Adi 12: The Expansions of Advaita Acarya and Gadadhara Pandita

The Expansions of Advaita Ācārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives a summary of the Twelfth Chapter of Ādi-līlā in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. This Twelfth Chapter describes the followers of Advaita Prabhu, among whom the followers of Acyutānanda, the son of Advaita Ācārya, are understood to be the pure followers who received the cream of the philosophy Śrī Advaita Ācārya enunciated. Other so-called descendants and followers of Advaita Ācārya are not to be recognized.This chapter also includes narrations concerning he son of Advaita Ācārya named Gopāla Miśra and Advaita Ācārya's servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. In his early life Gopāla fainted during the cleansing of the Guṇḍicā-mandira at Jagannātha Purī and thus became a recipient of the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The story of Kamalākānta Viśvāsa concerns his borrowing three hundred rupees from Pratāparudra Mahārāja to clear the debts of Advaita Ācārya, for which Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chastised him when He came to know of it. Kamalākānta Viśvāsa was then purified by the request of Śrī Advaita Ācārya. After describing the descendants of Advaita Ācārya, the chapter concludes by describing the followers of Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī.
  • TEXT 1: 
    The followers of Śrī Advaita Prabhu were of two kinds. Some were real followers, and the others were false. Rejecting the false followers, I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Advaita Ācārya's real followers, whose life and soul was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 2: 
    All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Śrī Advaita Prabhu! All of Them are glorious.
  • TEXT 3: 
    I offer my respectful obeisances to the all-glorious Advaita Prabhu, who forms the second branch of the eternal Caitanya tree, and to His followers, who form His subbranches.
  • TEXT 4: 
    Śrī Advaita Prabhu was the second big branch of the tree. There are many subbranches, but it is impossible to mention them all.
  • TEXT 5: 
    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also the gardener, and as He poured the water of His mercy on the tree, all the branches and subbranches grew, day after day.
  • TEXT 6: 
    The fruits of love of Godhead that grew on those branches of the Caitanya tree were so large that they flooded the entire world with love of Kṛṣṇa.
  • TEXT 7: 
    As the trunk and branches were watered, the branches and subbranches spread lavishly, and the tree grew full with fruits and flowers.
  • TEXT 8: 
    At first all the followers of Advaita Ācārya shared a single opinion. But later they followed two different opinions, as ordained by providence.
  • TEXT 9: 
    Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the ācārya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivī-māyā.
  • TEXT 10: 
    The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless.
  • TEXT 11: 
    There is no need to name those who are useless. I have mentioned them only to distinguish them from the useful devotees.
  • TEXT 12: 
    Paddy is mixed with straw at first, and one must fan it to separate the paddy from the straw.
  • TEXT 13: 
    A big branch of Advaita Ācārya was Acyutānanda, His son. From the beginning of his life he engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.
  • TEXT 14: 
    When Acyutānanda heard from his father that Keśava Bhāratī was the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he was very unhappy.
  • TEXT 15: 
    He told his father, "Your instruction that Keśava Bhāratī is the spiritual master of Caitanya Mahāprabhu will spoil the entire country.
  • TEXT 16: 
    "Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the spiritual master of the fourteen worlds, but You say that someone else is His spiritual master. This is not supported by any revealed scripture."
  • TEXT 17: 
    When Advaita Ācārya heard this statement from His five-year-old son Acyutānanda, He felt great satisfaction because of his conclusive judgment.
  • TEXT 18: 
    Kṛṣṇa Miśra was a son of Advaita Ācārya. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu always sat in his heart.
  • TEXT 19: 
    Śrī Gopāla was another son of Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu. Now just hear about his characteristics, for they are all very wonderful.
  • TEXT 20: 
    When Lord Caitanya personally cleansed the Guṇḍicā-mandira in Jagannātha Purī, Gopāla danced in front of the Lord with great love and happiness.
  • TEXT 21: 
    While Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Advaita Prabhu chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and danced, there were various ecstatic symptoms in Their bodies, and Their minds were very pleased.
  • TEXT 22: 
    While all of them danced, Gopāla, dancing and dancing, fainted and fell to the ground unconscious.
  • TEXT 23: 
    Advaita Ācārya Prabhu became very unhappy. Taking His son on His lap, He began to chant the Nṛsiṁha mantra for his protection.
  • TEXT 24: 
    Advaita Ācārya chanted various mantras, but Gopāla did not come to consciousness. Thus all the Vaiṣṇavas present cried in sorrow at His plight.
  • TEXT 25: 
    Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then put His hand on the chest of Gopāla and told him, "My dear Gopāla, get up and chant the holy name of the Lord!"
  • TEXT 26: 
    When he heard this sound and felt the touch of the Lord, Gopāla immediately got up, and all the Vaiṣṇavas chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in jubilation.
  • TEXT 27: 
    The other sons of Advaita Ācārya were Śrī Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa.
  • TEXT 28: 
    Advaita Ācārya's very confidential servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa knew all the dealings of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 29: 
    When Kamalākānta Viśvāsa was in Jagannātha Purī, he sent a note through someone to Mahārāja Pratāparudra.
  • TEXT 30: 
    No one knew of that note, but somehow or other it reached the hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 31: 
    That note established Advaita Ācārya as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • TEXT 32: 
    But it also mentioned that Advaita Ācārya had recently incurred a debt of about three hundred rupees that Kamalākānta Viśvāsa wanted to liquidate.
  • TEXT 33: 
    Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu became unhappy upon reading the note, although His face still shone as brightly as the moon. Thus, smiling, He spoke as follows.
  • TEXT 34: 
    "He has established Advaita Ācārya as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is nothing wrong in this, for He is indeed the Lord Himself.
  • TEXT 35: 
    "But he has made the incarnation of Godhead a poverty-stricken beggar. Therefore I shall punish him for his correction."
  • TEXT 36: 
    The Lord ordered Govinda, "From today on, do not allow that bāuliyā Kamalākānta Viśvāsa to come here."
  • TEXT 37: 
    When Kamalākānta Viśvāsa heard about this punishment by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he was very unhappy, but when Advaita Prabhu heard about it, He was greatly pleased.
  • TEXT 38: 
    Seeing Kamalākānta Viśvāsa unhappy, Advaita Ācārya Prabhu told him, "You are greatly fortunate to have been punished by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 39: 
    "Formerly Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu always respected Me as His senior, but I did not like such respect. Therefore, My mind being afflicted by unhappiness, I made a plan.
  • TEXT 40: 
    "Thus I expounded the Yoga-vāśiṣṭha, which considers liberation the ultimate goal of life. For this the Lord became angry at Me and treated Me with apparent disrespect.
  • TEXT 41: 
    "When chastised by Lord Caitanya, I was very happy to receive a punishment similar to that awarded Śrī Mukunda.
  • TEXT 42: 
    "A similar punishment was awarded to mother Śacīdevī. Who could be more fortunate than she to receive such punishment?"
  • TEXT 43: 
    After pacifying Kamalākānta Viśvāsa in this way, Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu went to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 44: 
    Śrī Advaita Ācārya told Lord Caitanya, "l cannot understand Your transcendental pastimes. You have shown more favor to Kamalākānta than You generally show to Me.
  • TEXT 45: 
    "The favor You have shown Kamalākānta is so great that even to Me You have never shown such favor. What offense have I committed at Your lotus feet so as not to be shown such favor?"
  • TEXT 46: 
    Hearing this, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu laughed with satisfaction and immediately called Kamalākānta Viśvāsa.
  • TEXT 47: 
    Advaita Ācārya then said to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "Why have You called back this man and allowed him to see You? He has cheated Me in two ways."
  • TEXT 48: 
    When Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard this, His mind was satisfied. Only They could understand each other's minds.
  • TEXT 49: 
    Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Kamalākānta, "You are a bāuliyā, one who does not know things as they are. Why do you act in this way? Why do you invade the privacy of Advaita Ācārya and damage His religious principles?
  • TEXT 50: 
    "Advaita Ācārya, My spiritual master, should never accept charity from rich men or kings because if a spiritual master accepts money or grains from such materialists his mind becomes polluted.
  • TEXT 51: 
    "When one's mind is polluted, it is very difficult to remember Kṛṣṇa; and when remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa is hampered, one's life is unproductive.
  • TEXT 52: 
    "Thus one becomes unpopular in the eyes of the people in general, for this damages his religiosity and fame. A Vaiṣṇava, especially one who acts as a spiritual master, must not act in such a way. One should always be conscious of this fact."
  • TEXT 53: 
    When Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this instruction to Kamalākānta, all present considered it to be meant for everyone. Thus Advaita Ācārya was greatly pleased.
  • TEXT 54: 
    Only Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu could understand the intentions of Advaita Ācārya, and Advaita Ācārya appreciated the grave instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 55: 
    In this statement there are many confidential considerations. I do not write of them all, fearing an unnecessary increase in the volume of the book.
  • TEXT 56: 
    The fifth branch of Advaita Ācārya was Śrī Yadunandana Ācārya, who had so many branches and subbranches that it is impossible to write of them.
  • TEXT 57: 
    Śrī Yadunandana Ācārya was a student of Vāsudeva Datta, and he received all his mercy. Therefore he could accept Lord Caitanya's lotus feet, from all angles of vision, as the supreme shelter.
  • TEXT 58: 
    Bhāgavata Ācārya, Viṣṇudāsa Ācārya, Cakrapāṇi Ācārya and Ananta Ācārya were the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 59: 
    Nandinī, Kāmadeva, Caitanya dāsa, Durlabha Viśvāsa and Vanamālī dāsa were the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth branches of Śrī Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 60: 
    Jagannātha Kara, Bhavanātha Kara, Hṛdayānanda Sena and Bholānātha dāsa were the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 61: 
    Yādava dāsa, Vijaya dāsa, Janārdana dāsa, Ananta dāsa, Kānu Paṇḍita and Nārāyaṇa dāsa were the nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twentythird and twenty-fourth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 62: 
    Śrīvatsa Paṇḍita, Haridāsa Brahmacārī, Puruṣottama Brahmacārī and Kṛṣṇadāsa were the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 63: 
    Puruṣottama Paṇḍita, Raghunātha, Vanamālī Kavicandra and Vaidyanātha were the twenty-ninth, thirtieth, thirty-first and thirty-second branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 64: 
    Lokanātha Paṇḍita, Murāri Paṇḍita, Śrī Haricaraṇa and Mādhava Paṇḍita were the thirty-third, thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
  • TEXT 65: 
    Vijaya Paṇḍita and Śrīrāma Paṇḍita were two important branches of Advaita Ācārya. There are innumerable branches, but I am unable to mention them all.
  • TEXT 66: 
    The Advaita Ācārya branch received the water supplied by the original gardener, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this way, the subbranches were nourished, and their fruits and flowers grew luxuriantly.
  • TEXT 67: 
    After the disappearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, some of the branches, for unfortunate reasons, deviated from His path.
  • TEXT 68: 
    Some branches did not accept the original trunk that vitalized and maintained the entire tree. When they thus became ungrateful, the original trunk was angry at them.
  • TEXT 69: 
    Thus Lord Caitanya did not sprinkle upon them the water of His mercy, and they gradually withered and died.
  • TEXT 70: 
    A person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is no better than dry wood or a dead body. He is understood to be dead while living, and after death he is punishable by Yamarāja.
  • TEXT 71: 
    Not only the misguided descendants of Advaita Ācārya but anyone who is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should be considered an atheist subject to be punished by Yamarāja.
  • TEXT 72: 
    Be one a learned scholar, a great ascetic, a successful householder or a famous sannyāsī, if one is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he is destined to suffer the punishment meted out by Yamarāja.
  • TEXT 73: 
    The descendants of Advaita Ācārya who accepted the path of Śrī Acyutānanda were all great devotees.
  • TEXT 74: 
    By the mercy of Advaita Ācārya, the devotees who strictly followed the path of Caitanya Mahāprabhu attained the shelter of Lord Caitanya's lotus feet without difficulty.
  • TEXT 75: 
    It should be concluded, therefore, that the path of Acyutānanda is the essence of spiritual life. Those who did not follow this path simply scattered.
  • TEXT 76: 
    I therefore offer my respectful obeisances millions of times to Acyutānanda's actual followers, whose life and soul was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • TEXT 77: 
    Thus I have briefly described the three branches [Acyutānanda, Kṛṣṇa Miṣra and Gopāla] of Śrī Advaita Ācārya's descendants.
  • TEXT 78: 
    There are multifarious branches and subbranches of Advaita Ācārya. It is very difficult to enumerate them fully. I have simply given a glimpse of the whole trunk and its branches and subbranches.
  • TEXT 79: 
    After describing the branches and subbranches of Advaita Ācārya, I shall now attempt to describe some of the descendants of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the most important among the branches.
  • TEXT 80: 
    The chief branches of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita were (1) Śrī Dhruvānanda, (2) Śrīdhara Brahmacārī, (3) Haridāsa Brahmacārī and (4) Raghunātha Bhāgavatācārya.
  • TEXT 81: 
    The fifth branch was Ananta Ācārya; the sixth, Kavi Datta; the seventh, Nayana Miśra; the eighth, Gaṅgāmantrī; the ninth, Māmu Ṭhākura; and the tenth, Kaṇṭhābharaṇa.
  • TEXT 82: 
    The eleventh branch of Gadādhara Gosvāmī was Bhūgarbha Gosāñi, and the twelfth was Bhāgavata dāsa. Both of them went to Vṛndāvana and resided there for life.
  • TEXT 83: 
    The thirteenth branch was Vāṇīnātha Brahmacārī, and the fourteenth was Vallabha-caitanya dāsa. Both of these great personalities were always filled with love of Kṛṣṇa.
  • TEXT 84: 
    The fifteenth branch was Śrīnātha Cakravartī; the sixteenth, Uddhava; the seventeenth, Jitāmitra; and the eighteenth, Jagannātha dāsa.
  • TEXT 85: 
    The nineteenth branch was Śrī Hari Ācārya; the twentieth, Sādipuriyā Gopāla; the twenty-first, Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī; and the twenty-second, Puṣpagopāla.
  • TEXT 86: 
    The twenty-third branch was Śrīharṣa; the twenty-fourth, Raghu Miśra; the twenty-fifth, Lakṣmīnātha Paṇḍita; the twenty-sixth, Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa; and the twenty-seventh, Raghunātha.
  • TEXT 87: 
    The twenty-eighth branch was Amogha Paṇḍita; the twenty-ninth, Hastigopāla; the thirtieth, Caitanya-vallabha; the thirty-first, Yadu Gāṅguli; and the thirty-second, Maṅgala Vaiṣṇava.
  • TEXT 88: 
    Śivānanda Cakravartī, the thirty-third branch, who always lived in Vṛndāvana with firm conviction, is considered an important branch of Gadādhara Paṇḍita.
  • TEXT 89: 
    Thus I have briefly described the branches and subbranches of Gadādhara Paṇḍita. There are still many more that I have not mentioned here.
  • TEXT 90: 
    All the followers of Gadādhara Paṇḍita are considered great devotees because they have Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as their life and soul.
  • TEXT 91: 
    Simply by remembering the names of all these branches and subbranches of the three trunks I have described [Nityānanda, Advaita and Gadādhara], one attains freedom from the entanglement of material existence.
  • TEXT 92: 
    Simply by remembering the names of all these Vaiṣṇavas, one can attain the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Indeed, simply by remembering their holy names, one achieves the fulfillment of all desires.
  • TEXT 93: 
    Therefore, offering my obeisances at the lotus feet of them all, I shall describe the pastimes of the gardener Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in chronological order.
  • TEXT 94: 
    The ocean of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is immeasurable and unfathomable. Who can take the courage to measure that great ocean?
  • TEXT 95: 
    It is not possible to dip into that great ocean, but its sweet mellow fragrance attracts my mind. I therefore stand on the shore of that ocean to try to taste but a drop of it.
  • TEXT 96: 
    Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
    Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Twelfth Chapter, describing the expansions of Advaita Ācārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita.