SRI NABADWIP DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA

Antardwip (Atmanivedanam: self-submission)

Sri Yogapith

(1) The crown-jewel abode of Sriman Mahaprabhu

Continuing our Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, we have now come to Sri Yogapith, the birthplace of Sriman Mahaprabhu. You will see a neem tree just next to the temple – this is the very tree under which Mahaprabhu appeared from the womb of Sri Sachi Mata at the house of Sri Jagannath Misra. There is a peculiar expression found in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, ‘Sachi-garbha-sindhau harinduh. The moon-like Lord arose from the ocean of Mother Sachi’s womb.’ Taking shelter of Sri Jagannath Misra and Sachi Mata, Sriman Mahaprabhu appeared at this place. Because He appeared under a neem tree, He was named Nimai; the astrologer, who came to make the chart for the newborn baby, gave Him the name Vishvambhar; and later, after taking sannyas, His name became Sri Krishna Chaitanya.

Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama was first made by Sriman Nityananda Prabhu in the company of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur describes it in Sri Nabadwip-dham-mahatmya in this way:

Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, a beautiful young boy, possessing a truly astonishing degree of renunciation, left home and went to Sri Nabadwip Dham. Walking with tears in his eyes, he kept saying, ‘O Gauranga! O Nityananda! When will You bestow Your mercy on me? When will I get Your darshan? O Nabadwip! When will I get to see this crown jewel of all abodes?’

Walking in this way, when he finally saw Nabadwip from afar, he fell on the ground in a prostrate obeisance and nearly lost consciousness. Composing himself, he woke up and continued his way. When he entered Sri Nabadwip Dham, he first came to Sri Barakona Ghat. There, he asked somebody, ‘Prabhu, where is Nityananda Prabhu?’ Surprised to see Srila Jiva Goswami’s half-mad state, the man quickly took him to Nityananda Prabhu. Beholding all the devotees for the first time, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu at once fell on the ground offering obeisances at their holy lotus feet. When he got up, he said, ‘When you, Vaishnavs, show kindness and compassion to me, I will get the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu – all scriptures say this. So, today this lowly soul has attained Sri Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy!’ Seeing Srila Jiva Goswami’s extraordinary devotional mood, some devotees came forward and placed the dust from his feet on their heads. Then, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu was taken to Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. Seeing Nityananda Prabhu’s transcendental form, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu fell unconscious on the ground. Nityananda Prabhu is omniscient, so He knew everything – seeing and recognising who it was, Nityananda Prabhu, very tall and strong, felt so happy that He picked up Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu in His arms and began to dance with him! All the devotees started chanting kirtan out of joy. After a while, when the kirtan stopped, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu introduced himself, and Sri Nityananda Prabhu gave him very much mercy.

That day, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu stayed at Srivas Pandit’s house (Srivas-angan). In the evening, when he found Nityananda Prabhu sitting alone, he again came to Him and offered Him his obeisance. Nityananda Prabhu seated him next to Himself, and then Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu asked the Lord with folded palms, ‘Prabhu, could You please describe the glory of Sri Nabadwip Dham?’

‘Listen, Jiva,’ Nityananda Prabhu replied, ‘I will tell you something very secret; please do not tell anyone what you will hear. What I am about to tell you will be revealed later.’ Saying this, Sri Nityananda Prabhu began to speak about the nature of Sri Nabadwip Dham: ‘Jiva, this Nabadwip Dham is the gist, the very heart of all holy places. Crossing the holy Viraja River, there is Brahma-loka, then Vaikuntha, Svetadwip, Sri Goloka, and, finally, within Goloka, there is Gokula Vrindavan, which is the planet of Lord Sri Krishna Himself. This planet is manifest in two moods, as madhurya (sweetness) and as audarya (magnanimity). Although the mood of audarya is fully present within madhurya and the mood madhurya is fully present within audarya, the mood of madhurya is predominant in Sri Vrindavan Dham and the mood of audarya is predominant in Sri Nabadwip Dham. Apart from that, there is no difference between Vrindavan and Nabadwip.

‘O Jiva! These sixteen krosh (thirty-two miles) of Nabadwip Dham are non-different from Vrindavan Dham and are comprised of nine islands – forming eight petals around the core, they float on the surrounding water. Thus, Mayapur is situated in the centre of Antardwip, which forms the core surrounded by the eight petals, or islands. Within Mayapur, there is an eternal abode called Yogapith, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu manifests His eternal pastimes. The circumference of this Yogapith is six miles, and its diameter is two miles.

‘The glory of Yogapith is absolutely exceptional – no other place, no other holy place of pilgrimage on this earth can ever compare to Yogapith. By the will of the Lord, the waters of the Ganges will very soon conceal this holy abode – it will almost entirely become hidden, but after some time, also by the will of the Lord, this crown-jewel abode will become manifest again. If a place is an eternal abode, it can never become extinct – even if it becomes hidden for the time being, it eventually re-emerges again. My Lord is eternally present in Mayapur, on this eastern bank of the Ganges. People say that when Vishvambhar took sannyas, He left Nabadwip and went elsewhere, but actually My Gauranga Mahaprabhu has never left the village of Mayapur.’

Many people think that Mahaprabhu left Nabadwip and went to some other place; many say that Krishna left everyone and went to Mathura. Krishna may have left for Mathura, but Vrindavan-Krishna never leaves Vrindavan: Vraja-Krishna always stays in Vraja.

adyapiha sei lila kare gaura-raya
kona kona bhagyavana dekhibare paya

‘Gaura Ray to this day performs His pastimes, and some fortunate souls can see that.’

Sri Nityananda Prabhu continued explaining to Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, ‘People look with their material eyes and see this holy land as material, but Maya always keeps the transcendental form of holy abodes concealed. There is no influence of Maya in real Nabadwip – no conception of time, space or any other garbage can ever touch it. Living in illusory bondage and existing through material activities, conditioned souls enter Nabadwip as an ordinary material place, but when, by the influence of saintly association, transcendental love for the Lord awakens within a soul, this soul will easily be able to see the supra-mundane abode (transcendental place, time, places, objects, etc.) with its own eyes.’

This unparalleled Sri Nabadwip Dham, including Sri Mayapur Dham, was given to us by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Before 1888, everyone thought that Mahaprabhu’s birthplace had been lost in the Ganges. It is true that from time to time the current of the Ganges can take some land, but at the same time the Ganges can also return the land. So, at first Mahaprabhu’s birthplace was indeed taken by the Ganges, but later she returned this land. Just as America existed before Columbus discovered it (somebody only went there and ‘discovered’ it, but nobody actually created or established it); similarly, Mahaprabhu’s birthplace also existed but in a concealed way. So, we are very much indebted to Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur for revealing Lord Sri Gaurasundar’s eternal abode and making it manifest again.

When Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur lived at Svananda-sukhada-kunja in Godrumdwip (his house and bhajan-kutir), one day he was chanting the Holy Name on the roof of his house. His habit was always such that he would go to bed early in the evening and wake up at midnight to write scriptures and chant the Holy Name. That day, standing on the roof and chanting, he suddenly saw some strange light. The next day he went to the place where he had seen the light and saw there a wild field with many Tulasi trees growing everywhere. He asked someone the name of the place, but nobody could tell it – the place had suddenly emerged from the Ganges. Neither did any one know who the owner of that place was. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was only told that people had tried to cultivate the land but to no avail because only Tulasi trees grew there.

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wondered, ‘Why does Tulasi grow here?’ Returning to Nabadwip, he went to Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj (he was 137 years old at that time!) and asked him, ‘Prabhu, I have found a very unusual place. Can you please come with me to see it?’ Because of his very old age, Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj could not walk, so his servant placed him into a basket and carried him on his head. When Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj came to the place that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur had discovered, he jumped out of the basket and began to dance! He kept crying, ‘Yes! I have found it! This is the Lord’s birthplace! This is Yogapith!’

Later, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur had to face much opposition. All the babaji sampradayas filed a court case claiming that Yogapith was not the actual birthplace of Mahaprabhu. They lost their case, and Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur proved in High Court(!) that this place is the real Yogapith. This is how Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur revealed Mahaprabhu’s birthplace.

(2) Appearance of Sri Gaura

In 1955, our Sri Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj wrote a very beautiful editorial article in our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s magazine Sri Gaudiya Darshan (Year 1, Issue 9), called ‘Appearance of Sri Gaura’. We would like to present this article here.

The pious land of India bearing the holy footprints of the holy Lord and His devotees is the land of religion on this earth. Among the seven cities within India that can grant liberation is Sri Mayapur that is situated within Sri Dham Nabadwip, which is non-different from Sri Mathura Mandala. That is why Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote:

“navadvipa hena grama tribhuvane nai
yanha avatirna haila chaitanya gosani”

‘There is no place within the entire three worlds that could compare to Nabadwip, the appearance place of Lord Chaitanya.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.2.55)

Actually, there is no other place in this world that could compare to or exceed the supremacy of Sri Nabadwip because Sri Gaura-hari, an ocean of pure compassion and mercy, appeared in this place destroying the darkness of this world and freely distributed transcendental love for the Lord (which is very rare to attain even for demigods) to anyone and everyone, including even the lowest and the meanest, without considering whether they were worthy or unworthy, fit or unfit. Therefore, the glory of Nabadwip is truly unparalleled in this world.

Almost five hundred years ago [as of 1955], the city of Sri Nabadwip was renowned all over the world as the main holy place where people would come to receive education. The scriptures on logic and argument that had been brought from Mithila were nourished through the intellectuals of Nabadwip, spreading the scent of their fame. Renounced monks and educated professors from Varanasi and other cities in North India would arrive here to study logic and the Vedanta. Many students from Kasi and other cities in South India would also come to the city of Nabadwip to seek education.

“nana-desa haite loka nabadvipe yaya
navadvipe padile se vidyarasa paya
ataeva paduyara nahi samuchchaya
laksa koti adyapaka—nahika nischaya”

‘People came to Nabadwip from various places. When they studied in Nabadwip, they got the taste for knowledge. Therefore, it is impossible to count its students; there were millions and millions of teachers. It is impossible to say how many for sure.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.2.60)

So, as a result of their stay in Nabadwip, the students from all these various places became expert scholars, adept in many kinds of scriptures; and when they became expert in all scriptures, they would leave and go on a holiday. Because many various scriptures were taught in Nabadwip and there were countless teachers available here, the number of students was also inestimable. What can one say? In those days, ‘even young boys [who had studied in Nabadwip] would challenge and baffle great scholars.’ Everybody considered themselves great professors. Moreover, if somebody had not studied or taught in Nabadwip, their scholarship would not be acknowledged or established in the intellectual society.

In terms of opulence, Sri Nabadwip rightfully deserved its fame as a place of incomparable splendour. Sri Nabadwip was the place of residence of all wealthy people who received the grace of Laksmi Devi. Firstly, it is situated on the bank of the Ganges; secondly, it was a great place of education; and, above all, it was a great holy place of pilgrimage, Sri Mayapur. Therefore, many rich people from all over India and other countries would come to live here. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote:

“navadvipa-sampatti ke varnibare pare
eko ganga-ghate laksa loka snana kare”
“rama drstipate sarvaloka sukhe vaise”
“avataribena prabhu—janiya vidhata
sakala sampanna kari thuilena tatha”

‘Who can describe the wealth of Nabadwip? Hundreds of thousands of people at a time would bath at the ghat on the bank of the Ganges. By the merciful glance of the goddess of fortune Rama, everyone lived here very happily. Knowing that the Lord would appear here soon, the Supreme Lord of Providence, Vidhata, who controls the entire creation, arranged everything here perfectly.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.2.57, 62, 56)

Actually, when some place is famous as a place of residence for countless people, famous for its assemblies of rich sampradayas from all kinds of places, and as a great place of pilgrimage and a great place of education, it goes without saying that this place is great. At the same time, however, there was no limit to the sadness that pure devotees felt in their hearts. Although this holy abode is very beautiful in all respects, what everyone did there was simply wasting time on mundane pleasures. How could pure devotees feel happy to see this situation? Everybody was intoxicated with the wine of their wealth, beauty, followers and knowledge, proud of their mundane scholarship. Seeing this land filled with the havoc of material gain, worship and fame, devotees became deeply perturbed. When people are intoxicated with material happiness and waste their time relishing mundane (‘village’) life and judge about everything through the prism of sense-gratification, it is unbearable for devotees. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote:

‘The whole material world was devoid of devotion to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. Those were the first signs of the behaviour that would predominate in the Age of Kali. All that people knew and believed in was staying awake and singing songs in praise of the goddesses Mangala and Chandi. Some people worshipped the goddess Visahari out of pride – they made an idol and offered a lot of riches to it. Everyone in the world wasted time on worrying about their sons and daughters and on squandering their wealth. People never spoke about the religion of the present age (Krishna-kirtan) and never spoke about anyone’s good qualities without finding faults in them. You would never hear the Holy Name of the Lord from the mouths of even very strict and proud ascetics. Only those who had very much sukriti would chant the Names of Govinda and Pundarikaksa when bathing in the Ganges. Even when people taught Srimad Bhagavad-gita or Srimad Bhagavatam, they never mentioned devotion in their explanation. Seeing the world swooned in this way by the illusory potency of the Supreme Lord, devotees became extremely sad. Seeing the whole material world around them devoid of devotion to the Supreme Lord, all devotees’ hearts plunged into anguish. Some wanted to give up their bodies out of pain, some shed tears, sighing heavily and chanting Krishna’s Name. They lost all appetite – even when they ate nice meals, they felt no taste for anything. Seeing the behaviour of the people around them, they felt sad.’

Amidst this averse and undevotional situation in the society, there lived Sri Advaita Acharya, who was the most blessed, the most respectable and the foremost leader among all Vaishnavs. Sri Advaita Prabhu moved to Sri Mayapur and manifested here pastimes of preaching about the worship of Lord Krishna, desiring to bring eternal spiritual benefit to everyone who had turned away from the Lord. The plight of the souls averse to the Supreme Lord gave much pain to his heart, and all the devotees who assembled at his house every day shed tears as they shared their deep sadness. One day, overcome with pity for all souls, Sri Advaita Prabhu himself, who is an ocean of mercy, roared and promised:

“aniya vaikunthanatha saksat kariya
nachiba gahiba sarva-jiva uddhariya”

‘I will bring the Lord of Vaikuntha, and I will dance and chant when He comes and all souls become rescued!’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.2.93)

Sri Advaita Acharya’s glory was not unknown to the devotees, so when they heard his promise, they became very joyful and supported him. In the meantime, Sri Advaita Acharya started to continuously offer Ganges water on Tulasi leaves and incessantly and earnestly call out to the Supreme Lord, who resides and enjoys His eternal pastimes in Goloka, asking Him to come. It made the Lord’s throne shake. Devotees were always busy calling out to the Lord, and they abstained from all comforts and worldly pleasures. As the result, seeing the unhappiness of His devotees, the compassionate Lord began to prepare His advent in this world.

There is, perhaps, one more thing that actually goes without saying. When the Lord appears, His associates and holy abode appear along with Him; therefore, before the Lord’s appearance, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, who takes care of arranging all necessities for the Lord, also appeared in Rarhdesh, bestowing the supreme benefit upon all souls.

* * *          * * *          * * *

Sri Mayapur is situated in the centre of Sri Nabadwip Dham, that is why it is called ‘antar-dvip’ (‘inner island’). In this Antardwip, there lived Sri Jagannath Misra, a greatest scholar and a shelter of pure goodness and nobility. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote:

‘There was a great personality called Sri Jagannath Misra living in Nabadwip. He was just as expert in following his prescribed religious duties as Vasudev, the father of Lord Sri Krishna. Nothing could compare to his magnanimous character and the extent of his brahmanical qualities. Whether as Kasyapa, Dasaratha, Vasudev or Nanda, Sri Jagannath Misrachandra was unparalleled in all respects. His spouse, Sri Sachi Devi, is a great and devoted wife; she is the mother of the entire world and the very embodiment of devotion to the Supreme Lord.’

When, having first lost eight daughters, this supremely pure brahman couple finally had a son, Sri Visvarup, who was adorned with unearthly beauty, they worshipped the Lord with extreme joy. Day by day, Visvarup also increased the joy of his parents as he grew resembling a moon on a bright fortnight. This plunged-into-darkness world began to gain the strength of an auspicious planet. In 1485, one very special day, Sri Jagannath Misra saw a very soft, loving divine light enter his heart and then, re-emerging from his heart, enter the heart of Sri Sachi Devi. Sri Jagannath Misra became thrilled with joy. From that day, Sachi Devi also radiated miraculous effulgence, resembling a goddess. When Sri Misradev told her about it in a great joy, she shared with him that she was even more surprised, ‘I also see that so many beautiful gods are watching over me, singing praises from the sky. All four directions are filled with joy, and various effulgent people keep coming and going, and so on.’ Hearing her words, Misra replied happily, ‘It looks like some great personality must be about to take birth.’ Following that, they started to worship the Supreme Lord even more assiduously.

* * *          * * *          * * *

The evening of the full moon in the month of Phalgun (18 February) in 1486 is the birth day of Sri Gaura-hari. Firstly, it was a charming spring evening; secondly, it was a full-moon day; and, on top of it, that day was also a lunar eclipse. On the bank of the Ganges, on the streets and at the ghats of the city – there were throngs of people everywhere; everyone was jostling and shoving. Seeing it, you would think that there was probably no living soul left anywhere else in the entire fourteen worlds. Everyone was overflowing with happiness and overwhelmed with the joy of the Lord’s Names being chanted in every direction. It was as if all highly auspicious constellations of the universe arose all at once, enhancing the beauty of Nabadwip. Hearing the unprecedented chanting of the Holy Names, many devotees also gathered on the banks of the Ganges. When devotees saw that the flood of Holy Names chanted due to the lunar eclipse had removed all inauspicious signs, their happiness knew no bounds. Standing on the bank of the Ganges, everyone thought, ‘Where have so many people come from?! There have been other eclipses before, but so many people, so much chanting of the Holy Names – such intoxication has never been seen before, has never been even heard of before!!’ Everyone felt very happy, although nobody could understand why; but, anyway, even then, everyone liked what was happening very much. Even Muslim people laughed and chanted ‘Hari! Hari!’ together with Hindus, teasing them. Everyone in ten directions rejoiced, as did the very water of the river.

“simha rasi, simha lagna, uchcha graha-gana
sad-varga, asta-varga, sarva sulaksana”

‘The moon was in the Leo zodiac, Leo was the ascendant, several planets were strongly positioned, and other astrological signs showed all-auspicious influences.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.13.90)

Garbing herself into all these astrologically favourable signs, the moon (the supremely auspicious queen of the evening) started singing about the coming of the Lord.

“henai samaya sarva jagata-jivana
avatirna hailena sri-sachi-nandana”

‘At this very time, Sri Sachinandan (the son of Sri Sachi Devi), the very life of the entire world, appeared.’

Srila Rupa Goswamipad sang:

“harih puratasundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah sachi-nandana”

‘May the son of Sri Sachi Devi, resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, always appear in the core of your hearts.’

Sri Jagannath Misra thought, ‘The happiness in Sachi’s room has no limit!’ Flooding the entire world with Holy Names, a spotless full moon has arisen today, that is why even Chandradev (the God of Moon), appearing in the sky today, covered his face out of shame. And why would he not? The abode of extremely soft and loving mercy emanating from this Golden Moon’s toenails puts the coolness of millions of moons to shame – this is that Sri Gaurachandra who has arisen today!! Flowers were being showered in all fourteen directions. Beating kettledrums to the sound of millions of conchshells, demigods started to dance. Dharani Devi (Mother Earth) chanted ‘Jay! Jay!’ throughout the creation, declaring the news of Sri Gaura-hari’s advent. Devotees could as if clearly feel that their hearts’ hankering had been fulfilled. Making the sweet sounds of conchshells, bells, drums and karatals even sweeter, the sounds of chanting, ‘Jaya Sachi-nandan! Jay Gaura-hari! Glory to the son of Sachi! Glory to the Golden Lord!’ could as if be heard in the background.

Everything about this Gaura-hari is eternal – His Name is eternal, His form is eternal, His qualities, pastimes, associates and features are all eternal. His appearance is eternal, and His disappearance is also eternal. The Supreme Lord forever enjoys these eternal pastimes in fortunate souls’ hearts radiating pure goodness. The tiny human intellect cannot grasp all this, that is why the Supreme Lord appears as an acharya, although He is transcendental and belongs to the realm of inconceivable oneness and difference (achintya-bhedabheda siddhanta). It is by the mercy of sadhus and gurus that it is possible to know the glory of Sri Chaitanyadev, who is an eternally pure and completely liberated extreme manifestation of transcendental existence – such fortunate souls (recipients of this great mercy) can perceive in their hearts the appearance of Gaurachandra, who is Krishna Himself, garbed into the heart and halo of Srimati Radharani, and come to experience great happiness. For such souls,

adyapiha sei lila kare gaura-raya
kona kona bhagyavana dekhibare paya

‘Gaura Ray to this day performs His pastimes, and some fortunate souls can see that.’

This statement is expressed very clearly and radiantly.

“anarpita-charim chirat karunayavatirnah kalau
sampayitum-unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih puratasundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah sachi-nandana”

‘May the son of Sri Sachi Devi, resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, always appear in the core of your hearts. He descended in the Age of Kali to bestow the wealth of devotion to His own self, the highest transcendental paramour relationship with the Lord which had never been granted before.’

(3) Sri Mayapur Dham, land of miraculous pastimes

There are many pastimes that took place here in Mayapur Dham, and at Sri Yogapith in particular. If you read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and especially Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, you can find all the pastimes of Sri Gaurasundar there.

sri krsna-chaitnaya-daya karaha vichara
vichara karile chitte pabe chamatkara

‘Just think about the mercy of Sri Krishna Chaitanya! If you think about it, you will be deeply astonished.’

When Nimai was three years old, a brahman who had been travelling to various holy places all over India came to Sri Jagannath Misra’s house one day. The name of this brahman is not written anywhere, but some say that it could be Srila Madhavendra Puripad.

The brahman came to Sri Sachi Mata and Sri Jagannath Misradev and said, ‘Please accept my obeisance. Can you give me some alms?’

‘Yes, of course. You have come at an odd time, and the cooking has not been done yet,’ replied Jagannath Misra with folded palms. ‘But I cannot let you leave without having anything. Could you please cook something and offer it to the Lord?’

‘All right, let it be so,’ the brahman agreed and went to the kitchen to cook. After cooking, he went to offer the bhoga to the Deities. Placing the offering in front of the Deities, he started to recite the mantras that are usually recited when offering bhoga. As he recited the mantras, he suddenly saw that Nimai had come and was putting the Deities’ bhoga into His mouth! Surprised, the brahman shouted, ‘Hey, where have You come from, naughty boy?! What are You doing? You are spoiling the Deities’ offering!’ Nimai fled from the room without saying a word.

Hearing the noise, Jagannath Misra came to the brahman and asked him what had happened. The brahman explained, ‘I was making the offering when your small son came and started eating from the plate! He has run away!’ Jagannath Misra was amazed, ‘But we offer bhoga every day, He has never behaved like that before!… Please do not mind Him. I have made an offence. You are our guest, Lord Narayan – you have come today to our house, so please do not leave without eating anything. Could you please cook again? I will watch over Nimai.’

The brahman agreed and went to cook again. When he finished cooking for the second time and went to offer the bhoga to the Lord, Jagannath Misra stood on guard in front of the door. Offering the bhoga to the Lord, the brahman prayed, ‘O Lord! I am giving You food at this odd time, please forgive my offence.’ Suddenly, Nimai came there again and ate the bhoga! The brahman cried, ‘What is this?! You again?!’

Hearing the shouting, Jagannath Misra came inside the room and asked, ‘What has happened? What is wrong?’

‘Your son has come again!’ said the brahman.

‘What?!’ Jagannath Misra became angry and chased Nimai out of the room. And Nimai was so naughty! He again ran away, but this time He ran to a neighbour’s house and locked the door. Jagannath Misra took a stick and went after Him, ‘Open the door! Open up!’ Hearing His father’s angry voice, Nimai shivered with fear, ‘Father will beat Me!’

Just look at this: He, whom the entire three worlds are shivering with fear for is now shivering with fear for His parent! Such is the relationship that the Lord has with His devotees who possess parental devotion.

ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy ham
mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah

‘As you serve Me, so will I serve you – howsoever people worship Me, I accordingly fulfil their desires.’

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.11)

So, the bhoga was spoilt(?) for the second time. Sachi Mata and Jagannath Misra began to cry, ‘O Lord! We have a guest at home, but our child is so naughty! What will happen now?’ In the meantime, Vishvarup, the elder son of Sachi Mata and Jagannath Misra, came home. Seeing the hubbub at home, he asked his parents, ‘What has happened here? Why is everyone crying? What is wrong?’ Sachi Mata and Jagannath Misra said, ‘This respectable brahman has come to our house, but we have made such a big offence!’ Then, the brahman explained to Vishvarup, ‘I have cooked twice already, but your younger brother is very naughty – every time He comes, eats the Deities’ bhoga and runs away!’

‘Oh, I see’, Vishvarup said. ‘Prabhu, please do not mind it. I am His elder brother, He is afraid of me, so I will guard the door this time – you will see, He will get scared and will not come.’

So, the brahman cooked for the third time. Nimai went to sleep in Sachi Mata’s room, and everyone was sure that this time everything would be all right. In the meantime, the evening passed and the night came – having finished his cooking, the brahman again went to offer the bhoga to the Deities. Closing his eyes, he prayed to the Lordships and started reciting the mantras. Having recited the mantras for some time, he prayed, ‘O Lord! I have made an offence at Your holy feet. I am giving You an offering deep at night… I have kept You fasting the whole day… Please forgive my offence.’ When he finished reciting all the mantras and again opened his eyes, he saw that the plate was empty – Nimai had come and eaten everything again! The brahman scolded Him, ‘Naughty boy! You again?!’

Then, Nimai finally said, ‘Listen, you keep on calling Me – you called Me at noon, you called Me in the afternoon, and you were calling Me again just now. It is deep night now, and I was fast sleep on My mother’s lap! I have not eaten anything the whole day! You keep calling Me, but you are not giving Me anything to eat! Instead of feeding Me, you chase Me away! Famished, I fell asleep on My mom’s lap, but then you suddenly call Me again, and when I come, you are asking Me, “Where have You come from?! Go away!” You say that I am naughty, but do you think I am not hungry? Must I not eat anything? Why do you keep calling Me and chasing Me away like this?!’

The brahman was nonplussed, ‘What are You saying? Why would I call You?’

‘Oh, so you have not called Me? Then who were you calling?’

‘The Lord, of course! I am calling the Supreme Lord, Narayan, Vishnu!’

‘Oh, so you are calling the Lord, not Me?’

Then, Nimai suddenly showed the brahman His four-armed form, holding a conch, a disc, a club and a lotus. He said, ‘You were calling Narayan, but I am Narayan! I let you see Me in Satya-yuga, I let you see Me in Treta-yuga, I let you see Me in Dvapar-yuga. You are very fortunate because even now in Kali-yuga I am letting you see Me, but you must not tell anyone about it.’

Hearing the Lord’s words and seeing the Lord’s form, the brahman attained divine love for Krishna and could not leave Nabadwip after that – he secretly stayed in Nabadwip Dham in a place near Yogapith, and every day when he went begging, he would come to see Nimai…

* * *          * * *          * * *

Appearing in this world, Sriman Mahaprabhu rescued people of all sorts. One time, He rescued thieves by tricking them. This pastime happened in Nimai’s childhood, too.

When Nimai appeared, many people would come to Jagannath Misra’s home with various gifts, so Sachi Mata would decorate Nimai’s arms with armlets, hang a golden locket on His neck, put anklebells on His feet, etc.

One day, two thieves saw those ornaments on Nimai and became very greedy. When Nimai went outside to play, the thieves started to plan how to steal those ornaments. One thief said, ‘I will take the anklets!’ The other thief said, ‘And I will take the armlets!’

They came close to Nimai and gave Him a sweet, saying, ‘Come here, darling, come. Let us take You home.’

Seeing the sweet, Nimai smiled and climbed on the shoulders of one of the thieves. The thieves were speaking sweetly to Nimai as they carried Him away. Meanwhile, they thought to themselves, ‘Where shall we take Him? We can go to the bamboo grove, take all the ornaments off and leave Him there!’

As they were carrying the baby and thinking about all this, they suddenly realised that they had lost their way! They could neither find the bamboo grove nor their own house. Hour after hour they kept roaming round and round – they had walked so much that they were finally completely exhausted and bewildered. Then, they suddenly found themselves approaching the house of Jagannath Misra, bringing Nimai back to His home!

In the meantime, everyone noticed that Nimai was not around and began to look for Him – anxious, everyone wondered, ‘What is this? Who has taken Nimai?’ The thieves left Nimai amidst the excited crowd and ran away. Nimai at once called out to Sachi Mata, and when she saw her son, she sighed with relief and said, ‘Who has brought my son? I want to reward them!’

Do you think the thieves would stay there? The thieves ran away, but the Lord had bestowed His mercy upon them – they carried the Lord Himself(!) on their shoulders. When somebody touches the Lord, when somebody chants the Lord’s Name, when somebody chants the glories of the Lord, when somebody serves the Lord, they will never have to live in this world – they will never have to suffer from birth, death, old age and disease, and they will not have to keep coming to this world again and again – such fortunate souls go back to the domain of the Lord.

* * *          * * *          * * *

Sometimes, Nimai played pranks on the brahmans, and, not being able to tolerate His practical jokes, everyone would come to Jagannath Misra and Sachi Mata to complain about the bad behaviour of their naughty son.

Somebody said, ‘He starts kicking water on people while they are bathing in the river! He spits water at others! We try to catch Him, but nobody can catch Him!’

Somebody said, ‘I was sitting and meditating on the bank of the Ganges, and Nimai threw water on me!’

Somebody said, ‘He steals our clothes or mixes our clothes with women’s clothes! He has no shame!’

Somebody else said, ‘I kept an offering in front of the asan of the Deity and went to bath in the Ganges, but Nimai came and sat on the asan like a king, eating all my offering! I scolded Him, but He says, “What is the problem? I am Narayan in this Kali-yuga! So, you are very fortunate – He whom you have offered all this bhoga has come and taken all your offering!”’

Somebody else said, ‘I was standing in the Ganges, reciting gayatri, when suddenly Nimai crept up to me and pulled me by the legs, dunking me underwater!’

Somebody said, ‘He is always stealing my Bhagavad-gita!’

Somebody else said, ‘He is always stealing my dhoti!’

Somebody said, ‘He throws water into the ears of my little child!’

And the biggest complaint came from the girls. Sometimes, small girls of nine–ten or twelve–fourteen would worship the Ganges by making nice offerings of choice rice, bananas and other good ingredients. All girls did this worship properly, with very much effort, following all the rules and regulations, but Nimai would come to the Ganges and sometimes throw water into their faces or sometimes block their way, saying, ‘Where are you all going? Worship Me!’ (What does it mean? If you worship the Supreme Lord, then all kinds of worship are automatically accomplished!)

The girls who were a little older said, ‘Hey Nimai! What is wrong with You? In this village, we are all Your elder sisters. Why are You so naughty with Your elder sisters?’ Nimai would then scatter all the pots that they had brought for the worship and say, ‘What will you get by worshipping Ganga? Better worship Me! I am hungry now, give this prasad to Me!’

The girls became annoyed and went away in another direction, but Nimai shouted behind them, ‘If you do not give Me anything, you will get an old man as a husband and live with his other seven wives!’ Hearing this, the girls became scared and quickly said, ‘O Lord, what kind of curse has He given us? Quick, give everything to Him!’

Hearing all these stories, Sachi Mata spoke sweetly to everyone, trying to comfort them. But one time, Jagannath Misra became very angry and went to the Ganges to punish Nimai. Seeing His furious father coming to the Ganges, somebody warned Nimai about it, and Nimai told His friends, ‘If Father comes and asks about Me, tell him that I have not come to bath yet!’ Then, Nimai went back home taking another road. On the way, He smeared some dust on His body and sprinkled some ink on His face – He turned up at home in this dirty state, pretending that He had just come back from school.

When Jagannath Misra came to the Ganges, he heard from the boys that Nimai had not come yet, but the brahmans who had come to complain earlier that day said that Nimai had run away in fear of His father. Seeing Jagannath Misra’s anger, they said, ‘There is no one in this world as fortunate as you are! You are extremely fortunate to have got such a son. Even if Vishvambhar commits millions of offences, we will still always keep Him in our hearts!’

Hearing the words of the brahmans, Jagannath Misra softened up and said, ‘He is your son, too, so please forgive His offences…’ Having spoken sweetly to everyone, Jagannath Misra then went back home. When he came home, he took Nimai on his lap and hugged Him, forgetting all about these external events.

Later, when Nimai again went to bath in the Ganges, Sachi Mata and Jagannath Misra spoke to each other, ‘This Vishvambhar is probably not an ordinary person! Seeing His pastimes, we feel as if Lord Krishna Himself has taken birth in our house!’

In this way, Nimai performed many pastimes together with His devotees. At this holy house here in Yogapith, He also performed the pastime of marriage – Sri Laksmipriya, and later Sri Visnupriya Devi, became His spouses. So many things happened here. In the end, when Nimai Vishvambhar was twenty-four years old, He decided to take sannyas. On His last night at this house, when all devotees had assembled here in the evening, He gave everyone His ultimate instruction:

“yadi ama’-prati sneha thake sabakara
tabe krsna-vyatirike na gaibe ara
ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane”

‘If you love Me, then do not speak about anything except Krishna. Whether you are sleeping, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouths.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.27–28)

So, when we come here, we must always remember,

“gorara ami, gorara ami” mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale
loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

‘Just saying, “I am Gora’s! I am Gora’s!” will not do. Only when you follow Gora’s practice and Gora’s conception will you get the proper result. You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!’

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

You wear the tilaks and neckbeads to show others that you practise Krishna consciousness, but secretly you engage in activities that are unfavourable to devotion. This is wrong. We must practise Krishna consciousness properly – we must follow all spiritual rules and regulations, we must always keep ourselves engaged in the service that was given to us by our gurudev.

We have not got any scripture from Mahaprabhu, but we can get the highest advice in our lives from the advice He spoke and from His Siksastaka:

trnad api sunichena taror iva sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

‘Those who are humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, who give honour to others without desiring honour for themselves are qualified to always chant the Holy Name.’

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la’be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

‘Do not listen to village talks, do not listen to village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Radha-Krishna in your mind.’

Do not cheat yourselves – do not put on a show. People sing (in a popular Bengali folk song), ‘Oh, if you give up Golden Gaura, you will never get Him back, but I have kept You in my heart and will never give You up!’ Saying this lip-deep will not do: you must love Gaura with your heart. Love comes from the heart. When you love somebody only to impress others, this is not love. Real love must come from the heart.

So, we pray to you all: whether you live in any house or in a jungle, please always remember Mahaprabhu’s birthplace, Mahaprabhu’s devotees, Mahaprabhu’s divine message and His miraculous pastimes.

Sri Nimai Vishvambhar ki jay.
Sri Jaganath Misradev, Sri Sachi Mata ki jay.
Sri Yogapith, Sri Mayapur Dham ki jay.
Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama ki jay.

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CONTENTS