Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | Vishvambhar Mishra 18 February 1486 |
Died | 14 June 1534 | (aged 48)
Religion | Hinduism |
Spouse | Lakshmi Priya (first wife) and Vishnupriya |
Known for | Expounded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, kirtan |
Founder of |
Gaudiya Vaishnavism Achintya Bheda Abheda |
Philosophy | Bhakti yoga, Achintya Bheda Abheda |
Religious career | |
Guru | Swami Isvara Puri (mantra guru); Swami Kesava Bharati (sannyas guru) |
Disciples | |
Literary works | Shikshashtakam |
Part of a series on |
Vaishnavism |
---|
Part of a series on |
Hinduism |
---|
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ( Sanskrit: श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु, romanized: Caitanya Mahāprabhu), born Vishvambhar Mishra (Viśvambhara Miśra), [1] was a 15th-century Indian Hindu saint from Bengal who was the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which considers him to be an incarnation of Krishna. [2]
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan- kirtan and dance had a profound effect on Vaishnavism in Bengal. He was also the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda Tattva. Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism ( a.k.a. the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya). He expounded Bhakti yoga and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. [3] He composed the Shikshashtakam (eight devotional prayers).
Chaitanya is sometimes called Gauranga or Gaura due to his molten gold–like complexion. [4] His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima. [5] [6] He is also called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree. [7]
Caitanya was born in a Brahmin family as Viśvambhara Miśra aka Nimāi, the second son of Jagannātha Miśra and his wife Śacī Devī, the daughter of Nilambara Chakrabarti, both Brahmins of Sylhet region. [1] Jagannātha Miśra's family were from the village of Dhakadakshin in Srihatta (Sylhet) (now in Bangladesh). The ruins of their ancestral home still survive in present-day Bangladesh. [8] [9] [2]
According to Chaitanya Charitamrita, Caitanya was born in Nabadwip (in present-day West Bengal) on the full moon night of 18 February 1486, at the time of a lunar eclipse. [10] [11] [12]
While still a student, his father died, and he soon married Lakṣmīpriyā. He travelled to east Bengal to become a scholar and support his family but his wife died in his absence. He then married Viṣṇupriyā, daughter of paṇḍit Sanātana Miśra. Viśvambhara, also known as Nimāi Paṇḍit, was a promising Sanskrit scholar, and once defeated Keśava Bhaṭṭa of the Nimbārka school in a debate on Sanskrit prosody. [2]
In 1508-1509 he left Nabadvip to go to Gaya to perform śrāddha, a ritual homage to his dead father. There he met an ascetic named Īśvara Purī and was initiated by him using a mantra for Kr̥ṣṇa worship. After this meeting Viśvambhara abandoned all scholarly and domestic pursuits and had no interest except hearing and speaking of Kr̥ṣṇa. Within a year he took a vow of saṃnyāsa (renunciation) and changed his name to Kr̥ṣṇa Caitanya under his guru Keśava Bhāratī. His mother then asked him to at least live in the city of Puri so that he would not be too far from Bengal. [2]
After becoming a renunciate he spent his time converting and instructing followers in the tenets of Kr̥ṣṇa bhakti and engaging in communal saṁkīrtana. Notably he is said to have debated and converted followers of Advaita Vedānta or Māyāvāda. He spent two months in Vrindavan in c. 1515 where he instructed Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmi. The last two decades of his life were spent in Puri where he focused on immersing himself in devotional yearning for Kr̥ṣṇa and his consorts, mainly Rādhā. He died c. 1528-1534. [2]
Works on Chaitanya: [13] [14] [15]
Chaitanya's direct teachings are recorded in Sanskrit verses called Siksastakam (though, in Vaishnava Padavali it is said: "Chaitanya himself wrote many songs on the Radha-Krishna theme").
Chaitanya's epistemological, theological and ontological teachings are summarised as ten root principles called dasa mula. [16]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2015) |
From the very beginning of Chaitanya's bhakti movement in Bengal, Haridasa Thakur and others, Muslim or Hindu by birth, were participants. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great sage of Dakshineswar, who lived in the 19th century, emphasised the bhakti marga of Chaitanya, whom he referred to as "Gauranga." ( The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna). This openness received a boost from Bhaktivinoda Thakura's broad-minded vision in the late 19th century and was institutionalised by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in his Gaudiya Matha in the 20th century. [21]
In the 20th century the teachings of Chaitanya were brought to the West. For the first time, by Baba Premananda Bharati (1858–1914), [22] author of Sree Krishna—the Lord of Love (1904)—the first full-length treatment of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in English, [23] who founded in 1902 the short-lived "Krishna Samaj" society in New York City and built a temple in Los Angeles. [24] [25] He belonged to the circle of guru Prabhu Jagadbandhu [26] with teachings similar to the later ISKCON mission. [25] His followers later formed several organisations, including now defunct the Order of Living Service and the AUM Temple of Universal Truth. [25] Another prominent missionary was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), a representative of the Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati branch of Chaitanya's tradition. Prabhupada founded his movement known as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to spread Chaitanya's teachings throughout the world. [27] Saraswata gurus and acharyas, members of the Goswami lineages and several other Hindu sects which revere Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including devotees from the major Vaishnava holy places in Mathura District, West Bengal and Odisha, also established temples dedicated to Krishna and Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century. In the 21st century, Vaishnava bhakti is now also being studied through the academic medium of Krishnology in a number of academic institutions. [28]
Chaitanya's influence on the cultural legacy in Bengal, Odisha and Manipur, has been significant, [29] with many residents performing daily worship to him as an avatar of Krishna. Some attribute to him a Renaissance in Bengal, [30] different from the more well-known 19th-century Bengal Renaissance. Salimullah Khan (b. 1958), a noted Bangladeshi linguist, maintains, "Sixteenth-century is the time of Chaitanya Dev, and it is the beginning of Modernism in Bengal. The concept of 'humanity' that came into fruition is contemporaneous with that of Europe". [31]
Noted Bengali biographical film on Chaitanya, Nilachaley Mahaprabhu (1957), was directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay (1912–1989). [32] A Bengali film based on Chaitanya's demise, Lawho Gouranger Naam Re, will be directed by Srijit Mukherji where Parambrata Chatterjee will be seen portraying Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. [33]
In 2024, speaking at the commemorative event for the 150th birth anniversary of a leading proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi called Chaitanya Mahaprabhu “the touchstone of love for Krishna. He made spiritualism and meditation accessible to the masses” [34] and recalled his own personal experience of the transformative power of bhakti through kirtan. [34]
Note, Sarma Mamoni is a researcher at Gauhati University under Chakraborty Amalendu.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | Vishvambhar Mishra 18 February 1486 |
Died | 14 June 1534 | (aged 48)
Religion | Hinduism |
Spouse | Lakshmi Priya (first wife) and Vishnupriya |
Known for | Expounded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, kirtan |
Founder of |
Gaudiya Vaishnavism Achintya Bheda Abheda |
Philosophy | Bhakti yoga, Achintya Bheda Abheda |
Religious career | |
Guru | Swami Isvara Puri (mantra guru); Swami Kesava Bharati (sannyas guru) |
Disciples | |
Literary works | Shikshashtakam |
Part of a series on |
Vaishnavism |
---|
Part of a series on |
Hinduism |
---|
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ( Sanskrit: श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु, romanized: Caitanya Mahāprabhu), born Vishvambhar Mishra (Viśvambhara Miśra), [1] was a 15th-century Indian Hindu saint from Bengal who was the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which considers him to be an incarnation of Krishna. [2]
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan- kirtan and dance had a profound effect on Vaishnavism in Bengal. He was also the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda Tattva. Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism ( a.k.a. the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya). He expounded Bhakti yoga and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. [3] He composed the Shikshashtakam (eight devotional prayers).
Chaitanya is sometimes called Gauranga or Gaura due to his molten gold–like complexion. [4] His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima. [5] [6] He is also called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree. [7]
Caitanya was born in a Brahmin family as Viśvambhara Miśra aka Nimāi, the second son of Jagannātha Miśra and his wife Śacī Devī, the daughter of Nilambara Chakrabarti, both Brahmins of Sylhet region. [1] Jagannātha Miśra's family were from the village of Dhakadakshin in Srihatta (Sylhet) (now in Bangladesh). The ruins of their ancestral home still survive in present-day Bangladesh. [8] [9] [2]
According to Chaitanya Charitamrita, Caitanya was born in Nabadwip (in present-day West Bengal) on the full moon night of 18 February 1486, at the time of a lunar eclipse. [10] [11] [12]
While still a student, his father died, and he soon married Lakṣmīpriyā. He travelled to east Bengal to become a scholar and support his family but his wife died in his absence. He then married Viṣṇupriyā, daughter of paṇḍit Sanātana Miśra. Viśvambhara, also known as Nimāi Paṇḍit, was a promising Sanskrit scholar, and once defeated Keśava Bhaṭṭa of the Nimbārka school in a debate on Sanskrit prosody. [2]
In 1508-1509 he left Nabadvip to go to Gaya to perform śrāddha, a ritual homage to his dead father. There he met an ascetic named Īśvara Purī and was initiated by him using a mantra for Kr̥ṣṇa worship. After this meeting Viśvambhara abandoned all scholarly and domestic pursuits and had no interest except hearing and speaking of Kr̥ṣṇa. Within a year he took a vow of saṃnyāsa (renunciation) and changed his name to Kr̥ṣṇa Caitanya under his guru Keśava Bhāratī. His mother then asked him to at least live in the city of Puri so that he would not be too far from Bengal. [2]
After becoming a renunciate he spent his time converting and instructing followers in the tenets of Kr̥ṣṇa bhakti and engaging in communal saṁkīrtana. Notably he is said to have debated and converted followers of Advaita Vedānta or Māyāvāda. He spent two months in Vrindavan in c. 1515 where he instructed Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmi. The last two decades of his life were spent in Puri where he focused on immersing himself in devotional yearning for Kr̥ṣṇa and his consorts, mainly Rādhā. He died c. 1528-1534. [2]
Works on Chaitanya: [13] [14] [15]
Chaitanya's direct teachings are recorded in Sanskrit verses called Siksastakam (though, in Vaishnava Padavali it is said: "Chaitanya himself wrote many songs on the Radha-Krishna theme").
Chaitanya's epistemological, theological and ontological teachings are summarised as ten root principles called dasa mula. [16]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2015) |
From the very beginning of Chaitanya's bhakti movement in Bengal, Haridasa Thakur and others, Muslim or Hindu by birth, were participants. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great sage of Dakshineswar, who lived in the 19th century, emphasised the bhakti marga of Chaitanya, whom he referred to as "Gauranga." ( The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna). This openness received a boost from Bhaktivinoda Thakura's broad-minded vision in the late 19th century and was institutionalised by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in his Gaudiya Matha in the 20th century. [21]
In the 20th century the teachings of Chaitanya were brought to the West. For the first time, by Baba Premananda Bharati (1858–1914), [22] author of Sree Krishna—the Lord of Love (1904)—the first full-length treatment of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in English, [23] who founded in 1902 the short-lived "Krishna Samaj" society in New York City and built a temple in Los Angeles. [24] [25] He belonged to the circle of guru Prabhu Jagadbandhu [26] with teachings similar to the later ISKCON mission. [25] His followers later formed several organisations, including now defunct the Order of Living Service and the AUM Temple of Universal Truth. [25] Another prominent missionary was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), a representative of the Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati branch of Chaitanya's tradition. Prabhupada founded his movement known as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to spread Chaitanya's teachings throughout the world. [27] Saraswata gurus and acharyas, members of the Goswami lineages and several other Hindu sects which revere Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including devotees from the major Vaishnava holy places in Mathura District, West Bengal and Odisha, also established temples dedicated to Krishna and Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century. In the 21st century, Vaishnava bhakti is now also being studied through the academic medium of Krishnology in a number of academic institutions. [28]
Chaitanya's influence on the cultural legacy in Bengal, Odisha and Manipur, has been significant, [29] with many residents performing daily worship to him as an avatar of Krishna. Some attribute to him a Renaissance in Bengal, [30] different from the more well-known 19th-century Bengal Renaissance. Salimullah Khan (b. 1958), a noted Bangladeshi linguist, maintains, "Sixteenth-century is the time of Chaitanya Dev, and it is the beginning of Modernism in Bengal. The concept of 'humanity' that came into fruition is contemporaneous with that of Europe". [31]
Noted Bengali biographical film on Chaitanya, Nilachaley Mahaprabhu (1957), was directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay (1912–1989). [32] A Bengali film based on Chaitanya's demise, Lawho Gouranger Naam Re, will be directed by Srijit Mukherji where Parambrata Chatterjee will be seen portraying Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. [33]
In 2024, speaking at the commemorative event for the 150th birth anniversary of a leading proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi called Chaitanya Mahaprabhu “the touchstone of love for Krishna. He made spiritualism and meditation accessible to the masses” [34] and recalled his own personal experience of the transformative power of bhakti through kirtan. [34]
Note, Sarma Mamoni is a researcher at Gauhati University under Chakraborty Amalendu.