Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu was born in West Bengal, India in 1486. Although he was
also known as a scholar, he is chiefly remembered for having revitalized
the bhakti movement (path of love) in India by gathering thousands of
devotees together to play musical instruments and chant the names of
Krishna. He is also said to have defeated Buddhist scholars by the
strength of his arguments. Mahaprabhu died at the age of forty-eight.
He left eight verses, known as the Shikshashtaka, which summarize his
teachings.
According to Chaitanya Charitamrita, Nimäi was born on the full moon night of February 18, 1486, at the time of a lunar eclipse.His parents named him 'Vishvambhar'. Sri Chaitanya was the second son
of Jagannath Mishra and his wife Sachi Devi who lived in the town of Nabadwip in Nadia, West Bengal.Chaitanya's ancestry is a contentious issue between the people of
Orissa and West Bengal with Shree Chaitanya having family roots in Jajpur, Orissa, from where his grandfather, Madhukar Mishra had emigrated to nearby Bengal.
In his youth, Chaitanya Mahäprabhu was primarily known as an erudite scholar, whose learning and skills in argumentation in his locality were second to none. 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 traveling 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 Mahäprabhu's outlook and upon his return to Bengal the local Vaishnavas, headed by Advaita Ächärya,
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, Orissa, the great temple city of Jagannäth. The Suryavanshi Hindu emperor of Orissa, Gajapati
Maharaja Prataparudra Dev, regarded the Lord as Krishna's incarnation
and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya's sankeertan party. It was during these years that Lord Chaitanya is believed by His followers to have sank deep into various Divine-Love (samādhi) and performed pastimes of divine ecstasy (bhakti).
Author : Prabhudatta Brahamchari
This
book is a biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who propagated the
incessant current of love and devotion in east Bangal some four hundred
years ago. A picturesque life-sketch of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has been
beautifully portrayed by renowned saint Sri Prabhudatta Brahmachari. The
book contains various aspects of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life such as
his being engrossed always in chanting divine name, liberating of some
vile persons, stories regarding purification of even Yavanas,
abandonment of his home and family etc. As a matter of fact this is a
worth reading book.
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