20210206 Transformation of the Buddhists

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 6th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāmā 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 the Buddhists

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.38

vṛddhakāśīte śambhu darśana:— 
tāṅre kṛpā kari’ prabhu calilā āra dine
vṛddhakāśī āsi’ kaila śiva-daraśane

Translation: After showing mercy to the brāhmaṇa, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left the next day and arrived at Vṛddhakāśī, where He visited the temple of Lord Śiva.

Purport: Vṛddhakāśī’s present name is Vṛddhācalam. It is situated in the southern Arcot district on the bank of the river Maṇimukha. This place is also known as Kālahastipura. Lord Śiva’s temple there was worshiped for many years by Govinda, the cousin of Rāmānujācārya.

Jayapatākā Swami: Vrddhakāśī, it is quite close to Tirupati.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.39

tatpara anyagrāme avasthāna o bahulokera prabhu-darśanārtha āgamana:— 
tāhāṅ haite cali’ āge gelā eka grāme
brāhmaṇa-samāja tāhāṅ, karila viśrāme

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then left Vṛddhakāśī and proceeded further. In one village He saw that most of the residents were brāhmaṇas, and He took His rest there.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya would particularly stay or eat prasāda at the house of the brāhmaṇas.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.40

prabhura prabhāve loka āila daraśane
lakṣārbuda loka āise nā yāya gaṇane

Translation: Due to the influence of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, many millions of men came just to see Him. Indeed, the assembly being unlimited, its members could not be counted.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see that even in present day the devotees of Bangladesh, gather in unlimited quantities just to see the Vaiṣṇava visiting, the followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.41

prabhu-darśane sakalerai vaiṣṇavatā-lābha:— 
gosāñira saundarya dekhi’ tāte premāveśa
sabe ’kṛṣṇa’ kahe, ’vaiṣṇava’ haila sarva-deśa

Translation: The Lord’s bodily features were very beautiful, and in addition He was always in the ecstasy of love of Godhead. Simply by seeing Him, everyone began chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and thus everyone became a Vaiṣṇava devotee.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya just by His presence everybody started to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and became Vaiṣṇava, devotee of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.42

prabhukarttṛka samasta matavādigaṇera vicārakhaṇḍana:— 
tārkika-mīmāṁsaka, yata māyāvādi-gaṇa
sāṅkhya, pātañjala, smṛti, purāṇa, āgama

Translation: There are many kinds of philosophers. Some are logicians who follow Gautama or Kaṇāda. Some follow the Mīmāṁsā philosophy of Jaimini. Some follow the Māyāvāda philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya, and others follow Kapila’s Sāṅkhya philosophy or the mystic yoga system of Patañjali. Some follow the smṛti-śāstra composed of twenty religious scriptures, and others follow the Purāṇas and the tantra-śāstra. In this way there are many different types of philosophers.

Jayapatākā Swami: India has many types of philosophies; one must know the Bhāgavata philosophy very profoundly to be able to stand up to these different philosophies.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.43

nija-nija-śāstrodgrāhe sabāi pracaṇḍa
sarva mata duṣi’ prabhu kare khaṇḍa khaṇḍa

Translation: All of these adherents of various scriptures were ready to present the conclusions of their respective scriptures, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu broke all their opinions to pieces and established His own cult of bhakti based on the Vedas, Vedānta, the Brahma-sūtra and the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya established acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, the Bhaktivedānta defeated all the other philosophies.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.44

vedāntera acintyabhedābheda-rūpa bhaktisiddhānta-sthāpana:— 
sarvatra sthāpaya prabhu vaiṣṇava-siddhānte
prabhura siddhānta keha nā pāre khaṇḍite

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu established the devotional cult everywhere. No one could defeat Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu established His philosophy of pure bhakti and no one could defeat Him, in this way He converted everyone to Vaiṣṇavas.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.45

prabhura akāṭya siddhānte parābhūta-vyaktigaṇera bhaktisiddhānta grahaṇa:— 
hāri’ hāri’ prabhu-mate karena praveśa
ei-mate ’vaiṣṇava’ prabhu kaila dakṣiṇa deśa

Translation: Being thus defeated by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all these philosophers and their followers entered into His cult. In this way Lord Caitanya made South India into a country of Vaiṣṇavas.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the system previously was if you are defeated, he would accept the other person's philosophy. Since Caitanya Mahāprabhu has presented His philosophy defeating all the others, then they would accept Him atleast those who are sincere.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.46

ṣaṇḍī bauddhācāryera saśiṣya āgamana:— 
pāṣaṇḍī āila yata pāṇḍitya śuniyā
garva kari’ āila saṅge śiṣya-gaṇa lañā

Translation: When the nonbelievers heard of the erudition of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they came to Him with great pride, bringing their disciples with them.

Jayapatākā Swami: They thought they would defeat Lord Caitanya, so they came with pride with their disciples to show how they would defeat the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.47

tāhāra udagrāha: 
bauddhācārya mahā-paṇḍita nija nava-mate
prabhura āge udgrāha kari’ lāgilā balite

Translation: One of them was a leader of the Buddhist cult and was a very learned scholar. To establish the nine philosophical conclusions of Buddhism, he came before the Lord and began to speak.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.48

asambhāṣya haileo kṛpā-prakāśapūrvaka tāhāra vicāra-khaṇḍana:— 
yadyapi asambhāṣya bauddha ayukta dekhite
tathāpi balilā prabhu garva khaṇḍāite

Translation: Although the Buddhists are unfit for discussion and should not be seen by Vaiṣṇavas, Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke to them just to decrease their false pride.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.49

aśrautapanthī bauddha-śāstrake vicāra-yuktidvārāi khaṇḍana:— 
tarka-pradhāna bauddha-śāstra ’nava mate
’ tarkei khaṇḍila prabhu, nā pāre sthāpite

Translation: The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu defeated the Buddhists in their argument, they could not establish their cult.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that according to the Buddhist cult there are two ways of understanding philosophy. One is called Hīnāyāna, and the other is called Mahāyāna. Along the Buddhist path there are nine principles: (1) The creation is eternal; therefore there is no need to accept a creator. (2) This cosmic manifestation is false. (3) “I am” is the truth. (4) There is repetition of birth and death. (5) Lord Buddha is the only source of understanding the truth. (6) The principle of nirvāṇa, or annihilation, is the ultimate goal. (7) The philosophy of Buddha is the only philosophical path. (8) The Vedas are compiled by human beings. (9) Pious activities, showing mercy to others and so on are advised.

No one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument. One may be very expert in logic, and another person may be even more expert in the art of argument. Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of the Vedic principles understand this. However, it is seen here that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument. Those who are preachers in ISKCON will certainly meet many people who believe in intellectual arguments. Most of these people do not believe in the authority of the Vedas. Nevertheless, they accept intellectual speculation and argument. Therefore the preachers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be prepared to defeat others by argument, just as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did. In this verse it is clearly said, tarkei khaṇḍila prabhu. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu put forward such a strong argument that the Buddhists could not counter Him to establish their cult.

Their first principle is that the creation has always existed. But if this were the case, there could be no theory of annihilation. The Buddhists maintain that annihilation, or dissolution, is the highest truth. If the creation eternally exists, there is no question of dissolution or annihilation. This argument is not very strong because by practical experience we see that material things have a beginning, a middle and an end. The ultimate aim of the Buddhist philosophy is to dissolve the body. This is proposed because the body has a beginning. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation is a gigantic body, but if we accept that it always exists, there can be no question of annihilation. Therefore the attempt to annihilate everything in order to attain zero is an absurdity. By our own practical experience we have to accept the beginning of creation, and when we accept the beginning, we must accept a creator. Such a creator must possess an all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gītā (13.14):

“Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.”

The Supreme Person must be present everywhere. His body existed before the creation; otherwise He could not be the creator. If the Supreme Person is a created being, there can be no question of a creator. The conclusion is that the cosmic manifestation is certainly created at a certain time, and the creator existed before the creation; therefore the creator is not a created being. The creator is Parabrahman, or the Supreme Spirit. Matter is not only subordinate to spirit but is actually created on the basis of spirit. When the spirit soul enters the womb of a mother, the body is created by material ingredients supplied by the mother. Everything is created in the material world, and consequently there must be a creator who is the Supreme Spirit and who is distinct from matter. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that the material energy is inferior and that the spiritual energy is the living entity. Both inferior and superior energies belong to a supreme person.

The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.

The Buddhists maintain that the principle “I am” is the ultimate truth, but this excludes the individuality of “I” and “you.” If there is no “I” and “you,” or individuality, there is no possibility of argument. The Buddhist philosophy depends on argument, but there can be no argument if one simply depends on “I am.” There must be a “you,” or another person also. The philosophy of duality — the existence of the individual soul and the Supersoul — must be there. This is confirmed in the second chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (2.12), wherein the Lord says:

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”

We existed in the past in different bodies, and after the annihilation of this body we shall exist in another body. The principle of the soul is eternal, and it exists in this body or in another body. Even in this lifetime we experience existence in a child’s body, a youth’s body, a man’s body and an old body. After the annihilation of the body, we acquire another body. The Buddhist cult also accepts the philosophy of transmigration, but the Buddhists do not properly explain the next birth. There are 8,400,000 species of life, and our next birth may be in any one of them; therefore this human body is not guaranteed.

According to the Buddhists’ fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own intelligence as the ultimate criterion — as is presently fashionable — the scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to establish his own theory as the ultimate truth. The Buddhists theorize that annihilation, or nirvāṇa, is the ultimate goal. Annihilation applies to the body, but the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. If this were not the case, how can so many multifarious bodies come into existence? If the next birth is a fact, the next bodily form is also a fact. As soon as we accept a material body, we must accept the fact that that body will be annihilated and that we will have to accept another body. If all material bodies are doomed to annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is attained is explained by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

This is the highest perfection — to give up one’s material body and not accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection means one’s existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.

We cannot accept the theory that the Buddhist philosophy is the only way, for there are so many defects in that philosophy. A perfect philosophy is one that has no defects, and that is Vedānta philosophy. No one can point out any defects in Vedānta philosophy, and therefore we can conclude that Vedānta is the supreme philosophical way of understanding the truth. According to the Buddhist cult, the Vedas are compiled by ordinary human beings. If this were the case, they would not be authoritative. From the Vedic literatures we understand that shortly after the creation Lord Brahmā was instructed in the Vedas. It is not that the Vedas were created by Brahmā, although Brahmā is the original person in the universe. If Brahmā did not create the Vedas but he is acknowledged as the first created being, wherefrom did Vedic knowledge come to Brahmā? Obviously the Vedas did not come from an ordinary person born in this material world. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye: after the creation, the Supreme Person imparted Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahmā. There was no person in the beginning of the creation other than Brahmā, yet he did not compile the Vedas; therefore the conclusion is that the Vedas were not compiled by any created being. Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who created this material world. This is also accepted by Śaṅkarācārya, although he is not a Vaiṣṇava.

It is stated that mercy is one of the qualities of a Buddhist, but mercy is a relative thing. We show our mercy to a subordinate or to one who is suffering more than ourselves. However, if there is a superior person present, the superior person cannot be the object of our mercy. Rather, we are objects for the mercy of the superior person. Therefore showing compassion and mercy is a relative activity. It is not the Absolute Truth. Apart from this, we also must know what actual mercy is. To give a sick man something forbidden for him to eat is not mercy. Rather, it is cruelty. Unless we know what mercy really is, we may create an undesirable situation. If we wish to show real mercy, we will preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in order to revive the lost consciousness of human beings, the living entity’s original consciousness. Since the Buddhist philosophy does not admit the existence of the spirit soul, the so-called mercy of the Buddhists is defective.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Śrīla Prabhupāda has explained why the Vaiṣṇava philosophy is superior. We saw in one refugee camp which had many Buddhist, they were giving out non-veg, so after that it gives one bad karma. So, this kind of mercy is actually detrimental. So, there are many defects like that.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.50

bauddhācārya ’nava praśna’ saba uṭhāila
dṛḍha yukti-tarke prabhu khaṇḍa khaṇḍa kaila

Translation: The teacher of the Buddhist cult set forth the nine principles, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu broke them to pieces with His strong logic.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.51

bauddhācāryera parājaye lokera hāsya:— 
dārśanika paṇḍita sabāi pāila parājaya
loke hāsya kare, bauddha pāila lajjā-bhaya

Translation: All mental speculators and learned scholars were defeated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and when the people began to laugh, the Buddhist philosophers felt both shame and fear.

Purport: These philosophers were all atheists, for they did not believe in the existence of God. Atheists may be very expert in mental speculation and may be so-called great philosophers, but they can be defeated by a Vaiṣṇava firmly situated in his conviction and God consciousness. Following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all types of atheists.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we see that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, had given instructions that all our Kṛṣṇa conscious preachers should defeat the false arguments of the athiests. So that means they should read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and understand all these philosophical points

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.52

vaiṣṇava-siddhānta-śravaṇe prabhuke vaiṣṇava-sampradāyabhukta jāniyā bauddhācāryera ṣaḍayantra:— 
prabhuke vaiṣṇava jāni’ bauddha ghare gela
sakala bauddha mili’ tabe kumantraṇā kaila

Translation: The Buddhists could understand that Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a Vaiṣṇava, and they returned home very unhappy. Later, however, they began to plot against the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, a sincere person who is defeated will accept, but these persons were obviously not sincere, so they made a plot to harm the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.53

‘mahā-prasāde’ra nāme prabhuke amedhyānnadvārā vañcanaceṣṭā:— 
apavitra anna eka thālite bhariyā
prabhu-āge nila ’mahā-prasāda’ baliyā

Translation: Having made their plot, the Buddhists brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and called it mahā-prasādam.

Purport: The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, a Vaiṣṇava cannot accept any food offered by an avaiṣṇava in the name of mahā-prasādam. This should be a principle for all Vaiṣṇavas. When asked, “What is the behavior of a Vaiṣṇava?” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “A Vaiṣṇava must avoid the company of an avaiṣṇava [asat].” The word asat refers to an avaiṣṇava, that is, one who is not a Vaiṣṇava.

Asat-saṅga-tyāga, — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra

A Vaiṣṇava must be very strict in this respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaiṣṇava. If an avaiṣṇava offers food in the name of mahā-prasādam, it should not be accepted. Such food cannot be prasādam because an avaiṣṇava cannot offer anything to the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaiṣṇava; however, if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by an avaiṣṇava should not be accepted by a Vaiṣṇava. Even if an avaiṣṇava cooks food without fault, he cannot offer it to Lord Viṣṇu, and it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”

Kṛṣṇa can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaiṣṇava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Viṣṇu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. It is better that a Vaiṣṇava abandon such food as untouchable.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the standard, that we should not take food which is not offered. It should be offered only by a devotee.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.54

yemana karma, temana phala:— 
hena-kāle mahā-kāya eka pakṣī āila
ṭhoṅṭe kari’ anna-saha thāli lañā gela

Translation: When the contaminated food was offered to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a very large bird appeared on the spot, picked up the plate in its beak and flew away.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.55

bauddha-gaṇera upare anna paḍe amedhya haiyā
bauddhācāryera māthāya thāli paḍila bājiyā

Translation: Indeed, the untouchable food fell upon the Buddhists, and the large bird dropped the plate on the head of the chief Buddhist teacher. When it fell on his head, it made a big sound.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the plate hit the head of the Buddhist ācārya, may be knocked him unconscious or caused him some harm.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.56

pāṣaṇḍī bauddhera śāsti:— 
terache paḍila thāli,—māthā kāṭi’ gela
mūrcchita hañā ācārya bhūmite paḍila

Translation: The plate was made of metal, and when its edge hit the head of the teacher, it cut him, and the teacher immediately fell to the ground unconscious.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.57

gurura daśā-darśane śiṣyagaṇera prabhupade śaraṇāgati:— 
hāhākāra kari’ kānde saba śiṣya-gaṇa
sabe āsi’ prabhu-pade la-ila śaraṇa

Translation: When the teacher fell unconscious, his Buddhist disciples cried aloud and ran to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for shelter.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.58

tumi ta’ īśvara sākṣāt, kṣama aparādha
jīyāo āmāra guru, karaha prasāda

Translation: They all prayed to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and saying, “Sir, please excuse our offense. Please have mercy upon us and bring our spiritual master back to life.”

Jayapatākā Swami: They knew that that they offered the Lord untouchable food, they made a very big offense and they were getting the reaction for the offense, and their teacher was knocked unconscious. So they werre praying to the Lord to forgive their offense and revive the teacher.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.59

śaraṇāgatira para tāṅhādigake prabhukarttṛka kṛṣṇanāma-dāna:— 
prabhu kahe,—sabe kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ ’hari’
guru-karṇe kaha kṛṣṇa-nāma ucca kari’

Translation: The Lord then replied to the Buddhist disciples, “You should all chant the names of Kṛṣṇa and Hari very loudly near the ear of your spiritual master.

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Caitanya initiated all His disciples, if they chant the mantra loudly in the ear of the guru, they are actually giving Him initiation.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.60

caitanya-mukha-kīrtita kṛṣṇanāma-śravaṇei acaitanya māyāvādī jīvera caitanyalābha vā vaiṣṇavatā:— 
tomā-sabāra ’guru’ tabe pāibe cetana
saba bauddha mili’ kare kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana

Translation: “By this method your spiritual master will regain his consciousness.” Following Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s advice, all the Buddhist disciples began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa congregationally.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.61

guru-karṇe kahe sabe ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘rāma’ ‘hari’
cetana pāñā ācārya bale ‘hari’ ‘hari’

Translation: When all the disciples chanted the holy names Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and Hari, the Buddhist teacher regained consciousness and immediately began to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.

Purport: Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that all the Buddhist disciples were actually initiated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu into the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and when they chanted, they actually became different persons. At that time they were not Buddhists or atheists but Vaiṣṇavas. Consequently they immediately accepted Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s order. Their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness was revived, and they were immediately able to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and begin worshiping the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.

It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches of māyā by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that he can worship Lord Viṣṇu. This is the purpose of dīkṣā, or initiation. Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.

One point to note in this regard is that the spiritual master of the Buddhists did not initiate his disciples. Rather, his disciples were initiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and they in turn were able to initiate their so-called spiritual master. This is the paramparā system. The so-called spiritual master of the Buddhists was actually in the position of a disciple, and after his disciples were initiated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they acted as his spiritual masters. This was possible only because the disciples of the Buddhist ācārya received the mercy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Unless one is favored by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the disciplic succession, one cannot act as a spiritual master. We should take the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,the spiritual master of the whole universe, to understand how one becomes a spiritual master and a disciple.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the spiritual master of everyone, He had established the actual standard for becoming a spiritual master and a disciple.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.62

bauddhera prabhuke kṛṣṇajñāne stuti:— 
kṛṣṇa bali’ ācārya prabhure karena vinaya
dekhiyā sakala loka ha-ila vismaya

Translation: When the spiritual master of the Buddhists began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and submitted to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all the people who were gathered there were astonished.

Jayapatākā Swami: Seeing how Lord Caitanya converted the Buddhist to Vaiṣṇavas, people became astonished.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.63

prabhura antarddhāna:— 
ei-rūpe kautuka kari’ śacīra nandana
antardhāna kaila, keha nā pāya darśana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the son of Śacīdevī, then suddenly and playfully disappeared from everyone’s sight, and it was impossible for anyone to find Him.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.111: Mallabhatta: One day absorbed in transcendental bliss, His garments wet with tears and His hairs of His body standing up as kadamba flowers in bloom, overcome with bliss, in a choked voice He chanted the Lord's holy name as He walked on the road. Seeing Him, some atheists said to themselves, “This is a Vaiṣṇava. He will accept alms from us if we tell Him this bhagavat-prasāda.” The atheists then took some impure food fit only for dogs, and placed it before the sannyasi, saying, "O Swami, please accept this bhagavat-prasāda." Even though He knew all that had happened, when He heard the words "bhagavat-prasāda" He could not reject it, but instead He took the plate of food in His hand. At that moment a great bird swooped down, took the plate from His hand, and with the plate in its beak, flew away.

Caitanya Candrodaya Nāṭaka 7.112: Sarvabhauma: Ah, this is the greatness of the illusory potency. Even the great demigods controlling the universe are bewildered by the illusory potency māyā. Certainly māyā can easily bewilder the tiny creatures of this world.

Govinda dāsa kaḍaca

rāyera nikaṭa haite laiyā vidāya
trimanda nagare prabhu praveśa karaya

Translation: After taking permission to leave from Rāmānanda Rāya, Mahāprabhu entered the Trimanda nagara.

bahubauddha vāsa kare trimanda nagare
āsiyā milila sabe gaurāṅga-sundare

Translation: There are so many Buddhist who live in that Trimanda nagara. Everybody came to meet Gaurāṅga Sundara.

bauddhagaṇa saha prabhu vicāra karilā
trimandera rājā āsi madhyastha hailā

Translation: Prabhu was discussing with the Buddhists. The king of Trimanda came there as Intermediary.

bauddhagaṇa vicārete parāsta manila
paṇḍita darśaka sabe hāsite lāgila

Translation: In the discussion Buddhist were defeated. All scholars and viewers started laughing

sabe bale e sannyāsī mānuṣa ta naya
ye vicāra kaila tāhā kahane nā yāya?

Translation: Everyone said that this sannyāsī is not an ordinary person. Whatever He discussed is outstanding

bauddhagaṇera pati rāmagiri rāya
praṇamiyā bale patha dekhāo āmāya

Translation: The king of the Buddhist was Rāmagiri Rāya. After paying his obeisances said, “Please show me the way.”

tumi ta mānuṣa naha navīna sannyāsī
thākite tomāra saha baḍa bhālavāsi

Translation: “Oh young sannyāsī, you are not an ordinary person. I love to associate with you very much.”

pāṣaṇḍera śiromaṇi chilāma saṁsāre
kṛpākari bhakti-mārga dekhāo āmāre

Translation: “I was the head of the heresy in the world. Kindly show me the path of devotion.”

hāsiyā caitanya prabhu kṛpā kari kaya
māthāra ṭhākura tumi rāmagiri rāya

Translation: After laughing Prabhu Caitanya said mercifully, “Rāmagiri Rāya! You are leader and master.”

hari bali pulakita haya yei jana
māthāra ṭhākura sei ei ta sādhana

Translation: If anyone enchants by chanting the name of Hari, that person is the head and the master and that is the sādhana.

śuniyā prabhura vāṇī rāmagiri rāya
amani āchāḍa kheye paḍila dharāya

Translation: Hearing from the Lord, Rāmagiri Rāya fell down on the ground tumbling.

paḍiyā caraṇa tale rāmagiri kaya
narādhame ki balilo tumi dayāmaya

Translation: Falling at the feet of the Lord, Rāmagiri Rāya said – “Oh merciful Lord, what you told about the most wretched person.”

sarvajīve thāki tumi dekhicha sakala
kṛpā kari rāṅgāpāya deha more sthala

Translation: “You reside in everyone’s heart and you can see everything. Mercifully keep me in your lotus feet.”

rāmagiri pāṣaṇḍera bhakti upajila
ihā heri prabhu mora ānande pūrila

Translation: Rāmagiri, the atheist has achieved devotion. Looking at this, my Lord became very happy.

paṇḍitera śiromaṇi yata bauddhagaṇa
rāmagiri pāthe sabe karila gamana

Translation: The head of the master of all Buddhists has followed the path of Rāmagiri.

navīna sannyāsī kare vādīra nirāśa
ihā heri rāmānanda cāhe cāri pāśa

Translation: Thus, the young sannyāsī disappointed the arguments of the complainant. Looking at this Rāmānanda happily watches everywhere.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this notebook of Govinda dāsa, explains some detailed pastimes of Lord Caitanya, how Lord Caitanya had to meet many atheists. But He mercifully and patiently defeated them and brought them on the path of devotion. So these pastimes are from the Govinda kaḍaca

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Transformation of the Buddhists.

So, there are many Buddhist and atheist we meet, Śrīla Prabhupāda has presented the philosophy of the Buddhists and their defects and shortcomings,. So those who have to preach to the atheists and the Buddhists, they can learn these topics. In different countries or Buddhist countries they follow different system. In Srilanka, they have a temple of Lord Viṣṇu in every Buddhist monastery, they say that Lord Buddha has left His teachings under the care of Lord Viṣṇu. In Thailand they worship Buddha, and indirectly, since Buddha is an avatāra, they are worshipping Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya when He was travelling He convinced all the atheists and Māyāvādīs to accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Like that Śrīla Prabhupāda, he went around the world and especially the western people who were voidist or impersonalist were converted by Śrīla Prabhupāda to the path of pure bhakti. (Hari Bol!)