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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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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 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya
Madhya 6.144Madhya 6.147

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Madhya 6.145-146

ভগবান্ বহু হৈতে যবে কৈল মন ।

প্রাকৃত-শক্তিতে তবে কৈল বিলোকন ॥ ১৪৫ ॥

bhagavān bahu haite yabe kaila mana

prākṛta-śaktite tabe kaila vilokana

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “When the Supreme Personality of Godhead wished to become many, He glanced over the material energy. Before the creation there were no mundane eyes or mind; therefore the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth’s mind and eyes is confirmed.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Mind and Senses Are Transcendental

  1. 1

    When the Supreme Personality of Godhead wishes to become many, the cosmic manifestation arises simply by His glance over material energy.

  2. 2

    The Lord desired and glanced before creation, when no material minds or eyes existed. His mind and eyes are therefore transcendental.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s mind, eyes and all His other senses are transcendental, not material.

Key points from the purport
  • This statement confirms the fact that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead wishes to become many, the cosmic manifestation arises simply by His glancing over material energy.
  • Before the creation there were no material minds or material eyes; therefore the mind by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead desired to create is transcendental, and the eyes with which He glanced over material nature are also transcendental.
  • Thus the Lord’s mind, eyes and other senses are all transcendental.

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

Doubt transformed to devotion. Intellectual resistance gives way to a profound change of heart.

The mood of Madhya 6 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

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

The greatest mistake made by the Māyāvādī philosophers is in conceiving the Absolute Truth to be impersonal and without energy. In all the Vedas, the unlimited energies of the Absolute Truth have been accepted.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 6
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. bahumany
  3. haiteto become
  4. yabewhen
  5. kailamade
  6. manaHis mind
  7. prākṛtamaterial
  8. śaktiteon the energy
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I imagine the Lord’s mind and senses as material, despite their existing before material creation?

Practice

Reread the verse and briefly reflect: “The Lord’s desire and glance existed before material minds and eyes.”

4

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 todayThe Lord’s Mind and Senses Are TranscendentalThis 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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