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| Gauranga Mantra Diksha |
Question: Please describe how Lord Advaita Acharya Himself gave Gauranga Mantra Diksha to the mother and
father of Lord Gauranga?
Answer by Swami Gaurangapada:
Shrila Ishana Thakura, the author of Shri Advaita Prakasha was the most confidential servant of Shrila Advaita
Acharya and Shrimati Shachimata, the divine mother of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. His great
devotion and pure unalloyed devotional service has been immensely glorified by Shrila Vrindavana dasa
Thakura in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata and also by Shrila Narahari Chakravarti Thakura in Bhakti Ratnakara when
he took Shrila Shrinivasa Acharya on Shri Navadvipa Dhama Parikrama. If one reads some of the strikingly
astonishing and scripturally confirmed pastimes in Advaita Prakasha, one can understand that the whole
scripture cannot be the imagination or speculation of some later person. There are so many philosophical truths
about the Holy Name and Pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Lord Advaita Acharya in this scripture
Advaita Prakasha which cannot be proved by anyone as wrong or contrary to the scriptures in any way. If Shrila
Ishana Thakura had indeed written Shri Advaita Prakasha in the first place (there is no proof to suggest to the
contrary), then one may end up committing an offense against this scripture by rejecting it fully due to the
seemingly improper descriptions of some few parts because there is no more greater devotee of Lord Gauranga
than Shrila Ishana Thakura in the three worlds. Because when one rejects it completely then one may be
rejecting many words which have been directly written by Shrila Ishana Thakura also so one must be very
careful to pass such judgments unless one is on the platform of Mahabhagavatas like Shrila Ishana Thakura
himself and Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada.
Since some few parts of Shri Advaita Prakasha seem to have been added or changed later or they do not seem
consistent with the other authentic biographies of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada did not authorize the whole scripture in its entirety and said that it contains
some such inconsistent parts. But since the scripture contains some very beautiful and extraordinary pastimes
of Lord Advaita Acharya and Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, in the absence of direct proof that the scripture was
not originally written by Shrila Ishana Thakura himself, the scripture cannot be rejected wholesale.
Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada has written a few lines (that is the only direct mention in
all his writings and teachings about this scripture) of cautioning us because he was concerned that innocent
people should not accept some portions of the book fully but he never said that the book was not originally
written by Shrila Ishana Thakura nor did he reject all the pastimes described in Shri Advaita Prakasha by
lumping them all as not bonafide. So one may not advocate this book for deep and repeated studying and
reading but some of the most glorious pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Lord Advaita Acharya in
Advaita Prakasha which are very much in line with the scriptures can be read sometimes and accepted since
they are the pure glorification of the Lord fully in accordance with the scriptures by His pure devotee Shrila
Ishana Thakura.
One may raise this question that who can understand which pastimes are in line with the Vedic scriptures and
which are not. The answer is that it is not very difficult to understand for a devotee who is well-versed and who
has taken shelter in Gauranga Nama Lila Tattva by constantly reading all the authentic biographies of Lord
Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Even a child will become a learned and advanced soul by hearing and reading Lord
Gauranga's pastimes and chanting His Holy Names. Such a devotee can easily understand whether the
pastimes are in line with the scriptures or not by the mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
Though this is not in context to the discussion about Advaita Prakasha, we would also like to state here that
there are many examples of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu being described in totally
different ways in each of the three authentic biographies of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu: Shri Chaitanya
Bhagavata, Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita and Shri Chaitanya Mangala. One example of this is the esoteric
pastime of Lord Nityananda breaking the sannyasa staff of Lord Gauranga. The location of this pastime differs in
these three biographies and also the details, conversations etc. This does not mean that we try to find fault
with any one of the three scriptures or reject it. That would be a heinous offense. Instead we should
understand that since the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu performs different and variegated (not
monotonous) pastimes when He advents once in every day (kalpa) of Brahma, the vision of different variegated
flavors of His pastimes may arise in the hearts of His pure confidential associates when they sit down to write
biographies of His transcendental pastimes.
Thus they may differ from each other in many details of the pastimes because one author may be describing the
pastimes of this Kali Yuga and another author maybe describing the different pastimes which Lord Gauranga
performed in another day of Brahma. They write what the Lord reveals to them in their heart as they see the
pastimes while writing. And Lord Gauranga may reveal to them His pastimes in different ways performed by Him
in different kalpas. In this way we should understand the difference in descriptions of the unlimitedly variegated
pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu by His different intimate devotees which are being manifested every
second in the spiritual and material worlds.
Back to our subject, the authenticity of the most sublime pastime of the Initiation (Mahadiksha) imparted by
Lord Shri Advaita Acharya, who is Lord Sadashiva and Lord Maha Vishnu combined, to the divine mother
(Shachidevi) and father (Jagannatha Mishra) of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala
Mantra - Gauranga Mantraraja, just before the advent of Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the womb of
Shrimati Shachidevi, cannot be directly negated in any manner. Someone may state that since the pastime is
not mentioned in any other authentic biography, so it cannot be accepted. But this cannot be the case, because
there are so many pastimes of Lord Gauranga which are described in Shrila Lochana Thakura's Shri Chaitanya
Mangala which are not there in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata and Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita and so on. The
Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s pastimes are so unlimitedly and boundlessly expanding at every
moment that one cannot touch even a drop of those pastimes even after describing them in millions of verses
and pages. So no one can claim that one book or a few books contain all the pastimes of Lord Gauranga
Mahaprabhu.
Secondly this pastime of Initiation (Gauranga Mantra Diksha) of Shrimati Shachidevi and Shri Jagannatha Mishra
by Shrila Advaita Acharya into the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mantra - which is confirmed by Seventh Goswami
Shrila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as the GaurAnga
(Gau + ra + a + nga) Mantraraja, cannot be claimed by anyone as being added later or extrapolated due to lack
of any direct proof in this regard. The 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja was not being chanted by
devotees of the Advaita Parivara or any other Parivara who have been thought of being responsible for later
adding or changing something from the scripture Advaita Prakasha. So one does not find any selfish interests
which may have resulted in adding this pastime later in Shri Advaita Prakasha. The 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala -
Gauranga Mantra was rarely known to even the majority of the followers so how can one prove that it was
added into Advaita Prakasha by someone else later? It was not that some group was going to be benefited by
adding this description of the Gauranga Mantra in Advaita Prakasha because very few even knew about it nor
was this the agenda of any group again because the Gaura Gopala Mantra was very confidential and rarely
known even among devotee circles.
The most confidential glories of the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja were fully known to Lord
Advaita Acharya who is Lord Vishnu Himself and also by His mercy to His most intimate servant Shrila Ishana
Thakura, the author of this scripture Shri Advaita Prakasha. Thus there is no proof to suggest that this pastime
of Gauranga Mantra Diksha by Lord Advaita Acharya was a later added pastime and there are ample reasons to
accept this pastime as part of the original writings of Shrila Ishana Thakura.
For those who do not want to accept, there is nothing which can be done and they are free to continue thinking
whatever they want. But for the pleasure of those nectar-seeking devotees we would like to describe this
beautiful pastime here with the original Bengali verses. After hearing this pastime, one understands that it was
the 4-syllable Gauranga Mantra Diksha (Initiation) from the lotus mouth of none other than Lord Advaita
Acharya which made Shrimati Shachimata qualified to have the Supreme Absolute Truth and the Cause of All
Causes Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in her womb and which made Shrila Jagannatha Mishra qualified to become
the father of the Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Who in turn is actually the grandfather of all souls in creation.
Shri Advaita Prakasha by Shrila Ishana Thakura
Chapter 10 Verses 40-52
Verse 40
para dina mora prabhu pratah kritya sari,
jagannatha mishra grihe gela tvara kari.
"The next day my Lord Advaita Acharya hurriedly went to the home of Shri
Jagannatha Mishra after completing His morning duties."
Verse 41
prabhura agamana dekhi mishra dvija vara,
dante trina kari gela tahana gochara.
"Seeing the arrival of Lord Advaita Acharya, the best of the brahmanas
Shri Jagannatha Mishra went in front of the Acharya very humbly with
straw in his mouth."
Verse 42
dandavata kari dila vasite asana,
padya argha diya tane karila pujana.
"Shri Jagannatha Mishra offered prostrated obeisances to Lord Advaita
Acharya and offered Him a raised seat. Then he washed His lotus feet with scented water and worshiped Him
appropriately."
Verse 43
tabe shachidevi asi karila pranati,
prabhu kahe vancha tumi hau putravati.
"At that time, Shrimati Shachidevi came and offered her obeisances to
Lord Advaita Acharya. Lord Advaita gave her the benediction, 'May your desire to have a son be fulfilled!'"
Verse 44
shuni mahanande kahe mishra dvija raja,
jahe tuya vakya rahe kara sei kaja.
"Hearing this Shri Jagannatha Mishra becomes overwhelmed with intense happiness and said to Lord Advaita,
'Now please do something that will make your words come true.'"
Verse 45
prabhu kahe eka mantra painu svapane,
bhakti kari sei mantra laha dunhu jane.
"Lord Advaita Acharya said, 'I have received a Mantra in my dream.
Please accept this Mantra from me with great faith and devotion.'"
Verse 46
sarva amangala tabe avashya khandibe,
parama pandita divya tanaya labhibe.
"'By receiving this Mantra and chanting It, all inauspiciousness will be totally destroyed and you both will receive
a divine son who will become a very great devotional scholar.'"
Verse 47
agya shuni aila donhe karila sinane,
tabe prabhu yatha vidhi puji narayane.
"Hearing the order of Lord Advaita, both of them took bath and came back to the Lord. At that time, Lord
Advaita Acharya worshiped Lord Narayana with the proper rites."
Verse 48
donhakare mantra dila shri advaita chandra,
CATUR-AKSHARA SHRI GAURA GOPALA MAHAMANTRA.
"Then the moon-like Lord Advaita Chandra imparted the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mahamantra to both of them."
Verse 49
mantra pana donhakare haila bhavodgama,
prabhura pranami kare sa dainya stavana.
"Of receiving the Gaura Gopala Mahamantra, the pure ecstatic transcendental love of Shachimata and
Jagannatha Mishra was awakened and they offered their obeisances to Lord Advaita Acharya and offered
prayers unto Him with great humility.
Verse 50
"krishna matir astu" bali prabhu vara dila,
bhojana kariya tabe nija sthane gela.
"Lord Advaita Acharya offered them the benediction 'May your consciousness always remain in Lord Krishna!'
and after honoring prasadam He returned to His home."
Verse 51
dina kata pare shachira haila garbhadhana,
tahe prakatila visvarupa guna dhama.
"Some days after receiving the Gaura Gopala Mantra, Shimati Shachimata became pregnant and the Supreme
Personality of Servitor Godhead Lord Nityananda partially manifested in her womb as Shri Vishvarupa."
Verse 52
mahasankarshana bali prabhu jare kaya,
tahana mahima caturbhuja na janaya.
"Lord Advaita Acharya would always call Lord Vishvarupa as Maha Sankarshana and he would say that even
the 4-handed Vishnu Tattvas did not understand the full glories of Lord Shri Vishvarupa."
Thus we see that the Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantra is not just chanted and meditated on by the sadhakas
or spiritual practitioners but it is chanted and worshiped by the eternally perfect and liberated Associates of the
Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu like the mother and father of the Lord Himself and also by Lord Advaita
Acharya who is Maha Vishnu, the partial expansion of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Shrimati Shachimata is the
combined incarnation of none other than Yashoda, Devaki, Kaushalya, Aditi, Prishni etc. and Shri Jagannatha
Mishra is the combined incarnation of Nanda Maharaja, Vasudeva, Dasharatha, Kashyapa, Sutapa etc. So even
these two most greatest and exalted personalities had to accept Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Advaita
Acharya Himself to become qualified to get the most fortunate position in creation which is to become the
mother and father of Lord Vishvarupa Mahasankarshana and then Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself, the
crest-jewel of all Incarnations of Lord Krishna.
Also it has been later described that when Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu appeared from the womb of
Shachimata, He personally requested Lord Advaita Acharya to impart the Hare Krishna Mahamantra Diksha to
both of them, so Lord Advaita Acharya imparted the Hare Krishna Mahamantra to both of them under the neem
tree in the courtyard after hearing it directly from the Lord and also reminded them again about the potency of
the previously imparted Gauranga Mantra Diksha. So they received both the Mantras from Lord Advaita Acharya
by the mercy of Lord Gauranga Himself. Thus both Gauranama and Harinama should both go hand in hand in
our chanting practices. Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Mission is to spread the Gauranga Mantra and Lord Gauranga
Mahaprabhu's Mission is to spread the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and both the Missions should be practiced
and preached by the devotees.
Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Shrila Prabhupada have clearly stated and explained in their commentaries to
Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita,Antya lila 2.31, that the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mantra is the Gauranga Mantra
which has 4 transcendental syllables Gau-ra-a-nga so no one should maintain any doubts about it. Some have
a misconception that the "raa" in Gauraanga is just one syllable so they can count only 3-Syllables in the
Gauranga Mantra. The "raa" is not one syllable but it is a conjunct of two syllables ra + a as per the Sankrit
language. Shrila Prabhupada states that the 4-syllables of Gau-ra-a-nga are totally non-different from the 4-
syllables of Ra-dha-Kri-shna or from the 4-Syllables of Ha-re-Kri-shna so one gets absolutely the same benefit in
chanting either of Them because They are Mantras and Names of the same personality Lord Shri Gauranga-
Krishna. Unless one accepts the authority and proper knowledge from our Acharyas one will not even be able to
see the Gauranga Mantra in the scriptures what to speak of chanting It.
Lord Advaita Acharya states here that He received the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantra in a dream.
As we read in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu used to appear many times to Lord
Advaita Acharya in a dream. So it must be none other than Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself who
must have imparted Gauranga Mantra Diksha to Lord Advaita Acharya. Here Shrila Ishana Thakura calls the
Gaura Gopala Mantra also as the Mahamantra. For practical purposes, so as not to confuse the Gaura Gopala
Mantra with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, Gaura Mantras like the Gauranga Mantra etc. are also known as the
Mantrarajas or King of all Mantras as per Urdhvamnaya Samhita. Also the Rasika Acharya Shrila Shivananda
Sena was chanting the Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja constantly as his most worshipable Ista Mantra so
he must have also received Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu or Lord Nityananda
Prabhu or Lord Advaita Acharya. As we already know, Lord Nityananda Prabhu was constantly chanting the
Gauranga Mantra and imploring each and every soul in creation to chant and sing the Gauranga Mantra through
His divine song sung by Shrila Prabhupada and Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami...bhaja gauranga kaha
gauranga laha gaurangera nama re, je jana gauranga bhaje sei mora prana re..."Worship Lord Gauranga,
speak the Holy Name of Gauranga and chant the Gauranga Mantra always. Those who worship Lord Gauranga
in this way are My dear life and soul."
Thus the potency and infinite glories of accepting Gauranga Mantra Diksha from a staunch and realized devotee
of Lords Nityananda, Gauranga and Advaita, cannot be fully described in words. Shachimata and Jagannatha
Mishra not only accepted Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Advaita Acharya but accepted full 100% Gauranga
Mantra Ashraya or shelter of chanting the most powerful Gauranga Mantraraja. This sincerity, devotion and
staunch faith in the Holy Name of Gauranga attracted Lord Krishna to personally and fully advent as Lord
Vishvarupa (partial incarnation of Lord Nityananda) and Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in their home. This is the
supreme power of the Gauranga Mantraraja as it pulls both the Lords Nityananda and Gauranga towards us. In
the same way those devotees who accept Gauranga Mantra Diksha and sincerely worship and chant the
Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantraraja along with the Nityananda Mantraraja and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra
will very soon find that the Supreme Personalities of Godhead Lord Nityananda-Balarama and Lord Gauranga-
Krishna will take birth in their hearts.
To conclude, I would like to add that we have began this most merciful process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha
humbly following in the footsteps of the most munificent Lord Advaita Acharya who imparted Gauranga Mantra
Diksha to the mother and father of the Lord and the most magnanimous Lord Nityananda Prabhu who is always
chanting, preaching and spreading Gauranga Nama, not to get some cheap and perishable name and fame in
this world and neither to gain followers and money, but for the sole purpose of enabling Lord Gauranga to take
birth in the hearts of all the souls of Kali Yuga as Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that Gauranga's Holy Name
is the only hope of deliverance for the souls of Kali Yuga.
Thus who believe in this beautiful transcendental pastime will understand that Gauranga Mantra Diksha is not a
new thing but it has been performed and practiced by our Acharyas. We do not want to force anyone who does
not want to believe in this pastime and thus does not accept the sublime process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha. It
is our free will whether to do it or not. But even if one accepts or does not accept this pastime, the critical fact
still is very clear and loud as stated by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Shri Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya which
no one can ever dare to refute...kali jivera aparadha asankhya durvara, gaura nama vina tara nahika
uddhara..."The offenses of the souls of Kali Yuga are unlimited and insurmountable. Thus no one can ever be
delivered in Kali Yuga without regularly chanting Lord Gauranga's Holy Name."
The Holy Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna can be chanted and spread even without the
process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha with success but it is even better if we follow in the footsteps of our Lords
and Acharyas and humbly accept the Mantras and spiritual shelter and guidance from the Guru who is Their
realized devotee, to get the maximum effect. Without the guidance of a Guru and without a vow to chant being
taken at the time of Diksha, it is very easy to get sidetracked and bewildered because of the strong and
formidable influence of the illusory energy and give up chanting and thus end up loosing this most valuable
opportunity of this human form of life. We pray to Lord Nityananda Balarama that the devotees who accept
Gauranga Mantra Diksha will accept full whole-hearted shelter Ashraya of the Gauranga Mantraraja along with
Nityananda Mantraja and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and thus become very advanced and self-realized
quickly so that they will be empowered to impart Gauranga Mantra Diksha to others in their own lands and thus
deliver this supremely merciful Holy Name of Gauranga to every town and village of the whole world fulfilling the
prophecy of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself, which will thus eventually enable the whole
world to vibrate Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare
Hare without offences and go to the supremely blissful spiritual abode of Lord Gauranga-Krishna where there is
no birth, death, disease, old age and return.
TOP
father of Lord Gauranga?
Answer by Swami Gaurangapada:
Shrila Ishana Thakura, the author of Shri Advaita Prakasha was the most confidential servant of Shrila Advaita
Acharya and Shrimati Shachimata, the divine mother of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. His great
devotion and pure unalloyed devotional service has been immensely glorified by Shrila Vrindavana dasa
Thakura in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata and also by Shrila Narahari Chakravarti Thakura in Bhakti Ratnakara when
he took Shrila Shrinivasa Acharya on Shri Navadvipa Dhama Parikrama. If one reads some of the strikingly
astonishing and scripturally confirmed pastimes in Advaita Prakasha, one can understand that the whole
scripture cannot be the imagination or speculation of some later person. There are so many philosophical truths
about the Holy Name and Pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Lord Advaita Acharya in this scripture
Advaita Prakasha which cannot be proved by anyone as wrong or contrary to the scriptures in any way. If Shrila
Ishana Thakura had indeed written Shri Advaita Prakasha in the first place (there is no proof to suggest to the
contrary), then one may end up committing an offense against this scripture by rejecting it fully due to the
seemingly improper descriptions of some few parts because there is no more greater devotee of Lord Gauranga
than Shrila Ishana Thakura in the three worlds. Because when one rejects it completely then one may be
rejecting many words which have been directly written by Shrila Ishana Thakura also so one must be very
careful to pass such judgments unless one is on the platform of Mahabhagavatas like Shrila Ishana Thakura
himself and Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada.
Since some few parts of Shri Advaita Prakasha seem to have been added or changed later or they do not seem
consistent with the other authentic biographies of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada did not authorize the whole scripture in its entirety and said that it contains
some such inconsistent parts. But since the scripture contains some very beautiful and extraordinary pastimes
of Lord Advaita Acharya and Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, in the absence of direct proof that the scripture was
not originally written by Shrila Ishana Thakura himself, the scripture cannot be rejected wholesale.
Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada has written a few lines (that is the only direct mention in
all his writings and teachings about this scripture) of cautioning us because he was concerned that innocent
people should not accept some portions of the book fully but he never said that the book was not originally
written by Shrila Ishana Thakura nor did he reject all the pastimes described in Shri Advaita Prakasha by
lumping them all as not bonafide. So one may not advocate this book for deep and repeated studying and
reading but some of the most glorious pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Lord Advaita Acharya in
Advaita Prakasha which are very much in line with the scriptures can be read sometimes and accepted since
they are the pure glorification of the Lord fully in accordance with the scriptures by His pure devotee Shrila
Ishana Thakura.
One may raise this question that who can understand which pastimes are in line with the Vedic scriptures and
which are not. The answer is that it is not very difficult to understand for a devotee who is well-versed and who
has taken shelter in Gauranga Nama Lila Tattva by constantly reading all the authentic biographies of Lord
Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Even a child will become a learned and advanced soul by hearing and reading Lord
Gauranga's pastimes and chanting His Holy Names. Such a devotee can easily understand whether the
pastimes are in line with the scriptures or not by the mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
Though this is not in context to the discussion about Advaita Prakasha, we would also like to state here that
there are many examples of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu being described in totally
different ways in each of the three authentic biographies of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu: Shri Chaitanya
Bhagavata, Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita and Shri Chaitanya Mangala. One example of this is the esoteric
pastime of Lord Nityananda breaking the sannyasa staff of Lord Gauranga. The location of this pastime differs in
these three biographies and also the details, conversations etc. This does not mean that we try to find fault
with any one of the three scriptures or reject it. That would be a heinous offense. Instead we should
understand that since the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu performs different and variegated (not
monotonous) pastimes when He advents once in every day (kalpa) of Brahma, the vision of different variegated
flavors of His pastimes may arise in the hearts of His pure confidential associates when they sit down to write
biographies of His transcendental pastimes.
Thus they may differ from each other in many details of the pastimes because one author may be describing the
pastimes of this Kali Yuga and another author maybe describing the different pastimes which Lord Gauranga
performed in another day of Brahma. They write what the Lord reveals to them in their heart as they see the
pastimes while writing. And Lord Gauranga may reveal to them His pastimes in different ways performed by Him
in different kalpas. In this way we should understand the difference in descriptions of the unlimitedly variegated
pastimes of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu by His different intimate devotees which are being manifested every
second in the spiritual and material worlds.
Back to our subject, the authenticity of the most sublime pastime of the Initiation (Mahadiksha) imparted by
Lord Shri Advaita Acharya, who is Lord Sadashiva and Lord Maha Vishnu combined, to the divine mother
(Shachidevi) and father (Jagannatha Mishra) of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala
Mantra - Gauranga Mantraraja, just before the advent of Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the womb of
Shrimati Shachidevi, cannot be directly negated in any manner. Someone may state that since the pastime is
not mentioned in any other authentic biography, so it cannot be accepted. But this cannot be the case, because
there are so many pastimes of Lord Gauranga which are described in Shrila Lochana Thakura's Shri Chaitanya
Mangala which are not there in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata and Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita and so on. The
Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s pastimes are so unlimitedly and boundlessly expanding at every
moment that one cannot touch even a drop of those pastimes even after describing them in millions of verses
and pages. So no one can claim that one book or a few books contain all the pastimes of Lord Gauranga
Mahaprabhu.
Secondly this pastime of Initiation (Gauranga Mantra Diksha) of Shrimati Shachidevi and Shri Jagannatha Mishra
by Shrila Advaita Acharya into the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mantra - which is confirmed by Seventh Goswami
Shrila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as the GaurAnga
(Gau + ra + a + nga) Mantraraja, cannot be claimed by anyone as being added later or extrapolated due to lack
of any direct proof in this regard. The 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja was not being chanted by
devotees of the Advaita Parivara or any other Parivara who have been thought of being responsible for later
adding or changing something from the scripture Advaita Prakasha. So one does not find any selfish interests
which may have resulted in adding this pastime later in Shri Advaita Prakasha. The 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala -
Gauranga Mantra was rarely known to even the majority of the followers so how can one prove that it was
added into Advaita Prakasha by someone else later? It was not that some group was going to be benefited by
adding this description of the Gauranga Mantra in Advaita Prakasha because very few even knew about it nor
was this the agenda of any group again because the Gaura Gopala Mantra was very confidential and rarely
known even among devotee circles.
The most confidential glories of the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja were fully known to Lord
Advaita Acharya who is Lord Vishnu Himself and also by His mercy to His most intimate servant Shrila Ishana
Thakura, the author of this scripture Shri Advaita Prakasha. Thus there is no proof to suggest that this pastime
of Gauranga Mantra Diksha by Lord Advaita Acharya was a later added pastime and there are ample reasons to
accept this pastime as part of the original writings of Shrila Ishana Thakura.
For those who do not want to accept, there is nothing which can be done and they are free to continue thinking
whatever they want. But for the pleasure of those nectar-seeking devotees we would like to describe this
beautiful pastime here with the original Bengali verses. After hearing this pastime, one understands that it was
the 4-syllable Gauranga Mantra Diksha (Initiation) from the lotus mouth of none other than Lord Advaita
Acharya which made Shrimati Shachimata qualified to have the Supreme Absolute Truth and the Cause of All
Causes Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in her womb and which made Shrila Jagannatha Mishra qualified to become
the father of the Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Who in turn is actually the grandfather of all souls in creation.
Shri Advaita Prakasha by Shrila Ishana Thakura
Chapter 10 Verses 40-52
Verse 40
para dina mora prabhu pratah kritya sari,
jagannatha mishra grihe gela tvara kari.
"The next day my Lord Advaita Acharya hurriedly went to the home of Shri
Jagannatha Mishra after completing His morning duties."
Verse 41
prabhura agamana dekhi mishra dvija vara,
dante trina kari gela tahana gochara.
"Seeing the arrival of Lord Advaita Acharya, the best of the brahmanas
Shri Jagannatha Mishra went in front of the Acharya very humbly with
straw in his mouth."
Verse 42
dandavata kari dila vasite asana,
padya argha diya tane karila pujana.
"Shri Jagannatha Mishra offered prostrated obeisances to Lord Advaita
Acharya and offered Him a raised seat. Then he washed His lotus feet with scented water and worshiped Him
appropriately."
Verse 43
tabe shachidevi asi karila pranati,
prabhu kahe vancha tumi hau putravati.
"At that time, Shrimati Shachidevi came and offered her obeisances to
Lord Advaita Acharya. Lord Advaita gave her the benediction, 'May your desire to have a son be fulfilled!'"
Verse 44
shuni mahanande kahe mishra dvija raja,
jahe tuya vakya rahe kara sei kaja.
"Hearing this Shri Jagannatha Mishra becomes overwhelmed with intense happiness and said to Lord Advaita,
'Now please do something that will make your words come true.'"
Verse 45
prabhu kahe eka mantra painu svapane,
bhakti kari sei mantra laha dunhu jane.
"Lord Advaita Acharya said, 'I have received a Mantra in my dream.
Please accept this Mantra from me with great faith and devotion.'"
Verse 46
sarva amangala tabe avashya khandibe,
parama pandita divya tanaya labhibe.
"'By receiving this Mantra and chanting It, all inauspiciousness will be totally destroyed and you both will receive
a divine son who will become a very great devotional scholar.'"
Verse 47
agya shuni aila donhe karila sinane,
tabe prabhu yatha vidhi puji narayane.
"Hearing the order of Lord Advaita, both of them took bath and came back to the Lord. At that time, Lord
Advaita Acharya worshiped Lord Narayana with the proper rites."
Verse 48
donhakare mantra dila shri advaita chandra,
CATUR-AKSHARA SHRI GAURA GOPALA MAHAMANTRA.
"Then the moon-like Lord Advaita Chandra imparted the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mahamantra to both of them."
Verse 49
mantra pana donhakare haila bhavodgama,
prabhura pranami kare sa dainya stavana.
"Of receiving the Gaura Gopala Mahamantra, the pure ecstatic transcendental love of Shachimata and
Jagannatha Mishra was awakened and they offered their obeisances to Lord Advaita Acharya and offered
prayers unto Him with great humility.
Verse 50
"krishna matir astu" bali prabhu vara dila,
bhojana kariya tabe nija sthane gela.
"Lord Advaita Acharya offered them the benediction 'May your consciousness always remain in Lord Krishna!'
and after honoring prasadam He returned to His home."
Verse 51
dina kata pare shachira haila garbhadhana,
tahe prakatila visvarupa guna dhama.
"Some days after receiving the Gaura Gopala Mantra, Shimati Shachimata became pregnant and the Supreme
Personality of Servitor Godhead Lord Nityananda partially manifested in her womb as Shri Vishvarupa."
Verse 52
mahasankarshana bali prabhu jare kaya,
tahana mahima caturbhuja na janaya.
"Lord Advaita Acharya would always call Lord Vishvarupa as Maha Sankarshana and he would say that even
the 4-handed Vishnu Tattvas did not understand the full glories of Lord Shri Vishvarupa."
Thus we see that the Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantra is not just chanted and meditated on by the sadhakas
or spiritual practitioners but it is chanted and worshiped by the eternally perfect and liberated Associates of the
Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu like the mother and father of the Lord Himself and also by Lord Advaita
Acharya who is Maha Vishnu, the partial expansion of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Shrimati Shachimata is the
combined incarnation of none other than Yashoda, Devaki, Kaushalya, Aditi, Prishni etc. and Shri Jagannatha
Mishra is the combined incarnation of Nanda Maharaja, Vasudeva, Dasharatha, Kashyapa, Sutapa etc. So even
these two most greatest and exalted personalities had to accept Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Advaita
Acharya Himself to become qualified to get the most fortunate position in creation which is to become the
mother and father of Lord Vishvarupa Mahasankarshana and then Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself, the
crest-jewel of all Incarnations of Lord Krishna.
Also it has been later described that when Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu appeared from the womb of
Shachimata, He personally requested Lord Advaita Acharya to impart the Hare Krishna Mahamantra Diksha to
both of them, so Lord Advaita Acharya imparted the Hare Krishna Mahamantra to both of them under the neem
tree in the courtyard after hearing it directly from the Lord and also reminded them again about the potency of
the previously imparted Gauranga Mantra Diksha. So they received both the Mantras from Lord Advaita Acharya
by the mercy of Lord Gauranga Himself. Thus both Gauranama and Harinama should both go hand in hand in
our chanting practices. Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Mission is to spread the Gauranga Mantra and Lord Gauranga
Mahaprabhu's Mission is to spread the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and both the Missions should be practiced
and preached by the devotees.
Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Shrila Prabhupada have clearly stated and explained in their commentaries to
Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita,Antya lila 2.31, that the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala Mantra is the Gauranga Mantra
which has 4 transcendental syllables Gau-ra-a-nga so no one should maintain any doubts about it. Some have
a misconception that the "raa" in Gauraanga is just one syllable so they can count only 3-Syllables in the
Gauranga Mantra. The "raa" is not one syllable but it is a conjunct of two syllables ra + a as per the Sankrit
language. Shrila Prabhupada states that the 4-syllables of Gau-ra-a-nga are totally non-different from the 4-
syllables of Ra-dha-Kri-shna or from the 4-Syllables of Ha-re-Kri-shna so one gets absolutely the same benefit in
chanting either of Them because They are Mantras and Names of the same personality Lord Shri Gauranga-
Krishna. Unless one accepts the authority and proper knowledge from our Acharyas one will not even be able to
see the Gauranga Mantra in the scriptures what to speak of chanting It.
Lord Advaita Acharya states here that He received the 4-Syllable Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantra in a dream.
As we read in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu used to appear many times to Lord
Advaita Acharya in a dream. So it must be none other than Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself who
must have imparted Gauranga Mantra Diksha to Lord Advaita Acharya. Here Shrila Ishana Thakura calls the
Gaura Gopala Mantra also as the Mahamantra. For practical purposes, so as not to confuse the Gaura Gopala
Mantra with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, Gaura Mantras like the Gauranga Mantra etc. are also known as the
Mantrarajas or King of all Mantras as per Urdhvamnaya Samhita. Also the Rasika Acharya Shrila Shivananda
Sena was chanting the Gaura Gopala - Gauranga Mantraraja constantly as his most worshipable Ista Mantra so
he must have also received Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu or Lord Nityananda
Prabhu or Lord Advaita Acharya. As we already know, Lord Nityananda Prabhu was constantly chanting the
Gauranga Mantra and imploring each and every soul in creation to chant and sing the Gauranga Mantra through
His divine song sung by Shrila Prabhupada and Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami...bhaja gauranga kaha
gauranga laha gaurangera nama re, je jana gauranga bhaje sei mora prana re..."Worship Lord Gauranga,
speak the Holy Name of Gauranga and chant the Gauranga Mantra always. Those who worship Lord Gauranga
in this way are My dear life and soul."
Thus the potency and infinite glories of accepting Gauranga Mantra Diksha from a staunch and realized devotee
of Lords Nityananda, Gauranga and Advaita, cannot be fully described in words. Shachimata and Jagannatha
Mishra not only accepted Gauranga Mantra Diksha from Lord Advaita Acharya but accepted full 100% Gauranga
Mantra Ashraya or shelter of chanting the most powerful Gauranga Mantraraja. This sincerity, devotion and
staunch faith in the Holy Name of Gauranga attracted Lord Krishna to personally and fully advent as Lord
Vishvarupa (partial incarnation of Lord Nityananda) and Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu in their home. This is the
supreme power of the Gauranga Mantraraja as it pulls both the Lords Nityananda and Gauranga towards us. In
the same way those devotees who accept Gauranga Mantra Diksha and sincerely worship and chant the
Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantraraja along with the Nityananda Mantraraja and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra
will very soon find that the Supreme Personalities of Godhead Lord Nityananda-Balarama and Lord Gauranga-
Krishna will take birth in their hearts.
To conclude, I would like to add that we have began this most merciful process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha
humbly following in the footsteps of the most munificent Lord Advaita Acharya who imparted Gauranga Mantra
Diksha to the mother and father of the Lord and the most magnanimous Lord Nityananda Prabhu who is always
chanting, preaching and spreading Gauranga Nama, not to get some cheap and perishable name and fame in
this world and neither to gain followers and money, but for the sole purpose of enabling Lord Gauranga to take
birth in the hearts of all the souls of Kali Yuga as Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that Gauranga's Holy Name
is the only hope of deliverance for the souls of Kali Yuga.
Thus who believe in this beautiful transcendental pastime will understand that Gauranga Mantra Diksha is not a
new thing but it has been performed and practiced by our Acharyas. We do not want to force anyone who does
not want to believe in this pastime and thus does not accept the sublime process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha. It
is our free will whether to do it or not. But even if one accepts or does not accept this pastime, the critical fact
still is very clear and loud as stated by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Shri Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya which
no one can ever dare to refute...kali jivera aparadha asankhya durvara, gaura nama vina tara nahika
uddhara..."The offenses of the souls of Kali Yuga are unlimited and insurmountable. Thus no one can ever be
delivered in Kali Yuga without regularly chanting Lord Gauranga's Holy Name."
The Holy Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna can be chanted and spread even without the
process of Gauranga Mantra Diksha with success but it is even better if we follow in the footsteps of our Lords
and Acharyas and humbly accept the Mantras and spiritual shelter and guidance from the Guru who is Their
realized devotee, to get the maximum effect. Without the guidance of a Guru and without a vow to chant being
taken at the time of Diksha, it is very easy to get sidetracked and bewildered because of the strong and
formidable influence of the illusory energy and give up chanting and thus end up loosing this most valuable
opportunity of this human form of life. We pray to Lord Nityananda Balarama that the devotees who accept
Gauranga Mantra Diksha will accept full whole-hearted shelter Ashraya of the Gauranga Mantraraja along with
Nityananda Mantraja and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and thus become very advanced and self-realized
quickly so that they will be empowered to impart Gauranga Mantra Diksha to others in their own lands and thus
deliver this supremely merciful Holy Name of Gauranga to every town and village of the whole world fulfilling the
prophecy of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself, which will thus eventually enable the whole
world to vibrate Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare
Hare without offences and go to the supremely blissful spiritual abode of Lord Gauranga-Krishna where there is
no birth, death, disease, old age and return.
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