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Sri Krishna reveals the Supreme Secret


The following is an explanation of who is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and 
why he descended to earth in this age of Kali. Gaura-purnima (the 
appearance of Sri Caitanya) occurs in two days (March 16th). If anyone 
wishes to celebrate this occasion at a temple, you can call your local 
ISKCON temple to find out what is the program schedule for the 16th.

[continued from last article "Description of the age of Kali", based on Sri 
Gauranga Chandra Udaya portion of Vayu Purana]

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Sri Krishna reveals the Supreme Secret of all Secrets
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	Due to the compassionate nature of the great sages and saintly
persons after hearing of the abominable qualities of the age of Kali, they
naturally inquire as to how those born in this age can free themselves of
its inherant contamination. 

	Sri Krishna replied, "My dear Brahma, I will reveal to you the
supreme secret of all secrets: In this age of Kali, I will manifest as the
son of Saci to start the Sankirtan Movement." 

	This discussion continues wherein Sri Krishna describes His
complete incarnation as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, revealing His associates
and the identities of His followers. 

	"May that Lord, who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi, be
transcendentally situated in the innermost core of your heart. Resplendent
with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the age of Kali by
His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered
before: the most elevated mellow of devotional service, the mellow of
conjugal love." (Cc. Adi, 3.4)

	"I take shelter of Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is
outwardly of a fair complexion but is inwardly Krsna Himself. In this age
of Kali He dislplays His expansions by performing congregational chanting
of the holy name of the Lord." 

	Lord Krsna enjoys His transcendental pastimes as long as He
wishes, and then He disappears. After disappearing, however, He thinks
thus: 

	"For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me
upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the
existence of the material world is useless. Everywhere in the world people
worship Me according to scriptual injunc tions. But simply by following
such regulative principles one cannot attain the loving sentiments of the
devotees in Vrajabhumi. Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon
Me with awe and veneration. But devotion made feeble by such reverence
does n ot attract Me. By performing such regulated devotional service in
awe and veneration, one may go to Vaikuntha and attain the four kinds of
liberation. These liberations are sarsti [achieving opulences equal to
those of the Lord], sarupya [having a form th e same as the Lords],
samipya [living as a personal associate of the Lord] and salokya [living
on a Vaikuntha planet]. Devotees never accept sayujya, however, since that
is oneness with Brahman. 
	I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age -
nama-sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name. I shall
make the world dance in ecstacy, realizing the four mellows of loving
devotional service. I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall
teach devotional service by practicing Myself. Unless one practices
devotional service himself, he cannot teach it to others. This conclusion
is indeed confirmed throughout the Gita and Bhagavatam.
	Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O
descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion - at that time
I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants,
as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear,
millennium after millennium. If I do not show the proper principles of
religion, all these worlds would fall into ruin. I would be a cause of
unwanted population and would spoil all these living beings. Whatever
actions a gr eat man performs, common people follow. And whatever
standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues. 
	My plenary portions can establish the principles of religion for
each age. No one but Me, however, can bestow the kind of loving service
performed by the residents of Vraja. There may be many all-auspicious
incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Sri
Krishna can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls? 
	Therefore in the company of My devotees I shall appear on the
earth and perform various colorful pastimes." 
	Thinking thus, the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna Himself,
descended at Nadia early in the age of Kali. (Cc. Adi, 3.13-29). 

	"Adwaita Acarya is an incarnation of the Lord as a devotee. His
loud calling was the cause for Krsnas incarnation. Whenever Sri Krsna
desires to manifest His incarnation on earth, first He creates the
incarnations of His respectable predecessors. Thus r espectable
personalities such as His father, mother, and spiritual master all take
birth on earth first. Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri, Srimati Sacimata and
Srila Jagannatha Misra all appeared with Sri Adwaita Acarya. 
	Adwaita Acarya having appeared, found the world devoid of
devotional service to Sri Krsna because people were all engrossed in
material affairs. Everyone was engrossed in material enjoyment, whether
sinfully or virtuously. No one was interested in the tr anscendental
service of the Lord, which can give total relief from the repetition of
birth and death. Seeing the activities of the world, the Acarya felt
compassion and began to ponder how he could act for the peoples benefit. 
	"If Sri Krsna were to appear as an incarnation, He Himself could
preach devotion by His personal example. In this age of Kali there is no
religion other than the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, but how in
this age will the Lord appear as an incarn ation? I shall worship Krsna in
a purified state of mind. I shall constantly petition Him in humbleness.
My name, Adwaita, will be fitting if I am able to induce Krsna to
inaugurate the movement of the chanting of the holy name." 
	While he was thinking about how to propitiate Krsna by worship,
the following verse came to his mind. "Sri Krsna, who is very affectionate
toward His devotees, sells Himself to a devotee who offers merely a tulasi
leaf and a palmful of water." 
	Adwaita Acarya considered the meaning of the verse in this way:
Not finding any way to repay the debt He owes to one who offers Him a
tulasi leaf and water, Lord Krsna thinks, "There is no wealth in My
possession that is equal to a tulasi leaf and water. " Thus the Lord
liquidates the debt by offering His own self to the devotee. Considering
this, the acarya began worshiping the Lord. 
	Thinking of the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, He constantly offered
tulasi buds in water from the Ganges. He appealed to Sri Krsna with loud
calls and thus made it possible for Krsna to appear. 
	Therefore the principal external reason for Sri Caitanyas descent
is this appeal by Adwaita Acarya. The Lord, the protector of religion,
appears by the desire of His devotee. (Exerpt from Caitanya Caritamrta Adi
3:92-110). 

	Further in the Caitanya Caritamrta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami has
stressed that Lord Caitanya appeared for three principal reasons of His
own. The first purpose was to relish the position of Srimati Radharani,
who is the prime reciprocator of transcende ntal love of Sri Krsna. Lord
Krsna is the reservoir of transcendental loving transactions with Srimati
Radharani. The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself,
and Radharani is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish
the m ellow in the position of the object, Radharani. 

	The second reason for His appearance was to understand the
transcendental mellow of Himself. Lord Krsna is all sweetness. Radharanis
attraction for Krsna is sublime, and to experience that attraction and
understand the transcendental sweetness of Himsel f, He accepted the
mentality of Radharani. 

	The third reason that Lord Caitanya appeared was to enjoy the
bliss tasted by Radharani. The Lord thought that undoubtably Radharani
enjoyed His company and He enjoyed the company of Radharani, but the
exchange of transcendental mellow between the spirit ual couple was more
pleasing to Srimati Radharani than to Sri Krsna. Radharani felt more
transcendental pleasure in the company of Krsna than He could understand
without taking Her position, but for Sri Krsna to enjoy in the position of
Srimati Radharani was impossible because that position was completely
foreign to Him. Krsna is the transcendental male, and Radharani is the
transcendental female. Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of
loving Krsna, Lord Krsna Himself appeared as Lord Caitanya, accepting the
emotions and bodily luster of Srimati Radharani. 

	Therefore Sri Krsna as Lord Caitanya appeared to fulfill His
internal confidential desires, and extenally, to preach the special
significance of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and to a nswer the call of His
devotees. 

	"All the universe is filled with the conception of My majesty, but
love weakened by that state of majesty does not satisfy Me. If one regards
Me as the Supreme Lord and himself as a subordinate, I do not become
subservient to his love, nor can it control Me. In whatever transcendental
mellow My devotee worships Me, I reciprocate with him. That is My natural
behavior. 
	In whatever way My devotees surrender unto Me, I reward him
accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha. 
	If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his
son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering
Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him. Devotional service
rendered to Me by the living beings re vives their eternal life. 
	O My dear damsels of Vraja, your affection for Me is your good
fortune, for it is the only means by which you have obtained My favor. 
	Mother sometimes binds Me as her son. She nourishes and protects
Me, thinking Me utterly helpless. My friends climb on My shoulders in pure
friendship, saying, What kind of big man are You? You and I are equal.
If My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind
from the reverent hymns of the Vedas. 
	Taking these pure devotees with Me, I shall descend and sport in
various wonderful ways, unknown even in Vaikuntha. I shall broadcast such
pastimes by which even I am amazed. The influence of yogamaya will inspire
the gopis with the sentiment that I am t heir paramour. Neither the gopis
nor I shall notice this, for our minds will always be entranced by one
anothers beauty and qualities. Pure attachment will unite us even at the
expense of moral and religious duties [dharma]. Destiny will sometimes
bring us together and sometimes separate us. I shall taste the essence of
all these rasas, and in this way I shall favor all the devotees. Then, by
hearing about the pure residents of Vraja, devotees will worship Me on the
path of spontaneous love, abandoning a ll rituals of religiosity and
fruitive activity. (Cc. Adi 4.17-33). 

	It is described in various places in the sastras that Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu was a covered incarnation. His direct identity is not found
very easily. However, His identity is revealed by the activity He
performs. 

	"In Kali-yuga human society is infested with hypocricy and
superficiality. There is a strong tendency toward imitation and fraud in
this age. Therefore the incarnation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is revealed
in Vedic literature in a confidential, discrete way, so that it will be
known to the authorized persons who can then propagate the mission of the
Lord on the earth. We actually see in this modern age that many foolish
and ordinary persons claim to be God or incarnations, avataras, etc. There
are many cheap philosophies and acadamies that promise, for a moderate
fee, to make one God in a short time. In America one famous religious
group promises its followers that they will all become the Supreme Lord in
heaven. Such bogus preaching goes on in the name of Christianity. Thus,
were Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name widely spoken of in Vedic literature,
there would soon be a veritable plague of imitation Caitanya Mahaprabhus
infesting the world. 
	Therefore, to prevent this pandemonium, discretion is exercised in
the Vedic literatures in Kali-yuga, and in a sober, concealed way the
actual followers of Vedic culture are informed through the Vedic mantras
of the descent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. T his discrete system, selected
by the Lord Himself for His appearance in Kali-yuga, is proving to be
greatly successful on the earth planet. And throughout the world millions
of people are chanting the holy names of Krsna without the unbearable
harassment of hundreds and thousands of imitation Caitanya Mahaprabhus."
(Extract from Srila Hridayananda dasa Goswami's purport to S.B. 11.5.35)

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

	"In this age of Kali there is no alternative, there is no
alternative, there is no alternative for spiritual progress other than the
holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord." 

	In this age, when everything is polluted by the contamination of
Kali, it is instructed in the scriptures and preached by Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu that by chanting the holy name of the Lord, we can at once be
free from contamination and gradually ris e to the status of transcendence
and go back to Godhead. The offenseless chanter of the holy name of the
Lord is as auspicious as the Lord Himself, and the movement of pure
devotees of the Lord all over the world can at once change the troublesome
face of the world. Only by the propogation of the chanting of the holy
name of the Lord can we be immune from all effects of the age of Kali.
(S.B. 1.16.32-33 Purport)





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