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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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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse
Madhya 24.107Madhya 24.109

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.108

কেবল ব্রহ্মোপাসক তিন ভেদ হয় ।

সাধক, ব্রহ্মময়, আর প্রাপ্ত-ব্রহ্মলয় ॥ ১০৮ ॥

kevala brahmopāsaka tina bheda haya

sādhaka, brahmamaya, āra prāpta-brahma-laya

Translation

“There are three types of people who worship the impersonal Brahman. The first is the beginner, the second is one whose thoughts are absorbed in Brahman, and the third is one who is actually merged in the impersonal Brahman.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Three Types of Impersonal Brahman Worshipers

  1. 1

    The first type of worshiper of impersonal Brahman is a beginner.

  2. 2

    The second type has thoughts absorbed in Brahman.

  3. 3

    The third type is actually merged in the impersonal Brahman.

How it feels

Intellectual wonder humbled. Many explanations converge on the attractiveness of devotion; a hunter’s heart is transformed.

The mood of Madhya 24 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

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

He explained this verse in sixty-one different ways. He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kevala brahma-upāsakathe worshiper of only the impersonal Brahman
  2. tina bheda hayathere are three different groups
  3. sādhakathe beginner
  4. brahma-mayaabsorbed in thought of Brahman
  5. āraand
  6. prāpta-brahma-layaactually merged into the Brahman effulgence
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this distinction help me understand that Brahman worshipers are not all at the same stage?

Practice

List the three types in order: beginner, absorbed in thought, and merged in impersonal Brahman.

Live this todayThree Types of Impersonal Brahman WorshipersThis 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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