Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Ādi 16.31
Value Foundations Without Scholarly Pride
“I understand that You are a teacher of grammar,” he said, “and that Your name is Nimāi Paṇḍita. People speak very highly of Your teaching of beginners’ grammar.
What the purport teaches
- Sanskrit students were expected to study grammar carefully for twelve years. Expertise in Sanskrit grammar opens all the śāstras to the student.
- Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was famous for teaching grammar. Keśava Kāśmīrī acknowledged that people spoke highly of Nimāi Paṇḍita’s teaching of beginners.
- Keśava Kāśmīrī was very proud of his literary career. He considered Nimāi Paṇḍita’s position as a grammar teacher not at all comparable to his own.
Try this today
Spend five minutes reviewing one basic grammar point instead of rushing past it.
Ask yourself
Do you value careful study of the basics, or regard it as beneath you?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.