Chaitanya's Life And Teachings Part 1

Chaitanya's Life And Teachings.

by Krishna das Kaviraja.

THE AUTHOR AND HIS BOOK

Krishna-das Kaviraj, the author of the _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_, was born in the Vaidya caste, at Jhamatpur, a village of the Katwa sub-division of the Burdwan district in Bengal, (1496 A.D.) Having lost his parents in early life, he was brought up by his late father's sister. He read Persian at the village school, and then began to study Sanskrit in order to qualify himself for practising Hindu medicine, the profession of his caste. Every part of his great poem bears evidence to his profound mastery of Sanskrit literature, particularly of the _Bhagabat Puran_. The young orphan, while still unmarried, was converted to Vaishnavism by Nityananda, and begged his way on foot to Brindaban, where he spent the remainder of his long life in religious study, meditation and worship. He was initiated as a Vaishnav monk by Raghunath-das, who along with Swarup Damodar had been body-servants to Chaitanya during that saint's stay at Jagannath. From his _guru_, Krishna-das learned the particulars of Chaitanya's life and teaching which he has embodied in the present biography.

His first efforts at authorship were in Sanskrit and dealt with the mysteries of _bhakti_ and the service of Krishna. The great work of his life was the composition of his old age, and was undertaken at the request of the faithful. Every evening the Bengali Vaishnavs of Brindaban used to gather together and hear the acts of their Master read out from his poetical biography, the _Chaitanya Bhagbat_ composed by Brindaban-das. But this book dealt with the saint's last years in too meagre and concise a fashion to satisfy the curiosity of his followers.

They, therefore, led by Haridas Pandit, the chief servitor of the Govindaji temple, pressed Krishna-das to write a new and fuller life of the Master. The poet was old and infirm, but he regarded the request as a solemn charge which he was not free to decline. That very evening he prayed to the image of Madanmohan, and the G.o.d's approbation was shown by a sign,--a garland of flowers slipping down from his neck at the end of the prayer! On the bank of the Radha-kunda tank, the aged Krishna-das completed his _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_ in 1582 after nine years of unremitting toil. It is divided into three Books, the _Adi Lila_, the _Madhya Lila_, and the _Antya Lila_, dealing respectively with the three stages of Chaitanya's life, _viz._, (i) the 24 years from his birth to the time of his entering the monastic order, (ii) the six years of his pilgrimage, and (iii) the last eighteen years of his life, which were spent in residence at Puri. In spite of its epic length, prolixity, and repet.i.tions, the _Chaitanya-charit-amrita_ is a masterpiece of early Bengali literature, and has the further merit of making the subtle doctrines of the Vaishnav faith intelligible to ordinary people. Indeed, the older school of Vaishnav Fathers, as represented by Jiv Goswami, had at first objected to its publication, lest the merits and completeness of this vernacular work should cause the learned Sanskrit treatises on _bhakti_ exegetics to be neglected by the public! The author's ma.n.u.script is still preserved in the Radha-Damodar temple of Brindaban, and worshipped as a holy relic.

The Second Book (_Madhya Lila_), which is the longest and most detailed of the three and the foremost authority on Chaitanya's teachings, life and character, and contains the clearest and fullest exposition of Vaishnav philosophy, has been here translated into English for the first time. In the second edition, many long extracts from the Third Book (_Antya Lila_) have been added, to complete the story of Chaitanya's doings and sayings at Puri till his death. Readers to whom the Bengali tongue is unknown, will here find an unvarnished account of Chaitanya as his contemporaries knew him, without any modern gloss, interpolation or criticism. My version is literal; only, in certain places needless details have been curtailed, all repet.i.tions have been avoided, and the texts so freely quoted by our author from the Sanskrit scriptures have been indicated by reference to chapter and verse, instead of being done into English. The word _Prabhu_, applied by the author to Chaitanya, has been rendered by me as _Master_.

There are three other contemporary lives of Chaitanya in old Bengali.

The earliest of them is the _Chaitanya Bhagabat_, composed in 1535 A.D., by the Brahman Brindaban-das, a sister's son of Shribas Pandit of Navadwip. This author (b. 1507, d. 1589) was a votary of G.o.d as incarnate in Nityananda; to him Chaitanya was almost a secondary object of adoration. His poem is enc.u.mbered with miracles and digressions, and far inferior to Krishna-das's work in wealth of philosophic exposition and description of men and events.

Trilochan-das (born 1523) wrote the _Chaitanya-Mangal_ at the age of fourteen! It is full of marvellous incidents and should be cla.s.sed with romances rather than with sober histories. Its text is still sung by wandering minstrels and is appreciated by the lower ranks of the Vaishnav community.

Jayananda Mishra (b. about 1511) wrote his _Chaitanya-Mangal_ about 1568, and his poem gives us much new information about the saint and his family. He is our only authority for the narrative of Chaitanya's death, which I have translated at the end of this work.

In the second edition parts of two chapters of the first edition, _viz._, xviii. pp. 254-269 and xxii. pp. 290-303, have been omitted, as they can be understood only by very learned Sanskrit scholars, the remaining part of ch. xxii has been incorporated with ch. xxi, while ch.

xxiii has been renumbered as xxii. In the present edition, all the chapters from xxiii to the end are taken from the _Antya Lila_.

In preparing the second edition, the translation has been carefully compared with the text and minutely revised. Many mistakes have been detected and corrected; some of them came no doubt from the ma.n.u.script from which the first edition was printed, but most of the others were due to the inefficiency and carelessness of the press. In going through the original a second time I have in a few places modified my interpretation of the text made twelve years ago.

A long and important appendix has now been added, giving the exact situation and some description of the various holy places visited by Chaitanya, (with references to the best and most modern sources of information, such as Gazetteers and maps).

A SHORT LIFE OF CHAITANYA

Navadwip, a town in the Nadia district of Bengal, situated on the river Ganges, 75 miles north of Calcutta, was a great trading centre and seat of Hindu learning in the 15th century. Sanskrit logic (_nyay_) for which Bengal is most famous among all the provinces of India, was very highly developed and studied here, and the fame of its scholars was unsurpa.s.sed in the land. But, if we may believe the biographers of Chaitanya, the atmosphere of the town was sceptical and unspiritual.

There was a lack of true religious fervour and sincere devotion. Proud of their intellectuality, proud of the vast wealth they acquired by gifts from rich Hindus, the local _pandits_ despised _bhakti_ or devotion as weak and vulgar, and engaged in idle ceremonies or idler amus.e.m.e.nts. Vedantism formed the topic of conversation of the cultured few; wine and goat's meat were taken to kindly by the majority of the people, and such _Shakta_ rites as were accompanied by the offering of this drink and food to the G.o.ddess and their subsequent consumption by her votaries, were performed with zeal and enthusiasm.

Jagannath Mishra, surnamed Purandar, a Brahman of the Vaidik sub-caste, had emigrated from his ancestral home in Sylhet and settled here in order to live on the bank of the holy Ganges. His wife was Shachi, a daughter of the scholar Nilambar Chakravarti. One evening in February or March, 1485 A.D., when there was a lunar eclipse at the same time as full moon, a son was born to this couple. It was their tenth child; the first eight, all daughters, had died in infancy, and the ninth, a lad named Vishwarup, had abandoned the world at the age of sixteen when pressed to marry, and had entered a monastery in the Madras presidency.

The new-born child was named Vishwambhar. But the women, seeing that his mother had lost so many children before him, gave him the disparaging name of Nimai or short-lived in order to propitiate Nemesis. The neighbours called him _Gaur_ or _Gauranga_ (fair complexioned) on account of his marvellous beauty. That the child was born amidst the chanting of Hari's name all over Navadwip on the occasion of the eclipse, was taken to be an omen that he would prove a teacher of _bhakti_. Pa.s.sing over the lucky signs of his horoscope, and the miracles and Krishna-like antics with which pious imagination has invested his boyhood, we may note that he showed great keenness and precocity of intellect in mastering all branches of Sanskrit learning, especially grammar and logic.

On the death of his father, Vishwambhar, while still a student, married Lakshmi, the daughter of Vallabh Acharya, with whom he had fallen in love at first sight. He now became a householder, and began to take pupils like many other Brahmans of Navadwip. As a _pandit_ he surpa.s.sed the other scholars of the place and even defeated a renowned champion of another province, who was travelling all over India holding disputations.

On his return from a scholastic tour in East Bengal, in which he received many gifts from pious householders, he found that his wife had died of snake-bite during his absence. After a while the widower married Vishnu-priya. At this time his head was turned by the pride of scholarship, and his victories in argument made him slight other men.

During a pilgrimage to Gaya, he met Ishwar Puri, a Vaishnav monk of the order of Madhavacharya and a disciple of that Madhavendra Puri who had first introduced the cult of bhakti for Krishna among the _sannyasis_.

Vishwambhar took this Ishwar Puri as his guru or spiritual guide. A complete change now came over his spirit. His intellectual pride was gone; he became a _bhakta_; whatever subject he lectured on, the theme of his discourse was love of Krishna. Indeed, he developed religious ecstasy and for some time behaved like a mad man: he laughed, wept, incessantly shouted Krishna's name, climbed up trees, or raved in abstraction imagining himself to be Krishna. He now made the acquaintance of the elderly scholar and _bhakta_ Adwaita Acharya, and was joined by a sannyasi named Nityananda, who became to him even more than what Paul was to Christ.

Many people of Navadwip now believed Chaitanya to be an incarnation of Krishna and did him worship, while Nityananda came to be regarded as Balaram, (the elder brother of Krishna). Religious processions were frequently got up, in which the devout, headed by the two, went dancing and singing through the streets or a.s.sembled in the courtyards of houses. This was the origin of the _nam-kirtan_ ('chanting G.o.d's name') which has ever been the most distinctive feature of this creed.

Chaitanya's greatest achievement at this time was the reclamation of two drunken ruffians, Jagai and Madhai, who were a terror to the city. The apostles of _bhakti_ had also to face mockery and persecution from scoffers and unbelievers (_pashandi_), which were overcome by supernatural signs. We pa.s.s over the scenes of ecstasy, tireless exertion in _kirtan_, madness and miracles, which form the extant history of this period of Chaitanya's life. But the conversions among the learned were few, and Chaitanya at last in despair resolved to turn hermit for their salvation, arguing thus, "As I must deliver all these proud scholars, I have to take to an ascetic life. They will surely bow to me when they see me as a hermit, and thus their hearts will be purified and filled with _bhakti_. There is no other means." So, he induced Keshav Bharati to initiate him as a _sannyasi_ (1509) under the name of Krishna-Chaitanya, usually shortened into CHAITANYA, which we have antic.i.p.ated in this sketch. He was then 24 years of age. His mother, who had often before urged him not to desert her as his elder brother had done, was heart-broken at the loss of her sole surviving child, but Chaitanya consoled her in every possible way, and bowed to her wishes in many points in his after years as obediently as he had done before renouncing the life of a householder.

The next six years were pa.s.sed by him in pilgrimages to Orissa, the Southern Land, and Brindaban, and in the preaching of _bhakti_ in many parts of India, as described in detail in the present volume.

Thereafter, at the age of 30, he settled at Puri, and spent his remaining days in the constant adoration of Jagannath. Disciples and admirers from many places, chiefly Bengal and Brindaban, visited him here; and he edified them by his discourses, acts of humility, and penances. Towards the close of his life he had repeated fits of religious ecstasy in which he acted in utter disregard of his life,--once leaping into the blue ocean, at another time battering his face against the walls of his room.

At last in June-July, 1533, his physical frame broke down under such prolonged mental convulsion and self-inflicted torments, and he pa.s.sed away under circ.u.mstances over which the piety of his biographers has drawn the veil of mystery.

In his lifetime his disciples had organized a mission. In Bengal the new creed was preached and spread far and wide by Nityananda, who afterwards came to be regarded as a G.o.d, co-ordinate with Chaitanya. Modern Brindaban, with its temples, Sanskrit seminaries and haunts for recluses, is the creation of the Bengali Vaishnavs, and it has eclipsed the older city of Mathura. Here the brothers Rup and Sanatan,--descended from a Prince of Karnat who had settled in Bengal and whose descendants had become completely Bengalized, joined Chaitanya's Church. These two and their nephew Jiv Goswami were great Sanskrit scholars and their devotional works, commentaries, &c. encouraged a revival of Sanskrit studies in general in that Muslim age. These three, with Gopal Bhatta, nephew of the celebrated Vedantist Prakashananda who was latterly converted to _bhakti_ by Chaitanya and changed his name into Prabodhananda, and Raghunath Bhatta, son of an up-country Brahman bhakta, and the last Raghunath-das, a Kayastha saint of the Saptagram zamindar family of the Hugli district and the guru of our author, formed the six Fathers of Chaitanya's Church. Except Rup and Sanatan, most of the other disciples of Chaitanya adopted the Bengali tongue as their medium, and greatly enriched it with their songs, biographies, poems, travels, and translations of the bhakti literature from Sanskrit. The Vaishnav Goswamis, both at Brindaban and Navadwip, have kept up the study of Sanskrit to our own day. A cla.s.sified list of Chaitanya's disciples is given in Book I. canto x and those of Nityananda and Adwaita's disciples in cantos xi and xii respectively.

CHAITANYA-CHARIT-AMRITA

CHAPTER I

At the House of Adwaita

Glory to Shri Chaitanya! Glory to Nityananda, to Adwaita, and to all followers of Gaur! In the month of Magh when the Master completed His twenty-fourth year, in the bright fortnight, He turned hermit. Then led by devotion He set off for Brindaban, and wandered for three days in the Rarh country, hallowing it with His footsteps and chanting the following verse in rapture:

_"I too shall cross the terrible and dark ocean of the world by means of devotion to the Supreme Being, as the sages did of yore, by service at the lotus-like feet of Mukunda."[1]_

The Master said, "True are the words of this Brahman, who chose the service of Mukunda as his life's task. The highest robe [in which a man can clothe himself] is devotion to the Supreme Soul, the service of Mukunda which brings salvation. That robe he put on. Now shall I go to Brindaban and serve Krishna in solitude."

So saying the Master moved day and night, the picture of religious ecstasy, heedless which way He walked. Nityananda, Acharya Ratna, and Mukunda, all three followed Him. All who saw Him, cried "Hari! Hari!" in devotion, and forgot sorrow and loss. The cow-boys shouted Hari's name, at the sight of the Master, who stroked their heads saying, "Go on with your chant," and thanked them saying, "Blessed are ye! ye have gratified me by pouring Hari's name into my ears!" Nityananda took the boys apart and thus tutored them, "When the Master asks you about the road to Brindaban, show Him the path leading to the Ganges." This they did and He took that path. Nityananda spoke to Acharya Ratna, "Hasten to Adwaita and tell him that I shall lead the Master to his house. He should keep a boat ready at the riverside. Thence go to Navadwip and fetch Shachi and all the disciples."

Sending him off, Nityananda came before the Master and showed himself.

"Whither are you going, Shripad?" the Master asked. "With thee to Brindaban" was the reply. "How far is Brindaban?" "Behold, yonder is the Jamuna!" So saying Nityananda led the Master to the Ganges. This river He mistook for the Jamuna. He thanked His stars that He had beheld the Jamuna, sang its praise, and after bowing bathed in it. He had no second clothing except His loin-cloth with Him. Just then Adwaita arrived in a boat, with a fresh loin-cloth and upper garment, and appeared bowing before the Master, who was puzzled to see him and asked, "You are the Acharya Goswami. Why have you come here? How did you know that I was at Brindaban?" The Acharya replied "It is Brindaban wherever you are. It is my good luck that you have come to the Ganges bank." The Master said, "So, Nityananda has played me a trick: he has led me to the Ganges and called it the Jamuna!" The Acharya replied, "False are not the words of Shripad. You have now indeed bathed in the Jamuna, for the Ganges and the Jamuna flow in one channel, the eastern waters being called Ganga and the western (in which you have bathed) Jamuna. Change your wet cloth for a dry one. Four days have you fasted in fervour of love. Come to my house to-day, I invite thee. I have cooked a handful of rice, with dry coa.r.s.e curry, broth and green herbs." Saying this he took the Master on board to his house, and joyfully washed His feet. His wife had al ready done the cooking. The Acharya himself dedicated the food to Vishnu, and served it in three equal portions. [Description of the dinner omitted.]

The Master said, "Long have you made me dance, now leave it off. Dine with Mukunda and Haridas." Then the Acharya broke his fast with those two, to his heart's content. The people of Shantipur, hearing of the Master's arrival, flocked to gaze on His feet. In joy they cried "Hari!

Hari!" and wondered at His beauty. His fair complexion, which eclipsed the Sun in splendour, was set off by his red robe. Endless streams of people came and went throughout the day. At dusk the Acharya began a _sankirtan_; he danced, while the Master gazed on. Goswami Nityananda danced hand in hand with the Acharya, and Haridas behind them. This song accompanied their dance:

_"How shall I speak of my bliss to-day?

The Beloved (Krishna) has entered my temple for ever!"_

With perspiration, thrill, tears of joy, shout, and roar, they turned and turned, touching the Master's feet now and then. The Acharya embraced Him and said "Long did you wander after escaping from me. Now that I have got you in my house, I shall hold you fast!" So the Achaiya continued dancing and singing for three hours after nightfall. The Master was in an att.i.tude of longing as He had not yet gained union with Krishna, and this separation made His love burn the more fiercely.

Impatiently He fell down on the ground, at which the Acharya stopped his dance. Mukunda, who knew the Master's heart well, began to sing verses apt for His pa.s.sion. The Acharya raised Him to make Him dance. At the verses, the Master could no longer be held back. He was all tears, tremour, thrill, sweat, and broken accents,--now rising up, now falling down, now weeping.

The song: [Radha speaks]

_Woe is me, dear sister, for my present state!_ _The love of Krishna has caught my body and soul like a poison._

_My heart burns day and night; I know no peace._ _O that I could fly where Kanu (Krishna) is to be found!_

Sweetly did Mukunda sing the above ditty, which made the Master's heart burst, as the emotions of penitence, melancholy, rapture, frolicsomeness, pride, and humility struggled with it. He was stricken down by the force of His pa.s.sion, and lay down breathless on the ground.

The faithful grew alarmed, when lo! He sprang up with a shout, overcome with ecstasy and saying "Chant, chant, [the name of Hari]." None could under stand the strong tides of His emotion.

Nityananda moved on holding Him, while the Acharya and Haridas danced behind them. Three hours did He pa.s.s thus, now joy now sadness surging in His heart. The dinner had come after five days of fasting; so the wild dance greatly fatigued Him, but He felt it not to His ecstasy.