(10/13) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (2)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 23 February 2021, part 10
Translated from Bengali

Srila Narottam Das Thakur was a B.A. according to the standards of his time. He was determined to take initiation from Srila Lokanath Das Goswami, but Srila Lokanath Das Goswami said that he would not give initiation to anyone. Still, Srila Narottam Das Thakur promised to himself, ‘I will not give up until I have got initiation from him. He will be my guru!’ How did he get initiation?

Srila Lokanath Das Goswami stayed in one place, chanting the Holy Name, and every day he went to some place in a forest or garden to pass stool. Srila Narottam Das Thakur would go there, clean the place with a spade and put some fresh soil on top. He kept that part of the forest clean in this way. Eventually, Srila Lokanath Das Goswami came to notice this. ‘I have been passing stool here for many days, where does it all go? Who buries my stool?’ When he found out that Srila Narottam Das Thakur had been doing it, he was touched and felt that he was bound to give him initiation.

His name was ‘Narottam’. You must not just keep a name. You must become what that name embodies. Narottam means the highest (uttama) among men (nara).

So, this is how Srila Narottam Das Thakur received initiation from Srila Lokanath Das Goswami. Many do not know about it, that is why I am telling you about it now. His guru accepted a very small service from him – he cleaned his guru’s stool, it is the lowest service, but his name is now known to everyone. Moreover, if Srila Narottam Das Thakur had not preached, who would have known about Srila Lokanath Das Goswami? Because Srila Narottam Das Thakur took initiation from him, everyone now knows about Srila Lokanath Das Goswami as well. It is necessary to understand these things.

I was speaking about how Sriman Nityananda Prabhu bestowed His mercy on Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami’s parents tried hard to keep him at home and even had him married to a girl who was as beautiful as an angel, but he was indifferent to her.

Mahaprabhu told him, ‘Go back to your home, do not become crazy. Do not show monkey renunciation to impress others. Live comfortably, but without attachment.’

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja’ anasakta hana

‘Do not show your false renunciation to impress people. Use whatever material things you require, but without attachment.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238)

When Mahaprabhu said this, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami asked Him, ‘Prabhu, then how will I ever come to You?’ Mahaprabhu replied, ‘If Krishna wants to give His mercy to you, who will be able to stop you then?’

সে ছল সেকালে কৃষ্ণ স্ফুরাবে তোমারে ।
কৃষ্ণকৃপা যাঁরে, তাঁরে কে রাখিতে পারে ॥

se chhala se-kale krsna sphurabe tomare
krsna-krpa yanre, tanre ke rakhite pare

‘When time comes, Krishna will reveal to you the clever way how you can come to Him. Who can stop you if you have received Krishna’s mercy?’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.241)

Nobody can stop you. Even if you have a wife, beautiful as an angel, Krishna can still keep you as a brahmachari!

One day, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami came to his father and asked him, ‘Father, I hear Sri Nityananda Prabhu has come to Panihati. I want to go there to meet with Him.’ His father gave him permission. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami took a horse and rode away to Panihati.

Sri Nityananda Prabhu was sitting and resting under a tree. Seeing the Lord from afar, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami got off his horse and walked up to Him. When he came closer, Nityananda Prabhu called him, ‘Come! Come, thief. Come to Me!’

Why did Nityananda Prabhu call him a thief? Because he was trying to foolishly bypass the right channel (goda dingiye ghas khawa; ঘোড়া ডিঙিয়ে ঘাস খাওয়া). Lord Nityananda Prabhu said, ‘You went to get Mahaprabhu’s mercy bypassing Me! That is why you could not come to Him.’ It is impossible to get mercy without Nityananda Prabhu. That is why Nityananda Prabhu called Raghunath Das Goswami a thief: he had crossed Nityananda Prabhu. This is the same as worshipping Gauranga bypassing the guru. ‘Guru bade Gauranga bhaje, sei papi raurave pade maje (গুরু বাদে গৌরাঙ্গ ভজে সেই পাপী রৌরবে পড়ি মজে). The sinner who worships Gauranga bypassing the guru falls into a terrible hell.’ Many worship Gauranga bypassing the guru, but Nityananda Prabhu said that it was thievery.

Nityananda Prabhu said to Raghunath Das Goswami, ‘Come here, thief! I will punish you today!’ What punishment was it? He said, ‘Feed all the Vaishnavs who are here with flat rice and yoghurt!’ It was May–June, a season of mangoes and jackfruits, so different fruit was also supplied for the ‘punishment’ festival. The festival arranged by Srila Raghunath Das Goswami became famous as a flat-rice festival. In Gaudiya language, it is known as a ‘danda-mahotsav’ because Sri Nityananda Prabhu gave ‘punishment’ (danda) to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu by ordering him to arrange a festival.

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu arranged the festival, and so many people came to take prasadam that day that some had to actually stand in the Ganges and take prasadam standing up to their neck in the water.

To this day, this festival is attended by a large crowd of people, and some people still take prasadam standing in the water. We go to Pahinati for this festival every year, only last year we could not come [due to the pandemic restrictions], but I went there on that day. Nobody was there, only the police were guarding the place. I went there by car with one–two devotees just to offer my obeisances because even though there was no festival on that day, I had been coming there every year.

When the festival finished, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami paid a full obeisance to Sri Nityananda Prabhu, asking the Lord for His mercy, and Sri Nityananda Prabhu put His feet on his head and said, ‘Now you can go! You have got your mercy.’

A few months later, it came to Durga Puja time. There was a big festival at Srila Raghunath Das Goswami’s house. I have just told you – if Krishna gives His mercy to somebody, nobody can bind or stop them. So, when it came to Durga Puja time, the Lord created some illusion, and Srila Raghunath Das Goswami got a chance to leave the house together with the family’s priest.

Running away from home, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu went to Puri and met with Mahaprabhu. You will be astonished to hear how he lived and practised his spiritual life in Puri. A landowner’s son who was used to sleeping on a nice bed, he had walked for twelve days to Puri, on foot. During those twelve days, he ate rice only three times. Where did he sleep? He slept in cowsheds. Giving everything up as stool and urine, he finally came to Mahaprabhu. This time, Mahaprabhu welcomed him and said, ‘From today you will serve Svarup Damodar, and your name will be Svarup’s Raghu.’

Some time later, Mahaprabhu disappeared; Svarup Damodar disappeared; and Srila Raghunath Das Goswami promised himself, ‘I will jump from Govardhan and commit suicide!’ He went to Vrindavan to do it, but when he met Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami there, Srila Sanatan Goswami explained to him, ‘I also thought of committing suicide once, but Prabhu told me, “Are you not ashamed of yourself? How can you destroy My body? Your body is Mine!”’

দীক্ষাকালে ভক্ত করে আত্মসমর্পণ ।
সেইকালে কৃষ্ণ তারে করে আত্মসম ॥

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama

‘Devotees submit their entire being when they take initiation. At this time, Krishna accepts them as His very own.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.4.192)

‘“When you took initiation, you surrendered to Me. You gave everything – your heart, your mind and everything else – to Me, your guru! So, this body is not yours, it is My body! I will use it, and it My matter how I will use it.”’

Have we got there yet? Do we have this kind of surrender? We think, ‘This is my body,’ but this body is gurudev’s. Gurudev gave me initiation, so this body is now his – I must do whatever gurudev wants me to do. But we are not like that. We have not got there yet. We still do what our minds want. Always remember this.

So, Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami explained all this to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami, and Srila Raghunath Das Goswami changed his mind. After that, he stayed in Vrindavan and composed many books. He was a recipient of Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy…

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) This Is Not a Playground
2) Wrong Worries
3) Pure Identity
4) Worshipful Devotion
5) Meaning of Discipleship
6) Free Mercy, Exclusive Rights
7) Path of Devotion
8) Krishna Conscious Life
9) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (1)
10) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (2)
11) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (3)
12) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (4)
13) Clean Mood