Our Sole Support

It’s late at night, and I have very little time to write. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to write something before Ekādaśī throughout the year, so I’m just trying to keep the streak going. As I’ve mentioned before, once we send the Gauḍīya Gīti-guccha to the printers, I’ll be able to dedicate more time to these Vine of Devotion posts. But for now, you’ll have to tolerate some maybe sloppy writing from me.

Nityānanda Trayodaśī is coming up the day after tomorrow, so I’ll try to write a little offering to Him. Please excuse me if I write anything that’s a bit off—I’m not going to be doing too much research for this.

The Supreme Recourse

When we’re going through any difficulty—whether it’s losing something precious, humiliating ourselves, hurting others or being hurt, feeling inadequate or hopeless—among the countless types of negative emotions arising from unlimited causes, we have the most powerful and dependable recourse: we can turn to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.

As Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura prays:

narottama baḓo duḥkhī, nitāi more karo sukhī,
rākho rāṅgā-caraṇera pāśa
“Narottama is very unhappy. O Nitāi, please make me happy by keeping me close to the reddish soles of Your lotus feet.”

He Establishes the Platform

Nityānanda Prabhu embodies the sandhinī-śakti (potency of existence), bala-śakti (power of strength), ādhāra-śakti (foundational energy). His role as the supreme supporter extends throughout all creation—from Goloka Vṛndāvana to the base of material creation, where, as Ananta Śeṣa, He holds the universes on His hoods.

Just as He establishes the platform for Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in the form of the dhāma, as the akhaṇḍa guru-tattva, He also establishes, through śrī gurudeva, the platform in our hearts that can hold the combined energies of saṁvit and hlādinī, enabling us to serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vraja. Therefore, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, “heno nitāi vine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi, dṛḓha kari’ dharo nitāir pāya—Without a personality such as Nitāi, O brother, it is not possible to attain Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, so firmly take hold of His lotus feet."

The Ultimate Authority over Kṛṣṇa’s Service

Nityānanda Prabhu is eternally present to serve Kṛṣṇa in all rasas, ways, places, and times. Kṛṣṇa’s service is His domain. He is the ultimate authority over Kṛṣṇa’s service. All the Lord’s dhāmas, paraphernalia, and associates in any of His forms and expansions are manifested through Nityānanda Balarāma.

All jīvas manifest through Mahā-Viṣṇu, an expansion of an expansion of His expansion. Nityānanda Prabhu’s sole desire is to reinstate every one of those jīvas in their eternal relationship of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, whatever faults a person may have are completely irrelevant to Him. How, then, can we doubt His ability to support us in every circumstance? How can there ever be a reason to lose hope?

He Gives Full Support

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura beautifully expresses Nityānanda Prabhu’s boundless mercy in "Baḍo Sukher Khabor Gāi":

baḍo dayāl nityānanda
“Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is extraordinarily merciful.”

śraddhā-mātra la'ye dena parama ānanda
“Merely for the price of one’s faith, He bestows the topmost divine bliss.”

ek-bār dekhle cakṣe jal
gaura bo'le nitāi dena sakala sambal
“If Nitāi only once sees tears welling in the eyes of someone chanting the name of Gaura, He gives His full support to that person.”

Thus, Nityānanda Prabhu stands as the embodiment of hope for all souls. His pastimes demonstrate that no one is too degraded to receive His mercy. Consider the transformation of Jagāi and Mādhāi, the redemption of the thieves who attempted to steal His ornaments, and His unprecedented mercy toward the degraded, marginalized Suvarṇa-vaṇika community. No sinful transgression can diminish His desire to bestow mercy upon a jīva.

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja beautifully observed:

Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy sometimes exceeds that of Śrī Caitanyadeva. Caitanyadeva sometimes cannot accept the fallen: if a bad precedent may be created by doing so, then He cannot accept them. So, He has to consider someone’s status and position, and other things. But Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy does not care for any unfavorable circumstances. It is so lavish and blind. It does not differentiate between sinners of different degrees. It is all-embracing. And Mahāprabhu cannot dismiss Nityānanda Prabhu’s recommendation. This is the connection we are given to understand: Nityānanda Prabhu gave shelter even to those whom Mahāprabhu rejected, and gradually Mahāprabhu had to accept them. So, the magnitude and circumference of Nityānanda’s grace is the greatest. For us, the most fallen souls, that is our solace.

This is all I have time to write right now. I highly recommend reading the rest of the article I quoted from by Śrīla Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja:

I hope you have a wonderful observance of Śrī Nityānanda Trayodaśī! Śrī Nityānanda Rāma ki jaya!