Sri Nimbarkacarya - Appearance Sri Nimbarka Acarya comes in the line of the Kumara Sampradaya and is believed to have lived around the 11th and 12th centuries. Born in the modern Murgarapattam in the southern Dravidian province, he was the son of Aruni and Jayanti, a very pious brahman a couple of the Tailanga order. He was a great ascetic of the Tridandi order. He wrote many books according to the Dvaitadvaitavada and he lived most of his devotional life at a place called Nimbagrama near Govardhana at Vrindavana. While at Nimbagrama, he defeated a great Jain pandit in a discussion. The Jain had refused to dine with him saying that the Sun had already set and so he would not take any food. At this, Nimbarka by his own potency made the sun appear from a Nimba tree and the astonished Jain accepted his hospitality. It is said that his name Nimbarka or Nimbaditya has been derived from this miracle of Aditya or Arka meaning sun from a nimba tree. Once in a village near the forest of Bilva Paksha, a group of brahmanas came to engage in the worship of Lord Siva. Just as Lord Visnu is very much pleased when He is offered the leaves of His most beloved Tulasi, so Lord Siva is pleased by offerings of leaves from the bilva or bael tree. Thus the brahmanas worshipped Lord Siva by offering bilva leaves, for a period of one fortnight and satisfied Lord Siva greatly. Amongst those brahmanas was one whose name was Nimbarka. He had been particularly attentive in his worship of Lord Siva. Being especially pleased with Nimbarkas devotion, Lord Siva personally appeared to him. Nimbarka, said Lord Siva, at the edge of this village is a sacred bael forest. There, in that forest, the four Kumaras are absorbed in meditation. By their mercy you will receive transcendental knowledge, for they are your spiritual masters, and by rendering service unto them you will receive all that is of value. After saying this Lord Siva disappeared. Nimbarka immediately went to that place and with great determination he searched for the four Kumaras in every direction, until he finally found them, shining as brilliantly as the sun. They were seated on a very beautiful natural platform beneath a tree and they appeared like fire blazing on an altar. They were all very young, seeming to be no more than five years in age, but they appeared most noble in character as they sat there naked, rapt in meditation. Nimbarka was so excited that he cried out, Hare Krsna! This sudden sound startled the four brothers, breaking their meditation. Opening their eyes, they saw before them the blissful form of an ideal devotee, and with great pleasure they embraced Nimbarka, one after another. Who are you, they asked, and why have you come here? We are certainly ready to answer all your prayers. Nimbarka fell at the feet of the four brothers like a rod, and with great humility he introduced himself. With a sweet smile on his face Sanat Kumara then said, The all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, knowing that Kali-yuga will be extremely troublesome for the living entities, resolved to proagate devotional service to Himself. With this goal in m ind, He has empowered four personalities with devotion and sent them into this world to preach. Ramanuja, Madhva, and Visnuswami are three and you are the fourth of these great souls. Laksmi accepted Ramanuja as a disciple, Brahma accepted Madhva, Rudra accepted Visnuswami and meeting you today we have the good fortune of being able to instruct you. This is our intention. Previously we were engaged in meditating on the impersonal Brahman, but by the causeless mercy of Lord Visnu, we have been relieved of this sinful activity. Since I have realised that it is essential to preach pure devotional service, I have composed a literary work entitled Sanat Kumara Samhita. After taking initiation from me, you should follow the instructions I have set forth therein. Nimbarka was greatly enlivened at the prospect of taking initiation and he immediately ran to take bath in the Ganges. After this he quickly returned and prostrated himself once more before the effulgent brothers. O deliverers of the fallen, said Nimbarka, in all humility, please deliver this low-born rascal. The four Kumaras gave him the Radha-Krsna mantra and instructed him in the method of worshipping Radha and Krsna with the sentiments of great love called Bhava Marga. In that sacred bael forest Nimbarka began to worship Sri Sri Radha Krsna according to the Sanat Kumara Samhita and he chanted the mantra they had given him. Very soon Radha and Krsna revealed Themselves to Nimbarka. They stood before him, spreading an effulgence which illuminated all directions. In sweet voices They addressed him thus: Nimbarka, you are very fortunate, for you have performed Sadhana in Sri Navadwipa. We both combine, and assume one form, as the son of Sacidevi. At that moment Radha and Krsna combined and displayed Their form of Gauranga. Beholding this splendid vision, Nimbarka began to tremble. Never, he said, Never have I ever seen or heard of such a form at any time. Lord Gauranga then said, Keep this form, which I now show you, a secret for the time being. Just preach about devotional service and the pastimes of Radha and Krsna, for I gain great satisfaction from this. When I make My appearance and perform My education pastimes, you will also appear. Taking birth in Kashmir as a great pandit, you will tour all over India defeating all opposition. Your reputation and learning will be celebrated everywhere and you will be known as Kesava Kashmiri. Whilst wandering in Sri Navadwipa you will come to Sri Mayapur. Simply by hearing your name all the great pandits of Navadwipa will flee. Intoxicated with scholastic pride, I will take great pleasure in defeating you. However, by the mercy of Mother Sarasvati, the goddess o f learning, you will realize My true identity. Giving up your false pride, you will take shelter of Me and I will reward you with the supreme gift of loving devotional service and will again despatch you to preach. Thus you can satisfy Me by preaching the philosophy of dvaita-advaita. Keep My identity a secret. In the future when I begin My sankirtan movement, I will personally preach, taking the essence of your philosophy and the philosophies of Madhva, Ramanuja and Visnuswami. After instructing Nimbarka in this way, Lord Gauranga disappeared, and filled with intense ecstacy, Nimbarka began to shed tears of love. After worshipping the lotus feet of his gurus and taking their permission, he left Sri Navadwipa to begin his preaching mission.There lived a great ascetic named Aruna Muni in Vaiduryapattnam, on the banks of the Godavari, in Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. He had a pious wife by name Jayanti Devi. Sri Nimbarka was born of Aruna Muni and Jayanti Devi. He flourished in the eleventh century A.D. At the time of the Namakarana Samskara, the learned Brahmins gave the boy the name Niyamanandacharya. Nimbarka was also known by the names Aruna Rishi and Haripriyacharya. Aruna Muni and Jayanti Devi performed their son’s sacred thread ceremony and sent him to Rishikul for learning the Vedas, Vedangas, Darshanas, etc. Niyamanandacharya mastered the scriptures in a short time. He was a mighty genius. People from all parts of India came to see this wonderful boy. When Niyamanandacharya was in his teens, Brahma, the Creator, came to the Ashram of Aruna Muni in the disguise of a Sannyasin. The sun was about to set. The Muni had been out. The Sannyasin asked the wife of the Muni for something to eat. The food had been exhausted. The Muni’s wife remained silent. The Sannyasin was about to leave the Ashram. Niyamanandacharya said to his mother, Dear mother! A Sannyasin should not be sent away without food. We will have to suffer for violating Atithi Dharma. The mother said, Dear son! Your father has gone out. I have neither fruits nor roots. Moreover, there is no time for me to prepare any food. It is sunset. Sannyasins do not take their meals after sunset. Niyamanandacharya said to the Sannyasin, I shall bring quickly roots and fruits from the forest. I guarantee that the sun will not set till you finish your meals. Niyamanandacharya placed his Sudarshana Chakra on a Nim tree in the Ashram where it shone like the sun. Brahma, who was in the guise of the Sannyasin, was struck with amazement. In a few minutes Nimbarka returned with roots and fruits and gave them to his mother, who served them to the Sannyasin with intense devotion. As soon as the Sannyasin finished his meals, Nimbarka removed the Sudarshana Chakra from the Nim tree. It was at once pitch dark. One quarter of the night had passed. The Sannyasin, who was Brahma, conferred on the boy the name ‘Nimbarka’ (Nim—Neem tree Arka—Surya or the sun). Since then he has been called Sri Nimbarkacharya. Sri Nimbarkacharya is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Hari’s weapon Sudarshana Chakra or discus. There are four kinds of Avataras (i) Purna (full) e.g., Lord Krishna, Lord Rama. (ii) Kala (not all-full) e.g., Matsya, Varaha, Hamsa, etc. (iii) Amsa (part) e.g., Jada Bharata, Nara Narayana, etc. (iv) Amsamsa (part of the part) e.g., Sri Sankara, Sri Ramanuja, Sri Nimbarka, etc. In Vishnu Yana, the spiritual lineage of Sri Nimbarkacharya is given as follows The sacred Gopala Mantra of eighteen letters sprang from the lotus mouth of Sri Narayana. It was given to Hamsa Bhagavan. Hamsa Bhagavan in turn initiated the Kumaras who revealed this Mantra to Rishi Narada. Narada taught this to his disciple Sri Nimbarka. Nimbarka gave this Mantra to his disciple Srinivasacharya. Sri Nimbarkacharya was the embodiment of mercy, piety, love, kindness, liberality and other divine qualities. He did rigorous austerities at Neemgram and had Darshan of Lord Krishna in that place. In that village only Nimbarka had exhibited his miracle when Brahma came for Bhiksha as a Sannyasin. Another holy place of the Nimbarka sect is Salembabad in Rajasthan. A big Mahant lives here. There is a temple of Nimbarka here. Brindavan, Nandgram, Barsana, Govardhan and Neemgram are the chief Kshetras or holy lands of the followers of Nimbarkacharya. Parikrama of the 168 miles of Brij Bhumi is their foremost duty. To pay visits on different occasions to Sri Nimbarka’s temple in Neemgram, two miles from Govardhan, is their Sampradayik duty. The Nimbarka sect is found mostly in Brij Bhumi, viz., Brindavan, Nandigram, Barsana, Govardhan, etc. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Gwalior, Burdwan and Okara are its centres. The Nimbarka followers are also to be found in Central India, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. Sri Nimbarkacarya preached Krishna consciousness about three-hundred years before the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In Navadvipa Dhama Mahatyam, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that Nimbarka had previously worshiped Lord Siva in Bilva Paksha, Rudradvipa (Navadvipa). Lord Siva appeared before Nimbarka instructing him to take initiation from the four Kumaras, who were meditating nearby. Nimbarka received Radha Krishna mantra and continued living in Navadvipa. Following the teachings of the Sanat-Kumara Samhita, he worshiped Radha and Krishna with great love. Soon Radha and Krishna appeared before Nimbarka. Then the Divine Couple displayed Their unified form as Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Lord Gauranga said, “Nimbarka, in the future when I begin My sankirtana movement I will personally preach the perfect transcendental philosophy of acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva. I will take the essence of the philosophies of Madhva, Ramanuja, Vishnuswami. From you, Nimbarka, I will take two important principles: (1) The necessity of taking shelter of Srimati Radharani. (2) The high esteem of the Vraja gopis love for Sri Krishna.” Lord Gauranga disappeared after instructing Nimbarka. Shedding tears of ecstasy, Nimbarka left Navadvipa to begin his preaching mission. In Caitanya lila, Nimbarka appeared as Keshava Kasmiri and received love of Godhead directly from Nimai Pandit. There are striking similarities between the Gaudiyas and Nimbarkas. The followers of Nimbarka accept the six forms of surrender, practice the nine limbs of bhakti, and believe in the dasa mula (ten cardinal points of Gaudiya philosophy). They also worship Radha and Krishna in Vrndavana. They worship Srimati Radharani as the topmost devotee, and they accept the gopis love for Krishna is supreme.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 07:03:10 +0000
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