Category: Leela – Spiritual pastimes

One auspicious evening, after employing her servants in their evening chores, Saci Mata carried little Gaurahari out to the courtyard. It was a full moon night and an ascending moon was on the rise. At this time, little Viswambhara, very consciously and cleverly cried out “Mother! Mother!”. Saci Mata urged Him to quit His crying during the evening and assured she would give Him whatever He wants.

Saci bole – sandhyakale na kara krandana
Yaha chaho taha diba- sunaha vacana
(Chaitanya Mangala, Adi, 2.266)

Little Nimai replied, ”Please pluck the moon out of the sky and give it to Me”. Saci Mata laughed at His reply and joked at how stupid her son was. “Can anyone get the moon from the sky?”, she said. Nimai challenged, “Then why did you say that you shall give me whatever I ask for? That is why I had my hearts set on having the moon”.

Saying this, He began to cry aloud. Holding the end of His mother’s saree, and rubbing His eyes with His other hand, He began beating the dirt with His feet. Holding His mother’s neck, Lord Gaura Raya kept crying and demanding the moon, with which He craved to play. At times, He rolled over the dirty soil, hit His own face and at times He pulled Saci Mata’s hair. Noticing this Saci Mata turned astonished and remarked, “O stupid boy! Your nature is so strange”.

An Excerpt from Srila Jagadananda Pandita’s ‘Sri Prema Vivarta‘

One who does not worship moonlike Lord Chaitanya is crazy. If you worship Him, you shall relish the greatest joy. He is an embodiment of magnanimity. Who can possibly forget Him ? He bestows boundless mercy upon His servants.
Lord Chaitanya is my Lord and I shall never desert Him. He is the Lord of my life. I get up and embrace anyone who utters His name and calls out ‘Chaitanya’ .That person becomes my dearest friend.
I do not look at the face of anyone who doesn’t say ,’O Chaitanya ! You are the treasure of my life’. Seeing the face of anyone who has forgotten Lord Chaitanya, even if they are Gods or Goddesses , spoils my morning.
I will beat anyone with a stick who neglects Chaitanya and honors other renunciates. I will throw fire into the mouth of anyone who leaves aside the discussion of Chaitanya and talks about frivolous or meaningless subjects.
If I need to endure pain to please Lord Chaitanya, then let me suffer such anguish eternally. But if He gives up His pleasures and joys and accepts the life of a renunciant, I feel overwhelmed with grief.

(An excerpt from Sri Jagadananda Pandita’s ‘Sri Prema Vivarta‘)

(Sri Jagadananda Pandita says) I write whatever pastimes of Lord Gauranga come to my mind, even if they are not in proper chronological sequence.

Gauranga’s Prasada (Food remnants)

One day mother Saci, very affectionately, handed me over the plate containing Lord Gauranga’s food remains.
I was delighted to taste Lord Gauranga’s prasad and it appeared just like nectar.
Will I ever be able to relish such delicious food again? Mother Saci cooked foodstuffs with wild spinach (abona Acyuta Sak), banana flowers (mocha ghanta), edible roots (Kachu Sak) with balls of fried pulses, manchaki, nimba patal, and patties of fried pulses in yoghurt (dadhi-bari).

Visiting the village of Gadigacha

Having happily enjoyed my feast, I moved like a swan in the company of Nityananda, Gauranga, and their associates. Traversing along the bank of the Ganges, and chanting the holy names of Lord Hari, we finally reached the village of Gadigacha.
Sri Govinda Ghosh played Mridanga while Sri Vasudeva Ghosh chanted Harinama. Sri Gadadhara Pandita and Vakresvar danced to the tunes. Hearing the sound of ‘Haribol’, there was cheering in all directions. Everyone was intoxicated in divine love with Gauranga.
I do not know how to sing or dance. Yet I dance with my arms upraised. This is occurring because Lord Gauranga has entered my body and is driving me to do so.
I have no sense of tune or rhythm. Yet I continue to dance and sing. I do not know how my moon-like Gauranga reasons.

According to Sri Gaura Gannodesha Deepika, Kolavecha Sridhara is none other than the incarnation of Kusumasavah, one of the twelve famous cowherd boys (Dvadasha Gopala) of Vrindavana. Sridhara was his name and he was nicknamed ‘Kolavecha’, as he traded banana and banana products for a living (‘kola’ translates to banana’ in Bengali). In Mahaprabhu’s nectarean pastimes, Kolavecha was a very poor man, who wore shredded clothes and lived in a broken hut with leaks in the roof. Kolavecha was so impoverished that he slept on the floor and drank from a broken water pot. Lord Chaitanya was very fond of Kolavecha and devised new means of teasing him daily. In this way, Nimai engaged in mischievous pastimes with His beloved servant.

Nimai’s fit of Rage :

One day, before going to bathe, Lord Chaitanya revealed His desire to worship mother Ganges. Hence He asked for a nice flower garland and some sandalwood paste from His mother. Saci devi requested Nimai to wait for some time as she would have to go and bring the requisite puja paraphernalia. As soon as Nimai discovered that it would take some time to procure the garland, He grew enraged.

Janani kahen – ‘Baap shuno mon diya,
Khaneka apeksha kara , mala ani giya’
‘Ani giya’ yei matra shunila vachana
Krodhe rudra hailen Saci-ra nandana
–
Mother Saci replied -’My dear, please hear attentively. Please wait for sometime as I go and bring the flower garlands’. As soon as Nimai heard the words ‘Let me go and bring’, He became enraged. He appeared as angry as Rudra (Lord Shiva).
(Chiatanya Bhagavat, Adi, 8.129-130)

‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ proudly presents to you the Mischievous pastimes enacted by Nimai of Nadia. In the first article of this series, we shall try to describe the enchanting pastimes of Lord Gaurahari on the bank of mother Ganges. As Lord Vishwambhara grew up, He absorbed Himself in the restless mood of a young boy and engaged Himself in manifesting mischievous pastimes with other young brahmana boys of Navadvipa. Little Nimai could not be restrained. He would taunt other boys and pick up fights with them. He would always win a quarrel as He was more powerful than anyone else. The coverings of dust and spots of ink seemed to enhance the beauty of Little Nimai’s golden effulgent form. Every day after finishing His studies at noon, Nimai would go and happily bathe in the holy Ganges. Countless people, including householders, sannyasis, distinguished gentlemen and children would accompany the Lord in these water pastimes. The young boys splashed water towards each other. Who can estimate the endless fortune of these people? Mahaprabhu would sometimes float, sometimes swim inside the water and engage in numerous sporting activities. The water that washed the lotus feet of Lord Gaurahari, the supreme personality of Godhead, would touch the body of these supremely fortunate people of Navadvipa.