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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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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 24.186Madhya 24.188

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.187

বুদ্ধ্যে রমে আত্মারাম — দুই ত’ প্রকার ।

‘পণ্ডিত’ মুনিগণ, নির্গ্রন্থ ‘মূর্খ’ আর ॥ ১৮৭ ॥

buddhye rame ātmārāma — dui ta’ prakāra

‘paṇḍita’ muni-gaṇa, nirgrantha ‘mūrkha’ āra

Translation

“Everyone has some kind of intelligence, and one who utilizes his intelligence is called an ātmārāma. There are two types of ātmārāmas. One is a learned scholar and philosopher, and the other is an uneducated, illiterate, foolish person.

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.

Learning Does Not Define an Ātmārāma

  1. 1

    Everyone has some kind of intelligence.

  2. 2

    One who utilizes that intelligence is called an ātmārāma.

  3. 3

    Two types are described: the learned scholar and philosopher, and the uneducated, illiterate, foolish person.

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:

Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse. He then concluded that different classes of transcendentalists ( jñānīs, karmīs, yogīs ) utilize this verse according to their own interpretation, but if they would give up this process and surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by the verse itself, they would be able to comprehend the real meaning of the verse.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. buddhyein intelligence
  2. ramewho enjoys
  3. ātmārāmais an ātmārāma
  4. dui ta’ prakāratwo varieties
  5. paṇḍitalearned
  6. muni-gaṇaphilosophers
  7. nirgranthawithout education
  8. mūrkhafoolish
  9. āraalso
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I more concerned with how learned I appear than with how I use my intelligence?

Practice

Take a minute today to consider how you can use the understanding you already have in devotional service.

Live this todayLearning Does Not Define an ĀtmārāmaThis 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 Madhya 24.187? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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