20240311 Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta 1.2. The teaching method of Śrī Caitanya

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Śrī Caitanya-Śikṣāmṛta

The Nectar of the teachings of Śrī Caitanya

Today’s chapter is: Second Stream — the teaching method of Śrī Caitanya –

As seen in the words of Lord Caitanya in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, seventh chapter:

prabhu kahe — śuna, śrīpāda, ihāra kāraṇa
guru more mūrkha dekhi’ karila śāsana

mūrkha tumi, tomāra nāhika  vedāntādhikāra
‘kṛṣṇa-mantra’ japa sadā, — ei mantra-sāra

kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana
kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa

nāma vinu kali-kāle nāhi āra dharma
sarva-mantra-sāra nāma, ei śāstra-marma

eta bali’ eka śloka śikhāila more
kaṇṭhe kari’ ei śloka kariha vicāre

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

ei ājñā pāñā nāma la-i anukṣaṇa
nāma laite laite mora bhrānta haila mana

dhairya dharite nāri, hailāma unmatta
hāsi, kāndi, nāci, gāi, yaiche madamatta

tabe dhairya dhari’ mane kariluṅ vicāra
kṛṣṇa-nāme jñānācchanna ha-ila āmāra

pāgala ha-ilāṅ āmi, dhairya nāhi mane
eta cinti’ nivediluṅ gurura caraṇe

kibā mantra dilā, gosāñi, kibā tāra bala
japite japite mantra karila pāgala

hāsāya, nācāya, more karāya krandana
eta śuni’ guru hāsi balilā vacana

kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahā-mantrera ei ta’ svabhāva
yei jape, tāra kṛṣṇe upajaye bhāva

kṛṣṇa-viṣayaka premā — parama puruṣārtha
yāra āge tṛṇa-tulya cāri puruṣārtha

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, “My dear sir, kindly hear the reason. My spiritual master considered Me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me. ‘You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns. Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord. In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures. After describing the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, My spiritual master taught Me another verse, advising Me to always keep it within My throat. For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord. Since I received this order from My spiritual master, I always chant the holy name, but I thought that by chanting and chanting the holy name I had been bewildered. While chanting the holy name of the Lord in pure ecstasy, I lose Myself, and thus I laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a madman. Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa had covered all My spiritual knowledge. I saw that I had become mad by chanting the holy name, and I immediately submitted this at the lotus feet of my spiritual master. ‘My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mahā-mantra! Chanting the holy name in ecstasy causes Me to dance, laugh and cry.’ When My spiritual master heard all this, he smiled and then began to speak. ‘It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa. Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.’” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 7.71-84)

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya was discussing with the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and this is what he said to Prakāśānanda Svāmī for his question, why was He chanting always the holy name? Why He was not reading the Vedānta-śutra? So Lord Caitanya, He gave this quote, that there is nothing higher in the age of Kali than chanting the holy name, and He was feeling ecstasy when He was chanting. Because He presented Himself very humbly, therefore He gave the secret how to discuss with the puffed-up people. He presented Himself very lowly and insignificant. But He got His message across that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa would suffice to fulfill all objectives. He had asked Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura that whenever I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, these things happen to Me. Do I have a disease? Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura asked Him what are Your symptoms? What happens to You? Mahāprabhu said, when I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, sometimes My voice gets choked up and sometime, I laugh, sometime, I cry, sometime, I feel My hairs standing on end, so people say I am sick! Do I really have a disease? And Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura said, “Yes, You do! And I also want that disease! That is the disease of love for Kṛṣṇa!” So, in this way, He presented the saṅkīrtana movement to the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. And this was His introduction. So He was very humble when He spoke to the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. Sometimes we have to be very humble when we talk to people. Then they ask questions, and we very humbly defeat them. Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda! Gaurāṅga!

***

Faith in the scriptural meaning is Śraddhā —

In this instruction of the Lord, we gather one topic. “kaṇṭhe kari’ ei śloka kariha vicāre— advising Me to always keep it within My throat”, by this statement, it is known that the śraddhā becomes stronger and progresses by studying the scriptures with careful attention (śāstra-vicāra).

Jayapatākā Swami: So Lord Caitanya is saying that His guru taught Him various scriptural conclusions, and gave some reasons why chanting the holy name is recommended in the Kali-yuga.

According to the opinion of Lord Caitanya, the scripture, i.e. the Vedic scripture is the only evidence.

The scriptures dealing with logic and reason are not the evidence. As in the instructions to the sannyāsīs in the seventh chapter: svataḥ-pramāṇa veda — pramāṇa-śiromaṇi— The self-evident Vedic literatures are the highest evidence of all. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 7.132)

***

Again in the instruction to Sanātana Gosvāmī, in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 20.132 —

māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna
jīvere kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa

The conditioned soul cannot revive his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Kṛṣṇa compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purāṇas.

Soft faith and firm faith —

It is clear that there are two types of faith, i.e. soft faith and firm faith. The devotion that arises from firm faith is very powerful and by nature is in the form of bhāva (ecstatic emotion).

The Lord’s instruction in this regard is fully contained in Śrī Śikṣāsṭaka.

About soft faith, Lord Caitanya has told Sanātana in (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 23.9-13) —

kona bhāgye kona jīvera ‘śraddhā’ yadi haya
tabe sei jīva ‘sādhu-saṅga’ ye karaya

sādhu-saṅga haite haya ‘śravaṇa-kīrtana’
sādhana-bhaktye haya ‘sarvānartha-nivartana’

anartha-nivṛtti haile bhaktye ‘niṣṭhā’ haya
niṣṭhā haite śravaṇādye ‘ruci’ upajaya

ruci haite bhaktye haya ‘āsakti’ pracura
āsakti haite citte janme kṛṣṇe prīty-aṅkura

“If, by good fortune, a living entity develops faith in Kṛṣṇa, he begins to associate with devotees. When one is encouraged in devotional service by the association of devotees, one becomes free from all unwanted contamination by following the regulative principles and chanting and hearing. When one is freed from all unwanted contamination, he advances with firm faith. When firm faith in devotional service awakens, a taste for hearing and chanting also awakens. After taste is awakened, a deep attachment arises, and from that attachment the seed of love for Kṛṣṇa grows in the heart. When that ecstatic emotional stage intensifies, it is called love of Godhead. Such love is life’s ultimate goal and the reservoir of all pleasure.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Here he explains how you advance in devotional service, step by step and gradually you advance. Finally, you will develop a very deep affection and attachment for Kṛṣṇa. This gradually develops into devotional love for Kṛṣṇa. Like in the Bible, Lord Jesus says, love God. But there is no description or system for developing love of Godhead, or any information about who God is. In the Quran, Lord Caitanya, He discussed that Allah is actually a person. So He went to bring them to the stage of personalism. And His system got them to appreciate the personal form of Kṛṣṇa. Because through that you can develop attachment and love. In the impersonal reality there is no attachment, there is no love. So like this Lord Caitanya would bring them to the personal level and then get them to practice devotional service. First hearing and chanting. Haribol! So by giving this sublime and simple process, He had many people have their devotion enhanced.

***

Firm faith is rāga. Duty of those with soft faith —

There is no necessity of logic in firm faith. For those with soft and pliable faith, there is no shelter without the scriptures and association of saints. Initiation is absolutely necessary for these faithful persons of this class. They are gradually promoted By getting the scriptural conclusions from a bona fide guru, obtaining the mantras, practicing arcana (worshiping the deity) according to the instruction of guru, their gradual progress happens. For them is the daśamūla-śikṣā (ten principle instructions). Pramāṇa (evidence, proof) is one principle and prameya (direct perception) is that which will be proved is of ten principles.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So here is the process when someone comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have a little faith. So Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says they should definitely take initiation. By their guru, they should be guided how to do devotional service, how to do Deity worship. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had given his synopsis of the Vedic literatures in His Daśamūla-śikṣā. Recently, the GBC has also given a Daśamūla-śikṣā of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings. Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s are more or less the same. But where these teachings are found in the Vedas or in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, that is presented. Everything we do is based on the śāstra. So, one learns how to develop their activities based on the śāstra.

***

Firm Faith —

In the mind of a devotee with firm faith, because of the only practice of chanting Harināma obtained due to the generation of naturally perfect faith, all premeyas (the nine principles to be proved) arise themselves by the mercy of the holy name. There is no need to discuss the pramāṇa (evidence, proof), for the persons with firm faith.

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotees who have firm faith, they have naturally studied the śāstras and understand. So they don’t really need to study, as they have done. Now, this firm faith everyone should have. That is very, very, very pleasing to Lord Kṛṣṇa.