Nimai, please accept my humble offering

[gHari]

From Sri Caitanya Bhagavata Adi 12:<blockquote>The Lord was always pleased with Sridhara's behavior and He would use any excuse to visit him. They would converse confidentially and joke with each other. In this way several hours a day could be passed very happily. Sridhara offered the Lord obeisances and a seat as soon as He arrived. Sridhara's calm and mild personality stood in obvious contrast to Nimai's stormy character.

 

"Sridhara you are always chanting Lord Hari's name, so what is the reason for your suffering? You are serving the husband and master of Sri Laksmi Devi, the Goddess of Fortune, so why are you always in want of food and clothes?"

 

"I am not starving," replied Sridhara, "And as You can see, I have clothes on.

 

"They are neither fine clothes nor the right size, but my body is covered."

 

"But Sridhara," argued the Lord, "the clothes are torn in several places and I know you have neither straw nor rice in the house. Look around you. All the citizens worship Goddess Candi (Mother Durga) the destroyer of all enemies, and none of them suffer for want of food, shelter or clothing."

 

"You have made a good point," replied Sridhara, "but generally speaking, everyone's life is almost the same. The King may live in a palace surrounded by opulence and eat sumptuously while the birds live in the open or in a simple nest in a tree top and gather their own humble food. But basically everyone's approach to life is similar. By the Lord's design each of us must meet the demands of duty and in doing so we behave more or less alike. Personally, I prefer to live the life I am leading now."

 

"I am sure you have immense wealth hidden somewhere," accused the Lord, "and you are relishing opulent food in secret. Soon I will make it known to everyone, and then we will see how you continue to cheat the people."

 

"Come to my house, dear learned brahmana," invited Sridhara, "and see for Yourself. We should not start an argument here."

 

"I am not going to let you off so easily," said Nimai, "Tell Me what you are going to feed Me?"

 

"I make a simple living selling leaf cups," replied Sridhara. "What can I offer to give You from such an income, respected brahmana?"

 

"I am not going to touch Your hidden wealth now - that I will get later," assured Nimai. "But if you give Me banana root and some banana stalks right now without taking money, then I will not fight with you any more."

 

Sridhara thought to himself, "He is a very aggressive brahmana. Someday He might even beat me. But even if He does beat me, what can I do? I really cannot afford to give him whatever He wants free each day. But I see He has a godly form; He is not an ordinary personality by any means. If He takes my things by force or by some other tricky means, then He is free to do so. I think this is my good fortune, and in spite of my poverty I will continue to give Him whatever He wants."

 

Having made his decision, Sridhara answered the Lord, "Dear Brahmana, You do not have to pay me anything at all. I will give You whatever You want with an open and happy heart. Take Your bananas and other vegetables, take the leaf cups that I have, and please do not fight with me anymore."

 

"Yes, that is a very satisfactory agreement," said Nimai. "There should be no further fights, but please see to it that I get good quality bananas, banana stalk and radish." Daily the Lord ate with Sridhara from his leaf cups, relishing his bananas, banana stalks, radishes and Sridhara's cooking in general. When a gourd grew on Sridhara's roof top, the Lord had it cooked into a special preparation made with milk and hot spices.

 

One day the Lord asked, "Sridhara what do you think of Me? As soon as you tell me that, I shall return to My house."

 

Sridhara replied, "You are a brahmana, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord Vishnu."

 

"No, you do not know," said Nimai. "I belong to the community of cowherds and milk men. You see Me as a young brahmin boy, but I consider Myself to be simply a milk man."

 

Sridhara just smiled at the Lord's comment; he could not recognize his own Lord and master, being deluded by the Lord's internal potency.

 

"Sridhara, I am going to reveal to you an esoteric truth. You see the river Ganges? I am the source of the Ganga."

 

"O Nimai Pandita! Have You no fear in disrespecting Ganga devi like this?" asked the disturbed Sridhara. "People usually become grave and serious as they grow older, but Your frivolity seems to have doubled since Your childhood."

 

After staying with Sridhara for some time, Nimai Pandita returned home. He entered the temple room of Lord Vishnu and His students took that as an indication that they should also return to their homes. </blockquote>

[krsna]

in the verse by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura;

 

 

 

aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam

ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena va kalpita

srimad bhagavatam pramanam amalam prema pum-artho mahan

sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradarah na parah

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, is worshipped along with His transcendental abode Vrndavana. The most pleasing form of worship for the Lord is that which was performed by the gopis of Vrndavana. Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless authority on everything and pure love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life for all men. These statements, for which we have the highest regard, are the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Caitanya-matta-manjusa by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

 

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami speaks in this regard:

 

 

hena krpamaya caitanya na bhaje yei jana

sarvottama ha-ileo tare asure ganana

 

"One who does not show respect unto this merciful Lord, Sri Caitanya, or does not worship Him should be considered a demon, even if he is very exalted in human society." (Adi-lila Ch8, Tx12)

 

yatha yatha gaura-padaravinde

vindeta bhaktim krta punya-rasih

tatha tathot-sarpati hrdya-kasmad

radha-padambhoja-sudhambu rasih

 

"One who is extremely fortunate may get the mercy of Lord Caitanya. As much as one can devote his full attention to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya, to that extent he will be able to taste the nectarine service of the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani in Vrindavana. The more one engages in the service of Sri Caitanya, the more one finds oneself in Vrindavana, tasting the nectar of the service of Sri Radha" (Caitanya Candramrta 88)

 

 

kriyasaktam dig dig vikatatapaso dhik ca yamena

dhigastu brahmaham vadana-pariphullan jadamatin

kimetan socamo visaya-rasa-mattan-narapasun

na kesancil-leso'py ahaha milito gaura-madhunah

 

"Woe to the smarta Brahmans, who blindly follow the Vedic rituals! To hell with those who unnecessarily practice harsh penance's. Woe to those who try to control the mind and senses by following the eight fold yoga system. Woe to those who artificially practice brahmachari and imagine that they have become liberated simply by saying aham bramasmi, "I am God". Woe to those whose voices are filled with flowery words of dry speculation. They are intoxicated by the taste of mundane pleasure.

 

"Why should we lament for these animals in the guise of men? We lament because, alas- they have not tasted even a tiny drop of the nectar from the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga." (Caitanya Candramrta 32)

 

 

acaitanyam-idam visvam yadi caitanyam-isvaram

na viduh sarva-sastra-jna hyapi bhramyante te janah

 

"Great scholars of the scriptures who do not accept Lord Gauranga, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are forced to wander aimlessly throughout this universe of dead matter. Their so-called knowledge of the scriptures will be usless to them. Birth after birth, they will wander from one planet to the next propelled by their pious and impious acts." (Caitanya Candramrta 37)

 

 

avad-brahma-katha vimukti-padavi tavan na tikti-bhavet

tavac-capi visrnkhalatvvamayate no loka-veda-sthitih

tavac-chastra-vidam mithah kalakalo nana-bahir-vartmastu

sri-caitanya-padambuja-priyajano yavan na drg gocarah

 

As long as one has not seen a pure devotee of Sri Gauranga, he will be engaged in tasting bitter talks about the impersonal path of liberation.

 

As long as one has not seen a devotee of Lord Gauranga, he will be bound by social and Vedic convention, blindly following formalities and traditions without understanding their purpose.

 

As long as one never sees one of the beelike devotees addicted to drinking the nectar from the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga, he will be forced to walk in endless circles on the labyrinthine paths of dry Vedic scholarship, wasting valuable time in useless discussions on futile religious practices." (Caitanya Candramrta 19)

 

[krsna]

"Yes, that is a very satisfactory agreement," said Nimai. "There should be no further fights, but please see to it that I get good quality bananas, banana stalk and radish." Daily the Lord ate with Sridhara from his leaf cups, relishing his bananas, banana stalks, radishes and Sridhara's cooking in general. When a gourd grew on Sridhara's roof top, the Lord had it cooked into a special preparation made with milk and hot spices.