Appearance Anniversary of Sri Nityananda Prabhu.
By HH Bhakti Charu Swami
So today is Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day – Nityananda Trayodasi therefore we will start our class with a verse from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.7
sankarsanah karana-toya-sayi garbhoda-sayi ca payobdhi-sayi sesas ca yasyamsa-kalah sa nitya- nandakhya-ramah saranam mamastu
TRANSLATION: May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions. [CC Adi 1.7]
HH Bhakti Charu Swami: At the beginning of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Nityananda Prabhu’s identity has been revealed in this way. At the beginning Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s identity has been revealed in three slokas and then Nityananda Prabhu’s identity has been revealed in five slokas. Out of those five this is the first one indicating who Nityananda Prabhu is. Nityananda Prabhu is Balarama Himself.
Balarama is Krishna’s first expansion. When Krishna comes as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu once in a day of Brahma to reveal the actual purpose of Krishna’s Braja lila he comes as a devotee and Balarama comes with Him as Nityananda Prabhu. Actually Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes along with His parsadas – His associates and His entourage. Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears as Panca-tattva –
(as we worship in the temple here), whose identity has been revealed as:
panca-tattvatmakam krsnam bhakta-rupa-svarupakam bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta-saktikam [Adi 1.14]
Krishna Himself comes as a devotee, bhakta. And then bhakta-svarup – Nityananda Prabhu comes as bhakta svarup – as a devotee Himself. And an incarnation of bhakta is Mahavisnu Himself who comes as Advaita Acarya. Then bhakta sakti – Gadadhara Pandit, Radharani herself comes as Gadadhara Pandita and then narada Muni comes as Srivas Thakura. Five of Them are identified as the Lord in this five feature – Panca-tattva.
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