Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – The Golden Avatar

“In the age of Kali the incarnation of the Lord always chants the holy name “Krishna” in the company of His associates. His complexion is not blackish (like Krishna) but golden. The wise worship Him by congregationally chanting His name.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32)

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486- 1533) appeared in Mayapur, West-Bengal, more than 500 years ago. He is an incarnation of Krishna who descended to this material world for two purposes: to spread the chanting of the holy names of God and to deliver all the people from their material bondage. Simultaneously, this allowed Krishna (as Chaitanya) to taste the nectar of the pure love of God experienced by His topmost devotee, Srimati Radharani, the internal energy of Krishna.

In His early life, Lord Chaitanya played the part of an extraordinary scholar with enormous knowledge and talent, while hiding the truth of His incarnation. Most people knew Him as Nimai Pandit. However, when the time was right, he later manifested His divinity to His devotees and began spreading the sankirtan movement, the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord, that continues to this day.

After His 24th year, He accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa, and left His home to travel throughout India, converting all people into lovers of God. He would transport anyone, be he an atheist, rascal, or worse, as well as the pious and good, to the platform of love of Godhead. Lord Chaitanya did not consider whether the recipients of this love of God were worthy or not. He indiscriminately bestowed what no other incarnation of God ever gave before: pure love of the Lord. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is explained that God appears only in three of the four ages (Satya, Treta, Dvapara). This is because in the fourth age, the present age of Kali, the Lord manifests as the channa (hidden) avatara. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance in Kali Yuga is considered hidden because, unlike other avataras, He did not proclaim Himself as an incarnation. Rather, He acted in the guise of His own devotee, allowing only His most intimate followers to know of His Divinity.

Sri Chaitanya composed eight Sanskrit prayers known as the Siksastakam. These prayers are accepted by Gaudiya Vaishnavas as the essence of all devotional moods and spiritual instructions. The eight verses describe the importance of chanting the holy names of Krishna, the mood of a sincere devotee, the eligibility to chant the holy names, the consciousness required to chant purely, the importance of humility in chanting, the external symptoms of one who develops pure love of God, the mood of blissful separation from God, and the highest result of chanting selflessly. All these teachings are elaborately presented and discussed in the Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta, by Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, which has been translated and commented upon by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.