Who is Lord Chaitanya?
| Joy Sri Krishna Chaitanya pravu Nitananda |
|| Sri Adatia gadadhar Sribasadi Gour Bhakti Brinda ||
Through the ages, many avataras – divinely inspired and in carnations of god – have appeared in the world, but none has ever distributed spiritual love as freely as the golden Avatara, Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahapravu appeared in Sri Mayapur, Nabadwip, West Bengal in 1486 A.D for 24 years Lord Chaitanya lived in Nabadwip, spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of god- “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare| Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare||- with out any distinction between caste or creed, rich or poor.
He Recognized Haridas thakura, who was born as a muslim and who chanted 300,000 holy names of the lord daily, as nama acharya, the teacher of the holy names. Although he himself was a fully renowned mystic, He thought how one can act in spiritual consciousness even within one’s home, occupation and social affairs. He taught the practical process of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra that any one can perform to directly feel the ecstasy of pure love of god. He predicted the holy names of the lord would be spread to every down and village all over the which has now come to be true. Renowned as a great scholar and saint even in his youth, Lord Chaitanya resolved to deliverd all the fallen souls of this age by becoming a citizen of the world and cutting his connection with his particular family, caste or creed. With this resolution he embraeed the position of a sannyasi at katwa, west Bengal, at the age of 24 in the year 1510A.D. Lord Chaitannya displayed his pastimes for 48 years, yet he began are evolution in spiritual consciousness that has profoundly affected the lives of millions even now. He educated the leading scholars of his day and established the super excellence of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra as the essence of all vedic teachings. He summarized his precepts in eight verses called sikshataka which were elaborated by his learned disciples, the famous six goswamis of vrindaband and their followers into several volumes.
