Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 6 Summary

A summary of the Sixth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrita-pravaha-bhashya as follows. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu entered the temple of Jagannatha, He immediately fainted. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then took Him to his home. Meanwhile, Gopinatha Acarya, the brother-in-law of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, met Mukunda Datta and talked to him about Caitanya Mahaprabhu's acceptance of sannyasa and His journey to Jagannatha Puri. After hearing about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's fainting and His being carried to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, people crowded there to see the Lord. Srila Nityananda Prabhu and other devotees then visited the Jagannatha temple, and when they came back to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned to external consciousness. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya received everyone and distributed maha-prasadam with great care. The Bhattacarya then became acquainted with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and arranged accommodations at his aunt's house. His brother-in-law, Gopinatha Acarya, established that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krishna Himself, but Sarvabhauma and his many disciples could not accept this. However, Gopinatha Acarya convinced Sarvabhauma that no one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being favored by Him. He proved by sastric quotation, quotations from the revealed scriptures, that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krishna Himself in person. Still, Sarvabhauma did not take these statements very seriously. Hearing all these arguments, Caitanya Mahaprabhu told His devotees that Sarvabhauma was His spiritual master and that whatever he said out of affection was for everyone's benefit.

When Sarvabhauma met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he asked Him to hear Vedanta philosophy from him. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted this proposal, and for seven days He continally heard Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya explain the Vedanta-sutra. However, the Lord remained very silent. Because of His silence, the Bhattacarya asked Him whether He was understanding the Vedanta philosophy, and the Lord replied, "Sir, I can understand Vedanta philosophy very clearly, but I cannot understand your explanations." There was then a discussion between the Bhattacarya and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu concerning the authority of the Vedic scriptures, specifically the Upanishads and Vedanta-sutra. The Bhattacarya was an impersonalist, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu proved that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He proved that the conceptions of the Mayavadi philosophers concerning the impersonal Absolute Truth are incorrect.

The Absolute Truth is neither impersonal nor without power. The greatest mistake made by the Mayavadi philosophers is in conceiving the Absolute Truth to be impersonal and without energy. In all the Vedas, the unlimited energies of the Absolute Truth have been accepted. It is also accepted that the Absolute Truth has His transcendental, blissful, eternal form. According to the Vedas, the Lord and the living entity are equal in quality but different quantitatively. The real philosophy of the Absolute Truth states that the Lord and His creation are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different. The conclusion is that the Mayavadi philosophers are actually atheists. There was much discussion on this issue between Sarvabhauma and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but despite all his endeavors, the Bhattacarya was defeated in the end.

At the request of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then explained the atmarama verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam in eighteen different ways. When the Bhattacarya came to his senses, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu disclosed His real identity. The Bhattacarya then recited one hundred verses in praise of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and offered his obeisances. After this, Gopinatha Acarya and all the others, having seen the wonderful potencies of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, became very joyful.

One morning after this incident, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu received some prasadam from Jagannatha and offered it to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. Without caring for formality, the Bhattacarya immediately partook of the maha-prasadam. On another day, when the Bhattacarya asked Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu the best way to worship and meditate, the Lord advised him to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. On another day, the Bhattacarya wanted to change the reading of the tat te 'nukampam verse because he did not like the word mukti-pada. He wanted to substitute the word bhakti-pada. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised Sarvabhauma not to change the reading of Srimad-Bhagavatam, because mukti-pada indicated the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Having become a pure devotee, the Bhattacarya said, "Because the meaning is hazy, I still prefer bhakti-pada." At this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the other inhabitants of Jagannatha Puri became very pleased. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya thus became a pure Vaishnava, and the other learned scholars there followed him.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness