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

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Ādi-līlā · 17 chapters

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 8.15

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য–দয়া করহ বিচার ।

বিচার করিলে চিত্তে পাবে চমৎকার ॥ ১৫ ॥

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra

vicāra karite citte pābe camatkāra

Translation

If you are indeed interested in logic and argument, kindly apply it to the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If you do so, you will find it to be strikingly wonderful.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Consider Caitanya’s Mercy Beyond Material Logic

  1. 1

    Those interested in logic and argument are invited to apply them to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy. They will find His mercy strikingly wonderful.

  2. 2

    Logic and reason have a place in accepting the Absolute Truth. Yet without Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, logicians can remain absorbed in argument without advancing spiritually.

  3. 3

    The Absolute Truth is beyond imperfect senses and cannot be understood through material logic alone. Mundane reasoning can lead to wrong conclusions about spiritual reality.

Key points from the purport
  • For logicians who want to accept only that which is proven through logic and argument, it is a fact that without logic and reason there can be no question of accepting the Absolute Truth.
  • Unfortunately, when such logicians take to this path without the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they remain on the platform of logic and argument and do not advance in spiritual life.
  • Logic and argument are very poor in spiritual strength and always imperfect when applied to spiritual understanding.

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

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 11.3.26

If you do so, you will find such mercy strikingly wonderful.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Vulnerability and obedience. Kavirāja writes by mercy and command rather than personal self-assertion.

The mood of Ādi 8 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 8: The Author Receives the Orders of Kṛṣṇa and Guru

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In this chapter the glories of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda are described, and it is also stated that one who commits offenses in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra does not achieve love of Godhead, even after chanting for many years. In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warns against artificial displays of the bodily symptoms called aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 8
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyaLord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  2. dayāHis mercy
  3. karahajust put into
  4. vicāraconsideration
  5. vicārawhen such consideration
  6. karilewill be done by you
  7. cittein your heart
  8. pābeyou will get
  9. camatkārastriking wonder
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “mercy”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using reason to consider the Lord’s mercy, or treating material logic as sufficient by itself?

Practice

Spend a few minutes considering Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, while acknowledging the limits of your senses and reasoning.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 2 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayConsider Caitanya’s Mercy Beyond Material LogicThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Ādi 8.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.