śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ

The Speciality of the Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Written in 1986 for the 500th anniversary of the advent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

His Divine Grace
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

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Translated from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Year 38, Issues 5–7, 1986. Printed in English for the first time in Rays of The Harmonist, Issue 23 (Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā Edition 2011).

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Digital Edition:

ePub: ISBN 978-1-63316-075-0

Kindle: ISBN 978-1-63316-074-3

Printed Edition: ISBN 978-1-935428-34-3

First printing: 2,000 copies, Gaura-pūrṇimā, 2011

Second printing: 5,000 copies, Kārtika, 2011

Painting of Gaura-nitāi © Śyāmarānī dāsī. Used with permission.

Contributors

Editing • Jaya-gopāla dāsa, Mañjarī dāsī, Vaijayantī-mālā dāsī, Vicitri dāsī, Madhu-smita dāsī • Translation • Prema dasa • Translation Check • Amala-kṛṣṇa dasa • Layout • Kṛṣṇa-kāruṇya dasa • Cover design • Kamalā-kānta dāsa • Proofreading • Giridhārī dāsa, Śānti dāsī, Sulatā dāsī • Production Assistance • Mādhava-priya dāsa, Jayadeva dāsa, Gaura-rāja dasa • Front panel photo • © Śāradā dāsī • ePub encoding Sanātana dāsa

Dedication

We humbly offer this book to our beloved gurudeva, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who would always dedicate each of his publications to his gurudeva, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, with the following words:

To My Holy Master

śrī gauḍīya-vedānta-ācārya-kesarī nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa
oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata śrī

Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja

the best amongst the tenth generation of descendants in the bhāgavata-paramparā from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the founder of the Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti and its branches throughout the world.

Contents

Dedication

Guru-paramparā Images

Preface

The Speciality of The Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Has Two Original Eternal Forms

The Unfolding of Śrī Gaurahari’s Astonishing Compassion

The Three Unique Purposes of Śrī Gaurahari’s Advent

Eight Unprecedented Distinctions of Śrī Gaurahari’s Compassion

(1) No Other Incarnation Bestowed Bhakti Upon All

(2) Śrī Gaurahari Gives Prema – Pure Love of God – Without Considering Qualification

(3) Śrī Gaurahari Surrendered to His Mercy Potency

(4) Only the Original Lord Can Exhibit All Other Forms of Godhead

(5) Śrī Gaurahari’s Compassion Unfolds Fully

(6) Śrī Gaurahari was Inconceivably Anxious to Deliver All Souls

(7) Śrī Gaurahari – He Who Relishes Rasa to the Highest Extent and Who is Supremely Merciful to All

(8) An Astonishing Speciality of Śrī Gaura-līlā

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Most Sacred Gift – Parakīya-bhāva

A Life Sketch of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Song – Yadi Gaurāṅga Nahito

About the Author

Book List

Websites

Preface

We feel most blessed to present to the community of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s devotees, as well as to all spiritually inclined people, this booklet – an English rendering of The Speciality of the Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

This treatise was originally written in Bengali, in the year 1986, for the 500th anniversary of the advent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the scheduled yet hidden incarnation for this age of Kali, as established in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literatures. It was composed by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja (Śrīla Gurudeva), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s illustrious personal associate, whose sole mission and most prominent speciality (vaiśiṣṭya) was to give clarity and emphasis to the specific, internal nature of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s all-compassionate mission in this world.

Śrīla Gurudeva exhibited many specialities in his presentation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, the philosophical line of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, which serve to direct the souls of this world to avail themselves of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s unprecedented mercy. Examples of this are his untiring glorification of the contribution of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who was the first to reveal the truth of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s inner mission; his expert and sweet presentation of the successive specialities of exalted devotees, as presented by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛtam; his enthusing the annual Vraja-maṇḍala parikramā by his extraordinary harikathā and by his deep and unflincing faith in the boon received by Śrī Nārada Muni from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, that anyone who with faith visits Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes places in Vraja, touches the dust of those places and offers praṇāma, will surely develop vraja-prema in his heart; by his singing the speciality of the sacred parakīya-bhāva of Vraja, and by his establishing the speciality of Mahāprabhu’s mood and pastimes in Navadvīpa compared to His mood and pastimes in Śrī Jagannātha Purī – to name just a few. In this way, Śrīla Gurudeva is an unfathomable ocean of transcendental specialities.

By his mercy, this sublime treasure, The Speciality of the Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, has surfaced in our churning of that ocean. This is therefore Śrīla Gurudeva’s gift, also. With utmost reverence and care, we are now presenting it to śrī gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, the most revered circle of Śrī Gaurahari’s dear devotees.

We are confident that this exposition will be treasured by them, irrespective of their affiliation. We hope that devotees find great relish in becoming absorbed in these esoteric truths, especially at the time of Śrī Navadvīpa parikramā and Śrī Gaurahari’s appearance day and, appreciating their good fortune, embrace these moods, singing the glories of Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga to their hearts’ satisfaction.

We humbly present The Gift as a gift to Śrīla Gurudeva, just as one worships the Ganges with the water of the Ganges. May Śrīla Gurudeva mercifully accept our humble offering and, being pleased with it, shower his blessings from the eternal abode so that one day, by his causeless mercy, we may become truly qualified to treasure and follow the specialities of his transcendental teachings and become his insignificant instruments in conveying those specialities to others.

Jaya Śrīla Gurudeva! Jaya Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari!
The Rays of The Harmonist team

The Speciality of The Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe nāmaḥ

I offer praṇāma unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. Having assumed the golden hue of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, He is most munificently bestowing kṛṣṇa-prema (love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa), the rarest of all gifts.[1]

Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of the king of Vraja, is the condensed essence of eternality, cognizance and bliss, and is the topmost aspect of the Supreme Absolute Truth. He is Svayam Bhagavān – that form of the Lord who has no source other than Himself – and who, from beginningless time, has appeared in unlimited forms. Among all these manifestations, His incarnations like Vāsudeva, Nārāyaṇa, Rāma and Nṛsiṁha are His expansions, or aṁśas. This is the philosophical conclusion (siddhānta) established in the Śrutis, Smṛtis and other scriptures, including the crest jewel of all Purāṇas, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Has Two Original Eternal Forms

Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the origin of all other incarnations of Godhead, has another eternal form, or svarūpa, that is not an expansion and yet is eternally manifest with the very quality of being Svayam Bhagavān. The complexion of that svarūpa is not the bluish-black (śyāma) hue of Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa; rather, it is the colour of gold.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Karabhājana Ṛṣi speaks of the worshipful form of Bhagavān in Kali-yuga and the process of worshipping Him:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32)

O King, He who perpetually performs kīrtana of the two syllables kṛṣ and ṇa; whose complexion is a-kṛṣṇa (the opposite of deep bluish-black), or gaura (golden); who is surrounded by His own expansions (aṅgas) such as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu; His upaṅgas such as Śrī Advaita Ācārya; His powerful weapons (astra) in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy names; and His dear companions (pārṣadas) such as Śrī Gadādhara, Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, and Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and other pure devotees, is worshipped by those with deep intelligence through the saṅkīrtana-yajña, the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, by which they make their lives successful.

The prominent commentators on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, such as Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, expound the meaning of this verse on the unshakeable foundation of scriptural evidence and irrefutable logic. They explain that kṛṣṇa-varṇam means the two syllables kṛṣ and ṇa, or ‘He who performs the kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities, pastimes and associates’. And they define tviṣākṛṣṇam as gaura, or ‘adorned with a golden complexion’.

Furthermore, it is stated in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad:

yadā paśyāḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ
kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim
tadā vidvān puṇya-pāpe vidhūya
nirañjanaḥ paramaṁ sāmyam upaiti

Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.3)

When the living being sees that the entire universe has been manifested by the Supreme Personality of Godhead – He whose complexion is beautiful like brilliant gold (rukma-varṇa), who is the Supersoul of all and who is the Supreme Doer – and when he understands that this same Supreme Personality is the basis of the impersonal brahma, then that wise living being attains transcendental knowledge and becomes free from both pious and sinful karmic reactions. Thus freed from his connection with the material energy and from the body comprised of that energy, he attains supreme, qualitative non-difference from the Lord, along with a spiritual form akin to His.

This evidence clearly proves that this golden-complexioned personality is also Svayam Bhagavān Himself. The complexion of Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deep bluish-black, and the complexion of Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Gaurasundara is golden. At this point the following doubt may arise: is Svayam Bhagavān – that is, the original, Supreme Personality of Godhead – actually two separate personalities?

The answer is no; this is not possible. Svayam Bhagavān is “ekam eva dvitīyam – one without a second” (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1). This is the sole conclusion of the Śrutis. Parabrahma Svayam Bhagavān is the non-dual Absolute Truth (advaya-jñāna-para-tattva), and therefore, Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Gaurasundara can never be two different persons.

In the above verse, the word sāmyam means ‘possessing qualities or ingenuity like His’. In other words, upon receiving darśana (audience) of Śrī Gaurasundara, the residents of this world become full of prema, pure love for God, just as He is. Furthermore, the potency to bestow that prema upon others is transmitted to them. It is stated:

yāre dekhe, tāre kahe,—kaha kṛṣṇa-nāma
ei-mata ‘vaiṣṇava’ kaila saba nija-grāma

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 7.101)

As empowered representatives of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they would ask whomever they met to chant the names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In this way they transformed all of their fellow villagers into Vaiṣṇavas.

Therefore, it is the absolute conclusion of the Śrutis, Smṛtis, the fifth Veda – Mahābhārata – and the crest jewel of all scriptural evidence, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that Śrīman Mahāprabhu is in fact Svayam Bhagavān, the original, Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

The Unfolding of Śrī Gaurahari’s Astonishing Compassion

Svayam Bhagavān’s compassion (karuṇā) when He appears as golden-complexioned Śrī Śacīnandana[2] is more extraordinary than His compassion when He appears as the śyāma-coloured son of Śrī Nanda Mahārāja.

Śrī Bhagavān is the ocean of compassion and He is condensed joy personified. His compassion is present within every pastime He performs. In fact, each of His forms – His every incarnation – is overflowing with compassion, for this quality is the inherent quality of Bhagavān’s nature.

The essence of Godhood (bhagavattā) is certainly His mādhurya, or sweetness, and it is in His compassion alone that this mādhurya manifests. Without the blossoming of His compassion, it would be rare, nay impossible, for one’s mind and intelligence to conceive of, remember, or have realization of the Lord’s opulence and sweetness or His transcendental qualities and pastimes, which attract the hearts of all the living entities in the world, what to speak of actually being able to behold them directly.

The multitude of jīvas (living entities) is the prominent object of Śrī Bhagavān’s karuṇā, or tender compassion. To immerse those living entities who are favourably disposed toward Him in His pastimes, which are the ocean of rasa[3] and full of opulence and sweetness, verily constitutes the unprecedented unfolding, or revelation, of His merciful compassion.

To make the living entities who are averse to Him favourably inclined through any means possible is also the unfolding of His compassion. And to annihilate the wicked demons, who are opposed to Him and His devotees, and then grant them liberation is even further evidence of the variegated nature of the unfolding of His tender compassion.

The root cause of the advent of all of the Lord’s incarnations (avatāras) in this material world is stated in the following verses of Śrī Bhagavad-gītā (4.7–8):

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

O descendant of Bharata, whenever there is a decline of religion and an increase of irreligion, at that time I manifest My eternally perfect form in this mundane world. To protect My unalloyed devotees, annihilate the wicked, and firmly establish religion, I appear in every Age.

In this way, if we reflect upon the root cause of the advent of all incarnations of Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can conclude that it is to protect the saintly persons, annihilate the demons and establish proper religious conduct by destroying irreligion. However Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s advent has three special root causes apart from those mentioned in the above verses. Not even one of these three special causes is seen in relation to any other incarnation.

The Three Unique Purposes of Śrī Gaurahari’s Advent

First, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu incarnated as a result of becoming subservient to His own tender compassion (karuṇā). Second, He descended to bestow the wealth of His own supremely radiant devotion (sva-bhakti), which is full of rasa. Third, He appeared with a greed to taste His [His Kṛṣṇa svarūpa’s] unparalleled variegated sweetness, as relished by Śrīmatī Rādhikā. He did this by accepting Her mood and complexion. In the following verse, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, providing the backdrop of Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari’s appearance, mentions the first two reasons:

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba sandīpitaḥ
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ

Śrī Vidagdha-mādhava (1.2)

May the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī, Śrī Gaurahari, forever manifest spontaneously within the innermost core of your heart. Adorned with the radiant splendour of molten gold, He has descended in the Age of Kali[4] out of His causeless compassion (karuṇā) to bestow upon the world that which has not been given for an unimaginably long time – the beauty of His own brilliantly radiant ujjvala-prema-rasa bhakti – service in the highest mellow of amorous love.

Regarding the third reason, Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has said:

śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 1.6)

“How great is the glory of the deeply intense love (praṇaya) of Śrī Rādhā? What is the nature of My astonishing sweetness, which She alone relishes? And what special kind of happiness does She experience upon tasting My sweetness?” Intense greed to taste these three things arose within the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and to fulfil that intense desire, He took birth from the womb of Mother Śrī Śacī, like the full moon rising from the ocean.

Although the fundamental reasons behind all the incarnations – protecting the devotees, annihilating the demons and establishing true religion – exhibit Bhagavān’s compassion for all living beings, the word karuṇā (tender compassion) is not clearly stated as being the reason for the appearance of any incarnation other than Śrī Gaurahari. Therefore, the compassion that Bhagavān exhibits as Śrī Gaura is so much greater than that exhibited by any other incarnation. Indeed, such a vast distinction has never before been manifested. In this regard, we present the following considerations:

Eight Unprecedented Distinctions of Śrī Gaurahari’s Compassion

(1) No Other Incarnation Bestowed Bhakti Upon All

As previously stated, the reason Śrī Bhagavān accepts unlimited incarnations is to protect devotees, annihilate demons and establish true religion. According to scriptures such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, even the unfathomably deep and shoreless oceans are unable to properly bathe even one bodily hair of any of those influential incarnations, like Matsya, Kūrma and Varāha, yet there is no possibility of these incarnations bestowing bhakti. And avatāras such as Śrī Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana and Paraśurāma remain exclusively confined to the specific purposes of Their respective advents. Avatāras such as Kapila and Dattātreya only instructed sāṅkhya-yoga, the yoga of analytical study of material elements. And a description of bestowing bhakti is not to be found in avatāras like Buddha. Of all the avatāras, only Śrī Rāmacandra and Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra attracted all living entities. Still, in regard to bestowing bhakti [rāga-bhakti], They did not exhibit particular magnanimity, even to Their own close associates.

Śrī Rāmacandra proposed the benedictions of sense enjoyment (bhoga) and liberation (mokṣa) to associates such as Lomaśa Ṛṣi, Śarabhaṅga, Sutīkṣṇa, the ṛṣis of Daṇḍakāraṇya and even Kākabhuṣaṇḍi.[5] In this way, He kept bhakti (rāga-bhakti) concealed.[6] Śrī Rāmacandra is maryādā-puruṣottama, the incarnation of the Lord who establishes the rules of proper religious etiquette and conduct.

It can therefore be understood that for Him to conceal bhakti [rāga-bhakti], is actually appropriate, for by His withholding the bestowal of that bhakti, the etiquette of religious principles (maryādā), was not transgressed. Yet, for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is līlā-puruṣottama (that incarnation of the Lord who relishes superlative, ever-fresh pastimes) and who apparently transgressed maryādā to some extent, it was certainly appropriate to be magnanimous by granting that same bhakti. But He, also, to a large degree, concealed such sva-bhakti to Him.

rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnāṁ
daivaṁ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ
astv evam aṅga bhagavān bhajatāṁ mukundo
muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.6.18)

O King, it is true that Bhagavān Mukunda has become the maintainer, guru, worshipful deity, beloved, master and sometimes even the servant of you and the Yādavas. Still, although that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa easily grants liberation to those who worship Him, He does not easily give them bhakti to Himself.

kṛṣṇa yadi chuṭe bhakte bhukti mukti diyā
kabhu prema-bhakti nā dena rākhena lukāiyā

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 8.18)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa immediately delivers liberation (mukti) or worldly sense pleasure (bhukti), according to the devotee’s desires, but He does not easily give pure, unalloyed loving devotion (prema-bhakti). Indeed, that, He keeps hidden.

(2) Śrī Gaurahari Gives Prema – Pure Love of God – Without Considering Qualification

In this way, in all His forms, the Lord who can make the impossible possible keeps His bhakti hidden, even from those who worship Him.

However, in His form of Śrī Gaurāṅga, in order to inundate all jīvas with bhakti-rasa via His instructions, touch, glance and inspiration, He accepted sannyāsa, the renounced order, and travelled broadly, and He sent His associates throughout the land as His emissaries, manifesting deities and devotional scriptures through them. Thus He freely and generously, with both hands, distributed pure love for His holy name. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states:

santv avatārā bahavaḥ paṅkaja-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ
kṛṣṇād anyaḥ ko vā latāsv api premado bhavati

Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva-khaṇḍa, 303)

Let that form of Bhagavān who has a lotus stemming from His navel expand unlimited incarnations, replete with all auspiciousness. But apart from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who else can bestow prema upon surrendered souls?

This is indeed true, but according to the Gītā verse “ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (4.11) – in whichever way a person surrenders to Me, I reciprocate with him accordingly,” Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestows bhakti in proportion to one’s faith and qualification, neither less nor more, but the exact proportion only.

It is a fact that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s name is supremely magnanimous and merciful. In the past, present and future – when chanted to indicate something else (saṅketa), jokingly (parihāsa), antagonistically (stobha), or even disrespectfully (helā) – His name has delivered, is delivering and will continue to deliver even those who chant a semblance of the name (nāmābhāsa). Nevertheless,

‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’ kare aparādhera vicāra
kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 8.24)

In the chanting of kṛṣṇa-nāma (the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra), offences are seriously considered. For this reason only, an offender does not experience any spiritual transformation while chanting.

But in contrast we find this verse in relation to the sacred name of Gaura:

caitanya-nityānande nāhi esaba vicāra
nāma laite prema dena, bahe aśrudhāra

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 8.31)

In regard to chanting the names of Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu, such considerations do not exist. Rather, these names bestow prema upon the chanter and tears of pure love cascade from his eyes.

Not only this,

ei mana dayālu prabhu nāhi tribhuvane
kṛṣṇa-prema janmāya yara dura darśane

In the three worlds, there is no master as merciful as He by whose mere audience kṛṣṇa-prema awakens.

(3) Śrī Gaurahari Surrendered to His Mercy Potency

In this way, in the matter of bestowing prema, Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s karuṇā, His compassionate mercy, did not consider who was deserving and who was not. Considering all to be deserving, she immediately granted prema to whomever she came across. She personally made those who were undeserving eligible, and filled them with the nectar of prema.

Unnata-ujjvala sva-bhakti – the Lord’s own brilliantly radiant service mood in the highest mellow of amorous love – is extremely difficult to obtain even for the Lord’s dear-most associates like Śrī Nārada, so what to speak of sādhaka-bhaktas. However, when Śrī Gaura’s karuṇā extended herself without any obstruction, fully retaining her independence, that supremely rare nectar of unnata-ujjvala prema inundated the whole world like a powerful flood. Śrīman Mahāprabhu gave full freedom to His unprecedented mercy (karuṇā) potency, telling her, “Karuṇā, I surrender unto you. In whichever direction you choose, however far you want to go, and to whatever place you want to travel, drown everyone – the offenders, the antagonists, the neutral, the faithful, the faithless, the ordinary devotees and the special devotees – in the flood of prema.”

In this flood of prema, first the hills of Kuliyā (the blasphemous students of Navadvīpa), then the valley of Nilācala (advaitvādīs such as Saravabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya) and last the highest peaks of the mountains of Kāśī (the offender advaitvādī Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and his sixty thousand disciples) were drowned beneath the bottom of abyss (Atala). Śrī Gaura’s tender compassion has such unparalleled sweetness, such astonishing gaiety, such incomparable magnanimity and such unprecedented distinction that it is not seen even in līlā-puruṣottama Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who can also bestow prema.

(4) Only the Original Lord Can Exhibit All Other Forms of Godhead

Each of Bhagavān’s other incarnations that He exhibits in this world maintains the same particular form from the beginning of that incarnation’s advent until the end. Only when He appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa did He reveal other forms. He showed His four-armed form to Devakī and Vasudeva and also to the gopīs, His universal form to Arjuna, and His form of Śrī Rāma to Hanumān in Dvārakā. This is possible for Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is Svayam Bhagavān, that form of the Supreme Lord who has no source other than Himself. But other avatāras, such as Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha and Śrī Rāma, did not at any point manifest a form other than Their own.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, showed devotees the particular form of Bhagavān that they cherished, and He did this before everyone present. He showed His Nṛsiṁha form to Śrīvāsa and to Nṛsiṁhānanda, and His Śrī Rāma form, along with Śrī Rāma’s associates, to Murārī Gupta. He manifested His yajña-varāha form (Lord Boar, the form of sacrifice), His His four-armed form, His six-armed form or His eight-armed form to some, and His form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa holding a flute to others. And He manifested His form as rasarāja-mahābhāva[7] to Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda. Along with the fact that He is directly Svayam Bhagavān, this attribute establishes His prominence among all of His other incarnations.

(5) Śrī Gaurahari’s Compassion Unfolds Fully

In all of Bhagavān’s other incarnations, He protected the saintly persons, who thus directly experienced His tender compassion. And by establishing true religion, the Lord benefited the sincere devotees of the Absolute Truth. Thus they, too, experienced His mercy.

In those incarnations, Bhagavān annihilated the demons and granted them a spiritual destination (gati). Thus, He is known as hatāri-gati-dāyaka, He who bestows a spiritual destination upon those demoniac persons He kills. Śrī Kṛṣṇa not only gave liberation (mukti) to the demons He slayed, but He even granted liberation to those who were killed by His associates such as Arjuna and Bhīma. The Lord’s compassion for the demons is a cause of wonder; He even gave the demoness Pūtanā the status of His own nurse.

But at what moment did the demons have any realization of the compassion Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestowed upon them? It was only after their death, upon attaining a place at His lotus feet, that they realized it. As long as they were alive they had no experience of it at all. Nor could any of their relatives, such as their sons or wives, realize that compassion, or karuṇā, save Kāliya and his wives. Up until their very last breath, these demons and their families were convinced that Kṛṣṇa had treated them only with cruelty. For these reasons, in all of Bhagavān’s other incarnations, the unfolding of the sweetness of His karuṇā was incomplete.

On the other hand, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never carried any type of weapon, nor did He ever take anyone’s life. Rather, He purified the consciousness of all beings by giving them the holy name of the Lord. Śrī Gaura did not annihilate the demons themselves, rather he destroyed their demoniac disposition. This unique speciality is seen exclusively in this avatāra.

For example, Jagāi and Mādhāi, Cāndakāzī, the blasphemous students in Navadvīpa, and the impersonalist Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī of Kāśī and his disciples were all inimical to Śrī Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas and thus were severe offenders. Yet by the tender compassion of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, they all became mahā-bhāgavatas. Along with their respective wives, sons and disciples, in their very lifetime, they realized and relished the sweetness of His unprecedented compassion. Thus they were blessed and their lives became successful.

(6) Śrī Gaurahari was Inconceivably Anxious to Deliver All Souls

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to meet with His associates, He would inquire from them how all the jīvas could be delivered. This included all the animals, birds, grass, creepers, shrubs and all other moving and non-moving living beings. Associates such as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Prabhu and Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura would reply, “Through Your resounding harināma-saṅkīrtana (congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord) all moving and non-moving living beings will certainly be delivered.”

Simply by being touched by air that has mingled with the sound of pure nāma, a person is certain to be delivered. It is a fact that the unprecedented manner in which the Lord’s karuṇā unfolds – through the propagation of loud śrī nāma-saṅkīrtana – as witnessed in the avatāra of Śrī Gaura, is not seen in any other incarnation. Nor do we see that any other incarnation possesses such an intense mood of eagerness to deliver the living entities as does Śrī Gaura. Besides Śrī Gaurahari, no other form of Bhagavān personally taught the living entities of this world how to propagate and practise the precepts and conduct of bhakti.

(7) Śrī Gaurahari – He Who Relishes Rasa to the Highest Extent and Who is Supremely Merciful to All

It is stated in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.16), “rasika-śekhara kṛṣṇa parama-karuṇa – Kṛṣṇa is rasika-śekhara, He who relishes rasa to the highest extent, and parama-karuṇa, He who is supremely merciful to all.” When we reflect upon this, we can see that it is indeed true that Kṛṣṇa is rasika (an enjoyer of rasa) and karuṇa (compassionate). Nevertheless, as long as He has not accepted the mood (bhāva) and complexion (kānti) of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and appeared as Śrīman Mahāprabhu, He can neither relish rasa to the highest extent nor be supremely merciful to all. This is because in His pastimes as Kṛṣṇa, His three desires remained unfulfilled. It was only in His pastimes as Śrī Gaura that He fulfilled and relished them and truly became rasika-śekhara, the crest jewel of those who relish transcendental mellows.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa stole butter and He also stole the hearts of the gopīs, but He could not steal Śrī Rādhā’s complexion or Her moods of mādana, modana and mohana[8], which are Her very own nature. For this reason, Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda says, “rādhā-bhāva dyuti suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa svarūpam – I offer my obeisances again and again to that Kṛṣṇa who is resplendent with the lustre and intrinsic mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.”

By granting liberation to the demons, Kṛṣṇa relieved the burden of the earth, and thus He is karuṇa, or merciful. Śrīman Mahāprabhu, however, without the slightest hesitation, distributed prema, which is difficult for Brahmā himself to attain, even to offenders. For this reason, the superlative adjective is used and He is known as parama-karuṇa, supremely merciful and compassionate.

(8) An Astonishing Speciality of Śrī Gaura-līlā

There is yet another exceptional speciality of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s karuṇā: kṛṣṇa-prema will awaken in the heart of whoever utters the name of Gaurāṅga. He who accepts the shelter of Gaurāṅga will attain Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His associates. One who takes shelter of the land of Gauḍa-maṇḍala will attain eternal residence in Vraja. Aho! Those who drown in the ocean of the transcendental moods of Śrī Gaura’s love will float in the waves of prema for Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, as stated by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura:

je gaurāṅgera nāma loya, tā’ra hoya premodoya,
tāre mui jāi bolihārī

Prema will awaken in that person who utters Gaurāṅga’s holy names. I give my heart and soul to him and exclaim, “Excellent! Bravo!”

gaurāṅgera saṅgī gaṇe, nitya-siddha kari mane
se jāya vrajendra-suta-pāśa
śrī gauḍa-maṇḍala bhūmi, jebā jāne cintāmaṇi,
tā’ra hoya vraja-bhūme vāsa

That person who accepts that Gaurāṅga’s personal associates are eternally perfected souls (nitya-siddha) is promoted to the transcendental abode of Vrajendra-suta, the son of the king of Vraja. One who knows the divine land of Śrī Gauḍa-maṇḍala to be transcendental touchstone (cintāmaṇi) is in truth a resident of the land of Vraja.

gaura prema rasārṇave, se taraṅge jebā ḍūbe,
se rādhā-mādhava-antaraṅga

Gaura-prema is an ocean of rasa. One who dives deep within the waves of that ocean becomes a confidential associate of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava.

How astonishing! One drowns in the Indian Ocean and arises in the Pacific Ocean. One drowns in the ocean of gaura-prema and surfaces in the ocean of rādhā-kṛṣṇa-prema. One accepts the shelter of the associates of Gaura and becomes the maidservant (dāsī) of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. This is an astonishing speciality of gaura-līlā.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Most Sacred Gift – Parakīya-bhāva

Also, in the realm of sādhya (the goal), sādhana (the spiritual practice to attain it) and upāsanā (the process of worship), the significance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s gift stands as even more radiant and incomparable.

Lucid insight into the subject of parakīya-bhāva (transcendental paramour love) is found in Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s rāsa-pañcādhyāya (the five chapters describing Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā) and in the songs of Śrī Caṇḍīdāsa and Vidyāpati. However, prior to the advent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, no other Vaiṣṇava ācārya had imparted such explicit teachings on parakīya-bhāva in regard to sādhya and sādhana.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s one-pointed followers, who fulfil His heart’s inner desire (mano’bhīṣṭa), such as Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, have established in their authoritative books like Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrī Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, respectively, that parakīya-bhāva is the only and ultimate conclusive truth (siddhānta) in the matter of the transcendental goal and the means to attain it.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.47–49) states,

parakīyā-bhāve ati rasera ullāsa
vraja vinā ihāra anyatra nāhi vāsa

In parakīya-bhāva (the mood of transcendental paramour love), there is extreme jubilation in rasa. This mood does not reside anywhere other than in Vraja.

vraja-vadhū-gaṇera ei bhāva niravadhi
tāra madhye śrī-rādhāya bhāvera avadhi

This mood is without limit in the young brides of Vraja. Among them, it culminates in Śrī Rādhā.

prauḍha nirmala-bhāva prema sarvottama
kṛṣṇera mādhurya-rasa-āsvāda-kāraṇa

Her mature, immaculate love surpasses that of all others and is the sole cause of Her relishing the nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental sweetness.

Śrīla Premānanda dāsa Ṭhākura has also sung with great joy:

emana śacīra nandana vine
‘prema’ bali’ nāma, ati-adbhuta,
śruta haita kā’ra kāne? (1)

Aho! Without the mercy of Śrī Gaurasundara, the son of Śacī, who could have ever heard that extremely wonderful word, ‘prema’?

śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmera, sva-guṇa mahimā,
kevā jānāita āra?
vṛndā-vipinera, mahā madhurimā,
praveśa haita kā’ra? (2)

Who else would have told us the unlimited glories and transcendental qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy name? If Śrī Gaurahari had not appeared and described the unfathomable sweetness of Vṛndāvana, who could have become immersed in the sweetness of that Vṛndāvana?

kevā jānāita, rādhāra mādhurya,
rasa-yaśa camatkāra?
tā’ra anubhāva, sāttvika vikāra,
gocara chila vā kā’ra? (3)

Without rasika-śekhara Śrī Gaurahari, who else could have informed us of the sweetness relished by Śrī Rādhā and of the astonishing glories of Her madhura-rasa (amorous love) [which embodies the highest stages of mahābhāva – modana, mādana and various other ecstasies]? Before Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari revealed Her anubhāvas[9] and divine sāttvika[10] transformations, who was able to comprehend this subject?

vraje je vilāsa, rāsa mahā-rāsa,
prema parakīya tattva
gopīra mahimā, vyabhicārī sīmā,
kā’ra avagati chila eta? (4)

Without Him, who could have understood the transcendental pastimes of Vraja, such as rāsa-līlā and mahā-rāsa, the loving affairs in the reality (tattva) of parakīya-rasa? Who made it possible to know the glories of the gopīs and the limits of their transcendental transitory emotions (vyabhicārī-bhāvas)?

dhanya kali dhanya, nitāi-caitanya,
parama karuṇā kari’
vidhi-agocara, je prema-vikāra,
prakāśe jagata-bhari’ (5)

O Age of Kali, you are most blessed and glorious, for within you, Śrī Gaurahari and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu have appeared on this earth out of Their supreme compassion. They filled the world with the revelation of such superlative transformations of prema, which were incomprehensible even to Śrī Brahmā.

uttama adhama, kichu nā bāchila,
yāciyā dileka kola
kahe premānande, emana gaurāṅge,
antare dhariyā dola (6)

Without discriminating between who is elevated and who is fallen, They embraced everyone and granted this prema. Śrī Premānanda says, “O brothers, wander in this world, keeping that Śrī Gaurāṅga locked in the core of your heart.”

The joyfulness and saturation of extreme sweetness that exists in the speciality of Śrī Gaura’s karuṇā as she blossoms and reveals herself is wholly indescribable and incomparable. This absolute sweetness is seen in Śrī Gaura’s manifesting His very own nature (svarūpa); in His purifying of degraded persons; in His bestowing sva-bhakti-śrīyam (the beauty of His own loving devotion); in His delivering the jīvas of the future; in His illuminating the highest limits of the very constitutional nature of the living beings, or in other words, in His revealing the utmost limit of their kṛṣṇa-prema; in His distributing nāma-prema (the holy name uttered in pure love of God); and above all, in His relishing the incomparable loveliness of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

The sweetness of the revelation of Śrī Gaura’s divine compassion is not witnessed in any other Age, nor manifest in any other form of Bhagavān. Therefore, Śrīla Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī has said, “O saintly persons (sādhus), my sincere request is that you place everything else at a distance and develop deep, single-pointed attachment to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya-candra.

1 This verse gives the very essence of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s name, form, qualities and pastimes: His name – Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya; His form – golden complexioned (gaura-tvise); His quality – most munificient (mahāvadanya); and His pastime – bestowing kṛṣṇa-prema.

2 Within this article, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also referred by His other names – Śacīnandana (the son of Mother Śacī), or as Gaurahari, Gaurāṅga, Gaura and Gaurasundara.

3 Relishable transcendental mellow, perceivable only by one in the spiritually perfected state.

4 The fourth and most degraded age in the cycle of four ages that lasts 432, 000 years.

5 These exalted associates of Lord Rāma were not interested in personal enjoyment, and therefore, they did not actually accept bhoga or mokṣa from Him. Śrī Bhagavān reveals the exalted disposition of His pure devotees through such pastimes.

6 C.f. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādī-līlā 8.18) as quoted in the section Eight Unprecedented Distinctions of Śrī Gaurahari’s Compassion – (1) No Other Incarnation Bestowed Bhakti Upon All.

7 Rasarāja – He who is king in relishing all transcendental mellows, that is, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Mahābhāva – She who is the quintessence of all loving emotions for Kṛṣṇa, that is Śrīmatī Rādhikā. The term rasarāja-mahābhāva therefore refers to the combined form of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

8 The higher stages of mahābhāva, which is the very essence of Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure-giving potency.

9 Deep transcendental emotions that are realized through outward expressions of the body and by which the inner moods in the heart are realized, such as dancing, singing, rolling on the ground and so forth.

10 The word sattva refers to the heart that is directly stimulated by transcendental sentiments. The bhāvas, or emotions, that arise from this sattva are called sāttvika-bhāvas. Bodily transformations such as becoming stunned, perspiration and horripilation are thus called sāttvika-bhāvas.

A Life Sketch of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in this world as Śrī Gaurahari (Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu) in 1486 A.D., in the sacred land of Śrī Māyāpura, Navadvīpa, in Bengal, India. At the time of His appearance, there was a lunar eclipse, and in accordance with the traditional observance of an eclipse, thousands of the devout residents of Navadvīpa stood in the purifying waters of the sacred Ganges, reverentially chanting the holy names of God.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, intrigued and charmed by the purity of the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, His internal potency and counterpart, had adopted Her inner mood and complexion and had come to this world as Śrī Gaurahari to experience what She feels, to relish the sweetness, glory and happiness of Her love.

Furthermore, He had come with a mission to bestow upon the fallen souls of Kali-yuga (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy) the transcendental moods of loving devotional service of the residents of Śrī Vṛndāvana (Vraja), the topmost eternal realm in the spiritual sky. All the inhabitants of that abode serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa in a mood of joyous spontaneous devotion, unaware of His Godhood and totally devoid of reverence and fear.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu particularly came to give the highest love of that abode, the pure love of the gopīs (the milkmaids of Vraja) for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. More specifically, His gift was the love of those gopī maidservants who are exclusively devoted to the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dear-most beloved. Although this love is the most elevated of all types of transcendental love, His merciful compassion is such that He came to give it indiscriminately, to both the degraded and the exalted, regardless of caste or creed. In this way, He is strikingly unique among all incarnations of Godhead.

In His childhood, the identity of Śrī Gaurāṅga remained hidden as He relished loving and playful pastimes with His parents, friends, relatives and other residents of Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma. He married twice, first to Śrī Lakṣmī-priya devī, the transcendental goddess of fortune. When she departed to the eternal abode, He married Śrī Viṣṇu-priya devī, the embodiment of bhakti herself, upon His mother’s request.

When His father, Śrī Jagannātha Miśra, departed from this world, Śrī Gaurahari went to Gayā to perform his father’s sacred rites. It was there that He met Śrī Īśvara Purī and, to teach the souls of this world the necessity of accepting a bona fide spiritual master, He took initiation from him. Having received the holy name from His guru, He returned to Navadvīpa, heralding the beginning of a new era. He chanted the Supreme Lord’s (His own) transcendental names, thus relishing divine ecstasy, and He also inspired others to chant the same.

At the age of twenty-four, He took to the renounced order (sannyāsa), leaving His homeland of Navadvīpa for Śrī Jagannātha Purī. Soon after, He travelled for six years throughout South India and also Vṛndāvana, immersing all He met in the bliss of chanting the holy name and in pure love of God (kṛṣṇa-prema). Upon His return to Purī, His internal absorption intensified to indescribable limits as He relished the moods of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the company of His eternal loving companions and also distributed the highest love of God to all. He remained there for the next eighteen years until He enacted His divine disappearance from this world by entering the deity of Toṭā-Gopīnātha (Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself).

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teachings, which unequivocally define the pinnacle of unalloyed devotion, are being disseminated in this world to this day. They are imparted by His bona fide followers coming in His spiritual lineage. In present times, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja is among the foremost of those followers.

Yadi Gaurāṅga Nahito

by Śrī Narahari Sarkāra Ṭhākura

(yadi) gaurāṅga nahito, tabe ki hoito
kemone dharito de
rādhāra mahimā, prema-rasa-sīmā
jagate jānāto ke? (1)

If Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu had not appeared, what would have become of us? How would we have sustained our life in this body? Who would ever have informed this world of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s glories – the last limit of the mellows of Her prema?

madhura vṛndā, vipina-mādhurī
praveśa cāturī sāra
baraja-yuvatī, bhāvera bhakati
śakati hoito kā’ra? (2)

If Śrī Gaurāṅga had not come, who could have bestowed the essence of the art of entering the sweetness of the Vṛndāvana forest, which is pervaded with madhura-rasa [Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s amorous pastimes]? Without His grace who would have had the power to perform bhakti in the wake of the transcendental moods (bhāvas) of the damsels of Vraja?

gāo punaḥ punaḥ, gaurāṅgera guṇa
sarala hoiyā mana
e bhava-sāgare, emona doyāla
nā dekhi ye eka-jana (3)

With a simple heart, sing over and over again of Śrī Gaurāṅga’s glorious qualities. Such a compassionate personality as He is not seen anywhere in the entire ocean of material existence.

gaurāṅga boliyā, nā genu galiyā
kemone dhorinu de
narahari-hiyā, pāṣāna diyā
kemone gaḍiyāche (4)

Even though I utter the name ‘Gaurāṅga’ [as well as His transcendental qualities and pastimes], my heart has not melted. How do I continue to survive in this body? How is it that the heart of Narahari is composed solely of stone?

About Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

On the sacred and auspicious day of Maunī Amāvasyā, 1921, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja took his divine birth in a devout Vaiṣṇava family in Tivārīpura, in the state of Bihar, India.

In February, 1946, he met his gurudeva, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and his life of complete and exemplary dedication to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, or the path of kṛṣṇa-bhakti in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, began to manifest.

He accompanied his gurudeva on his extensive preaching tours throughout India, actively assisting him in propagating the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the eternal benefit of the living entities in this world. This included regularly hosting the thousands of pilgrims attending the yearly circumambulation of Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma, the appearance place of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma, the appearance place of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

His gurudeva had instructed him to translate the writings of prominent Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas into Hindi, a task he assiduously assumed throughout his entire life and which resulted in the publication of nearly fifty Hindi sacred texts. Later, most of these invaluable masterpieces were translated into English and other major languages of the world.

For many years, he traveled throughout India to spread the message of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, and it was for this end, also, that in 1996, he journeyed abroad. During the next fourteen years, he circled the globe more than thirty times. Whether he was in India or abroad, his preaching always bore the distinctive characteristic of boldly unmasking any misconception obscuring the specific purposes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s advent, in strict adherence to the desire of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and in perfect congruence with the conceptions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s foremost follower. Thus, in present times, in upholding the glorious tenets of the Gauḍīya sampradāya, he performed the function of a true ācārya.

At the age of ninety years, on December 29, 2010, he concluded his pastimes in this world at Cakratīrtha, in Śrī Jagannātha Purī-dhāma. The following day, in Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma, Śrī Gaurasundara’s fully empowered emissary, the very embodiment of His unique compassion, was given samādhi. He will never cease to reside in his divine instructions and in the hearts of those who are devoted to him.

English titles published by
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

Arcana-dīpikā • Beyond Nīrvāṇa • Bhagavad-gītā • Bhajana-rahasya • Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindu-bindu • Bhakti-rasāyana • Bhakti-tattva-viveka • Brahma-saṁhitā • Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (Vol. 2.1)• Butter Thief • Caitanya Mahāprabhu – The Original Form of Godhead • Camatkāra-candrikā – A Moonbeam of Complete Astonishment • Controlled by Love • Dāmodara-līlā-mādhurī • Dāmodarāṣṭakam • Discerning the True Sentiments of the Soul • Distinctive Contribution of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī • Essence of All Advice • Essence of Bhagavad-gītā • Eternal Function of the Soul • Fearless Prince • Five Essential Essays • Gauḍīya Gītī-Guccha • Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism versus Sahajiyāism • Gaura-vāṇī Pracāriṇe • Gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu • Gīta-govinda • Going Beyond Vaikuṇṭha • Gopī-gīta • Guru-devatātmā • Happiness in a Fool’s Paradise • Harināma Mahā-mantra • Harmony • Hidden Path of Devotion • Impressions of Bhakti • Jaiva-dharma • Journey of the Soul • Letters From America • Maharṣi Durvāsā and Śrī Durvāsā-āśrama • Manaḥ-śikṣa • My Śikṣā-guru and Priya-bandhu • Navadvīpa-dhāma Māhātmya • Navadvīpa-dhāma Parikramā • Nectar of Govinda-līlā • Origin of Ratha-yātrā • Our Eternal Nature • Our Gurus: One in Siddhanta, One at Heart • Pinnacle of Devotion • Prabandhāvalī • Prema-sampuṭa • Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā • Rāga-vartma-candrikā • Rāya Rāmānanda Saṁvāda • Saṅkalpa-kalpadrumaḥ • Secrets of the Undiscovered Self • Secret Truths of the Bhāgavatam • Shower of Love • Śikṣāṣṭaka • Śiva-tattva • Ślokāmṛtam • Ślokāmṛtam-bindu • Soul of Book Distribution • Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī – His Life and Teachings • Their Lasting Relation • To Be Controlled by Love • True Conception of Guru-tattva • Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi-kiraṇa • Upadeśāmṛta • Utkalikā-vallarī • Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta-mālā • Veṇu-gīta • Śrī Vraja-maṇḍala Parikramā • Walking with a Saint (2007, 2008, 2009) • Way of Love • Rays of the Harmonist (periodical)

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