40. Identity of Lord Caitanya

40. Identity of Lord Caitanya:

"May Lord Caitanya, whose shoulders are like a lion's, whose smiling cheeks are the sweetest of all sweet things, whose body displays various wonderful symptoms of ecstatic love of Krsna, whose features are as splendid as the whorl of a blossoming golden lotus flower, and who is Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and Śrī Kṛṣņa joined in a single form, protect you all.

"Sometimes, assuming the role of Lord Krsna, Lord Caitanya dances with many graceful motions. Sometimes filled with Radha's love, Gauranga calls out: 'Alas! Alas! Alas!' Sometimes Lord Caitanya becomes like a crawling infant, and sometimes He becomes like a cowherd boy. In this way the profoundly glorious Lord Gaura astonishes the entire world." (Sri Caitanya Candramrta)

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, "Krsna as the source of love of Himself is Caitanya. The two aspects of the divine personality are not complimentary but are identical. Śrī Krsna is eternally served by the denizens of Vraja. Krsna is thus served in a visible form in the Dväpara Age in this world. Sri Krşņa is also served in a visible form in Kali-yuga. He served as Śrī Caitanya by the denizens of Navadvipa which is identical with the white island (Śvetadvīpa) of the scriptures. The servants and associates of Śrī Krsna Caitanya are identical with those of Śrī Krsna. The service of Sri Krsna Caitanya alone is attainable in the Kali age. Those who aspire for the service of Krşņa in this age, have no other alternative but to serve Śrī Krsna Caitanya." (Harmonist)

"Whether we judge the intensity of a devotee's love for God by the frantic outbursts of emotion that reveal the inner workings of His heart; whether we measure Him by the range and depth of His spiritual realizations and the height of bliss perpetually experienced by Him; or whether we apply to Him the test of shaping the minds and moulding the lives of His associates and followers by the magnetic influence of His personality, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stands out as the brightest luminary of divine love on the spiritual firmament of the world.

"Lord Caitanya's bountiful distribution of the nectar of divine love to the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the good and the wicked, regardless of any barriers of caste and creed; His congregational chanting of the name of the Lord, in which hundreds of thousands of men joined at a time; His triumphs of love over His enemies; and the chastening effect of the mere touch and presence of His personality, which turned kings and chiefs into ascetics, and the cruellest and most hardened of sinners into saints, and made even the fiercest of animals dance with the joy of divine love, all are unparalleled in history." (Philosophy and Religion of Sri Caitanya)

"Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Lord Krsna Himself teaching the living entity the proper way to approach Krsna. He is like a teacher who, seeing a student doing poorly, takes up a pencil and writes, saying, 'Do like this: A, B, C.' Although He appears in the guise of a devotee, we should always remember that Lord Caitanya is Krsna, God Himself, teaching us how to become Krsna conscious." (Cc. intro.)

Mahāprabhu is sometimes called the prema-avatara because He taught how to perform the sadhana of prema-dharma (the practice of devotional service culminating in Krsna-prema). Lord Caitanya was the svayam rupa bhagavan, the original and complete form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, containing all other transcendental forms within Himself. To conclusively prove this, Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu would often reveal His various divine forms to His devotees.

Srivasa Pandita was worshiping the deity in his temple, Śrī Caitanya knocked on his door.

Lord Caitanya said, "Whom are you meditating upon? He whom you are worshiping is standing before you." Śrīvāsa then saw Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of Lord Vişhnu.

Similarly, Lord Caitanya appeared in the form of Varaha and Lord Rama to Murari Gupta. He appeared in the form of Krsna to Kholaveca Śrīdhara and Sacīmātā, and in the form of Lord Siva to a Šiva bhakta. Gauranga showed His viśva-rūpa form to Śrī Advaita Ācārya. Lord Gaura appeared as sad-bhuja (six-armed form) to Lord Nityananda, Särvabhauma Bhatțācārya and King Pratāparudra. The six-armed form of sad-bhuja was a combination of Rama holding bow and arrow with two arms, Krsna playing flute with two lotus hands, and Śrī Caitanya holding kamandalu and sannyāsa danda.

Śrīla Prabhupāda once referred to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as "the Divine inaugurator of the sankirtana movement."