Chaitanya

Chaitanya

Chaitanya was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He had the thirst for Krishna. His heart was so pure that he had no touch of blemish at all. He was called Krishna Chaitanya, because he lost his Chaitanya, that is, became unconscious of the world outside him, when he heard the name Krishna and became Krishna-conscious.

Chaitanya was the exponent of worshipping Lord in the form of Nama Samkeerthana. "All names are yours. There is nothing in the cosmos which does not bear the imprint of your name or form". Chaitanya reveled in singing the name of the Lord as signifying all that was beautiful and glorious in the Universe.

Chaitanya exemplified the quality of unquestioning faith in the will of the Divine. When he was going about in his native village Navadeep, chanting the name of Krishna, some envious persons attacked him and took away the cymbals from his hands. Chaitanya accepted the loss as a sign of Grace from Krishna and continued singing, using his hands for clapping. He said, "Oh Lord! I am using, the hands you have given to me for clapping while singing your praise. I can do without the cymbals." The miscreants then bound his hands to prevent him from clapping. Chaitanya exclaimed, "Lord! I shall keep the rhythm of my chanting with my voice. Your love will be my tune. I know no yoga. I have done no penance. I do not care for the treasurers of the world. My greatest and only wealth is your love. Confer this wealth on me."

Of what avail are Japa and penance without the love of the Lord! They are like preparing excellent food in an untinned vessel. The entire food gets poisoned. Likewise, one may practice the nine forms of devotion, but without love of God in the heart, they are useless. Chaitanya declared. "Oh Lord! I want your love alone and nothing else."

At his birth, the name given to the Chaitanya was Gauranga, because of his white complexion. But as he was always chanting the name "Krishna, Krishna" he got the popular name "Krishna Chaitanya (One who was immersed in Krishna consciousness)". The moment he repeated Krishna’s name he used to lose his consciousness.

Krishna Chaitanya was once moving about, dancing and singing ecstatically, oblivious to everything, immersed in the contemplation of the Lord. He entered Navadeep, where the leaders of the town joined him in his Bhajans with equal ecstasy. A thief also joined that group. He had been a thief all his life and was an arrogant liar. He joined them and thought that as there were many rich men in the group, who had wholly lost themselves in their singing and dancing, he would easily pick their pockets. While this was his intention, what happened was entirely different. The moment he joined the devout group, he forgot himself and began to sing and dance with the same fervour as the others. After the others had left, he sat apart for a while, watching Chaitanya. A small group of children were listening to Chaitanya’s discourse. The thief ran towards Chaitanya and said, "Swami! You are giving advice to so many persons. Please impart some holy name to me." Chaitanya replied: "Tell me first of all who you are and what is your life story. I shall then give you a message." The man confessed: "Swami! I am a thief. I have been leading the life of a thief and as a liar. My name is Rama. People call me Rama, the Thief." Chaitanya said: "What a pity! I shall, however, give you a message. What will you give me as Gurudakshina (offering to the teacher)." The thief replied: "I shall give you a share in the booty I get from stealing." Chaitanya said: "I have no need of any such thing. Give me as your offering the promise that you will not commit theft in future." He replied: "Swami! I am prepared to offer you anything, but I can not agree to give up stealing." Chaitanya then said: "If that is so, I shall impart the sacred name to you on one condition. Whichever place you may choose for stealing, you must recite the sacred name 108 times before you break into the place."

Chaitanya then drew the thief near him. The thief’s heart had considerably softened after listening to Chaitanya’s words. "Sambhashanam Sankatanashanam" (Conversation with a holy person removes difficulties). The thief was getting rid of the fear. He neared Chaitanya. "Sparshanam Karma Vimochanam." (The touch of a holy person frees one from the effects of past deeds). Chaitanya held the thief’s head and whispered in his ear three times the mantra. "Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya." The mere sight (darshan) of Chaitanya destroyed the sins committed by the thief. His words dispelled the worries felt by the thief. The touch of the saint freed him from the bonds of his past deeds.

The thief went back with a purified heart. As he was leaving, he saw a large number of people going to Chaitanya. Many rich persons were amongst them. The thief thought that this was a good opportunity for him to break into their houses. The richest man had taken his wife and children to meet Chaitanya, leaving his house unguarded. He broke into the house and entered the safe room in which all valuables were kept. He saw gems of all kinds. He had resolved not to touch any of the valuables until he completed the recitation of the mantra given to him by Chaitanya 108 times. But, before he could complete the mantra Japa, the master of the house and others returned there. The lady of the house, who had gone with her jewels, wanted to replace them in the safe. She saw a stranger in the room engaged in deep meditation. She thought he must be some great sage who had came into the house in their absence and was meditating on God. She called her husband. The stranger continued to be immersed in meditation. He did not appear like a thief. They thought he must be some saintly person who had honoured their home by his visit. All of them began to offer worship to him and prostrate before him. They thought that in the wake of Saint Chaitanya other saintly persons were also visiting their village.

Meanwhile, after completion of the recitation of the mantra, the thief opened his eyes and found to his astonishment a large group of people standing reverently before him. The master of the house asked him. "Oh Sir! Who are you? Where from have you came? We have been sanctified by your visit. Please take your food in our home and redeem our lives by doing us this honour."

A great change came over the thief. He thought: "If mere recitation of the Lord’s name can bring me so much of honour and respect, although I had come here only to steal, how many greater things may be in store for me if I genuinely recite the Lord’s name for its own sake? I should hope for the highest position by the Grace of the Lord." That very moment he decided to give up stealing. He prostrated before the master of the house and his wife and said: "Mother! Let me tell you the truth. I am a thief. Let me go to a forest. I shall spend the rest of my days contemplating on God and leading the life of a true ascetic."

Listening to his words of truth, the elders present there were deeply moved and they arranged to carry him in a palanquin in procession a round the village and to leave him in the forest as desired by him.

Chaitanya declared: "My property is not `Sri’ but `Hari’ I value not Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth), but the Lord of Lakshmi (Vishnu)." If you aspire for the Lord, you will not suffer from any want. There is no greater wealth than love of the Lord.

Chaitanya, the son of Sathi Devi, once went to Puri and had the darshan of Lord Jagannath. He worshipped Jagannath with these words. "Oh Lord! You are not merely the Lord of the earth. You are the Lord of the Universe. You are the Lord of life! You are the Lord of Love! Swami! I do not need wealth or vehicles. Even less do I seek devotion, wisdom or discrimination. I do not aspire for worldly pleasures or possessions. It is enough if I am endowed with the love to love you. If I have love, all other things will come of their own accord. The only thing I seek is love towards you. Grant me this boon."

Once, a mendicant with tattered clothes, unkempt hair and dirty body come and stood at the threshold of Chaitanya’s room and was meditating with closed eyes. On seeing him Chaitanya came out and asked him, "Who are you? You can come inside". On hearing these soft and sweet words, the mendicant opened his eyes and replied in all humility, "Swami! I don’t deserve to step into your room. I am a despicable person belonging to the caste of Chandalas (Untouchables). I am not fit to defile your sacred residence. Full of smiles, Chaitanya went closer to him and said endearingly. "My son, never say that you are mean, despicable or unworthy. Who is mean and who is sacred on this earth? All are equally sacred because the same God shines in every one’s heart. So, please come inside without any hesitation."

When the mendicant was still hesitating to go inside, Chaitanya questioned him about the purpose of his visit. The visitor replied, "Swami, I am repeatedly chanting God’s name but I feel it lacks Chaitanya (spiritual power) just as a person in a state of coma has mere life without any consciousness. I seem to be mechanically chanting the Lord’s name without experiencing the power of the Divine. I have come to you with the hope that if you initiate me in one of the Lord’s names, it will be charged with spiritual potency and I will be benefited by chanting such a name".

Chaitanya replied, "All the names of God are full of Chaitanya or Divine power. God’s name is omnipotent and self effulgent. Hence it is not proper for you to underrate the efficacy of any of the Lord’s names. However, for your satisfaction, I will give you initiation (Mantropadesa) as desired by you. Please step into the room". The visitor responded by slowly entering the room, full of humility, hesitation, nervousness and fear, and sat in one corner of the room. Noticing his plight, Chaitanya gently told him, "My son, why are you so full of fear? Freedom and fearlessness are the birth-right of every man. Freedom being your real nature, why do you give room for fear? You must recognise that the Atmic power is behind all thoughts, and give up fear."

Saying this, Chaitanya came closer and closer to the mendicant. Seeing this, the mendicant cried out apprehensively, "Swami, please don’t touch me. If you touch me, both of us will be guilty of breach of the traditional norms of our society. I say so particularly because it is winter now, and if you touch me, you will have to take a cold water bath again and that will tell upon your health. I have accepted you as my guru (Preceptor) and since, according to the scriptures, the guru is verily God, I shall be sinning against God by hurting you in any way. I have come to obey your commands and receive help from you, but not to hurt you in the process. Because of my sins in my past lives, I am now born as an untouchable. I don’t want to add to my load of sins by allowing you to touch me now".

On hearing this, Chaitanya remonstrated: "What a simpleton you are! You are only betraying your ignorance by observing untouchability, ignoring the Divinity inherent in every being. God has no distinctions of caste and creed. There is no caste for any of the five elements, namely, earth, water. Fire, air and sky, all of which have emanated from God. Irrespective of the castes and creeds professed by men, all are equally sharing the bounties of nature offered by the five elements. Therefore, there is no need to observe such differences of caste and creed. Come closer to me."

However, the mendicant could not shed his fear, because he had been nurturing this fear from his childhood. This shows that feelings such as fear, love, hatred etc. become ingrained in a person if he nurtures them for a long time from an early age in his life. Chaitanya told the mendicant, "God never endows man with fear. It is one’s own weakness that fosters fear, because of some shortcomings in one’s self. One who has not committed any wrong or evil act will have no fear and hence will not need any protection or security. Fearlessness is the hall-mark of Divinity. One can become fearless through (Thyaga) renunciation or sacrifice. For example, if you have some valuables with you, there is room for fear. But if you give up those valuables, you will be free from fear wherever you may be, even in a jungle infested with robbers. My dear child, realise that your very nature is absolute fearlessness in all circumstances. Remain true to you nature."

Saying this, Chaitanya hugged the mendicant. But the latter began shaking with mixed feelings of bliss and fear, bliss because of the embrace of such a holy saint like Chaitanya, and fear because of the misapprehension that Chaitanya would be polluted by physical contact with him. He cried out, "O Swami, let not my sins pollute you". Laughing at this statement, Chaitanya told him assuringly: "O innocent one, you and I have now become one. We are no longer separate". So saying, Chaitanya hugged him in a warm embrace and whispered the Lord’s name into his ear. The name went straight into the old man’s heart, and so transformed him that he exclaimed in ecstasy, "Swami there is no one as lucky as myself. I have now become sanctified, sacred and pure. I have got rid of the wrong notion that I am only the body made up of the five elements and have realised my true nature, because of your Grace and the Grace of the Lord’s name which you gave me."

One’s life becomes sanctified by treasuring the Lord’s name in one’s heart with a feeling of intensive love. In the absence of such a love, all so-called spiritual practices will prove futile. Various spiritual disciplines are necessary only for the purification of the heart. Once the heart becomes pure, there is no further need for study of the scriptures or spiritual practices. Explaining thus Chaitanya exhorted his new disciple to give up fear henceforth. From then onwards, the mendicant became known as Haridasa.

The moral of this story is that we should give up all differences based on one’s birth and position in life and chant or sing the Lord’s name with intense love and devotion. First, the name should melt the devotee’s heart; then only it can melt God’s heart and draw his Grace upon the devotee. God does not care for how long and in what ways you have practiced Sadhana. What he wants is sincere, wholehearted and intense love for him.