token gesture of recording them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the exact chronological order could not be recorded by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja prabhu. That time there were no proper maps, so we hope that the organizers of this work would put the places into proper order.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.7-8

prabhura darśanamātra lokera vaiṣṇavatā – 
pūrvavat pathe yāite ye pāya daraśana
yei grāme yāya, se grāmera yata jana

Translation: As previously stated, all the residents of the villages visited by Lord Caitanya became Vaiṣṇavas and began to chant Hari and Kṛṣṇa. In this way, in all the villages visited by the Lord, everyone became a Vaiṣṇava, a devotee.

Purport: The holy names of Kṛṣṇa and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting,

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma,
Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Prabhupāda is explaining that if one strictly follows Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His representatives, he will be empowered to preach. Actually wherever Lord Caitanya went, He told people - yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa, whosoever you meet, please tell them the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, on my order be a spiritual master and deliver your people. So, this same message He was using in every village. So on His order people became spiritual masters and preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, spread everywhere. We even found in some remote villages of South India, people were chanting the name of Lord Caitanya and Hare Krsna mahā-mantra. So, we asked them how they got this mantra, they said, they did not know, they learnt it from their parents. So somehow Lord Caitanya, enthused these people in the family which was headed down generation after generation, such is the great power of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.9

tātkālika dākṣiṇātya-vāsīra avasthā:— 
dakṣiṇa deśera loka aneka prakāra
keha jñānī, keha karmī, pāṣaṇḍī apāra

Translation: In South India there were many types of people. Some were philosophical speculators, and some were fruitive workers, but in any case there were innumerable non-devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Today South India is very orthodox, by Lord Caitanya’s preaching He established the proper system of Vaiṣṇava dharma. Today South India is enjoying the benefit of Lord Caitanya’s association, but there are still mental speculators, fruitive workers, and innumerable non-devotees that have come up, so it is important to continue the preaching.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.10

prabhu kṛpāya karma, jñānī o pāṣaṇḍīra vaiṣṇavatva-lābha:— 
sei saba loka prabhura darśana-prabhāve
nija-nija-mata chāḍi’ ha-ila vaiṣṇave

Translation: By the influence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all these people abandoned their own opinions and became Vaiṣṇavas, devotees of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.11

rāmapāsaka mādhva o ‘śrī-vaiṣṇava’gaṇera kṛṣṇa-bhajanārambha:— 
vaiṣṇavera madhye rāma-upāsaka saba
keha ’tattvavādī’, keha haya ’śrī-vaiṣṇava’

Translation: At the time, all the South Indian Vaiṣṇavas were worshipers of Lord Rāmacandra. Some were Tattvavādīs, and some were followers of Rāmānujācārya.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that the word “Tattvavādī” refers to the followers of Śrīla Madhvācārya. To distinguish his disciplic succession from the Māyāvādī followers of Śaṅkarācārya, Śrīla Madhvācārya named his party the Tattvavādīs. Impersonal monists are always attacked by these Tattvavādīs, who attempt to defeat their philosophy of impersonalism. Generally, they establish the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya is known as the Brahmā Vaiṣṇava sect; that is the sect coming down from Lord Brahmā. Consequently the Tattvavādīs, or followers of Madhvācārya, do not accept the incident of Lord Brahmā’s illusion, which is recorded in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīla Madhvācārya has purposefully avoided commenting on that portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in which brahma-mohana, the illusion of Lord Brahmā, is mentioned. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī was one of the ācāryas in the Tattvavāda disciplic succession, and he established the ultimate goal of transcendentalism to be attainment of pure devotional service, love of Godhead. Those Vaiṣṇavas belonging to the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, the disciplic succession following Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, are distinct from the Tattvavādīs, although they belong to the same Tattvavāda-sampradāya. The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are therefore known as the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya.

The word pāṣaṇḍī refers to those who are opposed to pure devotional service. In particular, these are the Māyāvādīs, the impersonalists.

A definition of pāṣaṇḍī is given in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (1.73), wherein it is stated:

A pāṣaṇḍī is one who thinks that the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead , is on the same level with the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. A devotee never considers Lord Nārāyaṇa to be on the same platform with Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The Madhvācārya-sampradāya and Rāmānuja-sampradāya are mainly worshipers of Lord Rāmacandra, although the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Nārāyaṇa and Lakṣmī and the Tattvavādīs are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Kṛṣṇa. At present, in most of the monasteries belonging to the Madhva-sampradāya, Lord Rāmacandra is worshiped.

In the book known as Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇa, there are statements in chapters twelve to fifteen about worshiping the Deities of Śrī Rāmacandra and Sītā. There it is stated that during Lord Rāmacandra’s time there was a brāhmaṇa who took a vow to fast until he saw Lord Rāmacandra. Sometimes, due to business, Lord Rāmacandra was absent from His capital for a full week and could not be seen by the citizens during that time. Because of his vow, the brāhmaṇa could not take even a drop of water during that week. Later, after eight or nine days, when the brāhmaṇa could see Lord Rāmacandra personally, he would break his fast. Upon observing the brāhmaṇa’s rigid vow, Lord Śrī Rāmacandra ordered His younger brother Lakṣmaṇa to deliver a pair of Sītā-Rāma Deities to the brāhmaṇa. The brāhmaṇa received the Deities from Śrī Lakṣmaṇajī and worshiped Them faithfully as long as he lived. At the time of his death, he delivered the Deities to Śrī Hanumānjī, who, for many years, hung Them around his neck and served Them with all devotion. After many years, when Hanumānjī departed on the hill known as Gandha-mādana, he delivered the Deities to Bhīmasena, one of the Pāṇḍavas, and Bhīmasena brought Them to his palace, where he kept Them very carefully. The last king of the Pāṇḍavas, Kṣemakānta, worshiped the Deities in that palace. Later, the same Deities were kept in the custody of the kings of Orissa known as Gajapatis. One of the ācāryas, known as Narahari Tīrtha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya, received these Deities from the King of Orissa.

It may be noted that these particular Deities of Rāma and Sītā have been worshiped from the time of King Ikṣvāku. Indeed, They were worshiped by the royal princes even before the appearance of Lord Rāmacandra. Later, during Lord Rāmacandra’s presence, the Deities were worshiped by Lakṣmaṇa. It is said that just three months before his disappearance, Śrī Madhvācārya received these Deities and installed them in the Uḍupī temple. Since then the Deities have been worshiped by the Madhvācārya-sampradāya at that monastery. As far as the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas are concerned, beginning with Rāmānujācārya, they also worshiped Deities of Sītā-Rāma. Sītā-Rāma Deities are also being worshiped in Tirupati and other places. From the Śrī Rāmānuja-sampradāya there is another branch known as Rāmānandī or Rāmāt, and the followers of that branch also worship Deities of Sītā-Rāma very rigidly. The Rāmānuja-sampradāya Vaiṣṇavas prefer the worship of Lord Rāmacandra to that of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: In many of the temples which are accepted as divya-deśas they worship different forms of Nārāyaṇa but they also accept Kṛṣṇa , they think Kṛṣṇa is Nārāyaṇa so they accept Mathurā as one of the divya-deśa. In most of the divya-deśa they worship different Deities. Like in Tirupati, they worship Bālājī, who is accepted as a form of Nārāyaṇa. Also, Sītā Rāma are very popular, many people also worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Rādhā Kṛṣṇa worship is not so common but in Thiruvanantapuram, in the Padmanābha temple, there is Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu from whom Brahmā was born, there is also a temple of Kṛṣṇa. Also, in Kerala, the famous temple of Guruvāyur, Kṛṣṇa there is worshipped. So, we see that in Kerala they have Kṛṣṇa. Also in Uḍupī, they have Kṛṣṇa Deity, but there are eight maṭhas and one main temple. So, in eight maṭhās each have different Deities, but the central Deity is Kṛṣṇa. So, like that Kṛṣṇa is not as visible as He is in Vṛndāvana, Mathurā and Dvārakā. Lord Caitanya made Kṛṣṇa very popular. But He chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa in all the temples, no matter who the temples were foṛ

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.12

sei saba vaiṣṇava mahāprabhura darśane
kṛṣṇa-upāsaka haila, laya kṛṣṇa-nāme

Translation: After meeting Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all those different Vaiṣṇavas became devotees of Kṛṣṇa and began chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.13

gamanapathe prabhura gīta:– 
rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava! rāma! rāghava! pāhi mām
kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! kṛṣṇa! keśava! rakṣa mām

Translation: “‘O Lord Rāmacandra, descendant of Mahārāja Raghu, kindly protect me! O Lord Kṛṣṇa, killer of the Keśī demon, kindly protect me!”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.14

gautamī gaṅgā — 
ei śloka pathe paḍi’ karilā prayāṇa
gautamī-gaṅgāya yāi’ kaila gaṅgā-snāna

Translation: While walking on the road, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to chant this Rāma Rāghava mantra. Chanting in this way, He arrived at the banks of the Gautamī-gaṅgā and took His bath there.

Purport: The Gautamī-gaṅgā is a branch of the river Godāvarī. Formerly a great sage named Gautama Ṛṣi used to live on the bank of this river opposite the city of Rajahmundry, and consequently this branch was called the Gautamī-gaṅgā.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī has recorded the names of the holy places visited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu but that there is no chronological order of the places visited. However, there is a notebook of Govinda dāsa’s containing a chronological order and references to geographical positions. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura requests the readers to refer to that book. According to Govinda dāsa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Trimanda from the Gautamī-gaṅgā. From there He went to Ḍhuṇḍirāma-tīrtha, another place of pilgrimage. According to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, after visiting the Gautamī-gaṅgā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Mallikārjuna-tīrtha.

Jayapatākā Swami: Normally the Caitanya-caritāmṛta is considered the most authoritative scripture for chronology, but here the author Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja, expressed that he did not know the exact chronology of South India so we see the Govinda dāsa kaḍaca to get the proper chronology.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.15

mallikārjuna-tīrthe rāmadāsa śambhura darśana:— 
mallikārjuna-tīrthe yāi’ maheśa dekhila
tāhāṅ saba loke kṛṣṇa-nāma laoyāila

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then went to Mallikārjuna-tīrtha and saw the deity of Lord Śiva there. He also induced all the people to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Purport: Mallikārjuna is also known as Śrī Saila. It is situated about one hundred miles northeast of Karṇula on the southern bank of the Kṛṣṇā River. There are great walls all around the village, and within the walls resides the deity known as Mallikārjuna. It is a deity of Lord Śiva and is one of the Jyotir-liṅgas.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya went from the Deity of Maṅgalagīrī, which is a Lord Nrsiṁhadeva Deity to Śrī Śaila. falls the village of Narasaraopeta, which is the place where Kṛṣṇa visited and delivered Mucukunda. So by this it may be understood that Lord Caitanya also passed by the village in Narasraopeta, now we have an ISKCON temple there.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.16

ahovala-nṛsiṁha-darśana:— 
rāmadāsa mahādeve karila darśana
ahovala-nṛsiṁhere karilā gamana

Translation: There he saw Lord Mahādeva [Śiva], the servant of Lord Rāma. He then went to Ahovala-nṛsiṁha.

Jayapatākā Swami: We established the lotus foot print of Lord Caitanya in Ahobhilam, since Lord Caitanya visited there. This is a special tīrtha where there are nine temples of Lord Narasiṁhadeva.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.17

siddhavaṭe rāmasītā-vigraha-darśana:— 
nṛsiṁha dekhiyā tāṅre kaila nati-stuti
siddhavaṭa gelā yāhāṅ mūrti sītāpati

Translation: Upon seeing the Ahovala-nṛsiṁha Deity, Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered many prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavaṭa, where He saw the Deity of Rāmacandra, the Lord of Sītādevī.

Purport: Siddhavaṭa, also known as Sidhauṭa, is ten miles east of the village of Kuḍāpā. Previously this place was also known as the southern Benares. There is a great banyan tree there, and it is therefore known as Siddhavaṭa. Vaṭa means banyan tree.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.18

tathāya rāmasevaka eka vaiṣṇava-viprera prabhuke bhikṣā-dāna:— 
raghunātha dekhi’ kaila praṇati stavana
tāhāṅ eka vipra prabhura kaila nimantraṇa

Translation: Upon seeing the Deity of Lord Rāmacandra, the descendant of King Raghu, the Lord offered His prayers and obeisances. Then a brāhmaṇa invited the Lord to take lunch.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.19

sei vipra rāma-nāma nirantara laya
’rāma’ ’rāma’ vinā anya vāṇī nā kahaya

Translation: That brāhmaṇa constantly chanted the holy name of Rāmacandra. Indeed, but for chanting Lord Rāmacandra’s holy name, that brāhmaṇa did not speak a word.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the man while giving prasāda, he would chant Rāma, if he wanted more he would say Rāma, for everything he would say Rāma.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.20

tadgṛhe ekadina vāsa o kṛpā:— 
sei dina tāṅra ghare rahi’ bhikṣā kari’
tāṅre kṛpā kari’ āge calilā gaurahari

Translation: That day, Lord Caitanya remained there and accepted prasādam at his house. After bestowing mercy upon him in this way, the Lord proceeded ahead.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.21

skanda-kṣetre skanda o trimaṭhe vāmana-vigraha-darśana:— 
skanda-kṣetra-tīrthe kaila skanda darśana
trimaṭha āilā, tāhāṅ dekhi’ trivikrama

Translation: At the holy place known as Skanda-kṣetra, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited the temple of Skanda. From there He went to Trimaṭha, where He saw the Viṣṇu Deity Trivikrama.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya would go to the different temples, Skanda temple is Kārtikeya and also known as Mūrugan and He would go to all the temples and in every temple, He would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. So these temples of the different devas were actually great devotees of the Lord, so there is no harm for the followers of Lord Caitanya to visit the temples of Skanda or Ganeśa or Lord Śiva but we should see them as Vaiṣṇavas, not equal to Viṣṇu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.22

pūrvokta viprera rāmanāmera parivartte kṛṣṇa-nāmagrahaṇa:— 
punaḥ siddhavaṭa āilā sei vipra-ghare
sei vipra kṛṣṇa-nāma laya nirantare

Translation: After visiting the temple of Trivikrama, the Lord returned to Siddhavaṭa, where He again visited the house of the brāhmaṇa, Who was now constantly chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.23

prabhura praśnabhaṅgī o viprera uttara:— 
bhikṣā kari’ mahāprabhu tāṅre praśna kaila
”kaha vipra, ei tomāra kon daśā haila

Translation: After finishing His lunch there, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the brāhmaṇa, “My dear friend, kindly tell Me what your position is now.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.24

pūrve tumi nirantara laite rāma-nāma
ebe kene nirantara lao kṛṣṇa-nāma”

Translation: “Formerly you were constantly chanting the holy name of Lord Rāma. Why are you now constantly chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa?”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.25

vipra bale,—ei tomāra darśana-prabhāve
tomā dekhi’ gela mora ājanma svabhāve

Translation: The brāhmaṇa replied, “This is all due to Your influence, Sir. After seeing You, I have lost my lifelong practice.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.26

bālyāvadhi rāma-nāma-grahaṇa āmāra
tomā dekhi’ kṛṣṇa-nāma āila eka-bāra

Translation: “From my childhood I have been chanting the holy name of Lord Rāmacandra, but upon seeing You I chanted the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa just once.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.27

sei haite kṛṣṇa-nāma jihvāte vasilā
kṛṣṇa-nāma sphure, rāma-nāma dūre gelā

Translation: “Since then, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa has been tightly fixed upon my tongue. Indeed, since I have been chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the holy name of Lord Rāmacandra has gone far away.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the great effect of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that simply by seeing the Lord and simply by serving Him, this devotee immediately started to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and his nature of chanting the name of Rāma left him.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.113: Mallabhaṭṭa: Another time He saw a brāhmaṇa staying at home and chanting the holy names Rāma, Rāma, Rāma. When the Lord arrived there the brāhmaṇa suddenly started chanting Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa. The Lord then asked him, "O brāhmaṇa, at first you were chanting Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, and now you are all of a sudden chanting Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa instead. Please tell Me why you have changed." The brāhmaṇa replied, " O Lord, since childhood I am devoted to chanting the holy name Rāma. Somehow or other, however, when I see You, the names Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa spontaneously come from my mouth. I have no power to stop these names of Kṛṣṇa. It is not my fault that these names of Kṛṣṇa come from me. They come only because I have seen You."

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the great potency of Lord Caitanya, simply by seeing Him, the brāhmaṇa would chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. So the followers of Lord Caitanya, by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra they can inspire the people to take up Kṛṣṇa-bhakti.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.28

bālya-kāla haite mora svabhāva eka haya
nāmera mahimā-śāstra kariye sañcaya

Translation: “From my childhood I have been collecting the glories of the holy name from revealed scriptures.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.114: King: Bhaṭṭācārya, what is the context of this?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.29 and Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.115

‘rāma’ śabdera vyutpattigata artha:— padma-purāṇe śrī-rāmacandrera śatanāmastotre (8)— 
ramante yogino ’nante
satyānande cid-ātmani
iti rāma-padenāsau
paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate

Translation: “‘The Supreme Absolute Truth is called Rāma because the transcendentalists take pleasure in the unlimited true pleasure of spiritual existence.’”

Purport: This is the eighth verse of the Śata-nāma-stotra of Lord Rāmacandra, which is found in the Padma Purāṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.30 and Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.116

‘kṛṣṇa-śabdera vyutpattigata artha:— śrīdhara-svāmi-dhṛta mahābhārate uḥ paḥ (71/4)— 
kṛṣir bhū-vācakaḥ śabdo
ṇaś ca nirvṛti-vācakaḥ
tayor aikyaṁ paraṁ brahma
kṛṣṇa ity abhidhīyate

Translation: “‘The word “kṛṣ” is the attractive feature of the Lord’s existence, and “ṇa” means spiritual pleasure. When the verb “kṛṣ” is added to the affix “ṇa,” it becomes “Kṛṣṇa,” which indicates the Absolute Truth.’”

Purport: This is a verse from the Mahābhārata (Udyoga-parva 71.4).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.31

rāmanāma o kṛṣṇa-nāmera līlāgata vaicitrya:— 
paraṁ brahma dui-nāma samāna ha-ila
punaḥ āra śāstre kichu viśeṣa pāila

Translation: “As far as the holy names of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa are concerned, they are on an equal level, but for further advancement we receive some specific information from the revealed scriptures.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.32

sahasra viṣṇunāma tulya eka rāmanāma:— 
padma-purāṇe śrī-rāmacandrera śatanāmastotre (9) uttara-khaṇḍe śrī-viṣṇu sahasranāma-stotre (72/335)—

rāma rāmeti rāmeti
rame rāme manorame
sahasra-nāmabhis tulyaṁ
rāma-nāma varānane

Translation: “[Lord Śiva addressed his wife, Durgā:] ‘O Varānanā, I chant the holy name of Rāma, Rāma, Rāma and thus enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name of Rāmacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord Viṣṇu.”

Purport: This is a verse from the Bṛhad-viṣṇu-sahasranāma-stotra in the Uttara-khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa (72.335).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.33 and Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.118

tinavāra rāmanāma-tulya eka kṛṣṇa-nāma:— brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa-vacana— 
sahasra-nāmnāṁ puṇyānāṁ
trir-āvṛttyā tu yat phalam
ekāvṛttyā tu kṛṣṇasya
nāmaikaṁ tat prayacchati

Translation: “‘The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names of Viṣṇu three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.’”

Purport: This verse from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa is found in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.354), by Rūpa Gosvāmī. Simply by chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa once, one can attain the same results achieved by chanting the holy name of Rāma three times.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this shows how the name of Kṛṣṇa is so much more beneficial. In the age of Kali His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda gave us the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra so that we get the maximum benefit in this age of Kali.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.117: In this way although Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are the same because they are both names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, still the name Rāma refers to Lord Rāmacandra and the name Kṛṣṇa refers to the son of the king of Vraja. Because Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva is Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, when the brāhmaṇa saw Him, the name Kṛṣṇa spontaneously appeared on his mouth. That is the secret meaning of these activities. The glory of Kṛṣṇa's name is also described in these words of the scriptures.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.34

kṛṣṇa-nāmera sarvaśreṣṭha māhātmya:— 
ei vākye kṛṣṇa-nāmera mahimā apāra
tathāpi la-ite nāri, śuna hetu tāra

Translation: “According to this statement of the śāstras, the glories of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa are unlimited. Still I could not chant His holy name. Please hear the reason for this.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, that brāhmaṇa knew that Kṛṣṇa‘s name was three times more powerful, but he could not chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. Instead since his childhood he was chanting the name of Rāma, so what caused the change?

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.35

viprera kṛṣṇa-nāma laibāra anya kāraṇa:— 
iṣṭa-deva rāma, tāṅra nāme sukha pāi
sukha pāñā rāma-nāma rātri-dina gāi

Translation: “My worshipable Lord has been Lord Rāmacandra, and by chanting His holy name I received happiness. Because I received such happiness, I chanted the holy name of Lord Rāma day and night.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.36

kṛṣṇa-vigrahai kṛṣṇa-nāmadāne samartha baliyā prabhuke viprera kṛṣṇa-jñāna:— 
tomāra darśane yabe kṛṣṇa-nāma āila
tāhāra mahimā tabe hṛdaye lāgila

Translation: “By Your appearance, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s holy name also appeared, and at that time the glories of Kṛṣṇa’s name awoke in my heart.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.37

sei kṛṣṇa tumi sākṣāt—ihā nirdhārila
eta kahi’ vipra prabhura caraṇe paḍila

Translation: “Sir, You are that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself." Saying this, the brāhmaṇa fell down at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the brāhmaṇa’ s worshipable deity was Lord Rāma, simply by seeing Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he suddenly developed attachment for Lord Kṛṣṇa. His realization was that Lord Caitanya is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, and thus he fell at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and offered his obeisances. So by taking part in the saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya we could naturally awaken our dormant love for Kṛṣṇa. Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda !

Haribol!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Transformation of Lord Rāma's devotee.