The Appearance Day Of Sri Nityananda Prabhu (Lecture)

[Guest guest]

 

By Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

 

Cessnok, Australia: Feb. 25, 2002 (morning)

 

[The following is a lecture given last year at this very auspicious same time. By Krsna's mercy we will be able to send out this year's lecture soon, but by getting this one now, you will at least have something. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila ch. 5 and 11 also contain a wealth of knowledge about Nityananda Prabhu's glories, as do many other chapters there.]

 

[About 200 devotees from Australia and other parts of the world gathered in Cessnok, Australia, to observe Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance Day celebration. The assembled devotees first sang the bhajana, 'Nitai Guna Mani Amara']

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] What is the meaning of the line, "abaddha karuna-sindhu nitai katiya muhan"?

 

[Premananda dasa:] Nityananda Prabhu has broken open the storehouse of love of God and He is freely distributing it everywhere.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] Very good.

 

[sripad Asrama Maharaja:] The ocean of mercy was closed, and Lord Nityananda broke it open and made a channel by which this love and mercy could be distributed.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] How?

 

[sripad Asrama Maharaja:] He went from house to house.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] What is the meaning of "ghare ghare bule prema"?

 

[sripad Asrama Maharaja:] Door to door.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] Who went door to door?

 

[sripad Asrama Maharaja:] Lord Nityananda.

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] The meaning is hidden. Prema (love for Krsna) was going door to door, like a flood.

 

[sripad Madhava Maharaja:] Abaddha karuna-sindhu katiya muhan ghare ghare bule prema-amiyar ban. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu brought krsna-prema from Goloka Vrndavana, but there was a dam in the river of that love, and the water was blocked. If a dam is somehow or other broken, water will come very forcefully and flood everywhere. Similarly, being causelessly merciful, Sri Nityananda Prabhu broke the dam that was blocking the water. From the ocean of prema had come that river, which had now brought the ocean everywhere. The water of prema then came very quickly, like a flood. During a flood, water will move here and there. There will be no need of making a canal or channel to take water here and there, for it will overflow everywhere, automatically. Similarly, prema was now moving, here, there, and everywhere, like amiyar ban, a flood of nectar

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] Nityananda Prabhu broke the blockage, and the ocean of love was then free to come to this world, everywhere, door to door. What was that prema? Sacinandana Gaurahari was Himself unnatojjvala prema, and He brought unnatojjvala rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam (service to Srimati Radhika as Her maidservant). Sri Nityananda Prabhu is the embodiment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's complete mercy. Guru is the condensed mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Nityananada Prabhu is the complete and undivided guru-tattva. That mercy was somehow blocked, but Nityananda Prabhu requested Caitanya Mahaprabhu to give His love and affection to everyone. We see this now, everywhere in this universe, and because of this, there will be no Kalki Avatara in this Kali-yuga.* [see Endnote.]

 

In this world, all are suffering with so many problems. We know this, and yet we don't take the shelter of Nityananda Prabhu. If we will take His shelter, He will quickly manage everything for us, and then we can be happy. He may sometimes perform a big operation, or He may perform a minor operation; it depends on Him. For example, He performed a big operation on Ramacandra Khan and told him, "Muslims will come and plunder you and your whole dynasty. They will cook meat here, and you will all be destroyed." Sometimes Nityananda Prabhu performs minor operations, and sometimes He gives His full causeless mercy, without any reason. He performed a minor operation on Sri Sivananda Sena, and He was causelessly merciful to Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had apparently not rendered any service, but still he received Nityananda Prabhu's mercy.

 

[brajanatha dasa:] What was the dam that blocked the mercy?

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] It was 'time'. Krsna wanted to come here as Mahaprabhu and taste love and affection, but when He would come, how He would come, and who would assist Him, was not determined.

 

If anyone chants, Nityananda Prabhu will at once give him prema. He went to Jagai and Madai, two bogus persons who would not agree to chant the holy name, and told them, "You must chant." Jagai and Madhai immediately attacked Him upon hearing His words, but still He gave them krsna-prema. The ocean had been blocked - within Caitanya Mahaprabhu - but Nityananda Prabhu broke the dam. He told Mahaprabhu, "Don't kill them. You cannot kill anyone in this incarnation. You are obliged not to kill. You have come to give prema, and You have promised to give it, so please fulfill Your promise." Thus, if you take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu, you will be free of all problems very quickly.

 

[Devotee:] You said that if we take shelter of Lord Nityananda, all problems go away. Exactly how does one take shelter of Lord Nityananda?

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] In this world we take shelter of Krsna by practicing the six limbs of saranagati, and this also applies to Nityananda Prabhu. We pray, "I have offered my life and everything I possess at Your lotus feet. I have so much faith in You."

 

anukulyasya sankalpa pratikulyasya varjanam

raksisyatiti visvaso goptvrtve varanam tata

atmaniksepa karpanya sad anga saranagati

 

["The six divisions of surrender are: the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Krsna will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one's guardian or master, humility, and full self-surrender." (Hari-bhakti-vilasa)]

 

If Krsna is supporting, nourishing and protecting us, why worry? All tattvas will come, renunciation will come, and all your misfortune will go away. Suppose you want worldly things, considering worldly things and worldly attachments to be good, and thinking, "I should have so much money." What will Nityananda Prabhu do? He will take away all these things and give you transcendental love. He knows how you can get this love. He will not act according to your advice; He is not your subordinate. He will not come to you and say, "What should I do for you so that you can be happy?" Rather, He will perform a major operation, or a minor operation, or He may just give you transcendental love and affection.

 

[brajanatha dasa:] Sometimes those who present themselves as devotees get wealth and position. Is that perhaps because they chant with aparadha?

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] That depends on the devotee. Sometimes wealth and position come by namabhasa or nama-aparadha, but how did so much opulence come to Yudhisthira Maharaja? It did not come as a result of an offence. Yudhisthira wanted to serve Krsna. He wanted to give inspiration to the whole world, saying, "If you worship Krsna, you will not be a beggar." But the example of Maharaja Yudhisthira is very rare.

 

[Premananda dasa:] Someone told me that later in Kali-yuga people will not recognize Mahaprabhu as God, as Krsna. Is this true?

 

[srila Narayana Maharaja:] No, no. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes, (once in thousands of Kali-yugas), there is no Kalki Avatar. So the effect of harinama will continue everywhere, until the end.

 

[Endnote: Kalki Avatara is in the category of lila-avatara, as mentioned in Srila Rupa Gosvami's Laghu-bhagavatamrta, and also in Sri Sanatana-siksa. Although Kalki is scheduled to descend in Kali-yuga, he does not appear in the blessed (dhanya) Kali-yuga that comes once in each day of Brahma. This is because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears in that Kali-yuga. Srila Maharaja said that if Kalki will come in this Kali-yuga, he will simply join in Mahaprabhu's sankirtana party. Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja writes: "Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not mentioned as a lila-avatara because He is an incarnation in disguise (channa-avatara). In this Age of Kali there are no lila-avataras, but there is an incarnation of the Lord manifested in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This has been explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam." (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 6.99 purport) -ed]

 

Editorial advisors: Pujyapada Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanatha dasa

Transcriber and editor: Candramukhi dasi

Ass't editor: Syamarani dasi

Typists: Premanidhi dasi and Radhika dasi