We all know about the Bhakti movement which brought a huge wave of God-consciousness in ancient India 500 years ago. That movement was highly contributed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was born in Bengal in Mayapur in the town of Nadia. Generally, people consider Him a saint in the Bhakti cult who preached Bhakti Yoga all over India, but hardly anyone knows about His hidden identity which was only revealed to His close associates.
The childhood of Chaitanya was full of interesting incidents that the villagers of Nadia enjoyed to their heart’s content. He was born to a poor Brahman Jagannath Mishra and His mother’s name was Sachi Devi. Mother Sachi gave Him birth under a Neem Tree and after this, everyone started calling Him “Nimai”.
It was a moon eclipse at this time and the people of Nadia were engaged in bathing in the Bhagirathi (Ganga) whilst chanting the holy names of Hari. Chaitanya was a beautiful boy with a golden complexion that enchanted everyone. It was as if He was not from this earth. Once, Pandita Nilambara Chakravarti who was a renowned astrologer and the mother of Sachi Devi foretold that Nimai would be known all over the world in some time.
It is said that every time He cried in His mother’s lap, the village ladies would loudly chant “Haribol Haribol” and soon He would stop weeping. Thus, there was the continuation of holy chants in Nadia from the day Nimai was born.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu acted miraculously throughout His childhood and was a scholar of Sanskrit grammar, the ‘Smriti’, and the ‘Nyaya’. He used to hold competitions with His friends and would always win. When He was 10, His elder brother ‘Vishvaroop’ took Sannyasa and left the house. Chaitanya, being a sweet child to His mother, pacified her. Soon after this, Jagannath Mishra, Chaitanya’s father, left his body and Sachi Devi became a widow.
At the age of 14, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu got married to Lakshmidevi, the daughter of Vallabhacharya. All the scholarly Pandits were afraid of engaging with Him in literary discussions and debates. After entering into the Grihasta Ashrama (Household order), He traveled to East Bengal to earn some money for livelihood and started His preaching activities from there onwards. He taught the principles of Vaishnavism to many Bengalis.
While He was in East Bengal, Laskhmidevi left her body due to a snake bite. When He returned to His house, He found His mother in a mourning state. To pacify her, He explained to her the nature of this material world and about its uncertainty. After a while, Sachi Devi requested Nimai to marry Vishnupriya, the daughter of Pandita Sanatana Mishra.
By this time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to be known as the most important ‘Pandit’ in the whole of Bengal. People started calling Him “Nimai Pandit”. Once, a great Pandita of Kashmir, ‘Keshav Mishra” came to Nadia to challenge Chaitanya. They met in Mayapur and after only a very short discussion, Chaitanya defeated him and he left the place in great shame.
At the age of 16, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gaya and took initiation from Ishvara Puri. Ishvara Puri was a Vaishnav Sannyasi and a disciple of Madhavendra Puri. After returning to Nadia, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu shot up His missionary activities. Everyone started to notice the change in His behavior. He showed ecstatic symptoms upon hearing and chanting the names of Lord Krishna:'
“Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaKrishna Krishna Hare HareHare Ram Hare RamRam Ram Hare Hare”
Thereafter, He started a nocturnal school of Kirtan in the house of Shrivasa Pandit, a Vaishnava follower. Along with His associates, Nityananda Prabhu, Shri Advait, and Gadadhar Pandit, He would sing, dance, and express His devotion towards Lord Krishna. Nadia now became the center of Vaishnava philosophy and people from all over the world came there to study the principles of Vaishnavism.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura to go to every street in the town and ask everyone to chant the holy name of Krishna. Although many people started chanting, soon after, people started calling Chaitanya Mahaprabhu a mere “sentimentalist” on account of singing and dancing to the holy names.
He realized that this was a great hindrance in His preaching and thus decided to take Sannyasa and travel to different parts of India to complete His mission. He was 24 then. Shaving His head, wearing saffron robes, and holding the Tridanda in His hand, He left His house. Mother Sachidevi and wife Vishnupriya wept heavily in His separation.
After taking Sannyasa, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu traveled to Jagannath Puri, the eternal residence of Lord Jagannath who is non-different from Lord Krishna Himself. There, He exhibited His inconceivable pastimes during the Rath Yatra festival. The whole of Orissa sang the praises of Lord Chaitanya and came to Him and became His followers.
In the meantime, He went to South India where He visited many places and spread the love of Lord Krishna in the form of His holy names. It is said that even animals participated in the Sankirtana. Then He returned to Puri. After a short stay there, He left for Vrindavan and came down to Prayag (Allahabad) where He converted many Muslims to Vaishnavism by presenting arguments and logic from the Koran itself.
There He met His most celebrated disciple “Rupa Goswami”. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu trained him in Gaudiya Vaishnavism in ten days and instructed him to go to Vrindavan to revive the pastime places of Shri Krishna. Sanatan Goswami, another stalwart Vaishnava, also joined Lord Chaitanya after which the Lord came down to Banaras.
There, He refuted the impersonal philosophy of Shankaracharya and established the theology of personalism and devotion to God. Then He sent Sanatan Goswami to Vrindavan and returned to Puri again at the age of 31. From then onwards, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived in Puri for 18 years until His disappearance at the age of 48. His followers were the purest of mankind, Sannyasis and lovers of God.
Lord Chaitanya started the Sankirtana movement all over India and defied some of the philosophies and theologies which did not align with Bhakti. His main focus was to cultivate love for God in the hearts of people. Defying the Mayavadi philosophy that God and the soul (Jiva) are one and that after liberation, the Jiva merges with the Super Soul (Paramatma).
Lord Chaitanya propounded the “Achintya Bhed Abhed” philosophy. He taught that the individual soul and the Super Soul are one but only qualitatively. To understand the Paramatma is beyond the capacity of the Jiva. After liberation, the two do not merge but maintain their individualities.
In Kaliyuga, the only means of getting out of the clutches of Maya and overcoming the four-fold miseries (birth, death, old age, and disease) is constantly chanting the holy names of Krishna. “There is no other way, no other way, and no other way.”
The goal of Vedanta study is to develop love for God. If a person does not cultivate devotional feelings and engages in the service of Shri Shri Radha Krishna, all his scholarly knowledge goes in vain. The Supreme Lord is personal. Impersonal realization is half knowledge.
It is believed that Chaitanya was not ordinary but there was something which even His family could not understand. Our Vedic scriptures give all the clues and evidence about the incarnations of the Supreme Lord Vishnu or Krishna – elaborately telling about the form, quality, and purpose of His advent. Similarly, revelations about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu have also been mentioned in various Puranas, Itihasas, and Upanishads.
1. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32
krishna-varnam tvishakrishnamsangopangastra-parshadamyajnaih sankirtana-prayairyajanti hi sumedhasah
“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the holy name of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.”
2. Garuda Purana
aham purno bhavisyami yuga-sandhyau visesatahmayapure navadvipe bhavisyami saci-sutah
“In the first part of Kali-yuga, I will appear in my complete spiritual form in Mayapura, Navadvipa and become the son of Shachi.”
3. Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram From Mahabharata
suvarna-varno hemango varangas candanangadi
“He has a golden complexion similar to molten gold. He is exquisitely beautiful with His body smeared with sandalwood paste.”
The Gaudiya Vaishnava followers firmly remember the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whom they also call ‘Gauranga’ (due to His golden complexion) and pray at His Lotus feet to give them the pure love of Lord Krishna. It is believed that without His mercy, no one can enter Goloka Vrindavan, the eternal abode of Krishna. The chants of Hare Krishna Mahamantra continue to purify the world even after the departure of Mahaprabhu for it is not a mere material sound vibration but the love of Krishna flowing in the form of sound in this material world.
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