The following is a transcription of a lecture delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Cessnock, Australia, on February 25, 2002

 

[Devotees sing the bhajana, ‘Nitāi guṇa-maṇi āmār’]

Nitāi Guṇa Maṇi

Locana dāsa Ṭhākura

nitāi guṇa-maṇi āmār nitāi guṇa-maṇi
āniyā premer vanyā bhāsāilo avanī (1)

My Nitāi—the jewel of all virtues, the jewel of all virtues—my Nitāi has brought the flood of divine love which is flooding the whole world.

premer vanyā loiyā nitāi āilā gauḍa-deśe
ḍubilo bhakata-gaṇa dīna hīna bhāse (2)

Nitāi brought this overwhelming deluge of prema to Bengal, preaching Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s message. The devotees drowned in the ecstasy of the flood, while the wretched and fallen were swept along with the current.

dīna hīna patita pāmara nāhi bāche
brahmār durlabha prema sabākāre jāce (3)

Without discriminating, Nityānanda Prabhu freely offered this rare prema to all, even to the fallen and wretched who did not desire it [no one could avoid it!], although it is difficult to attain even for Lord Brahmā.

ābaddha karuṇā-sindhu nitāi kāṭiyā muhān
ghare ghare prema bule amiyār bān (4)

The ocean of mercy had formerly been sealed tight, but Nitāi broke the dam, allowing the flood of nectarean prema to surge from house to house (sweetly requesting all to take harināma).

locan bole mor nitāi jebā nā bhajilo
jāniyā śuniyā sei ātma-ghātī hoilo (5)

Locana dāsa says, “Whoever has not worshipped my Nitāi (or who has heard yet does not follow Nitāi’s instructions), knowingly commits suicide.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of ābaddha karuṇā-sindhu nitāi kāṭiyā muhān?

Premānanda dāsa: Nityānanda Prabhu has broken open the storehouse of love of God and He’s freely distributing it everywhere.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very good.

Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: The ocean of mercy was closed, and Lord Nityānanda broke it open and made a channel by which this love and mercy could be distributed.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: How?

Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: He went from house to house.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of ghare ghare bule prema?

Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: Door to door.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who went door to door?

Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: Lord Nityānanda.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The meaning is hidden. Prema (love) was going door to door, like a flood.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Ābaddha karuṇā-sindhu nitāi kāṭiyā muhān. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu brought kṛṣṇa-prema from Goloka Vṛndāvana, but there was a dam in the river of that love, and the water was blocked. If a dam is somehow or other broken, water will come very forcefully and flood everywhere. Similarly, being causelessly merciful, Nityānanda Prabhu broke the dam which was blocking the water. The water of prema then came very quickly, like a flood. During a flood, water will move here and there. There will be no need of making a canal or channel to take water here and there, for it will overflow automatically. Similarly, prema was now moving, here, there and everywhere, like amiyār bān, a flood of nectar

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Nityānanda Prabhu broke the blockage, and the ocean of love was then free to come to this world, everywhere, door to door. What is that prema? Śacīnandana Gaurahari is Himself unnatojjvala-prema, and He brought unnatojjvala–rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam (service to Śrīmatī Rādhīkā as Her maidservant). Nityānanda Prabhu is the embodiment of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s complete mercy. Guru is the condensed mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Nityānanda Prabhu is the complete and undivided guru-tattva. That mercy was somehow blocked, but He requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu to give His love and affection to everyone. We see this now, everywhere in this universe, and because of this, there will be no Kalki avatāra in this Kali-yuga.

In this world, all are suffering from so many problems. We know this, and yet we don’t take the shelter of Lord Nityānanda. If we take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, He will quickly manage everything for us, and then we can be happy. He may sometimes perform a big operation, or He may perform a minor operation; it depends on Him. For example, He performed a big operation on Rāmacandra Khān and told him, “Muslims will come and plunder you and your whole dynasty. They will cook meat here, and you will all be destroyed.” Sometimes Nityānanda Prabhu does minor operations and sometimes He gives His full causeless mercy, without any apparent reason. He performed a minor operation on Śivānanda Sena, and He was causelessly merciful to Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī had apparently not rendered any service, but still he received Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy.

Vrajanātha dāsa: What was the dam that blocked the mercy?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It was ‘time’. Kṛṣṇa wanted to come here as Mahāprabhu and taste love and affection, but when He would come, how He would come, and who would assist Him, was not determined.

If anyone chants, Nityānanda Prabhu will at once give prema. He went to Jagāi and Mādhāi, two bogus persons who would not agree to chant the holy name, and told them, “You must chant.” Jagāi and Mādhāi immediately attacked Him upon hearing His words, but still He gave them kṛṣṇa-prema. The ocean was blocked – within Caitanya Mahāprabhu – but Nityānanda Prabhu broke the dam. He told Mahāprabhu, “Don’t kill them. You cannot kill anyone in this incarnation. You are obliged not to kill. You have come to give prema and You have promised to give it, so please fulfil Your promise.” Thus, if you take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, you will be free of all problems very quickly.

Devotee: You said that if we take shelter of Lord Nityānanda, all problems go away. Exactly how does one take shelter of Lord Nityānanda?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: In this world we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa by practising the six limbs of śaraṇāgati, and this also applies to Nityānanda Prabhu. We pray, “I have offered my life and everything I possess at Your lotus feet. I have so much faith in You.”

ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ
prātikūlyasya varjanam
rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso
goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā
ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye
ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ

[“The six divisions of surrender are: the acceptance of those things favourable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavourable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as ones’ guardian or master, humility, and full self-surrender.” (Hari-bhakti-vilāsa)]

If Kṛṣṇa is supporting, nourishing, and saving us, why worry? All tattvas (established philosophical truths) will come, renunciation will come, and all your misfortune will go away. Suppose you want worldly happiness, considering that worldly paraphernalia, relationships and attachments are good, and thinking, “I should have so much money.” What will Nityānanda Prabhu do? He will take away all these attachments and give you transcendental love. He knows how you can get this love. He will not act according to your advice; He is not your subordinate. He will not come to you and say, “What should I do for you so that you can be happy?” Rather, He will perform a major operation, or a minor operation, or He may just give you transcendental love and affection.

Vrajanātha dāsa: We see that sometimes those who present themselves as devotees get wealth and position – perhaps because they chant with aparādha?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: That depends on the devotee. Sometimes wealth and position come by nāmābhāsa or nāmāparādha, but how did so much opulence come to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja? It did not come as a result of an offence. Yudhiṣṭhira wanted to serve Kṛṣṇa. He wanted to give inspiration to the whole world, saying, “If you worship Kṛṣṇa, you will not be a beggar.” But the example of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is very rare.

Premānanda dāsa: Someone told me that later in Kali-yuga people will not recognize Mahāprabhu as God, as Kṛṣṇa. Is this true?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, no. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu comes, (once in thousands of Kali-yugas), there is no Kalki avatāra. The effect of harināma will continue everywhere, until the end.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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