Category:Following Caitanya
Theme Analysis
The concept of "Following Caitanya" forms the absolute bedrock of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. To follow Lord Caitanya is not a vague, sentimental idea; it is a highly defined, practical science of devotional service. The primary standard for following the Lord is to strictly follow the Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, whom the Lord personally empowered to excavate the holy places and establish the philosophical conclusions of bhakti. Following Lord Caitanya means accepting His order to become a spiritual master and preach the chanting of the holy name (saṅkīrtana) in every town and village. It requires profound personal transformation: one must develop extreme humility (tṛṇād api sunīcena), offer respect to everyone, and cultivate the mood of separation from Kṛṣṇa. Crucially, following the Lord does not require changing one's social position; married couples and householders can achieve perfection simply by keeping Kṛṣṇa in the center of their lives, without needing to artificially imitate the Lord's renounced order (sannyāsa). Historically, the Lord's physical presence was so enchanting that massive crowds, and even wild animals in the forest, followed Him in ecstatic trance, proving His position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The Paramparā Principle: True followers of Lord Caitanya do not invent their own path; they strictly follow the instructions and examples of the Six Gosvāmīs.
- The Preaching Mission: Following the Lord inherently means participating in the worldwide saṅkīrtana movement and compassionately distributing Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others.
- Practical Application at Home: One does not need to abandon their family or artificially take sannyāsa; one can follow the Lord perfectly by fulfilling His instructions within married or householder life.
- Humility and Purity: A true follower embodies the Lord's teachings by being humbler than a blade of grass, tolerant, and respectful to all.
- Divine Magnetism: The historical accounts of thousands of people and wild animals following the Lord demonstrate the irresistible, transcendental nature of His holy name.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Following in the Footprints of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Subcategories
This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.
Pages in category "Following Caitanya"
The following 114 pages are in this category, out of 114 total.
A
- A pure devotee cuts off the limited ties of affection for his family and widens his activities of devotional service for all forgotten souls. The typical example is the band of six Gosvamis, who followed the path of Lord Caitanya
- A pure devotee of Lord Krsna and one who follows the philosophy of Lord Caitanya are one and the same
- Accepting very humble lives as mendicants, wearing no more than loincloths and torn quilts (kaupina-kantha). they (the Gosvamis) lived in Vrndavana and followed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's order to excavate Vrndavana's lost glories
- Advaita Acarya is the typical example how to become acarya. All are our acaryas: sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda, sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. All of them are acaryas because they are following Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- After He had followed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for some distance, Advaita Acarya was petitioned by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with folded hands. The Lord spoke the following sweet words
- After reaching Prayaga, Sanatana Gosvami, following the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, went to Vrndavana along the public road
- After rising very early on the sixth day, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started to leave, and five devotees began to follow Him
- After saying this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left and returned to His residence. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya followed Him
- After speaking to them in this way, I bade them farewell. As I was leaving, Sanatana told Me, 'It is not appropriate for one to be followed by a crowd of thousands when going to Vrndavana'
- After taking Lord Jagannatha's permission early in the morning, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu departed, and all the devotees of Orissa began following Him
- After the Lord took sannyasa, they (Gadadhara Pandita, Candrasekhara Acarya & Mukunda Datta and Nityananda Prabhu) all followed Him, especially Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Gadadhara Prabhu and Mukunda Datta, who followed Him all the way to Purusottama-ksetra
- After the mass nagara-sankirtana in protest against the magistrate Chand Kazi, the Kazi was converted to a devotee. Then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned with His sankirtana party to the house of Sridhara, and Chand Kazi followed Him
- All the devotees followed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to a place known as Alalanatha. There they all offered respects and various prayers
- All you boys and girls who are now married, follow this instruction of Lord Caitanya, and show vivid example to the world how man and woman can be united, not for sense gratification but for the service of the Lord
- Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa at an early age, it is not necessary for His devotees to follow Him by also taking sannyasa
- As Caitanya Mahaprabhu did (organized Sankirtana Movement), we can follow. We are not doing anything harm to the people; we are actually giving the highest benediction to the human life
- At Prayaga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to see the temple of Bindu Madhava, and many hundreds of thousands of people followed Him just to meet Him
- At the present moment, the real, transcendental spiritual life means to follow the cult of instructions of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Otherwise, everyone is bogus
C
- Chand Kazi was converted to a devotee, when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned with His sankirtana party to the house of Sridhara, he followed Him, after resting in the house of Sridhara with all the devotees Chand Kazi then returned home
- Conditioned souls who are interested in devotional service should follow in the exemplary footsteps of Lord Caitanya in order to learn how Krsna can be achieved by DS. Thus the Supreme Lord Himself teaches the conditioned soul how He should be approached
E
- Every Sannyasi, even if you see a Mayavadi Sannyasi, offer him your respects - there will be no harm. As you have observed we shall follow Lord Caitanya's instruction that we give all due respects to others regarding their position
- Everyone can join in His (Lord Caitanya's) sankirtana movement. No previous qualification is necessary. just by following His teachings, anyone can become a perfect human being
- Everyone can join in His (Lord Caitanya's) sankirtana movement. No previous qualification is necessary. Just by following His teachings, anyone can become a perfect human being - CC Preface
F
- First they (the acaryas) should become Krsna conscious, and all the prescribed rules and regulations may later gradually be introduced. In our Krsna consciousness movement we follow this policy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- Following His (Caitanya's) directions, Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami renovated Radha-kunda. This is one of the brilliant examples of how the Gosvamis excavated lost places of pilgrimage
- Following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Krsna consciousness movement is distributing the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and inducing people all over the world to chant
- Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all types of atheists
- Following Lord Caitanya’s chanting, all the devotees reproduced the same sound He chanted. In this way the Lord proceeded, leading the entire party on the strand roads by the bank of the Ganges
- Following the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the devotees used to visit Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu every year. They would see the Gundica festival at Jagannatha Puri and then return home after four months
- Following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Govinda, His personal servant, called for all the poor beggars, who were unhappy due to their poverty, and fed them sumptuously
- Following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, one who preaches the glories of the Lord all over the world or all over the universe should be humbler than grass and more tolerant than a tree because a preacher cannot live an easygoing life
- Following the principle of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who never discussed the dealings between Krsna and the gopis publicly, devotees in the Krsna consciousness movement are enjoined not to discuss the pastimes of Lord Krsna in Vrndavana in public
H
- He (Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu) asks everyone to follow Him and to become a guru to deliver the fallen souls of Kali-yuga - in CC Madhya 7.128
- Hearing this, the Lord got up, chanting "Hari! Hari!" Following Him, all the other Vaisnavas also got up, chanting the vibration of the holy name
- His (Lokanatha Gosvami's) father's name was Padmanabha, and his only sibling was a younger brother named Pragalbha. Following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Lokanatha went to Vrndavana to live. He established a temple named Gokulananda
I
- I (Caitanya) decided that Sanatana had spoken very well. I was certainly being followed by a large crowd, and when people would see so many men, they would surely rebuke Me, saying, 'Here is another imposter'
- I shall make arrangements within ten days. Following You, I shall go to Nilacala without delay
- If one wants to be recognized as a devotee by Krsna, he should take to preaching work, following the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then one will undoubtedly attain the lotus feet of Sri Krsna Caitanya, Lord Krsna Himself, without delay
- If someone wants to follow Me, please stop him. I don't want anyone to go with Me
- In regards to your questions in the letter of May 8, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was going to see the temple of Visesvar and hundreds and thousands of people were following Him. He was chanting Hari! Hari! It was not on the bank of the Ganges
- In separation, the Lord became very much perturbed and walked on unhappily. His servant, Krsnadasa, who was carrying His waterpot, followed behind
- In the Caitanya-sampradaya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Krsna - Bhagavad-gita - and Srimad-Bhagavatam
- In this old age I have come to your country because we are trying to follow in the footprints of Lord Caitanya
- Intelligent people who follow Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions and the instructions of the acarya, the bona fide spiritual master, will not accept a pretender as an incarnation of God
- It has now become customary for devotees, following the example of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, to go there (Isvara Puri's birthplace) and collect some earth from that place
L
- Lord Nityananda began to walk with Caitanya Mahaprabhu to see that He would not fall, and Advaita Acarya and Haridasa Thakura followed Them, dancing
- Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His subsequent followers exhibited expert dexterity in this connection. By following the same method, one can bring the materialistic men of this age of quarrel into order for peaceful life and transcendental realization
M
- Maharaja Prataparudra was a follower of Lord Caitanya, but when he wanted to see the Lord, the Lord refused to see him because he was a king. For a devotee who desires to go back to Godhead, two things are strictly prohibited: worldly enjoyers and women
- Meanwhile, following the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami returned to Vrndavana. He desired to write dramas concerning the pastimes of Lord Krsna
- Mukunda Datta told Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "My Lord, You should go ahead and allow all the others to follow. We shall not go with You"
- My opinion is that it is not necessary for us to utilize these different musical talents for spreading Krsna Consciousness. I would rather see people follow strictly the path of Lord Caitanya and His Sankirtana devotees
O
- Of all the temples in Vrndavana, ninety percent belong to the Gaudiya Vaisnava sect, the followers of the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda, and seven temples are very famous
- On the way to the temple, the Lord (Caitanya) was chanting and dancing, and thousands of people were following Him
- One should follow the principles of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and always think of Krsna in full Krsna consciousness. Then one will be eligible to live in Vrndavana, and his life will be successful
- One should join the Krsna consciousness movement, following the examples of such great personalities as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the six Gosvamis and, before them, the great sage Dadhici. Instead of wasting one's life for temporary bodily comforts
- Our best efforts should be exerted in trying to follow them (maha-bhagavatas and Lord Caitanya) according to our ability
P
- Prakasananda Sarasvati asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Why do you follow this sentimentalism, chanting and dancing? You are a . . . and some of the foolish persons, who have no knowledge, they also follow You. What is this
- Prakasananda Sarasvati was at Benares. He was a Mayavadi sannyasi, Sankara-sampradaya. At Benares He (Caitanya) was also walking all over the streets and roads, "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna," and thousands and thousands men were following Him
- Previously nobody attempted to introduce the supreme authority, Krsna, all over the world. We are just trying to introduce Krsna, following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared five hundred years ago
S
- Sanatana Gosvami was an important minister in the government of Hussain Shah, but he gave up everything to follow Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He adopted the life of a mendicant and lived under a different tree every night
- Saying this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Advaita Acarya and stopped Him from following any further. Then, without anxiety, He proceeded to Jagannatha Puri
- Seeing the tigers and deer following Him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately remembered the land of Vrndavana. He then began to recite a verse describing the transcendental quality of Vrndavana
- She requested Him to make Jagannatha Puri, Nilacala, His headquarters. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu granted His mother's request and, followed by Nityananda, Mukunda, Jagadananda and Damodara, left Santipura
- Since we are all pledged to work for Krsna we should follow the principle of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna. This is Vaisnavism. So my request is do not be agitated. Let us do our duty honestly
- Some of the people following the Lord were crying. Some were laughing, some dancing and some chanting. Indeed, some of them were rolling on the ground, exclaiming "Krsna! Krsna"
- Some of these people (who were following Caitanya) were crying, & some were laughing. Some were dancing, & some were singing & some were falling on the ground, offering obeisances to the Lord. In all cases, all of them were roaring the holy name of Krsna
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu further advised the brahmana Kurma, "If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement"
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself followed the devotional principles and taught others to follow them. Puri-gosanira ye acarana, sei dharma sara
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally traveled to different regions of India to spread the bhakti cult throughout the country. He also personally relished transcendental activities. By His personal behavior He has given an example for devotees to follow
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was unaffected. He left swiftly, and Advaita Acarya followed Him, weeping
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, although requesting all the devotees to go back, allowed two people to follow Him. He requested all the devotees to come to Jagannatha Puri and meet Him during the car festival
- Such a person, who is followed by so many people without giving them charity, must be a prophet. I can surely understand this fact
T
- Taking permission from His mother, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu then started for Jagannatha Puri. When the devotees followed Him, He humbly begged them to remain and bade them all farewell
- That night the Lord considered Sanatana Gosvami's proposal that He should not go to Vrndavana followed by so many people
- The cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is explained here (in CC Madhya 7.130) very nicely. One who surrenders to Him and is ready to follow Him with heart and soul does not need to change his location. Nor is it necessary for one to change his status
- The devotees who had followed the Lord came into His presence and requested Him to return to Puri. They submitted that the devotees from Bengal were coming to Purusottama-ksetra
- The disciplic succession following Caitanya, are distinct from the Tattvavadis, although they belong to the same Tattvavada-sampradaya. The followers of Caitanya are therefore known as the Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya
- The followers of Lord Caitanya cannot blindly accept that everyone born in a brahmana family is a brahmana. Therefore one should not indiscriminately follow the Lord's example of showing respect to brahmanas by drinking water that has washed their feet
- The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu may take this movement (Krsna consciousness movement) seriously and broadcast it throughout the world, from village to village and from town to town, just as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself did
- The Krsna consciousness movement is propagating the philosophical conclusion of Srila Vyasadeva and following other great acaryas like Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami, Nimbarka and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself
- The organizer of the Krsna consciousness movement is teaching everyone how to follow Lord Ramacandra, how to follow Lord Krsna, and how to follow Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- The path of Vedanta study shown by Lord Caitanya should be followed by all
- The present Krsna consciousness movement is nondifferent from the pastimes performed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was personally present, for the same principles are being followed and the same actions performed without fail
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead also comes as Lord Caitanya just to play the part of a pure devotee. Thus the Lord teaches us in different ways just to make our lives successful, and Svayambhuva Manu requests us to follow Him
- The Vaisnavas following Caitanya stress the doctrine of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which states that the Supreme Lord, being the cause and effect of everything, is inconceivably, simultaneously one with His manifestations of energy & different from them
- This is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s order to all His devotees. Krsna-bhakti, devotion to Krsna, is open to everyone, even low-class men like candalas. One should follow this order in the disciplic succession stemming from Sri Advaita and Nityananda Prabhu
- Those Vaisnavas belonging to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, the disciplic succession following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, are distinct from the Tattvavadis, although they belong to the same Tattvavada-sampradaya
- Those who follow the teachings of Lord Caitanya should experience and relish the feelings of separation (from Krsna), not of meeting
- Those who followed the principles of Caitanya Mahaprabhu flourished, whereas the others, who are mentioned below in the sixty-seventh verse, dried up
- Thus I went to Bengal, but thousands of devotees began to follow Me
- To follow Caitanya Mahaprabhu means to follow the six Gosvamis, because these six Gosvamis were directly instructed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu to spread this movement
- To follow Caitanya Mahaprabhu means to follow the six Gosvamis. This is called parampara system
V
- Vallabha Bhatta invited the Lord (Caitanya) to go to the other side of the Ganges, and the Lord went. From that moment on, wherever the Lord went, Rupa Gosvami would follow Him and stay with Him
- Various birds, including the peacock, saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and began to follow Him, chanting and dancing. They were all maddened by the holy name of Krsna
W
- We are followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Acaryavan puruso veda: "One who is acaryavan, one who is following acarya, he knows things as they are." Acaryavan puruso veda
- We follow Lord Caitanya's footprints to achieve very quick result. I would advise you also to follow the principle
- We have to accept these authorities, quotation from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Vedic literature, and quoted by authority, Lord Caitanya. We have to follow in that way. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah
- We selected to chant this Hare Krsna mantra because Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the inaugurator of the sankirtana movement, He personally chanted this Hare Krsna. So we follow. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah (CC Madhya 17.186). We have to follow some authority
- When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. BG 1972 purports
- When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left, the brahmana Kurma followed Him a great distance, but eventually Lord Caitanya took care to send him back home
- When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went toward Vrndavana, Nityananda Prabhu, Candrasekhara and Prabhu Mukunda followed Him
- When the two brothers Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami went to Vrndavana, they decided to live there. Following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s example, they did not climb the hill because they considered it nondifferent from Krsna, the SP of Godhead
- While Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was passing through the jungle, five or seven tigers came. Joining the deer, the tigers began to follow the Lord
- Whoever heard Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu chant "Hari! Hari!" also chanted the holy name of Lord Hari and Krsna. In this way they all followed the Lord, very eager to see Him
- Why we are preaching? What is the necessity of preaching? The necessity is to make them happy. If we follow the Caitanya Mahaprabhu's instruction, then our life will be successful and we will be happy
- With great care Caitanya Mahaprabhu forbade the Orissan devotees to follow Him. Then, accompanied by His personal associates, He first went to Bhavanipura
Y
- You have to follow great personalities. Therefore we are trying to follow Lord Krsna or Lord Caitanya. That is perfection. You have to take evidences from the Vedas. You have to follow the instruction. The success is sure
- You have to take the path of great personalities. Lord Caitanya chanted this Hare Krsna mantra. So we are following, and we are getting result. That's all. We don't manufacture our own way, because we are imperfect. We cannot manufacture