By Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi
The Mayavadi sannyasis asked, “You belong to our Sankara-sampradaya and live in our village, Benares. Why then do You not associate with us? . . . You look as brilliant as if You were Narayana Himself. Will You kindly explain why You have adopted the behavior of lower-class people?” Mayavadis address each other as “Narayana” because they think they are all going to become Narayan a or merge into the energy of Narayana when they reach perfection. Seeing Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s gorgeous effulgence, they were astonished. Perhaps He had achieved their desired goal. They could not appreciate that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana was in front of them. Lord Caitanya replied, “My spiritual master considered Me a fool. He told Me I am not qualified to study. He said to just chant Hare Krishna, which is the essence of the Vedas. He told me that simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.”