Verse 2.8.15-016

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.8.15-016:

মদিরা-যবনী যদি নিত্যানন্দ ধরে জাতি-প্রাণ-ধন যদি মোর নাশ করে তথাপি মোহার চিত্তে নহিব অন্যথা সত্য সত্য তোমারে কহিলুঙ্ এই কথা” ॥ ১৫-০১৬ ॥

मदिरा-यवनी यदि नित्यानन्द धरे जाति-प्राण-धन यदि मोर नाश करे तथापि मोहार चित्ते नहिब अन्यथा सत्य सत्य तोमारे कहिलुङ् एइ कथा” ॥ १५-०१६ ॥

madirā-yavanī yadi nityānanda dhare jāti-prāṇa-dhana yadi mora nāśa kare tathāpi mohāra citte nahiba anyathā satya satya tomāre kahiluṅ ei kathā” || 15-016 ||

madira-yavani yadi nityananda dhare jati-prana-dhana yadi mora nasa kare tathapi mohara citte nahiba anyatha satya satya tomare kahilun ei katha” (15-016)

English translation:

(15-016) “Even if Nityānanda holds a pot of wine, associates with women, and spoils my caste, life, and wealth, still my faith will not waver. This is a fact I am telling You.”

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Since people who are intoxicated by drinking wine engage in various sinful activities, they are extremely abominable in the vision of cultured persons. By drinking wine a living entity’s intelligence becomes polluted and his propensity for sinful activities increases. The mundane sense enjoyers who are attracted to external form indiscriminately associate with women without considering their caste and behavior. As a result, they bring infamy to their caste and family and degrade themselves.

Marriages other than prājāpatya (arranged) and brāhma (between brāhmaṇas) such as paiśāca (ghostly) and rākṣasa (demoniac) as well as marriages other than savarṇa (within one’s caste) such as asavarṇa (intercaste) and apakṛṣṭa (with an outcaste) lead to one’s degradation. By drinking wine a person’s intelligence becomes diverted towards the path of sin, and as a result one develops a taste for associating with women.

According to social consideration, this is extremely abominable. Lord Nityānanda is the dearmost object of those who are under the shelter of vātsalya-rasa. Even if Jagad-guru Avadhūta Śrī Nityānanda happened to engage in such abominable activities, Śrīvāsa’s attachment for Nityānanda would not diminish. Śrīvāsa is stating that if Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu spoils his caste, kills him, plunders his wealth, etc., his propensity

for the service of Nityānanda will not diminish in the least. The nature of love is that if according to worldly calculations some disgusting symptoms are found in the object of love, it does not make any difference to the lover. “I am eternally attached to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. If I ever find some temporary, worldly, contradictory mood in Him, I will not give up the partiality of my attachment for Him. Actually, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is the ideal example of a great moralist. If someone desiring to minimize Nityānanda attempts to associate Him with a most abominable activity of this world, according to my opinion it should not be considered necessary for me to give up His eternally blissful service.” People who are weak-hearted and sinful cannot understand these topics of Nityānanda’s glories, and they thus support their own sinful nature by accepting Him differently. As a result, one can recognize their abominable immoral tastes. Fanaticism and moods that are unfavorable for understanding the Absolute Truth can never enter into the grave transcendental pastimes of Śrī Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu. In order to distort the intelligence of sinful people, Lord Kṛṣṇa performs the pastimes of a debauchee; such pastimes create great inauspiciousness for people with inferior taste. The living entities’ eternal service propensity is awakened by the eternal pastimes that the Supreme Lord manifests in order to exhibit the superiority of persons who are attached to the service of the Lord and who are devoid of desires for material enjoyment.

Although the brother of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Prabhu had ordinary attachment for Śrī Caitanyadeva, he invited his ruination by failing to understand the transcendental love of Lord Nityānanda. Following in his footsteps, the bāulas, prākṛta-sahajiyās, and other apa-sampradāyas are busy going to hell. They also have the tendency to attribute immoral characteristics to Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu was never eager to perform any activity opposed to the principles of morality. One should completely give up the association of those unfortunate persons who attribute such moods on Him through their demoniac philosophies and should in all respects follow in the footsteps of persons

who are surrendered to the lotus feet of Nityānanda.