Five Stars
[Adi 5-7]
Having described Sri Caitanya in the first four chapters, the next three focus on His four prominent companions. Together, They are known as the Panca Tattva :
• Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu – Bhakta rupa (original form of a devotee)
• Sri Nityananda Prabhu – Bhakta svarupakam (expansion of a devotee)
• Advaita Acarya – Bhaktavataram (incarnation of a devotee)
• Srivas Thakur – Bhaktakhyam (pure devotee)
• Sri Gadadhara Pandita – Bhakta saktikam (devotional energy)
Lord Nityananda – Bhakta svarupakam (expansion of a devotee) – When Krishna appeared as Sri Caitanya, His brother (Balaram) descended as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Balaram is the first expansion of Krishna - all subsequent divine expansions come from Him. Their main function is to create and maintain the material universes. Just as Balaram lovingly serves Krishna in Vrindavana, Nityananda’s identity is also one of sevak-bhagavan. Although He is non-different from Sri Caitanya, He comes in the mood of service. Sometimes He serves Lord Caitanya as a guru figure, sometimes as His friend and sometimes as His servant . To gain the favour of Sri Caitanya one must serve Nityananda and to stress this point, Krishnadasa narrates the story of Mineketana Ramadas, a great devotee of Nityananda who was mistreated and offended in Krishnadasa’s home. After this unsavoury incident, Nityananda appeared to Krishnadasa and ordered him to leave home and take up residence in the holy village of Vrindavana.
Advaita Acarya – Bhaktavataram (incarnation of a devotee) – Advaita Acarya is an incarnation of both Maha Vishnu and Sadashiva. His identity is visnu-tattva; the self-same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Taking birth in the Navadvip area fifty-two years prior to Sri Caitanya, Advaita was a well-established leader of the Vaisnava community. Pained by the godlessness of the world he lived in, he fervently beseeched Sri Krishna to incarnate, performing simple but dedicated worship which attracted the Lord’s attention. Throughout His life, Sri Chaitanya deeply respected Advaita Acarya, since the Acarya was the godbrother of Isvara Puri (Sri Caitanya’s spiritual master). Advaita, however, naturally subordinated himself before Sri Caitanya, being fully aware of His divine identity.
Gadadhara Pandita – Bhakta saktikam (devotional energy) – Gadadhara Pandita is the manifestation of Srimati Radharani in Sri Caitanya’s pastimes. When Krishna assumes the position of Radharani, She comes to watch how He does it! Thus, Gadadhara Pandita is identified as sakti-tattva, the internal pleasure potency of the Lord. The strikingly beautiful Gadadhara was a close childhood companion of Sri Caitanya, living very close to the house of Jagannatha Mishra.
Srivas Thakur – Bhaktakhyam (pure devotee) – Srivas is the only member of the Panca Tattva who is jiva-tattva (a living entity). He assisted Sri Caitanya in organising the daily sankirtana in Navadvip, and was well-known for his exceptional singing. Srivas Thakur is an incarnation of Narada Muni, the pure and saintly preacher who constantly traverses the universe to rekindle spirituality in people’s lives.
When these five personalities converged in Navadvip, their influence was extraordinary. The Panca Tattva instigated an unprecedented spiritual revolution by breaking open the treasure house of divine love. They experienced and relished that love themselves, and liberally distributed it without discrimination. With hands uplifted and eyes upturned, They chanted, danced, laughed and exhibited the madness of spiritual happiness. They were able to touch the hearts of unwilling and averse individuals as if by divine spell, causing miraculous transformation in everyone they met. This transcendental epidemic of divine love became highly contagious and effortlessly spread in all directions through the empowered representatives of Sri Caitanya.
Many, however, were sceptical. The impersonalist renunciants of Varanasi, headed by Prakashananda Saraswati, were probably the most stubborn of all. For them, the path of spirituality was one of discipline, austerity, strictness and study. They openly criticised Sri Caitanya and His followers as childish, sentimental and uninformed. Though Sri Caitanya was indifferent to their comments, He responded to the plea of His devotees and went to meet the camp of impersonalist sannyasis.
Upon seeing Him, the staunch renunciants were awestruck by his effulgent appearance and saintly disposition. Sri Caitanya humbly narrated how He received the Hare Krishna mantra from His guru and had subsequently become spiritually intoxicated. Sri Caitanya refuted the misleading interpretations of Shankaracarya and his followers and instead established the real conclusion of Vedanta philosophy: to have a loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna.
Prakashananda Saraswati and his followers were amazed at the explanations and their hearts were conquered. They wholeheartedly joined the sankirtana movement – a huge breakthrough and momentous missionary achievement for Sri Caitanya. His fame grew to new heights and thousands of people became His followers.
Once, when asked to elucidate the goal of life, Srila Prabhupada emphatically replied: 'To enjoy!' The reporter was taken aback until Prabhupada further clarified: 'But you have to know how!' The Panca Tattva exhibited this blissful life of spiritual immersion on the streets of Navadvip. While strictness, regulation and austerity are surely necessary, the emphasis of bhakti-yoga is on achieving the 'higher taste'. Spiritual life is natural and joyful.
The singing, dancing and blissful emotion does not render a bhakti-yogi incapable of serious philosophical thinking. On the contrary, it is the devotee’s deep understanding and comprehension of reality that spontaneously moves his heart and mind towards Krishna. Song and dance, two of the most powerful forms of emotional expression, are an integral part of that spiritual experience. We use these mediums to express our deepest feelings in the relationships of this world, so why not in the ultimate relationship with God? Although bhakti-yoga may appear simple and sentimental, when practiced with sincerity and purity it actually combines and synthesises all other disciplines, bringing one to the summit of spiritual perfection.
The first seven chapters of Caitanya-Caritamrita summarise the identity of the Panca Tattva and what they were able to acheive. Krishnadasa now offers further background information to complete the invocation to his biographical work.
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