18
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
slightly from the revealed scriptures, and therefore anyone who follows in the disciplinary line will be able to realize the essence of this book simply by the method of aural reception.
The First Chapter of  Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta  begins with fourteen Sanskrit verses that describe the Absolute Truth. Then the next three Sanskrit verses describe the principal Deities of Vṛndāvana, namely, Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana, Śrī Rādhā-Govindadeva and Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnāthajī. The first of the fourteen verses is a symbolic representation of the Supreme Truth, and the entire First Chapter is in actuality devoted to this single verse, which describes Lord Caitanya in His six different transcendental expansions.
The first manifestation described is the spiritual master, who appears in two plenary parts called the initiating spiritual master and instructing spiritual master. They are identical because both of them are phenomenal manifestations of the Supreme Truth. Next described are the devotees, who are divided into two classes, namely, the apprentices and the graduates. Next are the incarnations ( avatāras ) of the Lord, who are explained to be nondifferent from the Lord. These incarnations are considered in three divisions—incarnations of the potency of the Lord, incarnations of His qualities, and incarnations of His authority. In this connection, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's direct manifestations and His manifestations for transcendental pastimes are discussed. Next considered are the potencies of the Lord, of which three principal manifestations are described: the consorts in the kingdom of God (Vaikuṇṭha), the queens of Dvārakādhāma and, highest of all, the damsels of Vrajadhāma. Finally, there is the Supreme Lord Himself, who is the fountainhead of all these manifestations.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His plenary expansions are all in the category of the Lord Himself, the energetic Absolute Truth, whereas His devotees, His eternal associates, are His energies. The energy and energetic are fundamentally one, but since their functions are differently exhibited, they are simultaneously different also. Thus the Absolute Truth is manifested in diversity in one unit. This philosophical truth, which is pursuant to the  Vedānta-sūtras , is called  acintya-bhedābheda-tattva , or the conception of simultaneous oneness and difference. In the latter portion of this chapter, the transcendental position of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and that of Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu are described with reference to the above theistic facts.
TEXT 1
বন্দে গুরুনীশভক্তানীশগীশাবতারকান্।
তৎপ্রকাশাংশ্চ তদ্ব্বজী: কৃষ্ণচৈত্য্যসংজ্ঞকম্ ॥ ১ ॥
vande gurūn īśa-bhaktān
īśam īśāvatārakān
tat-prakāśāṁś ca tac-chaktīḥ
kṛṣṇa-caitanya-saṁjñakam