20230408 The Dacoit Leader Describes the Whole Incident to Lord Nityānanda

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 8th,2023 in Dallas,Texas, USA.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Today's chapter is entitled as:

The Dacoit Leader Describes the Whole Incident to Lord Nityānanda
Under the Section: The Pastimes of Nityānanda

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.656

viprera nityānanda prabhura nikaṭa āmūla ghaṭanā varṇana—

susthira haiyā dvija tabe kata-kṣaṇe
kahite lāgilā saba prabhu-vidyamāne

Jayapatākā Swami: When the brāhmaṇa dacoit leader, he regained his composure, after some time, he started to speak what all happened in the presence of Lord Nityānanda.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.657

“ei nadīyāya prabhu vasati āmāra
nāma se ‘brāhmaṇa’—vyādha-caṇḍāla-ācāra

Jayapatākā Swami: O Lord Nityānanda I live in Nadīyā district in Navadvīpa. By name, I am a brāhmaṇa but my behavior is like a hunter and a dog-eater.

So, the dacoit leader, the armed robbers’ leader, he is being very honest. Although he was born in a brāhmaṇa family, he eats meat and drinks wine and is very fallen.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.658

nirantara duṣṭa-saṅge kari ḍākācuri
parahiṁsā vahi janme āra nāhi kari

Jayapatākā Swami: Always in the company of wicked people, I loot and steal. Since my birth, I have done nothing for people but commit violence to others.

So, he is speaking to Lord Nityānanda his actual situation.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.659

more dekhi’ sarva navadvīpa kāṅpe ḍare
kibā pāpa nāhi haya āmāra śarīre

Jayapatākā Swami: If they see me all the people of Navadvīpa tremble in fear. In this body what sin has not been done?

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.660

dekhiyā tomāra aṅge divya alaṅkāra
tāhā haribāre citta haila āmāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Seeing on Your body decorated with valuable ornaments, in my mind, I desired to steal them, I became determined to steal them.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.661

eka dina sāji’ bahu lai’ dasyu-gaṇa
harite āilu muñi śrī-aṅgera dhana

Jayapatākā Swami: One day, I assembled a great number of thieves and I came with the purpose to steal the ornaments from Your divine body.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.662

se-dina nidrāya prabhu, mohilā sabāre
tomāra māyāya nāhi jāniluṅ tomāre

Jayapatākā Swami: That day, O Lord, by Your illusory energy, You caused us to fall asleep and I could not understand Your actual position.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.663

āra-dina nānā-mate caṇḍikā pūjiyā
āilāṅa khāṅḍā-churi-triśūla kāciyā

Jayapatākā Swami: On another night, we worshiped Caṇḍī in various ways and then we came armed with swords, knives, shields and tridents.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.664

adbhuta mahimā dekhilāṅa sei-dine
sarva bāḍīāche veḍi’ padātika-gaṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: That night we saw something astonishing and wonderful. The whole house was surrounded by foot soldiers.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.665

ekeka padātika yena matta-hasti-prāya
ājānu-lambita mālā sabāra galāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Each soldier was as powerful as a mad elephant. They were all wearing garlands which extended down to their knees, from their necks.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.666

niravadhi hari-dhvani sabāra vadane
tumi ācha gṛha-mājhe ānande śayane

Jayapatākā Swami: Each of them were chanting constantly the holy name and You were inside the house sleeping very blissfully.

I mean, normally thieves never admit all the details of their crime. But when he came before Lord Nityānanda, he was crying, he was rolling on the ground, all hairs on his body stood on end. See that boy there, see how he is sitting that is called vīrāsana. Sometimes Lord Nityānanda would sit in that pose and have different devotees go in front of Him and dance, and each devotee would dance wildly, and next one, next one. He would have people dancing like that. Back to the story, anyway, some people had said he is a thief. Maybe he is just putting on a show. Then when he gets a chance, he will steal. So, Lord Nityānanda asked him, “Tell Me, what’s your realization of Kṛṣṇa?” So, he is expressing himself.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.667

hena se pāpiṣṭha-citta āmā-sabākāra
tabu nāhi bujhilāṅa mahimā tomāra

Jayapatākā Swami: All of us had such sinful hearts that we didn’t understand Your actual glories.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.668

‘kāra padātika āsiyāche kothā haite’
eta bhāvi’ se-dina gelāṅa sei-mate

Jayapatākā Swami: Whose infantry soldiers had come and from what place? Thinking like this we went away in that way.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.669

tabe kata dina vyāje kāli āilāṅa
āsiyāi mātra dui cakṣu khāilāṅa

Jayapatākā Swami: After some days we came yesterday and when we came, our two eyes were lost.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.670

bāḍite praviṣṭa hai’ saba dasyu-gaṇe
andha hai’ sabe paḍilāṅa nānā-sthāne

Jayapatākā Swami: When they entered the house all the thieves had become blinded and in various places they fell down.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.671

kāṅṭā joṅka poka jhaḍa vṛṣṭi śilāghāte
sabe mari, kāro śakti nāhika yāite

Jayapatākā Swami: Thorns, leeches, insects and violent storms, rain, and hailstorms, they all struck everyone. No one had the strength to leave that place.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.672

mahā-yama-yātanā haila yadi bhoga
tabe śeṣe sabāra haila bhakti-yoga

Jayapatākā Swami: Great pain by Yamarāja was experienced by everyone. But at the end after suffering, finally all of us got bhakti-yoga. Haribol! Jay! Jay!

Last night I was embracing Girirāja Swami and he kept his head on my heart for a long time. Then he said, I just hear in your heart Nitāi-Gaura dancing. I was thinking that we know this song – ‘doyāl nitāi caitanya’ bole’ nāc re āmār man. He was chanting Nitāi-Gaura and I could hear the dancing in his mind!

So, Lord Nityānanda, He is not a stereotype, not a robot. In the Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad it says nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām - of all the eternals He is the Supreme eternal. Of the conscious He is the Supreme conscious. So, how He delivers people that may be different for different people. These are ruffians, mafia type coming to steal His wealth, so He had them experience different things, but they didn’t come to their consciousness till it got very heavy. Then they realized that He is the Supreme Lord. Haribol! And they had a change of heart.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.673

tomāra kṛpāya sabe toxmāra caraṇa
kariluṅ ekānta-bhāve sabei smaraṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: By Your mercy, we got remembrance of Your lotus feet and in that way you gave us single pointed remembrance, for all of us.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.674

haila sabāra tabe cakṣu-vimocana
hena mahāprabhu tumi patita-pāvana

Jayapatākā Swami: Thus all our vision, our eyes were restored. We could understand Your greatness, the deliverer of the fallen, Patita-pāvana.

So, some devotees were asking Lord Nityānanda is so merciful, why did He cause these people suffering, so much? But in this way, they came to their senses. How He delivered Jagāi and Mādhāi in one way, how He delivered these armed robbers, but they all became devotees!

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.675

āmi-saba eḍāiluṅ e saba yātanāe
tomāra smaraṇera kon vā mahimā

Jayapatākā Swami: All these sufferings, they are not important. But we have remembered You and Your glories, that is the real glory.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.676

yāṅhāra smaraṇe khaṇḍe avidyā-bandhana
anāyāse cali’ yāya vaikuṇṭha bhuvana”

Jayapatākā Swami: By this remembrance the bondage of ignorance is cut and easily one could go to Vaikuṇṭha dhāma.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.677

kahiyā kahiyā dvija kānde ūrddhvarāya
hena līlā kare prabhu avadhūta-rāya

Jayapatākā Swami: As the brāhmaṇa spoke, he cried profusely. Such pastimes are performed by Lord Nityānanda Avadhūta.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The Dacoit Leader Describes the Whole Incident to Lord Nityānanda
Under the Section: The Pastimes of Nityānanda