Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Ādi-līlā | Chapter 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Ādi 7.37
aparādha kshamāila, dubila prema-jale
kebā edāibe prabhura prema-mahājāle
SYNONYMS
aparādha — offense; kshamāila — excused; dubila — merged into; prema-jale — in the ocean of love of Godhead; kebā — who else; edāibe — will go away; prabhura — the Lord's; prema — loving; mahā-jāle — network.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya excused them all, and they merged into the ocean of devotional service, for no one can escape the unique loving network of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
PURPORT
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was an ideal ācārya. An ācārya is an ideal teacher who knows the purpose of the revealed scriptures, behaves exactly according to their injunctions and teaches his students to adopt these principles also. As an ideal ācārya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu devised ways to capture all kinds of atheists and materialists. Every ācārya has a specific means of propagating his spiritual movement with the aim of bringing men to Krishna consciousness. Therefore, the method of one ācārya may be different from that of another, but the ultimate goal is never neglected. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends:
tasmāt kenāpy upāyena manah krishne niveśayet
sarve vidhi-nishedhā syur etayor eva kińkarāh
An ācārya should devise a means by which people may somehow or other come to Krishna consciousness. First they should become Krishna conscious, and all the prescribed rules and regulations may later gradually be introduced. In our Krishna consciousness movement we follow this policy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. For example, since boys and girls in the Western countries freely intermingle, special concessions regarding their customs and habits are necessary to bring them to Krishna consciousness. The ācārya must devise a means to bring them to devotional service. Therefore, although I am a sannyāsī I sometimes take part in getting boys and girls married, although in the history of sannyāsa no sannyāsī has personally taken part in marrying his disciples.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness