20240222 Gītā Course Nityānanda Trayodaśī

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya Jaya Jaya Nitāi! Jaya Nitāi!

I was in the hospital yesterday. I told them that there is a big festival, Nityānanda Trayodaśī and the head doctor said that he has a big program, so let him go. Today is a very special day, Nityānanda Trayodaśī. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that Lord Nityānanda is ādi-guru. That is why they addressed that today we should perform the Vyāsa-pūjā of Prabhu Nityānanda. After this we will do the ārati and offer flowers at the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda.

When Lord Caitanya was in Māyāpur then when He started the saṅkīrtana movement Lord Nityānanda came to Māyāpur dhāma. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was in Vṛndāvana there was Śrīdhāma who was His friend. Śrīdhāma after Lord Kṛṣṇa ended His pastimes, he went and stayed in a cave. But Lord Nityānanda, He went and called him. Śrīdhāma came out of the cave and saw everything had become small in size in Kali-yuga. We can understand from this that in Dvāpara-yuga people were big. Lord Nityānanda said that now being Kali-yuga, We are all small. Kanhai is in Bengal and is starting the saṅkīrtana movement. Do you want to go? Śrīdhāma said, yes! I will go with Kanhai! Lord Nityānanda then said, okay, now you should come down to the size of people in Kali-yuga. He put His hand on the head of Śrīdhāma and made him shorter in size. There were many pastimes. Then the two of them came to Bengal.

Then Lord Caitanya said, now My brother has come. Where is He, search all of you? Everyone went and searched but they could not find Lord Nityānanda. They reported to Lord Caitanya that they could not find Lord Nityānanda. Lord Gaurāṅga said that you will not be able to find Him. He is Bhagavān, cannot be found by searching like this! If He manifests Himself to you, then you can find Him. Come with Me, I will find Him. So, Bhagavān Caitanyadeva came and found Lord Nityānanda.

In the tenth canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that the Lord when He incarnates then He does not have any material senses. He is Absolute. Lord Gaurāṅga, Lord Nityānanda, Advaita Ācārya are all eternally conscious entities. When Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu went to take sannyāsa in Nīlācala with Him went Nitāi. But Nitāi after some years saw Him again. Then Lord Caitanya called Him over and spoke with Him. We have come to establish the saṅkīrtana movement. But We have come away from Bengal, but our work is not over yet there. You go and You finish the work there. You don’t have to come here every year. Getting these instructions, Nitāi told Lord Caitanya that He would need some people. I am telling you in short. This way, Nitāi travelled through Medinipur and reached Kolkata. Then He reached Pānihāṭi dhāma. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu in Pānihāṭi dhāma went to the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita. Rāghava Paṇḍita and his sister Damayantī devī were there. Rāghava Paṇḍita asked how many are there with You? Lord Nityānanda said probably 50. Rāghava Paṇḍita all you have a bath in the Ganges and in one hour there will be a feast for 50 people. Damayantī Devī and Rāghava Paṇḍita organized a feast for 50 in one month they said! Here, those of you cook, can you cook a feast for 50 people in one month? I asked in Delhi, Mumbai, they said it would take at least 3 hours. But Rāghava Paṇḍita was so enthusiastic that he and his sister were able to cook the feast in one hour!

Nitāi did the Pānihāṭi pastime. Then He went to Khardāha. Then to Ādi-saptagrāma. In Ādi-saptagrāma there were many goldsmiths. There Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was there. It is in the history of Lord Caitanya pastimes that Ādi-saptagrāma, Lord Nityānanda offered such a wonderful festival. In the same way Lord Caitanya performed the saṅkīrtana movement in Navadvīpa, Lord Nityānanda performed a similar festival in Ādi-saptagrāma. The people there, businessmen, the goldsmiths all became devotees! Haribol! Haribol! Then slowly Lord Nityānanda returned to Navadvīpa dhāma. And He met Śacīmātā. Śacī Devī said, I would be at peace if You could stay in Navadvīpa. The Nityānanda Prabhu stayed in Navadvīpa dhāma.

When Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda were together earlier, then Lord Nityānanda tried to preach to Jagāi and Mādhāi, in the marketplace. When they were preaching, they told Jagāi and Mādhāi to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Mādhāi then hit the forehead of Lord Nityānanda and injured Him with blood coming out. Gaurāṅga heard this and called for His Sudarśana cakra. But Nitāi said, you made me wounded and caused Me to bleed, does that mean I will not give you prema? Jagāi told Mādhāi, you hit Him and He is talking about prema, love! Mādhāi and Jagāi, they both paid obeisances to Lord Nityānanda. The Sudarśana cakra came but Nitāi told Lord Caitanya to pardon them  and donate them to Me.

The second time when Lord Nityānanda was in Navadvīpa, He used to wear ornaments like beautiful-jeweled necklace, diamond earrings, finger with rings with precious jewels, silver anklets. One dacoit group saw oh! He is wearing such valuable jewels. Caṇḍī has given us this wonderful opportunity to get all this from Him and get lakhs and lakhs of money. But they tried three times to do this – once they fell asleep, once they saw that soldiers were guarding the house Lord Nityānanda was in, and once in the dark there was hailstone storm, and other things where they got hurt. Then the leader of the dacoits thought, that so many obstacles have come in our way, so Nitāi certainly is not an ordinary person. Nitāi is Bhagavān. Then he went up to Nitāi and paid obeisances and asked for forgiveness. But the devotees around said, that we cannot believe these dacoits. They always lie. He could be a spy. Nitāi told the dacoit, why have you come? Then the leader of the dacoits said, actually, we had come to hurt you and steal your jewelry. We tried three times, but we had obstacles, and we could not steal them. Then I understood that You are Bhagavān. And I ask for Your forgiveness. Nitāi said, alright, bring all your dacoit group and get them to surrender. This way, a group of dacoits became devotees. Haribol! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda! Lord Nityānanda did this pastime alone.

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī said that even Ananta Śeṣa with his thousand mouths cannot complete narrating the glories of Lord Nityānanda fully. Lord Nityānanda has so many wonderful qualities, pastimes, that we can never finish narrating them. Today is Nityānanda Trayodaśī and we observe the Vyāsa-pūjā of Lord Nityānanda. You all had darśana of Nityānanda abhiṣeka and Lord Caitanya’s abhiṣeka. That is why you are all blessed!

Nitāi Gaura are avatāras of Kṛṣṇa Balarāma and all the incarnations of the Lord have no material senses. In the spiritual world there is no body which grows old. There everyone has love for everyone. The material world is very small compared to the spiritual world. Now in the material world there is an imitation of the love in the spiritual world. Here all the people get some sense gratification. They don’t know that, what love is in the spiritual world. Rukmiṇī Devī told Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā that You know something, You know what Brahmā, Śiva, are doing, You know about the ananta-koṭi brahmāṇḍas, but You don’t know one thing! I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, but You don’t know! Kṛṣṇa was amazed! What is She saying, I don’t know something? He asked Her what do I not know? She said, You are Bhagavān there is no one above You. I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, You don’t know. He asked, what do I not know? She said how much Your devotees love You and in what way they love You! I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, You don’t know! Then Lord Kṛṣṇa said, okay, I will come in Kali-yuga as a devotee! He said that three times. He came as Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu in Kali-yuga. With Him came Nitāi. Where Kṛṣṇa is there, Balarāma also came. When He came as Rāma then came Nitāi as Lakṣmaṇa. As many incarnations of Kṛṣṇa are there, Balarāma or Nitāi were also there. In this incarnation, Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu was a householder for 24 years and then took sannyāsa. In the beginning Lord Nityānanda was like an Avadhūta. But Lord Caitanya instructed Him to go to Bengal and become a gṛhastha. If we can be brahmacārīs it is good, if we can be sannyāsīs also it is good. But if they are gṛhasthas that is also good if they do devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. But everyone does not do devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Gṛhamedī sukhaṁ hi tuccham. Those who are gṛhasthas, they do devotional service.

In London there were a lot of gṛhasthas. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that gṛhasthas should become paramahaṁsas. Paramahaṁsa means husband and wife enthusiastically do service to Kṛṣṇa. The lady enthuses the husband to serve Kṛṣṇa. The husband enthuses the wife to do devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Non-devotees get so called happiness now and then. But devotees are always in bliss! They also have some material happiness but they offer this to Kṛṣṇa as a service. They do garbhādāna-saṁskāra and pray to get a long lived, Kṛṣṇa conscious, healthy suputra.

This way when Kṛṣṇa went with Arjuna and Bhīma and fought with Jarāsandha, Bhīma killed Jarāsandha finally. There were about 20,000 kings Jarāsandha had put in prison. Then Jarāsandha’s son was coronated the king even though Bhīma could have become the king because he had killed Jarāsandha. But they got Jarāsandha’s son to become the king. The kings who were imprisoned were released. I am telling in short. Then Kṛṣṇa gave a special instruction. When you want to try to have children, think of Me. That is, Kṛṣṇa says that you do some garbhādāna-saṁskāra.

Lord Caitanya said,

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
(CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126)

Nitāi tried to fulfill the instructions of Lord Caitanya. You are all gṛhasthas and you should try to preach everywhere. The person understands that doing devotional service like śravaṇam, kīrtanam, smaraṇam if we perform these we get so much peace. The nine islands of Navadvīpa are the nine processes of bhakti. We have come and we should try to spread the message of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda all over the world. I hear that for one month there will be a Marathon of distributing Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Haribol! You should try to distribute a set of Caitanya-caritāmṛta to all, devotees and non-devotees. Okay, I will end my talk here. Haribol!