20190319 Śrī Krishna Caitanya Book

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

So we continue with the narration of Lord Nityananda. Today we attended the Congregational Development Ministry awards night. And I cycled there. 440 cycles! My record is 1380. If I go around the whole elephant parikrama I think I can only achieve around 1000. But now it is too crowded. After Gaura Purnima I will see when can I break my record! Of course, I will be going on the safari sometime and Narotttama das is singing that gaura mandal bhumi yeba jane chintamani tara haya braja bhumi vaas. It says that whoever understand that the Gaura Mandal bhumi is transcendental, he will be a resident of Vrndavan. I don’t see there is any President! Ha! Now we will read from the Caitanya Bhagavat, Adi Khanda.

In the begin I offer my obeisances and glories to Lord Balaram. By doing so, my mouth will manifest Caitanya kirtan! Haribol! Haribol! So in the Srimad Bhagavatam prayers to Lord Sankarshan were offered by Lord Shiva, Narada muni and king Chitraketu. Lord Krishna’s prayers to Baladeva in the Vishnu Purana, by considering these statements, it is understood that by offering prayers and glorifying the names and qualities of Lord Nityananda Rama, who is the personification of vaishnava scriptures, a person’s material designation and bondage to this material world are destroyed by Lord Nityananda’s mercy! And so we accept the spiritual master as very dear to Lord Nityananda and thus we accept Nityananda Ram as our spiritual master. Thus one can glorify Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu under Prabhu Nityananda’s guidance.

Lord Balaram has thousands of hoods, since He is the origin of the snake incarnation Anantasesha. All His activities are extraordinary. All the great sages accepted Lord Sankarshan or otherwise Lord Balaram who is the source of Sankarshan as the source of creation, maintenance and destruction. Although He has nothing to do personally with these activities. As Anantasesha He holds each universe on one of His hoods, but He is so great that the universe does not even feel like the weight of a mustard seed. So anyone who wants perfection, who will not worship Lord Balaram or Nityananda? So the whole universe which we think is so great, is infinitesimal for Lord Anantadev, like a mustard seed on His hood. The Lord is described as independent, moving by His own will. As well as exceedingly powerful. Sometime, a person asked Prabhupad, can Krishna create an object that He cannot move? And he said, yes. He creates an immovable object and then later He moves it! Ha! Ha!

So the Supreme Lord Balaram carries a plough ad possesses a gigantic body. He is very grave but He is intoxicated by the glories of Sri Krishna Caitanya Chandra. So Lord Anantadeva is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam 5.25.7. So in the Laghu Bhagavatamrita, Srila Rupa Goswami writes that Lord Ananta is the plenary portion of Baladev and He holds the universes on His hoods. He resides in Patala loka and this Sankarshan recited Srimad Bhagavatam to the brahmanas and the sage, headed by the four Kumaras. His neck is beautified with the fresh forest garlands. His hoods are decorated with effulgent, shining jewels. He is dressed in blue garments, He holds a plough, a club and a trident in His hands. Why Baladev is described as having a huge body, is because each universe which measure 500 million yojanas in diameter rests upon on one of His hoods, like a mustard seed. So why He is called Ananta is because He is holding up so many universes, which are like unlimited – ananta! So Lord Nityananda although He is exceptionally grave, He is intoxicated by the transcendental mellows of Lord Caitanya. Nitai Gaur! So by the mercy of Lord Nitai, we can also become intoxicated, bona fide! Ha! Ha!

There is no one more dear to Lord Caitanya as Nityananda Prabhu. So therefore, Lord Caitanya, He constantly enjoys the pastimes inside of Lord Nityananda. So Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead. He is the fountainhead of all the incarnations. Lord Balaram is His second body. So They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. So Lord Balaram is the first bodily expansion of Krishna and He assists in Lord Krishna’s transcendental pastimes. So Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvip as Sri Caitanya and Balaram appeared in this world with the Lord as Lord Nityananda. So in the Caitanya Caritamrita it describes how Lord Balaram is the original Sankarshan. How He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Krishna. And in all His forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Lord Krishna. And the same Balaram is Lord Nityananda, the companion of Gauraaaaa Sundar! Lord Nityananda is the predominating deity of the Sandhini energy, the sustainer of the spiritual world, and the source of pure goodness. In the Caitanya Bhagavat Madhya Khanda, Lord Caitanya says, whoever worships Lord Nityananda with faith and devotion, also worships Me! The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are worshipped by Lord Shiva and Brahma. Therefore, you should all worship Him with love. If one has even a fraction of a portion of envy towards Nityananda, he is not accepted of even being a devotee. On the other hand, Lord Krishna will never give up any devotee who has even been touched by the air of the body of Lord Nityananda. Hari! Nitai Gaur! Hari bol! Nitai Nitai! Jai Nitai Jai Nitai Jai Nitai!

Who hears or chants the pastimes of Lord Nityananda, he is greatly helped by Lord Krishna Caitanya. This year the safari is going to the birthplace of Lord Nitai. And we will see many of the holy places which are inhabited by the devotees of Lord Nityananda, or were. You see, in America, youths have various habits. Like recently they had a trend that they wear their pants loose so that their underwear would show! So people wear neck tie, so we thought we should make a fad, that we should wear a knee tie! A tie on the knee! What do you call, knee tie(Niitai). Someone asks, what are you wearing? I was wearing my knee tie (Niitai). Crazy ha! So in the Srimad Bhagavatam it is stated in Canto 5.25.8, this is Prabhupad’s translation – we assume that it is by Srila Prabhupad:

“If persons who are very serious about being liberated from material life hear the glories of Anantadeva from the mount of a spiritual master in the chain of disciplic succession, and if they always meditate upon Sankarshana, the Lord enters the cores of their hearts, vanquishes all the dirty contamination of the material modes of nature, and cuts to pieces the hard knot within the heart, which has been tied tightly since time immemorial by the desire to dominate material nature through fruitive activities. Narada muni, the son of Lord Brahma, always glorifies Anantadeva in his father’s assembly. There he sings blissful verses of his own composition, accompanied by his stringed instrument (or a celestial singer) known as Tumburu.”

So Sankarshan and Anantadeva are all manifestations of Lord Nityananda. So if you are always thinking of Lord Nityananda these spiritual benefits are there. Lord Nityananda is known as the mercy of the Lord. When the Lord, He tasted His internal purpose for coming, He delegated Lord Nityananda to give the mercy out on His behalf. Who wants the mercy of Lord Nitai?

So we will end here and I will take a couple of questions and then if there are any introductions.

Question: I was wondering why in the Caitanya Leela Lord Nityananda is born in a different family and not same from the same mother father as in Krishna Leela or Rama Leela?

Jayapatākā Swami: Why are you asking such a question? Sometimes He is born in the same family, like He became Lakshman in Ram Leela, He was Krishna’s older brother in Dvapara yuga leela, Balaram, and in this Caitanya leela He appeared in Radha desh, Birbhum. So since He is completely independent, and He can do whatever He wants, we may or may not know why He does something, because He doesn’t have to answer to us! Ha! He is the Supreme Lord. He will appear wherever He wants, I can speculate and give some reasons but rather than that, you know, Lord Caitanya He did His scholastic pastimes in Navadvip and meanwhile Lord Nityananda travelled all over and visited holy places purifying them. When Lord Caitanya started the sankirtan movement, then Lord Nityananda joined Him. Why did He do that? Tell me! One more question.

Question: What is the best way to get Lord Nityananda’s mercy?

Jayapatākā Swami: Help Him in serving Lord Caitanya. Ha! He gives His mercy without considering whether one is qualified or not, if you are very greedy for His mercy if you want very much, then it is possible to get very easily! Who wants the mercy of Lord Nityananda? Haribol! Nitai! Nitai! Nitai! So are we going to visit some places of Nityananda Prabhu in the safari, Marici das?

Marīci dāsa: We are going to Ekachakra Dham, (guru maharaj said: Oh!) we are going to the birthplace of Lord Nityananda and we will be guided by His Holiness Bhakti Nityananda Swami maharaj. Also for most of the safari will come, His Holiness Bhakti Damodar Swami Maharaj and the first few days, HH Nrsimha Swami Maharaj and of course guru maharaj also will be attending some programs on this safari. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to tell the devotees that today was the last day of the registration for the safari. If anybody wants to know anything about the safari, at the entrance there is a very big map and all the holy places we are going to visit is on that. You can take the photo and take the program. If anyone wants to go you can contact us at the safari table outside the Pancha Tattva Hall on the right. The first week we are going to visit holy places near Mayapur, so sometimes we are going to sleep outside Mayapur, Katwa, Adisaptagram, in Kagda, so we can take more advantage to visit all the holy places. After on the 31^st of this month we are going to be travelling for one week all the way up to Kanainaathshaala visiting so many holy places of the Goswamis, Nityananda, Lord Caitanya. Then we are going to a very nice place, for us first time we are going, for me at least, Mandara Hill where Lord Caitanya visited and had a darshan of a very ancient deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva and we are going to come back to Ekacakra and coming back on the 6^th of April. When we are in Mayapur also we will have three days of seminar on our etiquette and different topics. In the morning it will be in the Samadhi auditorium, everybody is invited to participate. The first one is on the 26^th of this month and some seminars, the topics, will be in the evening here with Srila Jayapataka Swami maharaj. So thank you. Hare Krishna!

Jayapatākā Swami: So we heard we are visiting the birthplace of Lord Nityananda. So maybe we will find out why He appeared there!! We would request you not to have the abhishek in the house at the same time as in the temple. (There is no temple in the city, Ekanath das said). […]

Whose birthday is it today? Prayojana mataji our nurse and Jahnavi mataji from Peru! A big Haribol to both of them. Jananivas and Pankajangri prabhus’ also appeared today! Haribol!

Question: I have deities in my house and inviting people to my house and will be having bathing of the deities. But some of the guests are non-vegetarian and can they bathe the deities?

Answer: It depends on what standard you are worshiping the deity, whether the deity is installed or not. If the deity is installed then generally only the second intitiated devotees bathe the deities. If you have just a practice deity, so then you can possibly do a purification mantra for the people who are bathing the deities. om apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvā.... etc., after chanting this mantra, they could bathe the deities.