Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

File:1Gouranga1.jpg

Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Caitanya, IAST caitanya mahāprabhu) (Bengali চৈতন্য মহাপ্রভূ) (1486 - 1534), was an ascetic Vaishnava monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal, India (present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh). Chaitanya was a notable proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to Krishna/God) based on the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita. Specifically he worshipped the forms of Radha and Krishna as described (and alluded to) in the famous Bhagavata Purana and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.

His line of followers, now known as Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as an avatar of Krishna in the mood of Radharani. He was also sometimes referred to by the names Gaura (Sanskrit for "the fair / golden one") due to his light skin complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Nimba tree. There are numerous biographies available from the time giving details of Chaitanya's life, the most popular ones being the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami and the earlier Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, both originally written in the Bengali language but now widely available in English and other languages.

Chaitanya's life

According to the biography, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Nimai was born on a full moon night at the time of a lunar eclipse in 1486. His parents named him 'Visvambhar' - he was the second son of Jagannath Mishra and his wife Sachi Devi who lived in the town of Navadvipa in Nadiya, West Bengal. In his youth, Chaitanya was popularly known as an erudite scholar, whose learning and skills in argumentation in his locality were next to none. A number of stories exist telling of Chaitanya's attraction to the chanting and singing of Krishna's names from a very young age.

When traveling to Gaya to perform the shraddha ceremony for his departed father Chaitanya met his guru, the ascetic Ishvara Puri, from whom he received initiation with the Gopala Krishna mantra. This meeting was to mark a significant change in Mahaprabhu's outlook and upon his return to Bengal the local Vaishnavas, headed by Advaita Acharya, were stunned at his external sudden 'change of heart' (from 'scholar' to 'devotee') and soon Chaitanya became the eminent leader of their Vaishnava group within Nadiya.

After leaving his homeland in Bengal and receiving entrance into the sannyasa order by Keshava Bharati, Chaitanya journeyed throughout the length and breadth of India for several years, chanting the names of Krishna constantly. He spent the last 24 years of his life in Puri, Orissa, the great temple city of Jagannath. The king of Orissa, Maharaja Prataparudra, regarded him as Krishna incarnate and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya's sankirtan party. It was during these years that Chaitanya is said to have sank deep into various meditational trances (samadhi) and performed pastimes of divine ecstasy (bhakti).

Chaitanya's tradition

File:Gaura nitai radhadesh.jpg

Deities of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (right) and Nityananda (left) at Radha-Krishna temple in Radhadesh, Belgium

Despite having been initiated in the Madhvacharya tradition, Chaitanya's philosophy is sometimes regarded as a tradition of his own within the Vaishnava framework - having some marked differences with the practices and the theology of other followers of Madhvacharya.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not known to have written anything himself, but a series of verses known as the Siksastaka, "eight verses of instruction" which he spoke were recorded by one of his close colleagues. The eight verses created by Mahaprabhu are considered to contain the complete philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in condensed form. Chaitanya did request a select few among his followers (who later came to be known as the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan) to systematically present the theology of bhakti he had taught in their writings. The six saints and theologians were Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami, Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami, Raghunatha dasa Goswami and Jiva Goswami, a nephew of brothers Rupa and Sanatana. These individuals were responsible for systematizing Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology.

Narottama Dasa Thakur, Srinivasa Acarya and Syamananda Pandit were among the stalwarts of the second generation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Having studied under Jiva Goswami, they were instrumental in propagating the teachings of the Gosvamis throughout Bengal, Orissa and other regions of Eastern India. Many among their associates, such as Ramacandra Kaviraja and Ganga-narayana Cakravarti, were also eminent teachers in their own right.

The famous festival of Kheturi, presided over by Jahnava Thakurani, the wife of Nityananda Prabhu, was the first time the leaders of the various branches of Chaitanya's followers assembled together. Through such festivals, members of the loosely organized tradition became acquainted with other branches along with their respective theological and practical nuances. Around these times, the disciples and descendants of Nityananda and Advaita Acharya, headed by Virabhadra and Krishna Mishra respectively, started their family lineages (vamsa) to maintain the tradition. The vamsa descending from Nityananda through his son Virabhadra forms the most prominent branch of the modern Gaudiya tradition, though descendants of Advaita, along with the descendants of many other associates of Chaitanya, maintain their following especially in the rural areas of Bengal. Gopala Guru Gosvami, a young associate of Chaitanya and a follower of Vakresvara Pandit, founded another branch based in Orissa. The writings of Gopala, along with those of his disciple Dhyanacandra Gosvami, have had a substantial influence on the methods of internal worship in the tradition.

In the 20th century the teachings of Chaitanya were brought to the West by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a representative of the Saraswata (i.e. disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura) branch of Chaitanya's tradition. Bhaktivedanta Swami founded his movement known as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to spread Chaitanya's teachings throughout the world. Saraswata gurus and acharyas, members of the Goswami lineages and several other Hindu sects which revere Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including devotees from the major Vaishnava holy places in Mathura District, West Bengal and Orissa, also established temples dedicated to Krishna and Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century. In the 21st century Vaishnava bhakti is now also being studied through the academic medium of Krishnology in a number of academic institutions.

Cultural legacy

In addition to his deep influences on Hinduism (some contend that Hinduism in Bengal might have been eradicated but for him), Chaitanya's cultural legacy in Bengal remains deep, with many residents performing daily worship to him as an avatar of Krishna. Some attribute to him a Renaissance in Bengal, different from the more well known 19th century Bengal Renaissance. Salimullah Khan, a noted linguist, maintains, "Sixteenth century is the time of Chaitanya Dev, and it is the beginning of Modernism in Bengal. The concept of 'humanity' that came into fruition is contemporaneous with that of Europe". Chaitanya also influenced the Baul movement of Bengal, which some say was established by the son of his close friend Nityananda.

See also

• Achintya Bheda Abheda
• Chaitanya Charitamrita
• Hare Krishna
• Jagannath Temple (Puri)
• Gouranga
• Nityananda

External links

• Gaudiya Vaishnavism - The Tradition of Chaitanya
• Krishna.com "All about Krishna." Teachings, history, art, MP3s.
• Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts
• The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya Online Book
• Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32 A Verse from the Bhagavata Purana, which is believed to refer to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
• Scriptural Statements/Predictions regarding Caitanya Mahaprabhu's birth
• Chaitanya Charitamrta Online Biography
• Golden Volcano — Divine Lava Gauranga: The Ultimate Conception of the Supreme Reality