Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu should not be considered one of us. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the supreme living entity, and as such He never comes under the cloud of māyā. Kṛṣṇa, His expansions and even His higher devotees never fall into the clutches of illusion. Lord Caitanya came to earth simply to preach kṛṣṇa-bhakti, love of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, He is Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself teaching the living entities the proper way to approach Kṛṣṇa. He is like a teacher who, seeing a student doing poorly, takes up a pencil and writes, saying, “Do it like this: A, B, C.” From this one would not foolishly think that the teacher is learning his ABC’s. Similarly, although Lord Caitanya appears in the guise of a devotee, we should not foolishly think He is an ordinary human being; we should always remember that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa (God) Himself teaching us how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, and we must study Him in that light.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) Lord Kṛṣṇa sets forth the highest religious principle in this way:
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
This may seem to be a simple instruction to follow, but invariably our reaction is, “Oh, surrender? Give up? But I have so many responsibilities.” And māyā, illusion, says to us, “Don’t do it, or you’ll be out of my clutches. Just stay in my clutches, and I’ll kick you.” It is a fact that we are constantly being kicked by māyā, just as the male ass is kicked in the face by the she-ass when he comes for sex. Similarly, cats and dogs are always fighting and whining when they have sex. These are the tricks of nature. Even an elephant in the jungle is caught by the use of a trained she-elephant who leads him into a pit.
Māyā has many activities, and in the material world her strongest shackle is the female. Of course, in actuality we are neither male nor female, for these designations refer only to the outer dress, the body. We are all actually Kṛṣṇa’s servants. In conditioned life, however, we are shackled by iron chains in the form of beautiful women. Thus every male is bound by sex life, and therefore when one attempts to gain liberation from the material clutches, one must first learn to control the sex urge. Unrestricted sex puts one fully in the clutches of illusion. Lord CaitanyaMahāprabhu officially renounced this illusion at the age of twenty-four, although His wife was sixteen and His mother seventy and He was the only male member of the family. Although He was a brāhmaṇa and was not rich, He took sannyāsa, the renounced order of life, and thus extricated Himself from family entanglement.
If we wish to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, we have to give up the shackles of māyā. Or, if we remain with Māyā, we should live in such a way that we will not be subject to illusion. It is not necessary for a man to abandon his family, for there were many householders among Lord Caitanya’s closest devotees. What must be renounced is the propensity for material enjoyment. Although Lord Caitanya approved of a householder having regulated sex in marriage, He was very strict with those in the renounced order, and He even banished Junior Haridāsa for glancing lustfully at a woman. The point is that one must take up a particular path and stick to it, obeying all the rules and regulations necessary for success in spiritual life. Lord Caitanya’s mission was to teach the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to all men and thereby enable them to partake of the immortality of spiritual life.
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Introduction
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
The authentic account of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes and teachings, revealing His mission to spread the purest form of devotional service to Krishna through the chanting of His holy names.
