20210221 Lord Caitanya Breaks the Pride of Tattvavādīs

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 21st, 2021 in Sri Dhama Mayapur, 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, today’s chapter entitled:

Lord Caitanya Breaks the Pride of Tattvavādīs 
Under the section Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu travel to the Holy Places in South India

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.245

uḍūpīte madhvācārya-sthāne nartaka-gopāla-darśana:— 
madhvācārya-sthāne āilā yāṅhā ’tattvavādī’
uḍupīte ’kṛṣṇa’ dekhi, tāhāṅ haila premonmādī

Translation: Caitanya Mahāprabhu next arrived at Uḍupī, the place of Madhvācārya, where the philosophers known as Tattvavādīs resided. There He saw the Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa and became mad with ecstasy.

Haribol!

Purport: Śrīpāda Madhvācārya took his birth near Uḍupī, which is situated in the South Kanara district of South India, just west of Sahyādri. This is the chief city of the South Kanara province and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated to the south of Uḍupī. Near the city of Uḍupī is a place called Pājakā-kṣetra, where Madhvācārya took his birth in a Śivāllī-brāhmaṇa dynasty as the son of Madhyageha Bhaṭṭa, in the year 1040 Śakābda (A.D. 1118). According to some, he was born in the year 1160 Śakābda (A.D. 1238).

In his childhood Madhvācārya was known as Vāsudeva, and there are some wonderful stories surrounding him. It is said that once when his father had piled up many debts, Madhvācārya converted tamarind seeds into actual coins to pay them off. When he was five years old, he was offered the sacred thread. A demon named Maṇimān lived near his abode in the form of a snake, and at the age of five Madhvācārya killed that snake with the toe of his left foot. When his mother was very much disturbed, he would appear before her in one jump. He was a great scholar even in childhood, and although his father did not agree, he accepted sannyāsa at the age of twelve. Upon receiving sannyāsa from Acyuta Prekṣa, he received the name Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha. After traveling all over India, he finally discussed scriptures with Vidyāśaṅkara, the exalted leader of Śṛṅgeri-maṭha. Vidyāśaṅkara was actually diminished in the presence of Madhvācārya. Accompanied by Satya Tīrtha, Madhvācārya went to Badarikāśrama. It was there that he met Vyāsadeva and explained his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā before him. Thus he became a great scholar by studying before Vyāsadeva.

By the time he came to the Ānanda-maṭha from Badarikāśrama, Madhvācārya had finished his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā. His companion Satya Tīrtha wrote down the entire commentary. When Madhvācārya returned from Badarikāśrama, he went to Gañjāma, which is on the bank of the river Godāvarī. There he met with two learned scholars named Śobhana Bhaṭṭa and Svāmī Śāstrī. Later these scholars became known in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya as Padmanābha Tīrtha and Narahari Tīrtha. When he returned to Uḍupī, he would sometimes bathe in the ocean. On such an occasion he composed a prayer in five chapters. Once, while sitting beside the sea engrossed in meditation upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he saw that a large boat containing goods for Dvārakā was in danger. He gave some signs by which the boat could approach the shore, and it was saved. The owners of the boat wanted to give him a present, and at the time Madhvācārya agreed to take some gopī-candana. He received a big lump of gopī-candana, and as it was being brought to him, it broke apart and revealed a large Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Deity had a stick in one hand and a lump of food in the other. As soon as Madhvācārya received the Deity of Kṛṣṇa in this way, he composed a prayer. The Deity was so heavy that not even thirty people could lift it. Yet Madhvācārya personally brought this Deity to Uḍupī. Eight of Madhvācārya’s sannyāsa disciples became directors of his eight monasteries. Worship of the Lord Kṛṣṇa Deity is still going on at Uḍupī according to the plans Madhvācārya established.

Madhvācārya then for the second time visited Badarikāśrama. While he was passing through Maharashtra, the local king was digging a big lake for the public benefit. As Madhvācārya passed through that area with his disciples, he was also obliged to help in the excavation. After some time, when Madhvācārya visited the king, he engaged the king in that work and departed with his disciples.

Often in the province of Gāṅga-pradeśa there were fights between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindus were on one bank of the river, and the Muslims on the other. Due to the community tension, no boat was available for crossing the river. The Muslim soldiers were always stopping passengers on the other side, but Madhvācārya did not care for these soldiers. He crossed the river anyway, and when he met the soldiers on the other side, he was brought before the king. The Muslim king was so pleased with him that he wanted to give him a kingdom and some money, but Madhvācārya refused. While walking on the road, he was attacked by some dacoits, but by his bodily strength he killed them all. When his companion Satya Tīrtha was attacked by a tiger, Madhvācārya separated them by virtue of his great strength. When he met Vyāsadeva, he received from him the śālagrāma-śilā known as Aṣṭamūrti. After this, he summarized the Mahābhārata. Madhvācārya’s devotion to the Lord and his erudite scholarship became known throughout India. Consequently the owners of the Śṛṅgeri-maṭha, established by Śaṅkarācārya, became a little perturbed. At that time the followers of Śaṅkarācārya were afraid of Madhvācārya’s rising power, and they began to tease Madhvācārya’s disciples in many ways. There was even an attempt to prove that the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was not in line with Vedic principles. A person named Puṇḍarīka Purī, a follower of the Māyāvāda philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya, came before Madhvācārya to discuss the śāstras. It is said that all of Madhvācārya’s books were taken away, but later they were found with the help of King Jayasiṁha, ruler of Kumla. In discussion, Puṇḍarīka Purī was defeated by Madhvācārya. A great personality named Trivikramācārya, who was a resident of Viṣṇumaṅgala, became Madhvācārya’s disciple, and his son later became Nārāyaṇācārya, the composer of Śrī Madhva-vijaya. After the death of Trivikramācārya, the younger brother of Nārāyaṇācārya took sannyāsa and later became known as Viṣṇu Tīrtha.

It was reputed that there was no limit to the bodily strength of Pūrṇaprajña, Madhvācārya. There was a person named Kaḍañjari who was famed for possessing the strength of thirty men. Madhvācārya placed the big toe of his foot upon the ground and asked the man to separate it from the ground, but the great strong man could not do so even after great effort. Śrīla Madhvācārya passed from this material world at the age of eighty while writing a commentary on the Aitareya Upaniṣad. For further information about Madhvācārya, one should read Madhva-vijaya, by Nārāyaṇācārya.

The ācāryas of the Madhva-sampradāya established Uḍupī as the chief center, and the monastery there was known as Uttararāḍhī-maṭha. A list of the different centers of the Madhvācārya-sampradāya can be found at Uḍupī, and their maṭha commanders are (1) Viṣṇu Tīrtha (Śoda-maṭha), (2) Janārdana Tīrtha (Kṛṣṇapura-maṭha), (3) Vāmana Tīrtha (Kanura-maṭha), (4) Narasiṁha Tīrtha (Adamara-maṭha), (5) Upendra Tīrtha (Puttugī-maṭha), (6) Rāma Tīrtha (Śirura-maṭha), (7) Hṛṣīkeśa Tīrtha (Palimara-maṭha), and (8) Akṣobhya Tīrtha (Pejāvara-maṭha). The disciplic succession of the Madhvācārya-sampradāya is as follows (the dates are those of birth in the Śakābda Era; for Christian era dates, add seventy-eight years): After the sixteenth ācārya (Vidyādhirāja Tīrtha), there was another disciplic succession, including Rājendra Tīrtha, 1254; Vijayadhvaja; Puruṣottama; Subrahmaṇya; and Vyāsa Rāya, 1470–1520. The nineteenth ācārya, Rāmacandra Tīrtha, had another disciplic succession, including Vibudhendra, 1218; Jitāmitra, 1348; Raghunandana; Surendra; Vijendra; Sudhīndra; and Rāghavendra Tīrtha, 1545.

To date, in the Uḍupī monastery there are another fourteen Madhva-tīrtha sannyāsīs. As stated, Uḍupī is situated beside the sea in South Kanara, about thirty-six miles north of Mangalore.

Most of the information in this purport is available from the South Kānāḍā Manual and the Bombay Gazette.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Madhvācārya made a system that every two months they will shift the pūjā to one of the eight maṭhaṣ Later that was changed once every two years in the lifetime of the Maṭhādīpatī would be able to serve the Kṛṣṇa Deity four or five times.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.246

śrī-madhvera gopāla-prāpti o tadavadhi śiṣya-paramparāya sevā:— 
nartaka gopāla dekhe parama-mohane
madhvācārye svapna diyā āilā tāṅra sthāne

Translation: While at the Uḍupī monastery, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw “dancing Gopāla,” a most beautiful Deity. This Deity appeared to Madhvācārya in a dream.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.247

gopī-candana-tale āchila ḍiṅgāte
madhvācārya sei kṛṣṇa pāilā kona-mate

Translation: Madhvācārya had somehow or other acquired the Deity of Kṛṣṇa from a heap of gopī-candana that had been transported in a boat.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.248

madhvācārya āni’ tāṅre karilā sthāpana
adyāvadhi sevā kare tattvavādi-gaṇa

Translation: Madhvācārya brought this dancing Gopāla Deity to Uḍupī and installed Him in the temple. To date, the followers of Madhvācārya, known as Tattvavādīs, worship this Deity.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the Deity of Kṛṣṇa is till worshipped by these eight lines coming from Madhvācārya. Previously they only allowed certain class of Hindus to enter, but one devotee not being that class was chanting behind the temple and the Deity turned around and there was a crack in the wall, so that the devotee could see the Deity of Lord Krsna. So since then they kept the Deity facing that way and everyone who has faith is allowed in the temple. We also entered the temple though we are not from a Hindu background.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.249

madhvasthāpita kṛṣṇa-darśane prabhura nṛtyagīta:— 
kṛṣṇa-mūrti dekhi’ prabhu mahā-sukha pāila
premāveśe bahu-kṣaṇa nṛtya-gīta kaila

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu received great pleasure in seeing this beautiful form of Gopāla. For a long time He danced and chanted in ecstatic love.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.250

prathama-darśane bhramakrame tattvavādīra prabhuke ‘māyāvādī’-jñāna:— 
tattvavādi-gaṇa prabhuke ’māyāvādī’ jñāne
prathama darśane prabhuke nā kaila sambhāṣaṇe

Translation: When the Tattvavādī Vaiṣṇavas first saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they considered Him a Māyāvādī sannyāsī. Therefore they did not talk to Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.251

pare prabhura sāttvikavikāra-darśane vaiṣṇava-jñāna:— 
pāche premāveśa dekhi’ haila camatkāra
vaiṣṇava-jñāne bahuta karila satkāra

Translation: Later, after seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in ecstatic love, they were struck with wonder. Then, considering Him a Vaiṣṇava, they gave Him a nice reception.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.252

tāṅhādera āpanādigake ‘vaiṣṇava’ baliyā jaḍābhimāna:— 
‘vaiṣṇavatā’ sabāra antare garva jāni’
īṣat hāsiyā kichu kahe gauramaṇi

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could understand that the Tattvavādīs were very proud of their Vaiṣṇavism. He therefore smiled and began to speak to them.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.253

prabhukarttṛka tāṅhādera garvamocana-rūpa kṛpā-saṅkalpa:— 
tāṅ-sabāra antare garva jāni gauracandra
tāṅ-sabā-saṅge goṣṭhī karilā ārambha

Translation: Considering them very proud, Caitanya Mahāprabhu began His discussion.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.254

mahāpaṇḍita raghuvarya-tīrthake prabhura sadainya praśna:— 
tattvavādī ācārya—saba śāstrete pravīṇa
tāṅre praśna kaila prabhu hañā yena dīna

Translation: The chief ācārya of the Tattvavāda community was very learned in the revealed scriptures. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu humbly questioned him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.255

sādhya-sādhana-jijñāsā:— 
sādhya-sādhana āmi nā jāni bhāla-mate
sādhya-sādhana-śreṣṭha jānāha āmāte

Translation: Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “I do not know very well the aim of life and how to achieve it. Please tell Me of the best ideal for humanity and how to attain it.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.256

tattvavādācāryera uttara—
(1) varṇāśrama-dharma o kṛṣṇe samarpaṇarūpa karmamiśrā bhaktii ‘sādhana’:
ācārya kahe,-’varṇāśrama-dharma, kṛṣṇe samarpaṇa’
ei haya kṛṣṇa-bhaktera śreṣṭha ’sādhana’

Translation: The ācārya replied, “When the activities of the four castes and the four āśramas are dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, they constitute the best means whereby one can attain the highest goal of life.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.257

(2) pañca-vidha mukti ‘sādhya’:— 
‘pañca-vidha mukti’ pāñā vaikuṇṭhe gamana
‘sādhya-śreṣṭha’ haya,—ei śāstra-nirūpaṇa

Translation: “When one dedicates the duties of varṇāśrama-dharma to Kṛṣṇa, he is eligible for five kinds of liberation. Thus he is transferred to the spiritual world in Vaikuṇṭha. This is the highest goal of life and the verdict of all revealed scriptures.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.258

prabhura uttara—(1) śaraṇāgata bhaktera navadhā bhakti sādhana:— 
prabhu kahe,-śāstre kahe śravaṇa-kīrtana
kṛṣṇa-prema-sevā-phalera ‘parama-sādhana’

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “According to the verdict of the śāstras, the process of hearing and chanting is the best means to attain loving service to Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: According to the Tattvavādīs, the best process for achieving the highest goal of life is to execute the duties of the four varṇas and āśramas. In the material world, unless one is situated in one of the varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra) one cannot manage social affairs properly to attain the ultimate goal. One also has to follow the principles of the āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa), since these principles are considered essential for the attainment of the highest goal. In this way the Tattvavādīs establish that the execution of the principles of varṇa and āśrama for the sake of Kṛṣṇa is the best way to attain the topmost goal. The Tattvavādīs thus established their principles in terms of human society. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, differed when He said that the best process is hearing and chanting about Lord Viṣṇu. According to the Tattvavādīs, the highest goal is returning home, back to Godhead, but in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s opinion the highest goal is attaining love of Godhead, in either the material world or the spiritual world. In the material world this is practiced according to śāstric injunction, and in the spiritual world the real achievement is already there.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.259-260

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23-24)—

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau
bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā
tan manye ’dhītam uttamam

Translation: “This process entails hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord, offering service according to the time, place and performer, worshiping the Deity, offering prayers, always considering oneself the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Kṛṣṇa, constitute the highest attainment of life.

This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures.’

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu quoted these verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23-24).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.261

śuddha-śravaṇa- kīrtana-phalei kṛṣṇa-premā:— 
śravaṇa-kīrtana ha-ite kṛṣṇe haya ’premā’
sei pañcama puruṣārtha-puruṣārthera sīmā

Translation: “When one comes to the platform of loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa by executing these nine processes, beginning with hearing and chanting, he has attained the fifth platform of success and the limit of life’s goals.

Purport: Everyone is after success in religion, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately merging into the existence of Brahman. These are the general practices of the common man, but according to the strict principles of the Vedas, the highest attainment is to rise to the platform of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam [ŚB 7.5.23], hearing and chanting about the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2):

“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Śrī Vyāsadeva, is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart. This verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam rejects as cheating processes all religious activities that aim at achieving materialistic goals, including dharma, artha, kāma and even mokṣa, or liberation.

According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, the material conception of success (mokṣa, or liberation) is desired by those in material existence. Devotees, however, not being situated in material existence, have no desire for liberation.

A devotee is always liberated in all stages of life because he is always engaged in the nine items of devotional service (śravaṇam, kīrtanam, etc.). Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy holds that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa always exists in everyone’s heart.

It simply has to be awakened by the process of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [ŚB 7.5.23]. Śravaṇādi śuddha-citte karaye udaya (Cc. Madhya 22.107). When a person is actually engaged in devotional service, his eternal relationship with the Lord, the servant-master relationship, is awakened.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya’s teaching, that our misidentification is that, we think that self is the body and we are hankering after the sense gratification. Instead if we are understanding that we are the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa then we have no more fear and hankering.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.262

jātaruci vyaktira kṛṣṇa-premera lakṣaṇa:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.40)—

evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ
hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty
tunmāda-van nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ

Translation: “‘When a person is actually advanced and takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is agitated and loudly chants the holy name. Haribol! He also laughs, cries, becomes agitated and chants just like a madman, not caring for outsiders.’

Purport: This verse is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.40).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.263

phala-bhoga-tātparyera nindā; kāma premera janaka nahe:— 
karma-nindā, karma-tyāga, sarva-śāstre kahe
karma haite prema-bhakti kṛṣṇe kabhu nahe

Translation: “In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them.

Purport: In the Vedas there are three kāṇḍas, or divisions: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. The karma-kāṇḍa portion stresses the execution of fruitive activities. But ultimately it is advised that one abandon both karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa (speculative knowledge) and accept only upāsanā-kāṇḍa, or bhakti-kāṇḍa. One cannot attain love of Godhead by executing karma-kāṇḍa or jñāna-kāṇḍa. But by dedicating one’s karma, or fruitive activities, to the Supreme Lord, one may be relieved from the polluted mind, and becoming free from mental pollution helps elevate one to the spiritual platform. Then, however, one needs the association of a pure devotee, for only by a pure devotee’s association one can become a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. When one comes to the stage of pure devotional service, the process of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam is very essential. By executing the nine items of devotional service, beginning with śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, one is completely purified. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11].

Only then is one able to execute Kṛṣṇa’s orders in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.65-66):

“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” In this way one develops his original constitutional position of rendering loving service to the Lord.

One cannot be elevated to the highest platform of devotional service by karma-kāṇḍa or jñāna-kāṇḍa. Pure devotional service can be understood and attained only through the association of pure devotees. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that there are two types of karma-kāṇḍa activities— pious and impious. Pious activities are certainly better than impious activities, but even pious activities cannot bring about ecstatic love of God, Kṛṣṇa. Pious and impious activities can bring about material happiness and distress, but there is no possibility of one’s becoming a pure devotee simply by acting piously or impiously. Bhakti, devotional service, means satisfying Kṛṣṇa. In every revealed scripture, whether stressing jñāna-kāṇḍa or karma-kāṇḍa, the principle of renunciation is always praised. The ripened fruit of Vedic knowledege, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme Vedic evidence.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.12) it is said:

“Knowledge of self-realization, even though freed from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?” This means that even knowledge, which is superior to fruitive activity, is not successful if it is devoid of devotional service. Therefore in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—in the beginning, middle and end— karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa are condemned. For example, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2) it is said, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra.

This is explained in the following verses taken from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.11.32) and the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.264

svadharma-tyāga-pūrvaka haribhajana:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.11.32)—

ājñāyaivaṁ guṇān doṣān
mayādiṣṭān api svakān
dharmān santyajya yaḥ sarvān
māṁ bhajet sa ca sattamaḥ

Translation: “‘Occupational duties are described in the religious scriptures. If one analyzes them, he can fully understand their qualities and faults and then give them up completely to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A person who does so is considered a first-class man.’

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.265

Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā (18.66)

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaranaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Translation: “‘Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.’

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.266

harikathāya śraddhāvān janera karme anadhikāra:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.20.9)—

tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta
na nirvidyeta yāvatā
mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā
śraddhā yāvan na jāyate

Translation: “‘As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.20.9).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.267

pañca-vidha mukti tyāga kare bhakta-gaṇa
phalgu kari’ ’mukti’ dekhe narakera sama

Translation: “Pure devotees reject the five kinds of liberation; indeed, for them liberation is very insignificant because they see it as hellish.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.268

śuddhasevaka kṛṣṇera śuddhasevā cāya, mukti cāya nā:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.13)—

sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya-
sārūpyaikatvam apy uta
dīyamānaṁ na gṛhnanti
vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ

Translation: “‘Pure devotees always reject the five kinds of liberation, which include living in the spiritual Vaikuṇṭha planets, possessing the same opulences as those possessed by the Supreme Lord, having the same bodily features as the Lord’s, associating with the Lord and merging into the body of the Lord. The pure devotees do not accept these benedictions without the service of the Lord.’

Purport: This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.13).

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.269

śuddhabhaktera nikaṭa mokṣao tuccha:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.14.44)—

yo dustyajān kṣiti-suta-svajanārtha-dārān
prārthyāṁ śriyaṁ sura-varaiḥ sadayāvalokām
naicchan nṛpas tad ucitaṁ mahatāṁ madhu-dviṭ-
sevānurakta-manasām abhavo ’pi phalguḥ

Translation: “‘It is very difficult to give up material opulence, land, children, society, friends, riches, wife or the blessings of the goddess of fortune,which are desired even by great demigods. But King Bharata did not desire such things, and this was quite befitting his position, because for a pure devotee whose mind is always engaged in the service of the Lord, even liberation, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is insignificant. And what to speak of material opportunities?’

Purport: This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.14.44) concerning the glorification of King Bharata, whom Śukadeva Gosvāmī was describing to King Parīkṣit.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.270

śuddha-vaiṣṇavera nikaṭa duṣkarma-phala naraka, sukarmma vā svadharma-phala svarga evaṁ jñānaphala mokṣa—sabai samāna:—

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.28)—

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ

Translation: “‘A person who is a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa is not afraid of a hellish condition, because he considers it the same as elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. The devotees of Lord Nārāyaṇa are accustomed to seeing all these things on the same level.’

Purport: This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.28) regarding the personality Citraketu. Once when Citraketu saw the goddess Pārvatī sitting on the lap of Lord Śambhu (Śiva), he criticized Lord Śiva for being shameless and sitting just like an ordinary man with his wife on his lap. For this reason Citraketu was cursed by Pārvatī. Later he became a demon named Vṛtrāsura. Citraketu was a very powerful king and a devotee, and he could certainly retaliate even against Lord Śiva, but when Pārvatī cursed him, he immediately accepted the curse with a bowed head. When he agreed to accept this curse, Lord Śiva praised him and told Pārvatī that a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa is never afraid of accepting any position provided there is a chance to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

This is the purport of nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.271

karma o jñāna—śuddha-bhaktira pratikūla, sutarāṃ ‘sādhana’ o ‘sādhya’ nahe:— 
mukti, karma—dui vastu tyaje bhakta-gaṇa
sei dui sthāpa’ tumi ’sādhya’, ’sādhana’

Translation: “Both liberation and fruitive activity are rejected by devotees. You are trying to establish these things as life’s goal and the process for attaining it.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.272

tattvavādācāryera bhramajanya mānada-prabhura anuyoga:— 
sannyāsī dekhiyā more karaha vañcana
nā kahilā teñi sādhya-sādhana-lakṣaṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued speaking to the Tattvavādī ācārya: “Seeing that I am a mendicant in the renounced order of life, you have been playing with Me in a duplicitous way. You have not actually described the process and ultimate objective.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.273

tattvavādācāryera lajjā o prabhura mahimā-upalabdhi:— 
śuni’ tattvācārya hailā antare lajjita
prabhura vaiṣṇavatā dekhi, ha-ilā vismita

Translation: After hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the ācārya of the Tattvavāda sampradāya became very much ashamed. Upon observing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s rigid faith in Vaiṣṇavism, he was struck with wonder.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.274

tattvabādācāryakarttṛka prabhura mata-svīkāra:— 
ācārya kahe,—tumi yei kaha, sei satya haya
sarva-śāstre vaiṣṇavera ei suniścaya

Translation: The Tattvavādī ācārya replied, “What You have said is certainly factual. It is the conclusion of all the revealed scriptures of the Vaiṣṇavas.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.275

ānanda-tīrthera ājñānusāre tattvavāda-sampradāye karma-miśrā-bhaktira pracalana:— 
tathāpi madhvācārya ye kariyāche nirbandha
sei ācariye sabe sampradāya-sambandha

Translation: “Still, whatever Madhvācārya has established as the formula for our party we practice as a party policy.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.276

karmī o jñānīke prabhura anādara:— 
prabhu kahe,-karmī, jñānī,—dui bhakti-hīna
tomāra sampradāye dekhi sei dui cihna

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Both the fruitive worker and the speculative philosopher are considered nondevotees. We see both elements present in your sampradāya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.277

upāsyera saviśeṣatva vā cidvilāsa-svīkāraphalei tattvavādīra ‘vaiṣṇavatā’:— 
sabe, eka guṇa dekhi tomāra sampradāye
satya-vigraha kari’ īśvare karaha niścaye

Translation: “The only qualification that I see in your sampradāya is that you accept the form of the Lord as truth.”

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to point out to the Tattvavādī ācārya, who belonged to the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, that the general behavior of the Tattvavādīs did not favor pure devotional service, which must be devoid of the taints of fruitive activity and speculative knowledge. As far as fruitive activity is concerned, the contamination is the desire for elevation to a higher standard of life, and for speculative knowledge the contamination is the desire to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth. The Tattvavāda sampradāya of the Madhvācārya school sticks to the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma, which involves fruitive activity. Their ultimate goal (mukti) is simply a form of material desire. A pure devotee should be free from all kinds of material desire. He simply engages in the service of the Lord. Nonetheless, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was pleased that the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, or the Tattvavāda sampradāya, accepted the transcendental form of the Lord. This is the great qualification of the Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas.

It is the Māyāvāda sampradāya that does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord. If a Vaiṣṇava sampradāya is also carried away by that impersonal attitude, that sampradāya has no position at all. It is a fact that there are many so-called Vaiṣṇavas whose ultimate aim is to merge into the existence of the Lord. For example, the sahajiyās’ Vaiṣṇava philosophy is to become one with the Supreme. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu points out that Śrī Mādhavendra Purī accepted Madhvācārya only because his sampradāya accepted the transcendental form of the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Mādhavendra Purī who was situated in pure kṛṣṇa-prema, he accepted the Madhavācārya sampradāya because they accepted the transcendental form of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 9.278

phalgu-tīrthe āgamana:— 
ei-mata tāṅra ghare garva cūrṇa kari’
phalgu-tīrthe tabe cali āilā gaurahari

Translation: Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu broke the pride of the Tattvavādīs to pieces. He then went to the holy place known as Phalgu-tīrtha.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we understand that the varnāśrama system without pure devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa leaves somethihng to be desires, it is insufficient to give one kṛṣṇa-prema. Everyone has to engage in śravaṇam, kīrtanam and other seven process of devotional service to awaken the dormant love of Kṛṣṇa in their heart. Lord Caitanya how He humbly asked the question and then established the Bhāgavata philosophy from the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So our devotees need to learn Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and learn also the method of preaching Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus they can establish Lord Caitanya’s pure philosophy all over the world and help people to awaken the natural love for Kṛṣṇa.

Haribol! Haribol! Gauranga !!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Lord Caitanya breaks the pride of Tattvavādīs. 
Under the section Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu travel to the Holy Places in South India