*/ Boyhood and Youth The boyhood of Chaitanya was evidently that of a very real boy. From the first there was a charm about him which made him a marked child in the neighbourhood: There is evidence of this in the names, Gaur and Gaurāṅga - he of the fair body - epithets of beauty which, given him in childhood,

*/ The Great Change The great transformation in Chaitanya's life dates from a trip to Gayā, which he undertook about the year 1508 , when 21 or 22 years of age, for the purpose of performing his father's Śrāddha at this celebrated shrine. Gayā had been a Buddhist sacred place for 2,000 years; it was also a Vaishnava tīrtha, or

*/ Absorption in Bhakti There now followed a period quite distinct in Chaitanya’s life, which, although brief, was of untold significance for the Vaishnava faith in Bengal. From this time on, his whole life was centred in the Vaishnava group in Navadvīpa. Absolutely abandoning all scholastic interests and worldly concerns of every sort, he threw himself heart and soul into

*/ Beginnings of the Movement The propagating spirit was strong in the new convert: The kirtan, for instance, became in his hands something more than the fervent worship of a few devotees; his keen spirit realised its possibilities and he made of it an effective means of spreading the contagion of bhakti. The nightly sessions in the courtyard of Śrīvāsa

*/ Opposition and the Final Step In spite of the popular appeal of Chaitanya's revivalism and the success with which it swept large numbers into the Vaishnava ranks in Navadvīpa, there was still a large and influential section of the population untouched: These were the scholars and pandits, the elite of the city. Indeed, the success of the movement drew

*/ CHAPTER 3 The Life of Chaitanya Second Period Chaitanya’s resolve to abandon the life of a householder was carried into effect secretly at K ātw ā , a village not far from Navadvīpa, about the end of the year 1510 , when he was 24 years of age. The sannyāsī who performed the rite of initiation was an ascetic

*/ Farewell to Nadia The effect of Chaitanya's action upon the Vaishnava community at Navadvīpa was overwhelming: So completely had he been the very life and soul of its activities, that his sudden renunciation of all he had held dear in the community came as a terrible blow, prostrating his followers. He was far more than the leader of a

*/ Introduction to Purī On his way through Orissa he visited several shrines sought out by pilgrims, and paid his devotions to the deities sacred in Vaishnava legend, not omitting a Śaivite shrine or two. As they drew near to Purī the sight of the spire of the temple of Jagannāth threw Chaitanya into ecstasies. At sight of Jagannātha’s temple

*/ The Long Pilgrimage After several months spent in Purī, Chaitanya started southward on a journey, ostensibly to search for his brother, but really to visit the shrines of the south. The record of this tour through southern and western India consists largely of descriptions of Chaitanya’s devotions at the various temples visited, and their effect upon the temple crowds.