20160320 Śrī Nityānanda-līlā

Following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on 20^th March 2016 in Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma, India.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we are continuing today with the childhood pastimes of Lord Nityānanda. He was playing with his friends with different līlās. Kṛṣṇa-līlā, Rama a līlā, avatāra-lila. They would get completely absorbed in these past times. All the adults will look on and be covered by the illusory energy and could never realize who Nityānanda was. But they did think how do these children know so many pastimes? Who taught them? And so on they were thinking.

Actually, Lord Nityānanda is Balarāma so he was present in all the pastimes. So Lakṣmaṇa, he came across Sugrīva and his four ministers and He said what are you doing here? I am a servant of Lord Rāmacandra. Tell me what are you doing here and why are you here? Going from one forest to the next. So they said well we are afraid of Vali. Therefore, we are wandering in the forest. We would like to see Rāmacandra and take His dust from His lotus feet. So they were taken to Lord Rāmacandra and they fell at His feet and paid their prostate obesiences.

So Meghnātha was killed and Lakṣmaṇa, he was struck by the weapon of Indrajit. All the children were playing Rama-līlā and Nityānanda played the part of Lakṣmaṇa. So one day they did the defeat of Indrajit who was the son of Rāvaṇa. He got the name because he defeated Lord Indra. So one day they especially dressed him Lakṣmaṇa and now I am going to hit you with a special weapon. What would you do? So Vibhīṣaṇa, He was brought to Lord Rāma and He was given the abhiṣeka and He was made the king of Laṅka.

Actually, when he came, Lakṣmaṇa said how do we know he is not a spy of Rāvaṇa? Vibhīṣaṇa said, if I am not telling you the truth let me be a king in Kali-yuga. Wow a king or a brāhmaṇa okay! okay. Because it was so bad to be a king in Kali-yuga, they knew he must be telling the truth. So one child said, I am Rāvaṇa, I have the śakti-śīla weapon. Be careful Lakṣmaṇa what you would do to guard against this? And then he let the weapon go. So saying that the boy playing Rāvaṇa threw a lotus flower on Lakṣmaṇa. He kept repeating, and so the Lakṣmaṇa, he fell down unconscious, playing the part of Lakṣmaṇa.

So Lord Nityānanda had told his boyfriends that if I get struck and fell unconscious you should all gather around me and cry but then send the boy playing Hanumān to the Gandhamādana mountain to bring the herb which will bring me back to life.

So when fell Lakṣmaṇa unconscious, He had no symptoms of life and all the boys became bewildered and they cried and went around Him crying and His mother came Padmāvatī and when she saw her son lifeless she fainted.

Then Hāḍāi Ojhā came, the father of Lord Nityānanda and at first he was shocked that my son left but then he asked the boys what was happening in the play? So then they told him what happened and they said what’s next! what’s next! And then the boys remembered oh yeah! Hanumān has to go and get the healing herb. Send him quick, go on, hurry up! hurry up! Quick! So that boy playing Hanumān. He flew up, so being struck by the śakti-śīla weapon, Lakṣmaṇa was playing the part of Lakṣmaṇa unconscious.

So everybody said that, first when he fell unconscious all the children were holding their and crying [12.23] “Oh no, no, no!” But they didn’t, actually they became so absorbed that they forgot what they were actually supposed to do, until his father reminded them. So at first they came and saw no sign of life in their son. Both of them fell unconscious falling to the ground. Seeing this all the people came and gathered around. Everyone was bewildered, what to do? So someone said I understand why? So just like one of the children playing the part of Daśaratha, when He told Rāma a that he had to go to the forest for fourteen years then after that he played the part of Daśaratha and died.

So this way they sent Hanumān to get the medicine. So after the bewilderment they understood that if we send Hanumān and he brings medicine and then we put it under the nose of Lakṣmaṇa, then Lakṣmaṇa will come back to consciousness. But actually, when Lakṣmaṇa became unconscious the boys got bewildered, they didn't know what to do? So, the words of Lord Nityānanda they forgot. They simply cried and said get up brother, get up brother. They became mad in separation of Lord Nityānanda. But hearing the words of people they remembered what Nityānanda had said. So the child playing the part of Hanumān left immediately.

So a mendicant living in the forest, he invited Hanumān to come to his āśrama a. stay here, take a rest here, have fruits and bananas. But Hanumān said, “No I have to do my duty first. You must have heard how Lakṣmaṇa, the son of Daśaratha is lying unconscious, I have to get medicine for him.” But then the tapasvī said, “Well first have your bath in the lake, have something to eat and then go, and then you will be victorious.”

So Nityānanda [19.14 Hanumān] went to the lake to take his bath and one boy played the part of a crocodile and grabbed him by the feet and he fought with the crocodile, dragged him on to the shore and defeated him. When he went back to the tapasvī’s āśrama a, he saw the tapasvī was dressed as a warrior and he was one of the Rākṣasa warrior in Rāvaṇa’s agent. So then he told them to stop here. Hanumān said I don't care for your Rāvaṇa. To me, he is like a dog, insignificant. So I have to go now but then those two had a fight. They were punching each other and then Hanumān defeated the other one. Then he went to the Gandhamādana mountain and He couldn’t figure out which herb to bring. So he brought the whole mountain and carried it back to Lanka, back to Rama.

Then he was attacked by Gandharvas, and he fought with the Gandharvas, and he also defeated them. So then on his head he carried the mountain, Gandhamādana. So then one of the boys who took the part of a brāhmaṇa doctor, He picked out a herb of the mountain, and he gave it to the nose of Lakṣmaṇa, chanting the name Jaya Śrī Rāma! Śrī Rāma Jaya Rāma Jaya Jaya Rāma! Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma jaya jaya Rāma! Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma jaya jaya Rāma! Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma jaya jaya Rāma! Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma jaya jaya Rāma! Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma jaya jaya Rāma! Raghupati Rāghava Rāja Rāma, patita-pāvana Sītā Rāma, Śrī Rāma jaya Rāma Jaya Jaya Rāma!

So Nityānanda immediately got up after smelling the herb. Seeing that his father and mother and all the people began smiling and laughing, they were so happy. Oh... so happy! What were they? Oh... so happy! [Devotee repeating] The Lord’s coming to the kiśora age He was, or even before that, He was incomparably very beautiful. Nobody could forget Him. The whole village of Ekacakra was always thinking of Lord Nityānanda. They asked Him hey bāpa, O child, where did you learn these things and laughing, the Lord said, these are all My pastimes [laughter]! Haribol! Haribol!

So everybody was giving this child their affection. They could not understand His actual identity. [ 27.20 -27.55 Not clear - these are the] No one can understand who He was because He was covered by Viṣṇumāyā. In this way along with the other children, Nityānanda could not be happy with any other pastimes performed in the Kṛṣṇa-līlā meaning the Rāma-līlā or avatāra-līlā. So the mother and father, the children were staying out of their house giving up their mother and father and simply engaged in the association of Lord Nityānanda with His pastimes all the time.

These children, we offer our obeisances again and again in the association of the Lord Nityānanda those who are playing these transcendental pastimes. In this way Lord Nityānanda, He was engaged in the play and with the other children, He did not know anything else other than re-live the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and His expansions. Actually, how is it possible even to speak about these pastimes? By Lord Nityānanda’s mercy, all these pastimes manifested and in His boyfriends. In this way, He stayed in his house till he was 12-years old. Then Lord Nityānanda went to visit holy places. Time Up!

Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaurāṅga Jaya Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaurāṅga Jaya Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda Nityānanda Nityānanda Rāma! Nityānanda Nityānanda Nityānanda Rāma! Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaura Haribol Haribol! Haribol Haribol! [ulu-dvani by mātājī’s] Nitāi Gaura Haribol! Haribol Haribol! Haribol!

So any questions one from ladies one from men.

Question: Guru Mahārāja, if our service is not perfect, how can we qualify?

Jayapatākā Swami: Is that the question?

Repeater: Yes!

Jayapatākā Swami: Was that spoken today? Is that on the verse today? The children were supposed to send Hanumān but they forgot. They got absorbed in the lamentation. Brother get up, oh no he is down. But then they remembered Oh! We got to send Hanumān. So, like that we may forget what we have to do and what we should do if we forget, we should remember and then we should do it. In this pastime, see how Hanumān was tested, the mendicant said stay here, relax, take it easy, have something to eat. No, I have to go. At least take a bath, take a little something to eat.

So, he went out to take a bath and there was Rāvaṇa’s crocodile there, waiting to eat him. And then after he defeated the crocodile the so-called mendicant showed that he was actually a Rākṣasa. And that, He told Hanumān to go back. But Hanumān said, No I don't care for your Rāvaṇa. For me, he is insignificant, He is like a dog, I won't stop. I have to do my duty for Lakṣmaṇa and then he fought and defeated the Rākṣasa. Then he went to get the Gandhamādana mountain then he was attacked by Gandharvas. What hassles!

So, we face some obstacles when we try to do our service. Should we give up? We are not perfect. So I try. No, Hanumān, he was not thinking that I am perfect. He thought I have to do my duty for Lakṣmaṇa, for Rāmacandra. And he did it as best he could. He was told to bring one herb, an easy job. But it's a whole mountain of herbs, which one is the right one? So, he brought the whole mountain. That’s a big job. So not being perfect didn't hold back Hanumān. In fact, he is not being perfect but being so enthusiastic earned him the appreciation of all the devotees. So if you are not perfect but you are enthusiastic and you take advice on what to do from the gurus, sādhus and śāstras then you will be appreciated. If no one else, then at least by Kṛṣṇa and by your guru.

Jayapatākā Swami: Any lady has a question?

Question: Who is Hanumān in Kṛṣṇa-līlā and in Gaurāṅga-līlā?

Jayapatākā Swami: In Gaurāṅga-līlā he is Murāri Gupta. I don't know who he is in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. Does anyone know?

Devotee: He was on Arjuna’s chariot on the flag. [laughter]

Jayapatākā Swami: Yeah! I heard that when they come to see Bhīṣmadeva on the bed of arrows. Hanumān came off the flag and He offered his obesiences to Bhīṣmadeva.

Question: We can understand Kṛṣṇa and other incarnations in pastimes through Nityānanda pastimes. Please explain how?

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, Nitāi, He lived the pastimes and acted them all with his boyfriends. So if you know the pastime, then it's like a replay. If you don't know then, it's a play that you would like to learn about. So there is some reference in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So you can look out for those pastimes. Okay!

So, he helped giving out prasāda. One of his projects is to start to make a cultural institute had learning drama, dancing and music. So, this safari. I will be staying in Māyāpur, most of the time. So the safari will go to the different holy places outside Navadvīpa dhāma. Like a little village is named after the tiger, because the tiger ate kṛṣṇa-prasāda and became freed of the curse. And also like the house of Nakula Brahmacārī, where Lord Caitanya entered into his body and spoke to the devotees as Lord Caitanya, through the body of Nakula Brahmacārī.

And so like, so we are giving class beforehand, telling some secrets of the dhāma and going to the house of Hṛdaya Caitanya. We have a temple of Nitāi Gaura. So we also go to Katwa where Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa. To Jājigrāma where Srinivas ācārya stayed and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura visited. Śrīkhaṇḍa where the khaṇḍa-vāsīs stayed. There are great souls like Narahari, Cirañjīva, Mukundānanda and Raghunātha and many others.

So there how the deity was eating from the hand of Raghunātha. And Narahari after his disappearance, he re-appeared on his vyāsāsana, and he answered all the questions of the devotees and he disappeared again. And Śrīla Prabhupāda came back like that what would you ask him? Like that they are going to visit the new temple of Lord Nityānanda, and also the Kānāi-sthāna and the Malda Gauracandra in Bengal. And the House of Sanātana and Rūpa Gosvāmī, birthplace of Jīva Gosvāmī. And then to Siliguri for the installation of Varāha Deity. I will probably join there. But then nearby here one day we will spend a whole day together and we will have some picnics and things. And when they go far away I am going to see them in Siliguri. Then they are going to Jagannātha Purī. So, it’s an action filled safari. But for the first half they will stay in Māyāpur for the first third. And then one third they will be in North Bengal and one third in Purī as far as I can remember. Is that right?

Devotee: Yes! Yes Guru Mahārāja!

Jayapatākā Swami: Is it possible to still register?

Devotee: It is possible to register until tomorrow, if any devotee want to register. Until tomorrow we have the safari table downstairs in the temple courtyards. But also, if the devotee want to come, on the 26^th we have in, the first day of safari, we are going to Ambikā Kālnā, to visit the few holy places and after maṅgala-ārati we are coming back here by 5pm. On that day also you can just for one day, for the devotees who are not going to safari, you can also join on the devotee we are going to Ambikā Kālnā. But you have to subscribe by tomorrow. And of course, devotees who are coming to whole safari also, please you have to complete your registration by tomorrow. Thank you very much!

Devotee: Jayapatākā Mahārāja kī jaya!