Month: August 2021

pīta: the color of Śrī Caitanya

As we saw in a previous post, Śrī Viśvanātha does considerable work in trying to establish the need for an explanation for the pīta or yellow colored avatāra mentioned by Gargācārya in the tenth canto of the Bhāgavata, and the discrepancy with the color śyāma mentioned in the […]

The guru cannot take anyone’s karma

A surprisingly common misconception among modern adherents of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism is that the guru ‘takes’ one’s karma. At the time of initiation, the guru is imagined to take on all karma of the disciple, akin to how Jesus takes the sins of his followers. From thereon, the guru […]