Advaita Acharya 1 – Compassionate call to the Lord

Hare Krishna.
Welcome to our discussion on a series of great saints and their special occasions in the Vaishnava tradition. So today we will be discussing over a series of talks, short, around 10 minute talks, we will be discussing about the glories of Advaita Acharya. Advaita Acharya is one of the most prominent saints in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
And his distinctiveness among the intimate associates of Lord Chaitanya comes primarily from his being senior, significantly senior to Lord Chaitanya. Srivasa Thakur, who is also a member of the Pancha Jatwa, is also senior to Lord Chaitanya. But he is not as senior.
Advaita Acharya was at the level of the father of Lord Chaitanya, if not older still. And he also has a special role, not just because of his age, but also because of his unique contribution. And among the many significant and astonishing ways in which he participated in Lord Chaitanya s pastimes, the most important is the first.
He was the person who called out. And because of his call, that was one of the reasons, the external reasons, that made Lord Chaitanya descend to this world. It is said that the devotees, this is the obeisance prayer that we offer while respecting devotees.
And Advaita Acharya personifies this in a beautiful way. He is an ocean of mercy. He tries to elevate those who are fallen.
So how did he do that? He lived in Navadvip Mayapur, which was a stronghold of Vedic learning at his time. And at first glance, if we consider the condition of the rest of the country at that time, it would appear as if Navadvip had it fairly good. The rest of the country was ruled by aggressive Islamic rulers.
And many of them were highly intolerant towards the traditional spiritual practices of Sanatana Dharma. And not only that, even Bengal itself was ruled by inimical ruler, Nawab Hussain Shah. And he too was quite hostile.
And later on, when we discuss about the other Acharyas, when we discuss about the Goswamis, we will discuss how Rupan Sanatana Goswami played a critical role in mediating between the Nawab and the Vaishnav community and thereby protecting the devotional culture of the time. But still, despite there being so much degradation in the country and even in Bengal, Advait Acharya’s vision was transcendental. And this transcendental vision meant that he did not consider, from the point of view of many nationalists say, the idea that India was ruled by Muslims is considered a great travesty in Indian history.
And from the transcendental point of view, whether there were Islamic rulers or rulers of some other kind, that is inconsequential if the people in general are not devoted to God. So, in Navadvip itself, the Islamic invasion had not had much effect. We could say the culture which is Vedic in the broad sense was still flourishing there.
So, there were Brahmanas who were Pandits and they lived on charity. And it was not that they were persecuted directly. There were people, general people who appreciate Brahminic culture and they gave charity to the Brahmanas on their, because of their scholarship, because of their performance of sacrifices and rituals.
And if we look at the description of Navadvip as it is described in Chaitanya Charitambul, Chaitanya Bhagwat, Chaitanya Mangal and other biographical works of Lord Chaitanya, we would think, oh, this is a very good place. It’s a very pious place. As compared to much of the materialistic culture that we encounter in today’s world, it would seem a very nice culture.
And yes, in some ways it is nice. But Advait Acharya and Vaishnavas of his caliber are not satisfied with material nicety. They are not satisfied with mundane piety.
They want something higher. And what that something higher is, they want everyone to be connected with Krishna. So, Advait Acharya, despite living in a place where overall the framework of Vedic culture was there, he saw that the purpose of Vedic culture, the purpose of Vedic wisdom, that was missing.
Krishna says in 15.15 in the Bhagavad Gita, Vedaishya Sarvair Aham e Bhavedyo. Vedaishya Sarvair Aham e Bhavedyo. By all the Vedas, I am to be known.
And this defining purpose of the spiritual culture was lost for the residents of Navadvip. People would recite even a work of devotion like the Bhagavatam without talking about Bhakti essence. And such a state of affairs was heartbreaking for Advait Acharya.
He just couldn’t tolerate that people were so close and yet so far. They were so close to the ultimate perfection of human life, pure spiritual love for Krishna. And yet they were so far away because they thought that they already knew what Vedic culture was.
Krishna says in 2.42-43 when talking about the Vedavad Rataha that they think there is no purpose other than whatever purpose they are pursuing in relationship with the Vedic literature. So, in such a situation, Advait Acharya was not just a resourceful preacher, but he was also a formidable scholar. And as a formidable scholar, he, by his scholarly expositions, demonstrated how all the different Vedic literature culminated in Bhakti.
And despite his vigor and despite his erudition, still people were not transformed much. By his vigor and his erudition, he became the leader of the Vaishnav community at that time. But the Vaishnav community still remained small.
And Advait Acharya at that time felt that this task is so difficult that to get people to rise from the level of mundane piety to the level of pure spirituality, the level of pure love for Krishna, that is a task so difficult that only the Supreme Lord can accomplish it. And he was hoping and praying that the Lord come. And at that time, he read in the Gautamya Tantra that if one worships the Lord with Tulsi and Jal on the banks of the Ganga and calls out to Him, the Lord responds.
And then, immediately on reading this, he devoted himself utterly, wholeheartedly, desperately, urgently, fervently, to calling out to the Lord. And the intensity of his call was so great. The Chaitanya Charitamrit poetically describes that the call was not just within his heart.
It was not just a huge call that people around him heard. It is a call from the human heart to the divine heart. It went right from the earth, through the heavens, through Brahma Loka, through the coverings of the universe, through the Brahma Jyoti, through to Vaikuntha.
And Vaikuntha, that call went on and on to Goloka. And there it touched the heart of Krishna. And Krishna felt impelled to descend because of the call of Advait Acharya.
And Krishna thereafter descended as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, Advait Acharya’s devotion is so great that he can cause the Lord to descend from the spiritual world to the material world. Our heart is an arena of godlessness, as was the Navdeep at his time.
And by the mercy of great saints like Advait Acharya, if we pray to him, if we beg to him, he bestows his mercy on us. And by his mercy, the Lord will manifest in our heart too. Such is the extraordinary compassion and potency of Advait Acharya.
By the descent of Lord Chaitanya, which he actuated, he caused the whole world, especially in this dark age of Kali, to be delivered. He’s a purifier of all fallen souls like us who are residents of Kali Yuga. The future pastimes of Advait Acharya, how he responded when Lord Chaitanya appeared, how he interacted with Lord Chaitanya, all these things we will discuss in our future talks.
Thank you. Hare Krishna.