Naughty Nimai

By Nandagopal Jivana das
(Narender Nolakha)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in Mayapur on the full-moon night of the month of Phalguna in the year 1407 Sakabda (18 February 1486 AD). Because he was born under a neem tree, he was named Nimai.

As Nimai grew up He became exceedingly mischievous, just as Krishna had been in His childhood. One Name of Krishna is Dusta Mohana, which means “naughty young boy.” He is dusta (naughty) but at the same time His charming behavior enchants the mind (mohana). Nimai also had this quality.

Baby Nimai would play a game with the doting neighborhood women who regularly came to see Him. Nimai would start crying and would stop only when the ladies chanted “Hari! Hari!” In this way he induced them to chant all day long, and the home of Jagannatha Misra continuously resounded with the names of Krishna.

One day Jagannatha Misra gave a slate in Visvambhara’s Hands. Visvambhara then at once wrote all the letters on it and that too without any mistake!! Everybody was astonished to se this. He learned all the letters within few days and started writing “Krishna” again and again. Day and Night, he chanted the holy names of Lord like Ram, Krishna, Murari, Mukunda, etc, loudly. To this time, sometimes Nimai would try to catch the birds flying high in the sky and after failing to do so, he would cry very loudly. Sometimes He would try to catch the Moon and stars in the sky but failing in this too, He would show his transcendental anger. Everyone would try to pacify the Lord but He would not. Only when they would start Harinaam Sankirtana, only then He would stop crying.

One day even after chanting “Hari! Hari! ” many times, Lotus-eyed Nimai didn’t stop Crying. Seeing this, everyone asked, “O Nimai, please tell us what is the reason for your crying? We’ll give you whatever you want but please don’t cry.” To this, Nimai answered, “If you want to save My life, then at once go to the House of two great devotees, Jagadish Pandita and Hiranya Pandita. Today is Ekadashi and they have prepared many delectable foodstuffs for the pleasure of Lord Visnu. Only if I get that food then I’ll be pacified and stop crying!” Hearing this impossible demand, Mother Saci became sad. She said that, “Nimai, what You are asking is not as per the Vedas and not in social principles too.” Another person said, “We’ll do whatever You says but first you stop crying.” Hiranya and Jagadish were surprised that the child could have known about their special offering, yet they happily gave Him the food thinking that Lord Visnu

is speaking through child’s mouth. But little they knew that the same child is even the source of Lord Visnu himself!!

When He was just a small child, to a pious Brahmana, He manifested His beautiful eight-arm form. Four of His arms were carrying a Lotus, a Club, Disc and a Conch. He was playing his Flute by the other two hands and was carrying butter in one hand and eating butter from another.

His form was dark like the Tamala Tree with beautiful Lotus like eyes, standing on the bank of Yamuna in front of Kadamba Trees with gopis offering him flowers and prayers for His pleasure.

His mother once found Him eating dirt. “Why are you eating dirt?” she asked. “I just gave you so many nice sweets.” Nimai replied, “What’s the difference? It’s all one. Sweets are produced from earth, so whether I eat sweets or dirt, it’s all the same.” Sacimata, being a wife of a learned Vaisnava Brahmana, could understand that Nimai was expounding Advaita-vada, the erroneous philosophy of absolute monism. Sacimata gave the example that although a clay pot is nothing but a transformation of earth, a lump of clay cannot be used as a pot; only when earth is transformed into a pot can it hold water. Similarly, even though sweets are produced from earth, crude earth cannot nourish the body as do sweets. Accepting the impracticality of monism, Visvambhara proposed, “From now on give Me sweets and I’ll no longer eat dirt.”

When the Lord was a young child, His elder brother Visvarupa had taken Sannyasa. From that point His father Jagannatha Misra declared to his Saci Devi that Nimai has too much absorbed in studying the scriptures, if He understands the scriptures properly, He’ll realize that all material efforts are useless, they are fatal and he’ll renounce this world just like his Brother Visvarupa. So, we must keep Him at home, therefore He would not be allowed to read the Scriptures

anymore. So, they gave this ultimatum to the Lord: Nimai, to this day no more studies; you can do anything else you like. So, He did!!!

He became very mischievous, exceedingly mischievous. He and his friend would go out in the day to look to see what mischief they can do at night. Sometimes they would go to people that they wanted to inconvenience and would tie the doors and windows from outside! And in those days, in Vedic Cultures, there were not bathrooms in doors, like we’ve now, they were considered very low class things. They would go outside unto the field with lotta and like that. So, the Lord would tie the doors and windows and at middle of the night when they had to respond to the calls of nature, they would try every possible thing to open the doors but to no relief. So, what would happen then??

First Nature was calling, then nature was yawing, and finally nature was screaming…aaaahhh….aaaahhh….let me out of here…. Aaaahhh!!!!!!!

You all know what it likes…..right????

Nimai and his friends would be laughing, laughing and running away!!

Often at midday, when local brahmanas would stand in Ganga to recite prayers and chant Gayatri, mischievous Nimai would splash them, dive underwater and catch their legs to make them lose their balance, or spit on their bodies, forcing them to bathe repeatedly. He would

throw sand on those who had finished bathing and mix up the men’s and women’s clothing on the riverbank, causing considerable embarrassment to all.

Once, a brahmana put a throne, little flowers, durva grass, Prasada and sandalwood paste on the bank of Ganga for worshiping Visnu and went to bathe in Ganges. To his Surprise when he returned, He found Nimai sitting on the throne meant for Lord Visnu with sandalwood paste all over his body. He used the flower and ate the Prasadam meant for Visnu worship. Brahmana was about to say something but Nimai said to him “Why are you so angry? If the person for whom you have done all these preparations have eaten it, what there in it to become angry?”

He would disturb the people’s meditations and claim, “On whom you are meditating? Iam Narayana, in front of you and I’ve appeared myself in Kaliyuga!”

Sometimes, the Lord would sit on the shoulders of Sadhus and would shout, “Iam Shankar, Iam Shankar!”

At other times, he would joke with young girls who would worship Lord Siva, supplicating his

benediction to get good husbands. Nimai would sit among them and demand all the nice articles and foodstuffs meant for Lord Siva. Nimai would tell them, “Worship Me, and I shall give you good husbands. Goddesses Ganga and Durga are my maidservants. What to speak of other devas, even Lord Siva is my servant.” Nimai warned the girls that if they didn’t comply, he would curse them to get old husbands who already had several wives and children.

Often, he would tell the young damsels that He wants to marry them. On this, girls would become angry and tell Him, ‘What do you think of yourself? Are you a son of any King? We’ve heard about Nanda Maharaja’s Son but you are talking in a way as if you are the son of Nanda Maharaja!!

Everybody would outwardly scold Nimai, as if angry, but actually relished his teasing them. Once when Nimai understood that the brahmanas and girls were going to complaint about Him to Jagannatha Misra and Saci Devi, He quickly jumped out of the water, got dressed, put ink on His fingers, and went home. When His parents informed Him of the peoples’ grievances, He responded, “Look father, look mother, I’ve just come from school! Just see My fingers. I’ve not been to Ganga at all. They are making false accusations.”

One day Sacidevi found Nimai sitting on a heap of discarded clay cooking pots that were used in offerings, and admonished Him for sitting in that contaminated place. She told the Lord, “Don’t you have knowledge? Don’t you’ve any discrimination? Everybody knows that sitting on these dirty pots is contaminated, you’ve to go and you’ve to take your bathe. Why are you doing this?”

Nimai politely and innocently answered, “Well, if you don’t allow Me to Study, how will I understand what is wrong and what is right?

“Besides that My mother, that this is pure and this is impure is surely a worldly sentiment with no basis in fact. You’ve cooked food for Lord Visnu within these pots and offered the food to Him. How then can these pots be untouchable? Everything in relation with Visnu is to be considered an expansion of Visnu’s energy. Visnu is eternal and uncontaminated. So why should these pots be considered pure or impure?

“Wherever Iam, that place is always supremely pure because Iam the Supreme Master of all that exists. Wherever Iam, Ganga always resides there and wherever there is Ganga, that place cannot be impure.”

When Nimai was talking like that, Sacimata could not understand anything He was speaking under the spell of Lord’s Yogamaya Sakti but nevertheless pragmatically had Him come down from the pots to bathe.

After this incidence, all the neighborhood ladies asked Sacimata, “What enemy has stopped you from giving your child the chance to study? Our children hate to study; we’ve to force them to study. Your child loves to study and still you are stopping him to study.”

Sacimata brought Him home and told Jagannatha Misra. So, Jagannatha Misra had no other way but to resume his studies and at that time he gave Him the ceremony of sacred thread. Sri Gaurasunder spent six hours in school and that time was seem to be millenniums to His parents.

Like this, Naughty Nimai would do many Lilas but being illusioned by his Maya, people could not understand who He is?

May that Naughty Nimai always remain the object of our meditation and May that Naughty Nimai make us the eternal objects in his hands.

Sri Sri Gaura Hari Arpanam Astu