Monday 29 March 2021

Chaitanya was an incarnation of bhakti (love and devotion)

" After attaining the Advaita jnana, comes spiritually awakened consciousness (Chaitanya). Then one sees that God alone exists in all things as Consciousness. After this realization comes Nityananda (bliss). Advaita, Chaitanya, and Nityananda. "

Chaitanya was an incarnation of bhakti (love and devotion). He came to teach love of God to mankind. Have love for God and everything else is done for you. 

Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause. This agrees very well with the five koshas, or 'sheaths', described in the Vedanta. The gross body corresponds to the annamayakosha and the pranamayakosha, the subtle body to the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha, and the causal body to the anandamayakosha. The Mahakarana, the Great Cause, is beyond the five sheaths. When Chaitanya's mind merged in That, he would go into samadhi. This is called the nirvikalpa or jada samadhi. While conscious of the outer world, Chaitanya sang the name of God; while in the state of partial consciousness, he danced with the devotees; and while in the inmost state of consciousness, he remained absorbed in samadhi. 

To attract the wordly, Chaitanya and Nitai, after much deliberation, made an arrangement. They would say to such persons, ''Come, repeat the name of Hari, and you shall have a delicious soup of magur fish and the embrace of a young woman.'' Many people, attracted by the fish and the woman, would chant the name of God. After tasting a little of the nectar of God's hallowed name, they would soon realize that the 'fish soup' really meant the tears they shed for love of God, while the 'young woman’ signified the earth. The embrace of the woman meant rolling on the ground in the rapture of divine ecstasy.

Chaitanya said: "The name of God has very great sanctity. It may not produce an immediate result, but one day it must bear fruit. It is like a seed that has been left on the cornice of a building. After many days the house crumbles, and the seed falls on the earth, germinates, and at last bears fruit." 

Once a man said to Chaitanya: "You give the devotees so much instruction. Why don't they make much progress?" Chaitanya said: "They dissipate their powers in the company of women. That is why they cannot assimilate spiritual instruction. If one keeps water in a leaky jar, the water escapes little by little through the leak." 

Once Chaitanyadeva was passing through a village. Someone told him that the body of the drum used in the kirtan was made from the earth of that village, and at once he went into ecstasy. Chaitanya once said to Nityananda: 'Listen to me, brother. A man entangled in worldliness can never be free.' 

The fire of Chaitanya's renunciation was so great that when Sarvabhauma poured sugar on his tongue, instead of melting, it evaporated into air. He was always absorbed in samadhi. How great was his conquest of lust! To compare him with a man! 

Chaitanyadeva set out on a pilgrimage to southern India. One day he saw a man reading the Gita. Another man, seated at a distance, was listening and weeping. His eyes were swimming in tears. Chaitanyadeva asked him, "Do you understand all this?". The man said, "No, revered sir, I don't understand a word of the text." "Then why are you crying?" asked Chaitanya. The devotee said: "I see Arjuna's chariot before me. I see Lord Krishna and Arjuna seated In front of it, talking. I see this and I weep." 

Chaitanya used to shed tears of joy at the very mention of Krishna’s name....Chaitanya embraced all, including the outcastes.

Chaitanya was intoxicated with the love of God. Still, before taking to monastic life, for how many days did he try to persuade his mother to give him her permission to become a monk ! He said to her: 'Mother, don't worry. I shall visit you every now and then.' 

~ Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa

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