AN “IMPOSSIBLE” PRAYER
By Sacinandana Swami
What would you say if someone stopped you on the street and asked, “What is the one thing the world needs most right now?”
When I was asked this question, I could think of only one answer: divine love!
If everyone were overwhelmed with divine love, they would naturally wish well for one another.
But from where could such love come – a love that would expel all negativity? The answer is that it can come only from a divine source.
About five hundred years ago on this day, Lord Nityananda—the Lord of eternal bliss—made His appearance in the human world. He came to distribute that love of God, and He did so in a most wonderful way—through His glances! By looking at everyone He met, He infused them with the most sublime love. Here is a brief eulogy collected from those who saw Him bestowing these blessings:
“He wanders about and gives Lord Hari’s name to the souls of this world. His eyes, the colour of a crimson sunrise, overflow with the desire to bestow mercy. Simply by glancing at the people, He cuts the ropes that bind them to suffering. Thus, He severs the knot in the heart of everyone. Wherever Lord Nityananda mercifully glances, He shows love and devotion, and people fall unconscious due to ecstatic Krishna-prema.”
The ancient author Jivan Krishna Dasa compares us, who are starving for divine love, to people standing fearfully on the bank of a river, anticipating that various miseries may fall upon them at any moment, like a pack of aggressive wolves howling in the distance.
But there is hope! He writes:
“Now, whom have we to fear? For our merciful Nitai Chand stands at the ghat, ready to take us across the river of worldly life.
No matter how late the hour or how terrible the storm, He takes your hand, lovingly seats you in His boat, and makes this journey a beautiful adventure.
O Boatman of Love! Though I am blind and mad, I am your servant! The only fare I can offer you is a few hot tears, if only you will row me across.
He pays no mind to the weight of His passengers, nor does He take any fee. Just say ‘Gaura Hari’ once, and He will take you across…”
Today, I’m turning to Nityananda with an “impossible” prayer,
“Oh Nitai, I am sad. As I look at the world, my heart is overwhelmed with anxiety. Please look at me and all others from wherever You are now. In Your expansion as Maha-Vishnu, You created all these universes simply by Your glance and impregnated them with conditioned souls. You do not come and go as we conditioned souls do. Therefore, what difficulty is there for You to make our souls rise simply by glancing at us?”
Jay Nitai!