Vrindavan Art [antikvár]

Preface ín Caitanya-cciritâmrta, by Srila Krsnadâsa Kavirâja Gosvâmi, is the principal work on the life and teachings of Srt Krsiia Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahâprabhu is the pioneer of a great social and religious movement that began in India about five hundred years ago and that has direcdy and indirectly influenced the subsequent course of religious and philosophical thinking not only in India but throughout the world. That Sri Krsna Caitanya's influence has spread so far is due in large part to the efforts of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the present work's translator and commentator and the founder and acarya (spiritual guide) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is thus a figure of great historical significance. However, our conventional method of historical analysis—that of seeing a man as a product of his times—fails here, for Sri Krsna Caitanya is a personality who transcends the limited scope of historical settings. At a time when, in the West, man was directing his explorative spirit toward studying the structure of the physical universe and circumnavigating the world in search of new oceans and continents, Sri Krsna Caitanya, in the East, was inaugurating and masterminding a revolution directed toward a scientific understanding of the highest knowledge of man's spiritual nature. The chief historical sources for the life of Sri Krsna Caitanya are the kadacas (diaries) kept by Murari Gupta and Svarüpa Dámodara Gosvâmî. Murâri Gupta, a physician and close associate of Sri Krsija Caitanya, recorded extensive notes on the first twenty-four years of His life, culminating in His initiation into the renounced order, smmyâsa. The events of the rest of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's forty-eight years were recorded in the diary of Svarüpa Dámodara Gosvâmi, another of His intimate associates. in Caitanya-caritamrta is divicled into three sections, called lîîâs, a word that hterally means "pastimes"—the Adi-lilâ (recounting the early period of Lord Caitanya's pastimes), the Madhya-llla (recounting the middle period), and the Antya-lîlfl (recounting the final period). The notes of Murari Gupta form the basis of the Acii-lilâ, and Svarüpa Damodara's diary provides the details for the Madhya- and Antya-lllâs. The first twelve chapters of the Âdi-llla constitute the preface for the entire work. By referring to Vedic scriptural evidence, Krsnadâsa Kavirâja estabhshes that Caitanya Mahâprabhu is the avatâra (incarnation) of God for the Age of Kali—the current epoch, which began five thousand years ago and is characterized by materialism, hypocrisy, and dissension. The author also proves that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is identical to Lord Krsna and explains that He descends to liberally grant the fallen souls of this degraded age pure love of God by propagating sankirtana—literally, "congregational glorification of God"—especially by organizing massive public chanting of the mahâ-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hard Hare Rama, Hare Ráma, Ráma Rama, Hare Hare. In addition, in the twelve-chapter preface Krsnadâsa Kavirâja reveals the esoteric purpose of Lord Caitanya's appearance in the world, describes His co-avataras and principal devotees, and summarizes His teachings. In the remaining portion of the Âdi-lilâ, chapters thirteen through seventeen, the author briefly recounts Lord Caitanya's divine birth and His Ufe until He accepted the renounced order. This account includes His childhood miracles, schooUng, marriage, and early philosophical confrontations, as well as His organization of a widespread sankirtana movement and His civil disobedience against the repression of the Muslim government. The Madhya-tilâ, the longest of the three divisions, narrates in detail Lord Caitanya's extensive and eventful travels throughout India as a renounced mendicant, teacher, philosopher, spiritual preceptor, and mystic. During this period of six years, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu transmits His teachings to His principal disciples. He debates and converts inany of the renowned philosophers and theologians of His time, including Saiikarites, Buddhists, and Muslims, and incorporates their many thousands of followers and disciples into His own burgeoning numbers. The author also includes in this section a dramatic account of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's miraculous activities at the giant Ratha-yâtrâ (Car Festival) injagannatha Puri, Orissa.