Sri Nityananda Caritamrta

Lord Nityananda appeared more than five hundred years ago in Bengal India, along with Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, to spread the chanting of the holy names of Krishna as the only means of salvation in this age of Kali.

Sri Nityananda-caritamrta is an authentic Vaisnava literature compiled from the statements of Vedavyasa Srila Vrndavan dasa Thakur in Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, which describe the appearance and activities of Lord Nityananda. Further additional pastimes have been added. These include the affection of Hadai Pandita for Lord Nityananda, the marriage of Vasudha and Jahnava with Lord Nityananda, and the disappearance of Lord Nityananda. Nityananda means eternal bliss. It also indicates one who bestows eternal blissful life to the surrendered devotees. The Devotees of the Lord are convinced that it is only by the mercy of Lord Nityananda one can attain love of Krishna. The Lord bestows this love of God upon all regardless of whether one is qualified or not. The aim of this book is to transport the readers into ambrosia of ocean of bliss that is ever wanting in this world.

There is no difference between Lord Caitanya and Lord Balarama are essentially the same and original forms of Godhead, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are directly Krsna and Balarama, are the same personality. Lord Krsna manifested Himself as the separate form of Lord Balarama for the performance of his pastimes and to benefit the human beings of this world by shoeing them the path of cultivating loving service unto himself. Lord Nityananda appeared in this age of Kali to bestow upon everyone love of God, a benevolent act of God that was never made available before.

“Your name is Nityananda and indeed you are Nityananda, eternal bliss. You are the form of Sri Caitanya’s transcendental qualities. You deliver all living beings and protect religious principles at the time of annihilation. You descended to give caitanyapremabhakti. Indeed, you are the full potency of Lord Caitanya. You teach supreme knowledge to devotees, headed by Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, and Narada. Everyone receives visnu-bhakti from you, yet you are untouched by pride. You deliver the fallen souls without seeing their faults. Only the very pious can know you. You are the only enjoyer of sacrifices. Simply remembering you destroys the bondage of ignorance at once. If you do not manifest yourself, then who will understand you”.

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has sung hena nitai bine bhai radha krsna paite nai; without the mercy of Lord Nityananda, no one can attain Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. The ultimate goal of life is the attainment of krsna-prema, or love for krsna. This is possible only by the mercy of a sadhu-guru. Sri Nityananda Prabhu is the sum total of all gurus (samasti-guru). Indeed, He is guru-tattva. All individual gurus (vyasti) are representations of Sri Nityananda. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura wrote in his Harmonist magazine about the manifestation of guru as the representative of Sri Nityananda:

“The guru is the embodiment of the manifestation of the Divinity to the pure receptive spiritual essence of the disciple. Nityananda is the primary manifestive constituent of the divinity. Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda the function is embodied. Nityananda is the servant-God. He serves Sri Gaurasundara by the distinctive method of reverential servitude. He is identical with Sri Balarama of krsna-lila. Sri Balarama is not the chum of Krsna, but His respected elder brother. It is an intimate relationship characterized by becoming reserved on one side, and of respectful deference on the other. Individual souls are under the direction of Nityananda. They receive their service of Sri Gaurasundara, i.e., of krsna, at his hands. Nityananda is not a jiva. He is divinity. He is the ultimate source of the jiva. The jiva is a potency of Nityananda. No jiva can be the medium of the service of the Absolute to another jiva. The absolute alone may communicate his service to the separable constituents of Himself. This is the real nature of the function of the Guru.

“But Nityananda does not directly instruct in the confidential service of krsna. Srimati Radhika is the guru of the inner circle of the servants of krsna. Srimati Radhika, however, accepts the offer of service of only those souls who are specially favored by Nityananda and are deemed by him to be fit for her service. There is, therefore, a most intimate relationship between the function of Nityananda and that of Srimati Radhika, which is at once supplementary to and inclusive of the former.

“But all jivas are not liable to be eclipsed by the deluding potency. Those who are so liable are again distinct from the eternally free jivas are inseparable associates of Nityananda. They are integrated parts and parcels of Himself. They never fall into the clutches of maya. When Nityananda manifests his appearances on the mundane plane, His inseparable constituents also appear in His Company. They sometimes manifests His appearance on the mundane plane, His inseparable constituents also appear in his company. They sometimes manifest their function on this lower place in a visible form on the errands of Nityananda. They are Vaisnavas whose subordination to Nityananda is natural and ingrained in their nature. It is not necessary for such souls to undergo the process of enlightenment for being restored to the spiritual plane. Unless this fact is borne in mind, the conditioned soul may be tempted to undervalue the constant guidance of the guru be tempted to undervalue the constant guidance of the guru on the hypocritical plea of following in the footsteps of the eternally free pure devotees. Those, therefore, who suppose that deliverance from the bondage of this world should be practicable without the constant guidance of the spiritual preceptor, confound the conditioned state with the free.”

There is no difference between Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. Just as Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama are essentially the same and original forms of Godhead, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are directly Krsna and Balarama, are the same personality. Lord Krsna manifested himself as the separate from of Lord Balarama for the performance of his lilas and to benefit the jivas by showing them the path of cultivating loving service unto himself.

In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains that Lord Krsna eternally enjoys himself in Goloka Vrndavana, along with his unlimited associates. It is Lord Balarama who is the source of all spiritual and material manifestations. All the Narayana and Vishnu expansions come from Lord Balarama. As such, Lord Balarama is the source of all incarnations in this material world.

Just as Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are even more pleasing than Krsna’s pastimes, Lord Nityananda’s pastimes are even more pleasings than those of Lord Balarama. Lord Balarama is famous for his pastimes of chastising the miscreants, such as his killing of many demons, his determination of drag the city of Hastinapur into the River Ganges, and His killing of Romaharsana Suta, Lord Balarama’s form as Lord Nityananda, however, is described as akrodha paramananda nityananda-raya- He never becomes angry.

Lord Nityananda is the most merciful form of Lord Krsna, for he is the giver of krsna-prema-bhakti. Lord Caitanya himself declared (Sri Nityananda-caritamrta, Antya-khanda, Chapter three):

“Those who develop love, affection, and respect for Sri Nityananda, develop love and affection for Me (Lord Caitanya). All the demigods, headed by Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, worship Nityananda Svarupa. It somebody thinks ill of Sri Nityananda, or blasphemes him: whoever he may be, he will fall down. Even if such a person professes to be my devotee, he is not really my devotee.”

Sri Nityananda-caritamrta is an authentic Vaisnava literature compiled from the writings of Vedavyasa Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura. This book describes the transcendental glories of Lord Nityananda. The birth of Nityananda, His childhood pastimes, His leaving home, His traveling to holy places, His arrival at Navadvipa and meeting with Lord Caitanya, His preaching of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord by the order of Lord Gauranga, His pastimes with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Nadia, His presence at the Lord to Nilacala, His return to Navadvipa by the order of the Lord, His marriage, His distribution of love of God, and His disappearance from this world are elaborately and properly described in this book.

Srila Vrndavan dasa Thakura is forever remembered in the communities of Vaisnavas for his wonderful literary work, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata. The glories of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata were nicely described by Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami in his book Sri Caitanya-caritamrta as follows: