(7/16) Sri Sivananda Sen's Mercy

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Adhivas of Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, evening class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 24 February 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

The glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu are unlimited. The book Sri Nityananda Mahimamrita describes everything very beautifully. You should buy this book and read it when you go back to your homes.

Sri Nityananda Prabhu bestowed His mercy on Srila Raghunath Das Goswami. I told you about it yesterday, so I will not tell much about it now. Sri Nityananda Prabhu showed by that pastime that it is impossible to attain any result without His mercy. I told you also about Sri Ramahari Chakravati, how Sri Nityananda Prabhu bestowed His mercy on Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, and how Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur preached about Sri Nityananda Prabhu later. I told you about it yesterday. There is another pastime I would like to tell you about today.

One year, when Sri Sivananda Sen was taking all the devotees to Sri Puri Dham, he got delayed because in those days boats did not take so many people, so it used to take long to get a lot of people across rivers. Also, Odiya people notoriously like to take money…

(You know that you can even pay money during Ratha-yatra and climb Jagannathdev’s chariot. One time, a foreign devotee told Gurudev that he was allowed to climb the chariot after he had given his expensive wristwatch and paid very much money to a panda. Gurudev asked him, ‘What for did you climb on the chariot? We never climb chariots. We always pay our obeisances from downstairs.’ You think that you have climbed the chariot, so you have received a lot of mercy, but Gurudev scolded that devotee for doing it.)

So, when Sivananda Sen was getting all the devotees across the river that day, some Odiyan man did not want to let a dog that was following Sivananda Sen’s party enter the boat. Sivananda Sen said to the man, ‘You charge for every man crossing the river. I will pay four times more for the dog. Let it go.’ The man agreed. Then, coming to the Odiyan border, everybody was supposed to pay a tax. Sri Nityananda Prabhu went first, so when He was asked for the tax, Sri Nityananda Prabhu replied, ‘Our leader is behind, he will pay.’ Everybody passed in the same way.

Sivananda Sen’s house is in Kulingram. Mahaprabhu said, ‘I love Kulingram devotees so much. I love even the dogs from Kulingram! I love even the parrots from Kulingram because they chant the Holy Name of Krishna!’ Kulingram is near Jogram station. I have been to that place a few times when I was doing collection. Sivananda Sen was one of those Kulingram devotees. He had five sons. One of his sons is Kavi Karnapur, a dear devotee of Mahaprabhu who composed Sri Gaura-gana-desa-dipika describing the identities of the Lord’s devotees, explaining who was who in Dvapar-yuga and who came as who in Kali-yuga. Kavi Karnapur’s other name is Puri Das. When he was a little boy, Mahaprabhu told him, ‘Chant Hare Krishna!’ but he did not chant. Then, Mahaprabhu asked Haridas Thakur, ‘Haridas, what is this? When I go down the street, even tigers and deer chant the Holy Name, but this child is not chanting?!’

‘Prabhu, that is because he has taken initiation from You,’ Haridas Thakur said.

‘What? What do you mean?’

‘You told him to chant Hare Krishna, so he has heard this mantra from You, and a disciple cannot say the mantra in front of his guru.’

‘Has he really taken initiation?’ Mahaprabhu asked.

‘Yes, he has,’ Haridas Thakur confirmed.

Then, Mahaprabhu told Puri Das, ‘Tell me a sloka from Srimad Bhagavatam!’ and Puri Das, a five-year-old boy, started reciting slokas. This is how he cleverly took initiation from Mahaprabhu.

So, coming back to Sri Sivananda Sen’s party travelling to Puri. Everybody passed the border, saying, ‘Our leader is behind. He will pay.’ When Sri Sivananda Sen came to the border, the guards stopped him, ‘You have brought so many people, you must pay!’ Sivananda Sen was a thrifty householder, so it took him some time to bargain with the guards. In the meantime, Sri Nityananda Prabhu went far ahead and became very hungry (it was past their meal time). He was so angry that His words were like bullets! He cursed Sivananda Sen, ‘May Sivananda’s two sons die!’

Sivananda Sen heard that Prabhu was very angry, so he quickly went to Him to pacify Him. He paid a full obeisance to Sri Nityananda Prabhu, saying, ‘Prabhu, please forgive my offence. It is all my fault, it is all my fault!’ He was paying obeisance and apologising, but Sri Nityananda Prabhu kicked him! Hearing Nityananda Prabhu’s curse, Sivananda Sen’s wife began to wail, and Srikanta, Sivananda Sen’s nephew, became angry, ‘Everybody respects my uncle so much, and this sadhu has kicked him! I will complain to Mahaprabhu!’

Srikanta ran to Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is antaryami: He knows everything, He can understand everything. So, when Srikanta came panting to Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu asked him, ‘Srikanta, do you want to say something?’ But Srikanta could not say a word – under Mahaprabhu’s influence, he was not able to complain about Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

In the meantime, Sivananda Sen’s wife wept, ‘Prabhu has cursed my two sons to die!’ but Sivananda told his wife, ‘You do not understand anything! What Thakur said is not a curse! It is a blessing! If your sons die with His blessing, they will attain the Lord!’ Sivananda Sen began to dance, ‘I have been serving the Lord for so long, but today I have got the Lord’s mercy! The Lord has kicked Me today!’

This is how Sri Nityananda Prabhu bestowed His mercy.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 75 Mb
Length: 156 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sri Ekachakra Temple
2) Parental Sacrifice
3) Full Service Sway
4) Life in Kirtan
5) Please Give These Alms
6) Remembering Glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu
7) Sri Sivananda Sen's Mercy
8) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Eccentricity
9) Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's Gratitude
10) Unblemished Nitai
11) Sri Nityananda's Supreme Mercy
12) Our Only Wealth and Shelter
13) Mahaprabhu's Private Order
14) Nityananda Prabhu's Campaign
15) Humility and Deep Faith
16) Save Yourself