Sree Raghunath Das Goswami. Part II

From SREE SAJJANA-TOSHANI
THE HARMONIST July, 1929

RAGHUNATH passed one year in this fashion. Next year he made up his mind to abscond. Getting up at night he set out to flee but was caught and brought back from a distance by his father. He fled repeatedly in this manner but was intercepted and brought back as often. Therefore his mother proposed to his father that their son had evidently gone mad and should be put under restraint by being bound hand and foot. To this the father sorrowfully replied that temptations like opulence equal to that of the king of the gods, a wife rivalling the celestial nymphs in beauty and accomplishments have failed to bind his mind. How can such a person be bound by ropes made up hemp? The parent who is the author of seminal birth cannot cancel the course of one's previous and future deeds. The mercy of Chaitanya Chandra has touched him. Who can keep back one who is mad after Lord Chaitanya?

Raghunath now bethought himself of a plan to free himself and made his way to Nityananda Goswami at the first opportunity. He obtained the sight of the Lord at Panihati. Nityananda was accompanied by chanters of Kirtan, His servants. At the foot of a tree on the bank of the Ganges, the Lord was seated causing the splendour of a glorious sunrise. He was encompassed on the terrace and below by a vast throng of devotees. Raghunath was astonished on beholding the display of the power of the personality of the Lord. He fell prostrate in obeisance at some distance in front of the Lord. The attendants of the Lord announced, "It is Raghunath who is making his prostrated obeisance." On hearing this, the Lord replied, "The thief has delivered himself up at last. Come on, I will surely punish you today." The Lord commanded, but he did not move till at last the Lord snatched him to Himself and placed His feet on his head.

The playful Nityananda full of spontaneous mercy in a fit of delight said to Raghunath, 'Thief, you always take to your heels from afar and never come near. I have captured you today and will punish you. Feed my companions with curd and chinrah (flattened rice)." On hearing these words Raghunath's mind was filled with gladness. He at once despatched his people to the neighbouring villages who procured eatables which were conveyed to the spot by the villagers. Chinrah, milk, curd, sweetmeats, sugar, and plantain were brought in this manner and placed on all sides of the Lord. Worthy Brahmans and innumerable people began to collect on receiving the tidings of the great festivity. Articles of food were secured from the villages as well as hundreds of earthen pots. Half a dozen vessels of great size were procured in which one of the Brahmins soaked the chinrah for the Lord. The chinrah was put into hot milk in some of them. Half of it was treated with curd, sugar and plantain. The other half was treated with champa plantain, thickened milk, sugar, ghee and camphor.

As the Lord now putting the loin cloth took His seat on the terrace, the Brahman who had prepared the food placed before Him seven earthen vessels having filled them with these delicacies. On the dais sat the personal companions of the Lord, all those great personage forming themselves into a circle. Ramdas, Sundarananda Das, Gadadhar, Murari, Kamalakara, Sadashiva, Purandar Dhananjaya, Jagadish, Parameswara das, Mahesh, Gouridas, Hode-Krishnadas, Uddharan and all the other innumerable personal followers took their seats on the raised platform. The Lord respectfully made the Pandits, Bhattacharyyas and all the Brahmans who arrived there on hearing the news of the festivity take their seats on the dais. Two earthen pots were placed before every one. In one of them chinrah with milk and in the other chinrah with curd were served. The rest of the people sat below the dais. They were also served in the same fashion. A number of Brahmans finding no room on the dais prepared their chinrah on the bank of the Ganges, while others with their portions of chinrah got into the water finding no unoccupied space on dry land.

At this stage Raghab Pandit arrived with a variety of prasads other than cooked rice and having first offered the same to the Lord distributed them among the devotees. He said that he had been expecting the Lord in his house when he had made ready offerings of food for Him that prasad still remained untouched in his house while the Lord was engaged in festivities there. The Lord replied that He would dine on those things which had been brought to Him during the day and at night accept the prasad that was in readiness in his house, remarking that as He was of the community of milkmen he felt delight in the pastime of feasting out in the open in the company of a large number of cowherds. Then the Lord made Raghaba take his seat supplying him with the two varieties of the preparation of chinrah.

Then after the pots of the people had been filled with chinrah the Lord in meditation invoked the Supreme Lord to be present there. As the Supreme Lord appeared Nitai got up from his seat on catching sight of Him and in His company inspected severally the chinrah that was in the pots of all the persons. With many remarks Nitai put into the mouth of the Supreme Lord a handful of chinrah from every pot. The Supreme Lord laughingly took another handful and made Nitai eat the same. All the Vaishnavas stood up and watched the pastime as Nitai moved about amidst all the groups. No one is aware why Nitai was going round in that manner. Very few persons had the good fortune to obtain a sight of the Supreme Lord. Thereafter Nityananda laughingly resumed his seat and placing four vessels of sun-dried chinrah to his right and preparing a seat made the Supreme Lord to be seated there. Then the two brothers began to eat the chinrah. The sight filled Lord Nityananda with joy and he manifested many signs of his mood of overpowering love. He commanded all the people to eat and chant the name of Hari. There arose a universal chant of the Holy Name that reminded the vaishnavas of feasting out in Brindaban. Nityananda and the Supreme Lord are merciful and magnanimous. They accepted all this to ensure the good fortune of Raghunath.