SRI LOCANA DASA THAKURA

Srila Locana Dasa Thakura appeared in this world in 1520 A.D., 
thirty-four years after the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 
Locana Dasa wrote a biography on Lord Caitanya, entitled Sri Caitanya 
Mangala, and he wrote many devotional songs.

Sri Locana dasa Thakura took birth in a family of Rarhiya physicians who 
resided in the village of Kogram, within the Mahakumar (Katna) district 
of Barddhaman. His guru was Sri Narahari Sarkar Thakura.

"I am the servant of Thakura Sri Narahari, who is the master of my life. 
The desire of all my desires, I place at his lotus feet; which is that 
this vile creature (myself) might describe some-thing about the 
wonderful qualities of Sri Gaurasundara. In this expectation, he is my 
only refuge. [Caitanya-mangala, Sattva khanda].

His father's name was Sri Kamalakara dasa and his mother's name, Sri 
Sadananda. He was the only son of his parents. He was raised in his 
maternal grandfather's home and his education was completed there. When 
he was only a little boy, he enjoyed the good fortune of meeting the 
devotees of Sri Gauranga.

He was married at a very young age. From his youth he was very attached 
to Sri Gaurasundara and consequently very disinterested in material 
life, though he was surrounded by family, friends and society. In his 
youth he spent the major part of his time at his guru's Sripat, 
Srikhanda, where he learned how to do kirtana.

The book that he composed, Caitanya-mangala, was from the diary of Sri 
Murari Gupta. "Murari Gupta, who resides at Nadia, composed many 
beautiful verses about the life of Sri Gauranga. These include the 
youthful pastimes of Nimai, which Murari Gupta personally took part in, 
and His later pastime in Nilacala, after He accepted sannyasa, which 
were narrated by Sri Damodara Pandita. Having heard these verses of 
Murari Gupta, composed in Sanskrit, I have become very attracted and so 
I have composed them in the village folk poetry meter of Bengali."

In his Caitanya Mangala Srila Locana Dasa Thakura has written: "My hope 
of hopes is to be near the lotus feet of Sri Narahari Thakura, to serve 
and worship him with my very life. The cherished desire of the fallen 
Locana Dasa is to be allowed by the grace of Narahari to sing the 
glories of Sri Gauranga. My Lord is Sri Narahari Thakura and I am his 
servant. Bowing and praying before him I beg him to allow me his 
service. This is my only aspiration."

Previously in Bengal (especially East Bengal, now Bangladesha) the poets 
used to compose sacred songs and verses in different forms of classic 
rhymes and rhythmic meters called Panchali (such as Laxmir Panchali, 
Sanir Panchali and Manasa Bhasan). The Panchali style of composition was 
especially used for glorifying the Lord. Srila Locana Dasa Thakura used 
the Panchali form of verse-meter in composing his famous work, Sri 
Caitanya Mangala. The Panchali form employs five different kinds of 
song- styles or meters.

The principle source material that was drawn upon by Sri Locana Dasa 
Thakura in composing his Caitanya Mangala was a Sanskrit book by Murari 
Gupta called Sri Caitanya Caritamritam.

Locana Dasa Thakura explains this in his Caitanya Mangala as follows: 
"That very Murari Gupta who lived in Nadiya composed many Sanskrit 
verses about the life of Sri Gauranga, which he later arranged in the 
form of a book. Having heard these verses from Murari Gupta, Damodara 
Pandit taught them to me, and I memorized them with great delight. As 
these Sanskrit verses, and the conception of Caitanya Mahaprabhu 
imparted to me through Damodara Pandita, developed within my mind, it 
flowed forth from me in the form of these Panchali verses in Bengali, 
which I write in glorification of the life and pastimes of Sri 
Caitanya." (C.M. Sutra khanda)

In his preface to the Caitanya Mangala Srila Locana Dasa Thakura offers 
his prayers to Vrindavan dasa Thakura before proceeding with the 
narrative. He says, "I offer my prayers of submission to Vrindavana Dasa 
Thakura with all my heart. The sweet song of his Caitanya Bhagavata has 
enchanted the whole world." (C.M. Sutra khanda)

Vrindavan Dasa Thakura's Caitanya Bhagavata was originally called 
Caitanya Mangala. It is said that Srila Locana Dasa Thakura and Srila 
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami gave it the name Caitanya Bhagavata. 
Krishna dasa Kaviraja Goswami writes:

krishna lila bhagavate kahe vedavyasa
chaitanya lilara vyasa-vrindavana dasa

"Vedavyasa has described the pastimes of Krishna in his Bhagavata. The 
Vyasa of Caitanya Lila is Vrindavan Dasa."

From this comparison between Vedavyasa and Vrindavana Dasa it has been 
concluded that Kaviraja Goswami is probably responsible for Vrindavan 
Dasa Thakura's work becoming known as the Bhagavata of Caitanya Lila or 
Chaitanya-Bhagavata.

There are many pastimes of Sri Caitanya that have only been touched on 
briefly by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura. These are described in detail in the 
Caitanya Mangala of Locana Dasa Thakura.

The Caitanya Mangala is divided into four parts: Sutra khanda, Adi 
khanda, Madhyama khanda and Shesha khanda. The Sutra khanda has two 
chapters, Adi khanda has seven chapters, the Madhyama khanda twelve, and 
the Shesha khanda three. The contents of the Adi khanda are as follows.

The first chapter in the Sutra khanda is called Mangalaracharanam, or 
auspicious invocation. It begins with a song of the glories of Sri 
Caitanya and then praises the Vaishnavas who were personal associates of 
Sri Caitanya. After this, Locana Dasa Thakura offers respects to his 
gurudeva, Narahari Sarakara Thakura, and prays for his guru's mercy. He 
offers his obeisances at the lotus feet of the countless devotees and 
personal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, known and unknown. 
Having prayed for the blessings of guru and vaishnavas, Locana Dasa 
explains that Murari Gupta had written a book in Sanskrit called the 
Caitanya Caritamritam, and that since that book is no longer available, 
he is giving its essence in the form of Bengali verse called Panchali. 
He then briefly describes the subjects found in the Adi, Madhya, and 
Shesha khandas.

The second chapter of the Sutra khanda is called Grantharambha, for here 
the book actually begins. In this chapter Locana Dasa relates how he 
heard from Damodara Pandita the story of Jaimini's Mahabharata recital, 
wherein he describes a conversation between Narada and Uddhava. In that 
conversation Narada explained the cause of Krishna's appearance in the 
golden form of Sri Gauranga.

One time Narada saw that with the coming of the age of Kali the living 
beings had fallen into great suffering. He began to worry about how they 
could be delivered and the principles of dharma restored. Thinking in 
this way, he decided that only Krishna's descent into this world would 
deliver the fallen souls and restore the principles of religion. Wanting 
to appeal to Krishna to descend as an avatara, he set out for Dwaraka 
dham. At that time, Krishna was staying in the palace of Sri Rukmini 
devi.

Just then, upon learning that Sri Krishna would soon appear on earth in 
a golden form, with the golden luster and devotional mood of Radharani, 
Rukmini devi became deeply troubled. Feeling separation from the Lord, 
she fell at the lotus feet of Krishna and began praising the qualities 
of Sri Radha - whose devotion was so glorious that Krishna wanted to 
honor her by assuming her luster and mood. At that time Narada entered 
the room. He explained to Krishna the reason for his trip - that he 
wanted Krishna to descend to the earth planet in order to deliver the 
fallen souls. At that time, Krishna revealed to him how in the future he 
would appear as the son of Sachidevi and Jagannatha Mishra in Navadvipa 
dham: in a golden form with all his transcendental associates.

Having seen that golden form revealed, Narada was overwhelmed with 
ecstasy. Constantly thinking of this golden form and the Lord's plans to 
appear in Navadvipa dhama as Sri Gauranga, Narada the best of munis went 
to visit Naimisharanya, all the while singing the glories of the Lord. 
There, in answer to Uddhava's inquiries about the welfare of the living 
beings, he explained how in Kali-yuga - the best of all ages because of 
Sri Gauranga's advent - Krishna would appear in a golden form as Sri 
Gauranga and perform the kirtan of the holy name of Hari. Narada told 
Uddhava how the Lord would come to establish the Sankirtana of the holy 
name of Krishna as the yuga-dharma, the religious principle for the age 
of Kali. Narada explained the glories of kirtana.

Thereafter, Narada Muni related to Uddhava the discussion that had 
previously taken place when he had gone to Kailasa and visited Lord 
Shiva, the best of Vaishnavas. There, Narada and Parvati discussed the 
glories of Mahaprasada, having heard of the glories of Mahaprasada from 
Narada, Parvati had performed 12 years of Lakshmi-seva. By her mercy, 
Parvati got some of Lakshmidevi's own mahaprasada and also gave Shiva a 
small bit of that prasada. Not able to tolerate the dancing of Lord 
Shiva upon obtaining this Mahaprasada, the earth came before Parvati, 
begging her to give the Mahaprasada of the Vaishnavas to all the jivas. 
With this proposal, Parvati explained how the Gaura-avatara would come 
in Kali-yuga and distribute Mahaprasada to all the fallen souls.

After this, Narada went to Brahma and discussed the Gaura-avatara with 
him. Brahma, the creator, at that time explained to him the essential 
subject of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, and showed him how the version of the 
Bhagavatam supported the Gaura-avatara. After this, Narada began 
wandering here and there. As he went from place to place he became 
concerned about he sufferings of the jivas. As he was worrying about the 
living entities in this way, he came near Jagannatha Puri. There he 
heard a divine voice discussing the avatara of Jagannatha. On the order 
of the divine voice he went to Puri. From there, the Lord ordered him to 
go to Goloka. First he came to Vaikuntha. After this, he arrived in 
Goloka, where he saw many pastimes of the Lord. There he saw the Lord in 
his golden form as Sri Gaura, and fainted in ecstasy. After this, he 
went all over the universe, informing all the gods of the news.

In Shvetadvipa he saw the supernatural pastimes of Balarama, the very 
figure of service. After this, all the demigods began taking birth on 
earth. As previously mentioned by Krishna in his conversation with 
Rukmini, the Lord, along with Satyabhama, Rukmini, and all his eternal 
associates from the spiritual world came with the luster and mood of 
Radharani in a golden form as Sri Gauranga. He came to spread the 
sankirtan of the holy name of Krishna.

Balarama came as Nityananda, Shiva came as Advaita Prabhu, and other 
great souls descended as his other eternal associates like Murari, 
Mukunda, Shrivasa, Raya Ramananda, Ishvara Puri, and Madhavendra Puri. 
Locana Dasa Thakur concludes the chapter by praising the glories of his 
guru, Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura, and his nephew Raghunandana 
Thakura.

The first chapter of the Adi lila of Caitanya Mangala describes the 
Janma- lila, or birth pastimes, of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The chapter 
first describes the advent of the Lord's eternal associates, who 
appeared in this world before Mahaprabhu Himself. Locana Thakura 
describes the Lord as the remote and immediate cause of creation, the 
Parabrahman, Sri Narayana Himself. That Supreme Personality of Godhead 
descended within the womb of Sachidevi and advented Himself upon this 
earth. In this way, gradually Sachi's womb grew day by day, and her body 
assumed a supernatural effulgence. Seeing her wonderful bodily 
effulgence, everyone was astonished, and thought, "Surely a great 
personality is about to take birth from the womb of Sri Sachidevi."

When her "pregnancy" was in its sixth month, one day Advaita Acharya 
Prabhu went to the house of Sachidevi and Jagannatha Mishra. Arriving 
there, he offered his obeisances to the child in the womb of Mother 
Sachi and then circumambulated her. Sachidevi and Jagannatha Mishra 
could not understand the cause of Advaita's unusual behavior. In this 
way, Brahma, Shiva, and the other gods came to offer their respects to 
that Supreme Personality of Godhead who had hidden himself within the 
womb of Sachidevi, knowing well that he would soon advent Himself in 
this world to deliver the lowest of men with the highest nectar of 
Krishna prema. Detecting their presence, Sachidevi felt great joy. When 
the heart of Sachidevi was full of mercy for the whole world, that is to 
say, when the most merciful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had completely 
filled her heart, gradually the tenth month came. After this, taking 
advantage of an auspicious moment on the full moon day in the month of 
Phalguna, in the midst of Hari- sankirtana, Sri Gaurachandra appeared 
like a golden moon from the ocean of the womb of Mother Sachi. In this 
way, the Lord appeared on earth, and the ten directions were jubilant. 
The gods and goddesses, men and women, eager to see the moonlike face of 
the son of Sachi, hurried to the house of Jagannatha Mishra and 
Sachidevi. In this way, their home was transformed into Vaikuntha.

Jagannatha Mishra and all the residents of Nadiya who had turned out to 
see that divine child were all struck with wonder to see his beauty. He 
had a neck like a lion, arms like the trunks of elephants, and a broad 
chest. His lotus feet were marked with the auspicious symbols of Lord 
Vishnu: a flag, a thunderbolt, a rod for driving elephants.

Seeing all these wonderful and superhuman manifestations of divinity in 
the child, the people there were all astonished. Everyone speculated 
about his supernatural origin, saying, "He is definitely not an ordinary 
human." For eight days, the newborn child and its mother were 
quarantined, as is traditional for childbirth in Bengal, and on the 
ninth day a great festival was held. At that time, all the neighbors 
were filled with great joy to see the boy, and their attraction for him 
increased.

The second chapter of the Adi khanda describes the Lord's bala-lila 
childhood pastimes. Here, Locana dasa Thakura describes how after six 
months, the grain-eating ceremony of Sri Gaurasundara was held, and 
after this the name-giving ceremony was performed. At the appearance of 
the Lord, the whole world was delighted. Since the Lord gave pleasure to 
the whole world, the brahmanas said his name should be Vishvambhara. 
Soon, Vishvambhara began to walk, by holding onto Jagannatha Mishra's 
finger with his tiny hand. The different women in the village used to 
decorate him with different ornaments, and they would wonder at the 
beautiful effulgence that emanated from the child, which was as bright 
as millions of moons.The moon outside can brighten the darkness of night 
only slightly, but the moon of Sri Gaurachandra can eliminate all 
darkness, both within and without.

Sachidevi would sing to her son while threshing wheat, and at that time, 
all the demigods are offer prayers to her son. Seeing this, Sachidevi 
was quite amazed. Sometimes she would see Gaurahari chanting the glories 
of Radha-Krishna with the gods and would become astonished and faint. 
When she heard ankle-bells ringing on the bare feet of her child, again 
she was bewildered. Sometimes she was afraid that ghosts were causing a 
disturbance, and sometimes she would look in the mouth of her child, 
and, beholding the universal form, become completely astonished.

In this way, gradually Gaurahari grew old enough to play outside, where 
he astounded his newfound childhood friends with his divine antics. His 
playmates were quite attached to him. Sachidevi would carry the baby 
Gaurahari in her arms and watch after him carefully as he ran about, to 
keep him from smashing everything as he played. Once, he explained to 
Mother Sachi the nature of things pure and impure, instructing her on 
the aprakrita nature of Krishna, who is master of everything.

While sitting on a heap of broken clay pots soiled with leftovers, he 
instructed his mother on jnana. Seeing his mother bewildered, he brought 
her some coconut fruit. In this way, he performed many childhood pranks. 
He used to play with puppydogs. When Sachidevi chastised him for playing 
with a dog, and Gaurahari had to give up his pet, he cried tears of 
anger before Sachidevi. At that time, he bestowed a divine spiritual 
body upon that dog while performing Harikirtana. The dog went to 
Vaikuntha, and as Brahma, Shiva, and the other demigods saw the good 
fortune of the dog they were all amazed. Sachidevi was astonished at the 
activities of her son, who made her understand his Supreme Position as 
the Absolute Lord.

The fourth chapter of the Adi Lila of Caitanya Mangala describes the 
Lord's pauganda, or boyhood lila. Having heard Murari Gupta reciting the 
yogashastras, the Lord mimicked his gestures and speech, making fun of 
him and then began to laugh uproariously. Thus Murari Gupta was enraged 
and chastised the Lord with words of anger. In return, the boy, 
intending to express his contempt for the conclusions of yogis went to 
Murari's afternoon lunch and urinated on Murari Gupta's plate. After 
this, he instructed Murari Gupta on the superiority of Krishna-bhakti.

Finally, the author discusses Mahaprabhu's boyhood performance of 
sankirtana, and relates what he heard from Damodara Pandit of Murari 
Gupta's notes on the sannyasa of Vishvarupa, the Lord's older brother. 
He also relates the lamentation of Sachidevi and Jagannatha upon their 
son's taking sannyasa. He also recounts many other pastimes performed by 
the Lord as a boy.

At that time the Lord's hair-cutting ceremony took place. And soon 
thereafter, the day of Hate-khare, or the first holding of chalk, came. 
On that day, to signify the beginning of a child's formal education 
begins, he is given a piece of chalk and a chalkboard, upon which he is 
to draw the letters of the alphabet. Upon beginning his studies, the 
Lord was overjoyed to meet many new classmates. On the day that his 
son's education began, Jagannatha Mishra was very pleased. That night, 
however, he had a dream in which a brahmana appeared to him and told him 
that his son Vishvambhara was Bhagavan Himself. Who can educate the 
Supreme Lord, or discipline him as a small boy? From this, Jagannatha 
Mishra could understand the supreme position of his child. When his 
dream broke, he was again overwhelmed with the sentiments of parental 
love and soon forgot the dream.

At a particular time, the sacred thread ceremony of the boy was 
performed. After this, there is a discussion of the four ages and the 
yuga-avatara. In Dvapara-yuga, the Supreme Lord Himself, Sri Krishna the 
son of Nanda in Vrindavana, makes his appearance on earth. In Kali-yuga, 
Sri Krishna, appearing with the luster and mood of Sri Radha, advents 
himself as Sri Gauranga. By performing Sankirtana, he establishes the 
religious principle for the age of Kali: hari-nama-sankirtana. In order 
to establish the yuga- dharma, he comes as a preacher. Maddened with 
Krishna-prema, he delivers all souls with the ecstasy of love of God, by 
moving here and there and distributing divine love. While in his 
grihastha-lila, he ordered his mother to refrain from eating grains on 
Ekadashi, in this way instructed everyone to follow this injunction.

Gradually, Jagannatha Mishra fell ill, and passed away, entering into 
the Lord's unmanifest pastimes. At that time, the Lord instructed 
Sachidevi on the fleeting nature of a man's short life within the 
material world. He also explained many other important principles of 
divine reality to her. With the passing of her husband, Sachidevi 
greatly lamented. Gaurahari Himself also lamented the passing of his 
father. After this time, he began paying close attention to his studies.

Chapter four describes the Lord's pastimes of youth and marriage. One 
day, after school, the Lord was walking home from his teacher's house 
and at that time he met Vanamali Acharya. As they talked, the Acharya 
made the Lord understand that he had just been to see his mother 
Sachidevi, where he had been making arrangements for the Lord's wedding. 
Sachidevi had rebuffed him, and unable to secure her permission for the 
match, Vanamali was a little unhappy. In this way, he was returning to 
his home, downcast. Sri Gaurahari returned home. Without intimating 
anything of his conversation with the matchmaker, the Lord informed her 
of his intentions to wed, saying that she should seek out Vanamali and 
make the necessary arrangements for the wedding of her son.

She did so, and on the orders of Sachimata, Vanamali Acharya went to 
Vallabhacharya's house. There he informed Vallabhacharya of the Lord's 
intent to wed Vallabhacharya's daughter Lakshmidevi.

Having made all the arrangements for the wedding, Sachidevi informed all 
her friends and relatives of the auspicious event and invited them to 
the occasion. Everyone floated in the waves of the joyful ocean. In this 
way, Sachidevi made preparations for her son's wedding.

All the residents of Nadia turned out to see the wedding. The relatives 
saw to it that all the old traditional Bengali wedding customs were 
followed. The Hindu ceremony of besmearing the bridegroom and bride with 
a paste of turmeric and then bathing them on the eve of the wedding was 
performed, as were many other rituals. The place where the wedding was 
to be performed was cleansed with sanctified water, and all the Vedic 
purificatory rites were observed. All this took place at the house of 
Vallabhacharya. At last, with great pomp and grandeur, in the midst of a 
great assembly of devotees, relatives and friends, the wedding of Sri 
Gaurahari and Lakshmidevi was performed in the house of Vallabhacharya.

The Acharya himself performed the Vedic wedding ceremony. He offered his 
new son-in-law sanctified water and arghya to sweeten his lotus mouth. 
After this, he brought Lakshmidevi up on the wedding stage and presented 
her to Gaurahari. Finally, the scriptural sacrifice that is performed at 
weddings took place. After this, the brahmanas were fed sumptuous 
prasadam at the conclusion of the wedding, and Sri Lakshmidevi was 
escorted to her new home as the bride of Sri Gaurahari.

The Fifth Chapter of the Adi khanda of Caitanya Mangala describes more 
of the Lord's pastimes of youth, including his tour of Bengal. After 
some time the Lord journeyed down the banks of the Ganges, sanctifying 
that holy river even further by the touch of his lotus footsteps. In 
order to provide for his new family, the Lord set out for East Bengal, 
where he took up the occupation of teaching. In this way he gave his 
mercy to the residents of East Bengal who lived on the banks of the 
Padmavati river. When he returned to Bengal, he found that Lakshmidevi 
had been unable to tolerate the pain of his absence. She was bitten by 
the snake of separation and passed away into the unmanifest pastimes of 
the Lord. Sachidevi was heartbroken and was consoled in her lamentation 
by Gaurahari who glorified the sublime qualities of Lakshmidevi.

The Sixth Chapter of the Adi khanda of Caitanya Mangala describes the 
arrangements made by Sachidevi for the Lord's second wedding. Through 
Dvija-Kashishvara it was arranged that he was to be wed to the daughter 
of Sanatana Pandita, Vishnupriya devi. Here, the wedding of Vishnupriya 
and Gaurahari is elaborately described.

The seventh chapter of the Adi khanda describes the Lord's journey to 
Gaya. Some time after the wedding of Gaurahari and Vishnupriya devi, the 
Lord, having completed his education busied himself in his teaching 
work. One day, he left for Gaya to offer respects to his departed 
father. As he walked down the road, everywhere, the birds and animals 
who saw him were stunned with ecstasy upon beholding his lotus feet. 
After instructing a brahmana in Krishna-bhakti, the Lord allowed a 
brahmana to drink the water of his lotus feet. That brahmana immediately 
became free from all his bodily distress.

At that time, the Lord also instructed how the mysteries of Krishna- 
bhajana cannot be understood simply on the basis of one's birth in a 
brahmana family. At last arriving in Gaya, the Lord performed worship of 
the devas and pitris, in order to do his duty regarding his departed 
father. While so engaged, he went to see the lotus feet of the Vishnu 
Deity. At that time, the Lord met that best of Vaishnavas, Sri Ishvara 
Puri. He prayed for the mercy of Ishvara Puri Prabhu, who, soon 
thereafter, initiated him in the Krishnamantra.

With this, the Lord's transcendental ecstasy became manifest. After 
this, he went to take darshan of the lotus feet of Vishnu. Upon seeing 
the Lord's holy feet, Sri Gaurahari was overwhelmed with prema and 
exhibited his ecstasy by laughing, singing and dancing. Only a few days 
later, he returned home.

From this point the first chapter of the Madhya khanda begins.

In the first chapter of the Madhya khanda the author describes the 
Lord's pastimes as a teacher, and explains how he showed mercy to his 
students. Praising her good fortune, the Lord showed his grace to 
Sachimata. Soon after this he revealed symptoms of mahaprema at the home 
of Suklambara Brahmachari. This was the first time that he publicly 
revealed his absorption in Krishna-prema, by showing the symptoms of 
great ecstasy, such as swooning, tears shooting from the eyes, hairs of 
the body standing on end, choking up of the voice, laughing madly, and 
so on. Performing sublime kirtan, Sri Gaurahari drowned everyone in the 
waves of bliss. In this way the Supreme Lord appeared as his own devotee 
in order to glorify the position of Bhakti. After this, the Lord began 
his pastimes of preaching the glories of Sri Krishna prema, engaging 
many devotees in preaching. He began organizing all the devotees, 
beginning with Gadadhara, as well as many devotees from within and 
without Bengal. One day the Lord went to the house of Shrivasa and his 
brothers. At that time, the devotees could hear the flute of Krishna. At 
that time the Lord became overwhelmed by the mood of Shrimati Radhika. 
In the madness of separation, he began laughing and crying. Sometimes he 
would fall completely silent and his mood became grave. In this way he 
manifest differing divine moods. At that time, a divine voice said, "O 
Vishvambhara! You are the Lord Himself. For the purpose of preaching 
Krishna-prema, you have descended within this world."

Later, at the house of Murari Gupta, the Lord would reveal his form as 
the Varaha avatara. At that time, Murari offered prayers before the Lord 
in great ecstasy, and the Lord told him to serve Krishna the son of 
Nanda, following in the footsteps of the residents of Vrindavana. Murari 
Gupta wanted to see the form of Sri Ramachandra.

At that time the Lord instructed him on the glories of the holy name of 
Krishna. At last, the devatas headed by Lord Brahma appeared before the 
Lord, praying for Krishna-prema and attained Krishna-prema by the mercy 
of Sri Gauranga. After this, the kirtan-performer Suklambara Brahmachari 
began chanting "Jai Radhe! Jai Govinda!" and attained the mercy of Sri 
Caitanya. After this, Locana dasa Thakura describes the glories of Sri 
Sri Gaura-Gadadhara.

In the second chapter of the Madhya khanda, the author describes the 
beauty of Sri Gauranga's divine form. The Lord performed a miracle by 
planting a mango seed that immediately became a mango tree with fully 
ripened fruit for the satisfaction of the devotees. Whoever ate the 
fruit of that tree was delivered from the tree of material existence. 
The Lord instructed Mukunda Datta on the supremacy of Krishna bhakti, 
and how one should give up thinking of the body and mind and think only 
of the worshipable service of Krishna. The Lord gave his blessings to 
Murari Gupta. The Lord's pastimes of kirtana at the house of Shrivasa 
Thakura are described. When a foolish brahman remarked that the murti of 
Sri Krishna is a product of Maya, the Lord jumped in the Ganges with his 
clothes on, to purify himself from the offender.

The third chapter of the Madhya khanda describes the glories of Sri 
Advaita. Here, the author describes the Lord's pastimes with Advaita, 
how he performed kirtan in the house of Advaita, and how they embraced 
in ecstasy. A brahman who tried to stop the kirtan of Mahaprabhu by 
attempting to frighten Shrivasa Pandita was bewildered by the Lord's 
mayic potency. Also described is how the Lord, in the house of Shrivasa, 
performed the worship known as Gada-puja, wherein the club of Vishnu is 
worshiped in order to invoke the Lord's power in smashing the atheists.

This chapter also explains the visit paid by Advaita to Navadvipa, how 
Advaita bowed before Sri Gauranga, and danced in ecstasy before him, 
realizing that his prayers for Krishna's descent had been fulfilled. 
When Shrivasa Thakura inquired into the glories of Advaita, Mahaprabhu 
described Advaita-tattva, and advised everyone to worship Sri Hari.

In the fourth chapter of the Madhyama khanda, Sri Gaurahari explains the 
esoteric meaning of "Shrivasa." Murari Gupta's book, Raghubhirashtaka, 
is discussed. The Lord writes Ramadasa on Murari's forehead. He reveals 
himself as Rama and orders Rama Pandita, the brother of Shrivasa Pandita 
to serve Shrivasa. The devotees are sent to search for Nityananda. The 
Lord meets Nityananda at the house of Nandana Acharya. The Lord explains 
the glories of Sri Nityananda and how it is that by Nityananda's mercy 
one may attain Krishna-prema. At that time, the Lord reveals his 
six-armed, four-armed, and two-armed forms to Nityananda.

The fifth chapter of the Madhya khanda reveals how, late at night, the 
Lord was weeping tears of ecstatic love for Krishna. He discussed his 
dream with Sachidevi. The story of how Nityananda Prabhu spent two days 
at the house of Advaita Acharya is recounted. Nityananda Prabhu's prema 
is described. The worship by Advaita of Mahaprabhu in the house of 
Shrivasa Pandita is described. The meeting of the Lord and Haridasa 
Thakura. The author also tells how Nityananda's kaupin was saved by 
Mahaprabhu, who later had the devotees wear it as a kavacha. 
Mahaprabhu's trance and the devotees' separation from the Lord is also 
described. The ecstasy of the devotees upon the Lord's reawakening is 
also described.

The sixth chapter of the Madhya khanda discusses the following subjects: 
How Gaurahari enjoyed pastimes of prema in the midst of the devotees; 
his meeting with Haridasa Thakura; His visit at the house of Advaita; 
his order to Advaita to preach Krishna-prema without any consideration 
of fitness and unfitness; His order to all the devotees to preach 
nama-prema and thus deliver everyone; the effects of nama-bhasa; How the 
Lord would wander through the streets of Nadiya performing Nama-kirtana; 
the story of the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai.

After this, the author glorifies the mercy of Sri Nityananda and Sri 
Gauranga.

The seventh chapter of the Madhyama khanda describes the following 
subjects: How the Lord cast his merciful glance upon the son of an East 
Bengal brahmana named Vanamali; the brahmana seeing the Shyamasundara 
form of the Lord offered many prayers to Sri Gauranga. After this, the 
Lord revealed his Nrisimha manifestation at the house of Shrivasa. He 
bestowed mercy upon a follower of Shiva. After a brahman lady touched 
his feet, he jumped into the Ganges. The Lord gave instructions 
regarding the worship of Sri Hari. His mercy towards Shrivasa is 
described as are Mukunda's prayers, the Lord's manifestation of His 
Godhead, and Shrivas Pandit's abhishek of Mahaprabhu. The author's 
glorification of the qualities of Sri Gauranga and his instructions on 
the worship of Sri Gauranga conclude the chapter.

The eighth chapter of the Madhyama khanda describes the following 
subjects: How the envious brahmana who was stricken with leprosy prayed 
for forgiveness in order to become freed from the sin of Vaishnava 
aparadha and was delivered by the mercy of Shrivasa Thakura; how a 
brahmana was forbidden to enter the Lord's nocturnal kirtan and how the 
Lord danced in ecstasy when that brahmana then cursed the Lord never to 
enjoy the pleasures of samsara. How the Lord in the mood of Balarama 
demanded honey is described. The assembly of devotees at the house of 
Advaita is described. The visit of the devotees headed by Acharyaratna 
is recorded. How all of them saw the Lord's manifestation of Balarama 
and bathed in the Ganges is also described.

The ninth chapter of the Madhyama khanda of Sri Caitanya Mangala records 
the following subjects: the Lord's manifestation of Varaha; How the 
devotees headed by Advaita were ordered to preach and perform 
sankirtana; how the mood and qualities of the gopis was glorified in 
kirtan; how Shrivasa in the dress of Narada glorified Gadadhara Pandita; 
a discussion of the divine correlation between Sri Gadadhara and Sri 
Radhika; Thakur Haridas' visit; the ecstasy of Sankirtana; the Lord's 
mad manifestation of the mood of Vaikuntha opulence; How the Lord, in 
the dress of Lakshmidevi rendered service to the Lord in great ecstasy; 
How the Lord expressed the inner moods of the personality of Godhead.

The tenth chapter of the Madhyama khanda of Caitanya Mangala describes 
the following: The Lord tells Shrivasa of the different religious 
principles for the different ages and how Sankirtan is the best 
religious principle in the age of Kali. In the mood of Sri Radha the 
Lord began asking "Where is Vrindavan? Where is Lalita?" in great 
anxiety. Murari Gupta consoled him, and they all performed kirtana. In a 
dream Sachidevi sees Gaurahari receive the sannyasa mantra from Keshava 
Bharati. The Lord's powerful separation from Krishna is described. 
Worried that the Lord will take sannyasa, the devotees are heartbroken. 
Mahaprabhu consoles the devotees. The eleventh chapter of Madhyama 
khanda describes the following: Upon hearing of the Lord's sannyasa, 
Sachidevi's lamentation; Her entreaty to Gaurahari to remain a 
grihastha; The Lord's advice to everyone to worship Krishna; His 
different attempts to console his mother and his revelation of the 
divine form of Krishna to her.

The twelfth chapter of the Madhyama khanda discusses the following 
subjects: The lamentation of Vishnupriya devi; the Lord's sweet words of 
pacification to her and his instructions regarding divine reality, as 
well as his revelation of of his four-handed Narayana form; the visit by 
Shrivasa and Murari, the Lord's attempt to pacify them.

The thirteenth chapter describes the following: The Lord's attempt to 
console the devotees, and his instructions on different truths; with the 
aim to take sannyasa, he swims across the Ganges and meets Keshava 
Bharati at Katwa; Sachimata and Vishnupriya faint; Nityananda Prabhu 
tries to pacify them; Headed by Chandrashekhara Acharya and Damodara 
Pandit, all the devotees follow Nityananda Prabhu to Katwa where the 
sannyasa is taking place. The Lord asks for the sannyasa mantra from 
Keshava Bharati; The Lord first gives the sannyasa mantra to Bharati and 
then hears it from him; the lamentation of all the devotees at the 
sannyasa of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; The Lord's attempt to pacify them; 
the Lord's eagerness for Krishna-bhakti; the giving of the name Sri 
Krishna Caitanya; At the conclusion of sannyasa the Lord's wandering 
half-mad in the Radhadesha.

The fourteenth chapter describes how Chandrashekhara returns from Katwa 
to Nadia bearing news to Sachimata and Vishnupriya; their lamentation; 
Nityananda Prabhu causes Mahaprabhu to detour to Shantipura; the Lord's 
visit there; Nityananda's conversation with Sachidevi; the devotees of 
Nadiya go to the house of Advaita in Shantipur to see the Lord; the 
Lord's reciprocation of affection with the residents of Nadiya, and 
their separation.

The fifteenth chapter describes the Lord's deliverance of all souls 
through the performance of nam-sankirtan, and how he bestowed upon all 
the jivas the supreme goal of life. After this his journey to Jagannatha 
Puri is described as well as the humility of Haridasa Thakura, the 
exodus of devotees who went to Puri to be with the Lord, His sweet words 
of consolation, how the Lord used to chant the shloka, "rama-raghava 
raksha mam," on his way to Puri, how Nityananda Prabhu broke his 
sannyasa danda, and how the Lord manifest his pastimes of anger with 
Nityananda after the breaking of his danda.

The sixteenth chapter of the Madhyama khanda describes how on the way to 
Jagannatha Puri, the devotees bathed in a place called Brahma-kunda; how 
they went to Remuna and had darshan of the Lord there; how the Lord 
danced before the Gopal deity; how after bathing in the Vaitarani river 
they had darshan of Varaha-deva; how the Lord went to Yajapura; How the 
Lord took darshan of a Shiva-linga there; Then, from Brahma-kunda, he 
visited Nabhigaya and Shivanagara; how he received the darshan of 
Kshirodakashayi Vishnu; how in a grove of mangos he took up the question 
of Shiva Prasada and prayers to Shiva; after this, how he went from 
Kapoteshwara and bathed in the Bhargavi river; How the Lord fainted 
before the Jagannatha deities while having darshan there; his visit to 
the house of Sarvabhauma; How the Lord would go from the house of 
Sarvabhauma, take a position west of the Garuda Stambha, and see the 
deity of Lord Jagannatha; how Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and the Lord 
discussed Vedanta; How Sarvabhauma was converted; How the Lord revealed 
his six-armed form to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya.

From here, the Shesha khanda begins.

The first chapter of the Shesha khanda describes: the Lord's kirtan 
pastimes in which Sarvabhauma took part; the Lord's tour of South India 
and his journey to Setubandha; his mercy on Vasudeva Vipra, the brahmana 
who had leprosy; the Lord's visit to Jiyada-Nrisimha and its ancient 
history; the Lord's meeting with Ramananda Raya on the banks of the 
Godavari; Ramananda's vision of Mahaprabhu's dual feature as Rasaraja 
and Mahabhava; the Lord's visit to Panchavati and Sri Rangam; How he 
bestowed mercy on Trimalla Bhatta; His four month stay in Sri Rangam 
during the period of Chatur Masya; his meeting with Paramananda Puri; 
the prayers by Paramananda Puri to Gaura Bhagavan.

The second chapter of the Shesha khanda describes the following: How the 
Lord continued on his South Indian tour and delivered the seven trees 
that had been standing since the time of Lord Ram; How at Setubandha in 
great ecstasy, the Lord chanted the names of Rama, Lakshman, Sita, and 
Hanuman; how the Lord returned to Alalanatha by way of the Godavari; his 
return to Jagannatha Puri; His visit to Mathura; His meeting with Rupa 
and Sanatana; How with Balabhadra Bhattacharya, he wandered down the 
banks of the Yamuna and through the twelve forests of Vrindavana.

The third and final chapter of the Shesha khanda of Caitanya Mangala 
records: How the Lord returned to Jagannatha Puri; the Lord's trip to 
Gauda-desha; how he passed through in the Rada-desha; how he stopped in 
Kuliya; How everyone in Navadvipa turned out to see the Lord; How they 
prayed for His mercy and he bestowed amnesty on all; How, to satisfy his 
mother's desire, he went to Navadvipa and instructed her on of Krishna- 
bhajan; How the Lord went to Shantipura where he visited Sri Advaita; 
His kirtan there; How the Lord left Shantipura; His return to Jagannatha 
Puri; How he visited the deity of Jagannatha; How he performed kirtana 
day and night; How King Prataparudra attained the Lord's mercy; His 
revelation of the six-armed form to Prataparudra Raja; The Dravidian 
brahmana who came to visit the Lord, how he was fasting for seven days, 
and how he was delivered by the Lord's mercy.

In the Caitanya Mangala, Locana Dasa Thakura mentions the details of 
certain pastimes not revealed by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura. For example, 
Vrindavana Dasa Thakura does not record the conversation that took place 
between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Vishnupriya Devi just before the 
Lord left to take sannyasa. But Locana Dasa Thakura describes this as 
follows: Seeing Mahaprabhu's eagerness to take sannyasa, the moon-faced 
Vishnupriya devi said, with her voice choked in emotion, "Tell me, O 
Prananatha, Lord of my life, and I shall take your order upon my head. 
Will you take sannyasa? I have heard this rumor being circulated among 
the people in general. Hearing this, my heart is broken. If it is true, 
I shall enter into fire. You are the treasure of my life. Your beautiful 
form is always ever fresh and newly youthful. Will you give up 
everything and go away? If am deprived of your association, I might as 
well give up my life by drinking poison."

Hearing the pitiful words of lamentation spoken by Vishnupriya devi, Sri 
Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled a little, and spoke as follows: "Listen, O 
you who are dear as life itself: Please don't be in any anxiety. There 
is no need to worry at all. What I am about to say is for your own 
benefit. Please hear me attentively, with your whole mind. Whatever you 
see in this world is all false; the only truth is Bhagavan and the 
Vaishnavas, without that whatever you see is all illusion. Know this for 
a fact. Sons, wives, husbands, ladies, fathers, mothers, and everything 
else?all these relationships are illusory. They are temporary and 
transitional. In one lifetime we have one set of sons, wives, husbands, 
mothers and fathers, and in our next life this changes. Other than the 
lotus feet of Krishna, we have no real family. Everything else that we 
see as our family is an illusion of maya. What we see as man and woman 
is unreal.

Beneath the surface all souls are spiritual energy; the relationship 
between men and women is an illusory connection of maya. Sri Krishna is 
the real husband of everyone; he is the master. Everything else is 
material, but unfortunately this is not understood by the people in 
general. The souls is embedded in a mixture of semen and blood from 
which it is born into a body composed of stool and urine. In this way 
the soul moves upon this earth in ignorance. From boyhood to youth to 
old age, we suffer different miseries, all the while mistaking the 
housing of this body as our real self. Absorbed in false ego, we make 
friends, maintain attachments, suffering abuse, and are gradually 
cheated by old age. Even hearing the truth, however, still our eyes are 
blind, and while our suffering in the material world brings us to tears, 
we never worship Govinda.

Forsaking Krishna's service, we maintain these bodies in the material 
world of birth and death, trapped in the bondage of maya. Mad with false 
ego we have forgotten our Lord, and so we insure our passage to hell. 
Your name is Vishnupriya, however. Fulfill the real purport of 
Vishnupriya, and do not lament for what is false. Remembering what I 
have said here, cast your worries at a distance, and always think of 
Krishna within your heart, day and night."

Having conveyed all these divine instructions to Vishnupriya devi, the 
Supreme Lord, Sri Gaurasundara revealed to her His four-armed form, thus 
making her understand his absolute position. At that time, he told 
Vishnupriya devi, "You see before you the Supreme Lord, cast your mayik 
lamentation away." At this, Vishnupriya devi became joyful within. Her 
grief and pain vanished, and her heart became blissful upon suddenly 
seeing the Lord's four-armed form.

After hearing the instructions of the Lord and seeing his absolute form, 
Vishnupriya cast off her bewilderment, but her mentality of taking the 
Lord as her husband was intact. At that point, she fell at the feet of 
the Lord and said: "O Lord, please listen to my entreaty. Falling at 
your feet again and again, I implore you to accept my humble submission. 
I am certainly the lowest, having taken birth in this world of samsara; 
but you are my most dear Lord of life. This is my only wealth; without 
you I have nothing. Without your service, I will certainly go down."

Saying this, Vishnupriya devi began loudly weeping, sobbing and sobbing 
again and again in ever-increasing frenzy of sorrow. Seeing the 
affliction of someone so dear, the Lord bestowed his merciful glance 
upon Vishnupriya devi, embracing her with his eyes and so giving her his 
mercy.

At that time, the Lord said, "Listen O Vishnupriya devi, and give close 
attention to my answer to your words. I shall go there and there, but 
wherever I go, I shall still remain at your place: This truth I have 
spoken with great determination."

Upon hearing the order of the Lord, Vishnupriya devi could understand 
that the Lord is supremely independent. At that time she said, "You must 
do what makes you happy. Let no one be an obstacle to your divine 
mission."

Addressing the Lord in this way, Vishnupriya tearfully averted her eyes 
from the Lord's glance and fell silent. Thus went the conversation 
between the Lord and Vishnupriya, which is painful to hear.

This is reported by Locana Dasa.

Locana Dasa Thakura also sings the glories of Sri Gauranga and 
Nityananda in the following beautiful song:

parama karuna pahun dui jana
nitai gaurachandra

saba avatara, sara shiromani
kevala ananda kanda

bhaja bhaja bhai, chaitanya nitai
sudhrida visvasa kori

vishaya chariya se rase majiya
mukha bolo hari hari

dekho ore bhai, tribhuvane nai
emona doyala data

pashu-pakhi jhure, pashana vidore
shuni yar guna gantha

samsare majiya, rahile pariya
se pade nahilo asha

apana koroma, bhunjaye shamana,
kohoye locana dasa

This song was especially dear to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta 
Swami Prabhupada who translates it as follows:

"This is a song by Locana dasa Thakura. Locana dasa declares that the 
two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra?Lord Nitai and Lord Caitanya?are very 
merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific 
significance of these incarnations is that prosecuting their way of 
self-realization is simply joyful, for they introduced chanting and 
dancing. There are many incarnations, like Lord Rama and even Krishna, 
who taught Bhagavad-gita, which requires knowledge and understanding. 
But Lord Caitanya introduced a process which is simply joyful? simply 
chant and dance.

Therefore Locana Das requests everyone: "My dear brother, I request that 
you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and 
faith." Don't think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the 
desired goal. It will. It is the assurance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu 
that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore one must 
chant with firm faith and conviction.

But what is the process? If one wants to be Krishna conscious by this 
process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. That 
is the only restriction. If one gives up sense gratification, it is sure 
that he will reach the desired goal. One simply has to chant "Hari 
Hari!" without any motive of sense gratification.

Locana das says, "My dear brother, you just try and examine this. Within 
the three worlds there is no one like Lord Caitanya or Lord Nityananda, 
because Their merciful qualities are so great that They make even birds 
and beasts cry, what to speak of human beings."

Actually, when Lord Caitanya passed through the forest known as 
Jharikhanda, the tigers, elephants, snakes, deer, and all other animals 
joined Him in chanting Hare Krishna. It is so nice that anyone can join. 
Even the animals can join, what to speak of human beings. Of course, it 
is not possible for ordinary men to induce animals to chant, but if 
Caitanya Mahaprabhu could inspire animals to chant, at least we can 
encourage human beings to adopt this path of Hare Krishna mantra 
chanting. It is so nice that even the most stone-hearted man will be 
melted. It is so nice that even stone will melt.

But Locana dasa Thakura regrets that he is entrapped by sense 
gratification. He addresses himself, "My dear mind, you are entrapped in 
this sense gratification process, and you have no attraction for 
chanting Hare Krishna. Since you have no attraction for the lotus feet 
of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, what can I say? I can simply think 
of my misfortune. Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me 
by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement."

Sri Locana Dasa Thakura was born in Shakabda 1445 and disappeared in 
1540.

Songs by Locan dasa Thakur:

Nitai Guna Mani by Lochan Das Thakur Nitai - the jewel of all good 
qualities

nitai guna-mani amar nitai guna-mani
aniya premer vanya bhasailo avani

premer vanya loiya nitai aila gauda-dese
dubilo bhakata-gana dina hina bhase

dina hina patita pamara nahi bache
brahmar durlabha prema sabakare jace

abaddha karuna-sindhu nitai katiya muhan
ghare ghare bule prema-amiyar ban

locan bole mor nitai jeba na bhajilo
janiya suniya sei atma-ghati hoilo

Translation:

1) My Lord Nityananda, the jewel of all good qualities. My Lord 
Nityananda, the jewel of all good qualities, has brought the flood of 
ecstatic love of God that drowned the entire world.

2) Bringing this overwhelming deluge of prema when he returned to Bengal 
from Jagannatha Puri on Lord Chaitanya's order, Nitai inundated the 
assembly of devotees. The fallen non-devotees did not drown, however, 
but remained floating on that ecstatic ocean.

3) Lord Nityananda freely offered this exalted prema, which is difficult 
for Lord Brahma to attain, even to the fallen and wretched souls who had 
no desire to receive it.

4) The ocean of mercy had formerly been tightly sealed, but Nitai cut a 
channel in it's boundary to allow the great flooding waves of nectarine 
prema to splash from house to house.

5) Lochan Das sings, "Whoever has not worshiped my Nitai or taken 
advantage of this excellent opportunity offered by Him, knowingly 
commits suicide".

Akrodha Paramananda by Lochana Das Thakur

akrodha paramananda nityananda ray
abhimana shunya nitai nagare beday

adhama patita jiver dvare dvare giya
hari-nama maha-mantra deno bilaiya

jare dekhe tare kohe dante trna dhori
amare kiniya loho bhajo gaura-hari

eto boli' nityananda bhume gadi jay
sonara parvata jeno dhulate lotay

heno avatarejar rati na janmilo
locan bole sei papi elo ar gelo

Translation:

The noble Lord Nityananda Ray is never angry, for He is the 
personification of supreme transcendental bliss. Devoid of any concept 
of false ego, Nitai wanders about the town.

Going from door to door in the residences of the most fallen and 
wretched souls, He freely distributes the gift of the Hari-nama maha 
mantra.

He exclaims to whomever he sees while holding straw between his teeth, 
"please purchase me by worshiping GauraHari"!

Saying this, Nityananda Prabhu rolls about on the ground, appearing like 
a golden mountain tumbling in the dust.

Lochan das says, "whoever has not experienced the awakening of affection 
for such an avatar as this, that sinful person simply comes and goes 
uselessly in the cycle of birth and death".

Parama Karuna

Locana Dasa Thakura also sings the glories of Sri Gauranga and 
Nityananda in the following beautiful song:

parama karuna pahun dui jana
nitai gaurachandra

saba avatara, sara shiromani
kevala ananda kanda

bhaja bhaja bhai, chaitanya nitai
sudhrida visvasa kori

vishaya chariya se rase majiya
mukha bolo hari hari

dekho ore bhai, tribhuvane nai
emona doyala data

pashu-pakhi jhure, pashana vidore
shuni yar guna gantha

samsare majiya, rahile pariya
se pade nahilo asha

apana koroma, bhunjaye shamana,
kohoye locana dasa

This song was especially dear to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta 
Swami Prabhupada who translates it as follows:

"This is a song by Locana dasa Thakura. Locana dasa declares that the 
two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra?Lord Nitai and Lord Caitanya?are very 
merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific 
significance of these incarnations is that prosecuting their way of 
self-realization is simply joyful, for they introduced chanting and 
dancing. There are many incarnations, like Lord Rama and even Krishna, 
who taught Bhagavad-gita, which requires knowledge and understanding. 
But Lord Caitanya introduced a process which is simply joyful? simply 
chant and dance.

Therefore Locana Das requests everyone: "My dear brother, I request that 
you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and 
faith." Don't think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the 
desired goal. It will. It is the assurance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu 
that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore one must 
chant with firm faith and conviction.

But what is the process? If one wants to be Krishna conscious by this 
process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. That 
is the only restriction. If one gives up sense gratification, it is sure 
that he will reach the desired goal. One simply has to chant "Hari 
Hari!" without any motive of sense gratification.

Locana das says, "My dear brother, you just try and examine this. Within 
the three worlds there is no one like Lord Caitanya or Lord Nityananda, 
because Their merciful qualities are so great that They make even birds 
and beasts cry, what to speak of human beings."

Actually, when Lord Caitanya passed through the forest known as 
Jharikhanda, the tigers, elephants, snakes, deer, and all other animals 
joined Him in chanting Hare Krishna. It is so nice that anyone can join. 
Even the animals can join, what to speak of human beings. Of course, it 
is not possible for ordinary men to induce animals to chant, but if 
Caitanya Mahaprabhu could inspire animals to chant, at least we can 
encourage human beings to adopt this path of Hare Krishna mantra 
chanting. It is so nice that even the most stone-hearted man will be 
melted. It is so nice that even stone will melt.

But Locana dasa Thakura regrets that he is entrapped by sense 
gratification. He addresses himself, "My dear mind, you are entrapped in 
this sense gratification process, and you have no attraction for 
chanting Hare Krishna. Since you have no attraction for the lotus feet 
of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, what can I say? I can simply think 
of my misfortune. Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me 
by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement."

