Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta

Prathama Varṣa
(First Shower)

Dvitīya Dhara
(Second Stream)

 

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyera Śikṣā Praṇālī
(The Process of Instruction by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya)

The Acceptable elements of the Śikṣāmṛta

In order to understand the method of instruction of Śrī Mahāprabhu, we are compelled to examine the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Mahāprabhu Himself did not compose and leave behind any text. Apart from the eight ślokas of the Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka, no other work composed by Him is to be found. A few additional ślokas have indeed been collected in the Padyāvalī anthology, yet from those ślokas we do not obtain any systematic teaching. Beyond these, a few small texts have been published by certain persons as having been composed by the Lord. Having deliberated at length, we have concluded that those texts appear to be spuriously attributed. The noble Gosvāmīs have composed many works in which the teachings of Mahāprabhu are abundantly available; yet none of those works is recorded as being Mahāprabhu’s own composition. The Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is an authoritative work. In it, the character and instructions of the Lord are found in ample measure, and all those instructions have been fully corroborated by the statements of the noble Gosvāmīs. It is for this reason that such great reverence for the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is observed everywhere. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī arose immediately after Mahāprabhu and composed this work. Śrī Mahāprabhu’s direct disciples — Śrī Dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, and many others — assisted Kavirāja Gosvāmī in composing the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Before that, Śrī Kavi Kārṇapūra, through his Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka, and Śrī Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, through his Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, had provided Kavirāja Gosvāmī with great assistance in many matters. Having considered all aspects, we are thus compelled to take recourse to the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Śrī Mahāprabhu, during the twenty-four years that He remained in the gṛhastha-āśrama, preached in the courtyard of Śrīvāsa, on the banks of the Gaṅgā, in the cātuṣpāṭhī (Sanskrit school), and along the roads — instructing all jīvas on the glories of the hari-nāma and the duty of performing hari-kīrtana. Thereafter, upon accepting the order of sannyāsa, He gave instructions to Śrī Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and others at Śrī Puruṣottama-kṣetra, to Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda at Vidyānagara, to Śrī Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa and others in the southern states, to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī at Prayāga, and subsequently to Śrī Raghupati Upādhyāya and Śrī Vallabha Bhaṭṭa Mahāśaya, and to Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī and the sannyāsī Śrī Prakāśānanda and others at Vārāṇasī — and from all these instructions the complete teaching of Śrīman Mahāprabhu may be properly obtained. Having carefully deliberated upon all those teachings, we have compiled the Lord’s śikṣā-praṇālī (process of instructing).

Manifesting boundless compassion towards all the jīvas of the world, Śrīman Mahāprabhu propagated pure Vaiṣṇava dharma, or jaiva-dharma, throughout all of India. In certain lands He Himself went and performed the work of propagation. In other places He sent preachers. The preachers of Mahāprabhu laboured, bound by the cord of prema. They did not hope for any salary or reward. Without preachers of pure character, the propagation of pure dharma is not possible. It is for this very reason that in other religions today, persons who are paid wages carry on preaching, and yet sufficient results are not produced. As it is written in the eighth chapter of the Ādi-līlā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 7.163-167):

pañca-tattva-rūpe śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
kṛṣṇa-nāma-prema diyā viśva kailā dhanya

In the form of the Pañca Tattva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya blessed the entire world by distributing kṛṣṇa-nāma and prema.

mathurāte pāṭhāila rūpa-sanātana
dui senāpati kaila bhakti pracāraṇa

He sent Rūpa and Sanātana to Mathurā. These two generals propagated bhakti.

nityānanda gosāñe pāṭhāilā gauḍe-deśe
teñho bhakti pracārilā aśeṣa viśeṣe

He sent Nityānanda Gosāi to the land of Bengal. He preached bhakti there in innumerable special ways.

āpane dakṣiṇa-deśe karila gamana
grāme grāme kaila kṛṣṇa-nāma-pracāraṇa

He Himself journeyed to the southern states and performed the propagation of kṛṣṇa-nāma from village to village.

setubandha parayanta kailā bhaktira pracāra
kṛṣṇa-prema diyā kailā sabāra nistāra

Preaching pure bhakti as far as Setubandha, He delivered everyone by giving kṛṣṇa-prema. 

The foundation of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s teaching is this – kṛṣṇa-prema alone is the eternal treasure-like dharma for the jīva. The jīva can never be permanently severed from that treasure of dharma. However, through forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, becoming bewildered by māyā and developing attachment to other objects, that dharma has gradually become almost concealed and has hidden itself within the innermost core of the jīva’s being. Therein lies the misery of the jīva’s worldly existence. If, once again, by the fortunate occurrence of good fortune, the jīva remembers the truth –  “I am eternally Kṛṣṇa’s servant,” then that dharma, rising again, shall assuredly restore the jīva’s well-being.

Faith in this truth is the root-cause of all auspiciousness. Faith arises in two ways, namely when certain persons become inclined toward ending worldly existence, then by the accumulated pious merit of many births, an innate faith arises within them. As stated in the Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 23, verse 9:

kona bhāgye kona jīvera śraddhā yadi haya
tabe seo jīva sādhu-saṅga karaya

By some good fortune, if faith arises in some jīva, that jīva then associates with sādhus.

Another name for faith is śraddhā. The Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22, verse 62 states:

śraddhā śabde viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya

The word śraddhā refers to firm belief in the words of the śāstra and that by kṛṣṇa-bhakti, all actions are accomplished. (1)

By the inner satisfaction produced from sukṛti (spiritual merit), self-evident śraddhā arises from the jīva’s eternal nature. The person in whom śraddhā has arisen, (2) by taking shelter of the proper method of worship in the association of sādhus, gradually destroys his own anarthas and advances progressively to niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti, and even bhāva.

(1)
yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

Just as by watering the roots of a tree the branches and twigs are satisfied, and just as the senses are satisfied when food is put in the stomach, by the worship of Acyuta all worship is accomplished. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.31.14)

(2) yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān
na nirviṇṇo nāti-sakto bhakti-yogo ‘sya siddhi-daḥ

A person who somehow or other develops faith in discussions about Me and My glories, who is neither completely detached from worldly life nor excessively attached to it — for such a person, the path of bhakti-yoga bestows perfection. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.20.8)

When self-manifested śraddhā fully awakens with great intensity, one spontaneously begins to walk the path of rāga-bhakti. (3) And without depending upon the injunctions of śāstrika reasoning and rules etc, one becomes capable of sādhana, fearlessly ascending the path of bhāva leading to rati, loving attachment for Kṛṣṇa.

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

One should continue performing prescribed duties as long as one has not become detached, or until faith arises in hearing and chanting topics about Me. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.20.9)

However, if that awakened śraddhā remains in a tender state, then one advances by receiving the guidance of proper deliberation from a genuine guru. Since śraddhā is characterised by belief in śāstra and in the words of the guru, śāstrika deliberation is generally indispensable. This is seen in the words of the Lord in the Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, seventh chapter (71-85):

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

The Lord said, “Listen, Śrīpāda, here is the reason – seeing Me to be a fool, My guru chastised Me. 

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

“You are a fool; you have no qualification to study Vedānta. Always chant the kṛṣṇa-mantra – this mantra is the essence of all mantras.”

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

“By the kṛṣṇa-mantra one will attain liberation from material existence, and by kṛṣṇa-nāma one will attain the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.”

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

“In the age of Kali there is no other dharma apart from the Holy Name. The Name is the essence of all mantras — this is the conclusion of the śāstra.”

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

Saying this, he taught Me one verse – “Keep this verse upon your lips and meditate upon it deeply.”

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

Only the Name of Hari, the Name of Hari, the Name of Hari – there is no other way, no other way, no other way in the age of Kali. There is no other way.

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

Receiving this order, I constantly chanted the Name. As I went on chanting, my mind became bewildered.

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

I could no longer remain composed — I became as if mad. I laughed, cried, danced, and sang like one intoxicated.

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

Then, regaining some composure, I began to reflect within my mind: “By the Name of Kṛṣṇa, my consciousness has become overwhelmed.

pāgala hailāṅ āmi, dhairya nāhi mane
eta cinti’ nivediluṅ gurura caraṇe

I have become mad — I can no longer keep steady.” Thinking in this way, I submitted myself at the feet of my guru.

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

“What kind of mantra have you given me, O Gosāi? What is its power? By chanting it again and again, this mantra has driven me mad!

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

It makes me laugh, dance, and cry aloud.” Hearing this, my guru smiled and spoke these words:

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

“This is indeed the natural effect of the kṛṣṇa-nāma mahā-mantra. Whoever chants it develops ecstatic devotion for Kṛṣṇa.

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

Kṛṣṇa-prema is the supreme goal of human life, before which the four ordinary goals of life are as insignificant as straw.”

From this statement of the Lord, let me take up one point. The words kaṇṭhe kari’ ei śloka kariha vicāre  (‘Keep this verse upon your lips and meditate upon it deeply’) make it known that śraddhā is nourished and elevated through proper examination of śāstra. According to the Lord, śāstra, in other words, the Veda-śāstra, is the sole pramāṇa (authority). Sāstra on tarka (rhetoric) etc. is no authority at all. We find in the teachings to the sannyāsīs in the Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7, verse 132:

svataḥ pramāṇa veda pramāna-śiromaṇi

The Vedas are self-evidently authoritative — they are the crown jewel of all pramāṇas.

Again, in the instructions to Sanātana Gosvāmī, in the 122nd verse of the Madhya-līlā, chapter 20:

māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi kṛṣṇa-smṛti-jñāna
jivere kṛpāya kaila kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa

The jīva, bewildered by māyā, has no knowledge or remembrance of Kṛṣṇa. Out of compassion for the jīva, Kṛṣṇa created the Vedas and Purāṇas.

It is clearly understood that śraddhā is of two kinds, namely tender śraddhā (komala–śraddhā) and firm śraddhā (dṛḍha-śraddhā). The bhakti that arises from firm śraddhā is exceedingly powerful and by its very nature takes the form of bhāva. The Lord’s teaching in this regard is given in full in the Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka. Concerning tender śraddhā, the Lord spoke to Sanātana as follows (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 23, verses 9-13):

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

If by some great fortune a living being develops faith, then that soul begins to associate with sādhus.

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

From association with sādhus comes hearing and chanting, and through the practice of devotional service all unwanted habits and impurities are removed.

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

When anarthas are cleared away, steadiness in devotion (niṣṭhā) arises, and from that steadiness comes taste (ruci) for hearing and chanting.

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

From taste arises deep attachment in bhakti (āsakti), and from that attachment, the sprout of love for Kṛṣṇa awakens within the heart.

sei bhāva gāḍha haile dhare prema-nāma
sei premā prayojana sarvānanda-dhāma

When such bhāva becomes fully intensified, it takes the name of prema. That prema is the ultimate goal of life (prayojana) – the abode of all bliss.

Firm śraddhā is indeed rāga. The duty of those with tender śraddhā — for those of firm śraddhā, the functioning of śāstrika reasoning is not required. Those with tender śraddhā have no recourse other than śāstra and sādhu-saṅga. For persons of this class of śraddhā, initiation (dīkṣā) is absolutely necessary. By receiving the śāstrika siddhānta from a genuine guru, accepting the mantra, and gradually performing sādhana such as arcana (Deity worship) according to the guru’s instructions, they advance step by step. For them the teaching of the Daśa-mūla (the ten root principles) is prescribed. There is one fundamental pramāṇa (means of evidence), and the prameyas — in other words, the truths to be established — are of nine kinds.

In the hearts of devotees possessed of firm faith, there naturally arises the self-evident belief that merely by sādhana of hari-nāma, all the premayas awaken automatically by the mercy of the Holy Name. For persons endowed with such firm faith, there is no need for deliberation on pramāṇas.

Therefore, persons with tender faith, without taking recourse to pramāṇa, quickly stumble and fall through bad association. The Vedas, which is the very expansion of Brahman, is their sole authority. The Vedas are vast, and because they contain many injunctions meant for karmīs, jñānīs, and persons of various qualifications, the instructions intended specifically for pure devotees are not easily gathered. The essential purport of the Vedas is described in various places as the abhidheya, or practical means to attain the ultimate goal, and in order to clearly reveal this, the sāttvika Purāṇas were given. Among the sāttvika Purāṇas, the Śrīmad Bhāgavata (4) is the foremost and most expert in explaining the sāttvika purport of the Vedas. Therefore, the Bhāgavata-śāstra, along with the Pañcarātra and related tantras that follow it, are accepted among the valid pramāṇas.

(4) artho’yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ bhāratārtha-vinīrṇyaḥ
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo’sau vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ
grantho’ṣṭadaśa-sāhasraḥ śrīmad-bhagavatābhidaḥ

The explanation of the Vedānta is present in the Bhāgavatam as well as the meaning of the Mahābhārata. A commentary of the Gāyatrī is there and an expanded purport of the Vedas. That book which has eighteen-thousand ślokas is known as the Śrīmad Bhāgavata. (Garuḍa Purāṇa)

In his teachings to Sanātana, the Lord says:

veda-śāstra kahe sambandha abhidheya prayojana
kṛṣṇa prāpya sambandha bhakti prāptyera sādhana
abhidheya-nāma bhakti prema  prayojana
puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi prema mahā-dhana

The Vedic scriptures speak of sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana. Kṛṣṇa is the object to be attained in sambandha, and bhakti is the means of attaining Him. That bhakti is called abhidheya, and prema is the prayojana. Prema, the crest-jewel of all human goals, is the greatest treasure. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.124-125)

The mutual relationship among the three objects – cit (the jīva), acit, and Īśvara — is what has been denoted by the word sambandha. In truth, Kṛṣṇa alone is the principle object. That object has two potencies – acit and jīva. Through the transformation of the acit-śakti comes the inert world, and through the transformation of the jīva-śakti comes the world of jīvas. When sambandha is properly understood, the regaining of the jīva’s servitude to Kṛṣṇa is called the establishment of sambandha. As stated in the instructions to Sārvabhauma:

svarūpa-aiśvarye tāṅra nāhi māyā-gandha
sakala vedera haya bhagavān se sambandha

In His essential nature and sovereignty there is not the slightest touch of māyā. Throughout all the Vedas, Bhagavān is established as the subject of sambandha. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.139)

Again, in the instructions to Sanātana in the Caritāmṛṭa (20.124):

kṛṣṇa prāpya sambandha bhakti prāptyera sādhana

Kṛṣṇa is the object to be attained in sambandha, and bhakti is the means for attaining Him.

These seven subjects of deliberation on sambandha-tattva are presented in the form of prameyas namely:

Kṛṣna-vicāra (deliberation on Kṛṣṇa)
2. Kṛṣṇa-śakti-vicāra (deliberation on Kṛṣṇa’s potency)
3. Rasa-tattva-vicāra (deliberation on the principle of rasa)
4. Jīva-tattva-vicāra (deliberation on the principle of the jīva)
5. Jīva-saṁsāri-vicāra (deliberation on the jīva’s worldly existence)
6. Jīva-nistara-vicāra (deliberation on the jīva’s deliverance)
7. Acintya-bhedābheda-vicāra (deliberation on inconceivable oneness and difference)

By separately deliberating upon each of these seven prameyas, knowledge of sambandha is obtained.

Words are arranged together to form a composition. The potency by which the simple, direct meaning of a word is understood is called the abhidhā-śakti (the denotative potency) of the word. For example, when one says “ten elephants,” one can easily conceive of a group of ten elephants. This meaning is called abhidheya (that which is directly denoted). There is yet another potency of a word, called lakṣaṇā (indicative potency) – as in the expression “a settlement of cowherds on the Gaṅgā.” Since a settlement cannot exist in the water, through the power of lakṣaṇā one understands it to mean a settlement on the bank of the Gaṅgā. Wherever lakṣaṇā is required, the function of abhidhā does not operate. Where the meaning is naturally and directly understood, only abhidhā functions.

The meaning obtained through the direct denotative power (abhidhā) of the Vedic śāstra alone is to be accepted. The true meaning of the Vedic śāstra — the actual purport intended by them — is their abhidheya, and that is what we are meant to understand. When all the Vedas are properly examined, it is seen that bhakti to Bhagavān alone is the abhidheya of the Vedic śāstra. Karma, jñāna, yoga etc. bear only a secondary relationship to the abhidheya; they are not the primary relationship. Therefore, the primary means for attaining Kṛṣṇa prescribed in the śāstra is sādhana-bhakti. This is one prameya.

That for the sake of which a process must be adopted as the objective is called prayojana (the ultimate goal). The attainment of prema by the jīva is that prayojana, and this too is one of the prameyas. Thus, all in all, nine prameyas are established. Therefore, in the teachings to Sanātana we find:

eita kahiluṅ sambandha-tattvera vicāra
veda-śāstre upadeśe, kṛṣṇa eka sāra
ebe kahi, śuna, abhidheya-lakṣaṇa
yāhā haite pāi kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana

Thus I have explained the deliberation on sambandha-tattva. The instruction of the Vedic śāstra is that Kṛṣṇa alone is the essential substance. Now listen as I explain the characteristics of abhidheya – that by which one attains Kṛṣṇa, the treasure of kṛṣṇa-prema. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.3-4)

In this way, Mahāprabhu imparted teachings of the nature of the jīva (jaiva-dharma).