Introduction
5
to the sun and moon in that They dissipate the darkness of the material world. In this instance both the sun and moon have risen together, and it is proper to offer obeisances directly to Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda.
In the Western world where the glories of Lord Caitanya are relatively unknown, one may inquire, “Who is Kṛṣṇa Caitanya?” The scriptural conclusion in answer to that question is that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally in the  Upaniṣads  the Supreme Absolute Truth is described in an impersonal way, but the personal aspect of the Absolute Truth is mentioned in the  Īśopaniṣad , where, after a description of the all-pervading, we find the following verse:
hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye
“O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.” (Śrī  Īśopaniṣad , Mantra 15)
The impersonalists do not have the power to go beyond the effulgence of God and arrive at the personality from whom this effulgence is emanating. At the end of  Īśopaniṣad , however, there is a hymn to the Personality of Godhead. It is not that the impersonal Brahman is denied; it is also described, but that Brahman is considered to be the glaring effulgence of the body of Caitanya. In other words, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. It is also stated by Kṛṣṇa in  Bhagavad-gītā  that the impersonal Brahman rests on Him ( brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham , Bg. 14.27). The Paramātmā, or Supersoul, which is present within the heart of every living entity and within every atom of the universe, is but the partial representation of Caitanya. Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is therefore the basis of Brahman and the Supreme Personality of Godhead as well. As the Supreme He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. In short, we should know that He is Kṛṣṇa, God, and nothing is equal to or greater than Him. There is no superior to be conceived. He is the Supreme Person.
It was Rūpa Gosvāmī, a confidential devotee taught for more than ten days continuously by Lord Caitanya, who wrote:
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya who is more magnanimous than any other  avatāra , even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Kṛṣṇa.”
It is not that Caitanya teaches a long and elaborate path to God realization. He is completely spiritual, and He begins from the point of surrender to Kṛṣṇa. He does not pursue the paths of  karma-yoga  or  jñāna-yoga  or  haṭha-yoga  but begins at the