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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Sri Chaitanya

The Life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is fabled. The Lord appeared in 1407 on the evening of Farguniprunima in Shakabuda.

There was a lunar eclipse that same evening. During the eclipse, Hindus usually bathed in the Ganges and other sacred rivers and chanted Vedic mantras for purification. 

The simultaneous appearance of the Lord and the lunar eclipse charted a path for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu鈥檚 unique mission.

Chaitanya means “one who is conscious” (derived from Chetana, which means “Consciousness”); Maha means “Great” and Prabhu means “Lord” or “Master”.

Chaitanya was born as Vishvambhar Mishra, the second son of Jagannath Mishra. Jagannath and his wife, Sachi Devi, the daughter of Nilambara Chakravarti, were both Brahmins of Sylhet

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a 15th-century Vedic spiritual leader, who is considered an avatar of Lord Krishna by his followers.

Chaitanya founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which is a religious movement that promotes Vaishnavism or worship of Lord Vishnu as the Supreme Soul.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism teaches the acceptance of Bhakti yoga as a method to realize the ultimate truth. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is credited with popularizing the 鈥楳aha Mantra鈥� or 鈥楬are Krishna Mantra.鈥�

He is also known for composing in Sanskrit a prayer of eight verses, known as 鈥楽iksastakam.

Here are 10 more unbelievable facts about Sri Chaitanya.

1. Sri Chaitanya was Believed to be an incarnation of  Lord Krishna

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Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is said to have been born with features similar to that of Lord Krishna, he was a child prodigy and became a scholar at a very young age.

Chaitanya was born Vishvambhar on February 18, 1486. At the time of his birth, India witnessed a full lunar eclipse, which was considered auspicious by Hindu scholars.

Chaitanya was the second born child of Sachi Devi and her husband Jagannath Mishra. He had an elder brother, Visvarupa, and the entire family lived in Srihatta, in present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Many sources state that Chaitanya was born with fair skin and had striking similarities with the conceived image of Lord Krishna.

As a young boy, Chaitanya started chanting praises of Lord Krishna and also exhibited an unusually high level of intelligence.

He could recite mantras and other religious hymns at a very young age and started spreading knowledge much like a scholar.

2. Sri Chaitanya Started a School at Age 16

When he was 16 years old, Chaitanya started his own school, which attracted many pupils.

Chaitanya鈥檚 knowledge and wisdom was so great that he once defeated a proud and learned scholar named Keshava Kashmiri in a debate.

The next day Keshava Kashmiri is said to have surrendered before Chaitanya, accepting his defeat gladly.

According to various sources, Keshava Kashmiri dreamt of Goddess Saraswati on the night after the debate.

When Goddess Saraswati explained to him who Chaitanya actually was, Keshava Kashmiri realized the truth and accepted defeat the next morning.

3. Ishvara Puri was Sri Chaitanya’s Guru 

After the demise of his father, Jagannath Mishra, Chaitanya visited the ancient city of Gaya to perform a religious ceremony to pay homage to his deceased father.

While in Gaya, he met an ascetic named Ishvara Puri, who would go on to become his guru.

When Chaitanya returned to his hometown, there was a significant change in his thought process.

He was followed by the local Vaishnavas of Bengal and it did not take him long before becoming head o of one of the Vaishnava groups in Nadia district.

4.  Sri Chaitanya Originated Bhakti Yoga

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Thereafter, he decided to leave Bengal and requested Keshava Bharati to bestow upon him 鈥榮annyasa,鈥� which requires one to renounce all things material and wander in search of the ultimate truth.

While ascetics (sanyasi) follow various methods to attain salvation, Chaitanya鈥檚 key to unlock the ultimate truth was Bhakti yoga, which is one鈥檚 loving devotion toward the Supreme Being.

By chanting Lord Krishna鈥檚 name relentlessly, Chaitanya not only practised Bhakti yoga but also taught his followers the proper method of pursuing Bhakti yoga.

5. Sri Chaitanya Visited the Length and Breadth of India on Foot

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After becoming a sannyasi he travelled throughout India, visiting many places, and spreading the name of Lord Krishna.

He also spread the name of the Krishna sankirtana. , Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a major role in the Bhakti movement. Later, he established a religious movement called Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

For many years, Chaitanya travelled the length and breadth of India, advocating Bhakti yoga.

Chanting the name of Krishna, Chaitanya would travel on foot to various places in a state of absolute bliss or ecstasy.

In 1515, Chaitanya visited Vrindavan, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

The main objective of Chaitanya鈥檚 visit was later said to be 鈥榬einvention,鈥� as Chaitanya wanted to identify important places associated with Lord Krishna, in Vrindavan.

It is said that Chaitanya was successful in locating all the important places, including the seven temples (sapta devalay), which are visited by Vaishnavas even today.

6. Sri Chaitanya was Revered

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After travelling for years, Chaitanya settled down in Puri, Odisha, where he stayed for the final 24 years of his life.

Chaitanya was revered as Krishna himself not just by his ardent devotees and followers, but also by several rulers of the 16th century.

Prataprudra Dev, a Gajapati ruler, became one of his most enthusiastic patrons and a devotee of his 鈥榮ankeertan鈥� gatherings.

7. Siksastakam is the Only Written Teaching of  Sri Chaitanya

鈥楽iksastakam,鈥� a 16th-century prayer of eight verses, is the only written record of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu鈥檚 teachings.

The teachings and philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism are based on this Sanskrit text.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu鈥檚 teachings are divided into 10 points and are centred on the glorification of Lord Krishna.

Lord Chaitanya鈥檚 influence was responsible for spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur and Rajasthan.

He wrote a series of verses known as the 鈥楽hikshashtakam鈥�, or “eight verses of instruction鈥� which are considered to contain the complete philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in condensed form.

He requested six saints and theologians among his followers to systematize the Gaudiya Vaishnava theology in their own writings.

8.      Many of his foremost disciples were Muslim

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu abolished all the caste system that was prevalent in medieval India and united everyone on the basis of devotion to Lord Krishna and chanting his holy names.

Many of his foremost disciples were from Islam and other castes.

Haridas Thakur, Rupa Goswami and Santana Goswami to name a few.

9. He is the Spiritual Father of ISKCON

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Lord Chaitanya is the father of the modern Krishna Consciousness movement which was taken by his future disciple Srila Prabhupada all over the world and across India.

He started International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON): Hare K峁涐梗峁嘺 Hare K峁涐梗峁嘺; K峁涐梗峁嘺 K峁涐梗峁嘺 Hare Hare; Hare R膩ma Hare R膩ma; R膩ma R膩ma Hare Hare.

10. Sri Chaitanya Death Mystery

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The followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu claim that he did not die as he was an incarnation of Lord Krishna, many theories suggest that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could鈥檝e been murdered for various reasons.

However, this is a controversial theory and is not supported by all. Another mysterious theory suggests that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared magically, while another account states that he died at Tota Gopinath temple in Puri, Odisha.

However, scholars and historians say that there is enough evidence to state that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu suffered from epilepsy.

Various texts state that he would lose his consciousness at regular intervals due to the disease.

Historians also suggest that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu suffered from seizures and that epilepsy might have caused his death on June 14, 1534.

Chaitanya’s epistemological, theological and ontological teachings are summarised as ten root principles called dasa mula. The statements of amnaya (scripture) are the chief proof.

It was believed that by His divine spiritual power, he was able to locate all the important places of Krishna’s pastimes in and around Vrindavan including the seven main temples or sapta devalay, which are worshipped by Vaishnavas in the Chaitanya tradition to this day.