20211118 Being Detected by Sanātana Gosvāmī as the Yugāvatāra, Lord Caitanya is Defeated and Avoids to Discuss

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 18^th November 2021 in

Śrīdhāma 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

Introduction: Today is the compilation of Caitanya līlā book, the chapter today is entitled:

Being Detected by Sanātana Gosvāmī as the Yugāvatāra, Lord Caitanya is Defeated and Avoids to Discuss

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.349

gaura-līlā-tattvajña kṛṣṇa-bhajana-catura sanātana —

cāri-yugāvatāre ei ta’ gaṇana
śuni’ bhaṅgi kari’ tāṅre puche sanātana

Translation: “Thus I have given a description of the incarnations of the four different yugas.” After hearing all this, Sanātana Gosvāmī gave an indirect hint to the Lord.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.350

svayaṁ prabhura śrī-mukha haite prabhura avatāroddeśya nirbhaye jijñāsā –

rāja-mantrī sanātana—buddhye bṛhaspati
prabhura kṛpāte puche asaṅkoca-mati

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī had been a minister under Nawab Hussain Shah, and he was undoubtedly as intelligent as Bṛhaspati, the chief priest of the heavenly kingdom. Due to the Lord’s unlimited mercy, Sanātana Gosvāmī questioned Him without hesitation.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sanātana Gosvāmī who was the prime minister of the Hussain Shah was very experienced and very intelligent, so he could ask Lord Caitanya some questions which were close to the essence of the matter.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.351

‘ati kṣudra jīva muñi nīca, nīcācāra
kemane jāniba kalite kon avatāra?’

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “I am a very insignificant living entity. I am low and poorly behaved. How can I understand who is the incarnation for this Age of Kali?”

Purport: This verse is very important in reference to the incarnations of God. At present there are especially many rascals prevalent in India who proclaim themselves incarnations of God or goddesses. Thus they are fooling and bluffing foolish people. On behalf of the general populace, Sanātana Gosvāmī presented himself as a foolish, lowborn, poorly behaved person, although he was a most exalted personality. Inferior people cannot accept the real God, yet they are very eager to accept an imitation God who can simply bluff foolish people. All this is going on in this Age of Kali. To guide these foolish people, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu answers the question as follows.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the question raised by Sanātana Gosvāmī  and the answer by Lord Caitanya are very important in this present age of Kali as Śrīla AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda said, ‘there are many rascals who are posing themselves as incarnations’, so, this is to clear the subject.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.352

prabhukarttṛka kali-yugāvatāra-paricaya-pradāna –

prabhu kahe,—“anyāvatāra śāstra-dvāre jāni
kalite avatāra taiche śāstra-vākye māni

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “As in other ages an incarnation is accepted according to the directions of the śāstras, in this Age of Kali an incarnation of God should be accepted in that way.

Purport: According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this is the way an incarnation should be accepted. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya. One should accept a thing as genuine by studying the words of saintly people, the spiritual master and the śāstra. The actual center is the śāstra, the revealed scripture. If a spiritual master does not speak according to the revealed scripture, he is not to be accepted. Similarly, if a saintly person does not speak according to the śāstra, he is not a saintly person. The śāstra is the center for all. Unfortunately, at the present moment, people do not refer to the śāstras; therefore they accept rascals as incarnations, and consequently they have made incarnations into a very cheap thing. Intelligent people who follow Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instructions and the instructions of the ācārya, the bona fide spiritual master, will not accept a pretender as an incarnation of God. In Kali-yuga, the only incarnation is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Imitation incarnations take advantage of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord appeared within the past five hundred years, played as the son of a brāhmaṇa from Nadia and introduced the saṅkīrtana movement. Imitating Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and ignoring the śāstra, rascals present themselves as incarnations and introduce their rascaldom as a religious process. As we have repeatedly said, religion can be given only by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. From the discussions in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, we can understand that in different ages the Supreme Lord introduces different systems and different religious duties. In this Age of Kali, the only incarnation of Kṛṣṇa is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and He introduced the religious duty of Kali-yuga, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is predicted in the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam and various other scriptures and one should see that the incarnation of tGodhead is mentioned in the scriptures, He should be performing wonderful activities, that cannot be performed by ordinary people. He should have the qualities mentioned in the scriptures.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.353

śāstrālokei bhagavajjñāna-lābha –

sarvajña munira vākya—śāstra-‘paramāṇa’
āmā-sabā jīvera haya śāstra-dvārā ‘jñāna’

Translation: “The Vedic literatures composed by the omniscient Mahāmuni Vyāsadeva are evidence of all spiritual existence. Only through these revealed scriptures can all conditioned souls attain knowledge.

Purport: Foolish people try to concoct knowledge by manufacturing something in their brains. That is not the real way of knowledge. Knowledge is śabda-pramāṇa, evidence from the Vedic literature. Śrīla Vyāsadeva is called Mahāmuni. He is also known as Vedavyāsa because he has compiled so many śāstras. He has divided the Vedas into four divisions — Sāma, Ṛg, Yajur and Atharva. He has expanded the Vedas into eighteen Purāṇas and has summarized Vedic knowledge in the Vedānta-sūtra. He also compiled the Mahābhārata, which is accepted as the fifth Veda. The Bhagavad-gītā is contained within the Mahābhārata. Therefore the Bhagavad-gītā is also Vedic literature (smṛti). Some of the Vedic literatures are called śrutis, and some are called smṛtis.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.101):

śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-
pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā
aikāntikī harer bhaktir
utpātāyaiva kalpate

Unless one refers to śāstra (śruti, smṛti and purāṇādi), one’s spiritual activity simply disturbs society. There is no king or government to check people, and therefore society has fallen into a chaotic condition as far as spiritual understanding is concerned. Taking advantage of this chaotic condition, many rascals have appeared and proclaimed themselves incarnations of God. As a result, the entire population is indulging in sinful activities such as illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. Out of many sinful people, many so-called incarnations of God are emerging. This is a very regrettable situation, especially in India.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has translated Bhagavad-gītā with his Bhaktivedanta purports which he named as Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, because nowhere does he state that Kṛṣṇa said one thing, but he stated something else. And he has given the direct interpretations of the words of Bhagavad-gītā. Like this Veda Vyāsa has written so many literatures which forms the basis of our knowledge. This is a scientific presentation of Bhakti-yuga. Especially  the last work of the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, which is the natural commentary on the Vedānta-sutra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.354

parokṣavādai avatārera priya; lakṣaṇadvārā tattvakovidagaṇera vastu-nirdeśa –

avatāra nāhi kahe—‘āmi avatāra’
muni saba jāni’ kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra

Translation: “An actual incarnation of God never says ‘I am God’ or ‘I am an incarnation of God.’ The great sage Vyāsadeva, knowing all, has already recorded the characteristics of the avatāras in the śāstras.

Purport: In this verse it is clearly stated that a real incarnation of God never claims to be a real incarnation. According to the symptoms described in the śāstra, one can understand who is an avatāra and who is not.

Jayapatākā Swami: There are many people who claim to be avatāras,we heard one man he claimed to be an avatāra of Kalki, and we told him that according to the śāstra, Kalki is not supposed to come till four hundred thousand years at the end of Kali-yuga, it seems he is early. Oh then he said, “I may not be Kalki, but I am an avatāra”

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.355

jīvera duḥsādhya o aparimeya-vīryadvārā viṣṇutvera upalabdhi —

Śrīmad-Bhāgavate (10.10.34)—

yasyāvatārā jñāyante
śarīreṣv aśarīriṇaḥ
tais tair atulyātiśayair
vīryair dehiṣv asaṅgataiḥ

Translation: “‘The Lord does not have a material body, yet He descends among human beings in His transcendental body as an incarnation. Therefore it is very difficult for us to understand who is an incarnation. Only by His extraordinary prowess and uncommon activities, which are impossible for embodied living entities, can one partially understand the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.10.34).

Jayapatākā Swami: So, like this Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He has the qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His amazing characteristics are not possessed by anyone else. He doesn’t proclaim Himself as an  avatāra, but He can be recognized as such.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.356

svarūpa o taṭastha-lakṣaṇera saṁjñā —

‘svarūpa’-lakṣaṇa, āra ‘taṭastha-lakṣaṇa’
ei dui lakṣaṇe ‘vastu’ jāne muni-gaṇa

Translation: “By two symptoms — personal characteristics and marginal characteristics — the great sages can understand an object.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.357

ākṛti, prakṛti, svarūpa,—svarūpa-lakṣaṇa
kārya-dvārā jñāna,—ei taṭastha-lakṣaṇa

Translation: “Bodily features, nature and form are the personal characteristics. Knowledge of His activities provides the marginal characteristics.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.358

Śrīmad-Bhāgavate (1.1.1)
ślokera maṅgalācaraṇa-prārambhe svarūpa o taṭastha-lakṣaṇe parameśvara kṛṣṇera nirūpaṇa –

bhāgavatārambhe vyāsa maṅgalācaraṇe
‘parameśvara’ nirūpila ei dui lakṣaṇe

Translation: “In the auspicious invocation at the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Vyāsadeva has described the Supreme Personality of Godhead by these symptoms.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.359

janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi

Translation: “‘O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.’

Purport: This verse, quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1), links the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with the Vedānta-sūtra with the words janmādy asya yataḥ. It is stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, is the Absolute Truth beyond the material creation. This has been accepted by all ācāryas. Even Śaṅkarācārya, the most elevated impersonalist, says in the beginning of his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt. When this material creation is not yet manifested from the mahat-tattva, it is called avyakta, and when it is demonstrated from that total energy, it is called vyakta. Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond this vyakta-avyakta, manifested and unmanifested material nature. This is the chief qualification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He assumes a particular incarnation. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that although they both took birth many, many times before, Kṛṣṇa remembers everything about His previous appearances but Arjuna does not remember. Since Kṛṣṇa is beyond the cosmic creation, He is in the exalted position of being able to remember everything in the past. Everything within the cosmic creation has a material body, but Kṛṣṇa, being beyond the material cosmic creation, always has a spiritual body. He imparted Vedic knowledge into the heart of Brahmā. Although Brahmā is the most important and exalted personality within this universe, he could not remember what he did in his past life. Kṛṣṇa had to remind him through the heart. When Lord Brahmā was thus inspired, he was able to create the entire universe. Remembering everything about the past and inspiring Lord Brahmā to create are vivid examples of the characteristics called svarūpa-lakṣaṇa and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this verse fills the two descriptions of Lord Caitanya, the taṭastha-lakṣaṇa and the svarūpa-lakṣaṇa. So, by these qualities one can recognize the avatāra or the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.360

ai 1ma śloke parameśvarera (1) svarūpa-lakṣaṇa —

ei śloke ‘paraṁ’-śabde ‘kṛṣṇa’-nirūpaṇa
‘satyaṁ’-śabde kahe tāṅra svarūpa-lakṣaṇa

Translation: “In this invocation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the word ‘param’ indicates Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the word ‘satyam’ indicates His personal characteristics.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.361

(2) taṭastha-lakṣaṇa –

viśva-sṛṣṭy-ādi kaila, veda brahmāke paḍāila
arthābhijñatā, svarūpa-śaktye māyā dūra kaila

Translation: “In that same verse it is stated that the Lord is the creator, maintainer and annihilator of the cosmic manifestation and that He enabled Lord Brahmā to create the universe by infusing him with the knowledge of the Vedas. It is also stated that the Lord has full knowledge, directly and indirectly, that He knows past, present and future, and that His personal energy is separate from māyā, the illusory energy.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, these two verses, explain the Lord's svarūpa-lakṣaṇa, His personal qualities and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa His transcendental activities because He has no material body and He appears in His spiritual form, which is never created or destroyed and it is eternal therefore He remembers everything .

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.362

ei saba kārya—tāṅra taṭastha-lakṣaṇa
anya avatāra aiche jāne muni-gaṇa

Translation: “All these activities are His marginal characteristics. Great saintly persons understand the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the indications of the two characteristics known as svarūpa and taṭastha. All the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa should be understood in this way.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, svarūpa means His personal, physical or His transcendental characteristics and taṭastha means His activities.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.363

deśikagaṇera ukta lakṣaṇadvaya-dvārāi sarva-avatāra-nirṇaya –

avatāra-kāle haya jagate gocara
ei dui lakṣaṇe keha jānaye īśvara”

Translation: “At the time of Their appearance, the incarnations of the Lord are known in the world because people can consult the śāstras to understand an incarnation’s chief characteristics, known as svarūpa and taṭastha. In this way the incarnations become known to great saintly persons.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the scripture describes the personal characteristics and the activities, and by these descriptions one can understand someone who fulfills that is an avatāra.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.364

bhajana-catura bhaktera nikaṭa bhagavānera gupta svabhāva vyakta: —

sanātana kahe,—“yāte īśvara-lakṣaṇa
pīta-varṇa, kārya—prema-dāna-saṅkīrtana

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “The color of the personality in whom the characteristics of the Lord are found is yellowish. His activities include the distribution of love of Godhead and the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sanātana Gosvāmī is setting up Lord Caitanya by stating what the characteristics and activities of the Supreme Lord  who descends in Kali-yuga.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.365

prabhudvārā prabhura līlā vyākhyā-śravaṇe abhilāṣa –

kali-kāle sei ‘kṛṣṇāvatāra’ niścaya
sudṛḍha kariyā kaha, yāuka saṁśaya”

Translation: “The incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for this age is indicated by these symptoms. Please confirm this definitely so that all my doubts will go away.”

Purport: Sanātana Gosvāmī wanted to confirm the fact that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for this age. According to the śāstra, in Kali-yuga the Lord would assume a golden or yellow color and would distribute love of Kṛṣṇa and the saṅkīrtana movement. In accordance with the śāstra and saintly persons, these characteristics were vividly displayed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it was therefore clear that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. He was confirmed by the śāstras, and His characteristics were accepted by saintly people. Since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could not escape Sanātana Gosvāmī’s argument, He remained silent on this point and thereby indirectly accepted Sanātana’s statement. By this we can clearly understand that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the direct incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we understand from this question of Sanātana Gosvāmī, that it directly describes Lord Caitanya’s personal characteristics and His activities. Therefore He is confirmed as the yuga-avatāra mentioned in the different scriptures.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.366

bhaktera jaya, bhagavānera parājaya —

prabhu kahe,—caturāli chāda, sanātana
śaktyāveśāvatārera śuna vivaraṇa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “O Sanātana, you must give up your intelligent tricks. Now just try to understand the description of the śaktyāveśa-avatāras.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya very conveniently avoided the question of Sanātana Gosvāmī, which actually revealed that Lord Caitanya was the special incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya skillfully avoided the question.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Being Detected by Sanātana Gosvāmī as the Yugāvatāra, Lord Caitanya is Defeated and Avoids to Discuss

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Transcribed and Verified by JPS Archives 18^th November 2021