Dayāl Nitāi is everything for us and He is of utmost importance for our bhajana, the very root of our tree of bhajana. He is bliss personified, who is not only absorbed in supreme bliss eternally, but is also drowning others in this ocean of transcendental ānanda.
By the mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga, one can realize Nitāi tattva, and by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda, one can realize Gaura tattva.
It’s not possible to completely explain the truth of Nitāi; only Nitāi himself can explain it. Nitāi is Jagad Guru, and every disciple should know that Śrī Gurudeva is a manifestation of Nitāi.
Many different tattvas are included in Nitāi tattva. That is why it is said, “Atī gūdha Nityānanda” —the truth about Nitāi is the most secret and confidential, more than any other tattva.
Although Nitāi tattva is unlimited, still by His causeless mercy, our Śrī Gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda Premgopāl Gosvāmī, has given us a glimpse of Nitāi Tattva through his kathā. Let us hear about the six different truths present inside Nitāi.
Six Tattvas in Lord Nityānanda
1. Kṛṣṇa’s Love for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
When Rasarāja Śrī Kṛṣṇa is totally absorbed in love (prema) for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, He experiences a very special ānanda (bliss) in His heart. He enjoys loving pastimes with so many
other girls, and they are all very beautiful and qualified—they must be, since all the sakhīs and even rival gopīs like Candrāvalī are expansions of Rādhārāṇī Herself—but His love for Her is
something different.
That ānanda, that special bliss which Kṛṣṇa experiences from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, is inside our Lord Nityānanda.
2. Rādhārāṇī’s Absorption in Kṛṣṇa Prema
The supreme ānanda that Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī feels in her heart when She is completely absorbed in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mood, in Kṛṣṇa prema, that ānanda is within our Lord Nitāi.
This ānanda which Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is relishing is very special. It is so rare and difficult to comprehend that Swayam Bhagavan Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself was not able to understand and experience it. She is mahābhāva svarūpiṇī—no one else can reach Her level of pure love ( madanākhya mahābhāva). This is one of the reasons why He appeared as Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, so He Himself could experience Her supreme love for Him.
3. Kṛṣṇa’s Blessings
The causeless mercy which Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestows upon someone, that very special mercy is inside our Lord Nityānanda. This should not be surprising because Lord Nityānanda is also Guru tattva, and it is well established in śāstra that the blessings of Śrī Gurudeva are none other than the blessings of Bhagavān Himself.
4. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī accepting a new Mañjarī
Our Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is so merciful. She is Apāra Karunāmayi, supremely compassionate; Dayāmayī, full of kindness; Kripāmayī, full of mercy. When She accepts a new sādhaka as her mañjarī, Her dear maidservant, that most supreme causeless mercy is also inside our Paramadayāla Nitāi.
heno Nitāi bine Bhāi, Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Pāite Nāi
Nitāir karunā habe, braje Radha Kṛṣṇa Pābe
(Nitāi Pada Kamala, Narottoma Das Thakura Mahashay)
By Nitāi’s blessings, when He will look upon us with His loving eyes of compassion, then we will attain Rādhā Kṛṣṇa’s service in Vraja. Without His blessings—impossible!
One may think, that how is Nitāi able to bestow such a rare and special blessing, like that of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Herself? This will become clear with the sixth tattva.
5. Mūla Saṅkarṣaṇa
The one by whose plan all the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa take place and who arranges all the paraphernalia required for the pastimes, that Saṅkarṣaṇa is inside our Lord Nityānanda.
Even Kṛṣṇa is not aware which līlā is going to take place. It’s all decided by Saṅkarṣaṇa. Which līlā, in which mood, at what place, with whom, etc. If Kṛṣṇa knew in advance everything that was going to happen, how could He enjoy the līlā? There would be no surprise, no excitement, no sweetness. So although He is all-knowing (sarvajña) and the cause of everything, He accepts this covering of Yogamāyā to forget His own nature for the sake of the līlā, so He can participate as if He really were simply a very clever, very charming, and very naughty cowherd boy.
So all of this is decided by Saṅkarṣaṇa. As per the plan of Mūla Saṅkarṣaṇa, Yogamāyā prepares and arranges everything. All the paraphernalia—Kṛṣṇa’s clothes, ornaments, bed, cow-herding stick, rope, etc.—and even all the dhāma, the abode in the spiritual world, are the expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa tattva.
prakṛty-aṁśena rāmo ’sau golokābjādi-kārakaḥ
yatra vṛndāvane kuñje krīḍā rādhikā-kṛṣṇayoḥ
Through the power of his prakṛti potency, Balarama creates Goloka-dhāma, which is like the lotus that has a thousand petals. It is in the kunjas of Vṛndāvana where Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa play their conjugal pastimes.
(Anāṅga Mañjarī Sampuṭikā 4, Śrīla Ramachandra Goswami)
All the other avatars expand through Saṅkarṣaṇa. For the purpose of creation, maintenance, and destruction of this material world, He expands as Mahāviṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and Ananta Śeṣa. And this Saṅkarṣaṇa is inside our Lord Nityānanda.
6. Śrī Anaṅga Mañjarī
The most dear younger sister of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who supports and serves Śrī Rādhā Govinda in their very secret and intimate nikunja pastimes, that Anaṅga Mañjarī tattva is inside our Nitāi.
Anaṅga Mañjarī, being the younger sister of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, is very dear to her. They have different bodies but still they are non-different from each other. Anaṅga Mañjarī possesses all the qualities of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. She is serving Yugala Kiśora in their intimate love affairs where even the closest sakhīs like Lalitā and Viśākhā do not enter. As a mañjarī, her attachment is exclusively to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; she has no independent love for Kṛṣṇa.
And at the same time, she is the only one other than Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī who can satisfy Śrī Kṛṣṇa completely. She is simultaneously a mañjarī and can also act as a nāyikā gopī, but purely according to the will of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, which makes her unique among all the other mañjarīs and sakhis. She is the only one whose mood is sometimes higher than that even of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Herself. This occurs during her amorous pastimes with Kṛṣṇa, which take place from her desire to serve Śrī Rādhā rather than any separate desire to enjoy with Him.
By contemplating on this sixth tattva, we can realize the second and fourth tattva without any difficulty.
Nitāi Teaches Us How to Serve Kṛṣṇa
Because of these six important tattvas contained within Him, our Nitāi is known as akhandaguru-tattva, the undivided truth of Śrī Guru, who remains as one truth while appearing in unlimited different forms.
Śrī Guru is always serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa and at the same time engaging others in the service of Kṛṣṇa, first by establishing their relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
Our Nitāi is serving and giving pleasure to Kṛṣṇa in all the five primary rasas: śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya. As Mūla Saṅkarṣaṇa, we have already seen how He serves Kṛṣṇa in so many different ways, even as His shoes and the ground under His feet! To understand how He serves in all rasas, we must only remember His two forms in Vṛndāvana līlā, Lord Balarāma and Śrī Anaṅga Mañjarī.
Although Balarāma is Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, internally He is always Kṛṣṇa’s servant, and not only in dāsya mood. Usually sakhya mood is very strong between Them, as they enjoy herding the cows and playing together with Their friends.
Sometimes, in His role as elder brother, Balarāma will show something of vātsalya rasa. He will control Kṛṣṇa, order Him around, and act very protective of Him even after He has seen His small brother lift Govardhan Hill and destroy so many fearsome demons.
And in His female form as Anaṅga Mañjarī, He is directly serving Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya līlā. All the mañjarīs are Rādhā dāsī but their primary bhava is mādhurya, not dāsya. It must be like this for them to serve Radha-Govinda in Their amorous pastimes, to follow Their mood and anticipate Their needs and desires. Because mādhurya rasa is the highest and contains all the other rasas, only from here can they serve Yugala Kiśora in every possible way, depending on the līlā.
As Balarāma and Anaṅga Mañjarī both reside in our Nitāi, He can teach us Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s service better than anyone else because He knows Kṛṣṇa better than Kṛṣṇa knows Himself. That is why Nitāi is Jagad Guru, the universal, all-merciful guru tattva.
Even Lord Balarāma used to get angry sometimes but our Nitāi is never angry—akrodha paramānanda Nityānanda Rāy. He is full of compassion, forgetting all of our faults and offenses. And He is free from pride—abhimāna shunya Nitāi, nagare bedāya.
This article is a small offering of love to the lotus feet of Śrī Nityananda Prabhu and Śrī Gurudeva. Please forgive all mistakes found within, and take from it only what brings you more attachment to our Nitāi!
May our faith and love for Nitāi increase more and more, and may we all become Nitāi pāgal (mad in love for Nitāi)! And may we all surrender more deeply every day to Śrī Gurudeva, knowing that for all his disciples the guru is non-different from Nitāi Himself.
By Their causeless mercy, may we all become part of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s family and serve Her under the guidance of Śrī Anaṅga Manjari and our Śrī Guru-Rupā-Sakhī.
