Clasping Nityananda Prabhu's Feet

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
20 October 2015

...I hear you wanted to go to Ekachakra? You can go, see Nityananda Prabhu's birthplace...

"নিতাইয়ের করুণা হবে ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ পাবে, Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha-Krsna pabe." Nityananda is nondifferent from Guru-tattva: without the mercy of the Guru you cannot get the mercy of Krishna.

নিতাইয়ের চরণ সত্য তাঁহার সেবক নিত্য,
নিতাই-পদ সদা কর আশ,

nitaiyer charana satya tahara sevaka nitya
nitai-pada sada kara asa

"The lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu are the truth, and His servitor is eternal. Always hold onto His lotus feet, they are our only hope."

A servitor of Nityananda Prabhu is eternal, however Nityananda Prabhu taught us something about material attachment.

Sanatan Goswami had a servitor called Ishan. When they left, Ishan thought, "Sanatan is going alone, how will he manage? What will I feed him? Where will I get food?" and took some money, but Sanatan Goswami understood it and left him.

Nityananda Prabhu also had a servitor, Vrindavan Das Thakur. He was thirteen-fourteen years old at that time. When Nityananda Prabhu was going to Puri, His disciple Ramahari arranged for some prasadam in the field, like a picnic. (It happened near Gurudev's birthplace in Bamunpara, at a place called Denur.) When Nityananda Prabhu finished prasadam, He asked Vrindavan Das Thakur, "Vrindavan, where is My thing? Give me." The day before that, Vrindavan Das Thakur had kept some haritaki (a mouth freshener and a digestive) for the Lord's service, and when Nityananda Prabhu asked him for "His thing", Vrindavan Das Thakur gave Him that haritaki. Seeing it, Nityananda Prabhu said, "You are a brahmachari but have sanchay buddhi, want to keep something for tomorrow. It is not a good symptom for your brahmachari life! So, stay here, be a householder, and you can preach also, but you cannot go with Me with this sanchay buddhi." Nityananda Prabhu teaches us like this.

Actually, it is by the mercy of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur that we got a place in Ekachakra and made a temple there, with very great Deities.

আর কবে নিতাইচাঁদ করুণা করিবে ।
সংসার-বাসনা মোর কবে তুচ্ছ হ'বে ॥

ara kabe nitaichand karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuchchha ha'be

("'Gauranga' bolite habe pulaka sarira" by Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

"When will Nityananda Prabhu give me some mercy? When will my material desires be removed from my heart?" Bhakti Vinod Thakur also writes,

কবে নিত্যানন্দ মোরে করি' দয়া ।
ছাড়াইবে মোর বিষয়ের মায়া ॥

kabe nityananda more kari' daya
chhadaibe mora visayera maya

When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion?

("Kabe habe bolo se dina amar" by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

"When will Nityananda Prabhu give me some mercy? When He will be kind to me? I have so much attachment to material things—when will I be able to leave that attachment?" Without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu it is impossible...

কৃষ্ণ-বহির্ম্মুখ হঞা ভোগ বাঞ্ছা করে ।

নিকটস্থ মায়া তারে জাপটিয়া ধরে ॥২॥

krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vanchha kare
nikatastha maya tare japatiya dhare [2]

When souls become averse to Krishna and desire enjoyment, nearby Maya seizes them.

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 6.2)

We became the servants of maya, trying to exploit or enjoy, but maya is near and can attack us any time. Then, "maya-mugdha jivera nahi svatah krsna-jnana: charmed by maya, the conditioned soul cannot know Krishna on its own..." (Cc, 2.20.122)

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