(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 21 February 2016, Durban, South Africa, Nityananda’s Appearance Day)
Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master glorified him greatly for writing a poem in his Vyasa-puja offering and in that poem, one sentence was highlighted by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. It was, ‘Absolute is sentient thou hast proved, impersonal calamity thou hast removed.’
The English is a little bit classic and archaic but basically we can simplify it and it means that ‘the Lord has a heart’ and this is at the very core of our movement, that the Lord has a heart! It is said that the devotee is always in the heart of the Lord and the Lord is always in the heart of his devotee, there is a loving exchange.
So the compassion of Lord Nityananda is not an impersonal compassion – some sort of warm, wet blanket of loving feeling for every living species. No, it is very personal. Lord Nityananda gives causeless mercy to those who do not deserve it and even then, if they do not respond still he is loving. But when they start to respond, his heart goes on fire! ‘Absolute is sentient thou hast proved, impersonal calamity thou hast removed.’ Lord Nityananda has a heart and his heart is very deep and the love in his heart is very deep as he reciprocates with his devotees.
His mercy is causeless so it reaches out to whoever is in his reach, but whoever responds is showered with unlimited greater mercy and Lord Nityananda develops attachment to such a devotee. When the Lord has attachment to us, then you know how it is – when you are attached, your vision becomes covered by emotion, you begin to see things through those feelings, and you cannot see things neutrally any longer. So Lord Nityananda is not neutral! Lord Nityananda is overwhelmed by attachment to his devotees!
I am thinking for a moment of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj who in his final days was embodying that quality of attachment to the devotees. I thought about it – he was entering into such deep loving exchanges and crying in his final days. One might say, ‘Isn’t that attachment?’ Yes, but it was to the devotees – devotees who have somehow or other done service and who are trying so hard, who are such nice people, who are just wonderful people! Lord Nityananda sees in that way, experiences in that way. Therefore we are living in an intimate relationship with Lord Nityananda when we are engaged in devotional service.
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