Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 6.142
Variety Supports the Personal Understanding
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “ ‘Whatever Vedic mantras describe the Absolute Truth impersonally only prove in the end that the Absolute Truth is a person. The Supreme Lord is understood in two features — impersonal and personal. If one considers the Supreme Personality of Godhead in both features, he can actually understand the Absolute Truth. He knows that the personal understanding is stronger because we see that everything is full of variety. No one can see anything that is not full of variety.’”
What the purport teaches
- Vedic mantras that describe the Absolute Truth impersonally ultimately establish that the Absolute Truth is a person.
- The Supreme Lord is understood in impersonal and personal features. Considering both features helps one actually understand the Absolute Truth.
- The personal understanding is stronger because everything we see is full of variety. This teaching is quoted from Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka by Kavi-karṇapūra.
Try this today
Notice three examples of variety around you today, then reread the verse’s explanation of why the personal understanding is stronger.
Ask yourself
How does the variety I see help me reflect on the personal understanding of the Absolute Truth?
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.