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Lessons from the CC: Adi-lila Chapter 1

June 4th, 2007

Lessons from the CC
Adi-Lila Chapter 1

Lesson 1: To successfully write or speak about the inconceivable Supreme Lord, one needs to attract His mercy by humbly remembering His diverse manifestations including His devotees and the spiritual master.

After offering prayers in fourteen verses to the Supreme Lord at the beginning of his Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja explains why:

“In the beginning of this narration, simply by remembering the spiritual master, the devotees of the Lord, and the Personality of Godhead, I have invoked their benedictions.”
(Adi 1.19)

Lesson 2: Respectfully remembering the Supreme Lord is a very effective way to overcome the obstacles one faces in his spiritual progress.

“Such remembrance destroys all difficulties and very easily enables one to fulfill his own desires.”
(Adi 1.21)

Lesson 3: One seeking to explain spiritual subjects even seeks blessings from his audience, provided they are sincere seekers.

After summarizing his auspicious invocation, Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja continues to seek blessings:

“I offer my obeisances unto all my Vaisnava readers as I begin to explain the intricacies of all these verses.”
Adi 1.30

Lesson 4: The Supreme Lord must be understood and worshipped through His devotees.

After finishing his prayers to the Supreme Lord and His devotees, Srila Krishna das Kaviraja announces that he will explain them in more detail:

“Having offered obeisances unto the Lord and all His associates, I shall now try to explain these six diversities in one.” (Adi 1.43)

Srila Prabhupada explains the significance of this verse in his purport:

“There are many unalloyed devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all of whom are considered associates surrounding the Lord. Krishna should be worshiped with His devotees. The diverse principles are therefore the eternal paraphernalia through which the Absolute Truth can be approached.” (Adi 1.43, Purport)

Lesson 5: The spiritual master should be respected as a direct manifestation of God because he is the Lord’s empowered representative and confidential servant.

“Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Sri Caitanya, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord.” (Adi 1.44)

“According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is non-different from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.” (Adi 1.45)

Srila Prabhupada comments:

“[…]The revealed scriptures prohibit one’s pretending to be God, but a bona fide spiritual master is a most faithful and confidential servant of the Lord and therefore deserves as much respect as Krishna. Adi 1.45, Purport

Lesson 6: One should be vigilant to never envy or disrespect genuine authority.

“One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.” (Adi 1.46)

Comment: The warning to not disrespect or envy authority is given here because it is our natural tendency to do so.

Another lesson gleaned from the same verse (Adi 1.46):

Lesson 7: Studentship requires firm faith in and the utmost respect for one’s teacher.

Lesson 8: To understand one’s eternal relationship with Krishna one must serve the pure devotee and faithfully study the Srimad Bhagavatam under his guidance.

In the second verse of the Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja prays to the Supreme Lord in the particular forms of Sri Caitanya and Sri Nityananda to dissipate ignorance. Later in the chapter these verses are analyzed and the direct result of such purification is described:

“But these two brothers [Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda] dissipate the darkness of the inner core of the heart, and thus They help one meet the two kinds of bhagavatas [persons or things in relationship with the Personality of Godhead].

One of the bhagavatas is the great scripture Srimad Bhagavatam, and the other is the pure devotee absorbed in the mellows of loving devotion.

Through the actions of these two bhagavatas the Lord instills the mellows of transcendental loving service into the heart of a living being, and thus the Lord, in the heart of His devotee, comes under the control of the devotee’s love.” (Adi 1.99-101)

Lesson 9: A devotee should try to speak as concisely as possible.

Before beginning his explanation of the third verse of his mangalacaram, Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja informs the readers that he will try to avoid extensive descriptions and speak succinctly. He supports his contention with a well known aphorism:

“Essential truth spoken concisely is true eloquence.” (Adi 1.107)

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