Advaita Acharya

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu exhibiting his Universal Form to Advaita Acharya.

Advaita Acharya (Bengali: অদ্বৈত আচার্য) (1434–1559), born Kamalaksha Bhattacharya,[1] was said to be an incarnation of Krishna or Chaitanya in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya,[2] notable disciple and companion of the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and guru of Haridasa Thakur.[3][4] He was born at Navagrama-Laur village in the present-day Sylhet District of Bangladesh in 1434, some fifty years before Chaitanya, and spent most of his adult life in the town of Shantipur with his wife and family (Advaita Acharya had six sons, Acyutananda, Krsna Misra, Gopala dasa, Balarama, Svarupa, and Jagadisa) teaching the philosophy of Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana and promoting Bhakti Yoga.

The ancestry and life of Advaita Acharya are narrated in a number of hagiographical works, which include the Balyalilasutra (1487?) of Krishnadasa in Sanskrit and the Advaitasutrakadacha of Krishnadasa, the Advaitamangala of Haricharanadasa, the Advaitaprakasha of Ishana Nagara[5] and the Advaitavilasa of Naraharidasa in Bengali.[6] Many of his activities are described in the Chaitanya Charitamrta, the Chaitanya Mangala and the Chaitanya Bhagavata.

Life story

Chaitanya Nityananda Advaita Acharya Gadadhara Pandita Srivasa ThakuraFive colorful statues of deities
Pancha Tattva deities installed on a Vaishnava altar. From left to right (click on feet to go to article): Advaita Acharya, Nityananda, Chaitanya, Gadadhara Pandita, Srivasa.

In his latter years Advaita Acharya became increasingly saddened by the pursuit of materialistic goals that, he believed, lead to a dysfunctional, unhappy society and concluded that the only solution was to offer prayers, begging his Supreme Lord Krishna to come as an Avatar and attract people back to the joy of the spiritual life. Advaita Acharya is said to have prayed for several months, crying out and worshipping him in the form of his Shaligram Shila with sacred Tulasi leaves and Ganges water. At the end of thirteen months during an eclipse of the full moon, his prayers were answered when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born. It was also Advaita Acharya who first proclaimed Chaitanya to be God Himself by reciting the Vedic text 'namo brahmanya devāya go-brāhmaṇa hitāya ca jagaddhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ' 'I salute Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, the god of brāhmaṇas who benefits cows and brāhmaṇas and the whole world.' He is known to have been a close friend of both Chaitanya and Nityananda in their mission of spreading the Hare Krishna mantra. Advaita Acharya's abode was the first place where Chaitanya took alms, and this is where He told Chaitanya "Wherever you are is Vrindavan."[7] He is considered a combined incarnation (Avatar) of both Maha Vishnu and SadaShiva (Sadashiva is Vishnu tattva & origin of Lord Shiva) within the Gaudiya tradition.

On the day marking his birth members hold a celebration in his honour and read and discuss stories of his life.

See also

References and notes

  1. ↑ A. N. Chatterjee (1984). "Srikṛṣṇa Caitanya: A Historical Study on Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavism". Associated Pub. Co. Retrieved 2008-06-07.p. 52
  2. ↑ Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter 12: The Expansions of Advaita Acārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita, verse 34
  3. ↑ Brzezinski, J.A.N. (2004). "Charismatic Renewal And Institutionalization In The History Of Gaudiya Vaishnavism And The Gaudiya Math". The Hare Krishna Movement: the Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12256-6. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  4. ↑ Rebecca Manring (2005). Reconstructing tradition: Advaita Ācārya and Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism at the cusp of the twentieth century. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 168. ISBN 0-231-12954-8.
  5. ↑ Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). Bangala Sahityer Itihas, Vol.I, (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, ISBN 81-7066-966-9, pp.302-6
  6. ↑ Sen, Dinesh Chandra (1911). History of Bengali Language and Literature, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.496-7
  7. ↑ Goswami, Satsvarupa dasa (2002). Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta Vol 1-2 (2 nd ed.). Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. pp. Ch.55. ISBN 0-89213-357-0.


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