● All glories to the Vyasa of Gauranga lila – the topmost pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Nityananda Prabhu is the treasure-house of all Gauranga Tattva, which is the most rare and hidden of all.
● Lord Nityananda first allowed this Ganga of Nityananda Gauranga lila to flow in this universe through the pen of Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura! Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja Goswami glorifies Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura as follows in Caitanya Caritamrita:
bhāgavate kṛṣṇa-līlā
varṇilā vedavyāsa
caitanya-līlāte vyāsa
— vṛndāvana dāsa
● “Śrīla Vyāsadeva described the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Vyāsa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Vṛndāvana dāsa.”
Gaurangera madhura lila
janra karne praveshila
hridaya nirmala bhelo taar
● Anyone who hears Gaura lila from a staunch Nityananda Bhakta, their hearts automatically start truly melting in prema. This Gaura lila was first revealed to the world by Vrindavana dasa Thakura only on the order of the one and only Lord Nityananda.
● The most attractive quality of Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura is that He sees every single pastime of Gauranga Raya only in connection to Nityananda-chandra! He prays to be present in the pastimes of Gaurahari where His Master Nityananda is also present serving.
● Even while describing Gauranga’s glories, He dives deep to acknowledge that all this is coming only from the ultimate source of all Gaura tattva: Nityananda. And He doesn’t just stop there, He then glorifies Nityananda as the topmost glorifier of Gaura’s glories.
● Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura is the highest example of what it means to worship Gaura via the mercy of Nityananda! He is the staunchest Nityananda Premi who proves all the accusations of Nityananda bhakts not worshipping or loving Gaura as nothing but falsities.
● Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura shows by His own unparalleled example of how one can please Gaura to the greatest extent and be the dearest to Nityananda by having one-pointed, mad attachment for Nityananda!!!
● Indeed He shows by His own example of always aspiring for Nityananda’s service even in Gaura lila … how devoted one should be to the service of their spiritual master even after attaining Krishna. The level of gratitude we should have for Guru Tattva is shown by Vrindavana dasa Thakura.
● Vrindavana dasa has Nityananda’s lotus feet firmly imprinted within his heart. Nityananda is always resting there. Since he possesses the wealth of having Nityananda’s lotus feet to Himself, he can easily bestow this benediction to others and he does so most happily.
● At the end of Nityanandashtakam, Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura blesses everyone that whoever reads these verses in glorification of Nityananda-chandra will have Nityananda’s lotus feet imprinted within their heart eternally!
● Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentioned about Sri Caitanya Bhagavata that it is pure suddha bhakti grantha. Pure suddha bhakti -completely causeless mercy, 100% unconditional mercy, without any dependence on reason.
● Just like water of Ganga devi flows from up to down…Chaitanya Bhagavata is just condensed cream of kripa siddhi pouring down. Chaitanya Charitamrita is PhD and often too esoteric even for exalted souls, but Chaitanya Bhagavata makes even the most wretched fools into Maha Bhagavatas within no time.
● Everything is contained within Caitanya Bhagavata, nothing is missing. This divine literature is Nityananda’s mercy in grantha form. Just like Nityananda takes us to Gaura Radha Krishna, Caitanya Bhagavata makes us qualified to understand mysteries of Caitanya Charitamrita and other exalted granthas like Govinda Lilamrita.
● The flow of mercy increases as we go down, just as the force of water in a waterfall is the greatest at the bottom. Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura was the last disciple of Nityananda Prabhu. So He is undoubtedly the most merciful of Nityananda’s associates. His intoxication for Nityananda’s pastimes has no beginning or end.
Jai Jai Jai Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura!
● Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura is always busy serving Nityananda in the nitya lila of Nityananda’s pastimes. He is writing not only from theoretical knowledge, but from personal experience also.
● All His descriptions (like Nityananda’s beauty before the abhishekha at Raghava Pandit’s house) are inspired from what He is actually seeing. The Ekachakra pastimes in particular, which are explained so extensively in the beginning chapters, are very near to Him because He is personally present in those lilas assisting as Nityananda’s sakha.
● Vrindavana dasa Thakura is so mad to hear Nityananda’s glorifications, that He blesses anyone who somehow engages in spreading Nityananda’s glories in full abundance. Whoever spreads Nityananda’s glories becomes the dearest to Vrindavana dasa Thakura.
● Vrindavana dasa Thakura is present wherever Nityananda’s glories are being sung, and because Nityananda Gaurnga are His jaan (like He proclaims at the end of every chapter He writes)… They must also appear where ever Vrindavana dasa Thakura appears.
● Just as Hanuman always comes whenever he hears anyone taking Rama’s name or singing His glories and happily sits down to listen, Vrindavana dasa Thakura - the greatest servant of Nityananda, can’t hold himself from coming wherever Nityananda’s glories are being propagated.
● He rejoices in trance, absorbing the nectar of His master’s glories. Actually Vrindavana dasa Thakura’s Nityananda-moya presence, which is the greatest boon for Nityananda Bhakti, is what empowers the distribution of Nityananda's love in the first place.
● Without His mercy, it is not possible to glorify Nityananda-chandra. But Vrindavana dasa Thakura is such a height of humility that He considers Himself the menial servant of the servant of anyone who has slight faith in Nityananda’s lotus feet, even though He Himself is the joyful granter of that rarest Nityananda pada padme sraddha! Nityananda charane je kore aash, vrindavana taar dasera das!
● Vrindavana dasa Thakura possesses unlimited strength to distribute Nityananda prema. Just by taking his name, Nityananda is purchased. We are all eternally in debt to Him, because the ambrosial of Nityananda Nama, which is the greatest secret of all secrets to attaining Hare Krishna Rasa and Gaura Radha Krishna, was revealed by him and him only.
● Nityananda always wants His pure devotees to be glorified even more than Him. So He illuminated the hidden glories of His most merciful holy name and pastimes through the lotus mouth of Vrindavana dasa Thakura!
● Now to adequately share the love of Nityananda’s name, we require the blessings and empowerment of Nityananda Nama Prakashaka Mahabhagavata Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura! जय नित्यानन्द! हरे कृष्ण! Jai Guruvarga!
PS. I uncontrollably bawl 😭 while repeatedly reading this article of the supreme glories of Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura. This is because when I read every word of such choicest praises of Their dearmost Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura and His Master Lord Nityananda Himself, I can feel the hearts of Gaura Radha Krishna melting towards me.