Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu –The Ocean of Love

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a proponent of the Bhakti movement. He was the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The philosophy of Sri Chaitanya is called achintya-bhedabheda-tattva which is simply described as inconceivable oneness and difference.

- Anup Gupta

The oneness is in quality and the difference is in quantity. He accepted the sentiment of total dependence on Sri Krishna, the path of spontaneous devotional service which establishes that the ‘jiva’ is simultaneously a part of Krishna but also an eternally separate distinct individual. He believed that the ‘jiva’ is eternally connected with Krishna, and the separation is illusory, caused by Maya.

Nimai who was later known as Sri Chaitanya Mahapravu was born in Mayapur of the Nadia district of West Bengal. The ladies of the neighborhood named him Gaur Hari due to his golden complexion and his mother called him Nimai as he was born under a Neem tree. In his eighth year, he was admitted to the tol (school) of Gangadas Pandit in Ganganagar. In two years, he became well-versed in Sanskrit. It appears that he read the Smriti and Nyaya on his own. Nimai was considered as one of the best scholars of Nadia and occupied the renowned seat of Nyaya philosophy and Sanskrit learning at the age of fifteen. At that time he was married to Lakshmi Devi who later died to a snake bite.