27 Facts About Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

1.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures.

2.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda Tattva.

3.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu expounded Bhakti yoga and popularized the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra.

4.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree.

5.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born as Vishvambhar Mishra, the second son of Jagannath Mishra.

6.

When travelling to Gaya to perform the Sraddha ceremony for his departed father, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu met his guru, the ascetic Ishvara Puri, from whom he received initiation with the Gopala Krishna mantra.

7.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent the last 24 years of his life in Puri, Odisha, the great temple city of Jagannath in the Radhakanta Math.

8.

The Gajapati king, Prataprudra Dev, regarded Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as Krishna's avatar and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's recitation gatherings.

9.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavan in a spiritual trance of divine love.

10.

When Rupa Goswami first met the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he saw the divinity in him and composed the following verse:.

11.

The evidence for the belief that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of Lord Krishna is found in the Srimad Bhagavatam:.

12.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.

13.

Also in some other Scriptures like Vishnu Sahasranama, Bhavishya Purana, Padma Purana and Garuda Purana there are references of Chaitanaya Chaitanya Mahaprabhu being an incarnation of Krishna.

14.

Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to be Lord Krishna himself but appearing in the covered form who appeared in the Kali Yuga as his own devotee to show the easiest way to achieve Krishna Consciousness.

15.

Furthermore, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed and propagated the great benefits of chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

16.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is said to be a disciple of Isvara Puri who was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha who was a disciple of Vyasatirtha of Madhvacharya's Sampradaya.

17.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took Mantra Upadesa from Isvara Puri and Sanyasa Diksha from Keshava Bharati.

18.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not known to have written anything himself except for a series of verses known as the Siksastaka, or "eight verses of instruction", which he had spoken, and were recorded by one of his close colleagues.

19.

The eight verses created by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are considered to contain the complete philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in condensed form.

20.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu requested a select few among his followers to systematically present the theology of bhakti he had taught to them in their own writings.

21.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu travelled throughout India popularising the gospel of anti-untouchability, social justice and mass education.

22.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu probably initiated 'Pankti Bhojon' and Krishna Sankirtan in the eastern part of Bengal.

23.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's disciples were known as Kalachandi Sampraday, who inspired the people to eradicate illiteracy and casteism.

24.

The festival of Kheturi, presided over by Jahnava Thakurani, the wife of Nityananda, was the first time the leaders of the various branches of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's followers assembled together.

25.

The vamsa descending from Nityananda through his son Virabhadra forms the most prominent branch of the modern Gaudiya tradition, though descendants of Advaita, along with the descendants of many other associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, maintain their following especially in the rural areas of Bengal.

26.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu belonged to the circle of guru Prabhu Jagadbandhu with teachings similar to the later ISKCON mission.

27.

Saraswata gurus and acharyas, members of the Goswami lineages and several other Hindu sects which revere Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including devotees from the major Vaishnava holy places in Mathura District, West Bengal and Odisha, established temples dedicated to Krishna and Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century.