Preface

There is no difference between the teachings of Lord Caitanya presented here and
the teachings of Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. The teachings of Lord Caitanya are
practical demonstrations of Lord Krsna’s teachings. Lord Krsna’s ultimate instruc-
tion in Bhagavad-gitd is that everyone should surrender unto Him, Lord Krsna. Krsna
promises to take immediate charge of such a surrendered soul. The Lord, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, is already in charge of the maintenance of this
creation by virtue of His plenary expansion, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, but this main-
tenance is not direct. However, when the Lord says that He takes charge of His
pure devotee, He actually takes direct charge. A pure devotee is a soul who is
forever surrendered to the Lord, just as a child is surrendered to his parents or an
animal to its master. In the surrendering process, one should: (1) accept things
favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) reject things unfavorable, (3) believe
firmly in the Lord’s protection, (4) feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the
Lord, (5) have no interest separate from the interest of the Lord, and (6) always
feel oneself meek and humble.

The Lord demands that one surrender unto Him by following these six guide-
lines, but the unintelligent so-called scholars of the world misunderstand these
demands and urge the general mass of people to reject them. At the conclusion of
the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna directly says: ‘‘Engage your mind
always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely
absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Bg. 9.34) However, the scholarly
demons misguide the masses of people by directing them to the impersonal,
unmanifest, eternal, unborn truth rather than the Personality of Godhead. The
impersonalist Mayavadi philosophers do not accept that the ultimate aspect of the
Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one desires to understand
the sun as it is, one must first face the sunshine, then the sun globe and, after
entering into that globe, come face to face with the predominating deity of the sun.
Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the Mayavadi philosophers cannot go beyond the
Brahman effulgence, which may be compared to the sunshine. The Upanisads
confirm that one has to penetrate the dazzling effulgence of Brahman before one
can see the real face of the Personality of Godhead.

Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Krsna, who appeared as
the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also suggests that the place known as
Vrendavana is as good as Lord Krsna because there is no difference between the
name, quality, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia of Lord Krsna and
Lord Krsna Himself. That is the absolute nature of the Absolute Truth.

Lord Caitanya also recommended that the highest mode of worship in the
highest perfectional stage is the method practiced by the damsels of Vraja. These
damsels (gopis, or cowherd girls) simply loved Krsna without a motive for material
or spiritual gain. Caitanya also recommended Srimad-Bhagavatam as the spotless
narration of transcendental knowledge, and He pointed out that the highest goal in

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