acintya adbhuta kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vihāra |
citra bhāva, citra guṇa, citra vyavahāra ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.306)
“Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s play is inconceivable and astonishing. Extraordinary is his bhāva, extraordinary are his qualities, and extraordinary is his behavior.”
sei kṛṣṇa sei gopī—parama virodha |
acintya-caritra prabhura—ati sudurbodha ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.304)
“He is Kṛṣṇa, and he is a gopī [i.e., Rādhā]—this is completely contradictory. Prabhu’s character is inconceivable—it is extremely difficult to understand.”
sei kṛṣṇa sei gopī—parama virodha |
acintya-caritra prabhura—ati sudurbodha ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.304)
“He is Kṛṣṇa, and he is a gopī [i.e., Rādhā]—this is completely contradictory. Prabhu’s character is inconceivable—it is extremely difficult to understand.”
jñānaṁ viśuddhaṁ paramārtham ekam
anantaraṁ tv abahir brahma satyam |
pratyak praśāntaṁ bhagavac-chabda-saṁjñaṁ
yad vāsudevaṁ kavayo vadanti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.12.11)
“The wise say that satya [i.e., reality] is completely pure consciousness [i.e., consciousness beyond the guṇas]—the supreme object [i.e., that from which mokṣa and so forth are attained]—singular [i.e., non-dual] and without interior and without exterior [i.e. all-pervading]; [it is known as] Brahman [i.e., the complete and undifferentiated object sought by jñānīs]; [it is known as] that which is [situated] in the interior [of all living beings] and tranquil [i.e., the Paramātmā, sought by yogīs]; [that which is] identified by the term Bhagavān [by bhaktas], and [known to be] Vāsudeva [i.e., is ultimately Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vāsudeva.”
ithe tarka kari keho nā kara saṁśaya |
kṛṣṇera acintya-śakti ei-mata haya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.305)
“No one should engage in argument and foster doubt in this regard. Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable śakti is like this.”
acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet |
prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṁ yac ca tad acintyasya lakṣaṇam ||
(Mahābhārata: 6.5.12, 12.5.22; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.93; Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.111; Tattva Sandarbha: 11, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.17.308)
“Do not assess inconceivable states of being (bhāvas) with argumentation; that which is beyond the [material] elements is the characteristic of the inconceivable.”
