Guru Nanak Dev Ji
His instructions to Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami, His discussions with Ramananda Raya, the debate with the Mayavadi sannyasi Prakashananda Sarasvati and the Vedanta Sutra, the discussion between Him and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya are excellent sources through which we understand His teachings in detail.
The Lord left only eight slokas of His instructions in writing, and they are known as the Siksastaka. All other literatures based on His teachings were extensively written by the Lord’s principal followers, the six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, and their followers.
Lord Chaitanya’s Mission – The Universal Religion
His mission was to preach the importance of chanting the holy names of the Lord in this age of Kali (quarrel). In this present age quarrels take place even over trifles, and therefore the shastras have recommended for this age a common platform for realization, namely chanting the holy names of the Lord. People can hold meetings to glorify the Lord in their respective languages and with melodious songs, and if such performances are executed in an offenseless manner, it is certain that the participants will gradually attain spiritual perfection without having to undergo more rigorous methods. At such meetings everyone, the learned and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the Hindus and the Muslims, the Englishmen and the Indians, and the chandalas and the brahmanas, can all hear the transcendental sounds and thus cleanse the dust of material association from the mirror of the heart. To confirm the Lord’s mission, all the people of the world will accept the holy name of the Lord as the common platform for the universal religion of mankind.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj encapsulates this profound philosophy in his kirtan:
Mahāprabhu Chaitanya Hari avatārī, āpuna bhakti kare āpu murārī
He says that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of Shree Krishna, who appeared as His own devotee.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was Shree Krishna embodying the divine sentiment of Radharani. Shree Chaitanya had Radharani’s complexion and the physical attributes of Lord Krishna. Radha is the epitome of Krishna-Prem. She is Krishna’s divine Energy and Her love provides divine bliss to the Lord.
While Shree Krishna descended as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to disseminate pure, unadulterated devotion to God, He had other reasons to appear. He was thoroughly intrigued by the nature of Radhaji’s love for Him. Though He is the Knower of everything, He did not know the depth, nature, and ecstasy of Radha’s selfless love (nishkam prem) because He was the object of Her devotion, and that devotion resided in Her alone. Thus, if He descended imbibing the devotional sentiments of Radharani in His heart, He could experience Her bhav and relish it.
Further, Shree Krishna wondered about the sweetness and happiness that Radhaji experienced in Her love for Him. And third, He wished to know, which divine qualities induced such ecstatic devotion in Her. So, Bhagavan Shree Krishna appeared in this world as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to taste the divine love of Radharani and distribute it to all living beings.
“Desire and aversion are of the mind. The mind is never yours. You are free of its turmoil. You are awareness itself, never changing. Wherever you go, be happy”. “You are not the doer. You are not the enjoyer. You are pure awareness, The witness of all things”
― Sage Ashtavakra
In his earthly manifestation, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immersed Himself in divine ecstasy as an ardent devotee lost in Krishna’s glories.
Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya: Transformation of a Vedic Scholar to a Bhakt.
