The Greatest Personality

When Lord Caitanya was on His way to Vrndavana, He never made His headquarters anywhere but in Jagannatha Puri. But He stopped at Benares and resided with Candrasekhara and took prasadam with Tapana Misra. His only propaganda was Hare Krsna, and when He passed on the road all the people joined Him. Even when insignificant people saw Him they liked to chant, and He drew crowds. In three or four days He became famous. The propaganda of the young sannyasi reached the Mayavadis, who indulged in backbiting. "Here is a sannyasi, and He is dancing." Dancing and singing were strictly forbidden to Mayavadi sannyasis. (It appears, however, that kirtana, chanting, is recommended in the Bible, and today even Mayavadis are taking to it.) They said of Lord Caitanya: "Here is a sannyasi dancing and singing. He doesn't give attention to studying Vedanta." Sometimes Krsna conscious devotees are considered foolish because they have no stock but chanting. People want to talk of philosophy, but simply by chanting all is complete. Criticism was going on: "There are other sentimentalists who are also foolish and ignorant; therefore they are following this sannyasi." When Lord Caitanya was criticized in that way, He smiled. "What can I do?" He said. He was very grave: "Let them criticize, and let Me continue My activities. That's all." Because He was anxious to visit Vrndavana, He did not care. He left Benares after three or four days. Although He was criticized, He did not challenge, but went to Vrndavana.

Lord Caitanya came back to Benares, however, on His way from Mathura to Jagannatha Puri, and again He stayed at the house of Candrasekhara, although he was not a brahmana but a sūdra. Why? Because He is completely independent.

Because He is Krsna. Krsna sometimes takes the incarnation of a hog. The hog is considered to be the lowest of animals because it eats stool. Just as those who are dog-eaters are considered the lowest of human society, similarly amongst the animals the hog is considered the lowest because it eats stool. But Krsna took the appearance of a hog. That does not mean, however, that Krsna became a hog. He is full independent. What sort of hog was He? That hog was so big that He covered almost half of the universe. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a very nice explanation of the hog incarnation. The residents of the three highest planets-Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka-are the most pious within the material world. They were praying, and when the hog incarnation sprinkled water upon those three planets by shaking His body, the residents thought, "We are becoming purified." Although they are considered to be the most pious and purified residents of this material world, still they prayed, "We are becoming purified."

Krsna and His devotees are independent. They are not under the rules and regulations of this material world. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu set an example by staying at a place which was considered abominable by other sannyasis. Candrasekhara was a clerk. The clerical occupation was offered to the sūdras, the laborer class. Recently in Calcutta, at a European firm, there was a strike of the clerks. Their chief man met with the manager and asked, "Do you want to compromise with us?" But the manager said, "No, I don't want to compromise with you. I don't care about you because you are educated laborers." He gave that title to the clerks-educated laborers. Actually in Hindu society the clerks were called educated laborers-lekhak sūdras. But spiritually there is no such distinction. We should always remember that materially, in every society and every country, there are always higher and lower classes, but spiritually there is no such consideration. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's propaganda. He made Haridasa Thakur, a Mohammadan, the spiritual master for sahkirtana, and He picked up Sanatana Gosvami and Rūpa Gosvami, who were rejected by Hindu society, and made them gosvamis. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's distinctive feature. Here we see that He honored a laborer, a sūdra clerk who was inferior in society, by staying at his home. Ramananda Raya was also a sūdra, and he was a householder and a politician, a governor, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu took instruction from him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave him the preference of being His teacher. Ramananda Raya was hesitating: "Sir, You are a sannyasi in the highest stage of elevation, and in Your former life You belonged to the brahmana sect, so You belong to the highest class. And I am a sūdra, a householder and a politician. How low I am in comparison to You, yet You are taking instruction from me. So I am feeling hesitation." Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "No, don't feel hesitation. It doesn't matter whether a man is a laborer, a brahmana, a sannyasi, or a householder. Anyone who knows the science of Krsna is a spiritual master." Anyone-that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's highest recommendation, especially for the Hindus who have so much caste consciousness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke all the barriers. His simple teaching was that anyone who is Krsna conscious is the greatest personality in the world. He did not care what people would say because He was staying at a sūdra's house. He stayed with a sūdra and took meals with another brahmana who was not sannyasi, and in this way He resided in Benares.