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Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
  4. 4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
  5. 5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
  6. 6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.
Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›
Ādi-līlā · Chapter 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features
Ādi 7.69Ādi 7.71

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 7.70

প্রভাবে দেখিয়ে তোমা সাক্ষাৎ নারায়ণ ।

হীনাচার কর কেনে, ইথে কি কারণ ॥ ৭০ ॥

prabhāve dekhiye tomā sākṣāt nārāyaṇa

hīnācāra kara kene, ithe ki kāraṇa

Translation

“You look as brilliant as if You were Nārāyaṇa Himself. Will You kindly explain the reason that You have adopted the behavior of lower-class people?”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Association Rather Than Merging

  1. 1

    Through renunciation, Vedānta study, meditation and strict daily principles, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are situated to perform pious activities.

  2. 2

    Because of his piety, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī recognized Caitanya Mahāprabhu as no ordinary person but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet he thought that Caitanya Mahāprabhu had already become Nārāyaṇa.

  3. 3

    Māyāvādī philosophers expect to become Nārāyaṇa by merging with His body. Vaiṣṇava philosophers understand that they will receive a transcendental, spiritual body in which to associate with Nārāyaṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • Māyāvādī sannyāsīs address one another as Nārāyaṇa because they think that they are all going to be Nārāyaṇa or merge with Nārāyaṇa in the next life.
  • Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī appreciated that Caitanya Mahāprabhu had already directly become Nārāyaṇa and did not need to wait until His next life.
  • One difference between the Vaiṣṇava and Māyāvādī philosophies is that Māyāvādī philosophers think that after giving up their bodies they are going to become Nārāyaṇa by merging with His body, whereas Vaiṣṇava philosophers understand that after the body dies they are going to have a transcendental, spiritual body in which to associate with Nārāyaṇa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Collective delight. The Pañca-tattva gives divine love a relational and communal form.

The mood of Ādi 7 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features

Back to this verse in Ādi 7
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. prabhāvein Your opulence
  2. dekhiyeI see
  3. tomāYou
  4. sākṣātdirectly
  5. nārāyaṇathe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. hīna-ācāralower-class behavior
  7. karaYou do
  8. kenewhy
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “associate”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does associating with Nārāyaṇa differ from seeking to merge with Him?

Practice

Write one sentence describing the Vaiṣṇava understanding of spiritual association.

5

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todaySpiritual Association Rather Than MergingThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

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