Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Caitanya, Bengali: [Caitanya Mahāprabhu]; 18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534 was a spiritual teacher who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He is believed by his devotees to be Krishna
himself who appeared in the form of His own devotee in order to teach
the people of this world the process of Bhakti and how to attain the
perfection of life. He is considered as the most merciful manifestation
of Krishna. Chaitanya was the proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to God), based on Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita. Of various incarnations of Vishnu, he is revered as Krishna, popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and composed the Siksastakam (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit. His followers, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as a Krishna with the mood and complexion of his source of inspiration Radha.
Chaitanya is sometimes referred to by the names Gauranga or Gaura due to his fair complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Neem tree. There is no evidence, however, that he was born under a Neem Tree. He was very mischievous in his young days. His original name was Vishambhar. He was a brilliant student and Nimai was his nickname. At an early age he became a scholar and opened a school.
A number of stories also exist telling of Chaitanya's apparent attraction to the chanting and singing of Krishna's names from a very young age, but largely this was perceived as being secondary to his interest in acquiring knowledge and studying Sanskrit. When travelling to Gaya to perform the shraddha ceremony for his departed father, Chaitanya met his guru, the ascetic Ishvara Puri, from whom he received initiation with the Gopala Krishna mantra. This meeting was to mark a significant change in Chaitanya's outlook and upon his return to Bengal the local Vaishnavas, headed by Advaita Acharya,
were stunned at his external sudden 'change of heart' (from 'scholar'
to 'devotee') and soon Chaitanya became the eminent leader of their
Vaishnava group within Nadia.
After leaving Bengal and receiving entrance into the sannyasa order by Keshava Bharati, Chaitanya journeyed throughout the length and breadth of India for several years, chanting the divine Names of Krishna constantly. He spent the last 24 years of his life in Puri, Odisha, the great temple city of Jagannath. The Gajapati king, Prataparudra Dev, regarded Chaitanya as Krishna's avatar and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya's sankeertan gatherings. It was during these years that Chaitanya is believed by his followers to have sunk deep into various Divine-Love (samādhi) and performed pastimes of divine ecstasy (bhakti).There are numerous biographies available from the time giving details of Chaitanya's life, the most prominent ones being the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja, the earlier Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindavana Dasa (both originally written in Bengali but now widely available in English and other languages), and the Chaitanya Mangala, written by "Lochana Dasa". These works are in Bengali with some Sanskrit verses interspersed. In addition to these there are other Sanskrit biographies composed by his contemporaries. Chief among them are the works, Sri Chaitanya Charitamritam Mahakavyam by Kavi Karnapura and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Charitamritam by Murari Gupta.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu united in himself two aspects:[clarification needed] ecstatic devotee of Krishna and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Radha. According to the hagiographies of 16th-century authors, he exhibited his Universal Form identical to that of Krishna on a number of occasions, notably to Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu.
Gaudiya Vaishnavas considers Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to be Lord Krishna
himself, but appearing in covered form (channa avatar). The Gaudiya
Vaishnava acharya Bhaktivinoda Thakura have also found out the rare
manuscript of Caitanya Upanishad of the atharvaveda section, which
reveals the identity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
POSTED BY : VIPUL KOUL
EDITED BY :ASHOK KOUL
Chaitanya is sometimes referred to by the names Gauranga or Gaura due to his fair complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Neem tree. There is no evidence, however, that he was born under a Neem Tree. He was very mischievous in his young days. His original name was Vishambhar. He was a brilliant student and Nimai was his nickname. At an early age he became a scholar and opened a school.
Chaitanya means wisdom (gyana), Maha means Great and Prabhu means ‘Lord’ or ‘Master’ i.e. (Lord or master of wisdom). Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna himself. He was born as the second son of Jagannath Mishra and his wife Sachi Devi, who lived in the town of Dhaka Dakhhin, Srihatta, now Sylhet, Bangladesh. According to Chaitanya Charitamruta, Chaitanya was born on the full moon night of 18 February 1486, at the time of a lunar eclipse. His parents named him 'Vishvambhara'. His family roots are originally from Dhaka Dakhhin, Sylhet Shrihatta (now Sylhet, Bangladesh),
Yogapith, the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Built in the 1880s by Bhaktivinoda Thakur (1838-1914) in Mayapur (West Bengal, India).
Gaura Nitai shrine at ISKCON Temple Delhi.
After leaving Bengal and receiving entrance into the sannyasa order by Keshava Bharati, Chaitanya journeyed throughout the length and breadth of India for several years, chanting the divine Names of Krishna constantly. He spent the last 24 years of his life in Puri, Odisha, the great temple city of Jagannath. The Gajapati king, Prataparudra Dev, regarded Chaitanya as Krishna's avatar and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya's sankeertan gatherings. It was during these years that Chaitanya is believed by his followers to have sunk deep into various Divine-Love (samādhi) and performed pastimes of divine ecstasy (bhakti).There are numerous biographies available from the time giving details of Chaitanya's life, the most prominent ones being the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja, the earlier Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindavana Dasa (both originally written in Bengali but now widely available in English and other languages), and the Chaitanya Mangala, written by "Lochana Dasa". These works are in Bengali with some Sanskrit verses interspersed. In addition to these there are other Sanskrit biographies composed by his contemporaries. Chief among them are the works, Sri Chaitanya Charitamritam Mahakavyam by Kavi Karnapura and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Charitamritam by Murari Gupta.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu united in himself two aspects:[clarification needed] ecstatic devotee of Krishna and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Radha. According to the hagiographies of 16th-century authors, he exhibited his Universal Form identical to that of Krishna on a number of occasions, notably to Advaita Ācārya and Nityānanda Prabhu.
POSTED BY : VIPUL KOUL
EDITED BY :ASHOK KOUL
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