Introduction

“HARE KRSNA” has become a household phrase in cities, towns and villages
throughout the world, fulfilling a prophecy made almost five hundred years ago by
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. From Los Angeles to London, from Bombay to
Buenos Aires, from Pittsburgh and Melbourne to Paris and even Moscow, people of
all ages, colors, creeds and faiths are feeling the bliss of the dynamic yoga system
called ‘Krsna consciousness.”

This Krsna consciousness movement began in full force some five hundred years
ago, when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of Krsna (God), flooded
the subcontinent of India with the chanting of the mantra Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. To reveal
the secret of what real love is, Krsna came to earth five hundred years ago in the
guise of His own devotee—as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. With His chief associates
—Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara and Srivasa—He taught how to develop love of
Godhead simply by chanting Hare Krsna and dancing in ecstasy.

Sti Caitanya-caritamrta, which was written by the great saint Krsnadasa Kaviraja
Gosvami shortly after Lord Caitanya’s disappearance, vividly describes Lord
Caitanya’s blissful pastimes and probes deeply into His profound spiritual
philosophy.

The translations and purports, the explanations of the verses, are the work of His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, author of Bhagavad-gita As
It Is; The Nectar of Devotion; Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (first
published in 1970 with the kind help of Mr. George Harrison); and numerous other
books about yoga and self-realization.

Although this is the third volume of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, one need not have
read Volume Two to understand and appreciate this book. Srila Prabhupada remarks
that such a spiritual work is like sugar, for wherever you begin tasting it you will
surely enjoy its sweetness.

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