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54 Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; suna—kindly hear; sripada—Y our Holiness; ihara—
of this; karana—reason; guru—My spiritual mastef; rrore—Me; murkha—fool ; dekhi—
understanding; karila—he did; sasana—chastisement.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied to Prakasananda Sarasvati: ‘(My dear sir, kindly
hear the reason. My spiritual master considered Me a fool, and therefore he
chastised Me.

PURPORT

When Prakasananda Sarasvati inquired from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu why He
neither studied Vedanta nor performed meditation, Lord Caitanya presented Himself
as a number one fool in order to indicate that the present age, Kali-yuga, is an age
of fools and rascals in which it is not possible to obtain perfection simply by reading
Vedanta philosophy and meditating. The sastras strongly recommend:

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is the chanting
of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There
is no other way.” People in general in Kali-yuga are so fallen that it is not possible
for them to obtain perfection simply by studying Vedanta-sutra. One should there-
fore seriously take to the constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

TEXT 72

af off, corata ates camatftzta |

‘BRAID FAH AA, — G2 AWA 11 92 1

murkha tumi, tomara nahika vedantadhikara

‘krsna-mantra’ japa sada, —ei mantra-sara
SYNONYMS

murkha tumi—You are a fool; tomara—Your; nahika—there is not; vedanta—
Vedanta philosophy; adhikara—qualification to study; krsna-mantra—the hymn of
Krsna (Hare Krsna); japa—chant; sada—al ways; ei—this; mantra—hymn; sara—essence
of all Vedic knowledge.

TRANSLATION

“*You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study Vedanta philosophy,
and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Krsna. This is the essence of
all mantras or Vedic hymns.
