Nandotsava and Shrila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja

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Nandotsava and Shrila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja - 1st Sept 2002

 

Chapter Nine: Sri Brahma-vaivarta Purana

Sri Nanda-putrotsava

The Festival of Sri Nanda's son

 

1 Sri Narada said: After Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Yasoda's home

in Gokula, what did King Nanda do to celebrate the birth of a son?

2 What did Lord Krsna do there? How many years did the Lord stay

there? O master, please describe the Lord's childhood pastimes there.

3 How in the forest there did Lord Krsna keep the promise He made to

Radha in Goloka?

4 What was Vrndavana like? What was the rasa-dance circle like?

Please tell. O master, please describe the Lord's rasa dance and the water

pastimes.

5 What austerities did Nanda, Yasoda, and Rohini perform? Before the

appearance of Lord Krsna, where did Lord Balarama rake birth?

6 This recounting of Lord Krsna's pastimes is nectar sweeter than any

other. Especially in the mouth of a poet, it brings new and sweet poetry at

every step.

7 Please describe the Lord's pastimes in the rasa-dance circle. A

poet's words are more glorious when he himself has seen the events he

describes.

8 You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself. Because You are

His incarnation, You are full of transcendental bliss. You are the guru of

the guru of the kings of the yogis.

9 You have described how You entered the feet of Lord Krsna, the

master of Goloka. Therefore You are a direct incarnation of Lord Krsna.

You are Lord Krsna.

10 Sri Narayana Rsi said: Brahma, Siva, Sesa, Ganesa, Kurma, Yamaraja,

Nara, Karttikeya, and I are nine incarnations of Lord Krsna.

11 Who can describe the glories of Lord Krsna, the master of Goloka?

We incarnations of Krsna cannot understand Him. How can the great

philosophers understand Him. How can the great philosophers understand Him?

12 O sage, Varaha, Vamana, Kalki, Buddha, Kapila, and Matsya are among

His primary incarnations. How many are His secondary incarnations?

13 The primary forms of the Lord are Nrsimha, Rama, and the splendid

master of Svetadvipa. The most perfect, full, most complete, original form

of the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, who resides in Goloka, the highest realm

in the spiritual sky.

14 In Vaikuntha He appears in many forms as four-armed Lord Narayana,

the beloved of Laksmi. In Goloka and Gokula He appears in His original form

as two-armed Lord Krsna, the beloved of Radha.

15 The yogi's meditate on His Brahman light, but the devotees meditate

on His lotus feet. How can there be a light without a source?

16 O brahmana, listen and I will describe the austerities of Nanda,

Yasoda and Rohini, austerities that enabled them to see Lord Krsna face to

face.

17 In his previous birth Nanda was the ascetic Drona the best of the

Vasus, and saintly Yasoda was his ascetic wife Dhara.

18 In her previous birth Rohini was Kadru, the first mother of the

snakes. Listen and I will describe to you what they did in their previous

birth.

19-20 O sage, in Bharata-varsa, on Mount Gandhamadana, near Gautama Muni's

asrama, in a secluded place by the Suprabha river, Drona and Dhara performed

austerities for ten thousand years so they might see Lord Krsna face to

face.

21 When after this time they still could not see Lord Krsna, Drona and

Dhara decided to enter a lake of fire.

22-23 Then a disembodied voice, its speaker seeing that they wished to

die, said, "O best of the Vasus, in your next birth, on the earth, you will

see Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom the yogis cannot

see, whom the philosophers cannot attain by their thinking, to whom Brahma

and the demigods bow down. He will become your son.

24 Hearing this, Drona and Dhara happily returned to their home.

Taking birth on the earth, they saw Lord Krsna face to face.

25 Thus I have described the activities of Nanda and Yasoda. Now

please hear the activities of Rohini when she was a demigoddesses.

26 O sage, one time, on the day most suitable to conceive a child,

saintly Aditi, the mother of the demigods sent a message of this to her

husband, Kasyapa Muni.

27 The beautiful goddess, carefully bathed and wearing jewel ornaments,

decorated and dressed herself very elaborately. In the mirror she carefully

examined her face,...

28 ...which was decorated with dots of musk and sindura, beautiful with

patra ornaments and jewel earrings,...

29 ...beautiful as an autumn moon, its autumn lotus eyes splendid with

mascara, its beautiful nose decorated with an elephant pearl, its mouth

gracefully curved in a smile,...

30 ...its teeth splendid like ripe pomegranate seeds, its beautiful

always smiling lips splendid like ripe bimba fruits,...

31 ...and its features so beautiful they charmed the hearts of the

regal sages.

32 After carefully examining her face in this way, the beautiful

goddess, wounded by Kamadeva's arrows, stayed at home, waiting for her

husband to come and looking for him on the path.

33 Then Aditi heard the news that Kasyapa was with Kadru, that he was

sweetly playing with her and resting on her breast.

34 Tortured with amorous desires, and her hopes to satisfy them now

destroyed, saintly Aditi became filled with anger when she heard this news.

Out of love for him she would not curse her husband, but she did curse

Kadru.

35 She said: That sinful woman has no right to live in the world of the

demigods. She should leave Svargaloka and go far away to the womb of a

human being.

36 Hearing of this curse from a messenger, Kadru cursed Aditi. Kadru

said: Aditi should go to the womb of a human being, a womb in the world

where there is old age and death.

37 Then Kasyapa said to Kadru: O girl with the beautiful smile, when

you go to the human world, I will go with you.

38 Give up your fears. Be happy. You will see Lord Krsna face to

face.

After speaking these words, Kasyapa went to Aditi's home.

39 Powerful Kasyapa fulfilled Aditi's desire, and as a result Indra,

the leader of the demigods was born.

40 In this way Aditi became Devaki, Kadru became Rohini, and Kasyapa

became Vasudeva, Lord Krsna's noble father.

41-43 O sage, what I have told you is very confidential. Now please hear

the birth story of Lord Balarama, who is limitless, immeasurable,

thousand-headed Lord Sesa. By Vasudeva's order, Rohini fled to Gokula to

protect Balarama from the danger of Kamsa.

44 By Lord Krsna's order goddess Maya (Parvati) took Devaki's eighth

pregnancy, placed it in Rohini's womb, placed the unborn child in Gokula,

and then returned to Mount Kailasa.

45-46 After some days in Nanda's house, Rohini gave birth to a gently

smiling son splendid as molten silver, a son who was the Personality of

Godhead Himself.

47 When Lord Balarama was born the demigods in Svargaloka sounded

conchshells, played dundubhis, anakas, murajas, and other musical

instruments, and called out "Victory!"

48 Jubilant Nanda gave many kinds of charity to the brahmanas. The

midwife cut the umbilical cord and bathed the infant boy.

49 The lavishly decorated gopis called out "All glories!" Then Nanda

celebrated a great for the birth of his foster son.

50 Then Yasoda happily gave charity to the gopis and brahmanis. She

gave them oil, sindura, and many other things.

51 O child, thus I have told the stories of Lord Balarama's birth,

Nanda and Yasoda's austerities and Rohini's activities.

52 Now please hear the beautiful story of the celebration for Nanda's

son, a story that brings happiness and liberation, a story that stops birth,

death, and old age.

53 Lord Krsna's auspicious pastimes are the life of the devotees. They

destroy all that is inauspicious and they bring devotional service to the

Lord.

54 Vasudeva placed Lord Krsna in Nanda's home, and then happily took

Nanda's daughter to his own home.

55 O sage, I have already described her activities. Now please hear of

Lord Krsna's blissful and auspicious pastimes in Gokula.

56 After Vasudeva left for his own home, Nanda and Yasoda woke up in

the auspicious and glorious maternity room.

57 They gazed at their very handsome son glorious like a new monsoon

cloud, naked, resting on the ground and looking up at the ceiling,...

58 ...His face an autumn moon, His eyes dark lotus flowers, crying and

laughing, His transcendental form resting in the dust,...

59 ...and His two hands leaving impressions of a club and lotus in the

dust. Nanda and his wife gazed at Krsna, and Krsna gazed at them.

60 The midwife bathed the infant boy with cool water and cut the

umbilical cord. The gopis happily called out, "All glories!"

61 All the gopis and brahmanis, young and old, with large hips and the

breasts that moved as they ran, hurried to the maternity room.

62 All gave their blessings, happily gazed at the infant boy, placed

Him on their laps, and praised Him. Some stayed there.

63 Nanda bathed, put on clean garments, and with a happy heart

performed the rituals learned through the disciplic succession.

64 He fed the brahmanas, had them give their auspicious blessings, had

the musicians play on their instruments, and gave charity to the poets.

65 Then Nanda happily gave charity to the brahmanas. He respectfully

gave them diamonds, coral, and many precious jewels,...

66 ...seven mountains of grains, much gold and silver, a mountain of

wealth, many garments, a thousand beautiful cows,...

67 ...yoghurt, milk, rock candy, butter, ghee, honey, many candies, a

flood of laddus, many delicious modakas,...

68 ...land rich with many crops, horses fast as the wind, many betel

nuts, and much oil. After giving this charity Nanda became happy in his

heart.

69 To protect the maternity room he engaged many gopis peaceful at

heart and many brahmanas expert at chanting Tantric mantras.

70 He had the brahmanas recite the Vedas, chant Lord Krsna's holy

names, and worship the demigods.

71 Many beautiful smiling brahmanis, young and old, and bringing their

children with them, came to Nanda's home. Nanda gave them jewels and many

other valuable things in charity.

72 Many smiling elderly gopis decorated with jewel ornaments hurried to

Nanda's home. He respectfully gave them fine garments, silver, and thousands

of cows.

73 Books in hand, many eloquent astrologers learned in the jyotir Veda

came to Nanda's home.

74 Nanda bowed to them and happily honoured them. All gazed at the

transcendental infant boy and gave their blessings.

75 After all was done, Nanda, the king of Vraja, had the astrologers

predict what good and evil lay in the future.

76 In Nanda's home the infant boys Krsna and Balarama sucked their

mother's breasts and grew as the waxing moon grows.

77 O sage, pleased at the ceremony for the infant boy, Yasoda and

Rohini happily gave in charity oil, sindura, and betel nuts to the women

there.

78 After placing many blessings on the infant boy's head, the women

returned to their homes. Yasoda, Rohini, and Nanda, filled with happiness,

stayed in their home.

 

The Appearance of Shrila Prabhupada

 

SPL Chp1:

 

It was Janmastami, the annual celebration of the advent of Lord Krsna Some

five thousand years before. Residents of Calcutta, mostly Bengalis and other

Indians, but also many Muslims and even some British, were observing the

festive day, moving here and there through the city's streets to visit the

temples of Lord Krsna. Devout Vaisnavas, fasting until midnight, chanted

Hare Krsna and heard about the birth and activities of Lord Krsna from

Srimad-Bhagavatam. They continued fasting, chanting, and worshiping

throughout the night.

 

The next day (September 1, 1896), in a little house in the Tollygunge suburb

of Calcutta, a male child was born. Since he was born on Nandotsava, the day

Krsna's father, Nanda Maharaja, had observed a festival in honor of Krsna's

birth, the boy's uncle called him Nandulal. But his father, Gour Mohan De,

and his mother, Rajani, named him Abhay Charan, "one who is fearless, having

taken shelter at Lord Krsna's lotus feet." In accordance with Bengali

tradition, the mother had gone to the home of her parents for the delivery,

and so it was that on the bank of the Adi Ganga, a few miles from his

father's home, in a small two-room, mud-walled house with a tiled roof,

underneath a jackfruit tree, Abhay Charan was born. A few days later, Abhay

returned with his parents to their home at 151 Harrison Road.

An astrologer did a horoscope for the child, and the family was made

jubilant by the auspicious reading. The astrologer made a specific

prediction: When this child reached the age of seventy, he would cross the

ocean, become a great exponent of religion, and open 108 temples.

 

Shrila Prabhupada in ecstasy

 

1) On the third morning after introducing Jaya Radha-Madhava, Prabhupada

again sang it with the devotees responding. Then he began to explain it

further. Radha-Madhava, he said, have Their eternal loving pastimes in the

groves of Vrndavana.

 

He stopped speaking. His closed eyes flooded with tears, and he began gently

rocking his head. His body trembled. Several minutes passed, and everyone in

the room remained completely silent. Finally, he returned to external

consciousness and said, "Now, just chant Hare Krsna."

 

============ REF. SPL 33: A Lot of Ground to Be Covered

 

2) ...but devotee means he does not ask anything from God. He simply wants

to give, that is devotee. Just like gopis. They never asked anything from

Krsna.

 

(Srila Prabhupada becomes stunned in ecstasy. Long pause)

 

Hmm. Now chant. (end)

 

============ REF. Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.7 -- Los Angeles, September 13, 1972

 

 

(Listen to the tape to hear how Srila Prabhupada is speaking excitedly in

preaching ecstasy then is suddenly paralyzed by thoughts of the gopis' love

for Krsna.)

 

3) Very, very abominable condition in this age of Kali. Very, very. It is

the beginning of Kali. Now we have to pass through 427,000's of years.

Kali-yuga will make progress in that way. And people are now practicing

eating their children, and at the end of Kali there will be no food

available. They'll have to eat the children just like the snakes do. The

snake eat their own children. There are many animals-they eat their own

children.

 

So don't try to repeat your birth again and again in this Kali-yuga. It will

be not very happy life. Better sacrifice everything in this life and be

fully Krsna conscious and go back to home, back to Godhead. Don't wait for

the next life. This is very seriously repeated, that "This life I shall

finish my Krsna consciousness business," and, as it is stated in the

Bhagavad-gita, that Krsna consciousness business means to understand Krsna

rightly. And He's explaining Himself rightly. Where is the difficulty to

finish the Krsna consciousness business? If Krsna is explaining Himself,

what He is, then where is your difficulty? Krsna is explaining Himself in

the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna is sending His representative acarya to teach you,

and Krsna is within yourself trying to teach you if you are actually

serious. Then where is the difficulty? Inside, outside, always, books,

knowledge-He is prepared. So where is the difficulty to make yourself

perfect in Krsna consciousness? There is no difficulty at all. Provided you

are serious, you can become fully Krsna conscious in this very life. You are

all young men. You are not old man like me. I have no opportunity.

 

(At this point Srila Prabhupada choked in ecstasy and the class ended)

 

============ REF. CC Adi 1.14 -- Mayapur, April 7, 1975

 

4) One day a record arrived from London. The London devotees, who with

George Harrison's help had already produced an album, had now also released

a new single, "Govinda." The song consisted of verses Prabhupada had taught

them from Brahma-samhita, each verse ending with the refrain govindam

adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. Prabhup da asked that the record be played

during the morning program in the temple. The next morning, after he had

entered the temple room, bowed down before the Deity, and taken his seat on

the vy s sana to begin the class, the record began.

 

Suddenly, Prabhup da became stunned with ecstasy. His body shivered, and

tears streamed from his eyes. The devotees, feeling a glimmer of their

spiritual master's emotion, began to chant Hare Krsna as if chanting japa.

The moments seemed to pass slowly. Finally Prabhupada spoke: "Govindam

adi-purusam tam aham bhajami." He was again silent. Then he asked, "Is

everyone all right?" The response was a huge roar: "Jaya Prabhupada!" And he

began the Srimad-Bhagavatam class.

 

============ REF. SPL 31: A Threat Against ISKCON