Caitanya Bhagavata Madhya Khanda

r Caitanya-bhgavata, Madhya-khaa by Vndvana dsa hkura
1. r Mahprabhu Starts the Sakrtana Movement
All glories, all glories to Lord Vivambhara the crest jewel amongst the brhmaas! All glories to the beloved associates of Lord Vivambhara! All glories to Lord Gauracandra, the stalwart amongst all religious preachers, the safe bridge to the spiritual sky! He has fully subdued His physical and mental urges. All glories to the Lord, He possesses incomparable beauty and is the embodiment of the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Ka! All glories to Lord Gauracandra for He is the dearest friend and life of Nitynanda Prabhu, and the sublime object of love for Gaddhara Paita and Advaita crya Prabhu! He is very dear to r Jagadnanda Paita, and the tender loving hearts of Vakrevara Paita and Kvara. He is the Lord and master of rvsa and His other beloved associates. O Lord, kindly look upon the living entities with divine benevolence. The descriptions recorded in the Madhya-khaa are like streams of nectar, which pours out into the ears. It melts the granite-like doubts and atheistic thoughts in the deep recesses of the heart. Please listen attentively with unflinching faith to the narrations of the Madhya-khaa, describing the beginnings of the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. The entire township of Navadvpa offered jubilant and loud welcome to the Lord who had just returned from Gay-dhma. Friends and relatives rushed to meet the Lord. The Lord spoke sweetly to everyone and they

were overjoyed to see Lord Vivambhara return. They all accompanied the Lord, many of them going in front of Him. They brought Him to His house, and He began narrating the experiences of his pilgrimage. The Lord said, By your blessings and good wishes, I could visit Gaydhma and return without any difficulties. The Lord spoke very humbly, pleasing everyone. They were all very impressed by His gentility. The senior members of the society touched the Lords head and blessed Him with a long life. Further well wishers chanted mantras for His protection as they touched different parts of His body. Putting their heads upon His breast, others invoked the mercy of Govinda, saying, May Govinda bestow blissful peace upon You. Nobody could describe the joy acm experienced as she saw the return of her son. Upon seeing her Lords face, Viupriy glowed with happiness and her cloud of loneliness dissipated. The joyous news spread to His in-laws house, touching them with jubilation. The Vaiavas were especially happy and they ran to see the Lord. To everyone the Lord spoke very softly and humbly. Later, taking leave of them, He returned to His room. He took a handful of devotees inside to discuss the more confidential topics of His pilgrimage to Gay. The Lord said, My dear friends, I want to describe to you the wonderful places that constantly reminded Me of Lord Ka. As soon as I entered into Gay, I heard the auspicious sounds of chanting, conch shells, and bells. Hundreds and hundreds of brhmaa priests were chanting from the Vedas. They glorified Lord Ka and the place of pilgrimage where He had left the impression of His lotus feet. They said, Welcome to the holy spot where the Lord washed His lotus feet. In previous ages, when Lord Ka visited Gay, He washed His transcendental lotus feet at this place. Mother Gag has become glorious and holy by the touch of the waters from the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord iva holds that water upon his head with the full realization that this is the water from the lotus feet of Lord Ka. Therefore, this 2

place of pilgrimage has become one of the holiest and is known as Pdodaka-trthathe pilgrimage place where the Lord left the waters of His lotus feet. As soon as the Lord repeated the name of Gay-dhma and Pdapadmatrtha, His remembrance of the lotus feet of Lord Viu intensified and incessant streams of tears poured down from his eyes. He became extremely restless. Unable to control His spiritual emotions, He began crying out the name of Lord Ka. So profuse were the tears of kaprema, love of Godhead, that they could have watered an entire flower garden. He sighed deeply, repeating Kas name. His whole body was covered with horripilation. He could not control Himself anymore and shivered like an autumnal leaf. rmn Paita and other devotees present could not remain unaffected; they were astounded at seeing this wonderful manifestation of love of Ka. Tears swelled up in the eyes of the Lord and flowed freely as if Mother Gag had found another source. What is this sight? they all thought in their minds. We have never seen the Lord acting like this; this must be the great mercy of Lord Ka that He has allowed us to see such spiritual emotions. After a while, the Lord became still and external consciousness returned to Him. He began to speak again, My dear friends! Please return to your homes today, but I want to see all of you tomorrow again and discuss very confidentially in a solitary place. I want to disclose the deep sadness in my heart. rmn, you come early to uklmbara Brahmacris house with Murri and adiva. Everybody returned to their houses and the Lord became engrossed in His own world. The spirit of ka-prema had manifested in the body of the Lord and He had now lost all taste for anything mundane. acm could not understand the new transformation that had overcome her son, but she was happy just to have Him near. She saw her son crying out Kas name and the tears of ka-prema, which flowed profusely from His eyes. The Lord cried out, Where is my beloved Ka, where is

my beloved Ka? This deepened His mood of separation in love of Ka. All such activities of the Lord were incomprehensible to acm, so in great awe with folded hands she prayed for the shelter of Lord Govinda. The time was now dawning when Lord Caitanya was to reveal His real identity and the entire universe swayed with waves of joy. News quickly spread to all the Vaiava devotees that Lord Caitanya was constantly shedding tears of ka-prema and they all swiftly gathered at His house to see Him. The Lord acted very humbly towards them and spoke with everyone. He requested the Vaiavas, Please come and meet Me in uklmbaras house tomorrow, I want to open My grief laden heart to all of you. rmn Paita was extremely happy when he saw this wonderful transformation in the LordHis extraordinary ka-prema. Early the next morning, rmn went as usual to pick flowers at rvsas house, where was there was a jasmine tree, which was like a kalpa-vka, desire tree. Many, many flowers were picked from this tree; however, the tree would be never be devoid of flowers. It had an inexhaustible bloom of fresh flowers. Usually, all the devotees met there during morning to pick flowers and exchange words about Ka and His wonderful pastimes. In this way, Gaddhara, Gopntha, Rmi and rvsa would daily enjoy each others company in the morning. As rmn Paita arrived, he was laughing with joy. Everyone greeted him saying, Why are you so happy today? rmn, happily smiling, said, Certainly, there is be a reason. The other flower picking devotees responded, Then, why do you not say it? rmn Paita began, Very well, you must hear the reason. Something most wonderful and most impossible has happened! Nimi Paita has become a great Vaiava devotee. I heard that He had returned from Gay, so I went in the evening to meet Him. He spoke with everyone with a humble and very detached air, not showing the slightest sign of arrogance or insolence.

Then, He took the Vaiavas aside and began describing His pilgrimage and feeling for Lord Ka. As soon as He mentioned the lotus feet of Lord Ka and Pdapadma-trtha, His eyes flooded over with tears of ka-prema. His whole body was overwhelmed with ecstatic symptoms, shivering and horripilation. As He cried out Lord Kas name, he fell to the ground unconscious. When He regained consciousness, He repeatedly called out Kas name and again began crying in separation from the Lorda river of tears like Gag dev flowed from his eyes! After seeing such sublime love of Ka, I am convinced that He is not an ordinary personality. After He became stilled and self-controlled, He told us that we should all come to meet Him in uklmbara Brahmacris house today. I should bring adiva and Murri along with me and He would reveal the torment within His heart to us. Thus, I have told you the reason for my joy and this most auspicious news. rmns words gave great pleasure to all the devotees, and they loudly repeated Lord Haris name. rvsa hkura commented, May Lord Ka increase our congregation. The assembled devotees appreciated the mood of rvsa hkura and happily, they discussed topics of Ka consciousness. The joyous sounds that surrounded them were pleasing to the heart. The devotees blessed everyone saying, May everyone be blessed by worshiping the lotus feet of Lord Ka. rmn Paita then left this Vaiava assembly and proceeded to uklmbara Brahmacris house. Gaddhara Paita, who had heard the discussions silently while everyone was picking flowers, also went towards the house of uklmbara Brahmacr while the others went to perform their daily worship of the Lord. Gaddhara Paita thought, Let me go and hear what He says about Ka. Thus, he reached uklmbaras house, entered, and hid himself inside. adiva, Murri, rmn, uklmbara and other such highly advanced loving devotees had already assembled there. Just then, Lord Vivambhara, the crest jewel of the brhmaas, appeared in the assembly. They greeted each other happily, but the Lord was all 5

the time engrossed within Himself. As soon as He was in the assembly of Vaiava devotees, He began reciting different lokas, which glorified the nature of bhakti, devotional service. He said, I had found my beloved Lord, but then He disappeared. In which direction did He go? Saying these words, He fell down completely paralysed. The Lord embraced the pillars of the house and began crying out, Where is Ka? and then again fell down. The devotees became affected by the Lords intense mood of separation from His beloved Lord Ka. He constantly repeated, O Ka, where is My Ka? The atmosphere intoxicated the devotees, it made them sway and stagger about the room. Inside the room unseen by anyone, Gaddhara Paita fell down unconscious. The devotees lost all sense of direction and identity nobody knew where or who he was. They became overwhelmed with love of Ka and all external consciousness disappeared from them. The whole spiritual scene amazed, Jhnav dev, Mother Gag. After a while, consciousness returned to the Lord and He again repeated Lord Kas name and began crying bitterly. It was a wonderful sceneeveryone had lost themselves in an ocean of ecstatic bliss of love of Ka. The Lord fell repeatedly and continuously lamented, O my beloved Lord Ka, where did You go? In this ecstatic mood, the Lord fell many times to the ground unconscious, but no bruises or pain were visible on His transcendental body. Loud jubilant cries and weeping in love of Ka reverberated through the entire house and uklmbaras house became surcharged with the ecstasy of ka-prema. After some time, the Lord calmed Himself and sat down, but tears of ecstatic love flowed unrestrainedly from His eyes. He asked, Who is inside the house? uklmbara Brahmacr replied, Your beloved Gaddhara Paita. Gaddhara Paita entered with his head down and his unchecked tears flowed profusely in torrents. This pleased the Lord beyond words. The Lord said, Dear Gaddhara! You are most fortunate and pious because from your childhood, you have developed 6

unflinching love for Ka, but My life, so far, has been wasted in the useless pursuit of material knowledge. Then, finally, when I found the most precious object of love, He disappeared as a result of my previous impious and profane activities. Saying this, the Lord Vivambhara again fell unconscious to the ground and the dust covered His entire body. Later, His external consciousness returned and then again, He fell unconscious, totally lost in ecstatic separation from His beloved Lord Ka. It was certainly the invention of providence that the Lord was not hurt. It became impossible for the Lord to open His eyes because they were brimming with tears of love of Ka. The only words He repeated were Kas names. He embraced everyone and, crying bitterly, asked, Where is My beloved Ka? My dear brothers, please tell Me quickly. The devotees were greatly moved to see His intense pain of separation from Ka. They remained dumbfounded and lost for words. The Lord said, Please release Me from this grief, I only need the son of Nanda Mahrja, the Lord of the gops. I need Lord Ka. Saying this He again fell down, His hair loose and mingling in the dust. The day passed unnoticed by anyone, and finally the Lord bade farewell to all the devotees. After the Lord had departed, the devotees spoke openly, expressing their surprise. Each one had marvelled at the Lord, their external senses and body had become numb. The entire Vaiava community was overjoyed at the new turn of events. The word spread quickly, and with great joy, all the devotees received it and spontaneously responded by chanting the Holy Name of Ka. They could not restrain their amazement and made comments like, He will reveal Ka to everyone. Someone else said, When Nimi Paita feels a little better, then He can easily break the heads of the atheists. 7

Another commented, I have no doubt that He will reveal to the world the most confidential pastimes of Lord Ka. Another commented, Perhaps, because of His association with a pure devotee like vara Pur, He saw the Supreme Lord, r Ka. Endlessly, they tried to find a possible reason for the Lords transformation. Yet, the devotees were very happy about Nimi Paitas condition and they all blessed Him saying, May He be blessed with the mercy of Lord Ka. The devotees were truly very happy; they danced, sang, and cried tears of love with new life. While the devotees were happily engaged in dancing and singing, the Lord became increasingly immersed in His mood of ecstatic separation. He went to the house of Gagdsa Paita and offered His respects to the feet of His teacher who got up and affectionately embraced his student. Gagdsa Paita said, What a glorious life! You have liberated both the families of Your mother and father. All Your students have been awaiting You anxiously; they have not opened their books since You left. Even if Lord Balarma had come in person and told them to read, they would have refused. You have returned to brighten everyones days, but go home now and tomorrow return to begin Your teaching. The Lord again offered His obeisances to His teacher before He left, and all the students surrounded the Lord like many stars surrounding the moon. He went to the house of Mukunda Sajaya and sat at His usual teaching place in the courtyard of the Durg temple. The whole household of Mukunda Sajaya was overwhelmed with joy. The Lord embraced Puruottama Sajaya and drenched him with tears of love. The ladies, elevated with joy, made auspicious sounds and the whole house was reverberating with jubilant sounds. The Lord glanced mercifully at everyone and returned to His house. He arrived home, sat at the doorstep of His Viu temple, and affectionately dismissed his students. Now, whoever came and spoke with the Lord went away bewildered, unable to comprehend the change

in the Lords mood. No trace of the previous arrogance and audacious display of learning remained in the Lords character. Everyone saw that He was completely detached and engrossed in deep meditation. acm was completely at a loss. She could not understand her son anymore. She prayed constantly to Mother Gag and Lord Viu for her sons well being. She prayed, O my Lord Kacandra, You have taken my husband. You have also taken my son. There is only Nimi who remains with me. O Ka, I am helpless and alone, just grant me this one favour: Let my child Vivambhara remain in the house, healthy and whole. acm would bring Viupriy and make her sit in front of the Lord, and the Lord would stare without noticing her. The Lord continuously recited lokas and kept lamenting and repeating, Where is Ka? Where is Ka? At times, when the Lord roared in ecstatic bliss, Viupriy ran away in fear, while acm stood helpless and anxious. The ecstasy of love for Ka kept the Lord from sleep, and His unbearable separation from Ka made Him sit up the whole night through. Yet, as soon as He saw a materialistic person, He immediately went inside Himself and did not exhibit any of the ecstatic symptoms. Early every morning, the Lord went for His bath in the Gag, and upon His return, He found the students awaiting Him. The Lord uttered only Kas name and nothing else; the students could not understand their teachers mood. On the students request, the Lord sat down to teach. The students sat down and opened their books, taking the Lords name, Hari, as they were accustomed. The son of acm, Nimi Paita was greatly overjoyed at hearing His beloved Lords name. He again became absorbed, forgetting His external senses, and looked upon everyone with His merciful glance. Wholly absorbed in Ka, the Lord began explaining to His students. He told His students that the essential lesson of everything was Lord Ka, all aphorisms, commentaries, and dissertations, were actually describing the glories of the Holy Name. The Lord said, The only eternal truth is the Holy Name of Ka, Ka is the only worshipable Lord in all the scriptures. Ka is the Supreme 9

Controller, Maintainer, and the Lord of the entire creation. Lord iva, Lord Brahm and every other deity are His servants. Whosoever tries to explain anything without describing the lotus feet of Lord Ka is in illusion; his words are untrue and his birth is useless. The entire Vednta, the gamas, and all other philosophical treatises point out that devotion to the lotus feet of Ka is the ultimate and only goal. All the mundane scholars are mesmerized by the illusory potency of the Lord, totally lost because they cannot find shelter at the lotus feet of Ka. Lord Ka is an ocean of mercy. He is the life and soul of every living entity. He is the most dear to His surrendered souls and is the dear son of Mother Yaod. A person may be well versed in all scriptures, but if he has no attraction and attachment for the Holy Name of Lord Ka, then he follows the path of destruction and hell. On the other hand, if a wretched and abominable person chants Lord Kas name, then even if he is most sinful, he reaches the supreme abode of Lord Ka after leaving this material world. This is the verdict of all the scriptures and if anyone doubts this then he is the worst sufferer. If anyone tries to explain the scriptures without having taken shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Ka, then such a degraded person can never know the true purport of the scriptures. He pretends to be a teacher of the scriptures, yet knows not the essence and message of the scriptures. He is like a washermans donkey carrying the load of all the scriptures. Such a soul is truly unfortunate because, in spite of his education, he has forfeited the joy of Ka consciousness. People in general are so foolish; instead of meditating upon the Supreme Lord, r Ka, they meditate on other personalities, not knowing that the one Supreme Lord Ka mercifully offered liberation even to the demoness Ptan, who had come to kill Him. What greater pleasure can they receive, other than that obtained by glorifying Lord Kadid He not redeem even the most sinful demon, Aghsura? Just the Holy Name of Supreme Lord, Ka, alone can purify the entire universe. Even the highest living being of the universe, Lord Brahm, experiences misery in his life, yet he becomes overwhelmed with joy when he participates in the great sakrtana celebrations surrounding 10

Lord Ka. Nevertheless, these unfortunate fallen souls disregard this sublime nectar to sing, dance, and revel in inauspicious mundane festivities. Intoxicated by wealth, high birth, education and the like, they do not know the wonders of the Holy Name of Ka, which liberated Ajmila just by being chanted once. My dear students and brothers, please hear me carefully for everything I say is very true, you should just worship the lotus feet of Lord r Ka, the most precious treasure. Lakm Dev always desires to serve these lotus feet. Lord iva has become a pure devotee just by taking shelter of them. These Supreme lotus feet are the ultimate source of Mother Gag. So all of you, My dear brothers, please simply take shelter of the Lords lotus feet. Now I send out a challenge: Refute the explanations that I have just rendered! r Vivambhara is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the embodiment of transcendental sound vibration, so whatever He speaks is the Absolute Truth. The mesmerized students listened to the Lords words with undivided attention while the Lord spoke on as if in a trance, revealing the Absolute Truth. The Lord explained everything in the light of Ka consciousness and established a clear connection of every word with the Supreme Lord, Ka. This was an astonishing feat even for the Supreme Lord Himself. Lord Vivambhara soon became aware of His external words and coming out of His trance, He became shy, wondering if His students would think of Him as being mad or unbalanced. So to cover up, He said a few words. He asked the students, How were My commentaries today? The students replied, We could not understand anything. You have described Ka as a purport to every word, who is there who can understand Your explanations? Lord Vivambhara laughed and said, Listen my dear brothers, pack your books and lets go to the Gag for a bath. The students put their books away and accompanied Lord Vivambhara down to the Gag. They were all happy to be in the water playing and joking. Lord Vivambhara, surrounded by all His students, looked like the glowing full moon rising out of the ocean. All those who saw the Lord frolicking in the waters were extremely pious and 11

fortunate. Even Lord Brahm aspires to see the Lord like this, playing in the water. Everyone who had come to bathe kept looking longingly at the beautiful face of Lord Gauracandra. They said to each other, How beautiful He is. His father and mother are really blessed. Mother Gag could not contain the joy she experienced by the Lords presence in her waters. Her waters swirled, sending out dancing waves of ecstasy. She was dancing with joyshe wanted to serve those lotus feet that are even desired by Ananta ea and all the demigods. Therefore, her many thousands of waves washed the Lords lotus feet. Only the Vedas know the truth about all such transcendental activities of the Lord and His devotees. In the future, someone will come and reveal these wonderful pastimes of the Lord. Finishing His bath, the Lord returned home and the students went back to their respective homes. He changed His clothes, washed His feet, and then offered water to the tulas plant. He performed His daily worship of Lord Govinda and came to take His meal. acm brought His plate with tulas majars, rice and other preparations. The Lord offered the foodstuffs to Vivevara and then the Lord of the entire universe began taking His meal. acm, the Mother of the Universe, sat in front of the Lord as He ate and the chaste Viupriy remained in the next room unseen, looking at Her Lord. acm asked, My son, what book have You been reading today? And with whom did You have a debate? The Lord replied, Today, we read about the Holy Name of Ka and the glories of His lotus feet, the abode of all excellencies. His name and transcendental qualities are eternalchanting and hearing the Lords names are also eternal. His surrendered servants and devotees are also eternal. That scripture is true and eternal, which explains the process of devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Ka. Otherwise, such a book cannot be called a scriptureit is an atheistic and shallow book. The Vedic scriptures say, That scripture which fails to establish the process of devotional service is to be rejected. Even if Lord Brahm himself was to come and speak from it, one should never such a recitation.
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If the lowest of men in human society, the dog-eater, utters Kas Holy Name, then, he is not the lowest of mankind. And, if a Brahmin born in a high family does not follow the principles of scripture and religion, then, he is not a Brahmin. Lord Vivambhara spoke to His mother just like Lord Kapila had spoken to His mother, Devahti. Dear mother, try to understand the wonderful influence of the process of devotional service to Lord Ka. Try to develop in every respect, attachment to the Supreme Lord. The devotees of Lord Ka can never be destroyed. Fearful death himself is afraid of a servant of the Lord. The Lords devotees never experience the excruciating pains of life in the mothers womb, birth, and subsequent death. All such sufferings are unknown to the devotee. Whoever refuses to worship the lotus feet of Ka, who is the father of every living entity, is a great sinner, an enemy of his own father, and becomes a resident of hell, birth after birth. My dear mother, please listen attentively how frightfully a living entity suffers if he is not willing to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. Again and again, he is made to enter into the wombs of his mothers as a sinful creation. He is subjected to unbearable suffering in each womb. Everything the mother eats pains him. Whether it is spicy, salty or sour, he suffers, unable to do anything. He cannot protect himself against the many worms and bacteria that nibble his soft unprotected flesh. Unable to move, he must suffer all conditions inside the hot and sticky womb. If his fate allows, he lives through this nightmare. There are those who are extremely sinful and are condemned to die within the womb, repeatedly. After remaining seven months within the womb, the living entity begins to gradually understand his position. He remembers his previous promises and births, and begins to repent for his mistakes. He sighs and prays heedfully to Lord Ka, Oh Lord Ka! Please save me! You are the life and soul of all the living entities. You are the only fit shelter for the living entities in distress. Due to my forgetfulness of You, Ka, I have been captured by Your external
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energy. O Lord, You who are the Lord of all the energies, please relieve me by an easy death. I have wasted my life chasing after illusory and temporary happiness such as family, children, and wealth and neglected your priceless eternal lotus feet. The son whom I raised so lovingly with a life of sin, where is he now? Where is everything? What have all my activities brought me? Who will save me from this untold suffering? My Lord, You are my only friend in this distress. Now I realise that Your lotus feet are my only eternal shelter, O Lord Ka! Please save me. I take the shelter of Your lotus feet. O foolish me, I have left such a merciful Lord as Yourself, who is like a touchstone supplying all desires, and have become mad after illusion in forgetfulness of You. For such a crime my present suffering condition is a proper punishment, but now, Oh Lord, please be merciful upon me. Grant me just this one favour, that I may never forget You and neglect Your lotus feet. Wherever I am, whether living or dying, may I always remember You. I do not want to remain in that place where there are no assemblies of Your devotees. I do not even want to enter Indraloka if they do not celebrate Your festivals. The rmad Bhgavatam states: An intelligent person does not take interest in any place, even if it be the topmost planetary system, if the pure River Ganges of topics concerning the Supreme Lords activities does not flow there, or if there are no devotees engaged in service upon the banks of such a river of piety, or if there are no festivals and, especially in this age, if there is no sakrtana-yaja to satisfy the Lord. Better, O Lord, to live cramped up perpetually in an airtight mothers womb suffering constantly, if I can remember Your lotus feet. I never want to live in any place where I must forget Your lotus feet. O Lord, please be merciful and never put me in a place like that. So many millions of births, I have suffered in this abominable position, O Lord. These births were all due to my own sinful activity. Let me always remain in this precarious and suffering position if You will mercifully appear on the mirror of my memory, because You are the 14

essence of all Vedic scriptures. O Lord, please offer me Your servitude and keep me eternally at Your lotus feet, just like a sold-out slave. If this time, You relieve me from this painful condition, then I want nothing other than Your lotus feet. In this way the living entity suffers unbearable pain within the womb, yet he still loves this painful condition because he can still remember Lord Ka. Praying to the Lord in this manner the devotee does not feel the pain anymore, and soon he comes out of the womb unwillingly. O mother, please listen carefully to the position of the conditioned living entity. As soon as he enters this world, he loses all his knowledge. Sometimes, he is sleeping as though unconscious, sometimes crying and breathing deeply. Unable to express himself, he is drowned in an ocean of suffering. The living entities are eternal servants of Lord Ka. If they turn away from the Lord then they suffer the punishment meted out by the illusory potency of the Lord. After some years, knowledge and intelligence blossom within him, and then if he worships Lord Ka he is truly fortunate and pious. However, if, by the influence of bad association, he does not worship the lotus feet of Lord Ka, then he falls down into the dark well of sin and suffering. T h e rmad Bhgavatam says, If therefore, the living entity again associates with the path of unrighteousness, influenced by sensuallyminded people engaged in the pursuit of sexual enjoyment and the gratification of the palate, he again goes to hell as before. It is also said in the scriptures, How can a person who does not worship the lotus feet of Lord Ka have an undisturbed life and an peaceful death? To live an tranquil life and die peacefully one must worship and remember Lord Ka. Therefore, O mother, please associate with devotees and worship Lord Ka. Within your mind always think of Lord Ka and with your mouth always chant Hari! Non-devotional activities are devoid of any good fruit and bring only calamity and 15

suffering. In this way, assuming the mood of Lord Kapila, Lord Caitanya taught His mother and upon hearing these words, acdev became very joyful. Whether He was eating, sleeping, or awake, Lord Caitanya did not speak of anything but Lord Ka. When the devotees heard the descriptions of these activities of the Lord, they discussed them amongst themselves, and contemplated them in their hearts. Has Lord Ka manifested in His body? Perhaps this is by the association of devotees, or perhaps by some previous process of purification? Contemplating within their hearts in this way, the devotees experienced great happiness. By His manifestation in this world, Lord Vivambhara vanquished the suffering of His devotees and destroyed the materialistic atheists and offenders. Now fully assuming the role of a Vaiava, Mahprabhu Vivambhara always saw Lord Ka present everywhere in the world. Without cessation, during both day and night, with His ears He heard only the name of Lord Ka and with His mouth spoke only Kacandra. The Lord who was once absorbed in the taste of scholarship could not now relish anything other than Ka. Early ever morning, all His students would assemble for their studies. However, when He, who is the master of the three worlds, sat and began to lecture nothing but Ka would appear upon His tongue. The students asked, What is the correct and perfect understanding of the alphabet? The Lord replied, Lord Nryaa is situated in all the letters of the alphabet. The students asked, How were the letters of the alphabet perfected? The Lord replied, The merciful glance of Lord Ka created the alphabet. The students responded, O Paita, please give the correct understanding. The Lord said, At every moment, one should remember Lord Ka. I am describing the worship of Lord Ka, which is the purpose of all the scriptures. In their beginning, middle, and end, the scriptures only teach the worship of Lord Ka.
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Upon hearing the Lords explanation, the students began to laugh. One murmured, The cause of this strange explanation is an imbalance of the life-airs. The students again asked, From where did you get this idea? The Lord replied, This is the ultimate conclusion of scripture. The Lord said, If you cannot now understand, then contemplate the matter and this afternoon I will explain in more detail. Each student should go to a secluded place and study his books. In the afternoon we will meet again. Upon hearing the Lords words, the surprised students tied up their books and left. All the students then went to Gagdsa and related the words and explanations of the Lord. They said, Nimi Paita now declares that all words of the scriptures refer to Lord Ka alone. After returning home from Gay, he talks only of Ka and gives nothing else as an explanation. He continually chants the name of Lord Ka, feeling great ecstasy. Sometimes He laughs aloud, sometimes roars aloud, and sometimes His whole body breaks out into horripilation. In this way, different symptoms manifest within Him. When He sits down to teach, He connects the root of every single word to Ka. All His purports and commentaries describe Ka. This new transformation in Him seems to be so alien to us. Please, O Master, please tell us what should we do? Gagdsa Paita, the jewel-like teacher of Navadvpa, smiled and after listening to the complaints of the students, told them, Go home now and return this afternoon, I will instruct Nimi. I will see that He tutors all of you properly from now on. You may also come with Nimi; be here with your books this afternoon. Later, that afternoon, the Lord visited Gagdsa Paita and touched His masters feet with respect. In turn, Gagdsa Paita blessed Him saying, May You become highly learned. He then continued, My dear Vivambhara, I must tell You something. You know that it is no small matter for a Brahmin to be able to teach. It is a question of good fortune. Your grandfather is none other that r Nilmbara Cakravart, and Your father is r Jaganntha Mira; both are great scholars. Neither of
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Your parents families is illiterate, and You, Yourself, are a very able scholar with an exceptional faculty to give commentary. Would You say that one achieves the path of devotion to the Lord by giving up his education and learning? In that case, are not Your parents devotees of the Lord? You should learn and study properly, for only through proper education and learning can one become a Vaiava Brahmin. How can an illiterate Brahmin develop the faculty for discriminating between good and bad, proper and improper? Knowing this You should chant Kas name and continue Your education. Go, teach the scriptures in the proper way with the proper explanations, and do not try to misconstrue the meanings. It brings me tremendous anxiety. The Lord replied, By your grace and the mercy of your lotus feet, there is no one in Navadvpa who can defeat Me in any argument. Who can refute My arguments, and then establish a new and original concept? I will go into the centre of town and teach publicly. I would like to see who has the courage to find the faults and mistakes in My commentaries. The teacher, Gagdsa Paita, was very pleased when Vivambhara offered His obeisances to His master and left. Gagdsa Paita is such a fortunate and an elevated personality that the disciple offering obeisances to his feet is none other than the Lord of Sarasvat Dev, the Goddess of Learning. For what more can Gagdsa Paita aspire? His disciple is the most worshipable Lord of the entire universe. Lord Vivambhara walked down the street surrounded by His students like the shining full moon surrounded by so many stars against a velvet dark firmament. Lord Vivambhara, whose lotus feet are eternally worshiped by Lakm Dev within her heart, sat upon the bank of the River Gag. There, He began His explanations and commentaries, establishing, refuting, and then re-establishing different points. The Lord said, In Kali-yuga, the so-called scholar has no idea of conjugation, but receives the title of Bhacrya. One who has no 18

knowledge of philosophy, he has the audacity to debate, but none of these scholars can ever challenge Me. Whatever I establish and whatever I refute, let Me see if there is anyone who can dispute that! Like this, the Lord of the Universe, Vivambhara, boldly challenged everyone. Who is there that can take up that challenge? The scholars who came to pay their respects to Mother Gag heard Lord Vivambharas bold words in fearful silence, their scholarly pride broken to pieces. Was there anyone in Navadvpa who could challenge Vivambhara in debate? The Lord continued to speak for four hours as if in a trance, explaining and giving commentaries. It was late in the evening, yet the Lord did not stop. Then the Lord visited another gentlemans house. A very pious brhmaa whose name was Ratnagarbha crya, who was a close acquaintance of Lord Vivambharas fatherboth had been born in the same village. He had three sons who were elevated devotees of the Lord, full of the spiritual mellows. They were like the bees, which gather nectarine pollen from the lotus feet of Lord Ka. Their names were Knanda, Jva and Yaduntha Kavicandra. Ratnagarbha crya was a great devotee of the Lord and was very fond of the rmad Bhgavatam. He was at that time reading from the Bhgavatam with great respect and affection. He read, The wives of the yaja brhmaas saw a beautiful young boy. His complexion was darkish. He wore a golden yellow cloth. He was nicely decorated with flower garlands around His necka peacock feather slanted sideways out of His crown where precious stones and metals glistened brightly like stars. He was with His friends and with His left hand, He stood leaning against the shoulders of a dear friend. With his right hand, He twirled a beautiful lotus flower. His ears were decorated with earrings in the shape of lotus flowers. His cheeks carried decorative designs of sandalwood paste, and His sweet smile played on His lotus-like mouth. Spoken with great devotion, these words of the rmad Bhgavatam entered the ears of Lord Vivambhara. As soon as He heard these words, the devotion of the speaker affected the Lord and He fell down unconscious overcome with loving spiritual ecstasy. 19

All the students were amazed at the sight. After remaining in a trance for a while, the Lord regained His external consciousness. When He was able to speak, the Lord said to Ratnagarbha crya, Go on, Go on. He rolled on the ground in ecstasy. The Lord continued to urge him on, saying, Go on! Go on! The brhmaa continued to read, and everyone floated on the nectarine ocean of love of Ka. Unrestrained tears from the Lords eyes flooded the entire world. All the ecstatic symptoms like shivering, horripilation and crying manifested in the Lords person. The brhmaa was extremely happy and he continued to read the lokas with great inspiration. The Lord was very satisfied with the brhmaas devotion, and He embraced him warmly. Upon being touched, Ratnagarbha crya experienced immense bliss. He fell down and in tears of love held the Lords lotus feet. From that moment on, he became entrapped by love of Lord Caitanya. He continuously read the lokas from rmad Bhgavatam, and the Lord responded roaring loudly, Go on! Go on! The people were completely amazed at this sight and they realized that something extraordinary was taking place. Then, Gaddhara Paita intervened and told the crya, Do not read any further. Ratnagarbha stopped reading and they all sat down surrounding the Lord. When external consciousness returned to the Lord, He inquired, Tell Me what happened? Did I act very restlessly? The students replied, What ability do we have to be able to explain Your activities? All we know is that You are very fortunate. The Lords friends and relatives discouraged them and said, Do not praise Him like this. The Lord now withdrew His emotions within Himself and accompanied all the students to the bank of the Gag. The Lord sprinkled some water upon His head, offered His obeisances to the Gag, and sat down upon her bank. Nimi Paita, the son of acm, sat with all the students discussing topics about Ka, just as Lord Ka had sat with all the young damsels of Vndvana upon the banks of the Yamun. He spent some time with the boys and then everyone returned to their respective homes. The 20

Lord returned to His home and, after His meal, lay down to rest just as Mah Viu lies down for yoga-nidr, mystic slumber. After a good nights sleep, the students returned early in the morning with their books to see the Lord. The Lord went for His daily ablutions to the Gag. Upon returning, He sat down with His students, and began explaining and commenting on the different aspects of grammar. However, all of His explanations and commentaries revolved around one subject only: Ka, and the process of devotional service to the Lord. The students inquired, What is the definition of dhtu, verbal roots? The Lord replied, They are the energy of Lord Ka. My dear students, I will now explain the aphorisms on verbal roots. Let me see who can refute my explanations! There have been many kings with beautiful bodies, decorated with golden ornaments, flower garlands, and sandalwood paste. People say that they are representatives of Lakm, the Goddess of Fortune, and their words are the words of Yamarja, the presiding demigod of religious principles. Let me explain to you what happens when dhtu, life, leaves their body. Where go the physical beauty, decorations, and power of these kings? Some of their kingly bodies are turned into ashes and others are buried beneath the earth. Lord Ka is present within everybody in the form of His energy, dhtu. Living entities are attracted to and love this life energy. In this way, they offer their devotion to Him. All other so-called scholars and teachers are very confused. They do not understand the real meaning of dhtu, verbal roots. So all of you now listen attentively. The kingly person, who was for so long worshiped and respected, becomes contaminated as soon as life leaves him; and if his body is touched, one must take a bath. The son who spent happy hours upon the lap of his father must touch fire to the dead fathers mouth and burn his body to ashes. Therefore, the definition of dhtu, essential substance, is the energy of Lord Ka that is loved by everyone. 21

Now I want to see if there is anyone capable of refuting this explanation. The essential energy of Ka is pure, transcendental and worshipable; thus, one should develop unflinching faith and devotion to Lord Ka. Just chant Kas names, worship His lotus feet and hear only the names of Lord Ka. Spend all of Your time meditating upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Just take shelter of the lotus feet of the son of Nanda Mahrja, for if one simply worships the lotus feet with a little water, grass or leaf, then the Lord of Death can never approach. Just worship He who has by killing Aghsura, Baksura, and Ptan given them liberation. Ajmila at the point of death cried out his sons name Nryaa. Even after a sinful life, by worshiping the Lords lotus feet and remembering the Lord, he gave up attachment for his son and went to the spiritual sky, the Vaikuha planets. Simply take shelter of the supreme lotus feet of Lord r Ka. Lord iva and Lakm Dev are always desirous of worshiping those lotus feet. In humility, Lord Ananta ea eternally glorifies the wonderful mercy of the lotus feet of Lord Ka. As long as there is life within the body, and strength in the limbs and mind, take shelter of devotional service to the lotus feet of Lord Ka. Ka is your mother, Ka is your father, and Ka is your very life and soul. Simply embrace His lotus feet and offer your mind, words, and body completely unto Him. Lord Vivambhara, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, r Ka, explained the devotional mood of servitorship to Himself. He continued for hours, unaware that it was already past noon. With undivided attention, as if hypnotized, the students listened. No one wished to disturb or make contradictory remarks. One must understand that these students were not ordinary mortals. They were all servants of Lord Ka. Otherwise, how could they be personally taught by the Supreme, Lord Ka? After a while, Lord Vivambhara came out from this trance and looked at everyones face feeling a little ashamed and shy, He asked, How were My explanations upon verbal roots?
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The students replied, You have revealed the truth to us, Your explanations upon the word meanings are impossible to be refuted or contradicted by anyone. All of your explanations are eternal truths. The references we use for our ordinary understanding may comply with the present day grammatical concepts of the so-called scholars, but we can now understand that these are not the proper meanings. The Lord said, Can any of you explain how My disorder of the life-airs is influencing My mind? Instead of explaining the nature of verb roots, I do not know who or what I am talking about! The students replied, You have always described the glories of the Holy Name of Ka. All of Your commentaries, definitions and purports describe Lord Ka and His transcendental potencies. Who can understand such esoteric subject matters? The transformations that we see come over You as soon as You hear the transcendental subject matters of ka-ll and Kas Holy Name are so wonderful that we cannot think of You as an ordinary personality. The Lord inquired, What sort of transformations have you seen in Me? The students replied, They were marvellous, different emotions played upon You creating shivering and a great flow of tears. Your entire body was covered with horripilation. We have never seen anything like this before. Yesterday, we accompanied You to the bank of the Gag where You explained to us from our books. In one of the nearby houses, a brhmaa was reciting a loka, and suddenly You fell down unconscious as if the life air had left Your body. We were bewildered and amazed. When You came out of Your trance, unrestricted tears poured from Your eyes in streams, like the flowing of the Gag. Finally, You began shivering so uncontrollably that even a thousand men could not have held You still. Horripilation covered You from head to toe, and You perspired profusely. You lay upon the ground as if a golden statue was in the dust. Everyone present marvelled at You. Some said that You were the Supreme Lord, Nryaa. Others suggested that You were rla Vysadeva, ukadeva Gosvm, Nrada Muni or even Prahlda Mahrja and that You were certainly equal to them in receiving the 23

Supreme Lords mercy. All of us got together and tightly held You down, and gradually Your external consciousness returned. You were unaware of what we have just described. We wish to tell You something more, please listen to us attentively. For the last ten days, all of Your explanations upon word meanings and aphorisms have described the process of devotional service to Lord Ka and the glories of the Holy Name of Ka. Therefore, for the last ten days, we have not been able to follow the lessons in the books. We were a little fearful to tell You this. Your profound erudition can explain unlimited meanings for words. It is truly amazingno one can equal that feat. The Lord replied, Ten days without studies! Was it not your duty to tell Me about this sooner? The students replied, Your explanations were very correctLord Ka is certainly the Eternal Truth. This is the verdict of all the scriptures. Your explanations on the Supreme Absolute Truth is absolute education, and is the essence of all scriptures, but we were unable to understand them due to our own faults and limited intelligence. These words greatly pleased the Lord. He gently blessed them and said, My dear students, you have truly spoken the truth. My words are not meant for others. I always speak in this way because I am constantly seeing a little boy with a blackish-blue glowing complexion playing the flute. All I hear is the name of Ka, and everywhere I behold the spiritual world of Goloka Vndvana. Therefore, I humbly apologise to all of you, for I shall not teach anymore. I give you complete freedom to go to anyone that you wish, and study under him. To tell you the truth, I cannot speak about anything other than Lord Ka, His name and His pastimes; therefore, it will not be possible for Me to teach you anymore in this condition. Lord Vivambhara then tied His books together and handed them to the students with tears in His eyes. The students then spoke up, We have also decided, following Your desire, to give up our studies. Once we have
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studied under You, how can we find another teacher with the ability to explain and teach the way You do? The thought of separation from their teacher was too heavy a burden for the students to bear and they began to lament. They said, Those explanations that we have heard from You, we want to treasure in our hearts, birth after birth, for our meditation. What is the use of studying further, and to whom would we go? All that we have learned from You is more than sufficient for us. Overcome with emotion, with folded hands, they prayed to the Lord and tied up their books. The students were now extremely happy and they jubilantly shouted Lord Haris name. Lord Vivambhara embraced His students and began to weep. Everyone was drowned in waves of joy. Their voices choked with ecstatic bliss. The son of mother ac, r Caitanya, then blessed them saying, If I ever become a true servant of r Ka, then may all your desires be fulfilled. All of you please take shelter of Lord Ka and always chant Lord Kas Holy Name. Try to hear Kas name always and may Ka become your most precious object, your very life and soul. Whatever you have studied so far, that is enough. There is no need to study any further. Now all of you get together and chant Lord Kas name in one place. By Kas mercy, may the purport of all the scriptures manifest within you. All of you are my dearmost friends, birth after birth. The words of the Lord were like nectar in the students ears and they became extremely happy. I offer my obeisances unto the feet of all such students who are so elevated and fortunate to become the direct disciples of the Supreme Lord, r Vivambhara. All of them are eternal servants of the Supreme Lord Ka. How could it be any other way Ka Himself personally taught them. One is freed from material bondage just by seeing that person who has seen these wonderful scholarly pastimes of the Supreme Lord. What a miserable birth I have taken, that I was excluded from seeing such transcendental pastimes and sights of the Lord.
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Oh Lord, I pray for Your mercythat these pastimes of You in the mood of a scholar may remain eternally within my heart. The Lord of Vaikuha appeared in Nadia to teach in the mood of a scholar. The signs of His appearance are still visible now. The transcendental pastimes of the Lord are eternal and unlimited, without beginning or end. The scriptures describe His eternal pastimes as unmanifest and manifest. The Lord was now beginning His pastime of the congregational chanting of the Holy Name, which is the ultimate of all learning and education. Fearing separation, the Lords students became emotional and wept. The Lord was much moved and He spoke comforting words to them, Now you can fulfil the purpose of your studies by chanting and singing the Holy Name of Ka. The students inquired, Oh Lord, we do not know how to perform this sakrtana. Kindly teach us? The Lord began singing, haraye nama, ka ydavya nama, gopla govinda rma r-madhusdana. Lord Vivambhara then demonstrated to His students as He clapped His hands and led the students in a beautiful krtana. r Vivambhara is the Lord and propagator of the krtana of the Holy Name of Ka, and He now sang the Lords Holy Name surrounded by His students. He was in an ecstatic trance tasting the intoxicating nectar of His own name, rolling upon the ground oblivious to everything around Him. He repeated, Sing on! Sing on! and kept falling to the ground. The earth seemed to split open each time He crashed to the ground. The residents of Navadvpa, hearing the great commotion coming from the Lords house, rushed to that spot. Also, when the neighbouring Vaiavas heard the loud krtana, they quickly came to Lord Caitanyas house. The Vaiavas saw the Lords ecstatic trance, and they marvelled deep within themselves. Feeling great happiness, they thought, At long last, krtana has made an appearance in Navadvpa. In the entire
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universe, where is there the practice and propagation of such a rare devotional service? Such devotional ecstasy is the perfection of sight. This very same Vivambhara has been the epitome of arrogance, but now even Nrada Muni and other great devotees can hardly achieve the devotional ecstasy that He spontaneously manifests. If such a degree of devotion is exhibited by such a once arrogant personality, we do not understand the will of Lord Ka and what the future will bring. Sometime later, Lord Vivambhara came out of His ecstatic trance, and simply repeated, Ka! Ka! Ka! Although external consciousness had returned, the Lord spoke nothing about this mundane world. He just embraced all the Vaiavas and cried. Finding the Lord agitated by ecstatic emotions, the Vaiavas pacified the Lord. Feeling great joy, they then left the Lords house. Affected by the Lords ka-prema, many of the Lords students took to the path of renunciation, cultivating detachment from material existence and attachment to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, r Ka. Gloriously, r Caitanya Mahprabhu had initiated the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of r Ka as the essence of perfection. Manifesting Himself, the Supreme Lord had commenced to freely and profusely distribute the nectar of His own Holy Name, thus washing away all of the sufferings of all the Vaiava devotees. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
2. Mahprabhu Starts Sakrtana at the House of rvsa Paita
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All glories to the moon-like r Gauracandra, whose cooling rays benedict the entire universe! Kindly offer me Your lotus feet as the eternal treasure of my heart. All glories to Lord Gaurga and His devotees! If one hears the transcendental pastimes of Lord r Caitanya, one surely attains the highest stage of love of Ka. Advaita crya Prabhu heard the different comments from the Vaiavas about the Lords ecstatic trance, and he was extremely pleased. Overcome with joy, he spoke to the Vaiavas, My dear devotee brothers, I had a dream last night, which I wish to reveal to all of you. I took rest feeling very sad and dejected; I was fasting because I could not understand a text of the Bhagavad-gt. Sometime during the night, in my dream, a person came to me and said, Wake up crya! Take your food immediately. I will reveal to you the real meaning of the Bhagavad-gt text. However, first, you must rise and eat, and then worship Me. Discard the melancholy in your heart, for your austerities and vows have finally reaped a full harvest. All your fasting, your worship, and your endless entreaties to the Lord crying, Ka! Ka! and the vow you made, with lifted hands, for the advent of the Lord, will all come to fruition. The chanting of Lord Kas Holy Name will constantly reverberate in every country, in every town, and in every village. By your mercy, everyone will be able to experience, here in Navadvpa, in rvsas house, devotional ecstasy that is rarely achieved even by Lord Brahm. Now, I will take your leave, but first you must eat. I will appear to you again in the future. When I opened my eyes, I saw our Lord Vivambhara, but within moments He vanished from my sight. I do not understand the mysterious ways of Lord Ka, how He acts and to whom He reveals what secrets. Vivambharas elder brother, Vivarpa, use to come to my house and discuss Bhagavad-gt. At that time, Vivambhara was a most exquisite child who was most charming to behold. He would come to my house to call His brother. The little child, Vivambhara, captivated my entire being with His extraordinary beauty. I would spontaneously bless Him saying, May You develop pure devotion to the Lord. 28

The child hailed from an illustrious family of great scholars; His maternal grandfather was r Nilambara Cakravart. Lord Vivambhara is a great scholar, so it is natural that He would become attached to Lord Ka. It is extremely pleasing to hear all the wonderful activities of Vivambhara. All of you kindly bless Him that He may develop the purest and highest devotional mood. May the Supreme Lord, Ka, be merciful upon all, benedicting everyone to become thoroughly mad with the chanting of the Lords Holy Name. If there is any truth to my words, then in the future everyone will come to the house of this great brhmaa, r Vivambhara. Advaita crya Prabhu roared jubilantly and all of the devotees joined in with Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead descended in the form of His name, and everyone chanted, Hari! Hari! Someone said, Nimi Paita has now become a great devotee, so He will propagate the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord and increase our joy. The devotees offered their obeisances to Advaita crya Prabhu and left in great ecstasy, chanting the Holy Name of Lord Hari. Whenever Vivambhara met anyone on the street, He would always speak with great affection. When He went for His early morning bath to the Ganges, He would meet all of the Vaiava devotees on the way. When He saw rvsa hkura, He would offer His obeisances. Being very pleased with His behaviour, the devotees would bless Him saying, May You develop unflinching devotion to the lotus feet of Lord Ka. Always chant Lord Kas name and only hear Kas glories. Everything becomes auspicious and successful when one worships the Supreme Lord Ka. Without devotional service to His lotus feet, physical beauty, learning, etc., are useless. Ka is the supreme father and the life and soul of everyone. Simply try to develop undeviating love for the lotus feet of Lord Ka. Heart-warming words such as these would fill Vivambhara with joy. Lifting His face, He would glance at everyone, showering His mercy. He
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would said, Your blessings carry the weight of real truth. Who, other than you devotees, can bless Me with the mercy to receive devotional attachment to the Lords lotus feet? Elevated devotees like yourselves are capable of granting devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Lord Ka is very pleased and showers His mercy upon those who serve His devotees. I consider that it is due to My great fortune that you are teaching Me the process of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. I know that I can become attached to the lotus feet of Lord Ka, if I can serve pure devotees like yourselves. In great humility, the Lord would fall down and catch the feet of the Vaiavas. He would render menial service to them by wringing the wet cloth of one, folding the dhot of another. Sometimes, He brought the clay from the Gag for one and sometimes He brought a heavy basket of flowers home for another. All the Vaiavas would mildly protest, saying, O Vivambhara, why are You doing this? However, the Lord continued to serve the Vaiavas. In this way, the Lord would serve His own devotees and servants everyday, performing all varieties of errands for them. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ka Himself, yet He gave up His own position to serve His devotees. All the scriptures proclaim that Lord Ka is everyones dearest friend; Lord Ka never hates or dislikes anyone. He is equally disposed to all living entities. Yet, He is even willing to break this injunction for His pure and dedicated devotees. The proof of this statement is that Lord Ka eliminated Duryodhanas entire family. It is the natural tendency of a pure devotee to serve the Supreme Lord Ka, and it is Kas nature to serve His devotees. Lord Ka becomes purchased by the love of His surrendered devotees, who are thus able to control Him. Satyabhm in Dvrak can bear witness to this statement. The Supreme Personality, Lord Ka was now living secretly in Navadvpa as Lord Gaurasundara, r Vivambhara. Yet, no one could recognize the Lord and the purpose for which He had accepted this incarnation.
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Whosoever desires to take shelter of the lotus feet of Ka must serve His pure devotees. Lord Gauracandra personally taught all the living entities that service to the Vaiavas is the highest form of worship. Lord Vivambhara did not feel ashamed to serve His devotees. He did all sorts of menial services for themcarrying things for them, washing their cloth. The Vaiavas, however, respectfully held His hands and tried to dissuade Him. The devotees were very impressed with the Lords humility. With all good intentions, they blessed Him saying, Worship the lotus feet of Ka, remember only Ka, and always chant His Holy Name. May r Ka be as dear to You as Your very life. Always repeat Lord Kas name, and become His dedicated menial servant. May only Lord Ka be manifest within Your heart, and may Your association free us from all suffering. By Your grace, may all of those wretched fools who ridicule the chanting of the Lords Holy Name, drown in the nectarine flood of ka-prema. You have defeated the entire world with Your knowledge of the scriptures. Now, in the same way, You must annihilate the fallen atheists with the purity of Your devotion. May we, by Your mercy, be overwhelmed with happiness through chanting Kas name and dancing in ecstasy. All the Vaiava devotees touched the Lord and blessed Him. Then, they revealed to Him the sorrows in their hearts, Alas! In Navadvpa, all the scholars and teachers speak endlessly on various subjects, but when it comes to explaining the process of devotional service to Ka, they remain silent. There are many great scholars, stalwarts of the renounced order, and ascetics living in Navadvpa, yet not one of them is heard glorifying Lord Ka. Instead of praising the Lords pastimes and explaining the process of devotional service, they are always criticizing. A sinful audience hears their words and believes in them. Thus, they treat us worse than dirt or grass in the street. My Lord, chanting of Kas name cannot be heard anywhere, so we are burning in the fire of distress. However, we now see that Lord Ka is now pleased with us; therefore, He has inspired You from within to take to 31

the path of devotion. Now we know that You will surely be the cause of annihilating the atheists. May You live forever chanting the Holy Name of Ka, and may all the transcendental qualities of Ka be revealed by You to the entire world. The Lord accepted the blessings of His devotees with deep gratitude, for a Vaiavas blessings will surely increase ones attachment to the lotus feet of Ka. However, the distressing plight and words of the devotees affected r Vivambhara, and He considered revealing Himself very soon. The Lord replied, You are all beloved devotees of the Lord, whatever you say must certainly happen. My life is truly blessed by your encouraging words. I know that when you glorify the Supreme Lord Ka and chant His Holy Name then there is no one who can stop you, not even Death! What can a sinful atheist do to you? Just continue chanting the glories of Kacandra. The Supreme Lord cannot bear to see His devotees suffer; therefore, Lord Ka appears in different incarnations to protect His devotees. I see now that you will be the cause of r Kacandras appearance in His next incarnation in Navadvpa to convert this whole place into the spiritual planet of Vaikuha. You will redeem this world from illusion. Please allow me the favour that I may always be your humble servant. Lord Vivambhara then touched the feet of all the Vaiavas, and the devotees in return spontaneously blessed Him profusely. Finishing their bath in the Gag, they dispersed and returned to their respective houses. The Lord was feeling extremely joyful, but as He began to contemplate the words of the devotees and the suffering they were experiencing, He felt anger rising within Him and a desire to punish the atheistic society. He roared angrily, repeating, I shall destroy them! I shall destroy them! I am Him, I am Him! Conflicting emotions took hold of the Lord, sometimes He laughed, sometimes He cried, sometimes He fell unconscious, and sometimes He felt like beating and destroying. The Lord thus manifested His terrible mood of destroying the miscreants.
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acm could not understand her son; everything seemed very perplexing. She thought that some disease had attacked the Lord. acm felt nothing but affection for her son, so she was deeply affected by this peculiar transformation in Him. She discussed it with everyone she met, The Lord has already taken away my husband and my son, and all that I have left is this young boy. Now His actions perplex me, I do not know how to think of Him. Sometimes, He laughs, sometimes, He cries, and at other times, He falls down unconscious. Often He speaks to Himself, and sometimes He yells aloud saying, Break the heads of those atheists! Sometimes, He runs to a tree and climbs into its branches, then suddenly with closed eyes He falls down to the ground. Sometimes, His grinding teeth make a grating noise. Sometimes He claps His hands upon His body, then falling down, He rolls on the ground, not saying a word. The ordinary, ignorant people could not see the symptoms of kaprema in the Lord and thought it to be some disease, a sort of disorder of the life-airs. They suggested that He should remain bound up. acms description of the Lords condition attracted many people to come and see Him. When the Lord saw the people, He charged at them. These ignorant fools simply laughed and ran away, thinking that the Lord was suffering from some life-air or wind disorder. acm became flustered and ran after the people to pacify them. Some of the people told her, He is definitely suffering from some disorder. While others said, You are just a simple brhmaas wife, what is there to ask about this? It is apparent that He is suffering from some inner disorder. Give Him coconut water to drink and tie His feet in case He gets violent when the madness overcomes Him. Some others suggested, He is not to be cured with some simple medicine, you must give Him nothing less than iva-ghee to relieve Him from this attack. Apply the ghee upon His head and then give Him a bath.
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acdev, the affectionate, kind, and noble-minded mother of the entire universe, became fraught with apprehension. Feeling at a loss, she simply prayed to Lord Govinda, taking complete shelter in Him. She sent people to the house of rvsa and various other devotees, requesting them to come to her house. One day, rvsa Paita came to visit the Lord, and Vivambhara immediately got up and greeted Him with respect. Upon seeing a pure devotee of the Lord, Vivambharas ecstatic emotions increased. As rvsa Paita was circumambulating Tulas dev, the Lord manifested ecstatic symptoms; crying, shaking, shivering, horripilation, and fell down unconscious on the ground. After a while, when external consciousness returned to the Lord, He began to cry profusely and shook uncontrollably. To rvsa Paita, all these manifestations of the Lord were most wonderful. He thought to himself, These are the symptoms of the highest spiritual ecstasy in ka-prema. Foolish persons misunderstand and think that this is due to a wind or life-air disorder. When the Lord could speak, He said to rvsa Paita, Oh, it is you Paita! What do you make of My condition? Some people are suggesting that I should be kept bound up because I suffer from some terrible wind disease. What is your opinion? Smiling, rvsa Paita replied, What a wonderful wind! I also want to be attacked by the same wind that is causing this disorder in You. Actually, I see signs of great spiritual ecstasy of ka-prema in You. You have been favoured by Kas mercy. The Lord was very happy to hear this from rvsa Paita, and He embraced him affectionately. He said, Everyone is saying that this is a wind disorder, but now you have given Me great hope. For this I am grateful and forever indebted to you. If you, also, had said that I was suffering from some wind disorder, then certainly, I would have jumped into the Gag. rvsa replied, Your love for the Supreme Lord Ka has reached such ecstatic heights that it is desirable even by Lord Brahm, Lord iva, and
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sages such as aunaka. Let us all come together and glorify Kas Holy Name without caring for the criticisms of the atheists and sinners. rvsa Paita said to acm, Cast your sorrows away, your son does not suffer from any wind disorder. I tell you positively that these symptoms are due to the highest love of Ka. Even though you are witnessing these wonderful and ecstatic pastimes of Lord Ka, these activities and topics are far beyond the intellectual capacity of ignorant, materialistic non-devotees, so such subjects should not be discussed in their presence. rvsa left the house of Lord Caitanya and returned home, leaving behind a pacified and relieved acm. However, she could not completely remove the despondency she felt within, for she was always afraid that her son would leave home at any moment. Such are the wonderful activities of Lord Vivambhara. How can anyone understand these transcendental pastimes, unless the Lord Himself reveals them? One day, the Lord and Gaddhara Paita visited the house of Advaita crya Prabhu. Entering his house, they saw that the crya was busy offering water and tulas to the Lord. With raised hands, he was calling out, Hari! Hari! Sometimes he was laughing and sometimes he was crying, completely oblivious to himself. He emitted loud, roaring sounds like a mad lion full of raging fury, as if He were the incarnation of the Lord of destruction, Rudra. When Lord Vivambhara saw Advaita crya Prabhu overcome with spiritual emotions, He fell down unconscious. Due to his pure devotional insight, Advaita crya Prabhu could see that, Lord Vivambhara, was his most worshipable Lord. He thought to himself, Today I have captured You, You are a cheater, but today You wont escape from me? All this time, You have been hiding Your real identity from me and everyone else, but now, somehow or other, You have come here. You wont always cheat me; I know who You are, and now I will cheat the cheater.
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Advaita crya Prabhu made all arrangements to worship the Lord, desiring to reveal to the world the sublime absolute position of r Vivambhara, who, so far, had very cunningly hidden His true supreme spiritual identity. He assembled all the different paraphernalia and offered incense, flowers and a ghee lamp to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. He repeated one verse over and over again, My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brhmaas, and You are the wellwisher of the entire human society and the world. r Advaita was in the greatest bliss to recognize the Lord of his heart, and he cried tears of joy, which washed the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. Chanting the loka continuously, He stood before Him with folded hands and worshiped His lotus feet. A little amused, but nevertheless respectful, Gaddhara Paita told Advaita crya Prabhu, Oh Gosvm, it does not befit you to behave like this with someone so much younger than yourself, a mere lad. Advaita crya Prabhu slightly laughed at Gaddhara Paitas words and replied, Oh Gaddhara Paita! How long are you going to see Him as a mere lad? A profound thought dawned on Gaddhara Paitas heart and he said, Is He the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? After some time, Vivambhara regained His external consciousness, and saw that Advaita crya was worshiping Him, absorbed in an ecstatic trance. Lord Vivambhara quickly withdrew within Himself, hiding His real identity. With folded hands, He began offering praises in glorification of Advaita crya Prabhu. He offered His obeisances to Advaita crya and touched his feet, taking the dust and placing it upon His head, surrendering His life to Advaita crya Prabhu. You are a magnanimous person, He said. Please be gracious to Me. I am always your humble servant. Seeing you today is a blessing for me, and if you are merciful, I will be able to chant the Holy Name of Lord Ka. You can destroy the darkness of nescience because your heart is the permanent residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord
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Ka. The Supreme Lord is most expert in glorifying His devotees, and this wonderful exchange of love and affection between the devotee and the Lord is spontaneous. r Advaita said to himself, All this is bravado! Today, I have outcheated the biggest cheat. The smiling Advaita crya replied, My Supreme Lord, to me You are superior to everyone. Please remain here, I want to be with You and hear of the wonderful transcendental pastimes of Lord Ka. I wish to see You all the time, it is everyones desire to be with You and in Your company chant the glories of Lord Ka. The Lord accepted, and appreciating Advaita cryas sentiment, He went back to His house. Advaita crya Prabhu was now convinced that his dear Lord had appeared. Secretly, he left Navadvpa and went to ntipur to test his bond of affection with the Lord. He thought, If He is truly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, I am simply His humble servant. Certainly, then He will be capable of tying this servant with the bond of love, and bringing him to His side. Who is capable of understanding the mind of r Advaita crya? By his spiritual potency, he was able to invoke the appearance of the Supreme Lord in this world. One who has no faith in these words will soon fall away from the righteous path and be destroyed. The Supreme Lord Vivambhara continued to perform the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord along with all the Vaiavas. All of them were very happy to have the Lord amongst them, but none of them could actually recognize Him as the Supreme Person. Everyday, they saw the Lord go into a wonderful ecstatic trance. This was an extraordinary sight for them, and it caused them to wonder whether this personality were actually the Supreme Lord Himself. When the Lord went into one of His ecstatic trances, only Ananta ea could attempt the description. When the Lord was in ecstasy, He trembled like a falling autumn leaf. This trembling was so uncontrollable that thousands of devotees could not keep Him still. Streams of tears flowed unchecked like hundreds of
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rivers. His entire body broke out in horripilation like a ripe, golden jackfruit. From time to time, He would break into loud laughter, being very amused with Himself. At other times, He would fall unconscious to the ground, unable to contain the bubbling ecstasy within. When external consciousness returned to Him, He kept repeating Lord Kas name. The loud roaring sound that He sometimes made seemed to burst the eardrums of the non-devotees. However, by hearing the same, the devotees of the Lord, by His grace, gradually became closer to crossing the ocean of material existence. At times, His body would become stiff like a marble statue, and at other times soft and pliable like butter. The devotees saw the wonderful transformations in the Lord, and every one of them was convinced that to manifest such ecstatic symptoms was not humanly possible. They each offered comments according to their own level of understanding. Someone said, He is definitely a partial incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Someone else said, He is a great devotee. Maybe He is ukadeva Gosvm, or Prahlda, or even Nrada Muni. Another said, He is here to remove all calamities. The wives of the Vaiava devotees, who observed all this, also remarked, Lord Ka has taken His birth again. Another lady said, I think that He is an incarnation of Ka. In this way, different people offered different opinions about the Lord. When the Lord finally regained His external consciousness, He would embrace everyone. To fully describe His ecstasy is impossible for me. He would pitifully cry out for Ka saying, Oh tempter, who steals the hearts of the damsels of Vndvana! Oh, divine friend of the weak and frail! Oh ocean of mercy! Oh My Lord yma! Alas, Alas! Tell me, How will I spend these awful and fretful days when I am unable to see You? At other times, He called out, heavily sighing, Where can I find the sweet face of My Lord, which is the most beautiful of flowers. Then, gradually becoming still, the Lord would softly reveal the pain in His heart, saying, Please be merciful and hear My pitiful condition. There is 38

no end to My sorrow. Although I had found My life, My dear Ka, now I have lost Him. The devotees were greatly enchanted to hear these words that explained the mystery of His behaviour and increased their faith and reverence. Sitting around the Lord, they all listened as the Lord continued, While returning from Gay, I came to a village named Kni Nal. There I saw a young boy of exquisite beauty. He had a glowing, dark complexion, the colour of the bark of the tamla tree. His curly hair was decorated with wild flowers. He wore a beautiful crown with a peacock feather stuck in it. All His jewellery and gems shone brightly like the sun. It is impossible for Me to describe the beauty of the delicately ornamented flute as He held it in His hand, capturing everyones heart. His fine lotus feet looked so attractive with ankle bells softly touching His skin. His graceful, strong arms were more formidable than blue pillars, and were covered with sparkling jewels and gems. From His neck hung the famous Kaustubha jewel, and His chest was marked with the rvatsa. How will I describe to you the beauty of His golden yellow silken dhot, His dangling fish earrings, and His lazy lotus petal eyes? Smiling sweetly, He approached Me and embraced Me. Then, suddenly, He ran away, fearing what, I do not know. No one can enter into these intimate loving moods of Lord Caitanya unless and until he is especially blessed by the Lord to understand them. The Lord could proceed only so far with His narration and would fall down unconscious to the ground, crying out, Oh! My Lord Ka! Greatly concerned, all the devotees would carefully remove the dust from the Lords body while loudly chanting, Ka, Ka! The Lord might become a little calm, and then again He might become extremely restless, crying out, Where is My beloved Ka? Where is My beloved Lord? He would weep bitterly. Finally, the Lord would control Himself and could hold Himself still. His body then gradually returned to its butter-soft condition, and the devotees would be relieved. The Lords words, steeped with devotional emotions, filled the devotees hearts to the brim. They said, We are all feeling very fortunate and 39

blessed to have Your association. Who is attracted by the opulence of Vaikuha-dhma when You are here? A moments association with You will enable anyone to taste the highest nectar of devotion. We are all Your followers, under Your protection, so kindly lead us in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord, Ka. We have been burned by the caustic words of the atheists, let your tears of ka-prema cool us forever. The Lord was very happy to hear these words from the Vaiavas, and He returned to His house filled with love of Ka, walking like a maddened lion. Although He returned home, He never behaved like an ordinary, mundane family man in His house. He was always immersed in love of Ka. Loving tears of separation from Ka flowed profusely from His eyes like streams. How did the waters, which had washed His lotus feet in the form of the Gag, now appear in His eyes? He had only one response to anyones inquiry. Whenever He saw a Vaiava devotee, He would rush to him asking, Where is My beloved Ka? Where is my beloved Ka? Crying out like this, He would break down weeping, and the devotees would try to calm Him down. One day, when Gaddhara came to see the Lord, he noticed that the Lord was hiding a betel leaf in his hand. As soon as the Lord saw Gaddhara, He asked, Where is that blackish boy who is dressed in golden yellow, and radiant with blossoming, youthful beauty? Such earnest yearnings of the Lord for Ka were truly heart breaking, and it left everyone at a loss for words. Gaddhara Paita replied bravely, Lord Ka resides within Your heart eternally. When the Lord heard that Ka was within His heart, He began to pierce His chest with His nails. With immense endeavour, Gaddhara Paita was able to restrain the Lord by holding tightly His hands and trying to calm Him down, There, Ka will come just now, try to compose Yourself. acm saw how Gaddhara Paita was able to pacify the Lord, and she was very satisfied with him. She thought, I have never seen 40

anybody so intelligent as this young boy. I feel afraid to even comfort Him, and this young lad has so intelligently and nicely pacified Nimi. She spoke to Gaddhara Paita, Dear boy, stay here always, do not leave Nimis company to go anywhere else. acm was awestruck by the Lords ecstatic devotional trances. She no longer saw Nimi as merely her young son. He is not an ordinary mortal, she thought. How is it possible for an ordinary human being to shed tears like gushing cascades? I do not know which extraordinary personality has come here. acm was therefore afraid to come in front of the Lord. Towards the evening, all of the Vaiavas gradually assembled in Lord Caitanyas house. r Mukunda Mahaya began reciting verses in a sweet melodious voice. Mukunda was blessed with such a beautiful voice that as soon as the Lord heard him recite, He went into an ecstatic trance. He loudly resounded the Lords name, roaring like a lion. Losing His balance, He fell in all directions. This made it difficult for the devotees to hold Him. All the ecstatic symptoms manifested within Him simultaneously. He expressed apprehension, laughter, trembling, pallor, horripilation, roaring, oblivion, dizziness and all. The devotees were filled with amazement at such a wonderful sight. The Lords ecstatic absorption in love of Ka gradually increased in intensity. The whole night passed as if in a moment, and in the early morning hours the Lord came out of His trance. Day and night, the Lord was absorbed in the nectar of krtana, chanting the Holy Name. The Lord had already begun propagating the Holy Name and seeing Him, all of the distress of the devotees was destroyed. The beloved son of acm, Gaurasundara, continuously chanted the Lords name loudly, like the roaring of a lion. Waking the atheists out of their stupor, their krtana disturbed the non-devotees. Thus, the atheistic population became enraged, and aimed abusive language at the devotees. Someone said, I cannot even sleep at night. Another commented, All their screaming and shouting will enrage the Lord, and that will cause their complete destruction. Another said, 41

They avoid philosophy and speculative knowledge, and so they behave arrogantly. Another said, Who knows what they sing about? Behind all this mischief is that brhmaa, rvsa. He and his three brothers get together and scream, Ka! Ka! like madmen, just to fill their bellies. Does not one earn piety by chanting within his mind? Is this not sheer madness? The whole country will be ruined because of this rvsa. Today I have heard from the kings court that they will send two boats with government men to capture anyone who sings krtana in Nadia. This is the kings order. rvsa Paita and his men will run away and escape, but we will have to suffer the entire brunt of this. I warned all of you earlier to throw rvsas house into the river. However, you did not act because you thought I was joking, and now it is too late, the danger has come upon us. Another said, What do we care? If the government men come here we will just capture rvsa and hand him over to them. The atheistic population of Navadvpa discussed about the Vaiavas in this manner while the two boats with the government men came to Navadvpa. The Vaiavas heard this news and simply took shelter of the Supreme Lord by remembering Him. In this way, all of their fears were dissolved. They said, Whatever the Supreme Lord Kacandra wants will happen, and is for the best. As long as He is here, then what fear do we have from these wretched people? rvsa Paita was a soft-hearted and magnanimous soul; this news disturbed him, and he became anxious for the well being of the Vaiavas. He was apprehensive because he knew that anything could happen under the Muslim rule. The Supreme Lord, Gaurasundara, the Supersoul, knew everything in everyones heart. The devotees were still not aware that the Supreme Lord had come and was amongst them. Now the Lord decided to manifest Himself. r Vivambhara roamed everywhere, unperturbed and unconcerned, his transcendental beauty unmatched within the entire creation. His body was decorated with sandalwood paste, His reddish lips were like the early morning sun, and His eyes were like a 42

blooming lotus flower. Cascading curly tresses shone like a halo around His glowing moonlike face. He wore a brhmaa thread around His shoulders, and dressed in fine clothes. His exquisite personal beauty completely captivated the mind. Casually chewing on pan, He went for a walk upon the riverbank. When the devotees saw the Lord, they became very joyful, but the atheistic people felt intimidated. He must have heard everything of the threat, they said, Yet, He shows no sign of fear. He strolls about as though He is a prince. Another person said, Listen friends, I understand all this, wait and see. What you are observing now is just another trick to escape. Fearlessly, Lord Vivambhara looked in every direction, observing the scenic beauty of the swiftly flowing Gag and her banks. He saw a herd of cows grazing on the banks. Some of them went to the river to drink water, and a few young ones jumped about with raised tails. Some of them were butting each other, while others just lay around chewing their cud. This sight immediately agitated the Lord. He forgot Himself, and began emitting loud roaring sounds. He kept saying, I am Him, I am Him. In this condition, absorbed within Himself as the Supreme Lord, Vivambhara swiftly ran to rvsas house shouting, What are you doing now rvsa? rvsa was engaged in worshiping Lord Nsihadeva behind closed doors. The Lord came and repeatedly kicked the door. The Lord screamed out, Whom are you worshiping? Whom are you meditating upon? The person whom you are worshiping is here! Opening the door, rvsa trembled, and sat down awestruck. The Lord spoke to rvsa calling out, Oh rvsa, all this time you have not known who I am. I have left My spiritual abode of Vaikuha and come down to this material world at your beckoningbecause of your loud chanting of the Holy Name, and Advaita crya Prabhus loud calling. Not recognizing Me, you are living completely complacent and unconcerned. Avoiding Me, Advaita crya Prabhu has gone back to
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ntipur. I have come to protect the pious and punish the miscreants. There is no need for you to worry, just go on worshiping Me. Tears filled rvsas eyes and his heart swelled with love for the Lord. All his fears were destroyed by the Lords reassuring words. Currents of joy passed through rvsas body, and he stood up with folded hands, offering prayers to the Lord. rvsa Paita is a great and pure devotee, and a sublime scholar. Having received the Lords order, he began to offer prayers. He recited from the rmad Bhgavatam the prayers of Lord Brahm to Lord Ka, Oh Lord, You are the eternally worshipable Supreme Personality of Godhead. Your complexion is dark blue like the monsoon cloud, and the colour of Your cloth is brilliant yellow like a flash of lightning. Wild flowers and guj earrings decorate Your ears, and a peacock feather adorns Your crown. Your face looks so exquisite enhanced by the gently swaying flower garland hanging around Your neck. You stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand; Your mouth is smeared with the curd that You have just eaten. Your transcendental possessionsa herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute are special features of Your beauty. Your feet are soft like the petals of the lotus. I worship You, the son of Mahrja Nanda. I worship the lotus feet of Lord Vivambhara, whose complexion is like the dark blue monsoon cloud, and who wears a yellow dress. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of the son of acm, whose ornaments are a bunch of wild flowers and a peacock feather. My obeisances at the lotus feet of the disciple of Gagdsa Paita, Nimi, who is decorated with a flower garland and holds a preparation of sweet rice in His hands. I offer obeisances at the lotus feet of the son of r Jaganntha Mira, Nimi; a million full moons fade before the exquisite beauty of His face. I offer my obeisances at Your lotus feet, my Lord, You, who holds the cane and the flute. I offer obeisances unto You, who has been declared by the Vedas as the son of Mahrja Nanda.
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rvsa Paita prayed like Brahm to the Lords lotus feet. The words of transcendental praise flowed out with ease from his mouth, and he spoke on, You are the Supreme Lord Viu. You are Lord Ka. You are the Lord of all sacrifices. The holiest of rivers, the Gag, has sprung out from Your lotus feet. You are the life and beloved son of Janaka Mahrja, r Rmacandra, and You are Lord Nsihadeva. Lord Brahm and Lord iva are like bumblebees searching for honey at Your lotus feet. You are the knower and compiler of the Vedas, and You are the Supreme Lord Nryaa. You appeared as Lord Vmana to trick Bali Mahrja. You are Lord Hayagriva. You are the soul of the universe. You are Lord Jaganntha, the moon of Nlcala, and You are the ultimate cause of all causes. Is there anyone who is not subordinate to Your energies, whether it be Your insurmountable material energy or Your internal spiritual energy? Even Lakm Dev is not fully aware of Your glories, even though she is Your constant companion. Lord ea, who acts as a friend, companion, and brother, and who serves You in every respect, is even subjected to Your illusory potency, what to speak of others. You have placed me into this condition of family life, which is a dark well of forgetfulness. My rarely attained human birth has been wasted because I could not recognize You. In various ways, You have deluded me, My Lord, going to the extent of putting on fine clothes and performing pastimes of scholarship so that I was unable to recognize You. Oh Lord of my heart, please listen to me. Now that I have met you, I disregard all of my fears. All my sorrows and sufferings have vanished. My life has begun again, my day has come. My whole life and all of my endeavours have now become successful. The sun of good fortune has risen in my heart. My forefathers have been liberated, and my house has been sanctified. My eyes have never been blessed with such a wonderful sight as I am seeing today. I see Him whose lotus feet are most worshipable by the Goddess of Fortune, r Ram Dev.
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Observing the wonderful form of the Lord, rvsa Paita was unable to control himself, and he fell into an ecstatic trance. Currents of joy ran through his body, and he merged into an ocean of happiness. With raised arms, he wept and breathed heavily, then rolled on the ground. The Lord smiled and accepted rvsas prayers with great satisfaction. Bring all the family members of the house and let them see My transcendental form, the Lord said. Along with your wife, worship My feet and ask for any boon that your heart desires. Following the instructions of the Lord, rvsa went into his house and gathered all his relatives, friends and wife, and returned quickly to the presence of the Lord. Weeping with joy, rvsa offered all the flowers collected for the worship of Lord Viu to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. With fragrant flowers, incense, and lamp, rvsa, along with his wife, brothers, other relatives, servants, and maidservants, offered worship at the lotus feet of the Lord. They all fell down and earnestly prayed, pleading for the Lords mercy. rvsa is most dear to the Lord; therefore, the Lord blessed him and everyone present, by placing His lotus feet upon their heads. Smiling, Vivambhara said, May your attachment and attraction for Me increase. The Lord spoke loudly like a roaring lion, and addressing rvsa said, Oh rvsa, are you afraid of something? News has reached Me that the government men want to capture you, and they have come with two boats. I am the Supersoul within everyones heart. Thus, I control and direct everyones activities according to My sweet will. The king can only capture you if I, being situated in his heart, prompt him to do so. Yet, if for some reason, he acts independently and gives the order to capture you, then I will do the following. I will be the first to step into the boat and present Myself before the king. Upon seeing Me, do you think that he can remain seated upon the throne? I will delude him, take control of him, and drag Him down.
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Should not this happen, then I will tell the king, Listen to the truth, O king. Call all of your religious heads and judges to the court. Collect all of your elephants, horses, animals, and birds. Whatever creatures you have, bring them to your palace. Then order all of your Kazi priests to read from your scriptures and inspire the creatures to such a state of spiritual emotion that they begin to cry. When his priests fail to do so, then I will reveal my potency to the king. I will say, Oh king, on the instructions of these same Kazi priests, whose lack of spiritual power we have already witnessed, you want to forbid the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Ka. Now you shall see My power to the full satisfaction of your eyes. Then, I shall capture a mad elephant and bring him before the king, along with other elephants, horses, deer, and other animals, and instantly make them all cry in ecstasy and chant Kas name. I will make the king and all his men cry and chant Kas name. I know that you dont believe that it is possible, but I will show you right now and you can see for yourself. The Lord noticed a small girl, who was the daughter of rvsa Paitas brother, named Nrya. Lord Gauracandra, the Supreme Godhead, the Supersoul within everyones heart, ordered the little girl, Nrya! Chant Kas name and cry in ecstasy. The four-year-old girl became extremely agitated with ecstatic spiritual emotions and cried out, Oh Ka! She began to weep, losing all perception of the external world. Tears streamed down her body, and she fell to the ground. Smiling, Lord Vivambhara asked rvsa, Are your fears pacified now? Vaiavas will remember for many years to come how Nrya was a recipient of the Lords mercy. rvsa, a very learned Paita who is well versed in all the scriptural conclusions, threw up both of his hands and said, My Lord, when you exhibit Your terrible form as all devouring time, and annihilate this entire material creation, I will fearlessly chant Your Holy Name. Now that You are here, present before me in my house, what fear do I have? The Lord manifested His opulent Vaikuha form, and upon seeing this sublime revelation, rvsa, along with all the assembled relatives, 47

brothers, wife, and servants went into ecstatic trance. Even the servants and maidservants of rvsa hkura were now seeing the transcendental form of the Lord that even the Personified Vedas are eager to see. How can I possibly describe the glorious and magnanimous nature of rvsa Paita? A little dust from his lotus feet can purify the entire creation. Lord Ka appeared in the prison house of Vasudeva, yet His pastimes were performed in the house of Nanda Mahrja. Similarly, Lord Caitanya appeared in the house of r Jaganntha Mira, yet He enjoyed so many pastimes in rvsa Paitas house. All the Vaiavas loved rvsa Paita and anyone who came to rvsas house experienced great joy. Even the servants and maidservants in the house of such a devotee as rvsa can see the very rarest of sights, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in person. From this we can understand that serving a pure devotee is the best process of attaining the supreme goal, because by the mercy of a Vaiava, one can certainly receive the shelter of Kas lotus feet. Lord Vivambhara ordered rvsa Paita, Do not speak about this incident to anyone. When the Lord regained His external consciousness, He felt somewhat abashed and reluctant, and after comforting rvsa Paita, He returned to His own house. rvsa Paitas whole house was immersed in jubilation. Whoever reads rvsa Paitas prayers to the Lord will immediately be elevated to the position of eternal servant of Lord Ka. Lord Balarma, my beloved Lord and Master, has spoken to me from within my heart as the Supersoul, and so, on His order, I am writing these wonderful activities of Lord Caitanya. I pray to the lotus feet of all the Vaiavas so they may bless me to attain the service of Lord Balarma, my Lord and Master, birth after birth. Just as there is no difference between the name Nsiha and Yadusiha, in the same way, I know Lord Balarma and Nitynanda Prabhu to be the same person. 48

Lord Balarma is very dear to Lord Caitanyacandra, and in his present incarnation, I glorify Him by the name Avadhtacandra. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
3. r Mahprabhu and r Nitynanda Meet in Navadvpa
All glories to Lord Vivambhara, the omnipotent Supreme Lord of all living entities! He is the beloved Lord of Nitynanda Prabhu and Gaddhara Paita. All glories to Lord Caitanya, Advaita crya Prabhu, and all the pure devotees of the Lord who have captured Him by their unalloyed devotion! My dear Lord Caitanya, I am a very wretched and miserable person, please awaken within me the mood of devotion, and redeem me from this ocean of material nescience. The devotees repeatedly floated on waves of transcendental bliss, seeing the manifestations of Lord Caitanyas ecstatic mood. Lord Caitanyas devotees are as dear to Him as His very life. Chanting Kas name, Lord Caitanya wept bitterly in separation from the Lord. He embraced His beloved devotees who gathered around Him, crying in ecstatic love of Ka. The devotees, undeviatingly engaged in devotional service, experienced ka-prema in the association of Lord Caitanya. Even stone-like hearts would melt at the sight of the Lords ecstatic manifestations. The devotees found no more interest in wealth, family, and children. Day and night, they remained by the side of the Lord, chanting Kas name.
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r Gauracandra became absolutely absorbed in love of Ka. He exhibited different devotional moods, finding inspiration from the topics the devotees discussed. In the devotional mellow of servitude, He would cry for hours as if Mother Gag had descended through His eyes. Then, in a jolly mood, He would laugh for hours. When He fell unconscious, He remained without breath for several hours. At times, when He became aware of His position as the Supreme Personality, He would, with real arrogance say, I am Him, I am Him, the Supreme Lord, and laugh. Where is that old man, Advaita crya, the one who brought Me here from My spiritual abode? I will fulfil his desire and distribute ka-prema to every home. The next moment the Lord would cry out, Oh Ka, Oh my beloved Lord! and weeping, He would tie His feet with His long curly tresses. Once, He repeated a loka from the rmad Bhgavatam spoken by Akrra as he came to take Ka and Balarma away to Mathur. He fell to the ground like a stick offering His obeisances, as if He were Akrra. Absorbed in ecstatic trance, He said, Oh Nanda, let us take Ka and Balarma to Mathur and see the great festivals at the palace where they are performing the dhma-yaja sacrifice. In this way, Lord Caitanya exhibited so many ecstatic moods. This gave unlimited bliss to all the devotees present there. One day, the Lord heard the pastimes of Ka in His incarnation as a boar, Lord Varha. Roaring, He rushed to Murri Guptas house. Lord Caitanya had a special love for Murri Gupta, just like Lord Rmacandra had a special love for Hanumn. When Lord Gauracandra arrived at Murri Guptas house, Murri Gupta received the Lord with great respect, offering obeisances to the Lords lotus feet. The Lord hurried past him shouting, Varha, Varha! Murri Gupta was left dumbfounded, looking all around him. The Lord entered the temple room of Lord Viu and saw a beautiful water pot standing in the corner. Just at that moment, the Lord took the form of Lord Varha. Absorbed in this mood, He lifted the water pot with His
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tusks, and roaring loudly like a boar, He stood there with His four hooves. The Lord ordered Murri Gupta, Offer prayers to Me, Murri! Murri remained dumbfounded. Amazed by this extraordinary sight, no words came to his mouth. The Lord then said, Speak up Murri, speak up, you do not have to fear. Dont you know My supreme identity? Trembling with fear, Murri pleaded with the Lord saying, Oh Lord! Only You Yourself know how to glorify Yourself and offer prayers. Lord Ananta ea, who holds the entire creation upon just one of His hoods, has manifested a thousand mouths to glorify You, yet He laments that He cannot find the limits of Your glories. Who is more capable than Ananta ea to glorify You? The entire material universe follows the instructions of the Vedas, yet these very Vedas are unable to fully reveal Your transcendental, absolute nature. We have heard that there are an unlimited number of universes in this material creation and that they all emanate from the pores of Your transcendental body. You are the fully independent Supreme Autocrat, and You are always blissful. How is it possible for the limited Vedic literature to describe the pastimes, which You perform according to Your own sweet will? Therefore, Oh Lord, only You know Yourself fully, and others can know You only if You reveal Yourself to them through Your causeless mercy. What ability do I possess to offer You prayers and glorify You? Saying this, Murri Gupta fell flat upon the floor offering obeisances to the Lord. Lord Varha was pleased with Murri Guptas words. Then expressing anger at the Vedic literatures, He spoke aloud, The Vedas have the audacity to say that I have no hands, no legs, no mouth, and no eyes! There is a mischievous sannys living in K who teaches this to his students. That rascal tries to mutilate My transcendental form. He studies the Vedas and teaches others, but he does not accept My transcendental form. As a result, of such blasphemy, he has been attacked by the dreaded disease leprosy, but he cannot understand the reason for this affliction. 51

I am the Lord of all sacrifices, the Supreme Lord Viu. There are no imperfections in My transcendental form. Lord Brahm and Lord iva are always engaged in glorifying My supreme transcendental position and nature. A mere touch of My body can spiritualise and purify everything. Yet, that rascal is so insolent that he proclaims that My transcendental form is non-existent. Carefully hear My opinion, Murri Gupta. I will reveal to you that which is unmanifest even by the Vedas. I accepted the incarnation of Varha to lift the material world out of the waters of nescience. Know Me to be the ultimate goal of the Vedas. The purpose of My present incarnation is to propagate the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Ka. In this incarnation, as in other incarnations, I will annihilate the miscreants for the protection and pleasure of My devotees. I cannot tolerate My devotees being threatened and tortured. I will even kill My own son to protect My beloved devotees. This is not a lie Murri! Listen attentively. In My boar incarnation, when I lifted the earth, Mother Earth became impregnated by My touch. She gave birth to My son, named Naraka, who was very strong and powerful. I gave My son all religious instructions. He became a very powerful king and dutifully protected the demigods, brhmaas, spiritual masters, and the devotees. However, the hand of destiny changed everything. Due to the influence and bad association of King Bna, he became a criminal and was cruel to the devotees. Any aggression or violence towards My devotees is totally intolerable to Me, so I killed My son to protect My devotees. I am revealing all these confidential matters to you because you have been serving Me for many births. Murri Gupta was overwhelmed by the Lords presence and narration, and he wept with joy. All glories to r Gauracandra and r Murri Gupta! All glories to Lord Varhadeva, the protector of His devotees! In this way, Lord Caitanya went to the homes of all His devotees, and by His causeless mercy revealed His real supreme identity to them. The devotees and servants recognized their Supreme Lord and their hearts were filled with ecstatic bliss. They now became fearless and did not care 52

for the atheists. They went everywhere, in all public places, and chanted Kas name loudly. Day and night, the devotees spent their time with the Lord chanting and singing Lord Kas Holy Name. Only Lord Nitynanda Prabhu was missing, and this saddened Lord Gauracandra. Lord Vivambhara was constantly thinking about Lord Nitynanda. His separation became unbearable to the Lord. Lord Vivambhara knew Lord Nitynanda to be the Supreme Lord, Ananta Vasudeva. I shall take this time to describe some transcendental facts about Lord Nitynandas birth, activities and so on. The Supreme Lord, Nitynanda Prabhu, was born in the village of Ekacakra in Rhadea. r Nitynanda, who is Lord Haladhara, Balarma, worshiped Lord Mauevara, Lord iva, in the form of His liga. This temple is situated close to the Lords birthplace. Lord Nitynandas parents were extremely pious. His father, Hi Paita, was a very learned brhmaa, very compassionate and detached from material life. His mother, rmati Padmvat, was a very pious and chaste lady. She was a great devotee, and the Universal Mother. Lord Nitynanda Rya was the eldest son of the family. Everyone was captivated by His good looks. I have already described in detail His childhood pastimes in the earlier portion of this book, so for now, I will give only indications, otherwise the book will become voluminous. Lord Nitynanda spent some years performing His childhood pastimes in the house of Hi Paita. The Lord decided to leave home, but He could not sever the bonds of affection of His mother and did not want to see her suffer. The parents could not live for a moment without seeing Lord Nitynanda. If Niti were even a moment out of the sight of His mother and father, that instant would seem like a yuga. Hi Paita never went anywhere without his son. When Hi Paita went about doing his work, like going to the fields, attending to the pilgrims, or going marketing, Lord Nitynanda would always accompany him. If per chance, the Lord fell behind Hi Paita, His
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anxious father would look repeatedly behind himself to check whether the Lord was continuing to follow or not. The parents often embraced and fondled Him, and the Lords soft body, which was like butter, would melt with the bodies of His parents. Lord Nitynanda became dearer to Hi Paita than his own life. The Supreme Lord is the Supersoul, therefore he knew all the desires of His father, and thus He remained in the house to make His father happy. One day, by divine arrangement, a sannys with a divine appearance visited Lord Nitynandas house. Hi Paita welcomed him and looked after him very nicely with great pleasure. Lord Nitynandas father spent the whole night with the sannys talking about Ka and His pastimes. As he was preparing to leave, early the next morning, the sannys asked Nitynandas father, I have one request. Hi Paita replied, Whatever you desire you may have. The sannys said, I am on a pilgrimage tour, but I do not have a good brhmaa as a companion. Give me your eldest son for a few days to be my companion. I will protect and look after him with my life, and your son will also be able to learn about the many places of pilgrimage we visit. The sannyss words greatly perturbed Hi Paita, who was a pure and pious brhmaa. Fraught with worries, he became weak and thought, The sannys has begged for my very life, and I feel that if I refuse then I will be ruined. Great personalities previously have offered even their lives to fulfil the desire of a sage or a renunciate. In the Puras, we read that Lord Rmacandra was dearer to His father, Daaratha, than His own self. Once, the sage Vivmitra begged Daaratha to allow his son to come with him. It was very painful for Daaratha to be apart from his son, Lord Rmacandra, yet he did not refuse. I feel myself to be in the same predicament. Oh Lord Ka, please guide me and protect me in this dilemma! By divine arrangement, I have to take the position of Daaratha and my son is taking the position of Lord Rmacandra, otherwise why is this all happening around my son? Moreover, Niti has such an air of material detachment about him.
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Hi Paita went inside to consult his wife. The chaste Padmvat, the Universal Mother, heard everything from Hi Paita and said, Whatever you decide, my lord, is my decision too. Hi Paita returned to the sannys, and put his son in his custody. He stood there crest-fallen with his head hanging down, and Lord Nitynanda left with the sannys. In this way, Lord Nitynanda was able to leave His house. As soon as Lord Nitynanda left, Hi Paita crumbled to the ground unconscious. He wept bitterly in separation from his beloved son and Lord. His piteous cries could even melt a heart of stone. Overwhelmed with intense love in separation from the Lord, Hi Paita appeared to be in a state of total shock. He went about like a statue. The people said, Ho Ojh has become mad. For three months, Hi Paita stopped eating. However, unlike ordinary human beings, he did not die or become emaciated. He remained alive by his attachment for the Supreme Lord. In this context, a person may question why the Lord left His house where He was so beloved. The correct answer to that question is that Lord Viu and His devotees, the Vaiavas, possess unlimited potencies, hence their activities are inconceivable. Lord Kapila, saturated in transcendental knowledge, left His home and widowed mother for the sake of saving the entire creation. rla ukadeva Gosvm walked out of His home and left His father who was none other than the great Vaiava, Vysadeva, without once looking back. Even a wonderful and affectionate mother like ac had to lose her son, who became the crest jewel of the sannyss, and left her alone. Renunciation on the spiritual platform is not like ordinary renunciation. Who can understand the meaning of this? The Lord performs such pastimes for the liberation of all living entities. Such is the unparalleled mercy of the Lord. The moving story of how King Daaratha was separated from His dearest son, Lord Rmacandra, when He went to the forest, would bring tears to the eyes of even a meat-eater.
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After leaving His home, Lord Nitynanda traveled, carefree and happy, to many places of pilgrimage. He visited Gay, K, Prayga, Mathur, Dvrak, Badarikrama, and many more places. He visited the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and from there, He went to the cave of Vysadeva. In the South, He visited the temple of Lord Ragantha at the tip of India, where Lord Rmacandra had built the bridge to cross to r Lak. Then, He went to the Malaya Hills. He travelled through lonely forests fearlessly. He also visited Gomat, Gaak, Sary and Kver, Ayodhya, Daakraya, Trimalla, Vyekaantha, SaptaGodvar, the abode of Lord iva. In Kany-kumr, He visited the temple. Then He visited the Rev River, Mhimat, Malla-trtha and Haridvra, where the Gag had descended in ancient times. His travels finally brought Him to Mathur. He visited Gokula, the place where He had appeared in His previous incarnation as Lord Balarma. He roared with ecstatic emotion, but no one could recognize Him as the original Lord, Ananta ea. In Vndvana, He felt like a young boy, playing with the sand of Vndvana and rolling upon the ground. This feeling was constantly with Him. He did not even feel like eating, he just wanted to roll and play in the dust of Vndvana. No one could understand the inner mood of Lord Nitynanda. He simply maintained Himself on the nectar of loving exchanges with Ka. On some rare occasions, He drank a little milk, and even then, only if someone offered the milk to Him unsolicited. Whilst Lord Nitynanda was living in this manner in Vndvana, Lord Gauracandra revealed His supreme identity to the devotees in Navadvpa and became constantly engaged in the congregational chanting of the Holy Name in great ecstasy, but He felt a great lack in the absence of Lord Nitynanda Prabhu. Lord Nitynanda had been waiting in Vndvana for Lord Caitanya to reveal His sakrtana pastimes; therefore, as soon as He realized that Lord Caitanya had begun H i s sakrtana movement, He immediately came to Navadvpa and stayed in the house of r Nandana crya. Nandana crya was a very elevated devotee, and he was most happy to have Lord Nitynanda Prabhu staying in his house. The Lord had a large 56

body that was very effulgent like the brilliant sun and was dressed in the clothes of a travelling renunciate. Day and night, He chanted Lord Kas Holy Name and was always grave and equipoised. Lord Nitynanda is the Supreme Unequalled Personality, non-different from Lord Caitanya. Absorbed within Himself, He often roared loudly like a lion, for He is the direct manifestation of Lord Balarma. His beautiful, glowing face would easily defeat the radiance of a thousand shining full moons. His captivating smile played sweetly on His exquisite lips; so, white and radiant were His teeth that a pearl against them would look like a faded and discarded piece of glass. His long, languid eyes stole the pinkish tinge of the early rising sun. His arms were long and reached down to His knees, and He possessed a robust chest and broad shoulders. His lotus feet were soft, and His gait was graceful. He spoke to everyone with kind words, which severed the bonds of material attachment within their heart. All the devotees with shouts of joy welcomed the coming of Lord Nitynanda to Navadvpa. Who can describe the unlimited qualities of Lord Nitynanda Prabhu, the one who had the potency to break the sannysa stick of Lord Caitanya? Lord Nitynanda is so merciful that anyone who chants His name becomes purified. Even a gross materialist, an ignorant or fallen person, can cross over this ocean of material nescience, if he simply chants Lord Nitynandas name. His Holy Name is capable of purifying the entire material creation. Nandana crya Prabhu was more than happy to have Lord Nitynanda Prabhu stay in his house, and he looked after Him with great care. Whoever hears Lord Nitynandas pastimes of coming to Navadvpa will be blessed with ka-prema. Lord Vivambhara heard of Lord Nitynandas arrival in Navadvpa, and He felt great joy within. Earlier, Lord Caitanya had given indications of Lord Nitynandas arrival to the Vaiavas, but they could not understand the import. The Lord had told them, A great personality will come to Navadvpa within a few days. Lord Gauracandra worshiped Lord Viu in His temple, and then quickly went to meet all the devotees. He told them, Last night I had a wonderful dream. A chariot came and stood in front of my door. The 57

chariots flag had a palm leaf drawn on it. This chariot was meant to carry one from this temporary material existence to the absolute reality. Within the chariot was a colossal figure, He carried a plough on His large shoulders, He was moving about as if He were restless. In His left hand, He carried a renunciates water pot, which was wrapped over by cane reeds. Both His upper cloth, and lower dress were blue. A beautiful earring pierced His left earlobe. His whole appearance and demeanour indicated that He was Lord Balarma. Upon speaking, He repeated a question at least ten or twenty times saying, Does this house not belong to Nimi Paita? Never before have I seen such a formidable looking mendicant. I felt great respect for this person and I asked, I see that You are a great personality. Who are You? Smiling, He replied, I am Your brother. Tomorrow we shall get to know each other. His words increased My delight and I began to feel that He and I were the same person. In the middle of the narration, the Lord went into an ecstatic trance, and entering into the mood of Lord Balarma, He began to roar and shout loudly, Bring Me wine, bring Me wine. His thundering voice seemed to burst the eardrums. rvsa Paita said, Listen dear Lord, the wine that You desire is to be received from only You; therefore, mercifully distribute your wine so that You and all may partake of its ecstasy! The devotees, a little afraid and trembling at seemingly uncontrolled mood of the Lord, stayed at a distance from the Lord, thinking to themselves, Certainly, there must be a great reason for this manifestation. With reddened eyes, the Lord recited small lyrical poems and ballads. Smiling, He softly and rhythmically swayed His body like Lord Sakaraa, Balarma. After a while, the Lord returned to His normal self. Then, Murri Gupta, the beloved devotee and friend of Lord Rmacandra, began to explain the inner meaning of the Lords dream, My feeling is that Your dream indicates that a great personality has come to Navadvpa. A few days earlier, You have already said that soon we would all meet a great personality. The Lord then said to rla
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Haridsa hkura and to rvsa Paita, Go and discover this great personality. On the order of Lord Caitanya, the two great spiritual stalwarts left and roamed about Navadvpa, searching. On the way, they discussed, Maybe Sakaraa, Balarma, has come Himself. They went about looking everywhere with great happiness, but could not find a single trace of the person they were looking for. After nine hours of intensive searching, they returned. They humbly submitted their report to the Lord, We could not find Him anywhere. We looked everywhere. We went to the Vaiavas, spoke to sannyss, and visited all the householderswe even went to the houses of atheists and myvds. Nevertheless, we were unsuccessful. We looked in every house in Navadvpa. The only houses we did not see were the ones on the outskirts of Navadvpa. Lord Gauracandra smiled, indicating that Lord Nitynanda was a very mysterious personality. In the Lords present incarnation as r Ka Caitanya some people want to glorify Lord Caitanya, but refuse to glorify Lord Nitynanda Prabhu. Such a grievous sin is similar to worshiping Lord Ka, Govinda, but not respecting Lord iva, akara. Such an abominable person will surely be condemned to eternal hellish sufferings. Lord Nitynandas incarnation is very mysterious and confidential. It is impossible for anyone to see Him, unless and until Lord Caitanya Himself reveals this secret. The spiritual progress of anyone who disrespects Lord Nitynanda in ignorance of His sublime transcendental position inevitably ruined, even if such a blasphemer has superficially attained devotional service to Lord r Viu. Unalloyed devotees such as rvsa Paita and Haridsa hkura are fully realized in such esoteric understandings, yet for some mysterious reason, they could not find Nitynanda Prabhu. Then Lord Caitanya, laughing mildly said, Come with Me, and let us go find Him. All the devotees became very jubilant and chanted, Jaya r Ka! as they accompanied the Lord.
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The Lord took all the Vaiavas directly to the house of Nandana crya. Inside the house, they saw a great personalityeffulgent like a million suns. Without proper spiritual vision, one cannot see Lord Nitynanda. A sweet smile played upon His lips; He was blissfully absorbed in meditation upon r Caitanya Mahprabhu. Seeing the towering spiritual stalwart, Lord Vivambhara, along with all the devotees, offered their prostrated obeisances. They arose respectfully and looked upon r Nitynanda with great awe and reverence, without speaking a word. Lord Vivambhara stood at the head of all the Vaiavas, directly in front of Lord Nitynanda, who immediately recognized Lord Vivambhara as the beloved Lord of His heart. Lord Vivambhara was looking so beautiful, even more beautiful than Cupid Himself. A fragrant flower garland hung around His neck. His face was decorated with sandalwood paste, and He had nice fine clothes. What is glittering gold next to the Lords aura? The full moon has lost interest in her own beauty and she yearns to see the glowing face of the Lord. How enchanting they look, Nitynanda and Lord Gaurga, as they roam about Navadvpa with the devotees chanting the Holy Name of Hari! What is the lustre and value of pearls next to the teeth of the Lord? One is sure to lose his mind at the sight of the Lords beautiful cascading black hair, which is tied in a topknot. Next to the pinkish, graceful lotus eyes of the Lord, the beauty of all other lotuses looks faded and seems to disappear. His long hands extend down to His knees, and the thin line of His brhmaa thread hangs loosely across His broad and expansive chest. A thin and perfect tilaka decorates His broad forehead. Without any jewellery or ornaments, every limb of His beautiful body looks exquisite and captivating. Whence goes the brilliance of millions of precious gems compared to His dazzling nails? What use do I have for ambrosia, when I see the sweet smile playing upon my Lords lips? Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet. 60
4. The Unlimited Glories of r Nitynanda
All glories to Lord Gauracandra, the life and soul of all the living entities! May my memory constantly embrace His lotus feet. Within His heart, Lord Nitynanda was certain that r Vivambhara, who now stood before Him, was none other than His beloved Supreme Lord. Overwhelmed with bliss, Lord Nitynanda Prabhu was stunned in ecstasy; He stared unblinkingly at the beautiful face of the Lord. Upon seeing the bewilderingly beautiful form of the Lord, Nitynanda wanted to taste the beauty with His tongue, drink the beauty with His eyes, embrace the beauty with His arms, and absorb the beauty with His nose. To everyones astonishment, Lord Nitynanda stood speechless, completely enchanted by the wondrous splendour of the Lord. Lord Gauracandra is the Supersoul within everyones heart; therefore, He knew Lord Nitynandas heart. Thus, Gauracandra acted to reveal His hidden identity to Lord Nitynanda and the depth of Nitynandas devotion to the Lord. Wearing a peacock-feather ornament upon His head, flowers blue karikra on His ears, a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayant garland, Lord Ka exhibited His transcendental form as the greatest of dancers as He entered the forest of Vndvana, beautifying it with the marks of His footprints. He filled the holes of His flute with the nectar of His lips, and the cowherd boys sang His glories. The Lord indicated to rvsa Paita to recite a verse from the rmad Bhgavatam 10.21.5. rvsa understood, and immediately recited the loka, which describes the beauty of Ka: At that time, Ka entered the forest of Vndvana, dressed as the greatest of dancers. A peacock feather was threaded into His crown and His ears were decorated with hanging blue karikra flowers. His golden yellow dress glistened as He wore the effulgent Vaijayant jewel around His neck. The land that 61

carries the impressions of His lotus feetthe conch shell, disc, lotus, and clubis Vndvana, His place of transcendental pastimes. To His lips, He touched the flute, which filled with nectar as He played an enchanting melody. At the same time, His cowherd boyfriends sang of His beauty and glories. As soon as Nitynanda Prabhu heard this verse, He fell down unconscious. While Lord Nitynanda lay in ecstatic bliss, Lord Caitanya exhorted rvsa Paita, Recite more! Recite more! After sometime, Nitynanda Prabhu regained His external consciousness and began crying tears of joy. The more He heard the verses, the more they increased His mad love for Ka. His ecstatic roaring filled the universe and pierced through the covering of this material world. Lord Nitynanda leapt up, and as He crashed down to the ground, everyone thought that the bones of His body were smashed. Seeing this, the Vaiavas became very afraid and loudly uttered, Ka, please save Him! Ka, please save Him! Lord Nitynanda rolled on the ground, His body covered with tears of love. Long and recurrent sighs escaped His mouth as He looked deep into Lord Vivambharas face. Lord Nitynanda felt great ecstasy, and often He laughed aloud. Sometimes, He jumped and danced, sometimes, He wrestled, and at other times, He hung His head quietly. Lord Gauracandra and all the devotees began to cry in joy, seeing such total absorption and madness in love of Ka. It became impossible for the Vaiavas to hold Nitynanda Prabhu still. When the devotees failed, Lord Vivambhara held Nitynanda Prabhu in an embrace. As soon as Caitanya embraced Nitynanda, Nitynanda immediately became still. The Lord, to whom He was absolutely surrendered, now embraced Him! Nitynanda Prabhu allowed Himself to be held without endeavour. Lord Caitanya flooded Lord Nitynanda with ecstatic tears of love. The arrow of ecstatic love of Ka had afflicted Nitynanda and Caitanya held Him just as Rmacandra had held Lakmaa when He lay
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unconscious, drained of all strength. Both Nitynanda and Caitanya wept, overwhelmed with joy. The intensity of love between Caitanya and Nitynanda can be properly described only by the example of the loving relationship between Rmacandra and Lakmaa. When Nitynanda came out of His ecstatic trance, all the devotees began loudly chanting Lord Haris name. Vivambhara was embracing Nitynanda, and Gaddhara Paita smiled, thinking how Their Lordships roles had been reversed. He thought, Nitynanda Prabhu, as Ananta ea, renders service to Lord Vivambhara by becoming the bed upon which Lord Nryaa always rests. However, today His pride as a servitor has been broken, and He lies in Vivambharas embrace. Gaddhara Paita was well aware of Nitynandas potencies, and the Supreme Lord, Nitynanda Prabhu, knew the innermost thoughts of Gaddhara Paita. All the devotees were jubilant upon meeting Lord Nitynanda, and their minds were steeped in thoughts of Him. The ecstasy that Vivambhara and Nitynanda experienced in their meeting is impossible to portray through words, but it found expression in the continuous tears of joy from Their eyes that drenched the earth. Lord Vivambhara said, This is the most glorious day in My life. Today, I have seen the embodiment of loving devotion to the Supreme Lord, the essence of the four Vedas. Only the Supreme Lord Himself can manifest such intense ecstasy. The fortunate souls who were able to see His loving devotion will never be rejected by Lord Ka. Now, I understand that You, Lord Nitynanda, are the full-fledged manifestation of the Lords energy. You are non-different from Him. The living entities can obtain loving devotional service at the lotus feet of Ka simply by worshiping You. You purify the entire cosmic manifestation and Your transcendental nature is inconceivable, incomprehensible, and esoteric. You are the personification of the highest ecstatic love of Ka. Even a moments association with You can dissolve millions and millions of sins. I can now understand that Lord Ka intends to purify and redeem Me as He is
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giving Me Your association. It is my great fortune that I am able to see Your lotus feet. I know that if I worship Your lotus feet, then I will surely receive love of Ka. Unaware of the passing of time, Gaurasundara was absorbed in glorifying Nitynanda Prabhu. Nitynanda and Caitanya had infinite exchanges, but they were very confidential, so They conversed in gestures and signals that were known only to Themselves. The Lord then asked Nitynanda Prabhu, I am hesitant to ask You from which direction You have come. Lord Nitynanda was always absorbed, and He spoke like an innocent, restless child. He understood that Lord Caitanya had descended to this material world. Thus, when He replied, He did so with folded hands and great humility. He had felt very ashamed and shy when Lord Vivambhara was glorifying Him, and so through gestures, words and indications, He explained everything in detail. Lord Nitynanda Prabhu said, I extensively toured all places of pilgrimage, but I could see only the place and not Ka, the Supreme Lord. I asked some good people why their altars were standing empty. I do not see Him in His own place, I said. Where is Ka? Where did He go? They all replied, Ka has gone to Gaua-dea, Bengal. He was in Gay recently, and not so long ago He returned to Bengal. When I came to Nadia I was greeted by jubilant chanting of the Lords Holy Name, and someone told me that Lord Nryaa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has appeared here. I have heard that in Nadia even the most wretched fallen souls could get liberation. Thus, being such an abominable wretch, I have come here. Lord Vivambhara replied, We are most fortunate that a devotee such as Yourself is amongst us now. Moreover, we are very grateful to the Lord that today we have seen Your ecstatic tears of love of Ka. Murri Gupta smiled and said, We cannot enter the confidential discussions between Nitynanda and Vivambhara.
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rvsa Paita said, How can we understand? Their intimate exchanges are just like Lord Haris with Lord iva. Gaddhara Paita said, You are quite right, O Paita. They seem to be exactly like Rmacandra and Lakmaa. Another Vaiava said, They look as if They are two Cupids. Someone else said, They are Balarma and Ka. Another said, I dont have much knowledge, but from what I have seen it appears that Ka has taken Ananta ea in His arms. Someone else commented, They are like two friends. Their loving affectionate exchange is just like the relationship between Ka and Arjuna. Others were saying, They seem to know each other very intimately and thus can converse with words and gestures that they alone can understand! Thus, the devotees expressed their joy at having Lord Nitynanda amongst them, giving their different opinions. Anyone who hears about the meeting of Nitynanda and Gauracandra is surely freed from material bondage. Lord Nitynanda Prabhu serves Lord Caitanya in every wayas a friend, as His umbrella, His bed, or as His carrier. Lord Nitynanda alone can render all these services. He serves Lord Caitanya in multifarious ways according to His own sweet will. Others can also become eligible to serve the Lord, but only by the mercy of Nitynanda Prabhu. Lord Nitynanda Prabhus glories are unlimited. No one can fully know Him. Even r Mahdeva, who is the greatest yogi, a pure devotee, and Himself a controller in this material energy, cannot fully fathom the limits of Lord Nitynandas transcendental nature.
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If one criticizes or offends Nitynanda Prabhu, not knowing His sublime transcendental attributes, then, although one is constitutionally an eternal servant of Ka, one becomes forever rejected from the path of devotional service to r Viu. Lord Nitynanda is the object of Lord Caitanyas complete love, and my hearts desire is that Lord Nitynanda will reside in my heart as my most beloved Lord and Master. By His grace, I have developed attachment and attraction for Lord Caitanya. It is by His order, that I write these wonderful pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Just as Raghuntha and Yaduntha are different names for the same person; similarly, the names Nitynanda and Baladeva indicate the same person. One, who desires to cross over this ocean of nescience and drown in the nectarine ambrosia of ka-prema, must take shelter of the lotus feet of Niticandra. Whosoever attentively glorifies these wonderful pastimes will be blessed by r Vivambhara, along with all his associates. The name of r Vivambhara is extremely rare and precious in this world and indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the life and soul of everyones transcendental love. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
5. The Vysa-pj of r Nitynanda
All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, r Caitanyacandra, who is praised by the name of Murri! He is the constantly glowing lamp of Navadvpa. He is the fearless lion who has come to slay the atheistic 66

elephants. He has taken the knotted thread in order to demonstrate the necessity of regularly chanting a specific number of times the Lords Holy Names, Hare Ka, which are His own names. All glories to r Vivambhara, the Supreme Lord of all living entities; He is the Lord and master of r Nitynanda and Gaddhara Paita! All glories to the Lord, for He is subjugated by the love of His pure devotees headed by r Advaita crya Prabhu! O Lord, please engage the conditioned living entities in the eternal loving service of Lord Ka, and release them from the bondage of material existence. In the association of Nitynanda, all the devotees passed their time in great joy, discussing the topics of Kas pastimes. All the assembled Vaiavas were very elevated souls and unalloyed devotees of the Lord. They became immersed in the nectar of Ka consciousness. Nitynanda Prabhu was extremely joyful, and He smiled as He looked around at the Vaiavas. The meetings were always a scene of extreme ecstasy, and tears of transcendental love and happiness cascaded down from everyones eyes. Seeing this ecstasy, Lord Vivambhara spoke to Lord Nitynanda Prabhu, Listen, My dear Nitynanda Gosvm, where shall we hold Your Vysa-pj ceremony? Tomorrow is a full moon, and on this day, rla Vysadeva is worshiped. Therefore, You may choose anyones home, and make arrangements with him. Nitynanda Prabhu could understand Lord Vivambharas mind, so He took rvsa Paita by his hand and smiling, said, Listen Vivambhara, I will have My Vysa-pj in this brhmaas house. Lord Vivambhara then spoke to rvsa Paita, Now you have a heavy responsibility over your head. rvsa replied, No my Lord, this is no botheration, by Your grace everything is in this house. The paraphernalia required like clothes, grains, Brahmin thread, ghee, etc., are all available here. I have only to borrow the book, which gives the procedure for performing a Vysa-pj ceremony. Then tomorrow, by
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my great fortune, I shall witness the Vysa-pj. Lord Vivambhara was very pleased with rvsas reply, and all the devotees were jubilant. Lord Vivambhara said, Listen Nitynanda Gosi, let us all make preparations to go to rvsa Paitas house. Nitynanda very much appreciated Vivambharas words, and immediately proceeded to rvsa Paitas house. The Lord and Nitynanda Prabhu, accompanied by Their associates, looked exactly like Ka and Balarma in Gokula as They went about accompanied by Their friends. As they entered rvsa Paitas house, the devotees felt a current of joy run through their bodies. The Lord ordered the doors to be closed, allowing only friends and relatives inside. Then, upon the signal from Lord Vivambhara, they began singing bhajans a n d krtanas, and gradually the external world faded away into oblivion. The chanting was ecstatic and befitting the occasion of Vysa-pj. The two Lords began to dance ecstatically, surrounded by the devotees who were singing. The bond of love and affection exists eternally between Lord Nitynanda and Lord Vivambhara, and now, as they danced together, each one was immersed in thought of the other. The devotees were experiencing extraordinary joy. Some began to roar loudly, some fell unconscious, and others could not restrain the flow of joyful tears. The two Supreme Lords were experiencing all the symptoms of ecstasy like shivering, pallor, horripilation, crying, and falling unconscious. Who can describe all the ecstatic symptoms that They manifested? The two Lords danced, lost in Their ecstasy. Often They would embrace each other, crying. In the mood of brotherly love, They tried to catch each others feet. However, because both were wary and cunning, They could not succeed. They were overwhelmed in happiness and They rolled on the ground forgetting Their absolute supreme position. Such are Their wonderful pastimes.
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The world of external phenomena was forgotten and Their clothes fell from Their bodies. They could not sit still, and even though the Vaiavas tried to hold Them down, they were unsuccessful. How would it be possible for the Vaiavas to restrain the personalities who support the entire universe? The two Supreme Lords were lost in the nectar of chanting and dancing. Lord Gaurasundara kept repeating, Chant! Chant! drenching His whole body with tears of happiness. The Lord, having found the personality whose association He had always desired, His eternal brother, Lord Nitynanda, was floating on an ocean of eternal everincreasing ecstasy. Lord Vivambharas dancing was completely enchanting and sometimes He would touch His head with His feet. When Lord Nitynanda Prabhu danced, there seemed to be an earthquake. Thus, the two Supreme Lords danced in ecstasy. Who can describe that scene of great jubilation? Lord Vivambhara then sat upon the seat of Lord Viu, becoming absorbed in the mood of Lord Balarma. Like Lord Balarma, He expressed madness, and repeatedly cried out, Bring Me wine! Bring Me wine! To Nitynanda Prabhu the Lord said, Immediately bring Me a plough. At the Lords request, Lord Nitynanda stretched out His hands and Lord Gauracandra received the plough with His hands. Some saw the two Lords go through these motions empty-handed, while others actually saw Lord Nitynanda give a plough to Lord Caitanya. Only by the Lords mercy can one understand His supreme position. Such confidential pastimes and topics of the Lord as displayed by Lord Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are known to only a very limited few. Receiving the plough from Nitynanda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya now began to ask for wine, acting agitated and mad. Most of the devotees could not understand this mood of Lord Caitanya. They looked into each others faces in bewilderment, wondering why the Lord was asking for wine. After careful consideration, they brought a pot of Gag water
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to the Lord. The Lord distributed the Gag water to everyone and drank much of it Himself, taking it to be real wine. All around, the devotees began to chant hymns about Balarma, and Vivambhara kept repeating, N! N! the name by which He would call Advaita crya Prabhu. The Lord continued to call out, N! and His head began dropping as if intoxicated, but nobody could understand the inner meaning of the word N. They asked, Lord, who is N? The Lord replied, On whose loud beckoning I am here, the personality you call Advaita crya Prabhu is N to Me in My present incarnation. N has brought Me down from the Vaikuha planets, but now He is enjoying peacefully with Haridsa hkura. In this incarnation, I shall propagate congregational chanting of the Holy Name in every house in answer to His calling. However, I will not bestow the gift of loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord to those wretched and fallen people who being intoxicated with material knowledge, wealth, family, and austerity, are naturally offensive to My pure devotees. Otherwise, I shall bestow that supreme gift of kaprema, which is most desirable even by Lord Brahm, to everyone without discrimination. The devotees were overjoyed upon hearing the Lord, and the Lord gradually became tranquil and at rest, coming to external consciousness. The Lord asked the devotees, Were My speech and actions uncontrolled? The devotees replied, No, nothing was inconsistent. The Lord embraced everyone with great love and affection, and said, Please always forgive My offensive nature. All the devotees began to smile. Surely, they thought, the Lord is joking.
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Unable to control His ecstasy, Nitynanda Prabhu began to roll on the ground. Nitynanda was completely immersed in the nectar of kaprema. Sometimes He laughed, sometimes He cried. Sometimes, He cloth fell away and He stood naked, in the mood of a young boy, which His body manifested. His sannysa daa fell in one direction, and His water pot and clothes in another. The great, sober, and tranquil personality, Lord Nitynanda, was now restless and uncontrollable, but Vivambhara personally pacified Him. Caitanyas words acted upon the maddened lion Nitynanda just as a goad acts upon a maddened elephant and Nitynanda became steady. The Lord said, Be calm, for tomorrow, You shall perform Vysa-pj. Having spoken thus, the Lord left for His home. All the devotees returned to their respective homes, and Lord Nitynanda remained in rvsa Paitas house. Late in the night, overcome with ecstasy, Lord Nitynanda began roaring like a lion. He broke His daa and kamaalu, water pot. Who can fathom the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Who knows why Lord Nitynanda broke His daa and kamaalu? Early next morning, Rmi Paita saw the broken daa and kamaalu. He was amazed and perplexed. He went quickly to rvsa Paita and reported the matter to him. rvsa Paita said, Go inform r Vivambhara. When Caitanya Mahprabhu heard of the activities of Nitynanda from Rmi Paita, He immediately came to the house of rvsa Paita. There, He found Nitynanda laughing constantly in a trance. Vivambhara took the daa and led Nitynanda to the Gag. rvsa Paita and the other Vaiavas accompanied Their Lordships to the Gag for a bath, and there, Vivambhara personally threw the daa into the river. Nitynanda, still in trance, was restless and did not heed anyones advice. Therefore, Mahprabhu would sometimes chastise Him, which would pacify Him a little.
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However, a crocodile was swimming down the river, and upon seeing it, Nitynanda jumped in to catch it. Immediately, rvsa Paita and Gaddhara Paita raised an alarm, calling, Haya! Haya! Fearlessly, Nitynanda continued swimming towards the crocodile in the midstream. Only Caitanyas words could placate Nitynanda and bring Him back. Vivambhara loudly cried out to Lord Nitynanda, Come immediately and let us proceed with the worship of Vysadeva. Obeying Vivambhara, Nitynanda came out of the water and accompanied the Lord back to the house of rvsa. Soon after, all the devotees assembled and began chanting the Holy Name of Lord Ka. rvsa Paita was appointed the head preceptor for the Vysa-pj, and upon receiving instructions from r Caitanya Mahprabhu, he executed them carefully. A continuous, sweet krtana converted rvsa Paitas house into the spiritual world of Vaikuha. Well versed in all scriptures, rvsa Paita performed the ceremony according to the strict injunctions of the scripture. He gave Nitynanda a garland of fragrant flowers and said, Oh Nitynanda Prabhu, please take this garland and after reciting the appropriate mantras offer Your prayers and obeisances to rla Vysadeva. The scriptures enjoin that one should personally garland rla Vysadeva in his worship, and if rla Vysadeva is satisfied then all ones spiritual desires will be fulfilled. The more rvsa Paita spoke, the more Nitynanda repeated, Yes, yes, yes. Apparently, He paid no heed to rvsas words and seemed to not know which mantras to recite. He held the garland and muttered something softly underneath his breath, which nobody could hear, and He just looked all around. rvsa Paita reported the matter to Lord Caitanya, Your rpda does not want to worship rla Vysadeva. The Lord immediately came to the presence of Nitynanda and said, Nitynanda, please listen to Me. Offer the garland to rla Vysadeva and worship Him. Nitynanda saw that Caitanya was there and He immediately placed the garland upon the Lords head. The fragrant flower garland on the Lords curly hair made a beautiful sight. 72

At that very moment, Lord Caitanya revealed His six-armed form to Nitynanda Prabhu. The Lord held in His six hands the conch, disc, mace, and lotus of Viu; and the plough and club of Balarma. Seeing this, Lord Nitynanda Prabhu immediately went into an ecstatic trance and fell unconscious with no symptom of life. All the devotees became very afraid and started praying, Protect Him, Ka! Protect Him, Ka! while the son the Jaganntha Mira roared loudly and repeatedly slapped His sides. Caitanya then bent down to lift Nitynanda up from the ground saying, Nitynanda, please get up and steady Your mind. Listen to the chanting of the Holy Name that you have begun. The reason You descended to this material world is to propagate the chanting of the Holy Name, and now You have perfectly succeeded in this mission. What more do You want? You are the absolute proprietor of the treasure house of ka-prema, the embodiment of sublime devotional love. No one can receive kaprema unless and until You distribute such nectar. Therefore, please get up and look around Youglance mercifully upon Your own beloved associates who surround You. You may distribute this greatest wealth to whomever You desire. If anyone nurtures even the slightest dislike for You, then although He may worship Me, I will never accept him as dear to Me. Lord Caitanyas words brought Nitynanda out of His trance, and upon seeing again the Lords six-handed form, He went into a state of great ecstasy. Nitynanda Prabhu is non-different from Ananta ea, in whose heart Gauracandra is an eternal resident. Without a doubt, Nitynanda is non-different from Balarma. Lord Gauracandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations and pastimes; therefore, that He should manifest His six-armed form is not astonishing. In His incarnation as Rmacandra, He offered oblations to His departed father. At that time His father, King Daaratha, appeared in person to receive the oblations. If this can be considered wonderful, then the 73

Lords six-armed form is also wonderful. However, all of this is natural for the Supreme Lord, r Ka because His pastimes are extraordinary and supra-mundane. Nitynanda Prabhus natural propensity is to serve Gauracandra, and He is never distracted from this service even for a moment. Just as Lakmaa served Rmacandra constantly with His mind, body, and heart; similarly, Nitynanda Prabhu constantly engages in Gauracandras loving devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Lord of every living entity; He is unlimited and the source of everything. Yet, He enters the material realm and causes the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world. According to the verdict of the Vedas, He is the Absolute Truth and the Supreme Controller; yet, He remains unaffected by the phenomena of material nature. In spite of His supreme lordship over everything, Ananta Deva, r Nitynanda Prabhu, is eternally engaged in rendering loving devotional service to r Gauracandra. In every yuga, and in every incarnation, His natural mood is to serve His Supreme Lord, r Ka. As Lakmaa, He became the younger brother of Lord Rmacandra and served Him constantly. He neglected eating, drinking, sleeping, and other such activities to constantly serve the lotus feet of r Rmacandra. Yet, He still felt unable to satisfy His intense desire to serve. As r Balarma, He was the elder brother of r Ka. Yet, He could not forsake His attitude of service to the Lord, which springs from the deepest core of His very Self. He always referred to Ka as His Master, and He was always in the mood of rendering loving devotional service to Ka. Such is the wonderful nature of r Nitynanda, Ananta ea. Only the most foolish rascals will see a difference between r Nitynanda Prabhu and r Balarma. One who disrespects a devotee who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, r Viu, commits a great offence at the very lotus feet of Lord Viu Himself.
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r Lakm Dev, the Goddess of Fortune, is so elevated that Lord Brahm and Lord iva offer praise and worship to her. Yet, she is naturally inclined to serve the lotus feet of r Viu, Ka. Lord Balarma, Ananta ea, is the omnipotent Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet, His natural inclination is to serve the Supreme Lord. Therefore, r Gauracandra feels most satisfied when He can describe the glories and wonderful devotional attitude of r Nitynanda Prabhu. It is the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Gauracandra, to be subservient to the devotional love of His devotees. Therefore, the Lord especially likes to glorify His own dearmost surrendered devotees. There is a special significance in hearing the Supreme Lord glorify His own devotees. The Lord and His devotees like to glorify each other, and in this way increase their attachment for one another. I have faithfully presented that which has been propounded in the Vedas and Puras about the relationship between the Supreme Lord, r Viu, and His unalloyed devotees. Lord Nitynanda has only one thought in His mind, Lord Caitanya is My Lord in every respect, and I am His devoted servant. Whoever considers Me to be the servant of My Lord and master, r Caitanya Mahprabhu, becomes very dear to Me and receives My shelter. For the pleasure of r Nitynanda, I have described this pastime of His seeing the six-armed form of r Caitanya. Nitynanda always sees the transcendental pastimes of Caitanya within His heart, and Caitanya always exhibits His transcendental pastimes in Nitynandas heart. Certainly, the two brothers always see one another. Yet still, the specific services r Nitynanda performs are always in accordance with the pastimes of the Lords particular incarnation. Although r Nitynanda is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He always serves r Gauracandra. The Supreme Lord thus accepts service from Himself. Who can understand such ecstatic pastimes? The Vedas and Puras have revealed these philosophical matters. The Vedic literature is actually a compilation of all the wonderful pastimes of
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the Supreme Lord. Moreover, it is the foremost objective of the Vedas to propagate the pastimes of the Lord. However, it is not possible to comprehend these spiritual pastimes without engaging in the pure devotional service of the Lord. In this material world, there are only a few who, by the mercy of r Gauracandra, have realized the truth of the nectarine, unlimited, transcendental pastimes of r Ka. The Vaiava devotees of the Lord are eternally pure and realized souls. Sometimes there are differences of opinion amongst them, which might appear like arguments. However, in fact, there is an amazing relationship between devotees. Foolish rascals, who do not understand this exchange, praise one Vaiava and denounce the other. Such a mentality will lead to destruction of faith and knowledge. The scriptures state that when a foolish wretch worships the lotus feet of a brhmaa and then strikes him on the head, he will be sure to go to hell. Similarly, when someone worships the Deity of r Viu, but disrespects or disregards r Viu residing within everyones heart, he also goes to hell. What to speak of committing offence and violence to a Vaiava devotee! If someone offends or tortures even an ordinary living entity, yet worships r Viu, the Lord of every living entity, then all his worship is worthless, and he suffers great pain. To worship r Viu on one hand, and be ignorant about r Viu being the Supersoul in everyones heart on the other, is like touching a brhmaas feet for a blessings with one hand, and then beating him on the head with the other. Such foolish persons do not know what is most beneficial for them. To criticize a Vaiava devotee is a thousand times more sinful than offending an ordinary living entity. The person who faithfully worships the Deities, but has no love and respect for the devotees, also does not possess any compassion for the ignorant and fallen conditioned souls. He accepts one incarnation of the Supreme Lord and worships Him, while he rejects another. He treats r Ka differently from r Rmacandra, seeing a difference between Them. He does not show any respect or devotion for Balarma or iva. Such persons are described in the scriptures as the lowest and weakest of devotees. 76

T h e rmad Bhgavatam 11.2.47. states: A devotee who faithfully engages in the worship of the Deity in the temple, but does not behave properly toward other devotees or people in general is called a prktabhakta, an impure materialistic devotee, and is considered to be a kaniha-adhikr in the lowest position. In the course of discussion, I have just briefly mentioned the symptoms of a neophyte devotee incidentally. Upon seeing the six-handed form of Caitanya Mahprabhu, Nitynanda was overwhelmed. Whoever hears this wonderful pastime of r Nitynanda is immediately released from material bondage. When Nitynanda came out of His ecstatic trance, He began to cry profusely, tears flowing from His eyes like rivers. Lord Caitanya then said to everyone, The Vysa-pj worship has been completed. Now let the krtana begin! The devotees were jubilant when they received Lord Caitanyas orders and immediately began to loudly chant r Kas transcendental names. The brothers, Nitynanda and Caitanya, danced like two mad men, having severed all contact with this phenomenal world. The Vysa-pj was celebrated with great joy and singing and the Vaiavas became even more inspired and jubilant. Some danced, some sang, while others rolled on the ground catching each others feet. Lord Caitanyas mother, acmt, everyones worshipable mother, sat alone and watched the transcendental merrymaking. Each time, she saw Nitynanda and Vivambhara she thought to herself, Both of Them are my sons. The celebration of the Vysa-pj was very ecstatic. Only r ea Himself could attempt to fully describe such ecstasy. I am able to give only indications about the wonderful activities of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. However, I know that one advances spiritually if one glorifies the Supreme Lord, r Ka in any humble manner. The day passed into night and the devotees went on celebrating the Vysa-pj, dancing with Vivambhara. The Vaiavas were mad with 77

ecstatic joy and they wept, crying out, Oh Ka! Oh Ka! In this way, the Lord propagated the process of loving devotional service to Himself. After the krtana, the Lord sat down with all His devotees. He spoke to rvsa Paita saying, Quickly bring the Vysa-pj offerings. rvsa Paita arranged for all the prasdam to be brought in and Vivambhara Himself distributed the prasdam to all the devotees. The devotees were in bliss to be personally served by the Supreme Lord, r Gauracandra. The Lord called everyone from inside the house and gave them prasdam with His own hands. Receiving prasdam directly from the Lord is extremely rare and fortunate even for greatest of personalities like Lord Brahm, but now, even the servants and maidservants of the house were receiving that greatest spiritual treasure. Who can describe the glories of rvsa Paita, in whose house such spiritual activities occurred? Thus, the Supreme Lord performed wonderful pastimes in Navadvpa, but not everyone was aware of them. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
6. Mahprabhu Summons Advaita crya
All glories to the moonlike r Ka Caitanyacandra, the fully independent Supreme Person, who is always engaged in eternal transcendental pastimes! All glories to His eternally pure activities! He is the Master of the Universe, the Supreme Controller of all controllers, and the direct manifestation of transcendence. All glories to all His intimate servants and dear devotees! All glories to their ecstatic dancing!
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All glories to r Gauracandra, the life and soul of the universe! Please give Your lotus feet in charity to my heart. All glories to the all-auspicious Vivambhara, the supreme benefactor of the universe! All glories to the servants of r Gauracandra! All glories to the life and soul of r Paramnanda Pur, and the dearmost object of Svarpa Dmodara. All glories to r Ka Caitanya, the beloved master of r Rpa, r Santana, Jagada, and Gopntha! All glories to the Lord of Govinda, the doorkeeper, please bless the entire universe by Your merciful glance. In this way, with Lord Nitynanda, r Gauracandra performed His pastimes of congregational chanting with the devotees. Now in the Madhya-khaa, I will describe Advaita crya Prabhus meeting with Gauracandra in the house of rvsa Paita. One day, Lord Caitanya, exhibiting the mood of the Supreme Lord, ordered the younger brother of rvsa Paita, Rmi go to Advaita cryas house and inform him of My appearance. Tell him that the person he has worshiped for so long, the person he wept for, the person he fasted for, that same Lord has now appeared. He has come to distribute knowledge of loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord; thus, he must come immediately to join Him. Also, tell him about Nitynanda Prabhus arrival, but do it secretly and explain to him everything you have seen. Tell him to come immediately, along with his wife, and bring all the paraphernalia for My worship. Happy to be entrusted with these orders, Rmi started for Advaita cryas house, absorbed in remembrance of the Supreme Lord. Although he did not know the way, he felt very joyful; his only treasure was Lord Caitanyas instructions. Somehow, by divine guidance, he arrived at Advaita cryas house. Offering his obeisances to Advaita crya Prabhu, he was overcome with great joy and could not speak.
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Advaita crya Prabhu already knew everything that was happening in Navadvpa. He could perceive this because of His pure devotional platform. He spoke to Rmi Paita sweetly, saying, I know you have instructions to take Me to Navadvpa. Rmi Paita folded his hands in respect, and said, You already know everything, so please come quickly with me. Advaita crya Prabhu was, at that time, in a completely blissful state of mind, transcendental to all His bodily sensations. Who is able to fathom the transcendental nature of Advaita crya Prabhu? He is allcognisant, yet He speaks as if He is unaware. Advaita crya Prabhu then strongly questioned Rmi Paita, In which scripture is it mentioned that the Supreme Lord, r Hari, will descend to Navadvpa in a human form for the redemption of the fallen conditioned souls? O Rmi, your elder brother, rvsa Paita, knows My standard of devotion, renunciation and self realization. Rmi Paita was well aware of Advaita crya Prabhus spiritual powers, thus he remained quiet, smiling within. Advaita crya Prabhus transcendental pastimes are unlimited. To the pious, they are a source of great joy; while to sinful persons, they remain incomprehensible. Again, Advaita crya Prabhu keenly inquired, O Rmi, please tell me why you have come so suddenly? When Rmi Paita felt that Advaita crya had calmed down, he began to cry while delivering Lord Caitanya Mahprabhus message. The Supreme Personality for whom you have wept so profusely, for whom you have performed continuous worship, and for whom you have accepted vows of fasting and austerity, that Supreme Personality has now appeared to distribute ka-prema, and He has instructed you to come to Him immediately. Please bring your wife with you, as well as all the proper paraphernalia for His worship. Lord Nitynanda Prabhu has also appeared, He is non-different from Lord Caitanya and He is your
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life and soul. You already know everything, what more do I need to say. If I am fortunate enough, then I will be able to see all of you together. When Rmi Paita delivered this message, Advaita crya Prabhu swooned in ecstasy and lifting His hands, He began to cry. Suddenly, to everyones amazement, He fell unconscious. Shortly after He regained his external consciousness, roaring loudly, He repeated, I have brought, I have brought my Lord. The Lord has left His supreme abode in the Vaikuha planets and appeared here in answer to my prayers. Saying this He fell to the ground weeping. Hearing the news of the Lords advent, the chaste wife of Advaita crya Prabhu, r Stdev, who is respected as the mother of the entire universe, began to weep joyfully. Although Advaita cryas son, Acyutnanda, was only a young boy, he also cried incessantly. Advaita cryas house was transformed into an abode of love of Ka as mother and son, surrounded by their friends and relatives, wept together joyfully. Engrossed in thoughts of the Supreme Lord, Advaita crya Prabhu tried to control Himself, but He was unable to remain patient, His body swayed in slow motion, and He again inquired from Rmi, What did the Lord say to me? Rmi replied, To come immediately. Advaita crya said, Listen Rmi Paita, if He is actually my worshipable Supreme Lord then let Him appear before me to speak the truth. If He can exhibit His supreme opulence and place His lotus feet upon My head then I will know that He is the Lord of my heart. Rmi Paita replied, O Lord, what power do I possess to speak. If I am blessed, then with these eyes I can see the Supreme Lords pastimes. The Lords desire is your desire and He has incarnated because of you. Satisfied with Rmis reply, Advaita crya began preparing for the journey. Get ready immediately He told his wife, Collect the different paraphernalia for worship and let us proceed. Stdev was a chaste and dedicated woman; she had full knowledge of the truth about Lord Caitanyas pastimes and appearance. She collected 81

incense, garlands, scented oils, cloves, sweet condensed milk, yoghurt, cream, butter, camphor, and betel leaf and nut for worship. Advaita crya then left with His wife and Rmi Paita. He reminded Rmi Paita, Do not tell the Lord that I have come, I want to find out the response of the Lord for I will hide in Nandana cryas house. Lord Vivambhara is the Supersoul residing in everyones heart, thus He immediately knew of Advaita cryas plans. Understanding that Advaita crya Prabhu had arrived in Navadvpa, He proceeded to rvsa Paitas house. By the arrangement of the Lord, all of the devotees met there. Upon seeing the Lord in a contemplative mood, the devotees remained quiet and apprehensive. The Lord suddenly rose up roaring like a lion. He went to sit on the seat of r Viu, which was on the altar. He began shouting, N has come! N has come! I know N wants to test whether I am the actual Supreme Lord, the Supersoul within everyones heart. Nitynanda Prabhu understood all of Lord Caitanyas moods; therefore, He picked up the umbrella and held it over the Lords head. Gaddhara Paita, who was also perceptive of the Lords moods, offered Him camphor and pan leaf. All of the devotees followed and worshiped the Lord with various ingredients. Some offered prayers to the Lord, while others rendered different services. Amidst all these activities, Rmi Paita returned. Before Rmi could speak the Lord said, N has sent you to test Me. The Lord shook His head gently and said, N has come. Although N knows Me well, he always tries to test Me. He is here in Navadvpa at Nandana cryas house and He has sent you here to test Me. Go quickly and bring Him here immediately. Rmi happily went back to Advaita crya Prabhu and narrated everything in detail to Him. Advaita crya felt extremely blissful hearing of the incidents that had taken place and He came to rvsa 82

Paitas house considering His plan to have been completed successfully. Advaita crya wanted the whole earth to know that Lord Caitanya was the Supersoul and the all-potent Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now the Lord Himself had displayed His pre-eminence. Advaita crya and his wife approached the Lord, offering repeated obeisances from a great distance while chanting hymns in praise of the Lord. Advaita crya Prabhu was now fully satisfied that He was seeing the fearless lotus feet of His beloved Lord, the most beautiful Personality of the entire creation. The beauty of millions upon millions of cupids seemed pale and ordinary next to the beauty of the Lord. His golden complexion was effulgent and His blissful face was beaming like millions of glowing full moons. The Lord looked down upon Advaita crya with great affection. Golden pillars were no match against the graceful and powerful arms of the Lord and the ornaments that decorated His arms paled any gems. His breast was marked with the rvatsa mark and the great Kaustubha jewel hung loosely from His neck. From His ears dangled fish-shaped earrings and around His neck swung the Vaijayant garland. His unlimited mighty power and brilliance outshone a million suns. Ram, the Goddess of Fortune, always serves His lotus feet, and Ananta ea holds the umbrella over His head. One is put in quandary to discern which are the Lords nails and which are brilliant gems of decoration. He played the flute in a most exquisite pose, bending in three places and a charming smile played on His lips. Advaita crya Prabhu saw everything glowing all around the Lord. The Lord, His devotees and the beautiful ornaments that decorated the Lords transcendental form shone brilliantly. He also saw the fourheaded Lord Brahm, the five-headed Lord iva, and the six-headed Lord Krtikeya offering Him obeisances, while Nrada Muni and ukadeva Gosvm recited prayers reverently. An extremely beautiful lady, Gag dev, was offering the Lord obeisances seated upon a chariot. All around, the demigods were offering
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eulogies and prayers to the Lord. Turning around he saw that hundreds and hundreds of demigods were flat on the ground offering their obeisances and repeating Lord Kas name. Seeing these wonderful sights, Advaita crya Prabhu lifted himself up from his prostrated position, overcome with awe and reverence. Huge many-hooded serpents stood with their hoods raised high offering hymns and prayers to the Lord. In another direction, He saw many chariots, horses, elephants and swans, the carriers of the demigods. Innumerable wives of the demigods stood around with tears in their eyes offering praise to the Lord and chanting Lord Kas name. There was not an empty space left either in the sky or on land. In another direction, all the great sages offered chaste prayers to the Lord. Overwhelmed, Advaita crya and His wife stood there speechless. Lord Vivambhara, the all-merciful Supreme Godhead, looked at Advaita crya Prabhu and said, I have descended to this earth because of your vow and your constant devotional service and worship. I was resting on the Ocean of Milk and your roaring woke Me up. You are so merciful that you could not bear the sufferings of humanity, and so you have brought Me here to alleviate their sufferings. All these demigods, sages, devotees and associates that surround Me have appeared in answer to your prayers. You have arranged for all living entities to see these great devotees of whom even Lord Brahm is constantly thinking. Hearing these wonderful words from the Lords mouth, Advaita crya lifted His hands and wept along with his wife. Today, my life has become successful, He said. All my dreams and desires have been fulfilled. Seeing Your lotus feet, my birth and all my activities have gained meaning. It is by unlimited good fortune that I am able to see, in person, that Personality whom even the Vedas have never seen and yet describe with choice words. O Lord, I am incapable of anything. Everything is made up of Your mercy. Who else but You can liberate the living entities? Tears rolled down Advaita cryas face as he spoke.
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Now perform My worship, the Lord said. Having received this instruction Advaita crya Prabhu began to worship the Lords lotus feet in great ecstasy. First, He washed His feet with scented waters and then covered Them with highly scented oil. He dipped tulas majars into sandalwood paste and placed them upon the Lords lotus feet. Then, as tears of love flowed unrestrictedly from his eyes, he began to offer worship with flowers, scents, incense, frankincense and lamps. He then offered a lamp of five flames while chanting prayers, after which everyone jubilantly glorified the Lord. He continued to worship the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the scriptures, offering the sixteen types of paraphernalia, as well as flower garlands, clothes and ornaments. He then glorified the Lord with the verse, O my Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brhmaas, and You are the well wisher of the entire human society and the world. Advaita crya Prabhu offered his worship with this verse and then began to recite verses from the scriptures in praise of the Supreme Lord, All glories, all glories to the Lord of everyones heart, Lord Vivambhara. All glories to Lord Gauracandra, the ocean of mercy! All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu, the source of all incarnations! He comes to confirm that His devotees are always right. All glories to Him who feels great joy beholding the exquisite beauty of Lakm Dev! All glories to the Lord who is decorated with the mark of rvatsa and is decorated with the Kaustubha gem! All glories to Lord Vivambhara who is propagating the chanting of the Mah-mantra: Hare Ka Hare Ka Ka Ka Hare Hare Hare Rma Hare Rma Rma Rma Hare Hare. All glories to Him, for He manifests the pastimes of a pure devotee just to teach the living entities the process of surrendered devotional service unto Him. All glories to r Mahprabhu who lies on the bed of Ananta ea. All glories, all glories to the only Supreme Shelter of all living entities. O my Lord, You are Lord Viu. You are Ka and You are Nryaa. You are eternal and You have appeared as Matsya, Krma, Varha and Vmana. In every yuga, You protect and maintain the Vedic principles. You are 85

Lord Rmacandra, the life of Mother Jnak, and the destroyer of all the demons. You gave a boon to the Cala Guhaka, and You liberated mother Devahti. You appeared as Lord Nsihadeva just to protect Your beloved devotee Prahlda Mahrja, and in that incarnation You slew his father, Hirayakaipu. You are the most precious jewel of the Vedas, and the best of the brhmaas. You have appeared in Nlcala in Your Deity form to receive the worship of the living entities. The four Vedas search for You and even though You secrete Yourself from the Vedas, You have mercifully appeared here in Navadvpa. O Lord, You are most expert in hiding Yourself, but Your pure devotees are just as expert at finding You out and revealing You. You have advented to propagate the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Ka. This is unprecedented and in the entire creation, there is no parallel to You. The nectar from Your two lotus feet satiates and intoxicates Lord iva and Prvat. Ram, the Goddess of Fortune, constantly serves Your lotus feet with great attention, and great sages sing incessantly in praise of Your lotus feet. Lord Brahm worships You with great awe and reverence, and all the ruti, Smti and Puric stras glorify Your lotus feet. As Lord Vmana, You covered the entire universe up to Satyaloka with Your lotus feet, and Bali Mahrja surrendered His life and soul, laying his head at Your feet. The holy Gag emanates from Your lotus feet, and Lord iva feels greatly fortunate to hold her waters upon His head. Advaita cryas intelligence is a million times greater than of Bhaspati. Thus, He was fully aware of the absolute and transcendental position of Lord Caitanya. Drenched H own tears, Advaita crya Prabhu glorified the Lord and fell prostrate before Him, seeking shelter under His lotus feet.
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Lord Gaurga is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul residing in every living entities heart. He lifted His lotus feet and placed them upon Advaita crya Prabhus head. Seeing this, all the devotees began to glorify the Lord with jubilant sounds of victory. They swooned with joy and filled the air with sounds of the Lords Holy Name, Hari! Hari! The devotees lost control of themselves. Some of them rolled on the ground, many of them slapped each other boisterously, while others embraced, and some just cried out loudly. Advaita crya and His wife felt that all their desires were now fulfilled because Lord Caitanya had placed His lotus feet upon Advaitas head. Lord Caitanya instructed Advaita crya Prabhu, O N! Sing My glories and dance in krtana. Advaita crya Prabhu happily began dancing with great devotion. Someone started a sweet, melodious krtana and Advaita crya Prabhu continued dancing ecstatically in front of Lord Caitanya. At times, His dancing became sprite-like and at other times, he danced gracefully with delicate movements. At times, He felt very humble and moved about holding a straw in his teeth. Sometimes, He spun around and jumped in the air, and then falling to the ground, He rolled back and forth. At other times, He would breath deeply and quickly, and fall unconscious with ecstasy. A variety of devotional moods overtook him as He danced ecstatically, spontaneously reciprocating with the mood of the krtana. Finally, He settled down quietly as a meek servitor of the Lord. It is impossible to communicate this inconceivable and transcendental pastime. Advaita crya Prabhu then ran to Lord Caitanyas side. Seeing Lord Nitynanda, He buckled His eyebrows, and Nitynanda Prabhu began to laugh. Advaita crya Prabhu said, It is wonderful that You are here Niti. For a long time, I have seen no trace of You. Now, if You try to go anywhere, I will tie You up. Sometimes, Advaita addressed Nitynanda as Prabhu and sometimes as drunkard.
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Lord Nitynanda laughed at Advaita crya Prabhus demeanour. Though now, in caitanya-ll, they have appeared in two different forms, in the pastimes of r Ka, they are the same Personality. I have already discussed previously how Nitynanda served Caitanya in various ways, with great pleasure. For this purpose, He expanded Himself into many forms. In some forms, He described the glories of the Lord. In other forms, He meditated within His heart upon the Lord. Sometimes, He manifested Himself as the Lords umbrella and bed, while, in another form, He would sweetly sing the Holy Name of the Lord. Only the most fortunate can understand that in this incarnation Nitynanda Prabhu and Advaita crya Prabhu are non-different. In the course of Their pastimes, whatever arguments or differences They had between Themselves are all the inconceivable and transcendental behaviour of the Supreme Lord. The manner in which they served Lord Caitanya with great ecstasy is similar, in mood, to service of Lord Ananta ea and Lord iva. Those ignorant persons, who do not understand the purport of their quarrels and take sides, criticizing one and praising the other, are destined to perish. The dancing of Advaita crya Prabhu mesmerized all the devotees and filled their hearts with ecstatic joy. When Lord Caitanya instructed Advaita crya Prabhu to stop dancing, he immediately sat down accepting the Lords instructions with utmost respect. Lord Caitanya then garlanded Advaita crya with a garland from His own neck, smiling He said, Ask for a boon, Advaita crya. Advaita crya Prabhu remained quiet, yet Lord Vivambhara insisted that He ask for a boon. Advaita crya replied, What more of a boon can I ask for? What I wanted, I already have received. Since, You have personally watched my dancing, my hearts desire has been fulfilled. What more could I ask from my Lord? I have seen You in personthat is all that matters. You know everything; You have seen everything with Your
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transcendental opulence. You know what I want and what I do not want. Inclining His head to one side, Lord Vivambhara said, I have appeared because of you, I will propagate the chanting of the Holy Name in every home so that the entire universe may dance, singing My glories. I promise that I will distribute ka-prema to everyone. That devotional service which is desired, worshiped, and meditated upon by Lord Brahm, Lord iva and Nrada Muni will now be given freely. Advaita crya Prabhu said, If You distribute ka-prema, then give it also to the women, the dras, the fallen and the ignorant people. Yet, those sinful persons who have become intoxicated with material learning, wealth, family, etc., and subsequently do not respect Your devotees, or the process of devotional service unto You, let them burn in the fire of hell. Let everyone else, including the calas, dance in ecstasy, chanting Your Holy Name. Appreciating the words of Advaita crya, the Lord roared loudly, Everything You have said is Truth. Let the entire world bear witness to Your mercy upon the ignorant and fallen conditioned souls. While the low class calas are dancing in ecstasy, chanting the Lords name, the brhmaa scholars like the Bhaas, Miras, Cakravarts and others are only criticizing Lord Caitanya. These atheistic scholars have vigilantly studied the scriptures and feel very proud, thinking that they have mastered them, but their pride has actually destroyed their proper intelligence and understanding of the Vedas. These people criticize Lord Nitynanda without understanding His transcendental pastimes, thus inviting their own doom. I have described in this chapter how the entire universe received kaprema by the mercy of r Advaita crya Prabhu. The esoteric discussions between Lord Caitanya, Lord Nitynanda, and Advaita crya Prabhu are all known to r Sarasvat, the Goddess of Learning. She appears in the mouth of all the pure devotees of the Lord and sings the unlimited glories and pastimes of the Lord. 89

I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of all the Vaiavas so that I may be cleansed of all sins and offences. r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
7. Gaddhara Paita meets Puarka Vidynidhi
The ocean of all transcendental qualities, Lord Caitanya, is the most graceful dancer. He is the cintmai gem, fulfilling everyones desire through His divine intervention. Even though I am without qualification, that rarest gem, devotional service unto His lotus feet, has been given to me. All glories to Lord Gaurasundara, the most beloved object of Advaita crya and Lord Nitynanda and the life and soul of every living entity! He sustains life in r Jagadnanda Paita and rgarbha! All glories to the crown jewel of the heart of r Puarka Vidynidhi! May the Supreme Lord, Gauracandra, who is the Lord and Master of Jagada and Gopntha, be glorified, along with all His dear devotees! Gauracandra continued to perform His ecstatic pastimes with Nitynanda in Navadvpa. All the Vaiavas accompanied Advaita crya, who led them in grand ecstatic dancing and chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Ka. Lord Nitynanda Prabhu resided in rvsa Paitas house and constantly exhibited the mood of a young boy. When He sat down to eat, He would not feed Himself, but acted like a young boy. Thus Mlin, rvsa Paitas wife, would have to feed Him. Now hear of Puarka Vidynidhis arrival in Navadvpa. Puarka Prabhu was a very dear associate of r Ka. By the Lords 90

arrangement, he appeared in the village of Caagrma in East Bengal, purifying that land. However, the Lord Himself appeared in Navadvpa. In the absence of Puarka Vidynidhi, He sighed heavily, feeling deep separation. One day after ecstatic dancing, the Lord sat down exclaiming, O My father Puarka! and began to cry. O Puarka, O My father, when will I be able to see You again. Such was the extent of the Lords affection for Puarka Vidynidhi. In this way, Lord Gauracandra revealed His intimate associates by performing His wonderful pastimes. All the devotees surrounding the Lord were unable to properly appreciate the name Gauracandra continued to repeat, and why tears continually flowed from His eyes. They conjectured that Puarka naturally implied Ka, and Vidynidhi could have many different explanations. However, no one understood that this person was a very confidential associate of the Lord. Finally, when the Lord came out of trance, the devotees asked, Dear Lord, for whom are You weeping? Kindly reveal, who he is, his birth and his activities? Tell us, Lord, so we may have the good fortune of knowing him, The Lord replied, Since you desire to hear about him, You are certainly fortunate. His activities and character are most wonderful; the whole world can be purified simply by hearing his name. His ecstatic appearance is almost like an ordinary man; therefore, no one can recognize Him as a pure devotee of the Lord. This highly learned scholarly brhmaa was born in Caagrma. He has strictly executed the prescribed religious principles and is respected by everyone. He always floats in the nectarine ocean of love of Ka, and his body always displays various ecstatic symptoms such as crying and horripilation. He never goes for ablutions in the Gag, to cleanse himself of sin like everyone else, for he will not enter her waters since he avoids touching her with his feet. However, he comes to see and pay his respects to her everyday in the evening when the teeming crowds have all gone. He cannot bear to see
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Mother Gag disrespected and utilized by people who spit upon her, clean their mouth with her holy waters, and wash their hair and dirty clothes in her. Thus, he prefers to come to her in the evenings when there is no one around. Another wonderful characteristic of Puarka Vidynidhi is that he always drinks Gag water before worshiping the Lord and performing all his daily prescribed religious duties. Thereby, he demonstrates the greatness of Mother Gag to all the puffed-up scholars. He is presently in Caagrma, but he is soon coming to Navadvpa where he also has a house. None of you will be able to recognize him, as on first sight one would be inclined to think he is an ordinary materialistic person. I am very anxious to see him, so all of you must pray and endeavour to bring him here very quickly. Talking about Puarka Vidynidhi threw the Lord into an ecstatic trance and He began to weep saying, O My father, Puarka. The Lord lamented loudly, for only He could understand the greatness of such a pure Vaiava. Through the Lords mercy only, can the wonderful and unique position of a pure devotee be revealed. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Himself, wishes to attract a living entity, the living entity must respond. Thus, Puarka Vidynidhi suddenly desired to go to Navadvpa. After making suitable arrangements, he came to Navadvpa with many disciples. In Navadvpa, he remained in disguise and all the ordinary men considered him a lavish materialist, attached to a life of comfort and self-enjoyment. With the exception of Mukunda, no one amongst the Vaiavas knew about Puarka Vidynidhis arrival in Navadvpa. r Mukunda was an yurvedic brhmaa doctor who was also born in Caagrma, thus he knew about the wonderful Vaiava qualities of Puarka Vidynidhi. When Mukunda found out that he was in Navadvpa, he was so overwhelmed that it was difficult for him to control himself. However, Mukunda did not reveal Puarka Vidynidhis identity to anyone. Thus, Puarka remained a materialistic self-enjoyer in the 92

eyes of the ordinary folks. Only Mukunda and his brother Vsudeva Datta knew about the intensity of Puarkas love for Ka. Gaddhara Paita and Mukunda were very dear friends and always kept each others company. Mukunda thus told Gaddhara Paita, Listen carefully Gaddhara, a very great devotee has come to Navadvpa. You have been hankering for the association of pure Vaiavas and today your desire will be fulfilled. I will take you to see a wonderful Vaiava devotee. In return for this, I simply want you to think of me as your dear servant. The excited and happy Gaddhara Paita called out the name of Ka as they proceeded towards the great Vaiavas residence with Mukunda. Arriving there, they found Puarka Vidynidhi sitting comfortably. Gaddhara offered his obeisances and was respectfully seated. Vidynidhi inquired from Mukunda, What is his name and from which village does he come? I can see that his body is effulgent due to rendering devotional service to the Supreme Lord Viu, both his form and demeanour are extremely wonderful. His name is r Gaddhara, Mukunda replied. He is very fortunate because from early childhood, he has been totally detached from family life. In his external material identity, he is the son of the brhmaa r Madhva Mira. Since he is absorbed in devotional service, he only associates with Vaiavas, and he is extremely dear to all the devotees. When he heard about you, he was anxious to meet you. After hearing the wonderful qualities of Gaddhara Paita, Vidynidhi was very pleased to meet him. The great personality, r Puarka Vidynidhi, sat like a prince. His beautiful bed was made of wood, covered with intricate brass and reddish stone inlay work. Above it were three tiers of ornamental drapes made of glittering brocade cloth. He was seated on a soft mattress covered with clean expensive sheets, and silk pillows were placed under his back. On either side of him, many small and large water pots sat within his reach, as well as a nice shining brass plate with neatly prepared betel pan 93

upon it. Two large ornate mirrors hung on either side of him into which he continually glanced while smiling with lips reddened from chewing pan. He wore a sandalwood paste tilaka mark upon his forehead and his face was decorated with dots made from a mixture of sandalwood and perfume. As for his hair, it was well-groomed and shining with delicately perfumed hair oil. Two persons stood behind him fanning him gently with long peacock feathers and in front of him was a nicely prepared hammock. As he followed a life of pure devotional service, he looked as charming as Cupid himself. Those who did not know him would consider him a prince, as everything about him and around him gave the impression that he was a man of the easy and comfortable life, given to pleasure. When Gaddhara Paita saw these luxurious items and a general atmosphere of materialistic life, he became suspicious. Since Gaddhara was a fully renounced soul from his early childhood, naturally some doubts regarding the character of Puarka Vidynidhi entered his heart. He thought, What sort of a Vaiava is he, surrounded by so much finery and lavish living? Hearing about his devotional mood, I developed great respect for this person, but now upon seeing him, it is slowly giving way to doubt and suspicion. Mukunda understood the mind and heart of Gaddhara Paita, thus he took it upon himself to reveal the true nature of Puarka Vidynidhi. By the special mercy of Lord Ka, Gaddhara Paita would be allowed to perceive everything; nothing would remain unknown to him. In a very sweet voice, Mukunda began to sing a verse from the rmad Bhgavatam describing the glories of devotional service, Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to the she-demon, Ptan? Ptan was unfaithful and always hankering for the blood of human children. With that desire in mind, she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast and came to kill Ka, but because she offered her breasts to the Lord, she attained the greatest achievement.
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As soon as these words concerning devotional service entered his ears, Puarka Vidynidhi began to weep, tears of ecstatic love welled up in his eyes, rolling down his face profusely like streams of the Gag. Simultaneously, all the symptoms of ecstasy manifested on his person. He wept, trembled, rolled, horripilated, roared and finally fell into an unconscious state of ecstasy. Then suddenly regaining consciousness, he said in a loud voice, Speak! Speak! and again fell down to the ground. Agitated with spiritual emotions, he kicked everything that was near him and all the luxurious paraphernalia went crashing to the ground. The shining brass pots of water, the container of betel pan, pillows, bed sheets, everything became a confused jumble. He began tearing his fine clothes, and his wellgroomed hair went haywire as he wept and rolled in the dust. He cried out, O Ka, My Lord, My soul, My very life, You have made me hard-hearted like a stone! He lamented loudly, piteously crying out, I have been deprived of the Lords association in His most merciful incarnation! He rolled around and crashed down to the ground. Everyone was afraid he might break his bones. He trembled so violently that three persons could not hold him down. He kicked everything that was in his way, as his disciples stood by helplessly, unable to control him. In this way, the storm of ecstatic love continued until it finally abated and he fell into an unconscious state of bliss. He lay down without breathing, totally submerged in an ocean of spiritual ecstasy. Amazed at what he had witnessed, Gaddhara Paita began to worry, thinking, What inauspiciousness has overcome me to make me think in such an offensive manner about this great personality? He embraced Mukunda, being extremely pleased with him. Drenching him with tears of love, he said, Mukunda you have acted like a true friend, you have shown me a pure and unalloyed devotee of the Lord. It would be difficult to find another pure Vaiava like him anywhere in this entire creation.
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One can become totally purified simply by observing his devotional attitude. Today, because you are right next to me, I have been able to avoid a great catastrophe. When I saw all the luxurious paraphernalia surrounding Puarka Vidynidhi, I was convinced that he was a materialistic Vaiava given to the pleasures of life. You could read my mind and being a greatly magnanimous soul you have revealed to me the unlimited extent of Puarka Vidynidhis love of Ka. Yet, today, I have been offensive and the extent of my offence can only be mitigated by your mercy. You must be merciful to me and purify my heart. All the devotees who have surrendered to the Lord by the process of devotional service have accepted the shelter and instructions of a guide. Yet, I do not have such an instructor, so I have decided to take shelter of Puarka Vidynidhi and follow devotional service under his guidance. I shall counteract all my offences to him by becoming his disciple. Thus, Gaddhara Paita revealed to Mukunda his desire to become a disciple of Puarka Vidynidhi. Mukunda was extremely pleased with the decision and patted him on the back saying, Very good, very good. r Puarka Vidynidhi was in a state of ecstatic oblivion for six hours. Gradually, he returned to his normal state, and sat down quietly. It was impossible for Gaddhara Paita to control the tears of joy, which rolled profusely down his face, wetting his entire body. When r Vidynidhi saw this, he embraced Gaddhara Paita, holding him to his heart. Overwhelmed by Puarka Vidynidhis ecstatic devotion, Gaddhara was unable to speak. Mukunda spoke up, revealing Gaddhara Paitas mind, Doubt arose in Gaddharas mind when he first saw your extravagant appearance and surroundings, but now he is repentant and wants to accept initiation from you. He is a renounced devotee of the Lord. Although he is young, he is mature in spiritual realization, and comes from the very good family of r Madhva Mira. From early childhood, he has been attached to the Supreme Lord. I think this is a very good match; a most elevated
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spiritual master such as Puarka Vidynidhi having an equally able disciple like Gaddhara Paita. Please consider these points and choose an auspicious day to initiate him with your dk mantra. Puarka Vidynidhi smiled and said, Be assured that I will do as you request, for, by the Lords mercy, it is my great fortune to meet a person who is like a precious gem. Such a disciple may be found only as the result of many lifetimes of pious activities. The forthcoming twelfth day of the waxing moon is very auspicious, meet me here then, and your plan will become successful. Overjoyed, Gaddhara Paita offered his obeisances and took leave of Puarka Vidynidhi. Mukunda and Gaddhara went straight to meet Lord Gauracandra, who happily received the news of Puarka Vidynidhis arrival. During the night, without being seen by anyone, Puarka left all his associates behind and came to the place of Lord Gauracandra. As soon as he saw the Lord, he fell down like a rod, offering his obeisances to the Lord. Overwhelmed with ecstatic trance, he lay on the ground experiencing waves of joy. Shortly afterwards, he regained external consciousness and roared loudly. Then, pouring scorn upon himself, he began to weep saying, O my dear Ka, You are my Lord and father. I am a great offender. Please punish this wretch. O Lord, You have liberated everyone in the world, only I have been deprived of such good fortune. Hearing his lamentation, all the assembled Vaiavas, who immediately perceived Puarka Vidynidhi to be a great and elevated Vaiava, felt greatly pained and began to cry. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya, is especially inclined to His pure devotees; therefore, upon seeing His beloved devotee, He got up and embraced him. Crying the Lord said, O My father, Puarka, finally I am able to see you today. The Vaiavas were overjoyed to have the association of such an elevated devotee as Puarka Vidynidhi and their eyes filled with
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tears. So wonderful was the scene that no pen could possibly offer a description. Lord Gaurasundara held Puarka Vidynidhi in a loving embrace, wetting him with His tears. Understanding how dear Puarka was to the Lord, the devotees immediately felt affection, respect and a tie of kinship with him. The Lord continued to hold Puarka Vidynidhi tightly, as if He wanted to merge His body into his. For three hours, the Lord was unable to move and remaining like a statue, He held Vidynidhi in His close embrace. When the Lord came out of trance, He began to chant the name of Hari, and said, Today Lord Ka has been very merciful to Me. He has fulfilled all My desires for I have met the person of My hearts desire. Puarka Vidynidhi greeted all the Vaiavas fondly and they began to chant the Holy Name together. The Lord then introduced Puarka saying, His name is Puarka Vidynidhi, the Lord has specially created him to distribute ka-prema. Hearing this, the devotees happily responded by lifting their arms and chanting Hari! Hari! The Lord said, Today is a special day, a wonderful thing has happened, I woke up from sleep and My eyes beheld the ocean of ka-prema directly in Person. All this went on while Puarka Vidynidhi was absorbed within himself in an ecstatic trance, unaware of his immediate external surroundings. Thereafter, he came out of His trance and became aware of the devotees around him. Immediately, he again offered obeisances to the Lord and then to Advaita crya Prabhu and exchanged love and devotion with all the Vaiavas. It was a glorious scene, as all the devotees floated on waves of ecstasy, thrilled to have met Puarka Vidynidhi, who himself is an ocean of ka-prema. Only an extremely pious and fortunate person is able to describe this marvellous scene.
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Gaddhara Paita took r Vivambharas permission to accept initiation from Puarka Vidynidhi. Gaddhara said, I could not understand the uncommon behaviour of this great personality and so I became disrespectful. Therefore, in order to cleanse myself of this sin, I want to become his disciple, for certainly as my spiritual master, he will pardon me. Appreciating Gaddhara Paitas mood, the Lord said, Yes, perform the initiation quickly. Thus, Gaddhara Paita formally accepted initiation from Puarka Vidynidhi, the ocean of ecstatic loving devotion, with great satisfaction. What ability do I have to speak about the wonderful qualities of r Puarka Vidynidhi, for he was such an elevated Vaiava that even Gaddhara Paita was his disciple. I have narrated, only in short, this wonderful pastime of Puarka Vidynidhi. I hanker and hope that one day I will be able to have his sight and association. Puarka Vidynidhi and Gaddhara were the ideal spiritual master and disciple and are both dearly beloved of the Supreme Lord, r Ka Caitanya. Whosoever hears or reads of this meeting between Gaddhara Paita and Puarka Vidynidhi will gradually experience the highest ecstasies of ka-prema. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer my humble song at Their lotus feet.
8. Mahprabhu Displays His Opulence
All glories to the beloved Lord Gaurasundara, who is most dear to everyone, especially Lord Nitynanda and Advaita crya Prabhu!
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He is the life and soul of r Jagadnanda and rgarbha, and the most precious treasure of Puarka Vidynidhi. All glories to Lord Caitanya for He is the Lord and master of Jagada and Gopntha! All glories to all the associates of Lord Caitanya! Along with Nitynanda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya continued to perform wonderful pastimes in Navadvpa. Advaita crya, as well as all the other Vaiavas, assisted Their pastimes. Together they performed grand krtana, dancing ecstatically whilst constantly chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Ka. While Nitynanda Prabhu remained in rvsa Paitas house, He manifested the mood of a young boy. He would not even eat by Himself and had to be fed by Mother Mlin, who felt like a mother to Him. One day, Lord Caitanya began to discuss topics regarding Ka consciousness with rvsa Paita. Wanting to test rvsa, He asked, Why do you keep and maintain this avadhta in your house? You do not know anything about Him. Who He is? From where does He come? What is His family background? I warn you that you are being too lenient and kind to Him. If you want to maintain the good reputation of your family in society, then you should immediately turn this avadhta out of your house. rvsa Paita smiled and said, O Lord, it is not proper for You to test me in this way. I know that Lord Nitynanda is Your expansion. You are the Supreme Lord and there is no difference between Yourself and Lord Nitynanda. I am Your servant and anyone who serves You becomes my master. Even if Lord Nitynanda were a meat-eating drunkard and due to association with Him I lost my reputation, wealth and everything, still, I tell You truly that I would never think of anything other than serving His and Your lotus feet. Hearing rvsa Paita speaking in this manner, the Lord stood up and roared loudly with great joy, What have I just heard from you, rvsa Paita? You have so much faith and love for Nitynanda Prabhu? You have understood the truth about My dearmost confidential associate. 100

This has pleased Me so much that I grant you this boon. Even if there comes a time when Lakm Dev, the Goddess of Fortune, is forced to wander about with a begging bowl, still your house will never know the chills of penury. Everyone in Your house, including your pet dogs and cats, will find complete shelter in My devotional service. Therefore, I leave Lord Nitynanda Prabhu in your care so that you may look after Him and serve Him properly. Saying this, the Lord returned home. Lord Nitynanda spent His time roaming about Navadvpa. Sometimes, He went to the Gag to take a swim and happily allowed the currents to carry Him away. At other times, He played with the young boys acting like a little child Himself. He would visit the houses of Gagdsa Paita and Murri Gupta, and then run to Lord Caitanyas house where Mother ac showered Him with affection. Absorbed in the mood of a young boy, Lord Nitynanda would try to catch mother acs feet and she always tried to escape from Him. One night, Mother ac had a dream, which she later related to Lord Vivambhara in confidence. Late in the night, I dreamed I saw You and Nitynanda. You were two five-year-old boys, running about playing and fighting. I saw both of You enter the Deity room and then come out with the Deity of Lord Balarma in Your hand, and the Deity of Ka in Nitynandas hand. The four of You then began to fight with each other. Balarma and Ka were angry and said to You, Hey, You cheaters, You impostors, get out of here. This house and this room belongs to Us, and everything else here like the sweets, curds and milk are all Ours. Nitynanda replied, Those days of stealing butter and curd for Yourselves to eat are now gone. You are no longer cowherd boys. Now You have become young brhmaas, so give up, now, Your possessiveness about all these sweets, yoghurt and milk. If You do not listen to Our sweet persuasion, then We will convince you with a beating. Who is going to tolerate Your plundering and mischief.
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Balarma and Ka replied, We will catch hold of both of You impostors and leave you here tied up. Who will blame Us for this if You go against the wishes of Ka? Lord Nitynanda Prabhu then replied, Who is afraid of Your Ka? My Lord and Master is Lord Vivambhara. The four of them fought in this way, snatching and eating the sweets and food from each others hands and mouths. Nitynanda called out to me saying, Mother, bring My food. I am very hungry. Thereafter, I woke up, but I cannot understand anything of this dream. Therefore, I am telling You. Hearing the description of Mother acs dream, Vivambhara smiled and spoke to her tenderly. That was a nice dream you had mother, but do not tell this to everyone. Our Deities are actually living and are very potent. Your dream has increased and strengthened My devotion and faith in Them. It is interesting that you dreamt like this, as I have been observing something strange, which I did not reveal before because I was feeling ashamed. I noticed that the foodstuff which your daughter-in-law cooked and offered to Their Lordships, Balarma and Ka, would remain half-eaten after the offering was over. I was suspicious of my wife, but now everything has become clear. Viupriy, r Lakm Dev, the mother of the Universe, heard the details of Mother acs dream from the inner quarters and smiled at her husbands words. Vivambhara said, Mother let me go and bring Nitynanda here right away and you can feed him. Happy to hear this, acmt quickly began preparation for cooking. Vivambhara went to Nitynanda and extended an invitation to Him, along with a warning, Today, we are making a special offering to the Deities, so please do not misbehave. Nitynanda caught hold of His ears and cried, Viu! Viu! Who makes people misbehave? You think I will misbehave because You think 102

everyone is like Yourself. Joking in this way, They proceeded towards Vivambharas house, absorbed in talks of Ka. Entering the house, They were given water to wash Their feet and then sat down to eat next to each other, surrounded by Gaddhara Paita and other friends. Sitting together in this way, Nitynanda and Vivambhara looked exactly like Rmacandra and Lakmaa sitting in Their mothers house. Their mood and affection for each other were identical, for They were the same Persons. Mother ac was very happy and excitedly hurried to serve out full plates o f prasdam for the two of Them. When she returned, she found two young boys of five in the place where Vivambhara and Nitynanda had been sitting. One of the boys had a blackish complexion and the other was very fair. Both of Them were exquisitely beautiful, and both were without any clothing. One of Them had four arms, which held the conch shell, disc, mace and lotus. His breast was marked with the rvatsa, the glistening Kaustubha jewel hung from His neck and beautiful fish-shaped earrings dangled from His ears. The other boy held the plough and the pestle. She also saw her daughter-in-law, Viupriy, situated on the breast of one of the young children. No sooner had she seen this wonderful sight, than it vanished. Mother ac stood still, stunned in ecstasy as tears rolled down her face drenching her clothes. All the foodstuff scattered here and there as acmt fell to the ground and lay unconscious. Vivambhara rushed up to wash His hands and mouth, then quickly ran to revive His mother. Lifting her up He said, Mother! Mother! Please get up, be calm, and take control of yourself. Why did you suddenly fall to the ground? Mother ac slowly regained consciousness and quickly tied her loosened hair. Without uttering a word, she went inside her room and began weeping. She was overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Ka and nothing else mattered to her. Her breath came in great sighs and her body trembled from head to toe.
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Meanwhile the servant, na, cleaned the eating room. He collected the remnants of food that had scattered over the floor and ate them all. Truly, na is extremely fortunate, for everyday, he performed such wonderful activities. Yet, he remained like a simple servant, and thus no one knew that he daily perceived the highest transcendental truth. Lord Gauracandra, along with His devotees, continued to perform congregational chanting of the Holy Name in Navadvpa. Although the Lords eternal associates had appeared in different parts of Bengal, gradually, in small numbers, they began to come to Navadvpa. There, they soon found out that the Supreme Lord had appeared. Allaying the fears of the devotees and filling their hearts with bliss, Lord Vivambhara manifested Himself before them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lords devotees are as dear to Him as His own heart, thus that Supreme Personality who is intensely sought after throughout the Vedic literature, mixed unreservedly with His devotees. He embraced them all so lovingly that each one felt as if he alone was the most prominent of the Lords associates. The Lord regularly visited His disciples in their homes, where he would exhibit to them His fourhanded form. Sometimes, He went to Gagdsa Paitas house or to Murri Guptas house, and, at other times, He visited rvsa Paita. However, all the while, the Lords constant companion was Nitynanda Prabhu, from whom He could not bear to be separated. Lord Nitynanda was always engrossed in the playful mood of a young boy, and Vivambhara wholeheartedly reciprocated with him in the same spirit. According to their particular faith, various devotees saw Lord Caitanya appear before them in different incarnations: Matsya, Krma, Varha, Vmana, Nsiha, etc. Some days, the Lord was absorbed in the mood of the gops and wept continuously, oblivious to the passage of time. Other days, He felt like Uddhava, or Akrra, while at other times He felt like Lord Balarma
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and demanded that wine be brought to Him. Sometimes, he was filled with the emotions of Lord Brahm and began chanting hymns, falling on the ground. Another time, feeling like Prahlda Mahrja, He offered prayers to the Supreme Lord. In this way, Lord Caitanya tasted and floated on various waves of devotional ecstasy. Observing the happiness of her son, Mother ac was extremely happy, yet, one dreadful thought continuously interrupted her cheerful mood, What if my son leaves home? Brushing such unpleasant thoughts aside, she said, Dear son, go and take Your bath in the Gag. Mother, please chant the Holy Names, Ka, Rma. In every conversation with His Mother, the Lord simply replied with one word: Ka. These super excellent transcendental pastimes of the Lords are all inconceivable. They cannot be understood by any amount of material calculation. One day, a wandering devotee of Lord iva passed by singing the glories of his Lord, while dancing blissfully round and round. Hearing the singing of the aivite, r Caitanya suddenly appeared in the form of Lord iva, with great matted locks of hair piled upon His head. Jumping up on the singers shoulders, He shouted loudly, I am akara! I am akara! The people watched in amazement as the Lord sat perched on the devotees shoulder. As the aivite continued playing upon a horn and a small hand drum, the Lord encouraged him to continue singing. That day, the fortunate devotee of Lord iva received the full benefit of purely glorifying Lord iva without offences. The Supreme Lord, Gaurasundara, had sat upon his shoulders. Regaining normalcy, The Lord then climbed down and personally offered alms. The singer devotee left, feeling extremely grateful and satisfied. The devotee servants of Lord Gaurga shouted Lord Haris name in exultation, feeling a surge of devotional ecstasy in the Lords company.
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The Lord said, You My brothers, please hear the essential conclusion of all the scriptures. Why should we waste our nights in useless activities? Let us make a firm resolution from today to spend our nights engaged in the most auspicious of activities, chanting the Lords name. By performing the congregational chanting of the Holy Name, all of us will drown in a divine deluge of devotional ecstasy like the gushing flood of Gag dev. Let the whole world be delivered by hearing the Holy Name! In that way, you will all become everyones spiritual life-giver and beloved treasure! The Lords words breathed great joy into all the Vaiava heartsLord Caitanya had begun His krtana pastimes. Every night, the Lord met the devotees in rvsa Paitas house and performed krtana. Some days, He would also meet in Candraekharas house. So many devotees, the Lords dear servants, would attend the krtana meetings that all their names cannot possibly be remembered. Lord Nitynanda was there with Gaddhara Paita, Advaita crya, rvsa Paita, Vidynidhi, Murri, Hiraya, Haridsa hkura, Gagdsa, Vanaml, Vijaya, Nandana, Jagadnanda Paita, Buddhimanta Khn, Nryaa, Kvara, Vsudeva, Rma, Garuai, Govinda, Govinda-rma, Gopntha, Jagada, rman, rdhara, Sadiva, Vakrevara, rgarbha, uklmbara, Brahmnanda, Puruottama, Sajaya and others. The Lord was always surrounded by these devotees, who always accompanied Him in krtana and dancing. The Lords ecstatic thunderous roars and loud krtana rent the very limits of the material world. These krtanas agitated the envious atheists. They clapped their thighs and jumped up, pouring out streams of profanity, Starting at night time after a good bout of wine drinking, all this loud howling and wild dancing, is robbing us of our precious sleep throughout the entire night. These impostors entice women to themselves with their hypnotic enchantments and enjoy them the whole night.
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These atheists were consumed in their own fire of hate, however, the Lord, acnandana, danced in graceful ebullience. As soon as the krtana began, the Lord would enter trance and become oblivious to the phenomenal world. Dancing, He would fall to the ground with such great force that the earth quaked and cracked in many places. The devotees would look at Him stunned in fear. As the Lords tender body contacted the hard surface, acmt would close her eyes silently praying to Lord Govinda, Ka, for the protection of Her son. acmt knew that Nimi was in spiritual trance, however, due to her intense love for the Lord, she experienced great agony. She did not know what action to take, so she earnestly prayed to the Lord, O Lord Ka, please grant me this wish, that I may not know when Nimi hurls Himself to the ground. Please grant me this mercy, Ka. Although for Nimi there is no pain but only actual blissfulness, I will be happy to remain unaware of all this. Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Lord, knew acmts wishes; so accordingly, He infused divine ecstasy in her. As long as Lord Caitanya performed krtana and dancing, Mother ac entered a state of deep spiritual exhilaration and became heedless of this material world. Unceasingly, the Lord spent these days in krtana and ecstatic dancing surrounded by His followers. Many days, the devotees would collect in the Lords house and begin loud sakrtana, while the Lord immersed Himself in dancing. At times, the Lord exhibited His mood as the Omnipotent Supreme Controller. Then, at other times, he wept in humility saying, I am Your servant. Dear readers! Hear these narrations about the Lords transcendental ecstasies very attentively, for, in the entire creation, there is no one who can dance so gracefully as Lord Caitanya. Similarly, the beautiful and exuberant singing of His associates, which accompanies His dancing, is also incomparable.
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From early dawn on special days, such as Ekdai, Dvda and Viutattva appearances, Lord Caitanya assembled all the devotees in rvsa Paitas house and began enchanting everyone with His jubilant dancing. In the house of that most fortunate soul, rvsa Paita, a melodious tumult of the Holy Names of Govinda and Gopla, went up into the atmosphere. Different krtana groups came forward from the assembled devotees. rvsa Paita headed one group, Mukunda another and Govinda yet another. They all sang and the Lord danced. Nitynanda Prabhu, that great spiritual stalwart, circumambulated the dancing Lord while Advaita crya stealthily lifted the dust from the ground where the Lord danced and put it on his head. Gaddhara Paita and others experienced divine exhilaration and looked at the Lord with tearful eyes. Hear now of how krtana was performed to accompany the Lords magnificent dancing. Often the Holy Name was sung in bhiyri-rga. The directions resounded with the singing of the Holy Name, Govinda. Mahprabhu danced in accompaniment, lost in His scintillating body movements. The devotees sang, Hari, O Rma! Hari, O Rma! Lord Caitanya would begin to weep during the krtana. His tears would continue for a minimum of an hour. His long tresses tossed about upon the ground and He would not attempt to tie them. Only hearts of stone could remain unmoved by the sight. The devotees fell swooning to the ground, trying to reach out to the Lord. When the Lord began laughing, He would break out into carefree effervescent mirth, which would infect everyone with ecstatic joy for hours. Lord Caitanya being surcharged with the mood of servitorship would be unaware of His own divinity.
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Jubilantly, He would repeat, I am victorious. I am victorious. All the devotees would respond the same in chorus. At intervals, the Lord sang out so loudly that it sounded as if the entire universe would split open. Sometimes, He became heavier than the Earth and it was impossible for anyone to hold Him. Then, in a moment, He would lose all His weight. Suddenly, He was lighter than cotton wool and would be carried all around the house jubilantly on the shoulders of the devotees. The Lord frequently went into ecstatic trances on the smallest of provocations. This would put the devotees into anxiety and they would chant, Hari! Hari! loudly into His ears to awaken Him. Then sometimes, His entire body would shiver uncontrollably, His teeth would chatter like a little boy out on a winter morning. The next moment, He was drenched in cold sweat as if Mother Gag was flowing out of His pores. Then His body would suddenly become burning hot, drying up all the cooling sandal paste applied to His person. He would release gigantic sighs, and then throwing asunder the devotees, He would attempt to catch hold of their feet. At this, all the Vaiavas would try to escape the Lord. The Lord liked to sit and rest against Nitynanda, and, sometimes lifting up His lotus feet, He would look smilingly at the devotees. The devotees would immediately see the chance offered by this pastime and would dash to loot the priceless treasure of the dust of the Lords lotus feet. Sometimes, when Lord Caitanya blissfully rolled on the ground as the devotees glorified Ka, Advaita crya might say, O You thief, we have now crushed Your pride!
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When Lord Caitanya danced vigorously, the earth quaked and the devotees looked around in apprehension, but when He danced with graceful postures, He looked like the divine Ka, the son of Nanda Mahrja. Sometimes, He roared with the roar of ten million lions, but He would carefully protect the devotees eardrums. Often, some devoteesbut not allcould be see the Lord moving in the air, a little above the ground. He would stare at devotees with eyes turned bright red by feelings of extreme ecstasy. They might be shocked at first, but would flee away laughing. Vivambhara would become restless with ecstasy and dance, lost in Himself. He might catch someones feet and sometimes even clamber upon His head. He would drape Himself around someones neck weeping, and the next moment might climb onto his shoulders. Again, overcome by a youthful mood, like a playful lad, He might become restless and make sounds of musical instruments with His mouth. He would shake His foot and laugh continuously, and then get down and crawl on all fours feeling like a baby. At times, Vivambhara entered into the mood of ymasundara Ka and stood for hours in the tribhaga position, His body bent in three places. He would meditate for sometime and then play the flute melodiously. He would look just like Ka, the moon of Vndvana. When He came out of this mood, He again felt like the Lords servitor and wept. With utmost humility, He would beg everyone, wanting to serve their feet.
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The Lord sometimes bent His body like a wheel, His feet touching His head, remaining like this for long hours. He expressed all His ecstatic moods in wondrous ways, exquisitely dancing immersed in the bliss of chanting His own names. His body trembled as He made frequent roaring sounds and then, becoming unsteady, He would fall to the ground with a crash. A dancing resplendent golden figure, suddenly He would be seen multicoloured. Then, devotees would see double images of Him. The Supreme Lord Caitanya exhibited these extraordinary displays of ecstatic emotion totally under the influence of His mood as a Vaiava devotee. Often repeating unspeakable words, He would shout before a Vaiava whom He previously respected as prabhu and then suddenly catch him by his hair. The Lord would call out, This fellow is My servant! and stand upon His chestthe same Vaiava whose feet He previously tried to catch in humility. The devotees all around were so captivated and moved by the Lords ecstatic symptoms that they put their hands around each others necks and cried. The entire group of assembled Vaiavas looked so radiant, their bodies decorated with sandalwood tilaka and tulas-ml. They blissfully tasted the nectar of chanting Lord Kas name. The sounds of their voices, mdagas, conch shells and karatlas mingled to a melodious uproar. As this auspicious sound of the Holy Name spread and filled the azure vaults, evil and misfortune disappeared in every direction. That Supreme Master is so extraordinary that the entire universe becomes cleansed of sin simply by the dancing of His disciples. 111

The Supreme Master, Ka Himself, now dances to the accompaniment of His own Holy Name. How can the Puras ever explain this supernatural phenomenon? Lord Caitanya danced, surrounded by His devotees loudly chanting the auspicious name of Lord Hari. Lord iva becomes spiritually surcharged with bliss at the sound of the Lords name. Once He begins to dance and taste the nectar, he loses track of his person and clothes. That very name of the Lord transformed Vlmki into an embodiment of knowledge and renunciation. The same Holy Name offered Ajmila supreme liberation. Hearing His name, the shackles of material existence are broken. That selfsame Supreme Lord has now appeared in Kali-yuga and is dancing to His own name. Nrada Muni and ukadeva Gosvm roam the universe singing His praises. Ananta ea with a thousand mouths glorifies His name. He, whose name is the best means of atonement for all my sins, that same Supreme Personality, dances only to be seen by the most fortunate souls. So fallen and wretched am I that I was not born to see that marvellous festival of sakrtana and dance. rla Vyasdevas son, ukadeva Gosvm, praises Kali-yuga in the rmad Bhgavatam, considering the future advent of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. The Lord has now appeared and dances immersed within His joyful self, enchanting all with the rhythmic patting of His feet. The Vaijayant garland around His neck swings wildly echoing the Lords ecstatic dancing mood. He tears up the garland and throws the shreds at His devotees feet.
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He has given up His joy rides upon Garuas shoulders, and has forgotten His fourhanded form that holds the conch shell, disc, mace, and lotus. He has forsaken His bed of Ananta ea, and in His pastimes as r Gaurasundara He now rolls in the dust weeping, overcome with the ecstatic mood of servitorship to the Supreme Lord. Gone is His mood as the Lord and Master of all the pleasures of the Vaikuha planets. The ecstasy of being the Lords servant overshadows all other pleasures. The Lord is the Supreme Enjoyer of all pleasure. Yet, disregarding the pleasure of Lakm Devs company and Her exquisitely beautiful face, He now prefers to wave His face and hands in the ecstasy of sakrtana as He drowns in an ocean of acute separation from His beloved Ka. The Supreme Lord is diligently served by elevated personalities like Lord iva and Nrada Muni who have given up all wealth and position for Him. Now, however, Gaurga neglects His Supreme Absolute Lordship and with the utmost humility, taking a straw in his mouth, begs prayerfully for devotional service unto Himself. In spite of the Lords unprecedented personal example, if any wretched soul disregards devotional service to the Supreme Lord, he is so unfortunate that he throws away nectar and drinks poison. Again, there are those who read and propagate the teachings of the rmad Bhgavatam, but establish themselves as lord and master, without appreciating the extraordinary beauty of devotional service. All their activities are lowly and futile. They do not know the essential truth of the Vedas, yet they deliver dissertations on the scriptures, to an equally agnostic audience.
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They are truly like mules carrying the burdensome load of useless learning. The Vedas and Bhgavatam have unequivocally elucidated the elevated position of devotional servitorship to the Supreme. Lakm Dev, Lord Brahm, Lord iva and many other great personalities carefully cultivate this priceless process. Those who do not have complete faith in Lord Caitanyas words are most unfortunate and are forever disassociated from His mercy. It was so divinely enchanting to see Lord Gaurasundara dance surrounded by all His associates singing sweet melodious krtana. Advaita crya, unable to control His ecstasy, often went into trance and covered His entire body with straw. In humility, He held a straw in His mouth and with some upon His head, He danced vigorously, His eyebrows drawn close together. The assembled devotees were astounded by Advaita cryas ecstatic symptoms, while Nitynanda Prabhu and Gaddhara Paita were shaking with laughter. Gaurasundara, the dear life of every soul, continued His sublime dance, frequently overcome by endless ecstatic emotions. Gaurasundara exhibited such extraordinary symptoms of ecstasy that they are not mentioned even in the rmad Bhgavatam, nor has anyone ever heard of them from any other scripture or person. Sometimes, His body became stiff like a statue, and no one could possibly move or bend Him. Then again, His body would become as soft as cream, as if He had no bones in the body. Other times, He looked at least twice His normal size and again sometimes He became thinner and smaller than usual. Sometimes, He moved drowsily about like a drunkard, suddenly breaking out into joyous boisterous laughter that shook His entire frame.
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Lord Gaurasundara, enraptured by spiritual emotion and seeing the assembled Vaiavas surrounding Himself, started calling His devotees by the names of their previous appearances. He looked around and shouted out the individual names like, Haladhara, iva, uka, Nrada, Prahlda, Ram (Lakm), Aja (Brahm), and Uddhava. In this way, the Lord skilfully revealed the devotees previous identities in ka-ll. All the devotees marvelled, filling their eyes with the enchanting dance of Lord Gaurasundara in the mood of Lord Ka. The crowd at rvsa Paitas residence drawn by the delightful krtana was overflowing and over-anxious to see r Gaurasundara. The devotees, who would arrive early, could see everything, other persons had to remain outside. The Lord instructed the doors to be closed. The people of Nadia were impatient, creating a loud commotion to get inside. They cried out, We want to see the krtana. Open the doors immediately. The Vaiavas inside were unaware of any happenings, their complete attention captivated by the krtana. Amongst those who were not allowed inside were some atheistic and envious persons making various comments. They said, They are a bunch of beggars. Afraid and feeling ashamed that they might be recognized by others, they close the doors. You are right, it is only due to the pangs of hunger that they scream non-stop for hours. Actually they have closed the doors because they do not want us to catch them drinking wine all night! Nimi Paita was good and normal, we do not know why the Supreme Lord has changed His mentality. 115

I think this is a consequence of His past life. In fact, this is happening because of bad association. Ever since Nimi lost His father, He has no one to discipline Him. Nimi has long since given up His studies. Grammar is such a subject that if you lose touch of it for even a month, you forget it. His mind is now idle, we know all their excuses. We know the real reason for their closed-door activities. In the night, they chant mystical incantations, casting spells on women to bring them here. Together they eat and drink all sorts of things and decorate themselves with fragrant flowers and perfumes and engage in various illicit recreations. So they lock their doors to avoid public censure. Tomorrow I shall definitely have them arrested and taken away bound up like common criminals. All this howling and shouting, Hari! Hari! has never been heard in these parts. Now this krtana has stolen the sleep and peace of common people. All material prosperity is now forever gone and instead we will have famine. The rains will stop due to their reprobate activities, no grains will grow and we will all starve. Nevertheless, let us wait outside a few days more, because this madness cannot go on for too long. We shall see what rvsa, Advaita or that avadhta Nitynanda does. In this manner, the godless persons raved and threatened, but the Vaiavas were immersed in the joyous ocean of krtana, not paying attention to their words. Outside the tirade continued, It is not a brhmaas duty to sing and dance. That is for the low class man. It is sad that a educated brhmaa should set such a bad example. Just looking at them, even a upright brhmaa looses all his good qualities. No one should as much as see their dancing and krtana even out of curiosity. Look what happened to Nimi. He was intelligent, now He is maddancing and singing with them, and they are steadily increasing in number. 116

What is their use of calling out to Ka, without any self-realization. Ka resides within you, why reject the wealth in your own house and search for it elsewhere in the forest. Then someone quite unexpectedly said, To criticise others is of no use, better for us to just go home and mind our own business. Another voice supported him saying, We cannot get inside to see the krtana due to our own misfortune caused by our previous bad lives. How can we criticize those who are fortunate to be inside participating in the krtana? They are very pious. He must also belong to their group, the atheists cried out, and pressed aggressively towards him. What is the great loss if we do not see their krtana? They are simply a few hundred, prancing around, screaming as if in war. Without practicing chanting, penances or cultivating knowledge they follow a concocted method of discipline and meditation. They collect foodstuffs like rice, bananas, milk and curd, and mixing everything they all sit together and eat. In this way, they corrupt the caste system. Thus, some people came to see the krtana only to abuse, Just look at how madly they are acting. They indulged in such comments and left. Again, a fresh group of people gathered to continue the vilification. When two agnostics met, they engaged in ridiculing the Vaiavas and rolling in laughter. When they met anyone, who had never see or heard t h e krtana, they forced them to go to rvsas house, and only on repeated pleadings would they allow someone to get away. Someone said, What a wonder! In spite of seeing all this, the people crazily follow Nimi Paita. With all the hustle and bustle, rvsa Paitas house sounds like he is celebrating Durg-pj. The only sound one hears is a great din. This certainly gives rise to all the ill rumours. Navadvpa is crowded with thousands of erudite scholars, yet these charlatans have gained prominence here. We must free Navadvpa from this rvsa. Tomorrow, I will demolish his house and float his 117

belongings down the Gag. It is for the better of this town to be rid of this so called brhmaa, otherwise when the brahminical culture wanes by his bad example, the Muslims will take over. Such were the unending string of invectives against the Vaiavas, yet some atheists were somehow very fortunate. They were born in the same place as the Lord, and so they automatically saw and heard the Lords dancing, krtana and other pastimes. The devotees of Lord Caitanya were deaf to all such criticism, intoxicated by the sweet nectar of Kas name. Day and night, they sang the different transcendental names of Ka, Jaya Ka, Murri, Mukunda, Vanaml. Day and night, a tireless Vivambhara sang and danced with His associates whose transcendental bodies were naturally indefatigable. Immersed in the ecstasy of nma-krtana with Lord Caitanya, millenniums passed by, but by human considerations they were but a few years for the devotees. As in the rsa-ll dance pastimes of Ka, the young damsels, the Vraja gops, spent millenniums dancing with Ka, but to all it seemed a mere flitting moment that came to an end only too early. Kas pastimes are all inconceivable and the associates of Lord Caitanya, knowing this, similarly experienced the passage of time just like the Vraja gops. One night, an hour before dawn, Lord Caitanya suddenly stopped dancing and climbed up onto the altar. Lifting all the lagrama-ls that were normally on Vius throne onto His lap, He sat down upon Vius throne. The seat crackled and protested loudly under His weight. Nitynanda quickly rushed to hold up the altar seat. Now with Ananta ea supporting the seat, it did not crumble, and Gaurasundara sat comfortably upon it and swayed gently. The Lord ordered the krtana to discontinue and as quietness settled, He began to reveal the transcendental truth about Himself with a booming loud voice. In Kali-yuga, I have appeared as Ka. I am the Supreme Lord Nryaa and the fortunate son of Devak. I am the Lord and Master of 118

the entire cosmic creation. I am glorified in all your songs, for you are My eternal servitors. I have appeared for the sake of all of you. I will accept whatever foodstuffs you have to offer. They are gifts meant for Me. rvsa said, O Lord, everything is Yours. Lord Caitanya replied, I will eat everything. Advaita crya said, Lord, that is a great fortune for us. The devotees became busy bringing edibles for the Lord, and the Lord enjoyed them with relish. He ate milk, curd and fresh butter and kept repeating, What else do you have? Bring it. They brought Him milk sweets like sandea, which He mixed with sugar. They brought rock candy with coconut milk and grains, bananas with flat rice and fried rice. He consumed large amounts and still said, Bring more. He ate in a matter of minutes more than what two hundred men could eat. Still the Lord said, What else is there? Bring it! Bring it! Oh! There is nothing here. The devotees were alarmed because their supplies were exhausted. They became amazed to see the Lord in this mood and began to remember the Lord Almighty in fear. They prayed to the Lord with folded hands, O Lord, what do we know about Your mystique? How can we satisfy You with our small gifts someone who can hold the entire creation in His stomach? The Lord replied, My devotees gifts are never small or insignificant to Me. Quickly! Bring, Bring! What other things have you? They said, Please listen dear Lord, the only thing left is some camphor rice. The Lord replied, Do not worry, bring Me that. The devotees became jubilant and forgot their fear. Each one hurried to bring as much rice as they could, and the Lord received it all with open outstretched palms. The Lord then made large eyes and rolling them, He began calling aloud, N! N! N! The dumbstruck devotees sat around with terror in their hearts. They saw the Lord as a terrible master come to give out punishments. No one 119

could approach Him. Lord Nitynanda stood behind Mahprabhu holding an umbrella over Him, and Advaita crya stood before the Lord with folded hands offering Him prayers. All the devotees hung their heads in consternation and remembered the shelter of Lord Caitanyas feet. Whosoever relishes these narrations of the Lords mystic opulence will certainly be able to see the beatific face of the Lord. In whatever stage of spiritual realization one is situated, to that extent one will perceive such esoteric truths. Anything more is impossible without the Lords sanction. Looking at Advaitas face the Lord said, Ask for a boon, I have incarnated here only because of you. The Lord looked at all the devotees one by one and laughing said, Ask for what you want. The Lord manifested His divine awesome potency in this way, sweeping away the devotees in waves of ecstasy. The Lords inconceivable pastimes are impossible to comprehend. In a matter of moments, the Lord changes from an exacting autocrat to a devotee swooning in devotional ecstasy. Upon regaining consciousness, the Lord wept continuously manifesting the mood of servitorship. He went around putting His arms around the Vaiavas necks and wept calling them, Brother! Friend! An ordinary person could never see such activities. Only by the arrangement of the Lords yoga-my potency, the Lords servitors were eligible to perceive the truth about the Lords supra-mundane situation. The devotees were joyous and laughed at the Lords wonderful character and they said, The Supreme Lord Nryaa has advented. He again fell down unconscious with overwhelming bliss, and lay on the ground as if dead. The devotees began to lament bitterly. They thought, My beloved Lord has left me behind and left this world. Why is He so cruel to me? I will also leave my body immediately. The all-knowing Lord again woke up feeling the thoughts of His devotees, and started a loud krtana. The devotees were suddenly stirred 120

up and in extreme exhilaration lost all balance. The Navadvpa devotees thus relished such wonderful loving pastimes with the Lord of Vaikuha. Whosoever hears these transcendental pastimes of the Lord, his mind will always dwell in the association of devotees and the Supreme Lord, Gaurasundara, Himself. r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
9. The Story of rdhara
r Gauracandra is the Controller of the Universe. However, not His own sake, but for the benefit of everyone, He has accepted the garb of a sannys. All glory to the son of Jaganntha Mira and Mother ac, and all glory to His sakrtana movement! All glory to Lord Caitanya, the very life of Lord Nitynanda and Gaddhara Paita! He is the most beloved of Advaita crya, rvsa Paita, Jagadnanda Paita, Haridsa hkura, Vakrevara Paita, Puarka Vidynidhi, Vasudeva and rgarbha. Be merciful, O Lord, and look upon every living entity graciously. May the Lord and all His associates be glorified, for by hearing about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, one immediately attains the supreme goal of devotion, love of Ka. Please listen attentively to this narration of the Madhya-khaa because it depicts the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Hear now the description of
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Lord Caitanyas Mah-praka Ll, His great revelation, for this fulfils the desires of all Vaiavas. The Lord manifested the glorious sta-prahariy-bhva, the twenty-one hours of devotional ecstasies. In this pastime, He wonderfully revealed His different incarnations, His astonishing feasting and freely gave away pure ka-prema to the devotees. All the Vaiavas honoured the Lord in a grand bathing ceremony known as Rj-rjevara, which is fit only for the most powerful kings of the universe. One day, Gaurasundara came to rvsa Paitas house accompanied by Nitynanda, who was beside Himself with joy. Gradually, all the Vaiavas assembled there. Gaurasundara, who was engrossed internally, looked about Himselfjust as a regal Personality surveys His surroundings with intensely powerful glances. The devotees could perceive the Lords mood and immediately they started a loud krtana. On previous days, the Lord would dance in the ecstasy of a devotee servant of the Supreme Lord. Then, changing that mood momentarily, He would reveal His identity as the Omnipotent Supreme Lord. That mood would also quickly changehe would again revert to the mood of a devotee. However today, to the good fortune of the assembled devotees, the Lord stood up as if to dance as usual, but then instead sat on the throne of r Viu. On previous occasions, the Lord would sit on r Vius throne immersed in devotional ecstasy, as if unaware of His own conduct. Not so today! Today, He did not conceal His real identity with the cloak of His internal energy, but instead, sat on the throne continuously for twenty-one hours. The devotees stood in front of Him with folded hands and hearts effervescent with joy. It was a wonderful sight; the devotees were fully content. Spontaneously, they expressed, We have entered Vaikuha! The Lord sat amidst all, as the Lord of Vaikuha and everyone present became free from the influence of the material illusory potency.
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Lord Caitanya instructed, Sing the bathing song! The devotees were very pleased and began to sing. In time with the song, the Lord gently swayed His head from side to side, and showered the devotees with merciful glances. Responding to the Lords mood, the devotees performed the abhieka, bathing ceremony. First, the devotees brought water from the Gag and strained it. Then, in the correct proportions, they added musk, sandalwood paste, saffron and camphor. Feeling increasing love for the Lord, they carefully prepared all the items. When ready, with jubilant shouts, they began the ceremony and chanted the appropriate mantras. Lord Nitynanda was the first to pour water upon the Lords head. In great pleasure, He kept repeating Jaya! Jaya! Other leading devotees like Advaita crya and rvsa Paita bathed the Lord, chanting the famous Purua-skta prayers. The devotees of Lord Gaurga are very well versed in the scriptural sciences, and they poured the water to the accompaniment of suitable Vedic hymns and mantras. Mukunda and others were sweetly singing the bathing ceremony song, while other devotees wept and danced, overwhelmed with happiness. The respectable and chaste wives were ululating with joy. The entire assembly was immersed in an ocean of bliss. The Lord of Vaikuha, r Gaurga, remained seated and the devotees, one by one, poured water upon His head, bathing the Lord. Usually, on such religious occasions, one hundred and eight pots of water are required, but today that number was far exceeded. Even the demigods arrived, not wanting to miss the opportunity to make spiritual progress, but they maintained a disguise, preferring not to be recognized. A drop of water offered to the Lords lotus feet, even just in meditation, is sufficient to ward off the punishment given out by the God of Death, Yamarja. What then can be said about the good fortune of the devotees who, by being present, were able to bathe the Lord directly.
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All the servants and maidservants of rvsa Paitas house also engaged in bringing water for the Lord. The wonderful result, one enjoys from serving the Lord, was amply proved by one incident. One of the maidservants, a pious woman named Dukh, sad, was one of the water carriers. The Lord saw her actively engaged and told her, Bring, bring more! The Lord was so impressed with her devotional attitude that He changed her name to Sukh, happy, indicating He had taken away her distress. Having bathed the Lord, accompanied by the chanting of the Vedic mantras, the devotees dried the His body. They dressed Him in fresh new clothes, and smeared His exquisite transcendental body with fragrant sandalwood paste. They cleaned Lord Vius throne and after everything was arranged properly, the Lord sat there, upon that throne, which was truly His. Lord Nitynanda held the umbrella over the Lords head while one of the more fortunate devotees began to whisk the Lord with the cmara. The devotees assembled the paraphernalia for worship of the Lord and began to offer rati, worship, to Him. Their tray of offering was packed with caramta, fruits, camanya, incense, fragrant oil, lamp, new clothes, and a brhmaa thread etc. As customary, they worshiped Him with the sixteen ingredients specified in the astra. Applying sandalwood paste to tulas majars, they offered them at His lotus feet. The gopla-mantra, consisting of ten syllables, was chanted whilst worship was offered. All the rules of this particular worship were strictly followed as all the devotees offered their prayers to Him. Advaita crya and all the stalwart associates of the Lord fell before the Lords feet like rods, offering full obeisances to Him. All the devotees were experiencing deep spiritual love for the Supreme Lord and tears cascaded down their cheeks, mingling and flowing like a river. They constantly chanted verses eulogizing the Lord. The Lord heard everything with great satisfaction.
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They prayed, All glory to the Lord of the Universe. Kindly direct Your merciful glance upon this world now ablaze with the three-fold sufferings. All glory to the original cause of everything, the maintainer of everyone. You have advented to inaugurate the congregational chanting of the Holy Name and re-establish the santana-dharma of the Vedas. You are the protector of the pious and the original Supreme Soul of all the fourteen worlds. All glory to Lord Caitanya, for He is the redeemer of the most fallen souls, an ocean of transcendental qualities, the supreme shelter of the meek and poor. All glory to Lord Caitanya who is Vrajendra Nandana Ka, who expands as Lord Viu and lies on the ocean of milk as Krodakay Viu. He appears as an incarnation for the pleasure of His devotees. All glory to Lord Gaurga, who is the original, inconceivable, imperceptible Absolute. He is ever transcendentally situated, the allcompassionate, Supreme Person. All glory to r Caitanya, He was born in a family of brhmaas as the crest jewel of that caste and liberates the entire brhmaa population. He is the origin of the Vedic religion, the life and soul of every living entity. All glory to Lord Caitanya who saved Arjuna from an inglorious death and gave liberation to the demoness, Ptan. All glory to Lord Caitanya who never sees the faults of the living entities. He is the husband of the Goddess of Fortune. With such choice words, the devotees praised the Lord. The Lords servitors were drowning in an ocean of bliss, seeing Lord Caitanya manifest this extraordinary mood. The Lord mercifully removed the veil of my from everyones heart and offered His lotus feet to be worshiped by His devoted servitors. Some devotees brought sweetly perfumed oil and smeared it on the Lords lotus feet. Others worshiped Him with offerings of tender tulas leaves. More again came to offer precious gems, gold and silver ornaments, and respectfully paid obeisances at His feet. Many valuable gifts were offered to the Lord, white, blue and bright yellow silken clothes. A variety of precious metal containers were placed as offerings at the lotus feet of the Lord. The gifts were countless. 125

All the household servants in rvsa Paitas house, by dint of serving that pure Vaiava, could now directly serve Lord Gauracandras lotus feet, which are desired by all. Even Lord Brahm, Lord iva and Lakm Dev aspire for such an opportunity. They offered many items of worship to the Lord without fear or hesitation, the Lord having removed their reverential mood. They brought unhusked rice, tulas, drv grass, musk, saffron, camphor and varieties of fruits, fragrant blossoms, and sandalwood, placing them all at His lotus feet. Each one worshiped according to the inclination of his heart, following the different rules of worship. Then Caitanya Mahprabhu, the Supreme Lord of Vaikuha, exhibited another of His extraordinary pastimes. He said to the devotees, Bring something, I want to eat, and held out His hand. Whatever the devotees offered, He consumed. The different Vaiavas brought a variety of foodstuffs to eat: banana, mung dhal, yoghurt, sweet condensed milk, butter, and milk. They placed it all in the hands of the Lord, who, undisturbed, ate everything. Some of the devotees hurried to the market and rushed back with the choicest of articles. They offered the Lord coconuts, a variety of milk sweets in huge quantities, black berries, green melons, and sugar cane. Some even brought water from the Gag. The Lord ate everything. Seeing the Lord was happily eating everything they offered, they presented generous helpings of more delicacies many times over. Hundreds of devotees gave gallons of Ganges water, and the Lord, who is the greatest of the mystics, drank it all. Hundreds of barrels of yoghurt, sweet condensed milk, milk, hundreds of bunches of bananas, huge amounts of mung dhal, mountains of milk sweet preparations, camphor, betel, fruits and nuts were instantly consumed by the Lord in front of the amazed and gaping devotees. The Lord contentedly ate everything offered to Him and, one by one, revealed the details of the past times of the various devotees. When the devotees heard their individual stories, they remembered their earlier days and fell to the ground in ecstasy. 126

The Lord addressed rvsa Paita, Do you remember, you used to hear lectures on the rmad Bhgavatam at Devnanda Paitas house? Every line of the Bhgavatam is saturated with the divine nectar of ka-prema, so your heart melted upon hearing those recitations of the Bhgavatam. You cried loudly and fell unconscious to the ground. The neophyte and ignorant students, not knowledgeable in the matters of bhakti-yoga, could not understand the reason for your extraordinary behaviour. You were so engrossed within yourself in the ecstasy of love of Ka, oblivious to the external world, that you did not even know that they had carried you outside. Devnanda Paita, their teacher, witnessed the entire happening without dissuading his students. Since, he himself was inexperienced in the science of Ka consciousness, it is to be expected that his students were the same. Upon waking and finding yourself outside on the street, you picked yourself up and returned home feeling sad. Your sadness persisted and so you preferred to be alone. Nevertheless, you constantly desired to read the Bhgavatam again and again. Seeing your sorrowful state, I descended from Vaikuha into your heart, and made you weep with the ecstatic emotions of your love for Me. You experienced happiness again by reading the Bhgavatam, and your tears submerged the place where you sat. When rvsa Paita heard this, he was overcome with emotions and fell to the ground crying and drooling, breathing fast and heavily. In this way, the Lord spoke to Advaita crya Prabhu and different devotees, and brought back to them a recollection of their earlier days. He submerged the devotees in an ocean of bliss while He sat on His throne chewing betel leaf. The devotees danced and performed krtana singing, Jaya acnandana! All glory to the son of Mother ac. If perchance a devotee were absent, immediately the Lord would have him brought before Him. He would put His hand out and say, Give Me something to eat. Whatever was offered to Him, He would eat it completely. Then the Lord would say, Do you remember that night I 127

came to you as a doctor and sat next to your bed? I cured your fever. Upon hearing this from the Lord, the devotees would fall down overwhelmed by uncontrollable spiritual emotions. Seeing Gagdsa, the Lord said, Does your mind not recall that night when you were escaping from the Muslim king fearing capture? Your whole family was accompanying you and when you arrived at the ferry jetty, there were no boats. You were in a great dilemma. The night was turning to dawn and still no boats were in sight. You began weeping in anxiety. You shuddered at the thought that the Muslims might molest your family in your presence and so it was better to drown in the Ganges, you thought. At that moment, I appeared as a boatman rowing a boat towards you. Your spirits lifted seeing the approaching boat. You spoke to Me, the boatman, with affection saying, My dear brother, please take me across. I surrender my body, wealth, life, everything to you. I solely depend upon you. Here are a couple of rupees for your endeavour. Take me and my family to safety. Then, I ferried you and your family across and returned to My eternal Vaikuha abode. Gagdsa was carried on the waves of blissful ecstasy by hearing the Lord. Such are the wonderful pastimes of Gaurasundara. The Lord continued, Do you recall that incident? You were so worried, and I came to your rescue and brought you across. Gagdsa, unable to contain himself further, fell to the ground and rolled about in ecstasy. Lord Caitanya, the Lord of Vaikuha was sitting on His throne, His body covered with sandalwood paste and nicely decorated with fragrant flower garlands. One of His dear servants was fanning Him. Another arranged His hair. Some others were preparing betel and offering it to Him. Many more were dancing in ecstasy around Him. The passing of the entire day and how the darkness of the night stole in went unnoticed. Then suddenly realizing that it was night, the devotees got busy lighting up the lamps, and offered them in worship at the lotus feet of the Lord. They began to perform krtana playing karatlas, gongs,
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conch shells, mdaga drums and stringed instruments. The Lord continued sitting in a benevolent mood but remained silent, in spite of the various activities of the devotees. Devotees offered different kinds of flowers at His lotus feet and prostrated themselves before Him saying, O Lord protect me! Some devotees prayed to the Lord with great humility, others were singing loudly in praise of the Lord. Jubilant calls, shouts and cries were the only sounds one could hear. During these moments, everyone in the assembly experienced such indescribable and wonderfully elated feelings that they felt immediately transported to Vaikuha. In this way, the Lord exhibited the mood of Supreme opulence whilst all the devotees stood encircling Him with their hands folded in reverence. However, Gaurasundara behaved in a casual manner with His disciples, placing His lotus feet upon them. In this manner, He performed His transcendental pastimes. Being in His munificent mood, Gaurasundara was ready to disburse boons to His devotees, as they surrounded Him with folded hands. As He performed His pastime of twenty-one hours of ecstasy, The Lord showered His causeless mercy upon all. The Lord then ordered, Go and bring rdhara immediately! Let him see My opulence. He constantly thinks about Me in separation. I want him to come right away. Go to the outskirts of town, sit there and listen for someone who is calling for Me. Bring him here to Me. The Vaiavas rushed to fulfil the Lords order and went in the direction of the residence of rdhara. Now hear some stories about rdhara, how he makes a living by selling khola, the trunk of the banana tree. He buys the whole khola trunk and sells it on after cutting it into short pieces. In a day, half of whatever is profit, he spends in buying offerings for Mother Gag. The other half, he uses to maintain himself. This is the test of a true devotee of the Supreme Lord.
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Just like Yudhihira Mahrja, rdhara is a most honest and truthful person. He always quotes the correct price of his wares and never once wavers from it. Those costumers, who know this, buy from him at whatever price he quotes. In this humble way, this great soul lives in Navadvpa, known to people only as the Khola-seller. However, his real self is unknown to all. He spends the entire night engrossed in chanting the Holy Name of Ka, forgetting everything including sleep. His atheistic neighbours protest saying, We cannot sleep in the night, rdharas screaming shatters the eardrums. That poor vagabond cannot fill his body and so now, in the night, he is kept awake by the pangs of hunger. Speaking in this manner, the atheistic neighbours are inviting sure doom for themselves, but, unperturbed, rdhara continues his spiritual activities and remains ever joyful. With overflowing love for Ka, He loudly chants the Holy Name all night long. Looking for rdhara, the devotees had covered only half the way to his house, but could already hear his loud chanting. Following the voice, they came to rdharas house. They said to him, Please come with us, O holy one, and meet Lord Caitanya, we are greatly blessed being in your august presence. Hearing mention of Lord Caitanya, rdhara became overwhelmed with ecstatic feelings and fell unconscious to the ground. Quickly, the devotees picked him up and very slowly and gently led him to the Lord. r Caitanya was extremely happy to see rdhara and called aloud warm invitations to him saying, Come, come, You have amply worshiped Me. Many lifetimes you have spent in My devotional service. In this life, you have rendered abundant devotional serviceI have tasted your khola countless times. Many times, I took different things from your hands, you have forgotten the many verbal exchanges we have had. When Lord Caitanya was manifesting His pastimes as a scholar, He often acted in a bold and insolent manner. During this time, hiding His real identity, the Lord would daily enjoy rdharas company under the 130

pretext of bargaining with him. He would go to his shop to purchase banana and plates, etc. Daily, the two would argue about the price for several hours and finally the Lord would return with His purchases bought at half the actual price. The truthful rdhara always quoted the correct price, but the Lord would pick out the goods Himself and pay only half the actual price. This would excite rdhara, who would jump up and try to take the goods back from the Lord. The Lord would then say, Why! My dear brother rdhara! You are a renounced person, but I think you are also very rich! If so, then why do you try to snatch away these things from My hand! Also, I am surprised that, in all this time, you do not know who I am. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya, would see no trace of anger on rdharas face and so He would again snatch away the articles. Gaurasundara always looked so beautiful that He could captivate even the mind of Cupid. His fine forehead was decorated with radiant tilaka marks. He wore His dhot in a most attractive manner, tucking it in three different places. His earrings were nicely designed and slightly slanting. The Lords temperamental eyes were both extremely agile and restless. The shining white Brahmin thread went elegantly around His shoulder. Ananta ea had accepted this very thin form of a Brahmin thread to decorate the Lord. He would smile at rdhara with cherry lips reddened from chewing betel and again pick up the articles that were to be bought. Once rdhara said to the Lord, Listen O brhmaa, please forgive me this time. I am just Your dog. The Lord replied, I know you, you are very cunning. You have amassed much money by selling these banana plates. Then rdhara spoke, Are there not any other shops besides mine? Please purchase from them at a cheaper rate. Lord Caitanya said, I do not want to so easily abandon a steady supplier like you, give me these plates and take the money for them. rdhara was helpless against Vivambharas charm and so smiled at Him,
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captivated by His extraordinary beauty. Vivambhara continued His harangue being very pleased with His eternal associate and devotee rdhara. Lord Caitanya said, Every day you buy offerings for Mother Gag, then why can you not sell me your things at a discount? I am the father of the Mother Gag you worship daily, this truth I am revealing to you. rdhara was shocked and upon hearing this, and covered his ears with his palms. He repeated Lord Vius name, and, seeing Vivambhara in an insolent mood, gave Him the banana plates. In this way, the Lord bargained and fought with rdhara everyday. rdhara thought of the boy as a very restless young brhmaa boy. rdhara finally agreed, I give in to you, I will give you something free of cost, but then please leave me alone. What will I lose if I give away a piece of banana leaf, a banana flower and a slice of banana root? Lord Caitanya replied, Good, good that is enough, do not give anymore! Daily the Lord enjoyed dishes prepared with rdharas gifts. The Lord loves to receive gifts from His devotees. He never asks for anything from a non-devotee. The Lord had desired to perform this pastime, so by His arrangement, he had rdhara sell khola. Who can understand these transcendental exchanges between the Supreme Lord and His devotee? No one can realize these supra-mundane activities without the blessings of the Lord. Here in this pastime the Lord is reminding us of this fact. The Lord Caitanya said, O rdhara, behold My beauty, today I will bestow upon you the eight mystic perfections. The great devotee rdhara lifted up his head and saw that Vivambhara had changed His complexion and had become as dark as the bark of the tamla tree. He was holding a flute in His hands and on His right stood Lord Balarma. The entire scene was engulfed in a glowing radiance.
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He saw Lord Brahm and Lord iva approach their Lordships and whilst offering lotus and betel, they began to recite verses in praise of the Supreme Lord. Ananta ea stood behind the Lord, His hood above the Lords head like an umbrella. Saintly personalities like Sanat Kumra, Nrada and ukadeva Gosvm offered prayers to the Lord. All around beautiful heavenly damsels with folded hands sang glorifying the Lord. rdhara seeing this wonder of wonders was so astounded that, in the next moment, he slumped to the ground. The Lord called out rdharas name asking him to rise. rdhara upon hearing the Lords command awoke from his swoon and stood up. Lord Caitanya instructed rdhara, rdhara, say something in glorification of Me. rdhara then replied, Dear Lord, I am illiterate and foolish, what intelligence do I possess to glorify Your Lordship. However, the Lord said, Always, whatever you speak is glorification of Me. By the Lords order, Mother Sarasvat, the Goddess of Learning, now presided over rdharas power of speech, and rdhara began to glorify the Lord. All glory, all glory to r Caitanya Mahprabhu, all glory to Lord Vivambhara, the Lord of Navadvpa. All glory to the Lord of the entire cosmic manifestation, all glory to the son of Mother ac, Vivambhara. All glory to Lord Caitanya whose incarnation and activities are a mystery even in the Vedas. He has appeared as the best of the brhmaas. Taking different forms, He appears in every millennium to uphold the religious principles. Secretly you went about in Navadvpa town, managing and maintaining everything, Your real identity unknown to all. It is impossible for anyone to know Your real self without Your mercy.
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O Lord, You are the religious principles, the prescribed duties, devotional service, knowledge, the scriptures, the Vedas and the object of all meditation. You are the mystic perfections, ever increasing opulence, the enjoying spirit, the path of mystic yoga. You are faith in man, benevolence, illusion, and greed. You are Indra, the king of heaven, the moon, the fire, and water. You are the sun, the air, wealth, strength, devotion, and liberation. You are Lord Brahm and Lord iva. O Lord, You are without need of anything as everything belongs to You. You told me earlier that the Mother Gag that I worship has emanated from Your lotus feet. Yet, due to my sinful heart I could not recognize You, I had no realization of Your Supreme position. You are the same Supreme Personality who previously blessed Gokula with Your appearance. Now, You have again incarnated as the sweet Lord of Navadvpa. You are the embodiment of the highest esoteric process, that same devotional science You have propagated all over Navadvpa. By his devotional service, Bhma defeated You in battle, making You break Your promise. In the same way, Mother Yaod bound You. By her desire and love for You, Satyabhm Dev could purchase You as Lord Ka for her husband. Captivated by the love of Your devotees, You carried the young cowherd boys upon Your shoulders. All living beings of the entire creation carry and cherish the thought of You in their hearts, and yet You carried rdm on Your shoulders. It is a great secret and mystery how You are defeated by Your devotees. Limitless millions of universes are manifested simply from Your thoughts. Still, You personally carry the gopa, rdm, upon your shoulders.
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Though unconquerable by even the most powerful of personalities, you are conquered by pure devotional service. This is the greatest secret, a secret the unfortunate, fallen people of this world do not understand. The unmotivated devotional service of your loving servitors always defeats You. Then having conquered You, such devotional service enters within You and secretly hides as the greatest of treasures. Material illusion cannot touch those engaged in your loving devotional service. Your devotees by their service easily crush material illusion into dust, which becomes blown away by the wind as they dance in ecstatic krtana. See! All the three worlds beg for your loving devotional service. Hearing their sincere cries for your devotional service, the devotees conquer your unlimitedly merciful heart, two and four times over. You become their captive as You hear their entreaties for pure devotion unto your lotus feet. Upon hearing r Sarasvat Dev, the Goddess of Speech, speak these nectarine words through the mouth of rdhara, all the Vaiavas became filled with wonder. Then Lord Caitanya said, rdhara, ask for a boon. Today, I shall give you the eight mystic powers. They are now tightly in your grip. rdhara answered, Lord, what will I trade from You? Please do not insist and be peaceful at heart. There is nothing I require. The Lord replied, Look, do you see I am unhappy? However, surely I wish to give you a boon. Speak out whatever is in your heart. Ask! Ask! repeatedly, Lord Caitanya entreated His pure devotee. Eventually, to please his Lord, rdhara spoke, Then, Lord, give me just this one boon. May the enchanting brhmaa boy who argued and gave coins for My banana leaves be my Lord and Master, birth after birth.
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May the young restless brhmaa who quarrelled fiercely with me about the price of my supplies be my Master. May He give me His lotus feet as my only treasure. Repeatedly, offering words of glorification, rdhara became absorbed in transcendental love. Ecstatically, raising his arms, his eyes flooded with tears and he loudly wept. As rdharas depth of devotion manifested, the assembled Vaiavas were similarly overcome with spiritual emotion and wept tears of transcendental ecstasy. Feeling great love for His eternal servitor, Lord Caitanya smiled and said, Listen, O rdhara. I shall make you the ruler of a great kingdom. I shall make you a king amongst men. rdhara responded, I have not the slightest interest. I only wish that You be my eternal master, and I that may always sing Your name in unwavering devotion. Lord Caitanya spoke with a voice made of nectar, Dear rdhara, by your unalloyed devotion you have made me your servant. Just see, how I have now appeared before you, in my Mah-praka, anxious to fulfil your any request. Therefore, I shall no longer dispute with you. I bestow upon you eternal pure devotional service, which is a secret even within the Vedas. From the circle of joyous Vaiavas, tumultuous sounds arose. Everyone called out in bliss, Jaya! Jaya! Jaya! as they heard rdhara receive the only boon desired of his pure heart. How may one recognize the true servant of Lord Caitanya? Is it by his possessing wealth? Is it by many followers? Is it by material education? Temporary material education, wealth, beauty, fame, and noble family have no actual value. Moreover, they only tend to increase false pride and material illusion without limit.
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Yet, rdhara, who lived most simply by selling bananas and banana roots, by his pure devotion, was able to see the Supreme Lord before him willing to fulfil his any request. The unlimited Supreme Lord whom even millions of kings cannot see after millions of universal ages. False pride in material assets and an aversion to the pure devotional service of the transcendent Lord only lead one to a life of material sense enjoyment. Thus, one is quickly degraded to the terrible depths of material consciousness. May one, then, know ones fearful future? A proud ignoramus who mocks the devotees of the merciful Lord, considering them fools or people suffering in paucity, surely goes to the hellish region known as Kumbhpka. That is the inevitable punishment for his transgressions. Who has the ability to comprehend the unlimited glories of the Vaiavas at whose lotus feet all mystic perfections await to perform service? By their devotional service, the fruit of every austerity is easily available to them, and yet they are disinterested. rdhara, the banana-leaf seller, elegantly bears witness to this eternal truth. Avoiding the eight mystic perfections, he asked for only pure uninterrupted devotion to his dearmost Lord If one should see a Vaiava suffering by worldly estimation, one should know that his suffering is not material, for the Vaiava sees everything in the service of his Lord. Thus, such austerities actually become the source of spiritual bliss. Yet, the fallen souls blinded by the desire for material sense pleasure can never comprehend this truth. In fact, the unfortunate souls, who are mad with the desire for material education and material wealth, cannot even recognize a Vaiava. Similarly, persons, who study and even pose as teachers of the rmad Bhgavatam, but do not accept the loving devotional service of the magnanimous Lord, find their intelligence destroyed. In the same way,
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those envious rascals who blaspheme Lord Nitynanda certainly walk the path of certain destruction. Glorifying his beloved Lord, rdhara received his treasured boon. Anyone who hears the description of this pastime will attain the greatest treasure, pure love for the Supreme Lord. Those intelligent souls who avoid blasphemy of the saintly Vaiavas attain Lord Ka, receiving pure love and devotion for the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Blasphemy of the Vaiavas only brings the greatest sin. Those pious souls who do not blaspheme the Vaiavas and engage in the pure devotional service of Lord certainly become very, very fortunate. Therefore, the true devotees of the Lord never offend anyone. If, just once, one calls out, Ka! without offense then certainly Kas sacred name easily delivers one. This it is the Absolute Truth. This it is the Absolute Truth. This it is the Absolute Truth. My hearts desire at the sheltering, merciful lotus feet of the Vaiavas is that r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda eternally remain my masters, life after life. The two moons, r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.
10. The Great Revelation of Mahprabhu
My dearest friend, Lord Gaurga, You are the ocean of transcendental qualities. All glory to You and all glory to Lord Nitynanda Prabhu, the Supreme Personality, who is without beginning or end. After bestowing boons upon rdhara, Lord Caitanya began to gently sway His head, and repeated the name, N, N, N! He spoke to 138

Advaita crya, crya! Ask what you need! The crya replied, My prayers have already been answered my Lord. Lord Caitanya appreciated this answer with a thunderous roar that drowned all other sound. While Lord Caitanya was still manifesting His Mah-praka Ll in the mood of the Omnipotent, Supremely Opulent Lord, Gaddhara Paita prepared betel and offered it to the Lord who happily accepted. Lord Nitynanda, whose partial expansion Ananta ea is the support of the Universe, now held the umbrella over Lord Caitanya as Advaita crya and other great personages stood before Him. The Lord ordered Murri, Look at Me! Murri saw r Rmacandra in person. He saw that Vivambhara, Lord Caitanya, was sitting on a kingly throne with His bow, His complexion as green as fresh tender shoots of grass. He saw Jnak dev (St Dev) on His left and Lakmaa on His right. All round the brave monkey leaders were offering prayers. By the influence of Lord Caitanyas transcendental pastimes, Murri, now perceiving his identity as Hanumn and seeing his beloved Rmacandra, fell down in an ecstatic swoon. Lord Vivambhara called out aloud, Hey, monkey, you seem to forget how the demon Rvaa, who stole St Dev, burnt your face. Enraged, you set ablaze his capital, r Lak, and destroyed his entire race. I am that same Lord, Your worshipful Lord, now You are again in My presence. Rise! Rise! Murri! You are as dear to Me as My own life. I am that Lord Rmacandra, and You are Hanumn! Look now upon Lakmaa, your beloved life and soul! You saved His life by bringing from afar the Gandhamdana Mountain. Offer obeisances to the lotus feet of Jnak, St Dev, whose distress moved You to profuse tears. Lord Caitanyas words brought back Murris consciousness, and upon awakening, he saw that wonderful scene and began to cry in kaprema. Murris ecstatic crying moved even the lifeless dry wood, what to speak of the assembled Vaiavas.
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Again, Lord Caitanya spoke to Murri, You may ask Me for any boon. r Murri replied, My Lord, I do not yearn for anything. However, grant me just one wish. May I sing only of Your glories. May I be born in any situation, but, birth after birth, I simply pray that I may remember and serve You in the association of Your servitors. O my Lord! Please do not place me in any situation where I may deviate from the Absolute Truth, forgetting that You are the Supreme Lord and I am Your eternal servant. Wherever You descend accompanied by Your eternal associates I desire to be there as Your insignificant servitor. The Lord replied, So, be it! So, be it! I grant you this boon. Hearing this, a jubilant up roar from the devotees filled the air. All the Vaiava devotees were naturally very affectionately disposed to Murri, who was always compassionate to all living beings. Such was the purity of Murris devotion that merely his presence would transform anywhere into a holy place of pilgrimage, as transcendental as Vaikuha. It is impossible to describe the greatness of Murri, even the Supreme Lord advents for the pleasure of Murri. Lord Caitanya then declared, All of you listen carefully, if anyone criticizes Murri, he cannot be saved by even a million dips in the Gag. In fact, the baths in the Gag or even the chanting of Lord Haris name will certainly destroy such a sinful wretch. Murri Gupta! The Supreme Lord is gupta, secretly seated in Murris heart, this is the spiritual import of Murri Guptas name. Chanting Kas name, the Vaiava devotees began to weep in ecstasy, seeing how Lord Caitanya had showered His mercy upon Murri. Anyone who hears these pastimes of Lord Caitanyas extraordinary magnanimity will receive ka-prema. While Murri and rdhara wept in ka-prema, being in front of the Lord, Lord Caitanya chewed on the betel pan making loud cracking sounds. 140

Lord Caitanya then turned His benign glance on Haridsa and called out, Haridsa! Look at Me! Your body and birth is superior to Mine. Your class and caste is more elevated than Mine! Although that sinful Muslim tormentor inflicted great pain on you, yet, in My heart, I hesitate to punish him for that would surely disturb you, such is your compassionate nature. Listen Haridsa, when you were lashed with the whip in the different market places. I took up My Sudarana disc and descended to earth from Vaikuha intending to sever the tormentors heads. While your tormentors were trying to beat you to death, at the same time, you were thinking of their well-being. You were unconcerned about your own pains; you had only compassion for them. On account of your merciful heart, I could not use force. My Sudarana disc weapon was rendered impotent. I could not strike those men because you were determined to forgive them. Being unable to see your misery, I protected you from their lashes by placing My back upon your back. I accepted all those lashes meant for you on My back, see the marks on my back, I am not lying. Whatever other secondary reasons there were for My descent, unable to bear your sufferings, I hastened My advent to this world. My beloved N, Advaita crya, fully recognized who you are, I am totally bound by his loving devotion. Our beloved Lord Caitanya is very expert in expanding the glories of His devotees. He will say or do anything to glorify and protect His devotees. He will even swallow fire for his devotees and willingly becomes His devotees slave. r Ka recognizes only His devotees and knows nothing else, to Ka there is no one equal in position to His pure devotees. All those miserly offenders who are antagonistic towards such pure devotees of the Lord are devoid of all good fortune. From these pastimes and the things Lord Caitanya said to Haridsa hkura, one can see the highly elevated position of the devotees. 141

When Haridsa heard about the Lords magnanimous deed, he fell swooning to the ground. He lost all external consciousness and was immersed in an ocean of ecstasy. Lord Caitanya said, Wake up, wake up! See My opulent manifestation to your hearts content. Haridsa awoke and becoming externally conscious, in tears of transcendental love, he looked about perceiving the Lords extraordinary manifestation. He rolled about all over the courtyard, sometimes breathing heavily, other times swooning. All the ecstatic symptoms swept over Haridsas body like a hurricane, and although the Lord tried to steady him, Haridsa could not remain still. hkura Haridsa said, O Lord Vivambhara! You are the Lord and Protector of the Universe, now the responsibility of delivering a lowly fallen wretch like me rests on You, My Lord. How can I describe Your transcendental glories as I do not possess any good qualifications, I am sinful, and I am not even within the Vedic society. Just seeing me makes a person vulnerable to sin, and touching me makes one so contaminated that he must bath immediately. How then can I say anything about Your divine pastimes? There is one fact that You yourself have stated: Anyone remembering your lotus feet, be he as insignificant and as fallen as an insect, is never forsaken by You, whereas even a mighty king falls from grace if he disregards Your lotus feet. I am incapable of remembering You, although I know you shelter the most impoverished soul if he simply remembers You. The evil Duryodhana and Dusana dragged the righteous Draupad, into the palace court wanting to disrobe her. Confronted with the danger of disgrace, she remembered You, Ka. Thus, You made her sari endlessly long by Your mystic potency. Yet, the evildoers could not perceive Your hand in this. Once, witches surrounded r Prvat Dev, desirous of eating her. When Prvat remembered You, You immediately appeared, punished the witches, and saved Your devotee. 142

I am so sinful that I cannot remember such a magnanimous Personality as You. O Lord! Please therefore give me shelter at Your lotus feet. The demon Hirayakaipu inflicted all varieties of treachery and brutal methods trying to kill Prahlda by poisoning, hurling down from the mountain, throwing in a boiling cauldron of oil, etc. Yet, throughout his tribulations, Prahlda meditated upon Your lotus feet and was saved from each and every calamity. In this way, You humbled many of his enemies and took away all their vitality and strength. Finally, You personally appeared due to Prahldas meditation. Once, the five Pavas were in grave dilemma fearing the wrath of Durvs Muni, but by remembering You, You appeared personally and saved them. You calmed Yudhihira Mahrja with your assuring words, see I am already here, you just sit down and relax and I will take care of Durvs Muni and his army of disciples. Only the shred of vegetable left stuck to the side of the pot after the Pavas had eaten was taken by Lord Ka relishing the thought of coming to His devotees aid. Meanwhile, the sage and his disciples, bathing in the river, suddenly felt full in the belly as if having just eaten a sumptuous meal. Ashamed and tearful, they fled. The miraculous benefit of remembering Your lotus feet was amply demonstrated by the Pavas in this incident. For everyone, the path of true devotion is remembrance of You. You perform Your super excellent activities to rescue Your devotees. The story of Ajmila is a wonderful illustration that even in the most degraded state, one should remember the Supreme Lord at the moment of death. Ajmila saw the Yamadtas (messengers of death) coming to drag his soul away to the nether regions of hell. In fear, looking for shelter, he saw his sons innocent face and called out his name Nryaa, the Holy Name of the Supreme Lord, and this immediately reminded him of the Lord. As soon as his mind rested on the Lord, all his danger and distress disappeared. Only the most elevated devotees of
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the Lord have easy access to this greatest spiritual treasure, the constant remembrance of the Supreme Lord. This is not surprising. O Lord! I am such a destitute that I do not possess the sweetness of Your memory and yet You have not forsaken me. Although I am unfit to see You, You are present before me in person. I am praying to You now for only one benediction. r Caitanya replied, Say all that you want to say, there is nothing that I do not want to give you. Haridsa spoke to the Lord with folded hands, O Lord, I have known only misfortune, yet, You give me so much hope. Just allow me to partake of the remnants of the foodstuffs of Your devotees who are surrendered to Your lotus feet. Let this activity be my permanent and most prominent service, life after life. My sinful birth and existence is miserable, without remembrance of You, but now, please make my life successful by granting me the remnants of Your servitors. I feel within my heart that I have committed a grave offence by asking of You to be situated in the elevated status of a Vaiava, for I am grossly unfit. O Lord! My master, protector and maintainer of the entire creation, I am spiritually lifeless, therefore kindly forgive my ignorance. O Lord Vivambhara, the beautiful son of Mother ac, You are my master, so be merciful to me and keep me as a dog in the house of a Vaiava. Haridsa hkura was overwhelmed by feelings of ecstatic devotion and he repeatedly petitioned the Lord, feeling his desire for humility and devotional service unfulfilled. Lord Caitanya replied, Listen My dear Haridsa, you are a highly elevated Vaiava. If anyone spends a day in your service and association, or you kindly speak to someone for a short time, that person certainly achieves Me. There is no doubt about this. Whoever respects and serves you, does so to Me also, for I perpetually reside within you.
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As my servitor, Your position is unique, you have therefore imprisoned Me within your heart eternally. Since you are crowned already with a faultless character, I bless you that you will always continue to worship and serve Me and My devotees without a single deviation or offence. A tumultuous sound of joy from the Vaiavas greeted Lord Caitanyas boon to Haridsa hkura. High birth, caste, fruitive activities or wealth are worthless commodities to achieve ka-prema, only the intense loving desire for Ka can bring one to His lotus feet. A Vaiava may take birth in any family, but he is always the most exalted Personality, this is the spiritual verdict. The living proof is Haridsa hkura who was born into a Muslim family, yet what he saw and spiritually perceived is rarely experienced by even the most eminent personalities like Lord Brahm. Only the most wretched sinner will judge a Vaiava by caste, race or nationality, and for so doing, he suffers the pangs of repeated birth in the lower species of life. One who hears of this pastime of the Lord and Haridsa hkura with proper faith will certainly enjoy the fruit of ka-prema. These words are not my concoction but the bold declaration of all scripture. One is sure to experience the bliss of devotional service to Lord Ka, if one lends aural reception to the transcendental activities of the pure devotees of the Supreme Lord. All glories to Haridsa hkura, a giant amongst the Vaiavas, by remembrance of him one is freed from all sinful reactions. The devotees started talking about Haridsa. Someone said, He is like Lord Brahm! Another observed, Prahlda has come again as Haridsa. Haridsa hkura was in every respect a great and unalloyed devotee; he is an eternal associate of Lord Caitanya. In their hearts, Lord Brahm and Lord iva always desire the transcendental company of rla Haridsa hkura. All the demigods feel this same urge to associate with Haridsa, and Gag dev wishes to bathe Haridsa in her waters. 145

Such is Haridsa hkuras exalted position, just seeing him relieves one from the bondage of material existence, what to speak of associating with him. Great stalwart devotees like Prahlda, who was the son of a demon, and Hanumn, who was a monkey, are considered exalted Vaiavas. Similarly, Haridsa hkura was born in a low caste nonHindu family, but is counted amongst the foremost Vaiava devotees. Haridsa along with Murri and rdhara began to weep joyful tears. While Vivambhara smiled pleasantly on them, chewing betel. Seated upon the throne, the Lord was engulfed in dazzling effulgence; an equally brilliantly shining Nitynanda stood nearby, holding the umbrella over Lord Caitanya. Smiling, Lord Caitanya looked towards Advaita crya and began to reveal his inner thoughts, Listen crya, do you not remember the night I once fed you? At the time, I had not yet advented and you were endeavouring excessively to bring Me down from My spiritual abode. You would hold discourses on the Bhagavad-gt and explain everything in terms of devotional service, there was hardly a soul who could grasp these topics. Once, when you could not understand the meaning of a certain text, which pertained to devotional service, you did not look for discrepancies and faults in the text, but gave up comfort and enjoyment wishing to acquire accurate esoteric knowledge. You were very depressed and lay back refusing to eat. I appeared before you. When you fast, it is the same for me too, whatever you offer me I accept. I cannot stand to see your slightest pain, so that night I appeared in your dreams and spoke to you. Awake, awake, crya and hear the real purport of the Gt text, this is truly its unequivocal meaning. Please get up and eat, give up your fast, as to you I will reveal the esoteric meaning. Now eat to your satisfaction and in some time everything will be clarified in dreams.
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In this way, the doubts that had arisen in Advaita cryas mind while discoursing on the Gt were cleared. Distinctly, the Lord reminded the crya of the dreams in which He had appeared to clear the doubts. He gave the crya the exact number and the precise dates of the dreams and the correct texts that had been explained in clearing the doubts. Truly, Advaita cryas devotion is glorious, how can I describe his unlimited potency and devotion? Lord Caitanya continued, I explained to you all the difficult texts with the exception of one, and that I will explain to you now. The Gt text that reads, sarvata pi-pda, which means that the Supreme Beings hands and feet are everywhere, is wrongly interpreted due to rigid partisan thinking in certain schools of philosophical thought. The real purport of this verse is that the Supreme Being pervades everything with His Omnipotent presence. The complete Gt text reads: sarvata pi-pda tat sarvato kiiro-mukham sarvata rutimal loke sarvam vtya tihati Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything. I have just revealed to you the very confidential meaning of this text, who else is there other than you who can rightly comprehend this subject matter. Advaita crya is secretly a disciple of Lord Caitanya, and Lord Caitanyas explanations are His only shelter. When Advaita crya heard this explanation, which was so dear to him, he was overcome with happiness and began to weep. He addressed the Lord saying, I am unable to say anything, it is only my great fortune and glory that You are my Lord and master. Advaita crya was merged in ecstatic bliss seeing the wonderful potency of the Lord. One who has no faith in these spiritual explanations and exchanges is certainly doomed to perish. Only those rare souls, the pure devotees of the Lord can understand the spiritual dissertations of Advaita crya, who was personally taught by Lord Caitanya.
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The instructions of the Vedas are invariably interpreted in various ways, and so Advaita cryas highly esoteric explanations were often subject to different interpretations. Who can properly grasp the deep meanings of the cryas expositions that deal with such greatly subtle spiritual matters? Undoubtedly, His words are as good as the Supreme Lords own. The cryas words are like the autumn clouds, they rain in certain areas only to leave other places dry. His words are understood by only a few fortunate souls, not everyone. Advaita crya should not be blamed for this, for everything depends on a persons piety and good fortune, which bestows the ability to understand His words. Advaita cryas main devotional duty was to serve the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, to this all the Vaiavas could testify. Those who disregard the instructions of the other Vaiava associates of Lord Caitanya with the excuse that they only follow Advaita crya cannot gain the Lords favour. Those who accept Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Lord of all Lords are the true followers of Advaita crya and thereby the crya recognizes their service. Devotional service to the crya is imperishable, yet it is rendered impotent if one does not accept Lord Caitanya as the Lord and Master of everyoneincluding Advaita crya. Rvaa was a great devotee of Lord iva, but he did not accept the Supremacy of Lord Rmacandra, who is the Lord of even iva. Lord iva was thus displeased with Rvaa, despite his devotion, and would not accept his worship or service, which was therefore useless. Hence, Rvaa and his entire race were destroyed. Lord iva does not convey to his devotees his personal feeling about their actionswhether they are good or bad. However, whoever is sufficiently intelligent will understand the desire of Lord iva within his heart. In the same way, the followers of Advaita crya, not understanding the desire of their master, claim to be His disciples but criticize Lord Caitanya. Advaita crya does not tell them anything because of His particular nature; therefore, neglecting the advice of other Vaiavas
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and the inner desire of Advaita crya, they perish. These condemned persons do not understand that Advaita cryas exalted position and His mystic perfection are all due to the mercy of Lord Caitanya. If anyone volunteers to instruct them on these matters, they become enraged and go to strike their well wisher. Little do they know that Lord Caitanyas external potency, My-dev, is exceedingly powerful and She takes efficient care of such wayward and demoniac souls. Lord Caitanya is the most beautiful Supreme Personality and Advaita crya is His eternal servitor, He is like the different jewellery and ornaments that decorate the Lord. The position of persons who do not accept this has been clearly defined in the previous verses. If, in spite of these verses, people refuse to recognize the position and inner life of Advaita crya, they are doomed. A persons elevation and progress in devotional life depends on how well he is serving Lord Caitanya, there is nothing superior to the Lords devotional service. In proportion to the mercy, he receives from Lord Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda, the devotee advances in devotional service. In this way, devotional mellows constantly increase. Lord Nitynanda inspires everyone to chant continually. Encouraging all, He implores, My dear brothers, call out, O my Gauracandra! Advaita crya is often moved to tears by devotional emotions, being engrossed in remembering Lord Caitanya and His pastimes. If, after hearing these transcendental narrations, a person is unable to develop devotional fervour and love for Lord Caitanya then contact with such a person should be avoided, for it will wither away ones faith and piety. One who understands that Advaita crya is a foremost Vaiava devotee of Lord Caitanya, and serves Him in that capacity is himself an exalted Vaiava devotee. He is thus assured of the shelter of Lord Ka eternally. Such a Vaiava is also very dear to Advaita crya; others who do not understand this relationship are despicable rejects of human society.
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Advaita crya is always extremely pleased to hear His Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu glorified as the Supreme Lord of all. Advaita crya Himself glorifies Lord Caitanya in this manner. There should be no doubt about this. Lord Caitanya revealed the real purport of the Gt text to the crya and then hid the portals of devotional life to the nondevotees. Lord Caitanya suddenly spoke out, lifting His arms, Everyone look at Me, and ask any boon you desire! All the assembled devotees bubbled over with happiness hearing the Lords words and they each asked a boon from the Lord. Advaita crya spoke first saying, My Lord, I only pray that You shower Your grace on this ignorant and fallen soul. Someone else said, My father opposes my devotional involvement, so grant me this, O Lord. May his heart be transformed and may he become a devotee. One of them prayed, Lord, please increase my faith in my guru. In this way, they asked for blessings for their dear ones, disciples, sons, wives, servants and so on. Lord Vivambhara is the benefactor of all His devotees and fulfils all their wishes. Smiling sweetly, He granted everyones boon. All the while, Mukunda was behind the curtains outside the room, unable to muster sufficient courage to appear before the Lord. Mukunda knew all the devotees intimately and was loved by all. However, no one could understand why the Lord was apparently neglecting him because whenever he sang the Lord was always eager to hear. The Lord did not call him inside, nor did he come. The devotees felt concerned for Mukunda. rvsa Paita said to the Lord, O Lord, what offence has Mukunda committed at Your lotus feet? Mukunda is favoured by You, and he is dear to all of us. Who can stop his heart from melting upon hearing Mukundas singing? He is devotionally inclined and always careful in all respects, yet without seeing any apparent fault in him, You have rejected him my Lord. If he has committed some mistake then punish him, but 150

why do You disown and push him away. Is he not Your very own servant? O Lord, invite him to see You, for he will never come in unless You call him. The Lord said, Never speak like that to Me. Do not plead to Me on that wretched persons behalf! The descriptions you have heard about pretenders, who make a show of humility but the next moment are aggressive, are in fact a correct assessment of Mukunda. None of you really know him in truth. Mukunda, sometimes, is a perfect figure of humility, approaching Me holding a straw in his teeth. However, the next moment, he comes to strike Me with a rod of iron. I cannot bear to see that pretentious wretch! Speaking eloquently in Mukundas favour, rvsa said, Who can understand the inconceivable workings of Your energies? We never noticed anything offensive in Mukundas character, and surely the shelter of Your lotus feet is witness to his innocence. Lord Caitanya commented, That spineless wretch will vociferously agree to all philosophical views to suit whatever company he is in. When he reads the Yoga Vasiha with Advaita crya, he favours the impersonal myvd philosophy. In the company of Vaiavas, he pretends to be a Vaiava, singing and dancing with perfect humility. Again, when he goes and joins with members of another sampradya, he rejects devotional service and flays the process of bhakti with aggressive criticism! One who claims that there is some process higher than devotional service, factually strikes me with an iron rod. He commits a serious offence to the path of devotional service, and so I cannot see his face. Standing outside, Mukunda heard everything and realized that he would not be allowed to see Lord Caitanya. Previously, on his gurus request, Mukunda did not accept the process of devotional service, and Lord Caitanya, through His inconceivable mystic potency, knew of this. So Mukunda, a pure devotee of the Lord, contemplated, There is no reason
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to remain alive any longer, I shall finish off this sinful body of mine. I do not know for how long I can go on. Mukunda spoke up aloud, Please hear me rvsa hkura. Tell me, will I ever see my Lord Caitanya again? He immediately broke down and wept bitterly. Mukundas condition touched the compassionate hearts of the Vaiavas. The Lord responded, Let him go through another ten million births and then he can see Me. When Mukunda heard this promise from the Lords own mouth, he was overtaken by tremendous joy and stood there drenched in tears. Repeating, I will get! I will get! Mukunda, Lord Caitanyas servitor, danced like a mad man in ecstatic love of Ka. The Lords assurance that he would see him again made him dance in ecstasy. When Lord Caitanya saw Mukunda dancing, He laughed and ordered, Bring him here immediately. The Vaiava devotees eagerly informed Mukunda to come quickly to the Lords presence, but Mukunda did not hear anything, he was completely submerged in ecstasy. Lord Caitanya said, O Mukunda, your offences are condoned. Come, see Me, and receive My blessings. The devotees went and quickly brought Mukunda in front of the Lord. Mukunda fell to the ground seeing the opulent appearance of the Lord. The Lord spoke, Get up! Get up! My dear Mukunda! All your offences have been exonerated. You lost your wealth of devotion by wrong association, but now again, by your loving devotion, you have conquered and indebted Me. When I said to you that after ten million births you would have your desire to see Me fulfilled, you had full faith in the infallibility of My words. Thus, immediately you pushed away all previous doubts and offences. You have bound me eternally in your heart with the bonds of loving devotion. You are My singer and you shall remain with Me, all this time I have been cutting jokes with you because of our intimacy. If perchance you 152

really commit millions of offences, then I do not consider them offences because you are eternally My dearly beloved associate. Your body is cent per cent imbued with loving devotion to Me, I perpetually reside upon your tongue as spiritual sound. As Mukunda heard Lord Caitanyas reassuring words, he was moved to tears. He felt apathy towards himself. Condemning himself, he said, I am so degraded. I know nothing about devotional service. How can a faithless fool like me experience the bliss of devotion just by seeing You? Duryodhana could easily see your Universal Form, whereas scholars study throughout all the scriptures to have just a glimpse of that same form. Yet, eventually, Duryodhana and his entire family were stamped out, undergoing extreme pain, because he lacked the slightest devotion to You. Therefore, without possessing the proper devotional attitude, how can I experience bliss even if I see You, my Lord? On the request of Rukmi Dev, You went to rescue Her from the over protection of many powerful kings who saw You approach mounted on Your bird carrier Garua. They saw Your noble kingly bearing and effulgent form. Your devotees like Lord Brahm meditate with great desire to see this effulgent form just as You appeared in that Vidarbha kingdom. As You were kidnapping Rukmi Dev, the kings saw You and put up a fight. However, they were all slain, simply because they had no devotion for You. When you appeared in the form of Varha, the boar, You picked up the earth between Your tusks from the waters of the Garbhodaka Ocean, and the demon Hirayka saw this extraordinarily brilliant form. The Demigods constantly pray to see this wonderful form. Nevertheless, You killed Hirayka because he was a demon who had no love or devotion to You. His brother, Hirayakaipu, saw Your terrible and mighty form of half man half lion, which is rarely seen by anyone and whose breast is the resting place of Mother Lakm, Your eternal consort. Hirayakaipu saw this wonderful form of Narasiha, unparalleled in the entire creation,
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but with ease, his life was squashed by You because he was a gross materialist, a non-devotee. O Lord, I have no devotional feelings, yet strangely I am still alive, my head does not roll down due to grievous sins. Kubj, the hunchback maidservant of Mathur, the wives of the sacrificial Brahmin priests of Vndvana, the noble ladies of the Mathur palace, the garland maker Sudm; what was their practice before they saw You for the first time? Yet, all of them were elevated to the blissful state of loving devotional service to You. However, at the same time, Kasa, the King of Mathur, saw You, but was killed. I do not possess any devotion to you my Lord, but still You keep me. r Ananta ea, that extremely powerful personality, supports this immense cosmic creation with great pleasure only because of his devotion to You. The entire universe sits upon just one of His many hundreds of hoods just like an insignificant drop of water, while he is absorbed in the ecstatic pastime of glorifying You. Although He Himself is without support or foundation, He is the support and sustainer of everyone. He can perform such extraordinary feats simply due to the potency of devotional service to You. Yet, I am so fallen and impious that even such wonderful devotional fervour I cannot appreciate, I am destined for eternal degradation. Lord iva, akara, became the husband of Gaur, Durg (Mah-my), by dint of his devotional service. Nrada Muni rose to the platform of an eternal associate of the Lord through loving devotion. Vysadeva complied the entire Vedic literature, yet he was feeling dissatisfied deep in his heart. Previously, You had revealed to him, in precise form, the essence of the highest spiritual knowledge, the science of devotion, but he was unable to grasp the full import because of slight impurities of the mind. Then, again, through Nrada Muni, You spoke to him that same science of devotional service. In this way, he felt revived and with happiness went on to perfect his human birth.
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I am worse than an insect, yet I am not moved by such devotion. O Lord, how can I ask to see You? Mukunda began to weep and raising his arms up in the air, his body trembled as he released heavy sighs in ecstatic devotional emotion. Mukunda is a pure devotee, with a simple and spontaneous love of the Lord, how can I describe sufficiently the extent of his glories. He is counted amongst the most intimate eternal associates of the Lord. Lord Vivambhara was moved by His devotees anguish and feelings. He said, Mukunda! Your devotional service is very dear to Me. Wherever and whenever you sing, I will be present there. All that you have said is true. One cannot understand Me, as I am, just by seeing Me; one can only realize My true self through the eyes of loving devotion. Truly, I say to you, for you are very dear to Me, that the instructions I have given in the Vedic literature about the different rites and duties of everyone and their concomitant results cannot be changed by anyone. I, alone, can do as I please and supersede these rites and results, because I have the full authority to do so. I have made you speak the truth about devotional service, nothing is of any value if it is devoid of My devotional service. It pains Me grievously if someone is against My devotional service, and due to My sufferings such an atheist is deprived of all happiness, even if he sees Me. Demon King Kasas washer man also saw Me, I asked him for help, but he refused. This was very unfortunate for him because he was deprived of the opportunity to render devotional service. He had no attraction for Me. He had performed very severe austerities and penances for many, many lifetimes just to see Me. This piety gave him the good fortune to see Me. Yet, he could not experience the exhilaration of seeing Me due to lack of devotion. I do not show any mercy to non-devotees and even if they see Me, they are deprived of the transcendental result, eternal happiness. Ones devotion is drained if one is offensive to the authorized process of devotional service. In the absence of devotion, seeing Me is fruitless.
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Whatever you have said is actually what I wanted to say. In fact, why should any other topic grace your mouth? I shall propagate the process of devotional service everywhere, this I have said to you. I will do this through your voice, through your songs. All the Vaiavas hearts will melt with ecstatic joy hearing your songs. Just as you are very dear to Me, you will also be so amongst all My devotees, the Vaiavas. Wherever I descend in any incarnation, you will also be present as My singer. As the Lord showered blessings and boons on Mukunda, the Vaiava assembly resounded with great jubilation. Devotees clasped their hands and exuberantly sang out, Glory to Lord Jaganntha! Glorify the Lord! Whoever hears these narrations about Mukunda receiving the Lords special mercy is favoured by the Lord to become an associate of Mukunda as a singer. All the topics on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya are highly confidential subjects, undisclosed in the Vedas. Only the intelligent class of men can appreciate these topics and not the foolish. Those who relish these pastimes will certainly be able to see Lord Caitanya face to face. So it continued, each Vaiava, as he so desired, had his wish fulfilled by the Lord. rvsa Paita is a very great and exalted personality so all these pastimes took place in his own house. The Lord appeared to each devotee individually as a different incarnation according to that devotees attachment to a particular incarnation of the Lord. All these manifestations were extraordinary and super excellent, Lord Caitanya performed His pastimes in this manner. Everyday, the Lord revealed His supra-mundane pastimes and all the assembled Vaiavas along with their wives saw these extraordinary happenings. One who surrenders his body and mind and becomes the Lords servitor can perceive these transcendental activities. In Navadvpa, there was no dearth of men who were in the renounced order of sannysa, who were mental spectators, who were studying the scriptures, who were 156

performing severe penances, and who were pursuing yogic practices. Most of them had been studying the Gt and Bhgavatam for many years and some of them were even giving lessons to others upon these scriptures, yet not one of them was willing to give up their own ways, practices, and religious views. Some undertook strict vows to remain celibate throughout life and to never accept any service from others. In this way, they lead lives of extreme hardship and difficulty. However, the intelligence of these practitioners was covered over by false ego to such an extent that none of them could perceive the descent of Vaikuha to rvsa Paitas residence and the resultant spiritual bliss emanating from there. That which was seen and experienced by even the servants and maidservants in rvsa Paitas house was unknown even to the scholars well versed in all the scriptures. The wonderful boon Murri Guptas servants received went unnoticed by those who had shaved their heads to exhibit renunciation. Lord Caitanya can be captivated by devotion alone, and not with wealth, high birth, erudition or any such mundane means. One may be crowned with wonderful accomplishments, yet he is unable to attract mercy of Lord Caitanya, for the Lord submits only to unalloyed devotion, as is clearly declared in the Vedas. Therefore, in Navadvpa, all the great scholars and pundits were unaware of these extraordinary happenings. Those who are sinful are like lakes without water, where beauty is absent. How otherwise can the living beings be deprived of the spiritual bliss that comes from experiencing these pastimes? These supramundane eternal pastimes of the Lord are continuously existing and without cessation. The Vedas describe them as sometimes manifest and at other times unmanifest. Lord Caitanyas pastimes are being performed even now. Whomever the Lord blesses can see, others cannot. The Lord appeared to His different devotees in the particular incarnation the devotees worshiped Him. He personally taught them
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about His Supreme Absolute position, that He is the source of everyone and everything. Later, this knowledge was then transmitted to posterity. The Lord said, In every birth, you will receive my association, your servants and disciples will thus also see My pastimes through you. The Lord then distributed the garlands that graced His breast, and all were blessed to receive the chewed remnants of the Lords betel. The devotees were caught up in the waves of ecstatic joy as they munched on remnants of the radiant moon-like Lord. The remnants of the Lords foodstuffs went to the pious and fortunate Nrya. The Lord personally gave this innocent little niece of rvsa Paita (his brothers daughter) His own remnants. She ate the Lords remnants with great joy and relish. The Vaiavas blessed her saying that she was most fortunate since she could directly serve the Supreme Lord, Nryaa, at such a young age. After Nrya had eaten, Lord Caitanya said, Nrya, let Me hear you cry for Ka in great ecstasy! Such is the influence of Lord Caitanyas words that she immediately called out Ka! Ka! and began to weep. Thus, for all time, this pastime became famous amongst the Vaiavas and the little girl became renown as, Nrya, who ate Lord Caitanyas remnants. As the devotees were beckoned forward by the Lord, they hastened to His presence. All these narrated pastimes of r Caitanya are perfectly transcendental. If one does not have faith in them, then his future is bleak and dark. Lord Caitanya is very close and dear to Advaita crya; this relationship makes Advaita crya glorious. Lord Nitynanda is very close and dear to Lord Caitanya, these glories of Lord Caitanya are sung in all the Vedic literatures. If one does not recognize Lord Nitynandas identity as a devotee of Lord Caitanya, one may be respected by the whole world, but he is worth no more than a straw to the learned Vaiava assembly.
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Lord Nitynanda introduces Himself saying, I am Lord Caitanyas servant! He is always in this mood of a servitor. Only by His mercy, one develops love for Lord Caitanya. All detriments in spiritual life are overcome by worshiping Lord Nitynanda. The greatest feeling I always cherish in my heart is that Lord Caitanya is the Lord of my Lord. O Lord Caitanya! Kindly offer me the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nitynanda, who as Ananta ea is holding this universe. I am only able to sing the glorious life and pastimes of Lord Caitanya out of my love and attachment for Lord Balarma. My Lord Balarma always desires the best for the world. Nitynanda knows no other designation other than being Caitanyas servant and only through serving Nitynanda is one eligible to become a devotee of r Caitanya. As only by Lord Nitynandas grace I can know Lord Caitanya in truth, similarly to fully comprehend the truth about devotional service one must receive the blessing of Lord Nitynanda. Lord Nitynanda is very dear to all the Vaiava devotees and everyone can receive from Lord Nitynanda entry into the path of devotional service. Somehow, if by chance someone disregards Lord Nitynanda then Lord Caitanya Himself condemns him to eternal suffering. The full glory of Lord Nitynanda is very rarely known, even the great yogi and exalted Vaiava Lord iva does not fully know His unlimited potencies. One who is not offensive and critical of others and who always chants Kas Holy Name will soon be able to captivate with his love the uncontrollable and invisible Lord Caitanya. The scriptures instruct that spiritual goals are unattainable through criticism of others; the religion expounded by the Bhgavatam is to respect everyone. These narrations of the Madhya-khaa are like nectar, but to an atheist they taste bitter. If one has a bitter taste eating sweets, then he is truly unfortunate and sick and that really does not change the taste of sweets to one of bitterness. Similarly, if one cannot relish the nectarine pastimes of Lord Caitanya then that is his great misfortune.
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A person, even though in the renounced order of sannysa, will enter into a countless cycle of births in total ignorance, if he is offensive to Lord Caitanya; whereas, if even a bird sings the name of Lord Caitanya, even without proper spiritual knowledge, it will surely enter the Lords eternal abode. All glory to Lord Gauracandra, the life of Lord Nitynanda, kindly make Your beloved Lord Nitynanda my life and soul. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of all Your associates with whom You performed so many pleasurable pastimes. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song to their lotus feet.
11. The Pastimes of r Nitynanda
O Lord Gaurga, O most precious treasure, O unlimited ocean of ka-prema, where do you come from? You are the Lord and maintainer of the helpless, the true friend of the downtrodden. All glory to You Lord Vivambhara, the most powerful and regal of the brhmaas! Victory to all Your associates who are like honeybees attracted to the nectar of Your lotus feet. You are as dear to Paramnanda Pur as his own life, and You are the greatest wealth in the possession of Svarpa Dmodara. You are very dear to rla Rpa Gosvm and rla Santana Gosvm, and the hearts of Jagada and Gopntha. Lord Vivambhara continued to perform His pastimes in Navadvpa, unknown to every eye. The blessed rvsa Paita sat in his own house situated in the central island of Navadvpa and saw the endless and
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marvellous pastimes of the Lord. He served the Lord with pure love and saw the Mah-praka Ll pastime along with the other Vaiavas. Lord Nitynanda was residing in the house of rvsa Paita, whom he loved and respected as His father. Lord Nitynanda was continually manifesting the mood of a little child and often drank the breast milk of Mlin, the wife of rvsa. Mlins breasts had long dried up, but upon Nitynandas touch, milk again flowed from her breast. She was amazed at such miraculous happenings. Caitanya Mahprabhu ordered her no to reveal this to anyone and everyday she saw Nitynandas child-like behaviour. Vivambhara said to Nitynanda, Listen Nitynanda, to avoid arguments and fights with anyone, do not behave recklessly in rvsas house. Nitynanda objected saying, Ka! You can never see Me acting recklessly. You cannot find another person as well behaved as I am. Vivambhara replied, I know You only too well. Nitynanda said, Let Me hear You point out my mistakes and ill behaviour. Smiling, Caitanya said, Oh! You want to know Your mistakes? You throw showers of rice in every room. Nitynanda countered, This is only the work of a madman and such mischief must be stopped. You want to falsely blame Me and not give Me any food to eat! If You want to eat everything by Yourself that is alright with Me, but why do you defame Me to everyone? Caitanya replied, I feel embarrassed and must rectify such misconduct. So I am now trying to correct You. Nitynanda smiled and said, That is very good! You must always teach Me whenever You see Me misbehaving. You are correct in assuming that I am the culprit. He then broke into peals of laughter.
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Nitynanda became immersed in a great ocean of happiness and became oblivious to all. Taking off His cloth, He tied it around his head, standing naked before all. He pranced about in great leaps bubbling with laughter, sometimes staggering like a drunken man. Gaddhara Paita, rvsa Paita and Haridsa beheld this sight of the Lords special mercy for it was meant to teach a lesson to the whole world. Vivambhara held Nitynanda and said, What are you doing? Such behaviour is inappropriate in a householders house. You just told Me that You are not mad, however the next moment You have contradicted Your own words. What reaction can words have upon one who is oblivious of the external world? Nitynanda was floating on the waves of ecstasy. Vivambhara Himself had to dress Nitynanda Prabhu. Such are His inconceivable activities. Nitynanda, like a maddened lion, was unaware of everything and Caitanyas words fell on deaf ears. Nitynanda would not even eat with His own hands, so Mlin had to feed Him. Mlin, the chaste and righteous wife of rvsa Paita could sense Nitynandas inner feelings and so she served Him like a mother to a son. One day, a crow stole a small bell metal container and flew away out of sight, upsetting Mlin dev. The crow suddenly returned, but without the container. Mlin dev could well guess her husbands reaction if he were to see that the ghee vessel of Ka was missing; his temper was nothing short of a thunderstorm. She felt helpless and began to weep. Just then, Nitynanda came by and saw the tears streaking down Mlin devs eyes. Smiling, he asked, Why are you crying? Tell me the cause of your distress? I will take care of everything.
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Mlin dev tearfully replied, O listen Gosi, a crow flew away with the ghee vessel, who knows where. Nitynanda assured her, Mother, kindly stop weeping and worrying. I will surely get Your vessel back. The Lord spoke to the crow smiling pleasantly, O crow, go and bring back the vessel quickly. Nitynanda resides in everyones heart. Who has the power to disobey His orders? The crow immediately flew off, followed by the distraught eyes of Mlin dev. Returning soon with the vessel in its beak, the crow put it near Mlin dev. From this incident, Mlin dev could very well understand the extraordinary potency of Nitynanda. Swooning with ecstasy, she began offering prayers to the Lord, For He who can bring back to life, from the custody of Yamarja, the dead son of His guru and for He who maintains this cosmic manifestation, what is so wonderful in bringing back a small vessel from a crow? Upon His head rests the unlimited creation and He does not even feel its weight whilst performing His pastimes. Just chanting His name destroys the endless ocean of nescience. To influence a crow to return a small vessel it had stolen is not an extraordinary deed for Him. In the past, as Lakmaa, You were guarding St Dev while living in the forest, yet you only looked at her feet and no other part of her body. Your powerful arrows later defeated and exterminated the entire demon family of Rvaa, and so winning back this small vessel is indeed an insignificant deed. At whose lotus feet the River Yamun dev, begged forgiveness and offered chosen prayers in glorification, and for He, who has the potency to maintain the fourteen worlds, what marvel is it for Him to get back a small vessel from a crow? Yet, none of Your activities can be diminished since all of Your activities, however easy and small they may seem, are transcendental and the Absolute Truth. This is the clear verdict of the Vedas. Nitynanda smiled as He listened to her prayers and remarked in His child-like manner, I want to eat. Whenever Mlin dev saw
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Nitynanda, milk would ooze from her breasts out of spiritual parental love and Nitynanda would fulfil her spiritual desires by suckling upon her breast like a small child. These are some of the inconceivable pastimes of Nitynanda. My capacity to describe them is limited; fortunately, the pastimes of the Lord are already widely known all over the world. His activities are extraordinary and difficult to understand, those who know Him in truth can easily accept all His pastimes, for Nitynanda is always immersed in ecstasy. He moves freely about Nadia, as does the brilliant sun across the azure vault. A mystic yogi or a learned scholar or anybody may think and say anything about Nitynanda, people may comment that Nitynanda is not a close associate of Caitanya, I do not care to hear about any such remarks, I only pray that His lotus feet remain imprinted in the depths of my heart. In spite of hearing of His glory, many atheists criticize Nitynanda. I kick them on the head, hoping for the Lords mercy upon them. Nitynanda is so lost in His transcendental pastimes in rvsa Paitas house that Lord Gaurga has to look after Him. One day, r Caitanya was sitting in His house together with his wife, Viupriy dev, whose exquisite beauty is matched only by Lakm Dev. She prepared betel pan for the Lord and He accepted them, smiling with pleasure. In this way, They spent days and nights together lost in the pleasure of each others company. Mother acs heart exulted to heights of unknown joy as she saw the happy couple. Lord Caitanya knew the reason for His mothers exhilaration and so He spent much time with His wife. Around this time Nitynanda, who was always immersed in bliss, came to Caitanyas house in a restless mood. He stood before everyone, naked like an innocent child, not feeling any shame. Caitanya enquired, Nitynanda, why are You without clothes?
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Nitynanda replied with a smile, It is so, it is so! Caitanya requested, Nitynanda wear your clothes. He replied, Today I shall leave. Caitanya insisted, Why? Niti responded, I cannot eat anymore. Caitanya then said, When I say something to you, why do you answer with a completely different subject? Niti replied, I want all round attention. Angrily Lord Caitanya said, This is not my fault! Niti replied, My Lord, acdev is not here. Caitanya pleaded, Be merciful and wear your clothes! Nitynanda replied, I will eat. Like this, Nitynanda is always in the mood of serving r Caitanya. While one hears the other speaks, and Nitynanda wanders all over Nadia laughing joyfully. Lord Caitanya got up and personally dressed Niti whilst Niti continued chuckling. acdev smiled seeing Nitynandas activities and felt motherly affection towards him, thinking of Vivarpa. Nitynandas words strongly reminded her of her older son and sometimes Nitynanda even looked like him. Unknown to anyone Mother ac felt equal love for both Nitynanda and Vivambhara. When Nitynanda came out of his trance, He dressed Himself up. acdev gave him five milk cakes to eat. Niti put one of the sweets in His mouth and threw the other four sweets far away. acdev raised alarm saying, Alas, alas, why are you throwing them away?
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Nitynanda replied, Why did you put all the sweets in one place? acdev said, I do not have anything more, what will you eat now? Nitynanda answered, Ask for it, and it will be certainly there. acdev went inside the storeroom only to be greeted by a wonderful surprise. She saw that the four sweets thrown away by Niti were there. She thought out aloud, Where were the sweet cakes thrown and how could they be here now? acdev was amazed and amused. She removed the dust particles from the sweet cakes and came to Nitynanda. She found Him eating lhus, and enquired, From where did you get those lhus? Lord Nitynanda replied, I saw you were disappointed when I threw the sweet cakes away so I brought them back. Seeing these miracles, acdev considered in her mind, Who can know the extraordinary qualities of Nitynanda Prabhu? To Nitynanda Prabhu, she said, Nitynanda why do you bewilder me in this manner? I know very well that You are the Supreme Lord, please therefore remove your illusory potency from me. Lord Nitynanda exhibiting the mood of a young boy went running after acdev, trying to touch her feet as she tried desperately to escape Him. Such are the super excellent activities of Lord Nitynanda. They bring pleasure to the pious devotees, but to the envious, they bring pain. Those envious and sinful wretches who criticize Nitynanda become so contaminated that even Gag dev, who purifies everything, runs away from them. Nitynanda is the Supreme Lord of all the Vaiavas and as Ananta ea; He holds the universe upon His hood. Although I have no attachment for Nitynanda and Caitanya, I pray that the treasure of the lotus feet of Nitynanda be eternally firmly situated in the innermost recesses of my heart. This is my earnest desire for which I beg at the feet of all Vaiavas: Let Nitynanda Prabhu, Lord Balarma be my Supreme Lord and Master!
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r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song at their lotus feet.
12. The Wonders of r Nitynanda
All glory to Vivambhara the Lord and master of all the Vaiavas, please give us devotional service unto You and make us Your surrendered devotees! Nitynanda performed many wonderful pastimes with r Caitanya in Navadvpa. Nitynanda did innumerable extraordinary deeds engrossed in the ecstasy of love of Ka, like a little boy He went about His work with simple enthusiasm. He spoke always very sweetly to all the devotees He met and danced laughed and sang to Himself in bliss. Sometimes, moved to an outburst of ecstasy, He roared loudly astonishing one and all. He sometimes jumped and swam in the crocodile infested, swelling, hissing monsoon waters of the Gag, fearless and carefree. Everyone gasped with consternation, but Nitynanda swam about in the waters laughing and splashing. He swam about in the mood of Ananta ea feeling completely at home in the waters of the Gag, while the spectator devotees held their breath in anxiety. At times, Nitynanda became so surcharged with ecstasy in love of Ka that He went into an unconscious trance lasting three to four days. These are some of the inconceivable pastimes of the Lord, they are endless and eternal and I am incapable of describing them all. One day, r Caitanya was sitting alone when Nitynanda came to Him completely naked chuckling like a child. His eyes and pure face were twinkling and tears of limitless joy cascaded down His cheeks. He went
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about repeating this sentence like loud peals of thunder, My Lord and master is Nimi Paita of Nadia. r Caitanya smiled, amused at the sight of Nitynandas large, brilliant, beautifully formed and completely bare frame. Hastily, r Caitanya removed the cloth from His own head and wrapped it around Niti, but Niti continued to chuckle as if nothing had happened. Caitanya then smeared perfume on His body, decorating Him with a flower garland and began to glorify Nitynanda, Your name is Nitynanda and so also Your form and demeanour are always and eternally blissful. You are Nitynanda now as You were Balarma before. No one can interrupt the ecstatic and unlimited joy You experience, as Your name suggests, in everything You do whether it be walking, eating, or otherwise. Ordinary men cannot appreciate Your transcendental potencies. You are always to be found where Lord Ka is present. Ka is eternal and is the Absolute Truth and so are You since You are His eternal associate. Nitynanda is perpetually relishing the nectar of loving devotion to r Caitanya, all His words and deeds are fulfilling Caitanyas innermost desire. r Caitanya said to Him, For a long time, I have had one unfulfilled desire, I would like to have Your kaupna, loin cloth dress. Saying this, Caitanya went and brought a kaupna of Nitynanda Prabhu, and then tore it to many long strips. The Lord then distributed, one by one, these strips to the assembled Vaiavas, telling them, Place them upon your heads, these are most precious worshipable objects, even to Lord iva, the king of the yogis. What to speak of others? One attains the exalted position of becoming a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord only by Nitynandas grace. All of you should know that He is the embodiment of Lord Kas full transcendental potencies. r Nitynanda is identical to and is the immediate expansion of r Ka. He is an eternal associate, friend and brother to Ka; He expands Himself as Kas bed, ornaments and other such 168

paraphernalia. His character and pastimes are a mystery even in the Vedic literatures, although He is everyones maintainer, protector and friend. All His activities are full of devotional nectar to r Ka and it is easy to attain the highest perfection of love of Ka by serving Him. Therefore, all of you respectfully place these strips from His kaupna upon Your heads. Take them home and worship them with great care and regard. Following r Caitanyas instruction, the Vaiavas wrapped the kaupna strips lovingly around their heads. Again r Caitanya spoke, Listen, all devotees! Now drink the water that has washed the lotus feet of Nitynanda, you will immediately imbibe unfaltering faith in r Kas devotional service, of this there is no doubt. Having received r Caitanyas instructions, the devotees washed r Nitynandas lotus feet and drank the water, they drank as much as possible, five times, ten times and more. Nitynanda, who throughout the entire episode was engrossed within Himself, remained smiling benignly. r Caitanya sat down and began to distribute this water, pda-udaka, with the utmost pleasure. The devotees drank and became intoxicated, chanting, Hari! Hari! Each devotees expressed his joy, one said, Today was the fulfilment of my life! Another said, All the bonds of my material entanglement were severed today! Another commented, Today I feel I have become a servant of r Ka! Still another voice said, This water is so relishable, its sweet taste still lingers in my mouth! The water was so unique that immediately upon drinking it everyone became spiritually excited. Some danced, some began to sing, others started rolling on the ground, and still others could not stop roaring out aloud in joy. Just then, a jubilant krtana started up, some devotees sang songs of Ka and others began to dance. In a moment, r Caitanya rose up and 169

letting out a thunderous cry joined in the dance. Meanwhile, Nitynanda Prabhu also stood up and started dancing. Unable to contain their joy, the devotees encircled both of their Lordships and continued their ecstatic dancing and jostling. They were intoxicated with joy falling on each other. They played little games, touching one anothers feet and smearing their heads with the dust. Some hung on to the neck of another, sobbing happily. They all mingled happily, forgetting any mood of reverence, the Lord and His servants all danced together. r Caitanya and r Nitynanda embraced each other every so often and danced with blissful gestures. Mother Earth trembled under the rhythmic dancing of Nitynanda and the whole world resounded with, Hari! Hari! Drowned in the nectarine ocean of ka-prema, Gaura and Niti, the Lords of Vaikuha, danced in ecstasy with their servitors. All these pastimes are eternal, they simply became manifest at a certain time and place and again became unmanifest. This is clearly explained in the Vedas. After dancing the whole day, Lord Caitanya finally sat down with all His devotees. He clapped thrice loudly and then spoke benignly, Whoever worships Nitynanda in loving devotion loves Me also. His lotus feet are worshiped by Lord iva and Lord Balarma, hence always offer your love and devotion to Him. If anyone is critical of Him or dislikes Him, then even if that person is a devotee he is rejected by Me. Whosoever has even so much as received a slight touch of r Nitynanda, Lord Ka will never forsake him. r Caitanyas words brought resounding applause from all the devotees. Whosoever hears these transcendental narrations with faith and devotion becomes protected and maintained by Lord Caitanya. Such activities of r Nitynanda Prabhu are fully understood by only those who are His confidential associates and the eternal associates of Lord Caitanya. 170

r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song at Their lotus feet.
13. The Deliverance of Jagi and Mdhi
I offer my humble obeisances at the lotus feet of r Caitanya and r Nitynanda, whose elongated arms reach down to their knees. Their complexions are as brilliant as molten gold. They have initiated the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Ka. They have exquisite elongated lotus petal eyes. They are the maintainers of the entire Universe, the topmost brhmaas, protectors of the religious principles of the age, the well wishers of every living entity, and the embodiments of mercy and magnanimity. All glories to r Gaurasundara! All glory to r Nitynanda who is served by everyone! r Caitanya is always performing His pastimes in Navadvpa, but they are not visible to every eye. At this time, the ordinary people of Navadvpa continued to see the Lord as Nimi Paita; any change in the Lords activities or character was imperceptible to them. However, the merciful Lord reveals Himself to the fortunate devotees according to their realizations in devotional service. He hides Himself to the outside world of materialists. One day, the Lord suddenly expressed a certain feeling to Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura, Listen Nitynanda and Haridsa, travel everywhere and tell people about My teachings. Go to every house and beg everyone of this: Chant Kas name, worship Him and cultivate the science of Ka consciousness. Just repeat this only and make them chant only Kas name. At the end of the day, come and give Me your reports. Those who do not comply to your requests, I will come personally and cut them to pieces with My Sudarana chakra. 171

The Vaiavas were very amused to hear the Lords orders and there was no question of anyone trying to change any of it. Considering that Nitynanda has accepted these orders with utmost respect, anyone who disregards them is demented. If someone only serves Advaita crya, but does not worship r Caitanya, Advaita crya Himself will destroy him. Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura, the two Lords, were on their way in a blissful mood with r Caitanyas order as their prime inspiration. They visited every house, going all over Nadia and requested all, Chant the Holy Names of Ka and worship Him, He is everyones shelter, friend and most treasured wealth, practice Ka consciousness with undivided intent. Wearing the robes of renunciates, they approached the householders, many of whom invited them in for food, but they only replied, I only beg of you to chant Ka, worship Him, and cultivate devotional service. This is all they repeated and went on their way. The pious received their instructions well with faith and being impressed by their effulgent figures, they replied happily to them expressing their pleasure, I will do, I will do. Someone else said, You two have mental aberrations due to the wrong advice of others. You have become mad because of bad company. Why have you come to infect us with your madness? Good and healthy persons have gone mad because of Nimi Paitas bad influence. Those who were disallowed entry into rvsa Paitas house to see Lord Caitanya dance during the krtanas would react insolently to this saintly pair. They shouted, Beat them! Beat them! Still others said, Maybe these two are the informers of dacoits and under their present pretext and garb they are collecting information. Why should saintly men act in this manner? If they come this way again I will hand them over to the law.
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These comments only amused Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura, they did not feel hurt or daunted. They simply continued to preach r Caitanyas message everyday and upon returning described everything to r Caitanya. One day, they came across two thoroughly intoxicated drunkards, giant in size and looking like the worst kind of pirates. Their tales of wicked acts were unending and there is not a sin that they had not committed. Although born in brhmaa families, they consumed liquor and beef, robbed, stole and burnt other persons houses. They disobeyed the court injunctions against them and always avoided appearing before the officers of law. All day, they engaged in their wicked activities. The two drunks rolled about on the public streets and when one caught the other unawares, he pounded him with his fists. People watched this fun always keeping a distance. Just then, Nitynanda and Haridsa arrived there. The two drunks sometimes embraced each other affectionately, and the next moment they would pull each others hair. They used the most filthy and abusive language upon each other. They ran the good name of the brhmaa class in Navadvpa to the ground. Intoxication can ruin the life and character of anyone. Although they had committed every conceivable sin, they were still free from offence against Vaiavas. They were just always intoxicated and had had no opportunity to criticize Vaiavas. Such company, where Vaiavas are offended, may consist of highly pious persons, however, still all their good fortune will be diminished by vaiava-apardha. If even an assembly of renunciates and sannyss offends Vaiavas, such an assembly is more irreligious than a group of drunkards. For the drunkards there is still a chance for salvation, but for those who are critical of Vaiavas there is no hope of liberation. In spite of studying the scriptures, such persons may not become purified and, further, if such persons criticize Nitynanda then they are doomed.
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The two drunks were still very much intoxicated when Nitynanda and Haridsa saw them from a distance. Nitynanda turned to one of the crowd in the street and asked, Who are these two men, why do they act like this? They replied, Gosi, they are brhmaas with very good and noble parents from a very good and aristocratic family. Their family dates back many generations in Navadvpa and has a spotless reputation. Nevertheless, these two are the black sheep of their family and from their beginnings, they have engaged in all sorts of sinful activities. Seeing their character, their family and society have ostracized them and from that time on they have lived independently as outcasts in the company of other drunkards. They terrorize all the residents of Navadvpa. All fear that they may be the next target of their arson and looting. Everyone knows that they are capable of everything and anything. When Nitynanda heard these facts about the two scoundrels, His heart melted. He immediately felt great compassion for them and began to consider how He could save them. He thought, r Caitanya incarnated only to liberate and save the most fallen souls, who is more degraded than these two? The Lord has appeared hiding His real identity, the ordinary folks are unaware of this and they foolishly deride Him. If My Lord is merciful to these two and saves them then the entire world will acknowledge His Supreme potency. I, Nitynanda, can prove to be a real servant of r Caitanya only when I persuade My Lord to awaken in these two their original Ka consciousness. They are so drunk now that they are oblivious of everything even themselves. If they could become similarly engrossed in chanting the names of Ka and could cry My Lords name, then My preaching and travelling would be successful. If the shadow of these two sinners as much as falls on them, out of fear, people now bathe in the Gag with their clothes on. If, by the mercy of 174

r Caitanya, I could purify and reverse their present condition, then, when people saw them again they would feel as clean as if having taken a bath in the Gag. Then only, will I become truly worthy of My name. r Nitynandas glory and mercy is unfathomable, He has advented only to save the most fallen souls. After thinking so to Himself, He expressed His ideas to Haridsa hkura, How rotten they are! Although born in a brhmaa family they are so debauched. There is no way they can escape the worst kind of hellish punishment. The Muslim guards, who whipped You almost to death, were forgiven by You. So now, in the case of these two, if you are compassionate to them, then certainly they can be saved. The Lord will certainly agree if you plead to Him on their behalf. The Lord Himself has said that He cannot refuse you, Haridsa. Let the whole world see the magnanimity of our Lord, that He is the saviour of even these two. Just as the Bhgavatam sings about the liberation of Ajmila, let all the three worlds witness something just as unique! Haridsa hkura is all too familiar with Nitynandas nature, so he now considered that these two sinners were as good as saved. Haridsa said, Listen My Lord. Your desire is certainly also the Lords desire. You deceive me by saying I can speak to the Lord because I am an animal and I need to be deceived. You are doing this repeatedly only to teach me of my lowly position. Smiling benevolently, Nitynanda embraced Haridsa and spoke softly to him, Let us repeat to these drunks the Lords message for which purpose we are roaming the streets. The Lord has instructed us to tell everyone, and especially the most degraded persons, to chant Kas name. Our duty is simply to repeat His message, whether they follow or not is dependent upon the Lord. Having decided, Nitynanda and Haridsa walked together towards the two drunks. The pious and saintly persons nearby tried to dissuade them, Do not venture near them, if they catch you then you might even lose
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your life! We live in fear of these two, how do you muster up the courage to approach them? You cannot expect them to understand the holy position of a sannys. These two murder brhmaas and slaughter cows. Undeterred and joyously, both continued walking towards the sinners chanting Kas name. When they were close enough for them to hear r Caitanyas message, they called out, Chant Kas name, worship Him, for the Lord is as dear to you as a mother and father. He is the most wonderful treasure of the heart. He has appeared in His incarnation only for your sake, so give up all your sinful activities and surrender to such a merciful Lord! Hearing voices, the two drunks lifted their heads, their eyes bloodshot with rage. Understanding that the voices belonged to the sannyss, they cried out in anger, Catch them! Catch them! and prepared to grab them. Haridsa and Nitynanda hastily retreated upon being chased by the two yelling drunks, whose cries were nasty and fearsome to the two sannyss. The crowd started speaking, We warned them before, but they would not heed us and so now they find themselves in a fearful situation. However, inside themselves, the atheistic persons derived pleasure out of this and maliciously thought, These charlatans are being properly punished by Lord Nryaa. The pious brhmaa people cried out, O Lord Ka! Save them! Save them! All fled the place in fear. The two rogues were now chasing the two saints and although they cried out, Catch them! Catch them! they were still not near them. Nitynanda said, My dear Vaiava, Haridsa, we have got ourselves into a fine mess, we can call ourselves lucky if we come out of this alive! hkura Haridsa replied, O Lord, what is the use of talking, acting on Your advice we now face unnatural or violent death. On account of You, we have given instructions on the Holy Name of Ka to these two faithless drunkards and now we are earning our due reaction and punishment: death!
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Speaking in this manner, Lord Nitynanda and Haridsa continued to run laughing gleefully, while the two rogues chased after them, hurling loud abuse. The drunks bodies were ugly and fat, so movement was difficult; yet, they continued to run after Haridsa and Nitynanda shouting, O brothers, where do you think you can go? How will you escape Jagi and Mdhi today? You seem to not know that Jagi and Mdhi move about in this area, so stay a while and get acquainted with this place nicely. These words further spurred on Haridsa and Nitynanda and they kept chanting, Save us Ka! Save us Ka! O Govinda! Haridsa said to Nitynanda, Lord Ka saved me sometime back from the cruel hands of my Muslim tormentors, but today due to my companions restless nature and lack of mature intelligence I am about to face my final end. Lord Nitynanda replied, You are incorrect, this restlessness is not My real nature, it is manifesting in this manner due to the spiritual ecstasies of your master, r Caitanya. Although He is a brhmaa, He is relaying orders like some king! By His orders, we go from door to door, although I have never heard of anyone else giving such kind of orders. In the process of executing His order, our only remuneration is harsh abusive words and false accusations by the people. If we do not carry out His orders then we are finished and if we do then this present dilemma is our answer. As for blaming someone for all this, you single Me out, but in fact your master has also a share in this! The two carried on their verbal mock fight with each other with great pleasure whilst still being chased by the two drunken rogues. Running, they went in the direction of rvsa Paitas house and the two rogues were left behind to run around in circles confused by intoxication. The two rogues were confounded looking in all directions. They had no idea where the two saints had gone; they just gave up the chase and went about shuffling.
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Nitynanda and Haridsa after a little rest turned back to check if the rogues were still chasing them. They got up, embraced each other in laughter, and went to see r Caitanya. They found Lord Caitanya sitting amidst all the Vaiavas. His exquisite beauty flowed from every part of His transcendental form. His eyes were like two fully bloomed lotuses; His beauty caused Madana, the God of Love, to swoon. In the assembly, they were discussing Ka conscious topics and sometimes the Lord would reveal the transcendental truth about Himself. It was as if the Lord of Vaikuha, Nryaa, was sitting to discourse with anaka and other sages. Nitynanda and Haridsa narrated their days experience to the assembly, A strange incident occurred today. We came across two drunks totally intoxicated and we were told they were from brhmaa families. We thought of doing them a good turn and requested them to chant Kas Holy Name, but they reacted violently and chased us, we could barely escape with our lives. r Caitanya said, What persons are these, what are their names? Being brhmaas, why do they act in this coarse manner? rvsa and Gagdsa were sitting close to the Lord and they spoke, My Lord, these two persons are Jagi and Mdhi. Their father is a pious brhmaa, but bad company has spoiled these two. Now they know only intoxication. Their names instil fear in the hearts of the people and they live by stealing, looting and violence. It is impossible to describe how fallen they are, but You see everything and know everything My Lord. r Caitanya answered, I will show these two rogues, I will cut them to pieces if they come in front of Me. Sweetly, Nitynanda said, You may cut them to pieces, but I will not move from there. If they are not alive, how will I be able to carry out Your mission? Why are You getting so angry with them? Allow Me to 178

first make them chant r Kas name. The pious will naturally chant Kas name, but these two know only irreligious activities. If You deliver them and bring them into devotional service, then Your fame as patitapvana (deliverer of the fallen) will remain intact. Your fame as patitapvana has increased after saving Me, but that fame will reach to unlimited bounds if You deliver these two. Laughing, Vivambhara said, They are already liberated, as soon as those two rogues saw you they were delivered. As You are so concerned about their welfare, Ka will very soon take full care of them. The devotees broke out into jubilant shouts of Hari! Hari! when they heard r Caitanyas words and they were convinced that the sinners were already saved. Haridsa spoke to Advaita crya, The Lord has sent me out with an extremely restless person. If I go in one direction, He will find another. He will jump into the crocodile infested swelling monsoon waters of the Gag and try to catch the crocodiles. I stand on the banks shouting for Him to return, but He ignores everything and floats downstream like a dead man. If He sees a young boy on the banks, He suddenly gets up and goes shouting angrily after the boy. Soon the boys irate parents arrive with sticks and then I have to plead and beg with them before sending them away. He steals butter and cream from the milkman and then runs away and when I get caught they want to beat me up. He is always doing the sort of activities that are incorrigible and beyond all logic. If He comes across a young maiden, He asks her to marry Him. He sits on a bull shouting, Mahesh! (Lord iva) and if He sees a cow He milks her and drinks the milk. When I try to advise Him on His activities, He mocks you saying, What can that Advaita of yours do to Me? And that person whom You call Caitanya, what can He do to Me? I repeat nothing of all this to r Caitanya. Today, I was saved only by the Lords grace. These two drunks were lying in the street in a stupor 179

and He went up to them and tried to preach to them about Ka. They were enraged and charged at us; we were saved from death today only by Your mercy. Very much amused, Advaita said, This is nothing special for Him. An intoxicated person should join other drunks. He is drunk with kaprema so He should join the other two. As a renunciate devotee, you have no business in such company. I know Nitynandas character and ability; He will make everyone intoxicated with divine love. Wait another few days, He will also bring those two into the Vaiava fold. Then, Advaita crya was suddenly overcome with anger and He threw His clothes away from His body and started strongly chastising. He said, I want to hear everything about Caitanyas devotion to Lord Ka. How He sings and dances, what is the extent of His potency. Just wait and see tomorrow, Nimi and Niti will bring those two drunks with them and dance with them here, and have them mingle with all the other Vaiavas. Let us not run away from here to save our caste. Haridsa laughed at Advaita cryas angry mood and was relieved and reassured that the two drunks would be saved. Who is able to really fathom the inner meaning of Advaitas words? Only personalities like Haridsa hkura can understand since he is of that same spiritual calibre. Many may misunderstand the real position of Advaita crya in relation to the other associates of the Lord. The Lord Himself criticized Gaddhara Paita. If ignorant observers see these as mundane material disagreements, then they invite their own doom. Any person who sides with one Vaiava against another Vaiava and thus criticizes is destined to be destroyed. The two drunks were as usual going about to different places of the town. By some divine arrangement, they came and set up their evil den on the banks of the Gag near a bathing place frequented by r Caitanya. From there, they went about their business of terrorizing the people.
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The entire neighbourhood was in the grips of terror whether they were rich, poor or misers. After dusk, no one ventured to the Gag for their evening ablutions and if at all, then only in large groups. There, on the banks of the Gag, Jagi and Mdhi spent their nights close to the Lords house. Every night, they heard the Lords krtana and staying up whole nights, they heard the sweet krtana accompanied by mdaga and cymbals. They danced a drunken jig to the sound of the krtana, greatly amused at themselves. The krtana and their dancing increased their appetite for more wine. At times, listening to the krtana and at other times getting up to dance, all this went on in a state of drunken stupor. They were totally drowned in intoxication, oblivious of time and place. Once, when they accidentally met the Lord, they remarked to Him, O Nimi Paita, it is nice that you sing. I want to see how You sing the magala-ca (verses in glorification of Durg dev) every night. I will bring all the paraphernalia for the cai-krtana. r Caitanya kept a distance from them seeing their drunken state, but other people went a different way altogether to escape these rogues. One day, Nitynanda was returning to r Caitanyas house in the evening after moving about town the whole day. The two rogues intercepted and halted Him. Jagi and Mdhi shouted out, What and who is this? Nitynanda replied, I am going to Nimi Paitas house. In a drunken state, they demanded, What is Your name? Nitynanda replied, My name is Avadhta. Performing His ll, Lord Nitynanda, lost in the mood of a young boy, began to converse with the two drunks. He had already made up His mind to deliver them and so He had purposely chosen this time to come this way. When Mdhi heard the name Avadhta he picked up a piece of broken earthen wine pot and seething with rage, he threw it at Nitynanda. The stone struck Nitynanda on the forehead, which started bleeding. Nitynanda quietly meditated on Govinda, Ka.
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Jagi was deeply shocked to see the blood dripping from Nitynandas forehead and when Mdhi once again raised his arms to strike Nitynanda, Jagi caught his hands. He said, Why did you do such a heartless brutish thing, what can you gain by striking this foreigner? This Avadhta is innocent! Do not hit Him again! He is a renunciate hitting Him will not benefit you. People went running to r Caitanya and informed Him of the incident. The Lord immediately collected a large army of His disciples and arrived at the spot. Nitynanda was still amidst the two, blood dripping all over His body, but He was smiling. When r Caitanya saw blood on His beloved Nitynanda, He went into a fit of wrath and cried out, Chakra! Chakra! calling for His most devastating weapon, the Sudarana disc. The chakra immediately appeared, looming ominously before the very eyes of Jagi and Mdhi. The devotees became very fearful and Nitynanda quickly went to r Caitanya begging Him, When Mdhi was about to hit Me, Jagi tried to check him, but accidentally I was hit and although You see blood on Me, I do not feel any pain. Please be calm My Lord I have no pain see, I beg of You to spare them and give them to Me. When the words about Jagi checking Mdhi entered r Caitanyas hearing, He became very pleased and He went up to Jagi and embraced him. He said to Jagi, May r Ka bless you, you have won Me over by protecting my Nitynanda. You can ask for anything you very much desire, I shall grant you the boon, and from today may you be firmly situated in a pure devotional life, experiencing ka-prema. The Vaiavas became joyous, appreciating r Caitanyas blessings on Jagi with loud cries. When Jagi heard Caitanyas blessing him with ka-prema, he fell unconscious with ecstasy. Lord Caitanya said, Jagi, rise up and see, I have really blessed you with kaprema. Jagi then saw Lord Caitanya in His fourhanded manifestation, holding the club, conch, disc and lotus. Jagi then placed r Caitanyas lotus feet upon his chest. Jagi knew that the lotus feet now upon his 182

chest sustained Lakm Devs life and so he caught them very tightly as his most treasured object. Being purified of his sins, he wept like a child. r Caitanya is always performing such wondrous pastimes. The same quality of soul resides in both Jagi and Mdhi, but one was purified of all his sins, and the other still a sinner. While Jagi was praying to r Caitanya, Mdhi was already being transformed within. Overlooking the presence of Nitynanda, Mdhi quickly got up and threw himself like a stick before Lord Caitanya. Catching hold of His lotus feet, he prayed, Both of us were sinners, sinning together, in the same place at the same time. Why has Your mercy been shown to one and not the other, My Lord? Be merciful to me, I shall chant Your Holy Name, for there is no one else who can deliver a wretch like me. r Vivambhara replied, I cannot deliver you, for you were responsible for shedding Nitynandas blood. Mdhi replied, You cannot say this My Lord. How can You act against Your own religion? In Your previous incarnation, did You not give liberation to those demons who were piercing Your body with arrows? The Lord replied, Your offence is far greater than that of those demons, because you have hurt My most beloved associate, Nitynanda. I reveal to you this truth: Nitynandas body is more dear to Me than My very own. Mdhi said, Since You are already revealing this truth to me then tell me, how may I be saved? You are the Supreme healer of all diseases. I can be healed of my disease only by Your treatment. Please do not deny me anymore, O Lord of the Universe, Your real identity is already known. From whom can You hide it? Vivambhara said, You have committed a grievous offence. Go and fall at Nitynandas feet. Mdhi threw himself at Nitynandas feet following r Caitanyas instructions. Nitynandas lotus feet are eternal treasures and once anyone holds on to them, they will never be forsaken. This fact is well understood by Revat Dev.
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Vivambhara said, Listen dear Nitynanda, he is at Your feet. You must show him mercy. As he was responsible for shedding Your blood, so only You can forgive him. Nitynanda said, What can I say or do My lord? Everything is a transformation of Your mercy. If I have acquired any piety due to devotional service to You, then let all My pious results be given to Mdhi. As for My offences, please do not regard them. However Lord, leave aside Your deception and unconditionally shower Your mercy on Mdhi. Vivambhara said, Now that You have forgiven everything, why not also give Mdhi Your transcendental embrace. Receiving Vivambharas order, Nitynanda firmly embraced Mdhi. Mdhi was immediately relieved of all sinful reactions and his body became surcharged with Nitynandas spiritual powers. Both Jagi and Mdhi were now completely purified of all sins and they began to glorify their Lordships, Gaura Niti. r Caitanya said, From now on do not commit anymore sinful activities. Jagi and Mdhi replied, Never again, My Lord! r Caitanya said again, Both of you listen carefully, it is an absolute fact that I have delivered you from all your sinful reactions accumulated over many, many births. Now, if you do not engage further in any sinful activities, I take full responsibility for your sinful lives. I will take the remnants of your sins and my energy will manifest within your bodies. The Lords promise to the two was like sweet nectar in their ears and they fell down in a state of blissful trance upon hearing His words. All misconceptions and nescience dissipated from their minds and they felt exhilarated in these moments of great spiritual happiness. The Lord perceived this mood and instructed His men accordingly. Take these two men to My house and I will perform krtana with them. I will give them today what is rarely accessible to even Lord Brahm. I will covert these two men to top class devotees who will become famous all over the world. 184

Previously, many would cleanse themselves in the holy waters of the Gag whenever they contacted Jagi and Mdhi. However, I will change their opinion. From now on they will consider the association of Jagi and Mdhi as good as the association of Gag Dev herself. This was Nitynandas desire and Nitynandas desires and promises shall never go in vain. All the Vaiavas escorted Jagi and Mdhi into the inner recess of r Caitanyas house. Allowing only the Vaiavas inside, the Lord closed the doors. Vivambhara sat down and Nitynanda and Gaddhara sat on either side of Him. In front, facing Him, sat the exalted Advaita crya around whom sat the rest of the devotees. They were, Puarka Vidynidhi, Haridsa hkura, Garuai, Rmi, rvsa, Gagdsa, Vakrevara Paita, Candraekhara and the many other associates of the Lord who all knew the real nature of His activities. They all sat in that assembly with Jagi and Mdhi. Jagi and Mdhi were so swayed by the spiritual ecstasy generated in the krtana and Vaiava assembly that they began rolling on the ground manifesting the symptoms of ecstasy like horripilation, profusion of tears, shivering, etc. Who is able to fathom the unlimited and nectarine pastimes of the Lord? He can convert two rogues into exalted devotees. They were previously atheists and sinners, but now they were like two renounced spiritualists. Whosoever has faith in these activities of the Lord will attain the lotus feet of Ka. The worst degradation is certainly reserved for the non-believers. Jagi and Mdhi offered prayers in praise of the Lord. The Lord and the devotees heard them in great happiness. By the will of the Lord, Sarasvat Dev, the Goddess of Learning, appeared upon their tongues. Jagi and Mdhi saw both r Caitanya and r Nitynanda sitting in one place and they perceived Their actual individual spiritual identities. The prayers they offered were so potent that if one hears them one immediately develops loving attachment to Ka.
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They prayed, All glory to r Vivambhara, the Lord of Lords. All glory to r Nitynanda who is serving r Vivambhara in so many ways. All glory to r Caitanya who is the preceptor for the congregational chanting of the name of Lord Ka. All glory to r Nitynanda who carries out all of r Caitanyas desires. All glory to the son of Jaganntha Mira. All glory to r Nitynanda who has taken complete shelter of r Caitanya. All glory to acdevs son who is an ocean of mercy and all glory to Nitynanda, the Lords constant companion. All glory to You, the Lord of my heart, who is born as the son of a regal scholar, and all glory to Nitynanda who is the embodiment of compassion. All glories to the activities of Lord Caitanya and all glories to Lord Nitynanda, the most exalted Vaiava. All glory to the Supreme Lord, r Caitanya, who holds the conch, disc, mace, and lotus. All glory to Lord Nitynanda, who is non-different from Lord Caitanya and is glorious as the, Avadhta. All glory to Lord Gauracandra, the life and soul of Advaita crya. All glory to Lord Nitynanda, who in His expansion as Ananta ea is glorifying the Lord with His thousands of mouths. All glory to Lord Caitanya, Gaddhara Paitas life force and the master of Murri, He is the source of all joy to Haridsa hkura and Vsudeva. O Lord! You have in all Your previous incarnations delivered innumerable sinful persons. These acts are supremely wonderful and the whole world sings hymns praising these pastimes. In fact, by delivering two sinful wretches like us, the glories of Your previous activities are somewhat reduced, after all we are insignificant. The story of Ajmilas deliverance is glorious, we seem puny and small next to that. This we say not in useless praise, but with full conviction. Ajmila was the right candidate for Your mercy. The Vedas declare that even a killer of millions of brhmaas can attain liberation immediately upon chanting Your Holy Name. It is not at all surprising that Ajmila 186

attained liberation by chanting Your name because such is the transcendental potency of Your Holy Name. You have incarnated especially to expound the highest truth of the Vedas. The authority of the Vedas would be undermined if sinners like us were not delivered. We were inimical towards You and we even struck Your beloved Nitynanda, yet You delivered us. One can easily judge the unimaginable difference between Your magnanimous act and our heinous low performance. As soon as Ajmila uttered, Nryaa four messengers of the Lord appeared before him. As for us, when we saw You we immediately drew blood from Your forehead for which we were able to see Your expansion, the expansion of your expansion, Your weapon for this incarnation (the Holy Name) and Your eternal associates. You had all along kept these wonderful truths a secret, but now these unlimited Supreme Excellencies have been exposed. Now, by Your grace, the essence of the Vedas has been clarified and so Ananta ea may openly and freely sing Your truth. Now the hidden storehouse of Your transcendental qualities has been opened. The best example of this is Your causeless mercy in saving us. Demons like Kasa, were cruel to You, yet You gave them liberation after killing them. You have so many aspects, which are most confidential and none of the kings and warriors could discover even the smallest amount of them when they fought with You at the Svayavara of Rukmi Dev. Although they could see You face to face, they all met with doom. Previously, devotees would clean themselves in the holy waters of the Gag if perchance they even stepped on our shadows. However, now they are touching and mingling with us. O Lord, in every respect, Your activities are supra-mundane, and there is no way to deceive anyone anymore about Your transcendental nature, everyone is now well aware of this.
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When Gajendra, the king of the elephants, prayed to You, You appreciated his faith and surrender. Therefore, You relieved him of his distressful condition and gave liberation to him. Similarly, it was not by accident that You delivered Ptan, the witch, and all the other demons like Aghsura, Baksura, etc. Upon leaving their bodies, they were immediately transported to transcendence. Who can understand Your activities unless they approach the subject through the knowledge of the Vedas? The way You have delivered these two most wretched, fallen souls was witnessed by the entire creation. All the wretched sinners You have delivered so far had some kind of qualification, but we both had not a single qualification. Yet, You have causelessly delivered us because of Your unlimitedly merciful nature. Jagi and Mdhi finished their prayers with tears of joy streaking down their glowing faces, such is the transcendental potency of the Lord. The assembled Vaiavas were astounded having seen everything that had just happened in their very presence, and they clasped their hands in great reverence before the Lord, offering Him their prayers. The choice words that were just spoken by these two drunkards in praising You were possible only by Your causeless mercy. Who can understand the nature of Your inconceivable potencies? You give Your mercy by Your own sweet will. The Lord replied, These two are not to be considered as drunks or rogues any more, from now on they are My servitors. All of you kindly pray for them that they may never leave My devotional service. Whatever offences they may have committed against any of you, please forgive them and bless them. Hearing Lord Caitanyas words, Jagi and Mdhi threw themselves down at the feet of all the Vaiava devotees and catching their feet begged for mercy. The devotees were moved by their humility and blessed them, thus Jagi and Mdhi became free from all desires to commit further sinful activities. 188

Lord Caitanya said, Rise, rise, O Jagi and Mdhi. You have nothing to worry about anymore now that you are My servitors. Your prayers were all true and are well appreciated. Such mercy and miracles that you have now witnessed and experienced is impossible in your present bodies, but is now made possible only by the mercy of Lord Nitynanda. This is an absolute fact. All you Vaiavas present here please witness that I am taking upon Myself all the sinful actions of these two souls. To make everyone understand that He was accepting the sinful actions of Jagi and Mdhi, Lord Caitanyas body became blackish in complexion. The Lord inquired, Why do you all look at Me in this manner? How do I look? Advaita crya replied, You look like Lord Ka. Lord Caitanya began to laugh at Advaita cryas words and all the Vaiavas became ecstatic and expressed their joy with jubilant sounds. Lord Caitanya said, Begin krtana, then this black shroud of sin will lift from My body and enter the bodies of those who criticize the devotees of the Lord. The devotees were happy to hear these words and they began a loud krtana. Vivambhara and Nitynanda began to dance and the Vaiavas encircled them in joyful abandonment, singing their praise. Advaita crya also began to dance, Lord Caitanya had advented on his request and the world was saved because of Him alone. Everyone joined in the ecstatic singing and dancing keeping time with their clapping of hands. In their joy, they forgot their awe and reverence for the Lord and nobody knows the countless times they bumped into the Lord while dancing. Mother ac sat in the inner chambers with her daughter-in-law, Viupriy, and seeing everything, felt herself carried away by waves of ecstasy. Everyone was drowned in the flood of happiness of ka-prema, r Ka. Even Lakm Dev is very careful about touching the Lords body, but now even the two former drunkards were freely mingling, dancing and touching the Lord. 189

Lord Caitanya delivered these two, while He pushed the faultfinders and offenders of the Vaiavas down to the worst well. One never advances in spiritual life by finding faults in other Vaiavas. In fact, only sinful reactions are increased so certainly give up all your faultfinding. After dancing, the Lord sat down and all the Vaiavas sat around Him. The Vaiavas were covered in thick layers of dust, yet they were clean and glowing. The Lord again looked like His original beautiful golden self and smiling He said, Do not consider these two persons as being sinners any longer since I, Myself, have burnt up their sins. My energy has entered them and I make them act, speak, walk, eat and when I withdraw My energy, they will leave their bodies behind. The conditioned living entity, being unable to bear much pain, calls out for help upon experiencing a little suffering, but even after the body has been burnt to ashes the soul wants to continue his association with the body. The conditioned living entity, under the influence of his false ego, begins to accredit himself for all his activities and becomes proud. This is very dangerous. All the activities so far carried out by these two were under the spell of false ego, but now I have stopped all that. From now on, they should be counted amongst you as Vaiavas without discrimination. All of you please listen attentively. Anyone who gives these two brothers anything to eat with respect and devotion is, in fact, offering to Lord Ka the most relishable honey. Even a leaf offered with love to them is nectar to Ka. If anyone ridicules these two in any way, they will be destroyed because of their offensive attitude. The Vaiavas were pleased to have Jagi and Mdhi join their fold and offered them obeisances. The Lord said, Let us all go to the waters of the Bhgrath Gag! As they came to the river, they all jumped inside. Constant chanting of Kas Holy Name had made the devotees young in spirit and now they played in the Jhnav, Gags waters, like little children. Even the sober 190

older devotees were acting like the restless youths. This is truth by the influence of devotional service to Lord Ka. Just before this was the festivity of krtana, and now they were all submerged in the festival of water sports with the Lord. All the barriers of awe and reverence were lowered between the Lord and His devotees and they played with each other as equals. The Lord splashed water on the devotees, but no one could counter the Lords attacks. In all the water fights between the Lord and the devotees, the Lord was always the winner and the devotees fled His ferocious attacks after only a few minutes of feeble resistance. At times, Advaita crya, Gaurga and Nitynanda were engaged in water sports together and another time, rvsa, Haridsa hkura and Mukunda played together. In this way, all the devotees took part including, r Garbha, Sadiva, Murri, rman, Puruottama, Mukunda Sajaya, Buddhimanta Khn, Vidynidhi, Gagdsa, Jagada, Gopntha, Garua, rrma, Govinda, rdhara, Kananda, Kvara, Jagadnanda, Govindnanda, r uklmbara and more. It is impossible to write down all the names of the unlimited lists of r Caitanyas devotees. Later, Vedavysa will compile all the names in the Puras. All the devotees were wholly engrossed in water sports, experiencing the highest spiritual pleasures. Sometimes, someone was victorious and at another time, he lost. They all enjoyed playing together with r Caitanya, Gaddhara, Nitynanda and Advaita crya. Once, Nitynanda, catching Advaita crya unawares, splashed water into His eyes. For a while, Advaita could not open His eyes and so infuriated, He started hurling abuses at Nitynanda. He said, Where did this drunkard come from, He has blinded me. rvsa Paita has brought this travelling mendicant from somewhere and He is now moving about as if He is one of us. And that Vivambhara is also associating with Him too closely, doing so many things secretly with this suspect travelling mendicant.
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Nitynanda replied, Do you not feel any shame? What is the use of all this argumentafter all, you have lost. Caitanya intervened saying, Once is not sufficient, I will accept a win or loss only if it is repeated three times. So once again, Advaita crya began to fight with Nitynanda Prabhu. It was difficult to discern either of them, due to their physical similarities. In the water, they seemed like one person in two different places. Both played vigorously, sometimes one won, but then again lost in the next fight. Like this, they were both equally matched. However, once Nitynanda again caught Advaita off guard and forcefully splashed water into His eyes. Advaita crya was hurt and startled and said, You drunkard, You cannot become a sannys just by murdering a brhmaa. You have spent most of Your time in the West eating in different peoples houses whilst travelling about. In addition, nobody knows anything about Your family, Your caste, and other such background information. We know nothing of Your parentage or Your guru. You are simply here eating, sleeping and moving about and everyone just calls You, Avadhta. Actually, Advaita was eulogizing Lord Nitynanda under the pretext of using abusive language. All of Nitynandas followers, along with Nitynanda, laughed at the words, understanding the real meaning. However, Advaita crya continued His acting and was livid with rage, He said, I will destroy everyone, but do not blame Me. The devotees laughed at the show of anger. He was revealing the truth under the guise of being angry, His words only superficially sounded like abuses. If someone does not understand the esoteric meaning of such vociferous fights and takes sides glorifying one and condemning the other, he will certainly be annihilated. Only those fortunate souls who have received the mercy of Lord Nitynanda and Lord Caitanya can understand the esoteric meanings of the words of Vaiava devotees.
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Then after a while, the two stalwarts Nitynanda and Advaita embraced each other. These two Lords are always drunk with the nectar of kaprema, r Caitanya Mahprabhu. In this way, every night after krtana, Lord Caitanya went with all His associates to perform water sports in the Gag. The ordinary people cannot see such pastimes, but the demigods take great pleasure in witnessing all these sports of the Lord by remaining in their hidden places. They got up from the waters and came up upon the land chanting Lord Haris name. The Lord garlanded everyone with prasdam flower garlands and applied sandalwood paste upon them, bidding them farewell before they went for their meals. He then again offered Jagi and Mdhi to all the Vaiavas and gave Jagi and Mdhi His personal garland. These pastimes of the Lord are eternal and continuous; they become manifest and unmanifest as described in the Veda. The Lord returned home and after washing His feet, He offered prayers to Tulas Dev. He sat down to eat and Mother ac brought all the prasdam foodstuffs to His presence. He prayed to all the previous cryas, offering them prasdam, and then the Lord of the entire cosmic manifestation ate His meal with relish. He cleansed His mouth and went to sit by the door. Mother ac looked to her hearts content at the young couple, Viupriy and Vivambhara, sitting together. She felt a great ecstasy drowning her body and soul. Who can fully gauge the extent of Mother acdevs good fortune? Only if Ananta ea will elucidate with His thousands of hoods can one understand. If one utters just the name, Ai (the short form of acdevs name) even in material consciousness, that word will free one from all sufferings. acdev forgot herself as she gazed into her sons beautiful face. Eventually, Vivambhara went to take rest and simultaneously all the demigods who were secretly present left. Daily, Brahm, iva and other demigods came to serve their Supreme Lord, r Caitanya. Without the
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Lords grace, one cannot see these personalities. However, the Lord sometimes allows various devotees to perceive their presence. Some days, when Vivambhara would be sitting, one of these unseen servants would approach Him. The Lord would say, Remain where you are. and the unseen attendant would immediately go back again into seclusion. The unseen demigod visitors were so numerous that there is no need to write the exact figure. The Lord asked His devotees, Can you not see these heavenly visitors? The devotees replied with folded hands, All the three worlds are serving You my Lord. What power do we possess to see any of them unless You empower us with the vision to see them. These are the super excellent pastimes of Lord Caitanya, which are esoteric in nature and anyone who faithfully hears them attains the highest perfection. One should not doubt the veracity of the statement that all the prominent demigods like Brahm and iva were daily visitors to r Caitanyas house. Thus, Lord Caitanya delivered Jagi and Mdhi very easily because He is the life and soul of the Universe, the most munificent of all incarnations. He will deliver everyone with the exception of those who are critical of the Vaiavas and who act against the teachings of the Vedas. If a personality, even of the stature of Lord iva, commits an offence against a devotee of the Lord then, according to the rmad Bhgavatam 5.10.25. he soon meets his end: Although I have committed an offence by insulting You, I know that there is no loss or gain for you due to my insult. You are fixed in your determination, but I have committed an offence. On account of this, even though I may be as strong as Lord iva, I shall be vanquished without delay due to my offence at the lotus feet of a Vaiava. The scriptures are strong in condemning offences against the Vaiavas. Even an erudite scholar is not saved by his spiritual readings. Even a person engaged in chanting Lord Kas Holy Name is also not spared punishment, if he offends a Vaiava. 194

The instructions of the Padma Pura are cited here, when followed strictly, they will help one develop ka-prema: To criticize and find faults in pure devotees of the Lord is the most grievous offence against the Holy Name. O Holy Name! How can You bear criticism against Your pure devotees through whom Your glories have been propagatedYou can never tolerate criticism against those who have dedicated their lives in propagating the Holy Name of the Lord. Such offenders are annihilated. Lord Gauracandra will certainly deliver anyone who hears with faith the deliverance of these two big sinners. All glory to r Gauracandra who is the deliverer of the most fallen and demoniac souls. He is the most magnanimous Lord, an ocean of mercy. He sees only ones devotional qualities and rejects ones faults. If anyone can remain alive without rendering devotional service to His lotus feet, he is a great sinner. Only by the previous pious activities is such a life somehow maintained, but what is the value of such a life? In spite of my discrepancies, Lord Caitanya please be merciful to me so that I may be allowed to always chant Your glories. Lord Caitanya is my spiritual master and my Lord Nitynandas Lord and master and in every birth. I pray that I may become their eternal servitor. The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are without beginning and without end; and I am compiling these pastimes to glorify Him in any manner I can. I offer Him and His associates my respectful obeisances and I pray at their lotus feet that all my offences may be excused. Lord r Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song at their lotus feet.
14. Yamarja Performs Sakrtana
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O Lord Gaurga, Your exquisite form is bubbling over with the nectar of ka-prema as You dance within Yourself. Lord iva, Lord Brahm, and the other demigods came regularly to serve Lord Caitanya, but without the Lords sanction, no one could see them. Everyday, they witnessed the different pastimes of the Lord and when the Lord went to sleep for the night, they would disappear only to return the next day, ready to render any service to the Lord. They had witnessed how Jagi and Mdhi were delivered and now they were returning in a jubilant mood. They were discussing with each other, The Lord has such unlimited compassion for the fallen souls that He has liberated even those two most abominable characters. This has imbued in me great hope that one day I shall certainly cross over this ocean of nescience. Yamarja, the God of Death, was also a daily visitor and he witnessed Lord Caitanyas pastimes. He inquired from his assistant, Citragupta, who tabulates and calculates the virtuous and sinful activities of human beings, What is the extent of the sin that these two persons have committed, and what does it mean to exonerate them? Citragupta replied, O Yamarja, why should we pursue this matter? Believe me, it is futile. If my assistant writers sit down and calculate the sins of these two, they will never conclude even after a month. However, if you want to hear their many millions sins then that is your prerogative. All my messengers have constantly accounted their sins to the writers to such an extent that the writers feel harassed and unable to cope with the voluminous scores of sins. Citragupta continued, The amount of sins they committed forced us to the brink of complete exhaustion from writing an account of them. The bottomless pits where these records are kept will bear witness to our plight. These two had made us writers weep. However, now most easily, Lord Caitanya has absorbed their uncountable mountain of sins. Now permit me to cast the lists onto the ocean bed. 196

Yamarja had never before witnessed such a compassionate display of one for another. Yamarja was an elevated Vaiava; he was the embodiment of religious principles, well conversant with the injunctions of the rmad Bhgavatam. When he heard Citragupta, he went into a trance of love of Ka. He fell down unconscious inside his chariot. Citragupta and his assistants became concerned and tried to pick him up unable to control the flow of tears. The returning demigods, who were jubilantly performing krtana, saw that Yamarjas chariot had come to a halt with Yamarja lying unconscious inside. Lord iva, Lord Brahm, Ananta ea, Nrada Muni and the other demigods were experiencing a new order of happiness glorifying Lord Caitanya, discussing and considering how His boundless magnanimity could deliver these two who were considered the worst of sinners. When they noticed that Yamarjas chariot had halted they came up to it and saw Yamarja lying unconscious inside. They were astonished to see him in this condition, not knowing the cause of his loss of consciousness. Citragupta explained the reason for his present condition and then Lord iva and Lord Brahm could immediately perceive the symptoms of ecstasy in love of Ka. Thus, they began loud krtana, singing into Yamarjas ears. The krtana revived Yamarjas consciousness and when he came back to himself, he quickly got up and began dancing like a madman. The krtana reached a crescendo and Yamarja, son of the Sun God, matched it with his wild dancing. Yamarjas dancing was infectious and soon the demigods joined in with him. Lord iva, Nrada Muni and everyone else were drawn in by the mood of ka-prema. These are very confidential matters and one day the Vedas will reveal these activities of the demigods. Dharmarja, now freed from any feelings of embarrassment and intoxicated with love of Ka, lost himself in the movements of dance. As he brought back to mind the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he cried out,
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Hallowed be the Lord, the most munificent Lord, the friend of the fallen souls! His body movements were accompanied by the ecstatic symptoms of uproarious calls, horripilation all over the body and a continuous flow of ecstatic emotions as he wept thinking of the Lord. Seeing Dharmarja in ecstasy, His assistants and companions were overflowing with joy. Citragupta was a devotee who was deeply attached to the lotus feet of Ka, he joined in with unrestrained loud and charming appreciation and soon all were rolling on the ground. Lord iva was also dancing in intense rapture unaware that his clothes had become strewn everywhere. Naked, He gambolled about in love of Ka. He, a most exalted Vaiava devotee, was blessing the world by His ecstatic chanting to Lord Kas Holy Name. His matted locks had cascaded down and flared up with each upward movement of his body. Seeing their master in such raptures, Gaea and Krtikeya also joined Lord akara as they all remembered the unlimited mercy just exhibited by r Caitanya. Four-headed Lord Brahm, whose life and soul is devotional service to the Supreme Lord, also began to dance in the company of his family members. Kayapa Muni, Kardama Muni, Prajpati Daka, Manu, and Bhgu Muni all joined in with Lord Brahm. They were all stalwarts in the realm of devotional service and were expert in relishing the spiritual mellows of Lord Ka. They wept and danced, circling around Lord Brahm, releasing sighs of devotional feelings. Devari Nrada was also dancing next to Lord Brahm, tears of love flowed down in streams. He forgot his v as he was relishing the glories of the Lord and His Holy Name. ukadeva Gosvm, who perfectly knows the science of devotion, is a beloved devotee of Lord Caitanya; he also joined the dancing. Repeating the names of Jagi and Mdhi, he rolled in the dust offering his obeisances to the Lord. Indra, the king of the demigods, almost invincible due to his weapon thunder was feeling repentant. Tears, like rivulets, flowed constantly
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from his thousand eyes. Now his thousand eyes, which he had received due to the curse of Gautama Muni, were able to see for the first time the glorious pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Indra now considered that the curse was a blessing in disguise, he was experiencing such great happiness that he was rolling on the ground with no concern for his kingly position. His weapons had become impotent and his priceless and opulently studded Kir necklace lay limp and neglected. These are the symptoms fully indicating the influence of love of Ka. Having just drunk through their eyes the nectar of love of Ka in the form of Lord Caitanyas pastimes, Candra, Srya, Kuvera, Varua, and all the demigod servants of Lord Ka were dancing thoroughly intoxicated. They were jostling freely with each other, oblivious of high or low positions. They were totally inebriated and blissful. Lord Ananta ea was dancing accompanied by Garua. Lord ea holds the entire creation upon one of his hoods, but now he was fully absorbed in love of Ka. Lord iva, Lord Brahm and others surrounded Him as He danced. With His thousand hoods, He sang of the unparalleled pastimes of Lord Gauracandra in delivering the worst of sinners. All were in the grips of spiritual ecstasy, some wept, others laughed and some lay unconscious on the floor. Someone called out, How wonderful to see Lord Caitanyas pastimes! O how blessed are Jagi and Mdhi! The unlimited azure vault reverberated with their joyous pandemonium, purifying the entire cosmic creation with the eulogy of Ka. They dispelled the gloom of inauspiciousness. The all-auspicious sound of Gaura-ll permeated the vast coverings of the material world from highest planet, Satyaloka, down to the lowest planet, Ptla-loka. Everywhere echoed the pastime of Lord Gaurgas deliverance of the two sinners, Jagi and Mdhi. Now for once, having relished the nectar of Gaurgas pastimes, the demigods continued to glorify Lord Caitanya as they returned to their own abodes. All glory to Lord Gauracandra who has appeared in this material world to benedict the conditioned souls for He is the Lord of all the living
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entities, the Lord of the Universe. Lord Gauracandra, just as You have so munificently delivered these two most fallen sinners so also kindly shower Your mercy on every single one of us. O Lord! You are the most gracious as You have come to save the fallen souls. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, string a garland of songs in their praise and offer it at their lotus feet.
15. Mdhi Attains Transcendental Bliss
All of you just behold the super excellent potency of r Gauracandra. Even great and exalted personalities like Lord iva, Devari Nrada and ukadeva Gosvm find Him most difficult to attain in meditation. Yet, he was to be seen mingling freely with people who do not possess any devotional qualities. Out of His causeless mercy, Vivambhara performed His supra-mundane pastimes in Navadvpa, but the common people could not perceive them. The inmates of the ocean, the fish, can never perceive the moon, but only the reflection of its rays. Similarly, although Gauracandra manifested His pastimes openly the general people could not perceive the super excellent nature of them. By Lord Caitanyas mercy, Jagi and Mdhi were now completely transformed personalities. They were very devoted and pillars of piety. Before sunrise, they would complete their bathing in the Gag and sit down to chant name of Ka two hundred thousand times (two-lakh). Out of humility, they always condemned themselves for their lowly position and with tears in their eyes, they incessantly chanted Kas Holy Name. By tasting the marvellous nectar of the Holy Name and devotional service, they could now see that everything and everyone was inherently part and parcel of Ka. 200

When memories of their older sinful ways plagued them, they fell almost unconscious to the ground, repentant and weeping. They cried out, O most merciful Lord Caitanya! O Saviour of the fallen souls! Remembering the Lords mercy again and again, they shed tears of joy. The happiness they experienced in Kas service would make them forget even about eating. Each time they considered the mercy showered upon them by Lord Caitanya, they wept uncontrollably. Lord Caitanya and the other devotees were always being very kind to them, this gave them hope and inspiration. The Lord Himself came to feed them, but still they could not feel any peace deep inside. Mdhi, especially, felt greatly afflicted each time he remembered how heinously he had struck Nitynanda. Although Nitynanda had forgiven him, Mdhi was far from feeling exhilarated. He would said, I have hurt Nitynanda Prabhu, drawing blood from Him. In His body resides Lord Caitanya and yet I am so sinful that I struck such a personality. Speaking like this, Mdhi punished himself. At such memories, Mdhi was unable to contain his feelings and day and night, he cried, nothing else came to his mind. Always in the mood of a child, Nitynanda roamed about in Nadia, laughing and carefree. Always happy, He was very easy to please and completely free of any sense of false prestige. One day, Mdhi found Nitynanda all alone and threw himself down, embracing His lotus feet. With tears of love, he washed his Nitynandas feet and in complete humility, he offered prayers. O Lord, as Viu, You maintain this universe, and as Ananta ea You hold the entire cosmic manifestation upon Your hoods. You are the embodiment of devotional service and Lord akara and His consort, Prvat Dev, constantly meditate upon You. Devotional service to the Lord is exclusively Your property and thus it is Your prerogative to grant anyone the eligibility for devotional service. No one is dearer to Lord Caitanya than You. 201

By Your grace, the mighty Garua participates in Lord Kas pastimes as the Lords carrier. With Your unlimited mouths, You constantly chant the glories of Lord Ka, explaining and propounding the process of devotional service as the highest human attainment. Devari Nrada experiences inestimable bliss chanting Your glories. Your only and most treasured possession is Lord Caitanya. You are famous as the one who forced the Yamun to change her course and flow according to Your desire. King Janaka received transcendental knowledge by serving You. Being the Original Person, the primeval Supreme Personality as proclaimed in the Vedas, You embody the essence of all scripture. You are the greatest mystic, You are Lakmaa, the valorous prince, and the divine father of every living entity. You are the vanquisher of the demoniac and atheistic forces, the supreme enjoyer of all mellows and the foremost spiritual guide. You are well conversant with all of Lord Caitanyas pastimes. Mah-my, Your external potency, has become worshipable by the entire universe just because she has served You. The entire cosmic manifestation seeks the shelter given by the shade of Your lotus feet. You are fully devoted to Lord Caitanya and so You are the most proficient propagator of the path of devotional service. You are the sum total of all the potencies of Lord Caitanya. You expand Yourself as Lord Caitanyas bed, throne, resting place, and umbrella; You are His very life and soul. As Balarma You are matchless in Your service to Ka. As Nitynanda You are the foremost of Lord Caitanyas associates and the origin of all the expansions of Lord Caitanya. You are always delivering the fallen and annihilating the atheists. You are the protector of the Vaiava devotees of the Lord and the propounder of the true religion, the process of pure devotional service to the Lord. By Your grace, Lord Brahm creates this universe. You are 202

always worshiped by Your energies: Revat Dev, Vru dev and Knti dev. The Mah-rudra incarnation was produced out of Your anger and through him You bring about the annihilation of this cosmic creation. Rudra was born from the face of Lord Sakaraa and He dissolves the universe with the great fire called, Klnala. Although You seem to be doing everything, yet You are not engaged in any work. O Lord, the entire cosmic manifestation rests upon Your bosom. Your body is very soft and gives Ka great pleasure when You expand Yourself as His bed for Him to lie upon. However, I am so monstrous and sinful that I hurt the very same transcendental body of Yours, who is more wretched than I? Your transcendental form is constantly worshiped by Lord iva accompanied by his beautiful consort Prvat and Her young maiden attendants. Simply by remembering Your form, one is freed from all bondage. This very same spiritual body was bleeding due to my misdeeds. Citraketu, the famous emperor, was living most happily by worshiping You and was counted amongst the foremost Vaiava devotees. That same form, which is worshiped by the entire universe, was brutally hit by me, the lowest of sinners. The sages of Naimiraya forest headed by sage aunaka became freed from all material entanglement by meditating upon Your form. As Your expansion Lakmaa, You were wounded in battle by Indrajit, son of Rvaa, and for this You slew him. Similarly, the gorilla demon, Dvivida, met with a premature death at Your hands because he was foolishly harassing You. The mighty Jarsandha was also vanquished by You for being inimical to You. Yet, being so foolish, I could not understand my own benefit and so I inflicted pain upon Your transcendental form. I did not know the consequences of such an act for when Rukm, Kas brother-in-law, insulted You, You took his life. 203

Romaharaa Sta was blessed with a long life by the sages of Naimiraya, but when he failed to accord to You due respect, You slew him with a blade of grass. For disregarding Your words, King Duryodhana and his entire dynasty were almost exterminated. It was their good fortune that elevated devotees like Kunt dev, Bhma, Yudhihira, Vidura and Arjuna intervened and supplicated You with appropriate words on their behalf. When ones very life is at stake for just by a little disrespect shown towards You, then to what depths of depravity and hell must I enter for my heinous act? Speaking like this, ka-prema swelled up in Mdhi and he fell to the ground clutching the Lords lotus feet to his bosom. Mdhi continued to pray, The shelter of Your lotus feet can save anyone from the endless cycle of rebirth. You have appeared simply to deliver the most fallen, so, my dear Lord, kindly protect this fallen soul surrendered to You, for You are my life soul and most treasured goal. All glory to Lord Nitynanda, the darling son of Padmvat Dev. You are the most precious jewel of all the Vaiava devotees. You are completely free from any ill will, always submerged in the highest state of blissfulness and are always inclined to forgive those who are surrendered unto You. I am the most atrocious beast and offender, so kindly forgive me Lord for all my offences. Nitynanda smiled hearing the loving supplications offered to Him and said, Get up, arise O Mdhi, you are My servitor, I now reside within your body. Is the father disturbed if his little child hits him? I have accepted your beating in this parental mood. What is more important is that anyone who hears your wonderful and devotional prayers to Me will certainly develop loving attachment to My lotus feet. You are the recipient of my Lords mercy, therefore you are free from all blame. Whoever worships My Lord Caitanya becomes most dear to Me, and I offer him My protection eternally.
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If anyone disregards Lord Caitanya, but offers Me worship and sings My glories he suffers pain, birth after birth. He then embraced Mdhi and took away all his misery. Mdhi again fell at Lord Nitynandas feet and said, I have one other prayer my Lord, You are situated in everyones heart and I have inflicted severe violence on many such living entities. I do not even know to whom and to how many souls I have inflicted pain, if I could recognize them then I would beg forgiveness for them. However, in this situation I am deprived of their blessings and forgiveness. O Lord, if You are pleased with me, then advise me how I can get out of this dilemma. Lord Nitynanda replied, Listen to My advice, Mdhi. Construct a bathing gha on the Gag so the residents of Nadia can take a bath without difficulty. They will fondly think of You for this convenience. This will also be a service to Gag dev, who dissolves everyones sins with her pure waters. What better blessings can you ask for? Stand at the bathing place and beg for forgiveness from every bather, praying to them for their blessings. In this way, you can exonerate yourself of all offences. Mdhi took to heart Lord Nitynandas advice. After circumambulating Him several times with utmost love and respect, he left. Chanting Kas Holy Name, while tears of ka-prema streamed down his face, he began to construct alone a proper bathing place on the bank of the Gag. The people saw this sight with great wonder. Mdhi offered prostrated obeisances to everyone who came to the site and begged them saying, Please forgive me for all the offences I have committed knowingly or unknowingly against you and think of me graciously. Seeing Mdhis humility and devotional mood, the people were happy beyond words and remembered Lord Govinda. Mdhi shed tears of love for the Lord while he worked. The word went around, Nimi Paita has marvellously converted Jagi and Mdhi into good and pious men.
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The people greeted the news with sheer astonishment and commented, Nimi Paita is not an ordinary mortal, evil men have ridiculed and criticized Nimi Paita without knowing Him. Nimi Paita was always actually engaged in performing krtana. Nimi Paita is truly a real devotee of Ka. Whosoever ridicules or denigrates Him will certainly meet his doom. Anyone who could transform the character and mentality of these two is surely the Supreme Lord Himself, or at least especially empowered by Him. Nimi Paita is certainly an extraordinary personality and now the extent of His power has become widely known. The people of Nadia discussed amongst themselves in this manner and they avoided the company of men who continued their criticism. Mdhi was leading a very austere life and became known as a brahmacri following strictly the vow of celibacy and restraint. He was always in sight of Gag dev living on her bank and worked very hard with the spade constructing the bathing place. This wonderful pastime of Jagi and Mdhis deliverance was monumentalised for posterity by this bathing place. This narration of t h e Madhya-khaa is nectarine because it describes Lord Caitanyas munificence in delivering these two fallen souls. Whoever is envious of the fact that Lord Caitanya is the origin of everyone will be destroyed. The extraordinary activities of Lord Caitanya are the hidden treasures of the Vedas, so hear these narrations attentively and with proper faith. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at their lotus feet.
16. r Caitanya Enjoys the Rice of uklmbara
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All Glory to r Gauracandra, the Supreme Lord of Lords! All glory to the beloved devotees of r Vivambhara! r Vivambhara is now in the midst of fully manifesting His sakrtana movement with His associates in Navadvpa. Whole nights are passed in dancing and krtana behind closed doors, for such pastimes are not meant for the common materialistic men. One day, the Lord was engrossed in dancing in rvsa Paitas house. Unknown to anyone, rvsas mother-in-law had hidden herself behind baskets in a corner of the room. Nevertheless, what is the use of such hide and seek games? When there is a lack of devotional feeling inside, one will not be fortunate enough to see the Lords ecstatic dancing. While dancing the Lord repeatedly pointed out, Why do I not feel the usual exhilaration today? The Lord is the Supersoul, residing within everyones heart, yet knowing everything He did not reveal anything, pretending ignorance. He said in between His dancing, I am not deriving any pleasure today. Is someone hiding somewhere inside this room? rvsa Paita went through the whole house looking for strangers, but could not find anyone and informed the same to the Lord. The devotees continued the krtana, but the Lord felt the same as before. He again stopped and said, I am still not feeling the usual ecstasy. Maybe this is Kas wish. The devotees were thrown into a whirlpool of mental agony. They said to one another, There is no one other than ourselves here, so probably due to some offence on our part the Lord is not relishing His dancing today. rvsa Paita went searching again and eventually discovered his mother-in-law hiding behind the baskets. rvsa Paita is a sober person always submerged in loving devotion, he is never proud or cantankerous, but now he began to shake remembering Vivambharas displeasure. He ordered his mother-in-law to be taken away pulled by her 207

hair. This was done without the knowledge of anyone and almost immediately, Vivambhara began to feel the usual ecstasy in dancing. He said, Now I can feel the ecstasy. rvsa Paita was very happy to hear this and laughing, he joined in the krtana. T h e krtana picked up momentum indicating the devotees jubilant response; everyone was laughing and dancing. Lord Caitanya danced in divine pleasure and Nitynanda danced around Him. r Caitanyas pastimes are not visible to everyone, only to those fortunate souls who receive the Lords special mercy. On another occasion, Lord Caitanya while dancing suddenly stopped and looked about Himself discontentedly. He said, I am not feeling any joy from dancing today. I do not know what offences I have committed against a Vaiava. Everyone stopped and wondered what had gone wrong. This incidence is actually a sequel to something that had happened earlier. Advaita crya is naturally a devotee of Lord Caitanya in the mood of servitorship. When Lord Caitanya sits on the throne of Lord Viu, he places the Lords lotus feet upon his head. In addition, when the Lord begins exhibiting His power and grandeur, Advaita crya is carried upon the waves of bliss. When the Lord says, O N! You are My servant. Advaita crya becomes submerged in oceanic bliss. Lord Caitanyas nature and position is inconceivable and cannot be understood. One moment, He is the Supreme Autocrat and in the next moment, He reaches out to embrace the feet of the Vaiavas. Crying out in great humility, the Lord said, O Ka, My dearest Lord, You are My very life! The Lord wept in such a pathetic manner that even stone-like hearts melted in pity. The Lord continuously manifested these devotional moods of servitorship. In front of everyone, He discarded the omnipotent demeanour of the Supreme Lord and acting contrary to the nature of His omniscient self, He enquired, Have I done something due to lack of self restraint and restlessness of mind? If so, then why was I not immediately put to death? Ka is My life and soul, 208

Ka is My goal, and you are My brothers and friends birth after birth. Devotional service to Ka is the ultimate destination, all of you kindly instil this faith in Me otherwise, I will become wayward. All the devotees became perplexed with anxiety and no one could defy the words of the Lord. At other times, when the Lord Himself was in His omnipotent mood, He Himself ordered the devotees to touch His lotus feet. However now, feeling the mood of a devotee of Ka, the Lord, upon seeing the Vaiavas, took the dust from their feet, offering them respect. This intensely hurt the devotees within and so to mitigate their misery the Lord embraced them. The Lord, in such moods, respected Advaita crya as guru. However, this caused Advaita much pain. Though service was Advaitas only wish, the crya always found it so difficult to serve the Lord, as the Lord would not allow it. Now, in addition, the Lord was considering him guru and begging for the dust of his feet. Consequently, Advaita crya was always contemplating how to serve the Lord and be specially blessed by having the dust from the Lords lotus feet upon his head. Since this was impossible while the Lord was aware and conscious, Advaita would wait for the Lord to go into an ecstatic trance and then prostrating himself, he would smear the dust from the Lords lotus feet upon his head. Embracing His lotus feet, he wept, bathing them with his tears of love. Sometimes he wiped and cleaned His lotus feet upon his head and on other occasions, he would offer the Lord full worship. All this was possible for Advaita to do only by the Lords grace. Accordingly, one must understand that Advaita crya is foremost amongst the Lords associates for he has fully received the Lords blessings. The envious and jealous cannot appreciate such wonderful qualities in Advaita crya. This day, when Lord Vivambhara was dancing, Advaita crya was happily dancing circumambulating Him. Suddenly, Lord Caitanya fell down unconscious in the highest state of spiritual ecstasy. Advaita
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crya, seeing this as an opportunity, took the dust from the Lords lotus feet and stealthily smeared the dust all over his body. Lord Caitanya got up and again started dancing. Nevertheless, He did not feel the usual exultation. The Lord then said, Why is My heart not revealing to Me the reason for My dissatisfaction? Whom have I offended that I must be without joy? Which thief has stolen from Me and by this offence, I cannot dance in carefree ecstasy? Has anyone taken the dust from My feet? Kindly speak out the truth, do not worry, you have My assurance that nothing will happen. When the devotees heard Lord Caitanya, who is the Omniscient Supersoul, within everyones heart, they remained silent in fear. On one hand, they were afraid of Advaita crya and on the other if they did not speak the truth, it was doomsday for them. Understanding their dilemma, Advaita crya spoke up. With folded hands Advaita crya said, My dear Lord Caitanya, if a thief cannot have the treasure he is looking for while the master is awake and unwilling, then, the thief must steal it while the master is unable to see or know. I have stolen the dust from Your lotus feet; kindly forgive me for this offence. If this dissatisfies You my Lord, I will not do it again. Lord Caitanya became infuriated by Advaitas words and, under the pretext of angry words, He revealed the transcendental qualities of Advaita crya. He said, Even after You have annihilated the entire cosmic creation, You do not feel a touch of remorse. After this total devastation, only I remain yet it seems that You will be content only after You have devastated Me. You do not destroy the sages, hermits, yogis and philosophers with Your trident. Yet, those who come to You, humbly seeking Your grace, You catch their feet and finish them off. I am just a Vaiava from Vndvana, Mathur (referring to Himself as Ka) and I have come to pay My respects at Your lotus feet. While such a person should develop more attachment to Lord Viu by seeing Your lotus feet, instead You devastate whatever devotion He possesses.
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You have reduced My devotional wealth by taking from Me the dust of My feet. Lord Ka has bestowed upon You all the devotion available in this unlimited creation. Yet, You steal from one with a meagre holding. You have no compassion. When it comes to destroying someones devotion, You are heartless. The Lord spoke the real facts about Advaita cryas transcendental character under the pretext of being angry and all the devotees were enjoying the fun. The Lord continued, You have been stealing and You think I am not able to do the same, just wait and see how to steal from a thief. The Lord embraced Advaita crya and catching his feet smeared the dust from his feet upon His body, laughing as He did so. Advaita cryas strength was no match for the lion-like Lord Gaurasundara as the Lord took his feet and rubbed them upon His head. He then placed Advaitas feet upon His chest and said, Now see how I have bound the thief on My lap, You tried to steal from Me, many, many times, a little at a time, but I have relieved you of everything at one time. Advaita crya said, My Lord, whatever You say is true. You are the real proprietor of everything and I am an ignorant person. Everything belongs to You, my life, intelligence, mind and body. Who could protect me if you decide to destroy or punish me? You are the giver of happiness and You also mete out punishment. When Nrada Muni travelled to Dvrak to pray at Your lotus feet, You in turn took the dust of His feet. If You wish to finish off Your own devotee then what may that devotee do? You should allow the devotees to take the dust from Your lotus feet, but that never occurs. Who can defy Your instructions on this matter? You are acting in this way and Your Omnipotence is not in question. However, You may desire pleasure out of Your actions, but they will surely destroy me. Yet, ultimately, this body is Yours, so You may do as You desire, You can maintain this body or devastate it. 211

Lord Vivambhara replied, I serve Your feet since You are the keeper of the storehouse of devotional service. By smearing the dust of Your feet all over ones body, one attains ka-prema as You always distribute such in valuable treasure. Know that I am Your property in every respect. You can sell me anywhere, this is the truth. The devotees marvelled to see Lord Caitanyas extraordinary munificence towards Advaita crya. They were saying, Truly the Lord has blessed him, he is a most exalted personality. The mercy Advaita crya has received from Lord Caitanya is scarcely attainable by even Lord iva and far better than a million liberations. We are so fortunate to associate with such an elevated devotee. Let us smear the dust from his lotus feet all over our bodies. Only those who are suffering the reactions of their most degraded sinful activities cannot appreciate Advaita cryas position. All the activities of such personalities are absolute. The cynics and doubters of this fall away from the path of righteousness. Lord Vivambhara stood up chanting, Haribol! Haribol! and all the devotees gathered around Him and started singing. Advaita crya was overwhelmed with a surge of ecstasy and he began to dance. He ran his fingers through his flowing beard, his eyebrows were drawn together in a frown and he raised his voice as loud as thunder. The devotees sang joyfully, Jaya Ka, Gopla, Govinda, Vanaml. Lord Nitynanda and Lord Caitanya danced in rapture, yet Lord Nitynanda was always watchful of Lord Caitanyas movements. Anytime Lord Caitanya lost consciousness and started falling, Lord Nitynanda would stretch out His hands and prevent the Lord from falling. Lord Caitanyas limitless dancing is beyond description and when He sang both Sarasvat dev and Lord Balarma united and manifested in the melodies of His singing, thus fully satisfying Him. The different ecstatic symptoms manifested one after another in His body, shivering,
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weeping, laughing, long and heavy breathing, feelings of total humility, feeling of immense arrogance, loss of consciousness, etc. After awhile, He sat upon the throne and laughed out aloud with a booming sound. The Lord showered His grace upon the different devotees according to the degree of their spiritual realization, thereby carrying them up in waves of great bliss. Now hear how Lord Gaurga showed His special mercy upon uklmbara Brahmacr, a native of Navadvpa who was then standing in front of the Lord. uklmbara was righteous and peaceful, always performing his duties, yet no one recognised what an exalted devotee he was. He went around Navadvpa town with a cloth bag over his shoulder, begging from house to house. Tears would stream from his eyes as he constantly chanted the name of Ka. People treated him with the usual disdain reserved for beggars, but the brhmaa begged from everyone, even from the most impoverished dwellings. At the end of the day, he prepared everything and, after first offering it to Ka, he would take the remnants. By the grace of the Holy Name of Ka, He never felt the desolate chill of poverty. Love of Ka made him ever blissful as he went to each door, chanting the name of Ka. Who can recognize a devotee of Lord Caitanya other than the person who has received the mercy of Lord Caitanya? uklmbara, the poor and devoted brhmaa, was just like Sudm, Kas friend. He was always inside the house of rvsa seeing Lord Caitanya dance. This was certainly the Lords special mercy. One day, the Lord was seated upon the throne in the mood of the Supreme Controller Godhead. He saw uklmbara Brahmacr join the dancing with a cloth bag hanging down from his shoulder. He was dancing with carefree glee; the Lord and the devotees enjoyed the sight and laughed. The munificent Lord addressed uklmbara endearingly, asking him to come nearer. The Lord said, Birth after birth, you have been My impoverished devotee, offering Me everything and remaining a beggar yourself. All 213

that time, I also have desired your offerings and if you will not give them to Me, then I must have them by force. In Dvrak, I snatched away the sack of chipped rice that you kept concealed. When I started eating from it, Rukmi Dev took hold of My hand to stop Me. The Lord then plunged His hand inside uklmbaras bag and picked up handfuls of husked rice putting it inside His mouth and chewing it. uklmbara hastily said, O Lord, what have You done, this rice is full of broken chips. The Lord replied, I eat with delight your chipped rice pieces, but I will never accept or ask for nectar from a non-devotee. The Lord, who is the life and soul of the devotees, is fully independent and always submerged in the highest state of transcendental bliss. Who could forbid Him from eating the chipped rice? The devotees marvelled at the Lords unlimited compassion and holding their heads in their hands, they wept profusely in joy. Feeling they had never seen such kindness before, they rolled about, ecstatically oblivious of everything. Chanting Kas Holy Name, the devotees started up a jubilant krtana and everyone, either young or old, joined in with tears in their eyes. The devotees wanted to express their humility and joy. Some offered obeisances to the Lord; others spoke out saying, O Lord! Kindly never leave me! uklmbara was feeling the highest ecstasy seeing the Lord of Vaikuha merrily chewing upon his chipped rice. The Lord said, O uklmbara Brahmacr, I reside eternally in your heart. I eat when you are eating and when you go out begging it is as though I am going out for a walk. I have descended to distribute kaprema and you are My eternal servitor, birth after birth. I gift you now with loving devotional service, which is most dear to Me. The Vaiava assembly greeted these benedictory words with clamorous and joyous appreciation. Only the most righteous souls know the real essence of the begging activities of the servants of the Supreme Lord, r Nryaa. It is a real wonder that the Lord of the Goddess of Fortune is
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snatching and eating the chipped rice that has been begged for from many different houses by a poor brhmaa. In the Vedas, the Lord Himself has instructed how to offer Him foodstuffs with different mudrs and mantras and without these, the Lord refuses to accept anything. Nevertheless, the Lord Himself has transgressed these rules and regulations for the sake of His pure devotees. The eating of uklmbaras chipped rice is the living proof. Therefore, the conclusion is that transcendental love is the foremost of all rules, regulations and rituals. Rules and regulations are meant to be subservient and secondary to spontaneous devotional service; those who are dissatisfied with this arrangement fall down from the path of selfrealization. rla Vedavysa has expounded in the Vedic literatures that devotional service to the Transcendental Lord is the basis and source of all rules and regulations. However, these rules and regulations are subservient to the movements and moods of spontaneous loving devotion and now this superior position of spontaneous loving devotion has been directly substantiated by Lord Gaurga. The brhmaa uklmbara did not voluntarily offer the rice with the required regulations and mudrs, yet the Lord ate it with joyful painstaking care. Those materialists who have been blinded by the glitter of gold, position and family cannot recognize a Vaiava devotee. Lord Ka never accepts the offerings of those who ridicule a Vaiava seeing him only as a poor simpleton. In the rmad Bhgavatam SB 4.31.21:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes very dear to those devotees who have no material possessions, but are fully happy in possessing the devotional service of the Lord. Indeed, the Lord relishes the devotional activities of such devotees. Those who are puffed up with material education, wealth, aristocracy and fruitive activity are very proud of possessing material things, and they often deride the devotees. Even if such people offer the Lord worship, the Lord never accepts them.
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The Vedas glorify Ka as being the life of the materially impoverished and surrendered souls, and Lord Gaurga is personally showing this by His example. One who hears this narration of how Lord Caitanya ate uklmbaras rice will indeed attain loving devotion to Lord Caitanyas lotus feet. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at their lotus feet.
17. The Glories of the Devotees
All Glory to Lord Gaurasundara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! All Glory to Lord Nitynanda, the embodiment of the highest mood of devotional service! In the Madhya-khaa, the narrations of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord are a cascade of nectar that can wash away the contaminations of ones faithlessness. Lord Caitanya continued His non-stop krtanas and even then, His abstruse identity remained undisclosed to the common man. When He went about the town, the people were stunned by His exquisite looks they thought that He might be Cupid. However, some people also thought that His demeanour was arrogant. The atheists and logicians felt that He paid little attention and respect to the scholars holding titles. He walked about in a carefree manner and when out He associated mostly with His devotees. The atheists would say to Lord Caitanya, O Nimi Paita, as Your friends we advise You to be careful, because the king might summon You to his court any day now. The people do not see You, but hear Your nightlong krtanas and this disturbs their sleep. They curse You and send reports against You and naturally the king believes the people.
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Lord Caitanya replied, Let it be so, let your words become true, it has been My wish to see the king. I have studied all the scriptures since childhood, yet no one inquires from Me on any subject considering Me too young and immature. I do not usually meet anyone who actually wants to meet Me; therefore, if someone wants to have audience with Me, I am indeed pleased. The atheists sarcastically continued, The king is a Muslim, he will not engage himself in a scriptural debate, he will want to just hear Your krtana. The Lord just ignored them and went home. The Lord said to His devotees, Let us perform krtana, I feel discontent because I have spoken to atheists today. The Lord of Vaikuha, Nimi Paita, began to dance and all His associates danced around Him. Suddenly stopping everything, Lord Caitanya spoke hesitantly, O My dear brothers, today everything I do lacks loving ecstasy. Perhaps because I have spoken to atheists, or maybe I have offended You, in which case kindly forgive me and resuscitate My withering soul. The greatly blessed Advaita crya who was plainly grimacing as he danced said, How will You feel ecstasy, N has drained it all from You. Neither rvsa Paita, nor I can achieve this ka-prema, however low class millers and gardeners are relishing the exchange of devotional love with You. Moreover, even Avadhta Nitynanda is a recipient of Your love, but not rvsa Paita or me. We have been downgraded and made non-eligible for Your love, but this Avadhta has come from nowhere and become the in-charge of the storehouse of ka-prema. Listen to me, My Lord; if You do not give me this kaprema, then I shall draw out from You all the love You possess. Who will blame me for this? Advaita crya is always intoxicated with love for Lord Caitanya, therefore he is unmindful of what he says or does. He is most expert at increasing the fame and glory of Kas devotees and he is the property of the Vaiavas. They can sell and distribute Him wherever they wish; such is the degree of His surrender to the Vaiava devotees. Similarly,
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Advaitas words to Lord Caitanya are not surprising to hear, for he is a devotee of such stature that he can control, distribute and sell even Ka by his loving devotion. Lord Caitanya arranges so many ways for His devotees to advance in spiritual life, who can understand His mercy and ways of chastising. The Lord felt empty within, devoid of ka-prema and Advaita crya clapped his hands and danced. Lord Vivambhara heard the words of Advaita crya, but did not reply. Right then, He left the house closing the door behind Him. Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura hurried after Him. The Lord was brooding, considering Himself devoid of ka-prema and thereby the maintenance of His body, He thought useless. Accordingly, He plunged into the waters of the Gag. Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura almost simultaneously jumped into the water. Swimming swiftly, Nitynanda caught the Lord by His hair and Haridsa firmly gripped His feet. They brought Vivambhara to the safety of the riverbank. The Lord inquired of them, Why did you capture Me, what is the necessity of prolonging this lifeless soul who has no love of Ka. You have committed a mistake. Both Nitynanda and Haridsa were shaking in fearful anticipation of what might occur next. Gauracandra looking at Nitynanda said, Why did You catch Me by My hair? Nitynanda replied, Why were You trying to finish Yourself? Lord Caitanya said, I know You are always engrossed in love of Ka. Nitynanda replied, O Lord, please forgive everything. The person who nearly perished is the person for whom You are trying to sacrifice Your life. Your devotees have spoken to You harshly out of loving insolence and on these grounds must You leave us? You who art the most precious life of Your servitors? Always relishing Lord Caitanyas love, Nitynanda spoke with an endearing voice full of affection and love. Tears filled his eyes, for Caitanya means everything to Nitynanda.
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The Lord said, Listen carefully Nitynanda and Haridsa. Do not disclose to anyone that you have seen Me. If anyone enquires, tell them You know nothing of My whereabouts. I will remain here in hiding, if You do not follow what I say, then I am not responsible for the consequences. The Lord then went to Nandana cryas house. Being bound by the Lords order, Nitynanda and Haridsa did not reveal any of these facts to anyone. The devotees entered a state of painful shock and took shelter in Lord Ka when they did not receive any news of the Lord. They were torn apart by separation from their Lord, their hearts and minds were burning up. The devotees felt thunderstruck, especially Advaita crya, who was ravaged by a tremendous sense of guilt. Feeling intense separation from the Lord, he went home and began to fast not hearing his own name. The other devotees also went back to their homes, their hours darkened by deep sorrow, but ensconced within their hearts was their only treasure, the Lords lotus feet. The Lord entered Nandana cryas house and sat on the throne of r Viu. Nandana crya felt that his house was now most blessed by the Lords presence; he fell flat on the ground to offer obeisances to the Lord. He immediately brought fresh new clothes to the Lord and Lord Caitanya changed out of His wet clothes into the new ones. Nandana crya then decorated the Lord with the flower garlands of the deities, sandalwood paste, scented oils and brought Him chewing betel leaf in camphor. The Lord enjoyed these offerings made by His pure devotee in loving surrender and forgot His aching heart. The Lord said, O Nandana crya, kindly hear Me, I want you to hide Me here. Nandana replied, My dear Lord, that is almost an impossible task, where in this entire creation can You hide? You could not remain hiding within the hearts of the living entities, but were made to appear 219

in Person by Your pure devotees. One who could not successfully hide, lying in the middle of the vast Milk Ocean, how can He hide in the middle of this congested human inhabitation? Lord Caitanya smiled appreciating Nandana cryas words, and passed the night in his house. Nandana was indeed very pious and fortunate. He conversed with the Lord the whole night long with the greatest of pleasure, divining topics of Lord Ka and His pastimes. As if in a short moment, the night was gone and as the Lord looked out, He saw the first faint light peeping through. At first, the Lord, in His mind, was chastising Advaita crya, but later He felt very compassionate towards him. Lord Caitanya instructed Nandana crya, Bring rvsa Paita here alone. Nandana left immediately for rvsa Paitas house and brought him to the Lords presence. rvsa Paita broke down into tears of love as soon as he saw Lord Caitanya. The Lord spoke to him ever so kindly, Do not worry any more, now tell Me how are the devotees and in particular Advaita crya? rvsa Paita described the critical condition of the devotees and said, There is more news; Advaita crya is fasting since yesterday and is somehow still aliveonly his body remains. He is exceedingly afflicted, be merciful to him my Lord, and appear before him in person. If this concerned someone other than Advaita I would not feel responsible, but I know that you mean everything to him. Without You, my Lord, our lives are dark and gloomy, that is the reason why we are suffering such excruciating pain in separation. Your leaving us is more than enough of a harsh chastisement, so now kindly return and give us Your mercy. Hearing rvsas words, Caitanya felt supremely compassionate and left to see Advaita. Upon arriving, the Lord saw Advaita in a state of most abysmal gloom, thinking himself the worst offender. Advaita felt he had
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become overly proud by receiving the Lords special grace. Now he was shaking all over his body from this punishment by Lord Caitanya. Advaitas pitiable condition softened the Lords heart and He spoke benignly, O Advaita crya, get up and see Me. Vivambhara has come to see You. Feeling ashamed, Advaita remained silent and in intense love for the Lord, he just meditated upon His lotus feet. Again Caitanya addressed him, Rise up Advaita, discard your mood of discontentment and go about in your normal custom. Advaita crya replied, O Lord, You caused me to behave incorrectly. All that You speak about me is surely superfluous praise, this turns my head and boosts up my pride, leading me to the path of hell. You have allowed every other devotee to develop a healthy mood of servitorship to You, but to me You show Your reverence. I then act badly, mistaking my position, after which You mete out chastisement accordingly. You say that I am Your servant, but, in Your mind, You harbour other ideas. You are my life, treasure, body, mind, You are everything to me. Yet, You cause me pain, that is, of course, the prerogative of Your Supreme Position. My dear Lord, I just pray to You for one thing, kindly allow me to serve You as Your eternal servant and give me shelter at Your lotus feet as You would to a maidservants son. In front of the assembly of Vaiavas, Gaurasundara then spoke to Advaita crya, Listen Advaita, I will reveal to you an esoteric truth. Let Me cite you an example that will clarify My point. When a highly placed and trusted officer of the realm has access to audience with the king then all the guards and servants approach him with their problems, wishing them to be placed before the king. The officer carefully performs this duty and may also collect and disburse necessary remunerations from the king for such guards and
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servants. These monies are very important for the guards and servants for they help to sustain their many families. However, if such a trusted officer commits a grievous offence then the kings order for his death will not put the guards and servants into anxiety for their own sustenance. On one hand, as a mark of appreciation of his loyalty the officer was entrusted with important duties, nevertheless, the same person may be executed for serious offences. Similarly, Lord Ka is the Emperor of all kings and emperors. He is the master of both Brahm, the creator of the universe, and iva, the annihilator of the creation. The Lord has bestowed upon all their individual potency, whether it be creation, annihilation, or anything else. No one dare raise objection if the Lord wants to punish any particular individual. Even Ram, Lakm Dev, the Goddess of Fortune, who is the eternal consort of Lord Nryaa, is sometimes punished and even Lord Brahm and the other demigods are not spared His punishment. However, the Lord is always prepared to forgive the offences of His devotees. When Lord Ka sees anyone committing an offence and actually punishes him then, know for certain, that that person will become His eternal servant. So get up, bathe, and complete your daily worship, then eat and stop worrying. Advaita crya became elated. The servant became jubilant hearing the punishment of his master. Advaita said, Now I can say, You are my Lord and master! He began to dance clapping his hands. He was overwhelmed with joy being reassured of the Lords shelter and forgot his previous sorrows. The devotees became very happy. Nitynanda Prabhu and Haridsa hkura began laughing. Those who are unfortunate are deprived of relishing this nectarine pastime of the Lord.
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Advaita crya is Lord Caitanyas eternal servitor and anyone who considers Advaitas spiritual wealth and position, as the Lords servant, to be meagre and low is in great illusion. The significance and standing of a servant of the Supreme Lord should never be diminished because the Lord never elevates anyone to the position of His servitor until that person has sufficient spiritual realization to attain that transcendental platform. A person must first attain liberation, thus breaking the bonds of the materialistic conception of life, only then does he become eligible to be a servitor of Lord Ka. The great cryas, who worship the Supreme Lord, Ka, and describe His transcendental pastimes, have carefully delineated this topic in their commentaries of the rmad Bhgavatam and other Vedic works. The pure devotees of Ka are all invested with His spiritual potency, however, if one amongst them commits any offences Ka may mercifully punish him to rectify him. Devotees who are narrow minded and bigoted start fighting over petty matters. This is a serious deviation from the path of spiritual realization and so a properly knowledgeable devotee will refrain from taking sides in such disputes. Pure devotion is possessed by someone who has no doubt that Gauracandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; others who doubt Gauracandras supreme position are faithless. Their devotion is impure and will ultimately lead them to degradation. Such faithless persons sometimes play the part of a goru collecting disciples who themselves have the intelligence of asses and foxes. These gorus (cows and asses) instruct their disciples to think that their goru is equivalent to the Supreme Lord Himself. Those who possess the power to create, maintain, and annihilate this material cosmos are certainly not greater than the pure devotees of Lord Caitanya. One of the best examples is Lord Balarma; although He is the 223

support of the entire cosmic creation, still His greatest perfection lies in His pure devotion to Lord Caitanya. All glory to Nitynanda, Haladhara, by whose mercy one is able to glorify r Caitanya. Only He can bless one to develop attachment for r Caitanya. I am narrating all these pastimes only by His potency. One thought I always cherish in my mind is that my Lord and master, Nitynanda Prabhu, is the servant of r Caitanya. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at their lotus feet.
18. r Caitanya Portrays the Gops through Dance
All glory to Lord Gauracandra, the benefactor of the world, kindly place Your lotus feet upon a cushion deep within my heart! You are the life and soul of Lord Nitynanda and Svarpa Dmodara Gosi. You are the abode of all excellencies and the Protector of Your devotees! All glory to You and Your devotees! One attains the highest perfection, ka-prema, by hearing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya as He gradually unfolds the transcendental mystery of the congregational chanting of Lord Kas Holy Name! Kindly hear these narrations of the Madhya-khaa attentively as they reveal the pastimes of Vivambhara dancing dressed as Lakm Dev, the Goddess of Fortune and eternal consort of r Nryaa. One day, Vivambhara told His devotees that He wanted a dance drama arranged. He called for Buddhimanta Khn and instructed him, Prepare
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a stage for a dance drama and get the costumes, conch shells, bangles, brassieres, silk saris, ornaments and other items for everyone. I will take the role of Lakm Dev, Gaddhara Paita will take the role of Rukmi Dev, and Brahmnanda will be her lady companion, Suprabht. Nitynanda will play My grandmother, and Haridsa will play the guard responsible to keep everyone awake. rvsa will be Nrada Muni, rrma will be his brhmaa disciple and take messages, and rmn will insist on being the torchbearer. So Buddhimanta, quickly go and arrange everything, I want to dance. Sadiva and Buddhimanta became very enlivened and happily went off to make the necessary arrangements. He pulled out a canopy made in Kthy for just such occasions and built a nice enclosure and stage. He also brought the different required costumes and placed them before the Lord. Vivambhara was pleased with the costumes and He said, Today I will dance as the potency and consort of the Supreme Lord. Only those who are in control of their senses may enter the house to see the performance, others should not to enter. At first, upon hearing that Vivambhara would dance as Lakm Dev, the Vaiavas were happy and excited. Later, when the Lord explained the conditions He had set, they became depressed in spirit. The first person to react was Advaita crya, he drew a line upon the floor and said, I cannot see the dance today. I come under the category of persons with uncontrolled senses so I have no business seeing the dance. rvsa Paita joined in saying, Yes, I also feel the same way. Caitanya gave a short laugh and said, If you do not come then for whom am I to dance? Lord Caitanya, the supremely scintillating actor, reviewed His instructions and said, All of you do not worry, today, you will be the most perfected and self-controlled yogis. You will not be attacked by delusion upon seeing My dance. 225

Advaita crya, rvsa Paita and all the other Vaiavas became merry again and followed the Lord to Candraekhara cryas house. Mother acdev, accompanied by Viupriy dev, and the female relatives of all the Vaiavas went to attend Caitanyas dance performance, which they had heard would be a unique opportunity to see Caitanya portraying Lakm Dev. Candraekhara crya was indeed a very fortunate soul to have Caitanya reveal such an unprecedented pastime in his house. Caitanya sat down with all the devotees and allocated the different roles to them. Advaita crya, with folded hands, enquired repeatedly, Which role would You like me to play? The Lord replied, All the roles are at your disposal, choose whichever you like. Advaita crya was at a loss as to which role to play. He made the usual expressions and danced about, floating on clouds of ecstasy. The other Vaiavas began a jubilant melodious ka-krtana lead by Mukunda who sang with a clear, charming voice, Sing Rma, Ka, Hari, Gopla, Govinda. First to enter the drama arena was Haridsa hkura, dressed as a guard flourishing a fully grown flowing moustache, a turban tied around his head and a piece of cloth tied tightly around his waist. With an ominous looking stick, he warned everyone, Hear now! Hear now! My brothers look sharp and sit up, the Lord and soul of the universe, r Caitanya, will now dance as Lakm Dev. He wiggled his stick and paced about as his body horripilated due to loving sentiments for Ka. In the audience, this stirred the same spiritual emotions. With a loud and arrogant voice, he declared, Worship Lord Ka, render service unto Him and chant His Holy Names! The devotees broke out into peals of laughter seeing this new appearance of Haridsa and asked, Who are You? What are You doing here? Haridsa hkura replied, I am a guard in Vaikuha. Continuously, I travel everywhere to awaken Ka consciousness in all. The Supreme Lord has left His eternal abode, Vaikuha, to descend
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here and distribute ka-prema, indiscriminately and profusely. Today, He will dance in the role of Lakm Dev, so you should diligently and greedily collect the available love of Ka. Saying this, he twirled his handlebar moustache and moved about the arena stomping and loudly exclaiming with his partner, Murri Gupta. Both these devotees are pure loving servants of Ka and indeed Gauracandra is always residing within their hearts. Soon, rvsa Paita entered the arena. He was dressed as Nrada Muni and looking very joyful. He had a long white beard, his body was decorated with little dots of sandalwood paste and he carried a v over his shoulders and held kua grass in his hands. He looked about himself as he stood in the middle of the arena. Rmi Paita followed him in with a folded sitting mat under his arm, holding a renunciates water pot. Rmi spread the mat for Nrada to sit upon; it was as if Nrada Muni had appeared in person. The devotees were impressed with Nradas make-up and laughed in appreciation, but Advaita spoke up in a loud grave voice, Who are you and what brings you here? rvsa replied, Listen carefully to my narration. Nrada is my name, I am a singer. I sing about Ka and travel the length and breath of this unlimited cosmos. In search of Ka, I have just been to Vaikuha and there I was informed that Ka has come to Navadvpa. In Vaikuha, I noticed that the houses were empty and practically no one was in sight. I could not remain in such deserted place even if it were Vaikuha, so I remembered my Lord and came here. Today, my Lord is dancing here dressed as Lakm Dev, that is why you find me here. When rvsa finished speaking the Vaiavas had no doubt that in speech, looks, action and character rvsa was the very same person as Nrada. The devotees greeted him with loud applause. Mother ac was sitting with the other pious and pure ladies, drinking the nectar of Ka consciousness that flowed freely in the play. She asked Mlin dev Is that Paita, Your good husband? Mlin replied,
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Indeed, it is so. acdev is the mother of the universe, she marvelled at rvsa Paitas present appearance and feeling uncontrollable joy, she fell down unconscious. Everyone was amazed at this wonderful sight. The ladies around acdev chanted Kas names into her ears and slowly she regained consciousness. Then remembering Ka, Govinda, she again became spiritually restless making it difficult for the ladies to hold her still. Inside and outside the house, people were moved by wonderful spiritual emotions and they wept oblivious of everything. Inside the dressing room, Vivambhara had finished dressing and suddenly He was overcome and captured by the emotions and moods of Rukmi Dev. The Lord forgot Himself, thinking and feeling like the Princess of Vidarbha, Rukmi Dev. He wanted to write a letter to Ka for help. Tears rolled down His cheeks and became His ink, Mother Earth, the paper, and His finger, the pen. He wrote down the seventh verse of Rukmi Devs letter to Ka from the rmad Bhgavatam 10.52.37. The enraptured devotees watched the drama with moistened eyes. Now hear these verses, which call the Supreme Lord to become the husband, the only beloved, and protector of Rukmi Dev. Before the devotees, Caitanya started speaking with the mood and emotion of Rukmi Dev sending her message to r Ka. He said, O My matchless beauty, when I heard of Your wonderful qualities, all the material miseries that have set me on fire were quickly removed. The sight of Your charming face is the rarest treasure of the world. Only those who are given the eyes to see this wonderful sight, by the Lords mercy, are truly able to see. O Lion hearted Yadu king, Your fame has fanned my hearts desire to reach out to You. In this universe, which chaste maiden can resist the attraction of Your lotus feet if she has had, but once, the opportunity to worship You? In Your absence, erudition, aristocracy, character, wealth, beauty, good behaviour and palaces all seem futile and empty.
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O Supreme Lord, forgive my shamelessness for I cannot refrain my yearning heart from rushing out to meet You. Thus, I have earned Your lotus feet and offer my mind, intelligence, and my very life to You. Now kindly make me Your maidservant by accepting me as Your wife; let not terrible fate make me the object of iuplas pleasure. O Lord, let me be Your property, so that which is meant for the lion may not be usurped by the jackal. If I have truly worshiped and served the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Acyuta, Viu, by austerity, pious works, sacrifices, charity, rituals and vows, and also by worshiping the demigods, brhmaas and gurus, then may Gadgraja, the Lord who holds the mace, come and take my hand, and not Damaghoas son, iupla, or anyone else. May you become my eternal master and iupla be driven out of my life forever, this it the only favour I ask of You. Tomorrow, I am supposed to wed this iupla, so come immediately without delay. At first, remain secretly near the palace in hiding and then enter the palace assembly with your army. You must take me from the midst of such kings as aiby, lva, and Jarsandha with Your valour and might. This is the opportunity to show off Your katriya pride and strength, Your wife is not meant to be desecrated by iupla. However, You will have to kidnap me from amongst my friends and relatives, so You must be careful not to harm them. I have a plan how this can be accomplished and I place it for approval at Your lotus feet. It is customary in our family that the bride to be visits the temple of Durg Dev on the day before her marriage. This is the best chance for You to kidnap me without hurting my friends. Forgive me my Lord, if I sound offensive, but the dust of Your lotus feet is coveted by all the goddesses and demigods and even Lord iva desires to cover his body with this dust. If You do not offer me the same as a token of Your mercy, then I will surely take an oath to quit this body. O
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my lotus eyed Lord, please listen, I am willing to go through as many lifetimes as is required, but I must receive the dust of Your lotus feet. Caitanya the turned to the brhmaa and said, Have you heard carefully, O brhmaa? Now run swiftly to Ka with this message and beg Him on my behalf. Thus, the Lord manifested Rukmis mood and emotions making the devotees sometimes weep and at other times laugh, all this happening under the influence of love of Ka. Candraekharas house reverberated with the jubilant sounds of Lord Haris name. Haridsa continued his duty as the guard, who wakes up everyone, and rvsa Paita, playing Nrada Muni, contributed by dancing. The first scene ended upon this merry note. The second scene commenced with Gaddhara Paita, as Ram-dev, entering the arena with her old lady companion enacted by Brahmnanda. Brahmnanda was so well costumed with a net-like cloth draped over the shoulders that he was unrecognisable in his role as an old lady with a stick in one hand and a basket clamped under the other arm. Haridsa inquired, To where are you ladies travelling? Brahmnanda replied, Mathur is our destination. rvsa Paita probed further, Who are your husbands? Brahmnanda rallied, Why must you know that? rvsa said, Is it not proper to ask? Brahmnanda simply said, Yes, yes! and shook his head. Gagdsa said, Where will you stay today? Brahmnanda replied, Why do you ask? Oh! Will you give us a place? Gagdsa said, That is a big request, no need for further discussions. You should move away from here. 230

Advaita crya then spoke up, What is the necessity for such interrogations? Others wives are to be respected as ones mother, so why talk in this manner? However, my Lord is extremely fond of singing and dancing, so dance now and you will receive some handsome rewards. Advaita cryas words were soothing to Gaddhara Paita and being encouraged and pleased, he began to dance. He was dressed as Ramdev, Lakm Dev, and his dancing was enrapturing. The devotees sang appropriate songs in accompaniment. The devotees found themselves unable to remain patient; they were moved to tears by Gaddharas ecstatic dancing. Gaddharas tears of love of Ka cascaded down to be received most gratefully by the fortunate Mother Earth. It was as if Gag dev had appeared in person. Indeed the transcendental internal potency of Lord Ka was perfectly portrayed. As Lord Caitanya would so often say, Gaddhara is My dearest companion from Vaikuha. Those present in the assembly, the performing artists and the audience, were enraptured in ka-prema by the mercy of Lord Caitanya. All around, Lord Haris name was chanted loudly, accompanied by tears of loving ecstasy. Gaddhara Paita, steeped in the mood of a gop, danced and danced. Just then, Vivambhara entered the arena dressed as the original pleasure potency of the Lord, Rdhr. In His front, Nitynanda, as the old grandmother Prams, walked slightly bent looking astutely about herself; her whole demeanour exuded ecstatic love for Ka. The Vaiava assembly greeted them with loud jubilant applause. It was impossible to recognize Caitanya as He had dressed Himself very well and looked most charming. The audience saw just two ladies, the elderly lady played by Nitynanda Prabhu and the young enchantress played by Caitanya, but nothing indicated their actual identities. The assembly tried to guess who was who, but nobody could definitely decide.
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They started to wonder had Ram-dev, Lakm Dev, just now appeared out of the ocean, or were this St Dev, the consort of Lord Rmacandra? Maybe she were Mah-Lakm, the eternal consort of Lord Nryaa, or Prvat Dev, the wife of Lord iva? Is this the most precious gem of Vndvana, rmat Rdhr, or perhaps Gag dev, or even Mah-my? Each devotee imagined and guessed without recognizing the Lord, even persons who had known the Lord since birth were also fully deceived. What to speak of other people being misled; even Mother acdev failed to recognize her own son. She said, This must be Lakm Dev herself, come here to dance. The consort and pleasure potency of the Lord, rmat Rdhr, is inconceivable and Lord Hari, the Supreme Lord Himself, was now playing her part. The bewitching form of the Lords consort and potency had put iva and Prvat Dev into illusion, yet presently the assembled Vaiavas did not experience the same effect by the Lords special grace upon them. The Lord showed His unlimited compassion on the Vaiavas like a mother tending Her young ones. All the devotees felt that the beautiful consort manifested by Caitanya was their mother on a visit from the spiritual realm. Their exultations were unreserved and they forgot themselves. Advaita and all the devotees were swept away on waves of spiritual bliss in love of Ka seeing their beloved Lord dressed in the role of Lakm Dev. Vivambhara, as Lakm Dev, was the universal mother and as He danced, being overtaken by different emotions, the singers sang appropriate songs complimenting the Lords moods. The devotees could not discern with certainty what or whose spiritual emotions were being manifest by the Lords dancing. When the Lord suddenly asked, O brhmaa, has Ka arrived? Then they understood that the Lord was Rukmi Dev, the Princess of Vaikuha. When cascading tears decorated the Lords emotions, then the
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Vaiavas seemed to think that the Lord was Gag Dev in person. Moreover, when the Lord laughed with ear splitting peals, they assumed that He was the ferocious form of Mah-my, Durg Dev. At times, when He danced swaying and spinning like a drunken lady, they thought that He was Revat, wife of Lord Balarma. Another time, when the Lord said, O grandmother! Come let us go to Vndvana. The Vaiavas guessed that He was none other than a gop from Vndvana. When the Lord sat upon the throne of the Deities, the Vaiavas recognized Him as the all-powerful Goddess Controller of the material nature, Durg Dev. One by one, the Lord played the roles of His different aktis, eternal potencies. In addition to performing this transcendental pastime for everyones pleasure, the Lord was simultaneously giving an important spiritual instruction: No one should, at any time, diminish or criticize the expansions of His energy, the many demigods and goddesses. By showing proper love and reverence for them, one strengthens his devotion and love towards r Ka. Lord Ka is unhappy if His devotees, the demigods and goddesses, are offended. Ka becomes very content if He is offered worship along with His energies and associates. This instruction of the Supreme Lord is the Absolute Truth, only the impious are unable to receive and implement it. The Lords dancing completely captivated everyones heart and mind. Whether someone was singing in accompaniment or just listening and seeing His dancing, they all experienced sublime joy. Spontaneous tears of ka-prema rained from the eyes of all the assembled Vaiavas. With great pleasure, the Lord saw that His devotees, who are like honeysuckle bees attracted by nectar of His lotus feet, were around Him in great happiness. The Lord displayed all the ecstatic devotional symptoms; shivering, perspiring profusely, horripilation, tears, etc. Simultaneously, He danced holding Nitynandas hand.
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rmn Paita stood in front holding a lamp and Haridsa went around calling everyones attention. Just then, Nitynanda fell to the ground unconscious, unconcerned about His grandmother costume and role as Prams. He was overwhelmed by love of Ka. At this wonder, the devotees looked on in amazement and themselves became restless with ecstatic feelings. They began to weep, feeling the overpowering influence of love of Ka. All this was being done unseen by Gaurga. Some devotees rolled upon the ground, others embraced each other, and still others wept loudly in great joy. At this juncture, Lord Caitanya took hold of Gopntha and sat down with him on r Vius throne once again manifesting His mood of Mah Lakm. As the devotees stood around Him with folded hands, He said, Chant prayers to glorify Me. Discerning the Lords mood, the devotees offered their eulogies. Some recited prayers to Lakm Dev, others to Cai Durg, each according to his realization. All glory to the Universal Mother, Mah-my Dev, kindly give the shelter of Your lotus feet to the miserable and suffering living entities. You are the controlling mistress of the entire material system and You appear in every yuga to uphold the principles of religion. Even, Lord Brahm, the creator; Lord Viu, the maintainer; and Lord iva, the destroyer of this material cosmic structure, are unable to fully describe Your unlimited potencies, what to speak of others. You are the personification of this material nature and the possessor of all energies. You are faith, compassion, shame and the embodiment of pure devotion to Lord Viu, Ka. All the various branches of learning are Your multifarious manifestations. The Vedas describe You as the original energy. You appear to be within this material nature consisting of the three modes because You are their cause. However, in truth, You are always situated in the transcendental position. Even Lord Brahm is unable to fathom You. You are the eternal, unchanging, original supreme energy, the shelter and resting place of all living beings, the Universal Mother who sustains 234

everyone, being matchless and unrivalled. You are the life-sustaining water and one can sever the bonds of material existence by remembering You. In the homes of the pious and righteous, You appear as the blessed Mother, Lakm Dev, the eternal consort of Lord Nryaa. However, to the sinful You manifest as all-devouring Death. You are the Creator and Maintainer of this gigantic cosmos. The living entities that ignore You, not offering You their worship, are punished by the three-fold miseries. You inspire pure faith in your devotees, therefore kindly shelter us in the shade of Your lotus feet. Your illusory potency keeps the entire creation entranced, if You do not protect us, then who will? Your appearance in the material world is to deliver the living entities. Therefore, kindly accept the millions of suffering souls as Your eternal servants. You are the object of Lord Brahms prayers and by remembering You, one attains all perfection. With these choice prayers, the Vaiavas propitiated Lord Caitanya now in the guise of Mah Lakm. Then prostrating themselves repeatedly before the Lord, they again began to pray to Him, O Mother! We are all surrendered to You, kindly look upon us graciously so that we may remain with our minds fixed upon Your lotus feet! A wave of joy swept over the devotees, they raised their arms and began to weep in ecstasy. The ladies were also caught up in this joyous wave and they joined in with tears of bliss. Candraekharas house was drowned in unlimited happiness. Whilst the Vaiavas were thus immersed in spiritual merriment, night stealthily crept in and left unnoticed by everyone. Suddenly, a brilliant sunrise greeted the assembly and they realized that the complete night had passed in singing and dancing. Now however, the dancing had come to an abrupt halt and the devotees looked around at a loss, beginning to inconsolably regret the passing of the wonderful night. 235

The grief-laden eyes of the Vaiavas, looking at the intruding morning sun, would have turned it to ashes if not for the mercy of Lord Caitanya. In great anguish, the devotees and the ladies were weeping and throwing themselves on the ground. Vaiava ladies are not to be considered in any way inferior, but are in fact partial expansions of Lord Nryaas potency. The ladies all fell at acdevs feet and would not be consoled as the night, which had just passed away in such sublime ecstasy, was now gone. Pure devotees by their long association with pure devotional service may be easily moved to tears. The devotees lamented, Oh, why did this night have to end? Why is Ka depriving us of this sublime nectar? When Lord Caitanya saw that the Vaiavas were grief stricken, He felt compassion for them. Just as a mother feels affection for her son, Lord Caitanya felt that same motherly affection for His devotees. The Lord called everyone, one at a time, and as a mother breast feeds her infants, so He breast fed the devotees with milk by His mystic potency. The Supreme Personality of Godhead now accepted the role of His devoted energies, Lakm Dev, Prvat Dev, and Nrya Dev, the Universal Mothers. The Lord substantiated His own words as recorded in the Gt 9.17: I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support, and the grandsire. The devotees, who could happily suckle this extraordinary milk from the Lord, are eternally liberated souls and their good fortune is immeasurable. As they drank the milk, their acute feeling of separation dissipated and once again, they were intoxicated with sublime joy. The Lords pastimes are eternal and everlastingly performed without interruption. As explained in the Vedas, at certain times they manifest and unmanifest in accordance with the Lords own sweet will. The Supreme Lord of Lords, Vivambhara, mercifully manifested His wonderful pastimes in Navadvpa.
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The most precious knowledge of the Vedas was revealed by the dancing of Lord Caitanya as the gopik of Vndvana. Lord Nitynanda accompanied the Lord as the elderly grandmother, Prams. Sincerely hearing these narrations will result in immediate loving attachment for Lord Ka. Nitynanda supported in every respect the moods of Caitanya as He danced as a gop. One who is devoid of devotional feelings can never relish such spiritual exchanges. One must be graced by Lord Ka, only then can one comprehend the real absolute identity of Nitynanda. According to ones own spiritual realization, one may consider Lord Nitynanda as a yogi, an experienced philosopher, a devotee, or in any other way one likes. One may even doubt that Nitynanda is dearmost to r Caitanya. However, I pray that the lotus feet of my r Nitynanda be ever situated upon the throne of everyones heart. Yet, despite my r Nitynanda being so merciful, if one dares to criticize Him then I kick that wretched sinner on the head. Indeed, these topics of the Madhya-khaa are streams of nectar for they describe the extraordinary pastimes of the Supreme Lord Nryaa dancing with the sentiments and emotions of His eternal consort, r Lakm Dev. Dressed as the Universal Mother, He taught the process of pure devotional service and fulfilled everyones desires by suckling them with His breast milk. The Lord remained for seven days in Candraekharas house. The Lord was always enveloped in an extremely brilliant halo much more powerful than the combined energies of the sun, moon and lightning. The fortunate and righteous men, the pure devotees, could behold the Lord and His marvellous opulence. People who came to visit Candraekharas house were blinded by this brilliant illumination and could not keep their eyes open. People started commenting, What can be the cause? One cannot open ones eyes in
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Candraekharas house! The Vaiavas heard their comments and smiled within, not revealing anything. Lord Caitanyas supreme potency is such that ordinary persons cannot understand His transcendental activities with His devotees and associates. r Ka Caitanya and Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
19. Pastimes in the House of Advaita crya
All glories to r Vivambhara, the Lord of all the Vaiava devotees! You bring the living entities back to your fold by giving them devotional service. The Lord performed His supra-mundane pastimes in Navadvpa hidden from the vision of the gross materialists. He went to different devotees homes and engaged in pleasurable pastimes with Nitynanda, Gaddhara and other associates. The Lord is the source of all spiritual ecstasy for the devotees and in His association, they see everything in relationship to Lord Ka. They are completely oblivious of the phenomenal world because they are engrossed in relishing the transcendental mellows of chanting the Holy Names of Ka. They have no other business. Foremost amongst these intimate associates of the Lord is Advaita crya. His character is unfathomable and only a few devotees know his transcendental position and how close he is to the Lord. Whenever Caitanya came out of His ecstatic trances, He would immediately render service to the assembled Vaiavas, especially to Advaita crya. These dealings of the Lord were the cause of Advaitas constant discontent. His hurt feelings rumbled in his mind like an active volcano. 238

He thought, He is constantly deceiving me like a thief. He gives up His position and tries to stealthily catch my feet. I cannot match His strength for He is supremely powerful, so He forcibly takes the dust from my feet. The only support for me to fall back upon is devotional service because it bestows the spiritual realization and vision to recognize the Supreme Lord, Vivambhara, as He is. People call me Advaita the LionHearted and I become further deluded by this. O Lord! Kindly destroy this delusion! In your pastimes with Bhgu, you are more glorious than Bhgu although some may think otherwise. Therefore, I shall gather about me hundreds of disciples like Bhgu. Lord Caitanya has appeared to explain the path of devotional service and I will firmly oppose His instructions in my teaching to my new disciples. This will enrage the Lord so much that He Himself will have to punish me, catching me by the hair. Preoccupied with these plans, Advaita left Navadvpa accompanied by Haridsa hkura and went to His home in ntipur. There, he began to act upon his scheme. The crya began to read and explain a book called Yoga-viha, which subscribes to impersonalistic thought and is thus clearly contradictory to the path of devotional service. Advaita began to teach the following, According to Yoga-viha, the path of deductive knowledge also known as empiric speculation is the essence of self-realization. Without understanding the deductive path of knowledge, the path of devotion becomes impotent. Thus, empiric knowledge is the essence of everything. Many unfortunate persons leave home to live in the forest not understanding the wealth of knowledge that is in the deductive path. The path of devotion to Lord Viu is like a mirror and the path of deductive knowledge is compared to the eyes. What use does a blind man have for a mirror? I have thoroughly studied the different scriptures and I have readily arrived at the conclusion that empiric knowledge is the ultimate goal.
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Haridsa hkura is more than familiar with the ways and nature of Advaita crya and when he heard the cryas attempt to explain everything in the light of empiric knowledge, he merely laughed. Such is the transcendental characteristic of a pure devotee like Advaita crya. Those who are righteous can easily understand his position, but the offensive lot are rejected. Vivambhara, who is the most munificent Supreme Personality and who fulfills all desires, perceived in his heart Advaita cryas desire. One day, He was promenading the streets of Navadvpa with Nitynanda Prabhu, observing His own creation. Brahm, the creator of this universe, was watching all these activities of the Lord and feeling very fortunate and elated, he happily thought to himself, The Supreme Lord is appreciating my artistry in the engineering of this creation. As they moved about with charming gracefulness, the two of them looked like two full moons sailing across the sky. The residents of Navadvpa could see them, each according to his own devotion. Remaining unseen to human eyes, the demigods also surveyed the movements of the two moonlike Lords and wondered in their minds. They observed the two moons of Navadvpa and confused by such opulence they began to consider their own heavenly abode was now the Earth, and what was actually the Earth had become the heavenly abode, the Moon. Similarly, they mistakenly considered that the demigods were now the earthly beings and the earthlings now were the residents of heavenly planets. Thus, they began discussing the mystery of the two moons. Someone said, Two moons together were never permitted entry in the heavenly planets. Someone else said, Let me tell you that one of them is the original moon and the other is his reflection. Yet another said, The son takes after the father in all respects, perhaps one is the father, the Moon, and the other is his son, Mars? It is not in the least bit surprising that the demigods were bewildered by the Lords beauty. Even
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t h e Vedas are unable to fully describe the Supreme Lords extraordinarily charming looks. In this way, the two Lords strolled about in Navadvpa. At one point, Lord Vivambhara said to Lord Nitynanda, Let us go to ntipur and visit Advaita cryas house. Both Lords were always ready engage in pleasurable pastimes, so they immediately headed for Advaita cryas house. Almost halfway to ntipur, They came across a village called Lalitpura situated upon the banks of the Gag. There in a hut by the river lived a householder sannys. Lord Vivambhara enquired from Nitynanda Prabhu, Please find out whose abode this is. Nitynanda Prabhu replied, Lord, this is a sannyss residence. Lord Vivambhara said, If our fortune permits, we may see him. Let us visit. Happily, they went in and offered obeisances to the sannys. T h e sannys was taken in by Vivambharas charming appearance, perfectly shaped limbs and radiant smile. Being extremely pleased, the sannys blessed Him saying, May you be blessed with wealth, fame, learning and a beautiful wife. The Lord immediately replied, Dear sir, Gosvm, this is really not a blessing. Please say to me, May you receive Kas blessings. Such a blessing brings one to the platform of devotional service to r Viu and is eternal, inexhaustible and infallible. It is not becoming of your position to bless me with these material advantages. With a false laugh, more out of displeasure than anything else, the sannys replied, Now I have direct proof of the axiom that I have so often heard: If you try to help people, they take it badly. This is exactly the manner in which this young Brahmin has reacted. I was very pleased and I wished Him all success, but He has turned my words around and even started to find me culpable. The sannys enquired, Tell me, O young brhmaa, why do you fault my blessings? If a man is born into this world and has not enjoyed the company of an attractive woman, or has not collected sufficient wealth, 241

then what is the use of his living? I was wishing you success in this kind of pleasurable life, but you are ashamed and reluctant to receive it well. You may be a devotee of Lord Viu, but how will you maintain Yourself without earnings? The Lord simply smiled at his words and placed His hand on His forehead in a gesture of sheer fatigue at the sannyss gross foolishness. The Lord utilized this situation to teach everyone that one should not ask for any blessings other than devotional service to the Supreme Lord. He said to the sannys, Listen, O Gosvm, whatever food we eat comes automatically due to our karma, a result of our previous activities whatever will come is predestined. If people take birth for the sole purpose of a family life with wife, children and earnings, then why is one forced to leave everything at death? No one desires to be sick and ailing, so why do various diseases attack us and make us suffer? The reason for all this is our individual karmaeverything is a result of our previous activities. Only the elevated and knowledgeable persons have full understanding of these facts. Some persons point out that the Vedas explain that the final goal of human life is elevation to the heavenly planets. The Vedas have so enunciated out of extreme leniency towards the ignorant people. This leniency is the real understanding of this Vedic injunction. Materialistic and ignorant people are naturally inclined to a life of luxury and physical pleasures, knowing this well, the Vedas have recommended accordingly. However, the Vedas are not to be blamed for this. The general mass of people think that by chanting Kas name and taking ablutions in the Gag they will acquire wealth and success in family life. With this idea, they take shelter of the Vedic injunctions, but the real result of dedication to the Vedic injunctions is that one quickly develops devotion to the Supreme Lord, r Hari. However, the ignorant people, who do not understand the purport of the Vedic injunctions, reject the fruit of devotional service to Ka and mistakenly endeavour 242

after material pleasures. Please consider well all these points, O Gosvm, because there is no goal or activity superior to devotional service to Lord Ka. In this way, the Lord, the supreme instructing spiritual master, gave instruction to the whole world by explaining to the sannys that devotional service to Ka is the ultimate purpose of the Vedas. The instructions of Vivambhara are the absolute truth; those who hearts are too contaminated by sinful activities cannot develop the required faith to accept them. The householder sannys smiled and thought to himself, This young brhmaa must have become a lunatic due to the effect of some mantra. It may also be that the person dressed as a sannys, accompanying him, has somehow mesmerized him. The sannys then spoke aloud, Finally, it has happened. In front of a mere child, I suddenly know nothing. I have travelled around the worldAyodhya, Mathur, Badarikrama, Gujarta, K, Vijayanagara, Lak, and to many other citiesand now I do not know what is good or bad. I have learnt this from a suckling baby. Still smiling, Nitynanda replied, Listen Gosi, You dont have to unnecessarily agree with a mere child. I am well aware of your position and fame. Please just consider my proposal as I am the elder and forgive us for whatever has happened. Upon hearing praise, the sannys became once again amiable and requested his guests to take food. Nevertheless, Lord Nitynanda said, We must leave right away since urgent business must be attended to, but you can pack some eatables for us, which we can eat on the way after our bath. The sannys insisted, Take your bath here, take your meal, and after a cooling rest you can be on your way again. The two Supreme Personalities had descended to this mortal world for the sole purpose of delivering the most fallen souls and so they decided to spend some more time with the householder sannys.
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They washed away their weariness in the cooling waters of the Gag and then returned to the sannyss dwelling. They offered some ripe mangoes, jackfruit and milk to Lord Ka and then relished the prasdam in the presence of their pleased host. T h e sannys was following the left-handed school of akti worship, which condones the consumption of liquor. The sannys indirectly made this known to Lord Nitynanda. He said, Listen rpda, shall I bring us some happiness? How often will I get guests like You? Nitynanda, who has Himself travelled widely and has seen much, understood that this sannys was addicted to alcohol. The sannys repeated several times whether he should bring happiness or not and Nitynanda replied each time, We must leave right now. The sannyss wife was sitting to one side looking at the two Lords, whom she felt were far more charming than Cupid. She gazed at them as if in meditation. Speaking up, she corrected her husband saying, Why are you disturbing them during their eating? Vivambhara enquired aside to Nitynanda, Of what happiness is he speaking? Lord Nitynanda replied, I think he means liquor. Calling out Haris name, Caitanya immediately remembered r Viu. Then, quickly rinsing Their mouths and hands, the two Lords left the house. They walked to the bank of the Gag and jumped in with all their clothes on, and swam downstream all the way to ntipur, to Advaita cryas house. The Lord shows His mercy to a licentious drunkard, but annihilates Vedntists, if they are offensive to the devotees and the Lord Himself. Although this so-called sannys was a drunkard and intimately associated with women, still the Lord visited his dwelling. He conversed with the sannys and gave him instructions, rested and ate in his house. The sannys may not become fully purified in this life and may have to wait for another birth. However, the agnostics who criticize the Lord and His devotees will never become eligible to receive the Lords mercy. Even if one be a sannys, still that does not make one eligible to meet 244

the Supreme Lord. This is evident from the incident with the sannyss, which occurred in Vras. The last section of this book narrates that when Lord Caitanya went to K many residents and many sannyss heard the news of His arrival. The sannyss were joyful to receive the news and were eager to meet Him since they had heard much about His exceptional characteristics. Th e s e sannyss were all Vedntists, impersonalists, well versed in intellectual matters and in performing various austerities. As life-long residents of K, they were well respected. All their impressive qualifications were undermined by a single faultthey taught and explained the Vednta devoid of the science of devotion to Lord Viu. Lord Caitanya is the Supersoul within each individuals heart and thus He was aware of this. Hence, although He visited K, He did not give these sannyss the opportunity to meet Him. In Vras, He stayed in Rmacandra Purs Maha for two months without revealing His whereabouts and spent most of His time in Candraekharas house. He left Vras two days before the Vivarpa-kaura, the special shaving ceremony on the special full-moon day during cturmsya, which is followed by the myvd sannyss. He left without public knowledge and only later did the sannyss come to know that they had missed seeing him. The offence of criticizing the Lord or His devotee even just once steals a mans proper intelligence. The sannyss did not feel any remorse at not meeting the Lord. Furthermore, they said, We are all sannyss. Why did He leave without first speaking to us? What was the reason? Could He not wait two days and perform the special shaving ceremony, Vivarpa-kaura? By avoiding this ceremony, He has neglected the duties of His order. In this manner, the intelligence of non-devotional people is spoilt and Lord iva never accepts worship from such offenders. In fact, Lord iva, 245

the Lord of K, metes out punishment to such offenders of the Vaiavas, taking away whatever little devotion they may have. r Gaurasundara has advented specifically to deliver all the fallen souls with the exception of those who find fault with the Vaiava devotees of the Lord. Just to prove this point, Lord Caitanya ate and rested in a drunkards home, but avoided the company of the so-called learned Vedic sannyss. One must be always careful to avoid the Lords wrath and those who flout the Lord will suffer eternal punishment at the hands of Yamarja, the God of Death. Lord Brahm, Lord iva, Ananta ea, and Kamala, the Universal Mother, are constantly engaged in glorifying the Supreme Lord, r Gaurasundara. If anyone is so unfortunate as to be not attracted by the sweet nectarine pastimes and qualities of Lord Caitanya, then all his Vedic learning and austerities as a sannys are rendered useless. Happily, Caitanya and Nitynanda proceeded towards ntipur along the bank of the Gag. As they swam, Caitanya loudly and repeatedly roared, I am that! I am that person! N has awakened Me from sleep and brought Me here! He is, I believe, holding dissertations that camouflage the process of devotional service behind a facade of flowery words, which present the speculative path of knowledge! Today I will punish him for this! Let the whole world see! I want everyone to see how he defends his bastion of speculative knowledge! Whilst the Lord thunderously rumbled in this manner, Nitynanda kept His silence, smiling within His mind. As Caitanya and Nitynanda Prabhus swam in the waves of the Gag, the author recalls Mukunda, Nryaa, supine upon Ananta ea lying upon the Milk Ocean. By his high devotional merits, Advaita crya, a stalwart amongst the followers of Lord Caitanya, could appreciate that the Lord would react angrily to his presentation of speculative philosophy. Nevertheless, when he realized that Caitanya and Nitynanda had come to ntipur, he began to speak even more vociferously in favour of this impersonalist
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knowledge. Can one really fathom the devotional moods and activities of the pure devotees of the Lord? Nitynanda accompanied the irate Caitanya into Advaitas house. Advaita swayed in divine pleasure playing out his part perfectly as an impersonalist. Haridsa hkura offered obeisances to the Lord, falling on the ground like a rod. Acyuta, Advaitas son, also offered his respectful obeisances. Advaitas wife, Stdev, offered obeisances to the Lord within her mind and felt very upset upon seeing the Lords countenance. The Lords face and expression aroused fear in everyones heart. Rumbling with anger, the Lord said, Nd! Nd! Tell Me which is superiorspeculative knowledge or devotional service? Advaita replied, Speculative knowledge is always superior, for what is the use of devotional service, if a person is devoid of impersonal knowledge? As soon as these words entered His ears, Lord Caitanya became inflamed and forgot His surroundings. He pulled Advaita down from his sana and dragged him out onto the patio. There, he threw him down to the ground and struck him repeatedly. Advaitas wife, Stdev, is the Universal Mother and knows all these confidential topics, yet she could not restrain herself from trying to stop the Lord. Stop! Stop! she cried out. He is just an old brhmaa. For whose benefit do You chastise him so heavily? He is so old that he may not survive your harsh behaviour and You will find it difficult to avoid the consequences of your own actions. Nitynanda smiled at her words and Haridsa hkura repeated Kas name in great fear. Caitanya was so angry that He did not even hear Stdev words. Roaring like angry thunder, He spoke to Advaita, I was gently relaxing on the Milk Ocean and you interrupted My sleep, calling Me to attend to your work. You engineered the propagation of devotional service, yet now you audaciously obscure the devotional process with your circumventory explanation of impersonalism. If you had already made 247

up your mind to surreptitiously broadcast your speculative theories, then why did you take the trouble of revealing Me to the world? I did not disregard your desire and wishes, but you have deceived Me in all respects. Finally, Caitanya stopped chastising Advaita and went to sit next to the doorway. He spoke loudly, revealing His real identity to all. He said, O N, you know everything. Behold, I am the one who slew Kasa. iva, Brahm, Ananta ea, and Lakm Dev are all constantly engaged in serving Me. The impostor Vsudeva met his end, vanquished by My Sudarana disc. The same disc reduced the entire city of Vras to ashes. My arrow found its mark and killed the great demon, King Rvaa. My invincible Sudarana severed the arms of Baa and destroyed the powerful demon, Naraka. I lifted the Govardhana Mountain with my left hand and I brought the heavenly Prijta flower to earth. I tricked King Bali out of all his possessions and then benedicted him for his mood of surrender. I vanquished the terrible demon king, Hirayakaipu, to favour my devotee Prahlda. As the Lord revealed His various pastimes, Advaita felt gradually submerged in an ocean of ecstatic bliss. Advaita was more than happy to receive his due punishment in this manner and he clapped his hands and pranced in joy, feeling peace and humility within. He said, My Lord, You have rightfully remonstrated me, and I am lucky to get away with so little. Now I am clear about Your divine authority and am feeling renewed strength in my relationship with you as Your servant. Advaita danced around in ecstasy and then creasing his eyebrows together, he prayed to the Lord, Now where are Your flattering words about me? What has happened to all that deceit? You can insult me, I am neither Durvs Muni, whose remnants of rice You smeared upon Your body, nor am I Bhgu Muni whose foot impression decorated Your breast and is now known as the famous rvatsa. My name is simply Advaita,
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purely Your eternal and humble servant, and I am always hankering, birth after birth, to receive Your remnants. By the effect of Your remnants and mercy, I am unscathed by the ravages of Your illusory potency. The punishment is now over so please give me the shelter of Your lotus feet. Saying this, Advaita, the master of ntipur, fell to the ground and placed his head on the Lords lotus feet. Hastily and with due respect, Vivambhara picked up Advaita upon His lap as tears flooded the His eyes, cascading down unrestrainedly. Nitynanda and Haridsa hkura were unable to contain their ecstatic emotions at the sight of such a display of divine devotional fervour and tears flowed from their eyes in rivers. Stdev, Acyutnanda and the servants of the house were crying in intense joy. Advaitas whole house became immersed in ka-prema. Vivambhara now felt ashamed after having chastised Advaita so severely and now wanted to compensate him by offering a boon. He said, If anyone so much as takes the smallest shelter at your feet, be he an insect, worm, animal or bird and even if he commits a million offences against Me, I will still grant him my blessing. When Advaita heard this boon, he fell at the Lords feet and crying like a meek child said, Whatever You have said My Lord is certainly true. Now please hear and grant me one favour. If anyone tries to follow and worship me, but does not serve Your lotus feet then let that so-called devotion to me vanquish him. I cannot accept anyone who does not serve You. He may be my son or servant, but I shall consider him a great offender and shall never see his face, because I cannot bear to see anyone who neglects Your lotus feet. Those who worship you automatically become my dearest friend. Sometimes, a fool may try to supersede Your worship and approach a million demigods, but those demigods will never entertain such an offender. Instead, they will surely squash him by some arrangement. All that I have said is not my own concoction, but is the verdict of the
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scriptures. In the Puras, the story of the death of Sudakia is the proof. Sudakia was the son of the King of K. A great devotee of Lord iva, he was always immersed in meditation upon his Lord. Being satisfied with his worship, Lord iva appeared before him and said, Ask for any boon and I shall fulfil your hearts desire. Perform the special Abhicra sacrifice, in order to master extraordinary powers, but be most cautious to see that you do not belittle or offend any Vaiava devotee of the Lord. If you do you will be immolated. Sudakia had no way of detecting the intention behind Lord ivas words, so he duly performed the Abhicra sacrifice according to his Lords instructions. Out of the sacrificial fire, appeared a terrifying form, which possessed three hands, three legs and three heads and stood towering over him. It said, Ask for your boon. The prince replied, Go and burn down the city of Dvrak. The giant creature became visibly sad, understanding that the princes desire could never be fulfilled. Nonetheless, the creature went to Dvrak as requested, but upon his arrival there, the omnipresent and every watchful guard of Dvrak, the Sudarana disc, immediately attacked him. No one can escape the wrath of Sudarana and so the giant submitted himself at the lotus feet of Sudarana saying, The powerful sage Durvs could not escape You and neither could You be contained by such great personalities as Lord Brahm and Lord iva. What can an insignificant person such as myself do against such an exalted Vaiava as You? Lord, now I have no avenue of escape and You are free to do with me as you wish. All glories to You, my Lord, who is famous as Sudarana. You are the abode of Ka and are as powerful as my own Lord akara. All glory to You, who possesses the form of a disc and is the best amongst the Vaiava devotees. You instil fear in the hearts of the miscreants and protect the pious.
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Sudarana was appeased by the giants prayers and told him to return to the prince and destroy him by fire. The terrifying giant swiftly returned to the Prince of K and destroyed him. Sudakia tried to override You, My Lord, and tried to worship Lord iva with the yaja, but the result was that he met own death by this same sacrifice. Similarly, I say that those who approach me dismissing Your lotus feet, I destroy them. You are everything to me; You are the Lord of my life, my most precious treasure, my father and my mother, my dearest friend. I cannot tolerate such an offence at Your lotus feet. There are many examples of this point in the scriptures. King Satrjit once met the Sun God and becoming attracted by his brilliance and personality began worshiping him. However, but once, he disobeyed Your orders and due to this offence, he and his brother were killed. The Sun God saw all this with satisfaction, as he had been very upset that Satrjit had disobeyed Your instructions. Duryodhana was a disciple of Lord Balarma, but because he disregarded You, he and his entire race were eliminated. Hirayakaipu became practically invincible by the boon of Lord Brahm and this made him insolent and inimical towards You and so he also died along with his race of demons. The ten-headed Rvaa was the most powerful king of his time, having received a boon from Lord iva. He was offensive to You and challenged You, so he and his entire family were vanquished. O Lord, You are the root cause and the Supreme Lord of all the demigods. Everything and everyone seen and unseen to human vision is meant for Your service. If one tries to worship the servant, but disregards the Lord and Master Himself, then the servant cannot tolerate this offence. He may make a show of accepting the worshipers worship, but finally he personally destroys such an offender.
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Directly worshiping demigods like Lord iva, without worshiping You, is like watering the branches instead of the root of the tree. You are the original cause of the Vedas, the brhmaas, sacrifices, and religious practices. I despise that person who disregards Your lotus feet. Lord Caitanya greatly appreciated Advaitas highly confidential and esoteric prayers and he spoke out in a voice that resembled a thunderclap. Now listen to Me attentively, I say truly those who worship me directly, but neglect my servants and devotees are the most despicable wretches who, by so doing, cut my body into pieces. Their worship is like burning cinders on My body. He who criticizes and offends my devotee, My name, which fulfils all desires, will vanquish him. In this way, I show my compassion for him. Every living entity is My servant and so I cannot tolerate any violence to them. I destroy anyone who tries to hurt My servants. Advaita, You are dearer to Me than My own body and any disrespect shown to you is dealt by Me with severity. Even if a sannys offends a pure devotee, he falls down from his vow and deviates from his religious practices. Raising both His arms, Gauracandra declared to the world, Give up the offensive attitude of criticizing Vaiavas and chant Lord Kas Holy Name. Anyone who practices this will surely be delivered by Me. Lord Caitanyas words gripped the devotees in a wave of unrestrained joy and they broke out into chanting the Lords name loudly. Advaita crya wept in ecstasy catching the Lords lotus feet and the Lord held Advaita in His endearing embrace and wept. Advaitas loving devotion flooded the entire universesuch is the wonderful character and activity of Advaita crya. Advaita crya is non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Who, then, can really understand his words? The seemingly abusive exchanges between Advaita and Nitynanda can only be properly perceived by those elevated souls, who have 252

reached that state of bliss beyond material influence. The words and activities of the Supreme Lord and His pure devotees, the Vaiavas, can be understood and appreciated only by their mercy alone. Ananta ea can realize these discussions of such a high spiritual nature between Advaita, Nitynanda, and the other devotees. He then sings of them with his innumerable mouths. Coming out of his ecstatic engrossment, Vivambhara glanced at Advaita and spoke with a smile, I have chastised you in a moment of childish pique. Advaita replied, All your moods and pastimes are completely transcendental. The Lord said, Listen Nitynanda, You must kindly forgive Me for my reckless act of immaturity. Nitynanda, Haridsa hkura and Advaita crya exchanged glances amongst each other and then burst out into uncontrolled laughter. Vivambhara always addressed Stdev, the wife of Advaita, as mother. She was a symbol of chastity, always serving husband to his full satisfaction. Now Vivambhara went to her saying, Go quickly and prepare a sumptuous feast for Ka and after offering it to Him, we shall partake of His remnants. The Lord then left to take his bath in the Gag along with Advaita, Haridsa, Nitynanda and the other devotees. Everyone was in a gay mood. Later, in the Vedas, the unbounded joy and spiritual bliss displayed by the Lords nature will be described in detail. Upon returning to the house from His bath, Lord Caitanya washed His feet and prostrated Himself before Lord Ka. Seeing the Lord in a prostrated position, Advaita fell at the Lords lotus feet. Similarly, Haridsa, in the ecstasy of devotee association, fell at the feet of Advaita. Nitynanda witnessed this wonderful scene with feelings of unlimited spiritual bliss surging within Him. There, then, was a transcendental bridge linked directly to the highest spiritual abode, comprised of the three expansions of Godhead. 253

Rising from offering obeisances to Lord Ka, Vivambhara noticed that Advaita crya was at His feet and He became very embarrassed. He chanted, Viu, Viu! in humility. The Lord then took Advaitas hand and entered the eating room with Nitynanda in His familiar charming way. The three Supreme Personalities sat down to eat. Each one of them was always animated with spiritual ecstasy and Nitynanda acted, as was His nature, as a highly restless young boy. Sitting away from them by the door was Haridsa hkura, who was, by his spiritual elevation, qualified to see these different wonderful transcendental pastimes. St hkur, Advaitas wife, a most spiritually exalted and resourceful lady, was serving Them and remembering Lord Hari at all time. She served them delicacies like flavoured rice, ghee, milk, sweet rice and They ate with pleasure and vivacity. Advaita crya began to laugh at Nitynanda. They are in fact both the same Supreme Personality, but have become two Absolute Entities to participate and assist in Lord Kas pastimes. Just towards the end of Their meal, Nitynanda became overly restless like a child. He picked up the rice from His plate and threw it all around and then laughed out in childish glee. Vivambhara cried out in great concern, whilst Haridsa hkura could not check his laughter. Advaita pretended to be inflamed into rage and revealed the truths about the absolute nature of Nitynanda. He angrily said, This Nitynanda is a drunkard and His company has corrupted my caste. He can neither say who His guru is, nor give the place of His birth. He simply introduces Himself as a sannys. No one knows Him, or His caste, or His family. Furthermore, He always walks around swaying like a drunken mad elephant. Previously, He was eating in the houses of unknown strangers and now He has come here, trying to mix with the brhmaas. 254

I say, thrice truly, to you Haridsa that this drunkard will destroy everything. Working himself into a fit of fake rage, Advaita threw off his clothes and clapping his hands, he pranced about in unrestrained glee. Vivambhara started laughing at Advaita, whose nature is such that both old and young find his character equally stimulating. Nitynanda also shook with laughter pointing His fingers at Advaita, who was exhibiting thoroughly amusing postures in his feigned rage. After a while, when They were again well composed, the three Lords rinsed their mouths and hands and then embraced each other experiencing ecstatic bliss. Advaita and Nitynanda are like the two hands of Lord Caitanya. There is no enmity, but everlasting annuity between them. Their quarrels are simulated and meant to support the pastimes of Ka; such are the child-like mannerisms of the Supreme Lord and His pure devotees. In this manner, Lord Caitanya passed His time in Advaitas house engrossed in ecstatic bliss and performed sakrtana. Lord Balarma alone can understand these supra-mundane pastimes, others cannot fathom the absolute excellences in the Supreme Lords nature. By the blessings of Lord Balarma, I am able to repeat these pastimes of Lord Caitanya because Sarasvat Dev, the Goddess of Learning, seems to dance upon my tongue. All these pastimes I have compiled having no idea of the chronological sequence. I have simply presented them as they have appeared to me. This is possible only by the mercy of r Ka. I, therefore, offer obeisances at the feet of all the beloved devotees of Lord Caitanya and beg their forgiveness for the offences I might have committed in this endeavour. After a few days of sojourn in Advaitas house, Caitanya returned to Navadvpa and His home accompanied by Nitynanda, Advaita and Haridsa. When the news of the Lords return to Navadvpa spread
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around to all, the Vaiavas hurriedly flocked to meet the Lord, upon everyones face was written bubbling delight. The full moon face of r Caitanya immediately dissipated their distress and they fell at His feet weeping. r Caitanya is the life of His devotees and He lovingly embraced everyone. His devotees are His own expansionsthe compassionate and exalted Vaiavas. All the devotees then offered obeisances to Advaita, who was the cause of the advent of Lord Caitanya. Jubilantly, they greeted one another, and began to playfully and loudly talk with the Lord about Kas pastimes. r acmt was extremely happy to see her son again and together with Viupriy dev offered grateful thanks to their Deity. r Ananta ea alone can fully describe all these pastimes; He is my life and soul. There is no difference between Balarma and Nitynanda except Their names, just as the three different words; dvija, vipra and brhmaa mean one and the same thing. One, who hears with devotion these pastimes of the Lord in Advaitas house, attains the highest bliss. Lord Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
20. The Glories of Murri Gupta
All glories to r Gaurasiha, the son of Mother ac! The shade of Your lotus feet drives away all distress. You are the life and soul of Gaddhara Paita, be merciful to me so that my mind may remain fixed at Your lotus feet. 256

Caitanya was now fully engaged in performing his wonderful pastimes with all His associates. Sometimes He danced, sometimes He sung, and, yet again, He cried or laughed, but all these were symptoms of His ecstatic love of Ka. One day, Caitanya was visiting rvsa Paitas house with Nitynanda. As they were sitting, Murri Gupta came in and prostrated himself at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. Looking effulgent, he got up and again prostrated himself before Nitynanda. r Caitanya was always pleased with Murri Gupta, so now he spoke frankly to Murri saying, What you did just now by first offering obeisances to Me and then to Nitynanda was a violation of Vaiava etiquette. Why do you, of all people, do this? You are supposed to teach others who are ignorant about these esoteric rules. Murri replied, My Lord, what do I know? You are in full control of my heart. I have acted according to your desire. The Lord then said, Alright Murri, go home now, tonight you will come to know everything and tomorrow we shall meet again. Murri became grave and smiling hesitantly, he left for his home. That night, in a dream, he saw r Nitynanda dressed like a kingly wrestler walking ahead. Great hoods of snakes were above His head and in His hands; He held the pestle and plough. r Nitynanda looked exactly like r Balarma. Behind Him walked Vivambhara, who smiled and spoke in his dream, Now do you understand Murri, I am junior. Consider this properly in your mind. Then, both of the Supreme Brothers smiled at Murri and after thus instructing him, They disappeared. Murri woke up immediately and began to shed tears, breathing heavily he kept repeating Nitynandas name. His chaste wife became worried and prayed to r Ka, chanting His name loudly. Murri was now convinced that Nitynanda was the elder brother and with this thought, he happily hurried to meet the Lord.
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He saw the lotus eyed r Vivambhara sitting with r Nitynanda sitting on His right, a benign smile adorning His lips. Murri went first to Nitynanda, offered obeisances at His lotus feet, and then fell at Vivambharas lotus feet. The Lord smiled and enquired, Murri, why did you act in this manner? Murri replied, My Lord, I acted according to Your sweet will. Like a dry blade of grass is blown in the breeze, all living beings perform according to Your irresistible power. Again the Lord said, Murri, you are very dear to Me, hence I have disclosed the confidential truth about Myself to you. Gaddhara, the Lords beloved associate, was seated on His left; he prepared tmbla, pan, for the Lord and gave it to Him. The Lord said, Murri, you are a stalwart amongst my devotees. Saying this, r Caitanya gave him some of the chewed pan from His lotus mouth. Murri received this with eager respect upon the open palms of his hands, and upon eating this prasda felt great ecstasy racing through his body and soul. r Vivambhara addressed Murri, Murri, go wash your hands now, but Murri wiped his palms upon his head. The Lord exclaimed, Now you have lost your caste, you foolish fellow. You have become contaminated by wiping your hands, which had taken My chewed remnants, on your head. Suddenly, the Lords mood changed. He became angry, grinding His teeth loudly; He began to manifest His supreme identity. He said, A sannys named Praknanda, living in K has the audacity to try and inflict pain upon My person. He is a teacher of Vednta philosophy, but does not accept the existence of My supreme form. I have punished him by making him contract leprosy and yet he fails to understand. The entire unlimited creation is a manifestation of My energy; still he impudently maintains that this manifestation is false.
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Murri, you are my trusted servitor so I am telling you the truth: Those who do not respect My form and personality, they inevitably perish. Lord Brahm, Lord iva, Lord Ananta and all the demigods serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord as their very dearest object. The mere touch of the Lords body can cleanse one of all contamination and yet these shameless rascals deny the Lords form. Truly, I declare to you that I, the Supreme Lord, My dear servitors and their servants are all manifestations of the Absolute Truth. My transcendental abode and activities are the absolute reality. Anyone denying Their existence and veracity verily inflicts countless wounds upon My body. Just by hearing the glories of the Supreme Lord all nescience is nullified, yet that sinful teacher of Vednta says such glories are unreal. Lord iva becomes so intoxicated by drinking the nectarine glories of the Lord with his ears that he is unaware of the loss of his clothing. That great Personality, Ananta ea, himself, is forever engaged in singing the glories of the Lord. ukadeva Gosvm, Nrada and other exalted personalities become maddened by the sweetness of the Lords glories. The four Vedas are simply explaining the esoteric nature of the Lords transcendental glories. So, Murri, anyone who disregards such super excellent glories and activities of the Lord can never appreciate the real purpose behind my advent. Addressing Murri Gupta in this manner, the Lord taught the entire world the cardinal truths about His Absolute nature: The Lords form, devotees, pastimes and abode are all the absolute reality and the unfortunate non-believers will be annihilated. After a while, r Vivambhara came out of His trance and became His usual humble self. He lovingly embraced Murri, calling him brother, and spoke sweetly to him, Murri, indeed you are My pure devotee and thus you have come to perceive the transcendental nature and position of r Nitynanda. A person may claim to be My devotee, but if he holds 259

the slightest grudge against r Nitynanda, then I do not favour him. Now go home Murri, you have outright purchased Me. Hanumn was the only other devotee of the Lord who had received such causeless mercy as Murri. Murri Gupta, now fully immersed in an ocean of bliss, went home treasuring Nitynanda and Vivambhara in the inner recesses of his heart. Murri was drinking nectar within and his behaviour became inconsistent. He would say one thing, but do quite something else, loudly chuckling to himself. Exuberantly, he called out to his chaste wife to bring his food and she hurriedly brought his plate. Murri Gupta, fully intoxicated with love of Ka, mixed the rice with the ghee and called out, Ka, come eat, eat! He took the mixed rice in his hand and picked it up as if to give to someone, but began to strew the rice all over the floor. His chaste wife stood there watching and laughed, but kept supplying fresh rice to her husband. She knew well that her husband was a very exalted devotee of the Lord and called out Kas name, reminding him to be careful. r Caitanya, always attentive to the wishes of His devotees, accepted all the food offered to Him by Murri, keeping His word to Murri. The Lord then personally came to Murris house early next morning. Murri was then constantly chanting Kas Holy Name and as soon as the Lord came, he paid his obeisances and offered the Lord a seat with great love. After the Lord had seated Himself comfortably, Murri inquired, What brings the Lord here? r Caitanya replied, I have come to be treated for indigestion. Murri asked, What has caused this indigestion? What have You eaten yesterday? The Lord said, My dear fellow! How will you know? I have taken all that you offered me yesterday, throwing the food on the ground and saying, Eat! Eat! 260

You have forgotten, but your wife knows everything. Since you offered it to Me, how could I refuse? Now you can treat Me for eating your rice and My inability to digest it, but the fact is that I am suffering from indigestion due to eating your rice. I know that drinking sufficient water is a very good remedy and as I have eaten your rice and have become sick, your water is my medicine. I am going to drink your water! Saying this the Lord picked up Murris glass and drank the water from it. The Lord expressed full satisfaction upon drinking, as if the water was the nectar of His devotees pure devotion. When Murri saw the Lords infinite mercy, he was so overwhelmed that he fell down unconscious. All of Murris servants and relatives began to weep in divine exhilaration. Everything was so wonderful, the Lord, the ecstatic devotional feelings, and the pure devotees of the Lord. Such devotional mellows could be manifest by Lord Caitanyas causeless mercy alone. The mercy and blessings that Murri Guptas servants received from the Lord was never seen or awarded to any of the so-called Brahmin scholars in Nadia. Material knowledge, wealth, and distinction are futile, but by becoming a servant of the servant of the Lord, one is rewarded with the greatest boon, loving devotion to the Lord. The servants of the Vaiava devotees are not just anybody. The Vedic scriptures describe them as, the most elevated souls such were the extraordinary activities of Murri Gupta. The Lord showered His blessings on Murri constantly. Whosoever hears these transcendental activities of the pure devotee, Murri, will indeed experience divine love. On another occasion, r Caitanya was in rvsa Paitas house. Suddenly, the Lord manifest His real form as the Supreme Godhead, r Viu, with four arms holding the conch shell, disc, mace and lotus. He began to loudly call out, Garua! Garua!
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Just then, Murri Gupta, roaring loudly, came running to rvsas house in a devotional trance. His person became surcharged with the mood of Garua, he said, I am Garua, that great devotee! As the Lord called for Garua again, Murri Gupta replied, I am here my Lord, your servant. The Lord said, Yes, you are my carrier, and Murri said, Yes, yes my Lord. Murri Gupta continued, Have you forgotten my Lord, I carried You to the heavenly abodes and brought down the Prijta tree. Another time, I carried You to Vana-pura where I tore to pieces Skandas peacock. Here again are my shoulders; I am at Your service. Kindly climb upon and order me, to which planet shall I go? The Lord climbed onto Murris back and everyone cried out in joy. As the Lord of the Goddess of Fortune sat astride Murris shoulders, rvsas house resounded with the glorification of the Lord and His devotee. A blissful Murri went around rvsas compound with great speed. The ladies made auspicious sounds by moving their tongues and all the devotees were lifted up onto waves of ecstatic joy. They chanted the names of r Hari and some remarked, I pray that I may never forget this scene. Some of them clapped their hands and thighs and others laughed heartily saying, What a wonderful Supreme Lord we have! They all glorified the Lord, saying, All glory to r Vivambhara and His carrier Murri! So many of these extraordinary pastimes were being exhibited in Navadvpa, but persons too attached to sinful activities could not see these pastimes of r Caitanya. The Supreme Lord is out of reach for those intoxicated with wealth, luxury, power and position. r Caitanya becomes purchased only by unalloyed devotional service. Those fortunate and pious souls who had been worshiping the Lord for many births now watched all these transcendental activities as His associates and servitors. 262

Moreover, those who saw these pastimes, being compassionate, then narrated them to others, but the agnostics and sinful persons could not believe these transcendental activities. In the Madhya-khaa of this book, we find the narration of the Supreme r Vivambhara alighting on Murri Guptas shoulders. However, Murri is an eternal servitor of the Lord and is present as the Lords servitor with every incarnation of the Lord. These pastimes have no beginning or end. According to the Vedas, they are manifest and again they disappear. r Gaurasundara came out of His trance and climbed down from Murris shoulders. Murri also withdrew within himself the mood of Garua. These confidential pastimes are too esoteric to be comprehended by all. The Vaiavas who were present and saw the causeless mercy received by Murri Gupta began to praise him. Truly blessed is Murri to participate in the Lords supra-mundane activities as His carrier. His devotion to the Supreme Lord has thus been crowned with success. These narrations upon Murris activities are fully spiritual and without end. One day, Murri Gupta was considering in his pure heart the activities of the different incarnations of the Supreme Lord. He thought, I cannot understand the activities of the Lord, why He does certain things. Sometimes He is protecting and at the same time, He is annihilating. As long as the Lord is present with His associates and servitors, I had better think of a way for my own redress. For example, the Lord destroyed Rvaa and his entire dynasty and brought back His wife Stdev, but then later, He rejected her. What logic can rule such an action? Then in another incarnation, He saw the Yadu dynasty, who were His very dear friends and relatives, being destroyed, but He just let it
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happen. Therefore, now, as the Lord is still present, I must prepare to leave my body. The time is ripe, the Lord is still here. Influenced by such whimsical thoughts, Murri bought a very sharp coconut shell cutting-blade and hid it in his house, telling himself, Tonight, I will get rid of this body with pleasure. In the meantime, r Vivambhara, who is the Supersoul residing in everyones heart, came to know about Murri Guptas desire. He came immediately to Murris house. Murri welcomed the Lord with great reverence, praying at His lotus feet and offered Him a seat. The Lord sat and spoke at length about the transcendental activities of r Ka. Murri Gupta was pleased beyond words. The Lord said, Murri, will you fulfil a request of Mine? Gupta replied, Lord, this body and soul belongs to you. The Lord asked, Is that really true? Murri replied, Indeed, my Lord. The Lord then whispered into his ears, Give Me that saw which you have bought to end your life and have hidden inside your house, bring it to me. Murri interjected in sheer dejection, Alas! Alas! Who could have told you such a lie? The Lord said, Murri, I see that you are very naive, you are saying that someone else has informed Me about this. I know everything, I know who has made this saw and even where it is hidden now. Nothing is unknown to the omniscient Supreme Lord; He went inside the house and brought out the blade. The Lord said, Murri, just note how you are behaving with Me! What is my fault that you want to leave Me and go away? If you should go, then who will be a partner in My pastimes? From where did you pick up the ideas that you have now? I therefore beg of you this: You must promise never to pursue such whims and ideas.
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Lord Caitanya embraced Murri and taking Murris hand placed it upon His own head, and said, It is better that you finish My head, than again desire to leave your body. Hastily Murri threw himself to the ground and with tears of love, he washed the Lords lotus feet. Murri held on tightly the Lords feet, but the Lord picked him up and taking him in His embrace, He wept in love for His pure devotee. It is impossible to calculate the extent of the mercy that Murri received from the Lord, even Lakm Dev, Lord Brahm, Lord Ananta, Lord iva and others are craving for such. These demigods are non-different from the Supreme Lord Caitanya, the Vedas are clear about this absolute oneness. Indeed, Lord Caitanya expands Himself and becomes r Ananta ea to support this entire material nature. He again expands Himself as Lord Brahm to create this universe. Another of His expansions, Lord iva, does the work of annihilating this cosmic manifestation. As r ea, He glorifies His own unlimited pastimes. All these demigods are the manifestations of the Lords potency and hence are non-different from Him. They are all serving Lord Caitanyas lotus feet. The potency of r Caitanyas name is unlimited. If even a bird chants His Holy Name then that bird goes directly to the highest spiritual abode, that of r Caitanya. Whereas, if a sannys, though having taken a vow of celibacy and renunciation, does not accept r Caitanya then he will be born in total ignorance, birth after birth. Such kind of sannys is factually a dacoit in a renunciates garb, for his activities are of a degraded nature. The Vedas define him as malicious. The scriptures condemn such a malicious mentality. In the Padma Pura it is stated: An easily identifiable and shameless sinner is in many respects better, because only he alone slides down to depths of depravity, whereas a sinful man posing as a saint is far worse,
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because he drags himself as well as all his followers down to the darkest hell. Again, Dacoits capture their victims in lonely spots and loot them by threatening them with weapons and other forms of trickery, but the hypocritical holy man uses sweet words, plucking at the sentiments of people. This confuses the people, who are then gradually usurped of their wealth. The rmad Bhgavatam 12.3.38. states: In Kali-yuga, uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and by wearing a mendicants dress. Those who are ill-versed in the scriptures and spiritual knowledge will sit upon t h e vyssana and presume to speak on religious principles to the people. The people eagerly hear spiritual instructions from a man judging him merely by his appearance. Unknowingly, they hear from the impostor offensive words directed against real saintly persons and due to this offence, they plunge into hell. T h e Vedas clearly describe that if one hears criticism of a Vaiava devotee of the Lord, then he loses all his accumulated piety and is cast into abominable conditions of life, birth after birth. The dacoit suffers but one lifetime of hell, whereas the Vaiava offender goes through endless miseries. Thus, the dacoit is far better than one who is offensive to Vaiavas and thereby to r Viu Himself. Everyone, from the highest to the lowest of the living entities, is a manifestation of r Kas energy. Hence, Ka cannot tolerate violence or offence perpetrated against anyone. In addition, if anyone offenselessly chants Kas name then Ka will certainly very soon liberate him from material bondage.
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If a person is well versed in all the four Vedas, but still maintains an offensive attitude towards the Vaiavas, then he is eternally doomed to the worst kind of hell. A person may study and teach the rmad Bhgavatam for the purpose of sense gratification. In this way, his intelligence is destroyed and becoming misguided, he commits offences at the holy feet of r Nitynanda. Thus, he brings about a great disaster for himself. r Caitanya mercifully revealed His transcendental pastimes in Navadvpa, yet the offenders are insufficiently fortunate to understand or believe in them. As for those who are attracted to the lotus feet of r Caitanya, their association is intensely desirable. Equally undesirable is the company of those yogis, masters of all the eight mystic perfections, if they are averse to surrender at r Caitanyas lotus feet. Lord Caitanya finally pacified and satisfied Murri Gupta and being thus pleased went home. In this way, Murri Gupta was relishing the Lords association and pastimes. Murri Guptas experiences and good fortune were so wonderful that I am still now unable to fully describe them. It is by r Nitynandas mercy alone that I have heard and realized a little about the glories of such a Vaiava as Murri Gupta. May r Nitynanda be my eternal master; it is by His grace that I am able to develop attachment for r Caitanya. All glory to r Caitanya, the son of Jaganntha Mira! May your beloved Nitynanda be enthroned as the crest jewel of my heart. My greatest meditation is that r Vivambhara is the most precious to my beloved Nitynanda Prabhu. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul. I, Vndvana das, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
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21. Mahprabhu Chastises Devnanda Paita
All glory to r Vivambhara, the life of Nitynanda, the master of Gaddhara Paita and the Lord of Advaita crya! He is the most charming object of rvsa and Haridsa hkuras love and the revered Lord of Gagdsa Paita and r Vsudeva Datta. May the Lord be glorified along with all His eternal servitors and associates! One can easily attain pure devotion by properly hearing the wonderful pastimes of Lord Caitanya. The residents of Navadvpa saw their Vivambhara performing His infinite pastimes with Gaddhara Paita, Nitynanda Prabhu and others. One day, the Lord was out walking with His associates. He decided to visit Virada Mahevara, who lived near the dam on the Gag. Right next to this place was the residence of Devnanda Paita, an equipoised brhmaa scholar, who was aspiring after liberation. He was learned, renounced, and from his birth unattached to material life. He was also a teacher of rmad Bhgavatam, but unfortunately devoid of any devotional fervour. People praised him as being well versed in the rmad Bhgavatam, but factually, he was not acquainted with the real essence of the Bhgavatam. Within his heart, the latent devotional feelings for the Lord had not stirred. He still had not attained the eligibility to perceive the transcendental truth of the Bhgavatam. Despite his study of the Bhgavatam, he was not situated in devotional service. Only Ka knows what offences had caused such a mishap. By some unknown coincidence, the Lord with His associates was passing by Devnandas house while Devnanda was lecturing upon the rmad Bhgavatam. r Vivambhara, the Supersoul in everyones heart and the Absolute omniscient Supreme Lord, overheard his explanations, which 268

were devoid of reference to the process of devotional service. Enraged by this the Lord said, What does this foolish man say? He is completely ignorant about the essential teachings of rmad Bhgavatam. What right does he have to speak upon the Bhgavatam? The rmad Bhgavatam is the literary incarnation of r Ka and the ultimate goal of the rmad Bhgavatam is devotional service to the Supreme Lord. The Vedic scriptures have declared that the Bhgavatam unequivocally establishes the sublime importance of attaining a loving relationship with the Supreme. The four Vedas are likened to a pot of yoghurt, which, when churned, is converted to butter cream, which is the rmad Bhgavatam. This yoghurt was churned and served by rla ukadeva Gosvm and then relished by Parkit Mahrja. ukadeva Gosvm is most dear to Me and fully conversant with the esoteric truths revealed in the rmad Bhgavatam, which is replete with descriptions about My absolute position and nature as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whosoever makes any distinction between Me, My pure devotees, and the rmad Bhgavatam is forever lost. Although the Lord spoke these words angrily, the assembled Vaiava devotees were greatly pleased to hear them. The Lord continued speaking, This fool does not know anything about the Bhgavatam. He tirelessly toils explaining the Bhgavatam without mentioning devotional service. Today, I will tear his book to shreds. An irate Lord Vivambhara was about to rush off and carry out His resolve when the Vaiavas collected around Him and dissuaded Him. The entire range of Vedic scriptures eulogize the rmad Bhgavatam as the most elevated of theosophical literature; the esoteric truths contained in this great literature are unfathomable by mundane scholars and materialistic men.
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One who claims to fully understand the rmad Bhgavatam completely misses the truth expounded within this book. However, one who understands that the rmad Bhgavatam speaks of the inconceivable Supreme Truth automatically perceives its essence, which is devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Devnanda Paita was a learned scholar whose erudition was equalled by only a handful. However, the God of Death, Yamarja, punishes all those who acknowledge such mundane scholars who have no actual understanding of the rmad Bhgavatam. Even though one is a professor of the rmad Bhgavatam, teaching many others, one will be misled in spiritual understanding if one disrespects r Nitynanda, who is the ultimate shelter for the entire creation. The Lord was fond of going about in Navadvpa accompanied by His associates. One day, He came to the outer precincts of the town and happened to pass by a drinking place. As he smelled the wine, He was reminded of vru, a similar intoxicating drink made from honey, which is a big favourite of r Balarma. Immediately, the Lord was overcome with the emotions of Balarma. In a trance, He loudly boomed to rvsa Paita, Lets go inside! When the Lord insisted, rvsa fell to His feet and begged Him not to go inside. The Lord said, Do I also have to be restricted by rules and regulations? Nevertheless, rvsa Paita continued to dissuade the Lord from His decision. rvsa Paita explained, You are the Universal Father and the perfect example, if you transgress the social laws then who will be left to uphold them? Those, who out of ignorance will criticize you, will certainly have to suffer lifetimes of misery. You are the emblem of eternal religious principles, who will be able to divine the pastimes You are about to display? Considering this, if You insist on going into the drinking house, then I shall drown myself in the Gag. 270

The Lord never minimizes the vows of His devotees. Upon hearing rvsas words, He smiled benignly and said, I do not want to act against your wish, I will not go inside. Gradually, the Lord withdrew within Himself the mood of Balaram and continued upon His way. However, when the drunkards from inside the drinking house saw Nimi, they became excited and called out loudly after Him, Hari! Hari! One of them said, Yes! Nimi Paita is a good and honourable person, I like His behaviour and especially the way He sings and dances! A few of them stood up swaying unsteadily and, clapping their hands, started to hop around making an attempt to dance. They tried to go out and meet Nimi in the street. The drunks were now well worked up and at full volume sang, Haribol! Haribol! Jai Nryaa! and danced about in great joy. The drinking place quickly became the scene of loud joyous chanting of Haris name; such reactions are understandable in anyone who sees the Supreme Lord Viu and His pure devotees, the Vaiavas. The Lord was pleased by the intoxicated efforts of the drunkards in chanting the Holy Name and rvsa Paitas heart melted with tears of happiness upon seeing the display of the Lords transcendental potency. The drunkards were very happy to see r Caitanya, but the envious people found fault and criticized the Lord. Those offenders who become displeased when they hear the glories of the Supreme Lord will never know any joy in any birth. Therefore, I offer my obeisances to the soul who beholds the Supreme Lord with faith, even if he be a drunkard. The Lord blessed the drunks with His glance and went away. After walking some distance, the Lord saw Devnanda Paita coming from the opposite direction. Upon seeing him, the Lord felt rage rising within Him. It came back to Gauracandras memory that sometime ago
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Devnanda Paita had committed a grievous offence against rvsa Paita. At the time when this incident had taken place, Vivambhara had not yet revealed His sakrtana pastimes. The world was then too engrossed in materialistic pursuits to cultivate the eternal loving relationship with the Supreme Lord and, seeing this, all the devotees of the Lord felt despondent. Some scholars were lecturing on the rmad Bhgavatam and the Bhagavad-gt, but neither the lecturers nor the audience accepted nor even perceived the devotional essence of these texts. Devnanda Paita was also lecturing on the Bhgavatam in those days. People respected him, as he was very erudite and gentle. He lectured continuously on the Bhgavatam and maintained strict celibacy vows like a sannys. One day, while Devnanda was lecturing on the Bhgavatam to a group of students, rvsa Paita, thirsting to hear the transcendental sound of the Bhgavatam, came and sat in the audience. All the syllables of the Bhgavatam are steeped in the nectar of love of Ka. When they entered rvsa Paitas ears, his heart melted in loving ecstasy and he began to cry, sighing deeply. The students around him were mundane, agnostic logicians, who felt disturbed by rvsa Paita, and they said, This man is creating a nuisance, we cannot study in this atmosphere, this is a waste of time for us. rvsa Paita is very dear to Gauracandra and a highly elevated Vaiava who can deliver the entire world. He was unaware of the others comments and unchecked tears streamed out in ecstatic love. The students then plotted amongst themselves and dragged rvsa Paita out of the house, but Devnanda Paita did not utter a word in protest. When the teacher is bereft of devotional understanding, his students are expected to be the same. 272

When rvsa Paita came out of his ecstatic trance, he returned home, his feelings deeply hurt. The Supersoul, r Vivambhara, in everyones heart, took note of every thought and deed of everyone. Now as Lord Vivambhara saw Devnanda Paita approaching the entire episode raced through His mind. The Lord accosted him with angry words, You there! Devnanda! I hear you give discourses to many on the rmad Bhgavatam. One day, one devotee by the name of rvsa Paita went to listen to your lecture, but while he was engrossed in the pastimes of Ka, your students dragged him outside the premises. What was his offence? Should one who is moved to spiritual emotions and cries upon hearing the Bhgavatam, appreciating the mellows of loving relationship with Ka, be dragged out and treated with such contempt? In such an offensive manner, you and your agnostic students maltreated this great devotee, who is so eagerly sought after by Gag dev herself. You may be a teacher of the Bhgavatam, but you do not possess even an iota of the piety required to understand the real purport of the rmad Bhgavatam. When a person has eaten to his full satisfaction only then does he feel amicably disposed to the world around him. As for you, although you teach others about the Bhgavatam you yourself cannot relish its divine nectar, which can give one unlimited pleasure. Devnanda Paita, who was indeed a learned brhmaa, heard every word feeling very ashamed, but did not speak. r Vivambhara finished His chastisement and left. Devnanda Paita also left for his home feeling broken and dejected. Although the Lord chastised Devnanda, still he is a very fortunate soul because to be chastised by r Caitanya is a rare blessing. Even those demons that are killed by the Lord attain the spiritual world. One who faithfully and sincerely accepts the Lords chastisement is soon blessed with pure devotional service unto Him, while others who do not care for the Lords wrath will perish to eternal damnation. 273

r Ka manifests Himself in four special forms, as the rmad Bhgavatam, Tulas, Gag, and the pure Bhgavata devotee. Ka is directly perceived in them in His original form, thus they do not require any installation. However, the Deity form of the Lord in the temple has to be first installed with mantras requesting the Lord to accept that form, only then do the deities become worshipable by the recommended rituals. The Vedas are clear on this point. The pastimes of r Caitanya are causeless, without beginning or end. Somehow or other, I am trying to put them in some orderly sequence. I offer my obeisances to the feet of all the devotees of Lord Caitanya so that my offences may be forgiven. All these pastimes of the Lord, as they manifest in the pages of the Madhya-khaa, are showers of nectar that can sweeten the bitterness of agnosticism within the heart. May r Nitynanda, who is so dear to Lord Caitanya, never take away the shelter of His lotus feet. Lord r Ka Caitanya and Lord Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
22. The Wonderful Qualities of r Nitynanda
All glory to r Gauracandra who is an ocean of mercy; He is the beautiful son of Mother ac and r Jaganntha Mira! He is known as r Ka Caitanya, He has rained down showers of benediction upon the living entities by distributing the Holy Name of Ka. Navadvpa witnessed the infinite transcendental pastimes of the Lord as He manifested them along with His associates, Nitynanda Prabhu, Gaddhara Paita and others. The Lord returned home after chastising
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Devnanda Paita, who also returned home in a state of acute mental agony. The cause of all his suffering was his close association with the mundane students and scholars. Although many considered Devnanda saintly, he had had to flee from r Caitanyas presence, he was not pure enough to remain in the Lords presence. The Supreme Lord, r Vivambhara, is attained only through the grace of saintly Vaiavas. One may chant the Lords name and perform austerities, but if such activities lack devotion, they are useless. In the eyes of the public, such a person may appear to be attracting the Lords mercy by apparently performing some devotional activities, but factually, he is deprived of any actual spiritual ecstasy. These are not my words, I simply repeat what the Vedas declare, and r Caitanya Himself has given this verdict. Mother ac, in whose womb the Supreme Lord, Gauracandra, appeared, was guilty of some offence committed previously against a saintly Vaiava. The Lord personally exonerated His mother from this offence and instructed her in the science of loving devotional service to the Lord. Dear readers listen attentively to this wonderful narration and this will alleviate you from the sin of vaiava-apardha. One day, Lord Caitanya sat on the throne of the deities. He picked up t h e lagrama-la forms of the Lord, placed them upon His lap and manifested His supreme absolute form. He said, I am the Supreme Lord Nryaa, r Ka, who in Kali-yuga appears in the form of the Holy Name. I bridged the ocean in My incarnation as r Rmacandra. I was resting on the Milk Ocean, upon My bed of Ananta ea, when the roaring sounds of Advaita crya, N, calling Me down to earth, awakened Me. The reason for My advent in this incarnation is to freely distribute ka-prema. O N and rvsa, ask all you can, I am here to give. 275

When Nitynanda saw this manifestation of the Lord, He immediately held an opened umbrella above r Caitanyas head. Gaddhara Paita was busy preparing betel for the Lord and the others began to whisk yaktail cmaras around the Lord. The Lord dispensed His causeless mercy to everyone and the devotees received it, each according to his hearts desire. Each devotee had a different basis for begging favour from the Lord. Someone said, My father is mischievous, if he can be rectified it will be a great relief to me. Some wanted blessings for their guru, or disciples, or son, or wife. r Vivambhara, who never disregards the sincere prayers of His devotees, fulfilled each of their desires with ka-prema, smiling benignly upon them. The exalted personality, rvsa Paita, then said, My Lord, we greatly desire that you bless acmt with ka-prema. The Lord replied, Please do not make such a request, I cannot comply with it. She has committed an offence against a Vaiava devotee, therefore she is deprived of love of Ka. Again, rvsa Paita said, Such words steal away our very life air, my Lord. She has borne You in her wombYou, who are the Supreme Lord. I cannot fathom why she is refused Your favour. She is our very life and soul, the Universal Mother. O Lord, please discard Your deception and be merciful to her. You, my Lord, are her son and she is the mother of the entire existence. How can a son consider his mothers action as offensive? If she committed a mistake against a Vaiava, then absolve it and favour her. The Lord replied, I can instruct her properly, but I am unable to pardon her from vaiava-apardha. She has to be forgiven by that person alone to whom she was offensive; no one else can do that. You know well how Durvs Muni was only forgiven for his offences by King Ambara, to whom he had been offensive. 276

She has committed an offence against N, Advaita, therefore he alone can forgive her, if he so desires, and thereby make her the recipient of the Lords sweet mercy. I can assure you that she will receive love of Ka the very moment she takes the dust from Advaita cryas lotus feet and smears it upon her head. Immediately, the devotees accompanied Mother ac to meet Advaita crya, and explained everything to Him. When Advaita crya heard them, he remembered r Viu to avoid disaster and retorted to them, Do you want to smash my head open! She is the mother of my Lord and master! Therefore, she is my mother as well! It is her feet dust, which must decorate my head. She is not an ordinary person; I cannot even fathom her position. She is the embodiment of devotional service, the Universal Mother. How could you bring yourselves to say these words? If anyone takes her name, even for some material reasons, then he is relieved of all suffering. Mother ac, Ai, is non-different from Gag dev, she is the same personality as Mother Yaod and Mother Devak. As Advaita was delineating the truth about Mother ac, he unconscious to the ground in great spiritual ecstasy. Realizing that opportune moment had arrived, Mother ac quickly came from inner quarters and taking the dust from Advaita cryas feet, placed it upon her head. fell the the she
Mother ac, a very exalted Vaiava devotee, endowed with perfect devotion, also fell down unconscious, feeling divine bliss as she placed Advaitas feet dust upon her head. All the devotees exclaimed joyously at being able to see this sublime spiritual reciprocation between such exalted personalities. The Lord watched the entire happening from His throne and was satisfied with His mother. He said, Now that you are rid of your offences to Advaita crya, you are blessed with ka-prema. The devotees responded jubilantly to the Lords words.
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Thus, the Supreme Lord acted as the supreme instructing spiritual master and warned everyone to avoid vaiava-apardha. He used His own mother as a vehicle to teach others. According to the scriptures, even the most powerful person is destroyed by vaiava-apardha. Thereby, if one disregards the instructions of the scriptures and commits vaiava-apardha, he has to suffer the hellish life of a sinner, life after life. What to speak of others, even the most powerful r Caitanyas own mother was taken to task for committing vaiava-apardha. If one really analyses what was actually acdevs vaiava-apardha, then she will be found innocent, yet the Lord found her guilty. Why do people call Him Advaita which means non-dual? What prompted Mother ac to call Him Dvaita, dual? The proper understanding of this entire episode includes the transcendental pastimes of r Vivarpa. Vivarpa was a very elevated personalityHe was the Lords elder brother. He possessed unsurpassed handsome good looks and was radiant and powerful. Well versed in all branches of philosophy and scriptures, He was gentle and composed. He is non-different from Lord Nitynanda. No one could fathom His analysis and explanations of the scriptures, and yet He was playing the role of a child with other children. One day, r Jaganntha Mira was invited to an assembly of brhmaa patas and with him he took his son Vivarpa. All those attending were gray with erudition and tricky logic. They were stunned to see this young, beautiful and attractive child. His effulgent personality seemed to have stolen their gravity and cynicism. One of the paitas approached Him, asking, How far have you studied young lad? Vivarpa replied, A little of everything. The others did not mind his slightly insolent reply, but His father was embarrassed by it. As they were returning home from the assembly, r Jaganntha Mira slapped his son. Reprimanding Him, he said, Why did you not say clearly the names of the books you are studying, instead of talking in 278

circles. You certainly made a fool of yourself in that learned assembly and also spoilt my reputation. They returned home, but Jaganntha Mira was still in a fit of rage. Vivarpa decided to go back to that assembly. He went alone and said to the Brahmins, None of you asked Me any questions when I replied to your question. My father was very angry at My reply and your subsequent silence. So now, kindly ask Me any question so that I may back up My response to your enquiry. The scholars laughed condescendingly at what they considered mere precocity. One of them said, Okay young lad! What did you study today? Vivarpa explained to them a few aphorisms from logic and they appreciated and understood His presentation. They then said, You have explained the aphorisms well. Vivarpa replied, My explanations are a ploy. You have not understood anything. Then, to the utter amazement of the scholars, he refuted all the logical conclusions just established. He did this twice, each time presenting new conclusions and then again refuting them. In a dazed state, the scholars acquiesced, saying, Yes, yes, You are most intelligent. However, they were unable to know the truth about Him and His words by the influence of the Lords illusory potency. Although Vivarpa was moving about in their midst, they were entirely ignorant about Him. The entire society was so drunk with material activities that they were incapable of glorifying and appreciating a Vaiavas transcendental status. They were ready to spend handsomely for mundane functions like their sons birthday or marriage, but no one would raise a finger to worship Ka or follow a Ka-centred life. All the scholars and teachers prided themselves in their ability to argue based on logic and sophistry, but not one of them endeavoured to cultivate Ka consciousness or devotion to Ka. If a few amongst 279

them taught the Bhagavad-Gt, then instead of explaining its true essence, devotion to Ka, they spent time in dry speculations. Vivarpa went from one assembly to another, one school to another, but nowhere was devotion to Ka ever discussed. This threw Him into the depths of despondency. Advaita crya was then lecturing on the book, Yoga-viha. Though the book presents the impersonal philosophy, Advaita crya explained everything in the light of devotional service to Ka. Who could actually comprehend Advaitas dissertation? Hence, he was accepted as the foremost amongst the Vaiavas. For Vivarpa, only Advaita cryas association gave Him the sublime satisfaction. Therefore, Vivarpa spent as much time as He could with Advaita. Advaita enjoyed Vivarpas company and exchanged devotional mellows with Him. Vivambhara was then a beautiful young boy, sprightly and radiant. One day, Mother ac sent Him to call Vivarpa, saying, Go run and call Your brother to come immediately. Vivambhara ran swiftly to Advaita cryas house. There He found many exalted devotees, including rvsa Paita, sitting around Advaita crya. Smiling sweetly, Vivambhara said, O brother, please come quickly and take Your lunch. The little boy Vivambhara was so attractive that everyone was bewitched by His extraordinarily good looks. They forgot everything and drank in His beauty with their eyes. Everyday onwards, the little Vivambhara would arrive at the house on the pretext of calling His elder brother. Advaita crya, seeing the boy, began to consider in his heart, This beautiful lad steals my heart away. This must be the Lord of my heart who bewilders my mind with His exquisite beauty, no one else could do this to me.
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r Vivambhara is the Supersoul within everyones heart, so, having understood Advaitas mind, He quickly left. Vivarpa began to spend more and more time in company of Advaita crya, relishing these transcendental moments with him completely free from all material encumbrances. Detailed narrations of Vivarpas unlimited pastimes are mentioned earlier in the di-khaa of this book. By the will of providence, Vivarpa soon left home and took up the sannysa mendicant order, His name becoming akarraya. When Vivarpa embraced the renounced order, this left an indelible mark of acute separation in acdevs tender and vulnerable heart. When the throbbing pain of the first days of Vivarpas departure had waned to a dull despondent ache, Mother ac calmly considered the following thoughts, Advaita crya, due to my sons close association with him, must have influenced Vivarpa to take up the renounced order. Mother ac never spoke these thoughts aloud, careful not to commit vaiava-apardha, she silently suffered her fate. Then gradually, she started finding solace in little Vivambhara. He seemed to understand His mothers grief and did much to give her joy, slowly filling up the emptiness Vivarpa had left behind. Then, after sometime had passed and Vivambhara had grown up to a young man, He also started to spend more time in Advaita cryas company. Vivambhara stayed little time at home with His young and patient Lakmpriy, but was for long hours in Advaitas house. The sad realization dawned on Mother ac that her son was hardly in the house and often to be seen in Advaitas house. She began to think, Advaita crya will also take this son away from me. So out of desperation and anguish, Mother ac burst out, exclaiming, To the world he may be known as Advaita, non-dual, but to me he is Dvaita, full of duplicity. He has already driven out my moonlike 281

effulgent first son and now he will not leave this younger one in peace. I am a destitute mother, yet no one has any pity for me. This Advaita has deceived me. This is all that Mother ac had said. It is supposed to be so offensive that the Lord deemed her unfit to render devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Some persons make the grave blunder, for which they will soon suffer, of trying to compare Vaiavas, calling one a bigger Vaiava than the other. r Caitanya made His own mother instrumental in teaching the whole world how to avoid and become free from vaiava-apardha. If someone does not pay close heed to r Caitanyas warnings and teachings on such vaiava-apardha, then he will remain completely ignorant about this offence and thus suffer the terrible consequences. In this context, a few words can be said of why Lord Caitanya revealed this pastime. Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Lord, is the knower of past, present and future. He foresaw that some evil-minded persons would try to exploit this situation to their own selfish advantage. They will wrongly proclaim Advaita crya to be the Supreme Lord Ka, thus violating the instructions of the pure Vaiavas and thereby committing a grievous offence. These miscreants will protest against those who will rightly declare that Advaita is a pure Vaiava devotee. Although they may claim to be the followers of Advaita crya, still no one will rescue them from the jaws of imminent destruction, not even Advaita crya himself. r Caitanya saw this happening soon in the future, so He punished His own mother in the presence of exalted Vaiavas like Advaita crya. If the disciple commits vaiava-apardha, even the spiritual master cannot protect his disciple against the wrath of the Lord. Furthermore, even the guru is hard pressed to protect himself from the reactions of vaiava-apardha committed by his disciples. If the guru is in a very elevated stage of devotion, then he can protect himself alone
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and not his disciple, but if he is not so elevated, then along with the disciple, he sinks down into hell. Therefore, those who try to glorify Advaita crya as the Supreme Lord instead of respecting him as an exalted Vaiava, in fact, end up criticizing him and dishonouring him. What greater glorification embellishes one than to be known as the associate of the Supreme Lord, r Caitanya? r Caitanya has of course declared clearly that r Nitynanda is the Supreme Lord Himself. Moreover, one can only know the Supreme Absolute position of r Caitanya by the mercy r Nitynanda. Only by r Nitynandas mercy, can one recognize a true Vaiava and understand his transcendental position. Without Nitynandas sweet grace, there is no way one may be delivered from the punishment of vaiava-apardha. By His mercy alone, one may develop the mood of loving devotion to the Supreme Lord. The true followers of r Nitynanda are free from faultfinding. They engage their full time in blissfully glorifying r Caitanya and they are always careful to avoid all the pitfalls in devotional life. Thus, r Caitanya is their very life and soul. No ordinary person with little piety can become a devotee of Nitynanda, because to such a devotee of Nitynanda is revealed the supra-mundane activities of r Caitanya. One who reads or hears this transcendental narration about Vivarpa becomes the servant of r Ananta ea and very dear to r Nitynanda. Nitynanda and Vivarpa are one and the same personality. Mother ac is well aware of this esoteric truth. Others who are fixed in mature Ka consciousness also know this truth. All glory to r Nitynanda, who is always taking shelter of r Gauracandra! You are the stalwart preacher of congregational chanting
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from Gaua. Who can take shelter of Lord Caitanya without first receiving Your grace? If anyone falls from the favour and association of Lord Nitynanda then he can never ever experience actual bliss. Will that day ever be mine when I shall see r Nitynanda and r Caitanya together with all Their associates? My greatest source of strength and security is that r Caitanya is the Lord of my dear r Nitynanda. I pray at the lotus feet of Advaita crya Prabhu that may my natural attraction flow spontaneously to His lotus feet and to the feet of all His servitors. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this humble song at Their lotus feet.
23. r Caitanya Visits the Kazi with His Sakrtana Party
All glory to r Caitanya who is an ocean of all transcendental excellences! All glory to Him who is known as Vivambhara, who is the lawgiver of the entire material creation! You are very dear to r Nitynanda and the crest jewel of the brahminical race. All glory to Your dearmost devotees. r Vivambhara continued His transcendental activities in Navadvpa, but not all could see them. As r Vivambhara, the Supreme Hero, having descended from Vaikuha, went about revealing His pastimes, the sublime joy of the devotees also increased.
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Vivambhara was accompanied everywhere by His dearmost associate and brother, Nitynanda, and they, together with all the devotees, ecstatically relished the transcendental mellows. The Lord was always intoxicated, drinking the nectar of His own transcendental name. Every night, He was submerged in the congregational chanting of the Lords name, but with only His devoteesthe non-devotees were disallowed in these krtanas. No one could fathom the Lords potencies or activities. The envious persons, not being welcome to these krtanas, went around spreading bad rumours. Someone said, Who can be a real Vaiava in Kali-yuga? All those people are doing this simply for their food. Someone else said, If we could tie their hands and feet and throw them into a pond, then we might enjoy peace and quiet. Yet another said, Know one thing for certain, friends: This Nimi Paita will ruin this village. These miscreants tried various means to enter the krtana hall while the krtana was in progress. They even reverted to threatening the devotees, but because their hearts were devoid of any piety, they could not influence the devotees and so could not participate in the krtanas. r Caitanya performed these nocturnal krtanas, and thus purified the entire material existence. Many townsfolk desired very much to see these krtanas and lamented bitterly upon their exclusion, ascribing the reason to their great misfortune. Some of them would approach one of the devotees and pray to them to first deliver them from their sins and then secretly smuggle them inside the krtana hall. Nevertheless, the devotees knew that the Lord is the Omniscient Supersoul and that He would immediately detect an unauthorized persons presence, so out of fear of inviting the Lords wrath, the devotees refused to take anyone inside. Once a brahmacri, a celibate student, who was very peaceful, honest and faultless, practicing penances and living only on milk and fruits, 285

wanted to see the krtanas of the Lord. However, the Lord would personally shut the doors so that the non-devotees could not enter. This brahmacri would visit rvsa Paita everyday and repeatedly request him to be allowed for the krtana. He would say, If you kindly take me inside your house during the krtana then I can feast my eyes on the patas chanting and dancing. I will be ever grateful to you for this. Finally, one day, rvsa Paita replied, I know you to be a good person, who spends a sinless life eating only fruits and milk, maintaining strict celibacy. I think you are eligible to see the Lords krtana and dancing, but you will have to remain hidden inside the house since the Lords orders are that no one is to be allowed within. rvsa then secretly brought the brahmacri inside, who soon carefully concealed himself. The krtana started and the Lord of the fourteen worlds, Vivambhara began to dance. Lord Nitynanda and Gaddhara Paita danced around the Lord, while Advaita went dancing hither and thither, floating on waves of joy. Everyone was drowned in the ocean of ecstasy, becoming oblivious of the external world, as the Lord of Vaikuha, lost within Himself, danced to His devotees singing. The only sound to be heard was the names of the Lord and that same Lord now manifested all the ecstatic symptoms in unlimited waves of nectar. The omniscient Supreme Lord Vivambhara was fully aware of the presence of the brahmacri even though he had concealed himself. After a short while, the Lord commented, Today, I do not feel the usual ecstasy while dancing can any of you explain this? Maybe someone is hiding inside the house, please tell me the truth. rvsa Paita became very afraid, he said, My Lord, I assure you there are no atheists or non-believers in the house, only a brahmacri, a fully qualified brhmaa who is sinless and drinks only milk and eats only fruits. He had a strong desire to see You dancing. You were completely right my Lord, he is here in hiding 286

This information enraged the Lord, who said, Right now, this very moment, take him out of this house. What spiritual sdhana does he possess that enables him to see My dancing. How can he develop devotion to Me simply by drinking milk. The Lord dramatically raised His arms and pointing His finger to make a point, continued, Just by drinking milk no one can attain Me. Even a low caste dog-eater can claim Me, if he takes full shelter of Me, I then accept him. A person maybe a sannys, a renunciate without any worldly attachments, but if he does not surrender to Me then I do not favour him. Tell me, how did Gajendra, the elephant; or Hanumn, the monkey; or the gops, the simple milkmaids of Vraja, attain Me? What great austerities did they perform? Even the demons perform severe penances and austerities, but they are slain because they do not surrender to Me. I will not have any milk-drinker here polluting everything, I will destroy everything. The brahmacri was by now trembling with fear. He came out of hiding thinking, It has been my great fortune to see what I have seen, but I have also received the commensurate punishment for my misdeed. However, what wonderful dancing and singing I have glimpsed! A devotee thinks and feels this way, being the Lords servitor he is always willing to accept all chastisement from the Lord. The brahmacri started to walk out of the house with these thoughts in his mind, which were, of course, already known to the Lord. The most merciful Lord then had the brahmacri brought back to the house. He placed His lotus feet upon his head and blessed him, saying, Do not try to gain power by performing austerities and penances. Render loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord Viu, Ka, for this is the highest of all activities. Thinking constantly about the Lords causeless mercy upon him, the brahmacri began to weep in joy. The devotees became jubilant and offered their obeisances to the Lord, who then resumed His ecstatic dancing.
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One who hears this wonderful narration will certainly unite with Lord Caitanya in devotional service. I offer my prostrated obeisances at the feet of the brahmacri who displayed such wonderful devotional understanding in accepting the Lords chastisement. Time passed and the Lord continued His nocturnal krtana sessions with His intimate devotees, barring everyone else to enter the premises. The pious population of Navadvpa felt pained at being disallowed during these krtana pastimes of the Lord and they blamed the atheists and miscreants. They complained, On account of these fault-finding non-devotees, we cannot see the wonderful krtanas, which are like grand celebrations every evening. The fault-finders only know one activity, and that is to criticize others. As a result, we are being deprived of seeing the extraordinary krtana pastimes of the Lord. Nimi Paita has thus shut the doors to keep out these mischief mongers, but unfortunately, even the good people are now kept from coming. Everyone knows that Nimi Paita is a very exalted devotee of Ka, His heart is pure and faultless. If we have full faith and devotion in Him, then eventually we will indeed see His krtana and dancing. One of the pious souls commented, Let us just go, sit there, and pray that one day we may feast our eyes upon Nimis dancing. Nimi Paita has appeared in Navadvpa to deliver the entire universe. I tell you that He will propagate the congregational chanting of the holy name of Ka in every house, in every town. In this way, all the pious folks increased their good fortune, whereas the impious ones simply multiplied their sufferings by their criticism of the Lord. With the approach of dawn, all the devotees went to meet Nimi Paita. Everyone brought some gifts for the Lord; new items, bananas, fruits, yoghurt, clarified butter, and flower garlands etc. As soon as they saw the Lord, they fell to the ground in prostrated obeisances. The Lord
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blessed them saying, May you be blessed by developing love for Ka. Do not waste time with gossip, just chant Kas holy name. The Lord then instructed them on the holy name, Now hear from Me the Mah-mantra: Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare, Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare. Go and repeatedly chant this mantra a prescribed number of times. One can achieve all perfection by this chanting so always repeat these names for this chanting is not restricted by any rules. Five or ten of you can sit together in your house and chant or sing this mantra accompanied by the clapping of hands or cymbals. When you are singing together, then also sing this: haraye nama, ka ydavya nama/ gopla govinda rma r-madhusdana. This congregational chanting should be joined by everyonefather, brother, wife, son, and daughter. Having directly received the mantra and the instructions to chant from the Lord, the devotees went happily back to their homes after once again offering their obeisances to the Lord. They strictly followed the Lords instructions and all the time chanted Kas name, meditating on the Lords lotus feet. At the end of the day, they all assembled in their houses and loudly sang the Holy Names, gaily clapping their hands and cymbals in rhythm. In this manner, r Caitanya began inspiring everyone to take up the congregational chanting of the holy name. Encouraging their devotional zeal, He went about embracing the devotees and placing His own garlands around them. In a most humble manner, He went about requesting all, My dear brothers! Please serve Ka! Seeing the Lord in this mood, an emblem of humility, the devotees became surcharged with spiritual sentiments and began to weep and 289

intensify their chanting. The whole town now became involved in congregational chanting. The devotees brought out their drums, conchshells, and cymbals that previously had been generally used to celebrate the worship of the Goddess Durg, during Her big festivals. However, now they began to play upon the same instruments in the krtana, making joyous sounds. The whole town was enveloped by the transcendental sound of the Holy Name of the Lord. rdhara, the leaf-plate seller, happened to be walking by, whilst loudly singing Kas name. When he heard the loud krtana, he began to dance in ecstasy. When the other devotees saw this dear devotee of r Caitanya dancing, they came, surrounded him, and began to sing. rdhara was overwhelmed with spiritual emotions. He fell to the ground and rolled about, yet continued to chant Kas Name. When the nondevotees saw him, they started ridiculing and laughing at him. They said, Just see him! That fellow has also become a Vaiava. He can neither afford clothes, nor does he have any money to eat, yet suddenly he is exhibiting all these ecstatic symptoms, this is all for show. They all live by begging and now they have started an untimely festival. The atheists continued to hurl insulting remarks at the devotees, but undeterred, the pious devotees went on chanting the Holy Name of Ka. One day, the Muslim magistrate, the Kazi, was passing that way. He heard the tumult of singing of the Lords name accompanied by drums, cymbals and conchshell. He remembered the instruction in his own scripture about the practice of other religions. The Kazi cried out, Catch them all, let us see what your teacher, Nimi Paita, does to stop me. All the devotees fled in fear of the Muslim fanatics. The Kazis men went about breaking the drums and beating up the devotees, spreading terror. The Kazi said, It seems that nowadays in Nadia there is a sudden outburst of Hindu religious activities. I will punish the culprits severely. 290

Since it is already late and getting dark I am letting you off, but if I see all this again I will convert you all to Islam. Everyday, the evil Kazi would send his men patrolling the town looking for any krtana. The devotees became despondent and went into hiding, fearing violent retaliation from the Kazi and his men. The envious atheists were siding with the Kazi. They commented, Haris name should be chanted in the mind. Which scripture enjoins one to make a clamour in chanting Kas name? For transgressing the Vedic injunctions, they have received a suitable punishment. Apparently, they have no fear of flouting the social norms. That Nimi Paita, who acts so proudly, will now be cowered by the Kazi. In addition, that Nitynanda, who roams about everywhere, will soon see the end of all His fun. They dare to call us atheists for speaking out the truth, but now at long last Nadia will be rid of these charlatans. Out of fear, the devotees did not protest against the ban of the Kazi. Nevertheless, they went to the Lord and gave a report to Him, We have stopped our krtana out of dread of the Kazithroughout Navadvpa hundreds his men search the streets and our houses. We have come to tell You that we will have to leave Navadvpa and settle elsewhere away from all this. When r Caitanya heard that someone was trying to stop the sakrtana movement, He became infuriated. He looked awesome, almost like Lord iva at the time of the cosmic annihilation. Like the rumbling of thunder, He roared loudly and seeing this sudden change in the Lord, the devotees became afraid and held their ears as if begging forgiveness from the Lord for a mistake they had not committed. The Lord said, Nitynanda, be prepared! Go immediately to all the Vaiavas and assemble them all on the streets. I shall bring out a krtana party and take it all over Navadvpa. Today we will see if anyone can do anything to Me. You will see how I burn the Kazis house down. Today I shall shower the incessant rains of love of Ka upon everyone.
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Today, the atheists will face their final hour. Therefore, My brothers, do not waste a moment, go deliver this message to everyone. Tell everyone that if they are desirous of seeing the mystic potency of Ka in action, then let them bring a flaming torch with them. I will smash the Kazis palace and I will do krtana along every street of Navadvpa. The entire creation is full of My devotees and in My presence, what is there to fear? Go and put a stop to your anguish, come and assemble in the afternoon after lunch. The devotees dispersed right away, each going his way in great anticipation, not caring about eating or anything else. Excited talks filled every home, Nimi Paita will take out a sakrtana and dance in the streets of Navadvpa. For the many thousands who were lamenting for so long that they could not see Nimi Paitas dancing this news was the cause of great rejoicing. Therefore, everyone prepared his torch. Even if the father had made a torch, the son yet made his own. They competed with each other to make the biggest torch. Huge barrels of oil were kept in readiness. In those days, Navadvpa was very densely populated. The constant flow of people with torches poured out of the houses onto the streets. Who could count the millions of torches? The women, children, and old men were excited with great anticipation. Slowly the clusters of devotees moved towards Nimi Paitas house. When Lord Caitanya heard that all the Vaiavas had assembled at His behest and were on His doorsteps, He went to meet them and began to organize them into groups. Advaita crya was to head up and be the chief dancer in one group, supported by a krtana group. In another group, Haridsa was the leader and dancer; he also was backed by a krtana group. Yet, another group was to be led with the main dancer being rvsa Paita. The Lords eyes fell on Nitynanda, who immediately said, I will not leave Your side, My Lord. My only duty is to be near You, always. I can never leave Your lotus feet; they are embedded in My heart. What power 292

do I possess to dance independently away from You? My devotional service to You is that I am always with You. When r Caitanya saw the streams of ecstasy flowing from the eyes of Nitynanda, He embraced Him and kept Him near Himself. In this way, everyone had his desire fulfilled. Some went off with his group, others stayed close to the Lord, dancing and singing. Now please listen attentively to the description of this nagara-krtana for this will cut asunder the bonds of karmic reactions. Here is the list of some of the main devotees who came: Gaddhara Paita, Vakrevara, Murri, rvsa Paita, Gopntha, Jagada, Vipra Gagdsa, Rmi, Govindnanda, Candraekhara, Vasudeva, rgarbha, Mukunda, rdhara, Govinda, Jagadnanda, Nandana crya, and uklmbara. The devotees of Lord Caitanya are innumerable and I do not know all their names, Vedavysa will reveal all their names in the future in the Puras. What human being has the ability to describe the Lords dancing with His unlimited associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions? The sakrtana pastimes of the Lord are unique, never before, in any other incarnation, were such pastimes ever revealed. As the krtana picked up gusto, the Lords joy also increased. The devotees were carried in waves of sublime joy. The Lord and husband of the Goddess of Fortune was dancing on the streets of Navadvpa and anyone who saw Him became free from all sorrows. Soon it was dusk, but the devotees were perfectly engrossed in the krtana, oblivious of the material realm. Standing in doorways, millions of men, women and children lined the streets seeing the moving mass of men whose tumultuous singing of the Holy Name of the Lord echoed and filled the cosmos. Above this tumult rang loud and clear the Lords own thunderous voice. The devotees replied with equal gusto, chanting the name of Lord Hari. Then magically, as if by previous arrangement, all the torches were lit at the same time. 293

Millions of flaming torches lit up the darkened sky, matched only by the millions of hearts kindled by the delight of sublime bliss. Words fail to describe the marvellous sight. One could be easily confused and wonder if it were a night of the full moon, perhaps broad daylight, or perhaps even Ka Himself had manifested His brahmajyoti! The Lord repeatedly called out the name of r Hari and the devotees became attentive. They surrounded the Lord with the krtana party. All the devotees were decorated with flower garlands around their neck and their bodies were smeared with sandalwood paste and scented vermilion powder. They all had various musical instruments in their hands and looked more powerful than thousands of lions. The Lord looked around Himself to see His devoted, servitors eagerly waiting to render Him any service. He began to dance, lifting the devotees to soaring heights of ecstasy. Everyone began chanting loudly and whoever saw the Lords moonlike beautiful face was released from the searing pains of material existence. The Lords charming looks easily overshadowed the attractiveness of millions of cupids. I am at a loss to find the appropriate similes to describe the beauty of the Lord, yet I venture to do so by His mercy alone. Otherwise, who would dare to attempt such an impossible task? He glowed like a mountain of gold, His body being smeared with sandal paste sometimes looked like the rising full moon. His curly dark tresses were decorated with fragrant mlat garlands; a sweet smile clung intimately to His lips that could surely win the hearts of all the muses. Sandalwood tilaka with a red dot of vermilion clearly adorned His beautiful broad forehead. Chanting the name of Hari, He raised His arms up in the sky and danced. The knee-length flower garland around His neck swayed with each movement. His upraised arms glistened like fine tapering pillars of gold and His body became drenched with the incessant flow of ecstatic tears from His lotus petal eyes. As the ecstatic feelings increased, the hairs of His body stood on end like the ever-fresh kadamba flower.
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His moist reddish lips were so exquisite. When they parted, they revealed a symmetrical set of pearl-like white teeth. The long arched eyebrows languished almost all the way to the beginning of His ears. His strong shoulders shamed the king of elephants and His chest was broad and full. The Brahmin thread hung loosely across His chest. Lakm Dev and Tulas Dev constantly pray for the shelter of His lotus feet. The Supreme Lord wears His fine and clean clothes very artistically. The high nose is aristocratic and the sinewy tendons of His neck give the impression of being the neck of the king of the forest, strong and powerful. He towers over others, His long body well formed and beautifully proportionate shining like a mountain of gold. Everyone looking at Him commented on His divine and beautiful presence. The millions who milled around for this momentous occasion were very fortunate and in spite of their large numbers, they all received the Lords benediction by being able to see the Lords exquisite transcendental face. They simply stared at Him, irresistibly drawn to His beauty and spontaneously exclaimed aloud the Lords name as uncontrollable emotions welled up within their hearts. The citizens had nicely decorated their doorways with banana trees, water pots, mango leaves and green coconuts. A ghee lamp flickered in every house and an offering plate sat upon all the altars holding yoghurt, grains, and drv grass. All this happened as if at the command of an unseen voice. Out onto the streets men, women and children poured to join the congregation. All were intoxicated with sublime joy, oblivious to every other care. Seeing the carefree citizens leaving their houses unguarded, a thief thought to himself, This is good opportunity for me to clean out the peoples belongings. However, as time passed and the chanting entering his ears took affect, the thief lost his thieving tendencies and joined in with the others, joyously chanting Lord Haris sweet transcendental name.
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The streets were strewn with puffed rice and coins thrown by the citizens as they watched the chanting procession passing by. Later, they themselves joined the procession and so the march swelled in numbers. One should not consider these descriptions as exaggerations. Such happenings are commonplace when the Supreme Lord is present. When Lord Ka was in Dvrak, the rmad Bhgavatam describes that in a twinkling of an eye He made appear nine hundred thousand palaces all bedecked with jewels and marble. Again, in the Harivaa, it is described that when Lord Ka was enjoying water sports with the Yadus in the salt-water ocean that surrounds Dvrak, the entire ocean in a moment turned nectarine sweet. Now that very same Supreme Lord is present in Navadvpa, almost unconscious with sublime bliss, dancing and chanting, so naturally all-auspicious happenings are occurring. The ocean of people now surged forward in slow fluid motion like the current of the Gag, which flowed beside them. They all danced and chanted surrounding the dancing golden form of the Lord. Advaita crya, Haridsa hkura, rvsa Paita and other senior associates of the Lord led huge groups of dancing and chanting devotees, everyone exulting in the bliss of the Lords presence. Those who previously could not sing were now singing with the sweetest melodious voices. The best singers surrounded the Lord; Murri, Mukunda Datta, Rmi, Govinda, Vakrevara, and Vasudeva. Lord Nitynanda and Gaddhara Paita danced on either side of the Lord, completely submerged in divine bliss. The dancing and celebrating form of the Lord brought wonderment and exhilaration to the hearts of all who beheld His golden form. This was a magnificent sight, the dancers moved forward with rhythmic motions, simultaneously millions of burning torches also moved, their licking flames animated in a passionate dance. It was night, but the dancing figure of the Lord was clearly visible as if bathed full-moon light of autumn. Sometimes, His body was covered with shining dust particles
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and at other times, He bathed His transcendental form in His cascading tears of ecstasy. The different ecstatic symptoms appeared in His body: sometimes shivering; sometimes profuse perspiration; again at other times horripilation. They changed like the seasons. The sound of the Lords name reverberated throughout the universe, .haraye nama, ka ydavya nama/ gopla govinda rma r-madhusdana. Some devotees danced on their own, but there were many large groups of devotees dancing together keeping time by clapping hands. Another wonderful sight was the innumerable devotees, all carrying torches and oil containers. Navadvpa was ringing with the sounds of sublime jubilation, as if the Lords spiritual abode, Vaikuha, had descended. Now the residents of Navadvpa acquired the same characteristics as the residents of Vaikuha. They all manifested four-arms, but because they were so engrossed in the ecstasy of chanting and dancing, they did not even notice this divine transformation of their person. Engulfing all was the ever-increasing bliss of Vaikuha. As they passed by the bank of The Gag, r Caitanya dancing in the midst looked like Ka, the son of Nanda Mahrja, with a flute in His hand and a garland of wild flowers swaying around His neck. The devotees had never experienced the ecstasy of such a massive congregational chanting. They forgot their bodily identity, their tribulations. They sang, danced, and rolled upon the ground. Many persons became emboldened and made their views publicly heard. One said, Where did the rascal Kazi go? Now, if I just find him, I will sever his head. Others shouted out the names of certain atheistic persons and beat the ground, as if sealing their fate with a stroke. Some others even ran helter-skelter trying to locate them. There was no accounting the number of people singing, or the number playing mdaga drums. Navadvpa was flooded with the nectarine shower of ka-prema, so
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much so that even the eternal residents of Vaikuha hankered for this bliss. Even Lord Ananta, Lord iva and Lord Brahm rarely experience this kind of joy. Sublime bliss had descended over the entire planet, as the Lord danced with His associates and devotees. Anything inauspicious or impure found no place. This was the first major nagara-sakrtana of the Lord. The procession moved on, but no one actually knew where they were going. There was just one resounding, all-pervading thunder of Lord Haris name piercing the coverings of the material world. The demigods with their associates came to have darana of the Lord. When they saw Gaurga, they, like the humans, also became overwhelmed with transcendental joy. To avoid detection, dressed as humans, they mingled in with the crowd and with gusto joined in the singing and dancing. All the demigods were present: Brahm, iva, Varua, Kuvera, Indra, Yamarja, Soma, etc. Aware that everyone present was experiencing transcendental ecstasy, they accompanied the devotees wanting more and more of the Lords association. The humans and the demigods were chanting the Lords Holy Name together. As the procession passed the nicely decorated uncountable houses, the market places and large squares, one could understand that Navadvpa was a very well populated and an opulent town. It was impossible to count the people that lived there. It seemed that because the Supreme Lord was to advent here, He had arranged for many, many people to live there and participate in His sakrtana movement. Even the number of ladies, who were chanting, was so numerous that counting them would be futile. Everyone who saw the Lord dancing and chanting like a golden flash of lightning could not contain his heart and emotions. Even those with hearts of stone were moved to tears and fell to the ground upon receiving the Lords shower of causeless mercy and hearing the sighs and sobs of sublime ecstasy from His devotees. As the Lord danced, 298

constantly repeating Lord Haris name, the garland of flowers about His beautiful neck swayed wildly. His beauty was breath-taking, the way the Brahmin thread hung carelessly over His shoulders, the dhot nicely pleated and neatly tucked into place, His golden frame covered with fine glimmering dust. Tears flowed unrestrainedly from His lotus eyes like the languid flow of the Mandkin Gag of His heavenly planets. Who would have cared to see the moon after having seen the blooming lotus face of the Lord? Some of the teardrops clung to the cleft of His fine nose, and shone like a string of white pearls. His glossy black locks, entwined with the garlands around His head, made a fine sight. The devotees prayed, O Lord, please grant us this one desire that we may hold this pastime within our hearts, birth after birth. In this manner, the devotees were requesting benedictions from the Lord as the Lord continued His extraordinary pastime of dancing, surrounded by His intimate associates. The Lord knew how to inspire the devotees to join in and He danced in reciprocation with the mood and movement of the devotees. The Lord of Vaikuha danced as the devotees sang, All of you come and sing, Hari, Hari! Put fear aside, for the Holy Name, even though not chanted purely, will deliver you from birth and death. In humility, the author describes, poetically, Lord Caitanya as He danced. Lord Vivambhara, the Lord of the Universe, danced along the bank of the Gag. The devotees eagerly covered themselves with the earth that carried the impressions of His lotus feet. Wonderful ecstatic symptoms manifested upon His person and tears of nectar cascaded from His eyes. With a voice like the rumble of thunder, He chanted the name of Lord Hari. Smiling sweetly, He raised His arms and sang. His golden form was much more enchanting than that of Cupid. Charmingly dressed, His black curly hair was decorated with fresh and fragrant flower garlands. Upon seeing such beauty, the mind reeled as if afflicted by the five amorous arrows of Cupid. In complete bliss, 299

Vivambhara moved about in a restless dance, intoxicated by the Holy Name. His body and limbs were perfectly shaped, their beauty enhanced by the decoration of sandalwood paste. The garland around His neck matched His love inspired movements. The arch of His eyebrows was like the bow of Cupid shooting arrows of enchantment. His teeth were pure white and glistened like pearls. His benign face was an ocean of mercy. How can one describe the many hundreds of ecstatic emotions that manifested in the Lord? Sometimes He shivered, sometimes He perspired, and sometimes tears fell from His eyes like rain. At times, He bent His body in three places just like Ka and appeared to play the flute with His fingers. He moved about like a maddened elephant, the cynosure of every eye. His Brahmin thread decorated His broad chest, as if Ananta ea had taken that very thin form to serve His Lord. Lord Nitynanda, Gaddhara Paita and all the intimate devotees danced beside Him and each time they looked at the Lord, they saw the Lord smiling back at them. By chanting the His name, Lord iva becomes mad and, forgetting Himself, staggers about naked. Lord Caitanya is dancing on the streets of Navadvpa, performing the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. Lakm Dev, the Goddess of Fortune, enthralled by His beautiful dress and appearance, hankers constantly to touch and dress the black curly locks of this Supreme Lord, who now, absorbed in singing and dancing, rolls in the dust in ecstasy. Following Him are His devotees carrying millions of flaming torches lighting up the world like the full moon, not a soul present could refrain from chanting the Lords Holy Name. This marvel Navadvpa had never witnessedthe residents simply looked at one another and chanted, Hari! Hari! Lord Nitynanda was always by the side of Vivambhara and, knowing His every mood, would capture the Lord in His arms to steady Him whenever He swooned in ecstasy. One time, as Nitynanda held Him, 300

Vivambhara slowly sat down in a meditative pose and gleefully clapping His hands, began to loudly chant, Hari! Hari! He then began to speak with a childlike innocence, I am the Supreme Lord Nryaa, I killed that demon Kasa, and I deceived Bali Mahrja. I constructed that bridge over the ocean to r Lak and killed the demon Rvaa, I am Lord Rmacandra. In this manner, He revealed His actual Supreme identity. Everyone does not understand this inconceivable esoteric truth for it is inconceivable to the human mind. Yet, in the next moment, increasing the peoples confusion, the Lord changed His mood completely and said with the utmost humility and meekness, O Lord, please grant Me devotion at Your lotus feet. Even if He were to put His toe to His mouth, whatever way the Lord acted stole ones mind. The Lord of Vaikuha, Vivambhara, was dancing throughout the town of Navadvpa. Actually, this town is the Svetadvpa of the spiritual worldin the Vedas, this will be explained. Amidst the countless mdaga drums, conchshells, and cymbals and the chanting of the Holy Name, the Lord danced like the crest jewel of a crown. All glory to the congregational chanting! All glory to r Vivambhara! All glory to the devotees of the Lord! Wherever I look, I see r Vivambhara drowning everyone in the nectar ocean of ka-prema. The procession sometimes moved fast, sometimes much slower depending on how long the Lord danced in one place. The chanting was jubilant and echoed in the spiritual abode of Vaikuha. The Lord, the cynosure of everyone, moved about like a maddened lion intoxicated with the holy name. The procession passed many bathing places and proceeded towards Simuliy. No one was tired, millions were singing and dancing and a million flaming torches made it difficult to discern whether it was night or midday.
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The people welcomed the procession with flowers and doorway decorations. As they passed each house, the demigods rained confetti of fragrant flowers. Mother Earth was thrilled with ecstasy as the Lord walked and danced upon Her. She wanted the Lord to walk upon the softest of surfaces so it appeared that she had collected and strewn flowers to cover the pathway, which thus resembled her most delicate skin. rvsa, Advaita and Haridsa were dancing in their own groups, ahead of Lord Vivambhara. As the procession entered each new locality, people left their homes, running to see the Lord. They forgot family members and all other duties in their eagerness to see the beatific moonlike face of the Supreme Soul of the entire creation. Without consciously realizing it, they were all being automatically drawn into the congregational chanting. Practically without noticing, they all became intoxicated with holy name of Ka. They began manifesting symptoms of supra-mundane joy. Some rolled on the ground, some made sounds with their mouth as if playing a musical instrument and others were embracing anyone they met. They had become so inebriated by the chanting and dancing that many offered prostrated obeisances, falling to the ground like rods. Others caught the feet of the devotees, crying in ecstasy. One could hear many comments from different people. One said, I am this Nimi Paita. I have been assigned to deliver the entire world. Another commented, I am a Vaiava from Svetadvpa. Yet another remarked, I am an eternal resident of Vaikuha. Again someone else said, Where is that rascal Kazi? I would crush his head, if I could lay my hands on him.
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Incited by such comments, some ran as if trying to capture an atheist. They climbed trees and then jumping down, angrily shouted, I am Death to a dozen atheists! Another said, Can you hear me, O God of Death! Tell me where is your son, the Sun God? The Lord of Vaikuha, appearing as the son of ac, was just now here, chanting and dancing. He has flung open the floodgates of the Holy Name. The Holy Name that had bestowed upon the God of Death, Yamarja, the name Dharmarja, as the upholder of religious principles; the Holy Name that had saved the worst of sinners, Ajmila, from the jaws of doom, was now being freely distributed by the Lord Himself. Moreover, even those who would not chant the Holy Name could now, at least, hear it and so reap the unlimited transcendental benefit. Citragupta, the compiler of the good and evil deeds of a man in life, should be immediately informed that his records are to be thrown away. If he disobeys, stern action must be taken against him for now every living entity is liberated and delivered. Vras has become one of the most important places of pilgrimage because there, Lord iva constantly chants the Holy Name of Ka. The purest of devotees, the eternal residents of the spiritual abode, always chant the Holy Name. Lord iva has become worshipable by all the demigods and human beings because at every moment, he is engaged in relishing the sweet nectar of the Holy Name. The Name was now being heard by every living entity. So inspired, the devotees now warned all the atheists to discard their evil ways and take up the worship of Lord Vivambhara and the chanting of the Holy Name. If they refused, they would be destroyed. The devotees now loudly challenged the atheists to come forward and dare to halt their chanting of Kas Holy Name. They fisted the earth with great force as if beating to pulp a recalcitrant atheist. The effects of chanting the Holy Name had so divinely enmaddened them, that they were unaware of their words and actions.
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When the atheists saw that citizens of Navadvpa had become mad with ecstasy, they began to bathe within with hate and envy. They got together and began conspiring. They said, If the Kazi was to come right now, I would like to see where that Nimi Paita would run to. What will happen to all their fanfare of dancing and singing? Where will they hide their banana trees, mango leaves and rest of their decorations? As soon as Kazi hears their great commotion and sees their lit torches, he will immediately come and they will have to jump into the Ganges to escape his wrath. One of them said, Then, I will place myself near a group and in the stampede I will tie their necks together. Another said, Then let us go and inform the Kazi. Someone objected to this saying, I see no logic in doing that. Another made his point strongly, I can see only one logical thing to do. Let us go altogether to those sentimentalists and loudly shout, The Kazi and his men are here! Then they will quickly disperse. This way the jealous hearts of the atheists were burning, while the devotees floated on clouds of ecstatic chanting and dancing. The devotees were looking so effulgent, decorated with sandalwood paste and flower garlands. They were so fully engrossed in the Holy Name that they became oblivious to everything as the sakrtana proceeded towards Simuliy. As the devotees chanted and danced, the Lord also chanted and danced right within in their midst. The activities of devotees increased the Lords ecstasy. No one could fathom how much water was contained within the lotus eyes of the Lord. Incessant tears cascaded in rivulets of pure nectarine water. Sometimes, shivering so overcame the Lord that He laid uncontrollable upon the ground. Even Nitynanda Prabhu was lamenting because He could not hold Him still. When at the pinnacle of His ecstasy, the Lord fell unconscious, then, for a long time, no life force could be found within Him. This was the wonder of wonders.
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Excited talks went around amongst the citizens. They said, This person must be the Supreme Lord, Nryaa, Himself. Another said, He is so much like Nrada or Prahlda or even ukadeva Gosvm. Another answered, Whoever He may be, He is certainly not an ordinary human being. The more critical and analytical said, He is indeed a great devotee. Each one commented according to his level of understanding. Nimi was oblivious to everything. He was engrossed in the ecstasy of the Holy Name, as He lifted His arms chanting, Hari! Hari! Everyone around, by hearing the Lord, felt irresistibly drawn to Him and they all echoed loudly the Lords name. Whichever direction the Lord chose, the entire congregation moved that way. The Lord was now heading towards the Kazis house. The tumultuous sound of the chanting and revelry became clearly audible to the inmates of Kazis palace. When the Kazi heard the loud clamour of chanting, he enquired, Can you hear that sound of music and singing? Is that a marriage party, or is it some weird incarnation of strange beings. Have they disobeyed my orders and again started their Hindu practices out on the streets? Go quickly and find out all the details, after you return with information, I shall go personally. The Kazis spies left immediately and arrived at the scene of the massive congregational krtana. They were overawed at the sight of the huge mass of people shouting, Kill the Kazi! Murmuring verses from the Koran for protection, they fled in terror. They came running to the Kazi and spoke rapidly in gulps, What are we doing here, let us quickly escape. That Nimi crya is coming with thousands and thousands of men. They are carrying thousands and thousands of flaming torches, all singing their Hindu Gods name. The citizens have decorated their houses and doorways for welcoming this immense and incredible procession. The roads are covered with flower petals and puffed rice. The sound of their singing is so loud that I feared my eardrums would burst.
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I have never seen such a sight. Even the coming of our royal monarch never draws such unbelievable crowds. Nimi is their leader, dancing in the middle, and everyone is simply following Him. The singers we attacked the other day are also there. They are all shouting, Kill the Kazi! Nimi is the gang leader, stirring them all up. I wonder why this brhmaa fellow Nimi weeps so much. The tears spout out like two rivers. The other spy reported, I think He may have some relative somewhere distant, so He is crying out of separation. The other replied, I am afraid to even look at Him, He looks like He is coming to gobble us up. The Kazi said, Is that really Nimi Paita? Maybe He is going to get married. I cannot imagine that anyone would try to disregard my orders. If they do, then I will convert them to Islam. As they were discussing, the sound of the krtana became closer and closer. The huge mass of congregation arrived in the locality of Kazis palace. The crest jewel amongst them all, Lord Vivambhara, led them up whilst dancing. The sound of their chanting boomed throughout the entire universe, echoing in the vaults of heaven, earth and hell. The chanting became unbearably loud for the Kazi and his men and they made haste to escape, fearing the worst for themselves. They were like mice running for their lives from the mouth of a snake. However, in the bustle and commotion, they became confused and lost their way. Many of the Kazis men spread open their rolled up head cloth and hung it over their heads, so as to be not recognized and joined in with the dancing, but with fearful thumping hearts. The bearded compatriots of the Kazi hung their heads downward so that their give-away beards remained unexposed. There were so many people that it would be impossible for anyone to know everyone by face and besides that, the people were so excited that they were unaware of even their own persons. Everyone was completely lost in singing and dancing.
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Lord Vivambhara stood before Kazis palace doors, His rising anger visible, with a voice like thunder, He said, Where is that mischief monger, Kazi! Right this minute, bring him to Me and cut his head off. I will obliterate the entire yavana race from the face of this earth, as I have done previously. Break open and smash everything. Break it! Break it! These were the orders of the Supreme Lord. Who could disobey? The congregation was already exuberant and inebriated by association with Lord Caitanya and the Holy Name, so such a command from the Lord was immediately put into action with great enthusiasm. The congregation ransacked the entire property. They went through the house and indiscriminately broke anything that came in their way. The garden lay limp and ravaged as if after a hurricane. Banana trees lay uprooted, broken branches hung from the mango trees, the flower garden was stamped to the ground. Lakhs and lakhs of people overran the palace rooms and grounds. Throughout the entire operation the congregation was chanting, Hari! Hari! The Holy Name was their constant companion. They punctuated every move with Lord Haris name. Lord Vivambhara then said, Now burn down everything. Put fire to the house; let the Kazi and all his men burn to death. I want to see what his king will do to Me. I also want to see who has the audacity to check Me. The God of Time and Death are all my devoted servitors. They are created by my glance over material nature. To propagate the congregational chanting of the Holy Name is the main purpose of my advent. If any one so much as tries to cause obstruction, then I will annihilate him. However, even if the lowest of sinners participates in the chanting of the Lords name, then he shall be remembered by Me and saved. On the other hand, even if persons are performing austerity, renunciation, Vedic studies and yoga, but do not join the sakrtana movement, then
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they will certainly perish. So now, do not fear, put fire to the house. I will bring about the total devastation of the entire race of Yavanas. When they saw the Lords wrath the devotees fell on their knees and raising their arms prayed to Him, One of Your principle expansions is Lord Sankaraa, His anger is never manifested untimely. When the time is ready for the destruction of the material world, then Rudra appears as the expansion and incarnation of Lord Sakaraa. After Rudra completes the work of annihilation, pralaya, he then returns into Your transcendental body. The work of annihilation is carried out by the expansion of Your expansion, so if you are angry, who can check Your wrath? The Vedas glorify You as without anger and eternally blissful, our hearts cannot see You minimize the Vedic injunction. Even Lord Brahm never attracts Your ire. Creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world are simply Your transcendental pastimes. Today, You have sufficiently chastised the Kazi and if next time he does anything against You, then You can destroy him. All glory to Lord Vivambhara, the Supreme Lord of all lords! All glory to Lord Gaurasundara, the Lord of the Universe and the Lord of Lakm Dev, who rests upon Lord Ananta ea! Lord Caitanya smiled after listening to their choice prayers and then saying, Hari! Hari! Hari! He again began to dance and chant with everyone. The Kazi had been justly dealt with and the Lord was pacified knowing that the public congregational chanting would continue. He now led the procession back towards the town. With the previous jubilance and exuberance, the chanting and dancing began again. Joy once more filled the atmosphere. The devotees were now free from any fear or inhibition. They could chant their beloved Lord Kas name anytime, anyplace. The atheists were subdued, their spirit broken. On the other hand, the devotees were victorious and jubilant. They again became submerged in the ecstasy of chanting and dancing. Now all the devotees went ahead, 308

dancing and chanting, and the Lord came up from behind. Lord Brahm, Lord iva, Lord Ananta and all the other demigods enjoyed themselves participating in the congregational chanting. The procession entered the locality of traders who deal with conchshells and other such items. All the residents came out in their best attire and welcomed the congregation with the necessary Vedic rituals known as pra kumbha. The roads were strewn with flowers and lamps were lit up in the house. Then, the congregation went through the locality of the weavers. A great sound of jubilation and chanting of the Lords name greeted the approaching sakrtana party. Everywhere they went, people were mad with joy. They were relishing their well-earned victory over despotism. Lord Caitanya was very happy to see that all were chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. Dancing in mad ecstasy, Lord Caitanya went to house of rdhara, who lived in a small broken hut with practically no possessions. A dented and old metal water pot belonging to rdhara stood outside his door. The pot had been repaired so many times that even a thief would not think of taking it. The Lord was dancing in front of rdharas house, when He saw that the old pot was filled with water. The Supreme Lord, Vivambhara, wanting to teach the human society how much He loves and cares for His devotees, picked up rdharas worn out old water pot and proceeded, with great pleasure, to drink from it. Even if someone wanted to stop the Lord, who could they do so? When rdhara saw what Vivambhara was doing, he came running, exclaiming, O Death, I am finished! You have come to my house to destroy me! So saying, rdhara, the most saintly personality, fainted on the ground out of great spiritual perturbation. Vivambhara, with utmost satisfaction, said, My whole being has now become purified. Today, finally, I have attained devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Ka simply by drinking water from rdharas pot. Saying this, the Lord shed tears of divine ecstasy.
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Through this pastime, the Lord taught the world that by drinking water from the water pot of a pure devotee, one immediately develops attachment to the lotus feet of Lord Ka. In the Padma Pura, di-khaa 31.112. it is stated: The wise devotee, who is desirous of purifying himself completely of all sinful reactions, should specifically approach a pure Vaiava and beg from him his food remnants. If this is not available, then at least he should beg some of his water remnants, or drink the water that has washed his feet. The devotees began to cry in great joy, having seen the Supreme Lord manifest such mercy and special affection towards His devotee. Nitynanda, Gaddhara, Advaita and rvsa fell down to the ground and began to roll about in tears. Haridsa, Vakrevara, Candraekhara, Jagadnanda and the numerous other close associates of the Lord were unable to contain their spiritual emotion. They burst into tears of exultation; they cried out Kas sweet name. The house of rdhara became the blessed exhibition site for the highest form of spiritual ecstasy in ka-prema. The whole universe exulted with the chanting of Kas Holy Name. Gauracandra smiled benignly His mission was accomplished. Just behold the glory of the rdharas devotion, the Supreme Lord reciprocated with His fullest mercy. The Lord drank water with infinite pleasure from rdharas water pot made of a base metal. The pot was full of repairs and dents, a pot that was used for many purposes. However, the Lord enjoyed drinking from this pot because He was drinking rdharas transcendental devotion and so the common liquid water was immediately transformed into divine ambrosia. Thus, the Lord taught that everything in relation to a pure devotee is transcendental. The Supreme Lord, on the other hand, ignores the valuable gem-studded water pot of an insolent materialist. He accepts any offering from His surrendered devotees, irrespective of any rules and regulations of offering. If His devotee has little and but ordinary food then He forcibly
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takes it from him, as He displayed in Dvrak with Sudm Vipra. Thus, we see that the Lord sells Himself to His devotees. When the Pavas were banished to the forest, Lord Ka relished a simple offering of leafy vegetables from Yudhihira Mahrja. The pure devotees are Kas father, mother, wife, and brother. Lord Ka sees His surrendered devotees as His own kith and kin, and non-different from Himself. Lord Ka manifests Himself according to the desire and mellow of His unalloyed devotee. He becomes their property and thus allows Himself to be bought and sold by only them. All the scriptures have described this wonderful quality of Lord Ka: He especially favours His pure devotees and is always personally protecting them from all calamity. One should see the magnanimous position of a pure devotee and be thus inspired to develop spiritual attachment to Ka. The position of Lord Kas servant is never to be viewed deprecatingly. Lord Ka, the Supreme Godhead, never accepts as His servant a person of little spiritual calibre. After having performed his prescribed duties for many millions of lifetimes, leading a pious life of non-violence and humility, and praying constantly and sincerely to the Supreme Lord, a person is awarded the opportunity of sipping Gag water and the chanting the Holy Name of Lord Nryaa at the time of death. This will certainly afford him liberation from all material bondage, only then can he be blessed to become a servant of Lord Ka. All the commentators of the Bhgavatam have clearly indicated that the liberated souls may render full devotional service to the Supreme Lord, the performer of transcendental pastimes. Therefore, the position of a devotee is almost equal to the Lord Himself, and the Lord always sees His devotees in a more exalted position than even Himself. The innumerable eulogies that have been compiled since time immemorial about the divine excellences of a pure devotee are an inadequate description. Lord iva and Lord Brahm are very happy to be 311

called servants of Lord Ka, and Ananta ea is always hankering to serve Him. Although the pure devotees are almost equal to the Lord Himself, they still constantly desire to serve Him in loving attachment. Advaita crya is one such elevated devotee. Many persons do not know his real mood and position and so they are discontented, when He is glorified as a devotee of Lord Caitanya. Yet, even Lord Ka Himself is greatly pleased if anyone should call Him a devotee, for who but the Lord knows perfectly well the glory of a pure devotee. The most abominable of all sinners proclaim themselves as God hoping to ensure regularly a full belly. Gathering around him a crowd of asinine disciples, the impostor poses himself as the Lord of the Universe. Although the body of such a cheater is only fit for the meal of a dog, he still becomes deluded by the external energy of Lord Viu to think that he is the Supreme Controller. Now just behold the opulence of the Lord of all lords, Lord Gauracandra, simply by His desire, millions of people converged with millions of burning torches to begin a historic march against oppression. All the way, they were greeted with decorated doorways and showers of floral confetti from the heavenly denizens. To understand the transformation that took place in the Lord after He drank water from rdharas water pot is difficult to understand. All the devotees began to shed tears of joy upon seeing the special mercy that the Supreme Lord had showered upon His pure devotee. rdhara was thunderstruck, with tears in his eyes brimming over and holding straw between his teeth in utter humility, he knelt before the Lord chanting His Holy Name and said, What have you done my Lord, what water have You drunk? Nevertheless, Vivambharas bliss was unrestrainable after having drunk water from His devotees water vessel, He danced in ecstasy surrounded by all His associates who sang and danced along with Him. Nitynanda Prabhu and Gaddhara Paita were always like two jewels decorating either side of the Lord. 312

The fortune of rdhara is indeed so great that even Lord iva and Lord Brahm are moved to tears of joy in appreciation. The Supreme Lord, r Caitanya, is unattainable by wealth, fame, or erudition, but is captivated by unalloyed devotion. After the water-drinking pastime, the Lord moved on from rdharas place towards the town. Navadvpa became the most hallowed place in the entire creation as Lord Caitanya and His associates danced and sang in the ecstasy of the Lords Holy Name. The concave extremities of the universe echoed with only the sound of the Holy Name. The divine exultation that is experienced by ukadeva Gosvm, Nrada Muni, Lord iva, and others upon hearing the Holy Name was now being experienced by the residents of Navadvpa as they passed through the different localities of the town. Although the krtana was going on for a whole night, one should not presume that this was just one night. Rather, unknown to anyone, several yugas passed within that single night. For Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Lord, nothing is impossible to accomplish. A mere raising of His eyebrows annihilates the entire universe. Only the most fortunate and pious souls can comprehend such esoteric truths about the Absolute. Certainly, a dry mental speculator is never eligible for such revelations. Making loud thunderous shouts of joy, the townspeople were enraptured beyond comprehension by the beautiful dancing of Lord Caitanya and the profuse flow of divine nectar from the chanting of the Holy Name. People thanked Mother ac for carrying in her womb such a child as Vivambhara and blessed Jaganntha Mira for being a good father to the Lord. For the good fortune that had descended upon themselves as the residents of Navadvpa, they were more than grateful. They all wished that this night would never end and that the Lord would continue His pastimes for many yugas.
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These pastimes of the Lord have neither beginning nor end. They appear and then after a certain time, they disappear. The Lord manifests Himself to His devotee according to the desire and mood of the devotee. The rmad Bhgavatam 3.9.11. states: O Supreme Lord who is glorified in choice verses! You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You. Even to this day, r Caitanya is performing His eternal pastimes and those who are pure in heart can see them. The Lord descends only to please His devotees. One may perform austerities and sacrifices for millions of lifetimes, but without devotional service, all his performances are futile. Pure devotional service is to serve the pure devotee of the Lord, this is the verdict of all the scriptures. I offer my obeisances to r Nitynanda. All glory to Him, for only by His mercy can one glorify r Caitanya. Many persons see Nitynanda in different ways. Some say that He is Balarma, that He is very dear to r Caitanya, or that He is the expansion of the omnipotent Lord. Many say that they do not know or understand who He really is. Each one sees r Nitynanda according to his own particular realization. Whoever Nitynanda maybe, He is very special to r Caitanya and may His lotus feet be the only treasure of my heart. Let all the atheists who criticize r Nitynanda be very careful lest they be kicked in the head. I offer my obeisances at the feet of this dearmost devotee of Lord Caitanya, may He eternally be my Lord and master. I can know r Nitynanda only by the mercy of r Caitanya and I can know r Caitanya only if r Nitynanda reveals Him to me. Caitanya is Rma and Nitynanda is Lakmaa. Caitanya is Ka and Nitynanda is Sakaraa. Nitynanda possesses the power to fully satisfy r Caitanya with His transcendental service and the intimate associates of r Caitanya are in full knowledge of the extraordinary position of Nitynanda, but at times 314

one may see a certain elevated devotee disagreeing and quarrelling with other devotees. This is transcendental and is happening by the desire of r Ka. Since they are all the most elevated Vaiavas, no one should side with any party, because and in so doing, one will certainly make some offence against a Vaiava. One can only become a true Vaiava by serving Ka and not finding faults in others. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of Advaita crya, may I remain attached to his dear servitors. All glory to r Caitanya along with all His associates. These narrations about His pastimes reward one with the highest devotional mood. If one sides with Advaita against Gaddhara Paita, then, due to this imbecilic act, one is never allowed shelter by Advaita crya as his devotee. The transcendental pastimes of r Caitanya are the purest form of divine ambrosia. I pray that these unlimited pastimes increasingly appear in the minds of all living beings. One who desires joy from hearing these narrations will surely see the beautiful face of Lord Caitanya directly. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana Das, offer this song at Their lotus feet.
24. r Caitanya Reveals His Universal Form
All glory to Lord Caitanya; He is epitome of divine peace! He protects the pious and annihilates the miscreants. All glory to the son of Jaganntha Mira and acmt; He is glorified with choice verses! All glory to Lord Caitanya, the life and purest treasure in the heart of Jagadnanda Paita, Haridsa and Kvara! You are an ocean of 315

mercy, friend of the poor and the maintainer of all living entities. Whoever surrenders unto You, You accept him and become his master. r Caitanya could not live without krtana as He passed His time in Navadvpa. The krtana started to have such an effect upon Him that, as soon as He heard the Holy Name, He would fall down in ecstasy wherever He was. Tears would flow profusely from His eyes as He became saturated with love of Ka. If anyone for any reason said aloud the Lords name Caitanya would swoon to the ground and the symptoms of ecstasy would start to manifest on His person as He rolled on the ground. Such displays of sublime spiritual ecstasy are indeed very rare and even Brahm would consider himself blessed to witness such happenings. Yet, now the residents of Navadvpa saw the enactment of these transcendental activitiesoften right upon their streets. Sometimes, when the Lord experienced the most intense ecstasy, He would become unconscious and His body would be numbed into stillness. On these occasions, the devotees would carry Him away, themselves feeling sublime joy. Bringing Him behind closed doors, in an unconscious state, they would again start up a krtana, which would submerge the entire universe in waves of spiritual bliss. The different devotional ecstasies that would manifest on the Lords person were all inexplicable and their esoteric significance often unrecognisable. Sometimes the Lord would speak out saying, I am Madana Gopla, and then with a sudden change of mood, He would say, I am an eternal servant of Ka. On certain days, thinking of the damsels of Vndvana, He would incessantly repeat, Gop! Gop! Gop! and if He as much as heard Kas name, He would burn inside with increasing anger and say, Where is this Ka of yours coming from, this big rogue? He is a cheat, full of cunning and a hypocrite, who can think of worshipping Him? He wins the heart of ladies and then once they trust Him, He cuts off their 316

ears and noses like a hunter. In this manner, He would speak out angrily to anyone who repeated Kas name in His presence. Again, on other days, He would call out, Vndvana! Gokula! Mathur! in great joy and then on other occasions, He would draw upon the earth with His nails. Sometimes, He would draw the standing form of a person bent in three places and gazing upon at it, He would weep so bitterly that it seemed as if the entire world would drown in His tears. He would at times say, I see a huge dense forest full of lions, tigers and bears. In this way, the Lord was absorbed in the moods of the most sublime devotion, where night became day and day became night. The devotees who watched these transcendent pastimes would be overcome with great spiritual emotions and would embrace one another. Even Brahm constantly prays for the favour of witnessing these ecstatic manifestations of the Lord, yet for these devotees all was so easily seen. The Lord was now spending almost all His time outside His own house, in the residences of the different devotees. He gave up all His familial and external responsibilities. However, sometimes He would do something to please His mother. Constantly now, the devotees felt intense joy by having the Lord always with them and their bliss in krtana was ever increasing. Nitynanda, Advaita and Gaddhara never left the Lords association, always participating in His infinite transcendental activities. One day, Advaita crya, overcome in the mood of the gops, began to dance, whilst all the devotees sang with intense feelings. He danced in great joy and elation, but also with great humility and distress. He fell to the ground holding a straw in his teeth and began to roll about intoxicated by the divine nectar of love of Ka. Advaita continued to dance for several hours, but the other devotees became exhausted and were unable to keep up with him. Finally, the devotees quietened him and making him sit down, sat around him. 317

Finding Advaita somewhat tranquil, rvsa Paita, Rmi and a few others went for their baths. However, soon again, Advaita was overcome with feelings of distress and as they gradually increased in intensity, he began to roll in the courtyard of rvsa. r Caitanya was resting in His house after some duties, and Advaitas feelings of humility and distress became known to the Lord. The Lord always soothes away the distress and worries of His devotees and so Caitanya came to see Advaita. Seeing him supine in the courtyard of rvsa, Caitanya took him by the hand, lead him into the temple and shut the doors. Giving Advaita a consoling smile, the Lord said, Listen crya! Tell Me what is your desire right now, what is to be done? Advaita said, O Lord, You are essence of all the Vedas. I want only You. What else is there to want? The Lord laughed slightly and replied, Here I am in person, then what more do you want? Advaita insisted, What you say is true, here you are before me, the Absolute truth. Yet, I would like to see some of Your mystic opulence. The Lord softly asked, Tell Me, what do You desire? Advaita said, My Lord, I intensely desire to see what Arjuna saw long ago. As soon as he had spoken these words, Advaita saw a chariot in the midst of a raging battlefield. Millions of soldiers were engaged in combat all around the chariot. Sitting inside the chariot was the beautiful blackish fourhanded form of Ka holding in each of His hands the conch, mace, lotus and disc. At that moment, Advaita beheld the Universal Form of Ka. All the planets and stars, such as the Sun and Moon, the mountains, rivers, oceans and forests were visible within this wondrous manifestation of Ka. Advaita saw Arjuna standing before this Universal Form offering words of praise and prayer with folded hands.
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Advaita saw millions of pairs of eyes and millions of open cavernous mouths, from the mouths huge licking flames were exuding. All the atheists and sinful demons were being sucked into this mighty conflagration to be consumed. The faultfinders and the heartless ones, who perpetrate violence upon others, all burned in the flames from the mouth of r Caitanya. Advaita was blessed with the special mercy of the Lord and therefore he could see this marvellous Universal Form of r Caitanya. As Advaita saw this Universal Form, he began to cry in great ecstasy due to his intense love for the Lord and falling to his knees in great humility, he begged the Lord for His eternal association as his Lord and master. While Advaita was seeing r Caitanya manifest His Universal Form, r Nitynanda was roaming the streets of Navadvpa absorbed in divine bliss, as was His usual occupation. Nitynanda, because of His supramundane position, could immediately know that Caitanya was showing His special Universal Form to Advaita. He quickly went to the house of rvsa and headed straight to the temple room where Caitanya awaited, expecting Him. Shutting the doors behind Him, Nitynanda saw the unlimited Universal Form of the Lord before Him and falling down like a stick, He offered His obeisances and closed His eyes. The Lord spoke, Arise! Oh, Nitynanda! You are as dear to Me as My own life. You know everything about Me. Anyone who is attached to You in loving devotion, I make him My own. No one is dearer to Me than You and anyone who tries to see differences between You and Advaita will never gain the proper knowledge for understanding either the Supreme Lord or Myself in this incarnation. Nitynanda and Advaita began to dance jubilantly and Caitanya responded with a thunderous voice, saying, Just look at Yourselves! Nitynanda and Advaita, overwhelmed with joy, started glorifying the Lord with beautiful prayers and Vivambhara smiled upon them with great appreciation.
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Although all these transcendental incidences were being enacted in the residence of rvsa, none of the other devotees could see them. These narrations are from the lotus mouth of Advaita crya and those who do not have faith in them are the most abominable of sinners. Those who do not glorify Caitanya, as the Supreme Absolute Lord, are evil hearted men who are to be avoided by saintly personalities. My greatest hope and assurance is that Caitanya is the master of my dear master, Nitynanda. The Lord chose Navadvpa to reveal His pastimes openly before the public eye, yet only the devotees could comprehend their esoteric content. Devotional service to the Supreme is the most valuable wealth anyone can possess and the zenith of devotion is when one weeps in ecstatic bliss remembering the Holy Name of Ka. One cannot develop love of Ka by material means. Only by sincerely calling out to Ka can one eventually chant Kas names purely. In addition, one may attain this state of perfect joy easily if one hears with implicit faith the narration of r Caitanya exhibiting His Universal Form to Advaita crya and Nitynanda Prabhu. Finally, Caitanya left for His residence with all the other devotees. Nitynanda and Advaita did not inform another soul about seeing the Lord manifest His Universal Form. They were still mad with joy and they rolled about on the ground sometimes singing, sometimes dancing, and sometimes clapping hands. As they were thus engrossed in merriment soon they began to argue and abuse each other. Advaita said, You simpleton, drunkard, who asked You to come to this place? Why did You force Your way in here? Who calls You a sannys? No one knows Your family background, or caste and it is well known that You eat in the house of anyone from any caste. How does a mad, intoxicated person like You find Himself in the company of Vaiavas? If you do not leave right away then You will find Yourself in real trouble.
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Nitynanda replied, You baldy fellow! You would be wise to sit quietly! I will first show you My power and strength with a few blows. You fogey old brhmaa, have you no fear? I am an avadhta renunciate, and the brother of the Lord. You are a householder, totally engrossed in family life, whereas I am a fully renounced and realized soul. If I strike you, you cannot say or do anything, yet without reason you are trying to show off in front of Me. These words incensed Advaita with a burning rage. He flung off his clothes in all directions and began to severely chastise Nitynanda. He said, You fish eater! You meat eater! How do You call Yourself a sannys? I have undressed myself before You in sheer disgust. Who knows you? What about Your parents? Your house? Nothing about You is known to anyone. Let anyone come forward, identify You, and recognise You. You are just a thief simply wanting to eat everything, gobble up anything and destroy all! You claim to be in the sannysa order. Well a sannys does not demand anything, but You fill up Your belly three times a day! This rvsa Paita cannot discriminate between the people of different castesthat is why he has allowed this avadhta to join the company of the Vaiavas. He does not understand that this so-called avadhta will ruin everyones caste and reputation. What a menace this drunkard is! It is difficult for ordinary folks to understand this exchange of spiritual love between these two, which sounds so much like a pernicious verbal fight. No one should commit the spiritual blunder of supporting one against the other. The deep spiritual significance of such abusive exchanges between devotees are unfathomable to most and if in ignorance of this fact someone glorifies Advaita and denounces for example, Gaddhara Paita, then certainly he will be doomed and neither be considered a devotee of Advaita either. The activities of the Supreme Lord and the Vaiavas are all transcendental and incomprehensible to the materialist. An atheist can never understand that both the Lord and His pure devotees are on the same transcendental plane.
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One who worships the lotus feet of Ka, seeing all Vaiavas to be dear to the Lord, will indeed cross over the ocean of material nescience. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
25. The Dead Son of rvsa Paita Elucidates the Truth
All glory to r Gauracandra, the Lord of the entire universe! He is the crown jewel of the brhmaas, the perfect renunciate and supreme amongst all the Vedic personalities. He is an ocean of compassion, who has appeared like a brilliant gem out of the womb of the blessed Mother ac. All glory to r Vivambhara and r Nitynanda! All glory to Their devotees and associates! One attains the highest perfection of life by constantly hearing the narrations of r Caitanyas transcendental pastimes. These topics of the Navadvpa-ll, as recorded in the Madhya-khaa, are like an ocean of nectar. The Lord was always engrossed in sakrtana, relishing the taste of His own transcendental name. Being thus intoxicated, He exhibited all the symptoms of ecstasy and so revealed His supra-mundane opulences. The sweet ambrosia of ka-prema led the Lord to act like a mad man. The Lord, whose body is the object of even Lord Brahms worship, was besmeared with dust from rolling upon the ground. The devotees satiated their vision by seeing the Lord submerged in an ocean of divine bliss. In the times, when He emerged out of His blissful state of unconsciousness, He would sometimes sit surrounded by His associates 322

and at other times go to the Gag to take a bath. On some occasions, after dancing for a long time, the Lord would sit with His devotees, who would then give Him a shower with Gag water. One of the maid servants of rvsa Paita named Dukh would carry all the Gag water for the Lords bath while the Lord was still engaged in dancing. She would watch the beautiful form of the Lord dancing in the highest spiritual exultation and tears would well up in drops from her eyes, and then she would go out again to bring more pots of Gag water for His bath. When the Lord saw the water pots full of Gag water neatly arranged in rows, He was very pleased. He enquired about this from rvsa Paita, Who brings the Gag water daily? rvsa replied, Dukh, the maid servant, brings them daily. The Lord said, Then you all should rename her Sukh, happy, instead of Dukh, which means sad. The name Dukh is not befitting her, I think Sukh is the most appropriate name for her. The devotees were moved to tears upon seeing the unlimited mercy of the Lord upon this poor maidservant. From that time, they began to call her Sukh and rvsa Paita also stopped regarding and treating her as a maidservant. This illustrates that one can easily attain Kas lotus feet by loving devotional service to Him. One cannot avoid the jaws of Death merely by shaving ones head as a mark of renunciation. Material knowledge, high birth, beauty and wealth are useless if not used for the satisfaction of Ka with pure devotional attachment. r Caitanya, the Supreme Lord, incarnated to play the part of an ideal personality and thereby all his actions conform exactly to the Vedic injunctions. Such blessings, as bestowed by the Lord upon the maidservant, Dukh, are never received by those who are blinded by false pride. One may only imagine the extent of the Lords divine grace upon rvsa Paita, when even his servants and maidservants were so fortunate.
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One day, as was usual, the Lord was dancing in rvsa Paitas house. The devotees, including rvsa, encircled the Lord, sang, and danced. Just then, in the inner quarters of the house, the son of rvsa passed away due to some illness while the ladies looked on helplessly. Outside the inner rooms, the krtana was in full progress and the Lord danced in ecstasy. Suddenly, the sounds of loud wailing filled the air. rvsa Paita hurried inside the house and saw his son lying dead on the bed. rvsa Paita was a most elevated devotee, grave and knowledgeable. He quickly took charge of the situation, forbidding the ladies to lament so bitterly. He said, You are all aware of the transcendental potencies of r Ka, therefore restrain your tears and contain the sorrow of your heart. The Lord, whose Holy Name is capable of purifying and elevating to the spiritual world even the most dreadful of sinners just by one simple utterance, is now personally present and dancing in ecstasy with His servitors each of whom is like Brahm himself. During such an auspicious time, if someone leaves the body, why should anyone lament? I would consider myself very fortunate, if I were to have the same fate as this boy. Although you are unable to distance yourselves from the attachments of family life, you should at least stop your crying. Nobody else should learn about this incident lest it raises alarm and disturbs the bliss of the Lord in dancing. If that should happen, then I shall certainly throw myself into the Ganges. These words had a sobering effect on the women; they stopped crying and rvsa Paita went back to join the krtana. He was soon heaved high in the waves of divine bliss generated by the krtana and the presence of the Lord. The deep knowledge and devotion of rvsa Paita is very exalted and rare, such indeed are the characteristics of a servant of r Caitanya. The Lord danced for a while, relishing the bliss of dancing. However, soon the news of the passing away of the son of rvsa Paita reached the devotees. Though no one openly expressed anything, they were profoundly moved within. Caitanya, the omniscient Supreme Personality, knows everyones heart. He enquired, Today something 324

perturbs My thoughts, what distress has cast its dark shadow in your house, Paita? rvsa replied, My Lord, what distress can effect me, when Your benign smiling face is illuminating my house. Finally, the leading devotees informed the Lord about the demise rvsas son. Gravely, the Lord asked, When did this happen? The Lord was told that it had occurred in the early part of the evening at about four oclock. You were not informed of this matter because rvsa was concerned about disturbing Your dancing. His son has passed away about two and half hours earlier and with Your permission we shall now begin the necessary last rites. When Lord Caitanya heard this wonderful story about rvsa Paita, He was amazed. The Lord said, How can I ever live without such an extraordinary companion? and began to weep. He said, How am I going to leave the association of such a saintly person who is unaffected even by the demise of his son due to his love for Me? Speaking in this manner, the Lord broke down and wept bitterly. The devotees were perplexed to hear the words of the Lord, which indicated that He might leave. They did not make much sense to the devotees, as nobody knew that, in the future, the Lord would leave home to embrace the mendicant life of sannysa. When the Lord calmed Himself, He took all the devotees to attend upon the dead boy. In the presence of all the devotees, the Lord addressed the deceased son of rvsa Paita, What reasons have made you leave rvsa Paitas house? The devotees were indeed surprised that the Lord was speaking to a dead body. Yet, their surprise turned to sheer wonderment when the deceased young boy spoke up, saying, My Lord, everything happens according to Your will alone, who can influence Your will? The devotees listened attentively to each word. The boy continued, I have enjoyed this body during the time prescribed for my presence within it. That time period is now over so I am leaving to take up another body. My Lord, although I must leave my present 325

body, please be merciful to me so that I may never forget You. Who is ones father? Moreover, who is ones son? Everyone acts according to the result of his individual karma. As long as my destiny allowed me to remain in rvsa Paitas house I have stayed, but now I must leave for yet another residence. My Lord, I offer my humble obeisances unto You and Your dear associates, please forgive all my offences and permit me to take Your leave. With these parting words, the child lay still. This wonderful miracle of the dead boy speaking such words of wisdom was a crowning experience for the devotees; they reached the heights of exultation. The entire family of rvsa was now carried on waves of ecstasy. Their lamentation was a past dream. Experiencing the bliss of love of Ka, they threw themselves at the Lords lotus feet and said, O Lord, birth after birth, You are the father, mother and son. May we never forget the shade of Your lotus feet. Let us take birth in any place or condition, but please let our devotion at Your lotus feet be unflinching. rvsa Paita and his three brothers prayed earnestly to the Lord and all the devotees cried out in appreciation and joy. The Lord said, Listen, rvsa! You are well conversant with the knowledge of family and material life and you are unaffected by the distressful conditions of family life. Not only that, but you are so elevated that anyone who sees you will also become free from this entanglement. Nitynanda and Myself are Your two sons, so remove the pain of loss and separation in your heart. The devotees jubilantly greeted these words of divine compassion and love from the Lord. The Lord accompanied all the devotees as they carried rvsas son to the Gag, performing krtana all the way. The required rites completed, everyone bathed in the Gag and each went his own way home, chanting the Holy Name of Ka. rvsas family went back peaceful and satisfied by the last rites. All these confidential pastimes of the Lord are extraordinary and faithful hearing of these narrations bestows pure love of r Hari. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of rvsa, whose sons are none other than my Nitynanda and Gauracandra. 326

These were the wonderful pastimes enacted in Navadvpa and they are known and seen only by devotees. Madhya-khaa has tried to describe the pastime of the dead boy speaking words of wisdom to the best of the authors ability. The Lord was so deeply immersed in the ocean of love of Ka that He had no attraction for family life. He could not even properly perform worship of the Deities what to speak of doing other activities. As the Lord would sit down to worship the Deities after bathing, His clothes would become drenched with tears of love ka-prema. Unrestrainedly, tears flowed from His eyes; such were the spiritual emotions surging within Him. He would immediately come out of the Deity room and changed into fresh clothes. Again, in a matter of moments, His clothes would become soaked with the tears of spiritual love. In this way, He was unable to perform any worship of the Deity. Ultimately He would request Gaddhara Paita to offer worship to the Deity saying that He, Himself, was not fortunate enough to be able to worship the Deity. Such were the supra-mundane activities of the Lord of Vaikuha, as He relished the nectar of ka-prema. r Ka Caitanya and Nitynanda Prabhu are my life and soul, I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
26. r Caitanya Bestows Mercy upon uklmbara and Decides to Take Sannysa
All glory to r Gauracandra, the Supreme Purifier of the entire world! Mercifully, offer to me, upon the seat of my heart, Your lotus feet. One day, wishing to bestow His mercy, the Lord went to the house of uklmbara Brahmacr and begged food from him. The Lord said, I 327

feel an uncontrollable desire to eat your food. Believe Me, there is no reason for you to be anxious. The Lord persistently requested uklmbara, but uklmbara pleaded with the Lord saying, O Lord, I am a most sinful person, despicable and worse, and You are the symbol of religious principles. So, O Lord, rather You should give shelter to me who is comparable to an insignificant insect caught up in this material illusion. The Lord replied saying, Do not consider My request to be an illusion. I very much want to eat food cooked by you. Go quickly and arrange for everything. At midday, I will come to your house. However, uklmbara was still quite in anxiety and so he approached the other devotees for comfort. They spoke reassuringly, Why should you be afraid? He is none other than the Supreme Lord. It is His nature to search out devotees who worship Him with single mindedness and from Them He likes to beg food. Remember that He ate at the house of Vidura, who was the son of a dra. Therefore, you quickly go to your house and prepare to cook for the Lord with care and devotion. If you are still nervous, then try to cook without directly touching the food. You are very fortunate, to have received this wonderful opportunity from the Lord. The brhmaa uklmbara hurried home feeling exceedingly elated. Feeling clean after bathing, uklmbara put scented water on the fire for cooking rice. He also began to cook a delicacy prepared from the pith of banana tree trunk. While this cooking was in progress, uklmbara folded his hands and began to sing the names of the Lord, praising Him and invoking His grace. Attracted by uklmbaras devotion, Lakm Dev, the Universal Mother and Goddess of Fortune, blessed the brhmaas endeavour with her favourable glance. The delectable taste of ambrosia immediately mixed with the food.
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Meanwhile, Vivambhara had completed His bath and came, accompanied by Nitynanda Prabhu and other devotees, to uklmbaras house in dripping clothes. uklmbaras humble dwelling was situated on the banks of the Gag. Vivambhara soon changed to dry clothes and sat down to eat. The Lord served Himself according to His wish, as uklmbara watched Him with intense pleasure. As the Lord relished the food, all the devotees looked on with great delight. The Supreme Lord, Gaurga, is the receiver and enjoyer of all manner of pure oblations offered in sacrifice by no lesser personalities than Brahm and others of his stature, but now the Lord was thoroughly relishing uklmbaras cooking prepared from rice that uklmbara had obtained by begging. This is certainly most rare. The blessed Lord said, My dear uklmbara, I have never tasted anything so delicious in My life. The rice and all are so palatable that I find no words to describe them. How did you cook like this to get such a taste? r Caitanya then cast a glance of mercy at uklmbara and said, We are eternally associated in the mellow of friendshipfriends such as you are the root from which I grow and are the purpose of my advent. All the devotees present began to shed tears of joy as they heard Lord shower His mercy upon uklmbara. In this way, the Lord relished His food and enjoyed the company of His devotees. Let the atheistic people blinded with sinful activities open their eyes and see how uklmbara was blessed by the Supreme Lord. r Caitanya is unapproachable to those who are puffed up with wealth, learning, and followers, etc. The scriptures declare that the Supreme Lord is easily won over only by surrender in loving devotion. Finishing His meal, the Lord sat down in a relaxed manner chewing on a betel pan and smiled gently. The devotees rushed to have the remnants from the plate, which the Lord had just left behind. The Lords remnants are so rare that iva and Brahm would feel extremely blessed to receive them and would carry the plate on their heads. However, now
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such rare treasure was easily available to all the devotees of the Lord. Such a wonderful pastime was taking place in the house of a beggar such are the transcendental arrangements of the Lord. The Lord engaged everyone in discussing the transcendental topics of Kas pastimes for a while and then lay down to rest. The devotees, following their Lord, also lay down. One amongst the devotees of the Lord, r Vijaya dsa, an exalted soul, had a wonderful vision. There were very few in Navadvpa whose handwriting could compare in beauty with that of Vijaya, and he had copied many books for r Caitanya. People simply knew him as Vijaya the Artist, but were unable to grasp his spiritual depth due to their lack of devotion. As they all lay down next to the Lord, the Lord placed His hand gently on Vijayas body, and Vijaya began to see marvellous sights. He saw the Lords hand glistening like a golden pillar, long and graceful. The entire arm was covered in brilliant gems and jewellery. The fingers of the hand were bedecked with rings full of priceless gems, which shone with the dazzle of a thousand suns and moons. The marvellous radiance spread to the abode of Brahm, the highest planet of the material universe. Vijaya was overcome with joyous amazement. He opened his mouth and was about to exclaim when suddenly he felt the Lords hand covering his mouth. The Lord smilingly said, As long as I am present in Navadvpa, you should not speak about this to anyone. Hearing these words, Vijaya jumped up from his position with a roaring sound, awakening all the devotees. The devotees saw Vijaya in an excited state and tried to calm him down unsuccessfully. After a spell of excitement and temporary madness, that great soul fell down in a swoon of ecstasy. Seeing these symptoms, the devotees realised that Vijaya had had a transcendental vision and feeling great joy for him began to weep tears of joy and share his ecstasy. The Lord enquired from everyone, What has happened to Vijaya? Quite suddenly, he has started making these thunderous sounds. I know he has a special sentiment for Mother Gag and being so near Mother Gag must have affected him. Otherwise, it must be the presence of the 330

Deities in uklmbaras house, or maybe he has seen Ka here. Saying this r Caitanya placed His hand on Vijaya and brought him back to consciousness. The devotees were relieved and happy. Although Vijaya regained consciousness and was up and about, he remained silent, without response, like a stone. For seven days, he roamed all over Nadia without food, sleep, or any bodily care. The mystified general people observed him, but did not know of his spiritual vision. Then, after some days, Vijaya returned to his normal self. Such are a fraction of the extraordinary activities the Lord performed in uklmbaras house. Who can enumerate the extent of uklmbaras fortune? The Lord choose to sanctify uklmbaras house with the presence of Himself and His intimate associates. He even ate food cooked by uklmbara. One who hears with faith these supra-mundane narrations of how the Lord graced Vijaya and uklmbara will develop unalloyed devotion to the Supreme Lord. This is the dear verdict of the scriptures. Everyday, Caitanya accompanied by Nitynanda visited the houses of different Vaiavas and manifested His transcendental pastimes. Caitanya was constantly steeped in ecstatic prema-rasa, and often manifested the mood and behaviour of different incarnationsMatsya, Krma, Nsiha, Varha, Vmana, Raghuntha, Buddha, Kalki, and Ka. The Lord, as and when He desired, displayed all these moods. Sometimes, a particular mood would suddenly manifest, but then the Lord would swiftly withdraw it. However, repeatedly, the mood of Balarma would appear in Him and remain manifest. As Haladhara, Balarma, Caitanya would become very excited and agitated, shouting loudly, Bring Me wine! Bring wine! Nitynanda always understood the Lords different moods and He would immediately fetch a potful of Gag water. At these times, such was the volume of r Caitanyas voice that the entire creation shook. When the Lord danced in this mood, it was as if the Mother Earth would shatter to pieces as all the three worlds swayed precariously. The devotees were frightened to see such violent dancing, but devotedly, they sang songs 331

glorifying the pastimes of Balarma. These songs greatly pleased the Lord, bringing Him to a state of supreme ecstasy. In this state, He moved about like a madman, walking and swaying like a drunk. Yet, the beauty of His face was indescribable. Ones eyes were never satiated from drinking the exquisiteness of His face and the more one looked the more the desire to see His moon-like face increased. The Lord constantly called out Nitynanda! Nitynanda! and during the short spells when He would come out of His trance, He would say things like, Oh! Life ebbs out from Me. Then changing His mood, Caitanya would say, O Ka! You are my father, You protected Me. Balarma, My uncle, you educated Me with a stick. The Lord was so overwhelmed with spiritual ecstasy that it unnerved the devotees to see Their Lord in such a trance and they would cry out in fear. All the activities of the Lord were extraordinary. Sometimes, He would feel such a mood of intense separation from Ka that tears would flow in streams and His wailing would pierce the heart of everyone. The Lord as a devotee was feeling separation from Himself as the Supreme Lord. The gops, the cowherd damsels of Vndvana, feeling intense separation from Ka would loose their minds in His absence. When they saw the rising moon, they would mistake it for Kas glowing face and almost die out of mixed emotions. Similarly, the ecstatic devotional emotions of the gops would possess Caitanya and He would rush to His devotees, clinging to their necks and weep continuously. acmt was filled with consternation to see her son in such a state. How may a mere human describe the wonderful ecstatic prema exhibited by the Lord? Yet, these displays of the highest order of devotional love were a daily occurrence with the Lord. One day, r Caitanya was immersed in the pastimes of the gops of Vndvana. He was incessantly chanting, Gop! Gop! Gop! Along came a student scholar from somewhere and, without understanding Caitanyas mood, said, O Nimi Paita why are You chanting Gop! 332

Gop! You had better chant Kas name. What pious gain is there in chanting Gop! Gop! According to the Vedas, ones piety increases many-fold by chanting Kas name! An ignorant man could never comprehend the Lords spiritual state. The Lord responded by saying, Ka! He is a plunderer! Who worships Him? That ungrateful Ka killed the innocent Vli and although His winsome looks and strength has won so many women, He deliberately cut off a womans nose. Again, He begs everything from Bali Mahrja leaving him with nothing and then sends him down to Hell. What will I gain chanting His name? Saying this, r Caitanya picked up a stick and, still immersed in ecstasy, He rushed towards the student menacingly. The startled student jumped up and ran off with the Lord close behind in hot pursuit. The student ran in fear of his life, not understanding the Lords mood. The devotees ran after Their Lord and catching up with Him brought Him back and pacified Him. The student, in the meanwhile, had made good his escape. Panting heavily and drenched with perspiration, he found his friends, who were curious about his plight and enquired the reason for his fright. He replied, Do not enquire further! I am lucky to be here alive and breathing. Everyone says, Nimi Paita is very saintly, but today when I visited Him I found Him chanting Gop! Gop! He is chanting only these names, night and day. So I told Him, What are You doing O learned man? You should chant, Ka, Ka, as is recommended in the scriptures. These words enraged Him to such an extent that He came charging at me with a stick. Not only that, He was even cursing and abusing Ka, which I am afraid to repeat. Only destiny could have intervened to save my life today. The students began to laugh foolishly and air their vacuous views. One said, If, as the people say, He is a good Vaiava, then why does He come chasing a brhmaa with violent intentions? Another offered, How can you call Him a Vaiava, if He refuses to utter Kas name? Yet another remarked, It sounds very strange that a Vaiava is 333

chanting only, Gop! Gop! Another said forcefully, Why should we feel cowered and shrivel in this hovel? Have we not also the power so characteristic of brhmaas? He maybe a brhmaa, yet, we are also learned in the scriptures! Why should we tolerate His threats? He is not a king or officer that He can punish us, let us group together and the next time He tries to intimidate us, we will thwart Him. He maybe the son of the learned Jaganntha Mira, but our parents are no less worthy. Just see, yesterday, we were studying together as equal friends and yet today He has suddenly become the Mahprabhu, great master? In this manner, the offenders and atheists spoke so caustically against Him, but r Caitanya, the Supersoul residing within everyones heart knew everything. One day, He was sitting with all His devotees, when suddenly He made a mysterious remark, the meaning of which was too shrouded for anyone to understand. He said, The medicine pippalikhaa was prepared to cure the excess phlegm, but instead it has increased the phlegm in the body. Saying this, the Lord began laughing loudly musing over something incomprehensible to all. The devotees became very concerned. Nitynanda knew the inner meaning of the Lords statement and understood His confidential mood. He thought, Soon the Lord will leave home and take sannysa. Nitynanda fell into deep despair. The life air seemed to leave His body at the thought of seeing His beloved r Caitanya, as beautiful as He is, being shorn of those lovely locks of hair. Caitanya suddenly clasped Nitynandas hand, taking Him away to a quiet and lonely spot. Caitanya said, Listen, dear Nitynanda, I am revealing My heart to You. The purpose of My advent is to deliver the entire world, but instead of delivering the living entities, it seems I shall have to ultimately destroy them. The people are supposed to attain salvation just by seeing Me, whereas now their material bonds are becoming stronger. As soon as they contemplated beating Me, they became tightly chained to eternal bondage. I incarnated with the intention of liberating the good and innocent mass, but now I have spoiled everything and am 334

leading the people to their doom. Therefore, I have decided to shave My head and take to the renounced life of a sannys, begging from door to door. With a begging bowl, I will stand at the doors of those who wanted to attack Me. Then, those same aggressors will fall at My feet and in this way, I will deliver the whole universe. Everyone respects a sannys, no one will ever think of harming a sannys. Tomorrow, when I take up begging as a sannys, I can go anywhere safely. Therefore, I have fully decided to take up the sannysa order, leaving My home and family. Please do not feel sad due to this, rather give Me permission to take up the renounced life. I will certainly act in accordance with your desire, but You should consider that I have taken this incarnation for a specific purpose and request Your permission in this matter. If you really want to see that everyone in the world becomes liberated, then you must not prohibit Me from My decision. You should be the last person to lament over this, because You know the confidential reason for My advent. When Nitynanda heard from His dear Lord that He would shave His beautiful locks and enter the renounced order, his heart shattered to pieces in grief. He did not know what to say to Caitanya, but He was sure that the Lord would go ahead with His decision. Nitynanda replied, My dear Lord, You are absolutely independent, whatever You wish must certainly be executed. Who can resist You or go against Your wishes? Whatever You have decided is sure to happen. You are the maintainer and protector of this cosmic manifestation. Your wishes are always for the good of the people. Who but You could conceive of the best method for liberating the conditioned souls? You are perfectly free to act in any way that You think best. Yet, I think You may present these facts to all the Vaiavas and ask their opinion. After hearing them, You may do whatever You think is necessary. Nitynandas words satisfied Caitanya and He embraced Nitynanda, repeatedly. Thus advised, Caitanya went to meet the assembly of
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Vaiavas. The paralysing thought that Caitanya would take sannysa echoed in the grey emptiness of Nitynandas mind. He walked about normally, but within Himself raged a fitful storm. How will acmt maintain her grief-stricken life once her Nimi abandons home? He thought, How will she live through the long lonely days and nights without her Nimi? Each time these thoughts raced through His mind, Nitynanda felt devastated with despair and would find a secluded corner in which to weep bitterly, unable to bear the thought of what would happen to acmt. Caitanya came to Mukundas house. Mukunda was overjoyed to see his beloved Lord coming personally to his house. The Lord said, Sing something about Ka. Mukunda began to sing and the Lord listened to the transcendental sweetness of Mukundas singing. Withdrawing His feelings of ecstasy within Himself, the Lord calmed Himself and spoke to Mukunda. The Lord said, Mukunda, please listen to Me, I have decided to leave My home and family to join the sannysa order. Shaving My hair, I shall travel throughout the land. The Lords words crushed the joy that Mukunda had felt earlier upon seeing the Lord. Piteously, he begged the Lord, My Lord, since You are firm in Your resolve to become a mendicant, it must happen, but wait a little longer, stay with us and pass more time in ka-krtana, then do what You must do. r Caitanya left Mukundas home and went to see Gaddhara Paita. Gaddhara offered obeisances to his Lord, praying at His lotus feet. The Lord addressed Gaddhara, I want you to hear Me, carefully, please. Gaddhara, I have to leave My home and family for the sake of My Ka. I shall shave My head and as a mendicant go wherever the road leads. Gaddhara remained motionless, thunderstruck. Feeling a burning grief swallowing him within, he replied, Your words are very strange, My Lord. You mean to say that one can attain Ka simply by shaving the head, leaving home, and not staying in householder life? What spiritual
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gain is there in shaving ones head? This maybe Your opinion, but it is certainly not found anywhere in the Vedic scriptures. Moreover, how do You propose to leave a widowed mother all alone? At the very outset, You will be burdened with the sin of bringing about the death of Your mother. You are the dream of her life. If You are gone, then what reason will she have to remain alive? Is one not dear to the Supreme Lord, remaining at home? In fact, everyone likes a householder. If, in spite of everything I have told You, You still want to cling to Your decision, then do as You like. In this way, the Lord visited all His near and dear ones and told them all of His plan to take sannysa. Whoever heard this was shocked with grief. They wept bitterly at the thought of seeing their beloved Lord, beautiful as the springtime full moon, shorn of all His black cascading curls. They lamented, What then will be the use of stringing a garland for His curly locks. Yet another cried out, How will I ever be able to live without seeing His delightful locks? Yet another exclaimed, beating his head, Will I never be able to smell the transcendental aroma of His hair anymore? The devotees were wailing in grief, tossed about in an ocean of despair, loudly they wept, for they were going to lose their beloved Lord. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song at Their lotus feet.
27. The Vaiavas Feelings of Separation Awaken
All glory to r Vivambhara, the son of acmt! Bold as a lion, our Lord is the deliverer of the fallen souls. After hearing of the Lords desire to take sannysa, all the devotees were very much perturbed and grief stricken. Though the Lord was still in
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Navadvpa, they were already feeling the pangs of separation from their beloved Caitanya and they cried piteously. They said amongst themselves, Where will He go after taking sannysa? When will we see Him again? Surely, He wont return to this village after accepting a mendicants robe. There will be no way of finding out where He is and in which direction He is travelling. The devotees were constantly worrying in this manner, their hearts filled with consternation that they may never see their most precious Lord again. No one took interest in food and sleep any longer. The Lord could not bear the pain His devotees were suffering. Smiling pleasantly to alleviate their distress the Lord assured them, Why do you unnecessarily vex yourselves? I am always present with you. It is wrong of you to think that once I have taken sannysa I will leave all of you and go far away. Not for a moment can I leave you, for all of you are My eternal associates not just for this birth, but birth after birth. Those of you who are associated with Me in this incarnation will eternally remain with Me in the mellow of congregational chanting of the Holy Name. In every yuga, I advent and in every one of My innumerable incarnations you have participated in My pastimes. With this advent, I have come in two incarnations, one is the congregational chanting and the other is My transcendental Deity form full of bliss. In both these incarnations, you must participate in My pastimes with full vigour and joy, chanting with Me in ecstasy. I am taking sannysa only to educate humanity, therefore please allay your fears and worries. Placating the distressed devotees with His sweet words, Caitanya embraced each of them, repeatedly. The Lords words had a pacifying effect on the devotees, and, feeling assured, they allowed their beloved master to leave. Swiftly the word spread everywhere that Nimi was going to embrace the mendicant life. When acdev heard this news her heart almost stopped. Her grief was so intense that the pain of the entire universe seemed like nothing. She fell to the ground unconscious and remained 338

lying on the floor, her tears flowing in torrents. The lotus eyed Lord saw this heart-rending sight, sitting very still and grave. acmt cried out to Nimi saying, My darling son, please do not leave Your mother and go. All of us are simply dependent upon seeing Your divine lotus face. Your lotus eyes and moonlike glowing face, ruby lips and pearly jasmine white teeth, words like showers of ambrosia, and graceful gentle elephants gait are impossible to live without. Your constant followers, Advaita and rvsa and Your bosom friends Nitynanda and Gaddhara are always there. Just stay home and perform Your congregational chanting. You have incarnated to teach everyone the principles of religion, then which religion teaches one to leave ones mother? You embody the religious principles and if You forsake Your mother, then how will You teach the world about religion? Laden with immense love for her son, acdev spoke out these words, and the Lord heard all this quietly, unable to speak, His voice choked with intense love for His mother. She continued, Your elder brother left sometime ago and then Your father left for the Lords eternal abode. After that only You remained, but looking at You, I could forget my pains of separation. Now, If You leave, I will certainly give up my life. My dearest son, just see the pitiful sight of Your lonely widowed mother, how can You leave me. Stay home, Nitynanda is always here, You can perform krtana in Your own house with all the devotees. You are everything to me. Your eyes are full of love and compassion, Your long arms are exquisite, and Your words are cascades of nectar. My lampless, darkened house is illuminated by Your presence, and Your lotus feet are the source of life-giving elixir. Silently, Vivambhara sat and listened, bearing the deep pain within as His mother out of intense love spoke painful words of separation, like Kaualy trying to reason with Rmacandra. acdev spoke on unable to calm herself and the Lord remained patient, silently listening. acdev felt completely drained out, rampaged by the storm of grief. Food and sleep were to her now a curse. The Lord seeing
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His mothers condition, revealed to her some secrets that might pacify her. He said, Mother, please calm yourself and listen, I have been your son since many births. You were once Pni and I was your son. Then again, in another life, you became Aditi and were residing in the heavenly planets and I became your son Vmana. Then once again, I became your son Kapila when you were Devahti. When you were Kaualy, I was your son Rma. Another time, you were Devak in Mathur imprisoned in the dungeons of the cruel King Kasa, and I became your son Ka. In this present incarnation, I will be your son twice. You will be the mother of My incarnation in the Deity form and also the mother of My incarnation as the Holy Name. Mother, in this way, you have had Me as your son eternally, I can never leave you mother. I reveal this to you very confidentially, now mother please allay your fears and grief. Upon hearing this esoteric narration, acdev was somewhat calmed. r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda are my life and soul. I, Vndvana dsa, humbly offer this song at Their lotus feet.
28. r Caitanya Takes Sannysa
All glory to r Gaurga, Lord and husband of r Viupriy dev! Kindly cast your merciful glance upon the living entities. The Supreme Godhead r Vivambhara engaged in incessant sakrtana, experiencing immense happiness. No one knows the real purpose of the activities of the Supreme Lord; He is the absolute autocrat and does as He pleases. He was always absorbed in the ecstasy of sakrtana in the company of the Vaiavas. The devotees were also so enraptured by the continuous krtana that they never considered, even for a moment, that their beloved Lord might leave them. These greatly
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fortunate devotees enjoyed pastimes with that Supreme Personality upon whom the Personified Vedas constantly meditate. The day Lord r Caitanya decided to enter the sannysa order, He revealed His decision in confidence to Nitynanda prabhu. He said to r Nitynanda, My dear Nitynanda Gosi, what I am about to divulge to you may be repeated to only five others. Tomorrow is the day o f Makara-sakrnti, when the sun begins to travel in a northerly direction, and I will certainly accept the renounced order of sannysa. In the village of Katwa near Indr lives the exalted personality r Keava Bhrat. It is from him that I will receive my sannysa; this is the decree of providence. The five persons who you must inform are My mother, r Gaddhara, r Brahmnanda, r Candraekhara crya and r Mukunda. r Nitynanda then went to these five individuals separately and informed them in confidence about the Lords decision. That entire day, r Caitanya spent in performing sakrtana with all His Vaiava devotees. The Lord relished His noon prasdam and later in the early evening, He went to take darana of the holy Gag. There He offered obeisances to Gag dev, sat down on her banks for a while, and then returned home early. He sat in His house surrounded by His devotees, but none amongst them knew that the Lord was leaving the next day. For the moment, the devotees exulted in the association of the Supreme Lord. The Lord, with beautiful lotus-petal eyes sat decorated with flower garlands and sandalwood paste. As the Vaiavas arrived, one by one, they presented the Lord with flower garlands. Such was the magnetic potency of the Lord that it was simply inconceivable how a continuous stream of visitors from all directions kept pouring in. So much so, that even Brahm would be in difficulty to count them all. They came in, paid full obeisances, and fixed their eyes on the Lords enchanting face with rapt attention. To each of the visitors the Lord gave a garland from around His neck and instructed them all as follows: Go and praise the Supreme Lord, r Ka. Chant His Holy Name, worship Him and sing His glories. Do not think of anything other than Ka. If you have any love for Me, then show it by chanting and singing
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no other nameonly the names of Ka at all times. Remember and chant His Holy Name, whether asleep, awake or eating. After instructing everyone in this manner, He ordered them to return to their homes. As one group of visitors left another fresh group arrived. Most of them were unknown to each other, but that did not deter them from their ecstatic feelings. All the while, the Supreme Lord, more resplendent than many moons, sat there wreathed in countless flower garlands and decorated with sandal pulp. While leaving, the visitors loudly chanted the Holy Names, Hari! Hari! feeling most jubilant. They had received the Lords grace. Just then, green tender gourd in hand, r rdhara walked into the Lords house. Seeing this, Lord r Gaurasundara laughed and enquired, rdhara, from where did you procure this gourd? The Lord thought to Himself, Tomorrow Im leaving, but I cannot refuse or waste rdharas gift, I will eat it tonight. The Supreme Lord is always prepared to satisfy His devotees. He is famous as bhakta-vatsala. The Lord requested His mother to cook the gourd. Right at that moment, someone walked in with some milk and offered it to the Lord. The Lord was very pleased, and said: This is wonderful, now mother, you can prepare a delicacy with milk and gourd. Mother ac was happy with this turn of events and she went to cook with great satisfaction. The Supreme Lord of Vaikuha is always willing to fulfil the desires of His devotees for He is their loving guardian. The devotees remained late into the night and left when the Lord was about to take His meal. The Lord saw everyone off and sat down to eat. He relished His mothers cooking, washed His mouth, hands and feet and retired for the night to His quarters. The Supreme Lord called upon His mystic sleep, yoga-nidr, while rla Haridsa and rla Gaddhara lay down to rest close by. acm knew the Lord was to leave at early dawn, so she could not sleep, but wept incessantly. A couple of hours before sunrise, the Lord woke up and determining the auspicious time by the flow of breath from His nostrils He prepared Himself for the journey. rla Haridsa and rla Gaddhara also woke 342

up. rla Gaddhara said, I want to accompany you. To which the Lord replied: No one may accompany Me to where Im going. Im always alone and independent, such are My activities. acmt understood that it was time for her son to leave home, so she waited sitting at the door. Seeing His mother at the door, the Lord sat down next to her and held her hands. He tried to console her, saying, You brought me up and took care of Me in plentiful ways. I was educated and properly raised due to your endeavours. You never bothered for even a tiny bit of pleasure for yourself, but all through, since My birth, you always made sure that I had the best of everything. Moment to moment, you increasingly showered Me with your love and affection. Even in millions of life times, I will never be able to reciprocate your tender feelings. Life after life, I will be in your debt, which only you by your grace can waive. Dear mother, everyone in this creation is under the Supreme Lords control; no one has the power to become independent of His control. The Lord alone arranges unions and separations. Who can fathom the depth of His mind and will. Whether I leave now or ten days later, you should not lament. You do not have to worry about anything, I will take full care of you, that is My responsibility. Crossing His hand over His breast He repeatedly assured His dear mother, Your upkeep and wellbeing is My responsibility, and Mine alone. acmt silently heard everything her son said to her. She did not reply, but wept and wept. acmt, the Universal Mother, willed herself to become like Mother Earth, the symbol of patience. Who can understand the inconceivable eternal pastimes of the Supreme Lord. r Gaurasundara smeared His head with the dust of His mothers feet, circumambulated her and left. The divine hero of Vaikuha left home to enter the renounced order to liberate all living entities. My dear brothers, respected readers, by hearing the narrations of the Supreme Lord taking sannysa, one is freed from all material bondage. As soon as the Lord left, acmt became almost inert and was unable to speak, as still a statue.
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The rest of the devotees knew nothing of these developments. After completing their morning ablutions and rituals, as was usual, they came to offer obeisances to the Lord, but found acmt sitting by the outside doorway of the house. The noble rla rvsa was the first to enquire, Ai, why do you sit by the doorway? Almost inert, she at first remained silent, while tears flowed freely from her eyes, Finally, after a short while she said, My dear sons, listen, it is decreed in the scriptures that the possessions of the Supreme Lord Viu rightfully belong to His devotees, the Vaiavas. Therefore, whatever items belonged to my son are now yours, take them. The Lord has left me. Realizing that the Lord had left home, the devotees were shocked and fell swooning to the ground. Overcome with grief, they wailed loudly in despair and pain. They held each other for comfort and babbled as if in delirium, O Gopntha, why did this terrible night have to end? How will I live without seeing His moonlike face? What meaning is there to this sinful life? Why has the sky not come crashing down without prior warning? They rolled on the ground weeping and lamenting, unable to bear the searing pain of separation. As the other devotees began to arrive, upon hearing of the Lords departure, they all drowned in an ocean of sorrow. The loud wailing of the Vaiavas enveloped the Lords house. They cried, We are destitute orphans and our Lord and master has left us to take up sannysa, leaving us drowning in an ocean of sorrow. The devotees wept uncontrollably becoming almost unconscious with grief. They cried and loudly chanted, Hari! Hari! They felt that their life, possessions, family, etc, was worth nothing without the Lords presence. They beat their breasts and struck their foreheads in utter despondency. Their beloved Lord had left without informing them, thinking of this, they rolled on the ground oblivious of the dust that covered them. The Lords courtyard witnessed this heart rending scene of the Vaiavas writhing, both within and without, in the excruciating pain of separation. rla Mukunda, r Murri, rla rdhara, rla Gaddhara, r Gagdsa, rla rvsa and his family members, r crya, rla Haridsa, and many others were there sharing the grief 344

that, unannounced, had suddenly struck them. The sound of their loud wailing echoed throughout Navadvpa and all the residents came running to see what had had happened. Young and old, men and women, rushed to Nimi Paitas house and loudly lamented that their beloved Lord had left them. However, the atheists were happy that the Lord had gone. Gradually, the devotees stopped crying, calmed themselves and sat down encircling acmt. As the news spread of the Lords departure from home to take up sannysa, people came from near and far. They were astonished to hear that Nimi Paita had decided to enter the renounced order. In Nimis house, they found everyone red-eyed, weeping and Nimi absent. The entire weight and impact of the news of Nimis leaving finally struck them and even the heavy critics and atheists felt sad and full of genuine remorse. They said, We are so sinful that we failed to recognise such an elevated personality. No longer shall we see His moonlike beautiful face. Let us put fire to our homes and leave town to become yogis. Why should we remain at home when the Lord Himself has left Navadvpa and gone away? What is our life worth to us? How are we still breathing? The towns people cried, lamented, and fell swooning to the ground. Men, women, old and young were as if thrown into a well of acute grief. The Supreme Independent Lord, r Gaurasundara, knows which method to apply for liberating every particular person. He embraced the renounced order, intending to alleviate the suffering of all living entities and save them. Now we see that even those who were envious and antagonistic towards the Lord were bitten by the poisonous snake of separation from the Lord. All glory and victory to the Supreme Lord of all living beings, r Gauracandra, for He has made a wonderful plan to liberate all jva souls. My dear readers, please listen attentively to the details of the Lord receiving sannysa. By hearing this, one is freed from the bondage of infinite karmic reactions.
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After leaving home, r Gaurga-sundara crossed to the other side of the Gag and came to Kaaka-nagara (Katwa). The five close associates to whom He had previously intimated His plans gradually arrived and met Him; r Avadhta Nitynanda Prabhu, rla Gaddhara, r Mukunda, r Candraekhara crya and r Brahmnanda. Then the Supreme Lord, walking with the gait of a maddened lion, went with them to the place of r Keava Bhrat. The great and pious r Keava Bhrat, observing the wonderful and effulgent form of the Lord, rushed to receive Him with awe and respect. However, the Lord prostrated Himself before r Bhrat and with folded palms prayed, My dear sir, please be kind to Me. You are the saviour of fallen souls, an infinitely magnanimous personality. You are empowered to give Ka, the Lord of My heart, because the Supreme Lord, r Kacandra, is always enthroned in your heart. I have no desire other than to become a servant of Ka, so kindly instruct Me. By now, the Lords body was drenched in His own tears, which flowed freely due to His intense feelings of divine love. Roaring loudly like a lion, He began to dance. No sooner had the son of Mother ac started His dance than r Mukunda and the other devotees began to sing. Suddenly from nowhere, people, by the scores, started to pour in attracted by the krtana. When they saw the exquisite beauty of r Gaurasundara, they could not take their gaze away, but stared at His face drinking its divine beauty. Then a most incredible incident took place, the Supreme Lord danced and pirouetted in mid-air spraying everyone with His incessant cascade of tears. The people were drenched, soaked to the skin. Men, women, and children were swathed in the tears of divine ka-prema, and they spontaneously chanted, Hari! Hari! Different ecstatic symptoms such as shivering, perspiration, swooning etc. manifested upon the Lords person in waves. When He fell to the ground like a stick, the assembled public was petrified. Then the Supreme Lord, proprietor of unlimited universes, in utter humility, holding straw between His teeth, went around to all present, begging His own service, the service of r Ka. Seeing the Lords humility and compassion, knowing He was about to 346

enter the renounced order, those present began to weep, moved by intense grief. The women were thinking aloud saying, How will His mother live through this? Who could understand the pain of her last night with Nimi at home? Who was that most fortunate maiden who had such an ocean of good qualities as a husband, but is now bereft? By what great misfortune did providence snatch Him away from her. We are not His kin, mere outsiders, yet even our hearts are pierced by the sharp arrows of griefwhat to speak of His mother and wife! How will they survive this? r Caitanya, by His divine potency, had trapped everyone. All had become very attached to Him and in His absence, they now wept along with the Vaiavas and His family. After sometime r Vivambhara stopped dancing, became composed and sat down with all His associates around Him. r Keava Bhrat was absorbed in an ocean of bliss after seeing the devotional sentiments displayed by the Lord and he began to glorify Caitanya saying, The devotion that You displayed, which I saw with my own eyes, is a manifestation of the divine potency, which r Hari alone possesses. I am certain that You are the original spiritual master, the guru of the universe. Hence, no one is qualified to be your guru. However, for the sole purpose of instructing the world You have chosen me to become Your guru. This is my opinion. To this the Lord replied, Kindly do not put Me into illusion and confuse Me, but initiate Me as your disciple so that I may be blessed with servitorship to r Ka. Speaking in this way, the Lord spent the whole night amongst His associates steeped in the nectar of ka-kath. In the early hours of the next morning, the Lord of the Universe ordered r Candraekhara crya, You are practiced in the performance of all the Vedic rituals, so I am selecting you as My representative, make all necessary arrangements. r Candraekhara immediately busied himself in organizing the upcoming event. However, many out of the ordinary and miraculous occurrences happened. Milk, yoghurt, ghee, grains, betel leaf, sandal wood, flowers, sacred thread, 347

cloth, etc. were brought in large quantities by people from distant villages without being asked. Unknown persons brought all varieties of foodstuff in abundance. The activities and atmosphere were surcharged with fervour and echoed with the loud chanting of the Holy Name. In fact, the only sound, loud and clear, was, Hari! Hari! Hari! Hari! Everyone was chanting in divine bliss. Then Caitanya Mahprabhu, the life of all, sat down to have His head shaved, including His ikh. As soon as the barber came and sat before the Lord, a huge cry and the sound of wailing rent the air. The poor barber instead of taking the razor sat with his head in his hands and wept. Nitynanda Prabhu and the other Vaiavas were inconsolable as they rolled in the dust weeping bitterly. Even ordinary householders and materialistic people were deeply grief-stricken with tear filled eyes. Some of them spoke out their minds in this manner, Why did providence create the renounced order? The ladies wept and released long sighs. The demigods, who were present incognito, wept and wailed. The entire universe was grieving. Gaurga was able to generate kruya-rasa, the mellow of compassion, to such an extent that even the nearby brick, stone and wood were melting from within. The Lord manifested all these pastimes simply to liberate the living entities. That everyone wept is the proof. r Gauracandra could not remain patient due to great upsurges of spiritual emotion accompanied by ecstatic symptoms such as weeping and shivering, caused by prema-rasa, divine love. Vivambhara stood up loudly chanting, Haribol! Haribol! Mukunda took the cue and began to sing while the Lord broke out into an ecstatic dance. Ecstatic emotions washed over the Lords person coming in waves as different symptoms of prema manifested. The barber just sat there unable to shave the Lords ikh. Finally, at the end of the day, the shaving ceremony was conducted amidst jubilant prema-rasa. Thereafter, the Lord bathed in the holy Gag, came back and took His seat at the designated place for the sannysa initiation rituals to begin. 348

T h e Vedas declare the Supreme Lord, r Gauracandra, to be the instructing spiritual master of everyone and everything. He conveyed this truth to r Keava Bhrat indirectly. The Lord said, A great personality appeared in My dream and uttered a sannysa-mantra to Me. Hear it now and discern if this is the proper mantra or not. The Lord then whispered the mantra into the ears of r Bhrat. Thus, with a simple stratagem, the Supreme Lord initiated r Bhrat as His disciple. r Bhrat was very astonished, impressed, and said, This is the most profound amongst all mantras By r Kas grace may all its mysteries be revealed to you. As instructed by the Lord, r Bhrat then repeated the same mantra into the ear of r Caitanya. The air exploded with the sound of loud chanting of the Holy Name from the assembled devotees and public as the Lord of Vaikuha was initiated into the sannysa order. The Lord then dressed in a saffron robe and over-shadowed the beauty of millions of cupids. The sandalwood tilaka markings upon His forehead and other parts of His divine body were luminescent and heaps of fragrant flower garlands were draped around His neck. In one hand, He held His sannysa daa and in the other the kamaalu, water pot. He was completely absorbed in the ecstasy of prema-rasa, divine love. The brightness of His beatific face waned the brilliance of millions upon millions of full moons, as exultant tears cascaded down His cheeks. None other than rla Vysadeva will give an extensive and detailed description of His sannysa appearance. Actually, rla Vysa has already described in the Viu-sahasranma-stotra on e of th e incarnations of the Supreme Lord, which embraces the sannysa order. The best of the twice-born brhmaas, r Vivambhara, has fulfilled that prophecy. The assembled Vaiavas, who witnessed this event of r Caitanya entering the renounced order, understood this truth. The wise and grave r Keava Bhrat began to consider in his mind what sannysa name to choose for the Lord. He pondered, In my experience, I have not come across in all the fourteen worlds, such an exalted Vaiava as r Vivambhara. Therefore, my hearts wish is to 349

choose a unique name not heard of before. According to rule and etiquette, the disciple of a Bhrat title holder should also be named Bhrat, but this does not appeal to me as befitting His status. As these thoughts were crossing his mind, r Sarasvat Dev, in the form of unadulterated transcendental knowledge, came to his assistance. Thus, r Bhrat found the name for which he was looking, for the topmost jewel amongst sannyss. Placing his hand on the Lords chest, Bhrat said aloud, As you have inspired everyone, like no other person, to chant the name of Ka, thereby awakening their slumbering consciousness, Caitanya; and as you have propagated congregational chanting of the Holy Name, Your name is r Ka Caitanya! You have benedicted the entire universe. No sooner, had the exalted sannys, r Bhrat, made this pronouncement than the enthusiastic crowd of devotees and bystanders broke out into loud jubilant shouts and chants of the Holy Name. Everyone was transported to a world of infinite bliss. All the devotees offered sincere respects and obeisances to r Keava Bhrat. r Caitanya Himself was also extremely happy with His sannysa name. The devotees prostrated themselves at the Lords lotus feet. The Supreme Lord basked in the glory of His newly acquired status and His original name was broadcast to the world. The Supreme Lord, r Ka Caitanya, is always engaged in performing ever-fresh and unique pastimes. Only those who are recipients of His grace are able to see them. The countless nuances and mellows in the pastimes that were manifest at that place are known completely only by r Nitynanda Prabhu. Under His orders and directions and by His mercy, I am able to pen down a few of them and compile them into this book. I offer my humble obeisances at the feet of all the Vaiavas. I pray to them that they do not take offence for this shortcoming on my part. rla Vysadeva will describe these pastimes in lengthy detail over many millions verses in the Vedas.
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The Madhya-khaa section of this book ends with the Lord receiving sannysa. Whosoever hears this narration will immediately be rewarded with servitorship to His lotus feet. By hearing this most auspicious pastime of sannysa initiation, one certainly receives the ultimate treasure of ka-prema. My only desire is that I may never forget my two most worshipable Lordships, r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu. Will I be blessed one day with the wonderful vision of r Caitanya Mahprabhu and r Nitynanda Prabhu surrounded by all the Vaiava devotees? r Gaurga is the Lord of my Lord, r Nitynanda Prabhu and this gives me great spiritual strength and satisfaction. Anyone who simply utters: I am Nitynandas servant! will certainly be able to see r Caitanya. The most dear beloved friend and devotee of r Caitanya is r Nitynanda. Therefore, my heartfelt prayer is that I may never be deprived of the association of the Supreme Lord and His devotees. r Nitynanda is the distributor of ka-prema. I pray that I, on His behalf can serve r Gauracandra. All those who desire to cross over the ocean of material existence and drown in the nectar of prema-bhakti worship and serve the lotus-feet of r Nitynanda Prabhu. A wooden doll is made to dance by pulling strings, similarly, I write only that which r Nitynanda Prabhu is making me write. Furthermore, just as a bird cannot find the limits of the sky, but flies only as much as its strength will allow, similarly, the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, r Caitanya, are limitless like the sky and I write only to the extent of my ability. O r Caitanya-candra, I offer you my repeated humble obeisances. You are the embodiment of rasa, spiritual mellow, and the enactor of the ecstatic pastimes of r Ka. Your beautiful exquisite form is transcendental and covered in golden brilliance beyond human sense
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perception. You have distributed to the world the priceless gift of the highest nectar of ka-prema. I, Vndvana dsa, offer this song at the lotus-feet of r Ka Caitanya and r Nitynanda Prabhu, who are my life and soul. Thus ends the Madhya-khaa of the r Caitanya-bhgavata.
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Caitanya Bhagavata Madhya Khanda

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Caitanya Bhagavata Madhya Khanda

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r Caitanya-bhgavata, Madhya-khaa by Vndvana dsa hkura

1. r Mahprabhu Starts the Sakrtana Movement

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2. Mahprabhu Starts Sakrtana at the House of rvsa Paita

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3. r Mahprabhu and r Nitynanda Meet in Navadvpa

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