Verse 2.10.147

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.10.147:

`সর্ব-প্রভু গৌরচন্দ্র’,—ইহা যে না লয অক্ষয-অদ্বৈত-সেবা ব্যর্থ তা’র হয ॥ ১৪৭ ॥

`सर्व-प्रभु गौरचन्द्र’,—इहा ये ना लय अक्षय-अद्वैत-सेवा व्यर्थ ता’र हय ॥ १४७ ॥

`sarva-prabhu gauracandra’,—ihā ye nā laya akṣaya-advaita-sevā vyartha tā’ra haya || 147 ||

`sarva-prabhu gauracandra’,—iha ye na laya aksaya-advaita-seva vyartha ta’ra haya (147)

English translation:

(147) The inexhaustible service of Advaita is useless for one who does not accept, “Gauracandra is the Lord of all.”

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Śrī Advaita Prabhu is viṣṇu-tattva and the upādāna, or material cause, of the material elements. His service is imperishable. But if one does not accept Advaita’s worshipable Lord, Śrī Gaurasundara, as the worshipable Lord of all and commits offense by considering Advaita Prabhu as the worshipable Lord of Mahāprabhu, then all his service to Advaita Prabhu becomes fruitless. The abominable so-called servants of Advaita say that since Śrī Gaura’s devotees display the quality of unalloyed devotion to Mahāprabhu, they are opposed to the service of Advaita. In the Caitanya- caritāmṛta (Ādi 12.5, 7-10, 16, 66-74) it is stated: “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also the gardener, and as He poured the water of His mercy on the tree, all the branches and subbranches grew, day after day.

As the trunk and branches were watered, the branches and subbranches spread lavishly, and the tree grew full with fruits and flowers. At first all

the followers of Advaita Ācārya shared a single opinion. But later they followed two different opinions, as ordained by providence. Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the ācārya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivī- māyā. The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless. `Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the spiritual master of the fourteen worlds, but You say that someone else is His spiritual master. This is not supported by any revealed scripture.’ The Advaita Ācārya branch received the water supplied by the original gardener, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this way, the subbranches were nourished, and their fruits and flowers grew luxuriantly. After the disappearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, some of the branches, for unfortunate reasons, deviated from His path. Some branches did not accept the original trunk that vitalized and maintained the entire tree. When they thus became ungrateful, the original trunk was angry at them. Thus Lord Caitanya did not sprinkle upon them the water of His mercy, and they gradually withered and died. A person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is no better than dry wood or a dead body. He is understood to be dead while living, and after death he is punishable by Yamarāja. Not only the misguided descendants of Advaita Ācārya but anyone who is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should be considered an atheist subject to be punished by Yamarāja. Be he a learned scholar, a great ascetic, a successful householder or a famous sannyāsī, one who is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is destined to suffer the punishment meted out by Yamarāja. The descendants of Advaita Ācārya who accepted the path of Śrī Acyutānanda were all great devotees. By the mercy of Advaita Ācārya, the devotees who strictly followed the path of Caitanya Mahāprabhu attained the shelter of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet without difficulty.”