INDIAPOST: Lord Chaitanya taught how to break shackles of maya

suchandra · February 18, 2008

Lord Chaitanya taught how to break shackles of maya

Sunday, 02.17.2008, 10:45pm (GMT-7)

http://indiapost.com/article/philosophy/2102/

The word chaitanya means "living force," carita means "character," and amrta means "immortal." As living entities we can move, but a table cannot because it does not possess living force. Movement and activity may be considered signs or symptoms of the living force.

Indeed, it may be said that there can be no activity without the living force. Although the living force is present in the material condition, this condition is not amrta, immortal. The words caitanya-caritamrta, then, may be translated as "the character of the living force in immortality."

But how is this living force displayed immortally? It is not displayed by man or any other creature in this material universe, for none of us are immortal in these bodies. We possess the living force, we perform activities, and we are immortal by our nature and constitution, but the material condition into which we have been put does not allow our immortality to be displayed.

An analogy will help us understand the distinction between ourselves and God. From the ground we may see only clouds in the sky, but if we fly above the clouds we can see the sun shining. From the sky, skyscrapers and cities seem very tiny; similarly, from God's position this entire material creation is insignificant.

The tendency of the living entity is to come down from the heights, where everything can be seen in perspective. God, however, does not have this tendency. The Supreme Lord is not subject to fall down into illusion (maya) any more than the sun is subject to fall beneath the clouds.

Impersonalist philosophers (Mayavadis) maintain that both the living entity and God Himself are under the control of maya when they come into this material world. This is the fallacy of their philosophy.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu should therefore not be considered one of us. He is Krsna Himself, the supreme living entity, and as such He never comes under the cloud of maya. Krsna, His expansions and even His higher devotees never fall into the clutches of illusion. Lord Chaitanya came to earth simply to preach krsna-bhakti, love of Krsna.

In other words, He is Lord Krsna Himself teaching the living entities the proper way to approach Krsna. He is like a teacher who, seeing a student doing poorly, takes up a pencil and writes, saying, "Do it like this: A, B, C." From this one should not foolishly think that the teacher is learning his ABC's. Similarly, although Lord Chaitanya appears in the guise of a devotee, we should not foolishly think

He is an ordinary human being; we should always remember that Lord Chaitanya is Krsna (God) Himself teaching us how to become Krsna conscious, and we must study Him in that light. If we wish to become fully Krsna conscious, we have to give up the shackles of maya.

Or, if we remain with maya, we should live in such a way that we will not be subject to illusion, as did the many householders among Lord Caitanya's closest devotees. With His followers in the renounced order, however, Lord Chaitanya was very strict. He even banished Junior Haridasa, an important kirtana leader, for glancing lustfully at a woman.

The Lord told him, "You are living with Me in the renounced order, and yet you are looking at a woman with lust." Other devotees of the Lord had appealed to Him to forgive Haridasa, but He replied, "All of you can forgive him and live with him. I shall live alone."

On the other hand, when the Lord learned that the wife of one of His householder devotees was pregnant, He asked that the baby be given a certain auspicious name.

So while the Lord approved of householders having regulated sex, He was like a thunderbolt with those in the renounced order who tried to cheat by the method known as "drinking water under water while bathing on a fast day."

In other words, He tolerated no hypocrisy among His followers. From the Chaitanya-caritamrta we learn how Lord Chaitanya taught people to break the shackles of maya and become immortal. Thus, as mentioned above, the title may be properly translated as "the character of the living force in immortality."

The supreme living force is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is also the supreme entity. There are innumerable living entities, and all of them are individuals. Like each of these living entities, the Lord is an individual, but He is different in that He is the supreme individual.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada