A global online gathering of ISKCON leaders and devotees presenting results of the 2025–2026 “Live to Give” book distribution campaign, centered on spreading Bhagavad Gita As It Is worldwide in the spirit of Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

After opening chants and greetings, regional representatives shared reports:

Africa: 10 countries participated, distributing 15,189 Bhagavad Gitas, showing strong growth and inspiration across the continent.

Continental Europe: A total of 37,485 Gitas, led by France (10,121), German-speaking countries (8,750), Hungary (4,230), Italy (2,500), and Benelux (3,670).

Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg): Innovative strategies, women’s sankirtan breakthroughs, seminars, and use of older titles resulted in 3,670 Gitas.

London (UK): A major highlight—ISKCON London smashed its goal, distributing over 30,000 Gitas, emphasizing community spirit and enthusiasm.

Russia: Over 10,000 Gitas distributed across 20+ temples, helped by increased public interest.

Latin America: Growth driven by affordable editions and creative sponsorship strategies, with strong momentum across Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions.

Canada: Record-breaking 26,662 Gitas, despite harsh weather, expanding to 29 centers and innovative outreach locations.

USA: A massive effort from 58 communities, distributing over 224,000 Gitas, with notable growth in remittances, youth involvement, and Arabic/Farsi distribution.

Madhya Pradesh (India region): Extensive grassroots innovations led to 60,251 Gitas, supporting distribution across India and neighboring regions.

India (nationwide): Reports from 163+ centers showed over 6.3 million total books and over 4.5 million Bhagavad Gitas, exceeding previous years significantly.

The global consolidated report revealed that the campaign surpassed the long-sought milestone of 5 million Bhagavad Gitas worldwide, reaching approximately 5.08 million, a year earlier than expected. Leaders emphasized courage (“Be Brave”), innovation, cooperation, and faith in Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.

The event concluded with gratitude, encouragement, and inspiration for upcoming campaigns, highlighting that collective effort—across cultures, climates, and conditions—made this historic achievement possible.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117228

Gauranga Dās, a Governing Body Commission (GBC) member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Director of Govardhan EcoVillage, has been appointed as a United Nations Representative to the AWWG at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The AWWG, or Alliance of NGOs on Water and Sanitation for All, is a UN-associated working group that brings together civil society organizations to contribute expertise and advocacy on sustainable water, sanitation, and development-related issues aligned with the UN’s global agenda.

In a social media post, Gauranga Dās described the appointment as both an honor and a responsibility, expressing his intention to actively contribute to global dialogue and policy engagement. “In this role, I look forward to contributing meaningfully to global dialogue, policy advocacy, and multi-stakeholder collaboration aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” he said, highlighting a particular focus on sustainable development, inclusive growth, and international cooperation.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-leader-takes-on-un-role-supporting-sustainable-development-goals/

On the festival of Nityānanda Trayodasi, the Governing Body Commission (GBC) Chairman, Govardhan Dasa, delivered his 2025 annual report ahead of the 2026 ISKCON Annual General Meeting. In the video presentation, he offered an overview of the society’s priorities, achievements, and ongoing challenges.

He opened by reaffirming the GBC’s commitment to building a caring and responsible global ISKCON community where all devotees—youth, elders, and families—are valued and protected. A key highlight was the announcement of the first-ever world online Maha Istagosthi, designed to invite live questions and participation from devotees worldwide as part of the AGM agenda, reflecting a drive toward greater transparency and communication. More details are forthcoming; devotees are invited to save the date: February 8, 2026, 4 PM IST. The report emphasized enhancing connectivity with the international ISKCON community and fortifying the movement’s foundations as Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual inheritance.

For the full video report, click here.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/gbc-chairman-releases-annual-report-ahead-of-agm/

Our false ego prevents us from looking at our own faults. It makes it difficult for us to acknowledge our faults and therefore, instead of being introspective, we see those faults in others. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, “Because I am myself honeycombed with faults, I see the faults of others”.

If you spot it, you have got it

In the realm of psychology it is said that if something about someone really bothers you, it’s usually because you have that fault. Of course, we usually don’t accept or acknowledge this. This is a powerful way to understand ourselves better.

Say “Thank you!”
One executive coach that works with very successful people teaches them to be open to feedback. He says that they when receiving feedback they must not use the words, “But”, “No”, and “However.” They should just say “Thank you!”

Devotee versus Demon

Advanced vaisnavas acknowledge their dark side, or faults, whereas demons tend to overlook or minimize their own faults.

Humility means reality, the reality of our own lacks and failings. Pride blinds us to this. The more a devotee advances, the more he feels unqualified to serve Krsna. He never becomes proud of his achievements.

How can I not see faults?

Intelligent persons usually recognize if “a preacher is proud” or “a temple is mismanaged” and so on. How does a devotee see the bad? We always have the option to choose our attitude – we can either criticize or we can choose to improve the situation. If we find ourselves faultfinding, we should remember “if we spot it, we have got it.”

Suppression takes vital energy away from you.

Faultfinding can be somewhat innocent, like when you are simply disturbed by what someone does and make a comment about it. But it can also be the result of envy or jealousy, as when we are jealous of the success of another and want to bring that person down by belittling him. This can happen when we cannot tolerate the success of another person we dislike.

If I find a fault with you, and it helps me avoid dealing my own faults, then I get some perverted pleasure. But even though I don’t admit my faults, they still affect me. Often time we must put out tremendous energy to ignore them or to camouflage them from others.

Valuable gems

If someone is pointing out a fault in you, they are giving you a valuable jewel. If you do not accept feedback with a positive outlook, you are throwing away this gem. Someone who criticizes you is actually your friend and someone who praises you is your enemy.

It is the duty of a guru to make you aware of your faults.

Don’t abandon your vaisnava behavior

Even a devotee is wrongly accused; he accepts it as Krsna’s arrangement in his life. Also, when we are sympathetic to the accuser, it takes a lot of the negativity away from the situation. If we are humble, it touches the heart of the other person and their attitude will change.

Whatever difficulties we encounter, at least we should not abandon our vaisnava behavior and qualities.

When we talk about sankirtana, we are, of course, talking about the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, specifically in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. For many people, this is the first way they come in contact with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and with Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement, by hearing the devotees chanting the holy names. But what is it about this process that makes it so effective, and so important in the way people are first exposed to it?
To answer this, we find specific evidence in the works of Jiva Goswami who explains it a most insightful way.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SANKIRTANA IN KALI-YUGA

First of all, we find information about the importance of sankirtana for this age of Kali-yuga. In his Sri Krishna-sandarbha, Anuccheda 82, Jiva Goswami explains: “Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His holy names, qualities, and pastimes are sublime and unequaled. That no other holy name of the Lord is equal to the name of Krishna is confirmed in the following verse from the Sri Krsnastottara-shata-nama-stotra, found in the Brahmanda Purana: ‘By chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna only once, one achieves the same purifying effect obtained by chanting other names of the Supreme Lord three thousand times.’”
Then, continuing in his Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, we find important additional information which clarifies things even further. Starting at Anuccheda 270, he explains how and why kirtana is the recommended process for Kali-yuga:
“This devotion to the Lord in the form of kirtana is unlimitedly merciful to devotees who are humble and devoid of the pride associated with wealth, prestigious birth, admirable qualifications and praiseworthy accomplishments. This is understood from the Vedas and the Puranas. As stated in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana:
“‘Therefore in Kali-yuga, activities such as penance, yoga, study of the Vedas and sacrifices, cannot be properly performed, even by those who are highly competent.’
“Therefore sankirtana, appearing amidst the people of Kali-yuga, who are naturally meek, easily confers upon them all the results derived from the practices prominent in other yugas and thus makes them perfect. For this reason, the Lord is especially pleased in Kali-yuga only by sankirtana, as stated in the Caturmasya-mahatmya of the Skanda Purana: ‘In this world, singing about Lord Hari is the best penance. In Kali-yuga especially, one should perform kirtana for the pleasure of Lord Vishnu.’
“The same point is made by sage Sukadeva: ‘What is attained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Lord Vishnu, and in Treta-yuga by propitiating Him with elaborate sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by worship of the deity, is attained in Kali-yuga by singing about Lord Hari’ (Bhagavatam 12.3.52)
“Also, ‘Whatever one achieves in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Treta-yuga by the performance of sacrifices [rituals], and in Dvapara-yuga by worship of the deity, is attained in Kali-yuga by singing about Lord Keshava.’” (Vishnu Purana 6.2.17)
Furthermore, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.36-37) says: “Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age, all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana. Indeed, there is no higher possible gain for embodied souls forced to wander throughout the material world than the Supreme Lord’s sankirtana movement, by which one can attain the supreme peace and free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death.”
So, in many ways, the Lord is so merciful that since this is the worst age, the Lord has given us the easiest way to be delivered from this situation of the repeated cycles of birth and death. In whatever other method of spiritual development that is possible, in Kali-yuga a person can attain whatever is necessary by the process of sankirtana. It cannot get much easier than that.
Jiva Goswami continues to elaborate on the above verse, “… supreme peace means that one attains the pinnacle of fixity in the Lord, which is unattainable even by meditation and other methods, and as a concomitant result, one’s material bondage is also destroyed. Thus, even the people of Satya-yuga, who were established in meditation, could not attain such fixity in the Lord.
“In the Skanda Purana it is said: ‘In Kali-yuga great devotees always perform kirtana.’ In other yugas, the Lord, who bestows special grace only upon the meek, did not reveal the process, or the glory, of kirtana, which is the cause of such fixity in Him. According to the above statement from the Skanda Purana, the reason why the Lord did not promulgate kirtana in other yugas is because the people of those times had the ability to follow the processes recommended for their respective ages. Consequently, the people of those ages, who were fit for meditation and other practices, would not have considered the mere movement of the tongue and lips as much of a spiritual practice, and thus they would not have faith in kirtana.”
This is the benefit of Kali-yuga. The processes that take years to develop in other ages can be quickly accomplished in a short life in Kali-yuga. For this reason, as related in the Bhagavatam (11.5.38), “The inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly desire to take birth in this age of Kali, since in this age there will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord.” This also indicates that there will be the process of sankirtana that will be popular amongst those devotees, which is all that makes the age of Kali-yuga attractive.
Therefore, as it is said in the Skanda Purana, the Vaisakha-mahatmya of the Padma Purana, and the Vishnu-dharma, “At all times and in every place one should sing the names of the Lord, the wielder of the disc.” And in the Skanda Purana again, “the chanting of the holy names is not dependent upon any particular place, time, condition or purity of the heart. Rather, it is fully independent and awards the result desired by the aspirant.” And again in the Vishnu-dharma, “For one in whose heart Lord Govinda is situated, the age of Kali is Satya-yuga, and for one in whose heart Lord Achyuta is not present, the age of Satya is Kali-yuga.”

THE SUPERIORITY OF KIRTANA

Going back to Jiva Goswami’s Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Anuccheda 273, he explains how kirtana is the superior process for all. “In the Vishnu Purana it is said: ‘By fixing the mind on Krishna, one does not go to hell. Those who have fixed their hearts and minds on Krishna consider even the pleasure of heaven as an obstacle to meditation on Him. Then, even Satya-loka, the planet of Brahma, appears insignificant. It is no wonder then that the sins of those who sing the names of Lord Achyuta are destroyed, because the imperishable Lord, becoming situated in the hearts of those who are pure in mind, grants them liberation.’ (Vishnu Purana 6.8.55)
“This verse of the Vishnu Purana shows by the kaimutya principle the superiority of kirtana over remembrance of Krishna, which continues even in the state of trance.
“Therefore, it was said earlier: ‘O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, and also those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, as well as those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.’ (Bhagavatam 2.1.11)
“And in the Vaishnava chintamani, ‘The remembrance of Lord Vishnu, which destroys sin, is attained through tremendous effort. Therefore, singing is superior to remembrance because it is accomplished merely by moving the lips.’
“The superiority of kirtana is shown elsewhere also: ‘O descendant of Bharata, the names of Lord Hari are always present on the tongue of one who has properly worshiped Lord Vasudeva for hundreds of previous lives.’
“The preeminence of kirtana is also understood from the Namaparadha-bhanjana-stotra, already cited in Anuccheda 265, which states that the holy name delivers one even from offences to Lord Hari.
“Thus, in all yugas, singing the Lord’s name has the same power. Nonetheless, in Kali-yuga, the Lord personally advocates the method of kirtana out of His grace, and for this reason kirtana has been specifically praised in scripture for the age of Kali. So, if one performs any other type of bhakti in Kali-yuga, it should be accompanied by kirtana, for it is said (Bhagavatam 11.5.32): ‘In the age of Kali-yuga, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.”
In Anuccheda 265, Jiva Goswami explains that “After the glorification of the Bhagavata Purana, Sri Suka begins the narration. From the very outset, although there are many limbs of devotion, he instructs the king that singing the Lord’s names is the chief of all methods for attaining perfection. Furthermore, he informs the king that such singing of the Lord’s names is also the supreme goal for all.
“O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, and also those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, as well as those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.” (Bhagavatam 2.1.11)
[The great commentator on the Bhagavatam] “Sridhara Swami comments: ‘There is no method more beneficial than singing the Lord’s names, both for practitioners and for those who have already attained perfection. Sri Suka speaks this verse just to make this clear. For those desiring material enjoyment, singing the Lord’s names is the very means by which their desires can be fulfilled. For those who seek liberation, this alone is the means of salvation. And for those who seek knowledge of the Absolute, this also has been determined as the goal. By saying that this has already been concluded, it indicates that there is no need for further evidence in this regard.’
Then Narada Muni describes his own experience after being instructed by the Lord, and just before leaving his material body to be transferred to a spiritual body, “Thus I began chanting the holy name and fame of the Lord by repeated recitation, ignoring all the formalities of the material world. Such chanting and remembering of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are benedictory. So doing, I traveled all over the earth, fully satisfied, humble and unenvious.” (Bhagavatam 1.6.26)
This is the power of the process of chanting and singing about the glories of the Lord, which is attained only after many lifetimes of spiritual pursuits, or by the rare blessing of a pure devotee. Nonetheless, it is also recommended to avoid the ten offenses to the holy name if a person wants to make rapid progress.

SPEAKING ABOUT THE LORD IS REALITY

Also, simply remembering Krishna is itself the epitome of yoga, as Lord Krishna says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.13.14). Therefore, anything that helps us remember Krishna, whether singing, chanting, or reciting and reading about Him, puts us in touch with Him as the Supreme Reality.
In this connection, in Anuccheda 269 of Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami explains how speaking about the Lord is real, by quoting the verses from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.12.49-50): “Words that do not describe the transcendental Personality of Godhead but instead deal with temporary matters are simply false and useless. Only those words that manifest the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord are actually truthful, auspicious and pious. Those words describing the glories of the all-famous Personality of Godhead are attractive, relishable and ever fresh. Indeed, such words are a perpetual festival for the mind, and they dry up the ocean of misery.”
“The word asatih here means false, and asatam, extracted from the compound asat-katha, refers to speech about people other than the Lord and His devotees. These adjectives describe speech that is unrelated to the Lord. On the other hand, that speech in which the fame of the glorious Lord is sung is alone real and endowed with the other virtues mentioned in these two verses. This refers specifically to recitations of the Lord’s pastimes. And why is this speech true and auspicious? In answer to this, Suta says that this speech causes the Lord’s qualities to be revealed in the heart of the speaker. This means that such discussions generate love for the Lord.”

HOW SANKIRTANA EFFECTS OTHERS BY AROUSING LOVE

Now we are starting to approach the unique view that I want to highlight in Jiva Goswami’s explanation of how and why sankirtana is so potent. It is because it invokes and inspires the love that all conditioned souls are continually looking for. No matter what a person does, it is done for expressing or seeking love. But that love outside the connection with the Supreme Person is only a reflection of the real love for which the soul is always seeking. And that real love, which is spiritual, is often first experienced to some degree by someone who hears the transcendental sound of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
The sound of the holy names enters the ears, and then passes through the mind, which may interpret it as being attractive. But the vibration goes deeper through the intelligence until it reaches the soul, which then reverberates the sound because of the love that is invoked in the soul. It is that love, or even the reflection of it, that captures the soul. The soul wants to dive more deeply into this feeling and then focuses on the chanting and singing of the holy names. This is more than merely playing the mridunga drums in a traditional or attractive way, which may indeed attract some people. It is more than singing the traditional melodies. But it is the love for Lord Krishna which the kirtan leaders inject into the vibration of the holy names which inspires the listeners to want to become part of the kirtana. Even Srila Prabhupada once explained in a lecture (Bg. 7.1, in LA, Dec. 2, 1968) that in leading a kirtana, our first business is to please Krishna. Then we give the crowd Krishna, which will then please the participants.
This reflects on the fact that if there is a universal language, it is music. Music can capture moods, attitudes, longings, and inspirations even when the language of the words are not fully understood. And when the language is the transcendental, spiritual vibrations of the Lord’s holy names, qualities and characteristics, a person can feel like they are coming home, or have even arrived at what they have been searching for over many lifetimes, which is the divine love in connection with Lord Krishna.
This is also why it is important that the kirtana leaders use a melody which is easy to follow, in which people can easily join in and participate. That is the key–they become participants in this form of devotional service. For many, it may be the first act of devotional service to the Lord that they have ever performed. And if they can join in, then they get the added benefit of not merely listening, but in participating in the sankirtana. Otherwise, if the melody is complicated or difficult to follow, then the audience may simply stand or sit there and become mere observers, and cannot easily participate in singing along. Listening is also greatly beneficial, but participating in the kirtana is even better. Plus, the more people who join in the singing, the more powerful it becomes.
It is like the explanation of the difference between the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. The Vishnu Purana often contains the same stories, even elaborations of details not found in the Bhagavatam. But it is said that the Vishnu Purana is described from the point of view as a reporter telling the stories. But the Bhagavata Purana is sweeter because it tells the stories from the view of a participant, someone who is actively involved in the events that are being described. So, it is much more intimate and endearing.
As described by Jiva Goswami in Anuccheda 266, “When the beauty of Lord Krishna’s form is glorified, it creates an attraction for the speech of the poets who sing the glories of the Lord’s form.
“Therefore, the four Kumaras also prayed: ‘O Lord, we pray that You let us be born in any hellish condition of life, just as long as our hearts and minds are always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet, our words are made beautiful [by speaking of Your activities] just as tulasi leaves are beautified when offered unto Your lotus feet, and as long as our ears are always filled with the chanting of Your transcendental qualities.’” (Bhagavatam 3.15.49)
In this way, the more love there is in the descriptions of the glories of the Lord, the more it attracts the listeners who then can feel that love. The extent of the feeling of love for the Lord is expressed in the verse from the Bhagavatam (11.2.40), “By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.”
Furthermore, in Anuccheda 264, Jiva Goswami says that the effect of chanting or singing the Lord’s names also grants one direct experience of the Lord’s attributes. Through this process, it opens the channels for direct experience and realization.

SANKIRTANA INVOKES THE LORD’S ATTRACTION FOR THE DEVOTEES

The other aspect of how sankirtana invokes love, is that singing and chanting about the Lord attracts the Lord Himself. As Jiva Goswami continues to explain in Anuccheda 269: “In the Skanda Purana it is said ’O King, Lord Hari goes wherever stories about Him and His devotees are sung, just as a cow follows her calf out of great affection.’
“In the Vishnu-dharma and in the Skanda Purana the Lord says: ‘I never abandon a person who always narrates my stories, one who is intent on hearing them, or one whose mind is captivated by My stories.’
“The verb anugiyate, meaning ‘is repeatedly sung,’ in the above verse from the Bhagavatam (12.12.50) implies that if one has a melodious voice, he or she should sing the pastimes of the Lord. This implies that singing the pastimes of the Lord is superior to simple hearing and recitation. The same is true about singing about the holy names, forms and qualities of the Lord.”
In Anuccheda 262, we find “The chanting of the holy name of Lord Vishnu is the best process of atonement for a thief of gold or other valuables, for a drunkard, for one who betrays a friend or relative, for one who kills a brahmana, etc… Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Vishnu, such sinful persons may attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, ‘Because this person has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection.’ (Bhagavatam 6.2.10)
“Sridhara Swami comments: ‘This alone is the best form of atonement. The reason for this is that when a person chants God’s names, it attracts the attention of Lord Vishnu, who thinks, ‘This person belongs to Me, and as such, I should protect him.’
“Therefore, because the Lord’s name is part of His constitutional nature, it naturally impels Him to become absorbed in love for His devotees, who chant His names. As such, hearing even a part of the Lord’s names induces love in the great devotees of the Lord.”
In Anuccheda 268, Jiva Goswami uses the verse from the Bhagavatam (2.8.4) to explain that the Lord becomes so attracted to the devotee that He enters their heart. “Persons who hear [and recite the activities of the Lord as in] Srimad-Bhagavatam regularly and are always taking the matter very seriously will have the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna manifested in their hearts within a short time.”
“The adverbial phrase nati-dirghena kalena, qualifying the verb ‘enters,’ means that the Lord enters the devotee’s heart without delay. The verb vishate, meaning ‘He enters,’ means that the Lord directly appears in the devotee’s heart.”
In this way, as the devotee becomes qualified for the Lord to enter his or her heart, so does the recitation or the singing of the holy names as in sankirtana become all the more potent and attractive. It is the love within the heart of the devotee that makes the sankirtana such a beautiful experience for those who hear it. The more love that is there, the more the Lord directly manifests within, and the more the listeners become enlivened by that spiritual vibration.

THE LOVE FOR KRISHNA FOUND IN SANKIRTANA IS THE ETERNAL RESULT OF ALL SPIRITUAL PURSUITS

In Jiva Goswami’s Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Anuccheda 267 we find the verse from the Bhagavatam (1.5.22) that explains how all spiritual pursuits reach their zenith in bringing us to engage in reading, chanting and singing the holy names and characteristics of the Supreme Being: “Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.”
“The word srutam means study of the Vedas; svishtam, sacrifices; suktam, recitation of mantras; buddham, scriptural knowledge; and dattam means gifts given in charity. When all of such acts are offered exclusively to the Lord, they bear eternal fruit. And what is that eternal fruit? Being able to engage in regular recitation of the virtues of the glorious Lord.
“Even after attaining the supreme goal in the form of recitation of the Lord’s qualities out of love, one experiences ever-fresh delight in continuing to describe those qualities. It is for this reason that the adjective avichyuta has been used, which means that this result does not come to an end. Thus, the adjective avichyuta, ‘eternal [fruit]’ indicates that love for the Lord is the actual fruit of the recitation of His virtues.”

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91181
 

Śrī Ekacakrā-dhāma at Your Fingertips

A New Digital Initiative Explores the Holy Places of Lord Nityānanda

Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed, “If you are actually serious about
going back to home, back to Godhead, then please seek after the
mercy of Nityānanda.” Inspired by this instruction, the Mayapur
Master Plan Office is delighted to introduce the 

Virtual Pilgrimage

 to Ekacakrā Dhāma, the sacred birthplace of Lord Nityānanda.
This initiative allows devotees around the world to explore holy
places, offer prayers and connect with the boundless mercy of Lord
Nityānanda at their own time and pace, throughout the year.

Discover the Holy Places of Ekacakrā-dhāma

“The ocean of mercy, the giver of devotional service, and the
shelter of all Vaiṣṇavas, Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, appeared in
Rāḍha-deśa. At the time of Nityānanda’s appearance, all the demigods
secretly showered flowers and chanted, “Jaya! Jaya!” From that day
on, the land of Rāḍha began to prosper and signs of auspiciousness
became visible”

(Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa 2.40-2.42).

Our goal is to serve all pilgrims as honored guests of Sri Nityānanda
Prabhu, ensuring a spiritually enriching and meaningful pilgrimage
experience while exploring the holy places of Śrī Ekacakra-dhāma.

Key Features of the Virtual Pilgrimage

• Darśan of Divine Deities – Experience the spiritual energy of each
  sacred site.
• Scriptural Narratives – Immerse in the pastimes of these places
  through Vaiṣṇava texts, including Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, Śrī
  Caitanya-bhāgavata, and Vaiṣṇava Bhajans.
• Srila Prabhupada Audio – Listen to Srila Prabhupada’s voice guiding
  and inspiring you through a dedicated “Srila Prabhupada Audio” icon.
• Multilingual Support – Explore the pilgrimage in your preferred
  language with Google-translated texts.
• Virtual Tour Guide – Navigate effortlessly with Google-integrated
  maps.
• Mobile-Friendly Website – Enjoy a seamless experience on any device.

Prominent Holy Places Included

• Garbhavāsa (Birthplace of Lord Nityānanda): The sacred site where
  Lord Nityānanda Prabhu appeared in this world.
• Baṅkima Rāya Temple: According to temple priests, Lord Nityānanda
  Prabhu entered within the body of Baṅkima Rāya.
• ISKCON Ekacakra: A vibrant spiritual center dedicated to preserving
  and spreading the glories of Lord Nityānanda.
• Hāṇṭugāḍā: It is believed that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu brought all
  the holy places there.
• Kadamba-khaṇḍī Ghat: The Deity of Baṅkima Rāya was said to have been
  found floating in the water, and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu personally
  picked Him up and installed Him in the temple.
• Pāṇḍavā Tala: The site where the five Pāṇḍavas and Draupadī stayed
  while living incognito during their exile.
• Bakulatalā: A place where Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and His boyfriends
  used to take part in sporting activities known as jhāla-jhapeṭā.
• Padmāvatī Pond: A sacred pond named after Lord Nityānanda Prabhu’s
  mother, Padmāvatī Devī.
  
  Read more: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117204

Lord Nityananda is considered to be the most merciful manifestation of the most merciful incarnation of the Lord. The most merciful incarnation is Lord Chaitanya and he manifested his mercy most exuberantly through Lord Nityananda. Though these two transcendental brothers are non-different, still one takes on the mood of the servant of the other – Lord Nityananda considers service to Lord Chaitanya the supreme treasure of his life, indeed, the very purpose of his life.

In his service to Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda manifested his mercy through many extraordinary incidents. The most celebrated among them is his deliverance of Jagai and Madhai.

To understand the distinctiveness, in fact, the uniqueness, of this merciful accomplishment, let’s analyze it on three counts:

1. Magnitude: The sheer magnitude of the mercy was mind-boggling, even for Yamaraja. To have two people whose sins were so numerous, even mountainous, as to be impossible to even keep track of, being freed from all their sins in one moment of mercy was so astonishing, so historical, so utterly unprecedented that, as the Chaitanya Bhagavata mentions, Yamaraja on coming to know about it fainted in sheer ecstasy.

2. Motivation: At one level, the motivation of the Lord was obvious: compassion for the fallen souls. It is for this purpose that the Lord descends millennia after millennia, as the Bhagavad-gita (04.07-09) informs. But along with that standard purpose, the Chaitanya Bhagavata gives us special insight into the transcendental psychology of Nityananda Prabhu. When he heard about the fallen condition of Jagai-Madhai, his eyes lit up with not just compassion but also ambition – the ambition to glorify Lord Chaitanya in a way that would be remembered for all time to come: “These two people are so contaminated that on seeing them pious people feel impelled to bathe in the Ganges to purify themselves. If these sinners can become so pure that people on seeing them feel that they have become purified, as if having bathed in the Ganges, then the fame of all Lord Chaitanya will spread in all the three worlds.” With this desire to glorify Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda tolerated even the brutal assault on his head and uttered the incredible words of compassion that have become etched forever in the collective memory of Gaudiya Vaishanvas: “merechhish kolshir kana, tai bole ki prem debona” (Shall I stop giving you love because you have hit me with an earthen pot?).

It was this endearing blend of compassion and ambition that motivated our beloved Srila Prabhupada to attempt something similarly outrageous: to deliver people from the Western world, who were so fallen that their only regulative principle was to break all the regulative principles.

This blend of compassion and ambition of the Lord and his manifestations is our supreme hope for being delivered from our fallen condition. 

3. Magic: The magic of Lord Nityananda’s mercy was not just that Jagai and Madhai became free from all their sinful reactions, or even that they became free from their sinful desires – though both of these transformations are no doubt incredible. But the ultimate magic of the mercy was that these two brothers became utterly free from the most subtle of all impurities – the impurity that so easily and frequently contaminates the pure, the impurity of pride.  

Perhaps nothing demonstrates this heart-rending humility of Madhai better than his constructing a ghat as an expression of atonement, begging for forgiveness from all the people who came there and, most significantly, allowing himself to be hit with stones by some of those people who were still angry with them for his past offenses and even picking up those stones and handing them back to his assaulters, saying, “I deserve worse – please hit me again.” That a person who would without the slightest pinch of consciousness assault people ruthlessly in the past was now equipping and encouraging people to assault him due to a feeling of remorse demonstrates the magical depth of his transformation.

Madhai demonstrated poignantly the consciousness of trinad api sunicena. And through him, the Lord demonstrated that by the power of his mercy this exalted consciousness that seems so impossible for us to achieve can indeed one day become achievable, thereby enabling us to relish the supreme sweetness of the holy name constantly.

Shri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12336

From Back to Godhead

A gang intent on stealing Lord Nityananda’s jewelry eventually surrenders to Him, and He mercifully awards them pure love of God.

When I was eight or nine years old, my parents took me to the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. After meandering through myriad halls and galleries, we came across an exhibit of valuable gemstones in the Museum of Natural History. I remember being particularly struck by the famous Hope Diamond, a large bluish diamond pendant surrounded by small white diamonds. I was surprised that something could be so beautiful and so valuable. Although I’ve forgotten most of what I saw during my weeklong visit to the Smithsonian, I vividly remember my sense of wonder upon seeing such a unique jewel.

Lord Krishna likes jewels too. Scriptures explain that He adorns His body with jewelry. He is famous as the wearer of the Kaustubha gem, and scriptures describe other forms or incarnations of the Lord as decorated with exquisite valuable jewels. But these ornaments are not like those within the Smithsonian display cases, because everything directly related with the Lord—His clothing, paraphernalia, associates, abode, name, activities—possesses the same spiritual potency as the Lord Himself. In other words, the Lord’s ornaments are expansions of His personal energy. Although they appear to be material, they are not different from the Supreme Lord Himself.

The Supreme Lord is called Bhagavan, which indicates that He possesses six primary opulences (beauty, strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, and renunciation) to an unlimited degree. He possesses these qualities eternally, but sometimes one or more remain hidden from ordinary view so that He can achieve specific purposes. Five hundred years ago, Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvipa, West Bengal, in the form of His own devotee, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He came to relish being a devotee and to teach the process of devotional service so that we can achieve the highest spiritual treasure, pure love of God (krishna-prema). Mahaprabhu personally inaugurated the sankirtana movement (the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names) to uplift the sinful souls of the current Age of Kali, the Age of Quarrel and Hypocrisy.

Balarama as Nityananda

Lord Balarama, Krishna’s first spiritual expansion, plays the role of Krishna’s elder brother. Lord Balarama appeared with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as Nityananda Prabhu. He assisted Lord Chaitanya with His mission to spread Krishna consciousness freely, distributing pure love of God without regard to caste, color, or creed. In the second half of His life, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entered the renounced order of life (sannyasa). He decided to live in Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, and He ordered Lord Nityananda to preach in Bengal.

Lord Nityananda enjoyed an especially opulent mood. In Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, a disciple of Nityananda Prabhu, vividly describes how Lord Nityananda adorned His body with beautiful blue silk garments, valuable jewels, and many flower garlands. Once, He sat upon a golden throne while His followers offered Him abhisheka, bathing His body with milk, yogurt, juices, and other paraphernalia as described in scriptures pertaining to deity worship. By demonstrating His opulence and grandeur, He revealed His divinity and attracted many souls to pure devotional service.

Lord Nityananda is vishnu-tattva, that is, He is God and not an ordinary living entity (jiva-tattva). But the chief purpose of His appearance was not to showcase His wealth and beauty, but rather to distribute His inconceivable mercy to the suffering souls in material bondage. Out of His supreme compassion, He traveled from door to door to ask everyone to chant the holy names of the Lord and thus achieve spiritual perfection. Lord Nityananda did not distinguish between qualified and unqualified souls, and delivered the most degraded and sinful. Once, when a gang of thieves wanted to rob Him of His ornaments, Lord Nityananda not only purified them of their sins, but ultimately awarded them pure love of God.

A Greedy Gang of Thieves

Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has narrated this astonishing pastime in Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya-khanda 5.527–706). The leader of the gang, who had been born in a brahmana family, had rejected religious principles to associate with wicked, materialistic people and lead a sinful life of cheating, stealing, and even murder. Fortunately for him, he dwelled in the holy land of Navadvipa when Lord Nityananda was performing His pastimes there.

Lord Nityananda was residing with a devotee named Hiranya Pandita. Although Hiranya Pandita was poor, his heart was rich with pure love of God, and Lord Nityananda appreciated his company so much that He left His other associates to stay in Hiranya Pandita’s home. Unlike Hiranya Pandita, the thief lacked such appreciation for the spiritual wealth of Lord Nityananda’s company. He simply coveted others’ material assets under the illusion that these would somehow make him happy.

One day, the thief spied Nityananda Prabhu near Hiranya Pandita’s house. He saw that the Lord wore golden bracelets, armlets, and earrings set with pearls. Necklaces made of gold, coral, jewels, and pearls adorned His beautiful body. Enchanted by such dazzling splendor, the thief craved the Lord’s wealth. He stealthily followed the Lord to ascertain His residence, and informed his companions of his great discovery.

“My dear brothers,” the thief announced. “Our days of suffering are about to end. I have seen the most valuable jewels all together in one place, on the body of Nityananda. He is staying alone in the house of Hiranya Pandita, so tonight let us go there and rob everything.”

Equipped with daggers, swords, and tridents, the thieves gathered near Hiranya Pandita’s house that evening. They were blinded by boundless materialistic ambition, and their minds were overpowered by an insatiable greed. Because of their demoniac mentality, they did not consider Nityananda Prabhu’s true identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His jewelry as an expansion of His spiritual energy. Instead, they considered Him an ordinary man and His ornaments merely matter to be conquered.

The thieves camped near Hiranya Pandita’s house and sent a spy to investigate the feasibility of their plan. The scout returned and informed the others that Nityananda was eating and His associates were awake. He could no comprehend the activities of the Lord’s associates, who were intensely engaged in sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. They exhibited symptoms of deep spiritual ecstasy, such as shivering, crying, rolling on the ground, and standing up of the bodily hairs. The spy could see these activities only as a momentary impediment to his sense gratification.

The thieves decided to wait a few hours and approach the house later, when they presumed the Lord would be asleep. In the meantime, they dreamed of the wealth they expected to attain, each claiming a different ornament as his own.

The Thieves Fall Asleep

Lord Nityananda, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead Balarama, is fully endowed with spiritual strength (bala). As the first expansion of Krishna’s spiritual energy, Nityananda has all of Krishna’s potencies, and so He perfectly understood the thieves’ sinful intentions. Through His mystic power, He caused them to fall asleep, and they slept deeply through the night. When they awakened suddenly to the squawking of crows, the sun was already high in the sky.

The thieves furtively returned to their homes and then quarreled, each accusing the other of falling asleep and ruining their plan. Then their leader pacified them, attributing everything to the will of Goddess Durga, the demigoddess in control of the material nature. He conjectured that Durga had bewildered them because they neglected to worship her. Thus, the thieves offered meat and wine to Durga and then again set out to rob Lord Nityananda, unaware that Mother Durga is merely an agent of the Supreme Lord.

When the thieves approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they saw fierce giant soldiers guarding the four directions and loudly chanting the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The thieves observed that each soldier wielded many weapons and was powerful enough to kill a hundred people in an instant. Utterly mystified, they quickly left the vicinity and sat down together to discuss this strange sight.

“Where have these giant soldiers come from?” the thieves wondered. Someone suggested that Nityananda might have arranged for His own protection, since many people said that He was very wise. Their leader scoffed at the idea and determined that the guards must be the entourage of an influential government official, and he decided to wait a few days before making another attempt.

After ten days, the thieves gathered together for a third time, each carrying five or ten weapons. As soon as they approached Hiranya Pandita’s house, they went blind—which seems appropriate when one considers that they were already spiritually blind. Then they fell into various situations that made them cry out of agony and fear. Some of the thieves fell into a ditch and were bitten by leeches, mosquitoes, and bees. Others fell into a heap of garbage and were stung by swarms of scorpions. Others fell on thorns, which pierced their bodies so that they couldn’t move, while others fell into a hole and broke their limbs.

Then Indra, the king of the demigods, sent a fierce storm with heavy rains, lightning, and sharp hailstones, and the thieves shivered with extreme cold. Although Indra holds a high post as a universal administrator, he is but a servant of the Supreme Lord. He realized that the thieves had come to rob Nityananda, and punished them out of anger.

A Change of Heart

Suddenly, in the midst of this terrifying storm, the leader of the thieves experienced a change of heart. He understood that Nityananda Prabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regretted his plans to harm Him. He prayed for forgiveness and took complete shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet.

“Who can protect me from this great danger?” the thief prayed. “I have no shelter other than Nityananda.”

He declared that his only desire was to become the servant of the Lord, whether he lived or died. Upon seeing the thief’s sincerity, Lord Nityananda relieved the gang from their suffering and restored their eyesight.

The head thief returned to Hiranya Pandita’s house. When he saw the glorious form of Nityananda Prabhu, he cried out to the Lord for protection and fell at His feet. Because Lord Nityananda had blessed him with ecstatic love of God, the hairs of his body stood on end, and he laughed, cried, and rolled on the ground, unable to speak. Eventually, he came to external consciousness and confessed everything to Lord Nityananda. He marveled how the Lord had delivered all the thieves from their suffering, and then acknowledged that the real benefit of remembering the Lord was not relief from physical pain but liberation from a materialistic mentality.

Lord Nityananda blessed the thief and promised to nullify all his sins if he agreed to renounce all sinful activities from then onward. The Lord commanded the thief to preach among the criminals, showing them the path of Krishna consciousness. Then the Lord gave His own flower garland to the thief and placed His lotus feet on the thief’s head. The thief was purified of all sinful reactions and empowered to influence other criminals to take up Krishna consciousness. Ultimately, by Lord Nityananda’s mercy, the thief and all of his followers became intoxicated with pure love of God.
The Original Spiritual Master

Lord Nityananda’s mercy defies description. He delivered the notorious sinners Jagai and Madhai, who were so degraded and offensive that even Lord Chaitanya—the most charitable form of the Lord—refused to save them after Madhai injured Nityananda’s forehead. When Lord Nityananda pleaded on their behalf, however, Lord Chaitanya saved both brothers and awarded them pure love of God; therefore, Nityananda is the protector of the devotees and their intercessor. He is the original spiritual master, and through His mercy one can get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and achieve the ultimate goal of life: pure love of God.

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, the author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, praises Lord Nityananda’s great compassion toward the fallen:

Who in this world but Nityananda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me? Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad. He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me. (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 5.207–209)

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami is a pure devotee of Krishna, and so he embodies true humility. Out of such feeling, he considered himself sinful and fallen, completely reliant on the Lord’s mercy. We cannot imitate such a great soul, but his words teach us how to approach Lord Nityananda: with a mood of sincere gratitude, cognizant of our utter dependence on His mercy.

The pastime with the thieves demonstrates Lord Nityananda’s inconceivable compassion and readiness to deliver the most fallen and sinful souls. Even though the thieves’ original intention was to harm the Lord, He nonetheless accepted them as soon as their leader surrendered. He mitigated their suffering at once and, more important, awarded them the highest spiritual perfection of krishna-prema. In an instant the thieves’ initial greed for material wealth became spiritual yearning for the Lord’s mercy.

The critical turning point in this pastime is the moment of the thief’s surrender. By Lord Nityananda’s mercy, the thief realized the Lord’s position and his relationship with Him. He regretted his attempts to plunder the Lord’s wealth and decided his only recourse was to take shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet. The thief’s decision indicates the necessity of surrendering to the spiritual master (guru), who represents the Lord and makes His mercy accessible. The thief’s surrender to Lord Nityananda not only saved him (and his companions) from immediate danger, but also nullified the results of his heinous sins and granted him pure love of God. Additionally, he was empowered to be a spiritual master in his own right by becoming the dispensary of Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy to countless criminals.

By following the thieves’ example and surrendering to Lord Nityananda, we can get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and thus easily gain the most elevated spiritual treasure of pure love of God. As Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura states, “The shelter of the Supreme Lord was not easily attainable in other incarnations, but Nityananda always induced everyone to surrender to Lord Chaitanya.” (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya 5.70) We must approach Krishna through the merciful form of Lord Chaitanya, and we must approach Lord Chaitanya through the even more merciful form of Lord Nityananda. The (misnamed) Hope Diamond in the Smithsonian can only increase our materialistic desire and greed, but Lord Nityananda—and His enchanting jewelry—offers us actual hope for true, everlasting bliss. Are we ready?

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18665

(from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 8)

Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants “sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda” is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes. Simply by talking of Nityananda Prabhu one awakens his love for Krsna. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.

There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Krsna one does not become ecstatic.

“If one’s heart does not change, tears do not flow from his eyes, his body does not shiver, and his bodily hairs do not stand on end as he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, it should be understood that his heart is as hard as iron. This is due to his offenses at the lotus feet of the Lord’s Holy Name.”

Simply chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra without offenses vanquishes all sinful activities. Thus pure devotional service, which is the cause of love of Godhead, becomes manifest.

When one’s transcendental loving service to the Lord is actually awakened, it generates transformations in the body such as perspiration, trembling, throbbing of the heart, faltering of the voice and tears in the eyes. As a result of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one makes such great advancement in spiritual life that simultaneously his material existence terminates and he receives love of Godhead. The Holy Name of Krsna is so powerful that by chanting even One Name, one very easily achieves these transcendental riches.

If one chants the exalted Holy Name of the Lord again and again and yet his love for the Supreme Lord does not develop and tears do not appear in his eyes, it is evident that because of his offenses in chanting, the seed of the holy name of Krsna does not sprout.

But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the Holy Names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead, is greatly magnanimous. Unless one worships Him, one can never be liberated…

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=63090

The Supreme Mercy of The two Lords

In Vedanta Sutra there is a famous – “anandamyo bhyasat”. This sloka explains the constitutional position of every living being. Everyone is looking for pleasure. The soul and it’s natural condition is Sachidananda, eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, full of ecstasy. Therefore the heart of every living being is constantly seeking beauty, charm, and ecstasy. Therefore the Lord descends into this world to distribute prema bhakti divine love. Because – which nourishes the heart and fulfill all its desires. When the lord appears in this world, he appears by his causeless mercy. Mercy is such a nature, when the lord descends that it is not subjected to any material laws, any laws of logic or any laws of reasoning. In fact the mercy of the lord is available to anyone in any position of life, who will simply accept it. It is described by Srila Rupa Gosvami

“namo maha-vadanyaya
krsna-prema-pradaya te
krsnaya krsna-caitanya-
namne gaura-tvise namah”
Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya 19.53

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most munificent, merciful, and magnanimous all the incarnations. Because without considering, who is fit or who is unfit, he is distributing the mercy of the lord freely to everyone. Simply chant the name of Krishna, follow the simple principles of devotion and your life will be fulfilled with divine love. And the ecstasy, the charm, the beauty, that your heart is always seeking will be realized forever eternally. But unfortunately even the Supreme Lord Himself appears, many will not accepted. Therefore Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Lord Nityananda Prabhu to approach those persons, who will not accept love of God. Those persons who are too much attached to fallen sinful activities, those who are too attached to piety in material life, those who are too much attached to mental speculation, and so called religiosity. Thus due to pride will not accept the love of Krishna, even from Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. The Lord instructed Lord Nityananda that these people they are yours. So Lord Nityanda is the very essence of mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

It is described by Narottamdasa Thakur “vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei balarama haila nitai”. That the beautiful divine son of Sri Nanda Maharaja, Lord Gopal, He has appeared in the age of Kali Yuga in the form of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Balaramji, his eternal associate, his elder brother and His constant companion in Vraja dhama has appeared as Lord Nityananda. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu appealed to Lord Nityananda that you go and without any discrimination that who is fit or unfit, you somehow or other get everyone to accept the mercy of the holy name. And Lord Nityananda, although he is the supreme God Himself, he is appearing in the position of the devotee. In fact in Goloka Vrindavana we must understand that Balaram, although He is Krishna Himself, He is the supreme Bhagavan. He eternally appears as the servant of Krishna. In the form of Sankarshana, Anantasesha, He is Narayana’s bed, His shoes, His umbrella. He is constantly simply trying to increase the pleasure of Lord Narayana. Similarly in the form of Lakshmana during Rama Lila. Lakshmana’s only business was to give pleasure to Sri Rama. When they went into the Jarikanda forest, Lakshmana would not eat. He would not sleep. His only business was to protect Sri Rama. He was the supreme most devoted servant of Lord Rama. And similarly that same Lakshmana, that same balarama has appeared as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. His life, soul and everything is the pleasure of Sri Gaurasundra. He has no other ambition, no other mode of in life. Therefore Lord Nityananda is declared by all the acaryas to be the original spiritual master. Because he is the first expansion of godhead and appears exclusively for the pleasure of Godhead. Although He is Krishna, He could easily accept this same position. But he would never accept that position. Sometimes people that Balaram he also had His rasa lila. He was also supreme enjoyer. But Balaram never engaged in the rasa lila for his enjoyment. He simply came to the Vrindavana to specify the gopis in the service of Krishna. Everything Balaramji did, everything Lakshamana did, everything Anantasesa does is only exclusively for life and soul to satisfy and to increase the enjoyment of Krishna, Rama, and Lord Narayana.

Lord Nityananda – The epitome of Compassion

So Lord Nityananda, he was in the sublime mood. Although he was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he took the most humble position in order to satisfy Lord Gaurasundara. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Patitapavana Avatara. That means He came especially to claim the most fallen and sinful of all living beings. And there is nothing that satisfies Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu more than distributing love of god to another. Therefore lord Nityananda, he would go on both banks of the Ganges and he would approach every house, in every town, and in every village, anybody individually with folded palms come to the most fallen, sinful people of Kali yuga and plead with them, “take with them of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu”.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was preaching to chant the name of Krishna. And Lord Caitanya told Lord Nityananda, you go out and spread the glories of the chanting of the name of Krishna. But Lord Nityananda He had the full realization “Sri Krishna Caitanya Radha Krishna nahi anya”. That Radha and Krishna have both combine of singular form of Sri Gaurasundar Mahaprabhu. Therefore Lord Nityananda he understood that Lord Caitanya is so merciful; you cannot commit an offence to Him as He is so merciful. Therefore let me convince everyone to worship Gauranga, to chant the name of Gauranga. Whoever is doing like this, that person is my life and soul and if they worship Sri Gaurasundara Mahaprabhu, then they will automatically attain the love of Krishna, automatically they will attain Vrindavana Dham.

So Lord Nityananda wherever he would go, he would sing the song “bhajo gouranga kaho gauranga lavo gaurangera namare, je jana gourang bhaje se hoi more prana re” Worship Gouranga, chant the name of Gouranga, take the mercy of gouranga, anyone who worships Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that person he is my life and soul. So he would plead in this way, wherever he would go and if someone was so hard hearted, that even one the embodiment of divine love and compassion, he was begging take the name of Gouranga. Take the name of Krishna. If they still would refuse, then the supreme godhead in the form of Nityananda would get on his hand and knees, he would beg, please I beg you do not reject me, do not spoil your human life, take the name of Gouranga. Worship gouranga. If they still refuse, he laid for straight in the ground, rolling in the dust, touching their feet, pleading with them with tears in his eyes. Do not spoil your human life. I beg you, I plead with you, I’ll do anything, I’ll eternally be your servant but chant the holy names. In this way there was no incarnation of god, who has ever manifested, such mercy. Lord Sri Krishna to the wicked demons, He cut of their heads with His Sudarshan Chakra. That was His mercy. In this way they attain mukti.

Lord Sri Rama with His sharpen bows and arrows, he would severally limbs, the heads, He tears the heart of the asuras. In this way they attain mukti. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu with his astra with the weapon of holy name, He would give pure love of god to any one who would accept it. But Lord Nityananda would not accept no pronouncer. God Himself is at your feet begging you rolling in the dust with tears in his eyes, waiting in anxious to be your eternal servant if you simply take the name of Krishna. Simply take the name of Gouranga. Therefore in Lord Nityananda we find the ultimate expression of the supreme mercy of god. Lord Nityanda, he was converting millions and millions of people wherever he went. He would go to towns, to cities, to villages, and he would transform the entire atmosphere, where everyone was joyfully chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” and dancing in sublime ecstasy. Lord Nityananda, it is described he had this complete dedication to fulfilling the heart’s desire Lord Caitanya that all living beings accept the holy name. It is described that one time mother Sachidevi, she had a dream. Sachidevi was the mother of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And in this dream, she was worshiping Krishna and Balaram on her altar. And at that time Lord Nityananda came and He told balaram that you most get off the altar. This altar is now for Lord Caitanya. Krishna has appearing in Kali Yuga as Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You are out dated now.

In Dvapara Yuga you want Krishna would good friends playing together. But in kali yuga, you are His servant. Balaram said, no no. I am here with Krishna. Nityananda said, no no. You come down, you become the servant. They had an argument. They began to fight. Nityananda and Balaram were pulling at each other. But Nityananda was more powerful and he pull Balaram down. Of course Nityananda is Balaram. But in this dream Mother Sachidevi could understand that in Kali Yuga, Balaram appears simply as the order carrier of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is described Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally in order to distribute love of god and gain the responsibility for His mission. He left His family life and took sannyasi. And by taking sannyasi, he had to be very strict to follow principles of social addicate. Because the people criticizes a sannyasi then mission is destroyed. So therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he was basically preaching to great scholars, like Sarvauma Bhattacarya, Prakashnanda Sarasvati. He was preaching from place to place town to town village to village. But in Kali yuga there is so many conditions of life that Lord Caitanya due to being a sannyasi they are too degraded for him to enter into. To freely met with attached family members in a grihamedi ashram. He could not do that to into the bars, the brothels, the houses of prostitution, and the place at meat eaters. The sannyasi cannot do that, especially in those days. People looked upon sannyasi with very strict eyes.

So therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu although Lord Nityananda was basically a mendicant. Lord Caitanya told Lord Nityananda to marry, why? Because then no one will criticize you. You can go to the most fallen. You can go everywhere and anywhere and you can preach. So Lord Nityananda began to travel and he made his base in Bengal at the home of Suryadasa Pundit, who happen to be the brother of Gouridasa pundit a great devotee of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. There Surydasa Pundit gave as gift Lord Nitryananda his two daughters Jaanav Devi and Vishudhi. Lord Nityananda was known as Abhadhuta, which means he could go anywhere and everywhere to spread the mercy of the Lord. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally with say about Lord Nityananda that, if Lord Nityananda goes into a liquor house. If he goes into a house of prostitution, if he is seeing with low class undesirable company, never criticize him or you go to hell. Because you can know is only there to show his causeless mercy to the most fallen. In Kali Yuga we are all candidates of Lord Nityananda’s mercy, because we are all most fallen. If you do not think you are most fallen then you are really most fallen.

Today is the appearance day of Lord Nityananda. We should understand his divine nature before attempting to understand his divine lila. He is the supreme godhead, who appears to distribute the mercy of love of god. It is described that he appeared in the holy city of Ekachakra. Ekachakra is a district of Radhadesha. It is a place where he was not very well known for being a religious place. Generally the religious place is in India in those days were situated in the banks of holy rivers like Ganges and Yamuna. And further you went from those holy rivers, generally the place is become more and more degraded. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally appeared in the holy land of Navadvipa in the bank of Ganga. But he sent his eternal associates to the places of mlechas, yavanas, and low class man to take birth amongst them.

Birth and Childhood of Lord Nityananda

Lord Nityananda born in a Brahmana family in Ekachakra. His father’s name was Hadaya Pundit and his mother’s name was Padmavati. He was the one of the most wonderful child. He had such beautiful and charming features in every respect. In his childhood he knew no other pleasure but be an acting the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He would gather his friends together and throughout the entire day they would simply put on places be in acting the pastimes of the lord. One of his friend’s would pretend to be bhumi (mother earth) in the form of cow, another friend would pretend to be Lord Brahma and she would plead with Lord Brahma, please the demons in the form of Kings are causing me great difficulties and they would – approach the ocean of milk and another friend would take the form of Lord Vishnu and he would say, all you demigods, you all take birth in the Yodu and – dynasty and I’ll soon appear as lord Krishna.

Sometimes His friends, they would pretend to be Devaki and Vasudeva to give birth to Krishna. Sometimes one friend would play Putana and another friend would jump on him and suck his breast and kill him. Sometimes his friends would play Aghasura, KC, Dhenukasura. In this way they would act all these transcendental pastimes and everyone was stuck with thunder. How do they know these pastimes. They never heard them. They have never study them. They are just little children. Lord Nityananda was very fond of organizing these beautiful dramas all day long. And sometimes they would go and take cows and all day long they would just herd the cows and dance with their sticks and play flutes and pretend to be Krishna and Balaram and the cowherd boys. And then they would come home, they would break into the entire neighbors house and steal the butter and steal the yogurt. People were stuck with wonder. Nobody mind it. Everyone is full of affection.

Everyone simply wanted to hold Nityananda in their hands. His body was soft like the butter. They just wanted to embrace him and love him and so their affection to him. One time he was playing the role as the small child of Lakshmana and another child was taking the part of Ravana. And Lakshmana challenge Ravana and then Ravana took that great empowered shakti ashtra and threw it at Lakshmana. Of course what they are using in game for the powerful weapon of Ravana was the lotus flower. So he threw this beautiful soft lotus flower and hit Lord Nityananda in the chest and Lord Nityanda playing Lakshmana fell to the ground and went completely unconscious. There was not any sign of life in the body. And all his friends gather around and they talk my god, he has no life. He is dead. And they all began to cry. They did not know what to do. And then Lord Nityananda’s parents came Padmavati and Hadai Pundit. They were gathered around and they were crying what we supposed to do. There is no life in his body. They were doing everything they could to try to revitalize his life. But nothing worked. He laid their completely motionless and silent. Everyone in entire Ekachakra was in a great dilemma their life and soul was lying there life less, what to do? They could not understand, what a just lotus flower touched him, why he is like this? Then someone watching, he said I know what the problem is.

Recently he was playing the lila of Dasarath and he also fainted and appeared like this, when of his friend was playing Rama has left him. So we want to cure Lord Nityananda who is playing Lakshmana then we have to call Hanuman to get the Gandhamadhana mountain so then one of the children put on the dress of Hanuman, he said I am Hanuman I’ll get the mountain. Then the children remembered, before we started playing this game Lord Nityananda told us that if I fall unconscious get that mountain and bring it here. But they forgot. Now they are remembered. So one of His friends playing Hanuman, he began running and so many other friends playing Rakshasas, they were trying to stop him. He was defeating, smashing them all and finally he came and he brought the mountain. Another friend played a physician and he took the mountain and put it next to Nityananda’s nose and then Nityananda stood up. And everyone began to embrace him. In this way he spent his childhood.

Day and night he was completely emerged in the lila of the lord. They asked him, how is it? That you know perfectly all the lines of the sashtras, we have never taught you any of these things. Then he would reply that I have simply speaking what I have spoken in my previous incarnations and everyone would just laugh, because they did not believe him.

Lord Nityananda leaves Ekachakra

When he was 12 years old one day a sannyasi came to the house of Hadai Pundit. Hadai Pundit being a very gentle and pure hearted devotee of the Lord. He offered a nice sitting place to the sannyasi, he offered him nice food, he offered a place to sleep at night, and he offered all of his services. Then in the next morning just before the sannyasi was about to leave, Hadai Pundit said, whatever I have is yours, is there anyway I can serve you. And the sannyasi said, yes it is. He said I am traveling alone and will be most helpful to me, if I have very nice brahmana as a servant and associate. I would like to take your elder son Nityananda with me. When Hadai Pundit heard this, he did not know what to do. He was like a sharp flaming arrow tears in his heart. He began to consider. I have promised him to give him everything that I have I cannot break my word, but at the same time I cannot live without my son. He is everything to me. He began to think of about how Dasaratha maharaja in order to preserve the principle of truth and respect those who are in renounced order. He gave his sons Rama and Lakshmana away to Vishwamitra Muni, even you know what’s difficult for him. So he was thinking that I must follow in the foot steps of these great souls, however painful may be. So he went to his wife Padmavati and said what should I do? Ans she being a very faithful and very loving wife.

She said my dear husband, whatever you decide is what I decide. So with tears in his eyes he went to the Brahmana, he said if you really want my son then you can take. Now Lord Nityanada he wanted to be with him and preach the glories of the Lord. But he knew that his mother and father were so much attached to him. He could not break their hearts. When the sannyasi came he accepted this divine arrangement and he left home. As soon as he left Hadai Pundit fell unconscious. He could not bear the separation. He was simply crying day and night. He was drowning in an ocean of grief. There was nothing in life that had any meaning or favor to him without the presence of Nitai. He remembered the day where everywhere he went, he bring his son Nitai. When he go to the market Nitai would be behind him and he would be looking around making sure he was right always with him, always worried for his welfare. Indeed wherever he went he could not bear a moment separation from his loving son and now his son going into the forest with the sannyasi. It was too much for him to bear. He could not eat, he could not sleep, he could only wail in a piteous voice with tears streaming from his eyes day and night. Because he was always absorbed in thought of the supreme personality of godhead, his life was somehow or other being maintained without eat, without sleep. And in the last due to the affliction of an utterly broken heart, he left his body and went to the eternal abode of vaikuntha.

Lord Nityananda’s travel across India

Meanwhile it is described that Lord Nityananda began to travel all the holy places. First he went to Gaya and he worships the beautiful foot prints of Vishnugadadhar. Then he went to Kashi to worship the Vishwanatha murti. Then he traveled the holy place of Mathura. There he bathed in Vishnu Ghats and played in the water of beautiful water of Yamuna. He went to all the twelve forest of Vrindavana. And he was so happy in the mood of cowherd boy, identifying his previous incarnation of Balaram. He would simply play with children, herd with the cows and enjoy the sweet atmosphere of the supreme abode of Vraja. It is described that he was so absorbed in happiness of bring in Vrindavana, he did not ever consider eating or sleeping. When someone came of their own accord to offer him some little bit of milk. Sometimes he would accept it.

Then he continued his journey, his pilgrimage. He traveled very widely, while he was in eastern India he met the most exulted of all spiritual personalities, his name was Madhavendra Puri. When he approach Madhevendra Puri, who is considered by all the Goudiya Vaishnavas to be the very root of love of god. It is through Madhavendra Puri’s love that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda received either directly or indirectly the initiation. So when Lord Nityananda met with Madhavendra Puri, when they saw each other with their eyes they were filled with love. They were stunned. They both offer their obeisance to one another and began to embrace. Madhavendra Puri had such love for lord Nityananda, understanding that he was the supreme godhead himself. He could no let him go from his loving embrace. As they embraced tears flowed from their eyes, their hairs stand on and their limbs to shivering in transcendental ecstasy and all the disciples of Madhavendra Puri were simply stuck with wander. Lord Nityananda spoke, he said that I have traveled throughout the holy places but until today my hearts desires are not fulfilled. Because indeed wherever the pure servant of Krishna is all the holy places reside within his feet. Lord Nityananda and Madhavendra Puri remained together for many days and many nights. And throughout the days and throughout night they share their pleasure of Krishna Katha. They discussed Krishna amongst each other.

It is described that their happiness knew no bounds. Because although both of them are wandering to holy places throughout the land, most all sannyasies, most all sadhus, most all so called holy men did not understand the real essence of love of god. But in each other they saw the association of true devotees of Krishna. Madhavendra Puri felt such happiness, he describe that never I have experience such a love of god is in your association. Indeed whatever Lord Nityananda may be, whatever his lotus feet is, anyone who is there in Vaikuntha. He is the supreme embodiment of highest charity the distribution of pure bhakti. Therefore anyone who meet such a person is most fortunate amongst all men. After spending some days together lord Nityanand continued on his Journey to the various places. He traveled to Setubandha, Rameswaram, Srirangam, Tirupati. Indeed he went to all the holy places and then he went to the north Ajyodha, Chitrakuta, Prayag. He went to Badrika ashram and there he met with Srila Vyasadeva and Srila Vyasadeva seeing him in is none other than his worshipable lord Balaram and worship the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.

After traveling all these holy places he returned to Vrindavana, where he decided to stay and he had a vision. He had a vision that his eternal brother Lord Sri Krishna was performing Hid divine lila in Navadvipa dham in Bengal. But He was still acting like a ordinary little boy. He had not yet established his mission of the Sankirtana movement. So Lord Nityananda decided, he would simple wait in Vrindavana until the signal came that the Lord had began the sankirtana movement. So in a vision after twenty years traveling to various holy places in living in Vrindavana. At that time he could understand within the core of his heart that Lord Caitanya is now leading the devotees to the streets with His arms raised chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

Lord Nityananda arrives in Navadwip

So he left Vrindavana. Then he went to Navadvipa, he did not announce his arrival to anyone. But he went to the home of Nandanacarya. The next morning Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu approached his devotees and He said last night I had a wonderful dream. I saw an extraordinary chariot appeared it had the flag of palm tree which is the chariot sign of Lord Balaram. And there was very large and beautiful personality on that chariot and he was repeating over and over again where is the house of Nimai Pundit. He said, this extraordinary person, I could understand that last night he has arrived in Navadvipa. He is none other than Balaram Himself. You must go out and you must find him. So the devotees headed by Srivas Thakur and Haridasa thakur, they went out and they went to every home, and every market place and inquired, have you seen an exulted personality that had come. And after searching everywhere they came back and they told Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that we cannot find such a person. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu he said, I’ll personally lead the way. And at last they came to the house of Nandana acarya. From within the house Lord Nityananda was seeing the effulgent like millions of moons and He and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu first met, they both stood stunned, unable to speak with eyes glue to one another in divine love. In deed Lord Nityananda at last fell down in ecstasy onto the ground and Lord Caitanya embraced him and they embraced rivers of tears are flowing from their eyes. It was then Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda began to dance and chant together in the holy kirtan of the name of Krishna. And it was that from point that Lord Nityananda in the loving service of Sri Gaura sundara would travel everywhere possible to deliver the holy name. So it is described that without gaining the mercy of the Lord Nityananda, one cannot properly approach the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The supreme auspiciousness of this Day

It is our good fortune in this evening on his holy day on his appearance that we can come together to pray for his causeless mercy. To understand our fallen condition in Kali Yuga and to beg Lord Nityananda to be kind upon us. Lord Nityananda is manifesting himself to the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the representative of Lord Nityananda. The mercy of Lord Nityananda can easily be attained by worshiping him under the guidance of a bona fide guru. So let us take very seriously the Lord’s supreme kindness in this most divine incarnation. As we have seen in this wonderful play, even though Lord Nityananda was rudely abused both verbally and physically by Jagai and Madhai, His only motive was of compassion. He did not care that his head was brutally cut with the blow which fit to kill ten men. He did not care that they blaspheming to him with so many insults. His only concern was that they were suffering due to sinful activities. And therefore rather than anger he responded with compassion. “aha prabhu Nityananda premanda sukhi” Anyone who understands the mercy of Nityananda becomes supremely happy in this world. So let us try to understand the nature of his mercy. And how to receive his mercy. It is very simply. We simply accept the name of Krishna. We simply accept the chanting of the holy name and we give up our sinful activities. That is all it is required. That is the great opulence of the mercy of lord Nityananda. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” It is sasid that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu would always present in four places. One of those four places was, whenever Lord Nityananda was dancing. His dancing was so graceful and so beautiful that anywhere and everywhere he would dance, lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in his spiritual body would manifest himself there to watch and to take part in that kirtan.

“parama koruna, pahu dui jana
nitai gauracandra
saba avatara-sara siromani
kevala ananda-kanda”

Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda have descended to teach the simply process of chanting and dancing and feasting. So there is no greater way to receive the mercy of Lord Nityananda than to absorb our mind, to absorb our senses, to absorb our body, everything in the kirtan of the holy name. To eagerly chant with great enthusiasm so on this great occasion we are giving this opportunity to glorify Lord Nityananda by enthusiastically and eagerly taking part in Kirtan of the holy name. So now we will have the arati and let us all prays the glories of the lord Nityananda through our enthusiasm to chant, to dance, for his pleasure. After arati we will have the fortune tasting and honoring the sacred Prasad that has been offered to him on this auspicious night. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15319

Nitai Guna-Mani amar

Srila Locana Dasa Thakura
Sri Caitanya Mangala
 
“My Lord Nityananda is the Jewel of all Transcendental Qualities”

(1)
nitai guna-mani amar, nitai guna-mani
aniya premer banya bhasailo avani

(2)
premer banya loiya nitai aila gauda-dese
dubilo bhakata-gana dina hina bhase

(3)
dina hina patita pamara nahi bachhe
brahmar durlabha prema sabakare jache

(4)
abaddha karuna-sindhu nitai katiya muhan
ghare ghare bule prema-amiyar ban
 
(5)
lochan bole hena nitai jeba na bhajilo
janiya suniya sei atma-ghati hoilo
 
 
Translation by 
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

It is said that Nityananda Prabhu is more merciful, more magnanimous, more munificent than Gauranga Mahaprabhu. So we are singing that song, nitai guna-mani amara, nitai guna mani…

1. Srila Lochana Dasa Thakura says, “Nitai came to Gauda-desa with a flood of krishna-prema, with a flood of love of Godhead. He made the whole world inundated with that flood of prema.”
 
2. And with that flood, He came and inundated the whole land. Dubilo bhakata-gana dina hina bhase, those who are bhaktas, devotees they all drowned, they all blissfully drowned in that premer banya. But the dina hina, the fallen souls they floated, they floated!
 
3. Nityananda Prabhu offers this pure love of Godhead, indiscriminately. It is pure love of Krshna that is rarely obtained. He distributes this prema with two hands! Two hands! He never discriminates whether one is patita or pamara, most degraded, qualified or not qualified. Brahmar durlabha prema, it is very difficult even on the part of Brahma to get this prema, but Nitai gives it indiscriminately.
 
4. That prema is sindhu, like an ocean; karuna-sindhu, an ocean of mercy. It is said that Nitai broke down the strong embankment of that ocean of love. He completely devastated that dam. That ocean of love is an unlimited ocean. So then a flood came, it rushed in! It was a heavy rush that flooded into every home, ghare ghare bule prema-amiyar ban, and inundated the whole world.
 
5. Srila Locan Dasa Thakura says, “He is an unfortunate fellow who doesn’t take shelter of Nitai and does not do the bhajana of Nityananda Prabhu, not begging for the mercy of Nitai. He willingly commits self-suicide, atma-ghati hoilo.

DOYA KORO MORE NITAI

Srila Kanu Rama Dasa Thakura
 
“Please be Merciful to Me, Lord Nityananda!”

(1)
doya koro more nitai, doya koro more
agatira gati nitai sadhu loke bole
 
(2)
jaya prema bhakti data-pataka tomara
uttama adhama kichhu na kaila bichara
 
(3)
prema dane jagajaner mana kaila sukhi
tumi hena doyara thakura ami kene dukhi
 
(4)
kanu rama dasa bole ki boliba ami
e bada bharasa more kuler thakura tumi
 
 
 Translation by 
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

So wonderfully merciful is Nityananda Prabhu, that we are singing that song by Kanu Rama Dasa, begging for Nityananda’s mercy. Learn this song. It is a very nice song, doya koro more nitai, doya koro more…

1. O Nityananda Prabhu, please shower your mercy on me. All sadhus say, “You are so merciful, You give the right destination to the fallen souls.”
 
2. Lord Nityananda has a flag. That flag gives prema-bhakti. He never discriminates whether one is uttama or adhama, most elevated or most degraded. He gives prema-bhakti to one and all.
 
3. Nityananda Prabhu gives prema to one and all and makes the whole world happy. You are such a merciful Thakura, why am I so unhappy?
 
4. Kanu Rama Dasa says, “What more shall I say? O Lord Nityananda, You are the Lord of our line, parampara. So this is a great hope for me that You are such a merciful Lord there for me.”

NITAI AMAR DOYAR ABADHI

Srila Vrndavana Dasa Thakura
 
“Lord Nityananda is the Last Limit of Mercy”

(1)
are bhai! nitai amar doyar abadhi!
jivere karuna kori,’ dese dese phiri’ phiri’
prema-dhana jache nirabadhi
 
(2)
adwaitera sange ranga, dharane na jaya anga,
gora-preme gada tanu khani
dhuliya dhuliya chale, bahu tuli’ hari bole,
du-nayane bahe nitaiera pani
 
(3)
kapale tilaka sobhe, kutila-kuntala-lole
gunjara antuni chuda tay
kesari jiniya kati, kati tate niladhati
bajana nupura ranga pay
 
(4)
bhubana-mohana besa! majaila sava desa!
rasa bese atta atta hasa!
prabhu mora nityananda kevala ananda-kanda
guna gaya vrndavana dasa
 

Translation by 
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

We observe the holy appearance day of Patita-Pavana, Sri Sri Prema-Data Nitai, Nityananda Thakura whose mercy is limitless. Limitless mercy. There is no limit to it. If any limit is there to mercy, Nitai’s mercy is the last limit, doyar abadhi. Nitai amar doyar abadhi. Abadhi means limit. Nitai is the last limit of mercy. There is no limit to it. So can you get Nitai’s mercy?

1. O Brothers! Lord Nityananda is very, very merciful. Nitai’s mercy is limitless, the last limit of mercy. He travels to all the villages and countries of the world and gives prema-dhana. He gives to one and all.
 
2. He is always cutting jokes with Advaita Acarya. His whole body is made up of the love of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. He is always intoxicated with prema-rasa. An intoxicated person cannot walk. How does He walk? Like that! –dhuliya dhuliya chale. Always raising His arms and saying, Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! And He always sheds tears from His two lotus eyes.
 
3. Nice tilaka is there on His forehead and curling hairs are there decorating, looking very nice. His hair is bound up with that red gunja on the head. His waist is like that of a lion’s and a blue belt is there. His feet look red – ranga pay. And He has put on nupura, a tinkling, tinkling sound is always there.
 
4. His whole form, whole demeanor, and features are all very beautiful. The whole world is enchanted by that beauty. He is always intoxicated in that prema-rasa; always smiling and laughing, “Haa! Haa! Haa! Haa! Haa!” Like that! –Atta atta hasa! Such is Nityananda Rama. Vrndavan Dasa Thakura says, “That Nityananda Prabhu is my Prabhu. He is only full of pleasure, nothing else.”

AKRODHA PARAMANANDA NITYANANDA RAYA

Srila Locana Dasa Thakura
Sri Caitanya Mangala
 
“Lord Nityananda Never Gets Angry”

(1)
akrodha paramananda nityananda raya
abhimana sunya nitai nagare bedaya
 
(2)
adhama patita jiver dware dware giya
harinama maha mantra dena bilaiya
 
(3)
jare dekhe tare kahe dante trna dhori’
amare kiniya laha bhaja gaurahari
 
(4)
eta boli’ nityananda bhume gadi jaya
sonara parvata jena dhulate lotaya
 
(5)
hena avatare jar rati na janmilo
lochana bole sei papi ela ar gelo

1. Lord Nityananda Raya never gets angry. He is always in ecstasy, supreme bliss. He has no false ego. He wanders to every town and village in Nadia chanting Hare Krshna, dancing, and offering krishna-prema to everyone indiscriminately.
2. Sri Nitai goes to every doorstep and knocks on the doors of those who are very much distressed, degraded and fallen and gives them krishna-prema. He says, “Please Chant! Please Chant!”

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

If they do not chant and shut the door, then He rolls there on the ground and cries!
3. Whomever He meets, catching a straw between His teeth, He begs, “O Brothers! Please do the bhajana of Sri Gaurahari and purchase Me, purchase Me, purchase Me.”
4. Saying this, Lord Nityananda rolls on the ground in the dust, cries, and sheds tears, looking like a mountain of gold rolling on the ground.
5. Lord Nityananda is such a merciful incarnation. If someone doesn’t develop love for such an incarnation as Sri Nityananda-Rama, Locana says, “Such a sinful person wastes his life, remains in the cycle of birth and death, and cannot be delivered.”

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caknur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

sri-caitanya-mano-‘bhintam sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavams ca
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krishna-caitanya-devam
sri-radha-krishna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

he krishna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo ‘stu te

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrnabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvine namah

yad advaitam brahmopaninadi tad apy asya tanu-bha
ya atmantar-yami puruna iti so ’syamsa-vibhavah
nad-aisvaryaih purno ya iha bhagavan sa svayam ayam
na caitanyat krishnaj jagati para-tattvam param iha

“What the Upaninads describe as the impersonal Brahman is but the effulgence of His body, and the Lord known as the Supersoul is but His localized plenary portion. Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krshna Himself, full with six opulences. He is the Absolute Truth, and no other truth is greater than or equal to Him.” (Caitanya-caritamrta adi-lila 2.5)

radha krishna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krishna-svarupam

The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krshna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krshna are one in Their identity, previously They separated Themselves. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krshna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krshna Himself. (Caitanya-caritamrta adi-lila 1.5)

cirad adattam nija-gupta-vittam
sva-prema-namamrtam aty-udarah
a-pamaram yo vitatara gaurah
krshno janebhyas tam aham prapadye

“The most munificent Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Gaurakrishna, distributed to everyone — even the lowest of men — His own confidential treasury in the form of the nectar of love of Himself and the holy name. This was never given to the people at any time before. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 23.1)

gaurah sac-caritamrtamrta-nidhih gauram sadaiva-stuve
gaurena prathitam rahasya-bhajanam gauraya sarvam dade
gauradasti krpalu-ratra na paro gaurasya bhrityo bhavam
gaure gauravamacarami bhagavan gaura-prabho rakna mam

“I pray to Sriman Gauranga Mahaprabhu whose ecstatic transcendental pastimes are like a river of nectar. Gaura has given the path of confidential devotional service. I will completely surrender to Gaura. Is there anyone more merciful than Gaura? I will become a servant of Gaura. I shall preach the glory of Gaura. May my Lord Gaura protect me.” (Gauranga-virudavali by Srila Raghunandana Gosvami)

sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

I offer my obeisances to Sri Krshna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion.

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

ananda-lila-maya-vigrahaya
hemabha-divyac-chavi-sundaraya

tasmai maha-prema-rasa-pradaya
caitanya-candraya namo namas te

O Sri Caitanya-candra, I offer You my repeated obeisances. You are the personification of Krshna’s blissful pastimes, and You are extraordinarily beautiful, having a dazzling golden luster. You have awarded to the people of the world the topmost mellows of ecstatic love for Krshna. (Sri Caitanya-candramrta, text 11)

Sri-Nityanandantakam
Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura

sarac-candra-bhrantim sphurad-amala-kantim gaja-gatim
hari-premonmattam dhrta-parama-sattvam smita-mukham
sadaghurnan-netram kara-kalita-vetram kali-bhidam
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

This is Sri Nityanandantakam, eight verses written by Vrndavana Das Thakura in glorification of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. The first verse says, “The lotus face of Sri Nityananda Prabhu looks cooling like an autumnal moon. Not only like that; it is even more than that. The beauty of Nityananda Prabhu’s face excels the beauty of an autumnal moon. His whole bodily beauty is also very, very wonderful; you cannot compare it to any other beauty. Nityananda Prabhu is like a mad elephant, and His movements are always very, very slow — mrdu-manthara. Nityananda Prabhu is always in an ecstatic mood of krishna-prema.

Therefore we sing that song, brahmara durlabha prema sabakare jache [by Locana dasa Thakura]. Patita-pamara nahi bache, He never discriminates between patitas and pamaras. Indiscriminately He offers prema, krishna-prema, which is very rare and even on the part of Lord Brahma very difficult to get. Uttama adhama kichu na koilo bicara, He never discriminates whether someone is uttama or adhama; He indiscriminately gives krishna-prema.

prema-dane jagatjanera mano kaila sukhi
tumi eno doyara thakura ami kene duhkhi
(Doya Koro Nitai by Kanurama dasa Thakura)

“Indiscriminately He gives prema to one and all. By giving krishna-prema indiscriminately He makes every one happy, but me. He doesn’t give it to me. You are such merciful Thakura, but why am I unhappy? Why?”

akrodha paramananda nityananda raya
abhimana-sunya nitai nagare beray
(by Locana dasa Thakura)

He never gets angry: akrodha. He is paramananda, always in supreme bliss. No sulkiness, abhimana. He’s callous of what people say. In most streets of the towns and villages He offers krishna-prema indiscriminately.

adhama patita jivera dvare dvare giya
harinama mahamantra dena bilaiya
(by Locana dasa Thakura)

He goes to every doorstep, to those who are very, very distressed, degraded and fallen, and gives them prema.

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

jare dekhe tare kahe dante trna kari
amare kiniya laha bhaja gaura-hari
(by Locana dasa Thakura)

Whomever He meets, catching straw in between His teeth, He requests: “O bhai, O brother! Please do the bhajan of Gaurahari and purchase Me! Purchase Me!

eta bali nityananda bhume pari jay
sonara parvata jena dhulate lotay
(by Locana dasa Thakura)

Saying this He rolls on the ground in the dust. It looks like a golden mountain is rolling in the dust. Such is Nityananda. Whose body is transcendental, visuddha-sattva, with an always-smiling face, sahasya bodhana, and eyes that are rapidly moving, to and fro. He has a cane in his hand, and by the beating of that cane He completely destroys the reactions of Kali-yuga, kali-kala-nasa. Who is like the root of krishna-bhakti kalpataru. I pay my obeisances to that Nityananda.

rasanam agaram svajana-gana-sarvasvam atulam
tadiyaika-prana-pramita-vasudha-jahnava-patim
sada-premonmadam param aviditam manda-manasam
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

That Nityananda Prabhu is the reservoir of all mellows. He is like the life and soul of all the devotees. Nobody can be compared to Him in the three planetary systems. Who is much more dear to one and all. Who is the beloved husband of Sri Vasudha and Jahnava. Who is always in an ecstatic mood of love, like a mad man, intoxicated with the mellow of love, krishna-prema. Evil minded persons cannot understand Him, who is the very root of the krishna-bhakti kalpavrkna. I pay my obeisances to that Nityananda Prabhu, and I do bhajana of that Nityananda Prabhu.

saci-sunu-prentham nikhila-jagad-intam sukha-mayam
kalau majjaj-jivoddharana-karanoddama-karunam
harer akhyanad va bhava-jaladhi-garvonnati-haram
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

He is an embodiment of supreme happiness and blissfulness. There is no limit to His mercy. He is so merciful to the people of Kali-yuga; those who are most degraded and fallen. Who is always busy in chanting and doing hari-sankirtana,

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Thereby He’s destroying the pride of this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence. In other words He’s showing a very easy way of crossing this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence only by chanting hari-nama. That Nityananda, who is the root of the bhakti-lata, bhakti creeper, He is my bhajaniya. I do my bhajana to that Nityananda Prabhu. I pay my obeisances to Him.

aye bhratar ninam kali-kaluninam kim nu bhavita
tatha prayascittam racaya yad-anayasata ime
vrajanti tvam ittham saha bhagavata mantrayati yo
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

That Nityananda Prabhu tells Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu: “O My brother, what will be the fate of these people of Kali-yuga? Please, show them a way for deliverance, so that they can approach Your lotus feet, obtain Your lotus feet, and be always in touch with Sriman Mahaprabhu.” To that Nityananda Prabhu I pay my obeisances, and to that Nityananda Prabhu I do my bhajana.

yathentham re bhratah kuru hari-hari-dhvanam anisam
tato vah samsarambudhi-tarana-dayo mayi laget
idam bahu-sphotair atati ratayan yah pratigrham
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

That Nityananda Prabhu goes to every doorstep and tells them, “O my brothers, all of you, always engage yourselves in chanting harinama; hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare. If you do this, you must very easily cross over this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence and I remain a surety for it, for you.” He says, “surety”. Surety, guaranteed, I certify it. I tell you.”
To that Nityananda, who is the root of the bhakti creeper, I pay my obeisances and I do the bhajana of that Nityananda Prabhu.

balat samsarambhonidhi-harana-kumbhodbhavam aho
satam sreyah-sindhushnati-kumuda-bandhum samuditam
khala-sreni-sphurjit-timira-hara-surya-prabham aham
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

That Nityananda Prabhu very easily destroys the sinful reactions of the most sinful and degraded people of Kali-yuga, kali-atma-jiva. He is also very, very dear to the devotees. He is always busy doing good to the devotees. He has arisen like a cooling moon, Who is as cool as crores of moons, koti-candra susitala. He is also like the sun Who dispels the darkness of the ignorant fools; the darkness arisen out of sinful activities. He is like a sun for them, because He destroys the sinful reactions of all sinful persons, rascals. To that Nityananda who is the root of the bhakti kalpalata, I pay my obeisances and I do my bhajana to that Nityananda Prabhu.

natantam gayantam harim anuvadantam pathi pathi
vrajantam pasyantam svam api na dayantam jana-ganam
prakurvantam santam sa-karuna-drg-antam prakalanad
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

He’s always dancing, and engaged in harinama-sankirtana. He always casts a merciful glance over His dear devotees. In this way He is always moving in the streets of all the towns, cities and villages. He always casts His merciful glance over the devotees, sadhus. To that Nityananda Prabhu, Who is the root of bhakti-kalpa-vrkna, the bhakti tree, I pay my obeisances. I do the bhajana of that Nityananda.

su-bibhranam bhratuh kara-sarasijam komalataram
mitho vaktralokocchalita-paramananda-hrdayam
bhramantam madhuryair ahaha madayantam pura-janan
bhaje nityanandam bhajana-taru-kandam niravadhi

That Nityananda always moves with Gauranga Mahaprabhu, holding His very soft lotus-like palm and Who always looks at the lotus-like face of Gauracandra and becomes ecstatic, blissful. Who always makes the people of the towns, cities and villages happy and blissful by His chanting of the harinama maha-mantra, by doing hari-kirtana. To that Nityananda, Who is the root of the bhakti-kalpa-lata, I pay my obeisances. I do the bhajana of that Nityananda.

rasanam adharam rasika-vara-sad-vaishnava-dhanam
rasagaram saram patita-tati-taram smaranatah
param nityanandantakam idam apurvam pathati yah
tad-anghri-dvandvabjam sphuratu nitaram tasya hrdaye

Vrndavana Das Thakura says that those who daily read and recite this Nityanandantakam of Nityananda Prabhu will get Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy and His lotus feet will be revealed to him, which is very rare. Then that Nityananda Prabhu, who is the life and soul of rasika-bhaktas, the reservoir of all mellows, the essence of all the universes, tri-jagat, the three planetary systems, and by whose remembrance the sinful reactions of the sinful persons are destroyed, will give bhakti-rasa.

Jaya Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya !
Patita pavana Sri Nitaicand ki jaya !
Patita udhara Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya !

Nityananda and Banka Raya

Nityananda Prabhu’s father’s name was Sri Hadai Ojha, and His mother’s name was Padmavati. After Nityananda Prabhu, Padmavati gave birth to another son, whom they called Banka Raya. The two brothers, Nityananda and Banka Raya, took birth in the village of Ekacakra. Close to that village flows the Yamuna-nadi River. In Their boyhood days, Nityananda and Banka Raya played with Their friends on the bank of the river and performed various lilas there, krishna-lila and rama-lila.
Banka means curved in three places, tri-bhangi. So Banka refers to Krshna, Raya to Radharani and when both are combined They are Banka Raya, Gauranga. Krshna and Radha combined is Gauranga. That is the meaning of Banka Raya.

The Big Snake from Dvapara-yuga

The two brothers went to the village called Mayuresvara, which was the village of Their maternal grand-father. Close to the village there was a jungle. Once, when these two brothers were about to enter that jungle, two villagers debarred Them, “Hey, don’t go to that jungle. There is a very big poisonous snake that devours everyone who goes there. No one returns. Please don’t go.” Nityananda Prabhu did not listen to them and They both entered that jungle.
That big poisonous snake was staying under a tamala tree, and as soon as these two brothers entered the jungle it came out, raising his hood and hissing. Nityananda Prabhu was not afraid at all, rather He raised His hand and said, “Eh! Oh, wicked fellow! Dunta, stay there! Stay there! Don’t come forward!” The snake stopped. “Why are you killing and devouring innocent people?” Nityananda Prabhu is Nagaraja, the king of all snakes, Anantadev Naga, so when He told the snake to stop, he stopped. Then He continued and asked, “Why are you doing this?” Then the snake related his history from Dvapara-yuga.

The Pandavas in Ekacakra

The big snake said, “In Dvapara-yuga, after staying in the house of lac, the Panca Pandavas were wandering in disguise as brahmanas, begging alms from village to village. They met Vyasadeva in this Ekacakra village and Vyasadeva told them to stay in the house of one brahmana named Vedasrava. Although, that brahmana was very poor, and would everyday go out to beg for alms, he spared half of his house for the Pandavas to live with their mother Kunti. Everyday four of the five brothers would go out begging for alms, and one brother would remain with Kuntidevi. In this way they would take turns.

The Demon Bakasura

One day, when it was the turn of Bhimasena, Kuntidevi heard that the brahmani of the house was crying. She went to see her and asked, “Why are you crying?” The brahmani said, “There is one demon who lives very close by, only four, or five miles away. His name is Bakasura. That demon would come every day to this village and indiscriminately kill many animals and human beings. So once all the villagers assembled, had a meeting, and made a decision. They requested the demon not to come every day, “We’ll send every day one human being, one cart load of anna, rice and cake, pitha, and two buffaloes for you to eat. Then there is no need for you to come here and disturb us.”
The demon became very happy, “Yes, very good! Why shall I come if you send food every day?’ So they would take turns; today is your turn, the next day his turn, and the day after it was the turn of someone else. In this way, every householder had a turn. It was a very big village, as some villages were clustered together and each householder’s turn would come once in every thirty-three years, two months, and twenty days. The village was that big, with so many people.

Bhima Kills the Demon

So that day it was the turn of the brahmana Vedasrava.
The day before a drummer, while beating his drum, had proclaimed, “Tomorrow it will be Vedasrava’s turn.” There were only four persons in the poor brahmana’s family: Vedasrava the brahmana, his wife Umadevi, a ten year old son Vidyadhara, and their eight years old daughter, Bhanumati.
They arranged two buffaloes, one cart with a load of anna, rice, and pitha, cake. Then the question arose, “Who will go to bring the food to Bakasura?” Vedasrava said: “I will go.” Then his son, the ten year old boy, said, “No, no, father, you don’t go, I will go.” When the son said that, the brahmani started crying. So when Kuntidevi ran there and asked why she was crying, the brahmani told her all this.
Then Kuntidevi said, “Don’t cry. I have five sons. I’ll spare one. You have only one son.” Kuntidevi, knowing the strength of Bhima, said, “I’ll send Bhima. Bhima will kill the demon and then all villagers will be saved.”
Kuntidevi said, “Dear Bhima, go to that demon Bakasura. This brahman family is so kind to us by giving us shelter in times of distress. We should help them. They have only one son and that son has to go as food for Bakasura. They are crying now, so you should go.”
Bhima became very happy, “Yes, I will go!” So Bhima left with that cartload of anna, rice and cake. While eating the anna and cake he was shouting, “Hey, demon Bakasura where are you? Come out! Come out!” The demon came out and saw that someone was eating his food. He became angry and uprooted a big tree and threw it at Bhima. Bhima did the same; he also uprooted a big tree and threw it at the demon. There was a fierce battle between them. At the end Bhima killed that demon, ate everything, and returned with an empty cart.

Arjuna’s Snake Arrow

In the meantime, Arjuna returned and saw that his brother Bhima was not there. So he asked Mother Kunti, “Where is Bhima?” Mother Kunti told him everything, and how Bhima had gone to Bakasura. Arjuna thought, “Oh, brother Bhima has gone alone, he must be fighting with that demon; he must be facing some trouble. So Arjuna said to Mother Kunti, “Mother, I am going to help Bhima. Please stay here in the brahmana’s house.”
He took his Gandiva bow and arrows and left. While he was on his way he thought, “It will take time to get there and my brother Bhima must be facing great trouble.” Thinking like this he decided to shoot his naga-pasa-astra, his snake arrow. While shooting that snake arrow he said, “Oh naga.” Naga means cobra. “You go and bind up that demon.”
While he continued on his way, he met Bhima who was coming back. Bhima told him that the demon was already killed. Arjuna said, “Oh, but I have sent a naga, cobra. He must be wandering there now, and devouring everyone he meets. So I am going to settle him up.”
So Arjuna went there, saw that the cobra was moving about, and said, “Alright you cobra, stay underneath this tamala tree here. You should not move anywhere else and don’t harm anyone.” Then that cobra said, “How can I survive? What shall I eat?” Arjuna said, “Whoever will come to this tamala tree, devour him, but don’t go away from the tree. Don’t devour anyone elsewhere.”
“So from that day on, I am here. Whoever comes here I’m devouring.” That cobra related this story to Nityananda Prabhu.

Nityananda Prabhu Has Only One Earring

Nityananda Prabhu then said to the cobra, “Alright, stay here inside this hole. Don’t come out and don’t devour anyone.” He was devouring innocent human beings. The cobra said, “How can I survive? What shall I eat?” Nityananda Prabhu said, “People will come and worship you and offer food to you, bhoga, and you can eat that. Don’t devour any human beings, animals, or any other creature. Stay inside this hole, and don’t come out of the hole.”
While saying this Nityananda Prabhu took one of His golden earrings out of His ear, and put it on the mouth of the hole. From that day Nityananda Prabhu or Balarama or Baladeva has only one kundala, earring, eka kundala, not two. That kundala has gradually turned into a big block of stone, and a very nice temple is built over it. It is a holy place now, known as kundali-tala, or kundali damana and many people are going there to offer worship and bhoga to that cobra, naga.
These are some of the childhood pastimes of Nityananda Prabhu and there are so many more.

Banka Raya Disappeared

There is also one pastime of Banka Raya, of which I will give you a summary. Once, Banka Raya was overseeing the cultivation of some land. It was a big property of about five or ten hectares of cultivated land, with many weeds. Some labourers were engaged in pulling out the weeds. Around midday Banka Raya said to them, “Alright, you must be hungry now, go home, eat, take some rest and then come back to finish the work.” After all the labourers had left for their houses, Banka Raya Himself uprooted all the weeds of the whole five hectares within one hour, something that these 50 waged labourers couldn’t have done.
When the labourers saw these wonderful activities of Banka Raya, they went to Banka Raya’s father and said, “Pandita Ajna, your younger son Banka Raya told us to go back home, and take food and then He Himself pulled out all the weeds within one hour; it’s so wonderful. All the weeds are still there in several big mounds. Upon hearing this, all the villagers went to see this wonderful activity. His father and mother Padmavati also went, but they couldn’t see Him anywhere; Banka Raya had disappeared.

Nityananda Prabhu Carved the Murti of Bankim Deva

When His mother and the villagers started crying, they heard an aerial voice, “You cannot see me any longer, but this coming Ekadasi, you’ll find Me floating on the Yamuna River in the form of a log of wood. Pick that log up and worship Me.” So that is what happened; on that Ekadasi day at that place, which is now known as Kadamba-khandi, some villagers saw a log of wood floating on the Yamuna River. Nityananda Prabhu Himself lifted that log of wood up and carved a murti of Bankabihari, Krshna. Nityananda Prabhu named the murti Bankim Deva, and He installed that murti. Now there is a temple for that vigraha and on every Nityananda trayodasi day, the Appearance Day of Nityananda Prabhu, a big fair is held in front of that temple. It is said that when Nityananda Prabhu disappeared, He entered into that vigraha. These are only some of the pastimes, but there are many more.

Jaya patita-pavana maha adbhuta karuna maya karunika vigraha Sri Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!
Sri Nityananda patita-pavana Sri Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!
Kali kalmasana adbhuta doyal karunika patita-pavana Sri Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!
Gaur-Nitai premanandi! Hari haribol!
Gaur-Nitai premanandi! Hari haribol!
Nitai-gaur premanandi Hari haribol!

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=24550

Lord Nityananda descended to assist Lord Caitanya in spreading the chanting of the holy names of Lord Krishna in harinama-sankirtana, or the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, and to bring the mercy of Lord Krishna to the fallen, materially conditioned souls. 

Sri Nityananda was born to a pious brahmana family. His father was Hadai Ojha and mother Padmavati. He also had a brother named Banka Raya. He appeared in the second half of the 15th century, before the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Nityananda was born on Shukia Trayodashi, in the month of Magha, in the year 1473, 12th of February (Shakabda Era – 1395).

Just before the advent of Sri Nityananda a sage came to the home of Padmavati, mother of Nityananda. Upon seeing her, he started dancing and saying repeatedly “This is the womb”. The stranger was Garga Muni in disguise.

He predicted the arrival of Balarama on earth as Sri Nityananda. He emphasized that Padmavati was the reincarnation of Rohini (mother of Balarama), and that she cradled in her womb Balarama, the other self of Nityananda.

He predicted the descent of Nityananda in the month of Magh, on Sukia Trayodashi. Saying this, Garga Muni disappeared. In this connection, one can remember that it was this Garga Muni who revealed the name of Balarama and Krishna in the Court of Nanda so many years before, as described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Although Nityananda Prabhu possessed complete potency in all respects, He abstained from bestowing devotion to Lord Krishna. Thinking that when Lord Gaurachandra manifested, the time would come for distributing love of Godhead, by the order of the Lord. 

By thinking that nothing should be done except by the instruction of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the greatness of the Lord’s service was not reduced, and so Nityananda Prabhu awaited the command of the Lord. 

Once, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu approached His devotees and said, “Last night I had a wonderful dream. I saw that an extraordinary chariot appeared. It had the flag of a palm tree, which is the chariot sign of Lord Balarama. And there was a very large and beautiful personality on that chariot and He was repeating over and over again ‘where is the house of Nimai Pandit.’

This extraordinary person, I could understand last night arrived in Navadvipa. He is none other than Balarama Himself. You must go out and you must find Him.”

Srivasa Thakur and Haridasa Thakur went to every home and market place and inquired, have you seen an exalted personality who has come recently? After searching everywhere they came back and told Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we cannot find such a person. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “I’ll personally lead the way.”

Lord Chaitanya came to the house of Nandanacarya and from within the house Lord Nityananda saw His effulgence like millions of moons. When He and Lord Chaitanya met, They both stood stunned, unable to speak with eyes glued to each other.

Lord Nityananda fell down in ecstasy on the ground and Lord Chaitanya embraced Him. As They embraced, rivers of tears flowed from Their eyes. It was then that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda began to dance and chant together in the holy kirtan of the name of Krishna.

It was from that point that Lord Nityananda in the loving service of Sri Gaura Sundara would travel everywhere possible to deliver the holy name.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/lord-nityananda-appearance-7/

We welcome you on this most auspicious occasion of the appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. According to the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the Absolute Truth is realized in three features. Preliminary is Brahman, the impersonal light that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord. Next is Paramatma, the localized Supersoul within the hearts of all living entities. And the last word in realization of the Absolute is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The jnanis who realize the impersonal Brahman experience only the sat, eternal, aspect of the Absolute Truth. The yogis who realize the Paramatma within the heart experience the eternal, sat, and cognizant, cit, features of the Absolute Truth. Only the devotees, who realize Krishna, experience ananda, bliss, which is the goal and ultimate nature of every living entity.

When an interviewer once asked Srila Prabhupada, “What is the goal of life?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “The goal of life is to enjoy.” Now, the effort to enjoy materially, through the mind and senses, leads only to frustration and misery, but spiritually one can enjoy in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that pleasure, unlike the temporary so-called happiness of the material world, is eternal, and that eternal happiness can be realized through the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Nitya means “eternal” and ananda means “bliss.” So, if we can come in touch with Lord Nityananda, we can realize that eternal bliss for which we are hankering.

How do we become eligible for Lord Nityananda’s mercy? That we can learn from the description of His qualities and pastimes in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the most authorized book, biography, about the teachings and activities of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda and Their associates. There are a number of verses that summarize the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, but one is especially instructive, from Adi-lila, Chapter Seventeen: “The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya in His Youth”:

TEXT 17

tabe saci dekhila, rama-krsna–dui bhai
tabe nistarila prabhu jagai-madhai

TRANSLATION

Thereafter Mother Sacidevi saw the brothers Krsna and Balarama in Their manifestation of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. Then the Lord delivered the two brothers Jagai and Madhai.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

One night Sacidevi dreamt that the Deities in her house, Krsna and Balarama, had taken the forms of Caitanya and Nityananda and were fighting one another, as children do, to eat the naivedya, or offering to the Deities. On the next day, by the will of Lord Caitanya, Sacidevi invited Nityananda to take prasada at her house. Thus Visvambhara (Lord Caitanya) and Nityananda were eating together, and Sacidevi realized that They were none other than Krsna and Balarama. Seeing this, she fainted.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The story is that Sacidevi had a dream and told her son Nimai, “Last night I had a wonderful dream, and in this dream You and Nityananda went into my Deity room, and You picked up the Deity of Balarama, and Nitai picked up the Deity of Krishna, and the Deities started to protest, ‘You can’t take Us from the altar. You can’t take Us out of the Deity room.’ And You and Nityananda replied, ‘Your days of stealing butter and playing pranks are over. Now You are appearing as brahmans to chant the holy names.’ ” Then They started to fight over Mother Saci’s offerings, and Krishna and Balarama said, “These are meant for Us. You can’t have these.” And Gaura and Nitai were saying, “But now You have appeared as Us so We can take them.”

Mother Saci asked Lord Chaitanya, “What do You think of this dream?” and Lord Chaitanya said, “This is a very wonderful dream, but don’t tell anyone about it.” Because He was concealing His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He didn’t want anyone to know that He was Krishna and Nityananda was Balarama.

Then Lord Chaitanya said, “I would go into the Deity room to have maha-prasada and see that half of it was gone.” His wife, Vishnu-priya, was listening to this, and He knew that she was listening, so He said, “When I would see that half of the offering was gone, I would suspect that it was Vishnu-priya who took the maha-prasada, but now I am seeing that these Deities are very mystical, and I am suspecting that They Themselves might be eating half of the remnants meant for Us.” He continued, “Anyway, I think tomorrow you should invite Nityananda for lunch.” So, she did, and as They were having lunch, she saw Them transform Themselves into Krishna and Balarama, and she fainted.

PURPORT (continued)

Jagai and Madhai were two brothers born in Navadvipa in a respectable brahmana family who later became addicted to all kinds of sinful activities. By the order of Lord Caitanya, both Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura used to preach the cult of Krsna consciousness door to door. In the course of such preaching they found Jagai and Madhai, two maddened drunken brothers, who, upon seeing them, began to chase them. The next day, Madhai struck Nityananda Prabhu on the head with a piece of earthen pot, thus drawing blood. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard of this, He immediately came to the spot, ready to punish both brothers, but when the all-merciful Lord Gauranga saw Jagai’s repentant behavior, He immediately embraced him. By seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and embracing Him, both the sinful brothers were at once cleansed. Thus they received initiation into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra from the Lord and were delivered.

COMMENT

This is a very important pastime of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, and it is worth considering in detail, because it will give us an insight into the actual mission of Gaura-Nitai and, through parampara (disciplic succession), the mission of Srila Prabhupada and consequently the mission of his followers.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura to go into Navadvipa to approach whomever they met on the way, and to go door-to-door and approach people at home and request them to chant the name of Krishna, to worship Krishna, to accept Krishna as their life and soul and the treasure of their wealth—and not to distinguish between who was qualified and who was not. Many people in Navadvipa were pious, and when Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura approached them, they accepted the request. And they all developed pure love for Krishna.

One day, as Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura were making their way around Navadvipa, they saw a large crowd of people watching a spectacle from a distance. When they approached, they saw two drunken brothers, Jagai and Madhai. “They were born in a respectable brahman family,” the townspeople explained, “but in their youth they fell into bad association and have engaged in all sorts of sinful, horrible activities. They drink wine, they murder people, they burn down their houses, they loot and rob and plunder them. They rape women. They eat cows’ flesh. There’s not a sin they have not committed. They are extremely dangerous, and the whole of Navadvipa lives in fear of them.”

Nityananda Prabhu thought, “So far, we have been approaching pious folks and they’ve taken up the order of Mahaprabhu and become pure lovers of Krishna, but no one really knows the glories of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. If we can convert Jagai and Madhai, then everyone will know the magnitude of Mahaprabhu’s mercy.” So Nityananda, accompanied by Haridasa, approached the drunken brothers and delivered the message: “Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, follow Krishna’s instructions, glorify Krishna, and give up your sinful activities.” The two were physically powerful, though—very powerful and very arrogant—and they became enraged: “Who are these people to tell us to worship Krishna and give up our activities?” They decided to kill Haridasa and Nityananda and started to pursue them, shouting, “Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!” They were running after them, and Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura were running for their lives.

While they were fleeing, Nityananda Prabhu said, “Haridasa, I think this is the end of both of us. This is it.” And Haridasa replied, “I think You are right.” Then Nityananda said, “But you were caned in twenty-two marketplaces and Krishna saved you, so why don’t you pray to Krishna now to save us?” And Haridasa said, “Yes, that’s true, but at that time I wasn’t associating with a madman like You. You went up to the two biggest demons on the planet and told them to chant Hare Krishna and give up their sinful activities! All the townspeople told us, ‘Stay away from them; they are very dangerous,’ but You didn’t listen.” Nityananda defended Himself: “You are blaming Me, but actually I’m not the one to blame. It’s your master, Gauranga Mahaprabhu, who’s responsible. Never in the history of the world has a brahman acted like Him, like a king ordering people to go out in the town and approach people whether they are pious or sinful and ask them to chant Hare Krishna. I was just following His order. So don’t blame Me; blame Him.” And He added, “If we don’t obey His order, we’re finished, and if we do obey His order, we’re finished.” Like that, they were joking and laughing as they were fleeing for their lives, Jagai and Madhai in hot pursuit.

Eventually Jagai and Madhai, though strong and powerful and angry, couldn’t keep up. They were a little heavy and quite drunk, so eventually they fell behind, and Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura ran to Mahaprabhu. The Lord had asked them to come report to Him every evening after their preaching, and they told Him what had happened. When He asked, “Who are these Jagai and Madhai?” Gangadasa Pandita and Srivasa Thakura explained, “They are most sinful. The whole of Navadvipa lives in terror because of them. They kill people, they rape women, they burn down people’s houses, they plunder their riches, they drink strong liquor, and they eat cows’ flesh.” Mahaprabhu said, “I will kill them. I will cut them to pieces.” But Nityananda Prabhu—and this is His extreme mercy—said, “No, Lord, don’t do that. Don’t harm them. In Kali-yuga our mission is not to kill the demons but to deliver them. And in Kali-yuga pretty much everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. So don’t kill them. You give them to Me; I will take charge of them.” Gauranga Mahaprabhu agreed, “All right, I put them in Your charge, and because You want to give them mercy, I predict that very soon they will be delivered.”

While Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was speaking with Nityananda, Haridasa Thakura, who was sitting with Advaita Acharya, said, “You do not know how difficult it is to have a sankirtana partner who is a madman. He is an avadhuta. He goes to people’s houses and steals their butter and yogurt.” If the householder came out and pursued them, Nityananda Prabhu, who was younger, would be gone, and they would catch Haridasa. Sometimes Nityananda would ride on people’s bulls and say, “I am Mahesh!” And sometimes He would milk the cows and drink all the milk. Sometimes He would approach small boys and say, “I’m going to beat you!” and they would become frightened and run home to their parents, and their fathers would come out with sticks to protect their child. And Nityananda would escape, but they’d catch Haridasa, and he would fall at their feet and plead, “Please, please, it’s not what you think.” And sometimes Nityananda would go up to innocent young girls and say, “I want to marry you.” “But,” Haridasa said, “the worst was today. Everyone told us to stay away from these drunken demons, and He went right up to them and said, ‘Give up your sinful activities, surrender to Krishna, and chant Krishna’s name.’ They almost killed us! We barely escaped with our lives.”

Advaita Acharya began to laugh in ecstasy but with a little anger and said, “Why are you surprised? It is the nature for drunkards to associate with other drunkards. Nityananda Prabhu is always intoxicated with krsna-prema, prema-rasa, so it’s natural for Him to want to associate with other drunkards. But you are a naistika-brahmachari, sober and learned, so why are you associating with those three? You let them associate with each other. Why should you get involved with them?” Then He said, “I know the power of My Nityananda, and you will see within one or two days that these rogues will be chanting and dancing in kirtan with us.”

A day or two later, as Nityananda Prabhu was wandering around Navadvipa in His playful mood, He again came upon the two drunk brothers. And again He approached them and delivered the same message, and again Madhai was enraged: “Who is this person? We almost killed him the other day, and still he is coming back. Who does he think he is?” Then he asked, “Who are you? What is your name?” Nitai replied, “I am avadhuta.” And that was it. Madhai picked up a clay pot, and with all of his immense strength he smashed the head of Nityananda Prabhu and cut a big gash. Blood covered Nitai’s face and gradually His whole body. “I don’t mind that you struck Me,” He told Madhai, “but what really pains Me is how much you are suffering in ignorance. Please accept the mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu and you’ll be happy.”

That infuriated Madhai even more, so he picked up another pot, wanting to kill Nitai—he was ready to smash Him but Jagai intervened and said, “Stop it! Can’t you see that this is a genuine saintly person, that he actually has love for you and feels compassion for you? He is trying to help you. What will you gain by killing such an innocent soul?”

Meanwhile, the news of Madhai’s attack reached Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and He rushed to the scene—as Prabhupada said, angry as fire—and immediately called for His Sudarshan chakra to kill them. The chakra came like the blazing sun, but Nityananda Prabhu intervened. “Lord, don’t kill them,” He beseeched Mahaprabhu. “I am going to,” Lord Chaitanya replied. “They have harmed My Nitai, and I am going to kill them.” Still, Nityananda said, “But Jagai saved Me. Madhai was wanting to kill Me, but Jagai stopped him; he saved My life.”

When Mahaprabhu heard that, His heart melted and the chakra immediately disappeared. He embraced Jagai and said, “You have saved My Nitai. You have saved My Nitai. I forgive you for all that you have done.” After embracing him, He manifested a four-armed form with the symbols of Vishnu—the club, disc, lotus, and conch—placed His lotus foot on the heart of Jagai, and filled him with ecstatic love for Krishna. And Jagai was weeping in ecstasy.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu turned His attention back to Madhai. He was still angry and ready to kill him, but Madhai’s heart had also changed. The Caitanya-bhagavata describes that the two of them, Jagai and Madhai, were so close they were like one soul in two bodies. So, by Jagai’s heart changing, Madhai’s heart also changed. And, of course, he didn’t want to be killed. He said, “You have given mercy to Jagai, but we’re together; we’ve done everything together. Whenever we plundered someone’s house, we did it together. Whenever I burned down someone’s house, he was with me. Whenever I drank liquor, he was with me. Whenever I ate cows’ flesh, he was with me. We did everything together, so why are You giving him mercy and not me? You should give me mercy, too.” Mahaprabhu replied, “No, I will not give you mercy, because you have hurt My Nitai.” Madhai said, “We’ve read in scriptures that so many demons attacked You with weapons and You delivered them all. So You should deliver me too.” And Mahaprabhu replied, “No, I will not deliver you. Nityananda’s body is more dear to Me than My own. Those demons attacked My body and I delivered them, but you attacked Nitai’s body, which is more dear to Me. I will not forgive you.”

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was poised to kill Madhai, and Madhai pleaded for mercy. Then Mahaprabhu showed the way: “You beg for Nitai’s mercy. If He gives you mercy, then I will spare you.” So Madhai prayed to Nityananda Prabhu, and Mahaprabhu told Nitai, “If You actually forgive him, then You should embrace him.” And Nityananda, His whole body still covered with blood, picked up Madhai, who had prostrated himself, and embraced him. That is how merciful He is. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “All right, I will spare you.” Nitai said, “Now I give him to You.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave Madhai prema-bhakti. This is inconceivable—He gave him something that Lord Brahma doesn’t have. He gave him something that great rishis and sages and devas are endeavoring to get. He gave it to Madhai and Jagai, and they were the most horrible, sinful reprobates.

So, all that Nitai wanted came true. Later, back at Mahaprabhu’s house, the devotees had sankirtana, and Mahaprabhu said that all of Nitai’s desires would come true. Nitai was thinking, “If these two demons, the worst on the planet, could receive Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy, then My traveling everywhere and preaching will be successful.” He thought, “If I can convert these two demons to accept the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then I can actually consider Myself a servant of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And if these two demons can chant and dance in ecstasy with the Vaishnavas, I can consider that My name, Nityananda, has value and is true.”

There was a big festival of kirtan, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Don’t any of you think that Jagai and Madhai are sinful. I will accept all their sinful reactions. Just watch.” And as Gauranga, in His beautiful golden form, began to accept their sinful reactions, His body turned black. “What do You see? What do I look like?” He asked Advaita Acharya. “I see Syamasundara,” Advaita replied. “Gaurasundara has become Syamasundara.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Now how will I get free from these sinful reactions? It will be through hari-nama-sankirtana. So, all of you do hari-nama-sankirtana, and I will be relieved of these sinful reactions. But then where will the sinful reactions go? Into the hearts of those who blaspheme Vaishnavas, who criticize devotees.”

So, they had ecstatic kirtan, and Mahaprabhu with His black form was dancing in ecstasy, and gradually the black went away; His form became lighter, and He resumed His original beautiful fair Gauranga golden hue.

After this, the Vaishnavas accepted Jagai and Madhai, but especially Madhai felt guilty, because he had tried to kill Nityananda Prabhu, who was the cause of his deliverance; he was very sad. Nityananda Prabhu could see this and inquired, “You’ve been liberated, you’ve been given prema-bhakti—why are you so sad? Don’t be sad.” Madhai replied, “When I think that I tried to kill You, I feel terrible. I just can’t forgive myself.” Nityananda told him, “I accept you like My son. Sometimes a child will hit the parent, but the parent doesn’t take it seriously. I forgive you.” Madhai said, “But what about all the other people I wronged and caused pain to? I was so intoxicated, I don’t even know who they are. I don’t even know how to ask them to forgive me. I hurt so many.” And Nityananda Prabhu said, “You should make a ghata—a very beautiful ghata—with your own hand, and when people come to take bath, you prostrate yourself before them and ask them to forgive you. And serve whoever comes in any menial way. Being close to the Ganga, you will be purified.”

So, Madhai did that, and when people saw how humble he and his brother had become, their hearts melted and they gave them all affection and respect. But there were some people who were still angry, who had been so hurt by the brothers, by Madhai in particular, and seeing him in that humble position, they would take up a stone and throw it at his head. Madhai was now so meek, however, that he would pick up the stone and return it to them, saying, “I am so sinful. I’ve caused so much pain to others. Once is not enough; you should hit me again.” And even the people who were the most upset and angry had to forgive him and embrace him.

This is the mercy of Gaura-Nitai, and that was what Nityananda Prabhu wanted: that people should understand the glory of Mahaprabhu’s mercy. Srila Prabhupada took up the same mood of approaching anyone and everyone—pious or sinful, qualified or unqualified—without discrimination. As Nityananda Prabhu said, in Kali-yuga practically everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. That may be more apparent in America and Europe than in India—though I did hear a talk in which Srila Prabhupada was discussing how demonic Western civilization is and how the leaders, and pretty much everyone, are demons, but then added, “Actually in my country also, 80 percent are demons.” But still, what Prabhupada encountered in 1965 when he came into America was something that people now, especially people in India, can’t even imagine.

Krsna Candra Prabhu (Hrishikesh Mafatlal), from Mumbai, used to say that people cannot imagine who Srila Prabhupada approached when he went to America. He recommended that everyone see the DVDs of Srila Prabhupada when he came to America, first at 26 Second Avenue in New York, then at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. You just can’t believe, can’t imagine, the type of people he was approaching. And they didn’t always receive him well.

There was one incident when Srila Prabhupada was in New York—I hope you’ve read Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta; everyone should read the Lilamrta, as well as see the DVD series Following Srila Prabhupada—living in a loft in the Bowery, which was the most degraded part of the city, its “Skid Row,” inhabited mostly by drunks. But even they had a little respect. They would be sprawled out on the sidewalk and on the stairs leading up to Prabhupada’s apartment, but somehow they sensed that Prabhupada was a saintly person, and they would try to move over and make room for him to pass.

Prabhupada was staying with a young man who seemed interested in Krishna consciousness. In fact, Prabhupada thought, “I’ll train him as a Vaishnava.” But one day the young man went crazy, probably from taking LSD or something—the 1960s equivalent of the strong wine that Jagai and Madhai were taking five hundred years ago. He went crazy and wanted to attack Srila Prabhupada. And he was ready to kill him, like Madhai was ready to kill Nityananda Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada bolted out of the room and ran down the stairs, with this young man in pursuit—very similar.

It is quite a history, how Srila Prabhupada stayed in different people’s places, and what he endured for the sake of delivering the mercy of Gaura-Nitai is inconceivable. On the boat to America he had suffered two heart attacks, and even in America he had a lot of physical problems. But he endured everything—all these attacks of maya—for the sake of delivering Gaura-Nitai’s mercy to us. And what Nityananda Prabhu wanted in India has been fulfilled by Srila Prabhupada outside India. What Nityananda Prabhu wanted was fulfilled in Bengal, but through Srila Prabhupada it’s been fulfilled throughout the world. So, Srila Prabhupada is really the embodiment of that mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. There’s no one in the history of our sampradaya, no one after Nityananda Prabhu, who has taken up that mood of approaching anyone and everyone without discrimination, without considering who is qualified and who is not.

And it’s the same message: chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, accept Krishna as your life and soul—but not in so many words, because the people that Srila Prabhupada was approaching didn’t even know who Krishna was. When Nityananda approached people in Navadvipa, “Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, accept Krishna as your life and soul,” they knew who Krishna was, they knew what He was saying, but in America and Europe nobody knew who Krishna was. So just that “Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna” had to be explained in detail in books, and thus Srila Prabhupada wrote so many books to explain who is Krishna, what is Krishna’s name, how to chant Krishna’s name, how to worship Krishna, why we should accept Krishna as our life and soul, why we should surrender to Krishna—the same message that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to deliver to everyone, but in an expanded form, because the people Prabhupada was approaching had no idea of Krishna’s identity or instructions.

When we go out with Srila Prabhupada’s books, it is like when Mahaprabhu sent Nityananda and Haridasa to approach people with that message. Sometimes devotees are not well received, but even Nityananda and Haridasa were not always well received. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would have nocturnal kirtans in Srivasa Thakura’s house, and if anyone was proud, he was not allowed to enter. Only humble, pure devotees were allowed. So all these proud people in Navadvipa were upset and angry that they weren’t allowed to join the kirtan, and when Nityananda and Haridasa came, they were angry with them—“Oh, you’ve come from that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srivasa Thakura”—and they spread rumors about them: “They are thieves. They come to your door and say to chant Krishna’s name and worship Krishna, but really what they’re doing is looking in your house to see what you have so that they can come back at night and steal it.” They were spreading a lot of false propaganda. So, we have to accept that, expect it and accept it, without being deterred. It didn’t stop Nityananda Prabhu, and it didn’t stop Srila Prabhupada, and it shouldn’t stop any of us.

So, this is the continuation of Nityananda Prabhu’s mission, and Srila Prabhupada really had that mood. When one of his early disciples came to India and the Calcutta temple president phoned Prabhupada in Bombay to tell him that the devotee was smoking ganja, marijuana, and asked what to do, Prabhupada told his secretary to relay his response: “Tell him that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja, I will reject him.” Afterwards, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked Prabhupada, “Is it true that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja, you will reject him?” And Prabhupada said, “No—I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “But don’t you have to draw the line somewhere?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda is unlimited.” So that was Srila Prabhupada’s mood; he was in the mood of Nityananda Prabhu.

We are the recipients of Gaura-Nitai’s mercy through Srila Prabhupada. By Prabhupada’s mercy, we are chanting Krishna’s name and worshipping Krishna, accepting Krishna as the goal of our lives. And it is also by Prabhupada’s mercy and order that we should preach the same message to others. We can speak to our capacity, and whatever our capacity to speak may or may not be, we can give people Srila Prabhupada’s books, which convey the same message of Mahaprabhu. We just elaborate on it and present it in a way that people without any background in Vedic knowledge can understand.

So, on this most sacred and blessed occasion, we can pray to Nityananda Prabhu to inspire and empower us with His mood of humble persuasion. When He approached people, after giving the instruction He would say, “If you accept this instruction, I will consider you more dear to Me than My own life.” And if someone did not accept the sacred instruction, He would prostrate Himself at their feet and beg them to take it. He is Lord Balarama, the first of all of Krishna’s expansions; He is the origin of Maha-Sankarsana, who is in turn the origin of Maha-Vishnu, Karanodakasayi Vishnu, by whose breathing universes are generated from the pores of His body. And then a portion of that Maha-Vishnu is Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, and He enters into every universe and gives birth to Brahma and engineers the creation of every universe. And Ksirodakasayi Vishnu is the Supersoul in everyone’s heart. Nityananda is that Original Supreme Person, and He is rolling in the dust of people’s feet and begging them, “Just chant Hare Krishna.”

I saw that mood in Srila Prabhupada. He often instructed us, but I saw it personally. When we first came to Bombay, there was a program on the terrace of the house where we were staying—Seksaria Bhavan, on Marine Drive. It was very nice, very glamorous, near the sea, and our host, Kailash Seksaria, had invited all the elite, affluent aristocratic people he knew in Bombay. And Prabhupada, with the same humility as Nityananda Prabhu, implored them, “I am taking the straw in my mouth and begging you, please chant Hare Krishna”—just like Nityananda Prabhu.

Prabhupada often quoted a verse by Prabodhananda Sarasvati about how we should approach people the way Nityananda Prabhu approached them. The verse is, dante nidhaya tånakam padayor nipatya: “I take the straw in my mouth.” It is a sign of utter humility. “And I bow at your feet.” kaku-sataà krtva caham bravimi. “And I flatter you a hundred times.” He sadava: “O great learned man.” Sakalam eva vihaya durad: “Whatever you have learned, you keep it far away from you.” And caitanya-candra-caraëe kurutanuragam: “Just accept the mercy of Lord Gauranga, just surrender to Lord Gauranga, become attached to Lord Gauranga’s lotus feet.” And Srila Prabhupada did it himself.

There was a big shipper in Bombay who was avoiding me. I had been successful with many big people in Bombay, but I just couldn’t get through to him at his office—too many secretaries and too many doors. So, one weekend I took a chance and went to his house. The man was totally unprepared, and when he opened the door and saw me, there was a little respect, or etiquette: he didn’t slam the door in my face; he invited me in. I could see that he was very smug, and the first thing he said was, “What can I do for you?” I responded, “I haven’t come so you can do something for me. I’ve come to do something for you.” And he said, “You’ve come to do something for me? What can you do for me?” “I’ve come to engage you in Krishna’s service.”

That evening, when I gave my report to Srila Prabhupada (as Haridasa and Nityananda would give their reports to Mahaprabhu), Prabhupada said, “To preach, you have to be very humble. If you approach a materialistic person and say . . .” Of course, sometimes Prabhupada would say the opposite, so it really depends on the context, but in this case he said, “If you approach someone and say, ‘Everything is Krishna’s property—you’ve stolen it all from Krishna, and you should return it to Krishna, the sooner the better,’ they will get angry: ‘What do you mean? It’s my hard-earned money. What do you mean it belongs to Krishna?’ But if you say, ‘We’re building a temple—I’ve come as a beggar to your door,’ ‘Oh, a beggar has come. Oh, okay, take something and go.’ ”

So, in that humble mood, Nityananda was begging. He wasn’t begging for money; He was begging for people to take the holy name—literally begging, falling at their feet, rolling in the dust, and begging them. And that, in essence, is what Prabhupada did with us.

And none of us would be here today if Srila Prabhupada hadn’t done what he did.

Many Indians have told me, “I’m so glad I met the devotees here in America and became Krishna conscious here.” They say, “I can’t be Krishna conscious like this in India, because of the association of the family members.” I have devotee friends who, when their family members and friends want them to drink alcohol and eat meat, refuse and are questioned, “What’s wrong with you? You went to America and now you’ve come back. You’re supposed to be the leader in these things. Now you won’t even touch them.” So, people everywhere are pretty fallen.

I’ll conclude with one of my favorite statements of Srila Prabhupada’s. He said, “To approach Radha and Krishna, you need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, and to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, you need the mercy of Lord Nityananda, and to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, you have to approach people like Jagai and Madhai.” So if we ever feel, “Oh, I’m too high, I’m too holy, I can’t approach these people,” we should think of that instruction and Srila Prabhupada’s own example and Nityananda Prabhu’s example and really pray, beg, to be humble instruments of their love and mercy and compassion. As Srila Prabhupada’s guru maharaja told him, that will be good for you and good for the people who hear you. Most of all, we should loudly chant the holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Nityananda-trayodasi, February 12, 2014, San Diego]

Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=18590

The story of Varaha Dvadasi begins in a time when the universe was facing a great crisis. The demon Hiranyaksha had gained enormous power through severe austerities. With his strength and pride, he attacked the demigods and defeated them one by one. His heart was filled with greed, and his actions were driven by ego and cruelty. He looted gold, wealth, and sacred resources, disturbing the natural balance of creation. His destructive behavior did not stop with material theft. He went so far as to attack Mother Earth herself.

Because of Hiranyaksha’s violence and misuse of power, the Earth was pushed out of her proper place and submerged deep into the Garbhodaka Ocean. Darkness spread across the universe, and fear filled the hearts of all living beings. Crops could not grow, life could not survive, and harmony was completely lost. Seeing this unbearable situation, the demigods understood that only the Supreme Lord could save the universe now.

So today is Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day – Nityananda Trayodasi therefore we will start our class with a verse from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.7

sankarsanah karana-toya-sayi garbhoda-sayi ca payobdhi-sayi sesas ca yasyamsa-kalah sa nitya- nandakhya-ramah saranam mamastu

TRANSLATION: May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions. [CC Adi 1.7]

HH Bhakti Charu Swami: At the beginning of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Nityananda Prabhu’s identity has been revealed in this way. At the beginning Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s identity has been revealed in three slokas and then Nityananda Prabhu’s identity has been revealed in five slokas. Out of those five this is the first one indicating who Nityananda Prabhu is. Nityananda Prabhu is Balarama Himself.

Balarama is Krishna’s first expansion. When Krishna comes as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu once in a day of Brahma to reveal the actual purpose of Krishna’s Braja lila he comes as a devotee and Balarama comes with Him as Nityananda Prabhu. Actually Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes along with His parsadas – His associates and His entourage. Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears as Panca-tattva –
(as we worship in the temple here), whose identity has been revealed as:

panca-tattvatmakam krsnam bhakta-rupa-svarupakam bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta-saktikam [Adi 1.14]

Krishna Himself comes as a devotee, bhakta. And then bhakta-svarup – Nityananda Prabhu comes as bhakta svarup – as a devotee Himself. And an incarnation of bhakta is Mahavisnu Himself who comes as Advaita Acarya. Then bhakta sakti – Gadadhara Pandit, Radharani herself comes as Gadadhara Pandita and then narada Muni comes as Srivas Thakura. Five of Them are identified as the Lord in this five feature – Panca-tattva.

sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

So they came with a specific purpose. The specific purpose is to inundate the whole universe, the whole world with the mercy of Krishna – premer vanya loiya nitai aila gauda-dese [SVA 1978-1996 4: Nitai Guna Mani] And in this mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu plays a very special role. He is the sole distributor. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is coming to distribute this Krishna consciousness and Nityananda Prabhu as the sole selling authority.

As Bhaktivinode Thakur pointed out that there is a market place of the holy name – nama-hatta, the market place of the holy name. And in that market place what is being sold? What is the market place/ It is the market place of the holy name. And who is the mahajana? In that market place of the holy name Nityananda Prabhu is the mahajana. Mahajana means the sole selling authority.

So if anybody wants to buy the holy name he must buy it from the sole selling authority, Nityananda Prabhu – heno nitai bine bhai, radha-krsna paite nai, [song Nitai-Pada-Kamala] The holy name is representing Radha and Krishna and without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu this Radha Krishna or Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy cannot possibly be available. This had been displayed very wonderfully by the pastimes of the lord with Raghunath Dasa Goswami.

Raghunath Dasa Goswami was the son of a very, very wealthy person. We cannot even imagine what is their opulence like. And Raghunath Dasa Goswami was the only son – not the only son of his father but Raghunath Dasa Goswami was the only son, only male child of an entire family. Such an opulent family, such a wealthy family and the only successor is Raghunath Dasa Goswami. Raghunath Dasa Goswami became attracted to Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and since then he just wanted to run awayand be with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But whenever he ran away his father used to send his soldiers and get him back. He tried to run away but he didn’t succeed.

Then finally one day he came to know that Nityananda Prabhu came to Pannihati. Pannihati is a place which is not very far from the home in Saptagram which is now known as Triveni. That city is situated in the confluence of three rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati. When Raghunath Dasa Goswami got to know that Nityananda Prabhu came there he took the opportunity to meet Him. He went there. When Nityananda Prabhu saw him offering obeisances – actually some of Nityananda Prabhu’s associates pointed out that Raghunath is offering obeisances to Him from a distance.

So hearing the name Nityananda Prabhu responded, “Oh finally the thief has come. Bring him to Me. I want to punish him. You are a thief so I should punish you.” And what was the punishment? The punishment was which is celebrated every year as Cidha- dadhi festival – the festival of chipped rice and yoghurt. So that is the punishment that Nityananda Prabhu gave him. “Okay the punishment is that you have to feed Me and all My associates with chipped rice and yoghurt.”

Now the question is why Nityananda Prabhu addressed Raghunath Dasa Goswami as a thief? It is because Caitanaya Mahaprabhu is Nityananda Prabhu’s property. heno nitai bine bhai, radha-krsna paite nai, [ song Nitai-Pada-Kamala] One cannot get Radha Krishna which is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One cannot possibly get Caitanya Mahaprabhu without Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy. Raghunath Dasa Goswami tried to approach Caitanya Mahaprabhu directly as if he is trying to steal Nityananda Prabhu’s property. That is why he called him a thief.

After this punishment Raghunath Dasa Goswami fed not only Nityananda Prabhu and His associates but he actually fed whoever came there – even the people who came to sell their commodities like sweets and yoghurt and all kinds of sweetmeats and other stuffs. Even they were fed to their hearts content.

Then we see Raghunath Dasa Goswami manages to escape from home and then this time nobody could catch him. Then he went to Jagannath Puri. This time also he did not take the normal route, not the main road. He took the village road and through the forest he actually arrived in Jagannath Puri. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him because he received the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. So if we want to approach Caitanya Mahaprabhu, if we want to approach Radha Krishna, the purpose of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance or the purpose of Krishna’s appearing as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was simply to give Radha Krishna of Vrindavan – Vraja.

Braja Vrinadavan – the loving relationship of Vraja is very special. Generally devotional service is rendered through vaidhi-bhakti or following the rules and regulations of the scriptures. When one follows the rules and regulations of scriptures and achieves its perfection by following vaidhi-bhakti then he arrives at Vaikuntha. The goal of vaidhi-bhakti is for… but Vrindavan is beyond vaidhi-bhakti. So Krishna actually considered now I have revealed My Vraja-lila.

yathesta vihari’ krsna kare antardhana antardhana kari’ mane kare anumana [Adi 3.13]

After performing His Vraja-lila Krishna went back to the spiritual sky. He disappeared or he withdrew His pastimes, but then He considered I revealed My Vraja-lila but how will anyone ever enter into Vraja, Goloka Vrindavan? Because generally a living entity, a devotee serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead by following Vaidhi-bhakti. But by practicing vaidhi-bhakti we will arrive in Vaikuntha. So the consideration is how will anyone enter into Vrindavan? Because devotional service must be followed by the process of vaidhi.

sruti-smrti-puranadi- pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.101]

If one practices or performs devotional service very sincerely, aikantiki, very earnestly he performs his devotional service but if it is not in conformity of the vidhi or sruti, smrti, puranadi etc. then it will simply create a disturbance – utpatayaiva kalpate – it will simply create a disturbance.

So in this way it has been pointed out that devotional service must be executed following vaidhi-bhakti. But the problem is that by following vaidhi-bhakti one will enter into Vaikuntha. But from Vaikuntha there is no access to Vrindavan. One cannot go to Vrindavan from Vaikuntha. So how will one ever enter into Vrindavan? Therefore Krishna thought of one way. And that way is that He became a devotee. He did not come as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He came as a devotee. And when this devotee-Krishna is worshipped following vaidhi-bhakti then one gets access to Goloka Vrindavan. So this has been pointed out in Caitanya-caritamrta third chapter. So this is the way.

Another consideration here is that there are two types of bhakti – vaidhi-bhakti and raganuga-bhakti. Vaidhi-bhakti means as I mentioned earlier, following the rules and regulations of the scriptures – sruti smrti puranadi pancaratra-vidhim but raganuga-bhakti: Raga means love, prema. So the devotees of Vrindavan, their devotion is founded on their intense love for Krishna. Therefore the bhakti in Vrindavan is known as prema-bhakti and the devotees of Vrindavan are known as ragatmika bhaktas the devotees whose identity is simply love for Krishna. So they are known as ragatmika bhakta. And anuga means follow. When one renders devotional service following the ragatmika bhaktas of Vrindavan that becomes raganuga-bhakti. So raganuga-bhakti is the way to enter into Vrindavan.

The problem here is as we just mentioned – that devotional service must be rendered by following the vidhi of the scriptures or rules and regulations of the scriptures but the way to enter into Vrindavan is raganuga-bhakti. Raganuga-bhakti means following the ragatmika bhaktas of Vrindavan.

So Krishna came as a devotee. So who is that devotee that Caitanya Mahaprabhu came as? Srimati Radharani! Krishna is playing the role of Radharani. Krishna became Radharani. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore when one follows Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is he following? When one is rendering his service following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu he is following Srimati Radharani – the most exhalted ragatmika bhakta of Vrindavan. Therefore vaidhi-bhakti to Caitanya Mahaprabhu is automatically transforming into raganuga-bhakti. This point i wanted to mention emphatically because some individuals are now propagating that Prabhupada did not give everything, indicating that Prabhupada did not give us raganuga-bhakti. But Srila Prabhupada gave us what Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave.

It is Krishna’s divine arrangement that how vaidhi-bhakti will automatically transform into raganuga-bhakti and one will have a direct access to Goloka Vrindavan. Anyway the point here is those who are following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are the real raganuga bhaktas because they are following Srimati Radharani. Krishna came as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to play the role of Srimati Radharani.

Sometimes devotees ask Radha Krishna came together as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then why do you say Gadadhara Pandit is Srimati Radharani? What is the purpose of Radharani appearing as Gadadhara Pandit? The answer to that is. When Krishna decided to play the role of Radharani, Radharani decided, “Let Me watch. Let Me see how Krishna plays that role.” And that is why She came as Gadadhara Pandit – Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s constant companion. All the time he is with Caitanya Mahaprabhu just watching and appreciating, “Well done Krishna!” [Laughter]

When Krishna came as Caitanya Mahaprabhu Balarama came as Nityananda Prabhu. Balarama came as Nityananda Prabhu – that has been pointed out in this verse. Who is Nityananda Prabhu? Balarama’s expansion is actually catur-vyuha: Vasudeva Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna in Dvaraka. Then expands Narayana in Vaikuntha. From that Narayan catur-vyuha expands Karanodakasayi Visnu. Then He expands as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu. That is being pointed out here that these three purusa avataras are His incarnations. This amsa and also Sesa-naga. They are His amsa and kalah and expansions of His expansions is known as kalah. So that is Nityananda Prabhu whose expansions and expansions are the purusa avataras and Sesa-naga.

So that Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as the son of Hadai Pandita and Padmavati, two very, very exalted devotees in a place known as Ekacakra which is about 150km north of here. I am sure many of you have gone there. How many of you have visited Ekacakra? Wonderful! So that is the place of Nityananda Prabhu. That place is known as Radhadesa – place where the Ganga doesn’t flow. And the place where Ganga doesn’t flow is considered to be an unholy place. So Nityananda Prabhu actually appeared in a place which is considered to be rather unholy because Ganga didn’t flow there. In this way we can see how the Lord appeared in a rather inauspicious place to distribute His mercy in this fallen age of Kali to the most fallen living entities.

The other consideration of course is that Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes are covered. Therefore even though these are all most exalted places but they are not generally known until the lord and his associates appeared. When They appeared then the glory of those places become manifest. What happens when the Lord appears in the dhama or in the holy places? The place becomes full of opulences.

jayati te ‘dhikam janmana vrajah srayata indira sasvad atra hi [SB 10.31.1]

The gopis are singing in the Gopi-gita that, “Ever since you have taken birth in Vrindavan, Krishna Vrindavan has become most fortunate because Indira, Laxmidevi is constantly residing here.” So wherever there is Laxmidevi there is all kinds of opulences and good fortune there. So this is how Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance also caused this Radhadesh to become extremely opulent. People all of a sudden became very happy, very fortunate. There was no disease. There was no scarcity of food. The atmosphere became very beautiful and nature started to shower her mercy abundantly.

Naturally Nityananda Prabhu was very, very dear to His parents. He was an extremely beautiful child. And from His childhood he was constantly absorbed in Krishna consciousness. When children play with their friends Nityananda Prabhu used to invent different types of games centred around the Lords pastimes. “Okay let’s play the pastimes of killing Dhenukasura. Let us go to the Tal forest and I will shake the Tal tree and as the Tal fruits will fall the sound that will be created by the falling of the Tal trees will make Dhenukasura very agitated and he will come.” And one of the boys were to play the role of Dhenukasura and Nityananda Prabhu will smash him. In this way they would just enact different pastimes of the Lord.

One day they were playing the pastimes of Laksmana being struck by Sakti weapon. Nityananda Prabhu was playing the role of Laksmana and one boy was playing the role of Megnath, Indrajith and he hit Him with the shell, Sakti. We can see the shell is actually Sanskrit word – bombshell – Shakti shell! So Laksmana fainted. Nityananda Prabhu playing the part of Laksmana fainted in such a way that there was no sign of life in His body. All the boys became very worried. They thought that He really fainted. So everyone came running and the grownups also saw that there were no signs of life in His body so they became very, very worried.

Then one boy remembered that he was playing the role of Hanuman so he remembered to bring the mountain. So he brought the mountain. Then one boy was supposed to play the doctor. So he brought the mountain to the doctor and said, “Look I could not find the … that you wanted me to collect. I could not find out which one was … so I brought the whole mountain. So you please collect the herb from here.” So the boy who was playing the doctor collected that from there and he rubbed it and held the leaves in front of Nityananda Prabhu’s nose and immediately He came back to His senses. So this is how Nityananda Prabhu was playing His childhood with His friends in total absorption of the pastimes of the Supreme personality of Godhead.

One day one sannyasi came to Ekacakra. It is a Vedic custom that when a sannyasi comes to some place the brahmanas would generally invite him to his house. Generally the sannyasi would accept the invitation of a brahmana. So one such sannyasi came and Hadai Pandit invited him to his house and he came and Hadai Pandit made him stay and have Krishna Prasad. That whole night he spent with Nityananda Prabhu. At that time Nityananda Prabhu was about twelve years old and he spent the night with the sannyasi speaking about krsna-katha.

In the morning when the sannyasi was about to leave (it is also a custom when respected guests like that come home the householder asks him what he can offer him. What he could give him. Generally they give some daksina or some fruits) So when Hadai Pandit asked this sannyasi, the sannyasi told him, “If you really want to give me something then please give me your son.”

Hadai Pandits condition at that time was like that of a person who had been struck by a thunderbolt because he could not bear the separation from Nityananda Prabhu even for a moment. Now here was this sannyasi asking him for his only son! But Hadai Pandit was so truthful that he said, “Okay. Take Him.” This is how Nityananda Prabhu left home at the age of twelve and he started to travel with the sannyasi. He travelled extensively all over India.

When He was in western India Nityananda Prabhu came across Madhavendra Puri and both of them became ecstatic seeing each other. Eventually Nityananda Prabhu took initiation from Madhavendra Puri and He started to travel all over India. He travelled south were He came to Ganga Sagara which is the confluence of the Ganges, the ocean where Kapila Muni’s asrama is.

Then He travelled north to Vrindavan. When He went to Vrindavan he settled down there. He just stayed in Vrindavana until Caitanya Mahaprabhu started His sankirtan movement Caitanya Mahaprabhu also initially was not displaying any devotional attitude as such – devotion to Krishna as such. He was more of a scholar, a logician and undefeatable in debate. Nobody could defeat Him in argument. They are saying that He was so smart, He was so intelligent – naturally! He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He would prove that day is night. [Laughter] And then He will reverse it and prove back that day is day. So this is how brilliant He was.

The devotees like Srivas Thakur used to feel very sad at seeing that such a brilliant personality is not accepting Krishna consciousness. Sometimes they would even try to avoid Him. One day Srivas Thakur was coming from one direction and he saw Caitanya Mahaprabhu is coming from the other direction and he changed his course and started to go in another direction. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was just a young man at that time of about sixteen years old. Seeing that He asked Srivas Thakur, “Why are you avoiding Me? I noticed the moment you saw Me you changed your course. What is the matter with you?”

Srivas Thakur told Him that, “Look Nimai why don’t You take to Krishna consciousness. Why are You wasting Your time in dry logic and arguments?” At that time Caitanya Mahaprabhu told him. “Srivas mark My words. One day I will take to devotional service and I will become such a devotee that you all will become surprised.”

That actually happened when Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Gaya to perform the sraddha ceremony for His father. There He got to know Isvara Puri was there and He met with him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu had already met Isvara Puri once when Isvara Puri came to Navadvip and became the guest of His father. Now He got to know that Isvara Puri was in Gaya so He met Isvara Puri and begged him to give Him initiation. Isvara Puri gave Him and from that time there was a total transformation in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. That scholar, that logician, the brilliant personality became totally absorbed in krsna-prema. All the time He was crying, “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna? Where can I find Krishna?”

Some people thought that Caitanya Mahaprabhu actually became mad Madness is caused by the imbalance of air. There are five kinds of air in the body: prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana [Mundaka Upanisad 3.1.9] therefore they thought that He got a disease caused by air which actually meant madness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was brought to Navadvip by His associates who accompanied Him there. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu started His sankirtan movement. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu started His sankirtan movement Nityananda Prabhu decided to join. So He left Vrindavan and he came to Navadvip. He came to Navadvip but he did not come directly to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He became the guest of Nandanacarya whose house was very close-by.

Nandanacarya was a great devotee and Nityananda Prabhu was staying at his place. One morning Caitanya Mahaprabhu told His devotees, told His associates, “Last night early in the morning I had a dream of one great personality whose complexion was like camphor white. He was carrying a plough and a stick and He arrived here. So the dreams of early morning do not go in vain so such a personality must have arrived here. Now You all go and find Him out and bring Him to Me.”

They all looked around but they couldn’t find Him. They came back to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and reported that they couldn’t find anyone. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Okay! Let us go. I will go and see if I can find Him.” He went straight to Nandanacarya’s house and they found Nityananda Prabhu sitting there in trance totally absorbed in thoughts of Krishna.

Srivas Thakur the recited a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam. And just by hearing that verse Nityananda Prabhu fell on the ground and fainted. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also seeing Nityananda Prabhu in that condition picked Him up and placed Him on His lap and this is how the two brothers met here in Navadvip. This is how Nityananda Prabhu joined Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan movement.

The Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Sri Rama Pandit who was Srivas Pandit’s brother to go and report to Advaita Acarya about the arrival of Nityananda Prabhu. So he went and Advaita Acarya immediately came running from Santipura to Navadvip to meet Nityananda Prabhu. In this way now the Panca-tattva became complete. Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu – Nityananda Prabhu came from Vrindavan, Advaita Acarya came from Santipura and Gadadhara Pandit and Srivas Thakura were already here. This is how the sankirtan movement started.

Actually Caitanya Mahaprabhu had told Nityananda Prabhu to stay at Srivas Thakura’s house. So Nityananda Prabhu was residing in Srivas Thakura’s house which is Srivas-angam and is not too far from here. One day Saci-mata told Caitanya Mahaprabhu that she had a dream. Therein she saw that Balarama was there and she was feeding Him all kinds of delicious Prasad. Then she saw in place of Balarama she was feeding Nityananda Prabhu. So when she told Caitanya Mahaprabhu then He said “Okay let us invite Nityananda Prabhu for lunch Prasad.” So Nityananda Prabhu came and he started to call Saci-mata as mother. In this way two brothers became united – Krishna Balarama became united in Their Navadvip lila.

Then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to perform Vyasa-puja. So the arrangement was made for Vyasa-puja. Srivas Thakura gave the garland to Nityananda Prabhu to place on Vyasadeva but Nityananda Prabhu took the garland and placed it on Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Nityananda Prabhu was made to sit down and everyone celebrated His Vyasa-puja. Nityananda Prabhu was a sannyasi so he was carrying His danda and he had a water pot. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke His danda and threw it away in the Ganga thus pointing out that Nityananda Prabhu does not need to play the role of a sannyasa. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then Nityananda Prabhu showed His six armed form to all of the devotees. Four arms of Narayana – catur-bhuja and he was also holding a stick or sannyasa danda and water pot.

Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura to go from door to door and preach Krishna consciousness.

suno suno nityananda, suno haridas sarvatra amar ajna koroho parkas [Sri Caitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya-Khanda 13.8-10]

Just go and instruct everybody about My instructions – go from door to door
– prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa – go door to door and beg. Generally people beg for some material thing. But what Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked them to beg for? That please chant the holy names. Please worship Krishna and please practice the process of devotional service. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “In this way You spend the day and in the evening come and report to Me.” So they used to do that every day. Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura used to go from door to door and beg everyone to chant the holy name of the Lord and lead the life of a devotee.

One day they saw two very dangerous personalities. Everybody was afraid of them. They were so sinful and extremely ferocious. So Nityananda Prabhu consulted with Haridas Thakura that if we can convert these two people then everyone will recognise the glory or greatness of Mahaprabhu’s mission. So thinking that, they approached them. As Nityananda Prabhu approached them that, “Please my dear brothers chant the holy names of the Lord.” These two personalities became extremely insulted.

“You dare to instruct me on what I should do.” They said, “Kill Him! Kill Him!” They were so ferocious actually. They would kill anybody at the bat of an eyelid. They were so dangerous. Just for this act of Nityananda Prabhu they wanted to kill Him. Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura ran and they chased them. While running they came to a place of a potter who had stacks of clay pots. They hid behind those clay pots and Jagai and Madhai couldn’t find Them.

That evening Haridas Thakura and Nityanada Prabhu went to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and reported what happened. Haridas Thakura was so called afraid. These are pastimes. And he reported to Advaita Acarya, “I am not going to go out with Him anymore. Today i would have lost my life. Both of us would have been dead but by the mercy of the Lord somehow we escaped. These two dacoits are so ferocious that if they caught us they would have killed us. Besides that this guy is completely crazy – Nityananda Prabhu. He is completely crazy! He jumps into the Ganges that is completely infested with crocodiles and he not only jumps into the river but he chases the crocodiles. Sometimes he would steal from the houses of the cowherd folks – gopas. He would steal from their house butter and yoghurt and then he would run. Sometimes if they can catch us they would beat us up. He can run fast but I can’t run that fast.” In this way he was reporting to Srila Advaita Acarya but at the same time Nityananda Prabhu convinced him, “Come. I need a companion to preach with.”

One day again they had encountered Jagai and Madhai and Nityananda Prabhu told him, “Please chant the holy names of the Lord.” They were drinking alcohol from a clay pot. In those days glass bottles were there but they were very rare. Generally they used to use clay-pots. This time Madhai took that clay pot and hit Nityananda Prabhu and He started to bleed. The news reached Caitanya Mahaprabhu and immediately Caitanya Mahaprabhu came. He not only came but He was furious. He started to invoke Sudarsan-chakra. He wanted to kill these two demons. Nityananda Prabhu fell at His feet. While grabbing His feet with both arms he prayed that, “In this incarnation You promised not to use any weapon. So please counteract their demoniac propensities with Your love. That is Your promise. You have killed the demons in this age so please forgive them.”

At that time Madhai wanted to hit Nityananda Prabhu again but Jagai, the elder brother actually stopped him and told him not to do that. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was pleased to hear that. He said, “Okay. So I will forgive you.” So he was forgiven and he saw Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s spiritual form. But Madhai could not see that. Jagai fell at His feet and started to cry. But then Nityananda Prabhu begged Him, “Please forgive the other one also. Although he hit me it doesn’t matter.”

Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “If he begs forgiveness from You falling at Your feet then i may forgive him.” So Madhai did that. In this way these two demons, Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa, Ravana, Kumbhakana and Sisupala and Dantavakra came in three previous ages and became delivered by Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy.

I shall end the class with one small episode of Nityananda Prabhu’s marriage. Nityananda Prabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has two potencies with Him. In South India we notice that all the temples have two Laxmis on both sides – two saktis on two sides. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also had Vinupriya and Laxmipriya. Nityananda Prabhu’s saktis are Jahnavadevi and Vasudhadevi – Sri and Bhu. So Nityananda Prabhu was preaching in Bengal. That was the instruct Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave Him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Him to go back to Bengal and preach although He wanted to stay with Caitanya Mahaprabhu when he went to Jagannath Puri.

There is a place called Ambika Kalna which is just the other side of the Ganges. Opposite to Santipura is this place called Ambika Kalna. There was a very exhalted brahamana. His name was Surya Dasa Pandita and his brother was Gauri Dasa Pandita. These two brothers were great devotees of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu actually went to meet them before he took sannyasa. And Gauri Dasa Pandita used to wait for Caitanya Mahaprabhu to come but Caitanya Mahaprabhu decided to take sannyasa so when Mahaprabhu was leaving Gauri Dasa Pandita said, “No You can’t leave. You have to stay.” Then Mahaprabhu said, “Okay. You make a deity of Me and in that deity form I will be here.”

There is a very beautiful episode here. Gauri Dasa Pandita made the deity of Gaura Nitai and then when Caitanya Mahaprabhu was leaving he came running. He said, “Look, You told me that You are going to stay here.” He said, “Yes, there in the house.” He said, “No, no. I don’t want Them. I want You.” So Mahaprabhu went and with Nityananda Prabhu and They became the Deities and the Deities became Nityananda Prabhu and Caitanya Mahaprabhu and They started to walk to the Ganges. Then he came and said, “No You have to come. I want the one that moves and talks.” In this way so many times They went back and forth that Gauri Dasa Pandita could not figure out who is the real Gaura Nitai and who are the deities. These deities are still there in Ambika Kalna which is not too far from here. I am sure many of you have seen those deities.

So Nityananda Prabhu was in Ambika Kalna and the devotees were very ecstatic that Nityananda Prabhu was giving them His association. One day Nityananda Prabhu came to Surya Dasa Pandita and told him, “I want to marry your daughter.” Surya Dasa Pandita said, “I am a brahmana and the custom is that a brahmana’s daughter should be married to a person from a proper caste. And we don’t know what caste You are.” [Laughter] “Besides that we have to also check the horoscope whether it matches.”

So Nityananda Prabhu left and Surya Dasa started to consult with the other devotees there about what should be done. He said, “Last night I had a dream. I saw one personality who is big bodied, like a wrestler’s body and his form is as beautiful as Kandarpa. Kamadeva, Cupid. He was carrying a plough and a stick in his hand. Then I saw him next to my daughter. So I could understand that this is Balarama. I couldn’t figure out what is this dream.” And then somebody said, “Since you dreamt early in the morning then this dream must be true.”

When they were talking like that Jahnavadevi who was just a young girl at that time fainted with a loud sound and they heard the sound of someone falling. They came out of the room and found that Jahnavadevi just fainted. So they immediately called a doctor and the doctor checked her and said, “It is a terrible kind of epilepsy. I can’t cure it. I am sorry i can’t cure this patient.”

Then somebody suggested that it seems that you have committed an offence to Nityananda Prabhu and therefore this is what has happened. So please go and call Him. So Nityananda Prabhu was brought to the house and when the fragrance of Nityananda Prabhu’s body entered into Jahnava Mata’s nostrils she came back to her senses. She sat up and said, “What happened? Where am I?” Saying that she felt very shy and walked inside the house.

In this way the marriage was now arranged for Nityananda Prabhu. With great pomp this wedding ceremony was celebrated. Many, many rich people sponsored the wedding and it was a grand wedding. So after the wedding Nityananda Prabhu stayed in the house of Surya Dasa Pandita for a few days.

One day Vasudhadevi, Jahnavadevi’s sister was serving Nityananda Prabhu. Jahnavadevi cooked and Vasudhadevi was serving. So when she was serving her sari just fell off her head. So she generated two more arms. Because she was serving with two hands and with two other arms she covered her hair. So seeing that Nityananda Prabhu made her sit on His right hand side. In this way Nityananda Prabhu told her father, Suya Dasa Pandita that, “I got married to the elder one, now I want the younger one as a…” Surya dasa’s response was, “Me and everything that belongs to me belongs to You. So take whatever You want.” In this way Nityananda Prabhu united with His two saktis
– Jahnavadevi and Vasudhadevi. Hare Krishna! Sriman Nityananda Prabhu Ki! Jai! Gaura-premanande hari haribol! [Aplause] Hare Krishna. Today it is quiet late so I won’t take any questions – maybe some other time. Gaura- premanande Hari Haribol.

By Bhakti Vigna Vinasa Narasimha Swami

Jaya Jaya Sri Caitanya Jaya Nityananda!
Jaya Advaitacandra Jaya Gaurabhakta vrnda!

So today the auspicious day of the appearance day of Lord Nityananda. We will attempt to speak some of the glories of Lord Nityananda for the pleasure of the devotees.

Lord Nityananda appeared in Ekacakra dhama. Lord Nityananda was the son of Hadai Ojha and Padmavati. Hadai Ojha was brahmana. Padmavati was the daughter of a king, Mukuta Roy. I had the opportunity last week of going to some of the places around Ekacakra with HH Bhakti Nityananda Swami. Of course he is Bengali, so he able to research many of the places and he showed me the place actually where Nityananda’s father in law lived. His name was Mukuta Roy. Actually that place today, there is a saw mill there in that place. But for us its the birthplace of one of the family members in the line of Lord Nityananda.

So Mukuta Roy was a king and as a king he had to go and fight wars. His daughter Padmavati was six years old when he left home. And when he returned home it was twelve years later and his daughter had grown up quite a bit. So much so that when he first saw his daughter he did not recognise her. Instead he looked at her as simply as an attractive young woman. And the girl could understand the thinking of her father. And she went and told her mother. The mother came and told her husband, “You foolish man! This is your own daughter. She is eighteen years old now. You’ve been away from home so long, you do not recognise her.”

So Mukuta Roy when he heard these words he vowed, tomorrow morning I will our daughter married to the first man we meet. And that was Hadai Ojha. So Hadai Ojha and Padmavati were married but Hadai Ojha is a brahmana. He was just doing puja in the different temples there, in Ekacakra, there is many Shiva temples there. He said, “I have no money! How can I take care of your daughter? You are a king. She is used to opulence!” But Mukuta Roy said, “Don’t worry, I will provide everything.” And he donated lands, and treasure, all kinds of dowry were given for the marriage to take place.

So Lord Nityananda appeared in that family and He lived with Padmavati and Hadai Ojha for twelve years. The pastimes of Lord Nityananda there in Ekacakra are described in Caitanya Bhagavata. How in the association of the other children there, they reenacted all the pastimes of the Lord in His different incarnations. And even the local people were amazed that how the children know all of these things. Even we don’t know, we are learning from them. But it was all known to Lord Nityananda. He could guide them and inform them how to perform all of these different pastimes.

Lord Nityananda understood that His parents were deeply attached to Him and that He somehow or other had to get free from their attachment. So it was arranged that a sadhu would come and visit their home. And Hadai Ojha being a dutiful brahmana offered this sannyasi to come to his home and take food and offered all kinds of charities – “Whatever I can provide for you, please tell me! Don’t hesitate to ask.”

So then when it came time for the sannyasi to leave then he said, “You just give me your son! That will be the best thing you can do. I am alone, I am travelling alone. I am a sannyasi.” Just like Lord Caitanya as a sannyasi, He was travelling alone. He wanted to travel alone but the devotees told Him, “No, You should have someone with You. Someone can carry Your danda, or carry Your waterpot, when You have to go begging.”

So in this way this sannyasi told Hadai Ojha that “If your son can come with me it will help me a lot in my travels. I am going to visit all the holy places.” So in this way Lord Nityananda went with this sannyasi, visited all the holy places. But it was not a new experience for Lord Nityananda because Lord Nityananda is not different from Lord Balarama. And Lord Balarama had also visited all the holy places. In order to avoid taking part in the Kuruksetra war Lord Balarama had gone off on pilgrimage and visited all the holy places. In the same way Lord Nityananda was desiring to visit all of these holy places again. Just like once we come to Mayapur and Vrindavana we leave our heart here, right? We have to come back, find our heart again. So this is the nature of the holy places that we can never forget them. And in the same way Lord Nityananda was eager to visit all of those holy places which He had seen in His previous incarnation.

So Lord Nityananda after twenty years of travelling came to live in Vrindavana. And it was in Vrindavana that He heard how the pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were beginning. Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His early childhood, in His youth, He had been a scholar, He had been a logician and He had His own school. But after going to Gaya and being initiated by Isvara Puri, then His bhava, His love for the Lord had been aroused. And He had began having regular kirtana with the devotees. So Lord Nityananda being not different from Lord Caitanya could understand that Lord Caitanya was beginning His pastimes, beginning to inaugurate the sankirtana movement.

Lord Nityananda returned to Mayapur. But before He returned to Mayapur Caitanya Mahaprabhu was informing the devotees there in Mayapur, that very soon a great personality is going to come and visit us. He is going to come here. All the devotees were wondering, “Who is this? We don’t know! What’s happening! Who is this person who is going to come?” And then Lord Caitanya after a few days He said, “That personality came in My dream! He is already here in Mayapur! He came in My dream and He told Me, He is My brother. He is not different from Me. He appeared in My dream and in My dream, He came to My house and He was speaking Hindi!” Could you imagine it? In Bengal speaking Hindi? Nowadays of course because of Hindi movies, and Hindi songs and so on Bengalis also know Hindi. But five hundred years ago it was a different situation. So to be in Bengal, to speak Hindi, its like speaking Chinese. Nobody could understand, right!

So in the dream Lord Caitanya said, “I saw this personality and He was speaking in Hindi – ‘Is this the home of Mahaprabhu? Is this the home of Nimai Pandita.’ ?” And He asked ten or twenty times because no one could understand of course. So Lord Caitanya told all the devotees, “This personality has now come to Mayapur. We have to find Him. You have to go and bring Him here.” So He instructed Srivasa Pandita and Haridasa Thakura, His two very intimate associates who were both maha-bhagavata devotees. And He told them, “Go find this person! He is here in Mayapur! You bring me here!”

So Haridasa and Srivasa Pandita left and they went all over Mayapur. They came back after nine hours and they told Lord Caitanya, “We have searched everywhere! We didn’t just go to the grhastha’s homes, we visited the sannyasi’s. We even went to the homes of the atheists. We went to every home we could find. We cannot find this personality anywhere!”

This the mystery of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is not different from Lord Balarama. And He is the original spiritual master. Without the mercy of Krishna, we cannot contact a spiritual master. In the same way without Lord Caitanya we cannot get connection to Lord Nityananda. We were hearing in the song, we have to have a connection with Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is not different from Lord Balarama. He is the original spiritual master. He is visnu-tattva. He is not different from the Lord but He comes in the mood of the servant of the Lord. He is the servitor personality of Godhead. And He comes to teach all of us the mood of rendering service to the Supreme Lord.

So Srivasa Pandita and Haridasa Thakura, they told Lord Caitanya, “We cannot find this person anywhere.” Lord Caitanya said, “I will take you to Him.” And Lord Caitanya then arose and all the devotees followed Him with kirtana and they proceeded to the home of Nandana Acarya. Nandana Acarya’s house is very near, its the next house you could say, its the next temple down the road, on the way to Jalangi we pass the home of Nandana Acarya. Nandana Acarya is also a maha-bhagavata devotee. It is described in the Caitanya Caritamrta that he is the seventeenth branch of the tree of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And it is noteworthy that in his home, it was in his home that not only Lord Nityananda was hiding but later on Advaita Acharya would hide in his home. And sometimes also Lord Caitanya would also come hide in the home of Nandana Acarya.
Lord Caitanya brought all the devotees to the home of Nandana Acarya and they saw this wonderful effulgent personality. His effulgence was like millions of suns and He was tall, decorated in blue garments and a blue turban on His head and with His lips He was chanting the holy names of Krishna. All of the associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu were astonished to see this personality. But for Lord Caitanya it was like meeting an old friend.

Lord Caitanya wanted all of the devotees to understand the position of Lord Nityananda. So He requested Srivasa Pandita, “Please recite some verses from the scriptures!” And Srivasa Pandita began to recite a beautiful verse describing Lord Krishna as He enters the forest of Vrindavana. How His head is decorated with peacock ornament and how His ears are decorated with blue coloured flowers and round His neck is the vijayanti garland. His body is covered with a golden coloured cloth and He appears as a best of all the dancers as He enters into the forest of Vrindavana, decorating the earth of Vrindavana with His footprints, with His beautiful footprints on the soil of Vrindavana. He fills the flute with the nectar from His lips and all the cowherd boy are singing His glories.

So Srivasa Pandita recited this verse. And when Lord Nitayananda heard this verse. Then His love for Krishna was aroused. And He began to exhibit all kinds of ecstatic symptoms. He fell to the ground unconscious. Then His body was trembling. His hairs were standing on end. Tears were flowing, all of His cloth became very wet with the tears from His eyes. Lord Caitanya told Srivasa, “Keep reciting!” And he continued to recite. As he recited Lord Nityananda came more to consciousness and continued exhibiting ecstatic symptoms, rolling on the ground in front of all the devotees. All of the devotees seeing Lord Nityananda display this ecstatic love for Krishna, they could understand His exalted position.

Lord Caitanya took Lord Nityananda in His arms and began to caress His body bringing Him back to external consciousness. Lord Caitanya taking Lord Nityananda into His arms caused, brought a smile on the face of Gadadhara Pandita because Gadhadhara Pandita knew the identity of these two personalities. And he understood that usually the situation is reversed because Lord Nityananda is not different from Lord Balarama, not different from His plenary portion Sesa and on the body of Sesa lies the Supreme Lord Lord Naryana. In the same way Lord Balarama is the servant of Lord Krishna. But here Lord Caitanya is taking Lord Nityananda on His lap and started giving service to Him, just the reverse of how it is in the spiritual world.

Lord Caitanya wanted to bring Lord Nityananda back to external consciousness, He began to speak to him and he asked Him, “Where did you come from?” Lord Nityananda replied that, “I visited many places connected with the pastimes of Lord Krishna and I visited many of the temples of the Lord. But everywhere I was not able to find Lord Krishna. I went to so many places of the Lord’s pastimes. ButI could not find Lord Krishna anywhere. I inquired from some learned persons where is Lord Krishna? And they told me that He has appeared in Navadvipa. And He is performing His pastime in chanting the holy name. He has come to inaugurate the sankirtana movement to deliver everyone in the Kaliyuga.” In this way Lord Nityananda was glorifying Lord Caitanya. He wanted everyone to understand the identity of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya wants to glorify Lord Nityananda and Lord Nityananda comes to glorify Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

This is the mood of devotional service. We give service to the Lord and the Lord serves the devotees. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda reveal to us the mood of confidential loving service. Lord Nityananda we said, He came here in Mayapur in the home of Nandana Acarya but generally His pastimes would be performed in the home of Srivasa Pandita. Actually Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu also chose the home of Srivasa Pandita to perform His pastimes. Just as Lord Krishna appeared in Mathura but His pastimes were performed in Vrindavana, in Gokula. In the same way Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared at the Yogapitha, but He came to the home of Srivasa Pandita. And similarly Nityananda came from Ekacakra to the home of Srivasa Pandita and there they inaugurated the sankirtana movement.

Lord Nityananda appeared in the home of Srivasa Pandita, just sometimes behaving almost like a child because Srivasa Pandita and his good wife Malini, are in the mood of vatsalya rasa. They see this Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya just like their sons. When Lord Nityananda was living there He was just like a child. He behaved just like a child. But Lord Caitanya instructs all the devotees that never doubt the character of Lord Nityananda. That if you worship to Lord Krishna but do not offer respect to Lord Shiva then you will go Yamaraja. In the same way if you worship Lord Caitanya but do not have respect for Lord Nityananda then it is a great offence. You can never get the goal of life.

Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s pastimes are very difficult to understand. We know that in His previous incarnation as Lord Balarama He went to Naimisaranya. And in Naimisaranya He took a kusa grass and pierced the heart of Romaharsana Suta. That same Lord Balarama comes as Lord Nityananda and in Kaliyuga He takes kusa grass between His own teeth and He falls at the feet of Jagai and Madhai and asks them to chant the holy name. This is the difference in Kaliyuga, that Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes to teach all of us the mood of devotional service, to offer all respects to others and not to be anxious to be respected. Sri Nityananda Prabhu personifies this mood of amanina mana dena (Siksastakam). He would go to all the fallen souls and engage them in the service of Lord Krishna. Of course this was His instruction. Caitanya Mahaprabhu had requested Lord Nityananda and Haridasa that they should go door to door to every home and fall at the feet of the people and beg them to chant the holy name of Krishna, to worship Krishna, and to read the books of Krishna.

Lord Nityananda however sometimes He could become a little, He could behave differently in a manner which would sometimes confuse people as to His identity. And we see this, there is one pastime which takes place when Lord Nityananda is going to Jaganath Puri with all the devotees. Now usually the party would be under the care of Sivananda Sen. Sivananda Sen would have to deal with all the different formalities in the course of the journey to Jagannath Puri. So on one occasion they had to pay taxes on the way and Sivananda Sen was delayed. Lord Nityananda and all the devotees were left without any shelter in the hot sun. On that particular day Lord Nityananda felt hunger. He was feeling very hungry and He had to wait for Sivananda Sen for a long time. During this wait Lord Nityananda became angry and He cursed Sivananda Sen that his sons would die. Hearing the curse of Lord Nityananda the wife of Sivananda Sen began to cry because she thought if Lord Nityananda wants my sons to die, certainly they would die. When Sivananda Sen finally came Lord Nityananda showed His anger and kicked Sivananda Sen. And then when Sivananda Sen heard about how Lord Nityananda had cursed his sons to die, Sivananda Sen replied, “If Lord Nityananda wants our sons to die, let them die!” This is the loving dealing between Lord Nityananda and His confidential devotees.

There is one song taken from the Caitanya Mangala, akrodha paramananda nityananda raya, Lord Caitanya (Nityananda) is described as one who never becomes angry. But this is His transcendental anger. He is performing these pastimes behaving like a hungry man, affected by hunger, affected by anger. But actually it is all His transcendental pastime to exhibit the wonderful qualities of His devotees like Sivananda Sen. Some of the family members became confused however. And one of them had gone off on his own to Jagannath Puri. And it is recorded in the Caitanya Caritamrta that in order to heal the misunderstandings of the family of Sivananda Sen, Lord Caitanya personally instructed His servant Govinda that, “All the remnants of My prasadam should be given to the family of Sivananda Sen.” This is the loving exchange. This is how these two Lord’s reciprocated their loving dealings.

Another wonderful pastime between Lord Nityananda, and Advaita and Caitanya Mahaprabhu took place in Shantipur after Lord Caitanya had taken sannyasa. Lord Nityananda tricked Caitanya Mahaprabhu into coming to Shantipur and then bringing mother Saci and all the devotees. So then a big feast was arranged and Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very happy to see that they were offering so many wonderful preparations for the pleasure of Lord Krishna. However Advaita Acarya then instructed that “These plates are for You, one is for You my Lord. I want You to eat.” But Caitanya Mahaprabhu would say, “No, I am a sannyasi. I cannot eat so much.” But Advaita Acarya told Him, “You cannot fool me. I know that in Jagannath Puri everyday You eat 56 offerings, with many big pots at every offering. So why, this is just a mere morsel for You!” In this way Caitanya Mahaprabhu was induced to sit down and along with Lord Nityananda and Advaita Acarya they began to take prasadam.

Lord Nityananda exhibited His joking mood and began to complain to Advaita that, “ I have been fasting for three days. This is not a mere morsel of food for Me.” Actually they had been coming from Navadvipa, all the way from Katwa where Lord Caitanya took sannyasa, all the way down to Shantipur. It would take some time to walk there. Maybe about three days, I don’t know, maybe not that long. But anyway He told jokingly to Advaita, “I have been fasting for three days. This is not a mere morsel food for Me.” And Advaita requested Him, “Please I am a poor brahmana. I know You can eat 4 or 500 kilos of rice every time. I am a poor brahmana. Kindly accept what I am offering to You.”

So they began to eat. At one point Lord Nityananda then rose up and said that “This is not at all satisfying My hunger.” And then He took some rice and He threw it and it hit the leg of Advaita Acarya. And when that rice stuck to the body of Advaita Acarya then Advaita Acarya began to dance. And this dancing, this shows something of the power of the maha prasadam. The remnants from the plate of pure devotee, actually maha maha prasadam. The remnants of Lord Nityananda touching the body of Advaita Acarya caused him to dance.

Advaita Acarya said, “Just see we do not know what is Your caste and I bring You in my home and You behave like a madman throwing the remnants of Your food at me.” Lord Nityananda told Advaita Acarya, “This is Lord Krishna’s own remnants. This is prasadam. You are making an offence by considering this foodstuff to be ordinary. It is Lord Krishna’s own remnants. For your offence you will have to invite a hundred sannyasi’s to your home and feed them all sumptuously.” Advaita Acarya replied, “After You have come to my home I will never bring another sannyasi to my home. I have lost all my smartha principles.” So this was the joking words between Lord Nityananda and Advaita Acarya.

The point is that Lord Nityananda is no ordinary person. And Advaita Acarya by his words, which not everyone could understand, they are meant to instruct us on the exalted position of Lord Nityananda, that He comes, just like we were singing the song about the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda. That lotus feet, Prabhupada explains that whenever we speak of feet, feet means service. And Lord Nityananda comes to teach all of us the glories of service to the Supreme Lord Krishna or Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Nityananda shows by His own example how to serve Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu by going to even the fallen souls like Jagai and Madhai and requesting to chant the holy names of Lord Krishna.

Our movement is founded in the same basis, to follow in the footsteps of Lord Nityananda, to hold tightly to His lotus feet means to hold firmly, to be fixed in this process of devotional service, to continue to preach the message of Krishna everywhere, to everyone, without discrimination. Lord Nityananda does not consider who is qualified and who is unqualified. Wherever He went He would give love of God.

Actually on one occasion I was telling how sometimes Lord Caitanya would go in hiding. One time they were having kirtana and Lord Caitanya stopped the kirtana and said, “I am not feeling any ecstasy today! What is wrong! I am not getting love of God!” and again they started the kirtana but again Lord Caitanya complained, “I am not getting this love for God anymore! Its not coming today!” Advaita Acarya told Lord Caitanya, he said “The problem is You have given everything to that Lord Nityananda. You put Him in charge of the storehouse of love of God. He has given it to everyone. He has given it to even the gardeners, even to the oil grinders. He has given it to all kinds of people.” Lord Caitanya was not very happy to hear these words. It was like a complaint. At that time Lord Caitanya left that place and hid Himself from Advaita Acarya.

Lord Caitanya was very happy to see devotees follow the mood of Lord Nityananda and to assist Him in the preaching mission. Lord Caitanya even instructed Lord Nityananda that “You don’t have to come to Puri every year. You can remain in Navadvipa, You can remain in Bengal.” Because He knew that if He was in Bengal the preaching would be going on and that is the important thing.

Srila Prabhupada also wants all of us to continue the preaching movement. We come here to Mayapur to imbibe something of the mood of Lord Nityananda and then to go back to our preaching places and continue in that mood of Lord Nityananda. So today, on this day we are all praying for the mercy of Lord Nityananda and that mercy is that without any discrimination we will distribute love of God to everyone. Not looking at their designation or their position or the colour of their skin or their language, without consideration. We will try to distribute this message of Krishna and in this way Lord Nityananda will bestow His mercy on us. By the mercy of Lord Nityananda only we can come to get shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu we can come to understand Radha and Krishna.

Thank you very much! Hare Krishna!