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XXXII Some Companions of Caitanya
393 that love of Krsna will gradually dawn in him. A true Vaişnava should give up the company of women and of all those who are not attached to Krsna. He should also give up caste duties and āśrama-duties and cling to Krsna in a helpless manner. To cling to Krsna and to give oneself up to Him is the supreme duty of a Vaisnava. Love of Krsna is innate in a man's heart, and it is manifested under encouraging conditions. Love for God is a manifestation of the hlādini power of God, and by virtue of the fact that it forms a constituent of the individual soul, God's attraction of individual souls towards Him is a fundamental fact of human life; it may remain dormant for a while, but it is bound to wake under suitable conditions.
The individual souls share both the hlādini and the samvit sakti of God, and the māyā-sakti typified in matter. Standing between these two groups of power, the individual souls are called the tațastha-sakti. A soul is impelled on one side by material forces and attractions, and urged upwards by the hladini-sakti of God. A man must therefore adopt such a course that the force of material attractions and desires may gradually wane, so that he may be pulled forward by the hladini-sakti of God.
Some Companions of Caitanya. A great favourite of Caitanya was Nityānanda. The exact date of his birth and death is difficult to ascertain, but he seems to have been some years older than Caitanya. He was a Brahmin by caste, but became an avadhūta and had no caste-distinctions. He was a messenger of Caitanya, preaching the Vaisnava religion in Bengal during Caitanya's absence at Purī; he is said to have converted to Vaisnavism many Buddhists and low-caste Hindus of Bengal. At a rather advanced stage of life, Nityānanda broke the vow of asceticism and married the two daughters of Sūrjadās Sarkhel, brother of Gaurdāsa Sarkhel of Kalna; the two wives were Vasudhā and Jāhnavi. Nityānanda's son Vīrachand, also known as Virabhadra, became a prominent figure in the subsequent period of Vaişnava history.
Pratāparudra was the son of Puruşottamadeva, who had ascended his throne in 1478, and himself ascended the throne in 1503. He was very learned and took pleasure in literary disputes.
