PLEASE NOTE, *THIS DOCUMENT IS AT DRAFT (NOT PERFECT) STAGE. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO READ WITH GM’S VIDEO IN BACKGROUND. *
Mukham karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim
Yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam
Paramananda Madhavam Sri Caitanya Isvaram
So downstairs we observed the Adivas for Nrsimha Caturdasi. Tomorrow I am giving English Srimad Bhagavatam class from 7.30 to 8.30 am. His Holiness Gopal Krsna Goswami Maharaj is giving from 6.30 to 7.30. We are very grateful that he comes every year to observe the Nrsimha Caturdasi and he performs the abhishek and the Adivas. We also heard that today was the disappearance day of Jayananda Prabhu. I was very fortunate that in 1968, when I came to the temple for the first time, I was sent to help Jayananda build the first ratha cart. I had his association for a week or more, building the ratha cart. He was an engineer and he knew how to make a telescopic ratha. So the ratha would shrink in size when it had to go under the tram lines and would rise up again on the other side of the tram line. I was blessed that on the day of Ratha Yatra, he shaved me up. Then I went to see Srila Prabhupada in Montreal. At that time, Gopal Krsna Goswami was a grihastha, and we were in the temple together. Can say we were bhaktas together. He had an outside job, but he would come to the temple in the morning and chant his japa. He was always a very, very serious devotee, and even at that time he would chant his rounds before each picture in the temple and pay his obeisance. So I knew him since 1968 and he was very dear to Srila Prabhupada and I am sure he is very dear now. I ended opening up a temple in Toronto but Jagadish prabhu was made temple president and so (Is that me shaved up? San Francisco Ratha Yatra, with Jayananda prabhu, the white head, me shaved up – guru maharaj was shown a picture). So I was called to see Srila Prabhupada in 1970 or 69. At that time he was in Los Angeles. I went out with Jayananda prabhu to get some flowers for the deities and we would go to Beverley Hills, pick flowers, early in the morning, and some household fired a gun. So Srila Prabhupada heard that and he said better not to go for the flowers. Like that I had some association with Jayananda prabhu. He used to tell, oh let us go to the kitchen and do some nectar there and the nectar was cleaning the kitchen! Ha! He was a very sincere devotee and he got a lot of bliss doing service. But after the service he would feed all the devotees prasadam. He gave out some gulab jamuns. Gulab jamuns were known as ‘Iskcon bullets’ because like a bullet, they would satisfy the material situation of the devotees, and kill the influence of kali. So I just wanted to say a few words about Jayananda prabhu.
So today we are reading about Nityananda Prabhu’s plight upon seeing Lord Gauranga. Yesterday we read about Lord Nityananda and said how He was very attractive for the young girls. Not that He was attracted b the young girls. He was fully focused on service Gauranga in Krishna consciousness, but He was so handsome and nice looking, so graceful, and naturally the young girls were attracted to him This is just to show how attractive He was. He was in the mood of Balarama. He was asking where is Kanhai? Where is Gopal? Kanhaiya is the intimate name that the Brajwasis would call Krsna as. There is a song in Vrndavana, Krsna Kanhaiya Dauji ka bhaiya! Krsna Kanhaiya DAuji ka bhaiya, Krsn Kanhaiya Dauji ka bhaiya. Dauji means Balarama. And Krsna is known as Kanhaiya. So He is the brother of Balaram. So in Vrndavana we have the Krsna and Balarama deities. I said yesterday, Lord Nityananda He was so ecstatic that His body was trembling, His hairs were standing on end, tears were flowing from His eyes like rivers, and He was crying out where is Kanhai? Where is Gopal? But sometimes He walked so gracefully but then He would be so overwhelmed by the ecstasy that He would fall down and then He would pick himself up, then He would fall down. So someone thought that well, we should help Him to stay up! This was before He saw Lord Caitanya. Seeing Lord Caitanya, we will see what happens. People in this material world, they want to be intoxicate. I read that 60% of the people of West Bengal take alcohol and some huge percentage take tobacco. So there is a lot of addiction to different types of substances and people want this kind of intoxication, but actually this temporary, artificial intoxication due to alcohol or drugs, is not satisfying and there are many negative reactions. But people are addicted. But we see Lord Nityananda, His intoxication was out of this world! Shows how the people in the spiritual world are overwhelm with love of Krsna, and that their ecstasy in love of Krsna, is something beyond the scope of anyone to achieve in this world. But by Krsna consciousness, you can taste this transcendental bliss and ecstasy. Let us hear the next verses.
Caitanya Bhagavat:
So the Lord understood that Lord Nityananda had great pure dev service. Therefore, with all His devotees, Viswambhar offered Him obeisances.
So all the associates of Lord Caitanya were standing watching Him, bewildered and unable to say anything. So everyone just remained watching Him in awe and reverence, without speaking a word.
Viswambhar Mahaprabhu, He remained standing directly in front of Lord Nityananda who immediately understood that He was the Lord of His life!
Viswambhar’s form was as attractive as Cupid. He was decorated with transcendental sandalwood pulp, flower garlands and divine garments. So the Lord was more attractive than millions of Cupids! So the grave form of the Original Personality of Godhead, Gauranga Sri Mahaprabhu, was directly in front of Lord Nityananda, decorated as explained.
What is the billions of luster of shining gold, in the presence of Lord Caitanya? His complexion is incomparable. Even the moon desires to see His moonlike face. So the Lord’s dazzling effulgence diminishes the luster of gold. So Sri Gauranga, Gaurasundar was such a matchless, beautiful personality that even the moon, whose unparalleled, great beauty is described by great poets, was full of anxiety to see the face of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu!
The most attractive Sri Gauranga and Nityananda, accompanied by the devotees they wandered throughout Navadvip dham.
The value of pearls is minimized, on seeing His beautiful teeth; seeing His hair tied, one loses consciousness. Lord Caitanya had His hair tied on the top like many rishis and yogis. So whoever saw Lord Caitanya, with His hair tied on the top, it was so beautiful that people would lose consciousness!
So when one would see Lord Gauranga’s long, lotus eyes, he would wonder other lotuses exist? It means that in comparison to Lord Gaurasundar’s lotus eyes, the beauty of other lotuses becomes insignificant.
So His hands reached down to His knees, His chest was raised and adorned with a thin beautiful, brahmin thread – yagna suta. So Lord Caitanya’s raised chest was very prominent and in comparison, it seemed the yagna suta was thin in comparison.
So His forehead was decorated with marks of beautiful raised tilaka. And even without ornaments, His body was most enchanting.
In comparison to His nails, what is the beauty of millions of pearls and jewels? His toe nails are so beautiful! What is the use of nectar, when one can see the smile of Lord Gaurasundar?
Directly in front of Nityananda, stood Viswambhar. Nityananda recognized His worshipable Lord.
Lord Nityananda became stunned in ecstasy as He stared at the beautiful form of Lord Viswambhar.
It looked like Lord Nityananda was licking the beautiful form of Lord Caitanya with His tongue. And drinking the Lord with His eyes, embracing the Lord with His arms, and smelling the Lord’s form with His nose. In other words He was completely absorbed in Lord Caitanya’s beautiful form!
So in this way Nityananda Prabhu became stunned, He didn’t speak, nor did He do anything and everyone was astonished!
So Lord Gauranga, the life and soul of all living entitites, He devised a system of revealing the identity of Lord Nityananda. So Lord Caitanya told Srivas to recite a poem glorifying the beautiful form of Krsna. In this way, He could reveal His own form to Lord Nityananda! What is the next verse?
So the Lord Gauranga indicated to Srivas that He should recite a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam.
So Srivas Pandit understanding Lord Gauranga’s gesture, he recited verse that glorified the characteristics of Lord Krsna. So we will continue day after tomorrow. It was spoken from the Srimad Bhagavatam 10.21.5.
Is Prema Gaurasundar here? Is your niece here? (Yes). So anyone has any question?
Question: What is the best way to please Lord Nrsimhadev?
Guru maharaj: Having your full faith in Krsna, like Prahlad had his full faith in Krsna, He knew that Krsna would always protect Him, so therefore Nrsimhadeva came to fulfill the words of Prahlad. One of Nrsimhadeva’s names is Prahladananda. He comes to please His devotees. Actually the Lord, He shows His pastimes, particularly to give pleasure to His devotees. Like one of Krsna’s names is Gokulananda. He gives pleasure to the residents of Gokula. So Nrsimhadeva, one of His names is Prahladananda, He gave pleasure to His devotee, Prahlad. If you depend on Lord Krsna or Lord Nrsimhadeva, He will come to save you! Haribol! Any other question?
Question: Sujitendriya das: Hare Krsna Guru maharaj (Guru maharaj said Hare Krsna). We just heard the description of the beautiful smile of Lord Gauranga, and I was just thinking that we miss out on the beautiful smile of our gurudev nowadays, because of the physical situation. So therefore is there any particular prayer to the Lord or to any particular demigod like the Aswini Kumaras, so that we may have the facility to have the smile of our spiritual master again?
Guru maharaj: I don’t know! Ha! Ha! Whatever the Lord wants! Wi Nrsimha!
Question: Hare Krishna guru maharaj. (Guru maharaj said: Hare Krsna) PAMMRO. (Guru maharaj said: Please accept my blessings!) I heard at the beginning of the class, you were sent to build a ratha car by Jayananda prabhu. The year before last year I heard one class by Dinabandhu prabhu in Vrndavana, according to his class, Jayananda prabhu, he tricked you to hammering nails on the ratha cart. So can you elaborate on that pastime to us? Thank you.
Guru maharaj: He wanted to see if I knew how to hammer! So he asked me to hammer some nails, so I hammered them. Then he said, you know how to hold the nail? So the secret of holding the nail is that after it gets into the wood have to remover your hand, otherwise you will smash your hand! Ha! So I knew that trick, and I removed my hand after the nail was in the wood and he said, alright, you are qualified! Thus I was engaged in hammering the nails into the ratha cart. So if that is tricking, then I was tricked! Ha! But somehow I was engaged. Last question or two.
Question: We feel the need to have a comfortable place to sleep and good healthy food. Rupa Goswami would sleep under trees and Raghunath Goswami would eat out of the gutter. How did the goswamis enjoy what feels like suffering conditions? Misra Bhagavan das.
Guru maharaj: The six goswamis were in the transcendental situation. So their happiness was not in having a nice bed or luxurious prasadam. Their happiness was in serving Krsna. So they could sleep anywhere, eat very simple prasadam. That wasn’t their happiness. So they were experiencing the ecstasy of love of Krsna which is transcendental to all these things. So some people are in the nivritti marga and some in pravritti marga. So nivritti marga is renunciation. Pravrtti marga means having nice situation materially but using that in the service of Krsna. That is called yukta vairagya. So most devotees are advised to practice yukta vairagya. But some devotees, they can be happy even in renunciation. But the six goswamis are actually transcendental and so they were absorbed in serving Krsna and other things were not so important to them.
Q: Suvradev Babu. Hare Krsna Guru maharaj (Guru maharaj said: Hare Krsna). How can we be able to achieve the quality like steadiness in bhakti like Prahlad maharaj?
G: Bhakti yoga is a gradual process. And Prahlad maharaj is a great devotee. So we try to follow in his footsteps. We may not able to achieve the steadiness and bhakti like Prahlad maharaj, except in a long time or maybe never. But we try to follow his example and in this way we pray for his blessings and hopefully we will be able to practise bhakti yoga like he did.
(Narayani’s birthday). Happy birthday to you! Hare Krsna to you! How old are you now? Seven! Congratulations! Do we have some gift for her?
Group photo
Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
17 May 2019