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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

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 Madhya 6.269

ব্ৰহ্মে, ঈশ্বরে সাযুজ্য দুই ত’ প্রকার ।

ব্রহ্ম-সাযুজ্য হৈতে ঈশ্বর-সাযুজ্য ধিক্কার ॥ ২৬৯ ॥

brahme, īśvare sāyujya dui ta’ prakāra

brahma-sāyujya haite īśvara-sāyujya dhikkāra

Translation

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya continued, “There are two kinds of sāyujya-mukti: merging into the Brahman effulgence and merging into the personal body of the Lord. Merging into the Lord’s body is even more abominable than merging into His effulgence.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Two Kinds of Merging

  1. 1

    Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya distinguishes merging into the Lord’s effulgence from merging into His personal body. He considers merging into His body even more abominable.

  2. 2

    Māyāvādī Vedāntists seek to merge into the impersonal Brahman. Yogīs following Patañjali accept the personality of the Absolute Truth but desire to merge into the Lord’s transcendental body.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything, and His bodily effulgence is called brahmajyoti, Brahmaloka or Siddhaloka. Sparklike living entities who do not wish to keep their individual existences are allowed to remain there.

Key points from the purport
  • The impersonal Brahman, or bodily effulgence of the Supreme Lord, is known as Brahmaloka or Siddhaloka.
  • Being the greatest authority, the Supreme Lord can easily allow many millions of living entities to merge into His body.
  • Thus Brahmaloka or Siddhaloka is a place where many sparklike living entities, parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are assembled.

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:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised Sārvabhauma not to change the reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, because mukti-pada indicated the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Having become a pure devotee, the Bhaṭṭācārya said, “Because the meaning is hazy, I still prefer bhakti-pada. ” At this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the other inhabitants of Jagannātha Purī became very pleased.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 6
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. brahmein the Brahman effulgence
  2. īśvarein the body of the Lord
  3. sāyujyamerging
  4. duitwo
  5. ta’indeed
  6. prakāravarieties
  7. brahma-sāyujyamerging into the Brahman effulgence
  8. haitethan
  9. īśvara-sāyujyamerging into the body of the Lord
  10. dhikkāramore abominable
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the distinction between the Lord and His bodily effulgence help me understand?

Practice

Write down the two kinds of sāyujya-mukti and how they differ.

Live this todayTwo Kinds of 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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