TLC (1968) Preface
PREFACE
There is no difference between the teachings of Lord Chaitanya presented here and the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The teaching of Lord Chaitanya is a practical demonstration of the teaching of Lord Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita the last word of the Lord is that everyone should surrender unto Him, Lord Krishna, and that He will take immediate charge of such a surrendered soul. The Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is already in charge of the maintenance of this Creation by His plenary expansion as Kshirodakashayee Vishnu. But such maintenance by the Lord is not specific. When, therefore, the Lord takes charge, it means that He takes particular charge of a pure devotee. A pure devotee is a soul ever surrendered to the Lord, like a child to his parents or an animal to its master. This surrendering process is manifested in six different stages, namely: (1) to accept things favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) to reject things unfavorable for discharging devotional service, (3) to believe firmly that the Lord will protect His devotee always, (4) to feel exclusively dependent on the Mercy of the Lord, (5) to have no separate interest besides the interest of the Lord, and (6) always to feel oneself meek and humble.
Therefore Lord Krishna demanded that one should surrender unto Him through the above-mentioned six phases of the surrendering process; but the less intelligent class of men and so-called scholars of the world misunderstood these demands of the Lord, and thus misguided the general mass of people to reject them. In the Bhagavad Gita, at the end of the Ninth Chapter, the Lord directly orders one to always think of Him, become His devotee, worship Him only, offer obeisances unto Him only and by doing so one is sure to come to Him in His Transcendental Abode. But so-called scholarly demons misguide the mass of people, directing them not to surrender like that to the Personality of Godhead, but rather to the impersonal, non-manifested, eternal, unborn Truth. The Mayavadi, impersonalist, philosophers do not accept that the last word in the matter of understanding the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one desires to understand the Sun as he is, one faces first of all the sunshine, and then the Sun globe, and' at last if one is able to enter into that globe, there is the possibility of seeing face-to-face the predominating Deity of the Sun. The Mayavadi philosophers, due to a poor fund of knowledge, cannot go beyond the Brahman effulgence which is like the sunshine. The Upanishads confirm that one has to penetrate the dazzling effulgence of Brahman, and then one can see the real Face of the Personality of Godhead.
Lord Chaitanya therefore teaches us directly that one has to worship Lord Krishna, Who appeared as the foster Child of the King of Braja. He also recommends that the place known as Vrindaban is as good as Lord Krishna because, Lord Krishna being the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, there is no difference between His Name, Quality, Form, Pastimes, Entourage, and Paraphernalia.
Lord Chaitanya also recommended that the mode of worshipping the Lord in the highest perfectional stage is the method of worship conceived by the Damsels of Braja. The Damsels of Braja, the Gopis, simply loved Krishna without any motive for material or spiritual gain. He also recommended that Srimad Bhagwatam is the spotless narration of transcendental knowledge and that the highest gain in the human form of life is to develop unalloyed love of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lord Chaitanya's teachings are exactly the same as those given by Lord Kapila, the original propounder of the Samkhya Yoga, or the Samkhya system of philosophy. This authorized system of Yoga is practiced on the principle of meditation on the Transcendental Form of the Lord. There is no meditating on something Void or impersonal involved. When one is practiced to meditate upon the Transcendental Form of Lord Vishnu, even without the sitting posture in a particular place and atmosphere, the stage is called perfect Samadhi. This perfect Samadhi of Samkhya Yoga is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita at the end of the Sixth Chapter, where the Lord says that of all the yogis, one who constantly thinks of the Lord within the core of his heart with love and devotion is the greatest.
Lord Chaitanya instructed this Samkhya Yoga, or system of philosophy—called Achintya Bhedabheda Tattwa (simultaneously one and different)—most practically for everyone among the mass of people, simply by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. He says that the Holy Name of the Lord is the Sound Vibration Form of the Lord. The Lord being the Absolute Whole, there is no difference between His Holy Name and His Transcendental Form. Therefore, by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, one can directly associate with the Supreme Lord by Sound Vibration. This Sound Vibration of the Lord has three stages of development, namely: (1) offensive stage, (2) clearing stage, and (3) transcendental stage. In the offensive stage one may desire all kinds of material happiness or distress as one acts, but in the second stage of chanting, one becomes cleared from all material contamination. But when one is situated on the transcendental stage, one achieves the most covetable perfection, the stage of loving God. Lord Chaitanya recommended that this is the highest stage of perfection for the human being.
Yoga practice is essentially meant for controlling the senses. Mind is the central controlling factor of all senses; and therefore one has to practice first controlling the mind by engaging the mind in the matter of Krishna Consciousness. The gross activities of the mind are expressed through the external senses, either for acquiring knowledge or functioning under the will, and the subtle activities of the mind are thinking, feeling, and willing, according to the different attitudes of consciousness. This consciousness is either polluted or clear. If the mind is fixed up in Krishna (His Name, Quality, Form, Pastimes, Entourage, and Paraphernalia), then the whole of the activities, subtle and gross, is changed favorably. The Bhagavad Gita's process of purifying consciousness is to fix the mind on Krishna—to talk of His Transcendental Activities, to cleanse the Temple of the Lord, to walk to the Temple of the Lord, to see the Beautiful Transcendental Form of the Lord nicely decorated, to hear His Transcendental Glories, to taste foodstuffs offered to the Lord, to smell the flowers and Tulsi leaves offered to the Lord, to associate with the Lord's devotees, to engage oneself in the activities for the interest of the Lord, and to become angry also at those who are envious of the devotees. No one can stop the activities of the mind or the senses, but one can purify such activities by changing the account. This change of account is recommended in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter II/39). A human being is sometimes restricted in the matter of sense-gratification under certain circumstances of disease, etc. But that prescription or regulative principle is for the less intelligent class of men. Such less intelligent men, without knowing the actual process of controlling the mind and senses, either want to stop them by force, or to give them up or to be carried away by the waves of sense-gratification.
The eight formulas of practicing Yoga—regulative principles, following the rules, practicing the different sitting postures, breathing exercise, and thus to withdraw the senses from the sense objects, etc.—are meant for the persons who are too engrossed in the bodily concept of life. But the intelligent man who is situated in Krishna Consciousness, does not forcibly stop his senses from acting on behalf of Krishna.
You cannot stop a child from his playful activities and leave him inactive, but you can stop him by engaging him in superior activities. Similarly, the forceful restraint of the sense activities, by following the eight principles of Yoga practice, is recommended for an inferior class of men; but the superior class of men, being engaged in the better activities of Krishna Consciousness, naturally retire from the inferior activities of material existence.
Lord Chaitanya in this way teaches us the science of Krishna Consciousness, which is absolute. Dry mental speculators try to restrain themselves from material attachment, but it is generally found that the mind, being too strong to be controlled, sometimes drags such speculators down in the matter of sensual activities; but there is no such chance for persons in Krishna Consciousness. Therefore, one has to engage one's mind and senses in Krishna conscious activities, and how this is practically possible is taught by the Lord, Sri Krishna Chaitanya.
Before His acceptance of the Sannyas, or renounced order of life, Lord Chaitanya was known as Viswambhar. Viswambhar means the one who maintains the whole Universe as leader of all living entities. The very same maintainer and leader of all living entities appeared as Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya to give us the sublime teachings of life, and was the ideal Teacher of the prime necessities of life. He is the most munificent Giver of the love of Krishna. He is the complete Reservoir of all mercies and auspiciousness. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, as is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and Upanishads, He appeared as worshipable by everyone in this age of disagreement. Everyone can join in His Samkirtan movement without any previous qualification, and everyone can become the most perfect human being by following His teachings. If anyone is fortunate enough to be attracted by all His Features of manifestation, one is sure to be successful in the mission of one's life. In one word, those who are interested in being situated in spiritual existence can get easily relieved from the clutches of Maya by the Grace of Lord Chaitanya, now presented in the book form of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, non-different from the Lord.
The conditioned soul, being engrossed in the material body, increases the pages of history of all kinds of material activities. But the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya can help the human society to stop such unnecessary and temporary activities, and can elevate one to the topmost platform of spiritual activities, which begin after liberation from material bondage. Such liberated activities in Krishna Consciousness are the goal of human perfection. The false prestige of acquiring lordship over the material Nature is illusion only, and one can get illuminating knowledge from the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, in order to advance in one's spiritual existence.
One has to suffer or enjoy the fruits of one's activity, and nobody can check the laws of material Nature which govern such things. So long as one is engaged in such activities, one is sure to be baffled in attempting to achieve the ultimate goal of life. I hope therefore most sincerely that by understanding the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya human society will have a new light of spiritual life, opening the field of activities of the pure soul.
- Om Tat Sat
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
- 14 March 1968
- (Birthday of Lord Chaitanya)
- Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple
- New York, N.Y.