Sri Nityananda-trayodasi

Giriraj Swami: So my dear devotees who are on Zoom as far as possible please put on your cameras so we can see your moon-like faces and it will be a more personal experience. So today we are discussing the all merciful Lord Nityananda on the auspicious occasion of Sri Nityananda Trayodaśī.

According to the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the absolute truth is realized in three features. Preliminary is brahman, the impersonal light that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord. Next is Paramātmā, the localized supersoul within the hearts of all living entities. And the last word in realization of the absolute is Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The jnanis who realize the impersonal brahman, experience only the sat, eternal aspect of the absolute truth. The yogis who realize the Paramātmā within the heart, experience the eternal, sat, and cognizant, chit, features of the absolute truth. But only the devotees who realize Krishna experience ānanda, bliss, which is the goal and ultimate nature of every living entity.

When an interviewer once asked Srila Prabhupada what is the goal of life, Srila Prabhupada replied the goal of life is to enjoy. Now, the effort to enjoy materially through the mind and senses, leads only to frustration and misery. But spiritually, one can enjoy in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that pleasure unlike the temporary so-called happiness of the material world, is eternal. And that eternal happiness can be realized through the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Nitya means eternal and ānanda means bliss. So if we come in touch with Lord Nityananda, we can realize that eternal bliss for which we are hankering.

How do we come eligible for Lord Nityananda’s mercy? That we can learn from the description of his qualities and past times in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the most authorized book biography about the teachings and activities of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, and their associates. There are a number of verses that summarize the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, but one is especially instructive, from Ādi-līlā Chapter Seventeen: “The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya in his Youth.” Text Seventeen.

[Prayer]

So again, Ādi-līlā Chapter Seventeen: “The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya in his Youth.”

TEXT 17

tabe śacī dekhila, rāma-kṛṣṇa — dui bhāi
tabe nistārila prabhu jagāi-mādhāi

TRANSLATION

Thereafter mother Śacīdevī saw the brothers Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Their manifestation of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda. Then the Lord delivered the two brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

One night Śacīdevī dreamt that the Deities in her house, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, had taken the forms of Caitanya and Nityānanda and were fighting one another, as children do, to eat the naivedya, or offering to the Deities. The next day, by the will of Lord Caitanya, Śacīdevī invited Nityānanda to take prasādam at her house. Thus Viśvambhara (Lord Caitanya) and Nityānanda were eating together, and Śacīdevī realized that They were none other than Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Seeing this, she fainted.

COMMENT

So the story is that Sacidevi had a dream and told her son Nimai, last night I had a wonderful dream and in this dream you and Nityananda went into my deity room, and you picked up the deity of Balarama and Nitai picked up the deity of Krishna, and the deities started to protest. “You can’t take Us from the altar, You can’t take Us out of the deity room.” And You and Nityananda replied, “Your days of stealing butter and playing pranks are over, now you are appearing as brahmans to chant the holy names.” Then They started to fight over mother Saci’s offerings and Krishna and Balarama said, “These are meant for Us, You can’t have them.” And Gaura-Nitai were saying, “But now You have appeared as Us, so We can take them.”

Mother Saci asked Lord Chaitanya, “What do you think of this dream?” And Lord Chaitanya said, “This is a very wonderful dream but don’t tell anyone about it.” Because He was concealing His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He didn’t want anyone to know that He was Krishna and Nityananda was Balarama. Then Lord Chaitanya said, “I would go into the deity room to have mahā-prasāda and see that half of it was gone.” His wife, Lord Chaitanya’s wife Vishnu Priya, was listening to this and He knew that she was listening, so He said, “When I would see that half of the offering was gone, I would suspect that it was Vishnu Priya who took the mahā-prasāda, but now I am seeing that these deities are very mystical and I am suspecting that they themselves might be eating half of the remnants meant for us.” He continued, “Anyway, I think tomorrow you should invite Nityananda for lunch.”

So she did, and as they were having lunch she saw them transform themselves into Krishna and Balarama and she fainted. Now back to Srila Prabhupada’s purport.

PURPORT (continued)

Jagāi and Mādhāi were two brothers born in Navadvīpa in a respectable brāhmaṇa family who later became addicted to all kinds of sinful activities. By the order of Lord Caitanya, both Nityānanda Prabhu and Haridāsa Ṭhākura used to preach the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness door to door. In the course of such preaching they found Jagāi and Mādhāi, two maddened drunken brothers, who, upon seeing them, began to chase them. On the next day, Mādhāi struck Nityānanda Prabhu on the head with a piece of earthen pot, thus drawing blood. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard of this, He immediately came to the spot, ready to punish both brothers, but when the all-merciful Lord Gaurāṅga saw Jagāi’s repentant behavior, He immediately embraced him. By seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and embracing Him, both the sinful brothers were at once cleansed. Thus they received initiation into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra from the Lord and were delivered.

COMMENT

So this is a very important pastime of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, and it is worth considering in detail because it will give us an insight into the actual mission of Gaura-Nitai, and through paramparā, disciplic succession, the mission of Srila Prabhupada and consequently the mission of his followers.

So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura to go into Navadvipa to approach whomever they met on the way, and to go door to door and approach people at home and request them to chant the name of Krishna, to worship Krishna, to accept Krishna as their life and soul and the treasure of their wealth. And not to distinguish between who was qualified and who was not. Many people in Navadvipa were pious and when Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura approached them, they accepted the request and they all developed pure love for Krishna.

One day, as Nityananda and Haridasa were making their way around Navadvipa, they saw a large crowd of people watching a spectacle from a distance. When they approached, they saw two drunken brothers Jagai and Madhai. The town’s people explained, “They were born in a respectable brahman family but in their youth they fell into bad association and have engaged in all sorts of sinful, horrible activities. They drink wine, they murder people, they burn down people’s houses, they loot and rob and plunder, they rape women, they eat cows flesh. There is not a sin they have not committed. They are extremely dangerous and the whole of Navadvipa lives in fear of them.”

Nityananda Prabhu thought, So far, we have been approaching pious folks and they have taken up the order of Mahaprabhu and become pure lovers of Krishna, but no one really knows the glories of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. If we can convert Jagai and Madhai, then everyone will know the magnitude of Mahaprabhu’s mercy. So Nityananda, accompanied by Haridasa, approached the drunken brothers and delivered the message; chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, and follow Krishna’s instructions. Glorify Krishna and give up your sinful activities.

The two brothers were physically powerful though; very powerful and very arrogant, and they became enraged. “Who are these people to tell us to worship Krishna and give up our activities?” They decided to kill Haridasa and Nityananda and started to pursue them shouting, “Kill them, kill them, kill them.” They were running after them and Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura were running for their lives.

While they were fleeing, Nityananda Prabhu said, “Haridasa I think this is the end of both of us, this is it.” And Haridasa replied, “I think you are right.” Then Nityananda said, “But you were caned in twenty-two marketplaces and Krishna saved you, so why don’t you pray to Krishna now to save us.” And Haridasa said, “Yes that is true, but at that time I wasn’t associating with a madman like you. You went up to the two biggest demons on the planet and told them to chant Hare Krishna and give up their sinful activities. All the town’s people told us ‘stay away from them they are dangerous’ but you didn’t listen.” Nityananda defended Himself, “You are blaming Me but actually I am not the one to blame. It is your master, Gauranga Mahaprabhu who is responsible. Never in the history of the world has a brahman acted like Him, like a king ordering people to go out in the town and approach people whether they are pious or sinful and ask them to chant Hare Krishna. I was just following His order, so don’t blame Me, blame Him.” And He added, “If we don’t obey His order, we are finished; and if we do obey His order, we are finished.”

Like that, they were joking and laughing as they were fleeing for their lives with Jagai and Madhai in hot pursuit. Eventually Jagai and Madhai, though strong and powerful and angry, couldn’t keep up. They were a little heavy and quite drunk, so eventually they fell behind and Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura ran to Mahaprabhu. The Lord had asked them to come report to Him every evening after their preaching, and they told Him what had happened. When he asked, “Who are these Jagai and Madhai?” Gangadas Pundit and Srila Thakura explained, “They are most sinful; the whole of Navadvipa lives in terror because of them. They kill people, they rape women, they burn down people’s houses, they plunder their riches, they drink strong liquor, and they eat cows flesh.” Mahaprabhu said, “I will kill them; I will cut them to pieces.” But Nityananda Prabhu, and this is His extreme mercy, He said, “No Lord, don’t do that; don’t harm them. In Kali-yuga our mission is not to kill the demons but to deliver them, and in Kali-yuga pretty much everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. So don’t kill them, you give them to Me. I will take charge of them.” Gauranga Mahaprabhu agreed. “All right, I put them in Your charge and because You want to give them mercy, I predict that very soon they will be delivered.”

While Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was speaking with Nityananda, Haridasa Thakura, who was sitting with Advaita Acharya said, “You don’t know how difficult it is to have a saṅkīrtana partner who is a madman. He is an avadhūta, He goes to people’s houses and steals their butter and yogurt. If the householder came out and pursued them, Nityananda Prabhu who was younger would be gone, and they would catch Haridasa.”

Sometimes Nityananda would write on people’s bowls and say, “I am Mahesh.” And sometimes He would milk the cows and drink all the milk. Sometimes He would approach small boys and say. “I am going to beat you,” and they would become frightened and run home to their parents. And their fathers would come out with sticks to protect their child; and Nityananda would escape but they would catch Haridasa. And he would fall at their feet and plead, “Please, please, it is not what you think.” And sometimes Nityananda would go up to innocent young girls and say, “I want to marry you.” 

“But,” Haridasa said, “the worst was today. Everyone told us to stay away from these drunken demons and He went right up to them and said, ‘give up your sinful activities, surrender to Krishna, and chant Krishna’s name.’ They almost killed us. We barely escaped with our lives.”

Advaita Acharya began to laugh in ecstasy, but with a little anger he said, “Why are you surprised? It is the nature for drunkards to associate with other drunkards. Nityananda Prabhu is always intoxicated with Krishna prema-rasa, so it is natural for Him to want to associate with other drunkards. But you are a naishtika brahmachari, sober and learned, so why are you associating with those three? You let them associate with each other. Why should you get involved with them?” Then he said, “I know the power of my Nityananda and you will see within one or two days, that these rogues will be chanting and dancing in kirtan with us.”

A day or two later as Nityananda Prabhu was wandering around Navadvipa in His playful mood, He again came upon the two drunk brothers and again He approached them and delivered the same message. And again Madhai was enraged, “Who is this person? We almost killed Him the other day and still He is coming back. Who does He think He is?” Then he asked, “Who are you; what is your name?” Nitai replied, “I am avadhut,” and that was it. Madhai picked up a clay pot, and with all his immense strength he smashed the head of Nityananda Prabhu and cut a big gash. Blood covered Nitai’s face and gradually his whole body. “I don’t mind that you struck Me,” He told Madhai. “But what really pains Me is how much you are suffering in ignorance. Please accept the mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu and you will be happy.”

That infuriated Madhai even more. So he picked up another pot wanting to kill Nitai. He was ready to smash Him but Jagai intervened and said, “Stop it! Can’t you see that this is a genuine saintly person? That he actually has love for you and feels compassion for you? He is trying to help you. What will you gain by killing such an innocent soul?”

Meanwhile the news of Madhai’s attack reached Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he rushed to the scene, as Prabhupada said, ‘angry as fire’ and immediately called for His Sudarsana chakra to kill them. The chakra came like the blazing sun but Nityananda Prabhu intervened, “Lord, don’t kill them,” He beseeched Mahaprabhu. “I am going to kill them,” Lord Chaitanya replied. “They have harmed My Nitai and I am going to kill them.” Still Nityananda said, “But Jagai saved Me, Madhai was wanting to kill Me but Jagai stopped him. He saved my life.” When Mahaprabhu heard that, His heart melted and the chakra immediately disappeared. He embraced Jagai and said, “You saved My Nitai, you have saved My Nitai, I forgive you for all you have done.” 

After embracing him, He manifested a four-armed form with the symbols of Vishnu; the club, disc, lotus, and conch. Placed His lotus foot on the heart of Jagai and filled Him with ecstatic love for Krishna, and Jagai was weeping in ecstasy. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu turned His attention back to Madhai. He was still angry and ready to kill him, but Madhai’s heart had also changed. The Chaitanya Bhagavat describes that the two of them, Jagai and Madhai, were so close that they were like one soul in two bodies. So by Jagai’s heart changing, Madhai’s heart also changed, and of course he didn’t want to be killed. He said, “You have given mercy to Jagai, but we are together; we have done everything together; whenever we plundered someone’s house, we did it together; whenever I burned down someone’s house, he was with me; whenever I drank liquor, he was with me; whenever I ate cow’s flesh, he was with me; we did everything together, so why are You giving him mercy and not me? You should give me mercy too.” 

Mahaprabhu replied, “No. I will not give you mercy because you have hurt My Nitai.” Madhai said, “We have read in scriptures that so many demons attacked You with weapons and You delivered them, so You should deliver me too.” And Mahaprabhu replied, “No, I will not deliver you, Nityananda’s body is more dear to Me than My own. Those demons attacked My body and I delivered them, but you attacked Nitai’s body which is more dear to Me. I will not forgive you.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was poised to kill Madhai, and Madhai pleaded for mercy. Then Mahaprabhu showed the way. “You beg for Nitai’s mercy; if He gives you mercy, then I will spare you.”

So Madhai prayed to Nityananda Prabhu and Mahaprabhu told Nitai, “If You actually forgive him, then You should embrace him.” And Nityananda, His whole body still covered with blood, picked up Madhai who had prostrated himself, and embraced him. That is how merciful He was. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “All right, I will spare you.” Nitai said, “Now I give him to You.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave Madhai prema-bhakti. This is inconceivable; He gave him something that Lord Brahma doesn’t have; He gave him something that great rishis and sages and devas are endeavoring to get; He gave it to Jagai and Madhai, but they were the most horrible sinful reprobates.

So all that Nitai wanted came true. Later, back at Mahaprabhu’s house, the devotees saying kirtan and Mahaprabhu said that all of Nitai’s desires would come true. Nitai was thinking, If these two demons, the worst on the planet, could receive Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy, then My traveling everywhere and preaching will be successful. He thought, If I can convert these two demons to accept the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then I can actually consider Myself a servant of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And if these two demons can chant and dance in ecstasy with the Vaishnavas, I can consider that My name, Nityananda, has value and is true.

There was a big festival of kirtan and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Don’t any of you think that Jagai and Madhai are sinful! I will accept their sinful reactions; just watch.” And as Gauranga, in His beautiful golden form began to accept their sinful reactions, His body turned black. “What do you see; what do I look like,” he asked Advaita Acharya. “I see Shyamasundara” Advaita replied. Gaurasundara has become Shyamasundara. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “How will I get free from these sinful reactions?” “It will be through hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. So if all of you do hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, I will be relieved of these sinful reactions.”

But then, where will the sinful reactions go? Into the hearts of those who blaspheme Vaishnavas, who criticize devotees. So they had ecstatic kirtan, and Mahaprabhu, with His black form, was dancing in ecstasy and gradually the black went away. His form became lighter and He resumed His original beautiful fair Gauranga golden hue. After this, the Vaishnavas accepted Jagai and Madhai, but especially Madhai felt guilty because he had tried to kill Nityananda Prabhu who was the cause of his deliverance. He was very sad.

Nityananda Prabhu could see this and inquired, “You have been liberated, you have been given prema-bhakti. Why are you so sad? Don’t be sad.” Madhai replied, “When I think that I tried to kill you, I feel terrible. I just cannot forgive myself.” Nityananda told him, “I accept you as My son. Sometimes the child will hit the parent, but the parent doesn’t take it seriously. I forgive you.”

Madhai said, “But what about all the other people I wronged and caused pain to? I was so intoxicated I don’t even know who they are. I don’t even know how to ask them to forgive me. I have hurt so many.” Nityananda Prabhu said, “You should make a ghat a very beautiful bathing ghat with your own hand and when people come to take bath you prostrate yourself before them and ask them to forgive you, and serve whoever comes, in a menial way. Being close to the Ganges, you will be purified.”

So Madhai did that, and when people saw how humble he and his brother had become, their hearts melted and they gave them all affection and respect. But there were some people who were still angry; who had been so hurt by the brothers, by Madhai in particular, and seeing him in that humble position they would take up a stone and throw it at his head. Madhai now was so meek, however, that he would pick up the stone and return it to them saying, “I am so sinful; I have caused so much pain to others; once is not enough, you should hit me again.” And then, even the people who were most upset and angry, had to forgive him and embrace him. That is the mercy of Gaura-Nitai and that was what Nityananda Prabhu wanted. That people should understand the glory of Mahaprabhu’s mercy.

Srila Prabhupada took up the same mood of approaching anyone and everyone, pious or sinful, qualified or unqualified, without discrimination. As Nityananda Prabhu said, in Kali-yuga practically everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. That may be more apparent in America and Europe than in India, although I did hear a talk in which Srila Prabhupada was discussing how demonic western civilization is, and how the leaders and pretty much everyone are demons. But then he added, “Actually, in my country also, 80 percent are demons.” But still, what Prabhupada encountered in 1965 when he came into America, was something that people now, especially in India, can’t even imagine.

Krishna Chandra Prabhu, Rishikesh Mafatlal from Mumbai, used to say that people cannot imagine who Srila Prabhupada approached when he went to America. He recommended that everyone see the DVDs of Srila Prabhupada when he came to America, first at 26 7th Avenue in New York, and then at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. You just can’t believe, you can’t imagine the type of people he was approaching, and they didn’t always receive him well.

There was one incident when Srila Prabhupada was in New York. I hope you have read Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta. Everyone should read the Līlāmṛta as well as see the DVD series following Srila Prabhupada. So when Srila Prabhupada was in New York, living in a loft in the Bowery, which was the most degraded part of the city. Its Skid Row, inhabited mostly by drunks but even they had a little respect. They would be sprawled out on the sidewalk and on the stairs leading up to Prabhupada’s apartment, but somehow they sensed that Prabhupada was a saintly person and they would try to move over and make room for him to pass.

Prabhupada was staying with a young man who seemed interested in Krishna consciousness. In fact, Prabhupada thought, I will train him as a Vaishnava. But one day the young man went crazy, probably from taking LSD or something, the 1960s equivalent of the strong wine the Jagai and Madhai were taking five hundred years ago. He went crazy and wanted to attack Srila Prabhupada, and he was ready to kill him like Madhai was ready to kill Nityananda Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada bolted out of the room and ran down the stairs with this young man in pursuit; very similar.

It is quite a history how Srila Prabhupada had stayed in different people’s places and what he endured for the sake of delivering the mercy of Gaura-Nitai, is inconceivable. What Nityananda Prabhu wanted fulfilled in Bengal, through Srila Prabhupada, has been fulfilled throughout the world. So Srila Prabhupada really is the embodiment of that mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. There is no one in the history of our sampradāya, no one after Nityananda Prabhu, who has taken up that mood of approaching anyone and everyone without discrimination; without considering who is qualified and who is not.

And it is the same message; chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, accept Krishna as your life and soul. But not in so many words, because the people that Srila Prabhupada was approaching didn’t even know who Krishna was. When Nityananda Prabhu approached people in Navadvipa, chant Krishna’s name, worshiped Krishna, except Krishna as your life and soul, they knew who Krishna was; they knew what Nityananda was saying. But in America and in Europe, nobody knew who Krishna was. So Srila Prabhupada had to explain everything in his books. Who is Krishna; what is Krishna’s name; how to chant Krishna’s name; how to worship Krishna; why we should accept Krishna as our life and soul; why we should surrender to Krishna. The same message that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to deliver, but in an expanded form, because the people Prabhupada was approaching had no idea of Krishna’s identity or instructions.

When we go out with Srila Prabhupada’s books, it is like when Mahaprabhu sent Nityananda and Haridasa to approach people with that message. Sometimes devotees are not well received, but even Nityananda and Haridasa were not always well received.

So this is the continuation of Nityananda Prabhu’s mission, and Srila Prabhupada really has that same mood. When one of his early disciples came to India and the Calcutta temple president phoned Prabhupada in Bombay, to tell him that the devotee was smoking ganja, marijuana, and asked what to do, Prabhupada told his secretary to relay his response. “Tell him that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja, I will reject him.”

Afterwards, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked Prabhupada, “Is it true that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja you will reject him?” And Prabhupada said, “No, I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “But don’t you have to draw the line somewhere?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda is unlimited.” So that was Srila Prabhupada’s mood; he was in the mood of Nityananda Prabhu. So on this most sacred and blessed occasion we can pray to Nityananda Prabhu to inspire and empower us with His mood of humble persuasion.

I will conclude with one of my favorite statements of Srila Prabhupada’s. He said, “To approach Radha and Krishna, you need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya. And to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, you need the mercy of Lord Nityananda. And to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, you have to approach people like Jagai and Madhai.”

So if we ever feel, “Oh I am too high, I am too holy, I cannot approach these people, we should think of that instruction and Srila Prabhupada’s own example and Nityananda Prabhu’s example, and really pray; beg to be humble instruments of Their love and mercy and compassion.

As Srila Prabhupada’s guru Maharaja told him, “That will be good for you and good for the people who hear you.” And we should loudly chant the holy names. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare Hare.

So thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada, Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Thank you for the very enlightening discourse. As scheduled Maharaja, for five minutes, Lalita Mataji would like to speak about your books. So if you can give us five minutes, then after that we will take couple of questions based on your availability Maharaja. Thank you.

Devotee: Thank you guru Maharaja for your wonderful class. Thank you so much for allowing us to serve you as the representative of Lord Nityananda. This is particularly for devotees in the Columbus area, as well as the audience in the U.S. and not outside. The books, everybody who knows Maharaja [Unintelligible 01:00:39] all of them have been written under personal instruction from Srila Prabhupada to Maharaja more than a few times that book distribution is our family [Unintelligible 01:00:50] business. So when his health didn’t for his extensive worldwide services, Maharaja has stayed and given us his most wonderful realizations in the books. The first book being – Watering the Seed. It is full of personal instructions Maharaja received from Srila Prabhupada and addresses so many things that bothers us, or is a question for us in our daily lives; simplest but deepest instructions on how should we understand and apply impersonalism in our preaching. What does purpose equal vision really means? My favorite chapter, The Glorious Test and personal instructions understood and assimilated by Srila Prabhupada. The free version is also available. Devotees more comfortable in Hindi or for our seniors in the family.

The second book – Many Moons—even beginners who are connected with this movement are aware that human life ought to be the animal life. And this movement, as Maharaja said in his class, was given to us by Lord Chaitanya, but basically by Srila Prabhupada. And if I can save mostly by his servants, some of whom are wonderfully glorified in this book, and some of whom we may not get to ever meet in our realm except through this book. So please avail yourself to this book, Many Moons.

Life’s Final Exam—applies to one and all. It has articles and submissions from a lot of persons attached to the field of hospice and palliative medicine. At the same time, it is written for everyone with universal application. Yesterday, VMT Bone Marrow Transplant Director at Local James Hospital, which is America’s top ten cancer hospitals, took some copies for the Chaplaincy Department for her hospital, to be read and studied by them. Because we don’t have many resources on the Vedic understanding of death and dying.

Very recently, this book, Spiritual Answers in Troubled Times, this is question and answer format from all the Zoom classes that were conducted especially during Covid season. I still have less than ten copies left. If anybody is interested, please let me know. And last but not the least, the book Maharaja has written and personally served in Juhu for thirty years, overseeing every aspect of Prabhupada’s most worshipable deities Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari, and most favorite project, The Juhu Project. Prabhupada personally oversaw the project; guided Maharaja every step of the way until its completion. 

Maharaja served there for thirty years and then last twenty years were spent in researching, praying, and producing this book that is available to us as a piece of ISKCON’s history as it unfolded in Juhu. Anybody on the U.S. continent can write to me at the email address, or phone number, and I will see to it that you receive the books.

Thank you very much.

Devotee: Thank you Mataji. Thank you for kindly telling us about Maharaja’s books. I see couple of hands raised, so we will first go to Ayushinanda, you can unmute yourself and ask the question.

Giriraj Swami: But again, I request the participants on Zoom, as far as possible, please put on cameras.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Guru Maharaja, my question is that in today’s lecture you told that in order to get Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy we have to preach to people like Jagai and Madhai. So in the ten offenses that we read, it is said that we must not preach, we must not tell the glories of holy name to the faithless people. So from that I perceived that we should not actually force the chanting of Hare Krishna maha-mantra to people who don’t have any faith in the holy names, so how should I understand that guru Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name to the faithless, but it is not an offense to ask them to chant. In the case of Nityananda Prabhu, he was asking people to chant the holy name of Krishna, including Jagai and Madhai, but he wasn’t speaking about the glories of the holy name, he was just asking them to chant and we can always do that. It is not an offense to ask someone to chant. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja for that wonderful class. So my question is about the point when Mahaprabhu was taking on the sins of Jagai and Madhai, and I was wondering whether Sri Mahaprabhu had this golden complexion because Krishna had taken on the heart and the luster of Srimati Radharani, and he was in the mood of a devotee. So I was wondering whether this annihilation of sin is a function of Krishna rather than a devotee. So is that why he again appeared as Shyamasundara Krishna, that Srimati Radharani was not taking on that function, or is there any way of relating these two considerations?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, as you said, Lord Chaitanya was Krishna in the mood of Radharani, with the complexion of Radharani, and so he was Gaurasundara. But by accepting the sinful reactions of Jagai and Madhai, his Gaurasundara form became like Shyamasundara, blackish, and he said that he can be relieved of those sinful reactions by hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. But then he raised the question, where will the sinful reactions go? And he said it will go to those who blaspheme Vaishnavas, which is a very stern warning for us not to criticize devotees, blaspheme Vaishnavas. I don’t think that at that stage, Srimati Radharani’s complexion… it was a different situation. He had her complexion, but because of accepting those sinful reactions and he wanted to show the devotees, he wanted to convince the devotees that Jagai and Madhai were no longer sinful, so he accepted them and his body turned blackish. From Gaurasundara, he became Shyamasundara and then he went back to being Gaurasundara.

Devotee: I see. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. I have one comment and one question. I just heard Lolita devi speak of one passage from “Watering the Seed—Equal Vision.” This is a passage that was very useful for me when I was teaching Bhakti-sastri because we speak about sama-darśinaḥ, and at least in three books this topic comes up about vision. And this particular passage I use it to teach my students. I actually gave them an exam paper and so this is how I appreciate the value of your book, because it is a lot of theory just reading the passages from Bhagavad-gītā. But when you give that particular passage, it was very difficult to actually understand who is a devotee, what is a devotee; but very much this Equal Vision passage illustrated the very depth of what is equal vision and Prabhupada was sitting there with… (Unintelligible 01:13:06). They were not just ordinary people, they were learned people, big people in society and they couldn’t figure out what is Prabhupada, what is his equal vision. So for me, the books that you have given us is most precious and valuable to all students. This is my comment.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that Siddhi Lalsa Dasi is referring to an item in Watering the Seed called Srila Prabhupada’s Equal Vision. And it is a very interesting discussion that Srila Prabhupada had with these learned gentlemen who came to him. And they were basically telling Srila Prabhupada that he shouldn’t criticize so much, but he should be sama-darśinaḥ, he should see everyone with equal vision. And Srila Prabhupada quoted that verse from the Bhagavad-gītā which, coincidentally, was the first verse from the Bhagavad-gītā that I ever spoke on in the Boston temple. So,

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

The humble sage sees with equal vision a gentle and learned brahman, an elephant, a cow, a dog, and a dog eater. So Srila Prabhupada said that one takes birth as a brahman, or as an elephant, or a cow, or a dog, or a dog eater, according to his pious and sinful activities. And to see them all equally, means that one is not distinguishing between pious and sinful activities. “But I am not on that level, I see that you are engaging in sinful activities and I tell you that you should stop.”

So it was a very interesting discussion and they said, “Well, now what?” Because Prabhupada was saying, “I am just repeating what my predecessors have said.” And they were asking Srila Prabhupada, every acharya has to make some contribution beyond the previous acharyas and Prabhupada said, “No, I have made no contribution beyond the previous acharyas, I am just repeating what they have said.”

Then after some time, one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples described to these men, how Srila Prabhupada had spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, and how people of all different backgrounds had become devotees of Krishna. And then the men became very impressed and Srila Prabhupada said, “That is my sama-darśinaḥ, that I saw that everyone is fit to receive Krishna consciousness. That is my sama-darśinaḥ and that is my contribution beyond what the previous acharyas have done. I am the only one who has spread krishna-bhakti all over the world.”

So that is a brief summary of that item in Watering the Seed called Srila Prabhupada’s Equal Vision.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, may I ask my question?

Devotee: Maharaja, we have four more devotees; hope we have time. Maharaja, can we go ahead?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I thought Siddhi Lalsa was just making a comment but now it seems like she has a question. So I think we should let her ask her question, then we can go to the other four.

Devotee: It is about worship of Gaura-Nitai I read in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā about Chapter Four. It is about appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Devotee: Maharaja, we have four more devotees; they want ask question. can we go ahead? You have time.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. I have time but I am saying Siddhi Lalsa, she still has her question and then we will take the other four.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Is that like Dasanudasa Prabhu, you want to go ahead with question.

Devotee: Prabhu, you are interrupted Siddhi Lalsa. She was asking…

Devotee: Oh sorry sorry. We are having some internet connection yet. Mata, please complete your question first.

Siddhi Lalsa Mataji: So I am asking about the worship of Gaura-Nitai and I am reading Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā Chapter Four—The Internal Reason for Sri Mahaprabhu’s appearance. So in one passage Prabhupada explained that Sri Chaitanya is Krishna with the attitude of Srimati Radharani, and then he discusses about the Gaura-Nagara who take the position, who pretend to be gopīs and they see Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the enjoyer. So Prabhupada said we should be very careful and follow the acharyas and not make up our own understanding of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, actually not disturb the mood of Sri Chaitanya.

So the question is about Gaura-Nitai. So when we are worshipping Gaura-Nitai, Chaitanya, is he Krishna? Who is he when we are worshipping Gaura-Nitai; Krishna, Balarama? We are offering tulasi to Gaura-Nitai, meaning this is like the purusha and then Prabhupada is speaking about we shouldn’t disturb the mood of Sri Chaitanya because he is Krishna in the mood, attitude (Unintelligible 01:21:00) of Radharani.

Giriraj Swami: So what is the question exactly?

Devotee: So when we are worshiping Gaura-Nitai, what is our mood? Is it the mood of Krishna or Balarama? Because in that purport, Prabhupada is saying that Sri Chaitanya is Krishna in the attitude of Srimati Radharani, he is not in the mood of the enjoyer, meaning male.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is true.

Devotee: So when we are worshiping Gaura-Nitai, how are we seeing Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Because we are offering the pickup feather with the tulasi, so I am a little confused about this.

Giriraj Swami: Well there are two considerations; rasa and tattva. And Srila Prabhupada had us worship Gaura-Nitai in ways that may not have been in keeping with their mood, but he really wanted us to understand the tattva that Gaura-Nitai are actually Krishna and Balarama. And so, in certain cases such as what you are saying about offering, we offer them things that we would not offer Gaura-Nitai as devotees. But we do offer them because Srila Prabhupada wanted us to understand that the tattva, that they are Krishna and Balarama. They are viṣṇu-tattva. So yes, we do those things.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you so much for your inspiring and informative lecture. And in connection to that, I would like to ask you for any instance of Srila Prabhupada banning or forbidding some of his disciples under certain circumstances to preach. Because Lord Chaitanya asked Haridasa Thakura and Lord Nityananda to go from door to door and preach the glorious of the holy name, by asking people to chant Hare Krishna. Was there any historical event under any circumstances, Srila Prabhupada forbade or banned some of his disciples, any disciple to preach?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada wanted the preachers to be knowledgeable in the philosophy. Someone who is very new who might not really understand the philosophy well, and if they try to preach, their preaching may not have a good effect. So he did want the preachers to be knowledgeable before they began preaching. But he also said that preaching is effective when the preacher speaks according to his or her realization, and if your realization is that by chanting Hare Krishna, you feel good, then you can say that much. By taking Krishna prasāda you feel happy, you can say that much according to your realization.

Devotee: Thank you.

Devotee: Thank you. Next is Krishangi Mataji.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for the beautiful reading. No matter how many times we hear the reading from you, it seems ever fresh and it seems like we can see the pastimes when we hear it from you. My question is, I heard that Jagai and Madhai were Jaya and Vijaya, who took an extra incarnation as Jagai in Madhai but I am not sure if it is true. Can you please clarify this point and tell us if it is true, how it happened?

Giriraj Swami: I heard that also. I don’t know what you mean by how it happened, but yes, I also heard that.

Devotee: How did they decide to come back when they already did their three times they came and it was an extra descent.

Giriraj Swami: This is explained in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā Chapter Ten: “The Trunk Branches and Sub-branches of the Chaitanya Tree,” and Text one hundred and twenty says,

TEXT 120

mahā-kṛpā-pātra prabhura jagāi, mādhāi
‘patita-pāvana’ nāmera sākṣī dui bhāi

TRANSLATION

Jagāi and Mādhāi, the eighty-ninth and ninetieth branches of the tree, were the greatest recipients of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. These two brothers were the witnesses who proved that Lord Caitanya was rightly named Patita-pāvana, “the deliverer of the fallen souls.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā

COMMENT

So I hope you are familiar with the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, which was compiled by Kavi Karnapur, an associate of Lord Chaitanya and it explains who in gaura-līlā was what in kṛṣṇa-līlā. So,

PURPORT (continued)

In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (115) it is said that the two brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi were formerly the doorkeepers named Jaya and Vijaya, who later became Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Jagāi and Mādhāi were born in respectable brāhmaṇa families, but they adopted the professions of thieves and rogues and thus became implicated in all kinds of undesirable activities, especially woman-hunting, intoxication and gambling. Later, by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, they were initiated, and they got the chance to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. As a result of chanting, both brothers became exalted devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The descendants of Mādhāi still exist, and they are respectable brāhmaṇas. The tombs of these two brothers, Jagāi and Mādhāi, are in a place known as Ghoṣahāṭa, or Mādhāitalā-grāma, which is situated about one mile south of Katwa. It is said that Śrī Gopīcaraṇa dāsa Bābājī established a temple of Nitāi-Gaura at this place about two hundred fifty years ago.

COMMENT

So I am just confirming the verdict of Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā that Jaya and Vijaya became Jagai and Madhai. They got the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, which Jaya and Vijaya did not get in their previous births.

Devotee: So after getting the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, did they go back as Jaya and Vijaya or did they get elevated to higher realms?

Giriraj Swami: These liberated souls can be in more than one līlā, and so I would like to think that in one of their forms they became devotees of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda. So many of these personalities who appeared in gaura-līlā, were also present in kṛṣṇa-līlā. They could be simultaneously present in both, and even we, when we are perfected, if we have attachment both for Krishna and Lord Chaitanya, we can enter into both gaura-līlā and kṛṣṇa-līlā.

Devotee: Thank you guru Maharaja.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Next is Sumitra Mataji.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to you and Srila Prabhupada. Thank you Maharaja this was wonderful to listen from you today. I was particularly struck by the comment you made about Nityananda saying, “I do not discriminate between who is qualified and who is not qualified.” And I remembered in one of your books you had described when Srila Prabhupada was speaking to the police commissioner in Chicago and hearing about the crime rate. He said, “Put us in charge and we will take care of it.” Meaning that there were no strata of society that he felt was closed to the power of the holy name, and I feel very proud, when I read from ISKCON prison ministry, we have so many examples in our movement where inmates have been transformed by Srila Prabhupada’s books, and then went on to establish their own preaching. So I just remembered that when you said Nityananda Prabhu does not discriminate between who is qualified and who is not. That was just a reflection, Maharaja. There is no question.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, beautiful, wonderful. Very appropriate.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Next to come, Sundari Mataji.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja I have a question as you told to get Nityananda mercy, approach other people like Jagai and Madhai. So how much risks should we take, Maharaja, because I am going with my kids for preaching out and even before they come one time I am preaching, one drugs person is just screaming. I just went from there; I don’t know what to do. So how much risk should we take?

Giriraj Swami: You approached someone who started to scream at you?

Devotee: Yes, one time. My husband was also not there. I am holding the bag books, I just went from there but now though I have kids, so before I go anywhere… even distributing prasāda also; if I go to shelter house some devotee told you, you have to be careful because you have kids with you. Sometimes people are also little bit loose, so how much risk should I take Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: You mean when you go out with your children?

Devotee: Yes, for distribution when I go with my kids, how much risk should I take?

Giriraj Swami: How can you know how someone is going to respond?

Devotee: We go door to door and neighbors, and we go to store sometimes, so I have to be careful with my kids. If I go to the high street we approach anybody, so with kids is it okay Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: What is the significance of High Street?

Devotee: There is Ohio State University; lots of students are there and also some other people; all kinds of people live there.

Giriraj Swami: Rukmini has put a comment in the chat that there are many bars there. It is a difficult question because Nityananda’s mood was definitely to approach anyone and everyone regardless, but still I think, given a choice, you could…Now Hari Ramesh says that high street is a very good place for hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. So maybe go there on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and go somewhere else for book distribution.

Devotee: And it is good to take risks Maharaja. Sometimes it is good to take risks, because to get Nityananda’s mercy, one side is good. I understand it is okay to take risks, but how much?

Giriraj Swami: What is the risk?

Devotee: If they are intoxicated or not.

Giriraj Swami: Then what?

Devotee: Then it is scary; then run from that place.

Giriraj Swami: But they are not going to beat you or anything.

Devotee: No Maharaja, they are not going to beat me, but who knows what they will do? I have no idea what they will do. I have not much experience with western country.

Giriraj Swami: I think if someone is intoxicated, it is probably better not to approach them; or if you approach them and then you find out they are intoxicated, it depends, you can try to give them a book. But if it looks like they are not going to be very receptive then, move on to someone who might be more favorable, might be a better prospect.

Devotee: Okay, and Maharaja, I have a request. Today is Nityananda’s transmission, very special, the most merciful day. Maharaja, could you bless me or could you pray that my mind become devotee. Everything is going on, just my mind became devotee with my whole family Maharaja, that I can think of Krishna. That is most important.

Giriraj Swami: I will pray for you. As the Bhagavad-gītā says, the mind can be the best friend or the worst enemy. I will pray for you that your mind cooperates to think about Krishna and service to Krishna. That was a nice request.

Devotee: And also for my kids; please pray for them that they also become a nice devotee Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: I will. They look like nice devotees.

Devotee: Servants of the Lord.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. I will pray for them too.

Devotee: Thank you so much.

Devotee: Maharaja, please don’t forget us also in ISKCON, Columbus. Please pray for us also, everybody in the temple. And we also pray at the feet of Kalidhi Mataji to give her some mercy.

Thank you so much Maharaja, it is really pastime and really your mercy is overflowing today, and we are so happy that you are able to take all the questions of all the devotees. We hope to see you soon and give us a new festival. Thank you so much, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: If we are ending, I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord, who are just like desired trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone and are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.