“Influence of Lord Caitanya’s Appearance in 1486 AD upon Western Civilization”

Posted by Bhakta János, Budapest, 10 March 2010: During the epoche of Humanism beginning in Florence, independently of Lord Caitanya’s appearance, all over Europe thousands of monastaries were built. Central point of such a monastery, the cloisters, where monks would walk in the early morning hours and pray on beads.

Alhambra Cloisters, Grenada, Spain

Chanting of the Holy Name was taught by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as yuga-dharma.

yuga-dharma pravartaimu nama-sankirtana
cari bhava-bhakti diya nacamu bhuvana

“I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age—nama-sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name. I shall make the world dance in ecstasy, realizing the four mellows of loving devotional service.” (Sri Chaitanya Charitamritam Adi-lila 3:19.)

Soon after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu left this world in 1533, this practice of praying on beads within the monasteries all over Europe gradually stopped.

Today we find these monastaries almost all closed or turned into baroque museums.
Monastaries once inhabited with approx. all over Europe, 1 mio monks who worked in agriculture, forestry and social projects.

Today monkhood is more or less abolished in modern Western society.
But did the percentage of people in human society who have in their birth chart a disposition of House 12, Phishes, Neptune, a spiritual birthchart so to speak, did this percentage change?
Actually not. Instead we find these people with no materialistic inclination pushed by the establishment to become derelict, welfare case, down-and-out, nonworker, unemployed.

Prabhupada, Room Conversationwith Indian Ambassador, September 5, 1973, Stockholm: “If people become irreligious in the name of secularism, then they are simply animals. So it is the government’s duty to see that the citizens are not becoming animals. He may profess a type of religion. That doesn’t matter. But he must be religious. That is secular state. Not that secular state means government is callous, “Let the people become cats and dogs, without religion. Government doesn’t care.” That is not good government.”