Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 17.100

maheśa-āveśa hailā śacīra nandana

tāra skandhe caḍi nṛtya kaila bahu-kṣaṇa

SYNONYMS

maheśa-āveśa — in the mood of Lord Śiva; hailā — became; śacīra — of mother Śacī; nandana — son; tāra skandhe — on his shoulder; caḍi — getting on; nṛtya — dance; kaila — did; bahu-kṣaṇa — for a long time.

TRANSLATION

Then Lord Caitanya, adopting the mood of Lord Śiva, got on the man's shoulders, and thus they danced together for a long time.

PURPORT

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu adopted the mood of Lord Śiva, for He is Śiva also. According to the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, Lord Śiva is not different from Lord Viṣṇu, but still Lord Śiva is not Lord Viṣṇu, just as yogurt is nothing but milk and yet is not milk nevertheless. One cannot get the benefit of milk by drinking yogurt. Similarly, one cannot get salvation by worshiping Lord Śiva. If one wants salvation, one must worship Lord Viṣṇu. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4): mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaḿ teṣv avasthitaḥ. Everything is resting on the Lord, for everything is His energy, yet He is not everywhere. Lord Caitanya's adopting the mood of Lord Śiva is not extraordinary, but one should not therefore think that by worshiping Lord Śiva one is worshiping Lord Caitanya. That would be a mistake.

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