Teaching Methods of Sri Chaitanya
In order to be acquainted with Chaitanya Deva's method of teaching we must have recourse to Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, as He has left no book of His own composition, indeed nothing save and except His eight teachings (Sikshastaka). A few more slokas are found in the Padyabali, but they do not give us any systematic idea of His teachings. There are a few booklets which are said to be the works of the Supreme Lord, but they do not seem to be authentic. The Goswamis have left some works of their own in which the teachings of Chaitanya Deva are found in abundance but there is nothing in them which is stated to be from the pen of the Supreme Lord. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita is an authoritative work which abounds with precepts which are His according to the evidence of the Goswamis; hence it is that this book carries respect in all quarters. The author composed it shortly after Mahaprabhu's time. Some of the direct disciples of Mahapraabhu, such as Sri Das Goswami and Rupa Goswami helped the author in the enterprise. This work has been enriched by materials gathered from Sri Chaitanya Chandrodayanataka by Sri Kabi Karnapura Which appeared for the sanskrit knowing section and Sri Chaitanya Bhagabata by Sri Brindaban Das Thakur Which went on to describe only the early life of the Lord. We are led to follow Krishnadas when we weigh difference circumstances.
During the twenty four years of His household life He taught the glory of the transcendental name of Hari and the imperative necessity of chanting, in the compound of Sribash's house, on the bank of the Ganges in the sanskrit schools, or on the way and, after his renouncing the world, in this instructions to Sarvabhauma at Purushottam Kshetra, to Roy Ramananda at Vidyanagar, Venkata Bhatta at Shrirangam, Ballabh Bhatta and Rupa Goswami and in the shape of hints Raghupati Upadhyaya at Prayag, and Sanatana and Prakashananda at Benaras. We can safely pick out His teachings from these sources.
It was His infinite love for the people of this world that promoted Mahaprabhu to preach Vaishnavasim or eternal function of the soul to all throughout India.
He went to some countries Himself and preached there, while to others He sent preachers endowing them with supernatural powers and abilities. Theirs was love's labour. They got no reward or remuneration for their services nor hoped for any. No true religion can have a hold on the people, if not preached by men of sterling worth and character. Hence it is that though mercenaries are engaged in the preaching of certain doctrines now-a-days they can do very little of appreciable value.
We find in the Eighth chapter of the first part (Adilila) of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita that Sri Krishna Chaitanya in His five-fold manifestation blessed the world with the gift of the transcendental Name and Love for Krishna. Rupa and Sanatana are despatched to Mathura. They were commissioned to propagate the doctrine of Bhakti which is the only serving function of the unalloyed soul fostered in favour of Krishna without any ambition for amelioration or salvation. Nityananda was sent to Gauda which He overflowed with Bhakti. He Himself went to the Deccan and travelled village to village of which the inhabitants were taught the system of reciting the transcendental Name of Krishna. They spread the message of Bhakti up to Setubandha and, endowing the people with love For Krishna, relieved them from the bondage of worldly affinity.
The mainspring of the teachings of Mahaprabhu is this; that love for Krishna is the eternal religion of Jiva or individual soul. The soul cannot remain devoid of it forever. But he forgets Krishna and is dominated by illusion (Maya) and, as a result, becomes attracted towards other objects, hence this Dharma wellnigh conceals itself in some inner cell of the soul. It is for this that Jiva suffers misery in this world. But if the Jiva ever becomes lucky enough to recollect that he is the eternal servant of God, he reverts to his own eternal nature which is his normal condition. Belief in this truth is the root of all good.
Faith arises in two ways. Some men, when their tenure of bondage nears the end, by virtue of their cumulated good fortune of previous births, recoup their innate aptitude to rely on Krishna. Chaitanya Charitamrita, Middle part, ch.23, that says if by a stroke of fortune a Jiva happens to embrace transcendental faith, he acquires a love the company of self-realised souls, 'Sraddha' is the word used here. It means faith. Chaitanya Charitamrita says Sraddha means firm faith in this; that if you have devotion to Krishna, nothing remains to be done. So we can fairly determine that full reliance on Krishna satisfies all that we covet for. When we are free from disturbance by a turn of good luck, Sraddha which lies in a dormant state in our eternal nature wakes up in our devotional activities. Whenever a man is found to have such determinate reliance on the Absolute, his devotional temper progresses gradually in the company of experienced and worthy devotees and he can then dispense with his unpromising habits which prove to oppose his advancements. His confidence turns to Nistha (undeviating continuity), Ruchi (taste), Asakti (attachment to the transcendental reality), and Bhaba (a combination of feelings indicative of love, ecstatic and assiduous devotion).
Spontaneous Sraddha, if it springs vigorously, voluntarily flows through the channel of Raga, and without caring for the mandatory injunction of the Shastras successfully flows its own career through the region of Bhab, or, in other words, Rati for Krishna, to consummation. But the aspirant's mild conviction is ameliorated by the sound arguments of a good preceptor. To follow the injunction of a preceptor as well as to study the Shastras is found to be the basis of one's conviction; and the guidance of the Shastras is essentially necessary as a rule. In Adi, ch.7, we have, 'Prabhu said, "My Lord, listen to the cause of it. My preceptor found that I was a fool and said, 'You have not the capacity for the mastering the abstruse Vedanta. Recite the Name of Krishna incessantly. This is the best of mantras. The mantra of Krishna will relieve you from the bondage of worldly affinity. The name of Krishna will take you to the feet of Krishna. In this iron age there is no other religion than the Name is the essence of all mantras- this is the purport of the scriptures'. Having said this he taught me a sloka to recite and ponder. The sloka runs thus:-
'Hari's Name, Hari's Name It is the Name of Hari alone: In this iron age. There is no other way at all, none at all".
Having heard this mandate, I took the Name incessantly, and, as I did so, in course of time my mind got loose from its bonds. I could not control myself but became mad outright.'
'I laughed and wept and danced and sang like a mad man. Recovering control I thought within my mind that the name of Krishna had overpowered my intellect and that I had gone mad and could not restrain myself. Thus revolving in my mind I made this humble submission at the feet of my preceptor, "Master, what a mantra you have a given me! What mysterious power it has got! As I go on reciting it, it makes me mad; it makes me laugh, dance and weep." On this my spiritual preceptor said to me,"It is the nature of the great mantra of the Name of Krishna that natural aptitude towards Krishna is aroused in him who repeats it. Love for Krishna is the ultimate goal of a person. The four great acquisitions are as straws in comparison."
We gather one thing from what The Lord, said. When He says, 'Recite and ponder," He means that Sraddha or faith is developed by a discussion of the scriptures with a view to understand them. In the opinion of the Lord, the confirmation of the Scriptures or, rather, the Vedas alone is the only true test. The science of polemics is of no avail. In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi (First Part), ch.7, in His instruction for the guidance of the ascetics He says, "The self-revealing Veda is the crowning evidence."
Again, in the 20th chapter of the middle part of Chaitanya Charitamrita we have the following instruction to Sanatan Goswami, 'a creature labouring under illusion remembers not Krishna. So Krishna kindly created the Veda and Puranas'.
It is but evident that there are two degrees of faith: mild faith and strong faith. The reverence that arises in us out of strong faith is also strong, and, by nature, has the character of Bhava. Our supreme Lord's Eight Teachings (Sikshastakam) deal with them in a comprehensive manner. He thus spoke of mild faith to Sanatan (Chaitanya Charitamrita), middle part ch, 23)' If a man has the grace to feel Sraddha, he consorts with pious men, from which companionship result the hearing and chanting of Krishna's Name. From the attainment of Bhakti, all his troubles are removed, and as a consequence of the latter his faith becomes constant, which gives him a taste for the listening and [hymning of Krishna's name]. From taste (ruchi) comes strong inclination (asakti), which gives birth to the sprout of passion for Krishna in the soul. When this emotion is deepened, it takes the name of love (prema). That love is the (ultimate) end and the source of every bliss.'
When Sraddha is strong the rituals of the Shastras are not necessary; men of mild Sraddha must follow the Shastras and associate with pious men; diksha or initiation is absolutely necessary for them. We should learn the shastras and take mantra from a holy preceptor and worship the Holy images, in the way shown by him. All these will facilitate his spiritual development. This is Dashmulasikha (Ten Cardinal principles). Proof is one of the principles while Prameyas or things that are to be proved are nine in number.
A devotee having strong Sraddha has an innate faith in chanting the Name which facilitates the understanding of the Prameyas only by the grace of the Holy Name. He has not to bother himself about praman (proof).
A man having mild Sraddha, if he does not take recourse to praman (proof), slips his foothold through evil company. The Vedas are the only authoritative proof (Praman). The Vedas are voluminous and contain a good deal of provisions for the karmins and jnanins; hence it becomes difficult to pick out those portions that are meant solely for the suddhabhaktas (those who have devotions unadulterated by Karma or Jnana). The Sattvika puranas have this function only, they explain clearly the basic principles of the Vedas which are scattered here and there as the Abhidheya of the Vedas. Of all the Sattvika Puranas Sreemadbhagabata is the greatest and most useful in mastering the true meaning of the Vedas. Therefore, the Bhagavata and the Tantras such as Pancharatra are also authoritative proofs.
In His teaching to Sanatan He says, 'the Vedas treat of Sambandha (relation), Abhidheya (means) and Prayjon (need) That relation is the attaining of Krishna ; faith is the means of that attainment,-- the means are His Names ; love is the (supreme) need , the most precious treasure and the highest achievement of humanity.
Relation.- Chit (jiva),achit and Iswar are related to one another. This is relation. It is true that Krishna is One without a second. He has two powers, achit and jiva. The achit power is resolved into the material world; while Jiva power transforms itself into the Jaiva (animate) world. If you reason about relation you find that the regaining of the status of servitude to Krishna is the establishment of the relationship. In his teaching to Sarvabhaum, He says that in essence He is the master and has not the slightest tinge of illusion in Him In all the Vedas Bhagawan is the only Object of relationship.
Again in His teachings to Sanatan, we find that that the attainment of Krishna is the relation, and Bhakti (devotional service) is the means of the attainment.
In this reasoning about the relationship there are seven subjects for discussion, --- (a) reasoning about Krishna, (b) discussion about Krishna's powers, (c) Rasattwa, (d) Jiva, (e) his worldly bondage, (f) redemption of the soul, (g) Achintyabhedabheda -- inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-distinction. The knowledge of the relationship is based on a thorough discussion of each of the above seven Prameyas or things to be demonstrated.
The means -- Words are arranged in a written composition. The force of a sentence as indicated by the ordinary literal meaning of each of the words is the Abhidha Sakti, e.g.,'ten elephants' means elephants numbering ten. This is the literal meaning or abhidha.
There is another force of words lakshana or implication, not the literal meaning; as for example, "Ghose-palli on the Ganges". There can be no village Ghosepalli in water. It implies that the village stands on the bank of the Ganges. This is lakshana. Abhidha or the literal meaning does not operate where Lakshana or an implied meaning is necessary. Where the sense follows easily and naturally Abhidha is operative.
The literal meaning of the contents of the Vedas is to be accepted. We should learn to know Abhidheya or the real meaning of the Vedas. If we scrutinize all the Vedas properly we find that unalloyed devotion of Godhead is the Abhidheya of them all, while Karma, Jnana and Yoga are of secondary importance in comparison. They cannot be held to be of primary importance. Hence the principle highroad for the attainment of Krishna as indicated by them is the means -Sadhana bhakti. This is one of the subjects to be demonstrated.
Prayojana is the end for the attainment of which means are to be adopted. The attainment of love is another Prameya. Now we get nine Prameyas.
We find in His instructions to Sanatana, 'In the Vedas Krishna is only object related to us. Now hear what is connoted by Abhidheya which is the means of attaining Krishna and the treasure of the love of Krishna.'
This was the Supreme Lord's method of teaching Jaivadharma or the religion of the soul.
