(2/7) Who Is Mahaprabhu?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking to devotees worldwide,
30 November 2020, part 2

If you can chant this Holy Name as a sincere seeker, with chastity, you will get to your real home. But why must we follow this procedure? Why is it necessary? That is the question. Who is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? I will quote you some examples of verses from many scriptures that appeared before Mahaprabhu came in this Age of Kali that prove that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Lord. Many Puranas and Vedas mention Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

মহান্ প্রভুর্বৈ পুরুষঃ সত্ত্বস্যেষ প্রবর্তকঃ ।
সুনির্মলামিমং শান্তিমীশানো জ্যোতিরব্যয়ঃ ॥

mahan prabhur vai purusah sattvasyesa pravartakah
sunirmalam imam santim-isano jyotiravyayah

'This personality is a great Lord, or Master. He reveals the path of wisdom. By His mercy, the purest, that is devoid of any faults, happiness can be attained. He is illustrious, that is inexhaustible, although He appears as a worshippable personality; He does not experience any loss or weakness like an ordinary embodied being.'

(Svetasvara, 2.12)

যদা পশ্যঃ পশ্যতে রুক্মবর্ণং কর্তারমীশং পুরুষং ব্রহ্মযোনিম্ ।
তদা বিদ্যান্ পুণ্যপাপে বিধূয় নিরঞ্জনঃ পরমং সাম্যমুপৈতি ॥

yada pasyah pasyate rukma-varnam
kartaramisam purusam brahma-yonim
tada vidyan punyapape vidhuya
niranjanah param samyamupaiti

'When one gets to see the Golden Creator of the Universe, the Master of the World, one attains, as the result of gaining transcendental knowledge, a pure and liberated state, washing away all conceptions of sins and piety born of mundane, worldly intelligence.'

(Mundaka, 3.3)

The scriptures say, 'This Personality will come to give Krishna-prema, and He will only chant the Holy Name of Krishna.' There is also another famous verse from Srimad Bhagavatam that you all know:

কৃষ্ণবর্ণং ত্বিষাঽকৃষ্ণং সাঙ্গোপাঙ্গাস্ত্রপার্ষদম্ ।
যজ্ঞৈঃ সঙ্কীর্ত্তনপ্রায়ৈর্যজন্তি হি সুমেধসঃ ॥

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah

'Intelligent people engage in sankirtana-yajna (congregational chanting of the Holy Name) to worship the Lord on whose lips the Holy Name of Krishna dances, whose complexion is black but garbed in golden lustre, and who comes together with His associates and weapons.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.5.32)

He will come and always chanting the Name of Sri Krishna with His mouth and tongue, and His colour is dark (krsna) and golden (gaura). His anga, upanga and parsadas are Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Prabhu, Srivas Acharya, Gadadhar Pandit and other devotees. Together with this Pancha-tattva and all the other devotees, He will chant the Holy Name of the Lord, going village to village. Mahaprabhu told:

পৃথিবীতে আছে যত নগরাদি গ্রাম
সর্ব্বত্র প্রচার হইবে মোর নাম

prithivite achhe yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama

'My Name will spread to every village and town on this earth.'

My Name will be preached all over the world, in every village of the world. Krishna's Name, beauty and pastimes are non-different from Krishna. Based on these verses, we can understand who is Lord Krishna. In Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami writes:

'কৃষ্ণ'—এই দুই বর্ণ সদা যাঁ'র মুখে ।
অথবা কৃষ্ণকে তিহোঁ বর্ণে নিজ সুখে ॥
দেহকান্ত্যে হয় তিহোঁ অকৃষ্ণ-বরণ ।
'অকৃষ্ণ'-বরণে কহে পীত-বরণ ॥

'krsna'—ei dui varna sada yan'ra mukhe
athava krsnake tinho varne nija sukhe
deha-kantye haya tinho akrsna-varana
'akrsna'-varane kahe pita-varana

'The two syllables “krs-na” are always in His mouth; or, He constantly describes Krishna with great pleasure. His complexion is certainly not blackish. Indeed, His not being blackish indicates that His complexion is yellow (golden).'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.3.53, 56)

As it is said in Srimad Bhagavatam, Eleventh Canto, those who are intelligent, who have a good brain, worship Lord Krishna (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah) and chant Lord Krishna's glorification. In Srimad Bhagavatam, Garga Muni told Nanda Maharaj:

আসন্ বর্নাস্ত্রয়োহ্যস্য গৃহ্ণতোঽনুযুগং তনুঃ ।
শুক্লোরক্তস্তথাপীত ইদানীং কৃষ্ণতাং গতঃ ॥

asan varnas trayo hy asya
grhnato 'nuyugam tanuh
suklo raktas tatha pita
idanim krsnatam gatah

'Your son Krishna appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors – white, red and yellow – and now He has appeared in a blackish color. [In another Dvapara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Ramachandra) in the color of suka, a parrot. All such incarnations have now assembled in Krishna.]'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.13)

'Your son, this boy, appeared before, in Satya- and Treta-yuga. He has appeared now in Dvapar-yuga and will again come in the Age of Kali. In Satya-yuga, He appears taking white complexion; in Treta-yuga, red complexion; in Dvapar-yuga, black complexion; and in Kali-yuga, golden complexion.

শুক্ল, রক্ত, কৃষ্ণ, পীত—ক্রমে চারি বর্ণ ।
চারি বর্ণ ধরি’ ‘কৃষ্ণ’ করেন যুগধর্ম ॥

sukla, rakta, krsna, pita—krame chari varna
chari varna dhari’ ‘krsna’ karena yuga-dharma

'In the four yugas – Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali – the Lord incarnates in four colors: white, red, black and yellow, respectively. These are the colors of the incarnations in different millenniums.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.10.330)

Prahlad Maharaj also told in Srimad Bhagavatam:

ইত্থং নৃতির্যগৃষিদেব-ঝষাবতারৈ-
র্লোকান্ বিভাবয়সি হংসি জগৎপ্রতীপান্ ।
ধর্মং মহাপুরুষ পাসি যুগানুবৃত্তম্
ছন্নঃ কলৌ যদভবস্ত্রিযুগোঽথ স ত্বম্ ॥

ittham nr-tiryag-rsi-deva-jhasavatarair
lokan vibhavayasi hamsi jagat pratipan
dharmam maha-purusa pasi yuganuvrttam
channah kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo 'tha sa tvam

'In this way, my Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saint, a demigod, a fish or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different planetary systems and killing the demoniac principles. According to the age, O my Lord, You protect the principles of religion. In the age of Kali, however, You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore You are known as Triyuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 7.9.38)

'Channa-avatara' means His incarnation is hidden. He does not tell everyone that He is Krishna – He hides Himself. Prahlad Maharaj says, 'In this way, my Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saint, a demigod, a fish or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation, giving everyone so much nourishment.' Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Lord Himself, comes to serve others. In Krishna's pastimes also, you can see that when Sudama Vipra came to Dvaraka, Krishna personally massaged His friend's feet. We also see in the Siksastaka of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that the Lord tells us to be humble and tolerant and give honour to others.

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

'One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

This is Mahaprabhu's teachings.

In this world, everybody is running behind money and pratistha (establishment, name and fame), but Mahaprabhu told:

ন ধনং ন জনং ন সুন্দরীং কবিতাং বা জগদীশ কাময়ে ।
মম জন্মনি জন্মনীশ্বরে ভবতাদ্ভক্তিরহৈতুকী ত্বয়ি ॥

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

'I do not want wealth, I do not want followers, I do not want beautiful women, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could serve You life after life.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.20.29)

নাহি মাগি দেহ-সুখ, বিদ্যা, ধন, জন ॥
নাহি মাগি স্বর্গ, আর মোক্ষ নাহি মাগি ।
না করি প্রার্থনা কোন বিভূতির লাগি’ ॥

nahi magi deha-sukha, vidya, dhana, jana
nahi magi svarga ara moksa nahi magi
na kari prarthana kona vibhutira lagi

'I do not pray for bodily pleasure, learning, wealth, or followers. I do not pray for heaven, I do not pray for liberation, and I do not pray for any supernatural powers.'

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'I do not ask even for heaven or liberation. I am not asking for all this. All I want is to be a servant of a servant of Your servant.' This is Mahaprabhu's teachings.

It is also said in Mahabharata:

সুবর্ণবর্ণো হেমাঙ্গা বরাঙ্গশ্চন্দনাঙ্গদী ।
সন্ন্যাসকৃচ্ছমঃ শান্তো নিষ্ঠা-শান্তিপরায়ণঃ ॥

suvarna-varno hemanga varangas chandanangadi
sannyasa-krch chhamah santo nistha-santi-parayanah

'In His early pastimes He appears as a householder with a golden complexion. His limbs are beautiful, and His body, smeared with the pulp of sandalwood, seems like molten gold. In His later pastimes He accepts the sannyas order, and He is equipoised and peaceful. He is the highest abode of peace and devotion, for He silences the impersonalist nondevotees.'

(Mahabharata, Tadana-dharma, Chapter 149)

In Upa Purana:

অহমেব ক্বচিদ্ ব্রহ্মন্ সন্ন্যাসাশ্রমমাশ্রিতঃ ।
হরিভক্তিং গ্রাহয়ামি কলৌ পাপহতান্নরান্ ॥

aham eva kvachid brahman sannyasasramam asritah
hari-bhaktim grahayami kalau papa-hatan naran

'O learned brahmana, sometimes I accept the renounced order of life to induce the fallen people of the Age of Kali to accept devotional service to the Lord.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.3.82, originally Upa Purana)

'O brahman, coming in this Age of Kali, I will take all the sins that people have committed and give them devotion to the Lord. I will give devotion even to sinners, who are very low, who have no caste or creed.

So, there is much evidence in the scriptures that proves that Lord Krishna personally comes in this Age of Kali. It is said also in Tattva-sandarbha that we will give more importance to sankirtan, to chanting and dancing, in the Age of Kali. Mahaprabhu stayed in this world for forty-eight years, and during the twenty-four years that He showed His householder life, He taught us so many things.

অনর্পিতচরীং চিরাৎ করুণয়াবতীর্ণঃ কলৌ
সমর্পয়িতুমুন্নতে'জ্জ্বলরসাং স্বভক্তিশ্রিয়ম্ ।
হরিঃ পূরটসুন্দরদ্যুতিকদম্বসন্দীপিতঃ
সদা হৃদয়কন্দরে স্ফুরতু বঃ শচিনন্দনঃ ॥

anarpita-charim chirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhaktisriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah sachi-nandanah

'May the Supreme Lord, who is known as the son of Sri Sachi Devi, be transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.'

(Vidagdha-Madhava, 1.2, by Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu)

Who is Sachinandan? Srila Rupa Goswamipad writes that Sachinandan chants and dances and removes all sins all over the world through His chanting and glorification.

This Gaurahari is eternal. His name is eternal. His beauty is eternal. And His every associate is eternal. Everything about Him is eternal.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Understanding Religion of Kali-Yuga
2) Who Is Mahaprabhu?
3) Understanding Lord Jagannath
4) Mahaprabhu's Mystic Pastimes
5) Small Service, Great Heart
6) Love and Appreciate Mahaprabhu's Gift
7) Highest Devotion