Sri Advaita Acharya was the gem amongst the associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, having appeared on earth 50 years before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Born in 1434 in Nabagram, Bengal, Sri Advaita Acharya was the son of Sri Kubera Pandit and Srimati Nabha Devi.
His Identity
Sri Advaita Acharya is considered the avatar of Sadashiv, the original shiva of the spiritual world, and Maha Vishnu, the Purusha of universal creation.
Sri Advaita Acharya was a disciple of Srila Madhavendra Puri, and he is one of the Panchatattva- Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhar pandit, and Srivas Pandit.
Sri Advaita Acharya had two wives, Sri and Sita. Simata Sita Devi was the form of divine Yogmaya, and Sri was her Prakash expansion. One of his sons, Achyutananda, is described in The Caitanya-Caritamitra as the incarnation of Karttikeya, the son of Lord Shiva.
Advaita Acharya Causes Lord Krishna’s Descent
Sri Advaita Acharya was an ideal devotee who used to worship Salagram sila at home with Ganges water and Tulasi leaves intending to bring about Lord Krishna’s descent, as he was so distressed to see the degraded condition of the people in Kali-yuga. He concluded that only Lord Krishna could liberate these souls from their sufferings. So he continuously offered Lord Krishna with the palm of water and tulsi and prayed to bestow his mercy on fallen souls.
He appealed to Lord Krishna to appear again on earth, and because of his loud cries, Mahaprabhu did indeed descend to reclaim the fallen as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Mahaprabhu was born, Sri Advaita Acharya, in a very pleasing mood, started singing and dancing at his house in Shantipur. Everyone saw him and Haridas Thakura dancing in ecstasy but could not get the confidential reason behind it. Taking advantage of the Lunar eclipse, he took a bath in the Ganges and mentally offered many charities to the Brahmans. He considered himself a servant of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
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His Glories Preaching Fest
The glories of Sri Advaita Acharya are limitless; he liberated the universe by preaching sankirtan.
Before the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, all the Vaishnavas devotees used to gather in his house, and Advaita Acharya used to preach the teachings of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam. In the house of Advaita Acharya, many devotees used to feel delighted in listening to pastimes of Krishna, chanting the holy names, and worshiping Krishna.
The Exalted Position of Advait Acharya
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu glorified Advaita Acharya and described that Advaita Acharya is God reincarnated himself. There is none equal to him in Krishna’s devotion, nor the knowledge of the scriptures; by his mercy, many fallen souls become true devotees of Krishna.
Sachi Devi Is Freed From His Offence
During the MahaPrakash Lila at Srivas’s aangan, Lord Chaitanya refused to bestow his mercy on Saci Devi as everyone else was getting Lord’s mercy because Saci Devi once offended Sri Advaita Acharya. When Mahaprabhu’s elder brother took sannayasa he attended Advaita Prabhu Geeta classes, so Saci Devi held him responsible for her son leaving the house. Later, when she discovered that Sri Advaita is so closely associated with Mahaprabhu, she felt guilty and asked for forgiveness before she was allowed to get Mahaprabhu’s mercy. Hence, Lord Caitanya proved that even his mother couldn’t be excused for offenses she had committed against the Vaishnavas. This history bears witness to how dearly Lord Caitanya was attached to Sri Advaita.
Installation of Sri Madan Mohan’s Deity
Sri Advaita Acharya traveled to Gaya to perform the last rites of his father; from there, he went to Vrindavan and rediscovered the ancient Deity of Sri Madana Mohan, which was originally established by Krishna’s great-grandson Vajranbha, and was lost with time. Sri Advaita Acharya reestablished the worship of Madan Mohan Ji Vrindavan.
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Take Away From His Life And Teachings
Sri Advaita Acharya manifested his transcendental pastimes for about 125 years and disappeared around 1559 AD after the advent of Lord Chaitanya. We offer our obeisances to the great spiritual master and pray that his teachings and preachings remain forever imprinted in our hearts. The glory and attributes of Advaita Acharya are unlimited; he thinks of himself as the servant of Lord Chaitanya and considers Lord Chaitanya as his master. Moreover, he taught all the living beings that we are the servants of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and should always indulge in chanting and glorifying the Lord through sankirtan to liberate our souls. He gave humanity the gift of Krishna Bhakti through his preachings. He taught all devotees the teachings of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam. His teachings and lessons will always remain in our hearts and will eternally be remebered as the one who brought us close to our Lord Krishna.
