Lord Nityānanda's Mission of Delivering the Fallen
Lord Nityānanda is the personification of divine mercy. As the incarnation of Balarāma, He descended along with Lord Caitanya to propagate the saṅkīrtana movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the specific business of these two Lords is to deliver the fallen souls of the age of Kali. While Lord Caitanya establishes the philosophy and the movement, Lord Nityānanda takes the personal risk to approach the most degraded members of society to give them the holy name.
Seeking Out the Lowest
Lord Nityānanda did not limit His preaching to the pious or the faithful. On the contrary, He actively sought out the most sinful persons—the drunkards, woman-hunters, and meat-eaters—knowing that their deliverance would demonstrate the true power of Lord Caitanya's movement. He identified the brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi as the perfect candidates for this mercy.
- Krsna has appeared as the son of mother Saci, and Balarama has appeared as Nityananda, and Their business is to deliver all fallen souls, especially in this age, Kali-yuga.
- Nityananda Prabhu considered, "So these two brothers (Jagai and Madhai) are so fallen? So why not deliver them first?" This is Nityananda Prabhu.
- He is happy personally, but because He knows that "These drunkards, woman-hunters, prostitute-hunters will suffer very, very severely, so why not deliver them?" This is Nityananda Prabhu, Vaisnava.
- Sri Nityananda Prabhu, who is the incarnation of Godhead as divine master, delivered the typical naradhamas, the brothers Jagai and Madhai, and showed how the mercy of a real devotee is bestowed upon the lowest of mankind.
Tolerance in the Face of Violence
Preaching to the fallen is not without its risks. When Lord Nityānanda approached Jagāi and Mādhāi to request them to chant the holy name, they responded with violence, striking Him on the head with a clay pot. Despite the bleeding and the pain, He did not retreat. Śrīla Prabhupāda compares this tolerance to that of Jesus Christ, noting that a preacher must accept difficulty and even injury to deliver the conditioned souls.
- Just like Lord Nityananda, He was injured, but still He delivered Jagai-Madhai. That should be your principle. Sometimes we have to cheat, sometimes we have to be injured - so many things.
- When Nityananda Prabhu went to preach Krsna consciousness to the two roguish brothers Jagai and Madhai, they injured Him and made His head bleed, but He tolerantly delivered the two rogues... This is the duty of a preacher.
- This (meeting difficulties while engaged in preaching) was exhibited by Lord Nityananda when He delivered the two fallen souls Jagai and Madhai, and similarly Lord Jesus Christ was crucified by the nonbelievers.
Interceding with the Lord
The mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu is unique because He protects the sinner from the wrath of God. When Lord Caitanya heard that Nityānanda had been attacked, He invoked His Sudarśana cakra to kill the brothers. However, Lord Nityānanda reminded Lord Caitanya that in this age, there is no killing of demons—only delivering them. By His intervention, the brothers were saved and transformed into perfect Vaiṣṇavas.
- When they (Jagai and Madhai) injured Nityananda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya became angry and decided to kill them with His Sudarsana cakra, but Nityananda Prabhu saved them from the Lord's wrath and delivered them.
- It was Srila Nityananda Prabhu who delivered persons like Jagai and Madhai. Therefore, Lord Caitanya says, amara - duskara - karma, toma haite haye. Jagai and Madhai were delivered solely by Nityananda Prabhu's mercy.
Empowering the Disciplic Succession
The delivering potency of Lord Nityānanda did not end with Jagāi and Mādhāi. It continues through the disciplic succession. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that while Nityānanda delivered two brothers, His empowered servants can deliver thousands. This provides the historical and spiritual evidence that the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is sufficient to purify even the most sinful population of the modern world.
- Nityananda Prabhu delivered Jagai and Madhai, but a servant of Nityananda Prabhu, by His grace, can deliver many thousands of Jagais and Madhais. That is the special benediction of the disciplic succession.
- They are delivering all kinds of sinful men simply by chanting Hare Krsna. And what is the evidence of this? The evidence is that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu delivered the sinful Jagai and Madhai.
Conclusion
Lord Nityānanda’s delivering of Jagāi and Mādhāi serves as the foundational example for the entire Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that this is kṛpā-siddha—perfection attained simply by mercy. Because Lord Nityānanda is willing to tolerate offenses and bestow love upon the unworthy, there is hope for everyone in the age of Kali to attain the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
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