There is no difference between the teachings of Lord Caitanya presented here and the teachings of Lord Ka in the Bhagavad-gt. The teachings of Lord Caitanya are practical demonstrations of Lord Ka's teachings. Lord Ka's ultimate instruction in Bhagavad-gt is that everyone should surrender unto Him, Lord Ka. Ka promises to take immediate charge of such a surrendered soul. The Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is already in charge of the maintenance of this creation by virtue of His plenary expansion, Krodakay Viu, but this maintenance is not direct. However, when the Lord says that He takes charge of His pure devotee, He actually takes direct charge. A pure devotee is a soul who is forever surrendered to the Lord, just as a child is surrendered to his parents or an animal to its master. In the surrendering process, one should: (1) accept things favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) reject things unfavorable, (3) believe firmly in the Lord's protection, (4) feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord, (5) have no interest separate from the interest of the Lord, and (6) always feel oneself meek and humble.
The Lord demands that one surrender unto Him by following these six guidelines, but the unintelligent so-called scholars of the world misunderstand these demands and urge the general mass of people to reject them. At the conclusion of the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gt, Lord Ka directly says: "Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me." (Bg. 9.34) However, the scholarly demons misguide the masses of people by directing them to the impersonal, unmanifest, eternal, unborn truth rather than the Personality of Godhead. The impersonalist Myvd philosophers do not accept that the ultimate aspect of the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one desires to understand the sun as it is, one must first face the sunshine, then the sun globe and, after entering into that globe, come face to face with the predominating deity of the sun. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the Myvd philosophers cannot go beyond the Brahman effulgence, which may be compared to the sunshine. The Upaniads confirm that one has to penetrate the dazzling effulgence of Brahman before one can see the real face of the Personality of Godhead.
Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Ka, who appeared as the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also suggests that the place known as Vndvana is as good as Lord Ka because there is no difference between the name, quality, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia of Lord Ka and Lord Ka Himself. That is the absolute nature of the Absolute Truth.
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
The Lord demands that one surrender unto Him by following these six guidelines, but the unintelligent so-called scholars of the world misunderstand these demands and urge the general mass of people to reject them. At the conclusion of the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gt, Lord Ka directly says: "Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me." (Bg. 9.34) However, the scholarly demons misguide the masses of people by directing them to the impersonal, unmanifest, eternal, unborn truth rather than the Personality of Godhead. The impersonalist Myvd philosophers do not accept that the ultimate aspect of the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one desires to understand the sun as it is, one must first face the sunshine, then the sun globe and, after entering into that globe, come face to face with the predominating deity of the sun. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the Myvd philosophers cannot go beyond the Brahman effulgence, which may be compared to the sunshine. The Upaniads confirm that one has to penetrate the dazzling effulgence of Brahman before one can see the real face of the Personality of Godhead.
Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Ka, who appeared as the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also suggests that the place known as Vndvana is as good as Lord Ka because there is no difference between the name, quality, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia of Lord Ka and Lord Ka Himself. That is the absolute nature of the Absolute Truth.
