(3/6) Approaching Nityananda Prabhu

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, noon class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 3
Translated from Bengali

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami is describing the glory of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu in a very beautiful way. Listen to it.

sri-chaitanya—sei krsna, nityananda—rama
nityananda purna kare chaitanyera kama

‘Sri Chaitanya is Krishna, and Nityananda is Balaram: Nityananda fulfils all desires of Chaitanya.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.5.156)

Nityananda Prabhu takes charge in fulfilling Mahaprabhu’s desires – He does whatever Mahaprabhu wants. Mahaprabhu put Him in charge, ‘Nityananda, preach in Bengal; otherwise, if You come to stay in Jagannath Puri, what will become of Bengal?’ This is why Nityananda Prabhu preached Mahaprabhu’s message in this world. He said:

ভজ গৌরাঙ্গ, কহ গৌরাঙ্গ, লহ গৌরাঙ্গের নাম রে
যে জন গৌরাঙ্গ ভজে, সেই আমার প্রাণ রে

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

‘Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga’s Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!’

(Sri Nityananda Prabhu)

yare dekhe tare kahe dante trna dhari’
amare kiniya laha bhaja gaura hari

‘Approaching with utter humility (holding straw between His teeth), He says to whoever He meets, “You can buy Me – just worship Gaura-hari!”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami himself received Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy. Nityananda Prabhu came to him in a dream and prohibited him to associate with his brother. After that, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami left his house and went to Vrindavan.

nityananda-mahima-sindhu ananta, apara
eka kana sparsi matra,—se krpa tanhara

‘The ocean of Lord Nityananda’s glories is infinite and unfathomable. Only by His mercy can I touch even a drop of it.’

ara eka suna tanra krpara mahima
adhama jivere chadhaila urdhva-sima

‘Please hear about more glory of His mercy. He made a fallen soul climb to the highest peak.’

veda-guhya katha ei ayogya kahite
tathapi kahiye tanra krpa prakasite

‘To disclose it is not proper because it should be kept as confidential as the Vedas, but I shall still speak of it to make His mercy known to all.’

ullasa-upari lekhon tomara prasada
nityananda prabhu, mora ksama aparadha

‘O Lord Nityananda, I write about Your mercy out of great exultation. Please forgive my offences.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.5.157–160)

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami then mentions the Vedas, saying, ‘I am not fit to speak about Nityananda Prabhu’s glory, which are as sacred as the topics of the Vedas, but I am speaking about it now to reveal His mercy to the world. If there is any fault in what I say, please forgive my offence.’

What should we pray for when we come to Nityananda Prabhu? We should pray, ‘Please forgive me, Nityananda. Please forgive my offences.’ This is all we can want from the Lord. Consciously or unconsciously, we are always making offences. We are offenders! We are offenders to the Holy Name, that is why the Holy Name does not come to our mouths. It is said, ‘Krsna-bahirmukha jivera nahi Krsna-smrti-jnana (কৃষ্ণবহির্ম্মুখ জীবের নাহি কৃষ্ণস্মৃতি-জ্ঞান). The souls that are averse to Krishna have no knowledge or remembrance of Krishna’ (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.123). The Holy Name does not come to the mouths of such persons – even if they chant the Holy Name, their chanting will not produce any transformation in them.

‘krsna-nama’ kare aparadhera vichara
krsna balile aparadhira na haya vikara

‘The Holy Name of Krishna considers offences: when one who commits ten offences of the Holy Name takes the Name of Krishna, it produces no transformation in them.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.8.24)

The Holy Name always judges whether the person chanting the Holy Name is an offender or not, and the Holy Name never comes to the mouths of offenders because such persons always want something from Krishna, from Nitai. You can see so many people coming here – somebody comes to receive mercy, and somebody comes to earn money. Do you think everyone is the same? I have been to the market here – they sell chamara fans for a double price, and people queue at the shop to buy them, but all their chamara fans are fake (made of nylon). Some people come here thinking, ‘What should I get for my granddaughter?’ You worry about your grandchildren because when you come back they will ask you, ‘Grandma, what have you brought? What have you brought for me?’ I can see everything. We come to a place to chant kirtan, but somebody comes and goes shopping. Instead of the Holy Name, their minds are drawn to shopping…

— : • : —

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Length: 54 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sri Advaita Prabhu's Nityananda Stuti
2) Sriman Mahaprabhu's Nityananda Stuti
3) Approaching Nityananda Prabhu
4) Know Your Place
5) Amidst 'Dal' and 'Gal'
6) Increase Your Fortune