Flowers of Devotion   Spanning the cusp between the 15th and
16th centuries, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught and exemplified
complete absorption in divine love through the chanting of the
names of God. Mahāprabhu propagated a spiritual discipline that
carries the guided practitioner through clearly demarcated
stages, beginning with a tentative interest (adau śraddhā) and
culminating in an extraordinary exultation of ecstatic spiritual
emotions (prema). Mahāprabhu succinctly conveyed this whole
adventure in a sequence of eight instructive verses
(Śikṣāṣṭaka).  The first of these verses is, in essence, a
promise by the author: when the chanting of the name of Kṛṣṇa is
fully accomplished, all anomalies and impediments being weeded
out (vijayate śri-kṛṣṇa-saṁkīrtanam), the chanter will have
experienced seven benedictions or blessings. The aspirant should
therefore have faith (śraddhā) in this promise—a guarantee,
really. . . .  Mahāprabhu proclaims: “Let there be all victory,”
vijayate, for śri-kṛṣṇa-saṁkīrtanam,