Śrī Śrīla Shyām Dās Bābā Mahārāja
There is a long standing argument going on in different quarters of our so-called Vaiṣṇava society, that Hari-Nāma Mahāmantra and Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Nāma both are not one and the same. Śrīla Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura used to chant 3 lakhs of Hari-Nāma daily without any fail throughout his life up to the last day of his life, but at the last moment, while leaving his body, he suddenly spoke out Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Nāma. In fact this was his resolution in front of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, before leaving this material body. This was his absolute appeal in front of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, that at the last moment of his life, while leaving his body he wanted to place the lotus feet of Śrīman Mahāprabhu on his chest together with his full concentration on the lotus face of Śrīman Mahāprabhu followed by the pronunciation of ‘Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’-Nāma on his tongue which was fulfilled by Śrīman Mahāprabhu. So it is very clear that Śrī Hari-Nāma Mahāmantra & Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Nāma— both are one & the same.
This is known to us from Śrīmad Bhagavad-Gītā, that the instruction of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna was like the following, —
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajatyante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6)
[Translation : Whoever passes away, meditating on a particular being or thing at the time of his death, attains or goes forth to that being or thing, because of his constant contemplation on the same. [It may be said, therefore, that the present life of a being is a resultant of the thoughts and ideas of his past life, that were predominant at the time of his death. The case of Mahātmā Bharata is an apt illustration].]
“sādhane sādhibe jāhā, siddhite pāibe tāhā. . . . . . . ”
[Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura]
[Translation : “At the time of sādhana what a sādhaka concentrates upon, surely he is going to attain that bhāva at the time of siddhi”.]
So, as per your opinion, surely the brain of Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura gone out of order, isn’t it ? Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written with full confirmation on the basis of all authentic scriptural analysis that, to worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva (Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva) by the help of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Mantra and to worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the help of Śrī Gaura Mantra— all are the same, no doubt in it. Countless evidences from all different authentic śāstras like Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣads, or Purāṇas like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Viṣṇu Purāṇa, etc. all can prove that, Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva— The Golden Avatāra, Who is none other than Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda in a combined form. Those owlish personalities— they cannot see anything else except blood & flesh. What all absolutely divine līlās done by Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda apparently seems to be very unusual and unauthentic, but be sure that Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya-līlā is the absolutely divine complete interpretation or explanation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-līlā (together with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī).