Glories of Lord Nityananda (Prabhupadavani)

[PADA: Thanks JD. Yes, Lord Nityananda is the original spiritual master. To say the fallen, the deviants and even the predators are participants and "links" in His chain of successors is an insult to Him personally. Agreed. ys pd]

https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/770202nabhu/?

JAI NITAI!

1. If you worship Nityānanda Prabhu, it is as good as to worship Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (Srila Prabhupada, 7 March 1975, Mayapur)

2. One who has become the dog of Nityānanda Prabhu, he gets his eternal life… So better to become a dog of Nityānanda Prabhu. Then we shall be happy. (Srila Prabhupada, Bhubaneswar, February 02, 1977)

3. Individual souls are under the direction of Śrī Nityānanda. They receive their appointment of service to Śrī Gaurasundara, who is none other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from Śrī Nityānanda’s hands. (Srila Prabhupada, 1969 Los Angeles)

nitai and gaura no difference

4. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu. Balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma. That is… (Srila Prabhupada 1969 Los Angeles)

5. If you are actually serious about going back to home, back to Godhead, then please seek after the mercy of Nityānanda. (Srila Prabhupada, 31 January 1969, Los Angeles)

6. He says that “If you are anxious to go back to home, back to Godhead, and become associate with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, then the best policy is to take shelter of Nityānanda.” Then he says, se sambandha nāhi jā’r, bṛthā janma gelo tā’r: “One who has not been able to contact Nityānanda, then one should think of himself that he has simply spoiled his valuable life.” Bṛthā janma gelo, bṛthā means for nothing, and janma means life. Gelo tā’r, spoiled. Because he has not made connection with Nityānanda.

The Nityānanda, very name, suggests… Nitya means eternal. Ānanda means pleasure. Material pleasure is not eternal. That is the distinction. Therefore those who are intelligent, they are not interested with this flickering pleasure of material world. Every one of us, as living entity, we are searching after pleasure. But the pleasure which we are seeking, that is flickering, temporary. That is not pleasure. Real pleasure is nityānanda, eternal pleasure. So anyone who has no contact with Nityānanda, it is to be understood that his life is spoiled. (Srila Prabhupada, Jan 31, 1969,Los Angeles)

7. So here Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is singing that “The whole world is suffering under the blazing fire of material existence. Therefore, if one takes the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda…,” whose birthday is today, 31st, January, 1969. So we should relish this instruction of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura that in order to get relief from the pangs of blazing fire of this material existence, one should take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda because it is as cooling as the moon rays combined together of millions of moons.

That means one will immediately find peaceful atmosphere. Just like a man works whole day and if he comes under the moonshine he feels relief. Similarly, any materialistic man who comes under the shelter of Lord Nityānanda will immediately feel that relief. (Srila Prabhupada, 31 Jan 1969)

narottam and nitai

8. Now, all these different incarnation of Viṣṇu is summarized here by Kavirāja Gosvāmī that “All of them are partial expansion of Nityānanda,” to understand what is Nityānanda Prabhu. (Srila Prabhupada, 31 March 1975-Mayapur)
9. So Nityānanda Rāma… So yasyāṁśa sa nityānanda-rāmaḥ. Nityānanda is Balarāma. Therefore He is said, nityānandākhya-rāmaḥ. Just like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu… Kṛṣṇāya-kṛṣṇa-caitanya nāmne: “I offer my respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa now appeared as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.” 

He’s Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, Nityānanda is Balarāma. So balarāma hoilo nitāi. Therefore it is said here, nityānandākhya-rāmaḥ: “He’s Rāma, Balarāma, but at the present moment He has appeared by the name Nityānanda.” (Srila Prabhupada, 31 March 1975 Mayapur)

nitai is balaram

10. Now, what is the identification of Nityānandākhya-Rāma? Rāma, Balarāma, and Baladeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa—there are so many names of Śrī Baladeva. In the Upaniṣad it is said, nāyam ātmā bala-hīnena labhyo: “Self-realization is not possible without being strengthened by the mercy of Balarāma.” Sometimes they take it foolishly, that “Without being very strong bodily, nobody can realize self.” But that is not the fact. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena. This is the Vedic injunction. That bala-hīnena means without being favored by Nityānanda Prabhu, Balarāma. (Srila Prabhupada, 31 March 1975- Mayapur)

nitai is baldeva

11. Pāpī tāpī yata chilo, harināme uddhārilo. And evidence? Tāra sākṣī jagāi and mādhāi. You see Jagāi-Mādhāi. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited one example, to deliver Jagāi-Mādhāi. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu, through the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, delivered them. (Srila Prabhupada, Vrindavan April 4 1976)
12. That is described by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, mahājana, pāpī tāpī yata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo, ta’ra sākṣī jagāi-mādhāi. This is the business of Nityānanda Prabhu. (Srila Prabhupada, 26 March 1975 Mayapur)

13. As Lord Nityananda is eternal, hence His lotus feet are also eternal and anyone who takes to the service of Lord Nityananda, he also becomes eternal. (January 31, 1969, Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada)

lotus feet of Nitai

14. Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification.” So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu: balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma. 

That is… This song has been sung by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. Nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala. If we take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, then we get peace. Koṭi-candra-suśītala. Just like in daytime, especially in the summer season, we become very much exasperated. But at night, in the evening, as soon as there is moonshine, we become very much satisfied. All day’s labor and fatigue is immediately moved.

So nitāi-pada-kamala, the shade of Nityānanda Prabhu’s lotus feet, is koṭi-candra-suśītala: as pleasing as one crore of moonshine. One moonshine gives us so much pleasure. So if we want actually peace of mind, if we actually want to be free from this material fatiguement, then we must take the shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu is the strength, spiritual strength. And without spiritual strength you cannot approach Kṛṣṇa. Nāyam ātmā pravaca… 

Simply by talking nonsense… Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ. If you are a good speaker, that does not mean you’ll understand, yourself. Na medhayā: “Neither by good brain.” Because you have got very good brain you’ll understand Kṛṣṇa—no. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena. If you think that you are a very good scholar, university degree-holder, then you’ll understand—no. This is not possible.

So we must have spiritual strength. That source of spiritual strength is Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa’s next manifestation, prakāśa-vigraha. Kṛṣṇa is manifesting Himself through Balarāma. So we have to take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu. nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala, je chāyāy jagata jurāy (Srila Prabhupada, Bhubaneswar, 

February 02, 1977)

15. Sambandha nāhi jār, bṛthā janma gelo tār. So if you have no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu… Nityānanda means “always.” Nitya means “always”; ānanda means “pleasure.” This is another meaning you can draw. So therefore, if you have no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu… Se sambandha nāhi jār bṛthā janma gelo tār: “He’s simply wasting time.” Bṛthā means “useless.” Uselessly, he’s wasting time. Se paśu boro durācār. And Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has used very strong word. “Anyone who has no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu, he’s a paśu.” Sei paśu. He’s a paśu, means animal. So animal, how one animal can get happiness? That is not possible.

The dog, from the childhood he’s searching after food, searching after food, and cannot get food. Unless a dog has got a master, he’s street dog and he’s always unhappy. So better to become a dog of Nityānanda Prabhu. Then we shall be happy. Instead of becoming dog of so many other people… 

Everyone is dog. Everyone is searching after to serve a master. But none of them are satisfied because that is false master. You take real master—Nityānanda Prabhu—you’ll be happy. (Srila Prabhupada, Bhubaneswar – February 02, 1977)

16. Ahankare matta hoiya, nitāi pada pasariya. But if we take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, then you get the enlightenment. Asatyere satya kori māni. Nitāiyer koruṇā habe, braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pabe, dharo nitāi-caraṇa du’khāni.
Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura advises that… Today is Nityānanda Prabhu’s āvirbhāva, appearance day. Let us at least remember today nitāi-pada-kamala. That is wanted. 

Nitāi caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka nitya. The reality is nitāi-caraṇa, and anyone who is servant of Nitāi… So nitāiyer caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka nitya. One who has become the dog of Nityānanda Prabhu, he gets his eternal life.
We are eternal, but under misconception of material identification, we are under the subjugation of māyā. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). 

Tathā dehāntara… (BG 2.13). It is very botheration, but they do not know. I am going from one body to another, transmigration. And that is not guaranteed, what kind of body. They have no science, no knowledge about understanding tathā dehāntara, the very first instruction of Bhagavad-gītā.

Nitāi caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka…, nitāi-pada sadā koro āśā. Therefore we should always expect to be under the shelter of nitāi-pada-kamala. Narottama boro duḥkhī. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he’s ācārya. He is presenting himself… That is ācārya. Means he is not duḥkhī, but he’s presenting himself as duḥkhī. That is ācārya. Ācāryas, they are never duḥkhī. But taking the common man’s position, he says, narottama boro duḥkhī.

Or, in other words, Narottama… Narottama means the best of the human being. So here in this material world one may be the best of the human being, very exalted position, but everyone is duḥkī, unhappy. Narottama boro duḥkī. Nitāi more koro sukhī: “Only Nityānanda can make me happy. Otherwise not possible.” Rakho raṅga-caraṇera pāśa.

So today is Nityānanda Prabhu’s appearance day. We shall always pray Nityānanda Prabhu, “Kindly keep me under Your shelter so that… I am very duḥkī; I am very unhappy. Under the shelter of Your lotus feet I shall be happy.” And that is real happiness. (Srila Prabhupada, Bhubaneswar – February 02, 1977)