Who Is Nityananda Prabhu?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, morning class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy, after that I am offering my obeisance to all Guru-varga, to all my God-brothers and sisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees, and I am praying to you all for your mercy to this low soul.

I am going to read to you what Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said on the day of Sri Nityananda Trayodasi. Listen carefully. [Clamour in the audience.] Are you hungry? What is it if you skip one meal? Fast for Nitai a little. It is not even one day, just a few hours.

Srila Prabhupad spoke this in Yogapith, in the evening.

আমার প্রভুর প্রভু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর ।
এ বড় ভরসা চিত্তে ধরি নিরন্তর ॥

amara prabhura prabhu sri-gaurasundar
e bada bharasa chitte dhari nirantara

"My Prabhu's Prabhu is Sri Gaurasundar. I always keep this great hope in my heart."

(Chaitanya-bhagavat, 1.17.153)

We live in this world surrounded by all sorts of problems; we cannot place our trust anywhere here. The only hope is that Mahaprabhu is also the Master of Nityananda Prabhu (Nityananda Prabhu called Mahaprabhu 'Prabhu' [My Master], and I have got this Nityananda Prabhu as my Master. Sri Nityananda Prabhu belongs to svayam-prakasa-tattva (original form of the Lord that manifests itself in the world). Those who come in the form of a guru are non-different from the Lord. We sing every morning,

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures to be the Lord Himself, and considered to be so by the sadhus, yet is also the Lord's beloved devotee."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 7)

Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur writes, "Sri Guru is the Lord Himself." The Lord personally comes to this world in the form of a Guru or He sends His own associate. We always sing,

এমন দুর্ম্মতি সংসার-ভিতরে
পড়িয়া আছিনু আমি ।
তব নিজ-জন কোন মহাজনে
পাঠাইয়া দিলে তুমি ॥

emana durmati samsara bhitare
padiya achhinu ami
tava nija-jana kona mahajane
pathaiya dile tumi

"O Lord! I am very wicked-minded and have fallen into this material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your associate (to rescue me)."

"O Lord, You have sent Your associate to this world in the form of a Guru." It is said in the scriptures also,

আচার্য্যং মাং বিজানীয়ান্নাবমন্যেত কর্হিচিৎ ।
ন মর্ত্ত্যবুদ্ধ্যাসূয়েত সর্ব্বদেবময়ো গুরুঃ ॥

acharyam mam vijaniyan, navamanyeta karhichit
na martya buddhyasuyeta, sarva deva-mayo guruh

(Sri Krishna said to Uddhava:) "You should know the bona fide spiritual master as My very Self. Gurudeva is the embodiment of all the gods. Never dishonour him or find fault in him by ascribing any mundane conception of place, time and circumstances to him."

"Know that the acharya (guru) is I myself."

So, Srila Prabhupad says that Sri Nityananda Prabhu belongs to svayam-prakasa-tattva (He is a manifestation of the original personality of the Lord). Sri Nityananda Prabhu is non-different from Sri Vrajendranandan, He is transcendental. As the original form of the Lord, Nityananda Prabhu is four-armed, and He is also two-armed. He resides eternally in Goloka Vrindavan. Nityananda is non-different from Baladev, a manifestation of the original Lord (Narayan, et al.).

We were singing yesterday in one of the kirtans, "Balarama haila Nitai. Vrajer Balai Nitai haila, Vrajer Kanai Gaura haila. [In Kali-yuga,] Balaram became Nitai—Balai from Vraja became Nitai, and Kanai from Vraja became Gaura." So, Balaram is non-different from Nityananda Prabhu.

এক 'মহাপ্রভু' আর 'প্রভু'—দুইজন ।
দুই প্রভু সেবে মহাপ্রভুর চরণ ॥

eka 'mahaprabhu', ara 'prabhu'—dui-jana
dui prabhu seve mahaprabhura charana

"There is one Supreme Personality of Godhead ('mahaprabhu'), Sri Gaurasundar, and there are two 'prabhus'—svayam prakas-vastu Nityananda Prabhu and svamsa Advaita Prabhu—both of them serve Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.14)

Sriman Mahaprabhu is the one person, but it is said in the Vedas, "He is One, yet there is a Second." There is Gaurasundar, the original personality of Godhead, and there is also His personal expansion, Sri Nityananda Prabhu. So, Sri Nityananda Prabhu is Sriman Mahaprabhu's dearmost associate and the Lord Himself. Personal expansions of the Lord manifest in various persons in various places and become known as an 'acharya'. That is why, it is said that jiva souls can get benefit if they realise that Sri Gurupadpadma is a worshippable manifestation of the Supreme Lord. In other words, we must understand that the Guru is non-different from the Lord. The Lord assumes a Deity form (vigraha), and there is also a manifest form (prakasa-vigraha). This manifest form of the Lord, which is easily accessing for all jiva souls, is Sri Gurudev, or Sri Nityananda Prabhu. One must never feel spiteful or envious of the Guru. Lust, anger, greed, madness and illusion are the five enemies that live all together within spite, or envy. Envy is created when the power of these enemies (lust, etc.) increases. Those who have much last, who have a very strong hankering for power, are envious and feel pain to see others' fortune or wellbeing...

— : • : —

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

• Listen to the audio or download (2.1 Mb, 5 min)