120724 Adi 1a The Spiritual Masters.mp3 (64 minutes, 44.6 MB)*
120725 Adi 1b The Spiritual Masters.mp3 (48 minutes, 33.3 MB)

The first chapter begins with fourteen Sanskrit verses giving ontology so that we can understand the pastimes and what is going to be presented in the Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. The first six verses describe Mahaprabhu, then the next five describe Nityananda Prabhu. The next two verses describe the truth of Adwaita Prabhu and the following verse describes the Pancha-tattva.

*At the end of Part 1 Srila Janardan Maharaj tells some of Sri Baladev’s pastimes.

120719 Antya 18 Rescuing the Lord from the Sea.mp3 (36 minutes, 16.6 MB)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur gives the following summary of the Eighteenth Chapter:

On an autumn evening when the moon was full, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu walked along the seashore near the Aitota temple. Mistaking the sea for the Yamuna River, He jumped into it, hoping to see the water pastimes Krishna enjoyed with Srimati Radharani and the other gopis. As He floated in the sea, however, He was washed away to the Konarka temple, where a fisherman, thinking that the Lord’s body was a big fish, caught Him in his net and brought Him ashore. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unconscious, and His body had become unusually transformed. As soon as the fisherman touched the Lord’s body, he became mad in ecstatic love of Krishna. His own madness frightened him, however, because he thought that he was being haunted by a ghost. As he was about to seek a ghost charmer, he met Swarup Damodar Goswami and the other devotees on the beach, who had been looking everywhere for the Lord. After some inquiries, Swarup Damodar could understand that the fisherman had caught Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his net. Since the fisherman was afraid of being haunted by a ghost, Swarup Damodar gave him a slap and chanted Hare Krishna, which immediately pacified him. Thereafter, when the devotees chanted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra loudly, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to His external consciousness. Then they brought Him back to His own residence.

(Excerpt from the summary of Chapter 18 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

120714 Antya 14 Mahaprabhu’s Feelings of Separation from Krishna.mp3 (55 minutes, 25.2 MB)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur gives the following summary of the Fourteenth Chapter:

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s feelings of separation from Krishna resulted in highly elevated transcendental madness. When He was standing near the Garuda-stambha and praying to Lord Jagannath, a woman from Orissa put her foot on the Lord’s shoulder in her great eagerness to see Lord Jagannath. Govinda chastised her for this, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu praised her eagerness. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to the temple of Lord Jagannath, He was absorbed in ecstatic love and saw only Krishna. As soon as He perceived this woman, however, His external consciousness immediately returned, and He saw Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also saw Krishna in a dream, and He was overwhelmed with ecstatic love. When He could no longer see Krishna, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu compared Himself to a yogi and described how that yogi was seeing Vrindavan.

Sometimes all the transcendental ecstatic symptoms were manifest in Him. One night, Govinda and Swarup Damodar noticed that although the three doors to the Lord’s room were closed and locked, the Lord was not present inside. Seeing this, Swarup Damodar and the other devotees went outside and saw the Lord lying unconscious by the gate known as Simha-dwara. His body had become unusually long, and the joints of His bones were loose. The devotees gradually brought Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu back to His senses by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and then they took Him back to His residence. Once Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu mistook a sand dune known as Cataka-parvat for Govardhan Hill. As He ran toward it, He became stunned, and then the eight ecstatic transformations appeared in His body due to great love for Krishna. At that time all the devotees chanted the Hare Krishna mantra to pacify Him.

(Excerpt from the summary of Chapter 14 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

121109 Madhya 20 Instructions to Sanatan Goswami-Expansions of the Lord.mp3 (45 minutes, 2.59 MB)

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained to Sanatan Goswami how the living entity is one of Lord Krishna’s energies. After this, the Lord explained the way of devotional service. While discussing the Absolute Truth, the Lord analyzed Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan, as well as the expansions of the Lord called svayam-rupa, tad-ekatma and avesha, which are divided into various branches known as vaibhava and prabhava. Thus the Lord described the many forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also described the incarnations of God within the material world, incarnations such as the purusha-avatars, manvantara-avatars, guna-avatars and saktyavesa-avatars. The Lord also discussed the divisions of Krishna’s different ages, such as balya and pauganda, and the different pastimes of the different ages. He explained how Krishna attained His permanent form when He reached youth. In this way Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained and described everything to Sanatan Goswami.

(Summary of Chapter 20 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

110626 Antya 6 Mahaprabhu Meets Raghunath Das Goswami.mp3 (43 minutes, 19.9 MB)

Raghunath Das Goswami had been attempting to come to the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for a long time, and finally he left his home and met the Lord. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had gone to Shantipur on His way to Vrindavan, Raghunath Das Goswami had offered to dedicate his life at the Lord’s lotus feet. In the meantime, however, a Muslim official became envious of Hiranya Das, Raghunath Das Goswami’s uncle, and induced some big official court minister to have him arrested. Thus Hiranya Das left his home, but by the intelligence of Raghunath Das the misunderstanding was mitigated. Then Raghunath Das went to Panihati, and following the order of Nityananda Prabhu, he observed a festival (chida-dadhi-mahotsava) by distributing chipped rice mixed with yogurt. The day after the festival, Nityananda Prabhu gave Raghunath Das the blessing that he would very soon attain the shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

(Excerpt from the summary of Chapter 6 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

120626 Antya 5a Pradyumna Mishra and Ramananda Raya.mp3 (40 minutes, 18.3 MB)
120628 Antya 5b Swarup Damodar critiques a Bengali poet.mp3 (32 minutes, 14.5 MB)

Part a:
Pradyumna Mishra, a resident of Srihatta, came to see Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to hear from Him about Lord Krishna and His pastimes. The Lord, however, sent him to Srila Ramananda Raya. Srila Ramananda Raya was training the deva-dasi dancing girls in the temple, and when Pradyumna Mishra heard about this, he returned to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord, however, elaborately described the character of Srila Ramananda Raya. Then Pradyumna Mishra went to see Ramananda Raya again to hear about the transcendental truth from him.

Part b:
A brahmana from Bengal composed a drama about the activities of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and went to Jagannatha Puri to show it to the associates of the Lord. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s secretary, Swarup Damodar Goswami, heard the drama, he discerned a tinge of mayavada philosophy and pointed it out to the author. Although Swarup Damodar condemned the entire drama, by reference to secondary meanings of the introductory verse he nevertheless satisfied the brahmana. That brahmana poet thus became greatly obliged to Swarup Damodar Goswami, renounced his family connections and stayed at Jagannatha Puri with the associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

(Summary of Chapter 5 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

120619 Antya 4a Sanatan Goswami visits the Lord.mp3 (47 minutes, 26.8 MB)
120620 Antya 4b Sanatan Goswami visits the Lord.mp3 (50 minutes, 28.4 MB)
120623 Antya 4c Sanatan Goswami visits the Lord.mp3 (58 minutes, 33.4 MB) *
120625 Antya 4d Sanatan Goswami visits the Lord.mp3 (33 minutes, 19.1 MB)

Srila Sanatan Goswami came alone from Mathura to Jagannath Puri to see Lord Chaitanya. Because of bathing in bad water and not getting enough food every day while traveling on the path through Jarikanda Forest, he developed a disease that made his body itch. Suffering greatly from this itching, he resolved that in the presence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he would throw himself under the wheel of Jagannath’s car and in this way commit suicide.

When Sanatan Goswami came to Jagannath Puri, he stayed under the care of Haridas Thakur for some time, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very happy to see him. The Lord informed Sanatan Goswami about the death of his younger brother, Anupama, who had great faith in the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra. One day Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said to Sanatan Goswami, “Your decision to commit suicide is the result of the mode of ignorance. One cannot get love of God simply by committing suicide. You have already dedicated your life and body to My service; therefore your body does not belong to you, nor do you have any right to commit suicide. I have to execute many devotional services through your body. I want you to preach the cult of devotional service and go to Vrindavan to excavate the lost holy places.” After having thus spoken, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left, and Haridas Thakur and Sanatan Goswami had many talks about this subject.

(An excerpt from the summary of Chapter 4 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

*This class was given during the kids camp and thus has some interruptions such as joking and questions addressed to the children.

120618 Antya 3b Glories of Haridas Thakur.mp3 (39 minutes, 22.5 MB)

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu once inquired from Haridas Thakur, who was known as Brahma Haridas, how the yavanas, or persons bereft of Vedic culture, would be delivered in Kali-yuga. Haridas Thakur replied that their deliverance would be possible if they very loudly chanted the Hare Krishna mantra, for hearing the Hare Krishna mantra chanted loudly, even with but little realization, would help them.

(An excerpt from the summary of Antya-lila Chapter 3 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

120613 Antya 2a Nakula and Nrsimhananda Bramacharis.mp3 (39 minutes, 22.3 MB)
120614 Antya 2b Chastisement of Junior Haridas.mp3 (41 minutes, 23.6 MB)

Part 1:

“In His incarnation as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Sri Krishna descended to deliver all the living beings in the three worlds, from Brahmaloka down to Patalaloka. He caused their deliverance in three ways. The Lord delivered the fallen souls in some places by meeting them directly, in other places by empowering a pure devotee, and in still other places by appearing before someone Himself. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu delivered almost all the fallen souls by directly meeting them. He delivered others by entering the bodies of great devotees, such as Nakula Brahmachari. And He delivered still others by appearing before them, as in the case of Nrsimhananda Brahmachari.

“I shall deliver the fallen souls.” This statement characterizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was personally present, anyone in the world who met Him even once was fully satisfied and became spiritually advanced.”

(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita: Antya-lila, 2.3-7)

Part 2:

When Junior Haridas, following the order of Bhagavan Acharya, went to collect alms from Madhavidevi, he committed an offense by talking intimately with a woman although he was in the renounced order. Because of this, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu rejected Junior Haridas, and despite all the requests of the Lord’s stalwart devotees, the Lord did not accept him again. One year after this incident, Junior Haridas went to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna and committed suicide. In his spiritual body, however, he continued to sing devotional songs, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard them.

(From the summary of Antya-lila Chapter 2 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

120611 Antya 1a Examination Hall of Rupa Goswami.mp3 (39 minutes, 22.4 MB)
120612 Antya 1b Examination Hall of Rupa Goswami.mp3 (39 minutes, 22.42MB)

“Srila Govinda Maharaj has called this [meeting between Srila Rupa Goswami and Sriman Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri] “the examination hall of Srila Rupa Goswami.” Rupa Goswami was asked so many questions in a very beautiful and expert way by Ramananda Ray who knows so much about drama and is himself a presenter of literature. He asks Rupa Goswami questions and Rupa Goswami gives so many beautiful answers reciting his Vidagdha Madhava and Lalita Madhava. Srila Govinda Maharaj called this the “examination hall” and obviously Rupa Goswami passes that examination by Mahaprabhu’s arrangement. Mahaprabhu wanted to show the highest ability [of Rupa Goswami] and that examination hall was to ask all the devotees to bless Srila Rupa Gowami as the leader of the sampradaya. Effectively that is what has happened.”

–Srila Janardan Maharaj

120503 Madhya 19a the Creeper of Devotion.mp3 (40 minutes, 23.4 MB)

120504 Madhya 19b Qualities of Uttama Bhakti.mp3 (48 minutes, 27.5 MB)

120505 Madhya 19c Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Instructs Srila Rupa Goswami.mp3 (56 minutes, 38.7 MB)

Madhya-lila Chapter 19: Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Instructs Srila Rupa Goswami

“These are Mahaprabhu’s teachings to Rupa Goswami and these teachings are about how one can engage oneself properly in devotional service, because what He’s really explaining to Rupa Goswami very nicely, is abhideya, the process of devotional service.”
–Srila B.P. Janardan Maharaj

vrindavaniyam rasa-keli-vartam
kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah
sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa
prabhur vidhau prag iva loka-srishtim
     (Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita: Madhya-lila 19.1)

“Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly the same way, the Lord, being anxious to revive the Vrindavan pastimes of Lord Krishna, impregnated the heart of Rupa Goswami with spiritual potency. By this potency, Srila Rupa Goswami could revive the activities of Krishna in Vrindavan, activities almost lost to memory. In this way, He spread Krishna consciousness throughout the world.”

110902 Adi 17 Youth Lila.mp3 (47 minutes, 27.1 MB)

trnad api sunichena taror iva sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita: Adi-lila 17.31)

“I would say everybody associates this verse with Srila Govinda Maharaj, even though it is Mahaprabhu’s verse, because he always would mention it. I remember when he went to Columbia people asked, “What message do you have for the Columbian people?” He didn’t say “Chant the Holy Name.” No, he said, “Trnad api sunichena…You already have abundant fruits and vegetables and nice sunshine; you already have so much opulence in this country, now if you just take this principle of trnad api sunichena and utilize this principle, then everyone’s life will be enriched by that. Srila Govinda Maharaj preached that verse everywhere and showed by his example how to follow it.”

–Srila Janardan Maharaj

The following is an excerpt from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita: Adi-lila 17, 26-33:

“To chant the Holy Name always, one should be humbler than the grass in the street and devoid of all desire for personal honor, but one should offer others all respectful obeisances.” A devotee engaged in chanting the Holy Name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate. “For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying, it does not ask anyone for water. “Thus a vaishnava should not ask anything from anyone else. If someone gives him something without being asked, he should accept it, but if nothing comes, a vaishnava should be satisfied to eat whatever vegetables and fruits are easily available. “One should strictly follow the principle of always chanting the Holy Name, and one should be satisfied with whatever he gets easily. Such devotional behavior solidly maintains one’s devotional service. “One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the Holy Name of the Lord.” Raising my hands, I declare, “Everyone please hear me! String this verse on the thread of the holy name and wear it on your neck for continuous remembrance.” One must strictly follow the principles given by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in this verse. If one simply follows in the footsteps of Lord Chaitanya and the Goswamis, certainly he will achieve the ultimate goal of life, the lotus feet of Sri Krishna.

110901 Adi Ch16 Dig Vijai Pandit.mp3 (58 minutes, 40.4 MB)

Adi-lila Ch 16: The Pastimes of the Lord in His Childhood and Youth

“This chapter fully describes Lord Chaitanya’s kaisora-lila, or the activities He performed just before attaining youth. During this time He studied deeply and was victorious over greatly learned scholars. During His kaisora-lila the Lord also sported in the water. He went to East Bengal to secure financial assistance, cultivate knowledge and introduce the sankirtana movement, and there He met Tapana Misra, whom He instructed about spiritual advancement and ordered to go to Varanasi. While Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was touring East Bengal, His wife, Lakshmidevi, was bitten by a serpent or by the serpent of separation, and thus she left this world. When the Lord returned home, He saw that His mother was overwhelmed with grief because of Lakshmidevi’s death. Therefore at her request He later married His second wife, Vishnupriya-devi.

This chapter also describes the Lord’s argument with Kesava Kasmiri, the celebrated scholar, and the Lord’s criticism of his prayer glorifying mother Ganges. In this prayer the Lord found five kinds of literary ornaments and five kinds of literary faults, thus defeating the pandit. Later the Kasmiri Pandit, who was known to have been victorious all over the country, submitted himself to the goddess of learning, and by her order he met Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on the morning of the next day and surrendered unto Him.”

(Summary of Adi-lila Chapter 16 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

110830 Adi Ch14 Childhood Lila.mp3 (40 minutes, 30.2 MB)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has given a summary of this chapter in his Amrita-pravaha-bhashya: “In the fourteenth chapter there is a description of how Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu enjoyed His childhood pastimes – crawling, crying, eating dirt and giving intelligence to His mother, favoring a brahmana guest, riding on the shoulders of two thieves and misleading them to His own house, and, on the plea of being diseased, taking prasadam in the house of Hiranya and Jagadisa on the Ekadasi day.

The chapter further describes how He displayed Himself as a naughty boy, how when His mother fainted He brought a coconut to her on His head, how He joked with girls of the same age on the banks of the Ganges, how He accepted worshipful paraphernalia from Srimati Laksmidevi, how He sat down in a garbage pit and instructed His mother in transcendental knowledge, how He left the pit on the order of His mother, and how He dealt with His father with full affection.”

(Summary of Adi-lila Chapter 14 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

110829 Adi Ch13 Appearance Lila.mp3 (30 minutes, 20.3 MB)

“A learned brahmana named Upendra Misra, who resided in the district of Srihatta, was the father of Jagannatha Misra, who came to Navadvipa to study under the direction of Nilambara Chakravarti and then settled there after marrying Nilambara Chakravarti’s daughter, Sachidevi. Sri Sachidevi gave birth to eight children, all daughters, who died one after another immediately after birth. After her ninth pregnancy she gave birth to a son, who was named Visvarupa. Then, in 1407 Saka Era (A.D. 1486), in the full-moon evening of the month of Phalguna, with the constellation of Simha (Leo) on the horizon, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared as the son of Sri Sachidevi and Jagannatha Misra. After hearing of the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, learned scholars and brahmanas, bringing many gifts, came to see the newborn baby. Nilambara Chakravarti, who was a great astrologer, immediately prepared a horoscope, and by astrological calculation he saw that the child was a great personality. This chapter describes the symptoms of this great personality.”

(Summary of Adi-lila Chapter 13 from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, translation and commentary by Srila Prabhupad)

110826 Adi Ch 11 Branches of Lord Nityananda.mp3 (43 Minutes, 29.7 MB)

As the branches and subbranches of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were described in the tenth chapter, in this eleventh chapter the branches and subbranches of Sri Nityananda Prabhu are similarly listed.