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Short and sweet lecture by Srila Prabhupada given on Lord Nityananda's

Appearance Day in Bhubaneswar, on February 2, 1977.

Appearance of Nityananda Prabhu

 

So today, is the appearance day of Lord Nityananda Prabhu...Nityananda

Prabhu is Baladeva, Baladeva-tattva. Vrajendra nandana yei, saci suta haila

sei, balarama haila nitai: "Who was formerly the son of Nanda Maharaja, He

has appeared as the son of Sacidevi." Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mother's name

was Sacidevi. So Krsna... Krsna is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Balarama is

Nityananda Prabhu. Now... Vrajendra nandana yei, saci suta haila sei,

balarama haila nitai. So Balarama... In the Vedic literature it is said,

nayam atma bala-hinena labhyah na bahuna srutena. So bala means strength.

Sometimes some rascal philosophers, they take it that bala means bodily

strength. They propagate this philosophy, that "Unless you are bodily stout

and strong, you cannot achieve spiritual salvation. You must be very strong

and stout and eat meat and fight, and then you'll get next spiritual birth"

No. This bala, this strength, is different. This is spiritual strength.

The difficulty of the present situation is that actually we are moving on

account of spiritual strength, but they have no information of the spiritual

strength. They are thinking of material strength. That is expressed here,

that ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pasariya, asatyere satya kori mani.

This is due to ahankara. Ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate. Those who

are vimudha, especially rascal... Mudha rascals and vi means visesa,

visesanam, particularly. Ahankara-vimudhatma. The same thing which is spoken

in the Bhagavad-gita, Narottama dasa Thakura says the same thing in a plain

Bengali language. Ahankare matta haiya, nitai pada... By the spell of

maya-ahankara- vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate-they are thinking that "We

are independent.

We can do whatever we like." This is called ahankara-vimudhatma. Under false

pretext, false prestige, everyone is thinking that "We are independent. We

can find out the solution of the problems of life by material adjustment,"

so on, so on.

So that is our material disease. Ahankara-vimudhatma. Bewildered, they do

not understand that the real strength is spiritual strength. We see daily,

see daily that a very strong man, very powerful man, very good brain, very

good scientist... So where is the strength? The strength is atma. As soon as

the atma, or the soul, goes out of this body, so intelligent, so strong, and

so many things, that is nothing. That is the difference between dead man and

the living man. A living man is very powerful, very good position,

everything. As soon as he lies down, he is lying down on the floor, and if

you kick him on his face, he'll not protest, So where is that strength? The

strength is gone.

That is spiritual strength. On the spiritual strength, the body moves.

Suppose you have got a very good car, Mercedes car or Rolls Royce car, but

when there is no petrol, how the car will move? It is not possible. There is

spirit, petrol spirit. Similarly, real strength is spiritual strength.

That spiritual strength is Balarama. Bala means strength. Therefore we have

to take shelter of the lotus feet of Balarama, Guru-tattva. Balarama means

guru- tattva. Balarama represents guru. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. If

we want to understand Caitanya Mahaprabhu, if we want to understand Krsna,

then we must take shelter of Balarama. Nayam atma bala-hine na labhya. This

bala- hinena labhya, this Vedic injunction, means "Without the mercy of

Balarama you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual

identification. So that Balarama comes as Nityananda Prabhu. Balarama haila

nitai. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarama. That is... This song has

been sung by Narottama dasa Thakura. Nitai pada kamala, koti candra

susitala. If we take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu, then we get peace. Koti

candra susitala. Just like in daytime, especially in the summer season, we

become very much exasperated. But at night, in the evening, as soon as there

is moonshine we become very much satisfied.

All day's labor and fatigue is immediately moved. So nitai pada kamala, the

shade of Nityananda Prabhu's lotus feet, is koti candra susitala, as

pleasing as one crore of moonshine. One mocnshine gives us so much pleasure.

So if we want actually peace of mind, if we actually want to be free from

this material (sic:) fatiguement, then we must take the shelter of

Nityananda Prabhu.

Nityananda Prabhu is the strength, spiritual strength. And without spiritual

strength you cannot approach Krsna. Nayam atma pravaca... Simply by talking

nonsense... Nayam atma pravacanena labhya. If you are a gocd speaker, that

does not mean you'll understand, yourself. Na medhaya: "Neither by good

brain." Because you have got very good brain you'll understand Krsna. No.

Nayam atma pravacanena labhya na medhaya na bahuna srutena. If you think

that you are a very good scholar, university degree holder-then you'll

understand-no. This is not possible. So we must have spiritual strength.

That source of spiritual strength is Balarama, Krsna's next manifestation,

prakasa-vigraha. Krsna is manifesting Himself through Balarama. So we have

to take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu. Nitai pada kamala, koti candra

susitala, je chayay jagata juray. The whole world is suffering, but if you

want peace, then you take the shelter of Nityananda Prabhu. Heno nitai bine

bhai, radha-krsna paite nai, dhrdha kori" dharc nitair pay. Our real aim of

life-how to go back home back to Godhead and associate with Radha Krsna. In

another song the same author says, manusya-janama paiya, radha-krsna na

bhajiya, janiya su niya bisa khainu. Unless you come to Radha-Krsna, you

cannot get real pleasure. If you want to dance and get pleasure, don't dance

independently. Dance with Krsna.

Then you'll be happy. The dancing is there, but dancing without association

of Krsna... Just like here, in our temple, we are also eating, but we are

eating the remnants of foodstuff left by Krsna.

That is real pleasure. It is not that we are stopping eating. We are not

stopping eating. We are not dry philosophers. Krsna baro doyamoy, koribare

jihwa jay, swa prasad anna dilo bhai. All over the world we are eating Krsna

prasadam, and we have got good experience. At least ten thousand men and

women, they are taking Krsna prasadam, but we have no anxiety. We have no

anxiety. A family consists of a few members. They are full of anxiety how to

maintain the family. And we are maintaining a family of ten thousand men. We

have no anxiety. Just see practically. We have no anxiety. We require

thousands and thousands of rupees for maintaining Europe, America, a costly

affair. But because we are under the shelter of Nityananda Prabhu, Balarama,

we have no anxiety. That means material life means anxiety. You cannot avoid

anxiety if you lead a material life. Then you will be anxious. That is

Prahlada Maharaja's instruction. He was asked by his father, "My dear scn,

what you have learned, the best thing from your teachers?" So he replied,

"My dear father..." He never said, "My dear father." He said, "My dear best

of the asuras." Asura-varya. Tat sadhu manye 'sura-varya dehinam. Tat sadhu

manye 'sura-varya dehinam sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad- grahat. The whole

human society is suffering, at least suffering from one disease-anxiety. Ask

anybody. Take one small ant and take the big elephant; take the President of

United States or take one street beggar. Ask him, "Whether you are free from

anxiety?" Nobody will say, "No.I am full of anxiety." That's a fact. So

why they are anxiety, in, full of anxiety? That Prahlada Maharaja had

replied, sada samudvijna-dhiyam asad-grahat. Because we have taken asad-

vastu, that will not exist... Everything, whatever you have got... Our, this

body will not exist. And this is the main platform of our existence. In the

material world, so long the body is there, you exist. So Prahlada Maharaja

said that "Real solution of problems of life is to get out of this material

condition.

That is best thing in my opinion." Sada samadvijna- dhiyam asad... That is

Vedic injunction also. Asato ma sad gama: "Don't live in this asat, in this

material condition." Sad gama: "Go to real existence." That real existence

means spiritual life. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire. So if we actually want

life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That

is Prahlada Maharaja's instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyam. And if you remain in

the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse. So

Prahlada Maharaja advises that hitvatma-ghatam grham andha-kupam vanam gato

yad dharim asrayeta. If you... Real problem is anxiety. And this anxiety

will continue so long you are material existent. Therefore the real life is

to get out of this material... Hitvatma-ghatam. Atma-ghatam. Atma- ghatam

means killing the soul. This material civilization is killing the soul.

That... They have no information of the soul. They do not know how to become

peaceful, how to become blissful.

They are trying to be peaceful, bahir-artha-maninah, by external material

energy they are thinking by constructing big, big buildings, just like in

Bhubaneswar they are doing, and having good, very big, big roads and motor

cars, that is advancement of civilization. No. That is not advancement of

civili... That is increasing their anxiety. There is no solution of the

anxiety. There is... Formally that... I was speaking. There was no

university.

The university was in the cottage-Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva was writing Srimad-

Bhagavatam and all the Puranas in a cottage. The university was there. Who

can produce such literature as Vyasadeva has given. From any angle of

vision, from literary point of view, from philosophical point of

view-everything, so perfect, every literature, Mahabharata, Puranas, and

Vedanta. Veda-Vyasa, he has given. So there was no need of university. It

required clear brain. That was to be done by the brahminical qualifications,

samo damo titiksa arjava, jnana vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava...

Where is that education? This education, technical education, how you can

very nicely hammer, this will not solve the problem. So if we want real

solution of the problems, then our duty is first of all to take the shelter

of nitai pada kamala. Then we'll be happy, and we'll get moonshine and our

all fatigueness will be subsided. sambandha nahi jar, brtha janma gelo tar.

So if you have no connection with Nityananda Prabhu... Nityananda means

always. Nitya means always, ananda means pleasure. This is another meaning

you can draw. So therefore, if you have no connection with Nityananda

Prabhu... Se tar: "He's simply wasting time." Brtha means useless.

Uselessly, he's wasting time. Se pasu boro duracar. And Narottama dasa

Thakura has used very strong word.

"Anyone who has no connection with Nityananda Prabhu, he's a pasu." Sei

pasu.

He's a pasu, means animal. So animal, how one animal can get happiness? That

is not possible. The dog, from the childhood he's searching after food,

searching after food.

And cannot get food. Unless a dog has got a master, he's street dog and he's

always unhappy. So better to become a dog of Nityananda Prabhu. Then we

shall be happy. Instead of becoming dog of so many other people... Everyone

is dog.

Everyone is searching after to serve a master. But none of them are

satisfied because that is false master. You take real master, Nityananda

Prabhu. You'll be happy. Se pasu boro duracar. He does not know where is

happiness. Where I shall become a dog? That... Our Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he

has sung therefore, vaisnava thakur, tomara kukkurr, boliya janaha more. "My

dear Vaisnava Thakura, kindly accept me as your dog, as your dog. I am dog

already, but I am maya's dog. I'm not Vaisnava's dog. So kindly accept me."

If you become a Vaisnava's dog... Chadiya vaisnava seva, nistar paiche keba.

If you do not become a dog of Vaisnava and Nityananada Prabhu... Nityananda

is guru. So if you do not become a dog of Nityananda Prabhu, Vaisnava, or

guru, there is no question of happiness.

Se sambandha nahi yar, brtha janma gelo.., se pasu boro duracar. Nitai na

bolilo mukhe, majila samsara-sukhe. He who has no connection with Nityananda

Prahu, and he does not say, "Jaya Nitai! Jaya Gaura!" And majilo samsara

sukhe, he thinks that this society, family, and... "Society, friendship and

love, divinely bestowed upon man." These materialist persons, they say like

that. That is called majilo samsara sukhe. In samsara there cannot be any

sukha, but he's attracted by that. Majilo samsara sukhe. Vidya kule ki

koribe tar. What we'll do with university education or born in big family

or... This will not help. This is not possible. Vidya kule ki karibe tar.

Why they're accepting this false? Ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pasariya,

asatyere satya kori mani. On account of being misled by false prestige and

false egotism, asatyere satya kori mani, we are accepting this body which is

asat, which- will not exist. That we have taken as reality.

Ahankare matta hoiya, nitai pada pasariya. But if we take shelter of

Nityananda Prabhu, then you get the enlightenment. Asatyere satya kori mani.

Therefore Narottama dasa Thakura advises that... Today is Nityananda

Prabhu's avirbhava appearance day. Let us at least remember today nitai pada

kamala.

That is wanted. Nitai carana satya, tahara sevaka nitya. The reality is

nitai carana, and anyone who is servant of Nitai.. So nitai carana satya,

tahara sevaka nitya. One who has become the dog of Nityananda Prabhu, he

gets his eternal life. We are eternal, but under misconception of material

identification, we are under the subjugation of maya. Bhutva bhutva

praliyate.

Tatha dehantara... It is very botheration, but they do not know. I am going

from one body to another transmigration. And that is not guaranteed, what

body. They have no science, no knowledge about. Understanding tatha

dehantara, the very first instruction of Bhagavad-gita.

They are so rascals, and they are proud of their education, their

universities. This is going on. nitai carana satya, tahara sevaka.., nitai-

pada sada koro asa. Therefore we should always expect to be under the

shelter of nitai pada kamala. Narottama boro duhkhi. Narottama dasa Thakur,

he's acarya. He is presenting himself... That is acarya. Means he is not

duhkhi, but he's presenting himself as duhkhi. That is acarya. Acaryas, they

are never duhkhi. But taking the common man's position, he says, narottama

boro duhkhi. Or, in other words, Narottama... Narottama means the best of

the human being. So here in this material world one may be the best of the

human being, very exalted position, but everyone is duhkhi, unhappy.

Narottama boro duhkhi, nitai more koro sukhi: "Only Nityananda can make me

happy. Otherwise not possible." Rakho ranga-caranera pasa. So today is

Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day. We shall always pray Nityananda Prabhu,

"Kindly keep me under your shelter so that...

I am very duhkhi; I am very unhappy. Under the shelter of Your lotus feet I

shall be happy." And that is real happiness. Thank you very much. Devotees:

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Srila Prabhupada says in the Purport of CC Adi Lila text 35: "One who is not

properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee, but in fact he is

sure to encounter many stumbling blocks on his path of progress toward

spiritual realization, with the result that he must continue his term of

material existence without relief. Such a helpless person is compared to a

ship without a rudder, for such a ship can never reach its destination. It

is imperative, therefore, that one accept a spiritual master if he at all

desires to gain the favor of the Lord. The service of the spiritual master

is essential. If there is no chance to serve the spiritual master directly,

a devotee should serve him by remembering his instructions. There is no

difference between the spiritual master's instructions and the spiritual

master himself. In his absence, therefore, his words of direction should be

the pride of the disciple. If one thinks that he is above consulting anyone

else, including a spiritual master, he is at once an offender at the lotus

feet of the Lord. Such an offender can never go back to Godhead. It is

imperative that a serious person accept a bona fide spiritual master in

terms of the sastric injunctions. Sri Jiva Gosvami advises that one not

accept a spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and

ecclesiastical conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely

qualified spiritual master for actual advancement in spiritual

understanding."

All glories to Lord Sri Nityananda Rama and His most merciful

representative, our genuine spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada who lives

forever in his divine instructions! Let us all remember and take pride in

those instructions.