Atlanta
February 28–March 2, 1975
Prabhupada Lila by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
The Deities of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu in Atlanta are over four feet tall and effulgent. Their lotus feet are usually fully visible, transcendentally poised atop the whorls of lotus flowers. Their arms are upraised about Their heads, and They urge everyone to dance and taste the nectar of the holy names of Krsna. Their faces show mild, compassionate smiles. And the mode of worship of God They are delivering, as described by Srila Prabhupada, is very, very lenient and easy to perform for the unfortunate people of the present age.
On his arrival within the Atlanta temple, Srila Prabhupada was very moved to see Gaura-Nitai. Now in three consecutive stops he had entered each ISKCON temple for the first time and taken the darsana of Gaura-Nitai. This time, as in Caracas, it overwhelmed him.
About three hundred super enthusiastic devotees had gathered to meet him. Aside from the residential devotees of the Atlanta temple, some forty brahmacaris from Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Radha-Damodara bus parties, about a dozen brahmacaris from Satsvarupa Maharaja’s traveling library party, about a dozen men from Tripurari’s airport book distribution party, the devotee-scientists of Svarupa Damodara’s Bhaktivedanta Institute group, and other visitors were present. They had greeted Prabhupada outside the building as he had pulled up in a black Lincoln, and now they followed him with an uproarious kirtana into the temple room within the large house that served as the Atlanta temple.
Srila Prabhupada stood before the Deities. The ceiling and walls of the Deity room were mirrored and produced an unusual effect, multiplying the images of the Gaura-Nitai Deities. Prabhupada approved of it. He then walked from the front altar to his vyasasana, glancing upon the devotees as they parted their tight ranks and allowed him to pass. He sat upon the vyasasana, facing the devotees, who quickly hushed into silence.
“So I am very glad to see you,” Srila Prabhupada began. “I am coming first of all from Mexico City, then Caracas, then Miami. I see your temple is the best.” At this, the assembled devotees, especially the Atlanta devotees, burst into loud, unrestrained cheers and cries of “Jaya!” “Haribol!”
“So Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very kind,” Srila Prabhupada continued. “Parama karuna, pahu dui jana. Two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, They are very kind, you see. They have appeared just to reclaim the fallen souls of this age. So They are more kind than Krsna. Krsna, He is also very kind. He comes to deliver, but Krsna demands, First of all surrender.” But Caitanya Mahaprabhu does not demand.” At this point, Srila Prabhupada became overwhelmed with transcendental emotion. He tried to speak. He uttered, “He is so kind,” but then his voice broke, and he began to shed tears. He spoke on, but his voice became very high as he was gripped by an ecstasy that made him helpless and inconceivably humble. “So take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,” he cried out, “and be happy. Thank you very much.” And then he stopped, unable to say more.
The devotees themselves felt carried away and cried out, “‘Haribol!” in loud unison. Then, as if commanded, they all bowed down and uttered obeisances. “nama om visnu-padaya…” Srila Prabhupada’s arrival address was thus completed in two minutes, and he motioned to his servant that he wanted to go. The devotees were stunned at his brief, powerful entry.
That same evening Prabhupada came down again from his room. Again he sat on his vyasasana and said he would teach a song, “Parama Karuna”. He started chanting slowly with his karatalas, and the devotees tried to follow, although few knew the song.
parama karuna, pahu dui jana,
nitai-gauracandra
saba avatara-sara-siromani,
kevala ananda-kanda
After a few moments, he asked devotees to play along with him on mrdanga. A few tried, but no one seemed able to find the right beat. Srila Prabhupada then stopped them and said he would show the right drum pattern. He had a devotee rewind the tape recorder that had just recorded Prabhupada playing karatalas and chanting, so that he could accompany himself. The devotees were especially surprised since no one could remember exactly how long it had been since he had played the mrdanga. The devotees produced one old mrdanga, but it sounded dead. A second drum was passed forward, but it was also dead. Then a boy offered his personal drum, a mrdanga covered with a bright red and gold cloth. Srila Prabhupada placed it on his lap, tested it, and found it acceptable. He then began to play, while devotees taped a complete recording of Prabhupada playing karatalas, mrdanga, and singing. In another unusual touch, Srila Prabhupada had put on his glasses, adding an air of studious concentration to his playing and singing.
bhajo bhajo bhai, caitanya nitai
sudrdha biswasa kori’
visaya chadiya, se rase majiya,
mukhe bolo hari hari
When Prabhupada finished singing, he explained. “Pahu means prabhu. A shortcut of prabhu is pahu. Prabhu means ‘lord’ or ‘master.’ So these two Prabhus are Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is addressed as Mahaprabhu, and others are addressed as Prabhu. So these two Prabhus, Nityananda Prabhu and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, are very merciful.” It was as if Srila Prabhupada was giving a purport to the uncontrollable ecstasy that overcame him earlier when he was unable to speak.
“Parama karuna means ‘extremely merciful,’” Prabhupada explained. “Extremely merciful because Krishna is also merciful, since He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original feature. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is also Krishna, but He is acting as devotee. He is not acting as Krsna. He is acting as devotee of Krishna. Namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te/ krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne.
Srila Prabhupada then quoted the verse by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya further describing the mercy of Lord Caitanya. “Lord Caitanya has come to teach us because we are all in the bodily concept of life. He has come to teach us detachment and devotional service to Krsna.” Prabhupada recited another verse, the one Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered to Ramananda Raya as the perfection of religion. That verse begins jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva. “The meaning,” Srila Prabhupada explained, “is that one should give up other processes and just hear about Krsna. And to hear about Him you do not require to change your position. Stane sthitah. You are scientist, that is all right. You are lawyer, that’s all right. You are fool, that’s all right. … But you do one thing. You use your ear and hear from the realized soul.” In his explanation, Srila Prabhupada told of different events from the life of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. “That Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come here in Atlanta,” he concluded. “So you worship this Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Parama karuna, pahu dui jana. They are very, very merciful. A little service will enhance your devotional service to a larger scale.”