Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was never attached with his wife or with his mundane wealth. His mind was always preoccupied in thinking how to always stay with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But, his father very strictly forbade him to leave the house.
Yet, one day, his Guru Yadunandana Acharya and Nityananda Prabhu arrived in Panihati and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had to meet with them. Actually, only by the mercy of his Guru, was Raghunatha dasa Gosvami able to meet with Nityananda Prabhu when He came to Panihati. They stayed very close to the home of Raghava Pandita, who was a very intimate associate of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
When Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami heard Nityananda Prabhu had arrived in Panihati, he very humbly asked his father, “I want to associate with a sadhu and meet with Him. I must go there.” His father allowed him to go, but only if he travelled with someone. His father’s thinking was, “Perhaps Raghunatha dasa Gosvami will run away again.” For this reason, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, along with some servants, went to Panihati to meet with Nityananda Prabhu. The first time he met Lord Nityananda Prabhu, he paid his obeisances unto His lotus feet. Then, Nityananda Prabhu pressed His feet on the head of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. In this way, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami very mercifully attained the foot dust of Nityananda Prabhu. Our scriptures say that without this mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, no one can attain shuddha-bhakti.
So now, when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami paid his obeisances to the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu, Nityananda Prabhu spoke very sweet, yet scolding words, “Hey, you are chora (thief).” In Sanskrit, the word chora means taking another's property without permission or stealing. For this reason, Nityananda Prabhu very nicely and beautifully spoke these sweet and loving, yet scolding words when He said, “You are a thief, chora, chora.”
The real meaning behind what Nityananda Prabhu said was, “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He is the treasure of My heart. He is My asset and property. How can you possibly attempt to take My asset or property without My permission?” The conclusion is that without the mercy of gurupada-padma, you cannot attain Krishna or Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
śrī-guru-caraṇa-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma, bando muñi sāvadhāna mate
Sri Guru Charana Padma (1st Line)
[The lotus feet of sri guru are the treasure house of unalloyed prema-bhakti. I worship those lotus feet with great care.]
Srila Narottama dasa Thakura composed this verse stating that without the mercy of gurupada-padma, how can one attain the embodiment of divine love, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? In the same way, Nityananda Prabhu told Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, “You are a thief.” Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami very nicely explains that when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami first met with Nityananda Prabhu in Panihati gram on the bank of the Ganges, Nityananda Prabhu was sitting under a tree. During that time, the sun was rising, creating a very beautiful scene. And when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami arrived there, he saw so much effulgence manifesting from the body of Nityananda Prabhu.
tale upare bahu-bhakta hañāche veṣṭita dekhi’ prabhura prabhāva raghunātha — vismita daṇḍavat hañā sei paḍilā kata-dūre sevaka kahe, — ‘raghunātha daṇḍavat kare’
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.45-46)
[Many devotees sat on the ground surrounding Him. Seeing the influence of Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha dasa was astonished. Raghunatha dasa offered his obeisances by falling prostrate at a distant place, and the servant of Nityananda Prabhu pointed out, “There is Raghunatha dasa, offering You obeisances.”]
Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami humbly took a blade of grass and placed it between his teeth and paid his obeisances to the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu. Then, the servant of Nityananda Prabhu told, “O, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has come and he is paying his obeisances unto Your lotus feet.”
śuni’ prabhu kahe, — “corā dili daraśana āya, āya, āji tora karimu daṇḍana”
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.47)
[Hearing this, Lord Nityananda Prabhu said, “You are a thief. Now you have come to see Me. Come here, come here. Today I shall punish you!”]
Nityananda Prabhu spoke these very sweet words, “Come, you are a thief and today I will give you heavy punishment.”
prabhu bolāya, teṅho nikaṭe nā kare gamana ākarṣiyā tāṅra māthe prabhu dharilā caraṇa
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.48
)
[The Lord called him, but Raghunatha dasa did not go near the Lord. Then the Lord forcibly caught him and placed His lotus feet upon Raghunatha dasa’s head.]
Due to his humility, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami did not want to come very close to Nityananda Prabhu. However, Nityananda Prabhu caught him, and by force placed His footdust on his head. Brahma, Shiva and Narada, are all high class exalted devotees of Lord, and still cannot attain the footdust of Nityananda Prabhu. And now, He is very mercifully placing His own footdust directly on the head of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.
kautukī nityānanda sahaje dayāmaya raghunāthe kahe kichu hañā sadaya
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.49)
[Lord Nityananda was by nature very merciful and funny. Being merciful, He spoke to Raghunatha dasa as follows:]
Nityananda Prabhu very mercifully told something to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami:
“nikaṭe nā āisa, corā, bhāga’ dūre dūre āji lāg pāñāchi, daṇḍimu tomāre
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.50)
[You are just like a thief, for instead of coming near, you stay away at a distant place. Now that I have captured you, I shall punish you.]
Nityananda Prabhu said, “O, you are a thief, you are not coming towards Me, because a thief does not want to come too close to the police. You want to keep your distance from Me. But now, I will give a heavy punishment to you - ‘āji lāg pāñāchi, daṇḍimu tomāre’.” Then, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami very humbly replied, “What punishment will You give me?” Nityananda Prabhu told:
dadhi, ciḍā bhakṣaṇa karāha mora gaṇe” śuni’ ānandita haila raghunātha mane
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.51)
[“Make a festival and feed all My associates yoghurt and chipped rice.” Hearing this, Raghunatha dasa was greatly pleased.]
Nityananda Prabhu very humbly told him, “Today, you will prepare a feast of flat rice, called chida. And also include milk, yoghurt, sugar, bananas and other ingredients. This is your punishment.” Upon hearing this, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami became completely overjoyed. He was contemplating, “This is true, I have to serve Vaishnavas. Without service to Vaishnavas, no one can attain shuddha-bhakti.” Without servicing the lotus feet of a Vaishnava, who can be delivered from this material world? For this reason, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was very happy.
Since Raghunatha knew his parents were miserly, they were called vaishnava-praya, they appeared as Vaishnavas, but were completely materialistic. Hence, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami thought, “I have to now serve Vaishnavas, then my life will be successful.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada said, “Serve shuddha-vaishnavas, then all obstacles in the way of your bhakti will be removed from your heart”. ‘Vaishnava-seva, nama-sankirtana’. Mahaprabhu also gave these instructions to all of His followers:
prabhu kahe, — “vaiṣṇava-sevā, nāma-saṅkīrtana dui kara, śīghra pābe śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa”
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 16.70)
[The Lord replied, “You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krishna and always chant the holy name of Krishna. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Krishna’s lotus feet.”]
Mahaprabhu said, “O Prabhu, vaishnava-seva and nama-sankirtana. Every day, chant the holy names and serve Vaishnavas. If you serve shuddha-vaishnavas, then all obstacles obstructing bhakti will be removed from your heart, and you will attain shuddha-bhakti.” This is why, when Nityananda Prabhu instructed, “You have to prepare an utsava, festival, for the Vaishnavas,” Raghunatha dasa Gosvami became very pleased.
sei-kṣaṇe nija-loka pāṭhāilā grāme bhakṣya-dravya loka saba grāma haite āne ciḍā, dadhi, dugdha, sandeśa, āra cini, kalā saba dravya ānāñā caudike dharilā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.52-53)
[Raghunatha dasa immediately sent his own men to the village to purchase all kinds of eatables and bring them back. Raghunatha dasa brought chipped rice, yoghurt, milk, sweetmeats, sugar, bananas and other eatables and placed them all around.]
So, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami sent some men to the village, and brought all kinds of ingredients for the chida-dadhi mahotsava. He brought flat rice, milk, yoghurt, a very famous Bengali sweet called sandesh, sugar, bananas and many other kinds of ingredients.
‘mahotsava’-nāma śuni’ brāhmaṇa-sajjana āsite lāgila loka asaṅkhya-gaṇana
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.54)
[As soon as they heard that a festival was going to be held, all kinds of brahmanas and other gentlemen began to arrive. Thus there were innumerable people.]
Now, when all of the brahmanas and educated people heard of this big festival, they all went to this place.
āra grāmāntara haite sāmagrī ānila śata dui-cāri holnā tāṅhā ānāila
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.55)
[Seeing the crowd increasing, Raghunatha dasa arranged to get more eatables from other villages. He also brought two to four hundred large, round earthen pots.]
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami also brought many ornaments and plates to distribute the prasada (Lord’s food remnants).
baḍa baḍa mṛt-kuṇḍikā ānāila pāṅca sāte eka vipra prabhu lāgi’ ciḍā bhijāya tāte
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.56)
[He also obtained five or seven especially large earthen pots, and in these pots a brahmana began soaking chipped rice for the satisfaction of Lord Nityananda.]
In this way, many people assisted in the mahotsava, celebration. They placed the flat rice in the water and cleaned it.
eka-ṭhāñi tapta-dugdhe ciḍā bhijāñā ardheka chānila dadhi, cini, kalā diyā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.57)
[In one place, chipped rice was soaked in hot milk in each of the large pots. Then half the rice was mixed with yoghurt, sugar and bananas.]
Then they mixed hot milk, yoghurt, sugar, banana and also some ghee (clarified butter) with the flat rice. Ghrita and camphor were also mixed in. ‘Cāṅpā-kalā, cini, ghṛta, karpūra tāte dila’. The best type of bananas are called chanpa-kala. In India, especially in Bengal, they are very sweet. Gurudeva would always like these types of bananas called chanpa-kala.
dhuti pari’ prabhu yadi piṇḍāte vasilā sāta-kuṇḍī vipra tāṅra āgete dharilā cabutarā-upare yata prabhura nija-gaṇe baḍa baḍa loka vasilā maṇḍalī-racane
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.59-60)
[After Nityananda Prabhu had changed His cloth for a new one and sat on a raised platform, the brahmana brought before Him the seven huge pots. On that platform, all the most important associates of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, as well as other important men, sat down in a circle around the Lord.]
Afterwards, Nityananda Prabhu sat in one place and all the devotees sat around Him. Then, they prepared a very beautiful chida mahotsava. First, they offered two special plates in the hands of Nityananda Prabhu. He then closed His eyes and meditated on Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. By this remembrance, Mahaprabhu appeared in front of Him. Only Nityananda Prabhu and some high classed devotees could see that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come from Jagannatha Puri and was sitting very close to Nityananda Prabhu. Then, Nityananda Prabhu offered the prasada to the Lord. Here, it is explained:
hena-kāle āilā tathā rāghava paṇḍita hāsite lāgilā dekhi’ hañā vismita ni-sakḍi nānā-mata prasāda ānila prabhure āge diyā bhakta-gaṇe bāṅti dila prabhure kahe, — “tomā lāgi’ bhoga lāgāila tumi ihāṅ utsava kara, ghare prasāda rahila”
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.71-73)
[At that time, Raghava Pandita arrived there. Seeing the situation, he began to laugh in great surprise. He brought many kinds of food cooked in ghee and offered to the Lord. This prasadam he first placed before Lord Nityananda and then distributed among the devotees. Raghava Pandita said to Lord Nityananda, “For You, Sir, I have already offered food to the Deity, but You are engaged in a festival here, and so the food is lying there untouched.”]
At that moment, Raghava Pandita came and asked Nityananda Prabhu, “Please come to my house and take prasada.” Nityananda Prabhu answered, “Tonight, I will take your prasada, as now I am taking prasada here and every one will also take this prasada.”
prabhu kahe, — “e-dravya dine kariye bhojana rātrye tomāra ghare prasāda karimu bhakṣaṇa
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.74)
[Lord Nityananda replied, “Let Me eat all this food here during the day, and I shall eat at your home at night.”]
gopa-jāti āmi bahu gopa-gaṇa saṅge āmi sukha pāi ei pulina-bhojana-raṅge” rāghave vasāñā dui kuṇḍī deoyāilā rāghava dvividha ciḍā tāte bhijāilā sakala-lokera ciḍā pūrṇa yabe ha-ila dhyāne tabe prabhu mahāprabhure ānila
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.75-77)
[“I belong to a community of cowherd boys, and therefore I generally have many cowherd associates with Me. I am happy when we eat together in a picnic like this by the sandy bank of the river.” Lord Nityananda made Raghava Pandita sit down and had two pots delivered to him also. There were two kinds of chipped rice soaked in them. When chipped rice had been served to everyone, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, in meditation, brought Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.]
Nityananda Prabhu then began to meditate on the Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Our scriptures say:
dhyāne tabe prabhu mahāprabhure ānila mahāprabhu āilā dekhi’ nitāi uṭhilā
During those times, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was residing in Jagannatha Puri, but when Nityananda Prabhu meditated on Him, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately arrived on the bank of the Ganges to meet with Him.
It is said:
dhyāne tabe prabhu mahāprabhure ānila mahāprabhu āilā dekhi’ nitāi uṭhilā tāṅre lañā sabāra ciḍā dekhite lāgilā sakala kuṇḍīra, holnāra ciḍāra eka eka grāsa mahāprabhura mukhe dena kari’ parihāsa
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.77-79)
[Lord Nityananda Prabhu, in meditation, brought Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu arrived, Lord Nityananda Prabhu stood up. They then saw how the others were enjoying the chipped rice with yoghurt and condensed milk. From each and every pot, Lord Nityananda Prabhu took one morsel of chipped rice and pushed it into the mouth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a joke.]
Nityananda Prabhu was laughing and joking, and taking the flat rice and putting it in the mouth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
hāsi’ mahāprabhu āra eka grāsa lañā tāṅra mukhe diyā khāoyāya hāsiyā hāsiyā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.80)
[Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also smiling, took a morsel of food, pushed it into the mouth of Nityananda and laughed as He made Lord Nityananda eat it.]
In a similar way, Mahaprabhu was also taking some prasada and feeding Nityananda Prabhu. Those who were high class exalted devotees were looking on in astonishment at how Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were lovingly embracing each other and feeding each other, as Krishna and Balarama would do in Vrindavana when They would go cow herding with Their friends, Subala and Shridama. Lord Balarama would sometimes feed Krishna, and sometimes Krishna would also feed Balarama Prabhu. In the same way, Nityananda Prabhu was now feeding Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also fed Nityananda Prabhu.
ei-mata nitāi bule sakala maṇḍale dāṇḍāñā raṅga dekhe vaiṣṇava sakale ki kariyā beḍāya, — ihā keha nāhi jāne mahāprabhura darśana pāya kona bhāgyavāne tabe hāsi’ nityānanda vasilā āsane cāri kuṇḍī āroyā ciḍā rākhilā ḍāhine āsana diyā mahāprabhure tāhāṅ vasāilā dui bhāi tabe ciḍā khāite lāgilā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.81-84)
[In this way Lord Nityananda was walking through all the groups of eaters, and all the Vaishnavas standing there were seeing the fun. No one could understand what Nityananda Prabhu was doing as He walked about. Some, however, who were very fortunate, could see that Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was also present. Then Nityananda Prabhu smiled and sat down. On His right side He kept four pots of chipped rice that had not been made from boiled paddy. Lord Nityananda offered Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu a place and had Him sit down. Then together the two brothers began eating chipped rice.]
Nityananda Prabhu and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sat on the asana (seat) and They began to eat.
dekhi’ nityānanda-prabhu ānandita hailā kata kata bhāvāveśa prakāśa karilā ājñā dilā, — ‘hari bali’ karaha bhojana’ ‘hari’ ‘hari’-dhvani uṭhi’ bharila bhuvana
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.85-86)
[Seeing Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu eating with Him, Lord Nityananda Prabhu became very happy and exhibited varieties of ecstatic love. Lord Nityananda Prabhu ordered, “All of you eat, chanting the holy name of Hari.” Immediately the holy names “Hari, Hari” resounded, filling the entire universe.]
Then, Nityananda Prabhu was taking maha-prasada (Lord’s food remnants) with Gaurasundara, and while taking the maha-prasada, Nityananda Prabhu began chanting, “Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!” Subsequently, all the devotees chanted, “Hari’ ‘hari’-dhvani uṭhi’ bharila bhuvana.” In this way, all the devotees were absorbed in remembrance of Krishna performing His sweet lila in Vrindavana with His friends, Subala, Shridama and Balarama Prabhu— this is called pulina-bhojana.
nityānanda mahāprabhu — kṛpālu, udāra raghunāthera bhāgye eta kailā aṅgīkāra
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.88)
[Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are extremely merciful and liberal. It was Raghunatha dasa’s good fortune that They accepted all these dealings.]
Nityananda Prabhu is so merciful that He brought Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from Jagannatha Puri and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was able to realise just how merciful Nityananda Prabhu was.
nityānanda-prabhāva-kṛpā jānibe kon jana? mahāprabhu āni’ karāya pulina-bhojana
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.89)
[Who can understand the influence and mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu? He is so powerful that He induced Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to come eat chipped rice on the bank of the Ganges.]
Here, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains that without this mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, no one can comprehend the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:
śrī-rāmadāsādi gopa premāviṣṭa hailā gaṅgā-tīre ‘yamunā-pulina’ jñāna kailā mahotsava śuni’ pasāri nānā-grāma haite ciḍā, dadhi, sandeśa, kalā ānila vecite
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.90-91)
[All the confidential devotees who were cowherd boys, headed by Sri Ramadasa, were absorbed in ecstatic love. They thought the bank of the Ganges to be the bank of the Yamuna. When the shopkeepers of many other villages heard about the festival, they arrived there to sell chipped rice, yoghurt, sweetmeats and bananas.]
In this shloka, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains, “Mahotsava śuni’ pasāri nānā-grāma haite ciḍā, dadhi, sandeśa, kalā ānila vecite - While in Panihati, on the banks of Yamuna, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was performing this very beautiful celebration, and many people brought different kinds of ingredients to sell.”
yata dravya lañā āise, saba mūlya kari’ laya tāra dravya mūlya diyā tāhāre khāoyāya
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.92)
[As they came, bringing all kinds of food, Raghunatha dasa purchased it all. He gave them the price for their goods and later fed them the very same food.]
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami bought all their ingredients, and offered them to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The remaining prasadа was distributed to everyone:
kautuka dekhite āila yata yata jana sei ciḍā, dadhi, kalā karila bhakṣaṇa
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.93)
[Anyone who came to see how these funny things were going on was also fed chipped rice, yoghurt and bananas.]
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami fed all who came.
bhojana kari’ nityānanda ācamana kailā cāri kuṇḍīra avaśeṣa raghunāthe dilā āra tina kuṇḍikāya avaśeṣa chila grāse-grāse kari’ vipra saba bhakte dila puṣpa-mālā vipra āni’ prabhu-gale dila candana āniyā prabhura sarvāṅge lepila sevaka tāmbūla lañā kare samarpaṇa hāsiyā hāsiyā prabhu karaye carvaṇa mālā-candana-tāmbūla śeṣa ye āchila śrī-haste prabhu tāhā sabākāre bāṅṭi’ dila ānandita raghunātha prabhura ‘śeṣa’ pāñā āpanāra gaṇa-saha khāilā bāṅtiyā
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.94-99)
[After Lord Nityananda Prabhu finished eating, He washed His hands and mouth and gave Raghunatha dasa the food remaining in the four pots. There was food remaining in the three other big pots of Lord Nityananda, and a brahmana distributed it to all the devotees, giving a morsel to each. Then a brahmana brought a flower garland, placed the garland on Nityananda Prabhu’s neck and smeared sandalwood pulp all over His body. When a servant brought betel nuts and offered them to Lord Nityananda, the Lord smiled and chewed them. With His own hands Lord Nityananda Prabhu distributed to all the devotees whatever flower garlands, sandalwood pulp and betel nuts remained. After receiving the remnants of food left by Lord Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha dasa, who was greatly happy, ate some and distributed the rest among his own associates.]
Here, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains that Raghunatha dasa Gosvami held a very nice festival and distributed the best prasada to everyone. Nityananda Prabhu Himself, gave His own remnants to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. At the end of the festival, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami took just a little bit of the remnants from Nityananda Prabhu. Then, after taking prasada, when Nityananda Prabhu washed His hand, Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami offered a garland on the neck of Nityananda Prabhu, and also offered the tambula, betel nuts to Nityananda Prabhu, which pleased Him.
hāsiyā hāsiyā prabhu karaye carvaṇa mālā-candana-tāmbūla śeṣa ye āchila śrī-haste prabhu tāhā sabākāre bāṅṭi’ dila
The rest of the garland, and the chandana (sandalwood pulp) was distributed to everyone by Nityananda Prabhu.
ei ta’ kahiluṅ nityānandera vihāra ‘ciḍā-dadhi-mahotsava’-nāme khyāti yāra
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.100)
[Thus I have described the pastimes of Lord Nityananda Prabhu in relation to the celebrated festival of chipped rice and yoghurt.]
In this way, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami very nicely glorified this celebration of chida-dadhi mahotsava. This lila is very sweet.
prabhu viśrāma kailā, yadi dina-śeṣa haila rāghava-mandire tabe kīrtana ārambhila
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 6.101)
[Nityananda Prabhu rested for the day, and when the day ended He went to the temple of Raghava Pandita and began congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.]
Afterwards, all of the devotees returned to Sri Raghava Pandita’s house, as Damayanti and Raghava Pandita lived close by. Raghava Pandita was a very high class, exalted devotee of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And there, they all started to dance and sing. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami very nicely glorified this chida-dadhi mahotsava lila. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada explains in his purport of this lila that, in this way, we should serve Vaishnavas and perform nama-sankirtana. This is the conclusion: without the mercy of Guru and Vaishnava, we cannot attain krishna-bhakti and krishna-prema— this is the purport.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
And the conclusion of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions is to perform vaishnava-seva and nama-sankirtana.
prabhu kahe, — “vaiṣṇava-sevā, nāma-saṅkīrtana dui kara, śīghra pābe śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa”
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 16.70)
[The Lord replied, “You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krishna and always chant the holy name of Krishna. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Krishna’s lotus feet.”]
Mahaprabhu instructed to chant the holy names every day and serve pure devotees, shuddha-bhaktas, then soon you will attain shuddha-bhakti.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So, sadhu-sanga, nama-sankirtana and then we will receive the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. Because, Nityananda Prabhu is called our akhanda-guru-tattva, undivided principle of gurupada-padma. In krishna-lila, He is Baladeva Prabhu and in gaura-lila He is Nityananda Prabhu. And, how will you receive the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu? Narottama dasa Thakura explains:
nitayer koruna habe, braje radha-krishna pabe, dharo-nitai-carana du'khani
Nitai-pada-kamala by Narottama dasa Thakura
You must very carefully hold on to the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu. Then, by His causeless mercy, you can attain Vraja-dhama and serve the Divine Couple Radha and Krishna.
Bolo Srila Gurudeva ki jaya!
Jaya Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!
Jaya Raghunatha dasa Gosvami ki jaya!
Danda-mahotsava-lila ki jaya!
Gaura Premanande! Hari Haribol!
Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe!
Date: 16 June 2016 Location: Skype
Link: https://gurudevtv.com/2016/06/19/raghunatha-dasa-gosvami-lila-cida-dahi-mahotsava-skype-19-06-2016/
Transcriber: Sanatana dasa (USA) Editor: Chandrika dasi (UK), Sanatana dasa (USA) Proofreading: Chandrika dasi (UK) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia) Image: Nrisimhananda dasa (Russia)
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