Today marks the Appearance Day of Narottama Dasa Thakura. We honor him today with this beautiful song he composed about the glories of devotional service to Radha and Krishna and Their wonderful pastimes.
Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, my living force! O youthful couple, in life or death I have nothing more than you. On the banks of the Yamunā, in a grove of flowering kadamba trees, I will prepare a golden throne, and seat You there. I will anoint Your dark and fair forms with sandalwood pulp sented with aguru. I will fan You with a peacock tail fan, and see Your two moonlike faces. I will string garlands of mālatī flowers and place them around Your Lordship’s necks, and for Your lotus lips I will offer betel leaves scented with camphor. By the side of Lalitā and Viśākhā, I will stand, ready to fulfill any order of service at their Lotus feet. Narottama dasa, the servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Caitanya, says: “Allow me to engage in these pastimes of devotionas service”(translation from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas)
Vrndavan is a transcendental beautiful place. It is the spiritual sky, where everything is made of touchstone, which fulfills all desires. All the temples there are bedcked with costly jewels, In that far distant place is the River Yamuna, which is full of lotus flowers, In the midst of that throng of lotus flowers there is a golden boat, appearing like another big lotus flower, with eight petals, who are none but the eight chief gopis who always surround Radha and Krishna, In the surrounding petals there is a golden throne where the two transcendental lovers, namely Radha and Krishna are seated, but of all of them the governing Deity is Srimati Radharani. There is no comparison to Radharani’s beauty and the luster of Her transcendental body. The so-called beauty of the moon has fallen on the ground in the presence of Radharani’s beauty. In that assembly of Radha-Krishna and their principal associates there is a flood of laughing and joking as they address one another. Narottama das says that the eternal pastimes of Radha-Krishna from day to day are full of transcendental pleasure, Let us all remember them now and then and thus become happy even in this material world.
Today we celebrate the Appearance day of Lord Sri Nityananda with a song composed by Narottama das Thakura entitled “Nitai-pada-kamala”, followed by a purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada given January 31, 1969.
“If you are anxious to go back to home, back to Godhead, and become associate with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, then the best policy is to take shelter of Nityānanda.” (from purport to song)
Manaḥ-śikṣā (Nitāi-pada-kamala)
from Prārthanā by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala,
je chāyāy jagata jurāy
heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi,
dṛḍha kori’ dharo nitāir pāy
“The lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda are a shelter where one will get the soothing moonlight not only of one, but of millions of moons. If the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord Nityānanda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda, it will be very difficult for him to approach Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. If one actually wants to enter into the dancing party of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, he must firmly catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda.”
se sambandha nāhi jā’r, bṛthā janma gelo tā’r,
sei paśu boro durācār
nitāi nā bolilo mukhe, majilo saṁsāra-sukhe,
vidyā-kule ki koribe tār
“Anyone who has not established his relationship with Nityānanda Prabhu is understood to have spoiled his valuable human birth. Such a human being is actually an uncontrollable animal. Because he never uttered the holy name of Nityānanda, he has become merged into so-called material happiness. What can his useless education and family tradition do to help him?”
“Being maddened after false prestige and identification with the body, one is thinking, Oh, what is Nityānanda? What can He do for me? I don’t care. The result is that he is accepting something false to be truth. If you actually want to approach the association of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, you must first achieve the mercy of Lord Nityānanda. When He is merciful toward you, then you will be able to approach Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Therefore you should firmly grasp the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda.”
“The lotus feet of Nityānanda are not illusion; they are a fact. One who engages in the transcendental loving service of Nityānanda is also transcendental. Always try to catch the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda. This Narottama dāsa is very unhappy, therefore I am praying to Lord Nityānanda to make me happy. My dear Lord, please keep me close to Your lotus feet.”
