A lecture given by HH Kadamba Kanana Swami on the appearance day of Lord Nityananda,
28 January 2010, Cape Town, South Africa
The market place of the Holy Name
So this Nama Hatta, surabhi-kunjete namer hat khule'che khoda nitai, it is said that in Surabhi Kunja, which is situated in Sridhama Mayapur, Lord Nityananda opened up the market place of the holy name. This market place of the holy name is then made available to the devotees. One has in the market place of the holy name, as Srila Bhaktivinoda describes, different types of outlets. One has actual establishments where the holy name is being sold (temples), one has travelling salesmen who are going around and offering the name, one has agents- brokers who are bringing people to the market place...So in this way there are all kinds of personalities involved in the market place of the holy name. But the person who is of course there to keep that market place clean was Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who said that “I’m the sweeper of that market place.” I think that Srila Bhaktivinoda was indeed the sweeper because he was cleaning, cleaning the teachings that came down through Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda from all kinds of deviations. And in this way removing all the impurities, all the dirt that had collected in the market place after so many visitors came.
Lord Nityananda- the servitor Lord
So Lord Nityananda gave us pure devotional service and that pure devotional service is the greatest pleasure. Nityananda Balarama; Srila Prabhupada explains that ‘rama’ means one who is experiencing great, transcendental pleasure.
ramante yogino 'nante
satyananda-cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau
param brahmabhidhiyate
(Cc. Madhya 9.29)
,which means that there is transcendental happiness which is ‘satyananda’, which is eternal; it is not temporary but it is eternal happiness and that is the happiness that is experienced in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Lord Nityananda is an interesting Personality because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is the Supreme Lord Himself- not an incarnation of the Lord, not an expansion, merely an expansion who is partially empowered because it is said, nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu, there are unlimited incarnations of the Lord who appear in this world but not all of these incarnations are displaying a hundred percent of the features of the Lord. Some of the incarnations are displaying only a limited percentage. So it’s very nice that Lord Nityananda appeared because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who a hundred percent is displaying all the qualities of the Supreme Lord and yet His preoccupation is not acting out the role of the Supreme Lord, which is to be the Supreme enjoyer! Krsna is always the Supreme enjoyer and simply, Krsna is acting as the enjoyer, that is His business.
But Lord Nityananda is not acting as the enjoyer, He is acting as the servant of the Supreme enjoyer. Therefore He is the Supreme Lord but there is one distinction between Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are otherwise the same- it’s not in the colour, it’s not in the colour of the dhoti, it’s not that- it is that Lord Caitanya is ‘sevya-bhagavan’- the Supreme Lord who is being served and who is the enjoyer- and Lord Nityananda is ‘sevaka-bhagavan’- the one who is the servitor Godhead. So that makes Lord Nityananda to us a very interesting Personality because after all, we’re trying to learn to become servants of the Lord- very difficult, not a simple thing. And then you see Lord Nityananda who is just such a servant! His whole being is about serving the Lord. He becomes personally all the paraphernalia that the Lord is using: He is becoming the bed of the Lord, He is becoming the seat of the Lord, He is becoming the shoes of the Lord, He’s becoming the instruments...you may know or you may not know but then you will know now, that it’s not allowed to put the kartalas on the ground- strictly forbidden! Devotees immediately come running, take the kartalas, touch the head and ‘how can you do such a thing!’-why? Because Lord Balarama Himself becomes the kartalas!
Srila Prabhupada asked the devotees to make this type of mrdanga in America- this is original, American mrdanga (Indian accent) you can see it is difficult to break? But of course we don’t challenge Vraja Vallabha! (To devotee) He is the mrdanga breaker and I’m the harmonium breaker! What to do! I didn’t do it today, I was very careful! But this mrdanga is called a ‘Balarama mrdanga’. Prabhupada said it should be Balarama mrdanga. So they made a nice brand- ‘Balarama mrdanga.’ Is it a brand name? No it’s not a brand name; Balarama is the mrdanga! He becomes the mrdanga because He takes the form for glorifying the Supreme Lord.
So one cannot imagine how much Balarama- Nityananda Balarama- is serving the Supreme Lord. Vrndavana...have you heard of Vrndavana? Maybe you have heard of Vrndavana, Krsna’s transcendental abode. And guess what? Guess what? Where does this abode come from? Hmmm...guess what? It is Balarama who is Vrndavana! It is Balarama who expands Himself into the form of the abode of the Supreme Lord. It is in that way that Balarama is always serving- He is serving the Lord in any possible way. And we begin the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to whom do we pray? Yes, to Nityananda Balarama, Ananta-Sesa Balarama because it is said that Ananta Sesa is the snake-like form that is serving the Lord. We know that Visnu rests on this bed of snakes with many hoods, who makes like a parasol over His head and we see sometimes the pictures. This is Ananta Sesa and it is said that Ananta Sesa is glorifying the Supreme Lord with many, many, many mouths. So this glorification with many, many mouths is found in worshipping Lord Krsna. It is said that Ananta Sesa, He speaks eternally and He never comes to the end of Krsna’s glories. So it is said that His mouth is the jewel case of the jewel of glorification of Lord Krsna. So if one wants to glorify Krsna then we have to go ultimately through Ananta, ultimately to the expansion of Lord Balarama, ultimately to Lord Nityananda.
What is the result of all this service that Lord Nityananda is rendering? The result of this extraordinary service attitude is ‘nitya-ananda,’ that Lord Nityananda becomes so absorbed in happiness. In Caitanya-caritamrta it is described that Lord Nityananda is so overwhelmed in happiness that He is totally intoxicated- totally intoxicated, like drunk! And He is walking around and He can’t even walk properly; He is staggering and He is just beyond Himself! And when He sees something moves and it’s a living entity then He cannot see who is qualified or who is not qualified because He’s too intoxicated, so He gives it to just anyone and everyone! He doesn’t look at qualification; it doesn’t matter.
Lord Nityananda’s appreciation
One of my...well a story that I like very much is a story about Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. This is happening relatively early in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. See, we know that Lord Nityananda appeared in a part of Bengal where the Ganges doesn’t flow and that He stayed there for 12 years under the care of His parents. One day a sannyasi came, the sannyasi asked for charity from His father...long story short- he took Nityananda and Nityananda went with that sannyasi for 20 years on pilgrimage. That we have heard. Then He joined Lord Caitanya who was at that time a grhastha and a devotee in Navadvipa. And from that time the pastimes of Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya were carrying on together. So it is described that Lord Caitanya was a glorious brahmana, with His golden complexion, His beautiful hair, His features were extraordinarily beautiful, His chest was very broad because it’s hot and He’s just wearing a little chadar and walking with a bare chest and His brahmana thread was on His chest and Ananta Sesa personally became His brahmana thread! Again, Lord Balarama- Lord Nityananda- became His brahmana thread. But meanwhile, Lord Nityananda in His original form, was walking next to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and both the Lords were walking and gracing Navadvipa.
One day, one day a sannyasi walked by and this sannyasi, upon seeing both the Lords, became overwhelmed and seeing Lord Caitanya He said, “All glories! All glories! All glories to You! I want to offer you some blessings: may You have a long life, a beautiful wife, great wealth and great learning!” Lord Caitanya said, “What kind of blessings are that? That’s more like a curse!”
“Just see,” the sannyasi said, “just see, just see the influence of Kali Yuga! Just see, you give someone a blessing and what do you get? Ungratefulness! Hmph...the age of Kali!” In this way the sannyasi spoke and then Nityananda stepped in and said, “No, no, no, no...this boy (Lord Caitanya), He has a difficult character, only I can deal with Him. But Sir, I appreciate your words very, very much.” “Ah!” the sannyasi said, “somebody with intelligence! Finally an intelligent man!” He said, “Sir, You must come to my house and take a little prasadam.” “Ah!” Nityananda said, “Yes, yes, We’ll come. We will take a little fruits.” So they went; Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya followed the sannyasi to his residence and when they came there, the wife of the sannyasi was already eagerly waiting. And then when they came home she said, “Oh, you’ve brought some guests?”
“Yes, I’ve brought some guests and They’ve come to take some fruits.”
So she went into the kitchen to prepare the fruit and get it ready and so on. So meanwhile the sannyasi was entertaining his guests and then she came out and then he served out the fruits. And then as They were taking the fruits then the sannyasi also came forward and he said, (dramatic), “Ah! You want some ananda? You take yes, ananda!”
And then Lord Caitanya said and Lord Nityananda said, “What’s ananda?”
Meanwhile, the wife of the sannyasi was like, “No, no, no don’t do that! They are our guests!”
(Sannyasi) “Ah! Shut up! Give them, yes, given some ananda.”
And then Lord Caitanya said, “What is this ananda?” Then Nityananda said, “Wine!”
Lord Caitanya just jumped up and ran out of the door! Nityananda jumped up right behind, ta da da dam ta da da dam...they ran for the Ganga and with full dress and everything, whoosh, jumped into the river!
So I like the story. Why? Well, it’s an interesting pastime- a sannyasi having a wife...it’s kind of colourful isn’t it? You don’t hear about that every day! So I thought that that part was interesting and Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda going there and taking some fruits and so on and then, then we see that when the sannyasi begins to offer wine and Lord Caitanya then jumps up and Nityananda jumps up right behind and They jump in the Ganga to purify Themselves from such a contaminated offering. Now my question is, why didn’t They, upon seeing that this renegade, that this debauchee, that this fallen, imitation of a sannyasi who was keeping a woman, why didn’t They turn around right then and there and run away and jump in the Ganga straight away? Why did They go along with it, go into the house and even took fruit from him? I mean I don’t think any of us could do; if we would see some fake sannyasi, I don’t think we would go into the house and take some fruits! We’d rather fast for one week than eat fruits of such a person and God knows get what karma! So why did They sit down? Because, Lord Nityananda....well, let’s look at the story again...
Lord Caitanya said, “Oh! What kind of blessings are these? This is like a curse! These are just mundane blessings that you gave- long life, good wife, lots of wealth and ta di da di da...who cares about such things? They are just a curse because they entangle you in material life. That’s not a blessing.” But Nityananda, He was different; He appreciated. Why did He appreciate? Nityananda did not appreciate the actual contents of the blessing- that Lord Caitanya had already analysed that it was useless- but He appreciated, He appreciated that the man voluntarily was offering service even although he wasn’t qualified, even although the service wasn’t of a right calibre but the mood of wanting to serve Lord Caitanya, on his own, just out of his own, that was appreciated by Lord Nityananda and as a result, Nityananda reciprocated and showered mercy and Lord Caitanya went along with it. And that’s why even when They saw that this renegade was keeping a woman, They just ignored it because the benefit of the service that he voluntarily had offered was so great that They just ignored all the improprieties and simply sat down and took that meal. But then, to show that there was a limit also and that They were just not going to accept anything and everything, it was Lord Caitanya who said, “no, there is a standard. It’s not that one can just do anything and everything; there is a standard!” and therefore He jumped up and ran to the Ganga and Nityananda right behind ta da da dam, ta da da dam...whoosh! Jumped in with clothes in- which in India is not such a disaster because it’s warm weather anyway!
So interesting because the whole story illustrates something about the mood of Lord Nityananda; the mood of appreciating service attitude and not really looking at the qualification of a person, whether the person is pure and whether the person is impure- that is the spirit of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda...this morning we also discussed but in a different way, but there are of course points that are going to touch upon this morning’s lecture because His life is His life. And one of the highlights in the life of Lord Nityananda is the point where Lord Caitanya, when they were in Jagannatha Puri. Now this is later in the life of Lord Caitanya- after taking sannyasa, went to Jagannatha Puri upon the request of His mother and then the devotees would come every year to visit Lord Caitanya. Then, Lord Caitanya instructed Nityananda to go and preach in Bengal and Lord Nityananda was the original preacher. And we see how Lord Nityananda went door to door and started preaching and had really this kind of spirit.
Srila Prabhupada’s mood of Lord Nityananda
So in the same way, we see Srila Prabhupada who was a preacher. It’s said that all preachers, they take the mood of Lord Nityananda. That is the nature of a preacher because a preacher overlooks the lack of qualification in a person; a preacher is not measuring, ‘is this person up to standard? Is this person actually behaving properly? Is the offering that is being made of the right quality?’ no, there is some offering. And Srila Prabhupada, in that same mood of Lord Nityananda, overlooked and overlooked and when he saw some inclination to serve...”ah! Very nice, very nice! Yes, yes you come...” blessings and get the mercy and come and serve.
So in this way, Srila Prabhupada, he once ordered his disciple Dhananjaya, one of his early, intimate disciples, who was a householder, and Srila Prabhupada liked him. Dhananjaya was Scottish and Dhananjaya knew a lot about British history and Prabhupada also knew a lot about British history and they had these big exchanges about British history and there was really a lot of intimacy there and Dhananjaya is a treasure house of information about Srila Prabhupada. So he said that once in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada wanted him to do some business because he was a householder and he had to maintain a family. So Prabhupada said, “Why don’t you start a business? You give an order here in Vrndavana for 50 sets of Deities of Gaura Nitai and these Deities, you export them to the West and give them to the book distributors and the book distributors can take these Deities of Gaura Nitai and they can give Them to people and They can just say to people who are a little interested, along with the book they can take a set of the Deities and we can say, ‘these are just the Hare Krsna souvenir dolls!’ Just like in any country you buy some dolls you know; you go to Spain and you get some doll or here in Africa you get some African statues- you can buy them in the millions by the side of the road- and every country has something like that; in England they’ve got those guards with some funny hats on them and everything! So wherever you go they’ve got something. So Prabhupada said, like this- souvenirs! Like dolls they can keep. “And you tell the people, take these dolls, these Hare Krsna Dolls, and if you keep them in the house, they bring good luck. And you say that every day, if they want to, they can offer these dolls a little water. That will bring even more luck!” Like that you know! Not considering whether the people were qualified, not considering that (dramatic), ‘Deities? Ah! Deities! Putting Deities in the house of meat eaters! No! Maha aparadha! This is against the sastra! How is this possible? We’re breaking all the rules and regulations, this cannot be! How is this possible?’ Prabhupada said it was! He said it was...
This is the spirit of Lord Nityananda; it is that spirit of just overlooking all impurities and just seeing the positive and recognising the little service that someone’s doing and encouraging people. And if someone did a little service to buy a book, ah! They’ve started their devotional service! Now they’re qualified to worship Gaura Nitai. “But Srila Prabhupada, what will they give to the Deities?”
“That’s trivial! They can offer a little water and everything will carry on...”
So this amazing mood of Lord Nityananda is wonderful because it is the mood that can change the world, that can really reach out to the people of Kali Yuga because as the American’s have taught us, a colloquial saying that, ‘everyone has some skeletons in the closet.’ Isn’t it? Well, we all know about the skeletons in the closet and we’re not going to take them out today! We leave them nice and in there but we know that there are some...what to do! So this is a fact, this is a fact. Who is completely pure, completely saintly? Who? Who has never in his life, never ever...? Anyway, we won’t go that ‘ever’ route; we’ll leave it for what it is...but Lord Nityananda is not concerned, He really leaves it for what it is. We may say, ‘well we leave it for what it is’ but still we judge people and say, ‘no, no we don’t mind, the past is forgotten now, now you are a vaisnava...yes you are but we still remember what you did in the past! Yes we will not forget where you came from and what your father did and what your grandfather did and what your uncles and what your whole country has done! We will judge by your community, we will judge you by the colour of your socks; we will judge you by anything external...’ I have read a report from a psychologist and the psychologist told me, “Don’t trust men with white socks!” Now I’m fully in agreement with that (points to saffron cloth) just for your information! (Laughter)
Lord Nityananda’s mercy goes beyond laws, beyond rules, beyond duties...
So anyway we judge by externals but not Lord Nityananda! He doesn’t judge by externals; He really doesn’t, He simply looks at who is willing to serve, ah, who is willing to serve, and that is the essence- who is willing to serve the Lord. And it goes beyond everything; it goes beyond the Vedas, it goes beyond the Vedas because the Vedas, practically the majority of the Vedas are giving us injunctions for ritualistic worship. Yes dharma sastra. Until 1955, in India, the book of law was the Manu Samhita. Only after 1955, 8 years after the British left, they got rid of the Manu Samhita, can you believe it? And accepted British law? The British had already gone and oh my God, they won the battle but psychologically they lost- maybe externally they won the battle but psychologically they lost because they adopted British law instead of the Manu Samhita. That’s the beginning of the end obviously. When you start with British law what good can come from that? Excuse us... (Laughter) nothing against anybody...but because it is mundane law. What is the point of the law of man? But the Vedic literature is offering us the law of the Supreme Lord but what Nityananda was doing goes beyond law, goes beyond rule, goes beyond regulation, goes beyond duty...it is all about a spontaneous desire to serve, to serve the Supreme Lord! Yes and then, well in the process of serving the Supreme Lord, we learn how to serve the Supreme Lord. He likes water and actually He like the Tulasi leaf in His water! He does, He does actually. So little by little okay, the quality of the water is improving and improving and improving...until it is just perfect and it is of a perfect Vedic standard because in the Vedic standard, the rules and regulations are revealing exactly what is the desire of the Lord, how He likes things...but those who are following the ritualistic part of the Vedas... (Dramatic), ‘Prabhu! How can you offer water without Tulasi leaf? That is maha aparadha! He will not accept it! This is not correct!’ Isn’t it?
But Lord Nityananda...no, no; He started a whole different approach, the approach of service. Oh, it’s offered with sincerity; if there’s no Tulasi leaf, it doesn’t matter! Doesn’t matter...and just see Prabhupada’s mood...the same mood, the same mood. Because just think, Prabhupada was ready to follow the Mayapur Panjika. You know, the Mayapur Panjika...the Panjika is the vaisnava calendar and nowadays we have computers (dramatic) Sri Computer! Om computer namah! The computer- the sacred computer, the most worshippable item in our entire life, that particular Deity that we never fail to attend to and everyday as early as possible religiously we look upon Sri computer what is the latest email we just got and late at night we are just surfing for different darsanas, ‘is there anything on the net’...So we are always attending to Sri computer and Sri computer is now offering us a wonderful program by which we can calculate exactly, according to the detail, the precise moment, the tithi, (dramatic) ‘tithi baba, oh oh oh...’ the tithi or the exact moment, on which a particular holy or sacred celebration is to be performed. (Indian accent) It is very important that you do it correct. Very important! It must be done correct, isn’t it?’ And yes so we calculate Ekadasi for Cape Town and we calculate Ekadasi for Johannesburg and sometimes we have a difference! Sometimes even between Pretoria and Lenasia there’s a day difference! If you go to Midrand there’s no Ekadasi at all! (Laughter) Ya, like that with Sri computer things can work out you know, sometimes you have luck. One year I was lucky that I had two Radhastamis! Not too bad- in a row! Can’t complain; one in Spain and one in Radhadesh! Yeah it was fun twice- twice the feast and everything! The whole thing two times! So it’s fun with the computer. But Srila Prabhupada didn’t bother; Srila Prabhupada just followed the Panjika for Mayapur. Do you know what that means? (Dramatic) It means that for years, for many years, devotees have actually broken Ekadasi! They’ve actually eaten grains when the Ekadasi tithi was here in South Africa! And they were just breaking it! Yes, mother Prasuti was part of it! (Laughter) She was breaking it! Yes, for years she did that! And she had no shame I think, I’ve heard- I’m not sure. They say, shamelessly breaking Ekadasi that she just didn’t care. Is it true? (To mother Prasuti)
Mother Prasuti: Well we were told to just follow the temple president’s instructions.
Maharaja: Ah! Because Srila Prabhupada said, just follow the temple president’s instructions. And Prabhupada said, “He may be wrong and he’ll get reactions for it but if you follow then you’ll be alright. Even if he guides you in the wrong way, he’ll get the reaction but you won’t.” So very good answer! (Laughter)
But in this lecture, I’m somehow or other on a certain track and the track is basically on the one hand a culture based on rules and regulations- rooted in the Vedas, very ritualistic- and on the other hand the mood of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. And on the one hand the mood of the smarta-brahmanas in Navadvipa, who were the hereditary brahmanas, the caste brahmanas who were pushing their brahmanical standards to the most refined detail with extreme strictness and on the other end, the liberal mood of Lord Caitanya, especially Lord Nityananda. That’s what I was highlighting. It is obviously that mood which can embrace the world! It is that mood which can embrace the world; it is that mood which embraced us because otherwise we would have never had a chance! No chance! Come back next life! If you behave well you can may be take a sudra birth. Even those who took birth in a proper family, they’ve also fallen. First of all, even if you’ve taken your birth in a brahmana family, unfortunately...Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given us an interesting explanation in the Krsna Samhita; there is an introduction in the book of 60 pages and there he says a few interesting things. And one of the things he says is that, unfortunately most of the Vedic literature is lost today- it’s gone, we don’t have it anymore! And therefore a brahmana, according to scripture, is not a brahmana by birth, janmana jayate sudrah, by birth everyone is sudra. But it is said samskarad bhaved dvija, by performing samskara. So when you follow the samskaras- the injunctions of the scriptures, the purificatory, ritualistic activities, which is called samskara if you perform them, then they become twice born brahmanas. But (whispers), there’s a whole list of samsakaras that brahmanas have to perform but the scriptures that are telling how to do it are lost! Shhh! Don’t tell anyone. They just don’t do it...shhh it’s a secret. It’s something we don’t talk about...
But the fact of the matter is that the brahmanas are not able to perform all samskaras anymore, therefore all brahmanas are fallen and actually samskarad bhaved dvija is not fulfilled! Therefore the second line of the verse is not fulfilled. So they are stuck on the first line, janmana jayate sudrah, they are still sudras. And isn’t that exactly what we learnt from Srila Prabhupada? Kalau sadra-sambhavah, that in this age of Kali ever body is a sudra. Now we know that even the brahmanas- paka from India, the one’s that pull the thread out of the kurta and it is always sort of hanging there (Laughter)- those ones, even those ones, they are not able to actually...they’re actually not qualified.
But through the mercy of Lord Nityananda a process has been introduced of accepting service and then gradually introducing quality in the service and introducing many rules. And therefore the system of pancaratra is being introduced because the Narada-pancaratra is giving us a collection of directions found in various samhitas and brahmanas and so and they are collected in the pancaratra. And these are instructions of how to please Krsna. So according to this Narada-pancaratra, one can be purified. Therefore at the time of initiation we always chant:
om apavitra-pavitro-va sarva-vastam gato api va
yah smaret pundarikaksham sah bhayabhyantara suchih
Om apavitra- whether impure; pavitro va- or from a pure condition, whatever condition one comes-sarva-vastam, from any condition of life, all conditions, sarva-vastam gato api va - from any condition of life, gato api va - the goal can be attained. It’s said from any condition of life, whether one is impure or pure, from any condition of life the goal can be attained. It is said, yah smaret pundarikaksham, or he who is remembering the lotus eyed Supreme Lord. sah bhayabhyantara suchih, such a person will become purified both internally and externally. Then through this pancaratra we can initiate him as a brahmana. So we always chant these mantras at the time of diksa to say all right, now the person has become purified. And thus the pancaratrika brahmanas are the only bona fide brahmanas. And that’s established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Well if you tell that in India, people will go like, (dramatic)....the smarta brahmanas are having some difficulties with that.
But we don’t care because we see, nitya-ananda, we see the happiness in Lord Nityananda and in the followers of Lord Nityananda and they are effulgent and glowing and they are just full of transcendental life! And we see the dryness and the stuffiness of the ritualistic worshippers... (Dramatic) ‘Eeeeeeeh... (old squeaky door noise) samsara sagar me janma mrtyu cholraha he’... a lecture like an old squeaky door, explaining that in an ocean of samsara, birth and death are just repeating in a cycle. And the people, they sit, thet sit through the satsanga, (dramatic) ‘satsanga, yes we sit through the satsanga,’ they sit through the satsanga because it is the ritual you must do. They are suffering (imitates people sleeping), it’s almost unbearable, but anyway, they sit through the ordeal, they sit through the whole thing but ‘Panditji is here...!’ ok, very nice because you get the asirbad, you get the blessing. So they do the whole thing...
But where is the question of nitya-ananda, where is the question of relishing, where is the question of enjoying, where is the question of appreciating, where is the question of abundant happiness, where is the question of the heart over flowing, where is the question of just completely being actually beyond yourself? Where is that? That is in the movement of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, because it is full of life, it’s real! It’s not about the ritual; it’s about the service! Yes there is some additional way that the Lord is pleased, yes and whatever is offered to the Lord it must be clean because He is the Supreme pure.
Lord Nityananda’s movement
So Prabhupada gives a lecture and in that lecture he says that, “if you want to go to the sun, you cannot go in this body. In this body you cannot go. You will burn.” Sometimes you have this television series and there’s this spaceship and they are...(in American accent) some Americans are sitting behind their control panels and they are like, (Dramatic)‘Roger, over, over, control, lost control, lost control....major, major we don’t know what to do, but the ship is out of control! We’re approaching the sun and everyone is starting to sweat and perspire and get worse and worse! And the sun is getting closer to earth...we are going to die! We have to divert the ship as soon as possible somehow or other. Maybe if we just manage to like demolish engine no. 3 then maybe the course in our ship will change and we will somehow or other be saved...” or if batman doesn’t come and help us...! So something like that! You have seen these TV series as much as I have I guess! And usually they’re saved you know. But it is a fact that if you go closer to the sun, we will just burn; it’s too hot! We can’t go to the sun, unless we have a body of fire! Some people are fired up (laughter) but I haven’t seen a body of fire as yet! So a body of fire, then one can enter into the sun. So Prabhupada says, in the same way, Krsna, Krsna is the Supreme pure. So if we want to go before Krsna, we must be pure. Just as if you want to go before the sun, you need a body of fire, if you want to go before Krsna, you must be pure. And whatever we offer to Krsna must be pure. So simple, so simple but so profound and that automatically brings to the point that we want to learn how to offer things nicely to Krsna, so that it’s pure. And we learn how to purify things and in this way we learn how to offer.
But Lord Nityananda’s movement is a movement based on pleasing the Lord and then the standards follow. And this is our movement! And when we are reaching out, reaching out to people who have no knowledge, then we relax the rules and we look at the spontaneous service and in this way we can engage so many people and bring them closer and bring them in. And this is the movement of Nityananda- to bring everyone in. It’s an all-inclusive movement of great kindness. So Nityananda is the emblem of kindness, the emblem of positiveness...Just like you know, sometimes you see parents- mother’s with their children or something- and they’re completely positive you know! I’m seeing this little, squeaky monster, it’s ugly like anything, all red and spotty, and half blind- the eyes are puffy- hardly any hair on the head, all wrinkled, I mean...ugly! And then making hellish noises and then possibly the nappy changing rituals and things like that...so from the male perspective, sometimes it’s something not appreciated. But then you see this totally positive, parental mood, just seeing the positive thing in the child...like I just saw this little- it was grown a little and it turned into a little rat!- and this kid is just like hammering on things, (imitates)’ bang, bang, eeh, eeh!’ making horrible noises one after another and I was getting like, ‘shall I (hit him)?’ and then the mother comes and says, “Aw...he loves it so much!” Just this incredible positiveness you know. So positive, so positively disposed towards that child- so positive. That same mood is in Lord Nityananda! So positive, so positively... “Aw look, how nice! He wants to do a little service, how nice!”
So this is the mood of this movement. So it’s therefore a very liberal movement. Nityananda is the main preacher, Nityananda sets the pace, Nityananda, He is the one who is showing what the mood should be of our endeavours and activities- one of just great kindness, great kindness and seeing the good in everyone. Prabhupada said, find the spark and fan it! Find a little spark of bhakti and fan it. So that is the mood of Lord Nityananda.
Lord Nityananda like a drunken elephant
Of course I can tell you many more things about Lord Nityananda; I have Nityananda stories- stacks of them- lots of them! We have Nityananda songs, which are deep and I’ll give you a few samples. I mean, I don’t want to drag it onto midnight! Not because it wouldn’t be fun but it’s just because I’m flying to Europe so I sort of made it that no midnight tonight because there are limits to what we can do...not for Nityananda though! So in the Caitanya Caritamrta, there is a wonderful description about Lord Nityananda. In the dream that Krsna das Kaviraja has, he’s describing Lord Nityananda. And he’s describing how Lord Nityananda appeared in his dream and how the Lord was moving like a drunken elephant! I don’t know if you’ve ever watched an elephant- maybe not as much as we did because we lived in Mayapur for a long time and there was an elephant and we’re always every day watching the elephant for years! And well in Africa you have a good chance to watch a few elephants...So the thing about an elephant is that, you look t human beings, you look at a crowd and you see some movement (imitates elephant)...(laughter), you know some things, but the movement is limited. But when you look at an elephant, constantly something is moving... (Imitates elephant)... (Laughter), that’s an elephant! There’s no question of an elephant ever standing still. It doesn’t happen; elephants don’t stand still- they move!
So think about Lord Nityananda like an elephant- a drunken elephant- and how He is just constantly moving, His eyes rolling...yes! In ecstasy! And then He has His red stick- His iron stick is red. He has a blue dhoti, and He has jewels everywhere in great opulence and He throws His stick into the air like a cowherd boy and shoo, fling it in circles and... catches it in various ways! To show that He is the real one- Balarama- and He knows how to do it! So Lord Nityananda, in the dream, was surrounded by many devotees and Lord Nityananda, intoxicated in love of God, in a deep voice was chanting, “Krsna! Krsna! Krsna!” and all the devotees around Him, also in a deep voice chanting, “Krsna! Krsna! Krsna! Krsna!” and just swarming around Him like bees everywhere. And these devotees in the mood of cowherd boys also swirling sticks and having bugles and horns and throwing them! So this gives us a little idea of Lord Nityananda’s appearance. His colour- rakta kalevaram; it is said blackish, and rakta- reddish, which is basically golden. Golden with a reddish, blackish hue (glow)...that is Lord Nityananda! Rakta kalevaram; so much of discussion on the internet about the colour of Lord Nityananda...
Yes, Lord Nityananda is always absorbed like that in a transcendental, intense remembrance- intense remembrance- of Lord Caitanya, always eager to serve Him. This morning we were speaking about Ratha Yatra in Jagannatha Puri and there is a Calcutta artist who made beautiful paintings of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya and he has made one picture, which I like a lot, about Ratha Yatra. And in that picture, you see the crowd and people are also sort of a dark complexion- Indian, dark complexion- and the crowd is a little bit brownish, grey- it’s sort of undefined- and then there is Lord Caitanya, more bright in colour and golden and Lord Caitanya, He is jumping very high, so He’s flying above the crowd! You see the crowd, the heads are sort of on the same level, some arms raised, some legs up and some dancing movements are going on, and then you see Lord Caitanya...golden! Effulgent! And flying way above the crowd! And then you see the ratha cart in the back. And then Nityananda was there and Nityananda was dancing along with the Lord and throwing His body up in the air! But Lord Caitanya, He wouldn’t even see how He’ll land or anything; He would just throw Himself up in the air and when He would come on the ground it was not His concern and He would just crash on the ground and everyone just couldn’t tolerate it... ‘call-an-ambulance’ type of crash! So people were highly concerned and Lord Nityananda would dance next to Lord Caitanya and He would see how He would land and then catch, catch Lord Caitanya. In this way, He was always, always there serving the Supreme Lord.
Lord Nityananda preaches through ecstatic kirtana
This morning I told some stories about...well, Lord Nityananda went to Bengal. When He went to Bengal, He was sent by Lord Caitanya and it was very difficult to find the way to Bengal because on the way they were so ecstatic- so ecstatic! They went and one of the devotees just got spontaneously in the mood of Krsna and stood there...for 9 hours in the form!!! We do it for 3 minute- ha ha nice joke- ‘so nice they’re acting out Krsna!’ no, no...9 hours! And the kirtana was just around that person and getting more and more ecstatic and everyone is dancing! And then they moved along and they moved and they moved and then at one point they had a feeling, “are you sure we’re going in the direction to Bengal?” and they asked somebody and they said, “The turn is 10 kilometres behind!” So okay, they turned around and went back, (makes mrdanga sounds), got again into it, playing rhythms on the mrdanga and then they went and they asked, “Bengal?”
“Oh! 5 kilometres ahead!” again they missed the turn! So they went up and down many times and missed the turn. So it took a long time before they got there! But eventually they reached...
And in Bengal- Lord Caitanya was in Puri- Lord Nityananda was preaching through ecstatic kirtana. He made some great followers and His two especially very famous followers are Uddharana Datta and Abhirama Thakura- Abhirama Gopala Thakura. So Abhirama is a very colourful personality because this Abhirama, he had a whip named Jaya Mangala, and this whip was quite nice because if he would just sort of (whipping noise) then immediately, ecstasy! Anyone who was touched with the Jaya Mangala became ecstatic! It’s described in the Bhakti-Ratnakara that Srinivasa came there and Abhirama touched him with the whip (whip noise) and Srinivasa became ecstatic! And then Abhirama just gave him a wack and Srinivasa became totally beyond himself! And then Abhirama was just getting ready for the third time and Abhirama’s wife grabbed his hand and said, “No! No, no, no! He still has to preach!” There was no chance...like that kind of devotee. It is said that this Abhirama Thakura, one day in his ecstasy got into the mood of a cowherd boy in Vrndavana and desperately needed a flute and he ran around into the forest, looking for a piece of wood for the flute. But he was so ecstatic that he didn’t find any wood in the forest- although it’s of course full of wood- and then he came to the river and there was a huge tree floating in the river and he just pulled out this whole log, which 16 men could not lift it’s said! And he pulled out that log and started to play on it! And the sound of the flute and everything manifested on the log! These are the associates of Lord Nityananda!
When Lord Nityananda’s kirtana party went through Bengal, it just swept up the people! And all the villages just emptied out and disappeared into the kirtana! And people were going, “where is uncle so and so...? I haven’t seen him for a long time...”
“Oh, I heard he’s in Nityananda’s kirtana!” and they sent a delegation to bring uncle back, but then the delegation would also disappear! All families disappeared, whole villages disappeared, emptied out and just disappeared into the kirtana of Nityananda! And there was a whole group of young boys and these young boys they were wild- totally wild, beyond control! For 30 days they were roaring in kirtana and getting more and more active and were running up and down and wild and they just didn’t even eat, and at the end they got so mad, they embraced trees and they just pulled them out of the ground, “Haribol!” So the kirtana of Lord Nityananda was quite special! Old men, who were normally walking stiff with walking sticks or sitting on raised seats, such old men...and I’m not talking about anyone in particular (laughter), just mentioning it! These old men, they started to jump, waving their sticks in the air and before they knew it, they jumped so high, they jumped into the trees and started to dance on the branches and they danced on the tip of the branches...and the branches didn’t break! Oh Nityananda, Nityananda, Nityananda Rama’s mercy was flooding Bengal! Flooding it! And in this way, Lord Nityananda’s extraordinary mercy was just touching the lives of the people of Bengal and changed Bengal- it just changed Bengal completely! Everyone- everyone- became a devotee practically speaking- everyone! The whole Bengal changed. Not everyone followed all the rules and regulations because Nityananda was like just anyone ready to chant...Hare Krsna! So rules were not so strict.
Therefore there were also certain groups that were not properly following anything and that were doing outright nonsense in the name of vaisnavism. They were sahajiyas. These sahajiya groups were not following any rules and regulations and you know, such kind of sahajiya groups we have heard about it. I’ve studied up on them and saw that in one of these traditions there was a thing that, the night before the marriage the bride would be offered to the guru so that the husband would get guru prasad! So then you get an idea of what kind of things were going on in the sahajiya sampradayas!
The building blocks of our movement
So meanwhile, Lord Caitanya had sent the six Goswamis to Vrndavana, who there, upon His order, nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau, were writing books and these books, they established the teachings on the basis of authorised scripture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, exactly as they had heard it from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These books then, later, were brought back by Narottama, by Srinivasa, by Syamananda to Bengal. And it’s said, just after Lord Nityananda left this world, there was a great festival! And Jahnava Mata, the wife of Lord Nityananda, she was there and she was the principle leader after the departure of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. She was holding the helm and she was the leader of the vaisnavas and in Kheturi, she was presiding over the function. And it was incredibly ecstatic because everyone, everyone began to sing! Narottama was leading a kirtana and Narottama’s singing was just very deep and very sweet and everyone was just going along in this kirtana and being swept up in it. And everyone just started to just become emotional...and suddenly, suddenly the Panca Tattva appeared and Lord Caitanya was dancing! And then Lord Nityananda was dancing in that kirtana! And then all the other members of the Panca Tattva were present and then the whole crowd just began to cry out in ecstasy! It’s said that the earth became wet and all muddy from all the tears! This is Bhakti-Ratnakara.
Meanwhile, several Deities were also being installed and it is said that at that time, all the books from the Goswamis in Vrndavana were brought to Bengal and everyone got a set of books. And what were the books they were getting? Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu- Nectar of Devotion; Upadesamrta- Nectar of Instruction! All the books that we keep in our back pocket of our blue jeans, that one you know, those books were given to the devotees in Bengal and it is said that that created some uniformity in the sankirtana movement. So then we see how our sankirtana movement gradually began to form and how Lord Nityananda, His outreach was there, followed by the teachings of the Goswamis which are the building blocks of Lord Caitanya’s movement.
So this is what we are having today, what we are looking at; the very same combination. And by contemplating and understanding Lord Nityananda and what He did and how He operated, we begin to understand a little bit. And immediately we see that still today, in Mayapur it’s the kirtana place! It’s the place where everyone’s into the kirtana bhava! They know how to play mrdangas in the proper beats...all the same beat! And some are like incredibly good...and some are not! (Laughter) So that is there. And in Vrndavana, yes the mood of the Goswamis is still there- study the scripture. So Lord Nityananda and His associates in Bengal spread Krsna consciousness door to door everywhere! In this way, the mercy was spreading and spreading. Srila Prabhupada took that very mercy and that very mood to the West and in the same spirit- catching the service, not caring about anything else.
Lord Nityananda’s birth place
Lord Nityananda...hmmm...it is said that in His childhood, Lord Nityananda was already an extraordinary Personality! He was the son of Hadai Pandita, a very qualified brahmana. And there’s one story, which is an interesting story, that Lord Nityananda had a younger brother. And this younger brother was known as Bankima Raya that was His younger brother. And it’s said that Bankima Raya was a very nice boy and one day, Bankima Raya, when he was a boy, he was helping some farmers to clear a field from wheats. And then the farmers were working for a long time and then some of the men were saying that they wanted to take a little break and take some rest. So they said, “Let’s go; let’s take some break...” So Bankima Raya said, “Okay, you go, you go take the break; I’ll just keep on working.” So they said, “ha, look at this boy- funny boy!” and then, when they came back, the whole field had been cleared from all the weeds completely and there was a huge pile from all these weeds, but not a sign of Bankima Raya! So you know, they went to his parents and said, “Look what your Bankima Raya did! He cleaned the whole field and he made a huge pile, but he’s gone! We can’t find him anywhere!” So the parents really worried and looking for Bankima Raya everywhere. No one could find him...child lost! Then suddenly, they heard his voice, his voice from the sky and the voice said, “In this life, you will not see me anymore in this form that you’ve known me. But in a few days from now, I will come floating down the river in a wooden form and in that form you can place me in the temple and remember me...” So this is how the Deity of Bankima Raya came floating down the river, and it is that Deity which is the presiding Deity of Ekacakra dhama, which is the residence, the area where Lord Nityananda was found. And that Deity is still found there today and we can go there too. And it is explained, again in Bhakti- Ratnakara, that this very Deity- the so-called younger brother of Nityananda- was none other than an expansion of Lord Nityananda...Lord Nityananda Himself!
So in this way we can worship, there in Ekacakra, Lord Nityananda. ISKCON is now building a nice guest house there; it is almost completed and the temple is also under construction, so it will be really good if we can just go to Ekacakra. And don’t hesitate, just organise it! Book through Mayapur, go and just be there because it is totally peaceful, you know what I mean? You’re really just away from all the hustle and bustle; in Mayapur everything is very busy. In the road you always hear (makes hooter noises) these riksas with these horns are driving up and down. And you know, if you’re a little lucky, the neighbours will have some function and they have these huge horns (makes funny noise), some loud music blasting! And in Gaura Purnima the crowds are coming and you know, most of us are just hiding on the roofs of the buildings! That’s how many people there are! But Ekacakra...completely peaceful! Shoo! What a place...completely invested with the transcendental energy of Lord Nityananda, who performed His childhood pastimes there, who on one occasion was performing the Kaliya pastime! And it is said that Lord Nityananda, took leaves from a particular tree, which have the shape of the head of the cobra and these leaves, they were throwing them all in the water and the heads were standing up like the heads of serpents! In this way they created Kaliya lake and were having their transcendental play, acting out the pastimes of Krsna.
The ecstasy of remembering Lord Nityananda
So in this way, remembering Lord Nityananda is such an ecstatic thing. It is said that in chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, ah, this mantra is so powerful that by this mantra, one goes beyond the result of a hundred Asvamedha-yajnas. You know, a hundred Asvamedha-yajnas, if you perform a hundred Asvamedha-yajnas, that you can attain the position of Indra, (dramatic), ‘Oh Indra! Indra! Glorious Indra! Oh Indra is famous, his glories are known to all!’ and Indra is seated on his thrown and surrounded by Gandharvas and apsaras who are dancing and Indra is relishing, ‘ah yes, I am wonderful! Yes I am great! Yes...it is correct! It’s me, it’s true ah, everyone loves me!’ So only a hundred Asvamedha-yajnas and you can become Indra...! But the chanting of Hare Krsna is described as greater than a hundred Asvamedha-yajnas, because the chanting of Hare Krsna is eternal and is the glorification of Lord Krsna and Lord Krsna is akhila rasamrta murti, the unlimited reservoir of pleasure! And therefore by chanting Hare Krsna we tap into that reservoir of pleasure and there is no end! But...before chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, one must chant:
sri-krsna-caitanya
prabhu-nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara
srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda
Why must one chant this Panca Tattva mantra? It is said, because if we chant this mantra, immediately one becomes ecstatic – ecstatic like Lord Caitanya, ecstatic like Advaita Acarya! Advaita Acarya is calling out loud, “Hunkara, Hunkara, Hunkara!” Loudly calling out! Like this, the ecstasy is there. One becomes a little bit ecstatic and then it becomes easy to chant.
So by worshipping Lord Nityananda, it becomes easy, easy to chant, easy to follow, easy to be a devotee...So let us today, on this day, pray to Lord Nityananda, glorify Lord Nityananda, worship Lord Nityananda, serve Lord Nityananda, beg at the feet of Lord Nityananda, dream about Lord Nityananda, speak about Lord Nityananda, take Nityananda prasadam and just have a kirtana for Lord Nityananda...for His pleasure- not for ours, but for His! Let us have a kirtana for His pleasure in the hope that He will shower us with mercy so that it will become easy, easy to practice Krsna consciousness.
Nityananda Rama ki, Jaya!
Nityananda Balarama ki, Jaya!
Nityananda Mahajana ki, Jaya!
Nityananda Mahajana means the one who is showing by example how to serve. May we worship that Nityananda Mahajana! Just like in that song of “The Nama Hatta- the market place of the Holy Name,” (sings) jadi nama kinbe, bhai amar sange calo, mahajaner kache jai, if you want to buy (sings) the holy name, come with me and lets go to the Mahajana, Nityananda Mahajana and get the holy name from Him! Then, then we will be able to chant.
Nityananda Rama ki, Jaya!
So any questions or any comments? Nitai! Nitai!
Question: Sri Caitanya said that even if Nityananda Rama (inaudible) or found in a liquor store...
Maharaja: ...or found in a liquor store...
Question continued: ...you know, you should always respect Him. But see that even during that time, devotees who were close associates of Mahaprabhu’s lila had difficulty appreciating and evaluating His behaviour. The Avadhuta... (Inaudible) a spiritual complexity and it’s very hard to contemplate...
Maharaja: Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami describes his brother and says, “Why are you only accepting Lord Caitanya and not Lord Nityananda?” This is like the philosophy of accepting half the hand, only the mouth- not the mouth, but only the back side that gives eggs- they’re together. He chastised his brother and said his brother fell down! But he, for chastising his brother and having full faith in Nityananda, got the darsana, was sent to Vrndavana by Lord Nityananda in the dream...went to Vrndavana and Lord Nityananda said, “there you will attain all success!” and he went there and attained all success. So those who have no faith in Lord Nityananda, by Krsna das Kaviraja’s narration, condemned! Doomed! (Dramatic) Doom, Doom, Doom for them! Excuse me for interrupting...
Question continued: We also see that in the pastime you mentioned about the bogus sannyasi, and later on when They meet the sakta bhakta sannyasi on the way to Puri, then Mahaprabhu asks, “How are you? Where have you been?” a very sweet conversation, the sakta bhakta becomes very pleased and invites Them home for a ‘bliss drink’ and They tell him, “you go home, you prepare for Us...” as They go they run in the opposite direction again and jump in the river to purify Themselves...So on the one hand They went and shared the mercy, on the other They gave the mercy but They didn’t continue to go home to Him...It’s not an imbalance, it’s just a wonderful way of how They’re acting. Can you expand on it?
Maharaja: The point is that...I elaborated on the story and there was service, voluntary service rendered. So if a person’s not qualified but renders service, then there’s mercy. But if there’s no service, not really from the heart spontaneous offering of service, then no mercy. Yes...
All right I guess I’ve sort of created a tidal wave and everyone is sort of... (dramatic) because personally, I find it not difficult to speak about Lord Nityananda; I find it difficult not to speak about Lord Nityananda, I find it difficult to stop speaking about Lord Nityananda...but still I think, we’ll stop and have some kirtana now and then Nityananda mahaprasadam! So thank you so much. But let us be in a prayerful mood- enthusiastic- but let us understand that we are here to serve the Deities, we act for Their pleasure and in this way we could attain some mercy today, which is not ordinarily available. Because on these appearance days, the mercy is especially available! That is the wonderful thing about an appearance day; that the mercy is more available than an ordinary day! So it’s not just we’re remembering...no, no, no; there’s more than that! The mercy of Lord Nityananda is now more close than ever and it’s almost in your hand; you just have to reach out and go for it! This is the opportunity!
Krsna Balarama ki, Jaya! Nityananda ki, Jaya! Hare Krsna! Nitai Gaura Premanande...Hari Haribol! Nityananda Trayodasi Mahautsava ki, Jaya!