236 Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

himself as the eternal servant of the Supreme Lord. Under the spell of illusion,
a less intelligent person accepts the gross body and the subtle body as his self;
such a conception is the basis of the doctrine of transference. Actually the part
and parcel of the Supreme is not subjected eternally to such a false conception
of gross and subtle bodily life. The covering of the living entity by the gross
and subtle body is not his eternal form, but can be changed; or, the living
entity can become free from such existence. While he is in the conception of
the body and mind he has certainly transferred his position from spirit to
matter. Mayavadi philosophers, of course, take advantage of this doctrine
of transference: they say that the living entity under the wrong impression
thinks himself as part and parcel, but he is the Supreme Himself: This doctrine
cannot be tenable.

Bhattacharya then asked Lord Chaitanya to explain the famous Atmarama
verse, as he desired to hear it from the Lord, Lord Chaitanya replied to him
that, first of all, he should explain the verse according to his own understand-
ing, and then Lord Chaitanya would explain it by His own understanding.
Bhattacharya then began to explain the Atmarama Sloka with his method of
logic and grammar. He explained the Atmarama Sloka in nine different ways.
The Lord appreciated his erudite scholarship in explaining the verse, and said:
“My dear Bhattacharya, I know that you are personally a representation of
the learned scholar, like Brihashpati, and you can explain any portion of the
Shastras in such a nice way. And yet your explanation is more or less based
on academic education only. But there is another explanation, beside the aca-
demic, scholarly explanation.”

Then, at the request of Bhattacharya, Lord Chaitanya explained the
Atmarama Sloka thus: On the basis of the analytical parts of the verse, the verse
is explained as follows: 1. Atmarama, 2. Cha, 3. Munayah, 4. Nirgranthah, 5. Api,
6. Urukrama, 7. Kurvanti, 8. Ahaituki, 9. Bhaktim, 10. Itthambhutagunah, 11.
Harih. (This verse is already explained in connection with the Lord’s teachings
to Sanatan Goswami). Lord Chaitanya did not touch the nine different explana-
tions of Bhattacharya, but He explained on the basis of 11 analyses of the verse,
and each analytical basis He divided into five and six and, in this way, He ex-
pounded a total of 61 different explanations of the Atmarama verse. It is sum-
marized, then, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of innumerable
potencies: nobody can estimate how many transcendental qualities are pos-
sessed by Him. They are always inconceivable, and any process of self-reliza-
tion generally inquires into these inconceivable potencies of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, His energies, and His qualities. But those who are
